literature books

my subject this time is a bit heavy, i must say. but i really got to get it out of my system since it has been in me for too long. before i begin, i'm not a literature expert or something which means i didn't do any research or anything ..this is purely my opinion. i just have the need to write this because i do care. and here we go ...

so i have this wishful thinking that one day ..one day ..i might find myself travelling around the world. and this thought came up from one of (i would say) the biggest adventure books written by Jules Verne. wouldn't it be fun to travel around the world to know that there are hundreds of interesting things you can learn about other's culture? it has been my dream and i trully hope that i will fulfil my dream. it is literally something that i will always longed for. isn't it amazing that a book will give you that kind of passion over something? even though you still don't know or not sure whether it will come true. but knowing it has already given me an excitement and pleasure and with this book, i will begin my thoughts.

firstly, i gotta admit to you all that i'm not familiar with this author. i only know a glimps of information about him. yes ..i know that he has written quite some amazing books ..mostly sci-fiction kinda book, which at that time where his imagination was running wild, some people think that he's crazy. he actually wrote about submarines and aircrafts - fyi, these two things have not been invented yet. and now he is referred as the "father of sci-fi". anyway, that's the only information i know about Jules Verne. nothing more than this, sorry to say.

but back to my subject ..i always love books. i do enjoy reading book in my leisure time but i gotta tell you that sometimes i feel so sorry that i didn't get the chance to read those literature when i was in school. i mean, back when i was in school, the only literature books we have to read is the Indonesian literature. while in my opinion, we should also be taught to read literatures from other countries as well. why? because it means that you have the chance to see or at least get a bit of imagination of what's happening outside our own coutry. as simple as that. doesn't mean that i consider Indonesian literatures are not interesting ..it's just that i personally think we should learn other's lit as well.

c'mon ..let's be honest here, we all know the name like William Shakespeare. we know that he's the author of Romeo and Juliet tragedies ..but tell me, who has really read this? not to mentioned the-so-called Hamlet, King Lear and Macbeth. oh yes, we all so familiar with those names right? but still not many of Indonesian students have the chance to read these. except that you went to school abroad. i actually feel sad to know this. these all are great literatures to read, i'd say. i , myself, haven't got the chance to read all these ..but it's already in my to-read-list.

- Romeo and Juliet -

ok, Jules Verne and William Shakespeare are just two examples of the classic literatures. let me give you other examples from the more-recent authors (who actually born in the 1930 something rather than 1800).

The Neverending Story by Michael Ende ..this is one of my favourite book. i LOVE this book to pieces. it actually took me years to get this book, believe it or not. why? dunno ..it's not the kind of book you could easily get here. i bought this book about 2 years ago in Kinokuniya. and you know ..that one was the last copy on the shelve! i have, of course, watched the mini series - ages ago. honestly speaking, it was the mini series which brought me to buy the novel. the imagination of a white luck dragon tickles me. the world beyond our world. i would say that childern around the world should've read this book. it's sooo good to develop their mind.



another book i want to discuss here is The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger. this book has brought a big controversy in the US. the language which Salinger has used is not a common one. he used a lot of vulgar language. Holden Caulfield is the main character and the narattor in this book. Holden was (as some people called him) a trouble maker. he actually is not - well, at least to me. he's just being a normal 16 year old boy. he is a smart boy actually, but he sees the world differently. i just love his cynical and bitterness. ok, this might not be a good book to read for children but i would really recommend this book for adults. if you really wanna see what's inside of the 16 year-old teenager's brain ..you should read this. and oh, btw ..please be reminded that reading this is only for fun ..don't do anything more than that. cause some say that this book has lead a guy to commit suicide or turn into a serial killer due to depression (something like that). dunno whether it is true or not ..i'll let you be the judge.

- a different version of The Catcher in the Rye book cover -

and there is again ..another book which is in my list is this book called Lord of the Flies by William Golding. i just bought this book like two weeks ago and has been sitting in my to-read-book-pile. guess that i've got 5 or 6 books ready to read in my leisure time. oh ..that reminds me, i have taken a week off in the month of December just to chill and entertain myself by reading books and watching dvds. anyway, i have read a few pages of this book. looks fun to read this. i can imagine a bunch of school boy stuck in the deserted island and thinking that they will rule themselves. hmm, i can see clearly that a chaos will be on the way :). this should teaches us whether we have to live by the rule or following your own free-will. you know something like that.

with that, it has come to the end of my discussion. these are only a few of literature books that popped out my mind. i believe that there are hundreds of books lying out there for you to read. books that will teaches you a lot of things you might not get in the your "normal life". you know, these might not be a good literature books to be taught in schools. but i do hope you got my point. children nowadays should be taught something that will stimulates their imagination, just to trigger their creativities to become something useful in the future. once again, i have to tell you that i'm not very literature-y kinda person. i just wish that i have been given the opportunities to read those books when i was in school, that's all.