In my daily trawl around the internet, I came across
The Next Best Book Club - a very interesting-looking book blog. Their
most recent post is where I, uh,
acquired the idea for this post from.
Have you ever read a book that you've enjoyed so much that you've wanted to be able to keep reading it forever? Well, I have. Here's my five:
1. Norwegian Wood by Haruki Murakami
Wow. I don't know what to say about this book. But I haven't read another book that's had anywhere near the same effect on me. When I finished reading it I just sat there for a little while thinking "what's next?". As it was, I couldn't think of a suitable book to follow it that wouldn't pale in comparison, so the next day I picked it up and read it all over again. This is, I think, my favourite book
ever. It broke my heart, and had particular resonance as a sometimes-friend recommended it to me after one of my school friends passed away, which is where the novel starts. Absolutely incredible.
2. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by J.K. Rowling
I have friends at university who haven't read any of the
Harry Potter series. I struggle with that idea, personally, because they're
the series of our generation. They were the first books I'd stay up all night to finish, and I suppose they're what really got me hooked on reading. I could read this whole series again and again. While I didn't want the series to end, I'm glad they did, in a way, before they went downhill in quality and storyline... But yes, I
really love these books.
3. Possession by A.S. Byatt
I have a little notebook in which I write down all the books I read. I started doing this in December 2009, so I could keep track. It has a little system: an asterisk if it's a book for university, one tick if I thought it was really great. A cross if I didn't like it.
Possession was the first book that I had to give two ticks to, because I thought it was too good for just one. Like
Norwegian Wood I didn't know what to read afterwards. It's been about a year since I last read it, though - time for a re-read?
4. Oryx and Crake by Margaret Atwood
If you've never read Margaret Atwood... you should. I've read a fair few of her novels, and this is, by far, my favourite. The Goodreads summary says that once you've read this, "nothing will ever look the same again". And they're right. All the science in the background of this novel seems a little too realistic. True, it's taken to the extreme, but you can't help thinking "what if...?". This book terrified me, but in a good way. I just wanted to keep reading, especially when Atwood just... leaves it at the end. (Though there is some resolution in its sort-of sequel,
The Year of the Flood...)
5. The Clan of the Cave Bear by Jean M. Auel
Yes, I know this is the first book in Auel's
Earth's Children series, but it is, in my opinion, the best by far. I loved the world of the Clan and Ayla's position within it - something that is missing from the rest of the series. I'm excited for the final book,
The Land of Painted Caves, which is coming out at the end of the month, but I can't help feeling that it will never match up to the brilliance of the opening book of the series. I can't count how many times I've re-read this, but every time I notice something new. This is a wonderful, wonderful book. Everyone should read it. (Except you, Ollie. It's very long, it would probably take you ten years to read...)
Of course, I could've chosen many more than five books to enthuse about, but that would've been excessive, don't you think? What about you, then? Which books do you wish had never ended?
