Taking a cue from Savidge Reads' Great Reads and the Waterstones Writers Table, I decided to do a page of my best reads. If I had a huge table with all the books that have meant something to me spread out on top, it would look something like the above collage. It's difficult to come up with just one favorite although if I had to pick three they would definitely be the first three on the list below. The rest are in alphabetical order. Every book on the list of My Favorite Novels, has stayed with me since I've read them. Many have been reread and all my copies are treasured ones. Honorable Mentions are all very, very good books. Although they are not part of my top list, all of them are highly recommended.
I may have forgotten some books so I'll just keep adding as I remember them. I suppose this page will also keep evolving. Past favorites may move down to the Honorable Mentions or vice-versa. The newest one I've added is Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close by Jonathan Safran Foer. Reading this actually inspired me to make this page because after all it's not often that I get to add a new title to my list.
Have you read any of the books below? If you'd like to recommend a book based on these lists, I'd love to hear it so please leave a comment or drop me a line.
My Favorite Novels
The Secret History by Donna Tartt
Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte
The Magus by John Fowles
The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood
Leviathan by Paul Auster
The Woman in White by Wilkie Collins
Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier
Tender is the Night by F.Scott Fitzgerald
In the Woods by Tana French
The Sun Also Rises by Ernest Hemingway
Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro
Of Human Bondage by Somerset Maugham
The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath
A Handful of Dust by Evelyn Waugh
Brideshead Revisited by Evelyn Waugh
Honorable Mentions
Alias Grace by Margaret Atwood
Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
The New York Trilogy by Paul Auster
The Brooklyn Follies by Paul Auster
The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay by Michael Chabon
Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close by Jonathan Safran Foer
Le Grand Meaulnes by Henri Alain Fournier
The Go-Between by L.P. Hartley
The Talented Mr. Ripley by Patricia Highsmith
The Remains of the Day by Kazuo Ishiguro
Atonement by Ian McEwan
The Wind-up Bird Chronicle by Haruki Murakami
Franny & Zooey by J.D. Salinger
I Capture the Castle by Dodie Smith
The Confederacy of Dunces by John Kennedy Toole
Fingersmith by Sarah Waters
They Were Sisters by Dorothy Whipple
The Luck of the Bodkins by P.G. Wodehouse
The Mating Season by P.G. Wodehouse
East Lynne by Mrs. Henry Wood
The Post-Office Girl by Stefan Zweig
Talking It Over by Julian Barnes
Love this idea! I don't know if A Handful of Dust would make it to my absolute favorite novels, but it is a book that has stayed with me through the years. Of the others in your list, I've only read Jane Eyre, Woman in White, and Rebecca. Loved them, but also not in my absolute favorites.
ReplyDeleteI think I have more favorites in your honorable mentions, though, like Pride and Prejudice, Alias Grace, and Atonement. Loved Kavalier and Clay, too.
By the way, only noticed your blog face lift now. I like it.:)
Hey, Mrs. B, I just cited you as a "Versatile Blogger" on my blog -- well-earned. Here's the post:
ReplyDeletehttp://carolwallace.wordpress.com/2011/10/29/versatile/
Best, Carol
Oh this sounds fun - I may do it myself and will link back to you!
ReplyDelete