Most of my friends know that I am an avid reader. Every now and then someone will ask me, “What is your favorite book?” That question is enough to send my brain into overdrive! My favorite book? Fiction? Literary classics? Nonfiction? Spiritual? What about plays? And don’t leave out poetry! The only way I can even hope to answer that question is to tell you a few of my favorites in the various categories. 
I love books, and my house shows it. They seem to clone on the bookshelves crowding out everything else. The thrill of opening a new book is a delight with the smell of fresh ink and crisp white pages. Although I prefer a good hardcopy or even a paperback, I must admit that I have turned to downloading many books onto my iPad. I have thirty or forty books on my iPad at any one time. I travel fairly often and lugging around three or four books can be difficult, especially since I read quite rapidly and prefer lengthy books of a thousand or more pages!
Looking at fiction, I tend to like detailed historical fiction. I have always been deeply attracted to 16th and 17th English history. Margaret George is a superb historical writer. Her Autobiography of Henry VIII really brings 16th century England to life. One of my other favorite writers is Philippa Gregory who also writes detailed novels of this same period in English history. I can’t list all of her books in this short blog, but do check out The Queen’s Fool and The Other Boleyn Girl for starters. For a fun read, try the entire Outlander series by Diana Gabaldon; I think there are now seven novels in the series. She is not quite as historically detailed as the two previous authors, but she has created a wonderful portrait of 18th century Scotland and pre-Revolutionary War America, with plenty of romance and adventure for everyone!
Another old favorite of mine is The Lord of the Rings trilogy. Many of you have probably seen the movies based on these books, but I wonder how many of you have actually read the books themselves. I originally read these in the late 1950’s but have reread them a couple of times since then. I didn’t realize until many years later in graduate school in English literature that J.R.R. Tolkien was actually a literary scholar with numerous journal articles about English literature in the Middle Ages. The amazing world he created in The Lord of the Rings was actually a great depiction of the world view held by the population in that era, replete with monsters and magical beings.
One other series I have to mention is the entire Harry Potter series of books. Although I disagree with J.K. Rowling’s views on American politics, I do enjoy the wonderful world she created in the various Harry Potter books. When we visited Scotland a couple of years ago, we saw the school in Edinburgh that gave her the idea for Hogwart’s School. Out in the Scottish Highlands, we also saw the railroad trestle, the Glenfinnan Viaduct, that featured in the movie versions of the books. Right behind the Glenfinnan Monument to the Highland clans, along a muddy little path, there it was, the trestle! In typical low-key Scottish fashion, the site was marked with only a small plaque.
Like many other readers, I also enjoy a good mystery thriller. Dan Brown is a favorite of mine in this arena, especially the Da Vinci Code.
So, who is John Galt? Some of you know the answer to this one and are smiling smugly. Some of you may not have a clue what I am talking about, and I am not going to tell you! Let me just conclude with naming one of my all-time favorite books, Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand. If you don’t know the significance of the title, check out your Greek mythology! Although the book was published in 1957, it is just as timely today as it was when it was initially published. She advocated a philosophy of strong individual rights and a laissez-faire approach to capitalism, which may have contributed to her lasting popularity. If you only try one book from the ones I’ve mentioned, I would encourage you to give Atlas Shrugged a try!
©Eclectic Grandma, 2017
