Tuesday 26 June 2012

Books To Die For: Our Top 5 Favourites

Ritesh and I decided to do something a little different today and not just flood the blog with guest posts and interviews! So today, we are listing our top 5 'to die for' books/series :) - books are listed in no particular order.
Aaaand go for it, Ritesh...

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When Alexia came up with the idea for this post, I only wanted to include the books which had left a mark on me, had actually helped in my development as a reader, and as a person. After a lot of thought, and going through my 'Read' list on Goodreads, I have come up with a list of books/series which I think deserve to be here.


This series rekindled the joy of reading in a young kid, who had lost that magic. This surely means that the Harry Potter series has to be on my list. I loved each and every character in the book, even Draco Malfoy. I literally grew up with these characters, and I loved being part of their life story.


This series introduced me to the world of epic fantasy, and to J.R.R. Tolkien. This is definitely my all-time favourite series. The movies just reinforced this love. Now, I think it has become a ritual for me that I watch the movies religiously every year and try to re-read the trilogy every few years.


Ayn Rand- author

I know this is not a series, but all of Ayn Rand's books have helped me become who I am. These are my vision of how the world works, how the government operates and how innovation and development and creation are the key to the world's progress and growth changed completely after reading these books. I think this critical thinking is essential for every citizen in today's world, especially after the financial crisis which has been partially created by the governments around the world


Douglas Adams' funny and quirky series of the books were my first introduction to science fiction. This is a love which has not gone away, and now reflects in my love for science and science fiction. I think it is because of this series that I love programs like Eureka and Warehouse 13, Star Trek and the Star Wars movies.


I finished reading the first 3 books in the series a few weeks back. This series is funny, quirky and I love all the characters. The reason I include this series here is because it has introduced me to an entire new genre. I used to think that paranormal books were all like Twilight, and that I would never want to read them. But this series had made me re-look my assumption, and see each paranormal series independently. I'll still stay away from the Paranormal Romance genre as much as possible, but am now more open to looking at books in this genre.
 

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And now it's my turn... The books/series I have listed below are my absolute favourite books ever read! I have read all these books more than once lol! It's a mixture of Adult and YA. In my humble opinion, these are all worthy of 5 martini's ;)

This is my all-time favourite series! I lurve Kresley Cole... this series has a bit of everything - action packed, romance & humour. There are hawtness monsters of note *drools*. My fav books from this series has to be Wicked Deeds on a Winters Night, Dark Desires After Dusk & Demon from the Dark! HOT HOT HOT

Eeeek! Who hasn't read this series?! lol It's AH-mazing! I want Dimitri and I want him now *stomps foot*. Rose has 'open mouth, insert foot' syndrome. I think she is THE most kick-ass chick! My fav book in this series is when Dimitri goes all bad with red eyes - Blood Promise ;) I laughed and cried throughout this whole series, and I think I read it about 7 times... yeah I know... can you say Dork? lol

I know what you're thinking.. Seriously?! Hell YES! I love me some Eric Northman... hubba hubba! I prefer the books to the TV series, although I do watch it as well. The Sookie on TV is kinda annoying, so I prefer her in the books lol.

Ritesh told me about this series, and I decided I had to get my hands on it. What a feast I tell you! Charley is a snarky, witty, sarcastic chick - I friggin' love her! The male character of this series, Reyes is delicious ;) They both fight like cat and dog but have these combustible moments... Plus I love the covers - BONUS!

I'm sure everyone has also read this series. I love that the books feel 'never ending'! My fav book/character in this series is Lover Avenged (Rehvenge's story). Love the names of the characters and the story lines! The whole fated female thing is right up my ally :)

What are YOUR to die for books/series?

8 comments:

  1. Cool post... it's hard to think of five, but...
    Roald Dahl's Fantastic Mr Fox
    Margaret Atwood's The Handmaiden's Tale
    Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice
    The works of Shakespeare
    Angela Carter's Magic Toyshop
    Vickie

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  2. Great post! I especially like the first three selections: Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings, and anything Ayn Rand every wrote! :D

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  3. The Hitchhiker's Guide series would definitely be in my Top Ten as a collective, as probably would the Lord of the Rings. My own personal Top 5 would be:

    Naked Lunch by William S. Burroughs

    Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas by Hunter S. Thompson
    Both of these books completely blew me away with the rawness of the prose and the eclectic subject matter. Both should be required reading in high school.

    Still Life with Woodpecker by Tom Robbins
    A modern-day fairy tale, with a lot of action, conspiracy and even romance.

    The Stars, My Destination by Alfred Bester
    This is what I consider to be the seminal science fiction novel of the 20th Century; the story of a man who seeks revenge and instead evolves the whole human race.

    The Man of Bronze by Kenneth Robeson
    The first story in the Doc Savage pulp series. The whole series is just out-and-out good fun and action. Each book is an afternoon's pure escapism.

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  4. Call of the Wild by Jack London
    Sword of Shannonan (sp?) by Terry Brooks
    Black Beauty by I don't know
    M is For Magic by I don't know
    The Outsider by I don't know (not The Outsiders, but the book about a man accused of murder simple because he didn't react the way society believed he should)
    The Deltora YA series by I don't know.
    I never took note of the author's names. I just loved the books. This has changed a bit, still, if you ask me in a few years who wrote the book I just read, I probably won't know. Guilty as charged.

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  5. Hey, where's G R R Martin? :) He is the God of Fantasy, as far as I am concerned:)

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    1. Laxmi, have only read the first GRR Martin book. I find it difficult to wait 5 years for new books in the series to appear!

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  6. I am a English Lit freak - Taking a degree should have put me off

    My ultimate favourite are Jane Austen's, P&P, and Emily Bronte's, Jane Eyre,
    then it would have to be Jane Austen's, Persuasion.

    then The Outsiders by SE Hinton that they made into a brat-pack film in the 80s with people like Rob Lowe, Patrick Swayze think Tom Cruise was in it also.

    finally Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier.

    I do like some of your choice too like the Sookie Stackhouse series.

    Jo

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  7. I can list *only* 5? Sigh...

    Okay, here goes, in more or less chronological order as I came across them:
    1. "Little Women" by Louisa May Alcott (Jo is a writer. Need I say more?)
    2. A collection of stories by Edgar Allen Poe, particularly "The Tell-Tale Heart" and "The Pit and the Pendulum" (I didn't discover my very favorite Poe story, "The Masque of the Red Death," until I was older)
    3. "Jane Eyre" by Charlotte Bronte
    4. "The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant, the Unbeliever" by Stephen R. Donaldson -- still my all-time favorite fantasy series
    5. A tie! "The Tooth Fairy" by Graham Joyce (psychological horror) and "Plainsong" by Kent Haruf (literary fiction). Joyce's book scared the pants off me. Haruf's prose manages to be both spare and lyrical, an amazing trick.

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