Read It! (Week 4 Topic)

You know, I picked this topic thinking that it would be an easy one for me. As an English teacher, I was always excited about books and had a book in mind that people just NEEDED to read. But...as I have been pondering this topic over the past several days, I have come to realize that I don't know if there is just ONE book that I think everyone should read.

I know that this novel changed my life. It is one of the first books I read in school that had a direct impact on my soul! Does that seem a little dramatic? Well, it was. Boo Radley, Scout, Aticus, racism, a fight for equal rights, and the absolute failure of people to do what it right? Yeah, my first reading of this book in eighth grade was life altering. I know that most people were forced to read this in high school or junior high, but read it again. Really READ it! Then call me and we can cry together.

Let's not act schocked that this is included here. If you know me even a little, you know that I LOVE this book. However, some may be shocked to know that I did not love this novel the first time I read it. It was a little too deep and dark for me. Yeah, I know. Gatsby? Dark? Okay, so it is not dark in a traditional sense, but really? Unrequited love? Used and abused? Money as the root of all evil? A painted and tainted world. Ummm...yeah. Gatsby is dark in a deliciously colorful way. READ it!

Maniac Magee by Jerry Spinelli: He was my childhood Forrest Gump. All I can say is, read this one to your children. It was kind of magical for me.

I have written about these books before. Mom used to read them to us. Every night. I love them. These are books that should be read out loud. Pictures are painted. An entire world comes to life through the pages of these stories. Adventures happen. Wars are won. People are rescued. And Aslan...oh, Aslan. Aslan is my childhood testimony of a loving Father in Heaven. Through these stories, I truly came to understand what it means to be loved by my Heavenly Father as I heard/read the sacrifices, the power, the concern and the wisdom Aslan showed to Peter, Edward, Susan, and Lucy. READ it!

There are so many more. I would be here all day, so I will stop with these few. Books are powerful. They allow me to learn and understand other's lives and experiences. Books help me escape and let me live in a fantasy world. I mean, who isn't waiting for an owl to bring their acceptance letter to Hogwarts? I hope that Q and T will wait for that one day too.