Our Own "Favorite Books" Lists

[Angharad]

There are book lists everywhere with a rainbow of criteria. Some lists are scholarly; some are purely popular. I'm interested in what books the members of this group particularly love. That can mean your all-time favorites or what you're loving in the here and now. The list can be general or specific to a particular genre. Anything goes.

And, of course, there's no limit to the number of lists, or types of lists, you can post over time. Hey, life is about change, isn't it?

So, post your lists. Let's say they should have at least five books on them, you may describe the books or not, and please identify what kind of list it is (e.g., Science Fiction, Classics, All-Time Favorites, Children's Books of the 1950s, etc.).

(BTW, I looked through 10 pages of discussions and didn't see a similar topic, so I decided to post this. Sorry if I'm reinventing the wheel. ツ )

[Angharad]

Some Favorite Fantasy Books

• The Lord of the Rings Trilogy by J. R. R. Tolkien
• The Chronicles of Narnia by C. S. Lewis
• The Screwtape Letters by C. S. Lewis (dedicated to J.R.R. Tolkien)--I suppose this is really Christian apologetic literature.
• Dragonriders of Pern by Anne McCaffrey--I'm a sucker for dragons.
• Dune by Frank Herbert 

[Lip Service]

You reminded me of a category all its own: phantasy worlds in multi-volume

I like the ones you mention but all my favorite ones are written by women. Each with a different and unique voice

The Earthsea Quartet by Ursula leGuin

https://www.amazon.com/Wizard-Earthsea-Cycle-Book-ebook/dp/B008T9L6AM/

She does not write, she weaves a tapestry of words and feelings. Also interplay between good and evil and how power subverts even the most noble endeavors. In LeGuin's words: "to light a candle is also to cast a shadow"' Lots of dragons and wizards

Canopus in Argos by Doris Lessing

https://www.amazon.com/Marriages-between-Zones-Canopus-Argos-archiv...

A number of populations in various degrees of civilizations interact under the watch of some benevolent over-seers who try not intervene in the development of these people. Great depictions of emotions and sexual passion and the conflict between the head and the heart

Xenogenesis Trilogy by Octavia Butler

https://www.amazon.com/Dawn-Xenogenesis-Trilogy-Book-1-ebook/dp/B00...

Interspecies interactions. Emotions and conflicts with "one's own" and "the others"

Maddaddam Trilogy by Margaret Atwood

https://www.amazon.com/Oryx-Crake-MaddAddam-Trilogy-Book-ebook/dp/B...

Post apocalyptic delicate relationships between unequal species. What is the right thing to do? 

The Broken Earth Trilogy by J K Jemisin

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00H25FCSQ/

Great writing and good structure but I was not too wild about this one but she won two Hugo awards for this trilogy

[Angharad]

Thoroughly enjoyed all of these, LS. 

I read The Left Hand of Darkness by Le Guin the year it came out, which was a time I was exploring the sexual identity continuum (not that I've ever stopped ツ ).  I enjoyed the whole Hainish Cycle.

[Grammie Sue]

I was just talking to my granddaughter yesterday about The Chronicles of Narnia.   It has been years since I have read them and I am thinking of picking them up again.  She also recommended the Sci-Fi series C. S. Lewis wrote as well.  I have read many of his books over the years.  

[Angharad]

Lewis' Cosmic Trilogy should have replaced The Screwtape Letters on my list, Grammie Sue! I read it as a kid and it was wonderful--had some thought-provoking philosophical concepts, as all his work does. Thank you for reminding me of them.

[Grammie Sue]

My book list title would be "Favorite Authors and books I have or will read again":

Any book by Jamie Langston Turner (I have read each of her books at least 3 times except the last one which I will read again.) 

Most books by Francine Rivers (I could not get into "The Sin Eater"

Object Lessons by Anna Quindlen (The only book I have read to the last page and then turned back to first page and read it all over again.  I have read it twice since then.  With other books I have read more than once I have waited about a year to read the second time.)

C. S. Lewis

Jane Austen

Little Women and Eight Cousins by Louisa May Alcott

And Ladies of the Club by Helen Hooven Santmyer

I read a lot of non-fiction as well but usual just one time through. 

[Angharad]

Great list idea, Grammie Sue! 

You made me think about what/who I have read more than once.  C. S. Lewis, Tolkien, many poets, Pär Lagerkvist, some Michener, Pinter plays--yikes--the list goes on. 

[Ioruach]

For me, to identify a favorite book or even several of them would be an exercise in futility. I have enjoyed books almost since I learned to read. Did I enjoy a book I read last week better than I enjoyed one I read at age 14 for example? I doubt it. I suppose I read The Young Lion Hunter by Zane Grey at about that age and enjoyed it immensely. (I mention that book only because it is the only one I have left from my childhood.) I'll conclude that, for me, the best book is the one I am reading at the moment.

That probably doesn't add much to the discussion, but it is the way I see it.

[Angharad]

"Favorite" is so subjective. I definitely have favorite books and writers based on many factors; but, if pinning it down doesn't work for you, loruach--well--that's simply cool. 

I believe every view expressed adds something to the discussion. ツ

[Ioruach]

Oh, of course, I have my current favorites: authors whom I look forward to reading again....and again, and...well you get the picture. Yes, "Favorite" is certainly subjective, and sometimes disappointing, too. There have been times (fortunately not often) when I have begun a new book by a "favorite" author, only to find that I didn't like the long awaited product very much. 

On the other hand, there is nothing better than discovering those rare gems that make reading one of the great pleasures of life. By the way, for me, one of those discoveries was the book, Searching for Stars on an Island in Maine, by the theoretical physicist, Alan Lightman.