Reading is better than not reading. I don’t begrudge anybody their page-turners.  Also encouraging that their are still a lot of classics on the list, including some very challenging ones like MOBY-DICK and CRIME & PUNISHMENT. - MS

> On Aug 22, 2018, at 9:30 AM, Hal Bush <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
> 
> thanks Matthew, that's very helpful.  50 shades of grey over Henry James pr=
> etty much puts the selection process in a nutshell!
> 
> 
> To be honest, as much as I find it funny to think about such improbabilitie=
> s of Notebook over Scarlet Letter, it is good to see, and then take serious=
> ly what actual readers are actually reading these days.  Maybe we can see i=
> t as a cautionary tale against literary snobbery??
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Dr. Hal Bush
> 
> Dept. of English
> 
> Saint Louis University
> 
> [log in to unmask]
> 
> 314-977-3616
> 
> http://halbush.com
> 
> author website:  halbush.com
> 
> ________________________________
> From: Mark Twain Forum <[log in to unmask]> on behalf of Matthew Seybold <mse=
> [log in to unmask]>
> Sent: Wednesday, August 22, 2018 8:09:34 AM
> To: [log in to unmask]
> Subject: Re: "Great" American Reads
> 
> FYI
> 
> 1.) Twain is represented on the list, by Tom Sawyer, and no author is =3D
> represented by more than one work. If they were, I imagine Huck =3D
> would=3DE2=3D80=3D99ve been included. So the question is really about the =
> =3D
> superiority of Huck Finn over Tom Sawyer as =3DE2=3D80=3D9CAmerica=3DE2=3D8=
> 0=3D99s =3D
> Best-Loved Novel.=3DE2=3D80=3D9D=3D20
> 
> 2.) The 100 novels were chosen, according to PBS, via =3DE2=3D80=3D9Ca =3D
> demographically representative national survey conducted by YouGov.=3DE2=3D=
> 80=3D9D=3D
> I haven=3DE2=3D80=3D99t looked at the details of how the survey was =3D
> conducted, but protesting Huckleberry Finn=3DE2=3D80=3D99s exclusion is =3D
> tantamount to protesting the poor taste of the American populace. I =3D
> mean, E. L. James is on this list and Henry James is not. The Notebook =3D
> is in, but not The Scarlet Letter. I don=3DE2=3D80=3D99t think PBS is makin=
> g =3D
> any claims about quality, historical influence, etc. It is about what =3D
> Americans are actually reading in 2018.  =3D20
> 
>> On Aug 22, 2018, at 8:36 AM, Hal Bush <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
>> =3D20
>> Dear Friends:
>> =3D20
>> =3D20
>> I got this email overnight and had not really thought much about the =3D
> questi=3D3D
>> on/issue.  Any thoughts out there??? Discuss . . . .
>> =3D20
>> =3D20
>> Subject:"Great" American Reads
>> =3D20
>> =3D20
>> Dear Dr. Bush,
>> =3D20
>> I write to inquire if any Mark Twain scholars or societies have =3D
> mounted a p=3D3D
>> rotest against PBS for omitting The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn =3D
> from its=3D3D
>> =3D3D93Great American Read=3D3D94 programming and to volunteer my =3D
> assistance if po=3D3D
>> ssible.
>> I am a former secondary school English teacher and a current Jonathan =3D
> Swift=3D3D
>> scholar.
>> =3D20
>> Thank you.
>> =3D20
>> Patrice J. Smith
>> Gettysburg
>> =3D20
>> =3D20
>> =3D20
>> =3D20
>> Dr. Hal Bush
>> =3D20
>> Dept. of English
>> =3D20
>> Saint Louis University
>> =3D20
>> [log in to unmask]
>> =3D20
>> 314-977-3616
>> =3D20
>> https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=3Dhttp-3A__halbush.com&d=3DDwI=
> BAg&c=3DPk_HpaIpE_jAoEC9PLIWoQ&r=3Df7i-Uq4rMQU8-TBe45qVLg&m=3D_MJ5hYccQP0kI=
> m_3CPBM7Y3bGrYrHJJXfk8qz7WMpEQ&s=3Dmm3lTAnnuqSw6u8NKYaDd7C-YHp_SNjp701y0_Fe=
> 8Ms&e=3D
>> =3D20
>> author website:  halbush.com