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Blogtober 2014

    Blogtober 2014, Book Reviews

    Blog-tember 2015 | Day 14 + 5 Books That Have Impacted My Life

    September 14, 2015
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    Today’s prompt is right up my alley. Books. Books that I love. And lucky for me, this prompt even fell on a Monday, which is when I usually schedule book reviews. I’m really excited to share with you just a small sampling of the books that have impacted my life. Really, my whole life has been impacted by books. I’ve loved them since before I can remember, and I will forever love them.

    Day 14: The 5 books that have impacted your life the most. 


    1 | The Book of Mormon and the Bible
    Of course, I have to put the scriptures at the very top of my list. I need Jesus and the Gospel in my life. Like most people, I go through phases and seasons of how much time and effort I put into my relationship with God. I think that will always be a part of our journey here on Earth. But that doesn’t change the fact that I need it. I crave it. And studying the scriptures blesses me in numerous ways. I hope you’ll search and dig in, and find that happiness for yourself. (For those that don’t know, The Book of Mormon is another testament of Christ, and a book that members of the LDS church use as a companion to the Bible. We believe it to be the word of God, just as the Bible is the word of God. You can read more of my own thoughts about it here, and you can learn more and order a free copy for yourself here.)

    2 | The Harry Potter series
    By now you probably know what a huge Harry Potter fan I am. I mean, I wrote a post about him on his birthday. I know there are those that don’t understand the obsession love, but I also know there are many, many who do. I don’t know what to say about HP that hasn’t already been said before. Between the brilliant writing, the wonderful characters, the best fan base in the world, and the fact that the books just plain teach many, many truths, I don’t have the words to describe what these books mean to me. To sum it up in one sentence: the Harry Potter series taught me about life. And I will be forever grateful for that.

    3 | Tuesdays with Morrie
    My senior year of college, I took a class entitled Adult Development and Aging. It was a class I wasn’t too interested in, as my favorite area of focus is and was teen development, but I took it to fulfill a requirement, and to get a more well-rounded view of development. I ended up really enjoying the class, and part of it was because Tuesdays with Morrie (along with a presentation of our favorite theme from the book) was required reading, and a major portion of our grade. I had heard of the book, but had never picked it up. I read it in one day. I was engrossed. There were pearls of wisdom on each and every page. My copy is littered with underlining and sticky notes. Each time I read it, something else sticks out to me. But the thing that Morrie taught me the most about is love. We are here to love, love is the most important thing in this world. Love it what drove our Father in Heaven to create a  plan for us to return to Him and become like Him. Love is what drove our Brother, Jesus Christ, to sacrifice Himself in order for the Father’s plan to work. Love is what drives our actions day by day, as we strive to provide for and protect our family. Nothing else matters. 

    4 | Les Miserables
    My first interaction with anything Les Mis came at a young age. Around 8, perhaps. And it was in the form of Les Miserables in Concert being performed on PBS. The melodies drew me in and ever since I have been hooked on everything Les Mis. The CDs were played at my house often. I first read a (very) abridged version for children, then graduated to the unabridged, which as also been read a handful of times. I could probably attribute my love of all things French to Les Miserables. A very quick synopsis for those that might not know, Les Mis centers around a man named Jean Valjean, and how he turns from a criminal into a man of God. It is a story of redemption, and love, and how one can change. A tagline for the book, musical, and movie is “to love another person is to see the face of God” and that is definitely an underlying theme. It’s a beautiful book, a beautiful musical, and a beautiful movie. I highly, highly recommend it. The unabridged version is very dense, but worth the read, however if reading 1500 pages scares you (and I don’t blame you if it does!), I would highly recommend the abridged version  because the story is just SO GOOD.

    5 | Jane Eyre
    The first time I picked up Jane Eyre, I was probably no more than 9 or 10. My mom has this beautiful red, hardback version with gold lettering sitting on her shelf of classics and it called to me. Before long I was immersed in Jane’s world. The terror of her home growing up, the death of her best friend at school, and, of course, all the adventures and challenges she experienced at Thornfield. I was enthralled, entranced, and I loved every page. Since then, I have re-read Jane Eyre at least 12 times, if not more. My own softback copy’s spine is bent and broken because of the many time it’s been read. My senior year of high school, it was the book I picked to become intimately familiar with in my AP Lit class, in order to be able to bend it into any essay prompt on the AP test. This book is home to me. It was my first classic, my first long-time favorite, the book I have read the most in my life. 

    Of course, this is just a very few of my favorite books, the ones that have really changed my life and impacted me. Others include The Great Gatsby, The Perks of Being a Wallflower, Number the Stars, The Giver, Night, Nineteen Minutes, Little Women, Ayn Rand’s books, and many, many others. You may want to check out my “Books I Recomend” shelf on Goodreads for more. 

    Tell me, what books have impacted you the most? Feel free to comment or email me! I always love to talk about books 🙂

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