On 'Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children'

"Stars, too, were time travelers. How many of those ancient points of light were the last echoes of the suns now dead? How many had been born but their light not yet come this far? If all the suns but ours collapsed tonight, how many lifetimes would it take us to realize that we were alone? I have always known the sky was full of mysteries, but not until now had I realized how full of them the earth was."

This line in Ransom Riggs' Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children was one of the musings of Jacob Portman, a boy who has always been fascinated by the stories told by his grandfather Abe--stories about Abe's childhood, the peculiar kids he grew up with, even the monsters they were running from--and the photographs he showed to prove them. But when Jacob realized that he is already too old for fairy tales, he was convinced that these stories were only made up. It was not until the day of his grandfather's death that he began to question again which is true and which is not, for on that same day he saw the creature common in the stories he dismissed as unreal. And for the days after the tragedy, that creature continued to haunt him in his dreams. This urged Jacob to set out on an adventure to find out what his grandfather meant in his last words, and perhaps uncover the truth behind all the stories.

The book combines prose and vintage photographs which is an effective technique in creating a fantasy world such as this. For me, it felt like I was watching a movie in my head, the pictures contributing a lot in setting up the mood.

On 'The History of Love'

"Once upon a time there was a boy who loved a girl, and her laughter was a question he wanted to spend his whole life answering."

The first time I read this line, I thought, I just have to read the book where this quote was lifted from! Being a sucker for fairy tales is one reason. Another is because I had a strong feeling that it's going to be a great read. You ever had that connection? You haven't read any works from that obscure author and yet after reading the blurb, you strongly felt like it's going to be your next favorite book. Well I had that with Nicole Krauss' The History of Love. And Bennard, being so supportive in my new hobby, bought the last copy Fully-Booked Shangri-La had that time.

The story revolves around Leo Gursky, a Holocaust survivor from Poland who came to America for refuge and for the hope to find the only girl he ever loved. Unknown to him, this girl, who left for America before the Germans invaded their place, was pregnant with his baby. She heard about the killings in Poland and, after not receiving replies to her letters, thought he was dead. She gave birth to a son, who grew up to become a famous writer, and married another man. Eventually, Leo found her and realized that he was too late. He stayed in America, learned the trade of being a locksmith, and watched his boy grow up from a distance. He then wrote a book which he titled "Words for Everything."

On 'Perks of Being A Wallflower'

A coming-of-age story of a boy which tackles issues like sex, love, family, and friendship, Perks of Being A Wallflower is a book to which one can relate to in more ways than one. That feeling of being aware of other people around, wondering how and what they are feeling at the moment. That feeling of being recognized which marks the beginning of being conscious of how you want to act in contrary to what you think others want you to act. That feeling of wanting to be with friends, how their company makes each second precious, and how their absence makes life somewhat dull. That feeling of first love and how it doesn't easily go away. That feeling of always wanting to be reminded that you are loved--especially by the first people you came to know: your family.

Perks of Being A Wallflower is the story of a year's happenings in a fifteen-year old boy's life. It is written in a way that he talks to "a friend" through letters, giving the reader the sense that they are delving into someone else's diary. Since Charlie, the protagonist, narrates his story as it happens, the things he talks about can get too random sometimes. He also deviates from the topic so often which I find amusing because that's how I am too most of the time. But what is more fascinating is that those random digressions from the main topic are actually kind of interesting. Think of the rat experiment.