"A room without books is like a body without a soul." - Marcus Tullius Cicero

As a young girl, I never went to bed without hearing a story; it was very important to my mom that we took time every night to read a story together before I would go to bed. Even when we would have sleepovers at other family members homes, someone was always reading us a story. And now as an adult, I cannot even begin to tell you about the amount of books I own or the length of the list of books I can't wait to own. Over the years I quickly fell in love with the way the pages felt under my fingers, how that old book smell could instantly make me smile and how many life lessons could be learned from a book. How many different feelings and emotions could be felt and how many adventures I could be taken on while reading one single story.

Now as a proud "bookworm", I know how stressful it can get when trying to figure out what to read next. How overwhelming it can be to walk into a bookstore and having no idea where to even start looking. So I am here to share with you some of my all-time favorite books.

1. Silver Linings Playbook

"If clouds are blocking the sun, there will always be a silver lining that reminds me to keep on trying.”

Written by Matthew Quick this book quickly jumped to the top of my favorites list. I personally saw the movie first and had absolutely loved it, therefore, wanted to read the book that had created this incredible movie since the book is always even better. And I was right. This book is full of family drama, anger, life trials and mental health disorders that will keep you anxious to read what will happen next.

2. Frankenstein

“Nothing is so painful to the human mind as a great and sudden change.”

Mary Shelley wrote this tragic horror story during a time when women were not believed to be capable of writing such stories. My freshman year of college this book was required for class and it continues to be my absolute favorite book. Frankenstein is a dark tale of hatred, solitude, and loneliness that I fell in love with. You will quickly find if you root for the creature or not and whether or not you understand why he does the things he does. Spoiler! Frankenstein is NOT the creatures name. It is the name of Victor Frankenstein, the man who created the creature.

3. Milk and Honey

"she was a rose

in the hands of those

who had no intention of keeping her."

I chose to buy Rupi Kaur's Milk and Honey because everywhere I went I was hearing something about it and wanted to know what it was about this book that had everyone freaking out. Kaur wrote the deep, true, purely honest feelings one has throughout different times of their life, nothing was held back. Some of the poems will fire you up and make you feel empowered while others will cause tears to run down your face because finally, someone gets it.

4. The Harry Potter Series

Just like Silver Linings Playbook, this was a series that I had not read before watching the movies. I had always heard of these books and had friends who loved them, I just had never read them myself; until recently when I was given the first one. A series full of magic and adventure, J.K. Rowling takes her readers on an adventure through Hogwarts that has even adults waiting to find their acceptance letter in the mail.

5. Kite Runner

I was given this book to read in high school and I couldn't put it down until I had it finished. And since I finished it years ago, I still recommend it to anyone who asks me for a new book to read and I am yet to find a person who has not enjoyed it as much as I have. Kite Runner is a man's recollection of what his life had been like as a boy living in Afghanistan over two decades beforehand and how some of those memories still affect him every day. I dare you to read this book and try to put it down.

I could go on and on with different books that I think you should all read, but here are five that I hope you all enjoy as much as I have. Take time in your busy days to read. Whether you have a few hours where you can read a brand new novel you picked up, or you decide to have a quote sent to your phone every morning before your day starts, take the time to read and see where the words will take you.