Ah, the timeless and the most inconsiderate conversation starter (ever). Haven’t we, lovers of literature, faced this horrific question about a million times before? Every time it is mentioned, you can almost feel your eye twitch in irritation as you smile and proceed with the usual “Ummm…that’s a difficult one!” Yet, why is it one of the most difficult questions people could ask you?
It is very difficult to compare books to one another. More often than not, our favourite books are by different writers. They may even be different genres and written in different time periods. It is quite a subjective area where objective ranking is impossible. When we rank things, there is a certain criteria. Yet, when it comes to books, what is the criteria? Is it the story? Is it the characters? Is it the style of the writer? Engagement? There are so many things that make it difficult to compare books to one another. Which brings me to my next point.
Mood swings and time lapse. The way we see things and remember them highly depends on what mood you were in. You may have loved a book at some point because it helped you during a hard time in your life, or because it reminded you of something that was going on. Your mood affects your memories of the book itself. Associations are key and may sometimes play a role in what your favourites are.
Genre bonanza. During this day and age, there exists all sorts of literature out there. You want unicorns and rainbows? It’s probably somewhere in Waterstones. You want assassins and dark underworld shenanigans? Hit up Amazon. The point is – you have likely come across a variety of genres in your lifetime. As per usual, you are probably biased in one genre or two. This doesn’t make it any easier to compare books across genres or within one genre! Dystopia is completely different to the classics, so how do you pick whose story made you more excited – Jane or Katniss? Even within the genre, it’s almost just as difficult. Each book is rich with its own world, set of characters as well as sub-genres!
Changing seasons, changing tastes. We are very fickle creatures. Our tastes and values change, and some things you used to love in the past, you don’t love anymore now (*cough*Twilight*cough*). Just like clearing out your wardrobe, you do spring cleaning of your bookshelf (of favourites). As more books come out, you develop a liking towards them and perhaps even realise that your past favourites were nothing compared to your present ones! Not to mention that we are young and are highly likely going to discover more books in the future!
I can come up with many different reasons as to why exactly we can’t decide what our favourite book is. So then all that it comes down to is – there are far too many to choose from!
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