Thursday, December 9, 2010

Must reads

Recently, while compiling our Christmas Wishlists, Fiona and I found it very difficult to find (online) a list of must-read novels. Of course, there are tons of lists- books to read before you die, 100 best books of all time... On these lists, amongst what I would consider some good finds, there were the obligatory pretentious classics that don't interest me right now (Ulysses, Jane Eyre, War and Peace anyone?).

It got me thinking, how does one seperate the un-put-down-able books (the ones you LOVE, the ones you try to savour towards the end as they are beginning to 'run out', the ones that after reading you thrust upon all your friends threateningly) from this kind of literary snobbery?

I've decided to put an end to this, and tell you about some really good books, which I've actually read and had I seen you just after I finished them, I would have strongly advised you to read them too.

Here's my top 20 (in no particular order):
1. We need to talk about Kevin, by Lionel Shriver
2. The God of Small Things, by Arundhati Roy
3. The Secret Life of Bees, by Sue Monk Kidd
4. Life of Pi, by Yann Martel
5. The Shadow of the Wind, by Carlos Ruiz Zafos
6. A Thousand Acres, by Jane Smiley
7. The Book Thief, by Markus Zusak
8. The Boy in the Striped Pajamas, by John Boyne
9. The Kite Runner, by Khaled Hosseini
10. A Thousand Splendid Suns, by Khaled Hosseini
11. The Chamber, by John Grisham
12. A Painted House, by John Grisham
13. A Map of the World, by Jane Hamilton
14. Bonjour Tristesse, by Francoise Sagan
15. The Reader, by Bernhard Schlink
16. Matilda, by Roald Dahl
17. To Kill a Mocking Bird, by Harper Lee
18. Sarah's Key, by Tatiana de Rosnay
19. Breakfast at Tiffanys, by Truman Capote
20. Sleepers, by Lorenzo Carcaterra
Just the list for now- I can review them in a little more detail later if you like. What are your favourite books?

7 comments:

Unknown said...

Thank you for this list. I have only read 3 or 4 of your books you have listed here. I will have to look into picking up some others.

I went through dry spell of no-reading. I know, bad. Sometimes you’re just not the place of being still and finding time to sit down crack open a book.

I am back into the swing of things though. Sorta.

Here are the books I would recommend.

The Shack
Crazy Love
Blue like Jazz
My Sisters Keeper
The Pilots Wife
Redeeming Love

Jasmin said...

Hehe, so cool. But yes, Lion King IS a film to love!!

- Hope to see you around, Min.

Jude said...

Ooh, I love getting great book recommendations - thanks for this! Most recently, I was sucked into The Year of Magical Thinking, by Joan Didion. (Devastating yet unputdownnable.)

Thanks so much for dropping by, I love meeting new bloggers and thrilled it led me to your lovely blog!

Tanya (a Taste of T) said...

Looks like I gotta get to reading

*** said...

That is a great list. Thank you for all these recommendations.

oneordinaryday said...

You have two of my all-time favorites on your list - To Kill a Mockingbird and The Book Thief. :)

Thanks for stopping by my blog and commenting!

~Michelle

CAMILLE STYLES said...

Such a fantastic list, with so many of my favorites! And I just realized that although Breakfast at Tiffany's is one of my favorite movies, I've never read the book! Definitely next on my list. Thanks!!