Why You Should Encourage People, Especially Children to Read Harry Potter!

I think for my generation in particular, Harry Potter has a very special place in our hearts. There was nothing as exciting as the new Harry Potter book coming out! We went crazy. We waited outside shops so we could get our copies. We dressed up as wizards and witches and all waited for our acceptance letters... I feel sorry for the generations after us, who will have no idea what life was like the one week before and after a new release. I honestly hope that something comes out to fill the space that Harry Potter left in our lives.

Just because all the books and all the films are out doesn't mean Harry Potter is over. I believe that it is our duty as Potter Veterans to make sure that people remember why it was so special. So this is my reminder. Hopefully this will encourage someone to pass on the magical vibes and maybe even cause a parent to pick up a copy for their child (although it's perfectly alright to pick one up for themselves too - wink, wink, nudge nudge.)


1) Harry Potter Makes the Reader Want to Create

There's just something magical about these books that push the "create" button in people who are artistic.

Perhaps it's the endless wonder that we experience while reading that brings back that sense of innocence in older readers or the excitement of endless possibilities in younger ones. Either way it is a welcome nudge in the creative direction that we are all in need of from time to time.



2) There is No Gain Without Loss

This is an important lesson for anyone.

Harry Potter is just a boy who found out his past is far greater than he could ever have imagined and his future must be as well. But nothing is ever easy. Nearly every step he takes makes him an outcast, endangers his friendships/education or causes him to lose someone.

There is no easy path for the hero just as there is no easy path for us in life. Harry Potter is the boy who saves the day but he also suffers and causes great suffering along the way.


3) All the Characters Grew With Us

Don't you just want to eat them? Or squish them or put a bow on their heads or something...

All of the main characters start around the same age at the beginning of the book. This sounds pretty obvious I know but what I mean to say is that as the story goes on the characters develop, deepen and mature. The characters at the beginning of the book are young and their world is already in that very vulnerable stage where they are not children anymore but they are not quite teenagers yet either. This is a difficult part of all of our lives and I think to be able to read about fictional characters you admire helps us to deal with our own insecurities.

As they develop their problems (I'm talking about everyday situations not fighting the bad guys) shift with them. Children/teenagers will find daily struggles slightly less intimidating or embarrassing because the great and wonderful Harry Potter also got refused a date to the ball and Ron Wesley is worse at romance than is humanly possible.

The Hermione in the books is also physically very different to the one in the movies. Hermione is intelligent not beautiful. She has frizzy hair and buck teeth and she is the only one who knows her stuff in the gang. This is a huge ego boost for girls particularly in that stage where they are questioning EVERYTHING about themselves.




4) The Language of the Books Developes as They go Along

The books not only get thicker as they go along but the language and vocabulary developes as well. This is an easy transition and a great way for people to increase their own vocabulary as they read. I'm not sure if this was a conscious decision or the editors finally gave J. K. Rowling free range to explore once the books were a success but either way there is a noticeable difference between the language structure of the first and last books.






5) There are Good Jabs at Modern/Recent Historical Mentalities  

Does this costume remind you of anything?

Imagine it white with a red cross painted on it.

This is a Death Eater costume. These are the followers of Lord Voldermort the evil wizard. The reason these people are the bad guys is because they believe that normal humans (people without magic) are beneath wizards and witches and do therefore not deserve to be treated as equals.

Sounds familiar, doesn't it?

This is a wonderful way of instilling a sense of morals and equality within young people.

Another way this story does this is through the house elves. In the second book a wonderfully adorable character is introduced: Dobby. Dobby is a house elf who belongs to the Malfroy family - Harry Potter's enemy and bully from school. A house elf is a servant who serves the family they belong to until they die or are set free by their masters. When Hermione learns about the struggles of these creatures' daily lives, she takes it upon herself to bring awareness to both the people who employ them and the house elves themselves. She is appalled when she realizes how the wizarding world uses them as slaves and is determined to make a difference in these poor creatures' lives. She is unsuccessful, she is made an outcast for her efforts but she makes her stand. We all love Dobby. We all suffer when he suffers but Hermione is the only one to try and change the situation. By doing this J. K. Rowling points out people's reluctance to change, especially when the change is not to their benefit. Harry Potter, our knight in shining armour, does not take up the cause because he does not feel as passionate about it as Hermione but this doesn't make her plight any less righteous. Instead this teaches us to stand up for what we believe in, even if those closest around us don't see things the way we do.


6) It's OK to be the Odd-One-Out

Harry Potter doesn't have very many friends. In fact, when he has a serious fight with Ron in the fourth book he finds himself quite alone. Harry spends a lot of time feeling like the odd-one-out but he is told in the last book by a friend that he gave people strength by standing up for what he believed in no matter the consequences.

Another very important oddball is Luna Lovegood. Her nickname is Luney Lovegood because of her eccentric ways but she turns out to be one of the most genuine and caring characters you will meet in the story. She has a heart of gold and courage to match and she's alright with being alone. She doesn't have very many friends or a good reputation in school but she is the rock that never moves. She knows who she is and she has the confidence to be that person no matter what. This is a lesson people big and small have to learn.

Another very, very interesting and beautiful thing about this character is the actress. I don't really want to get into the films here but I think I need to add this just for everyone to understand what type of person J. K. Rowling is and what she inspires people to do. Evanna Lynch (Luna Lovegood) wrote to J. K. many times as a child and expressed her desire to act in the movies. J. K. then promised her an audition if Evanna could beat her anorexia. Evanna battled with anorexia for two years and then went on to beat 15, 000 other girls for the role of Luna Lovegood.


7) Never Judge a Book by its Cover - Or People for That Matter

I remember while I was reading the books my mother told be to watch out for Neville Longbottom because he would turn into something great and I remember laughing and saying no way. Neville Longbottom was the boy who got everything wrong. He was the boy who lost everything, forgot everything, fell off his broom and broke his wrist. He was the little boy who lived with and feared his grandmother. He was the son of two very famous aurors (wizarding police who catch people who practise the dark arts) but an all out failure. Neville was brave if he was nothing else.

But Neville becomes a beacon of hope towards the end of the story. He makes the stand and he stands tall. There are no more broken wrists and lost toads but an organization that helps and protects the weak and a leader who puts others first. He is a crucial part to the ending. He becomes this man of the greatest courage and stays true to his beliefs and inner-self no matter the threats thrown his way.

J. K. Rowling took that boy we all laughed at and she turned him into a hero. What a wonderful message to give to those who don't necessarily feel like they are part of the crowd or that people don't respect them. For all you Neville Longbottoms (myself included) hold tight and be true and one day maybe we will all find the courage to pull a sword out of a hat.


8) You can Make Peace with Your Enemies

From the moment they meet, Draco Malfroy and Harry Potter are enemies. What was once a bully-at-school relationship turns into a full out advisory as they find themselves on opposing sides. Malfroy is forced into a very tricky situation through his family's alliances and threats to his own life and sinks further into trouble and farther from hope. But under remarkable circumstances Harry and Draco manage to put aside their differences. They are never classified as friends but the tension between them is dissolved.

It's very difficult for us to imagine an ending to a problem or an unsavoury situation let alone a peaceful ending to a conflict. Harry and Draco are enemies from the get-go and to see them be able to put aside their differences and forget the past brings hope to anyone struggling to get along with someone. Everyone has experienced some form of bullying in their lives and to see it resolve (if only on paper and in fiction) brings a sense of catharsis.


9) There is No one You Couldn't Learn to Love Once You've Learnt Their Story 

Tom Riddle is the little boy who eventually grows up to become the most evil wizard in history. As the story goes on we learn more and more of Tom Riddle's past and why he became the psychopath that he did. Tom grows up in an orphanage so he was brought up in an environment with little love and to top it all he is different from the other children. Things happen around him because of the magic in his blood that can't be explained and this makes him an outcast. He is bullied and shunned and tries to make up for this by stealing the other orphans' things as punishment. We do nothing but feel for the little boy who has no friends and who eventually finds a home in Horgwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. It is very easy to blame people as we blame the Tom Riddle/Lord Voldermort that we know in the earlier books but it is as we get to know him that we understand... To understand someone as the way they are and forgive them for it is a very difficult thing and I could not hate the man little Tom Riddle became once I knew his past. I also see him as a modern interpretation of people such as Hitler. We cannot and never will know the complete story of anyone's past but we have to assume that great acts of torture come from deeply rooted torments.


10) A Ride on a Train Could be the Start of Anything

I don't know if there is any truth behind this story but seeing how it is incorporated into the books I think there must be some truth in it. J. K. Rowling allegedly planned the story for the Harry Potter books on a train ride. She then ran with this idea and I do not exaggerate when I say she changed the world. She helped mold the imaginations of children and adults a like. She is an inspiration to everyone with a dream and particularly people who want to write. She is the perfect example of how a train ride can change your life, just as it did with her main character: Harry Potter.

Devil's Consort - Anne O'brien

 The Devil's Consort is about Eleanor of Aquitaine. A rich owner of a significant amount of land in the 12th century. This book tells the story of how she went from a Duchess to Queen of France to eventually Queen of England.

I'm not really sure what I was expecting...

Let's start with the cover >>>>

I think you know what I mean. All fluff and no substance. I really should have seen it coming.

This book is about one of my favourite women in history but I have to be honest; I wrote something similar to this when I was 15...

The characters have no real depth. There are no differences between their inner and outer motives. The main character: Eleanor has no substance. Eleanor of Aquitaine was not known for her humility but in this book she is egotistical to a fault. I felt like I was reading a book written by one of those jacked-up, feminist ranters...

"I was Eleanor of Aquitaine..."

"My looking glass confirmed what could have been mere flattery..."

"I was beautiful..."

"I was the Duchess of Aquitaine..."  

Blah, blah, blah, blah...

Eleanor was not known to be humble but a women who achieved what she did in her age could not have been. She had strong will and determination, neither of which come through in this book. The Eleanor in the book is hedonistic and shallow. Her entire life revolves around the bedchamber and her need to be treated well by the men she allows in her bed. In real life she was known for her lovers and her great need for a male heir but WHERE were the politics??? 

We're talking about a woman who divorced the King of France despite the fact she had no consent from the Pope. WHERE were the mind games, the resourcefulness, the strategies? There were no seeds planted to reaped at a later chapter. Everything in the book is decided within a few lines and is put into action right away. She took on one of the main servants of the King's mother because the girl said she could use her advice... Does that make sense at all? This girl Agnes turns up in her chambers and says that she will always tell the Queen the truth and she gets the job! She becomes Eleanor's right-hand maid... Please, please, please... Eleanor not once suspects that this girl could be a spy. She never once questions the girl's advice. She never once questions whether the girl is telling the truth or not. But I think that's not the worst part. The worst part is that this girl turns out to be nothing but a servant willing to serve... Where's the depth?

The language of the book is bland to a fault... The ENTIRE book is like: King Louis is like a monk so she can't get some from him but she really fancies this guy cause he's so handsome but then there's my uncle who is perfect in every way but we're related so I think I'll just go and marry the first guy I took on as a lover's son cause he's younger and knows what he wants and magical in the bedroom...

Disappointed?

I know I was.

It says on the cover "Better than Philippa Gregory - The Bookseller". I'm no fan of Gregory either; she's another author that writes for women's vanity but at least one of her book became a movie and three more a series...

Eleanor of Aquitaine grew up in a comparatively modern part of France as we know it; with a grandfather who was known for his talent as a poet. She was educated. She grew up knowing she would inherit her father's land and spent her youth travelling them with him to learn how to govern them. She knew how to manipulate people. She was cultured and fashionable. And most importantly she knew what she wanted. We are talking about a women who divorced the King of France in the 12th century... 

She was not a ranting, hyped-up feminist... 

And the Mountains Echoed - Khaled Hosseini

And the Mountains Echoed  is about a brother and sister in Kabul. Their story spans out across 60 years which include the troubled time of the Taliban. This book has a strong streak of self sacrifice and is a good criticism of humanity in general.

I'm assuming Hosseini expects you to have read his other books before reading this one because he does not go into the politics or blow-by-blow accounts of the Taliban's actions but focuses on the effects they had on the people of Kabul's lives.

*Spoiler Alert ON*

Catharsis - the process of releasing and thereby providing relief from, strong or repressed emotions.
(Thank you Google!)

We use this term in film a lot. The ending of a story is when then reader/audience experiences catharsis and feels relief. For example the good guy kills the bad guy and gets the girl. This does not necessarily mean that it has to be a perfectly happy ending: the good guy could beat the bad guy but not get the girl because she's in love with someone else but we're happy for the good guy anyway because he proved himself to be a worthy hero.

I, in no meaning of the word, experienced any sort of catharsis while reading this book. I can understand and appreciate a unhappy ending but not to this extent and in actual fact it put me off his other books as well. The Daily Telegraph as written "Hosseini pulls of his usual - impressive - trick of breaking your heart and leaving you smiling" on the cover and I have to say that I did not smile at all. I had to force myself to find one small breath of kindness in his ending and finding it only made me angry.

I understand that life is not always perfect and rarely ends well but this was too much of a stretch for me.

Now I have that off my chest... Hosseini came up with a few fantastic similes in rather unexpected places in the book which really made me laugh and feel a connection with him. I felt like each one was a small victory for him. I, of course, know nothing of the editing process this book went through but every time I read a sentence that made me laugh I found myself imaging Hosseini doing a small victory dance as he slipped that one passed the editor. They are a breath of fresh air in an extremely tragic sorry.

There are some really good jabs at human nature in this. I would like to focus on my two favourites: The cousins Timur and Idris. These boys escape to America with the rise of the Taliban and become men. Timur starts a used car company and becomes a quick success whereas Idris struggles through medical school to eventually become a successful doctor but this process is long and wears at Idris' pride. He has to borrow money from Timur for his father's funeral and is jealous of his rich cousin. Idris believes that every good deed Timur does, he does because he likes the attention. Every act of charity the businessman does in done in front of a crowd and to their cheers. Timur is a man praised in the Afghan community in America.

When I read Idris' appraisal of his cousin it made me think. Was Idris just jealous or was Timur doing it all for the show? How much charity do we actually do without the applause? When we run marathons or do walks for charities we all wear their shirts/badges. We all post our pictures on social media so all our friends know what a good person we are. But Timur is also a member of an ethnic minority. An esteemed member of an ethnic minority is a very politically advantaged person to be. In the book Idris explains how Timur arranged everything for his uncle's funeral with a few phone calls. By playing the "giver" Timur opened all doors he possibly could within the American-Afghan community. He was known and loved by everyone. When they get back to America after a trip to Afghanistan Idris decides to go to an Afghan restaurant which he later realizes is only open for business because Timur lent the owner money... But, but, but... we see Timur mainly through Idris' eyes who is without a doubt jealous of his socially active and successful cousin. Timur saw an opportunity, took it and made a name for himself which is something Idris would never have the courage to do.

We see Idris take the initiative once in the book. During the cousins' trip to Afghanistan they meet a little girl in a hospital. She had taken an ax to the head and part of her skull had broken away. This had nothing to do with the Taliban but happened at a time when men and women were not allowed to go to the same hospital. Her doctor had her separated from the other patients and was doing her best to get her the operation she needed to heal.

When Idris meets her, he is caught in this flow of human compassion that we all feel from time to time and promises he will bring the girl to America and make sure she gets her operation. He buys her a television and movies so she has some small comfort in her hospital room and stays with her as much as possible. He makes it back to America and does he run straight to his boss at the hospital? No... Does he eventually tell his boss about the girl? Yes... And does he fight for her when his boss says no? Of course not... By that time he is back in his routine and once more surrounded by the comfort of his home and family. He forgot his guilt and his compassion. Out of sight, out of mind... We blame him because we know he was wrong to do what he did but how many of us would have done differently? To fight for the girl would take patience, stamina and strength of will. Not many of us feel passionate about something to the extent we can fight all obstacles in our way to make sure what needs to be done is done. Most of us are like Idris who has not fought for anything and will not fight for anything in his life.

Timur gets the girl her operation.

I think that sentence means a lot. We blamed Timur for his possibly faked goodwill but he got the girl to America and got her her operation. What does Idris do? He turns up to one of her book signings to find out if she mentioned him in the book and damaged his reputation...

When he found out an old promise and old passion had come back to haunt him; he went to assess the damage...

Idris has his wife, his children, his job and his house with a built in cinema. The comforts of the modern world separate us from other people who do not have even the basic necessities because they blind our senses. They make us close the shutters because we have nothing we need to fight for we do not understand the suffering of someone who does. I sit here with my laptop and my fridge and I am guilty of this.

You probably are too...

A Thousand Splendid Suns - Khaled Hosseini

A Thousand Splendid Suns is set in Afghanistan over the period of the rise and fall of the Taliban. It focuses on two girls who turn into women throughout the course of this book and the changes the Taliban brought into their lives and the bravery of the people who stood fast to pick up the pieces afterwords.

This is a tragically, tragically beautiful book. I have to admit that I liked it more before I read And Then The Mountains Echoed because I could deal with the ending better. Let's face it, if you're reading a Hosseini book, you don't expect a perfectly happy ending. I respect this, it brings a great sense of reality to his stories. There is no gain without loss or happiness without suffering.

As Andrew Stanton said: "Make me care." One of the keys to a great story is making your audience care about your characters. You immediately care about the main character Mariam. She's a bastard living in seclusion with her mother. She spends her weeks waiting for the day her father who comes to visit her once a week. She loves him the most. Her mother is pessimistic and broken by the world and she constantly projects her negativity onto this little girl. At the age of fifteen she loses her mother and instead of taking her in, her father marries her off to a forty-forty five year old shoemaker who lives in another town because his wives do not want her. Mariam loses her mother, her father and soon her identity as the innocent teenager is put in a burqa.

Here Mariam, or Hosseini, makes a very interesting comment. Mariam isn't bothered by the burqa. Why? Because it strips her of her identity. She can walk the streets without people "seeing" her. This may sound horrible but Mariam likes it because no one knows it is her. If she does something then no one knows it was her who did it. She also brings it round to mean that her husband cares for her. He wants to protect her and he has claimed her as his own because he wants no other man to lay eyes on her. She does not see the possessive impulsion in this act but the protective gesture of someone who cares for her. After being rejected by both her mother and her father this is a welcome change of tune.

I have often thought about what I would do if I was born in a country where burqas were the norm or even headscarves. At first, I believed that I would fight the people who wanted me to wear one to my last breath but now I am older and hopefully a little wiser, I can understand why women take it in their stride. Being without an identity does give you a certain type of invincibility. You can protect the "you" that you are in your core because no outside threat can get to you. You don't need to be so defensive of your appearance because no stranger can see it. I can understand that. I, in no way, condone burqas or headscarves. I mean no offense to those who wear one for religious purposes. That is your choice but it's not mine. I do NOT believe that most women wear them because they believe in it but because, like Mariam, they were told to wear it. I live in Turkey and I have seen this with my own eyes. There is noway a child has the mental capacity to decide to wear a headscarf.

The other main character is Laila. Laila is young, educated and beautiful. She is the exact opposite of Mariam. She enjoys her education and even has a boyfriend she loves. The two are the gossip of the village and all expect them to marry when they grow up. Laila grows up in a sense of security while Mariam grows old in seclusion with her husband. And then the Taliban waltz in and turn everything upside down forcing Laila to live in the same world as Mariam. An amazing and love filled bond grows between the two which then leads to a touching act of heroism.

I grew up with news of the Taliban on television, in newspapers, on the internet but I did not know them for exactly what they were until I read this book. What a wonderful opportunity to get an insider's account on everything that happened and the reshaping of a nation. I admire the Afghans for their endurance and strength and I only understand their pain because I took the time to read this book. Hosseini has brought their plight to the spotlight it's now our duty to recognize it.

The Book Thief - Markus Zusak

A MUST READ!!


I cannot think of a book that deserves to be the No. 1 International Bestseller more...

"Here is a small fact. You are going to die."

This is the story of Liesel, a nine year old girl in Germany during World War II. This is a much needed change in perspective. What a beautiful step back from your typical World War book. I love that not only are we in Germany but we're a little girl who has discovered a passion for reading at a time in history when more books were burnt than read.

But it's the narrator... What a stroke of absolute brilliance to have death narrate the story! An amazingly genius idea that has made this books one of my favourite books of all time. Death has a touching personality. He is the friend, there to sooth us and take us on our way when the time comes. He has a coping mechanism because his jobs haunts him. He focuses on colours to take his mind off the fact that he must carry a soul away with him and remove a person from the world.

Isn't that beautiful?

I think this is also a great ego-check for us. Death is usually considered something that happens to US but in this book we happen to him. This is a very unconventional idea for a very unconventional book. For starters, Zusak continues to tell you what's going to happen in the book beforehand. This is a bold move which could have ended in disaster but I found it had the opposite effect. He told me someone would die in the chapter and I wanted to know who, I wanted to know how and I wanted to know if it would REALLY happen. By letting us know something would happen he creates great tension even though the character Death says that he's telling you what's going to happen because he doesn't want to create suspense. He makes you hope against hope that something would change or makes you worry that the characters you favour will end up being the death mentioned at the beginning of the chapter or one of the three mentioned on the cover.

This book talks to you. Death talks to you. He is familiar, kind and quirky. He made me smile. Isn't that an ironic sentence? Death made me smile... I have never read a book written like this before. There are pictures, lists, quotes, Death trails off the topic from time to time... I have to admit that sometimes I skipped the lists and then had to force myself to go back and read them because that is part of the book's finesse. Zusak's writing style of choice challenges the contemporary format of a novel and was a nice change in pace. The way it's written allows you to imagine that you are sat at a table with Death and he is telling you a story.

Who knows maybe one day he will.

Top Literature for Children - Teens and Those Still Young at Heart

1) Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling

I'm not even going to explain what Harry Potter is about because we all know... The reason I'm putting these as Number One (even though my favourite book is Number Two) is because Harry Potter presses the "write" button on any other person who creates through literature. Rowling activates the creative gene in us and even if you just like reading it's a great story! You can read each book again and again and still feel the same sense of excitement you did the first time round and that is a rare thing. It is also an even rarer thing for a good book to transfer to a movie and become a good movie as well so we have to give credit for that too.

2) His Dark Materials Trilogy - Philip Pullman: 

           1) The Northern Lights

           2) The Subtle Knife

           3) The Amber Spyglass

This is a story about a girl, Lyra, and a boy, Will, who meet each other in very strange circumstances and set off together for very different goals. They meet in book two and Lyra is determined to find a friend from book one and ask for his forgiveness and Will is determined to find his long lost father and bring him home to help him look after his mentally ill mother. 

Everyone, everyone, everyone should read these books. I first read The Amber Spyglass when I was ten (yes, I started backwards) and it has stuck with me all these years and it's still, to this day, my absolute favourite book. The first two books are brilliant but The Amber Spyglass is one of those books you can pick up, start anywhere in it and just continue to read. Over and over and over again, I might add. The book has so many layers. Every time I read it I find something new or something mentioned in it sends me on a philosophical spiral. Another thing I really like about this book is that he starts each chapter with a quote from a poem and the name of the author and I owe my love of names such as William Blake and Emily Dickinson to the fact that I was introduced to them by this book. 

Wow, wow, wow... I am eventually going to write about this on my blog but I want to be able to dedicate a lot of time to it because this book it so important to me. I'm going to just put one of the paragraphs from the first page of The Amber Spyglass on here so those of you who are short on time or just don't want to read it, feel free to skip ahead to Number Three.

"It was a place of brilliant sunlight, never undappled; shafts of lemon-gold

brilliance lanced down to the forest floor between bars and pools

of brown-green shade; and the light was never still, never constant,

because drifting mist would often float among the tree-tops,

filtering all the sunlight to a pearly sheen and brushing every pine-cone

with moisture that glistened when the mist lifted..."

Just stay there in that moment for a while and see the forest with your mind's eye. Beautiful isn't it?

3) The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time - Mark Haddon

This is a book written about a fifteen year old boy with Asperger's Syndrome. Christopher Boone can't understand body language or facial expressions, or sarcasm or why people lie. When his next door neighbour's poodle is found dead in the back garden, Christopher sets off to solve the case. 

I've already written a piece on this book so for those of you who are interested you can read a longer version of what I'm about to say on my blog. I believe we should read books that broaden our horizons and put us in other people's shoes. This is a very interesting book and I believe reading at an early age helps people become more understanding and tolerant towards people who think differently. 

4) Jenny Nimmo Books

Jenny Nimmo has written a range of books with many different topics. The Charlie Bone series is about a school for talented children. This school is for only the best. Students are split into houses depending on their talents which include music, acting, art etc. and then there are the children who are the descendants of the Red King and have very special talents like Charlie Bone who can hear and go into photographs or Billy who can talk to animals. Charlie is a good kid surrounded by mean people. The owners of the school are mean, he lives with his aunts who are mean and the owner's son also goes to the school and makes sure that Charlie and the other students are unhappy. These stories are about a group of children and then adults who gang together and stand up to the owners of the school and their evil ways. 

Jenny Nimmo also has a trilogy about a magical, white spider and the child wizard who owns him. Emlyn is a young boy trying to figure out what happened to his sister. Nimmo's books deal with things that most children have difficulties with. In The Charlie Bone series you have a young boy mourning the loss of his father who disappeared without a trace. In The Snow Spider trilogy you have a boy trying to cope with the loss of his older sister and parents who could not come to terms with the fact that one of their children is missing. In other books you have main character whose parents are divorced and whose mother is marrying a man who doesn't want her. There is a lot of tension between the older and younger characters in her stories and a general lack of communication between them. I think this is something that most children/teens can relate with and I believe that these books help them because in the end a new line of communication is set between the characters which gives hope.

5) The Hunger Games Trilogy - Suzanne Collins

Are you also sensing a pattern here? OK, OK, OK... you got me! I have a thing for rebellion stories. Each one of the books on this list is about the young standing up to the old and challenging an established system. I enjoy them and I think most people do. I like The Hunger Games because everything in it is very believable. Katniss doesn't want to be a hero. She just wants to save her sister and I think when every older sibling read the book, we all jumped up and said "I volunteer as tribute!" at the same time. She shies away from Peeta because she knows the chance of him surviving is low and if she is to make it home to her sister then he has to die and she doesn't want to take on that emotional guilt. 

The whole world has grown accustomed to the fact that ever year 11 children will die. They all sit back and say that's the way it is because those who are brave enough to make a stand and point out that it's not right are immediately shot down or as the characters point out in the books "Things aren't as bad as they used to be," so they believe things are better; they're not OK but they're better. That's a very human thing to say and to think. Human rights are not universal and are not equal between race, gender and religion but they are not as bad as they used to be so we do nothing. We say "People need time to adjust. They need time to understand. Things aren't as bad as they used to be; look we have a black president!" We point out the comparison between the past and the present because we are too afraid or can't be bothered to work for the future and just hope things will work out themselves. 

This is a good story with underlying criticisms of humankind and society. You have the needed romantic side of it because it not only makes it easier to relate to Katniss but because it gives people a reason to read on and then catch on to hidden messages. 

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time - Mark Haddon

A MUST READ!!

A murder mystery like no other! Haddon as given us an interesting story about a fifteen year old boy with Asperger's Syndrome. I think it's important to read about people with syndromes or other mental illnesses (I don't like this word but I couldn't think of another - No offence meant) because they show us another mentality, another way of thinking. We all have a brain and even though it is the same instrument we all use it differently to different results. Christopher Boone decides whether he is going to have a good or a bad day by the colour of the cars he sees in the morning. This may seem irrational to you but that is Christopher's life and when reading his story it is your life too. Books like this help you expand your horizons and place yourself in someone else's shoes.

This book is classified as children's fiction and very easy to read. It took me an afternoon to finish it but that does not mean you should pass it by. People of all ages should give this book its due. Even if by the end of it you're only glad that you don't have Asperger's then at least you'll be able to understand the next person with Asperger's you meet a little better. You won't be so harsh when you judge them. It is human nature to judge. You will see that they don't necessarily understand why you are smiling or if you are smiling at all and that they do no understand your body language and your initial reaction will be to back away. It's instinct. But maybe after reading this book you'll make the effort to step towards them again. We understand body language. We understand facial expressions. It is easier for us to adapt to the way they see the world and it is therefore easier for us to reach out a hand and start communicating in a way all parties can understand.

Reach out a hand and read the book.

I actually have an interesting and quite ironic story to tell you about my experience with this book. I got my first copy when I was about 12. It was for school and we were supposed to read it and possibly write an essay about it. I'm not quite sure but I remember it was for school. We had two dogs at the time and I must have left the book around somewhere because the next thing I know, my dog has eaten my copy of The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time... So it was only last year that I came across it in a bookstore and actually found out how it ended!

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time... isn't that a brilliant name for a book. Just the name lets you know that this isn't an ordinary story - not to mention the picture of a dog stabbed with a pitchfork on the cover...

An interesting title for a truly interesting book.

Wolf Hall and Bring Up the Bodies - Hilary Mantel

MUST READS if you like history!

Wow... I finished reading the second book: Bring Up the Bodies about five hours ago and I'm still filled with a sense of excitement!

Wolf Hall and Bring Up the Bodies are two books written about the rise and fall of Henry VIII's second wife Anne Boleyn but there is something beautifully different about them. The story is told through the perspective of Thomas Cromwell! "Thomas who?" you say and I say "Yes, Thomas Cromwell." For those of you who know your history you know who he is and the changes he brought to the English kingdom but I speak for myself when I say I had no idea WHO Thomas Cromwell was...

Wolf Hall starts when Thomas Cromwell was around fifteen and the sorry son of an alcoholic blacksmith. It is the vicious beatings Cromwell suffers that persuade his older sister and her husband to send him on his way in the world and who would have guessed where he would end up!

I love, love, love the much needed change in perspective. Thomas Cromwell was a nobody. Thomas Cromwell was you and I in 16th century Europe, with no education system and no title. He was a remarkable man who managed to make something of himself despite all the odds and ended up being the King's right hand.

By focusing on Cromwell people like Henry VIII, Anne Boleyn, Cardinal Wolsey, Thomas More... they all fall into the background and become supporting characters. Henry VIII helps us understand who Thomas Cromwell is and I find this idea very refreshing. The Henry VIII shown in the book is a very interesting interpretation because stories that focus mainly on the King make him just that. In these books Henry is the tenderhearted, easy-to-anger, child-at-heart King who knows what he wants but is not sure if he can get away with having it so he seeks counsel at almost every turn and at odd hours of the night. No leader rules without guidance and counsels and this book helps us understand the resemblances between rulers and ourselves. At some point we are all unsure of our actions and need another's opinion to reinstate or change what we already think.It just so happens that our actions don't necessarily mean cutting off the Vatican. Humans generally think the same way and have always done so since they came into existence and Mantel gives us the chance to see ourselves in Henry.

The interpretation of Anne Boleyn is also very realistic. She is the commoner made Queen through strategic manipulation and it takes a certain sort of character to achieve that. She is cold and calculating but she still has that sharp tongue that Anne is still infamous for. As for her trail, Mantel has shown and interesting and believable take on it. The only disadvantage of telling the story through Cromwell's eyes is that we saw the trail through his as well and he is a lawyer. As Cromwell himself says in the books: "When he says "Are they guilty?" he means were they found guilty..." so you do feel a slight emotional detachment from the event but Cromwell couldn't have got where he did by being emotional.

I don't know if it took me a book to get used to Mantel's style of writing or I was just easily distracted at the time but Wolf Hall took me longer to finish than Bring Up the Bodies because I read other books at the same time. Not because I wasn't enjoying it but because I found it a bit heavy however I devoured Bring Up the Bodies like I didn't know what was going to happen. The new perspective on the topic makes you forget everything you know already and pulls you into the story filling you with a nervous excitement. I spent the last chapters of the books fretting over Wyatt and his fate and refused to look it up so as to not ruin the suspense. And what suspense it was...

Wonderful, wonderful books and I hope to hear more from Cromwell. These might not be easy reads for those of you who don't like history, in fact I don't recommend them to you if you don't but for me this was a fresh take on one of my favourite eras. Thomas Cromwell has managed to become an inspiration today and he has Mantel to thank for it.

Outlander - Diana Gabaldon

Could not put it down...

I saw the trailer for the series by mistake and realized that the topic was right up my alley: historical and supernatural...

Oh, yeah...! So we were off to a great start but I will admit that I haven't even finished season one of the series. But I devoured the book...

Which is unusual because I do not usually enjoy romance novels. For those of you who have not read the book and are thinking about it, let me just give you some background information and then you're free to scurry off into a corner only to emerge when you've finished reading. The main character is Claire Randall who was a nurse in World War II and married to Frank Randall who has been away for the war. They decide to go to Scotland for a second honeymoon in order to break the ice between them after years of being apart. While in Scotland, Claire touches a standing stone and is sent back in time to the 18th century where she meets Jamie Fraser.

That's all you're getting from me. You'll just have to read the book and find out what happens next. For those of you who have watched the series, read the book. It's by far better and more realistic.

This book allows us the opportunity to look at a very turbulent time in Scottish history through a modern eye. Claire faces many difficulties for three very simple reasons:

1) She's a woman
2) She's English
3) She's educated

This pretty much sums up everything the Scottish church feared in the 18th century and before and because the church feared it, so did the people.

I grew up in Wales but I have never had a Scottish friend and so reading this was my first introduction to Scottish culture. I have to admit that I loved it. Celts met Vikings and the giants had offspring with huge muscles and flaming red hair to piss of the short, white little Englishmen with guns down the street. There is no love-loss between the Welsh and English and I found myself and avid Scottish independence supporter while reading. I'd just like to point out that I'm speaking for the book and modern day politics are not to be included - Sorry Braveheart, you know I love you really!

I fell in love with the characters and their spunk and Claire's defiance in the face of all obstacles. I do however, have to say that I love the fact that you feel the fear of 18th century women through Claire and possibly even more so because in her time it was not unusual for women to be educated or to talk back. Admittedly I find the sassy Claire on the series is a little too far fetched from reality. The Claire in the book is far more aware of the boundaries of 18th century women and stays within them as much as she possibly can because she knows to overstep them will land her in the docks or possibly cost her her life. This was their reality. Their job was to obey and populate, no more - just as it was for most of the world at the time and remains so in certain places today.

*Spoiler Alert ON*

The love, the love, the love... The love between Jaime and Claire is beautiful and pure. It is one that is grown over time and not a fleeting moment of passion. It is the love we all hope to one day have and cultivate.

I have to admit... and I am both sorry but then again I'm not, seeing as there are eight of them, that I haven't continued to read the books. I started the second one but it began nnnnnoooowwhhere near where I had imagined it would. Those of you who have read the book I think will agree that there is a HUGE jump between the ending of the first and the beginning of the second book. I will eventually get round to reading it but I was happy with the way the first book ended and had left some questions still unanswered but you in a nice enough position that you felt that no matter what, everything would eventually be right with the world... and the second book took a sledge hammer to my head and heart and ruined everything. It didn't ruin everything of course but you know what I mean. The second book starts with so many new questions, so much missed time and so up in the air that I panicked... I wanted answers and I wanted them fast and it looked like I would have to finish the book in order to get them so I bailed.

*Spoiler Alert OFF*

But all in all a great read and a good perspective bringer for modern times! I cannot promise you that I will read all eight of the books, especially seeing as I haven't even finished the second one yet but you never know...

Here's to good whiskey that put hairs on your chest to keep you safe from the cold!

Americanah - Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

This is a beautiful book that gets you asking why we treat people differently for the sake of differences.

The very frank main character, Ifemelu, goes through life just trying to do what we all do: get her education and a job but because of the political unrest in Nigeria at the time, she moves to America to study at university. It's when she gets to America that Ifemelu realizes something: she's black.

Black people aren't black in Africa; they're black when they leave it.

This concept has stuck with me even though I finished reading the book a good couple of days ago. None of us are anything until we go to a place where what we are is a minority. The same is true for anything you can think of. A Scandinavian with bright blonde hair, isn't bright blonde until they go to a Mediterranean country. I don't mean to make racism sound this simple but I wanted to make this a little easier for others, including myself to understand. I grew up in Britain where racism is not as prominent as in America and so Ifelmelu's main plight was something I had to adapt to in order to fully understand.

Adichie reaches into the heart of people and puts their faults on display. People see the differences first. Not only that but people adapt so that their own differences are no longer an issue and then pick on others' differences. She shows this through a character named Emenike, who spends his whole life making up for what he believes to be his faults and once he reaches a position where he is comfortable, he turns the mirror to others around him.

People need to find something wrong or differences in other people in order to feel that they are superior. This is racism... Racism is the need to believe that you are better than someone because your skin is different colour. Racism is narcissism. I really wonder when humans as a species will realize we are all the same. I really wonder because I don't believe it is possible. I hope against hope that it will happen but it won't because people are egotistical. They need to know that they are better. I'm not even sure better is the right word but I believe "good enough" would suit us more. People need to know that they are good enough to fit in with society and know that their place in it is not threatened.

Anyway... I don't mean to rant.

*Spoiler Alarm ON*

Another good criticism of society is Obinze. We all love Obinze. He's the sweet, gentle, intelligent boyfriend back home that Ifemelu loves but also takes for granted. That is until life beats him. Life breaks him, it tears him down and it leaves him depressed and deported back to Nigeria. So he says "Now what?" and finds himself in real estate and a happy chappy in a nappy and a large bank account. "Now what?" there's a girl living with him asking what he plans to do about their relationship... so he might as well marry her and then of course have a child. For those of you who haven't read the book, don't hate him because Ifemelu has already deserted his butt a looong time ago. So after all this is done Ifemelu decides to mess everything up by coming home. I say mess everything up but I don't really mean it. Ifemelu messed everything up the day she stopped calling Obinze but that's for another paragraph. Obzine gets caught up in the flow of life. He looses himself to others' expectations. He gets trapped by responsibilities he should have thought harder about while taking them on.

But don't we all?

*Spoiler Alarm OFF*

We go to university because it's expected of us. For those of you in countries like the States you get into serious debt that you'll be lucky to finish off paying by the time you're 30. We eat crap because we can't afford to buy healthy food because we go to school. We try to get a job when we graduate so we can pay off what we owe, get a house, a car, savings... We go to cafes with our friends on the weekend to take pictures and selfies so that we can put them on social media to impress people we don't even care about because that's what society expects us to do. I look around me and see couples that shouldn't have married. They are miserable and have lost communication with each other. It's not because they never loved each other or the world tore them apart but because they probably decided to marry because it was the next step. They had reached the age and that point in their relationship when there was nothing else to do but get married, or they were together for so long that they couldn't be bothered to explain to those around them the reasons for breaking up so they went with it.

I live in Turkey at the moment and girls do what girls do and boys do what boys do because it is expected of them. Expectations don't mix and almost always come back to building a family of their own.

Ifemelu's parents are perfect. They are perfect because they are two poles of society. Her mother is religious but why? Because if she prays enough for this or prays enough for that God will give her a new car or a new house or send her daughter to America so she can boast about it to her neighbours. Religion shouldn't be about gain; it should be about the love between you and God (or whomever you believe in). Her father... I really liked her father because I believe everyone has had someone like him in their lives. As a child she admired him, she believed he was intelligent and strong but as she grew up she realized that his accent was put on, his language forced to sound like he knew what he was talking about and his whole life was bent around a need to prove that he was smarter than the average Joe. I think we have all felt the disappointment of realizing the person who you took as your role model isn't necessarily all you believed they were. This doesn't mean that you don't love them anymore but that you have grown up. You are now looking at the world and everyone around you without those rosy pink glasses.

But now we come to Ifemelu. I think those who have read the book will agree with me when I say she helps you get things off your chest. She's so frank that it's not her foot in her mouth but yours and she's helping you fit the other one in. Ifemelu is most of us. She's indecisive and she makes one of the biggest changes in her life because Obinze told her it was a good idea. Haven't we all done this before? I allowed myself to be talked into changing degrees in University. I allowed myself to be talked into a job and out of one. We all do it. We talk and we are talked to. Like Ifemelu we decide things on a whim and we sometimes go with it and we sometimes wait for the idea to ferment and then run off into the distance. And we struggle. We struggle and struggle and we do it alone. Just as Ifemelu, when we need help the most we close ourselves up in our rooms and cut away the things that could actually help us because we are miserable and we want to feel it.

When I was reading I got the feeling that Ifemelu was just going with the flow. She lived with the flow and was just waiting to see where it took her. I won't speak for everyone but I know that's how I live. I make plans and I'm pretty good at keeping them but I have no goal or target I'm working for or towards. I know what I want to be when I graduate but I have no idea where I'll be when I do. Ifemelu had no dreams of grandeur or even any idea of what she wanted to be or do. I don't think most people do either. I don't think people who have already retired know what they want to be or do...

I enjoyed this book and I have noticed a change in the way I see things. I think it's silly to say "I'm not racist. Skin colour is not important. I don't even notice." Everyone at some point notices. Do you notice what colour dog your neighbour has? Do you notice what colour car is parked next to yours? Do you notice when someone has a sun tan? Colour is a part of life. You notice. We all notice. It's when you make it an issue that there is a problem. So for myself I will say that I'm someone who does not initially go "Oh, that person's black!" but after reading this book I do notice sooner than I would have before. I don't mean this in a bad way. I didn't have many if any real black friends growing up so I wan't aware of the differences between our bodies. I didn't know that black hair was curly. I didn't know you could bleach skin. Now I see black celebrities and I wonder why their hair is straight and blonde or even more strange, why their blonde hair was straightened and then curled into loose ringlets again... I understand that everyone is free to do what they want with their hair but after reading this book I wished I could see Beyonce all natural and flicking her curls back in a Loreal advert.

I love the constant reminder in this book: Be yourself.

Be yourselves guys!

The books jumps time periods throughout most of it and I will admit that at some point I just wanted to get back to the present and find out what was going on but this is the only negative thing I can say about this book.

Adichie warns us of the dangers of a one track story in her TED Talks speech. She discusses judging people and then sticking with our judgment no matter what. I agree with her. We should all give people the opportunity to be who they are without putting them in a box and labeling them. It is human nature to judge but we should be able to reach beyond that.

The Horse Boy - Rupert Isaacson

A MUST READ!

Where to begin with this book...

What a read...

The Horse Boy is the true story of a father willing to do anything to help his son. I laughed and then cried so many times while reading that the people surrounding me must have thought I was bipolar. (I read mostly on the metro.)

While reading you have to constantly remind yourself that this is true story... Isaacson has documented this part of his life in a such a way, you can hardly believe that we live on the same planet and I ask you not to take this as an exaggeration. I read this book at a time when I was not in a very happy place and it changed my perspective and not because I was grateful that I didn't have autism but because it helped me realize that the world is what you make it...

For those of you who have not read it, read it. I honestly wish I could lend you my copy. Before I go off on a rant about how you should drop everything and get the book, I'll tell you a little bit about it. Don't worry no major spoilers ahead... Rupert Isaacson met his wife-to-be Kristen in India and after a good chase, she eventually agreed to have him. Their son Rowan was born with a rare type of autism that little was known about and so little could be suggested to help both the parents and the child. They bravely struggled on through psychiatrist meetings and special needs child centers and realized a very important fact: none of it did any good. One day Rowan threw himself in front of a horse and a beautiful friendship was born. Betsy the horse helps Rowan to think and speak clearly and his father soon comes up with the idea to take him to Mongolia: where horses and shamanism walk hoof in hand.

One of the things you have to remember is this isn't a fabricated story. It's about a real family in a very real world. A world we are all a part of. You and I could also have our own adventure in the very real Mongolia or Japan or Egypt or wherever you want. I want to say that life is what you want it to be but more often than not, it's what we let it be. This book helped me remember that adventures or epic stories don't exist only on paper or in movies. We all have the power to do something meaningful with our lives if we just take a step back and listen to ourselves. And I mean yourself. Isaacson mentions his inner voice and how it guided him throughout a few of his life changing situations and through their journey in Mongolia and he is a good example of someone who took the initiative and ran with it. This is an incredibly brave thing to do and we should all applaud him for his strength.

He mentions many times that his goal was not to have Rowan cured of his autism. Rowan is autistic, to cure him of that would be to take what makes him himself away. I believe that most people do this to themselves almost on a daily basis. The need to fit in with the majority strips us of the things that make us unique. I've caught myself doing this so many times. I speak Turkish as a second language and I change the way I speak, my body language and to an extent the way I think while talking Turkish in Turkey because I don't want people to know that I am foreign and I am, in most people's eyes, different to them. It takes great confidence to be who you are and this book helped me to remember that I can be myself. I could be myself if I was autistic, bipolar, black, Asian, male, female, American or my next door neighbour.

Relax...

Take a step back...

Isaacson makes a point that I wholeheartedly believe: There are things that cannot be explained. Religion has been replaced by rationality. I believe we should be skeptical because humans have a tendency to try and trick other humans but we should also be open-minded and accept that there are things beyond our comprehension. I'm not telling you to call the nearest shaman and have your kidney stone removed but be open to the fact that being healed by a spiritual force is a possibility.

Nature is also a very important character in the book. I say character because it is one; not just in literature but in our lives as well. I don't mean to get all hippie on your butts right now but we are slipping further and further away from our real habitat. I know people who have never even pet a dog or cat in their entire lives and do not plan to. Nature is there people. No matter how much you ignore it, it's not going away. I honestly wish sometimes that an apocalyptic even would occur and people who don't know the difference between a dandelion and a daisy would suddenly find themselves trying to go the toilet behind a tree! This book is a reminder that nature is there to help us, to guide us; it is pure and it is beautiful. Embrace it...

Their trip was filmed and there is a documentary. Here's the link to its IMDb page:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1333668/

I haven't watched it yet but after seeing the trailer, you understand the pain of an autistic tantrum. The idea is almost cute in the book thanks the language Isaacson uses and so I was shocked at just how much screaming the little guy got up to in just the trailer.

After reading the book I feel like one of the family and I honestly hope they are all well and above all that they are happy.