Please be warned before
starting to read this post:
This is a subject I can fully
expound on, and I have, so please be warned before reading this, I wrote on and
on and on, and this is crazy long. So please be sure to have enough time and a
cup of tea/coffee handy, because you will need it. :P Or, your other option is to skim through some of them and
find the titles that interest you. Personally, I would opt for the last option.
;)
Recently, a lovely sweet amazing
girl (aka
Hannah Elise,) who also happens to be one of my very favoritest people
on earth, requested that I do a post on my top ten favorite books.
Thank you so much Hannah for forcing me to
make one of the hardest decisions of my life. It was awful. Trying to pick a
favorite book, I have heard, is almost like picking a favorite child. So,
favorite ten books, is like picking your favorite ten children in the world…
Devastating, because it’s almost certain that you’ll leave out one of the
best. Ahem… anyway… :) (No,
actually, she knew I was having huge inspiration leakage in my brain right now,
and I wasn’t coming up with anything creative to post about, so she was trying
to help. ;) So without much more ado, I
present a long post about books. Because I’m a bookworm and a writer.
Welcome to my world. Enter only if you are
willing to get lost in worlds that don’t really exist, and fall in love with
fictional characters. You must also be willing to have your heart broken many
times, and learn to return to your own world on occasion for necessary things
like eating and sleeping and the occasionally housework.. Welcome to the world
of Words and Manuscripts. Enjoy your stay, my friend.
Ahh, books. They become friends when yours
are all busy with growing up and life in general, comforting when you’re sad,
calming when you’re angry, real when you need an escape, painkillers when you
just want to scream. Everything about a book is special, mesmerizing and
captivating; from the particular smell that always accompanies opening a book, to
the way the pages sound as you turn them. Books are beautiful. (Unless it’s
Twilight or some other disgusting story that someone with a very sick mind
thought up. Then it doesn’t deserve the title of Book. My very humblest
apologies to those of you reading this who actually likes those and other books
like them. I am extremely blunt about my opinions when it comes to stupid
things, especially movies and books. If someone is going to go to all the
trouble of writing a book, editing and publishing it, I believe that it should
be worth reading. Not worthless trash. There’s my opinion. I rest my case. J
)
I have no idea how many hundreds and
hundreds of books I have read over the last ten or so years since my mama
taught me to read. I do know that I
have always burned through books at a ridiculous rate, and that sometimes, my
parents took away reading for punishment, because that’s what hurt the most.
I started this year by making a 103 in
2013 list, and one of the things on the list was to keep a list of every single book I read during 2013.
haha hahahahaha. Sorry. It’s just that, me even thinking that would be possible
is funny. It was impossible, and I knew
that when I wrote it on the list, but I was dreaming big. Really big. WAY TO BIG. J Besides, if my mom were to know that I read
500 books or something in 2013, I think she might faint. And that would
probably not be a good thing. So, I shall not keep a reading list of all the
books I have read this year.
Instead, I love to buy my favorites, so
that I can go back and reread and reread the books that deserve my affection.
So… I hate that word. I tend to use it all
the time to move on to a new topic, and every time I use it, it drives me
insane. I need to sit down and actually figure out a better way to move on, so
that I don’t have to use so anymore… J
Behold, I present, in no particular order, and completely unable to say
which is best, my list of 10 favorite books. Hannah, you must understand how grueling
and complicated this assignment has been. Be warned, I am going to try to think
of something equally hard for you. *evil laugh*
10. Little Women.- Louisa May Alcott
Just where does one start with this master
piece? How does one go about summarizing in a few sentences or paragraphs one
of the most amazing works of literature of all time, not to mention one of the
best loved books as well. Louisa May Alcott must have been a very interesting
woman, and I would have dearly loved to meet her and her family. I wonder what
the real Meg, Jo, Beth and Amy were like. Jo is such a real character, one you
can identify with and I suppose that is why people love her so much. She has
problems, faults, and she does the most ridiculous things, but through it all,
she doesn’t lose sight of herself, who she really is. She is always doing most
unexpected things, saying something awful (Christopher
Columbus!!), and writing about things she has no idea about. And she never
seems to be able to grow up at all. And then she had to go and turn down Laurie
and marry the Professor. Honestly, that breaks my heart every time I read the
story, even though I know I should love him. I just have issues with young
girls marrying old guys, you know? It always creeps me out. But other than
that, this books simply delicious, and I cannot tell you how many times I have
read it. All the way through, and bits and pieces here and there when I am in
the mood for something in particular. Jo is truly one of my bestest friends.
And Laurie. Let’s just say that I will never get over Laurie, not if I live
until I’m 102. J
9. They Love To Laugh – Katherine Worth
This book has always been one of my
favorites, and my mom’s too. I think she reads it once a year, (or so.J)
and I read it typically twice, and then read my favorite parts all the time.
It’s a simple book, not at all like Dickens, or Dumas’s work, but the sweetness
of the story pulls you into itself, and you find yourself emotionally attached
to the sixteen-year-old orphan and the sweet Quaker doctor and his family who
takes her in as a daughter. You find your heart breaking into pieces when
Martitia believes her love is lost on a man who could never love her, and finds
herself the cause of Doctor David’s financial problems, although he would never
dream of telling her that. And then on top of it all, oldest brother, Jonathan,
is in love with the perfect, (but big nosed) Quaker in the closest bigger city.
The woman who can do everything and never seems to make a mistake. And, to top
it off, she can talk politics with the best of them. You find yourself
chuckling at the Feast of the Dog, and the boys who never seem to cease to
tease her.
This book is sweet, simple and
captivating.
8. October Baby – Eric Wilson
This is a recent favorite book. I watched
the movie first, and when I found out that there was a book out as well, I knew
it would be fantastic. Everything about the book is amazing, and honestly, if
you’ve watched the movie and like it, read
the book. There is so much more there. They explain the back-story more,
and there’s more emotion, (if that’s possible. The movie is pretty emotional! J),
and it is very well written. I don’t
read many modern books, because it is just really hard to find good, clean, well written books that aren’t corny,
(excuse the ridiculous word, please!), and are worth reading. Most modern
writers are writing junk, because that’s what people are willing to spend time
reading, and their books fall into the Twilight section. (See paragraph two of
this article, line ___. J)
Everything about Hannah is down to earth
and real. She’s hurting, angry, confused and stubborn. And in love. And one of
the things I love most about this book, that in the end, she finds herself; the
real person she is and is supposed to be. She realizes that life is beautiful, even through all the
pain and confusion. And she learns to let go. That’s what I love about October Baby. That and Jason + Truman.
They’re both pretty cool, peeps.
7. Jane Eyre – Charlotte Brontë
Jane. Sweet, honest, innocent Jane. And
hurting, forceful, broken-hearted Mr. Rochester. They’re the perfect couple,
once you get to know them (and the lunatic wife dies of course.). My mom
doesn’t like this book, because she says it’s creepy, but I haven’t ever
noticed the creepiness. (Let me know your opinion on that subject, yes?) I love
when writers allow you to feel the pain, and confusion and heartache along with
the character. Because that means that they are a wonderful writer, gifted and
excellent at what they do. (A Side Note: I have had some disappointments with Charlotte and some of her
other books. I don’t think she wrote as well with some of her stories, and she
was a little predictable as well, but still excellent with some of her work.)
Jane is just the sort of person I fancy I am. An introvert, not breathtaking
gorgeous (haha), a bookworm, simple, and capable of loving deeply. J
Yes, Jane and I get along just lovely.
6. Christy – Catherine Marshall.
Christy. You want to know why I love this
book so much? Because it’s so beautiful, I suppose. No, not the cover or pages,
my copy is plain, and red (which is a color I don’t particularly love.) And the
font is boring, and there aren’t any pictures or decorations at all. But it’s
beautiful. The people, all of them, are beautiful and so raw. Fairlight Spencer, who delights in
running off to the woods and finding the beautiful simple things, leaving
dishes and laundry behind, because they just aren’t as important as the beauty
that waits to be discovered. Dr. Neil
McNeil. *Swoon*. The man who was sent to Scotland to follow his dream of
Medicine, yet came back to help his backwoods people. The man who is
complicated, blunt, and angry at God for taking his wife and child away, yet
works tirelessly on the things he set out to do. Alice Henderson. The woman who has a right to hate, yet learned to
forgive, and works tirelessly to bring help to the stubborn people who need it
most, even the guilty. Christy
Huddleston. The girl who gave up being a pampered rich girl in Ashville to
teach school, at the age of nineteen, in
a one room schoolhouse, with 69 students of all grades. The girl who begins to
understand what it means to help people. The girl who is confused, and naive,
and holds Alice
on a pedestal.
Yes, this book is beautiful. And so thought
provoking.
5. The Harvester – Gene Stratton Porter
Let me just state right here up front,
that this book is breathtaking. And the way romance stories should be, not
rubbish like Twilight and Nora Robertson books. (Refer to Paragraph 2 line ___ J)
You have a man, David, who is a herbalist, a man who earns his living by
gathering herbs and roots in the woods and dries them, and then sells them to
druggist all over the country. (Pharmacists. Not druggies. J)
This is his living, instead of normal things like accounting or farming,
because he loves being able to help heal people. One night he has a dream. A
girl, tall, with dark hair and amazing expressive eyes, comes to him, and gives
him a kiss. Not your stupid average peck of a kiss, mind you, but a real, take
your breath away sweet kiss. David, or Harvester, as he is called, realizes he
must find her. Just a little while later, he sees her. But she is thin and sick
looking. He loses her, and is unable to find out who she is and where she lives,
but he starts to remodel his home, making it beautiful and fit for a bride. He
spends extra time on her bedroom, making it the most beautiful thing you can
imagine. He orders clothes and everything a girl could ever dream of, (now that
he has seen her and knows approximately how tall and wide she is. :). He
eventually found her, but she is scared, she can’t understand why this man
would help her. Besides, her aunt is dying because she no longer has the will
to live, and her uncle is angry and abusive. Harvester begins to help her,
slowly and gently, making sure he doesn’t scare the 24-year-old girl. Then her aunt dies, and she is left with an
abusive Uncle, with no one to turn to, and very sick. David wants to help her,
and having no other option, he asks her to wed him, explaining that he would
have waited and courted her properly if there was any other way to keep her
safe, but the wasn’t. He then explains that he will give her one year to fall
in love with him, after marrying her, basically having her as an honored guest
in his home. And if after that time she still does not love him, he will
release her from her vows. Ruth agrees, having no other option to turn too. She
is too sick to try to live on her own.
I shant tell you any more of the story, because
it really is too precious to sum up. But I will tell you that your heart will
break, but that is what is wonderful about books, really.
I just love this book. The raw emotions
and sweetness.
4. The Count of Monte Cristo. Alexander Dumas.
I shall not go into all the details of
this story, because it is 1,200+ pager, but I will tell you that if you ever
want a very interesting revenge story with the cleverest plot changes and
characters, than this book must be read!! I must say that I have only read it
once. But because of its length, I am sure you will forgive me for adding it to
my top favorites list. J It is strange, I’ll admit that, and perhaps the
revenge is not exactly Christian-like or proper, but honestly who can blame Edmond, really. Who can
be angry with him for the hate that fills his heart? No one can truly judge
him, after all that he suffered.
Please
put this wonderful work on your reading list and enjoy it immensely. And get
yourself lost in the world of Edmond,
‘kay?
3. Shepherd of the Hills – Harold Bell Wright.
There’s actually a movie of this, and
guess who stars as Young Matt? John Wayne. I have yet to see it, but I think
John would fill the part perfectly of the Young Giant. Young Matt is huge and
strong and caring, and he loves Sammy, the beautiful, extraordinary, tall
woman. Just tall enough for Matt. Or, that’s what he thinks until Ollie Stewart
(the slimy little city boy) comes
along. ;) He isn’t worthy to touch the ground Sammy walks on, and Young Matt
knows that, but for some reason she is engaged to the guy. But a shepherd, a
very, very strange shepherd, makes his way into everybody’s lives, changing the
way they think about things, and Sammy becomes his pupil… And I’m not going to
say that everything turns out all
right in the end. Because we have an entire gang of creepy guys, and two dads
that don’t make it and leave their kids behind, and one of those children
doesn’t live until the end of the book. But despite the sadness, this book is
priceless. The story is stirring and rich.
They may be backwoods, but they are profound and full of love. This
story truly is a masterpiece. I highly recommend all books by Harold Bell Wright. Shepherd of the Hills
has a sequel, The Calling Of Dan
Matthews, which I highly recommend as well, although not quite as highly as
this book. My copy is 105 years old, and falling apart, but I will never get rid of it. It will be one I
pass on to my kids. J
2. Emma- Jane Austen
Again, where does one start with a book
like this one? Emma is probably my favorite of Austen’s characters, out of the
books I have read so far, because she is so very obviously flawed. She makes
some terrible mistakes, but Knightly sticks with her through it all, coaching
and scolding her the whole time. But through the book, Emma begins to see that
her decisions bring problems, and her meddling hurts people. And she stops,
because she changes. I really appreciate that Jane didn’t make Emma perfect in
every way, and then get the amazing guy because she’s so perfect. Emma was
wrong, and she realized it and she changed her behavior, which is more than I
can say for other ones of Jane Austen’s characters. (Northanger Abby. *hint
hint* ;)
So I love Emma and I adore Knightly.
Because he is so sweet and wonderful. And I don’t even mind the fact that he is
quite a bit older than her even a little bit!!!
and 1. Little Dorrit- Charles Dickens
Amy Dorrit is the perfect heroin. She is
sweet, selfless, and sweet. And Arthur is another man whose difference in age
with Amy I don’t mind a bit. He is to amazing. And I haven’t read the book in a
while, or else I would really expound upon it, and unfortunately I don’t own it
at this time. (Hopefully that shall be remedied soon!! J) But I love that her
sweetness doesn’t change while she was in the prison taking care of her father,
or when they finally had money and went to Europe and were rich people again. I
also really love the different characters that Dickens uses to tie the story
together. It gets sort of crazy when he introduces the three hundredth
character that pertains in the end, (that may be a little exaggeration. ;) and
when you get to the end of the book you understand everything perfectly and
every single character makes sense and the book wouldn’t finish right if they
hadn’t been there. Dickens was a very clever writer, very, very clever.
And so there you go, Hannah. J
I must admit that this was exhausting and difficult and only took me over three
hours, but I think it was worth it, because it helped me put down on paper
(internet…whatever) why I love books so
much, and why I love certain books so much. So, (there’s that awful word
again!) CONGRATULATIONS to anyone who actually made it all the way through.
There should be a prize. J
Now that I have rambled and
rambled for hours about my favorite books, I am extremely curious what books my
readers love and their reasons behind those books. I would love to read your
comments about favorite authors and books. And you certainly don’t have to get
quite into as many details as I did. I just couldn't help myself, you know?
And while you’re commenting,
does anybody have any modern authors to recommend, who are very clean, yet
write well? I get burnt out reading the classics all the time, but have a lot
of trouble finding any modern authors who are still clean. (I.E. people who
talk in plain English all the time, and don’t go into as many details as
Charles Dickens.J)
Okay, have a perfectly lovely day, my dears!!
xx,\
