Favorite Books

I’ll admit it… I love the Twilight series. You can’t really judge unless you have read all of the books, because I think that the books are a million times better than the movies. Not that I don’t enjoy me some Jasper Cullen in the movies, though! I have, however, read many other books as well. I tend to enjoy biographies and other books that tell true stories. I also like to read mysteries and sci-fi books. I’m all over the board when it comes to books. Here are some books that have stuck with me over the years.

Ender’s Game – Orson Scott Card

When I read this book, I could not put it down! I saw it many times in the past, but never thought I would enjoy it, even though it always came up as a recommendation for me on Amazon. It takes place in a future after the world has been attacked by an alien species (called “Buggers”) and is preparing for a third invasion. The children of Earth are picked and trained early to be soldiers in an army to fight off the third attack. Ender Wiggins turns out to be a special kid whose genius proves to be useful. He is the star at Battle School, and his skills earn him important missions. If you haven’t read Ender’s game, I suggest reading it! I am not really into sci-fi movies or anything, but this book is very well written and irresistible. I loved the character of Ender and his wisdom beyond his years.

The Hunger Games – Suzanne Collins

I guess I never knew how much I liked science fiction books until I compiled my list of favorites. Here is another book that I absolutely adored. This book was heartbreaking and empowering all at the same time. I found myself getting angry at the characters at times, and when a book can pull those emotions from you, you’ve got a great book. I liked the whole trilogy, but I think that the original book was my favorite. Every book was great, though. This book is about a post-apocalyptic world where a central government (called “The Capitol”) is ruling over all of the 12 other districts. Katniss Everdeen is a 16-year-old girl who lives in District 12, the poorest district. Every year, the Capitol picks two people from each district to compete in the Hunger Games, a televised “reality show” of sorts where the contestants fight until the death. At the end, there can only be one winner. If you haven’t read this trilogy – GO GET IT!

 

Tweak – Nic Sheff

I always think about this book from time to time because the ending is a bit unsettling. At the end of the book, Nic is doing well, but you don’t know how he is doing today. This book is pretty self-explanatory. It’s an autobiography written by Nic Sheff, who struggles with drug addiction. His story is unbelievable at times, but if you have known anyone who is a drug addict, you can easily imagine how things could get so bad. My best friend was a drug addict, and he had a lot of similarities to Nic. Luckily Nic was still alive at the end of his story – my best friend was not as lucky. I always wonder about Nic and how he is doing. He closed his blog a couple years ago, and I haven’t been able to find out much since then. This book is not for everyone, but I know that it really resonated with myself.

Jesus Land (A Memoir) - Julia Scheeres

This was a wonderfully written book about Julia's life - from a child in the Midwest through her teenage years. Julia has an adopted brother named David. It was interesting to me how differently the two kids were treated. Julia's mother is extremely religious and ends up sending David and Julia to a Christian boot camp in the Caribbean. She writes about her struggles throughout the years, and amazingly comes out of all of it sane. I bought this book on a whim in Toronto - it was on the sale rack for $4.99. It was well worth every penny spent and more.