My favourite books

The Great Gatsby is great to me again majorly because I enjoy good writing and Fitzgerald is a stellar writer. But I also thoroughly loved how brilliantly this book captured the tragedy of being unhealthily in love, having material obsession, being dictated by the pressures of society about what a good life should look like, and so much more. I love how flawed Daisy is as a character as well. I adore how Tom highlights the most subtle things about life around him. It's a book that will draw you right into it.

The millennium series (except the third book - girl who kicked the hornests nest) was genius. The first book ended with a sharp hit of reality. As readers you get absorbed into the book and root for the characters but this story is about real issues that plague the world like sexual violence and gender based abuse to name only two of the many highlighted in the book. And plagues don't end pretty so the first book doesn't either. But the second one i.e The Girl Who Played With Fire, I liked even more because of the pace of the book, the brilliant character development and insane plot twists. You must pick this up!

I have a taste for books set in war (or post - war) times. The book theif is a beautiful book that is set in war-torn Germany and it is still my favorite for being one of the most heart wrenching stories that I've read set in a war torn country. It is lined with the innocence of longing in all senses of the word in a violent setting. I equally enjoyed the movie as well.

So that's that. These are my all time favorite books apart from the Harry Potter series which gives me something new and refreshing each time I read the books. I enjoy reading well-written books with interesting plots and so these four are my favorite so far.
The Alchemist : The Alchemist is one philosophical book which tells us never to lose hope. The Secret is perhaps based on that. It teaches us that when a person really desires something, the whole universe will conspire to help that person realise his dream.
The Kite Runner - The story expresses human emotions in the face of tragedies. It’s heart-breaking and life-changing and simply one of the best books I’ve ever read. And I am NOT exaggerating.
The Subtle art of not giving a F*ck : This one is truly one of the most ground-shaping nonfiction books I’ve read so far. It will and can change an outlook, a perspective, a life. The idea of not giving a f*ck is a simple way of reorienting our expectation for life and choosing what is important and what is not.
My Sister’s keeper : My Sister’s Keeper is one of the most heart wrenching stories I’ve ever read. It’s about a girl who is on the cusp of becoming someone. A girl who may not know what she wants right now, and she may not know who she is right now, but who deserves the chance to find out.
The Namesake : This book tells a story which must be familiar to anyone who has migrated to another country – the fact that having made the transition to a new culture you are left missing the old and never quite achieving full admittance into the new. In fact a feeling of never quite belonging to either.
Gone Girl : Gone Girl is an epitome work of mystery, suspense and much more than just a crime novel, it’s a tale full of turn, twist, thrill and uncertainty. Twist after twist after twist. It’s a page-turner layered with vividly crafted the smartest, dirtiest, filthy-minded characters; it’s the kind of book that’s nearly impossible to put down.
The Strange case of Billy Biswas : ‘The Strange Case of Billy Biswas’ is a mocking attack on the materialistic civilized society and applause of the past ancient culture wherein lies the solution for the ills of the modern society. Truth be told- it did leave me dazed and high immediately after finishing it. A good and a quick read, with the message – “The most futile cry of man is his wish to be understood” I found it hard to even put the book down.
Can I Have it all : A must read for all professional, especially working married women. The book emphasis on the clarity of purpose, conviction, choice, courage, confidence, connect, collaboration, competition and crossing over.
Now, as for nonfiction, I read books on many subjects. I love scientific literature, large books about various topics (i.e. science or history; I have one published by Professor Jon Roper that talks about the US presidents and another from the Smithsonian on the Universe), history books (books written by historians), and philosophical works. I sometimes even read some theology out of self-interest, despite being an Atheist (not being prideful, just thought it would be interesting since it pertains to the question). Right now, I am trying to read and take notes on Plato's "Republic" and "Laws," Confucius's "Analects," and Thomas More's "Utopia." I also own David Hume's "A Treatise on Human Nature," which I am excited to get started on soon.
It was a gift from a friend of my parents', because supposedly I was at the age where I had to move on from comics to "big books". I really enjoyed reading it, but I was really confused because the book didn't seem to have a beginning or ending.
It is called Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban.
I talked to my teacher about it during class book club, and she introduced me to the concept of "sequels". Stories that were so big, you'd need more than one book to fit it all!
(I didn't know the word prequel existed, so I called the first two HP books sequels for several years before anybody corrected me).

References

1. 
   Svensson, Peter (27 March 2012). "Harry Potter breaks e-book lockdown". Yahoo. Archived from the original on 14 July 2014. Retrieved 29 July 2013.
   
2. 
   Allsobrook, Dr. Marian (18 June 2003). "Potter's place in the literary canon". BBC News. Archived from the original on 9 January 2008. Retrieved 15 October 2007.
   
3. 
   The Pottermore News Team (1 February 2018). "500 million Harry Potter books have now been sold worldwide". Pottermore. Archived from the original on 14 March 2018.
   
4. 
   Meyer, Katie (6 April 2016). "Harry Potter's $25 Billion Magic Spell". Time. Archived from the original on 10 April 2016. Retrieved 4 November 2016.
   
5. 
   Sources that refer to the many genres, cultural meanings and references of the series include:
   
6. 
   Fry, Stephen (10 December 2005). "Living with Harry Potter". BBC Radio 4. Archived from the original on 2 June 2009. Retrieved 10 December 2005.
   
7. 
   Jensen, Jeff (7 September 2000). "Why J.K. Rowling waited to read Harry Potter to her daughter". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on 5 September 2015. Retrieved 19 August 2015.
   
8. 
   Nancy Carpentier Brown (2007). "The Last Chapter" (PDF). Our Sunday Visitor. Archived from the original (PDF) on 13 October 2007. Retrieved 28 April 2009.
   
9. 
   J. K. Rowling. "J. K. Rowling at the Edinburgh Book Festival". Archived from the original on 20 August 2006. Retrieved 10 October 2006.
   
10. 
    Greig, Geordie (11 January 2006). "'There would be so much to tell her...'". The Telegraph. London. Archived from the original on 11 March 2007. Retrieved 4 April 2007.