Favourite book? That is a very hard question! :) There are so many books I love, it makes it really hard to choose a favourite.
To name several, limiting myself to one book or series by an author:
Swallows and Amazons series by Arthur Ransome - children's books written and set in the 1930s about children camping, sailing and playing games of imagination in the Lake District. There are so many reasons why I loves these, the main on is that each of the children have their own strengths and weaknesses and these all play their part in the stories.
Lions Of Al-Rassan by Guy Gavriel Kay - historical fantasy set in a alternative version of Reconquest Spain. Very detailed and characters from all sides are shown without any feeling that there is one side that is right and the others are wrong. Individual characters are good, bad or mixed, mostly mixed and have their own motivations and values which inform their actions. It is also a book that makes me cry at the end, but without seeming too morbid.
Curse of Chalion by Lois McMaster Bujold - historical fantasy set in an alternative world parallel to Spain of Ferdinand and Isabella. A world where there are gods who intervene in the world, but can only work through people who let them. Twisty and very detailed.
Ivanhoe by Sir Walter Scott - historical novel based in England in the reign of Richard I. A nostalgia favourite, I think I was about 6 when my father first read this to me. I know there are problems with it - and I like having read it enough to know which bits I can skip. I really enjoyed the way that the reader keeps finding out more and so many of the characters aren't who they appear to be when the reader first encounters them.
Lord Of The Rings - obviously. Engrossing and such a sense of the world going on around the edges of the story with all the details of everything - history, language etc.
Interesting to see that I've picked 3 fantasy novels, 3 historical (of various types) and 1 children's book. I'm surprised as I read lots of science fiction, but thinking about it most of that is more light reading than the ones that I count as my favourites. I could list more, but I think this will do for now. :)
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There are so many books I love, it makes it really hard to choose a favourite.
To name several, limiting myself to one book or series by an author:
Swallows and Amazons series by Arthur Ransome - children's books written and set in the 1930s about children camping, sailing and playing games of imagination in the Lake District. There are so many reasons why I loves these, the main on is that each of the children have their own strengths and weaknesses and these all play their part in the stories.
Lions Of Al-Rassan by Guy Gavriel Kay - historical fantasy set in a alternative version of Reconquest Spain. Very detailed and characters from all sides are shown without any feeling that there is one side that is right and the others are wrong. Individual characters are good, bad or mixed, mostly mixed and have their own motivations and values which inform their actions. It is also a book that makes me cry at the end, but without seeming too morbid.
Curse of Chalion by Lois McMaster Bujold - historical fantasy set in an alternative world parallel to Spain of Ferdinand and Isabella. A world where there are gods who intervene in the world, but can only work through people who let them. Twisty and very detailed.
Ivanhoe by Sir Walter Scott - historical novel based in England in the reign of Richard I. A nostalgia favourite, I think I was about 6 when my father first read this to me. I know there are problems with it - and I like having read it enough to know which bits I can skip. I really enjoyed the way that the reader keeps finding out more and so many of the characters aren't who they appear to be when the reader first encounters them.
Lord Of The Rings - obviously. Engrossing and such a sense of the world going on around the edges of the story with all the details of everything - history, language etc.
Interesting to see that I've picked 3 fantasy novels, 3 historical (of various types) and 1 children's book. I'm surprised as I read lots of science fiction, but thinking about it most of that is more light reading than the ones that I count as my favourites. I could list more, but I think this will do for now. :)