My favourite book and film

"Books and movies are like apples and oranges. They both are fruit, 

but taste completely different." - Stephen King

Books are a pleasure that good readers enjoy. They lead you through mysteries, such as Agatha Christie's detective stories or Dan Brown's plots, to scientific, philosophical, historical, romantic issues in an endless number of genres written both in formal and informal language, fiction and non-fiction. 

When I was about ten, my father gave me a book to read it carefully, as it contained "messages that I would cherish all my life long". He was not fond of reading, but that book had meant a lot to him and wanted to transfer his feelings to me.

I enjoyed reading it! The book written by Edmondo de Amicis, “Cuore”, the Italian term for "Heart", tells us about  Enrico—the main character—who is a nine-year-old boy, who writes about his life at school, his friends and not so much friends, their families, his teachers ... The novel covers one year of Enrico´s life at school narrated in the form of a diary; each classmate´s life develops and grows in your mind and you end up by feeling love and understanding for them. As Enrico’s classmates, you also waited eagerly for reading the story of the month; these remarkable “monthly stories” were short stories full of sensitivity, braveness, endurance, warmth and genuine love—one of such stories was “From the Apennines to the Andes”….

As a teenager, I developed a liking for watching films in those attractive buildings with a superb architecture, similar to opera houses, where you could enjoy watching both the surroundings and the films and everyone would be quiet and respectful... no popcorn existed… Technicolor and Cinerama brought elegance and modernity, and super-productions became common. Ben-Hur, The Sound of Music, Star Wars and E.T The extraterrestrial were invested with the stateliness of the theatres.

Elegance of  the Grand Rex movie theater in Paris

Although technological advances have made possible to give life on screen to Tolkien's fantastic world, The Lord of the Rings; and Crichton's Jurassic Park;  I'd have liked to have watched them in the magnificent buildings of the past century without the sound of popcorn around me.

I enjoy watching films, so naming my favourite one is hard to anyone, especially me. Big Fish, As Good as it gets, The lord of the rings, Sense and Sensibility, Skyfall, La la Land, Rainman, The Cyder House Rules, Faceoff, Dead Poet's Society ... are just a few of films that come to my mind...

Yet, there is a film that I think everyone should watch to live and learn. We often hear that books are far better than films. A long time ago a watched a film named "The Shawshank Redemption", a beautiful story of a man accused of murdering his wife and how he faced his life in prison; it has an extraordinary ending. Great casting, well-structured film.

I looked for the book and I realized that it was a rather short  (about 50 pages long) story written by Stephen King. The author and the director of the film worked together; the film was nominated to several Oscar awards, but won none. To the critics' surprise, the video was a complete success and today is considered a real masterpiece...! And I must say that the film was to me better than the novel; the music, the location, the casting and the direction contributed to the enrichment of a solid story.

Now, it is your turn

Tell me what your favourite film and book are
What makes them attractive
When  you read/watched them
Why you recommend them
Minumum length : 180 words.
Remember to make comments on 3 of your classmates' posts and also the teacher's 

My best holiday OR concert ever

a) Holidays...

Look at the sky. We are not alone. The whole universe is friendly to us and conspires only to give the best to those who dream and work.

 A. P. J. Abdul Kalam

Holidays mean fun, relaxation, enjoying yourself, plenty of free time to do anything with no obligation, no concern. You are the owner and master of your life and everything is within your reach, or at least you want to believe so. The mountains, the lakes, the beaches, the parks ... are waiting for you.

Going on holiday is so natural today that we feel frustated when we don't have them--even ashamed. This is so much so, that some people may spend a couple of days off a few miles away, just to say that they had spent wonderful holidays somewhere.

Yet, only wealthy people could afford "holidays" until the 19th century; their young sons spent sometimes a (long) time abroad in Europe, as part of their education.

Just at the beginning of the nineteenth century, in England, every worker got a Sunday off and about the end of that century some skilled workers had a Saturday afternoon off. Late in the nineteenth century, a few skilled workers obtained paid holidays in some countries . In the twentieth century, holidays gained space and from then on they are considered indispensable in our modern world.

Holidays mean memories and "carpe diem". I recall wonderful memories of journeys, travelling by train and enjoying with wide open eyes the landscapes, the trees, the forest...

 Market Place, Castro, Chiloé Island

In rather recent holidays, a few years ago, in Chiloé, I opened my eyes to my mother's birthplace. Beautiful views, piers, market places, hundreds of churches and the friendliness of Chilotes gained my heart. My wife and I went on tour to the "pinguineras" in Puñihuil and also visited many churches on the island. The weather was great, so we had splendid views. We also moved to Puerto Varas and Frutillar, spending some time admiring All Saint's Lake and Petrohue's waterfalls...

Petrohué Waterfalls, Puerto Varas

As my son and daughter had never been there, we planned to spend our holidays again in the south of Chile a couple of years ago, having Puerto Montt as our lodging city. Our son-in-law and our son's fiancée joined us in this new adventure.

The weather was not benevolent, though. Stormy, rainy, cloudy and windy days did not permit to visit the spectacular places such as the Petrohue waterfalls or  All the Saints' Lake because of road closures. Yet, we were able to spend some time at various attractive places in Puerto Varas and Frutillar. We did also go to Chiloé under difficult atmospheric conditions; we visited a curious Mythological Theme Park, a few churches, piers, folk craft shops ... together with the folk Chiloé's typical cuisine. Our holidays in the South of Chile were different, but enjoyable by all means, with the warmth of being together...and this is what matters the most in one's holiday.

 Patrimonial Church, Castro, Chiloé

I would be unfair if I told you that  I spent my best holiday in Chiloé. I have been to other wonderful places  that certainly deserve a post as well.

By the way, why do we speak of "holidays"? In the Middle Ages and earlier, pilgrims went to shrines to show their devotion; they were on holidays (holy=sacred).

Now it's your turn:  Choose Holidays or Concert

Holidays:                                                                         Concert:
- when it was                                                                 - when / where it was
- where they went                                                         - the artist they saw
- how long it was                                                          - a bit of info about the artist
- people they went with                                                - describe the atmosphere
- things/activities they did                                               during the event
- why it has been the best so far                                    - describe how they felt and
- any other relevant info                                                   why they enjoyed it
                                                                                      - any other memories about it
Wordcount: 170

Leave comments on 3 of your classmates posts + comments on your teacher's post.