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The Great American Read: The Book of Books: Explore America's 100 Best-Loved Novels
A blockbuster illustrated book that captures what Americans love to read, The Great American The Book of Books is the gorgeously-produced companion book to PBS's ambitious summer 2018 series.
What are America's best-loved novels? PBS will launch The Great American Read series with a 2-hour special in May 2018 revealing America's 100 best-loved novels, determined by a rigorous national survey. Subsequent episodes will air in September and October. Celebrities and everyday Americans will champion their favorite novel and in the finale in late October, America's #1 best-loved novel will be revealed.
The Great American The Book of Books will present all 100 novels with fascinating information about each book, author profiles, a snapshot of the novel's social relevance, film or television adaptations, other books and writings by the author, and little-known facts. Also included are themed articles about banned books, the most influential book illustrators, reading recommendations, the best first-lines in literature, and more.
Beautifully designed with rare images of the original manuscripts, first-edition covers, rejection letters, and other ephemera, The Great American The Book of Books is a must-have book for all booklovers.
What are America's best-loved novels? PBS will launch The Great American Read series with a 2-hour special in May 2018 revealing America's 100 best-loved novels, determined by a rigorous national survey. Subsequent episodes will air in September and October. Celebrities and everyday Americans will champion their favorite novel and in the finale in late October, America's #1 best-loved novel will be revealed.
The Great American The Book of Books will present all 100 novels with fascinating information about each book, author profiles, a snapshot of the novel's social relevance, film or television adaptations, other books and writings by the author, and little-known facts. Also included are themed articles about banned books, the most influential book illustrators, reading recommendations, the best first-lines in literature, and more.
Beautifully designed with rare images of the original manuscripts, first-edition covers, rejection letters, and other ephemera, The Great American The Book of Books is a must-have book for all booklovers.
288 pages, Hardcover
First published August 21, 2018
232 people are currently reading
1242 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 219 reviews
November 10, 2018
I thought this was a wonderful collection of "America's best-loved novels." You can really see the effort that was put into making this appealing. However, I'm giving it 4-stars purely because I didn't agree with all the books that were chosen. Especially Fifty Shades of Grey, since I hear more complaints about that book than praises.
May 29, 2019
I’ve been flipping through this one over the past few weeks and it is perfection...just the idea of it makes me happy. Lists are always subjective and this purports to be a collection of America’s best loved books. What I will say about it is that it is a delight to read , and there is something to be learned on every page. Great pictures, random facts, and note books to add to my TBR. Yes, please!
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May 8, 2018I am kind of excited to review the Top 100 Novels. Curious as to how many I have read and inspired to tackle those I haven't.
Any of my fellow bookworms looking forward to this?
Any of my fellow bookworms looking forward to this?
September 14, 2019
Another of those books to take to lunch with you and read a few pages at a time. It is a reference to the world's great books as seen on PBS as The Great American Read. It provides 2 pages to each book and author with pictures and some little known facts about both. Everyone will say that their favorite book was omitted....why aren't The Guns of August or The Oxford Book of English Verse not included? But this is just sampling of great literature which the editors explain in the forward. Also included are famous first lines and last line of the classics. It is an interesting book for the bibliophile.
September 22, 2018
Nobody is more surprised than me by my rating of this book. At first, I was just angry that shit like Left Behind and Atlas Shrugged showed up in a "best novels" book. But I then realized that this is not a "best novels" book--it's "best-loved," which includes a whole bunch of shit along with the great stuff, because it's basically a popularity contest. Even the author wishes she could include Mrs. Dalloway (as do I), but she wasn't allowed (by...who? The editors. Must be a scary bunch.).
Anyway, once I got the message, I realized that this was a totally WACKO list. No one in their right mind would read all of these books--but no one person in their right mind would've selected this list at all. This is as widescreen as it gets, and it actually made me realize how narrow I am. Not that I'm about to read the 50 Shades series or Mind Invaders. But considering that there are only a hundred listed, I'm astonished at the number I want to read and haven't read--or even thought of reading: Their Eyes Were Watching God, Where the Red Fern Grows, Foundation, Swan Song, The Stand, The Sirens of Titan, The Intuitionist, Ready Player One, A Song of Ice and Fire, The Wheel of Time, even!
Sure, there's dreck--Allen is particularly good at hiding her feelings that a book is dreck and simply saying what it's about, which communicates the dreck very clearly (cf. Atlas Shrugged). But books I was sure I have no real interest in --Pilgrim's Progress, The Shack, Flowers in the Attic, The Grapes of Wrath, Moby Dick--seem worth a look.
You know what this book is not? It's not cool. There is no Haruki Murakami or David Foster Wallace. The popular and geeky get free reign. Which makes it pretty wonderful.
Print too small, but pictures very nice, and the interpolations a nice breather. Love the picture of James Baldwin writing.
Anyway, once I got the message, I realized that this was a totally WACKO list. No one in their right mind would read all of these books--but no one person in their right mind would've selected this list at all. This is as widescreen as it gets, and it actually made me realize how narrow I am. Not that I'm about to read the 50 Shades series or Mind Invaders. But considering that there are only a hundred listed, I'm astonished at the number I want to read and haven't read--or even thought of reading: Their Eyes Were Watching God, Where the Red Fern Grows, Foundation, Swan Song, The Stand, The Sirens of Titan, The Intuitionist, Ready Player One, A Song of Ice and Fire, The Wheel of Time, even!
Sure, there's dreck--Allen is particularly good at hiding her feelings that a book is dreck and simply saying what it's about, which communicates the dreck very clearly (cf. Atlas Shrugged). But books I was sure I have no real interest in --Pilgrim's Progress, The Shack, Flowers in the Attic, The Grapes of Wrath, Moby Dick--seem worth a look.
You know what this book is not? It's not cool. There is no Haruki Murakami or David Foster Wallace. The popular and geeky get free reign. Which makes it pretty wonderful.
Print too small, but pictures very nice, and the interpolations a nice breather. Love the picture of James Baldwin writing.
March 9, 2019
UPDATE: Nancy Drew and Hardy Boys don't appear here. And for that reason alone, this book is highly suspect. (Besides, I haven't even heard of 22 of the authors, and I'm a voracious reader, not that I'm the arbiter of books people love. BUT, there isn't a single statistic, data point anywhere, someone coulda pulled every book out of their a**, or maybe they have a Mary Poppins magic traveling bag.
ORIGINAL REVIEW:
Oh, where to start. 1) John Updike's Rabbit Tetrology isn't here, consists of 4 bestsellers, 2 of which won Pulitzers, was much loved, and defines America from 1960 to 1990. 2) NO American crime novelist of note is here, like Dashiell Hammett or Raymond Chandler or Mickey Spillane (who at one time had 7 of the top 10 bestsellers in the history of publishing in America!) or Erle Stanley Gardner (who, at his death, had sold the most books of any author in the world other than Shakespeare) or Patricia Highsmith! . 3) Agatha Christie is included (And Then There Were None) and rightly so (and became the world's bestselling novelist shortly after Gardner's death, again other than Shakespeare), but PBS proposes to show a "first edition cover" of the book, with the title of "And Then There Were None" but that's impossible. The first edition cover of this book would have to have the title "Ten Little N*****S", as that was the original title, based on a Nursery Rhyme. 4) it's noted here that the film version of Gone With the Wind was made in 1929 (it's 1939, PBS!). 5) Not a single book is mentioned that caters to academia, or 'high-brow", or the millions of readers who have LOVED Proust, Joyce, D.H.Lawrence. 5) Valley of the Dolls was THE sensational sex novel, but the authors go with 50 Shades. 6) Anne Rice re-invented the vampire genre single-handedly and produced 15+ vampire books, and Bram Stoker wrote the first BIG vampire book, but the authors talk about Stephanie Meyer. 7) Michener (Hawaii, Texas, the Carribean, etc) lots of bestsellers, is overlooked completely. 8) Robert Ludlum, no, not here. 9) War and Peace instead of the beloved and universally praised Anna Karenina? 10) Steig Larson's MASSIVEY INSANELY popular "Tatoo" series isn't mentioned, but "Gone Girl" is. 11) The current global sensation, Murakami, isn't mentioned. 12) Sensations such as Shirley Jackson (The Lottery, "House" and "Castle) and Nabakov (Lolita) and Faulkner (Sound and the Fury) aren't here. 13) Every single high school student ever has read one Shakespeare, nope, not mentioned, not even Romeo and Juliet And there is the big problem with not mentioning Shakespeare: back in the late 1800's, Shakespeare's plays were massively popular all over the nation: you could find lumberjacks who could quote entire sonnets! 14) I've left the worst omission out thus far: Truman Capote's "In Cold Blood" in which Capote invented a new genre, and the book was a massive bestseller and turned the nation upside down with its pure shock value. This book is absolutely pointless. Oh, did I mention Patricia Highsmith is missing? That right there is enough to throw this book in the trash.
ORIGINAL REVIEW:
Oh, where to start. 1) John Updike's Rabbit Tetrology isn't here, consists of 4 bestsellers, 2 of which won Pulitzers, was much loved, and defines America from 1960 to 1990. 2) NO American crime novelist of note is here, like Dashiell Hammett or Raymond Chandler or Mickey Spillane (who at one time had 7 of the top 10 bestsellers in the history of publishing in America!) or Erle Stanley Gardner (who, at his death, had sold the most books of any author in the world other than Shakespeare) or Patricia Highsmith! . 3) Agatha Christie is included (And Then There Were None) and rightly so (and became the world's bestselling novelist shortly after Gardner's death, again other than Shakespeare), but PBS proposes to show a "first edition cover" of the book, with the title of "And Then There Were None" but that's impossible. The first edition cover of this book would have to have the title "Ten Little N*****S", as that was the original title, based on a Nursery Rhyme. 4) it's noted here that the film version of Gone With the Wind was made in 1929 (it's 1939, PBS!). 5) Not a single book is mentioned that caters to academia, or 'high-brow", or the millions of readers who have LOVED Proust, Joyce, D.H.Lawrence. 5) Valley of the Dolls was THE sensational sex novel, but the authors go with 50 Shades. 6) Anne Rice re-invented the vampire genre single-handedly and produced 15+ vampire books, and Bram Stoker wrote the first BIG vampire book, but the authors talk about Stephanie Meyer. 7) Michener (Hawaii, Texas, the Carribean, etc) lots of bestsellers, is overlooked completely. 8) Robert Ludlum, no, not here. 9) War and Peace instead of the beloved and universally praised Anna Karenina? 10) Steig Larson's MASSIVEY INSANELY popular "Tatoo" series isn't mentioned, but "Gone Girl" is. 11) The current global sensation, Murakami, isn't mentioned. 12) Sensations such as Shirley Jackson (The Lottery, "House" and "Castle) and Nabakov (Lolita) and Faulkner (Sound and the Fury) aren't here. 13) Every single high school student ever has read one Shakespeare, nope, not mentioned, not even Romeo and Juliet And there is the big problem with not mentioning Shakespeare: back in the late 1800's, Shakespeare's plays were massively popular all over the nation: you could find lumberjacks who could quote entire sonnets! 14) I've left the worst omission out thus far: Truman Capote's "In Cold Blood" in which Capote invented a new genre, and the book was a massive bestseller and turned the nation upside down with its pure shock value. This book is absolutely pointless. Oh, did I mention Patricia Highsmith is missing? That right there is enough to throw this book in the trash.
August 24, 2018
The Book of Books had fabulous, in-depth information about the 100 books on the Great American Read list. Interspersed between the novel information pages are short sections about literary analysis. I read with interest the section on the best first lines in literature, as well as the most compelling characters. "Scarlett O'Hara is quite possibly the most famous female character in American history." AGREED!! There is also a great chart in the middle of the book that analyzes what genre categories you should read based on your favorites novels.
I have found this PBS project to be a wonderful testament to the power of books of all genres.
"So can black marks on a white page. We weep with sorrow, or joy. Our cares disappear, as do our surroundings and we are transported, as if by some supernatural sleight of hand, into other times, minds, and places-- all by reading."
"Despite all that, Scarlett persists as a precursor to strong female protagonists of our own era."
"Steinbeck demonstrates how acts of kindness, both big and small, have an uplifting effect, which in turn furthers more acts of kindness. Man may pass inhumanity on to man, but he is equally capable of passing on benevolence and selflessness. There is a choice."
"Books save Liesel, books cement her relationships with other people, and books give her a lifeline in a drowning world. We need to keep writing and reading, Zusak tells us, so that we can keep living."
I have found this PBS project to be a wonderful testament to the power of books of all genres.
"So can black marks on a white page. We weep with sorrow, or joy. Our cares disappear, as do our surroundings and we are transported, as if by some supernatural sleight of hand, into other times, minds, and places-- all by reading."
"Despite all that, Scarlett persists as a precursor to strong female protagonists of our own era."
"Steinbeck demonstrates how acts of kindness, both big and small, have an uplifting effect, which in turn furthers more acts of kindness. Man may pass inhumanity on to man, but he is equally capable of passing on benevolence and selflessness. There is a choice."
"Books save Liesel, books cement her relationships with other people, and books give her a lifeline in a drowning world. We need to keep writing and reading, Zusak tells us, so that we can keep living."
August 9, 2019
One of the wildest arrays of books on a list you’ll ever find.
The American Public Broadcasting System (PBS) gathered 80 English teachers and professors as well as 20 sheepherders from the hills of Kazakhastan, divided them into 2 groups of 50. The first group was told to pick their most favorite book they’d like to cuddle with ever, the second group, the most absurd book they could think of, whether they’ve ever read it or not.
And that’s how they came up with ‘America’s best loved novels’.
Each author-book gets a one-page dust-cover type summary, which I enjoyed reading, usually finding info on the author most interesting, as unless you’re a really famous or favorite writer you don’t typically hear much about them. The summary also includes what ever movies or TV shows have derived from the books. I think this is to validate the more contemporary choices, which are better known on the screen, such as Game of Thrones and Lord of the Rings.
I was inspired to add a few of the titles to my To Be Read (and watch) list.
The American Public Broadcasting System (PBS) gathered 80 English teachers and professors as well as 20 sheepherders from the hills of Kazakhastan, divided them into 2 groups of 50. The first group was told to pick their most favorite book they’d like to cuddle with ever, the second group, the most absurd book they could think of, whether they’ve ever read it or not.
And that’s how they came up with ‘America’s best loved novels’.
Each author-book gets a one-page dust-cover type summary, which I enjoyed reading, usually finding info on the author most interesting, as unless you’re a really famous or favorite writer you don’t typically hear much about them. The summary also includes what ever movies or TV shows have derived from the books. I think this is to validate the more contemporary choices, which are better known on the screen, such as Game of Thrones and Lord of the Rings.
I was inspired to add a few of the titles to my To Be Read (and watch) list.
November 16, 2018
This is a very pretty companion book for the PBS series/special and it’s a book about books (heyo, genre kryptonite) so definite four solid stars as a lovely object about books.
However, there is some unbelievably lazy-arsed copy-editing where captions are laid out wrong and some seriously convoluted sentences appear. Black Dog & Leventhal editor, I’m giving you the hairy eyeball on this one.
However, there is some unbelievably lazy-arsed copy-editing where captions are laid out wrong and some seriously convoluted sentences appear. Black Dog & Leventhal editor, I’m giving you the hairy eyeball on this one.
February 27, 2019
A very beautiful book, with quality, a lovely reference manual. I love all the photos of the original first editions books and background information on the Author, rejection letters, book and movies, and results of social affect. Each loved book has two detailed full pages dedicated to it.
Included in the book are discussions on illustrators, banned books, how to read, different genre's and some of the most compelling first lines. The extras I found to be quite interesting additions.
Added more to my overwhelming TBR pile including the purchase of Looking for Alaska by John Green and I have a few more added to my Wish list.
I was so happy to see my most loved book included in the list Larry McMurtry's Lonesome Dove. Glad to see others in the US love the book as much as I do.
I own 27 books on the list of 100 of which two are The Notebook and The Shack and I own 20 books in the top 50 which most are Classics!!!!
Included in the book are discussions on illustrators, banned books, how to read, different genre's and some of the most compelling first lines. The extras I found to be quite interesting additions.
Added more to my overwhelming TBR pile including the purchase of Looking for Alaska by John Green and I have a few more added to my Wish list.
I was so happy to see my most loved book included in the list Larry McMurtry's Lonesome Dove. Glad to see others in the US love the book as much as I do.
I own 27 books on the list of 100 of which two are The Notebook and The Shack and I own 20 books in the top 50 which most are Classics!!!!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
February 2, 2019
The book is composed of the 100 best-loved books in the United States. The books are organized alphabetically, and has two pages dedicated to it. The first page is primarily a cover photo of the book and an author portrait. Some books have an extra little tidbit thrown in. The second page is an overview of the book. Some of these pages are rife with spoilers.
As an overall book compilation, it's okay. There are extra informational pages on various bookish things. But when you get down to it, this book is so terribly edited, it's distracting. So many typos, mistakes, etc.
I am also a bit peeved that this book does not have the final ranking of the 100 books. Ultimately, this book was hastily put together. And it shows.
As an overall book compilation, it's okay. There are extra informational pages on various bookish things. But when you get down to it, this book is so terribly edited, it's distracting. So many typos, mistakes, etc.
I am also a bit peeved that this book does not have the final ranking of the 100 books. Ultimately, this book was hastily put together. And it shows.
May 6, 2019
A very nice collaboration of “America’s 100 best-loved novels” as it states in the title. It’s full of very good selections backed with interesting facts about the books and their authors.
I’m pretty sure not everyone will fully agree with the GAR’s 💯 choices, like me with only a few of them that kinda confused me like “what do they see in these books?”. One other thing that bothered me a little is while they included many iconic authors like Charles Dickens, Kurt Vonnegut and Stephen King in their selection, it would’ve been nice to include more well-known authors like: Rick Riordan, Haruki Murakami, Brandon Sanderson, Lemony Snicket, Stieg Larsson, Donna Tartt, Fredrik Backman, Roald Dahl, Lisa See, R.J. Palacio, Philip Pullman, and Alan Moore.
All in all, it’s still a great read to see what old or new classic you should read next (Grade: A-).
I’m pretty sure not everyone will fully agree with the GAR’s 💯 choices, like me with only a few of them that kinda confused me like “what do they see in these books?”. One other thing that bothered me a little is while they included many iconic authors like Charles Dickens, Kurt Vonnegut and Stephen King in their selection, it would’ve been nice to include more well-known authors like: Rick Riordan, Haruki Murakami, Brandon Sanderson, Lemony Snicket, Stieg Larsson, Donna Tartt, Fredrik Backman, Roald Dahl, Lisa See, R.J. Palacio, Philip Pullman, and Alan Moore.
All in all, it’s still a great read to see what old or new classic you should read next (Grade: A-).
February 6, 2019
Out of the 100 greatest American reads, according to PBS, I had only read 42 of them, but was totally aware of the plot and significance of 20 more (movies, lit studies, etc.) Should I aspire to read all 100? I wondered. My husband gave this book about the 100 booksto me as an early Christmas present, and I immediately began reading a little at night before bed. What a gift! I cherish it. It's beautiful, well-written, and each word praises books and authors and what they do and have done. I felt at home in these pages, and that's probably why it took so long to get through. My eyelids drooped from contentment and sleepiness. With my highlighter and pen, I read about all 100 books, noting which ones I have read, what I thought about them, and what I do and do not aspire to read in my lifetime.
Each of the 100 books has a large 1-page overview in which you learn briefly about the plot, the themes, the reception and significance, any interesting backstory to the birth of the book, and a brief bio of the author. I am not a writer, and I can't adequately describe how much I enjoyed reading these. Even about the books I have read or even studied in school, I gained new insight. And thanks to this book, I've discovered some new books that will become my favorites (I'm looking at you, Confederacy of Dunces).
In addition, there are many interludes about aspects of literature that any reader or especially lit major would find delightful: a compilation of literary terms, quotes from these authors about writing, interesting friendships/partnerships among the authors, best first lines, most famous literary kids, best settings, the day jobs of a bunch of the authors, a section on cover design (I hadn't even considered that a person has a job like that), all the books that were banned and why, a list of amazing libraries, words that were invented by certain books (one of my favorite sections), negative reviews, and examples of books that predicted the future, etc. The appendix is also a book lover's treasure trove.
Do I recommend this? ABSOLUTELY. To all book lovers and lit major types. It is a treasure, and I have faith that it will NEVER end up in a donation pile.
Each of the 100 books has a large 1-page overview in which you learn briefly about the plot, the themes, the reception and significance, any interesting backstory to the birth of the book, and a brief bio of the author. I am not a writer, and I can't adequately describe how much I enjoyed reading these. Even about the books I have read or even studied in school, I gained new insight. And thanks to this book, I've discovered some new books that will become my favorites (I'm looking at you, Confederacy of Dunces).
In addition, there are many interludes about aspects of literature that any reader or especially lit major would find delightful: a compilation of literary terms, quotes from these authors about writing, interesting friendships/partnerships among the authors, best first lines, most famous literary kids, best settings, the day jobs of a bunch of the authors, a section on cover design (I hadn't even considered that a person has a job like that), all the books that were banned and why, a list of amazing libraries, words that were invented by certain books (one of my favorite sections), negative reviews, and examples of books that predicted the future, etc. The appendix is also a book lover's treasure trove.
Do I recommend this? ABSOLUTELY. To all book lovers and lit major types. It is a treasure, and I have faith that it will NEVER end up in a donation pile.
November 23, 2018
What love and adoration for the entire endeavor that PBS put together for the Great American Read and then putting out the book along with the series and voting. This book is a superb complement to the series and not only a one-pager along with some photo ephemera, there are also additional pages interspersed that discuss things like "writers on writing" or well-known settings or things to think about when reading a novel which were fascinating and complementary (again) to the book itself and the series as a whole if we as a society are celebration THE book.
November 18, 2018
I really enjoyed this book. Based on the PBS series, The Great American Read, it includes a page write up on each of the hundred books, describing the book, the author, and their impact. It also includes a collage of pictures related to each book, and several inserts on various topics, like how to read a literary work and authors' day jobs. It was delightfully skimmable, and perfectly suited to my own brand of nerdiness.
December 27, 2018
I have been reading this book off and on since early November. When I had to return it to the library I bought my own copy. I can't recommend it enough. It is the companion book to The Great American Read series on PBS which was excellent. All the 100 books are covered in this book along with lots of extras. I'm sure I will reread it many times over the coming years. It is one of those books that will be passed around for my family members to read as well. Highly recommended!
March 3, 2019
Eh. A bit pedestrian. Da Vinci Code? Yeah no thanks
January 1, 2020
I'm planning to read 43 of the 100 books in 2019. While i do that, i'll be reading the synopses of the other 57 and sharing my thoughts about why they're not among the 43. I'll update this "review" frequently.
January 3
#13 - A Tree Grows in Brooklyn: If Book Club Built for Two (BCB42) hadn't read it in 2018 I’d be reading it in 2019.
Spoiler alert: The Book of Books (BOB) reveals many major events in the novel, so you might want to avoid it. In fact, BOB reveals many major plot points and character developments in almost every entry.
#49 - Foundation (by Isaac Asimov): After reading BOB's summary, i realized i almost certainly had not read any of these and even though the topic doesn't thrill me, i guess i'll read it — upgraded from "maybe" to "yes".
#85 - Flowers in the Attic: BOB makes it sound worthwhile. I can’t help believing that I’d hate the writing style, though. Grrrrrr. I think prejudice (snobbery) is the only thing stopping me from giving it a try. Therefore, i upgraded it from a "no" to a "maybe". (1/7/2019 update: A friend's comments tell me not to add it to the "yes" pile.)
January 3
#30 - Catcher in the Rye: I reread it recently and don't need to revisit it yet.
#40 - Hunger Games trilogy: I read the first 2 and don't feel compelled to read the 3rd, so i'm definitely not revisiting these.
#46 - Moby-Dick: I loved the sentences, as individual delights, but the whole book was a slog. I'll probably never reread it.
#52 - Jurassic Park: The movie was enough to convince me this ain't fer me.
#68 - Don Quixote: My favorite. I reread it last year and would like to read it every year but it's huge so i'll focus on new-to-me and less-recent rereads.
#73 - the Twilight series: Vampires don't interest me. Mormon morals are even less interesting than vampires. My wife's criticisms of the quality of writing make it impossible for me to give this book any of my time.
#81 - the Alex Cross books: Hmmm ... an "author" who produces books à la Edison. I definitely don't wanna support that. (Plus, i have a hard time believing Shaquille O'Neal and i have similar taste in books. He was great on Curb Your Enthusiasm, but that doesn't sway me.)
#88 - This Present Darkness: Christian fiction doesn't interest me. At all.
#95 - Mind Invaders (aka, The Archon Conspiracy): Another Christian "science fiction" book. This book has only 132 Goodreads ratings! (as of Jan 2019) The GAR folks must have been duped. It clearly did not belong on the 100-title ballot: nobody claims this book belonged. I gotta read the methodology for how the books were picked.
1/4/2019 update: either there is no methodology or they aren't telling us what it was.
12/9/2019 update: the methodology is in their online FAQ.
12/30/2019 update: Readers, I read it and it was not the worst.
January 6
#20 - Atlas Shrugged: Its rank at #20 is not as surprising as what's #2 (see below) but still pretty shocking. During my junior year of high school, i was informed of a college scholarship available for essays written about The Fountainhead. I was not at all enthralled even though i fully believed individuality and personal responsibility are the sole indicators of success. During my single semester of graduate school, i remember a classmate's love of Ayn Rand, expressed at a roundtable about Southern Fiction. Both experiences, combined with her tiresome fiction, prevent me from even a hint of interest in this book ... maybe i'll try to find "John Galt's impassioned [50-page!!!] monologue" that spells out Rand's "Objectivism", y'know, so i can "try to understand how Objectivists justify the glorification of unfettered greed."
#86 - 50 Shades of Grey: "Romance" plus BDSM plus some of the worst writing ever (according to a reliable source whom i shan't name). Bias bolstered by this book's origin as Twilight fan fiction. Ugh.
#2 - The Outlander series: Number 2? Seriously?! WTF? While watching the final PBS episode, Holly and i were shocked that this made the top 5, which they were going to reveal in descending order as the show progressed. I predicted the order would be the Outlier (Outlander) at #5, then Lord of the Rings, Pride and Prejudice, To Kill a Mockingbird, and Harry Potter. When LOTR was revealed as #5, i tried to reassure myself that it's not much of an upset but i also began wishing for "anything but Outlander" at #1. Fifteen minutes later P&P was announced as #4 (a travesty!) but, hey, even if Mockingbird doesn't win, at least i know Outlandish couldn't possibly beat the ubiquitous Harry Potter ... right? Ack! 15min later HP was revealed as #3! Outlander received more votes than Harry Potter!? The truth of that filled me with literally icy fear. I started to whinge about how undermines the entire effort of a Great American Read program. So hallelujah!s rang out long and loud when Gabaldon's series finished "only" 2nd in what was now clearly a simple popularity contest.
Even that seems a travesty to me, but what do i know? i haven't read a word of this allegedly wide-ranging series. The sensible side of me is certain that male prejudice alone causes me to dub this series "meaningless crap". The sensible side of me also says, "I know this is not the kind of book/series i would enjoy so i'm not going to spend any time on the 850-page first installment."
#41 - The Count of Monte Cristo: Quite simply? It's too long. I do enjoy a good revenge story but i can't believe this is 1300-pages good.
#33 - The Da Vinci Code: The synopsis refers to "readers' desire for an ordered world" but i'm not one of them when that world order results from the secret machinations of an elite cabal. That trope is as vapid and unsatisfying as (the oxymoronic) absolute relativism. Furthermore, my wife derided its style and substance. Plus there's the Christophilic b.s. (though oh so controversial as to suggest Jesus was a human who *gasp* dabbled in human ways of the flesh such as marriage and *oh my heavens* sexual congress) = hell to the N.O., i ain't gonna read it.
#59 - The Hunt for Red October: Spy novel! I'm a middle-aged Red(blooded) White(skinned) and Blue(umm ... blooded) man so it oughta be right up my alley but it ain't. Not sure why, exactly, but the concept leaves me entirely cold. Nevertheless, i won't lose sleep over it.
#56 - The Notebook: I'm biased. I don't like romance as a genre. I find that it portrays love in an insultingly oversimplified manner and the arbitrary obstacles contrived by the authors strain the eye-rolling ligaments and muscles. Not gonna risk my ocular health on this shit.
#80 - Pilgrim's Progress: I read a little of this in college (ie, 30 years ago). Definitely a clunky, outmoded, unenjoyable allegory. Unless you're a literary scholar studying that period. Or a devout or wannabe-devout Christian. Another easy hard pass.
#23 - Pillars of the Earth: Until i read the synopsis, i assumed (from the title?) that this was another Christian-centric work. Now that i know it's about the people and cultures involved in constructing a cathedral (ie, historical fiction) i know it's not for me and i certainly don't need to read any more books by old white guys about the lives of Europeans and their propagation of Christianity.
#57 - The Shack: I hope William Young's children were merely polite when papa gave them this guide to living and that they've grown up to a more sensible way of thinking about the problem of evil. I wasted more time on this book (which i always refer to as "The Shat") than i ever wanted to simply by reading GAR:BOB's 1-page summary/justification, concluding with this gem: "It [allegedly] offers an alternative to prescriptive dogma and features the warm, loving embrace of a [Christian] God who covers her children in grace".
Are you also starting to sense a theme in what most turns me off? Are you also really starting to wonder What exactly were the criteria used for creating the Great American Read's list of 100 books? I can tell you that GAR:BOB provides zero information on their methodology. Are you also somewhat worried now?
12/9/2019 update: the methodology is in their online FAQ.
January 7
This will probably be my final update. Anything not explained is not in the "yes" pile for 2019 because i already read it (i want new experiences), i only read ~50 books per year (i want as many new experiences as i can), and i want to focus on books that i expect to like and/or that are outside of my comfort zone but not in ways that i know i'll dislike them (i want as many new and worthwhile experiences as i can). Rereading Don Quixote will always be worthwhile, to me; it's also so alive that it'll be a new experience also. I expect the same of truly great books and personal favorites, hence 18 of the 43 will be Great American (re)Reads.
#77 - Left Behind series: A couple of Christians further fictionalize The Revelation of John (aka, the acid trip at the end of "the Bible"). Not for me, at all. I spent so little effort on this decision that i forgot about having read the BOB synopsis a couple days ago. An easy "hell no".
#94 - Swan Song: The last of the "hell no" books. I thought (incorrectly) it was yet another Christian allegory, and that was my main reason for it being a "hell no". I found out it was much like Stephen King's The Stand in theme and style and, most conclusively, number of pages. (There was a non-synopsis section in the BOB that said something such as, "If you like Christian science fiction...", but all the other reviews i've read on Goodreads and Amazon say nothing about it being Christocentric.)
#48 - A Song of Fire and Ice: aka, Game of Thrones. I have enjoyed the TV series but reading only a couple pages from the first book convinced me i wouldn't tolerate Martin's writing, not even for "just" the first volume. Too long for me to overcome my qualms and prejudices.
#22 - Lonesome Dove: Not a "hell no" but an almost certain "not gonna read". Too long. Wrong genre. The BOB summary did nothing to sway me.
#38 - Clan of the Cave Bear: (aka, Earth's Children series) Just a simple "no" (not a "hell no"). I thought it was much longer than 500 pages. The BOB summary is somewhat intriguing. Holly's strong negative memories+assessment of it override those slight positives, though, and thus i'm not upgrading to "maybe".
#53 - The Godfather: I think i'm in a very small minority, people who didn't like the movie. I didn't bother to watch #2. The life stories of mobsters don't mean anything to me. The BOB synopsis couldn't convince me that i'd be able to root for the characters or even enjoy rooting against them. This book remains a weak "maybe". (It became a strong "no" after reading a couple negative reviews and sampling the first few pages.)
#24 - The Stand: Maybe someday because i wanna give King's novels a fair try, but i definitely don't wanna devote eleven-hundred pages of my time to a book about good vs evil even though the claims are all that it isn't as simplistic as that.
#50 - War and Peace: Too long, which obviously is the 2nd most likely reason for me to dismiss a book as "not gonna read" (at least for 2019).
#79 - The Watchers: I read a Koontz book (i think) a couple decades ago. The summary in BOB just made me think i'd be amused (in the wrong way) by Koontz's execution: a super-genius dog named Einstein and an evil, predatory primate named ... The Outsider?
#62 - Wheel of Time series: Too damned long. And i can't seem to get into anything in the fantasy genre anymore.
December 12
I just finished reading this book from cover to cover. I'd like to spend the remaining weeks of the year distilling each "essay" into no more than 3 keywords. Ideally, that would involve creating a concordance and running that thru a language ... i don't really know what it would involve, which is why i will do no such thing. If my end-of-year vacation is lazy and solitary enough, maybe i'll reassess some of the book summaries and update this review accordingly. (1/1/2020 update: i spent my time doing other things.)
January 3
#13 - A Tree Grows in Brooklyn: If Book Club Built for Two (BCB42) hadn't read it in 2018 I’d be reading it in 2019.
Spoiler alert: The Book of Books (BOB) reveals many major events in the novel, so you might want to avoid it. In fact, BOB reveals many major plot points and character developments in almost every entry.
#49 - Foundation (by Isaac Asimov): After reading BOB's summary, i realized i almost certainly had not read any of these and even though the topic doesn't thrill me, i guess i'll read it — upgraded from "maybe" to "yes".
#85 - Flowers in the Attic: BOB makes it sound worthwhile. I can’t help believing that I’d hate the writing style, though. Grrrrrr. I think prejudice (snobbery) is the only thing stopping me from giving it a try. Therefore, i upgraded it from a "no" to a "maybe". (1/7/2019 update: A friend's comments tell me not to add it to the "yes" pile.)
January 3
#30 - Catcher in the Rye: I reread it recently and don't need to revisit it yet.
#40 - Hunger Games trilogy: I read the first 2 and don't feel compelled to read the 3rd, so i'm definitely not revisiting these.
#46 - Moby-Dick: I loved the sentences, as individual delights, but the whole book was a slog. I'll probably never reread it.
#52 - Jurassic Park: The movie was enough to convince me this ain't fer me.
#68 - Don Quixote: My favorite. I reread it last year and would like to read it every year but it's huge so i'll focus on new-to-me and less-recent rereads.
#73 - the Twilight series: Vampires don't interest me. Mormon morals are even less interesting than vampires. My wife's criticisms of the quality of writing make it impossible for me to give this book any of my time.
#81 - the Alex Cross books: Hmmm ... an "author" who produces books à la Edison. I definitely don't wanna support that. (Plus, i have a hard time believing Shaquille O'Neal and i have similar taste in books. He was great on Curb Your Enthusiasm, but that doesn't sway me.)
#88 - This Present Darkness: Christian fiction doesn't interest me. At all.
#95 - Mind Invaders (aka, The Archon Conspiracy): Another Christian "science fiction" book. This book has only 132 Goodreads ratings! (as of Jan 2019) The GAR folks must have been duped. It clearly did not belong on the 100-title ballot: nobody claims this book belonged. I gotta read the methodology for how the books were picked.
1/4/2019 update: either there is no methodology or they aren't telling us what it was.
12/9/2019 update: the methodology is in their online FAQ.
12/30/2019 update: Readers, I read it and it was not the worst.
January 6
#20 - Atlas Shrugged: Its rank at #20 is not as surprising as what's #2 (see below) but still pretty shocking. During my junior year of high school, i was informed of a college scholarship available for essays written about The Fountainhead. I was not at all enthralled even though i fully believed individuality and personal responsibility are the sole indicators of success. During my single semester of graduate school, i remember a classmate's love of Ayn Rand, expressed at a roundtable about Southern Fiction. Both experiences, combined with her tiresome fiction, prevent me from even a hint of interest in this book ... maybe i'll try to find "John Galt's impassioned [50-page!!!] monologue" that spells out Rand's "Objectivism", y'know, so i can "try to understand how Objectivists justify the glorification of unfettered greed."
#86 - 50 Shades of Grey: "Romance" plus BDSM plus some of the worst writing ever (according to a reliable source whom i shan't name). Bias bolstered by this book's origin as Twilight fan fiction. Ugh.
#2 - The Outlander series: Number 2? Seriously?! WTF? While watching the final PBS episode, Holly and i were shocked that this made the top 5, which they were going to reveal in descending order as the show progressed. I predicted the order would be the Outlier (Outlander) at #5, then Lord of the Rings, Pride and Prejudice, To Kill a Mockingbird, and Harry Potter. When LOTR was revealed as #5, i tried to reassure myself that it's not much of an upset but i also began wishing for "anything but Outlander" at #1. Fifteen minutes later P&P was announced as #4 (a travesty!) but, hey, even if Mockingbird doesn't win, at least i know Outlandish couldn't possibly beat the ubiquitous Harry Potter ... right? Ack! 15min later HP was revealed as #3! Outlander received more votes than Harry Potter!? The truth of that filled me with literally icy fear. I started to whinge about how undermines the entire effort of a Great American Read program. So hallelujah!s rang out long and loud when Gabaldon's series finished "only" 2nd in what was now clearly a simple popularity contest.
Even that seems a travesty to me, but what do i know? i haven't read a word of this allegedly wide-ranging series. The sensible side of me is certain that male prejudice alone causes me to dub this series "meaningless crap". The sensible side of me also says, "I know this is not the kind of book/series i would enjoy so i'm not going to spend any time on the 850-page first installment."
#41 - The Count of Monte Cristo: Quite simply? It's too long. I do enjoy a good revenge story but i can't believe this is 1300-pages good.
#33 - The Da Vinci Code: The synopsis refers to "readers' desire for an ordered world" but i'm not one of them when that world order results from the secret machinations of an elite cabal. That trope is as vapid and unsatisfying as (the oxymoronic) absolute relativism. Furthermore, my wife derided its style and substance. Plus there's the Christophilic b.s. (though oh so controversial as to suggest Jesus was a human who *gasp* dabbled in human ways of the flesh such as marriage and *oh my heavens* sexual congress) = hell to the N.O., i ain't gonna read it.
#59 - The Hunt for Red October: Spy novel! I'm a middle-aged Red(blooded) White(skinned) and Blue(umm ... blooded) man so it oughta be right up my alley but it ain't. Not sure why, exactly, but the concept leaves me entirely cold. Nevertheless, i won't lose sleep over it.
#56 - The Notebook: I'm biased. I don't like romance as a genre. I find that it portrays love in an insultingly oversimplified manner and the arbitrary obstacles contrived by the authors strain the eye-rolling ligaments and muscles. Not gonna risk my ocular health on this shit.
#80 - Pilgrim's Progress: I read a little of this in college (ie, 30 years ago). Definitely a clunky, outmoded, unenjoyable allegory. Unless you're a literary scholar studying that period. Or a devout or wannabe-devout Christian. Another easy hard pass.
#23 - Pillars of the Earth: Until i read the synopsis, i assumed (from the title?) that this was another Christian-centric work. Now that i know it's about the people and cultures involved in constructing a cathedral (ie, historical fiction) i know it's not for me and i certainly don't need to read any more books by old white guys about the lives of Europeans and their propagation of Christianity.
#57 - The Shack: I hope William Young's children were merely polite when papa gave them this guide to living and that they've grown up to a more sensible way of thinking about the problem of evil. I wasted more time on this book (which i always refer to as "The Shat") than i ever wanted to simply by reading GAR:BOB's 1-page summary/justification, concluding with this gem: "It [allegedly] offers an alternative to prescriptive dogma and features the warm, loving embrace of a [Christian] God who covers her children in grace".
Are you also starting to sense a theme in what most turns me off? Are you also really starting to wonder What exactly were the criteria used for creating the Great American Read's list of 100 books? I can tell you that GAR:BOB provides zero information on their methodology. Are you also somewhat worried now?
12/9/2019 update: the methodology is in their online FAQ.
January 7
This will probably be my final update. Anything not explained is not in the "yes" pile for 2019 because i already read it (i want new experiences), i only read ~50 books per year (i want as many new experiences as i can), and i want to focus on books that i expect to like and/or that are outside of my comfort zone but not in ways that i know i'll dislike them (i want as many new and worthwhile experiences as i can). Rereading Don Quixote will always be worthwhile, to me; it's also so alive that it'll be a new experience also. I expect the same of truly great books and personal favorites, hence 18 of the 43 will be Great American (re)Reads.
#77 - Left Behind series: A couple of Christians further fictionalize The Revelation of John (aka, the acid trip at the end of "the Bible"). Not for me, at all. I spent so little effort on this decision that i forgot about having read the BOB synopsis a couple days ago. An easy "hell no".
#94 - Swan Song: The last of the "hell no" books. I thought (incorrectly) it was yet another Christian allegory, and that was my main reason for it being a "hell no". I found out it was much like Stephen King's The Stand in theme and style and, most conclusively, number of pages. (There was a non-synopsis section in the BOB that said something such as, "If you like Christian science fiction...", but all the other reviews i've read on Goodreads and Amazon say nothing about it being Christocentric.)
#48 - A Song of Fire and Ice: aka, Game of Thrones. I have enjoyed the TV series but reading only a couple pages from the first book convinced me i wouldn't tolerate Martin's writing, not even for "just" the first volume. Too long for me to overcome my qualms and prejudices.
#22 - Lonesome Dove: Not a "hell no" but an almost certain "not gonna read". Too long. Wrong genre. The BOB summary did nothing to sway me.
#38 - Clan of the Cave Bear: (aka, Earth's Children series) Just a simple "no" (not a "hell no"). I thought it was much longer than 500 pages. The BOB summary is somewhat intriguing. Holly's strong negative memories+assessment of it override those slight positives, though, and thus i'm not upgrading to "maybe".
#53 - The Godfather: I think i'm in a very small minority, people who didn't like the movie. I didn't bother to watch #2. The life stories of mobsters don't mean anything to me. The BOB synopsis couldn't convince me that i'd be able to root for the characters or even enjoy rooting against them. This book remains a weak "maybe". (It became a strong "no" after reading a couple negative reviews and sampling the first few pages.)
#24 - The Stand: Maybe someday because i wanna give King's novels a fair try, but i definitely don't wanna devote eleven-hundred pages of my time to a book about good vs evil even though the claims are all that it isn't as simplistic as that.
#50 - War and Peace: Too long, which obviously is the 2nd most likely reason for me to dismiss a book as "not gonna read" (at least for 2019).
#79 - The Watchers: I read a Koontz book (i think) a couple decades ago. The summary in BOB just made me think i'd be amused (in the wrong way) by Koontz's execution: a super-genius dog named Einstein and an evil, predatory primate named ... The Outsider?
#62 - Wheel of Time series: Too damned long. And i can't seem to get into anything in the fantasy genre anymore.
December 12
I just finished reading this book from cover to cover. I'd like to spend the remaining weeks of the year distilling each "essay" into no more than 3 keywords. Ideally, that would involve creating a concordance and running that thru a language ... i don't really know what it would involve, which is why i will do no such thing. If my end-of-year vacation is lazy and solitary enough, maybe i'll reassess some of the book summaries and update this review accordingly. (1/1/2020 update: i spent my time doing other things.)
March 13, 2019
The Book of Books is a companion book to a PBS series. For people outside of the USA that don’t have PBS, it is the Public Broadcasting Station. It brings educational programming to the American public. I don’t know if it has any outlets in other countries but with satellite Television and the Internet, it seems unlikely that no one else would have heard of it. It shows such programming as Mister Rogers, Sesame Street, and The Joy of Painting with Bob Ross.
The book has a relatively simple premise; ask a bunch of Americans what their favorite books are and make a list about it. Since they ask a lot of Americans there are some titles that I would question for appearing on this list, but that is merely my personal taste. At the same time, there are books that did not fit in the 100 book limit. Series are counted as one book, so if someone chose Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, it wouldn’t be considered on its own, but rather as a book in the Harry Potter Series.
Each book has an entry that shows an image of the author on one side along with an image of the first edition of that book. They are organized alphabetically. The little piece of writing that describes the book gives a plot synopsis, talks about any interesting trivia of its publication and talks about the author to some extent. Take the entry on the Alex Cross Series by James Patterson. Did you know that the man is so prolific that he has to have his own team within the publishing house? I certainly didn’t. I just know that Patterson is a name that I see a lot of when I go to the bookstore.
Alongside the list of books are a series of short pieces on literary tools and ideas. So one section might talk about famous opening lines in literature or really good stories. The next section might consider literary tools like Allegory or Irony and have a little glossary of words. It is quite colorful and informative. The book discusses censored works and titles that have been banned as well. It only devotes a page or so to it, but it was really interesting.
The book is great for a coffee table. It spreads its nets wide enough to grasp a great swath of writing, some of it great, and some of it terrible. In any case, if you don’t find a book that you have at least heard of in this book, you probably aren’t a reader. Then again, this book includes stories that got made into movies so you might also be living in some kind of cave system.
Among my favored books in this list are The Little Prince, The Count of Monte Cristo, Dune, The Foundation Series, Don Quixote, Frankenstein, The Harry Potter Series, The Lord of the Rings, and A Song of Ice and Fire Series. Some of the ones I raise an eyebrow at are the Fifty Shades series and the Twilight series. Admittedly, I am in no position to fault someone for reading, but I am terribly biased against those series. Maybe if I have nothing else to read I will give it a try, but I have a lot of books, I don’t feel like buying those series, and it would be embarrassing to have Twilight on my Library record. Therefore, I doubt I will read it anytime soon. The same can be said of the Fifty Shades series. I don’t feel like buying it and I don’t want it on my Library record. Also, I have plenty of other books to read without having to resort to those books.
As I said, this book is really good aside from some of the unusual choices put forth by the American Public. It isn’t that long and it breezes by quite quickly.
The book has a relatively simple premise; ask a bunch of Americans what their favorite books are and make a list about it. Since they ask a lot of Americans there are some titles that I would question for appearing on this list, but that is merely my personal taste. At the same time, there are books that did not fit in the 100 book limit. Series are counted as one book, so if someone chose Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, it wouldn’t be considered on its own, but rather as a book in the Harry Potter Series.
Each book has an entry that shows an image of the author on one side along with an image of the first edition of that book. They are organized alphabetically. The little piece of writing that describes the book gives a plot synopsis, talks about any interesting trivia of its publication and talks about the author to some extent. Take the entry on the Alex Cross Series by James Patterson. Did you know that the man is so prolific that he has to have his own team within the publishing house? I certainly didn’t. I just know that Patterson is a name that I see a lot of when I go to the bookstore.
Alongside the list of books are a series of short pieces on literary tools and ideas. So one section might talk about famous opening lines in literature or really good stories. The next section might consider literary tools like Allegory or Irony and have a little glossary of words. It is quite colorful and informative. The book discusses censored works and titles that have been banned as well. It only devotes a page or so to it, but it was really interesting.
The book is great for a coffee table. It spreads its nets wide enough to grasp a great swath of writing, some of it great, and some of it terrible. In any case, if you don’t find a book that you have at least heard of in this book, you probably aren’t a reader. Then again, this book includes stories that got made into movies so you might also be living in some kind of cave system.
Among my favored books in this list are The Little Prince, The Count of Monte Cristo, Dune, The Foundation Series, Don Quixote, Frankenstein, The Harry Potter Series, The Lord of the Rings, and A Song of Ice and Fire Series. Some of the ones I raise an eyebrow at are the Fifty Shades series and the Twilight series. Admittedly, I am in no position to fault someone for reading, but I am terribly biased against those series. Maybe if I have nothing else to read I will give it a try, but I have a lot of books, I don’t feel like buying those series, and it would be embarrassing to have Twilight on my Library record. Therefore, I doubt I will read it anytime soon. The same can be said of the Fifty Shades series. I don’t feel like buying it and I don’t want it on my Library record. Also, I have plenty of other books to read without having to resort to those books.
As I said, this book is really good aside from some of the unusual choices put forth by the American Public. It isn’t that long and it breezes by quite quickly.
October 4, 2018
I loved dipping in and out of this gem of a book, reading a few entries each day and enjoying not just the summaries of the books, but also the anecdotes about writing, publishing, and author's careers and personal lives. Definitely a book for book lovers, it will inspire readers to seek out some of the books on the Great American Read list that they haven't read. Filled with author photographs, letters, novel and diary excerpts, and manuscript pages, as well as terrific appendices, it's a treasure. Highly recommended.
"Personal and intellectual growth comes from reading widely and deeply, as well as from developing a willingness to push past the comfortable into the utterly strange" (Introduction, x).
"Personal and intellectual growth comes from reading widely and deeply, as well as from developing a willingness to push past the comfortable into the utterly strange" (Introduction, x).
October 7, 2018
Fun collection from the TV show! The information about each book is well-written though it sometimes included minor spoilers on the book’s plot. Overall, an informative book filled some interesting book trivia.
June 11, 2023
3.8
"best loved books" hmm ... What were the criteria for these 100 books that are supposedly the 'best loved'? There had to have been some other criteria besides the number of books sold. ("determined by a rigorous national survey" ???)
I will make some reading decisions based on the comments in this book.
- Some titles I can remove from my shelves. I don't need to read them again. Now I realize that the message isn't one I care to ponder, and it doesn't matter how many copies sold. (e.g., Gulliver's Travels, Siddhartha)
- Other books, that I've wanted to read, I will make a point to do so. (e.g. Americanah, The Martian)
"best loved books" hmm ... What were the criteria for these 100 books that are supposedly the 'best loved'? There had to have been some other criteria besides the number of books sold. ("determined by a rigorous national survey" ???)
I will make some reading decisions based on the comments in this book.
- Some titles I can remove from my shelves. I don't need to read them again. Now I realize that the message isn't one I care to ponder, and it doesn't matter how many copies sold. (e.g., Gulliver's Travels, Siddhartha)
- Other books, that I've wanted to read, I will make a point to do so. (e.g. Americanah, The Martian)
January 19, 2023
In the summer of 2018, PBS launched a television series about books. Perhaps you have heard of it?
The Great American Read series revealed America’s 100 best-loved novels determined by a national survey. There are so many great titles listed from classics to modern contemporary fiction. The Great American Read: The Book of Books is a gorgeous publication filled with photographs of authors, different editions of the top 100 books as well as fun literary tidbits. I adored watching the PBS series and I loved reading the book. I mean, who doesn’t love a book about books? – Jennifer L.
The Great American Read series revealed America’s 100 best-loved novels determined by a national survey. There are so many great titles listed from classics to modern contemporary fiction. The Great American Read: The Book of Books is a gorgeous publication filled with photographs of authors, different editions of the top 100 books as well as fun literary tidbits. I adored watching the PBS series and I loved reading the book. I mean, who doesn’t love a book about books? – Jennifer L.
January 28, 2020
Beautiful book with lots of great information presented in a way that is clear and interesting.
For each book there is a one-page description and one page of illustrations. It is really fun to read about so many important and popular books. This has helped me to find other books that I will enjoy.
For each book there is a one-page description and one page of illustrations. It is really fun to read about so many important and popular books. This has helped me to find other books that I will enjoy.
July 13, 2019
If there is one cardinal rule of writing book reviews, the veritable prime directive of the endeavor, it is this: don't spoil the ending. I got this book thinking I could use it for reading list inspiration (and in fact its introduction suggests this), but that's not really feasible when every single chapter talks in detail about the corresponding book's third act. Bad idea, guys.
October 1, 2018
I really enjoyed the discussion of each book. The extra sections that detailed different literary elements were fun to read as well.
October 13, 2018
I loved reading about the histories behind each of the books and authors. Also a lot of the extra stuff in between was interesting as well.
November 26, 2018
Actually I should give this a 5 star. What a wonderful book of books. I wish I could have seen it on PBS. But everyone who loves books, this is a must read!
March 17, 2022
*3/17/22 Update:
Still a fun read, but I definitely prefer the PBS documentary.
The Great American Read by PBS was a fantastic documentary and a fun book!
3.5 Stars
Still a fun read, but I definitely prefer the PBS documentary.
The Great American Read by PBS was a fantastic documentary and a fun book!
3.5 Stars
October 10, 2018
Thoroughly enjoyed reading this book. It includes entries on all of the 100 novels in PBS's Great American Read series. Each entry has some photos about the book, a little about the story itself, and some about the author. Right now I've read approximately 60 out of the 100. (There are 5 or 6 I think I've read over 20 years ago, but I'm not sure, so I'm not counting them.) After reading this book, there are many others I want to read.
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