It's time for the Top Ten Tuesday meme! We're supposed to come up with ten most thought provoking books. To be honest, I think a lot while I read, so for me, every book is thought provoking. Sometimes I over think stuff. But here are ten.
In no particular order:
1. Animal Farm by George Orwell - I don't think this one needs much explaining. A commentary about society and the human nature that doesn't change no matter how society changes.
2. Captain Corelli's Mandolin by Louis de Bernieres - A beautifully written love story set in Greece during World War Two. Asks us can we really love someone who we're supposed to hate and not get our heart broken.
3. Fifty Shades of Grey by EL James - Makes me think how stupid people are and that it is true that less and less people read these days. Oh, well... More great books for me.
4. The Master and Margarita by Bulgakov - A modern fairy tale set in Stalin's Russia, exploring the themes of love, death, literature, art and most importantly good and evil. Leaves us with a strong message, hatred and evil are on this Earth only because of humans. The Devil's got nothing to do with it.
5. Death and the Dervish by Meša Selimović - One of my favorite books of all time. I know parts of it by heart. Lets you know what happens when we try to exclude and shelter ourselves and than we're forced to face the real world. Among other things.
6. Saturday by Ian McEwan - Reminded me a lot of Virginia Woolf's Mrs Dalloway, set in 2003 and takes place during just one Saturday. Made me think about the modern world and modern politics and also that there are two sides of each story.
7. The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafon - Not really thought provoking, but fantastic in every sense and deserves to be mentioned here. I'd describe it the best by haunting.
8. Harry Potter by JK Rowling - A beautiful story that matures as the reader does and teaches us some of the most important values we ought to have.
9. To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee - A bildungsroman that made me think about the value of innocence and made me feel grateful for everything I have today.
10. Ports of Call by Amin Maalouf - A gentle albeit a bit unrealistic and far fetched story about people who are stuck in a time they can't escape. Truly shows us how little and unimportant we are in the grand scale of events. Our plans don't really matter because there's always something that can get between our hopes and dreams and there isn't much we can do about it.
Animal Farm made my list, too. Actually, I think George Orwell made a lot of people's lists.
ReplyDeleteMy TTT - http://robolobolynsuniverseofbooks.blogspot.ca/2012/09/top-ten-books-that-make-you-think.html
To be perfectly honest, Animal Farm was written to be thought provoking. I don't know anyone who thinks it's just a funny story about a group of pigs and horses on a farm :D
DeleteI was actually very surprised this summer when some roommates, who had previously mentioned that they never read, announced that they were thinking of reading Fifty Shades of Grey because "they really ought to." I can think of a lot of books to place higher on a list of "must read" books, starting with classics.... I think it's interesting to see how many people think they ought to read Fifty Shades of Grey "because it's popular," who have passed on reading every other bestseller. ;)
ReplyDeleteI usually read books that are popular, just so I know what all the fuss is about. Sometimes I like them, sometimes I don't, there's no rule, but I can't believe these books are so popular. It's great if it gets people reading more, but I doubt it will. It only proves marketing can do anything.
Deletemore than a few of them are reading it because it's a free pass to read smut without being judged for it. our society is so repressed in some circles that they can't bring themselves to otherwise, even though they're curious... :P
Delete