Who is your favorite author?

I usually dread when someone asks me a "favorite" question because I can never seem to think of an answer. What is your favorite TV show is particularly difficult because I have a small child and a husband, which means we are usually watching football or Curious George. I've learned to appreciate both of those (actually I really like Curious George) but they are not my first choice. So I don't have a current favorite TV show, which is strange for someone that had two TVs and two TiVos in a studio apartment.I usually just look like an idiot as I fumble around trying to think of what shows are still playing in prime time.

When people start the "what is your favorite game," they usually focus on TV or movies or sports teams. These are all difficult for me (except for sports teams if college is included because of course the answer is CAROLINA). But if you ask me who my favorite author is I have absolutely no problem answering, hands down, unequivocally it is Madeleine L'Engle.

Like most people, I was first introduced her by reading A Wrinkle In Time. The book is a classic and I'm horrified to learn how many people haven't read it. This Newbery Medal winning young adult novel explores the ideas of time and space while dealing with family relationships. It is a fantastic read, along with the other books that make up the time quartet. (I will not get into the trilogy/quartet discussion here, but I feel I must acknowledge the heated debate surrounding the books included in the series.) The sad thing is, lots of people who have read A Wrinkle in Time don't realize how many books Madeleine L'Engle wrote over the course of her career. And beyond that, view her as only a young adult writer when many of her best works were non-fiction and adult novels.

I do realize that, having chosen L'Engle as my favorite makes me somewhat biased, but I can't help but sing the praises of a writer that makes me want to be a better person, explore my relationship with God and communicate more eloquently all with a single paragraph. Right now I'm reading The Irrational Season one of The Crosswicks Journals. I've had these books for years. This one was actually given to me in 2000 and sat on my shelf when I was single, following me to seven homes in the last eleven years. I fully believe that I just wasn't ready for it before, I hadn't lived enough life to appreciate what she has to say about love and marriage and motherhood. But now...WOW, I feel like these words written the year I was born are exactly what I need to hear right now.

What amazes me is no matter which of Madeleine L'Engle's books I pick up and decide to read, it is the exact right book for that time in my life. As a writer, she is able to weave a story that entertains, educates and challenges the reader; she doesn't talk down to her audience, even with her young adult works, and I always put down her books with the desire to learn more.

It makes me sad each time I remember that she passed away and there will be no more books. I won't know what happened to the Austins or the Murrays, nor will I have a chance to read more about her first-hand experiences. But what I can do is continue to read what she has written, taking from each something new every time, no matter how many times I've read it before. And I can share with others how much I enjoy her work, and give them the opportunity to discover what Madeline L'Engle has to say to them. And that is something I imagine she would have liked...