Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier

Suzieque, I only know the movie from years ago. I can only imagine how much better the book would be.

Murraysmom, yes, I first saw the movie and loved it, then I read the book. I've reread the book several times over the years. Hmmmm ... it's on my bookshelf ..... and I don't have any plans this afternoon ..... hmmmm!

Grapes of Wrath.

One Hundred Years of Solitude - Gabriel Garcia Marquez.

Pillars of the Earth - Ken Follett

The Jungle, Upton Sinclair

My favorites are those that leave such an impression on me that I remember them in detail long after reading them. They include

• Jasper Fford’s ”Thursday Next” series started in 2001. It’s about time travel with a twist. Thursday travels through the books as a literary detective.
• Harry Potter series - what a fantasy!
• The Time Traveler’s Wife - not a series but a great read & good movie too
• The Art of Racing in the Rain - @roxsolid - what a book! I read it twice. I loved the ending that was done for the movie - a happier one

I don't have a favorite. I've enjoyed so many over the years. One author whose books I will read again when I want to visit a familiar book is Mary Stewart. I don't care for her Camelot series, though, and I like her later books best. I remember visiting some of the general European locations that were in her books and experiencing IRL exactly the landscapes that she described.

The Lord of the Rings which I re-read every year. Lots of others that I really like, but none I re-read as often as LOTR.

I have a lot of favorites but these days the fave of the faves is Dianne Setterfield's The Thirteenth Tale.

There are many books I've enjoyed over my many years of reading but I have no favorite(s).

Thanks to those that have shared. I'm making up a new list right now!

The Hobbit and Lord of the Rings by JRR Tolkien

I have no clear favorite(s) either. But there are a number of authors or series of books that I have really enjoyed so tend to make repeats in that direction - Harry Potter, the earlier Lee Child/Reacher novels, Louise Penney, anything by Leon Uris, anything by Robert Parker.

Ulysses, Bleak House, Howards End, The Great Gatsby, The House of Mirth, Brideshead Revisited. In that order.

I found Rebecca was great in memory, but didn't stand the test of time for me - I did not enjoy it when I went to re-read it.

Favourite books that stand out in my mind and changed the way I think of things sometimes:

• The Picture of Dorian Gray (Oscar Wilde)
• Alas, Babylon (Pat Frank)
• The Poisonwood Bible (Barbara Kingsolver)
• Lost Boy: The True Story of Captain Hook (Christina Henry)
• Bad Blood: Secrets and Lies in a Silicon Valley Startup (John Carreyrou) (non-fiction)

One of my all time favorites is A Prayer for Owen Meany by John Irving

Great thread ! I've wanted to get back into reading

Spy Who Came in from the Cold, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy and other John LeCarre spy novels

And the Slow Horses novels by Mick Herron, so funny and well-written with excellent relevant plots.

Those come to mind not as favorites but as ones I really love !

Will follow this thread with pencil in hand

I recall pbs did a favorite books list and To Kill a Mockingbird came out #1 by far

What makes a book a favorite in part is how well it hits with where you are at the time. I loved readin Paul Gallico books when I was young. I wonder how they’d age …

The Jungle by Upton Sinclair is my all time favorite, but I also love Jurassic Park and The Lost World by Michael Crichton. These are fascinating, filled with awesome science, and are under appreciated, I think. On a lighter note is a trilogy by Jennifer Donnelly, The Tea Rose, The Winter Rose, and The Wild Rose. These are historical romances (turn of the century) following the lives of three extremely strong and capable women that thrive and overcome the societal norms of the day. I also cant get enough of the Wolfhall trilogy by Hilary Mantel. I read them over and over...and over.

I also count A Prayer for Owen Meany as an all time favorite. Every time this subject comes up, I share that I loved it so much, I never finished it because I didn't want it to end. I bought a new copy recently because my old one has faded and I figured I am getting close to the end of my life, and I don't want to check out without knowing how it ends! So, I'll be rereading it soon.
A more recent favorite is The Offing by Benjamin Myers
Another is Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides

Another one here who reads and rereads (well over 21 times now) The Lord of the Rings, by JRR Tolkien. I also read a number of the scholarly commentaries on it.

And also Kristin Lavransdatter by Sigrid Undset, also read many, many times.

Read both books first in my teens or early 20s and they have not only held up for this now 81 year old, but I have found greater depth and meaning in each with each reading.

laceyvail, that is indeed, the perfect description of a favorite book. Thanks.

laceyvail, I completely agree about LOTR. Started reading it every year since 1966 when it was one of the two required books (the other being Silent Spring, another must read) on our summer reading list. Tolkien was a master of everything he did and his life story makes that even more amazing.

I finally saw "Great Gatsby" mentioned - it is truly the book I despise most in the entire world. I struggled to finish it and found it tedious and boring and a true slog. I only finished it to say I had "read it" and literally threw it across the room when I was done.

Oh do we get to tell what book we hated the most? War and Peace by Tolstoy. I have read the wretched thing five times and hated every one but I thought that since I did it when I was in 7th grade I must have not been old enough to understand it's genius so would try again every few years. The last time (#6) at 70 I read the first chapter and decided I was right the first time. I have read Bulwer-Lytton with more enjoyment.

I agree Kingsolver's Poisonwood Bible if very good and I think by far the best of her works.

I read around 40 books a year and started keeping a spreadsheet of what I have read in 2023. I don't have a single favorite, but I do have a ranking system so I can use AI to recommend other books based on the books I liked best

Before We Were Yours (Historical Fiction)

Diamond Doris (Memoir / True Crime)

In Praise of Difficult Women (Non-fiction / Biography)

Lessons in Chemistry (Historical Fiction)

Life and other inconveniences (Contemporary Fiction)

Orphan Train (Historical Fiction)

Remarkably Bright Creatures (Contemporary Fiction)

Season of the Dragonflies (Magical Realism)

Small Admissions (Humorous Fiction)

Sold on a Monday (Historical Fiction)

The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek (Historical Fiction)

The Book of Lost Friends (Historical Fiction)

The Children's Blizzard (History / Disaster)

The Circus Train (Historical Fiction)

The Dictionary of Lost Words (Historical Fiction)

The Echo of Old Books (Historical Mystery)

The Giver of Stars (Historical Fiction)

The Housemaid (Psychological Thriller)

The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue (Fantasy / Historical)

The Magdalen Girls (Historical Fiction)

The Magnificent Lives of Marjorie Post (Biographical Fiction)

The Midnight Library (Speculative Fiction)

The Rose Code (Historical Fiction)

The Scent Keeper (Contemporary Fiction)

West with Giraffes (Historical Fiction)

I read other genres, and enjoy many stories, but my favorites tend to lean toward historical fiction featuring resilient female leads who challenge societal norms.

There are quite a few listed in earlier posts that I also enjoyed, just may have read them prior to starting my list or may have been a 4 vs a 5 in my list (only provided my top tier books).

Given your 2 favorites I would recommend The Echo of Old Books and The Midnight Library.

“Just Kids” by Patti Smith- as soon as I finished it, I began rereading it. Also, I have read Julie Hecht’s short story collections more times than I can count, and I laugh out loud on every page- “Do the Windows Open?” and “Happy Trails to You”. She’s hilarious!

@Jennifer Hogan Have you read any of Marie Benedict’s books? She & her great books popped into my mind at reading your post. Here’s a bit about her - I’ve read all of them & highly recommend.

Marie Benedict is an acclaimed historical fiction author known for unearthing the hidden stories of influential women. Her best-reviewed and most popular books include The Personal Librarian, The Only Woman in the Room, The Other Einstein, and Carnegie's Maid

Little Women and Grapes of Wrath

@KW PNW Z8, I have not read any, but have added to my wish list. Thank you for the recommendation

" recommend other books based on the books I liked best "

There is a fun site I use sometimes called Literature Map that works with authors, rather than specific titles. The closer the authors are, the more likely readers of one will like another. Plus, it's visually fun: https://www.literature-map.com/

" historical fiction featuring resilient female leads who challenge societal norms. "

In that vein, I'd recommend the Weight of Ink as well.

I have dropped my list into AI and asked for recommendations. My sister and I share books and are drawn to different genres, but I read all of the books she gets and she reads the books I get and I have learned that I do enjoy mysteries and fantasies and she has learned that she enjoys historical fiction and biographies. We still both have our favorites, but it is nice to break things up a bit. Read something I would have passed over in thev past.

I find it hard to pick only one favorite book, since I have so many that I love, including several that other people have mentioned. My very favorite, though, has to be War and Peace. It has so many complex features and is large enough to fully explore them all. Second to that novel would be David Copperfield by Charles Dickens. The situations and characters in that volume are so numerous that they could be entire novels by themselves.

Do any of you have a book that you can't let go?

I have given away almost all of my books, but I have a copy of Little Women that was given to me by my mom when I was young. I had a copy of Gone With the Wind, but I made the mistake of letting someone borrow it and somehow they lost it or gave it away instead of returning it. Gone With the Wind was my mother's and was her favorite book.

Beyond those 2 I have a couple of bibles, one that was mine from childhood, one that belonged to my mom and one that belonged to my grandmother and I have copies of my high school yearbooks.

I also have Leaves Of Gold - a classic collection of inspirational writings, including prayers, poems, quotes, and prose, compiled by Clyde Francis Lytle, that belonged to my mom and a copy of "How to Eat Like a Child, and Other Lessons in Not Being a Grown-up" by Delia Ephron - a humorous book offering witty, satirical "lessons" on childhood behaviors, from eating habits (like building mashed potato dams) to sibling torture and playing sick, all from a child's perspective. that belonged to my Dad.

And I have about a 1/2 dozen books that I often reference or recommend to others - Right sizing your home, Your Purebred Puppy, How to Housebreak your dog in 7 days . . . and a couple of coffee table books and one velvet covered book on flowers that are used more as decoration than for their content and another 1/2 dozen that I have not read yet.

In just the past few years I got rid of the other books that I had been hanging on to, but knew that I won't re-read. I had a collection of historical books from places where I had traveled. (Go to a historical site - buy a book, read the book, put it on the shelf . . . ), a bunch of biographies, and other books that were high on my list of favorites.

Just last month I reduced one last time (at least I think it will be the last time) when I retired and got rid of all my reference books related to work.

I don't have a favourite book. We have a lot of books and a lot of bookshelves. Mostly novels and arranged alphabetically by author. Before every holiday we go to the charity bookshops where you can get books in good condition for very low prices so our collection tends to keep expanding. Once in a while we take a bagful back to the shop. If we're travelling light we might leave these books at the accommodation. I have got rid of all my university and work texts.

In a previous life I was a librarian and later a teacher so I can understand libraries and schools turning down well intentioned donations. Space is a major consideration as is condition, relevance, currency and likely user interest.

too many to recall, but….

Remains of the day and..

..Never Let me Go ishiguro

The elegance of the Hedgehog

( most of ) Barbara Pym

The Miracle Life of Edgar Mint

The Namesake

The Year of Magical Thinking

Wolf Hall trio

Midnights Children

The Good Earth

<of course: The Hobbit & Lotr

Brides of Beckham by Kristin Osbourne. It's about ladies becoming mail order brides and finding love in late 1800s

messge to cyn427, re LOTR. I strongly recommend that you listen to the Prancing Pony Podcast, two men who work their way through Tolkien's writings, bringing in the languages, the histories, the geography, and with scholars of Tolkien as guests. Go back to their beginning maybe 10 years ago and listen to them all in order. (One of the two had to leave the podcast several years ago, but the remaining one has other Tolkienists join him.)