All-Time Favorites:
I can’t possibly confine my list of favorite books to five or even ten entries; I’m constantly adding to or subtracting from this list. Considering the number of books I’ve read in my lifetime, it’s amazing this list is as short as it is!
Catherine, Called Birdy: Karen Cushman
Fiction · Humor
I read this book as a young teen, and it’s remained firmly entrenched in my list of favorite books ever since. It’s the diary of a young girl, Catherine, who lives in 13th-century England. In between struggling through the rigors of everday medieval life, driving away the endless stream of suitors who come to haggle with her father over her dowry, and doing the occasional good deed or two, Catherine ponders the meaning of life and her role in the universe. Funny without being ridiculous, poignant without being sappy, and tragic without being depressing, this book is one of the most perfectly-written books I’ve ever come across.
Crocodile on the Sandbank: Elizabeth Peters
Fiction · Mystery
I first read this when I was in second grade, and it got me hooked on both Egyptology and Amelia Peabody. Amelia’s like no other Victorian heroine you’ve ever come across — far from being a swooning, corseted doll, she’s a parasol-wielding, domineering spitfire, a fearless traveller and coolly efficient crime-solver. The way she relates to the other characters is both amusing and inspiring; in this, her first real adventure, she gets to face down mummies, murderers, and the irascible archaeologist Radcliffe Emerson. Setting the trend for the rest of the series, it’s both a tongue-in-cheek tribute to Victorian adventure novels and an excellent mystery in its own right.
Cruddy: Lynda Barry
Fiction · Horror
Teenage Roberta, busted for getting high, curls up with a notebook and writes down the story of her life — and man, what a life it’s been. The narrative weaves back and forth between Roberta’s drug-filled present and her violent, surreal past as her psychopathic father’s sidekick. If you do not like this book, there is something wrong with you; the same is probably true if you do like it, but at least you’ll be happier in your insanity. Also, you will be going around naming your knives and saying “SHIT AND GODDAMN!” in a Russian accent for weeks after reading this, which will be very fun for you but which will probably worry your friends and family, so prepare yourself for funny looks and interventions.
The Curse of the Pharaohs: Elizabeth Peters
Fiction · Mystery
The second book in the Amelia Peabody series, this is also the funniest — it’s like an English manor house murder mystery, only it’s set in Egypt. The motley cast of characters is so well-drawn, I hated to close the book on them; fortunately, several of them pop up in later series entries. Lady Baskerville, in particular, is hilarious — although, of course, she doesn’t intend to be so. This book also marks the introduction of one of my favorite recurring characters: Kevin O’Connell, the irrepressible Irish reporter who is always meddling in the Emersons’ affairs. The dialogue in this book is hysterically funny, as is the narration.
The Custom of the Country: Edith Wharton
Fiction · Drama
If, like me, you are bent on climbing the social ladder and assuming the mantle of power through ruthless manipulation, you are probably, like me, a raging egomaniac who thinks you are the first to ever come up with such evil plans. Wrong, bucko! Long before you were a gleam in your poor, indulgent parents' eyes, Undine Spragg was out to take over the world. Beautiful, bitchy, and breathtakingly shallow, Undine marries, schemes, and backstabs her way up the social ladder without so much as a backwards glance at the carnage she's left behind.
The Enchanted April: Elizabeth von Arnim
Fiction · Humor
On a cold, snowy Minnesotan night, there’s nothing better than curling up with a pleasant novel about a warm and sunny place, peopled with endearing characters and laced with charming scenes and subplots. This is a perfect example of such a novel. It’s light without being flimsy, sweet but not cloying, and is written in such a charming style that I want to cut out almost every phrase to post on my bulletin board. No wonder my Favorite Quotes page is cluttered with lines from this book…
Fahrenheit 451: Ray Bradbury
Fiction · Science Fiction
Fahrenheit 451 is the ultimate nightmare for book-lovers: a portrait of a repressive future society where books are banned and, if found, burned. Guy Montag is a fireman — he doesn’t put out fires, he starts them; he is one of the official book-burners, and he has never wanted to be anything else. But a young girl and an old professor change his point of view, and soon Guy has become one of the rebels himself, running from the forces of the law (and the chilling Mechanical Hound) in a desperate effort to protect his newfound knowledge. Every time I finish this book, I’m left with one giant question: which book would I memorize?
House of Sand and Fog: Andre Dubuis III
Fiction · Drama
This is a modern-day Greek tragedy: the tale of a proud immigrant struggling to support his family, of a woman whose life has hit rock-bottom and who is desperately trying to put herself back together, and of a police officer who ends up more involved with these two families than he could ever have predicted. When the woman loses her house and the immigrant buys it at auction, a chain of action and reaction is triggered, and the three separate worlds clash and clash again, building up to an unbelievable climax. It’s terrible and sad and unbelievably good all at once, and it made even cynical ol’ me cry like a baby. I can’t recommend it enough.
Howards End: E.M. Forster
Fiction · Drama
Like House of Sand and Fog, this story is loosely centered around a house — and, like that tale, this story plumbs the depths of human emotions, delving beneath the polite veneer of English Edwardian society into a maelstrom of repressed emotions and intellectual insights. It’s the story of three families: the rich and traditional Wilcoxes, the middle-class and intellectually liberated Schlegal sisters, and the lower-class Basts. When a friendship springs up between the eldest Schlegal sister and Mr. Wilcox’s ailing wife, the two families form a bond which eventually solidifies into a marriage between a Schlegal and a Wilcox. A “stolen” umbrella, meanwhile, leads the poor but ambitious Leonard Bast to the Schlegal house, and onto a grim path to destruction and ruin. The families separate and come together again and again, and each time their elements meet they move nearer and nearer to disaster. It’s simply told, yet unbelievably brilliant; once you’ve read it, you’ll never forget it.
The Last Unicorn: Peter S. Beagle
Fiction · Fantasy
I’m not sure whether to call this prose or poetry, since it’s the most poetic prose I’ve ever read. I can open it up to any page and be instantly swept into the unicorn’s magical world through the surreal and stunning prosetry — it’s like a dream, where even the strangest things make sense. This book is proof that the best fantasy isn’t always set in an intricately-detailed mythical world, like Narnia or Middle Earth; the land in this story hangs somewhere between a general modern realm and the magical kingdoms of legend. Sometimes silly, sometimes tragic, but always breathtakingly beautiful, this story is guaranteed to have something for everyone.
Rebecca: Daphne du Maurier
Fiction · Drama
You know how Fatal Attraction made you feel about one-night stands? This book will make you feel the same way about second marriages. So what if the guy is handsome, rich, and has a great house; if he had a wife before you, there’s gonna be trouble. Sure enough, the second Mrs. DeWinter gets more than she bargained for when she inherits the mantle passed down by her husband’s beautiful and brilliant first wife, Rebecca. After a while, though, she begins to realize that even Rebecca’s perfection is… cracked.
Salamander: Thomas Wharton
Fiction · Fantasy
Have you ever woken up and said to yourself, “Hot dog! I sure could use a whimsical-yet-not-twee tale involving an eccentric Slovakian count and his beautiful daughter, an English novelty printer, a twelve-fingered Chinese-Ethiopian boy, a girl who can breathe underwater, a black female pirate, a family of contortionists, and assorted automatons! That would kick my day off right!” Well, now you can start off every day with that happy feeling, because the best part of waking up is Salamander on your bookshelf. This is one of those books that you can open at any random point and get immediately sucked into the story.
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