Once Upon a Bookshelf

Does anyone not know what this book is about? Well, if not, it’s about a bunch of school boys who get stranded on a deserted island when their plane crashes. All of the adults on the plane (mainly pilot, crew, etc.) get killed, and it’s up to the kids to fend for themselves and to attempt to get rescued. Ralph is elected as chief, but things soon start to go wrong when the hunters start thinking that hunting is more important than keeping a fire for a smoke signal going. This leads to a great division between the group of boys, a clash of society vs barbarianism if you will. Things keep going downhill, and the hunters have formed their own (terrifying) tribe, which will leads to some terrifying events on the island.

I first read this book back in grade nine. I remember loving it – it had such a huge impact on me, for a number of reasons. I was a lot more impressionable at that age. I had no idea what the story was about, so it completely surprised me. And I was a lot closer in age to the kids in the book, so I think I could empathize with them a little bit better. So this time around, I found it a little bit disappointing. I knew what to expect, so it didn’t hold that shock value to the same extent (a little bit, but I’ll get back to that point later). I’m not nearly as impressionable now (or at least I would like to believe), and I really can’t empathize with any of the characters. It just reminds me of how much books can affect you differently at different times in your life. It’s making me wonder if I would hate the same books now that I did when I first read them in high school. Hmm.

Anyway, shock value! I still found a little bit of it there – I think perhaps parts of it had faded in my memory, so those instances still shocked me. Like the killing of Simon. Heck, like the scene of Simon with the pig’s head. Creepy! Or the hunting of Ralph. But it wasn’t as intense this time around because there were other things that totally stuck out in my mind – like the death of Piggy and the breaking of the conch. It wasn’t such an intense one-shock-after-another experience.

Because it wasn’t such an intense experience this time around, I found it a teensy bit disappointing this time. But because of my experience the first time around, I would still consider this to be a favourite of mine.

What I really did like this time around was seeing the character development, seeing how being stranded on a deserted island had an effect on certain characters. I didn’t remember Ralph’s lapsing ability to be a leader, and that was fascinating. I loved seeing what was happening to Simon. And the boys who turned savage… well, I wouldn’t say that I loved it, but I couldn’t turn away from it. It was like a train wreck…

The Bottom Line: I think this is something everyone should read at least once. It’s scary, but it gives a glimpse of (terribly horrifying) possibilities, and it’s a great piece in the debate as to whether humans are inherently good or evil.

To Kill a Mockingbird is my first book for the What’s In A Name Challenge, and is my selection for the “book with an animal in its title” category.

This book spans a couple of years of Scout’s childhood. Taking place in a small Southern town during the Depression, this is both one of the most heartwarming and one of the most heartbreaking stories I’ve read. I love this book. I did when I read it for the first (and only until now) time about ten years ago, and I’m so happy that my love for it didn’t die down when I read it again now. I’m also somewhat surprised that so much of the book stuck with me. Even before I saw the play this summer, I could remember a good portion of the book, and it was surprising to realize how little of it I didn’t remember. When a book sticks with you that clearly then you know it’s a wonderful book. Especially when it still brings you tears, still makes you smile and still makes you really think.

The characters in it are so real, and Atticus Finch… what can I say that does justice to Atticus? There should be more people in the world like him, and we should all totally strive to live up to the examples he shows us. Even if he is only a fictional character. Almost every thing that comes out of his mouth is something we could all apply to our own lives.

“Simply because we were licked a hundred years before we started is no reason for us not to try to win,” Atticus said.

So happy I reread this, and so happy that it still moved me as much as the first time around.

I think the majority of people have at least an idea of what The Phantom of the Opera is about. It’s been made into countless movies, a musical, etc etc etc. The Paris Opera House in the 19th century is “haunted” by what everyone believes is a ghost, but is really just a disfigured man who has taken to living in the Opera House. The Opera Ghost falls in love with Christine, a soprano who sings at the Opera House, and kidnaps her, resulting in her lover, Raoul, hunting down the Phantom.

I’ve seen the musical, and I saw the movie that was an adaptation of the musical, so I went into this book knowing what to expect in the story. I found that a lot was similar to the main story for the musical. Some of the characters roles, however, had been changed fairly significantly – Madame Giry, for example, in the novel is a concierge who looks after those sitting in the boxes, whereas in the musical she’s a choreographer of the ballet (and in the movie she also saved the Phantom from a circus, and brought him to live at the Opera House). In the movie and musical, Giry is the one to bring Raoul to the Phantom’s house below the Opera House, whereas in the book there’s a completely different character – the Persian – who knew the Phantom from before he established himself at the Opera House.

The Persian was definitely my favourite character in the book. Not only because I hadn’t expected him at all in the book, but partly because his story is the closest we get to learning about the Phantom’s past.

This is my first book for the RIP II Challenge. After reading this book and watching a television special on Ambrose Small (the ghost who haunts the Grand Theatre in London, ON), I’m thinking I may add a book about Small to my RIP list. It would certainly be good follow up to The Phantom – both relating to ghostly stuff in theatres… it might be fun. :)