It’s the second day of the week! I hope you are all doing well despite the challenging times. I hope and pray that you are all health, in body, mind, and spirit. As it is Tuesday, it is 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 with buildings or vehicles on the cover

For the third consecutive week, the Top 5 Tuesday topic deals with book covers. After featuring covers with creatures two weeks ago, and plants last week, I will now be featuring book covers with buildings or vehicles. I hope you enjoy my list. Happy reading!

Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe by Benjamin Alire Saenz

I am kicking off my list with a book cover that I simply love. When I purchased Benjamin Alire Saenz’s Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe, the first thing that caught my attention was the book’s cover. Apart from the seals of awards it has received, I also loved the tiny details, such as the red truck. The truck was also a part of the narrative, one of my favorite novels from the ubiquitous young adult fiction genre. And yes, Alire Saenz is releasing a sequel to this novel later this year.

Interior Chinatown by Charles Yu

From a predominantly blue book cover to a book cover that is primarily red, Charles Yu’s Interior Chinatown also gained a fair amount of distinction since its publication. Lest we forget, it was awarded the 2020 National Book Award for Fiction; it was the primary reason why I rushed to purchase a copy of the book late last year. I loved the cover but I also loved the satire on contemporary American society and the film industry.

The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck

John Steinbeck has proven himself a prime storyteller of the Great Depression Era. His novel, The Grapes of Wrath, is often credited as one of the seminal novels of the era. The winner of the prestigious Pulitzer Prize, it was also instrumental in Steinbeck’s awarding of the 1962 Nobel Prize in Literature. It relates the story of a family who travels from Oklahoma to California in search of employment after their lands were swept by the Dust Bowl phenomenon. It is no surprise that the book’s cover features an old truck; even the original book cover featured the same worn out truck.

All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr

Had it not been for its quick pace (uneven and inconsistent), I would have loved even more Anthony Doerr’s All the Light We Cannot See. The 2015 Pulitzer Prize winner, it is a work of historical fiction set during the start of the Second World War. What I also loved about the book was its blue cover (blue always catches my attention) and the picture of St. Malo on the background; St. Malo was where most of the story happened.

War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy

Prior I started reading the novel, I was daunted by Leo Tolstoy’s War and Peace. Aside from its length (it was over 1,300 pages long!), it was also a revered literary masterpiece. It also didn’t help that I had a challenging time with Anna Karenina back then; I started appreciating it now. I was pleasantly surprised when I had an easy time reading War and Peace. It was even part of my favorite and most memorable reads of the previous decade.

Speaking of buildings, I can’t help but share this picture I took at Siem Reap in 2018. The Angkor Wat complex has always fascinated me as a child and it was surreal to finally be there and exploring its every nook and cranny. I thought it was a dream that will never come true. But I managed to make it come true! As I have shared with a fellow blogger, I am fascinated by architectural marvels, even when I was younger. In hindsight, I might have become an architect had I cultivated that interest. As fate would have it, I am now an accountant! HAHA. Nevertheless, it is my dream to visit more architectural wonders in the future. For now, happy reading and have a great day ahead!

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