My goal since 2019 has been to read fifty books every year. That’s about one book a week. I’ve only accomplished this goal once, but it’s a nice number to shoot for. Sometimes I get sad thinking about how many books have been written, and how few I’ll ever get the opportunity to read. Even if I was only talking about books written in modern English— in my life I might read what, 1% of those books? Or is that number crazy? Should I say less?
In my twenty years of literacy, I’ve read only an itty-bitty drop in the ocean of books.
Nevertheless, I have a list of top five favorite books.
A part of me cringes writing this list. What if I forgot about an amazing book? What if I sleep on my other side and wake up tomorrow to discover my rubric for reviewing books has completely changed? Still, I wish I had a top five list of books from when I was thirteen. I think one day, I’ll be glad I have this list from when I was twenty five.
TOP FIVE BOOKS OF ALL TIME (From least to greatest)
5. Candide by Voltaire
“And ask each passenger to tell his story, and if there is one of them all who has not cursed his existence many times, and said to himself over and over again that he was the most miserable of men, I give you permission to throw me head-first into the sea.”
Usually, I read books that I think I’ll like. Cause I’m a freak like that. But every so often, I’ll try something different. I only gave Candide a chance because whenever I searched “funny books”, Candide always showed up on the list. Now I understand why. Candide was written in France in 1759, over two hundred years before I read it on a picnic blanket on my sunny Los Angeles front lawn. Humor is so subjective, yet I was laughing out loud every page. I’ve enjoyed classics before (usually in the context of class with lots of group discussions) but Candide is the first classic I read that I really, truly loved. When I love a book like that, I think about it a lot, and after a few months if the shine hasn’t faded, I feel like the story has become a part of me.
Although the book’s jokes were impressive, the bittersweet ending is what really elevates this from a great comedy to a great story. As I go through life as a self proclaimed optimist, I know I’m going to be thinking about the best of all possible world’s for a long time.
4. The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan
“I'd love to tell you I had some deep revelation on my way down, that I came to terms with my own mortality, laughed in the face of death, et cetera.
The truth? My only thought was: Aaaaggghhhhh!”
The Percy Jackson series is hugely successful. I remember checking each book out from the library. The Last Olympian I actually finished while on a summer vacation to see family in Chicago. I picked The Lightning Thief because it’s the book I’ve re-read the most. Like Candide, it’s a hilarious book, but one that played a huge role in the creation of my tastes, since it’s one of the first books I truly loved as a kid. Almost everything I write, I can trace back to Percy Jackson somehow. Setting it in the real world, but with an element of magic. A friends to lovers slowburn. A sarcastic protagonist— which, if you read the stuff I was writing in elementary school, you’d see Percy’s influence on my sassy, first person stories.
Percy Jackson is also the first thing I ever wrote fan fiction for (it was a story about Percy and Annabeth’s really cool daughter.)
I didn’t write fan fiction that changed the canon story itself because honestly, it’s perfect. Great villain, interesting twists, perfect character arcs. It made me interested in ancient cultures because it brought mythology to life.
Another reason I picked the first book in the Percy series, is the fact that unlike later books that require context, anyone could read this book and enjoy it. Children, teens, adults. I recommended it to my little cousins and my grandpa. Sometimes I think people value adult books because mature themes are considered more complex and therefore harder to write. However, I think it’s equally impressive to write the next great American novel about a divorced smoker as it is to write a book that could be universally entertaining from age 7 to 72.
3. The Secret History by Donna Tartt
“Are you always up this early?' I asked him.
“Almost always,” he said without looking up. “It’s beautiful here, but morning light can make the most vulgar things tolerable.”
Sometimes, I read a book at the exact moment of my life that I need to. It’s always a magical, serendipitous moment. When I picked up The Secret History, it was during a week in my life when I really needed an escape. Boy, did Donna Tartt provide!
Like Candide, this book also taught me something new about my tastes. This is the first (but not last!) adult book that I truly loved. More specifically, it sent me down a Dark Academic path. Although to be frank, every Dark Academic book I’ve read since makes me go, “Wow… The Secret History really was that good.”
Are there flaws? Sure. Ironically, one of my biggest problems with it is the way women are written. However, I’ve read modern Dark Academia books that reviewers claim address this issue, to which I say… girl, what? And at least in the Secret History, it’s being narrated by the character Richard Papen, who I believe would definitely be the kind of guy to manic-pixie-dream-girl-ify women in his life.
The most amazing part to me is the character Bunny Cochran. The way my opinion of him changed so dramatically was such a fun ride. I found it really impressive that he didn’t really have a character arc. He was incredibly consistent throughout the story, it’s only through gaining new information that Richard’s (and the audience’s) opinion on Bunny changes. Delicious. And the book was so true to my college experience (in metaphorical ways, not murderous ones.)
2. The Dream Thieves by Maggie Stiefvater
““What do you want, Adam?”
To feel awake when my eyes are open.”
It was so hard to choose a favorite quote. That’s how much I want to tattoo every page of this book onto my heart.
This is book two of the Raven Cycle series. All four books are incredible, but this stands out as a solid, self-contained story. Kavinsky is a great villain. Cruel, powerful, and the perfect foil to Ronan— my fave, who becomes the main character in this book. I love diving into Ronan’s inner life. He grapples with his friends, family, religion, magical powers, and secret crush on his best friend.
I love an ensemble cast, and Maggie really focuses on the power of friendship. I put this book above The Secret History partially because I find the friendship in The Raven Cycle more heartfelt. In an interview, Maggie Stiefvater revealed she had a post-it note while writing the series that simple said: The worst thing that could happen is that they stop being friends. With those heart-wrenching stakes, of course I love book so much.
1. Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe by Benjamin Alire Sáenz
“Why do we smile? Why do we laugh? Why do we feel alone? Why are we sad and confused? Why do we read poetry? Why do we cry when we see a painting? Why is there a riot in the heart when we love? Why do we feel shame? What is that thing in the pit of your stomach called desire?”
This book. Damn.
I read it in one night, cried, and then immediately walked into the living room and told my dad to read it, too. This book is really special to me because it was such a vivid description of feelings I’ve experienced. I was in awe when I read it (and still am, every time I re-read.) It’s a thrill to know someone else has felt that way, too. Also, the poetic language really cracked me open like a walnut and gave me a whole new appreciation for beautiful words. This book is so special to me that it’s a little hard to talk about. If writing is supposed to be writing a true and beautiful sentence over and over again, Benjamin Alire Sáenz just gets it. Or maybe I should say, he just gets me.