My Five Favourite Books

I am an avid reader. My Goodreads said I have read over a 1000 books but I feel like I have read way more. I feel like I own a lot more too. I have a mixture of traditional and indie published books. I have always loved reading. I love the power of words and how it can create new worlds and ideas. I love books so much I ended up writing many of my own.

At the moment, this is my current top five books. It‘s hard to summarise them all as there are some books that are part of a series, so what I have done is list my favourite book from those series in its slot. The five books I have mentioned are books that have left a lasting impression on me and would be the five books I would read if I could only pick five. This was way harder than I thought it would be.

Battle Royale is my favourite novel of all time because it changed me. Ever since I saw the manga series being advertised in Tokyo Pop manga books, as well as the film, I kept getting drawn to it as a teenager. I knew I shouldn’t at my age, but I did anyway. Eventually I learned both The manga and the film were based on a novel and I got the novel. I love both the manga, novel and film and particularly like how the conclusion remains the same, but the methods were different.

There’s a huge cast of characters, but every one serves a purpose. Mitsuko Sōma‘s arc is the most tragic. Noriko and Shuya’s relationship feels real. Then there is the cold-hearted Kazuo who willingly asks the teachers, when do we start? The fact that it’s children killing other children by adults orders just makes the story more scary. It’s easy to say Kazuo, Mitsuko and some other kids were the villains, but the true villains in this story are the corrupted government that allow this carnage to happen.

The Buddha’s Bone is split into three arcs. It’s about Kimberly Thatcher who goes on to teach English in Japan. I felt a strong connection to the characters and the settings, having been to Japan myself. Kimberly goes through a lot of gains and losses to the point she is reborn from her pain. She goes through things no woman should go through, but it is sadly common. She overcomes a toxic relationship, sexual assault and miscarriage. I believe there is a sequal in the works. I had it on Kindle first, but I love the cover, and I also own it in paperback. I think what makes this book even more special for me is that me and the author are mutuals on Instagram and we’ve interacted several times.

Fingersmith by Sarah Waters is a sapphic story with a flavour of Charles Dickens. I have read other books by this author, but Fingersmith is the one that captures my heart the most. Maybe it’s because it was reccomend to me and I saw people on forums say this was their favourite book. The plot twists still get me everytime I reread it. Sue and Maud have a compelling relationship and I will always love this book for being the inspiration to one of my favorite films, The Handmaiden.

Harry Potter & The Prisoner of Azkaban has always been my favourite out of the seven books. I always liked the series and this one had always been my favourite because I thought everything came together really well, but they still left that layer of mystery there. I thought the scene with Aunt Marge was hilarious. I love the mixture of humour and the impending feeling of doom. I also love how Hogsmede is described. The book introduces Lupin and Black into the series and they are some of my favourite characters. The scene where Harry attacked Snape still surprises me.

The Hunger Games was accused of being an American Battle Royale rip-off due to its dystopian themes. I disagree! All great dystopian novels have influences that all link to Greek mythology and history. Rue’s death was impactful. The first book I’m the trilogy is my favourite for me because I loved Katniss’s determination to protect her sister, Primrose. Primrose’s death is one of the main reasons why I don’t like the last book of the trilogy as much as the other two.

What are your top 5 books?