Top Ten Tuesday: Ten Books I Used to Love (and Maybe Need to Read Again)

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly event hosted by The Broke and the Bookish, created due to a fondness for lists. Each week they post a new Top Ten topic. After that, it's bloggers UNITE! Participate with your own Top Ten post, have fun, and get to know your fellow bloggers.


Today's topic is a throwback freebie...

Ten Books I Loved During the First Year I Started My Blog, Favorite Books Published 5 or 10 or 15 years ago, Ten Older Books I Forgot How Much I Loved, etc. etc. Tweak however you want!

I'm not going to lie...I'm mildly brain-dead today. Thus, this is bound to be a bit of a rambling post (sorry). Yesterday I spent the majority of my time processing beets. It was like a crime scene in my kitchen. I wound up with 17 pint jars of sliced beets, 3 half-pint jars of pureed beets, and 28 cubes of puree. And that was only half of the beets we grew. Gary had actually given half of the crop to the pigs. Thank goodness. 

After those many hours of fun, I then tried to sleep. It was a mild failure. I was up at 1, 5, and 7 with the baby. And in between that, the dogs decided they needed to go outside at 3. It was like a series of crummy power naps. I could easily lay down and pass out right now.

The plan for today was to work on the farm website and the blog. This is me starting that...at 3pm. Ugh. After getting my housework done and attempting to get the baby to nap (that failed), I had to check on Pippa and her new piglets, give everyone some water since we're apparently getting an Indian Summer with bonus humidity, and then locate the cows since Legacy decided to run around bellowing like she had lost her calf (she hadn't). It's a freaking zoo around here on a daily basis.

So (finally)...here's my plan for today's freebie post...

Ten Books I Used to Love (and Maybe Need to Read Again)

There have been several books that have captured my attention over the years. I've found love for many different kinds of books and many different authors. My tastes have changed and wavered depending on where I've been emotionally. These are the ten that I remember feeling most powerfully about...the ten that most likely deserve a reread. The ten that, should I find myself in a reading slump, could likely reinspire me to love reading again. But...I found that I couldn't narrow it down to 10. So...we're doing Top Twelve today. Ready?

1. Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day by Judith Viorst

Alexander is one of the first books I remember loving. I think I read it somewhere around first grade and I was enamored. I'm pretty sure I read this one from cover to cover more times that I could count. Now that I have a son of my own, this is one of the books that I'm looking forward to sharing with him.

2. Charlotte's Web by E.B. White

Charlotte's Web was one of the first chapter books I ever read. This one takes me back to second grade. I'm sure there are many who have similar memories of reading this book, but it has stuck with me through many years. There's just something so sweet and innocent about it. And silly as it sounds, this book now seems like it somewhat reflects the life I'm currently living.

3. Alice's Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll

I have always had a love for Alice. This is the only book in this list that is out of order. See...I loved Alice based upon early exposure to the movie versions. But the concept of Alice is one that has stuck with me. I read the book later in life when I was feeling a bit lost, much like Alice herself. It pulled me up and made me feel comfortable with the chaos and the change...made it seem okay to be looking for my way. 

4. A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle

A Wrinkle in Time was one of the first books I clung to. I mean clung to. I read it multiple times during my preteen years. I loved the imaginative writing, the fantastical beings. When I started this list, it's the book that first came to mind. And if any book on this list deserves a reread...this is the one.


5. Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte

I know many look at this book and think, what? I get that Jane Eyre seems dry and boring for some, but for me...it's inspiring. I love Jane's strength...her perseverance. Jane is one of my favorite characters of all time. And regardless of the fact that this book was written oh so many years ago, it's still so incredibly relevant. I have reread this one a few times over the years, but it still deserves so many more.

6. A Time to Kill by John Grisham

Most readers of Grisham tout the mastery of The Firm, but for me A Time to Kill was his best. I had read mysteries and thrillers before, but this one just spoke to me somehow. It resulted in a complete shift in my reading habits and I found myself reading all of his books as they came out, obsessed with hoping that he would give me something more.

7. The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger

Oh my. All the feels. I loved this book. LOVED it. I talked it up to anyone who would listen. In a time when I wasn't reading much, The Time Traveler's Wife brought me back. It made me want to sit down and read everything, to find all the other books out there that could fill my heart and hold me captive as well as it did. This one will always be a love.

8. The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern

Wow. Seriously. Wow. The Night Circus flung me back to fantasy. It was beautiful, magical, and just wonderful. It was one of those books I never wanted to end. And now, I find myself forgetting it. I still love it, but I no longer know it. That's definitely a sign that a reread needs to occur.

9. Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher

Thirteen Reasons Why. Before the controversial Netflix series, there was the book. It was amazing and heartbreaking. It was real. I know there are many who despise this book and feel that it glamorizes teen suicide, maybe even inspires those who are troubled to seek out such a terrible and tragic end. But...I feel the opposite. Even after watching the Netflix version, I still feel very strongly that it is something that teens need. It's real life and it isn't sugar-coated. It doesn't provide a picture that everything is always going to work out right. It is full of pain and struggle and yet it is beautiful. Hannah was beautiful. Reading this made me understand her and feel so much hurt at her decision. In my mind, those who read it while so struggling could be better able to comprehend the after effects of such an action..to see the whole picture...a reality that maybe would pull them back from doing something that would hurt so many and resolve so little.


10.  Amy & Roger's Epic Detour by Morgan Matson

 

Amy & Roger was another book I just couldn't shut up about. I loved Matson's use of playlists. I loaded them into my Spotify and felt like the music truly did work to connect to the story. I loved her characters, loved the ease of their interaction and how it felt as if you were right there in the car. It wasn't anything prophetic or life changing...it just made me feel good.


11. The Library at Mount Char by Scott Hawkins

The Library at Mount Char just came out of nowhere for me. I was enthralled, I was confused, I was mystified, and I was consumed. The world Hawkins created was amazing and his characters were just so larger than life. This book blew me away. I very much craved more when it ended. I would love a sequel...though the author hints at no intention to do so. There is so much wrapped up in this story, so much intricacy and fantastical imagination. It just left me awestruck.

12. The Little Paris Bookshop by Nina George

To read The Little Paris Bookshop is to feel like you're living the book. It's just so beautifully written. That book you want to snuggle, to hold tight and squeeze? This is it. It left me content and swooning. Sometimes you just need a book that loves you back. It's a book that makes you love books.

Looking back at the books I've loved through the different parts of my life, there were many that were there just when I needed them...that kept me moving and loving to read. Some that inspired me and kept me...well...for lack of a better term, sane. The magic and promise of a good book. Isn't that what makes us all such devoted readers?