Books I've read recently.

Day #23: Your favorite book.

East of Eden by John Steinbeck

I read this book in high school and it changed my life. Steinbeck always does such a great job of developing his characters. I wish I could describe my love for this book. I can only say that the word timshel (though mayest) will change your life too, if you decide to read it.

Hollywood should really make a film of this movie. Yes, they already did back in the 50s with James Dean, but it only tells part of the story. In fact I've never seen it, because it's not very close to the book. There was a TV mini-series made back in the 80s with Jane Seymour (as Kate), and I'm still not sure if that would do it justice... maybe someday there will be a film made that is almost as good as the book.

Books are so vital to who I am today. I spent countless hours reading as a kid. Some of my favorite authors were Beverly Cleary, Roald Dahl and C.S. Lewis. I remember reading Charlie and the Chocolate Factory in elementary school, and when Charlie finally finds the golden ticket I was so excited that I went up to my teacher's desk and told her how exciting it was. She told me to go sit down and be quiet... kind of funny in retrospect. 

In 7th and 8th grade we read some outstanding novels. My teachers truly knew how to pick some great reads. Some of my favorites were The Martian Chronicles (which began my long love affair with Ray Bradbury, especially his short stories), To Kill A Mockingbird, The Pearl and Of Mice and Men. These books encouraged me to read some other great novels in high school (through school and on my own). In college I stopped reading as much because I was so busy. Reading seemed almost like a chore because I had to do so much reading as it was. Now that I've graduated I've read some fantastic books! Here are some of the books I've read since the end of December.

Gunn's Golden Rules: Life's Little Lessons for Making it Work by Tim Gunn

Okay so maybe this book won't go down in history as one of American Literature's top 100, but I LOVED this book! I am one of the biggest Tim Gunn fans you will ever meet (Project Runway, anyone?), and this book taught me a lot of great tips on etiquette. The etiquette tips weren't things like which fork to use at a dinner party, but more just in dealing with people in every day life, and your attitude. I highly recommend this one to you, especially you women.

Great Expectations by Charles Dickens

This book, on the other hand, is a great British classic. Jake and my sister-in-law Kim inspired me to read this one. I very much enjoyed it. Just like Steinbeck, Dickens' characters are so well established. Pip's character was so able to relate to.

The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien

Another book that Jake encouraged me to read. It's one of his favorites. I wish I had read it when i was younger, because as much as I enjoyed it at age 22, I think my 12 year old self would have loved it even more. I was really big into fantasy adventure books at that age. 

The Boy Detective Fails by Joe Meno

One of the most unique reads I've come across. Joe Meno has a distinctive, indie-esque style that was on the verge of being annoying. The story itself was superb! But sometimes he would have 2 sentence chapters, each  taking up an entire page, just to be profound. Also, since it follows a boy detective into his adult life, we have to decipher codes to figure out what is going on in the story. Pretty annoying. I ended up just looking up the codes and their meanings online, because Meno's instructions made very little sense. As far as plot and interest, I do still recommend it.

The Jungle by Upton Sinclair

To be fair, I didn't actually finish this book. I got about 85% of the way, and then just couldn't handle it anymore. Don't get me wrong, I actually enjoyed what I read. Very enlightening, and I cared very much for the characters. But there was just too much downfall for poor Jurgis. Every time things started looking up, he would lose his job. I don't even mind a sad ending; many of my books have these. But I feel like I got Sinclair's point, and really needed to move on. 

Room by Emma Donoghue

This book is one of THE best books I have ever ever read. It is told in the point of view of a five year old boy, Jack. He and his mom are stuck in a room, and he's been there his whole life. That's about all I can say without giving more away. But holy cow, this book was so incredible. My only beef with it was that I wish it was longer! 

I also reread East of Eden recently, just to remember all the little reasons why I loved it the first time. So now I'm looking for a new book. I tried reading Water For Elephants again, and actually was enjoying it! But there's a part somewhat near the beginning that was... well, off putting. I think I'll find something else to read.

What would you recommend?