My "Favorite" Books

Even as a child, I believe it was difficult for me to choose a favorite book. I love books and I love reading, and have for pretty much as long as I can remember. However, for the purposes of this assignment, I will pick one of my favorite books from adolescence, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone. Now perhaps you are thinking that I am like one of the many who follow the Harry Potter fad; but you are wrong. I was introduced to Harry when he and I were the same age, and he was not known to millions. My sixth grade teacher, Ms. Greenstein, read Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone out loud to my class for reading time. From the very first chapter, I fell in love with the mystery, magic, fun, and humanity of J.K. Rowling's book.

For those who may not have read it, it follows the events of a young boy's life from his parents' untimely death and his adoption by his terrible aunt and uncle, to the discovery that he is a wizard, and through the experiences of his first year at wizardry school; including his introduction to a wonderful game called Quidditch, a three-headed dog named Fluffy, and his two best friends for life, Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger. Oh yes, as soon as my teacher had finished reading it to the class, I asked to borrow it to read it again for myself. Unfortunately, my friend Amanda had beaten me to it, so I had to wait. In the mean time, Ms. Greenstein began to read the unedited edition of Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets. Thus began my love of the magical world of Harry Potter. Since that time, I have been to the midnight Potter parties for books four, five, and seven (I missed six as I was on trek, a great sacrifice on my part), read and re-read the books more than you can possibly imagine, read the supplementary readings numerous times, and been amazed that my literary love has become a fad. I believe it changed my life in how I occupied my time, what my friends and I discussed, and what I looked forward to every few years. I also felt that Harry and I were friends that had grown up together, and I was sad to see the end of the series.

While nothing to date has quite captured my love and attention the way Harry did, as an “adult” (I still do not feel that I am such a thing), I find that I enjoy Brandon Sanderson's Elantris. While it lacks the fun and wonder of Harry Potter, this book is still magical and fascinating in its own way. It follows the lives of three influential individuals in the fictitious kingdom of Arelon, on the verge of war: Raoden, Sarene, and Hrathen.

Within the city of Elantris, the former capital of Arelon, everything is dead and decaying—even the people. They are not dead in the typical sense, having not experienced death, but neither are they alive. Their hearts cease to beat, they do not bleed, and food cannot satisfy their hunger. But they were not always this way. Ten years earlier, Elantris and its people were bright, shining, and fully of magic and power. Then something happened and everything changed. Raoden, prince of Arelon wakes up one morning to realize that he has become an Elantrian. At about the same time he is being banished into Elantris, his “bride” Sarene arrives in the new capital city of Kae, only to be informed that Raoden has died. As part of her marriage contract, she is considered to be his widow and their marriage, legally binding. Thrown into the mix is Hrathen, a high priest of the Derethi religion of the neighboring country of Fjorden to convert the people of Arelon, before are destroyed by the Fjordell armies. The story follows Raoden trying to live in Elantris and discover why things have changed, Sarene trying to save Arelon from military destruction and to discover what really happened to Raoden, and Hrathen trying to convert an entire country while dealing with his own trial of faith.

I would not say that Elantris changed my life in any significant way; but it did open my eyes to a new type of magic and fantasy. It also allowed me a break from the monotony of school work and television. I believe Elantris was a reminder of my love and passion for reading for pleasure.