The Great American Read

PBS has been sponsoring “the great American read” for months now. The fact that they are supporting reading in this manner is amazing. The number of celebrities that have joined this giant Public Service Announcement that reading is good makes me smile. Does RIF still exist? Reading IS fundamental!!!  And so, in the great American tradition, I had to see how I did against the list of books they determined as “Great.”

By the numbers:

First cut, I was proud to see I had read over 50% of them already – 53 to be exact.

From the total “I have not read yet” list, I have acknowledged to myself I will NEVER read 14 of them. Just because they are great does not mean I need to read them.  I have done my duty in school to reading those books that you “should” and I don’t need to do that anymore.  That leaves me with a total of 33 titles that I should consider adding on the “To Be Read” list (already at 104 titles before this exercise).

By the titles:

As I examine the list of books, I see many titles that I have loved, some I have hated, and some that make me shake my head. Starting with the last category – Fifty Shades of Grey?  A sub-genre of erotica, in the few passages I read, I found this to be poorly written, poorly edited, and not Great at all. If this is the bar to beat, then I don’t understand where people are. Just because it sold so many copies doesn’t mean it is a great read.  Flowers in the Attic, while completely captivating and enjoyable, wasn’t my idea of Great, also.  To place Pillars of the Earth in the same category of greatness with The Notebook seems incongruous to me.  While Nicholas Spark touched our souls with the gentle tale of love, the Follett book riveted me with the sheer scope and detail of not only the people, but also the architecture.  How many books have a sequel that took over ten years and created such excitement when it finally hit the shelves?

Then there are the books that I was told would be GREAT, but I didn’t agree. A Confederacy of Dunces I found incredibly annoying, and I truly didn’t care what happened to Oscar Wao in his brief life, wondrous or not.  I guess each person has their own taste.

What to vote for:

As I review the list of books left that I have read, I am torn.  How do I choose a favorite? These titles all touched me, helping me to become the person I am today.  So, in alphabetical order, so as not to influence your views on the titles, here are some of my impressions on the books I believe should get votes for the best book in America:

• 1984 by George Orwell: the original dystopian novel for me.
• A Prayer for Owen Meany by John Irving: knowing who you are and accepting your role in the world
• Anne of Green Gables by L.M.Montgomery: Anne with an E still makes me want to go to Prince Edward Island to find my bosom friend
• Catch-22 by Joseph Heller: A masterpiece of sarcasm and absurdity
• Dune by Frank Herbert: My first science fiction EVER. The mark was set very high
• The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck: Still remember the feeling of dust in my mouth as I read this. Ending haunts me still.
• The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald: the struggle of them and us continues today
• The Hunt for Red October by Tom Clancy: Spy novel extraordinaire.
• The Joy Luck Club by Amy Tan: Language transports you to China to live what moms do for their children and what the lessons they try to impart on their children are
• The Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett: the middle ages came to life before my eyes
• The Sun Also Rises by Ernest Hemingway: my introduction to the Code – be true to yourself always. And while he is known as a chauvinist, Lady Brett was the first heroine I remember that lived this code openly too.

Feel free to share your Great American Title here – if it made the list of 100 or not.