Top 10 Favorite Books So Far

While reading a book recently on how to write I was asked the simple question.  “What are your favorite books?”  I could list a small number of novels and books that I’d finished in the course of my life, remembering the most recent ones first.  Even still I realized that I had never put together such a list.  Well, far be it for me the writer to proceed with my own self-discovery without spending some time looking back over the small library of books I’ve read in my life.

The first book I ever finished was “The Animal House” by Randall Jarrell (illustrations by Maurice Sendak) in the third grade.  I don’t remember a thing about the book, but I can recall vividly the moment I finished reading it.  I got up from the couch, closed the book tight (with a good thump from the hardcover) and announced to the world I had just finished my first “real” book.  I don’t recall how long it took me to finish that book, but it usually takes me months to finish a book today.  That’s disappointing, and probably one of the biggest things in my life I’d like to change. 

There are so many wonderful books to read, and so many classics that sit waiting for me to explore.  I say this not as an excuse … I will read them all some day before I die … but more to answer the question many of you will think after reading my list:  “Why didn’t he include this book???”  First of all, that’s a very subjective question.  This is not a list of the best books ever written, it’s a list of my favorite books so it has nothing at all to do with your opinions.  But, it also reminds you, Faithful Reader, that there’s still a lot out there for me to read and more than enough room on this list for a new book to push another off.  Enjoy.

1. Hamlet by William Shakespeare – I would argue it is the greatest work of literature in the English language all time.  I can think of no other work that captures so many ideas and philosophies, has such rich and diverse characters and is written with such beauty and poetry.  The tragedy of its story pales to the greatest of its themes.  I can’t get enough of it, and I try to see it on stage at least once a year.  If not, I have about 5 movie adaptations in my library to choose from.
2. Dune by Frank Herbert – I’ll admit, my first contact with this book was the David Lynch movie adaptation that flopped in the 1980’s but that I truly love, even to this day.  After reading the book itself, I feel more in love with the world, its characters and the amazing use of language that Herbert wields as deftly as Dickens and Shakespeare.  It floors me how many original ideas the man had, so many original words and societies and philosophies!  It is, for me, the most original work of the 20th century (followed closely by Tolkien).  While the themes are not new, everything else about it is.  Amazing and inspiring SF at its best.
3. Different Seasons by Stephen King – There’s a lot of things I love about Stephen King’s books:  his down-to-earth characters, his witty banter, his beautiful use of profanity, and the simple but dark analysis of human nature.  The short stories in this book, most of which adapted into movies that captured me as a child, do all those things with greatness and simplicity.  I remember reading the stories for the first time, marveling at how amazing they were.  I couldn’t put the book down, and these stories are the standard to which I compare my own short stories and novellas.
4. The End of the Circle by Jack McKinney – I got lucky when I discovered the Robotech cartoons while watching Nickelodeon during my summers in Tulsa.  I was instantly hooked by the transforming F-14’s and the alien spaceships.  But the novel adaptations of the cartoons written by McKinney were pure perfection.  He grasped onto the deep nature of the stories and lifted the characters out of the static, Japanese anime poses into people you honestly cared about.  He demonstrated how so many things in the universe are connected by music, and illustrated the sheer brutality of warfare.  The series story itself was excellent.  McKinney’s books captured me and never let go.  I stayed in that universe until the bitter end in this book.  While it was never made into an actual cartoon (Lord knows why not), it wrapped up all the characters and story lines that had been started.  Pure entertainment for the SF kid in me.  It currently holds the record as the book I’ve read through the most times (5).
5. The Killer Angels by Michael Shaara – The summer after my sophomore year in college I got a job in Pennsylvania.  Some friends and I decided to take a trip to see the Gettysburg battlefield during our break.  One of them suggested I read this book before we went so I could better understand what happened there.  I was already a bit of a Civil War junkie, but nothing whetted my appetite to understand the Civil War more than this book.  The only Pulitzer Price-winning book I can recall reading, it’s just amazing from start to finish.  I felt transported to that battle.  I felt like I was right beside those generals and those campfires and those battling formations.  It was amazing, and it did make the trip to the battlefield more memorable.  I don’t know of many books that have transported me from my life into the world in the novel better than this one.
6. Ender’s Game by Orson Scott Card – This was quite possibly the first SF book I ever read.  I remember Tom suggesting I read it, and I think I did during a Colorado or Wyoming trip.  It was the first book I ever read and put the book down at the end, my mouth agape with surprise.  Sure, I wanted to join the Battle School and fight with the kids, but it was the great twist at the end that really caught me.  I grew up with Ender and I grew wiser by the end.  I also discovered, although I didn’t realize it at the time, that SF could be more than just the next planet the Enterprise stopped at or that Jedi visited.
7. Lake Wobegon Days by Garrison Keillor – I can’t think of any better pure storyteller than Keillor in the latter part of the 20th century.  It’s not just his voice (as powerful as it is), but his amazing ability to describe the scene, characters and interaction with such ease and grace that you feel like you’re hearing your parents read you a bedtime story each time you open the book.  You are taken to a place of safety where the silly and often ludicrous can lead to great moments of revelation.  I loved each scene and each character, filling out the fake history with such authenticity and honesty that I have come to love from everything Keillor writes.
8. The Fires of Heaven by Robert Jordan – The Wheel of Time series is by far my favorite series of books in any genre.  Jordan created a rich and diverse world that I just wanted to play in over and over again.  I wanted to see the characters grow.  I wanted to see the grand fights they got in and to see who lived to see the next day.  Reading his series is like reading the narrative of a massive world war … there are many people, relationships, histories, agendas and perspectives to consider, and Jordan juggled them all with great skill.  I will be sad to read the last book of the series this year, but I doubt the stories will ever end.  This book, the fifth of the series, was my favorite.  So many amazing battles, scenes, character interactions and a final battle that I could not put the book down until I finished.  It got my heart racing, and I think that says it all.
9. Eichmann in Jerusalem by Hannah Arendt – The best book I’ve read on Nazi Germany so far, this book changed my life in many ways.  It was the first historical narrative I’d read and opened the door to authors like Stephen Ambrose and Michael Shaara.  In order to properly write about this book I had to throw out all my pre-conceived notions on writing and start writing in my own way.  All that from one book.  Hall of Fame for me then.
10. Ready Player One by Ernst Cline – I’ll be the first to admit it’s nearly impossible to write a Top 10 list without a recent candidate to sneak in, and Cline’s book does.  In truth, I do think it belongs here.  So many references to computer and video games, comic books and movies … all the things that have filled up my life with joy.  And then, on top of it all, a SF world and story that hooks you in and makes you want to be there.  It’s pure entertainment, and it won’t win many awards, but what a great read it was!

As with all things in life, this list is subject to change over time.  I look forward to reviewing and revising it in years to come with all the great books that come my way.