My Favorite Things I: Books

In one of my first posts on this blog, I mentioned that, counter to a cultural trend of ambiguity and inability (or lack of desire) to name favorites, I like being able to have a favorite thing in a category. Sometimes I don't, and sometimes those favorite things come with a lot of disclaimers, but I like being able to note that I prefer certain things. That gives you 1) more of a sense of who I am in terms of my media preferences, and 2) new media products to enjoy (assuming my media preferences align somehow with yours. This is not so straightforward--I have plenty of people who I love and respect from whom I will never take movie/music/book recommendations). So this is the first in a multi-part series on my favorite things. Each post, I'll present five of my favorites within a certain category. Today's category: books.

I chose five of each because five is such a nice number (I do not think, however, that five is my favorite number. Not something I often think about). Also because I don't want to have to choose one of each. The lists are ranked alphabetically, not by preference. Because this post is called "my favorite things," do yourself a favor and listen to the John Coltrane Quartet recording of the song of the same name (yes, the one from The Sound of Music. Shoutout to Bryn Mawr's Mike Tratner, whose ringtone is that recording).

Books

Cannery Row - John Steinbeck
Though it might seem superfluous to have this minor Steinbeck work on this list, what with his magnum opus just below, this book always makes me laugh, and makes me aspire to be like Doc. Williams-Mystic folks will remember our Halloween night search for Truth, making the beer milkshake in the Johnston House kitchen.

East of Eden - John Steinbeck
This book combines so many things that I love: The triumph of the human spirit, quirky characters, quotable quotes, Bible stories, beautiful descriptions of landscapes, even a noir-esque intrigue. When asked to name one favorite book, I often name this one. Though I love movies, and movie adaptations of books, and though I respect that they are separate art forms, not necessitating comparison with one another, I can't bring myself to watch the movie version of East of Eden for fear that it would ruin the book for me.

For Whom the Bell Tolls - Ernest Hemingway
This one barely edged out The Lord of the Rings for this, admittedly last-of-the-top-five slot. People always seem more surprised to hear that I like Hemingway than to hear that I like The Lord of the Rings, so Hemingway it is. Though it is not often hailed as the best of Hemingway's three major works (The Sun Also Rises, A Farewell to Arms), I like it the best. Maybe it's the romance at its center, maybe it's the fact that I was reading John Donne when I first read it, maybe it's the 8-year-old inside of me getting excited about blowing up bridges. I just know that I love so much Hemingway, and when I have to pick one, I pick this one.

Moby Dick - Herman Melville
The (in)famous early American work of literature. I don't think I ever would have read this if it hadn't been required for class at Williams-Mystic, but having plowed through it, I can say that it is one of the most interesting, thought-provoking, and strange (not to mention long) books I've ever read. I regularly use the metaphor of the whale's head to refer to encounters with the ineffable.

One Man's Meat - E.B. White
This book's title has not aged nearly as well as its contents. Sad, because the contents (a series of essay from the early/middle of the 20th century) are charming, insightful, and well-written. If you only know E.B. White as the author of Charlotte's Web, these essays provide a new insight into the man. Of all the writers I read, I feel the most writerly kinship with E.B. White, in large part because of this book.

RUNNER UP: The Lord of the Rings - J.R.R. Tolkien
As you know from above, this one was barely edged out, mostly because, at least among Swatties, it's assumed that everyone has some fluency with, and that the majority of people enjoys these books. A small true confession: I went in costume to local premiere screenings of the later two movie releases. I apparently don't have the same reservations about The Lord of the Rings that I do about East of Eden.