Have you heard about the Great American Read? PBS is hosting a special program throughout this summer where host Meredith Viera is trying to help American decide which is America’s best-loved novel. The program has already narrowed the list down to 100 books, and they are asking viewers to go online and vote for their favorite.
For me, as an avid bibliophile, trying to choose my favorite book is a nearly impossible task. It is like asking parents to choose which of their children is their favorite. I love so many books and I love them each differently. Books that instilled my love of reading, books that helped me cope with grief, books that made my daughter’s childhood more magical, books that had me laughing out loud, books that made me cry rivers of tear; my life has been filled with so many books.
I am curious which book will wind up the favorite. I spent some time reviewing the list and so far I have read 20 out of the 100 books on the list.
To print your own list visit https://www.pbs.org/the-great-american-read/books/#/
I have to be honest I completely disagree with some of the choices in their top 100. How can any respectable list of the great American novel can actually include Fifty Shades of Gray? There are also important books missing from this list. One of my all-time favorite books, Flowers for Algernon is not on the list. Many excellent recent books like The Nightingale by Kristen Hannah failed to make the list as well. Even classics like Of Mice and Men didn’t make the list. Somehow the committee decided to include John Green’s Looking For Alaska instead of his more popular book, the Fault in our Stars. The list includes Mark Twain’s Adventures of Tom Sawyer but did not include the Adventures of Huckleberry Finn.
One thing to note, when a book is part of a popular series of books, only the first book in the series is listed (i.e. Harry Potter or the Hunger games).
How many of the books on this list have you read? Which book do you think will be named the Great American Read?
I am actually interested enough to watch and find out.
I've read 37 of them. Some of those, I admit, were school assignments. I am more than surprised (and not necessarily in a good way) at some of these - Fifty Shades of Grey? Really? Others, I am totally delighted with, such as the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy.
ReplyDeleteThanks Alana, I agree some of the choices are strange but there are so many wonderful choices. Thanks for stopping by my blog
DeleteI did watch this program and I was amazed at how many of these I had read. I wondered if their choices were among my favorites and the answer for a resounding YES. I did count have many I have read but it was a lot!
ReplyDeleteThat's great! I have to admit I still have many more to read to finish he list, but I am looking forward to it. Thanks for stopping by my blog!
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