I bet you have asked yourself the following question at least a million times-‘’ Is it better for me to read books or watch movies?”. You’re not the only one who has thought about this issue. In fact, a lot of people debate about it. Technically, both of them (reading books and watching movies) are educational sources and they have their advantages/disadvantages. Sometimes, individuals just make decisions without giving specific examples to prove that they are right. That way, they spread misinformation without even realizing it!  

After hearing all of these serious discussions, I have my point of view as well. In my opinion, it’s more beneficial for you to read books. Scientifically, due to reading, we create traits that are then slowly imbibed within us and play a huge part in developing our critical thinking. It’s like an exercise for your brain because while reading about different scenes, you have to imagine those scenes in your head and turn your creativity mode on! Have you heard this quote ’’Eye is your biggest weapon”? It’s 100% true. While reading your eyes pay attention to every single letter and punctuation mark. So, turns out reading helps you to spell words correctly and express your opinions brightly using sentences (watching movies can’t help you to provide that skill). Those who don’t read books make a lot of mistakes not only in writing but also speaking.

The following advantage is very simple and I’m pretty sure that a lot of people know this… reading increases your vocabulary. It’s a great source to learn a new language. However, whenever you “encounter” a word you don’t know you shouldn’t ignore it. Take a notebook/dictionary and write down all of those words with definitions and translations. After you finish reading about ten pages, go through all of those words and learn them one by one (That’s another thing that will be extremely hard to do while watching movies that don’t have captions). I have a quick question for you… Have you ever got distracted by a bird (for example) in the middle of doing something? Well, some people do. And believe it or not, reading fosters concentration. Because, while reading you pay all of your attention to details not to miss anything. Speaking of concentration… a few days ago, I saw a girl who posted this: ” So, yesterday I had a visit to my therapist (I have issues with anxiety and stress), and she told me that I should read books. I think it’s complete nonsense. What do you guys think?”. Let me tell you… It isn’t nonsense…it’s genius. As I’ve stated, while reading you fully concentrate on details, so you forget your concerns. Even scientists approved of the fact that reading reduces stress by 68%!  

 Therefore, it’s 100% recommended by me to read books. Even though I enjoy watching movies, I haven’t changed my point of view. Nevertheless, I respect others’ opinions. The final decision should be made from your heart!    

Author: Nitsa Bokhua

Before asking if I prefer books or movies I have to answer the question, books or computers? This is a really interesting question and of course, everyone has different opinions about it, but I think that in the 21^st century, in 2023 the majority of people are going to say computer, and to be honest, you can’t blame them, because today’s computers are so developed, that by clicking on one button, you can have all the information in the world, about anything or anyone. But books, books have been an information source for people way before computers were even invented and till this day they hold more secrets about history than computers could ever have.

They brought history to us, a history that was then transferred into computers. Of course, looking for answers in the books is more time-consuming, but I would rather spend extra 30 minutes and get a valid answer, than ones that have been corrected and opinionated millions of times. Ok let’s move on from information, I mean the computer is used for millions of other things. For example with the computer we can create different designs and templates, save millions of files, without printing them, connect to people around the world, and most importantly, watch movies and videos. The thing that consumes most of our time, is the thing that is most addicting for unknown reasons.

In my opinion reason way people like to watch movies and series is that it helps them to escape reality and rather than worrying about their own problems, focus on different characters’ lives. And sure it is easier to imagine a certain world, or reality when it is presented in front of you, but even in this case, for me, books are better. There is just something about imagining different scenarios and putting flesh on characters in your head that have a different kind of effect on my serotonin boost.

When the book gets intriguing and you get so invested in the character’s lives, that you start caring and worrying about the same way you do about your own family and friends, when their victories become a reason for your smile and their pain becomes your torture, it’s just so freeing. Books are things that help me live a thousand lives and find strength in a really long one, things that show me different sides of myself and teach me life lessons.

So yeah, it doesn’t matter how much computers are going to develop or how good of adaptations they are going to make, I will always, forever prefer books, because, after a long stressful day, they will always be there, waiting on my bookshelf, ready to take me away from the mess, this world holds.

Author: Nutsa Lomidze

“Five Feets Apart”

This book teaches us: patience, struggle with life and love. In the book, the dreams and goals of the couple are well presented, although their emotions are not expressed much, rather they cannot express their feelings towards each other, because they cannot touch each other. Their love is hindered by a two-meter distance, which is why they have to give up on love and each other.

 Films or Books?

I love books very much and I think that they are the best means for development, although I often watch movies too, but if I ever have to make a choice, I will choose a book, because while reading a book, our mind works, we create characters in our imagination, that is, our imagination develops more while reading a book. Almost always. In the movie, things are changed and different from the book. Sitting in front of the screen for a long time is bad for health. The book calms a person spiritually. Every book has written something that will be remembered and stuck in your mind forever.

Author: Liziko Bakuradze

The book that I chose is “The Maze Runner”, written by James Dashner. This is one of my favorite book series and the movie trilogy of all time.  The genre of the book is sci-fi / young adult fiction.  The book starts by telling the story of teenage boys who are stuck in a place called “The Glade”, and the only way to escape this place is by the maze, which is filled with terrible creatures who are called ‘’The Grievers”.

The main character of the book and movie is Thomas.  After he arrives in the glade, suddenly everything slowly starts to change. A few days after Thomas’s arrival an unusual and strange thing happens and another person arrives in the maze, but this time it’s a girl and that is when things take a turn. The start of the movie is the same as well. The opening scene shows how Thomas wakes up in the box, scared and confused, then suddenly the box stops moving and he arrives in a place filled with boys the same age as him. This moment is described well in the book and adapted into the movie incredibly. 

I actually read the book first before watching the movie, and everything that I felt and imagined when I was reading the book for the very first time, everything was the same way in the movie as well. Even the characters, especially Thomas, everything that the author said about him, how he looked, how he felt, or what kind of person he was, everything was so perfect and exact in the movie.

The actor that played Thomas in the movies is exactly the kind of person I thought Thomas would be. Not only does he look exactly the way I imagined Thomas would look, but even with his voice and personality, everything is so perfectly accurate. And I also need to mention that the other characters in the movie were quite like their book descriptions as well, even though some of them were completely different, almost in every kind of way. Also the visuals, I was so impressed that the film production managed to make a movie set and CGI so similar to the book description.

I absolutely enjoyed watching the movie and all the scenes the same way I enjoyed reading the book. So overall I would say that about 90% of the movie was similar and quite accurate to the book, everything from the actors who portrayed these characters, to the movie set and visuals. Yes, there might have been some changes and differences between the two, but I enjoyed both and think that the movie and the book are both very good. But personally, I think I would choose the book over a movie, because I just think you can get lost in the story and feel that you are part of it and understand everything and everyone way better, in details.

Author: Kesaria Popkhadze

                                                              Books or movies

   Today we have many books and movies. Some books were converted into movies, but the film rarely is the same as the book. We can find out which is better by looking at the strengths and weaknesses of each of these.

    Let us for example take the Harry potter movies and books. We can see slight differences between the concept of the book and the movie. Some people prefer to read the book and some prefer watching the movie. Doing both is enjoyable in different ways. If you have a good imagination, you can easily picture episodes in your head while reading and books also contain more details.

     If you have read all the books and seen the movie versions of the same stories, it would be easy to see the differences. I prefer books, because they are more interesting and intriguing. In Harry Potter, there was much more detail in the books than the movies and I enjoyed the characters more in the books as well. Also, there is no eighth movie so if you want to know what happens you will have to read the book. Both the movies and the books show the friendship and adventures of the main characters.

   I think books are still better, because they expand your vocabulary and provide interesting topics for discussion. On the other hand, books often contain some parts that are difficult to understand and watching the movie may make complicated topics easier to grasp.

                                                      Goals for the New Year

Setting goals allows you to be more organized in achieving success in your life. Goals are important, because they motivate and push you to become a better person. My goals for 2023 include being more productive and making my family proud. In Samegrelo we have traditions for the New Year. Mekvle is one of these traditions. The Mekvle is a person that visits your house, wakes up the family members and gives them sweets and wishes everyone happiness. We also have a unique Christmas tree made out of carved, thin wood. It is replaced every year so that it won’t bring last year’s unpleasant events into the next year. All family members gather together and have a feast. We enjoy fireworks and usually spend time with our families. 

Author: Saba Rogava

New Year is a special holiday throughout the world. New Year’s traditions were established a long time ago and are constantly evolving. The culture of every country is clearly manifested in its celebrations.

In Georgia we have New Year just like other countries on January the first, but in the Gregorian calendar we also celebrate New Year on January the fourteenth and we name it Old New Near.

Here in Georgia -in the Imeretian Region- there is a tradition of the arrival of the “first footer”. The head of the family was obliged to go around the house three times with a bowl full of food and ask the Lord for an increase in health, prosperity and blessings. In the bowl there was a pig’s head, barbecue, boiled chicken, Khachapuri, beans, corn bread and sugar bread. After circling the house three times, the head of the family would enter the house, light up candles and say prayers.

We have a special Christmas tree called a Tchitchilaki.  After New Year they burn the Tchcitchilaki with the intention that it takes away whatever bad happened last year.
                                                                                       
Also in the Gregorian calendar there is the difference regarding the date of Christmas time. We celebrate on the seventh of January.

Christmas holidays end on the nineteenth of January. On this date we celebrate Epiphany.
Epiphany is when Jesus was baptized. It is celebrated 12 days after Christmas in Orthodox Traditions on the 19^th of January.

Author: Ilia Managadze

One of my favorite books is Harry Potter and it taught me many lessons including to never give up, that friendship is important, to face your fears and you are stronger than you imagine. There are some examples of these lessons that Harry Potter taught us. We all know that friendship is very important but in Harry Potter, Harry would have died in the first book if he didn’t have Hermione and Ron to help him face life’s challenges.  Friends give you support and help and Harry couldn’t have done it without his friends.

Facing our fears is a hard thing to do. Ron was terrified of spiders so much, but he went into the forest with Harry anyway. Harry probably wouldn’t have made it out alive if Ron hadn’t faced his fear of spiders. Facing your fears is an amazing way of overcoming them.

Harry taught us to never give up.  He killed Lord Voldemort when people thought it was impossible. Also, we can see here that we are much stronger than we imagine. 

Harry Potter was a book at first but then they made a movie of the stories. In my opinion, they both are amazing, because when I read the book I start to imagine the characters and when I watch the movies I compare them to what I had imagined, so it gets more interesting to me. 

One of my favorite books is Wonder written by R.J. Palacio. It is an amazing book about one little boy that has a severe facial deformity. It is an amazing book but the movie is similar to a book like there is no difference. I like both the movie and book. They are so interesting and emotional. For me there is no difference between the book and the movie, they are the same. 

In the Book Club, we read lots of interesting books but one of my favorite ones is “Doctor Who” which is very interesting. In Book Club, we read borrowed time. It was very interesting. I really liked Andrew brown. He was a very good character. He worked at an international bank, but he never had enough time. He doesn’t have any free time, but now he knows how he can borrow time. Doctor Who helped him, but it doesn’t make anything easier. It got worse and he had many problems but the Doctor helped him again. This book is so interesting, and after reading it I advise everyone to do the same. 

Author: Natali Ghlonti

The tradition of celebrating New Year’s Eve is diverse in Georgia. Every part of the country celebrates this celebration in their traditional way. Locals want to have a magical New Year, so they start to prepare everything for New Year’s Eve two months earlier.

Georgian appetizers, tradition, entertainment, festival, and joyfulness with your family members or friends are all you need for the perfect New Year’s Eve. So, we’re pretty ready to tell you more about how Georgians celebrate New Year’s Eve in Georgia.

Most people of Georgia celebrate New Year’s Eve with their family members and friends. The traditional appetizers and sweets should be laid on the table. That’s honestly an important element for Georgians.

True preparation for New Year’s Eve includes preparing the gifts for New Year’s Eve, buying the products, standing in the long traffic jam and in the lines to buy Georgian bread for hours, and still laying the table with joy.

 31 December is the day before New Year’s Eve and the supra is in the preparation process during the whole day. The Georgian feast is distinguished because it’s full of delicious traditional foods. Gozinaki, made with honey and nuts, is one of the favorite sweets for Georgians.

Georgian foods and sweets such as Satsivi, Khachapuri, Churchkhela, and Gozinaki are the essential elements for the New Year’s feast. As soon as the table is set and the events ready to start, the desire to step into New Year grows. When the clock strikes twelve everyone celebrates the New Year’s.

2 January – Bedoba

2 January, the second day of the New Year is the “Bedoba” day for Georgians. According to the tradition, it’s important how you spend your day because the whole year will be the same to this day. And that’s why; Georgians try to be happy on this day, have joy and bring a little luck into their lives. The main character of this day is “Mekvle” – the first guest who comes to the family home on January 2nd. 

USA

Families and friends gather together to share a meal and “ring in” the New Year, often with a toast and a song. The tradition of watching the New Year’s festivities at Times Square is very popular.

I think that there is nothing in common between American and Georgian traditions.

Author: Nikoloz Meskhishvili

Gone with the Wind was immensely popular when first released. It became the highest-earning film made up to that point, and held the record for over a quarter of a century. When adjusted for monetary inflation, it is still the highest-grossing film in history. It was re-released periodically throughout the 20th century and became ingrained in popular culture. Although the film has been criticized as historical negations, glorifying slavery and the Lost Cause of the Confederacy myth, it has been credited with triggering changes in the way in which African Americans were depicted cinematically. The film is regarded as one of the greatest films of all time, and in 1989 it became one of the twenty-five inaugural films selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry.

 I have to admit that this book was one of the most captivating books I have ever read. It was a very good book, and I think it should be read by every person who is looking for a good story. The author has done an amazing job in writing this book, because he has managed to make me feel like I was there with them.

The moral of this story is that there are people who can be trusted and others who cannot be trusted. I think this is a very important message, because sometimes we may not realize what kind of person someone really is until you get to know them better. I liked the characters. They were all very different from each other and that made it easy to get to know them. I also liked the way the story was told from a few different perspectives. It made me feel like I was part of the story, not just watching as it happened. I love each of the characters. Their different personalities were easy to tell apart and made it easy to remember their names. The point of view from each character kept me interested and made me part of the story. I really enjoyed reading this book. I felt that the characters were so realistic because they had their own strengths and weaknesses. The story was written from different perspectives which was unique and made it a lot more dynamic. It is one of my favorite books that I have read recently. The characters were fun, smart and easy to love. I enjoyed coming along for the ride as they worked together (and against each other) to solve the problems in their community.

And here are some of my favorite quotes from the movie

After all, tomorrow is another day!” …

• “Well, my dear, take heart. …
• “My dear, I don’t give a damn.” …
• “I can’t think about that right now. …
• “I’ll think of it tomorrow, at Tara. …
• “Sir,” she said, ” you are no gentleman!” …
• “Hardships make or break people.” …
• “It was better to know the worst than to wonder.”

Author: Demetre Butsashvili

The Chinese New Year, also known as the Lunar New Year or Spring Festival, is the most important festival in China and a major event in some other East Asian countries.

The Chinese New Year is the festival that celebrates the beginning of the New Year on the traditional Chinese lunisolar calendar. It was traditionally a time to honor deities and ancestors, and it has also become a time to feast and visit family members. 

Each Chinese year is associated with an animal sign according to the Chinese zodiac cycle. 2023 is the year of the Rabbit, specifically, the Water Rabbit. The sign of the Rabbit is a symbol of longevity, peace, and prosperity in Chinese culture. 2023 is predicted to be a year of hope.

Legend states that the Chinese New Year stemmed from an ancient battle against the Nian (/n yen/, which sounds the same as ‘year’ in Chinese), a terrifying beast that showed up every Lunar New Year’s Eve to eat people and livestock. To scare away the monster, people displayed red paper, burned bamboo, lit candles, and wore red clothes. These traditions have been continued until the present time. 

People give their houses a thorough cleaning before the Spring Festival, which symbolizes sweeping away the bad luck of the preceding year and making their homes ready to receive good luck.

 Red is the main color for the festival, as red is believed to be an auspicious color for the Lunar New Year, denoting prosperity and energy — which ward off evil spirits and negativity. Red lanterns hang in streets; red couplets and New Year pictures are pasted on doors. 

The Chinese New Year is a season of red envelopes (or red packets, lìshì or lai see in Cantonese). These red envelopes contain money, and are often given to children and (retired) seniors. The red envelope (money) is called ya sui qian (压岁钱 /yaa sway chyen/), which means ‘suppressing Sui [the demon]money’. Those who receive a red envelope are wished another safe and peaceful year. 

From public displays in major cities to millions of private celebrations in China’s rural areas, setting off firecrackers and fireworks is an indispensable festive activity. It is a way to scare away the evil and welcome the new year’s arrival.

 Billions of fireworks go up in China at 12 am and in the first minutes of Chinese New Year, the most anywhere at any time of year.

Lion dances and dragon dances are widely seen in China and Chinatowns in many Western countries during the Lunar New Year period. They are performed to bring prosperity and good luck for the upcoming year or event.

There are more Chinese New Year traditions and customs, such as wearing new clothes, staying up late on Chinese New Year’s Eve, watching the Spring Festival Gala, etc. 

Author: Elene Khabeishvili