Old Friends and New Books

I have had the most wonderful start to the new year. 2013 has already proven to be a brilliant year. It has already brought me so many things: some new by old friends and some old by new books.

I decided to get in touch with some old friends since I was missing them. We go to the same University but we don't ever see each other since they are at a different part of the campus. Since we met up, I've realised how much I value them as friends. I know I've been at University for a while and that I have made some really nice friends but it was lovely to see some really familiar faces that know who you really are and have gone through some really tough times with you. It made me feel more confident and safe, more able to really talk about things that I couldn't with the friends that are still really quite new.

I've been doing a lot of reading since Christmas. I read, "The Perks of Being A Wallflower" by Stephan Chbosky. I really connected with the book. I felt that I was needed by Charlie. I felt that he needed me to listen to what he had to say, to not talk, just listen. It was purely a way to let him reflect and articulate his thoughts. This way he was able to cope with things that were bothering him or confusing him. Then when I finished the book, I thought about him a lot and worried about him as if he were a real person. I have to admit, I still do! It may sound really silly and dramatic but that's the affect that it had on me. I thought it was a very unique and emotional book. It made me think back to when I was his age or times in my life when I wondered the same kind of things and how I've kept a journal for as long as I've been able to write. I really do recommend it.

The next book I read was "This Side of Paradise" by F. Scott Fitzgerald. This read was actually inspired by "The Perks of Being a Wallflower" as "This Side of Paradise" was recommended to Charlie by his English teacher and I wanted to know why. It was about a young man finding himself through a series of events such as University, women, jobs, friends, the war, family and his own interests. I can see why Charlie was recommended this book because he seemed constantly lost throughout the book. I think it was a way to let Charlie know that it was okay to feel lost and to reveal just what was disturbing him, or, to come to terms with the a truth that he was refusing to acknowledge. As for the character of Amory Blaine, I wasn't taken by the young man. I found myself disliking him. However, there were other characters that I definitely disliked more! Such as Rosalind. Ugh, she was just too much for me. Moreover, this book has an extremely satisfying ending. You feel okay to put it down, feel proud of him and you can get on with your day. This wasn't quite the case for Charlie, I didn't feel that I could trust him when he said he was okay and that he was going to stop writing the letters to you. For those of you who haven't read, "This Side of Paradise", I urge that you do. It's beautifully written. After all, it is Fitzgerald's art.

The third book I read is, "Warm Bodies" by Isaac Marion. The evening before, my boyfriend and I went to the cinema to see it. I fell in love with the movie. Plus, it was perfectly timed for the run up of St. Valentine's Day. I know that some people hate St. Valentine's Day but I am one of these people who love it. It is an excellent movie. During the credits I went on the internet to find out if there happened to be a book which the movie was based on. There was. That next morning I ordered it from my Kindle and started reading it in bed. I was hooked from page 1. It didn't take me a very long time to read it. I was delighted to find out that there is a prequel to the book... which I have already got on my Kindle to read. Due to the fact that I read the book so soon after the movie, the book was entirely influenced by what I'd already seen which is not my ideal way of reading. I much prefer to read the book before the movie or even more common for me, avoid the movie entirely. I don't want the movie to skew my own imagination of what the book depicted. I've decided to read other books for a while and then when I've forgotten the movie to a sufficient degree, then I shall read the prequel first and then "Warm Bodies" again. I loved the nature of the book and the film; that love was the cure for such a inhumane disease, that even though The Dead were so numbed by their disease, love still shone through and "exhumed" them. It was so heart-warming and heart-felt - perfect book/movie for me. I felt that the book was better than the movie. It was much more profound, much darker and chillingly romantic. The writing is so beautifully haunting.

Right now, I am reading, "It's Kind of a Funny Story" by Ned Vizzini. It's a very different read compared to "Warm Bodies" or "This Side of Paradise". It's about a teenage boy who feels suicidal. It has similarities to "The Perks of Being a Wallflower". I am enjoying it so far but I felt uncomfortable about the situation he is in and considering that the author himself was in a psychiatric ward whilst writing the book. Reading a novel about that was challenging at first but it is interesting. I am a very sensitive person, sometimes far too sensitive! I get myself worked up about things that happen in books or films and I use a lot of energy worrying about things that I don't have to be worrying about. I am very in-tune with my emotions and I cannot hide them. I've tried but it just builds up I burst out with it at a very high intensity! I don't try to hide them anymore. Partly because I don't feel like I have to (something that my boyfriend's mother has taught me).

I've also been reading an academic book which is related to my University course that I make notes on, research and dissect. I think it is excellent. I am thoroughly enjoying it and it has brought me a lot of advantages. I found it very useful to write my latest assignment, ideas for lessons and presentations and a more holistic idea of what my role as a teacher is. It is called, "Social Justice Re-examined: dilemmas and solutions for the classroom teacher", Editors: Rowena Arshad, Terry Wrigley and Lynne Pratt. I strongly recommend that all teachers (students and qualified) should read this. It is invaluable. I think I will give it as a gift to everyone's birthday on my course and all the teachers that I know.

When I met my friends, we swapped books and "It's Kind of a Funny Story" is one of them. We exchange books and newly acquired music tastes or new bands/artists that we like. It's really nice to have friends that you can exchange things with and knowing that your interests and possessions will be greatly valued. I feel really lucky with the friends that I have and what the books I've read have given me. It has been verified time and time again that books and friends really are two of many of life's most important things. I suppose those things could be simplified in to three big things: love, respect and imagination.