Americans love to read this Top Ten of books (Harris Poll of 2014) - Bible is in first place

published data in feature story (online edition of Christian Science Monitor, May 6, 2014); newswriter is Husna Hadq ____________________ a new poll by Harris, which found the Bible was the number one choice across all ages, regions, political affiliations, and levels of education. The 100 best books of all time A handful of classics, new and old, rounded out the rest of the list, with “Gone with the Wind,” “Harry Potter,” “The Lord of the Rings,” and “To Kill a Mockingbird” rounding out the top five. For the report, Harris asked 2,300 Americans, "What’s your favorite book of all time?" Here’s the top 10: 1. The Bible 2. "Gone with the Wind" by Margaret Mitchell 3. Harry Potter (series of seven) by J.K. Rowling 4. The Lord of the Rings (series of three) by J.R.R. Tolkien 5. To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee 6. Moby Dick by Herman Melville 7. The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger 8. Little Women by Louisa May Alcott 9. The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck 10. The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald Notably, the list includes works of fiction and established classics almost exclusively (except the Bible and newer release by J.K. Rowling in her Harry Potter series respectively). According to Parade Magazine, Harris conducted the same poll in 2008 and four books are new to the list this year: Moby Dick, Little Women, The Grapes of Wrath, and The Great Gatsby. They replaced Stephen King’s The Stand, Ayn Rand’s Atlas Shrugged, and Dan Brown’s books The Da Vinci Code and Angels and Demons. And while nearly all respondents chose the Bible as their favorite book, second choices varied by sex, age cohort, race, and region, according to Harris. Men often chose The Lord of the Rings trilogy as second favorite, while women tended to choose Gone with the Wind. Perhaps it's of little surprise that Millennials (aged 18-36) chose the Harry Potter series as second favorite, while Gen X'ers (37-48) chose The Lord of the Rings trilogy. Baby Boomers and older (49+) chose Gone with the Wind. Favorites also varied by race, with whites often choosing Gone with the Wind, African Americans choosing Moby Dick, and Hispanics choosing The Great Gatsby. http://www.csmonitor.com/Books/chapter-and-verse/2014/0505/America-s-favorite-books-The-Bible-Gone-With-the-Wind-Harry-Potter