The Little Prince

Continuing with my theme of books that are supposed to have a deep meaning, I picked up The Little Prince. It was OK, but having read it right after The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane I have to admit I didn't love it. I may be unfairly comparing the two.  Maybe, also, I shouldn't have read the two so close together, but Edward Tulane's story was so much more compelling for me.  I know The Little Prince is considered a classic and I always hate when I don't immediately fall in love with a classic. It makes me feel like I don't "get it". In this case, however, I get it and the moral of the story is very lovely and somewhat spiritual. It just didn't hit me with the same force as the Edward Tulane story.

If you haven't already read it, The Little Prince is about a little prince who travels the universe and comes across a man on Earth who has crashed his plane in the Sahara desert. The two learn a lot from each other about love, compassion and what's important in life (hint: it's the things you see with your heart, not your eyes). It was sweet and definitely a quick read since it was originally written for children.  Is is one of my favorites? Not really. Is it worth a read? Sure.

The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane

Oddly enough, I came to this book via one of my more recent guilty pleasures - KDramas.  I started watching Korean Dramas last year. One of them, called My Love From Another Star, has a main character who reads this book frequently. That piqued my interest so I picked it up from the library.  I loved it. I love the message in it and I love the story as a whole. It's written in such a beautiful, simple way that there's no way you could hate it.  Although it seems to be for children since it's illustrated and extremely easy to read, it's really for all ages because the moral is applicable to everyone. Open your heart to love and be hopeful of the journey. I won't get into the details because I just want you to go and read it for yourself.

This is now one of my personal favorites and I will be purchasing a copy from the bookstore.

Side note: 

The Korean drama that led me to this book is also about a journey to love. If you're interested you can catch all 21 episodes of it here.

Paris Letters

The minute I started reading this book I had the thought that it may change my life. I know that seems dramatic, but I related to everything the author was saying and I was familiar with many of the emotions she felt. It's a true story about one woman who is unsatisfied with her job and decides to start writing in her journal on a daily basis in order to discover what she wants out of life. Turns out she wants to quit her job and live in Paris. She does this and her life greatly improves because it's the life she wants to live on her own terms. It almost sounds cliché but she finds love, happiness and peace. 

Since I am the first to admit that most of us are leading lives of quiet desperation (myself included!) this story resonated with me.  Who doesn't dream of quitting it all and living the life you want to live instead of the life dictated by bill due dates and dogma? Or I could just be delusional and maybe it really is just me who feels this way. Either way, I was deeply inspired to really discover what it is I want out of life and how to go about getting it. It doesn't hurt that Paris is where this author chose to travel. Since it's one of my favorite cities, I was already a bit biased towards this story. 

I really loved this book. I loved what it represented as an idea. It made me really want to make a concerted effort to be happy and live the life I'm meant to live and not a life society says I should live. This was a very enjoyable, light, quick read and I think it's a perfect outdoor book.  Now that the spring weather has arrived, pick it up and enjoy at your local park or outdoor space.