5 Books That Changed My Life

Today, Paulo Coelho, one of my all time favorite writers, asked his readers to name the five books that changed their lives. So, how could I not have complied with his request? :)
Here are my FOUR books that really changed life as I see it, and it is only four because I always leave room for more surprising books that may come along...

Do you have any books that changed your life? :)

The Most Beautiful Song in the World? :)

Isabelle Huppert - Woman of Many Faces

My passion for French movies is still growing and I have recently discovered a wonderful actress, Isabelle Huppert, who turned 60 but looks a lot younger than that, whose career began in the '70s and who has been nominated (and also won a few prizes for Best Actress) at international film festivals.You can find more info here. 

 Here are my impressions on the three movies she plays in:
"Gabrielle" is the story of a married woman who realizes she does not love her husband anymore and she actually dares to tell him that face to face. The whole movie is centered around the discussion between Gabrielle and her husband who cannot understand her reasons and lack of love. Huppert manages to embody the cold woman perfectly well but what I did not enjoy was the unrealistic ending, or maybe realistic for the 1920s.
"The Piano Teacher" is a masterpiece, just like Elfriede Jelinek's book. Huppert plays the part of the masochistic piano teacher Erika Kohut who feels attracted to one of her students, played by talented Benoit Magimel. The relation between them becomes quite complex and ends tragically. The movie is extremely tense and it shows, one more time, that Isabelle Huppert is an incredible actress.
"My Worst Nightmare" presents the story of a broke guy who is about to lose his child and the relationship/ affair he develops with a married, cold woman, Agathe, played by Huppert. It is one of those cases in which the two characters should never have met, but they did and we realize in the end the reason. Despite Huppert's performance, the ending did not seem plausible at all because the characters seem too different to be together for a long period of time... but then, I am not a director :)

My next stop: Isabelle Huppert in "Madame Bovary", directed by Claude Chabrol, one of Huppert's favorite directors. 

Audition - Six Word Sum Up

 Japanese literature is great, but Ryu Murakami's books are fantastic, as in mind altering and I can't really name another author who kept me at the edge of every page with every single book I read. "Audition" is tagged as a horror story, but you only discover this in the last twenty pages or so, the tension and the mystery surrounding the female character building up till the moment when you realize that nothing is what it seems, including beautiful young ex-ballerinas...

Lying makes you discover troubled women.

"What husband has never speculated how free he might feel if his wife were suddenly out of the picture? And how many count the days till she takes the kids off for a week with her folks? Let these men actually lose their wives, however, and few can even summon the will or energy to run wild; it’s only then that they recognise the support system they’ve been taking for granted. When Aoyama lost Ryoko he became mired in feelings of utter powerlessness."

"Silhouetted against the off-white walls, she walked to the chair, bowed with modest grace and sat down. That was all, but Aoyama had a very distinct sensation that something extraordinary was happening all around him. It was like being the millionth visitor to an amusement park, suddenly bathed in spotlights and a rain of balloons and surrounded with microphones and flashing cameras. As if Luck, normally dispersed in billions of tiny, freefloating, gemlike particles, had suddenly coalesced in a single beatific vision – a vision that changed everything, for ever. He was aware of an indescribable, fizzy sort of feeling in the pit of his stomach, and of the voice of Reason in his own head chanting the refrain:This can’t be right, it doesn’t make sense, things like this aren’t supposed to happen. But the voice grew weaker as the fizziness seeped into his bloodstream and spread through his system."

The Guardian offers a great review here and you can also watch the trailer for the movie based on the same book, that is if creepy movies do not scare you :)  

Giveaway Winner

There were 12 entries in the giveaway, my first giveaway, and the winner is lucky Rikki, the one who hosted this giveaway and whose idea we embraced. Congrats, Rikki! :) The book will be on its way soon.

The Non - Fiction Giveway Hop

Welcome to my first giveaway on the blog, kindly hosted by Rikki and which starts today, the 26th, ending on the 29th! 

I love reading non - fiction books so I am giving away one of the best books I read last year, "How to Be a Woman", by Caitlin Moran. It is a funny, yet sometimes serious book about the troubles and bliss of being a woman, among other things :)The book is in English and it will be shipped via The Book Depository if you live abroad, or via the Romanian post, if you live in my country.

What do you have to do to win it? Leave a comment with your name and e-mail and tell me why you would like to win this book. Also, you can mention one or two non - fiction books you enjoyed reading.The winner will be announced on the 1st of May.

Here are the other blogs taking part in the giveaway hop:
Rikki's Teleidoscope 

The Book Garden
Curiosity Killed the Bookworm
Exurbanis
Bookchickdi
Bukubukudidi 
doingdeweydecimal
Savingsinsecond

Caitlin who? Caitlin Moran, the feminist :)

Thanks to my lovely friend Birgit, I managed to read Moran's second book, "Moranthology", after reading her bestseller "How to be a woman", which I totally loved and not just because she praises Madonna as an iconic figure. Her two books are incredibly funny and in "Moranthology" I especially loved her insights into issues that we may be familiar with: being poor, living in caravans, smoking marijuana, Michael Jackson's funeral or squirrels' testicles :)) What I didn't enjoy that much in "Moranthology" were the topics that did not ring any bell to me, or the one which she also talked about in her previous book, her crazy rendez-vous in Berlin, with lady gaga... Still, the book made me laugh and it will certainly make you, if you still think you have a sense of humour :)
Here are some quotes from "Moranthology":
 "So here I am, the next day, in London. Getting off the coach at Victoria Station wearing a gigantic hat - to make me look thinner - and carrying a lemon sponge in a suitcase. If I carry the suitcase by the handle, the cake will tip on the side - so I am carrying it flat, like a tray, in both hands. The time is 11.15am. I am due at the Observer offices, in Battersea, at 12.30pm. ' Just enough time to go to the British Museum and Buckingham Palace!' I think, having looked at the tiny map of London I have in my pocket. I am keen that this journey to London will mix business with pleasure - perhaps to create a new thing, 'plizness'. I set off, carrying my suitcase out in front of me, like a crown on a pillow." 
 A conversation between husband and wife:
"Me, happily: I am happy now. Bear and Puffin. That is us. We are Bear and Puffin. Good night, Bear.'
Pete: 'Good night.'
Me, eventually: 'Puffin.'
Pete: 'What?'
Me: 'Good night, Puffin. Say, "Good night, Puffin".'
Pete: 'Good night, Puffin. You demented f**king bitch."

You can also spend five minutes with her, in s short BBC interview.

Jeremy saving the Planet :)

Now that season III of The Borgias has just started, it is time for some serious talk about Jeremy Iron's activism and work in saving planet Earth... sexiness aside, of course :)

The Non - Fiction Giveaway Blog Hop

(aka My First Giveaway on the Blog Ever :))
I do love reading non-fiction books and I was happy when Birgit started the non - fiction reading challenge, but when Rikki decided to host a giveaway hop on the subject, how could I have said no? :)
So, here I am, letting you know that you may join our giveaway until the 20th of April if you are a lover of non-fiction books... and please drop by to see what books we have in store for you.
To sign up for the giveaway please visit Rikki's blog. 

Broken

Depeche Mode are back with a fantastic album, Delta Machine, I can't refrain from listening to and this is, probably, my favorite track from the album...

Toasting with the Devil

 The last day of March brought about a lovely play by the incredibly creative and talented guys ( actually, one guy, two girls) from the independent film and theater company based in Cluj - Napoca and called "Create.Act.Enjoy"
 I first saw these great young actors in the show "A Toast with the Devil", inspired by M.J. Weeks' "The Devil's Diaries" and I instantly became a fan. They were so full of energy and creativity that the small price I paid for a ticket seemed quite an offence to their talent and work.

In a nutshell, the play had as its main character a rather sad devil and his two demons, Micky (pun intended in Romanian) and Lilith. What is the devil's story? He created a company whose business seems to flourish day in day out and his work is everywhere... or is it? I am still pondering on the answer, but what was sure was the fact that the three actors managed to make us smile and laugh and why not sign contracts... What contracts might you ask? Go see this wonderful show!

My Reading Challenges - April 2013

After a month of struggling with books and reading, April definitely looks better from where I stand. I am planning to finish "Moranthology", a wonderful book Birgit offered me and which will count for her Non Fiction Challenge and I will continue reading for my Japanese Reading Challenge and read another Ryu Murakami book which I hope to be as memorable as his previous ones. Also, "The Anatomist" seems quite an interesting book so I will give it a go for the New Authors Challenge. See you on the other side of these books :)

Waiting for the Clowns

 “Angajare de clovn”  aka “Old Clown Wanted” is a play written by the Romanian playwright Matei Visniec back in 1998 in Paris and which has been beautifully staged by the Municipal Theatre from Bacau on the 14^th of March 2013.

The three characters, Niccolo, Peppino and Filippo are played by three talented actresses who manage to create a tender atmosphere of what art should mean for all of us: freedom.

The tension among the three clowns struggling to get the only available opening is released through small presentations of their acts on stage. Who will impress the most? The one pretending he is hungry or the one pretending to be dying? Is life nothing but a stage? Are we all actors until we die? The play partly answered these questions…  and made us smile at the end, with sadness in the corner of our eyes… 

Here’s an extract from the play: 

FILIPPO: (Gradually recovering himself) Is it you? Really you?
NICOLLO: It is me! I swear it! Me!
FILIPPO: But how? But why?
NICOLLO: That's life!
FILIPPO: God, I'd never have recognised you. If you hadn't blown your nose I'd never have recognised you.
NICOLLO: Oh, get away with you! You'll make me cry.
FILIIPO: As soon as you blew your nose I felt a shiver. I felt you right in my soul. I smelt you. I said to myself that's him, the bastard! Nobody else snorts like that. (He hugs NICOLLO again and kisses him) You old devil! All your life you've been snorting like a trooper!
NICOLLO: (Wrenching himself away from the lewd embrace) Stop it! That's enough, you're ruining my face.
FILIPPO: (Wiping his mouth) What the hell is that? What the hell are you putting on your face?
NICOLLO: Nothing.
FILIPPO: No wonder you've got so many wrinkles if you put that shit on your face!
NICOLLO: Where have I got wrinkles? Where do you see wrinkles?
FILIPPO: Oh, it doesn't matter. You could at least be happy to see me!
NICOLLO: What? Not happy? I'm happy.
FILIPPO: Say something then, you miserable old git, tell me how you are. Don't you feel crazy? I feel like I'm completely crazy! I never thought I'd see you again.
NICOLLO: Why wouldn't you see me again? Why shouldn't you see me again?
FILIPPO: Well, a while ago there was a rumour going round that you were dead. How did you manage that?
NICOLLO: Who told you I was dead? I've been working at the Fantazio. Why would I be dead?

Ackroyd's Venice

Peter Ackroyd is an English biographer, novelist and critic whose prolific work includes books on Dickens, Shakespeare, Chaucer, but also on London, the river Thames and Venice.
His "Venice Pure City" is seen as "sumptuous" by The Times and as "brilliant" by Independent on Sunday, so there can be only one conclusion: he really knows Venice, its history and glory, its mystery and beauty.
The book is comprised of eleven chapters and a Venetian chronology and they develop topics such as how the state of Venice was formed, the empire built on trade, the city's secrets, sacredness and its shadows. the book is full of pictures ranging from old maps of Venice to the interior of the basilica of Saint Mark or Titian's paintings of Venetian personalities.

"How could they build upon mud and water? It was possible, however, for wooden poles of from ten to a dozen feet in length to be sunk into the mud before reaching a layer of harder clay and dense sand that acted as a firm foundation. This was the 'boundary' at the bottom of the lagoon. So there sprang up small houses known as casoni made from the wood of poles and boards with pitched roofs of wattle and reed. " (page 7)

Ackroyd talks about the dialect spoken in Venice, the invasions that took place centuries ago and, did you know that it was not called Venezia until the thirteenth century?
Being built upon the sea, Venice became the city of miracles and in the Venetian chronicles the city was always presented as a great and shining place.

In this fascinating account, the writer even talks about the Venice weather:
"But the most celebrated wind is the scirocco, the warm wind that comes from the south-east and can persist for three or four days. (...) The scirocco itself has been blamed for the Venetian tendency towards sensuality and indolence; it has been accused of instilling passivity and even effeminacy within the citizen." (page 29)

With almost five hundred pages, the book is a pure gem when it comes to discovering or rediscovering the Venice behind the tourist attractions and I heartily recommend it to anyone who is in love with the city. By the way, did you know that in the sixteenth century there were five hundred gardens in Venice? :)

The Guardian develops on the subject of Gardens in Venice here.

Read for my pleasure, the Venice in February and the Non - Fiction Reading Challenges

Magical Venice

 
It may seem to be exclusively a place of magical excitement, but there is more to it than that. February in Venice is carnival season, where things are far from what they seem, and it is impossible to distinguish between the performers and the spectators. Revellers flit through the alleys, and ghostly masks hang from the ceilings and walls of tiny shops. it is easy to get caught up in the crowds of people who have flocked to Venice for the carnival, to munch on fritelle, small doughnuts made only during carnival season, and to forget that there is more to Venice than just entertainment...

Vivaldi's Women

 Venice is not just about gondolas, canals, bridges and masks during the carnival... Venice also means classical music, and among the many composers that were inspired by the music of the waves and the courtesans' laughter Vivaldi, The Red Priest, is representative of what Venice means when it comes to "serious" music. There is so much more than The Four Seasons when Vivaldi's music is concerned. He spent a lot of his time, almost 40 years, writing music for the girls who were housed in La Pieta, a foundling hospital where abandoned children were brought in.
 Back in 2006, BBC 4 decided to film a documentary about the former Oxford Girls Choir, now a choir that sings and plays Vivaldi's sacred music, named Schola Pietatis Antonio Vivaldi. The women wear Venetian costumes during their performances and sing Vivaldi's compositions for his pupils back in the 18th century. Besides seeing La Pieta from a different perspective, I was really impressed by Micky White's passion of discovering the women behind Vivaldi's choir.
Watch the entire documentary here. Enjoy! 

Snowflakes and Venice

And if this picture is not enough to make you tackle our Venice in February reading challenge, here's an interactive map of the mesmerizing city of dreams...

In the mood for ... Venice

February comes with the Venice in February reading challenge, hosted by Bellezza and myself, and I am so looking forward to reading about Venice and rediscovering this amazing city. You can join us here, and the only rule is that you have to read at least one book Venice-related. The blog also has a long list of books about or set in Venice, so you only have to bring your mood with you... Here's what I am going to read and hopefully post about:

Peter Ackroyd's Venice, a Pure City (a non-fictional book about the city, comprising architecture and history) 
Thomas Mann's Death in Venice (a reread, together with Bellezza)
Michelle Lovric's The Book of Human Skin (set in Venice, the story seems quite good)

Also, check the blog for everything Venice - related: music, history and art. 

LET THE CARNIVAL BEGIN! :)

Diego & Frida - Six Word Sum Up

Frida was an amazing woman with an incredible talent. She started to fascinate me back in high school, when I discovered her breathtaking paintings and her unbelievably aching yet admirable life. Since then, I have bought (or received) her art albums and read one or two books about her life.  In 2011, in Istanbul I even admired some of their paintings and sketches from the Gelman collection.

Most of Frida's work and life revolve around her love for Diego Rivera, whom she considers more than a lover. In a poem quoted by Le Clezio, she states that Diego is her best friend, her fellow artist, her father and mother, her child, her universe.

Art - the only way to exist. 
 
The book is written by Le Clezio, the French writer who was awarded the Nobel prize for Literature back in 2008. I expected more insight into Frida's life, but I guess I will have to read her diary, which is on my list. The book focuses on the romance between the Mexican artists Diego Rivera and Frida Kahlo, their political involvement and their travels to the United States and Europe. The biography is a short one, but it is the perfect introduction in the lives of the two painters, Diego the Womanizer and Frida the Sufferer... 

"L'infirmité progressive, l'enfermement dans la solitude de la douleur ont transformé le rêve d'enfant en fantasme, et donné une valeur presque mythique à cette autre elle-même, qu'elle scrute indéfiniment dans son miroir." p.65

Read for my pleasure, Birgit's Non - Fiction Challenge and New Authors Challenge :) 

Murakami Day

Today, Haruki Murakami turns 64, and since I am a huge fan of his work, I thought a short post is required. Short due to the fact that I have to get back to finishing his "Kafka on the shore", a book about a boy who runs away from home, an old man that can talk with cats and... talkative cats, of course. More about the book in a future review, but for now, here are some beautiful quotes from his novels:

 “But who can say what's best? That's why you need to grab whatever chance you have of happiness where you find it, and not worry about other people too much. My experience tells me that we get no more than two or three such chances in a life time, and if we let them go, we regret it for the rest of our lives.”(Norwegian Wood)

“It's like Tolstoy said. Happiness is an allegory, unhappiness a story.”(Kafka on the Shore)

“Is it possible, in the final analysis, for one human being to achieve perfect understanding of another? We can invest enormous time and energy in serious efforts to know another person, but in the end, how close can we come to that person's essence? We convince ourselves that we know the other person well, but do we really know anything important about anyone?”
(The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle)