My Favorite Books/Series (Part 1)

Okay, listen:  I know this is a really lame post, but since I am still a fairly new blog, it only seems fair to give you guys an idea of the books I hold most dear to my heart so that people can make educated decisions as to whether the content I will put on this blog will be for you.  Before I begin, however, there is one disclaimer.  None of these books are in any particular order except for my favorite, which I put first on the list.  Okay, let’s get started!

1.  The Stand by Stephen King.  This is my favorite book of all time, hands down.  It is also the longest book I’ve ever read, as it is a behemoth with around 1200 or so pages.  King’s classic novel about a world that has been decimated by a horrible virus and the subsequent rebuilding done by survivors is as close to perfect as any book I’ve ever read.  The characters and settings are just beautifully crafted, and just writing this makes me want to go read it again!

2.  Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling.  To be honest, so many readers my age got their start on these books that I feel relatively certain that I don’t really need to list it because it is sort of a universal given that book readers like this book (though I know there are exceptions).  Harry Potter’s journey is so well-known that even people who have never read a book or seen a movie of the series have a vague idea as to what it is about.

3.  The Princess Bride by William Goldman.  Okay, I didn’t even know this was a book growing up when I watched the movie, so when I saw it at a bookstore one day, I got really, really excited.  The movie is one of my favorites, but part of why it is so good is because of the incredible strength of its source text.  This is one of the wittiest books I have ever read, with parts that just make me fall over from laughing so hard.

4.  Lady Audley’s Secret by Mary Elizabeth Braddon.  Normally, I admit to not being the biggest fan of books that I am required to read for my English major, but this book is a huge exception.  It is a classic sensation novel, which is sort of the modern-day equivalent of a thriller.  Honestly, to say any more than that would probably spoil the best parts of this book, so I won’t say anything more about the plot.  What I will say, however, is that the language doesn’t get bogged down with the typical Victorian tradition of using fifty words when five would have sufficed, so I highly recommend giving this one a try.

5.  Night by Elie Wiesel.  The rest of these books are my favorites because they are a lot of fun to read.  This book is a favorite of mine because of how much it haunts me.   Wiesel’s recounting of his experiences during the holocaust are the most vivid I have ever read in a book and the story he has to tell is excruciatingly painful to read.  Don’t expect to sit down and read it in a sitting, because more than likely, you will put the book down at least once because it is too painful to keep reading.

Well, there you guys go!  There are 5 of my favorite books.  I have a lot of other books I love, so I may continue to make “favorite book” lists (hence the “Part 1” in the title), but I don’t want to throw thirty books in one blog!  As always, leave a comment if you want to recommend books or just chat about the books I put down here.