So normally, on Monday's, I spotlight a fellow author and post reviews. But this week, we're going to do things a little different. Over the next two weeks, I'm going to discuss the top ten books that made me who I am. Whether they made me want to write, showed me how to write or simply gave me inspiration by making me look with in myself. Regardless of how they touched me, each of these books changed me in some way and that's what we as writers hope to do.
This week, I will go through books 10 - 6
10. Skinny Women Are Evil by MoNique
A lot of people have given MoNique grief for starting the PHAT girl movement and then losing all of her weight. I'll save that rant for another blog, but know this, the PHAT girl movement was about learning to love yourself no matter what size you are. And that's why I loved this book. At my heaviest, when I felt unlovable, she used humor and her own experiences to show me that if I didn't love myself when I was fat, I would still be hate in a smaller package once I lost the weight.
9. The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald
This was one of the books that was required reading senior year in High School. Most of the other books bored me to tears. I was instantly intrigued by J. Gatsby because I understood him. I understand what it's like to be who everybody else wants you to be and lose yourself in the process. I generally get lost in a book and a plot but don't necessarily get attached to a character. This was the first time that I bonded with a character from a book.
8. A Walk To Remember by Nicholas Sparks
So, I watched the movie a long time before I actually read the book. Then I was staying at my mom's a few years ago and what we had planned got cancelled due to rain. We went to the library to find things to do and I just happened to come across the book. Being that I am a writer, I figured I should compare and contrast the book to the movie. And as much I love the movie, the book is incredible. The book is completely different from the movie, yet it's the same story. The book is set in the 60s and is told in first person from the male character's point of view. The movie is in modern times and shows the aspects of the story that the book limits. And all of this excites the writer in me. It was amazing to see that they were the same thing but completely different. It really pushed me to expand my horizons in my writing and look at things at different angles.
7. Susan's Diary for Nicholas by James Patterson
This book had the same effect on me that A Walk to Remember did, although I didn't feel that the t.v. movie did it justice. It starts out as one thing and ends up being about something completely different that you never see coming. The way it switches between point's of view and perspectives intrigues me in the way that it doesn't confuse you and it's easy to stay in the story. It encouraged me to try different things in my writing.
6. Electroboy: A Memoir into Mania by Andy Behrman
I found out this book from Rosie O'Donnel's old talk show. I was really struggling with accepting my own issues and became obsessed with getting it. Once I got it, I spent 3 days doing nothing but reading it. The things that Andy went through trying to get his bipolar disorder under control was amazing. But what was even more impressive was how honest and open he was about his experiences. I didn't feel so alone anymore. I actually reached out to Mr. Behrman and emailed back and forth with him for a while. The conversation I had with him and his book gave me courage to put more of me and my past and my story into my books.
Well, here are my first set of books. Please feel free to comment about what your favorite books are. See you next week with 5 - 1.
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