Today, A asked me what my top 5 favorite books are, and it turned out to be a really difficult question to answer. I immediately listed the no-brainers, Les Miserables and Middlemarch, but it took deep contemplation throughout the rest of the day to come up with the others. Now I can say with certainty that my top 3 are definitely:
1) Les Miserables by Victor Hugo
2) Middlemarch by George Eliot
3) In Memoriam A.H.H. by Tennyson
By the way, this list excludes The Bible, as well as obvious favorites from my "youth" like Harry Potter, Lemony Snicket, Calvin and Hobbes etc. which are of course ingenious, but belong to a different category.
I think book-lovers can attest to this--each person's criteria for what makes an All-Time-Favorite Book is a little different. For me, above all else, my morals have to be in line with what the author is trying to convey. It helps a LOT if the characters and writing style are likable, too. Then, there's the initial reaction a book has on me, plus the long-term reaction. Les Mis and Middlemarch are hefty novels, 800+ pages and not what most would call a fast read. Both teach invaluable lessons about the humanity, although in very different ways, and both have a large number of main characters, most of whom I find extremely lovable and admirable. Hugo is French, so I can't say much about his writing style, but I love Eliot's voice and the way she unravels her stories. In Memoriam is a set of poems, which is weird, because I usually don't have the attention span or depth of mind to really appreciate or even understand most poetry. But Tennyson's requiem for his best friend is just unbelievable, and the content totally overshadows the format for me. Family and close friends will back me up when I say that after reading each of these three, I became obsessed and talked about them nonstop for a long long...LONG time. After Tennyson, I marched around the house reciting the poems to whoever would listen. I also gave the book to three different people as birthday presents.
So what about 4 and 5? I'm inclined to say-
4) something by Jane Austen
5) something by Shakespeare
It's kind of embarrassing that I can't name a specific work by either one, and it's not like I'm saying all their works are the same...but it's more that I love the authors more than I love any individual work, if that makes sense. I can't choose a particular Shakespeare play (or sonnet), because it's his output collectively that make him so significant and life-changing to me. I do admit that after a while, some of Jane Austen's novels start to blend together in my easily-confused brain. But I love the atmosphere she creates, the way her characters interact, and how incredibly charming she is.
Close runners up include-
Shorter books: Animal Farm, Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, Of Mice and Men, and Screwtape Letters. They're little gems, but I'm not sure they are comparable to the likes of what I mentioned before.
The classic, disillusioned-wife-cheats-on-husband books: Bovary, Karenina, and Chatterley, which I really enjoy (for some reason) but can't deem true favorites, because I simply hate the protagonist so much.
Intimidating books: Ayn Rand's Fountainhead and Hardy's Jude the Obscure. Amazingly written, but...a little too heavy for me.
And more recent books: 5 People You Meet In Heaven, The Last Lecture, My Sister's Keeper, and pianist Arthur Schnabel's Music and My Life.
Wednesday, May 22, 2013
Tuesday, May 14, 2013
Mother's Day
It was a successful Mother's Day this year! First of all, the Warriors won Game 4 against the Spurs, which in itself guarantees a good day in my book. I mean, I cheer with great exuberance for anyone who beats the Spurs. But the Warriors have been so inspiring especially lately, from David Lee's courageous minutes despite his injury, to Harrison Barnes who is only 20 years old (!!!), to the raw talent of Steph Curry and Klay Thompson. I really hope they get to the finals. (That being said, OKC is breaking my heart! What is happening???)
Meanwhile, customary Mother's Day festivities were in order, starting from the morning when my sister and I lugged ourselves out of bed way too early to make my mom's breakfast of fruits galore, a spinach cheese omelet, random nuts/cereal, and coffee. Then we headed to church, where there were four testimonies given in honor of this day. The first aww-moment was when I heard a little girl talking to her friend's mom, saying, "I'm sooo excited for when we go home, because my cousins and I have this whole program planned out for my mom" etc. etc. It made me think that, yes, Mother's Day (along with Valentine's Day) can be one of the most irritatingly commercialized holidays, with the bombardment of flowers, chocolates, and ads that make you feel guilty for not hopping straight to a store and spoiling your loved one with tons of jewelry and desserts. But looking past that, something I do love about this day is how it introduces kids to the sheer joy and excitement one feels when making someone ELSE happy. Selfless happiness is just a good feeling to experience early on, I think.
My dad was one of the people to give testimonies, and since I'd spent the previous night and morning listening to him practice over and over, I was definitely quite nervous for him, reciting his speech right there with him (in my head). He did a great job, although I must say that I don't think I've ever met someone who speaks as slowly as he does. Nevertheless, it was touching and an admirable feat.
Another person who gave a testimony said two things that really stuck in my mind. The first thing was that most of the time, when we try to do our own thing and our parents disagree, it's not so much that they don't have faith in US and OUR abilities, but that they don't have faith in the world around us, the circumstances in which we may unwittingly find ourselves. I can definitely recall times when my parents were against a decision I made. In retrospect, I now believe they were more afraid about the environment around me than any mistake I might make. It seems obvious now, but whenever we are at odds, I manage to forget this simple truth.
The second thing this person said was that her mother didn't look at her through the eyes of a regular person, but tried to look at her through the eyes of the Lord. Meaning, her mother didn't judge her or try to control her. Judgement is something I've wondered about for a while. If you know me well, you'll know that a pet peeve of mine is people who want to do things without being judged. I just think that everyone should take responsibility for his/her actions, and if we don't want to be judged for something, we simply shouldn't do it. Everything has consequences, not only for us but also for countless others that we may never know about. We can't put these consequences on hold when we don't feel like being judged. (I'm referring to serious things, not like, "Don't judge me, I'm going to eat three slices of cheese cake.") At the same time, there have been a few times when someone said, "Don't judge me, but--" and I nod sympathetically like, "Okay don't worry, I understand." Maybe it's an automatic reaction, or maybe in that moment I do feel it's an okay exception. To judge, or not to judge... But ultimately the best thing to do is leave the judging up to God. I still believe every action should be judged, but that doesn't mean I'm the one who has the right or ability to BE the judge. Really, the only thing I have considerable insight into is what I do with my life.
The rest of the day was devoted to food! We made my mom a card that said, "Age only matters if you're a cheese." So practically everything we ate was cheese-themed...cheese and crackers, cheese and bread, plus cheese (and chocolate) fondue. It was a lot of fun, and it's nice to have the whole family together again; it's been a while. It's also nice to be blogging again, after an unexpected and embarrassingly drawn-out hiatus, which I will try to justify in my next (?) entry.
Meanwhile, customary Mother's Day festivities were in order, starting from the morning when my sister and I lugged ourselves out of bed way too early to make my mom's breakfast of fruits galore, a spinach cheese omelet, random nuts/cereal, and coffee. Then we headed to church, where there were four testimonies given in honor of this day. The first aww-moment was when I heard a little girl talking to her friend's mom, saying, "I'm sooo excited for when we go home, because my cousins and I have this whole program planned out for my mom" etc. etc. It made me think that, yes, Mother's Day (along with Valentine's Day) can be one of the most irritatingly commercialized holidays, with the bombardment of flowers, chocolates, and ads that make you feel guilty for not hopping straight to a store and spoiling your loved one with tons of jewelry and desserts. But looking past that, something I do love about this day is how it introduces kids to the sheer joy and excitement one feels when making someone ELSE happy. Selfless happiness is just a good feeling to experience early on, I think.
My dad was one of the people to give testimonies, and since I'd spent the previous night and morning listening to him practice over and over, I was definitely quite nervous for him, reciting his speech right there with him (in my head). He did a great job, although I must say that I don't think I've ever met someone who speaks as slowly as he does. Nevertheless, it was touching and an admirable feat.
Another person who gave a testimony said two things that really stuck in my mind. The first thing was that most of the time, when we try to do our own thing and our parents disagree, it's not so much that they don't have faith in US and OUR abilities, but that they don't have faith in the world around us, the circumstances in which we may unwittingly find ourselves. I can definitely recall times when my parents were against a decision I made. In retrospect, I now believe they were more afraid about the environment around me than any mistake I might make. It seems obvious now, but whenever we are at odds, I manage to forget this simple truth.
The second thing this person said was that her mother didn't look at her through the eyes of a regular person, but tried to look at her through the eyes of the Lord. Meaning, her mother didn't judge her or try to control her. Judgement is something I've wondered about for a while. If you know me well, you'll know that a pet peeve of mine is people who want to do things without being judged. I just think that everyone should take responsibility for his/her actions, and if we don't want to be judged for something, we simply shouldn't do it. Everything has consequences, not only for us but also for countless others that we may never know about. We can't put these consequences on hold when we don't feel like being judged. (I'm referring to serious things, not like, "Don't judge me, I'm going to eat three slices of cheese cake.") At the same time, there have been a few times when someone said, "Don't judge me, but--" and I nod sympathetically like, "Okay don't worry, I understand." Maybe it's an automatic reaction, or maybe in that moment I do feel it's an okay exception. To judge, or not to judge... But ultimately the best thing to do is leave the judging up to God. I still believe every action should be judged, but that doesn't mean I'm the one who has the right or ability to BE the judge. Really, the only thing I have considerable insight into is what I do with my life.
The rest of the day was devoted to food! We made my mom a card that said, "Age only matters if you're a cheese." So practically everything we ate was cheese-themed...cheese and crackers, cheese and bread, plus cheese (and chocolate) fondue. It was a lot of fun, and it's nice to have the whole family together again; it's been a while. It's also nice to be blogging again, after an unexpected and embarrassingly drawn-out hiatus, which I will try to justify in my next (?) entry.
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