Books Pull Us In More Ways Than One!

Christine L. Baker-Smith
Nov 17, 2017
4 min read

I LOVE BOOKS - THE MORE THE MERRIER!!

I don't just read one book at a time...I've always got 3 or 4 books I'm investing my time in. One may be an adventure, another may be a historical non-fiction, and yet, another one could be a memoir about someone I found to be intriguing. Nevertheless, I'm ALWAYS reading! I'm AMAZED at all the different genres there are - a WIDE variety for sure! If you are one who doesn't like to read, you just haven't found the right genre yet - guarantee you would be a reader if you did! Take any interest, hobby, or profession and you can match up a book of that source and be on a favorable adventure or learn something new - just imagine the possibilities and the endless hours of creative play and positive enlightenment you could enjoy. Our minds are a phenomenal mass of creativity when put to work, and reading can take us to many different places if we stoke and prod it. If you haven't picked up a book lately, do so NOW - I challenge you, or better yet, I DARE YOU!! https://itunes.apple.com/us/genre/books/id38?mt=11 I've been pulled into many different genre's lately...but the handful that I'm currently reading happen to be stories of science-fi and realistic fiction: The Divergent Series which is a dystopian fantasy... Divergent: One choice can transform you. Veronica Roth's #1New York Times bestselling debut is a gripping dystopian tale of electrifying choices, powerful consequences, unexpected romance, and a deeply flawed "perfect society. Insurgent: One choice can destroy you. Veronica Roth's second #1 New York Times bestseller continues the dystopian thrill ride. As war surges in the factions all around her, Tris attempts to save those she loves—and herself—while grappling with haunting questions of grief and forgiveness, identity and loyalty, politics and love. Allegiant: The explosive conclusion to Veronica Roth's #1 New York Times bestselling Divergent trilogy reveals the secrets of the dystopian world that has captivated millions of readers in Divergent and Insurgent. Also, another 'dystopian thriller' I've dived into is the series by Suzanne Young... The Program (Book 1) The Treatment (Book 2) The Recovery (Book 2.5) The Remedy (Book 3) The Epidemic (Book 4) The Adjustment (Book 5) The Complication (Book 6) "The Program by Suzanne Young was such an interesting, frightening and suspenseful story with the power to poke and prod at my emotions in the intensest of ways. Each of the three parts of this novel heightened the suspense and really added layers to my emotional connection. One of the most exciting and page-turning books I’ve read this year and I cannot even contain myself for book 2. Very unique and unsettling and I highly recommend it for fans of all types of genres as it is set in a world very much like our own but with the fact that suicide is an actual epidemic and society has allowed something like The Program to exist to 'contain' it. Book 2, I MUST HAVE YOU because there is still so much to learn — like HOW society got to the point where suicide was this bad? Or why people were okay with this solution? Can you fully get your memories back? And, book 2, I need you most because I haven’t felt so INVOLVED and intrigued by a series in a while." http://www.perpetualpageturner.com/2013/03/the-program-suzanne-young-book-review.html

Another great trilogy I've opened up to is a historical-fiction series... The Seeds of America Trilogy By Laurie Halse Anderson CHAINS (Book 1) FORGE (Book 2) ASHES (Book 3) What would you risk to be free? It’s 1776 and Isabel, Curzon, and Ruth have only ever known life as slaves. But now the young country of America is in turmoil—there are whisperings, then cries, of freedom from England spreading like fire, and with it is a whole new type of danger. For freedom being fought for one isn’t necessarily freedom being fought for all…especially if you are a slave. But if an entire nation can seek its freedom, why can’t they? As war breaks out, sides must be chosen, death is at every turn, and one question forever rings in their ears: Would you risk everything to be free? As battles rage up and down the Eastern seaboard, Isabel, Curzon, and Ruth flee, separate, fight, face unparalleled heartbreak and, just like war, they must depend on their allies—and each other—if they are to survive. Which leads to a second, harrowing question: Amidst so much pain and destruction, can they even recognize who their allies are? Also there's the historical-fiction by Elizabeth George Speare... The Witch of Blackbird Pond

Sixteen-year-old Kit Tyler is marked by suspicion and disapproval from the moment she arrives on the unfamiliar shores of colonial Connecticut in 1687. Alone and desperate, she has been forced to leave her beloved home on the island of Barbados and join a family she has never met. Torn between her quest for belonging and her desire to be true to herself, Kit struggles to survive in a hostile place. Just when it seems she must give up, she finds a kindred spirit. But Kit’s friendship with Hannah Tupper, believed by the colonists to be a witch, proves more taboo than she could have imagined and ultimately forces Kit to choose between her heart and her duty.

Elizabeth George Speare won the 1959 Newbery Medal for this portrayal of a heroine whom readers will admire for her unwavering sense of truth as well as her infinite capacity to love. https://www.amazon.com/Witch-Blackbird-Elizabeth-George-Speare/dp/0547550294

And then I'm also reading a couple of young-adult realistic fiction novels... Sahara Special by Esme Raji Codell