1. Enid Blyton's entire works - these pretty much sum up my childhood. I was obsessed by it all, the Famous Five, Secret Seven, Mallory Towers and the Magic Faraway Tree to name but a few. My brothers and two of our close friends made our own secret club to mimic the famous five, and my brothers and I watched the video over and over again! Enid Blyton was a huge part of my childhood, and it's something I look back on nostalgically as I come nearer my eighteenth birthday.
2. 'To Kill A Mockingbird' by Harper Lee. This might be a common one, but nevertheless I loved it. It's definitely true that the books you study at school stay with you, and I really enjoyed looking at this, and I loved the message it gave out.
3. 'Night Road', which is (as far as I know) a not very well known book. I picked it up on a deal in Sainsburys a few years ago, and it's haunted me ever since. It's the story of two fraternal twins, and their friend/girlfriend. It's literally my worst nightmare in a book as one of the twins is sadly killed in a freak car accident (her twin brother was supposed to be driving but was too drunk) so her best friend is to blame. Heartbreaking and beautiful, I can't read it without crying my eyes out as the thought is a little too close to home for me.
4. The Harry Potter series, by JK Rowling. Again, I'm cheating a little by listing a series rather than a book, but I kinda think it counts... The Philosopher's Stone was the first 'big' book I ever read by myself (aged 4), and it was instantly love. My dad used to joke about how I knew more about Harry Potter than JK Rowling, and I remember him ordering me my copy of the Order of the Phoenix so I could get it the day it came out - I read it in about two hours! When I was in year three, I got the Prisoner of Azkaban as a present for getting a good parents evening. And yet, I've still never been to Harry Potter Studios. The injustice is unreal!
5. 'A Prayer for Owen Meany' is another indescribably amazing book. My English teacher recommended it to us in December 2013, and I read the majority of it wondering when the action would start. I admit, I found the character of Owen Meany incredibly irritating, and the way that John Irvine wrote his speech all in capitals frustrating. There were quite a few points where I was wondering why the author was telling us this, but I did persist as my teacher had raved about it so enthusiastically. And then, literally in the last four pages, everything was revealed. It was the kind of huge jaw dropping bombshell that made EVERYTHING fall into place, and the sudden realisation of the masterpiece that I'd been reading for about a week suddenly hit me. The skill with which Irvine crafted that novel was immense and I recommend it to everyone I know!
6. 'Charlotte Gray' by Sebastian Faulks was another novel that I discovered in English GCSE. We were given an extract as part of our language paper, and it's war setting immediately intrigued me. I'm a huge fan of Sebastian Faulks' work, and I really wasn't disappointed by this. It's a thrilling book with many location changes, keeping it fast paced and fresh, and like so many of my favourites, it isn't afraid to get emotional and harrowing. One of my favourite aspects is that Sebastian Faulks writes from a female perspective, and this isn't the only book where he does similar things with the narrative, which is refreshing. It's Alexander McCall-Smith esque in a world filled with men rarely writing from women's perspectives, or with female central characters.
7. As an aspiring medic, I must admit that any scientific books not directly related to the human body, I find a little dull. I just prefer fiction to read. But, I read 'Human Genome' by Matt Ridley, and that was awesome. Sorry for the poor use of vocabulary, but it was seriously great. It held my interest throughout and I loved the unique division of chapters into separate genes - it was really clever. It was scientific, but allowed those not studying it at a higher level access to it's information by means of an explanatory prologue or introduction of sorts. It was definitely useful for me to make sure I'd covered it all.
8. 'Wonder'. It may be a children's book, but that doesn't stop it being one of the most heart-warmingly, heart-breaking WONDERFUL books I've ever read. So lovely, and a really great way to subtly teach children about acceptance. Seriously. It's divine.
9. 'The Girl You Left Behind' by Jojo Moyes. Love dem war books. I thought this was so unique and it beautifully intersected the past and present with a very clever link.
10. I saved this spot for one of my most recent favourite books, that I've already commented on in a review on my blog - 'Captain Corelli's Mandolin' by Louis de Bernieres. Check out my thoughts on it for more depth, but it's incredible. Funny and sweet and tragic all at the same time, it reminds you of first love, and those familial relationships that you don't give much thought to, all hanging under the shadow of war.
Have you seen this tag before? Which books are on your top ten? I'd love to know!
Have you seen this tag before? Which books are on your top ten? I'd love to know!
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