Ultimately, I remember a book for how it makes me feel. 1984 brought out so much emotion. I cannot forget it. 
 At times terrifying. At times heartbreaking. 1984 is an amazing book. Terrifying because of the world that Winston loves in, a time in the future where Big Brother may be watching or listening to your every move. It is a place where life is fear. There is no outside world, no history, and a child may turn you in as a traitor. Heartbreaking because Winston is so alone in this world. Even surrounded by other people, I feel that he is alone, different. When he does make a connection with another like himself (I will abstain details here to avoid a spoiler), there is the impending feeling that it cannot last long. They will be found out in this place where there is no freedom, and it will be smashed to pieces. 
 I see 1984 as a precursor to so many of the dystopian, apocalyptic style novels that have followed in its footsteps, even to this day. It may not have been the first, but I find it to be the best of them. One blogger I read said that 1984 was not the best written of the classic dystopian novels. I disagree. It may not have the poetic verse of Fahrenheit 451, but it has intense prose. It's a book I will come back to reread because I found parts of it to be deep and complicated, especially the last half. So much so that I was often backtracking as I read. 
 1984's dystopian future felt more real to me on a personal level, than today's books of plagues, zombies and survival games. The book may be partial satire, but it was set in a reality of sorts. George Orwell experienced the World Wars, Nazism, Communism, Socialism and poverty. All of that comes through while at the same time giving us a main character we connect to, and a world we want to fight against. In short, the book has a point to make. It has a reason. 
 The last quarter of the book crushed me with emotion. I applauded Winston for trying to hold on, and then I wanted to reach in and save him of his fate. Simply one of the best books I've ever read.