# Name your all-time three favorite novels, in order. No more than three, please **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [December 2, 2025, 3:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-your-all-time-three-favorite-novels-in-order-no-more-than-three-please/1025316 "2025-12-02T03:38:14Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![TreacherousCretin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/treacherouscretin/32/476_2.png) [@TreacherousCretin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TreacherousCretin)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2025, 1:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-your-all-time-three-favorite-novels-in-order-no-more-than-three-please/1025316/61 "2025-12-03T01:53:12Z")
> [@Author\_Balk](#): > > This has two of the four. Based on this I’m adding Jitterbug Perfume to my “to read” list. I’ve read all of Tom Robbins’ books and Jitterbug is my favorite by far. ---
**Author:** ![TreacherousCretin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/treacherouscretin/32/476_2.png) [@TreacherousCretin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TreacherousCretin)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2025, 1:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-your-all-time-three-favorite-novels-in-order-no-more-than-three-please/1025316/62 "2025-12-03T01:54:46Z")
> [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](#): > > And, I know it’s difficult, but please mention only three. Three shall be the number thou shalt submit, and the number of the submitting shall be three. Four shalt thou not submit, neither submit thou two, excepting that thou then proceed to three. Five is right out. A lot of good that did. Some people just can’t restrain themselves. ---
**Author:** ![digs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/digs/32/14889_2.png) [@digs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/digs)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2025, 2:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-your-all-time-three-favorite-novels-in-order-no-more-than-three-please/1025316/63 "2025-12-03T02:00:47Z")
> [@ParallelLines](#): > > I’m going to take at least a few days to build a list, narrow it down to 10 or so, and then break my heart trying to get it down to just _three_. Same here. I’ve been trying, but I can’t whittle it down to less than five. ---
**Author:** ![koeeoaddi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/koeeoaddi/32/408_2.png) [@koeeoaddi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/koeeoaddi)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2025, 2:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-your-all-time-three-favorite-novels-in-order-no-more-than-three-please/1025316/64 "2025-12-03T02:11:26Z")
Sense & Sensibility, Jane Austen A Soldier of the Great War, Mark Helprin Bleak House, Charles Dickens ---
**Author:** ![pantheon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/6bbea6/32.png) [@pantheon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pantheon)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2025, 2:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-your-all-time-three-favorite-novels-in-order-no-more-than-three-please/1025316/65 "2025-12-03T02:25:27Z")
Illuminatus! is right up there!! I know a handful of sci-fi nerds that like one author or both, but I only know two people IRL that have read this. ---
**Author:** ![Two\_Many\_Cats2](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/779978/32.png) [@Two\_Many\_Cats2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Two_Many_Cats2)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2025, 2:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-your-all-time-three-favorite-novels-in-order-no-more-than-three-please/1025316/66 "2025-12-03T02:35:58Z")
1. “Gone with the Wind” by Margaret Mitchell 2. “Down the Common” by Ann Baer 3. “Fahrenheit 451” by Ray Bradbury ---
**Author:** ![ParallelLines](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/parallellines/32/3575_2.png) [@ParallelLines](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ParallelLines)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2025, 2:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-your-all-time-three-favorite-novels-in-order-no-more-than-three-please/1025316/67 "2025-12-03T02:58:24Z")
> [@pantheon](#): > > Illuminatus! is right up there!! I know a handful of sci-fi nerds that like one author or both, but I only know two people IRL that have read this. Well obviously, you’re in the right place, -points at copy on his shelf-. > [@digs](#): > > > [@ParallelLines](#): > > > > I’m going to take at least a few days to build a list, narrow it down to 10 or so, and then break my heart trying to get it down to just _three_. > > Same here. I’ve been trying, but I can’t whittle it down to less than five. I realized I was never going to be happy with any list, and as others have mentioned, what the list is today is going to be different _tomorrow_, so while my first choice is more-or-less secure, the other 2 would be highly variable. 1. Tigana, Guy Gavriel Kay 2. Chase the Morning, Michael Scott Rohan 3. In Conquest Born, C.S. Friedman I have a serious thing for failed heroes, or failed _people_ that still try to get back up which was 90% of my short list, and a couple (such as the mention of _Snow Crash_ upthread) would have rated higher if I hadn’t just reread them. For that matter, I replaced #3 _four times_ while I was typing this! Things I learned today - I had temptations to self-edit the list to make it more high-brow (beaten), to remove problematic authors (still played a small part), and to avoid many books that just didn’t make the cut because I would have HAD to include a sequel (Dan Simmons Hyperion would have required the sequel). I repeat, @Mean_Mr.Mustard is a _monster_. And I mean it in the nicest way. ---
**Author:** ![susan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/susan/32/17537_2.png) [@susan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/susan)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2025, 3:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-your-all-time-three-favorite-novels-in-order-no-more-than-three-please/1025316/68 "2025-12-03T03:03:56Z")
> [@ParallelLines](#): > > Well obviously, you’re in the right place, -points at copy on his shelf-. I’ve also read it. ---
**Author:** ![Dung\_Beetle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dung_beetle/32/7945_2.png) [@Dung\_Beetle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dung_Beetle)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2025, 3:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-your-all-time-three-favorite-novels-in-order-no-more-than-three-please/1025316/69 "2025-12-03T03:20:59Z")
> [@Two\_Many\_Cats2](#): > > “Gone with the Wind” by Margaret Mitchell This was number one with a bullet for almost my whole life. I’m afraid to re-read it now in case it doesn’t feel the same anymore. ---
**Author:** ![ASanders](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asanders/32/3367_2.png) [@ASanders](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ASanders)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2025, 3:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-your-all-time-three-favorite-novels-in-order-no-more-than-three-please/1025316/70 "2025-12-03T03:33:46Z")
1. Lonesome Dove 2. LOTR 3. Boys Life by Robert McCammon I actually haven’t reread any of these in quite a while, but they are so far still my answer to this question. ---
**Author:** ![Two\_Many\_Cats2](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/779978/32.png) [@Two\_Many\_Cats2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Two_Many_Cats2)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2025, 3:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-your-all-time-three-favorite-novels-in-order-no-more-than-three-please/1025316/71 "2025-12-03T03:50:33Z")
If you do want to reread “Gone with the Wind”, you would do well to keep in mind that this novel was elemental in the great historical whitewash in romanticizing the “Lost Cause” ethos that lies at the base of the Maga Movement today. Margaret Mitchell was a true believer in the Confederate legend. Rereading this work would be an enlightening experience in understanding the opposition’s revisionist viewpoint. An absolutely relevant and worthwhile pursuit in today’s divided nation. You don’t have to agree with a work to find it useful or even enjoyable. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2025, 3:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-your-all-time-three-favorite-novels-in-order-no-more-than-three-please/1025316/72 "2025-12-03T03:53:25Z")
> [@Two\_Many\_Cats2](#): > > Rereading this work would be an enlightening experience in understanding the opposition’s revisionist viewpoint. It is hard to read a book when you are tossing it against the wall in a fit of fury every so often. 🤪 ---
**Author:** ![Two\_Many\_Cats2](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/779978/32.png) [@Two\_Many\_Cats2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Two_Many_Cats2)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2025, 3:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-your-all-time-three-favorite-novels-in-order-no-more-than-three-please/1025316/73 "2025-12-03T03:55:27Z")
Suit yourself. Maybe you could try focusing on the book’s strong feminist message which is far more amenable to today’s standards. ---
**Author:** ![suranyi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e36b37/32.png) [@suranyi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/suranyi)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2025, 3:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-your-all-time-three-favorite-novels-in-order-no-more-than-three-please/1025316/74 "2025-12-03T03:55:40Z")
1. _War and Remembrance_ by Herman Wouk (actually the second volume of _The Winds of War_, which I also love, but is even better) 2. _The Moneychangers_ by Arthur Hailey. I love all his books, but that one’s really outstanding. 3. _The Poisonwood Bible_ by Barbara Kingsolver ---
**Author:** ![Hatchie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hatchie/32/3983_2.png) [@Hatchie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hatchie)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2025, 8:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-your-all-time-three-favorite-novels-in-order-no-more-than-three-please/1025316/75 "2025-12-03T08:35:00Z")
1. Lolita, Nabokov 2. The Unprofessionals, Julie Hecht 3. The Bus On Thursday, Shirley Barrett (all read recently; my memory doesn’t go back that far.) ---
**Author:** ![bmasters1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/b5e925/32.png) [@bmasters1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bmasters1)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2025, 9:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-your-all-time-three-favorite-novels-in-order-no-more-than-three-please/1025316/76 "2025-12-03T09:56:10Z")
All three of mine are from Arthur Hailey: –_Airport_ –_Wheels_ –_The Moneychangers_ ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2025, 12:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-your-all-time-three-favorite-novels-in-order-no-more-than-three-please/1025316/77 "2025-12-03T12:16:03Z")
As noted above, picking three is tough. A lot of om favorites have already been listed above. But if I went by the ones I most frequently re-read and can’t resist once I’ve got then i hand it’d be something like this: **The Lord of the Rings** J.R.R. Tolkien **The Day of the Jackal** Frederick Forsyth One of C.S. Forester’s “Horatio Hornblower” novels, like **Hornblower and the Atropos** ---
**Author:** ![Dinsdale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/97f17d/32.png) [@Dinsdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dinsdale)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2025, 12:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-your-all-time-three-favorite-novels-in-order-no-more-than-three-please/1025316/78 "2025-12-03T12:38:42Z")
I find the number of repeatedly mentioned titles interesting. Wonder what that says about the books, or us. Sorry to see no other fans of Harry Crews. (I recall **Ukulele Ike** used to be a fan.) IMO, any reader of novels ought to at least give him a try. ---
**Author:** ![Author\_Balk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e0b2c6/32.png) [@Author\_Balk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Author_Balk)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2025, 12:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-your-all-time-three-favorite-novels-in-order-no-more-than-three-please/1025316/79 "2025-12-03T12:39:27Z")
I decided to give my favorite novel from 3 different categories. 1984 - George Orwell. The category is more society, human nature, etc. A Prayer for Owen Meany - John Irving. Favorite story A confession… One of my favorite type of books may be considered “chick lit”, even though I’m male. I like them as long as they are not too “chick-y”. In this category… Big Little Lies - Liane Moriarty ---
**Author:** ![koeeoaddi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/koeeoaddi/32/408_2.png) [@koeeoaddi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/koeeoaddi)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2025, 1:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-your-all-time-three-favorite-novels-in-order-no-more-than-three-please/1025316/80 "2025-12-03T13:19:43Z")
> [@SCAdian](#): > > _Metzger’s Dog_ – Thomas Perry Just as an aside, we have a cat named Doctor Henry Metzger, a favorite ar our vet’s office. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-your-all-time-three-favorite-novels-in-order-no-more-than-three-please/1025316.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-your-all-time-three-favorite-novels-in-order-no-more-than-three-please/1025316.md?page=5)