6 Bucket List Books To Read In A Lifetime

In the past few months I've finally got around to reading a few books that I've been meaning to read for years now. The book I've most recently enjoyed reading has been One Day which I can't believe took me so long to get around to - the book celebrates its 10th anniversary this year! 

This got me thinking, why not create a book bucket list of all the books I truly want to get around to reading at some point. These aren't your average newly released best sellers but books that get discussed and talked about over and over again, standing out from the rest and loved by seemingly everyone.

I've already started making some headway with my own bucket list books so I thought I'd share with you the ones on my list that make give you a few book recommendations or even inspire you to create your own literary bucket list!

A Little Life by Hanya Yangihara 

According to my Amazing order history, I bought A Little Life back in 2017, since then I've been putting off reading it. Why? Well not only is the 700+ page length intimating for this lover of quick reads but from reading reviews it seems like it's a pretty heartbreaking affair. 

I have actually now started reading it and can so far say that the character development is excellent, a book you can fully submerge yourself into due to the believability of the character within it. It's a book I'm excited to get further into and finally tick off my list. This would be my no.1 recommendation along with One Day by David Nicholls for your own book bucket list if you intend on creating one.

We Need To Talk About Kevin by Lionel Shriver 

It's not often I feel the urge to read the book after watching the film adaptation, it all feels a bit too samey for me. But I have a feeling that while the movie of We Need To Talk About Kevin starring Tilda Swinton was excellent, the book will cover a lot more ground surrounding this tragic epidemic that is devastatingly more prevalent today than it was when Lionel Shriver wrote the novel back in 2003. 

Wrote in a first-person perspective of a mother whose son commits an unthinkable and unexpected crime and how she tries to navigate the fallout and her own emotions after the event, this feels like it's much more than a book and something I must read at some point. 

I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings by Mata Angelou 

When it comes to memoirs I have to say it doesn't feel my kind of thing, however, I make an exception for Maya Angelou's Caged Bird; the first of six memoirs detailing her early childhood spent with her grandma until the age of 16, facing both trauma and racism. 

This feels like it will be both a heartbreaking yet uplifting poignant read. I think I could gain a lot of wisdom from this book so it's definitely a book I will be making sure I read at some point in the near future.

The Tattooist of Auschwitz by Heather Morris

This is another book that's been sat on my shelf for quite some time now and as the noise surrounding it hasn't gone down (it's got over four thousand 5-star reviews on Amazon!) I think it's about time I read it. 

While the subject of WW2 is a bleak one, especially when it comes to Auschwitz, I know I'm not alone in being intrigued by its events. My most recent fictional read on the subject, The Boy at The Top of the Mountain, gripped me from the first page and I feel The Tattooist of Auschwitz may have a similar effect. 

While the title of the book gives a clue of the storyline I have a feeling it's one of heartbreaking romance in the most unlikely of places. I think I may have to read this very soon! 

The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas 

So I'm pretty ashamed that I still have yet to read The Hate U Give, so much so that I'm refusing to watch the movie adaptation until I read the book first. 

Telling the story of sixteen-year-old Starr, a black teen that is the sole witness to the devastating police brutality of her best friend this is an important YA read. Again, another novel that feels very relevant in the world we live in right now.  I simply can't call myself a book lover if I haven't read this book by the end of 2019! 

Alice's Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll

Totally switching it up for the last book on my bucket list is a total childhood classic; Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. Which I have the pleasure of having a stunningly Anna Bond illustrated version of that adds an extra creative element to it. 

While I don't have much desire to read literary classics such as Wuthering Heights and Pride and Prejudice, I do love classic novels for children. So at the top of my list is Alice's Adventures in Wonderland as it's a spectacular book that I know I will thoroughly enjoy. Whether it's reading any Roald Dahl books you may have missed as a child or going back to total classics I feel like there's something both nostalgic and fun in reading a children's book from time to time, especially before bed. 

I hope you've enjoyed this slightly off-topic blog post! I adore reading, especially come colder weather and longer nights, snuggling up with a good book. So I'm excited to have created by own book bucket list that I will be working my way through over the next few months. 

Let me know if you have any book recommendations that you feel are bucket list-worthy! 

Fee xo.