Launch Special

MAN: A READER LIVES A THOUSAND LIVES BEFORE HE DIES.

A MAN WHO DOES NOT READ LIVES ONLY ONE.

SECOND MAN: THE WAY WE COMMUNICATE TO EACH OTHER IS BY STORIES.

I'M SO GRATEFUL THAT MY MOTHER FELT IT WAS SUCH AN INTEGRAL PART OF ENRICHING OUR LIVES.

IMAGINATION IS PROBABLY ONE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT GIFTS HUMANS HAVE.

YOU CAN GO VISIT COUNTRIES THAT YOU'VE NEVER BEEN TO BEFORE.

THIRD MAN: EXPERIENCE THE THRILL OF VICTORY, THE AGONY OF DEFEAT.

SWASHBUCKLING AND SWORDS AND CASTLES.

FOURTH MAN: THOSE WORDS ARE DOING THINGS.

THEY'RE CONJURING IMAGERY.

THEY'RE ACCESSING YOUR EMOTIONS.

I JUST LOVE GREAT BOOKS.

GOOD EVENING.

I'M MEREDITH VIEIRA, YOUR GUIDE AS AMERICA BEGINS THE SEARCH FOR OUR BEST-LOVED NOVEL.

IT'S CALLED "THE GREAT AMERICAN READ."

AND I'M HERE AT THE LIBRARY OF CONGRESS IN WASHINGTON, D.C., THE LARGEST LIBRARY IN THE WORLD, TO KICK OFF THIS UNPRECEDENTED NATIONAL CAMPAIGN.

EVERYONE GETS TO VOTE.

SO IF YOU HAD TO PICK JUST ONE NOVEL AS YOUR FAVORITE, WHAT WOULD YOU CHOOSE?

I'M VOTING FOR "PRIDE AND PREJUDICE."

"GREAT GATSBY."

I'M VOTING FOR... "READY PLAYER ONE."

"BLESS ME, ULTIMA."

"CHARLOTTE'S WEB."

VIEIRA: COME WITH US ON THIS UNIQUE LITERARY QUEST.

NOW IN ORDER TO MAKE CHOOSING A LITTLE EASIER, WE'VE COMPILED A LIST OF 100 BOOKS SELECTED BY READERS LIKE YOU THROUGH A NATIONWIDE SURVEY, ACCOUNTING FOR GENDER, ETHNICITY, AGE, AND REGION.

WE SURVEYED THOUSANDS OF AMERICANS ACROSS THE NATION, AND THE TOP 100 NOVELS YOU CHOSE FOR AMERICA'S BOOKSHELF INCLUDE 51 BOOKS SET IN THE UNITED STATES, 64 WRITTEN BY AMERICANS, 70 NOVELS PUBLISHED AFTER WORLD WAR II, 9 PULITZER PRIZE WINNERS, AND ONE NOVEL WRITTEN BY A FORMER HEAD OF STATE.

TONIGHT WE'LL KICK OFF "THE GREAT AMERICAN READ" BY EXPLORING THE TOP 100, TO GIVE YOU A HEAD START ON VOTING, AND TO INSPIRE YOU TO READ SOME OF THE ONES YOU HAVEN'T READ YET.

I'M VOTING FOR "MEMOIRS OF GEISHA."

I'M VOTING FOR "CRIME AND PUNISHMENT."

"TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD."

"THE LITTLE PRINCE."

- CHRONICLES OF NARNIA.

- THIS IS THE CATCHER IN THE RYE.

- I'M VOTING FOR THEIR EYES WERE WATCHING GOD AND YOU SHOULD TOO.

- ALL SUMMER LONG THERE WILL BE SPECIAL EVENTS AT YOUR LOCAL LIBRARIES AND BOOK SELLERS ACROSS THE NATION, SO CHECK IN WITH YOUR LOCAL PBS STATION TO FIND OUT MORE AND GET INVOLVED AND IN THE FALL, WE'LL ANNOUNCE THE WINNER OF THE GREAT AMERICAN READ IN A SPECIAL FINALE RIGHT HERE ON PBS.

SO WHICH BOOK WILL BE NUMBER ONE?

VOTING BEGINS TONIGHT.

"THE GREAT AMERICAN READ" STARTS RIGHT NOW.

OUR CELEBRATION OF YOUR TOP 100 BOOKS BEGINS WITH AN AUTHOR WHOSE WILDLY POPULAR NOVEL YOU SELECTED FOR A PLACE ON AMERICA'S BOOKSHELF.

IT'S GEORGE R.R.

MARTIN'S "A GAME OF THRONES."

BUT WHAT WILL GEORGE R.R.

MARTIN HIMSELF BE VOTING FOR?

WE TRAVELED TO HIS HOME IN SANTA FE, NEW MEXICO, AND HE TOLD US HIS CHOICE IS A FANTASY NOVEL THAT MAY STAND A REAL CHANCE OF WINNING BECAUSE ITS FANS NUMBER IN THE HUNDREDS OF MILLIONS.

THE BOOK IS J.R.R.

TOLKIEN'S "THE LORD OF THE RINGS."

MARTIN: READING IS A VICARIOUS EXPERIENCE.

THESE ARE MOSTLY THE MINIATURES THAT I WROTE STORIES ABOUT WHEN I WAS A KID.

I'VE REFLECTED ON THIS A LOT, AND I LOOK BACK AND THINK OF THE WHOLE QUESTION OF MEMORY.

I MEAN, WHAT ARE WE?

WHAT SHAPES US AS HUMAN BEINGS?

I GREW UP IN THE PROJECTS OF BAYONNE, NEW JERSEY.

WE WERE POOR.

OTHER KIDS WOULD GO DOWN THE SHORE FOR THE SUMMER AND GO TO THE BEACH OR GO TO THE MOUNTAINS WITH THEIR FAMILIES.

OF COURSE, WE NEVER WENT ANYWHERE IN THE SUMMER.

WE JUST STAYED IN THE SAME OLD PLACE.

BUT BOOKS...

TOOK ME EVERYWHERE.

I READ "LORD OF THE RINGS" PROBABLY JUNIOR HIGH SCHOOL.

YOU KNOW, IT OPENS, LIKE, WITH A DISSERTATION ON PIPE WEED, AND THEN THERE'S A BIRTHDAY PARTY.

AND I'M SAYING, "WHERE ARE THE GIANT SNAKES?

"WHERE ARE THE SCANTILY-CLAD WOMEN?

"WHAT'S THIS--THERE'S NO SWORD FIGHTS HERE.

WHAT'S GOING ON?"

BUT THEN IT STARTED PICKING UP STEAM.

RIVENDELL AND THE BLACK RIDERS.

BY THE TIME I GOT TO MINES OF MORIA, I HAD DECIDED THAT THIS WAS THE GREATEST BOOK THAT I HAD EVER READ.

VIEIRA: "THE LORD OF THE RINGS" DESCRIBES THE EPIC STRUGGLE OF A BAND OF HUMANS AND ELVES, LED BY A WIZARD NAMED GANDALF AND A HOBBIT CALLED FRODO, WHO EMBARK ON A JOURNEY TO SAVE THEIR WORLD FROM EVIL.

ONE POPULAR INTERPRETATION OF TOLKIEN'S NOVEL LOOKS AT IT AS AN EXPLORATION OF THE FAMOUS PHRASE-- POWER CORRUPTS, AND ABSOLUTE POWER CORRUPTS ABSOLUTELY.

IT WAS SO TOTALLY IMMERSIVE.

TOLKIEN APPROACHED THIS THING AS IF HE WAS WRITING HISTORY.

HE HAD GENEALOGIES THAT WENT BACK NOT ONLY HUNDREDS, BUT THOUSANDS OF YEARS, THE RISE AND FALL OF KINGDOMS, ENTIRE STORIES IN A FOOTNOTE.

THAT GROUNDED THIS IN REALITY SO MUCH.

TOLKIEN'S GREATEST INVENTION WAS THE CHARACTERS WHO STRUGGLE WITH THE TEMPTATION OF THE RING AND WHAT TO DO WITH IT.

THEY'RE ALL FIGHTING THESE BATTLES INSIDE THEIR HEARTS.

THAT CAN TAKE PLACE ANYWHERE AT ANY TIME IN ANY SPACE IN ALL OF HUMAN HISTORY.

AND THEN GANDALF DIES.

I CAN'T EXPLAIN THE IMPACT THAT HAD ON ME AT 13.

YOU CAN'T KILL GANDALF.

CONAN DIDN'T DIE IN THE CONAN BOOKS, YOU KNOW.

TOLKIEN JUST BROKE THAT RULE, AND I LOVE HIM FOREVER FOR IT, BECAUSE THE MINUTE YOU KILL GANDALF, THE SUSPENSE OF EVERYTHING THAT FOLLOWS IS A THOUSAND TIMES GREATER, 'CAUSE NOW ANYBODY COULD DIE.

AND OF COURSE IT'S HAD A PROFOUND EFFECT ON MY OWN WILLINGNESS TO KILL CHARACTERS AT THE DROP OF A HAT.

I'M THRILLED THAT "GAME OF THRONES" IS ON THE LIST.

WHAT I WANTED TO DO WAS TAKE CERTAIN TRADITIONS OF FANTASY, BUT MELD TO IT A LEVEL OF GRITTINESS AND REALISM.

YOUR BOOKS, YOUR STORIES SHOULD REFLECT WHAT YOU SEE IN THE REAL WORLD AROUND YOU.

EVEN A FANTASY THAT HAS DRAGONS SHOULD REFLECT THE TRUTH.

TO BE ON THE SAME LIST WITH "LORD OF THE RINGS" IS VERY EXCITING.

IF YOU ARE ONE OF THE 6 PEOPLE IN THE WORLD WHO HAS NOT YET READ J.R.R.

TOLKIEN'S "LORD OF THE RINGS," WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR?

READ "LORD OF THE RINGS," AND IF YOU LIKE IT AS MUCH AS I DO, VOTE FOR IT.

VIEIRA: SO WHICH BOOK WILL YOU VOTE FOR, READERS-- "THE LORD OF THE RINGS," "GAME OF THRONES," OR BOTH?

AS EACH NOVEL IS ANNOUNCED, IT WILL FIND ITS PLACE ON THIS BOOKSHELF, AMERICA'S BOOKSHELF, UNTIL ALL 100 NOVELS ARE REVEALED.

IF YOU'RE ONE OF MILLIONS OF FANS JOINING US FOR "THE GREAT AMERICAN READ," REMEMBER IN THIS CAMPAIGN, YOU REALLY CAN VOTE EARLY AND VOTE OFTEN-- ONCE A DAY, IN FACT, FOR EVERY ONE OF YOUR FAVORITE NOVELS ON THE LIST.

THE BEST-LOVED BOOK OF ALL WILL BE DECIDED BY THE TOTAL NUMBER OF VOTES IT GETS.

SO DO YOUR PART.

GO TO PBS.ORG/GREATAMERICANREAD AND VOTE.

I LIKE TO BE ABLE TO FINISH A BOOK THAT I'VE LOVED AND IMMEDIATELY HAND IT TO SOMEONE WHO I THINK IS GONNA LIKE IT.

WHEN I'M TRYING TO FIGURE OUT WHAT'S THE NEXT BOOK ON MY LIST, I GO TO THE PEOPLE.

WOMAN: PEOPLE SHOULD READ "THE BOOK THIEF."

IT'S LIKE A MOSAIC OF POETRY.

"CLAN OF THE CAVE BEAR."

I THINK YOU'LL REALLY ENJOY IT.

PEOPLE SHOULD READ "THE HELP" BECAUSE IT'S BEAUTIFULLY WRITTEN, AND IT WAS REALLY INSPIRING TO READ ABOUT THESE VERY STRONG WOMEN.

GOOD WRITING ALWAYS STANDS THE TEST OF TIME.

"LITTLE WOMEN" BY LOUISA MAY ALCOTT.

YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT FAMILY VALUES AND DOING THE RIGHT THING.

MAN: I THINK ABOUT "HATCHET," AND THE THINGS THAT I LEARNED OR THOUGHT ABOUT FROM THIS BOOK GAVE ME THE INSPIRATION THAT I NEEDED TO CONTINUE ON.

FAVORITE BOOK TO READ IS THE ALEX CROSS SERIES.

"THE DA VINCI CODE," WHICH WAS ONE OF MY FAVORITE BOOKS.

I SAID IT'S A BOOK YOU COULDN'T PUT DOWN BECAUSE IF YOU PUT IT DOWN, SOMEBODY ELSE WOULD PICK IT UP.

VIEIRA: FOLKS IN MISSOURI WILL NO DOUBT CAST VOTES FOR THEIR HOME STATE HERO-- A UNIQUE AMERICAN WRITER, SAMUEL LANGHORNE CLEMENS, BETTER KNOWN AS MARK TWAIN.

TWAIN EDUCATED HIMSELF IN LIBRARIES AND TRAVELED THE WORLD, PRODUCING DOZENS OF SHORT STORIES AND 16 NOVELS ALONG THE WAY, AMONG THEM, THE NEXT BOOK YOU CHOSE-- "THE ADVENTURES OF TOM SAWYER."

MAN: I WAS PROBABLY IN MY EARLY TEENS WHEN I READ "TOM SAWYER."

THERE ARE HILARIOUS MOMENTS.

THERE ARE EXCITING MOMENTS.

I THINK IT'S JUST THE WAY MARK TWAIN COULD EXPRESS HIMSELF AND STRING WORDS TOGETHER SO THAT YOU SEE WHAT HE'S TALKING ABOUT.

VIEIRA: "TOM SAWYER" IS A COMIC ADVENTURE STORY ABOUT A MISCHIEVOUS BOY WHO GETS INTO A LOT OF GROWN-UP TROUBLE.

TWAIN WEAVES GROWN-UP SUBJECTS INTO THE BOOK AS WELL, NOTABLY RACISM.

AND HE DOES SO IN A WAY AMERICAN READERS AT THE TIME WOULD HAVE UNDERSTOOD.

MAN: MARK TWAIN DELIVERED THE AMERICAN LANGUAGE TO THE WORLD.

BEFORE THEN, AMERICAN NOVELISTS WERE WRITING THINGS REALLY FROM A BRITISH PERSPECTIVE.

THAT'S REALLY ALL THEY KNEW.

THERE WERE NO AMERICAN CHARACTERS WHO SPOKE LIKE AMERICANS, USED LOCAL LANGUAGE, LOCAL DIALECTS.

IN A WAY, HE INVENTED THAT WHOLE GENRE.

THIS IS THE AMERICAN DREAM, THIS IS THE AMERICAN LIFE, AND THIS IS THE AMERICAN SPIRIT.

VIEIRA: WANT TO KNOW MORE ABOUT THE BOOKS ON YOUR LIST?

HOP OVER TO PBS.ORG AND EXPLORE.

MARK TWAIN MAY HAVE WRITTEN IN AN AMERICAN VERNACULAR, BUT "THE ADVENTURES OF TOM SAWYER" WAS SUBSEQUENTLY TRANSLATED INTO DOZENS OF LANGUAGES, AND IT'S NOT THE ONLY BOOK ON YOUR LIST WITH FANS WORLDWIDE.

THE NIGERIAN AUTHOR CHINUA ACHEBE'S NOVEL "THINGS FALL APART" HAS BEEN TRANSLATED INTO MORE THAN 50 LANGUAGES AND HAS SOLD OVER 15 MILLION COPIES GLOBALLY.

I'M WANTING SO MUCH FOR READERS TO HOLD THIS BOOK IN THEIR HANDS, THEN RECOGNIZE THERE IS A VERY OBVIOUS CONNECTION TO US TODAY.

VIEIRA: THE STORY TAKES PLACE IN A VILLAGE IN NIGERIA IN THE 1890s, JUST AS CHRISTIAN MISSIONARIES ARE GAINING A FOOTHOLD IN THE COUNTRY.

IT FOLLOWS THE TRAGIC FALL OF A VILLAGE HERO WHO FIGHTS THE NEWCOMERS, BUT HAS SECRET DOUBTS ABOUT THE TRADITIONS IN WHICH HE WAS RAISED.

THIS IS A BOOK YOU COULD READ OVER AND OVER AND OVER AGAIN TO BETTER UNDERSTAND WHAT HAPPENS IN CIVILIZATIONS.

HOW DO CHANGES HAPPEN?

HOW DO WE LOSE CULTURES?

THIS IS MY COPY.

VERY WELL WORN.

HA HA HA.

MY DAUGHTER WAS MAKING FUN OF IT BECAUSE IT'S SO RAGGEDY, AND SHE DOESN'T LIKE THAT I TURN DOWN CORNERS.

SHE THINKS IT'S UNFAIR TO THE BOOK.

SHE USES BOOKMARKS.

BUT I'M GLAD I DID BECAUSE I'VE MARKED ONE OF MY FAVORITE PASSAGES.

"WHEN DID YOU BECOME A SHIVERING OLD WOMAN, "OKONKWO ASKED HIMSELF, "YOU WHO ARE KNOWN IN ALL THE 9 VILLAGES "FOR YOUR VALOR IN WAR?

"HOW CAN A MAN WHO HAS KILLED 5 MEN IN BATTLE "FALL TO PIECES BECAUSE HE HAS ADDED A BOY "TO THEIR NUMBER?

OKONKWO, YOU HAVE BECOME A WOMAN INDEED."

FOR ME, READING IS NECESSARY.

I THINK IT'S ENRICHED MY LIFE BECAUSE IT'S PROVOKED THIS DESIRE TO LEARN MORE, TO SEE MORE, TO EXPERIENCE MORE, TO FEEL MORE.

MY NAME IS SARAH JESSICA PARKER, AND A BOOK I LOVE, ONE OF MY MOST FAVORITE, IS "THINGS FALL APART."

VIEIRA: "THINGS FALL APART" IS ONE OF 40 BOOKS ON OUR LIST OF 100 THAT ARE SET OUTSIDE THE UNITED STATES.

OUR NEXT NOVEL IS AN UNDENIABLE GLOBAL FAN FAVORITE.

ON AVERAGE, ONE IN 15 HOMES IN THE WORLD HAS A COPY.

TIME TO CELEBRATE, HOGWARTS FANS.

THE BOOK IS "HARRY POTTER."

OHH.

I GREW UP WITH HARRY POTTER.

IT JUST SUCKED ME IN.

THIS WORLD OF HARRY POTTER JUST TOOK OVER MY ENTIRE LIFE.

EACH BOOK GETS MORE INTENSE.

YOU'RE GONNA BE LIKE, "I NEED ALL OF THEM.

I NEED TO GET ALL OF THEM RIGHT NOW."

AND IT'S FOR EVERYONE.

IT'S NOT A SURPRISE TO ME AT ALL THAT "HARRY POTTER" IS ON AMERICA'S 100 BEST-LOVED BOOKS.

IT WOULD BE SHOCKING TO ME IF IT WEREN'T.

VIEIRA: WAITING FOR YOU FAVORITE "HARRY POTTER" BOOK TO MAKE THE LIST?

WELL, TO KEEP THINGS FAIR ON "THE GREAT AMERICAN READ," ANY SERIES OF NOVELS COUNTS AS A SINGLE BOOK, SO DON'T DELAY, VOTE HOGWARTS NOW.

WE MET ONE YOUNG WOMAN FROM CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, WHO FOUND "HARRY POTTER" TO BE TRANSFORMATIVE.

YISRAEL: MY NAME IS ELIYANNAH.

I GREW UP ON THE SOUTH SIDE OF CHICAGO.

BOOKS INTRODUCED A WORLD TO ME OUTSIDE OF MY OWN.

AND SO I ALWAYS KNEW THAT I WOULD SEE THE WORLD.

I WAS VERY MUCH A LIBRARY GIRL BECAUSE, YOU KNOW, I WAS LIKE, THAT'S THE BEST PLACE ON THE PLANET.

I READ THE HARRY POTTER BOOKS AT LEAST ONCE A YEAR.

SOMETIMES I READ THEM TWICE A YEAR, BUT AT LEAST ONCE A YEAR I READ ALL 7 BOOKS.

VIEIRA: "HARRY POTTER" TELLS THE SPELLBINDING STORY OF AN ORPHAN BOY WHO FINDS OUT HE IS REALLY A WIZARD.

IT'S A DISCOVERY THAT LEADS HIM TO THE HOGWARTS SCHOOL OF WITCHCRAFT AND WIZARDRY AND A GROUP OF LIFELONG FRIENDS.

YISRAEL: YOU'VE GOT RON, HERMIONE, AND HARRY, AND THEY WERE THIS GROUP OF FRIENDS.

THEY WERE THERE FOR EACH OTHER THROUGH THICK AND THIN.

FROM THE VERY FIRST MOMENT THAT I WAS INTRODUCED TO MISS HERMIONE JEAN GRANGER, I REALIZED THAT SHE WAS MY LONG-LOST TWIN SISTER.

I HAD NEVER SEEN A CHARACTER THAT WAS ME IN THAT WAY, THAT WAS, LIKE, SO INTO READING THAT IT WAS LIKE AN OBSESSION.

I THINK THE BIGGEST THING IS THAT HERMIONE JUST GAVE ME CONFIDENCE.

AND I LOVE THE FACT THAT SHE'S THE MUDBLOOD OF THE SERIES.

VIEIRA: IN POTTER WORLD, CERTAIN PURE BLOOD WIZARDS DISMISS HERMIONE AS MUGGLE BORN OR MUDBLOOD, MEANING THE CHILD OF NON-WIZARD PARENTS.

YISRAEL: THEY FIRST INTRODUCED MUDBLOOD AS A SLUR AGAINST MUGGLE BORNS, AND I THOUGHT, "WELL, THAT'S INTERESTING."

WHAT A REALLY FASCINATING WAY TO TEACH YOUNG PEOPLE ABOUT THE DANGERS OF OPPRESSING PEOPLE BECAUSE OF WHO THEY WERE BORN AS.

THESE ARE KIDS AND TEENAGERS WHO ARE FIGHTING BIGOTRY AND RACISM.

"HARRY POTTER" IS ABOUT YOUNG PEOPLE FIGHTING TO MAKE A BETTER WORLD.

VIEIRA: "HARRY POTTER" INSPIRED ELIYANNAH TO CREATE HER OWN WEB SERIES, PICKING UP THE CHARACTER'S LIVES WHERE THE BOOKS LEFT OFF.

YISRAEL: THE SHOW IS CALLED "HERMIONE GRANGER AND THE QUARTER LIFE CRISIS."

I CAST HERMIONE AS A BLACK WOMAN, EVEN IF SHE WASN'T BLACK IN THE BOOKS, BECAUSE IT KIND OF IS IRRELEVANT.

IN THIS SERIES, SHE IS.

I ALWAYS LAUGHED AT, LIKE, A 13-YEAR-OLD CHARACTER TAUGHT 20-YEAR-OLD ME HOW TO, LIKE, BELIEVE IN MYSELF AND HOW TO STAND UP FOR MYSELF.

YOU CAN BE THIS POOR LITTLE BLACK GIRL FROM THE SOUTH SIDE OF CHICAGO AND COME UP WITH AN IDEA FOR A WEB SERIES AND, LIKE--AND MAKE IT.

[ALL CHEERING] DREAMS CAN COME TRUE.

EVERYBODY SHOULD READ "HARRY POTTER."

IT CAN GIVE YOU HOPE.

IT CAN GIVE YOU INSPIRATION.

IT CAN GIVE YOU FIGHT.

VOTE FOR "HARRY POTTER" BECAUSE IT HAS TO BE AMERICA'S BEST BOOK.

IT HAS TO BE AMERICA'S MOST-LOVED BOOK.

IT HAS TO WIN BECAUSE IT'S SO GOOD.

IT IS SO GOOD.

VOTE, VOTE, VOTE.

VIEIRA: IF YOU'RE PASSIONATE ABOUT A PARTICULAR BOOK ON THE LIST, DON'T KEEP IT TO YOURSELF.

TWEET YOUR VOTE AND SHARE THE NOVEL WITH YOUR LOVED ONES.

BEFORE "HARRY POTTER" MADE J.K. ROWLING A HOUSEHOLD NAME, SHE WAS A SINGLE MOM STRUGGLING TO SUPPORT HER INFANT DAUGHTER.

SHE WENT ON TO BECOME THE WORLD'S FIRST BILLIONAIRE AUTHOR.

AND ROWLING IS NOT THE ONLY WRITER ON YOUR LIST WHO HAD A CHANGE OF STATION OR OCCUPATION AFTER THEIR BOOKS WERE PUBLISHED.

JOHN STEINBECK WORKED IN A FACTORY THAT MADE PLASTIC MANNEQUINS BEFORE HIS REALIST EPIC "THE GRAPES OF WRATH" CAME OUT.

THE QUEEN OF TEEN VAMPIRE ROMANCE, STEPHENIE MEYER, WAS WORKING AS A RECEPTIONIST FOR A REAL ESTATE COMPANY WHEN THE IDEA FOR HER BEST-SELLING NOVEL "TWILIGHT" CAME TO HER IN A DREAM.

FYODOR DOSTOEVSKY WAS DEEP IN DEBT WHEN HE STARTED WRITING HIS MASTERPIECE, "CRIME AND PUNISHMENT."

AND PUBLISHERS PASSED ON WILLIAM PAUL YOUNG'S INSPIRATIONAL 2006 NOVEL "THE SHACK," SO A FRIEND MAXED OUT 12 CREDIT CARDS TO PRINT IT.

TO DATE IT HAS SOLD MORE THAN 20 MILLION COPIES.

WOMAN: WHEN I FIRST READ "THE SHACK," IT RESONATED WITH MY SENSE THAT ANYTHING IS POSSIBLE, AND IT'S A BOOK ABOUT LEARNING FORGIVENESS AND KNOWING THAT THERE IS SOMETHING GREATER OUT THERE AND WE ARE ALL INTERCONNECTED.

VIEIRA: BUT THE MOST FAMOUS TALE OF LITERARY UPWARD MOBILITY MAY BELONG TO A PROLIFIC ENGLISH AUTHOR-- CHARLES DICKENS, WHO USED HIS OWN CHILDHOOD TO SHAPE HIS BELOVED PROTAGONIST PIP IN "GREAT EXPECTATIONS."

HE GREW UP IN A TIME WHEN BRITAIN WAS SUFFERING GREAT ECONOMIC HARDSHIP.

WHEN HE WAS 12 YEARS OLD, HIS FATHER WAS IMPRISONED FOR DEBT AND HIS MOTHER AND ALL OF HIS YOUNGER SIBLINGS ENDING UP SHARING HIS FATHER'S PRISON CELL BECAUSE THEY COULDN'T AFFORD TO PAY RENT OUTSIDE THE PRISON.

AND HE WORKED AS A CHILD LABORER IN A FACTORY.

VIEIRA: DICKENS WOULD GO ON TO HAVE QUITE A FOLLOWING WITH READERS ACROSS THE POND.

IN GALVESTON, TEXAS, FANS GATHER TO CELEBRATE THE GREAT WRITER AT AN ANNUAL CHRISTMAS FESTIVAL--DICKENS ON THE STRAND.

HAWKSLEY: SO WHEN YOU HEAR PIP TALKING ABOUT WANTING TO BE A GENTLEMAN IN "GREAT EXPECTATIONS," I REALLY BELIEVE THAT IS CHARLES DICKENS REMEMBERING HIS OWN CHILDHOOD.

I'M THE MARSHAL, AND VOTE FOR "GREAT EXPECTATIONS."

"GREAT EXPECTATIONS."

ALL: VOTE FOR "GREAT EXPECTATIONS."

VIEIRA: "THE GREAT AMERICAN READ" IS HAPPENING ALL ACROSS THE COUNTRY ALL SUMMER LONG, SO INVITE YOUR FRIENDS TO SHARE IN THE CELEBRATION.

IF YOU'RE JUST JOINING "THE GREAT AMERICAN READ" AND WANT TO LEARN MORE ABOUT THE BOOKS THAT READERS LIKE YOU PICKED IN OUR SURVEY, VISIT PBS.ORG/ GREATAMERICANREAD.

AND WHILE YOU'RE THERE, BE SURE TO VOTE FOR THE NOVEL THAT YOU WANT TO BE CROWNED NUMBER ONE.

ALONG WITH THE ECONOMIC BOOM THAT FOLLOWED WORLD WAR II, THERE WAS AN EXPLOSION IN THE WORLD OF LITERATURE.

THE AUTHOR OF YOUR NEXT PICK FOR AMERICA'S GREATEST READ LANDED ON THE BEACH AT NORMANDY ON D-DAY WITH 6 CHAPTERS OF THIS NOVEL IN HIS POCKET.

THE WRITER WAS J.D.

SALINGER, WHOSE 100th BIRTHDAY WE CELEBRATE NEXT YEAR, AND THE BOOK IS "THE CATCHER IN THE RYE."

MAN: TO ME, "CATCHER IN THE RYE" IS THE GREAT YOUNG ADULT NOVEL.

HOLDEN CAULFIELD DESPERATELY WANTS TO HOLD ON TO SOME PARTS OF CHILDHOOD WHILE ALSO WANTING TO EMBRACE PARTS OF ADULTHOOD.

THE TENSION IN THAT STORY IS UNLIKE ANYTHING THAT I'VE READ BEFORE OR SINCE.

NARRATOR: "IF YOU REALLY WANT TO HEAR ABOUT IT, "THE FIRST THING YOU'LL PROBABLY WANT TO KNOW "IS WHERE I WAS BORN, AND WHAT MY LOUSY CHILDHOOD WAS LIKE, "AND HOW MY PARENTS WERE OCCUPIED AND ALL BEFORE THEY HAD ME, "AND ALL THAT DAVID COPPERFIELD KIND OF CRAP, "BUT I DON'T FEEL LIKE GOING INTO IT, IF YOU WANT TO KNOW THE TRUTH."

I READ "CATCHER IN THE RYE" FOR THE FIRST TIME IN TENTH GRADE IN MY ENGLISH CLASS.

I THOUGHT IT WAS ABOUT A REBELLIOUS KID WHO WASN'T BUYING INTO THE POWER STRUCTURES AND WHO WAS HAVING A GREAT OLD TIME IN NEW YORK CITY.

WHEN I READ IT TODAY, IT READS TO ME AS A TREMENDOUSLY SAD BOOK, A BOOK ABOUT A LOST KID TRYING TO FIND SOME SENSE THAT HE IS GOING TO BE OK, THAT THE PROCESS THAT HE IS IN, THIS PROCESS OF MATURATION IS ONE THAT WON'T DESTROY HIM.

WHAT HASN'T CHANGED IS THE EMOTIONAL TRUTHS AT THE CENTER OF IT.

WE'RE ALL STILL LOOKING FOR REASSURANCE.

WE ALL WANT TO KNOW WHAT HAPPENS TO THE DUCKS IN THE POND WHEN WINTER COMES.

I WANT TO TAKE THE PAIN AWAY FROM HOLDEN BECAUSE I FEEL HIS PAIN SO INTENSELY.

HE'S SEEKING OUT ADVICE AND HELP AND REASSURANCE FROM VARIOUS PEOPLE.

HE CAN'T GET IT, AND THAT'S PART OF WHAT'S SO HEARTBREAKING ABOUT IT FOR ME NOW.

I WRITE IN THE SHADOW OF THAT BOOK, AND I'M GRATEFUL FOR THE SHADE IT PROVIDES.

I'M JOHN GREEN, AND THIS IS "THE CATCHER IN THE RYE," AND I THINK THAT YOU SHOULD VOTE FOR IT.

IT REALLY IS, I THINK, ONE OF THE GREATEST AMERICAN NOVELS ABOUT ADOLESCENCE.

VIEIRA: J.D.

SALINGER'S "THE CATCHER IN THE RYE" HELPED LAUNCHED A NEW GENRE OF LITERATURE, YOUNG ADULT FICTION, THAT WOULD BECOME A MULTI-BILLION DOLLAR PUBLISHING POWERHOUSE.

BOOKS IN THE GENRE SCORED BIG ON OUR SURVEY, AND NO WONDER WITH AUTHORS LIKE JOHN GREEN, WHO HAS MORE THAN 5 MILLION FOLLOWERS ON TWITTER, BEHIND THEM.

GREEN WILL BE BACK IN HOUR TWO OF THE LAUNCH TO TALK ABOUT ONE OF HIS NOVELS THAT MADE YOUR TOP 100.

AND THE NEXT 4 AUTHORS ALSO WROTE BOOKS FOR YOUNG ADULTS.

RECOGNIZE THE NAMES SUZANNE COLLINS, BETTY SMITH, SISTER SOULJAH, OR JOHN KNOWLES?

IF NOT, YOU'LL SURELY KNOW THEIR WORK.

GIRL: "THE HUNGER GAMES" IS MY FAVORITE BOOK.

IT HAS ACTION, DRAMA, LIKE, EVERYTHING.

IT'S COOL.

WOMAN: "A TREE GROWS IN BROOKLYN" IS ABOUT AN 11-YEAR-OLD GIRL AS SHE STRUGGLES TO LIVE AND TO KIND OF CRACK THE CODE OF WHAT BEING AN AMERICAN IS.

I JUST REALLY CONNECTED TO THAT HOPEFULNESS.

THE BOOK THAT I CHOSE THAT I HAVE SUCH A PASSION FOR IS "THE COLDEST WINTER EVER" BY SISTER SOULJAH.

IT SPOKE TO THE CULTURE THAT I WAS IN.

AND SO I USED IT AS A TOOL IN RAISING MY TWO DAUGHTERS.

THIS BOOK SPOKE TO THEM AND LET THEM KNOW IT'S NOT ABOUT THE MATERIAL THINGS IN LIFE, IT'S ABOUT YOU AS A PERSON AND BUILDING UP YOUR SELF-ESTEEM AND WHO YOU ARE IN SOCIETY.

MAN: I READ "A SEPARATE PEACE" SHORTLY AFTER IT CAME OUT WHEN I WAS 15 YEARS OLD.

YOU REALLY DO FEEL LIKE THE WORLD IS GOING TO COME TO AN END IN A FEW YEARS WHEN YOU BECOME AN ADULT.

IT GOES STRAIGHT TO THE HEART, EVEN THE PARTS THAT HURT.

VIEIRA: LOVE THESE NOVELS?

THEN GRAB YOUR SMARTPHONES AND VOTE FOR THEM ON TWITTER, FACEBOOK, OR ON OUR WEBSITE AT PBS.ORG.

AMONG THE MANY OTHER BOOKS YOU CHOSE ABOUT YOUNG PEOPLE, ONE STANDS OUT BECAUSE IT WAS WRITTEN BY A TEENAGER MORE THAN 50 YEARS AGO AND REMAINS A FAVORITE TO THIS DAY.

TULSA NATIVE SUSAN HINTON WAS JUST 16 WHEN SHE FINISHED HER HIT NOVEL "THE OUTSIDERS."

O'CONNOR: WE WERE ON TOUR AND I THOUGHT, "WOW, I'M STUCK HERE FOR 3 DAYS.

WHAT AM I GONNA DO IN TULSA, OKLAHOMA?"

AND I KEPT GOING, "TULSA, TULSA, TULSA.

OH, MY GOD, I THINK THE OUTSIDERS WAS FROM HERE."

I LOVED "THE OUTSIDERS," EVERY BIT OF IT.

I MEAN, IT'S THE ORIGINAL REBEL STORY WRITTEN BY A TEEN FOR TEENS.

VIEIRA: IN "THE OUTSIDERS," TWO RIVAL GANGS, THE GREASERS AND THE SOCS, GO UP AGAINST EACH OTHER IN A TULSA HIGH SCHOOL.

O'CONNOR: THE STORY JUST RESONATED WITH ME BECAUSE WHAT I TOOK FROM IT WAS THAT THE CORE WAS THE FAMILY.

I COME FROM A BROKEN HOME.

I'M ORIGINALLY BORN IN BROOKLYN, FATHER WAS IN PRISON WHEN I WAS TWO MONTHS OLD.

ALL I EVER WANTED WAS A GROUP OF BROTHERS THAT WOULD SURROUND ME AND PUT ME UNDER THEIR WING.

SO WHAT GOT ME EARLY ON INVOLVED IN HIP-HOP, IN HIP-HOP IT'S A BIG THING TO BE PART OF A CREW.

IT WAS WHAT DRAWED ME INTO IT BECAUSE I FELT LIKE "THE OUTSIDERS" WAS A CREW.

FOR ME, THE TAKE-AWAY FROM THE BOOK IS IS THAT LIFE ISN'T ALWAYS WHAT YOU THINK IT'S GONNA BE, BUT IT'S WHAT YOU MAKE IT.

HOW SHE CAPTURED THAT IN A BOOK AS AN 11th GRADER IS MIND-BLOWING STILL TO THIS DAY.

I'M SUSIE HINTON.

I'M THE AUTHOR OF "THE OUTSIDERS."

I WANTED TO WRITE SOMETHING THAT DEALT REALISTICALLY WITH TEENAGE LIFE.

I THINK EVERYBODY, EVEN IN THEIR OWN GROUP, FEELS LIKE AN OUTSIDER.

VIEIRA: "THE OUTSIDERS" WAS TURNED INTO AN ICONIC MOVIE IN 1983, FILMED RIGHT HERE IN TULSA.

O'CONNOR: I WENT AROUND THE NEIGHBORHOOD ON A TREK TO FIND THE MOVIE LOCATIONS.

THESE ARE PLACES TIED TO THE EXPERIENCE OF READING THE BOOK, SEEING THE MOVIE.

THE DRIVE-IN LOOKED LIKE IT DID PROBABLY IN THE FIFTIES, BUT I ALSO KNOW THAT THAT'S THE DRIVE-IN THAT SUSIE USED TO GO TO AS A KID.

ONE BLOCK OVER IS CRUTCHFIELD PARK.

THAT IS THE PARK WHERE THERE WAS THE FOUNTAIN, AND THAT'S WHERE JOHNNY STABS THE SOC TRYING TO PROTECT HIS FRIEND PONYBOY FROM BEING DROWNED.

WHEN I GOT TO THE OUTSIDERS' HOUSE, IT LOOKED LIKE IT DID IN '82.

THERE WAS A FOR SALE SIGN, THE HOUSE WAS FOR SALE.

AND NOW WE'RE TURNING IT INTO A MUSEUM.

WE ARE STILL IN THE PHASE OF REMODELING IT.

AND THIS IS ME NOW JUST SAYING, LIKE, COME DISCOVER THE HOUSE THAT WAS BASED ON THE BOOK THAT WAS WRITTEN HERE LOCALLY AT THE SCHOOL DOWN THE BLOCK BY THE 16-YEAR-OLD SUSIE HINTON WHO STILL LIVES IN TULSA.

AND THIS IS A LIVING TRIBUTE TO HER AND TO HER BOOKS.

IT'S JUST ONE OF THOSE GREAT UNIFIERS.

THERE'S VERY FEW THINGS IN THE WORLD WHERE YOU COULD JUST PUT SOMETHING ON THE TABLE AND EVERYBODY CAN AGREE ON IT, AND "THE OUTSIDERS" SEEMS TO BE THAT.

HI, MY NAME IS DANNY BOY O'CONNOR, AND I SUGGEST YOU PICK "THE OUTSIDERS."

IT'S THE BEST BOOK EVER WRITTEN BY A KID, FOR A KID, ABOUT KIDS.

TRUST ME, YOU'LL LOVE IT.

"THE OUTSIDERS."

VIEIRA: SUSAN HINTON BECAME S.E.

HINTON BECAUSE HER PUBLISHER THOUGHT DISGUISING HER GENDER WAS CRUCIAL TO SELLING HER BOOK.

AND SHE'S NOT THE ONLY AUTHOR IN DISGUISE ON YOUR LIST OF 100 NOVELS.

V.C.

ANDREWS, AKA VICTORIA ANDREWS, HAD TO PRINT HER DARK FAMILY DRAMA "FLOWERS IN THE ATTIC" UNDER HER INITIALS HER PUBLISHER SAID, SO AS NOT TO TURN OFF MALE READERS.

AND IN 1847, EMILY AND CHARLOTTE BRONTE HAD TO TAKE ON MALE NAMES TO GET "WUTHERING HEIGHTS" AND "JANE EYRE" PUBLISHED.

THEY CHOSE ELLIS AND CURRER BELL.

THE BRONTE SISTERS HAD THESE LITERARY CAREERS DESPITE JUST UNIMAGINABLE OBSTACLES.

I JUST WANT TO TWEET CHARLOTTE AND BE LIKE, "YOU'RE ON THE TOP 100 LIST."

COME ON.

LIKE 'CAUSE SHE WROTE IT SO LONG AGO.

VIEIRA: MALE AUTHORS DISGUISED THEIR NAMES, TOO, BUT USUALLY FOR DIFFERENT REASONS.

ERIC ARTHUR BLAIR DECIDED HE NEEDED A GOOD, ROUND, ENGLISH-SOUNDING NAME, GEORGE ORWELL, BEFORE HE WROTE HIS NOVEL "1984."

AND THEN THERE'S ALEXANDRE DUMAS WHO PUBLISHED UNDER HIS REAL NAME, BUT COLLABORATED WITH A GHOST WRITER ON HIS CLASSIC REVENGE STORY "THE COUNT OF MONTE CRISTO."

YOU CAN FIND OUT MORE ABOUT THESE BOOKS AND ALL THE NOVELS IN YOUR TOP 100.

JUST GO TO PBS.ORG AND CLICK "READ THE LIST."

THE SATIRIST JONATHAN SWIFT WROTE THE NEXT NOVEL, BUT THE BOOK'S TITLE PAGE CREDITS ONE LEMUEL GULLIVER AS AUTHOR.

NO SURPRISE THERE.

THE BOOK LAMPOONS MANY OF SWIFT'S CONTEMPORARIES, ESPECIALLY IN THE SCIENTIFIC COMMUNITY.

THE NOVEL IS SWIFT'S MOCK TRAVELOGUE "GULLIVER'S TRAVELS."

MAN: WE ALL KNOW THIS ONE WHERE HE'S BIG AND THEY'RE LITTLE.

BUT THAT'S NOT EVEN THE WEIRDEST OF THE STORIES.

HE GOES ON VOYAGES THAT, FOR ME, I CONTINUE TO REFLECT ON TO THIS DAY.

HE VISITS PLACES WHERE EVERYTHING IS DIFFERENT.

THEIR CULTURES, THE WAY THEY COMMUNICATE, THE WAY THEY FEEL, THE WAY THEY THINK, HOW SMART THEY ARE.

IT IS HOW WE ALL IMAGINE EXPLORING THE UNIVERSE AND COMING UPON A PLANET WITH WHAT WE WOULD DEEM TO BE INTELLIGENT LIFE.

AND IT WASN'T JUST, "LET ME MAKE UP SOME STUFF" AND PUT IT ON A PAGE.

WHAT HAPPENED ON THE PAGES OF "GULLIVER'S TRAVELS" WAS A TAPESTRY OF SOCIAL COMMENTARY.

I'VE READ IT 8 TIMES.

AND I CAN'T STOP SMILING, REFLECTING, THINKING ABOUT THE THEMES AND SATIRES AND DEPTH OF UNDERSTANDING THAT JONATHAN SWIFT HAD IN WHAT WE ARE AS HUMANS AND HOW WE INTERACT WITH ONE ANOTHER.

SO I'M NEIL DEGRASSE TYSON, AND MY FAVORITE NOVEL IS "GULLIVER'S TRAVELS," NOT ONLY IN CHILDHOOD, BUT IN ADULTHOOD, AND LIKELY FOR THE REST OF MY LIFE.

WOMAN: WE BOTH LOVE READING.

WE GREW UP READING ALL THE TIME.

AND I HAVE SO MANY MEMORIES OF READING AS A FAMILY.

READING IS IN OUR DNA.

NOT ONLY IS OUR MOM A LIBRARIAN, BUT OUR DAD LOVES TO READ.

AND THAT LOVE HAS CERTAINLY STUCK WITH ME.

I LOVE STORIES AND FEELING INVOLVED IN SOMEONE ELSE'S LIFE.

MY FONDEST MEMORIES ARE BEING CUDDLED UP NEXT TO MY PARENTS BEFORE WE WENT TO BED, ME PROBABLY SUCKING MY THUMB, LISTENING TO THESE STORIES OF PEOPLE WHO FELT LIKE FRIENDS BY THE TIME THE BOOKS WERE DONE.

AND NOW AS A MOM, I GET TO DO THAT WITH MY GIRLS.

AND IT'S SO FUN TO RELIVE THOSE NIGHTS CUDDLED UP WITH WET HAIR AND BLANKETS.

I THINK IT CREATES THIS GREAT BOND.

VIEIRA: IS THERE A NOVEL THAT'S HAD A LASTING IMPACT ON YOUR LIFE?

SHARE YOUR STORY WITH US AT PBS.ORG.

AND WHILE YOU'RE THERE, DON'T FORGET TO VOTE.

THERE ARE PAIRS OF BOOKS ON YOUR BEST-LOVED LIST THAT SEEM TO REACH OUT TO EACH OTHER ACROSS TIME AND ANSWER BACK IN WAYS THAT AMPLIFY AND ILLUMINATE BOTH TALES.

ONE SUCH LITERARY LOVE AFFAIR EXISTS BETWEEN THE HERO OF THE OLDEST BOOK YOU CHOSE, MIGUEL DE CERVANTES' 1605 "DON QUIXOTE," AND A 20th CENTURY PROTEGE WHOSE STORY IS SET IN NEW ORLEANS.

I FIRST BECOME AWARE OF "CONFEDERACY OF DUNCES" WELL BEFORE IT WAS PUBLISHED.

I REMEMBER GOING PAGE BY PAGE THROUGH IT AND THINKING, "WOW, THIS IS THE GREATEST UNPUBLISHED NOVEL IN NEW ORLEANS."

AND THEN I REALIZED IT WASN'T JUST A NEW ORLEANS NOVEL, IT WAS LIKE THE GREATEST UNPUBLISHED NOVEL OF ALL.

VIEIRA: THE PULITZER-WINNING CULT CLASSIC "A CONFEDERACY OF DUNCES" FOLLOWS THE QUIXOTIC JOURNEY OF ONE IGNATIUS J. REILLY, AN IDEALISTIC, SEMI-DELUSIONAL SLOB ON A QUEST FOR TRUE LOVE AND STEADY EMPLOYMENT.

ISAACSON: IF I HAD TO DESCRIBE THE BOOK, I WOULD SAY IT'S "DON QUIXOTE" SET IN NEW ORLEANS.

IN FACT, "CONFEDERACY OF DUNCES" ECHOES "DON QUIXOTE" BECAUSE THE MAN OF LA MANCHA, HE'S A LITTLE BIT NUTS.

HE'S MAKING HIS WAY THROUGH THE WORLD USING FANTASY, SOMETIMES A SHIELD AND SOMETIMES A SPEAR, AND YOU SEE THAT IN IGNACIOUS J. REILLY.

HE ACTUALLY TRIES TO DO GOOD.

IT'S JUST THAT HE CAN'T QUITE MANEUVER ALL THE THINGS THAT HAPPEN IN THIS WORLD.

AND THAT GIVES HIM A SENSE OF OBSERVATION, A SENSE OF ABILITY TO SEE THE HUMOR IN THINGS.

I'M WALTER ISAACSON, AND MY BOOK IS JOHN KENNEDY TOOLE'S "A CONFEDERACY OF DUNCES."

IF IT'S YOURS, GO TO THE PBS WEBSITE AND MAKE YOUR VOTE COUNT.

MAN: THERE WAS A WOMAN NAMED SHIRLEY FEZLER WHO WAS MY FIFTH GRADE TEACHER.

AND AFTER LUNCH, SHE WOULD READ TO US.

AND SHE HAD A BEAUTIFUL READING VOICE.

JUST THE WAY THAT SHE OPENED THE BOOK AND HELD IT TO US.

THEN SHE WOULD SAY, "CAN EVERYBODY SEE?"

MADE US FEEL IMPORTANT.

VIEIRA: WE'VE COVERED SO MUCH ALREADY ON "THE GREAT AMERICAN READ," OUR CELEBRATION OF YOUR 100 BEST-LOVED BOOKS.

SO SHARE YOUR FAVORITES AND VOTE FOR THEM, ATTEND AN EVENT THROUGH YOUR LOCAL PBS STATION, AND CONNECT WITH US ON FACEBOOK, TWITTER, AND ON OUR WEBSITE, PBS.ORG/GREATAMERICANREAD.

THERE'S ONE BOOK THAT HAS BEEN CHAMPIONED BY THE LIKES OF OPRAH WINFREY, EMMA WATSON, AND GABRIELLE UNION.

PUBLISHED IN 1982, IT WAS THE FIRST BOOK BY A WOMAN OF COLOR TO WIN THE PULITZER PRIZE.

KNOW THE NOVEL?

IT'S "THE COLOR PURPLE" BY ALICE WALKER.

WOMAN: "I THINK IT PISSES GOD OFF "IF YOU WALK BY THE COLOR PURPLE IN A FIELD SOMEWHERE AND DON'T NOTICE IT."

UNION: I'M DRAWN TO BOOKS ABOUT THE EXPERIENCES AND REALITIES OF WOMEN OF COLOR.

AS A BLACK WOMAN GROWING UP IN A PREDOMINANTLY WHITE COMMUNITY, I WAS NOT REFLECTED ANYWHERE-- NOT ON THE SHELVES OF MY LOCAL BOOKSTORE, NOT ON THE SHELVES IN MY LOCAL LIBRARIES.

IT WAS REALLY ONLY ON THE SHELVES AT HOME BECAUSE MY MOM STEPPED IN TO SUPPLEMENT OUR EDUCATION, AND SO WE COULD SEE OURSELVES REFLECTED.

VIEIRA: "THE COLOR PURPLE" IS THE STORY OF CELIE, A BLACK SHARECROPPER'S DAUGHTER GROWING UP IN RURAL GEORGIA IN THE 1930s.

RAPED AND BEATEN BY THE MAN SHE BELIEVES TO BE HER FATHER, CELIE NONETHELESS SURVIVES AND SLOWLY BEGINS TO TAKE CONTROL OF HER FUTURE.

UNION: I FIRST READ "THE COLOR PURPLE" WHEN I WAS 19.

I HAD BEEN RAPED.

AND I FOUND MYSELF TRYING TO GO FROM VICTIM TO SURVIVOR.

MY MOM WAS LIKE, "I THINK THIS BOOK CAN HELP."

AND I'M READING.

AND IT GAVE ME MY HOPE.

IT GAVE ME INSPIRATION.

IT GAVE ME A PASSAGEWAY OUT.

WATCHING CELIE'S EVOLUTION WAS SO TRANSFORMATIVE.

SHE DISCOVERS HER VOICE, HER WORTH, AND ULTIMATELY, SHE DISCOVERS THAT REDEMPTION AND JOY ARE A PART OF HER JOURNEY AS WELL WHEN SHE NEVER COULD EVEN FATHOM THAT.

ALICE WALKER DID NOT SENSATIONALIZE OR SUGARCOAT THE VIOLENCE OF RAPE, AND THAT INSPIRED ME TO BE VERY CLEAR AND BRUTALLY HONEST.

THE PERSON THAT WAS RAPED AT 19 DIED THAT DAY, AND WHO CAME UP OUT OF THE ASHES, THE ROSE THAT BLOOMED OUT OF CONCRETE IS THE SMARTER, STRONGER, BRAVER, MORE RESILIENT PERSON.

TO PUT IT SIMPLY, IT WAS A BOOK THAT SAVED MY LIFE.

HI, I'M GABRIELLE UNION, AND I STRONGLY ENCOURAGE YOU TO READ "THE COLOR PURPLE" BECAUSE IT WILL MOVE YOU.

VIEIRA: "THE COLOR PURPLE" IS ONE OF 33 BOOKS WRITTEN BY WOMEN AMONG YOUR BEST-LOVED NOVELS.

AND THERE ARE MANY MORE BOOKS ON YOUR LIST THAT FEATURE A STRONG FEMALE LEAD.

THESE ARE CHARACTERS WHO DELIGHT, INSPIRE, TERRIFY, AND TEACH US, SOMETIMES ALL AT ONCE.

"DOÑA BARBARA," THE STORY OF A SEDUCTIVE ANTI-HEROINE, WRITTEN BY FORMER VENEZUELAN PRESIDENT ROMULO GALLEGOS, ALICE SEBOLD'S HAUNTING NOVEL "THE LOVELY BONES," NARRATED BY THE GHOST OF A MURDERED TEENAGE GIRL, "ANNE OF GREEN GABLES," THE INSPIRING TALE OF A SPIRITED ORPHAN GIRL BY LUCY MAUD MONTGOMERY, AND CHIMAMANDA NGOZI ADICHIE'S TENDER PORTRAIT OF A WOMAN FALLING IN LOVE ACROSS TIME AND PLACE, "AMERICANAH."

ONE OF MY FAVORITE BOOKS IS "AMERICANAH."

YOU SHOULD READ IT BECAUSE I LOVED IT.

VIEIRA: OUR NEXT BOOK IS SURE TO BE A FRONT RUNNER FOR THE NATION'S NUMBER ONE NOVEL.

SOME POLLS RANK IT SECOND ONLY TO THE BIBLE IN POPULARITY WITH AMERICANS.

IT FEATURES ONE OF THE MOST POWERFUL AND PROVOCATIVE FEMALE LEADS IN AMERICAN LITERATURE.

IT'S MARGARET MITCHELL'S "GONE WITH THE WIND."

"GONE WITH THE WIND" IS MY FAVORITE BOOK.

MARGARET MITCHELL'S MESSAGE OF GUMPTION AND SURVIVING NO MATTER WHAT IS PROBABLY THE STRONGEST THING THAT I GOT FROM IT.

MAN: "GONE WITH THE WIND" FRAMES THE IDEA OF SURVIVAL THROUGH THE LENS OF A FEMALE PROTAGONIST, WHICH IS RARE FOR THAT TIME.

VIEIRA: "GONE WITH THE WIND" DESCRIBES THE LIFE AND LOVE AFFAIRS OF SCARLETT O'HARA, A SPOILED SOUTHERN BELLE WHO GROWS INTO A FIERY INDEPENDENT WOMAN IN THE CHAOS FOLLOWING THE DEFEAT OF THE CONFEDERATE ARMY IN THE CIVIL WAR.

SCARLETT'S WORLD COLLAPSES AROUND HER, BUT HER PRIVATE WORLD AND HER BELOVED HOME TARA SURVIVE.

ONE OF THE WAYS THAT I THINK THIS BOOK MIGHT BE MISUNDERSTOOD, YOU KNOW, WHAT IS THE LOVE STORY IN THAT BOOK?

TARA IS THE GREAT LOVE OF SCARLETT'S LIFE.

THERE'S NOTHING THAT SHE WORKS HARDER TO SAVE IN THIS BOOK THAN THAT HOUSE.

I DO THINK THAT THERE IS THIS RELATIONSHIP THAT AMERICA HAS WITH THE ROMANCE OF THAT TIME, YOU KNOW, AND THAT'S SOMETHING THAT WHETHER OR NOT PEOPLE TALK ABOUT IT, IS THERE, AND I THINK IT SUFFUSES PEOPLE'S ATTACHMENT TO THAT BOOK.

I MEAN, IT'S SUCH A FRAUGHT BOOK.

TO GO BACK AND TO REREAD IT NOW IS VERY UNCOMFORTABLE.

IT'S VERY PAINFUL.

IT'S VERY UPSETTING.

CRANK: WE CAN LOVE LITERATURE, WE CAN LOVE CHARACTERS, WE CAN LOVE STORY, WE CAN LOVE NARRATIVE, BUT WE CAN ALSO BE THOUGHTFUL ABOUT WHAT THEY GET WRONG.

IT DOESN'T ARTICULATE THE PLIGHT OF AFRICAN AMERICANS AT ALL.

IT'S TAKING A VIEWPOINT OF THE FORCED ENSLAVEMENT OF AFRICANS AND PAINTING THAT WITH A ROMANTIC LENS.

IF WE CAN BE HONEST ABOUT "GONE WITH THE WIND'S" SHORTCOMINGS, THEN WE CAN START TO TALK ABOUT SOME OF THE THINGS THAT MITCHELL'S DOING THAT I THINK ARE PRECOCIOUS AND INGENIOUS AND SMART AND AHEAD OF HER TIME.

SCARLETT O'HARA'S LIKE DARTH VADER AND MICKEY MOUSE.

SHE'S HERE TO STAY IN AMERICAN CULTURE.

WE NEVER GET SICK OF HEARING ABOUT THE AMERICAN WITH GUMPTION WHO AGAINST ALL ODDS FIGHTS AND WINS.

THAT'S A NARRATIVE THAT WE LOVE.

VIEIRA: WE KNOW YOU LOVE TO READ, BUT HOW MANY OF THE BOOKS ON THE LIST HAVE YOU READ?

VISIT PBS.ORG TO SEE HOW YOU SCORE.

CLINTON: I LOVE TO READ.

I'M SO GRATEFUL TO MY PARENTS AND TO MY GRANDPARENTS FOR ALL THE BOOKS THEY READ TO ME WHEN I WAS A LITTLE GIRL.

"WHERE THE RED FERN GROWS" BROKE MY HEART.

I REMEMBER SO VIVIDLY READING IT IN FOURTH GRADE, AND I REMEMBER I NOT ONLY CRIED WHEN I READ IT AT HOME, I THINK I CRIED WHEN WE TALKED ABOUT IT IN CLASS.

I JUST WAS DEVASTATED.

I WOULD SAY IF SOMEONE'S GONNA READ THAT, THEY DEFINITELY NEED TO HAVE A BOX OF TISSUES NEARBY.

I'M AT MY HAPPIEST NOW WHEN I'M READING BOOKS WITH MY CHILDREN.

I LOVE READING WITH CHARLOTTE AND AIDAN, AND THEN THEY ALWAYS WANT, YOU KNOW, ONE MORE STORY, TWO MORE STORIES, 5 MORE STORIES BEFORE THEY GO TO BED.

EVEN 15 MINUTES A DAY MAKES A BIG DIFFERENCE.

WE HAVE A BIG PUSH ACROSS THE COUNTRY TO HELP PARENTS, GRANDPARENTS, AND OTHER CAREGIVERS TO TAKE THOSE 15 MINUTES AND READ BOOKS, OR EVEN JUST TO SING AND TALK WITH THEIR CHILDREN.

HI, I'M CHELSEA CLINTON.

I'M SO THRILLED AND HONORED TO BE PART OF "THE GREAT AMERICAN READ."

I HOPE THAT IT WILL ENCOURAGE YOU TO READ EVEN ONE BOOK ON THIS REMARKABLE LIST.

VIEIRA: YOU MIGHT NEVER HAVE GOTTEN THE CHANCE TO READ, LET ALONE VOTE FOR, "WHERE THE RED FERN GROWS" FEARING REJECTION, ITS AUTHOR WILSON RAWLS BURNED HIS MANUSCRIPT TO ASHES, AND THEN REWROTE IT FROM MEMORY AT HIS WIFE'S URGING.

AND YOU CHOSE OTHER NOVELS THAT HAD ROCKY STARTS.

MARIO PUZO'S "THE GODFATHER" SEEMED DEAD IN THE WATER UNTIL HIS PUBLISHER MADE A SUGGESTION HE COULDN'T REFUSE-- ADD MORE MAFIA INTRIGUE TO THE STORY AND IT'LL SELL.

50,000 IS THE NUMBER OF COPIES TIM LAHAYE AND JERRY B. JENKINS' APOCALYPTIC SERIES "LEFT BEHIND" WAS PREDICTED TO SELL.

IT HAS SOLD MORE THAN 50 MILLION.

INITIAL REVIEWS OF AYN RAND'S DYSTOPIAN MYSTERY "ATLAS SHRUGGED" WERE RESOUNDINGLY BAD, BUT IT HAS EARNED A DEVOTED FOLLOWING AMONG READERS.

AND IT TOOK A PRESIDENTIAL SEAL OF APPROVAL TO HELP LAUNCH TOM CLANCY'S DEBUT NOVEL, "THE HUNT FOR RED OCTOBER."

THE CONVERSATION ABOUT YOUR TOP 100 BOOKS IS HEATING UP, SO GET INVOLVED NOW.

START A BOOK CLUB IN YOUR COMMUNITY OR JOIN OUR GREAT AMERICAN READ BOOK CLUB ON OUR FACEBOOK PAGE.

AMERICA LOVES THE STORY OF AN UNDERDOG.

AND I THINK THE MORAL TO THOSE STORIES IS THAT PERSISTENCE PAYS OFF.

SO BE PERSISTENT.

IF YOU LOVE A BOOK, TALK ABOUT IT AND VOTE FOR IT.

YOU CAN VOTE ONCE A DAY EVERY DAY AT PBS.ORG/GREATAMERICANREAD.

VOTE, VOTE, VOTE.

NEXT FROM OUR SURVEY OF AMERICA'S MOST-LOVED BOOKS IS THE WORLD'S BEST-SELLING SCIENCE FICTION NOVEL.

BUT IT HAD A RATHER HUMBLE START.

IT WAS FIRST PUT OUT IN SERIAL FORM BY A PUBLISHER BETTER KNOWN FOR PRINTING AUTO REPAIR GUIDES.

KNOW THE BOOK?

IT'S NONE OTHER THAN FRANK HERBERT'S "DUNE."

WHEATON: "DUNE" REMAINS THIS MASSIVE SCI-FI TOUCHSTONE BECAUSE THERE IS SOMEONE IN THAT BOOK FOR EVERY READER TO IDENTIFY WITH AND TO IDENTIFY AGAINST.

"FEAR IS THE MIND-KILLER.

"FEAR IS THE LITTLE DEATH THAT BRINGS TOTAL OBLITERATION.

"I WILL FACE MY FEAR.

"I WILL PERMIT IT TO PASS OVER ME "AND THROUGH ME.

"AND WHEN IT IS GONE PAST ME, "I WILL TURN TO SEE FEAR'S PATH.

"WHERE THE FEAR HAS GONE THERE WILL BE NOTHING.

ONLY I WILL REMAIN."

IT IS A MAGNIFICENT WORK OF LITERATURE.

VIEIRA: "DUNE" DEPICTS A DEADLY CONFLICT OVER A LIMITED NATURAL RESOURCE.

PAUL ATREIDES, HEIR TO A ROYAL HOUSE, GATHERS AN ARMY TO KEEP THE ONLY SOURCE OF THIS COVETED SUBSTANCE KNOWN AS THE SPICE FROM FALLING INTO THE CLUTCHES OF THE MERCILESS HARKONNEN.

WHEATON: AT ITS HEART, "DUNE" IS VERY SIMPLY A STORY OF GOOD VERSUS EVIL.

AND THE HARKONNENS, WHO ARE THE VILLAINS, REPRESENT GLUTTONY AND GREED AND CRUELTY.

THE PART OF ME THAT CONSTANTLY SEEKS JUSTICE IN THE WORLD JUST LOVES THAT THEY'RE DESTROYED.

IT IS INCREDIBLY SATISFYING TO ME.

IT IS MORE SATISFYING THAN THE DEATH STAR BEING DESTROYED AT THE END OF "STAR WARS."

AT A TIME WHEN A LOT OF SCIENCE FICTION WAS FOCUSED ON LASER GUNS AND ROCKET SHIPS, "DUNE" IS SUCH A BEAUTIFUL ALLEGORY FOR WHAT WE CAN DO AS HUMANS WHEN WE FACE OUR FEARS AND WORK TOGETHER AND WHEN WE ASPIRE TO GREATNESS.

HAVING A BOOK TO FALL INTO, A PLACE TO OCCUPY MY IMAGINATION HAS ALWAYS BEEN REALLY IMPORTANT TO ME.

I AM WIL WHEATON, AND I BELIEVE "DUNE" IS AN ABSOLUTE CONTENDER FOR YOUR FAVORITE BOOK.

VIEIRA: YOU CHOSE 22 SCI-FI AND FANTASY BOOKS IN ALL, SOME OF WHICH DESCRIBE CHILLINGLY POSSIBLE FUTURES.

SCIENCE IS NOW CAPABLE OF DOING SO MUCH MORE.

NOW OUR TECHNOLOGY AND EVERYTHING CAN DESTROY A WORLD.

VIEIRA: IN DEAN KOONTZ'S "WATCHERS," A TRIO OF SOCIAL OUTSIDERS, INCLUDING A GENETICALLY MODIFIED DOG, RUN FROM A LAB-ENGINEERED SUPER KILLER.

JOINING "WATCHERS" ON YOUR LIST IS ERNEST CLINE'S "READY PLAYER ONE."

WOMAN: THE VIRTUAL REALITY ANGLE OF THIS BOOK SPEAKS A LOT TO HOW WE INTERACT WITH SOCIAL MEDIA THESE DAYS.

VIEIRA: THEN THERE'S MICHAEL CRICHTON'S "JURASSIC PARK," A TALE OF GENE ENGINEERING GONE GIGANTICALLY WRONG, "SWAN SONG" BY ROBERT McCAMMON, A STORY OF HUMAN SURVIVAL AFTER NUCLEAR APOCALYPSE, AND ROBERT JORDAN'S FOURTH DIMENSION BENDING "THE EYE OF THE WORLD," THE FIRST VOLUME OF HIS FANTASY SERIES "THE WHEEL OF TIME."

THERE ARE ALSO HOPEFUL VISIONS OF THE FUTURE IN YOUR SCI-FI PICKS, LIKE ANDY WEIR'S INSPIRING STORY "THE MARTIAN."

I THINK THE BIGGEST PART OF EXPLORATION IS YOU LEARN SO MUCH ABOUT YOURSELF WHEN YOU GO FROM YOUR HOME PLANET.

AND THIS BOOK SHOWED HOW WITH LEARNING, WITH EDUCATION, YOU CAN REALLY DO ANYTHING TO OVERCOME ANY OBSTACLES.

VIEIRA: IS THERE ANOTHER BOOK ON THE LIST THAT MAKES YOU HOPEFUL ABOUT THE FUTURE?

SHARE YOUR STORY AT PBS.ORG.

THE WRITER'S CRAFT, THE RULES NOVELISTS INVENT FOR THEMSELVES, IS A SUBJECT OF FASCINATION TO LOYAL FANS.

SO WE ASKED THE AUTHORS OF SOME OF THE BOOKS ON YOUR LIST TO GIVE YOU A PEEK INTO THEIR PROCESS.

BUDDING WRITERS, TAKE NOTE.

MAN: STORIES ARE ALL ABOUT CHARACTERS FOR ME, BECAUSE PEOPLE INVEST IN PEOPLE.

I'D RATHER TRY TO WORK AS HARD AS I CAN TO TRY TO WRITE PEOPLE, NOT CHARACTERS.

I WANT TO WRITE PEOPLE, BREATHING HUMAN BEINGS THAT FEEL PALPABLE ON THE PAGE.

I THINK PEOPLE TEND TO BE EITHER PEOPLE WHO LIKE TO LOOK UNDER THE ROCK OR PEOPLE WHO DON'T LIKE TO LOOK UNDER THE ROCK.

AND I'VE ALWAYS BEEN LIKE, "WHAT IS UNDER THIS ROCK?"

BOINK.

THE NOVEL ISN'T ONE IDEA.

A NOVEL IS THOUSANDS AND THOUSANDS OF IDEAS STACKED ON TOP OF EACH OTHER.

I HAVE ALWAYS THOUGHT THAT WRITE WHAT YOU KNOW STUFF IS TOTAL NONSENSE BECAUSE THAT WOULD LIMIT EVERYONE TO JUST WRITING THEIR OWN BIOGRAPHY, AND THIS WOULD NOT BE FUN FOR ANYONE.

BEING ABLE TO PULL SOMEONE OUT OF THEIR DAILY LIFE AND TRANSPORT THEM COMPLETELY INTO A DIFFERENT WORLD, THAT'S MAGIC.

VIEIRA: HOOKED ON THESE BOOKS?

IF YOU WANT TO LEARN MORE ABOUT THEM OR "THE GREAT AMERICAN READ," VISIT US AT PBS.ORG.

THE AUTHOR OF THE NEXT BOOK ON YOUR LIST BELIEVED WORDS COULD CHANGE THE WORLD.

WE VISITED HIS HOME IN BROOKLIN, MAINE TO HEAR WHAT SOME OF HIS BIGGEST FANS HAVE LEARNED FROM E.B.

WHITE'S "CHARLOTTE'S WEB."

FRIENDSHIP SHOULD BE UNCONDITIONAL.

A LITTLE THING CAN DO A BIG THING IN A BIG THING'S LIFE.

IT'S SORT OF A GUIDE TO FRIENDSHIP.

GIRL: SOMETIMES YOUR FRIENDS WILL DO ALMOST ANYTHING TO HELP YOU OR SAVE YOUR LIFE.

IT'S JUST A REALLY BEAUTIFUL BOOK.

WOMAN: EVERYTHING ABOUT THIS BOOK IS MAGICAL.

I READ AS I WAS GROWING UP, AND NOW I'M READING IT TO MY GRANDCHILDREN.

VIEIRA: THE NOVEL IS THE STORY OF A RUNT PIGLET SAVED FROM THE SLAUGHTERHOUSE BY A WISE AND BENEVOLENT BARN SPIDER, CHARLOTTE, WHO WEAVES HIM A PLACE IN THE HISTORY OF A SMALL MAINE TOWN.

STAHL: TO HAVE AN AUTHOR ELEVATE THE VERY CREATURES THAT WE ALL GO, "EW!"

WHEN WE SEE THEM OR HEAR THEM.

WE'RE AFRAID OF THEM.

THE RAT, THE SPIDER, THE PIG.

AND YET THEY ARE THE HEROES, AND THEY BECOME LOVABLE, INTELLIGENT, AND HUMAN.

THIS IS A BOOK ABOUT HELPING EACH OTHER, BEING KIND TO EACH OTHER.

I LOVE TO READ TO MY GRANDCHILDREN, ESPECIALLY IF THEY'RE SITTING IN YOUR LAP AND YOU CAN HOLD THEM AT THE SAME TIME.

THAT'S MY FAVORITE, FAVORITE THING TO DO.

GIRL: YOU KNOW HOW THERE'S A SAYING, NEVER JUDGE A BOOK BY ITS COVER?

THAT'S KIND OF WHAT IT REMINDS ME OF SINCE HOW CHARLOTTE'S A SPIDER AND SHE HAS 8 LEGS AND SHE PROBABLY LOOKS DIFFERENT THAN WILBUR, BUT WILBUR DOESN'T CARE HOW SHE LOOKS.

HE JUST CARES IF SHE'S NICE.

ALL: VOTE "CHARLOTTE'S WEB"!

VIEIRA: FICTION CAN BE A CONDUIT FOR VERY REAL MORAL QUESTIONS.

E.B.

WHITE LIVED ON A FARM AND WROTE "CHARLOTTE'S WEB" TO EXPRESS HIS MIXED FEELINGS ABOUT RAISING ANIMALS FOR SLAUGHTER.

AUTHOR JOHN IRVING HAS TURNED HIS CRAFT TOWARD ANOTHER EXISTENTIAL PROBLEM-- THE BASIS OF RELIGIOUS BELIEF.

I'M NOT RELIGIOUS.

I WOULDN'T CALL MYSELF AN ATHEIST, EITHER.

I DOUBT, BUT I'M INTERESTED.

"A PRAYER FOR OWEN MEANY" BECAME THE IDEA THAT WHAT WOULD HAVE TO HAPPEN TO ME IN MY LIFE, WHO WOULD I HAVE TO KNOW THAT WOULD MAKE ME BELIEVE?

VIEIRA: THE NOVEL TELLS THE STORY OF A LIFELONG FRIENDSHIP BETWEEN TWO BOYS-- ONE AN ATHLETIC KID WHO DOES HIS BEST TO HIDE HIS INSECURITIES, AND THE OTHER A CHILD WHO IS PHYSICALLY STUNTED, BUT CONSIDERS HIMSELF GOD'S INSTRUMENT ON EARTH.

I CONSTRUCTED A STORY VERY DELIBERATELY THAT'S BASED ALONG THE LINES THAT IF I HAD BEEN OWEN MEANY'S FRIEND, THIS WOULD HAVE MADE ME BELIEVE, TOO.

VIEIRA: IN OLATHE, KANSAS, WE SPOKE WITH ONE READER WHO IS PUTTING JOHN IRVING'S WORDS TO WORK.

WHAT JOHN IRVING IS ABLE TO DO IS TO MAKE YOU FEEL FOR PEOPLE THAT YOU MIGHT BE TEMPTED TO COUNT OUT.

I DON'T KNOW HOW THAT FICTIONAL CHARACTER REACHED INTO MY LIFE AND HELPED ME SEE THINGS THAT I NEEDED TO SEE, BUT HE DID.

JOHN IRVING'S A FREAK.

WE WERE CONCEIVED IN DIVISION... SUTTLE: MY NAME'S TIM SUTTLE, AND I AM THE PASTOR OF REDEMPTION CHURCH IN OLATHE, KANSAS.

IN OUR CHURCH, WE HAVE MIDDLE CLASS FAMILIES AND WE HAVE HOMELESS GUYS.

WHEN THOSE TWO WORLDS CRASH INTO EACH OTHER, THAT REQUIRES COMPASSION.

OWEN IS WHAT TRUE FAITH ACTUALLY LOOKS LIKE.

IT'S THIS BELIEF THAT EVERYONE AROUND HIM HAS SOME KIND OF PURPOSE AND IS INTERTWINED IN SOME WAY THAT SHOULD INSPIRE BOTH FAITH AND DOUBT.

THIS SUMMER READ "A PRAYER FOR OWEN MEANY" AND CAST YOUR VOTE.

VIEIRA: ENJOYING WHAT YOU'RE LEARNING SO FAR?

WELL, STICK WITH US ON THIS QUEST FOR AMERICA'S BEST-LOVED NOVEL, AND BRING YOUR FRIENDS ALONG FOR THE RIDE, TOO.

SHARE BOOKS YOU'RE READING AND GET RECOMMENDATIONS FOR NEW ONES AT EVENTS SPONSORED BY OUR FRIENDS IN THE AMERICAN LIBRARY ASSOCIATION AND THE AMERICAN BOOK SELLERS ASSOCIATION.

AND HEAD OVER TO OUR WEBSITE FOR LOTS MORE ON PBS.ORG/GREATAMERICANREAD.

AS WE REVEAL YOUR 100 BEST-LOVED NOVELS, WE'VE LOOKED AT BOOKS THAT SUFFERED ROCKY STARTS, PUTTING THEIR AUTHORS THROUGH GRIEF BEFORE THEY GAINED A FOOTHOLD WITH READERS.

THERE'S ANOTHER CLASS OF NOVEL-- BOOKS SO FAR AHEAD OF THEIR TIME THAT THEIR AUTHORS, SAD TO SAY, WERE DEAD AND GONE BEFORE THE BOOKS ENJOYED ANY SUCCESS.

EVEN JOSEPH CONRAD DIDN'T CARE MUCH FOR "HEART OF DARKNESS," HIS OWN HISTORICAL HORROR STORY SET IN COLONIAL CONGO.

PUBLIC REACTION TO THE BOOK WAS LUKEWARM, TOO.

BUT IT NOW RANKS AMONG HIS BEST-READ NOVELS.

ZORA NEALE HURSTON'S POETIC LOVE STORY, "THEIR EYES WERE WATCHING GOD," MIGHT HAVE RECEDED FROM MEMORY IF NOT FOR THE EFFORTS OF WRITERS LIKE ALICE WALKER, WHO SAVED IT FROM OBSCURITY.

- THIS IS THE FIRST LOVE STORY EVER WRITTEN BY A BLACK AUTHOR AND IT'S THE FIRST TIME THAT A BLACK AUTHOR REPRESENTED HUMAN SEXUALITY IN ANY MEANINGFUL WAY.

THE MAJOR MALE AUTHORS OF THE TIME HATED THE BOOK AND TRASHED IT, WHY?

I THINK IT WAS WRITTEN FOR BLACK WOMEN AND TO STAND UP AGAINST BLACK MEN AND I'M SURE SHE KNEW THE RESPONSE IT WOULD ELICIT AND THIS WAS AGAINST THE TIDE.

THE BLACK BOARD OF CENSORSHIP, METAPHORICALLY, WANTED TO SHUT THIS BOOK DOWN, AND FOR A LONG TIME THEY DID.

WITHIN 15 YEARS SHE WAS WORKING AS A MAID AND SHE DIED AND WAS BURIED IN AN UNMARKED GRAVE.

ALICE WALKER BOUGHT A MAGNIFICENT HEADSTONE AND SHE COMMEMORATED HER DEATH AND THEREFORE, GAVE HER A NEW LIFE AS AN AUTHOR.

WITHIN A YEAR, THEIR EYES WERE WATCHING GOD WAS BACK IN PRINT.

THIS BOOK IS PERFECT.

IT IS THE GREATEST NOVEL EVER WRITTEN IN THE AMERICAN TRADITION.

VOTE FOR THEIR EYES WERE WATCHING GOD.

- AND FINALLY, THE AMERICAN AUTHOR OF THE NEXT BOOK DIED BELIEVING HIS NOVEL WAS AN ABSOLUTE FAILURE.

HIS PUBLISHER HAD EVEN QUESTIONED ITS VERY PREMISE, SAYING, "DOES IT HAVE TO BE A WHALE?"

OF COURSE IT HAD TO BE A WHALE.

IT IS HERMAN MELVILLE'S MOBY DICK.

(BRAVE MUSIC) - MY NAME IS MARY K BERCAW EDWARDS, I'M AN ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR OF ENGLISH AT THE UNIVERSITY OF CONNECTICUT AND I'M ALSO A SAILOR.

I HAVE 58,000 MILES AT SEA.

I LOVE MOBY DICK.

I PASSIONATELY BELIEVE IT'S THE GREAT AMERICAN NOVEL.

- [MEREDITH] MOBY DICK TELLS THE STORY OF THE MAD CAPTAIN OF A WHALING SHIP, WHO DRIVES HIS CREW ON A HUNT FROM NANTUCKET ISLAND TO THE SOUTH PACIFIC TO KILL THE WHITE WHALE THAT BIT OFF HIS LEG.

- MOBY DICK HAS A REPUTATION FOR BEING LONG AND BORING AND DENSE, BUT IT'S FILLED WITH HUMOR, ALL TYPES OF HUMOR, RAUNCHY HUMOR, SOCIAL MATTERS HUMOR.

AND IT'S ALSO BEAUTIFUL LANGUAGE.

YOU GET LOST IN THE BEAUTY OF THAT LANGUAGE.

MAN: "AS FOR ME, I AM TORMENTED "WITH AN EVERLASTING ITCH FOR THINGS REMOTE.

"I LOVE TO SAIL FORBIDDEN SEAS AND LAND ON BARBAROUS COASTS."

BERCAW EDWARDS: I THINK HERMAN MELVILLE IS THE AMERICAN SHAKESPEARE.

HE KNOWS HOW TO USE LANGUAGE.

THE WAY HE PUTS WORDS TOGETHER.

MELVILLE WAS A SAILOR FIRST BEFORE HE BECAME A WRITER.

HE SPENT 4 YEARS AT SEA AND SERVED ON 3 DIFFERENT WHALE SHIPS.

ALL THIS HARDCORE KNOWLEDGE OF BEING AT SEA COMES THROUGH IN ALL OF HIS BOOKS.

VIEIRA: WE'VE SEEN TONIGHT HOW SOME OF OUR FAVORITE BOOKS AFFECT, REFLECT, AND CONNECT US ALL ACROSS THE COUNTRY.

WELL, NOW'S THE TIME FOR YOU TO REALLY GET INVOLVED.

CHECK OUT ALL 100 BOOKS AT PBS.ORG/GREATAMERICANREAD.

FIND OUT ALL THE WAYS YOU CAN PARTICIPATE AND SHARE YOUR THOUGHTS ON SOCIAL MEDIA.

AND MOST IMPORTANT, WE NEED YOU TO VOTE.

IT'S ALL UP TO YOU TO DECIDE AMERICA'S BEST-LOVED NOVEL.

WELCOME BACK TO "THE GREAT AMERICAN READ," THE SEARCH FOR OUR BEST-LOVED BOOK.

TO BEGIN THE SEARCH, WE'RE EXPLORING 100 NOVELS PICKED BY READERS LIKE YOU.

INCLUDED IN YOUR TOP 100 ARE 12 NOVELS THAT SOLD MORE THAN 50 MILLION COPIES EACH, 5 BY NOBEL PRIZE-WINNING AUTHORS, AND A PULITZER WINNER PENNED BY A FORMER AIRLINE RESERVATIONIST.

BUT WHICH BOOK WILL WIN?

THAT'LL BE UP TO YOU.

WE'VE MADE IT EASY TO GET INVOLVED.

ATTEND AN EVENT THROUGH YOUR LOCAL PBS STATION AND CONNECT WITH US ON FACEBOOK, TWITTER, AND ON OUR WEBSITE-- PBS.ORG/GREATAMERICANREAD.

IN THE FALL, WE WILL ANNOUNCE THE WINNER IN A SPECIAL FINALE RIGHT HERE ON PBS.

DIEHARD JANE AUSTEN FANS HAD TO EXPECT WE'D BE TALKING ABOUT THIS NOVEL.

THE ORIGINAL TITLE FOR THE BOOK WAS "FIRST IMPRESSIONS," BUT IT WENT ON TO BECOME "PRIDE AND PREJUDICE."

IN HUNTINGTON BEACH, CALIFORNIA, AT AN ANNUAL GATHERING OF JANEITES, AS THEY'RE KNOWN, WE LEARNED HOW THE STORY IS PLAYING OUT IN THE LIVES OF SOME OF AUSTEN'S MOST DEVOTED READERS.

[CAMERA SHUTTER CLICKS] WOMAN: I WANTED TO SHOW OFF MY JANE AUSTEN TATTOO.

"PRIDE AND PREJUDICE" IS THE BOOK THAT SAYS, "JUST KEEP DOING YOU."

VIEIRA: THE HEROINE OF THE NOVEL, ELIZABETH BENNET, IS THE SECOND OF 5 SISTERS FROM A FAMILY OF EXCELLENT REPUTATION BUT LIMITED MEANS.

UNWILLING TO WED FOR MONEY ALONE, SHE HOLDS OUT FOR A MARRIAGE BASED ON REAL AFFECTION.

PARKER: "PRIDE AND PREJUDICE" IS THE BOOK THAT TELLS ME IT'S OK THAT THIS ONE GUY TURNED YOU DOWN OR EVEN, LIKE, YOU'RE NOT GETTING ALONG WITH YOUR PARENTS OR YOU'RE NOT GETTING ALONG WITH YOUR FRIENDS.

"PRIDE AND PREJUDICE" IS THAT BOOK THAT HAS ALL THOSE LESSONS IN IT.

"THERE IS A STUBBORNNESS ABOUT ME "THAT NEVER CAN BEAR TO BE FRIGHTENED "AT THE WILL OF OTHERS.

"MY COURAGE ALWAYS RISES WITH EVERY ATTEMPT TO INTIMIDATE ME."

I THINK PEOPLE SHOULD PICK UP A COPY OF THIS 200-YEAR-OLD BOOK BECAUSE IT'LL BE THE FUNNIEST OLDEST THING THEY'VE EVER READ.

IT'LL SEND YOU DOWN THIS RABBIT HOLE OF REGENCY EMPIRE WAIST GOWNS AND MEN IN WAISTCOATS AND SISTERLY LOVE AND GOING AGAINST THE SYSTEM.

IT'S A BALL.

VIEIRA: HERE'S AN INTERESTING AUSTEN FACT.

DOCTORS PRESCRIBED "PRIDE AND PREJUDICE" TO TRAUMATIZED SOLDIERS IN WORLD WAR I AS A KIND OF BIBLIOTHERAPY.

BUT DAPHNE DU MAURIER'S THRILLER "REBECCA" PLAYED A MORE SINISTER ROLE IN A WAR.

A NAZI SPY USED IT TO ENCRYPT CODES DURING WORLD WAR II.

AND THEN THERE'S LEO TOLSTOY'S "WAR AND PEACE."

IN 1941, AS THE GERMANS ADVANCED, STALIN PLASTERED PASSAGES FROM THE NOVEL ACROSS MOSCOW TO REMIND RUSSIANS OF THEIR HEROIC RESISTANCE TO NAPOLEON IN 1812, WHICH TOLSTOY DESCRIBES IN STIRRING DETAIL.

STAHL: TOLSTOY UNDERSTOOD HUMAN FRAILTY, HUMAN NATURE.

HE GETS INSIDE THE PERSON AND WE LOOK OUT THROUGH THEIR EYES.

AND HE'S ABLE TO DO THAT FOR MULTIPLE CHARACTERS.

YOU'RE INSIDE THE EMOTIONS AND THE BRAINS OF THESE PEOPLE AS THEY EXPERIENCE THEIR LIVES.

THAT WAS THE FIRST TIME EVER THAT I HAD A BOOK I COULDN'T PUT DOWN.

I WOULD RECOMMEND THIS GREAT, FABULOUS NOVEL, MAYBE THE BEST OF ALL TIME, TO ANYBODY.

VIEIRA: AMONG YOUR BEST-LOVED BOOKS IS ONE THAT WAS INTENDED AS A WAR NOVEL.

ITS AUTHOR WAS A MERCHANT MARINE IN THE SECOND WORLD WAR.

BUT THE NOVEL ENDED UP TELLING A STORY ABOUT A DIFFERENT KIND OF CONFLICT-- THE STRUGGLE FOR EQUALITY AND SELF-DETERMINATION AT HOME.

THE BOOK IS "INVISIBLE MAN" BY RALPH ELLISON.

WOMAN: IF YOU THINK ABOUT 1950s IN THIS COUNTRY, THERE WAS A LOT OF DISILLUSIONMENT... FROM AFRICAN-AMERICAN MEN WHO HAD BEEN OVERSEAS TO WAR, AND THEN THEY CAME HOME, AND THEY WERE FACING THE SAME DISCRIMINATION, EVEN THOUGH THEY HAD ALMOST GIVEN THEIR LIVES AND BEEN PART OF AN EFFORT TO SAVE DEMOCRACY.

AND SO, THIS WAS A REFLECTION OF THAT.

THE CONCEPT OF SOMEONE WHO'S AFRICAN-AMERICAN BUT WHO STATES RIGHT OUT, "I'M INVISIBLE TO OTHER PEOPLE" RESONATED WITH ME BECAUSE I WAS BECOMING EVEN MORE AWARE OF MY PLACE AND RACE IN THIS COUNTRY.

SO, IT WAS A POWERFUL, POWERFUL BOOK.

IT STILL IS.

WE ARE GOING INTO RALPH ELLISON'S PERSONAL LIBRARY.

THERE'S SUCH VARIETY.

HIS LIBRARY AND THE SELECTIONS REFLECT HIS INFLUENCES.

WE ALSO HAVE MANUSCRIPTS WITH HIS OWN EDITS.

I GET A LITTLE EMOTIONAL LOOKING AT IT BECAUSE THIS WAS THE FINAL DRAFT OF "INVISIBLE MAN."

I'M CARLA HAYDEN, LIBRARIAN OF CONGRESS, AND ONE OF MY FAVORITE BOOKS IS RALPH ELLISON'S "INVISIBLE MAN."

VIEIRA: TO HAVE A LOOK AT ALL THE BOOKS THAT MADE YOUR TOP 100, PLEASE GO TO PBS.ORG AND CLICK "READ THE LIST AND VOTE."

YOU KNOW, IT'S SUCH A GOOD QUESTION IS WHY WE'RE DRAWN TO HORROR.

WE LIKE TO BE SCARED.

I MEAN, I GUESS I LOVE TO BE ON THE EDGE OF MY SEAT IN MANY WAYS.

YOU KNOW WHAT?

I DON'T LIKE BEING AFRAID, PERIOD.

I DON'T LIKE BEING AFRAID ON A ROLLER COASTER.

I DON'T LIKE GOING INTO DARK PLACES.

I LIKE SCARY BOOKS, I LIKE MYSTERIES, AND I LIKE BOOKS WHERE PEOPLE DIE.

I READ A SCARY BOOK.

THAT WAS NOT A HEALTHY CHOICE FOR ME.

IT REALLY AFFECTED ME.

I WAS VERY FRIGHTENED.

HA HA HA!

VIEIRA: IF YOU LOVE A SPINE-TINGLING CHILL, THE NEXT TWO BOOKS FIT THE BILL.

WE'LL START WITH ONE MANY CONSIDER THE FIRST-EVER SCI-FI NOVEL, BUT IT'S ALSO A GOTHIC HORROR STORY WHICH FEATURES A CREATURE THAT STILL HAUNTS OUR DREAMS.

WOMAN: "FRANKENSTEIN" BY MARY SHELLEY IS ONE OF MY FAVORITE STORIES OF ALL TIME.

AS AN 18-YEAR-OLD GIRL, MARY SHELLEY WAS CHALLENGED TO COME UP WITH THE BEST HORROR STORY SHE COULD, AND TWO YEARS LATER, SHE ANONYMOUSLY PUBLISHED THIS BOOK, WHICH IS CONSIDERED BY MANY TO BE ONE OF THE FIRST PIECES OF SCIENCE FICTION OUT THERE.

I FOUND IT VERY MOTIVATING THAT THIS WAS WRITTEN BY SOMEONE SO YOUNG, AND IT WAS SO AMBITIOUS.

IT'S JUST MIND-BLOWING.

[THUNDER] VIEIRA: "FRANKENSTEIN, OR THE MODERN PROMETHEUS" IS THE STORY OF A YOUNG DOCTOR, VICTOR FRANKENSTEIN, WHO BRINGS A CORPSE TO LIFE AND RUNS FROM THE MONSTER HE CREATES.

WILLIAMS: WEIRDLY, I HAVE ALWAYS BEEN PARTIAL TO FRANKENSTEIN'S MONSTER.

I DON'T KNOW WHAT IT IS.

I DON'T REALLY RELATE TO THE MONSTER.

PEOPLE DON'T, LIKE, RUN AND HIDE AND BURST INTO TEARS AND VOMIT AT THE SIGHT OF ME, WHICH IS ALWAYS A PLUS.

BUT WE SPEND A LOT OF THE STORY WITH THE MONSTER, SEEING THE WORLD THROUGH HIS EYES, AND HE'S SO SMART.

IT MAKES HIS PAIN SO MUCH MORE HARD TO SWALLOW.

MAN: "CURSED, CURSED CREATOR!

WHY DID I LIVE?

"WHY, IN THAT INSTANT, DID I NOT EXTINGUISH "THE SPARK OF EXISTENCE WHICH YOU HAD SO WANTONLY BESTOWED?"

THIS THING CAME INTO THE WORLD AS A BLANK SLATE.

IT HAD THE POTENTIAL TO BE THE BEST OF HUMANITY AND INSTEAD IT ENDED UP LEARNING FROM AND BEHAVING LIKE THE WORST OF HUMANITY.

IT'S A MESSAGE OF COMPASSION.

WHEN YOU ARE FIRST CONFRONTED WITH SOMEONE, TRY TO TAKE THEM IN FOR ALL THAT THEY ARE, NOT JUST WHAT THEY LOOK LIKE.

GUYS, IT'S ALLISON WILLIAMS HERE.

YOU HAVE TO VOTE FOR "FRANKENSTEIN" BY MARY SHELLEY.

I'M VERY BIASED.

I LOVE THIS BOOK.

I'VE READ IT A MILLION TIMES.

BUT IF YOU READ IT, YOU'LL LOVE IT, TOO, AND THEN YOU CAN SOUND REALLY SMART WHEN YOU CORRECT YOUR FRIENDS.

FRANKENSTEIN ISN'T THE MONSTER.

FRANKENSTEIN IS THE DOCTOR.

VIEIRA: GENRE-BLENDING IS ALL IN A DAY'S WORK FOR THE AUTHOR OF THE NEXT NOVEL.

HORROR, SCI-FI, DRAMA, MYSTERY, AND CRIME FANS, GET READY.

THIS BOOK IS BY THE MASTER OF FEAR HIMSELF.

MAN: STEPHEN KING CREATED THIS VERY DISTINCTIVE TYPE OF NOVEL.

THERE CAN BE COMBINED, LIKE, VAMPIRES, WEREWOLVES, PSYCHIC CHILDREN, SPACE ALIENS, AND PARALLEL DIMENSIONS, AND IT'S ALL COMBINED.

IT'S LIKE FROM ALL THE DIFFERENT GENRES ALL WOVEN TOGETHER INTO ONE STORY AND IT'S TOTALLY LOONY.

NO ONE ELSE WRITES LIKE THAT.

EVERYONE ELSE IS IN A KIND OF NARROW LANE AND STEPHEN KING SORT OF USES THE WHOLE HIGHWAY.

VIEIRA: BUT WHICH OF KING'S 54 PUBLISHED NOVELS MADE IT TO YOUR TOP 100 BOOKS?

WE TRAVELED TO BANGOR, MAINE, A TOWN THAT HAS INSPIRED MANY OF KING'S STORIES, TO HEAR HOW ONE READER'S LIFE WAS CHANGED BY THE NOVEL YOU PICKED-- "THE STAND."

MAN: "THE STAND" IMPACTED MY LIFE BECAUSE IT HELPED ME KNOW THE ENJOYMENT YOU COULD GET FROM READING.

[BELL RINGS, DOOR CLOSES] WINTERS: HELLO.

HOW ARE YOU?

WOMAN: HI.

HOW ARE YOU?

WINTERS: WELCOME.

MY NAME IS GERALD WINTERS AND I OWN GERALD WINTERS AND SON RARE BOOK STORE.

IT IS A BOOKSTORE DEVOTED TO STEPHEN KING.

WHEN I WAS GROWING UP, I DIDN'T ENJOY READING.

IT WAS DIFFICULT FOR ME, AND IT WAS SOMETHING THAT I WAS ASHAMED OF, BUT ONE DAY A GOOD FRIEND OF MINE, HE SAID, "READ THIS BOOK.

YOU'LL LIKE IT."

AND IT'S LIKE 1,141 PAGES AND I WAS LIKE, "THERE'S NO WAY I'M EVER GONNA READ THIS."

BUT ON A TUESDAY AFTERNOON, I DECIDED TO PICK UP THIS BOOK AND I COULDN'T PUT IT DOWN.

AFTER THAT, I WAS JUST HOOKED.

VIEIRA: IN "THE STAND," THE ACCIDENTAL RELEASE OF A SUPER-FLU VIRUS FROM A U.S. ARMY BIOLOGICAL WARFARE STATION KILLS 99.4% OF THE WORLD'S POPULATION, CAUSING A TOTAL BREAKDOWN IN SOCIETY.

WINTERS: AFTER I FINISHED "THE STAND," I JUST STARTED COLLECTING HIS BOOKS.

I JUST WANTED TO HAVE EVERYTHING THAT THIS MAN EVER WROTE.

STEPHEN KING'S BOOKS UNITE PEOPLE FAR GREATER THAN ANY OTHER WRITER THAT I'VE EVER ENCOUNTERED.

VOTE FOR "THE STAND."

IT'LL CHANGE YOUR LIFE.

IT CHANGED MINE.

VIEIRA: STEPHEN KING SUFFERED FROM SEVERE WRITER'S BLOCK WHILE WORKING ON "THE STAND," BUT THE IDEA FOR THE BOOK CAME TO HIM PAINLESSLY, FROM A SERMON HE HEARD ON THE RADIO.

"ONCE IN EVERY GENERATION, THE PLAGUE WILL FALL AMONG THEM."

AND A FEW OTHER NOVELS ON YOUR LIST STARTED WITH A BOLT OF INSPIRATION, TOO.

KURT VONNEGUT IMPROVISED THE OUTLINE OF HIS SECOND NOVEL, "THE SIRENS OF TITAN," TO A FRIEND AT A COCKTAIL PARTY IN A SINGLE EVENING.

PAOLO COELHO WROTE "THE ALCHEMIST" IN TWO WEEKS BECAUSE, HE SAID, THE BOOK WAS ALREADY WRITTEN IN HIS SOUL.

THE IDEA FOR ISAAC ASIMOV'S "FOUNDATION" TRILOGY CAME TO HIM WHILE HE WAS RIDING IN A CAB.

MAN: AT THE VERY START OF THE BOOK, THE MAIN CHARACTER, HARI SELDON, HE'S TRYING TO WARN THE GALACTIC EMPIRE THAT, HEY, THIS COLLAPSE IS COMING.

THIS IS SCIENCE.

THIS IS WHAT'S GOING TO HAPPEN.

AND SO, YOU LOOK AT THAT IN THIS BOOK THAT WAS WRITTEN IN THE FIFTIES, AND YOU LOOK AT MODERN TIMES, YOU REALLY START TO SEE WHAT ASIMOV WAS TALKING ABOUT.

WE CAN CHANGE OUR WORLD BUT ONLY IF WE'RE COMMITTED TO IT AND ONLY IF WE'RE WILLING TO ACCEPT THAT IT'S GOING TO BE HARD WORK.

VIEIRA: AND DOUGLAS ADAMS WAS HITCHHIKING FROM LONDON TO ISTANBUL WHEN HE DREAMED UP "THE HITCHHIKER'S GUIDE TO THE GALAXY" WHILE LYING IN A FIELD, STARGAZING.

MAN: I DON'T KNOW IF I CAN DO JUSTICE TO THE REASON THAT "THE HITCHHIKER'S GUIDE TO THE GALAXY" IS SO QUIRKY.

IT'S JUST AN AWKWARD, WEIRD BOOK, BUT I LOVE THAT IT IS.

IT'S AN ABSURDIST, POST-MODERNIST, LIKE, HYPER-CREATIVE, NOT STRICTLY LOGICAL WAY TO CREATE A STORY WORLD.

VIEIRA: WE'VE TOUCHED ON SOME BIG CONTENDERS FOR YOUR NUMBER-ONE BOOK ALREADY TONIGHT, BUT THERE ARE SO MANY MORE TO ENJOY.

CHECK OUT ALL 100 TITLES AT PBS.ORG.

YOU CAN CAST YOUR VOTE RIGHT THERE OR ON OUR FACEBOOK PAGE.

THEN BE SURE TO STAY WITH US FOR THE GRAND FINALE, WHEN WE'LL FIND OUT YOUR CHOICE FOR AMERICA'S BEST-LOVED NOVEL.

WOMAN: WHEN I READ STORIES OF VICTORY AND TRIUMPH THROUGH THE WORST CIRCUMSTANCES, I THINK IT HELPS ME TO PUT THINGS INTO PERSPECTIVE.

LIKE, IF I HAVE A REALLY TERRIBLE LOSS, THEN I SAVE THIS BOOK BECAUSE I KNOW THAT I'M GONNA BE ABLE TO READ IT AND REALLY NOT THINK ABOUT WHAT I COULD'VE DONE BETTER.

I READ "THE CHRONICLES OF NARNIA" AS AN ADULT MAYBE A COUPLE YEARS AGO.

THE STORIES WERE ABOUT, OBVIOUSLY, ALL THESE FANTASTIC BEASTS AND MONSTERS AND TALES OF THESE KIDS, BUT IT WAS REALLY A LOT ABOUT A STORY OF FAITH MIXED INTO, LIKE, YOU KNOW, ALL THESE FANTASTIC TALES.

YOU START TO THINK, "OK, WELL, PERHAPS I SHOULD ALSO HAVE FAITH IN MYSELF."

READ THE "CHRONICLES OF NARNIA" BY C.S.

LEWIS.

IT'S ONE OF MY FAVORITE BOOKS.

VIEIRA: NOVELS ABOUT FAITH SCORED BIG ON OUR SURVEY.

FROM THE AGNOSTIC TO THE DEVOUT, READERS OF ALL BACKGROUNDS SEEK OUT BOOKS THAT EXPLORE SPIRITUAL AND RELIGIOUS THEMES.

AMONG THEM, JOHN BUNYAN'S 1678 NOVEL "THE PILGRIM'S PROGRESS"; "MIND INVADERS" BY DAVE HUNT; FRANK E. PERRETTI'S "THIS PRESENT DARKNESS"; MARILYN ROBINSON'S PULITZER-WINNING "GILEAD"; AND HERMANN HESSE'S "SIDDHARTHA"... A STORY ABOUT A YOUNG MAN'S JOURNEY TOWARD ENLIGHTENMENT AT THE TIME OF THE GAUTAMA BUDDHA AROUND 500 B.C.

MAN: "SIDDHARTHA" IS A DISCOVERY OF WHAT'S IMPORTANT IN LIFE.

UNDERSTANDING THAT MAYBE THE BIGGEST AND THE SHINIEST AND THE MOST EXPENSIVE THING ISN'T THE MOST IMPORTANT THING.

BEFORE "SIDDHARTHA," I WAS BETTER AT BEING BAD THAN I WAS BETTER AT BEING GOOD.

I'M NOT THE SAME PERSON THAT I WAS BEFORE I READ THAT BOOK.

IN COMEDY, YOU CAN BE A LITTLE MEAN.

I USED TO WISH HARM ON PEOPLE AND I WISHED, YOU KNOW, NOT-GREAT THINGS TO HAPPEN TO SOME PEOPLE, AND I'M NOT AS CONSUMED BY OTHER PEOPLE, AND I'M NOT AS MEAN OR AS INCONSIDERATE AS I WAS BEFORE I READ "SIDDHARTHA."

VIEIRA: WE'VE HEARD HOW THIS BOOK CHANGED GEORGE LOPEZ'S LIFE, AND IF THERE'S A NOVEL ON THE LIST THAT HAS CHANGED YOUR LIFE, WE WANT TO KNOW THAT, TOO.

SHARE YOUR STORY WITH US ON FACEBOOK OR ON PBS.ORG.

AND WHILE YOU'RE THERE, BE SURE TO VOTE FOR THE BOOK YOU THINK IS AMERICA'S GREATEST READ.

TURNING BACK TO YOUR TOP 100, I BET YOU DIDN'T KNOW THAT YOU HAD PICKED A NOVEL THAT COULDN'T BE FINISHED WITHOUT HELP FROM A GHOST.

AUTHOR RUDOLFO ANAYA'S BOOK ABOUT CHICANO SPIRITUAL TRADITIONS WAS STALLED UNTIL THE NIGHT HE SAW AN APPARITION.

THE GHOST TOLD HIM, "YOU WILL NEVER GET IT RIGHT UNTIL YOU PUT ME IN IT," AND SO, HE DID.

IT WAS THE SPIRIT OF ULTIMA, THE TITLE CHARACTER OF HIS PRIZE-WINNING 1972 NOVEL "BLESS ME, ULTIMA."

WOMAN: WHEN I WAS YOUNG, GROWING UP HERE IN ALBUQUERQUE, I WOULD ALWAYS ASK MY GRANDPARENTS, MY PARENTS, LIKE, "WHAT AM I?"

MY GRANDPA WOULD SAY, "WELL, WE'RE NOT WHITE, "WE'RE NOT MEXICAN, WE'VE LIVED HERE SINCE BEFORE IT WAS THE UNITED STATES, SO, I GUESS WE'RE CHICANO."

THAT SENSE OF BEING IN THE IN-BETWEEN HAS ALWAYS REALLY STUCK WITH ME.

VIEIRA: "BLESS ME, ULTIMA" TELLS THE STORY OF A YOUNG CATHOLIC BOY WHOSE LIFE CHANGES WHEN, ON THE EVE OF HIS FIRST COMMUNION, A TRADITIONAL HEALER, OR CURANDERA, MOVES IN WITH HIS FAMILY AND INITIATES HIM INTO THE TRADITIONS OF HIS INDIGENOUS ANCESTORS.

GALLEGOS: WHEN I READ THIS BOOK, I FEEL LIKE I AM ANTONIO.

I FEEL WHAT HE'S FEELING.

I CAN SEE WHAT HE'S SEEING.

THAT WAS THE FIRST TIME IN MY LIFE I REMEMBER DISTINCTLY READING A BOOK THAT REFLECTED MY PEOPLE, MY CULTURE, AND MY WAYS OF LIFE.

MAN: "ULTIMA CAME TO STAY WITH US "THE SUMMER I WAS ALMOST 7.

"WHEN SHE CAME, THE BEAUTY OF THE LLANO "UNFOLDED BEFORE MY EYES, "AND THE GURGLING WATERS OF THE RIVER "SANG TO THE HUM OF THE TURNING EARTH.

"THE MAGICAL TIME OF CHILDHOOD STOOD STILL "AND THE PULSE OF THE LIVING EARTH PRESSED ITS MYSTERY INTO MY LIVING BLOOD."

GALLEGOS: THE FAMILY IN THE STORY IS VERY SIMILAR TO MY FAMILY.

WE'RE VERY ROOTED TO OUR LAND AND TO THE TRADITIONS THAT HAVE EXISTED HERE.

THE REASONS THAT I IDENTIFY WITH THIS BOOK, THOSE ARE THE SAME REASONS WHY IT WAS BANNED.

VIEIRA: IN 2010, "BLESS ME, ULTIMA" WAS ONE OF SEVERAL NOVELS SUDDENLY PULLED FROM LIBRARY SHELVES WHEN NEIGHBORING ARIZONA PASSED A LAW BANNING MEXICAN-AMERICAN STUDIES IN SCHOOLS.

WOMAN: LAWMAKERS HAVE AGREED TO BAN SO-CALLED ETHNIC STUDIES PROGRAMS IN OUR SCHOOLS.

MAN: STUDENTS ARE BEING TAUGHT A REVOLUTIONARY CURRICULUM.

IT'S AN OUTRAGEOUS ABUSE OF TAXPAYER FUNDS.

GALLEGOS: STUDENTS WERE OUTRAGED.

THEY FELT LIKE THEIR CULTURE, THEIR WAY OF LIFE WAS BEING PERSONALLY ATTACKED.

THE BAN ON ETHNIC STUDIES INSPIRED ME TO DO AS MUCH WORK AS I COULD.

I JUST DIDN'T WANT TO GROW UP IN THAT REALITY AND I DIDN'T THINK ANYBODY ELSE SHOULD HAVE TO, EITHER.

VIEIRA: THE PRESSURE WORKED.

A FEDERAL JUDGE STRUCK DOWN THE LAW AS UNCONSTITUTIONAL.

GALLEGOS: IT IS IMPORTANT THAT FOLKS HAVE ACCESS TO BOOKS LIKE "BLESS ME, ULTIMA" BECAUSE WE NEED TO SEE OURSELVES IN LITERATURE SO THAT WE FEEL EMPOWERED.

OUR STORIES AS YOUNG PEOPLE OF COLOR, AS CHICANOS, AS FOLKS IN NEW MEXICO, MATTER.

EVERYBODY SHOULD READ "BLESS ME, ULTIMA" BY RUDOLFO ANAYA.

IT PAINTS A BEAUTIFUL PICTURE OF LIFE IN NEW MEXICO, SO, VOTE FOR THIS BOOK.

VIEIRA: RUDOLFO ANAYA JOINS STEPHEN KING, J.K. ROWLING, ERNEST HEMINGWAY, AND MORE THAN 20 OTHER AUTHORS ON YOUR LIST IN A UNIQUE LITERARY CLUB.

EACH OF THEM HAS HAD AT LEAST ONE OF THEIR WORKS BANNED OR CHALLENGED.

HERE'S A SELECTION OF JUST SIX BANNED BOOKS SHE CHOSE.

ARE ANY OF THEM ON YOUR BEST LOVED LIST?

THERE'S JUNOT DIAZ'S THE BRIEF AND WONDROUS LIFE OF OSCAR WAO.

E. L. JAMES UNBRIDLED HIT, FIFTY SHADES OF GREY.

- STEAMY, RAW, UNFILTERED, PASSION.

VIEIRA: IN 2012, NEARLY 2,000 READERS PETITIONED TO GET THE BOOK BACK ON PUBLIC LIBRARY SHELVES IN BREVARD COUNTY, FLORIDA.

ERNEST HEMINGWAY'S NOVEL "THE SUN ALSO RISES" WAS BANNED IN CITIES AROUND THE WORLD AFTER ITS PUBLICATION IN 1926.

AND THERE'S LOIS LOWRY'S "THE GIVER."

IN 1999, IT RANKED 11th ON THE LIST OF BOOKS MOST OFTEN CHALLENGED BY PARENTS IN U.S. SCHOOLS.

LOWRY'S RESPONSE?

"THE WORLD PORTRAYED IN THE GIVER "IS A WORLD WHERE CHOICE HAS BEEN TAKEN AWAY.

LET'S WORK HARD TO KEEP IT FROM TRULY HAPPENING."

ANOTHER BANNED BOOK ON YOUR LIST, MARGARET ATWOOD'S "THE HANDMAID'S TALE," IS SET IN AN AMERICA WHERE A THEOCRATIC SECT STRIPS WOMEN OF THE FREEDOM TO READ BOOKS OF ANY KIND.

ATWOOD: MY RULE FOR "THE HANDMAID'S TALE" WAS NOTHING GOES IN IT THAT PEOPLE HAVE NOT DONE TO OTHER PEOPLE AT SOME TIME IN SOME PLACE.

THE SOURCES ARE THE 17th-CENTURY NEW ENGLAND PURITAN AMERICA AND TOTALITARIANISMS THROUGH THE AGES.

SO, IF THEY'VE DONE IT ONCE, THEY'RE QUITE CAPABLE OF DOING IT AGAIN.

WOMAN: WHEN I READ "THE HANDMAID'S TALE," I WAS JARRED.

IF SOMEONE CAME TO ME AND TOLD ME I NO LONGER HAD A JOB, I NO LONGER HAD A BANK ACCOUNT, MY CHILDREN WERE BEING TAKEN AWAY, AND I NO LONGER HAD A NAME?

I CAN'T IMAGINE THAT ACTUALLY TAKING PLACE AND MAINTAINING YOUR SANITY.

WOMAN: "SANITY IS A VALUABLE POSSESSION.

"I HOARD IT THE WAY PEOPLE ONCE HOARDED MONEY.

I SAVE IT SO I WILL HAVE ENOUGH WHEN THE TIME COMES."

NYEMAH: WE AS WOMEN HAVE A VOICE AND WE CAN CHOOSE TO USE THAT VOICE TO MAKE POSITIVE CHANGE AND TO EMPOWER OTHERS, AND THAT IS A GREAT REASON TO READ THIS BOOK.

VIEIRA: IT MIGHT SURPRISE YOU TO LEARN THAT THIS AMERICAN CLASSIC SPENT 4 YEARS ON A BANNED BOOKS LIST IN THE 1970s.

IT TOOK A DISTRICT COURT RULING TO MAKE JOSEPH HELLER'S "CATCH-22" AVAILABLE TO READERS AGAIN IN STRONGSVILLE, OHIO.

MAN: "CATCH-22" IS JUST A BOOK THAT I DISTINCTLY REMEMBER BEING INTRODUCED TO AND THINKING IT WAS BOTH INCREDIBLY FUNNY AND INCREDIBLY MOVING.

YOU'RE NOT ALLOWED TO FLY IF YOU'RE CRAZY, BUT IF YOU DON'T WANT TO FLY, THAT PROVES YOU'RE SANE.

SO, THAT IS A CATCH-22.

VIEIRA: HELLER COINED THE TERM "CATCH-22" IN HIS 1961 NOVEL ABOUT A U.S. AIR FORCE SQUADRON POSTED OFF THE COAST OF ITALY.

THE MEN FIND THEMSELVES TRAPPED BY A SET OF ABSURDLY CONTRADICTORY MILITARY RULES.

THE RESULT--A BITTERLY IRONIC AND VERY FUNNY TALE.

FREEMAN: I WAS LIVING IN SAN FRANCISCO WHEN THIS BOOK FIRST HIT THE STREETS.

YOU ALWAYS KNEW WHEN SOMEONE WAS READING "CATCH-22."

IF THEY WERE ON A BUS, ON A TRAIN, IN A CAB, IN A RESTAURANT, WHEN THEY'D PUT THE BOOK DOWN, SIT BACK, AND HOWL.

HEH HEH HEH!

"MUST BE READING CATCH-22.

HA HA HA!

ME, TOO."

VIEIRA: TO LEARN MORE ABOUT THE BANNED BOOKS THAT MADE YOUR LIST, HEAD OVER TO OUR WEBSITE-- PBS.ORG/GREATAMERICANREAD.

SOME OF THE STORIES WILL DEFINITELY SURPRISE YOU.

AND BE SURE TO SIGN UP FOR OUR NEWSLETTER AND STAY UP TO DATE ON THIS NATIONWIDE CONVERSATION.

WE'LL TURN NOW TO A NOVELIST WHO CAST A SHARP EYE ON AMERICA'S ROMANCE WITH ITS WESTERN FRONTIER.

IT'S LARRY MCMURTRY'S LONESOME DOVE.

- LONESOME DOVE IS PARTICULARLY AMERICAN.

IT HAS A LOVE OF THE ORIGINAL CONCEPT OF WHAT IT IS TO BE AN AMERICAN, THE PIONEER SPIRIT AND, HOW MUCH THERE WAS TO OVERCOME IN THE INFANCY OF OUR COUNTRY - LARRY MCMURTRY'S LONESOME DOVE, IS A STIRRING BUT ULTIMATELY TRAGIC ADVENTURE STORY SET IN THE 1870S, IN WHICH A GROUP OF RETIRED TEXAS RANGERS TRY TO REVIVE THE EXCITEMENT OF THEIR YOUTH AND THEIR IDEALS OF THE AMERICAN WEST, BY LEADING A CATTLE DRIVE TO NEW TERRITORY IN MONTANA.

- I DON'T THINK THAT THERE'S A BETTER EXAMPLE OF THE HUMAN CONDITION IN THE PIONEER ERA.

AND I THINK IT'S BECAUSE YOU FALL IN LOVE WITH THE PEOPLE ITS WRITTEN ABOUT.

EVERY PERSON IN THIS STORY, YOU GET IN BEHIND THEIR EYES, AND YOU REALLY START TO HAVE A GREAT SENSE OF APPRECIATION FOR OTHER POINTS OF VIEW.

THAT IS A TREMENDOUS GIFT ABOUT BOOKS.

YOU HAVE AN INVESTMENT IN EACH OF THESE CHARACTERS AND THEY REPRESENT A LOT OF HOPE.

THAT IS REALLY I GUESS THE NUMBER ONE WORD FOR OUR COUNTRY I WOULD SAY IS PERPETUAL.

HOPE THAT WE'RE GONNA DO THE RIGHT THING HOPE THAT WE'RE GOING TO FIND A WAY TO AGREE, HOPE THAT WE'RE GOING TO FIND A WAY TO DO THE MOST GOOD FOR THE MOST PEOPLE POSSIBLE.

LARRY MCMURTRY'S LONESOME DOVE, IS AN AMAZING, UNFORGETTABLE BOOK AND I'M DIANE LANE AND I ENCOURAGE YOU TO VOTE FOR THIS BOOK AFTER YOU'VE ENJOYED READING IT.

- LONESOME DOVE TOOK THE PULITZER PRIZE FOR FICTION IN 1986.

IN 1988, THE AWARD WENT TO ANOTHER BOOK ON YOUR TOP 100.

TONI MORRISON'S PULITZER WINNING TRAGEDY, BELOVED.

- WHAT MORRISON DOES IN BELOVED, IS THAT SHE BRINGS US IN CONTACT WITH OUR ANCESTORS.

MORRISON HAS WRITTEN BEAUTIFUL NON FICTION BOOKS AND ESSAYS ABOUT THE HORRORS OF SLAVERY, BUT, SHE CHOSE TO WRITE BELOVED AS A NOVEL.

IT BECOMES, FOR ME, A VERY POWERFUL WAY OF HOW WE TALK ABOUT THIS TRAUMA, YOU KNOW, AND WE TALK ABOUT, WHAT WE CAN AND CANNOT KNOW AND WHAT WE CAN AND CANNOT BEAR.

HOW DO YOU INVENT A LANGUAGE TO WRITE ABOUT AND THINK ABOUT THE UNSAYABLE.

(SOFT MUSIC) - YOUR NEXT NOVEL IS A STORY OF LIBERATION.

IT CAME OUT FIRST AS A SERIAL, IN A SAN FRANCISCO BAY AREA PAPER IN 1976, AND WAS SO POPULAR, THE AUTHOR COULD BARELY KEEP UP WITH DEMAND FOR NEW INSTALLMENTS.

THE BOOK IS NOW A LANDMARK OF GAY LITERATURE.

IT'S ARMISTEAD MAUPIN'S TALES OF THE CITY.

- IT'S SUCH A SPECIAL BOOK, IT COVERS SO MANY GENRES ALL IN ONE.

- IT'S HILARIOUS AND SERIOUS, YOU'LL LAUGH AND YOU'LL CRY.

(LAUGHING) - IT'S IMPOSSIBLE TO ANALYZE TALES OF THE CITY WITHOUT THINKING ABOUT THE CONTEXT IN WHICH IT WAS CREATED.

WHICH WAS A WORLD THAT TOLD GAY PEOPLE TO SIT DOWN AND SHUT UP.

SOME PEOPLE WERE HORRIFIED TO SEE THIS IN THEIR MORNING NEWSPAPER, FICTION THAT PUT IN A WIDE ARRAY OF CHARACTERS ON THE SEXUAL SPECTRUM.

NOBODY WAS TELLING THAT STORY, NOBODY.

YOU WEREN'T SUPPOSED TO.

I DON'T MIND CALLING TALES OF THE CITY GROUNDBREAKING BECAUSE I KNEW IT WAS, I FELT IT EVERY DAY.

AND I KNOW THAT IT MADE A DIFFERENCE IN A LOT OF THE LIVES OF YOUNG QUEERS WHO READ IT AND SAW THAT THERE WAS A LOVING, PEACEFUL ENVIRONMENT THEY MIGHT HAVE FOR THEMSELVES.

- VOTE FOR TALES OF THE CITY, IT'LL TAKE YOU PLACES YOU NEVER THOUGHT YOU WOULD GO TO, SO READ IT.

VIEIRA: IF YOU WANT TO ADD THE TITLE OF AMERICA'S BEST-LOVED NOVEL TO ANY OF THESE BOOKS, DON'T WAIT.

VISIT US ON FACEBOOK, TWEET US, OR GO TO PBS.ORG AND VOTE.

WOMAN: MY GRANDFATHER WAS A RARE BOOK DEALER, AND I THINK HE REALLY THOUGHT CAREFULLY ABOUT WHAT IS THE FIRST BOOK I WANT TO GIVE MY GRANDCHILD.

THIS IS "ALICE'S ADVENTURES IN WONDERLAND," AND IT STILL HAS THE LITTLE NOTE HE PUT IN THERE FOR ME THAT SAYS, "FOR CYNTHIA ELLEN NIXON ON HER FIRST CHRISTMAS 1966 FROM HER GRANDPA."

IT'S A BOOK THAT HAS FOLLOWED ME THROUGHOUT MY LIFE.

"BUT I DON'T WANT TO GO AMONG MAD PEOPLE, ALICE REMARKED.

"OH, YOU CAN'T HELP THAT," SAID THE CAT.

"WE'RE ALL MAD HERE.

I'M MAD.

YOU'RE MAD.

"HOW DO YOU KNOW I'M MAD?

SAID ALICE.

"YOU MUST BE, SAID THE CAT, OR YOU WOULDN'T HAVE COME HERE."

I'M CYNTHIA NIXON AND ONE OF MY ABSOLUTE FAVORITE BOOKS IS "ALICE'S ADVENTURES IN WONDERLAND."

IT'S A FANTASTIC, HILARIOUS, TERRIFYING TRIP INTO A WORLD TURNED UPSIDE DOWN.

I THINK YOU'RE GONNA WANT TO VOTE FOR THIS BOOK.

IT'S AS CAPTIVATING AS IT WAS WHEN IT WAS WRITTEN 150 YEARS AGO.

MELVIN: WHEN I FIRST READ "THE LITTLE PRINCE," I WAS IN MIDDLE SCHOOL.

IT'S A BEAUTIFUL READ ABOUT BEING CURIOUS AND EXPLORING AND LEAVING YOUR HOME PLANET, YOUR HOME ASTEROID, TO FIND OUT WHAT'S OUT THERE.

"PEOPLE HAVE STARS, BUT THEY AREN'T THE SAME.

"FOR TRAVELERS, THE STARS ARE GUIDES.

"FOR OTHER PEOPLE, THEY'RE NOTHING BUT TINY LIGHTS.

"BUT ALL THOSE STARS ARE SILENT STARS.

YOU, THOUGH, YOU'LL HAVE STARS LIKE NOBODY ELSE."

READING IS SO IMPORTANT, ESPECIALLY TO GET OUR YOUNG KIDS INVOLVED AT AN EARLY AGE.

FREEMAN: WHEN YOU'RE READING, YOUR WHOLE MIND CREATES PICTURES FOR YOU.

I COULD SEE IT ALL.

CHARLES DICKENS COULD DO THAT.

MARK TWAIN COULD DO THAT.

FOR ME, JACK LONDON COULD DO THAT.

"CALL OF THE WILD" IS A STORY OF THE LEAD DOG IN A SLED TEAM.

I DON'T DO COLD AT ALL.

I'M JUST NOT A COLD-WEATHER PERSON.

BUT I COULD EXPERIENCE RUNNING ALONGSIDE A DOGSLED OR BEING IN THIS KIND OF INTENSE COLD WEATHER, AND IT STAYED WITH ME.

I SEE THE CONDITION THAT OUR EDUCATIONAL SYSTEM IS IN.

I UNDERSTAND THE IMPORTANCE OF READING TO HAVE CHILDREN THRIVING IN SCHOOL BY THIRD GRADE.

TO GET THEM READING, THEN YOU GOT THEM.

VIEIRA: IF YOU'RE ONE OF MILLIONS OF FANS OUT THERE JOINING US FOR "THE GREAT AMERICAN READ," REMEMBER: IN THIS CAMPAIGN, YOU REALLY CAN VOTE EARLY AND VOTE OFTEN.

ONCE A DAY, IN FACT, FOR EVERY ONE OF YOUR FAVORITE NOVELS ON THE LIST.

THE BEST-LOVED BOOK OF ALL WILL BE DECIDED BY THE TOTAL NUMBER OF VOTES IT GETS.

SO, DO YOUR PART AND VOTE.

YOU HAVE TO VOTE FOR "FRANKENSTEIN."

"COLOR PURPLE."

ALL: VOTE FOR "GHOST"!

YOU SHOULD VOTE FOR IT TO BE AMERICA'S FAVORITE BOOK.

MAN: A LIBRARY GIVES ANYBODY IN THIS COUNTRY ACCESS TO AN ENTIRE WORLD.

ALL YOU HAVE TO DO IS GET A CARD AND GO AND READ AND THE WORLD IS RIGHT IN FRONT OF YOU.

KING: READING WAS IMPORTANT TO ME AS A LITTLE GIRL BECAUSE I LIVED IN ANKARA, TURKEY FROM FIRST GRADE TO SIXTH GRADE, AND WE DIDN'T HAVE TELEVISION.

ONE OF THE BIGGEST THINGS WE DID FOR FUN WAS READING.

MY LIBRARY CARD WAS ONE OF MY FAVORITE POSSESSIONS.

I REMEMBER THE JOY OF GETTING YOUR LIBRARY CARD WITH YOUR NAME ON IT, GOING TO THE LIBRARY, GOING THROUGH THE CARD CATALOG, SO, IT WAS NOT UNUSUAL FOR ME TO GO TO THE LIBRARY AND COME HOME WITH 5, 6--I CAN REMEMBER ONE DAY COMING HOME WITH 10 BOOKS AND INTENDING TO READ THEM.

TO THIS DAY, I THINK THAT'S ONE OF THE REASONS WHY I'M A PRETTY FAST READER, BECAUSE FROM THE TIME I WAS A LITTLE GIRL, I WAS READING A LOT.

READING CAN TAKE YOU TO SO MANY PLACES.

YOU CAN GO VISIT COUNTRIES THAT YOU'VE NEVER BEEN TO BEFORE.

YOU CAN MEET CHARACTERS THAT YOU DIDN'T KNOW.

SO, FOR ME, IT WAS FANTASY, IT WAS EDUCATION, IT WAS ADVENTURE.

VIEIRA: YOUR NEXT BOOK, "THE CURIOUS INCIDENT OF THE DOG IN THE NIGHT-TIME," BY MARK HADDON, WAS PUBLISHED IN SEPARATE EDITIONS FOR ADULTS AND YOUNG READERS, AND FEATURES AN UNUSUAL TEEN NARRATOR, A 15-YEAR-OLD AMATEUR SLEUTH WITH SYMPTOMS OF AUTISM SPECTRUM DISORDER.

IN SEATTLE, WASHINGTON, WE MET A FAN WHO FEELS A VERY PERSONAL BOND WITH THIS PROTAGONIST.

MAN: THIS WAS THE FIRST BOOK THAT I'D EVER LISTENED TO AND IMMEDIATELY THOUGHT, "THIS IS ME."

CHRISTOPHER EXHIBITS A LOT OF THE SAME AUTISTIC SYMPTOMS THAT I EXHIBIT, AND IT WAS THE FIRST BOOK THAT MADE ME REALIZE THAT THERE ARE OTHER PEOPLE IN THE WORLD JUST LIKE ME.

THERE'S A WHOLE COMMUNITY I BELONG TO.

NOT ONLY AM I NOT WEIRD OR BAD OR STUPID, I CAN GO AFTER MY GOALS AND ACHIEVE THEM JUST LIKE CHRISTOPHER DOES IN THE BOOK.

VIEIRA: CHRISTOPHER'S QUEST TO FIND OUT WHO KILLED HIS NEIGHBOR'S DOG AND LEARN THE TRUTH BEHIND HIS OWN MOTHER'S ABSENCE IS BOTH HINDERED AND HELPED BY HIS NEUROLOGICAL CONDITION.

I'M THE FIRST ACTOR ON THE SPECTRUM TO GET TO PLAY CHRISTOPHER, AND I'M ONE OF THE FIRST AUTISTIC ACTORS TO GET TO PLAY ANY AUTISTIC CHARACTER EVER.

I FEEL REALLY PROUD OF BOTH CHRISTOPHER AND MYSELF FOR ALL THE RISKS THAT WE'VE TAKEN AND ALL THE THINGS THAT WE'VE GOTTEN TO ACCOMPLISH.

PLEASE VOTE FOR "THE CURIOUS INCIDENT OF THE DOG IN THE NIGHT-TIME."

IT REMINDS ME THAT OUR DIFFERENCES REALLY ARE OUR STRENGTHS.

VIEIRA: BEFORE "THE CURIOUS INCIDENT OF THE DOG IN THE NIGHT-TIME," MARK HADDON WAS BEST KNOWN FOR HIS CHILDREN'S STORIES, AND HE'S NOT THE ONLY AUTHOR OF A BOOK YOU LOVE WHOSE PUBLISHING CAREER HAS TAKEN TWISTS AND TURNS.

OSCAR WILDE WAS A PLAYWRIGHT AND POET BUT VENTURED INTO FULL-LENGTH FICTION WITH ONE FAMOUS NOVEL.

IT WAS WILDE'S MANIFESTO, AND UNTIL 2011, IT WAS PUBLISHED ONLY IN CENSORED FORMS.

THAT DIDN'T STOP IT FROM MAKING ITS WAY TO YOUR LIST, THOUGH.

THE NOVEL IS "THE PICTURE OF DORIAN GRAY."

MAN: "THE PICTURE OF DORIAN GRAY" IS A VERY BEAUTIFUL BOOK.

IT'S ABOUT THE OBSESSION WITH YOUTH, STAYING YOUTHFUL.

DORIAN DIDN'T AGE, BUT THE PAINTING AGED.

I HOPE THAT YOU'LL VOTE FOR "THE PICTURE OF DORIAN GRAY" BY OSCAR WILDE, ONE OF THE GREATEST, MOST COMPELLING, STARTLING HORROR STORIES OF BEAUTY AND MORTALITY.

VIEIRA: AUTHOR KEN FOLLETT WAS ALREADY FAMOUS FOR HIS THRILLERS BEFORE HE BROKE OUT WITH HIS METICULOUSLY RESEARCHED BESTSELLING HISTORICAL NOVEL "THE PILLARS OF THE EARTH."

WOMAN: IT'S ALL ABOUT THE BUILDING OF THE GREAT CATHEDRALS AND IT TELLS YOU ALL ABOUT THE GENERATIONS OF FAMILIES THAT IT TOOK TO BUILD THOSE CATHEDRALS.

I COME FROM A FAMILY OF WORKING-CLASS PEOPLE.

I COULD RELATE TO THE STRUGGLES THEY WENT THROUGH.

MANY PEOPLE DIED DURING THE BUILDING OF THOSE CATHEDRALS.

WHAT IT MEANT TO THE PEOPLE IN THAT TOWN.

I WAS JUST SO IMPRESSED BY THE BOOK.

VIEIRA: BUT ONE OF THE LARGEST DEPARTURES FROM FORM WAS BY THE QUEEN OF CRIME HERSELF--AGATHA CHRISTIE-- WHO BROKE AWAY FROM HER SUCCESSFUL HERCULE POIROT AND MISS MARPLE SERIES TO PRODUCE A FEW FAMOUS ONE-OFF BOOKS, AMONG THEM THE WORLD'S BEST-SELLING CRIME NOVEL, CONSIDERED BY MANY TO BE HER MASTERPIECE-- "AND THEN THERE WERE NONE."

MAN: I LOVE THE PUZZLE ASPECT OF IT.

I WAS A TRIAL LAWYER FOR YEARS, AND TRIAL LAWYERS ARE TAUGHT, YOU HAVE A PUZZLE.

YOU HAVE TO PUT ALL THESE PIECES TOGETHER AND MAKE IT--AND FIGURE IT OUT AND TELL A STORY TO SOMEBODY.

AND THAT'S WHAT AGATHA CHRISTIE DID SO REMARKABLY WELL.

AND IT WOULD GET TO THE POINT WHERE I WANT TO READ SLOWLY, I WANT TO TRY TO GET ALL THE CLUES TOGETHER, I WANT TO FIGURE IT OUT, AND INVARIABLY, WHAT HAPPENS IS, OH, I CAN'T.

VIEIRA: AGATHA CHRISTIE'S "AND THEN THERE WERE NONE" IS A TALE OF JUSTICE SERVED, WHERE THERE ARE NO TRUE VICTIMS, ONLY VILLAINS.

MAN: IT'S SUCH A TERRIFYING BOOK.

I REMEMBER THIS TOTAL FEAR.

THE SAME FEAR OF THESE CHARACTERS, ALMOST, JUST SORT OF OVERWHELMING ME.

IT WAS ALMOST LIKE A NIGHTMARE AND I LOVED IT, OF COURSE.

FLYNN: I REMEMBER AS A FIFTH GRADER BEING QUITE GIDDY ABOUT THE WHOLE THING, THINKING, LIKE... ♪ THE GROWNUPS ARE GONNA DIE ♪ [LAUGHS] IT'S JUST THE MOST BRILLIANT, LITTLE PIECE OF CLOCKWORK.

IT'S SO--IT'S JUST SO CLEVERLY DONE.

THIS IS KIND OF WHERE THE TRAGIC MAGIC HAPPENS.

IN TERMS OF, YOU KNOW, ME AS A WRITER, THIS TOP SHELF HERE, THESE ARE ALL BOOKS - THAT AFFECTED ME THROUGH MY LIFE.

TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD, THERE'S STEPHEN KING IN THERE.

THOSE ARE BOOKS THAT REALLY AFFECTED ME AS I TRIED TO BE A WRITER.

"ONE HUNDRED YEARS OF SOLITUDE" IS PROBABLY MY FAVORITE BOOK.

THIS IS ONE OF THE BOOKS THAT REALLY GOT ME TURNED ON RIGHT FROM THE FIRST LINES HERE.

"MANY YEARS LATER, AS HE FACED THE FIRING SQUAD, "COLONEL AURELIANO BUENDIA WAS TO REMEMBER "THAT DISTANT AFTERNOON WHEN HIS FATHER TOOK HIM TO DISCOVER ICE."

IT'S JUST, LIKE, A GREAT, A GREAT OPENING, AND--AND IT NEVER DISAPPOINTS.

I GOT A JOB AT A MENTAL HOSPITAL WHEN I WAS, LIKE, 18.

I WORKED A LOT OF NIGHT SHIFTS AND I STARTED READING LIKE CRAZY, AND AT SOME POINT, I STARTED SCRIBBLING STORIES, AND I LOVED IT, AND I STILL LOVE IT.

ONCE I TURNED ON TO IT, I HAVE NOT BEEN ABLE TO TURN THE SPIGOT OFF.

VIEIRA: THERE ARE SO MANY GREAT BOOKS TO CHOOSE FROM, SO, IF YOU'RE CONFLICTED ABOUT WHICH BOOK DESERVES THE TITLE OF AMERICA'S GREATEST READ, DON'T FRET.

YOU CAN VOTE FOR AS MANY AS YOU WANT FROM OUR 100-BOOK SURVEY.

YOU CAN VOTE ONCE A DAY EVERY DAY UP UNTIL OUR SPECIAL FINALE IN THE FALL.

JUST GO TO PBS.ORG/GREATAMERICANREAD AND VOTE.

AND THEN SEND US A VIDEO ABOUT YOUR TOP PICK.

WE'LL PUT THE BEST VIDEOS UP ON OUR FACEBOOK PAGE.

THERE'S ONE BOOK FROM OUR SURVEY OF AMERICA'S 100 MOST-LOVED NOVELS THAT HAS CAPTURED THE HEART AND SPIRIT OF THE NATION.

THE AUTHOR IS A GIANT IN AMERICAN LITERATURE, BUT FOR MOST OF HER LIFE, SHE HAD ONLY A SINGLE PUBLISHED NOVEL, A STORY THAT WON THE PULITZER PRIZE AND SECURED HER PLACE IN OUR HISTORY.

IT'S A BOOK THAT I HAVE HELD DEAR SINCE I FIRST READ IT IN MIDDLE SCHOOL, WITH A CHILD PROTAGONIST I STILL FEEL CONNECTED TO.

HARPER LEE'S "TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD."

WE WENT TO ALABAMA TO TALK TO TWO PEOPLE WHOSE LIVES WERE DEEPLY AFFECTED BY THE NOVEL.

THE STORY IS SET IN A TINY ALABAMA TOWN AND TOLD THROUGH THE EYES OF A 6-YEAR-OLD CALLED SCOUT.

IT FOLLOWS THE STRUGGLE OF HER FATHER, THE LAWYER ATTICUS FINCH, TO SECURE THE FREEDOM OF A BLACK MAN FALSELY ACCUSED OF RAPE BY A WHITE WOMAN.

MAN: I WAS IN JUNIOR HIGH SCHOOL WHEN I CHECKED OUT "TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD" FROM THE LIBRARY.

I HAD A DEEP APPRECIATION FOR THAT SENSE OF CURIOSITY THAT WE SEE IN SCOUT.

AND THEN I READ IT AGAIN IN HIGH SCHOOL AND I BEGAN TO IDENTIFY WITH THE ACCUSED, TOM ROBINSON, BECAUSE I WAS OLD ENOUGH TO SEE FRIENDS AND ACQUAINTANCES BE TARGETED BY OUR CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM.

HAD TO BEGIN WORRYING ABOUT WHAT A FALSE ACCUSATION COULD DO.

FOR ME, BEING A LAWYER WAS BECOMING SOMEONE WHO WOULD BE WILLING TO STAND WHEN OTHER PEOPLE SAID, "SIT DOWN."

BECOMING SOMEONE WHO'D BE WILLING TO SPEAK WHEN OTHER PEOPLE SAID, "BE QUIET."

WOMAN: "MOCKINGBIRDS DON'T DO ONE THING "BUT MAKE MUSIC FOR US TO ENJOY.

"THEY DON'T EAT UP PEOPLE'S GARDENS, "DON'T NEST IN CORNCRIBS, "THEY DON'T DO ONE THING BUT "SING THEIR HEARTS OUT FOR US.

THAT'S WHY IT'S A SIN TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD."

STEVENSON: ONE OF MY CLIENTS IS A MODERN-DAY TOM ROBINSON.

ANTHONY RAY HINTON WAS WRONGLY ACCUSED OF TWO MURDERS IN BIRMINGHAM, ALABAMA.

HE WAS CONVICTED BECAUSE HE WAS POOR AND DIDN'T HAVE THE MONEY TO DEFEND HIMSELF.

HINTON: WHEN THE JUDGE SAID, "I SENTENCE YOU TO DEATH," IT WAS AS THOUGH ALL OF THE FIBERS THAT CONNECT, THAT MAKE ME LIVE, JUST DIED.

VIEIRA: ON DEATH ROW, HINTON READ "TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD."

HINTON: IT MADE ME ANGRY.

IT MADE ME CRY.

I CAN NOW RELATE TO TOM BETTER THAN ANYBODY BECAUSE I KNOW WHAT IT FEELS LIKE TO BE FALSELY ACCUSED.

I HAD WROTE MR. STEVENSON FROM DEATH ROW, AND THE MOMENT I SHAKE THIS MAN HAND, I HAVE NO DOUBT IN MY MIND THAT GOD HAS SENT ME HIS BEST.

VIEIRA: IT TOOK 16 YEARS, BUT STEVENSON'S ARGUMENT ULTIMATELY CONVINCED THE SUPREME COURT TO OVERTURN ANTHONY RAY HINTON'S SENTENCE.

[WOMAN SHOUTING INDISTINCTLY] HINTON: THEY WON MY FREEDOM.

THE JUSTICE SYSTEM NEED MORE PEOPLE LIKE THAT.

THAT'S WHAT I GET FROM THIS BOOK.

STEVENSON: IT'S A BEAUTIFUL BOOK.

IT TELLS AN IMPORTANT STORY.

READ IT, TALK ABOUT IT, THINK ABOUT IT, AND THEN DO SOMETHING TO MAKE THE WORLD A LESS UNJUST PLACE.

VIEIRA: "TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD" WAS HARPER LEE'S LITERARY DEBUT IN 1960.

SHE HAD PREVIOUSLY WORKED AS A RESERVATIONIST FOR BRITISH OVERSEAS AIRWAYS CORPORATION, AND TODAY, HER BOOK SELLS MORE THAN A MILLION COPIES A YEAR.

IF YOU HAVEN'T READ THE NOVEL YET, PICK UP A COPY AT YOUR LOCAL LIBRARY OR BOOKSELLER AND JOIN THE CONVERSATION ABOUT IT ON OUR FACEBOOK PAGE.

LEE IS NOT THE ONLY AUTHOR WHOSE FIRST BOOK ENJOYED PUBLIC ACCLAIM AND WON A SPOT AMONG YOUR TOP 100 NOVELS.

CRITICS CHEERED ZADIE SMITH'S DEBUT "WHITE TEETH," PUBLISHED WHEN SHE WAS JUST 24 YEARS OLD.

PULITZER WINNER COLSON WHITEHEAD'S FIRST NOVEL, "THE INTUITIONIST," WAS CALLED "INGENIOUS" AND "STARKLY ORIGINAL."

I LOVE "THE INTUITIONIST" BECAUSE OF ITS COMPLEXITY AND BECAUSE OF THE WAY THAT IT IS ITS COMPLETELY OWN GENRE.

THE WAY THAT IT MIXES HISTORY, SCIENCE FICTION, AND ETHICS.

IT WAS COMPLETELY FASCINATING.

VIEIRA: AND "MEMOIRS OF A GEISHA" BY ARTHUR GOLDEN DEFIED ALL KINDS OF EXPECTATIONS.

NOT ONLY HAD GOLDEN NEVER WRITTEN FICTION BEFORE, BUT HE WROTE THE BOOK IN THE VOICE OF A WOMAN LIVING IN ANOTHER CULTURE.

AND THEN THERE'S THE AUTHOR OF "LOOKING FOR ALASKA," WHO ROCKETED TO LITERARY STARDOM AND 3 MILLION YOUTUBE SUBSCRIBERS WITH HIS STORY ABOUT TEENAGERS EMBARKING ON THEIR OWN SET OF FIRSTS.

GREEN: WHAT I DO REMEMBER ABOUT BEING A TEENAGER ARE THE EMOTIONAL EXPERIENCES.

FALLING IN LOVE FOR THE FIRST TIME FEELS COMPLETELY UNPRECEDENTED.

IT FEELS LIKE NO ONE HAS EVER DONE ANYTHING LIKE THIS EVER BEFORE.

AND I LIKE WRITING ABOUT THOSE FIRSTS, WHETHER IT'S FALLING IN LOVE OR GRAPPLING WITH GRIEF OR WHATEVER IT IS, BECAUSE IT'S SO INTENSE, IT'S SO REAL, AND IT FEELS SO UNPRECEDENTED.

VIEIRA: AMY TAN'S DEBUT NOVEL "THE JOY LUCK CLUB" TACKLES A HUGELY IMPORTANT THEME IN AMERICAN LITERATURE-- THE DECISION TO LEAVE HOME AND BUILD A NEW LIFE IN A COUNTRY ACROSS THE OCEAN.

BUT THE PAIN OF MIGRATION ITSELF IS ONLY PART OF THE STORY.

WOMAN: I FELT LIKE SOMEONE WAS TALKING ABOUT MY OWN LIFE WITH VERY TRADITIONAL IMMIGRANT PARENTS.

YOU THINK THAT IT WOULD BE SPECIFICALLY IMPACTING THE ASIAN-AMERICAN COMMUNITIES, BUT BECAUSE AMY TAN'S WORDS HAVE SUCH A UNIVERSALITY, IT IMPACTED EVERYONE.

EVERYONE WHO HAD THE IMMIGRANT PARENT, GRANDPARENT, GREAT-GRANDPARENT STORIES.

VIEIRA: "THE JOY LUCK CLUB" TELLS THE INTERWOVEN NARRATIVES OF 4 SETS OF CHINESE MOTHERS AND THEIR AMERICAN-BORN DAUGHTERS.

WHEN ONE OF THE DAUGHTERS, JUNE, TAKES HER LATE MOTHER'S PLACE AT A WEEKLY MAHJONGG GAME, SHE COMES TO UNDERSTAND HER MOM IN A WAY SHE NEVER COULD WHILE SHE LIVED.

WEN: ALL THESE MOMS, THEIR HISTORIES, IMPACTED THEIR DAUGHTERS BECAUSE OF THE LACK OF COMMUNICATION.

AND THEN ONCE THE TRUTH DID COME OUT, IT KIND OF, LIKE, SET THESE DAUGHTERS FREE.

JUNE HAS BEEN TRYING TO FIND HER MOTHER'S APPROVAL, BUT HER MOM WAS TRYING TO TELL HER THAT IT'S NOT WHAT YOU DO, IT'S WHO YOU ARE THAT SHE'S MOST PROUD OF.

AND...AND--AND FOR ALL OF US, I THINK, KNOWING THAT IT'S NOT ABOUT WHAT WE'VE ACHIEVED BUT WHO WE'VE BECOME.

THAT, I THINK, IS THE GREATEST LOVE THAT A PARENT CAN GIVE TO THEIR CHILD.

IT JUST KIND OF CROSSES ALL BOUNDARIES OF EVERY CULTURE, EVERY MAN OR WOMAN, BECAUSE IT'S ABOUT FAMILY, IT'S ABOUT LOVE, AND--AND IT'S ABOUT AMERICA IN MANY WAYS.

I RECOMMEND THAT YOU READ AMY TAN'S "THE JOY LUCK CLUB."

I LOVE THIS BOOK.

IT HAD SUCH A IMPACT ON ME.

IT WILL HAVE AN IMPACT ON YOU.

IT WILL MAKE YOU CRY AND LAUGH AND HOPEFULLY BE ABLE TO RELATE TO YOUR PARENTS BETTER.

IT'S A GREAT BOOK.

VIEIRA: COULD A DEBUT NOVEL BE AMERICA'S GREATEST READ?

IT'S ALL UP TO YOU.

THE BOOK WITH THE MOST VOTES WILL TAKE HOME THE COVETED TITLE.

SO, CAST YOUR VOTES RIGHT NOW ON PBS.ORG/GREATAMERICANREAD.

THE AMERICAN WRITER JAMES BALDWIN ONCE DESCRIBED HIMSELF AS AN UNWILLING INSTRUMENT OF TRUTH.

HIS PERCEPTIONS REMAIN INSTRUCTIVE TO AMERICANS TODAY, AND YOU HAVE CHOSEN HIS NOVEL "ANOTHER COUNTRY" AS THE NEXT BOOK ON YOUR LIST.

IN NEW YORK CITY, WE HEARD FROM ONE OF BALDWIN'S CELEBRATED FANS.

I'M BILL T. JONES.

I AM THE ARTISTIC DIRECTOR HERE AT NEW YORK LIVE ARTS.

ONE OF MY FAVORITE BOOKS IS JAMES BALDWIN'S "ANOTHER COUNTRY."

VIEIRA: THE NOVEL IS SET IN HARLEM AND PARIS IN THE 1950s AND CENTERS AROUND A BLACK JAZZ MUSICIAN NAMED RUFUS SCOTT, WHO IS INVOLVED WITH A WHITE WOMAN AND ALSO EXPLORING A SEXUAL RELATIONSHIP WITH A MAN.

RUFUS ENJOYS SOME SUCCESS AS AN ARTIST, BUT AS A BLACK MAN, HE IS THE CONSTANT TARGET OF RACISM, AND FURY GROWS INSIDE OF HIM.

JONES: WHAT DO I LOOK FOR IN A NOVEL?

I LOVE A PROTAGONIST WHO IS FULL OF A CERTAIN STRUGGLE, WANTS TO GO PAST THEMSELVES, WHO FAILS.

I WANT A BOOK THAT SOMETIMES BEATS ME UP AND LEAVES ME BRUISED.

BALDWIN: "HE BEGAN TO CRY.

"SOMETHING IN RUFUS WHICH COULD NOT BREAK "SHOOK HIM LIKE A RAG DOLL "AND SPLASHED SALT WATER ALL OVER HIS FACE "AND FILLED HIS THROAT AND HIS NOSTRILS WITH ANGUISH.

"HE KNEW THE PAIN WOULD NEVER STOP.

"HE COULD NEVER GO DOWN INTO THE CITY AGAIN.

"HE DROPPED HIS HEAD AS THOUGH SOMEONE HAD STRUCK HIM "AND LOOKED DOWN AT THE WATER.

"IT WAS COLD AND THE WATER WOULD BE COLD.

HE WAS BLACK AND THE WATER WAS BLACK."

I DIDN'T EVEN GO TO NEW YORK UNTIL I WAS, LIKE, 19.

MY WHOLE FAMILY AT THAT TIME WERE LIVING IN A COUPLE OF ROOMS.

I WOULD CURL UP AND READ ABOUT IT.

SUDDENLY YOU COULD TRAVEL IN THESE BOOKS.

WHAT WAS HARLEM?

HARLEM WAS A PLACE I'D HEARD ABOUT.

WHAT DID NEW YORK SMELL LIKE, THINK LIKE?

WHAT DID INTELLECTUALS TALK ABOUT AT DINNER PARTIES?

I WANTED TO KNOW ABOUT THE BIG CONVERSATION IN THE WORLD, BEING WHO I WAS IN THAT SMALL TOWN AND READING THE WORK OF A MAN I'D NEVER MET BEFORE, KNOWING THAT HE WAS BLACK, AND ONLY LATER UNDERSTANDING THAT HE WAS SOMETHING CALLED A HOMOSEXUAL.

I SAW THERE WERE POSSIBILITIES IN THIS WORLD AND RESPONSIBILITY.

YOU COULD MAKE WORK THAT HAD VERY HIGH VALUES, BUT IT HAD TO HAVE SOUL.

CAN YOU DO ALL OF THAT, BILL T. JONES?

CAN YOU EDUCATE YOURSELF TO BE THAT POTENT AND SPEAK THAT MANY LANGUAGES AS JAMES BALDWIN DID?

I SAY I'M AN ARTIST FIRST, AND I THINK THAT FREEDOM CAME FROM A PERSON LIKE JAMES BALDWIN.

YOU SHOULD READ "ANOTHER COUNTRY."

IT CAN FRIGHTEN AND DISMAY, BUT ULTIMATELY, IT COMFORTS.

READ IT.

VIEIRA: WE ARE HERE AT THE 100th BOOK ON YOUR LIST OF AMERICA'S GREATEST READS.

ALONG THE WAY, WE'VE REVEALED BESTSELLERS, CLASSIC HISTORICAL FICTION, SCI-FI NOVELS THAT LOOKED TOWARD OUR FUTURE, AND BOOKS THAT MADE US NOSTALGIC FOR OUR PASTS.

YOU CAN CHOOSE AMERICA'S MOST-LOVED NOVEL FROM ALL OF THEM OR THIS NEXT AND FINAL NOVEL.

IT'S BY A GREAT AMERICAN AUTHOR, THE WRITER OF A STORY THAT CAPTURED THE SOUL OF THE COUNTRY AT A PARTICULAR GLITTERING MOMENT IN A TIME OF HIGH HOPES AND FANTASTIC DREAMS.

THAT ERA WAS SO PERFECTLY RENDERED IN THE BOOK'S COVER ART THAT THE AUTHOR TWEAKED HIS TEXT TO MATCH IT.

HAVE YOU GUESSED THE TITLE YET?

WELL, PRINTED IN 1925, THE BOOK WENT ON TO BECOME AN AMERICAN CLASSIC.

IT'S F. SCOTT FITZGERALD'S "THE GREAT GATSBY."

MARTIN: I THINK THERE ARE CERTAIN BOOKS THAT YOU NEED TO READ AT THE RIGHT TIME IN YOUR LIFE.

I READ "THE GREAT GATSBY" IN MY EARLY TWENTIES WHEN I WAS JUST COMING OFF THE SAD ENDING OF THE FIRST GREAT LOVE OF MY LIFE.

AND I READ THIS BOOK AND IT SPOKE TO ME SO POWERFULLY BECAUSE IT'S ALL ABOUT THAT.

GATSBY'S PURSUIT OF--OF DAISY AND HIS YEARNING FOR HER AND THE FACT THAT HE REMAKES HIS ENTIRE LIFE AND HE REMAKES HIS PERSONALITY TO TRY TO WIN HER AFTER HE HAS LOST HER.

VIEIRA: IN THE NOVEL, A MIDWESTERNER LIVING IN NEW YORK AT THE HEIGHT OF THE ROARING TWENTIES FALLS IN WITH A GLAMOROUS SET OF SOCIALITES, INCLUDING THE MYSTERIOUS JAY GATSBY, A NEWLY MINTED MILLIONAIRE DESPERATE TO WIN THE LOVE OF A YOUNG MARRIED WOMAN.

MARTIN: FOR GATSBY, IT WAS A--A BITTERSWEET JOURNEY AND A--A DOOMED PURSUIT, WHICH IS A BIT OF WISDOM THERE.

IT'S AN AMAZING BOOK.

FITZGERALD WAS AN INCREDIBLE STYLIST, AND ONE OF THE THINGS THAT'S ALWAYS LINGERED WITH ME OVER THE YEARS IS THE IMAGE HE CAME UP WITH OF THE GREEN LIGHT AT THE END OF DAISY'S DOCK THAT GATSBY STARES AT AS A SYMBOL FOR THIS DESIRE THAT ALL OF US HAVE FOR SOMETHING THAT'S LOST OR SOMETHING THAT'S BEYOND OUR REACH BUT YET, THERE IT IS, THERE IT IS.

"GATSBY BELIEVED IN THE GREEN LIGHT, "THE ORGASTIC FUTURE THAT YEAR BY YEAR "RECEDES BEFORE US.

"IT ELUDED US THEN, BUT THAT'S NO MATTER-- "TOMORROW WE WILL RUN FASTER, "STRETCH OUT OUR ARMS FURTHER... "AND ONE FINE MORNING-- SO WE BEAT ON, "BOATS AGAINST THE CURRENT, BORNE BACK CEASELESSLY INTO THE PAST."

I DON'T KNOW IF THERE'S A BETTER ENDING IN ALL OF ENGLISH LITERATURE.

I CAN'T READ THOSE WORDS WITHOUT HAVING A SHIVER.

VIEIRA: THAT'S ALL 100 OF YOUR BEST-LOVED NOVELS, AND WHAT A DIVERSE AND COMPELLING GROUP OF BOOKS IT IS.

READING THEM WILL TAKE US ON ADVENTURES FAR FROM HOME, AND, ULTIMATELY, BRING US CLOSER TOGETHER.

I HOPE YOU'VE ENJOYED THE KICKOFF TO "THE GREAT AMERICAN READ" AS MUCH AS I HAVE.

THERE IS SO MUCH MORE TO COME.

I'LL BE BACK WITH YOU IN THE FALL FOR OUR THEMED EPISODES AND A FINALE WHERE WE'LL ANNOUNCE THE RESULTS OF THE VOTING FOR AMERICA'S MOST-LOVED NOVEL.

WHEREVER YOUR SUMMER TAKES YOU, BE SURE TO PACK A BOOK OR TWO OR ALL 100 FROM THIS LIST.

AND WHEN YOU FIND ONE YOU LOVE, GO TO PBS.ORG AND LET US KNOW.

SHARE YOUR FAVORITES WITH FRIENDS, TWEET IT, JOIN A BOOK CLUB, OR START ONE, AND THEN VOTE.

VOTE RIGHT NOW, TOMORROW, AND EVERY DAY, UP UNTIL OUR FINALE RIGHT HERE ON PBS.

UNTIL THEN, LET "THE GREAT AMERICAN READ" BEGIN.

READY FOR A SUMMER OF GREAT BOOKS?

YOUR LOCAL PBS STATION IS YOUR FIRST STOP.

FIND OUT ABOUT EVENTS AT LIBRARIES AND BOOKSELLERS IN YOUR COMMUNITY AND JUMP INTO THE CONVERSATION.

EXPLORE ADDITIONAL CONTENT ON OUR WEBSITE AND JOIN OUR BOOK CLUB ON FACEBOOK, OR START ONE OF YOUR OWN.

TELL US WHAT YOU'RE READING ON TWITTER AND RECOMMEND BOOKS TO FRIENDS ALL SUMMER LONG.

THEN COME BACK IN THE FALL, WHEN "THE GREAT AMERICAN READ" HITS HIGH GEAR, RIGHT HERE ON PBS.

WOMAN: BE A PART OF "THE GREAT AMERICAN READ" AND VOTE FOR YOUR FAVORITE BOOK.