Confessions of a Librarian: What Are Your Top 5 Favorite Books of All Time?

August 15, 2012

There’s something you need to know about librarians—we love information. We love to classify it, organize it, and help you find it. That is, in fact, what many of us do all day. I know, I know. You thought we got to read all day. Well, we do that too, but usually at home. There simply isn’t enough time to do it at work.

One of the ways that a lot of us like to organize information is to make lists. Oh lists!! I love them and couldn’t function without them. Whether it is a grocery list, a Christmas gift list, or a "honey-do" list, I can make a mean list. One kind I haven’t done in a while, though, is a "Top 5" list. And, since I work in a library around lots and lots of books, I thought I’d make a "Top 5" list of books. So, with no further ado, here is a list of My Top 5 Favorite Books of All Time.

5. The Book Thief by Markus Zusak: This is a Young Adult (YA) selection, a category of books that I admittedly haven’t read much of since I was a teenager years ago. Recently, a friend recommended this book to me, and I was intrigued. A novel narrated by Death set in the time of Nazi Germany? This is no Sweet Valley High. I found The Book Thief to be a very well-written, interesting, and powerful story, and it showed me that the Young Adult fiction of today can be quite captivating. Since reading it, I have started incorporating more YA titles in my reading list.

4. The World According to Garp by John Irving: In college, I majored in History, so I spent most of my time reading academic materials and neglected recreational reading. Somehow, I ended up with a paperback copy of The World According to Garp and decided to read it over the winter break. As I read about the oddball life of T.S. Garp, I was struck by how the author was able to write about such real and sometimes depressing topics with so much humor—a dark comedy. I loved it, and it rekindled my reading habit.

3. Green Eggs and Ham by Dr. Seuss: I absolutely loved Dr. Seuss as a kid because of the funny, made-up words and rhyming that is so prolific in his books. Green Eggs and Ham was the first one I read as a child, and I still read it to my 2 year-old often. It is one of the most fun children’s books to read out loud and the faster you can read it, the better!

2. Slaughterhouse Five by Kurt Vonnegut: This was assigned reading for my 11th grade literature class, and it forever changed the way I thought about the classics. Never before had I read a story that was so out-there and quite entertaining, yet was required reading for school. Classic literature was supposed to be boring and hard to understand, right? Luckily, I read this one early on in the academic year, so I was excited to dig into more classics like A Separate Peace by John Knowles, Lord of the Flies by William Golding, and The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald.

1. The Tail of Peter Rabbit by Beatrix Potter: I had this as a Read-Along story book when I was very little, and it was one of my favorites. Almost daily, I remember pulling out my little record player looking at the book illustrations while listening to the story of Peter Rabbit’s adventure in Mr. McGregor’s garden. Once I learned how to read, I was delighted to find a sequel, The Tale of Benjamin Bunny, at my elementary school library. This is definitely one of the books that ignited my interest in reading before I could even read.

Now that I have revealed my Top 5 Favorite Books of All Time, I am curious. What are yours?

Robin H.
Blue Springs South Branch