Which book benefited you the most and how?

One of the first stores I look forward to shopping in when I go off island is Barnes & Noble. Yes, a book store. I get excited when I step into this store and am flanked by rows and rows and piles and piles of books. Books that I would never read. Books with beautiful covers. Books I have already bought but am proud to see on the shelves. And books that tempt me by their names and descriptions. Saipan is not blessed with this franchise; I do hope there would be a store established here soon.

When I was in Guam last summer, I visited one of the malls that had B&N.  It took me a while to find the store, but when I found it – on the second floor at the opposite end of the mall – I had to withhold myself from sprinting to the store. Instead, I merely quickened my walking pace to its doors, leaving my family behind. My eyes and smile grew wide as I tiptoed past its doors and neared the aisles. I could here my mom, sister, and cousin walking up behind me with their colorful plastic and paper shopping bags crinkling against each other. I couldn't contain myself when I walked throughout the store; I must've inspected the place at least twice around before I actually started looking at titles and peeling the books from their place on the shelves. I'd open a book for a few seconds then place it back and start on a new one. My mom was yelling at us to hurry up; she doesn't have the patience to be in a book store. As I looked through the books, I looked at the prices also. I began to frown as I noticed the books I wanted were nearly $20, an amount I didn't have in my wallet after shopping for hours for clothes. My cousin already chose the books she wanted and brought them to the cash register. “Choose one already,” my mom said. I am very indecisive.

As I sorted through a shelf I had passed three times, I came to a complete stop when I saw the title and cover page of The Book Thief by Markus Zusak. I stared at the book for a couple seconds. It felt like it was pulling me toward its spine to pull it out and inspect its contents. It was a thick book but paperback; its font size was pretty small, but that rarely bothers me. After fanning through its pages, I doubted buying it because of its price. But when my mom saw me intently inspecting a book, she insisted I buy it. This book attracted me to it with its title; its description got me even more curious. This book should be good, I thought.

Being a slow reader, I finished the 400 paged book in a month. Zusak's writing had me stunned. I have never read a book about the German lifestyle when the Nazis ruled. But after reading this book, I was enlightened about the life a German suffered during the World War. Death and Poverty spared no one. Everyone was affected by Hitler's reign. Liesel's suffering, determination, love for words and learning, and love for her family, Rudy, and Max touched my heart.  His choice of Death being the main speaker was clever. My idea of death has changed also. I would have never imagined Death being the narrator.

The book emotionally stunned me. The tone and layout of the book was unlike my usual perspective of novels. Although it is considered a book of the 5^th grade level, it made me feel like I read the Bible and had been revealed God’s secrets. Exaggeration? Yes. Inspired? Definitely.