The Bookish Dilemma: Being Asked “What’s Your Favorite Book?”

Hello, everyone! It's time for another bookish dilemma post!

This is a question that stumps many readers: "What's your favorite book?" There are some readers who know what their favorite book is, with no doubts and no fuss. For many of us, though, once we think of one book that's our "favorite," we think of at least 5 others that are in contention for the position of our "favorite" book.

I think that, at best, a reader can give their top 5 favorite books. Additionally, I also think that a reader can give their favorite author. However, the question of "What's your favorite book?" stumps every single one of us to some extent.

There could also be the situation where we read a book recently that became a new favorite. In many of these cases, unless it was a book that was an anticipated read for us or really struck us, we may not remember the name of the book initially. We may remember the plot, author, characters, and everything else aside from the book's title when it's not within reach.

Maybe we don't have a favorite book. We may like and love many books, but we don't have a specific favorite book or two. We simply may not have a favorite author whom we love reading books from. I think this is a situation where non-readers (and some readers) have to accept that yes, it is okay to not have a favorite book.

So I think the better question to ask is "Do you have a favorite book?" rather than "What's your favorite book?" That way, your reader friend or family member isn't stressing about their answer, and they can give you a more rounded answer.