The Perks of Being a Wallflower, a book review

Author: Stephen Chbosky
Pages: 213
Year Published: 1999
Rating: A hearty 4/ 5 stars
Goodreads / Amazon / Trailer   

The problem was nobody was there to play Rocky, the muscular robot (I'm not quite sure what he is). After looking around at everybody, Mary Elizabeth turned to me.
"Charlie, how many times have you seeen the show?"
"Ten."
"Do you think you can play Rocky?"
"I'm not cut and hunky."
"It doesn't matter. Can you play him?"
                                                                            "I guess."
                                                                            "Do you guess or do you know?"
                                                                            "I guess."                                  
                                                                            "Good enough."                                                        

Charlie (sighing)

Charlie (chuckling softly)

Charlie.

Sometimes, it's that book that's all weird and unstructured and messy that draws you in. And this is one of them.

Charlie is a freshman. He is also very socially awkward, but very aware of what surrounds him. Or more like unaware that he is aware. He notices the little details that people leave out, and he perceives the silent emotions emitting from a person's soul.

Classical Piece of the Week: Valse Sentimentale

As she peers out the window, a cloud of fog swarms near her view, leaving the objects of her sight mere shadows. She turns herself around, back in the vision of her cozy room, and with her wrinkled fingers, she carefully picks out a disc from her classical collection. It has been a long time since this one has been played, she thought, as she gently blows off the dust that had settled on the disc. Valse Sentimentale by Ptyor IIyich Tchaikovsky, were the words engraved on the label. 

With great gentleness, she places the disc onto the phonograph, and positions the needle onto the former. And a few wobbly turns of the handle later, the disc starts to revive. First, with a sharp, raspy sound, until soothing strokes of a harp can be perceived through the haziness. Then, the slightly wavering, but oh so alluring melody of a violin drowns off all other sounds, and even the lighted candles in the room seem to be swaying to the beautiful valse. 

Some Stuff! (You should read it!)

Ok, so first of all, I changed up my blog's look! I think now the colors are a little more matchy, which makes the blog look (hopefully) a little less messy. I also got a new button, so if you have the sudden urge to stick it up on your blog, I don't discourage that! ;) I'd love to make a few more tweeks, but my Template Designer isn't working, so if I want to make a little change I have to start from scratch! Hopefully Google will do something about that.

Also, I've heard that Google Reader will be closing down on July 1st. Even though it doesn't affect Google Friends Connect, I've added tools like Bloglovin' so that if you only follow my blog by Reader (and not friends connect) you can now follow by other things too!

So I think that is all for now, but I've got a few posts itching to put on, so I'll see you soon!

My button!

 

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Classical Piece of the Week: Greensleeves (the 20th Piece!)

Side note: 20TH PIECE!! YAY!! Ok, now on to the important stuff...

I'll admit it, I didn't even think about what this week's Classical Piece would be until pretty recently. But I had just thought of one of those tunes that stays tied with my mind, and decided to go with the piece that features it. It's called Greensleeves, and it was composed during the Renaissance Era, which thus explains why the original composer remains unknown.

Technically, Greensleeves is an English Folk song, but if you've followed my CPW since the beginning, you would know that I tend to like different versions of the piece/song. There is one belief that claims that this song was composed by Henry VIII for his lover and future wife Anne Boleyn. Such beliefs are vastly improbable, but it's always great to have different perspectives. If you would like to know more about the story of this song, click here.

It's Day by Day,

A few weeks back, during a violin practice, my teacher remarked, "Tell me if I'm wrong, Grace, but are you thinking about what you are going to play next, instead of what you are playing presently?" He said that I kind of looked disconnected from the music.

He was not wrong.

I have always been quite nervous while performing on stage. It's just that I'm always afraid of forgetting something, forgetting the note I am going to play next. I then proceed to think of what I am going to play next, instead of focusing on what I am currently playing. That action then makes my mind to overthink, and quite ironically, I will usually forget the next note, which causes me to completely panic. This is particularly an issue for me, and maybe for many others, because I just can't seem to focus on my performance itself since I am too busy thinking about what is going to happen next.

And then I thought, it's kind of like this in life, right? People are so busy thinking about their futures that they don't even bother paying attention to the present. Of course, it's always good to have a loose plan of your future, and thinking about how you can make it even better, but these kind of thoughts can easily turn too serious, too over-consumming.

Classical Piece of the Week: Hungarian Dance No.7

Classical Piece of the Week is back! And dare I say better than ever, because you guys are in for a real treat this week. This morning I was fumbling around Youtube, trying to find a CPW. I already had a couple of pieces in mind, but once I re-listened to them, I realized I wasn't really that passionate about them. And then I happened to come across Hungarian Dance No.7 by Johannes Brahms, and I knew I had met my match.

This piece was originally composed for piano, but I find that the violin version gives out a crisp, more vibrant sound. Specifically Jascha Heiftz's version. This work of music is quite short, but I don't think it would be better any other way, because the shortness fits the mood of the music.

Why Hello Again, Blogging World

Eh yup, I'm back! Tired with prominent dark circles and droopy eyes but still here. These past few weeks have been so agitated and clamorous, but I've learned so many new things that I can't wait to share with you guys. I'll definitely try getting back to my usual commenting on other blogs stuff, and I'm thinking of changing up the design of my blog (again!). Anyways, I don't want to make this post too long, because there will be plenty of others coming along! I'll see you soon!