It’s very difficult to name your favourite books because they all leave you with something different but the way I would whittle it down is if someone said to me “if you could only recommend five books what would they be?”
I would say I have one absolute favourite at the top of my list and four others in no particular preference order. I’m going to talk about those four first.
‘The Lovely Bones’ (2008) by Alice Sebold
This is the story of a teenage girl Susie who, after being raped and murdered, watches from heaven how her parents struggle to come to terms with her death and her father’s pursuit of her killer, desperately hoping he will identify him.
Doesn’t sound too appealing right? On the contrary it is a poignant, emotive and philosophical tale of life and death, and finding light in the darkest of places.
After she leaves her body, Susie learns that everyone has their own version of heaven. I’m not someone who particularly likes a lot of description in a book but reading about this wonderful heaven that she finds herself in conjured up a magical visual in my imagination. Although the whole story is a fantasy, after all it is told by a girl who is dead, it is thought provoking in a way that gives you some comfort that maybe there is something special waiting when you pass on. I have never been an avid believer and am not committed to a religion but, when you lose people you are close to, you like to think they have gone to a special place. It definitely helped my own grieving process to develop a spiritual perception of life after death.
Like many things, the reviews and critique on this book have been very mixed so I guess it’s not for everyone. I have learned though that reading is personal and subjective so I generally keep an open mind. If reviews are really conflicting then that means that some readers enjoyed the book and I might too.
I do think that hype around books and films can potentially leave you feeling disappointed but I have a different approach. I don’t believe that something has to be incredible to be enjoyed. If I read or watch something that didn’t have a ‘wow’ factor for me but I have nevertheless enjoyed it, then I don’t see that as a failure.
Everyone has two eyes but no-one has the same view.
This is an example, in my humble opinion, of a film which did justice to the book. I still think the book was better but it was always going to be a difficult one to portray and it did lack a little in heart and depth. However, as you might expect from the film’s director, Peter Jackson, it was visually and creatively stunning and the cast was outstanding.
‘The Notebook’ (1996) by Nicholas Sparks
The ultimate love story. The power of true, timeless and immortal love between a man and a woman. A summer romance. A class divide.
It is beautifully written – passionate, poetic, intense, emotional and full of hope.
There are many poignant quotes from Noah, the main character. This is my personal favourite…
“We fell in love, despite our differences, and once we did, something rare and beautiful was created. For me, love like that has only happened once, and that’s why every minute we spent together has been seared in my memory. I’ll never forget a single moment of it.“
I don’t know how anyone could be unmoved by this book. I cried like a baby! Maybe some people would describe it as cheesy, sappy or sickly sweet but they could just be romance cynics. I’m more of a hopeless romantic and I really felt the emotion. I believe that true love comes from being soulmates. Having a connection that goes beyond desire and infatuation to a shared deep and undeniable affinity that bonds you together to infinity.
“A soulmate is someone you can completely be yourself with. Someone with whom you share unconditional love and when you look into each other’s eyes, you know that you are home.” – Arielle Ford (author and life coach).
I have read ‘The Notebook’ twice and also enjoyed the film version which I have also watched more than once!
He said “Books or me?” I sometimes remember him when I’m buying new books….
‘Life After Life’ (2013) by Kate Atkinson
This is a book which straddles history and fantasy. It takes a while to get your head around the idea but I soon became captivated by it. It is the story of Ursula’s life again and again and again by experiencing an endless cycle of birth, death and rebirth. My first thoughts on reading this were to liken it to the movie ‘Sliding Doors’ – a twist of fate depending on the timeline of the situation. This book is all about decisions made by Ursula and how you can influence fate, that one small thing can completely change the course of your life, but there isn’t always a ‘better’ choice. This book has won multiple awards and accolades, including one of the best books of 2013, quite rightly in my humble opinion!
“A great book should leave you with many experiences, and slightly exhausted at the end. You live several lives while reading.” – William Styron (American novelist and essayist).
‘Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine’ (2017) by Gail Honeyman
Dealing with themes of isolation and loneliness, this book made me laugh and cry in equal measure and took me on the character’s journey of self discovery.
“Eleanor Oliphant has learned how to survive – but not how to live.
Eleanor Oliphant leads a simple life. She wears the same clothes to work every day, eats the same meal deal for lunch every day and buys the same two bottles of vodka to drink every weekend.
Eleanor Oliphant is happy. Nothing is missing from her carefully timetabled life. Except, sometimes, everything.
One simple act of kindness is about to shatter the walls Eleanor has built around herself. Now she must learn how to navigate the world that everyone else seems to take for granted – while searching for the courage to face the dark corners she’s avoided all her life.
Change can be good. Change can be bad. But surely any change is better than…. fine?”
Eleanor is understated, socially awkward, obsessive compulsive, over formal, judgemental, shockingly inappropriate and has no clue how to interact with the world! It’s easy to assume that she is either on the autism spectrum or merely eccentric. As the story unfolds it all becomes clear and the journey to get there is funny, uplifting and inspiring.
Eleanor’s observational skills are brilliant and she puts her own interpretations on her descriptions. In seeing the world through her eyes, you join her in seeing the absurdity in everyday life around her.
You may need tissues when you read this book but it is also laugh out loud funny at times. There is an equal balance of anguish and humour. I was left feeling humbled by feeling every ounce of the stigmas of society towards anyone who is different and often misunderstood. This is why we should never judge a book by its cover (excuse the pun!) because everyone has their own story and that is the reason they are the way they are.
Never judge another man until you have walked a mile in his shoes.
‘The Five People You Meet in Heaven’ (2003) by Mitch Alborn
*** This is my ‘all-time favourite’ novel ***
“Eddie goes to heaven, where he meets five people who were unexpectedly instrumental in some way in his life. While each guide takes him through heaven, Eddie learns a little bit more about what his time on earth meant, what he was supposed to have learned, and what his true purpose on earth was.”
This book is a deeply thought-provoking, moving and profound account of life after death. Philosophically, it shows how your point of view can change by seeing things in an entirely different way. Written with compassion and sensitivity, it highlights how destructive the feeling of regret can be, providing an antidote for the human conscience and how you can learn to forgive yourself. One review I read described it as ‘heavenly balm for the soul’
Death is not the end. It is the beginning.
This may all sound quite ‘heavy’ but it is actually the opposite. If you love to be happy and feel connected to yourself and the world around you, I highly recommend this book. A friend from a PTA I belonged to lent me this book and I was one of many in the queue to borrow it at the time! My husband and I went on a short break and I read the whole book during the flight to Lanzarote. My husband is not a reader and has only read a handful of novels ever but I said I thought he’d like this one. He decided to give it a go and ended up driving me mad because he became so engrossed I couldn’t get him to put it down! That was in 2011 and the copy was returned to its owner. Years later, I spotted a copy in a secondhand National Trust bookshop and had to have it! It just seemed wrong not to have my favourite book of all time in my treasured collection!
“I won’t buy any more books until I’ve read all the ones I’ve got” I said. Then I laughed and laughed….
‘The Five People You Meet in Heaven’ remained on the New York Times Best Seller list for 95 weeks.
“A good library will never be too neat, or too dusty, because somebody will always be in it, taking books off the shelves and staying up late reading them.” – Lemony Snicket (the pen name of American author Daniel Handler)
If I had to tell you my top ten favourites, the other five (as mentioned in my earlier blogs) would be ‘The Kite Runner’, ‘Where the Crawdads Sing’, ‘A Man Called Ove’, ‘Thanks for the Memories’ and ‘The Island’.
“Reading is like thinking, like praying, like talking to a friend, like expressing your ideas, like listening to other people’s ideas, like listening to music, like looking at the view, like taking a walk on the beach.” – Roberto Bolaño (Chilean novelist, short-story writer, poet and essayist).
Hoping for a Happy Ever After 