A Survey Used 76,000 Responses To Determine America’s Favorite Books — Here Are the Top 50

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

1. Pride And Prejudice
2. To Kill A Mockingbird
3. Harry Potter (Series)
4. Where the Crawdads Sing
5. The Lord Of the Rings
6. The Great Gatsby
7. The Alchemist
8. Jane Eyre
9. Verity
10. It Ends With Us
11. The Stand
12. Outlander
13. The Book Thief
14. Nightingale
15. Little Women
16. Gone With The Wind
17. The Seven Husbands Of Evelyn Hugo
18. The Hobbit
19. A Court Of Thorns And Roses
20. The Hunger Games
21. A Court Of Mist And Fury
22. The Song Of Achilles
23. The Invisible Life Of Addie Larue
24. The Silent Patient
25. The Giver
26. Percy Jackson (Series)
27. The Twilight Saga
28. 1984
29. The Outsider
30. The Bible
31. All The Light We Cannot See
32. The Kite Runner
33. The Count Of Monte Cristo
34. The Catcher In Rye
35. The Handmaid’s Tale
36. The Night Circus
37. The Color Purple
38. Fahrenheit 451
39. The Midnight Library
40. Dune
41. Anne Of Green Gables
42. The Coldest Winter Ever
43. Six Of Crows
44. It
45. Circe
46. A Tree Grows In Brooklyn
47. Harry Potter And The Prisoner Of Azkaban
48. East Of Eden
49. Throne Of Glass
50. The Hitchhiker’s Guide To The Galaxy