Day 19 : It's Kind of a Funny Story - Book Review

Okay this is weird. I never thought I would like a Young Adult book so much. I have made fun of the absurd amount hype associated with them and the hordes of crazy fans who flock in support of their favorite actors who play leads in the movie based out of these books. Some of those actors are really horrible. And some of the books itself are also terribly written. They pick up one unique, and frankly amazing, plot and stretch it to such an extent that they butcher the very thing that made it awesome.

But. This book is something different.

Just like many others I came to know of this book after I'd seen the movie based on it which I'd only seen that because it starred Zach Galifianakis and Emma Roberts. It was a decent movie. Had its own foibles as most YA movies do but some of the dialogues in the movie felt very precise and well structured, which could very well have been taken from a well-written book. This was a clearly YA movie but the characters didn't seemed to know that. The dialogue and plot could have been from any average movie and still work just as good. That got me to pick up the book to see for myself if this change was something that writer of novel intended originally or something the screenwriters pushed into their script. I know now, it was the writer of the novel who wrote them like that.

Author - Ned Vizzini.
Quck note - He himself suffered from clinical depression for most of his life and sadly committed suicide in 2013, at the age of 32.

The book is about a very intelligent overachieving teenager who works his butt off to get into a prestigious New York prep school. And once he is in can't cope with the pressure and stress linked with having to deal with all the work and the lack of social life that comes along it. He starts developing issues relating to people around him. He stops eating or sleeping, and spends all of his waking hours in a limbo worrying about how he can mess his whole life up by failing at this school. He then one night then decides he cannot take it anymore and decides to kill himself by jumping off the Brooklyn Bridge.

Good sense prevails. He somehow manages to call up a suicide hotline and they help him get checked into emergency care. They take him in as a mental patient and put him on suicide watch. But the hospital is under renovation so he is bunked along with the adult ward. That's where the whole story unfolds, a fifteen year old high school kid amidst a bunch of adults with serious mental issues.

In the book seems like there a bunch of homages for real people in the writer's life, in the sense that they are all largely believable. Even the patient who thinks gravity doesn't exist anymore and that anytime now we would all just stop sticking to the Earth and just fall off into the sky. There are a bunch of wonderful ideas and interest experiences where the writer explains the sense of loneliness and hopelessness that someone with this illness would have to face in life. It all feels very frank and straight from the heart. Like how life for someone like this could be so much better for them if they simply just have the love and support of their family and friends.

I really like those parts in any book. The part where the writer says exactly what he feels. No B.S. This book has a lot of that. It is not overdone. Nor overly dramatic. Nor trying to be too funny or hip or in with the crowd. It is just right. (last couple pages notwithstanding)

It is good, mostly so cause I believe it was just being honest. There isn't anything in it that you will feel too jarring or something that would make you think that, yep this is definitely a book written for kids. Cause its not. Sure, it would be a book that would do a world of good to kid, if he/she read it, especially if she thinks she is unworthy. But I suppose this is a book for everyone who thinks that their life is too tough to handle at times.

I'd recommend this book to every newbie readers, in fact all readers even. It is a good story.

And to Mr Vizzini I'd like to say, you had a precious light in you. It is unfortunate that the darkness in you stopped you from seeing it. RIP.

Day 18 : Quidditch Through The Ages - Book Review

This one actually feels like a Hogwarts book. The language, the tone, the characters and most importantly - Quidditch.

This is written as a sort of serious non-fiction book that jots down the history of how the game has developed in its present form. As anything in the wizarding world, there was never really a hope of keeping anything serious. Almost every other page has a funny incident that happened with the game, or of the many quirky character that played their part in the games creation. I especially enjoyed the Daily Prophet excerpts by Rita Skeeter. She clearly was a reliable honest journalist as ever. (Not.)

Though my favorite in the whole book happens just a couple pages into it.

Yes you read that right. That is from the checkout page from the Hogwarts Library, with doodles and all. With actual entries from Ron, Hermoine, Malfoy, Padma Patil and Neville Longbottom. If you even wondered what their handwriting would look like. Well here you go, courtesy J K Rowling. I sort of wish they'd actually brought in an handwriting expert who actually got paid to devise what their handwriting would look like after reading all of the seven books and understand each of their characters.

And for those who ship "Draco+Hermoine", look up there, Draco has up and about getting that book as soon as Granger was done with it. Nobody else hurried to get this book as him. What if this was during the time he was Seeker for Slytherin and his checking out the book after our favorite know it all was just a coincedence, you say. Well, screw you. You can't prove anything.

There are also a bunch of other easter eggs through out the book. All glorious, all taking you back to simpler time where wasn't any flying dragons and blood-thirsty Red Priestesses. Hogwarts was where magic was good and bad. But mostly good, cause good always prevailed. In Hogwarts the good did not get beheaded in the first book itself in front of both his daughters. GRRM. Beep.

Anyways, as for the history of Quidditch there are a lot of minute details and specifics in here that I didn't know before. And I am sure if we did ever manage to build a Nimbus 1000, we would definitely this book as the go-to guide to build our own Quidditch Pitch.

I loved this book. I love the whole library set, in fact. It all feels so sweet to back to school now.

This is home.

Day 16 : The Tales of Beedle The Bard - Book Review

It has been over two years I've reread the Harry Potter books in its entirety. There are time when I pick one of them up when I passingly see a bit of the movies or overhear that awesome soundtrack somewhere. It is like some sort of strange bond that we of the Harry Potter generation have with these books. We grew up with the magical trio, were of the same age when the first book was published and, read the few books together right in step with Harry himself. So in a big way JKR and her creations have been a part of our lives in a big way.

The conclusion of the books, and movies was, honestly, a bit too shocking for us. It was like the end of an era. Like the demise of somebody that we have known most of our young lives. And just a mere sentence in the end of the book saying 'All was well..' in the wizarding world wasn't enough for us. We wanted to be sure that Harry and Ron and Hermoine, even little Albus were doing well. It was very important for us to know that, to live our own lives guilt free.

So I guess by her infinite generosity JKR puts out a few hints and tidbits of what is happening over at the Wizarding world every once in a while. Just keep our HP fix going. These collection of books are one such acts of generosity by her. More so now, because all the funds from this collection of books from Hogwarts Library is donated to Lumos, a charitable trust for impoverished children.

Now onto the book itself.

First off, it is a beautiful book. With brilliant illustrations and gorgeous artwork. I loved it.

It is like what a real wizard or witch would read to their children at bedtime. The stories have their own share of magical intrigue and wonder, like the fairy tales of the muggle world. Some of the stories by Beedle does feel like it would have a counterpart in the one of the many stories that you yourself might have read/heard somewhere when you were a kid. For example, the story of "The Fountain of Fair Fortune" is very much like a story I'd read in a collection of Russian fairy tales that I had when I was a kid. That book was filled with so much heart and love. It worked in that book, and it works just as well in this one.

The stories are very sweet and filled with innocent imagination, as any fairy tale is supposed to be. I found even the "Warlock's Hairy Heart" was something that you could very well read to your kid during bed time. Would very well do them good to teach the  how to be a better human being - wizard or otherwise.

Book is said to be from the Hogwart's library itself, translated from the ancient runes by Hermoince Granger and contains notes by Albus Dumbledore at the end of each tale where he lists his own observations about the history of lore and of the importance the tale had in Beedle's and in the morality of much of the wizarding world. The notes do shed a light on what was going on within the Professor's mind during the months before the Battle of the Astronomy Tower. The latest of the notes is supposed to be at least eighteen months before the tragic incident, even the slightest recollection of which still sort of pains a little.

There is mention of horcruxes, animagi, Elder Wand, Transfiguration, love potions and all the other wonderful spells and magical items we all love and adore. This is such a beautiful trip back down memory lane. More so, because I know all my favorite characters are still hale and hearty when Albus's writing his notes.

The thought of just  that does make me smile. All is well in Hogwarts.

Day 10 : Of Mice And Men - Book Review

This is definitely a wonderful book. It was written a long while back, evident in the language and prose. It has very old-fashioned lead characters, setting and manner of dialogue. And since I am starting on a oldie-but-goldie spree this one seemed as good a start as any. I am glad I did.

The lead characters are two migrant ranch-workers who are apparently drifting around in a southern American state. The pair would seem pretty commonplace in any "bromance" movie off late. And since this was written much sooner than any of those became a trend, I think this was the first ones amongst those. One guy is tall and strong and dumb. The other is short and intelligent and sensitive. One is the well-intentioned clumsy dimwit. Other is the cynical closet-optimistic. One who is too young for his age, other older than his. One who likes to pet tiny animals and anything soft, other who has already discovered the world for the hard place that it is. I love them both, namely Lennie and George.

And like most other stories of this age, at the center of all the trouble is a woman. Here this one is never mentioned by name. It's usually 'Curley's wife' or that tart who gives other men the eye, which is old-fashioned-speak for a promiscuous woman. She is described to be very attractive young woman who dreamt of big things for herself, but now has found herself stuck in a loveless marriage. Very Gatsby or Mad Men-ish. 

The plot is pretty straightforward, and predictable. Only because we have now seen or read so many books with similar story. But I am going to give this book a benefit of a doubt. I am going to assume that this was the one that became so successful with its plot that it inspired a chain of copycat writers in its wake. Just because this is actually a well-written honest book. This is a short book, not longer than any typical novella. But still it has so many good that is going for itself that you come to forgive it for not giving its characters a bit more depth. Well, this was the good old days of yore. People are not supposed to have a personality. You are just born, categorized into a specific slot by the society and there you are to stay for the rest of your life. There are not many who did overcome that hurdle during those times. There is a black stable-hand in the book called Crooks whose character explores this side of life during those times.

There is a lot of heart in the book, and a lot heart wrenching scenes. This book, if published now would very well be dismissed off hand for being to mushy. Even with the number of times that the author uses the N-word in this book. This book would never have been edgy enough for the reader of today. And I am fine with that. A good book doesn't necessarily have to be edgy and pushing the boundaries all the times. Sometimes it just needs to have a compelling story that pulls at your heartstrings and makes you feel feelings you've never known. And this book is definitely successful at that.

I wish I'd read this book when I was much younger. Empathy is something that a lot of us could have more of.