Top Ten Tuesdays: Books That Make Me Cry

It's another Tuesday, so I'm linking up again with The Broke and the Bookish.  Today's topic is "Books that make you cry", which is right up my alley.  I am a total sap.  I've been known to cry over movies, TV programs, and telephone commercials (like this old one, which made me sob every time I saw it).  Books are no exception to my emotional meltdowns, and here are some of the most memorable cry-fests:

Crying through the Classics (Some spoilers here if you haven't read them):

1.  Gone With the Wind by Margaret Mitchell:  When I finished this book, I went into the kitchen with tears streaming down my face.  My mom, obviously thinking something was terribly wrong, asked what had happened, and I replied:  "Melanie died!"

2.  The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck:  I read this a few years ago.  When I was nearly finished, I was asked to "supervise" some construction guys working in our office, which basically meant sitting in a chair outside the door.  So there I was in the hallway, reading The Grapes of Wrath, trying to hold back the tears so my colleagues wouldn't see what a huge mess I am.

3.  Little Women by Louisa May Alcott:  Poor, sweet Beth...

4.  Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery:  No matter how many times I read this, I always sob over Matthew.

Bawling* through Contemporary:

5.  Me Before You by JoJo Moyes:  What a sob-fest this was.  Thankfully my husband wasn't there as I sat in our kitchen, weeping my way through the end of this one.

6.  One Day by David Nicholls:  I won't reveal why in case you haven't read it or seen the movie, but just imagine me bursting into tears in the airport while waiting to fly home from our honeymoon.  Now imagine my husband's confusion.  It was an interesting moment.

7.  The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger:  I love this book, but man is it ever emotional!  I was car-less and working two jobs when I read it, so I likely cried on public transportation at least once.

8.  A Prayer for Owen Meany by John Irving:  One of the few books that made me both laugh out loud and dissolve into tears.

Weeping through YA:

9.  The Fault in Our Stars by John Green:  I mean, it's about teens with cancer, so I expected it, but even when you anticipate the emotions, it's still gutwrenchingly sad.

10.  The Harry Potter series, especially books 4-7 by J.K. Rowling:  I have a vivid memory of reading the climax of The Half-Blood Prince at dinner time.  I was supposed to go to a worship service, and I ended up being late because I was crying my eyes out.  I wouldn't let myself read the epilogue when I got home because I knew I'd never get to sleep.  Of course, this led to me bawling over my breakfast cereal in the morning.  JKR, I love your books, but did you have to kill off so many characters?!

*Does anyone else get irrationally annoyed at seeing some write “balling” instead of “bawling”, e.g., in Facebook. It's one of my biggest language pet peeves, along with misuse of apostrophes and saying “common” instead of “come on”.