Ankatje

Books written before I was born:

In 2020 I read the following:
Night by Elie Wiesel (1956)
Maus by Art Spiegelman (1986)
De Witte by Ernest Claes (1920) (A Belgian classic)
Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston (1937)
The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat by Oliver Sacks (1985)
Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery (1908)
The Murder of Roger Ackroyd by Agatha Christie (1926)

Of those I loved Anne of Green Gables and Their Eyes Were Watching God the most.

Other favourites over the last few years have been:
The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas (1844)
Les Liaisons Dangereuses by Pierre Choderlos de Laclos (1782)
Beloved by Toni Morrison (1987)
The Catcher in the Rye by JD Salinger (1951)
Animal Farm by George Orwell (1945)
And all the Jules Verne books I've read.


Me too! And that is such a good book, I read it a few years ago and loved it.

LilMouse

I've never attempted to read this because I am afraid of crying.

Another book written in letter (diary) form that I like is

The Chilbury Ladies' Choir
by Jennifer Ryan

BehrItAll

Yay, someone else who has read We Need to Talk About Kevin.

I read Night by Elie Wiesel twice in school. First in junior high (middle school) and again in high school. Tissues are essential.

LilMouse

Is Night a short read?

Ankatje

It is It's a little over 100 pages I think, so supershort.

LilMouse

Oh good, I will put it on my list and hopefully I can finish most books I already have a physical copy of so then I can move on to other wishlist books.

BehrItAll

New topic:

February 9: Valentine’s Day/Love Freebie

1) Anakin Skywalker and Padmé Amidala - Star Wars. I am a sucker for forbidden love. I know some of the dialogue from the films are really cheesy and at times cringe-worthy, but it's what lies underneath. Though they each have their oaths and responsibilities this couple throws caution to the wind to follow their hearts- unfortunately to their doom. Plus, they are so much fun to write about for fan fiction.

2. Darrow and Mustang - Red Rising saga. They work so well together as leaders at the Insitute. He keeps her at arms length (for various reasons) but when they lead they're warriors together - and it is gold. (Yes, that is a pun.) I love their intellectual foreplay (that sparring scene in Golden Son!) It is not a love based on shallow feelings but a partnership and in the end a mutual goal. Even if there are bumps along the way. When they finally get together I was like, "YES!"

3. Elizabeth Bennet and Mr. Darcy - Pride and Prejudice. In the words of Sheldon Cooper, P&P is "a flawless masterpiece. He's got too much pride, she's got too much prejudice. It just works." I love the journey they take to overcome their flaws and realize they belong together.

4. Monica Geller and Chandler Bing - Friends. There is nothing better than falling in love with your best friend. Friendship is the foundation of lasting love. I cried tears of joy during their milestone episodes. Everyone goes on and on about Ross and Rachel, but Monica and Chandler were my OTP since season 1.

5. Diana Bishop and Matthew Clairmont - All Souls Trilogy My favorite part of their romance is the trial and tribulations they go through in Shadow of Night. There are some really steamy love scenes and some really good relationship development moments that happen in the second book.

6. Sevro au Barca and Victra au Julii - Red Rising saga
They are quite the odd pair. She tall and gorgeous. He's short and looks like a goblin. But they have the same crazy demeanor and will tell anyone the truth, even it hurts. They are also both fiercely loyal. It's funny rereading Golden Son because he started out not trusting her and she though he was vulgar (which he is) and foolish. So seeing how that changes in Morning Star and now Iron Gold is gorydamn great.

7. Magnus Bane and Alec Lightwood - The Mortal Instruments series. Again, here is my vice for forbidden love with Shadowhunters being prejudice against Warlocks, and the older generations being homophobic. Then Magnus and Alec have other obstacles too. Like the fact that Magnus is immortal and Alec has a jealous steak. Unlike Anakin and Padmé, they get a happy ending.

LilMouse

Oooh you did tv & movie couples too.

I'll probably stick to just books because if I don't my list will be too long.

The book ones I share with you are
1) Darrow and Mustang + Sevro au Barca and Victra au Julii
2) Elizabeth Bennet and Mr. Darcy
3) Diana Bishop and Matthew Clairmont


Then I have:
1) Jane Grey & Gifford "G" Dudley My Lady Jane - starts out as an arranged marriage but then blossoms into real love and they go through these crazy hijinks that just puts a smile on my face.
2) Celia & Marco The Night Circus - love the magic they can do and how when the world (her father) wants them to be enemies, she refuses. And I think the ending they got was beautiful.
3) Vasya & Morozko The Winternight Trilogy - she's a powerful witch but he's an immortal frost demon. What I really appreciate is whenever the author, Katherine Arden, talks about how she wanted them to end up together, but she wasn't going to do it unless she could find a way to level the playing field with them. Because there's a power imbalance. Katherine found a way. She was able to give Vasya agency.
4) Marguerite & Paul Firebird trilogy - they start off with a HUGE misunderstanding but she learns to trust him. And I like how their minds work in different ways. He's scientific, she's artistic. They learn to work together and bring their strengths to the table
5) Liesel & Rudy The Book Thief - oh man, I cry just thinking about them. They were pure and innocent in a world that was not pure and innocent.
6) Lina & Andrius Between Shades of Gray - Another couple that makes me cry. They experienced such brutality but did everything they could to help each other while evil was happening around them.
7) Ana & Daniel The Fountains of Silence - they're a lot like Lina & Andrius. Daniel is always trying to help Ana out, and I am happy with the ending they got.
8) Rory & Stephen Shades of London Series - When, oh when, is the 4th book coming out? Two people who can do extraordinary things...they need a conclusion.

Ankatje

Oh I'll have to think about that, because I don't read that much books that focus on romance/love. The ones that instantly come to mind are:

Anne and Gilbert (Anne of Green Gables): fully invested in the story at the moment and such a fan of their dynamic - infuriating, entertaining, heartwarming, incredible
Ron and Hermione: Harry Potter books were a huge part of my teenage years and I was rooting for these two for so long and so happy when they got together.

After looking through my Goodreads a bit these are couples I really loved when I read these books a long time ago:

Hazel and Augustus (A Fault in Our Stars): heartbreaking, but what a love story.
Jamie and Landon (A Walk to Remember): same

LilMouse

Ah, the tearjerkers.

Ankatje

What a perfect to-the-point reaction, it made me chuckle I do love a good sad story

LilMouse

I think it's the sad stories that stay with me longer and the ones I go back to, or at least the bittersweet ones are.

BehrItAll

I copied and pasted from an old TTT that I did years ago. Was too tired to think of new couples to update it, but Vic!!! I love all your choices and agree. Maybe I will steal that for my blog

Oh Hazel and Augustus made me cry.
Teens with cancer is cruel.

LilMouse

Ahhhhh I was wondering why you didn't put my #2, #3, #4-#7 on there

BehrItAll

We do often agree.