I mean I just want to experience the same thing I did when I read those books. I want to fall in love with a new book and obsess over it and think about it all the time.
(Maybe if there was an epic fantasy version of Avatar: The Last Airbender, I'd fall in love with that like I did over the episodes. I watched all three seasons in about five days. Yea. It was crazy. CRAZY AWESOME.)
Basically, I want to experience the thrill of opening a book, reading it, and realizing, "Oh gosh, this might be my new favorite novel."
Here are my favorite books (not really in order, I don't think):
- Les Misérables by Victor Hugo (I LOVE THIS BOOK!! HE IS SUCH A GENIUS!!!! Read my review --> linky link.)
- The Casual Vacancy by JK Rowling (I can read the last few pages of this book a great many times. I just love it. It's truly amazing, everything that a contemporary should be, and here's my --> review.)
- Harry Potter by JK Rowling. Need I say more? Almost a must-read for those looking for INCREDIBLE characterization, plot, and world-building.
- The Catcher in the Rye (The more I think about it, the more this book becomes my most favorite novel of all time. Salinger did things with fiction that had never been done before (and I doubt will ever be done to the same level). HE IS A COMPLETE GENIUS. I think, even more than Hugo! His realism, characterization, voice, prose.... How did he do what he did? And it's all masked by the slightly 'unprofessional' stigma of YA literature. But Salinger...holy crap. He's awesome. And apparently, he has a lot more manuscripts left unpublished, and now that he has passed, they might be published (in accordance with his wishes)!!! I AM SO EXCITED FOR THAT DAY!
- A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens. I mean, yes, I love this book. If I read something to its equal, I'd love it a lot. But it's not really on my favorite favorite list. The others on this list, I love more.
My favorite novels of all time??? Couldn't be more opposite than what I write! LOL. My fav author is Diana Gabaldon and her Outlander series... truly astounding... no one touches her!
ReplyDeleteAnd I still need to read JK's new book!
Not sure I have a very favorite. I like Terry Brooks' Sword of Shannara and Preston and Child's Agent Pendergast series.
ReplyDeleteI had the pleasure of reading a books recently that became my new favorite book. It's been a long time since I had that feeling and it happened with an old book, The Great Gatsby. So, I get what your saying.
ReplyDeleteI love your list. Catcher in the Rye was brilliant.
I read Casual Vacancy and really enjoyed it. I've never read a Harry Potter book, so I have no preconceived notions about JK's writing. I loved the huge cast of characters and trying to keep them all straight was wonderfully exhausting because the story was amazing.
My goals is to read several classic books this year and Tale of Two Cities is next on my list.
I guess my favourite book of all time is, The Lord of The Rings, then followed up by Harry Potter :)
ReplyDeleteAlso anything by authors James Herriot, Stephen Lister, and the wonderful Roald Dahl. I could go on endlessly!
I really enjoyed the Rhapsody Trilogy by Elizabeth Hayden. It was Epic, (though I don't know if anything will be quite as epic as AVATAR!!!), and fun. I read them all really fast. If you like the swords and sorcery aspect, then you might enjoy a little Raymond Fiest (start with Magician Apprentice) though those books are obviously the novelization of a gaming group (fun though they clearly were).
ReplyDeleteThough by no means current, I liked "Angels & Demons," MUCH more than "Da Vinci Code." Recently, I enjoyed "Freakonomics" and the Steve Jobs bio.
ReplyDeleteEvery time I read something I truly love, it becomes my favorite, so that's a hard question! I think I've stuck with Game of Thrones for now. There's just so much happening in that first book alone!
ReplyDeleteIn no particular order:
ReplyDeleteWar With the Newts by Karel Capek (Jonathan Swift can step aside--THIS is the best satire ever written)
Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neal Hurston
The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood
The Chosen by Chaim Potok
The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss
A Canticle for Leibowitz by Walter Miller, Jr.
I have lots of favorite books, but other than HP, I'm not sure any would fit your needs. I love romances and romantic subplot when it comes to YA.
ReplyDeleteYou certainly picked some classics! I agree with HP for sure. I'd really have to think on the others. My favorites change all the time.
ReplyDeleteWow, what a wide range of tastes! I feel you--great stories are hard to find. There's a story, one I read while in high school,called The Thin Woman. I loved it! Really, it was probably crap, but back then, I thought it was great. Now, I can't find it. I loved Angela's Ashes, The Twilight series, Hunger Game series, and The Shack. Those are just a few of my faves. :)
ReplyDeleteI have an endless list of loves. Among them at the moment are The Faery books by Cat Valente, The Peculiar and The Hollows series by Kim Harrison. I also love the Bartimaeus books and His Dark Materials. Let's see, Jane Austin and Charlotte Bronte and I love me some classics - The Decameron, The Mabinogian and, of course, The Odyssey.
ReplyDeleteSo many I cannot possibly name them all, but my tops are:
ReplyDelete1)Harry Potter: Was the first real book I ever read to my son. He was barely 2 & asked for it when he saw the movie commercial on tv. The little guy sat in my lap & listened intently & actually began picking out some words when we got into the 2nd book. Age 3 that happened. It just reminds me of a magical time in my child's life.
2)Contact. Brings out the magic in the universe. A beautiful tale I've read several times. I am a science geek period.
3)Anything John Grisham.
4)Juraissic Park & Lost Word by Michael Crichton. Again, he's the ultimate science thriller writer & I miss him. Why oh why were Mr. Crichton & Mr. Sagan taken from us?
5)Charlie & the Chocolate Factory: My fave book as a kid. Still waiting for my golden ticket. Check the mail every day.
I have a three way tie.
ReplyDeleteHarry Potter and the Deathly Hallows
Jane Eyre
And the third is one no one has heard of. Refiners Fire by Sylvia Bambola (think I spelled that right) This one is a christian fiction book about the underground chruch in communist romania. Loved it.
Coming up with an all time favorite list is just impossible for me so I tend to recommend the last book that really stuck with me. I might read 3 or 4 books in a week but there is always one that is still on my mind a month later. Most recently it has been Casualties of War by Bennett R. Coles. If you enjoy sci fi, fantasy or military fiction this book really has everything. You'll find it near impossible to put down once you dig into it. Might just be the book you are looking for. http://www.bennettrcoles.com/works/casualties-of-war
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