A limited list of books that changed my life (VERY LIMITED) // World book day

As the sort of person who reads everything that is in my house, including junk mail and cereal boxes, books are very important to me. Once, when I was 7, my mum walked into my kitchen, which was filled with black smoke. I was sitting in the middle of all of it, reading harry potter. I had failed to notice the pan fire. 

For world book day I cannot resist compiling a list of 10 books that changed my life, leaving out obvious ones like harry potter and perks of being a wildflower and game of thrones. That is another list. Also I feel bad for leaving books out so this is a limited list. I will keep it to 10. And I just realised that I can't use numbers because I don't want to put them in order of preference because I cannot decide. 

• The Cement Garden, by Ian Mcewan. This was his first book, and it's fucked up, and crazy, and really fucked up. I needed a half a day to recover after this, but it has stayed with me for years. 
• The Mouse and his Child by by Russel Hoban. This is a children's book but it made me cry (like far too recently). Its a philosophical master piece in the way only a children's book can be, because children are far less easy to fool than adults when it comes to books. 
• The Girl on The Train by Paula Hawkins. I think it is going to be a film soon, so read it before the spoilers come, because it was the first book that kept me up all night reading until I finished it in a long time. 
• Asking for It by Louise O'Neil- I feel like everyone is talking about how great it is but nobody is actually reading it, which they should. Trigger warning for anyone feeling fragile. Also kept me up all night. The thing about this book is it is heartbreakingly real. Most Irish people probably know a girl who's story ended up similarly, even if they don't know, because she has never actually been able to tell her story. 
• The Colour Purple by Alice Walker. My fourth class teacher used to give punishment essays with this title, and I really think he should have read the book first because it is a) very harrowing and b) very graphic.
• Transpotting by Irvine Welsh. This book is so good it is the only book I have ever had stolen off me. Testimony to it that I bought it again straight away. I re read it once a year and it is always just as good. Another book everyone should read, especially if you haven't seen the film. 
• A Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde. One of my favourite authors, and I thoroughly enjoyed it. Darker then my other Wilde favourites, The Importance of Being Ernest being probably my most. Still supremely relevant in a world where  
• The Bone Clocks by David Mitchell. If you have any interest in philosophy this is an incredible book. Its kind of a tome and doubles as a very good doorstop but I have written down quotes from it which means that it is special.This book was worth the back pain. Also if you don't like philosophy, it is incredible story. 
• The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss. I found this book in a charity shop and honestly I feel weird thinking about how easily I would have not discovered it. I love fantasy, it is probably my favourite genre, and this book is an unsung hero in the fantasy world. There is a second book in the series, and a third coming out this year which I am eagerly awaiting. Really really fucking good. This book got me through a really difficult summer... famous.  
• Wolf Brother by Michelle Paver. The Chronicles of Ancient Darkness is a children's series, but after I read them (and I re read them about once every two years), it's kind of hard to sleep for a while after. I haven't met anyone else who has read this series but it changed me as a person, although I don't know why. 

There are so many others I want to add, but I can't or else I will be writing this for the next year. Books are such personal things, and these books have made a huge impact on me. I didn't want this to come off like a book review, because its not, its more like a travel guide. The other thing I wanted to say is even though you might be an adult, you are never too old to read children books. Children's books don't get away with being terrible by using adult topics. Children demand a higher level of intellect in books than many adults do. Also, never ever read PS. I love you. I cried after reading it (this isn't even a joke or an exaggeration) because I felt sad about the time I had wasted reading it. It left me with a sensation similar to what I can only describe as being car sick and claustrophobic at the same time. I have learned to feel the warning signs of this and abandoned fifty shades of grey after a chapter even though it was a free ebook preview and I was in a hairdresser. 

Don't waste time reading terrible books, I guess is the moral of the story. Terrible television is a different story altogether.