Sunday, September 4, 2011

Blogger Spotlight: Lindsay's Desert Island Books

Welcome to our blogger spotlight week!!! We have some new bloggers that have joined us recently and are wanting all of you to get to know them better! Plus, we've been asked several times for recommendations on what people should be reading! Therefore, new bloggers + recommendation requests = Blogger Spotlight: Desert Island! (dun, dun, dun)

If you want to join in on the fun-- blog your top 5 YA books (and feel free to add 5 adult if you want). Then comment with your link or just list your DIB in the comments!

Hello, dear Sisterhood! I'm Lindsay, a honorary sister and fellow YA enthusiast. I have a BFA in Theatre Performance from Baylor University (SIC EM BEARS!!!), which is where I met Brittany, Marylee, and Bethany -we were brought together by a love of theatre, but our friendship was strengthened and continues to grow thanks to our love of reading. I currently live in Houston where I hold down a couple of retail jobs and act whenever I can. When I'm not reading, you can probably find me drinking coffee, pretending I'm a velociraptor, watching bad reality TV (I see you, Dance Moms), or Facebook stalking people to whom I haven't spoken in years. I love performing, making people laugh, eating (a lot), dancing, driving my car Kenneth, and sleeping in. If I were to be stranded on a desert island, I would bring my laptop, a pony, bottled water, an endless supply of peanut butter, and the following books. 

YA PICKS (in no particular order)

1. The Harry Potter series by our queen J.K. Rowling

Seriously (or siriusly), how could you NOT bring this series to your des ert island? These are the books that define my generation. Harry Potter broadened my imagination and nurtured my obsession with fantasy, and these books are responsible for some of the greatest friendships I have ever had. Asking me to pick a favorite Harry Potter book is like asking a mother to pick her favorite child (probably harder, let's be honest), but I do have a special place in my heart for
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire.




2. The Book Thief by Markus Zuzak
I like to tell the story about how I recommended this book to Baby Sister Brittany and she put off reading it for over a year - OVER A YEAR - and now it has ended up on her Desert Island Books list. You're welcome, Brittany. All I can say is that this book is hauntingly beautiful and truly changed my life.



3. Little Women by Louisa May Alcott
For me, this book feels like home - I can return to it time after time and feel warm, safe, and comfortable. With each reading of Little Women, I find something new to love, and the characters greet me like old friends. I still cry when (spoiler alert) Beth dies, and Jo and Laurie were my OTP before I knew what an OTP was (although I do love Professor Bhaer.)



4. The Hunger Games series by Suzanne Collins
It's that classic "kickass heroine battles her oppressive government in a dystopian United States/has to choose between her childhood best friend and a hunky baker/kills her peers with a bow and arrow in order to stay alive" story that we all know and love, but with a twist - REALITY TV!!! These books both thrill and terrify me.



5. A Wrinkle in Time by Madeline L'Engle
I wish I had adequate words to describe how this book and its sequels (A Wind in the Door, A Swiftly Tilting Planet, and Many Waters) helped to shape me as a reader and a person, but I don't. Wrinkle is a classic for a reason, folks.



HONORABLE MENTIONS: The Westing Game by Ellen Raskin , The Giver by Lois Lowry, The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants series by Ann Brashares, The Baby-sitters Club series by Ann M. Martin (DON'T HATE. Y'all know the BSC was your jam back in the day!)


NON-YA PICKS (in no particular order):


1. Bossypants by Tina Fey
Tina Fey is a goddess among women. This is probably the funniest book I have ever read. I'm just saying.



2. The Clean House and Other Plays by Sarah Ruhl
This is a collection of four plays by my very favorite playwright. My favorite is Melancholy Play, but you should read all four and choose which one you like best.



3. Arcadia by Tom Stoppard
Another play - sorry I'm not sorry! Stoppard is a master of dialogue, and the way his story jumps between the 1800s and the present day is fascinating.



4. The Great Divorce by C.S. Lewis
I read this book in high school and have been wanting to revisit it for several years. It's deep and difficult, but also beautiful and convicting.



5. The Lottery by Shirley Jackson
It's only the greatest short story in American literature. No big.



Honorable Mentions: The complete works of William Shakespeare. That Bard knew what was up.

That's all from me (for now)! Keep blogging, keep fangirling, and by all means, KEEP READING!! <3