The Great American Read - PBS Presents 100 Most Beloved Novels - WATCH READ and VOTE

PBS presents "The Great American Read - 100 Most Beloved Novels.  This is a wonderful show because it speaks to the multitude of gifts garnered by reading and the gift of sharing the love for reading.  In today's high-tech fast paced world, it's gratifying to know that one is hardly alone in the love of reading.  Reading is both a solitary act and a unifying act.  It's through reading one develops empathy and humanity.  James Baldwin's "Another Country is on the list. "You think your pain and your heartbreak are unprecedented in the history of the world, but then you read.  It was books that taught me that the things that tormented me were the very things that connected me with all the people who were alive, who had ever been alive."  Reading is a source of comfort and stimulation.  One's imagination is sparked through reading.  It's an easy inexpensive means to travel & adventure.  "The more that you read the more things you will know.  The more that you learn the more places you'll go." (Dr Seuss)  Meredith Viera hosts this PBS special listing the favorite 100 novels.  (I'd like to know how the 100 were selected.)  The books were endorsed by writers, actors, scientists, artists and celebrities.  Barbara & Jenna Bush & Chelsea Clinton's talked of the gift of having been read to & the joy they get reading to their family & others.  Lesley Stahl said her greatest happiness is reading to her grandchildren.  Ms. Stahl raved about "Charlotte's Webb" as did a very thoughtful 2nd grade class who learned lessons on friendship & not to judge people by their looks.  "You  shouldn't judge a book by its cover or people by their looks."  Sarah Jessica Parker recommends the book "Things Fall Apart" by Chinua Achebe which explains how cultures are destroyed.  Neil deGrasse Tyson chose "Gulliver's Travels" which took him to a whole other different world.  Author John Green recounted the stunning impact "Catcher in the Rye" has made on him both as a young person & as an adult.  Prof. Gates was euphoric about "Their Eyes Were Watching God."  Young people spoke of the excitement of "Harry Potter" novels which brought magic & a sense of wonder into their lives.  Actress Gabrielle Union spoke candidly about the healing she felt from reading "The Color Purple" after she had been raped.  Allison Williams chose my favorite "Frankenstein" a novel by Shelly about humanity.  Mankind is the monster not the creature brought to life by Dr. Frankenstein.  Anyone can vote from the list for their favorite which will be announced in the fall.  A flagrant over sight is Bradbury's "Fahrenheit  451".  "There are worse crimes than burning books.  One of them is not reading them."  (J. Brodsky)