The perfect view for
a weary traveler still
looking for escape Continue reading “Bookshelf”
Helsingør and Helsingborg
Helsingør and Helsingborg are cities in Denmark and Sweden, respectively. They are a short ferry ride away from each other across the Øresund, a strait that connects the Baltic Sea to the Atlantic Ocean.
My friend, Lexi, and I decided to make a day trip to visit both of them during my stay in Denmark. Lexi had already been to both places, but was nice enough to accompany me on my visit to them.
Helsingør is about an hour away from Copenhagen by train–we just hopped on an early train in Copenhagen and were in Helsingør before we knew it.
About Helsingør–it’s adorable. Almost disgustingly adorable. While in Denmark, I found that most towns and hamlets relied heavily on quaint, rustic architecture and aesthetics. Perhaps I was easily swayed because I’m the type of person who values aesthetically pleasing areas and perhaps it’s because I had just come from Thailand, which isn’t exactly a country of highly aesthetically pleasing towns (streets and sidewalks in Thailand are generally unkempt and dirty, at least by Western standards, and often times buildings appear to be quickly put up simply to serve a function). That said, I very quickly fell in love with the kitschy, cute nature of Danish towns and cities. Helsingør certainly was at the top Continue reading “Helsingør and Helsingborg”
The Friday Fifty-Six: Contemplations on Hate
On an April morning, when the first snowmelt brought grassy scents from the mountains, the Luftwaffe sent wave after wave of Stuka dive-bombers to raid Belgrade. Armies from four hostile nations poured across the border. It took less than two weeks for the Yugoslav army to surrender. Even before that, Germany had declared Sarajevo part of a new state. “This is now the Ustashe and Independent State of Croatia,” the Nazi-appointed leader had declared. “It must be cleansed of Serbs and Jews. There is no room for any of them here. Not a stone upon stone will remain of what once belonged to them.”
People of the Book is a historical fiction novel by Geraldine Brooks that concerns itself with an imagined history of the the Sarajevo Haggadah, a well-known and very prized illuminated Continue reading “The Friday Fifty-Six: Contemplations on Hate”
When You Spend Most of Your Pay Check on Books…
Okay, so I wouldn’t say most of my pay check…I just like to exaggerate here.
Anywho…
I usually don’t venture into Barnes & Noble without a gift card. Such a trip would be dangerous and books are so expensive these days. I just can’t afford to be spending all of my money on books you know, as much as I’d like to!
Well, it just so happened that I had a few such gift cards in my wallet for what seemed like quite a while, so, on my day off on Tuesday, IÂ decided to make my way into the labyrinth with the intention of only buying a book or two…
Not. So.
…and I have a book problem.
Needless to say, I spent way more than the money I had on my gift cards (turns out one of them only had $2.00 left on it…whoops!) and I regret nothing. It’s that buy two get one free deal that really got me this time. I just couldn’t resist!
That said, don’t let me into that store for the rest of the summer. I have to save some money, after all…and I can’t bring all these books to Thailand, you know! I have a few months to do A LOT of reading, but there’s a lot more books piled up that I somehow managed to acquire this summer before this Barnes and Noble visit of mine.
Well, I guess there are worse problems I could have…after all, there’s nothing ever wrong with reading a good book.
Paperback
Do not let its spine,
battered, deceive you. Its words
hold strength in numbers. Continue reading “Paperback”
Friday Fifty-Six: A Dose of Currer Bell
Today’s Friday Fifty-Six is brought to you by the Penguin Drop Caps Edition of Jane Eyre, a.k.a. my second and very prized copy of this beautiful piece of classic literature.
Jane Eyre happens to be my favorite book and, for that reason, I thought it was only fitting to include it in an early edition of my contribution to the Friday Fifty-Six.
I cannot even begin to describe how important this book is to me, why I love Jane, the character, oh so much; how, since I read it for the first time at twelve years of age, this book continues to speak to me more and more with every read.
I cannot begin to describe any of that in one short post, so I leave you with this short excerpt instead, from page fifty-six of the Penguin Drop Caps Edition of Jane Eyre:
As yet I had spoken to no one, nor did anybody seem to take notice of me; I stood lonely enough, but that feeling of isolation I was accustomed; it did not oppress me much. I leant against a pillar of the veranda, drew my gray mantle close about me, and, trying to forget the cold which nipped me without, and the unsatisfied hunger which gnawed me within, delivered myself up to the employment of watching and thinking.
And, sometimes, the employment of watching and thinking is simply the very best there is.
The Friday 56 link up is hosted by Freda’s Voice.
The Friday Fifty-Six: Inaugural Post
I was just over at Part Time Monster reading Diana’s Friday Fifty Six and I thought, THIS IS THE BEST IDEA EVER! I MUST JOIN!
A Moment of Literary Nerdiness
Apparently, today is Charlotte Brontë’s birthday. How in the world did I know this before approximately two seconds ago? This lady is one of my favorite authors!
Anywho, this isn’t just any birthday, though. It’s her 199th birthday…sooo close to being two centuries old! You go, girl!
Because Jane Eyre is my favorite book of all time, I thought I’d insert this bit of CB wisdom into my blog on this important day: Continue reading “A Moment of Literary Nerdiness”
Word Porn, Courtesy of E.M. Forster
It never bored them to hear words, words; they breathed them with the cool night air, never stopping to analyse; the name of the poet, Hafiz, Hali, Iqbal, was sufficient guarantee. India–a hundred Indias–whispered outside beneath the indifferent moon, but for the time India seemed one and their own, and they regarded their departed greatness by hearing its departure lamented, they felt young again because reminded that youth must fly.
A Passage to India
The Top Ten Books That Have Influenced Me
So, this challenge has been going around facebook and it’s really annoying me that I haven’t been nominated yet. I’ve been an avid reader since I learned how to read and quite frankly, I’m a little insulted that no one’s nominated me. So, I’m taking it upon myself to nominate myself and just do it. Right here, right now. Because I want to, and because why not?
This was super difficult and I’m not quite sure if I can possibly rank them from 1-10, as that’s just mean. To the books.They all have influenced me in some way and those ways are all important. So, this is just a list, and a list has to start somewhere, right? Without further ado, here I go!
Continue reading “The Top Ten Books That Have Influenced Me”
It's a Britta Bottle! 