2 Books

Last 2 months have been pretty crappy and rough. Sleepless nights with cluttered thoughts have been a trend that I have not been able to break out of it despite several attempts. Tonight, I try very hard to focus on some of the good parts of these past 2 months. And it pretty much boils down to books. Especially the two children’s books I picked up during an unplanned Barnes & Nobel visit - A Dog’s Purpose by Bruce Cameron and Wonder by RJ Palacio

Both books somehow felt very similar to me. Both heartwarming, wherein a bond with the narrator is quickly established and is a strong one. One (Dog’s Purpose) narrated by a dog who goes through several re-births chasing his (her) true purpose and the other (Wonder) mostly by a 10-year old Auggie with severe facial deformations.

Despite completely different settings and plots, the underlying theme of both the books is love and friendship. It may be between Bailey, the dog and his boy Ethan or between Auggie and his ‘lil group of friends. Subtle humor that’s not laugh out loud but makes you smile is beautifully used both by Cameron and RJ. I found myself smiling and crying and sometimes both at the same time. At the end of each of these books, you are left with a renewed faith is friendship, love and kindness.

Before I picked up these “kid’s” books I was going through some pretty heavy stuff (for me) such as Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance by Robert Pirsig and The Difficulty of Being Good by Gurcharan Das. Zen and I shared a love hate relationship wherein I had to constantly put in an effort to read in order to discover the gems of wisdom in this book. A laborious read that left me exhausted towards the end.

I guess, sometimes you just need to hear a simple tale of love and positivity that pulls your spirits up and puts you back on track with more hope than ever before. For me Bailey and Auggie did the trick and just thinking about them while writing this post has put a smile on my face. Gonna leave hear with my favorite quotes from each of these books.

“When given a choice between being right or being kind – choose kind”. – Mr. Browne, Wonder

“People are vastly more complicated than dogs and served a much more important purpose. The job of a good dog was ultimately to be with them, remaining by their sides no matter what course their lives may take. All I could do now was offer him comfort, the assurance that as he left this life he was not alone but rather tended by the dog who loved him more than anything in the whole world.”  - Bailey, A Dog’s Purpose