A Breakdown of My Favorite Books & Authors

 

     It's time to set the record straight—what is Madeline's favorite book? Who is her favorite author? The questions you've been dying to know are answered right here in this very post. Strap in, folks!

     It's time for a breakdown of my favorite books and authors.

B O O K S

     What is your favorite fiction book?

     My favorite fiction book has got to be The Book Thief by Markus Zusak. Every other book must capitulate to this one in my mind. It's 5/5 stars and makes me cry every time. I cannot wait to sob onto its pages for the fifth time in January 2022. While 500+ pages sounds overwhelming, the short chapters of this easy-to-read, beautiful young adult book make it fly by. Every word on every page is perfect, and it's narrated by Death, for lines like: "She was saying goodbye and she didn't even know it."

     It's fine. I'm fine. Everything's fine.

     What is your favorite nonfiction book?

     My favorite nonfiction book is A Circle of Quiet by Madeleine L'Engle (not my namesake, but I wish she was!). This is the first in a series of four of her published journals on faith, writing, art, family, and career. I wish I had half her wisdom, for everything she says resonates deep within my soul with a resounding "yes!".

     Famous children's book author L'Engle wrote this journal while sitting by a pond behind their house, reflecting on her writing life and family thus far, including her struggle to find that delicate balance. I've read it twice and have gone on to read and own the entire series, each journal chronicling another time period in her life.

     In A Circle of Quiet, she writes: “It is . . . through the world of the imagination which takes us beyond the restrictions of provable fact, that we touch the hem of truth.” If that doesn't make you want to read this gem, I don't know what will.

     What is your favorite book of all time?

     Pride & Prejudice, of course. I could reread this a hundred times and it never grow old. It is comfort food. While it is Jane Austen's most famous work, it is so for a reason. Nothing can compete with the clever prose and witty love story of Elizabeth Bennet and Fitzwilliam Darcy that emphasizes the danger of making judgments based on first impressions (First Impressions was the book's original title):

There are few people whom I really love, and still fewer of whom I think well. The more I see of the world, the more am I dissatisfied with it; and every day confirms my belief of the inconsistency of all human characters, and of the little dependence that can be placed on the appearance of merit or sense.

     So many of my favorite love stories and rom-coms of today were inspired by that classic love-hate trope, where in the end they realize they were both wrong. I can't get enough of it!

A U T H O R S

     Who is your favorite fiction author?

     Agatha Christie. She has to take the cake as I've now read close to a dozen of her works, and the endings amaze me every time. I never see them coming (except for that one time when I guessed the murderer...never trust a narrator, kids...they're called "unreliable" for more than one reason). It was Christie who gave the excellent writing advice: “The best time for planning a book is while you're doing the dishes.”

     But let's talk about the woman, shall we? Outsold only by the Bible and Shakespeare. Wrote 66 detective novels, 14 short story collections, the world's longest-running play, as well as six novels under a pseudonym. She's called the Queen of Mystery for good reason. Read more on her incredible life and career here.

     Who is your favorite nonfiction author?

     My favorite nonfiction author is Madeleine L'Engle. If you've never read her work, she is a female contemporary of C. S. Lewis, and she is fabulous. I went into this a little bit when discussing A Circle of Quiet, but every time I read something of hers, I am astounded by how I can be kindred spirits with this lady from the twentieth century. It doesn't hurt that we share an elegant name and a love of writing. She is the one who sagely said: “You have to write the book that wants to be written. And if the book will be too difficult for grown-ups, then you write it for children.”

     Yes, she wrote and became famous for A Wrinkle in Time, but have you seen the extensive list of her full works? There is so much more to explore behind her writing process in her nonfiction work. Like many authors, she was rejected so many times, and this will give any aspiring writer hope.

     Who is your favorite author of all time?

     Stop asking silly questions. Jane Austen, of course!

     She only wrote six novels, one short epistolary novel, and two unfinished novels, but we have the ailments of the nineteenth century to thank for snatching her away in the middle of her work. Suffice it to say, everything she has written gives us a glimpse into her wit, her humor, her understanding of human nature, and her prowess as a young authoress. Finally, I would like to take a moment to recognize that this quote belongs to Austen's Sense & Sensibility, not Batman: “It isn't what we say or think that defines us, but what we do.”

T H E   E N D .

~Madeline