Personal Favorite Books

We've all read books(hopefully) that have become instant favorites of ours(hopefully). When you come across these types of books, you become almost transformed by what you've read. I tried compiling a list of ten, but could only find five that were ones I knew were favorites. My goal is to introduce you to something new, whether it be funny, unique, sad or all three. I also have had considerable trouble ranking these to the very best, so they'll be listed alphabetically. I really don't know what my personal favorite is, but it's one of these.

"My Boring Ass Life: The Uncomfortably Candid Diary Of Kevin Smith"(2007; Updated & Revised 2008)
Author: Kevin Smith

Kevin Smith is an acclaimed writer-director of very high-profile, low-profile films. 1997's "Chasing Amy" is still the most wonderfully composed love story I've personally seen. The thing about Smith that's really impactful, however, is his ability to tell stories. His live Q&A specials are prime examples of this, but in 2005, he composed what would become this book as a pseudo-experiment to show his fanbase that, outside of making movies, he's not really doing much. Some diary entries, especially near the beginning, will only be half a page long and will contain him telling you about waking up, letting his dogs outside, doing mundane activities with his wife and daughter and eventually conking out to episodes of "The Simpsons" or "Law & Order". As the book goes on, the entries grow longer and more expansive as he details the development, making of and release of his 2006 film "Clerks II". These two ends are presented by the same man in the same way: insightful, compassionate and very funny. Near the last quarter of the book, Smith didn't have the material necessary to make current blog-posts, so he quickly solved this by telling older stories, the longest of which is a nine-part section called "Me And My Shadow", the only section of the book where Smith gets deadly serious as he details his frequent co-star and best friend Jason Mewes' heroin addiction. It's tough to read, especially after getting through a, up until this point, predominately humorous book, but it's a testament to Smith that he can weave this story in a way that doesn't at all shame Mewes, rather present it as a way of helping people in dire situations like this. Smith will forever have a warm, comforting voice and presence. The second you read the very first word in the book, his voice takes over your mental narration, guiding you on a nice, syrupy ride through his, very un-boring life.

"Seagalogy: A Study Of The Ass-Kicking Films Of Steven Seagal"(2008; Updated & Revised 2012)
Author: Vern

The second book on the list to have the word "ass" proudly in the title,Vern(no last name) seemed to have written a book specifically for me. I don't mean anyone with a die-hard interest in movies, I mean specifically for just me. Steven Seagal is a prolific action star with a controversial history(allegations from being hard to work with, amongst other things have been prevalent since 1990), but his movies have always had a certain, goofy watchability factor to them. I saw this book in a store and immediately flipped to a random page. I read one line, literally laughed out loud and immediately purchased it. Vern has a poignant sarcasm and rapid-fire sense of snarky humor that reminds me of a lot of things I would say about these certain films. I've read books that have given me a couple of chuckles here and there, but "Seagalogy" is the first book to ever make me laugh out loud as frequently as every paragraph. Vern chooses to view Seagal from a strictly artistic standpoint, praising films like "Above The Law" and "Under Siege" while tearing apart movies like "The Glimmer Man" and "Attack Force". My personal favorite chapter is when he lays his claws into "Half Past Dead", the 2002 action flick that was Seagal's last headlining theatrical effort(he would return to theaters in 2010's "Machete" in a supporting role). He openly criticizes the fact that the film has a butchered PG-13 rating, even analyzing why the rap songs are censored on the soundtrack: "All you kids under 13 out there, if you were wondering what the man was saying on the soundtrack, it was 'motherfucker' was what he was saying, I'm glad I could help." He goes on to call Ja Rule "a 'rapper' turned 'actor'"(quotes added by him) and lambasts his performance as a "cocky little weasel who clearly has a higher opinion of himself than anybody else does of him." Vern is like a rapid-fire machine gun of humor and insults, while also stating that he genuinely does love watching Seagal's films and writing about them, I'm sure just as much as I loved reading his words about them.

"The Great Gatsby"(1925)
Author:F. Scott Fitzgerald

This was one of the many books you were assigned(read: forced) to read in school. However, I always believed that, eventually, one of them would turn out to be an absolute favorite while also fully believing one of them would become one of the worst books I've ever read. Sure, I liked "To Kill A Mockingbird" and unexpectedly really dug "Macbeth", but somehow, I really connected with "The Great Gatsby". I thought this was going to be one of my least favorite ones considering that this is known as "The Great American Novel"; I don't know about you, but that kind of hype usually sours a movie or book going into for me. Fortunately, I found this to be an amazing read, short, but very sweet. Junior Year was when I found my niche, what exactly I wanted to do later in life. When this was introduced to me, I really latched onto it. Nick Carraway is an every-man who sees Jay Gatsby as a man of legend with a thick air of mystique. He represents high society, the thing quite hard to obtain back then(and still kind of difficult, today). Gatsby is unreasonably kind and giving to Carraway, basically letting him have anything he's ever wanted. The one thing he seems to want the most, however, is Daisy Buchanan, Gatsby's "Golden Girl", so to speak, which provides internal conflict for Nick. It's basically just a story of Nick being the "Third Wheel" the whole story, but there's a lot more to it then that. It represented what America was going through at the time, during the "Roaring Twenties" as the Great Depression was soon on it's way. All of the characters are sublimely developed. Everyone is conceived with multiple layers and dimensions that are naturally exposed as the story goes on. There have been many film adaptations of this story, the most boring of which being the 1974 Robert Redford version(which is very slooooooooow). The most definitive adaptation is the 2013 Baz Luhrman film. Luhrman has been a wildly uneven filmmaker. His "Romeo + Juliet" is a terrific version of the story(although if you wanna see a great alternate version of the classic tale, 2000's "Romeo Must Die" with Jet Li, The late, great Aaliyah and DMX is highly entertaining), while "Moulin Rogue" and "Australia" were extremely underwhelming, so initial anticipation was skeptical. As it turns out, upon seeing it on home video in 2013, I was blown away, even though I hadn't yet read the novel. Casting is impeccably perfect, with Tobey Maguire a great Nick Carraway and Leonardo DiCpario an absolutely terrific Gatsby. It's the best adaptation of the stroy by far and away, so much so that I really don't think we need anymore versions of it, at least not for another fifty years. I mean, if you don't have a blu-ray player yet, this movie is pure reason to get one; holy hell is it beautiful to look at. Unsurprisingly, the next book I had to read for school, "The Catcher In The Rye", is horrendous. They say they've been trying to film an adaptation of the book for years, but have had trouble doing so. Amazing that a story about a whiny teenager pissing and moaning the whole time wouldn't make for an entertaining movie.

"The Wolf Of Wall Street"(2007)
Author: Jordan Belfort

The second book on this list to be adapted into a movie starring Leonardo DiCaprio also released in 2013, "The Wolf Of Wall Street" is the anti-Gatsby, one who revels in greed and excess, the only thing on his mind is the bottom line. Jordan Belfort dealt in the extreme, involving himself in copious amounts of drug use, sex, money and profanity, all of which are displayed fully and graphically(both in the book and the movie). Throughout, it seems as if Belfort still has the zany energy he had back in the day, almost never taking a breather whilst divulging readers about everything, and I mean everything, he's done, from his rise, to his fall to his now steady work as a motivational speaker. His personality isn't one to strive for, per se, but his attitude is, somewhat. His strive for success is almost addictive, but his drive for providing for others is what really got him high(either that or the massive amounts of cocaine and Quaaludes he was taking). He longed to make sure his wife and children were always happy and satisfied with the things they had, and if they weren't, he would simply get them more things until they were. If they weren't happy with him, why just float some more cash their way and they'll be good to go. If his workers were doing whatever they could do to make him happy, he gave them raises. He worked his way up to the top of the wall street ladder, hence the title of the book, but in the end, it left him an almost broken mess. He makes it clear, though, that everything that happened to him throughout the book was caused by him and himself only. That's mighty admirable for someone to take ownership like that, especially in a day and age where everyone seems to shift the blame elsewhere. He released a follow-up book in 2009 called "Catching The Wolf Of Wall Street". It's good, but nowhere near as impactful as the original, though some elements of the follow-up were adapted into the movie.

"Thirteen Reasons Why"(2007)
Author: Jay Asher

Depression and suicide are universally dark themes that are, unfortunately, growing more and more prevalent by the minute. There are people who may put on a good front, but deep inside, they could be fighting the biggest demons they never thought they would have to. Shortly after I was diagnosed with depression, a week after my birthday actually, I picked up and read this book. In retrospect, it probably wasn't the smartest decision to make, but for whatever reason, that was the first book I went for. In the story, a teenager, Clay, has been sent seven cassette tapes by Hannah, a classmate who committed suicide two weeks prior. Throughout his listening of the tapes, he discovers the reasons why she chose to leave and finds his life changed massively. Is Hannah wrong for taking her life? Is Clay wrong for not doing anything to prevent her from doing so? Depression and Suicide are difficult topics to discuss, especially with someone who's going through this kind of thing. In all honesty, as long as you talk with them and let them know you're thinking about them, as I've experienced, it can be very comforting. It's very well-written and well-crafted, with the book holding it's readers in a vice-like grip. As far as the TV series goes, Katherine Langford and Dylan Minette are terrific young actors and they play their roles very well, but the rest of the show is astoundingly misguided and disastrously handled. It's way too drawn out(while the idea for having one reason per episode is neat in concept, it draws itself out to an unbelievable length), the artistic decisions they make are pretty far out(the scene depicting Hannah's suicide was changed purely to make it more cinematic, which is uncomfortable) and the needless decision to extended the story beyond the original ending is pretty stupid. But, that doesn't take anything away from the original source material. Jay Asher takes his readers for a dark journey, but one that turns enlightening by the end; Clay following Hannah's proclamations to take notice before it seems to be too late.