The Great Big Reads Revisited

Last time I mentioned some of the surprising books missing from “The Great American Read”, the current PBS campaign looking for the best loved novel in America, and the BBC’s 2003 “The Big Read”. In passing I noted that the lists shared 42 books. I find the commonalities interesting. These novels deal with universal ideas and issues we all are struggling to make sense of in classic and powerful prose.

The shared novels -

• 1984 George Orwell
• A Prayer for Owen Meany John Irving
• The Alchemist Paulo Coelho
• Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland Lewis Carroll
• Anne of Green Gables Lucy Maud Montgomery
• Catch-22 Joseph Heller
• The Catcher in the Rye J.D. Salinger
• Charlotte’s Web E.B. White
• The Chronicles of Narnia C.S. Lewis
• The Clan of the Cave Bear Jean M. Auel
• The Color Purple Alice Walker
• The Count of Monte Cristo Alexandre Dumas
• Crime and Punishment Fyodor Dostoyevsky
• Dune Frank Herbert
• Flowers in the Attic V.C. Andrews
• Frankenstein Mary Shelley
• The Godfather Mario Puzo
• Gone with the Wind Margaret Mitchell
• The Grapes of Wrath John Steinbeck
• Great Expectations Charles Dickens
• The Great Gatsby F. Scott Fitzgerald
• The Handmaid’s Tale Margaret Atwood
• Harry Potter J.K. Rowling
• Heart of Darkness Joseph Conrad
• The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy Douglas Adams
• Jane Eyre Charlotte Bronte
• The Little Prince Antione de Saint-Exupery
• Little Women Louisa May Alcott
• The Lord of the Rings J.R.R. Tolkien
• Memoirs of a Geisha Arthur Golden
• Moby Dick Herman Melville
• One Hundred Years of Solitude Gabriel Garcia Marquez
• Outlander Diana Gabaldon
• The Picture of Dorian Gray Oscar Wilde
• The Pillars of the Earth Ken Follett
• Pride and Prejudice Jane Austen
• Rebecca Daphne Du Maurier
• The Stand Stephen King
• Tales of the City Armistead Maupin
• To Kill a Mockingbird Harper Lee
• War and Peace Leo Tolstoy
• Wuthering Heights Emily Bronte

I was struck by how many of the subset I’ve read, how many friend’s favorite books are featured on the list, and how the ideas have been integrated into popular culture. I often wonder - How many people have read the novel which gave us the phrase “It’s a Catch-22.”? Or recognize the dystopian futures developing around them? Or realize some of the most popular TV series actually draw their source material from novels? Regardless, the storylines and protagonists are powerful ones we connect with and live through on both sides of the Atlantic.

Update: Hovering at 60% complete in Quiet. Rough week with what appears to be the annual cold respite requirement. Until then…

How many of these books have you read? Did you read them for school? Or did they find you? If you have children, have they read some of the books on this list? And, are they the same as the books you read as a child/young adult?