I thought, today, I might share five covers from five books I either love or have, in the past, rated five stars when reviewing them. They appear here in no particular order. I also want to admit, I am one of those people who judges a book by its cover. I can’t help it. Even knowing the writing quality is not reflected by the cover art, part of me wants the outside to be as exciting and reflective of the inside. I’m sure I’m not alone in this.
One: The Lord of the Rings – J.R.R. Tolkien.
At one point in my life, I read some small portion of this trilogy every year. Lately, this has been reduced to sometimes seeing the films or looking at stills on Pinterest. Neither of these fill the void. I really should re-read this in 2015.
Two: The Children’s Book – A.S. Byatt
It took me a long time to get through this book but oh, how I loved every minute of every page. This was also the first book I purchased when I moved to the UK.
Three: Battleaxe (The Wayfarer Redemption #1) Sara Douglass
An uncle handed me this book when I was in my early 20s. I have a memory of discussion fantasy novels with him (as he has what feels like hundreds) and I had never read any. He handed Battleaxe to me and said the equivalent, of “you’ll like this” and after reading the first few pages in the back of the car, in the dark, with assistance from the odd street light, I was hooked. Sadly, Sara passed away from cancer in 2011 leaving behind an amazing body of work that influenced my reading and my writing style. My heart is heavy reflecting on her life at this moment.
Four: The Circle Dave Eggers
This seems to be a book that has split readers squarely down the middle. A love hate relationship is clearly obvious in the reviews. The cleverness of The Circle was just how engaged Eggers is with the technology and how blisteringly accurate his portrayal of said technology is. What Eggers highlighted most, is the insidious nature of Facebook, Twitter, Amazon, writing reviews etc into every day life. The elements making up the composition of The Circle made me far more concious of my interactions than I had ever been previously. I found The Circle to be a scarily apt portrayal of society.
Five: The Woman in White Wilkie Collins
Wilkie Collins is an author I had always heard about and never read. I must admit, part of this was fear extended from being forced to read Victorian literature as a teenager without the cultural and historical context needed to fully engage with the subjects within the text. Now, years on and armed with a history degree, life experience and a desire to know more about the era, the work of Collins was no longer the threat it initially seemed. Marian Halcombe, one of the lead characters in The Woman in White is one of the most amazing female characters I have ever met and she seems sorely under considered.
Brooke's Books 