Log #10

The Book Thief 

Reading Log (page 411 to page 554)

        A parade of the Jew is going on in front of the German on the street of the town. Hans can’s bear it anymore so he rushes into the crowd of Jewish to help an elderly which the event makes Max leave. For the first time, I see how the Jew was treated badly by the Nazi Party. If I were there, I would feel helpless and furious about the condition because I know the Nazi Party is doing something wrong but I can not do anything for the Jew. On the other hand, Liesel is searching for Max. Upon the moment they see each other as well as the scene when Liesel is not afraid of being punished in order to catch up Max to talk to him, I almost cry. Their connection between each other is so strong and they memorize the great time underground of the house. “There were twigs of hair, just like Liesel thought, and the swampy eyes stepped across, shoulder to shoulder over the other Jews. When that reached her, they pleaded. His beard stroked down his face and his mouth shivered as he said the word, the name, the girl. Liesel,”

From the death collector’s perspectives, people commit suicide in that period of time because life is so hard. I realize the pain destroy a person when Michael hung himself because of the nightmare about the war and death of his brother. Later on in a sudden bomb, everyone in the town died except for Liesel when she is writing her stories underground. Life becomes nothing and Liesel loses everything she cherished. In the end of the story, after few years in the end of the war, Liesel and Max meet each other again to live a happy life together.

This book is a masterpiece for me. I like the way the author illustrate the stories which connect closely on the perspective of the death collector as well as the characters play the important role in each part. I don’t like the ending but I start to think of each choice I make would influence my life greatly. I get to know more about the hard condition under the Nazi Party and I see the humanity of people.

Log #10

Better Than Before / Gretchen Rubin

     In better than before, there is a strategy called “Clean Slate”, and here’s the explanation of it from the book: At certain times we experience a “clean slate”, in which circumstances change in a way that makes a fresh start possible. The slate may be wiped clean by a change in personal relationships (marriage, a new baby, a breakup.. etc) or a change in surroundings (a new apartment, a new city… etc).  Although sometimes a major change leads to a clean slate, even a minor change can be sufficient---a change as seemingly insignificant as taking a different route to work or watching TV in a different room. Then, if we heighten the sense of the newness (a clean slate) in our daily life, we can grab more chances to launch a new habit with less effort.

    I have thought about this strategy for many weeks. I tried to be careful whether there’s any little clean slates, the freshness from any little change in my life, that can give me some special energies to start something new. However, I couldn’t find any that are apparent to me. Therefore, I asked myself: Why it seems so hard for me to find any clean slates in my daily life? Does that mean it's hard for me to get some change? Or, does that mean I cannot gain any special energies to launch a new habit with less effort?

    I didn’t find the answer until the New Year’s Eve.

    On the day before the beginning of 2017, I asked myself: What should I do to greet the upcoming new year? And then I thought: “Well, just as usual, keep doing the things that I should do…” Then, the Strategy of Clean Slate flashed through my mind. At the next moment, I finally realized why it's so hard for me to practice this strategy. Looking back, I found that I am the type of person who won’t feel that excited and hopeful on New Year’s day. First, to me, a “New year’s day” doesn’t definitely mean a true clean slate because if I didn’t finish what I have to do this year, I still need to do it in the next year. In other words, the things that I should get done in this year won’t disappear just because “it’s a new start of another year.” Second, I believe that I won’t become better than before in a new year if I didn’t pay any effort.
    
    By comparison, I would feel more excited and hopeful after I truly accomplish something, and usually, I gain lots of energies from it to get another new start. Besides, the energy that I gain from my real achievement can last longer than the excitement or freshness from a change of relationship, environment or time. It might mean that a pragmatic ‘clean slate’ for me will only be accompanied by my practical actions. Now I know, if I want to be aware of the clean slate that I can take advantage of in my life, I should be aware of the time when I achieve something, as compared to the external changes. Then, instead of spending too much time on just enjoying the happiness of my achievement, I should use that special energy to start something new as soon as possible.

    At last, I ask myself: What if I want to feel more excited and hopeful in a New Year’s Day? The answer is simple— Now, plan things to achieve in 2017, and finish them all before the end of the year. Then, I can meet a better me and a New Year’s Day with fully happiness and hopefulness.