The Kite Runner

The book takes place in Afghanistan in the early 70s, where two boys, one Pashtun boy Amir and the Hazara boy Hassan grew up together in Amir’s house. They both are from the same country however; they are both from different tribes and are also different in status. Hassan’s father works as a servant for Amir’s father and they both are loyal friends who plays together and fly kites in the peaceful streets of Kabul. It is a marvelous story that will touch one’s heart and will leave a mark in their life. It was also made into a movie that was as good as the book.

Amir’s family is “ethnically superior” Pashtuns, whereas Hassan’s family is “ethnically inferior” Hazaras. Amir, the Pashtun thinks that his father does not like him and likes Hassan more than him because he thinks that his father is blaming him for his mother’s death in the delivery. In return, Amir resects his father’s close friend more than him, who expects him to be a writer one day because as being a child he tells very good stories to his friend Hassan. After winning a kite competition, his loyal friend Hassan runs to get a kite for him, while he was getting the kite, he was beaten in street by another guy who hates Hazara. Coward Amir Witness the beating but does not say anything. The turnover of the story begins, when the day after Amir’s birthday; he goes to Hassan’s beds and hides his watch under his pillow to frame him as a thief so that his father can fire Hassan’s father. He does this because he wants to save Hassan from brutality. At that point they both separate from each other.

After that the Russian invade Afghanistan and Amir’s family escape to Pakistan, as it was close to them. They go to the US, where Amir becomes a writer and after his father death he returns back to his native country. He goes to find his friend, Hassan but finds that he and his wife were killed by the Taliban. Amir goes on search of finding Hassan’s son and finally finds him and brings him with him to the US for a better life.

The Catcher in the Rye

It is the story of a sixteen years old teenager Holden Caulfield, who narrates the story of his life.  At the beginning of the novel, the reader does not know that Holden is in a psychiatric care (as the novel progress, the reader finds out that he is in mental hospital). Holden himself does not know where he is as he is lost and nervous about life and is also isolated from the rest of teenagers as he sees everyone’s behavior and attitude as being “phony” and does not trust anyone except his younger sister, Phoebe.  Moreover, people annoy him a lot.

The novel starts with Holden’s turbulent last few days before his Christmas vacation. During this time period he leaves the school he is attending as he is been kicked out of it because of failing classes and he decides to take few nights alone in NYC without telling his parents. He takes train to NYC and meets the mother of one of his class fellow. He tells the woman made-up stories about his son’s behavior. When he arrives at the Penn station, he goes to the phone booth and decides to call many people, however he then change his mind and does not call anyone. He takes a cab and asks the cab driver about the ducks in Central Park. He asks what happens to the ducks when the lagoon freezes, and he asks because he has no place to go to.

He even goes to Phoebe’s school and sends her a note saying that he is leaving home for good and that she should meet him at lunchtime at the museum. Phoebe asks him to take her with him but he refuses and instead takes her to a zoo. He becomes very happy seeing her sister in the carousel. The story ends with Holden back at home after he got sick (the reader does not know how) and he decides to go back to a new school and hopes that everything will be different and he will not be lost once again.

Whose fault that we read less well today?

The video is about Americans reading a lot less that it used to be. On average American teenagers spend more than three hours a day watching TV, while spending less than 30 minutes reading a book or something that interests them. When students graduate from colleges, most of them do not read a single book. In 2002, only 52% read a book. The video also talks about American and Canadian people functioning illiterate and it is about 40%. It is not only in the US, but also in other industrializes nations.
I read an article, and found that women read more than men do and most of them are fiction. However, this was only true in Britain but not in US because in America both gender are reading fewer books today than in the past. In the video, we hear the narrator blaming the school system for children not reading books because he says that children spent 5 to 7 hours a day in school, 5 times in a week and they also get extra help from the teacher and on top of that when they graduate they cannot read and there is no escape from the responsibility of the school system and the school is the place to blame for it.
The video also points that reading also helps a person in their own language well, or learn/ master another language. Reading has many beneficial yet there are many people who refuse to read a book in years. Reading is an active mental process, which helps a person to use their brain. It also helps improve one’s vocabulary and improve concentrating and focusing. Not only it helps in improving vocabulary, it also built self esteem and improves memory. The choice is yours; you choose whether you want to read and expand your knowledge or be like the other 40% American who refuses to read a book.

Of Mice and Men

It is a novel by John Steinbeck about two best friends, Lennie and George traveling together in search of work on Northern California farm. Of the two George is the man with brain and is a man who does all the talking when it comes to finding something and keeping it. On the other hand, Lennie is a guy who is physically strong but mentally slow. Whenever there is a problem, George is responsible for it as he has promised his aunt to take care of Lennie. Although, both of them are good workers, but there is always a problem with their work because of Lennie whose mind function the same as a mind of a child and he also likes petting soft pets, and for the reason they cannot have the job for long time. George and Lennie have a dream of owning a farm of their own and they are trying to raise money for the farm.

One day while they are both walking in search of work, they find a work in nearby ranch in California. As the readers knows by now that Lennie has a childlike desire of petting soft things, such as rabbits, mice, puppies, and women (which is an issue). Because of the habit of petting soft things, Lennie gets in trouble a lot and they both lose their job. However, this time when they found the job, the night before they started the new job, George showed Lennie a spot to hide if he ever gets in trouble.

Where they found the job, there is a ranch boss’s son whose name is Curley who is an unfaithful man with severe anger management problem. Addition to being unfaithful, he is also a short man who wants to fight with big people like Lennie. George warns Lennie to stay away from Curley, however he also tells him to fight back if Curley picks a fight. Curley has a wife, named Slim, who upon knowing that Lennie likes petting soft things allows him to pet her hair, which she says are very soft. Lennie having the mind of a child hold onto her hair and break her neck and kills her.

Being afraid of Curley, he hides in the place which George had showed to him. Someone in the ranch finds the dead body and tells about it to George, who suddenly knows that Lennie has done it. Knowing the fact, Curley will find and kill Lennie, George goes and find Lennie in the spot and shoot him in the head.

It is a great book and I enjoyed reading it. It is also made into a movie, and the movie is good as well.

 

Books

The Sun also Rises by Ernest Hemingway is a novel about a group of American and British expatriates who travel from Paris to a festival in Pamplona to watch running bulls and fight. It is a very interesting story.

The author of the book is Khaled Hosseini. This book is published in 55 languages and was on the bestseller list on the New York Times. It is also made into a marvelous movie.

The author of the book, Irene Gut Opdyke writes her story in warzone, where she was studying to be a nurse. She saves twelve Jews.

It is the story of a girl who has been missing for forty years. The book takes place in Norway.

It is a book by author John Steinbeck, which was published in 1947. It is the story of Mexican-Indian pearl diver.

It is a novel by Jane Austen, which has remained very popular in English language for over 150 years.

It was The New York Times number one bestseller book. Greg Mortenson, the author of the book tells his journey to Afghanistan and Pakistan. It is a very heart touching book.

The author, F. Scott Fitzgerald narrates about the American dream, as the book was written during the roaring 1920s.

The Hunger Games is an extremely fast paced novel, drawing in the reader with one shock after another.

All the Pretty Horses

 

It is the story of two innocent American teenagers from Texas, who head to Mexico for work. There are different themes within the story, such as the theme of innocence to awareness. Another theme within the story is being a true hero.

The book starts with a funeral of John Grady Cole’s grandfather in 1949. The grandmother sells their Texas ranch and soon will move away, as her husband has passed away. The protagonist of the story John Grady Cole, a sixteen years old loves horses and has a strong passion for cowboys, and wants to live in ranches, but as soon as his grandmother sells the ranch there is nothing left for him. John Grady and his friend Rawlins make plans of running out of their houses and heading to Mexico. At night, they both leave their house, without thinking of the consequences that will haunt them. They both reach the Mexico border by riding horses, and soon they find someone following them. The person following them is another American teenager, who is heading to Mexico as well, and his name as he tells them is Jimmy Blevins. Jimmy is younger and sensitive and stubborn, and together the three of them cross into Mexico.

As soon as they enter Mexico, they face their first battle. Jimmy, the younger of them is superstitious of lightning and soon is stuck by one, making the life miserable for others as well. Jimmy terrified of lightning, strip off his clothes and abandons his horse. The trouble begins for them when Jimmy finds his lost horse in Mexican ranch who has claimed that horse to be his own and will not return it back. Jimmy being stubborn decides not to give up on his horse and decides to get his horse back. They try to steal the horse back and John and Rawlins become separated from Jimmy. They find work on a ranch owned by Don Hector, who is a wealthy landowner. The wealthy Hector has a daughter named Alejandra, who falls in love with john Cole. Alejandra has an aunt who is very cynical and manipulative, and warns John Cole of the circumstances of meeting Alejandra, but he does what his heart tells him and starts an affair with Alejandra. Hector finds about their relationship and turns them to corrupt captain. While at the prison, they meet Jimmy who has killed some people in town while getting his stolen horse and gun back from them.

Later, Jimmy is executed and John and Rawlins are forced to fight constantly to survive. They are later released by the prison commander, who was bribed by Alejandra’s aunt upon Alejandra’s request. Rawlins returns back to Texas, while John stays in Mexico and intent to reunite with Alejandra. He goes back to ranch, where Alejandra’s aunt tells him all her story. Later he meets Alejandra, but she decides to stop seeing him because she cannot abandon her family for him.

John Grady does not want to leave Mexico without his horse, so he returns back to the ranch and take the captain as a hostage. He is wounded on the way back to Mexico and he severely manages and crosses to Texas. Upon his arrival to his homeland, he finds himself lost in the world, and is without a home, and he hears from Rawlins that his father has died and the ranch was sold when he sees his friend Rawlins, who is also a stranger to him now. The novel ends with John Grady riding West without a destination.

There is also a movie about this book; however, it is not as good as the book is. I recommend reading a book.

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