I read now... Who am I?

So now that I've graduated, I've discovered something crazy… I actually have some time to read! In college, I never had a second of free time to just read for pleasure. I was either busy with life or reading for school (kind of…). I probably could have read a couple of those nights instead of watching Netflix… but after sitting in class all day who wants to do that? So now after work in the evenings, I still do like my fair share of Netflix, but to mix it up I sometimes like to read!

Finding some good books to read makes all the difference, so I figured I’d share the names of some books I’ve been reading for anyone else out there who struggles to find books they enjoy.

I’m not really into the mushy romance books, so I had to find a different genre that interested me. I’ve realized I really like mystery and crime-related books. So the first few on this list fall similar to these categories.

I started with The Cellar, a fictional book about a girl who gets kidnapped and is stuck in her kidnapper’s basement with several other girls. I thought it was interesting  because it gave the perspective of the girl that was kidnapped, the boyfriend that was looking for her, and the kidnapper himself. I like getting inside people’s heads to find out what they’re thinking, feeling, and why they do what they do. This book is definitely for younger adults, but overall it kept me wanting to read more.

Once I realized I like reading about kidnapping (sick, I know), I decided to read the book The Room. This is another fictional book about a woman who is kidnapped and has a son due to her kidnapper, and how her and her son survive living in just a small room. It started off pretty slow for me, and was a little harder for me to get into because it is written from the perspective of the little 5-year-old boy, who obviously talks/writes like a little boy - so the language took some getting used to. I thought this book was interesting though, and it did a good job portraying what it would be like to grow up in a tiny room, not knowing what the outside world is like, or that it even exists, and the unconditional love between a mother and child.

After I finished those two, I decided to switch from the kidnapping books to the mystery books. I bought my dad the book Invisible as a gift, and after he was done with it, he told me I should give it a shot. I loved this book. It was right up my alley with mystery, and a little bit of romance in the background. The book is about a girl named Emmy who had a sister that was killed in a house fire and deemed accidental, but Emmy is convinced she was murdered. Emmy thinks that there is a serial killer that is just so good at covering up his crimes that no one has discovered him yet. No one else believes Emmy; except the reader. It is awesomely frustrating being "in the know" while none of the other characters are. One chapter you are reading about Emmy trying to convince everyone and catch this killer, and the next chapter you are reading what is going on inside the killer’s mind (which as I mentioned before, I love!). The chapters are super short, so it’s so easy to just fly through. If you like murder mysteries, and FBI crime solving books, I would highly recommend this one.

Next, I read the book Gone Girl. When I started this book, I didn’t even know there was a movie coming out about it. What a gripping book. It’s got twists and turns throughout it, and ones that you don't see coming. It’s about a woman, Amy, who goes missing on her and her husband’s five-year anniversary, and all fingers point to her husband, Nick. Did her husband kill her? Was Amy kidnapped by one of her many stalkers? You get really interesting insights on two very complicated characters, Amy and Nick. This book’s got it all – love, deceit, suspense, and more. This is one of a few books that I’ve read that I think people of both genders would really enjoy. As for the movie - there are definitely more details and better explanations in the book, but this was one of the few movies that I think did a good job not butchering the book. I would recommend both reading the book and seeing the movie!

Now I’ve finally taken a break from the mystery/kidnapping books, and am reading my first Nicholas Sparks book, The Best of Me. It’s a romance novel about a rich popular girl and a poor boy from a broken family who are forced to end their relationship because their small town didn’t approve, and then they meet again 20 years later. The book revolves mostly around romance, but also has its fair share of drama and excitement. As I mentioned before, I’m not a huge fan of romance books, but so far I’m liking this one. And I did it again – I started reading this book before realizing that they just released the movie back in October! Guess I will have to watch it once I finish the book, and then report back on if it was a good portrayal.