13 Books Every Girl Should Read Before She's 25

As a lover of books and an avid reader, I decided I was qualified to make a list of the books I think every girl should read by the time she’s 25.  I consulted with my sister on the list since she is actually 25 so I feel like it is legit.  These are books I think stood out from when I was younger and from more recently.  While there are hundreds of books that I think of as good and even great these are the ones that stuck out to me this time.  Chances are this will not be the only list of books I recommend on here!

1. The Harry Potter Series by J.K. Rowling (Okay this is actually 7 books but still.)

2. The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky

3. Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen

4. Eleven Minutes by Paulo Coelho

5. Matilda by Roald Dahl

6. The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold

7. Avalon High by Meg Cabot

8. Bridget Jones’ Diary by Helen Fielding

9. The Host by Stephenie Meyer

10. What My Mother Doesn't Know by Sonya Sones

11. Stargirl by Jerry Spinelli

12. The Help by Kathryn Stockett

13. Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov (Which I am reading right now!)

Quotes: A Personal Obsession

I love quotes. I like reading what other people have said or written. It’s like a free pass into how they view the world. Below are a few of my favorites:


"She decided to free herself, dance into the wind, create a new language. And birds fluttered around her, writing 'yes' in the sky." - Monique Duval

"When you're a kid, they tell you it's all... grow up. Get a job. Get married. Get a house. Have a kid, and that's it. But the truth is, the world is so much stranger than that. It's so much darker. And so much madder. And so much better." – Dr. Who

“It's the possibility of having a dream come true that makes life interesting.” – Paulo Coelho

“Now that she had nothing to lose, she was free.” – Paulo Coelho

“Imagination is more important than knowledge. Knowledge is limited; imagination encircles the world.” – Einstein

“The question that sometimes drives me hazy: Am I or the others crazy?” - Albert Einstein

"It does not do to dwell on dreams and forget to live, remember that." – Albus Dumbledore (JK Rowling)

"Happiness can be found, even in the darkest of times, if one only remembers to turn on the light." - Albus Dumbledore (JK Rowling)

And in the end, the love you take is equal to the love you make. (The Beatles, from the song, "The End")

“Everything was beautiful and nothing hurt.”

“Life is either a daring adventure or nothing.” – Helen Keller

“Walk with the dreamers, the believers, the courageous, the cheerful, the planners, the doers, the successful people with their heads in the clouds and their feet on the ground. Let their spirit ignite a fire within you to leave this world better than when you found it...” - Wilfred Peterson

“Show me a day when the world wasn’t new.” - Sister Barbara Hance

“If I’m honest I have to tell you I still read fairy-tales and I like them best of all.” - Audrey Hepburn

“When words become unclear, I shall focus with photographs. When images become inadequate, I shall be content with silence.” - Ansel Adams

“Live in the sunshine, swim the sea, drink the wild air.” - Ralph Waldo Emerson

“Have a heart that never hardens, and a temper that never tires, and a touch that never hurts.” - Charles Dickens

“If you don't know where you are going, any road will get you there.” - Lewis Carroll

“We should all start to live before we get too old. Fear is stupid. So are regrets.” - Marilyn Monroe

"Dreams cannot be tamed. Dreamers cannot be ruled." – Paulo Coelho

“I swear to you there are divine things more beautiful than words can tell.” – Walt Whitman

“I know nothing with any certainty, but the sight of the stars makes me dream.” - Vincent Van Gogh

“When I was a little girl I used to read fairy tales. In fairy tales you meet Prince Charming and he's everything you ever wanted. In fairy tales the bad guy is very easy to spot. The bad guy is always wearing a black cape so you always know who he is. Then you grow up and you realize that Prince Charming is not as easy to find as you thought. You realize the bad guy is not wearing a black cape and he's not easy to spot; he's really funny, and he makes you laugh, and he has perfect hair.” - Taylor Swift

"No matter. Try again. Fail again. Fail better." - Samuel Beckett

Is There An App For That?

Sometimes I strongly consider deleting my Facebook.  And not just because then I could say I did.  Oh no, there are a bundle of reasons.  Hence, my need to create this list of things that I wish Facebook had an app to allow me to block.

Annoyance Number 1:  People who feel the need to compare all celebrity deaths to military deaths; the most recent case, Whitney Houston.  For weeks after her death my news feed was inundated with photos of her next to a fallen soldier with messages about the difference in media coverage of their deaths.  Here is the thing though; the two deaths are not really comparable as far as the media is concerned.  Whitney Houston was famous.  Most soldiers are not. Whitney Houston died as a result of an unhealthy lifestyle.  Soldiers die fighting for their countries.  It is clear to me that the more honorable death is that of the soldiers, but the one that is going to “sell papers,” is that of Whitney Houston.  It's just a fact of life.  

Annoyance Number 2: Recently, it seems like my Facebook news feed has been blown up with political and religious agendas.  I understand that it is an election year but seriously, I’m just over this.  You’re pro-life?  Okay cool, boon for you, we all get to have our opinions but I don’t want to see your creepy fetus photos every time I log into Facebook.  They do nothing to change my opinion on the subject.  All they do is make me angry / annoyed that you have chosen to use a social media site to try to force feed your opinions on me.  Save it for real life conversation.  The same goes for those of you who don’t like Obama, are angry about gun laws, think America is screwed if a republican gets elected, etc.  I’m not saying it’s not okay to post an occasional political comic or something, I just am sick and tired of having the bulk of my Facebook be political.

Annoyance Number 3: Games.  I’m not going to play your game.  It does not matter if you send me one request or 1000.  All your subsequent requests are doing is moving you higher up on the list of people I want to punch in the knee.

Annoyance Number 4: All of these photos telling me I have to “like” them or I don’t A) Believe in God, B) Have a heart, C) Care about issue "X", D) Believe in fairies, whatever.  I’m pretty certain God does not monitor my Facebook that closely.  

Annoyance Number 5: People giving me way too much information about their lives.  Case in point, girls giving a play-by-play of the birth of their child.  I do not want or need to know how dilated you are.  I understand it’s a big event and I’m happy for you but I really don’t need the details.  When the baby is out and clean I will happily read its length, weight, etc.  Until that point though please keep it off my news feed.   

Sleep Deprived

So, it’s been a while.  Sorry about that.  Although saying I’m sorry almost seems presumptuous.  Like I assume people are checking my blog daily and lamenting the lack of new posts.  I am so not that cocky…

Anyway comma I thought I’d write about my past couple of nights.  I believe some sorts of shenanigans are afoot.  Both nights I have glanced at the clock and seen that it is far later than I anticipated.  When it happened this weekend, it was not such a big deal.  But when I looked up from reading my book last night to see it was almost two in the morning I got a little concerned.

My alarm was set to go off at 5:47a.m. (Because I wanted to get to work early because I’m poor and need the hours).  And suddenly, I realize I need to be awake again in less than 4 hours.  

Now if you know me, you likely know that I used to pull this kind of crap all the time.  I never slept at night.  But now that I am a more functional adult member of society it is no longer prudent of me to sleep until 10 or 11 in the morning.  I get up early (usually).  I go to work.  I try really really hard to go to my early classes (although I miss them more than is desirable) but still!  I can’t run on so little sleep.

And then, as if my lack of sleep was not enough to contend with, it dawns on me that my contact solution needs at least six hours to stop being peroxide-y.  And so, for the second time in my life I intentionally went to sleep with my contacts in.

Now today I am a little riddled with guilt.  I feel like my eye doctor knows.  He totally knows. 

Final note, my sincere apologies if this is not funny, I am quite sleep deprived today.