Thank you to Columbia University Press, the author and NetGalley for a DRC in return for an honest review

How could you not be intrigued by the concept of this book?

Tom Comitta is a writer and interdisciplinary artist known for experimental works that merge literature, visual art and performance. Much of his practice involves 'literary collage' - assembling narratives entirely from found text. His previous works include The Nature Book (crafted entirely from nature descriptions in hundreds of novels) and Airport Novella (built from text found in airports). People’s Choice Literature is another bold conceptual project, comprising two full-length novels - one featuring the story elements Americans most desire and the other containing everything they reportedly despise -all based on a nationwide poll about literary taste. Kind of like a Choose Your Own Adventure book in reverse.

What I really want now is for someone to write The Most Wanted and Unwanted Novels voted for by the British public and compare both to Tom Comitta's American versions!

The author gives the reader the choice whether to read the background information, concerning the poll results, before or after reading the novels. Personally I don't like going in blind without knowing the premise, so I chose to read the information beforehand - this approach did not spoil anything for me.

Full disclosure. I am writing this review after only having read 'The most wanted novel'. I will update after finishing the second - as this is meant to include everything that is least wanted in a storyline, I'm hoping it won't be that bad that I have to DNF! 🤞 Although if it's anything like 'The most unwanted song' that I've just sat through, I won’t be betting on a pleasant outcome! Having said that, I also sought out 'The most wanted and unwanted Paintings' and I can honestly say I found both pleasing - so who knows which way the cookie will crumble!

It’s tricky enough to give a single rating for two books combined, especially when one is deliberately built to be unenjoyable, but as far as the Most Wanted book goes, I’m settling on ⭐⭐⭐

There are a handful of things that grate on me -
~The fate of John
~The speed at which Stone and Alix fall for each other and are seemingly willing to risk their own lives and careers
~The sudden shift in Alix's character form mild mannered office worker to gun-toting action hero in 48 hours

That said, I love that this book contains nearly every thriller cliché you could possibly think of and I greatly appreciated the nods to The Most Wanted and Most Unwanted Paintings within the text.

If you’re interested in the nitty-gritty of how a novel might be created from audience preferences, this is well worth a read. Overall, it’s a fascinating literary experiment with moments of genuine entertainment.

#PeoplesChoiceLiterature #NetGalley

Peoples Choice Literature, the most wanted and unwanted novels by Tom Commitaa is a book that does what a previous reseachers did 30 years ago but instead of writing the most wanted and unwanted songs or artist paintings they decided to do it with stories. Getting over 1000 people to fill out a form telling what they like dislike Etc about novels, genres, what they enjoyed, the thing they least enjoyed, the topics, plots, sub plots, number of characters and on and on. Through that RESEARCH wrote two stories one they deemed the most wanted and the second of course is the most unwanted. I have read both stories the first With the twins I found very enjoyable in the second not so much. Having read everything up until the unwanted story I knew what to expect or at least thought I did and so the most unwanted story was read mostly with amusement and mirth as opposed to eye rolling and distain. I really enjoyed reading about the research although when it got to the number And ratios my eyes glazed over but totally got the gist of what the author was saying. If you love books learning what people like and dislike about books and or at the very least just interested in what the most wanted book and unwanted would be about then you should definitely give this book a try I found it so interesting and I’m glad I did.#NetGalley, #TheBlindReviewer, #MyHonestReview, #TomCamitta, #ThePeoplesChoiceLiterature,

In *People’s Choice Literature*, Tom Comitta delivers a bold and genre-defying examination of literary value, authorship, and cultural consensus. At once conceptual art, critical theory, and collage-fiction, the book interrogates the boundaries of what we consider “literature” by synthesizing, remixing, and dissecting the most praised and most reviled novels of the modern Anglophone canon.

Comitta—well known for *The Nature Book* and other literary experiments—pushes the envelope further here, proposing a work that is equal parts anthology, social commentary, and theoretical provocation. Drawing from a curated corpus of novels that have consistently topped (or bottomed) public polls, school curricula, and mainstream reading lists, Comitta composes an “aggregate novel” shaped by collective taste, cultural anxiety, and algorithmic popularity.

The result is as disorienting as it is illuminating. Through cut-ups, typographic play, and inventive citation, *People’s Choice Literature* becomes a mirror of our literary desires and denials. The “most wanted” passages, often lush, romantic, or emotionally earnest, stand in stark contrast to the “most unwanted”—grim, convoluted, or ideologically uncomfortable. The text thereby becomes a conversation not only with literature, but with the forces—market, institutional, ideological—that determine its elevation or erasure.

Formally experimental yet grounded in astute literary scholarship, Comitta's prose retains clarity even at its most avant-garde. Interspersed essays provide essential scaffolding, where the author explores questions around authorship, collective curation, and what it means for literature to be “representative” in an age of metrics-driven cultural production.

**Final Verdict:**
*People’s Choice Literature* is a radical and compelling work that challenges the reader to confront their own literary biases and the socio-cultural mechanisms that shape the canon. Tom Comitta has created not simply a book, but a cultural artifact—one that captures the anxieties and aspirations of a literary culture in flux. Ideal for readers of experimental fiction, literary theory, and those drawn to the intersection of text, power, and public opinion.

**Rating**: ★★★★★

*Disclaimer: I read an advance copy provided by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.*