This Week's Answers: Favorite Book

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I have always felt like books have had the power to transport you into another world. Authors have the distinct privilege of inventing scenes, characters, and plots that allow readers to immerse themselves. If you have never truly lost yourself in a book, you are not reading the right stuff. Whether it is the hauntingly beautiful worlds of J.R.R. Tolkien, the bleak prose of Ernest Hemingway, or the way that John Steinbeck crafts his characters and scenes, when I read a good book I feel like I have been there with the characters. I feel what they feel. The sights and sounds are there, as are the glories and the disappointments. So here is my list of the best books I have ever read.

The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck. This is my all-time favorite book. The story is compelling as you follow the Joad family on their trek to California in order to try and find work. Every book I had read before this had to have a fast pace story or some sort of plot ploy in order to keep my attention, but Steinbeck's writing is breathtaking. Even when he takes an entire chapter to step back from the narrative and describe a scene unrelated to the plight of the Joads, I can't help but hang on every word. I'm in the middle of reading through all of Steinbeck's published work because I loved this book that much. If you haven't read it, please do. It is definitely worth the wait.

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The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien. Tolkien is the master of fantasy. While Peter Jackson made good on The Lord of the Rings by doing an excellent job of portraying Middle Earth on the big screen, nothing beats reading about the world from Tolkien himself. I first saw the kind of cheesy animated movie from the 70s when I was young and decided to read it probably in middle school. I've read it three times since then because the story, the characters, and Middle Earth itself is so engrossing. Very good book.

I could list several more that I might call favorites, but these are the two that I would consistently rate as the two best books I've ever read. If you want some more, here are a few that I would say are close to belonging on the list.

The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain

Any poetry by Walt Whitman or Carl Sandburg

East of Eden by John Steinbeck

Jurassic Park and The Lost World by Michael Crichton

The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien

The Power and the Glory by Graham Greene