Top Ten Books

Inspired by a discussion at Hogwarts Elite (here, for those who are members). J.K. Rowling apparently released a list of her top ten books, which I thought was a fairly average list. Where was the fire? The passion? Where were the books that aren't really any good, but it doesn't matter, because you love them anyway?

So, with that in mind, I started thinking about my favourite books. I'd never made a list like this before, but I think I nailed the essentials. I've kind of played it fast and loose with the idea of a book - included in my list are a trilogy, two series, a graphic novel and a collection of short stories; it's got fantasy, horror, crime, chick lit, young adult and children's fiction, speculative fiction, and arguably even some actual literature. I drew the line at plays, poetry, fairy tales and non-fiction, but this is what I ended up with:

Alice's Adventures in Wonderland/Through the Looking Glass, by Lewis Carroll
Even Cowgirls Get the Blues, by Tom Robbins
The Fionavar Tapestry (trilogy), by Guy Gavriel Kay
Welcome to Temptation, by Jennifer Crusie
Fray, by Joss Whedon
The Stephanie Plum series, by Janet Evanovich
Smoke and Mirrors, by Neil Gaiman
The Tomorrow, When the War Began series, by John Marsden
Firestarter, by Stephen King
What Katy Did, by Susan Coolidge

These are not necessarily my ten favourite authors. These are not ten books everyone should read before they die; they are not the ten best books I have ever read. But they are my favourite books.

They are books that I, at some point in my life, fell in love with, as completely and as passionately as I could ever fall in love with another person. They are books that have shaped me; books that have inspired me; books I don't own, but which own me. They are books I could not live without. They are books I will remember, long after I have forgotten everything else. And that, I think, is pretty good criteria to judge by.