Reading: Looking for Alaska by John Green

Over the weekend I finally finished reading Looking for Alaska by John Green. It wasn't a particularly large book. Just your standard 200+ page young adult book, but it had a topic that was difficult for me to read. While reading I reached a point where I had to just put the book down and say "Pause. Can't read this right now".  Not to spoil much, but that topic is mortality and death in general. I think you really have to be in the mood to read about that type of book because it can be a downer. Plus, when I got to that point I was on a plane and I was not ready to cry in front of strangers 30,000 feet in the air.

Anyway, I picked up the book again because I felt ready to tackle it and I wanted to be done with the book. There is nothing worse than that nagging feeling that you left something unfinished. So I finally picked that book up and read the final 80 or so pages. And it wasn't as terrible as I thought it would be.

Yes, I cried again in the last few pages. But I wasn't a bawling mess through the entire reading. What I really took away from the book was Takumi's line about having a monopoly on liking someone. I think it was an important lesson to learn especially when it comes to serious topics like grief and loss.

I think the months long break I took from reading Looking for Alaska split the book into two parts in my mind, much like how it is actually split in the book. There is the "before" with boarding school hi-jinks and then there is the "after" which has a different tone to it. Anyway, I did enjoy the book. Maybe some time in the future I'll sit down and read the whole book in one "sitting" and not drop the book because of feelings. Still not ready for The Fault in Our Stars though. That is like the boss level of John Green books.