Day 23: My Favorite Books

Most challenging post to date?

I think so.

How am I supposed to complete this without a) totally overwhelming you all with my bibliophilia or b) completely selling all the other fabulous books out there too short?

I think I will arbitrarily limit myself to 10 slots, and allow authors to count as "books."

If you ever need something to read, come ask me. I can't lend you mine, as they are all currently in storage. Major boo! But I can give you a great many recommendations and talk about them endlessly! And I'm sorry that I didn't just list 10 books, I can't limit myself that way. If you've been reading this far, you know how indecisive I am. And the size of my library. I can't pare that much away. If you want titles, ask me. :)


Also, the Bible is first.

1. Anne McCaffrey
She gets the first slot by simple virtue of - I own more of her books than any other author. They are marvelous! The Dragonriders of Pern was my first love of hers, and then it rabidly spread to the rest. The Pegasus/Tower books, Freedom/Botany, Doona, Crystal Singers, The Ship Who, and anything else she's ever written. They are my favorite worlds to escape to, no matter which series. I'm kind of sad that her son Todd has largely taken over, I feel like it's lost the spark that was Anne McCaffrey. But at least she's already written so many that I have lots to go back and re-read again and again (and again and again and again...)

**NOTE: from here on, they are in no particular order**

2. Garth Nix
Garth Nix has been able to captivate me through different ages, beginning in elementary school with the Seventh Tower series. After that I discovered Shade's Children (not my favorite) and the Ragwitch, and then Sabriel. Sabriel totally captivated me, and I drooled until Lirael and Abhorsen came out. In the process of making sure my dates were right, I just discovered that a new Old Kingdom book is due out next year, and I'm already impatient. I still need to read the Keys to the Kingdom books, if anyone would like to donate them to me?

3. Orson Scott Card
The Ender series! How can you not love it? However, Orson Scott Card goes beyond my expectations when he branches into other genres. A particular favorite is Enchantment. It's a delightful twist on a Russian fairy tale, completely entrancing. He has another series called Women in Genesis that follows the wives of the patriarchs. Totally unexpected, but very good reads. Is there anything the man can't do?

4. Tamora Pierce
Okay, this one is odd, because she writes children's books. However, they still charm me when I re-read them, and I can still escape into Tortall as easy as breathing when I pick them up.

5. Khaled Hosseini
This is the only one on here whose books I've only ever read once, but that once was powerful. They're not really the kind of books you re-read rapidly, as they deal with some fairly heavy subjects. If you want to know all about them, check out my blog on The Kite Runner & A Thousand Splendid Suns.

6. Juliet Marillier
Celtic mythology. (and some vikings) Not terribly authentic, I'm sure, but it gives you the feeling that it could be. They're rich in texture and they allow your mind to sink into a rich tapestry of cool water and deep forests, full of magic and mystery and romance.

7. David & Leigh Eddings
The Belgariad is my favorite. I saw Polgara the Sorceress lying around the house so long that it never occurred to me to read it until one day I had "nothing to read" and asked my dad for a recommendation. I was hooked after the first line of Pawn of Prophecy. The Mallorean is also excellent. The Elenium and the Tamuli are excellent, but are largely the same story retold in a different world. There are only so many creative ideas out there.

8. J.R.R. Tolkein
If you've known me for any length of time, you know my love of all things Tolkein. One of my students is singing a song from LOTR and I got to have a huge nerd moment explaining it all to her (in 10 minutes...it was hard) so that she'd have some background to what she was singing. I hadn't read them in ages and picked them up again last semester, and I wondered why I didn't just keep them in continuous cycle. I'm running out of adjectives to describe my enjoyment of all these books!

9. C.S. Lewis
The Chronicles of Narnia, Mere Christianity, The Screwtape Letters. Wonderful. I haven't read enough of his other books, though I've read snippets and essays here and there. He has such an admirable mind. Rich Biblical truth, compelling logic, and strong writing. He has it all.

10. Mary Stewart Her Merlin chronicles surpass any other I have read. I love Arthurian legend and read all I can get my hands on, but her adaptation is beyond anyone else's feeble attempt to capture the myth. Whenever I have to give a speech or write a paper on a book, this is where I turn. Her use of the history and languages and maps and details are so intricate that it could be real. Oh, how I want it to be real!