Top 5 Books Of All Times

After my last post about the Top 5 books by Stephen King, I thought it might also be a good idea to do one about the Top 5 books ever – please note that this is just my personal opinion and what I think at this point of my life.

1. Stephen King – Pet Sematary

What a surprise. You can read my full opinion here https://dreamtraveler86.wordpress.com/2014/02/12/top-5-books-by-stephen-king/ where this book has also the first place in my favourite Stephen King reading list. Basically, no matter how much my taste in books will shift in the future, this one will be always be the biggest book love of my life, because it’s the one that started my madness for King and reading in general.

2. Cody McFadyen – Shadow Man

What can I say about this? If you generally love horror movies and books that are brutally detailed and cruel – Cody McFadyen is your man. This was the first books he ever wrote, and the 2nd one that I read (after “Face Of Death”) – and boy, I will never regret it. For me, there are barely really compelling books out there, books that grab you, pull you into their story and don’t let go until you’re finished with the last page of it – this book did that with me. And more importantly, it was the moment I started writing on my own book a few years back because I was so inspired by McFadyen’s writing skills and his ability to reach out to his readers in ways not many authors nowadays are able to.
I absolutely love the story behind Smoky Barrett in general: she has been tortured, her face has been scarred for life, and a psychopathic murderer killed her husband and daughter, leaving her no other option than shooting him in cold blood. Nevertheless, she stood up again, walked back to her job and did what she does best, and that’s quite inspiring for me (even if I would never wish the horrors her character has been through, or other characters in McFadyen’s book for myself), because behind all the layers of gruesome, bloody and life-scarring proceedings, all the fall-backs Smoky and her colleagues/friends are facing through the story, they all never give up. Combined with the suspense that never leaves the reader with this book – what more can you wish for?

3. Suzanne Collins – The Hunger Games Trilogy

I know this isn’t just one book mentioned, but when mentioning “The Hunger Games”, you can’t just go with one of them, can you? My favourite by far is the first one – first book I read in less than a day because I just couldn’t put it away (don’t ask me how I was able to work 8 hours that day and managing my own household). Suzanne Collins had me from the first moment I started reading, and I absolutely admire her writing skills, her passion (that you feel in every sentence), and her seemingly inexhaustible imagination. Sadly, I was a bit…”deprived” of imagining the looks of Katniss and all the characters or the districts because I only started reading the books when the first pictures of the first movie were released, but I think I can easily get over that, because it didn’t diminish the joy and excitement I felt while reading. Or, for that matter, the joy and excitement I feel whenever I re-read them over and over again.

4. Chris Carter – The Crucifix Killer

When the body of a young woman is discovered in a derelict cottage in the middle of Los Angeles National Forest, Homicide Detective Robert Hunter finds himself entering a horrific and recurring nightmare. Naked, strung from two wooden posts, the victim was sadistically tortured before meeting an excruciatingly painful death. All the skin has been ripped from her face – while she was still alive. On the nape of her neck has been carved a strange double-cross: the signature of a psychopath known as the Crucifix Killer. But that’s impossible. Because two years ago, the Crucifix Killer was caught and executed. Could this therefore be a copycat killer? Or could the unthinkable be true? Is the real killer still out there, ready to embark once again on a vicious and violent killing spree, selecting his victims seemingly at random, taunting Robert Hunter with his inability to catch him? Hunter and his rookie partner are about to enter a nightmare beyond imagining. (Source: amazon.com)

When I read this description on the back of the book while I was strolling through a book store while waiting for my bus home – I was instantly in love. I have never experienced that already the back of a book gripped me so tight and screamed “BUY ME! BUY ME!” loudly into my ear.
And Chris Carter definitely didn’t disappoint me. What I especially love about the book is the beginning: it begins at the end. I can’t say much to not give away the story, but the reader is already sucked into the world of Robert Hunter and Carlos Garcia, his partner when you read the first paragraph; it’s like you are fast-forwarded to the end of something and feel the constant need to know how on earth the two main characters got themselves into their mess. Plus, the little puns between Hunter and Garcia are highly entertaining, and they pull you out of the horrors that they are facing every day with just some teasing comments about Hunter not having problems in hustling women and Garcia being kind of “prudish”. This is what makes this book one of my favourites and Chris Carter definitely one of the best crime-fiction writers that are out there – in my opinion.

5. Laurence Rees – Auschwitz-A New History

Now how does this book possibly fit into this line of great story-telling books? For starters: Laurence Rees is telling a story, the story of Auschwitz, about what was really going on behind the scenes of this Nazi killing machinery. Never has a book about the Third Reich sucked me in as much as this one; especially the part about the poor french, jewish children that were taken away from their parents and had to suffer in more than one concentration camp, just to end up in Auschwitz anyway. Rees is definitely not soft-pedaling in the way he describes all the horrors in the almost 4 years Auschwitz existed, and for me, this is the exact right way to handle this subject – because there are still way too many people out there who think the Holocaust was just a huge lie put up by the enemies of the Nazi-Regime. Also, the book contains not only interviews with survivors of Auschwitz, but most importantly, interviews with former members of Hitler’s circle of murderous, faithful subjects. It seems inconceivable to read about these people describing how they perceived the entire situation, how less sympathy they feel for their victims. You’re tend to feel so much hate, but at the same time, Laurence Rees tries explaining the reasons for their behaviour, which, for me, makes it even more interesting. If you’re as interested in the entire Holocaust History (and the 3rd Reich in general) like I am, you always crave to finally understand all the real motivations behind the Nazi-Regime and their concentration camps – and this book definitely helps a bit with that. For me, the best book about this subject I’ve read so far.

There are a lot of other books that should be in here – “Gone Girl” by Gillian Flynn, for example, or one of the amazing books by Karin Slaughter, – but the ones in this post inspired me the most. If you have read them or not, if you plan on reading them or not, that is totally up to you, because, above all, do what makes you happy. And read what you enjoy the most.

Top 5 Books by Stephen King

Everyone who knows me at least a little bit knows that Stephen King is my absolute hero in the large pool of authors, so it’s just natural that I had to do this. Let’s go.
(If you want a description about each book, go to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stephen_King_bibliography (click on the book titles to read the summaries)

1. Pet Sematary (1983)

Please don’t confuse the book with the movie. The difference basically is: the movie is shit. Not as bad as other book adaptions of Stephen King that made it onto the big screen, but…not good. Thankfully, I have discovered the movie AFTER I read the book.
I just love this novel to pieces. It was the first book that I remembered almost swallowing while reading, and the first one I read more than once. Over the past years, I have to admit that I lost count of how many times I actually re-read it, because hands down – I do that a lot with this one.
What I love about the main character, Louis Creed, a doctor and family father with a beautiful wife and two adorable little kids, is, that it is easy for the reader to understand his motives for the things he does in the story. The decisions he makes may seem odd to a normal mind, but if you think about it further, you see that all he does results out of his undying love for his family. I think it’s a lovely message (despite the horror Louis gets himself into).
The biggest reason why this book is my all-time favourite by him is the end. It has the absolute best end/epilogue in the entire world, there are no other words for it. It’s not always easy to have a situation that is described in a book so vividly that you see a certain situation right infront of your eyes, giving you goosebumps. Surprise: “Pet Sematary” did exactly this to me, and still does whenever I re-read it, though I know it by heart.

2. IT (1986)

I don’t think I have to say much about this one; I think everyone has at least heard about the story where a monster in form of a psychopathic, murderous clown terrorizes a group of young kids who pit themselves against him/it twice in their life. Again, please don’t compare this book to the absolute awful movie where almost everything is completely different to the written story – apart from Tim Curry as Pennywise, the Clown, it’s pretty much the worst movie ever.
Personally, I think this is one of the best books of all time, because although it’s quite long (1200 pages, approx.), the story never gets boring, because it switches between the kids’ childhood and their adult life. Plus, I love the message behing the story: if you stick together with your friends and believe you can defeat your worst fears – you can do it. For me, the times I have read this novel (yes, more than once, what a shocker), it was more than difficult to put it away for more than a few hours; it’s absolutely compelling in every way.

3. Under The Dome (2009)

This is one of the few newer books of Stephen King that are absolutely worth their money. Before reading the end of this book, I had only cried once while reading: during the end of “Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows”. Plus, this book is the only one of him that I don’t only own in german, but also in english – that has to have a higher meaning.
I adore the story about a mysterious “something” that cuts off an entire town, leaving the people inside fight for their life. Secrets are surfaced, and the longer the Dome is staying, the harder the fights inside it are getting. And just when you think everything goes to hell, the secret is lifted. I had a really hard time when to the end, it was clear that one of my favourite characters would die – even if he died being some kind of hero. Tears shed right there, I can tell you, and it was the first time I was pretty mad at Mr. King for killing a character.
Because I was in such awe about the book, of course I was excited for the TV show based on it that was released in 2013 – I wasn’t entirely disappointed (though the writers changed almost all characters way too much for my taste), but I’d say it has potential. And it’s finally a book by Stephen King that has made the screen that doesn’t suck as much as the earlier movies. High Five to that. Still, the book is one of his best, in my opinion.

4. Christine (1983)

You just have to love Dennis, the main character’s best friend, who’s the narrator for the first half of the book. The way King has written these chapters is pretty amazing, because they are absolutely vivid, funny and compelling, and you don’t have the feeling that you as a reader are completely on the outside – the first-person narrator sucks you in and makes you a part of it, in some kind of way (not that I ever want to be part of something where a psychopath car goes on a killing spree). Plus, the story about an outsider who just wants to belong and be liked is pretty chastening to me and one of the reasons why this one of King’s best and one of my favourites.

5. Carrie (1974)

Who does NOT know this one? I’m pretty sure it’s even as popular as “IT”, maybe even more. Whenever I hear that name, I instantly have this creepy girl infront of my inner eye, the insane look in her wide eyes and the horrible music in the background when she sends her Highschool mates straight into hell. Of course, that’s the movie speaking out of me – which is not entirely crappy, but actually pretty good. But the book even tops what was put on screen all these years back; the story is absolutely well-written – although it’s one of his shortest novels. What I like about it is that the story is kind of…”stalling” the reader with Newspaper Articles between the single chapters, which makes you keep on reading, getting past them and wanting to know how the story goes on. The fact that on one hand it’s partly written in such cruel details that you want to put it away and throw up, but at the same time, so compelling that you can’t even think about closing it for more than a few hours is probably the reason why it was the one book that helped Stephen King make good as an author – and god, I am grateful it did!

As you might’ve noticed, 4 of these 5 books were written in the 80’s. Fact is: the books he wrote in that decade where his best, that was the time when, obviously, he was at his most creative point in life. And for me, the books that he wrote back then will forever be my favourites and something no other writer (in my opinion) will ever be able to reach.