The Great American Read discussion

Which book do you think will win? I wonder if we can predict the top 5!

Should we make this a challenge? Who can predict the winner and get the closest to matching the top 5?

I'll bite, though it makes me sad to think........and reminds me to go vote! :D

1. Harry Potter's gotta be on there. Everyone loves it, regardless of age, and they love the author's rags to riches story, as well. It inspired tons of kids to be readers, and tons of parents and grandparents read them with them. Plus, the film series.

2. I think that people will vote a classic that they've heard of, even if they haven't read it, or read it in high school and barely remember it. So I'm between Hemingway, Twain, and Fitzgerald on this.

3. I think either "Twilight" or "Hunger Games" will be in there.

4. Handmaid's Tale. Just a confluence of tv series, MeToo, and the book being on this list.

5. Tie between Pride and Prejudice and 50 Shades, depending on who gets out and votes more.

Great Linda! I agree with your logic on many of these. I think the books we read in school, and books with movie or TV adaptations had an advantage when people were asked to think of their favorite book (due to memory quirks and heuristics). Plus I think Handmaids Tale (show) won a lot of awards last year. I'm sure those things helped them get on the list. In terms of sheer numbers, the books with the most ratings on goodreads are: Harry Potter, Hunger Games, and Twilight, but I'm only betting on Harry Potter.

I'm trusting that at this point, quality will make a difference.

My Picks

Pride and Prejudice
Lord of the Rings
To Kill a Mockingbird
Harry Potter
Count of Monte Cristo (Though I might go with Charlotte's Web)


OK Who else wants to make a guess?

NancyJ wrote: "Great Linda! I agree with your logic on many of these. I think the books we read in school, and books with movie or TV adaptations had an advantage when people were asked to think of their favorite..."

I wish I could have trusted for quality. Sadly, I cannot, especially after that Kimmel thing. I honestly think a lot of people under 35 have never even heard of the Count of Monte Cristo. I think (hope?) you could be right about LOTR and To Kill a Mockingbird.