Living by the Quotes: My Favorite David Levithan’s Everyday Lines

Reading David Levithan’s novel Everyday immerses me into a surreal dimension and yet impresses me with emotions as real as the emotions I feel while living everyday.  Although the book is a love story, it still presents us a caricaturish psyche that we all struggle to get through.  Deep inside us dwells a particular soul, desiring to become someone else.  Or at least, the self contains sundry “selves” who strive to change despite being too attached  to its very being.  And when that very being is shaken, things begin to get complicated.  Complex.  And our only choice is to let go.  Never get too attached.  Do not interfere.

This is not a review of Levithan’s novel.  Yes, I am halfway done reading the book and I must say, I’m hooked.  Ever since I read The Fault in Our Stars by John Green (which is also one of my favorite young adult authors by the way), my fascination for plots told from a guy’s point of view (or predominantly narrated with emphasis on male’s own struggles and issues) has given new hope (and I’m not even exaggerating).  So far, I enjoy reading these titles because it’s so meta, meaning going beyond the usual theme and transcends one’s notion of love and life in all its complexities, to new heights.  Hurray for post modern literature!

When Ayah lent me Everyday, I noticed something conspicuous as I turned the pages of the book.  Some lines were highlighted.  Indeed, the owner as engrossed as I was…well, am, have both found gems of truth and relevance from the lines, and thus, while thinking of what to blog about tonight, I have decided to share these quotable quotes from the book,  And without further ado, here are the lines which I (I mean we) found striking.

1. After a while, you have to be at peace with the fact that you simply are.

2. We all want everything to be okay.  We don’t even wish so much for fantastic or marvelous or outstanding.  We will happily settle for okay, because most of the time, okay is enough.

3. It’s one thing to fall in love.  It’s another to feel someone else falling in love with you, and to feel a responsibility toward that love.

4. The joy is in remembering; the pain is in knowing it was yesterday.

5. Kindness connects to who you are, while niceness connects to how you want to be seen.

6. People take love’s continuity for granted, just as they take their body’s continuity for granted.  They don’t realize that the best thing about love is its regular presence.

7. The sound of words as they’re said is always different from the sound they make when they’re heard, because the speaker hears some of the sound from the inside.

8. You shouldn’t have to venture deep down in order to get to love.

9. I am learning that a life isn’t real unless someone else knows its reality.

10. Falling in love with someone doesn’t mean you know any better how they feel.  It only means you know how you feel.

11. Part of growing up is making sure your sense of reality isn’t entirely grounded in your own mind.

12.But the thing about a cry for help is that someone else needs to be around to hear it.

13. If other people see you differently, you’ll end up seeing them differently, too.

14. It was so much easier when I didn’t want anything.  Not getting what you want can make you cruel.

15. This is what love does: It makes you want to rewrite the world.  It makes you want to choose the characters build the scenery, guide the plot.  The person you love sits across from you, and you want to do everything in your power to make it possible, endlessly possible,  And when it’s just the two of you, alone in a room, you can pretend that this is how it is, this is how it will be.

So, what’s your favorite line from the book?  Honestly, I can so relate to the last paragraph. That is soo true.  Not because I’m a writer, but because, once in my life, the story became real.  So the story pretty much sums up my own plight.  Though I don’t wish to live in someone else’s body everyday, but I guess, the book simply tells us that, yeah, love is a powerful thing.  We don’t know when it happens, but as soon as it strikes, we just have to give in.  And we must love that person whoever she or he is while there is still time.

Quote of the Day

The Swag of the Shelf: Because today is Show Off Your Bookshelf Day

When I was in college, my lit professor Dr. Sid Cruz would always encourage us to invest in books.  I wasn’t  a bibliophile really and I only bought titles assigned to us as reading materials, though, owning a mini-library has become one of my biggest dreams (up until now).

I’ve always wanted to have a bookshelf.  But I had no idea how to fill it with books, since I only received a meager allowance from my parents.  So books were not really my priority during college, although I was a frequent visitor of our university library (I could have won an award for that) and I’d rummage the unfrequented shelves in the “darkest” corners of the Circulation Area.

Now that I have all the opportunity to buy the books that I wanted to read, I always find time to drop by my favorite bookstore for some dirt cheap titles–from classics to reference books.  Until I discovered that my “hanging” shelf could not hold the books anymore that I decided to buy a bigger shelf.  Actually, it was my mom who bought the shelf for me.  I sill have to pay her though.

Owning a bookshelf is a dream come true for me.  It’s like an extension of myself, my security blanket, my comfort zone.  I have three bookshelves now.  One at home (I always wanted to arrange the books and wipe off the dust that covers the shelf, but since I’m Iloilo-based, I don’t get to do it anymore.  And I don’t want anyone to touch my books. I get territorial when somebody enters my bedroom.  I have another shelf here in the dormitory.  Mostly reference books and workbooks that I use as supplementary materials for my lessons.  But I do bring my fave novels and poetry collections in Iloilo so everytime I get bored, I just peruse the poems and scan through chapters of the novels that I have already read.  And I “own” one shelf in the faculty room.  When combined, I really think that one shelf is not enough to “niche” my collection.

So, in response to a Twitter follower who invented the Show Off Your Bookshelf Day, here it is. My bookshelf showing some swag.:D

Give All to Love

I was rummaging through the shelves of my favorite bookstore when this book landed on my hand.  I’ve been wanting to have a collection of love poems and thank goodness, I finally found one.  So before I hit the sack, let me share one of my favorite love poems included in this compilation. Although there are lots of great poems, I just wanna share the poem that approximately resonates my romantic condition right now. 🙂

Four Centuries of Great Love Poems
Compiled by Debra Starr
Border Classics

Of Love
by Robert Herrick

How Love came in, I do not know,
Whether by th’ eye, or eare, or no:
Or whether with the soule it came
(At first) infused with the same:
Whether in part ’tis here or there,
Or, like the soule, whole every where:
This troubles me: but I as well
As any other, this can tell;
That when from hence she does depart,
The out-let then is from the heart.

My Simple Pleasure

This summer, I have  all the time in the world to read all the books that I wanted to read even before the vacation started.  I don’t have to worry about checking white notes and solving grades anymore. Reading keeps me grounded at home.  Everytime I flip the page of the novel or a poetry collection, my imagination takes me to a different world. A new realm.  Being surrounded with books makes me feel safe.  That’s why, I’d rather be inside my room than going outside.  The sight of bookshelves stir up my day.  And it’s not a surprise that my biggest goal is to have a library of my own.  I’m getting there…

My Fave Five: Books That Influenced Me

 

1. Story of a Soul by St. Therese of Lisieux. St. Therese is my patroness, so at times when I feel that I’m losing track of my spiritual odyssey, I turn to this small book which constantly reminds me of that “little way” I ought to follow. The Little Flower wrote this autobiography when she was suffering from her illness, and by reading this book, I get a glimpse of her life and spirituality. According to her, it was not necessary to engage in manifold practices, to perform rigorous penances, to receive extraordinary graces. What we needed was simply to acknowledge our “nothingness” and approach God with love and confidence.

2. Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte. It was the greatest love story I have ever read. Seriously. The passion Heathcliffe and Katherine feel for each other is just so intense I even questioned myself if that kind of love actually happens in real life. The epitome of “soulmate” reverberates throughout the novel. Everytime I read Wuthering Heights, I get encumbered by the rolling thunderclap that loom over the moors as dreary as the romance of these star-crossed lovers.

3. The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde. Years ago, I almost hoarded dirt cheap books from National Bookstore. I didn’t know Oscar Wilde at that time yet, and I guess, I just blindly grabbed Dorian Gray from the shelf. The synopsis at the back of the book seemed interesting. The novel tells of a young man named Dorian Gray, the subject of a painting by artist Basil Hallward. Basil is impressed by Dorian’s beauty and becomes infatuated with him, believing his beauty is responsible for a new mode in his art. Dorian meets Lord Henry Wotton, a friend of Basil’s, and becomes enthralled by Lord Henry’s world view. Espousing a new hedonism, Lord Henry suggests the only things worth pursuing in life are beauty and fulfillment of the senses. Realizing that one day his beauty will fade, Dorian (whimsically) expresses a desire to sell his soul to ensure the portrait Basil has painted would age rather than he. Dorian’s wish is fulfilled, plunging him into debauched acts. The portrait serves as a reminder of the effect each act has upon his soul, with each sin displayed as a disfigurement of his form, or through a sign of aging.

4. The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway. We discussed this literary masterpiece in our Fiction class, and honestly, none of us really appreciated the story when our professor assigned us to read it before we tackle the elements and the significance of the novel. I actually got bored, as bored as the old man waiting to catch fish in the middle of the ocean. But when our awesome teacher finally “deboned” the story in its bits and pieces, I was awestruck at how this very simple organic literary piece holds a grandeur of wisdom. What I learned about the story is how we constantly struggle through our lives. The ambition and the demands of the urbanized world tend to pull us from seeing our own humanity. We forgot to see our own courage and strength to deal with life and to survive. The Old Man and the Sea lets us realize the HERO in us.
5. The Sorrows of Young Werther by Johann Wolfgand von Goethe. As the title itself suggests, this book is by far the most “sorrowful” book I have ever read. I mean, there’s no tinge of joy can be found in the characters and I just so love to smash the protagonist’s head. Like Wuthering Heights, I’m pissed off at how these characters could subject themselves to suffering for the ones they love, and in Werther’s case, his love for Lotte, to the point of committing suicide. Oh, when love took hold of you, right? I only read The Sorrows of Young Werther once. Will I ever read it again? Perhaps not.

 

SO WHAT’S YOUR FAVORITE BOOK? CARE TO SHARE?

Quote of the Day

“Admit it. You aren’t like them. You’re not even close. You may occasionally dress yourself up as one of them, watch the same mindless television shows as they do, maybe even eat the same fast food sometimes. But it seems that the more you try to fit in, the more you feel like an outsider, watching the “normal people” as they go about their automatic existences. For every time you say club passwords like “Have a nice day” and “Weather’s awful today, eh?”, you yearn inside to say forbidden things like “Tell me something that makes you cry” or “What do you think deja vu is for?”. Face it, you even want to talk to that girl in the elevator. But what if that girl in the elevator (and the balding man who walks past your cubicle at work) are thinking the same thing? Who knows what you might learn from taking a chance on conversation with a stranger? Everyone carries a piece of the puzzle. Nobody comes into your life by mere coincidence. Trust your instincts. Do the unexpected. Find the others.”

—	Timothy Leary