This is a post for those unfortunate souls who can't find the mental grit to get past the first page.

1. Ready Player One - Ernest Cline

The Martian reads like a movie. You are immediately drawn in by the first line, "I'm pretty much f*cked." Maybe it's the curse that gets you going or the fact that, that curse is repeated 2 lines down once again, but either way Andy Weir knows what he is doing. You'll finish the novel feeling like an expert on the subjects of Mars, Chemistry, Botany and Survival because the main character Mark Watney utilizes his knowledge in all of those subjects to make sure he doesn't die. Oh, and where is he stranded all on his lonesome? Mars!

 ...I loved The Hunger Games.

Yesterday I was at dinner with two of my friends and was inspired to start a new segment of my blog. "What Should I Read If..." will be me recommending books based on popular books that everyone can't get enough of. Its for those of us who have serious book hangovers and need new books with similar themes to fill the new void in our lives.

My first segment will be books to read based on your love for The Hunger Games:

Title: The Circle
Author: Dave Eggers
Genres: Dystopian
Destinations: Silicon Valley, California, The World in the Years to Come

I have been wanting to write a review / comment piece about this book for awhile. I read this book a couple months back and it really resonated with me. But now I work at a tech company and some of intricacies have been striking a lot more chords.

While many would say that Dave Eggers's The Circle is an extreme look at what technology and social media will do with our society, I believe that it is a warning as to how ridiculous we, as a society, have become. Some of the events described in the novel will probably never happen; politicians starting to wear cameras 24/7 to promote transparency and the fact that they have nothing to hide. We are, however, creating a world that will become just as ridiculous. We are living in a world where "if you didn't share a picture, it never happened". It's sad because I too have fallen into the trap of must-share, must-like and must-comment in order to feel validated and recognized by my peers.

Privacy and the increasing lack of it is the at the center of Eggers's predictive novel. Privacy used to be something so cherished. What has happened to the times when our deepest emotions were written in a 7x7 fuzzy pink notebook with a plastic lock that we hoped kept our siblings at bay. (Come on, those things never worked.) Those days are gone and now most of us will use Twitter and Facebook status updates as outlets in the hopes that some follower will notice and offer a virtual shoulder to cry on. I do, however, believe that social media and the Internet have provided an amazing place for lonely & misunderstood individuals to find friends and more importantly find happiness. But we are moving to an age where face to face interactions are becoming a thing of the past.  This, is what the Circle is trying to warn us against. We shouldn't care how many "zings" (likes / comments at The Circle) we get, we need to care about how many smiles we can give, create and receive out in the real world.

With that being said, I have been a proponent of using books to escape the real world. However, books are not real people that you are avoiding in real life, they do not have quotes you can like on the spot. They are temporary reliefs from our day to day stresses, not an omnipresent world that you can escape to from a phone, tablet and computer (yes I know ebooks, but I hate those things so I pretend they don't exist). Books do not train us to become emotionally dependent on status updates and 160 character posts through fiber cords at the bottom of an ocean. Are there extreme cases on both ends, yes, but as a society we have not all become obsessed with dragons and awkward teenagers. We are obsessed with having our Facebook pages a click distance away.

The Circle is a great book that uses some extremes to warn us of the monster we are creating. Read it and form an opinion for yourself!

(A great book to read as a follow up to this is Ready Player One, it could possibly be the world Dave predicted)

Title: Fangirl

Author: Rainbow Rowell
Genres: YA, Romance
Destinations: Nebraska, College

Do you need a sweet story to take you back to college and give you butterflies all over again? Well if that is what you are self prescribing, then I recommend you read Fangirl. There is no huge plot story or really deep, unnerving characters. There is just a young girl trying to find a way to survive college while remaining true to herself.

Is this book too good to be true for many geeks out there? Yes. How do I know? Because I am a huge geek and what happens in this book would unfortunately never happen in real life. But you know what? that's okay. Books are here to make us forget what the real world is like and throw us into a pool of what-ifs and if-onlys and I love it.

However, what you can love and appreciate about this book is that the main character never gave in to the people around her. She remained true to herself through and through. That even meant saying no to going to parties, which I loved since going out in college gave me so much anxiety and I wish I had the courage to just say no. In the end, staying true to herself, won her a sexy farmer boy. (Like I said, too good to be true). But there are people out there who will love you for who you are (albeit they probably aren't sexy farmers, those are only on Abercrombie shopping bags) and those are the individuals who will be worth your love in return.

Definitely check this really cute book out that will make you cry, laugh and get nervous all over again.

Titles: The Queen of the Tearling, The Invasion of the Tearling
Author: Erika Johansen
Genres: Fantasy, YA, Dystopia
Destinations: New York, The Tearling, Cadare

Yaaaay a fantasy trilogy! So far two of them have been published and I read both so fast I think my mom thought I was missing at some point. This was definitely a I-really-need-to-put-this-down-and-be-social-but-I-just-can't" kind of book. So if that is what you are looking for definitely check out these out.

With so many fantasy and dystopian novels out there it is so hard for authors to really differentiate themselves. However,  Erika Johansen has done an amazing job. She was able to combine fantasy and dystopian themes in a magical way. The Tearling is part of new land that was founded after the world as we know it fell apart due to an array of issues such as economic failures, bad leadership, and social unrest. The main character is a strong young woman named Kelsea who deals at the start of the series with a plain face, a chubby body, and no belief in her from the people who are meant to protect her. She however, perseveres and becomes a queen to be reckoned with.

My favorite character in the whole book however, is the head of the Queen's Guard, Mace. He reminds me of a far more suave and less disfigured Hound from Game of Thrones. But he is basically just awesome and hides lots of secrets you just really want to know! UGH! I hope book three will reveal all of those!

   

Title: The Good Girl
Author: Mary Kubica
Genres: Thriller, Suspense
Destinations: Cabin, Middle of No Where, Chicago

Have you ever wished that you would be kidnapped by a handsome stranger and taken to a cabin in the woods?...No? Well I have...NOT. However that is basically the fantasy Mary Kubica fulfills in her debut novel.