I Like Big Books and I Cannot Lie

"To read is to learn, to learn is to know"-AJ Wathern or THE BOOKS THAT MADE AJ FEEL THINGS 

The Classics

 1) Wuthering Heights: My all time number one book. I don't think there are enough words in the English language to explain how much I love this book. I think I was around 15 when I read Wuthering Heights for the first time and something just spoke to me. The "love" story is not happy in fact it may be the saddest ever. The story is convoluted and rambling at times, but if you get to the centre of the story, to the very heart, it is a truly beautiful piece of literature that deals with everything from race and class, to love and death. The overriding message is that love does not always begin with hearts and flowers, and death doesn't end it when it's true.

2) To Kill a Mockingbird: I'm about to give you a little insight into the kind of person I am- I was given this book to read in third year at high school (around 2001/2002) and I just loved it. I love it so much I went and wrote a report on it and Harper Lee, of my own volition, for fun and extra credit (but mostly fun). I know, I know, I'm a total geek. Anyway, To Kill a Mockingbird is a very important novel, with themes of prejudice, race, rape, and the backdrop of a coming of age story I believe this is a story literally everyone should read!

3) Good Omens: There's a book, a book whose name I could never remember. A book whose guts and detail I could barely recall! I know this sounds like a book I didn't enjoy, but this book, oh my God this book had a hold of a part of my mind!! This book called to me in the quiet times. This book made me feel for it when I didn't even remember what it was. This book is a GREAT book. This book is everything a book should be, and so much more. This book is what happens when two of the greatest authors ever, write a book together. This book is Good Omens by Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett! You should absolutely read this book.

4) The Communist Manifesto: One of the first Little Black Classics that I added to my collection, and one of my favourites. Originally a political manifesto it's really intriguing to read this in our current socio-economic climate where we can knowledgeably compare it to its own time. Pick it up if you can find it, I promise it'll keep you engaged through every little page.

Modern and Enduring Stories and Memoirs

Harry Potter: What a game changer of a book series this turned out to be! People who had never picked up a book were suddenly queueing outside Ottakars at midnight for a chance to be the first in their city to purchase a copy of the latest release (sidebar: I was first to buy The Goblet of Fire in Aberdeen), children were suddenly excited about reading again, and the book to film franchise was reborn! Harry Potter has been touted as an allegorical tale of racism, hierarchy, religion and so much more, but if you want it to be it is just a fantastical story wrought through an amazingly imagined intricate world that even at 28 I would still love to be a part of.

One Day: David Nicholls took the love story and flipped it on its head in One Day. With depressingly flawed protagonists, with actual human tendencies, the characters were relatable in a way that we weren't really used to, and the ending came from absolutely nowhere to simultaneously break your heart, and make you cheer uproariously all at once. Fun fact: this book also taught me that St Swithin's Day is July 15th!

The House of Night Series: I was wandering around the Edinburgh Old Town one day when I came across an unedited bound proof of a book in a charity shop, now I love unique thinks, things that I know aren't readily available, things that have a story behind them, I just love them and I want them all, so I bought this book...and promptly fell into one of my favourite worlds. The House of Night is NOT just another vampire story- The House of Night is deep, and layered, and open and inclusive. It invites you into a world rich in Cherokee history and folklore, interlaced with modern day trials and tribulations all told through the story of vampires, humans, seers, Goddesses and so much more. It will make you laugh, think and sob uncontrollably...too this day I still can't hear Defying Gravity without catching my breath and being a little sad. The series starts with Marked and ends with Redeemed and they are all unputdownable.

The Only Bush I Trust is My Own: Truth be told, I bought this book because the title made me laugh and there is a naked woman on the front (so I enjoy looking at naked women sue me!) but what I found inside made me read, reread, and reread it again and again. Periel Aschenbrand is a take no shit, take no prisoners, kick-ass woman and this book is her internal monologue, interwoven with her memories, that led up to her actually getting off her ass and doing something about the injustices and inequality she was seeing in the world. I don't agree with everything Periel says or does but I can't fault her agenda in this book. If you are a strong feminist I think you would love this book, If you are a strong woman that doesn't think she's a feminist I urge you to read this book, and if you are a guy that just doesn't get it, I BEG you to read this book (and while you're at it pick up Everyday Sexism, then come back here in a while to see my list of books every feminist should read).

Now these aren't all my favourite books but we would be here for days if I put them all down so maybe I'll do a follow-up, or you can tell me your favourites and I'll tell you the rest of mine. In the meantime I'll be hanging out on Twitter and rereading The House of Night Series.