A-Z Favorites

Simon's right, I can't resist making a list like this.  I don't think I've ever tried to come up with an alphabetical list of favorite authors/books.  This was actually sort of hard to do.  Some letters were easy and I could come up with multiple favorites (how to choose between Jane Austen and Margaret Atwood?).  Other letters I could list books I'd like to read, and would probably love.  I had to resort to looking through my Library Thing catalog to remind myself of books I read a long time ago.  So, last name first:

• ATWOOD, Margaret - The Blind Assassin
• de BERNIERES, Louis - Corelli's Mandolin
• COLLINS, Wilkie - Armadale (anything by Wilkie Collins!)
• DU MAURIER, Daphne - Frenchman's Creek (or maybe Rebbecca)
• ELIOT, George - Middlemarch
• FORSTER, E.M. - Howards End
• GILLARD, Linda - Emotional Geology
• HARRIS, Joanne - Chocolat (I've read this several times and love it more with each reading)
• ISHIGURO, Kazuo - The Remains of the Day
• JAPRISOT, Sebastien - A Very long Engagement (his noir crime novels are also excellent)
• KUNDERA, Milan - The Unbearable Lightness of Being
• LEE, Harper - To Kill a Mockingbird
• McCARTHY, Cormac - All the Pretty Horses
• NESBO, Jo - The Redbreast
• O'BRIEN, Edna - The Country Girls Trilogy
• PANTER-Downes, Mollie - One Fine Day
• QUINDLEN, Anna - How Reading Changed My Life (this is almost just a long essay--highly recommended!)
• RAYBOURN, Deanna - Silent in the Grave (one of my favorite new mystery discoveries)
• SMITH, Dodie - I Capture the Castle (Wonderful book!)
• TAYLOR, Elizabeth - Mrs Palfrey at the Claremont (I want to read more Elizabeth Taylor)
• UNDSET, Sigrid - Kristin Lavransdatter (historical fiction at its best)
• VINE, Barbara - A Dark Adapted Eye (or maybe Anna's Book, though anything by her really!)
• WATERS, Sarah - Fingersmith (one of my favorite reads last year)
• X
• YOUNG, Angela - Speaking of Love
• ZAFON, Carlos Ruiz - The Shadow of the Wind (I think he's written a sequel to this)

Of course in a month this list could change...Some of these books I've read multiple times and most of them I could happily start rereading right now!  Anyone else want to play along?

Comments

[Tricia]

Re: Shadow of the Wind
I think it is a prequel due out Spring 2009. I can't wait!

I really need to read Chocolat.

[iliana]

We share a lot of favorites. This is such a fun meme! I need to steal it :)

[Jaimie]

What a great idea! And your list is filled with some great books! It reminds me to take Chocolat off the shelf and dive in!

[BooksPlease]

We share some favourites too. I did my list yesterday and found it hard because as I was writing it alternatives kept popping into my head. As you say how can you choose between Jane Austen and Margaret Atwood! I think I'll have to write another list in a while.

[Tiff]

Hi..hate to say this but.. the last name of Carlos Ruiz Zafon is Ruiz Zafon, not Zafon. So it should be under letter R, not Z.. You might need to come up with a new author for letter Z!

[litlove]

This is a wonderful list, Danielle, and we agree on so many fantastic authors! I'm very tempted to play along.

[Dorothy W.]

Very nice list -- there are lots of books I love on it and lots of books I'd like to read!

[Danielle]

Tricia--I had heard something about a new book, but hadn't heard the details. I'll have to look and see if there's any information out on it yet. And Chocolat is great!
Iliana--Coming up with the list reminds me how much I'd like to reread some of these.
Jaimie--I'd like to reread Chcocolat again this year before reading the sequel, which I've had on my shelves now for far too long.
BooksPlease--Some letters had lots of possibilities and it was hard choosing. I'll have to go look at your list.
Tiff--I've been caught out! :) I know that Spanish names are taken together--I totally fudged on this one as I couldn't come up with another 'Z' author. (Actually I think I fudged a bit, too, on de Bernieres and du Maurier as well). Curiously Library Thing lists him under Z and not R(which gave me the idea in the first place), so their algorithm must not differentiate for hispanic names (or maybe hyphenated?). But you are totally right. I should have put in a little disclaimer!
Litlove--These memes can be fun little exercises sometimes.
Dorothy--It's amazing how much time you can waste making these sorts of lists, but strangely entertaining as well.

[Andi]

Oooh, so tempting. I'm putting this on my bloggy to do list for later in the week when things settle a bit.

[Ashleigh]

Great list! Might have to think up one of my own... :)

[Danielle]

Andi--It's always nice to have a meme in reserve!
Ashleigh--I'll look for your list, too. I always am interested to see which books others have read and liked.

[Angela Young]

Thank you for including Speaking of Love ... .

[Margaret Powling]

Delighted that for G you have my friend Linda Gillard. And if you liked Emotional Geology, then do read her 2nd novel, A Lifetime Burning. Her 3rd will be out soon (published by Piatkus) and is called Star Gazing. I shall make no comment regarding the cover of this book, save to say I don't think it quite matches up to the quality of Linda's writing! In other words, please don't judge this particular book by its cover: go out and buy it as soon as it hits the bookshops/bookstores. You won't be disappointed, believe me!

[Danielle]

Angela--I really enjoyed your book! I hope you're working on a new one?
Margaret--I'm actually getting a copy of Linda's book soon (I've seen two different covers now, but am not sure which it will be), and I'm really looking forward to reading it. I do need to go back and read A Lifetime Burning--it's on my TBR pile as well. I loved Emotional Geology!

[Sibylle]

Which book would you recommend as an introduction to Margaret Atwood ? I'm currently adding the books on your list I haven't already read to my " books to read " list ( if that makes sense ).

[Katherine]

Awesome! I think I'm going to start my own list, too.

[Danielle]

Sibylle--She's so good--anything you pick by her will be a worthy read. I think I read The Handmaid's Tale first and still remains one of my favorites. I think it is taught in schools. I've read it at least three times! Alias Grace is another one I've read several times--it's a fictional account of a true murder case in Canada--excellent. I think my favorite is The Blind Assassin, which won the Booker. I also really liked Cat's Eye and Surfacing. Enjoy her work!
Katherine--Great--I'll have to go see your list.

[Simon T]

Oo, thought I'd already commented on this one, but doesn't seem I did - glad you enjoyed doing the list, and some great authors there! Did you read Linda Gillard's A Lifetime Burning? Disturbing topic, but wonderful, much better than Emotional Geology (which I also enjoyed).

[Melanie]

This one was a lot of fun to do. Also loved the Harris, and Japrisot, and Dodie Smith!! I found it hard to choose only one for some letters, but came up blank on Q and X. I like the suggestions here; you still come up with books I haven't heard of.