Books that stole my heart

As most of you know, I am a huge lover of books. As soon as I could read by myself, I would zoom through my books from school, wanting more and more to feed my imagination. As a kid, I had dozens of Jacqueline Wilson books (as did every other 11 year old girl I knew), dozens of Goosebumps books, and a general mish-mash of genres of fiction.Whenever I got bored of my own, or wanted something a little more challenging, I would dip into my mum's Stephen King collection. The very first King story I read was The Girl who loved Tom Gordon. I remember it not being all that scary or exciting, but the thrill of reading something so mature was enough for me to want to finish it.

To this day I still get a thrill from reading. For me, it's the best escape. And so I've come to write this list. These are books which I've read that have pierced a hole through my heart, that have made me cry real tears, and which have made me want to hold the book to my chest once the story is over. They're written by seriously talented authors, ones that inspire me to write every day. There are plenty of books that I still want to read, and plenty more I could have added to this list but I've tried to keep it short for you. Here they are ~

Most of these descriptions will contain major SPOILERS 📚

The Madness by Alison Rattle

I'm going to start with a YA novel that I stumbled upon in a bookshop when I lived in Whitby. The front cover is what caught my eye first; the haunting way in which the girl stood on the rock facing the ocean, with a quote on the front that read; 'Love knows no limits.' A tad cliche, but it caught my attention none the less and I took it home with me.

The novel is set in the seaside village of Somersetshire. The year is 1868, and focuses on 14 year old Marnie; a crippled girl who endures a miserable life of working with her abusive mother on the beach, and assisting the rich in 'dipping' (a Victorian act which involves dipping bathers into the sea, and thought to help cure mental and physical ailments). Her life is plagued with misery and loneliness, until she meets the enigmatic Noah De Clevedon. A dangerously passionate obsession evolves for Marnie between the two, that drives her closer and closer to madness.

I loved so much about this book. Despite it being aimed at young adults, I found it incredibly enticing. It's not at all patronising, and as a history lover the descriptions of the town in the 19th century fed my imagination thoroughly. The characters were very believable, if somewhat loathsome and I just couldn't put it down, despite reading it way into the night at 1am. It has become a book that I read annually now, and every time I do it still hits all the right places of emotions for me. As quoted by Shakespeare at the beginning of the book:

"Love is merely a madness, and I tell you, deserves as well a dark house and a whip as madmen do."

Kafka on the Shore by Haruki Murakami

I am reluctant to say that I've not yet read every single Murakami book. This is a tragedy in itself, as I absolutely cannot rate this guy any higher as an author. His writing is superb, spellbinding in fact. Kafka was my fourth Murakami book, and fast became my favourite. I loved it so much, that after reading it almost 4 years ago, I still haven't picked it up a second time. The characters and the story have stayed with me all these years. I remember all of it in fine detail, and I find myself much too sad to read through it again. Sounds a bit wanky, but I'm sure every book lover has a book that they dare not pick up again for fear of either not loving it as much the second time, or worse, feeling as heartbroken as the first time they read it. Anyway. Here's what it's all about. 

15 year old Kafka Tamura has ran away from home from his abhorrent father, and taken solace in a library. Meanwhile, Nakata - a tracker of lost cats - finds his life suddenly turned upside down when he meets Colonel Sanders, (yes, the KFC guy.) As quoted from the blurb:

"Their parallel odysseys are enriched throughout vivid accomplices and mesmerising dramas. Cats converse with people; fish tumble from the sky; a forest harbours soldiers apparently un-aged since WWII. There's a savage killing, but the identity of both victim and killer is a riddle."

If you haven't yet read a Murakami, be prepared for a most surreal yet captivating read, that will probably make you cry, and most likely make you want to devour more of his riveting works. 

Paper Towns and The Fault in our Stars by John Green

When The Fault in our Stars movie came out and caused worldwide hype and heartbreak, I was quick to buy the book first. I wanted to read it before I saw the movie to see how the two compare. (Also just a good excuse to buy more books 😉) I will tell you now, that this book absolutely killed me. Not only because of the subject (two beautiful teens who have cancer and fall in love is inevitably gonna be a tearjerker) but also because of the way it was written. It was beautiful. Every chapter felt like poetry, and the way that Green wrote about Hazel and Gus's relationship was magical. Oh how I sobbed like a baby when it was all over. And to my delight, the movie was just as good. I loved the chemistry between Ansel Elgort and Shailene Woodley. Couldn't have found two more perfect actors for the part. Anyway, enough gushing about that! 

                                                        

So because I loved Green's writing so much, I decided to get my hands on some of his other books; Paper Towns, Looking for Alaska and An Abundance of Katherines (which I'm still yet to devour). And it's Paper Towns that I wish to gush about now. This book floored me. It's about Quentin Jacobsen and Margo Spiegelman; Two teens who grew up together, and which share an unusual friendship. Quentin, (or Q for short), is enamoured with Margo, always admiring her from afar whilst she remains some sort of enigma. One day she disappears, leaving Q baffled, yet eager to follow clues (that may or may not have been planted by Margo) to try and find her again with the help of his best friends. Filled with hilarious and relatable teenage situations, with an undertone of creepiness and mystery, this unrequited love story just nailed every thing for me. Unfortunately, I can't say the film adaptation held the same allure for me. I felt like they rushed it and not enough time was spent on the magic of the story. So I recommend you go and read the book first 💜

Pet Sematary by Stephen King

If you know me well, then you couldn't have seriously thought I'd let you get out of this blog post without a King entry 😉. He is after all, the master of horror, and if you've read any of his hundreds of books you'll know that this guy can write creepy shit so well that it just gets under your skin (and stays there). 

Pet Sem follows Dr Louis Creed and his wife Rachel, who move into a house on the outskirts of Ludlow, New England with their cat and two children. Over time Louis discovers an ancient Indian Burial ground far away from his house and the pet cemetery, that holds the very essence of evil. This was the first King novel that absolutely terrified me. It got so bad, that I had to stop reading it at night time before bed, as the nightmares that followed were just too much for me to handle 🙈😂 I know, I know, total wimp! But even King has said himself that this is the book that frightened him the most whilst writing it. As quoted in the sleeve of the book: 

"Pet Sematary is more than Vintage King. The author himself has confessed that the events of the novel left him terror-struck and showed him levels of blackness that he had 'no desire to re-visit'."

Well, I couldn't have said it better myself. This book has everything; blood and guts, the un-dead, haunting premonitions, the death of a child, and Zelda. For anyone who's read this, you'll know who I'm talking about. 💀

The Virgin Blue by Tracy Chevalier

My absolute number one. The book that I've been in love with for 4 and half years. The book that will always stay on my bedside table. The book I will always take with me when travelling, 'just in case' I want to read it again. If you read my post 'Women who inspire me' from a few weeks ago, you'll already know how much love I have for this book and for the author. With just this one book, Chevalier captured my heart, stuck a knife into it and threw it against the wall. Okay, a bit dramatic but believe me when I say this book gave me ALL THE FEELS. It follows Ella Turner, an aspiring midwife who relocates to Lisle-sur-tarn with her husband Rick. Whilst there, Ella spends her time learning about her ancestors, and with the hopes of starting her own family with Rick. As the novel unfolds, alternating between Ella's story and that of Isabelle du Moulin four hundred years earlier - a common thread emerges that unexpectedly links the two women*. 

This story is full of heartbreak, love, passion, loneliness and the pain of being a woman who stands out. This book will always be dear to my heart, as will the painting depicted on the front cover. It is of Mademoiselle Alice Guerin by the artist Paul Cesar Helleu (1884). It's said that after he'd been commissioned to paint her, they fell in love and later married, spending their lives together as popular fixtures of aristocratic circles in Paris. As a lover of love stories, and of bittersweet endings, both the cover and novel have stolen my heart and will forever have a place in it. 💜

As a bibliophile, there are of course so many more books that are dear to me, but which I just didn't have time to rave about. So here's a little list of some more unforgettable reads by insanely talented writers:

The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde, The Harry Potter series by J.K Rowling, Mist over Pendle by Robert Neill, 11.22.63 by Stephen King, What I Was by Meg Rosoff, The Woman in Black by Susan Hill, Bonjour Tristesse by Francoise Sagan, and Three Men in a Boat by Jerome K. Jerome

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* excerpt from Goodreads