Today is the start of summer and what better way to enjoy the dog days ahead than by escaping deep into the world of great book … with your dog or cat nearby. PBS launched a special event in May with one hundred book suggestions to help you along in your quest to find that extra-special read.
Check out their website and their reader-nominated list of a hundred books. Who nominated them? Well, I’m not exactly sure, but there are some old classic standbys and new ones, too. See if any of your favorites made the list. Here’s a link to PBS’s two-page print-friendly list: PBS 100 Books
Or watch their two-hour special TV show on your local PBS channel or online. Actress Sarah Jessica Parker, with one foot in the publishing business, highly recommends Things Fall Apart by Nigerian writer Chinua Achebe. Game of Thrones guru George R.R. Martin was nominated, but he’s pushing his own favorites, Lord of the Rings and The Great Gatsby. #VOTELOTR #VOTEGOT #VOTEGatsby
Everyone is encouraged to vote online once a day for their favorite book by October 18, 2018. Already they have logged over a million votes. Can’t decide? You can vote multiple times and for different books. Afterward, they will announce the results in the Grand Finale PBS TV show.
You can vote two ways: on their website pbs.org/GreatAmericanRead by book; or select the hashtag from their list and post it on Facebook or tweet it on Twitter. Each book has a predesigned hashtag that doesn’t match the book’s complete title. For example, The Handmaid’s Tale is #VOTEHandmaid.
My reading to-do list is incredibly long, and I’ve already voted once. But if you absolutely have no time to read a book, many on the list are movies, and some are TV shows. I highly recommend Outlander on Starz, and I’m making my way through her 800+ page debut novel. #VOTEOutlander
Exceptional stories live on in whatever mode of delivery. But the books are usually better, so you are missing out! #VOTEDune #VOTEDaVinci #VOTE1984
Karen Stensgaard is the author of the novel AQUAVIT, the first book in the Aquamarine Sea Series with a second novel on the way soon. AQUAVIT is available as a paperback from Amazon and Ingram Spark or as an e-book from almost everyone else. Libraries have free access via Overdrive. Link to free chapters on Amazon
KAREN STENSGAARD 