Who is
the greatest author? What is the best
book?
How can
you begin to answer such questions? It
depends on one’s criteria for judging such things, and even then, there could
be a wide disparity amongst gender, age, ethnicity and other demographic
dividers. Further, the answer is bound
to change over time, not just because new books and talented authors come about,
but because our needs and tastes change, and because the world changes.
Who or
what body would be qualified to rank such things?
I think
so many factors are at play in determining one’s all-time favorite list,
including:
·
What
exposure have you had to a variety of authors and genres?
·
How
many books have you read?
·
What
do you use as a filter to rate books?
·
Can
you remember all that you’ve read?
·
What
was going on in your life at the time you read it?
·
Can
you remember all that you’ve read?
·
What
stage of life and experience were you at the time you read each book?
·
How
smart are you? Can you fully appreciate
the author’s talent?
Many
writers copy the style of another, so do we properly acknowledge the pioneers
of a style – or do we merely look to see who has perfected that style?
For my
first 17 years – all through high school – I read only a handful of books cover
to cover. Yes, even though I love books
now and valued the written word during my pre-English major years at college, I
read more Cliff and Monarch Notes than actual books. I read about books rather than reading them.
Some of
it was due to time and convenience.
Other times, I couldn’t bear to read another Jane Austen book, and other
times I needed help because the book was too complex. However, I do recall enjoying the following
books:
George
Orwell’s 1984 and Animal Farm
Bernard
Malamud’s The Assistant
Ralph
Ellison’s The Invisible Man
Joseph
Heller’s Catch-22
William
Golding’s Lord of the Flies
Jonathon
Swift’s Gulliver’s Travels
William
Shakespeare’s Hamlet
James
Roswell’s The Life of Samuel Johnson
I liked
Joyce Carol Oates and I also liked reading essays and short stories. There was Crime and Punishment by Dostoyevsky
and Kafka’s Metamorphosis. Ah, good
memories.
My adult
years have been spent with many books, but largely contemporary works, much
more non-fiction than fiction, primarily because of my job and interests. I feel a lot of fiction can be experienced
via television and movies, as both industries base a lot of stuff on books. Then again, everyone always says “the book’s
better than the movie.”
The
place I would start to look at with ranking books is the following:
·
Separate by genre (fiction vs. non-fiction and subcategories)
·
Divide by era (generations, centuries)
·
Weigh critical reviews, sales data, awards won, peer responses and
fan reactions
·
Would you read it again – and still feel enhanced by it?
·
Did a book make you feel, see or learn something?
·
Do you feel enriched for having read it?
·
Do you fondly recall it years later?
·
Is the book significant on some level – did it influence policy,
behavior, or a movement? Was it far superior to its contemporaries?
·
How has the book been imitated by others?
We are
too obsessed with rankings, ratings, awards, and declarations of
greatness. Just read what you want and
enjoy it and encourage others to read more.
The best book is the one in your hands right now.
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