My 5 Favorite Books
Almost all of the books I love to read are fiction-based. These types of books open up my imagination and take me away from reality. Especially with fictional books, characters are given unique personalities and the story plot can be fun, mystical, and suspenseful. I enjoy this very much because I get to visualize the story as I read along.
Harry Potter Series (J.K. Rowling) I am a HUGE Harry Potter fan! Despite the series actually containing 7 books in all, I decided to combine all the books together here. I love the way J.K Rowling develops each distinct character and creates a sense of endless, mystical fantasy that keeps readers reading. Her style of writing is phenomenal as it is easy to read and follow along; anyone who is capable of reading can understand the story. The morals of the stories are so pure and full of heart. All in all, the Harry Potter novels are good books I highly recommend to read or even reread!
The Invention of Hugo Cabret (Brain Selznick) This has been a favorite book of mine since grade school because of the novel’s art and the style in which the book was made. When people say that pictures mean more than 1,000 words, this novel says it all. More than half of the book is composed of full-page illustrations that help the reader visualize the story the way the author wants them to see it. The story is heartbreaking, heartwarming, and so engaging to read. Those who have seen the wonderful movie version of this novel know I what mean by this.
Grapes of Wrath (John Steinbeck) Steinbeck never fails to disappoint us through his stories. Grapes of Wrath is a longer read than most of his other books, but it takes us into the time of the American Depression and Recession through a particular man and his family. The readers will be able to experience what it was like to live at that time and realize all the difficulties and struggles people had to face. Steinbeck’s diction is well suited for the time period and his format (splitting the story up by section) is quite different and interesting.
The Canterbury Tales (Geoffery Chaucer) There are many short stories of different wacky, funny, sickening, and lovely characters; some stories will really make you laugh! The animations of the stories (claymation videos on YouTube) are fantastic to watch after you read the stories. Despite the text to be written in Middle English, I think readers can still read and understand the text just fine.
Never A City So Real (Alex Kotlowitz) This is a novel I read with my friends from DePaul University from a class pertaining to Chicago History. This novel is all about Chicago and is written to point out many hotspots of Chicago (20-30 years ago). There is much emphasis on the urban lifestyle, different neighborhoods with different cultures, famous restaurants (like Manny’s), notorious gangs, and more. After reading this book, you will definitely be more aware of Chicago’s past history and see the city in a more interesting way!