1. An Old-Fashioned Girl
I remember when my big sister read to me when I was little. One of the books she read was Louisa May Alcott's An Old-Fashioned Girl. I've heard people say that it's a boring book with a boring heroine. I completely disagree. Being an outsider, being kind though you are treated badly and standing behind your values are themes that spoke to me even as a little girl. And of course the romance was lovely!
2. Pride and Prejudice
I was 13 when I read Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice for the first time. Before that, I'd seen the BBC mini series and fallen in love with it.
What I love about this book is that every time I read it, I learn something new. I notice something new. But the lesson that made this book significant from the very first time I read it, is that people are not always what they seem to be. In both positive and negative way. And we ourselves are not always who and what we think we are.
3. Esther
Esther, from the Bible, has always been my hero. I've read her story many times and I'm always mesmerised by her. She chooses courage.
4. Jane Eyre
Charlotte Brontë's Jane Eyre is another book that has been dear to me since I was a teenager. Jane Eyre has made me realise that we create and define ourselves. We should not blame our past and circumstances nor the people around us. Instead, we should decide who we want to be. There's also an interesting religious aspect that made me think about hypocrisy.
5. Matilda's Last Waltz
Unlike the 4 books above, Matilda's Last Waltz by Tamara McKinley, doesn't have a so-called virtuous teaching. I still had to include it into this list of mine. Why? It made me love stories even more. It made me want to write and create more than before.
4. Jane Eyre
Charlotte Brontë's Jane Eyre is another book that has been dear to me since I was a teenager. Jane Eyre has made me realise that we create and define ourselves. We should not blame our past and circumstances nor the people around us. Instead, we should decide who we want to be. There's also an interesting religious aspect that made me think about hypocrisy.
5. Matilda's Last Waltz
Unlike the 4 books above, Matilda's Last Waltz by Tamara McKinley, doesn't have a so-called virtuous teaching. I still had to include it into this list of mine. Why? It made me love stories even more. It made me want to write and create more than before.