The Year in Review: My Favourite Books

Hey people!

Y'alright?

As the year comes to a close (Yay! Another year almost done!), I'm reviewing my journals (yes, I do journal), and taking a look at what this year has been for me. I found a journal entry called My Favourite Books, and thought it would be nice to share it.

DISCLAIMER: I'm not very good at book reviews, so please bear with me.

My favourite books are:

1. The Alchemist by Paolo Coelho: My husband got this for me on our first wedding anniversary. It's such a beautiful story. If I ever write a book like this I can die happy. I loved the simplicity of it. A story of a boy on a journey at the end of which he would become a man in every sense of the word. I loved the story. I loved the way it was told. Both story and storytelling were what I consider stripped down and pure. Nothing unnecessary. Nothing wasted.

2. The Screwtape Letters by C.S. Lewis: A rather dark book by a Christian author. I'm scared of the dark, but sometimes dark stories need to be told, and C.S. Lewis did not shy away from it. He didn't sensationalize it. He did not condemn it. He did not celebrate it. He told the story of darkness. I was impressed.

3. The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien: I could say this is a simple story well told, but it's much more than that. It's not a simple story - it's a story of magic and hobbits; dwarves and trolls; giant eagles and gold; a dragon, and of course, Gollum. It was a story of magic and adventure, simply told.

4. Ake by Wole Soyinka: This was the first 'grown-up' book that inspired me. I read an excerpt in my English Textbook in JSS2 and I was hooked. I skipped through the pages of the textbook looking for more excerpts and reread them as often as possible. Imagine my delight when I discovered an autographed copy (oh yeah!) in my father's study. Naturally, the book became mine, and I have enjoyed the rambling description of Wole Soyinka's childhood years many a time since then.

5. The Icarus Girl by Helen Oyeyemi: My sister recommended this book to me. Her words, "Timi, you'll like this". I did. I was especially impressed by (and a little envious of) the author's age by the time she wrote that book. That aside, I loved the story. I had never read Nigerian fantasy that wasn't heavy on rural melodrama. This was a story with clean lines, and I absolutely love the open endedness (is that a word?) of the end.

So there you have it. My favourite books so far. With my 300 book reading challenge next year, who knows how this list will change? I can hardly wait!

Now your turn, what are your favourite books, and why?