The Story of Word.

I browsed through the information superhighway, searching for answers to a question I asked myself almost daily: How can I increase my brain capacity?

On this quest for knowledge I learned a couple of things:

1. TV is Evil.
As you stare mindlessly at the flickering TV screen, your brain essentially goes into zombie mode, because it doesn't have to work. As much as I love Mulder and Scully, my brain is just hanging out in neutral until the mystery is solved.

2. How to Exercise Your Noggin.
Actively using multiple senses at once makes a great work out. You can:
- listen intently to the rain and focus on the scent of a candle,
- indulge in a piece of chocolate whilst studying a work of art,
- etc. etc. etc.

3. Read a book.
THIS is the inspiration for my blog. When I learned how fabulous reading was for brain stimulation, I immediately started the task of listing books that could challenge my developing mind.

This is the journal of my progress. As I finish each book, I will record my thoughts and impressions here.

Tuesday, June 23, 2009

Tuesdays With Morrie by Mitch Albom

Completion Date: 6/18/2009
Rating: <3
Number of Pages: 192

My Most Memorable Quote: This one was pretty difficult because there was a lot to learn in the book. I chose this one just because I felt like it. It just kind of shows how he looked at death and all that stuff.

"--he would not wither. He would not be ashamed of dying. Instead, he would make death his final project, the centerpoint of his days. 'Study me in my slow and patient demise. Watch what ahppens to me. Learn with me.' "

Tuesdays with Morrie...such a good book. So very sad, but another one of those books that you learn from. The moral of the story is, basically, that we just need to pay more attention to the important things in life; like family, and love, and just being positive and stuff.

When you read about this man whose days are running thin, who is completely dependant upon other people and can't do anything for himself, you wonder how he could not be racked with self-pity. I'm pretty sure I would be. I would pretty much pity myself all the time. I'd be embarrassed by the things people would have to do for me. He, on the other hand, was just always positive. It's absolutely amazing.

This book was very close to making me cry. It is so sad. You become attached to Morrie throughout the book, and as you read about his withering body, you feel some pain. At least, I did. But honestly, it's spectacular. I could read this book a million times over. If you haven't read this book, I'm sorry, but you have to.

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Thursday, June 11, 2009

The Prophet by Khalil Gibran

Completion Date: 6/11/2009
Rating: *
Number of Pages: 96

My Most Memorable Quote: This one was a toughie; There are just so many amazing quotes in this book! I almost want to do them all but . . . that would be a lot. So! I'm just going to do two. The first of which just kind of hit me because I just moved and I've found it to be true.

"Ever has it been that love knows not it's own depth until the hour of separation."

The second is when the Prophet was asked about joy and sorrow, and he goes on to explain that they are interwoven; You can not have joy without sorrow. I loved this quote, I thought it was just so cool and explains joy and sorrow really well, and kind of turns sorrow into a more positive thing.

"The deeper that sorrow carves into your being, the more joy you can contain."

Well, I love The Prophet in a different way than how I love Pride and Prejudice; There are so many lessons you learn from it. It's absolutely incredible. While Pride and Prejudice just gives me warm fuzzies because I love Mr. Darcy, The Prophet just leaves me in awe of all the things I can learn from it. This book explains emotions such as love, joy, pain, and sorrow; but it also explains things like beauty, buying, houses, clothing . . .. Somehow or another, he always finds a way to bring it back to religion and God, or applying it to your own goodness, and it's amazing! I mean, really, I was encaptured in the words I was reading; Trying my best to apply it to myself and to learn from it. I really liked, at the end, when he says,

"Less than a promise have I given, and yet more generous have you been to me.
You have given me my deeper thirsting after life.
Surely there is no greater gift to a man than that which turns all his aims into parching lips and all life into a fountain.
And in this lies my honour and my reward, --
That whenever I come to the fountain to drink I find the living water itself thirsty; And it drinks me while I drink it."

It's crazy, I know. I still have to read it a million times to even get any understanding out of it. I mean, that really is a gift and I don't think anyone really thinks about that. That metaphor right there goes pretty far over my head, and every time I think about it, I get different meanings from it, but I think that's what's so great about it.

Well, this was just an intense book. I'll definitely have to read it again when I'm older and have more of an understanding of life and things like that, but I really learned a lot from it right now. I would suggest it to most people. :)

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Wednesday, June 10, 2009

Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen

Completion Date: 6/9/2009
Rating: <3
Number of Pages: 367

My Most Memorable Quote (New to the blog!): Yeah, that's right, I'm going with the famous first line. It's just completely epic and very possibly the greatest first line in the whole wide world. It just immediately takes you into the story and tells you what's up. So here it is, My Most Memorable Quote of Pride and Prejudice:

"It is a truth universally acknowledged that a single man in possession of a good fortune must be in want of a wife."

If you know me, you know that I love this book with a passion. I am such a girl, I know, but it's just amazing! The book is extremely well written, Jane Austen is a genius. You know, I can't help but love the story. It's so romantic, and as much as I like to pretend that I'm a tough, awesome sauce baller, I am also a hopeless romantic. The story just flows beautifully. The characters are just so well developed; you feel for all of them. You feel their embarassment, you feel their pain, you feel their joy . . . SO GOOD.

Well, the story is just incredible. Elizabeth is strong, independent, witty, and just awesome sauce. Mr. Darcy is so proud, but just so incredibly amazing! Their relationship is developed so well, I just love it. My heart melts every time I read that ending . . . .

Well, it's just an amazing book. Many people think that this book is just for girls, but I would respect anyone for reading Pride and Prejudice. It's a wonderful book!


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