My Top 5 Books of All Time
Hannah Murray asked me to pull together my list of my 5 favourite books of all time for her book show today. It was great fun thinking about it and I always enjoy being on the radio! For those of you who didn’t get a chance to listen, we’ve uploaded the show here and I’ve also included my full list with the reasons why below. I hope you enjoy it.
1. Bill Bryson – Notes from a Small Island
This book is Bill Bryson’s homage to his adopted country of England and tells the tale of his one last trip around the UK before moving back to the US with his wife and kids.
It is so funny and wonderfully insightful into Britain and the British and our odd ways. He is American, but loves the UK and makes the observations only an outsider who has lived there could.
Great observations –
– How excited an English person will get about being offered a cup of tea
– The crazy way we give directions via all kind of obscure places and with endlessly unnecessary details
– The weird place names that English places have like Farleigh Wallop and Titsey
Warning – Bill Bryson’s books are not to be read in public, you will laugh out loud!
2. Jane Austen – Pride and Prejudice
Probably a corny one, but never get tired of reading it or watching the adaptations on TV and Victorian Literature really got me into reading at Uni.
I think that Elizabeth Bennett is actually a very modern character – independent, feisty, wanting to marry for love. Many people don’t like Austen as they say nothing happens, but it’s such a beautiful picture of the society and the characters are created so realistically and completely that even the most banal details are interesting to the reader. If I’m ever feeling sorry for myself I curl up on the sofa and watch the BBC adaptation and everything is well in the world!
3. Jung Chang Wild Swans: Three Daughters of China
This book is a biography of three generations of Chinese women –
– The Grandmother who was a concubine to a wealthy warlord. Her story starts the book and I particularly remember the horror of hearing of her bound feet and how this made her suffer.
– The Mother of the author who at 15 becomes part of the Communist party and takes part as an important member of the Red Army in Mao Zedong’s People’s Revolution. To hear from someone who actually took part in this crucial stage of Chinese history and suffered so much for a cause that we know ends in a terrible situation for the people was fascinating and really gave an insight into the spirit of the Chinese people.
– Finally we read the story of the author who lives through the terrible Cultural Revolution and all the cruelty, fear and total lack of freedom. She witnesses her parents beaten and humiliated for being capitalists, even though they supported the revolution, and she suffered being sent to the countryside to be “educated” by the peasants. The hardships she faces makes her anti Mao and she is lucky enough to win a scholarship to study in England and have the freedom to write their story without fear of censure or punishment from the government.
I read this whilst I was living in China as a volunteer teacher in 2001 and it took my breath away to read about these women through history and what they went through. It gave me a great sense of the Chinese history whilst totally engaging me in the story of these people.
The book was given a different dimension because I read it in China where it was banned and of course the Communist party was still in power and in total control of the country. It seems strange and wrong that this terrible history happened, yet even after Mao’s death he is celebrated and the people still have very little freedom. It is particularly hard as a woman to see the lack of women’s rights and the lack of freedom to travel, or to say anything anti-government.
Before we went to teach, we were briefed by the organisation we were volunteering with very specifically to not speak about politics as several teachers had got in trouble for talking about communism. We were told to say “I’m sorry but I don’t know enough about this to comment” if anyone asked. We were clearly monitored and we think our phones were tapped and we even received a letter which actually had scribbled on it Chinese translations! You had to be very careful what you said and how you lived your life that’s for sure.
I remember being invited to my student’s home in this remote village where no other foreigner had ever visited and when we were far away from anything she asked me what I thought of the Cultural Revolution. She said she wouldn’t ask me in the class as she knew I would get into trouble but that her grandparents were killed and she wanted to know what I thought – it was a very difficult one to answer!
4. Cecelia Ahern – P.S. I Love You
This is a total chic-lit book which I was bought for a present and assumed I would hate from the horrid pink and blue cover. But when I begrudgingly started reading it I was hooked and loved every minute (plus cried so much I could hardly see the pages) – just goes to show you literally should judge a book by its cover lol
It’s about Holly Kennedy and her husband. They are a devoted couple and madly in love and when Gerry dies she is totally distraught. To help her Gerry writes her 10 letters which she opens each month and contain things she must do to try to live without him. It is incredibly sweet and touching and really makes you think of the people who are important in your life. I thought the film was a real let down though!
5. The Lonely Planet Guide Book to Spain
Now this is a bit of an odd one, but I just love guide books! I have tried loads over the years and Lonely Planet is definitely the best for the descriptions and maps and helpful info.
Before I came to Spain I read this guide book from cover to cover underlining all the exciting things to do and circling the places I wanted to go on the map at the front of the guide. I am still working my way through and ticking things off from the map and planning epic trips and it gives me lots of joy. I really think everyone living here should have it!
The next trip I’m planning is a trip to Madrid and around visiting Avila, Segovoia, Salamanca and Toledo over a week, it looks amazing, hopefully we can do it next year.
So that’s my top 5 and I’d definitely recommend them. It would be great to hear other people’s favourite books, so please comment below. To listen to the interview please click below.