As someone who is constantly searching for new books to add to my ever-growing and unmanageable TBR, I am more inclined to read what people consider to be their favorite of all time to understand what really makes a book so special. So, I figured for my first-ever article, I would share my personal favorites! Here are my top four books of all time in order:
4. If We Were Villains by M.L. Rio
Out of all the books on this list, this one is perfect for getting out of a heavy reading slump. After serving 10 years for the murder of his friend, Oliver Marks is being released from prison. Not believing Oliver was rightfully convicted, Detective Colborne decides to interview him to find out what really happened all those years ago. At the time of the murder, Oliver and his friend group were studying Shakespeare at an arts college and were cast to act in various plays throughout the semester. What I love about this book is that along with the murder-mystery premise, the plot subtly parallels the plays that the students are working on at the time. My interest was held from the very first page and I will forever appreciate just how fun this book was to read. Often compared to its more popular predecessor, The Secret History, I believe this book does a better job at writing about pretentious people without becoming pretentious itself. Lovers of dark academia and Shakespeare will without a doubt fall in love with this book.Â
3. Normal People by Sally Rooney
As anyone who has read this book will know–you either love it or you hate it. Obviously, I fell into the category of people who absolutely cherish this book. Normal People is about the relationship of Marianne and Connell, two people who met in secondary school and found themselves running into each other in different parts of their lives. If you love more character-driven books, then this will undoubtedly become one of your favorites too. I believe Sally Rooney captures what it truly feels like to be a human and all the complicated emotions you feel when you love someone else. This book touches on themes of identity, miscommunication, depression and class differences all in multifaceted ways to make you understand how difficult life can be to navigate as a young adult. For that, this book holds a special place in my heart. If you have always wanted to get into Sally Rooney’s novels, fan-favorite Normal People is a good place to start.Â
2. Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
What is there to say about this book that hasn’t already been said? For those who don’t know, Pride and Prejudice follows Elizabeth Bennet and her tumultuous relationship with Mr. Darcy as they learn how to put aside their biases to appreciate the good within each other. Elizabeth Bennet and Mr. Darcy set the standard for so many of the romances we read today, but none will ever truly compare to the astonishing original. Apart from the romance, the sister dynamic between Jane and Elizabeth was incredibly heartwarming to read and I would love to read more books with that kind of relationship. It goes without saying but the writing in this book is phenomenal and so witty and I believe the 2009 adaptation captures it in an almost exact (if not better) way. Pride and Prejudice was my first Jane Austen book, and I can’t wait to read the rest of her work.
1. A Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara
HUGE DISCLAIMER: Before I recommend this to anyone, I want to preface that this book has a very long list of trigger warnings. I would advise looking them up before deciding to read it because of my recommendation.Â
A Little Life is my favorite book of all time. Wanting to become the avid reader I once was, I made a very questionable decision in my junior year of high school to start with an 800+ page book that took over a semester to read. The story revolves around a friend group, but more specifically we follow the character of Jude and his absolutely devastating past, present and future. Before anyone questions why such a simple plot would require 800+ pages, this book really takes its time to establish its main characters. Hanya Yanagihara clearly wants you to know them as if they are one of your own friends. That is why I believe the length of this novel is justified because for the ending to mean anything at all, you need to have invested a great deal of emotion into these people.
This is also not a book you binge-read. I recommend you really spend some time with this so you can get the emotional payoff it deserves. That being said, it is probably the saddest book of all time. The first quarter of the book establishes who the characters are and their personalities, and then the rest is devoted to Jude and his complicated and ruthless life. There is no fairness in his suffering, and you can only hope for the best. If you think you have read sad before, you really haven’t. If you aren’t in a place to read anything heartbreaking, then do not pick up this book. But for me personally, there is no other book that has stuck so firmly in my heart, and I don’t there ever will be.Â
Hope this helps someone who is trying to find their next favorite read!
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