2012 - It's Dickens Time!

Everybody has heard of Charles Dickens, one of the greatest writers in English literature and I dare say, everybody has read one or more of his works. If not (shame on you!) 2012 is the time to (re)discover him, since the literary world is celebrating 200 years since his birth.
You can find everything about his life here , his works online here or any related event to Dickens 2012 here. Oh, and if you happen to visit London, The Charles Dickens Museum has reopened.
For those pressed for time, the BBC has adapted Dickens' works for the screen and Great Expectations broadcast at the end of 2011 was a total success for the British audience and I loved it, but I still have trouble deciding if it's better or not than the 1998 version...



"That was a memorable day to me, for it made great changes in me. But, it is the same with any life. Imagine one selected day struck out of it, and think how different its course would have been. Pause you who read this, and think for a moment of the long chain of iron or gold, of thorns or flowers, that would never have bound you, but for the formation of the first link on one memorable day."

"I never had one hour's happiness in her society, and yet my mind all round the four-and-twenty hours was harping on the happiness of having her with me unto death."

Suffering has been stronger than all other teaching, and has taught me to understand what your heart used to be. I have been bent and broken, but - I hope - into a better shape."

Quotes taken from Great Expectations.

Man Walks Into a Room - Six Word Sum Up

I have been planning to read "The History of Love" for more than a year, but it "strangely" happened that I decided to discover Nicole Krauss starting with her first book, "Man Walks Into a Room". I really enjoyed reading it and I can say I found it quite intriguing. You might too.



Losing your memory means finding freedom.

For a more in-depth review, click here.

The European Reading Challenge

I could not have resisted this challenge, simply because the majority of writers I use to read are European, and there are so many books by them or taking place in Europe that I have planned on reading in 2012. Rose City Reader in hosting this challenge in its first year and I am sure it's not going to be the last :)
As you have figured out, the simple thing that you have to do is read books by European authors or books set in European countries. Easy? To make it challenging, each book must be by a different author and set in a different country. There are five levels of participation and I decided to go with Five Star (Deluxe Entourage), but I will most definitely read more than five, thus qualifying for the Jet Setter Grand Prize!

And since we are speaking of challenges, do not forget to join our own (mine and Bellezza's) VENICE IN FEBRUARY :)

Wednesday Meme - What I Am Listening to 5

My newest discovery :)




Meme started by Bellezza.

A Friend with a Story

Birgit from The Book Garden has written a book and she has kindly sent me a copy. What a great surprise! I found the story quite uplifting and optimistic. It felt like a rendez-vous between Madonna's children stories and Coelho's "Like a River Flowing", with advice not to give up and never stop following your dreams. Is there something more important in life? We all have our secret garden inside us and it's up to us to rediscover it and its mysteries. Isn't that a simple, yet utterly true message? To have more smiles on your face, click here.



P.S. Dandelions are not just dandelions! :)

The Bigger, the Better? We shall see!

I have decided to join one more challenge, the one hosted by Birgit from The Book Garden, since huge tomes seem to be a problem for me, always postponing them till next year, and next year... and next year. The books in question have to be of more than 700 pages (yup, that's seven hundred) and they should be read sometime next year, meaning 2012 :) There are several levels of the challenge that you can check here. . I decided on the first level, The Chamomile Lover, since it's always better to read more than you planned rather than read less, and the two chunksters are Pamuk's "The Museum of Innocence" and Murakami's "19Q4". So, are there any huge books haunting your shelves?

What Work of Literature Would You Recommend to Someone Who Doesn't like Literature?

This question is part of the Literary Blog Hop, and it is definitely not an easy one.

If someone doesn't enjoy reading literature, how could you fix this "issue"? A work of literature cannot truly and entirely be revealed unless one finds pleasure in solving its mysteries page by page.
And yet, if there were a book that could turn a non-lover into a passionate lover of literature, that book should be THE BOOK. Is there such a thing? Well, (un)fortunately, not really. Surely, we can recommend our favorite books and that might work, but the true spirit of literature lies in every single book worth reading.
How could anyone not recommend one of Shakespeare's plays (and how difficult it would be to just choose one) or a poem by Wordsworth? They are not among my favorite writers, but can we skip them? Wasn't their writing and our reading that brought us closer to what we now call our favorite writers? How can we say that we like Ionesco if we haven't read any other play? Could we recommend Jeanette Winterson and completely forget about Virginia Woolf? Is that even possible?
To sum up, any work conveying literary value is worth reading in order to savour literature, but one is never enough to fully discover what lies beneath this word: LITERATURE.

One Day - 6 Word Sum Up

"One Day" has been the best book I have read this year. It is one of those books that stays with you forever, though incredibly sad at the end, but maybe that is one of the things that makes her unforgettable. I have also seen the movie and for a perfect book I could not have imagined a better way to personify the two main characters, Emma and Dexter.



True Love Stays with You Forever.

Movie trailer for book clubs here.

Wednesday Meme - What I Am Listening to (when I have the time) 4

The psychotherapist Susie Orbach speaks during the Free Thinking Festival, 2011, about a constant obsession: our body and the world we live in. Definitely note taking :)

Meme initiated by Bellezza.

Click here.

More about Susie Orbach's work and campaign here.

Venice in February Reading Challenge 2012

And the time has finally come to reveal the challenge I have been hinting at for a few months now: in February, together with Bellezza, I will be hosting a simple yet marvelous reading challenge: read one, two or how many books you would like and have the time for, that are related/based in Venice.

We have chosen Venice because it's a unique city, with a dreamlike atmosphere and yet, with secrets to discover. Whoever visited Venice once still wishes to go back and this challenge may be the next best thing :)

There are two buttons that you may choose from if you want to join us, a very long list of books to choose from - or come up with others - HERE and a BLOG where you could link your reviews and also enjoy "other things Venice".

So, are you up for the challenge of (re)discovering the mysteries of VENICE, A PURE CITY?

The Jane Austen in Me

Take the Quiz here!

Marianne Dashwood is a fictional character in the Jane Austen novel "Sense and Sensibility". The 17-year-old second daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Henry Dashwood, she embodies the ‘sensibility’ of the title, as opposed to her elder sister Elinor’s ‘sense.’

Here are a few of this character's words of wisdom:

"It is not time or opportunity that is to determine intimacy it is disposition alone. Seven years would be insufficient to make some people acquainted with each other, and seven days are more than enough for others."

"I could not be happy with a man whose taste did not in every point coincide with my own. He must enter into all my feelings; the same books, the same music must charm us both. . . ."

Wednesday Meme - What I Am Listening to (when I have the time) 3

An out of this world composition by the world's fastest pianist, Havasi Balasz. Go to Bellezza to see who else is taking part in this musical meme.

New Authors Challenge 2012

It seems I quite enjoy challenges, especially when that means (re)discovering new authors, as it happened with The Japanese Literature Challenge. For next year, besides the challenge I will be hosting together with Bellezza, and which will be announced very soon, I will be taking part in the New Authors Challenge, hosted by Literary Escapism and Seduced by the Book that will take place from January to December 2012 and my goal is to discover 10 new authors. Let's see if that will happen!
Do you plan on discovering new authors next year?

To analyze or not to analyze?

I decided to take part in the Literary Blog Hop, mainly because I find the questions to be answered every month quite clever and sometimes even challenging. This blog hop is hosted by The Blue Bookcase and this month's question is: to what extent do you analyze literature? Are you more analytical in your reading if you know you're going to review the book? Is analysis useful in helping you understand and appreciate literature, or does it detract from your readerly experience?



The days of thoroughly analyzing literature are long gone. Back in college, when I had to analyze everything I was reading I really enjoyed writing long papers on different literary works, especially when I would discover great books and fascinating writers that became my favorite ones(Winterson, McEwan, Tim Parks). Now, in my adult life, I am too pressed for time to think about certain literary aspects in depth, so I just read for pleasure or stop reading the book if it doesn't appeal to me. Lacking time to write "serious" reviews has made me go for a less demanding task, The Six Word Sum Up. Yet, the literary brain finds itself thinking while reading whether certain words are or might be the key ones in this sum up! :)
As for better understanding literature when analyzing it, I do agree that one could grasp a different or a deeper meaning when reading pen in hand and notebook aside, but sometimes the more you analyze, the more tired of that work you may become.

Aleph - 6 Word Sum Up

This book deserves more than six words about it, but lacking time to do that, I leave you with one of those quotes that you cannot forget: "I love you like a river flowing."



Past Lives/Loves always save you.

To read more, click here.
To read a very inspiring interview click here.

A Picture = 1,000 words

More images from the "2011 United Nations European Ad Competition to Say No to Violence Against Women" here.

Wednesday Meme - What I Am Listening to (when I have the time) 2

I'm assuming this meme, started by Bellezza will happen every two weeks, simply because I don't seem to have enough time to listen to things/music worth mentioning every single week.(except Madonna, of course)
But today, probably for the 4th time, I am listening to Jeremy Irons' speech that happened on the 17th of October, during the World Food Day Ceremony in Rome, when he was nominated Goodwill Ambassador for the UN Food and Agriculture Organization. More about his very important work to eradicate hunger here.

There is no excuse for us not to care!

4 Is Not a Crowd

A few days ago I read an interesting post here and it made me seriously ask myself the same question: What writers should I invite to my (fancy) dinner?. The tricky thing is that they have to be from different centuries, so after I struggled with a list of 10 or so writers, I decided to have a "ladies' night" with three of the most inspiring women writers. EVER.

Jeanette Winterson (21st century, born in 1959)


~ first encounter with her work: 2001
~ adopted by Pentecostal parents, she used to hide in order to be able to read books.
~ she wrote her first and probably her most talked-about novel "Oranges are not the only fruit" at 23, which she published in 1985.
~ owns an eco-shop in London, called "Verdes".
~ has just started using twitter and is about to have her first autobiography published - "Why Be Happy When You Could Be Normal?".
~ her best book, in my opinion: "The Passion".
Everything she writes feels enchanting and yet, utterly true and about myself :)

Anais Nin (20th century, 1903 - 1977)


~ first encounter with her work: 2002
~ probably most famous for her tumultuous affair with Henry Miller.
~ of French-Cuban origin, she also used to live by herself, although she was married, on a boat on the Seine.
~ studied psychoanalysis and briefly practiced as a lay therapist in New York; she was a patient of Carl Jung for a time as well.
~ was an obscure literary figure until 1966, when her diary in ten volumes was published.
~ her best creation (IMHO): the love letters addressed to Miller in "A Literary Passion".
Her journal is incredibly sultry and passionate.

George Sand (19th century, 1804 - 1876)


~ first encounter with her work: 1997
~ her real name was Amantine Lucile Aurore Dupin, later Baroness Dudevant
~ her reputation turned scandalous when she started smoking cigars, wearing men's clothing in public and all this after she had left her husband.
~ visited Venice in 1834 with her lover Alfred de Musset and stayed at Hotel Danieli, then known as "Albergo Reale".
~ fought for women's role in political life and took part in the events of June 1848 in Paris.
~ my favorite work: "Histoire de ma vie".
As Musset, her lover, said, she was "the most womanly woman."

Strangers - 6 Word Sum Up

Desperate Lonely Soul Saved by Ghosts
More about this great book here and here.

Wednesday Meme - What I Am Listening to (when I have the time) 1

I have been aware of so many memes throughout the blogs I follow but this is the first time I have decided to take part in one, simply because it is easier to listen to yet another album/song/podcast/interview than to move on to the next book. Thanks to Bellezza, who initiated this great meme, here's what I am listening to this Wednesday (when I'm not listening to Absolute Radio, Candy Station, NRJ French, BBC or Venice Classic Radio ):



My affair with Tori Amos started back in '93 when tapes still existed and "Crucify" was the song that I kept rewinding. She still amazes me with her unique style and perfect voice.
Favorite track on the album: Nautical Twilight