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People's Choice Literature: The Most Wanted and Unwanted Novels
What do Americans truly want in a novel? What would it look like if their preferences and aversions materialized in book form? In People’s Choice Literature, Tom Comitta has taken up this challenge, writing two groundbreaking novels based on a nationwide poll about literary taste—one featuring the story elements Americans most desire and another containing everything Americans despise.
The Most Wanted Novel is a fast-paced thriller evoking page-turners by Dan Brown, David Baldacci, and Janet Evanovich. It follows a California woman pulled into a tech tycoon’s apocalyptic ambitions after her brother’s kidnapping, teaming up with a hunky FBI agent with a tragic past. The Most Unwanted Novel is a genre-bending an epistolary Christmas novel set on a near-future Mars, where elderly aristocratic tennis players scour the globe for lost love, venturing from the coldest of arctic wastelands to the darkest caverns of the macabre. Variously recalling Kathy Acker, César Aira, and Philip K. Dick, it features sentient robots, talking animals, and a hundred-page collection of horror stories.
People’s Choice Literature is inspired by the artists Komar and Melamid, who created two now-infamous paintings based on opinion polling. A similar experiment by Dave Soldier produced “The Most Wanted Song” and “The Most Unwanted Song.” Comitta has adapted these methods to fiction, drawing on readers’ preferences about everything from genre to verb tense to characters’ identity, and incorporating machine learning data and passages written in collaboration with a large language model. Audacious and shockingly entertaining, People’s Choice Literature also asks big questions about taste, authorship, and the notion of “good writing.”
The Most Wanted Novel is a fast-paced thriller evoking page-turners by Dan Brown, David Baldacci, and Janet Evanovich. It follows a California woman pulled into a tech tycoon’s apocalyptic ambitions after her brother’s kidnapping, teaming up with a hunky FBI agent with a tragic past. The Most Unwanted Novel is a genre-bending an epistolary Christmas novel set on a near-future Mars, where elderly aristocratic tennis players scour the globe for lost love, venturing from the coldest of arctic wastelands to the darkest caverns of the macabre. Variously recalling Kathy Acker, César Aira, and Philip K. Dick, it features sentient robots, talking animals, and a hundred-page collection of horror stories.
People’s Choice Literature is inspired by the artists Komar and Melamid, who created two now-infamous paintings based on opinion polling. A similar experiment by Dave Soldier produced “The Most Wanted Song” and “The Most Unwanted Song.” Comitta has adapted these methods to fiction, drawing on readers’ preferences about everything from genre to verb tense to characters’ identity, and incorporating machine learning data and passages written in collaboration with a large language model. Audacious and shockingly entertaining, People’s Choice Literature also asks big questions about taste, authorship, and the notion of “good writing.”
- GenresNovels
578 pages, Kindle Edition
Published June 3, 2025
6 people are currently reading
111 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
August 6, 2025
Peoples Choice Literature, the most wanted and unwanted novels by Tom Commitaa is a book that does what a previous reseachers did 30 years ago but instead of writing the most wanted and unwanted songs or artist paintings they decided to do it with stories. Getting over 1000 people to fill out a form telling what they like dislike Etc about novels, genres, what they enjoyed, the thing they least enjoyed, the topics, plots, sub plots, number of characters and on and on. Through that RESEARCH wrote two stories one they deemed the most wanted and the second of course is the most unwanted. I have read both stories the first With the twins I found very enjoyable in the second not so much. Having read everything up until the unwanted story I knew what to expect or at least thought I did and so the most unwanted story was read mostly with amusement and mirth as opposed to eye rolling and distain. I really enjoyed reading about the research although when it got to the number And ratios my eyes glazed over but totally got the gist of what the author was saying. If you love books learning what people like and dislike about books and or at the very least just interested in what the most wanted book and unwanted would be about then you should definitely give this book a try I found it so interesting and I’m glad I did.#NetGalley, #TheBlindReviewer, #MyHonestReview, #TomCamitta, #ThePeoplesChoiceLiterature,
Want to read
May 25, 2025Sounds incredible- especially the most unwanted novel - a Jonathan Lethem pick.
November 18, 2025
Real Rating: 4.5* of five
The Publisher Says: What do Americans truly want in a novel? What would it look like if their preferences and aversions materialized in book form? In People’s Choice Literature, Tom Comitta has taken up this challenge, writing two groundbreaking novels based on a nationwide poll about literary taste—one featuring the story elements Americans most desire and another containing everything Americans despise.
The Most Wanted Novel is a fast-paced thriller evoking page-turners by Dan Brown, David Baldacci, and Janet Evanovich. It follows a California woman pulled into a tech tycoon’s apocalyptic ambitions after her brother’s kidnapping, teaming up with a hunky FBI agent with a tragic past. The Most Unwanted Novel is a genre-bending an epistolary Christmas novel set on a near-future Mars, where elderly aristocratic tennis players scour the globe for lost love, venturing from the coldest of arctic wastelands to the darkest caverns of the macabre. Variously recalling Kathy Acker, César Aira, and Phillip K. Dick, it features sentient robots, talking animals, and a hundred-page collection of horror stories.
People’s Choice Literature is inspired by the artists Komar and Melamid, who created two now-infamous paintings based on opinion polling. A similar experiment by Dave Soldier produced “The Most Wanted Song” and “The Most Unwanted Song.” Comitta has adapted these methods to fiction, drawing on readers’ preferences about everything from genre to verb tense to characters’ identity. Audacious and shockingly entertaining, People’s Choice Literature also asks big questions about taste, authorship, and the notion of “good writing.”
I RECEIVED A DRC FROM THE PUBLISHER VIA NETGALLEY. THANK YOU.
My Review: A jeu d'esprit comparable to Patchwork in its fun, wacky, sneakily serious affect. I said in that review: "It's refreshing, to say the least, when someone looks afresh at shibboleths like Literature and sees what's under its underpants instead of reverently praising its court dresses."
It's still true. This iteration of Author Comitta's most-ridden literary hobbyhorse is no less interesting, no less impactful, and because of its release's timing, it is a sage observer's warning of the encroachment of AI slop into the realm of literature.
Could it be these are the future of idea consumption via text?
It could.
Will it be?
Dunno. I guarantee you this: Read these two pieces, and you will will come away radicalized. Pro or con, you can't look at these works and not see the message staring back at you.
I'm impressed with Author Comitta's work in these oddball, offputting stories, though if someone tried to sell either of them to me without a knowing wink, I'd be outraged. Columbia's tipped a wink or two. I won't give all five stars because I got the joke before the the enterprise ended. I solved that problem for myself by reading the stories each until I got bored, then jumping into the explanatory and analytical parts; this way I didn't waste an undue amount of my precious remaining eyeblinks on stuff I hated, or just mildly didn't care for; that's as good as it ever got.
Art is not about consensus. Art is not created in committee meetings. Literature is art.
Thank you for coming to my TED Talk.
The Publisher Says: What do Americans truly want in a novel? What would it look like if their preferences and aversions materialized in book form? In People’s Choice Literature, Tom Comitta has taken up this challenge, writing two groundbreaking novels based on a nationwide poll about literary taste—one featuring the story elements Americans most desire and another containing everything Americans despise.
The Most Wanted Novel is a fast-paced thriller evoking page-turners by Dan Brown, David Baldacci, and Janet Evanovich. It follows a California woman pulled into a tech tycoon’s apocalyptic ambitions after her brother’s kidnapping, teaming up with a hunky FBI agent with a tragic past. The Most Unwanted Novel is a genre-bending an epistolary Christmas novel set on a near-future Mars, where elderly aristocratic tennis players scour the globe for lost love, venturing from the coldest of arctic wastelands to the darkest caverns of the macabre. Variously recalling Kathy Acker, César Aira, and Phillip K. Dick, it features sentient robots, talking animals, and a hundred-page collection of horror stories.
People’s Choice Literature is inspired by the artists Komar and Melamid, who created two now-infamous paintings based on opinion polling. A similar experiment by Dave Soldier produced “The Most Wanted Song” and “The Most Unwanted Song.” Comitta has adapted these methods to fiction, drawing on readers’ preferences about everything from genre to verb tense to characters’ identity. Audacious and shockingly entertaining, People’s Choice Literature also asks big questions about taste, authorship, and the notion of “good writing.”
I RECEIVED A DRC FROM THE PUBLISHER VIA NETGALLEY. THANK YOU.
My Review: A jeu d'esprit comparable to Patchwork in its fun, wacky, sneakily serious affect. I said in that review: "It's refreshing, to say the least, when someone looks afresh at shibboleths like Literature and sees what's under its underpants instead of reverently praising its court dresses."
It's still true. This iteration of Author Comitta's most-ridden literary hobbyhorse is no less interesting, no less impactful, and because of its release's timing, it is a sage observer's warning of the encroachment of AI slop into the realm of literature.
Could it be these are the future of idea consumption via text?
It could.
Will it be?
Dunno. I guarantee you this: Read these two pieces, and you will will come away radicalized. Pro or con, you can't look at these works and not see the message staring back at you.
I'm impressed with Author Comitta's work in these oddball, offputting stories, though if someone tried to sell either of them to me without a knowing wink, I'd be outraged. Columbia's tipped a wink or two. I won't give all five stars because I got the joke before the the enterprise ended. I solved that problem for myself by reading the stories each until I got bored, then jumping into the explanatory and analytical parts; this way I didn't waste an undue amount of my precious remaining eyeblinks on stuff I hated, or just mildly didn't care for; that's as good as it ever got.
Art is not about consensus. Art is not created in committee meetings. Literature is art.
Thank you for coming to my TED Talk.
September 6, 2025
Thank you to Columbia University Press, the author and NetGalley for a DRC in return for an honest review
How could you not be intrigued by the concept of this book?
Tom Comitta is a writer and interdisciplinary artist known for experimental works that merge literature, visual art and performance. Much of his practice involves 'literary collage' - assembling narratives entirely from found text. His previous works include The Nature Book (crafted entirely from nature descriptions in hundreds of novels) and Airport Novella (built from text found in airports). People’s Choice Literature is another bold conceptual project, comprising two full-length novels - one featuring the story elements Americans most desire and the other containing everything they reportedly despise -all based on a nationwide poll about literary taste. Kind of like a Choose Your Own Adventure book in reverse.
What I really want now is for someone to write The Most Wanted and Unwanted Novels voted for by the British public and compare both to Tom Comitta's American versions!
The author gives the reader the choice whether to read the background information, concerning the poll results, before or after reading the novels. Personally I don't like going in blind without knowing the premise, so I chose to read the information beforehand - this approach did not spoil anything for me.
Full disclosure I am writing this review after only having read The most wanted novel. I will update after finishing the second - as this is meant to include everything that is least wanted in a storyline, I'm hoping it won't be that bad that I have to DNF! 🤞 Although if it's anything like The most unwanted song that I've just sat through, I won’t be betting on a pleasant outcome! Having said that, I also sought out The most wanted and unwanted Paintings and I can honestly say I found both pleasing - so who knows which way the cookie will crumble!
It’s tricky enough to give a single rating for two books combined, especially when one is deliberately built to be unenjoyable, but as far as the Most Wanted book goes, I’m settling on ⭐⭐⭐
There are a handful of things that grate on me -
~
That said, I love that this book contains nearly every thriller cliché you could possibly think of and I greatly appreciated the nods to The Most Wanted and Most Unwanted Paintings within the text.
If you’re interested in the nitty-gritty of how a novel might be created from audience preferences, this is well worth a read. Overall, it’s a fascinating literary experiment with moments of genuine entertainment.
#PeoplesChoiceLiterature #NetGalley
How could you not be intrigued by the concept of this book?
Tom Comitta is a writer and interdisciplinary artist known for experimental works that merge literature, visual art and performance. Much of his practice involves 'literary collage' - assembling narratives entirely from found text. His previous works include The Nature Book (crafted entirely from nature descriptions in hundreds of novels) and Airport Novella (built from text found in airports). People’s Choice Literature is another bold conceptual project, comprising two full-length novels - one featuring the story elements Americans most desire and the other containing everything they reportedly despise -all based on a nationwide poll about literary taste. Kind of like a Choose Your Own Adventure book in reverse.
What I really want now is for someone to write The Most Wanted and Unwanted Novels voted for by the British public and compare both to Tom Comitta's American versions!
The author gives the reader the choice whether to read the background information, concerning the poll results, before or after reading the novels. Personally I don't like going in blind without knowing the premise, so I chose to read the information beforehand - this approach did not spoil anything for me.
Full disclosure I am writing this review after only having read The most wanted novel. I will update after finishing the second - as this is meant to include everything that is least wanted in a storyline, I'm hoping it won't be that bad that I have to DNF! 🤞 Although if it's anything like The most unwanted song that I've just sat through, I won’t be betting on a pleasant outcome! Having said that, I also sought out The most wanted and unwanted Paintings and I can honestly say I found both pleasing - so who knows which way the cookie will crumble!
It’s tricky enough to give a single rating for two books combined, especially when one is deliberately built to be unenjoyable, but as far as the Most Wanted book goes, I’m settling on ⭐⭐⭐
There are a handful of things that grate on me -
~
That said, I love that this book contains nearly every thriller cliché you could possibly think of and I greatly appreciated the nods to The Most Wanted and Most Unwanted Paintings within the text.
If you’re interested in the nitty-gritty of how a novel might be created from audience preferences, this is well worth a read. Overall, it’s a fascinating literary experiment with moments of genuine entertainment.
#PeoplesChoiceLiterature #NetGalley
July 7, 2025
The concept is fantastic and the execution delivers on it.
The Most Wanted Novel is an entertaining read, if laughably over the top, especially at the bullet-riddled conclusion.
The Most Unwanted Novel is more than I could endure. DNF, as it would be like plowing through Infinite Jest without the bragging rights.
Three stars is the inevitable rating for a book this premise.
The Most Wanted Novel is an entertaining read, if laughably over the top, especially at the bullet-riddled conclusion.
The Most Unwanted Novel is more than I could endure. DNF, as it would be like plowing through Infinite Jest without the bragging rights.
Three stars is the inevitable rating for a book this premise.
September 6, 2025
The most hilarious, disorienting, mind-expanding thing I've read in a long time—I plan to work on a longer review once I get my thoughts together, but this thing is incredible. I read dozens of passages out loud to my wife who would drop whatever it was she was doing and laugh+cry with me at the marvelous absurdity.
November 7, 2025
Actually unreadable
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews