Everything Matters

Dear Readers,
Hello fellow readers. Recently I have seen, read, and heard many many things that have made me realize that life isn't exactly what I think it is. These things tell me that life should be what I want it to be. That there are a variety of ways that my life could pan out, but I need to go out and seize it. I need to find what I love and pursue it. Between pinterest quotes, inspirational speakers, and Everything Matters I bound and determined to contain with what I am passionate about  and live life to the fullest. The book Everything Matters ties in very well to these thoughts.

Everything Matters

by Ron Currie Jr.



     Junior Thibodeaux is born with knowledge beyond general human knowledge. He knows things that normal people don't know. Background stories of people he has never met, things that will happen in the future, things that have happened in the past, and the year month day and time that the world is going to end. Junior grows up knowing that in his life time a comet will come rushing in from space and set the world ablaze. Because of this information his struggles with what really matters in life. Why does some little thing he does today matter if the world will end anyway. Why does the death of his father, mother, brother, girlfriend, or his own death matter when in the end they will all end up burned to a crisp? Does anything matter know that he knows the fate of humanity?

     Junior has to live with these terrible thoughts looming over his head. He has to weak up everyday known that this day only means one day closer to the end. His choices that he makes based on this knowledge not only affect him, but everyone around him. Every, EVERY, little choice he makes in his life matters. It affects the course his life takes. Junior learns that EVERYTHING matters.

      This book struck a particular cord with me. If you know me, you know that I am not always the most positive person. I am more of the glass half empty person. So occasionally I think what does it matter if I am going to die anyway. We are all headed towards the same fate. Death. So what does on more doughnut matter? Why does trying in school or at work matter if I am going to end up dead. And so are you. Now those are very very very dark thoughts. Those thoughts are thought on the days were I am feed up with life and want to sit on the couch and eat ice cream all day. (Sadly I have to many of these days). These feels made me find meaning in this book. This book is just reinforcing the positive thoughts I have on the days I am not negative Nancy. This book and others like it help me to realize that even though my actions may seem small and insignificant to me, the is some effect from them. There is no action without consequence. Every little choice I make resounds on some way. This is something crazy hard to wrap your mind around. It is weird to think about it. It's almost hard to think about it. Life is full of decisions and these decisions change us forever. There are "big decisions" in life that suppose to be the turning points in your life, but really aren't all decisions that way?

     I saw this yesterday. I made a "small decision" to walk down the sophomore hallway at school to see if I could find my sister before leaving. Because I made this short detour I walked outside at the exact moment that one of my friends was starting to walk home. Because I was outside at the exact time I was able to give her a ride home. Now this may not be a big difference form her walking, but for agruement's sake what if she go ran over by a car? What if she made it home and the door was locked? All of these little what ifs are different directions are lives could take from one "small decision". No decision you make is small. Everything you do matters. EVERYTHING matters. Remember no decision is so small it wont go with out any side affects, good or bad. No pebble is so small it doesn't ripple the surface.

     Remember that EVERYTHING matters and keep reading my friends!

Lindsey

The Year We Dissapeared

Dear Readers,

The Year We Dissapeared

by Cylin Busby and John Busby

I don't always read non-fiction, but when I do I prefer interesting non-fiction.

Non-fiction is not one of my favorite genres. If I had a choice between non-fiction and fantasy I would very quickly pick up the fantasy book. But for Battle of the Books I branch out from what I like and try to read all types of books.

The Year We Dissapeared is not a book I would pick up on my own, but I did enjoy it. It is not a dry and boring non-fiction book. They don't just explain the year that the dissapeared, they explain their family's story. Through multiple flash backs you are able to understand the history of the family and community the Busbys live in.

The story really starts when John Busby, a police officer in their small town, get shot in the head. Somehow the shot does not kill Busby. It is "well placed" and only takes off part of his jaw and mouth. After the shot the Busby family changes dramatically. John goes into the hospital to have many surgries to reconstruct his face, his family becomes heavily guarded, and Cylin's, his young daughter, life changes.

I don't really want to give what happens in the book away. You'll just have to read it. This book will show you that not all non-fiction books are boring.

Lindsey



Going Bovine

Dear Readers,

Going Bovine

by Libba Bray

(For the past few posts I have been giving ratings, but I have decided to stop doing that because every book that can make me feel attached the characters and take me to a different world is a 10 out of 10 in my book.)

       First just let me say WOW! I finished this book somewhere around midnight last night because I could not go to sleep without knowing to end of the story. Mrs. Bray sucked me into the story, and for that I applaud her. The book was not the best piece of fiction ever written, but the moving and funny story is very easy to like. This book is one of those books where you laugh so hard you almost piss your pants, get so emotionally attached to the characters that you are very close to tears, and you end up questioning what the very meaning of living is.

       Cameron or Cam is a 16 who mysteriously develops Mad Cow disease. Creutzfeldt-Jakob (the official name of Mad Cow disease) attacks the prions in your brain. This disease slowly eats away your mind. There is no known cure for Mad Cow disease. Or is there? In the book Cameron is confronted by an angel. The angle, Dulcie, tells Cameron the there is cure out there. Cameron has to get his lazy butt out of bead, and got look for Dr. X. The obscure Dr. X is said to have the cure that will allow Cam to live.
        On his road trip to find Dr. X Cam meets some interesting people. His traveling buddy is an angry and worried dwarf Gonzo. Their ride is filled with dead jazz musicians, vanilla smoothies, terrorist plots, grumpy garden gnomes, and very strange happenings. Cameron's main goal is to live. That's why he went on this trip. He doesn't want to die. On this trip though he figures out what living is truly all about.
        There are many many many many books written about finding out what the meaning of life. They always end up cliche and stupid. But this book is different. Mrs. Bray took a different approach in her book. The main character, Cam, was so blunt. He was the tell it like it is character, no frills. Which made the book better. You could tell that he didn't want to die, but he didn't mope. He didn't sit around thinking shit my life is almost over. He got up and did something about it. He "left" the hospital bed, and went on this crazy road trip to find the cure. This is what shows him what life is really about. In the end he understands. Going Bovine is not the typical teen dying and finding out what life is about book. This book made think. It made me question. It made me feel a wide rage of emotions. For all of that I bow to Mrs. Bray. She took on the challenging subject of death and life and addressed it in a manner that feels personal and understandable. She didn't make her characters so perfect that you couldn't relate. Her characters were real people. you feel connected, and that make the story really hit home. Over all I LOVED this book! It was a very very very good read. Please, dear readers, read and enjoy this story and book.
Keep Reading!
Lindsey