Very rarely would I say that I find inspiration from Facebook. But I guess tonight was the night. There was a posting idea going through my newsfeed asking you to list 10 books that stick with you; for one reason or another. And for someone like me, if a book sticks with me then I am going to want to physically keep it with me (hence the hundreds of books that I own). Which got me thinking about what my top 10 books were and why they stuck with me more so than the others. For starters, I broke the rules (or at least the rules as I saw them to be) which was a list of 10 and to me it sounded like they wanted singular books. My list was 11 and most of them were series and not singular.
1) The Malazan Book of the Fallen - Steven Erikson
This series is not on here just because I am currently reading it either. The first time that I read this series I could not put the books down. I was astonished at his talent for creating such a vast world and making it seem large and small at the same time. Showing how far the story goes and how close the connections are. This series for me is truly an epic, and before I read this series I was obsessed about the Song of Fire and Ice series. Erikson for me as surpassed Martin in the creation of a story that strikes me. There are times where I have goosebumps for a whole chapter! And that is one sign when I find a book that has struck a chord, when I am all cuddled up in a warm blanket and yet something I read has given me goosebumps.
2) The Once and Future King - T.H. White
One thing that should be mentioned is that I am obsessed with the story of King Arthur. I still have not quite figured it out, but there is something about the tale that really deeply strikes a chord with me. this was not the first iteration of the story of King Arthur that I have read, and even though it was definitely a long read (think Lord of the Rings long read, for some reason it takes me longer than usual to read), it has definitely made it up there in the ones that I own. For the record I have about 4 or 5 different versions of the tale. I find it amazing the different takes on it, and for some reason this one holds a special place in my heart in the sense that it was written before all the other ones that I own so in my mind it is the original story.
3) Heart of Darkness - Joseph Conrad
This was a book that I was made to read in my AP English class in high school, and it has been so far the only book that I absolutely loved to read. I am one of those people that I will read many things on my own, but I hate being forced to read something that does not trip my trigger. This book was a combination of a dark but wonderful imagery combined with looking at the darker side of the human nature in a way that just fascinated me. This was one of the few books in high school that I hated having to read at a certain pace because all I wanted to do was devour it.
4) The Tortall Series - Tamora Pierce
In a previous post I pretty much did a mini review on the series. Her books were one of the first books that I read that featured a strong but fallible female character that I felt that I could admire and if they were real I would without a doubt look up to them. It is one of those series where I read them so many times because the world is so alive, and becomes so much more alive with every read through. I do not often fangirl over much, but this book definitely featured guy characters that I fan girled about (*cough* Numair and George Cooper *cough*).
5) The Mists of Avalon - Marion Zimmer Bradley
This was the book that started my obsession with King Arthur and Merlin. I had known about the general story before reading this, but I thought this book was like a breath of fresh air for the story because it featured Morganna Le Fey as more human and less villain as she is seen in many of the books written about King Arthur. In some ways I prefer this portrayal of the story because of its focus on her, and the story from her point of view. And it does a very interesting job of making everyone seem more human than legendary. But when it comes down to it, the reason this book has stuck with me is because of the way it has started my King Arthur collection of books that I own.
6) The Pillars of the Earth/World Without End - Ken Follet
These books return to a theme that is mentioned a lot in books that I love, the characters feel so real; their problems, their wishes, and the connections that everyone eventually has with each other. These two books that go together do a magically good job of making me feel invested in the characters, and feel the exact same way the characters do. I become outraged with them, and I feel as helpless as they do. It is also nice in a way how the books take you through what feels like might become a tragedy, but because those character pushed through and made sacrifices they managed to scrape together a happy ending of sorts. And one that makes the reader feel like they truly deserved it because of what they endured. He does as good of a job as Erikson does with drawing connections between characters but on a smaller more contained scale (as it would have to be with two books).
7) Harry Potter - J.K. Rowling
This book is the definition of magical and the reason I fell in love with the fantasy genre. I will not lie, when I was little (I was in like 3rd grade when I was reading these I believe) I always hoped that I would someday get a letter to Hogwarts. That was also one of the most disappointing wishes I had as a little kid that never came true. This was probably the first big series I got invested into when I was little, and it was also probably the reason I stuck to reading series for the most part. The whole idea of really getting to know a character through the span of numerous books was amazing to me. It also had one of the biggest impacts on me being as big of a reader as I came to be because of the wonder that it instilled in me.
8) The Lord of the Rings - J.R.R. Tolkien
I will not lie...I saw the movies before I read the books. However, it was because of the movies that I went and read the books. And I loved them just as much as the movies. A very good portrayal of the battles between good vs. evil, light vs. dark, old vs. new. And I think that I also became very enthralled with the books because around that time I ended up doing a report about J.R.R. Tolkien for a class, and it just made the books even more special to me. There was something so amazing about the darkness the filled the stories to end with a bittersweet ending with the elves leaving Middle Earth. It was a book that was just SO full of information and stories that it was definitely one of the first books that I read that had challenged my normal pace of reading because there was just so much to take it (similar to one's first day in a huge city you have never been to before).
9) The DragonCrown War Cycle - Michael A. Stackpole
This series consists of a trilogy and a prequel. And I had never felt so upset over how a prequel introduced you to the series as I was when I read this. It was me being so upset that caused me to get the rest and race through it hoping for some light at the end of the tunnel. For me this is similar to the Lord of the Rings where it is a dark series with a bittersweet ending. This one is different however, because it is another one of those that it struck a chord with me but I do not know why. There was something in this series that really connected with me. And pretty much will be added to my To-Read list right now despite me claiming I won't make any more changes. But that is life, it is an old gem that I have not revisited in a long time but it still speaks to me after all this time. Who knows, maybe when I read it again I will realize what it is that makes this series stand out to me among my many.
10)Study Series/Glass Series/Healer Series - Maria V. Snyder
There is another book duo she wrote, that was very good and intriguing which I couldn't add in the long title because I just don't know what the series name is actually called (Inside Out, Outside In). She is similar to Tamora Pierce in the sense that she has female main characters that are not annoying, whining women who constantly need a man to save them. There are indeed male characters that are attached to the main character over time, but they just add to the strength that the female has and not overshadow it. They are very magical worlds, and the good guy characters are indeed all loveable and I can never get enough of them.
11) The Dragonriders of Pern - Anne McCaffrey/Todd McCaffrey
This series is probably the most confusing to read 'in order' because there are different orders you can read them in. Either chronologically or in the order they were published. I prefer the chronological order, which means it can sometimes be difficult when they go back in time to write another book and finding the proper place in the series. This series, and a couple other series by Anne McCaffrey were the first Sci-Fi books that I ever read, and they are by far still my favorite. That was what was great about this series, it brought me into a whole new genre of books to look into that amazed me.
So this is my list, I would love to see some other lists you guys have. And I think picking out books like this according to some sort of theme (stick with you in this case) is a nice way to reacquaint yourself with the books that you have read over the years and remembering what it was about those books that held you spellbound.
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