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America's best loved novels

posted 6 years ago by [deleted]
15 replies | jump to latest

The top 20 - I have read six of these.

https://www.theguardian.com/books/2018/oct/24/to-kill-a-mockingbird-voted-top-great-american-read-in-us-poll

1. To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
2. Outlander (series) by Diana Gabaldon
3. Harry Potter (series) by JK Rowling
4. Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
5. The Lord of the Rings (series) by JRR Tolkein
6. Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell
7. Charlotte’s Web by EB White
8. Little Women by Louisa May Alcott
9. The Chronicles of Narnia (series) by CS Lewis
10. Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë
11. Anne of Green Gables by LM Montgomery
12. The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck
13. A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith
14. The Book Thief by Marcus Zusak
15. The Great Gatsby by F Scott Fitzgerald
16. The Help by Kathryn Stockett
17. The Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain
18. 1984 by George Orwell
19. And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie
20. Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand

[–] GlenEllyn (21144) 6 years ago

I don't remember where, but recently I saw a "man-on-the-street" video where Americans were asked to name their favorite novel. Most couldn't even name one! One person mentioned "Fear" which isn't even a novel. A couple of them said "To Kill a Mockingbird" but then confessed they'd never even read it. 🙄

[–] [deleted] 6 years ago

I am surprised Lord of The Flies and Old Man and The Sea didn't make it.

[–] GlenEllyn (21144) 6 years ago

Agreed. Perhaps they got pushed out of the top 20 by more contemporary titles such as Harry Potter or The Help?

[–] zephyr_cape (2979) 6 years ago

That's the thing about this lineup. The majority of these are books that you're required to read in school. People don't be reading. And then the Great American Read Initiative polls you as to your favorite piece of literature and you're like, [oh man, damn, uh, "Watchmen"? Naw I can't say that... What are some reputable classics that will make me appear learn'ed... "Leaves of Grape"? Was that one? "To Kill A Mockingbird"? Yeah I read 50% of that in high school... and we watched the movie in class. (I slept through 70% of it but it was in black and white and Gregory Peck was in it so it's safe to assume it was a masterpiece.) I think that book has, like, an embossed silver medal on the cover. Let's go with that!]

To Kill a Mockingbird is a piece of shit! 😂

[–] GlenEllyn (21144) 6 years ago

I've never read it, but when I was in school, I hated being told I HAD to read something. But ever since leaving school I love to read. I do it every day. Some of these on this list I haven't read because I've already seen the movie. It's hard for me to read the book after I've seen the film. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯