I thought I'd list my Top 5 favourite books. You might not find it interesting, but I love it when people recommend their Top 5. I've found a few of my loved stories this way.

1. Holding Up The Sky: An African Life by Sandy Blackburn-Wright.



Wow. This became my absolute favourite book.
It's an autobiography and it follows Sandy's life as she goes to live in Africa in 1988 to 2003.
She falls in love with a black South African man and the things they go through being in a mixed race relationship is very confronting.
I've always had a fascination with Africa, and I am saving my money to eventually go there one day. And this book taught me about how things were when Apartheid in South Africa was very present and war was just around every corner.
Some of the things I especially loved about this book were the traditional African celebrations and festivals that she witnessed. I was so envious whilst reading this book.

I'm not sure if others would have the same connection to Sandy in this autobiography as I did, or whether you would like it much. I loved it because she lived my dream. She was a blonde haired, blue eyed girl from Australia who was in love with the ways of life and culture and environment of Africa. That's me in a nutshell, and I think this is why I loved this book so much.


2. In My Skin, by Kate Holden.


Such an amazing story. It's autobiographical. A memoir. And it's very confronting. It's about her life as a uni student and how she gets involved with drugs and becomes a heroine addict, and then a prostitute to pay for her addiction.

I picked this book because I'd never in my life read anything like this. And seeing that I could get a look inside the life of a heroine addict and prostitute excited me. And it completely lived up to my expectations. I expected it to be very confronting and graphic, and I'd heard it was sensational, and it really was.
As the reader you feel sympathetic for Kate. And almost protective when she talks about what people thought of her and looked at her in the street. And even though I don't agree with what she did, drugs and prostitution, it gave me a better understanding and now I won't be so quick to judge a heroin addict or prostitute again.
The way she explains the physical and mental and emotional struggle is phenomenal that reading it, I almost felt her need to use. (Use being the term for taking the drugs). The pull, the anxiety she explained it had was amazing.

I encourage everyone to read this book. It changed a lot of my views and opinions, and helped me discover something that I have never been exposed to.


3. Water For Elephants by Sara Gruen.


Basically it's from the point of view of a young man named Jacob. And he joins the Benzini Bros Most Spectacular Show on Earth, which is a circus that travels around the country by train. The story follows his life in the circus and his growing affection for Marlena, a performer, and an elephant named Rosie.
I highly recommend this book.


4. The Perks of being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky.


It is the story of what it's like to grow up in high school. More intimate than a diary, Charlie's letters are singular and unique, hilarious and devastating. We don't know where he lives. We don't know who he is writing to. All we know is the world he shares. Caught between trying to live his life and trying to run from it puts him on a strange course through uncharted territory. The world of first dates, family dramas, and new friends. The world of sex, drugs, and The Rocky Horror Picture Show, where all you need is that perfect song on that perfect drive to fell infinite.

I loved this short novel. Patrick is my favourite character. But you really do feel like Charlie becomes a close friend by the end of this.


5. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire by J.K. Rowling.



Need I say more?

If you HAVEN'T read Harry Potter, leave now. I have a lot of strong opinions about people who have not read Harry Potter. ESPECIALLY about people who don't read the books yet still see the movies and complain that they don't understand them or that they were lame.
I love every book in the series, but Goblet of Fire would have to be my favourite :)

These were my Top 5 :)
I would be thrilled it this compelled you to read even one of these books. Because in my opinion they are all fantastic.

Some other books I HAD to mention are:
Looking For Alaska by John Green
Paper Towns by John Green
Chocolat by Joanne Harris
The Reader by Bernhard Schlink
Shantaram by Gregory David Roberts
Into The Wild by Jon Krakauer
The Kite Runner by Khaled Hossieni
The Book Reader by Marcus Zusak
Romeo & Juliet by William Shakespeare :)