Here's a challenge. Can you name your favourite book of all time?
"Oh God, that's such a hard question. That's like asking me who my favourite child is,' says Sarah Idle, an Auckland mother, writer and self-confessed reading geek.
"But I do have a couple of books that I go back to time and time again.There’s always something I hadn't spotted the first time around"
"Atonement by Ian McEwan is one of those books. It’s a love story but it's completely subversive. These people aren’t together because of a lie, and because it's told through so many perspectives you don't really know how to feel about it, because every single time you read it you think, 'Oh, maybe I can see it from that person's perspective after all,' and then the next time you read it you're like, 'No, no, no, that’s totally wrong!'"
Got a favourite book? Help other Kiwis and vote for it here in the Whitcoulls Top 100 Books for 2017
Sometimes people's choices are surprising, as we found out with a quick poll of the Newshub newsroom.
"My favourite book?' asks Newshub Political Editor Patrick Gower. "The Red Pony by John Steinbeck. It's a book of short stories about a boy and a pony. Nothing about politics."
Books allow readers to explore different worlds both real and fantasy.
They can indulge in some role-play (think A Game of Thrones by George R. R. Martin), discover common ground (try Rants in the Dark: From One Tired Mama to Another by Emily Writes), or be inspired (read In Order to Live: A North Korean Girl's Journey to Freedom by Yeonmi Park) simply by opening a book.
The AM Show's Amanda Gillies adores reading and her favourite author features in many of the Top 100 lists.
"I don't discriminate," she says. "If it has words, I'll read them. But Roald Dahl’s writing is brilliant. I fell in love with his books and short stories when I was a child, and from there I've never stopped reading."
While reading is often used for fun, escapism and even indulging (50 Shades of Grey, anyone?), others can have a profound impact on a reader.
"To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee is my favourite book because, when I first read it as a teenager, it opened my eyes to the issue of race for the first time," says Newshub reporter Janika ter Ellen.
"I’d never really thought about it before at that stage of my life, and I realised I was living in a bubble. It probably helped set me on the path I’m now on."
"Sometimes books make me cry or laugh out loud," says Gillies. “I can be inspired to try new things or travel to different places.
"Sometimes I need a day or two to recover from a good book because it has such an impact on me."
Whitcoulls book manager, Joan Mackenzie, says that while the book industry saw a great deal of innovation and change with the arrival of e-readers and e-books, there is increasingly a growing trend for people to put those away and revert to the magic of an actual, physical book.
"International trends support our own experience that there has been a resurgence of interest in physical books, and that reading is as popular as it ever was," she says. "There are certainly as many wonderful books being written and published as there ever were."
"I don't just read fiction; I'll read autobiographies or something completely different so I can expose myself to different writing styles and ideas," says Ms Idle.
She admits she loves visiting the library "seeing what the librarians have recommended, then visiting my favourite sections and browsing."
"I have never read a novel on a Kindle or electronic device,” says Gillies. ‘I love the smell and feel of the paper, and turning the actual page."
Besides, Gower thinks an electronic reading device is just another thing he'd have to keep tabs on.
"I've never used a Kindle. I don’t want one. I’d lose it."
This article was created for Whitcoulls to celebrate its Top 100 books list, now in its 21st year.
Vote here to help other Kiwis find their new favourite books.
