When does a book become our All Time Favourite?
When we fall in love with the Story? When the Main Character/s settles deep inside our hearts? When the Author’s voice and style appeals? When the Conflict in the book sucks us in like a whirlpool: it becomes our own conflict, implying that our sense of identification with the Protagonist is complete.
When the book makes us forget our worries for the time being? When the story brings a smile to our lips and tears into our eyes. When we have learnt a lot about life in the course of the story?
If a book can manage even one of these, then it has entered our sacred shrine of All Time Favourites. These are the books that we love reading over and over again. These are the writers who we faithfully follow book after book. These are the protagonists who we visit like good friends.
This post is about favourite books. The books can cut across all genres : non- fiction, as well as fiction; adult, children, YA, chicklit, romance as well as anything else that has appealed.
I will go first. Here are my 5 favourites ….
1. Autobiography of a Yogi by Paramhansa Yogananda
2. Many Lives, Many Masters by Dr Brian Weiss
3. A Suitable Boy by Vikram Seth
4. The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho
5. Shantaram by Gregory David Roberts
Now it’s your turn. Let me know which five books have entered your favourite category?
Wow, it's really hard to settle on only 5 favorites. I've had favorites for a lifetime, and recent favorites. So I'm going to post 5 for each.
ReplyDeleteMy five all time favorites (children's or YA books, since that's what I write):
1. A Wrinkle in Time, Madeleine L'Engle
2. A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, Betty Smith
3. The Cuckoo Clock, Mrs. M. L. Molesworth
4. Dragonwings, Laurence Yep
5. The Cay, Timothy Taylor
Five recently discovered favorites (in the past 5 years -- again, children's or YA fiction, since that's what I write:)
1. Steinbeck's Ghost, Lewis Buzbee
2. A String in the Harp, Nancy Bond
3. Hattie Big Sky, Kirby Larson
4. Esperanza Rising, Pam Munoz Ryan
5. The Hall Family Chronicles (there are 8 in the series, and I've only read the first 7, but they are absolutely wonderful reads, and they linger afterwards in the mind.
I haven't read those! I've recently read The Hunger Games, The book Thief, The Time Travelers Wife, The White Queen, and my all time favorite, White Oleander. ;)
ReplyDeleteMy favorite are in the Children's category, Rachna. Black Beauty, The Grapes of Wrath (not really in the Children's category, but I had to add it.), Where the Red Fern Grows, Hatchet, and Love, Ruby Lavender. This was fun! And hard! My favorite books tend to be like what I write.
ReplyDeleteBlack Beauty, changed my mind set about books and reading at a very young age. This woman wasn't writing a novel. She was writing a book for vets and horse lovers. It turned out to be one of the most beloved books ever. And done in the POV of Black Beauty. CLEVER!
Wonderful post, my sweet friend. =)
Hey Rachna, delighted to read your post, here are my favorites
ReplyDelete1.North and South – Elizabeth Gaskell,
2.The Monk who sold his Ferrari- Robin S Sharma.
3.The 7 habits of highly effective People - Stephen R Covey.
4.Eats, Shoots and Leaves- Lynne Truss.
5.The world is flat- Thomas Friedman
Good going keep it up