“Grandma, what’s your #1 favorite book of all time?” 

My #1 favorite book of all time?

As part of a Readathon at his elementary school, my nine-year-old grandson recently asked me this question. You might think this is a simple question with an even simpler answer. Not for me. I’ve been impacted throughout the years by different books at different points in my life. The ones that have left the biggest impressions are the ones that educated me the most. Picking one book out of a lifetime of reading would be impossible.

Unlike what’s happening at many libraries across the country today, my local library didn’t ban books, nor did they prevent children from using the adult section. It was from the library, not the classroom, where I gained a greater understanding of life and history, reading many books that are currently being banned in schools and libraries.

In the classroom, I was forced to memorize dates of battles and names of generals. By reading James Mitchner, Leon Uris, and The Diary of Anne Frank, I learned of the atrocities perpetrated by many of those generals at the direction of their leaders here and abroad, whether in the name of Manifest Destiny or the “superiority” of the white race.

In school, we had mandatory air raid drills where we sat in the hall, facing the wall and covering our heads to protect us from possible nuclear attack. On the Beach by Nevil Shute taught me the futility of such an exercise. Yet no teacher in any of my AP US History classes ever mentioned anything about what would really happen should the Soviets launch a nuclear missile at us. Nuclear winter? The term was never mentioned in the classroom. And we certainly were never shown the images of the aftermath of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

School taught me useless facts that would only benefit me if I ever went on Jeopardy! The historical fiction, biographies, and autobiographies, I borrowed from the library, humanized those famous names rather than lionizing them. It showed me that no issue should ever be viewed entirely in black and white. There are always subtle shades of gray involved. History, unfortunately, has and will continue to repeat itself when we don’t learn from our mistakes. Books taught me that, not my history teachers.

Long after graduating, I’ve continued reading and gaining a deeper understanding of humanity. Roots by Alex Haley and The Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead, although both novels, brought the horrors of slavery to light in a way no high school study of the Civil War, nor reading Gone with the Wind, ever did. As did Ron Chernow’s massive biography of Alexander Hamilton, regarding our founding fathers and the Revolutionary War.

From Ariana Franklin’s Mistress of the Art of Death series, I learned more about the Middle Ages than I ever did in my high school course on European History. Most recently, Marie Benedict’s The Mitford Affair, based on the lives of real people in England before and during World War II, showed me how insidiously fascism took hold of many of the English elite.

As I read these books, I often became angry over the inhumane treatment perpetrated by one group against another, but at the same time I remained hopeful, knowing people are capable of change. As Anne Frank wrote in her diary, “In spite of everything, I still believe that people are really good at heart.” Although, lately, that’s becoming increasingly difficult. I also worry that if these books and others are denied to us and future generations, no one will have the opportunity to learn about all the shades of gray.

It’s also made me wonder if perhaps this is why I gravitated to writing humorous cozy mysteries. I know that more and more lately, I need an escape from life, and I’m sure others do as well. Maybe if we all laughed more, the world would be a better place.

Of course, I couldn’t convey any of this to my nine-year-old grandson. I needed to give him the title of my favorite book. In the end, I settled on Louisa May Alcott’s Little Women, also a book about hope and believing in the goodness of others.

What’s your #1 favorite book of all time? Post a comment for a chance to win a promo code for a free audiobook download of any of the available Anastasia Pollack Crafting Mysteries or Empty Nest Mysteries.