Saturday, February 23, 2008

Dream: A Speech that Inspired a Nation



This book was all about one speech. And every page of it was amazing. It moved me so much. Around this time, I was going through a really strange 60's phase. The Kennedy's, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Sandy Koufax, The Graduate, etc. It was really strange because I read this book, and then watched the movie, "Bobby". I was moved beyond words. I wasn't expecting there to be such influence from Dr Martin Luther King, jr-or baseball (GO DODGERS!) And there are two Graduate references!!! One of the two references broke me a little bit. I think I felt my knees buckle. Let me just say that The Sounds of Silence will forever hold a place in my heart because of the two movies it has been portrayed in. And the way Emilio Estevez added Kennedys voice over the song? His last speech. And the topic of the speech!!!!! I did not feel quite the same after I watched that scene. It changed me a little bit as a person-it was that powerful. I wrote a song about it in the end. And this book revolves around that period in my life. :) Amazing.

City of Fire



Haha, um. I pretty much read this book just for Los Angeles. I read it before I went back home, too, so I was really missing home because I hadn't been in two years.
And this book-not unlike myself-romanticizes Los Angeles. A character in the book mentioned a Los Angeles dawn. And how for one moment the world is perfect.
Listen, I know that Los Angeles has a pollution problem, but when you're there, underneath that sky-you can only marvel at its bright blue beauty. Example:



Just look at that sky! The book, overall...well, it was about a serial killer. So, it didn't bode well with me. But I don't regret reading it. It was about home. And I love home. <3

Wednesday, February 20, 2008

Zoli




Oh, this book inspired so much. It was about a gypsy woman named Zoli. And though the book didn't flow very well, it was still extraordinarily interesting. It didn't romantasize the life of a gypsy at all. There was such a truth to this story and the lives of gypsies. In the book, a regular non-gypsy guy falls for Zoli. He brings her talent to the real world, and he tries to conform her to his way of life. The normal way of life. But Zoli struggles and in the end goes back to the ways of the gyspy because she cannot live in the real world. She prefers the opennes of the forest and the way the leaves feel against her naked feet. :)
This book inspired a song-about a friend, about a gypsy, about nature-about love. So I bought a copy of the book for my friend and wrote out the song in books pages. :) She once gave me a necklace in the style of the book cover. The necklace had tiny leaves all over it. I remember when she gave it to me. She said she bought it because it reminded her of me. I said I loved it because it was something that reminded me of her. We have that kind of friendship. And the book-Zoli-her character is the two of us put together.

Tuesday, February 12, 2008

Suite Francaise



Wowsers, this book is amazing and at the same time utterly devasting. I love that there is a picture of a suitcase on the cover of this book, because thats where the manuscript of this story was found about 60 years later.
The author of this book, Irène Némirovsky was deported in 1942 to Auschwitz. Her two daughters escaped with a suitcase...the very suitcase which housed the manuscript. And it wasnt opened until a few years ago.
So, this novel has a lot of back story as well! And the novel is just so amazing. It's about the mass exodus from Paris right before the Nazi invasion and it follows different families from different backgrounds, with different histories, and how they each cope with the war differently. This book is so beautiful.

It's Superman!




Heck yeah, its superman! Just look at that picture! That is art at its finest. Set in the 1930's, this is a better period piece than a novel about Superman. This Clark was my least favourite Clark that I've come across...which is good news for Dean Cain, who held that spot ever since he first stepped into the limelight as the man of steel.
Interesting as a period piece, though, if you are into that sort of thing. Also, from reading thing book, I learned that Lex is short for Alexander. MY FAVOURITE NAME EVER BELONGS LEX LUTHOR!!!! So-you also know that if you watch Smallville, which I do not, but I really love that SMALL fact because I LOVE THE NAME and I HATE LEX LUTHOR (unless he is played by a certain Michael Rosenbaum, because he's still a buddy!)

Wednesday, February 6, 2008

A Miracle in the Andes



Where do I begin? What can I say? No book has ever moved me so. No book has ever terrified me so. No book has ever made me so strong. No book has made me feel so alive.
When I was younger, I read a book called "Alive" by Piers Paul Read. I did not include that book in this list because I read it in stages. I read half of it when I was younger and i read the other half when I was older. I do not know when, and I do not know why. But this particular story of survival is very dear to my heart. One of the survivors was very special to me. So you can imagine my surpise when he decided to publish his own account of what happened in those mountains. I did not hesistate to read his book.
What followed what was hard for me to get through. I remember pages where I was sobbing uncontrollably. But I read and read until the very end. And by the time I was done, my entire body ached. My heart ached. My hands ached. My eyes ached and I was exhausted. This book took so much out of me. So much, and it filled me with something else. Spirit, hope.
Now, for those of you who are unfamiliar with the story, I will fill you in.
A rugby team from Uruguay boards a plane headed towards Chile for a game. The team brings a few friends, some loved ones. The plane, though, does not reach its destination. It crashes in the Andes. A horrific crash. Half the plane goes missing. And the team of young rugby players are either dead, dying, missing, or barely suriving.
This book was written by Nando Parrado. He was unconscious for three days and one of the weakest surviving passengers. He lost his mother in the crash...his sister, too. Nando and the rest of the team who survived lasted 72 days in the snow, with no warmth, little food and they were surrounded by their long lost loved ones with no where to go. Hiking for help was akin to suicide. No one was dressed for the snowstorms. So they waited to rescued. To no avail. After many weeks of struggling to survive and a few failing attempts at trying to rescue themselves, Nando finally achievies his goal of finding help-though it took him many days. But he was asked to do the unthinkable. He must board another plane. He must lead the rescuers to the survivors via flight. His rescuers thought he was crazy when he directed them through the route he had taken. There was no way Nando made that journey. Surely he most have gone another way. And then, in the same exact position where the first plane crashes, the second plane hesistates, sputters. For a fleeting moment Nando believes that there may be another crash. But the pilots regain control and the few surviving rugby players are rescued.
This story is amazing to me because Nando was so strong. After losing so much, he still had so much to live for. The thought of his father back home alone gave him the courage he needed. To tell his father about his sister, his mother. I was utterly moved.
And...so this book stirred something within me. And though it may seem silly, I always viewed Superman as a personal hero. I strive to be like him. To have his strength, his pride, his honor. His truth. He is very dear to my heart on a very emotional level. I read this book RIGHT BEFORE I SAW Superman Returns. There are two plane scenes in that movie. The first plane scene was like pouring salt on an open wound. And the second, well..the plane almost crashes while trying to rescue Superman in almost the same exact way as the plane almost crashed in the book the second time. So I cried a lot the first time I watched Superman Returns. There were so many similiarities and I know that I am comparing a comic book character to a man who..well, no words can describe the type of man Nando Parrado is. But the both move me..they both inspire me to believe in whats good, whole. To have faith and to be strong. It doesn't matter that you are inspired by your father, a comic book character, or a rugby player, what matters is that you are inspired.

Monday, February 4, 2008

The Devil & Miss Prym




If you want to know whether I adore you as a person or not-ask yourself one question. "Has Yvonne recommended this to me?" If I have, then yes, I adore you. :) This book is amazing. So simple, yet so profound. Coehlo is really great at writing such perfect stories so full of meaning. This book is really great!
I love battles between good and evil and this book perfectly touches on both sides with beauty that can be compared to a poet.
Ironically, I also read this while watching "Boondock Saints" for the first time, so I had a whole lot of food for thought that week!!!

Friday, February 1, 2008

The Attack




So I wanted to read this one, Steven wanted to read it and Athena wanted to read it. We only had 1 advanced copy between the 3 of us. I took it home first and what did I do? I sped through it. Yeah. I read it in 6 days, guys. And they never even read it. :( I think it sat in someones box for months after I brought it back to the store. :( Sadness.