By Feraru Nikolas

Literature
"How to Stop Time" follows Tom Hazard, an ordinary man
with an extraordinary condition – he ages incredibly slowly.
Born in the late 16th century, Tom has witnessed some of the
most significant periods in history, including the plague, the
roaring twenties, and even the present day. As he moves
through time, he encounters a secret society called the
"Albatross Society," whose members share his peculiar
longevity. “That's the thing with time, isn't it? It's not all the
same. Some days - some years - some decades -
are empty. There is nothing to them. It's just flat
water. And then you come across a year, or even a
day, or an afternoon. And it is everything. It is the
whole thing.”
Matt Haig's "How to Stop Time" guides readers through an extraordinary odyssey
that explores the meaning of life, love, and time. This captivating novel reminds us of
the importance of cherishing every moment and embracing the connections that
make life truly meaningful. Drawing on Tom Hazard's extraordinary experiences, Haig
skillfully crafts a story that touches the heart and provokes profound reflection,
leaving readers enthralled long after they have turned the final page.)
 A Gentleman in Moscow is a captivating novel written by Amor Towles, transporting
readers to Russia in the tumultuous years following the Bolshevik revolution. The story
revolves around Count Alexander Rostov, an aristocratic gentleman who is placed under
house arrest inside the luxurious Metropol Hotel in Moscow. Imprisoned within these
walls, he experiences a transformative journey that encapsulates love, friendship,
resilience, and finding purpose in unexpected circumstances.

“After all, what can a first impression tell us about someone we’ve just
met for a minute in the lobby of a hotel? For that matter, what can a
first impression tell us about anyone? Why, no more than a chord can
tell us about Beethoven, or a brushstroke about Botticelli. By their
very nature, human beings are so capricious, so complex, so
delightfully contradictory, that they deserve not only our
consideration, but our reconsideration—and our unwavering
determination to withhold our opinion until we have engaged with
them in every possible setting at every possible hour.”
During the Nazis’ brutal siege of Leningrad, Lev Beniov is arrested for looting and thrown into
the same cell as a handsome deserter named Kolya. Instead of being executed, Lev and Kolya
are given a shot at saving their own lives by complying with an outrageous directive: secure a
dozen eggs for a powerful Soviet colonel to use in his daughter’s wedding cake. In a city cut
off from all supplies and suffering unbelievable deprivation, Lev and Kolya embark on a hunt
through the dire lawlessness of Leningrad and behind enemy lines to find the impossible.

“The boy sold what people called library candy, made from tearing covers off of
books, peeling off the binding glue, boiling it down, and reforming it into bars
you could wrap in paper. The stuff tasted like wax but there was protein in the
glue, protein kept you alive, and the city’s books were disappearing like the
pigeons.”

“Talent must be a fanatical mistress. She's beautiful; when you're with her, people
watch you, they notice. But she bangs on your door at odd hours, and she
disappears for long stretches, and she has no patience for the rest of your existence;
your wife, your children, your friends. She is the most thrilling evening of your week,
but some day she will leave you for good. One night, after she's been gone for years,
you will see her on the arm of a younger man, and she will pretend not to recognize
you.”
Flowers for Algernon is a character study of one man, Charlie Gordon. Charlie is a
32-year-old developmentally disabled man who has the opportunity to undergo
a surgical procedure that will dramatically increase his mental capabilities. This
procedure had already been performed on a laboratory mouse, Algernon, with
remarkable results. Charlie will be the first human subject.

“Intelligence is one of the greatest human gifts. But all too often a search for
knowledge drives out the search for love. This is something else I've discovered
for myself very recently. I present it to you as a hypothesis: Intelligence without
the ability to give and receive affection leads to mental and moral breakdown,
to neurosis, and possibly even psychosis. And I say that the mind absorbed in
and involved in itself as a self-centered end, to the exclusion of human
relationships, can only lead to violence and pain.”

“I am afraid. Not of life, or death, or nothingness, but of

wasting it as if I had never been.”
Paradise Lost is an epic poem in blank verse by the 17th-century English poet John
Milton (1608–1674). The first version, published in 1667, consists of ten books with
over ten thousand lines of verse. A second edition followed in 1674, arranged into
twelve books with minor revisions throughout. It is considered to be Milton's
masterpiece, and it helped solidify his reputation as one of the greatest English
poets of all time. The poem concerns the biblical story of the fall of man: the
temptation of Adam and Eve by the fallen angel Satan and their expulsion from the
Garden of Eden.

“Did I request thee, Maker, from my “Better to reign in Hell, than to

clay serve in Heaven.”
To mould me man? Did I solicit thee
From darkness to promote me?”
“Then wilt thou not be loath
“A mind not to be changed by place or To leave this Paradise, but
time. shalt possess
The mind is its own place, and in itself A Paradise within thee,
Can make a heav'n of hell, a hell of happier far.”
heav'n.”
Thank you for your attention