Five Books Everyone Should Read is a new feature we’re running in 2015. We’ve asked some of our favorite authors, readers and bloggers to share five books that touched them or have stayed with them throughout the years.
Rowena: Please welcome the author that brought us The Submissive Series, Tara Sue Me to Book Binge. She is sharing the five books that she thinks everyone should read. Check it out.
Five Books Everyone Should Read
by Tara Sue Me
I’ve never been able to answer the question, “What’s your favorite book?” My mind goes into a spin. Pick one? Really? Do you know how many books I’ve read in my life? (For the record, I don’t either, but I chalk that up to a bad memory and poor math skills.)
I thought it’d be easy to pick five, but I soon found it wasn’t. Especially since they were the five books everyone should read. I thought about picking something like War and Peace or The Odyssey, just because they sound smart, but I decided not to. I knew if I did, people who knew me would go, “Pfft, she didn’t read those. Please.”
So I went the honest route:
1) Charlotte’s Web by E.B. White
They say you never forget your first and Charlotte’s Web was the first book I remember reading. I suppose you could go as far to say it was this book that started my love of reading. Which is funny when I think about it because it breaks my DO NOT READ IF rule #1 (main character death). But I love this book even as an adult for its universal truths on friendship, love, and sacrifice.
2) Where the Sidewalk Ends by Shel Silverstein
If Charlotte’s Web led to my love of books, Where the Sidewalk Ends birthed my love of poetry. I don’t think I’ll ever grow tired of reading Silverstein’s quirky off-beat poems. I think his work speaks to a universal audience because we’re all quirky and off-beat in our own way.
3) Oh, the Places You’ll Go! by Dr. Seuss
I have to be honest and admit, I didn’t read this until someone gave it to my son. But I was stuck by its honest, straightforward message, and how Seuss used humor to convey important life lessons. Because really, don’t we all hate The Waiting Place?
4) The Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank
This book is heartbreaking to me. A young girl, full of hopes and dreams, living in such a horrible period of time and tragic circumstances. And to die with all those hopes and dreams unfulfilled shows the horrific things humans do to one another. But this book touches me because it reminds me, everyone’s important and everyone has a story, you just have to listen.
5) Redeeming Love by Francine Rivers
Come on, you knew I had to put a romance in here somewhere! But Redeeming Love isn’t your typical romance. It’s more serious than sexy and more thoughtful than teasing. But the emotion is there and the passion is there and it shows the power of unconditional love in a story that will live in your heart long after you close the book.
About the Author: Tara Sue Me is the New York Times bestselling author of the Submissive series. She lives in the southeastern United States with her family, two dogs, and a cat. Visit her online at www.tarasueme.com, www.facebook.com/TaraSueMeBooks or www.twitter.com/tarasueme.
Buy Links:
Trade Paperback:
http://widgets.penguin.com/Pages/affiliateLanding/index.aspx?isbn=9780451474513
E-book:
http://widgets.penguin.com/Pages/affiliateLanding/index.aspx?isbn=9780698190481