Five Books Which Touched MyLife
Because I’m a writer, I've also been a reader since I was young. Here are five books or series which have stuck with me over the years:
The Harry Potter Series by J.K. Rowling. They’re fun, sweet, and have so much going on in them on so many levels. I appreciate how the books “grow” with the characters, taking on more and more dark themes as the characters grow older. At the most basic level, it is a story of friendship, of good overcoming evil, and of justice. Plus, the magic is fun.
Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close by Johnathan Safran Foer. I think it’s the poet in me that loves books that break the rules. While the story itself is heartbreaking and beautiful, told in two parts about a boy who loses his dad in the 9/11 terrorist attacks in New York City and about his grandmother’s World War II experience and then immigrating to the United States, I also really love how it is told. There’s no quotation marks to indicate conversation. There’s pages where the letters fill up the space to the degree that all you see is black. With another author, you would think that they don’t know what they’re doing and they need to go back to school. But this author, Johnathan Safran Foer, is proof that you need to really know the rules in order to break them.
The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini. When I first read it in college, I realized I knew next to nothing about Afghanistan, where most of the book takes place. On one level, it was interesting to learn about this country and culture. On a deeper level was the story itself—a human story, which is therefore not foreign at all. It is a story of a broken trust and redemption.
Parable of the Sower by Octavia Butler. If I had to choose a favorite genre, it would probably be dystopian fiction. It’s interesting to imagine the “what ifs.” Parable is set in a world that is not hard to believe, in a ransacked version of the United States. The economy tanked and states closed off borders. The narrator, a young woman with her own life and spiritual philosophy, becomes a refugee looking for a better place.
The Millennial Trilogy by Steig Larson. These are the three books starring Lisbeth Salander—the girl with the dragon tattoo. Not only are these books full of suspense and plot twists, Lisbeth Salander is a character I’ve never read before or since.
What is your favorite book? Which books have touched you or stuck with you over the years?
Thanks for reading!
💜
Laura
