The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry

Grown-ups never understand anything by themselves, and it's tiresome for children to be always and forever explaining things to them.

"The Little Prince" is a well-known French children's classic. The moment I caught sight of it in the English bookstore I frequent here in Paris, it was in my arms ready to be purchased.

When a pilot is forced to land in the middle of the Sahara due to problems with his plane, he finds himself face to face with the Little Prince, a small boy who has travelled from a far distant planet to get away from a haughty flower that has made him upset. It has been over a year since he arrived on Earth and, as the pilot soon discovers, he has learned much in his time away from home. And his wisdom, straight from the mouth of such an innocent little prince, is invaluable.

But the Little Prince longs for home, for he has been gone long enough. Yet how can the pilot bear to let go of such a precious treasure as the boy has proven to be?

I can definitely see why this is a classic. It was such a joy to read! It was heartwarming and altogether sweet, though I must warn you that it's conclusion is a bit sad. The artwork, done by the author himself, is as superb as the writing. It truly rounds out the story perfectly.

There's not really much more to say about it other than the fact that I absolutely adored it. It's short and a quick read, but perfect for reading time and again to younger children just as it is perfect for a quick read for those of us grown-ups who still love a good story. I'll definitely be reading this to all the little kids in my life very soon. I can't wait to share "The Little Prince" with them.

Rating: ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ 

"It is only with the heart that one can see rightly; what is essential is invisible to the eye."

Reread November

*Edit (11/11/12): So I got four books into this challenged and realized I wasn't going to be able to do it. There are too many books I'm dying to read just sitting on my shelf and I'm not interested enough in these rereads to read them as quickly as I would have liked to. So instead, I'm going to start rereading one book every month from now on. You'll see more of this in the future, but that's my compromise. This way I don't feel like a complete idiot for proposing this idea. Well, I'd better go read The King of Attolia now . . . 

I literally have thirty-nine books overflowing a specifically designated shelf and continuing atop my barely used television set in my room right now that I either own or have checked out of the library. These are all books that I haven't yet read and am eagerly awaiting to read.

Regardless of that fact, and the fact that many of those library books will have to be returned within the month, I've decided to declare this month "Reread November."

In other words, I've been itching to reread some old (and not so old) favorites of mine, but I've been so busy reading all my new ones that they've been neglected and it's about time I cracked open their spines once again.

So I've decided to set aside ten books of my choice that I have already read and would like to read again during the month of November. Hopefully, these won't be the only books I read this month (because I still have quite a lot to read if I want to reach 100 books this year), but I'd like to finish these first. I figured that setting a time aside to reread them would encourage me to do just that.

These are my choices:
1. Or Give Me Death by Ann Rinaldi
2. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire by J.K. Rowling
3. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix by J.K. Rowling
4. The Screwtape Letters by C.S. Lewis
5. Dovey Coe by Frances O'Roark Dowell
6. The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky
7. Emma by Jane Austen
8. Paper Towns by John Green
9. Girl in a Cage by Jane Yolen & Robert J. Harris
10. To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee

I won't read them in any particular order, but I'm more than excited about getting started on these.

Are you rereading any books this month? If so, I'd love to hear which ones you chose and why.

I Am Scout by Charles J. Shields

A perceptive newspaper reporter had remarked that To Kill a Mockingbird "is written out of Harper Lee's love for the South and Monroeville but it is also the story of a father's love for his children and the love they gave in return.

I don't remember what year in school I was assigned to read To Kill a Mockingbird, but I do remember it becoming an immediate favorite. For quite a few years, it held the ranking of my absolute favorite book and even now it continues to stand stall among many other books that have been claimed as favorites of mine. It definitely holds a special place in my heart.

So when I spotted I Am Scout: The Biography of Harper Lee on display in my local Half-Price Books store, I was drawn to it. Of course I would want to read the biography of Harper Lee! Plus it had a typewriter on the cover, so there was no denying that I needed this book. Thankfully, my dad had already agreed to get me a book while we were there. You can rest assured that I was grinning from ear to ear as I walked out of the store clutching this book.

I wasn't disappointed. Before I read this book, I honestly knew next to nothing about the author of To Kill a Mockingbird, which is frankly unacceptable--at least in my book. I love knowing as much as I can about the authors I admire and I feel like that curiosity was sated by the reading of this lovely book.

Charles J. Shields does a spectacular job in answering all the questions a body could have about the much-loved author whose sole novel is a classic and continues to be read by thousands of students every year. I finished this volume feeling like every question I had was answered. Shields handled his material perfectly and with such an interesting and much-loved character as Nelle Harper Lee, that was absolutely necessary.

I have so much admiration for Nelle Lee and truly enjoyed the experience of finding out more about her and her creative processes, as well as the events and occurrences that shaped her into the woman she became. In many ways, I see her as a role model. She is the type of person who is exactly who she wants to be and is entirely unapologetic when it comes to being who she is.

All in all, I really enjoyed reading this book. It was very well-written and put together. If you enjoyed To Kill a Mockingbird or just want to know more about Harper Lee, you should definitely pick up this book. It's certainly worth a good read.

Rating: ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥

Poking out from the branches was a white envelope addressed "Nelle." Inside was a note: "Dear Nelle, You have one year off from your job to write whatever you please. Merry Christmas."
"What does this mean?" she asked.
"What it says." They told her to total up what it would cost for a year to stay home and write full-time. The sum was their gift.
Several seconds passed before she found her voice. "It's a fantastic gamble. It's such a great risk."
Michael smiled. "No, honey. It's not a risk. It's a sure thing."

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone by J.K. Rowling

"Harry--you're a great wizard, you know."
"I'm not as good as you," said Harry, very embarrassed, as she let go of him. 
"Me!" said Hermione. "Books! And cleverness! There are more important things--friendship and bravery and--oh Harry--be careful!"

This is the second time I've read Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (the third, if you count listening to the audiobook) and it is no less a magical ride now than before. It is the perfect introduction to an amazing series and some wildly wonderful characters.

Harry Potter is living with his awful relatives, the Dursleys, who mistreat and dislike the boy, when he discovers an amazing truth. He is a wizard, as were his parents before him. Suddenly, his life takes a turn for the better. He is sent to a school for wizards called Hogwarts and, for the first time, manages to find a place where he feels loved and can make friends that are loyal and kind.

Everything is going well, better than he could have imagined, when he and his friends discover a three-headed dog on the third floor, apparently guarding something of great value. At first, they're merely interested, until they find that one of the teachers is trying to steal it. If he manages to do so, it could mean the end of the security the wizarding world has only just gotten used to. It could mean the return of a threat that was thought to have ended eleven years ago, the night Harry's parents were murdered and he received the scar on his forehead that resembled lightning. Nothing is quite as it seems and there are many dangers awaiting Harry and his friends during his first year at Hogwarts. Will they be able to make it through the year's dangers and excitements and still manage to pass their exams? It will take all of their cleverness and all of their loyalty if they even want a chance at succeeding.

It's no secret that I am a major fan of J.K. Rowling's work and it was a sheer pleasure to be able to immerse myself in it again. After LeakyCon, I wanted to reread the books and I'm very excited about continuing on. Even in her first book, Rowling shows a profound ability to draw the reader in and present them with both a believable and simply magical tale that captures their hearts.

Definitely a must-read, this series is very likely one of the greatest fantasy series of our time, on par with the works of Lewis and Tolkien. Whether you're nine or ninety-nine, you'd better go pick this book up right away.

Rating: ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥

[Click here to see my reviews of book 2: Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, book 3: Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, book 4: Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, book 5: Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, book 6: Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince, and book 7: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows]

"After all, to the well organized mind, death is but the next great adventure. You know, the Stone was really not such a wonderful thing. As much money and life as you could want! The two things most human beings would choose above all--the trouble is, humans do have a knack of choosing precisely those things that are worst for them."

Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury

"The magic is only in what the books say, how they stitched the patches of the universe together into one garment for us."


I'm not sure where I first heard about Fahrenheit 451. It's most likely that I have heard it mentioned among the ranks of banned books (which is quite ironic for a book centered on the evils of censorship).

I decided to pick it up after reading an article about Ray Bradbury upon his death two weeks ago. The more I read about Mr. Bradbury, the more I am convinced that we think similarly and the more disappointed I become that I'll never have the chance to meet him now. Thankfully, I can still explore his lovely mind through articles written about him and through his own works.

Now, let's get back to the book itself. Fahrenheit 451 is the story of Guy Montag, a fireman in a future where houses are fireproof and firemen start fires rather than put them out. In particular, the set fire to books.

Books have been banned for as long as Guy can remember. Why? They went out of fashion on their own. People chose to stop reading and, by extension, stop thinking. Before long, books were made illegal because truly thinking made people unhappy. And even if it made you happy to learn, it made the people around you feel stupid and therefore unhappy. When you could simply drown in your superficial world bombarded by what is meant to be full-time pleasure, why ruin that with conscious thought?

Guy thinks nothing of the way things are until he meets a seventeen year old girl whose observations and questions make him stop and consider the way things are. Why is it so weird that she likes to be outside? Why is it okay for children to murder each other? What is so threatening about books that they have become illegal? What's so intoxicating about them that people sob over their burnt collections or even choose to go up in flames with them?

The tale told in Fahrenheit 451 is one that anyone who even remotely enjoys reading will appreciate. The story paints a stunning portrait of the evils of censorship and just how easy it is to cross the line into a territory where we don't want to find ourselves. This book makes you sit back and think. I will definitely be shelling out the cash needed to add this to my personal library. I would definitely put this among the ranks of my all-time favorite books. Add it to your "to be read" list ASAP.

Rating: ~♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥~


We need not to be let alone. We need to be really bothered once in a while. How long is it since you were really bothered? About something important, about something real.

Patterning Works

I'm currently in the midst of reading Book by Book by Michael Dirda, basically a book written about the importance of reading and how books and learning change our lives. Look forward to the review of it soon. In the meantime, I wanted to share a particularly interesting passage at the beginning of Dirda's book. It is essentially a list of books one ought to read in order to have a good grasp of world literature and a firm foundation in one's reading.

I have already read some of these, but there are plenty here that I haven't arrived at just yet. Rest assured, they are now being taken into consideration when it comes to books I need to read in the near future.

Anyway, here's the passage. You may do with it what you will:

What should a person know of the world's literature? It has always seemed obvious to me that the great patterning works ought to lie at the heart of any structured reading program. By "patterning works" I mean those that later authors regularly build on, allude to, work against. There aren't that many of these key books, and they aren't all obvious classics. Here's a roughly chronological short list of those that the diligent might read through in a year or two. For such famous works you can hardly go wrong with any good modern editions, though for the Bible the Authorized, or King James, Version is the one that has most influenced the diction and imagery of English Prose.

The Bible (Old and New Testament)

Bulfinch's Mythology (or any other accounts of the Greek, Roman, and Norse myths)

 Homer, The Iliad and The Odyssey

Plutarch, Lives of the Noble Grecians and Romans

Dante, Inferno

The Arabian Nights

Thomas Malory, Le Morte D'Arthur (tales of King Arthur and his knights)

Shakespeare's major plays, especially Hamlet, Henry IV, Part One, King Lear, A Midsummer Night's Dream, and The Tempest

Cervantes, Don Quixote

Daniel Defoe, Robinson Crusoe

Jonathan Swift, Gulliver's Travels

The fairy tales of the Brothers Grimm and Hans Christian Andersen

Any substantial collection of the world's major folktales

Jane Austen, Pride and Prejudice

Lewis Carroll, Alice in Wonderland

Arthur Conan Doyle, The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes 

The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien

"Never laugh at live dragons, Bilbo you fool."

If you pay even the slightest attention to the media, you very likely are aware that the movie adaptation of The Hobbit will be in theaters this December. Because of that, I decided it was about time I stuck my nose into a J.R.R. Tolkien book and, let me tell you, I'm quite happy I did.

Going into this, I had rather expected Mr. Tolkien's writing to be a bit, well, stuffy. This was generally because I had heard that his writing was hard to get into and was all too descriptive to follow well. Perhaps they were speaking of a different book, because this certainly was not the case when it came to The Hobbit.

An adventure tale for the ages, this book was incredibly well-written and I was invested in the story from the outset. Being a big fan of C.S. Lewis, a personal friend of Tolkien, I was still surprised to see the similarities in their narratives. They have a similar writing style that really draws you in -- as if you're sitting by the fire listening to that wise old uncle of yours tell you a grand adventure you only dare to believe because he is the one telling you of it.

The Hobbit is the story of Bilbo Baggins, a comfortable little hobbit with more adventure in his blood than most other hobbits. Even still, it takes a good deal of convincing and coercion before Mr. Baggins finds himself on a quest for treasure, the "burglar" in a company of thirteen dwarves. He was specially chosen for the mission by Gandalf the Grey. At first, neither he nor his companions can understand why Gandalf thought he was worth bringing along, but there is more to Bilbo than meets the eye and, soon enough, he may become their only hope of accomplishing their task at all.

Overall, The Hobbit was a fantastic book. I enjoyed every moment of the journey, both "there and back again" and it has made me even more excited for the movie's release. I would definitely suggest this lovely story to anyone who enjoys Tolkien's other works or enjoys any books with a bit of magic threaded through the pages.

Rating: ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ 

Going on from there was the bravest thing he ever did. The tremendous things that happened afterwards were as nothing compared to it. He fought the real battle in the tunnel alone, before he ever saw the vast danger that lay in wait.

The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain

It was fifteen minutes before I could work myself up to go and humble myself to a nigger; but I done it, and I warn't ever sorry for it afterwards, neither. I didn't do him no more mean tricks, and I wouldn't done that one if I'd a knowed it would make him feel that way. 


Set before the civil war, when some states condoned slavery and others didn't, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain has been deemed a highly controversial book since it was first published; mainly due to Twain's use of the word "nigger" throughout the text -- a highly derogatory and offensive word often used then (and, sadly, sometimes now) to refer to blacks or African-Americans. 


But Twain doesn't use the word frivolously and, if one reads the book and looks to the themes portrayed throughout, we see how he discourages the condescending nature used at such a time in our nation's history.


As well as being known for it's controversial nature, this book is also known for being quite a literary achievement. In fact, Ernest Hemingway once referred to it in saying that, "All modern literature stems from this one book." While I'm not sure if this is entirely true, I found myself enjoying this tale immensely, as well as enjoying the writing style Mr. Twain employs throughout.


Narrated by Huck Finn, a boy originally introduced in another book by Mark Twain (The Adventures of Tom Sawyer), the story written the way a young boy who had only completed so much schooling would have written it. Huck writes things the way he sees them and his work is filled with spelling errors that belie his limited access to a dictionary. Each dialect is written exactly how it sounds and gives the reader an excellent view of the action, as if the reader was standing beside him as each part of the story went down.


Huck himself is the son of a drunkard who rarely comes into town and, when he does, only manages to manipulate and hurt his son. He's a no-good father who would rather see to his own gain than the well-being of his child. As a result, he ends up "kidnapping" Huck and keeping him locked up in their home. Though he feeds and cares for him at times, he can also be volatile and dangerous. When Huck's had enough he breaks out, fakes his murder, and runs away.


It's then that Huck meets up with Jim, a slave that the boy knows well. Jim had caught wind that he was going to be sold down South, away from his wife and children, and ran off before he would let anyone take him. He planned to escape to freedom, get a job, and buy back his family. Huck, eager for company, joins him and together they make their way to freedom. But the journey won't be an easy one. They're bound for plenty of trouble and, in Huck's case, there's a lot of growing up to do.


Overall, this was a lovely book that I really enjoyed reading. I don't think it deserves to be banned and those that have objections to it should look beyond face value. Often, authors have good reason to include controversial material and those reasons should be thoroughly considered before people dismiss the work altogether. When we make informed decisions, we can learn things we never could have without stepping out of our comfort zones.


Rating: ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥


"Pooty soon I'll be a-shout'n' for joy, en I'll say, it's all on accounts o' Huck; I's a free man, en I couldn't ever ben free ef it hadn' ben for Huck; Huck done it. Jim won't ever forgit you, Huck; you's de bes' fren' Jim's ever had; en you's de ONLY fren' ole Jim's got now."

2012 Book List

In follow-up to my last post, I've decided to post which books I'll be reading in 2012. I am eagerly awaiting the stories each has to tell or the knowledge each is ready to impart. I can hardly decide what order they should go in.
These are books currently on my shelves, just waiting to be read and reviewed.

• The Book Thief by Markus Zusak
• Inheritance by Christopher Paolini
• Wonderstruck by Brian Selznick
• The Help by Kathryn Stockett
• Dear Bully (70+ author compilation)
• The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain
• Inkheart by Cornelia Funke
• Hawkes Harbor by S.E. Hinton

These are just the beginning. I frequent my local bookstore with a consistency that ought to have the salespeople asking about my family each week. I also hope to be able to reread some of my favorites of last year, such as Paper Towns and possibly the Hunger Games trilogy.
In addition, I'll be borrowing books from my brother soon enough as well. He is currently the owner of my home's only copies of the Harry Potter series (I still have to read books four through seven) and the Lord of the Rings trilogy (let's not forget the Hobbit, as well).
I can't wait to find the adventures awaiting me!

One Year: Fifty-Five Books

I told y'all in this post that my goal for the year 2011 was to read fifty books. I reached fifty-five. *insert happy dance here*

Anyway, I decided I would fill you in on which books those were, in case you wanted to read them as well. Most of these I would recommend for a good read, unless I note otherwise.

1) The Rescue by Nicholas Sparks.
2) Elyon by Ted Dekker & Kaci Hil.
3) Pearl in the Sand by Tessa Afshar.
4) DragonKnight by Donita K. Paul.
5) The Slave Across the Street by Theresa L. Flores.
6) What He Must Be by Voddie Baucham.
7) DragonFire by Donita K. Paul.
8) DragonLight by Donita K. Paul.
9) Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone by J.K. Rowling.
10) Love Comes Softly by Janette Oke.
11) And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie.
12) Love's Enduring Promise by Janette Oke.
13) Comma Sense by Richard Lederer & John Shore.
14) Death in the Clouds by Agatha Christie.
15) The Doctor Trap by Simon Messingham. (This is one of those Doctor Who spin-offs, so if you don't watch the show, it's probably not worth reading.)
16) Love's Long Journey by Janette Oke.
17) The Beach Street Knitting Society and Yarn Club by Gil McNeil.
18) Out of the Silent Planet by C.S. Lewis.
19) Kiss by Ted Dekker.
20) Starlighter by Bryan Davis.
21) Forgotten by Cat Patrick.
22) Eragon by Christopher Paolini.
23) Eldest by Christopher Paolini.
24) The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins.
25) Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins.
26) Looking for Alaska by John Green.
27) Brisingr by Christopher Paolini.
28) Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins.
29) Brooklyn by Colm Tóibín. (This one wasn't very good at all. It wasn't bad either, but it was incredibly boring.)
30) The Language of Flowers by Vanessa Diffenbaugh.
31) Paper Towns by John Green. (This is easily one of my new favorite books. John Green really outdid himself with this one.)
32) After the Wreck, I Picked Myself Up, Spread My Wings, and Flew Away by Joyce Carol Oates.
33) A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith.
34) Brother/Sister by Sean Olin. (This book was really good, but creepy. . . and it may have ruined the Wonder Twins for me. Haha.)
35) Soft Spots by Clint Van Winkle.
36) Purge by Sofi Oksanen. (I didn't really enjoy this one. It was interesting, to say the least, but not my type of good reading.)
37) Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets by J.K. Rowling.
38) The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton.
39) Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban by J.K. Rowling.
40) Rumble Fish by S.E. Hinton.
41) That Was Then, This Is Now by S.E. Hinton.
42) Tex by S.E. Hinton.
43) Stop Pretending by Sonya Sones.
44) Bridge to Terabithia by Katherine Paterson.
45) Brutal by Michael Harmon.
46) He's Just Not That Into You by Greg Behrendt & Liz Tuccillo. (Only decided to read this book because it was $2 at Helping Hands. It ended up being surprisingly good.)
47) Artemis Fowl by Eoin Colfer.
48) Dark Water by Laura McNeal. (Not that great.)
49) Will Grayson, Will Grayson by John Green & David Levithan.
50) An Abundance of Katherines by John Green. (Almost as good as Paper Towns. Definitely worth reading more than once.)
51) The Last Exit to Normal by Michael Harmon.
52) The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald.
53) Hero by Mike Lupica.
54) Taming the Star Runner by S.E. Hinton.
55) The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger.


I'll try to write reviews on a couple of the more recent ones when I get the chance. In the meantime, here's a good list where you can find some books for the New Year. Hopefully, you're resolutions have something to do with reading more, because it's definitely worth it.

I'm going to read 75 books this year. Hopefully, you'll come along for the ride in at least reading the reviews of each.

The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger

I heard a lot of fuss about The Catcher in the Rye before I ever picked up the book. Generally read in high school sophomore English classes, I somehow dodged the bullet and never had to read it. I decided to read it on my own time, though, convinced it was necessary to read classic literature such as itself.

Written from a first person perspective, Salinger writes from the prospective of a teenage boy, Holden Caulfield, who has just gotten himself kicked out of another prep school he had been attending. He feels no remorse or regret about it, only worry that his parents will be upset with him for flunking out.

The book in itself is a coming-of-age novel. We walk alongside the character as he starts to grow up over the course of a weekend spent both away from school and home.

Overall, I only found the book satisfactory. While I loved the writing style and the abundant symbolism, the main character himself was irritating to the point where I just wanted to finish the book so I wouldn't have to hear his opinion of everything under the son. He hates everything, he's not kidding about anything, he thinks everyone's a phony and doesn't realize that he is a phony himself.

I did enjoy seeing the character grow, though. It was natural and realistic. The ending wasn't some life-altering revelation, but you could see that Holden was growing into his breeches, so to speak. He was getting there.

So though the main character is quite an irritating kid and uses the word g-d so many times that even if it doesn't offend you, it will be irritating; I'm glad I read it. The style in itself was one I enjoyed experiencing.

Would I read it a second time, though? Not unless I absolutely had to.

 Rating: ♥ ♥