Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl
I first got to know about C&CF when I was in lower secondary form. Yes, a bit slow but better slow than never. (: A friend was reading and talking about the book. I was feeling a bit overwhelmed with all the mouth watering candies she was talking about. I knew I just got to get that book. And that was how I stepped into the world of Roald Dahl. So far I've read quite a bit of his works and I enjoyed it all. Simple story telling sans big words yet effective. I'm currently reading
Boy and
Going Solo (single volume), an autobiographical sort of book about the author himself.
Hounds of the Mórrígan by Pat O'Shea
This book was first published back in the late 80s. I still have a copy of the book and the cover is held together with sticky tape. It's a story about good vs. evil based on Celtic folklore. The writer has such vast imagination vividly depicted in words alone. I've read it about five times since 10 years ago. A must have for those who like fantasy-like stories. Here's a short excerpt of the book ...
Pidge and Brigit's journey begins in Ireland...their destination is unknown. All true creatures help where they can, but ultimately, it is up to steadfast Pidge and courageous Brigit to find their own way.
When ten-year-old Pidge finds an ancient manuscript in a secondhand bookshop, he unwittingly sets into motion an epic battle between Good and Evil. In order to save the world from the Mórrígan, the Goddess of Death and Destruction, Pidge and his little sister, Brigit, go on a quest to find a stone that has been lost for countless years. And always at their heels are the terrible hellhounds – the hounds of the Mórrígan.
It's odd that a good book like this are no longer in bookstores. Fortunately
Amazon.com still has it. This book was rated 4 1/2 stars out of 5 in Amazon! If someone ever makes a movie out of it, I bet it'll be as great as the LotR saga.
The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien
Before the movie LotR was released, I had no idea who J.R.R. Tolkien was. A good friend from the US introduced the book to me and insisted that I should read the book before watching the movie. He's right, the book is so much better than the movie version. The Hobbit and LotR are such classic stories. Odd that we didn't get to read these works in secondary school for literature. School would have been a much nicer experience then. I've yet to complete reading LotR though – for the fact that I lost the book my friend sent to me and there's just never enough time to sit down to have a good read. I cheated by reading the ending though when I was halfway through the book. The temptation was just too great. Next on my reading list will be Silmarillion which I'm told is a
must have since it complements LotR.
The Witch, the Lion and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis
This is the first book I read in the Narnia Chronicles. Odd, but I can't seem to recollect anything about it. But it's just one of those stories that got stuck in my head, urging me to read it again. I'll borrow the complete
Chronicles from Boon and read it soon, really. (:
The Land of Far and Beyond by Enid Blyton
Ah.. one of my favourite books! A story similar to John Bunyan's A Pilgrim's Progress, another classic story. Though I find Pilgrim a bit too difficult to understand, Beyond is otherwise. I remember borrowing this book from my primary school library. Back then, I wanted to read every book written by Blyton, my favourite author. And what a good thing that I found this book! Here's a short review on the book I got from Amazon.com...
The story opens up in the City of Turmoil, where a group of children decide to cause mischief that day. Some time later, they see a stranger. They are fascinated by him, for they have never met someone so beautiful kind. The Wanderer is horrified and disgusted by the evil in the city. He shows five of the children and five other adults, the 'burdens' of dishonesty, deceit and many other things that they carry. Suddenly they have heavy sacks on their backs that they can't remove. They have to journey to the City of Happiness in The Land of Far-Beyond to get rid of them. So begins the journey of ten people, who must face difficulties and challenges to get to their destination. They meet people like Mr. Doubt and Laziness who try to discourage them or tempt them. They also meet people like Content and Daring who help them along and get them out of trouble. They learnt a lot along the way and meet evil dwarves, angels, a cruel giant etc. Finally the remaining few who completed the journey had their burdens removed by the Prince of Peace, 'who carries the burdens of the whole world'. It is Jesus, and the land they are in, is Heaven.
This was my earliest encounter with Jesus. I remember I was eager to meet him too. Though I had no idea how. Well, now I do. (: And this story has stuck with me till today. This is also one of those books that you can't find in bookstores anymore.
It's amazing what books can do to you. You are what you read. Books shape our beliefs and character.
My 2005 new year's resolution... To start writing beautiful stories for children in the hopes that it'll inspire them in the way it did to me.
