Chronicling all the books I've read and loved would take far more time and energy than I am willing to devote, but here are some highlights.  Growing up, my favorite books were the Hardy Boys series, written by "Franklin W. Dixon."  (They were actually written by a variety of authors under liscense from the Stratemeyer Syndicate, known for such titles as Nancy Drew and Tom Swift.  Leslie McFarlane wrote the original run of the Hary Boys series.)  My next love was Watership Down by Richard Adams, which remains one of my favorite novels to this day.  As a boy my favorite stories were always science fiction and mysteries -- most notably the Sherlock Holmes stories by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, of which I most loved The Hound of the Baskervilles.  My favorite fantasy novel of all time is definitely The Neverending Story by Michael Ende, which is even better than the movie.  There are countless other examples of books I have read and enjoyed.  I know it's trendy, but I'm also quite fond of the Harry Potter series by J. K. Rowling, of whose success I am endlessly envious. 

Most of the books I end up reading are entertaining, but do not actually impress me much--popcorn fiction and all that.  I also sometimes find myself loving a book, an author, or a series and later having to abandon it for some reason.  I was hooked on The Wheel of Time series by Robert Jordan, but it's dragged on so long I've rather lost interest.  I once considered Orson Scott Card to be my literary hero as he's one of the most talented writers of our day, but then I found out a bit too much about the man's personal views.  Sadly, it turns out that he's a bigoted religious nut and rabidly anti-gay... so I can't really support him by buying his books any longer.  I'm also very fond of much of Peter David's work.

I'm fascinated by classical myth and legend, particularly the Arthurian mythos.  I gleefully devour every version I encounter, and have been privately playing with my own timeline and "history" of Arthur's legend for years now, refining it over and over.  My favorites so far are by Mary Stewart: The Hollow Hills, The Crystal Cave, and The Last Enchantment.  Other compelling retellings include The Mists of Avalon by Marion Zimmer Bradley and Firelord by Parke Godwin.  I enjoy Shakespeare, though honestly, I would much rather see his works performed than read them.  My favorite of his plays is, by far, A Midsummer Night's Dream, though MacBeth and King Lear are also very good, and Twelfth Night is truly wonderful.  The Tempest is interesting too, but for the swan song of one of the most celebrated writers of Western history, falls a bit short for me in the enjoyment department.  When it comes to classical works, I'm a fan of many things.  Beowulf -- if you're at all interested in fantasy, read it.  Enjoy the birthplace of Tolkien's world.  Laugh at the forced Christian elements that make no sense at all.  I also recommend Bullfinch's Mythology, a somewhat more modern collection of various classic tales.  I've had great fun with John Donne, and there are others of course, always others, from Chaucer (I can appreciate his work, despite it being dry as ancient dust) to the Pearl Poet... but there is no hope of actually noting it all.