Wednesday, April 21, 2010

what a beautiful day...


no, it really is. i woke up this morning to gloriously stormy skies--we might even get rain!!! i love rain.

anyhow, i had this thought.

somebody mentioned something about wanting to find a book that is wonderful and captivates the heart and mind like those books that first kindled their love of reading as a child (okay, so i might have tweaked their words a smidge there. but that was the basic idea.)

so i was thinking...

maybe everyone could list the top five books that they have read, judging by the lovability of the characters, the imaginative-ness of the plot and setting, and just the overall quality!!

sound good?

i'll go first.

i am an avid Harry Potter fan. how avid--i will leave that up to your imagination. (*cough*practically memorized first six books*cough*)
but since probably everyone has already read these books, i will leave them off the list (Harry Potter, you will always be first in my heart...)
okay. moving on.

1. The Host

*(disclaimer: mild spoilers may follow, but i'm pretty sure that they're things you can read on the book sleeve anyway).

okay, so you might not be a die-hard (or should i say twi-hard) Stephanie Meyer fan, but, come on, this book was great! it had a depth to it that was sometimes lacking in the Twilight books. after all, what is more serious and thought-provoking than the end of humanity--brought about by creatures that it is very hard to hate? i thought that the characters displayed real human flaws that only made them more lovable. i also thought that the sci fi premise made for a very interesting storyline--although i'm glad that Meyer didn't turn it into a full-blown sci fi (no, am i not a sci fi fan. sorry to those of you who are). i was hooked from the beginning (well, after the first 20 pages were over and i figured out what the heck was going on). After all, humanity is on the brink of extinction--how in the world do you solve that?? and the setting was very effective and realistic (trust me, i live in phoenix).

2.

wow. picking number two was hard. i had to peruse my book shelves and cry over all the poor rejects. but i finally did it.

actually, i couldn't do it. i had to change the criteria. instead of your 5 top (favorite, best) books, i am changing it to 5 favorite book recommendations. phew. i feel better. picking top favorites is way too hard.

2. (finally...) Pride and Prejudice

this is a perfect book. it has already been reviewed so many times that i don't think i can really add much, but if you haven't read it...you probably should (unless you don't like ANY Romantic British fiction).

3. Howl's Moving Castle

to those who say that this book does not make sense or is just plain weird, i say: well, that's Dianna Wynne Jones for you. i don't think it changes the fact that this is one of the best books i have ever read. (okay, i am probably just a sucker for Howl's character..i guess i can see why my ex-boyfriend wasn't smitten). i don't want to give away any spoilers, but i loved both the quirky characters and the quaint setting.

4. The Fox

yes. i am cheating. this is the second book in a series (which i did not think was very good after this installment, btw). but i had to mention it. this-is-the-second-book-in-an-intricately-woven-fantasy-series-by-Sherwood-Smith.-the-characters-are-complex-and-troubled-and-the-plot-is-VERY-exciting.

okay.

4. (for real this time, mwahahahaha) The Truth About Forever/This Lullaby/Just Listen

yes. i am cheating again. but this is my blog, so i make the rules anyway.
i loved all three of these books by Sarah Dessen. i thought that the characters were completely believable and realistic, and i personally identified with all of them (in different ways each time, though). while i certainly wouldn't recommend these to a guy, they make wonderful reads for a teen girl (i even made my mom read them!).

5. Eldest

i don't know about you, but i thought Eragon was flawed in a lot of ways. while Eldest still wasn't perfect, Paolini's writing really matured between books. i thought that this was the best of all three books (which apparently isn't the end of what was supposed to be the Inheritance trilogy...)


so...my book choices may kind of give me away. a lot of them are fantasy. yes, i love reading fantasy. it is also what i love to write. (also, did you see how i sneakily got 6 entries in there?? smooth moves like that are why...well, why my family doubts my honesty. the unfairness.)

(note: don't miss the favorite novel genre poll over on the side--i want to know what your fav genres are too! ---------->)

oh no!! is that a ray of sunshine peeking peeking through the clouds?? urgent matters call! i must depart!

until next time...

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