Fashion Models

It has been a wild dream of mine to be a fashion model. I am trying to figure out why I want to be a fashion model. I think that what I am attracted to is the glamour.
I really admire supermodels such as Claudia Schiffer, Rebecca Romijn, and Tyra Banks. Not only are they beautiful and glamorous, but they are very classy (especially Tyra Banks). They are all very tall and able to maintain very slender figures. So they always look very good in all of their modelling shoots and photos. Their bikini photos are flawless! My Mom also told me that models are always well-turned out, that if I want to be a model, I should always keep my nails manicured.

 

Fashion models quite often have hourglass or willowy figures. I can spend hours glancing at photos of the celebrities' different figures and never get bored! I love both the hourglass and the willowy figure and aspire to have both, if that is at all possible. Maybe I can be a willowy hourglass. When I was at my thinnest, I had a willowy figure. I notice that I have curves, which is a good start for the hourglass figure.
It is extremely hard to make it in the modelling business. To be a runway model, you have to be 5'8-5'11, and extremely slender, with the appropriate measurements. I think that the modelling industry has irrational standards in asking for the model to be excessively tall and underweight. The word, "model" is defined as an example to set for others. So the industry should set standards that are healthy and within reach. In my opinion, the model should be from average to tall height, which is the ideal height for a girl, instead of excessively tall. In many cases, when the girl is too tall, it takes away from her attractiveness. Also, the model should be the ideal weight for his/her height, instead of underweight. Being underweight and unhealthy is a very bad example to set. It is an even worse example to set when the model suffers from an eating disorder. I also think that people who have had plastic surgery should not be models. For, then they are sending the world the message that you have to combat nature, instead of accepting yourself the way that you naturally are. I think that they would be better off just trying their hand at modelling without plastic surgery.
I think that the criterion for models should be normal, happy, healthy, down-to-earth beings, rather than those that are excessively tall and unhealthily thin and have undergone plastic surgery to get to where they are now.
I am trying to figure out what it is that attracts me to pursue a modelling career. I think that I wanted to be a model before since I thought that it would prove that I am the ultimate beauty. Now I see that one does not have to be a model to prove that. I had earlier put modelling on my list of careers that I would aspire for. Now I am wondering whether I was just attracted to being a model since it is extremely hard to make it in the business, another of my epiphanies from my last post. I had posted a Yahoo! question about whether I should pursue modelling as a career, in addition to other careers. I had received the answer, "If you are not scouted as a model by the time that you are 15, chances are you will not make it." In a way, I was relieved after reading the answer since it kind of took a burden off my chest. I know that I am not interested in modelling as much as I am in writing, or my other passions and dreams. So I do not know whether it would be worth it for me to put in so much energy for something that I do not have that strong a desire for.
A few months ago, I had the goal to pursue modelling after two years of attaining my ideal figure. I have gained a lot of weight in the past two years and wanted to reduce to 105 lbs in the next two years. Now I have freed myself of the burden of putting in so much energy for modelling. I would definitely like to lose weight and tone my body for my own sake, but not for the sake of modelling. I think that I will discard 105 lb's as my target weight. I aim to reach a healthy, slender weight and have a willowy hourglass figure. Maybe I will still model for fun when my other priorities are taken care of.; when I have reached my goals in beauty, personality, and character. But I really do not want to stress over it in any way.
I really like the philosophy of ModCloth that it celebrates true individuals in its own models (just what I outlined above), and it would be my dream to model for a store that offers such beautiful, classic clothing, that I love! The criterion for a ModCloth model is the best. It is that the model should be:

*    Friendly, approachable, and enthusiastic

*    Naturally fit in frame and figure

*    Instinctively style savvy and creatively cute

*    Energetic and easygoing

*    Confident and comfortable in front of a camera

*    A fan of ModCloth's aesthetic

The ModCloth motto implements beauty in personality and soul, not in outward appearance. I love the ModCloth interviews with the Models of the Month. Pinup Girl Clothing, another online store that I love, also has an outside-the-box approach and accepts models of all shapes and sizes.

 

I am still trying to figure out whether I should be a model. I do know that if I become a model, it will be to supplement my other careers. I really hope that I will also become a model in character and appearance, in addition to being a fashion model, if I ever get any modelling opportunity.

My New Path

Throughout my life, I have aimed for the absolute highest in everything, no matter the possibility of my reaching the top. I have a long list of goals and dreams. I have developed the motto, "Anything is possible! Nothing is impossible!" That is a good motto--if it is used in the right way.
One would think that through this motto, I have been able to achieve a lot of success in everything that I pursued. Actually, unfortunately, instead of achieving success when I have pursued the ultimate, I have just found disappointment when I have not gotten what I wanted. I believe it is because although I hold a lot of key ingredients to success, there also some critical ingredients lacking in me. I also believe that I should modify my philosophy.
I have the ingredients of ambition, inspiration, intelligence, and determination. As you can see, I am very ambitious in aiming for the absolute highest. I am also inspired that it is possible to reach the highest. I have the intelligence to determine the correct path to reach my goals. And I am determined in never giving up no matter what results I receive.
However, I lack motivation, confidence, hard work (being naturally lazy), and maybe also interest. I wonder whether I am really interested in the field that I am pursuing or just in reaching the top in it. My teachers and professors have given me the feedback that I am more interested in grades than in learning. Additionally, even though I aim for the highest and am inspired that it is possible, I do not have the motivation to put in the effort. I have realized that it is possibly because deep down, I am not confident that the goal is possible. I really need to work on my confidence. I have already made a lot of improvement in the years.
So from now onwards, I hope to just follow my interest for the field and let everything else fall into place. I hope from following my interest, I will be able to strengthen my motivation and confidence. When I follow my interest, it will not seem like hard work, but fun.
I have also decided to adjust my goals. I would like to tone down my need to achieve the highest in everything and let go of my attachment for the highest. I would like to focus on my interests and take everything step-by-step, instead of being attached to achieving the highest. I would also like to maintain a sense of practicality and reality so that I am aware of the optimal approach to making my dreams a reality.
I will now look at what I have been trained in and am good at and make it a priority to follow that professionally, while continuing my other interests on the side. Hopefully, with that, everything will fall into place. Who knows? I may even be able to excel in those fields along the way.
I have decided to make use of my graduate degree in English Literature, as that is what I have been trained in. I will try to attain whatever job I will get from it.
Ever since I got my master's degree in English, my very kind and generous parents supported me for all of my dreams, many of which have varied across the years. I have had jobs on and off. Even when I have not had a job, my parents have supported me completely, including financially. They may not have agreed with all that I have wanted to pursue, but being kind parents, they have continued to support me. They are really the kindest and most generous parents in the world! However, I think that it is time that I stood on my own feet and started acting more grown-up and independent. Maybe once I start to take responsibility for myself in getting a job, I will feel a sense of self-worth and independence, which will motivate me to achieve my other dreams.
I have considered a great deal of career options and even posted on Facebook for advice on which career path to follow. With a graduate degree in English Literature, there is a lot of scope for me. I had pursued graduate studies in English Literature thinking that I would pursue a job in academia. However, jobs in academia are really hard to come by so I need myself open to many options. It would still be my ultimate goal to get a professorship in English Literature. That is a good fit for me, as I love analyzing the complexities of literature. The other jobs that I am considering are editing or production in the publishing industry, copywriting in the business, fashion, or health industry, public relations, and web design. I would love to work in the publishing industry as I love books and am a fanatic about the different editions of books. I always want to purchase a book in just the right edition. I love for books to be hardcover, glossy, and illustrated. I also really appreciate it when the books are annotated, with a good introduction and critical essays. My appreciation for the design of books makes me suitable for a job in production. My degree in English and editing and writing skills makes me suitable for a job in editing. My friend, Cynthia told me that publishing is just the job that she sees me in. I am also considering a job as a copywriter. I believe that I have the writing skills for a copywriting job although I need to season my experience. I started considering a job in public relations after a job interviewer told me that there is a lot of writing in the public relations field. I am also good at publicity. Additionally, after I enjoyed designing my Myspace profile, my Mom told me that I should consider a job in web design.
Since I was little, one of my dreams has been to be a writer. My Mom told me that she found a poster of mine from first grade, which said that when I grow up, I want to be a writer. I did not know that I was that young when I developed that goal! Ever since I can remember, my goal has been to write classical literature in the forms of poetry, prose, and drama. I was very flattered when my uncle, Vikraman Velliachan told me that I am best suited for a career in writing classical literature. I love how my beloved friend, Kait told me after reading my blog that I should become a writer! My friend, Cynthia also said that she could see me writing Young Adult fiction. I just found out yesterday while researching Young Adult fiction on Wikipedia that there is a new genre called New Adult fiction, aimed at an audience of readers from the age of 18-30.
I also have other dreams, which are secret so I cannot list them here. I repeat, my new philosophy is to follow my heart and let everything fall into place, instead of just chasing the highest. My resolution is to live life replete with commitment and devoid of attachment.

Heroes & Heroines

Yesterday I was telling my friend that it is ironic that Charlotte in Sex and the City, although eventually ending up happily married with Harry, does not ultimately get the fairy tale romance that she initially wishes for yet Carrie and Mr. Big's relationship is always portrayed romantically, dreamily, and poetically. And my friend said that Carrie is the heroine of the show so they cannot lose that element of story book romance, which so many people want, with her. That got me to thinking about the importance that heroes and heroines are given in fiction and also wondering about the realities of life. I realized that the creators of fiction quite often place boundaries and expectations on the main characters.
From that conversation, I was also reminded of a conversation that I had with my aunt over the Hindi movie, Kuch Kuch Hota Hai. In that movie, the actress, Kajol is a down-to-earth, easygoing tomboy while her foil, Rani Mukherjee is feminine and attractive. At some point, Kajol gets envious when her friend and secret crush, Shahrukh Khan is attracted to Rani Mukherjee so she decides to dress up girly. However, she overdoes it, and everyone laughs at her, and she gets upset. Yet, I did not think that she looked so bad as they made out. My aunt said, "I also thought that she did not look so bad that they had to laugh so much, but she is the heroine so they cannot make her look too bad." I realized then that that was true, that they do exercise self-consciousness when dealing with the hero/heroine and place some boundaries. In many cases, the makers of the fiction create the characters biasedly and always try to make sure that they are not disliked by the audience.

I was also reminded of a conversation I had with my Mom about Family Matters years ago. I told her that I was surprised that Steve eventually ended up with Laura when throughout the show, it was unrequited love. And my Mom said that she always expected it since he is the hero of the show so he would end up with what he wanted. I realized then that that was true. Steve was the hero of the show since Family Matters ended up being a hit because of him.
I will now discuss Carrie in Sex and the City. It is quite surprising that she, the girl-next-door, would be the heroine over Charlotte, whom everyone thinks is the pretty girl in the group and the romantic perfectionist. Then I realized that this is an example of when an ingénue is juxtaposed with a stronger, more interesting female character to highlight the strength and appeal of that female character. Additionally, there is often a lot of bias in Carrie's portrayal and reception. The same goes for Mr. Big. When Carrie and Mr. Big have an extra-marital affair, it is portrayed and received as sexy and excusable. Carrie is the friend in the group that ends up with the lion's share in her final partner and romance. She has to end up the man that is portrayed to be handsome and charming. I will now outline the times when Carrie and Mr. Big's relationship is portrayed dreamily romantically--the time that Mr. Big and Carrie dance to Moon River, the time that Mr. Big tells Carrie that she is "the one" under the moon in Paris, which many think of as the most beautiful city in the world, and the time that Mr. Big eventually writes Carrie love letters and takes from famous love quotes at the end of the movie, Sex and the City. On the other hand, Charlotte's one romantic marriage with Trey crumbles while her marriage with Harry always fails in romance, but succeeds in love. There is that time when Harry and Charlotte try to have a romantic evening at a fancy restaurant, but end up with food poisoning, which brings them closer. Carrie comments that they may not have had a romantic night, but a night of true love.

I will now discuss the portrayal of heroes and heroines in Hindi movies. Hindi movies are like fairy tales. So they, for the most part, try to portray the characters to be close to perfection. I believe that Bollywood has more of a bias when picking out their leads than Hollywood does. They almost always pick out the best-looking person. In Bollywood, you need not have much talent to make it as a lead if you are good-looking. I was also told that often in order to emphasize the good looks of the heroine, they make her have a plain looking friend. So it was quite surprising when in Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham, the main character's friend, Rukhsaar is very beautiful, even rivaling the lead. Some other exceptions to the boundaries placed on heroes and heroines were when the heroine, Mili in Rangeela failed her tenth standard exam three times when she was studying dancing and when Raj, the hero of Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge was the first failure in the history of his university. And of course, there is the infamous portrayal of Shahrukh in Anjaam where he is technically the lead and hero, but proves himself to be a full-out sociopath and have a true villain's nature. In many earlier movies, Shahrukh has tried to take up the challenge of playing dark characters that are flawed, yet sympathetic, such as in Baazigar and Darr. However, in Anjaam, he does a very good job of alienating the audience as he stalks Madhuri Dixit and does many merciless, unforgivable things along the way. I am sure that no one remembers that he is the charming Shahrukh for a moment and is still attracted to him in any part of that movie.
In Hollywood and American television, there is also some bias towards the leads, but not as much as in Bollywood. They most often try to pick a good-looking person for the lead or portray the lead to be good-looking at some point in the movie, such as in ugly duckling turned to swan movies. And often anything that the hero or heroine does is excused since it is coming from him/her. For example, in She's the Man!, Duke insensitively tells one nerd to go away so he can talk to Sebastian. I thought that that was wrong of him, yet he was excused for it since he was the hero of the show.
I have found that in real dramatic Hollywood movies, which are Oscar nominated, the creators try to let go of boundaries with the leads. They do not select the looker, but the actor. The actor often has to shed blood and all the beauty and glamour to get the Oscar nomination. For example, Charlize Theron was made to look ugly and gain a lot of weight in her award-winning role as prostitute and serial killer, Aileen Wuornos in Monster. And often the Oscar-winning movie does not have the expected happy ending, but rather a moving, realistic ending, which makes the audience grasp the harsh realities of life.
There are also many movies and shows where the lead is not attractive, and that is the emphasis of the show. Such goes for Family Matters. I also remember reading in my seventh grade English textbook that Forrest Gump is an exceptional hero, being slow.
I have found that in real life, it works out quite differently than movies. I knew this girl who is extremely beautiful and the definition of grace whom all the guys wanted to go out with. She was voted the best looking in the class along with this other guy whom all the girls were attracted to. So anyone would expect that they would make the ideal match. They did go out--but for a very short time. The girl knew that the relationship was not going anywhere and had no potential. However, she did end up marrying a nice guy, but not the type of guy that other people would have pictured for her. That guy was not tall, dark, and conventionally handsome, but a sweet, down-to-earth guy with a very good heart. The girl is a princesse lointaine, but did not end up with her counterpart, the knight-in-shining armor, but a boy-next-door. I have noticed in general that the best looking girl does not always end up with the best looking guy. I had a friend who is classically beautiful. It did not work out between her and the guy that she was obsessed with although they did date for a while. When he finally settled down with another girl, she worried like all the girls would worry that the girl was prettier than her. I noticed that that other girl was from being better looking than her. In fact, that girl was quite plain and simple looking. I realized that probably what happened between my friend and that guy was that the guy was initially attracted to my friend since she is brilliant, classy, and beautiful, but found a girl that he clicked with, no matter her attractiveness.
 I have found that in many romance novels, the hero is tall, dark (both in appearance and character), and handsome while the heroine is blonde, innocence, and sweetness and light. It is quite often that the hero and heroine do not get along at first and hate each other, but they end up falling in love.

I once had a storybook romance where actually many of the boundaries and expectations were intact. I like to think of it as a time when I was the star of the show. I was the classic ingénue--a sweet, innocent girl. I liked to describe myself as "shy and bookish." I liked to think that I was more worldly than others my age and engage myself with Shakespeare and classics and philosophy. I was not interested in fashion or popularity, unlike most girls in my class. It is funny, but at that time, I would rather be ugly than pretty since I thought that being pretty was superficial and did not mind at all when people in my class called me ugly (although I really was not ugly). I was made fun of throughout the year by the most popular guy in the class, a guy that every girl liked. However, at the end of the year, he asked me to be his friend. After that, I became romantically interested in him, as did he. By the end of the year, I had started to take more interest in my dressing and wore clothes, that even my teacher commented on. There was one day when I was dressed up, and I felt shy when this other guy that always said he liked me came over to me. The guy that was interested in me was the Prince Charming of our class and a bad boy, a trickster. Someone told me that my love story was like out of a book. The guy that every girl wanted was first dating this girl whom every guy wanted to date, whom the guys would vandalize desks by writing that she is sexy. Yet, still they were not happy together. Then he found this sweet girl who was so different from the rest. It was like in a romance where the guy is dark and the girl is sweet and innocent and they hate each other at first, but then fall in love. We also were complete opposities, and as it has been portrayed in so many stories, opposites attract. I also felt like I was in an ugly duckling turned to swan story. Even though I was never actually ugly, I blossomed in my attractiveness after dressing well. I went from being the least popular girl to popular, as everyone seemed to treat me well and approach me, as that guy did. That guy's friend told me that that guy always liked me and always said that I was beautiful, nice, and smart, even if he may have told me the opposite at first to my face. And the other guy that liked me told me that he and the guy that I liked thought that I was pretty and that they made fun of me since that was their way of showing that they liked me. I did not finally end up with that guy that I liked. However, I still had my own happy ending since I realized that we would not have been compatible for a relationship and he still made a difference in my life. However, I still hope to end up having a fairy tale romance that ends up in marriage, which is very poetic and like from a story book. I will be the heroine of the love story.
Everyone is the lead character of the play of his/her life. As a Leo, that is what I constantly think about myself when undergoing experiences.

Fashion

As fashion is a passion of mine, I always planned to write a blog entry on fashion at some point. And yesterday after reading a ModCloth interview with the Model of the Month about how she decided to change her focus and studies to fashion retail, my interest was sparked. Since then I have been looking up the fashion topic online and pondering. Fashion, as one would presume, is a HOT topic! There are so many blogs dedicated to fashion. I do not know whether I could focus a whole blog on fashion or one topic for that matter, as I have so many interests. I just love the term, "Fashionista!"

I get lost in a different world when I explore fashion. I LOVE GLAMOUR! I do have to admit that there have been times when I have wished to be a fashion model. My favorite fashion supermodels are Claudia Schiffer, Rebecca Romijn, and Tyra Banks. I think that they are beautiful and have the perfect height and measurements!

 

 

  

I also idealize being tall, thin, and black-haired as a model so I really like the pin-up model, Bettie Page and the fictional character, Katy Keene.

 

 

That comes to my next topic of pin-up modelling. I guess that I like pin-up modelling, since the female figure is iconized. However, I have boundaries for revealing clothes. In addition to Bettie Page, I like the pin-up models, Bernie Dexter and Marilyn Monroe.

 

I will now provide some background information on fashion, as I try to do in all of my blog entries. There are a wide range of styles, from preppy to trendy to grungy to bohemian to punk to gothic, to name just a few.
Sex and the City can serve as a guidebook on fashion.
Carrie is very fashion-forward and is the trademark for trendy. 



 
Charlotte has a classic, preppy style, being old-fashioned and has been celebrated as the modern-day Audrey Hepburn.









My choice of clothes drifted along the course of the years. I have, for the most part, been attracted to the preppy, classic style and sometimes the trendy style. When I was in college, I wished to wear fancy clothes and classic Indian style clothes. Now I wear two main styles: classic--like in fairy tale--and colorful and offbeat--like in the circus. These styles represent the two main facets of myself--the sweet, shy, innocent, romantic girl and the ebullient, effervescent, eccentric, passionate free spirit. Think Audrey Hepburn for the classic style and Katy Perry or Lady Gaga for the circus style. Quite a contrast, I know!

 

 

For the classic, girly style, I like to wear vintage, lace, frills, ruffles, silk, and bows and clothing that flatters the hourglass figure, such as peplum. Hence, ModCloth, which has a lot of the above, especially vintage, is one of my favorite shops!

 

Here is a lace crop top that I love!

 

I have this ruffle lace top in several colors. Ruffle lace is a combination of the two classic, girly items!

 

I also love my peekaboo bow peplum top, a combination of my different loves. When I wear it, I become like Charlotte, who is an icon for peekaboo clothing and wears peplum clothing to compliment her figure. I particularly bought the top for the bows.

 

As an old-fashioned girl that believes in fairy tales and follows the classic style, I love Lolita fashion, a Japanese style based on the Victorian era. As written in an earlier blog entry, my friend told me that the objective of Lolita fashion is to dress like a sweet, innocent girl to attract a sexual fetish, like the title character in Lolita. However, I follow the style because I find it beautiful, not to attract a fetish. I particularly like the subgroups, Classic Lolita and Sweet Lolita. I especially like Sweet Lolita, which is very girly, beautiful, and adorable. Sweet Lolita has pastel-colored frilly dresses and usually with a bow in the hair and usually an accessory like a doll or a lollipop. I would love to carry a doll everywhere I go, and I think that the lollipop is a sweet completion of an outfit. I buy from the brand, Baby, the Stars Shine Bright, which is based on Alice in Wonderland. For my Victorian-themed birthday, I dressed up Sweet Lolita style in a Baby, the Stars Shine Bright dress, which had Alice on it and wore a bow in my hair.

I would also like to get into the magical brand, Fairy Lolita. However, I need to learn more about Fairy Kei first.

I discovered the online store, Pin-Up Girl Clothing when Modcloth posted a photo on Facebook of one of their beautiful, magical skirts--the Neverland skirt! I knew I had to buy both the skirt and dress in Neverland print! I personally like the skirt better and think it would go beautifully with my bow top.

 

 

I guess that I also follow a style in-between the classic and circus styles. I like to buy dresses of prints of items that I like, such as cupcakes and ice cream. The Greek brand, Cruel Candy was so nice to custom-make these dresses of cupcakes and French pastries just for me! I also built a friendship with Cruel Candy over the dresses.

 

I also have several ice cream dresses. The red ice cream dress by Bernie Dexter has a nice 1950's retro feel and makes me feel like I am back in the 1950's, when ice cream sodas were a common activity.

 

 

That brings me to the topic of the fashion line of Bernie Dexter. I really like Bernie Dexter's products. I am considering buying the two pink and blue dresses in poodle and Eiffel tower print as I love poodles. I like the belt, which cinches the hourglass figure in both dresses and the bra in the pink dress.

 

I am also considering buying this adorable dress by Bernie Dexter, which features the activity of sewing. It is awesome that the model is posing with scissors, which is a part of the dress. And I love how one reviewer on ModCloth said that it has a Sex and the City feel to it!

 

 

My favorite designer brand is BCBG, a preppy brand. I own a few of their products, but wish that I could own more. Unfortunately, money is a barrier.

One of my all-time favorite brands is Candie's, which I think is a trendy, girly, flirty brand. I love the sweet name, Candie's, and it always seems to design just what I dreamed of! For example, I always wanted buckle stiletto boots, which I got from Candie's. And I am so in love with the beautiful kaleidoscopic bikini, which I purchased from Candie's two years ago!

 

I am also very attracted to the brand, Dollhouse, which my friend, Michelle told me is trendy. I am partly attracted to Dollhouse since I love the name, being so fond of dollhouses! I have a gold purse and a silver purse from Dollhouse and a white peacoat and a black peacoat. In the past, I had a nice greyish, silver long-sleeved top.

Now I will move onto the topic of circus style clothing. I think that circus clothing is bright, colorful, and off-beat, something not allowed in the class style.

I am still trying to develop my circus wardrobe. I have a Cirque du Soleil dress by Desigual, a good brand for circus style clothing.

 

It would be my dream to buy the Manish Arora circus carousel dress listed above, which Katy Perry wore. It has two elements that I try to incorporate into my life, the circus and the carousel.

I also wear a lot of galaxy clothing, which would fall into the circus category. At the Magic Fountain in Barcelona, I wore a colorful silk top and galaxy leggings to coordinate with the Magic Fountain.

 

I would also like to wear more of the Bohemian style to represent my free spirited personality.

Last summer I worked on a project in conjunction with a group that researched and wrote about fashion retail. At times, I wished that I could also do work for the fashion retail group.

From writing this blog entry, I realized that I do not know as much about fashion as I would like. However, I would like to keep learning more so I could write more.

List of Top Books Continued

11. One Thousand and One Arabian Nights by Scheherazade

I have always enjoyed the magic and Oriental wonders of Arabian Nights. Arabian Nights is about a very wise and scholarly minister's daughter, Scheherazade who marries a king and tells him an unfinished story each night to prevent herself from being executed, as the king has done to his former wives on their wedding night. I started reading Arabian Nights when I was about eleven years old. Now I own the complete fine, unexpurgated Richard Burton translation set by Easton Press, which has Arabic writing on the cover and many beautiful illustrations. Each story of Arabian Nights is outside-the-box and has its own unique moral. I love that there are many layers of story within Arabian Nights. I have developed a fascination for the Middle East from Arabian Nights. The Arabian Nights celebrates the power of storytelling.
12. Childcraft

One of my fondest memories growing up was reading Childcraft! The collection is a must-have for any child's library (and adult's library as well), and I am very fortunate that my parents so generously bought it for me and my brother when I was about five or six years old. It has volumes covering a range of topics in a delightful way, from fairy tales to children's books to mathematic to birthdays and horoscopes to countries of the world. I cherished reading the fairy tales in the first volume, Once Upon a Time. I also remember reading selections from children's books, such as Pippi Longstocking and Ramona and her Father from the second volume, Time to Read. I was delighted to find that they were now illustrated in color! I also enjoyed reading Holidays and Birthdays, which provided an introduction to horoscopes for the child! And I remember reading a selection of The Phantom Tollbooth in Mathemagic. I love that they put the magic in math in the title, "Mathemagic." In one of the books, I read about dreams and how they are formed. I believe that in anther book, I read about names and what they mean. I need to dig up my Childcraft collection from my attic! I know that I will love revisiting old memories of innocence and wonder. The Childcraft collection is also a great way for an adult to look at and learn things through the eyes of a child.  
13. The Diary of Anne Frank

I was first introduced to Anne Frank in third grade by my favorite teacher ever. It was by reading The Diary of Anne Frank that I became inspired to keep my own diary! Anne Frank's diary reminds us of how important it is to archive the precious moments of life and share our heartfelt feelings. When looking over the book again recently, I skimmed the bits of Anne's birthday in the beginning. It is sweet to see how Anne's birthday was celebrated, and in Europe. I grasped from that how during the birthday, everyone makes the one celebrating feel special and how Anne seems to have a lot of friends. I thought when reading the book when I was young that Anne really wrote in a mature tone even though she was just thirteen years old and imagined a mature voice when I was reading the book. Recently, my friend, Carly was mentioning to me how she looked over the diary and particularly noticed how Anne was boy-crazy and liked a lot of boys! I would like to buy the revised, critical edition of the diary. It is amazing how critics can annotate even the simplest of books and even a diary!

I learned in middle school that Anne wanted to be a writer, something that she would definitely be good at, as is evident from the explicit narration and sophisticated tone of her diary.
14. Highlights

My family subscribed to Highlights regularly when I was a child. Like Childcraft, every child should have access to this delightful magazine full of wonder! I remember that there were new stories illustrated in color in every issue. Since I love stories, I loved reading all of them in each issue. One story that I particularly cherish is about catching falling stars and how a princess finds a star in an apple and maybe even in soup. I always think of that story whenever I have soup and imagine that there are falling stars in the soup. I also would love to catch a falling star!

Highlights also educated students on general knowledge in an enjoyable way. I particularly remember that when I was ten years old and in fifth grade, reading a section about how people made up nursery rhymes about current political events and paralleled real life figures in characters to avoid being arrested. One such character that commented on a current event was Humpty Dumpty.

15. Mother Goose's Nursery Rhymes

I have always loved nursery rhymes, just as I have loved fairy tales. One of my favorite nursery rhymes is "Wee Willie Winkie." I guess that I just liked the idea of a little boy going out into the night and enforcing bedtime.

I also love the rhyme, "There was an Old Woman who Lived in a Shoe." I find it cute and outside-the-box that the woman lived in a shoe. I love the idea of a madhouse full of children!
"Jack and Jill" is probably the most popular nursery rhyme. I was ecstatic to find that Louisa May Alcott wrote a book based on the rhyme.

16. Little Women by Louisa May Alcott

Little Women was officially my favorite book as a child. I think that I mainly loved it because I enjoyed the story and its position as a children's classic. Out of the four sisters, I could relate most to Jo and Beth and feel that I am a mixture of both of them. Like Beth, I am sweet, soft, and shy and love music. I relate to Jo in her hot temper, fiery spirit, and love for books and writing.

17. What Katy Did by Susan Coolidge

My Mom introduced me to What Katy Did, saying that it was another book that she liked to read over and over again, like Little Women. I think that Coolidge is ingenious in starting off the story with katy-dids! I would love to emulate that style! I appreciate that the children in the book have a classic childhood. Just like Katy, I had a ton of resolutions, which I could not keep. I love the poem about the School of Pain and all the poetry that Katy writes for her brothers and sisters for Valentine's Day. I also once again love the madhouse of the big family. I think that I was most like Elsie in the family, as I was a loner that was rejected in a group and Clover, being sweet and good-humored.
18. Alice in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass by Lewis Carroll

I first came across Alice in Wonderland while watching a movie sometime in elementary school. I believe that I must have read the book when I was about nine years old since I clearly remember reading a pretty edition of Through the Looking Glass that year. I reread both books a few years ago before going to watch Tim Burton's movie with my friend, Leslie. It is only when I grew up that I really began to understand what it was about. Alice in Wonderland has been said to be one of the hardest children's books to interpret scholastically. I observe that the book is about having a wonderland in your imagination, something that I always do. I loved entering into the wonderland of Alice with all of the different magnificent characters. I need to keep rereading the book to understand more about how to have a dreamy wonderland. I love that book ends up being a dream sequence! So I would like to also interpret it psychoanalytically as a dream. When I was young itself, my Dad told me that the books are paralleled to the game of chess. I actually discovered that Alice in Wonderland is about a game of cards while Through the Looking Glass is about a game of chess. I love the medieval game of chess! I need to reread Through the Looking Glass so that I can get some excellent chess tactics! I love how Alice becomes a queen, Queen Alice, after going through one full round as a pawn!

One of my favorite places to go is Alice's Tea Cup, based on Alice in Wonderland. I went there just before seeing Tim Burton's movie. I also celebrated my birthday there just now.
I would like to interpret more of Alice's influence on literature and culture.
19. The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett

I first heard of The Secret Garden in third grade when our teacher told us that it was her favorite book. I also think that she said that we were not ready to read it yet so of course I went to read it, always wanting to prove to myself I was advanced for my age. ;) I really like the element of secrecy in the book. I need to interpret it more closely now. I have the glossy hardcover version above, which also, like A Little Princess, came with something in the paperback edition--a key pendant! My friend, Gen said that this is one of the children's classics that she cherishes. I think that it is interesting that there is an Annotated Secret Garden available. So then I guess that it can be interpreted scholastically.
20. Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte

I first read Jane Eyre in sixth grade, a time when I also felt like Jane Eyre, ostracized and lonely with no one to love her, as my ungrateful sixth grade classmates always excluded me and made fun of me. I would often compare my life to Jane Eyre and think that only she was comparable to me in misfortune. I like to reread Jane Eyre for the many references to literature.
21. Walk Two Moons by Sharon Creech

I read this book in seventh grade Enriched English class. The tagline for the book is "Don't judge a man until you've walked two moons in his moccasins." As I grew older, I found that the book is replete with symbolism for a children's book! In the book, the main character, Salamanca Hiddle keeps finding anonymous messages with slogans at her doorstep. I guess that the messages could be relevant to the lesson that she is learning at that point in time. Salamanca is very mature for her tween age. I love her! Possibly the book tries to mainly teach us not to judge anyone, a very important lesson.
22. Matilda by Roald Dahl

My aunt presented me with Matilda for my eighth birthday. It quickly grew to become one of my favorite books as a child. I liked that it was about a genius and English culture. I tried to read all of the books that Matilda read to prove that I was also a genius! I was elated to find that there was a selection of Matilda in color in The Book of Children's Classics. 
23. A Child's Garden of Verses by Robert Louis Stevenson

My friend, Nora presented me with a beautiful illustrated edition of A Child's Garden of Verses for my tenth birthday. I found in there a lot of delightful children's poetry! As you can see from my comments on the other books, I love experiencing English culture. Some of the poems that I liked were "At the Sea-Side," "Pirate Story," "Good and Bad Children," "Fairy Bread," "The Unseen Playmate," and "The Land of Storybooks." The poetry explores the marvels and wonders of life!
24. The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien

The Lord of the Rings is the trademark of modern fantasy. I read this trilogy when I was twelve. I love the magic and the battle between good and evil and the many magical creatures. I wish that I could write more about the trilogy, but since I read it so long ago, it deserves a reread now.
25. The Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis

I read The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe in fourth grade. I also fondly remember reading part of the story of Digory and Polly in The Magician's Nephew in fifth grade. Years later, I bought the complete Chronicles, as displayed above, and read all of them. I love the glossy color illustrations of the children in their boarding school uniforms! I also like how, in The Horse and his Boy, there is an Oriental-like setting. The Chronicles of Narnia have many allusions to Chaucer, the Bible, and Christianity. I particularly remember a chapter entitled, "Parliament of Owls," a reference to Chaucer's Parliament of Fowls.
There are many important lessons from that book. One lesson that I remember is Aslan's advice that he can never tell us how it would have been, he can only tell us how it is and is going to be.
Lewis and Tolkien were good friends and collaborators at Oxford and conversed regularly with a group of scholars at the Eagle and Child Pub in Oxford. That makes me definitely want to visit that pub when I go to England.
26. Phantastes: a Fairy Romance by George MacDonald

Phantastes is known as a "fairy tale for grown-ups" and is the first modern fantasy. It is in the form of a medieval romance. The book is about the dream sequence of the protagonist, Anodos on his twenty-first birthday as he enters into Fairy Land through a door. I look forward to interpreting the dream psychoanalytically and analyzing the quest and Fairy Land.
27. Telling the Time by Lynne Bradbury

I think that we got this adorable book in London, when I was nearly five, right before we moved from India to the United States. Telling the Time shows pictures of what children and grown-ups do in each hour. I have looked over this book for years as I have tried to relate to these activities. Each picture tells its own story of life in England. I have always wished that I could disappear into the book where life is so delightful!
28. The Thorn Birds by Colleen McCullough

The Thorn Birds is about a charming, emotional girl, Meggie who falls in love with a priest. My Mom recommended the book to me. She particularly related the beginning of the book of "the little girl on her fourth birthday." Indeed, I love that the book starts with Meggie getting a beautiful doll on her fourth birthday! I love dolls and how McCullough illustrates the importance of a doll in a girl's life:
"So perched in the buggy beside her mother, on her best behavior, she had been too excited to see or remember much. Except for Agnes, the beautiful doll sitting on the store counter, dressed in a crinoline of pink satin with cream lace frills and over it. Right then and there in her mind she had christened it Agnes, the only name she knew elegant enough for such a peerless creature. Yet over the ensuing months her yearning after Agnes contained nothing of hope; Meggie didn't own a doll and had no idea little girls and dolls belonged together."
Meggie is a very fascinating, colorful character. I think that her left-handedness represents that she is right-brained and emotional and imaginative. I like the theme passage of the book, which would make a great monologue:
“There is a legend about a bird which sings only once in it's life, more beautifully than any other creature on the face of the earth. From the moment it leaves it's nest, it searches for a thorn tree, and does not rest until it has found one. Then, it impales it's breast on the longest, sharpest thorn. But as it is dying, it rises above it's own agony to outsing the Lark and the Nightingale. The Thornbird pays it's life for that one song, and the whole world stills to listen, and God in his heaven smiles, as it's best is brought only at the cost of great pain; Driven to the thorn with no knowledge of the dying to come. But when we press the thorn to our breast, we know, we understand.... and still, we do it."
I would like to find such a passion that brings out the beauty in me and brings me such joy.
29. My Antonia by Willa Cather

I read this book for sophomore English class. I enjoyed it because I liked the charming Bohemian girl, Antonia. I remember when we were analyzing the Latin quote at the beginning of the book, "Optima dies prima fugit." It translates to, "The good days are the first to flee." I felt like that quote was very apt to my feelings at that point in life. I had many friends whom I cherished earlier in my life. They had deserted me, but I still cherished the memories. I also feel that childhood is the best time in life, yet fleeting.
30. The Three Princes of Serendip

The Three Princes of Serendip is a charming Persian fairy tale, which has been adopted in many cultures. It is about the quest of three brothers. I like that the book is all about serendipity. I actually made a serendipitous discovery of Princess Padmini within the book!
31. Lisa and Lottie by Erich Kästner

I first heard about this book when I read that The Parent Trap, one of my favorite movies, is based on it. So I knew that I had to read it. The particular above edition that I read it, with its pretty illustrations, contributed greatly to the feeling of the story. The book is about twin girls separated at birth who try to reunite their divorced parents. It was in this book that I learned about the delight of opera and wanted to explore that area further. I like how in the book, it is narrated something about the performing world in opera. I also got to appreciate Hansel and Gretel, which makes an appearance as an opera, better. I think that fairy tale is particularly relevant to the story of Lisa and Lottie.
32. Sideways Stories from Wayside School by Louis Sachar

I read this crazy book in elementary school and reread it after a heartbreak in college. I love how crazy the school is and how all the students are united as a family. My favorite character is Alison, the sweet girl. I am so touched by the passage, "She was very pretty so a lot of boys teased her, especially Jason." I particularly like it since my first elementary school crush was on a boy named Jason and my first crush also teased me because he liked me.
33. The Chicken Soup for the Soul Series by Jack Canfield and Mark Victor Hansen

These series feature heartwarming, inspirational real life stories. I look to these books for inspiration and motivation on living my dream.
34. Enid Blyton books

As I said in the previous blog entry, Enid Blyton was my favorite children's author. Everything was just right in her stories. She wrote everything from school stories to mystery stories to adventure stories to toy stories to fairy tales. I loved the school stories, which gave me a taste of English boarding school life. In the St. Clare's series, my favorite characters were the twins, Alison, and Mirabel. I liked the twins for their cleverness and kindness. I liked Alison for her good heart. I liked Mirabel for her talent in music and rebellious nature. In Malory Towers, I related most to the shy Mary-Lou. I like to look over Miss Grayling's advice to the new girls:
One day you will leave school and go out into the world as young women. You should take with you eager minds, kind hearts, and a will to help. You should take with you a good understanding of many things, and a willingness to accept responsibility and show yourselves as women to be loved and trusted. All these things you will be able to learn at Malory Towers—if you will. I do not count as our successes those who have won scholarships and passed exams, though these are good things to do. I count as our successes those who learn to be good-hearted and kind, sensible and trustable, good, sound women the world can lean on. Our failures are those who do not learn these things in the years they are here.
I really hope that I can follow that advice and keep an eager mind, a kind heart and show myself to be a lady to be loved and trusted.
I also liked the fairy books and the toy stories. They really show that Blyton had a rich imagination! I would also like to imagine that all my toys have secret lives of their own when I am not looking!
35. The Rainbow Fairy Books by Andrew Lang

Last, but definitely not least, the Rainbow Fairy Books are a compilation of the classic fairy tales across cultures. I have this collection in both the Easton Press and The Folio Society editions. Before Easton Press actually published the books, I actually wished to see them by Easton Press!
As I have expressed over and over again, I love fairy tales. I think that it is important to keep tales of wonder in your life, no matter what age you are, and hope for a "happily ever after."