I know I did a similar
post a few years ago about my favorite books, but I feel like this one is
different. I’m not talking about books that once I put it down I was like “wow
this book just blew me away, I must read it another five times,” I’m talking
about books that maybe you read once, but they have so much meaning and there
is more than the story it tells. I’m a big fan of those books that one simple
word actually has a lot of different meanings, every word you read is a
metaphor or has a deeper meaning that what it seems. So this are the kind of
books that are in this list:
1.
The Catcher in the rye by J.D. Salinger
Are you surprise
this book is the first one in the list? You really shouldn’t. If we are being
honest, the first time you read this book without any background information
you probably wonder “what’s the big deal about this Holden Caulfield kid?” but
when you dig more into it and you realize this is actually a representation of
how a teenager feels about growing up, this is the kind of book you will fall
in love.
2.
Looking for Alaska by John Green
After I finish
this book, I remember needing sometime to think the whole book again. I just
one of those books that the ending suddenly makes you question your entire
life. I’m currently re reading it and being a big fan of marking things on book
this one is full of post-it and pencils scribbles, there are so many pieces of
this book that makes you reflect. I recommended this book to my brother and to
my friend and they both come back to me and were blown away but how good it
was.
3.
Nine Stories by J.D. Salinger
I look
for this book for a while and I had officially given up until a week after I started
university. We were assigned to read the first one “A Perfect Day for
Bananafish” and the teacher told us that Nine Stories was a book everyone who
wanted to become a writer needed to have. Of course I raced to the closest book
store and got it. Some of the stories might be a little hard to read and
confusing but just like The Catcher in the Rye, you have to look under the
iceberg.
4.
Bestiario by Julio Cortazar
I think every
single person needs to at least read one story by Julio Cortazar. Pick any
story by him, the craziest one, the funniest one or the easiest one, but you
must read it. I read this collection of short stories for school and once I was
done I feel in love with Cortazar and after learning more about him in university,
I realize he was the best Argentinean writer ever (Sorry Borges). The way he
writes is pure poetry, every single word is there for a reason and every story
has a bigger meaning behind. This story have been translated to English and
they are around the internet but I believe the book has not been publish. My favorites
are “Lejana” (“The Distances”) and “Carta a una señorita en París" (Letter
to a Young Lady in Paris").
5.
One Hundred Days of Solitude by Gabriel
Garcia Marquez
This is defiantly
not a book to read many times, it is a long and one of those book that are just
hard to read. The first few chapters of this book was a constant: “what is
going on here?”, but then my teacher would help us understand and everything
made sense. It is just one of those books that you need to read once, and do
your best to understand that the writer is not crazy. By the way, I highly recommend
having a family tree, it really helped.
6.
The Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka
Don’t worry my first reaction to this book was also “this
is disgusting, I can’t read it,” but I don’t think there is anything more
beautiful that the metaphors and the symbols on this book. I love the way we
discussed this book in university more than I did in school, because this is
one of those book that to really enjoy it you have to read it twice. But really
what really got me when reading once that I was older was how we can all feel a
little bit identified with the main character.
7.
No Exit by Jean-Paul Sartre
I’ve been
hearing about this book for a long time and after I was assigned to read it for
my Culture class I think I finished it in like a day. Maybe I’m a fan of the
whole idea of questioning your existence but this book just touches a subject
that we all question but we do not really get into it. What is hell?
Love
Pili
