BOOK 1

 Green, John. The Fault in Our Stars.  New York: Dutton, 2012. Print.

My first reaction upon finishing  John Green’s The Fault in Our Stars was to repeat the most adorable fictional text message I have ever read, “Hazel grace, do not tell me I have reached the end of this book” (53). I loved the book. I did not want it to end. It gave me nightmares about death and grief, but there was not a word I didn't enjoy.

I did not cry.  For whatever reason, I don’t usually cry fictional tears, but still, I might expect one or two from a story about two kids who fall in love because of a cancer support group. Nope.  I laughed almost the whole time. Mr. Augustus Waters and Miss Hazel Grace Lancaster are both so witty and smart and sexy in spite of being incredibly sick and (somewhat) believably seventeen. They are kind, but refuse to take people’s cruelty and ignorance. One thing they are not is saints. Augustus is definitely full of himself. Hazel watches way too much America’s Next Top Model and is a brat to her mom.

I felt privileged to get to know them and watch their nerdy, book loving relationship unfold. Once or twice, I actually wondered if it was wise to start my adult brain exercise blogging adventure with such a fun teen love story. 

However, it is also a deeply difficult and truthful teen love story, one that I have a strong ability to relate to at 28.  I found some philosophy and poetry hidden in the pages.

One of my favorite parts is when Gus asks Hazel if she has a wish from their fictional version of the Make a Wish foundation and gets her to sheepishly admit that she did, in fact, spend it at Disney World. Seriously, I laugh just thinking about it. For one thing, as I have mentioned, Augustus Waters is a funny kid. For another, I love someone who spent his wish at Disney, too—someone who has very different wishes now. Unlike Gus, I have no wish of my own to share with him.  I won’t tell our love story at the moment, but we know it. The person I love gave me my copy of The Fault in Our Stars for Christmas.

I have to sheepishly admit that I spent part of my time with Hazel and Gus being jealous of them, even though I knew at least one of them would die of cancer. Maybe “Augustus Waters drove horrifically” (27), but at least he could drive.  Maybe Hazel’s lungs “sucked at being lungs”(8), but at least she could go on dinner dates alone with her love interest. I was also jealous because Hazel gets to meet her favorite writer, and say exactly what she should say, even if he is a complete nightmare.  

Jealousy is horrible, I know. Cancer is horrible. I would NEVER, EVER WISH IT ON ANYONE and I have no earthly clue what having cancer is like, but I know these characters now. I am pretty sure that after everything they go through on their worst days, they would be thrilled to have my jealousy and non-cancer related admiration rather than pity. I am also pretty sure John Green would be happy that I learned along with them. See, I’m not just jealous; I’m looking up to them, because they are so imperfectly human. The fact that I am writing about them like real people demonstrates his talent.

By the time the book had reached its moving conclusion, I wanted to hit myself over the head with it, count all the wonders of my world, and maybe help a friend egg a deserving someone’s car.

.

I think the message of this story is that most of us question the fairness of our fates at one time or another, along with our likelihood of leaving a positive mark on the universe. Green suggests that the best way to face these issues is to just get over ourselves and look around. “Notice everything,” (307) and importantly, everyone. If you are lucky enough to love and be loved, let that be enough. That’s all so ridiculously much easier said than done, but if we can do it, at least on our good days, we might make an impact after all. So, we hurt, we get really frustrated and bratty, we hurt others and we die. To use Hazel and Gus’s favorite flirty word, OKAY. Some pretty amazing, hilarious stuff can happen along the way.

PS.  At work today, my friend/aid Crystal read The Fault in Our Stars beside me. She finished the whole thing. As I worked, I could hear her chuckling, and then sniffling, and then chuckling again. As usual, she cried all my fictional tears for me. I love her. We’re all going to see The Fault in Our Stars movie together.  Crystal will cry, again.           

Book thoughts Introduction

Last year I had way too many vague resolutions, so this year I made a simple, concrete one: to read and comment on at least 24 books.  I already know that that sounds easier than it actually is,   especially when you have a job, friends, family, a long distance relationship and TV shows to keep up with. Still, I really, really want to make it happen. This is a resolution to exercise my brain more. 

I want to do it because both reading and writing are healthy for me, and I’m not totally healthy without them. I am a word person, a story person. I like a good story in any form, true or fictional. 

I could set really strict rules about the kinds of books I will and will not read, when I will read them and when I will post. However, if I do that, I’m likely to get discouraged and break them all. This is not a movie blog. I will not get famous. I am just a geek doing an outside of college reading project. Like, way outside. ( Saint Andrews Presbyterian College isn't even called that anymore.)    So, let’s keep it real.     

This blog has 4 actual rules:

1.        The author will read 24 or more books, as mentioned above, within the year 2014.
2.       The author will comment on at least 24 those books and make a reasonable amount of sense,              with as few grammatical errors as possible.  *
3.        The author will be brave, as sharing her writing voluntarily often terrifies her.   
4.      The author will have fun

Please keep in mind that the blog is called “Book Thoughts,” not "Professional Book Reviews." I am new to this format and I am the boss.  Personal reflections will be included.

I can only hope that this blog will have some readers.

I hope that, if they do show up, they have a little fun along with me.

*I have cerebral palsy, which in my case means that I need a lot of personal care assistance and drive a motorized wheelchair. Some of my friends and my fiancée are also in wheelchairs. I know from experience that this information will help readers make sense of my reflections.