10 Book Recommendations

Hello,

I recently haven’t been in the reading mood, or any mood in particular, decision making of any kind at the minute is not my strong suit. I find myself being fidgety and indecisive; I start a book and if I can’t get into it immediately I leave it. Part of that is impatience. I’m the kind of person who prefers watching television programs on catch up because I can fast forward the boring bits and get to the good stuff even if I haven’t seen it before.

I thought I would give a list of 10 of my favourite books which have crafted my reading experience and that I reread time and time again.

1. The Giggler Treatment by Roddy Doyle This is the perfect children's book that I enjoy rereading as an adult. It's so lighthearted and I have the fondest memories of reading this as a kid.
2. Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen My mum was always obsessed with Pride and Prejucide and Mr. Darcy, especially the BBC version with Colin Firth, so just before I went to secondary school I read Pride and Prejudice. It changed my reading experience forever, the characters are so vibrant and unique, that now if I read a book without strong characters, I really struggle to get into it.
3. Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte I didn't read Wuthering Heights until I was in my last year of Secondary School (High School) and was captivated by the complex plot and the intertwining story lines, as well as the raw and dark characters.
4. Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery An utterly relatable character of stubbornness and imagination; both of which I was a child/teenager. I loved this book so much because Anne reminds me so much of myself.
5. Noughts and Crosses by Malorie Blackman Noughts and Crosses was a book we read in school alongside studying Romeo and Juliet (the books inspiration). And for me this was the first time I read a book and thought it was powerful. Some books you read are really life changing and this for me as a 14 year old was one of them.
6. To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee Following Noughts and Crosses, later in school we read, Harper Lee's classic which only built on the awareness of the strength of literature and how it can be used for other means other than just entertainment and enjoyment. This opened doors of political and social contexts within books to which I naively had never been aware of before.
7. The Amazing Story of Adolphus Tips by Michael Morpurgo A beautiful story of a lady and her cat in World War Two. Animals have always been such a big part of my life, and I truly believe they choose you before you've even realised.
8. The Works of Alfred Lord Tennyson I have always loved poetry and none more than the works of Alfred Lord Tennyson. My favourites include classics like The Charge of The Light-Brigade and The Lady of Shallot, but my absolute favourite is Sir Lancelot and Queen Guinevere.
9. A Book of Shakespeare’s Sonnets Coming from a theatrical background of course I couldn't help but want to acknowlege the great William Shakespeare. I only really found a love for his sonnets just before University when I had an audition which asked me to prepare and learn a sonnet when I was 18. I chose sonnet 140 and it's meaning has changed so much for me as time has gone on. And that's what I love about this book of sonnets.
10. A Woman of Substance by Barbara Taylor Bradford This is the first book I have ever felt "adult" reading, classical texts made me feel cultured and sophisticated, but reading A Woman of Substance was far more grown up than anything I'd ever read before. I was 18 when I read this book and it made me feel like I could achieve anything if I worked hard enough.

I could go into further detail about each one of these books, but most of these are classics and books that have been published for over 10 years so I felt the need for detail was not required as much. Everyone's take on books are different but this is what my past reading experiences have been. But I hope to expand my reading repertoire as much as possible.