Favorite Books Of All Time

I know I talk about books all the time and what I think of new releases, what I think of the new books I read, and I think you should read them too. If you want me to pick my favorite books, it is so difficult because I could easily talk to you about like recent faves, but I never know which favorites are going to stick around for long enough, that they become all-time favorites, and some of my older favorites. I’m kind of afraid that if I were to read them now, I might not love them as much as then so I’m also a little bit hesitant about calling them all-time favorites.

Sometimes I give a book five stars because I loved it at the moment, but it doesn’t become a favorite because it just kind of fades away over time. This is a list of books that didn’t fade away, if you were to ever ask me to pick one favorite book, I would just die on the spot because I’d rather die and pick a favorite there’s a lot. I think there are like 11 books on here. I can’t pick any favorites.

1.     Vicious by Victoria Schwab

To be honest, let’s just start with an all-time favorite that I need to reread someday soon, and that is Vicious by Victoria Schwab. So, imagine this, there’s a book about two academic rivals' best friends who have this hypothesis, that if you have a near-death experience, you might develop some superpowers and, of course, as the absolute geniuses that these students are, they try it out on themselves, which leads to complications fast forward 10 years. They do have super powers, but they are now each other’s mortal enemies and they’re doing everything to kill each other. That’s some conflict right there.

The whole idea of the story is that we have the main character, who sees himself as the villain, and an antagonist who sees himself as a hero, so it’s kind of like flipped from what you’re used to an anti-hero main character. Victor does a lot of like ethically ambiguous things, and we have an antagonist with a god complex, which I for some reason.

I like antagonists like that. There are people with special abilities, kind of like x-men style, which is one of my favorite types of magic systems, and this book just has my favorite trope of all time, which is academic, rivals, turned enemies, and I blame watching too much Naruto as a teen on That but the thing is I think I’ve consumed like three pieces of media in my life with that trope, as the academic rivals to enemies, and I need more of it like I need like people are always like found family enemies. The lovers chose the one I just want academic rivals to enemies like It just does something to me. I can’t explain it’s so full of angst. It makes me want to cry in the best way possible. If any of my gushings sounds good to you, then I highly recommend this one.

2.     The Broken Earth Trilogy by N.K Jemisin

Then we have a new edition. Let me just grab the different books in the series together that are now like splayed out into a pile newest addition to this list is The Broken Earth Trilogy by N.K Jemisin. Oh, I remember reading this last year, like in quarantine when it was super-hot in here, and I could only sit on the balcony because everywhere else was way too hot and I was just reading these books and having good times. If you take sci-fi and fantasy and you put them together, you just get something wonderful. That is this series. It’s a post-apocalyptic fantasy country, where once every few hundred years there is something called a fifth season which is just kind of like a mini apocalypse where the land is just ravaged by natural disasters, earthquakes, etc, and in this world, there are also people with magical abilities and in this world, like oh, it’s so cool, it’s so cool. The magic system is like seismic magic, so people can create earthquakes and it’s very it’s a very hard magic system, very scientific, very specific rules.

It’s unlike any magic system. I’ve ever read, and it’s and in the fifth season, you follow three female perspectives and how they’re kind of dealing with this new fifth season that is coming and how they are learning to use their magic. The thing about this book is that it’s like one big mystery just the moment you start reading you’re, just like what is going on.

I don’t understand this. Why are there flying gems in the sky? Why are what are these rock people? Why are there these bottomless pits that just seem to go to the center of the earth? What the heck is going on here what I like about this book is that its super theme heavy. It very heavily deals with themes of oppression, discrimination, rewriting history, and motherhood was beautifully woven into this.

Like adventure story, I would say that this book is something for you if you like, sci-fi, fantasy crossover, and if you like stories that are just kind of like one big mystery where just slowly things unfold. Also, if you like unique world-building and magic systems, I will say that one of the perspectives in this book is in the second person, so, instead of I or he, it is you who did this. You saw this and I know that for a lot of people that can be a real deal-breaker personally, I got used to it pretty easily, so I wouldn’t be too intimidated by it, give it a try, but I do know that for some people that can be a reason to just not get through this series, so just a heads up, but other than that I need everyone to read these books.

3.     The Hunger Games by Susan Collins

The Hunger Games by Susan Collins, but before you like a sigh and go away and like just another person that liked the hunger games because it was like the first book they ever read and of course they liked it. I need to put on, like my hunger games, defense hats. I am personally on the hunger games defense squad. I will defend this book until my death and tell you about how fantastic it is. I will fight everyone who thinks that this is just a shallow silly. Teen book, that’s only popular because teen girls like it, the hunger games, is a genuinely good political commentary.

Not only is it a critique of the horrors and childishness of war, but it is also a critique of how the people in power, the capital in this case will pit oppressed people against each other to divert the attention from like the real oppressor and no, not just because they have to fight each other to the death in the hunger games. The hunger games books are filled with more subtle, but super accurate little details that allude to this thing of how the people are kept from standing up against the capital. But instead, just hate on each other.

I mean the climax of the story is Katniss, refusing to let the capital put her and pit her up against each other because she knows she knows that the capital doesn’t want the people watching to realize that they are the real bad guys. After all, okay candace Everdeen was gaining class consciousness in 2008, and we are not talking about it, but that’s not all. Not only is the hunger games a genuine good critique of political stuff but It is also a perfect representation of how dystopian society feels to teenagers' constant feeling of being perceived and having to think about who they are and how they want to present themselves to the world. Anti-Authoritarian themes. It perfectly fits puberty just because something appeals to the teenage experience doesn’t make it less meaningful.

4.     Angel Fall by Susan E

Let’s move on to another quick old favorite of mine, that I want to give some special attention and that is Angel Fall by Susan E just another one of those dystopian that I read back in the day. But this one was just it just hit different and no not because the apocalyptic element of it was just hot angels attacking the earth. It was snarkier. It subverted a lot of common dystopian tropes that I’d seen so far. The main character was not a chosen one.

It had horror and gore elements in a way that I haven’t seen in any other dystopian, and I liked that. I found out that that’s kind of a thing I feel like there’s some butterfly effect going on that started with me. Reading angel fall at 15 years old has now ended in me, loving the ninth house at 22 years old, as something happened there now the ninth house is not on my list of favorites, even though I do love it. I feel like I need to read a little bit more in the series before I can officially say that it’s one of my favorites, but I do have another Leigh Bardugo book on this list.

5.     Six of Crows by Leigh Barudugo

Of course, none of you are surprised that Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo remains one of my favorite books of all time. I thought this was just going to, be one of those books that I loved when I was 18 and would not love today. But I recently reread it and I still loved it guys I still loved it. This is the famous heist fantasy. It takes place in 18th-century 17th-century historical Amsterdam. We follow a band of thieves, swindlers thugs that go on this heist to break out and also the first to break into a highly secure prison. It has the found family trope. It has a massive emphasis on the characters and their backstories and their relationships with each other has good banter, it has so much angst, which I know isn’t everyone’s thing, but I do like it. I think this book was like my first introduction to having slightly more morally ambiguous main characters, and upon reread, I see that these characters were not that morally Gray. But at the time that I read this, this was just so different from the usual goody.

Two shoes – oh my god, the worst thing I’d ever done is turn down the losing end of the love triangle, the main character, and that was just a breath of fresh air for me and that fresh air being main characters who rip out other people’s eyes. Usually, I love books that heavily focus on characters, and I also like it if my main characters are just a little bit more morally Gray, and I figured it out by reading this book.

6.     Radio Silence by Alice Oseman

Then next up, we have a contemporary book. Yes, I know surprise, usually, I don’t like contemporary books, especially not why contemporary books, because I feel like I’m kind of old enough to the point that they tend to not be relatable to me anymore. And I especially don’t like contemporaries that don’t have romance because the only reason I usually read contemporary books is for the romance, and yet on this list we have a contemporary without any romance that I still adored, and that is a Radio Silence by Alice Oseman. Despite all the things I just said, and this not seem like the book for me, I decided to just give it a try and listen to the audiobook I started listening to it and I just couldn’t stop listening.

I just wanted someone to inject the story straight into my veins, I needed all of it. I was immediately addicted. The plot is not the point of this story. It’s how it’s executed. That makes this so wonderful. I think this book is genuinely the best rendition of teenage insecurities about yourself and your future that I’ve ever seen like the kind of insecurities that you still have that still linger, even when you’re an adult but are kind of at their height at the end of high school or secondary school. And it is one of the most authentic written contemporary pieces that I’ve ever read like it just feels so real to the point that, even though I am older now I can still relate to it, and it still feels well authentic.

On top of that, this book explores themes of fandom, sexuality, friendship, family being biracial, not knowing what you want to do with your future, like kind of the difference between what people expect of you and the kind of person that you’ve always been so far and the Person that maybe you want to be this story just spoke to me in many different ways. wonderful and I would recommend this to formerly gifted burnout kids.

7.     The Gilda Wolves Series by Rashmichi Chokshi

Then we have another one of my new favorite series. Only the first two in the series are out yet, but I’m still going to put it on my favorite list, and that is The Gilda Wolves Series by Rashmichi Chokshi. So completely unexpectedly, I just decided to pick up this book. I heard that it took place in like 18th century Paris that I had a found family trope and that there was a heist involved. So, I was like that sounds cool. Let me just pick that up and see what it’s all about, and it was just one of those books where you read the first chapter and you just immediately know this is going to, be a five-star read like that’s one of the best feelings ever You just know this is my thing if you were to ever, ask me like: what’s your thing, you know what what’s your thing in? Why a fantasy, I would just point you to this book. We have a cast of fantastically lovable unique characters, although I will say that the characters don’t shine and develop until book two.

It’s also super diverse. We follow main characters with all kinds of different sexualities and backgrounds, and it’s exactly the type of fun adventure that I want from a fantasy, like the characters, constantly need to solve these riddles and puzzles to get through like their heist, and that, oh, my gosh, that makes me so happy. Look at riddles and puzzles. There’s this strong focus on the kind of like the balance between science and more magic and myth, and I’m a big nerd that gets excited about that and the thing is, I have a hard time recommending this book, because I know that a lot of people just end up, don’t like it and I still haven’t figured out what makes it so that some people don’t care about this book and other people adore it. But I’ve done my best.

So I’ve compiled a small list of things that I think, if you like these things, then you also like this book. The first thing is, if you’re, okay, with a somewhat convoluted magic system, that doesn’t have a lot of rules and just takes a little bit of time to intuitively understand. Second, if you get excited about solving riddles and puzzles also if you get excited about stories that grasp from a lot of different myths and religions, and, of course also if you get excited about the found family trap because that one makes me excited every time and it’s in this one.

8.     The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde

Then next up, I have to put my favorite classic on this list and of course, if there’s one classic that a fantasy lover like me, has as their favorite, it has to be the one classic that has a speculative element to it and that is The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde. I should like to look back on these tabs one day, so we have our main character: Dorian gray. He is beautiful, gorgeous, and loved by everyone. If he lived today, he will be a tick-tock star Rey would be like the male Bella porch, no doubt but he’s not just gorgeous he’s also a little bit naive, and very easily influenced by the people in his life.

Then someone makes a portrait of him and it’s not just any portrait, because the thing with this portrait – something that Dorian starts to notice over time – is that the portrait slowly gets older, but Dorian Gray remains young, and Dorian Gray just becomes obsessed with this painting of himself where he can see himself growing older, whereas in reality he’s remaining young and he can keep up this love that everyone has for him, and he just becomes obsessed with making sure that no one ever gets to see this Painting, no one finds out what is going on. He needs to make sure that he stays young forever. What I love about this book is that it’s a corruption arc, you know, usually, you have like a redemption arc or just a character development arc. Here It’s just Dorian, slowly losing it and it is wonderfully done and wonderfully set up.

Also, another thing that I like about this book is: that we have these characters just having conversations with each other, often about all sorts of interesting topics and ideas which are very fun to read it’s beautifully and lyrically written. So, who would I recommend this for, even though this book has no romance, although debatable, I would recommend this book to hopelessly romantic people? It just has those romantic vibes. You know, I don’t know. Is this? Does this book fit into like the romantic era, as any English majors explained to me?

9.     The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern

Then we have a new favorite book. This is a book of which I wasn’t sure if it was going to be on the all-time favorite list because it’s a recent favorite, but I’m pretty sure it’s going to stand the test of time and it’s going to remain a favorite over time like it’s going to, be a recent favorite turning into an all-time favorite, and that is The Night Circus because I am not original and everyone has this book as their favorite book. But it’s just worth the hype. But I also know that this book isn’t going to be for everyone, so I’m going to do my best, while gushing over this book, to kind of give you an idea. If you would like this or not oh synopsis of this book, that’s already the hard part just follow this magical circus that appears out of nowhere at night where people have real magic but of course, real-life people don’t know that they just think.

That’s a good magic trick, but it’s magic and we follow many characters in and around the circus, like a little boy that discovers the circus. The creator of the circus, the performers at the circus, and the heart of it the two magicians and the most powerful magicians at the circus are in a contest with each other, a magical contest, but the kicker is that they don’t know what the contest is or what the point is and when it ends and of course, they fall In love with each other, but I would say I would describe this book as not a romance novel, but a love story.

The difference between that to me is that it’s not a romance novel, because it’s not about the like. It’s not supposed to be super romantic and like a lovey-dovey and cutesy that it’s not written to be like that. It’s just a wonderful story with these two characters at the heart of it and how their relationship influences the other characters and how the story unfolds. Yes, the story doesn’t have a very strong plot line, and it also doesn’t go deep into the characters or anything, but I just kept reading first for two reasons: firstly, because of the mystery element, the whole circus is just shrouded in mystery. This contest is shrouded in mystery and I kept reading because I just wanted to know what was going on and where all these characters would end up. And secondly, despite there not being a lot of plot or character development.

I kept reading because of just how captivating and atmospheric the story is this book perfectly captures the feeling of going to a circus or, a theatre show, there’s no real plot, there are no real characters but you’re just mesmerized every evening that I picked up this book from my nightstand to read, it felt like I was putting a ticket in a slot to go on this like new Disney park right. I’ve talked in enough, weird metaphors. Now let me just say it like this: you could spend 40 euros on, like a theatre show or you could spend like 15 euros on this book that will give you hours and hours of the same experience.

10.  The Tao of Pooh by Benjamin Hoff

All right, the last book that I want to talk about that’s one of my favorites of all time is a non-fiction book that I don’t have a physical copy of, because I lend it out to a friend – and I say that every time that I talk about this book, so I should probably ask the book back, but It is The Tao of Pooh by Benjamin Hoff. This is technically non-fiction, but it reads like a fiction book.

What does this essentially be? Taoism, like the concept of terrorism, is explained through Winnie the pooh, because Winnie the Pooh is like an icon of Tao with living, and the story is the author of the book has conversations with Winnie the pooh, and through these conversations, they explain these Taoist principles in an interesting and very clear to understand way, and I’m not a Taoist by any means, I just think it’s interesting because the ideas that are presented in this book are so just like opposed to like the western religion of productivity that exists here. So this book feels like a breath of fresh air to me this time, not because people’s eyes are being ripped out, but just because it’s wholesome, for example, this book goes into the merits of simplicity and not having to overcomplicate everything, not forcing anything, going with the flow, etc – and I reread this book every one or two years and every time I reread it – I kind of get something new out of it and those are like the best kind of books that you can just reread over and over again and learn. Something new about yourself about the world every single time, so I highly recommend this one.

It’s super short, it’s so easy to read, and I think that it would just be a great addition to everyone’s life. You just think about things in a little bit of a different way than what you’re used to.