Hey Sweeties,

I feel lately that we’re really beginning to get to know each other; Blogmas is allowing me to share things with you that during normal, routine weekly blogging, I probably wouldn’t do hence why I introduced the Sunday Chat…

So today I thought I would talk through my favourite books. Reading is something I absolutely love doing but for some reason I struggle to allow myself the time to do so and this in fact is one of my resolutions for next year that I have already put on the list; read more! Essentially what I need to do is go to bed earlier so that by the time I have done all my skincare and faffing, I still have 15-20 minutes reading time before lights out. We’ll see how that goes!

I am going to start with my all time favourite, To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee. I was introduced to this book during my English GCSE (many many years ago) and I just absolutely loved it. Since then, I have started a collection of different editions and you would be surprised at how difficult they are to find (secondhand). My Dad bought me my first copy (the large hardback seen at the bottom) and the others I have managed to pick up in charity shops. The story of To Kill a Mockingbird is timeless and I try to revisit this book every couple of years to keep it fresh and alive within me.

My Favourite Authors:

I have about three or so authors whose books I pick up as soon as I see them. The first for me is Lisa Jewell, I believe I have read all of her novels but some are no longer in my collection owing to moving house and needing to free up space. I haven’t loved all her stories, a couple didn’t engage me wholly but on the whole, she for me is the perfect Chick Lit author.

Khalid Hosseini is another. I haven’t managed to pick up his latest book yet but his first two -The Kite Runner and A Thousand Splendid Suns are just fantastic reads. Khalid manages to sink his readers into a world we can’t even begin to relate to or understand and yet he writes with such an honesty that he awakens us to something we are completely gripped by. If you haven’t read anything of his yet begin with The Kite Runner…

My other favourite author is Nicholas Evans (whose books for some reason have gone missing from my house…?!), his stories are real page turners and he completely absorbs you into the life of his characters. Most of you will be familiar with his first novel, The Horse Whisperer and if you liked that, you’ll love his others. My other favourite of his is called The Smoke Jumper that book really stuck with me for a while after.

Random Favourites: 

Footloose by Kate Cann – I bought this for a holiday when I was about 15-16 years old and to this day it’s one of those books I just cannot get rid of. I read the other books by Kate Cann as she wrote a selection for the teenage market but I came back to Footloose several times. At the time of buying, it absorbed me into things I was yet to experience; sun, sea and sex.

The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd – My Mum gave me this book to read and I am so pleased she did. The film is also one of the few book adaptations that I feel have kept to the story and is almost as good as reading the book itself. Strongly recommend.

Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn – This needs little explanation as many of you I am sure have read this yourself. I read this over a week last year on holiday and I could barely break away to do other things. I missed all the films on the plane on the way back for absolutely having to reach the end of the book. For me I found the ending a bit disappointing and damn right bizarre but I hear the film is different. I don’t think I have read a book that has thrown me about so much in twists and turns. Incredible.

PS, I Love You by Cecelia Ahern – I actually got bored of Cecelia Ahern novels as I just found her leading (female) characters quite weak, not in the way they were written but in themselves and I can’t stand reading and watching films involving women that haven’t got a grip of their lives. However, PS, I Love You was the first I read and I loved it. It was completely different to what I had read before and I just got so emotionally involved with the story. I refuse to this day though to watch the film as from what I have heard it’s classic Hollywood where they change the story so much it bears almost no resemblance to the book.

Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen -This book is just a great read and I actually really enjoyed the film also. I love how it takes you into another world and into complicated relationships and characters.

Historical:

Anne Frank inspired me to start writing my own diary (as she did with so many other young people) and who knew that countless of diaries later she has lead me into a world of writing, both for pleasure and for work.

Anne’s story struck something very deep within me and since then I have been fascinated with reading and learning more about the Jewish side and perspective of World War II as well as further books about Anne Frank herself. I have been fortunate enough to visit the Annexe in Amsterdam and the museum there and it is still a mission of mine to make it to Auschwitz -not to be a tourist but to show my respect and really gain a firm understanding of how much innocent life was lost.

Beauty Books:

You’ll remember me talking about a couple of these in my Top Beauty Reads post a little while back and the only difference here is that I have added Victoria Beckham’s That Extra Half an Inch: Hair, Heels and Everything in Between which like the other two, is good for a flick through and some inspiration.

Not for Reading… 

I love Sex and the City -the TV series and the films. These three books support the series and the two films and I just love looking at them, partly because sometimes it’s nice to get lost in pretty pictures…

On my Reading List:

I have many books sat on my shelf waiting to be read but here are the next immediate three in line;

Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte – I have had this book for ages and it’s one of those classics that I just feel I should read. I have owned this book for years but it’s taking some effort to actually sit down and crack it open.

Freakonomics by Steven D. Levitt & Stephen J. Dubner – I can’t be entirely sure what this book is about but I remember when it came out it had some great reviews and I saw loads of people on the tube etc. reading it that when I eventually found a secondhand copy, I picked it up for myself.

The Fault in Our Stars by John Green – One of the few books I have ever bought new and not secondhand. I heard too many good things to not want to wait to read this for myself.

The way my reading works is I alternate between fiction (like the above) and something autobiographical; I love reading about people I find interesting and inspiring and finding out how they reached where they are today. This system works well as by going to something different after finishing something allows me to not mix them up in my head.

What are your favourite books?

Until tomorrow x