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"There is no more lovely, friendly and charming relationship, communion or company than a good marriage."
--Martin Luther

Tuesday 4 February 2014

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”.

12 comments:

  1. I thought I'd be the only one to put Grapes Of Wrath on my list! :-)
    Prayer For Owen Meany is on my TBR list, but I didn't know that it was a tear-jerker--I'll have to figure out a good time to tackle that one.

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    1. I wouldn't say Owen Meany is a major tear-jerker. As I recall, there are a couple of sad parts, but overall I loved it and probably laughed more than I cried.

      Thanks for stopping by my TTT!

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  2. Anne of Green Gables is on my list too...I cry every time.

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    1. You're definitely not the only one. I have to gear up ahead of time as I know the tears are coming!

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  3. The Fault In Our Stars was so sad! I absolutely loved the book though! These are some great choices. Here's my TTT: http://unearthlyreviews.blogspot.com/2014/02/top-ten-tuesday-books-that-will-make-me.html Happy Reading! :)

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    1. Thanks for stopping by! I also cried over Allegiant. (I stopped by your list but didn't comment as I don't do Google Plus.)

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  4. I forgot about Little Women! Yes, definitely poor sweet Beth. Great list! I've seen a Prayer of Owen Meany at least 5 times today and I guess that means I'll have to actually read it. It's only been sitting on my Kindle for months. So agree with the bawling vs balling.

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    1. Thanks for visiting! Beth's death always kills me. Even when she first gets sick and recovers, I get teary about it. I'm a basket case!

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  5. Great picks. The Time Traveller's Wife made my list too, such a emotional and beautiful book. I picked Deathly Hallows, I pretty much cry from beginning to end when reading that. My TTT :)

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    1. Deathly Hallows is the same for me. I want to re-read the series (again), but I know that will result in sooooo many tears. :-)

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  6. The Time Traveller's Wife and One Day made it on my list this week as well. And there's one book on my list where, in an almost similar experience as yours, I almost cried in the middle of public transit. Good times xD Really need to bump A Prayer of Owen Meany up my list of want-to-read...

    Great list! :) My TTT

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    1. Glad to know I'm not the only one tearing up on transit. Actually, I prefer crying to the times I have had to stifle laughing out loud (usually from the Weasley twins' antics) so as not to look like the resident crazy person on the bus.

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