Day 1: What is your favourite book?

This was a very hard question. I thought about it and thought about it and thought about it some more.

And still couldn't come up with only one book. But I looked at the other questions and I tried not to duplicate anything if I could help it.

So. Two of my favourite books, in order of how I discovered them.

1. Little Women, Louisa May Alcott

I don't know when I got this book - but it's in tatters. I love it.

It also made me very mad in some parts (and still makes me mad, although not as mad).

I hated Amy (now I just dislike her and think she's a bit spoiled and petty), but I still have a hard time with the Laurie-Amy marriage. For a long time I didn't understand why Alcott decided that Jo and Laurie should not be together, but now, I get it. And I understand why Amy needed Laurie so she could leave Europe and come home but I look at their marriage as one that might be a bit strained. Laurie married Amy so he could be a part of the March family even if he couldn't have Jo (who I think he is still hopelessly in love with). Amy was constantly trying to show Jo up (burning her first novel, taking her place with Aunt March) and I feel like Amy marrying Laurie was just another one of those incidents.

I loved gentle, sweet, kind Beth. I still cry and cry and cry whenever I read those pages where she dies. And I know what's going to happen. It's not a secret. But I cry.

I haven't read this for a while but I think I should go back and reread it just so I can remember all of the other reasons why I love it!

2. The English Patient, Michael Ondaatje

I got this for my 17th birthday. I took it with me to a family reunion and one afternoon I retreated to the front seat of the van for a rest (we were camping in tents). I didn't come out except to eat. I loved this book. It was written so poetically and beautifully and the story was gripping too.

I took this book back to boarding school with me and it actually made it onto our curriculum for grade twelve.

I have two copies of it, I love it that much. I have one that has scribbles in it from four or five people who read it pretty much simultaneously and one "good" copy. The messy copy has bath warped pages and travelled Europe, Australia and New Zealand with me. It's one of those books I would insist on packing I was ever told I had a limited number of books I could move with me.

What is/are your favourite book(s)? Have you read either of my two favourites? What did you think?