Yesterday I discovered – to my joy – that one of my favorite
books of all time has been made into a movie that will be released this fall.
(And the author actually wrote the screenplay so – oh please oh please oh
please – it is likely that it won’t suck.)
Thinking about this book as one of my favorite books,
though, made me wonder: if I had to make a list of my top ten favorite books of
all time, what would that list look like?
Since I love me a list – here you go. 10 books. Not in order
of love – number 10 is not necessarily less beloved than number 3 – and some
are going to be a group or series. (I get to do that, because it’s my list.
Whee!)
10. The collected works of Jane Austen: I seriously love every single one of her books. Every one. If you
asked me to name my favorite, it would be a struggle. I could tell you that Emma
is not my MOST favorite, but that’s hardly a damnation of Emma, because
I love Emma. Here’s why I love Jane Austen: she clearly believed in true
love (The Princess Bride kind! “Luffff… twoooo luff”), but she also wrote about
people who weren’t ideal people. They were regular people – some of them are
snotty, some of them are nice, some are sarcastic and mocking, some are gentle,
some have overinflated egos, some are downtrodden – but they’re the kind of
folks you relate to and can find yourself cheering for.
And oh, that Mr Darcy.
9. To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee. If I was trapped on a deserted island and
was only allowed to have one book with me to read for the remainder of my days,
I would choose this book, simply because I find something new and amazing to
love every time I read it – and at last count, I’d read it probably 60 times or
so. (That’s not an exaggeration.) Atticus Finch will probably always be my
hero, and is also the reason that I don’t shut up about things that I consider
to be outrageously unfair. This book is perfection. PERFECTION, I tell you.
8. The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chboksy.
I was an awkward kid. A lot of books
about awkward kids try to minimize the awkward. Not this one. This one dives
into the weirdness straight on – the narrator is writing letters to a
mysterious someone that is never seen, and often makes questionable choices
that are clearly not going to work out – but, given who he is, make complete
sense. There are no rose coloured glasses here -- high school is a weird and
frequently painful place for people who aren’t certain of themselves, and
Chbosky doesn’t pretend that it isn’t – but the story is still so beautiful,
and the characters are so honest. (The movie is coming out in the fall, but don’t
cheat: read the book first.)
7. The Stand by Stephen King. One: wipe out most of humanity with a virus. Two: write a battle of
good versus evil. Have the final show down take place in Vegas because, well,
duh. Three: mention my hometown in it at least once.
I love this book. All
eighty gazillion pages of it. I re-read it every summer because – well, because
that’s how I roll. You should probably read it once. (You can read the original
version rather than the uncut version – it’s a bit shorter – but if you have
the time? The uncut version is better. Just saying.)
6. The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald. (This is also coming out as a movie, but I
would recommend the older one with Robert Redford and Mia Farrow because …
Robert Redford. Seriously. Though I will probably see the new one as well.) This
is very English-teachery of me, but the LANGUAGE in this book is so beautiful
that it breaks my heart in the best kind of way. It’s the Roaring Twenties
version of Mad Men. Gatsby is the original Don Draper. With, sadly, a less
happy ending.
5. The Harry Potter Series by J.K. Rowling. I was not a kid when these books came out.
However, Harry & Co got me through: graduate school, teaching, a wedding,
some deaths, a career change, a surgery, divorce, another career change, and a
move to North Carolina. As a result, though I didn’t exactly grow up with Harry
Potter? I came into my own with Harry Potter. I am a re-reader, as I mentioned
before, and I re-read the entire series every summer. It doesn’t ever become
less magical.
4. The World According To Garp by John Irving. “In the world according to Garp, we are all
terminal cases,” John Irving writes. (I should mention that I also love A
Prayer for Owen Meany which is also a terminal case kind of a book.) Garp
is weird and funny and tragic and awesome. You should read it. Now.
3. The Mists of Avalon by Marion Zimmer Bradley. Do you know what happens when the Arthurian
legend is told entirely from the perspective of women? AWESOMENESS, that’s
what. If you like fantasy at all, if you dig King Arthur, if you like strong
female characters, you should read this. If you don’t like any of those things?
Well, I’m sure you have other fine qualities.
2. Get In The Van by Henry Rollins. I love Henry. I LOVE HIM. This book is one
of the reasons why – it describes touring with Black Flag, and it’s very …
naked. (Not actually naked. That would be weird.) Like, “I know I’m a mess and
here’s what’s in my head and this is uncomfortable to share and it’s
uncomfortable for you to read” naked. Which is why I love it.
1. Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte. Also a fairly recent movie starring the
DELICIOUS Michael Fassbender (I feel a little weird about describing him as
delicious. Like that’s objectifying and wrong. But … he’s really delicious.
Which has nothing to do with Jane Eyre but is a simple observation). The book
is… well, it’s glorious. Another true love story, with twists and turns and a
heroine who refuses to give up or compromise herself, even when it would be
easier.
So there you are. I could have made a much longer list – I love
to read, it’s like breathing in my world in terms of necessity – but I thought
you’d be bored. I also am always interested in the things you are reading, want
to read, love to read. So feel free to drop a comment in.
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