bookwormjimmy's review against another edition
4.0
If you want to read a feel good book about happiness, then this is your go-to book. From characterization to plot to overall tone, I feel like this would be a wonderful book to really get yourself re-inspired in life in regards to your outlook on happiness. I think the only people who won't like this book at all are those Debbie Downers (and no offense to those named Debbie).
"There's always something hidden, and on most days we don't bother to look. But this world is capable of surprising us. All we have to do is slip beneath the surface."
If you wanted me to pick my favorite quotes from this book, this would be an extremely long review. Hell...I might as well quote the entire book itself. But really, [a:Adi Alsaid|4505164|Adi Alsaid|http://photo.goodreads.com/authors/1292277470p2/4505164.jpg] has so many fun, inspiring things to say. I will admit that at times, there was just an overload of sweetness...much like walking into a candy store and splurging on a little bit of everything. I feel like I would have had more of an emotional attachment to the story if there were more contrasting elements, especially in the characters.
The characters were all wonderful and lively and friendly. But that's just it...I feel like I could see my friends in the main character's friends. The main character even points this out: "He did with them what most people do with friends. He chose characteristics he admired in each and made them his own..."
But...what about those I hate? I believe that there could be room for them as well, can't there? Sometimes, I love to hate those characters in a story.
"I try not to get too offended by seemingly rude people. You have no idea what their motivations are, what their reasons for acting a certain way are...Once you truly understand someone's reasons, it gets harder to take offense." Okay...I guess that's true. Still...I have a right to just not like people, right? Even for the fun of it?
The plot of the story is fairly straightforward. And therefore, much more of the focus of the story goes into the theme and tone of [b:Somewhere Over the Sun|9884167|Somewhere Over the Sun|Adi Alsaid|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1293243727s/9884167.jpg|14776057]. It's what's in the middle that matters: "...and we need not remind our readers that every story begins with life and ends with death and it is the days in between that matter." The true theme of the story is our own journey in life, and what we do with it. And the main character's purpose mimics [a:Adi Alsaid|4505164|Adi Alsaid|http://photo.goodreads.com/authors/1292277470p2/4505164.jpg], which is to write.
"Unless thoughts are spoken or written or sung or acted upon, there's no evidence that they were ever there." I think I heard this one before...if a tree falls and no one's around to hear it fall, does it make a sound? (The answer is yes). Nonetheless, it's definitely a theme that I wholeheartedly support. We should do the things that makes us happy. But even more than that, I believe that we should be able to do things that make others happy as well. It's not really just about ourselves...it's about others as well. Telling a story so that others may enjoy. Is that too egocentric?
"Retelling the highlights of your life's story can sometimes feel like narcissism. You're editing a whole book and highlighting the best sentence. But talking about yourself is a basic human desire and joy, and people who claim it is egocentric probably don't get asked about their lives enough." Ha...I love that quote!
If you're at that point in your life where you feel like you need just a good, happy book to read that doesn't sound like it's too preachy, then I would suggest this book. Plus, it has lots of great quotes, which is what I'll leave off this review with.
"We met at a coffee shop. Coffee shops are places people go to so they can feel like there may be someone out there for them to fall in love with. Everyone huddled around their steaming paper cups and conversations, looking across the room and convinced that if romance happens anywhere, it happens here."
"Even people who have lived by oceans their entire lives can still just stand there and stare, and I don't think the sense of wonder ever goes away."
"With the sun still hanging around like a full stomach, I wondered why it is that people say perfect moments are few and far between."
"It's absolutely necessary, and every time you are overjoyed, you need to tell as many people as possible, until you tell a grumpy person who decides your happiness is infuriating and punches you in the face and then you are no longer overjoyed."
"There's always something hidden, and on most days we don't bother to look. But this world is capable of surprising us. All we have to do is slip beneath the surface."
If you wanted me to pick my favorite quotes from this book, this would be an extremely long review. Hell...I might as well quote the entire book itself. But really, [a:Adi Alsaid|4505164|Adi Alsaid|http://photo.goodreads.com/authors/1292277470p2/4505164.jpg] has so many fun, inspiring things to say. I will admit that at times, there was just an overload of sweetness...much like walking into a candy store and splurging on a little bit of everything. I feel like I would have had more of an emotional attachment to the story if there were more contrasting elements, especially in the characters.
The characters were all wonderful and lively and friendly. But that's just it...I feel like I could see my friends in the main character's friends. The main character even points this out: "He did with them what most people do with friends. He chose characteristics he admired in each and made them his own..."
But...what about those I hate? I believe that there could be room for them as well, can't there? Sometimes, I love to hate those characters in a story.
"I try not to get too offended by seemingly rude people. You have no idea what their motivations are, what their reasons for acting a certain way are...Once you truly understand someone's reasons, it gets harder to take offense." Okay...I guess that's true. Still...I have a right to just not like people, right? Even for the fun of it?
The plot of the story is fairly straightforward. And therefore, much more of the focus of the story goes into the theme and tone of [b:Somewhere Over the Sun|9884167|Somewhere Over the Sun|Adi Alsaid|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1293243727s/9884167.jpg|14776057]. It's what's in the middle that matters: "...and we need not remind our readers that every story begins with life and ends with death and it is the days in between that matter." The true theme of the story is our own journey in life, and what we do with it. And the main character's purpose mimics [a:Adi Alsaid|4505164|Adi Alsaid|http://photo.goodreads.com/authors/1292277470p2/4505164.jpg], which is to write.
"Unless thoughts are spoken or written or sung or acted upon, there's no evidence that they were ever there." I think I heard this one before...if a tree falls and no one's around to hear it fall, does it make a sound? (The answer is yes). Nonetheless, it's definitely a theme that I wholeheartedly support. We should do the things that makes us happy. But even more than that, I believe that we should be able to do things that make others happy as well. It's not really just about ourselves...it's about others as well. Telling a story so that others may enjoy. Is that too egocentric?
"Retelling the highlights of your life's story can sometimes feel like narcissism. You're editing a whole book and highlighting the best sentence. But talking about yourself is a basic human desire and joy, and people who claim it is egocentric probably don't get asked about their lives enough." Ha...I love that quote!
If you're at that point in your life where you feel like you need just a good, happy book to read that doesn't sound like it's too preachy, then I would suggest this book. Plus, it has lots of great quotes, which is what I'll leave off this review with.
"We met at a coffee shop. Coffee shops are places people go to so they can feel like there may be someone out there for them to fall in love with. Everyone huddled around their steaming paper cups and conversations, looking across the room and convinced that if romance happens anywhere, it happens here."
"Even people who have lived by oceans their entire lives can still just stand there and stare, and I don't think the sense of wonder ever goes away."
"With the sun still hanging around like a full stomach, I wondered why it is that people say perfect moments are few and far between."
"It's absolutely necessary, and every time you are overjoyed, you need to tell as many people as possible, until you tell a grumpy person who decides your happiness is infuriating and punches you in the face and then you are no longer overjoyed."
redhobbit's review
1.0
As much as I wanted to like this book, as it started off seeming fresh and different, I soon got incredibly tired of it. Throughout reading, I felt the overwhelming sensation that this book was written trying to be clever, which rather spoiled it for me. While I appreciated the imaginative personifications of otherwise inanimate objects, and the story-arc overall, I was disappointed in the narrative and the human characters themselves.
I wanted to like it, but I just found it impossible to connect with.
I wanted to like it, but I just found it impossible to connect with.
More...