“Raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens, / Bright copper kettles and warm woolen mittens, / Brown paper packages tied up with strings…”
These are few of Maria’s favorite things in the timeless musical, The Sound of Music.
We’ve been thinking a lot about favorite things here at the library, and as we continue to celebrate Wickson Library’s 50th Anniversary, we compiled a list of our fifty favorite books from the last fifty years. Our list includes fan favorites like The Color Purple by Alice Walker, The Giver by Lois Lowry, The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho, All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr, Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng, Angela’s Ashes by Frank McCourt, Becoming by Michelle Obama, When Breath Becomes Air by Paul Kalanithi, and so many more. The complete list, “50 Favorite Books from the Last 50 Years,” can be found on our website.
What exactly qualifies something as a “favorite”? And how, in a sea of magnificent tomes, does one decide which books will sail on with this special title?
Our favorite things are often influenced by a variety of factors, from emotional attachment to positive associations to identity formation and more. We call something our “favorite” because of the emotions we feel from the memories we have made. That well-worn book you’ve read and reread a dozen times since childhood, the novel that transported you to a different world while you were relaxing on vacation, the book that spawned deep discussion with friends, the nonfiction title you still reference when speaking about your spiritual journey, the board book you read as a child and now get to read to your kids or grandkids—these emotional attachments and positive associations can (and should) impact what qualifies something as a favorite!
Sometimes a book continues to form your identity long after you turn the final page. These stories and ideas become embedded into your worldview, whether confirming or challenging your implicit biases, and shape you into the person you are. These books feel less like words on a page and more like a part of ourselves. It is natural for books like this, whether fiction or nonfiction, to make their way onto our list of favorites.
Sometimes a book becomes our favorite because we relate deeply to the characters, are compelled by the storyline, or want to endlessly explore the world that words create. Sometimes a book becomes our favorite because it moves us to tears or names the emotions and experiences we feel but aren’t capable of articulating. Sometimes a book becomes our favorite because it just is—a gut feeling that we can’t shake or scientifically quantify.
What are some of your favorite books? What books do you have an emotional attachment to or positive association with? What books have shaped and formed your identity? Find an empty sheet of paper or open the Notes app on your phone and see how many favorites you can list! Then head over to our website or stop into the library and see how your list compares with ours.
I’ll leave you with these classic words: “When the dog bites, / When the bee stings, / When I'm feeling sad, / I simply remember my favorite things…” which today might be better sung as, “I simply reread my favorite things, and then I don’t feel so bad.” Happy reading, friends!
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