Brown paper packages tied up with string

So I was recently talking with this nice girl, who I will call the Princess of Power. Having seen the number of books on my shelves, she asked me what my favorite book was.

I was not sure how to answer that question, and I guess I am still not sure. Is my favorite book the one that has made the most impact on my life, and the way I think? Is my favorite book the one that I have read the most times? Is it the one that I most frequently share with others? I don't know. But here are some contenders.

* the scriptures, obviously, especially the Book of Mormon
* The Eye of the World, by Robert Jordan
* Inside Terrorism, by Bruce Hoffman
* Pieces of Intelligence: The Existential Poetry of Donald H. Rumsfeld, edited by Hart Seely
* Tropical Gangsters: One Man's Experience With Development And Decadence In Deepest Africa, by Robert Klitgaard
* One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich, by Alexander Solzhenitsyn
* Prayers from the Ark, by Carmen Bernos de Gasztold, translated by Rumer Godden
* The 13 Clocks, by James Thurber
* Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency, by Douglas Adams
* The Zombie Survival Guide: Complete Protection from the Living Dead, by Max Brooks
* Labyrinths, by Jorge Luis Borges
* Speaker for the Dead, by Orson Scott Card
* Kim, by Rudyard Kipling
* Mistborn, by Brandon Sanderson

It's nowhere near a complete list, but I do love all of these books. I have read them all multiple times, they have all insinuated themselves into my neural net in some way, and I am happy to endorse them for your reading pleasure.

So, imaginary readers, what are your favorites? How do you choose? And what did I forget?

Incidentally, after our conversation, she gave me A Tale of Two Cities for Christmas, because it is one of her favorites. I've started reading it, and so far-- the best of times. But I hear it takes a wicked turn.

--BIG JACK LE PEN