22) Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone- JK Rowling

Ah, the book that started it all. I remember not being able to get through this book when I was in the fourth or fifth grade. Why was I on chapter four and he STILL hadn't ended up at this mythical school that would teach him how to dominate in the wizarding world? Why did I spend the entire first chapter learning about a lurking cat? Then I was forced to listen to it on tape during a long car drive and proceeded to ask myself why I was such an idiot for not just reading it. It's okay.

Anywho, we all know what happens. Harry has been hidden from the wizarding world and has been left with the Dursleys. They're awful people and when he turns eleven, Harry finds out he's a wizard when Hagrid comes bursting through the door. Just before the clock strikes eleven, he meets the Weasley family and soon a friendship blossoms with his (mostly) faithful sidekick, Ron. 

We all know how it goes. We've all read the books and seen the movies. But reading them now, just weeks before the final chapter hits movie theaters...it's a bit weird, to be honest. Here we are, over a decade later and these books still hold up. You still feel yourself smiling when they save Hermoine from the troll, you still get mad when it turns out it isn't Snape that's trying to get to the stone and you still wish you could high five Neville for gaining those last ten points for Gryffindor. By the time you close the last page, you find yourself looking at the clock and wondering if you could read the first two or three chapters of the next one before you fall asleep. 

It's like being in elementary school all over again (in the best way).

21) By Nightfall-Michael Cunningham

This was a random purchase. I had wanted to read it, but never really felt like buying it. Sadly, a bookstore was closing near me. Fortunately, there were copies of this and since the stack under my arm was already teetering, I figure it would be okay if I just stacked another one on the top. I was intrigued by the fact that it was about the New York art world. I rarely read books about the art world (however, I would like to and will take suggestions) and thought it would be quite interesting. Plus, he wrote A Home at the End of the World.

The book focused on New York art dealer Peter Harris. He's married to Rebecca who runs an art magazine, they have a daughter named Bea who for some inexplicable reason hates him and Rebecca's drug-addict brother Ethan (nicknamed Mizzy for "The Mistake") is coming to stay for an undecided amount of time. Peter and Rebecca have settled into a routine that Peter isn't sure he likes anymore. It's all the same and he wonders if his unhappiness with it shows. When Mizzy comes to stay, things seem to go topsy-turvy and Peter sort of starts to lose it. He begins to evaluate everything happening in his life and wonders how it is he can change it, if at all. Why does his daughter despise him? What is beauty? Why do I feel this way? Does Rebecca feel the same way as I do about our now stagnant lives?

I liked this book. I didn't love it, but I liked it. Despite a few of his other books getting the movie treatment, I'm not entirely sure this is one that should be made into a movie. This book was also far more erotic than I could have anticipated. Not that there's any problem with sex or sexual feelings, it was just not something I was anticipating being so detailed in this book as often as it was. Despite it being about the art world, it wasn't necessarily the focus of the story. I was looking for a bit more, but it was still nice when they talked about it.

I thought it was a good read. It just wasn't necessarily my favorite.

20) Bumped-Megan McCafferty

This is a book I was seriously looking forward to. Being such a big Jessica Darling fan, I wanted to see what her next series would be all about. Needless to say, this book was a bit like crack. I could NOT put this down. At one point, I put my phone in another room because I was annoyed that people were talking to me and trying to be my friend. That's how fantastic this book was.

Told between the perspectives of identical twin sisters Melody and Harmony, we learn that by 2036, all humans go completely barren by the time they reach 18-20 owing to a virus. This makes teenagers the hottest commodity seeing as they are fertile and essentially the only hope there is for keeping the human race alive. Melody has one of the best contracts with a leading surrogate agency, but because the couple who hired her have such high standards, she has yet to "bump" with anyone and is almost reaching the age where the virus will soon take over. As if that wasn't enough, the twin sister she barely knows (Harmony) shows up from Goodside (the church settlement that adopted her) and threatens Melody's life in many ways. If people found out that there were identical, ideal and fertile twins, it could cause Melody to lose her contract, thereby rendering all the work her parents have put into making her the perfect specimen completely meaningless while simultaneously ruining her future as well. How will Melody and Harmony deal with this? Why did Harmony run away from Goodside in the first place?

It's a very interesting read. It's quite topical as well. With the media being so obsessed with shows like 16 and Pregnant and Teen Mom (okay, I AM guilty with that one), I'm glad someone sat down and thought, "Well, what if ONLY teenagers could get pregnant? What if they were our only hope for humanity? What would that be like?" They are very interesting questions that at one point, we may have all asked ourselves. 

However, getting to the end of this book just made me really mad. There's a massive cliffhanger and the next one won't be coming out until next YEAR. How am I supposed to wait that long? Ah, well. There are always more books!

19) The Jane Austen Book Club-Karen Joy Fowler

Confessions must be made, kids. I am, in fact, a Jane Austen-ite. I'm not a member of any sort of society, club or underground cult. However, if I spot a book that in any way relates to Jane Austen (with the exception of a few weird spin-offs), I will more likely than not place them on the already tumbling stack under my arm. This book is the one that started this awful, downward spiral that has now spread to my friends. Whether or not they thank me for that is not something for me to answer.

Despite my aversion to rereading books as often as possible (there are far too many books to only read a few over and over until the spine breaks), I can't help rereading this one. It makes me really happy. I've also done all that I can to sneak the movie adaptation into every movie night with any friend. It happens.

Anyway, a hodge-podge group of six people get together to form the All Jane Austen All the Time Book Club. Though it's meant as a distraction for only one of their members, it turns out that each member has a problem that needs a distraction. Each person chooses one of the six novels and each section of the book focuses on that character and the discussion they have on that book. The characters are so lovable and all so different. They each learn and grow through the novels and discussion. It's absolutely fantastic.

As I said, this is also a movie and if you feel as if you'd rather watch the movie instead of reading the book (shame on you), then go for it. Both are absolutely wonderful. It wasn't until I read this book in high school that I even thought to read Jane Austen. Thank god I did read this book because I would be hopelessly lost without the romance, the leading men and the swept away feeling each one gives you. If you want to read a Jane Austen, read Persuasion. It's my favorite.

18) A Visit From the Goon Squad-Jennifer Egan

I have been pretty excited to write about this. After I read this, I wanted to tell everyone I knew to read this book. Even if they didn't like reading, I wanted to force this book down their throats. I loved this book THAT much.

The book starts with Sasha, an assistant at a record label in New York City. She's on a date with a guy named Alex who is new to the city. Each new chapter introduces us to someone related to the character from the previous chapter. It starts in the present and weaves between now, the eighties, the nineties and ends in the future. It's a bevy of interesting characters that you end up feeling sympathy for at one point in their tale. I only note that because they really aren't the nicest characters when their stories begin. 

As much as I love this book, I'm finding it difficult to really get into it. For whatever reason, it seems to be really difficult to describe. It's a wonderful story that's pulsing with music on every page. At certain points, you find yourself wanting to deck yourself out fully in leather and stud everything to hell and back. Okay, that happened only once or twice, but who's counting? The characters are interesting and once you get beyond the first few chapters and get into the groove, it's incredibly hard to put down. 

I certainly see how this recently won the Pulitzer for Fiction this year. It's gripping in every way. I honestly cannot recommend this book enough.

17) This Lullaby-Sarah Dessen

Look, I did warn you that there would be a lot of her work on here. I'm learning that maybe the young adult section that I once feared may not be so bad after all. Actually, I'm still pretty scared of it, but as long as I stay away from the supernatural parts, I might be okay.

As I said, many of my friends are pretty big Sarah Dessen fans. When I alerted them that I would be reading another one and then told them the title, almost all of them were so excited I was finally reading their favorite. Well, that didn't put this book up to any sort of standard or anything.

This time around, we meet Remy. She's finalizing the plans for yet another one of her mother's weddings. When she goes to collect a check from the groom-to-be, Don, a guy named Dexter practically slams her into the wall and says he felt drawn to her. Having a pret-ty bad outlook on men, love and relationships (she has a flawless system that always sees her as the victor) because of her mother's frequent trips down the aisle, she ignores him. Besides, she's going all the way across the country to Stanford in the fall. Who needs a boyfriend for the summer after she graduates high school? Of course, this chance encounter bulldozes into her life and starts to shake her perfectly constructed world at her feet.

While I did really like this book, it was harder to get through than the others. I was annoyed with how much of a bitch Remy could be when something started to shift in a way that she didn't like. Then again, the character and her friends do warn us on more than one occasion that this was simply how she was. Dexter is easily my second favorite love interest, though. To all of my friends who feel differently, I'm sorry. I still love Macon Faulkner the best and Someone Like You is still my favorite.

16) The Sixty-Eight Rooms-Marianne Malone

This is another one I had been eying for quite some time. As I have lived just outside Chicago for all of my life, I have frequented the Art Institute and of course, the room of miniatures. After reading this book, I have learned these are called the Thorne Miniatures Rooms. Clearly, I was paying a whole lot of attention on all of those class field trips. Money well spent, Mom.

The morning Ruthie wakes up thinking her life is even less than ordinary, her best friend finds a key in the corridor of the Art Institute that makes it extraordinary. When Jack touches the key, nothing special happens. When Ruthie takes the key to examine it, she suddenly feels heat racing through her body and winding encircling her. The next thing she knows, she's roughly five inches tall. After releasing the key, she grows back to her normal height and stares into Jack's bewildered, yet excited, expression. Was it possible to sneak into the museum after hours and examine the rooms she had come to fall in love with? What lurks beyond the interior of the rooms? Did the magic of the key extend beyond the walls and transport her back to the time period of the room? Was it possible for Jack to accompany her?

Ah, so many questions raised. What I think I liked most about this book WAS the fact that it was about something I had seen so many times in my life. It made me want to go back and look at this permanent exhibit from a completely different perspective. It made you wonder what it would be like to actually be able to walk through those rooms. And then it made me want to find a mythical, magical key and find out for myself how fantastic interior design was in Paris just before the French Revolution, early colonial America, medieval England and ancient China. Sadly, I feel I would have no such luck. 

15) Keeping the Moon-Sarah Dessen

Okay, okay. I get it. This is the fourth one I've written about now. I'm a girl on a mission and I'm halfway there. Back up, okay? Now, onto the story.

In this Dessen adventure, we meet Colie. A former fat girl, she's now spending the summer with her aunt as her mother, the fitness guru Kiki Sparks, travels Europe spreading her positive thinking to the masses. Because she was a former chunky monkey, she still believes herself to be of lesser quality on the food chain of life. She hides behind her dark clothes, pitch black hair and oddly placed lip ring. Even in this new town miles away from home, the feelings and taunts from home stick with her and even show up in the form of the girl that started it all. But when she shows up at one of the only restaurants in town during a rush, she's hired and meets Isabel and Morgan. For the first time, she finally has friends and she's unsure how to deal with this new development and how they start treating her. 

It's a story completely of redemption and rehabilitation. For anyone who feels like they have been on the outside wondering what it's like on the inside, this is for you. It's easy to envy what you don't know and it's not until you get a look inside that you realize you haven't really been missing anything. We have to learn to appreciate ourselves and love who we are. If we hide behind a few extra pounds, braces, glasses or freckles because we feel it makes us different in a negative way, we end up depriving ourselves of happiness that is only gained through loving everything about ourselves.

There are definitely instances in the book that everyone can relate to. Everyone has something that makes them insecure (unless you think you're absolutely flawless in every way in which case you need a reality check) at one point or another. That's what makes this book such an entertaining read. It's relatable and aren't we all just looking for something that makes us feel less alone?

14) Flipped-Wendelin Van Draanen

"Some of us get dipped in flat, some in satin, some in gloss... but every once in a while you find someone who's iridescent, and when you do, nothing will ever compare."

This picture alone makes me smile like an idiot. It's seriously one of my favorite books (and subsequently one of my favorites movies). Again, this is categorized as an "Independent Reader" but I feel this is appropriate for all ages. The book is told through one of my favorite narrative styles. Every other chapter is told between Juli Baker and Bryce Loski. 

The Loski's move across the street from the Baker's when the two narrators are in the second grade. They're now in eighth grade and recounting their shared history that got them to where they are now. Juli has been in love with Bryce since she first saw him and his sparkling blue eyes. Bryce has hated Juli Baker ever since that same moment. Soon, they both realize that growing up isn't as easy as they thought it would be and see that how they perceive each other might not have always been correct. 

It's easily the cutest little love story that I have ever read. There are some conversations in the book that I wish had happened in my life. There are also some of the sweetest quotes that I think I have ever read in any book. Ever. And to think that this book would have been lost to me if I hadn't been wandering around Borders one day and happened upon it on one of the tables!

I cannot recommend this book enough. If you don't feel like reading it, I cannot recommend the movie enough. I like that they change it from modern time to the 50s in the movie. Both the book and the movie are absolutely perfect in every way. There's no other way to describe it.

13) The Sun Also Rises-Ernest Hemingway

A few months ago, I went to a bookstore with a friend of mine. We stumbled upon the book 1,001 Books to Read Before You Die. After perusing the selection, I realized that I have covered a majority of the 1800s, but have read hardly anything from the 1900s. I know, right? That seems sort of backward, but that's how it goes.

This was originally on the required reading list for my American Novel class, but as it was required, I obviously didn't get very far. That's generally how it works for me. The book is assigned, I find it far too tedious to finish, read it afterwards and loved it. See: Catcher in the Rye, The Great Gatsby, Camelot, Welcome to the Monkey House and now, The Sun Also Rises.

This was Hemingway's first novel. It shifts from Paris to various parts of Spain and is narrated by Jake Burns, an American journalist living in 1920s France. Oddly enough, Hemingway was an American journalist living in France during the 1920s. Sorry, back to the story.

Jake Burns is in love with an Englishwoman named Brett Ashley who represents the sexual freedom of the decade with her bobbed hair and frequent love affairs. But he's not the only one who is in love with Brett over the course of the story. This fact alone is essentially what sort of sets most of the events of the story in motion. The story winds through France and Spain, as well as practically every emotion.

Having tried to read Hemingway in high school, I wasn't necessarily his biggest fan. However, after reading this one, I managed to buy three more and actually anticipate reading them. There is certainly something in this story for everyone.

12) When You Reach Me-Rebecca Stead

Okay, I'll be honest. I saw this book in the "Independent Reader" section last spring and have been eyeing it ever since. I would see it in every bookstore and Target I walked into. I kept telling myself to buy it and then managed to just never do so. Finally, I placed the paperback in my (always full) Amazon cart and clicked "Order Cart" in one of my frequent fits of rage and stress that seemed to be happening with alarming frequency over this previous semester. Ah, the life of an English major.

When it came in the mail, bundled with the new Megan McCafferty and another Circle of Heck, it certainly wasn't the first one I wanted to read. But since I've been pining over this book for over a year, I figured it would be best to just get it out of the way.

Miranda is a sixth grader in New York City who just recently parted ways with her best friend, Sal. Her mom has recently been told she would be a contestant on Password, Miranda can't stop reading A Wrinkle in Time and she starts getting odd notes from an anonymous person. Once she starts hanging out with some new friends, she starts realizing how everything can change but it doesn't have to be for the worst. There's time travel, family, friendship, identity and some serious surprises. Plus, there's a round of Password. Where's the downside?

This book reminded me heavily of Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close, which is a good thing! If you liked that book, you would certainly like this one. The main characters were a bit similar and both full of incredible insight. I was really happy that I had finally picked this book up. It's definitely worth the time.

11) That Summer-Sarah Dessen

Like I said, I went on a bit of a Dessen binge. It happens sometimes, okay? You try abstaining once you start! 

Anyway...

In this book, we meet Haven who feels like a giant at 15. In the summer we spend with her, her dad is about to get remarried to the local weather girl not too long before her older sister is about to get married to her main squeeze, Lewis. Not only does her size take a toll on her, but so does the way everyone has seemed to have changed over the course of the year prior. When one of her sister's ex-boyfriend's from high school returns home, she reflects back on the summer he was around and she felt as if everything was perfect. Of course, nothing is ever as perfect as it seems and soon Haven begins to realize that. But what does she do with this knowledge? Does she change her perspective? Her outlook on her life and those involved in it?

I don't know. Read the book!

Personally, this wasn't my favorite Dessen. I enjoyed it, but didn't feel as attached to the characters as I had in the previous two I had read. Plus, Haven was a bit too stubborn sometimes and it sort of made you want to slap her from time to time. It was still a good read and in my effort to read all of her books as soon as possible, I'm glad I read it. 

(If you read it, you may also see plot points from How To Deal. This was the second book used as reference for it.)

10) The Alchemist-Paolo Coelho

You know you've all seen this book at the store. You've heard people rave about it. You wonder if what they're saying is of their own opinion or just agreeing with everyone else's. Was it as good as everyone says? Or are people just saying they read it in order to gain some sort of credibility? Why the hell does every book club ever read this book?

I can genuinely say that that was my thought process when I finally decided that I would check this book out. I'm not big on religious texts, but despite the amount of Jesus juice pumping through the pages, it was actually tolerable. I didn't mind it because it wasn't blatant "SUPPORT JESUS OR BURN IN HELL"material. It was seamlessly tied in and gave me more of a "trust the universe and great things will come your way" sort of vibe. 

I certainly see why this is so frequently read and so highly praised. I don't want to get all ridiculous here, but this book absolutely changed my way of thinking about myself and my life. So many people walk around thinking "That will NEVER happen to me!" or "Dreams are just that; dreams. They're not reality." But how do we know that? That sort of backwards thinking is the reason we all feel a little less excited about our lives. The more negative thoughts we think, the less positive progression we experience. It really gives you a new perspective on life and that is such a special thing.

It's a short read that is incredibly enlightening. I think that's what I liked most about it. It didn't force religion upon you or make you feel like you're in the wrong for lacking faith. It made you feel like you have control over your fate in even the simplest way. All you have to do is remember what's important.

9) Someone Like You-Sarah Dessen

See? What did I say? I quickly picked up another Dessen book as soon as I was emotionally stable after finishing Dreamland. This one seemed like a quick read and interesting enough. It quickly became my favorite one prior to even reading more of her work.

Halley gets a frantic call from her best friend, Scarlett, pleading with her to come home from camp. It turns out, Scarlett's boyfriend Michael has gotten in an accident and passed away. What's more is that Scarlett soon finds out that she is pregnant and will need all the help she can from Halley now that Michael is gone. Halley also begins dating a boy named Macon Faulkner (that I managed to fall in love with) who teaches her more about herself in one summer than she ever knew before.

Yes, that sounds like a general book aimed at teen girls that I would normally skip over, but it was honestly really great. It really shows the importance of friendship and how you need to experience all that you can in order to grow into the person you're suppose to be. If you don't go out there and LIVE, you'll never know what life is all about.

If you're sitting there reading this and thinking, "Wait a minute, that sounds like...wasn't that a movie or something?" Yes, it was one of the two books that was mashed together and used for the script for How to Deal starring Mandy Moore. I decided to overlook that because I felt that this was a story that could stand alone, but that's just me.

If you want to read a Dessen book, I would definitely suggest this one.

8) Dreamland-Sarah Dessen

When you read the back of a book for a synopsis of what you might be indulging in, you get a pretty good idea of what you'll get. I would like to point out that this was absolutely NOT the case with this book. 

The description tells you that on her sixteenth birthday, Caitlin's older sister Cassandra runs away. Of course, this is going to cause drama and because no one is going to read a book about how a girl properly adjusts to this structural change in her life, things are going to go downhill. Okay, fine. Will she begin cutting herself? Become a drug addict? Is she going to spiral into a alcohol ridden depression? When she meets her boyfriend, Rogerson, something just seems off about him. You can tell right away that he's bad news, but you're not sure why. You read and read and wait for it until his downfall and her secret smacks you in the face. Suddenly, I'm screaming at the pages, "WHAT THE HELL JUST HAPPENED?! THIS CAN'T BE REAL!"

Now, as a general rule, I stay far away from the young adult section. I feel that 87% of it consists of supernaturally bizarre work, another 9% is about bulimia, "I-don't-fit-in!" or "my-boyfriend-doesn't-love-me-anymore!" books, but the remaining 4% seems to be okay. This was not the way to introduce myself into the section, let me tell you. 

However, I could absolutely not put this book down. I read it from cover to cover. It was absolutely gripping. It brought to light something that I genuinely didn't think was such a problem among high school/college girls. I thought that it was just something that they pulled out on Lifetime. It was another book where you wanted to scream at the main character to realize that what was happening was wrong and she needed to say something to fix it. Halfway through and once I put the book down, I remained absolutely horrified. 

If you want something to get you really good, I highly recommend this. If you want to read something really well written, I highly recommend this. What I'm saying is, you should really read this. Although, you should be forewarned (if this wasn't already abundantly clear). You might want to be in an emotionally stable place because this will rock you sideways. 

This was the day that I became a Sarah Dessen addict.

7) Slam-Nick Hornby

When I walk into a bookstore, rarely will I go in with an idea of what I'm looking for. I meander between the shelves, perusing the material and hoping to find something that strikes my fancy. Rarely do I read more than one or two books by the same author, but I absolutely ADORE Nick Hornby. High Fidelity happens to be one of my absolute favorite books of all time.

However, this wasn't my favorite Hornby. The main character, Sam, is a 15-year-old skater who talks to his poster of Tony Hawk to get through his problems. When he meets his girlfriend and subsequently knocks her up, it bounces between the future and the present in a really odd way. It's quite an interesting take on the idea of bouncing between the two points in time, but it felt a bit off to me.

It was quite an interesting story. Although, I feel like he should stick more to adult fiction as opposed to young adult. I feel his talent is more appropriate for that sort of audience. What I always loved about his work just wasn't there for me with this one. There were a few good quotes here and there, but this surely isn't one that I would jump on rereading again soon. 

If you want to read Nick Hornby, I would recommend High Fidelity, A Long Way Down or About a Boy.

6) Mockingjay-Suzanne Collins

Okay. We've reached the third and final (and most outrageous) piece of the story. This one is pretty different from the first two, but easily the most nerve-wracking. I'll be honest here. I spent most of this book hunched over the pages, riddled with tension and biting my finger nails (something that I very seldom do). It was that mentally aggressive.

By now, characters you liked have died. Characters you like are fighting for their lives. Another rebellion has begun! The districts have decided to take on the capitol once more. But how did we get there? What happened? How many casualties are ahead of us? Aha! You must read the books to know! 

The writing must be commented on here. The emotion that seeps from the pages makes you feel like these are your friends and you want to protect them. You want to tell them to run, to flee, to hide. You feel so invested. How often does a writer manage to grip you so hard and keep you there until you're crying through the entire last chapter of the third book? It's not right. It's not often. It's amazing that Suzanne Collins wrote in a way that makes it all feel so real.

If you want a wild ride that keeps you wanting more, read these books. I promise it's more than worth it.

5) Catching Fire-Suzanne Collins

Obviously this was what I would write about next. You can't read the first one, have the second (and third) at your disposal and say, "eh. I can get to it another day." No. It doesn't work that way. The moment you put the first one down, the second one is immediately opened regardless of the time of day because these books are like crack. Phew, it feels so good to say that out loud!

This has to be my favorite book in the trilogy. By now, characters and storylines have been established (and quite well, I might add) and based on the ending of the first one, we're ready to figure out how the hell these people are going to be able to live in this society. Just when you think that everything is okay and we're going to skip into the grimy sunset of district twelve, all HELL breaks loose. Shit gets wild. President Snow becomes very reminiscent of Narnia's White Witch. It's fine. I'm not now emotionally screwed up by Part Two of the novel. No, siree! 

Part One of the story is what you might expect. Part Two throws you for a total loop. Part Three begins to slowly eat away at your soul. No big deal. We meet a few new characters in Part Two and I am personally infatuated by the arrogant tribute, Finnick Odair. Why? I don't know, but I would like to see Hunter Parrish portray him in the movie. JUST SAYING. 

It's hard to discuss this without giving away too much of either plot, so I apologize if this isn't exactly what you were hoping for. I can assure you that despite the insanity of the first one, this one trumps it in that category. You can't stop screaming, reading for hours or wondering why fiction is torturing you this bad. 

Halfway through this book, I quickly began to understand the feeling people get when they read Harry Potter or Twilight. I was overly in love and there was no going back.

4) The Hunger Games-Suzanne Collins

Here's the situation, guys. Last year, I was absolutely beaten over the damn head by emails from various book vendors prodding me to pre-order, "run out and buy it today!" and asking me why I hadn't gotten my copy of the final book in the trilogy. I shook it off (like a moron) and it wasn't until about a week later when the woman I babysit for told me that it was absolutely imperative to read these books. So, I took her advice.

THANK GOD I DID.

In a nutshell, this is a trilogy of a future where America has fallen to ruin and replaced by thirteen districts run by the capitol. By the time this novel starts, thirteen has been destroyed 75 years prior due to a rebellion held by the districts. To show the districts who's boss, the capital begins taking two tributes, a boy and a girl, from every district once a year to participate in an arena battle to the death called the hunger games. Readers follow the main character, Katniss, as she (very obviously) becomes a tribute in the 74th annual games.

While it takes a chapter or two to get into the story, it's impossible to put down once you really get into the groove. Despite her being a bit of a difficult girl, you can't stop yourself from rooting for Katniss and soon enough, absolutely impossible to avoid falling in love with her fellow tribute, Peeta Mellark (okay, that's really just for the girls, but let's not focus on that). It's a roller coaster of emotions. I often found myself screaming, "AH! OH MY GOD!" or "WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON?" or "NOO! THAT CAN'T BE HAPPENING! STOP!" Naturally, these are all said aloud because you simply can't hold it in.

There are a few scenes here and there that can get pretty graphic violence wise once the tributes enter the arena, but you overlook it because it's so completely well written. Collins manages to make you feel so deeply for these characters and simply loathe any character who poses a threat to them. As you approach the last few chapters, your eyes can't take in the words fast enough and you're wondering what the hell is happening. Did that just happen? Did that character really just say that? How could I possibly be so hurt on behalf of a fictional human on paper? It's absolutely bizarre. 

But trust me when I say, this will be the book that leaves you clamoring for the second one the moment you close the book. Once you're hooked, there's no getting out.

3) The Betrayal-Harold Pinter

Generally speaking, I don't really like to read plays. As this was required reading for an English course I later dropped, I didn't want to read it even more. For whatever reason, reading plays isn't that exciting to me. I would rather see it acted out by a cast of lovely actors in a dimly lit theatre that blasts that AC like we're walking on the sun. Oddly enough, I was happy that I was forced to read this. 

As if it wasn't already obvious, this play focuses on the idea of betrayal. While most plays start at the beginning and have a specific end point or perhaps focus on flashbacks, this worked more like a Tarantino film in the sense that we started at the very end and worked backwards to figure out how we got to page one. That might have been what I enjoyed most, to be honest. I had so many questions with each year the story took us back to and just wanted some answers. That was the thing. You couldn't get the answers by setting down the book and thinking, "Okay. This is what's going to happen. I just know it." No, you fool. You don't know it. You don't understand it until the very last page. 

The relationship between the four characters is completely messed up, but in the most interesting way. It really gives you an idea of how easily someone can feel like they aren't getting enough out their lives, so they think it's A-OK to go ahead and act out of impulse. It's a very human play that sort of makes you stop and think. Are people really this self-absorbed? Why are people so dishonest? Why do so many find it necessary to one up one another in the hurt department? It causes the mind to be a bit cynical, but sometimes, we all have those moments. Then we remember it was just a play.

2) The Notebook-Nicholas Sparks

Yes, children. I did it. I caved and finally read The Notebook. Call me curious, call me emotionally unstable the week I decided to read this, call me what you will. After going through a bit of a Nicholas Sparks kick last year ("Oh my god, Megan. Dear John is the best book EVER."-two months later-"Oh my god, Megan. The Last Song is the greatest thing you'll ever read."), I vowed to never read this book turned movie that forces me to feel sad, lonely and depressed and continue sobbing twenty minutes after the menu has already popped back up (I like to file that movie under the "watch alone to save yourself" category). 

For whatever reason, with six Sparky books under my belt, I found myself staring at the wall in Borders that houses his work in January. I perused the selection and kept coming back to this one. "Forget it," I said. "I'm going to buck up and do it. Bite the bullet, you idiot. It's just a book." I grabbed it, paid with my hard earned cash and walked swiftly from the store to prevent myself from returning it. I then plopped myself down, mentally prepared myself and opened to the first page.

After reading for about half an hour, I quickly realized that this was a rare moment. I actually like the movie much better than the book! After a bit more reading, the material solidified my response. Where the movie had grace and a vivid and winding tale of young love transcending all obstacles, the book leaves us with merely a few paragraphs to give you a background to Allie and Noah's relationship prior to her return to Seabrooke once he's rebuilt the plantation. The book lacked the fluidity that the film so wonderfully provides and was haphazard in its storytelling. I know, right? How often does that happen?

But don't worry, kids. Those awful, heaving sobs you experience during those last few scenes-"It was us!" always rips my heart apart-are still present with the book. By the time I had reached a certain point, I realized trying not to cry was utterly futile and was forced to lock myself in a room where I could quietly sob. The relationship we all so dearly love on-screen is just as soul crunching despite the lack of background information. 

Am I happy that I read it? Yes. Would I have felt that the movie adaptation was better than the book had I read it before the movie came out? Absolutely. In my opinion, if you haven't read it yet and certainly have no desire to read it, stick with the DVD and the constant loop it has on Oxygen. It's much better and hey, it has Ryan Gosling. Where's the downside?

1) Philippa Fisher and the Fairy's Promise-Lis Kessler

Yes, I understand that this is a book aimed at those still in elementary/middle school, but Liz Kessler writes some really wonderful books, okay? Now, here me out!

Here, we once again meet Philippa Fisher and enter another adventure with her fairy godsister, Daisy (I know, I know. Am I loosing you yet? Just wait a tick!). The portal between the fairy world and the human world is threatening to close and essentially, that would cause all hell to break loose. Could everything lose its splendor? Can Philippa and Daisy's friendship be both world's saving grace? Oh, no!

Okay, so. This is the third book in the Philippa Fisher series. While I am a bigger fan of her original series, Emily Windsnap, I thought I would give this series a whirl. The first one was cute, the second one was really quite fun and this third one left me hoping she intends on writing a fourth book. This one just left me...wanting more? I was left sort of disappointed with this one. I was so excited after reading the second one, but this one just wasn't as exciting as I was hoping it would be. The writing is fun and light-hearted, but I just didn't feel the plot was as good as the first two. 

I was going to write more, but I feel that that was sufficient enough. If you like the idea of fairies, this is the series for you. If you're more into mermaids, I would definitely recommend her Emily Windsnap series (I actually kicked someone out of my house the day the fourth one landed on my doorstep). Her books are fun and quick reads. 

This is how we do it.

Ah, a fresh, new blog. What a way to spend a Saturday night, huh? I suppose informing the interwebz of my intentions would be a wonderful idea, no? So, here it goes.

Often, I am asked for suggestions on what my friends should read or asked to give others a general idea of whatever book my nose is glued to at that time (As a general rule, I try not to leave the house without a book in my bag. You never know when you'll get stuck by a train or caught in traffic or someone decided it would be a good idea to play Jumanji two blocks over and elephants are on the loose causing mayhem). It has also been my goal over the last few years to read at least 100 books per year (excluding 2009. Thank you, sparkly vampires, for ruining my stride). 

So, I thought, what better way to spread the magic of recreational reading and sidestep frequently perusing my library for my friends than to start a blog? Every time I finish a new book, I will post a photo of the book, my thoughts and somewhat of a review. I refuse to go into detail about plots (unless they're general knowledge) because you have to read it in order for this blog to serve its purpose. 

So, here I am. Writing a blog. Well, here goes nothing!