so, i noticed on my dear friend amy's blog that she posts all of the books she reads,
each year, on her side columns.
that's what i've started to do this year.
the reason why is because i loved looking at what books she was reading
& getting books to read off that list.
i thought you might like to do the same.
in addition to listing the books on the side,
i'll post a blog about each book i read, after i've finished it, giving it a little review.
i'll rate it on a scale of 1-10 in my preference,
& i'll explain why it received that rating.
10 = i absolutely loved it & will read it again.
1 = i didn't like it at all & would never recommend anyone read it.
(a little elementary, i know, but i think it will be fun.)
so let's begin.
book #1 the hunger games by: suzanne collins
rating: 5
i found this book to be a very quick read, but a good story.
i don't usually like reading "popular" teen fiction,
because i'm usually disappointed with the quality of writing.
this was the case with the hunger games, but it was a very interesting story.
i'd recommend this to younger kids who like reading stories.
book #2 catching fire by: suzanne collins
rating: 4
this book was the second of the hunger games series.
i read it because i hate not finishing book series,
but like the first book, the quality of writing was very average.
the storyline was still interesting, although, it felt very similar to book one.
again, i'd recommend this to younger kids who like reading stories
& who have already read the first of the series.
book #3 mockingjay by: suzanne collins
rating: 4
this was the third & final of the hunger games series.
this was not very different from the way i felt about books one or two,
but, i didn't care for the storyline as much.
i found it awkward how noticeably critical of modern politics it was,
for such a fictional futuristic story.
& again, i'd only recommend this to a younger kid who was finishing the series
(just for the sake of finishing it).
book #4 norwegian wood by: haruki murakami
rating: 5
this book was interesting.
the author clearly wanted to portray a sort of "catcher in the rye" type story,
but i found its depressing qualities slightly heavier than its inspiring ones.
it also included a couple (non-vulgar) sexual scenes,
which doesn't suite my taste.
i'd only recommend this book to a select few
who wouldn't find my same distaste in those scenes.
& because last night
i finally said what i've wanted to say, when i wanted to say it,
i feel relieved.
i am past feeling "fine"
& am doing better. hopeful.
i am moving forward
& finding refuge in other sources of joy.
love comes & goes,
but i have loved without regrets.
there is a poem that portrays my feelings
in a way i would struggle to convey on my own:
"somewhere i have never travelled, gladly beyond
any experience, your eyes have their silence:
in your most frail gesture are things which enclose me,
or which i cannot touch because they are too near.
your slightest look easily will unclose me
though i have closed myself as fingers,
you open always petal by petal myself as spring opens
(touching skillfully, mysteriously) her first rose.
or if your wish be to close me, i &
my life will shut very beautifully, suddenly,
as when the heart of this flower imagines
the snow carefully everywhere descending;
nothing which we are to perceive in this world equals
the power of your intense fragility: who texture
compels me with the colour of its countries,
rendering death & forever with each breathing.
(i do not know what it is about you that closes
& opens; only something in me understands
the voice of your eyes is deeper than all roses)
nobody, not even rain, has such small hands."
-- e. e. cummings
as i move forward & onward
without regrets, without bitter remorse,
i look forward to molding friendship from past love
& the sprouting blossoms of future loves.
so this is my bidding adieu to this heartbreak,
& welcoming possibility inside.
healing.
life is beautiful.
i choose to see la vie en rose.
ps: sorry about the following music overload.
i wrote out my favorite application of lyrics for each song to help you out.
"nobody said it was easy. oh, it's such a shame for us to part.
nobody said it was easy. no one ever said it would be so hard. i'm goin' back to the start."
"the sheets are stained with memories of your soft kiss.
now this is all i have: a paper & pen to remember you with."
"a year from now we'll all be gone, all our friends will move away.
& they're going to better places, but our friends will be gone away."
"happy is the heart that still feels pain.
darkness drains & light will come again."
"long may you run although the changes have come.
with your chrome heart shining in the sun long may you run."
"well some say life will beat you down, break your heart, steal your crown.
so i've started out for god knows where. i guess i'll know when i get there."
"summer gone, now winter's on its way.
i will miss the days we had, the days we had."
"pain throws your heart to the ground. love turns the whole thing around.
fear is a friend who's misunderstood, but i know the heart of life is good."
"but how do i know if i'll make it through? how do i know, where's the proof in you?
& so it goes. this soldier knows, the battle with the heart isn't easily won.
& so it goes. this soldier knows, the battle with the heart isn't easily won... but it can be won."
"love it will not betray you, dismay, or enslave you; it will set you free.
be more like the man you were made to be."
"i want your warm but it will only make me colder when it's over. so i can't tonight, baby.
no, not baby anymore. if i need you i'll just use your simple name.
only kisses on the cheek from now on & in a little while we'll only have to wave."