Random Ramblings has a new (or at least new-to-me) weekly feature called Top Ten Picks. I'll *probably* go back through her archives and see what I've missed so far. I might participate in these at my other blog, Behind the Scenes. This week's list features books that make you cry.
I don't know if this will surprise anyone or not. But. I don't cry much when I'm reading. When I shared this with a group of friends (and fellow book lovers) not so long ago, they were surprised. I guess because I seem like the emotional sort. And I am. I can cry because of a commercial, a song, a tv show, a movie, an item on the news. There are so many things that can make me cry. But. It doesn't happen all that often with books. Here are a few notable exceptions:
Anne of Green Gables. L.M. MontgomeryI love, love, love L.M. Montgomery's Anne series. This is the first book in that series. It doesn't matter how many times I've read this one, how many times I've read the series, how many times I've watched the series, Matthew's dying gets me every single time. Oh how my heart aches and breaks for Anne and Marilla.
Rilla of Ingleside by L.M. MontgomeryThis is the last book in the Anne series. And it is such a great way to end the series. My love for this book is one of the reasons (though not the only reason by any means) why the third Anne movie just doesn't exist at all (for me). Oh how I hate--absolutely loathe--that third Anne movie. Anyway, this one is narrated by Anne's youngest, Rilla. And it is set during World War I.
Since I think this one doesn't have quite as many readers as Anne of Green Gables, I will not tell you why I sob when I read this one.
Going for the Record by Julie SwansonThis is an emotional one. But I just have to recommend it all the same! It is about a seventeen year old girl losing her father to cancer. And wow, it's good.
The Notebook by Nicholas Sparks.
I know this one probably isn't terribly original to list. But. It was the first Sparks' novel I'd ever read. And it did make me cry. I have never been able to reread this one. I'm afraid it would have to go to the freezer if I did.
Charlotte's Web by E.B. White
Another obvious choice, in a way. I think there's a reason it topped Fuse #8's Top 100 Children's Novels Poll. I think this one really is a must-read. If you're an adult who's never met Charlotte and Wilbur and Templeton, you need to meet them. It's not ever too late.
Does anyone know which Little House book it is where Jack (the dog) dies?! I can never quite remember and I think it surprises me each time I read it. And that's not a good surprise.
© Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews
10 comments:
I cry at the drop of a hat and had trouble limiting mine to ten. I cried over many of yours and random ramblings as well. Here's a link to my list:
http://proseandkahn.livejournal.com/104514.html
brenda
I am not a crier either. I can see Notebook though, that is a good one.
I weeped, not cried in several parts of Anne of Green Gables. And yes, Matthew's death was so heart-breaking. He was such a wonderful man and his loss felt so personal!
I cried at the movies of The notebook and Charlottes web but I've never read the books. I cry more at movies than I ever do at book I think.
I don't think there is a book in the Anne of Green Gables series that hasn't made me cry at least once in my life, but Rilla has the most impressive record. The first time I read it, excluding when I was very little and skimmed through disappointed there wasn't much about Anne, I stayed up all night and read it. Tried to go back to sleep once or twice, but all I could think of was the book. It didn't help that one event was foreshadowed in a preceding book. I just cried and cried and cried all the way through - and this was when I was about 19 or 20! It hadn't helped that I had studied World War 1 literature at school and couldn't bear for that to come into Anne's perfect, timeless world. But a very beautiful, very well written book and stands out on its own.
Anne and Rilla! - I grew up with those books, and I cried - still do - when Mathew dies, oh yes, I usually have to get a kleenex and cry for a few minutes before I can read some more. With Rilla - heartbreak, pure and simple. I cry in two places specifically - when you know who dies, and then, that very last word she says - it makes me cry. I think I cry somewhere else too, but those three moments stand out for me.
Charlotte's Webb - even though I have arachnophobia, I cry!!
The one I've never been able to reread is Old Yeller. I cried so hard at the end that I just can't read it again! Where the Red Fern Grows is another......so is Black Beauty, both the barn fire, and at the end. It's very interesting, how many children's books are filled with sadness and death as well as hope and love? the best ones do teach us (the readers, no matter what age) that life does go on.
The books don't make me cry, but seeing the movie versions often does! I think the dog Jack died in By the Shores of Silver Lake, but not sure.
@proseandkahn: Please do put your link on the Mr. Linky on my post whenever you have the time :) I tried to comment on your post but didnt have a livejournal account. Wasn't sure if I could still comment?
and Becky! :) Thank you so much for participating. Charlotte's Web also made me tear up a lot when I was little.
I just started reading The Notebook. I hope I don't end up having to put it in the freezer!
The Time Traveler's Wife is the one book that I bawled over.
This is a really great list. I read Anne of Green Gables as a kid but I don't remember being sad. Guess it's time for a re-read!
I think I know why you cried in Rilla. Gut-wrenching. There were actually two parts for me. I cried reading P.S. I Love You and The Actor and the Housewife, too.
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