THE GREAT AMERICAN READ

I have to admit that PBS has provided a lot of enjoyable TV viewing for me over the years. Like many, I have fond memories of watching Sesame Street (before Elmo became a star) and Mr. Roger’s Neighborhood (where did he get all of those sweaters?) as well as some of Hollywood’s classic films on the weekend before I got cable.

When I heard that there was going to be a new series airing on the beloved station called The Great American Read, I was eager to learn what it would be all about, and tuned into its debut segment. To put it simply, PBS is trying to encourage a buzz about reading/books amongst the masses by initiating a list of 100 fiction titles that depict “the country’s 100 favorite books” based on results from a survey conducted by the public opinion polling service called YouGov. Apparently, over 7000 people responded to this national survey to establish a list of what is supposed to be their selected “America’s 100 best-loved novels.” All I can say is, I reviewed the list, and boy am I confused.

According to the PBS website, “The list contains a broad range of fictional titles, authors, time periods, countries, genres and subject matter. The list includes books from as far back as the 1600s and as recent as 2016. From beloved world literature to American classics, thrillers, young adult novels, sci-fi/fantasy, adventures, historical fiction, romantic stories and books that represent the human experience told from a diverse range of perspectives.”

Ultimately people are supposed to participate in a voting process to establish the “best-loved” novel of the country.

I love the goal to get people excited about books, but I can’t help but to be a bit confused by the list itself. A list that’s called The Great American Read should be something that showcases classics, greatly popular books that have proven to be well received by the masses in America. The title itself suggests that only novels that have made a big impact with the promise of lasting interest in America should be on the list. However, there are many titles listed that I’ve never heard of in my life. So when were those titles so popular that everyone knows about them or when did they prove to become classics that are never forgotten and passed down from one generation to the next?

Okay let me just list some of the books from The Great American Read list that I’m not familiar with before I continue.

A Separate Peace by John Knowles

Americanah Chimamanda by Ngozi Adiche

Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand

Bless Me Ultima by Rudolfo Anaza

The Book Thief by Markus Zusak

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night Time by Mark Haddon

Dona Barbara by Romulo Gullegos

Dune by Frank Herbert

Ghost by Jason Reynolds

Gilead by Marilynne Robison

The Intuitionist by Colson Whitehead

Left Behind(series) Tim La Haye and Jerry B. Jenkins

Looking for Alaska by John Green

Mind Invaders by Dave Hunt

The Pilgrim’s Progress by John Bunyan

The Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett

The Shade by William P. Young

Siddhartha by Herman Hesse

Swan Song by Robert R. Mc. Cammon

Tales of the City (series) by Armstead Maripin

Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe

The Present Darkness by Frank E. Peratta

The Wheel of Time (series) by Robert Jordan and Brendan Sanderson

Now I will admit that I prefer the romantic suspense/comedy genre. So that might explain why I haven’t heard of or read some of these titles, but I know about The Grapes of Wrath and Moby Dick that were written decades ago because they’re considered classics. When Harry Potter came out, I heard about it. When Gone Girl came out, I heard about it. When The DaVinci Code came out, I heard about it (and then read it.) When Fifty Shades of Grey came out, I didn’t want to hear about it, but I still heard about it because that book and the others were so popular for a time that you would have to live under a rock not to hear about them.

I’ve never heard of a 1929 novel that’s considered to be a masterpiece of Venezuelan literature about the confrontation between civilization and the barbaric aspects of the rural environment titled Dona Barbara. (And I’m trying to figure out why a Venezuelan masterpiece would be in the running for the title of The Great American Read.)

I’ve never heard of a 1959 novel about pre-colonial life in the south-eastern part of Nigeria and the arrival of Europeans during the late Nineteenth century titled Things Fall Apart.

I’ve never heard of a book called Left Behind that is the first book of a series of apparently best-selling religious novels dealing with the Rapture and the weeks after it. They were apparently made into straight to DVD independent films at first before they inspired a feature length film that I never heard of either until I looked it up.

So is it a question of changing the title of the list to better represent its purpose? Were they trying to be too diverse with their selection? Were they purposefully listing books that don’t usually make it to the top 100 book lists to be original or provocative? I don’t know. All I know is that ideally, I think The Great American Read is the type of book that would make it onto a school reading list for many generations or a book that would be routinely chosen for the average book club. It should have a universal feel to it and not be so specific with it’s topic that it only appeals to a limited group of readers. The story should have a broad appeal to attract a large audience. Greatness is supposed to stand for something better than good or okay or popular for a minute.

With that said, there are books on the PBS list that are questionable. Just because they were popular with their fifteen minutes of fame, do they really deserve to be a contender for greatness? (Fifty Shades of Grey is a Great American Read or is a good, spicy read? Jurassic Park is a Great American Read or is it a fun/interesting read? How many of you are like me and never knew it was a book first? I just knew about the movie, but I digress.)

Despite its imperfections, the PBS list is interesting to think about, but there is only one book that is the obvious winner of the title of The Great American Read, and I will thoroughly be shocked if it’s not chosen. That book is the one and only To Kill A Mockingbird. It is the only book that seems to have that certain appealing quality to engage the vast majority if not all readers. It doesn’t matter if you’re young or old, male or female, rich or poor...once you’ve been exposed to the story, you are charmed by it. I’m not saying it’s my personal number one favorite, (I don’t have one favorite book) but I remember reading it in school and being completely intrigued by an almost coming of age tale of a six-year-old girl nicknamed Scout who lives with her brother and lawyer father in a “tired old town” of Maycomb, Alabama. There was innocence, injustice, mystery, humor simplicity and likable characters that drew you into Harper Lee’s fictional world. Even the title captivates you once you learn the meaning of it. It is a sin to kill a mockingbird. A mocking bird lives to create beautiful music, and therefore, it is a sin to kill something innocent that poses no harm to anyone. What other book on The Great American Read list compares with that?