http://www.pbs.org/the-great-american-read
It's just a popularity contest of 100 books that anyone can vote for, but I'm at least happy to see that of the plethora of books that Stephen King has written, they chose the same book to represent his "best" work that I would have, too.
I was kind of surprised to see that Robert McKammon's Swan Song was also on the list, so that makes two post-apocalyptic stories that made it.
M-O-O-N. That spells great American books. Laws yes!
shareBoth excellent books.
share> It's just a popularity contest of 100 books that anyone can vote for, but I'm at least happy to see that of the plethora of books that Stephen King has written, they chose the same book to represent his "best" work that I would have, too.
It looks like the voting is already over; they say they did a survey of about 7200 people and asked them to name their "most loved novel." But then the list was narrowed down and massaged by a panel of 13 experts, who apparently had some ability to insert their own choices. One of the criteria for the final list was, only one book per author; but if an author had more than one book in the results from the initial 7200 people, how was that writer's "representative book" selected? Just be a vote tally? Or did the panel of experts pick based on their own opinions? It doesn't say.
I've gotta say that I'm not too impressed with this, and it does seem to be part popularity contest, part a lit teacher's "must read" list. The idea that random members of the general public would pick _Moby Dick_ or _Don Quixote_ to be among their most loved books ... well, that defies credibility. But on the other hand, the idea that a panel of experts would place Mario Puzo's _The Godfather_[*] or S. E. Hinton's _The Outsiders_ in the same league with _The Great Gatsby_ or _The Grapes Of Wrath_ ... that also seems bizarre.
And hey, I like _The Stand_ ... but just MHO, _It_ has better developed characters, and _The Shining_ has better plotting ...
[*] Yes, The Godfather is a masterpiece of a movie. But we're talking about the book here.
The whole thing was a wonk, but I thought fans of The Stand might have liked to see that it was at least included.
And the first thing that I wondered, too, was exactly how these particular 100 books were chosen, and by whom? Since I couldn't nail down that information, I didn't take it too seriously. And it does strain credibility that books such as The Godfather, The Hunger Games, and (gulp) Fifty Shades of Gray can sanely share a list of "greatest books" along with 1984, Heart Of Darkness, The Grapes Of Wrath, To Kill A Mockingbird...
> 1984, Heart Of Darkness, The Grapes Of Wrath, To Kill A Mockingbird...
All of which wonderfully demonstrate that quality and popularity need not be mutually exclusive. But Moby Dick? Maybe I'm biased on that one. Well, sure I am. I ended up reading that one way back in high school. "Call me Ishmael"? Shoulda said, "Call me Tedious, Mind-Numbing, Long-Winded Bore."
You shouldn't judge the merits of something you read in high school until you've revisited it later in life to see if you were too rash in your opinion (I can verify this from my own experience). Yes, Moby Dick IS long-winded and takes some time and effort to get through (but that was de rigueur for just about EVERY novel written in the 19th century), however, if you look at the themes in that book and the complexities of the characters, it stands (ahem) up to being included on a list of greatest novels.
> 1984, Heart Of Darkness, The Grapes Of Wrath, To Kill A Mockingbird...
All of which wonderfully demonstrate that quality and popularity need not be mutually exclusive. But Moby Dick? Maybe I'm biased on that one. Well, sure I am. I ended up reading that one way back in high school. "Call me Ishmael"? Shoulda said, "Call me Tedious, Mind-Numbing, Long-Winded Bore."
I guess the catch is that it's supposedly America's "most beloved" books as opposed to greatest.
It's kind of sad that at least a few of these I know to be so badly written that I actually cringed when even trying out a chapter (Flowers in the Attic and 50 Shades). So, no, I didn't continue so I haven't read those... or The Twilight saga.
But it's also kind of nice to see that several of my favorites made the grade (Yes, The Stand is my favorite Stephen King too, and one of my favorites all time..also.... A Prayer for Owen Meany, Catch 22, To Kill A Mockingbird, Swan Song and The Great Gatsby in particular).
I figure I've read maybe a good 3/4's of this list.
But not Moby Dick either. I think I'm too partial to whales to enjoy a story about someone hunting one down.
It's not a "greatest books" list. They're calling for people to vote for their "favorite" books, not the ones people think are the "greatest." Don't get confused by the title "The Great American Read."
shareThe 100 books have already been chosen, but the voting is not over:
https://www.pbs.org/the-great-american-read/vote/#
They've been counting down to the end, airing a new episode where people (often famous) talk about their favorite books and recommend one for viewers to vote on. Neil deGrasse Tyson appeared, for instance, to campaign for his favorite book, Gulliver's Travels. George RR Martin showed up to rally fans for Lord of the Rings (series are considered a single entry).
It's been fun and perhaps it will encourage some people to read.