Top Ten Tuesday: Books I want to read in 2015

Looking back, 2014 was a fantastic year of my life in reading.

It was a year where I really pushed my boundaries, by delving into literature outside of my comfort zone. I always aim to read widely, and last year saw me, an almost exclusive reader of contemporary fiction, read (and enjoy!) Pride and Prejudice for the first time. I also read a non-fiction book simply because it interested me, dipped into feminist literature, and explored the graphic novel, discovering for myself what the genre could possibly have to offer the world of storytelling (a lot, it turns out). Oh yeah, and I finally read George Orwell's 1984! At the same time, I also continued to read within areas that I already love, leading me to discover a range of  really great books.

This year, I have similar aims. I want to continue to push myself by reading books that I wouldn't normally pick up. Try a few more classics, and get through those books that I've always been meaning to read, but never quite got around to trying.

Here are the top ten books that I want to read in 2015, which I'll hopefully be able to tick off once this year closes.

1) Animal Farm by George Orwell

2) The Great Gatsby by Scott Fitzgerald 

3) The Crane Wife by Patrick Ness

4) The Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman

5) Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs

6) Lean In: Women, Work and the Will to lead by Sheryl Sandberg

7 ) Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë

8) Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell

9) Blankets by Craig Thompson

10) The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams 

Tag: Pretty Spines

Words in books are important. They're the marks on the page with an ability to construct entire universes and deliver them straight into our minds, should we feel compelled to move our eyes from one to the other. Agreed, they're pretty amazing. I'm glad that we've acknowledged this.

Call me superficial, but today I don't want to talk about the words themselves, but something else that is pretty damn gorgeous. Today I'm going to discuss book covers, and the cream of the crop at that. You know the kind that I'm talking about. The ones that make you want to gather them in your arms and start stroking them lustfully in Waterstones (Ahem, that can't just me).

A little while ago I watched the booksandquills Pretty Spines Tag, where Sanne listed some of her favourite cover art from her own personal library. I thought that this was a great idea and had a browse through my own collection to pick out some of my 'pretty spines' and of course to write my own tag response. Here's what I came up with!

You can view Sanne's great video by clicking here!















Look at them, aren't they beautiful ^_^

Perfect
 By Rachel Joyce

 
            Back                                                                                                                                                          Front

I wasn't expecting these beautiful illustrations under the jacket of my hardcover copy of Perfect. The images are reflective of the story told within the cover, and just look really dainty and lovely. Yes.


The Shock of the Fall 
By Nathan Filer

Another of this year's purchases, I was initially drawn to The Shock of the Fall by it's captivating cover. So shiny.

 

Pandemonium 
By Lauren Oliver

I love this edition of Pandemonium. It's artwork almost seems like a painting and has a really delicate texture to touch. Plus, the whole trilogy looks even better as a complete set!







The Canterbury Tales
Retold by Peter Ackroyd

This cover is absolutely littered with illustrations. It looks like one well penned doodle with an eye pleasing colour scheme. In short, I find it charming.

 Jayne Eyre and Tom Brown's School Days
By Charlotte Bronte and Thomas Hughes

 












           
               Bronte                                                                                                                                                Hughes

There's something about these two that just looks classic, which is fitting, as they are 'Classic Adventures' after all! Perhaps it's the leathery texture or the fancy gold lettering, but the truth is they look just fine sat side by side on my bookshelf.

The Hobbit 
By JRR Tolkien

There are so many different editions of JRR Tolkien's The Hobbit, and I'm really not surprised as it is a great (and hugely famous) piece of literature. I've actually had my eye on the pocket edition for a while now, which is really cute and well designed. Despite this I still love my own copy, it's simple and striking, as well as shiny. I really like shiny things.





And there you have seven of my 'prettiest spines' to date. The quest continues... such a list will never be complete!