Earlier this year i wrote about how burying my head in a book
while enjoying some Dove chocolate at the same time
is one of my top Me Time moments.

Since then, i’ve been aching to write a post on my Top 10 Me Time Books to share with you all, especially after more and more readers have been requesting it!

Even though i have less time to read compared to my childhood,
i try to consume as many as i can on weeknights (difficult!) and holidays (leisurely, yay).
The good thing is that Clem loves reading too,
and even though i told myself i’ll read as many French books as he does English,
well… that hasn’t happened at all.
At the rate i’m currently going with English books,
reading a French one armed with a dictionary might very well take me a year :p

My childhood hunger for books started with Enid Blyton.
Oh how i adore Enid Blyton and the joy she’s given thousands of children the world over!
If i were to be a writer, i’d aspire to be one who touches people the way she does.
I read all the Famous Five, Secret Seven, The Secret Series,
all the Malory Towers and St. Clare’s ones,
Mr. Pink Whistle, Mistletoe Farm, all the circus stories,
and every random short story / fairy one.
I read all the Enid Blyton books till there were no more to read.

Then i moved on to Sweet Valley, English classics,
teen horror stories like Fear Street and Night World,

When i ran out of books, i started digging into my parents’ library when i had nothing to do (i.e. avoiding homework).
Read all my dad’s Stephen King books,
got nightmares from reading The Shining
(reading it is SO different from the movies okay!)
but thought Cujo was boring as heck.

My mom would take me to Novel House to borrow books when i had been good,
and a bonus would be being able to loan 3 books instead of 2.

As i grew older i expanded my reading to all sorts of topics –
poetry, paranormal activity, history, art, fashion
and lots of autobiographies.
I remember going through a phase where i didn’t see the point (silly me) of reading fiction when i could read about someone’s life that REALLY happened.
Am guessing this got triggered by reading my mom’s Princess by Jean Sasson.

This list was quite tough to make…
because there are so many books i like for so many different reasons!
So i’m clarifying that this is a personal list of my favourite novels,
not counting art and fashion books.
Also, i have a feeling lots of girls will like these…
but not guys.
I realised many of the titles are chose are mostly about women and some sort of tragedy :p

With all books, there has to be some Dove chocolate in hand.
Smooth, sweet, and its rich chocolate taste that lingers
will last dramas and kidnappings,
discoveries and losses,
and generations throughout a family’s existence.

Current choice is always Dove chocolate.
I have no more Dove Crispy Chocolate cos Clem has scoffed them all.
I also have no more Dove Dark ones cos Steph loves them and i don’t have the heart to keep them from her.
So i’m left with Dove Milky Chocolate for now, which is just as well cos it’s my second favourite after Crispy!

Once armed with chocolate,
it’s easy to get settled in and start…

1. Princess

This was the first autobiography i ever read and it belongs to my mum.
It was the first time my eyes were opened to a life and Fate so different and tragic from my own that i couldn’t help being deeply moved by it as an adolescent.

2. Alice in Wonderland

Come on, you must have guessed this book would be in *my* list!
I even have the one with the same cover as above!
It’s a wonderful trippy story that can be reread with new phrases and glorious bits to discover every time.

3. The Joy Luck Club

I love this book so much i’ve read it 4 times..!
It’s better than the movie (as it always is, but that’s saying something cos the movie by Oliver Stone was great too) and the intertwining of so many different lives, tumultuous mother-daughter relationships, and fusion of olde and modern Chinese culture always gets me.

4. The Graveyard Book

I’ve read most of Neil Gaiman’s books,
but this one really rekindled my feeling of being a child while reading it for the first time as an adult.

5. A Thousand Splendid Suns

After reading The Kite Runner, i ran to pick up Khaled Hosseini’s second book.
I probably like this more than the Kite Runner just because it involves more female characters.
Plus his depiction of the Afghan war is so distinct and terrifying that i cried all the way through it.
I love a good book cry as i do a movie one.

6. Kafka On The Shore

I own about a dozen Murakami books, and still keep an eye out for more.
He’s one of my absolute favourite writers, using his genius stringing of words to connect the person reading it with their soul.
Kafka on the Shore made me evaluate my life, things that happened for supernatural/spiritual reasons, and heightened my belief that anything is possible.

7. Scar Tissue

I’ve read so many biographies from Richard Branson to high class hookers,
but this one takes the cake.
Besides having a torturous rockstar life, Anthony Kiedis is a master of words.
I completely salute him and respect him wholly as a songwriter and storyteller.

8. The Concubine’s Daughter

I mentioned this book previously and especially enjoyed the first half of the book.
It tells the story of a mother’s treacherous life, followed by her daughter’s,
and is told with beautiful lyrical sensitivity.

At one point Clem caught me crying while reading it on the bed,
and i was actually tearing with happiness!

There are also many Chinese customs and quotes inserted in the story,
so i got to learn more about my own roots.
Like how in the 1900s, women were to serve men – as concubines, slaves and prostitutes. *feminist emotions bubbling*
And the utterly gross things Chinese people eat (which is, everything!).

9. The God of Small Things

I first saw the cover of this book and saw so many people reading it when i was a teenager.
Somehow, the cover really turned me off and i never ventured near a page.
Years later i picked it up at the airport, and was stunned at how beautiful one can tell a tale pooling together descriptive and lyrical words that slid lightly off your tongue.
Arundhati’s writing is so pretty, i reread the first half of the book right after reaching the middle of it!

10. The Boy Who Saw True

This book practically changed what i believe in.
It’s written by a boy who had a third eye and kept a diary throughout his life.
Before his death, the man told his wife she could publish his diaries so the world would know all that he saw, on the condition that it’d be anonymous.
It reads out as genuine as the book holds its olde English style, childish observations and innocent contemplation on seeing spirits, auras, and creatures of the other world.

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And THAT is my Top 10 Me Time Books!
Of course, the experience is made all the more pleasurable
with a bar of chocolate in hand i.e. Dove chocolate!

Since i shared what my favourite books are, what are your favourites?
Put them down so i can look out for them too!
Sharing is caring 😉

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