A favorite poem? No, many. But here's one. I am a fan of Maxine Kumin, a New England poet who died this year.

"After Love," by Maxine Kumin

An all-time favorite book? No, many. But here is a moving story that never fails to move me. I read the original as an essay, in the Wall Street Journal, of all places.

The Power of the Powerless, by Christopher De Vinck

If I am in the mood for poetry, I read Frost - Stopping by the Woods on a Snowy Evening or The Road Not Taken. Can't decide which I like best.

To Kill a Mockingbird is my favorite book.

Thank you for bringing up this topic, Socks!

Of all the books that I have read, my favorite is Anne of Green Gables. It's a lovely novel on one level, but also brings up other themes such as child welfare, the rights of orphans, the travails of life in a small town, the importance of allowing children to "fit in," and, perhaps most importantly, the power of imagination to bring us happiness.

All-time favorite book: Pillars of the Earth (Ken Follett)

Poem: I guarantee you wouldn't think much of it, but it was written by a guy I know (who has published multiple books of poetry - and not on the vanity press!). :)

My 2 favorite books are Little Women and The Secret Garden.
Kittywhiskers

Way too many fiction books to pick one favorite. I stood at one of the bookshelves and tried to select one. I got it down to about 20!

A poem that many might seem to think macabre, yet I like the structure of it - The Raven, by Poe.

I've never cared much for poetry so I don't have a favorite and I agree with Jim that I can't possibly pick a favorite book. There are just too many that I love.

Poetry... I don't always 'get'. Favorite author... Steinbeck would top the list along with Mitchner. I've read most of their books and could/would/have re-read many of them along with Gone with the Wind . I have lots of current authors that offer light reading that I love, but don't re-read them.

Stacey, I also have always loved Anne. So many things from the series seem to be part of me. Years ago I agreed to go on a camping trip when the others said they would include Prince Edward Island if I went. I loved it.

My favorite poem is The Children's Hour by Longfellow. My favorite book is harder. I remember reading a now out of print Joy in the Morning about a young couple who marry as he is starting college and the struggles they had. Satine

Pam - I agree that Prince Edward Island is very beautiful. When we were there several years ago, everything was so picturesque that it seemed that someone had designed it, right down to the perfect placement of the cows in the fields!

Satine - the author of Joy in the morning is Betty Smith, and she wrote another favorite of mine, A tree grows in Brooklyn. Wonderful book.

Here is a link that might be useful: Betty Smith Wikipedia entry

I'm not much of a fan of poetry either, Nanny; my taste is unsophisticated. For kids (like me) I like Robert Louis Stevenson's "The Cow." Maybe silly, but it's just so pleasant.

THE FRIENDLY cow all red and white
I love with all my heart:
She gives me cream with all her might,
To eat with apple-tart.

She wanders lowing here and there,
And yet she cannot stray,
All in the pleasant open air,
The pleasant light of day;

And blown by all the winds that pass
And wet with all the showers,
She walks among the meadow grass
And eats the meadow flowers.

I also like "High Flight" by Gillelspie.

It's too hard to choose a favorite book. It can change over the years as we change as well.

Here is a link that might be useful: High Flight

Thanks, Socks, for reminding me of that poem and High Flight. Years ago.... when our television stations used to sign off and close down every night, that poem was read just before the 'dead sound' came on. I loved it, and can still hear it being read in my mind. And, I dearly love all the children's rhyming books and songs .....Dr Seuss, omgosh.... I used to love reading and hearing those silly rhymes. Thank you again, for jolting these old memory banks.

Thanks for "High Flight" and the story behind it.

I've always enjoyed Joyce Kilmer's "Trees". My mother learned to recite many poems in her little Harmony, RI schoolhouse. I did not, and wonder if kids do today.

Good poems soften or illuminate what we know. I'm thinking of the lines on an ancestor's grave stone -- common on children's stones in the 1800's. The boy was five or six, as I recall. The family had moved west after the father was discharged from his Ohio regiment after the Civil War.

"Thou art gone, darling Willie. Sweet proof of our love. From earth's fairy strand. To bright heavens above."

My favourite book is "Little Women".

One of my favourite poems:

The Old Librarian

I watched him one day fingering a shelf
Caressingly, forgetful of himself
And all around him. Very well I knew
He could not see the titles, but he threw
A touch of ownership into his hand
As if he still were privileged to command
Their journeyings. I paused to read his face.
In all that sunny, quiet, crowded place
There was not one who wore so proud a look
As if he knew he was with friends, and took
Sweet pleasure in the knowledge.

Row by row
His fingers greeted them in gentle, slow,
And measured salutation. Long years moved
In memory past those volumes that he loved;
Season of service, outgrown now and gone
Like old books over-read, dog-eared and torn,
Thrown to the dustheap!
And I turned away
Lest my quick tears should cause him
some dismay!

By Anna Hamilton Wood

Gosh... Thanks again for long forgotten words that speak so wonderfully.

PS It is amusing to myself to hear the poems "ditties"my DH sings so often. Some he learned from his older Merchant Seaman brother (gone to sea at 16)....and many from the streets of the city part of San Francisco.... pre WWII. He has an amazing memory (except for 5 minutes ago)

Nanny, did you ever read any of Shel Silverstein's poems for kids which adults can enjoy just as much as kids, very witty.

Very interesting about your TV station and High Flight.

I'm a late comer to discovering Silverstein and probably have one of his books here now. And, yes, when I was in school we did memorize poems. DH, every so often will recite one when the situation makes him recall it..... I am always impressed as I long ago forgot them... well, Casey at the Bat, recited by a very little old English teacher with a Scottish accent, I can still 'hear'. My DSon, went to a Scottish High School...9th grade... and he can recite many Scottish poems, along with the accent of the Highlands. DH too. They have the gift of picking up accents and are great mimics as well as a good memory. DH became a Russian linguist for the military and during his "immersion" year, he lived and breathed Russian history, literature and poems as well as language. Saying "I love you" in Russian just gives me goosebumps......mmmm I must remind him of that!