In Elementary School I read because I loved the stories and loved to be a part of them. I had a huge imagination as a kid and would play make-believe stories all the time. Reading probably made that grow even more. I would make up my own stories in the games I was playing by myself, with characters and their relationships and a storyline that I acted out. And when I was old enough, I would even write out the stories I came up with. The library was one of my favorite places to go as a kid and I always participated in their summer reading programs. Many happy hours of my childhood were spent reading.
Cute, right? The only problem is, I recognize this book and I am pretty sure it is the How Babies are Made book. So maybe not the best example... haha
The beginning of seventh grade is when I really discovered Harry Potter and I was completely hooked. I will talk more about Harry Potter later, but discovering this series made me hungry for more books and I continued reading all through middle school. I remember that I read all the Tennis Shoes Among the Nephites books during this time too.
At the very beginning of high school I don't think I was reading very much, but then one day I was looking through a Desert Book magazine when I came across a LDS romance book that really caught my attention. I bought it, read it, and LOVED it. Ever since then I was hooked on romances. I had known for a long time that I had a sweet spot for a good love story, but I didn't realize that there was a whole category of books that were romances...and that there was a whole collection of clean, uplifting romances at stores like Desert Book. What followed was a very long wave of my passion for reading and especially romances, that has never really subsided. My sophomore year of High School is the year that I read all the time. Seriously, all the time. That year was a really hard year for me with friends, boys, etc and so I think reading definitely became my escape. I read for entertainment, I read to, in a way, 'meet people' through the characters, and experience new places. I learned so much about people and life from reading so much, but I also know looking back that I was living life on the sidelines. I was reading about life and learning a lot from that, but I was not getting first hand experience.
Wes and I shared a love of reading and most days I could be found to be reading in various spots like this one.
Later in High School as I regained a lot of the confidence I had lost through a difficult year, I spent a lot more time with friends and doing other things. Reading was not consuming my life quite as much and while it was definitely still ever present in my life, it was not as much for an escape and I was not as reliant on it. As I took an AP Psychology class and was really starting to discover my interest in people and relationships and discovering that it was what I wanted to do with my future, I began to realize other reasons of why I loved reading so much. At the end of my senior year I wrote an essay for a local library scholarship in which I was supposed to write about a book that had influenced my life. I wrote about one of Richard Paul Evans'(who is one of my favorite authors whom I will talking about again later) books and some of the quotes from it that have really influenced me. When I was talking about the quote that is written at the top right corner of my blog and that inspired this blog's name, I said the following:
I have a sincere and genuine interest in the lives and feelings of other people. It fascinates me that each person has their own individual and unique story that is unlike any other. My love of coming to understand the lives of others, with their joys and struggles, is one of the main reasons that I love to read novels. I like to be able to understand how people in a particular situation feel. Novels that give insight into the problems and struggles of various people give me a type of knowledge that I cherish. I use that knowledge to attempt to not judge people by how they appear, but rather see them for who they are beneath their outside appearance. When I understand how others feel and how they view things, I am able to treat them with more respect and develop compassion for them. I try to remember this quote when I am tempted to judge people without really knowing them.
This sums up the reasons I had for my love of reading then and it is definitely still true. When I finished High School I was still reading a lot, but when I went to my first year of college it took a break for a little while. I was experiencing so many new things and enjoying everything around me, and I was afraid that if I got hooked in a book I would get distracted from schoolwork. I remember talking to my dad on the phone one day and he said something about how I wasn't reading very much anymore and that it seemed like I was busy living life now instead of reading about it. I had never told him about what I said above about sophomore year and how it was my escape, but I guess he figured it out on his own. It was not until toward the end of winter semester when I had a lot lighter school load than I thought it would and found a lot of extra time that I started to read a lot again. I was trying to expand the type of books I was reading during that time too and discovered some great books that I wouldn't have otherwise. It was also when I discovered the first two books of the Hunger Games trilogy which I loved and I will talk more about later in this post as well. Then this summer I was able to read a lot too. Not quite as much as I had originally planned on since I was busy having a life as well, but I read during my lunch breaks and at other times and really loved it. I feel like I have reached a pretty good balance of living my life while also reading about life, and I have also figured out how to balance it in my college life. This semester I will definitely still be reading and actually I have already read three books(granted one of them was the last book in the Hunger Games trilogy and so I read in a little over a day). I have found that it is a really good way to fill my half hour bus ride to school and again home from school, and it is also a good break and relaxer when I need to take a break from schoolwork. So as long as I don't get carried away, I think it actually helps me rather than hurting me.
My family has a lot of pictures like this from our various travels...
This blog post originally was just going to be about my favorite books with just a short background at the beginning. But as you can see from above, it didn't end up being so short. Opps. So my favorite books.... First of all let me say that I have read SO MANY books and of those there have been SO MANY that I love, but these are just some of my favorites that always stand out in my mind and hold a special place in my heart.
*Harry Potter- I know there are so many people that agree with me and that this one doesn't need a lot of explaining.
I have reread this series many many times, but I got to reread most of them this summer for the first time doing since the last book has been out. Going back to the first book when I already knew the end and the whole story was a really cool experience. I am blown away by how J.K. Rowling had the whole story in her mind and how well she was able to connect and tie everything. Things that were introduced in the first books that seem minor come back in to be important in ways you would never imagine. I also think it is amazing that she successfully created this unique, detailed world that seems like it could be so real.
*The Hunger Games Trilogy- Wow. That's all I can say. I have been talking about this trilogy
a lot recently. And that's because it is so amazing!! Seriously, I loved these books. The premise of the story is unique; the characters are so great and so REAL; the distopia she creates is chilling and makes you really think about the world around you and your place in it, as it should; and she captures human nature and human conflict so beautifully. Also, I have to say the love story is great too :).
*The Work and the Glory series- I read this series in High School during the time that I
was reading a ton and I loved them!! I love the author Gerald Lund and have read almost all of his other books as well. I loved this series for many different reasons. They gave me a much greater appreciation for the events in LDS church history as well as a much more personal perspective. I have always heard about the events that happened, but when the characters in the story--characters that you have come to know and love like friends--are facing those events it becomes so much more personal. Another reason I loved these books is because Lund is so talented in understanding and capturing people and their relationships and emotions. Seeing the Steed family through time and trials and growing as others joined their family was quite an experience.
*All Richard Paul Evans books: I could easily
write a whole blog post about him and all his books, and I think I will sometime. There is SO much to say. But for now I will just say that I love his books and all of the insights into life and relationships that they offer. I have read almost all of his books(there are a lot of them, but the only ones that I haven't read are his very first ones which I intend on going back to read in the near future). I always know that I will like his books, because they are always a story about love. Not necessarily a romance, although many of them are, but about all kinds of love. And his books are always full of so many great quotes. Usually, he begins each chapter with a short journal entry from the main character and they are always so insightful. His stories often compel me to want to make a difference as well. And actually he gives you that opportunity. One of his novels was based around an actual orphanage in Peru and he has donations and projects set up to help and contribute to the orphanage. And there are many other similar things he does. So much of the money from his books goes to helping those he write about and I think it is amazing that he is making a difference both through his words and his money.
*All of Josi Kilpack's books- The part of my essay that I put in here that talks about one
reason I love reading definitely applies to why I love Josi Kilpack's books. When it comes to LDS fiction, she is who I love. She writes it like no one else does because she takes real life problems that plague the world today and then thinks about how that problem would be in the life of a member of the LDS faith and writes from that perspective. She had written about prescription drug addiction, infertility, divorce, internet predators, identity theft, abuse, and so much more. I realize that probably sounds like a lot of depressing books, but they are not. She writes about them in a way that helps you to understand the problem, sympathize with and better understand those that face it, and presents a hopeful and realistic solution for the character through the gospel. I love and own all of her books(except for one that I hope to get soon). And currently she has been writing a culinary mystery series that is a lot of fun. As seen in the picture, I got to meet her last April and it was so great!
*Ella Enchanted:
This one probably seems a little out of place with the rest of them seeing as it is an easy read from elementary school, but I love this book! I love the main character Ella and I think it is such a great story and sweet love story. I have reread it several times and love it every time that I read it :).
*The Last Song: I have not decided for sure if this one goes on my top
favorites list yet, but since finishing this book today is what inspired me to write this blog, I definitely felt like it deserved a spot :). I saw the movie that was based off of this book on Labor Day when I was at Brianne's apartment and really liked it. Brianne and her roommates had all read the book and kept telling me how great it was. So after the movie Brianne told me that I should definitely read the book because it was the kind of book I would like, and I borrowed it from her roommate. I finished it today and she was so right, I loved it! It has a really cute love story which is enough for someone to recommend it to me, but it was more than just the love story. There are so many great stories throughout the whole thing and so many different relationships with interesting dynamics. It is a love story(and a good one!) but it is also a story of family, friends, change, forgiveness, maturity, parenthood, faith, mistakes, truth, life, pain, happiness, God, and so much more. Although there is a main character, there are four different characters from who's point of view the story alternates and I love that aspect as well.
Like I said these are just a few of the many, many books that I love and I am pretty sure that there are many more amazing books to come!
*Harry Potter- I know there are so many people that agree with me and that this one doesn't need a lot of explaining.
I have reread this series many many times, but I got to reread most of them this summer for the first time doing since the last book has been out. Going back to the first book when I already knew the end and the whole story was a really cool experience. I am blown away by how J.K. Rowling had the whole story in her mind and how well she was able to connect and tie everything. Things that were introduced in the first books that seem minor come back in to be important in ways you would never imagine. I also think it is amazing that she successfully created this unique, detailed world that seems like it could be so real.
*The Hunger Games Trilogy- Wow. That's all I can say. I have been talking about this trilogy
a lot recently. And that's because it is so amazing!! Seriously, I loved these books. The premise of the story is unique; the characters are so great and so REAL; the distopia she creates is chilling and makes you really think about the world around you and your place in it, as it should; and she captures human nature and human conflict so beautifully. Also, I have to say the love story is great too :).
*The Work and the Glory series- I read this series in High School during the time that I
was reading a ton and I loved them!! I love the author Gerald Lund and have read almost all of his other books as well. I loved this series for many different reasons. They gave me a much greater appreciation for the events in LDS church history as well as a much more personal perspective. I have always heard about the events that happened, but when the characters in the story--characters that you have come to know and love like friends--are facing those events it becomes so much more personal. Another reason I loved these books is because Lund is so talented in understanding and capturing people and their relationships and emotions. Seeing the Steed family through time and trials and growing as others joined their family was quite an experience.
*All Richard Paul Evans books: I could easily
write a whole blog post about him and all his books, and I think I will sometime. There is SO much to say. But for now I will just say that I love his books and all of the insights into life and relationships that they offer. I have read almost all of his books(there are a lot of them, but the only ones that I haven't read are his very first ones which I intend on going back to read in the near future). I always know that I will like his books, because they are always a story about love. Not necessarily a romance, although many of them are, but about all kinds of love. And his books are always full of so many great quotes. Usually, he begins each chapter with a short journal entry from the main character and they are always so insightful. His stories often compel me to want to make a difference as well. And actually he gives you that opportunity. One of his novels was based around an actual orphanage in Peru and he has donations and projects set up to help and contribute to the orphanage. And there are many other similar things he does. So much of the money from his books goes to helping those he write about and I think it is amazing that he is making a difference both through his words and his money.
*All of Josi Kilpack's books- The part of my essay that I put in here that talks about one
reason I love reading definitely applies to why I love Josi Kilpack's books. When it comes to LDS fiction, she is who I love. She writes it like no one else does because she takes real life problems that plague the world today and then thinks about how that problem would be in the life of a member of the LDS faith and writes from that perspective. She had written about prescription drug addiction, infertility, divorce, internet predators, identity theft, abuse, and so much more. I realize that probably sounds like a lot of depressing books, but they are not. She writes about them in a way that helps you to understand the problem, sympathize with and better understand those that face it, and presents a hopeful and realistic solution for the character through the gospel. I love and own all of her books(except for one that I hope to get soon). And currently she has been writing a culinary mystery series that is a lot of fun. As seen in the picture, I got to meet her last April and it was so great!
*Ella Enchanted:
This one probably seems a little out of place with the rest of them seeing as it is an easy read from elementary school, but I love this book! I love the main character Ella and I think it is such a great story and sweet love story. I have reread it several times and love it every time that I read it :).
*The Last Song: I have not decided for sure if this one goes on my top
favorites list yet, but since finishing this book today is what inspired me to write this blog, I definitely felt like it deserved a spot :). I saw the movie that was based off of this book on Labor Day when I was at Brianne's apartment and really liked it. Brianne and her roommates had all read the book and kept telling me how great it was. So after the movie Brianne told me that I should definitely read the book because it was the kind of book I would like, and I borrowed it from her roommate. I finished it today and she was so right, I loved it! It has a really cute love story which is enough for someone to recommend it to me, but it was more than just the love story. There are so many great stories throughout the whole thing and so many different relationships with interesting dynamics. It is a love story(and a good one!) but it is also a story of family, friends, change, forgiveness, maturity, parenthood, faith, mistakes, truth, life, pain, happiness, God, and so much more. Although there is a main character, there are four different characters from who's point of view the story alternates and I love that aspect as well.
Like I said these are just a few of the many, many books that I love and I am pretty sure that there are many more amazing books to come!
