30 Day Book Challenge: Day 25

picsart_1375358545585Good evening fellow readers! So of course I found a new challenge to participate in the hopes of proving myself better than the last. I picked up this challenge from The Chronicles of Radiya and very much look forward to 30 consecutive (hopefully, gulp) days of blogging.

Day 25: A Character You Can Relate to the Most

I struggled with today’s challenge for a while because I just couldn’t picture a character that I could relate too in the slightest. I wish I could say the likes of Hermione or Katniss, but I can’t really say that without giggling at the absurdity of it. To even compare myself to great characters like that makes me feel foolish. After some thought though I was able to think of one character who I could relate too, Lucy Pevensie from the Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis.

Even comparing myself to the noble Lucy makes me feel vain as if I was trying to be high and mighty. So I’m putting a disclaimer on today’s challenge: I don’t think I’m as noble or brave as Lucy (and I’m not fishing for compliments here I’m just simply saying I’m human). However, there is apart of Lucy that I can easily relate too and that is her willingness to believe.

I was a child that grew up believing in magic. Granted much of that came from books, but I think even if I had never read there would still be a part of me that believed in more than reality. Magic existed, we just couldn’t see it or if we did we would rationalize it. I felt like I the only one in on the secret.

Even as I grew older there was a part of me that clung on to believing. Sure I realized that a fat man in a red suit probably wasn’t the one leaving my presents but I did believe that magic played a role during Christmas time. It filled people with hope. That’s what I consider magic nowadays. It’s those moments when you’re most inspired or filled with hope that are the magical ones. You suddenly believe that you can do great things, conquer any obstacle. Call me crazy but to me, that’s magic.

Lucy was the same way. She accepted the unbelievable instantly without any hesitation. Even when others filled her with doubt and second guessed her words, she knew what she saw, she knew there was a magical world called Narnia. That’s me. No one would be able to talk me out of what I saw, what I believed. Well, actually no one would have the chance too because I would have never left the wardrobe. 🙂 So, Lucy Pevensie is my final answer.

What character do you relate to the most? Share it below and happy reading!

30 Day Book Challenge: Day 21

picsart_1375358545585Good evening fellow readers! So of course I found a new challenge to participate in the hopes of proving myself better than the last. I picked up this challenge from The Chronicles of Radiya and very much look forward to 30 consecutive (hopefully, gulp) days of blogging.

Day 21: Favorite Book From Your Childhood

This one is very easy today. My swift reply is The Golden Compass by Phillip Pullman and I’ll tell you why, it is the first book that I discovered by myself.

In 7th grade I had discovered the wonder of the school library. It wasn’t very big by any means but it was cozy and welcoming. I had read all the recommendations I had received and read everything that was popular at the time so I was in the need for a book. I was hesitant though as I browsed the shelves because I had never picked up a book purely based on my own judgment before. I was nervous about getting stuck in an awful book (because my Need to Finish was present even at that age) so I looked for anything that might seem familiar or easy. I didn’t want to take any risks.

That’s when I saw it. I remember it caught my eye because the spine was dark and it was sitting between two bright-colored books. The title made me pause and eventually pull the book off the shelf. I was nervous about the length and not because I didn’t like long books but because I was in an unknown waters. I read the synopsis which is this:

Here lives an orphaned ward named Lyra Belacqua, whose carefree life among the scholars at Oxford’s Jordan College is shattered by the arrival of two powerful visitors.  First, her fearsome uncle, Lord Asriel, appears with evidence of mystery and danger in the far North, including photographs of a mysterious celestial phenomenon called Dust and the dim outline of a city suspended in the Aurora Borealis that he suspects is part of an alternate universe.  He leaves Lyra in the care of  Mrs. Coulter, an enigmatic scholar and explorer who offers to give Lyra the attention her uncle has long refused her.  In this multilayered  narrative, however, nothing is as it seems. Lyra sets out for the top of the world in search of her kidnapped playmate, Roger, bearing a rare truth-telling instrument, the compass of the title.  All around her children are disappearing—victims of so-called “Gobblers”—and being used as subjects in terrible experiments that separate humans from their daemons, creatures that reflect each person’s inner being.  And somehow, both Lord Asriel and Mrs. Coulter are involved.

The synopsis made the book sound complicated. I was in 7th grade so I didn’t want a deep meaningful read I wanted something that would be fun and this synopsis made me doubtful I would find it in this novel. Then– fate struck. The bell rang signaling the end of lunch and the start of class.

I couldn’t let myself leave without a book so with a last weary glance at the novel I checked it out and hurried on through the rest of the day. It was one of the best decisions I’ve made. The Golden Compass is a gripping novel. Full of complex plot devices and fleshed out characters but told in a way that makes it easy for children to understand. Lyra became somewhat of a hero of mine, she was so brave and loyal and I was convinced that if I became involved with a golden compass I would mimic Lyra.

Phillip Pullman’s world creating is unique and at the same time a social critique on today’s society. It’s truly a fascinating read and I recommend it for all ages who enjoy fantasy.

It remains as my favorite childhood novel because I’m just so proud that I found that novel all on my own. I took a risk and it payed off and it’s because of that novel that I’m willing to try anything when it comes to reading.

What was your favorite childhood book? Share it below and happy reading!

The Last Battle by C.S. Lewis

84369*This Review does contain Spoilers

Novel Facts:

  • Published: September 4th, 1956
  • Publisher: The Bodley Head
  • Genre: Fantasy
  • Series: The Chronicles of Narnia
  • Pages in Paperback: 118
  • Preceded by (chronologically): The Silver Chair
  • Quote: “The term is over: the holidays have begun. The dream is ended: this is the morning.”
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The Silver Chair by C.S. Lewis

121763Novel Facts:

  • Published: September 7th, 1953
  • Publisher: Geoffrey Bles
  • Genre: Fantasy
  • Series: The Chronicles of Narnia
  • Pages in Paperback: 114
  • Preceded by (chronologically): The Voyage of the Dawn Treader
  • Followed by (chronologically): The Last Battle
  • Though it was the 4th published out of 7 novels it takes place 6th in Narnian history
  • Quote: “Suppose… suppose we have only dreamed and made up these things like sun, sky, stars, and moon, and Aslan himself. In that case, it seems to me that the made-up things are a good deal better than the real ones. And if this black pits of a kingdom is the best you can make, then it’s a poor world. And we four can make a dream world to lick your real one hollow.”
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The Voyage of the Dawn Treader by C.S. Lewis

140227Novel Facts:

  • Published: September 15th, 1952
  • Publisher: Geoffrey Bles
  • Genre: Fantasy
  • Series: The Chronicles of Narnia
  • Pages in Paperback: 116
  • Preceded by (chronologically): Prince Caspian
  • Followed by (chronologically): The Silver Chair
  • It was the 3rd published out of 7 novels though it takes place 5th in Narnian history
  • Quote: “There was a boy called Eustace Clarence Scrubb, and he almost deserved it.”
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