Today I will be sharing my current top 10 favorite books of all time. 

I like to quickly mention that this list is for the current period only. Soon there may be a book that I’d have to include or take out from the list.

Picking the books in this photo wasn’t tough at all. I just selected the books that gave me such an amazing reader experience. The very books I will always recommend for others to read.

Memoirs of a Geisha by Arthur Golden

Memoirs of a Geisha is a historical novel written by an American author, Arthur Golden. The novel is told in a first-person perspective and portrays the life of a fictional geisha, Chiyo Sakamoto later takes the name of Sayuri, who became one of the most successful geisha in Kyoto, Japan.

What I like most about this book is it feels like I am time traveling while reading it. I can see myself living in the geisha district of Kyoto. The book is filled with vivid descriptions of people, places and events that will make you feel part of Sayuri’s failures and triumphs in life.

The way Sayuri's story unfolds is unforgettable. I have read it twice now and it is still a different feeling. 

Into Thin Air by Jon Krakauer

I marked Into Thin Air by Jon Krakauer as the best book I’ve read in 2018. 

Ever since I watched the movie Everest and found out that it is based on Krakauer’s book titled Into The Thin Air, I knew I had to read the book.

Into The Thin Air did not disappoint. What an amazing account of the 1996 Mt. Everest Disaster by Krakauer. 

It was a masterpiece and I enjoyed every line, every page along the way. When you read the book it is as if you are actually there climbing Everest. Every detail was thoroughly researched and presented in such a breathtaking writing style.

I found myself deeply immersed in the book from start to finish. There is never a dull moment with this book and it’s surprising because I get easily bored with non-fiction and books with few speaking lines.

The Godfather by Mario Puzo

My brother has always boasted that The Godfather was the best film ever and it was rated really high by certain movie review websites. 

But since I am not into movies with serious plot and with actors I barely know I didn’t watch it at all. It was during the time I was book shopping that I saw the book and I thought why not read it instead. 

The Godfather depicts the story of the Corleone family and the mob war they fight with the other four Mafia families in New York.

Although the book is a work of imagination by the author, Mario Puzo, and no Corleone Family exists in real-life, reading the book as well as watching its movie adaptation will make you believe everything happening actually happened in real-life.

The book will put you in a different kind of roller-coaster ride with plot twists after plot twists so is the movie!

Sonny’s death scene both in the book and the movie is phenomenal. The movie really executed what is written in the book.

Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn

Gone Girl is a story about a couple Amy and Nick. They were considered to be a match made in heaven. But things got a little off after their married life. 

Nick loses his job and moves back together with Amy to his small hometown. He opens a bar with the help of Amy's trust fund and runs the business with his twin Margo. 

On the day of their 5th Wedding Anniversary, Amy disappeared. All evidence and situation points out to her husband, Nick. But did he really kill Amy?

This book is AMMMMAAAAZZZING!!!!!! I read the book before the movie and wow I love the book more than the movie though I believe the film did a perfect casting for Amy, Nick and Margo. 

What made me fall in love with this book is that I see myself so much with Amy's character. 

There are bits and pieces in the book that make me want to raise my hand and say "Yes, I'm Amy". But I am no sociopath so no worries and I am surrounded by amazing people in life who stay patient and understanding. Some pages that make me an Amy are Page 39 and Page 299.

The novel is highly interesting from the storyline to the way it was presented. 

Gillian Flynn's execution of lines and how she did a narrative style between Amy and Nick was brilliant. Flynn is also not afraid to add highlighting techniques like bullets and/or numbering. 

And the ending is seriously insane. How could Flynn end the story like that, anyway? I felt betrayed by both Nick and Amy.

The twists and turns of the Gone Girl book will make you rise in your seat as you read it. I remember reading a chapter and as I closed it to start my working hours I was literally stunned. 

You need time to process everything and really get over the story for a while. 

Gone Girl is a story of marriage, of inner struggles, of betrayals, of lust and of lies. It will give you chills all throughout your reading journey. 

Ready Player One by Ernest Cline

Ready Player One follows teenager Wade Watts as he tries to win the most important game in the OASIS, a virtual reality simulator accessible to anyone. The setting of the book is in the 2040s and is considered as a dystopian novel much like Fahrenheit 451 which I finished before.

This book is so A-M-A-Z-I-N-G-L-Y written that you won't be able to put it down. At least that's what happened to me. I picked this up from my bookshelf just to read the first few pages and surprisingly found it hard to let go. I finished 120 pages of it on day 1.

I was surprised that I enjoyed reading this book since I am not a gamer and I have no idea experience playing games where you have a character aside from Temple Run. HAHA. But the way the story is written/narrated will make you feel like you are in the same world as the character. I had such a good reading experience that I read it whenever and wherever I can. I was able to finish it in a span of one week reading at most a 45 minutes within a day.

Even after weeks that I finished reading this book I still can’t help but think about it. 

Me Before You by Jojo Moyes

Me Before You tells the story of Louisa Clark and her efforts to change the decision of Will, a quadriplegic man whom she is working for, to end his life.

The book is more than just a love story. It touches you to the core and resonates as you turn every page. I compare this to what reading My Sister's Keeper made me feel, at some point I was smiling, giggling but towards the end everything became heartbreaking.

I also think Me Before You doesn’t need a sequel book. I felt content with how the story concluded. I feel like the letter is enough of a closure and denotes how Louisa would move on. But, I am not closing myself to reading After You and Still Me - the two other books in the series,  in the future.

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

Currently I am on the last book in the Harry Potter series. It has been a long journey finishing the whole set of books. 

I will always be biased with Goblet of Fire because it was my favorite movie from the series. So imagine the excitement I had reading the book and understanding in full the characters and events that took place during the Triwizard Tournament.

Reading the Harry Potter series has been such an amazing experience and I treasure every moment of it. 

 
The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold

The Lovely Bones is the story of 14-year old girl Susie Salmon, who on a night of Christmas season was raped and murdered halfway the school ground where she goes to school by a neighbor named Mr. Harvey.

The twist of the story is Susie's body wasn't found since Mr. Harvey is an experienced lady killer. He chopped Susie's body, placed her in an old safety box and went to a nearby sinkhole in their place and dropped her.

The story revolves about how Susie's death changed the people around the neighborhood. It gives you a glimpse of what happens to the dead (though the book is fictional) and how the people alive cope up to grief. The thing that I like too with the book is that Mr. Harvey's character was explained. Who he is and why he became a murderer.

The book is so haunting. It is in Susie's point of view so as you read it you became Susie herself. You will feel the drama, the tension and the happiness all in one. Ruth's character stood out rather than the film so is Buckley and Lindsey ( Susie's siblings). 

It is also nice that the book detailed what happened to Susie and to others whom Mr. Harvey killed though what i like about the movie is the tension when Lindsey went to Mr. Harvey's bedroom to find out an evidence in her suspicion that it was him who killed Susie. The book doesn't give much justice to that scene whereas in the movie it was one of my favorite scenes.

The Fault in Our Stars by John Green

The Fault in Our Stars is a fictional story of Hazel Grace, who despite the tumor-shrinking medical miracle that has bought her a few years, has never been terminal. One day during a cancer support group she met Augustus Waters, and their story of love begins. I include this book to the reading experience I had with Me Before You and Love, Rosie.

It made me smile, it made me laugh, and then it made me cry. The hopeless romantic in me was deeply “kilig” reading the book. This book changed is a far different reading experience from what I had with Paper Towns. 

 

Bad Blood: Secrets and Lies in a Silicon Valley Startup by John Carreyrou

I consider this book as the first book read in 2019. And for being the first, it definitely set the bar high. It was an intense masterpiece, one of the best non-fiction business books I’ve ever read.

Bad Blood: Secrets and Lies in a Silicon Valley Startup is an expose of Silicon Valley Startup, Theranos. Theranos was set to revolutionize healthcare by drawing blood using finger prick technology instead of the traditional injections. Turns out everything was a lie. A total scam from founder Elizabeth Holmes who was once dubbed as “the next Steve Jobs”.⁣ ⁣

I first learned about the story of Theranos when I stumble upon a news article narrating its downfall. From then, I researched about the business from articles on Wikipedia, online news to watching Holmes’ interview on YouTube. So, yeah, I am that invested in the story even before reading Carreyrou’s book.

I was looking forward to reading the book even though the price was Php 849. The funny thing is, when I bought my copy, it was on a 30% discount! I only paid Php 594.30 for the book. Awesome!

Reading Bad Blood gave me so much insight on what happens inside a startup company. Holmes’ idea could have been revolutionary, it was just too difficult to materialize. The sad thing was, Holmes decided to conceal the lie within a lie. She and Ramesh Balwani, her former beau and Theranos’ COO, used intimidating tactics to their employees and led them out of fear.

That’s it for my current top 10 books of all time. Hope we share the same book or two from the list.