First let me say this: I am immensely grateful that there is literally no limit on the number of books I can own. I used to own a couple thousand hard-copy books; between the remaining hard-copy books and all the e-books in my library, the number has not at all declined.
Have I read all of them? No. I keep buying new books, which means there are some in the library that I may never get to.
But what if someone told me ‘From now on you can own ONLY TEN books that are fiction. No more than one per author. And that’s all the fiction you get to read for the rest of your life.’
[insert screaming here]
There’s plenty of non-fiction in my library and I would read a lot more of it if I couldn’t have any more fiction. How to choose, though? Which of the thousands of works of fiction I’ve read since I was six-ish would I want to have on that short list? How would I make the cut?
One parameter has been handed to me: only one book per author. Only one book, though. So a minor amount of cheating is allowed. That means two slots immediately go to:
Complete Works of Shakespeare
The Annotated Sherlock Holmes by William S. Baring-Gould
Then I have to consider, who are my favorite authors, lifetime. Among those, who do I re-read most often, who have I re-read most often, in the 45+ years I’ve been choosing my own reading? And which one of their books is the one I would clutch to my bosom for the rest of my life?
3. Straight by Dick Francis
4. Death at the Bar by Ngaio Marsh
Why those? Well, the themes of ‘Straight’ are themes I return to again and again in my own writing: loss and reinvention. ‘Death at the Bar’ is a three-way love story: Alleyn + Troy - they aren’t even in the same location in this book, but their connection is important - and Alleyn + Fox. This is the book where we really see a) how much Alleyn values his longtime investigative partner, and b) the depth of their mutual affection.
I would then want to select one other mystery, because I can’t read only romance novels for the rest of my life, especially since I will surely continue writing my own. So the fifth slot goes to:
5. Locked Rooms by Laurie R. King
In part that’s because I consider the Mary Russell books the most successful Holmes homage I’ve ever read (and I’ve read quite a few) and I wouldn’t want to do without a reminder of just how well-crafted and how thoroughly-imagined the series is. In part it’s because this book explicates the under-story of Mary’s entire life. From this book one may imagine both the beginning and the future of her relationship with Holmes.
This leaves five slots for romance novels and OMG what torture to choose only five. But I must. Two of these are books I read many years ago and have returned to many times. The other three are more recent, but I know they will never fail me.
6. Summer Campaign by Carla Kelly
7. The Rake by Mary Jo Putney
8. Think of England by KJ Charles
9. Off Balance by Jay Hogan
10. There Will Be Phlogiston by Alexis Hall
If there were a Complete Works of Alexis Hall, I would put that on the list, but there isn’t. If you want to know why I chose this one, I refer to the author’s post, which somewhat covers it. (For the record, I would also love a Complete Works of KJ Charles.)
The above is, as should be obvious, a painfully (if swiftly) derived selection from the (let me say it again) thousands of books I’ve read and loved, dozens (possibly hundreds) of which I’ve read multiple times.
I must now go and re-read one of the books on this list.