Since I work in publishing and I studied English Literature, my housemates seem to think I’ve read every book that’s ever been written, from The Bible to War & Peace to The Hungry Caterpillar. I’m afraid that’s not the case.

While I love reading and have read many books, there’s still a world of them left to explore – classics and contemporary. Then I was asked the more difficult question of ‘So what’s your favourite book then?’ Some people can answer that in a heartbeat, but I find it tremendously hard to narrow it down. How do I choose just one book above all others? I’ve read so many books that I’ve loved down to the last word and that have kept me up until the early hours of the morning that it seems impossible to give one definitive answer.

When choosing a favourite book, I feel like a small child faced with this:

One of my first literary love affairs was with The Picture of Dorian Gray. I was hooked on the shameless aestheticism and witty epigrams. Then came Shantaram when I travelled around Asia, I was blown away by Gregory David Robert’s vivid depiction of India. Then there was Frankenstein, The Book Thief, Paradise Lost, High Rise, His Dark Materials, and Sherlock Holmes. All of these books still resonate with me and hold a special place in my book treasure chest.

I could never limit myself to one favourite book and I don’t see why I should. I will continue to go through life with more of a ‘Sophie’s Top Ten’. Which I imagine in a year or so, will be ‘Sophie’s Top Twenty’.

Do you have one favourite? Or do you have several like me?

Sophie Robinson, Publishing Assistant