Recently, I got my fourth tattoo. I happen to be someone who believes that getting permanently inked is an awesome form of self-expression. It had been three years since I had gotten my last one and I cannot wait to go back and get more. Sure they are a little painful, but a tattoo is a permanent piece of art on your body to represent your feelings, your passions, your beliefs, etc.

So in my quest to determine what my fifth tattoo will be, I started to think about my love of everything books. Thinking back to all of the wonderful books I have read over the years and which meant the most to be. Great Expectations, The Perks of Being a Wallflower, On The Road, Atlas Shrugged, and Alice in Wonderland are just a few books that I have read throughout my life that have had a profound effect on me. Each of these books has touched me for a different reason. I read Great Expectations with my dad every year growing up, The Perks of Being a Wallflower got me through all things horrible in high school, and the others have personal stories attached to them as well.

As I began thinking about these books I began thinking, “How awesome would it be to get my favorite line or image from one of these books tattooed on me?!” So I started looking into literary tattoos and I found something I was not expecting. There are thousands, if not millions, of people out there with some really, really awesome literary tattoos. From one line of a poem to images of favorite characters to the rules of Fight Club, people are getting literary inspired tattoos quite often.

While I still have not decided on which literary inspired tattoo I will be getting (although my favorite line from The Perks of Being a Wallflower is winning…), I have rounded up some of my favorite ones I have found from around the web.

So I pose this question to you, do you have any literary tattoos? Would you be willing to get one? Let me know in the comments section below! 

A special thanks to Jesse V. Coffey for submitted this guest post! Jesse is the author of The Brothers Cameron: An Opportunity for Resentment.

Everyone has one – a TBR shelf on the bookcase. Well, if you’re as obsessed as some of us are about your reading, you do. It’s the shelf that you have all those books that are “To Be Read”, that you’ve bought at book sales or book store ventures. You put them there for safe keeping and when you’re ready for that next read, you start plucking for the literary enjoyment.

Well, I have a TBRR shelf – books that I love so much, they fall on the list of “To Be Re-Read” and re-enjoyed. The stories that touched my soul on such an visceral level that the stories made me laugh and cry and cheer and fear…and yearn to fall in love with them over and over. Modern, classical; it makes no never mind to me. If I loved it that much, at some point, I’ll re-read it.

My list isn’t all that long but quite a few of these are series books; they just count as one because I will not touch another book until I’ve finished the series.

The Stand by Stephen King: This book was and is one of his best. The megadrama of “end of the world” annihilation mixed with incredible characters and nail biting “good vs. evil” explorations. It was so nice to find someone who understood my views of religion at large and the story drew me into it so deeply, I felt as if I were living it along with the characters. King has the ability to write a classic that doesn’t put plot before character or character before plot. It’s the perfect balance and King was waxing quite philosophical in this one. It’s a brilliant piece and I re-read it annually.

The Outlander series by Diana Gabaldon: My mother was actually the one looking into this series, suggested by her quilting group. I remember going with her to ask about them. The salesperson waxed poetic on the “romance novels” and I immediately tuned out, not keen on them at that point. Until the woman followed it up with “time travel” and “Scotland,” and I tuned back in. Mom turned to me at that point and said, “That sounds like something you’d love.” Truer words have never been spoken. Diana Gabaldon is a born storyteller, one of the best. There is romance but it’s only part of the historical drama that plays out over these books. 18^th Century Highlander Jamie Fraser (a 23 year old virgin with a wicked sense of humor when we meet him) and his 20^th Century time traveling wife, Claire (who’s already married in the 20^th century but forced to wed Jamie for reasons that you find out when you read the book), fight through his outlaw/traitor status to the battle of Culloden Moor to being separated by time again to being reunited again to…well, so much goes on in these books that I get caught up in the reading. I fall in love with Jamie (who doesn’t) and admire Claire. These books are so well written that it feels as if I’m standing on the highlands or traipsing through the North Carolina back country with them. These people are my friends and their adventures leave me spellbound. Another annual re-read.

The Twilight Saga by Stephenie Meyer: I can’t even begin to explain how these books touched me other than that I was an outcast in high school and my friends – if you can call them that – were the types that didn’t fit in with the “acceptable” crowd. Bella is so much me when I was in school that I really can identify with that “mature before her age/hanging with the weird kids/physically clumsy but verbally adept” character. That her friends and boyfriend/husband are vampires and werewolves only enhances that not normal but deeply interesting characteristics of them. The themes of social graces and cliques and “normal” reflect so much of my youth that this story grabbed me by the heartstrings and took me along for the ride. And when I finish the books, I have to put them away somewhere or I’d start reading again. No, they’re not the height of literature, but they are good reads. Movies, notwithstanding.

The Fifty Shades Series by E. L. James: Okay, I trashed the first book in my original review and got guilt tripped into reading the other books. But I admitted to the Guilt-Tripper that she was absolutely right about them. The books needed a good editor but damn they are fine. And as soon as I had that moment of clarity about Christian Grey – and that last chapter in Fifty Shades of Grey – I was hooked. Once the spit hits the spam, so to speak, at the end of book one, things happen at such a clip that it’s like getting caught up in a wind tunnel and you’re just a piece of paper. I can’t put it down, I can’t not read, I can’t let go, and I can’t separate from the books. I’m in there. I’m part of it. It’s a weekend’s read that has a deeper story line than many give it credit for and a final ending/payout that is so satisfying, I want more. Will there be more? Only time will tell. But in the meantime, I can read and read and read…annually.

And last but not least, The Kent Family Chronicles by John Jakes: The eight book series starts with a young Phillipe Charbaneau, The Bastard  child of an English nobleman, who is thrust into a battle between his mother and the duke’s wife and legitimate son. The Bastard takes Phillipe from France to England to the shores of the new world in America, where he becomes Phillip Kent and part of the revolution. Phillip meets the Founding Fathers of the soon to be new country and when the war is over, starts his own dynasty of the Kent Publishing business. But the series only begins with Phillip – subsequent books follow the Kent family and each new book is about another member. The series spans from 1776 to the early 1900s. Jakes ability to weave history and fiction is amazing; everything flows together and the plots are tight and well written. I fell in love with these books after the first book was made into a mini-series and I read them whenever I can.

When I don’t have anything to read. When I feel the need to revisit an “old friend”. Or when I just miss some great story telling. I keep my re-reads nearby and I go visit them at least once a year. Oh, there are other books I’ve read a few times, but not like these. These are my annual reads, my sanity in an insane world. And good story telling is always a plus.

Do you have a TBRR shelf? What do you have on yours?

Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail, a memoir written by Cheryl Strayed, follows an emotionally broken and unprepared woman’s journey along the Pacific Crest Trail. After losing her mother suddenly to lung cancer, Strayed finds her life and marriage spiraling out of control. So what do you do when your life is falling apart? For Strayed the answer was to spend an entire summer hiking the thousands of miles that make up the Pacific Crest Trail. Strayed’s ability to tell her story in an honest, powerful, witty and sometimes funny way makes this book an excellent read.

From the beginning it is known that Strayed is grossly underprepared for the journey she is about to embark on. By no means is Strayed an experienced hiker or camper. Making simple mistakes such as the wrong sized shoes and too heavy of a backpack make her journey that much more challenging. As Strayed travels along the PCT she meets a variety of people with both good and bad intentions. But, she seems to learn a small lesson from each of them. In the end, her journey is truly about re-discovering yourself. Strayed’s brave journey across the Pacific Crest Trail shows how far a woman is willing to go, both figuratively and literally, to find her true self.

One of the reasons that I loved reading this novel was how personal it felt. Almost everyone can unfortunately sympathize with losing someone important in their life and how that loss can change you.  As the story unfolds you (as a reader) cannot help but to feel Cheryl’s profound loss. Experiencing her journey also makes the reader focus on important milestones and losses in their own life.

In the end, I am a better person for reading this novel. I walked away a little stronger, a little braver, and a little more in touch with how loss has affected my life. This is a great read. In fact, this novel is such a great read it made Oprah revive her book club.

The Lucky One is a story of a man who’s lucky charm in war, turns out to be the love of his life. The book is full of love and passion, but it’s not all romance. There are moments of suspense and worry, and all I can say is that I loved it.

Logan Thibault is on duty in Iraq, where after going for a run he finds a picture of a woman buried in the dirt. He realizes someone must be missing it, but after a week of no one claming it, he decides to keep it. After this decision, he goes on a “lucky streak”, staying alive in deadly combat, winning poker games. He didn’t have an explanation for any of it, but his best friend Victor did- the picture was his lucky charm, it was good fortune. Victor believed she was his destiny, and that Logan needed to thank her for keeping him alive.
   
When Logan returned home to Colorado, he didn’t believe what Victor had said, but for some reason he couldn’t get the woman in the photograph out of his head. And with that, he decides to journey across the country to find her. When he finds the woman in the photo, Elizabeth, he is blown away by the attraction he feels towards her and decides to keep the reason his there a secret. Elizabeth and Logan fall in love, and face many trials in doing so, but the one thing that tears them apart is when the truth finally comes out about the photo.

This book is filled with romance and suspense. I was captured when I first started the book. The story is unforgettable and showed me what paths people are willing to take in order to find true love.

If you are the sappy, romantic person like I am, but also love thrills and suspense. Then you should go read this book now. I promise it will be worth the while. 

Fifty Shades of Grey, book one of the Fifty Shades trilogy, was not what I expected at all. I hadn’t heard anything about the trilogy, as it was not very popular at the time, and I was going straight from the book description when I decided to read it. I had no idea what I was getting myself into. As soon as I started reading, I was captured. I can’t even begin to compare it to any other book I have read. It’s a twisted and strange, but captivating love story that always keeps you guessing.

You would think the story itself is very typical: young, naïve, shy girl falls in love with a young, rich, beautiful and powerful man.  But it is far from that. A college senior, Anastasia (Ana) Steele, goes to interview a young entrepreneur, Christian Grey, as a favor to her roommate. Ana is totally unprepared for what happens next. When she steps into Grey’s office, there is feeling that she cannot explain. After the interview, Ana finds herself thinking about Grey, wanting Grey. And every time she succeeds in getting him out of her head, he shows up. Eventually, Grey admits that he feels the same and wants her, too. The only thing is- he wants her to be his and only his.

Grey has a dark, tormented past and his way of coping is dominance over women. He confronts Ana with a proposition that makes her want to run for the hills. The proposition: she will become his submissive, signing a contract, and obeying him. Ana is confused and scared, yet she brings out another side to Grey as she keeps refusing to sign the contract. Throughout the book, it’s a constant battle between the two about what their relationship is and what she wants it to be. But in the end, he pushes her too far leading to a cliffhanger that has you needing to read the next book in the series. This book is about passion, physical attraction, lust and most of all love.

Fifty Shades of Grey was not what I had pictured when I decided to read it, it was better. I couldn’t put the book down, always wanting more. At times while I was reading, I felt embarrassed, afraid and sad, but that’s what makes this a great read.

You will want to read this book, and when you do, I hope you have a day to spare because you will not be able to stop reading.

Welcome to the new and improved BiggerBooks.com! A great deal of blood, sweat, and tears has gone into bringing you this newly redesigned website and we hope that you enjoy it as much as we do! It is our hope that this update website will provide our community of book lovers with everything they are looking for.

There are several new additions to the site that we can't wait to show you.  First, the BIG LIST is a go to place for shoppers who aren't quite sure which book to read next. Spend less time searching for a great book and more time reading it! From the New York Times Bestseller List to our favorite reads for summer you are sure to find something that will peak your interest.  Next, the BIG Blog can be your new go-to source for good ole fashion book talk! From book reviews to book news, the BIG Blog will keep you up-to-date on everything you need to know in the literary world. Want to read along with an awesome group of people?! Join the #BiggerBookClub.  We will be reading a new book each month and discussing it during the #BiggerBookClub chat on Twitter.

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