Bookshelf Essay

Olivia Davis

807

Bookshelf Essay

When you walk into my room, you won’t see posters or pink walls. You won’t see a made bed or a clean, organized room. You will walk in and see an openly marked book on my bed, see some stacks of books on my floor, and see books piled on top of any available surface: dresser, desk, bookshelf, window sill, closet, you can even find them under my desk in a stack! I have bins full of magazines and bags full of books ready to be donated. If you haven’t guessed already, I’m a big reader and always have been. It started with “Princess Buttercup” and continues with “The Fault In Our Stars”. Reading has always been a big part of my everyday life, and I’m happy it is.

This paragraph goes out to Wendy Cheyette Lewison, thank you for writing “Princess Buttercup”. I took this book and its lessons throughout my (so far) short life. It taught me of kindness, love,friendship, and family. I also wanted to write one paragraph about this book because it takes me back to one of my very first memories. As a baby, my mother would read to me every day, and soon enough I had memorized the books I was being read, by then, I was around 2 or 3 years old. It was also at that age when I read my first book, actually this book, “Princess Buttercup”. Princess Buttercup was about a small flower princess who got lost far away from her home.  She needed help and became friends with a sparrow, who had a broken wing. She took care of the sparrow and its wing healed. In return, the sparrow flew her home and she lived happily ever after. It also taught me that the saying “You reap just what you sow” is true. I love how she was helpful even though she was lost. I like to think of that book, and that memory as one of the moments that really helped me develop my deep love for reading. It has deep sentimental value to me, and that’s why I want to take it through life with me, to remind me that one of my favorite things to do, started with just a 4 year old girl, sitting next to her mother on a small bed, and “Princess Buttercup”.

Another book that I’ve taken with me on my journey of life, is “The Fault In Our Stars” by John Green. I actually like a lot of his work, not just that book. “The Fault In Our Stars” is about a girl who has cancer, she meets a guy in her support group who she feels really understands her. They share a love for books and when they get a chance to meet the antisocial author of their favorite book, they go off on the adventure they have both been longing for. Unfortunately, the boy dies, taking the girl’s happiness with him. Green taught me that someone always has it worse. Even though you may feel like your problems are terrible, there is always something worse. During the time I was reading this book, I was going through a tough point in my life where my parents were getting divorced. As an 8 year old girl, it hurt me alot and I felt like my world was collapsing in front of me. I was angry that my parents couldn’t stay together. I was really hurt and didn't understand what was going on. When I read the book, I realised that I could have had it a lot worse, that my parents could be dying. It taught me to be humble and kind, to be selfless and always try to make someone’s day because you dont know whats going on in their life and that anything, even the small things, can lift their spirits. He also had a way with words that I wouldn’t be able to describe as anything less than absolutely magical. His stories tell of adventures that could be true, he made the characters seem like people that we would see everyday. I admired him so much for the way he was able to make the characters relatable. He also made them feel like your friends, he makes you like them so much that you wish they weren’t made up. I wanted to be like him, make people feel like the way I did when I read his masterpieces. His books make my day, just reading his words. His gift for writing is so amazing. I want to be like that, being able to write words that make a smile appear on anyone's face.

I feel like these books have been so incredibly important to my life, development, and imagination. I’ve heard many people say that they don’t like reading, and all I can think about is what an amazing thing in life they’re missing out on, reading is living. Books have always been there for me, ready to transport me to another world and journey. With a turn of a page I could be a pirate, battling some skeletons on an island, or a wizard helping goblins, or even just a teenager on an adventure that they never see coming. Books help me be anyone, anywhere, anytime. Books give a soul to the Universe, wings to the mind, flight to the imagination, and life to everything- Unknown.