My 10 favorite literature classics

Do I have to limit my list? Everybody who knows me knows that I have many favorites!

It's more fair to say, these are my favorites today. Tomorrow the list might look quite different.

It's easier to choose favorites among a particular genre. For example, my favorite poet is Robert Frost.

If I have to choose a favorite author, I might pick Anne McCaffrey. Her books certainly take up the most space in my home library.

So, what about the classics?

Okay, let's cut to the chase. If I am limited to American classics (#classicbooks), I can focus my list. So here goes, in no particular order:

1. As a teacher, I'd have to start with To Kill a Mockingbird. It's simply my favorite text to teach. There is so much to discuss, so much history to explore. It's also one of the few books-to-movie presentations to earn my praise. Gregory Peck embodied Atticus Finch so well that his is the face I see when I read the book now. (Who else sees the action like a movie in their head when they read a book?)

The voice of Scout pulls the reader in and you find yourself reading late into the night even on the third or fourth read. It doesn't matter that you already know the ending, it's all about the journey regardless how many times you've traveled the road.

2. Jack London's The Call of the Wild is on my list because of the characterization of the animals. Having had dogs my whole life, I am guilty of easily anthropomorphizing canine characters. After all, I talk to my own dogs all the time, and they answer me in their own ways. Of course they make great literary characters. I devoured all of Jack London's writings when I was in junior high and both The Call of the Wild and White Fang have remained favorites into adulthood.

3. Based on what I just shared, you should not be surprised to see John Steinbeck's Travels with Charley: In Search of America on my list. A few years back I tried to brush up on my classics reading and delved into Steinbeck, Fitzgerald and Hawthorne. Truth be told, I often found many of the American classics to be too sad. Although I experience the books I read like a movie in my head, I use the word "experience" with purpose. I get so emotionally involved that I laugh out loud or cry streams of tears along with the characters I meet in the pages. Of Mice and Men brought out all the emotions. I can't even talk about it without getting choked up. The Grapes of Wrath was an important work for describing the true experience of the great depression and I found it quite depressing myself. Anxious to try another title, I picked Travels with Charley, mostly because the author rode across the country with a bleu standard poodle. You may have heard about Ella, my writing companion for 16 years. She was a petite, bleu standard who often lay behind my chair while I wrote at my computer. Steinbeck's Travels was such a charming tale I believed I'd found a kindred spirit, one whose love of words and dogs made him a lasting favorite.

4. I read The Sun Also Rises in high school and was surprised by how much I enjoyed it. At the time I was only reading science fiction and fantasy for fun and didn't expect any story that stayed on earth, especially earth of the past, to be remotely interesting. But I hadn't yet met Hemingway's writing. The characters are so well-written, so believable, I was completely taken in. That novel remains my favorite of his, although The Old Man and the Sea is another compelling yarn, so beautifully crafted. As an aside, I was blessed to visit Hemingway's home in Key West a couple of years ago. If you ever have the chance to get there, it's a great place to visit and see where he wrote, learn his history and how he interacted with other authors in the community, of which there were many. The Key West Library community is still lively and active, streaming events during the pandemic that I was glad to attend virtually. Check them out at https://www.friendsofthekeywestlibrary.org/

5. I must confess that I first fell in love with the costumes in the movie version of Gone With the Wind as a kid. Then, when I was in high school, a friend claimed the book as her all-time favorite novel and told me that the movie didn't even come close to capturing all that was described in the pages. (Not many movies do.) I read it on a trip to the beach the next summer and was amazed by all the history that Margaret Mitchell jammed into the book. Granted, it was a one-sided history: lamenting that the beauty of the charmed antebellum south blew away like dried leaves in the wind rubs many the wrong way and I understand the complaint. Yet, as a historical snapshot I appreciate it for what it is.

6. Having said all of the above, I cannot make a list of American classics without Alex Haley's Roots. Here is the other side of the picture that is left out of Mitchell's history. The pure honesty in Haley's writing grabs my heartstrings and doesn't let go. There has been some talk about whether the history he wrote is actually true, but whether or not you believe it is factual or historical fiction doesn't matter. This book affected so many and started a change. As Haley wrote, "if you really knew how we came in the seeds of our forefathers, captured, driven, beaten, inspected, bought, branded, chained in foul ships, if you really knew, you needed weeping . . ." That quote stayed with me. This story lays it all out, not only making people weep, but inspiring many to dig into genealogy. And, spurring other people of color to share their stories, a long-overdue trend that is finally taking hold in the publishing world.

7. Fahrenheit 451 was my first look at a dystopian future. As I said above, I was a fan of sci-fi in my younger years, so when I studied this classic in high school I ate it up. The idea of a controlling state that dictated what citizens could do was completely foreign to this bookworm and it felt more like a horror novel than a social commentary. I read the book with the vigor of a young person first uncovering the idea that society could have a say in what or whether I choose to read. Now, as a much-older adult, I have a new take on this book. I see that social media and the algorithms used to manage what each user sees can be skewed to control what a reader takes in, hinting at the beginning of controlling forces managing our intake of data and news and therefore managing our thoughts. Now there's a topic for a lively conversation! Have a comment? Send me a message!

8. Back when I first read Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter as an assignment in high school, I was annoyed by the fact that Hester Prynne was the only one punished by the affair with the Reverend Dimmesdale and my budding feminism was incensed. However, I now recognize that she came out much better in the end. She and her daughter were eventually accepted by the town and she had the freedom to live in peace, wearing her scarlet letter like a badge of honor until she decides to venture on to another location. Her partner's secrets and lies buried him in his own shame, giving him no peace and wearing down his will to live. Seen in that light, the books conclusion is surprising for it's time. It makes me question my knowledge of Hawthorne and I think I might have to learn more about him. So much to read, so little time!

9. Given how much I loved James Fenimore Cooper's The Deerslayer, it's a shame that I never read Last of the Mohicans. The good news is that I finally got a copy and added it to my collection a couple years ago. Now, I just have to make the time to read it! The Deerslayer and I'm guessing the rest of The Leatherstocking Tales document a different time, one of quiet walks through the woods, interacting with nature and natives. While the depiction may or may not have been historically accurate, I like Natty's hesitation to kill. I think that's what makes it such a great book. It's nice to think that some 18th century characters might have interacted in a more humane manner than others we meet in history text books.

10. No top ten American classics list can leave out Little Women. Although my boys didn't want to read it, every teenage girl I know who read it loved it. The March sisters so truly portray growing up as a girl, young female readers immediately see themselves in one of the siblings. (Little Men didn't have the same effect.) I think this is why the story has adapted so well to the stage. Half the audience read and loved the book and thrill to seeing a portrayal of their favorite character played out in front of a crowd.

Now, I've left out so many. The absence of Mark Twain on this list is glaringly obvious when so many other American authors are here. Truly, I have all of his published works on my bookshelf, but which title(s) should be here? As I hinted above, it depends on the day. Until next time, keep reading! : )