favorite books
in ca. March 2025 there was a meme circulating on Bluesky prompting people to share their five favorite genres but without naming a conventional (sub)genre — “SF where the S is linguistics”, for example (from Roseanna Pendlebury), or “what if stories aren’t enough?” (from Jake Casella Brookins). in attempting to do this, I came to the conclusion that I need to have a clearer idea of what my favorite books are in the first place before I can try this. this is an attempt to compile a list.
shortlist
we’ll cross that bridge when we get there.
longlist by publication date
I only started keeping track of the books I read in 2010, and only systematically in 2011, so before that my records are spotty. I’m proceeding under the assumption that if something I read before 2010 (i.e., in high school or before) is genuinely a “favorite” I will have reread it since 2010. series are listed with the publication date of their first book. the longlist criterion is “book I liked a lot when I read it and continue to think positively about (in more detail than just ‘I remember liking that’)”. plays are dated to their first staging.
- Euripides, Βάκχαι (ancient; various English tr., but I highly recommend Carson’s)
- Homer, Ὀδύσσεια (ancient; various English tr., though I’m particularly fond of Lattimore and Wilson)
- Sophocles, Οἰδίπους Τύραννος (ancient; various English tr., I enjoyed Berg and Clay’s)
- anonymous, Alf Laylah wa-Laylah (medieval; English tr. 1990, by Hussain Haddawy, as The Arabian Nights)
- anonymous, El cantar de mío Cid (medieval; various English tr., of which I can only recommend strongly against Raffel’s, which is incompetent)
- anonymous, Táin Bó Cúailnge (medieval; various English tr., usually as The Táin or similar)
- Matsuo Basho, おくのほそ道 (ca. 1694; English tr. 1966, by Nobuyuki Yuasa, as The Narrow Road to the Deep North and Other Travel Sketches)
- Miguel de Unamuno, Niebla (1914; various English tr., usually as Mist or similar)
- Miguel de Unamuno, Cómo se hace una novela (1927)
- Dashiell Hammett, Red Harvest (1929)
- Stella Gibbons, Cold Comfort Farm (1932)
- Federico García Lorca, Bodas de sangre (1933; various English tr., usually as Blood Wedding)
- George Seferis, Μυθιστόρημα (1935; English tr. 1981, by Edmund Keeley and Philip Sherrard, as Mythistorema)
- Murray Constantine, Swastika Night (1937)
- Somhairle MacGill-Eain, An Cuilithionn (1939; English tr. 2011, by Sorley MacLean, as An Cuilithionn / The Cuillin)
- Carmen Laforet, Nada (1944; various English tr., all afaik as Nada)
- Germaine Guèvremont, Le Survenant (1945; English tr. 1950, by Eric Sutton, as The Outlander)
- Dodie Smith, I Capture the Castle (1948)
- Kawabata Yasunari, 名人 (1951; English tr. 1972, by Edward G. Seidensticker, as The Master of Go)
- Theodore Sturgeon, The Dreaming Jewels (1950)
- Naomi Mitchison, To the Chapel Perilous (1955)
- Gabrielle Roy, Rue Deschambault (1955; English tr. 1957, by Harry L. Binsse, as Street of Riches)
- J.R.R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings (1955)
- Carol Kendall, The Gammage Cup (1959)
- Mamadou Kouyaté, Soundjata ou l’épopée mandingue (1960; English tr. 1965, by G.D. Pickett, from French tr. by D.T. Niane, as Sundiata: An Epic of Old Mali)
- Susan Cooper, The Dark Is Rising series (1965-1977)
- Samuel R. Delany, The Ballad of Beta-2 (1965)
- Samuel R. Delany, Empire Star (1966)
- Samuel R. Delany, Nova (1968)
- Ursula K. Le Guin, A Wizard of Earthsea (1968)
- Markoosie Patsauq, Uumajursiutik unaatuinnamut (1970; English tr. 2020, by Valerie Henitiuk and Marc-Antoine Mahieu, as Hunter with Harpoon)
- Ursula K. Le Guin, The Tombs of Atuan (1971)
- Ursula K. Le Guin, The Word for World Is Forest (1972)
- Ursula K. Le Guin, The Dispossessed (1974)
- Grégoire Chabot, Un Jacques Cartier errant (1976; English tr. 1996, by Grégoire Chabot, as Jacques Cartier Discovers America (the French is funnier though))
- Samuel R. Delany, Trouble on Triton (1976)
- Ursula K. Le Guin, Orsinian Tales (1976)
- Patricia A. McKillip, Riddle-Master series (1976-1979)
- Anne McCaffrey, Dragonsinger (1977)
- Joanna Russ, We Who Are About To... (1977)
- Leslie Marmon Silko, Ceremony (1977)
- Samuel R. Delany, Return to Nevèrÿon series (1978-1987)
- Octavia E. Butler, Kindred (1979)
- Elizabeth A. Lynn, Chronicles of Tornor series (1979-1980)
- Naguib Mahfouz, ليالي ألف ليلة (1979; English tr. 1995, by Denys Johnson-Davies, as Arabian Nights and Days)
- Chingiz Aitmatov, И дольше века длится день (1980; English tr. 1983, by John French, as The Day Lasts More Than a Hundred Years)
- Ursula K. Le Guin, The Beginning Place (1980)
- Elizabeth A. Lynn, The Sardonyx Net (1981)
- Tanaka Yoshiki, 黎明篇 (1982; English tr. 2016, by Daniel Huddleston, as Dawn)
- John Preston, Franny, the Queen of Provincetown (1983)
- Samuel R. Delany, Stars in My Pocket Like Grains of Sand (1984)
- Suzette Haden Elgin, Native Tongue (1984)
- Timothy Findley, Not Wanted on the Voyage (1984)
- Angélica Gorodischer, Kalpa Imperial (1984; English tr. 2003, by Ursula K. Le Guin, as Kalpa Imperial)
- Patricia A. McKillip, Fool’s Run (1987)
- Chrystos, Not Vanishing (1988)
- Terry Pratchett, Pyramids (1989)
- Jewelle Gomez, The Gilda Stories (1991)
- Ian Iqbal Rashid, Black Markets, White Boyfriends, and Other Acts of Elision (1991)
- Christopher Whyte, Uirsgeul / Myth (1991; published bilingually)
- Eleanor Arnason, Ring of Swords (1993)
- Tom Lennon, When Love Comes to Town (1993)
- Elia Barceló, Consecuencias naturales (1994; English tr. 2021, by Molina-Gavilán and Bell, as Natural Consequences)
- Qiu Miaojin, 鱷魚手記 (1994; English tr. 2017, by Bonnie Huie, as Notes of a Crocodile)
- John Vornholt, Capture the Flag (1994)
- Gregory Maguire, Wicked (1995)
- Patricia A. McKillip, The Book of Atrix Wolfe (1995)
- Philip Pullman, His Dark Materials series (1995-2000)
- Christos Tsiolkas, Loaded (1995)
- K.A. Applegate, Animorphs series (1996-2001)
- Chuck Palahniuk, Fight Club (1996)
- Cameron Reed, The Fortunate Fall (1996)
- Diane Duane, The Book of Night with Moon (1997)
- Mihangel Morgan, Melog (1997; English tr. 2006, by Christopher Meredith, as Melog)
- Diana Wynne Jones, Derkholm series (1998-2000)
- Tom Lennon, Crazy Love (1999)
- Gwyneth Lewis, Y Llofrudd Iaith (1999)
- Gearóid Mac Lochlainn, Na Scéalaithe (1999)
- Micheál Ó Conghaile, Sna Fir (1999)
- Alistair MacLeod, No Great Mischief (2000)
- Ana María Matute, Aranmanoth (2000)
- Ted Chiang, Stories of Your Life and Others (2002)
- Laurie J. Marks, Elemental Logic series (2002-2019)
- Samuel R. Delany, Aye, and Gomorrah, and other stories (2003)
- Nalo Hopkinson, The Salt Roads (2004)
- Patricia A. McKillip, Alphabet of Thorn (2004)
- Lodaidh MacFhionghain, Famhair, agus dàin Ghàidhlig eile / Giant, and other Gaelic poems (2008; published bilingually)
- Màiri Anna NicDhòmhnaill, Cleas Sgàthain (2008)
- Fionnlagh MacLeòid, Gormshuil an Rìgh (2010)
- Iain F. MacLeòid, Ìmpireachd (2010)
- Patricia A. McKillip, The Bards of Bone Plain (2010)
- Renee Gladman, Morelia (2011)
- Kij Johnson, At the Mouth of the River of Bees (2012)
- Anndra Dunn, Còisir nan Gunna (2013)
- Bill Konigsberg, Openly Straight (2013)
- Ann Leckie, Imperial Radch series (2013-2015)
- Yoon Ha Lee, Conservation of Shadows (2013)
- Ahmed Saadawi, فرانكشتاين في بغداد (2013; English tr. 2018, by Jonathan Wright, as Frankenstein in Baghdad)
- Sofia Samatar, Olondria series (2013-2016)
- Nyuol Lueth Tong (ed.), There Is a Country: New Fiction from the New Nation of South Sudan (2013)
- Jamie Berrout, Otros Valles (2014)
- Natasha Kanapé Fontaine, Manifeste Assi (2014; English tr. 2016, by Howard Scott, as Assi Manifesto)
- Niviaq Korneliussen, Homo sapienne (2014; English tr. 2019, by Anna Halager, as either Crimson or Last Night in Nuuk)
- Edmundo Paz Soldán, Iris (2014)
- Craig Santos Perez, from unincorporated territory [guma’] (2014)
- Alejandro Marcos Ortega, El final del duelo (2015)
- Norma NicLeòid, An Dosan (2015)
- Adam Silvera, More Happy Than Not (2015)
- Manuel Tzoc, Gay(o) (2015)
- Kai Ashante Wilson, Sorcerer of the Wildeeps series (2015-2016)
- Nathan Niigan Noodin Adler, Wrist (2016)
- Indra Das, The Devourers (2016)
- Mariana Enríquez, Las cosas que perdimos en el fuego (2016; English tr. 2017, by Megan McDowell, as Things We Lost in the Fire)
- Kim Sung-il, 메르시아의 별 (2016; English tr. 2024, by Anton Hur, as Blood of the Old Kings)
- Yoon Ha Lee, Machineries of Empire series (2016-2019)
- Kenneth Logan, True Letters from a Fictional Life (2016)
- Patricia A. McKillip, Kingfisher (2016)
- Larissa Pham, Fantasian (2016)
- Billy-Ray Belcourt, This Wound Is a World (2017)
- Daibhidh Eyre, Cailèideascop (2017)
- Kathy Jetn̄il-Kijiner, Iep Jāltok: Poems from a Marshallese Daughter (2017)
- Tommy Pico, Nature Poem (2017)
- Sofia Samatar, Tender (2017)
- Cason Sharpe, Our Lady of Perpetual Realness, and Other Stories (2017)
- Leanne Betasamosake Simpson, This Accident of Being Lost (2017)
- Dave Duggan, Makaronik (2018)
- K.D. Edwards, The Tarot Sequence series (2018—)
- Akwaeke Emezi, Freshwater (2018)
- Stella Gaitano, Edo’s Souls (2018; English tr. 2023, by Sawad Hussain; I can’t find the original Arabic title)
- Kevin Lambert, Querelle de Roberval (2018; English tr. 2022, by Donald Winkler, as Querelle of Roberval)
- Siphiwe Gloria Ndlovu, The Theory of Flight (2018)
- Melatu Uche Okorie, This Hostel Life (2018)
- Michelle Evans, Just Another Dead Black Girl (2019)
- Masande Ntshanga, Triangulum (2019)
- Camila Sosa Villada, Las malas (2019; English tr. 2022, by Kit Maude, as either Bad Girls or The Queens of Sarmiento Park)
- Nathan Niigan Noodin Adler, Ghost Lake (2020)
- Deniz Başar, Wine and Halva (2020)
- Anya Johanna DeNiro, City of a Thousand Feelings (2020)
- Kai Minosh Pyle (mekadebines), AANAWI GO (2020)
- Leanne Betasamosake Simpson, Noopiming: The Cure for White Ladies (2020)
- Harry Josephine Giles, Deep Wheel Orcadia (2021)
- Alasdair C. MacIlleBhàin, maim-slè (2021)
- Bendi Barrett, Empire of the Feast (2022)
- Simon Jimenez, The Spear Cuts Through Water (2022)
- Saoirse Ní Chiaragáin, Wax and Wane (2022)
- Kōtuku Titihuia Nuttall, Tauhou (2022)
- Fatma Onat, Ayşe Bayramoğlu, and Deniz Başar, New Stockholm’de Sonbahar (2023; English tr. 2023, by Deniz Başar, as Autumn in New Stockholm)
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