Book Covers

One of my greatest dilemmas is when a book has several good versions of the cover.  I am very particular about book covers. I am one of those people who will never buy the movie version book cover. They always look silly and rather childish.

I like simple covers, especially if they can show something that symbolizes the essence of the book. I like these books because when you reach that particular part (or finish the book), you get this satisfaction for finally getting the cover. I also like old/retro/vintage looking covers, like Mitch Albom’s books.

I usually don’t like heavily illustrated covers, like the Harry Potter series (this is hard to write because Harry Potter is my absolute favorite when I am younger, and I still like it). Strangely, I loathe the adult version of the covers even more; they don’t leave any impression at all!

 

My mother likes to complain that I spend ages in the bookstore choosing which version of the same book to buy. She always say ‘Don’t judge a book by its cover’. Well, I say, ‘Judge away’. The author probably realize that no one will buy a book with the title written in Comic Sans and a sucky layout, so I’m pretty sure they put some thought into the covers too. I believe that it’s okay to judge books by their covers, just don’t judge people by how they look like from the outside.

Love Simply Is - The Witch of Portobello

“The day is made up of 24 hours and an infinite number of moments. We need to be aware of those moments and make the most of them regardless of whether we're busy doing something or contemplating life.”

Reading has been my hobby since I was a child. However, since school life is always hectic, I don't read as much as I'd like to, and can only do so during school holidays. This is why I am absolutely delighted when my language arts lecturer requires us to read a lot. I immediately started reading Paulo Coelho's The Witch of Portobello, which has been on my reading list for a long time.

I finished the book today, and I must say I greatly enjoyed it. The book is a story about a woman called Athena and her journey to find what she wants in life. In this journey she found her true self and got in touch with ‘The Mother’, a deity present in everything.

The book explores a lot about love, happiness, and spirituality. It talks about beliefs similar to paganism or the religion of the gypsies, and may be quite controversial in some parts (this issue is also discussed in the book). However, I find myself very much agreeing with how the author wrote major religious groups like Catholicism and Christianity. It is true that many religions today lost its meaning and fail to do good deeds because of their hypocrisy, bigotry, and ignorance.

Overall, the book is very well written. It is deep and thought provoking. Even though I am a bit confused by the changing point-of-views at first, I quickly realized why the author decided to tell the story from many people’s perspectives. It makes the character seem more ‘real’ and layered, and helps us see things in different ways at once, instead of sticking to one definite story. ‘Be different’ is, in fact, one of the things the book taught its readers.

However, rather than a narrative story, the book sounds like a lecture or an introduction to paganism at some parts, so I don't recommend this to people who thirst for adventures and dynamic plots.

"The truth is that with each step we take, we arrive."

Anime

Anime is my childhood. I think I watched the first Digimon series when I was only 6 years old. When I was in primary school, I spent my evenings watching animes that were aired in the TV with my friends. I also had some DVDs of my favorite series. I mostly watched shounen (targeted towards boys) animes, like Beyblade or Yu Yu Hakusho. They usually have more interesting plots than the ones targeted for girls. Or maybe I am influenced by my neighbors who I watched these shows with since they are both boys.

When I look back, those shows I used to enjoy seem extremely silly now. They are more than often ridiculous and filled with nonsense. I also remember the art being very very bad, with disproportionate body, misaligned eyes, and rough animation.

However, anime has come a long way. I don’t watch them anymore, but I saw the enormous development. Studio Ghibli, for instance, have animes with beautifully drawn background. The scenery in Howl’s Moving Castle is especially gorgeous.  

There are also some hidden gems in new and less popular animes. My favorite example is Kotonoha no Niwa (Garden of Words) by Makoto Shinkai. The animation is very smooth, every scene is detailed and the art is lovely.

"A faint clap of thunder. Clouded skies, perhaps rain will come. If so, will stay here with me?

A faint clap of thunder. Even if rain comes or not. I will stay here, together with you."

I don’t own emotion, I rent.

I like musicals in general, but Broadway has always amazed me. They consistently show quality storyline with music (singing and dancing, live, 8 times a week, I find it hard to believe sometimes).

I became a big fan since I first watched RENT on youtube 4 years ago. It is still my favorite musical of all time. I just appreciate how it can bring up important issues that people usually ignore, like awareness on the hardships that people living with diseases like AIDS, where they are constantly alienated by the society. It also talks about the power of love, friendship, and hope, but doesn't ignore the ugly facts (death, hate, homophobia, transphobia, etc) in our world. To top it all, I think that RENT has some of the best characters and songs. Personality wise, I like Angel. She is a  fierce and awesome trans woman. As for music, I love every song, but if I have to pick, I’d say either Seasons of Love or La Vie Boheme. Seasons of Love is quite famous, I think? La Vie Boheme is just catchy and fun.  

"I'm more of a man than you'll ever be, and more of a woman than you'll ever get." - Angel Dumott Schunard

I think that a play, movie, or book is only truly successful when they can make the audience think, reflect, and learn something. RENT made me do all that.