A great one that's really accessible, and I loved, was The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay by Michael Chabon. Then there's Toni Morrison's Beloved, she's the real deal. Others I want to read sooner than later: The Night Watchmen - Louise Erdich Lonesome Dove - Larry McMurtry A Thousand Acres - Jane Smiley Foreign Affairs - Alison Lurie I usually take notice of most of the major awards that come to mind, though a lot of the time it's not a guaranteed match. One I've found recently that I like a lot but seems lesser known is the Mythopoeic Fantasy Awards that award books 'in the spirit of the Inklings.' You find very fantastical, and usually beautiful books here.

The Good Earth is one of my all time favorites. I read it for high school and still found it pretty easy to read at that time. A thoughtful, personal journey in historical China.

Lonesome Dove (1986 winner) is my favorite book. It's an epic western journey book 🤠 that might appeal to a lot of fantasy fans. It's very funny and accessible but also long (850 pages) and at times very dark. I may have to give A Visit from the Goon Squad a try. It sounds cool!

The Color Purple blew my hair back. While tough to read, it is so impactful.

Oh my God! Yessss!!! If you could do the Non fiction one eventually, it would be great!!!

Hi Sarah....interesting topic. I don't follow the Pulitzer prize, though just looking at the winners list now, I can see there are loads of fantastic and classic books on there. I really want to read The Nightwatchman by Louise Erdrich. I tend to follow the British prize lists like The Booker and the Womans Prize and have found some fantastic literary reads from them.

Gonna be basic and say I really liked The Road when I read it years ago. That's about all I can contribute to this topic. 😅

Thank you! This is a great video. I was looking at one of Petrik’s older videos and he recommends your channel. No wonder! Subscribed. I follow the Hugo’s, the Women’s Prize, the Pulitzer, and, sometimes, the Man Booker. I don’t always read them but I do pay attention to the short lists. The 2021 Pulitzer went to Louise Erdrich for The Night Watchman and that is a fabulous read. From the way back machine I loved Wallace Stenger’s Angle of Repose as well as M. Scott Momadays’s House Made of Dawn. I think of all of those as fairly accessible. Less so, primarily due to length, but probably my Pulitzer winning fav is Michael Chabon’s The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay. That book was a blast and writing this makes me want to reread soon.

What an amazing video idea. Thank you for this.

Very cool, to break out a little and discuss Pulitzer novels. You have peaked my interest in The Color Purple, thank you! If you get a chance, try Lonesome Dove, it’s one of my favorite novels! I believe you would love it.

I read To Kill a Mockingbird in school and it is one of my favorites out of the ones we read. I am actually planning on revisiting it soon. The Color Purple I never read but have watched the movie several times. The others I haven't read. Based on the information you gave, I do think you put together a great list.

Loved this video!! I think I would really like Less! What would be your favorites in terms of personal enjoyment though? I haven't read too many on the list, but my favorites would be: 1) American Pastoral 2) The Killer Angels 3) A Confederacy of Dunces 4) The Road 5) A Visit from the Goon Squad

Has anyone read “Oirdinary People?” Not sure if this book was Pulitzer Prize worthy, but it was the best book I had read in high school. A million years later, I’d like to revisit this gem❤️

Oooh thank you so much for putting this list together! Books with Brittany has definitely helped me branch out of my safe fantasy bubble and I have been loving it! The Nickel Boys, To Kill a Mockingbird (didn't read it in school here in The Netherlands!) and The Color Purple sound most interesting to me, so fingers crossed I can get to them sooner rather than later 🤞☺

My favorites from the pulitzer list are The Brief Wonderous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Diaz and The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck. It is amazing for Steinbeck to have only won once considering some of his works.

God, The Color Purple is *so* good. I don't know if I've ever read a book that so completely deserves all its accolades and more.

Love some of the ones you mentioned so much and the rest are on my tbr! I also love Lonesome Dove, The Goldfinch, and All the Light We Cannot See.

Great list. I read a lot of literary fiction and follow The Women’s Prize for Fiction, The Booker Prize and a few other awards. I’ve only read To Kill a Mockingbird from this list but want to pick up several more. The Road by Cormac McCarthy is probably my favorite Pulitzer winner, though I wouldn’t qualify it as particularly accessible. Happy reading. 😀

I love To Kill a Mockingbird and The Color Purple, but need to check out the rest :). Will

Great video! I love hearing about books from other genres than fantasy that you liked.

The Pulitzer Prize winners are ones I notice peripherally, but don't concentrate on reading. That said, I've read 3 of the ones you mentioned (To Kill a Mockingbird, The Color Purple, and Less). Looking at the list of winners, there are other that I have read and others I plan to read. I doubt I will ever read them all. Less is one of my favorite books, and one I'm actually surprised won the Pulitzer. It didn't seem serious enough, even though it does have great themes. All in all, a really fun book with a main character that I didn't care for at first, but really grew on me. :) (Did you see there's a sequel coming out this year? I'm not sure how I feel about that.) I'm actually working my way through all the Newbery Medal winner books (not in order). I've found some real gems, and others that just have not stood the test of time. Those are pretty quick reads, so I've been thinking of working on another list of prize winners. I'm leaning towards the National Book Award. Oh, I forgot to mention a Pulitzer recommendation. If someone likes historical fiction, Lonesome Dove is fabulous. I also really liked All the Light We Cannot See.

Like ur video! Happy reading to you!! 😊🎬🎼📝

I also think that The Amazing Adventures Of Kavalier & Clay is a very accessible one, especially because of its subject matter that is somewhat adjacent to fantasy and the fantastic and well, comic books. The Road might also work for people coming from a sf or fantasy background as it fits into those genres but it is of course pretty bleak. Beyond that I usually don't pay attention to award lists and for a non-american like me the Pulitzer price is of course rather US-centric.

Love your shirt! I will try a few classics at some point this year.

Looking at the list of winners, I see that I've only read 5 and have Olive Kitteridge on my tbr (great tv adaptation of that book). I think The Color Purple is incredible and also enjoyed Walker's The Temple of My Familiar. I appreciate your thoughtful comments on the books you selected. ☺

I know this is PP Fiction, but I will say that the biography winner for this year, Chasing Me to My Grave by W Rembert, reads like a novel and is beautifully “illustrated “ with his art.

Did I just hear you slander TKAM?! also, it's not on here but have you read The Goldfinch? I tend not to read a lot of literary stuff as you know.

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All worthy selections on your list. I read The Color Purple in one sitting, it was so mesmerizing. If you have not read The Hours, by Michael Cunningham, it's my favorite Pulitzer Prize novel ever. The movie was an abomination, so if you've watched the movie, it doesn't reflect the book at all.

Well, to really read more broadly you should look outside of the American sphere... This really doesn't do it at all, does it?