1. Man's Search for Meaning by Viktor Frankl
This book is a personal account of a psychiatrist's experience in Jewish concentration camps during World War II. The first part of the book are his stories and experiences mingled with a bit of psychology. I found this part of the book enlightening and worth reading. It really made me think about all the privilages I've had throughout my life and how much I take some things for granted. It was also an inspiring account of what people help onto, what they found meaningful in their fight to survive. I particularly enjoyed the real experiences and thoughts from a man who had actually experienced such horrificness from a more psychological perspective. The second part of the book is an in-depth look at his psychological theories and analyzation associated with life in a concentration camp. I thought I would be really into the second half of the book, considering I'm in a psychological field of study; however, this was not the case. I read about 10 pages into his analysis and was bored. If I really wanted to have to think and analyze and put on my psychologist hat, I probably would have enjoyed it more. But I didn't, so I decided not to finish reading the author's long description of logotherapy and how one's behavior and perspective it plays a role in helping people survive when they are placed in extremely stressful situations. The first half of the book is fabulous -- read it! The second half is skip-worthy.
2. The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson
I was surprised at how much I liked this short story. It had several references to overcoming the "natural man" and the difficulties associated with that goal. I also thought the writing style of Mr. Stevenson really captured the true essence of the story. His use of letters allows the reader to step into the mind of several different characters without losing the main focus or feeling associated with the story. It expands the reader's vision of the sequence and relationships between the different characters and events, as each slowly comes to understand who Mr. Hyde really is. I highly recommend it! Its a good, quick read!
3. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban by J.K. Rowling
When the Harry Potter books became big I refused to read them; not only because I wasn't much of a reader growing up, but because I wanted to make a point and go against the big fad of the day. One of my best friends growing up, Tiffany, was obsessed with the Harry Potter series. During one of our sleepovers she locked me in her room and forced me to listen to her read the first couple chapters of the first book because she thought it would make me want to continue reading. Needless-to-say her attempt failed. My mother also jumped on the band wagon and began to read the Harry Potter series to my little brother and me at night. I remember falling asleep consistently during the few chapters I was present for, then I stopped reading with my mom at night. I can't remember if it was because I was just too cool to read with them anymore or if it was because I just didn't like the book -- probably a combo of both. What I'm trying to say is that even opening a Harry Potter book is a huge step for me --
As I sat in the theater at the midnight showing of the 6th movie last year with my friend, Xazmin, I made her a promise that I would read the Harry Potter series. Well, about a year and a movie later, I have started to fulfill that promise. I was told that the first two books in the series are kind of slow and exactly like the movies, so I decided to start reading with the 3rd installment -- I feel perfectly justified in skipping the first two books. I am happy to report that I have completed book #3 and that it was pretty delightful. I really liked finding the things that had been left out or changed from the movies. I thought this book was pretty close to the movie. But it was nice to get a deeper understanding of Sirius's relationship with Harry's dad and Snape's hatred for Harry.
On to libro numero cuatro! My goal is to finish the series before the last movie comes out (in July?). I don't think I'll have any trouble meeting this goal.
Xazmin and Tiffany... you should be proud!
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