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

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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

  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