Benable — create shareable lists of things you recommend!

E.g., products you love, local businesses, travel recs - you can add anything to a Benable list!

Discover

Stories That Stuck With Me: My Favorite Books of All-Time 📚

11 items

Scott Goodman

A mix of the books that have stayed with me, from childhood favorites to recent reads. Each note is a quick snapshot of why it mattered to me: memories, feelings, and lessons I took from the story. Hopefully you’ll find something new here that hits j...

Sections

Young Adult & Children's

Adult Fiction

Young Adult & Children's

Been my favorite book ever since I read it when I was young. Great life lessons, and I can’t wait to share it with my daughter one day.

The Phantom Tollbooth - Norton Juster

I remember finding this in my elementary school library. Maniac Magee was the first book that got me thinking about deeper ideas without ever feeling too heavy for a YA novel. The oddball adventures and different things that happened to Maniac sparke...

Maniac Magee - Jerry Spinelli

Discovered this one totally by accident in my middle school library, and it never left my head. A weird little time-travel story about a kid, a silver egg, and how every tiny choice can twist your future for better or (in this case, often) much, much...

The Green Futures of Tycho - William Sleator

It’s a classic. My favorite all-time children’s book. The drawings and story sparked my imagination like no other when I was little. I still have the book I owned when I was a kid and just bought a new version for my daughter’s little library in her ...

Where the Wild Things Are - Maurice Sendak

One of the most unique books I’ve ever seen, and it felt that way from the first time I opened it. I first discovered it in an elementary school Creative Writing class, and it basically flipped a switch in my imagination. Each page is a moody black-a...

The Mysteries of Harris Burdick - Chris Van Allsburg

Adult Fiction

As someone with a design/creative brain and a soft spot for pop culture, this one hit perfectly. Comics, art, storytelling, and big, messy ambition set against New York during the Golden Age of comics. It’s a true epic that spans decades, and watchin...

The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay - Michael Chabon

Time travel + JFK, but what really stuck with me were the people and the everyday details of the world of the late-50s/early-60s America. It made me think a lot about choices, consequences, and what you’d risk to “fix” something…if you could change h...

11/22/63 - Stephen King

I first read this in 9th grade and it stuck - how quickly a group (or community) can go from teamwork to chaos. A tight story that still makes me think about leadership and conscience. An amazing and unsettling read that lingers long after you're don...

Lord of the Flies - William Golding

Finally read this book a few years ago after hearing so much about it, and it definitely lived up to the hype for me. It’s a love letter to books set in post-war Barcelona, with twists, a haunting atmosphere, and suspense. You can’t go wrong as a boo...

The Shadow of the Wind - Carlos Ruiz Zafón

One of the most beautifully written books I’ve ever read, and it comes with real heart. It reminded me that limits don’t shrink a life, they shape it. A gentle nudge to live deliberately and lead with kindness.

A Gentleman in Moscow - Amor Towles

Classic Agatha Christie vibes…quiet village, sharp Poirot, everyone with a secret, but as the story rolls on, something feels…off. You can’t quite place it, and that unease builds until the reveal lands. One of the great twist endings I’ve ever read....

The Murder of Roger Ackroyd: A Hercule Poirot Mystery - Agatha Christie