Covid has slowed down our attendance of concerts, theater, dance, opera, museums, and movies.  But, beyond television and music, books remain a wonderful way to explore the world and examine ourselves in the comfort of home.

Recently, the New York Times celebrated the unique Book Review Section that began as a weekly insert of the Sunday Times in 1895.  Readers were asked to nominate the best books of the past 125 years.  Thousands of choices were made and a decision was made to only include one book by a given author in the top 25.

Three writers — John Steinbeck, Ernest Hemingway, and William Faulkner — received nominations for seven of their books. James Baldwin, Margaret Atwood, and Virginia Woolf each had five books nominated.  After narrowing down the top 25 choices, the readers made their decisions.

After counting more than 200,000 ballots, the winner by a narrow margin was “To Kill a Mockingbird” by Harper Lee.  “The Fellowship of the Ring”, by J. R. R. Tolkien was the second choice. The third choice was “1984” by George Orwell. “One Hundred Years of Solitude” by

Gabriel Garcia Marguez was the fourth choice. Toni Morrison’s “Beloved” was the fifth choice.

My favorite of the final five is “1984”.  And my all time favorite, “Catch-22”, by Joseph Heller made the Book Review’s top 25. Both Orwell and Heller warn us of the dangers of bureaucracy and blind loyalty to authority.  

What is your choice from the top 5? And, what is your all time favorite book?