Bookish March Madness: Championship

Here it is! The round to end all rounds! Which book from The Great American Read will be crowned as my all-time one-and-only champion?!?!

In the first corner, one of history’s most beloved novels, PRIDE AND PREJUDICE! Written by Jane Austen, this book is the basis for one of history’s greatest romance tropes, enemies to lovers. It has sparked countless remakes, adaptations, and inspired-bys. Readers continue to fall in love with Mr. Darcy (and Colin Firth) and see themselves reflected in the quick wit and dry humor of Elizabeth Bennett.

In the other corner, HARRY POTTER! It is impossible, friends, to overstate the impact Harry Potter has had on my generation. When I was in fifth grade kids who had never finished a book were clamoring to read my teacher’s copy. It made a generation of readers. And as adults we are having the chance to read this series to our kids. Its message of friendship, love, and magic is timeless, and its humor and emotions still ring true. We will always be re-reading this book.

The trouble, of course, when trying to choose the winner, is comparing two books that are so different. One is for children, one for adults. One was written in the 1800s, the other over 150 years later in 1994. One is fantasy, the other realistic. The only thing they really have in common is how beloved they are.

Beloved by me, too.

I often tell people that Pride and Prejudice is tied for my favorite book of all time. Before I started book blogging and my tbr got a mile long, I re-read this book every year and never got tired of it. This is the book that got me started in my love affair with classic literature, and the first book I fell in love with as an adult. The story is so romantic that it melts my heart, even with its mild language. No matter how many times I read, I am always in agony over whether Elizabeth and Darcy will ever really get together. Ugh, I just love it so much.

Harry Potter, though. If Pride and Prejudice is the first book I fell in love with as an adult, Harry Potter has been my longest love. I read it for the first time at age 11, and now, twenty years later, I am re-reading it again for a chapter-by-chapter with my favorite podcast. I have an entire shelf in my bookcase for my various copies and spin-offs. I am in love with Newt Scamander. My Christmas present last year was tickets to Leaky Con where I bought a personalized magic wand. Being a member of this fandom has meant everything to me. They have been my friends when I didn’t have any. These books have brought me laughter when life had me down.

So how do I pick?

Which is, of course, the absolute joy of a bracket. Forcing you to pick between two things you would rather not. The agony over the final decision. BRACKETS ARE AMAZING!! Sorry if you are actually into basketball and your March was ruined, but I am having SO MUCH FUN right now! Aside from the fact that this decision is literally triggering my anxiety. Ah, well, what can you do? Sometimes fun things make you anxious, right sports fans?

In the end, I’m going to have to go with the one I call my favorite when I introduce myself at staff meetings.

and the winner is…

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PRIDE AND PREJUDICE!!!!!

*cheering*

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Well, that was fun. I thoroughly enjoyed that blog series, and I hope one or two people out there enjoyed reading it too. See you guys next year, hopefully with something a little more thematic, eh?

What do you think should have won? Pride and Prejudice or Harry Potter? Or would you have picked another book entirely off the list? Let me know in the comments!