The All Time Keeper List

A Wench Classic post from a while back...looking this post over, I realized that so much of this still applies, and it would be fun to revisit the All-Time Keeper list (the ATK!). These still apply for me, and I'd love to know if yours have new additions ...

Pondering the books on my bookshelves -- many, many well-thumbed volumes, dusty or in use, and more than a few of them, ahem, not entirely read --  I started thinking about the books that have found a permanent place in my heart and my thoughts. We've all read a staggering number of books in our lives (some of us have time to read a staggering number every week/month/year!) -- yet only a fraction of those stick with us forever. For each of us, that list is undoubtedly different, with a few beloved stories in common. (I'm talking fiction here, though an all-time keeper list of nonfiction would be a fun blog -- I'll try that next time!)

I have a short list (and a really loooooooong list) of books that I will always remember -- books that have moved me, made me think, thrilled me with story or characters or artfulness of writing--and the best hit all three elements at once in wild and wonderful combinations. For me, the quality of the writing is as important as the story and characters, and the ones I love best weave it all masterfully together.

Some books are part of my ATK list for emotional, personal, and very individual reasons. Some stories have influenced or touched me deeply at certain points in my life and are sentimental favorites, some have taught me something I needed to learn at the time, and others kept me going or gave me a temporary escape hatch when I needed one. I'll be forever grateful to those books, and those authors.

What books would you list as your ultimate favorites? What books are the cream of the crop for you personally, books that will stay with you forever, treasured on your bookshelf and in your heart and head. What books have resonated so deeply with you that you will read them again and again, or at least keep them on your shelves always?

Here's a list of some of my ultimate favorites, off the top of my head -- I'm not home today to peruse my bookshelves and remind myself, so these are the ones that pop to mind first. Some are "great" or classic books, some are personally dear to me, some are gorgeously written, and some are just cracking good stories.
And I'd love the time to read them all again, and recapture the wonderful sense of thrill and discovery and resonance that I experienced when I first read them. The intriguing question -- would I recapture that feeling? I'm a different person now than when I read some of these. Hmm.... anyway, here are SOME of my classic fave reads...the whole list would be very long and is always growing....

In no particular order:

The Ivy Tree, Moonspinners, This Rough Magic, The Crystal Cave...and just about anything by Mary Stewart (these are my comfort reads, exquisite writing and masterful storytelling)
Rebecca by Daphne Du Maurier (just breathtaking in all its aspects)
Jane Eyre, Charlotte Bronte (my classic read)

 

Anne of Cambray, Mary Lide (what a poet can do with a medieval romance -- exquisite)
Gone With the Wind, Margaret Mitchell (I read this five times in high school!)

The Wolf and the Dove, Kathleen Woodiwiss (my treasured introduction to historical romance) -- and the quick list of some of my favorite historical romances, ever: Prince of Midnight, Laura Kinsale, Lord of Scoundrels, Loretta Chase, The Wild Child, Mary Jo Putney, Tapestry of Dreams, Roberta Gellis...and way too many more to count....

Pippi Longstocking (really this could be #1 on my hit list, if we are gauging pure enjoyment)
The Far Pavilions, M.M. Kaye (another sentimental favorite, as I was stuck in a hospital bed the week I read it, so this is one of those savior books for me)
Vision of Light, Judith Merkle Riley (adored it, start to finish, thank you, Judith!)
The Hobbit, J. R. R. Tolkein (and the rest of the series, though The Hobbit for me was The Best Ever in fantasy and the epic, leading into the visionary storytelling of LOTR)

Henderson the Rain King, Saul Bellow  (deep, insightful, poignant, wacky, funny, dark and fascinating -- I loved it the first time I read it for a college course, and have read it since, gobbling its rich and dynamic and slightly crazy story.)
One Hundred Years of Solitude, Gabriel Garcia Marquez (dazzling writing, wild and gorgeous story and craft)

To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee (moved me as a kid, when I didn't fully understand it, and as an adult, when I did)
Kristin Lavransdatter, Sigrid Undset (masterful on every level, with an unforgettable characters and setting)
Moby Dick, Herman Melville (once I got past the "assigned reading" mentality, I loved it--pure writing, as good as it gets in parts)
A Tale of Two Cities, Dickens (I love his work, but of all of his books, this and A Christmas Carol speak most closely to me)

Pride and Prejudice, Jane Austen (in college, not only did I love the story, it fascinated me how very readable this was) and another personal JA fave, Northanger Abbey.

So there's a few of my all-time ultimate champion books ... I'm sure there are more, and there are a TON of romances to add. As soon as I go downstairs, I'll look at my bookshelves and smack my forehead: "Oh yeah! that one! and that one too!".... 

I'd love to know some of your all-time favorites. We all respond to books individually and the favorites may differ widely...and yet, some of them I am willing to bet are exactly the same....

~Susan Sarah

Comments

[Jane Irish Nelson]

Susan Sarah, I agree with many of your favorite books/authors, though you left out Georgette Heyer!

However, two books that have really resonated with me are children's books that I read as an adult. Coincidentally both occur during the First World War. One is the last of the Anne of Green Gables books by L.M. Montgomery, Rilla of Ingleside, about Anne's youngest daughter, who matures during the war years. The other is The Singing Tree by Kate Seredy, which takes place in Hungary.

[Sue]

This list has so many of my favourites on it that it's freaky! I do agree with Jane that I would add Georgette Heyer; The Grand Sophy maybe. My Rebecca Du Maurier would be Jamaica Inn and I would have Jo Beverley (Somthing Wicked) Stephanie Laurens (On a Wicked dawn) Anne Gracie (The Perfect Stranger) Elizabeth Peters and the wonderful Amelia Peabody (Guardian of the Horizon) and my new addiction Janet Evanovich and the Stephanie Plum books, the best being Hard Eight.Children's books can be extremely well written and I always enjoyed reading aloud the Amelia Bedlia books by Peggy Parish; they sure made us laugh about the absudity of the English language!
Keeper books become a big problem when there are more books than house!
Thanks for making me reminisce about glorious stories.

[Gretchen F]

Isn't it odd what books capture you as a kid? My sister and I were just reminiscing about a Weekly Reader Book Club book, "All About Dinosaurs" by Roy Chapman Andrews. She says it is what influenced her to switch her major to geology. I remember the first book I owned," The World of Pooh". I have so many keepers- Jane Eyre,any Heyer, the books of Patricial Veryan, Lorna Doone-And several Wordwench offerings- Lord of Scoundrels, Mary Jo's Kiss of Fate, Edith's To Wed a Stranger, Jo's Forbidden Magic and the Rogues series,also Laura Kinsale's Flowers From the Storm, Amanda Quick's Scandalous, Carla Kelly's Wedding Journey, Barbara Metzger's Snowdrops and Scandalbroth, and many others by these writers. My biggest problem is letting go of a book I like enough to read again- because my favorite writers can't keep up with my desire for a good story, so I re-read the best ones over and over again...but I am always looking for new ones!

[Helen]

So many great books some of my favourites are
Shana Kathleen Woodiwiss
The Wolf and The Dove Kathleen Woodiwiss
Gypsy Lady Shirlee Busby
Claiming The Courtesan, Untouched,To Tempt The Devil Anna Campbell
Johanna Lindsey's Mallory series
The list is very long too many to mention

Have Fun
Helen

[Virginia DeMarce]

Not yet mentioned:
George Barr McCutcheon, Beverley of Graustark
Margaret Widdemer, Constancia Herself
Mary Elgin, The Wood and the Trees
Elsie Lee, Prior Betrothal and The Nabob' Widow
Janice Kay Johnson, Revelations
Colette, Gigi
Elswyth Thane, Williamsburg series, from Dawn's Early Light to Homing
Angela Thirkell (not quite romance)
Dorothy Sayers, Gaudy Night and Busman's Honeymoon

[Susan Sarah]

Oh yes, definitely Dorothy Sayers and Elizabeth Peters - Barbara Michaels, too, all on my extended list.

Georgette Heyer isn't on my keeper list. I haven't read much of her work... heresy, I know. To each her own! :)

Susan Sarah

[Louis]

A great many books from above. I'd like to add a few "oldies"

Edgar Wallace for mysteries
Zane Grey for westerns.
Maurice Walsh for Irish tales.

[Jana]

Little women
Pride and Prejudice
Jane Eyre
Rilla of Ingleside (thanks to the earlier poster... as soon as I saw the title I remembered! It was the book my mother made me "put down" for a while I was crying so hard!)
Veils of Silk- Mary Jo Putney
The Scarlet Pimpernel
The Perilous Gard
And so many, many more. It is hard to narrow them down!

[Janice]

Off the top of my head, but cheating by looking at nearest bookshelf:

These Old Shades - Georgette Heyer
Devil's Cub - Georgette Heyer
The Quiet Gentleman - Georgette Heyer
Cotillion - Georgette Heyer
(oh, heck, all of the regencies except Frederica which give me hives)
Red Rose - Mary Balogh
Secrets of the Heart - Mary Balogh
A Promise of Spring - Mary Balogh
(oh, heck, all of 'em)
A Debt to Delia - Barbara Metzger
Lord of the Rings trilogy
Mara, Daughter of the Nile - Eloise Jarvis McGraw
Red Planet - Robert A Heinlein
All Jane Austen
The Ghost and Lady Alice - Marion Chesney
Mr. Impossible - Loretta Chase
Murder Must Advertise & the Harriet Vane trilogy - Dorothy Sayers
Crimson Joy - Robert B Parker
Eternity Road - Jack McDevitt
To Wed a Stranger - Edith Layton
Starman's Son - Andre Norton
Smoky - Will James
The Complete Sherlock Holmes
I'd keep my Shakespeare & Chaucer texts too

If we're not sticking just to fiction, then:

The Kid Stays in the Picture - Robert Evans
The Culture of Ancient Egypt - John A Wilson

[Sherrie Holmes]

From Sherrie:
My list'll be short because I've a terrible memory, but Janice tempted me to come out and play with her mention of Smokey the Cowhorse by Will James. One of my favorite YA novels!

Off the top of my fuzzy little head: Lord of Scoundrels and Mr. Impossible by Loretta Chase. Outlander by Diana Gabaldon. Indiscreet, Dancing With Clara, and Irresistible by Mary Balogh. To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee. Flowers from the Storm by Laura Kinsale.

Oops, brain overload. I know I'm missing a bunch that I'll remember the moment my head hits the pillow.

[Cory]

My All time Keeper List:

Dorothy Dunnett - The Lymond Chronicles (top of the list)
Loretta Chase - LoS, Lord Perfect & Knaves Wager
Harper Lee - To Kill A Mocking bird
Jo Beverley - Malloren Series
Carla Kelly - Mrs. Drew Plays Her Hand & The Wedding Journey
Mary Balogh - The Notorious Rake & Temporary Wife
Georgette Heyer - These Old Shades, Devil's Cub & Federica
Patricia Gaffney - To Have & To Hold
Laura Kinsale - Flowers in the Storm
Marsha Canham - Black Wolf Trilogy

There should be more but I can't remember them all.

[kay]

These are a few, I really have too many
Non-romance
It…Stephen King
The Univited…Dorothy Mcardle
The Bad Seed…William March
Nicholas and Alexandra…Robert Massie
Exodus…Leon Uris
Dragonwyck…Anya Seton
Rosemary’s Baby…Ira Levin
My Cousin Rachel…Daphne Du Maurier

Romance:
Almost all of Georgette Heyer
The Elsingham Portrait…Elizabeth Chater
Lady Jane…Norma Lee Clark
The Rake…Mary Jo Putney
Emily and the Dark Angel…Jo Beverley
The Clergyman’s Daughter…Julia Jeffries
The Raven Sisters…Dorothy Mack
The Tenacious Miss Tamerlane…Kasey Michaels
The Merry Chase…Judith Nelson
The House Party…Anne Stuart

[Nicola Cornick]

Oh Susan/Sarah, I like this! It will look as though I am copying you, but we have a great deal in common! All of Mary Stewart's books are on my ATK list and I was particularly excited recently when I came across a copy of The Wind Off The Small Islands to complete my collection. Then there is:
Frenchman's Creek by Daphne Du Maurier
I capture the Castle by Dodie Smith
Mist over Pendle by Robert Neill
Devil's Cub by Georgette Heyer
Persuasion by Jane Austen
Ferney by James Long
Tallie's Knight by Anne Gracie
The Beau and the Bluestocking by Alice Chetwynd Ley
Cat among the Pigeons by Agatha Christie

And many many more.

[kay]

Someone hit me, how could I forget Lord of Scoundrels by Loretta Chase?

[Sherrie Holmes]

Kay, I'll hit you if you'll hit me. How could I forget Dorothy Dunnett???

[Caffey]

I love this! Here's a few of mine I can see from my keepers shelf. I hope I don't repeat any up there but there's lots up there I haven't read yet. I know some might on other lists, but for me they touched me emotionally.

Annie's Song by Catherine Anderson
Silent Melody by Mary Balogh
Wild Child by MaryJo Putney
Mistress of Mellyn by Victoria Holt
A Well Pleasured Lady by Christina Dodd
The Bride by Julie Garwood
Winter Garden by Adele Ashworth
This Time For Keeps by Kathleen Kane
The Promise Of Jenny Jones by Maggie Osborne
Knight On A Texas Plain by Linda Broday
Silver Lining by Maggie Osborne
Always To Remember by Lorraine Heath
Once In Every Life by Kristin Hannah
Lord Of Vengeance by Tina St.John
An Affair Most Wicked by Julianne MacLean
The Texan's Wager by Jodi Thomas
The Touch Of Fire by Linda Howard
The Raven's Prince by Elizabeth Hoyt

I shall stop or I never will, LOL
Thanks for letting me post mine too! I loved reading yours and am making a list from them!

[Caffey]

How could I forget, Jane Goodger's THE PERFECT WIFE and MEMORIES OF YOU. I really recommend hers!

I wanted to reply too to your posts :)

I've not read Mary Stewart before. Does she write historicals (I was listing just historicals, I wasn't sure). I've read a couple of Heyers recently and am in love with them all over again! Those too I haven't read since HS and so hoping to get more of those re-releases to read. I shall too put LORD OF SCOUNDRELS on top of my list to read. I heard so many rave about it. I've never read Laura Kinsale either and have no idea where to start with hers (I don't read books out of order that are series/related books). I miss reading Marsha Canham and Maggie Osborne as they retired now.

I so have a hard time letting go of books! I can't count the times I let go of them and ended up buying again so I could have it closer to me! Ask my hubby, LOL. Thanks again!

[Janice]

Someone hit me/how could I forget? dept - Carla Kelly. All of them, starting with Summer Campaign.