Day 18: A Book I could read Cover to Cover and never get sick of...

I may have to look into my library for this one.  I've read some books during my time as a literate person.  Sure some childhood books run through my head when I come across this question, but some have always just stuck in my head and played a huge role in shaping my persona.  The trouble is I can't just name one.  So I'll list some that I thoroughly enjoyed reading more than once.

The Outsiders

Probably every middle-schooler's favorite book.  I know every boy wanted to be Ponyboy, or his brother Sodapop, or Dallas, or Johnny.  The fact that the movie to this book is acted by an all-star cast of Brat Pack actors is perfect.  C. Thomas Howell, Ralph Macchio, Emilio Estevez, Rob Lowe, Matt Dillon, Patrick Swayze, Tom Cruise is just a murderer's row of young acting talent.  Not to mention that the cute young Cherry Valance was played by Diane Lane, who was hot then and is hot now.  Looking down the IMDB of this movie makes me realize that there were a lot of other now famous actors in that movie.  But even when I was reading this book, I loved how Ponyboy had to endure so much as a young kid.  It made you feel that your town and your friends were all in a small town and had to make a name for themselves in a rebellious way.  S.E. Hinton, who I didn't realize was a female until much later in life, was very important in a young Mark Sheehan mind.  Her prose was served very well in classrooms across America.

The Catcher In the Rye

Another popular book among adolescent males, as well as popular murderers, is The Catcher In the Rye.  Holden Caufield had a certain way about him that I, as well as many young unshaped minds, seemed to gravitate towards.  Perhaps it was his struggle to never let go of the things that reminded him of his childhood.  Maybe it was the upper-class scene that he didn't feel like he could blend into.  Whatever it was, there was this feeling that many people could understand about not finding your place in the world.  Plus the final quote of the book: "Don't ever tell anybody anything or else you'll wind up missing everybody" just seems like the biggest mic-drop statement on life.  I'm guessing for people that don't feel down about themselves after reading this book tend to have a lot more to love in life.  But either way, this book could be reread over and over and I don't know if I'll ever get bored reading it.

Survivor

The most gripping book I've ever read from Chuck Palahniuk.  It was the first book of Chuck's I read.  I was shopping through what was then called Borders.  I didn't know what to make of it at first, but I was stuck in this book before I could realize it.  The only thing I knew was that Chuck Palahniuk wrote Fight Club, and it was one of my favorite movies.  This book was written in 1999, which is important to know because the story involves flying a plane into something (spoiler: not a building).  The characters and the language of everything in this book is just so grounding it's unbelievable.  I remember hearing that people were trying to make a movie of this, but after 9/11, it seemed very unfavorable.  I can't recommend this book enough.  I own a copy and even though I've read it twice, I still think I might go read it again just because it's so good.

The Visible Man

This book, which I found out about from reading Grantland.com very often, is the book that left me thinking more and more about people and what they do when I'm not with them.  If you watch the short trailer above, you will only get a sneak peek into the novel.  I highly, highly, highly suggest reading this book to anyone who thinks about what people do when they are alone and what thoughts they may or may not be having on certain things.  It's the most recent book I've read that I keep thinking about.  I own a copy in paperback and it's just something that I will definitely want to talk about if someone else has read the book.