Andie Summerkiss

I have not read the book. People I know are divided into two groups. One is those who think highly of the book and state that it is the best self-inspirational  book ever written. The other group is those who deem the book quite worthless and full of BS. 

Did a little bit of digging, this is the summary of the book by someone who has never read it. 

The Secret is a self-help book based on the “Law of Attraction”. This law conveys how people’s feelings and thoughts attract real events in the world into their lives; from the workings of the cosmos to interactions among individuals in their physical, emotional and professional affairs. The book reveals testimonials of those who have “uncovered the Secret” in their lives. 

Basically, the book and the law are repeating what people have been ignoring all this time. “Ask and you shall receive”. “You shape your universe as you go along”. The main criticism it gets so far is that it points out that victims are the authors of their own misfortunes. 

I find it quite disturbing when this billboard showed up in town. It is a karaoke bar in one of the sleaziest buildings in town. I am sure, inside is full of “secret”. Should we sue them for copyright infringement or something? 

Toni Morrison’s amazing book, The Bluest Eyes, is the most touching book I have read so far. It is a story about an African American girl who wanted nothing but a pair of blue eyes. How she wished for something as strange as that is the essence of the book. It highlights the misery of black people living in a white society, with child sex, irresponsible parents and corrupt society. 

Pecola Breedlove is the black girl who is raped by her father. The child later died in infancy. Her parents’ life story was presented in the book, which set way of what happened to Pecola in the future. Her father Cholly’s childhood, her mother Pauline’s life and their later troubled marriage. The parents, and the world where she lived, had made Pecola the way she was. 

In her own wretched world, she had her own ideas of beauty, probably shared by every black girl those days. Blue eyes, blonde lockets and pale skin were the prize she wished she could have. That way, she could be accepted by her own parents, friends, schoolmates and teachers. At the end, she had to endure the humility of the ill-fated pregnancy, the runaway father and people around her who could not look at her in the eyes because she is just “dirt” and Breedloves are “animals”. 

There are a lot of Pecolas out there even today at this modern age. We are constantly reminded what the ideal beauty should be. There are those who are strong, who can resist the stereotyping and strive under their own unique individualities. But there are also weak souls, who are dictated by media and others, of how they should be. They are the ones who will be imprisoned by those set of “blue-eyes” rules all their lives. It is as sad as it is real. 

What is your idea of beauty? 

I am reading a book by Laura Doyle, The Surrendered Wife. It is such a cute book, full of wisdomised phrases which supposedly will help us wives to get a more fulfilled and peaceful marriage.  I can’t resist to share …

“If you can’t say something nice, don’t say anything at all” - laura doyle’s mom

“Some people find fault as if it were buried treasure” - francis o’walsh

“In marriage, as in nature, water seeks its own level: we marry men who match us” - laura doyle

“You see an awful lot of smart guys with dumb women, but you hardly see a smart woman with a dumb guy” - erica jong

“Try to want what you have, instead of spending your strength trying to get what you want” - abraham l. feinberg

“The only worse thing than a man you can’t control is a man you can” - margo kaufman

“Wisdom is divided into two parts: a) having a great deal to say, and b) not saying it” - anonymous

“I often regret that I have spoken, never that I am silent” - publilius syrus

“You must be the change you wish to see in the world” - mahatma gandhi

“To put the world right in order, we must first put the nation in order; to put the nation in order, we must first put the family in order; to put the family in order, we must first cultivate our personal life; we must first set our hearts right” - confusius

“I praise loudly, I blame softly” - catherine II of russia

“The supreme happiness of life is the conviction that we are loved” - victor hugo 

“A man is already halfway in love with any woman who listens to him” - brendan francis

“Husbands are awkward things to deal with; even keeping them in hot water will not make them tender’ - mary buckley

“Never go to bed angry. Stay up and fight” - phyllis diller

“To love someone deeply gives you strength. Being love by someone deeply gives you courage” - lao tzu

They are all good, if can be put in practice.

 Another book for the hungry weekend. Richard Pelzer’s A Brother’s Journey: Surviving a Childhood of Abuse. I read it in a hurry, wanting to finish the whole book in one sitting. Otherwise would be something sort of a thriller.

The four children - all boys- were raised by a their alcoholic mother. She was being extremely abusive to certain boys, not all of them. The first boy who became her object is Dave. When he was taken away by social services, Richard became the focus of her rage. He went on describing his emotional feeling and quest from the age of 8 till 15 around 1970s. He felt disappointed at his brother, teachers and neighbours who knew the way his mother treated him and Dave but failed to take any actions.   

The ending of the book is a bit of a disappointment. It leaves me in the dark of how he resolved his feelings and anger of his mother’s abusive acts and how he overcame his hunger for her affection.  

For me, it lacks of ingredients that make great novels a good read,  like introduction, plot and ending. It is more like a descriptive story, how he was beaten and when and how he felt. Maybe I should have read the book written about the same family by his brother, Dave Pelzer, A Child Called It (1995). It might give me better insight.

It does raise an issue whether or not people should stand up to those who abuse their children. Should we just stand aside and watch? Should we do something about it?

I finished Mitch Albom’s book last night (trying to distract myself from the sinful thought - food). It is such a strange book, isn’t it. I didn’t get it at all till the fourth person he met. Then the tears kept on coming. I can’t help crying when reading a good book. I even cried on Harry Potter! I know it’s an old book, and I should have read it already. Now I can’t wait to watch the movie.

The whole book is a story of a man named Eddie. The end is apparently the beginning. He led a mundane life, living in the same apartment where he grew up, working on the same job his father inherited him. Until the end of the day.

When he died, he was arranged by God to meet people who had affected his life the most, but never knew so. It helps to resolve the big questions he has during his lifetime. He regretted the way he lived his life. How he never left, never seen anything, never experience anything. But in the end, he was enlightened that he did make a difference in a lot of people’s life in his unique way and they actually appreciated his efforts and contributions.

It reminds us what really matters here on earth, of what our lives are given to us for. Not to chase the worldly obsession of fame and fortune but simple things as living the life, doing the job can mean much more.