Hi, my name is Jessica....and I'm a book-o-holic!

When people ask why I took literature in university I always respond “Because I really like to read”, I do, I really do, and I like to re-read. My mom is a good example of someone who does not re-read and I am sure there are many of you out there like her, but me, I can re-read some of my favorite books on an annual basis and not get tired of them.

I love, love, love curling up and getting all comfy and just getting lost in a good story! I hope to have a book review for you this week but as a precursor here are the 5 books that I have probably read the most in my lifetime (in no particular order):

1. The Virgin Suicides by Jeffrey Eugenides: This just may be my all-time favorite. I think it is so beautifully written, and such a haunting tale. I consider it a wonderful example of New American Gothic.

2. Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov: I enjoy this book for many of the same reasons as the previous. Twisting an unpleasant story and playing with your emotions. You should never feel sympathetic to Humbert Humbert but somehow you do!

3. Harry Potter by J.K. Rowling : Ok, so this is a bit of a cheat since it is seven books and not one, but really if I read them back to back to back…..(you get the point) it’s like one big book!

4. Little Women by Loiusa May Alcott: This and the next book are from my youth, I would read them every summer without fail. I had a real obsession with this book from the age of 9 probably into my pre-teens.

5. The Secret Garden by Frances Hodges Burnett: Your own beautiful secret garden..hello?... What little girl would not fantasize about having their own!