A Walk to Remember – Nicholas Sparks

The first thing that came to mind as I read about Jamie Sullivan, if we could be bit of ....the kind of girl, Jamie was. If it was not for her, Landon Carter’s story of love would not have been anything different...There is a reason for the people being placed along our path; one of us will be in the giving and the other in the receiving end. The instances in the book that I particularly liked: each role having their own significance, interconnection of Christmas play in the story and Jamie’s life, them reading the bible together, getting along, carter learning that it is our actions more than our intentions that matters.

The story comes to a closure without much account of what happened after the walk. Probably the memories and what she taught through her living, was suffice for him to live his life...

 

Life is what you make it (A story of love, hope and how determination can overcome even destiny) – Preethi Shenoy
Very original, as if somebody’s biography. The earlier pages of the book, leaves us wondering, how can life become a test to Anks but later we get to know. The story seems, being told by the challenger. But I would have liked it more had it been the story of love, hope and determination we show for ourselves and overcoming the destiny instead of it coming from other’s side.

The girl at her earlier years did not share a close relation with her parents, was more inclined academically and towards her friends. Kept the issues for herself and did not discuss it with them till she reached the point where she could no more take it...thus she pushed herself to the edge of the cliff.
Many of us do it, although the situation may not turn that fatal, we either behave thoughtlessly or we over bother... at the end of the episode leaving oneself with critical emotions such as guilt, sorrow, dilemma, despair, emptiness. At present we may not have much to deal with but it is often the thoughts from the past or about future that traps. Life would surely appear tolerable if we only learn to balance what and how much we think about oneself and about others and the circumstance.

Like the Flowing River – Paulo Coelho

Life brought out well through short stories ( some, to our surprise, running only half a page)...the end of each story is something to look out for. Many of these tales have pointers here and there which are to be re read  as it is has so much (substance) to say. Like, the comparison of the weeds in the garden to detrimental thought in our mind, “when something undesirable grows in my soul, I ask god to give me the same courage to mercilessly to pluck it out”, “...in the absence of bitterness, love...really is enough”...has helped me to find  answers to my own vagueness.

 The stories which i enjoyed most,: “The story of the pencil” [remembered, one of our teachers telling it to us during high school send off function; wish, i had known its meaning then(never mind)], “How to climb mountains”, “How one thing can contain everything”, “The pianist in the shopping mall”, “Of books and libraries”(motivating to give away the books that has inspired me), “For the woman who is all women”, “Statutes for the new millennium”, “Transitory glory”, “The cloud and the sand dune”, “Alone on the road”...well thought of  titles. Could find some similar reference even in ‘ The Alchemist’... however, am surely gonna refer to these again and didnt want the book to end, quite contrary to what the writer asks us, ‘to be like the flowing river’ , that never stops, never retraces its path:)
[for more insight on how to be “like the flowing river”, check out the writer's website]