Books I love

I love reading. I don't know how it started, but ever since I was little books have called to me. Reading is almost as necessary to me as breathing. When sitting at the kitchen table eating cereal, I'll read the label of every food product within reach. When waiting for the conditioner to sink into my hair, I'll read all the shampoo labels in the shower. In middle school when I was bored in class, I read all the books in the desks that were required for other classes. When I finished my own books on vacation at Lake Powell, I read everyone else's. Every summer, every lazy afternoon, every chill winter evening is an opportunity I seize to read. Every time I go to the library, stacks of books build up in my arms and I can't wait to get home and consume them. I'm always searching for the really good ones. I've read several really lame books, hundreds of mediocre books, thousands of pretty good books, and many, many excellent books. And when I read a good one, I want to share it with everyone else, for two reasons: 1. I want them to get as much enjoyment out of the book as I did, and 2. I want to talk to them about it.

So, with that in mind, I want to start sharing all my favorite books with you. This may take a very, very long time, as I currently have a Word file several pages long with the books I've particularly enjoyed. But I really want to, because I want you to be able to enjoy all these books as much as I have.

I'll start this by talking about an awesome series that I just finished this week - The Hunger Games. You may have heard of The Hunger Games several times already, like I had before I decided to read them. They are sooo good.

The books are set in the future, in a country named Panem that lies in the ruins of what was once known as North America. Twelve districts surround "The Capitol," the central district that controls all the others and forces the citizens, who live in poverty, to send them almost everything they produce. Because of a rebellion against the Capitol nearly 75 years ago, every year the Capitol forces every district to send two of their children, one boy and one girl, to the "Hunger Games," a televised fight to the death that every district is made to watch to remind them that the Capitol holds all power and can do anything they want.

As "The Hunger Games" begins, the Capitol representatives are coming to each district to randomly pick the boy and girl who will be in the games that year. Katniss Everdeen, 16, lives in District 12 with her mother and sister. Against her every hope, Katniss hears her sister's name called to go to the Hunger Games. Katniss knows that her sister, who is only 12, will not survive the games, and volunteers to go in her sister's place. And the story begins.

These books are intense. They're the kind of books you can't put down. Katniss is an awesome main character who takes you through a amazing story of courage, love, determination, defiance, and rebellion. The pace is gripping; this is the kind of book you just can't put down. I don't want to give anything away, so all I can say is that you have even the slightest inclincation to read these books - do it. Find time, find a friend you can borrow a copy from - just read them.