Harris poll: Americans like reading the Bible, Dan Brown novels
According to a new Harris Poll, the "all-time top ten" books read by Americans, when asked the question, "What is your favorite book of all time?", are as follows :
1. The Bible
2. Gone with the Wind
3. The Lord of the Rings series
4. The Harry Potter series
5. The Stand
6. The Da Vinci Code
7. To Kill a Mockingbird
8. Angels and Demons
9. Atlas Shrugged
10. Catcher in the Rye
Hmmm....well...off the top of my head, it's interesting that nothing by, say, Mark Twain or Hemingway or Steinbeck or Danielle Steele (just kidding) made the cut. But, of course, if the poll had been taken in 1938 or 1968 or 1998, it would have been quite difference. Most striking is the presence of two of the most poorly written pieces of literary trash ever to sell by the millions, both penned by Dan Brown. I wonder if many people say "The Bible" out of some sort of cultural reflex. Put another way, I wonder how many of those who selected the Bible have read it cover to cover? Or even large sections of it? And, for those who selected both the Bible and Dan Brown novels: why are those among your favorite books?
For the record, I've never read Gone With the Wind, any Harry Potter books, Catcher in the Rye, or any fiction by Stephen King. I have read King's book on writing; it is quite fun and occasionally insightful. I tried to read some Ayn Rand novels when I was in high school, but hated them.
fonte: http://insightscoop.typepad.com/2004/2008/04/harris-poll-ame.html
According to a new Harris Poll, the "all-time top ten" books read by Americans, when asked the question, "What is your favorite book of all time?", are as follows :
1. The Bible
2. Gone with the Wind
3. The Lord of the Rings series
4. The Harry Potter series
5. The Stand
6. The Da Vinci Code
7. To Kill a Mockingbird
8. Angels and Demons
9. Atlas Shrugged
10. Catcher in the Rye
Hmmm....well...off the top of my head, it's interesting that nothing by, say, Mark Twain or Hemingway or Steinbeck or Danielle Steele (just kidding) made the cut. But, of course, if the poll had been taken in 1938 or 1968 or 1998, it would have been quite difference. Most striking is the presence of two of the most poorly written pieces of literary trash ever to sell by the millions, both penned by Dan Brown. I wonder if many people say "The Bible" out of some sort of cultural reflex. Put another way, I wonder how many of those who selected the Bible have read it cover to cover? Or even large sections of it? And, for those who selected both the Bible and Dan Brown novels: why are those among your favorite books?
For the record, I've never read Gone With the Wind, any Harry Potter books, Catcher in the Rye, or any fiction by Stephen King. I have read King's book on writing; it is quite fun and occasionally insightful. I tried to read some Ayn Rand novels when I was in high school, but hated them.
fonte: http://insightscoop.typepad.com/2004/2008/04/harris-poll-ame.html