My Favorite Books—The Stories that Started it all and the Ones that Keep it Going

If you're a writer, you probably love books, but there are always those specific few that you will forever love above the rest. Those books inspire us. Those are the books that keep us writing and the ones that made us try writing in the first place. Here's a list of my favorite books. Leave a comment telling me which books you love and if we have any of the same favorites.

Wonder by RJ Palacio

I read this book in sixth grade and while it's not my all-time favorite, it was one of the first books that made me think about writing. This book holds so many great lessons for its readers---the compelling and relatable characters, mixed with a heartwarming story and unique writing, made this book something that really stood out to me as a little eleven year old. It made me realize that not only can you write a great story, you can do it while spreading awareness on important, and sometimes not very prominent, topics.

The Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling

I feel like this book series inspired a lot of writers. It showed us it's possible, with lots of work and perseverance, to make a life for yourself as a full time writer. While I don't think many books will ever be as popular as the Harry Potter series, I do think there is always a chance. This was the first series I fan-girled over. I bought merchandise, watched the movies, read memes, and went to festivals. These books will always hold a special place is my bookish heart.

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

This was another of my earlier favorite books and it made me fall in love with reading the dystopian/sci-fi genre. This was also a book I got all of my friends to read, so my hypnotizing powers were also kicking in. Long story short, we all fell in love with this series and enjoyed seeing the characters grow and escape death several times. I'm team Peeta by the way and you should be too.

Six of Crows duology by Leigh Bardugo

Oh my gosh this book got me! This is a pretty recent read I started towards the end of 2018, and I read the sequel, Crooked Kingdom, in May. These books completely broke me, and I cried several times throughout the series, which surprised me because I don't often cry over books. The characters were incredible and I picked up on a lot of things Leigh did in her writing to reveal certain parts of the plot and show different sides of the characters. When I first started reading this book, I was a hundred pages in and I didn't really like it, but I keep reading and I'm so glad I did because this is probably my favorite book right now. 10/10, you definitely need to read it, especially if you love world-building and fantasy.

The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton

I read this book in my 8th grade literature class this year and it was absolutely amazing. If you want to read a classic, this is a great one because the story is very timeless and the characters are beautifully written. The movie is just as good, and what I think I liked so much about this book is that it shows real problems and doesn't sugarcoat the consequences. There's no magic spell where everything turns out fine. This book is real. I have always been a fan of sci-fi and fantasy books, but this one has pushed me out of my comfort zone into a whole new world of contemporary and other classic books.

The 7 Habits of Highly Effective Teens by Sean Covey

I read this book after several people recommended it to me and it changed the way I look at a lot of things. This book didn't teach me much about writing, but it did help me in my personal life and with things like time management, which does help with writing, and prioritizing tasks, again writing. If you're kind of lost, or if you are feeling alone and stressed out, reading this book will help you! For me it gave me clarity that I was going in a good direction, and helped me to improve some of my weaker skills.

It also opened me up to reading more non-fiction.

Thank you so much for reading and I highly recommend reading all of these books. I know my tastes in books will change as I grow and I know I'll find new favorites, but these are books that I will always treasure because they inspired me to start writing and continue to keep me going.

What are some of your favorite books? Comment them down below!

It's been a pleasure writing for you, and until next time--stay weird and stay writing. - Lexi