This title is slightly misleading as it may suggest that only ten books have ever had an affect on me, which is simply not true. Every book I read has some sort of affect on me whether it's annoyance, joy or terror.
The reason I bring this up is because I was nominated by a friend to post ten books on Facebook that have affected me at some point in my life. I don't usually do this sort of thing but I'ma huge advocate for sharing our opinions on books, getting people reading and, to be honest, I am actually quite interested to see what books have had an affect on other people! Like any avid reader, choosing ten books out of my entire life was difficult and I'm sure this list could change at any moment but when I wrote it earlier these were the ones that stuck out in my mind for one reason or another. So, in no particular order.... 1. Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl Okay, so this one is always going to be number one for me because it was the first novel I ever read by myself. Without speaking out loud. This was a big achievement for my seven year old self (I think I was seven, maybe I was eight) and I instantly fell in love with Dahl's story telling. As soon as I finished the book I was desperate to get my hands on another, resulting in a life long love affair with books. 2. The Harry Potter series by J.K Rowling I dare you to find a child who has read these books who is completely ambivalent towards them. It's impossible. Just waiting for these books to be published was a time full of emotion as I, like millions of other children, couldn't handle the anticipation or excitement that came with the waiting. Rowling had created such an immersive and unique world that I'm pretty sure this is where my love of fantasy truly began. 3. The Hunger Games series by Suzanne Collins Admittedly, I was a little older than the target audience when I read these books but, despite being classed as YA novels, plenty of adults place them among their all time favourites. After finishing Mockingjay , I experienced a book hangover like no other. I truly didn't know what to do with myself. I tried reading other books in the same genre and they just didn't compete, which came as a huge surprise to me as, in all honesty, I wasn't expecting a great deal from the books. 4. 1984 by George Orwell Again, who could possibly read this book and not be affected by it?! Until I read this book, every story I had read until then had had a happy ending or at least a satisfying ending. But not with this one. The characters were truly trapped in a way I had never experienced before and by the time I finished it I just wanted to hide the book in a dark place and never read it again. 5. One Day by David Nicholls This may come as a surprise considering the books that seem to affect me most are either dystopias or those in the fantasy genre. However, I don't think I have ever related to a character as much as I have related to Emma in this book. I always find characters that I like in books but it's very rare that I actually feel like a writer has captured some part of me in his or her work and at some points I feel like Mr. Nicholls has momentarily popped inside my head and stolen a few of my thoughts and feelings without me knowing. 6. A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini I had to read this as part of my AS Level English Literature course and this was the first time that I'd read anything with obvious political statements. I was still at that time where I was teetering between YA novels and dipping in to more grown up stories. In a similar way to 1984, I couldn't quite get my head around how difficult it was for these characters to break out of their situations and this terrified me. These events were set in recent times and I don't think a book had ever really forced me to think about political issues in the same way that this one did. 7. Station Eleven by Emily St. John MandelThis is one of the most recent books I've read (and you can see my views on it here) so I feel that it's quite a feat for it to end up on this list. Unlike other dystopian books I've read, this one feels the most real and likely to happen. The story shifts between days before civilization falls and twenty years later, highlighting just how much we're set to lose if we're not careful. I've always been a bit terrified about how much we rely on technology (especially myself, I always find myself on the verge of tears if it looks like my laptop has died) and this book has captured all of those fears within its pages and more. 8. The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood I feel that as someone who wants to write I should always be looking for books with captivating sentences and carefully selected words but I always end up picking something with a story that appeals to me instead. I know I should be more in to literary fiction but I'm not. However, Atwood is a true master of both of these aspects of story telling and in this book she provides a unique story with cleverly manipulated words that implore you to read on. This book hit me from the start and even thinking about it now brings back the chills that the story initially gave me. 9. Noughts and Crosses by Malorie Blackman I know I said that my first experience with real life politics was with A Thousand Splendid Suns but really it was with this book, it was just made a lot easier for teenage me to understand. So many ideas are packed in to this story and from start to finish I was an emotional wreck. I vividly remember finishing this book in the back of my parents' car on a sunny afternoon and having no idea what to do with myself. The whole family was trying to figure out how to get to this certain pub and all I wanted to do was scream "YOU HAVE NO IDEA WHAT'S JUST HAPPENED! HOW CAN YOU BE SO IGNORANT RIGHT NOW?!" 10. The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger This was also one of the first 'grown up' books I read as a late teenager and I fell in love with it straight away. The relationships between all of the characters, not just Claire and Henry, were fascinating and heart breaking in equal measure and Niffenegger's incredible structure introduced me to a whole new way of story telling. I was completely entranced by these people and the idea that they knew that their lives were always going to be intertwined but they fully embraced it. I defy anyone with a heart not to love this book. So those are my ten (for now, it will no doubt change in a week or two) and I've found that it's been almost therapeutic to talk about them. But, then again, books are meant to push our emotions and question the world and so it's imperative that we talk about them. Therefore, I would love to hear what books you would put on your list (like I said, I' a bit nosey when it comes to people's book preferences!)
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Things are quite exciting for me at the moment as I've managed to land myself a very nice job and so I have to move away from my childhood home once again. With this comes the inevitable task of packing, which always seems to coincide with me finally realising that I need to throw away a lot of things that for years I have convinced myself I still need. Yes, my name is Ellie Rees and I'm a hoarder. A book hoarder in particular.
Like most people who love books the idea of throwing them out feels like a crime and so the only other option I have is to either sell them or give them to charity. Either way, I have to part with them and its one of the toughest break ups you can go through. If I had my way I would have kept every single book I've ever owned in an underground library but it's very hard to find houses with that kind of special feature and my mum would only turn in to a lounge, anyway. However, I've been going through a lot of the books that I had as a teen today just to double check that I was certain about giving them away. I haven't read them for years but books like Louise Rennison's Georgia Nicholls series and numerous Jacqueline Wilson books were staples for me growing up and I re-read them numerous times. I understand how many people like me would want to hold on to them no matter what, convince themselves that they'll give them to their children one day or even read the books themselves. But I've realised that as much as I want a massive underground library one day, passing on a story is something very special and unique. It's not like giving someone a piece of jewelry; a book has the potential to change how someone thinks or views the world and, quite often, the reason we can't part with a book is because it has affected us so much. So I've given myself a rule; if I think about giving the book away and too many memories come flooding back or the idea truly upsets me, then I keep it BUT if I feel that I can give the book away, hoping that someone else will gain something from it, then I put it in the charity bag. Some books like Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (the first novel I ever read) or Harry Potter (the book that affirmed my love of reading) or One Day (a book with a character that I identified with like no other) I know that I couldn't give away even though I could quite easily buy another copy. Your copy of a book that influenced you so much is always going to be tied up with those emotions unlike the crisp copies you'll see in Waterstones. And I think that's great, books are all about emotions, but if you can bring yourself to part with a good book, even if it's just to lend it to someone, who knows what you'll be sparking. Otherwise I suggest an e-reader, they're easier to store and no one will expect you to lend them your copy of a book. |
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