“The art of happiness” is a writing exposition of some Dalai Lama speeches in Arizona and several interviews from the psychiatrist and doctor Howard C Cutler to the same Dalai Lama, first published in 1999.

As a main idea, i would say that this book talks about how to get happines according to Tibetan Buddhism and its phylosophical appliction to the western way of life. What it exposes as well, is the different points of view between East and West about, for example, how to define and understand the mind’s behaviour and brain function, being the western one more technical and scientific and the eastern one much more spiritual and humanistic.

Another remarkable aspect of this work are the two main and only characters named before. They establish a very interesting and deep conversations about subjects like: training the mind for happiness, facing suffering, finding meaning in pain and suffering, or reflections on a spiritual life. They first met in Dharamsala when one of them, concretely the doctor Howard C Cutler, visited India on a research trip to study Tibetan Medicine in 1982. Some years later he proposed to the tibetan leader to write a self-help book taking advantage of his knowledge about Buddhism and meditation. However, as a result of this collabotation, they finally got not only a self-help book but also a work full of deep reflections about life and how to improve it.

In my opinion, the best of this book are the very interesting, useful and helpful chats between the two co-authors as well as the detailed descriptions of the scenes to introduce the reader in the atmospher in order to make it more enjoyable.

Ferran Costa

“Gone Girl” is a book written by Gillian Flynn in 2012. This is a history with a lot of mystery and thriller. This book has 466 pages and it has been a best seller when was launched. A lot of famous webs and fans have done a good criticism of the book. “Gone Girl” is divided into three parts: number one: “Boy loses girl”, number two: “Boy meets girl” and number three: “Boy gets girl back (or vice versa)”. The book has an adaptation for a film.

The book is about a couple that celebrates 5 years of marriage and in the morning, the wife, Amy, has disappeared. His husband, Nick, call the police, and the detective, Rhonda, help him to find Amy. But, in one moment, they find out a track in the couple’s home. Here start the drama because it is when Nick does not trust the detective and starts to find her wife for his way but he is accused of being the assassin as he doesn’t see worried for his wife and he looks very normal. During the book, we can see more problems between the detective and Nick or when he is accused of being an assassin… About the characters, especially Nick, I hate some of them because they do things that I don’t like or I thought: “why?” But sometimes I Nick was very good for his actions and I agreed with him. The final was so unexpected because it’s the latest thing that you can think and expect, but I liked. The form that the book is written is important, and Gillian has done it very good because the characters are in the point of view of Nick or Amy.

In conclusion, I think that the book is interesting and correct. While I read I felt fear and I was worried about what could pass. With this book, I have learnt what can pass if an important person disappears and that you have to be careful with whom you trust.
Thanks for reading,
David

The book talks about Nick and Amy, a seemingly perfect marriage, about to celebrate their fifth anniversary. And just that day of joy and celebration, Amy disappears. When Nick returns home he finds the door open, the iron connected, the teapot burning on the stove and signs of struggle, as if someone had taken his wife by force. Amy has disappeared and Nick is the main suspect, because everyone knows that in most cases the killer is the husband. Suspicion increases in the face of Nick’s unperturbed attitude, that passive character that implies that he does not care at all about what happens to his wife. We know that the marriage was not going through its best, that the life of a couple had distanced them over the years

The book starts quite slowly, without haste, presenting the characters and trying to explain how they think. Those first pages a bit boring are very important and are the ones that take you to the important moment.

As for the end, for me it’s just perfect. Yes, it could have had a different ending, more typical perhaps, that end we all expected. But I’ve loved it precisely because of that: because it’s not the typical ending. Because even in that I have to applaud the author for creating a story that has never ceased to amaze me at any time.

I’m not particularly attracted to the genre, but with this book I’ve been extremely fascinated and satisfied, the kind you end up with and just want to shout to the world how good it is.

It is a different book and has earned a place of honor on my bookshelf. 9/10

Lydie DIatta

The book begins when Harry Potter, who was barley a baby survived the curse of a powerful magican who killed their parents. The story continues when the boy turned ten and still didn’t know he was a magican.

Shortly before her birthday she receives a letter from Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry but her uncle does not allow her to see them and move to a house in the middle of nowhere so they won’t find Harry. On his birthday a man appeared in the house called Hagrid, Harry was surprised because he didn’t know he was a magican and who his parents were.

When Harry was on the train to Hogwarts, he meets Ronald, and both remain in the same house, Gryffindor, after being chosen by the selection hat. They even both beat a Troll who entered the school and that’s when they met Hermione Granger. Days later Harry and Ron accidentally arrived in the third floor room that was banned and met a three-headed dog . They were punished and therefore had to accompany Hagrid to the Forbidden Forest. In that place they were obtained with unicorn blood.

That guy attacked Harry but was saved by a Centaur, who told them that in school they were hiding the philosopher’s Stone, which gave eternal life.

They returned to the third floor and managed to sleep at the three-headed dog. In the mirror was Voldemort’s face who tried to manipulate him to give him the stone but did not achieve. There was even fire and Harry managed to defeat the Dark Lord.

“Gone Girl” is a mysterious book written by Gillian Flynn and it is a very addictive bestseller. This book is about a couple (Nick and Amy) where Amy disappears one day and makes the people and including the police to think it has been a murder. Nobody initially believed it, but in the end they found false clues that were not demonstrated otherwise. The woman during this time of search tries to build a new and good life, but there are some changes that make things go badly and she has to return home, thus suggesting that she was not really dead and that she had been mistreated but she had not stopped loving his man.

When I started reading it I was scared because it seemed the typical book that I would not read, because I do not like the mysterious and loving theme, but it trapped me because I got into the skin of the characters, particularly the woman’s character,I found her very interesting for her manipulative mind.

I think I did it well when I chose it, I risked it a little because it has 475 pages and I had never read a book of that long in English, of course at some moments I had difficulties in reading but I have continued and that made me like the book.

I would honestly recommend this book to students who are taking B2 level, because even at times it is a bit difficult the reading is rewarding, and I think that it can be liked more for younger lovers of mysterious literature, so I think you should read it!

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory is a children’s novel by the British author Roald Dahl what published this novel in 1964 and is a most popular history. It’s about a young boy, Charlie Bucket, that his family was very poor and they live outskirts of a big town. His Grandpa Joe always explain him different histories about an enormous chocolate factory that there was near yours house.

One day, Mr Wonka, the chocolate Factory owner revels that he invited five persons to give more products of his factory and visit this. He has hidden five Golden Tickets inside his chocolate bars. Obviously, the protagonist, Charlie, want to visit this mystery factory. Finally, Charlie, despite of a lot of failed facts, achieve find one of this five Golden Tickets. Charlie choose his Grandpa Joe to bring in the Factory Chocolate with the others persons who find the Golden Tickets. After this factory tour Mr.Wonka had a surprise to Charlie, in spite of the attitude of the others visitors, chose Charlie to relieve him in  the factory.

All in all, I think that is good novel and it’s very amusing an interesting. For me, the best moment in the novel is when Charlie found this money in the street and decide to bought two bar chocolates which one contain one of the famous Golden Tickets. Finally, I would recommend everybody reading this popular novel.

Marc Vidal Sans

The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas is a story about two very different children (one is the son of a Nazi commander, and the other is a jew in a concentration camp) who make friends but they are unlucky. Written by John Boyne and published in 2006.

The novel is narrated from the perspective of nine-year-old Bruno, the son of a Nazi commander.

When Bruno arrives home, he sees his family packing things and discovers that they are moving to Out-With and that he will have to leave his friends in Berlin. In Out-With, he finds himself alone by the lack of children and decides to go to visit the people behind the fence the place that Bruno can see from his bedroom window (the concentration camp that Bruno thinks is a farm); after a good time walking he finds Schmuel and they make friends, and all of days he goes to play with him. One day, Bruno finds Schmuel serving in his house, Schmuel asks him to eat, Bruno gives him but  Koter (a Nazi soldier) catches Shmuel eating and accuses him of stealing and Bruno did not do anything to deny it. The next day Schmuel asks Bruno for help to find his father. One day Schmuel gives him a suit like his to Bruno and passes the fence digging a hole with a shovel. Bruno decides go home, but it’s too late.

The guys are in line with hundreds of other prisoners and are sent to death in a gas chamber. Bruno’s family searches for several days until a Nazi soldier finds a pile of clothes near the hole in the fence. Finally, Bruno’s mother returned to Berlin with Gretel and Bruno’s father disappeared with a group of fellow soldiers.

The book is easy to read and is interesting because it explains how was the son of a Nazi commander life and how it was that of the Jews at that time. I would recommend this book to anyone over the age of 10.

Joel Sambola