By Alejandro Cardenas |Staff Writer|
Bookworms at CSUSB agree on their favorite contemporary literature recommendations.
Although finding students that read novels for entertainment was a daunting task, avid readers find stories of struggling love to be the most appealing.
John Green’s “The Fault in our Stars,” and Anthony Doerr’s “All the Light We Cannot See” are the top two recommended books by CSUSB students.
These fictional novels were the most popular, according to an on campus survey asking, “What novels would you recommend to other CSUSB students?”
“The Fault in our Stars” continues to shine with popularity, even though it has been three years since the book was released and over six months since the film hit movie theaters.
“Anytime that Hollywood takes a book and turns it into a movie, it seems that the book goes on a second run of popularity,” said CSUSB student Alfredo Rojas.
This book is no exception. Its love story during tragic circumstances has made it the most recommended book, according to a sample of CSUSB students.
The book brings together elements of despair, romance, anger and humor, with a plot that follows Hazel, a 16-year old cancer patient, as she struggles with falling in love, knowing the inevitable pain that her death will bring to her love interest.
In a close second place was “All the Light We Cannot See,” which takes place during World War II and follows the entangling lives of Marie-Laure Leblanc, a blind girl from Paris with a strong bond to her father, and Werner Pfennig, a young electronic-savvy German soldier.
The author uses numerous instances of coincidence to intertwine two very different stories into a single tale of love during dangerous circumstances.
“I really loved this book and could not stop myself from reading it,” said CSUSB freshman, Anna Sandoval.
Honorable mentions from this survey included the Divergent series by Veronica Roth, “The Longest Ride” by Nicholas Sparks, “The Martian” by Andy Wir and “The Alchemist” by Paulo Coelho.
“Divergent” was mentioned by many of the younger students, and is centered on the dystopian, post-apocalyptic city of Chicago when Beatrice Prior, a young girl with unusual traits, fights to protect her loved ones from a corrupt government takeover.
“The Longest Ride” follows the converging lives of two couples from very different generations and was a popular recommendation among female readers. The author, Sparks, is most famously known for writing the popular romance “The Notebook.”
“The Martian,” by Andy Weir was also highly recommended, mostly by male readers, and centers around the fictional story of an astronaut that gets left behind on Mars after the rest of his crew believes he is dead.
Older readers often recommended “The Alchemist,” a book which follows Santiago, a young boy who sets off on a journey after believing a recurring dream in which he finds a hidden treasure is true.
Students looking for other book recommendations can check out goodreads.com. “It’s a great place to find out which books are popular and which books other readers suggest,” said Stacy Magendanz.
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