So I’ve seen this going round on facebook. People tagging friends and stuff. I haven’t been tagged – but I love the sound of it. 10 books that have stayed with me in some way. I’ve talked about books before, in previous posts, but I wanted to have a go at this!
I thought I’d do it a little different though. I wanted to tell you why each one has stayed with me. I hope you don’t mind. Because I’m doing it anyway.
Here is my list of 10 books that have stayed with me:
1. I AM THE MESSENGER - MARKUS ZURAK
I love this book. (aside from the iffy ending) it is so enjoyable. The premise of the story is that a guy is thrust into this task of delivering “messages” to the people in his town. These are by no means conventional by the way; but it is all to help. What the author creates though, is such a diverse range of characters and stories – all richly developed. Its written by my favourite author – Markus Zusak – and its just so enjoyable.
2. THE BOOK THIEF - MARKUS ZURAK
Another Markus Zusak. This was the first one of his I read. It was long, but such a brilliant story. For starters, its set in Nazi Germany and tells the story of a young girl who is infatuated by books. Its so clever, and again, the characters are so richly developed. I love it because you could think that the story would focus on the war aspect, except it focusses on the books (mostly). Also, its told from deaths perspective.
3. THE PERKS OF BEING A WALLFLOWER - STEPHEN CHOBSKY
Man, this book. It was so mature. It told the story of a boy basically growing up, along with dealing with some mental issues at the same time. It seemed so more grown up than the other books I’d read – like it was filled with excitement yet to come. Plus charlie is such a lovely character.
4. GONE GIRL- GILLIAN FLYNN
Wow, I can’t deal with this book. So many twists and turns and there is so much I didn’t expect. Like – you have no idea about the plot twists. And that’s what makes it so exciting. It keeps you guessing. The book focusses on a man – Nick – whose wife goes missing one day. Naturally, the husband is the first to be blamed, but did he do it? There seems to be loads of evidence pointing towards him, and when you learn of their past… well.. Its just so exciting. Read it.
5. Every Day
This book was really interesting. The premise is, the main character inhabits a different persons body every day. The main character has no gender, no sexuality, no idea where he came from. Which is an idea that I’d never even imagined. Aside from the unrealistically diverse range of characters they inhabit, the story deals with a lot of issues such as sexuality, gender, etc in a really mature and clever way. The ending though – oh my god, its so nice.
6. Noughts and Crosses
This was interesting. I read it at a stage where I leaving my childhood and starting to get into more realistic stories. It was a clever idea – set in a world where dark skinned people were the privileged ones, and deals with a huge amount of racial issues. As well as that, the story is immensely compelling. Plus, there were four books. Even more to read.
7. Kerosene
I loved this book because I related to the main character a lot (apart from the pyromania – mostly just the art stuff) and it was unlike anything I’d read before. It was more gritty, it was more brutal. Still more of a kids book though – so it was a perfect transitional book.
8. Refugee boy
This was one of the first books that I started reading on “the cusp of my teenagehood” and it was the first more realistic book I’d read. It offered a view I hadn’t seen before, that of a refugee. It was really enjoyable and gave me a stepping stone into the future.
9. The Fault in our stars
Okay, first of all – I don’t love this book, its an okay book. I’m not a MASSIVE fan. It was sad. But it was okay. It stayed with me because it was SO popular, and it was interesting. I didn’t like Augustus, he seemed quite… fake? I could never tell if he was being sincere or not. I didn’t know. But, it was still quite nice.
10. Before I go to sleep
This book is like Gone Girl. So many twists. The story is about a woman, and every night she goes to sleep, she loses her memory. Be it a few years or a few decades. I can’t imagine that? It would be crazy. I remember starting the book. At first, I saw it on my dads bookshelf. Few days later, I took it off and read the blurb. A few days later, I read a page. Then, it took me. It was so enjoyable, and so exciting. I loved it!
But there we go! There’s my top ten! Although I’ve probably forgotten some of the huge ones and I’ll slap myself when I remember them. Ah well.
Also, if you do take this challenge, please let me know! I’d love to hear some more.
THE LASTING TEN — CAI BURTON
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