Favorite Books

Reading is a pleasure. I'm lucky to have friends that seem to think so too. I can remember nights where a best friend and I would discuss all of our emotional feelings about The Great Gatsby after skimming through a Barnes & Noble. As my friend puts it, reading is her escape. I can't brag like that; I do not read as often as I would like, but I do make an effort to read every day and I can say that when I am reading I am nothing less than content.
I did a post about my favorite books about a year ago that was inspired by a similar post done by Moorea Seal, and since then I have been exposed to several others that make the top ten. These books may vary drastically but I love them all the same.
Some of my favorite books include (in no particular order):

-The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald

-Small Wonder by Barbara Kingsolver

-The Giver by Lois Lowry

-Le Petit Prince by Antoine De Saint-Exupery 

-Lord of the Flies by William Golding

-Stargirl by Jerry Spinelli 

-The Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka

-Pride & Prejudice by Jane Austen 

-The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls

-The Giving Tree by Silverstein

In Moorea's version of this post she asks the question "what does liking these books say about me?" so I posed this same question to myself. Here is what I uncovered...

The Great Gatsby 

I love this book for several reasons: the 1920s setting, the hidden messages about society, but what I really love most is Gatsby. Gatsby is a hopeless dreamer and romantic. I read the book for the first time and thought of him as just a blind fool but as I read it again I realized how much I love Gatsby and for one reason only: I relate to him. I often feel like the queen bee of hopelessly large dreams and goals, and seeing this quality in a character made me really love this book. He does reach a sad end, but still the book is so eloquent and lovely I can't leave it upset. To me this book says more than my love of vintage culture or deeper meaning, but how much I really enjoy large dreams from hard dreamers no matter if they are successful or not. 

Small Wonder 

If you haven't read a book by Barbara Kingsolver then please fix that soon. She is one of my most favorite authors and I absolutely love everything she writes. This book is a collection of nonfiction essays on topics ranging from the tragic 9/11 event to Red Macaws in Costa Rica. What I love most is that Kingsolver really knows how to appreciate all the beautiful things of life. This book gave me an appreciation of nature and humanity that I had never had before. I think more than saying something about me this book says something about what I've learned this year: the value of life and our environment. It inspires by to travel the world, and to write about my life, and to live aware of life's simplicities, such as birds chirping and long talks with friends. I really really just love this book. 

Le Petit Prince

I don't want to seem like a snob for posting a French book here (I read it first in english anyway) but I really can't help it; I'm a francophile. In all honesty though, the reason I love it has nothing to do with it being french. If I had three words to describe this book they would be the following: provoking, magical, and human. This book really brings out the importance of imagination and not losing ourselves as we grow up. It's a beautiful book that makes me rethink my priorities and makes me sad that time moves so quickly. I realize that no matter how many plans I make, a part of me will never want to grow up or move on. It also shows how much I enjoy creative and magical thoughts and feelings like my own. After reading this book I pondered my priorities for about a week and like Small Wonder it makes me want to enjoy all the little things in life that we seem to neglect due to "maturity" and growing up. 

The Glass Castle 

This nonfiction autobiography took my breath away. I could not let go of it I felt like I was reading all day and night because it was so captivating. The story of Jeanette Walls and her awe inspiring past really hits my heart and makes me feel so blessed. The back story clean and simple: she is amazing. Her past was something that most people in that situation would end up crazy, homeless, or dead even, but she thrived and its probably one of the most amazing stories I've ever heard. It's hard to explain in detail the story without getting too into it so you just have to trust me. It's good. I'm so interested in people's stories, but really I can't put my finger on what this says about me. This book teaches me how grateful I should be for living so comfortably and it also plays on my favorite belief that no matter who you are you can do anything. 

The other books on this little list have shorter explanations but I love them none-the-less.

The Giver and Lord of the Flies really play into my love of futuristic dystopias and fallen societies. I love anything that exposes human nature at its worst and finest. This holds true for The Metamorphosis. I know its creepy and kind of weird but I can't help but love it. I soak up stories like these like a sponge and the dork inside of me loves analyzing how these types of books display different themes and archetypal characters. 

Stargirl and The Giving Tree are two of my favorite books from my earlier days. I love Stargirl for much of the same reason that I love Gatsby, I can relate to her. Stargirl is quirky and stands out with her hippie skirts and smiles that make her spiritless middle school turn its head to the side and wonder. Call me a hipster but I really admire that kind of character. The Giving Tree really just displays my favorite thing in the whole world: complete selfless love. It's "kids" book but I read it from time to time whenever I need to be reminded about what truly matters.

Finally, Pride & Prejudice. Do I have to say more? Everything about this book is wonderful. Every Jane Austen book is wonderful. Call me a hopeless romantic, because I am, and this book completely satisfies that mentality. Love stories like this one nowadays maybe a dime a dozen, but back when this was first written it was shocking and crazy to think that a woman could even write books. This I think makes me enjoy it more than your average love story. The main character Elizabeth is also so much more woman than your lame Twilight character, and all the other characters create an ensemble of personalities that I feel like I can relate it to my own family. Really, this book is just wonderful for too many reasons. 

Books were first. Before movies, or Youtube, or photographs. Writing was what told you a story and all of these books tell wonderful stories that are as vivid and real, if not more, than any video I've ever seen. Writing this post makes me want to read them all over again! What books do you love? much love, sarah jasmine.