5 Books That Got Me Into Reading

Hello. It has been a long time since I posted, so I figured I might as well type something down to post to avoid my blog being so dusty. It's dusty enough because I haven't blog-walk at all for weeks. Maybe I did visit some of my must-visit-everyday blogs once every 2 weeks but I didn't leave any comment or trace because I was just too busy. Huh. The courtesy of being a high school student.

Books play a huge part in my growing up. The books I read change a lot of how I see the world, how I see people, how I treat people, how I see myself, or simply said, everything. I thank these books for existing because if not because of these books, I might not be into reading as I am right now. I should also thank my town library for having these books.

Most of the books I include in this list are the books I read during my secondary school years because they are the books that got me really really into reading.

10 THINGS I HATE ABOUT ME - RANDA ABDEL FATTAH

Synopsis: Jamie, a teenage girl from Sydney’s south-west who lives two lives: at school and in the outside world she is ‘Jamie’, a bottle-blonde with an apparently Anglo Aussie background; at home, she is ‘Jamilah’ a Lebanese-Muslim who is proud of her cultural identity. Jamie struggles to maintain her two personas as the rules of her over-protective father collide with the normal adolescence she perceives other teenagers to have and which she so desires. (Source: Goodreads)

Fun fact: I snuck this out from someone else's (a very close someone else) house just to read it. I didn't steal it, I already put it back where it belonged. I was too embarrassed to borrow this book because I already borrowed a lot of comics from the owner and I snuck this out when I borrowed some books. The cover of the book that I read wasn't like the cover above, tho. I read this when I was 11 and it took me quite long to finish this book because back then I wasn't really good at English.

I didn't give this book 5 stars, it wasn't the best book I've ever read, but it was the first book, that is in English and more than 100 pages I read in my whole life. I guess I owed this book this much.

THE PERKS OF BEING A WALLFLOWER - STEPHEN CHBOSKY

Synopsis: Charlie is a freshman.

And while he's not the biggest geek in the school, he is by no means popular. Shy, introspective, intelligent beyond his years yet socially awkward, he is a wallflower, caught between trying to live his life and trying to run from it.

Charlie is attempting to navigate his way through uncharted territory: the world of first dates and mixtapes, family dramas and new friends; the world of sex, drugs, and The Rocky Horror Picture Show, when all one requires is that perfect song on that perfect drive to feel infinite. But he can't stay on the sideline forever. Standing on the fringes of life offers a unique perspective. But there comes a time to see what it looks like from the dance floor. (Source: Goodreads)

This book is amazing. I read this when I was 14, and it changed my life and how I see things. I saw a lot of good reviews of this book, so when I found this in the town library (after years not going there), I renewed my library card and borrowed this. Even until now, this book is one of the books I borrow so often from the library because I love it. It is very dear to my heart and I've been wanting to have my own copy of this book for so long now.

HOW TO FALL IN LOVE - CECELIA AHERN

Synopsis: She has just two weeks. Two weeks to teach him how to fall in love – with his own life.

Adam Basil and Christine Rose are thrown together late one night, when Christine is crossing the Halfpenny Bridge in Dublin. Adam is there, poised, threatening to jump. Adam is desperate – but Christine makes a crazy deal with him. His 35th birthday is looming and she bets him she can show him that life is worth living before then.

Despite her determination, Christine knows what a dangerous promise she’s made. Against the ticking of the clock, the two of them embark on wild escapades, grand romantic gestures and some unlikely late-night outings. Slowly, Christine thinks Adam is starting to fall back in love with his life.

But has she done enough to change his mind for good? And is that all that’s starting to happen?(Source: Goodreads)

My first English romance and Cecelia Ahern's book! The option of books in my town library is very limited but I can't be more grateful that I had a chance to read Ahern's beautiful writing and knowing the characters in this book.

The book contains some quotes that I really love, but my favorite one was this one:

Where would we be without tomorrows? What we’d have instead are todays. And if that was the case, with you, I’d hope for the longest day for today. I’d fill today with you, doing everything I’ve ever loved. I’d laugh, I’d talk, I’d listen and learn, I’d love, I’d love, I’d love. I’d make every day today and spend them all with you, and I’d never worry about tomorrow, when I wouldn’t be with you. And when that dreaded tomorrow comes for us, please know that I didn’t want to leave you, or be left behind, that every single moment spent with you were the best times in my life.― Cecelia Ahern, How to Fall in Love

THE STRANGE AND BEAUTIFUL SORROWS OF AVA LAVENDER - LESLYE WALTON

Synopsis: Foolish love appears to be the Roux family birthright, an ominous forecast for its most recent progeny, Ava Lavender. Ava—in all other ways a normal girl—is born with the wings of a bird.

In a quest to understand her peculiar disposition and a growing desire to fit in with her peers, sixteen-year old Ava ventures into the wider world, ill-prepared for what she might discover and naïve to the twisted motives of others. Others like the pious Nathaniel Sorrows, who mistakes Ava for an angel and whose obsession with her grows until the night of the Summer Solstice celebration. (Source: Goodreads)

This book was bizarre, beautifully written and very interesting. I'm serious. I couldn't get off this book because every words, every lines, every chapters, left me wanting more and feeling curious about what's next. This book also open a new door in the reading world I just knew back then, since it introduced me to a new genre than just sci-fi, contemporary or romance. I know magical realism from this book and I'm glad that I've been given a chance to know the genre.

JUST ONE DAY - GAYLE FORMAN

Synopsis: Allyson Healey's life is exactly like her suitcase—packed, planned, ordered. Then on the last day of her three-week post-graduation European tour, she meets Willem. A free-spirited, roving actor, Willem is everything she’s not, and when he invites her to abandon her plans and come to Paris with him, Allyson says yes. This uncharacteristic decision leads to a day of risk and romance, liberation and intimacy: 24 hours that will transform Allyson’s life. (Source: Goodreads)

Just One Day is one of my absolute favourites. It wasn't just my love towards Europe that started when I read this book, but also towards Shakespeare's works. Before this book, obviously, I was only interested on Shakespeare's famous masterpiece, Romeo and Juliet. I don't even like it that much since it was too lovey-dovey. Plus, I'm not a strong believer of love at first sight. After I read this book, I started to look forward to Shakespeare's other masterpieces. It was a torture to read the plays, I suddenly become illiterate when I touch his pieces.

Every libromancer had a first book. Etched more sharply into my memory than my first kiss, this book had been my magical awakening.― Jim C. Hines, Libriomancer