True Believer Review

             Nicholas Sparks is one of my all time favorite romance authors. It always amazes me how one of the best romance writers of our time is a man. When the main audience for this genre is dominantly women, how does a man capture that much depth, emotion, detail, into his stories? 
              True Believer by Nicholas Sparks is about the protagonist named Jeremy Marsh who is a science journalist who debunks myths and hoaxes, mostly things of the supernatural sort. He comes to a small, close-nit town in North Carolina to do research on the mysterious lights appearing in the town's cemetery. Before he knows it he falls in love with the librarian named Lex (whose grandmother is a psychic, by the way). Both come with their own baggage however, Jeremy is recently divorced and Lex has been through two serious relationships that did not end so well, therefore, she is the more cautious one. 
               The highlight of this story is not in the romance, it's rather in the mystery of discovering what causes the lights in the cemetery. A lot of writing in this book is dedicated to how Jeremy goes about debunking this mystery. Meanwhile, the mystery has a lot to do with the relationship between Jeremy and Lex considering Lex believes she witnessed her parents ghost in the cemetery. Jeremy and Lex are foil character. Jeremy is a big city journalist who lives life according to science and logic while Lex is a small-town witty and southern belle who puts faith into her parents and grandmother. Ironically the two end up attracted to each other which creates the problem in the story. 
                True Believer is not characteristic of the typical Sparks books that has popularized him like The Notebook or A Walk to Remember. Still its an easy read with clear organized plot and likable characters, besides Jeremy and Lex, who have that fun southern charm to them. 

HamLit - I actually kinda sorta liked it.

          When ever a teacher assigns a teacher assigns a major work to read you usually hear the class complain about either the length, reading difficulty, the boredom, etc; including myself, I must admit. However, I usually end up somewhat liking the books I read in class. Unfortunately, I never had a liking for Shakespeare. Ever since I read Romeo and Juliet eons ago I never understood the hullabaloo about the guy. Honestly, I never thought he was that good. Freshman year we read Merchant of Venice and that was alright but that's as close as it got. I love making lists. It helps me organize my thoughts clearly and succinctly. Here's a top five list of why I never liked Shakespeare.

1. Its overly done.
2. He talks weird. I have difficulty with understanding his diction.
3. Everyone dies in the end. Come one, its time to change the plot ending.
4. He is very wordy....full of monologues, soliloquies. To much complaining not much action.
5. Probably meant to be seen not read.

              I do not mean to completely butcher the name of Shakespeare because I still do think he should be considered a respected author. After over 500 years, he is still probably the most popular and most acclaimed writer ever! I even like one of his works, Hamlet and here's why:

1. I liked the though-provoking character of Hamlet in this.
2. I understood it. (This is also probably because I am older and experienced reader now.)
3. Timeless. Modern people can relate to it.

           
          Today in theology class we watched a movie on priesthood. Surprisingly it was quite modern portrayal  of the Church and priesthood today. In today's world with a busy lifestyle, rapid pace of technological growth, scientific advances, new issues and debates our parents and grandparents never had to go through--where does faith fit in? Is there a purpose for it anymore? Is anyone willing to just sit still, be silent, and just pray anymore? With the topic that arose in class today and with some of the blog posts I have seen from my classmates on the discussion of faith, I decided to put out my point of view on it. So here it goes...
            AD 33 is the date marked as the death of Jesus. Three days after his death was his
resurrection. His spirit remained on earth for forty days until the day of Pentecost when He sent the Holy Spirit down and told his twelve Apostles to spread the Gospel throughout the world. Each of the Apostles had a destination. Peter embarked on a journey to Asia Minor. Andrew ministered in Greece. James the Great introduced the faith to Spain. John was in Ephesus. Sources tell us James remained in Jerusalem, etc. Thomas, however, came to India. He came to a community located in the south and converted many people to Christianity, including my ancestors. Over the centuries a relationship was formed with the Church of the East, or theOrthodox Church, and that Indian Christian community. Today the community is part of the ofthe Malankara Syrian Orthodox Church.
            The Syrian Orthodox Church is one of the most ancient churches within Christian
existence. It is believed to be directly established by the Apostles. Its headquarters is in Antioch, Syria and according to Acts 11:26 “...The disciples were called Christians first at Antioch.” The Orthodox Church is evangelical but not Protestant. It is orthodox, but not Jewish. It is catholic, but not Roman. It is not non-denominational, it's pre-denominational. It has been believed, taught, preserved, defended, and died for. 
            This is a Church that I am humbled to be a part of, knowing that I come from the deepest roots within Christianity, and history itself. With an ever modernizing world, why should we stick to traditions that are over 2,000 years old? The purpose is to connect ourselves with those before us, surpassing what is beyond time.
           What means to me the most is my faith because with a busy lifestyle and hectic schedule, coming to participate in Mass on Sunday is something I come to for peace, and weirdly enough, I like going to church. It is an elaborate service full of art, music, and prayer that help me to keep in touch with my family, culture, past, and undoubtedly, myself.

Namesake: THE MOVIE

Gogul: Do I remind you of the night. 

Ashok: No. You remind me of everything that followed. Everyday since then has been a gift.  

          Over the break, alongside doing some reading, I got a chance to watch The Namesake. After reading the book I was a little skeptical of how the movie could possible rank on par. It did, however, exceed all my expectations.
          It displayed the complexity of humans that words could not possibly show; a family who is torn between tradition and modern life. I had a renewed appreciation and adoration for Gogul's parents. Actually watching them sacrifice themselves to support their children in whatever they wanted, despite ever being appreciated...well, the waterworks came. The scene when Gogul finds out his father died did it for me. 
          Some other things that probably also contributed to making this movie really great was the acting, directing, and cinematography which was perfect and made it easy to watch. The string and effective acting of the actors and actresses in the move were admirable and a strong power point for the movie. Even the soundtrack was beautiful. 
           This move was definitely worth watching!