Tuesday, March 22, 2016

Ten Books I Really Love But Feel Like I Haven't Talked About Enough/In A While


Top Ten Tuesday is an original feature/weekly meme created here at The Broke and the Bookish. This feature was created because we are particularly fond of lists here at The Broke and the Bookish. We'd love to share our lists with other bookish folks and would LOVE to see your top ten lists!

Each week we will post a new Top Ten list that one of our bloggers here at The Broke and the Bookish will answer. Everyone is welcome to join. All we ask is that you link back to The Broke and the Bookish on your own Top Ten Tuesday post AND add your name to the Linky widget so that everyone can check out other bloggers lists! If you don't have a blog, just post your answers as a comment. Have fun with it! It's a fun way to get to know your fellow bloggers.

Wow, it's going to be tough to make a list of only 10 books I really love, because I have so many favorites!! I've decided to make a short list of books I'd really love to reread in the near future.

1. East of Eden by John Steinbeck

I read this novel in 2008 and fell in love with it!! Steinbeck's writing is superb and so is his storytelling. I can honestly see why he won the Nobel Prize for Literature because East of Eden is truly a captivating and brilliant read. Steinbeck makes writing and storytelling look so effortless in East of Eden as he draws the reader into the plot details. The characters in East of Eden are so unforgettable... I love the characters of Samuel Hamilton and Lee in East of Eden... And the character of Cathy Ames is one the most evil female character I've come across in literature.

John Steinbeck's "third and last wife, Elaine, Steinbeck considered it his magnum opus.[3]Steinbeck stated about East of Eden: 'It has everything in it I have been able to learn about my craft or profession in all these years.' He further claimed: 'I think everything else I have written has been, in a sense, practice for this.'" Source of quote is from Wikipedia.


2. People of the Book by Geraldine Brooks

I can't remember when I read this novel, but it's amazing. Geraldine Brooks has a way of storytelling that makes her novels difficult to put down. 


3. A Hero of Our Time by Mikhail Lermontov

I've read this Russian classic several times already. I love it as it is a short, fast read and very well written and engaging. I love the writing and characters.

4. And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie

I've been an Agatha Christie fan for over 25 years and have read many of her  novels and short stories. So, I couldn't pass up selecting one of her novels to add to my list today. It was difficult to narrow down which novel to select for my post today, but And Then There Were None finally won out. You won't find Miss Marple or Hercule Poirot in this well written novel that will have you wondering who dunnit and why.

5. The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie

I read this book in 2012 for Banned Books Week and look forward to rereading it again. Click on above link to read my review of The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian.



This was a very moving novel for me to read... It quickly became one of my favorite novels read in 2013. I loved the fact that The Art of Racing in the Rain is told from the point of view of a dog. It's also a very emotional read that had me crying in parts. Click on the above link to read my review of The Art of Racing in the Rain. 


7. The Scent of God by Beryl Singleton Bissell 

This is an amazing memoir! I read it in 2009 and would highly recommend it! The following is an overview of The Scent of God from the Barnes & Noble website:

When Beryl Bissell entered a cloistered convent in New Jersey, she believed that God had called her to this way of life. At first blissfully happy, within a year she became prey to obsessive compulsions. Her vocation at risk, she overcame these disorders, and persevered for another ten years until returning home to Puerto Rico to care for her ailing father.  
Thrust into this sensual environment, she was drawn to Padre Vittorio, a handsome Italian priest, and underwent a belated coming of age. For the next three years, she struggled to reconcile human desire with spiritual longing. In spare but lyric language, Bissell weaves a powerful story of love, death, guilt, and redemption-a pilgrimage that reaches beyond dogma to personal truth and evokes a transformation that changes not only Beryl but the lives of those whom she most loves.
8. The Sacred Well by Antoinette May 

I read this novel in 2011 and it quickly became one of my favorite reads of 2011. The writing and storytelling are both superb! Do you love historical novels that weave the past and present day together? If so, then The Sacred Well may be the perfect novel for you! The following is an overview of The Sacred Well from the Barnes & Noble website:
A young reporter in 1923, Alma Reed accompanies archaeologists to the ruins of Chichen Itza, where a fortune in Mayan artifacts has been stolen from a sacrificial well. It's believed a curse was unleashed by the theft—yet the career-making story it offers the ambitious journalist seems a godsend. It also leads her to a passionate love affair with revolutionary governor Felipe Carrillo Puerto. But when fate darkens their lives and damns them as doomed political pawns, Alma can't help but wonder if the curse is not, in fact, very real.
In another century, another writer is fascinated by Alma's tragic story. Drawn restlessly to Yucatán—and away from the stifling needs of her desperately ill partner—Sage Sanborn is tempted by her growing feelings for David, a scientist who encourages her to delve deeper into Alma's history. And in this ancient place of mystery and spirits, Sage must make an impossible decision that will forever change the course of her life.
9. Memoirs of A Geisha by Arthur Golden

I loved reading this novel. It's another one of those books that contains excellent writing and storytelling. There are lots of plot twists and turns within Memoirs of a Geisha that I didn't see coming. All I'd like to add is that it's too bad that Arthur Golden hasn't published another novel. 


10. To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee

I first read To Kill A Mockingbird in 2010 and loved it and the message it contains. I read Go Set A Watchman by Harper Lee earlier this year and reading it makes me want to reread To Kill A Mockingbird.

31 comments:

  1. I am so glad to see I was not the only one to include a classic on my list! I need to revisit some of these. Thanks for reminding me of them.

    Lisa @ Just Another Rabid Reader

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  2. I read TKAM back in middle school and enjoyed it well enough, though I think I would have enjoyed it more if it hadn't been "required" you know how we all are when forced to do something. I have seen the Geisha movie but never thought to read the book but wow knowing the author never put anything else after kind of intrigues me. Most of the other titles are new to me and some look like they may have to be added to my TBR

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  3. Great books, some of them I've heard of and others haven't. I'm a fan of Agatha Christie's books too. :)

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  4. Ooh nice! Lots of these are new to me! I think the only one I read was To Kill a Mockingbird and that was way back in highschool! Nice pick!

    Here's my Tuesday Post

    Have a GREAT day!

    Old Follower :)

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  5. Great list! Did you see the BBC version of And Then There Were None on Lifetime? I only saw part of it but I've seen some bloggers say they liked it.

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  6. East of Eden must be one of the few Steinbeck novels I haven't read. I honestly don't remember enough of To Kill A Mockingbird since I read it... about 20 years ago. When I was in highschool, my sister directed the play for And Then There Were None (Ten Little Indians). Love the book too! Great list and thanks for sharing.

    Christina @ Books & Prejudice

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  7. Great list! I have East of Eden and And Then There WEre None sitting on my TBR pile; I'm looking forward to getting around to both eventually =D

    My TTT

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  8. Fantastic list! I really need to read People of the Book, I've heard such good things about it!

    Michelle @ Michelle's Minions

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  9. I absolutely loved The Art of Racing in the Rain. It was so incredibly heartbreaking. I haven't read Memoirs of a Geisha in a while, but I remember loving it. It was even better than the movie of course. :)

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  10. To Kill A Mockingbird and And Then There Were None are such great books! I haven't read any of the others but I've heard lots of great things about The Art of Racing in the Rain

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  11. Great picks! You know, I really should read East of Eden. I have no idea how similar the movie adaptation is to the original, but I did enjoy it. :)

    Thanks for visiting my blog.

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  12. #5 is one that I hear a lot of good reviews/mentions. I've also seen it at the library on display. Will have to check it out!

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  13. Lovely list! You have excellent tastes in classics. I've never truly gotten into Agatha Christie. I keep meaning to. I'm putting on my goal list for the year! Thanks for stopping by! :)

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  14. Oh my gosh, YES. I've loved Memoirs Of A Geisha for years and only recently read And Then There Were None after seeing the BBC adaptation. I'm now adding Chrostie books to my library!

    Under The Mountain Of Books

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  15. These are wonderful choices! I loved The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian. I almost put it on my list. To Kill a Mockingbird is good as well. I enjoyed Memoirs of a Geisha. I haven't read People of the Book yet, but I really want to. Thank you for sharing and for visiting my blog.

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  16. I love To Kill a Mockingbird and I read And Then There Were None for the first time last year and really enjoyed it. Nice list this week!

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  17. When it comes to BBC or ITV adaptations, I'm an Agatha Christie fan, but I've never read any of the novels! The recent And Then There Were None TV adaptation was really good though albeit chilling. *shudder*

    Thanks so much for visiting Finding Wonderland.

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  18. I've never read any of these. I couldn't get past like the first page of To Kill A Mockingbird. I do want to read Memoirs of a Geisha though!

    Nicole @ Boundless Bookaholic

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  19. I just listened to To Kill a Mockingbird, which I'd read in 8th grade but didn't remember. I read Go Set a Watchman in August, and I wanted to see what all the hype was about To Kill a Mockingbird. I have to say I related to Go Set a Watchman much more. I enjoyed the grown up Jean Louise and her passion for civil rights. I wanted more from To Kill a Mockingbird. I think I may have enjoyed it more from Atticus' perspective than from Scout's as a kid. There was too much day to day randomness to hold my attention.

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  20. Interesting list! I haven't read any of those books, but I really want to read To Kill a Mocking bird; I'm glad to know you liked it :)

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  21. Fabulous list with a lot of classics! :-) I adore To Kill A Mockingbird.

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  22. I've seen East of Eden on a couple of lists today but I still haven't read it! I've got 'The Absolutely True Story...' on my TBR pile for Banned Books week this year! :)
    Stacy Renee @ Lazy Day Literature

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  23. I remember Memoirs of a Geisha fondly, too. I'd love to reread it one of these days.

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  24. I read Memoirs of a Geisha over 10 years ago but I remember loving it! Maybe it's time for a re-read...

    Here are my Top Ten!

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  25. And Then There Were None is one of my favorite Agatha Christie books. I first read it in high school for my English class and I remember getting so annoyed because we weren't supposd to get ahead of the rest of the class... I just wanted to know who did it so bad!

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  26. And Then There Were None is one of my favorite Agatha Christie books. I first read it in high school for my English class and I remember getting so annoyed because we weren't supposd to get ahead of the rest of the class... I just wanted to know who did it so bad!

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  27. I've wanted to read East of Eden for so long, I actually had a copy but it was used and the pervious owner underlined entire pages or covered them in notes so I got rid of it and decided to hold off and get a copy from the library when I'm ready.

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  28. I'm familiar with about 1/2 of your picks! I'll have to look up the others!
    Here's my TTT: http://spinningjennysbookblog.blogspot.ca/2016/03/top-ten-tuesday-13-top-ten-dystrumpian.html

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  29. Ahh I LOVED TKAM too! But it's been years since I read it. I'm going to re-read it though..eventually. xD
    Thanks for stopping by @ Paper Fury!

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  30. I reaaaaaally really want to read Memoirs of a Geisha! You have some very interesting titles that I will have to check out.

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