Favorite Books from Earth

Here’s another fun post. I did favorite movies. Now, let’s do favorite books. For context, this photo is what I do every time I open a new book. Inhale the print. Exhale the print. Oh the smell of a new book.

First off, I love books. I’m such a bookworm, I always have something I’m reading. On Earth, it amused many a person to see me hauling a giant book of some sort around, because people don’t really do that anymore. But it was equally amusing to them to see me with a children’s book. I could be reading anything at any time.

One month, it might be Harry Potter. The next, it’s Sherlock Holmes. Or classic short stories. Or Moby Dick. Or something from Stephen King. Or some kind of essay. Or (and only once recently) a romance novel. (Seraphel, you get a medal for that one. How did you manifest that specific gem out of a pile of library throw outs? That was hilariously incredible.)

Who knows what Kyrie will be reading. It’s never one genre, though I have a thread of favorites. I'm going to cheat here and keep series grouped together.

1. Lord of the Rings, J.R.R. Tolkein
2. The Hobbit, J.R.R. Tolkein
3. The Abhorsen Series (Sabriel, Lirael, Abhorsen), Garth Nix
4. House of Leaves, Mark Z. Danielewski
5. Harry Potter, J.K. Rowling
6. The Dark Tower Series (The Gunslinger, Drawing of the Three, Wastelands, Wizard and Glass, Wolves of the Cala, Song of Susannah, The Dark Tower), Stephen King
7. Salem's Lot, Stephen King
8. Neverwhere, Neil Gaiman
9. Dune, Frank Herbert
10. Dracula, Braham Stoker
11. 2001: Space Odyssey, Arthur C. Clarke 
12. 2010: Odyssey Two, Arthur C. Clarke
13. The Complete Sherlock Holmes, Arthur Conan Doyle
14. Fragile Things, Neil Gaiman
15. Green Rider, Kristen Britain
16. Wreck of the Zephyr, Chris Van Allsburg
17. The Swiss Family Robinson, Johann David Wyss
18. Matilda, Roald Dahl
19. The Chronicles of Narnia, C. S. Lewis
20. Brave New World, Aldous Huxley

I don't read non-fiction much, if at all, as you can see. Non-fiction never felt real to me, which was funny, because I'd get chided by other adults that fiction wasn't real. It's backwards to me. Fiction is far more real than non-fiction. Non-fiction is not real, because there is no life in the story. Not real life. Fiction actually has life, vitality, a story that breathes.

At least, in a general sense. This isn't to say that fiction can't be a lifeless corpse upon which you feast (ahem, Twilight). And that non-fiction can't be full of vitality and life (Into the Wild). Just my general experience is that fiction is more lively, enjoyable, and meaningful. Because in my mind, I know that magic is real, therefore the only thing fictitious most of the time are the people and scenarios involved. And maybe a little bit of artistic license on creatures.

I especially love Wreck of the Zephyr, even after all these years. I used to have a boat that could fly like that in some lifetime. It was awesome.

Anyway, I'm big on rereading books. I do it all the time. Every time I read the same book, the story changes a little bit, because I've changed a little bit. It's also good to revisit those places I mentally call "home". (Hahaha, someone's saying "ET phone home" in my head. You rascal! I hated that movie. Replaced the rifles with walkie talkies. The nerve.)

I also have a deep fondness for physical books over digital books. Something about the texture of the paper, the smell of the ink, and the physical turning of a page just grounds me in the experience better than reading things on a screen.

I thank you for your time. Adiamas.

​--Kyriel