MY READING LIST: TOP FIFTEEN FICTION BOOKS OF ALL TIME
As we all know, fiction covers a range of genres including humor, horror, mystery, psychological thrillers, to even historical fiction. As I am not one to prefer one genre over the other, I tried to pick at least one favorite from each genre. I couldn’t get everything in, but if there's any book you think I missed, either a novel or short story, tell me in the comments and I will read up on it and see if I can add it to my list.
Remember, these are my top fifteen fiction book picks of all time so they may be a little biased as they represent my views. If you disagree with my choices, you can recommend some books you feel are better in your opinion in the comments section.
That being said, in no particular order, here are my picks;
1. One of Us is Lying by Karen M McManus: I actually read this just last year and I loved it. I recommended it to a lot of my friends. It’s a mystery novel centered around five high school students who got sent to detention at the same time yet only four came out alive. It turns out that the guy who died, Simon, was actually like the school's gossip king and had big secrets he wanted to reveal about the rest of the students! So the whole book is basically the police trying to find out who killed Simon among the students.
I really like this book because it was so full of suspense and kept me on the edge of my seat the whole time I read it. Even if you're not someone who is into mystery books, I highly recommend this because it was really interesting and captivating. This is my first of this author's books, and it actually has a sequel that came out January 7th this year, One of Us Is Next. So you can check it out if you are interested.
2. Holding Up the Universe by Jennifer Niven: This is a love story between two characters, a guy with face blindness, who can't recognize anyone, including friends and family (and himself), and a formerly obese girl. I think the reason I like this one so much is how uncommon the romance is, and it’s a story of two people breaking boundaries to be with each other, both social and mental boundaries. I highly recommend reading this, you probably should, and don’t be put off because is a romance novel. It's really good.
3. Anybody Out There by Marian Keyes: Okay this book is one of the most amazing books I have ever read in my life. From the first word, I was captivated. It's about a woman who has just been in a ghastly accident and is really just trying to find her place in the world. It is full of flashbacks from her young-adulthood to married life to where she is now. I don't want to say too much lest I spoil it for you but this book is amazing and emotional. This is the most emotionally packed book I have ever read. So emotional that it took me over a week to read (it never takes me this long to read anything) cause I kept pausing and thinking; I felt like I was experiencing these things with her. It was both heartwarming and terrifying. So if you feel you can handle such emotions, go ahead, if you feel you canot, still read it cause this book is awesome and you do not want to miss it.
4. Black by Ted Dekker: Now this is an author I can vouch for. Ted Dekker is my favorite author of all time, and you will be seeing more of his works on this list for sure. This one in particular though stands out to me. It is about a young man named Thomas Hunter who wakes up in this fantasy world inhabited by immortal humans and strange creatures, which he finds out is actually our world thousands of years in the future. He finds himself caught between these two worlds that he's trying to navigate. It's a very symbolic novel in my view. It is the first book in a series but can also be read as the second because of its part of the circle trilogy by Ted Dekker which consists of four books: Black, Red, White, and Green. Like most Ted Dekker novels, its caught between fantasy, thriller, and suspense. I highly recommend reading this because you will love it and won't want to stop. You can choose not to read the other books in the series but trust me, once you start, you will be hooked.
5. Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell: This is also a regular name you're going to see a lot of in this post, although I found out about this author relatively recently. Just last year, my sister introduced me to her books and I have read every single one of her works that I can find. She is an amazing author and this book is kind of a departure from the normal college-based novel dynamic. It's about this girl named Cath who is basically obsessed with fanfiction, but fanfiction for a particular book series. The book series is a fictional series created by Rainbow Rowell for the purpose of the novel Fangirl. I never thought I would enjoy a book about a girl who loves fanfiction, but here I am, and its actually about way more than that. So, before you turn it down, give it a chance and try reading it. There's actually a sort-of sequel to this novel, but I will discuss that later in this post.
6. Redeeming Love by Francine Rivers: I absolutely adore this book. Its Christian fiction and I don’t usually read a lot of that but it's so compelling and wonderful in so many ways. It is a wonderfully scripted retelling of the book of Hosea in the Bible, and it's centered around a young lady and her search for redemption in this world. My description certainly doesn’t give this book justice. Its amazing, this author is amazing. She somehow combined romance with suspense and the all-encompassing redeeming love of God. This is a must-read for any book lover.
7. Eleanor and Park by Rainbow Rowell: Yes, her again! This book was on my bookshelf for a pretty long time before I finally decided to read it, and then I was angry at myself for not having read it sooner. It is a story of first love between two teenagers and I think the reason I loved it so much was because it wasn’t just about two teenagers meeting and falling in love, but it also focused on their individual lives, their parents, their families, the challenges they face in their lives, and I think that’s what makes it so unique. This is definitely high up there in my list of best young-adult romance novels, and I definitely think you should read it.
8. Drums, Girls and Dangerous Pie by Jordan Sonnenblick: Okay, forget the ridiculous title, this is an amazing book. It's not too long, it's not too short, it's just the right amount of perfect. It's about a thirteen year-old boy named Steven who just found out that his younger brother, Jeffrey has leukemia (cancer of the blood). It’s a story of growing up, adolescence, and basically, a child's point of view on life and serious family matters, almost like a coming of age novel. You should definitely read this book because it's very heartwarming and touching and it's an amazing novel. There's a sequel to it, that tells his brother's story called After Ever After if you want to read that too.
9. Three by Ted Dekker: Another wonderful novel by my favorite author. This was the first Ted Dekker novel I ever read so I admi I am a little biased to it, but it is very amazing nonetheless. It is a psychological thriller about a man named Kevin who is being stalked by a serial killer that’s linked to his past. That’s all I can say because this book is so messed up, I don’t know how to describe it. Action-packed, and full of suspense from the first page to the last page, this book is definitely one of my personal favorites. With more unexpected twists than you can imagine, I promise you won't regret reading this.
10. Carry On by Rainbow Rowell: So this is the sort-of sequel to Fangirl that I was talking about. This is pure fantasy, but it also has glimpses of romance, drama, and basically average teenage life. It centers around Simon Snow, a teenage wizard who at birth was conned the savior of the wizarding world. What connects this to Fangirl is the fact that this book was actually the fanfiction that cath was writing during the course of Fangirl. Although Rainbow Rowell insists that these books are stand-alone and independent of each other, I highly recommend reading Fangirl before you read Carry On. Carry On also has a sequel called Wayward Son, which came out last year, and you can read that too if you want. I am definitely reading it and I'm sure it will be amazing.
11. Loose Girl: A Memoir of Promiscuity by Kerry Cohen: As you can probably tell from the title, this is a true story. It chronicles Kerry Cohen's life from childhood to adolescence to adulthood and her struggle with men and promiscuity. It's not the type of novel I normally read, but I decided to give it a chance and I wasn’t disappointed. This book was really deep, and it touched me because it confronts topics that most writers try to avoid. These are things that girls all over the world go through and even if you have never gone through it, you have friends who have, and it's nice to get this kind of representation in a novel. So, I recommend this for not just girls, but guys too.
12. The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown: If you have never read any Dan Brown book, then you need to revisit your library. This guy is amazing at what he does. His books combine logic with facts and fiction: the Da Vinci Code is no different. The book is based on the claim that there is a secret code embedded in Leonardo Da Vinci’s paintings. I think Dan Brown explores elements of suspense, action, thriller and logical reasoning to great depths in all his novels, and you should definitely read not only this book but plenty of his other novels.
13. The Year I Met You by Cecelia Adhern: To interrupt all the thoughts you guys are probably already having, no this is not a romance novel or a romantic comedy or anything like that. The title is related to the fact that the story is told in the second person and thus, makes use of the second person pronoun ‘you’ constantly; that’s why its called ‘The Year I Met You’. This is the only book I've read that is written in the second person, and I have to say, I was really impressed. It's about this woman Jasmine, who was forced to take a one year break from work. So it's basically about what happens during the course of that one year, with a bunch of flashbacks about her growing up. I read this a few years ago, and it hasn’t left my mind since then. You should read it, and also check out the author, Celia Adhern; her books are amazing. I love them, and I know you will too.
14. Purple Hibiscus by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie: This was actually my first Chimamanda Novel. I read it for the first time, almost six years ago, and I can't count how many times I've read it now. It’s a beautiful story portraying the life of a fifteen-year-old girl named Kambili, her brother Jaja, and their devout Catholic family. This novel is so moving and it carries the reader from the first page to the last. It has a beautiful writing structure, a wonderful storyline. You will not be disappointed if you read this. I adore Chimamanda's works, but this is by far my favorite of all the books. So, go ahead and read it. You can explore other works of hers if you are interested.
15. Awakened by Kristen Cast and P C Cast: I had to include this novel because, for many years, it has been my favorite book of all time, and I am yet to dethrone it. I think what made me really love this book was that when I read it for the first time, I was really young, and so it kind of stuck with me over the years. It's actually part of a series (the House of Night series); it’s the fourth book in the series, and in 2018, I decided to re-read the whole series, all nine books, and it was wonderful to enter the world of those books again. It’s a fantasy novel, just imagine Twilight meeting Vampire Diaries but better. Id recommends this to anyone, it’s a must-read, and I promise, you will absolutely love it.
Here are some honorable mentions that didn’t make the list: Mortal Instruments series by Cassandra Clare, Landline by Rainbow Rowell, Americanah by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, A Christmas Story by Charles Dickens, Bridge to Haven by Francine Rivers, Immanuels Veins by Ted Dekker, Burned by Kristen Cast and P C Cast.
I didn’t include any classics here cause I'm not really a classical reader, but if you know a classical book that you think should be here and would want me to read, then you can drop it in the comment section.
Thank you for reading this post. Don’t forget to like, comment and share this post.
All lovely books. My personal favorites are Cecelia Ahern, Ted dekker and Francine RIvers.
ReplyDelete