PBS is on a quest to find America's most beloved book! Welcome to The Great American Read hosted by Meredith Vieira, an eight-part television and online series designed to spark a national conversation about reading and the books that have inspired, moved, and shaped us. PBS has created a list of 100 diverse books and are encouraging everyone to read as many of the books as possible that you haven't already finished and vote for your favorite.
Participate in the national voting HERE.
Maine Public's Great American Read Maine Poll is closed!
We had a real tight race going on for much of the summer, but To Kill A Mockingbird came out as the top book in Maine among the 100 books included in The Great American Read project. And what a race it was! Nearly 1,500 votes were cast in our Maine poll and Charlotte's Web, Pride and Prejudice, and 1984 each at one point led the pack only to be steamrolled by Harper Lee's classic novel. Here’s a look at our final top ten books chosen by our audience:
To Kill A Mockingbird (Lee)
Charlotte's Web (White)
The Lord of the Rings (Tolkien)
Pride and Prejudice (Austen)
Harry Potter (Rowling)
A Prayer for Owen Meany (Irving)
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn (Smith)
Outlander (Gabaldon)
The Book Thief (Zusak)
The Grapes of Wrath (Steinbeck)
The Great American Read Submitted Comments
Click HERE to view some of the comments that have been submitted about many of the books on The Great American Read list.
Book Club Adoption Project
Book clubs are everywhere in Maine and are a great way to get a real sense of community through this shared reading and learning experience. As part of The Great American Read, Maine Public has "adopted" a number of book clubs across Maine and are providing them with copies of the book of their choosing from the list of 100. We will post up each book club as the clubs select their books and provide a summary of what each book club thought about the title they chose by the end of the summer.
Special thanks to PRINT: A Bookstore for their generous help in securing books for all the participating book clubs.
If your book club is taking on one of the titles from the 100 books, send us a note on your club's impressions of that book. We will share your review with other readers across Maine.
Adopted The Great American Read Book Clubs:
McArthur Public Library Book Club, Biddeford
Selected title: Ready Player One by Ernest Cline
Click HERE to see what the McArthur Public Library Book Club thought of Ready Player One.
Boothbay Harbor Memorial Library - Monday Night Book Club
Selected title: Charlotte's Web by E. B. White
Monroe Community Library Book Club
Selected title: Americanah by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
Dunstan Crossing Book Club
Selected title: Looking for Alaska by John Green
Click HERE to see what the Dunstan Crossing Book Club thought of Looking for Alaska.
The Wiscasset Area Book Club
Selected title: The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Diaz
Click HERE to see what Wiscasset Area Book Club thought of The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao.
Brownies and Books sponsored by the Spruce Mountain High School Library
Selected title: Ready Player One by Ernest Cline
by Maine Public and are set to read Ready Player One by Ernest Cline.
The Bonney Readers from the Bonney Memorial Library in Cornish
Selected title: The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Diaz
Click HERE to see what The Bonney Readers thought of The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao.
Literary Ladies of Leeds
Selected title: Frankenstein by Mary Shelley
Thomaston Library Book Club
Selected title: Americanah by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
Steep Falls Library Book Club
Selected title: Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austin
Windham Public Library Book Club
Selected title: Americanah by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
1989 Men's Book Club from Kennebunk
Selected title: White Teeth by Zadie Smith
Margaret Chase Smith Library Book Club
Selected title: The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood
Saco Book Club
Selected title: A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith. Click HERE to see what the Saco Book Club thought about the book.
Bear Pond Village Book Club from Turner
Selected title: The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood
Maine Public's The Great American Read Bookmobile
Maine Public took to the streets with a mobile Great American Read library and visited some popular summer reading spots with copies of many of the top 100 TGAR books for Mainers to enjoy. We met so many Maine Public and The Great American Read fans at each bookmobile stop! Take a look at a few of our happy book recipients!
Special thanks to the Maine Education Association the Maine Library Association and Coffee By Design who are sponsoring Maine Public's literacy efforts around The Great American Read.
THE GREAT AMERICAN READ
FALL BROADCAST SCHEDULE
Fall Kick Off
Join host Meredith Vieira in the search for America’s best-loved novel. The voting is underway, and the competition is heating up – any book could win.
TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 11 at 8:00 pm
Who Am I?
Explore the ways that America’s best-loved novels answer the age-old question, Who am I? From life lessons to spiritual journeys, these books help us understand our own identities and find our place in the world.
TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 18 at 8:00 pm
Heroes
Follow the trials and tribulations of some of literature’s favorite heroes. From Katniss Everdeen to Don Quixote, examine how the everyday hero and the anti-hero find their inner strength, overcome challenges and rise to the occasion.
TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 25 at 8:00 pm
Villains and Monsters
Learn why literature’s most notorious villains began behaving badly. Many weren’t born evil, but became that way when faced with some of the same choices we make every day. See what these villains can teach us about our own dark impulses.
TUESDAY, OCTOBER 2 at 8:00 pm
What We Do For Love
Fall in love with some of literature’s most beautiful romances and explore the many forms of love, from family to passion to the unrequited type. Learn how America’s best-loved novels reflect the things we do for love.
TUESDAY, OCTOBER 9 at 8:00 pm
Other Worlds
Take a magical journey to another world through some of America’s best-loved novels. From Middle Earth to Lilliput, the trials and tribulations of these alternate universes help us to better understand our own world.
TUESDAY, OCTOBER 16 at 8:00 pm
Grand Finale
America’s best-loved novel is revealed.
TUESDAY, OCTOBER 23 at 8:00 pm
