[flickr id=”6030468849″ thumbnail=”small” overlay=”true” size=”small” group=”” align=”left”] “Books are the treasured wealth of the world and the fit inheritance of  generations and nations.” ~Henry David Thoreau

Last night on twitter I dared someone to give me a topic to blog about.  Knowing how much I’ve been reading lately, Emily suggested I do a post on books.  “Like a 10 best reads,” was her suggestion.  I’m not good at narrowing…I like to talk WAY too much…but it seemed like a good challenge.  So this won’t be my 10 best reads, per se…we’ll see what I make of it.

First I’ll start with books I’ve read this year (I challenged myself to read 50. I’m half done. See me on Goodreads 😉 ). Non-series books that really made me sit up and take notice.

1. Still Missing – Chevy Stevens. The story of a woman that was abducted and what her life and relationships became afterwards, not to mention how she lived with and handled the abduction itself. It’s told through sessions with her therapist in first person.  Very wrenching, thought provoking with a satisfying ending.
2. Thirteen Reasons Why – Jay Asher. A girl commits suicide and leaves behind cassette tapes detailing thirteen reasons (and people) that led to her suicide.  It grabbed me by the throat and held me fast, wrecking me emotionally after (I had to switch and read a few light & fluffy books to come down).  I could relate to the girl and what she went through. Told from the point of view of the 10th person on the tapes as he listens to them.
3. Speak – Laurie Halse Anderson. Another book about a teen dealing with an emotional event.  While I figured out what the event was early in the book – before it was really said or pointed out – it was still an emotional read.  The girl deals with an ostracizing event by closing down.  She gets to the point where she pretty much never talks.  While it didn’t rip me open as much as 13 Reasons did…it was still an emotional read.
4. Confessions of a Prairie Bitch – Alison Arngrim. My husband calls me un-American because I didn’t watch the Little House TV series. I never watched it because I loved the books and the show didn’t stay true enough. BUT, I felt completely compelled to read this book.  I’m so glad I did.  Alison details life on and off the set, before, during and after Little House.  With a bit of sarcasm, wit and a certain amount of fire, she tells about great pains and joys.  I came out liking Alison and admiring her.
5. Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children – Ransom Riggs. Okay, I may have cheated putting this here…but since there’s been no formal announcement of this turning into a series I can.  This book was very interesting.  Told by integrating old pictures, it’s a surprisingly different read. A 16 year old boy has learned to dismiss his grandfather’s fanciful stories until his grandfather is murdered by a monster straight out of them – that only the boy can see.  From there he ventures into a world he never expects.
6. A Reliable Wife – Robert Goolrick. Another cheat – I read this in 2010, but I have to include it on this part of the list.  It’s a gothic romance. Much darker than what I’d read in the past – and definitely stirring.  It had an ending I definitely didn’t expect, and ended up being very satisfied with.  I won’t say more – except to read it.