Hello!

This week marks 10 whole years since my husband and I started dating and three years since we got married. I wanted to theme some of my content this week around the Wedding Library – the collection of books we received as gifts.

We asked our guests to gift us a copy of their favourite book, so we have a little library of our favourite peoples favourite books and, in an endeavour to read them all, I’ve been reading one a month since the beginning of 2023!

Out of 106 total books, there are 57 I have left to read – this includes a bunch of picture books, most of a 20 book box set of Horrible Histories by Terry Deary and many of the more intimidating books from my collection. I let a spinner choose from the remaining titles to add one each month to my TBR and clearly it’s going okay, cos I’ve read 49 (nearly half!) in three years!

So I thought today I’d take you through my top 5 recommendations! This collection of books has really pushed me as a reader and I’ve persisted through books I really didn’t enjoy but I’ve also tried a lot of books I never would have read if it wasn’t for this collection!

I want to start with an honourable mention, because actually choosing just 5 was surprisingly difficult!

Honourable Mention: The Silence of the Lambs – Thomas Harris

I was actually nervous going into reading this book – the film is so prolific and horror isn’t really my vibe so I didn’t know what to expect. The horror aspects were a little much for me – I don’t love reading really gory, gross stuff but I was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed the psychological thriller parts of the book.

I always forget how much I enjoy thrillers but this book was so intelligent that it made me feel smart to read it, even though I absolutely didn’t need to be. Especially considering it’s the second book in the Hannibal Lecter series, I quite happily read it as a standalone but I enjoyed it so much I’m considering reading the whole series!

It really pushed me out of my comfort zone and reminded me how fun it is to try new genres.

Now onto the top 5! These are in no particular order because they’re all vastly different to each other and arguably incomparable!

The Glass Lake – Maeve Binchy

I really thought this was going to be a drawn out, wishy-washy romance book exclusively because of the cover design, but this story was actually a little bit of a mystery, dual narrative family drama, coming of age, women’s fiction with romance very much as a sideline.

These characters were lovely, the audiobook was fantastic and even though the book itself was 600+ pages it didn’t feel long or drawn out. It was a very charming Irish story and I really do think so fondly of it! I would definitely read this again.

Ready Player One – Ernest Cline

One of the first books from the library I read and I was blown away by the whole package – the concept was interesting, the dystopian world building was incredible, the storyline itself felt so painfully possible that it made me fear for humanity and then it had loads of fun sci-fi fantasy references and felt super nerdy too.

I’ve still not braved watching the film because I just don’t think it will be as good, but the book was wonderful (book 2 wasn’t as good though).

The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck – Mark Manson

Never in a million years did I think a non-fiction book would rank so highly on any list I made, but this book spoke to me in a way I really didn’t expect. I don’t think it’s a book for everyone but I think it found me at the right time, in the right mindset to really have an impact.

When I finished it I immediately wanted to rush back to the beginning and read it again with highlighters and a notebook to write down the principles I want to apply to my actual life. Maybe I should reread it in anticipation of the new year actually!

The Book Thief – Markus Zusak

This is a modern classic that I absolutely should have already read by now – I’d seen the film and understood that the whole concept was a WW2 novel set in Germany told from the perspective of death. But it really is a modern classic for a reason.

It’s heavy and sad, but the narrative is so creative and gives such an interesting nuance to a story that could have a very black and white political lean. Even the production with aspects of drawn and written notes from the protagonist characters was so impactful.

Not just an enjoyable read, but a really important one too.

The Kite Runner – Khaled Hosseini

Speaking of important reads – The Kite Runner is another modern classic that feels like a must! The lead character isn’t one that I could particularly relate or connect to, but the perspective he shares as an extension of the author’s own story is one that deserves to be read, especially by those in white western countries that have no other experience of those seeking asylum.

It’s a book that when I finished it, I wasn’t particularly obsessed with the characters or the story, it didn’t make me cry or anything, but I literally felt like I had no choice but to give it 5 stars because it was such a powerful story. This is one that I will absolutely be rereading in the future.

So out of the 49 books from the Wedding Library I’ve read so far, those are my top 5!

Of the remaining 57, 19 of those are Horrible Histories books, which leaves 38 other books, a number of those are children’s picture books, so I do think I’ll be able to finish reading every book in the library in the next couple of years!

It’s an odd mix because I’m excited to be able to say I’ve read all of these books, but I will miss having something brand new to me and beyond my control on my TBR each month – I’ll have to come up with an excuse to do it all again!

Thank you for reading,

Sophie xx