It’s the second day of the week! It’s also time for a Top 5 Tuesday update. Top 5 Tuesdays was originally created by Shanah @ the Bionic Bookworm but is now currently being hosted by Meeghan @ Meeghan Reads.

This week’s topic: Top 5 Books That Got Me Into Reading

For this Top 5 Tuesday post, I have come up with a list of five books that has got me into reading. As I have mentioned in last week’s Top 5 Tuesday discussion, I started reading fiction at a latter age although I was already an avid reader when I was younger. Back when I was younger, I read encyclopedias and magazines more than I read fiction works. My first encounter with a novel was when I was a sophomore in high school; we were required to submit a book review after our semestral break. I read Mary Higgins Clark’s Before I Say Goodbye but it didn’t make me further invest in reading novels. It would take two more years before I finally turned into an avid reader of fictional works. Before I go on any further, here are the Top 5 Books That Got Me Into Reading. Happy reading everyone!

A Cry in the Night by Mary Higgins Clark

Surprisingly, or perhaps ironically, it was another Mary Higgins Clark novel that would renew my interest in reading. It was, back then, my last year in high school and most of my classmates were reading novels. This piqued my interest so I then decided to finally give reading (novels) a try. I started with the book that was within my reach, which happened to be Mary Higgins Clark’s A Cry in the Night. I found myself lost in the story and the suspense that I immediately jumped into my next book. From that point on, there was no more looking back. This was also one of the reasons why mystery and suspense fiction was my first go-to literary genre.

Rage of Angels by Sidney Sheldon

I have long credited Sidney Sheldon as the, or at least one of the authors who helped sustain my interest in reading. He was one of my first favorite authors. One of his works that really made an impression on me was Rage of Angels. Sheldon is renowned to have a female as the primary protagonist and this is no different. It chronicled the career of a young lawyer named Jennifer Parker. For a young reader like me, it was one of the most exciting and suspenseful books I have read which made me realize the pleasures derived from reading. Apart from Rage of Angels, I also liked The Other Side of Midnight and Master of the Game. I would end up reading all his 18 novels, including his autobiography, The Other Side of Me.

The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas

When I entered university, I really wasn’t that keen on reading literary classics, opting to confine myself in the comfort of familiar writers such as Higgins Clark, Sheldon, Danielle Steele, Nora Roberts, John Grisham, and Nicholas Sparks. However, my perspective changed when I picked up Alexandre Dumas’ literary heavyweight, The Count of Monte Cristo. It was one of the earliest novels that made me appreciate classical works. Back then, I only recognized the novel as one of the Philippine National Hero, Dr. Jose Rizal’s major literary influences. Reading the novel gave me an insight into why. Although a decade has passed, the story of Edmond Dantès remains with me. I can vividly recall his escape from the Alcatraz-like Château d’If as if I’d read the novel yesterday.

Murder on the Orient Express by Agatha Christie

For the second Top Five Tuesday post in a row, I am listing Agatha Christie’s Murder on the Orient Express. And it is for good reason. I love the book and I can still recall the suspense and the confusion it evoked over a decade ago. Hercule Poirot’s seemingly whimsical manner of solving a case rekindled my interest in suspense and mystery fiction. You see, before picking up Murder on the Orient Express, I was at my wit’s end; I had totally lost interest in the said genre. My first Christie, which a university friend recommended, also made me fall in love with her prose. I have read nearly thirty of her works since then, and with more on the way.

One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez

Back before I picked up Nobel Laureate in Literature Gabriel Garcia Marquez’s One Hundred Years of Solitude, I barely had any iota on magical realism. When I opened the first pages of the book, I wasn’t really sure what world I am entering. It was knocked beyond belief because it was a world that I never thought existed. Sure, there is J.K. Rowling’s Hogwarts but Garcia Marquez’s Macondo was just an entirely different world. More than fascinating me, the novel made me realize how much I lack as a reader, or at least how much I am missing because I still choose to limit my own boundaries. After reading this novel, and a whole ton of Murakami novels, I have opened my mind to the different forms of literature, to expand my horizons as a reader.

I hope you enjoyed my list! What about you? What books made you get into reading? Have a great Tuesday everyone! Have a great week ahead!

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