Not My Favorite

I don’t have a favorite book.

You don’t believe me?

Well, maybe I just haven’t found it yet.

Don’t get me wrong, though. I have books that I have read over and over, I have books that captivated me so much I plan to read them again as soon as possible, and I have books that I read again at various times throughout my life to see what new things I can glean from them after new life experiences.

But how could I choose a favorite?

Choosing a favorite book also says a lot about a person. Maybe that is why I am reluctant to commit. What would it say about me as a writer if I chose something bad? Or pretentious? Controversial?

What if I chose one of my own books?

My favorite book changes depending on where I’m at in my life. There are books I used to love that I can’t read anymore. Books that used to be my favorite I am embarrassed to admit to ever having liked. Some books I was so profoundly moved by that I considered my favorite after reading them but haven’t ever looked at again. There are even books I didn’t like or understand before that I now love.

So should I choose a favorite author, then? How do you choose a favorite author? By how many books you own by that author? I own a large collection of a certain unnamed author, but the reason I own so many is that it has taken me reading that many of his books to decide whether I like him or not. The jury is still out, actually.

And yet, some of the books I’ve read the greatest number of times I only own that one book from that author. Or maybe that author only wrote one book. Or maybe that author is brand new and only has written one book so I haven’t had a chance to decide if he or she is my favorite yet.

Perhaps I should choose a favorite genre? The simple answer might be that I like fantasy. But sometimes I like science fiction. Some of the books I truly love are metaphysical. But I also read for information, and some of the most fascinating books I’ve read have been history books or books on science. The easy answer isn’t clear cut there, either.

I just love to read. I’ll try to read just about anything. I take recommendations from friends, from websites, I will judge a book by its cover or title or buy it at the bookstores because it sounds intriguing. I may love or I may never make it all the way through. I may love it a lot but not be able to even finish it. Can a book be my favorite book if I haven’t even finished reading it?

Sometimes writers admit to writing because they have yet to find the exact book they want to read. Maybe my favorite book is the one that’s still locked away inside of my mind that I haven’t written yet.

Maybe now you believe me when I say I truly don’t have a favorite, or that if it’s a book, it is my favorite.