9.
Bookshelf.
The next installment in the quest to complete this booklet.
‘Arrange some of your favourite books on a shelf and draw the results. Explain
why you chose the books you did, and what they say about you.’
I chose these books;
-Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen.
-Anne Frank’s Diary, Anne Frank.
-Les Miserables, Victor Hugo
-Beauty, Robin McKinley
I suppose the reason I’ve chosen the books I’ve had is because they hold
memories, they're the most influential, or the hardest books to read- but they’ve left some kind of lasting impression or influence on me.
The gift of being a writer and being able to reach out to so many people is
beautiful! All of these books have taught me lessons about people, or just kept me company. I can read these
books so many times and not stop. I really wish I could include books like ‘Looking
for Alaska’ by John Green, A Clockwork Orange- but this is what happens when
you’re let loose on the college library, you tend to *forget* to buy books.
Pride and Prejudice is what I’d like to
call ‘Mine and my Mum’s book’ I remember reading it age 13 and just being so
swept away with the wit and the modernist view of Austen, not only Lizzie
Bennet- but Jane Austen too became teenage heroines for me. Plus just about
every woman on the planet has swooned over Darcy over some point in their
lifetimes, setting those unrealistic standards that poor men don’t know originate
from (this is probably it).
Anne Frank’s Diary is something I would recommend
for all teenagers to read, especially girls. Despite the vast difference of our
situations, she writes so honestly about love, family troubles and hardships
and words it so well, which is one of the reasons I believe it’s so popular- it’s
so relatable. Also, it’s a firsthand account of one of the major flaws of
humans, Anne Frank is so human and real- it really makes you wonder how the
Nazi party were able to dehumanise people and eliminate them routinely. Both
sickening and astounding I think.
Les Miserables, aside from being a wonderful novel- this copy is just
beautiful. Bought this in Burn’s book store in Galway (a rickety old place, with
floors that look like they’re on the verge of collapse and those little ladders
on the shelves that I longed to swing on like Belle from Beauty and the Beast) It’s
got the best old book smell in the world, and just pulling it from the shelf
takes me back to Ireland.
Beauty was chosen because it was one of the first proper ‘novels’ I read as a
child. Know I’ve always felt like a bit of an oddball, it was tough being a
clever 11 year old with curly hair, buckteeth (hooray for braces) and freckles.
I remember being on the very tender age with a sister seven years older than myself,
who was astoundingly lovely in my eyes. This novel completely flips Beauty and
the Beast on its head, making Beauty clumsy, snappy and not particularly beautiful-
but as she self-sacrifices herself for her family to live with the Beast, he
brings out her inner beauty and she his. Beauty and the Beast were (still is!)
my favourite Disney film and this was just a sweet retelling for a young
adolescent. I LOVED THIS BOOK!
Now I’ve written about it, I’m off to go and create some artwork. I’ll post pictures
later.
IN OTHER NEWS! The sun's shining, I have smudgy red lipstick and I'm dancing around in my pants.
Happy days! :) xxx
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