| 100% | MOBYDICK | 8 | Novel whose first chapter is preceded by eighty epigraphs, none of which ought to be taken as “veritable gospel cetology,” per the author |
| 28% | MASSACHUSETTS | 13 | State whose General Court was the first to recognize Fourth of July as a state celebration |
| 27% | AUSTEN | 6 | Author whose first novel was anonymously published under the byline “By a Lady” |
| 27% | JAPAN | 5 | Origin of "The Tale of Genji," considered by many to be the world's first novel |
| 26% | JONG | 4 | Author whose best-known work begins "There were 117 psychoanalysts on the Pan Am flight to Vienna and I'd been treated by at least six of them" |
| 26% | DOOM | 4 | First-person shooter game released in 1993 by id Software which is considered to be one of the most influential video games of all time |
| 26% | TULSA | 5 | "___ Time," hit song by country artist Don Williams which is dedicated to the city historically known as the "Oil Capital of the World" |
| 25% | HUCKLEBERRY | 11 | "Adventures of ___ Finn," satirical novel written by Mark Twain which is a direct sequel to the "Adventures of Tom Sawyer" |
| 25% | AMYTAN | 6 | Writer whose first novel was adapted as a film by Wayne Wang |
| 25% | OPAL | 4 | Birthstone whose first letter is the same as that of its month |
| 25% | GODS | 4 | "Men Like ___," 1923 novel by H.G. Wells that was one of the first to feature the idea of parallel universes |
| 25% | MONEY | 5 | "___ for Nothing," 1985 hit by Dire Straits which was one of the first music videos to feature computer-animated human figures |
| 25% | ZZTOP | 5 | Rock band whose name is suggested by the first row of this puzzle |
| 25% | EBWHITE | 7 | Author whose last name's first letter, followed by the two initials that precede his last name, form a word in one of his most famous titles |
| 25% | REAUMUR | 7 | Scale of temperature in which the boiling point of water is taken as 80º |
| 25% | EAT | 3 | Verb whose past tense is formed by moving the first letter to the end |
| 25% | PORTRAIT | 8 | "A ___ of the Artist as a Young Man," 1977 film directed by Joseph Strick which is based on a novel by James Joyce |
| 24% | REAUMUR | 7 | Scale of temperature in which the boiling point of water is taken as 80 degrees |
| 24% | CHUCKPALAHNIUK | 14 | Writer whose novel "Fight Club" was adapted as a 1999 film of the same name (2 wds.) |
| 24% | ALPHABET | 8 | Series whose first seven members are sung to the starts of 18-, 26-, 41- and 54-Across |
| 24% | JAMESMICHENER | 13 | Author of the novels whose titles are the starts of nine answers in this puzzle |
| 24% | DISTRICTOF | 10 | & 13D Novel trilogy by John Dos Passos whose first part was 1939's Adventures of a Young Man |
| 24% | WHATITSWORTH | 12 | "For ___," the third single by 17a, meant to be released as part of his solo album: 3 wds. |
| 24% | DEN | 3 | Pharaoh of the First Dynasty of Egypt whose mother was believed to be Merneith |
| 23% | DOMBEYANDSON | 12 | Novel by Charles Dickens that deals with the story of a shipping firm owner who is frustrated at not having a son to take care of the business: 3 wds. |
| 23% | IANMCEWAN | 9 | British author of the novel upon which 17-Across is based: 2 wds. |
| 23% | YOUMIGHTTHINK | 13 | The Cars Top 10 hit whose video features 44-Across as a housefly (and was the first to win the MTV Video Music Award for Video of the Year) (3 wds.) |
| 23% | SOUVESTRE | 9 | Emile —, author of 1846 novel The World As It Will Be |
| 23% | SHIRLEYJACKSON | 14 | Writer whose novel "The Haunting of Hill House" was adapted as the 1999 film "The Haunting" (2 wds.) |