What Is Your Favorite Book?

Out of 100 books, “To Kill a Mockingbird” is Somerset County’s favorite read. 

Over the past several weeks, PBS has been hosting an online poll titled the Great American Read, hoping to discover the most popular books in America. The Somerset County Library System of New Jersey (SCLSNJ) decided to take PBS’s 100 title booklist and present the same question to our residents. Would Somerset County reader preferences be the same as the nationwide results? Turns out, while there are some similarities, Somerset County reader preferences are uniquely their own. Somerset County’s top five favorite reads are: 1. “To Kill a Mockingbird” by Harper Lee (9.7 percent) 2. “A Tree Grows in Brooklyn” by Betty Smith (9.2 percent) 3. “Harry Potter” (Series) by J. K. Rowling (6.3 percent) 4/5. “Pride and Prejudice” by Jane Austen (4 percent) - (Tied) 4/5. “Crime and Punishment” by Fyodor Dostoyevsky (4 percent) - (Tied) PBS’s nationwide top five favorite reads are: 1. “To Kill a Mockingbird” by Harper Lee 2. “Outlander” (Series) by Diana Gabaldon 3. “Harry Potter” (Series) by J. K. Rowling 4. “Pride and Prejudice” by Jane Austen 5. “Lord of the Rings” by J. R. R. Tolkien All 100 books are available for loan at the Library System in a myriad of formats. Explore your Library’s collection today: SCLSNJ.org.