Top 15 Favourite Books

On Beauty – Zadie Smith. I first read this when I was twelve. It’s a brilliant, humorous and thought-provoking novel about family, love and life. It revolves around two rival families; the liberal American Belseys, and the conservative British Kipps’. The son and daughter of each family have a fling; the father of the Belsey family has just cheated on his wife of thirty years and now starts crushing on the Kipps’ daughter; meanwhile the wives befriend each other. It’s entertaining and addresses socio-cultural issues. Read it a few times; love it every time.

Lolita – Vladmir Nabokov. A controversial novel that struggled to get published, Lolita deals with pedophilia. Humbert Humbert, a European scholar and poet, is obsessed with ‘nymphets’; pre-pubescent girls aged 9-14. He travels to America to stay with a woman named Charlotte Haze and becomes infatuated with her 12 year old daughter Dolores, aka Lolita. It is a funny, well-written and satirical book voiced by an unreliable narrator. The subject matter may make many uncomfortable, but I promise it’s worth a read. It is not a ‘filthy’ book; on the contrary.

The Circle – Dave Eggers. An excellent book satirizing the influence of internet conglomerates. The protagonist, Mae, goes to work for the major American company ‘the Circle’ where her friend Annie works. The Circle runs everything – it’s aim is to bring everyone on the online world together, watching each other’s activity; commenting on everything they do. It shows the growing influence of Facebook, Twitter and Google, and as the story goes on Mae gets more and more sucked into the sinister system.

Only Ever Yours – Louise O’Neill. Unputdownable. Tragic, scary, and powerful, this book is intense and really fucked with my head. It’s a dystopia set in a future where girls no longer exist and are now made in a factory and raised in a School from the age of 4-16, where they are trained to become companions (wives), concubines (prostitutes), or chastities (nuns). When they are 16 they will be selected by one of ten boys who will choose their fate. The main character is a girl named Freida, who I root for throughout, and who is struggling to cope with the disintegration of the friendship between her and a girl named Isabel. This story will fuck with your head and make you think.

Apt Pupil – Stephen King. I’m not a horror fan but I do love King’s non-scary books. This is part of his Different Seasons collections, and one of my favourite stories ever. It’s about a thirteen year old boy named Todd who befriends an ex-Nazi soldier Dussander, who is now old and retired. Todd begs Dussander to tell him tales about the days in the concentration camps, and ends up having nightmares and going mad. The two spend most of the story trying to fuck with each other. It’s hilarious, thrilling and has great character development.

11/22/63 – Stephen King. Great epic about an English teacher who goes back in time to stop the President Kennedy assassination. Filled with action, drama, tension, love and King’s excellent description, this comes highly commended. Something to really pad your time out, sink your teeth into and enjoy.

Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption – Stephen King. Another one from Different Seasons. The brilliant movie is based on this also brilliant book. Well written and hard to put down, it pours you into the lovable characters of Red and Andy. Similar to the film and pays attention to detail. I wouldn’t say one or the other is better.

I don’t know how she does it – Allison Pearson. Currently re-reading this. It’s an equally tragic and funny story about a high flying fund manager barely able to make ends meet. Kate Reddy works for a top financial company and struggles to balance her life between her children, husband and herself. (And by time for herself, I mean she gets none). The book is fast paced and punchy, symbolic of the stresses and difficulties of Kate’s life. She is a very realistic character who Pearson really brings out. A film starring Sarah Jessica Parker was made; I haven’t seen it but I can say SJP was not the right person to play Kate. Kate is supposed to be an every-woman British working mother, not a Hollywood ex-SATC star. Nonetheless, this book is a great social comment on the hardships of modern Western women trying to ‘have it all’ yet feeling constantly unhappy.

Gone Girl – Gillian Flynn. Incredible story, incredible twists, incredible characters. On the fifth anniversary of his marriage, Nick Dunne’s wife Amy goes missing. Nick is accused of killing her and insists he hasn’t. The film is equally fabulous, with the script written by Flynn herself. I love the story, the plot twists, the everything. Massive fan-girl over this tale.

The Girl on the train – Paula Hawkins. Another gripping, thrilling tale with ‘girl’ in the title. I read this in three days. It’s a real non-stop read. Every morning a woman named Rachel takes the train out to work, and passes by houses and imagines the lives of the people inside. She especially imagines this one couple living on a house close to where the train passes by. But one day she sees something happen, and it changes everything, pulling her into the lives of those she only watched from afar. Packed with twists and unreliable characters, I can’t recommend it enough.

Truly Madly Guilty – Lianne Moriarty. A group of couples who are friends with one-another have a barbecue at one of their houses. At the barbecue a terrible incident happens which makes them question their friendships, marriages and lives. A funny and exciting social drama about how people’s lives can intertwine and lead to the better.

The Last Anniversary – Lianne Moriarty. Even better than the other one I would say. This is about an island in Australia called Scribbly Gum that is famous for the ‘Munro Baby Mystery.’ Several decades ago, two young women discovered an abandoned baby on the island. Now the island is the centre of attraction, and both women are old ladies now, as is the baby, all with kids of their own. But many are determined to know the truth about the mystery, and what really happened that night. Stimulating, great characters, and holds you right till the end.

How to build a girl – Caitlin Moran. Johanna Morigan is a teenager stuck in squalor in Wolverhampton. She decides to turn her life around by becoming a music journalist, and falls into a life of partying, men, booze and fags. Along the way she learns a lot about life, and about who she is and who she wants to be. It’s funny, light-hearted and a great quick read. I also love Miss Moran’s How to be a woman. 

Fight Club – Chuck Palahniuk. Seen the movie? The novella it’s based on is also awesome. Feels nice to be right in the narrator’s head too. In case you’re unfamiliar, this is the story of a young man who works for a life insurance company who befriends a soap maker called Tyler Durden. After the man’s flat burns down in an accident, Tyler convinces him to start a ‘fight club’, in which men gather together and hit each other several times a week. Getting back to their natural testosterone-filled instincts. It’s short, gripping and told with a frank and slightly apathetic tone.

The Bell Jar – Sylvia Plath. This book resonated with me a lot. It’s the semi-autobiographical tale based on Plath’s life, and is about a nineteen year old girl’s nervous breakdown. Esther Greenwood is a high-flying student who wins a scholarship to write for a magazine in New York, yet suffers from crippling depression. She is later sectioned and taken to a mental hospital for treatment after trying to commit suicide.

So there are my current top favourite books. Will also do a list of favourite non-fiction books, and books from my childhood/teens. Have you read any of these? What are some titles you enjoy? I’m a massive nerdy bookworm, always have been LOL. Reading is great! It’s fun and lets you get lost into a different world. Get lost into the wild…