Books Books Books

I saw this MEME on some other people's blogs and I really wanted to fill it out. I love books and this really brought back some great memories of books I've read.

1. Favorite book[s] when you were a child & why?

Amelia Bedelia. They were the BEST books when I was little. It was so funny all the messes she would get herself into. Also I loved Strega Nona (Grandma Witch). These are books that I still enjoy today. I feel like they just don't make children's books like they used too.

2. First "grown-up" book you remember reading?

A Ring of Endless Light by Madeleine L'Engle. I loved this book! I must have read it a dozen times. I think I just loved the fact that the main character got to swim with a dolphin all the time! Another book would be the The Silver Pencil by Alice Dalgliesh. I'm not sure why I liked this book so much, it’s a very unique story. I have read it a bunch of times though. It's defiantly not for everyone though.

3. Favorite movie that came from a book?

Atonement. The movie was exactly like the book. The images and the people were just how I imagined them when I was reading the book. I actually might like the movie better because the cinematography was just absolutely beautiful

4. Movie that you loved so much that you WISHED there was a book out so that you could find out more about the movie.

This might sound silly, but Dirty Dancing. I LOVE that movie and I think it could probably be a great book. Not so much the dancing, but the love story, drama and inner thoughts of everyone would be great to read on paper.

5. Worst book you've ever read?

There are a few that are pretty awful. With me though, when I start a book even if it's terrible I have to finish it. There is only ONE book that was soo bad that I just couldn't finish it. A New Earth by Eckhart Tolle. I picked it up because Oprah raved and raved about this thing. I thought it was HORRIBLE. Just thinking about it now starts to make me seethe.

6. Book that everyone raves about that you either a) haven't read and feel slightly dumb for not having read it or b) have tried to read and hated and so feel slightly dumb that everyone is getting something you don't?

See number 5. Also the Da Vinci Code, mostly because everyone who reads seems this books seems to treat it as Non-fiction when it is in fact FICTION. I did enjoy the movies though. I liked all those clues and everything to figure things out, but I didn't much care for the religious aspect.

7. If you were forced to choose only 3 books that you could read for the rest of your life, which ones would they be?

Perks of Being a Wallflower is a definite. Beside that it would be really hard for me to choose. I love to read different things so it would be hard to whittle it down.

8. Name one book that you would recommend everyone you know read.

I couldn't pick just one. I always recommend Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky. It is one of my favorite books. There are endless quotes from that book that I loved and related too. Also I tell people to read The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger. It is an amazing story,

9. What is your "guilty pleasure" reading?

Young Adult books. I loved the Twilight books and I'm also really into anything by Sarah Dessen. When I buy these kinds of books I tell myself that I need to grow up and start reading "real" books. But I love them. It lets me escape the real world for a little while and isn't that the whole point in reading?

10. What book (except the Bible or other major major document of your religion/faith) has changed your outlook on life the most?

I started reading A New Earth because I thought it would change me like that. But then I saw the hypocrisy of it and now in general I don't really like those kinds of books because they tell you how to think, act and do. Also people take these kinds of books so literally that they end up losing themselves. Remember that book The Secret? People actually stopped seeking treatment for illnesses because the book states that if you think you will get better, you will. Ughh, no not so much. So while some books may open my mind a little or I may view something a little differently, I have never read something that really changed me. On the other hand, if these self help books do help others I think that’s great.