Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck

Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


In every bit of honest writing in the world there is a base theme. Try to understand men, if you understand each other you will be kind to each other. Knowing a man well never leads to hate and nearly always leads to love. There are shorter means, many of them. There is writing promoting social change, writing punishing injustice, writing in celebration of heroism, but always that base theme. Try to understand each other.

— John Steinbeck in his 1938 journal entry

In John Steinbeck's book, Of Mice and Men,he was able to clearly mirror how it is to truly understand a person through George's character. Lennie, a physically able but mentally challenged man, had been George's companion for a long time. Lennie caused him such big troubles but he was still able to tolerate him, because to him, Lennie was like a brother. The kind of friendship between George and Lennie is very rare nowadays. It is not often that one can find a person who can understand and who is willing to sacrifice for you.

The ending of the book was a tearjerker. I could almost feel the weight of the gun in George's hand and the emotional burden he had to carry when he shot Lennie. He had no other choice but to pull the trigger because he cannot bear the thought of other people killing Lennie out of mere cruelty and spite. But George did it out of brotherly love.

This book is genuinely human.



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For Whom the Bell Tolls by Ernest Hemingway

For Whom the Bell Tolls by Ernest Hemingway

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


You know you’ve devoured a good book when after going over the last line you feel somewhat ethereal - an unworldly feeling of satisfaction. Well, that is what I felt with this book.

This is my first of Hemingway and my second war novel (first was Vonnegut’s Slaughterhouse Five).
When I picked it up from my book rack, I told myself “Hmmm.. Hemingway. This must be a difficult book”, but I was proven wrong. Hemingway’s stylistic choice of words, the density and intelligent distribution of his sentences, his judicious use of figures of speech made every part of the book graspable – the scenes, vivid… the sound, almost audible.

His use of simple Shakespearean language and Spanish profanity, I found really amusing. The former gave added classic tone to the book and the latter, a little jest. But what I really loved about this book was the genuine emotionalism it evoked. There were parts that made me laugh; parts that stirred anger and hate; parts that provoked compassion and fondness and profound pathos for each character that had my eyes pour out lacrimal fluid. There were even times when I had to pause flicking its pages, stare at some random things without even seeing them and smile because of how succinctly beautiful the words were written.

I can give this book a multitude of 5 stars. And if you will ask me how much I love this book, I’ll say, “A bushel and a peck and some in a gourd” :)




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Anne of Green Gables by L.M Montgomery

Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


I always value the things I learn from the books I've read and with this particular book, I have learned one very important thing and that is having a wide SCOPE OF IMAGINATION.

Today, our world is set in a very swift pace that people can no longer enjoy the luxury of imagination. It is sad that people see things merely as they are. But what saddens me more is that children nowadays seem to lack that wide "scope of imagination" because technology deprives them of it. I no longer see children playing "bahay-bahayan" which during my childhood made me imagine a lot of things. I used to go out with my friends and scout the neighborhood for wild fruits and then pretend to buy and/or sell them using candy wrappers as money. :D I miss my childhood. And I feel so lucky that I was able to taste and enjoy a rich childhood.

Anne of Green Gables is certainly the best children's book I've read.





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The Lost Symbol by Dan Brown

The Lost Symbol by Dan Brown

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


Freemasonry, being the base theme was enough to entice me to read yet another book by Dan Brown. My strong philia for The Lost Symbol roots from my father's being a freemason. Through this book I was able to understand more about the brotherhood - their history, the symbols they use and the significance of each.

This was the first book I've read this year (January 2011) and I can say that it has given me a good head start in my reading challenge. :)



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