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Aug. 4th, 2010 08:01 amSo I think I'm doing the 30 day book challenge*, only here instead of tumblr, because my tumblr is for pretty pictures, not words! And the first challenge is "your favorite book."
Now, like, I hope, anyone who reads a lot, I have a lot of trouble with this. There are books that I love, and books that I have loved, and books I've read to pieces. But I have trouble putting my finger on an absolute favorite. Setting aside what could be said about the display of choosing a favorite book - do I want to seem like a nerd (Lord of the Rings!) or slightly pretentious (Invisible Cities) or slightly unimaginative (Sherlock Holmes)- it's nearly impossible for me to actually decide. The three aforementioned books are the ones that spring to mind when asked for "my favorite book;" all three are from the recesses of my childhood. I read the last of them ten years ago. Of course, there's also The Once and Future King clamoring at my elbow, and The Bull from the Sea, and Eco's Baudolino. More recently, I loved Helen in Egypt: H. D. achieves the quality of a dream and evokes mystery, in the way that a priestess of Demeter at Elusis would call up the mystery of her site, all the while working with deep knowledge of the myths.
Such are the contenders for my heart and love, and I am hard-put to choose between them. Let us just say that my favorite book is one that keeps mystery at its heart, that takes place in a world not of today, and that has a certain beauty of language.
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*May not actually happen
Now, like, I hope, anyone who reads a lot, I have a lot of trouble with this. There are books that I love, and books that I have loved, and books I've read to pieces. But I have trouble putting my finger on an absolute favorite. Setting aside what could be said about the display of choosing a favorite book - do I want to seem like a nerd (Lord of the Rings!) or slightly pretentious (Invisible Cities) or slightly unimaginative (Sherlock Holmes)- it's nearly impossible for me to actually decide. The three aforementioned books are the ones that spring to mind when asked for "my favorite book;" all three are from the recesses of my childhood. I read the last of them ten years ago. Of course, there's also The Once and Future King clamoring at my elbow, and The Bull from the Sea, and Eco's Baudolino. More recently, I loved Helen in Egypt: H. D. achieves the quality of a dream and evokes mystery, in the way that a priestess of Demeter at Elusis would call up the mystery of her site, all the while working with deep knowledge of the myths.
Such are the contenders for my heart and love, and I am hard-put to choose between them. Let us just say that my favorite book is one that keeps mystery at its heart, that takes place in a world not of today, and that has a certain beauty of language.
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*May not actually happen
