My Top Fifteen Books Of All Time:
(until I read some more amazing ones!)
- 'Revolting Rhymes' by Roald Dahl
- 'Wuthering Heights' by Emily Bronte
- 'The Great Gatsby' by F. Scott Fitzgerald
- 'The Undomestic Goddess' by Sophie Kinsella
- 'The Moaning Of Life' by Karl Pilkington
- 'Is It Just Me?' by Miranda Hart
- 'Its All About Treo' by Dave Heyhoe
- 'The Time Traveller's Wife' by Audrey Niffenegger
- 'Between A Rock And A Hard Place' by Aron Ralston
- 'A Street Cat Named Bob' by James Bowen
- 'An Ordinary Man' by Paul Rusesabagina
- 'Through Thick And Thin' by Gok Wan
- 'A Little In Love' by Susan Fletcher
- 'Moab Is My Washpot' by Stephen Fry
- 'The WAG's Diary' by Alison Kervin
1) 'Revolting Rhymes'
'I guess you think you know the story,
you don't the real one's much more gory,
the phoney one (the one you know)
was cooked up years and years ago
and made to sound all soft and sappy
just to keep the children happy......'
The opening from Roald Dahl's take on 'Cinderella', and yes, I know it all off by heart! Other stories in the book include: 'Little Red Riding Hood', 'Snow White', 'The Three Little Pigs' and 'Goldie Locks And The Three Bears'. All of them rhyme and of course they are revolting in places! They include rats that chew at Cinderella's feet, and Red Riding Hood's new wolf-skin coat.
Maybe not suitable for the youngest children but definitely will be loved by fans of 'Horrible Histories'. The stories are short and easy to read, and Dahl uses a dark humour to make them ridiculous, like when he makes Goldie Locks out to be the bad guy of the story! Thoroughly enjoyable for all ages.
2) 'Wuthering Heights'
I studied this book amongst many others as part of my A level English course and I was the only one in my whole class who actually liked it. Of course, it did help that my edition of the book came with a handy dictionary at the back to help with all of the old-fashioned words!
This novel is generally thought of as a love story between two main families, however I don't believe that the character 'Heathcliff' is really as romantic as he seems to everyone else. For one thing, he tries to hang a puppy, and I don't care what time period you supposedly live in, that is never ok!
Nevertheless the story pulls you in with its various eccentric characters. My favourite is 'Nelly', the nanny. She provides the voice of Victorian values throughout the novel, so generally she sits on the fence, tuts at bad behaviour and is an adult's favourite role model, but never a child's!
3) 'The Great Gatsby'
I read this book on my Kindle over the summer and the very day I finished it I watched the film adaptation directed by Baz Luhrmann. Both versions are AMAZING!
The book was one of those that you just can't put down once you've started, it includes characters that you love and that you love to hate.
Sometimes when you watch a film after you read a book, the experience can be a little underwhelming or disappointing if directors choose to change bits or miss bits out, but this film just enhanced my views on the book and gave me characters to visualise when I thought about it! And it was brilliantly over the top with bright, fast cars and fabulous 1920's outfits...and of course the (gorgeous) staple that held it all together, Mr Leonardo Dicaprio!
When I first read the book, I didn't really like Gatsby, I found him to be cold and bossy, but after watching the film I understood so much more about him and now he's one of my favourite characters of all time!
4) 'The Undomestic Goddess'
Not necessarily a classic, but a classic to me. I read this book a few years ago now, but I still remember how much I really enjoyed it.
If funny is your thing then this book is for you. It is about a highly-stressed office worker who has a bit of a break down after a bad day at work. She gets on a train and ends up in the middle of nowhere. when she realises what she's done, she knocks on a random house to borrow their phone but gets confused for their new au pair. Now, this lady who is used to board meetings and microwave meals has to learn to cook and clean or face returning to her old awful boss.
Her new life teaches her a lot and is also where she finds happiness and love in the form of the fit gardener...oh yes...it is a very good book...
5) 'The Moaning Of Life'
I love Karl Pilkington. I first heard of him on 'The Ricky Gervais Show' a few years ago and I instantly knew he would be a role model for me. Not a conventional role model, but I like the way he has his own logic, he asks all the important questions (such as: 'If Dracula can't see his reflection in a mirror, how come his centre parting is so perfect?') and he just doesn't care what anybody else thinks.
I then watched the various seasons of 'An Idiot Abroad' and bought the books of these adventures. Then I bought the hard back edition of 'The Moaning Of Life' and the Kindle version of 'Karlology'. I absolutely love the quirky way that these books are designed, full of bright full-page photographs, cartoon doodles and hilarious quotes.
Sometimes it is nice to read a classic novel from the nineteenth century and get your teeth into the archaic language and contextual references of the time. Other times its nice to hear Karl Pilkington say, 'I've got a fat head. There's nothing I can do about it'.
6) 'Is It Just Me?'
I adore a good autobiography, and who better to learn all about than comedienne Miranda Hart? She's hilarious. In this book she talks in a chatty, friendly way about her life growing up in boarding school and how she struggles to come to terms with growing up and being elegant.
I love 'Miranda' the TV show and when I bought this book I was not disappointed. Miranda sometimes says what we're all thinking and sometimes she comes out with new and random statements that are so funny they make me want to be her best friend! Definitely one of my favourites.
7) 'It's All About Treo'
Amazing. Absolutely adorable and unbelievable.
It's about a dog. An army dog. A dog that sniffs out bombs. I love dogs.
Treo is a black Labrador Retriever-English Springer Spaniel cross who was donated to the army at a young age. He became partners with his handler Sergeant Dave Heyhoe and the two have been saving each other's lives ever since. Treo is trained to sniff out bombs and ammunition and Heyhoe is trained to read Treo's signals and ultimately save lives. In 2008 the pair were sent to Afghanistan with other British troops, this is where the autobiography takes place.
If you love dogs, heart-warming stories or tales of danger and war then you need this book in your life. At points Treo is a bomb-sniffing, life-saving doggy hero, and at other times he is splashing in water and gobbling treats and cuddling up to his owner like any other pooch.
The book follows the pair on their nail-biting missions and at one point it all gets very real and scary. But Heyhoe is nothing if not one of the most devoted dog owners I have ever heard of and they help each other through difficult time. It is uplifting and inspiring. (And it includes lots of adorable photos of Treo!)
8) 'The Time Traveller's Wife'
I also studied this book and the film adaptation for my A levels. A lot of the boys in the class preferred H G Wells 'The Time Machine', but I'm a sucker for a good love story!
I usually go for funny books that are generally quite realistic. I struggle to enjoy a story when I'm just thinking, 'well, that would never happen', however this story is so realistic about love that I can overlook the time travelling issues.
The story follows time traveller Henry and his wife Clare, and all the difficulties that his condition brings. Niffenegger describes his time travelling as a sort of illness so that it is easier to comprehend. Henry was born with this genetic mutation and he can't control it. At random points he will just vanish and reappear completely naked in an unknown time period. But the book focuses on the affect that this has on his wife Clare as she tries to lead a normal life, with a husband who vanishes. It takes them on an emotional rollercoaster all the way into their adult lives when they hope to have a child of their own. I won't say what happens for the sake of those who have yet to read it, but you need to hurry up because it's brilliant!
9) 'Between A Rock And A Hard Place'
A lot of people went to the cinema to see '127 Hours', the unbelievable story of Aron Ralston, an experienced hiker who found himself pinned under a rock by his arm in Blue John Cnayon. The film follows his traumatic experience for the next 127 hours as he cries for help, drinks his own urine for survival, hallucinates and eventually forces himself to amputate his own arm with a blunt penknife.
My mum lent me this book years before the film and it was just astounding how he could be so strong and survive such an ordeal. The autobiography gives the reader more personal information than the film and includes photos from his camera that he used throughout the entrapment. His struggle is beyond belief and makes you question whether you would be able to survive what he did and it shows you just how quickly you can go from a trained professional enjoying a day out to a situation where you are going to die if you don't act quickly.
10) 'A Street Cat Named Bob'
Also 'The World According To Bob'. The true story of ex-drug-addict James Bowen selling The Big Issue in London whilst trying to get his life back on track when a stray ginger tom cat invites itself into his flat for warmth. The next day the cat follows him onto a bus and right up to his selling spot. It does the same the next day and the next day. Soon it is called Bob and the two are inseparable. James shares what little food he has with Bob and in return Bob brings hope at optimism to life on the streets.
Some passers-by love to see Bob and they knit him scarfs and bring him treats, but others are ignorant feel that it is cruel to keep a cat on the street, and James often has to struggle against them to keep his cat. They just can't understand that Bob chooses to be there.
People began to video James (who sometimes also busks with his guitar) and Bob took the internet by storm. Soon a publishing company wanted to help James write a book about Bob, which changed his life. Just goes to show the power of a good pet.
11) An Ordinary Man
'The true story behind hotel Rwanda'.
This book is written by a hotel manager in Rwanda, who saved 1,200 people by sheltering them in his hotel during the Rwandan genocide of 1994.
In just 100 days, 800,000 innocent people were brutally murdered in Rwanda because of their racial herritage. Paul Rusesabagina considers himself an ordinary man because 'all' he did was stall the militias every day until the genocide was over.
This traumatic but amazing true story is unbelievable because of the scale and the brutality of the murders, and the fact that neighbours turned on neighbours and friends turned on friends. When it seemed like no one could be trusted, along came one ordinary man...
12) Through Thick And Thin
This autobiography by fashion guru Gok Wan takes the reader on a journey through his struggles with obesity and later anorexia. I read it when I was about twelve years old and it really helped me to understand that eating disorders are not cool, and that they can take over your mind and destroy your body.
But it's not all doom and gloom. Gok also describes his life growing up in his parents' restaurant and how his interests in fashion developed. The book is fun and written in a very chatty and friendly way that makes you feel like you are best friends with this amazing stylist.
13) A Little In Love
My boyfriend bought me this book last year, but he didn't realise what it was about. 'A Little In Love' is Eponine's story from the play/film 'Les Miserables' (one of the greatest films of all time).
'Les Miserables' includes Eponine as a sort of side character because she is in love with a main character, so much that she dies for him in the end. When I first watched 'Les Miserables', I didn't fully understand Eponine's story, because she was just the girl who was poor and hopeless and then dead. But this novel by Susan Fletcher invites the reader to understand what effect growing up with an abusive criminal family had on Eponine, and how she just wanted a kind mother, like the one that Cosette had. All her life, Eponine just wants love. She watches over Marius and falls completely in love with him, but he doesn't notice her affection and just wants Cosette.
The story gives Eponine's character much more depth and emotion and makes you see her in a whole new light. Fans of 'Les Miserables' will need this one.
14) Moab Is My Washpot
An interesting title for an interesting book. This is an autobiography by actor/comedian Stephen Fry in which he tells the reader all about his life growing up in boarding school and his journey to discovering his sexuality.
He includes his mischievous adventures at school and later on how he began to drink and how he attempted suicide, but of course he is a comedian so the book is not at all depressing. I particularly like how Stephen Fry reminisces about growing up in the rural Norfolk countryside, because that is where I live! And it is every bit as isolated and backwards as he describes!
15) The WAG's Diary
This book is just hilarious. Written by a sports journalist who has witnessed WAGs in all their glory! Tracie Martin is a prime WAG (Wives And Girlfriends of footballers), complete with mini skirts, high heels, fake nails, fake hair and fake boobs.
The book is written in a diary format and follows the day to day hilarity of life as a WAG, it is just amazing. It's the kind of ridiculousness that you don't take seriously, so it's light-hearted and at times quite unbelievably funny. Also you will NEED to read the sequel, 'A WAG Abroad'.
