You Gotta Read This...

Even the people that I've heard say they don't like to read, will admit to reading if the book is good enough. Well today, I'm going to give you 5 books that are absolutely worth it - while trying not to spoil them...

I personally love to read, it's a mental thing for me. I love to escape into a fictional world and live amongst the characters. In fact, I love it so much that it can be a dangerous thing. I will sacrifice anything for a good book, sleep, homework, studying, eating, etc. I'll even hurt my own feelings by finishing the story too quickly. I'll even hurt my own feelings by being too emotionally involved with completely made-up characters and their lives - but hey, you can't judge.

So, all of that to say, below are my top 5 books of all time. I'm talking read it in one day, turning the page before you've finished the previous one, cry until you laugh and laugh until you cry kinda top 5. Get ready folks because trust me, you're gonna want to read these.

(Also these are in no particular order - I simply can't pick a favorite)

1 The Apothecary by Maile Meloy

This book was one of the first books that I truly could not put down. I don't even remember how or where I got it, but I have read it 3 times now and I treasure it.

This story is about a girl who moves to London with her family in 1952. She befriends the son of the local apothecary and suddenly, the Apothecary goes missing, and these two teens gotta find him...with Russian spies who are armed with nuclear weapons on their trail. It's an adventure, it's full of plot twists, and it'll have you on the edge of your seat.

Also, while looking for the link to this book today, I found out it's a SERIES. Brb on my way to order ALL OF THEM.

2 Thanks For The Trouble by Tommy Wallach

While the previous book was the first that I truly couldn't put down, this is the first book I read entirely in one day. A boy who's mute by choice, a silver-haired girl who is fiery and fierce, and a story that will absolutely captivate you. It's fast paced and will have you white knuckling the pages. There's also a few serious topics mixed in about grief and death, so be aware if those are sensitive topics for you.

3 The Girl He Used To Know by Tracey Garvis Graves

I bought this book from Target because it was 20% off. I finished the book before I went to class the next day. This is one of those books that I was mad at myself for finishing so fast. It tells a story of two college-sweethearts and their journey back to each other - but oh no, it's not sappy. You see, the chapters go back and forth from the present times, to important moments from the couples previous relationship. The best part - the author reveals what you need to know, as you read. She doesn't just fact-dump at the beginning, but let's you get to know the characters and story as you go, just like how the characters are re-meeting each other.

SPOILER ALERT: The main character has autism and as someone who has a variety of special needs in her family, I'm always very skeptical of how these types of situations will be portrayed. But I have to say, the author presents it all very well, and the dynamic of the character does not revolve around autism, but instead around her as a person.

4 Leaf By Niggle - J.R.R. Tolken

I was reading Every Good Endeavor by Timothy Keller and he mentioned this book. The summary he gave instantly made me want to read it and boy, am I glad I did. This short novel was written during J.R.R. Tolken's mid-writer's block spiritual awakening. He was writing the Lord Of The Rings series and simply came to a breaking point. This short novel is the way that he explains what the Lord taught him during this time and how his faith became real. This book has changed the way that I view success, work, and drive. I highly suggest this book for the reason of encouragement.

5 Harry Potter and The Half-Blood Prince by J.K. Rowling

Oh the love of my life: Harry Potter. If you know me at all, you know I am a Harry Potter junkie. Sometimes, I even go on Quizlet just to take fact and trivia quizzes to make sure my knowledge is still all there. The Harry Potter series are the books that started my true love of reading. I'm specifically mentioning Half-Blood Prince because it is my favorite of the series, but I do love them all dearly.

HBP is my personal favorite though because this is the book where all the different plots start coming together. We learn why Harry has been on the adventures written about in the previous five books, and get a glimpse of what is to come in the final one. I will admit, Rowling almost put the puzzle together backwards with this series, giving us all of the middle pieces first. But this book is the edge pieces. This book gets everything to start making sense.

I highly advise you read the first 5 before reading this one, but when/if you do read this one, just remember it's my favorite ;)

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In all honesty, I just bought two new books today to read over spring break. For all we know, I'll have to re-write this post in 2-weeks to tell you about them instead. But for now, these are my top 5 and in all honesty, I don't see it changing anytime soon.

Let me know if you decide to check any of these books out, and what you think about them!

As always, if you click on the pictures, it'll take you right to the amazon page of the book!

Go get reading.

ttyl,

Carrie