Frustrated and trapped in by all the winter snow, Junior Delenn Fingerlow found a silver lining in having so much “inside time.” In this blog post, Delenn tells us about some very unexpected benefits to reading.

 

Have you ever had a bad day? Not like, a relative or pet died, or you failed all your classes kind of day (that qualifies as horrible and sad) but the kind of day where nothing goes right. You wake up an hour late and miss a doctor’s appointment, put on a shirt that you later find out has some “second connotation” that an old lady points out to you, and in your bathroom you step on a Lego. It is on these types of days that I present to you the following list for your enjoyment. It consists of reasons to read books and reasons why characters in said books are having a way worse day than you.

10. You aren’t competing with 23 other contestants in a fight to the death with a drunk for a mentor and a president who hates your guts. Coming in at number ten, The Hunger Games make for a great start in our “silver lining for the day you’re having.” I can guarantee you that most of the time your day will be better than Katniss’ day. Partially because you are probably an optimist and you see sunshine and rainbows as good things, and she hates anything that breathes, and partially because you don’t actually have to fight 23 other people in a game to the death.

9. You aren’t in love with someone who might be your brother. Our next entry is from the Mortal Instruments series. This is one of those books that borders on creepy for a number of reasons, this one just happens to top the list. In their defense, they didn’t know, but neither did Luke until the end of Star Wars and that was still awkward and uncomfortable.

8. You aren’t Bella Swan from the Twilight series. Thanks to Miss Meyer, Miss Swan is on every top ten most hated fictional characters list you can find, including Time Magazine.  Faith in humanity = restored.

7. You haven’t wasted three days and twenty dollars to read Allegiant. Or if you, like me, already did so, I’m so sorry. It gets better, I promise. Betrayal can only go so deep. Have some chocolate, watch a funny movie and dream that Veronica Roth got thrown into a top security prison.

6. You aren’t any of the characters from King Lear. Really, this should probably be higher on the list, but remember, the moral of the story: lie to your parents. (Ok, hold on, I’m being texted and told that actually isn’t the moral of the story, but it should at least come in a close second).

5. You aren’t currently committing perjury and jury manipulation. This gem is from John Grisham’s legal thriller, The Runaway Jury. If you are doing any of these things, get off the Internet. I mean, come on.

4. You aren’t part of a genetic experiment that results in you being hunted down by the government. As with all James Patterson novels, the Maximum Ride series ends up with the protagonists being chased by a shady government corporation. Oh, and all the main characters have wings. Which is pretty cool, if I do say so myself.

3. You aren’t immortal with an aging picture to show how awful you’ve become in your decadent, murderous life. But, that would be kind of cool, minus the insanity part in the Picture of Dorian Gray.

2. You’re not responsible for the repossession of prized relics and the tracking down of murderers. Although that would be kind of cool. Any of Dan Brown’s Robert Langdon novels are worth a read, or twelve.

1. You aren’t being married off to a dead person in a ritualistic ceremony. In Yangsze Choo’s novel Ghost Bride, the lead character’s father tries to marry her off to a rich family’s dead son. Truly creepy, and definitely worth the read.

So, do you feel better about your day now? No? Ok, well, have some chocolate, read Pride and Prejudice, watch Megamind and take comfort from the thought that sometimes we all step on a Lego.