Dear Tim,
It has been cold throughout the week, and we were informed on the weather forecast that another wave of cold air will be blanketing Taiwan starting next week, and the temperature could descend to 6 degrees Celsius. I don’t know what I am to do, should the forecast be accurate, for I have put on my scarf, hat, gloves, etc. in these days already, and yet I still feel insufficient. Hope I would survive :D
Finishing Harry Potter and Moving on to the Next One
Last Saturday, I went to Eliza’s house with my mom, for she and her sisters (my aunts) were going to watch traditional Taiwanese drama, and whilst they were out, I was supposed to stay at her house for the whole day, and I took the chance to devour my book of Harry Potter. It was sure a reverie-filled world built on the pre-existing world we live now live in. Quite like Percy Jackson, there is an oblique method to enter their universe, and…
Okay, stop. I should stop comparing a universe to another so I would be able to focus on the good part of a single universe.
The story of Harry Potter has almost everything: A protagonist with a tragic backstory; magical creatures and spells, friendship development, betrayal, help from an unexpected character, teacher of wisdom, etc. In such a compact novel of around three hundred pages, the author managed to fit all of them in and still, it’s not overwhelming. People find the reflections of their own in different situations, and the plots resonate with the heart of the readers. It was a feast for the brains of the people in front of the words and lines, and I had to restrain myself from immediately grabbing the second installation, just to have a peek on what happens to the protagonists in the Chamber of Secret. I don’t want to finish all the books in one single gulp; have some suspense.
However, I did move on to my next book:
Maurice, written by E.M. Forster.
It is supposedly a book on homosexuality and self-discovery. One day, I was surfing the Net when I saw someone with a book -this book-, and what caught my eye was not the cover nor the title of the book (The book I saw on the Internet had a different cover) It was the name of the author, E.M Forster, that snatched my immediate attention. It was a name I am familiar with, I was sure. I then started to pull out my mental list of the books I own, and it was only after five minutes that I realized that the name was of an author whose book appeared on the read list of the first year of senior high school, one all the students were obligated to buy one. It was a lecture of his, on the elements in a novel or any sort of stories made into a book, but since it was supposed to be a lecture, it was dull and unmotivating, so I believe that none of us in the school had ever really finished reading the book.
This book was different. I have been reading it for half a week right now, and it was far from dull, and moreover, as indicated in the back of the cover, it was beautifully written and profound. It was not a mere gay romance as one thinks it would be; it was beyond. It told the story about friendship that blooms into something deeper, and the denial, the disbelief one might encounter en route to self-recognition. In the book, E.M. Forster discussed not only about sexual orientation, but also one’s belief in religion, and the pressure one might encounter when you choose to have different religious beliefs (or have none, in the case of this book). The mortal struggle was wrapped up delicately with various descriptions as the characters went through the stages of self-hatred, self-reflection, and the eventual self-understanding, and those are the parts that really touched the hearts of the readers, including me.
Looking back at myself, I didn’t have that much a dramatic crisis or breakdown three years ago, when I opened myself to others options, I did not have the background that made me doubt myself that much. However, with the book, I could still see a bit of myself, scattering here and there in the book.
 |
| Me reading Maurice on the MRT when my cousin was sleeping. |
I like how the book describes emotions with real physical objects like the water, the sky, etc. while at the same time it could also just be plainly a color and be sufficient. For this winter break, we have only one assignment: Write a reading report in English.
I think I just found the book I’m going to write about.
Small trip to Bookstores
This Monday, before I had to go to attend my German class, I took the MRT to the Gonguan Station, the station where NTU is located. Normally, people who aren’t students of the NTU go there for the theaters or the night markets, and for the most of the time, I am not much of an exception. But this time, I was looking for something more beautiful: Bookstores. Being the place of the most prestigious university, it is only safe to guess those nice bookstores can be found.
I went to the Google Map on my cell phone for directions and went to a second-handed bookstore, Molly. It had a nice atmosphere, and even though it was a “second-handed” bookstore, only a few of the books can be seen harmed. A pity that the sense of antiquity in a second-handed bookstore was obliterated with this feature. Also, in the bookstore were mostly books in Chinese. One thing different about books printed in Taiwan is that they use first-used paper when printing instead of the recycled paper when printing a book in a lot of other countries. The smell of the pages often come from those kinds of paper, so you can’t really smell the scent of books upon entering the bookstore.
Overall, it wasn’t a bookstore for me, but apparently it was a nice one for most of the people, for many customers visit the place and were giving close inspection to the books that caught their eyes; I even saw a girl rambling about this book and that to her boyfriend (I guess he is her boyfriend). Sure, it was a clean place and has also space for customers to take off their shoes and sit and read. I would be nicer if there were more books that can surprise me, I would totally like it more.
Still, one thing notable is that they are still in need of some used books, and my thoughts turned to the books that are under the small couch of my study, which are the ones given by my cousin years ago because she didn’t want them anymore. When I took it back, the series titled, A Series of Unfortunate Events by Lemony Snicket, I tried diving into the plots in the first installation, but I believe it was in a tone too pessimistic, so I decided it would be better if they were in the hands of a better owner. One day, I will bring them to this bookstore, and I hope that they can find a better owner than I am.
Then, I moved on to the next bookstore called the Whose Used Books. It was a bookstore on the second floor, also inside a small alley. It sure indeed, was a surprise. I went immediately to the third floor, which on the directory, I was told that there are English books. A whole shelf was there, standing quietly like a guard, with tons of used English novels! The smell was distinct, and when I turned around, there were also shelves full of Japanese and Korean books. It was a world of shelves that hold diversity!
I roamed the story a while longer (mostly around the English shelves) until I wandered off into a corner which was decorated with two kinds of flags: France’s and Germany’s.
I was seriously impressed, for I have only seen threes places that sell books from countries like France and Germany: Librairie le Pigeonnier for French books, and Sunny Hills for German, and also the International Book Fair for both. This place makes the fourth. It was compelling, of how they managed to gather foreign used novels and books on such a large scale. I picked two of the children’s book, one for both language, and it was so much cheaper than the new ones.
It was already five thirty in the evening when I paid for my books, I walked three stations to the station of my cram school, and I was exhausted. But so content was I.
Right on the Deadline
I know, it doesn't seem like I was doing much for this week, but a lot of time was spent on reading, learning languages, playing on my cell phone, taking care of my cousins with my mom, doing chores, etc.
So there wasn’t much to write about. That and the lazy spirit was not to be removed until the end of the week. However, a promising thing is that next week would be much more lively, for there will be some volunteering work in the public library, and afterward would be a small meet up with Cathy, and during the weekend, there will be a movie date with two of my friends from junior high school. That would be something I would be writing about next week.
Sincerely,
Hugo
No comments:
Post a Comment