The Great American Read on PBS

Part 2: America's 100 Most-Loved Novels List, Titles 21–40

A Recap of The Great American Read on PBS

The Great American Read is an eight-part series that explores and celebrates the power of reading through the prism of America's 100 most-loved novels as chosen in a national survey¹. The series explores how and why writers create their fictional worlds and features documentary segments with testimonials from celebrities, authors, notable Americans, and book lovers across the US.

The 100 books on the list were revealed in the first episode, so no spoilers here, just the goods to get you reading! Also, you can participate in choosing "America's most-loved book" by voting for your favorite—the winner will be announced in the finale.

¹PBS does not endorse any of the books on the list, so for the curious, the FAQs outline the process of selecting the titles on the list.

The Next 20 Books: Titles 21—40

Each title has a hashtag, so you can vote for your favorite book on social media or via SMS. You can also vote on the PBS website, or skip voting altogether and let ThriftBooks help you build a “100 Most-Loved Books” collection.

21. The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger — #VOTECatcherRye
22. Charlotte's Web² by E.B. White — #VOTECharlotte
23. The Chronicles of Narnia (series) by C.S. Lewis — #VOTENarnia
24. The Clan of the Cave Bear by Jean M. Auel — #VOTECaveBear
25. The Coldest Winter Ever by Sister Souljah — #VOTEWinterBook
26. The Color Purple by Alice Walker — #VOTEColorPurple
27. The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas — #VOTEMonteCristo
28. Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoyevsky — #VOTECrimeBook
29. The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon — #VOTECurious
30. The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown — #VOTEDaVinci
31. Don Quixote by Miguel de Cervantes — #VOTEQuixote
32. Doña Barbara by Rómulo Gallegos — #VOTEBarbara
33. Dune by Frank Herbert — #VOTEDune
34. Fifty Shades of Grey (series) by E.L. James — #VOTE50Shades
35. Flowers in the Attic by V.C. Andrews — #VOTEFlowers
36. Foundation (series) by Isaac Asimov — #VOTEFoundation
37. Frankenstein by Mary Shelley — #VOTEFrankenstein
38. A Game of Thrones (series) by George R.R. Martin — #VOTEGOT
39. Ghost by Jason Reynolds — #VOTEGhost
40. Gilead by Marilynne Robinson — #VOTEGilead

²Charlotte's Web was the first book ever sold by ThriftBooks, so we're always happy when it makes a "most" or "best" list.

Happy reading, and keep an eye out for #TheGreatAmericanRead, Part 3 blog post with books 41 through 60 on the PBS list!

Read more by Beth Clark