Reading is important. Few things make me more happy than opening a new book and meeting new characters and getting immersed in intriguing new plots. Or opening a book that I’ve already read and getting to relive my favorite moments with some of my favorite fictional friends. The stories are endless. There is such a vast variety of different genres to choose from. So many crazy talented authors who pour their heart out writing about characters and stories they have dreamt up themselves. The books to choose from are endless. Sometimes it’s hard to choose whether the endless supply of books is comforting or intimidating; on one hand I know that no matter how many amazing stories I read and love, I will never run out of new books to add to my favorites list. On the other hand I know that there are so many exciting stories that I will never get the chance to immerse myself in because we only have so much time.

There are so many different reasons to love a book. Maybe I just love the sheer drama and action of the plotline. Maybe the characters are so well developed that I feel as though I know them personally and have learned and grown with them. Maybe I read the story as a young child and reading it again fills my heart with a youthful nostalgia. Maybe the profoundness behind the morals and meaning of the story leaves me contemplating life in the best way possible. No matter what the reason, nothing is better than falling in love with a book.

Reading takes me away from reality. Life could be throwing hell my way but I can always find comfort in a book that lets me step away from this world and hop into a new one for a little while. As I read the words they slowly stop becoming ink spots on a piece of paper and morph into a film of realistic imagery that is oftentimes even more exciting than the thrill of watching a movie in the theater. I become addicted to the story and as the day drags on all I can think about is the next time I will get to crack open my book and continue right where I left off.

Reading lets us experience things we would never get the chance to do otherwise. We get to visit places all around the world, as well as visit completely different worlds, all without ever leaving our home. When we read books, we pick up on so many morals that have been seamlessly incorporated into our favorite novels. We learn about love, loss, friendship, family, violence, and an endless array of lessons about right and wrong that we experience in everyday life. Reading is one of the most magnificent activities in this world. Every word has the power to excite us and educate us, make us laugh or make us cry. Reading is one of a kind. Reading is inspiring. Here are the top 5 books most thought-provoking, inspiring, or impacting books that I recommend everyone should read. (In no particular order)

1. The Book Thief by Markus Zusak

Set during World War II in Germany, Markus Zusak’s groundbreaking new novel is the story of Liesel Meminger, a foster girl living outside of Munich. Liesel scratches out a meager existence for herself by stealing when she encounters something she can’t resist–books. With the help of her accordion-playing foster father, she learns to read and shares her stolen books with her neighbors during bombing raids as well as with the Jewish man hidden in her basement before he is marched to Dachau. This is an unforgettable story about the ability of books to feed the soul.

Disclaimer: Your heart WILL shatter into a million pieces if you read this. I have never cried so hard over a book. There are actual wrinkled spots in my copy of the book where my flow of tears hit the pages. Markus Zusak develops this story amazingly well; I experienced Liesel's hardships as if they were my own. Even if you aren't a fan of historical fiction, I still highly recommend this book. I'm not a huge fan of historical novels myself, but this book is one of my favorites.

2. The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger

The hero-narrator of The Catcher in the Rye is an ancient child of sixteen, a native New Yorker named Holden Caulfield. Through circumstances that tend to preclude adult, secondhand description, he leaves his prep school in Pennsylvania and goes underground in New York City for three days. The boy himself is at once too simple and too complex for us to make any final comment about him or his story. Perhaps the safest thing we can say about Holden is that he was born in the world not just strongly attracted to beauty but, almost, hopelessly impaled on it. There are many voices in this novel: children's voices, adult voices, underground voices-but Holden's voice is the most eloquent of all. Transcending his own vernacular, yet remaining marvelously faithful to it, he issues a perfectly articulated cry of mixed pain and pleasure. However, like most lovers and clowns and poets of the higher orders, he keeps most of the pain to, and for, himself. The pleasure he gives away, or sets aside, with all his heart. It is there for the reader who can handle it to keep.

There's a bit of a divided view on whether Holden Caufield is a likable character, but in my opinion, I've never liked and related to a character more. Maybe it's because I am an angsty teen myself. I definitely felt for Holden as he travels through New York just looking for one person who will genuinely listen to him. This is a must read classic in American literature.

3. To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee

In To Kill a Mockingbird, author Harper Lee uses memorable characters to explore civil rights and racism in the segregated Southern United States of the 1930s. Told through the eyes of Scout Finch, you learn about her father Atticus Finch, an attorney who hopelessly strives to prove the innocence of a black man unjustly accused of rape; and about Boo Radley, a mysterious neighbor who saves Scout and her brother Jem from being killed.

I'm sure a lot of people have already read this for required reading, but if you haven't then go read it! There are so many themes and motifs that are timelessly relevant: prejudices, perception, integrity, bravery, civil rights. It's required reading for a reason.

4. And Every Morning the Walk Home Gets Longer and Longer by Fredrik Backman

Grandpa and Noah are sitting on a bench in a square that keeps getting smaller every day. The square is strange but also familiar, full of the odds and ends that have made up their lives. As they wait together on the bench, they tell jokes and discuss their shared love of mathematics. Grandpa recalls what it was like to fall in love with his wife, what it was like to lose her. She’s as real to him now as the first day he met her, but he dreads the day when he won’t remember her. Sometimes Grandpa sits on the bench next to Ted, Noah’s father—Ted who has waited his entire life for his father to have time for him, to accept him. But in their love of Noah, they have found a common bond. Grandpa, Grandma, Ted, and Noah all meet here, in this peculiar space that is growing dimmer and more confusing all the time. And here is where they will learn to say goodbye. This little book with a big message is certain to be treasured for generations to come.

This is a really short, easy to read novella that I would recommend to anyone. It's all about one man dealing with the slow, inevitable loss of memory that comes with old age and what it's like to no longer feel in control in your own mind.

5. The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald

F. Scott Fitzgerald's novel,The Great Gatsby, follows Jay Gatsby, a man who orders his life around one desire: to be reunited with Daisy Buchanan, the love he lost five years earlier. Gatsby's quest leads him from poverty to wealth, into the arms of his beloved, and eventually to death. Published in 1925, The Great Gatsby is a classic piece of American fiction. It is a novel of triumph and tragedy, noted for the remarkable way Fitzgerald captured a cross-section of American society.

I was swept away by Fitzgerald's elaborate writing while reading this. With themes of class division, gender inequality, and economy, The Great Gatsby is essentially a mirror held up to American society in the 1920's. As the novel goes on you begin to wonder if you, like Gastby, are living your life in the past.