My top ten favouirte books of all time
Well I must admit folks, I had a lot of fun writing this post. I spent hours revisiting all my favourites and even purchased a book online that I’ve always wanted!
I’ve been thinking of posting a list of authors and illustrators that are dear to my heart for some time now, but I kept delaying thinking I would inevitably discover more favourites and thus make my list complete. But of course there isn’t any real point waiting for that day as I’m sure I’ll be discovering new and amazing writers and illustrators my whole life through.
If you haven’t guessed it already, I love books and ever since I was a wee lass and discovered one of Trina Schart Hyman’s illustrated fairy tales at my school library, I have a special place in my heart for illustrators. Trina Schart Hyman is my absolute hero and is the most amazing illustrator. When I grow up I want to be Trina – she’s tremendously skilled and the winner of numerous awards including the Caldecott medal. I find there’s something so lusciously warm and dreamy about her illustrations ~ I could stare at them for hours and still find something new that I’ve never seen before.
From Dylan Thomas' A Child's Christmas in Wales illustrated by Trina Schart Hyman
From Little Red Riding Hood retold & illustrated by Trina Schart Hyman
This is a great segway into my next author, Astrid Lindgren and in particular, her book Ronia, The Robber’s Daughter (& how lovely it has an illustration of Trina’s on the cover)!
Ronia, The Robber's Daughter by Astrid Lindgren
Have you ever read a book and thought ‘This author wrote the exact book I would write!’? Ms. Lindgren has created a gorgeous, fun, fantastical novel and her economical yet vibrant writing style is filled with a clear love of the natural world.
Another of my favourite books which I would recommend to anyone without hesitation is Ursula K. Le Guin’s Earthsea Triology.
Ursula K. Le Guin's A Wizard of Earthsea
I haven’t read anything like it before or since.
Speaking of groundbreaking authors, Neil Gaiman really does it for me. If you love fantasy, you’ll love Stardust.
Stardust by Neil Gaiman
This book is every fantasy lover’s wet dream. My dear friend and amazing author herself, Christy Goerzen introduced me to Neil years ago and I’ve never looked back.
The Last Unicorn by Peter S. Beagle
From The Last Unicorn by Peter S. Beagle
I adore this story and the monitone whimsical illustrations.
Brambly Hedge by Jill Barklem
From Spring Story by Jill Barklem
I’ve fallen hard for Jill Barklem’s detailed illustrations. She seems to have a strong affection for canned and baked goods as well as a love of nuts and chestnut soup. How can you not love her? Her illustrations reach the goal I set for myself every time I sit down to draw: they make my eyes sparkle.
Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame
From Kenneth Grahame's Wind in the Willows illustrated by Inga Moore
What can I say about Kenneth Grahame’s Wind in the Willows? A beloved tale that I discovered as an adult, it is like a treasured old friend. Full of a love of the countryside, notstalgia and wanderlust, it is a book I’ll read again and again.
Heidi by Johanna Spyri
Heidi by Johanna Spyri
So charming. I read it every winter solstice when the days are growing longer and I’m yearning for Spring. I never tire of reading Johanna Spyri’s exquisite descriptions of mountain wildflowers, golden toasted cheese on bread and Heidi dancing joyously under the fir trees swaying in the wind.
May had come. From every height the overflowing brooks were rushing down into the valley. Warm, bright sunshine lay on the mountain. It had grown green again; the last traces of snow had melted away and the first little flowers, awakened by the alluring sunbeams, were peeping up with their bright eyes out of the the fresh grass. The joyous spring wind blew through the fir trees and shook off the old, dark needles, so that the young, bright green ones could come out and dress the trees in splendor. High above the old robber-bird was swinging his wings in the blue air, and around the Alm hut the golden sunshine lay warm on the ground, drying up the last damp places so that one could sit down wherever one liked.
Heidi was on the mountain again. She ran here and there and could not tell which spot was the loveliest. Now she had to listen to the wind as it blew down deep and mysterious from the cliffs above, coming nearer and growing mightier, and then leaping in the fir trees, bending and shaking them until it seemed as if it were shouting with delight; and Heidi had to shout too, while she was blown hither and thither like a little leaf.
Wildwood a Journey Through Trees by Roger Deakin.
Wildwood A Journey Through Trees by Roger Deakin
The Complete Works of Oscar Wilde
The Complete Works of Oscar Wilde
I love everything by Oscar Wilde especially the stories from A House of Pomegranates. This volume includes my all-time favourite quote:
You have filled my tea with lumps of sugar, and though I most distinctly asked for bread and butter, you have given me cake. I am known for the gentleness of my disposition, and the extraordinary sweetness of my nature, but I warn you, Miss Cardew, you may go too far.
The Importance of Being Earnest
What are your favourite books?
Honorable mention:
Kristin Lavransdatter by Sigrid Undset
Italian Folktales by Italo Calvino
Lord of the Rings by Tolkein
Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss
Alice in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll
Carl Larson
Farley Mowat
Bohemianbramble 
Ah, this list makes me sigh with all the gorgeous goodness! I just read ‘Ronia’ over the holidays and loved its sumptuousness! Thank you for mentioning and linking to my book!
My favourite books are:
– ‘The Mezzanine’ and ‘Room Temperature’ by Nicholson Baker. He is master of the minutiae. In the first, the main character is riding up an escalator on his way to his office job, and the book is basically a love letter to office equipment, complete with footnotes on their histories. In the second, a new father is feeding his 6-month-old daughter her bottle, and it’s all his thoughts during a 20-minute period, about life, fatherhood, peanut butter, and many oddities. I am in love with pretty much everything that NB ever wrote!
– ‘Trout Fishing in America’ and ‘In Watermelon Sugar’ by Richard Brautigan. So nostalgic for me, ’cause he’s one of my dad’s favourite writers. Love his wacky, nonsensical, dreamy, druggy, hippy style.
– ‘Fugitive Pieces’ by Anne Michaels. Absolutely the best-written novel I’ve ever read. Her work is pure poetry. It took me weeks to read another book after I finished this one – everything else would have paled in comparison.
– ‘Anastasia Krupnik’ by Lois Lowry. One of my childhood heroes. Began my lifelong love of “Like and Hate” lists.
– ‘Written on the Body’ by Jeanette Winterson. I love her clean, visceral writing style. In this one, you don’t know if the narrator is a man or woman, creating this genderless sort of sexy quality that is just incredible. Like Anne Michaels, this is pure poetry.
– ‘Alice, I Think’ by Susan Juby. Now this is the YA novel I wish I’d written!