I'm back! It's been awhile but I have big plans for this blog over the next year! But on to today's post...
I was laying in bed last night wondering how some bloggers and YouTubers can make a list of their Top 5 Favorite Books. Only 5?! How, in all the vastness that is literature, can someone pick only 5? So I thought about it and if someone forced me to pick only 5 I, reluctantly, came up with a list. Each book I picked for a specific reason. The following are listed in no particular order.
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by J.K. Rowling
This may be an obvious choice, but it's a great book and was a representation of a chapter closing in my life. I literally grew up with Harry Potter. I was in fifth grade when I first started reading the books, 11 years old like him, and was 19 when this book came out. These books, as a series, were the first books that engaged me to read more and it was sad to see them end. I was happy with the outcome and this book answered every question left lingering.
The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
Technically 1984 was the first and only dystopian novel I'd read up until this book. And while I'm a great fan of it, this book hooked me on a whole different level. The Hunger Games got me addicted to YA dystopian novels. The characters are relatable yet survive in this world we couldn't ever imagine existing. This book allowed me to escape my world into one where life is almost unbearable and difficult situations are lurking around every corner. I love the idea of "What if the world was this way?" and The Hunger Games opened a door to many more books that I may have not picked up before.
The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald
I chose this book because it had a huge impact on me since the 11th grade. It wasn't so much the content, but my teacher who made everything click using this book. It was with this book that I learned about symbolism and it changed the way I read from then on. Cheesy, I know, but true. To make a long story short I got a bad grade on my Huck Finn paper because I apparently missed the English class the year before where symbolism was discussed. So I was tanking early and my teacher explained symbolism again and it seemed clear but I didn't want to make assumptions so I talked to him after class. "So if I mention the color rose I can talk about an actual rose like the pedals and thorns and what those mean and that's symbolism?" He said yes and it clicked. Symbolism suddenly became my favorite thing in English. I loved analyzing everything! Even though my teacher taught me this valuable lesson, this book was the book I learned it with...plus it's a great book. And by the way, I got an "A" on my Gatsby symbolism paper. :)
P.S. I Love You by Cecelia Ahern
This book may seem like an unlikely and odd pick, and my explanation won't be too long, but I chose it because it made me cry like a baby. I had never, and still have not, read a book that physically has evoked that much emotion in me and made me cry. It really touched me and a book that can make me feel that much needs to be on my list.
Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
The reason I picked this book is simple: I love the story. I feel it's still relevant today with the wacky Bennett family and the classic boy-girl "I love you, I don't love you, but okay I really do love you" struggle. I love Kitty and Lydia and their young antics. Of course my favorite, and the most emphasized part of the story, is how Elizabeth begins to fall for Darcy only to find he's a pompous ass. But when Darcy redeems himself and the tension and mysteries between Elizabeth and Darcy clear up they find they really are meant for each other and that class and society can't dictate their love. It's a great love story and you can't go wrong with one of those.
So those are my top five books! What are yours?
