I'm going to be honest

I'm going to be honest. I have not been reading. If you count NuCareers job descriptions, class assignments, or the side of a cereal box, then maybe I have. But "The Unbearable Lightness of Being" has sat in the same place and at this point, is probably well overdue at the BPL (Boston Public Library). It's not that I'm even super busy, but I just feel like my mind is buzzing at 100 miles a minute, and I can't seem to stop to just read.

This three-day weekend, I plan to change that. Milan Kundera does not deserve this, and I need to finish his book! I cannot return it like I did with my previous books. I am determined to get back into reading, no matter what it takes. A couple of people I know listen to audio books on their co-op commutes or just in general, but I've never been able to get into those. However, every Wednesday I do have a Cambridge commute for service learning which sucks up about two hours of my day. 

To inspire myself (and hopefully you, mysterious reader), I'm going to recount some of my favorite reads just to remind myself why I fell in love with it in the first place. I'll teleport back in time to let's say, third grade, because that's when I remember I was most voracious with my reading and would often read multiple books at a time. What happened to that girl? Time to reach back into my memory bank.

The first book that comes to mind is "Hugo Cabret," and I think the reason I picked it up at all was because of its sheer size. Though I can't seem to recall the plot all too well, I still remember it today and honestly, who can forget this cover and spine work?

This second one might be kind of obscure, but it's called "Out of My Mind" by Sharon M. Draper. This novel was one of those books hanging around the house, was read once, and never again. The story focuses on a girl with cerebral palsy, and I remember being younger and just being completely absorbed in this book. I had never read anything like it probably because I had never been exposed to stories actually focusing on cerebral palsy before. Unfortunately, I can't testify to the quality of the writing since my first judgement was around eight years old, but please trust eight-year-old-me anyway. I remembered it at least, which says something.

Okay this one is one that everyone knows, but "Great Expectations" by Charles Dickens really stuck with me. I had to read it in my freshman year English class on this stupid book-reading app that was aggressively boring, but we talked about it so much there was no way not to get invested. There's just so many layers, and not knowing anything about the story before, I fell in love with all of its twists and turns and sincerely wanted the best for Pip.

Here's some random titles off the top of my head (and GoodReads): The Help (though timely for discussion because there is controversy there), Moloka'i, Love Story (ugh, a treasure), those old Sarah Dessen books (?), Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson, Legend by Marie Lu, Stargirl, Hatchet, Island of the Blue Dolphins (ha), The Uglies Trilogy, Walk Two Moons.