These are my five star, I love them with all of my heart, books! The cream of the crop. The books I push. The ones that make me smile with the memory of reading them. The ones I want to read over and over again. The ones that I wish I could read again for the first time. My favorites.
This list is organized by loose genre categories. I've decided to mix up the YA with the adult. Trust me, it won't matter. A good book, is a good book... YA or otherwise! Some of these are long time favorites, others new favorites. I'll add to the list as even more new favorites are discovered.
Favorite Classics
Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
Great Expectations by Charles Dickens
Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte
Woman in White by Wilkie Collins
Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery
Little Women by Louisa May Alcott
The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck
Tess of the D'urbervilles by Thomas Hardy
Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte
The Good Earth by Pearl S. Buck
Wives and Daughters by Elizabeth Gaskell
To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
Middlemarch by George Eliot
The Three Musketeers by Alexandre Dumas
The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Dodie Smith
The Forsyte Saga by John Galsworthy
Favorite Fantasies/Distopian/Paranormal
The Lord of the Rings Trilogy by J.R.R. Tolkien
Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling
Twilight Series by Stephenie Meyer
The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
Uglies by Scott Westerfeld
Finnikin of the Rock (and trilogy) by Marlina Marchetta
Pivot Point and Split Second by Kasie West
Daughter of Smoke and Bone (the whole trilogy) by Laini Taylor
Under the Never Sky (and trilogy) by Veronica Rossi
Legend (and trilogy) by Marie Lu
The 5th Wave by Rick Yancey
When You Reach Me by Rebecca SteadInkheart by Cornelia Funke
The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield
The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafon
The Princess Bride by William Goldman
The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern
The Stormlight Archive by Brandon Sanderson
The Queen's Thief series by Megan Whalen Turner
Poison Study by Maria V. Synder
The Name of the Wind (and trilogy) by Patrick Rothfuss
Favorite Historical Fiction
Katherine by Anya Seton
The Far Pavilions by M.M. Kaye
Pope Joan by Donna Wollfolk Cross
Sacajawea by Anna Lee Waldo
The Book Thief by Markus Zusak
A Single Shard by Linda Sue Park
All Truth That's In Me by Julie Berry
Daughter of Fortune by Isabel Allende
These is My Words by Nancy Turner
The Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett
Blackmoore by Julieanne Donaldson
Between Shades of Gray by Ruta Sepetys
Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet by Jamie Ford
Snow Flower and the Secret Fan by Lisa See
Favorite Horror/Sci Fi
Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card
The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova
The Hollow City by Dan Wells
The Passage by Justin Cronin
Frankenstein by Mary Shelley
Favorite Contemporary/Romance
Jellicoe Road by Melina Marchetta
Diary of a Wimpy Kid by Jeff Kinney
Antsy Does Time by Neal Shusterman
The Distance Between Us by Kasie West
On the Fence by Kasie West
The Sky is Everywhere by Jandy Nelsen
Lola and the Boy Next Door by Stephanie Perkins
Sing Me to Sleep by Angela Morrison
I Am the Messenger by Markus Zusak
Favorite Literary Fiction
A Fine Balance by Rohinton Mistry
The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini
Life of Pi by Yann Martell
The Story of Edgar Sawtelle by David Wrobleski
Bel Canto by Ann Patchett
Room by Emma Donoghue
The History of Love by Nicole Krauss
Favorite Non Fiction/Memoir
Seabiscuit by Laura Hillendbrand
The Long Walk by Slavomir Rawicz
Coop by Michael Perry
The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Sloot
84, Charring Cross Road by Helene Hanff
The Glass Castle by Janette Walls
And, if you're interested to know what my Top Ten Books have been over the years, here's that list:
Top Ten 2021
What a great idea for a blog list, I might have to steal it.
ReplyDeleteFeel free! I'd love to have a look at your all favorite list too!
ReplyDeleteWhen I see books like - A Fine Balance, A o GG, Pope Joan, The Kite Runner and Harry Potter, I think I should check out some of your other favorite books, soon. Although I didn't love P&P or Wuthering Heights - too Olde English-y, I'm planning on reading Jane Eyre this summer. I may have been too young for Wuthering Heights, high school.
ReplyDeleteOut of the list I've only read Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery. I feel so left out :)
ReplyDeleteI would definitely recommend Libba Bray's series, starting with A Great and Terrible Beauty. I myself was drooling for the final book and left dazed for days after completing it as it was actually over. *sniff-sniff*
ReplyDeleteMy ritual begins for Breaking Dawn...
Wow! Now I know where to go to find a good suggestion of what to read next! This is your cousin, Heidi Clawson Llewellyn, by the way. :)
ReplyDeleteI also loved Ender's Game and Pride & Prejudice. The few others I've read that you list I have enjoyed except Kite Runner. Too depressing for me. I just started The Book Thief so hopefully it's a good one too :)
ReplyDeleteI read The Far Pavilions along time ago (back in high school) and really liked it. Have you read Shadow of the Moon also by M.M. Kaye. It's a real chunkster just like The Far Pavilions but if I remember right, I think I liked it even better. I also read Katherine in high school and loved it. I should read all of these again and see what I think now.
ReplyDeleteGREAT list!
ReplyDeleteYou and I have similar taste in books, as I see from browsing around your blog and from reading this list.
Have you read East of Eden? It's probably my #1 favorite book of all time.
Alison, yes I do love East of Eden, and have actually read it twice. Great one!
ReplyDeleteHi Suey--I just discovered your blog today and am enjoying reading around in it. Happy to see someone else out there loves The Good Earth, too!
ReplyDeleteI have been looking for a good Thomas Hardy book. You just gave me an idea. Thanks a lot for your list.
ReplyDeleteI think we must be kindred spirits, as Anne Shirley would say. I just found your blog and am simply delighted. I would be honored if you would visit my blog some day... libraryteri.wordpress.com. I love that you include children's books in your list of favorites. I will continue to visit this site.... Thanks for your contribution to the literary world!
ReplyDelete