So this is no small decision, choosing what we are going to read today, what book both Sophie and I will forever associate with this moment, what we read after. And when the answer is right in front of me — of course, The Secret Garden — all I have to do is touch the mint-green cover and I am thrown back twenty years to my parents’ bedroom in the old house in Cambridge.
“Have you read this one?” I ask Sophie now, trying to keep my tone neutral, though I can think of nothing better than dipping back into The Secret Garden. I have read it dozens of times over the years, and it has not yet lost it’s power. Little Mary Lennox and her locked garden — sweet, yes, but redemptive too.
–From After You: A Novel, by Julie Buxbaum (page 36)
Whenever I do a reading of one of my novels, I always get asked “What’s your favorite book?” and I find that people are often surprised by my answer. I think they expect something esoteric or at least something that’s designed to telegraph something about myself. The person who says they love Lolita, for example, is making a statement distinct from someone who claims Immortality“>Immortality, or Pride and Prejudice, orA Passage to India, or The Echo Maker, or even War and Peace as their favorite.
Books—or our bookshelves at the very least—seem to me to be very public displays of our tastes and maybe even our souls. And though I love every one of the books I mentioned above, and could easily list fifty more that I think every person should read before they die, I only have one favorite. The one that, if God forbid there were a fire, I’d make sure to save from my burning bookcase. No matter that it’s a children’s book, no matter that taken on its face choosing it doesn’t make me sound smarter or better educated or in any way sophisticated. Simply put, I love The Secret Garden.
I can’t think of a single other book that I have turned to as consistently or read as many times, sometime purely for plot, oftentimes for its therapeutic value. I guess it’s not surprising then, that my second novel, After You, is essentially a love letter to this children’s classic. The Secret Garden is a magical, touching story—at times maybe a bit too sentimental—but it always leaves me happier and inspired. And I am not sure you can ask for more than that from your favorite.
What does your favorite novel say about you? What does it do for you?
Guest Contributor Julie Buxbaum is the author of the two highly acclaimed novels, The Opposite of Love and After You, which have elicited praise from best-selling authors such as Jodi Picoult (and Dawn and Jennifer — the titles are linked to their reviews!). Julie is a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania and Harvard Law School. Before becoming a novelist, she was a litigator in both New York and Los Angeles.
The Opposite of Love was chosen as a Barnes & Noble Discover Great New Writers pick, has been translated into nineteen languages, and was optioned for film by Twentieth Century Fox with Anne Hathaway starring in the leading role.
Julie currently lives in London, where After You is set. To learn more about Julie or her books, please check out her website: www.juliebuxbaum.com
You’re so right! I DO want my “favorite book” to say something about me. I have such a hard time picking a favorite, but in general reading a good book does take me away from other concerns in my life and allows me to get lost in a good story.
Oh, I can very easily choose my favorite novel of all time, and I hope that it says that I value love and devotion, and that I most enjoy a novel that pushes all of my emotions to the extreme.
That rings so true. There are a hundred books that I love, yet among them all, “Heidi” holds a special place in my heart. It’s one of the first books I’ve read and one that I go back to again and again eventhough Im 19 now. I guess part of it says that I value kindness above all human values, however cliched that sounds. I just LOVE Heidi!
Such an interesting idea – how our favorite books reflect and reveal us. Julie Buxbaum’s POV resonated with me. I shared this post on my kid lit blog and tweeted about it too.
I have always felt that you learn something profound about a person by learning what books she loves. I feel my bookshelves tell you quite a bit about me, including why I dragged my college textbooks (i.e. Homer and Dante and Greek mythology) all over the world, but still make space for Wodehouse and D. Sayers and even a few Dick Francis.
Oh, I couldn’t pick an all-time fav, but I still occasionally enjoy the Narnia books.
Interesting question! I have a few favorite books (what book lover doesn’t?) but 2 that I can figure out what says about me are Eat Pray Love by Elizabeth Gilbert and The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver.
Eat Pray Love is probably an easy one to figure out if you’ve read it yourself. I just identify with Liz throughout the book. I read the book after a particularly nasty relationship ended last November, which put me right in there where Liz was during the book. I also connected with her philosophies on life (more than one pathway to God) and wanted to have a cleansing experience as she had. I still do.
For me, The Poisonwood Bible is a melding of several different elements that I enjoy about books: set in a different culture, unexpected plot twists, and the characters go through major life struggles and changes. Plus, it is well-written and the plot moves at a good pace.
I knew immediately upon finishing it, that it would be my favorite – Last Call by Tim Powers.
Why, you ask, would I pick a book by an author not well known outside his genre?
Because it is deeply mythological, it speaks to something hidden inside all of us – and it’s a damn good read.
The Founding by Cardinal Francis Spellman is my favorite non-series book. I also love, love, LOVE the Lord of the Rings.