The Ten Book Challenge

So there's this meme going around on Facebook about ten books that have stayed with you over the years. This is the sort of thing we used to do in the early days of blogging, so I'm going full circle and bringing it back to my blog.

So this is the challenge:

List ten books that have stayed with you in some way. Don't take more than a few minutes and don't think too hard. They don't have to be great works of literature, just ones that have affected you in some way. Tag some friends, and leave a comment with the link to your post, so I can see your choices...

My list (in no particular order) :

Wuthering Heights - Emily Bronte

1984 - George Orwell
Under Milk Wood - Dylan Thomas
E - Matt Beaumont
Gone with the Wind - Margaret Mitchell
Northern Lights - Philip Pullman
Little Women - Louisa May Alcott
H - The Story of Christiane F (It's harrowing. As is the movie.)
Flowers in the Attic - V C Andrews
Charlie & The Chocolate Factory - Roald Dahl

There's a bonus 11th as it's a recent one that I only read in the last few weeks so I don't know how long it will stay with me but I can recommend it - Reasons to Stay Alive - Matt Haig

I found the challenge really hard as although I read all the time, I don't read that many books. And I didn't read that much when I was younger as it was too passive an activity for me. I preferred acting or singing or sewing or just going out. I wasn't particlarly one for sitting still and reading. Even today, I don't read that much as I don't commute any more. Having said that, I've read at least 26 of the books on this list and has highlighted a couple of others that could have made this list - The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold and The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgeson Burnett. And there are others as I read friends' lists too.

However, as with most people, there are some books that have stayed with me for one reason or another. And these are they, or at least the first 10 that sprung to mind.

If you don't have a blog, feel free to add your ten books list in the comments below.