I like Animal Farm even better, I read it three times. Itās a political satire, so I donāt think it fits everyoneās taste, but if you like Orwellās style, I think you should give it a try 
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Yes, and I loved it!
Hello People! Seems like a great convo about books is going on in here. I loved the book Tortilla Flat too!
I have to say that though I might not be that much of a bookworm, the two main reads of my life that substantially influenced me were The Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank and The Bishopās Candlesticks by Norman McKinnel. They might seem childish and elementary, but to me, they gave a blatant awakening and destroyed my perceptions regarding "Stories and Novels are a total wastage of precious time."
In History, most of us must have studied about The Holocaust and its aftermath. It was a a very terrible and horrific situation faced by the Jews. I mean, most of us must have been touched by the horrors and torture the Jewish people had to go through, right? Innocent people and children lost their beautiful lives. About five to six million European Jews were gassed. And what saddened me the most that this was going right in front of many apathetic witnesses who didnāt dare to take action against the Nazis, fearing for their lives. I think it wasnāt cool to dub the Jews as āKillers of Christ.ā
The Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank brings to light some of the events in the concentration camps during Nazi rule in Germany. Anne and her family were arrested in Gestapo in 1944, then taken to one of the concentration camps. Her diary which she named as Kitty, contained all the deets - how the Nordic German Aryans marked the houses of Jews and other āqueerā neighbors, how they reported about suspicious activities caused by those neighbors, how they were taken to concentration camps - and other things. Whenever you read her diary, it honestly feels as if sheās reporting all her thoughts and views to you in real time. It felt more lively and interesting when I made a project on The Holocaust after I read this book, instead of yapping everything down from numerous history textbooks and online notes. This also increased my interest for further reading.
When I was young, probably eight or nine years, I felt as if I was at the top of the world or felt quite satisfied by reading only short, crisp stories like The Fox and the Crow and other moral stories like The Cap-Seller and The Monkeys, none of which my friends and classmates read at that age. Most of them had already reached to Diary of a Wimpy Kid by Jeff Kinney or Harry Potter. I donāt know why, but I somewhat disliked Harry Potter, because I thought he was so overrated. Yeah, that lanky boy with round, awkward glasses. (Please donāt hate me!) And then one day it was DEAR (Drop Everything And Read) Day already. Almost everyone had something to read with them. School textbooks and notebooks werenāt allowed. So, I was pretty much in trouble. But a girl in my class (who was strangely helpful to everyone in my class, might I add) lent me an extra book which was with her. The Bishopās Candlesticks by Norman McKinnel read its cover.
The story mainly revolved around a Bishop and his silver candlesticks, and a convict. The convict was a ābeastā before, during his ten years stay in jail where he was brandished and tortured and chained like an animal. Before his imprisonment, he was just a common fellow with a wife and small cottage. When his wife, Jeanette, fell ill, he decided to steal since he had no job. But unfortunately he was caught and then sentenced to ten years in jail. Next day he was informed that Jeanette died. All this, he recounted to the wise man Bishop who had fed and gave a warm hospitality to the convict. But the convict, instead of being thankful to the Bishop, stole his precious candlesticks and made a run out of the house. Finally when he was caught, the convict thought he would again spend his days rotting away in jail, but was surprised when the Bishop actually claimed him to be his friend. The convict then realized his mistake and apologized to the Bishop, who forgave him and also gave him the candlesticks and told him about a secret pathway in the woods to Paris. The thing I liked most about this story is that āThis Poor Body is the Temple of the Living God.ā People travel to the Himalayas and Mecca and other religious places in search for The Almighty. Yet they fail to realize that he himself resides in us, in our hearts. Heās not elsewhere.
Phew! Well, thatās it. If you wanna know what Iām reading now, itās Malgudi Days by R.K. Narayan. Iām currently āstuckā on the chapter Iswaran. By āstuckā I mean lots and lots of upcoming projects and exams, and not to mention internship. So far, the book is good. Mystery and humor combined in an awesome way.
What about you guys? By the way, can someone recommend really good books/stories in mystery, thriller or comedy genre? I swear those are the only genres I ever look forward too, none of which are in my boring-as-heck life 
Anyways, Happy Reading to you all forā¦whatever youāre reading! 
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Everyone knows Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn but I feel like her first novel Sharp Objects is truly slept on, I would recommend it to anyone that likes a good mystery/story about family dysfunction and misery.
When I saw the words āThis Poor Body is the Temple of the Living Godā in your post I knew right away what story Iād recommend
I really think you should check out āA Temple of The Holy Ghostā by Flannery OāConnor! Itās a short story that touches on some similar themes as āThe Bishopās Candlesticksā. Plus Flannery is my fave author or all living existence so I really canāt recommend her works highly enough!
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No, I definitely love Animal Farm, all the different political parties represented within the animals was genius
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Yes!!! Omgosh that part when
Sheās in the dressing room and her mom sees her body scars and sheās disgusted??? I was like 
āyou caused them your crazy b*tch! Help her heal, youāre her mother!!!ā
Such a great read, I felt every bit of anguish that the main character went through.
If you havenāt read Dark Places, you should. And I just finished reading her short story: The Grown Up. Short but well written.
āāOh dear Godāā¦ āLook at what you have done to yourself,ā Adora said. āLook at it.āā¦āI hope you just loved it. I hope you can stand yourself.āā
Iām here for everything Gillian Flynn does, she basically writes in narrative poetry, in three lines she can give me the same sensory experience that Stephen King takes chapters to painstakingly detail.
āThey always call depression the blues, but I would have been happy to waken to a periwinkle outlook. Depression to me is urine yellow, washed out, exhausted miles of weak piss.ā
I teared up when she said that, the words just hit you full-force. Camille is in such a vulnerable state and it just get worse. Ugh, so much frustration.
Saaaaaame! I read Gone Girl before they even thought of making a movie out of it (not a brag, just a fun fact) and as soon as I read it, I was like: I need MORE.
She takes tragedy and just makes it into art. Like you said, her ability to affect your sensory experience is incredible.
I am a huuuuuge bookworm. Iām never not reading a book - sometimes Iām reading two or three at once! I use ābut I need to do research to be a novelistā as an excuse. xD
Fantasy isnāt usually my favorite, but I am SO INTO Robin Hobbās Realm of the Elderlings series. I canāt recommend Robin Hobb any higher then George R.R. Martin (of Game of Thrones) did: He called her books ādiamonds in a sea of zirconsā.
So, Iām on the third trilogy in the series, the Tawny Man trilogy, and on the first book called Foolās Errand. This series guys. I CANāT put it down. I canāt tell you how many things Iāve missed because I literally could not stop reading. So hereās a bit of info:
The first trilogy (the Farseer Trilogy) takes place in a country called the Six Duchies, and features a young boy (bastard son of the crown prince) with two rare magical abilities - the Skill and the Wit - who is taken on to work in the stables but ends up becoming the Assassinās apprentice, and eventually saves the country and the whole world by doing something he thought he personally was incapable of. Itās a lot better than it sounds, itās just impossible to describe without spoilers. The books are Assassinās Apprentice, Royal Assassin, and Assassinās Quest.
MY FAVORITE trilogy - the Liveship trilogy - takes place south of the Six Duchies. Itās mostly about a little trading town on the coast, and it involves talking ships, pirates, magic artifacts, dangerous sea serpents, and mayhaps some dragons. The characters meant so much to me I almost couldnāt finish because I didnāt want to say goodbye. The books are Ship of Magic, Mad Ship, and Ship of Destiny.
So far all I know about this one is that weāre back in the Six Duchies with the protag from the first trilogy, and that my favorite fictional friends of ALL TIME are about to meet up again after decades apart. Iām PUMPED.
ā¦they are much, MUCH better than they sound. I like them a lot better then the Song of Ice and Fire series. If anyone is into fantasy - or wishes they were - I strong suggest picking up a copy. You can read either of the first two trilogies first, you just miss some inside info if you do Liveship first.
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What else Iām reading:
A book about the history of the city of Paris, and The Silver Eyes by Scott Cawthon and Kira Breed-Wrisley. Iām reading them both verrrrryyy slowly though. I just finished rereading The Neverending Story by Michael Ende and was less impressed by it the second time, sadly. (ā¦maybe I do like fantasyā¦)
As for other recommendationsā¦
Zombie book - Raising Stony Mayhall by Daryl Gregory flips the genre on itās head by giving us a closer look at the zombieās point of view.
Romance - I donāt like those paperback romance type books. My favorite romance from fiction is probably between Gilbert and Anne from the Anne Shirley series by L.M. Montgomery. Bonus, those books always put me in a calmer state of mind.
Urban fantasy - The Dresden Files, about a wizard who lives in Chicago and lists his services in the paper, and is always getting into trouble. Maybe not for younger audiences.
Young Adult - I always felt like A Great And Terrible Beauty by Libba Bray (and the other two books, Rebel Angels and The Sweet Far Thing) never got enough credit. This one is also a bit fantasy-esque, but the real draw is in the super realistic, deeply moving characters. It takes place in the Victorian era, if I remember correctly.
Nonfiction - Girl Interrupted is NOT for young audiences, but wow. It reads like a fiction novel and really gives you an idea of what itās like in the head of someone with a mental illness, and how badly mental illnesses were treated in theā¦60s? Iām pretty sure it takes place in the 60s.
Classic: MY FAVORITE BOOK OF ALL TIME, Frankenstein by Mary Shelley. Though like 85% of the book is Victor Frankenstein floating in a boat and feeling sorry for himself, the other 15% is so worth it. Especially when it comes to the Creature, who actually has high intelligence, in many ways higher than his creator.
All The Genres: The Scarlet Pimpernel by Baroness Emmuska Orczy. Holy cow. This is a very easy-to-read classic novel that takes place mostly in England just after the French Revolution. A mysterious figure is saving the royalty thatās up for execution, and no one can catch him, and no one knows who he is. Itās got action, mystery, intrigue, comedy, some of the best romance Iāve ever seen, and justā¦itās incredible. I was in awe of her writing from line one. Plus, you get to learn how to say fun phrases like āOddās fish!ā.
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I read The Scarlet Pimpernel some time ago. One of these days Iāll read the rest of the series!
Thats exactly what I keep saying, haha. I found them for free online, though!
I love Marguerite and Percy with all my heart.
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Iāve been meaning to read Robin Hobbās Realm of the Elderlings series since I knew of their existence but I canāt find the books ANYWHERE! Are they really that good? I have to find those!
YES absolutely. I mean, the first one was hard to get through until the last 100 pages to be honest and normally I donāt finish those books, but I read those last 100 pages when I was supposed to be cleaning the house to surprise my mom when she came home from the hospital. ā¦she didnāt get quite as nice a surprise as Iād planned. xD The rest of the books were much easier to get through, and with Liveship it was an addiction from chapter one.
As for finding them, Iāve been lucky and Iāve been sent all of them, some from the online friend who introduced me, some from my great aunt. Iām pretty sure the best luck as been used book stores and yard sales. Iāll ask my friend if she has any recommendations to find them - she buys multiple copies so she can send them out to people.
If you want to buy online, I just found a copy of the first book for less then 5 dollars at Thriftbooks, and Book People.
Thank you, thank you, thank you, THANK YOU! Those books are almost impossible to get in my country so thank you so much for that info! Iāll read it as soon as I can get it, and Iāll be sure to tell you about what I thought about it.
I also had the displeasure of reading Red Queen. I borrowed it from a friend who had told me that it was terrible. I read it anyway, Turned out she was right. One of the worst books I have ever read. I especially didnāt like the way it was written, and at first, I thought it was just because it was translated into Swedish. But it turned out that it wasnāt.
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Iām a little late to the party, but I feel obligated to recommend Claudia Rankineās Citizen. I honestly donāt know how to describe it, so Iāll leave it to critic Michael Lindgren: āboundary-bending potencyā¦an innovative amalgam of genres.ā Itās so gripping, so real, and so beautifully executed. Her prose is fairly unconventional as she narrates in second person, but it enhances the story so much because you feel immersed in every situation. Itās equal parts passionate, powerful, and political.
Besides that, my favorite books of all time include Catās Cradle (Kurt Vonnegut), Survivor (Chuck Palahniuk), The Moon is Down (John Steinbeck), and anything by Albert Camus.
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Canāt be late when the party never stops!
I love The Moon is Down! Never read Catās Cradle but currently polishing off Vonnegutās Player Piano and have enjoyed it
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A book that I love and re-read 3 times is āan abundance of Katherineāsā by john green