Pride and Prejudice

     I’m not a big fan of classic novels. The only one I have liked so far is Charlotte Bronte’s Jane Eyre. Well, thanks to Josh Groban’s “When You Say You Love Me” and a fan-made video of the 2005 film adaptation of Pride and Prejudice, I was introduced to Elizabeth Bennett and Mr. Darcy’s world.

    For sure, this book explores people’s relationship with others, and how first impression and prejudice affects our decisions and opinions. This book also lets me differentiate women and the past and of today: how young ladies in the past see marriage as their ultimate goal, while women today often put career and independence their priority.

     After reading this novel, I now consider reading other classic romance novels. I think their stories have more depth compared to romance novels nowadays. Well, I hope I will not be too busy.

Credit: Image from here.

  

The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones

     The song “All about Us” by He is We featuring Owl City introduced me to the movie The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones and in turn, to the book of the same title by Cassandra Clare.

     Well, I like Cassandra Clare’s idea of integrating all fairy tales, legends, history, and other things from other books and from imagination into one world. I like Cassandra Clare’s ideas of runes having magical powers, of shadowhunters saving the world from demons, and of Clairy discovering her connection with the shadowhunter world.

     However, what I don’t like about this book is that some parts are just way too childish or corny bordering on being a hybrid of Harry Potter and Twilight. Still, I consider the fact that this book is written for teenagers. Maybe, they don’t mind those parts at all, as evident by the books popularity and high sales. 

      That being said, I don’t know when I will pick up the next book, or if I ever will. Surely, I want to know the continuation of the story. However, I want to save myself the trouble of encountering cringe-inducing dialogues and stories again. Perhaps, I’ll just wait for the next movie, that is, if it is to be made.

Credit: Image from here.

The Fault in Our Stars

     On my last post, I stated my desire to read motivational books.

     Sad to say, I still haven’t finished reading all of the books I have listed. I couldn't read a whole chapter of Seven Habits without breaking into a reverie every now and then. Not that the book promotes daydream, on the contrary, I find it too thick with information, that my brain just would wander automatically after sometime.

     The good thing is that I was still able to read something. The Fault in Our Stars I believe is the first book I have finished reading this year. I seldom have the chance to read books wherein characters have terminal illness, so reading this book made me sad. Still, I'm thankful that through this book, I now have deeper understanding of the sufferings of cancer patients, be it physically or emotionally, their apprehensions, and their concern for their family. I felt Hazel's pain of missing her future because of the illness that consumes her present.

     On the lighter side, this book has lines that totally cracked me up. John Green really did great in writing this book. There are not many authors who can make you laugh and cry at the same time.

Credit: Image from here.

Book Challenge again

I haven't had a chance to fill this blog meaningfully, but now I know what to do. It's about time I read books again and share some things about them.

The last time, I mostly read fiction. Now, I'm going to read or reread these motivational books. As always, one book per month. I hope I have enough books for the next 11 months.

For now, here's what I have: 

*The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People- Stephen Covey

*Failing Forward- John Maxwell

*Think on These Things- John Maxwell

Inkspell

     I have just finished the second book of Inkheart Trilogy, Inkspell.
   
     In this book, the main characters are transported to the story itself, the Inkworld. However, much to their surprise, everything has changed. It seems that the printed words no longer hold the story. They are just plain, dead words. Inkworld has become a more sinister place for everyone.

     This book has a darker story than the first one. For me, reading this was like a long, winding journey. It left me wondering if the story would really be as black as ink in the third book, or if I could finally reach a happy ending.

     I actually took a break from reading the third book, Inkdeath. This second book made me mentally and emotionally exhausted. I must prepare for the third one.

Image from here.

Inkheart

     They say reading could make us escape into another world.  Wouldn't it be more fun if we could bring the characters out? That exactly is what the book Inkheart is all about. By reading out loud, Mo and his daughter, Meggie, could summon different characters out of their printed pages.

     However, malevolent characters have slipped out of the book! Now, Mo and Meggie must find a way to win against this evil force of Capricorn and turn things around with the power of their voices.

    Reading this book makes me wish I could also conjure characters out of books. Thanks goodness for its movie I learned about this book.

     I’m now on the second book. I just hope that the story of Mo, Meggie, Resa, Elinor, Dustfinger, Farid, and Gwin would have a happy ending at the end of this trilogy.

Image from here.

The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes

Reading this book again is like meeting old friends and listening over again to their stories, which you already knew, yet still learning a lot of lessons.

I like how Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, through the view point of Dr. Watson, has given the readers a chance not only to read his and Holmes adventures but also to think deeper and see things in another perspective. This book has enabled me, as a reader, to stretch my mental faculties in trying to solve the cases, yet, like Dr. Watson and Lestrade, I often feel like a turtle compared to the lightning speed of Holmes' deductions.

In the story, a case of identity, he let Watson know his method. According to him it is concentrating upon the details, among other means of course. That helped me, as a reader, to catch up with his deductions in the succeeding stories.

I can't help but admire the genius of Doyle, how he put up the adventures, not only for Holmes and Watson but also for the readers to participate as well.

I just can't wait to participate in their next adventure, so ciao! :D

Credit: Image from here.

Book 16th: The Selection

This book is about the journey of America Singer, who, though unwillingly, happened to be included in the most prestigious thing in her country-The Selection. This event is a competition of 35 girls, to win the crown, and the prince's heart.

What can I say?
I figured the book is really for teenagers, with the colorful front, big fonts and a teenage protagonist. I think the story is romantic in its own way though I have some problems with it.

 Prince Maxon for one- a prince who doesn't know how to act in front of women. The heck, he is a prince, he is supposed to be prepared for this. I think the author made his character too much of a gentleman, to the point of not knowing what to do.

The country- a country with caste system, poverty, wars with other countries, and then a Selection?! I think those things are not a very good combination. I don't think if I would be giddy with America's (the main character) love life or if I would be concerned with their country and caste system.

Somehow the setting of the story reminds me of Hunger Games, come on, authors can surely think of a better setting right?

Still, after all my rants here, it is a good read. With enough twist and humanity to keep you reading from start to end. The love triangle between the three characters is something to look forward to, plus the big question, of who will be the lucky girl to remain. I'm actually looking forward to the second book.

Book 14th & 15th-The Bridgerton series

The Bridgerton series by Julia Quinn

If you are into romance, then this book is for you.Set in the time of royalties, the stories give glimpses of the past, and how to live in the time of dukes, counts, and earls.

The Bridgerton family has 8 children, and each one of them has a love story to tell. So far, I have finished reading the first two books, 'The Duke and I', and 'The viscount who loved me'.

This is an easy read, even though the plot is set in the past, the style of writing is in the present, so you won't have to worry about nose-bleed vocabularies. I must admit I enjoyed reading this, and was definitely hooked up with the first two books.

There's just one thing I think I didn't like much. And that is, the book being descriptive about sex. Well, not that intense, but enough to get you distracted.

I think it would've been better to leave those details in the dark. In my opinion, those part of the book really spoils the story. You would be torn between the love story and the heated romance, it's confusing to shift from one mood to another. And so, I have to skip some chapters of the books(imagine a chapter dedicated to lovemaking, lol).

In the end, I still think that this is series is a good read. Definitely romantic, and really shows progress in the stories.

13th Book: Edgar & Ellen- Nod's Limbs

This is the six installment of the Edgar and Ellen books. Having not read any of the preceding books, it was a bit confusing at the start. But once you have established the facts related to their adventures before, you'll be able to follow the plot better.

Unlike my first impression of kids with only mischief in mind, this book actually presented the twins as having wits. They use it to fight for their house and save their beloved pet. In hopes of saving their house from being torn down, they joined a hunt- the hunt for Nod's golden limbs. In solving the riddles, they also figured a way that would somehow help them save pet just in time.

The riddles presented in this book are clever. I like riddles, so, I enjoyed finding the answers as much as Edgar and Ellen do. This book also presented Edgar and Ellen's unusual, love (if you may call it) for each others as siblings. It's like, they are born to annoy each other, yet they are one mind when it comes to mischief.

Have I told that the book is also musical. Well, Edgar and Ellen that is. They sing their hearts out during some parts of their adventure. For children, that is fairly common. (You know, the song that you use to sing whenever the school bell rings and it's time to go home.)

The twist of events were unexpectable too. The plot was well thought of, and told in the book. 

12th Book: The Heavenly Man

This book was a recommendation from my sister. Upon seeing it, I first turned it down, as I'm not sure what sort of story I would find there. The book says 'the remarkable true story of Chinese Brother Yun'. I thought I wasn't prepared yet to meet Brother Yun at that time.

But now, I have finished the book. I'm glad I read it. This book is indeed a remarkable story. Brother Yun endured many trials for the gospel and for his love of Jesus. This book gave me an idea of how Christian life was like in China. I can say I am lucky to be born in an era and in a country where one can worship God freely.

Brother Yun shared how his journey with Christ started. Not only his but fellow Chinese who are also believers.

This book is about miracles. I really enjoyed reading Brother Yun and his wife Deling's testimony of miracles and visions. I guess it's just amazing. It made me think visions, perhaps were more frequent before than now, when Christians had time to really listen. And miracles do happen, when you put your focus on God, when you learn to wait, trust and obey Him.

This book is a good read and helps revive the spirit and faith. 

11th Book: Erec Rex (Dragon's Eye)

It's hard to find the words so I will start with the summary.

Plot
Erec Rex is a boy with a glass eye. He grew up with enchanted objects, a strange mom, and other adopted siblings. His upbringing is as strange as the reason he doesn't know why his other eye was like that.

He's no ordinary kid. There are times when he gets this strange sensation, almost like mind control that commands him to do things he wouldn't normally do,good thing, so far they are only commands to help save people.

Erec's magical adventure began when his mother was kidnapped, and together with a girl named Bethany, the two explored the lower Earth, a world where magic is not an imagination, but a reality.

The Good: Creative
Okay, there are already tons of books concerning magic, ever since advent of the Potter series, and this book is no exception.

The good thing though, is that the author is creative enough to come up with a different story.

There are some chronicles about the game which Erec joined, and I think those are entertaining for kids, I personally like the game under the sea.

The Bad: Who is that again?
Ok, for a children's book, I think the character's names should have been reconsidered. Sure Erec Rex Bethany, Jack and Oscar are easy to remember. But then you would ask yourself twice,who that Claudius... Bartimius is, as well as other ancient names listed there.

The name might be long for some reason, like it should sound as scary and lethal, but if you are a kid, seriously, are you going remember that?

There were also some instances where the story becomes just plain confusing.

Some characters were just like bombs that comes out of nowhere, explodes, and would leave you asking, who the heck was that?

Some were underdeveloped, that would leave you little clue as to why on Earth they were even there in the first place.

What's next? That's it?!
As likely as the characters, some points of the stories didn't evolved too.

There are a number of loose ends or loose beginnings, somehow I don't feel that I would see the answer in the part 2 of the book.

Don't get me wrong, those are just some observations of a reader. This book is not that bad, as I said the ideas were quite creative, maybe it's just the way it was written.

10th Book: Howliday Inn

Well, here's another animal story. A children's book, with good wit and humor to keep me going page after page, and after a couple of hours I've finished reading it. Since I've been reading children's books for a while, I'm starting to get more convinced that these books aren't just plain.

If you read it in an adult's point of view, you would see that these genre has more to offer. They have their own metaphor and meanings, often hidden in the unassuming characters. 

Anyway, here's a peek to the story:

Howliday inn is set in the viewpoint of Harold, the family dog.

The adventure starts when his persons, the Monroe family, took a vacation and couldn't bring the pets with them. So together with the family's brainy cat, Chester, the two were boarded in the Chateau bow-wow for a week. It's supposed to give them their own smooth holiday for a week.

'Abandon all hope ye who enters here' as Chester said. Harold wouldn't have taken it seriously if it hadn't been for the creepy howling they heard in their first night there, coupled with strange disappearance and a hint of crime. Now, it's up to Harold and Chester to uncover the truth about the strange happenings in Howliday inn before it's too late for both of them.

7th, 8th, 9th Book: The Hunger Games Trilogy

First off, let me express my regret not to buy the real copy, and just be contented reading the e-book version.

Believe me, it wasn't my intention. I was just testing the first few pages of the e-book version, to see if it's worth to buy the real thing.(Yes, I know it's worth the bucks, but I just want to be sure.)

I shouldn't have done it. As soon as I reached the 10th page, I couldn't take my mind of it, and the movie also keeps flashing back.

I couldn't wait to go to the mall and buy, imagine my addiction, staying up in the middle of the night, until dawn, to finish pages by pages, chapter by chapter of this Hunger games. I was totally hooked! In 5 days I was able to finish the whole thing. I spend about 3 more days with the aftermath of everything in my mind- reminiscing moments in the book, remembering the movie. This book is so addicting!

I will definitely buy myself the real deal. My officemate said, why buy it if I have already read it. Couple of reasons actually:

1st - it's going to be a collection
2nd - I'm sure I'll read it again.
3rd - Because I'm sure I'll read it again, I want to save myself from another butt-pain. It's serious. Imagine those 5 days sitting  for a long time, staring at the computer monitor.My poor butt. I can't even lie on bed while reading; and so, I need a physical copy.

What I like:
Since, this book is widely popular, I don't think I need to introduce it, so I'm just going to say my take about it.
Of all the books, my most favorite is the first part. I think beginnings are the sweetest parts in books.
I like Peeta, and how he shows his interest/love for Katniss in the little things. He has a sense of humor too. I think, for every girl, he has the trait of an ideal man. Protective, respectful, funny, reliable.

Katniss has a strong character. She's actually a good embodiment of an independent woman, with outstanding archery skills. The way Collins write her emotional struggle throughout the book, made me think, if I had been like that, at a point in my life. I think yes, every woman goes through confusion, self-confinement and depression. Collins actually told it very well.

This book is more wholesome than Twilight, I think. It's written in both female point of view, but you can see the difference between Bella and Katniss' thoughts when it comes to their relationships and how they handle them. Or perhaps it's just the way how the writers wrote it-explicit or not.

What I don't like:
You know one of the things that really kept me going night after night, is Peeta's love for Katniss. The second  book's adventure is excellent, and their time with at the penthouse and arena are also sweet. But the book seems to lack something, sort of not enough. Well, with Peeta, dejected by Katniss in the first book, I think it's understandable how they came to that. Although, I kept on hoping to find the little things, those little sweet things between Peeta and Katniss. Oh moments, they just have a few.

Finally when the third book unveiled, they have less to share. With Peeta hijacked and all, that little connection seemed to be lost. . I just hope there were more sweet moments by the end of the book, to make up for the lost time... you know,but well, it's ok.

Conclusion:
No matter how it ended, or even if this book has some lose ends, it all comes down to one thing: this book is addicting.

6th Book: The Egypt Game

When I saw this book on sale in a bookstore, I didn't miss the opportunity to buy it. After all, it's a must-read according to the 2008 almanac. I have actually imagined a Jumanji like theme, where the players would be transported into the game, and would face the dangers of hidden traps and mummies in the pyramids of Egypt.

Boy, I was wrong. I should have read the blurb before anything else. It's nothing like that. But, I'm not disappointed either.

The Egypt game is not a story of magic, in fact it offers a normal story of kids who play with that 'role-play' type of thing.The ones we used to do when we were young - dress up and pretend to be the mother, cook, princess, or anything that our imagination requires of us; use scrap materials from the house, from the neighborhood, from the plants, anything that can be props for our story.  As for this story, it started when the kids saw Nefertiti inviting them into the land of Egpyt, and so they let their imagination run, do as Egyptians do, make props for their costumes, perform rituals and all.

But I must admit, I admire how Synger was able to organize the thoughts and come up with a detailed story. You know, it's not always easy to describe an ordinary thing in an extraordinary way. But she was able to pull it of, "Neat!" like one of the characters say. The story also just doesn't offer you an ordinary one, it has enough twist to keep you wondering. But the part I like the most if the totality of the story. It is told from a child/ and pre-teen's point of view, and looking at things from their perspective is something that reminds me of my own childhood. Reading this story has somehow made me remember how I looked at things, and what priorities, worries or dreams I had when I was a child. Now I think I know why it became a must- read.

I really think it's quite interesting to read a children's book when you are an adult. It takes the story into a new light. You'd see it differently as an adult, than the way you would see it if you are young.

Next in Line: The Howliday Inn  [I guess it's time to finally open this book, 3 years after I bought it.]

5th Book: Lumayo Ka Nga Sa Akin

Sa librong 'to ni Bob Ong, para kang nagbasa ng movie script.

1st: Bala sa bala, kamao sa kamao, satsat sa satsat!
*Tungkol sa tipikal na action movie, kung saan mayroon action star, kasalan, barilan sa kasalan, goons, at kung anu-ano pang makikita sa pinoy action movie.

2nd: Shake, shaker, shakest
*Tungkol sa kwento ng pamilya na na-trap sa haunted house. Over the course of conversations, mapapag-usapan din ang mga libro at kung paano pinapaikot ng mga bookstores ang pagdedesisyon kung alin ang bestsellers, at kung paano nila naiimpluwensyahan ang mga tao. Nabanggit din ang impluwensya ng telebisyon sa buhay ng mga ordinaryong mamayan.

3rd: Asawa ni Marie
*Tungkol naman sa drama movie, at mga  cliches sa pinoy teleserye. Mapag-uusapan dito ang impluwensya ng hollywood sa paggawa ng pinoy movies, kung saan sa halos lahat ng pelikula ay kasama ang mga bed scenes, pero basura naman ang plot.

Actually, medyo natagalan akong tapusin ang librong 'to. Ewan ko lang para sa iba, pero sa'kin medyo na boring-an ako sa takbo ng story eh.

The book was meant to be satirical sa movie and book industry sa Pilipinas, pero meron lang talagang mga parts na dull, or dragging. Siguro ako lang yun, kaya rin siguro di ako naging script writer.. :P

So, ito yung mga feeling ko, may sense na sinabi ng mga characters sa book:

[Diego:
Pero hindi lahat ng inaakala mong korni, e korni. Minsan ikaw lang din talaga ang walang sense of humor at may diperensya, siguro dahil sa pagpipilit mong maging iba.
Ako, ang hinahangaan kong tao na mahilig sa libro eh yung may matutunan ka pag kausap mo,yung makikita mong naging marunong at mabuti syang tao, dahil sa pagbabasa nya ng mga libro.]

[Mar:

Majority ng mga viewers ang hindi nakakaalam na may laging itinuturo sa atin ang TV. Ang tanong ay kung anu-ano ang mga 'yon?

Kinokondisyon tayo ng mga patalastas na hindi tayo masaya. Na laging may kulang sa buhay natin.]

[Samuel: Sige nga magdebate tayo! Patunayan mo sa'kin na may Diyos!
Pundit: Bata, kanya-kanya tayo ng paglalakbay. Huwag kang magpakarga. Katamaran yan.]

[ Samuel na possessed:
Itinda nyo... Pero wag nyong gagamitan ng salitang best seller kung di naman totoo.
Pinapakita nyong mga dayuhang libro pa rin at mga dayuhang libro lang ang tinatangkilik ng mga tao.]

Next in Line: The Egypt Game

4th Book: The Five People You Meet In Heaven

For starters, I commend Mitch Albom for having the courage to write a book that touches a sensitive topic- death and the concept of heaven. After, "Tuesdays with Morrie"  I felt like this would be a hit or miss business, granted the theme that he chose, but he took his chance anyway and I think it went well.

"Everyone has an idea of heaven as do most religions..." Albom said in his introduction. His was a guess, a wish in some ways that his uncle, and others like him, those people who felt unimportant here on earth realize finally, how much they mattered and how they were loved.

While his idea and mine are different, it's good to get to know his point of view. Why you meet those 'five people'. It's for them to shed light about the sense of your life on earth.

The story of Eddie, a war veteran and a maintenance at the Ruby Pier amusement park somehow made me think about life, experiences, and death. Eddie thought he just wasted his life away, being stuck in the Ruby Pier greasing and maintaining the rides, making sure they are safe for people to ride. He spent his life there, doing that menial work. And eventually he lost his life trying to save a little girl. He wasn't even sure if he did save her. All he know was in his afterlife, he would meet five people who will help him make sense of his life on earth.

These are some of lines that stuck me.

Strangers... are just family you have yet to come to know. -The blue man

No life is a waste...the only time we waste is the time we spend thinking we are alone. - The blue man

Dying? Not the end of everything. We think it is. But what happens on earth is only the beginning. -The captain

Sacrifice is a part of life. It's supposed to be. It's not something to regret. It's something to aspire to. - The captain

Sometimes when you sacrifice something precious, you're not really losing it. You're just passing it on to someone else. -The captain

But our eyes are different. What you see ain't what I see. - The captain

Silence was his escape, but silence is rarely a refuge. -Ruby

Holding anger is a poison. It east you from inside. We think that hating is a weapon that attacks the person who harmed us. But hatred is a curved blade. And the harm we do, we do to ourselves. -Ruby

Lost love is still love, Eddie. It takes a different form that's all. You can't see their smile or bring them food... but when those senses weaken, another heightens. Memory. Memory becomes your partner.You nurture it.You hold it.You dance with it. -Marguerite

Life has to end... love doesn't. - Marguerite

(You're ) supposed to be there. You keep people safe. You make good for me. - Tala

Next in line: Lumayo ka nga sa akin  by Bob Ong (This wasn't the original next book but, my future sis-in-law lent it, so I have to read it fast, before she takes it back. lol)

3rd Book: The Alchemist

How many times have we given up on our dreams and on our aspirations? And how many times have we used the same old excuses for not trying to turn them into reality?  Somewhere in our past we were very sure of what we want to be or do but somewhere along the way we lose it, and just let life or situation win.

"The Alchemist" by Paulo Coelho has a very good explanation why it happens to us. In the quest of Santiago for his teasure, his 'Personal Legend', we will understand that we, in some point is also like him, searching for our own treasure. This is a must read for those who want to rekindle the fire with their Personal legends.

Let me get you to the book's Introduction by Paulo Coelho:

We need to be aware of our personal calling. what is a personal calling? It is God's blessing; it is the path that God chose for you here on Earth... However, we don't all have the courage to confront our own dream. Why?

There are four obstacles:
1. We are told from childhood onward that everything we want to do is impossible.
 
2. Love
     -We know what we want to do, but are afraid of hurting those around us by abondoning everything in order to pursue our dream.

3.Fear of the defeats we will meet on the path
    -Necessary or not, defeats happen. The secret of life, though, is to fall seven times and to get up eight times.

4. The fear of realizing the dream for which we fought all our lives.
   -We look around at all those who have failed to get what they want and feel that we do not deserve to get what we want either. We forget about all the obstacles we overcame, all the sufferings we endured, all the things we had to give up in order to get this far.
  - But if you believe yourself worthy of the thing you fought so hard to get, then you become an instrument of God, you help the Soul of the World, and you understand why your are here.

I believe it's true enough. If we are stuck in a situation and up until now we haven't even tried to realize our dreams, this list sums up the reasons.

I want to believe it's never too late. As long as we live and keep on moving forward, pushing towards our goal, it will happen. God will not frustrate us in our dreams. As Santiago said "If God leads the sheeps so well, he will also lead a man." Remember what the old King said, " If you want something, all the universe conspires in helping you to achieve it."

Next in line: The five people you meet in heaven by Mitch Albom

2nd book: The BFG

Have you ever eaten any human bean or went flushbunking to any part of the globe?

Now, this question almost don't make sense to us, but to a giant, trust me, it does. These are few of the strange vocabulary I picked up while reading "The BFG" (Big Friendly Giant).

I must commend Roald Dahl for his very creative output. He was able to stand the pain of seeing constant grammar typos in his work. Maybe this is where the 'Lord of the Rings' scriptwriter got the idea for Golum's language. lol.

Kidding aside, the story was cleverly written. It is a children's book but if you look closely, you'll see it's more than that. It talks about friendship, freewill, courage, and overcoming fear.

Plot: Sophie just happened to look outside her window at the witching hour, the time at dawn when everything is as still as death, the time when the streets are all empty, or supposed to be empty. But then, she saw it, that black shadowy gigantic figure roaming around the streets. She knows she's supposed to hide, but it saw her and now it's too late. Not letting anyone know its secret, it decided to take her with it for good. The good thing is he's not like any other giant you know.While other giants enjoy flushbunking around the globe guzzling up unfortunate human beans, the nice and jumbly BFG is out there blowing good dreams to little children.

Here are the memorable messages I encountered:

"Just because we happen not to have actually seen something with our own two little winkles, we think it is not existing." - The BFG to Sophie

"Do not forget, that human beans is disappearing everywhere all the time even without the giants is guzzling them up... Human beans is killing each other much quicker than the giants is doing it."  - The BFG to Sophie

"Human beans is the only animals that is killing their own kind."  - The BFG to Sophie

"Everybody is making his own rules to suit himself."  - The BFG to Sophie

"The matter with human beans is that they is absolutely refusing to believe in anything unless they is actually seeing it right in front of their own schnozzles."  - The BFG to Sophie

"Dreams is very mystical things. Human beans is not understanding them at all. Not even their brainiest prossefors is understanding them."  - The BFG to Sophie

"Everything alive needs food of some sort. Even trees and plants." - Sophie to the BFG

"Do something!" - Sophie to the BFG

"What a clever fellow you are. You are not very well educated but you are really nobody's fool, I can see that." -the queen to the BFG

Next in line: The alchemist- I guess it's time to read this again, and refresh the idea about personal legend.

1st Book: Charlotte’s Web

I decided to have my 12-books challenge starting this January. It just happened that I was presently reading this book, Charlotte’s Web, I have bought last year, so this went first.

This books talks about friendship; mostly it exhibit in words the friendship between two different creatures, and how important it really is to have a true friend in someone’s life.

Here are some of the good things I gathered:

“I was just thinking… that people are very gullible.” –Charlotte to Wilbur

“Doctors are supposed to understand everything, but I don’t understand everything, and I don’t intend to let it worry me.” –Dr. Dorian

“It is quite possible that an animal has spoken civilly to me and I didn’t catch the remark because I wasn’t paying attention… Perhaps if people talked less, animals would talk more. People are incessant talkers…” – Dr. Dorian

… and he realized that friendship is one of the most satisfying things in the world.  ( Wilbur)

Life is always a rich and steady time when you are waiting for something to happen or to hatch (Wilbur)

It is not often that someone comes along who is a true friend and a good writer. Charlotte was both. (Wilbur)

Next in line: The Big Friendly Giant (BFG) –another children’s story, but I’m curious about its plot and story, because it became one of the must-read books in 2008.