It was Jo March who said,
“Some books are so familiar that reading them is like being home again.”
Last night I was watching the movie Little Women, and though I’d read the book years and years ago when I was still a school girl, last night was my first time watching the movie. I always identified with Jo March, second eldest of the March girls and an avid dreamer, writer and a tomboy at heart, just as I was in school… still am. So watching Winona Ryder bring the jolly Jo alive for me years after having read the book was like a peek into those old days.
But when Jo (Ryder) said the above quoted line, that’s when I felt this tug in the pit of my belly, and this sudden emptiness swamped me, that made me miss my favorite books. There is so much truth in that one line! Anybody who has been an avid reader or has enjoyed a book in particular will know and agree that we form attachments with these books so deep that they feel like real people to us; or such necessities of life, that we can’t part with them unless we absolutely and unfortunately have to.
Jo had meant it for Shakespeare. I mean to say it for those two books that I’ve always gone back to whenever I seek comfort – Far From the Madding Crowd and Gone With the Wind, that taught me that life comes full circle, and that strength of character (through Melanie’s and Gabriel’s characters) and determination (through Scarlett’s character) are the two things you must possess to survive in this world.
These two books made a deep impact on me in my growing-up years. Its as if they were a sort of watershed in my reading life, where before them were books that I read only to entertain myself, and after them, I read only to gain and to learn from books. So when I need to center myself or when I just want to recall why I love reading, I return to these books. To these lines specifically –
‘After all, tomorrow is another day!’
‘When a strong woman recklessly throws away her strength she is worse than a weak woman who has never any strength to throw away.’
‘Burdens are for shoulders strong enough to carry them.’
‘Love is a possible strength in an actual weakness.’
‘Perhaps – I want the old days back again and they’ll never come back, and I am haunted by the memory of them and of the world falling about my ears.’
‘O, how I wish I had never seen him! Loving is misery for women always.’
And my favorite from Gone With the Wind –
‘Death, taxes and childbirth! There’s never any convenient time for any of them.’
Unfortunately I don’t have the time to re-read them, so I’m just skimming through, quickly taking in the beauty and the pain of those words and remembering what it was like to have first read them.
And so the point to this post, dear readers, is this –
Post your favorite book that reminds you of home,
or of good things,
or has taught you something profound,
and leave a quote from the book in the comments section below.
Let the reminiscing begin…
In response to the Daily Prompt Word – Jolly
Copyright ©2017 Pradita Kapahi.
All rights reserved.
Image Credits: Pradita Kapahi, 2017.
Paulo Coelho’s books especially ‘Like a flowing river’ & Eat, pray, love by Elizabeth Gilbert
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Nice, Ma’am. Any quotes from those two books that you might like to share with us?
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Now and then, I have to stop writing and use a sharpener. That makes the pencil suffer a little, but afterwards, he’s much sharper. So you, too must learn to bear certain pains and sorrows, because the will make you a better person. ~ Paulo Coelho, Like a flowing river
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From Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings…. “Deserves death! I daresay he does. Many that live deserve death. And some that die deserve life. Can you give it to them? Then do not be too eager to deal out death in judgement. For even the very wise cannot see all ends.”
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What a perfect line and what a book, thought I should admit here that initially I found it very tedious and boring. It’s the only book that took me a whole month to finish, but the time, in the end, was worth it. Thanks for reminding me just why Lee 🙂
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I wholeheartedly agree tbat books are a very special and often magical place to place our soul into. Our minds wash over our hearts as we indulge in such tales that we can often identify with. Books are where the home is for me and such lie in a book called The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger. Narrated by a young man named Holden, who tells his story of going through alienation, loss and a sense of belonging. It is a classic much like Little Women that pulls on your heartstrings for the better and the worse but also for courage.
” Don’t ever tell anybody anything. If you do, you start missing something “. ( Holden)
” There are all kinds of courage. It takes a great deal of bravery to stand up to our ememies but just as much to our friends” ( Dumbledore from The Philosopher’s Stone)
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I loved The Catcher in the Rye as well….would the book Little Women interest a man?
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Hi there Lee, it is nice to virtually meet you. I cannot recall Little Women as clearly as Pradita may tend to but it is a novel that similarly follows the hardship of life and the misendevours like Holden went through. Though it is focused on four sisters and their childhood through certain family dramas, I would think men could also enjoy the novel and appreciate the story.
It is a different style to Catcher in the Rye so it also depends on what you enjoy from a book. I personally do not tend to read much romance and heavily family orientated drama novels but there can be some exceptions as this. You may enjoy Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck which I am fond of.
Sincerely Sonea
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Hello Sonea, and it is good to meet you as well. I’ve read The Pearl and East of Eden by Steinbeck. I should read Of Mice and Men as well. Thank you!
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I second what Sonea says, Lee 🙂
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Little Women is a classic by all means Lee. Its a coming of age story of the March girls and I especially loved it because I identified with Jo March a lot. Maybe to you it may seem a little juvenile, not in its storytelling because that is excellent, but because the story itself may seem a little redundant to you. Maybe I had the good fortune f reading it at the right time in my life, when I was at the same age as Jo was. But it’s a light-hearted classic, so go ahead 🙂
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I do love The Catcher in the Rye, too! I like Holden!
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That’s a great book to love. And would you believe it, I’ve till date never been able to read it even though its always been on my to-be-read list 😦
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I hope you get to have the time to read it. It’s a lot, lot better than the movie. Oh, Hassan in the movie is really like Hassan in the book. Oh, my heart again!
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I mistook this for The Kite Runner. But yes, I hope you get to read The Catcher in the Rye. Another favorite! I can’t wait to read what you’d say about it. 🙂
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Yes. I hope I can read it soon. Thanks for participating 🙂
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Thanks for writing about it! 🙂
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You’re welcome 🙂
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Haha… good books have a way of doing that to you, don’t they. I’ve read the book too. It was as much a pleasure as the movie. But you’re right, the book was a LOT better, like most books are.
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Sonea, dear girl, you’re back. I hope you’re doing well. Thanks for participating in this post and discussing Catcher in the Rye. This is the second time I’m admitting under the same post that I haven’t yet read this great book. I don’t know why and how, but everytime I picked it up, I couldn’t go beyond the first two pages. A shame, I know, because I absolutely love the premise of the book. Maybe every classic has a time when it should be read/enjoyed in a person’s life. You and another blogger have reminded me that I should pick it up again. Thanks for participating too 🙂
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I have only come back to WordPress after a week or so which seems to become a refocusing theme for moi but things with my health have been far too challenging on top of writing but I’m trying where I can.
That is perfectly fine Pradita if you could not find yourself enjoying or being immersed in such a story because after all we are all made up of different thoughts and it is lovely to read more about your ideas too. I think the Harry Potter novels would be enjoyable for you..(they forget to tell you it’s not just for the little ones heh). It’s a comfort one for me but my favourite author has to be Agatha Christie.
I’ve been reading or rather listening to audio books on her Hercule Poirot mysteries and they are divine or to me at least. Her mystery ‘who did it ‘ muder stories are full of wit and excitement.
I do love this post of yours. It’s lovely to hear about how you identify with such characters. I’ve also always felt like Matilda (minus the super powers heh) in which she visits the library so often being transported into books as I did as a child and her passion to do things whilst her parents could care less. Books are for the keeping i say.
Sonea
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Hercule Poirot. Who else will read these classics if you won’t. 😉 I have read the HP series and watched all the movies too. But apart from having a genuine admiration for JK Rowling’s world building skills, I won’t call myself a fan of the series, like many I know are. But the Catcher in the Rye, boy do I want to read it. Just got to find the time. 😊
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For me, The Kite Runner. It’s a book that made me feel emotionally exhausted but definitely taught me something profound. A story about friendship, betrayal, redemption, family, etc. The only book that made me cry more than once. The writing is splendid. Hassan will always be on top of my favorite characters and just remembering the story makes my heart ache again. Oh, my heart!
One of my favorite quotes is this: “There is only one sin, only one. And that is theft. Every other sin is a variation of theft. When you kill a man, you steal a life… you steal his wife’s right to a husband, rob his children of a father. When you tell a lie, you steal someone’s right to the truth. When you cheat, you steal the right to fairness… there is no act more wretched than stealing.”
Love this post, Pradita! I’ll be rereading The Kite Runner once more because of this. 🙂 🙂
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Thanks a lot for that lovely quote. I’ve read the Kite Runner, watched it too, and each time I have been smitten by the storytelling and devastated by the tragedy in the story. Thanks for reminding me of it and I’m glad you liked this post.
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It’s heart-wrenching but would love to read it again and again! 🙂
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I know. Some books you revisit only because of how they make you feel alive and vulnerable again.
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Right! 🙂
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