Beginning May 22, PBS is hosting The Great American Read, “an eight-part series that explores and celebrates the power of reading, told through the prism of America’s 100 best-loved novels.” (Sorry nonfiction readers.) To choose the 100 novels, a public opinion poll surveyed approximately 7,200 people and the list was narrowed to the top 100 responses, filtering for just one title per author and combining series titles into one. You can find the list of 100 here. Over the course of the PBS series, there will be a nationwide vote to choose one book as America’s most loved novel.
I was surprised about many of the books on the list and wondered how in the world they made it. There are many on the list that I love and many that I just really didn’t like. I have seen, in post after post, people say they think they have to read them all. I have personally read 55 of the 100, and I will probably try to read a few more during the course of the series, but I resist the inclination to HAVE to read all of them. There are some that I just have no interest in reading. So, I have come up with a few alternatives.
Instead of “Call of the Wild” by Jack London, you could try “Wild” by Cheryl Strayed. Strayed soothed my soul in her solo hike along the Pacific Coast Trail whereas London disturbed me with his violent and graphic depictions of animal cruelty.
Instead of “A Game of Thrones” by George R. R. Martin, how about reading “The Crystal Cave” by Mary Stewart? “The Crystal Cave” is the first book of Stewart’s Arthurian Saga of five books (bonus — they’re all already published.) This first book begins with Merlin’s childhood and his discovery and development of “the Sight.” I can also tell you that Merlin does not die in this one.
I’m sure that “The Pilgrim’s Progress” by John Bunyan was great in its day, but I don’t live in its day and I’m not a Puritan. If you would like a nice allegorical and beautifully written story, I recommend “The Life of Pi” by Yann Martel where God is a tiger — a sometimes angry tiger.
I will admit that I have not actually read “The Sun Also Rises” by Ernest Hemingway, but I have read several others of his and I’m just not a fan. But if you would like a book about the “Lost Generation” — the generation between WW1 and WW2, I highly recommend “The Alice Network” by Kate Quinn.
Don’t hate me for this one, but “Gone Girl” by Gillian Flynn just didn’t do it for me. I mean I guess it was OK, if a little contrived, but there are no heroes in this story. If you’re looking for that massive plot twist but still want someone to love, you can try “My Sister’s Keeper” by Jodi Picoult.
There are many others that I either wasn’t fond of on the Great American Read list or just have no interest in reading. As much as I like challenging myself in my reading, I’m a big fan of ‘read what you like.’ And if you are following along with the PBS special, be sure to vote on your favorite American Read!
