Off The Shelf

Night Elie Wiesel 115 pages {Thin Yet Thick reads might be short in page length - 200 pages or less - but are thick and deep in meaning.} In his memoir, winner of the 1986 Nobel Peace Prize, Elie Wiesel describes his terrifying experiences in the concentration camps of World War II. Born in Sighet, Transylvania (present-day Hungary) Wiesel was taken along with his family in 1944 to Auschwitz, and then later on to Buchenwald with his father. As a teenager, Wiesel's faith was put to the ultimate test as he witnessed and suffered from the in-humane experiences which must never be allowed to happen again. Wiesel's writing style throughout the book is very consistent, and purposeful. Maybe it is part of the translation, but his sentences are simple and short, giving the voice of the story a sharp and impactful feeling. This writing style also leaves the reader feeling as if they have been told everything. Night is raw and real, unabashed and unabridged. It shows ...

The Great Gatsby F. Scott Fitzgerald 180 pages I don't feel I have the credibility to really write a review of the novel, therefore I would like to use the opportunity of this 100th post to discuss what is said to be the greatest American novel of all time: The Great Gatsby . The city seen from the Queensboro Bridge is always the city seen for the first time, in its first wild promise of all the mystery and beauty in the world.   - page 68 New York, 1922. The Jazz Age is in full swing, and with World War I at a close, the American people are restless, alive with post-war excitement and opportunity. Nick Carraway has just moved to Long Island looking to get started in the "bond business", and winds up buying a home next door to the grand and mysterious Jay Gatsby. After being invited to one of his neighbor's lavish parties, Nick soon learns of Gatsby's secrets, and the love he is desperately trying to find again. The following are some of my favorite p...

Spring has arrived. The season took its time this year, waltzing in a week or so later that its scheduled date. But, never the less, it has come. And, with the calender telling us it is April, I thought I would also take a moment to point out this month is National Poetry Month. The following is the poem O Sweet Spontaneous by e.e. cummings, written in 1920. Many reviews of this poem I have seen read in to this poem much deeper that its surface meaning - relating it to society and its problems - but I like this piece for its ease. e.e. cummings describes spring's beauty without ever actually describing it. He doesn't embellish the blue skies, or the smell of the lilies. He doesn't listen to the bees buzzing or the robins chirping. The sun does not warm his face, nor do the new emerald green leaves give him shade. To him, spring just is. O sweet spontaneous earth how often have the doting fingers of prurient philosophers pinched and poked thee ,has the na...

Between Shades of Gray Ruta Sepetys 338 pages It is 1941 and World War II is tearing through Europe, but the horrific events taking place in the Baltic states of Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia are unknown to the rest of the world. Fifteen-year-old Lina Vilkas is winding down the school year, and spending her free-time lost in colored pencils and paint, when a knock on her front door changes her life forever. She and her family are taken from their home in Lithuania by the Soviet secret police and are thrown into cattle cars bound for northern Siberia. Along the way, Lina embeds clues into her drawings hoping if they are passed along, they might reach her father, and bring him back to them. In this moving story, Lina will spend the next twelve years fighting for her life as well as others' in the prison camps the world never knew about. The horrific events that occurred between 1941 and 1954 under the rule of Josef Stalin was a part of history I had never heard of before readi...

It has been much too long since I have posted here, but I finally have something exciting to write about. Last Wednesday, I was choosen to attend the Teen Arts Festival as a representative of my school in the Creative Writing category. It was a day-long event filled with feedback seminars, art-viewing, and workshops for all kinds of artists. In attending the Writing Feedback Seminar, I received great praise for my short story, as well as advise and suggestions about the writing life in general. Attendees were placed in small groups of four to five, and were able to read aloud their writing while others looked on with their own copies. After this session, a friend and I attended a poetry reading, where anyone was welcome to make their way to the podium and read aloud. The rest of the day was spent viewing dance performances, browsing the art exhibits and getting a bite to eat in the cafeteria. Overall, it was a fantastic day, and I hope I get the oppo...

To Kill a Mockingbird Harper Lee 376 pages I few years ago, I read Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird for the first time. Looking back now, I can say that I was too young to fully understand this timeless novel. At that time, I was baffled by words like cynical , amiable , and chiffarobe - words that were key to the story and its meaning. Now, four years later, this book has been given much more meaning for me. And I'd like to share that with you. Introduction To Kill a Mockingbird tells the unforgettable story of a sleepy southern town, in the years post  - Great Depression. It tackles the common issues of growing up, and doing what is right, although that action may not be the easiest. Atticus Finch, and his children see the effects that hatred and bias have on their town first-hand, and through the eyes of young Scout, the reader will experience it too. Characters My favorite character from To Kill a Mockingbird is most certainly Miss Maudie Atkinson, the wido...

  On Friday night, a few friends and I went to see the film adaption of Nicholas Sparks' novel Safe Haven  starring Julianne Hough and Josh Duhamel.   The theater was filled mostly with teenage girls, most of whom were clinging to tissues and each other by the time the credits started rolling. Here is my brief introduction to the story from a previous post: After traveling from place to plate for several months, Katie Feldman has finally settled down in Southport, North Carolina, the classic small town where everyone knows everything about everybody. But Katie has a secret, something she has worked to keep hidden since she left Boston. Just when she thinks Southport is not the place for her, Katie meets Alex - a kind, widowed store owner with two young children. As Katie struggles with her private knowledge, and her feelings for Alex, she comes to discover that love is the only true safe haven.   Now here's the thing about reading the book first, ...