10 Day You Challenge: Four Books

Day Seven: Four Books

Today's theme is books. Four books to be specific.

Reading is something I love and enjoy. I grew up reading a lot, and got back in to the habit when I started college. I've always loved reading paperbacks, and the smell of old paper. I used to look at e-readers with disgust and claim I would never want to read from one, but changed my mind when my Sister showed me hers, and bought one last Christmas. I soon realised how much easier it was to read from and carry about a Kindle compared to an 800 page hardback. Now I read from it everyday.

I do have a few firm favourite books, so this shouldn't be too hard to complete.

1. The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger

This is my ultimate favourite novel. I've read it through a few times, and find myself turning back to it time and time again. It's such a beautifully written story, with well written characters.

The story is about a man, Henry Detamble, who has a very rare and unusual condition which causes him to time travel. His body dissolves in to space, and he reappears with no clothes at any point in time. Mostly he keeps finding himself in a meadow in the past, which belongs to a rich family with a young daughter called Claire Abshire.  The first time Claire meets Henry, she is a little girl and Henry is middle-aged, but Henry doesn't meet Claire for the first time until he is in his late twenties and she is just out of her teens. The little girl in the meadow is the woman he is married to in the present day. The story is told through both of their perspectives, and focuses on how Claire feels about being left behind waiting for him to return. Confused? Thought so.

The best advice I can give you is to trust me, read the book, and try not to think to deeply about the dates and ages which start every chapter. If you think too hard about it, it will only confuse you more.  I found I couldn't put the book down!

2. The Stand by Stephen King 

The Stand is probably a joint favourite with The Time Traveller's Wife. It's about a super flu which rages through America, killing most of the population. The people who are left find themselves alone and lost in the world. They start travelling hoping to find other survivors or somewhere to go, and start having dreams about a wise old woman telling them to find her. At the same time, they all start having nightmares of the same evil man. The survivors come together and start rebuilding a community, but the dreams of the man continue and they have to work to protect themselves with a force out of their control.

I flew through this epic in just over a week, and couldn't get enough of it. I love those end of the world type stories.

3. Under The Dome by Stephen King

Under The Dome was another brilliant Stephen King novel. It's about a town which suddenly finds itself trapped under a dome, which runs exactly around the perimeters of the town. The army soon learns the barrier is unbreakable, and the inhabitants of the town find themselves trapped within it with supplies quickly running out and the Police taking the law in to their own hands. It was such a gripping novel, with characters I wanted to survive, and others who were so easy to hate.

4. The Hunger Games Trilogy

I'm not usually one to read books which are the latest trend- I still haven't read Twilight, and I don't think I'll read Fifty Shades, but I really enjoyed reading The Hunger Games, Catching Fire, and Mockingjay. The story lines were so unusual, but still had the apocalyptic, end of the world type theme which I love to read. I wanted to keep on reading and reading to make sure Katniss and Peeta would be alright.

As you can tell, I love reading Stephen King novels. I'm currently trying to work my way through his entire collection. I also love reading books by Dean Koontz, Chuck Palahnuick, Richard Laymon, and Maggie O'Farrell.

Do you read? What are your favourites? Can you recommend any good books that I should read?