mariaellabetos's reviews
648 reviews

Do you have something that you hold on to against all odds?
I have - its name is FAITH.

With a joyous fair, a big ferris wheel and a shooting star as a girl's memory - a lucky charm was "captured". Lost in a war in Iraq, it was found by a Marine with a french ancestry who doesn't believe in faith and fate, but the latter made him walked across the country to reach his destination.

What did he do as soon as he finds the girl...? No plans. Not even fall in love.
But he did.

Hindi ako naiyak sa novel. But since I pictured Zac Efron as a 28-year-old Marine who can play a piano, I am looking forward to the flick. I hope he can make me cry when I see the movie and be moved by the lines and the so-called "drama".

WILL WATCH THE MOVIE ADAPTATION IN 2012 BEFORE THE WORLD ENDS. :)

"I wuff you... Kenk yuu Money, Tayers homm."
[I love you... Thank you Mommy, Taylor's home]

These words of a five-year old kid saying to his patient mother made me cry as I walked home from the office. A bittersweet story, it made me realize that the statement of endearment is normally taken for granted; and when taken seriously, your emotions will be stirred and your heart will be swept away.

Do you have an escape? Nicholas Sparks shared his Slice-of-life as he made this composition. It is for every reader to find out and to reflect and how to address that escape.

"One could not count the moons that shimmer on her roofs
Or the thousand splendid suns that hide behind her walls"

Hosseini's fiction made me cry and realize that the world is really unfair. But he made me enlighten that our country, though torn with politics, fiscal crisis, and divided beliefs - is still standing, struggling yet surviving; while his is starting to recuperate.

I will continue to love my own homeland. If there is something happening in her grounds, she will call to me. She will need me. And I will do whatever it takes to serve her well.

-Isang pinoy na concerned sa nangyayari sa kanyang bansa

10 - that is the number of chapters i cried as i read the novel.

It all started in a Bend in the Road. And there it also ended. It contained two sides of the story - of which, both parties are victims of fate.

If you are given the authority to judge a person (i.e. a part of jury), how would you analyze a crime? should it be coming from your own past experiences? or should it come from a fresh start? How would you react? Objectively? Subjectively? Would you let it all go, or would you still hold on?

Sparks made me cry. And that I cannot deny.

i thought when i am older, i will be able to let go of my obsession to CLAMP's manga-ka.

I WAS WRONG.

I am reading the 2005 manga-ka presented by Clamp - Kobato. A character living in the same setting as of Chobits, meeting different characters from different animes (Chobits, Magic Knight Rayearth, and Tsubasa Chronicles, to name some) and feeling the perkiness of the main character.

A CLAMP IN WONDERLAND ALL OVER AGAIN!

Bed. TV. Duvet. Door. Skylight. Rug. Bath. Jeep. Remote. Wardrobe. Room.

In a perspective of a five-year old who was born in a 11 x 11 feet room, that little space is his own world and not very much different from ours. He has all the love of his Ma, he has his dreams of being sucked into TV, being an alien in outer space with Megatron and mega lazer blasters, and his nightmares of Old Nick sleeping beside his Ma while overhearing creaking sounds of more than a hundred times.

He has his little fantasy as a result of all the lies, and unlying them at once made his head ache. Dying made his heart beat fast, and escaping from his nightmare is the greatest feat of his life.

Mirrored from Flitz Case in Austria, this is one weird novel; so weird that this is inspired from a true story.

"The young all have the same dream: to save the world. Some quickly forget this dream, convinced that there are more important things to do, like having a family, earning money, traveling, and learning a foreign language. Others, though, decide that it really is possible to make a difference in society and to shape the world we will hand on to future generations." -In the thoughts of Inspector Savoy, 4:07PM.

^ The same quote above struck me. I was, am, and will be a dreamer, a believer, and a performer.

Conan O'Brien mentioned in his speech in Dartmouth University that people's dreams change. It's not the same when you're 22, 32, or 42. The problem is:
Being an agent is not my dream. Having a power to be someone is.

In this fiction, it made me realize that the pursuit for power comes with a price. And power doesn't appear like shimmering diamonds, they are anonymous - ghost-like - and you would only understand where you are already trapped.

This is the my last novel for 2011. I hope that next year I will still be engrossed in these readings, applying its lessons and sharing my insights to everyone. :)

All I can say is that it is a very profound composition! It portrays the life of Santiago, in search for his purpose in the world. Learning the experiences from the different personas he met in different places. About making choices and taking chances in the pursuit of the heart's deepest desire. A portrayal of great miracles, memorable life lessons. This is a story that is worth laughing and crying for.

When we face our judgment, do we see ourselves as a rich man? a poor man?

The author enlightened us to bring ourselves to reckoning, to end monotonous things and finally see the light towards new beginnings.

It made sense when you end one thing, a new one starts. It is when you know that you are dying that you start accepting, rebelling, or fighting.

This reflects childhood memories. A good read as we reflect ourselves to the author's psychograph.