The Books of My Life

Over the years, there have been many books that stood out as influential to me.  Some books I've read just fall through the cracks and dissappear.  But others stick with me even now.

Most notably, my favorite childhood book, Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak, is one of those books.  I will always remember my mom reading this book over and over to me when I was a kid.  I always liked the story and how the "wild things" appeared to be scary monsters but in reality danced around and acted silly.  I also always liked how the kid's room turned into a jungle before his eyes.  This nonsensical type of novel fueled my movement to the Dr. Seuss books which I enjoyed just as much.


Just recently in school I read Brave New World by Aldous Huxley which I would consider my favorite book read for school.  Typically, since we are in high school, we read coming of age stories which are probably my least favorite type of novels.  We moved away from that trend this year when we read Brave New World, a dystopian-style book taking place in an alternate society where people are manufactured and brainwashed to conform.  I loved this novel because it was such a departure from the typical "school books".  It provides a story that follows the personal struggles of specific characters but also the struggles of society.  I liked all of the concepts that at the time of publishing made the book a banned book.
 

Although I did not read this book on the beach when I read it for the first time, I think it would be a good book to read on the beach because of its topic.  The book I'm referring to is Pirate Hunters by Mack Maloney.  Just by the cover, it may not seem like a typical influential book but for me it was.  It was one of the first books that drove my interest in the crime genre.  Although its not a typical crime novel since it does not feature a detective or any officer of the law, it exhibits the features of a crime novel in its own way.  The "pirate hunters" are a group of retired US soldiers working a private job for a shipping company in Somalia.  Their mission used to be protect the people of the United States, but now it is to stop pirate operations off the coast of Somalia.  The way the book goes into detail about all of the action scenes is what I was really interested in.  The whole book was action-packed and kept me reading the whole way through.  I would consider it a beach read because being on a beach would allow you to visualize some of the action scenes more vividly.

Probably the first book to inspire my interest in mystery novels was Sherlock Holmes.  Yes, I know there are many books with Sherlock Holmes in them but to me all the stories blend together.  What I remember most from the stories was Sherlock and his detective skills.  I really appreciated the way he studied every detail and could come to conclusions on relatively no solid evidence.  That is why I would consider Sherlock Holmes my favorite book that went to screen.  Whether it be the movies or the television show, I loved seeing how producers depicted Holmes.  For me he is just the perfect character and really made the movies what they are.  I would never object to any new Sherlock material (considering the original author is no longer alive). 

Normally I absolutely despise coming of age stories but if I needed to choose one, A Separate Peace would be it.  It is not like the typical coming of age story that revolves solely around the main character's struggle with petty issues that everyone goes through.  This book takes place during World War II and an ever-present conflict with the characters is the fear of the draft.  They cannot get excited when they are about to graduate because graduation means being forced into the war effort.  Being an upperclassman in high school, I can't imagine what that must feel like.  Right now, graduation is the main thing I'm excited for and if I didn't have that excitement, I don't know where I would be.  Of course like all coming of age novels, there are other, more "normal" conflicts.  The most obvious is the conflicting relationship between the extremely athletic Phineas and the jealous bookworm Gene.  What also interested me about this coming of age novel is that it is told by Gene fifteen years after his experiences.  This perspective is refreshing since many coming of age novels are told in the present first person like Catcher in the Rye and Huckleberry Finn. 

The book I would currently place on the top of my "must read" list would probably be Killing Floor by Lee Child.  I have always had a deep appreciation for Child's Reacher series but this book gave me even greater appreciation for his writing.  Killing Floor is Child's first Reacher book, which initially I thought might leave me wanting more.  I have read three or four other Reacher books and always enjoyed how Child wrote but I knew that all authors had to start somewhere and I assumed that any flaws that he has since worked out would be present in his first book.  After reading Killing Floor I found that I was mistaken.  The writing was just as smooth as all his other books.  This really impressed me and spawned a greater appreciation for Child's writing.  I would regard this book as a must read because it has everything that I love about mysteries and is a start to a series of novels that continue that legacy.  I now want to read the rest of the series to continue viewing Reacher's endeavors and Child's excellent writing.

Although we would like all books to be "favorite-worthy" it just doesn't always work out that way.  Case in point, probably my least favorite books I've ever read were Shakespeare plays.  They seem to be very polarizing books in that you either love them or you hate them.  I was one of the people that hated them for a couple of reasons.  First, I find it hard to get interested in books that take place as far in the past a Shakespeare plays.  The edge of my interest in old books lies in Sherlock Holmes and that was late 17th century.  The lifestyles of the people in really old books is so different from ours that it becomes a difficulty to imagine.  I also don't appreciate the wordiness that Shakespeare plays are written in.  I like stories that are lain out directly and require little thinking to decipher.  When I read the few Shakespeare plays that I've read, I found myself getting lost because I didn't see the little details hidden in each line.