Veronica “Ronnie” Miller’s life was turned upside down when her parents divorced and her father moved to Wrightsville Beach, North Carolina. Three years later, she remains alienated from her parents, particularly her father, until her mother decides it would be everyone’s best interest if she and her brother spent the summer with him. Resentful and rebellious, Ronnie rejects her father’s attempts to reach out to her and threatens to return to New York before the summer’s end. But soon Ronnie meets Will, the last person she thought she’d ever be attracted to, and finds herself falling for him, opening herself up to the greatest happiness – and pain – that she has ever known. Ronnie finds out that her father has stomach cancer. She and her brother, Jonah, finish the window that they started with their father for the church. Her brother, Jonah, goes back to New York with their mother, but Ronnie stays back with her father until his death. She completes the song on the piano that he began to write and plays it for her audition at Juilliard. She and Will part after the funeral and she believes that they will never meet properly again, she thought it was over, but after Christmas, he transfers and goes to college in New York so he can spend more time with Ronnie.
You know you've read a good book when you turn the last page and feel a little as if you have lost a friend. ~Paul Sweeney
Wednesday, August 31, 2011
The Notebook
The story begins with Noah, an 80-year-old man, reading to a woman in a nursing home. He tells her the following story:
Noah, 31, returns from World War II to his town of New Bern, North Carolina. He finishes restoring an antebellum style house after his father's death. Meanwhile Allie, 29, sees the house in the newspaper and decides to pay him a visit.
They are meeting after a 14-year separation, which followed their brief but passionate summer romance when her family was visiting the town. They were separated by class, as she was the daughter of a wealthy family and he worked in a lumberyard then. Seeing each other brings on a flood of memories and strong emotions in both of them. They have dinner together and talk about their lives and the past. Allie learns that Noah had written to her frequently after their breakup. She realizes that her mother must have intercepted his letters. They talk about what could have happened between them without her mother's interference. At the end of the night, Noah invites Allie to come back the next day and promises her a surprise. She decides to see him again. During this time, her fiancé Lon tries to reach her at the hotel. When Allie does not respond to his calls, he begins to worry.
The next day, Noah takes Allie on a canoe ride in a small lake where swans and geese swim. She is enchanted. On their way back, they are caught in a storm and end up soaked. When they return to his house, they talk again about how important they were to each other, and how their feelings have not changed. Noah and Allie share a kiss and make love.
Allie's mother shows up the next morning and gives Allie the letters from Noah. When her mother leaves, Allie is torn and has a decision to make. She knows she loves Noah, but she doesn't want to hurt Lon. Noah begs her to stay with him, but she decides to leave. She cries all the way back to the hotel and starts reading the letters her mother returned to her. At the hotel, Lon is waiting in the lobby.
Noah stops reading the story at this point, and tells the reader that he is reading to his wife, who suffers from Alzheimer's disease and does not recognize him. He explains that he is also ill, battling a third cancer, and suffering heart disease, kidney failure, and severe arthritis in his hands.
He resumes reading the story and describing their life together: her career as a famous painter, their children, growing old together, and finally the diagnosis of Alzheimer's. He had changed the names in the story to protect her, but he is Noah and she is Allie. They walk together and Allie, although she does not recognize him, says she might feel something for him.
That night they have dinner together. Referring to the story, she says that she thinks Allie chose Noah. Recognizing her husband, she tells him that she loves him. They embrace and talk, but after almost four hours, Allie fades and begins to panic and hallucinate. She forgets him again.
A few days later, Noah has a stroke and is hospitalized. He is released and, on the night of their 49th anniversary, he reads the letter Allie wrote to him when she was diagnosed with Alzheimer's. Deciding to visit her, he finds that Allie recognizes him, and they talk.
Noah, 31, returns from World War II to his town of New Bern, North Carolina. He finishes restoring an antebellum style house after his father's death. Meanwhile Allie, 29, sees the house in the newspaper and decides to pay him a visit.
They are meeting after a 14-year separation, which followed their brief but passionate summer romance when her family was visiting the town. They were separated by class, as she was the daughter of a wealthy family and he worked in a lumberyard then. Seeing each other brings on a flood of memories and strong emotions in both of them. They have dinner together and talk about their lives and the past. Allie learns that Noah had written to her frequently after their breakup. She realizes that her mother must have intercepted his letters. They talk about what could have happened between them without her mother's interference. At the end of the night, Noah invites Allie to come back the next day and promises her a surprise. She decides to see him again. During this time, her fiancé Lon tries to reach her at the hotel. When Allie does not respond to his calls, he begins to worry.
The next day, Noah takes Allie on a canoe ride in a small lake where swans and geese swim. She is enchanted. On their way back, they are caught in a storm and end up soaked. When they return to his house, they talk again about how important they were to each other, and how their feelings have not changed. Noah and Allie share a kiss and make love.
Allie's mother shows up the next morning and gives Allie the letters from Noah. When her mother leaves, Allie is torn and has a decision to make. She knows she loves Noah, but she doesn't want to hurt Lon. Noah begs her to stay with him, but she decides to leave. She cries all the way back to the hotel and starts reading the letters her mother returned to her. At the hotel, Lon is waiting in the lobby.
Noah stops reading the story at this point, and tells the reader that he is reading to his wife, who suffers from Alzheimer's disease and does not recognize him. He explains that he is also ill, battling a third cancer, and suffering heart disease, kidney failure, and severe arthritis in his hands.
He resumes reading the story and describing their life together: her career as a famous painter, their children, growing old together, and finally the diagnosis of Alzheimer's. He had changed the names in the story to protect her, but he is Noah and she is Allie. They walk together and Allie, although she does not recognize him, says she might feel something for him.
That night they have dinner together. Referring to the story, she says that she thinks Allie chose Noah. Recognizing her husband, she tells him that she loves him. They embrace and talk, but after almost four hours, Allie fades and begins to panic and hallucinate. She forgets him again.
A few days later, Noah has a stroke and is hospitalized. He is released and, on the night of their 49th anniversary, he reads the letter Allie wrote to him when she was diagnosed with Alzheimer's. Deciding to visit her, he finds that Allie recognizes him, and they talk.
a walk to remember
the story starts with a prologue from Landon Carter at age 57.The remainder of the story takes place when Landon is a 17-year-old high school senior.Landon lives in the small, religious town of Beaufort, North Carolina. His father is a genial, charismatic congressman.
His father is not around very much, as he lives in Washington, D.C.Landon is more reclusive, which causes some tension in their relationship. Landon's father pressures him into running for class president.His best friend, Eric Hunter, who is the most popular boy in school, helps him and, to his surprise, Landon wins the election.As student body president, Landon is required to attend the school dance with a date.He asks many girls, but none are available. That night, he looks through his yearbook, trying to find an acceptable date.Since nobody else seems to be available, Landon reluctantly asks Jamie Sullivan, the daughter of Hegbert Sullivan, the Beaufort church minister, who accepts his invitation.While Jamie is very religious and carries a Bible with her wherever she goes, Landon (one of the popular students) is reluctant to go to the dance with someone like her. When Landon is threatened by Lew, Jamie comes to Landon's aid, to his appreciation. At the end of the night, he admits she was the best date possible
A few days later, Jamie asks Landon to participate in the school's production of The Christmas AngelWhile Landon is not very enthusiastic about participating, he agrees to it anyway. Jamie, on the other hand, could not be happier about her new cast mate. Landon knows that if his friends learn about his role in the play, he will be teased relentlessly.One day at rehearsal, Jamie asks if Landon will walk her home, after which it becomes routine. A couple of days later, Eric mocks the couple during their walk home and Landon becomes truly embarrassed to be with Jamie. Meanwhile, Landon continues to learn about all the people and organizations Jamie spends her time helping, including an orphanage. Landon and Jamie visit the orphanage one day to discuss a possible showing of The Christmas Angel,but their proposal is quickly rejected by Mr. Jenkins.On the drive to the orphanage, Jamie tells Landon that all she wants in the future is to get married in a church full of people and to have her father walk her down the aisle.While Landon thinks this is a strange wish, he accepts it. In truth, he is beginning to enjoy his time with her.
One day, while they are walking home, Landon yells at Jamie and he tells her that he is not friends with her. The next day at the first show of The Christmas Angel, Jamie enters the stage dressed as the angel, making Landon simply utter his line, "You're beautiful,"meaning it for the first time. Following that, Jamie asks Landon if he would go around town and retrieve the jars containing money collected for the orphans' Christmas presents. When Landon collects the jars, there is only $55.73, but when he gives the money to Jamie, there is $247.Jamie buys gifts for the orphanage, and Landon and Jamie spend Christmas Eve there.Jamie's Christmas gift to Landon is her deceased mother's Bible.As they get in the car to go home, Landon realizes his true feelings for her. "All I could do is wonder how I'd ever fallen in love with a girl like Jamie Sullivan."He invites her to his house for Christmas dinner. The next day Landon visits Jamie at her house, where they share their first kiss on her porch. Afterward, Landon asks Hegbert if they can go to Flavin's, a local restaurant, on New Year's Eve. While Hegbert initially refuses, after Landon declares his love for Jamie, Hegbert allows it.
On New Year's Jamie and Landon go to dinner, where they share their first dance. A couple of weeks later, Landon tells Jamie that he is in love with her. To his surprise, Jamie replies by insisting that he can't be. In response, Landon demands an explanation,and Jamie reveals that she is dying of leukemia.
The following Sunday, Hegbert announces to his congregation that his daughter is dying. Jamie does not return to school the following Monday and that it is eventually learned that she is too ill and will never return to school. While they are having dinner at Landon's house, Jamie tells Landon, "I love you, too," for the first time. A couple weeks later, Eric and Margaret visit Jamie's house, where they apologize for ever being rude to her.Eric gives Jamie the $400 that he collected for the orphanage.Jamie refuses to stay at the hospital, because she wants to die at home. In turn, Landon's father helps to provide Jamie the best equipment and doctors so she can spend the rest of her life at home.This gesture helps to mend the gap between father and son. One day, while sitting next to Jamie while she sleeps, Landon comes up with an idea.He runs to the church to find Hegbert and asks him for permission to marry Jamie. While Hegbert is reluctant, his refusal to deny Landon's request is seen by Landon as approval.Landon runs back to Jamie's side and asks, "Will you marry me?"
Landon and Jamie are married in a church full of people with Hegbert walking Jamie down the aisle. When they reach the front of the church, Hegbert says, "I can no more give Jamie away than I can give away my heart. But what I can do is let another share in the joy that she has always given me.Hegbert has had to experience so much pain in his life, first losing his wife, now knowing his only child will soon be gone, too. The book ends with Landon 40 years later at age 57. He still loves Jamie and wears her ring.He finishes the story by saying, "I now believe, by the way, that miracles can happen."
Tuesday, August 2, 2011
Veronica Decides To Die
Veronika is a young, beautiful woman from Ljubljana, Slovenia who appears to have the perfect life, but nevertheless decides to commit suicide by ingesting too many sleeping pills. While she waits to die, she decides to read a magazine.
After seeing an article in the magazine which wittily asks "Where is Slovenia?," she decides to write a letter to the press justifying her suicide, the idea being to make the press believe that she has killed herself because people don't even know where Slovenia is. Her plan fails and she wakes up in Villete, a mental hospital in Slovenia, where she is told she has a week to live.
Her presence there affects all of the mental hospital's patients, especially Zedka, who hasclinical depression; Mari, who suffers from panic attacks; and Eduard, who hasschizophrenia, and with whom Veronika falls in love. During her internment in Villete she realises that she has nothing to lose and can therefore do what she wants, say what she wants and be who she wants without having to worry about what others think of her; as a mental patient, she is unlikely to be criticized. Because of this newfound freedom Veronika experiences all the things she never allowed herself to experience, including hatred, love and sexual awakening.
In the meantime, Villete's head psychiatrist, Dr. Igor, attempts a fascinating but provocative experiment. Can you "shock" someone into wanting to live by convincing her that death is imminent? Like a doctor applying defibrillator paddles to a heart attack victim, Dr. Igor's "prognosis" jump-starts Veronika's new appreciation of the world around her.
the hunger games
The Hunger Games takes place in an unidentified future time period after the destruction of North America, in a nation known as Panem. Panem consists of a wealthy Capitol and twelve surrounding, poorer districts. District 12, where the book begins, is located in the coal-rich region that was formerly Appalachia.
As punishment for a previous rebellion against the Capitol, every year one boy and one girl between the ages of 12 and 18 from each district are selected at random and forced to participate in the Hunger Games, a televised event in which the participants, or "tributes", must fight to the death in a dangerous outdoor arena until only one remains. The story follows fatherless 16-year-old Katniss Everdeen, a girl from District 12 who volunteers for the 74th Games in place of her younger sister, Primrose. Also participating from District 12 is Peeta Meellark, a boy whom Katniss knows from school and who once gave her bread when her family was starving.
Katniss and Peeta are taken to the Capitol, where they meet the other tributes and are publicly displayed to the Capitol audience. During this time, Peeta reveals on-air his long-time unrequited love for Katniss. Katniss believes this to be a ploy to gain audience support for the Games, which can be crucial for survival, as audience members are permitted to send gifts like food and medicine to favored tributes during the Games. The Games begin with eleven of the 24 tributes dying in the first day, while Katniss relies on her well-practiced hunting and outdoor skills to survive. As the games continue, the tribute death toll increases, but both Katniss and Peeta are able to survive.
Supposedly due to Katniss and Peeta's beloved image in the minds of the audience as "star-crossed lovers", a rule change is announced midway through the games, stating that two tributes from the same district can win the Hunger Games as a pair. Upon hearing this, Katniss searches for Peeta and finds him wounded. She nurses him back to health and acts the part of a young girl falling in love to gain more favor with the audience and, consequently, gifts from her sponsors. When the couple are finally the last two tributes, the Gamemakers suddenly reverse the rule change and try to force them into a dramatic finale where one must kill the other to win. Instead, they both threaten suicide by means of poisonous berries in hope that the Gamemakers would rather have two winners than none. It works, and both Katniss and Peeta are declared winners of the 74th Hunger Games.
Though she survives the ordeal in the arena and is treated to a hero's welcome in the Capitol, Katniss is warned that she has now become a political target after having defied her society's authoritarian leaders so publicly. Afterwards, Peeta is heartbroken to learn that their relationship was at least partially a calculated ploy to garner sympathy from the audience, although Katniss remains unsure of her own feelings.
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