Books Worth-Reading

Books Worth-Reading

By Cathy Tejano

1. Marley and Me by Josh Grogan

Oh, I regretted buying this book! It is such a tearjerker. And if you are a dog-person, don't let me spoil your excitement, hehe. Setting aside my OAness, Josh Grogan just wrote the best dog story ever, but that's just me. In his Preface, he described how his childhood was shaped by taking care of a well-behaved dog. And when he said his world turned upside down upon meeting the worst dog Marley, he already got me. But you know what; the most mischievous dogs are the ones that become so loyal to you. "A dog is a man's best friend" is the most understatement there is. When the author's wife lost their first child, the author was so surprised how the worst dog aided such a crying woman. When they had their first child, the worst dog acted as a babysitter. There are so many miracles you can witness when you live with dogs. They can really be annoying sometimes, but the warmth they bring is... well, priceless. I am tempted to describe my own dog experiences, but another post would be appropriate I think.

2. Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte

They say reading classics is the surest way to get a headache. The prose, the native language used, and the thrift usage of periods are classic indeed. But I really wanted to know Heathcliff and Catherine's dark love story that transcends life and death, that has been the inspiration of many movies, and that made Emily Bronte the heroine of some bookworm girls. Sure enough, their love story was so morbid, depressing, creepy, and so tragic. In one chapter, Heathcliff was described standing beside a tree in the middle of the night, calling out the spirits of his beloved Catherine who seem to answer back by sending whispers through the chilly wind. It sent the chills on me too. Theirs is a story that justifies the notion that between love and hate is only love; hate is just an extreme angry expression of love (but that's just me, again). Heathcliff was a cruel, heartless creature that ever existed! Catherine was an ambitious, indifferent woman who bore another man's child. Together they make the most tragic love story, move aside Romeo and Juliet. The happy peaceful ending was attained by the next generation. That made the story comforting somehow.

3. The Return to the Secret Garden by Susan Moody

What a title indeed. I was taken back to my childhood by this book because Mary, Dickon, and Collin are my childhood heroes in the bookworld. This book tells their separate lives upon adulthood until they reached old age. In the Secret Garden, do you notice the character development being done to the characters? Mary was well defined as this snobbish, ill-tempered orphan child from India who found herself ignored by her uncle. So at the near end of the story, when she cried upon knowing that Collin can finally walk and her uncle said she is her daughter too, whoah, the tears just did not swell up on Mary's eyes, it did on mine too. I think this is a soft version of the hard-core mad Wuthering Heights. They have some similarities. Three childhood friends. English (or British) environment. Mary and Catherine are both orphans, in some ways. Dickon and Heathcliff are rugged poor boys. Collin and Edgar are well-pampered rich spoiled boys.

4. Your First Job: Your Practical Guide to Survival Success by Nelson Dy

This is a how-to type of book and as the title suggests, it guides a fresh grad to the so-called real world. The book compiles the interviews done by the author to the CEOs of the country's top companies like Unilever Philippines, Chowking, Del Monte Philippines, and so forth.

The six principles from the book are:

     -Know where you are headed.
     -Bloom where you are planted.
     -Keep your nose clean.
     -Help people on the way.
     -Further your boss's success.
     -Let go of emotional baggages.

5. Flags of our Fathers by James Bradley

This book is written by the son of one of the six soldiers in the iconic symbol of the American triumph in Iwo Jima. Still on the first few pages, I think I am bound for another worthwhile journey in the soldiers' lives before and during the worst battle of World War II. Only a few fortunate get to have a life after the war and one of them is the author's father, John Bradley. Ironically, the father never spoke about the war to his wife or children. The closest moment he mentioned was when he was shown a picture of the flag-raising icon and he just said, "The real heroes are those who never went back home." And my respect to soldiers exponentially increased right then, right there. So I bought the book. I am crossing my fingers that I get to finish this book.

What about you? What books have you bought that you read from page one to end?




For more book reviews, do visit http://www.caterine101.com
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Cathy_Tejano
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/6567052