Friends for Life: Books

"Let books be your dining table, and you shall be full of delights. Let them be your mattress and you shall sleep restful nights."

-Author Unknown


I have always been an avid reader. In elementary school I was the kid who would sit on the playground at recess and read a book instead of playing wall ball with my friends. I would lay under my covers with a flashlight and read into the wee hours of the morning hoping that my parents would not notice. I never lost my passion for reading but as I grew up theatre, horseback riding, and school began to consume all of my free time. Gone were the times when I would finish a book every week; I became lucky if I could finish a book a month. It took me all of this past semester to reread Gone With the Wind. Granted it is 1000 pages but when I read it in eighth grade I finished it in a month. Luckily my job this summer has given me the opportunity to reawaken the avid reader with in me. Since the beginning of July I have read The Thirteenth Tale, Cold Mountain, Knit Two, The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo, and have just started The Girl Who Played with Fire. While this isn't anywhere near a book a week it is quite an improvement from a book a semester. My goal this fall is to finish a book every three weeks (though I am aiming for every other week). I thought I would include a list of books that I want to read and a list of my top five favorite books.


Top 5 Favorite Books
1. Gone With the Wind By: Margaret Mitchell

Margaret Mitchell's iconic novel is the story of the Old South's demise during the Civil War and later its attempt to rebuild. The story is centered around Scarlett O'Hara, one of the last Southern Belles. In some ways it could be considered a great love story which is one of the reasons why I love it. Yes Scarlett is a protagonist with no redeeming qualities but more importantly she is a strong women who fights for what she believes in. I admire her courage and her will to save the thing most important to her, Tara. Gone With the Wind will always remain my favorite novel.
2. Lord of the Rings By: J.R.R. Tolkien

After I saw the film version of The Fellowship of the Ring I decided that I was going to read all of Tolkien's trilogy. My mom had already read The Hobbit aloud to me, which was quite a feat, so I was all ready to go. Fantasy is one of my favorite genres and so I was instantly attracted to the fantastical world of Middle Earth. I find Tolkien's use of language so beautiful and it is one of the things I miss when watching the films.
3. Little Women By: Louisa May Alcott

When my sister and I were in elementary school my grandma used to come watch us during the summer. One summer she showed us the movie version of Little Women with Winona Ryder, Susan Sarandon, and Christian Bale. I instantly fell in love with the story. When I was 16 I got the chance to play Amy in the musical version of Little Women. It was not until this past June that I finally sat down and read Louisa May Alcott's novel. Reading Little Women brought me back to my childhood when my sister and I could spend five hours a day dressing up and pretending we were someone else. It also reminded me of how important my sister is to me and how truly heartbroken I would be if anything ever happened to her.
4. Harry Potter Series By: J.K. Rowling

While Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban is my favorite of the series I have to include all seven books because they are all amazing. Each book holds so many memories for me: my mom reading aloud, waiting in line until midnight, staying up all night to read, just to name a few.
5. The Fairy Godmother By: Mercedes Lackey

I love this fantasy novel because it combines lots of different fairytales and weaves them into one single story. Once again it features a strong female protagonist who stands up for what she believes in even if that means turning a handsome prince into a donkey. I love escaping into another world when I read and with fantasy that is truly possible. This book really helped spur my love of fantasy as a teenager and led me to many other wonderful fantastical novels.
If you have not read any of these books I recommend you go to the library and check them out. All of them are truly amazing and will not let you down.


Reading List
-The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest By: Stieg Larsson
-Room By: Emma Donoghue
-The Hunger Games By: Suzanne Collins
-The Magicians By: Lev Grossman
-Bel Canto By: Ann Patchett
-Pride and Prejudice By: Jane Austen
-Jane Eyre By: Charlotte Bronte
-My Horizontal Life: A Collection of One Night Stands By: Chelsea Handler
-Bossypants By: Tina Fey
-Wheel of Time Series By: Robert Jordan
-Kite Runner By: Khaled Hosseini
-A Game of Thrones By: George R. R. Martin
-Les Miserables By: Victor Hugo
-Tales of the Five Hundred Kingdoms Series By: Mercedes Lackey
Please let me know if you have any other suggestions!!