Saturday, April 13, 2019

What Makes a Book My Favorite

If you know anything about me by now, it should be that I love to talk about books. I don't always take the time to talk about some of my favorites, but today's the day (so buckle up!).


I'm especially curious why my favorite books are my favorite. What makes a book my favorite? I think the answer(s) differ. Not only from book to book for me, but also from person to person--I want to hear your take on this as well!

Here are a few of my favorites with an explanation of why they achieved that status.

An Old-Fashioned Girl

I've long considered this book by the amazing Louisa May Alcott one of my all-time favorites. Other than the fact that I appear to be partial to the historical fiction genre in books (and period pieces in movies) and this checks both those boxes ... I think the big thing on this one is relatability through time. Polly Milton grows up in this book. As a child, I related to her as a child. As an adult, I could relate to her as an adult. I'm so glad I took the time to reread this one because I could quite literally grow up with her. That was beautiful. Her choosing the right thing even when it's hard has always touched me so much!

The Scarlet Pimpernel

Historical fiction again, ha! I started off by loving this one simply because it was a really, really good book. I didn't expect it to be (and had been putting it off) because it was assigned for school. Sorry, Mom. I don't think I'd ever read such suspense, romance, and espionage. I could not get enough of it, and it's still near and dear to my heart. I figured out the Scarlet Pimpernel's identity when I put to my mind to it. And this is coming from the kid who never solved a single Encyclopedia Brown ... But it didn't take away from the story because he still duped me! It was probably my first exposure to split POV done so, so right.

Sense and Sensibility

I actually just read this one!! And the reason I loved it is quite simple. Elinor. is. me. I've never read a book where I was so 100% a character. So that made the story instantly more interesting. But I also loved how not straightforward it was. Had I not already known who everyone ended up with, I'm not sure I would have guessed? 'Twas very sweet and wonderful.

Fawkes

*ahem* I was surprised at myself for liking this one so much. But is it a surprise?? It's still historical. And it's still all swoony romance (though much less dramatic) with plenty of action afoot. The reason I will continue to go back to this one is the originality, lack of black and whiteness, and spiritual themes. This made some people hate the book. I thought it was brilliant, and I can't conceive how a person could create such a thing. But it's wonderful and requires a reread immediately.


There are other five-star books I've read of course. I rate an obscene amount of books five stars. But these four in particular stand out among my other excellent reads for personal reasons. Beyond that, I think their stories and purposes are somewhat timeless. I mean ... they are mostly classics after all.

~~~~~

Are you willing to share any of your favorite books and why? I'm always on the lookout for another excellent book and curious as to why people love their favorites so much!

16 comments:

  1. An Old Fashioned Girl is one of my favorite Alcott books ..... sooooooo good!!!! I think I love books when they teach lessons in such bittersweet ways. I don't care about the genre ... I only like romance when it's difficult and raw and real ... and yeah I like books with strong character development.

    keturahskorner.blogspot.com

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    1. Ahh yay!! It's SO good <3 Those are great things to lobe in books! I always like a good character arc as well. :D

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  2. I enjoy historical books that I can learn more about. "Little Women" and the "Anne of Green Gables" series are among my favorites. I also enjoyed "Tess Of D'Urbanville". I also like books that are historical especially concerning Irish history.
    Marilyn

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    1. Oh neat!! Even though I like historical fiction, I don't think I've read much about Ireland in particular. :)

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  3. One of my favorite books is "Mary Queen Of Scots" by Antonia Fraser. I read the book twice. Other favorites are The series "Pat Of Silver Bush" by L.M. Montgomery(my favorite Montgomery books),all books of Irish History, historical books, many children's books,The Cousins Of The Dove series.all Amish books and my favorite Children's series The "Honey Bunch" series.Also books by R Delderfield.
    Marion

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    1. I'll have to check out "Pat of Silver Bush." I really enjoyed Montgomery's "The Blue Castle" when I read it last year. Ha, I went through an Amish fiction phase for a while. I remember liking some of Beverly Lewis's works. :) I'll have to look some of these up!

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  4. Great post! I LOVE historical fiction! ;)
    -Brooklyne

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  5. Fun post! I agree, it's really fun to find out people's favorite books and why they're their favorites. ;)

    I'm going to be posting a list of my favorite books on my blog soon, but four of my tippy-top favorites: The Lord of the Rings (for all the reasons), Till We Have Faces (an absolutely incredible C.S. Lewis book), The Princess Bride (it's hilarious and deep at the same time), and Ivanhoe (I love the classic, medieval feel--and Rebecca is awesome). :)

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    1. Glad I'm not the only one curious about this! Ohhh, thanks for sharing your faves. I've only read The Hobbit and Till We Have Faces. ;) I've been curious about Ivanhoe!

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  6. I was the same way with The Scarlet Pimpernel. It was required reading for school and I thought I would hate it, but I ended up loving it. It wasn't anything that I was expecting.

    As far as what makes a book my favorite goes, the answer is always the same: the theme. I love books with moving themes that make a difference in my life and the lives of others.

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    1. Right?! SUCH a great book. :D

      Ahhh YES. Themes make a huge difference in how well I like a book. That's one reason Nadine Brandes's and anything that has a good arc or whatnot are higher on my list. :)

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  7. Polly Milton is my hero and basically who I aspire to be <3

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    1. Yesssss! We need more Pollys in this world, old-fashioned or not. <3

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  8. Oh my goodness, I loved Fawkes! I already can't wait to reread it. Nadine Brandes is a brilliant author (who also seems so nice, so that a plus). I can't wait to read Romanov too!

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  9. I have so many favourite books it’s hard to chose... but right now I’m rereading one of my favouirte series (in French). The Anne of Green Gables books I love, because of the drama, the beautiful language, the gorgeous nature description, the realisticness, the little words of wisdom, and the genius of the writing. I won’t rave on and on in a comment. ;) But you get the idea :P

    ~Katja L.

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