I don't know why I always have such a hard time thinking up books for these topics. This Top 5 Wednesday topic was the Top 5 Books That Made Me Think. I had a hard time deciding what books to use for this post. I think part of the reason I had a hard time is that I read for pleasure, not necessarily to really do any sort of deep thinking. Not to say that I don't think while reading, but just that I tend to pick out books that I'm going to enjoy rather than books that will make me question everything. So this list is a little all over the place. Some books were picked on a serious thinking basis, while others were picked with a more fun vibe in mind. So here's the Top 5 Books That Made Me Think.
1. I Hunt Killers by Barry Lyga: This one was picked more in fun. This book genuinely scared me. I made the mistake of reading it at night and then being scared to go to sleep. I would be laying in my bed, hearing all these creaks and thumps, and was petrified. Think Neville Longbottom, stiff as a board with eyes wide open. I was that pathetic. This book made me question my safety just for the sheer amount of creepy. I didn't think I'd ever sleep again after reading this book. I'm almost too scared to continue on with the rest of the series. I mean I will read the rest of the series, but I'm scared.
2. Ready Player One by Ernest Cline: Now this one was a pure adventure quest story, so the question could be asked, how in the world does this book make you think? I definitely enjoyed the quest/adventure aspect of this book, don't get me wrong. What made me think about this book was aspects regarding the future of the world. What I mean by that is, that since everyone is so invested in this virtual reality world and these virtual reality games, how is the world going to survive. It seems people in this book are abandoning real life in favor of a virtual one. This topic was also covered in The Reality Bug by D.J. MacHale, maybe even with more thought and seriousness in that one than in Ready Player One. Society can only survive with people working and providing for it, and the people in this book don't want to work, they just want to be lost in a virtual life. I was even a little disappointed in Ready Player One's ending because it didn't even really contemplate or try to answer those questions. This one definitely made me think and conclude that life can't be all fun and games. You can't lose yourself in a virtual world because the real world is calling and needs you to live in it and provide for it. Food and energy doesn't just appear by magic, it takes work, and it needs people to do that work. I don't know if that made a whole lot of sense, but that's what I got from this book.
3. The Declaration by Gemma Malley: This book offered up such an interesting world and predicament that I couldn't help but think about it. For those that don't know, this series plays with the aspect of never dying and the consequences that can hold. A drug was created that gives people the ability to live forever, but in order to live forever some things have to be given up. With no one dying, resources such as food and space are stretching thin. When people decide to take the drug, they give up the right to have children. Children are unwanted in this world, in fact they are illegal. Children are taken from their parents and put in surplus halls, because they only thing they can be good for is to serve the legal citizens. It just brought up a really interesting thought. There is a reason why the circle of life exists. If everyone has the ability to live forever, the world will eventually run out of space and resources. It's just interesting to consider what would have to be given up in order to achieve something like this. I don't really hear much about this series on booktube and I want that to change. It's an underrated gem that more people need to read.
4. The First Days Rhiannon Frater: This one was another fun one. I love this book and love this series. I still need to read the last one though. Zombie books are my thing. I love reading them. Part of the reason I love them is for the pure enjoyment of them. But another part of me considers what I would do in such a situation. In all honesty, if a zombie apocalypse happened, I'd probably be part of the flesh eating horde. But, if I did manage to survive, who would I become? What kind of decisions would I have to make in order to keep surviving? There is something about post apocalyptic worlds that just fascinate me. A desolate, empty world and it's up to the survivors to build it up again. Also, this book is awesome and everyone should go read it!
5. 1984 by George Orwell: This is probably one of the few books that I read for school that I actually ended up really enjoying. That doesn't happen very often with required reading. The interesting thing to consider about this book is when it was written and how it "imagines" a scary future. What this book actually did was predict the future in a way. Some of the things explored in this book are happening now. The idea of an overreaching government, being monitored all the time, and maybe even losing some of the freedoms that we've always taken for granted. That is probably why this book is required reading in most schools. It's a very interesting, and at times scary read that I very much enjoyed.
So that's my Top 5 Wednesday for this week. What books made you think and why? Do we have any books in common? Let me know in the comments below. Even though this topic was hard, I did have fun with it. I did major in English in college, so maybe some of that critical thinking came into play... haha. You should join in the Top 5 Wednesday fun too. Every Wednesday there is always a fun topic to consider. Check out all the other Top 5 Wednesday-ers.
No comments:
Post a Comment