PBS invited the public to vote on 100 finalists, an ethnically and internationally diverse list that included literary classics, contemporary novels, young-adult favorites, children’s books and mass-audience best-sellers such as the erotic “Fifty Shades of Grey” trilogy and James Patterson’s Alex Cross mysteries. And readers chose “To Kill a Mockingbird,” as their favorite.
During the final night of PBS’ “The Great American Read” series,Harper Lee’s 1960 Southern classic was announced at the reader’s choice. Overly 4.3 million readers voted on the list of 100 finalists, “To Kill a Mockingbird” received 242,275. Seven of the top 10 books were written by women; five of the top 10 authors are American.
Here are the top 10 in order of votes:
- “To Kill a Mockingbird” by Harper Lee
- “Outlander” by Diana Gabaldon (series)
- “Harry Potter” by J.K. Rowling (series)
- “Pride and Prejudice” by Jane Austen
- “The Lord of the Rings” by J.R.R. Tolkien (series)
- “Gone With the Wind” by Margaret Mitchell
- “Charlotte’s Web” by E.B. White
- “Little Women” by Louisa May Alcott
- “The Chronicles of Narnia” by C.S. Lewis (series)
- “Jane Eyre” by Charlotte Bronte
You can watch all episodes of the series by following this link.
