A good mix I think. (Top 10 Books)

Member Name: leanne8686

Product:	Top 10 Books
Date:	19/02/09 (132 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: I love them all.

Disadvantages: none

Its not going to be easy to narrow this down to 10 as I love reading so much
and I may realise later i've left some important book out! Please bear with me if I keep changing my mind, for this reason the books are in no particular order. I'm sure i've probably reviewed most of these so check out my reviews for more details!


1. Most recently read; Twilight.
A lot of you will have by now seen the film, I saw the film before reading the book and since then have become hooked on the whole saga (see my reviews!)
A vampire/high school romance, written by Stephanie Meyer who has now made her way into my top 10 authors list too.
Recommended if you were into the Buffy and Angel love story in Buffy the vampire slayer or are a fan of vampire stories full stop.

2. The Island.
My favourite summer holiday book, perfect for the plane journey or on the beach. Its not the usual light-hearted beach novel but the setting of the Greek islands are described beautifully.
Written by Victoria Hislop, the story is set both in the modern day and around the 1950s. 'The Island' actually refers to Spinalonga, a leper colony where people with leprosy were holed up. Its a romantic book and Hislop manages to even romantisise the horrible circumstances which brought people to the island.

3. Sheer Abandon.
Written by Penny Vincenzi, it tells the story of 3 friends who met travelling. One of them has a terrible secret which nobody knows, we are told the secret but not who it belongs to. This book keeps you guessing throughout and I found it riveting.
You end up loving each charactor and don't believe any could have done what one of them has.

4. What If?
One of the first chick-lit books I ever bought, I loved it then and it has remained a firm favourite ever since.
Carly Cooper doesn't have the best luck with men, she finds them, they fall in love and then she always wonders if maybe the grass is greener on the other side.....
Aged 31, she decides to track down all her ex-boyfriends just in-case, after all he was The One!!
Written by Shari Low.

5. Angels.
The first ever chick-lit book I bought, I must have been about 13 and loved how grown up I suddenly felt.
Written by best-seller Marian Keyes, all her other books are worth checking out too.
To the outside world Maggie seems to have the perfect life, sensible job, devoted husband etc. But is that enough for her? A heartbreaking confession sends her to the other side of the world to get her thoughts together. Maggie starts doing things she has never done before and has more than one experience of a lifetime.....

6. Olivia.
Written by Virginia Andrews, Olivia was always the sensible sister, Belinda the younger, carefree one.
Olivia knew her sister would one day get into trouble, she just didn't know how seriously!
Then the night came that changed the Logan family life forever, blackened their name....Its fantastic to read not knowing what disaster is about to strike though you expect one as much as Olivia does.

7. Pharos.
Written by Alice Thompson, it is described as a ghost story on the cover but you dont understand this until near the end though the author makes you have your suspicions that all is not as it seems.
It is set on Jacobs rock, a tiny island housing nothing but a lighthouse and of course the keepers. Being a lighthouse keeper is a lonely job until a young woman is washed up on the shore.....
Set in the early nineteenth century, this book is a haunting read.

8. Memoirs of a geisha.
I read the book after the film came out and was even more taken in by the words than I had been by the film on the big screen.
Written beautifully to tell the story of the lives of Geishas, thought to be so glamorous but in reality their lives were daily struggles to survive. I loved this book and it started a fascination with geisha girls for me.
Written by Arthur Golden.

9. The Rats.
Written by James Herbert I'm sure most people will have heard of the rats trilogy; This one, Lair and Domain.
Following a new breed of mutant rats which seem to be thirsty for human blood (and every other human part to be honest) The story is gory and very graphic in its descriptions of the killings.
However queasy this makes you feel you still want to read on and find out if the creatures will ever be defeated.
A classic.

10. Fen.
The first book by Freya North that I read, I remember it was free with More magazine so I was probably around 14 when I first read it. I have read it many times since and it loses none of its appeal.
This is part of a mini-series about the 3 McCabe sister, Fen being one of them. Each book follows the strange love-lives of the 3, Fen is in love with a 19th century artist...shame he's been dead over a century. She finally meets a REAL man, or two and goes on to have her own adventures with the two very different suitors.

Summary: An insight into what I like to read