Is your favorite on the list?
Sometimes, fascinating data comes from unexpected places.
A noncommercial research organization called WordsRated uses a data-based perspective to evaluate books, literature, and the publishing industry — and tends to generate some pretty fun reports in the process. For example, according to a 2022 survey of over 2,000 people, 50 percent of Americans hadn’t read a book in over a year. (A bit of a bummer, but seems likely.) WR also sometimes zooms out for a global perspective, as in this report about reading habits around the world.
Two years ago, the org posted a job listing that was especially intriguing. The position? “Bibliophile-at-large.” Said bibliophile would be required to devour books while collecting data from the texts — things like the number of characters by gender or which animals appear in the book. If you’re a bookworm, that likely sounds like an exciting opportunity. The Internet agreed: The company received over 130,000 applications, with about 76,000 responses coming from the U.S.
Because the process required applicants to list their favorite book and its author, WordsRated accidentally conducted a survey of America’s favorite books as of 2022.
The organization published the findings, including America’s top favorite books broken down by state. (Apparently, California, Colorado, Delaware, and Texas all have the same favorite book — and Alaska, Arizona, Connecticut, and Illinois all have the same favorite author.) You can find America’s favorite 100 books here and favorite authors here; both data sets include state-by-state details, too.
Meanwhile, below are America’s top 50 favorite reads. If you see a book you’ve been meaning to page through for years (or even decades) let this be the sign to make a trip to your local bookstore — or library, Kindle Store, or Audible — and treat yourself to a new adventure.
America’s Top 50 Favorite Books
- Pride And Prejudice
- To Kill A Mockingbird
- Harry Potter (Series)
- Where the Crawdads Sing
- The Lord Of the Rings
- The Great Gatsby
- The Alchemist
- Jane Eyre
- Verity
- It Ends With Us
- The Stand
- Outlander
- The Book Thief
- Nightingale
- Little Women
- Gone With The Wind
- The Seven Husbands Of Evelyn Hugo
- The Hobbit
- A Court Of Thorns And Roses
- The Hunger Games
- A Court Of Mist And Fury
- The Song Of Achilles
- The Invisible Life Of Addie Larue
- The Silent Patient
- The Giver
- Percy Jackson (Series)
- The Twilight Saga
- 1984
- The Outsider
- The Bible
- All The Light We Cannot See
- The Kite Runner
- The Count Of Monte Cristo
- The Catcher In Rye
- The Handmaid’s Tale
- The Night Circus
- The Color Purple
- Fahrenheit 451
- The Midnight Library
- Dune
- Anne Of Green Gables
- The Coldest Winter Ever
- Six Of Crows
- It
- Circe
- A Tree Grows In Brooklyn
- Harry Potter And The Prisoner Of Azkaban
- East Of Eden
- Throne Of Glass
- The Hitchhiker’s Guide To The Galaxy
