Which Book Were the Winners in the Great American Read

By LYNN ELBER, AP Television Author

Author Harper Lee and the cover of her Pulitzer Prize-winning novel, "To Kill a Mockingbird." (AP Photo, left, and Harper via AP)

LOS ANGELES (AP) — "To Kill a Mockingbird," a coming-of-historic period story nearly racism and injustice, overpowered wizards and time travelers to be voted America's all-time-loved novel by readers nationwide.

The 1960 volume by Harper Lee emerged as No. 1 in PBS' "The Great American Read" survey, whose results were appear Tuesday on the bear witness'due south finale. More 4 million votes were cast in the vi-month-long contest that put 100 titles to the test. Books that were published as a serial counted every bit a single entry.

The other top-five finishers in lodge of votes were Diana Gabaldon's "Outlander" serial, near a time-spanning love; J.K. Rowling'southward "Harry Potter" boy magician tales; Jane Austen's romance "Pride and Prejudice"; and J.R.R. Tolkien's "The Lord of the Rings" fantasy saga.

Turns out the contest was a "Mockingbird" runaway.

"The novel started out at No. 1 on the get-go day of the vote, and it never wavered," series host Meredith Vieira said.

Joining her to sing the book's praises was writer Aaron Sorkin, whose accommodation of "Mockingbird" starts Broadway previews next month, and cast members. Sorkin ("The Westward Fly," "The Social Network") said reading Lee's novel was his kickoff brush with "amazing writing."

"There is soul-crushing injustice in this book that yet exists," he said. "And at the center, morality, decency and what it is to be a person strikes usa."

Lee'south slender, Pulitzer Prize-winning novel proved enduring enough to overcome the popularity of hefty epics adapted every bit blockbuster motion-picture show franchises (the Potter and Tolkien works) or for Tv ("Outlander").

Fifty-fifty "Pride and Prejudice," the 200-twelvemonth-quondam inspiration for numerous TV and motion picture versions and with an ground forces of "Janeites" devoted to Austen and her work, couldn't best Lee's novel.

Debbie Ford of Orion, Illinois, an "Outlander" fan whose love of the books was showcased on an episode of "The Dandy American Read," expressed disappointment they didn't win. But she delighted in the attention they — and the joy of reading — received.

"I believe this PBS serial has reminded some of us again that reading is important, and it has exposed united states to books that nosotros may not ordinarily pick upwardly. And that'south such a skillful thing!" Ford said in an email Tuesday, calculation a friendly plug: "Then delight go read a book that you take not read before — especially if you haven't nevertheless discovered 'Outlander'!"

"To Kill a Mockingbird" has sold more than than 40 million copies worldwide and remains a fixture on school reading lists. The 1962 screen adaptation won three Oscars, including a all-time-actor trophy for Gregory Peck's portrayal of heroic Atticus Finch.

Set in the 1930s South, the book centers on attorney Finch and his young children, daughter Scout and son Jem. When Finch defends an African-American homo falsely accused of assaulting a white adult female, the trial and its repercussions open Scout'due south optics to the globe around her, adept and bad.

Lee'south second published novel, "Go Set a Watchman," was written in the 1950s earlier "Mockingbird" but is essentially a sequel. After being put aside by the author, it was rediscovered and released in 2015. Lee died the next year at historic period 89.

Besides the TV series, "The Great American Read" initiative included a fifty,000-fellow member online book guild and video content beyond PBS platforms, Facebook and YouTube that drew more than five million views.

The 100-book list voted on past readers was based on an initial survey of about 7,000 Americans, with an informational panel of experts organizing the list. Books had to have been published in English but didn't have to be written in the language, and one book or serial per author was allowed. Bookworms could vote once daily for their favorite work.

___
Lynn Elber can be reached at lelber@ap.org and on Twitter at http://twitter.com/lynnelber .

Here are the most popular novels equally voted past readers as part of PBS' "The Great American Read" initiative and TV series.
1. To Kill a Mockingbird
2. Outlander (serial)
3. Harry Potter (series)
4. Pride and Prejudice
five. The Lord of the Rings (series)
half-dozen. Gone with the Air current
7. Charlotte's Spider web
eight. Little Women
9. The Chronicles of Narnia (serial)
ten. Jane Eyre
11. Anne of Green Gables
12. The Grapes of Wrath
13. A Tree Grows in Brooklyn
fourteen. The Book Thief
15. The Keen Gatsby
16. The Assist
17. The Adventures of Tom Sawyer
18. 1984
nineteen. And And then There Were None
20. Atlas Shrugged

Beneath is the full list of 100 books:

 1984 George Orwell
 A Confederacy of Dunces John Kennedy Toole
 A Prayer For Owen Meany John Irving
 A Separate Peace John Knowles
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn Betty Smith
 The Adventures of Tom Sawyer Marker Twain
 The Alchemist Paulo Coelho
 Alex Cross Mysteries (series) James Patterson
 Alice'southward Adventures in Wonderland Lewis Carroll
 Americanah Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
 And Then In that location Were None Agatha Christie
 Anne of Green Gables Lucy Maud Montgomery
 Some other Country James Baldwin
 Atlas Shrugged Ayn Rand
 Love Toni Morrison
 Anoint Me, Ultima Rudolfo Anaya
 The Book Thief Markus Zusak
 The Cursory Wondrous Life Of Oscar Wao Junot Díaz
 The Call Of The Wild Jack London
 Take hold of-22 Joseph Heller
 The Catcher in the Rye J.D. Salinger
 Charlotte'due south Web East. B. White
 The Chronicles of Narnia (series) C.S. Lewis
 Association of the Cave Behave Jean M. Auel
 Coldest Winter Always Sister Souljah
 The Colour Regal Alice Walker
 The Count of Monte Cristo Alexandre Dumas
 Crime and Punishment Fyodor Dostoyevsky
 The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime-Time
Mark Haddon
 The Da Vinci Code Dan Brown
 Don Quixote Miguel de Cervantes
 Doña Bárbára Rómulo Gallegos
 Dune Frank Herbert
 50 Shades Of Grey (series) Due east. L. James
 Flowers In The Attic Five.C. Andrews
 Foundation (series) Isaac Asimov
 Frankenstein Mary Shelley
 Game of Thrones (serial) George R. R. Martin
 Ghost Jason Reynolds
 Gilead Marilynne Robinson
 The Giver Lois Lowry
 The Godfather Mario Puzo
 Gone Girl Gillian Flynn
 Gone with the Air current Margaret Mitchell
 The Grapes of Wrath John Steinbeck
 Swell Expectations Charles Dickens
 The Great Gatsby F. Scott Fitzgerald
 Gulliver's Travels Jonathan Swift
 The Handmaid's Tale Margaret Atwood
 Harry Potter (serial) J.G. Rowling
 Hatchet (series) Gary Paulsen
 Centre Of Darkness Joseph Conrad
 The Assist Kathryn Stockett
 The Hitchhiker's Guide to The Galaxy
Douglas Adams
 The Hunger Games (series) Suzanne Collins
 The Hunt For Ruby-red October Tom Clancy
 The Intuitionist Colson Whitehead
 Invisible Human Ralph Ellison
 Jane Eyre Charlotte Brontë
 The Joy Luck Club Amy Tan
 Jurassic Park Michael Crichton
 Left Backside (series) Tim LaHaye and
Jerry B. Jenkins
 The Petty Prince Antoine de Saint-Exupéry
 Trivial Women Louisa May Alcott
 Lonesome Dove Larry McMurtry
 Looking for Alaska John Green
 The Lord of the Rings (series) J.R.R. Tolkien
 The Lovely Bones Alice Sebold
 The Martian Andy Weir
 Memoirs of a Geisha Arthur Golden
 Mind Invaders Dave Hunt
 Moby-Dick Herman Melville
 The Notebook Nicholas Sparks
 One Hundred Years of Solitude
Gabriel García Márquez
 Outlander (series) Diana Gabaldon
 The Outsiders S. E. Hinton
 The Movie of Dorian Gray Oscar Wilde
 The Pilgrim's Progress John Bunyan
 The Pillars of The Earth Ken Follett
 Pride and Prejudice Jane Austen
 Ready Player Ane Ernest Cline
 Rebecca Daphne du Maurier
 The Shack William P. Young
 Siddhartha Hermann Hesse
 The Sirens Of Titan Kurt Vonnegut
 The Stand Stephen Rex
 The Dominicus Also Rises Ernest Hemingway
 Swan Vocal Robert R. McCammon
 Tales of The City (series) Armistead Maupin
 Their Eyes Were Watching God Zora Neale Hurston
 Things Fall Apart Chinua Achebe
 This Present Darkness Frank. E. Peretti
 To Impale a Mockingbird Harper Lee
 The Twilight Saga (series) Stephenie Meyer
 War and Peace Leo Tolstoy
 Watchers Dean Koontz
 The Wheel of Time (series) Robert Jordan and
Brandon Sanderson
 Where the Red Fern Grows Wilson Rawls
 White Teeth Zadie Smith
 Wuthering Heights Emily Brontë

Which Book Were the Winners in the Great American Read

Source: https://www.mercurynews.com/2018/10/24/americas-20-favorite-novels-from-great-american-read-finale/

Share this post