Favorite Books

  by  Pilottage 

"Picking five favorite books is like picking the five body parts you'd most like not to loose." - Neil Gaiman.


Since I just finished two new reads, I'd like to share some of my favorite books until I go on a new book buying spree. For now, here are four favorite books I'd like to share.

• Flowers in the Attic by V.C. Andrews - I am in love with this book. Although it's slightly sick (like many of her novels) this is still my absolute favorite. I think I've read this book at least fourteen times so I guess that says a lot. I cringed a little when Stephen King berated this book in On Writing. I first read this novel when I was fairly young (maybe too young because I don't think I fully understood what happened between Cathy and Chris) and truly think this was the book that made me say "I want to be an author someday." Yes, it is unrealistic that the main characters say things like "Golly gee," and that the bad guys' motives aren't very strong but personally, I still think V.C. Andrews is an excellent writer. I've never fallen so in love with a plot or a book's characters before. I couldn't wait to read the sequels and basically feel this way about every V.C. Andrew book I have read, which is a lot. This novel was #1 on the NY bestsellers list. It follows four children who start off with the perfect life, but eventually, are locked in an attic in their grandparent's house because of their mother's greed and grandmother's cruelty. It details their struggles, which include a grandmother who whips them, puts tar in Cathy's hair, and tells them they are the "Devil's spawn,"and a mother who buys them gifts, but visits them more and more sporadically. Chris struggles as he comes into manhood, but is isolated from the rest of the world. Anyone I meet who has read this book always says the same thing "Oh my gosh, you read that too? Wasn't it amazing?" So please add this one to your lists :) Here are the sequels if you want to check them out as well: Petals on the Wind, If There Be Thorns, Seeds of Yesterday, and Garden of Shadows. A quote from the novel: “Love doesn't always come when you want it to. Sometimes it just happens despite your will.” 
• My Sister's Keeper by Jodi Picoult - This is the first book I read that made me continue reading Jodi Picoult books from here on out. If you've already seen the movie, then reading the book may not have the same effect, but it's definitely still worth the read. I read this book before the movie came out and this is such a cliche, but I think the book was a lot better than the movie. If you haven't heard of either, the book follows Anna who has had several transfusions and shots throughout her life so that her sister Kate can battle leukemia; Anna's bone marrow matches Kate's. Eventually Anna decides she wants her body back and goes to see a lawyer, a decision that threatens to rip her family apart. Throughout the novel you discover various secrets about the main characters and their decisions. Although they didn't use this ending in the movie, the end of the book will shock you. A quote from the novel: “You don't love someone because they're perfect, you love them in spite of the fact that they're not.” 
• Plain Truth by Jodi Picoult - I loved this book. Katie, a young Amish girl, secretly gives birth in a barn, then denies that the birth ever happened. However, the next day someone finds the baby dead in the barn and a non-Amish lawyer comes to defend the girl. Ellie, the defense lawyer, must question the Amish peoples' different sense of justice, Katie's claims that she remembers nothing that happened, and Elie's own sense of morality. This novel has so many levels to it; a love story, a clash of cultures, and a surprising ending. A quote from the novel: “If you didn't remember something happening, was it because it never had happened? Or because you wished it hadn't?” 
• Prep by Curtis Sittenfeld - This was Curtis Sittenfeld's first book. The novel is so funny mainly because Lee Fiora, the protagonist, is so observant. When the novel starts, Lee is fourteen and the book details all of her experiences at a prestigious boarding school in Massachusetts. I once read an interview with Curtis Sittenfeld in which she discusses how in Prep, Lee overanalyzes everything, then overanalyzes everything again. But that's what I really enjoyed this book. I've read this one twice and have heard a lot of people say that they have done the same. I  almost died when my communication professor told us "I know Curtis." A quote from the novel: “I always worried someone would notice me, and then when no one did, I felt lonely.” 

So I hope you've found some new books to add to your TBR (the book to read) piles. Thanks again to my new readers :). Yesterday I was thrilled with reaching 200 page views and today we're almost at 300. And as of today we have reached 20 followers! I hope to have my first guest blogger once we reach 100 followers so if you enjoy some of these posts please feel free to follow the blog at the bottom of the page or tell your friends about it!


What are some of your favorite books? I'd love to hear from you! 

  by  Kıvanç NiÅŸ