Books, Movies, Music & Entertainment - Top 3

What are your top 3 works of fiction and why? I know there are a ton of good stories, just want your top 3.

Mine are: "Shibumi" by Trevanian. Normally I hate espionage thrillers but this 1979 book about an international killer for hire has no equal in my mind. It remains the only novel I can reread over the years and not get bored with.

"Deliverance" by James Dickey. Dickey was a good poet before he wrote this story of a canoe trip "gone bad". Just his use of the language is worth a look if you appreciate clever sentencing.

"Dogtown Drifter" by John Bolduc. Story of a pirate treasure found by an old Gloucester, Massachusetts fisherman who uses the gold to do good deeds with while being pursued by evil doers. Reads like a Carl Hiassen novel but the author is even funnier and the story has the most poignant ending I've ever read. Actually made me cry. It is my understanding this book is being made into a movie.

too many favorites to narrow down to three only, but 3 faves within arm's reach:

tom sawyer-samuel clemens. read it every summer to recapture some
of the magic that gets flogged out of me with every passing year. the purest literary
expression of childhood i've ever encountered. never fails to "take me back."

one hundred years of solitude-gabriel garcia marquez. he could have made
an entire career out of sequels/spinoffs from any number of characters in this
novel but chose not to. must remember at some point to photocopy the page with the
family tree in the preface for reference while reading the book.
his love in the time of cholera is, despite the title (and the movie), a worthy
runner-up; romantic beyond my feeble attempts at description.

frankenstein-mary shelley. great depth and gothic wonder of an literary age &
style that passed too quickly. the oldest novel i've come across (but unsure if it's the
first) that immediately plunges the reader into the conclusion of the story which makes
no sense until reading the entire tale. of course, it's commonplace now in movies
and fiction/non-fiction but seems wholly original and unforced here. extra bonus points
for being short enough for many to read in one sitting. shelley's inspiration
for the novel makes for a good backstory by itself. for those only familiar with the
various hollywood distillations of the story, you owe it to yourself to read this. i would
liken it to listen to the first record of the beatles white album for years and then, one day,
discovering there's a second record hiding in there-whole new ballgame. wonder how
the author would have enjoyed mel brooks' young frankenstein?
arguably a top 3 comedy of all time! :)

tonight's honorable mention: the odyssey-homer