Ignoring my previous post, recently I have been determined to read more books. Throughout school, I found myself constantly scouring through book aisles, searching for my next read. It was a thrilling and exciting experience for me as I knew there were so many stories I haven’t heard that could possibly teach me or alter my perspective on certain topics and ideas.
Getting into books was especially easy in middle school. Sure, everyone claims they hate reading, but there was commonality in students’ love for reading during “reading time” in past english classes. At home it’s easy to hate to read due to the limitless entertainment sources infused with the freedom of not following strict guidelines set out by intimidating teachers. However, it was during these reading times when students were given an escapade from boring lectures and tedious worksheets to dive into a book and clear their mind from the school’s humdrum atmosphere.
As a college student now, far past “reading times” and torn from my comfortable couch accompanied by the perfect reading lamp, I’m finding myself following a routine completely void of reading. Therefore, to help motivate not only myself, but others who are experiencing this as well, I decided I will start to compose a book bucket list and explain my reasons for wanting to read the book to keep it fresh in my mind, pushing myself to read it and hopefully it can help you too.
Firstly, I want to begin by presenting a book I have attempted multiple times, yet fail to complete each time. This book is highly rated and has grasped my attention at each attempt, however, during my hectic schedule during senior year and from then transitioning into college, it has been too ambitious to embark upon the comprehensive, yet harrowing, apocalyptic tale that Stephen King has weaved in The Stand. Ranked #1 out of all of King’s novels on the vox.com and The Rolling Stone, it still continues to be ranked within the top 10 on a number of other websites.
Writing of the mass contamination that is a deadly virus across America, an apocalyptic world emerges from the destruction and the survivors must choose sides: good or evil. Although I haven’t gotten to the apocalyptic portion of the novel due to its extreme content of 1,153 pages, I feel confident that not only does it captivate readers, but also educates them on important themes as The New York Times describes it as “processed through a gigantic American meat grinder,” explaining that literary icons such as The Grapes of Wrath, On the Road, and a number of other best sellers are reflected through different parts of the novel. With this and an emphasis on its dynamic characters and diverse genre presentation, I am ecstatic to know that I own the book and can devour it at anytime in the future.