Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish.
My first reaction when I read this week's topic is: How should I define "Older"? For this blog, my interpretation would be any book that has been backlisted or have been published for a while ago but still worth reading!
1. The Harry Potter series (1997 - 2007) by J.K. Rowling
This is the one series that I can (and will never) be able to bear forgetting. I read the first book when I was 5 years old - and I got hooked. Not only on Harry Potter, but on reading itself. And it's not just me, but a whole generation! It's not the first (and certainly not the last) of its genre, but it's done something wonderful and... magical. Nothing can put my gratitude for Harry Potter better than the word of the one and only J.K. Rowling: "To Harry Potter! The Boy Who Live!"
Of course, mentioning fantasy without mentioning J.R.R. Tolkien is like mentioning poetry without mentioning Shakespeare. Tolkien isn't the one who come up with the genre, but he is one of the most influential: almost every fantasy book written since Tolkien has something that resemble his creation. And did I mention that he constructed entirely new languages? That said, his books, especially Lord of the Rings, is a memorial of the creativity human is capable of. And it's a good read too :)
3. The Book Thief (2006) by Markus Zusak
4. The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time (2003) by Mark Haddon
If you're ever, ever, ever going to stop reading, I suggest your last book be The Book Thief. This book is so beautiful in so many ways that I can't even say it all. The Book Thief is a reminder of humanity, love, and why we start reading at the first place. Bonus point: It's a fresh look on WWII.
4. The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time (2003) by Mark Haddon
I picked this book up out of curiosity, as the title is reminiscent of a Holmes story. And let's just say our protagonist is a different type of Sherlock - the type that we never imagine we could understand.
My introduction to science fiction, 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea has always been my favorite book of the genre. You can just imagine the joy of a seven-year-old girl, born near the ocean, but just only realizing the treasures it can hold!
6. The Story of a Seagull and the Cat Who Taught Her to Fly (1996) by Luis Sepúlveda
This sounds (and looks) like a story written for children, but I think adults would enjoy it also. This is one book that I'll say deserve to be much more known than it is.
7. Alice's Adventures in Wonderland (1865) and Through the Looking-Glass (1871) by Lewis Carroll
These 2 books are responsible for a resurgence of nonsense literature, for inspiring a lot of weird dreams, and for making Alice one of my all-time favorite literary characters.
8. Jane Eyre (1847) by Charlotte Bronte
Probably the first romance I ever read and one of the few that survive my extremely critical look on the genre, Jane Eyre stands out to me for its descriptive narration and in-depth observation of the human mind, something I still look for when I read now.
9. Peter Pan (1911) by J.M. Barrie
Any child - and anybody who has been a child - should read this book and save it for a rainy day.
10. Fairy tales/myths/legends
Cinderella. Hercules. Snow White. Little Red Riding Hood. These are probably the first stories everyone reads. And I would hate to see them all forgotten - in a way, it's symbolic: the loss of childhood/innocence/etc... Plus retelling is the trend these days, and what are retelling books without the original story!
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