The Perks of Being a Wallflower (1999) by Stephen Chbosky

I was so excited to start my reading New Year’s resolution that I quickly picked a book and devoured the entire thing in a single day. I could not have picked a better book to read from my New Year’s Resolution book list. When I picked out my first book to read I had decided that I did not want to just go in the list order so I picked a random number out of hat and went with it. The result of this was The Perks of Being a Wallflower (1999) by Stephen Chbosky.

The Perks of Being a Wallflower is narrated by a teenager who goes by the alias of "Charlie"; he describes various scenes in his life by writing a series of letters to an anonymous person, whom he does not know personally. The story explores topics such as introversion and the awkward times of adolescence. The book also touches briefly on drug use and Charlie's experiences with this. As the story progresses, various works of literature and film are referenced and their meanings discussed. At the very beginning of the book, Charlie is referred to as a wallflower for his ability to observe and understand things, but over the course of a year's worth of letters, Charlie explains the efforts of the people in his life to get him to "participate" or "do things" and the feelings and experiences he has as a result.

The author, Chbosky, names J.D. Salinger’s The Cather in the Rye as an inspiration, and he pays homage to Salinger’s work by naming it as one of the books that Charlie’s English teacher, Bill, gives him to read.

This was a great read for the New Year since it references quite a few books that are on my list such as Cather in the Rye (Salinger), The Great Gatsby (Fitzgerald), and On the Road (Kerouac). It also mentioned a few books I might add to my list once I finish the initial 15: This Side of Paradise (Fitzgerald), Walden (Thoreau), The Fountainhead (Rand), Naked Lunch (Burroughs), and A Separate Peace (Knowles).

Just a few of my favorite lines:

• "Charlie, we accept the love we think we deserve."
• "And in that moment, I swear we were infinite."
• "My sister spent that next 10 minutes denouncing the Greek system of sororities and fraternities. She kept telling stories of 'hazing' and how kids have died before. She then told this one story about how she heard there was a sorority that made the new girls stand in their underwear while they circled their 'fat' in red magic marker." (my commentary on this... funny because these are still the same "rumors" that go around Greek life - I still joined a sorority).
• "Mark said that the amazing white stars were really only holes in the black glass of the dome, and when you went to heaven, the glass broke away, and there was nothing but a whole sheet of star white, which is brighter than anything but doesn't hurt your eyes. It was vast and open and thinly quiet, and I felt so small."
• "There's nothing like the deep breaths after laughing that hard. Nothing in the world like a sore stomach for the right reasons. It was that great."

Moving on to my next book… Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger (for obvious reasons).

1. “The Great Gatsby” by F. Scott Fitzgerald "Pygmalion" by George Bernard Shaw

2. “A River Runs Through It” by Norman Maclean

3. “Lolita” by Vladimir Nabokov

4. “On the Road” by Jack Kerouac

5. “The Red Badge of Courage” by Stephan Crane

6. “Catcher in the Rye” by J.D. Salinger

7. “The Perks of Being a Wallflower” by Stephen Chbosky

8. “1984” by George Orwell

9. “Atlas Shrugged” by Ayn Rand

10. “Outliers: The Story of Success” by Malcolm Gladwell

11. “The Alchemist” by Paulo Coelho

12. “The Last of the Mohicans” by James Fenimore Cooper

13. “Antigone” by Sophocles
14. “The Grapes of Wrath” by John Steinbeck
15.

Happy 24th Anniversary of MLK Weekend!

This past weekend happen to be Martin Luther King, Jr. weekend. I was lucky enough to get to venture up to D.C. and visit my older sister and her fiance. I helped them do a little planning. Tagged along on random outings to paper stores (for invitations), dress stores (for the obvious), and reception halls (duh). Chimed in with my opinion, when asked, not over-stepping any bridal boundaries, and provided a little comic relief when differing opinions got heated.

I had quite the adventure from the moment I stepped off the plane. Mom and Dad were supposed to pick me up from the Baltimore airport, having decided to forgo the rental car and just rely on Jordan's car (a 1989 Volvo, mind you) and the D.C. Metro (by far more reliable than aforementioned Volvo) as means of transportation, Murphy's Law kicked in. Jordan's car decided to break down a block away from her apartment as they were coming to get me. So, me with large suitcase in hand (well, on wheels) decided to figure out the train/subway/bus route between Baltimore and Washington D.C.

Everyone knows my amazing ability to get lost anywhere, no lie, I have even gotten lost driving down to south Florida and all that entails is hopping on I-95. Yeah, judge me. I'm even judging myself right now. I was hoping since I didn't have to do any of the actual driving I might actually be able to get by without getting lost. Wishful thinking that was. Let me count the ways I managed:

1) in the airport. Couldn't find the baggage claim, bus stop, or even the information desk. I blame it on poor planning on the airports end. Not my own. 2) the train station. Couldn't find the right ticket counter to buy my $6 MARC train ticket to Union Station, almost gave in and purchased a $35 Amtrak train ticket to Union Station because I was so frustrated and people in Baltimore were not being helpful. 3) once at Union Station I had to catch the Circular Bus. Was unable to find the parking garage that the bus stop was located in and almost ended up on a Metro that would have taken me in the complete opposite direction. Finally, a homeless man, who had already seen me pass by a million times pointed me in the right direction. 4) once I was sitting on the bus, map in hand, confused look on my face, waiting for us to leave the Union Station bus stop, a friendly fellow bus rider asked me where I was headed and if they could help me in anyway. I pointed to the general location that I wanted to go on the map and they pointed to a bus that had just pulled out and said "you need to be on that bus." Great. 5) I got on the correct bus, but almost got off at the wrong stop. I mean really, why exactly would you have TWO bus stops called 'Navy Yard' on the same bus route, and blocks apart?

Laugh. Go ahead. I give you permission. That's the point. I often times laugh at my own stupidity.

I finally, ended up finding my parents on the street corner across from Jordan's apartment waiting for a tow truck for the Volvo.

Just in case you were wondering...

We saw snow.

We got eaten by dinosaurs.

We sold slaves.
Side Note: We DID NOT sell slaves. Obvi. This building (currently the City Hall for Alexandria, VA) was once a slave market (where slaves had once been sold. You know, before Honest Abe and all).

We drank in the park.

We went to church.

We got mooned.

We drank copious amounts of Bailey's. Yum.

My apologies for the picture being blurry....it was from my cell.