The
SITE
ETHAN
Thoughts and summaries on books I've Read
ENGLISH
A Wrinkle in Time Series:
Book 1:
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A Wrinkle in Time,
“A Wrinkle in Time”, the first book of a five book fictional fantasy series written by Madeleine L’Engle.
As the world renowned: “Chronicles of Narnia”, A Wrinkle in Time is a brilliant mix of fantasy, science fiction, and Bible Based plot integration. It is a beautifully written book revolving around three children who (with the help of three very interesting old women, yes I said “old women”) embark on a mind bending, heart pumping, thrill infusing mission. A mission that if failed, will not only end them, but will send ripples of destruction to the rest of the Universe as we know it.
The journey of this mission provides them the sweet privilege of exposure; exposure like nothing they’ve ever experienced before. Exposure from experiences such as:
#1 Having the privilege to travel a lot(and these guys, oh they like to travel long distance, and when I say long distance, I mean LONG DISTANCE!).
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#2 Meeting People of different “Ethnicities” and experiencing different cultures(“different” is really the tricky word there).
#3 Trying Exotic Foods(by exotic, I mean Cultural or should I say Perspective-Wise Separation).
#4 Learning how to deal with difficult and persuasive people/organs(read the book and you’ll understand why I say “organs”).
Atop the devastating possible outcomes of failure, there is a silver lining. This mission, if completed will restore an important part of their past and hopefully their future as well; If they succeed, their mission will be one that contributes a righteous victory in the long fought battle of GOOD and EVIL. The Experience of this book will surely bring out your inner “Geek” simply due to the well known and even the not so popular scientific theories, and/or facts integrated in the beautiful story of A Wrinkle in Time.
If you love the Bible, surely you will love how they’ve infused plots from the Historical Narratives and truths of God’s Word into this Book. In This bible-based book you will recognize plots of Bible Truths such as: the Tri-Unity of God and the Death and Resurrection of Christ which saves us all from the power of Sin and Death.
I highly recommend reading this book. No matter how Young or Old you are, I’m sure you’re going to enjoy reading:
“A Wrinkle in Time”.
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-ETHAN :)
Book 2:
A Wind in The Door,
Whether or not you’ve read “A Wrinkle in Time”, this fantastically written second book will surely be a delight to read. This book well entertains those who’ve read its predecessor, as well as those newly exploring the 5 book series. In the second book the three main characters: Meg, Charles, and Calvin, seek out a solution for a somewhat devastating sickness set out for one of them. In this book they are accompanied by yet another very interesting trio(and no, not the lovely old ladies). The first of the three is a very watchful, very aerodynamic “Person”, the second is the physical embodiment of the word “mystical”, and the third is a very familiar face(to those who’ve read the first book) who you’d never expect be a part of this interesting gang of protagonists.
I can not reveal much about this book because it wouldn’t be much of a review would it. The highlight I would say about the second book is that it reveals important, wise, and useful truths applicable to life, and our walk in the Righteous path with our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. If I were to tell you the one lesson that stuck with me from this book. It is that:
“The Temptation for man is to stay an immature pleasure seeker. When we seek our own pleasure as the ultimate good, we place ourselves as the center of the universe. Man has his place in the universe but Nothing Created is The Center.”
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Useful life lessons, that is the reason “A Wind in The Door” is a win for me, read the book and let’s see what sticks with you the most. ;D
-ETHAN :)
PRIDE
&
Prejudice
Once in a faraway land, wait no that’s too overused. Once there was this really rich bachelor Mr. Bingley. Mr. Bingley decided to take a vacay on the outskirts of the country, did I mention he was from England? Anyways He decided to rent this really really really really gigantic mansion called "The Netherfield Mansion" which caused people to gossip about the news. The news about the young bachelor eventually reached the neighbouring town, Longbourne. Specifically the Bennett, the Bennett's were a family of 7, Mr. Bennett, Mrs. Bennett, and their five kids, Jane, Elizabeth, Mary, Catherine, and Lydia.
Why were they interested you ask? Well "She a gold digger gold digger" just kidding, the truth is that they’re all single and ready to mingle and if their father dies well the property won't be transferred to them, BAD estate planner I guess. So fast forward Mr. Bingley invites everyone to a ball and Mr. Bingley realizes he really likes Jane because Jane is actually the most handsome Dane there is in a 500 km radius. Also Mr. Bingley's best friend is introduced in the ball, Mr. Darcy
But over all the good looks and the fact that he was richer than Mr. Bingley well he was a jerk who also happened to be the most narcissistic person in the whole flat world, get it cause back then the thought the world was flat, nvm. So then in the party everyone is disgusted by Mr. Darcy's character. Fun fact when he met Elizabeth he finds out that
" He really really really really likes her. " so yah everything goes well. The following day Mr. Bingleys sister who is referred to as Mrs. Bingley in the story invites Jane for dinner, Jane accepts but....... BAM BAM BAM. She rides her horse into the sunset, but gets really wet, the dinner was great but she got sick after, flu or something. Jane ends up staying for the night probably a few nights you'll find out. The next morning Elizabeth hears the news and rushes to Netherfield accompanied by her sisters Catherine and Lydia. Elizabeth is a pretty bookworm, Catherine, and Lydia are regular pretties.
Back to the story, they head to Netherfield but Catherine, and Lydia ditch their sis when they get to the city so they could meet up with some men in uniform, everybody knows a good girl just loves a man in uniform. Fast forward Elizabeth is united with Jane but is ridiculed of being unethical, see before unethical meant not wearing nice clothes or something I mean the woman walks 5+ km on foot to see her sister, and you expect her clean as Janine??!!?!??!???? Anyways after a few days of staying in with Bingley's Jerky family they head home, a day after that Bingley invites them for another ball in the coming week, one specifically for his dear Jane you know cause she delightfully recovered (not). So a few days before the ball they meet a man named Bond, James Bond, just kidding they meet a man named Mr. Collins. Mr. Collins was the man to inherit the Bennett residence, he was sorry for being the person to take it all but he thought marrying one of the daughters would be a gracious blessing to them, what a narcissist this is why the book is called "Pride and Prejudice". Anyways let's meet a new character, Mr. Wickham; this dude fell from the sky. Just kidding, anyways this guy is some sort of servant of the lady Catherine de Brough, guess what the first thing he does is, he starts courting Elizabeth (brains are better than brawns, meaning Jane is pretty but Elizabeth is getting all the attention. See Mr. Wickham here is a jerky liar, he's sooooo desperate that he will court any woman so that his net worth would grow. Mr. Wickham tried so hard to get Jane, and also somehow found out that Mr. Darcy was courting Jane as well which happened to be his archenemy. So to get him out of the picture, he lies and tells Jane that Mr. Darcy was a bad bad person, he said that he was the reason of his finances going down, he even accused him of being a master criminal. Jane on the other hand believed him which was really irrational considering you just met the man and he happens to be the competition of your other suitor.
On the day of the ball everyone enjoys especially Jane, oh wait not everyone Elizabeth hated the party see her other sister Mary, is not such a handsome lady so she is pretty desperate and has to learn many talents. See Jane gets annoyed because Mary started to play piano she really really sucked, then she found herself dancing with the proud Mr. Collins, but she finally blew when she found herself in front of Mr. Darcy kneeling and asking her for her hand in marriage, so she lays him down easily but leaves in anger. The following day Mr. Collins proposes to Elizabeth but Elizabeth refuses *wow these people are so desperate*. Then the following Wickham realizes that Elizabeth is a hard fish to catch and so he quits courting Elizabeth and decides to court a rich maiden named Miss King. A day after that Elizabeth is even more annoyed because Mr. Collins proposes marriage to her best friend, Charlotte Lucas, that’s not why she's annoyed, Elizabeth was annoyed because well for some reason Charlotte said yes (-.-) . Because of this Elizabeth and Charlotte didn't talk for months Elizabeth didn't even say bye to her when she left for London. Oh but this isn’t the worst of the worst, Jane becomes BIPOLAR because she hasn't seen Mr. Bingley for weeks then she receives news that his sister has forced him to marry Mr. Darcy's sister Ms. Georgina Darcy. Weeks past and the sucked specifically for Jane, but something great happens, see the brother of Mrs. Bennett comes to Longbourne, Mr. Gardiner. Mr. Gardiner heard about what Jane was going through and since Mr. Bingley lived in London and he too was from London he proposed to let Jane stay in London in hopes of finding Mr. Bingley.
Again weeks passed and still no hope of finding Mr. Bingley, so they finally decided to bring Jane home. So Elizabeth met up with their cousin Colonel Fitzwilliam
, and so they head to London, in London Elizabeth is finally reunited with Jane and Jane is also very happy to see their cousin Colonel Fitzwilliam. Instead of going home they decide to splice up their life and take a tour in London and are invited to have dinner with
Lady Catherine de Brough. In dinner Lady Catherine insults Colonel Fitzwilliam about his manners on the other hand Elizabeth is praised by Lady Catherine, after dinner they receive a tour of Lady Catherine’s mansion, did I mention Lady Catherine was Mr. Darcy's aunt. In the mansion Elizabeth sees a childhood picture of Mr. Darcy and is amazed by how happy and how good a person he looked like, so Elizabeth got curious and asked Mr. Darcy's nanny how he was as a kid. The nanny assured her the Mr. Darcy was one of the kindest people she knew, soooooo selfless, he never even raised his voice in front of her. Elizabeth was amazed at how different her description was of how she knew him. Then they went off to pick up Jane, when they got out they ran into Mr. Darcy and Mr. Darcy had greeted they kindly he seemed as if he was not the Mr. Darcy they came to know he was somewhat very humble and very pleasing in character. Mr. Darcy then gave a letter to Elizabeth proving that Wickham was a liar, and so he left and Colonel Fitzwilliam decided to come with Mr. Darcy to back Longbourne. Elizabeth proceedes to pick up Jane, and so they head home.
When they get to the station they meet up with Catherine and Lydia who are soooooooo overwhelmed with men in uniform, but Lydia the youngest notices that Elizabeth and Jane are looking sooooooo awfully glum. So Lydia decides to tell them the good news, she told them that she and Mr. Wickham are getting married the next week. Elizabeth is shocked because she knows what kind of man Mr. Wickham is and so she quietly plans on how she will expose Wickham because she doesn't want her sister to get hurt in any way. When they finally reach home their parents welcome them but something juicy happens see Mr. Darcy invites Elizabeth over. So Elizabeth accepts and meets Mr. Darcy there she is astounded at how again Mr. Darcy was shockingly hospitable. Okay so everything is going pretty well but it gets better see Jane asks Darcy why his place looked so grand, Mr. Darcy says that Mr. Bingley is no longer being forced to get married with his sister and that he will be returning to Longbourne in a few days. Elizabeth gladly informs the news to her sister and Jane is filled with a glorious amount of joy. but something bad happens, just as Elizabeth expected Wickham would do something bad, see Wickham has went away and has refused to marry Lydia, the father then made an agreement to pay Mr. Wickham a good amount so that he would marry Mr. Wickham. Wickham accepts and they go off married happily ever after.
A few days later Mr. Bingley returns and everyone is invited to a ball, in the ball you guessed it Jane and Mr. Bingley were together all night long. A few days pass and finally Mr. Bingley Proposes to Jane and are married as soon as possible *wow so much different pair ups, unfaithful courtship, and now marriage number 4*. Finally a few days passed after celebrating Jane's marriage, Mr. Darcy tries one more time to win Jane's heart which he already has but by that I mean propose marriage, so he treats her on a glorious date one soooooo romantic I guess, and then he pops the question and Elizabeth says "YES" and they all lived happily ever after and that was the story of "The Pride and Prejudice" by Jane Austen, the end.
*Its funny though how the author just had to name the most GEORGEOUS GIRL IN THE STORY after her*
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-ETHAN :)
FILIPINO
Buod ng
"Ibong Adarna"
Sa isang malayong palasyo ng Barbanya, nakatira ang haring Fernando, reyna Valeriana, at ang kanilang mga anak na sila prinsipe Don Pedro, prinsipe Don Diego, at prinsipe Don Juan. Isang araw nanaginip ang hari ng masamang panaginip na naging bunga ng kanyang pagkaroon ng malalang sakit. Dahil sa labis na hinagpis ng reyna Valeriana nagpatawag siya ng manggagamot. Dumating ang manggagamot at kanyang sinuri ang kalagayan ng, hari at kanyang sinabi "Isa lang ang pwedeng magpagaling sa hari, ito ay ang Ibong Adarna, pag nahuli ninyo ito ay iparinig ninyo ang awit ng Ibong Adarna sa hari at siya ay gagaling.".
At nagmadaling ipinadala ng hari at reyna ang kanilang panganay na anak na si prinsipe Don Pedro. Ilang bwan ang nakalipas mula noong umalis si prinsipe Don Pedro at nakita na rin niya ang Ibong Adarna na nakatayo sa tuktok ng puno. Ilang minuto palang ang nakalipas at nagsimula na itong kumanta at dahil sa ganda ng boses nito'y napatulog ang prinsipe. Pagkatapos ng pang-walong kanta ay nagsimula itong magbawas, at nangyari na nga ang katakot-takot na pangyayari. May kasabihan na kapag napatakan ka ng dumi ng Ibong Adarna ay ika'y magiging bato. At yun nga ang nangyari si prinsipe Don Pedro naging taong bato.
Taon na ang nakalipas at hindi pa nagbabalik ang prinsipe Don Pedro, at dahil doon ay ipinadala naman si prisipe Don Diego. Ilang buwan ulit ang nakalipas at nahanap rin niya ang Ibong Adarna pero nangyari ulit ang katakot-takot na pangyayari. Dahil sa sobrang ganda ng boses ng Ibong Adarna ay nakatulog din ang prinsipe at gaya ng nangyari sa kanyang kapatid siya rin ay napatakang ng dumi ng Ibon at siya ay naging taong bato. Malubha ang kalagayan ng hari at dahil dito ay namroblema ang reyna kung sino ang kanilang ipadadala para hanapin ang Ibong Adarna. Ayaw niyang ipadala ang kanilang paboritong anak na si prinsipe Don Juan. Ang hindi alam ng reyna ay alam ni prinsipe Don Juan na siya'y di papayagan kaya siya na lamang ay tumakas. Ilang buwan muli ang nakalipas at nahanap rin ni prinsipe Don Juan ang Ibong Adarna at dahil busilak ang kanyang kalooban bago siya nakalapit ay kinausap siya ng isang enkanto. Ang sabi ng enkanto sa kanya "Sa unang idlap ng hating gabi ang ibon ay gigising at kakanta ng walong kanta, sa bawat kanta ay dapat mong hiwain ang iyong braso at patakan ng katas ng dayap sa simula ng bawat kanta. At pagkatapos nitong kumanta ay iwasan mo ang kanyang dumi dahil kung hindi ay ikaw ay magiging taong bato. Ang tanging makakapagpagaling lamang sa iyo ay and tubig sa ilog na katabi ng puno ng Ibong Adarna.".
Sinunod ng prinsipe ang utos ng enkanto at kanyang nahuli ang Ibong Adarna, kanya ring napagaling ang mga kapatid gamit ng tubig mula sa ilog na katabi ng puno ng Ibong Adarna. Habang sila'y papauwi ay trinaydor si prinsipe Don Juan ng kanyang mga kapatid,. Kanilang binugbog si prinsipe Don Juan at iniwan para mamatay. Inuwi nila ang ibon at sinabi sa hari na patay na si prinsepe Don Juan. Pero noong kanilang pina-awit ang ibon, sinabi ng Ibong Adarna na "Kakanta lamang ako pag nandito na ang tunay na nakahuli sa akin!". Maswerte si prinsipe Don Juan dahil nakita siya ng isang tao na nagmalasakit at siya ay ginamot. Noong siya'y gumaling agad siyang bumalik sa kaharian ng Barbanya at dahil doon ay umawit narin ang ibon.Noong gumaling na ang hari ay kanyang isinumbong sa ama ang ginawang pagtatraydor sa kanya ng kanyang mga kapatid. Sa galit ng ama ay kanyang itinakdang ipapatay ang mga prinsipe, ngunit dahil mapagpatawad si prinsipe Don Juan ay kanyang pinatawad ang kanyang mga kapatid at sila'y nagpatuloy sa kanilang mga buhay.
Ngunit ilang araw palang ang nakalipas ay nakatakas ang ibon at dahil doon ay hinanap muli ni prinsipe Don Pedro ang ibon, saka naman siya sinundan ng kanyang mga kapatid. Noong sila na ay nasa gubat kinumbinse nila prinsipe Don Pedro at prinsipe Don Diego si prinsipe Don Juan na doon na lamang sila tumira sa gubat. Nakakita sila ng isang balon, bumaba dito si prinsipe Don Juan na may tali na ang may hawak ay si prinsipe Don Pedro upang siya ay maiakyat muli. Sa loob ng balon ay nakakita siya ng dalawang prinsesa, sina prinsesa Leonora at prinsesa Juana na inaalila ng isang higante at isang serpyente. Upang iligtas ang mga prinsesa ay pinatay ni prinsipe Don Juan ang mga halimaw at kanyang nailigtas ang mga prinsesa. Si prinsesa Leonora ay agad na nahulog ang loob para kay prinsipe Don Juan. Tinali ni prinsipe Don Juan ang mga prinsesa at saka tumawag sa mga kapatid para hatakin ang linya. Pag akyat nila ay nahulog ang loob ni prinsipe Don Pedro kay prinsesa Leonora, at si prinsesa Juana naman ay nahulog ang puso para kay prinsipe Don Diego, at gayon din si prinsipe Don Diego.
Dahil sa inggit binulag ni prinsipe Don Pedro si prinsesa Leonora ng pera at dahil doon ay kanilang iniwan si prinsipe Don Juan at bumalik ang apat sa Barbanya. Dahil dito ay labis na nalungkot si prinsipe Don Juan, nang siya ay nakalabas na sa balon ay kinausap siya ng isang matandang ermitanyo at sinabing meron pang mas magandang prinsesa kaysa kay prinsesa Leonora at ito ay si prinsesa Maria Blanca, na nakatira sa kaharian ng Delos Crystal. Ilang buwan ang nakalipas at nakita na din niya si prinsesa Maria Blanca at kanyang ipinagtapat ang kanyang pagmamahal sa kanya. Agad din na nahulog ang loob ni prinsesa Maria Blanca para kay prinsipe Don Juan. Ang sabi ni prinsesa Maria Blanca ay "Marami nang ginusto na hingin ang kamay ko para magpakasal pero sila'y ginawang bato ng aking amang si haring Salermo. Makikita ka niya pagka gising niya at ika'y tatanungin kung bakit ka nasa kaharian ng Delos Crystal, sabihin mo na gusto mong hingin ang kamay ng anak niya para magpakasal. Pag niyaya ka niyang pumasok sa loob ng palasyo tumanggi ka dahil ikay papatayin niya. Sabihin mo na gagawin mo ang kahit anong utos niya para makuha mo ang kamay ng anak niya para magpakasal. At ako na ang bahalang gumawa ng kanyang mga utos.". Pagkatapos ng ilang buwan ay nagawa na ni prinsipe Don Juan ang lahat ng utos ng haring Salermo sa kanya at pinayagan na niya sila na magpakasal. Ngunit isinumpa niya si prinsipe Don Juan na pag tumingin siya sa ibang babae habang siya ay humihingi ng paalam sa kanyang ama ay mabubura ang ala-ala niya kay prinsesa Maria Blanca, at mamamatay ang haring Salermo.
Umuwi nga siya para magpaalam sa kanyang ama pero pag dating niya doon ay linapitan si ni prinsesa Leonora at dahil doon ay bigla ngang nabura ang ala-ala niya kay prinsesa Maria Blanca. Labis na kalungkutan ang naramdaman ni prinsesa Maria Blanca sa pagkamatay ng kanyang ama at pagka bura ng ala-ala ni prinsipe Don Juan sa kanya. Sa Barbanya naman ay itinakda nang ikasal si prinsipe Don Juan kay prinsesa Leonora pero bago sila ikinasal ay bumalik ang alaala ni prinsipe Don Juan sa tulong ni prinsesa Maria Blanca. Dahil doon ay ikinasal na si prinsipe Don Juan kay prinsesa Maria Blanca at sila ay bumalik sa kaharian ng Delos Crystal para doon ay mamuno. Laking saya naman ni prinsipe Don Pedro dahil napasakanya na si prinsesa Leonora at sa kanya narin ipinamuno ng haring Fernando, reyna Valeriana, prinsipe Don Juan, at prinsipe Don Diego ang kaharian ng Barbanya. Huli ay ikinasal na din si prinsipe Don Diego at prinsesa Juana. At yaon ang storya ng Ibong Adarna.
-Ethan :)