I haven’t always loved to read. As a child I was very stubborn and despised being forced to read in school. I found that the educational system took all the fun out of getting lost in a story. However, when I was 11 my aunt gave me a book to read for fun. It wasn’t really an appropriate book for an 11yo but I fell in love with it. The book was called A Child Called It by Dave Pelzer. It is the true story of a young boy who suffered immense abuse and cruelty as a child. After reading the book I felt a burning inside of me, I wanted more, from that day on I was focussed on reading anything I could (although I still hated reading in school). I am always looking for new books to read and suggesting my favourites to others. I thought I could share with you some of the books I most enjoy and hope that you will in turn share your favourites with me.
Abduction By Robin Cook
Flowers for Algernon By Daniel Keyes
The Book of Not Knowing By Peter Ralston
Room By Emma Donoghue
The Hunger Games/Catching Fire/Mocking Jay By Susan Collins (ignore the hype about the movie, the books are awesome!)
A Child Called it/Lost Boy/A Man Named Dave By Dave Pelzer
The Midwife of Venice By Roberta Rich
Glow By Amy Kathleen Ryan
The Art of Racing in the Rain By Garth Stein
Night By Elie Wiesel
God is Dead By Ron Currie Jr
This is a very condensed list as I could dedicate a whole blog site to the books I love! I am always looking for new books to read so please do send me any suggestions. I don’t really have a preference for genre, I will literally read anything once (and have a tendancey to read my faves over and over!)
wordsofhonestunwisdom 
I remember ‘A Child Called It’ … The Art of Racing in the Rain I loved. Never thought I would enjoy The Shack, but when I read it I hardly put it down. State of Fear is one of Micheal Crichton’s best. Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell is his best so far, and leaves you with a lot to ponder, I also liked The Black Swan by Nicolas Taleb similar to Ouliers, but a little headier. Books that changed my life – The Rosicrucian Cosmo Conception by Max Heindel, A Treatise on White Magic by Alice A Baily, Thinking and Destiny by Harold Percival, The Lost Teachings of Atlantis by Jon Peniel. The Kybalion by The Three Initiates
Thank you, thank you, thank you!
My pleasure, I was a slow reader when young but have made up for it as the years passed … 😉
Me too! When I was a kid, I hated reading. But then when school started, reading became an escape.
I’m so glad you were able to find a book that got you interested in reading at such a young age. Some are not that fortunate. I fell in love with books even before I started reading. But I guess I was lucky to encounter a book I loved so early on in life.
If I had to pick some of the books I’ve enjoyed the most, at the top of my head, I’d have to say:
The Old Man and The Sea, by Ernest Hemingway; Blindness, by José Saramago; The Giver (trilogy), by Lois Lowry; The Posthumous Memoirs of Brás Cubas, by Machado de Assis.
My tip: go on wikipedia to know more about those books but only read the first sentence about them. Don’t read the plot summary because it spoils all the fun. If you have any questions, ask me. 🙂
I read The Giver in middle school but did not know until now that it was a trilogy! I am going out 2moro to get the other two books! Thank you for your suggestions they are greatly appreciated!
Two suggestions, anything by F. Scott Fitzgerald and Cassandra Clare’s works are fantastic.
I suggest Margaret Atwood’s The Blind Assassin, David Benioff’s City of Thieves, and Leif Enger’s Peace Like a River. Based on what you’ve listed, I think you might enjoy these. Happy reading!
There’s this book called Busy Monsters by William Giraldi. Almost no one has heard of it, but it has become one of my favourite books ever. It’s very unique in every way, the main character is abandoned on his wedding day because his fiancee has set off to hunt down the elusive giant squid. He then goes on a journey, in both attempts to win her back and to give his life some purpose. It’s brilliantly written, and always clever and humorous. A great read.
Reading per se never was difficult for me. But, reading a whole book? Resisted that like crazy. Aunts used to give me books and encourage me to read. My parents never pushed, ostensibly quite content with my progress in the world of a pre-teen. Then someone gave me a book called The Treasure Hunt of the X-18. It was about a submarine searching for sunken treasure. I was 12, I think. I braved it. I read it three times, then went on to the Hardy Boys etc. A few years ago I ordered a used version of “X-18” on the web and read it a fourth time. In the world of literature it doesn’t rank, but it got me past the intimidation of something thick. It’s in my collection until someone throws it out after I’m gone.
Thanks I’ll check it out!
Try Dean Koontz. He explores the depths of the human condition and writes great psychological thrillers.
and thanks for following my blog
I too read anything and everything. At the moment I really like a lot of 19th century literature. Most of it was written so eloquently that it instantly transports me to another time. I prefer to recommend some writers/authors: Herman Melville, Ernest Hemingway, Mark Twain, D.H. Lawrence, Jules Verne, H.G. Wells, George Orwell, Robert Louis Stevenson, Victor Hugo, Stephen Crane, Nathaniel Hawthorne. That is just a small list of writers who have inspired me in my own writing.
🙂
I got hooked on reading when I read Leo Tolstoy’s short story, The Death of Ivan Ilyich and the Diaries of Anais Nin…beautiful language and scorching dialogue. Good luck working your way through your list. If I haven’t told you this yet, I find coming here very enjoyable and relaxing. This is kind of like watching my own grand-daughter here at home as she changes and grows for the better. Best to you and your blog project. Great work.
here’s another brilliant book for you “the curious incident of the dog in the nighttime” I guarantee you’ll love it, I know I did 🙂
Here is a link to a number of reviews that might be useful in finding new books of interest.
Same here. I never liked reading until high school. Now I’m a proud owner of a small personal library. ^^ reading rocks!
And the education system churns out a lot of people that know how to read but don’t know whatnisnworth reading. ^^
~ E