Top Ten Books

Inspired by Erica at The Sweet Life , I thought maybe a top 10 might be a cosy way to spend an hour or so over Easter (in between sneaking over to the lovely What a Peach! for a guest post and errands that never ever seem to finish).


Books can be amazing companions, always available in a tight and boring spot, they can create adventure when you are stuck in the day-to-say doldrums, they provide never-ending conversation with other bookworms and can change the way you think and view the world.

Our wee beastie loves curling up with a good book. In fact she likes to nibble new ones..

I've usually got a few different books on the go (and haven't quite managed to stifle the habit of using anything lying around as a bookmark - TV remote, socks, receipts. I've got beautiful bookmarks that sit in my pen jar, gorgeous but unloved, they seem to have a habit of shimmying our of sight when there's some real work to be done).

At the moment I'm reading:
- The Hundred-Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out of the Window and Disappeared
- The Crimson Petal And The White (R18, but the language and writing is sumptuous and some phrases and paragraphs you have to read it twice to really savour them properly)
- The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cakeis  newly started and looks promising

I try to vary what I'm reading, much like flavours of chocolate - your mood suits different treatments and temperings. Also, this way if I get sick of a book or can't find it because it's being used to turn the TV Channel over I can dive into another one. Ahh, a positive side to commuting!

After some lengthy consideration (aka. the most memorable, well paged or most recommended) my top ten, in no particular order, at the moment are:

- The Secret Garden (free on Kindle at time of writing) Beautiful tale of an incredible spoiltchild raised by servants, who discovers a secret garden and goes on a journey of learning to make friends and take joy in simple things. A timeless Children's tale.

- Twilight I know, I'm sorry, but I loved it. Bella is quite a bit spineless, but there is something spellbinding about the story that weaves a blatant suspension of disbelief.

- The Night CircusI simply couldn't put this down. It was fascinating, captivating, mysterious and funny. Two magicians are training apprentices, and have set the circus as a playing field for the apprentices, in a duel that, unknown to the duellists is one to the death. Reviewed here.

- The Longest CrawlWitty, informative and thirst-inducing, this is the authors journey both personal and researched, reflecting an integral part of British Life - the Pub. Reviewed here.

- I Am Ozzy"People ask me how come I'm still alive, and I don't know what to say." I don't think much else needs to be said, bar that hubby & I kept reading bits our to each other they were so insane yet matter of fact.

- The Flavour ThesaurusIt's a mixture of taste pairing information, science, experience and a few recipes accompanied by some lovely memories and restaurant recommendations. You could just read it cover to cover, forget the Foodie side! Reviewed here.

- EmmaClassic, she is quick-witted, beautiful, headstrong and rich and above all has a great name. My copy is well thumbed, and I can probably blame most of my worst traits on Jane Austen, except the rich thing. Must work on that.

- Almost anything by Terry Pratchett. I live for his footnotes. Mort, the book and stage show is reviewed here for your interest, featuring the Grim Reaper taking a working holiday discovering dancing, drinking, his new-found skills as a short-order chef and a love for kittens).

- Belgariad 1: Pawn of ProphecyMy favourite favourite series as a teen - when the horrendous hormones flew about and everyone started to slag each other off, I just retreated into this fantastic made-up world.

- The Little Book of LondonThe ultimate Loo Book - chock full of halarious and downright random facts of London.

When writing the above, it struck me as weird that there is a little bit of self-social pressure to look educated and a bit high-brow. I know I don't, and I'm cool with that.

via Google Plus through +Terry McNeil 

(Please note any links to Amazon are through my Amazon Associates account, which means I make a little money (less than 5%) from any purchases made after clicking through these links and it adds nothing to the price of your book. This helps support my book addiction, so if you are interested in buying the book, please click through the top link)
Any suggestions that you think knock out one or more of the above? What is your most paged through book?