The Great American Read premiers on PBS tonight at 8:00 pm. It’s going to be an 8 part series hosted by Meredith Vieira. They have a list of the 100 titles selected (along with a checklist you can download) on their website, and voting opens after the first episode. You can see how they selected the titles on their about page.
As you can imagine, we have many of the titles here in our library. I’ve randomly selected a couple of titles from each of the nine categories to highlight some of what we own (these are no indication of how I will be voting).
Mystery/Horror
- And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie. Read their brief description.
- Frankenstein by Mary Shelley. Read their brief description.
- The Stand by Stephen King. Read their brief description.
Romance
- Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte. Read their brief description.
- Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier. Read their brief description.
- The Notebook by Nicholas Sparks. Read their brief description.
Classic
- Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston. Read their brief description.
- One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel García Márquez. Read their brief description.
- The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde. Read their brief description.
- Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen. Read their brief description.
Science Fiction/Fantasy
- The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood. Read their brief description.
- Dune by Frank Herbert. Read their brief description.
- Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams. Read their brief description.
Adventure
- The Clan of the Cave Bear by Jean M. Auel. Read their brief description.
- Gulliver’s Travels by Jonathan Swift. Read their brief description.
- The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho. Read their brief description.
Coming of Age
- The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger. Read their brief description.
- Bless Me, Ultima by Rudolfo A. Anaya. Read their brief description.
- The Coldest Winter Ever by Sister Souljah. Read their brief description.
Young Adult
- Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery. Read their brief description.
- The Giver by Lois Lowry. Read their brief description.
- A Separate Peace by John Knowles. Read their brief description.
Contemporary
- Americanah by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie. Read their brief description.
- White Teeth by Zadie Smith. Read their brief description.
Literary
- Gilead by Marilynne Robinson. Read their brief description.
- The Intuitionist by Colson Whitehead. Read their brief description.
- The Joy Luck Club by Amy Tan. Read their brief description.
You might also check if Durham Public Library and Chapel Hill Public Library have copies!
Join the conversation by using their hashtag #GreatReadPBS. I’m thinking about starting a campaign to include Mrs. Dalloway and Kindred!