The Silver Linings Playbook

I committed one of the unforgivable sins. I watched a movie before reading the book. After watching Silver Linings I knew this was a book I HAD to read. I loved the movie so much I knew I would love the book. I was right. There was definitely slight discrepancies between the movie and the novel, of course the ending of the book was much more melodramatic. Happy endings definitely seem to be Hollywood created. The story is about a man named Pat Peoples who suffers from mental illness. The fiction weaves his story with friends and family members that seem to all have their own issues in life as well, but treat Pat as if his issues are worse. Pat is always searching for the silver linings in his life on his way to become a better person so he can reunite with is ex-wife Nikki. Nikki cheated on Pat and caused Pat to go off the deep end in the first place.

This story is about love, life and hope. We always should be searching for those silver linings. We need to realize that without dark clouds, we wouldn't know how bright the sun is in the first place.

Looking for Alaska

I loved the book Looking for Alaska by John Green. I love books that seem so real and hit close to home. This book did have some crude morbid parts though that I didn't love. I love stories where people go somewhere new, meet different people, and experience a new culture in order to find themselves. Sometimes it does take getting away from home to find out who we are and what we stand for. I also ADORED the character Alaska. I have hardly ever loved a character as much as I hated them. The way John Green weaves Alaska into a girl who seems childishly immature and extremely adult-like is amazing. Alaska will do things you LOVE and HATE and sometimes she will even make you question your own beliefs as to what is right and wrong. Looking for Alaska is a humor a tradjedy and a romance that I think is worth the time to read.

"And so it is with God..."

Life of Pi was truly an amazing book. I have never read a book like this and I am grateful that I did. I have seen the movie which I love too. The beginning of both medias are boring, and that's how they are meant to be so please practice some patience. Try and learn from Pi, because his character is that of a teacher. Soak in the imagery of India, the heat, the people, the animals in the Pondicherry Zoo. Have an open-mind about religion and take the time to read up on the ones that you don't know about. If you take Pi's story like this, try and understand Pi himself, then the beginning chapters won't be boring at all.

Then for part two was equally amazing.

But the end, that is what is literary magic. It makes you second-guess Pi. It makes you second guess yourself.

"And so it is with God...."