This is not getting any easier!

I think the questions for this 30 day challenge were designed to make me crazy! So far I haven't been able to answer any of the questions with just one thing.  And today's is no exception!!  I LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE to read.  I have been a reader since I was in Elementary school and even won an award in Grade 5 for being the best reader in the school or something like that (I have a sweet picture of it from 1990ish if I can find it I'll add it later).  I read the entire Babysitters Club series that year.  It was a lot of books but I loved them!  I think it is one of the reasons that I tend to enjoy a series of books more than a single novel although some of my favorites are single novels.  So in no particular order here are a few of the most amazing books on the planet...please feel free to comment on books I've missed or must read as I am always looking for new authors.

1. The Giver, by Lois Lowry

"The Giver is a 1993 soft science fiction novel by Lois Lowry. It is set in a future society which is at first presented as a utopian society and gradually appears more and more dystopian. The novel follows a boy named Jonas through the twelfth year of his life. The society has eliminated pain and strife by converting to "Sameness", a plan which has also eradicated emotional depth from their lives. Jonas is selected to inherit the position of "Receiver of Memory," the person who stores all the memories of the time before Sameness, in case they are ever needed to aid in decisions that others lack the experience to make. When Jonas meets the previous receiver—the "Giver"—he is confused in many ways. The Giver is also able to break some rules, such as turning off the speaker and lying to people of the community. As Jonas receives the memories from the Giver, he discovers the power of knowledge. The people in his community are happy because they don't know of a better life, but the knowledge of what they are missing out on could create chaos. He faces a dilemma: Should he stay with the community, his family living a shallow life without love, color, choices and knowledge or should he run away to where he can live a full life?"

There are two other novels that are loosely connected with "The Giver"  the next book is "Gathering Blue" which is another look at a different society that exists at the same time in history as Jonas' world.  The third is called "The Messenger" and it ties the three stories together.  "The Giver" is by far the most effective of the three and the most enjoyable to read but I recommend all three.

2. The Harry Potter Series - J.K. Rowling

I know...you're thinking all I read is children's books.  Not true, but almost! lol  I actually really enjoy children's literature and look forward to whatever new gem may come my way because a niece or nephew had to read the story in school.  As for Mr. Potter I was introduced to this lovely story while in my first year of college.  It may have been a bit of my downfall seeing as I skipped more than one class because of the hold the books had on me.  I remember going to Costco and buying the fourth book the day it came out and then staying up all night to read it all in one sitting.  I finished it around 8 in the morning and could hardly stand that I had to wait at least another year to find out how the story was to continue!  Anyways, I love them and I love the movies.  It's just pure good make believe.

3. Pride and Prejudice - Jane Austen 

It's one of the most famous books of all time and it's in my top ten for sure!  I spoke about the movie yesterday and I love the book just as much.  It's just plain European romance and I am swept away every time I read it. 

4.  The Life of Pi - Yann Martel

"Life of Pi is a tale about survival, belief in God and coming of age, that unfolds while the protagonist is floating in a lifeboat on the Pacific Ocean. The main character, Pi Patel, is a loveable teenager with a lifelong curiosity for animals and religion. Pi grows up as the son of a zookeeper in Pondicherry, India. He is intensely religious and practices Hinduism, Islam and Christianity with equal zeal. When Pi is about 16 years old, his father decides to relocate the family to Canada to escape the increasingly undesirable political developments in 1970's India. Pi's father arranges for the family to accompany some of the animals bound for North America on a cargo ship named Tsimtsum. "Midway to Midway" the ship suddenly and quickly sinks. Pi is instantly orphaned and left to survive in a lifeboat with a crippled zebra, a hyena, an orangutan and a tiger...."

Seriously you have to read this book if you have not.  I have just started reading it again for about the 5th time (JaCobi posted it as one of her favorites and challenged people to read or reread it so I am) and I still love it and it still makes me think.   It's an amazing story and written beautifully.  Please enjoy it!

Anyways, that's about as much as I can come up with for today.  There are so many books that I love that I didn't mention (LOTR, Twilight, Fisher of Men, Hunger Games and the Forgotten Garden to name a few! hehehe).  I use reading to escape and to let my imagination wander and explore.  I love it.  I hope my son loves it as much as I do because I plan on spending lots of time with bedtime stories in the future!