"Love matters."

Jeanette Winterson is interviewed by the Australian television ABC about her latest book, "Why Be Happy When You Could Be Normal?" 
First aired on the 31st of July 2012.

 P.S. Happy Birthday, Jeanette! I hope the weather is fantastic in Paris! :)

Night train to Lisbon - Six Word Sum Up

I heard about this book after Jeremy Irons accepted to play the leading role in the movie that is going to be released next year. Adding this to the fact that I have been planning for two years to visit Portugal, the book seemed like an interesting choice, and so it was. I recommend it to anyone who actually knows that there is more to life than our daily routine and it is never too late to decide to do whatever you feel like, no matter the social constraints.

You are more than your routine.

Read for the New Authors Challenge and the European Reading Challenge...

My MDNA

"Somebody" is turning 54 today!

The Mighty Gatsby

 "The Great Gatsby" is one of my all time favorite books and F.S. Fitzgerald is among my favorite writers, so to see that Buz Luhrmann, whose "Moulin Rouge" I adore has directed a new adaptation for the screen, with Leonardo DiCaprio (as Jay Gatsby), whose acting skills are more and more amazing with every new movie.... it really feels like this movie is going to be EPIC, even though it is quite hard to beat Redford's Gatsby. I can't wait till December!

It is so hard to caress...

It is so hard to caress an angel on his wings!

No matter how close, he keeps away from touch

For fear you could catch him,

He swirls, comes back, quietly flaps his wings,

It is the only sound he is capable of.

The angels, they do not know how to speak,

Words are incapable

Of expressing them,

Their deaf message is their presence.

The way they approach

To embrace you with their aura,

But quickly draw away,

Scared of intimacy,

Protectors, but not familiar,

Always leaving a distance through which

My words crawl to reach them,

Without knowing if

They are too weak to touch their hearing.

What a handicap of faith:

Not knowing if you are heard or if you hear

And out of all senses only the tactile dream remains

Of caressing, without scaring, an angel on his wings …

By Ana Blandiana

The original version is here. 

Paris en Juillet

"Il faut avoir vécu des années dans le rien pour comprendre comment on peut être subitement effrayé par la possibilité." (Foenkinos' La Delicatesse)
Unexpectedly, Paris was quite cold this July, but that did not keep me from enjoying its beauties :)  
Seine's banks, full of souvenirs and old books...

My friends, the gargoyles, up the Notre Dame, always waiting for something...

Le Marche aux Fleurs, one of my top 5 favorite places in Paris...

"La Delicatessse", by David Foenkinos and "Paris Revealed" by Stephen Clarke were two reads I loved and recommend if Paris is on your mind for a future vacation and if you want to discover either its secrets and past, or if you want to get an intimate account of a sad Parisian's life and loves...

...and "Cafe de Flore" is a superb film, mostly set in 1960s Paris, starring Vanessa Paradis.

Fifty Shades of Grey - Six Word Sum Up

Whoever thought erotic literature cannot sell was completely mistaken. The hype that surrounded this book (actually, trilogy) made me read it because I was way too curious about it. Surely, it is quite erotic, in the sense that a 49 year old woman is writing about her fantasies and this made me wonder if I will be dreaming about that when I am 49 as well... Totally undemanding literature, which can be perfect for a few summer nights, depending on your mood!

Dark desires can never be boring.

Read for the New Authors Challenge...

Mon Merveilleux Amour

Story Birds

I have discovered the most wonderful site, STORYBIRD, which I am going to use with my students starting in September.
Simply lovely! Take a look and create your own stories... Boys I Have Loved by czikimonkey on Storybird

Paris in July

Nothing beats Paris in July... well, maybe Venice in February :)

I decided to join yet another reading challenge - Paris in July - since I love Paris and I will be visiting the city this month so, this July it is time for Paris again and since we're talking books, I will be reading Foenkinos' "La Delicatesse" (which I plan on buying from Paris), Patchett's "Bel Canto" for Orange in July Challenge and "Paris Revealed" and "The Last Time I Saw Paris" because they seem just the books to read while in Paris (actually, while waiting for planes to take off).
See you soon! :)

Word of the Day 6: BRIDGE

One of my favorite idioms in English is "burn your bridges", meaning to do something with the result that you will not be able to return to a previous situation again, even if you want to . Sometimes it is imperious to do it in order to let go of the past and move forward, less burdened and more confident.

Still, before thinking that everything is "water under the bridge" (what happened in the past should be forgotten), you should take all precautions in order to leave all worries behind while "crossing that bridge when you come to it", since you do not want to take bad memories with you on the other side...

The Summer Without Men - Six Word Sum Up

It has been my first encounter with Siri Hustvedt ( the surname has Norwegian origins) and I am sure I will be reading some of her other books in the near future, especially since she is so interested in psychoanalysis and she has included this aspect in her writing. Here's one of her interesting interviews on the topic.

A cheated woman goes beyond despair.

Read for the New Authors Challenge.

Overchallenged

2012 is definitely the year of challenges ... reading challenges! I have decided to join EIGHT and now I am wondering whether I will be able to finish them. Five months have passed and here is a recap of what I have accomplished so far:

Orange January: 2 books: Rape (Oates) and Small Island (Levy)- completed;

Venice in February: 4 books: The Passion (Winterson), Vivaldi's Virgins (Quick), Invisible Cities (Calvino) and Crossing the Bridge of Sighs(Michael) - completed;

Murakami Challenge: I started 1Q84 (two more volumes to read and two other novels by him);

New Authors: I have read 23 new authors, my favorite ones being Pamuk and Foenkinos;

Orange in July: 1 book to be read (Bel Canto, by Ann Patchett );

Tea and Books: 1 book read (The Museum of Innocence) 1 to finish (1Q84);

European Reading Challenge: 8 books read, there might be more, but I am not sure;

Japanese Reading Challenge: 1 read, a lot more awaiting...

What are your reading challenges these days?

Popcorn for the Soul

Ten People, Ten Colours... Ten Books

Juu-nin to-iro is a Japanese proverb meaning that everyone has their own tastes. For the next months, my tastes will coincide with Bellezza's and her Japanese Reading Challenge 6 which I have joined for the second year. I am so thrilled to be reading Japanese literature, mainly because it is so different from any other and I managed to gather ten books, mentioned in the collage below.

Five of them are written by Haruki Murakami, but I am not sure I will be reading all of them. My goal is to finish 1Q84 for Birgit's Tea and Books Challenge and two more, for the Murakami Challenge. I will also be reading Yamada's In Search of a Distant Voice since I loved Strangers... Any other book will add to the pleasure. So, will you be joining us? :)

23 :)

The Woman in Black - Six Word Sum Up

     Do you believe in haunting ghosts? 
 

This is quite a creepy book to read, and I stopped reading it a few times, probably because it somehow got to me. Susan Hill has also written a series of crime novels, which I might tackle, after I get rid of this awful feeling of being watched and followed by a woman in black...

Read for the New Authors Challenge. 

Me, Myself and Jeanette

“I seem to have run in a great circle, and met myself again on the starting line.” This may seem incredible - and it actually is - but tomorrow I will be (hopefully live) on the BBC radio , asking Jeanette Winterson questions about her first novel, published in 1985, "Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit". How out of this world that is? :) Am I over the moon? Yes. Am I worried I will be too nervous and make a fool of myself? Oh, yes. Is this a dream come true? Definitely. I will update the post after the interview to keep you posted about how my fascination with JW has reached new heights :)

 UPDATE: No live chat due to my work schedule, but my question has been answered. What question and what answer? You'll have to wait till the 2nd of June, when the podcast will be available :)  
UPDATE 2: Here's the podcast!

World Book Night

The 23rd of April is not just Shakespeare's day or birth (and death), it is also this year's World Book Night. There are huge campaigns to promote reading in the US and UK. To check their list of books to be given away click here or here. To let friends know that they should get down to some serious reading these days, send them a text or an email :) Enjoy your reading! I will surely enjoy mine, reading Susan Hill's "The Woman in Black".

The Sense of an Ending - Six Word Sum Up

Disturbing memories can ruin one's ordinariness.

This is my 5th or 6th Barnes, and definitely not my last, since there are already two waiting to be read.
"The Sense of an Ending" is a short novel that goes smoothly until you reach the final pages and you are left wondering if Tony told us the whole story, or memory played tricks on him... or us?