This may seem surprising, but Meredith Vieira, the energetic and upbeat Emmy award-winning producer and TV journalist best known as co-host of NBC’s Today show (from 2006 to 2011) and the original moderator on ABC’s The View, is constantly searching for one of life’s simplest but most satisfying pleasures: quiet. Like many of us, she often carves out a bit of silent, reflective time on Sundays, often with a good book in her lap.

As host of the new PBS series The Great American Read (which debuts May 22 at 8 p.m. ET), Vieira will have the opportunity to talk a lot about books, authors and reading.

“I love the idea of inspiring people, celebrating the books we love,” she says. “Who wouldn’t want to be involved in that?”

Vieira recently talked to Parade about why she loves The Great American Read, her love of books and why her Sunday pancakes never seem to turn out right.

How did you get involved as host of The Great American Read?

I’d been looking for things to do that really interest and inspire me. PBS came to me with this project and I just fell in love with it.

The show features a list of 100 novels, many of which you’ll spotlight on the show. Where did the list come from?

PBS polled over 7,000 people, taking into account things like age, ethnicity, gender and location. Then they narrowed it down to 100 [books]. The list is just fiction, in no particular order. The author didn’t have to be American, but the book had to have been published in English. We have such a great selection.

Related: How Many of America’s 100 Favorite Novels Have You Read?

Then people vote as the show goes on?

Right. During the show, you’ll get to know a little bit about most of the books. And the summer assignment is to read; go to your library, go to your bookseller, check in with your local PBS station because there’s going to be all kinds of events. Go to social media, join us on Facebook, YouTube, tweet at us, let us know what you think of the list. Start a conversation about a book. If you think we forgot the best book of all, let us know that too, and we’ll talk about it.

Then in the fall we’ll have themed shows, dividing the list into books about love, heroes, villains and monsters, self-exploration. The grand finale will reveal the No. 1 book based on your vote.

Do you have a personal favorite or a prediction for the book you think will win?

At the start, I probably would have said To Kill a Mockingbird. I read it when I was 13 and it had a profound impact on the way I saw the world and our country, and this ability of people to hurt each other so deeply. I didn’t really understand racism.

Where I grew up, I just didn’t know how deeply embedded it was. And then here comes this amazing character, Atticus Finch, who teaches you to walk in someone else’s shoes. Such a rich character. And Scout! She was younger than me, but I so connected to this little girl and her vision, and what she experiences growing up in a tough world. That book really resonated with me.

But then I went back and remembered Catch-22 and really loving it. Charlotte’s Web I loved. The Catcher in the Rye, A Separate Peace. I’m not really a Game of Thrones type of person, but now I’m thinking maybe I’d better read those books because if everybody loves them…

Related: 5 Book Clubs We’re Dying to Join

You’ve had to read so much for work. Are there times you don’t read for fun?

Reading can sometimes feel like work. I think I had reached that point in some ways after being inundated with the real world all day long. It’s only recently that I started to pick up novels again because I have more downtime, and to remind myself of that joy that comes with literally taking a book to bed. There’s nothing to me that’s more wonderful than getting into bed and pulling up the covers—I like to have a little cup of tea—and just fall into a story. It’s so relaxing.

Have you always loved to read?

I grew up in Rhode Island, and we would have really serious snowstorms every year. We’d be out of school for several days. And my mom had bought me a satin comforter. It was cool to the touch, but underneath it I was warm and I could see the snow coming down, and I would just surround myself with books and read all day. I loved it.

As a person who is married to an author (Richard Cohen), reading must be important in your family.

Absolutely. When I was a little kid, the most precious gift I could get was a book. They were my friends. Then when we had children, the first thing I did with each kid was go buy them a book so they could start their collection.

Everybody in our family embraces reading. One of our kids—we have three—was not a big reader growing up; it was not particularly his thing. But now, he’s attached to books on tape, so he’s now reading more than I am!

Do you listen to audio books?

I do. We do! When my husband and I travel to the Cape, we drive from New York; it’s a five-hour trip or longer. We’ll listen to books on tape in the car.

Do you read your husband’s books when they’re in the works or after they’re published?

I don’t read them in process. In fact, this book that he just wrote, Chasing Hope, is the first one of his books I read before it hit the bookstore. I love to go into the bookstore on the day that it’s released, and not make a show of it, but I’ll pick it up and go, “Oh, this looks good!” I assume nobody’s going to know who I am. And then I go and buy it. That, to me, is fun because I want to help support our family.

I’m so proud of him. Richard is legally blind so for him to write a book is so incredibly difficult. It’s hard for him to read, so he just puts his face right up against the computer screen. And he only has the use of one hand, so he types everything with his left hand. It’s grueling. He’s amazing. He really is.

Related: Richard Cohen Shares His Hope for a Cure for M.S.

What were Sundays like when you were growing up in Rhode Island?

They were pretty quiet. My dad used to love sitting out in the den with the Sunday paper, so we would hang out there in the morning and talk. We’d talk about things that were going on in the world. I always went for the comics, obviously. As we were older, then the subjects would get a little more serious.

When it was football season—I have three older brothers—football was always on and we always had a big family meal. Nine times out of 10, I hadn’t quite completed my homework because I went out Saturday night, so there was definitely homework involved as well.

What are Sundays like for you now? Is Sunday your day off?

Yes. It’s a quiet day.

Do you have a family breakfast tradition?

When the kids were growing up, it was pancakes. And they were always a disaster! My husband always wanted to make chocolate chip pancakes, but then he didn’t mix them in the batter, he put them on after. It just never turned out the way we thought it would. And now it’s leftovers and we’ll just sit and enjoy a cup of coffee together. Richard is really not much of a breakfast eater.

What’s your idea of the perfect Sunday?

I like the quiet. The perfect Sunday would involve hiking for sure. I love to get up in the morning and make either a mug of coffee or tea and just go. And near our house in Westchester, there’s a path that goes for miles and miles and miles. I’ll get on it and just go and free my mind. I love being out in nature. I find it so calming. We live in an increasingly crazy world, so I seek the calm when I can.

We’re close to the river, so I’ll walk down to the Hudson River just to watch the boats go by and look out at Manhattan on the horizon, and thank God that I’m OK; that my life is good and we’ve got our health. I’m just grateful. There’s a lot of gratitude. Sunday comes with a lot of gratitude.