Books

Narrowing down my favorite books to 3 is quite a task. I love books, and even though I don't get to read as often as I would like, I still have a long list of favorites. Books stick to me for many different reasons, but I find that I generally favor books with girls or underdogs as the many character. In writing this, I decided to try and stray from my usual.
    The first book I picked was Tweak by Nic Sheff. It is a true story that takes place from around 2006-08. It appealed to me right off the bat because of the setting, which starts off in the Haight District of San Francisco. The basic premise is a guy growing up in a well off family gets addicted to drugs. The story begins about a year after he has been clean, when he ends up relapsing. I have never tried meth or heroine (the two drugs he is addicted to in the book), but I can still relate to his story. Of course every aspect of it involves drugs, the emotions he expresses in the book can be related to by many people. He is just young and unsure, motivated yet dispassionate. He goes from being so in love with life to wanting to disappear forever and then back to being on top of the world. It is raw and sentimental and you will not want to set the book down.
   My second choice is Franny and Zooey by J.D Salinger. This was the first Salinger book I read, and is still my favorite. I've noticed that I tend to like books that focus on the nature of humans. This book follows the Glass family. I realized after reading more of his books that they are in many of his stories. It's hard to pin point what made me love this book so much, but like in Tweak, it appealed to me emotionally, and I felt like many questions I had about life were being answered through the inquiries of the characters.
   Lastly I decided on To Kill a Mockingbird. Like I said, I love stories with girls and underdogs, and this is a bit of both. I know a lot of people who never got into this book because it was a required read for class. For me, I never grew tired of it. I had to read it twice for class, as well as help teach it to a class. It again appeals to me from an emotional point of view because I think most people can relate to the themes of the story. Not only is it a historical look at issues in America, it deals with universal themes as well.