Errant Reads, or my favorite books
Published August 31, 2019 || Updated December 3, 2025
My wife and I were at a dinner party last night and the subject of favorite books came up. On the spot I couldn't think of many. The first couple books that came to mind were Desert Solitaire by Ed Abbey (non-fiction), and The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini (fiction).
We also briefly discussed the merits of each broad category. I am of the opinion that non-fiction "teaches and informs" whereas fiction "expands the mind" via immersion in another brain and world. Of course that is an over-simplification and many books in either category can be said to have the qualities of the other. The real differences really, I think, are in the categories' respective points of emphasis. And then there is memoir. Memoir really is more akin to fiction. Similarly, some science and historical fiction can really spend a lot of time flirting with the realm of non-fiction.
Here is my list of favorites (divided up into non-fiction and fiction). It's what I could come up with in a relatively short period of time. Not exhaustive, nor definitive, and I will probably edit this over time. I probably could also whittle these down to a few favorite-favorites, but that's not really instructive. Here you go. Some of my favorite books.
(ordered by date published)
Non-Fiction
- A Thousand-Mile Walk to the Gulf, by John Muir, 1916
- Desert Solitaire: A Season in the Wilderness, by Edward Abbey, 1968
- Pilgrim at Tinker Creek, by Annie Dillard, 1974
- The Unsettling of America: Culture and Agriculture, by Wendell Berry, 1977
- Wildwoods Wisdom: Encounters with the Natural World, by Doug Elliott, 1992 (a beautiful, author-illustrated, book; plus this is the only book listed in which I actually know the author; fiction and non-fiction intermingled)
- Bird by Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life, by Anne Lamott, 1995 (brilliant; snarky; poignant; fun)
- The Demon-Haunted World: Science as a Candle in the Dark, by Carl Sagan, 1997
- A Country Year: Living the Questions, by Sue Hubbell, 1999
- Parasite Rex: Inside the Bizarre World of Nature's Most Dangerous Creatures, by Carl Zimmer, 2001
- Benjamin Franklin: An American Life, by Walter Isaacson, 2003 (best biography I have ever read)
- Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies, by Jared Diamond, 2004
- Collapse: How Societies Choose to Fail or Succeed, by Jared Diamond, 2006
- A Man Made of Elk, by David Peterson, 2007
- The Vegetarian Myth: Food, Justice, and Sustainability; by Lierre Keith, 2009
- On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft, by Stephen King, 2010 (one half memoir, one half advice/how-to)
- The Better Angels of Our Nature: Why Violence Has Declined, by Steven Pinker, 2012
Fiction
- Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, by Mark Twain, 1884(UK), 1885(US)
- The Call of the Wild (and White Fang), by Jack London, 1903
- A Farewell to Arms, by Ernest Hemingway, 1929
- Animal Farm: A Fairy Story, by George Orwell, 1945
- The Foundation series, by Isaac Asimov, 1951 (in particular the original trilogy—Foundation (1951), Foundation and Empire (1952), and Second Foundation (1953). I have not read the full series; the original three were brilliant.)
- Giovanni's Room, by James Baldwin, 1956
- Starship Troopers, by Robert Heinlein, 1959 (young adult)
- The Moon is a Harsh Mistress, by Robert Heinlein, 1966
- The Forever War, by Joe Halderman, 1974
- The Mists of Avalon, by Marion Zimmer Bradley, 1982
- Snow Crash, by Neal Stephenson, 1992
- Wildwoods Wisdom: Encounters with the Natural World, by Doug Elliott, 1992 (a beautiful, author-illustrated, book; plus this is the only book listed in which I actually know the author; fiction and non-fiction intermingled)
- Blood Meridian, by Cormac McCarthy, 2000
- Jayber Crow, by Wendell Berry, 2001
- Little Brother, by Cory Doctorow, 2008 (young adult)
- The Kite Runner, by Khaled Hosseini, 2004
- Foster, by Claire Keegan, 2010 (short story)
- Wool, by Hugh Howey, 2011
- Prophet Song, by Paul Lynch, 2023 (Booker Prize winner)
- James, by Percival Everett, 2024 (National Book Award, Pulitzer; Read Huck Finn first and then this)
Note, you can also peruse my favorite books and more by visiting my Bookshop.org Shop.
If I were to be stuck on a desert island with ONE book, I would . . .
- Die before making that decision.
- But hope it was maybe something more introspective, like perhaps Pilgrim at Tinker Creek, A Man Made of Elk, or A Country Year.
- Or maybe opt for something rather dense, complex, yet escapist, and makes you think, like The Mists of Avalon, The Foundation Series, or Moby Dick.
Let's hope I don't get stuck on a desert island. I suspect I should rather hope for a more helpful book like Where There Is No Doctor, published by Hesperian Health Guides.
Cheers! -t
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