Monday, May 25, 2020

My Personal Canon

This is an interesting topic to noodle on. Many years ago - maybe around high school - I wrote a top ten list of my favorite books. I can't find it now but I remember it had the following books on it:
  • The Once and Future King by T. H. White
  • The Mists of Avalon by Marion Zimmer Bradley
  • A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens
  • Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
  • Persuasion by Jane Austen
  • Briar Rose by Jane Yolen
  • Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte
About five years ago, we did a display at work called Librarian's Favorites. Each of us had to pick five children's books for said display. Mine were:
  • The Wizard of Oz
  • Peter Pan
  • A Wrinkle in Time
  • The Golden Compass
  • Anne of Green Gables
My gut reaction is that books on my personal canon are books I own. I have a very slim book collection at home for a great many reasons. For a book to earn a spot on my shelves, it has to be one I read over and over. So when I started thinking of my canon, I was going to make that part of the criteria for consideration. But there are books that fall on my canon that I don't own. Yet. I have plans to buy them once I find the right edition. And there are authors who fall on my canon whose books I don't own. But I work at a library and can (usually) get them. So ultimately, owning the book is not part of the criteria. Here's what I've come up with. You'll find many similarities to the above lists.

Authors:
    These are authors who I will read essentially anything they've ever written. While I don't universally love all their stuff, nor have I read everything they've written, I do tend to enjoy their style of writing, their handling of language, and their storytelling ability. 
  • Jane Austen
    • Pride and Prejudice
    • Persuasion
    • Mansfield Park
    • Northanger Abbey
  • Charles Dickens
    • A Tale of Two Cities
    • Nicholas Nickleby
    • A Christmas Carol
  • Charles De Lint
    • Jack the Giant Killer
    • Dreams Underfoot
  • Erin Morgenstern
    • The Night Circus
    • The Starless Sea
Trilogies/Series
  • His Dark Materials by Philip Pullman 
    • The Golden Compass
    • The Subtle Knife
    • The Amber Spyglass
  • Anne of Green Gables by L. M. Montgomery (specifically the first three books)
    • Anne of Green Gables
    • Anne of Avonlea
    • Anne of the Island
  • Harry Potter by J. K. Rowling
  • Abhorsen Trilogy by Garth Nix 
    • Sabriel
    • Lirael
    • Abhorsen
Standalones
  • Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte - first classic I ever read
  • The Once and Future King by T. H. White
  • Mists of Avalon by Marion Zimmer Bradley
  • Briar Rose by Jane Yolen
  • Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrel by Susannah Clarke
  • Peter Pan by J. M. Barrie
Movies Based on Books
    So, there are a few movies that have been part of my identity forever. The book versions don't do much for me. I'm grateful they exist for the movie to happen, but the movies are the more important part for me
  • Mary Poppins
  • Mary Poppins Returns
  • The Wizard of Oz