Friday, December 27, 2013

A New Year, a New Challenge


This seemed like the natural thing to do, tackle a new reading challenge that is really up my alley: books written by women. Since I read 23 books written by female authors last year and most of them were quite revelatory, I decided to go for level 2 of the challenge, GIRLS POWER, and read between 6 and 15 books. It is quite doable, don't you think? Click on the image on the right side to find out more about the challenge. Do you tend to read books by female authors? 

Tuesday, December 24, 2013

Christmas with Jeanette


It is turning quite into a habit, Jeanette posting a few words on Christmas Eve, and this time, she has written a Christmas ghost story... and it somehow reminds me of Susan Hill's "Woman in Black".

You can read it by visiting The Guardian site here, or you can read about her thoughts on celebrating Christmas here.

Merry Christmas! :)

Sunday, December 1, 2013

Finding Company for Your Soul

Love (III) - George Herbert
Love bade me welcome: yet my soul drew back,
Guilty of dust and sin.
But quick-ey'd Love, observing me grow slack,
From my first entrance in,
Drew nearer to me, sweetly questioning,
If I lack'd anything.


 It is quite uplifting to discover new writers, even if they were born centuries ago, and new music, even if it may not be the ordinary music you listen to, and all this thanks to your favorite writer, in my case, Jeanette Winterson.
On the 11th of November Jeanette spoke on BBC Radio 4 about George Herbert's poetry and Sir John Tavener's elating music. Herbert's poems attract a new audience mainly because his message states that love must come before God, which seems quite controversial for a 17th century poet.

Taverner, who unfortunately died last month at the age of 69, is famous for his mystical music and the liturgical traditions that influenced his major works. How the two can mix is described in the podcast. You can listen to it here, for more insight on how the two creative minds can be related, but simply listening to "The Protecting Veil" can give you the feeling of having been touched by the wings of an angel :)