Top Ten Tuesday

 

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted at The Broke & The Bookish. Each week they host a different top ten topic. This weeks is:

Top Ten Books I Was 'Forced' To Read:

Luckily for me the meme states that you don't have to think of ten, you just need to give as many as you can think of. This one is hard for me because I never really get 'forced' to read anything, I only read something if I want to; except for books for English when I was at school. 

So I can actually only think of one I really enjoyed, and it's the ULTIMATE one:

 

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

Now I wasn't 'forced' but this was a book someone at work told me I had to read. He was pretty adamant, he had received it as an ARC and said it was one of the best books he had ever read. Now he has really good taste in books so I trusted him and took his word for it. I am so glad I did, it quickly became one of my all time favourite books and series.

And one I absolutely hated:

 

Fifty Shades of Grey by E. L. James

I work in a library and I had to deal with Fifty Shades mania and it drove me crazy. Not only did we have over 500 reservations on it but I had to deal with someone coming in and telling me I just had to read it. So finally I gave in and read it and oh how I wish I could get that time back. This is hands down one of the worst, unrealistic books I have ever read. I hear this was originally Twilight inspired fan fiction and it really, really shows.

So I wish to take some inspiration from Inspiring Insomnia, who added to her list books that she forces others to read. Brilliant idea and so much easier for me to answer. So thank you!

1. The Harry Potter series by J K Rowling

How can this not be on here? I have loved and adored these books since I read the first Harry Potter book when I was about seven or eight. Now, age twenty-two, they are still my favourite books. And I am sure I am not the only person who was devastated when their Harry Potter letter didn't come through the mail Although the cover does always confuse me, it looks like Harry is about to get hit by the Hogwarts Express. That would have made this the shortest book ever.

2. The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

As soon as I myself was 'forced' to read this, I immediately harassed everyone else I know to read this. I wouldn't take no for an answer. My cousin recently turned eleven and I bought her the books for her birthday. So far she had only really read books from people like Jacqueline Wilson, but she has a ridiculously mature reading age so I took a chance. If she hated them then I knew I would have to disown her! Luckily for me, she absolutely loved them. She read them all in a week. I almost cried when I went round to visit and saw the state the books were in though. I can't describe how bad they were, but I almost fainted!

3. Northern Lights by Philip Pullman

I absolutely love this book. I read this and immediately knew it was a book I would love forever. When this was made into a movie I was so upset as I knew the movie would not do this amazing book justice, and I was so right. This is part of a trilogy but the first is the most amazing of the three and one of my all time favourite books. My cousin will be receiving this soon as well!

4. Noughts and Crosses by Malorie Blackman

I'll be posting my revised review of this on my blog next week. This is a book I read when I was 11 and still read over and over again. This counts for the whole series though, not just the first book. Like with all the books from above I basically harass everyone I can to read this series, it's truly amazing. Again, my cousin is receiving the set for Christmas, and if she doesn't love them - disowned! I am also starting up a teenage book group at work and this is the second book that they will be reading, so excited to see if they love it.

5. The Sight by David Clement-Davies

I recently posted a review for this on my blog, as with the books above, this and probably all the books I post are ones that take pride of place on my bookshelf. They are all time favourites, ones I read over and over again and books I am constantly telling people about. The Sight, Fell and Firebringer by David Clement-Davies are so different from any other book I have ever read. The Sight is told from the point of view of a wolf pack and I absolutely love it. Check out review here.

6. Divergent by Veronica Roth

When I read this book it instantly became a favourite and I am so excited for Allegiant to be released. This book is probably a book that lots of people try to 'force' other people to read. I do this to my family and friends all the time, I usually gift them the books so they feel they have to read them. I have got my oldest sister to fall in love with so many series this way. Her birthdays coming up soon and I already have Divergent and Insurgent bought ready for it, she shall adore them!

7. Forbidden by Tabitha Suzuma

I just reread and reviewed this book. It is absolutely amazing, a book I read for the first time earlier this year and it stuck with me ever since. It is a book that I should hate because of how angry, hurt and upset it made me but it just makes me love it all the more. It's like My Sister's Keeper where you kind of feel cheated, but you enjoyed what you read so much that you kind of let it go. Amazing book, check out my review here.

8. My Sister's Keeper by Jodi Picoult

I read this book four years ago and I absolutely loved it. It left me a horrible sobbing hysterical mess, which freaked the hell out of my boyfriend when he walked in and found me. He thought someone had died, and I'm there like some crazy person sobbing because of how sad the book was. I cried for way too long about this book. Again I should have felt cheated, and I did but it didn't seem to matter. This book made me a Jodi Picoult fan. Although the movie was terrible, ter-ri-ble!

9. The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold

This is an adult fiction book, which I really love and recommend to everyone I know. Well, not everyone, my eleven year old cousin will not be receiving this for a long time. This is a favourite of mine, think it is such a beautiful book. It's told from the perspective of Susie Salmon, who is watching her family from her own personal heaven. After being killed by a local man on her way home from school, her family still have no body and no answers as to where their girl is. Susie watches how their lives play out as they try to come to terms with losing her. One word, beautiful. 

10. The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger

I have only read this book once, I need to reread it some day. But when I read it four years ago I loved it enough to add it to my favourite list and one of those books I have to force upon people. My all time favourite time travel book, I adore this. It tells the story of Henry DeTemple, a librarian who involuntarily travels through time and Clare Abshire, a girl who has loved Henry for as long as she can remember. A beautiful love story, I highly recommend. Again, movie was a let down. Why do they keep ruining my favourite books, why?

So I know I kind of cheated a little, but it was impossible to think of books I'd loved that I'd been 'forced' to read. So this way was easier. Thanks again to Inspiring Insomnia for the idea! 

Leave a link and I'll check yours out.