My Recommended Reads!

I’ve got an hour until my lecture and some time to kill (technically I should be doing uni work and tidying but… nah!) so I’ve decided to go through some of the books on my bookshelf (both real and virtual) and give you my list of recommended reads.

 

 

“If I Stay” by Gayle Forman

I’ve finally learned what the genre is called and technically it’s “sick-lit”, there’s been a bit of controversy over books in this genre being marketed to vulnerable 13-year-olds, but honestly I think it’s all down to the maturity of the reader. This book isn’t an easy read – it’s not very long, I finished it in a couple of hours (although I am a fast reader), but some of the content is quite graphic (I’ll post a warning now – brain chunks are mentioned) and I do think that this should be aimed at more 16+ than 13+ purely because it is a bit… gross at times. Still, it’s a great book.

 

“To Kill A Mockingbird” by Harper Lee

Honestly, this is one of my favourite books. I love the story, I love the language used in it, I love the characters and I love the imagery it evokes; Lee is an incredible writer. I studied it for GCSE and it didn’t ruin it at all for me, unlike many stories where studying it has put me off ever wanting to read it for pleasure (step forwards, Wuthering Heights!), this one I could easily read again and again, because of the nostalgia it evokes – my childhood was so different to Scout and Jem’s, and yet reading this evokes memories of hot childhood summers.

 

“The Hunger Games” Trilogy by Suzanne Collins

Obviously these books are fairly well known because of the films (which are quite possibly my favourite film-adaptation-of-a-book because there wasn’t that much they left out and the actors were all great and it was everything I hoped it’d be), but the books in themselves are great. I know there’s been a lot of comparisons with Battle Royale; personally I can’t comment because I haven’t read it, but I think these books are fantastic and I’d highly recommend them.

 

“Tales From The Terra Firma Fleet” series by Christopher Maine

I know, I go on about this guy a lot, but I really enjoy his writing! He’s an indy writer and I think he deserves to do well because he’s got a great series going on. Check it out on http://www.amazon.co.uk/Dragon-Flight-Renegade-Tales-ebook/dp/B007B3CZF2 . Great characters, great plots, some fantastic relationships building up… it’s like sci-fi-action-romance-drama all in one.

 

“Harry Potter” series by JK Rowling

Do I really need to explain this one? If you haven’t read the books, just read them! Do it! Now!

 

“Marley and Me” by John Grogan

I watched the film and it made me cry. I read the book and it made me cry even more. This book is hilarious, heartbreaking and so touching all in one, and it really is wonderful. I read it all in one sitting and I wouldn’t recommend it because the emotions are overwhelming; read it bit by bit but just make sure that you do read it!

 

English Today.

So, it’s my English exam today – the last exam I have; after this I am freeeeeee until September (but I can’t wait until September so that’s fine!). You’d imagine, what with me being a blogger, that an English exam would be fine for me. Hey, I write all the time, what’s the worst an English exam can do?

You’d probably be right if it wasn’t an English Literature exam. *cue horror music*. The language part of the course was the coursework, which apparently I did quite well in (hoping that means I got an A which will pull up the undoubtedly abysmal grade I shall get in this exam), the exam is the analysis of a literary text we’ve been studying for the past year (ours is Wuthering Heights, yay… not), comparing it to other texts we’ve read independently (so far I’ve got Twilight, The Mabinogion and The Hunger Games… great!), and then a comparison of three unseen texts.

I am not confident at all. I suppose the only good thing is that I’m going in with no expectations whatsoever (or maybe I do have expectations, they’re just really really low) so if the paper doesn’t look like it’s written in a foreign language, I’ll be happy! 😉