Book List

1. The Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka (1915), 76 pages. This book was suggested to me by my brother. Knowing I'm not a big reader, he said, "It's really short you can finish it within a week." Of course that fact appealed to me, but also the storyline behind the book. I've struggled in reaching the deeper meanings of books, and while reading a summary of this book, the deeper meaning was given. Although this may spoil the search for the deeper meaning for some, it will definitely be a good book to start off the year by helping me get back into the routine of deeper reading.

2. Flatland by Edwin A. Abbott (1884), 78 pages. This book was suggested to me by my dad. Like me, reading is not his first choice. Also, like me, math and science are his strong subjects. He explained to me that Flatland is a book about different dimensional worlds. The geometry aspect immediately appealed to me. After reading reviews I was also interested in the controversial ideas of politics and the view of women, the military, the upper class in the 1800s and how these ideas can be connected and turned into a story through a sort of mathematics.

3. The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger (1951), 288 pages. I hear this book discussed so often I feel like it's a book that any well-read person has read. I looked up a summary on Amazon and was completely captivated by the storyline. The reviewer explained that this book, in short, is about a boy who is trying to preserve innocence in his society. I love children and the imagination and ambition and fearlessness that radiates from them constantly. I envy those traits in fact. Although this book is lengthier than the previous books I chose, I feel I can handle a variety of lengths of books. Also, from the reviews this book is apparently not the easiest read, but I think attempting to read a "hard" book of one of my interest is better than jumping into a deep read whose storyline is not interesting to me at all.

4. Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen (1813), 416 pages. This is another famous novel I've always heard about but never read. I really enjoy love stories and too often read much too low of difficulty love stories, so I thought Pride and Prejudice would be somewhat of a love story to help introduce me to a more difficult, substantial read. Pride and Prejudice is also a longer and bit more challenging read that I am used to, but will be a good start.

5. The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini (2003), 400 pages. This book was suggested to me by my sister. She knows about my love for the typical teenage girl books, mostly by Sarah Dessen, and challenged me to read a book that would expand my knowledge of the world, but also see how closely related other countries are to ours. I read a few reviews and found myself interested to see what the two main characters go through and the difference in their opposite lives. The Kite Runner was also described as easy to follow and not too tedious which will be a good break from some higher level reads I have considered reading.

6. 1984 by George Orwell (1948), 368 pages. This book was suggested to me by Ms. Huff. I am very interested in utopia/dystopia novels. Also, I really enjoyed another novel written by Orwell, Animal Farm. I enjoy the extreme descriptions of how people viewed our society to be because of rapid advances in technology and education and in some ways, how accurate they are. I look forward to reading another dystopian novel and comparing it with the previous book by Orwell that I've read and also other novels of the same genre I've read.

7. Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Defoe (1719), 290 pages. This book was suggested to me by my dad, however after reading the first few pages showed to be a very challenging read with the diction. If in fact I become very ambitious at some point this year and decide to really challenge myself, I would love to read this novel in order to be inspired and challenged to truly follow my dreams, not the dreams others have chosen for me.

8. Little Women by Louisa May Alcott (1880-first novel where part I and part II were the same book), 464 pages. This book was suggested to me by my aunts. They said they remembered reading this book over and over when they were younger and loved especially when my grandmom would read it to them. Not only am I interested in the story, I am also excited to be able to discuss it with them while reading it and once I am finished. Although this book is longer than previous ones I have chosen, the short times it takes me to read smaller books will allow longer time to read the lengthier ones.

9. A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry (1987), 160 pages. This novel is another that I'm just familar with the title. After reading a few reviews though, I am very interested. I am a huge fan of broadway, and the storyline seemed to be one I could get hooked to instantly. Some of the reviews given were by junior high students, so the reading level should be an easier one, but hopefully the big idea of the story will be much more in depth.

10. Man's Search For Meaning by Viktor Frankl (1959), 168 pages. This book was suggested to me by my brother. We were discussing my areas of interests in reading and I mentioned that I was very interested in the Holocaust. He immediately suggested and encouraged me to read this book because of the different outlook this man had on the concetration camps at that time. He was a Jewish doctor, a man who had everything, yet still saw hope even in the concentration camp. I look forward to reading this book and learning even more about the Holocaust.