Top 5 Books of All Time
I love to read. I am not claiming to be a expert on what makes an "Award Winning Newberry" or Pulitzer Prize Winner in Literature; but I do know that I rather curl up on the couch and read a good book then watch TV. I've created a list of my top five favorite books of all time. Most likely if you find these books on my shelf they are worn and the pages are falling out. It's probably the second or third copy of the book because I've read it so many times. So, since I love countdowns and lists lets count it down! Coming in at #5....
#5. Knuffle Bunny: A Cautionary Tale by Mo Williems
I know you weren't expecting a children's book to be on my list but as a preschool teacher this book is comical and adorable. Children absolutely love it and I love it because of the joy it brings them when I read it to them.. They love reading along and acting out the book. If you're not aware, author Mo Williems use to be a writer and illustrator for Sesame Street, winning 6 Emmy Awards.
#4. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince by J.K. Rowling
I love the Harry Potter series because I
believe it's the "Star Wars" of my generation. It's done so much to get children to read again! I love all the 
books but I picked this one specifically because I'll never forget how I finished it and thought "wow, she's (J.K. Rowling) is a literary genius." I spent my youth waiting for her to publish the next installment in the series but I was also waiting for her to mess up and do something to make me no longer love the books. I just didn't think it was possible for somebody to have that much 'magic' in their writing. I know many people who refuse to read the series but the book isn't just a fairy tale, J.K. Rowling does an amazing job pulling from Greek mythology, The Bible and teaching that love is more then just an emotion.
#3.To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
This book is an American classic. If I was a high school English teacher this book would be the only reason I would put up with teenagers. I don't know of anyone who has read this book and not liked it. The one funny thing about this book is it took me forever to figure out that the main character Scoot Finch is a girl! LOL 
The background and characters written by Harper Lee illustrates Alabama and the unspoken truth of how politics and life were and are there in a coming of age tale.
#2. Personal History by Katharine Graham
I had to read this book for my Introduction to Mass Communications class at Indiana University and thought it would be a complete bore. It is the personal biography of Katharine Graham, editor of the Washington Post from 1963-1979. She was at the Washington Post during the Watergate conspiracy and the decided to publish the content of the Pentagon Papers. When you begin reading you learn that she grew up in a "castle" and grew up around Albert Einstein, Auguste Rodin and Marie Curie. I told myself while reading it that "if she complains once about her bad childhood was or her misfortunes I putting the book down." However she doesn't and instead illustrates an interesting look at how the role of women have changed and what it was like for her to be a powerful woman at a time when men only viewed women as a house wife, secretary or nurse. The book won the Pulitzer Prize in 1998.
#1. Freakonomics: A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything by Steven D. Levvitt, Stephen J. Dubner
There is no other book like this book. The sequel to this book doesn't even live up to it. If you know me then you know that I repeat the statistics back to other people so I sound smart and then tell them that they should read Freakonomics.. LOL I can't really describe why I like this book so much, it sat on my book shelf for six months before I finally decided to read it. It definitely makes you think and look at things in a different way.
I know that many people will look at this list and dislike it because it leaves off the classics like Shakespeare, Jane Austin, Ernest Hemingway, or because it leaves off the modern writers like Stephen King, Nicholas Sparks, Dan Brown, and Stephanie Meyer (some would argue that she is a good writer). Don't get me wrong those authors are all amazing and I have much respect for the classics and love them but I wanted my list to be different and not the same five books you see listed on everybody's Facebook page. These five book are special to me in their own way and that's what I love about books, they mean something different to everyone.
#5. Knuffle Bunny: A Cautionary Tale by Mo Williems I know you weren't expecting a children's book to be on my list but as a preschool teacher this book is comical and adorable. Children absolutely love it and I love it because of the joy it brings them when I read it to them.. They love reading along and acting out the book. If you're not aware, author Mo Williems use to be a writer and illustrator for Sesame Street, winning 6 Emmy Awards.
I love the Harry Potter series because I
believe it's the "Star Wars" of my generation. It's done so much to get children to read again! I love all the books but I picked this one specifically because I'll never forget how I finished it and thought "wow, she's (J.K. Rowling) is a literary genius." I spent my youth waiting for her to publish the next installment in the series but I was also waiting for her to mess up and do something to make me no longer love the books. I just didn't think it was possible for somebody to have that much 'magic' in their writing. I know many people who refuse to read the series but the book isn't just a fairy tale, J.K. Rowling does an amazing job pulling from Greek mythology, The Bible and teaching that love is more then just an emotion.#3.To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
This book is an American classic. If I was a high school English teacher this book would be the only reason I would put up with teenagers. I don't know of anyone who has read this book and not liked it. The one funny thing about this book is it took me forever to figure out that the main character Scoot Finch is a girl! LOL The background and characters written by Harper Lee illustrates Alabama and the unspoken truth of how politics and life were and are there in a coming of age tale.#2. Personal History by Katharine Graham
I had to read this book for my Introduction to Mass Communications class at Indiana University and thought it would be a complete bore. It is the personal biography of Katharine Graham, editor of the Washington Post from 1963-1979. She was at the Washington Post during the Watergate conspiracy and the decided to publish the content of the Pentagon Papers. When you begin reading you learn that she grew up in a "castle" and grew up around Albert Einstein, Auguste Rodin and Marie Curie. I told myself while reading it that "if she complains once about her bad childhood was or her misfortunes I putting the book down." However she doesn't and instead illustrates an interesting look at how the role of women have changed and what it was like for her to be a powerful woman at a time when men only viewed women as a house wife, secretary or nurse. The book won the Pulitzer Prize in 1998.#1. Freakonomics: A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything by Steven D. Levvitt, Stephen J. Dubner
There is no other book like this book. The sequel to this book doesn't even live up to it. If you know me then you know that I repeat the statistics back to other people so I sound smart and then tell them that they should read Freakonomics.. LOL I can't really describe why I like this book so much, it sat on my book shelf for six months before I finally decided to read it. It definitely makes you think and look at things in a different way.I know that many people will look at this list and dislike it because it leaves off the classics like Shakespeare, Jane Austin, Ernest Hemingway, or because it leaves off the modern writers like Stephen King, Nicholas Sparks, Dan Brown, and Stephanie Meyer (some would argue that she is a good writer). Don't get me wrong those authors are all amazing and I have much respect for the classics and love them but I wanted my list to be different and not the same five books you see listed on everybody's Facebook page. These five book are special to me in their own way and that's what I love about books, they mean something different to everyone.
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