When I was visiting Katie back in November, I asked her to pull out her favourite book for me to read. At the time, I had only wanted a book to read and realized that it would be interesting to see what reading a person’s favourite book could tell me about that person.
I am going to continue that experiment throughout 2009, if not for the next few years. I have asked a few people over the holidays to pass me their favourite books of all time and I will get around to reading them.
My hopes in reading these books is really not to have a read that I will enjoy. If I wanted that, I would have asked for a book that people think I would enjoy. I want to find out what my friends/family enjoy and perhaps it will give a little insight into their brain and what they enjoy.
Plus it allows me to have a conversation with people and find out why they are so passionate about it.
So feel free, as faithful readers to Palmer’s World, to let me know what your all-time favourite book is and if possible, pass it to me to read. This will be an ongoing experiment. So far, I have finished Katie’s favourite read and it was interesting (but I’m waiting to hear back from her as to why she thinks of it as one of her favourites…is it the writing style? The subject matter?), and am now reading another book that my colleague Mark suggested. However, this book is larger than the bible and deals with subject matter concerning slavery, genocide and other grand topics. It’s an interesting read but will take up much of my time to finish. It is called ‘The Culture of Make Believe’ by Derrick Jensen.
UPDATE: I think the goal of this quest is to not hear about some good book suggestions…I’m talking about the cream of the crop, the one you can’t live without on an island…I want your FAVOURITE BOOK EVER! Is it an impossible task? Perhaps. But have some fun with it! Even if you tell me it’s Encyclopedia Brown, that’s a legendary choice.
5 replies on “Your Favourite Books (edit: FAVOURITE EVER!!!)”
I think it was the writing style and the complexity of the emotions involved. In a nutshell.
Also, that isn’t my favourite book. It was one of my favourites on my bookshelf. My fav, I do not personally own and haven’t read in a long time so I would have to reread to figure out if it’s still up there.
I personally really liked Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett. It’s huge, but reads amazingly quickly if your interest is peaked.
Also, I have to suggest Shake Hands With the Devil by Roméo Dallaire, if you haven’t tackled that one yet. Incredible, if very graphic.
Couple of ideas: I loved Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafon. I also really liked Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell by Susanna Clarke, but that one’s hit and miss with people. It’s kind of slow, but I loved the characters.
If you’re into science fiction I’d also recommend either A Fire upon The Deep or A Deepness in the Sky by Vernor Vinge.
Okay, well, my favourite book ever (which, as mentioned above I haven’t read in ages) is the Diviners by Margaret Laurence.
Otherwise, I could also read Pride and Prejudice until the cows came home. Plus many others. Pillars of the Earth (Ken Follet) also comes to mind.
If I was going to be cast away and I had to choose one book it would have to be Aldous Huxley’s Brave New World, hands down.
What I love most about this book is all the uncanny connections between Huxley’s dystopian society and the one we live in. Although we haven’t reached the point of baby hatcheries just yet, we have been programmed for consumption and promiscuity, each within our respective social classes.