My Favorite Books

I have a hard time coming up with my list of favorite books, because I really do love books: new books, old books, funny books, horror books, mystery books, fiction books, inspirational books, kids’ books. I search for writers who speak to me and when I find one, I read their every word. I listen and long for more.

My favorite books are those that leave a lingering impression. Sometimes the story’s premise is so intriguing it takes days or weeks to get my mind around it. That’s the way I felt after reading American Gods by Neil Gaiman or The Time Traveler’s Wife by Audrey Niffenegger.

Other times the characters stay with me. They are old friends and the memory of our time spent together is bitter sweet in that it had to end. Stephen King is most remarkable in his ability to develop sympathetic, flawed, yet extraordinary characters. And, no pun intended, many of his characters have haunted me for years. Bobbi Anderson and her friend Gardener, an alcoholic poet who tried to save her from obsession in The Tommyknockers or Mike Noonan, the lonely novelist who finds love a second time in Bag of Bones. I stare in gaped jaw amazement at those who complain that King’s novels are too long - I think they end too soon. I can’t stop myself from racing to the finish, even though I dread that final page, when I know I’ll have to say goodbye to my new companions.

I also enjoy non-fiction; inspirational or historical, memoirs or true crime. A few books have literally changed my life; such as Conversations with God by Neale Donald Walsch or Seven Habits for Highly Effective People by Stephen Covey. These books came to me at different times in my life, but when they came to me I was ready to receive them. Conversations with God can be a little jarring at first, but when the implication of the book sank in, I was empowered to have my own conversation with God.

With that all said, here are few of my favorite books -

10. The Book of Secrets by Deepak Chopra - The Secret was a huge international best seller, but I was hugely disappointed in the book. It was all rhetoric, no evidence. Chopra’s philosophy is one of personal responsibility and empowerment, but he offers scientific reasoning for his theories. I can’t tell you if it’s true or not, but it was certainly more convincing than a panel of “experts” offering sound bites. This isn’t easy enlightenment.

9. Lightning by Dean Koontz - This was the first book I read by Dean Koontz and I’ve been a fan of his work since, with the exception of The Vision and I swore I’d never read another one of his books. Fortunately for me, I didn’t keep that promise or I would have missed out on his later works, full of sarcastic wit and charm. Lightening is at its heart, a romance, with a substantial bit of mystery, a smidgen of the supernatural and an unexpected twist.

8. A Time to Kill by John Grisham - This was Grisham’s debut novel and sets the basis of much of his future works. A young Southern lawyer takes a seemingly hopeless case, defending Carl Lee Hailey. Hailey is a black man accused of killing two men who raped his daughter. Forty four years after the publication of Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird, Grisham spotlights lingering racism and ignorance. The Chamber was brilliant as well.

7. The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams - Adams’ humor is out of this world. This book is just fun, silly and unexpected. Arthur Dent is an ordinary man who embarks on an extraordinary adventure - thankfully he has his towel. The Earth is destroyed, the President of the Galaxy has high jacked a spaceship and the girl of his dreams is just out of arm’s reach.

6. Inkheart by Cornelia Funke - This children’s book is rich and imaginative, full of adventure, danger, hope and magic. When my kids were younger we would read books together, and this was a particular favorite. The idea of stories, places and characters living in an alternative reality is enthralling. Stephen King offered a similar theme in the Dark Tower series, when the fictional world bled into the “real” world, but Inkheart was the first time I had seen it done and I was hooked.

5. The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold - Told from the perspective of a teenage murder victim who observes the family and friends she left behind. Her murder isn’t the central plot, left unsolved for years after her death. Instead, this is a story about grief and healing, holding on and letting go. Absolutely haunting.

4. Tuesdays with Morrie by Mitch Albom - Mitch Albom recounts the last days spent with his ex professor and mentor, Morrie Schwartz. It is a simple story and lesson about appreciating life, slowing down and focusing on the things that truly matter. Even in his final days, Morrie never stopped teaching and has left a wonderful legacy.

3. American Gods by Neil Gaiman - An extraordinarily imaginative book that explores the possibility that Gods, discarded and forgotten, live among us waiting to return to their former glory. Most lament the unfairness of being cast aside by fickle mortals, reduced to working odd jobs and bickering amongst themselves.

2. The Stand by Stephen King - I could fill a page with my favorite books by Stephen King, but have settled on just one for this list. The Stand still was frightening in the possibility it could actually happen (unlike a haunted car) and hopeful that good can indeed overcome evil.

1. The Time Traveler’s Wife by Audrey Niffenegger - The most romantic and heartbreaking story I’ve ever read. The story is told with grace and clarity, despite the complexity of criss-crossing time lines and shifting points of view.

I would also recommend anything by Jonathan Kellerman, Michael Connelly, Stuart Woods, Tami Hoag, Wayne Dyer, Scott Westerfeld and a hundred others.