My Top 20 Books of All Time

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[goodstrongwords]

It always surprises me how much you love Alice. I honestly forget you love it because it is not a style of story I associate with you, but I’m so glad you do! So fun to hear this accumulation of your favorites!

[bigaldoesbooktube]

Great list 👏
I can’t imagine hating The Silmarillion but props to you for revisiting it.
I’m so happy to see someone who clearly engages with Tolkien in a way I can relate to. I truly believe that you cannot have that relationship with Tolkiens work without having a an appreciation of classic literature, and having an appreciation for Tolkien is a gateway to appreciating classic literature.

[tomaria]

David, your enthusiasm is wonderful. I may do this on my blog. A worthwhile project.

[amusicalbookworm]

Great list! I’m excited to read The Count of Monte Cristo this summer. And also you reminded that I still need to read Canterbury Tales!

[shaunholt]

Glad you like The Martian Chronicles; I got a signed copy of it. 🥰
6:17 chapter says Under This Game

[BookBlather]

Woah. I loved Forever War, and I did not know there were additional books. I just looked this up after you mentioned it, and I can’t believe I didn’t know about this whole subsequent group of related works! And this is not the only Halderman book I’ve read. .. weird. Great list!

[TheReadingandWritingLife]

I like that you said "for now" :) That's the only way I could make a list. Great books on here! I haven't read many of them. Also, I'm excited about starting Watership Down as your birthday read in June! We are birthday month buddies! Mine is the 11th!

[AnneEWilliamson]

Gosh, what an impossible list to make! So many of these are exceptional books! Interesting that you chose The Martian Chronicles and Fahrenheit 451 as your favorite Ray Bradbury books. I adored Chronicles, but I think I like Something Wicked This Way Comes and Fahrenheit 451 better. And my mother just started reading Beowulf, and it's made me want to reread it. Such a great poem!

[bookssongsandothermagic]

Love this video and this list. For me, I totally agree on Alfred Hester’s work (read The Demolished Man if you haven’t yet), Ray Bradbury’s books and Alice in Wonderland (love it much). Great that you have the Norton edition too, I can imagine that’s got lots of extra stuff in it that’s great. Hyperion is also in my faves too. Love how eloquently you say why you loved the books.

[acruelreadersthesis]

Lots of stuff I haven’t read there. They all sound great. Happy to see The Silmarillion there at #1. It was at my #1 for a long time too, and it would still make the top 10 although other books have bumped it out of the top spot. It’s so magnificent and misunderstood.

[ReadBecca]

Can't believe I missed this one back when you posted it! Really enjoyed your list, such a range of types of books. I really need to get to Hobb, and I want to pick up that LoA of Bradbury works that looks great.
All your picks are not too surprisingly a couple decades old or more, I would be very curious if any recent works are near the top shy of the list, or do you think they haven't stood the test of time yet? That would be a fun video.

[michaelk.vaughan]

This was a very exciting video! I was stunned by the surprise twist at the end. When #2 came up I was shocked! “What can top this book!?” I wondered. I can’t argue your choice though. A wonderful list with a couple I still need to read. Now you just have to do your top 100 video!

[HeyYallListenUp]

Interesting list. Many of them are on my TBR. I've read Ender's Game, Alice in Wonderland, The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings and a few of the Canterbury Tales.

[JosesAmazingWorlds]

Very enjoyable video, good job David.

[PaxPanic]

Bradbury twice! So deserved! Have you read the Halloween Tree?

[jordanparsons]

This was fantastic David. Great to see Bradbury show up twice. The Silmarilion is a solid pick, I read it for the first time last summer and liked it far more than I had expected.

You've inspired me to make a top twenty video of my own.

[MooseTalksBooks]

I really enjoyed the Pillars of the Earth! I never continued on with the series either though for some reason. The show is super good too if you haven't already seen it! The Faerie Queen is also such an interesting classic! I need to do a reread soon. Love this video idea!

[JesstheBookFreak]

I'm always interested in hearing about other's top books because then I'm more likely to give those books a shot. I enjoyed Ender's Game in high school even though it was assigned reading (which I usually rebelled against, haha). So far I've read (and loved) Fahrenheit 451 and Something Wicked This Way Comes and I should give The Martian Chronicles a try. too

[mitzireadsandwrites]

I read Hamlet for the first time recently and I was blown away! I now want to go back through the Shakespeare I read in high school (and more of course) because I wasn't taught to love it at all. It was presented in school as just something we wouldn't understand and just read it to get it over with. 🙁I remember memorizing the beginning of Canterbury Tales in Middle English for extra credit and that's about all I remember from that. 😂You've encouraged me to give that another try. Yes to everything Bradbury.  I love your list!! And I'm always in the mood for The Hobbit. There are very few books like it where you just can't read it enough.

[fadista]

This was a wonderful countdown, I am so glad Edmund Spenser made your list--I never hear anyone on booktube talk about him...😟 I have wanted to read La Morte d'Arthur for a long time. I have Pillars of the Earth in my sights too...and Robin Hobb is a new one for me, will look into it. I must say I have never understood why Ender's Game has such an elevated reputation. It was ok but I must be missing something. I remember seeing Hyperion in the bookstore I worked in years ago...it seemed to be a steady strong seller--if you have a review of that one I would like to see it. I loved this current list 😁