I read a lot and have ridiculously eclectic tastes, so trying to narrow it down to five favorite books is close to impossible. All I can say is that these are my top five at the moment. If you ask me tomorrow, you might well get different answers.
Foucault’s Pendulum by Umberto Eco. This is the book that always comes to mind when someone asks me for my all-time favorite. It’s a twisting, turning labyrinth of a book about three cynical, skeptical book publishers who decide to out-conspiracy the conspiracy theorists and invent a conspiracy of their own—and succeed too well. Along the way, it involves the Templars, the Rosicrucians, Santería, the Comte de Saint-Germain, and the final hiding place of the Holy Grail. And that’s just for starters,
Good Omens by Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman. The end of the world is coming, the Antichrist has been born (in a quaint little village in England), the Four Apocalyptic Horsepersons are riding, and it’s up to a hapless angel his half-heartedly demonic friend to prevent Armageddon. Pure loony fun.
1Q84 by Haruki Murakami. One of the best of his strange, surreal novels, the story follows a writer named Tengo and a hitwoman named Aomame who have sidestepped into an alternate reality that is subtly different from our own. The most obvious difference is that there are two moons—but Tengo and Aomame seem to be the only ones aware of it. Murakami excels at propelling the reader into a weird version of the universe that is described in such ordinary ways that it is completely believable.
Red, White, and Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston. I’m a romantic at heart and always appreciate a good love story with a happy ending. This one follows the son of the American president and the grandson of the king of England, in a hilarious enemies-to-friends-to-lovers story that is absolutely irresistible.
Till We Have Faces by C. S. Lewis. A novelized retelling of the beautiful Greek myth of Eros and Psyche, this sadly little-known book is pure brilliance, turning the story around and telling it from the point of view of Psyche’s sister Orual, who in the original myth is one of the villains of the piece. In Lewis’s deft hands the reader comes to understand why Orual did what she did, and her redemption arc is heartbreakingly beautiful.
So that’s my five. I know, I know, I left out so many amazing stories — Lord of the Rings, And Then There Were None, A Canticle for Leibowitz, The Song of Achilles, Big Trouble, The Joy Luck Club, The Stand… it’s an impossible task. (And I haven’t even considered non-fiction.)
But now, let’s flip the question around. What are your favorites?
