(“Adult” as opposed to children’s fiction authors, not as in R-rated content…) So there are soooo many books that I love that I need to just step back and discuss the authors. Here are the ones I reread every year or two:
Jane Austen. If you didn’t know that, you don’t know me well enough to be reading my blog! Pride and Prejudice is my favorite, but Persuasion is right up there, too. I do read them all twice a year…
Charles Dickens. David Copperfield is his best, but I have a special spot in my heart for Our Mutual Friend. Bleak House is wonderful, too! I’m not so fond of the sad ones.
Elizabeth Goudge. Her novels are exquisite. The Dean’s Watch is a heartbreakingly beautiful story of the transformative power of one man’s love. The Scent of Water tells of one woman’s journey to faith and peace when she inherits an old house in a country town. They’re all excellent, but sadly many are out of print.
Dorothy Sayers. I discovered the Lord Peter Wimsey novels in college… Lord Peter is the most charming detective I’ve encountered. I do love a good murder mystery!
Josephine Tey. I also love good character-driven mysteries. The Daughter of Time (a fascinating exploration of the truth about Richard III) and Brat Farrar may be my favorites.
PG Wodehouse. When I’m down (or when I’m trying to avoid doing something or studying), there’s nothing like a little Jeeves and Wooster or Mike and Psmith to cheer me up! Derek read me some when I was in labor with Tommy. And Dr. Whalen says Wodehouse is sublime, so there.
JRR Tolkien. Yes, I always do an annual read-through of The Lord of the Rings. We read them aloud as a family nearly a decade before the movies came out, so it’s legitimate. For those who think it’s just science fiction, there is scholarly work out there on Tolkien, including this book by one of my favorite professors. For those on the other side who think LOTR is going to be the modern epic, I fully admit that I skim all the poetry.
One more beloved novel: Wives and Daughters by Elizabeth Gaskell. Molly Gibson is one of the most loveable heroines in all of English literature. This, Gaskell’s last novel, is unfinished, but fortunately we know where it was headed! The only other Gaskell novel I’ve read is Mary Barton, which I honestly didn’t like (it was sortof a combination of Dickens and George Eliot at their worst), so I wouldn’t recommend it. I do intend to read more Gaskell–her biography of Charlotte Bronte was great, and I’ve heard that North and South is well worth the read. Maybe now that the BBC has done a miniseries of it (I think), our public library will acquire a copy.