I'd say that "Lolita" and "Love in the Time of Cholera" are the two best written books I've ever read. But if I had to pick my all time favorite book I'd probably go with "The World According to Garp". Irving takes us on the path of T.S. Garp's life from conception to death and I was enthralled every step of the way. This book is full of humanity, full of both light and dark humor, and full of insight into the human condition. Irving took over from Charles Dickens and put his own unique spin on telling a tale and creating characters that stay with you. I'll also add that while the movie based on it is less than a masterpiece (not that it wasn't a valiant effort to condense a lenghthy complex story), Robin Williams gave an admirable performance that showed he had a lot more range and substance as an actor than most people probably realized at the time, and John Lithgow was nothing short of glorious. But this not a movie review, so let me conclude by stating that if you are a fan of masterful story telling and larger than life but still quite realistic characters, pick up this book. I'm jealous of everyone who gets to accomplish what I can do no longer - to read this wonderful book for the very first time.