Thursday 24 July 2014

My Top 10 Books


Portable Library
 
This is a post about my top 10 favourite books. There is not really a definitive reason for why I think they are good.  My liking them has nothing to do with how technically well written they are or whether or not they are popular or ground breaking. I just like these books because I can see everything in them and feel everything the characters feel.  I don't want to give too much away just in case you haven't read these novels so I am not going to give a description of what happens in the books but only say why they are in my top ten.

In no particular order:

1. The Stranger by Albert Camus
This book is comes across as quite eerie, like when you watch a film and you are waiting for something to happen, because the character is seems strange and indifferent. In reality though I think this man is someone who prefers to think about the world as a whole instead of the small world he lives in. He does not act the way his society expect him to act - he does not mourn and questions religion. This is a great book because it encourages you to think and question the things we are told or inherantly believe as a country or culture. I also really like the descriptions in the book for example the character stares at the walls in his cell and depicts all the little details of it.

2. Post Office by Charles Bukowski
This book is so easy to read and yet it is very profound in the most unexpected way. You may think this is just about some stupid drunk man but this drunk man happens to be sensitive, witty, clever, caring, funny and passionate. I love how you can despise a lot of the disgusting things he says and does and yet in the next paragraph he suddenly bcomes the moral backbone in the situation or shows his inner vunerable self.  It is like when you are in a shop and they have terrible music on but then they play one amazing song and you just feel love and happiness. This is Charles Bukowski. Also, if you have ever been a Postal worker as I have then you will appreciate this book.

3. What I Talk About When I Talk About Running by Haruki Murakami 
Murakami has written lots of great, amazing books that I love but this one is a bit different. It shows who he is as a person and writer. I think it is always great to get an insight into who people are especially if they are creative. I also like this book because I used to run a lot and this book really describes the pain and pleasure of running and how you might want to give up but the urge to run is too great to stop. Murakami reads with such ease and has brilliant descriptions about when he runs during different seasons and in different locations.

4. The Woman in the Dunes by Kobe Abe
I only read this novel recently but I can't stop thinking about it so that is usually a good sign that it's going to stay with me. This book really gets inside you because of the subject matter. The man in the novel thinks he is a free man but when he gets trapped in a sand pit by villagers who need him to help with the work of keeping the sand from consuming the village. The man is desperate to be free from the pit but as he starts to question his so-called freedom on the outside he wonders what being free actually is. The other great but uncomforatble aspect of this novel is the physical effects of the sand - it is everywhere, all around him, in every crease and crevice of his body, in his mouth, eyes, food and water.

5. Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy
This might just be my all time favourite novel. I fell in love with the character Levin who is a good and kind man and who thinks about all the things there is to think about in life. He thinks a lot about nature and the human struggle. This is an intricate story but it is written in such a way that you read it as if you were doing something quite simple like opening a letter except it is the most wonderful and beautiful letter you have ever been sent.

6. Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes
Another novel that I have only read recently but it struck such a chord in me that I cannot leave it out of this list. This is a story about Charlie who undergoes a special operation to increase his intellect. The book is written as a series of progression reports gradually going from very badly written and naive to become reports of great insight. This novel is so sad and funny and clever and poignant. It also raises interesting questions about how possible it is to have both knowledge and happiness.

7. Siddartha by Hermann Hesse
Siddartha is the story of life and how we are continually learning and trying to gain peace and happiness. I feel like anyone could relate to this novel.  It takes the reader from a period of striving vainly for enlightment to lavish excess, love, material pleasures then to the search for a simple, spiritual life. Siddartha expereinces every side of life and these experiences are what make him wise and content.

8. The Unbearable Lightness of Being by Milan Kundera
I read this book right before Anna Karenina not knowing that the books are linked. This link may be why I cannot have one in my top ten list without the other! This is the strange story of a Terez who falls in love with a man who cannot stay faithful to her and has many affairs. Terez is my favourite character in this book and I love her gentle nature and love of reading. The main reason this book is on my list however is because of the philosophical questions raised over the human spirit and the idea of eternal recurrence. 

9. Hunger by Knut Hamson
Hunger is such a bittersweet book. It is about a man dying of starvation which sounds pretty depressing! But this novel goes from laugh out loud funny to bizarre to melancoly in the space of a few pages. It is one of the most simple yet heartfelt books I have read.

10. Naive.Super by Erlend Loe
Last one! This list has been more difficult than I thought and I've probably missed loads of great books out. Naive.Super is not a well known book but it is definitely worth finding. It is the story of a disillusioned man and his journey to some kind acceptance of his life. The main character tries meditating with repetative activities such throwing a ball against a wall and becomes interested in scientific theories and he also befriends a small boy who lives next door. This is another really simple story but it just makes your soul feel good.

Well, that's my top ten - I hope you liked this post! I would love to hear what you think about these books and my top ten choices or if you have any recommendations for me?