Probably To Kill A Mockingbird. I know this is supposed to be the one "fav" but I have to throw in The Shack and The Door Into Summer (Heinlein).

The Age of Innocence by Edith Wharton. I've probably read it 4 or 5 times in 30 years. I find it odd that this particular book keeps drawing me back for another read - the entire novel is sad - from start to finish. The protagonists live a life ruled by social etiquette- what to wear, what time to eat, when to arrive at the opera (fashionably late of course).

It's Wharton's prose that fascinates me - her descriptive phrases are among the best. One of my favorites:

“The
immense accretion of flesh which had descended on her in middle life
like a flood of lava on a doomed city had changed her from a plump
active little woman with a neatly-turned foot and ankle into something
as vast and august as a natural phenomenon.”

I don't buy books. I don't keep books. I don't re-read books often. I have kept and re-read Mark Helprin's "A Soldier of the Great War". It's not 'even', and it's slow starting, but I found it absorbing.

One of my favorites...."The Time Traveler's Wife".

Moby-Dick. Really! It is a beautiful, deep, insightful novel.

Gone With the Wind is my all-time favorite (have read it four times). Other favorites include "Vertical Run" by Joseph Garber, "Kane and Abel" by Jeffrey Archer, and most of Sidney Sheldon's books.

back to the childhood days, and anne of green gables books...maybe Jane Eyre...used to read it once a year...sadly I've gotten in to a reading funk...haven't touched a book in ages...

Pride & Prejudice.

I can't stand Austen's other books, although I do like her short story "Lady Susan". But I reread P&P at least once a year, and have done so ever since first reading it 50 yrs ago.

Maire-cate - I really love The house of mirth by Edith Wharton. It has similar themes of the strong ties of social etiquette, and disregarding the rules could get you banished (socially speaking) to the sidelines where a woman could not make an advantageous marriage. I remember particularly a comment by an especially socially prominent woman who wanted to describe an event as being shockingly inappropriate, saying that it was as bad as the smells of cooking being detected in the drawing room. No aromas of a pot roast wafting through the house for them!

I'm with Phyllis--People of the Book and All the Light You Cannot See are two of my recent favorites. Also, A Woman of Independent Means by Elizabeth Forsyth.

Stacey - The House of Mirth is such a powerful novel, probably Wharton's best and it left a lasting impression on me, even more so than Age of Innocence, but ever so more painful to read. I first read it as a high school freshman because the title intrigued me and quickly found myself immersed in Lily Bart's high stakes game of seeking a husband who could offer her the funds she required to maintain her position in society. The second time I read it was for a college Lit class and my professor was a Wharton scholar who relished every painful little detail of Lily's fall from grace.

A woman's tenuous place in society must be a theme that appeals to me because one of my other favorites is Austen's 'Persuasion.'

Maire

Centennial by James Michener.

Wow, so hard to pick one favorite. The older ones that stand out are The Good Earth, To Kill a Mockingbird, Jane Eyre, GWTW, the Chronicles of Narnia, The Diary of Anne Frank. Newer books I have enjoyed are the Harry Potter series, Wild, and A Gentleman in Moscow. Probably a lot more I have forgotten at the moment.

I read waaay too much to a pick a single favorite - often a book a day. That adds up over the years!! And while I enjoy virtually all of them when reading, few stick with me as being particularly memorable or hitting my top picks list :-)

If I had to narrow it down, it would probably include the Stieg Larrson Millennium Series. I also read A Dog's Purpose years ago and very much enjoyed that and remember it well (haven't seen the movie yet). Snow Falling on Cedars is another favorite. And if we go way back in time, Exodus was a favorite in my early years.

Mostly, I will favor a particular author and read everything they have published, so "favorites" tend to come in a string of books. Louise Penny is right up there!

The first one that jumped to mind is ...And Ladies of the Club by Helen Hooven Santmyer. It's crazy long at almost 1200 pages, but I've read it at least twice. It's the story of a 1900s small town girl from school age through until she dies, along with the evolution of the town, her family, etc. Every time I read it, I find things I missed before.

Stolenidentity, the Dark Tower series is my favorite too! What a treat to read them one after the other. I haven't been sick in so long (knock wood) that I haven' read anything except on the internet and for work. I read when I'm sick in bed.

SF fan here. And I may be a bit of a low brow.

My favourite book is The Diadem by Jo Clayton. I liked many of the books in that series equally. I read voraciously but will never be without that series to re read every so often. I didn't like her other series as much though.

Maire cate - Lucky you, having a professor who was a Wharton scholar! That must have been a wonderful class. Another scene I remember from the book (going by memory here) was where the lawns of the grand houses were carefully manicured and the house where Lily Bart stayed had a large tapestry depicting a group of animals. Although nature is shown as being tamed or suppressed, in fact the savage side of nature comes out in the behavior of the "high society" people. They are quick to cull the weakest member from their group and mercilessly let them drop by the wayside regardless of the effects this might have. It is a serious race for the survival of the fittest and, disguising the savagery, the most genteel methods are used to eliminate (socially speaking) the less desirable.

My all time favorite book is The Good Earth by Pearl S. Buck. I was only 12 or 13 and it was the first book I'd found that really grabbed me and took me to another place and time. And, I could easily relate to all the characters.

Reading this thread reminded me of a book I read as a child, and again as a teenager and again as an adult: Mrs. Mike, by Benedict and Nancy Freedman. I have no desire to read it today because the events surrounding the diphtheria epidemic would be too painful. But Katherine Mary Flannigan's story has certainly stayed with me all these years.

I don't know if I would call these my favorites, but they stick in my brain: Black Beauty (Anna Sewell), Fetching Raymond (John Grisham), The Help (Kathryn Stockett), and Lake Wobegon (Garrison Keillor). An odd mix.

I have read Lake Wobegon so many times that I can quote passages from it. As a born-and-raised midwesterner, I can identify with it, plus it's just fun!

And any of James Herriott's books: All Creatures Great and Small, All Things Wise and Wonderful, etc. He is such a great storyteller and I enjoy his descriptions of the English countryside.

Wow. You have all read books with great sounding titles. I'd be ashamed to say my favorite book. Lol

Mama- no need to be ashamed. Please share we are all friends here :)

Yea, mamapinky. Fess up!

Bertrice Small..I have all of her books except the Pleasure series, which don't interest me. I like how Ms Small describes everything in great detail. And so much history which I'm very interested in.

Nice!! Mamapinky- I still love the Choose Your Own Adventure books. I also love Harry Potter books and Lisa See!! Nothing wrong with a little romance mixed with history :)

Has anyone here read Mark Mathabane? I love his first book. What about the Karen Wheeler books? I enjoyed Tout Sweet so much.

Outsideplaying and others who mentioned A gentleman in Moscow - thank you for this reading idea. The book sounded good, so I bought it and finished reading today. I really enjoyed it, thought it was a really lovely book that is well written and is very nicely developed. Now I'm going to look for the author's previous book, Rules of civility.

The stories of Miss Read and the country books of Gladys Taber will always be among my favorites.

Oh, I loved Gladys Taber, JoanEileen. It's been decades since I read her, but I still have a couple of the books. Simpler, sweeter times . . . kind of like the way I feel when I watch Sheriff Andy Taylor and the people of Mayberry today.

I remember sitting up all night reading Rich Man, Poor Man. It is still one of my favorites. Also loved Thornbirds. When my twin and I were little, our mom read a chapter every night of Poor Little Rich Girl; both of us had special memories of that book, so one year for Christmas my sis contacted the publisher and ordered both of us a copy. It's now even more special to me.

Stacey I'm so glad you enjoyed 'Gentleman'. I don't know when I've read such a well-developed story. I have yet read his other book and really don't know why! I need to add that to my list.

Lukki, same here with 'The Good Earth'. I was about the same age, and it has always stuck with me.

Thanks for the reminder about Stieg Larrson's series, gardengal. I really miss him and his stories.

I also read everything written by David Baldacci and Dorothea Benton Frank. Nothing 'fine literature' about it, just enjoy the stories they write.

I just now (and I mean just now) finished John Irving's "A Widow for One Year". If a person has read other Irving novels, then the ending is not a surprise. I smiled as there were tears in my eyes. It is a big book, more than 530 pages and it took me three days to get through it.

Reading a book about a writer almost, again, makes me think that I should have become a writer myself.

The Grapes of Wrath and Jane Eyre. Rebecca is also right up there.

Some of you might be interested in this blogger's list of 17 books she couldn't put down:

http://modernmrsdarcy.com/unputdownable/

Thank you, Alisande, for this list. Outsideplaying - take note that the "Gentleman in Moscow" writer's first book (Rules of Civility) is listed. Good thing that I have it sitting on the table right beside me!

Alisande- Thank you for that website. I am going to get a few of the books she recommends, they look fantastic!

Wuthering Heights. Sense and Sensibility. Rebecca. Sensing a theme? I do read other than gothics though. Right now reading Mr. Mercedes by S.King. But I don't know if I can finish it. The killer is going to poison a well-loved dog, and I just can't stomach that. I'm a wimp, I know. I listen to Game of Thrones on Audible when I walk. Almost done with book 3. It was 48 hours.

Not very many male authors in that list!!

Oh Janey! Centennial! How could I have forgotten that favorite of mine! "Only the rocks live forever." OMG how I love that line and how I have repeated it so many times!

Many thanks to Fun2BHere and DawnInCal for your input on Replay. I borrowed it from the library the other day and am really enjoying it. It's very thought provoking and would make a great movie! But I have to say that Lonesome Dove is my favorite book (and the whole series).

I enjoy reading about all the different book reviews on this forum.

What a great thread this is. I just read Anne of Green Gables a few months ago and adored it. Also the Miss Read series I discovered maybe 20 years ago and adored that as well..... Hard to say favorite- but some of these mentioned I do agree with. Along those lines, I adored The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Society, and the Mapp and Lucia series.

I recently read the House of Mirth which I did think was quite good (and better than the Age of Innocence , but I don't think I quite see what others rave about in it.

More recently I thought the Lovesong of Miss Queenie Hennessy was phenomenal.

Two that stand out are Winds from the Carolinas and A Land Remembered....both excellent reads.

I still re-read my childhood favorites once in a while -- Little Women, An Old Fashioned Girl, Anne of Green Gables, Gone with the Wind.

I mostly read mysteries these days, and I have a favorite writers that I re-read -- Michael Connelly, Robert Crais, Sue Grafton, John Sandford, Deborah Crombie, Peter Robinson. And it's always a pleasure to pick up a long-loved Agatha Christie.

The last serious book I re-read a couple of months ago was Middlemarch.

Babs, do you mean (A Land Remembered) the historical fictional story of the Florida pioneers? We thought that was wonderful, I learned of it soon after we became Florida residents and I feel it is required reading for snowbirds :)

"Pillars of the Earth" by Ken Follett.

I've read, and loved, so many books, including The Metamorphosis. I've read and enjoyed Fyodor Dostoyevski and Louisa May Alcott, Stephen King and Edna Ferber, to name a few.

My late husband had a large collection of sci-fi, which I read when he finished each book. Janie, it's nice to hear from another Heinlein fan.

When I think of all time favorites, two come to mind. One I read when I was a child, Miss Hickory, by C.S.Bailey, and one about a child, Ray Bradbury's loosely autobiographical Dandelion Wine, specifically the chapter about the grandmother's kitchen. The latter is the book I've re-read most often, because it reminds me of my own beloved grandparents.

the lovely bones, the other boleyn girl, HP series, anne of green gables, black beauty, twilight series, wuthering heights, kill a mockingbird, and then there were none, true blood series., shopaholic series- so funny, shanna, wolf and the dove,flame and the flower (romance's) my sister's keeper... i am sure there are more.....

lots of great recommendations!!

Yes Janie...it is the book about Florida....the winds from the Carolinas is about the Bahamas. I think you'd enjoy it.