This list may not be entirely accurate a year from now. It’s hard for me to acknowledge what a “favourite” book might be, especially as I do not re-read books except on occasion. I have before, but it’s a rare case. As I’m writing this I’m already feeling a slight panic at the word “favourite.” Is this word neglecting all the near-favourites I’ve read? Perhaps I’ll have to write another blog about those so they don’t feel too left out.
It’s largely because the number of “4 star” books I have read and continue to read is outstanding. There are just so many amazing books out there. However, it’s excessively hard for me to give something a 5 or to consider it essentially perfect. For me a favourite is something I’ve allowed to become a favourite (taking my foot off of a kind of mental brake for a minute) that exists somewhere between a 4 and a 5.
Assessing Favourites
- It made me think, reassess a reality, or intrigued me to a high degree.
- I fell in love with what was going on, the characters, setting, story.
- The writing is poetic and beautiful on its own.
- The main character is extremely fucked up, relatable, or interesting.
- I just love it, because I always have (think childhood reads).
- It has an amazing atmosphere.
The Last Unicorn
Using this list, the actual best way to start is with the book The Last Unicorn.
The Last Unicorn is a fantasy book first published in 1968. I’ll just have you know that while Googling its publication date one of the first questions that came up was “Why is The Last Unicorn so good?” and after seeing that I clapped. Because it so is. It was turned into an animated film in the 80s, and though that was what I was originally exposed to, they are extremely similar in tone, writing/narration and feel.
The story begins with an image of a unicorn in a lush, green forest. The Unicorn’s story is told to us through conversations with herself or with others. She spends what seems like centuries by herself without questioning that something might have changed with the other unicorns. She was alone, just by chance, and accepted, even loved it, and despite that solitude she had her animals around her in her forest. Upon learning that something happened to the unicorns, she goes on an adventure in search of them. The adventure is full of peril and beauty, and some tragic things happen as she continues on this journey.
The Last Unicorn captures what a perfect book is, for me. It’s poetic, it’s dreamy, beautifully written and the character undergoes some serious adversity and admits to that meaning something at the end. Many of the characters, in fact, express a kind of personality flaw or life struggle. The fantasy in this also doesn’t feel made up. Sometimes fantasy seems like fantasy, and sometimes it feels like someone’s history. It’s also an immensely personal story, despite this. This is a favourite I would no doubt give a 5 to. Highly recommended.
Nineteen Eighty-Four
I feel like I came into Orwell pretty late. I was in my late 20s and taking a Political Science class when I first read this, as well as many other mind-opening books and writers. It was baffling to me how much Orwell was saying and how much it seemed like we were heading into those things. In 2022 we’ve gone passed the point of these ideas in some ways, and haven’t entirely entered them in another. Let’s hope we never do.
Concepts in 1984 that predicted the present:
double-think and newspeak. We see this kind of thing in our news and media all the time. Even in our Facebook feeds we see it, with the way certain phrasing gets co-opted and used incorrectly.
All-Seeing/All-Knowing Technology: This is everywhere today, in everything we do. We don’t stop it, we don’t even know how. We’ve accepted it and in some cases we continue its development in our jobs through AI implementation.
Censorship: Always been a problem, always will be, sadly (book burning, etc.) but degrees of it can be observed throughout the history and in some cases the present.
Authority & Totalitarianism: In 2022 we can observe the problems with this kind of society by watching Russia’s actions and in some cases, certain other countries doing something similar.
1984 is a classic for a reason, but it holds up in almost every way and is worth diving into if you haven’t.
The Time Traveller’s Wife
The Time Traveller’s Wife is currently a TV series on HBO as well as a film and book, but it is the novel that stole my heart in 2004 and remained a favourite since. This story follows the lives of Claire and Henry, who are married yet they continuously meet and arrive at each other’s lives at various points on the timeline. Sometimes Henry is younger and meets an older Claire, and sometimes Henry is older and meets a child-Claire, with lots of variations in between. Sometimes they have known each other for years, or decades, and other times one of them is meeting the other for the first time. In the beginning, we learn about how Henry has to survive his time travelling “illness” and what he needs to do to survive each time he arrives somewhere. Lots happens as we continue reading.
This book has hella tragedy in it. It is not for the weak of heart. Likely you will sob. But it will be worthwhile sobs. It’s romantic, sweet, intriguing and well-written. Suggested for lovers of romance with sci-fi elements.
Neverwhere and Good Omens
The first novel by Neil Gaiman, Neverwhere explores a hidden world that can only be reached inside of the London Underground. I was a huge fan of The Sandman comics in the 90s, which eventually lead to following him on his journey of writing novels. Neverwhere is urban fantasy with sci-fi and horror elements.
I have it tied with Good Omens, because I can’t remember why I love Neverwhere! It’s an example of one of those books I’ve never wanted to read again incase it’s ruined by the new experience. In fact, I don’t remember much at all about the book, only that I loved the gloomy atmosphere and the strange happenings. I remember riding the London tube once while having recently (or currently) read Neverwhere and how important that moment felt – to connect something I was imagining with something I was experiencing.
Good Omens, in contrast, I do remember a bit more of and also that it was a delightful book with a good mix of comedy and dark fantasy. It features two fallen angels with opposite agendas – one trying to save the world, and one trying to end it. It’s a fun adventure with so much absurd hilarity in between.
The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao
I have read so many amazing books during my time as an English Literature student that it’s sort of hard for me to express what it was about them that really impacted me. Hopefully in future blog posts I can write about those more. This was only one of them.
Written by Dominican-American author Junot Diaz, this book follows a Dominican-American family – Oscar and his sister, as well as the narrator, Yunior. Vastly different people, while Oscar is extremely awkward, nerdy and has some eccentric beliefs (for one, that he’s under a family/generational curse, for another that he’s the Dominican Tolkien), Yunior is a crude womanizer and Lola is an independent woman with a cut-throat kind of personality, as well as a burgeoning goth. I suggest this one for readers who love literary fiction with challenging characters.
Lullabies for Little Criminals
I read this book in the summer of 2016, during a period when I was riding hour-long busses to Montreal’s West Island in order to go to a therapy group that was challenging for me. With the windows rolled down and a variety of people coming on and getting off the bus, I would read Lullabies for Little Criminals and allow myself to be, almost therapeutically worried (instead of the overwhelming kind) for this fictional person.
Written by Montreal native Heather O’Neill, Lullabies for Little Criminals follows the life of a little girl as she grows up on the harsh streets of downtown Montreal. So much happens to this character (named Baby) that is hard to read. I would highly suggest looking for the list of trigger warnings before deciding to embark. It’s a gritty contemporary narrative full of disgusting and harsh realities that some have to live with, but in between and through all of it there’s a kind of beauty and desperation that I think will be familiar to anyone who has been through a lot of strife.
If you’re interested in reading any of the above, are in the USA, and like supporting independent bookshops, you can find them at my bookshop.org shop here.
If you’re in Canada, you can check them out at the Book Outlet.
Thanks for your blog, nice to read. Do not stop.