I was watching a YouTube video by a woman who talks about books. She listed the top twenty books liked by people who signed up for her Goodreads page. I’d read about half of the books on the list. Number two was Pride and Prejudice, and Number one was The Picture of Dorian Gray.
I think this says more about her followers than good books, but it did make me wonder. If I had to choose one book to be my favorite book, which would I choose? I like a lot of books in many genres. War and Peace was really good, but was it better than Moby Dick or the latest Craig Johnson mystery? I don’t know. I did decide to choose from only adult books because if I include all the middle-grade books I like, I’d be here until Christmas trying to decide.
I do wonder about the people who picked A Picture of Dorian Gray. I liked the book when I read it in high school, but I haven’t read it since, so I don’t think it was the most amazing thing I’ve read. In fact, I also read The Scarlet Letter in high school and have read it many times since. Does that mean I like it more than Dorian Gray? That would be another question.
Is my favorite book one that I’ve read a gazillion times? I’ve read Purity in Death dozens of times, but it doesn’t make my list of favorite books because it’s more like a way to escape reality than an amazing book. I love War and Peace more, but I don’t plan to reread it anytime soon.
Also, do I have to own the book for it to be my favorite? I love Metamorphosis and have read it several times, but I don’t own it. I check it out from the library. Also, it’s really short—less than 20,000 words. Does length matter?
Okay, here are my rules. I’m making these rules because I want to know your favorite book. You can only choose one.
- It can be any story written for adults in any genre.
- You don’t have to own the story.
- It doesn’t matter how many times you’ve read it.
- It can be any length.
Drum roll, please. My number one favorite book is The Masque of the Red Death by Edgar Allan Poe. It is super short (technically a short story, but I don’t care), and I love every word. I do own it, and I read it every October.
What is your favorite book? For this survey, you can only pick one. If you have more than one, no sweat. Just pick one.