Once upon a time...

I really don't think that I have a single favorite book or story. I guess I'll just talk about my favorite few. So in no particular order, I think my favorite three books have to be: Angels and Demons, Anthem and The Catcher in the Rye. Angels and Demons is the prequel to The DaVinci Code and I personally feel that it is a much better book than The DaVinci Code. The main character is the same and it has to do with religion (to some extent) but the story itself is incredible. Trying to explain it would be very difficult without writing a full essay so I think I'm just going to leave it by saying that it is very cryptic and puzzle-like and it involves the idea of antimatter and the theory that "god" exists but in a completely different way than any religion looks at it.

(Random fact: look at the picture upside down and it is exactly the same as right-side up. It reads Earth Air Fire Water representing the four elements of nature)

Book two is Anthem. Anthem is written about a post-apocalypse colony where the people are controlled by people whom are essentially overlords. It follows the life of a man who has always seemed out of place with the world and sees things differently than the others. He believes that he is helping out his people when he stumbles upon an old subway station and begins to invent things such as light. He presents these to those in charge and he realizes that things weren't as he thought they were. He escapes the society and is followed by a woman who also was different than the others. The story ends almost randomly but it ends where it needs to. After finishing the book and thinking about it, you realize that the story was never about the man but about breaking free from a corrupt society.

I realize that I am one of the few people who really enjoyed this book but I think that if you can get over Holden's attitude and ignore the super-detail of the symbolism that teachers force you to find when you read it then The Catcher in the Rye is a great story. I guess I just really relate to Holden's belief that nothing in the world really seems to be real and that people are fake. It's sad to say that for the most part I do agree with him on that aspect but I obviously don't agree with him about everything. His dislike for movies is a bit extreme but I do understand where he is coming from. The thing about this book is that the story isn't really about Holden, it is about something much greater. It is about the world and how it isn't always the way we see it but sometimes we need to grow in order to see things in a better light. I guess I just enjoyed this book because it pointed out the flaws in society from a person who doesn't want to grow up but already has.