Some people watch Netflix, I read a lot. I think I have a pretty big (and weird) imagination so maybe I get more entertainment out of it than some people. Currently, I am reading “IT” by Stephen King because apparently, I like to horrify myself. I’ve been reading Amy Schumer’s “The Girl with the Lower Back Tattoo” biography on the side because I absolutely, 100 percent, cannot go to bed after reading a chapter from the thing. Therefore, I have been counteracting it to clear my head with something happy. The thing is though, the plot line and the characters in “IT” are actually fantastic so I want to keep reading. However, I am also scared to use my own bathroom sink so it’s a very much win-lose situation.
Anyways that’s not important, here are my favorite books.
The Type-Writer Girl, Grant Allen, 1897
I love this book because reading it as a woman in the 21st century is comical. The book is about a woman, Juliet, who is considered a “new woman.” She works, rides a bike, and has a type-writer. Riding a bike and typing are considered scandalous so you essentially get inside the head of a risqué 19th-century woman. It is an early feminist piece and an early romantic comedy. I highly recommend it!
Out of the Silent Planet, C.S. Lewis, 1938
This is my dad’s favorite novel and now it is one of mine too. I love space and sci-fi as he does. I am taking astronomy right now for a science general education requirement but it doesn’t seem like much of a requirement because I freak out over how cool everything is. Long story short, this book is about a man, Ransom, who gets kidnapped and sent to another planet. I always joke about this though because I would 100% volunteer to go to another planet.
However, there is so much deeper meaning behind all the creatures he meets and as to why Earth is separated from everything else. I did grow up Christian and C.S. Lewis does use a lot of themes related to Christianity which is part of the reason I really like the story. I was a fan of the Chronicles of Narnia as a child and I like that he can write for children and adults. Regardless of religion, the story has a really beautiful underlying meaning to it.
Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince, J.K. Rowling, 2005
Obviously, I love all the books because how else would I have made it to the 6th one, but this one is my favorite. The 6th Harry Potter book, The Half-Blood Prince, is my favorite because it focuses on life at Hogwarts. In my opinion, it is also funnier than the other six novels. J.K. Rowling is surprisingly hilarious and she throws in little things to make you laugh. For example, in this book, she casually throws in that vampires exist. At a dinner party Harry is attending, there is a vampire named Sanguini that stands in the corner staring at girls. This made me laugh until my stomach hurt when I was a kid and it makes me laugh even harder now. It also marks the end of Harry’s childhood before the 7th book when he doesn’t go to school because there is a war going on. Harry Potter was a significant part of my childhood and this book will never go off my list.
11.22.63, Stephen King, 2011
If I absolutely had to pick I would say this is my favorite book of all time, so far at least. I lied, this is why I bought “IT.” Stephen King wrote this so I thought I would give another one of his a shot. As you might know, November 22nd 1963 marked the day President John F. Kennedy was shot. I am a history nut so reading about this historical period is fascinating to me. The story takes you through a journey through the late 1950s and early 1960s.
I love it so much I feel the need to write a synopsis. One day, the main character, Jake Epping’s friend, Al, tells him to walk through a kitchen cupboard in his hamburger shop. He walks into it and falls into 1958. Though it might sound sci-fi like, it really is not, they just refer to the cabinet as a “rabbit hole.” Anyways, Al, the guy that owns the hamburger shop, tells Jake that he is dying and that he wants him to carry out his plan. He wants Jake to stop JFK from getting assassinated. The amount of detail King puts into the book really makes you feel like you are in the late 50s/early 60s. Everything is insanely detailed, from the shape of a coca-cola bottle to a sign on the side of the road, to the way women speak. I also just really like it because the main character, Jake, has a very interesting story arc. He is a divorced man and begins to love his life in the past, talk about an internal conflict!
There is a Hulu miniseries adaptation of the novel. For the record, the show is good but it does leave out literally half the novel. Proceed with caution.