The Princess Bride by William Goldman

Romance. Gallantry. Humor. Vengeance. Dastardly Deeds. Giants. Swashbuckling heroes. A tender tale of true love.

I laughed. I cried. I swooned. I howled. I cheered.

Out of all the books I've read in the past ten years, The Princess Bride was unequivocally a good read, satisfying whatever and wherever it 'itches.' If you want tenderness, it's there. Lunacy, it's there. Need a happy ending following a life and death struggle? Goldman's ingenious and somewhat fractured adult fairy tale, The Princess Bride, has it all.

Though the movie version directed by Rob Reiner is inspired, it no way replaces the book or diminishes the enjoyment of reading it. For one thing, so many details can't possibly be included in a feature length film, no matter how well written or directed.

If you've seen the movie but never read the book, you've missed out on dozens of inspired scenes: the six-fingered man and his retinue visiting Buttercup's family farm, the pathetic relationship between her parents, the tragic tale of the Princess Noreena who loses her hat, Wesley's life as a pirate-wannabe with the Dread Pirate Roberts, Fezzig's childhood as a professional wrestler, the rich relationship between Inigo's father and Yeste. These finally crafted chapters and splashes of backstory make the book a must read.

If you have favorite scenes in the movie as I do, you'll be happy to know that the most winning of them are taken directly from this inspired tale.

You can read this book in a weekend. And you can read this book ten times over (I have) and still find it engaging and wholly entertaining.

Now that's a good read.