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Which great American novel does your state love most?
What is the great American novel? It’s a question people have asked for generations… but we may finally have the answer.
To celebrate World Book Day, we’ve used Google search data to determine which novels are most popular in each state. As there are so many American novels, we used various lists to create a shortlist of the best 20.
Here’s what we found…
And the most popular novel of them all is… To Kill a Mockingbird! Harper Lee’s classic topped searches in 10 states, including New York, California, Washington, Illinois, Nevada, Michigan, Delaware, Tennessee and Alabama (Lee’s home state and the novel’s setting).
F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby is in second place, winning hearts and minds in Vermont, Texas, Iowa, Maine, Montana, Ohio, North Carolina and Mississippi. However, it isn’t as popular in Fitzgerald’s home state of Minnesota or the state the novel is set in, New York.
Tied for third are John Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men and Ray Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451. Of Mice and Men is most popular in New Hampshire, Utah, Maryland, Hawaii and Louisiana, while Fahrenheit 451 is most popular in Connecticut, Georgia, Kentucky, Idaho and West Virginia.
What’s your favorite American novel? Let us know in the comments!
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Here’s the full list of novels by state…
| State | Novel |
|---|---|
| Alabama | To Kill a Mockingbird |
| Alaska | Catch-22 |
| Arizona | Catch-22 |
| Arkansas | One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest |
| California | To Kill a Mockingbird |
| Colorado | To Kill a Mockingbird |
| Connecticut | Fahrenheit 451 |
| Delaware | To Kill a Mockingbird |
| Florida | One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest |
| Georgia | Fahrenheit 451 |
| Hawaii | Of Mice and Men |
| Idaho | Fahrenheit 451 |
| Illinois | To Kill a Mockingbird |
| Indiana | The Color Purple |
| Iowa | The Great Gatsby |
| Kansas | Slaughterhouse Five |
| Kentucky | Fahrenheit 451 |
| Louisiana | Of Mice and Men |
| Maine | The Great Gatsby |
| Maryland | Of Mice and Men |
| Massachusetts | The Grapes of Wrath |
| Michigan | To Kill a Mockingbird |
| Minnesota | Sophie's Choice |
| Mississippi | The Great Gatsby |
| Missouri | The Great Gatsby |
| Montana | The Great Gatsby |
| Nebraska | Slaughterhouse-Five |
| Nevada | To Kill a Mockingbird |
| New Hampshire | Of Mice and Men |
| New Jersey | The Color Purple |
| New Mexico | One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest |
| New York | To Kill a Mockingbird |
| North Carolina | The Great Gatsby |
| North Dakota | Catch-22 |
| Ohio | The Great Gatsby |
| Oklahoma | Catch-22 |
| Oregon | The Color Purple |
| Pennsylvania | Catcher in the Rye |
| Rhode Island | The Old Man and the Sea |
| South Carolina | Catcher in the Rye |
| South Dakota | One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest |
| Tennessee | To Kill a Mockingbird |
| Texas | The Great Gatsby |
| Utah | Of Mice and Men |
| Vermont | The Great Gatsby |
| Virginia | Catcher in the Rye |
| Washington | To Kill a Mockingbird |
| West Virginia | Fahrenheit 451 |
| Wisconsin | Sophie's Choice |
| Wyoming | Invisible Man |
