Top Ten Tuesday # 19 (My Favourite Books)

TOP TEN TUESDAY is a weekly book meme hosted by The Broke and The Bookish.

This week on Top Ten Tuesday we can write about whatever topic we feel like to. It’s a freebie. YAY!

Actually, not so yay since I practically fried my brain trying to think of a topic. After much consideration, I went for listing a few of my favourite books and why. If you’ve been following me for awhile, this list is probably not going to be a surprise because you’ll probably guess some of them. I talk about these books all the time, for a reason though: I FREAKING LOVE THEM!

Harry Potter by J. K. Rowling. SHOCKER, right?!?!?!?! You know this was bound to happen. All my posts feature Harry Potter – it’s inevitable and I’m not apologising for that. Harry Potter is part of me, I grew up reading those books and I cried so much when both the last book and movie came out. I remember I was in the States when the last movie was released and I felt so empty at the end because even when the last book was published I still had the movies to look forward to, but then, the last movie came out and it hit me: no more Harry, Ron and Hermione’s adventures *insert sad face here*. I re-read the books almost every year though and I watched some of the movies every year since Spanish television channels broadcast all of them during the Christmas break.

Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë. Once upon a time… well, in my last year of high-school actually back in 2009 (jeez, I’m so old!) one of my best friends told me to read Jane Eyre and I’ll always be in debt with her. I can’t say why I loved it so much without spoiling bits of the novel but it is an outstanding classic and Jane is one of the strongest, sweetest and most independent female characters in the history of literature. She goes through a lot but she keeps fighting nonetheless. I’m pretty excited that I’ll have to study it in more debt next year at Uni.

The Book Thief by Marcus Zusak. Everything about this book radiates brilliance. The story, the writing style, the setting… everything! There are so many historical fiction novels out there about the II World War but what made The Book Thief so special is the war is not the central point in the story, but the characters. This book is the perfect example of a character-driven novel done right. You feel the characters, you connect with all of them instantly and they slowly sneak into your heart.  Also, the narrator is Death and he (or is a she?) is incredibly sassy. The writing style is beautiful and so original.

Wonder by R. J. Palacio. Not only was this one my fav book of 2014 but it has now a place in my all time favourites as well. There is something about Wonder that makes it so inspirational. It may be a middle-grade novel but any reader would enjoy it. August is such a strong character and the poor guy doesn’t have it easy with his “disease” – he’s face is deformed. One peculiarity of the book is that is told in 6 different perspectives and each one of them shows how the characters see August (he has his own chapters as well). It’s truly a remarkable read.

Storm of Swords by George R. R. Martin. Saying the Song of Ice and Fire series is one of my favourites would be an understatement. All the books available are great but this one is mind-blowing, full of twists and jaw-dropping material. The way Martin plays with the plot is outstanding. Everything that goes down you won’t see coming. After finishing it I was amazed. That man can write a story. I don’t even know how he manages taking into account the grandeur of the story: so many characters, so many plot lines – both main and secondary ones – and so many setting. I would get confused. Fantasy authors, man, they are out of this world. Also, I love the Spanish edition of the book. It’s divided into two parts (we all know how big that book is) but the awesome stuff is that both covers combined recreate a scene. I thought it was pretty cool.

Emma by Jane Austen. People always say delightful things about Pride and Prejudice but besides the movie (Matthew Macfadyen is an exceptional actor); I’ve never felt like reading the book. Why did I pick Emma then? Well, the BBC did a mini-series starring Romola Garai, Jonny Lee Miller, Michael Gambon (Dumbledore!) and Rupert Evans among others – you should know that I really enjoy British productions as well as seeing British actors work. I saw only one episode and stopped because I told myself to read the book first and I did. It was so funny, no kidding. Emma is kind of a matchmaker, she is always thinking about pairing up different people and so hilarious to read how she thinks she can read people so well but she’s indeed oblivious to what is really going on.

And last, but definitely not least: The Catcher in the Rye by J. D. Salinger. This book saved me. Plain and simple. I read it because I wanted to while on my junior year at University back when I was studying Psychology. If you don’t know, those were not happy years. I felt pretty much apathetic about everything and it’s probably the main reason why I connected so much with Holden Caulfield. He was, like me, lost. I’m aware this book gets a lot of hate, like A LOT and it breaks my heart because The Catcher in the Rye was a rock for me - an anchor - and I’ll always be utterly grateful to this book. It has a place in my heart, no matter what.

I could make a lot of honorable mentions of other books such as A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson(holy crap that book!), The Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett and a bunch of others but those 7 are beyond doubt, remarkable.

What topic did you choose for this week TTT? Which books are your favourites of all time?