Friday 6 February 2015

Books I always come back to

I recently read a post by Jemma of Dorkface where she lists a bunch of books that she loves to re-read. I have been wanting to do some posts about books for a while now and something like what Jemma did seems like a pretty good place to start.

You may have gathered that I read a huge amount of books. I mean, I read to the point where it interferes with my day to day life. It actually sometimes interferes with remembering to do important things like eating, sleeping and going to work.

I'm always reading a book, and sometimes I have two or three books going at once. Occasionally I will even read books that I don't particularly like, just for the experience of reading them.

I have draws and draws and draws of books (it keeps dust off better than having them on shelves) but there are some that I keep coming back to and will probably always come back to. 
In some cases it's because I still love the books, other times it's for the nostalgia of going back to when I first loved them.
Most of them are awesome, a couple are incredibly embarrassing, but we all have books like that in our collections. I'm not ashamed (much). lol 

Anyway, I wont stall any longer. Here they are, the books I always come back to...
  • Perfume: The story of a murderer - This is my all time favourite book. I adore it. The first time I read it I found some parts a bit slow, but by the time I finished it it had become my favourite book and nothing has come close since. This book isn't for everyone, most people don't seem to 'get it', and the most common response I get when someone returns the copy I lent them to read is, "This book was weird. You are weird. What just happened to me?" lol. But I love it. The story, the characters, the way that it is written. It's all just the best. 
  • The Harry Potter Series - I don't need to explain why these books are on the list. I must have read them all at least 7 times now and every time I read them I find something new to love. 
  • An Imaginary Life - This is a book that I had to read in high school and everyone hated it but it actually blew my mind. It's probably one of my next favourite stand alone books after Perfume. I absolutely love it. I can't even explain why this book is great. It just is. 
  • The Lord of the Rings - This is also one of my favourite book series. It kind of goes without saying. I come back to these books when I need to be reminded how an epic fantasy masterpiece should be written, and also when I just want to read something that I can completely lose myself in. 
  • We Need to Talk about Kevin - I don't come back to this book as often as some of the others, but I like it because it challenges me. It makes me think of one of the things I fear most as a woman with depression and difficulty forming emotions. 
  • Wuthering Heights - I'm not an enormous fan of the real old school classic novels but I really love Wuthering Heights. I love how incredibly flawed and awful everyone is. I love fiction where the characters are kind of messed up, not perfect princes and princesses. 
  • Requiem for a Dream - This book leaves me lost for words. It simply destroys me. It leaves me with nothing but a deep hollow sadness that takes a few days to shake. It might sound unpleasant, but it's so real and so emotive. It seeps into me and that's what makes it fantastic. It has a real physical impact, which is a rare and beautiful thing. 
  • The Virgin Suicides - Because it's fascinating. 
  • The Twilight Series - (embarrassing) I read this mostly for nostalgia purposes every few years or so. It's also pretty good if I just want a series that I can smash my way through really quickly and feel good at the end. The last time I read it I wasn't super impressed so it might be leaving this list in the next few years. 
  • The Hunger Games (not the series, just the first book) - This book is awesome. I love to just have a cold rainy day and power through the whole thing in one sitting. I find that I get pretty caught up in the stress of it all if I read it that way. :]
  • The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (not the series, just the first book) - I loved the first book in the series. It set the bar pretty high and I just don't think the next two measured up. So I like to re-read the Girl with the Dragon Tattoo and leave it at that. I love the characters, the tone and just the general story of this book. It's refreshing to read something a little out of the box. 
  • Roma - As an ancient history fan this book is right up my alley. I also like how the story is told from multiple people throughout time but with one thing in common. It's nifty. 
  • Battle Royale - Because it's not your everyday novel. It's a bit weird and dark and that makes it interesting. 
  • 50 Shades of Grey Trilogy - Oh my god I just love these books so much, Christian is like, my ideal boyfriend, like totally. And the sex scenes were so out there, nothing I would ever be brave enough to do in real life. FFS. I'm totally just messing with you. I hate these books with a passion. never has my time been so wasted as when I sat down to read these books. Seriously. They are awful. So badly written and the sex isn't even that interesting. Maybe I', just a deviant, but nothing they did really blew my mind. :/
Have you read any of these books? Do you love them or hate them or not really care at all?
I love talking about books almost as much as I love reading them. :]
Also, what books do you re-read all the time?

xx Sasha

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