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A short book review: Belle's Library

Belle's Library: a collection of literary quotes and inspirational musings, written by Brittany Rubiano and art by Jenna Huerta. Disney ©2017

Someone once told me that I wasn't used to adventure or traveling around. They probably see me sitting around a lot, just reading. I'd like to tell them how much more adventurous reading a good book is! It has the ability to transport us into worlds of imagination and magic.

I'm glad about the success of the latest movie Beauty and the Beast and its bookworm heroine Belle. Belle longs for adventure outside the confines of her village.

Since I try to read modern books with the word 'library' in the title, and I watched Beauty and the Beast anyway, I picked this up from a National Bookstore in Manila. Its a simple book with quotes from Belle's (of Beauty and the Beast) favorite books, and her own thoughts about them. In Belle's library are classics such as Romeo and Juliet, A Thousand and One Nights, Don Quixote, and Aesop's fables. Like Belle, they express values as well as love for literature.

The end pages include a fascinating bibliography of books that Belle may have in her library, what they are about, and why she loves them. These real books make valuable additions to your to-read list.

Its also just a beautiful book to have, with its textured cover and simple watercolor illustrations. It has a red ribbon bookmark, and it works well as a gift and a keepsake.


Quotes:

Belle: "Books, poems, letters - there is a certain power and longevity in the written word. I love to imagine people decades or even centuries from now enjoying the same works I do."

"Oh, how I long to visit the fairies of Shakespeare's Midsummer, or in Chaucer's England of old. There is a certain nostalgia embedded in these lines for a time that may never have existed. Well, that is not quite right. It exists in the pages of these works, in the special little nooks and crannies of the mind."

"Quixote's tale is so fascinating to me. To be that caught up in one's reading, to have books come to life so vividly and overwhelmingly. It seems at once a blessing and a curse to live in a haze of fiction."
And this is the essence of the story.

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