My favorite books!

I see a lot of writers post about their favorite books, what they mean to them, and so on. I decided to jump on the bandwagon.

To be honest, I read far less as a kid and teenager as my friends did. Part of this is why a lot of my favorite books come from what I read as required in school. However, that is definitely not the case with my entire list. So here I go, my favorite books. . .

The Little Prince

I actually did not read this little French book until I was a teenager and when I did, I cried like a baby.

While targeted at kids, the book feels like it really is important for adults to read on occasion. I deeply respect little books that tackle huge topics, and The Little Prince tackles all the big concepts like love, death, and friendship with such beauty and innocence.

I saw the stage play version, loved it as well. However, I disliked the 2015 movie version. Personally, I saw it as less honest, too preachy, and strayed way too far from the original material.

Anyway, as an atheist I can say this book is probably the closest thing I have to a holy text.

The Dragon Age Book Series

Everyone who intimately knows me knows that I am obsessed with the Dragon Age series, and not just the video games. The books are hidden gems.

Behind the video game series are talented writers, so the books read like actual thrilling stories full of fun, drama, and lovable characters instead of a text hastily written by someone more used to writing video game code.

The books are deeply connected to the world and games as well. It feels special when I play the games and recognize characters or places from the books I read. The only other series that does this very well is probably The Witcher, but the books did come before the games, and its the opposite in Dragon Age's case.

Crime and Punishment

You know how many high schoolers had problematic favs? Like they had a crush on a fictional bad guy? Mine was Raskolnikov. I read the book for class and got a crush of this murderous idiot.

Yeah, I'm probably Fyodor Dostoevsky's greatest embarrassment for having these feelings. He and I have nothing alike in our political or religious believes, but boy do I love this book that is trying to push his political and religious beliefs.

Raskolnikov has all of the common bad boy tropes of the problematic favs of today. He's broody and cynical, but also devoted and selfless. He is full of inner conflict between pride and guilt. And of course he is problematic because he is a murderer. It is *chef's kiss*.

The House of the Spirits

This is another book I read in high school.

It is a story that spans a couple generations of a family in Chile. It dives into the historical political upheavals for the country but combines it with the intimacy of a family's entire story in it and their perspectives.

The best part? It is full of magical realism. I love the women in this story, many who have mysterious powers and defiant personalities. They certainly need that, as the main male character of the family, Esteban, is um, a lot.

Outside of the magic, I also love the generational story. It shows how the acts of a grandfather can curse the grandchildren and so on.

Watership Down

Watership Down was read multiple times by me because the first time I read it, I was definitely too young to fully understand it. I just loved rabbit stories and enjoyed that this one seemed to actually take them seriously.

My love for it developed more as an adult, as I got to understand it as a story about refugees fighting for survival. I am also in constant awe of the made-up rabbit religion and culture. The mythos of the Black Rabbit of Inle and the Prince with a Thousand Enemies are still incredible to me.

Of course I also loved the characters. Bigwig was always my favorite.

And yes, I have seen the infamous animated movie. Its actually one of my favorites and I watched it as a kid before I picked up the book. Its infamy is from its level of gore and violence. Those who know me know I never really minded that stuff.

The Last Unicorn

I was a fan of the animated movie for a long time, and only recently read the book this year and wow, it is definitely a favorite.

Every character is top-tier, though my favorite is probably Smendrick the magician. His name alone just makes me smile, and always has since I was little and watching the movie.

This book oozes a sense of magic. It keeps the story simple, but the banter of the characters and the descriptions of the world are laced with a beauty and intrigue I find hard to describe. The villain, Haggard, is pretty amazing as he feels real to me as a rich ruler who hoards rare living creatures to be his own because he never feels fulfilled.

Of course, the unicorn herself is special. Her love story with Lir is a bit tragic, and I eat that shit up. I also get real asexual-vibes from the Lady Amalthea which is great.