I'm a book worm!!

Reading and I are besties. I mean, I love books. They make my life. Like, for real.

Since I was a little tot one could find me snuggled up with some kind of book. Especially Berinstien Bears and the Boxcar children. LOVE!

But those didn't really have the impact on me as some other books that I've read. I know this post said A BOOK, but how can I choose JUST ONE?! It's just not fair...so I vote for many. Too bad if you don't like it. I'm a rebel.

1) The Harry Potter Series

For those of you that know me, I know you're shocked. Me? Like Harry Potter?? NO. WAY.

Seriously though, I love it. It renewed my love of reading when I hit those teenage years of, "Why should I read?!" Dear young self, reading is awesome. Don't be an idiot. Love, your twenty year old self. They are young adult novels for sure, but they are full of adventure and humor and hot boys...lol! Plus that small dash of romance at the right age. Ahhh...J.K. Rowling, how I love thee...

2) The Zahir by Paulo Cohello

This is just.... I don't know how to describe it. It was just the right book at the right time. I think it's one of those that has to be read at a certain point in your life, otherwise it just won't have the same impact.

I had just gone through that massive shit-tastic breakup and it just made a lot of sense to me. The narrator of the story was suddenly and without warning left by his wife and it's his journey of self-discovery and understanding. It just helped me get through all the crap I was going through. It gave me a little ray of hope and told me that I too would get through how I was feeling and that I would find love again one day. *fingers crossed*

3) Give a Boy a Gun

This is a book I read when I think I was about twelve. It's about two boys who had been bullied so much they took to shooting many of their classmates at school out of pure anger. It was just a small little story, but it had a huge impact on me. No matter what, I'll always remember this story. How they boys felt. What they went through. How they terrorized, for just a few hours, those who had terrorized them for years...Thinking about it makes me want to a)read it again and b)gives me goosebumps. I love books that do that.

4) A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy-Soldier

Ok, I'm a nerd. I love autobiographies. This one reads like a fiction story though. Why you may ask? Because no one can possibly go through all the monumental crap that this kid did and come out on the other side as normal as he did. He's amazing and he inspired me to pursue my dream of helping those less fortunate turn out just like he did.

No one deserves to be forced into the military. In our country, people protest when they don't like what is happening. They protest when the government tries to force them to do something they don't like and they don't have to fear that they will be killed or tortured if they do that. That is not the case for this young boy from Sierra Leone. He is kidnapped and put into the army and begins to kill so he won't be killed. He is brainwashed and drugged. Somehow, he got out. He was rescued.

All I have to say is: Read this book if you know what's good for you.