Growing up, people often found me in my room curled up with a good book. For as long as I can remember, I was a passionate reader. Whether it was a long and mysterious novel or a short story, I always enjoyed my time spent reading.
However, as I grew older, I lost sight of my love of reading for two reasons. First, as school became more difficult, I felt extremely stressed and like I had less time for reading. I filled my schedule with studying, clubs, organizations and socializing with my friends. Suddenly, there was no time for reading. Second, as technology and social media continued to progress, I lost sight of the importance of reading. Even though I had a lot going on, I still made time to watch Netflix and scroll through Instagram, but I didn’t make reading a priority. Before I knew it, it had been so long I couldn’t even remember the last book I read.
During quarantine, I watched as people became occupied with fitness, baking and other hobbies. I realized I needed to find a way to become more productive with my time, and I made it my goal to rediscover my passion for reading. The pandemic cleared up a lot of my schedule, and I finally had the availability I needed to reinvest my time into reading.
It has been months now since I once again picked up a book to delve into, and I have read over 20 new books.
I’m proud that I achieved my quarantine goal and allowed my passion for reading to reemerge. Since I began reading frequently again, I have stumbled upon an overwhelming number of books that I absolutely loved. It’s easy for me to invest in the plot line and feel as if I am living vicariously through each character, and I wanted to share my recent favorites so you might be able to do the same.
Here are five books I now can’t live without:
- “The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes” by Suzanne Collins
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I knew picking the first book to get back into reading would be a challenge, which is why I’m so glad I picked “The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes.” One of my all-time favorite trilogies is “The Hunger Games,” and I have always loved dystopian novels. Any Hunger Games fan can probably agree that these novels and movies aimed to make you despise tyrannical President Snow. During quarantine, I found out that the trilogies’ author, Suzanne Collins, recently released a prequel from Snow’s perspective at age 15. Out of sheer curiosity, I had to read this novel. I highly recommend this novel to any “The Hunger Games” fan because it provides you with so much information regarding the origin of the Hunger Games and puts together a lot of the pieces I didn’t even know I was missing. What I loved most about Collins’ writing in this novel is that she didn’t try to convince me to sympathize with the man I had come to loathe, but rather she showed me how he was doomed to become the evil man we know from the trilogy in a twisted and intriguing way. While I do admit I found myself rooting for Snow at points after seeing all the potential he had, I now understand why he was destined to become an evil genius.
- “Hopeless” by Colleen Hoover
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As soon as I began reading again, Colleen Hoover quickly became my new favorite author. Hoover’s writing is unlike any other. The way she chooses to reveal certain information during parts of her novels is truly strategic, and I can admit I never expect any of the twists she throws my way. As a fan of her romance and young adult novels, I knew I had to check “Hopeless” out. What seemed to be a simple romance between a struggling high school girl and a bad boy turned into something completely different than I ever could have imagined. This book not only threw at least five plot twists my way, but it carries such an important message. Anyone could benefit from reading this book!
- “One to Watch” by Kate Stayman-London
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Although I’ll admit that, for me, this isn’t the typical style of book that I tend obsess over, I couldn’t be happier I chose to pick it up. “One to Watch” is a book about a plus-sized fashion blogger who is chosen to become the next Main Squeeze, which is a show designed just like “The Bachelor.” As a huge fan of “The Bachelor,” I was curious to see how this book would unfold. The book’s structure included interviews, tweets and other unconventional entries, which made it feel much more real and intriguing. This book is real and raw, depicting what it is like to be plus sized in a society that tends to favor thin body types.
- “Say You Still Love Me” by K.A. Tucker
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This book may have just been a simple romance story between two people who fell in love at sleepaway camp, but I can advocate for the fact that the novel was a true page-turner. Every other chapter alternated between the couple’s first meeting at camp and their current reunion in the corporate world. Aside from the adorable storyline of the couple, this book discusses the clashing of social classes, and it was extremely interesting to follow. This was an easy, enjoyable read!
- “It Ends With Us” by Colleen Hoover
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Yet another Colleen Hoover book. What can I say? I love her writing! Although all of her books are amazing in their own ways, they are completely different from one another. This story, one of the most different of all Hoover’s novels, was based on her parents and tackled a very serious issue. I want everyone to read this book. It was so frustrating, yet so real. It was beautifully written and truly made me think, which is something I highly value about a book. I love when stories make me reconsider my opinions and teach me something about myself.
I would recommend any of these books to just about anyone. If you are one of those people who tossed your passion for reading aside, I highly urge you to rediscover your passion. Reading is not only captivating, but it is something that can truly help you learn and grow as a person, which is exactly what it has done for me the last few months.