However, if I were forced to simply choose one, it would have to be
Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, by Lewis Carroll.
Now, I know this book is technically a children's book, but it's quite popular with people of all ages!
If you've never given it a read, you really should! It was written in England in 1865 by Charles Lutwidge Dodgson, under the pen name Lewis Carroll.
He was part of the Anglican Church and became an Anglican Deacon. He was also a teacher and a scholar. The Dean of Christ Church, Henry Liddell, befriended Dodgson, and he began to spend time in the company of Henry's three young daughters.
One of these daughters was Alice Liddell.
Dodgson would make up stories for the Liddell children, wild stories that made no sense on purpose. Nonsensical Fiction is a category of fiction that actually is largely in part due to him!
As the story so goes, one day Dodgson and the children were at a picnic, and it began to rain. Being forced inside, he made up quite a story to make up for having their fun spoiled. Being the eldest son, and the third eldest of 11 siblings, he was quite good at keeping children entertained. He created a story much more interestin' and unusual than his regular ones, and when he went to leave, Alice Liddell was said to have cried to him that she wished he would write it down so she could read it and have it forever. When he did this and presented it to her, an author ended up finding it in the Liddell household and convinced Dodgson to publish it. He edited the manuscript and published what we now know as Alice's Adventures in Wonderland.
The book was quite an instant success, with even adults reading it due to the nonsensical nature. Children's stories at the time usually told some sort of lesson or moral, and this story had neither. It was just nonsense for nonsense sake.
Dodgson was said to be quite soft-spoken and shy, so some think he may also have enjoyed the company of children simply for that reason. Others decided his time spent with them was suspicious, and he is quite controversial due to this.
There are many speculations as to what went on in the mind of Dodgson. He did seem to enjoy the company of rather young, female children. But, it really did seem to be of an innocent nature.
There are plenty of scholars who really have taken the time to look back and see if his behavior was inappropriate, and a lot of speculation and rumors have been either held with no proof or evidence, or debunked. I will not say he was or was not what people claim him to be, but let you judge that for yourselves.
It really is quite a rabbit hole to try and explain, so I won't bother when others can do it quite better than I can.
If you'd like to decide for yourself, the Wikipedia article on Lewis Carroll is a fantastic place to start!
And I do recommend reading the book. Every time I read it, it's like I find a new thing I didn't remember from the last.
It is free to read on Project Gutenberg.
I do hope you enjoy it!
💕(My runners up would be The Little House Book Series by Laura Ingalls Wilder, and Alas, Babylon by Pat Frank.) 💕
Sources:
Wikipedia Article on Lewis Carroll
Britannica Biography of Lewis Carroll
Alice's Adventures in Wonderland - Free to read on Project Gutenberg!
Myself! I know it ain't a proper source, but some of the information here is written from my own memory, such as the publishing year, general story, names, etc.
I ain't sure I've ever been one for puttin' labels on such things...
I reckon I'm attracted to kindness, and to beauty, wherever I might find it. Sometimes it's in a man, sometimes it's in a woman, and sometimes it's just in the way a person is...
I am afraid I don't have an escape plan for us, just a couple of books and a rather persistent sense of optimism. But things will be gettin' better, I'm sure of it.
◆ I like collecting weapons, fixing em up and trading em away.
◆ I got three horses, Baylock, Bessy and Blair. 🤎
◆ You won’t find any safe space nonsense here. Come in here peace-preaching and you'll get blocked.
◆ I run with the Van Der Linde gang. I can only really tolerate a few of them. Come in here asking about them and you'll see where that gets you.
⚘️ ooc info under the cut
Hey, hey!!! Mod Flo here, this is just a little thing I'm doing for fun. None of Micah's views reflect mine and vice versa. I know how terrible he is.
For this blog, I can't manage in-person roleplay. There is a chance I'll be able to in the future, though!
This is, of course, my take on Micah Bell. I'm going to be as in-character as I possibly can. Unfortunately, he will be full of hate and very spiteful. You may send hate and everything to Micah, but keep it civil with me, please 🐎💜
Ships and suggestive asks are allowed! As long as you're not weird about it. I definitely think Micah has some sort of internal homophobia.. As he does with everything. There's a good chance he'll be rude with suggestive anons unless he's already familiar. 💕
All of this is subject to change, and I will be adding things to the intro as I get more into this ♡♡♡ Thank you for reading!
I just finished up a couple of books and am close to finishing another shortly! 💕
Before I begin, I would like to say that I did enjoy all of these books, but some opinions may differ from mine. That is okay! That is good! It means you have your own opinions, thoughts, and ideas! I encourage you to read things and form your own thoughts on them. Don't think somethin' simply because it's what others think. I hardly ever look at reviews before reading a book simply because I don't want others to influence my view on it. It's also why I'm not going to rate these books for you on a number scale. So if you read these already and dislike them, or if you read them in the future and end up dislikin' them, I encourage discussing why! I will welcome any kind of book discussion here, as long as you keep it respectful. Feel free to send me your thoughts and opinions! My asks are always open 💕
(I'm also gonna take the opportunity here to recommend your local library and the Libby app! If you have a library card, your library likely has Libby or some other digital book app. If they do, take advantage of it! They pay for those resources so you can use them 💕 Support your local library!)
Recent Books:
For starters, I recently read the novel Back Roads, by Tawni O'Dell.
It follows 19 year old Harley Altmyer, a young man livin’ in rural western Pennsylvania coal country. He's the legal guardian to his three younger sisters after his mother was sent to prison for murdering his father.
It's a very good read, and I do highly recommend it. Only for 18+ readers, mind you.
I will caution, it has some dark themes and can be a bit uncomfortable at moments. But, I think those kinda things make a book good, don't you? If we can't discuss things that make us uncomfortable, then what's the point in readin’ and writin’ at all?
It follows themes of abuse, family loyalty and secrets, struggles with sexuality, young people tryin’ to deal with adult problems, and the search for self-worth.
It's gritty, but sharp. Sarcastic, but heartbreakin’. But most importantly, it feels real. There ain't any holdin’ back for the sake of the reader. It's just what it is. No pretendin’. And I really respect that in a novel.
Since it does tackle some very difficult to discuss subject matter that I won't get into, if you planned on reading it, I would suggest lookin’ up the trigger warnings. Some of it can be explicit.
The second one I recently finished was All the Ugly and Wonderful Things, by Bryn Greenwood.
This one is by far the most controversial book I've read in a while. It follows a peculiar young girl named Wavy, the neglected daughter of a drug dealer father and consistently drugged up mother, throughout her life and transition into adolescence and adulthood, and the people in her life along the way. One of those people in particular bein’ an associate of her father's, a young man named Kellen.
It's another one that I recommend lookin’ at the trigger warnings for, as it's got some real explicit parts and some real uncomfortable themes and subject matter. Definitely 18+ on this one as well.
Some call it a love story, others call it abuse. Either way, I do genuinely think it was written quite well and I did enjoy it.
The themes involved are subjective morality, coming of age, abuse, neglect, drug addiction, the contrast between ‘institutional’ care and independence, sexuality, parentification, exploration of identity, false beliefs, and the use of fear for control.
There are some reviews on it where the reviewer actually claims they were disgusted enough that they didn't finish the book. While I understand their point of view, I personally read the entire thing. I actually ate this book up, I didn't want to put it down, even when it made me uncomfortable. I felt reading it was worth it. It's very much a book that would be great for some sort of book club discussion, with all of its controversy.
I will not condone nor condemn the things that took place in this book (that are subject to controversy). And if you read it, I highly recommend readin’ the author’s statement on it when you're finished. I think author's perspective can be important on topics such as this. Whether you end up agreein’ with them or not, it's still important to listen, as we all have different experiences in life that may contribute to how we feel.
The last book I've been readin’ as of late is Demon Copperhead, by Barbara Kingsolver. This one is a modern retellin’ of the old Dickens’ classic, David Copperfield.
It follows a young man named Demon (well, his name is Damon but nobody calls him that), growin’ up in rural Appalachian Virginia. His mama had him as a young, single teenager, his daddy havin’ passed shortly before. He faces a whole lot of struggles growin’ up in poverty, in and out of foster care, and in the shadow of drug addiction.
It's another real gritty, coming of age novel, though it's still not in the young adult category. It's got heavy themes and adult subject matter, so I wouldn't necessarily recommend it for all teens, but I know that as a teenager I would personally have loved this novel. I really say it would depend on the individual’s maturity level and ability to handle this kind of content for if it should be kept to 18+ or not.
The voice on this one… oh my gosh, it really is amazin’. It's written from Demon’s perspective, and it gets his voice real and true, so the whole thing is written in a way that makes you feel like you're just listenin’ to a man tell you ‘bout his life. I really admire Kingsolver’s literary style in that regard.
The themes that are in this novel include abuse, drug addiction, classism, resiliency, coming of age, failures of the foster care system and other child welfare programs, the generational cycle of poverty, death and grief, and larger scale political and social issues (especially those involving the opioid epidemic).
I haven't finished this book yet, as I'm about 75% of the way through it right now. I am lookin’ forward to seein’ how it turns out!
Thank you so much for sendin’ this wonderful question. Not many ‘round camp really appreciate me babblin’ on ‘bout these kinds of things… I really enjoy discussin’ books and writin’ with y'all! 💕
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