Top Ten  Books I Recommend The Most

1) We Need To Talk About Kevin - Lionel Shriver. Thebes book I read last year, absolutely stunning and you just can't put it down, I wish everybody would read this.

2) The Perks Of Being A Wallflower - Stephen Chbosky. Beautiful, soulful and ageless. Ignore the hype about John Green because I think this beats anything he's ever done.

3) Fight Club - Chuck Palahniuk. My very favourite Palahniuk, and one of my most loved contemporary romances, I love this book.

4) ASOIAF Series - George R.R. Martin. I don't think there's any reader who wouldn't enjoy this series -- it has everything! Dragons, war, death, sex, wolves, beautiful northerners, king's, queen's, imp's, intrigue, betrayal....Read it!

5) Wuthering Heights - Emily Bronte. The best love story ever written.

6) Pride & Prejudice - Jane Austen. Because Mr. Darcy.

7) Lolita - Vladimir Nabokov. I had to have one banned book on this list, and this is one of my very favourites. I think before you read it it can be an easy tale to judge, but once immersed you'll wonder why you ever saw any problem with it.

8) Fiesta/The Sun Also Rises - Ernest Hemingway. One of my favourite novels, and I think a game changer for those who say they dislike Hemingway's writing.

9) The Most Beautiful Women In Town - Charles Bukowski. This was the first Bukowski I read and I've never looked back.

10) The Bell Jar - Sylvia Plath. I think it's really important for young women to read this book. Everyone always talks about coming of age stories and recommends The Catcher In The Rye, and while it's a great book, I think it's very easy to grow out of and I think it's important to have a female presence in that genre. The Bell Jar feels like it will be with me always, while now I'm at an age when I just want to tell Holden to grow up.

Top Ten Tuesday

Top Ten Favourite Kick-Ass Heroines

I haven't done a TTT in 2 weeks as last week I was feeling very sniffly and sorry for myself and was convinced I couldn't come up with the 10 Halloween themed books required. This week however I am on top form so lets go, in fact, lets sing 80's female power ballads as we go along because Im sure we are all Kick Ass Heroines (or Heroes!). All in tune? okay...

1)  Daenerys "Stormborn" Targaryen, A Song Of Ice & Fire - George R.R. Martin. My number 1, of course. I love Dany, she and Jon are my favourite characters of the series and when I get to her chapters I'm always so excited. When she listens to others I think that's when she we think she's becoming weaker, but then that blood of the Dragon starts to come out and my head is filled with choruses of "You Go Girl!" "I am Daenerys Stormborn and I will take what is mine with fire and blood!"

2) Arya Stark, A Song Of Ice & Fire - George R.R. Martin - Arya has been Kick-ass since she was first mentioned in the books, and as the series goes on she becomes more and more brilliant and my love for her grows. Arya is a survivor, yes, she also wants a lot of revenge, but she is the only character (apart from Tyrion) who I think will definitely survive the series, she's just so strong and capable of anything, I'm sure She'll be there till the end.“Swift as a deer. Quiet as a shadow. Fear cuts deeper than swords. Quick as a snake. Calm as still water. Fear cuts deeper than swords. Strong as a bear. Fierce as a wolverine. Fear cuts deeper than swords. The man who fears losing has already lost. Fear cuts deeper than swords. Fear cuts deeper than swords. Fear cuts deeper than swords” 

3) Brienne of Tarth, A Song Of Ice & Fire  George R.R. Martin. Ah Brienne, the one woman who managed to make Jaime Lannister realise he had a heart. I really like Brienne, I like that she's not beautiful and doesn't seem to care, I like even more that she managed to become a Knight, but most of all I like her honour and her loyalty which seem to know no bounds. "All my life men like you've sneered at me, and all my life I've been knocking men like you into the dust."

4) Éowyn, The Lord Of The Rings - J.R.R Tolkein. I (gasp) have not actually...read...this series. (Don't shout at me!) and have only seen the films a few times each however I have read a lot about the series and I definitely know who Éowyn is. Her kick-ass line in the film however ("I am no man" as she slays the witch King) alters in the book, but is just as awesome; "No living man am I! You look upon a woman. Éowyn I am, Éomund’s daughter. You stand between me and my lord and king. Begone, if you be not deathless! For living or dark undead, I will smite you if you touch him."

5) Jane Eyre, Jane Eyre - Charlotte Brontë. Jane is so unbelievably strong. She goes through such massive heartbreak in her life and just seems to take it all in stride, Plus I love the part where Jane first meets Helen as a child and stands to have all her hair cut off with her for showing vanity - all so Helen won't have to be different alone. “I am no bird; and no net ensnares me: I am a free human being with an independent will.”

6) Jo March, Little Women - Louisa May Alcott. I love that Jo refuses Teddy knowing she may never be made an offer of marriage to again, because she loves him like a brother and has dreams of her own. She wasn't afraid to fight for what she wanted - in terms of her career and her choice of a man. And she cut off all her hair to pay for her mother's train ticket. Clearly I just like it when girls sacrifice their hair. "Well, of course Aunt March prefers Amy over me. Why shouldn’t she? I’m ugly and awkward and I always say the wrong things. I fly around throwing away perfectly good marriage proposals. I love our home, but I’m just so fitful and I can’t stand being here! I’m sorry, I’m sorry Marmee. There’s just something really wrong with me. I want to change, but I – I can’t. And I just know I’ll never fit in anywhere."

7) Becky Sharp, Vanity Fair - William Thackery.  Becky, like Jane Eyre is an orphan who leaves her school when she comes of age, unlike Jane however, Becky decides that climbing the social ladder is a much more appealing use of her time than working. The ending of this book is the most Kick-ass thing about Becky, she refuses to be poor and always manages to turn her luck around. "I'm not a child, Captain Osborne. Not like your brainless little Amelia. Ambition doesn't tire. Evil never sleeps."

8) Matilda Wormwood, Matilda - Roald Dahl. I'm pretty sure that if you're female and you write a book blog, you consider Matilda to be Kick-ass. BECAUSE SHE IS. Roald Dahl books were a massive part of my childhood and, of course, I always identified with Matilda, if only I had powers and could move stuff with my thoughts too..."The books transported her into new worlds and introduced her to amazing people who lived exciting lives. She went on olden-day sailing ships with Joseph Conrad. She went to Africa with Ernest Hemingway and to India with Rudyard Kipling. She travelled all over the world while sitting in her little room in an English village."

9) Alice, Alice's Adventures in Wonderland/Alice Through The Looking Glass - Lewis Carol. First off, Alice followed a rabbit down a hole, that's pretty darn adventurous, I'm sure I'd never have done that as a kid (or now), then she finds her self in, quite frankly, terrifying Wonderland and just plods along. She only really gets upset once or twice about being there, which, if that was me, would not be the case. The minute flowers start mocking me I'm out. "In another moment down went Alice after it, never once considering how in the world she was to get out again." 

10) Lady Brett Ashley, The Sun Also Rises/Fiesta - Earnest Hemingway. Brett never does anything particularly adventurous or admirable, I just like that she's so open with her heart, but at the same time sensible. She's in love with love and when she stops feeling it she moves on. I just think she's so wonderfully forward. ""Oh Jake," Brett said, " we could have had such a damned good time together." Ahead was a mounted policeman in khaki directing traffic. He raised his baton. The car slowed suddenly pressing Brett against me. "Yes," I said. "Isn't it pretty to think so?""

Top Ten Tuesday

Top Ten "Older" Books You Don't Want People To Forget About.

I'm warning you now; I may exceed have exceeded 10 on this list...
I've always, always been a reader. Typical "excellent work" stickers and move up a class behaviour in school, but the reason I've always loved books so much is because of my mum. She'd read to my brother and I aloud every night when we were little and she's the type who always has a book on the go, and growing up I fell into the same patters. When I fist started branching out from kids or YA fiction at about 10 or 11 the first books my mum put into my hands were from authors like Dickens, Austen and the Brontë's, and I've never looked away from the "classics" since. These books have survived the test of time for a reason, here are some of my favourites. 

1) Wuthering Heights - Emily Brontë - My favourite love story of all time. Desperate, haunting and absolutely fantastic.

2) Pride & Prejudice - Jane Austen - I've written a review on this book which you can read here.

3) Jane Eyre - Charlotte Brontë - I think I like Jane's character more than I like the books itself, and that seems to be the case with quite a lot of people, She's very...real, and she's the constant underdog.

4) Tess Of The D'urbervilles - Thomas Hardy - Poor Tess, I feel so terrible for her every time I read this. A book which shows you haw far women's rights have come and makes you truly understand the terrible stigmas put on girls in those times.

5) 1984 - George Orwell - I wrote a review on this book a few weeks ago, which you can read here. One of the most important books I feel I'll ever read, makes you so aware.

6) Little Women - Louisa May Alcott - I love the characters in story, and my favourites are the obvious; Jo and Beth, such a lovely, heart-warming tale about family and again women's rights, I love that Jo won't take no for an answer and is determined to write.

7) The Great Gatsby - F. Scott Fitzgerald - Again, I've written a review on this recently which you can read here. 

8) A Clockwork Orange - Anthony Burgess - A book I still find difficult to read, even after a few times. Ultra Violence and Human Nature. Viddy Well, Little Brother. 

9) On The Road - Jack Kerouac - Again...haha, I have written a review of this which you can read here.

10) Junky - William Burroughs - In the same wild times of On The Road, such an exciting and well written (considering!) book, not for the less mature audience.

11) Little Birds - Anais Nin - Definitely not for the less mature audience. I adore Nin, I think her writing is fabulous, but lets leave it at that. 

12) Howl - Allan Ginsberg - I think this must be included, one of my absolute favourite poems of all time, I'm with you in Rockland.

13) Tropic Of Cancer - Henry Miller - I'll leave this one vague for the same reasons as Little Birds.  

14) Fiesta - Earnest Hemingway - Hemingway had to be on this list, I wasn't sure which to put down but Fiesta is a favourite of mine. Wonderful, vibrant, exciting, and home to one of my favourite females in literature, Brett Ashley. 

I'm looking forward to seeing every one else's top ten!

Top Ten Tuesday

Top Ten Tuesday is run by The Broke and the Bookish. This weeks question is;

Top Ten Books That Make You Think (About The World, People, Life, etc.) 

I think this is quite a difficult question to narrow down into 10 as in my opinion that what most books do; they make us think and they change opinions, so I've tried to narrow it down into books that had (to me) a really strong message that made an impact. (In no particular order).

1) Fight Club - Chuck Palahniuk. "The things you own, end up owning you". Just how materialistic are we?

2) Into The Wild - Jon Krakauer. There really is nothing stopping us from just picking up one day and going out to find beauty or purpose or meaning in the world, it does't have to be novelised.

3) 127 Hours - Aron Ralston. See above. The instinct to survive can make you do incredible things.

4) Survivor - Chuck Palahniuk. The way you look does not define who you are.

5) Fiesta - Earnest Hemingway. Love is not a fairytale, but "Isn't it pretty to think so."

6) 1984 - George Orwell. We are all under others control.

7) A Clockwork Orange - Anthony Burgess. Violence is everywhere. It is senseless and consuming.

8) The Road - Cormac McCarthy. Love will always exist, even in the absence of all else. It can be a strength and a weakness, but what would we rather have? A loved one to share in despair? Or the ability to survive longer, alone.

9) Hey Nostradamus! - Douglas Coupland. "God is Nowhere. God is Now Here."

10) Tess of the D'Urbervilles - Thomas Hardy. Women's rights have really come such a long way in the 120 or so years that this book was published.


What books changed the way you think?