The Book Thief [The Book Version]

So, I have been asked to write a review about The Book Thief by Markus Zusak. Personally, it is not the best story, but I still found it very unique and very memorable piece of historical fiction.

The Book Thief hosts a lot of new concepts to be presented to the world of story writing and a story line that although is quite bleak, is interesting and fresh. Normally, people don't like reading historical fiction, and this story is no exception to the doubt and assumed boredom that is felt by students asked to read this book. However, I have read this book on my own free time, not only as an assignment for school, and I can honestly say that either way, the readers will be genuinely surprised and in for a story that will humble-ize everyone? Comment a better word for this, please.

Here's the Review:

The story was not particularly exceptional, nor was it suspenseful. However, if you were assigned this to read, it is not terribly boring. Truthfully, this book is more creative and symbolic than intensely captivating. The build-up of Liesel's character and her relationships with the supporting characters in the story really made it interesting in the eyes of character analysis. The setting of Molching, a German town, creates a vivid perspective on how the Germans lived through the war, whether it is the imagination of Zusak or not. Truthfully, I don't know if the books have some sort of metaphoric resonance or not—I feel like although it played a huge role in the book (with Liesel being described by Death as "The Book Thief") I was a bit blind towards how important the thievery actually was aside from the way it played into Liesel's life. I think that it is symbolic towards rebellion, the irony that there's this girl living in Germany and learning to read when Germans disapproved of literature as a whole. I mean, there were book burnings dedicated to the Fuhrer—it can't get any more anti-reading than that. 

If I had to say something about the characters, I would say that they were beautifully crafted to fit the story. Every one of them affects you somehow, even if it's just the slightest pull at your heart strings. I am a girl, so keep it in mind that I might be somewhat more emotional when reading a book. I mean, you'd probably would've avoided me when I was reading The Fault In Our Stars; I was a crying mess. Liesel has this stubbornness that you kind of dislike at first, but you start to feel for her as the story progresses. Rudy—I just love that boy. He is the cutest thing ever (again, I am a girl) and he brings this sort of comedic relief that stories—especially this story—really need. I would write more about the rest of the characters, but that would make this review way too rambly and it would become a character analysis of The Book Thief instead of a review of the whole thing. 

Not talking about the storyline. Read it yourselves, people.

If I had to recommend this book, which I do, I would recommend it specifically to teenagers and young adults or children who want to show off that they can read big books. I think if you were any older than than twenty-three you wouldn't enjoy the book as much as someone in their teens will. I don't know. Let's just say that I don't recommend this book to old people. I recommend this book to people who love metaphors, symbolism, and a wonderful book if you want to view it in a structural perspective. The complex make-up of this book was woven beautifully and creatively, and I something to spaz about if you're a English geek like me. Ha. 

So, this is my review of The Book Thief. Don't know if you enjoyed it or not, but whatever. 

I'll post the link to buy the book later, and maybe even a free PDF file. Anticipate later~

'Kris, What is This?' 'Nothing Much, I Just Want Out.'

EXO's Kris wants to terminate his contract and leave EXO. To be honest, I don't blame just S.M. 

Yes, not JUST the agency. I think it's both S.M. and Kris's fault. If you're reading this, you're probably judging me, but I honestly don't care. This is MY opinion, MY logic, MY comprehension on the situation, and most of all, MY blog post. So if you're going to bad mouth me, let me just say that I don't give a shit about what's going to come out of your head because I have my own beliefs and we don't all think alike. 

I love EXO as much as the next fangirl. I have been of theirs for a LONG time, and although I didn't love them the MINUTE they came out, I loved them a long time ago and I still love them now. They're my ultimate bias group, and even though groups like B.A.P and Got7 are slowly tiptoeing into my land of K-Pop kings, EXO still rules the place. I do so many things a fan: I buy their merchandise, I buy their albums, I like and save pics of them, I watch all of their videos, I watch their fan cams, I use EXO "language," I write fan fiction about them, I listen to their songs every single day, I cheer for them on every award or concert or whatever even if they don't win or not as awesome as I expected. 

So normally, hearing about Kris's decision to terminate his contract with S.M. Entertainment should fire me up and blame the company, right? I mean, S.M. has had so many of these issues in the past: Jaejoong, Junsu, and Yoochun of DBSK, Hangeng of Super Junior. You'd think they learned to treat their artists better. Lots of fans right now are probably going "F*** you, S.M!" or "S.M. YOU SCREW OVER." And as an EXOtic, a part of me wants to do that, too. But there's another perspective you should view this from to get a bigger picture. 

Don't you think the company WANTS to treat their artists well? I mean, the artists bring in the money, bring in the consumers, and give the company a good name. And judging from their previous experiences, S.M. has plenty of reasons to want to improve. I think the thing that's going on right now is the idea that you have to work hard for your goals, you should never be satisfied at just being at the level you are, and that you should always strive to improve. 

S.M. Entertainment has a lot of competition in the K-Pop industry. They may be a big name, but big names don't come from just anywhere. The artists created the hype surrounding the company, gave the company its financial support, and live their dreams through this company. Just being an S.M. Artist shows that you are a determined, hardworking person because S.M. isn't the easiest and nicest company to work for. Competition in the company is far fiercer than the competition outside. Competition to be the best, competition to live your dreams, and competition to achieve. So naturally, even after you have left the trainee days and entered the world of K-Pop stars doesn't mean your workload is going to lessen. In fact, I'm pretty sure it's going to increase. 

Being a K-Pop star is way harder than what normal people think. Most just think that you just have to learn a dance and a song, record some songs, and do promotions. In reality? The work NEVER ends. 

Learning and perfecting a dance takes at least a month to memorize and create. Each day, a typical eight hours of practice. Diets to make sure you don’t get too fat and ugly. Learning a song is even harder and recording an album? Not everyone can do that. You need more than just singing ability. You have to be able to make that song YOURS, and becoming your song is harder than just singing it. This is why I have respect for all the artists who write their own songs, because it shows that they care about what they present and that they have a say in their concept. And it also shows just how educated somebody is, and how creative they are. It shows that they are real artists with something to say. 

Promotions, what a joy ride. If you're a hugely popular group like EXO, promotions are probably the hardest part. Promoting includes performances, appearances in programs, fan greets, and photo shoots/interviews. EXO does lots of promotion, as you probably saw with their twelfth win with Growl and all the advertisements they've been doing. Huge masses of girls go to see EXO practically everywhere, swarming masses of people sticking cameras and phones and pens their faces. Screaming your name, which starts to sound awful and never ending. People would think that somebody would enjoy the popularity, but in truth, popularity is like a Frappucino from Starbucks: refreshing at the moment, but slowly stales and dulls in flavor. 

Living as a K-Pop star isn't that fancy either. It makes sense that financially EXO would have problems because a) they have twelve members b) their company also needs a share in profit c) their living costs sky-rocket. There are twelve members; just feeding one member per month should amount to over 1,000,000 won per month. That is 12,000,000 won. They also have to pay living expenses like their clothing, skincare, medical expenses, and send money home to their parents. They also have to share their profit with the company, and they have to pay for many other factors. All in all, having a twelve-member group is expensive as hell. So no wonder they would have financial problems. It's not that the company doesn't give them enough or doesn't distribute the money fairly; money is usually distributed individually, so the more number of programs you attend the more you earn. For example, if you are an actor in a drama, you are going to earn more than your members, who are not participating in a drama. Sometimes, groups decide to split the money equally amongst themselves, but it's up to the group to decide. We don't know anything about EXO's profit distribution outlines. 

Kris himself also has to take some of the blame. If he feels that the company has violated his civil rights or whatever those damn news reports state, then it is actually his fault. I'm not siding with S.M., but he probably knew about the whole incident with Super Junior and DBSK before he signed with the company. He actually signed in 2008 or 2009, when all this happened. Surely he knew about it, and if he saw this then it was his decision whether or not to continue on at S.M. with the possibility of this happening to him or leaving the company. He chose to stay, because he wanted to live his dreams. That means he should have the determination and the persistence to go on. Backing out right now and attempting to terminate his contract shows that this persistence has worn thin. If he thought that being a daesang idol was going to make his life easier, boy was he wrong. At the height of your popularity is when you get the least amount of rest. 

Speaking of popularity, EXO has recently come back. Not that long ago, even. Kris's timing is especially bad, because not only will this make their comeback less spectacular, it will blacken the company's name and highlight even worse fan activity. "Overdose" is a wonderfully crafted concept, both visually and musically. I'd hate to see it go to waste and get overshadowed by this conflict. 

I love Kris, I love EXO, and I love S.M. Even though I feel like this conflict is such a failure of both Kris and his company, I will whatever happens. I'm just really disappointed, because I thought it was always going to be one. I thought S.M. was smarter now, and that Kris was a stronger person. I'm not so sure anymore. Although I'll support EXO in the future, I'm not so sure the EXO I'm seeing now was the EXO I fell for. I love them all. I treasure the fangirling moments, the merch, the feels. 

No matter what happens, we will always be supporters. Because that's what fans do. They support. Fans shouldn't be wreck less. Fans should respect, because that's how they get respected. Fans should never get too blinded, because then they lose sight of what they truly fell for. Fans can only pray for the best. The best light to end this darkness. 

Feel free to comment your thoughts on this matter. 

At the end of the day, 

We Are One,

Aren't We?

A Poem Anthology

I sat down and wrote some poems. There are five. Hope you like them. I don't really care if you don't. Well, maybe just a little. 

A haiku. 

The Internet

Desperate typing

A universe that traps me

A coma of lies.

A structured. 

 Outside My Window, I See Thee

Over by the park bench

Underneath the seats.

Tucked behind an iron bar.

Sits a pair of cleats.

It’s sunny

Dewy from yesterday’s rain

Edged with fog

Morning’s greetings from a midnight train.

Yearning to go outside

Waiting to explore

In a dazed morning trance

Wind floats through the door.

Invisible strings

Sleeping in cold water. 

Empty thinking

Eyes that only wander.

There you are.

Holding those cleats by the elbow

Escaping the park.

Entering my window. 

Two free verses. 

A Stupid Analysis Of Myself By Myself

Smart?

Logical?

Future Law?

Ha. 

Truthfully, I am just a misconstrued mess of things yet to be put back together.

An unorganized train wreck with eyes,

Food-consuming computer with the wrong codes.

Ha.

A bomb waiting to explode into a bazillion fireballs

A dictionary with the word ‘bazillion’ under the letter ‘T.’

Lazy sunshine that shines in the wrong places.

Ha.

A book hoarder that hoards empty glass bottles

An enigma with a easily solved exterior

A happy person with a superb streak of wins and failures.

Ha.

The kind of person that jams whatever she can think of in a sentence or two

A run-on with a period before the end.

A mixed alphabet that doesn’t want to be unscrambled.

I’m that kid who hated bread as a kid and now have a unexplainable urge to go buy some.

I'm a perplexity of a person. Poo.


 My Wonders of Life at Age Thirteen

How to lose something that has already been lost.

How to value something you don’t know has value.

How to be something when you don’t know what to be.

How to list wonders when you don’t really know what to wonder about.

What would it be like to live on the moon,

What my mom would say if she found out I broke her hair dryer,

What will happen to the hair dryer that is now hidden beneath my bed,

What is beneath my bed?

Now that’s a REAL mystery.

Where my money goes when I can’t find it,

Where my mind goes on Saturdays,

Where did the word “Saturday” come from?

Where is the textbook for my math homework,

Where did the doughnuts next to my math homework go?

Certainly not in my stomach.

When is EXO going to come to New York City?

When will the New York City Department of Education stop the elongation of a school day at Stuyvesant?

When will I get over the fact that the absence of abs in the NYC concert when there was an abundant display in Paris is frustrating,

When did my sentences get so long?

When will the Senior Trip be,

When will I stop being so forgetful,

When will I sleep tonight?

And a name poem. 

The Name Poem (‘Cause Naming This ‘Emily’ Would Be Cliché)

Exerts much of her concentration on professional fangirling,

Mostly crazy but I’d call it genius,

Interesting if you don’t mind waiting for it.

Lends an ear for your worst jokes because they’re probably better than mine,

Yours to trust.

~*~

Some of these poems you might not understand. Don't worry about it. 

I don't know. I just had a whole session of self-reflection and listening to rock music and the deep lyrics really got to me. The poems might not be the greatest in the universe, but they're mine. I'm going to look back and laugh at all this later, maybe. But for now, I just feel... deep. Soulful. I dunno, bro. 

._.