The Great American Read

The final episode of The Great American Read will celebrate all 100 books on the list of this immensely popular campaign, reveal the top voted titles in multiple categories, and unveil the novel that Americans have picked as their #1 best-loved book.

Many novels on America’s list of 100 favorites take us to other worlds. From fantasy to science fiction, historical fiction to stories of spiritual realms, what do these books tell us about our own world? We examine how these novels help us think about real-life and present-day issues.

How do our favorite novels reflect what we do for love? From classic romance to family dramas, from unrequited passion to unforgettable first love, we take a look at our best-loved books that feature the most important emotion in our lives. And we examine why we are drawn to these stories.

How do novels featuring our favorite villains and monsters help us understand why people behave badly? We examine the evil characters in our favorite novels, to find out why we go to the dark side. We also meet authors who have created some of our best-loved villains.

We examine books on America’s list that feature heroic characters. Celebrities, literary experts, authors and everyday book lovers discuss why our favorite heroes are complex and relatable, from the everyday hero to the tragic and unlikely or anti-hero.

How do the books we love answer the question “Who am I?” We explore first-person narratives and other ways authors tell stories of characters on personal journeys. From navigating the teen years through discovering our “chosen families,” these novels can help us find ourselves at any age.

Meredith Vieira returns as the Great American Read hits high gear. You spent the summer reading and voting for your favorite novels, now tune in to see which books celebrities, authors, and other readers across the country are rooting for.

The country’s 100 favorite novels are announced in a two-hour celebration of reading, hosted by Meredith Vieira. Celebrities, authors, and book lovers reveal the novels that have affected their lives. The national vote gets under way, to decide America’s Best-Loved Novel.