Books You'd Save in a Fire | Top 5 Wednesday

Presumably, there wouldn't be much time to think so I would probably reach for books I've read and loved:

1. Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro

2. Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury

Because of the irony.

3. One More Thing: Stories and Other Stories by B.J. Novak
Read my review here.

4. The Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman

5. Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell

What book(s) would you save in a fire?

1. Photo by nikkitheknack 2. Photo via Goodreads 3. Photo by nikkitheknack 4. Photo via Goodreads 5. Photo by nikkitheknack

Top 5 Historical Books | Top 5 Wednesday

This week's Top 5 Wednesday topic is "Top 5 Historical Books", or, any book that isn't set in the present time.

I'm not going deep into the past with these because I don't read a lot of historical fiction, but the books on my list do take place at least one decade into our past.

1. The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams

This series takes place in the glorious 80's, although because it involves so much space travel, we mostly get to see what the rest of the (hilarious) universe was like back then.

2. War Horse by Michael Morpurgo

Read my review here!

This is such a beautiful book. It shows how awful WWI was, not only for humans, but also for the animals used. It's a new perspective - a horse's! - and I think it does a wonderful job of showing the deep bond between humans and animals and how it can transcend tragedy.

3. Watchmen by Alan Moore, Dave Gibbons and John Higgins

Set in the 80's, Watchmen is a critique of the superhero genre that manages to be satirical, philosophical and political all at the same time. And it doesn't stop there, either.

4. Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs

Read my review here!

Without giving any spoilers about the plot, there are scenes in this novel that take place in the present time, and also scenes that take place in 1940. It makes for a truly fascinating read.

5. Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro

A poignant tale that questions and re-imagines what it means to be human, this novel takes place in the 90's.

What are your favourite novels set in different times, past or future?

Top Love Triangles | Top 5 Wednesday

Ah, yes - the love triangle: the romantic trope that pervades fiction of all sorts. Sometimes it's great, sometimes it's really, really not. My list includes both kinds:

1. Cath, Levi and Nick in Fangirl

I love this entire book. As far as love triangles go, I think this one was really well done. At one point, I loved both of Cath's love interests a lot and was conflicted about who I wanted her to end up with. 

2. Jay Gatsby, Daisy Buchanan and Tom Buchanan in The Great Gatsby

This is perhaps literature's most tragic love triangle of all, but it's also highly debatable whether it's a love triangle or not. Gatsby's love for Daisy was more of an obsession than it was love, but it makes it onto this list because he felt he loved her.

3. Kathy, Tommy and Ruth in Never Let Me Go

You might be thinking, "Man, she's got a thing for Carey Mulligan movie adaptations". 'Tis but coincidence - she's been in awesome movies. But I digress. This book was so emotional and I felt for all the characters in this triangle, which makes it one of my favourites. I like it when books make me feel all conflicted inside.

4. Juliette, Adam and Warner in Shatter Me

Read my review of Shatter Me!

As with many love triangles out there, this was insta-love between Juliette and Adam. I'm not a huge fan of insta-love, but I did enjoy all the action and suspense involved in this story. Warner's love for her certainly doesn't seem healthy, but I've yet to read the sequels so I'll update that statement in a later post.

5. Bella, Edward and Jacob in Twilight

Yes, I know. But no matter what you think of the series now, at one point or another most of us were interested in or somehow affected by these three, so they make it onto the list.

What's your favourite love triangle?

Image Credits:

1. Photo by Author

2. "Great Gatsby Cover Spray Painted" by Edward St. Alban Reardon V via deviantart in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License.

3. Photo by Author

4. "Broken Heart Grunge" by Nicolas Raymond via flickr in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic License.

5. "Edward-Bella-Jacob-Eclipse-Wallpaper-twilight-series-12351953-1097-931" by you me via flickr in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic License.