Books and Authors I Like

So magazines are great, but books are pretty cool, too. Anyone who tells you they don't read books is either a liar or an idiot. Reading is cool, and it makes you smarter.

I thought I'd write a blog about some of my favorite authors and books.

Catcher in the Rye- by J.D. Salinger- possibly (easily) the best book I have ever read for school. If you haven't read it, you should.

Midnighters 1: The Secret Hour, Midnighters 2: Touching Darkness, Midnighters 3: Blue Noon; So Yesterday; Uglies, Pretties, Specials, Extras; Peeps, The Last Days- all by Scott Westerfeld- Scott Westerfeld writes science fiction, but in a totally non-dorky way. I know some of you might think all science fiction is dorky, but this isn't Star Trek (not that there's anything wrong with Star Trek). These books are all geared towards teens. The Midnighters series is about a group of kids who, because they were born at midnight, can live in this special, "secret", 25th hour of the day. So Yesterday is really good because it makes you question everything you know about what is "cool". Uglies, Pretties, and Specials describe a post-apocalyptic society in which money doesn't really exist, and everyone when they turn 16, gets an operation that makes them "pretty"; Extras, the "sequel" to the series, is sort of a like a post-post-apocalyptic society. Peeps revolves around a parasite that turns people into cannibals and makes them hate everything they used to love. The Last Days is, like Extras is to the Uglies series, a sort of companion sequel to Peeps.

The Harry Potter Series- by J.K. Rowling- anyone who knows anything about me knows that I love the Harry Potter series. Harry Potter describes kids that live in a fantasy world where brooms fly and animals and inanimate objects can talk, which makes it an exciting escape from everyday life. But the characters go through a lot of the same problems that real kids go through- love, friendship, difficult teachers and challenging courses- which makes it something I can relate to. Seriously, I've read lots of awesome books, but there's something about Harry Potter that makes it just amazingly extra-awesome. Harry can play Quidditch, and Hagrid may be half-giant, but their personalities make them seem so real to me.

Twilight, New Moon, Eclipse, Breaking Dawn- by Stephenie Meyer- oh, come on. You know you love the Twilight series. I loved it, too (remember my summary?). Honestly, I could've written Twilight. Well, maybe I couldn't. I don't think I ever would've thought of sparkly vampires.

Wringer; Loser; Stargirl, Love, Stargirl- all by Jerry Spinelli- Jerry Spinelli is a really cool author. Loser is written in third person, and there's a bit of a disconnect between the narrator and the main character, but it's totally cool. Stargirl is totally real-life, but at the same time, the book's title character, Stargirl, is so out-of-this world.

The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants, The Second Summer of the Sisterhood, Girls in Pants, Forever in Blue- all by Ann Brashares- about a group of friends who find a pair of jeans that magically fit them all. It's kind of dopey, but at the same time, something every girl can relate to.

If I Stay- by Gayle Forman- Mia is a talented musician, with many wonderful choices, until suddenly, everything changes one winter morning. Only one choice is left. If I Stay is really sad, but beautiful, too. If you enjoyed Lovely Bones, you should really check out If I Stay.

***EDIT- I almost forgot...***

The Chronicles of Narnia series- by C.S. Lewis- another fantasy series. Like Harry Potter, there are 7 books in the Narnia series (maybe there's some magical thing about the number 7?). What's cool about Narnia is that it tells you the stories of so many different characters, rather than focusing on (primarily) one character's storyline (like in Harry Potter), so you really get a picture of the whole universe. I read The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe first, even though, chronologically, it's the second in the series (though the first one published). The Narnia books were some of favorites when I was younger (before I read Harry Potter), and I think they will definitely endure the test of time.

******EDIT2- I just realized I have over 30 "favorite books". Wow.******