How to Choose a Book by Kari

How to Choose a Book by Kari - July 2013 Scholarship Essay

    In the course of my time in school, there have been ample opportunities to read.  Some books were forced or coerced, yet others came more naturally, but never, have I been let down in the prose of the classics of yesterday or the modern-day newcomers.     This will not be the answer that is required of me; however, I have enjoyed every book from "Animal Farm" to "To Kill a Mockingbird" to "My Sister's Keeper" to "Fahrenheit 451" or "1984."  How do you select just one tale to sum up the lessons learned throughout the course of a 20 year ongoing education?     Every story has value, and lessons to be told.  From the allegories of "Animal Farm" and the rise of communism to the anti-racist messages of "To Kill a Mockingbird."  The ethics that were placed into play in "My Sister's Keeper" to censorship versus freedom in "Fahrenheit 451" or "1984."  How do you choose a book?     A story must be broad like the ocean, yet captivating like live theater.  The words should come alive from the page and dance to the beat of an underlying theme.  The characters have to be realistic and believable, yet flawed, like dear old Oedipus, for none of us are creatures of perfection.     The stories I wrote as a child all had morals, and perhaps that is the best way to describe how to choose a book.  Does the book have a message that it is trying to portray?  If the answer is yes, then there is no way to go wrong, and the reading must be looked at through varying viewpoints until one can find the ultimate value.     Has the question been answered, not really, but to choose a book is like asking a mother to choose her favorite child.  Every one has something special to offer, as well as insight into the realm of beauty, wonder, excitement, adventure, and at times, reality.