I was reading Essie's latest post about what is on her bookshelf and it reminded me how I've been meaning to talk about some of my favorite books. As I've mentioned, I am a bit of a book hoarder; I have piles of books scattered all over my room. It's sort of an addiction. But anyway, today I am moving away from the fact that I am a messy book hoarder and instead discussing some of my favorite books.

 So here's a dozen of my favorite books--recent favorites and all-time favorites. I'll go over a few...

The Fault in Our Stars by John Green. If you haven't heard of this book, you live under a rock. Basically, it's about these two teenagers who are in love, and one of them has cancer. Sounds cheesy, is actually the opposite of cheesy. I haven't met a person who has disliked this book (and almost everyone I know has read it, including my mother).

The Unabridged Journals of Sylvia Plath. Fellow fans of Plath, this is a must-read. Yes, it's long, but it's so introspective and insightful, I find myself going back to it over and over again.

The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger. An all-time favorite of mine for years now. It's hard to describe what it's about; it's told from the point of view of a seventeen year old kid who sees things differently than others. A classic that's as endearing as it is relatable.

Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov and Norwegian Wood by Haruki Murakami. I'm actually reading both of these right now--I'm about halfway through both. Lolita keeps you reading because it's so, so well-written and the subject matter is so bizarre and fascinating. And Norwegian Wood is also very well-written and thoughtful so far. I'm excited to finish both of these!

The Bell Jar. Another Plath! Sorry for those of you who aren't fans of Plath (if there are any ;). This one's immensely relatable and so eloquently written, a standard for Plath. It's a semi-autobiographical book about a neurotic college girl's bouts of depression and insanity. Sounds dark, and it is, but it's also really, really good. Highly recommend. 

The Disenchantments by Nina LaCour. I read this on recommendation from one of John Green's tweets, and I'm so glad I did! Despite it being a young adult book (which can so often be unrealistic or overly angsty), I absolutely loved it! It's about these four high school graduates who go on a road trip as a kind of last hurrah. I loved the plot and the characters, but most of all I loved the fact that there were so many mentionings of my favorite bands! (Think the Pixies and Bon Iver.) I was so impressed with LaCour's music taste and writing ability. I loved this one.

Fight Club by Chuck Palahniuk. An all-time favorite of mine, this cult-classic has such a cool concept (and is insanely quotable, might I add). It's basically about this group of men who start a Fight Club where they literally beat each other up. The narrator, whose name is ambiguous, tries to find meaning in his life through a lot of self-mutilation and crazy shenanigans. I really enjoyed this one and loved the somewhat gritty but enthralling subject matter. And I love Palahniuk's sort of raw, stripped down writing style. And the movie! Surprisingly, it's just as good as the book.

All the others on the shelf are also awesome, but the ones above are some of my favorites. Have any of you read any of the books above? And, of course, do you have any book recommendations? I would love to hear them!