Top Ten Tuesday was created by The Broke and the Bookish in June of 2010 and was moved to That Artsy Reader Girl in January of 2018. It was born of a love of lists, a love of books, and a desire to bring bookish friends together.

My favourite colour changes quite frequently but at the moment (and quite a lot of the rest of the time) blue is my preferred colour. Its probably the colour I wear most often and I love the ocean, so there you go! Here are ten books that I have really enjoyed with blue somewhere on the cover.

1. Rebecca by Daphne Du Maurier

Summary: from Goodreads

Last night I dreamt I went to Manderley again . . .

The novel begins in Monte Carlo, where our heroine is swept off her feet by the dashing widower Maxim de Winter and his sudden proposal of marriage. Orphaned and working as a lady’s maid, she can barely believe her luck. It is only when they arrive at his massive country estate that she realizes how large a shadow his late wife will cast over their lives–presenting her with a lingering evil that threatens to destroy their marriage from beyond the grave.

My Thoughts:
This is actually one of my favourite books of all time and I love this Virago Modern Classics edition. It is not an inherently scary story but is one of the most chilling books I’ve ever read. I think it has to do with the incredibly atmospheric writing from Du Maurier and the ghostly presence of Rebecca herself. If you haven’t read it, I would absolutely give it a try!

2. The Wicked Deep by Shea Ernshaw

Summary: from Goodreads

Welcome to the cursed town of Sparrow…

Where, two centuries ago, three sisters were sentenced to death for witchery. Stones were tied to their ankles and they were drowned in the deep waters surrounding the town.

Now, for a brief time each summer, the sisters return, stealing the bodies of three weak-hearted girls so that they may seek their revenge, luring boys into the harbor and pulling them under.

Like many locals, seventeen-year-old Penny Talbot has accepted the fate of the town. But this year, on the eve of the sisters’ return, a boy named Bo Carter arrives; unaware of the danger he has just stumbled into.

Mistrust and lies spread quickly through the salty, rain-soaked streets. The townspeople turn against one another. Penny and Bo suspect each other of hiding secrets. And death comes swiftly to those who cannot resist the call of the sisters.

But only Penny sees what others cannot. And she will be forced to choose: save Bo, or save herself.

My Thoughts:

I read this one last month and it has fast become a firm favourite of mine. It is a great story taking inspiration from mythical creatures like Sirens and giving it a modern and clever spin. The characters are great and the writing has a fantastic melancholy feel to it. The setting is so well done and creates such a strong picture in the readers mind. Definitely a five star read for me.

3. A Man Called Ove by Fredrik Backman

Summary: from Goodreads

A grumpy yet loveable man finds his solitary world turned on its head when a boisterous young family moves in next door.

Meet Ove. He’s a curmudgeon, the kind of man who points at people he dislikes as if they were burglars caught outside his bedroom window. He has staunch principles, strict routines, and a short fuse. People call him the bitter neighbor from hell, but must Ove be bitter just because he doesn’t walk around with a smile plastered to his face all the time?

Behind the cranky exterior there is a story and a sadness. So when one November morning a chatty young couple with two chatty young daughters move in next door and accidentally flatten Ove’s mailbox, it is the lead-in to a comical and heartwarming tale of unkempt cats, unexpected friendship, and the ancient art of backing up a U-Haul. All of which will change one cranky old man and a local residents’ association to their very foundations.

My Thoughts:

Fredrik Backman is one of my favourite authors, his books are an auto-buy for me and A Man Called Ove is one of his best. Backman’s writing is phenomenal, so quirky and funny but also full of heart. Ove is such a great character to spend time with, he is so grumpy and pedantic but as the story unfolds the reader learns why he is the way he is and begins to get very attached to Ove. It is a heart-warming and beautiful novel about judging people too quickly.

4. The Light Between Oceans by M. L. Stedman

Summary: from Goodreads

Australia, 1926. After four harrowing years fighting on the Western Front, Tom Sherbourne returns home to take a job as the lighthouse keeper on Janus Rock, nearly half a day’s journey from the coast. To this isolated island, where the supply boat comes once a season and shore leaves are granted every other year at best, Tom brings a young, bold, and loving wife, Isabel. Years later, after two miscarriages and one stillbirth, the grieving Isabel hears a baby’s cries on the wind. A boat has washed up onshore carrying a dead man and a living baby.

Tom, whose records as a lighthouse keeper are meticulous and whose moral principles have withstood a horrific war, wants to report the man and infant immediately. But Isabel has taken the tiny baby to her breast. Against Tom’s judgment, they claim her as their own and name her Lucy. When she is two, Tom and Isabel return to the mainland and are reminded that there are other people in the world. Their choice has devastated one of them.

My Thoughts:

The Light Between Oceans is a truly beautiful book about right and wrong and the choices we make. It is a novel full of shades of grey and it is so difficult to really know which side you are on because there are no real villains, just people and their decisions. It is skilfully written and aches with sadness and love. It is a book absolutely worth reading if you haven’t already and surprisingly the film version, starring Alicia Vikander and Micheal Fassbender, is pretty good too!

5. Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone (Ravenclaw Edition) by JK Rowling

Summary: from Goodreads

When a letter arrives for unhappy but ordinary Harry Potter, a decade-old secret is revealed to him that apparently he’s the last to know. His parents were wizards, killed by a Dark Lord’s curse when Harry was just a baby, and which he somehow survived. Leaving his unsympathetic aunt and uncle for Hogwarts, a wizarding school brimming with ghosts and enchantments, Harry stumbles upon a sinister mystery when he finds a three-headed dog guarding a room on the third floor. Then he hears of a missing stone with astonishing powers which could be valuable, dangerous – or both. An incredible adventure is about to begin!

My Thoughts:

The Harry Potter series will always hold a special place in my heart. I first read The Philosopher’s Stone before Harry Potter was a big deal at all when I was ten or eleven and I pretty much grew up with these books. I was practically the same age as Harry, Ron and Hermione throughout the series which made it even more magical and I still reread the whole series at least twice a year. I will never tire of them and I love the House editions and since Ravenclaw is the house I most identify with, I had to go for that one, with it’s gorgeous blue and gold colour scheme!

6. The Greek and Roman Myths by Philip Matyszak

Summary: from Goodreads

Who was Pandora and what was in her famous box? How did Achilles get his Achilles heel? What exactly is a Titan? And why is one computer virus known as a Trojan horse?

The myths of ancient Greece and Rome can seem bewilderingly complex, yet they are so much a part of modern life and discourse that most of us know fragments of them. This comprehensive companion takes these fragments and weaves them into an accessible and enjoyable narrative, guiding the reader through the basic stories of classical myth.

Philip Matyszak explains the sequences of events and introduces the major plots and characters, from the origins of the world and the labors of Hercules to the Trojan War and the voyages of Odysseus and Aeneas. He brings to life an exotic cast of heroes and monsters, wronged women and frighteningly arbitrary yet powerful gods. He also shows how the stories have survived and greatly influenced later art and culture, from Renaissance painting and sculpture to modern opera, literature, movies, and everyday products.

My Thoughts:

I own lots of books on mythology as it is a subject I find endlessly fascinating. This book is a great short introduction into the main characters from classical mythology. Their stories are always so interesting and full of action. It is always nice to read the original tales that have inspired so many other works of literature. I always like to return to books like this one to re-read the stories of ancient Gods and Goddesses.

7. Men Explain Things To Me by Rebecca Solnit

Summary: from Goodreads

In her comic, scathing essay “Men Explain Things to Me,” Rebecca Solnit took on what often goes wrong in conversations between men and women. She wrote about men who wrongly assume they know things and wrongly assume women don’t, about why this arises, and how this aspect of the gender wars works, airing some of her own hilariously awful encounters.

She ends on a serious note— because the ultimate problem is the silencing of women who have something to say, including those saying things like, “He’s trying to kill me!”

This book features that now-classic essay with six perfect complements, including an examination of the writer Virginia Woolf ’s embrace of mystery, of not knowing, of doubt and ambiguity, a highly original inquiry into marriage equality, and a terrifying survey of the scope of contemporary violence against women.

My Thoughts:

This slim book of essays is so full of interesting and compelling ideas and concepts. Every essay in this book resonated with me in some way and made me think about feminism in a new way. It brought to light many things I simply hadn’t considered and is a completely worthwhile addition to any collection. If you are interested in feminism and the way women are treated in the world then this book is a must read.

8. Born a Crime: Stories from a South African Childhood by Trevor Noah

Summary: from Goodreads

Trevor Noah’s unlikely path from apartheid South Africa to the desk of The Daily Show began with a criminal act: his birth. Trevor was born to a white Swiss father and a black Xhosa mother at a time when such a union was punishable by five years in prison. Living proof of his parents’ indiscretion, Trevor was kept mostly indoors for the earliest years of his life, bound by the extreme and often absurd measures his mother took to hide him from a government that could, at any moment, steal him away. Finally liberated by the end of South Africa’s tyrannical white rule, Trevor and his mother set forth on a grand adventure, living openly and freely and embracing the opportunities won by a centuries-long struggle.

Born a Crime is the story of a mischievous young boy who grows into a restless young man as he struggles to find himself in a world where he was never supposed to exist. It is also the story of that young man’s relationship with his fearless, rebellious, and fervently religious mother—his teammate, a woman determined to save her son from the cycle of poverty, violence, and abuse that would ultimately threaten her own life.

My Thoughts:

This was one of my favourite reads from 2017. It is so much more than a memoir, it is a unique and personal story with huge importance when trying to understand the history of South Africa. Noah is a fabulous story teller and even when discussing dark subjects he manages to infuse his story with humour and lighter moments. His childhood is an unbelievably fascinating sequence of events and his clear love for his incredibly strong and brave mother is a joy to read.

9. My Brilliant Friend by Elena Ferrante

Summary: from Goodreads

A modern masterpiece from one of Italy’s most acclaimed authors, My Brilliant Friend is a rich, intense and generous hearted story about two friends, Elena and Lila. Ferrante’s inimitable style lends itself perfectly to a meticulous portrait of these two women that is also the story of a nation and a touching meditation on the nature of friendship. Through the lives of these two women, Ferrante tells the story of a neighbourhood, a city and a country as it is transformed in ways that, in turn, also transform the relationship between her two protagonists.

My Thoughts:

My Brilliant Friend is the first in a series of four books named The Neapolitan Novels which focus on the lives of two friends, Elena and Lila, both born in Naples. It is a truly unique series and is completely unlike anything I have read before. There is really nothing I could liken it to. It is so bitingly honest about female friendship and doesn’t sugar coat anything. The two main characters are not always likeable at all but they always feel so real and three dimensional. Ferrante is an incredibly skilled author and The Neapolitan Novels are a tour de force of literature.

10. The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath

Summary: from Goodreads

Sylvia Plath’s shocking, realistic, and intensely emotional novel about a woman falling into the grip of insanity.

Esther Greenwood is brilliant, beautiful, enormously talented, and successful, but slowly going under—maybe for the last time. In her acclaimed and enduring masterwork, Sylvia Plath brilliantly draws the reader into Esther’s breakdown with such intensity that her insanity becomes palpably real, even rational—as accessible an experience as going to the movies. A deep penetration into the darkest and most harrowing corners of the human psyche, The Bell Jar is an extraordinary accomplishment and a haunting American classic.

My Thoughts:

I read The Bell Jar for the first time this year and I can totally understand why so many people love it and see it as a feminist classic. It was honestly a pretty relentlessly bleak read but I think that is kind of the point. It shows the devastating impact of depression and other mental health issues and brings them into clear and harsh focus. It is an important book and an essential one.

So thats my list of my top ten books with the colour blue on the cover! Thank you so much for reading and please feel welcome to tell me your thoughts in the comments!