I’ve been thinking about something a lot lately.  As I read more and more books, more get added to my list of favorites.  I know that seems logical.  However, it seems almost every book I read ends up as a favorite.  What is it about a book that classifies it as a favorite?

So that you can be on the same page as I am, here are my favorite books, in no particular order:

1. Twilight Saga by Stephenie Meyer
2. The Host by Stephenie Meyer
3. The Harry Potter series by JK Rowling
4. The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
5. These is My Words by Nancy Turner
6. Dragon Prince trilogy by Melanie Rawn
7. Dune by Frank Herbert
8. His Dark Materials trilogy by Philip Pullman
9. You Are Special by Max Lucado
10. Fox in Socks by Dr. Seuss

On my profile at Shelfari and Goodreads, I say the following about how I rate books:

5 stars: I use this prestigious rating only for books that belong on my Favorites shelf. Books on my Favorites shelf are books I can read over and over again.
4 stars: I use this rating for books I liked a lot, definitely recommend to others, and I will read again.
3 stars: I use this rating for books I liked, which I may or may not recommend to others and I may or may not read again.
2 stars: I use this rating for books I’m glad I read, but I didn’t like and I will probably never read again.
1 star: I use this rating for books I absolutely detested, do not recommend to others, and I will never read again.

If I think about it, the 24 books I’ve deemed as being a favorite do fit in the category of “books I can read over and over again,” even though I haven’t read all of them more than once yet.  It seems they do belong as one of my favorites.

I guess I just wonder if these books become favorites because I’ve only read 96 novels.  Do the books I’ve read just happen to be that good?  Or, do I not know what I’m missing, so I deem them as being a favorite when they should just be books I really, really like?  Or, could it be that I’m not critical enough of the writing or the story?  Am I just too easy to please?

Some of my favorite books are favorites because they got me to read.   Some of the books have sentimental value.  And, others are because I love their story.

None of my favorite books are great works of literature, like A Christmas Carol or The Iliad.  (Actually, I’ve never read either of those, although I do know the stories.)  No, my favorite books have more of an entertainment value rather than an educational one.  Is that wrong?