Saturday, January 28

Wrapped up in Books

I'm currently reading East of Eden by John Steinbeck, and I love it. I'm only half-way through it (300 pages) but I'm pretty sure it will be amongst my favorites. This got me to thinking about what books I would list as my top choices. I could never pick one favorite, but I'm pretty sure that I have a top 5. So, here, in no particular order, are my Top 5 Favorite Novels:

1. The Return of the Native
2. Love in the Time of Cholera
3. 1984
4. To Kill a Mockingbird
5. East of Eden (pending)

There is nothing ground-breaking or unexpected about these. I think they could be found on a good number of people's short lists. They're classics. I can pick them up at any time at any point in the book and start reading, and I am pulled into the plot automatically.

I think of their characters as real people. I wish I knew them: Atticus, Diggory, Winston, Fermina. I want to know more about them. I want to go to out for a drink with them. Well, except for Scout and Jem. Maybe I could hang out at the mall with those two, or probably the courthouse, they seemed to enjoy that. The Hamiltons and the Trasks are keeping me company during these past few balmy Wisconsin winter nights. But I have a feeling I'm going to be visiting with them again in the future.

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