Reader's Choice Survey 1999

As part of the 1999 National Library Week celebration, the Mid-York Library System sponsored its first Reader's Choice survey of favorite books. The results of the survey were announced in April 1999. More than a thousand library customers in 29 public libraries in Herkimer, Madison, and Oneida counties voted for their favorite books. Adults and children nominated books they enjoyed or that had made an impact on them.

A total of 382 titles were nominated in the adult category. They entered likely titles, such as Grapes of Wrath by Steinbeck and Drums Along the Mohawk by Walter Edmonds as well as less likely titles like Vampire Lestat by Anne Rice and Harriet the Spy by Louise Fitzhugh. Some people nominated non-fiction titles like The Art of Raising a Puppy by the Monks of New Skete and The Greatest Generation by Tom Brokaw.

The top authors chosen by adults were Margaret Mitchell, Harper Lee, Charlotte Bronte, Danielle Steel, Leon Uris, J. R. R. Tolkien, Stephen King, Nora Roberts, Frank McCourt, and John Grisham. Click here to see the complete list of adult favorites.

Some adults indicated that the book changed their lives. One person, who entered Christy by Catherine Marshall, said that the book inspired her to become a teacher. Four people nominated Exodus by Leon Uris. Some said that it changed their perspectives and awakened their social conscience. One man picked the children's book, Supergrandpa, as his favorite. He said that his grandson gave him the book as a gift because the supergrandpa character reminded him of his grandfather.

The top authors chosen by kids were Dr. Seuss, R. L. Stine, Marc Brown, A. A. Milne, Brian Jacques, Roald Dahl, K. A. Applegate, Laura Ingalls Wilder, Judy Blume, and Gary Paulsen. Click here to see the complete list of children's favorites.

One young man said the "Cricket in Times Square by George Selden was one of the best I ever read. It was strongly better than playing video games. (Video games are my life.)" Another young person said "Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens is the only book I can read any times without getting bored."

The top series for children were Winnie the Pooh, Arthur, Redwall, Goosebumps, Animorphs, Fear Street, Little House on the Prairie, Dear America, Berenstain Bears, Junie B. Jones, Chronicles of Narnia, and Babysitters Club.

Titles mentioned in both lists were Romeo and Juliet, Lord of the Rings, Island of the Blue Dolphins, Call of the Wild, Little House on the Prairie, Secret Garden, A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, Little Women, A Wrinkle in Time, and Where the Red Fern Grows.

In order to participate in the favorite book survey, you needed a library card. There were adult and children's ballots. Some libraries had local drawings for prizes. Each library sent two names to be entered in the Grand Prize drawing for two $50 gift certificates from Walmart -- one for adults and one for kids. That drawing took place during National Library Week on April 14, 1999 at 2 p.m. at the Utica Public Library.

The inspiration for the survey was provided, in part, by Modern Library's 1998 list of 100 Best Novels written in English this century. James Joyce's Ulysses topped that list, followed by F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby and Joyce's A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man. At the same time, Modern Library invited Radcliffe Publishing Course students to compile their own list of the 100 best novels. Click here to see Radcliffe's 100 Best Novels.

Then, in 1999, Modern Library unveiled their list of 100 Best Nonfiction Books written in English and published in the 20th century. The Education of Henry Adams by Henry Adams ranked first, followed by William James' The Varieties of Religious Experience, Booker T. Washington's Up From Slavery, A Room of One's Own by Virginia Woolf, and Rachel Carson's Silent Spring.

 Mid-York Library System, serving public libraries in the counties of Herkimer, Madison, and Oneida in New York State, 1600 Lincoln Avenue, Utica, New York USA 13502, 315-735-8328: http://www.Mid-York.org; suggest@midyork.lib.ny.us