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