Book Character Crush

This weeks link up, hosted by Kimberly at The Simplicity, is about character crushes. 

Hands down, without a doubt, Edward Cullen is my book character crush. 

First of all I have to rant about how incredible the love is between Edward and Bella. Like, wow. How incredible is the chemistry with them? How absolutely parallel everything is with them! It's amazing how Edward had waited hundreds of years for her, not knowing it was her all along. It was always Bella. I can totally relate to that. 

Now on to why I'm totally crushing on Edward. A lot of it has to do with the things he says to Bella, how he approached their relationship, and how natural and organic things progressed between the two of them. But also the vision I had of him in my head was amazing. The way he looked, moved, talked, smiled, how his eyes glistened; all amazing descriptions from Stephanie Meyers that made it possible. That's what I love about books; your interpretation on the physicality's of every aspect of the story. Of course, when they cast Robert Pattison in the movie, I was visually pleased with her vision of who Edward was. But most of all, the biggest reason why I am crushing so hard on Edward Cullen... he's a vampire! I wish I were a vampire! Their porcelain skin, gorgeous eyes, amazing abilities [as depicted in the Twilight series], and 'vegetarian' diet are all incredibly appealing. It's no wonder Bella was so mystified and craved becoming one of them. I would too! Especially to be turned by Edward, and to be his. Forever. 

Yep; I could live with that.

Who's your character crush? Don't have a book crush? How about a movie crush? [Mine would be Noah from The Notebook; duh.]

Big City Book

This weeks link up for the Blogger Book Swap is books about, or that take place in, big cities. I'm not one to read a book that is about any city specifically because that would classify as some sort of 'history book' and I do not read those, however; I have read a lot of books that take place in a big city. One of my favorites is 'The Nanny Diaries' by Emma McLaughlin & Nicola Kraus, which takes place In New York City. 

I used to be a nanny so I picked this book up to see what it was all about and loved it. Such a riot! I haven't seen the movie for it, but I heard it was good. I'd rather just stick to the book and not let it get ruined for me because I thoroughly enjoyed this read. Sort of made me glad and whished at the same time that I was a nanny in New York City!

Do you have any fave books that take place in a big city? 

Five Books Every Young Woman Should Read

Another great link up for the Preview to Summer Book Swap I am participating in. I am loving these because it is challenging me to explore more in to what I have already read, digging up forgotten gems that I can't wait to read again. 

This link up is about selecting five books that I think every young woman should read. This is a breeze for me because this subject is the majority of what I read. I had no problem coming up with five, which are all books I read myself. I'm linking up with Spillerena!

Pride and Prejudice, by Jane Austen

One of the greatest love stories of all time, this book will draw you in to great character development. This classic is one of the most known, read, and talked about in the history of literature and will make for a great read no matter what age you are. 

The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants by Ann Brashares

Such a great book to relate to through out high school. Each girl reminded me of someone in my group which made it a go to book for me even now with friendships.

Anything by Sarah Dessen

All of Sarah's books are full of drama, tragedy, and love. Much like the emotions we as young women go through with friendships, family, relationships, work and more, her books will be right there with you experiencing it all as well and offering great comfort that you are not alone.

Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare

Not needing any introduction this quite possibly may be the greatest love story of all time. 

She's Come Undone by Wally Lamb

We just read this book two books ago for my online book club. Whether or not you can relate to Delores, this book will take you through a journey from childhood to young adulthood and will delve into the depths of situations that many young women experience in today's world. Every step of the way you will experience such a saddening emotion that the end is almost too unbearable in it's happiness. And the fact that this book was written by a man is incredible! One of my fave reads in book club by far. 

I also want to include in this list the Harry Potter and Twilight series. For anyone, those books are a must. 

What books do you suggest for young women to read? 

My Three Favorite Books

I'm so excited to be participating in a really awesome swap; A blogger book swap. We all know that I am an avid reader and formed my own online book club called Thread The Pages, so this is the perfect thing to get me even more excited about reading and also a good opportunity to discover more books to add to my reading list. Plus, I will be making new friends! I love building up my amazing community of bloggers.

What's so neat about this book swap are the hosts - The Simplicity, Spillerena, Spunkyrella, Three31, run(dance)love, & I Believe in Story - are making this extra fun by doing book related link ups through out the swap. The first link up is Your Top 3 Favorite Books. Now it is so hard for me to narrow down my long list of favorites to just three, but I was able to do it! Here are my top 3 fave books:

Lord of the Flies, by William Golding

I read this book in the summer between 7th & 8th grade for a book report. The story brought me through so many emotions as I tried to picture myself as one of those kids. The summary of the book is a group of British boys are stranded on an island and try to govern themselves disastrously.  Primal instincts and human nature kick in turning these children in to savages who perform rituals and murder while trying to stay alive. The ending is my favorite and with out spoiling it, the children go from savage beasts back to innocent children in a split second. You can't help but mourn for them through out the entire story. This might actually be my all-time favorite book.

Eat Pray Love, by Elizabeth Gilbert

I started reading this book just after it came out. It totally inspired me to take my own spiritual journey and really helped me through a very dark time in my life. Her experiences seem totally relatable to anyone no matter what they're going through and that made a good read for me. As far as autobiographies go, this may be my all-time fave.

Breaking Dawn, Stephanie Meyer

It is very hard for me to contain myself when talking about this book. All of the Twilight books leading up to this one totally made Breaking Dawn to most fantastic fantasy book I've ever read; and that's saying a lot compared to Harry Potter and Lord of the Rings. The entire series I read in less than two weeks, but this book was read in 6 hours flat. Not because it was an easy read, but because it was so intriguing for me! The love story between Edward and Bella was so beautiful and equally frustrating, not to mention the connection that Jacob and Bella have [which the last book reveals why their connection was even there] that sends you in to jealousy and rage. Hands down one of the best fantasy books ever; yes, even for a 28 year old!

What are your top fave books? Click on the button above and come link up with us by sharing your faves!