What Makes a Favorite?

I don’t have a full-blown essay planned out for this, as it’s mostly just stream of conscious of things I’ve been thinking about lately. So there’s really no “point” to this lol

What makes a favorite book, game, show, Excel formula, etc? I’d say the vast majority of people choose favorites based on their feelings, including myself. I mean, it’s all subjective, but someone could think a book is technically well written with fleshed out characters and a good plot but still not consider it a favorite. It doesn’t connect with them. So are favorites things that the person forms a (positive) connection with? Maybe. Then again, this also probably isn’t always the case.

Something I’ve seen multiple people say or imply is that a favorite should be something they go back to: reread, replay, rewatch, re…. And it makes me wonder: Why is that such an important criteria? (Criterion for the pedantic.) That’s partially a rhetorical question. I understand “why” on a certain level, and this isn’t a critique on choosing favorites using that method.

“I really loved this book, but it’s not a favorite because it’s not something I could see myself rereading in the future.” “This was an amazing game, but it’s not a favorite because it’s not really replayable.” Statements like these aren’t uncommon. With books in particular, a common metric for how people choose which physical books to keep is, “Can I see myself rereading this in the future?” And to that I have to ask, “Are you actually going to reread any of those books?” Of course, the answer is that it depends on the individual person.

Some people do re-evaluate their favorites from time to time using that metric. Others have more temporal favorites: “This was a favorite when I was growing up, but it’s not necessarily a favorite now.” Still others do no such thing, and once something is declared a favorite, it stays that way. In fact they might go the opposite extreme and avoid interacting with it ever again (beyond fond memories) in fear of not liking it as much anymore and tainting the whole thing.

It’s all subjective, but some things just don’t lend themselves to going back to. The magic of a mystery novel might be gone once someone knows what the twist is. Someone might have watched and loved a show during a specific time in their life that can’t be recreated. Heck, going back to what I just mentioned, sometimes you forget what a slog you found a book, having only retained that incredibly satisfying ending. (What’s better: a book with an incredible lead-up but disappointing ending, or one with an incredible ending up disappointing lead-up? is a question for another day.)

I guess I just find it interesting is all. Personally, I don’t necessarily decide favorites based on if I will or won’t go back to them or even how much I remember from them. Like many others, I suffer from, “I just finished BOOK, and it was amazing! Please don’t ask me anything about it, as I’ve forgotten everything.” Still memory does play somewhat of a role for me. I no longer track my reading anywhere. So if I see a book in my collection (physical or digital) and have trouble remembering if I read it or not, one of two things is happening: Yes, I have read it, and it was an average book that left no impression on me. Or, no I haven’t read it, and I have no thoughts on it yet. But I wouldn’t really look at a book and go, “This is a favorite because I would reread it again someday.”

So is “re-ability” a legitimate factor for choosing your favorites? Yes, absolutely. Is it a metric I personally ascribe to or think is necessary? Nope. In fact I don’t think having favorites is that important. You could just have stuff you hate, dislike, like, and love. (For many, “love” would constitute their favorites, but I know some people distinguish between loving something and favoriting it.) Choosing favorites can be very fun, though. And I love seeing how different people decide how they choose what their favorites are.

Anyway, that’s it.