10 books you should read.

These are ten books that should be read by everybody but are often overlooked. 

1.Thérèse Raquin by Émile Zola

While the version of this that I read was a translation, which underscored the complexity associated with the writing, the plot and characters in this book are amazing. The story shows the psychological look at the 'human animal' going into detail about the feelings of guilt and lust. Also, this book is going to be a film so get reading before the hype starts up and you can look smart and intellectual among all of your friends. 


2. Frankenstein by Mary Shelley

 

The story of Frankenstein is a well known one but many who know it are more familiar with the movie version of this classic. The actual story plot is quite different from the expectation I had. The whole book is written from an unlikely protagonist, with neither the creator nor the monster having the vocal voice in the novel. The story of Frankenstein and his creator are instead described by the captain of a ship that is trying to reach the North Pole. Also, an interesting fact that I discovered about this book was that Mary Shelly wrote this novel in response to a game set up by Lord Byron.

3. Carmilla by Joesph Sheridan Le Fanu

Out of all the novels I have read recently this one proposed an idea that was so far away from my perceptions. Everyone is familiar with the classic story of Dracula; however, Carmilla was written before Dracula and presents a female image to the vampire that is uncommon even now.


4. The Morning Gift by Eva Ibbotson

The Morning Gift is a book that I have read many times and the quintessential beauty associated with this should receive more recognition than it gets. I started reading these when I was a teenager and I still like these historical romance novels.

5. One Day by David Nicholls

My father told me to read this novel long before a movie deal was in its midst. If anyone hasn't read this book they should. It portrays such a realistic poignant romance that is affected my life and people's faults. Both Emma and Dexter are characters that show that romance is not always perfect and neither is life. By far Emma was my favorite character and if nothing else the way she lives her life and the progress through life made me evaluate and think of where I am going to be in 20 or 30 years time.



6. Divergent by Veronica Roth

 I read this book on the behest of a friend and I am glad she made me read this; one of my favourite genres of literature is dystopian novels and this has all the elements and then some. I did have some grievances with the end of the book but I was so immersed in the story that it was of little consequence. This book is a part of a series as well so the next book in this series will be interesting to watch on. It could be the next big blockbuster series. Move over Hunger Games, Divergent is on the way.

7. The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss

This book is a long read and it can drag at times but the character development is amazing in it. Imagine a story set around a hero who has already gone through the heroism and is left bitter and lonely; having the ability to tell his story in exact detail, including the sad, the bad and the tragic. The second book in this series is out as well and the progression from this to the next is extremely accurate. The author does not trip himself up by forgetting plot twists and designs; it is amazing how much detail is in this book. I read this book when it came out first and when the second one came out I started from the start not wanting to miss a step. It may not have been necessary but it was just that good.

8. Checkmate by Malorie Blackman

This story twists the realms of black and white switching the situation of both races and shows a similar world with drastic consequences. This book illuminates a common problem in society and it has a powerful effect on the reader; asking them to evaluate the world around them and the history that has past. I was brought to tears many times during the whole series and each finished chapter enticed me to the next. I read the whole series in the space of two weeks.

9. The Age of Five series by Trudi Canavan

As you can tell I like trilogies and this is one of my favourite. There are a number of twists and turns throughout the books that keep you guessing until the end. Trudi Canavan is brilliant writer in my opinion and any of her books keeps me absorbed for hours. However, these are my favourite and while it may not be the most classically illuminating as some of the books in this list it does allow the reader to be immersed in a fantasy world that you would wish you could never leave.

10. The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

There has been a lot of hype about these books since it hit the big screen so they deserve a mention in this list. These books also show my liking for dystopian novels and the message that even one person can make a difference (even when they don't want to) is definitely highlighted in these books

I love Watchmen and this quote by Rorschach is something that sticks with you.

Game of Thrones Season 2

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Game of Thrones Season 2 began this week and gave the show a good season beginning. Dragons, butchered children, incest, kings and wars were common place in the episode and showed the strength of the show. In my opinion the shows ending was as amazing as it was shocking.

I have only read the first book in the series so far because I have a system. (And I am sticking with it) Arya is one of my favourite characters from the book and is even more so on the show. Maisie Williams portrays Arya exactly the way I had pictured her in my head and she adds to the rebellious and fighting nature that Arya is known for. I also really liked that Maisie cut her hair for the role it really adds to the character. It was something that shows how much she cares for the role that she would cut her hair for the role.

I am really looking forward to seeing the rest of the season and if it is anything like the first episode audiences will have a lot of praise after each show.

As I walk alone beside the sea

As I walk alone beside the sea,

I think,

I focus,

And I REMEMEBER.

That life was not always as complicated,

That life is not for the weak.

We survived because of ruthlessness,

There is no place for virtue in life.

As humans we thrive because we are greedy,

We think of only ourselves.

But we want better,

We want hope,

Kindness,

And peace

We worry and hate

But we only hate ourselves.

And we want life to be simple,

Even when it is not.

Waiting for The Twelve by Justin Cronin

    
It is not common for me to follow an book before I have read it. But, I loved The Passage and I am interested to see how this book will progress from where it was left off.

In some ways I am sad at how long it has taken for the book to come out and this will affect people's thoughts on the book. If it does not match up to The Passage in writing and in story plot I will be very upset. I hope The Twelve does not fall into the confines of a bad sequel.

The Passage was one book that nearly eveyone in my house has read and we will all read The Twelve.It takes a special kind of book that allows people, who all like different genres of books, to feel included in the storyplot and enjoy the charcters and the writing.

Perception, Reality or Lies?

A dilapidated underground train station was all I had to remind me of how far my life had come, for good and bad I had followed my life and this was my home now. Life was hard, it was difficult full of torment but I could not change that and if I could…I don’t think I would. I had followed my path and the consequences of my actions had caught up with me. Not truly, I don’t think it could ever truly catch up with me but the memories remained and it was these that haunted my dreams. My future now lay in the hands of another, a thing I was not comfortable with and the thought of someone else having a say in my life made me worry and think of the predicament of human nature. If some else can have such complete control as Phoenix had over mine, was the idea…no the ideal of self-control hindered. The idea that we, as humans had a say in the way our life turned out, the idea that a government, company, or order did not have complete control over human life was threatened when you are the lowest a person can get without reaching the grave was determined by a single person. The idea worried me even now, when I knew all she wanted to do was help. But when a person is desperate don’t they say beggars cannot be choosers? And for everything that I had, that was what I am. A beggar, after four years of college, a steady job, and a family I had been reduced to the scum of the earth because of the choices I had made, some beknownst to me, but others where…just…bad choices. As a person reading this I already know you have more than me, you can access things I can only remember from my past life, my successful and sometimes fulfilling life. You have extra money, you have free time or at least enough free time to enjoy a moments of peace, a seat and possible not by a stretch a family, a home…a reason for living life. You have a goal or a reason that allows you to continue. But…if…everything was taken from you how would you react? Like they do on TV. with a moment’s notice a new reason pops up or like in real life you struggle, deny and fight it until you either accept, remember and move on or fight until you have no more left in you and you have nothing left to live for. These choices and many variations are in front of you when the unthinkable happens but the path you take not only depends on you but the situation. I lost everything, how? Well it could have been in the romantic I loved and lost everything or the; I wasted my life on the frivolous. But by telling you I only give one side of the story and there is never just one side of a story. No one experiences the same thing even if they see and hear it the same way. The way people perceive things depends on mood and life. If you asked my daughter she would say it wasn’t my fault about what happened, no one could have excepted it. If you asked my brother he would say it could have been prevented if I had been thinking straight. I will leave to form your own ideas, I won’t give you the answers but your mind will form them. I want you to think. In a way that shows you the reality of life or the falseness of the situation. You are reading this in some form and think good or bad thoughts. You formed an opinion during the first sentence and read it with that thought in mind some will have changed their minds others will have stuck adamantly with their thoughts and because of that you will believe or disbelieve anything I say. I gave one name and little detail, the truth can be found but it will be personal, it will be you if life goes wrong. I am the you that is if life fails and ends in misery, maybe in a different setting. Maybe not in the cold dark lonely place I am in now. But this is my hell. I reached success grasped it and it is gone. It is my fear as much as yours…This is a formation of thought on the darkness that resides inside us all it maybe problematic, twisted or idiotic but it is thought and in this moment it is me. It could be you and with the millions of thoughts that go through our heads everyday it will be. If the darkness of thoughts is forgotten and pushed back until it explodes...

A room and a thought

In my house when I was smaller books were always around. My father's study/library is one of my earliest memories. When I was younger it was one of the most interesting rooms in my house. it was part of the labyrinth that was known as the spare room in the house. The study was only a small section kept apart from the disorganised, mess that surrounded it. In the room you could find a variety of objects at any one time; children's play chairs for when we decided to roam into the midst of mystery that could be created in the room, paintings of flowers and landscapes, furniture that was being fixed, car parts, lonely shoes discarded because of wear and tear and lots of toys.

The room was a magical place, it extended our imagination to anywhere in the world You could pick out objects and pretend you were a shopkeeper selling mystical items from your odd eccentric shop or a painter (as long as you didn't actually touch the paintings). It is the place where I have some of my most magical memories because anything could have happened.

Memory

An image…an image is only as powerful as the mind that views it. One person can see the beauty of nature while another see’s the decay and ending of life in the debris of the trees. It is the same photograph. The very same image but the effect depends on the person. I viewed a photo, it was like a million I had viewed before but something struck me. The beauty the elegance. The peace. I was 14 years old, dealing with hardships that only a fourteen year old girl can go through. Life had seemed unfair, against me, my family caused my misery and my friends saved me. Now, five years later I release I had a lot to learn back then and I still I have much more to go through. Even then I knew I had it lucky but the smallest things aggravated me; it was that picture that made me realise that the world was bigger than the small piece I had painstakingly craved out.

The photograph was one of many I had found going through old photos that were in a box in my parent’s room. The lakeside scene was one of tranquillity. Mountains in the distance, trees’ surrounding the lake and, the sun shining like it almost never does. However, the most striking thing about the photo was not the scene but one small piece. It was a part of the picture but not. If you were glancing at the photo you would have missed it but I didn’t it was my secret, my only wish, my secret tracks. What was so amazing about the photo was the train tracks that were under the water. They were only visible at a small spot in the corner of the photograph, Where the depth of the water was just threatening to loss the tracks. The moment I saw it I knew that one day I would visit the spot I saw. It was my one wish in the horror I called a life. I didn’t know how easy I had to even be able to believe in that dream.

Now, the picture is lost but it is seared into my mind as an image of pure bliss. It is the feeling of happiness. It is what I look for when I am near a lake and it is the reason I love the water. Water is the thing that connects us all. It is in us and around us at all times. It’s the thing we flock to on sunny days and the thing that makes us miserable on cloudy ones. It is our life line, the reason we are here and the reason why we are special. But I digress, that one photo had an effect on me and a powerful one. It was one of those moments I will remember for the rest of my life even if I never see it. It is the equivalent to a person’s favourite song or a moment you never want to forget. I cried with that photo, traced the tracks in awe and wished for the time when I would be old enough to be in charge of own life.

Even now I picture an image of a small girl crying in her bed, upset by a thing that is long forgotten. Hoping for an escape but wanting the best in life. I connected with that photo like I could never with a single person I have ever met.  I don’t know if I will be able to replicate that feeling with a person maybe that moment of complete understanding and freedom from the confines of life, is not a feeling a person can ever bring me but it was a moment that thought me who I was and it is the reason I wish I could but if I don’t at least I got to feel it.

I wish I could explain why I wrote this but I CAN’T. I can give reasons but they would only be a fraction of the truth.

It is the feeling, it is the music, it is the calm before the storm and it is me.