Sometimes when I read a book I like to kind of hide the fact that it exists. Just keep its wonderfulness to myself. I realize that’s selfish and not fair to the author, but it’s just something I do.

Every once in a while though, I read a book that’s so great and I want to talk to other people about it Then realize I probably need to tell those people to read it.

“The Perks of Being a Wallflower” by Stephen Chbosky is easily one of the most simply eloquent novels I’ve ever read. I realize that it already has a pretty substantial cult following, but when I read it I felt the need to tell all my friends that loved reading about it. The main character Charlie has the epitome of a beautiful soul and I think reading about a character like him makes the reader a slightly better person.

Over this past weekend, I had three separate friends tell me they were just about to finish reading “The Perks of Being a Wallflower” and it made me so happy. I couldn’t wait to talk to them about all my favorite parts of the book.

One of my favorite parts of the novel is the constant presence of relaxing alternative rock music. The main character Charlie is fascinated with beautiful music and tries to tie it in to a lot of what he does. Some of my now favorite songs I discovered because they were mentioned in “The Perks.”

“The Perks of Being a Wallflower” is one of those books every high school student should read. I realize it’s become one of those cliché young adult books that everyone says they love, but there is a reason it gained such a mass following.

The movie is currently in production and has been set to be released in 2012, with no exact date yet. While I’m not expecting the movie to totally match up to the book (that never really happens) it will be interesting to see if the producers and director can capture some of the literary magic Chbosky created on the big screen.