Happy World Book Day!
In honour of the day, I’ve been thinking about some of my favourite reads. This isn’t a definitive list, but all of
these books would be somewhere in my top twenty...
Pride and Prejudice
– Jane Austen
Emma – Jane Austen
Persuasion – Jane Austen
Jane Austen is my go-to author. I’ve read all her books more
times than I can count and each time they feel fresh, funny, and sharp as a
whip.
The Lord of the Rings
– JRR Tolkien
The Chronicles of
Thomas Covenant, the Unbeliever – Steven Donaldson
These two books defined and shaped my adolescent reading and
cemented me as a book worm. I was hooked
on sweeping fantasy adventures and one day still hope to write one!
Never Let me Go – Kazuo
Ishiguro
The Outcast –
Sadie Jones
Wolf Hall & Bring
Up the Bodies – Hilary Mantel
A Thousand Splendid
Suns – Khaled Hosseini
The Book Thief - Markus
Zusak
Just a few of my favourite recent reads – all of these books
have kept me on the edge of my seat, trying to read while cooking the
dinner. That kind of thing. Most of them have broken my heart one way or
another.
The Ordeal of Thomas
Hutchinson – Bernard Bailyn (non-fiction)
This is the only academic history book that has ever made me
cry.
Bailyn was a wonderful writer and a superb historian. I’d love to see the tragedy of Thomas Hutchinson, the last Royal Governor of Massachusetts, brought to life in some way – if I thought I had the chops for it, I’d give it
a go myself.
So, that's me. What books do you come back to again and again?
Thanks for sharing Sally – I love your choices! I completely agree re Wolf Hall and Bring up the Bodies. The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver has really stayed with me too. From childhood, I Capture the Castle by Dodie Smith is an all-time favourite that I still revisit. I occasionally try to read whilst ironing, but it never ends well!
ReplyDeleteHi Clare! Thanks for commenting. I just googled The Poisonwood Bible and it sounds great. Must add it to the pile. Reading while ironing sounds dangerous... But I do like that you can turn the pages on a Kindle one-handed, very good for multitasking!
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