I have a lot of favorite books. Whenever someone asks me, “what is your favorite book?” I can’t name just one. In fact, I usually have to categorize favorites into genres. And even within genres I have more than one favorite. So what I’d like to do on this page is create a list of my favorite books — the books that I will forever be recommending to other people. The page will be organized by genre & subgenre.

Please note that this page will be constantly in revision.

YOUNG ADULT
The Hunger Games, Suzanne Collins | dystopian
Life As We Knew It, Susan Beth Pfeffer | apocalyptic
The Book Thief, Markus Zusak | Holocaust
Anna and the French Kiss, Stephanie Perkins | contemporary
Cinder, Marissa Meyer | futuristic

CHILDREN’S
Skippyjon Jones, Judy Schachner | picture book
Harry Potter series, JK Rowling | middle grade
Percy Jackson series, Rick Riordan | middle grade

FICTION
The Namesake, Jhumpa Lahiri | contemporary, Indian-American
The Forgotten Garden, Kate Morton | historical of sorts
The Help, Kathryn Stockett | historical
When She Woke, Hilary Jordan | dystopian
Red Water, Judith Freeman | religious, historical
The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay, Michael Chabon | contemporary

ROMANCE
Romancing Mr. Bridgerton, Julia Quinn | regency
Vision in White, Nora Roberts | contemporary
First Lady, Susan Elizabeth Phillips | contemporary

CLASSIC
The House of Mirth, Edith Wharton
A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man, James Joyce

CHRISTIAN FICTION
Maid to Match, Deeanne Gist
Redeeming Love, Francine Rivers
Save the Date, Jenny B. Jones

CHRISTIAN NON-FICTION
Girl Meets God, Lauren B. Winner
Mere Christianity, C. S. Lewis
Crazylove, Francis Chan

BIOGRAPHY
Spoken From the Heart, Laura Bush | memoir, political
No Man Knows My History, Fawn Brodie | biography, religious

CHICK-LIT
Secret Society Girl, Diana Peterfreund

NON-FICTION
Notes From a Small Island, Bill Bryson | travel
The Writing Life, Annie Dillard | writing

SCIENCE-FICTION / FANTASY
Blackout, Connie Willis
Passage, Connie Willis