excerpts of
the books that grew me
A little bit of background of why I take a book with me wherever I go. The books presented here shed some light on novels that heavily influenced me, but to also demonstrate how the texts I read independently served as the birth of my passion and interest in learning as a literature major and applying what I've learned to the world around me.
Check out what's on my shelf!
The Midnight Library
Matt Haig's work, The Midnight Library, is said to be the next coming of age story. A novel that challenges the fears of existentialism, yet amplifies meaning in humanness, it is an essential read for those in their early 20s. This short read addresses the idea of hope despite regret, balanced with the lighthearted joys of living.
This novel was actually recommended to me by a Mississippi College professor. He encouraged me when I questioned if law was the best life path for me. Upon reading, I not only felt assured in my career goals, but grew to be confident in the decisions I have made and not fear the ones I have yet to make.
I Am The Messenger
“I Am The Messenger” initiates a gripping fight in us, rooting for the hero who’s daily routine in driving taxi cabs and taking care of his old dog in a cramped New York City apartment. Markus Zusak reminds us that any of us could be a hero, but many won’t choose to be. He exemplifies beauty, purpose, and value in the mundane, but without reward.
I read this book in highschool when I contemplated which college and career path to choose, and even who I wanted to become. It was an invaluable experience for me to step inside the life of a character that found beauty in the ordinary, and his only mission was to do the right thing each and every day.
Heartless
Heartless is a prequel to Lewis Carroll’s 1863 classic Alice in Wonderland, an origin story of the Queen of Hearts. Full of fantastastical events, imagery, romance, and riddles, this novel is coated in classic storytelling with all of its exciting characters and wild twists. It makes one surprised to find the destruction of goodness can come of such a wonderland, but Marissa Meyer teaches us that the small decisions we make can create a positive or negative wake in the world.
This inviting tale grabbed me by the hand and “down the rabbit hole” when I read it bordering on middle school and highschool. It fueled my imaginative spirit, but also deepend my critical thinking. With a background in only heroic tales, reading a novel that showed me just as much as anyone is capable of good, anyone is capable of evil, gripped my attention. And of course, hero to villian became one of my favorite novel tropes.
The Hobbit
J.R.R. Tolkien's adventurous tale takes us on a journey with Bilbo Baggins that we will never forget. We learn about the depths of heroism coming from an unlikely character, how the simple life holds much goodness, and the beauty and honor in facing inevitable death.
"A tale of adventures, dragons, and riddles." That is how I would have described the Hobbit in Elementary school when I picked this book off of the shelf on my mother's and my Barnes and Noble traditional run. The Hobbit begot my love for literature, and knowing I was reading an "old book" that was not your typical dystopian YA novel made me feel as though I could tackle any tough-read. I didn't know then that the Hobbit would push me to be a scholar in literature (however limited in undergrad, but a scholar nonetheless) and continuously "tackle the tough-reads" in order to solve the meaning and find the beauty within the books.
