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.

8 Random things about me blogtag

Like Xen, I've been tagged before for the 5 things blog tag and now she's tagged me for the 8 random things blog tag so as it's a rainy afternoon in South London, I thought I'd do the honours. However, I believe my original 5 things are much more interesting but in the interests of the game, I'll dig up some new, very random, stuff about me for you.

So, here are the rules of the new 8 Random Things tag game:

• We have to post these rules before we give you the facts.
• Players start with eight random facts/habits about themselves.
• People who are tagged need to write their own blog about their eight things and post these rules. At the end of your blog post, you need to choose eight people to get tagged and list their names. Don’t forget to leave them a comment telling them they’re tagged, and to read your blog.

So, let's see.

1. I love a good festival - namely Glastonbury and the forthcoming Electric Picnic this year. There's something very appealing about hanging out in a muddy field full of music and random folks enjoying themselves, very often wearing wellies. I reckon I dance better in wellies than high heels anyway!

2. I like hats and at the weekend went to deepest Deptford with pal Lisa Devaney for a Cat in the Hat photoshoot courtesy of photographer, Rebecca Portsmouth, and much fun was had by all.

3. I have size 5 feet. I'm not sure why you'd want to know that, but it's random so there you go.

4. I've just started getting weekly deliveries of organic veg to my home so I've been experimenting more with cooking. And I'm very pleased with Farmaround's service, including their lovely driver who delivers to me every Friday morning.

5. I'm an ENTP - well at least I am according to a couple of tests I took on t'internet this week. I don't think many of my friends will be the least bit surprised by the results.

6. I own 2 tents. One is green and supposedly a 3 to 4 person tent but actually accommodates 2 girls and their kit (just) and is extremely comfortable for one girl and her kit, and the other is blue and a cosy 2-person tent so it's really only big enough for one. See point 1.

7. I don't like marmite, goats cheese, mayonnaise or savoury egg dishes. However, I do like my Mum's homemade vegetarian soups *a lot*. She also somehow manages to cook potatoes much better than I do and I've never worked that one out.

8. I was bridesmaid to a stripper in 1996 at Hedonism II in Jamaica during a body art convention. I met Sarah, the bride, when she was my next-door neighbour when I lived in Wood Green. At the time, she was a wig maker and then switched profession to be an "exotic dancer" at a clip joint in Soho as it was seriously better money and a better work environment than making wigs in Covent Garden for the theatre. Anyway, the marriage didn't last, and the now ex-husband, Simon, was featured on a documentary series, Pleasure Island, all about Hedonism II on the tellybox a few years ago.

So, who do I tag.. I reckon random stuff from Lloyd, Deirdre, Sheila, Tom, Sergio, Whatleydude, Lisa and Rachel will be worth a read.