Although it’s tough to find a time where were not in a National Something or Other Week, this week has been an especially important one. Oct. 15, the United States woke up to find itself in Teen Read Week, with no escape in sight. So do yourself a favor and make the most of it with these helpful staff reading suggestions: Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov does everything right. This darkly humorous tale of a pedophile evokes every emotion imaginable through the intimate narration. It creates a deeply disturbed main character without losing the ability to relate with the reader, or its entertainment value. The book also makes the English language into a thing of sinister beauty with its perhaps excessively detailed description. – Bobby Hunter, Entertainment Editor My favorite book is The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath. The style, story, and the emotion that was poured into this book is what makes it my favorite. It is an autobiographical account of how Sylvia Plath descended into depression and the treatment she received to glue herself back together. The most memorable part of the book is when she goes swimming with her friends and she just wants to end it all by swimming until she can’t swim anymore. The emotion is almost overwhelming in the scene. I own a copy of this book and the cover is actually missing from how many times I have handled it. – Ben E. Nelson, Staff Reporter What is there to say about Pride and Prejudice that hasn’t already been said before? It is a timeless classic, loved for its eloquent language and in-depth character development. Jane Austen’s 19th century writing style can at first seem daunting, but once you get into it, Pride and Prejudice is hard to put down. I always hear people say they struggled to get through the first few chapters of the book, but I’m here to tell that if you persevere, you will not be disappointed. – Allyse Hellmich, Broadcast Editor I really like God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater by Kurt Vonnegut. It is the story of Eliot Rosewater, a man who was born rich by the greed, cunning, and shrewdness of his great-grandfather, who feels like he should be giving something back to the world. Eliot ends up being the most helpful, most loved, and most necessary man in the small, depressed town of Rosewater, Indiana. He is also very quirky, and this coupled with his outrageous philanthropy leads a young lawyer with the personality of Eliot’s great-grandfather to begin working to have Eliot declared insane and unfit to handle the Rosewater fortune. Vonnegut wrote God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater in his earlier years, before he became old, angry and bitter. It really shows. The book gives a unique views of philanthropy, capitalism and classism in America, but it remains light-hearted, optimistic, and funny at its core. – Spencer Arritt, Opinion Editor I know it’s a shocker, but I had trouble reading when I was little. Then I got these really great books called “BOB books” that taught me to read really well and made me LOVE it. I think it was something about all those sentences that were like, “Ten men walk. Ten men talk,” that kicked off my love of reading. Ever since I graduated from the “BOB books” series I have been an avid reader, which makes it really difficult to say what my favorite book is because my it changes daily. On any given day I might say that Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell, The Other Boleyn Girl by Philippa Gregory, Candide by Voltaire or even Harry Potter by J.K. Rowling is my favorite book, but that obviously isn’t very accurate. I really love all those books but are any of them my favorite book EVER? Probably not. I think that the best way for me to answer this question is to recognize that I will never be able to say what my favorite book of all time is because I love so many. Because really, there are hundreds of millions of books out there… how can I choose just one? – Ann-Charlotte Wade, In-Depth Editor I read Stephen Chbosky’s The Perks of Being a Wallflower this summer and immediately fell in love with it. Given that there are many, many, excellent books I’ve read, I find it difficult to give this particular book the title of “my favorite.” However, I feel confident in saying it’s one of the best books I’ve read recently. The Perks of Being a Wallflower is a story about a socially awkward freshman in high school. Through a series of anonymous letters sent by the student, who refers to himself as “Charlie,” it chronicles the narrator’s development from a person who simply observes life to someone who takes part in life. It also analyzes many of the problems facing teenagers today through the unique perspective of a compassionate but slightly disturbed young adult. The book captured a Catcher in the Rye-like quality, but added a modern day take. – Supraja Rajagopalan, Chief News Editor