Here’s a list of what America read slightly over a century ago, as compiled by The World’s Work and reported in its July 1901 issue. (Thanks to Michael J. Ward for bring this list to my attention.) These bestsellers are based on reports from book dealers of the day in Kansas City, Buffalo, Washington, Albany, Toronto, New Haven, Cincinnati, Rochester, Boston, Philadelphia, Louisville, St. Paul, Chicago, Indianapolis, Detroit, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Dallas, New York, Cleveland and Pittsburgh:

1. The Helmet of Navarre, by Bertha Runkle
2. The Visits of Elizabeth, by Elinor Glyn
3. Alice of Old Vincennes, by Maurice Thompson
4. Penelope’s Irish Experiences, by Kate Douglas Smith Wiggin
5. The Octopus, by Frank Norris
6. Eben Holden, by Irving Bacheller
7. Truth Dexter, by Sidney McCall
8. Graustark, by George Barr McCutcheon
9. The Life and Death of Richard Yea-and-Nay, by Maurice Hewlett
10. In the Name of Woman, by Arthur W. Marchmont
11. Quincy Adams Sawyer, by Charles Felton Pidgin
12. Monsieur Beaucaire, by Booth Tarkington
13. Like Another Helen, by George Horton
14. Sky Pilot, by Ralph Connor
15. The Turn of the Road, Eugenia Brooks Frothingham
16. Juletty, by Lucy Cleaver McElroy
17. Up From Slavery, Booker T. Washington
18. Uncle Terry, by Charles Clark Munn
19. Sir Christopher, by Maud Wilder Goodwin
20. Every Inch a King, Josephine Caroline Sawyer
21. The Story of Sarah, by M. Louise Forsslund
22. Betsy Ross, by Chauncey C. Hotchkiss
23. The Cardinal’s Snuff Box, Henry Harland
24. Miss Pritchard’s Wedding Experience, by Clara Louise Burnham
25. Crucial Instances, Edith Wharton
26. Clayton Halowell, by Francis W. van Praag
27. In Search of Mademoiselle, by George Gibbs
28. A Carolina Cavalier, George Cary Eggleston
29. Nell Gwyn, Comedian, Frank Frankfort Moore
30. A Sailor’s Log, by Robley D. Evans

A confession—I consider myself literate, and yet I’ve never read any of these. I’ve only ever heard of seven of them. The only one I feel I ought to read is the Booker T. Washington. Perhaps I shouldn’t consider myself so literate after all.

Are the bestsellers of 2008 likely to fare any better in 2115?