Tuesday, February 14, 2012

Top Ten Tuesdays: Books That Broke Your Heart (a little)


A Valentine's Day Whiskey Sour to all!
Today, in honor of St. Valentine, the patron saint of YA true love stories the world over (possibly not true, don't right that in a paper for school/ mention it in front of your boss) we here at YA fiction and Whiskey Sours are participating in The Broke and the Bookish's weekly meme/group blog event Top Ten Tuesday. Each week offers a different theme.

The claim is that this is an anti-Valentines theme, but love is a bit about heartbreak, non? (imagine a french person saying that, it acquires a certain gravitas).

So books that induced whiskey drinking, errrrrr, broke some hearts over here:
1. Walk Two Moons by Sharon Creech

2. The Notebook by Nicholas Sparks
As Sweet Tea points out, these are two classic weepers

3. The Killer Angels by Michael Shaara (Grad Student)
Alright, so this is fiction about the battle of Gettysburg. But it is literally my favorite book of all time. If it doesn't make you cry I am concerned for the status of your soul.



4. So Silver Bright by Lisa Mantchev (Grad Student)
This one caught my by surprise, usually love triangles are underwhelming, but oh boy, what a revisiting of Shakespeare's the Tempest.


5. Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins (Grad Student et all)
GAAALLLLLEEEEEEEEEEE, PRRRRRIIIIMMMMMMMMM, NOOOOOOOOOOOO. Sweet Tea, Crazy Camper, and I literally all had to stalk each other via telephone to talk this one out.

6. Bridges of Madison County (Crazy Camper) by Robert James Waller
Nothing like lost love remembered to stir those heartstrings.

7. Tuck Everlasting (Crazy Camper) by Natalie Babbitt
Living forever is not as easy as it seems.

8. The Rowan (Crazy Camper) by Anne McCaffery
When anyone dies, I cry. Every time. Set in outer space in a telepatheic society, this is a book for the ages. I mistakenly lent this to a boyfriend in college as a joke, but he never gave it back. Maybe I should look into it again...

The moral of the story here is we don't read a lot of sad books. Not our style. So we are offering a condensed version of this list. Its really an ode to sneaky sad books that creep up on you. (Minus the Sparks, cause that's the goal of all those books). We do watch sad movies. In fact we tend to spring them on each other when people feel low. Ask Crazy Camper about the time a good mutual friend showed her Legends of the Fall after a breakup. That's what I am talking about. Cue the tears!

In case you are thinking of sending any Valentine sentiments of your own, Gentle Reader, I leave you to consider this as the ideal Valentine:
Funny Movies Ecard: If you don't go to the Hunger Games premiere with me I am done with you.

5 comments:

  1. I didn't read Bridges of Madison County until a couple of years ago, but I remember just being floored by this novel. Sometimes life seems so unfair.

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  2. Lisa, Crazy Camper, I might have to get involved with this book- Crazy Camper, is it still on your kitchen table, that is the last place I saw it!

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  3. I have a condensed list as well.. but I've discovered since bloghopping it's because I left off some because I am obviously old and senile...

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  4. Who doesn't cry over The Notebook? Nicholas Sparks books get you every time! Terk-jerkers!

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  5. Yes I felt the same way as you for Mockingjay!!!!

    Yara @ Once Upon a Twilight.com

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Comments? Heck ya!