Books, Glorious Books!

Today I am grateful for the ability to read, and more specifically the ability to read good literature! I've always been something of a bookworm, a fact that my parents can well attest. When I was little, I had a night light in my room. At night, when my parents thought I was asleep, I would sneakily read the latest Baby-sitter's Club or Nancy Drew mystery. That is, until I got caught and had my trusty night light taken away. As I got older I tried other tricks, but my parents were way too smart. Who knew? :)

About that same time, my elementary school library held a writing contest. The topic was why you would want to be a librarian, or another similar topic. I, of course, entered because I, of course, wanted to be a librarian. And guess what? I won an honorable mention! My answer was somewhere along the lines that I wanted to be a librarian because I wanted to read all the books in the library.

To this day, I wouldn't mind being a librarian, and have even thought about going into library science. After seeing You've Got Mail, I wanted to own a bookstore/tea shop because I don't drink coffee, but I love the atmosphere of coffee shops. Anyhoo. I think you get the point...I'm slightly obsessed with reading and books.

This obsession  hasn't died down since being overseas. In fact, it may have heightened because I don't get out much. And after a long day of teaching, curling up with a good book and a large mug of mint tea is absolutely wonderful. I think I've probably read 10 books since I've been in Taiwan. Some of them have been fluff, but I've tried to read more of the "Classics."

Here's a list of some of my favorites:

Move over Jane Austen (I never thought I would say that because I'm a die-hard Jane Austen reader). This book is fabulous, and I may like the love story even more than Elizabeth and Darcy's.

This book really helped me through a difficult time, and coming to terms with some things that were happening in my life. It taught me how to let go and move on. I really admired the author's determination and passion for the year of her life portrayed in this book.

I've been meaning to read this book for years! And I finally bought a cheap copy of it here. I'm fascinated by the whole "Big Brother" theme. It makes me think. It made me realize how blessed I am to live in a nation where we are free, and we're lucky that we don't live in a society that is completely controlled by an elitist group. Parts of the book still confuse me, but it made me value what I do have, and made me vow to always exercise my constitutional rights. I know that there is much more to this book, but I don't have the brain-power at the moment to really get into it.

Going with the whole "Big Brother" theme, this book was a page turner, and I finished it and it's sequel in three days. It's juvenile literature, but it still brings up similar themes and questions posed in 1984.

This is one of Dan Brown's lesser known books, but I really found it to be fascinating. For one, the main character is a woman, and she's pretty awesome. And it's all about the NSA, code-breaking, and internet security. Truly fascinating.

One of my favorite humanities classes at BYU was Prof. Sederholm's American Humanities. It was split into two semesters and I took both halves by him. Simply amazing. Anyhow, in that class we learned all about the World's Fair. This book is about the Chicago World's Fair, but takes a new angle. At that same time in Chicago, there was a serial killer at large. This book connects the two and in the mean while weaves a fascinating tale. It's non-fiction, and sometimes it's hard to find non-fiction that is so riveting.

This is probably the best book I've read all year! Seriously. It's clean, it's witting, and thoroughly entertaining. It is set in post-WW2 England. Honestly, I can't get much more into it without wanting to give too much of it away. Just read it. Now. I really mean it.

Right now I'm in the process of reading The Alchemist, and am already in love. When I finally settle down, I'm going to have to have many, many, many shelves to house all of my wonderful books.

I'm grateful that I can read. Wouldn't it be a shame if I couldn't?

P.S. What's a good book you've read lately? I'd love to have suggestions!