They say, “You are what you eat”. This quote illustrates that your behavior is related to the food that enters your body. If you like to eat junk food, your body might lack proteins, vitamins, and other substances necessary for a healthy body, making you weak and slowing down your activities. How about “You are what you read”? Is this also true? For me, reading a book can influence my brain and emotions. Reading books, whether they make me happy or sad, lifts my spirit, imagination, and understanding. Bringing those “fuels” to reality could make me face the good and the bad times. Book is one of my few best friends.
I must confess that some of my readings left a greater impression on me. The books of Agatha Christie and Jane Austen are my childhood reads. To this day, their work remains fond of me, not only as a reading but also as a collection. Christie’s are crime books, while Austen’s are romance. The two genres seem to be the opposite, but I don’t see it that way. There is a similarity in the character of these two English writers reflected in their works. The characters created by Agatha and Jane are adventurous, independent, have integrity, dare to act, and, of course, are smart.
There was a sustained sensation when I read the story of Poirot and Miss Marple. We are dragged around the world by Poirot, encountering various races and cultures, while affirming that human character, wherever he is, is the same: there is good and evil. On the other hand, Miss Marple takes us to an English village, into a quiet and simple countryside, before finally being startled by a crime.
The main characters of Jane Austen have always been women: Elizabeth Bennet, Emma Woodhouse, Elinor Dashwood, and Anne Elliot, to mention some of them. All characters have their own romantic stories. Their love stories are like a Ram Punjabi soap opera, full of twists before turning to meet their true partner. However, the idea brought by Jane is that family tree (bibit), social status (bebet), and identity (bobot) are not always parameters of the happiness of a loving couple. Jane criticized those perceptions cultivated in her society. So, Jane Austen was the British Kartini of her time.
Back to the title. Am I the incarnation of my readings? Well, let me think if I am the very confident Elizabeth, the humble yet sensible Elinor, the perfectionist and focused Poirot, the surprisingly calm Miss Marple, or I am all of them. What do you think?
atthecorner 