Heyy! I realize that this might be kind of an impossible question, but I'm so curious what you would consider your all-time favorite books!
Ahhh this is such a great question! I was so excited to answer it, and then I had a rough day and forgot about the list I’d started compiling. So here is the (mostly unedited) list!
Tbh I struggled to decide between favorite/ comfort books that are of doubtful literary merit, favorite books that I think are quality literature and have stood the test of time (for me), and books I’ve only read once or twice and/ or have read for the first time somewhat recently (so it doesn’t feel fair to compare them to books I’ve reread and loved for years), but that have been on my “favorite books of X year” list…
Cut bc this is so long omg
All time fave books (the easy part of the list, absolute best):
Lord of the Rings— read it every year. If I could only bring one book on a deserted island, it would probably be this (or the next two). The book I’ve turned to the most when feeling hopeless.
Middlemarch— am currently reading it for the 3rd time in 2026 (have probably read it at least twelve times overall). I love how George Eliot (mostly) humanizes the worst characters, as well as the multiple layers and mirrors throughout the book.
Bleak House— another one I’ve read multiple times a year. Had to stop doing that for a bit bc my copy was falling apart. I have a new, clothbound copy now, but I keep forgetting I can actually read it again. Dickens’s best book overall IMO— his absolute peak for the humor, social commentary, pathos, complex plots, ridiculous side characters, queer characters (if you read it right), happy endings, sad endings, complex narrative devices… I could go on forever. The source of my url, also!
Pride and Prejudice— I love P and P for making me laugh (my poor nerves!), and there’s this line about Elizabeth seeing how her visit to Charlotte will unfold, something about the quiet charm of their everyday routine, that always makes me feel happy with my simple life routine. This book just feels so comforting.
Why didn’t they ask Evans?— I periodically forget all about this book, remember it exists and then listen to the audiobook again, and it always has me in stitches. I also love seeing how the main characters mature over the course of the story.
The Poisonwood Bible— another book I read until I broke it. I have a new, hardback copy now. Every time I read it, a different part hits me really hard (last time it was the ants). I also love finding connections between this and other books— Spillover by David Quammen (tropical medicine), The 19th Wife (religious trauma/ deconstruction), Shatterpoint by Matthew Stover (Star Wars flavored Heart of Darkness, colonialism and going crazy in the jungle).
Blankets by Craig Thompson— beautiful artwork and a relatable story about growing up as a creative, religious kid in the Midwest
The 19th Wife— in some ways, similar to Bleak House (complex narration with two primary narrators, social commentary on a “system”, mystery). Bought it at a thrift store, read it in a couple days, and immediately started it again as soon as I’d finished.
Are you my mother? (by Alison Bechdel)— the much deeper sequel to Fun Home. I love how she describes her experiences with therapy and the books she reads about therapy. An incredibly meta book for nerds.
Books I really like but that I haven’t read enough times or over a long enough period of time to put in the same list as LOTR (this is already super long, so I didn’t elaborate, but I can say more about any of the remaining books if you’re curious):
A Swiftly Tilting Planet & Dragons in the Waters
Lycanthropy and Other Chronic Illnesses
Hide by Kiersten White
Comfort nonfiction books:
Into the Wild
Under the banner of Heaven
The Lost History of Christianity
Trust the Plan: The Rise of QAnon and the Conspiracy That Reshaped the World
Technically Are You My Mother? is also nonfiction, but I don’t feel like moving it lol
Going Clear, The Evolution of God, Beyond Belief: The Secret Gospel of Thomas, Zealot… if it’s about the history of religion, I’ll probably like it
Books I’ve only read once, but they made a big impression on me (the hardest list to edit tbh, this could be MUCH longer):
Stalin’s Daughter
Free by Lea Ypi
The Man Who Lived Underground (the novel)
What My Bones Know
I hope this was interesting! I’d love to hear your top favorites as well :)
My point remains that critics said that there is a great album within ttpd if only she trimmed down the album, and then no one can agree what songs should be on the album.
you love him too. if padmé had said you love him or anything else lmao his love could be defined as platonic or familial but the use of too implies obi-wan loves anakin as padmé loves him (aka romantically)
i made a post like this before but I can't find it now. so. I'll just redo it.
What's the first "big news story" you remember from when you were a kid?
It's something I love to ask mixed-aged groups sometimes because I think it's really interesting to see the responses. I've gotten answers from the Olympics of [whatever year] to Watergate to more recent stuff from my niblings.
My first news thing I remember is the OJ Simpson trial. I vaguely remember watching the news with my grandparents before that, but that's the first story I remember, in part because my second grade teacher had us go play so she could watch the verdict 😂
I may be biased because I love this album so much but I also think I do just really love this album cover and quite frankly I really enjoy how weird and offputting it is an as image in some ways!!!!! I think there is a sparkly spikiness to the image that really capture what Showgirl is an as album #ToMe
you think that you're so alone in the world then you read literature from hundreds of years ago and you realize that other people have always felt this way
I need to stop replying to “how do you make friends in your 30s?” threads because all my answers boil down to “you have to want to know people instead of have friends” and I don’t think people wanna hear that
draw it bad and draw it weird and draw it catered only to yourself and draw it wobbly and draw it too small and draw it with the default brush and draw it without using references and draw it and leave it unfinished and draw it for the first time and draw it
