{ ++ } Hosted by the girls over at The Broke and the Bookish, this meme features a different theme every week, and hey, it's Tuesday - we've got the rest of the week ahead of us. We all need a little fun, and who doesn't love the challenge of ranking their top 10 anything...especially when it comes to books?! I know I do, hence why I thought it'd be fun to participate, and spice things up a little!
Top Ten Books I Had VERY Strong Emotions About
(cry, laugh, hurl across the room, etc.){ 1 } Flowers in the Attic by V.C. Andrews. | I read this book for the first time when I was fifteen and it...changed me. I'd never read anything like it before, a haunting story of betrayal and abuse. It was HARD to read, but worth it, because it led me to discover several other amazing books by the VCA. But wow. I cried so many times reading this book. I haven't re-read it in years because I'm still not ready to take that journey again.
{ 2 } The Dark Tower by Stephen King. | One of the most gut-wrenching character deaths I've ever read. This one hit me the hardest. I can't even open the book without seeing the scenes playing out. And that death soured me on this whole book, which really was beautiful in its own way, and quite awesome, but...I threw this book at one point, literally threw it across the room. I loved some parts, and loathed others vehemently. That hasn't changed. I don't think I could ever reread it, which is really kind of awful considering how much this series means to me.
{ 3 } My Sister's Keeper by Jodi Picoult. | Just...the ending. This is a terrific book. Jodi knows how to tell a story, how to rip your heart out, and how to put it back together. But this book did the former and not the latter. It was one of the most difficult books I've ever read in my entire life - good, don't get me wrong. Just very draining and emotional to read.
{ 4 } Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by J. K. Rowling. | Ahhh. This one was beautiful. Haunting, brought our HP gang full circle. Only thing I didn't like about it was the epilogue; otherwise, I thought it was JK Rowling's finest book. :) But it was VERY emotional being that it was the last one, and some of the events that unfolded.
{ 5 } The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger. | One of the few books I've ever bought truly off of hype; I'd heard a lot about it, walked into a bookstore, and bought it. I finished the book several years ago and I'm still thinking about Henry and Clare from time to time. There were many tears during the course of reading this book but it's always going to be one of my favorites...and one of the few books that was SO good, I haven't yet felt the urge to re-read it.
{ 6 } Queen of the Darkness by Anne Bishop. | I can still walk past my bookshelf, look at this book sitting there, and tear up - and I read this trilogy in 2006. I can open any of the three books, but especially this one, and laugh, or cry happy tears, and sometimes, heart-wrenching ones. I keep wanting to re-read this trilogy, but the author has continued it, and I know what happens to the characters down the road, and I'm afraid my re-read experience wouldn't be as magical as my first or second reading was. This series is one of the most important ones in my life, because it changed me - the way I read, the sort of books I'm drawn to, and the way I write. But dear god, Anne Bishop knows how to tell a story.
{ 7 } The Sweet, Far Thing by Libba Bray. | Tears. Tears for this one. I cried out of joy and out of sadness. The main characters are/were so brave, and I admire them, especially Gemma, so very, very much. If you haven't read this trilogy...please...do so.
{ 8 } Breaking Dawn by Stephenie Meyer. | I can't go into great detail about this one, except to say that it was one of the most disappointing books I have ever read. I threw it several times vowing never to finish it, and finally did, and well. In my mind, the series ended with Eclipse.
{ 9 } Black House by Stephen King. | The man knows how to tell a story. Just...read The Talisman then read this one. Or even read just The Talisman. But you need to meet Jack Sawyer. And I hope you'll decide to read this book and meet Henry Leydon, and Sophie, and Beezer, and all the others. This is the ONLY book I have EVER stayed up all night to read. It also hosts a character death that really messed me up, and this book was just SO emotional, really hit me hard. I'll definitely re-read it some day though!
{ 10 } Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins. Mockingjay broke my heart. What was left of it after the first two books, this one did in the rest. Gale. And...and so much else. A lot that I can't/won't go into because I DO want everyone to read this trilogy and so I don't want to spoil. In some ways, this book healed all the hurt the first two books caused (for a "YA" series they were HARD to read) but in a lot of ways, the more I look back, the more difficult I know a re-read is going to be. I got really, really attached to the characters. I loved most of them. Finnick made it into my (unofficial) "top 5 favorite male literary characters EVER" list. I laughed and sobbed over these books, especially Mockingjay. Suzanne Collins didn't pull any punches with this one, showing that no one is safe, and she truly, I expect, told the story she set out to tell, which I greatly admire. I just wish it hadn't broken my heart on quite so many levels.
{ ++ } Okay that's it for me this week. What about y'all?
