Top 5 American Novels 

To me, I find that The Great Gatsby is still really relevant and important to today's society and our view of the American dream

Little Women is one of my favourite books of all time. it reminds me of my childhood and growing up. We didn't have many books in my house so I just read this over and over again.

I could listen to you all day. The way you described all these books was so intelligent and articulate 😍

Ok, here it is. These are the most representative of my favourites (or my favourites among the most representative): 1) The Color Purple - as you said, and I said: really really important (and also Shug’s discourse towards the end of the book “I think it pisses God off if you walk by the color purple in a field somewhere and don't notice it” etc. is of a rare profoundness); 2) The Grapes of Wrath - crucial in times of immigration, and so always relevant to the US (bonus point: one of the most beautiful endings I’ve ever read); 3) Infinite Jest - ok this is contemporary but David Foster Wallace really put the American spirit into writing here. Mostly the negative aspects, but honestly those are the ones that I think about when I think about America: the consumerism, the race to be and have more, the capitalism (it’s set in the near future, where the years are sponsored so you’re not in, say, 2034, you’re in the Year of Whisper-Quiet Maytag Dishmaster). Definitely one of my favourite novels; 4) To Kill a Mockingbird - if this isn’t American I don’t know what is; 5) I’m going to put a children book as well, one of the ones I’ve read and reread many times: Jerry Spinelli's Stargirl. It talks of freedom, but the good kind of freedom, the freedom to be who you are and never mind the others. It was incredibly important to me growing up! And can I mention Empire of Illusion by Chris Hedges? It’s non-fiction, but goddammit it’s such a great analysis of how America (but really it goes for all the western countries) is manipulated and shaped by the media. It’s quite scary and revolting at some points (there’s a chapter on pornography that I couldn’t read I felt so sick), but it’s eye-opening. Well that was a long comment. If you haven't read some of the ones I mentioned, I heartily suggest them all! Good night dear xx

I love Little Women, it's definitely one if not my favourite book and I really enjoy the whole story!

Love Little Women! I think you did a great job of picking books showing a wide range of depictions of America across society and throughout time. I've not read many I'd consider "American Novels" in that sense really, but of the ones I have, I love The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay by Michael Chabon. Brilliant sense of New York during and after WW2, and the dawn of the comic book industry among other things. Awesome book.

I totally agree with your choices, I absolutely love those books! Have you read "These is my words" and "The Things They Carried"? Those are also some of my favorites.

On the road is one of my favourite books but I often read negative reviews about it, great to know you like it! :)

I've only read Gatsby and Little Women of those. The Colour Purple is in my house but I for some reason have never read it. I probably will now though! I also think, like most people here, that To Kill A Mockingbird should have been mentioned. A book I would have also included in this list is American Gods by Neil Gaiman; it's a really really really good book that you should definitely read if you haven't read it.

I finished On the Road on the plane today and completely agree, a great depiction of a certain type of american from the time...it also made me crave a road trip. The other books on this list are also fab, although I haven't read Native Son so will look into that. If you want my personal favourite american novel, I would recommend East of Eden by John Steinbeck as a great portrayal of the intricate personalities in families :) love your videos!

I love your book reviews!!!!!

I'm starting English Literature A Level in September, so over this holiday I'm reading To Kill A Mockingbird (I never got to do it for GCSE) and then I have three Virginia Woolf texts to read! I'm really excited

As an American: great job! You've picked some fantastic examples, and I think you're correct that great American novels are challenging in that they challenge aspects of society. I appreciate this. Would you be able to do this with Irish literature? (Perhaps you already have, I haven't poked through your whole channel.)

I have such an emotional attachment to the great gatsby, I can read it and read it and never get bored. The writing is soooo romantic and the words sound so pretty on my tongue when I say them out loud. I became so familiar with the characters - I mean I hated them all .. Nearly but still! - and it's so close to my heart. I feel like I can't tell people it's one of my favourite books because I did it in school and it makes me come across as trying to sound smart by saying one of the only classics I've read! Need to read the color purple.

I first read little women when I was about 10 and it really just resonated with me. It was the first book of that style which I had ever read (and still is one of the only books of that style which I've read) but I really appreciate it and the characters are wonderful and I just love it ^_^

One of my favorite "American Novels" is The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton.

Agreed, "Stoner" is great! I've just started reading Williams' "Butcher's Crossing", I'm very curious about that.

You’ve made me want to read native son 😊

I really, really need to read The Colour Purple! Fab video, making me kind of sad I'm not taking the 'American Lit' module available for 2nd year, was drawn in by romanticism, film & victorian lit instead :D

Yaaay the Great Gatsy! I really wish I had more time to read. When I have time I'm definitely going to just refer to this list for inspiration :)

I have your shirt! I actually got it from you face to face at one of the concerts in April ☺️

A Favourite of mine has always been Truman Capote's 'Breakfast at Tiffanys'. It is a little darker than the film, and while not directly doing a head on examination of america, it does have its moments. The examination of Holly golightly as a hedonistic girl in a soceity that encourages these traits, is fascinating. It also looks at things like the nature of love and what that is, Isolation, Appearance vs Reality. Its a relatively easy read and probably wont have any profound affect on your life, but really worth a read if you have the time :)

In my class we thought perhaps This Side of Paradise and The Great Gatsby were connected and that Gatsby was a sort of continuation of the protagonist in This Side of Paradise. They are written about a very similar outlook on life. I like the books that you chose, they do give a really interesting outlook on the US. Some of my favorite US books though are well researched historical fiction stories based in the New York society that was overwhelmed with the high immigration rate. I especially enjoy those that take place in the Yiddish neighborhoods post WW2. It just very interesting to really see from the perspective of an immigrant how the US was largely built on immigrants from numerous parts of the world.

Your list is great! There are ones I would have swapped in/swapped out for a top five, but all of those are definitely worthy of being at the top tier of novels about the United States. If I were to include others, it would be The Grapes of Wrath, The Jungle, To Kill A Mockingbird, The Scarlet Letter, Uncle Tom's Cabin, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, and I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings. I have also heard about the importance of Gone With the Wind (positively and negatively) and also Moby-Dick; yet, I haven't read them or studied them so I can't really say much of them. Most if not all of these are criticisms of the United States in some way. I would almost say that The Grapes of Wrath is a spiritual sequel to The Great Gatsby. The Great Gatsby is about glitz, glam, the high life, and the American Dream. The Grapes of Wrath is about how that brought us to the brink of despair, and how hard it is for anyone to ever again attain that American Dream, no matter how hard you fight for it. Both are really engaging for modern Americans, because both books may be set in the past, but they're more relevant than ever. The 1920s in Gatsby could easily be the 1980s, 90s, and the early 2000s. The Grapes of Wrath is relevant for anyone living in the US after 2008. The Scarlet Letter shows our less than desirable history, from a writer who himself is directly related to the tragedies. Huck Finn, Mockingbird, Tom's Cabin, and Caged Bird all deal with race relations. Uncle Tom's Cabin is typically seen as being one of the ten steps that led to the Civil War. The Jungle is a look at how the US treats immigrants, while also analyzing the awful nature of the meatpacking business of the time. Despite being pretty obvious Socialist propaganda, it has some really thrilling parts that really made an impact on the US.

I was expecting Of Mice and Men... But still great selection of books!

I love your t-shirt! xxx

We have the same ugly copy of On The Road! I also adore The Colour Purple. And ooh, I just read Wright's 'Black Boy' and I've been wanting to pick up Native Son ever since. I would definitely recommend Black Boy!

I only got myself to read The Great Gatsby recently as a part of my university's summer class. I loved reading through the book and getting deep into the characters. I don't know if I'm in the minority, but I thought the title described Gatsby in a misleading way and that Nick wasn't such a great person compared to other characters either. Still, those thoughts didn't detract me one bit from losing myself in it. I wonder what kind of impression it would've made on me had I read it at an earlier age, but better late than never.

little women has always been one of my favourites for agggeeeeeesss but when i first read it at about the age of 9 i can't remember thinking of it as being set in america… i clearly didn't pay much attention to where the father actually was 😁

Have you read Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance? I think you may enjoy it. It is very American. It speaks a lot to finding yourself and spiritually. It is a book I find myself reading when I am feeling low and lost. ☺

One of my favorites is Of Mice and Men.

I loved Stoner and Gatsby very much. If you want a few other suggestions for American books that left me feeling similarly: A Lesson Before Dying by Ernest Gaines (I wept, just wept). Ethan Frome by Edith Wharton, and Breakfast at Tiffany's by Truman Capote. All fairly short books by the way. And even though this next suggestion takes place mostly outside of U.S. I loved The Talented Mr. Ripley (so much better than the movie) by American author Patricia Highsmith (written in the 50's; such an amazing look into a shattered psychopath's mind). Also, as for Gatsby, besides the themes of old money / new money, decadence, and the pre-depression American gluttony, I found something that made me go back and read it again, twice more in the same week. Sorry hope this doesn't get too long, and maybe I'm not the first person to follow this path but I rarely see it mentioned, but when I got to the scene where Tom follows Mr. McKee in to the elevator lift, and then cut to him in McKee's room, and then in Penn Station... I thought 'what? what's going on here?'. That led me to a search on the internet trying to figure out what I was missing. Anyway for anyone who is interested, I found two papers written that helped explain this scene and a lot more about many of the characters and symbolism in The Great Gatsby. THIS kind of depth in a book is what really gets me excited. The Sexual Drama of Nick and Gatsby: journals.lib.unb.ca/index.php/IFR/article/view/14120/15202 Jordan Baker, Gender Dissent, and Homosexual Passing in The Great Gatsby: www.monmouth.edu/the_space_between/articles/MaggieFroehlick2010.pdf

Could you please do for also Canadian or French authors???? There many great authors found in these two countries :) Thank you in advance for reading the comment if you did

Have you seen the webseries The March Letters? It's a modern adaptation of Little Women.

The best Americans are The Caatcher in the Rye, Atlas Shrugged, and a Streetcar named Desire.

If you liked native son, you should read Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison. My first college english class covered this novel, and it's become one of my favorites. Ellison wrote this novel before the civil rights movement, and it highlights black culture and experience in the northern united states at the time. Often people think of the north as being heaven for people of color, and this novel rips that idea apart and shows how prejudiced people were everywhere. You should also read Black Boy by Richard Wright if you haven't already :)

The more of your videos I watch, the more it becomes apparent that we have quite different taste in books. I don't mind that Kerouac one, but it didn't think it was great and I hate Gatsby. Nevertheless I love listening to what you have to say. You've got that gift of being genuinely interesting x

Do you ever read Wattpad stories or have you considered uploading anything to a story-sharing website like it? Sorry it's not about American literature:)

I loved this video~

I think To Kill A Mockingbird should be in there somewhere. It is a wonderful book that I think does a very good job of representing America in that time.

I love The Great Gatsby. It's my favourite book of all time (I love it even more than I love Harry Potter :O ) When I turn 18 I'll get "boats against the current" and a little paper boat tattooed on my wrist. :)

Good list! It would be interesting to have a list for each voice in America, because there are so many disparate ones. I've read a lot of novels on the immigrant experience, but not so many about Native Americans, for example. Any suggestions?

I love the Great Gatsby, But I disliked the latest movie, but you have a Great list!

I really like your top five, unfortunately I haven't read The color Purple and Native Son yet, but I really love the others; I would have chosen To Kill a Mockingbird over Little women (I liked Little Women but don't consider it by no means a masterpiece)

I recently read Middlesex by Jeffery Eugenides and it is one of my favorite books of all time, and was thinking "THIS is a great American novel."

I was wondering if anyone could help recommend a book on mental health for my coursework? I am already using one flew over the cuckoo's nest, but I need a good book to compare it to, thanks :)

Would like to know your top non-fiction books!!

I love Little Women 💖

You're magic

Don't hate me but I didn't like On the Road AT ALL, reading it was a long agony :O. The Great Gatsby wasn't much better either, but because of how famous and American (insert a bald eagle eating a hamburger here) they are, I'd have put both in this list anyway. Well maybe in a top 10, not a top 5. The Color Purple however, WHAT A BOOK, it's one of my favourite as well, it has so many things to say, it should be mandatory reading in every school. Also very American. Little Women is a lovely book but I didn't imagine an American flag waving in the wind while I was reading it - but maybe because I read it as a child? Native Son I haven't read. I'll think up my top 5.

MERICA! I have to include,,,,,, "The red badge of courage" :P Oh yeah, a real coulourful war book. :)

This book website “fetching lobon only” (Google it) is simply wonderful because it is not only user-friendly but also an outstanding provider of several reading materials such as books and documents. It has been of big help as well and I highly recommend it. If you are a reading enthusiast, then don`t miss out accessing this site. Whatever you need when it comes to books and reading materials is available here.

You look beautiful.

it really confuses me when you say america and mean the usa

You seem obsessed with identity. Shouldn't the aesthetic quality of a book matter more that the fact that the author was a white male?

U Irish?