Because it is a well deserved universally recognized Classic.

That’s like asking to pick a favorite friend. Anyway, after thorough analysis and weighing factors in, I settled with To Kill A Mocking Bird by Harper Lee to be awarded as my true irrevocably favorite.

I remember myself being so disarmed with Lee’s writing that I thought of searching Atticus Finch in this world. Really. Race and injustice are just two issues that exasperate me quite greatly to the point of tears and the idea of meeting Atticus (though fictional) who has this judicial concern with fairness crept into me with reality. 

I even think Lee wrote him so unbelievably flawless, thats why I loved him this deeply. Because even though Atticus stands for equality and duty in the end he knows that it’s human beings and their choices that make equality stand or fall - this time, (how heartbreaking it is to remember), fall.

[day 1 of 15 books in 15 days challenge]

Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte is the rare book that enchants the readers through its impeccable charm despite not having a fast paced plot. It has more power of subtle disturbances that excites the readers and less to do with conflict of great forces which commonly mirrors great works of literature. 

“Instead of a race between values through the people who represent those values, Jane Eyre tasks us with a race to turn its pages and find out its secrets—still a race, but a race whose victory, barring the boredom of the reader, is assured.”

No secrets revealed after the cut but only the basics, promise!

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This, I guess, is the only boon of the so hot weather (prompting me to come up with the theory that even the sun was looking for some shade) - decadent laziness - which inspired me not to go outside and finished books I was in the middle of reading instead. Fahrenheit 451 was one of them.

Fahrenheit 451 according to Ray Bradbury was written on the premise of the effects of television and mass media on the reading literature. But what was funny is that while reading the book it never crossed on my  mind the way the author interprets it to be.

For all that I believed in, Fahrenheit 451 works on a “dystopian” concept of a society that has been snatched of its right to enjoy books; suppressing dissenting ideas. Bradbury disputed the idea of this censorship though.

The novel stars Guy Montag, a fireman who works with loyalty in his job of burning books. In his world, firemen create fires rather than putting them out. The citizens in this society do not read books, appreciate nature,  think independently, or have meaningful conversations. Instead, they drive fast cars, watch excessive amounts of television on wall-size sets, and listen to the radio on “Seashell Radio” sets attached to their ears. But Montag questions his job and his life after he met a 17 year old girl with innocence and unusual love for nature and people. She opens his eyes to the emptiness of his life and danger.

The book as the main character dwells on alienation and isolation, left a mark of interest that concern about something not fitting or right with the society one lives in (i.e. conflict with the government) making it a book that touches issues of today even if it was written more than half a century ago. With Bradbury’s kind of writing it has some sense of naggingly irritating vibe that kind of make me less guilty of dozing off from time to time. Also, the story was really short but the pace of its telling has a very slow development and to some extent I find the events weird to the point of not being plausible. At all.

Yet I am still figuring out whats the problem with me because accordingly, it was my former Essay professor’s favorite. I believe there is a problem. 

It was a book thrown in the middle of such a big complex collections, resting title-less, mysteriously concealing on a green cover and when I decided to run my fingers over on its pages I was speechless to read the title: Anne Frank: The Diary of A Young Girl. I knew I have just found a treasure.

This book has been on my list to read though I have not seen a copy of it before anywhere. Upon reading the first few pages, I have valiantly decided to borrow the book from the school library, ignoring the fact that it was still midterm examination, I felt defiant.

The Diary Of A Young Girl was written by Anne Frank, a Jewish girl that went to hiding with her family for two years to spare themselves from the wrath of the Germans. She kept a diary that reveals her daily struggles as a young victim of Hitler’s atrocities during World War II, it was sometimes labeled as the tales from the Secret Annexe. The diary was noted for its being extraordinary in a way that it was not written in  classic forms “Dear Diary” but as letters to imaginary friend Kitty. Up to now, it is still a conundrum if Anne really referred to a real acquaintance in her mind or Kitty is just a fictional character. But whatever the real case maybe I believed Kitty is the best person she ever had in her life to confide all her thoughts to.

As I read her writings, a part of what she felt was imparted in my heart so vividly and so strong my heart also throbbed. Every time a presence of peril of discovering them is disclosed I could not keep from imagining how terrible it was for the family to endure each others fright. Pitied her for having to suffer hiding like a criminal, to experience inferiority tenfold harsher, to be treated so unfairly and to be condemned just because she was a Jew.

Even though the book had been criticized for being one-sided, Anne Frank’s wittiness and authenticity is undeniably moving. Her hopes are dishearteningly conquering making these lines Anne wrote on July 15, 1944, perhaps the most well-known quotation from Anne’s diary because it is a brazen expression of optimism in the face of imminent and incomprehensible cruelty: 

It’s difficult in times like these: ideals, dreams and cherished hopes rise within us, only to be crushed by grim reality. It’s a wonder I haven’t abandoned all my ideals, they seem so absurd and impractical. Yet I cling to them because I still believe, in spite of everything, that people are truly good at heart.

Have a peek~

This was four days before the Germans discovered the Secret Annexe. Anne was caught with her family, brought to concentration camp and died there. Just two months before the liberation of Holland. :(

Reading the diary of a young girl is like discovering the history of my existence as if I have been alive with Anne six decades ago. And I invite you to do the same~

I am a self-confessed lover of literary classics. Like Nagasawa in Haruki Murakami’s Norwegian Wood, the only books worth reading are those which stand the test of time (in Nagasawa’s case, he refuses to touch a book unless the author has been dead at least 30 years). But The Perks of Being A Flower had captured my attention when I heard that Chbosky credited J.D. Salinger’s Cather in the Rye as its inspiration. Though this book has been published for only 12 years, this will undoubtedly be part of any literary classic reader’s list as his favorite in more than 30 years.

Contrary to how Charlie felt his being unconventional thinker as weird, I find his awkwardness and uniqueness more of heart-warming. And I am encouraging myself to do the same. That maybe sounds nonsense because that is Chbosky’s clear intention from the start really but I just felt like sharing. In case, you overlook the obvious. :)

The way Charlie writes made me imagine him a little younger than his age. His tongue speaks of innocence rather than wisdom. Or does it mean, innocents are wiser? Or maybe he is wise enough to speak gentleness and simplicity rather than thoughts that might convey arrogance.

Two hours after the last page, I missed the boy so much. 

“So, if this does end up being my last letter, please believe that things are good with me, and even when they’re not, they will be soon enough.

And I will believe the same about you.”

Shadow of the Wind is a story within a story. The first chapters expose the discoveries which lead to further incrimination of Daniel Sempere to decode the conundrum behind this arcane book he discovered in the Cemetery of Forgotten Books. As he fulfills the furtherance to investigate Julian (the author of the book) the story inside the book becomes alive as he met the characters in flesh and blood. Is not it so intriguing?

What I adore about the story is its compelling nature to convince me that the characters at some point could be real. There was an instance that I closed my windows because I can imagine Lain Coubert’s face staring straight at me. Pretty creepy at first but it was fun.

The myriad twists at the end are unworthy of comparison! This is my current favorite. Actually.

“Our innate idiosyncrasies are actually more endearing to others than our most glorious personal achievements,” says author Veronique Vienne in this exquisite little book, with its intriguing, sepia-tone photographs by Erica Lennard. Vienne offers 10 meditative essays about how to be successful and happy without being essentially perfect. Quirkiness, after all, is sometimes nothing but pure lost talent.

She encourages you to “find solace in your shortcomings and even celebrate your most embarrassing lapses.” The essays include “the art of being shy” which is my favorite among other essays. I was beside myself with delight upon leafing through its pages and mysteries. 

I have been wishing in all stars that this book will be able to find Glenn in some ways of nature’s conspiratorial deeds to prompt things happen. He was the first person that came into mind with all the radicalism and youthful feel the Art of Imperfection brings forth…

And including this very line! 

Ignore fashion but never disregard it: Read all in it inside the magazine and then do what you want.

To prioritize reading classic novels is a standard I set for myself. I find it unnecessary to know all the contemporaries when all your idea about the past literature was Moby Dick and Huckleberry Finn (which you would not have known about if not for their tv counter part). Either my taste to read them first is an oath or a ruse to attain my goals does not have much weight.

Some of the classic books I have read (just to have a list of them) include:

• Cather in the Rye by JD Salinger
• A Widow For One Year by John Irving
• Norwegian Wood by Haruki Murakami
• The World According to Garp by John Irving
• To Kill A Mocking Bird by Harper Lee
• The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde
• Cat’s Eye by Margaret Atwood
• Pride and prejudice by Jane Austen
• Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand
• One hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez
• The Great Gatsby by F Scott Fitzgerald
• Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafon

The last is my latest read and currently my favorite. Thats 10001st fact about me, I am so indecisive to acquiesce to myself what to award as my true irrevocably favorite. Torn. Also, I have 1984, Lovely Bones, Fahrenheit 451 waiting neatly on my desk to have my attention. 

Because of the enthusiasm over the eminence these royalties enjoy, I considered peeking into the life of the Queen Elizabeth & her family, not just pleasing but also, educational. To know the ropes about them will illuminate understanding for the sympathy they have received as an ordinary family they embodied.

The Queen’s Family captures the life of Queen Elizabeth II - Lilibeth to her family- from her early childhood with her Grandpapa England and Gangan, her accession and coronation, up to her family and married life. I savored the taste of this delightful trip in her royal life which most are unknown to the world. The book only offers a story up to the christening of baby Prince William - the next successor of the British throne - which hungers me for more.

Anyhow, I made an effort to do a little treat and cheat (I’m still suffering from gastric acidity) for myself with my sweet and mild coffee version and the freshly store bought cookies! Haha

Staying in the library made me easy to smell my gradual becoming of a poetess. Though I also have doubts about my kind. Nevertheless, I still deem want the long-lived scent of artistic spirit, stirred amidst the hunger that rule my being now and my eyes demanding for sleep, to stay.

As I was tasked to put my presence there, I tried to enjoy the three-hour stay. And consequently did the chores halfheartedly. It was when I remember checking some books from Oscar Wilde which gave way of reading The Picture of Dorian Gray, his only novel. That was actually the impetus for the blooming of proses and sweetening of juices. Hehe.

The first paragraph is of descriptive details making me need to use, once and for all, my-not-so-fertile imagination which prepared me (somehow) with more hours of reading and being intrigued. Apparently, my venture to this homosexually inclined narration of Dorian Gray’s life is not yet sealed to end since there are still some chapters I am not yet through reading (because I have read the ending first! Boring akong tao, sry), reviews, and notes provided by the editor to read unravelling the conundrums of Wilde.

This is my preferred quote amongst all other:

 ”Behind every exquisite thing that existed, there was something tragic.”

P.S. Dorian Gray is pure decadence! And I talked like Henry.

The coffee stained my lips with pleasure as its creation aimed to sweeten my sorrowing self because my best friend had eaten what was supposedly mine and so do the freshly baked and mouth-watering sponge cake. I have forgiven her for that.

The book (To Kill A Mockingbird) belongs to a good friend - my provider of classic books. I always make a point to put clarification what his books’ contain. It’s been my delight to know the flow of a book before reading it. I avoid appallingly the kind that stays in me for a long time; the kind that essentially wanted you to burst in tears - as if I can’t cope up with the reality anymore. Also, the classic ugly ones.

But this book is so compassionate to suffer from my bittersweet judgments. I want to fall into an abysmal apprehension of its lessons so I will keep on appreciating every character there but the Ewells until the time I could move on. And I deeply understand why I’m so in love with Atticus Finch. Those who know me well will know why. After reading the book, it gnawed me with affection and told myself “it was my time to cry”.