Need to Read: Gone With the Wind

Watching the movie is not the same as reading the book. Yes! The movie is lovely, but with very few exceptions the book is always better. So, you need to read Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell. You might stumble upon a copy in your bookstore of choice and think, "Heck no! I'm not reading that. It's way too long!" Well, I just say it's about a thousand pages of heart-thumping romance, gun-slinging action, and awesome Civil War glory. Yes, you will probably hate Scarlett by the end of it, but at the same time, from someplace in your heart you don't quite understand, you'll love the simpering fallen belle.

  Gone with the Wind is said to be one of the best romances ever written and also one of the best Civil War dramas. Scarlett O'Hara is the most iconic not-afraid-to-get-her-hands-dirty Southern belle in the history of ever. She proves that charm can get you anywhere.

Spoiled by her life at Tara and considered one of the most engaging young ladies in the county, Scarlett believes she can flirt her way into getting whatever she wants including the married man, Ashley Wilkes. However, no matter how violently she bats her eyelashes, she cannot stop the approaching Civil War, and Ashley is pulled away from her to fight.

I swear, even a Civil War will not keep Scarlett from what she wants. She'll do whatever she must, hop for marriage to marriage, manage her own business, or drive through a shanty town by herself. The South has never seen such a stubborn woman. The only man who could ever handle her is Rhett Butler, a scoundrel who is easy to love. Clark Gable plays him so well in the movie, but on the page he's even more of a dog.

Rhett's and Scarlett's relationship is one equally full of love and hate, and you'll love and hate them too. But somehow, you'll realize that no one in the world deserves each other more than they do.