Note: I ended up skipping last week because this post is so egregiously long, and I didn’t have anything to post in its place. My apologies to the five people who consistently read my blog.
Recently I’ve been thinking about an argument I had with my boyfriend. He claims that the story told in The Lord of the Rings is unquestionably the best story ever written. I’m sure many people would agree with that, and it’s not that I outright disagree with him, but I find I have trouble with the claim “best story ever written”. The way we relate to books is so subjective that I think it’s incredibly bold to make a claim that any one story is the “best”.
That may be a rather pedantic argument, but I’ve never been a fan of objective claims that are based on opinion or preference. What metrics are we basing “best” on? Writing style? Plot? Content? Relatability? Digestibility? Overall, I can certainly say that The Lord of the Rings books are among the top fantasy series of all time, that they revolutionized the high fantasy genre, and that they tell a great story. These are all fairly objective claims. But I can’t say they’re the best story ever told because, for me, there just is no “best” story.
In a similar vein of thought, I also saw a video recently where Tyler the Creator spoke about disliking people’s “Top Five Best Rappers” lists. Rather than choose the best rappers of all time, who may not even be rappers these kids personally listen to, he would rather people choose their personal top five favorite rappers. Whose albums do they have on repeat? What music means the most to them, truly? These answers usually end up giving more insight into the person, and they create more interesting lists rather than naming the usual rappers people think of as the greatest.
His argument made me think of the “best books of all time” lists that I see so often. When I see these book lists, I always feel a little frustrated. For one, they’re usually older books that are esteemed and have been taught in schools. It’s a lot safer to say that a book that’s been around for a hundred years is one of the “best”, rather than propose a more newly published book. This leads to all these lists choosing the same books over and over, just like people’s top 5 “best” rappers often comprise of the same people.
Instead of discussing what I think the best book or best story is, I would rather discuss the books that impacted me the most. These are the books that I related to for one reason or another, or that made me see things from a new perspective. To me, hearing about people’s personal favorites is much more interesting than hearing about what books they think are the “best” ever.
Sometimes, I think we’re afraid to admit that the books we like the most are often not the most highly esteemed books. I don’t think we should be afraid of that at all, because the way we value things changes constantly. So, I’ve comprised a list of books that are my personal favorites, rather than books that I think are the best of all time. These are books that I can read time and time again, and I think that makes for a more interesting list than the “best” of each genre.
Because I know most of us are conditioned to want instant gratification, I’m going to give you the books first and the explanations later. Your welcome.
I also limited the list to ten(ish) books. There are more books I could put on this list, but if I could only reread ten(ish) novels for the rest of my life, it would be these ones.
- One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest by Ken Kesey
- Six of Crows (and Crooked Kingdom) by Leigh Bardugo
- Good Omens by Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett
- Pride & Prejudice by Jane Austen
- All Quiet on the Western Front by Erich Maria Remarque
- The Lotus Wars Trilogy by Jay Kristoff
- Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte
- God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater by Kurt Vonnegut
- My Cousin Rachel by Daphne du Maurier
One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest by Ken Kesey
This will always be my favorite book. Not because it’s the best book ever, or because it’s the best written novel, but because I read it at a point in my life where it really made sense. When I was younger, I saw the world very much in black and white. This book, with its errant protagonist and eclectic cast of characters, opened my mind up to seeing in shades of gray. I think there are few moments when people can pinpoint exactly what or who caused them to change their perspective, and this book caused one of those moments for me. It’s incredibly well written, contains strong themes and imagery, and is equal parts comical and heart-wrenching. One day, I will write a more in-depth post about this book, so I’m not going to go into tremendous detail here. However, I will say that I strongly recommend it to everyone.
Six of Crows Duology by Leigh Bardugo
I’ve talked about these books many times, and they’ve been praised time and time again by BookTok content creators, so I’ll keep this blurb short. These novels are some of my favorite fantasy books because of how relatable the characters are. Sometimes when a story is told from multiple perspectives, the different perspectives start to blend or sound similar. Or, the characters are made to be so unique and distinct that it becomes hard to relate to or understand them. Bardugo does such an excellent job toeing this line by giving us characters that each have their own unique struggles and journeys, yet presenting them in a way that allows us to empathize on a personal level. The main criticism for these books is that the fantasy world could have been better developed (i.e. not using “Grisha” to describe a group of people when it means “Greg” in Russian), but overall I think the fantasy elements are engaging and well thought out. I really enjoyed these books, and I think they’re a great fantasy read for people who appreciate great characters and character development.
Good Omens by Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett
This is a book that is quirky in the best sense of the word. The best of these two authors meld into one novel that’s heartfelt, hilarious, and explores a heavenly and hellish realm of fantasy. I think this book is a great representation of soft-fantasy, which is my preferred form of fantasy. This means the fantasy elements are set in the real world (rather than a completely alternate fantasy realm), and are often used to explain why the world is the way it is. In this novel, Gaiman and Pratchett create a world where demons and angels are real, and they wreak havoc or create miracles at will. The two main characters, Crowley and Aziraphale (a demon and angel, respectively), are largely responsible for the development of the world as we know it. When the impending end of days arrives at last, Crowley and Aziraphale put their strange friendship to the test as they try to save the world. It’s an endearing, strange, laugh out loud sort of fantasy novel that was different than anything I’d read before, which is how it wound up on this list.
Pride & Prejudice by Jane Austen
Obviously.
All Quiet on the Western Front by Erich Maria Remarque
I have a soft spot for this book, and for anti-war novels in general. Having grown up in a post-9/11 world, my view on war is likely very different than generations before me. The glorification of the military has come to an end with my generation, I think, and there is a lot of anti-war rhetoric surrounding our involvement in Vietnam and the middle east. The discussions around war are much more complex and nuanced than they once were, and I think reading anti-war novels (or novels about war in general) really helps one see the struggles soldiers faced. It leads to a better understanding of what war is really like, and it creates more empathy surrounding the situation overall. Of the anti-war novels I’ve read, I think All Quiet on the Western Front had the most impact on me because the characters in the book are so relatable. These are friends you could have had at school even today. That makes the message so much more hard-hitting, and it’s a book I come back to time and time again.
The Lotus Wars Trilogy by Jay Kristoff
This is another book that, while it may not be the pinnacle of great fantasy, was so different from things I’d read before that I immediately fell in love. The Lotus Wars novels follow protagonist Yukiko on her journey to overthrow the government in a fantasy land that largely draws from feudal Japan. The novels are steampunk fantasy, dealing with themes of environmental degradation, government infringement of personal rights, racism, and more. These novels cover a lot of ground, which is one of the reasons I liked them so much. They are told from multiple perspectives, and each character has a unique voice and weight on the story. They are books that I’ve reread multiple times, simply because I really enjoy experiencing the world Kristoff built.
Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte
I just adore Emily Bronte’s writing. This book is so clever and so witty, and I like that the two most predominate characters are viciously unlikeable. It’s rare that I can stomach a book with extremely unlikeable characters. It’s just something I struggle with, personally, and I’m in no way criticizing the idea of writing unlikeable characters. So, to find a book where the two main characters suck, but are still fascinating and can be empathized with, is a real feat in my eyes. There are also a lot of Gothic elements to the story, and as an avid fan of Gothic literature, it’s fairly clear why this book is on my favorites list.
God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater by Kurt Vonnegut
Of course, I have to have a Kurt Vonnegut novel on this list. Having read most of his published works at this point in my life, I can easily say he’s one of my favorite authors. The subject matter, the frequent inclusion of sci-fi elements, the sarcastic tone, and the enigmatic characters are all aspects of Vonnegut’s writing that strongly appeal to me. While I have largely enjoyed all of Vonnegut’s works (that I’ve read), God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater really struck me. It’s a satirical takedown of the American class system, and much of the story focuses on the different perspectives and voices we often hear when we’re discussing the inequality caused by this system. While it’s overexaggerated and often comical in its portrayal, Vonnegut discusses a very real issue, and makes a lot of great points about how this system affects us and why it’s so detrimental. Sometimes it’s easier to understand a concept when it’s presented so outlandishly, which is why this ended up being one of my favorites of his novels and one of my favorite books over all.
My Cousin Rachel by Daphne du Maurier
I have so much love for Daphne du Maurier’s writing style that I would read anything she wrote, whether it interested me or not. The writing style is what I like most about this book, but I also loved how much it kept me guessing. It’s not often, especially if you’re an avid reader of mystery novels, to truly be uncertain of characters or their motivations. For some books, you may not know how they end exactly, but you at least have a general idea of where the story is going. For others, the ending is entirely predictable, but the story is enjoyable so you don’t really mind too much. For My Cousin Rachel, I was truly flummoxed by the direction the story was taking. I didn’t know which character was right or wrong, or who we should believe. By the end of the story, the reader still doesn’t have an exact answer (although the ending is still satisfying, I thought), which made this one of the most interesting books I’ve read. While Rebecca is often considered du Maurier’s piece de resistance, I strongly champion My Cousin Rachel as her most interesting and engaging novel.
There you have it! Those are my personal favorite novels, and can be considered my island picks if I were ever to be stranded with nothing else to read.
The Lit Wiz