My 5 most favourite books
I have been reading books for quite a long time now, and it’s a pastime that has just grown over the years. Most of my favourite books are fantasy fiction novels, but there are exceptions. Many of them have provided me with entertainment and inspiration, but I will discuss the ones I loved to most, in order of how recently I read them.
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl
This was the first book I (think) I read on my own that was not meant for school and it’s the one that set the basis for all the books I’ve read till date. My first proper book, unlike Cat in the Hat or The Very Hungry Caterpillar (I’m really embarrassed about 4 yr old me reading The Very Hungry Caterpillar, but I expect that’s what all 4 yr olds read)
It’s a book about a boy, Charlie Bucket, who comes from a very underprivileged family consisting of his 4 grandparents, his parents and himself. Each day, he passes through Willy Wonka’s chocolate factory on his way to school. It’s the best chocolate factory in the world. Because of his familys’ poverty, he can only have a single bar of chocolate on his birthday. Things become worse when his father loses his job in the toothpaste factory he works for. But then, Willy Wonka announces that he will be inviting just five children from across the world to visit his factory…
Wonder by RJ Palacio
This book is extremely moving. It teaches about how a little act of kindness goes a long way. It’s touching and humorous. It’s set in New York City. About how a boy, Auggie Pullman, who was born with a severe mandibulofacial dysotosis (Treacher Collins syndrome) has to join a middle school after years of homeschooling. He has a horrible time at his school; everyone stares at him, avoids touching him. When he thinks he’s starting to fit in, he overhears his best friend, Jack Will, talking smack about him behind his back to the school bully, Julian, who never misses a chance to call august names like ET or Freddie Krueger. It makes for an interesting read too, as the whole story is narrated by all the people who play a part in Auggie’s life, so you get multiple opinions and backstories.
The Harry Potter series by JK Rowling
This list would be incomplete without this. I doubt if anyone needs any introduction to this, so I’ll skip that. It teaches us so many things like- Be yourself (Luna), The one’s who love us never really leave us, it does not do to dwell on dreams and forget to live, never judge a book by its cover (Snape, Hagrid, Luna, Sirius)... I’ll go on forever.
The Lord of the Rings by JRR Tolkien
This book is widely regarded as the gold standard for fantasy novels of all time. It is an amazing book about how greed for power will lead to your downfall, be it a thousand years later (It has many other themes too, but this one stood out to me the most) This book will immerse you into the fictional world of Middle-Earth. The enormous detail in the book makes it a little difficult to read, but it’s totally worth the patience. Frodo Baggins, a young Hobbit is sent on a perilous journey to destroy the One Ring with Sam Gamgee, his gardener, after inheriting it from his uncle, Bilbo. It was originally a sequel to the Hobbit, but eventually became Tolkien’s magnum opus. To all who think that it’s a trilogy- it’s not. It’s one book so huge that it had to be split into three parts to be practical to carry around. 200/100
The Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank
I know I said that I love fiction, but this is a special exception. This is a wonderful memoir of Anne Frank, a victim of the Nazi invasion in the Netherlands. Being a Jewish girl, she and her family were forced into hiding during the Second World War, one of the most violent times in history. Although she died during the Holocaust, her spirit stays alive through her journal. It’s very chilling to read this book, especially because you know living in the 21st century, you couldn’t imagine that such horrible times had happened.
Honourable mentions:
The Chronicles of Narnia series by CS Lewis. It’s a really sweet story about the four Pevensie siblings and how they become the rulers of another world, Narnia, which one of them found inside a wardrobe. I really liked this book, but as I read it after Harry Potter and Lord of the Rings, it was a little basic compared to the two. It’s somewhat of a cross between LotR and HP. It has relatable characters and is set in England (Harry Potter) but the actual events take place in an alternate world (LotR).
Good night stories for Rebel Girls by Elena Favilli and Francesca Cavallo. This book consists of biographies of women who changed the world in some way or the other. It’s very inspiring. It includes all sorts of women- painters, authors, war heroes, stereotype breakers, athletes etc.
Ready! by Roopa Pai. This is a self-help book targeted at the people of the age group 11-17. It shows some basic skills all Wo-Co Teens (World Conquering Teenagers) should learn such as- how to fix a bulb or how to read the time using the position of the sun/moon in the sky or just how to pack sensibly for summer camp. Sounds boring, but it's fun to read.
Until next time,
Nakshu:)
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