As I look through my bookshelf, start reading so many book titles, I want to choose about the 5 books which everyone should start reading before they exhale their last breath in this world. These books take us to a world which we may have not seen or experienced:
Man’s Search for Meaning written by Viktor E. Frankl
A life-changing story of Viktor Frankl. He has written about his experiences which he faced as a prisoner of World War 2 in Nazis’ jail. Fortunately, he became a holocaust survivor. This incident gave him the motivation to come up with a theory called logotherapy i.e. finding the purpose of one’s own life.
His way to see life is that we cannot have control of the circumstances but we control our feelings about it.
He divided it into:
- Work: in simple terms, it means that we should do something important in our lives. It could be anything that could be meaningful.\
- Love: His definition is that we should care about somebody. In a broader sense to look after someone.
- Courage: It means to show acceptance of the difficult times and bearing with the time until it ends. We learn a great lesson as readers of this book. It gives us guidelines about the way we perceive our lives. Many of us go into a state of denial and increase our sufferings. We tend to forget that we can change our perceptions and could live with acceptance.
A people’s History Of United States Written by Howard Zinn
This book talks about American history from a Native American’s viewpoint. It discusses the genocide that happened during the times of Christopher Columbus. How the African people were brought to the United States as slaves. The local countrymen faced injustice.
It also uncovers that the founding fathers of the USA were businessmen whose cruelty brought a system which favoured their interests. The women faced atrocities.
He also talks about the socialism parties in the United States which were sidelined by mainstream politics. The author also talks about World War 2 where the two Japanese cities were unnecessarily bombed. He also criticized Bill Clinton as President. He also discusses the terms of Reagan and Bush Junior. He disagrees with the narrative that didn’t like the freedom which led to the attack on twin towers.
The Phantom Tollbooth is written by Norton Juster
The main plot of the story is the character called Milo who is bored and gets a make-believe tollbooth. He enters the fascinating world of language. He gets on the mission from King Azaz to rescue two princesses. The latter provides him with the guide. He also meets the dog clock.
He accomplished his mission and returned to his home and realized that the long adventure just happened in minutes. The next day he goes to his school and when he comes back home, he comes to know that tollbooth is lost.
Poems Written By Elizabeth Bishop
As the name suggests this book is about the set of poems written. There are various topics covered in her book ranging from childhood, nature, secular and travel etc. Her book gives great emphasis on geography mainly New York City.
This book is good for someone who loves reading poetry. She successfully able to create a clear image in the minds of the reader, for example here are quotation:
“While his gills were breathing in the terrible oxygen – the frightening gills, fresh and crisp with blood, that can cut so badly –”
Here one can clearly see that she is explaining about the fish. She has been described by critics as a sympathetic observer which means that to emphasize with her, not with her.
The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle Written By Haruki Murakami
The plot of the book is talking about a Japanese man called Toru, who quits his job as a lawyer and comes back home. He lives with his wife and a cat. They both are childless. One day his cat disappears and then starts new chapters of adventures, violence, etc in his life, he meets a retired army officer who fought in World War 2.
He later meets a lady and son who run a secret business and soon he joins their business. Their office is located in the well which has a wall connecting to the hotel. When he enters he gets a blue-black child’s mark on his face. The author concludes the book by shattering his personality and regaining his self again.
Conclusion
The above mentioned, have captivating topics to read, the characters. These are full of heartbreaking romance novels. They give us an idea to live our lives as gratitude and cherish the relationship which sometimes we take for granted. The love we share with each other may turn out to be long lasting memories in our lives.
Tags: novels