Nation by Terry Pretchett

I was somewhat amazed at how good this book was. Knowing little about it before diving into it, other than familiarity with Terry Practhett's Discworld series, I gave it a chance, and it turned out to be a perfect story of survival, friendship, acceptance, and humor all rolled into one fantastically told tale. Everything about the plot is so clever and well thought out, everything about the characters were so believable, including their flaws and language barriers, and everything about the book in general was great. I can now honestly say, if I was monsooned and stuck on an island, I would definitely want to be stuck on an island like this and with Mau and Erma...I mean Daphne. Although, Nation is classified for Young Adults, readers of all ages will enjoy it.

A Game of Thrones (A Song of Ice and Fire #1) by George R.R. Martin

As a fan of the television series, I figured I would hop on the band wagon and read the books, at least for no other reason than to be able to look down upon those who just watch television (joking). Now that I have read it I can completely see why this was made into a more than popular show, and why it has such success; the book is amazing; to the point where nothing substantial was changed in the television adaptation. This book had such great visualizations, great characters, great dialogue, and such a complex and interesting story. Now I can say that this book will not be for everyone, because it can get a little gory, and can also go into some other scenes in a little too much detail, but for those with stronger stomachs I say have at it. Also, for those who are already fans of the show, reading the book will give you some more insight into the characters and back story that may have been glazed over on the screen, and in some cases, the book was more suspenseful.

Duma Key by Stephen King

A very interesting book with some great characters. Duma Key is very long, drawn out, and slow moving, but with some great moments of suspense. As you read along you actually start to get to know the main character, Edgar, pretty well and start to feel his pain, and fear his fears. This may not be one of King's scariest novels, but that does not mean it is not fantastic in and of itself (plus I do not like horror novels so there are many King books I will not read, luckily this was not one of them).

The BFG by Roald Dahl

To say Roald Dahl’s books are written with a little bit of genius would be completely and utterly untrue; Roald Dahl books are written with a great deal of genius. BFG in particular is a tale that is enjoyable to both children and adults alike, and has such a sophisticated and subtle sense of humor amid the great characters and unique story.