My Favorite Novels

When I tell people I am an author, albeit not a famous one, they often ask, "What are your favorite books?" Since I prefer fiction over non-fiction, I list my favorite novels, those with the most compelling stories. I expect a novel to be well written, but it doesn't have to be a literary masterpiece to bring me to my knees. It's the books I hug after finishing them, those with stories that stick with me for weeks, years even, that make my list.

In the order in which I read them, my favorites begin with Gone With the Wind by Margaret Mitchell. I read this novel in the seventh grade. What an entertaining, educational saga describing a contentious period in American history! I was captivated by the story though I was disappointed in the ending. I read the last few pages several times, hoping I had missed something, some thread of hope, for Scarlet and Rhett to make their marriage work.

After Gone With the Wind I was too busy studying during high school and college to read many books for sheer pleasure. As an adult, the next novel I hated to see end was The Thornbirds by the Australian author Colleen McCullough. Forbidden love is an age-old theme that never grows old. I shared the book with my father, a smart man who quit high school at fifteen, and he enjoyed it, too. Though he never realized his potential, he read a great many books during his later life.

The Joy Luck Club by Amy Tan was the next book that left an impression on me. I felt a strong emotional tie to this saga about mothers and daughters and cultural change. Although it is about Chinese immigrants to America, the emotions the author conveys are universal.

The seven years I lived in Connecticut and commuted daily to Manhattan I read scores of books during the hour + train ride to and from work. I read what I saw other people reading--Follett, Michenor, Ludlum, etc. I found these author's books highly entertaining but they didn't touch my soul.

It wasn't until I was doing research for my second novel that I ran across one that rocked my world--Angle of Repose by Wallace Stegner, Pulitzer Prize winner in 1972. Set in Colorado during the same time period as my great-grandmother lived, I read it cover to cover three times.

I have been an animal lover all my life, so I naturally fell in love with The Art of Racing in the Rain by Garth Stein. I used a box of Kleenex while reading it. As an author I appreciate the patience the author used, writing from the perspective of a dog yet pacing the story as beautifully as he did.