The Great American Read
The new PBS show The Great American Read premieres on Tuesday and I can't wait to watch!
The goal of the show is to spark renewed interest in reading and talking about books, and as part of the preparation for the show's launch, the show's producers polled Americans about their favorite novels. The result is a fascinating list of 100 titles including everything from Moby Dick to the Twilight series. There's even an interactive tool to find out how many of the books you've read.
The culmination of the eight-part show will be a vote on America's favorite novel. The winner will be announced in October. I could imagine this being an excellent summer and fall activity: watching the show as a family and then choosing a book or two from the list to read and discuss.
To help you choose, check out the list the folks at Brightly pulled together for tweens and teens. It includes many familiar titles. Ones I personally recommend include The Giver, Where the Red Fern Grows, the Hunger Games series, and, of course, the Harry Potter series.
Happy reading!