When I told my friend I was reading The Fountianhead by Ayn Rand, she asked me ‘Why? Do you hate your life?’ I was flabbergasted. I was only about 100 pages in, and was absolutely loving it. 

Turns out, she had never read the book. She had only read articles about the book but formed an opinion from someone else's filtered opinion of the book, and I realized that comment was very coincidental as I read. 

THESE BOOKS (SERIES) APPEAR IN NO PARTICULAR ORDER BECAUSE I CANNOT AND WILL NOT CHOOSE AN ALL-TIME FAVORITE BOOK OR SERIES

STOP ASKING

IT'S IMPOSSIBLE

1. "Lord of the Rings", "The Hobbit" by J. R. R. Tolkien 
2. "The Inheritance Cycle" by Christopher Paolini
3. "The Blind Assassin" by Margaret Atwood
4. "American Gods" by Neil Gaiman
5. "Star Trek" by Gene Roddenberry
6. "Game of Thrones" by George R. R. Martin
7. "The Inkheart Trilogy" by Cornelia Funke
8. "Warriors" by Erin Hunter
9. "The Hours" by Michael Cunningham
10. "Harry Potter" by J.K. Rowling

I like fantasy. Just a little. 

PSA: I'm open to talking about books. All the time. Giving suggestions, taking suggestions, suggesting books that should burn etc. 

"Hannahrubyisms" - noun, subjective "isms" or philosophies pertaining, but not limited to, people, wine, books, and life that future award-winning writer Hannah Ruby Ball holds to be true. 






NOTE: The following isms are subject to change with age, major life events, and copious amounts of wine mixed with a night of writing. 

1. If you can be a better you, then be a better you.
   
2. People are defined by their actions, not beliefs. 
3. Learn to love your face whilst it's naked. 
4. Dinner is not complete without wine.
5. There is no absolute right or wrong, good or evil. 
6. Laziness is not a trait to be glorified, nor is not caring. 
7. Petty people create rumors. Boring people believe them.
8. If not wine, then tea.
9. Reading about and writing adventures is a blast, but always create your own experiences. 
10. Butts are great.
11. Whining about your problems solves nothing.  
12. Hourly introverted thoughts make you more existential and understanding. 
13. Try to understand everything. 
14. Don't underestimate words. They are puissant (look it up). 
15. If you have a chance to pet a dog, you pet the crap out of that dog. 
16. Close-mindedness is poison. 
17. Many people aren't worth it. Few are. Although, everyone is worth something to someone. 
18. Read everything you can. 
19. Static people live in their comfort zone. Don't be static. 
20. The world doesn't need to validate your life in order for you to have one. 
21. Learning about other cultures is the coolest thing ever. 
22. What we hate in other people is what we're afraid to become, but often what we are. 
23. The internet rarely cares about your problems or your life. 
24. Don't trust people who claim they aren't passionate about anything. Or say they don't like to read. 
25. Limitations are ideas we impose on ourselves because we're afraid to be daring. 

SECOND NOTE: These are only a few of Hannah Ruby Ball's philosophies and she is not pushing them on anyone. Seriously, don't think she's trying to preach and claim that her way of living is superior to yours. 

THIRD NOTE: Have a fantastic day! Eat all the chocolate you can. 

CONTAINS A FEW SPOILERS WHINERS BEWARE

An ocean can be carried in a bucket.

A father trying to drown his son was edited out of reality.

Monsters are monsters because they’re scared.

People shouldn't always have what they want.

You don’t pass or fail at being a person.

These are things that stuck with me when I finished Neil Gaiman’s “The Ocean at the End of the Lane.” Having been the second book I’ve read by Gaiman, ( I finished “American Gods” last week) my desire to read the rest of his work has reached extreme levels. In “Ocean,” Gaiman uses all of my favorite story telling elements--mythology, questioning humanity, a possibly unreliable narrator, ambiguity, and magic.

The prolepsis (flash forward) scene at the beginning shows the unnamed narrator driving from a funeral (we never learn who died) and returning to the Hempstock farm, run by the three Hempstock women. He sits by the ocean that isn’t an ocean and remembers.

I didn’t realize until I read Gaiman’s interview at the end of the book, that three of the main characters, and the only ones that are named, are based of the Maiden, the Mother, and the Crone. Each had a distinct personality that were all very well written. The youngest, Lettie Hempstock, makes an impression on the narrator that draws him to their farm very often. When I read the summery, I expected a childhood love story, full of unrequited love standing the test of time that would make me want to puke. Thankfully, I did not want to puke at any time reading this book.  

The narrator is thrust into a small part of the Hempstock’s world, full of magic, a pond/ocean, and evil spirits, one of which enters the world through the narrator. That evil spirit becomes his awful nanny, intent on giving people what they want even if it kills them (which it does). Lettie saves the narrator from this monstrosity, but opens the door to something much more dangerous.

This book’s story is completely magical and wonderful. However much I love the point of view and prolepsis, I wanted to read more about the Hempstock women and why men don’t stick around, and how you dissolve shadows in vinegar. With every question Gaiman answered, five more came about. Why doesn’t the narrator remember the first time he returned to the farm? Will he ever? Will Lettie be the same? Does the narrator pass Lettie’s inspection? Where do the varmints come from?  And most importantly, how do you dissolve shadows in vinegar?

Through all the questions, my guess on the purpose of the book is this: The kind of person you are depends on self-awareness, the people you trust, ability to accept another’s reality, and your actions when varmints are eating your reality. Also, you don’t pass or fail at being a human.

I give this book four and half stars out of five, and highly recommend it to any dreamers, readers, magical beings, and any evil nannies lurking about.