I have been in love with reading since I learned how to do it. I love the smell of books, the way they look on the shelf, and looking through an old book I have read multiple times. I know we are all busy college students, but sometimes we need to take the extra time to relax and read a great book.
Here are some of the ones that have changed my life:
Valley of the Dolls by Jacqueline Susann
This was reality television in the form of a novel for the 1960’s. It started the era of obsession with celebrities and their personal lives. It is a cult classic. Behind the campy, trashy façade is a story teeming with drama and real pressures of fame and wealth. It is one of those stories that reels you in and doesn’t let you put the book down—even after it’s over.
Breakfast at Tiffany’s by Truman Capote
Caution: This is not like the movie. There are very few things in common between the two. If the movie changed its name and the names of the characters, I don’t think anyone would have realized they were even related. I read the book after I fell in love with the movie, so these differences really upset and confused me. Nothing happened the way I expected/hoped, but Holly Golightly is a more free-spirited woman in the novella and I am all about that.
Fight Club by Chuck Palahniuk
Great book. Just great. Very worth reading even if you have already seen the movie. An intense, troubled main character and a lot of awesome twists in the story. I don’t want to tell you anything that happens because it would just ruin what is in store. All of Palahniuk’s books should be on this list.
Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov
Nabokov has this creepy way of describing pedophilia to make the reader almost feel bad or somehow empathize with the main character, who is a pedophile. It’s very unnerving because obviously you do not want to feel sorry for this guy, but it is difficult to keep reminding yourself as you’re reading, “This guy is disgusting, you should hate him.” Nabokov uses a lot of flowery language and imagery that will stick with you for a long time.
House of Leaves by Mark Z. Danielewski
This is one of the contenders for my absolute favorite book. It is a monstrosity of a book (it weighs about 2 lbs.) and it takes forever to read, but it is worth it. Danielewski makes reading an adventure in and of itself — when the plot is slow the page is packed with words and is very dense, but when the storyline is fast there are maybe a few words on the page so you’re moving fast as well. It is set up like a documentary and has multiple indexes—there’s even a puzzle you have to solve halfway through. Both the story and the reading process are labyrinths.
Hard-Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World by Haruki Murakami
I am actually reading this right now and I can already tell it will be one of my favorite books. It is very postmodern and fantastical, but that’s what I love. There are so many subtle connections and clues to untangle throughout the story that you have to pay very close attention to while you’re reading, but it is so worth it. Basically, the world is ending and this poor guy who thought he had a boring life gets caught in the middle of having to save the world. Peoples’ shadows talk and have feelings, and people lose their minds (not like go crazy, but lose the ability to think like a human being rather than like an animal) when they are detached from their shadows. Don’t tell me what happens at the end! I’m almost finished.
A Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess
Wonderful. Terrifying. Absolutely insane. There are no words strong enough to describe the experience of reading A Clockwork Orange. Burgess wrote the book in a language that is a mixture of English and Russian because he thought America and Russia, the major powers at the time, would become one entity in the future and thus their languages would sort of melt together. He made up a new hybrid language and you learn it throughout the book. Seriously? That’s just awesome. The main character is a horrible person and he is put in a jail/mental hospital, where he is shocked and tortured into becoming a better human being. Does it actually work? You shall see.
The House of Mirth by Edith Wharton
I love me some Edith Wharton. It isn’t an adventure in the sense that House of Leaves is, but it is moving nonetheless. A woman is lost when no one is there to care for her or support her lavish habits, so her life spirals out of control. She becomes an outcast in the high-class society she was once the leader of because no one wants her around when she has lost all of her money and possible inheritance. Lily Bart is sympathetic, yet very easy to hate and get annoyed with; she is a complex woman. It is a sad and beautiful novel.
Paradise by Toni Morrison
Here’s some more postmodern stuff for you. If anyone can tell me what the hell is actually going on in this book that would be great. There are so many mysteries and small intricacies to notice and connect, that reading takes a lot of energy and time. I read it for a class called “Women and Literature” (great class) and we spent most of our time just discussing what we thought was going on. This isn’t a bad thing! Confusing doesn’t mean bad or worthless. If anything, it makes Paradise even better. Who wants to read something that is completely black-and-white? Anyway, there’s a group of misfit women who come together in a convent in a town where they are neither accepted nor welcome. Craziness ensues.
A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L’Engle
This book will always have my heart. I know it is a children’s book, but it takes an adult (or whatever we are) to really understand how amazing Madeleine L’Engle’s writing is, especially in A Wrinkle in Time. The story involves a young girl who must save the world and find her father through time travel. She and her brother go to other worlds and experience an amazing adventure and fight evil. I sound crazy, don’t I? I know you guys had to read this in the fifth grade, but read it again and you’ll understand.