I come from a rather literary family. My grandfather was a professor at Yale who wrote books on everything from outwitting the Gestapo to translating the work of Sartre and Simone de Beauvoir. My mother and father carried on the tradition by writing their own books; one a collection of short stories, the other a practical guide to estate planning. Growing up in this environment taught me to love a good book from a very early age.
I have read my share of titles from the "literary canon" but, to this day, the best book I have ever read is still The Long Walk by Stephen King. It may not be a considered a classic piece of work, but never the less it spoke (and still speaks) to me in a language I can understand. As Michael Meyer puts it “Human emotions speak a universal language regardless of when or where a work was written” (Meyer pg. 4) Although I read it as a young teenager, its bizarre story still captures my imagination and I learn something new about the characters every time I pick it up. The plot centers on a group of teenage boys from all over the country who, starting in upper Maine, must continuously walk down the eastern seaboard. If they stop for any reason, they are shot dead by the U.S. military. The last boy standing is given anything he wants. Doesn't that description just make you want to pick up the book and go at it?!
In contrast, the absolute worst book I have ever had the displeasure of reading would have to be Catcher in the Rye, by J.D. Salinger. Perhaps the timing just wasn't right. It might have been that I did not care for my English teacher at the time. Or maybe the story just did not entertain me. Whatever the reason, I just never cared for Holden Caulfield and his stupid prep-school problems. I just could not relate to his feelings or his actions. The funny thing is that despite the fact that I would like to forget that I ever read the book, I remember its details quite well. I remember it more clearly then other...