Can't Stop, Won't Stop...Thinking About These Books

Hey hi hello friends, and Happy Halloween!

Today's post is 100% inspired by Sam over on the YouTube channel Thoughts on Tomes. She recently did a video titled "Books that Haunt Me" where she talked about some books that are constantly on her mind, that haunt her every thought. Basically, books that are stuck in your head and aren't vacating any time soon. 

I loved the video and the concept, so I decided to do it myself! These ten books are very popular on my blog so I'm sure you've seen them mentioned here at least once, but they're literally living rent free in my brain so might as well get some use out of them, right? Essentially, they are the term "hauntingly beautiful" come to life. Well, book-life. Oh, you know what I mean. 

Here are ten books that haunt me day in and day out. 

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The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho

If you thought you were safe from me mentioning this book again, I'm sorry. I won't wax on and on about The Alchemist like I usually do, but obviously this is my favorite book of all time, I have entire passages memorized, and I will be genuinely surprised if I find a book that will bump this out of it's place of honor. I don't really think that it could be done, but I'm not against it happening. But the bar is set very, very high. 

The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller

I would say that The Song of Achilles is my second-favorite book of all time. Like The Alchemist, I have entire pages memorized from this book, and it never fails to make me cry, even though I've read it at least eight times. Sometimes I just pluck it off of my shelves and find certain chapters to read, and then put it back. I've gone beyond needing to read the entire thing all at once. 

Fifty Words for Rain by Asha Lemmie

And now we have my favorite book of 2021, of course! I really want to reread this masterpiece of a novel next year and see if I still feel the same way as I did before. It's a similar feeling to waiting for Christmas morning, like I'm about to open a present. I'm not sure how such a depressing book wormed its way into such a warm and fuzzy part of my heart, but I'm not truly complaining. 

The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater

Ahh, my Raven Boys, how I love you! I also want to do a reread of this series next year, because I haven't read it in the past two years and I'm missing Henrietta, Virginia. I'm feeling extra nostalgic about this book too because the final novel in this world, Greywaren, was recently released. I haven't had a chance to read it yet, but I will in November, hopefully. 

Pachinko by Min Jin Lee

This was a book I actually wanted to reread this year, but sadly I don't think that's going to happen. 2022 really got away from me, unfortunately. This was one of the first true historical fiction novels I really picked up, back when I had an aversion toward the genre. But now that I've found my rhythm with historical fiction, I want to return to this book and see if I will have a deeper appreciation for it than before. 

Blood Water Paint by Joy McCullough

Ahh, poetry. No, really. This is a novel in verse about the painter Artemisia Gentileschi and an interpretation of her inspiration for her paintings. It will make you rage in feminist solidarity. And since it is poetry, the writing is some of the most beautiful I've ever had the pleasure of reading. It's simplicity is actually what makes the impact of the story that much stronger. There's no beating around the bush,. or artistic maneuvering. It's brutal, and heartbreaking, and truthful. 

The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern

I feel like this is the quintessential book that comes to mind when you hear the phrase "purple prose." The writing is so flowery and poetic that it often times turns off readers and leaves them confused and frustrated at the inability to understand what's actually going on in the story, but I am one of the many that dove in fully and submerged myself in the vibes. No thoughts. Just vibes. This is yet another book I wanted to reread this year and haven't yet. However, since I really associate this book with Winter time, I'm probably going to try and pick it up in December. Fingers crossed I'm able to!

Salt to the Sea by Ruta Sepetys 

There are a lot of books on this list that have made me cry, but this is probably the book that made me cry the hardest. I've told this story before: I was on a flight back home from a week in Minnesota, it was a red-eye, and the poor flight attendants must have thought I was heading to a funeral because I was violently (but silently, since everyone around me was asleep) sobbing in my seat. And then once I got home, I immediately ordered the rest of Ruta Sepetys's books because how could I not? Unlike the majority of the books on this list, I'm probably not going to reread this one any time soon. I just don't want to go through that emotional train wreck again. 

A Dowry of Blood by S.T. Gibson

This is the most recent read of this list. I read it earlier this year, and I totally understand the hype around it. I'm super glad that this self-published novella was picked up by Tor (though I despise the new cover. Why couldn't they have stuck with this one? I mean, it's beautiful!). This novella is also somewhat poetry, though it's not exclusively written in verse. It's more like vignettes, little letters and journal entries addressed to an unnamed man, while also simultaneously addressing the reader. I would describe the prose of this story as a scorpion hiding under a rosebush -- you come close in order to smell the wonderful perfume, and you don't even notice the danger until it is too late. 

The Memory Police by Yoko Ogawa 

I have to be honest, I don't remember the story very well from this book, only the feeling it gave me. I know the basic premise, but I feel like I could pick it up and it would be almost as if I'm reading it again for the first time. The concept is so wild but Yoko Ogawa managed it wonderfully. I'll be doing chores or lying in bed and suddenly this book pops into my head and I have to stop and think about how brilliant it is for a minute. I know this is a rather polarizing story -- you either love it or you hate it, but I'm firmly in the support column. 

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Alright, I hope you liked this! Please go and watch Sam's video too, because a few of the books on her list I agree with, like The Poppy War by R.F. Kuang and The Bear and the Nightingale by Katherine Arden. I would have put those both on this list, but I didn't want to have any overlap between our lists. 

What is a book that haunts you? Please let me know in the comments, or tweet at me @AllyEmReads. I'd love to know what books you can't get out of your head.

Until next time!