Who of Little Princefrom Lord of the Ringsof Cyrano de Bergeracof 1984of One Piece or of the twenty other titles of the final list (see box) will triumph? Answer Thursday, from 9:10 p.m., on France 2 in The favorite book of the French. Michel Field and Camille Diao will reveal the results of this major online consultation.
Initially, Internet users were asked to quote the works of fiction of their choice, without a pre-established list. The fifty most popular were qualified for a second round in which “tens of thousands” of voters took part. It is therefore the Top 25 will be revealed on the show.
“What comes out of this shaker is amazing”
“It’s not a scientific survey but a pretext to tell the fads, warns Michel Field. Everything is put in a shaker and what comes out is amazing. » In the list, classics such as Wretched, The Wuthering Heights, The Foam of the Days Where The Stranger alongside manga (dragonball, The attack of the Titans, Berserk…), contemporary novels (It’s high time to rekindle the stars, Changing flower water…) and successful sagas (“Harry Potter”, “Hunger Games”…).
“A lot of genres are represented. With our guests, we will tell that all forms of reading are equal,” says Camille Diao. “You can like super popular stuff and other more specialized things, continues Michel Field. We will perhaps provoke the ire of the purists, yes, we know it, and we assume it. The important thing is to make a hymn to the book, to the book professions, to those who bring this sector of activity to life.
“Uncomplex those who say: ‘Reading is not for me'”
The favorite book of the French was thought of as a mainstream entertainment show. Several personalities (Juliette Binoche, Camille Lellouche, JoeyStarr, Vincent Delerm, Gilbert Montagné, Kheiron…) and authors (Joël Dicker, Mélissa Da Costa, Brigitte Giraud…) made the trip to Strasbourg where the recording took place .
“There will be musical quizzes on pop hits related to literature, tape recorders with anecdotes about the books you think you know… The goal is to uninhibit people who have a fearful relationship to reading and say to themselves ” It’s not for me”. »
The program is inspired by The Big Reada literary survey organized by the BBC in 2003. On the other side of the Channel, The Lord of the Rings stood out in front of Pride and Prejudice and At the crossroads of the worlds. “It brought people back to bookstores and boosted sales dramatically, up to +400% on the works on the charts. It was, of course, twenty years ago, but from the moment we talk about books in an entertaining way, we hope to have this impact, ”aims Solène Saint Gilles, responsible for cultural programs at France Télévisions.
Michel Field, he wants to believe that the results will make people talk: “If people debate in front of their TV, we will have provoked conversation around the book and the public service will have accomplished its mission. »
Twenty-five for a top
The works in the ranking are (in alphabetical order): 1984, To the delight of the ladies, Berserk, Changing flower water, Cyrano de Bergerac, dragonball, Harry Potter, The Hunger Games, It’s high time to rekindle the stars, zero kilometer, The attack of the Titans, The foam of the days, The Stranger, The Truth About the Harry Québert Affair, The count of Monte Cristo, The perfume, The little Prince, The Lord of the Rings, happy people read and drink coffee, The Wuthering Heights, Wretched, The Pillars of the Earth, One Piece, Pride and Prejudice, All the blue of the sky.