tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17499635580580740952024-03-14T11:08:58.280+02:00The Reading ArmchairBook Reviews, literary news and more.Konnahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03650740689826904595noreply@blogger.comBlogger327125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1749963558058074095.post-91002991623115646732022-10-17T11:23:00.000+03:002022-10-17T11:23:58.960+03:00Play(list) by the Book - The Midnight Library, by Matt Haig<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcBolNGMdMG6niUoQMbodh_7xyf3t3a-usBJ2xzjuXBLg1rG0bIUQqxyFjJ02IbOxlO3ktxGa_F0IIkUbNaq_AsGCK2ayvb2Az5dhc4c179pD3c9GHd4ETq_zx8orNm8C5w1HYmYqhMX2D/s500/1012_cassette.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="320" data-original-width="500" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcBolNGMdMG6niUoQMbodh_7xyf3t3a-usBJ2xzjuXBLg1rG0bIUQqxyFjJ02IbOxlO3ktxGa_F0IIkUbNaq_AsGCK2ayvb2Az5dhc4c179pD3c9GHd4ETq_zx8orNm8C5w1HYmYqhMX2D/s0/1012_cassette.png" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">Hello, everyone! Even though I'm not very active in this blog, I still enjoy making these literary playlists, whenever I come across a book with music references. In fact, I've had this list of songs mentioned in <b><a href="https://app.thestorygraph.com/books/d9c7ed04-6148-4e01-a118-d96cba16f507" target="_blank">"The Midnight Library"</a></b> for quite some time. So, I finally sat down to create a new <b style="font-style: italic;">Play(list) by the Book </b>(since I see that many people like these).</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">I have to admit that all the music mentioned in "The Midnight Library" was to my taste and it's definitely one of the playlists that I would gladly play on any day. Even the classical pieces reminded me of when I was learning how to play the piano. So, I hope that you enjoy it as much as I do! </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><iframe allow="autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; fullscreen; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="380" loading="lazy" src="https://open.spotify.com/embed/playlist/0VLxc10XBolyhuIh6gzkky?utm_source=generator" style="border-radius: 12px;" width="100%"></iframe><div><br /></div><div>As per usual, I have included all the songs and artists mentioned in the novel. My job in compiling the songs in <b>"The Midnight Library"</b> was a fairly easy one. In most cases, the author mentioned a specific song, and when he only mentioned an artist, I already had a song in mind that would fit the mood.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span>Find more playlists at: </span><i><b><a href="https://thereadingarmchair.blogspot.com/p/playlist-by-book.html" target="_blank">Play(list) by the Book</a></b></i></div><div><i><br /></i></div>Konnahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03650740689826904595noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1749963558058074095.post-47009961149319497682021-12-03T12:08:00.000+02:002021-12-03T12:08:48.783+02:00Play(list) by the Book - Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine, by Gail Honeyman<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcBolNGMdMG6niUoQMbodh_7xyf3t3a-usBJ2xzjuXBLg1rG0bIUQqxyFjJ02IbOxlO3ktxGa_F0IIkUbNaq_AsGCK2ayvb2Az5dhc4c179pD3c9GHd4ETq_zx8orNm8C5w1HYmYqhMX2D/s500/1012_cassette.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="320" data-original-width="500" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcBolNGMdMG6niUoQMbodh_7xyf3t3a-usBJ2xzjuXBLg1rG0bIUQqxyFjJ02IbOxlO3ktxGa_F0IIkUbNaq_AsGCK2ayvb2Az5dhc4c179pD3c9GHd4ETq_zx8orNm8C5w1HYmYqhMX2D/s0/1012_cassette.png" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Hello, everyone! As you already know, creating playlists with music mentioned in novels is one of my favourite things. So, whenever I come across a book that has a couple of references, I'm hoping that they would be enough to justify a playlist. As a rule of thumb, I only create playlists for books that have more than 10 songs mentioned in them. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">So, I was more than happy to discover that <i><b><a href="https://app.thestorygraph.com/books/398d533c-59ed-4e4e-8656-164314b12c14" target="_blank">Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine</a></b></i> qualified for a <i><b>Play(list) by the Book</b></i>. I wouldn't say that this playlist has a consistent theme, but it is rather sort and enjoyable. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><iframe allow="autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; fullscreen; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="380" src="https://open.spotify.com/embed/playlist/5tGNDFZfYwTUC6CFbPjoZr?utm_source=generator&theme=0" width="100%"></iframe><div><br /></div><div>As per usual, I have included all the songs and artists mentioned in the text. The songs mentioned in <b style="font-style: italic;">Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine </b>were a few, and so, I mostly had to choose the ones I preferred for each artist. I found it interesting that Eleanor mentioned a lot of musical composers, and for this reason, you will some musical pieces in the playlist. </div><div><br /></div><div>At first, I hesitated to include Michael Jackson in the playlist, as he is not clearly mentioned. You see, in that scene, Eleanor is wearing some white gloves and her colleagues make fun of her by imitating moon walk. I ended up including a song though, as at least to me, the reference was clear enough.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span>Find more playlists at: </span><i><b><a href="https://thereadingarmchair.blogspot.com/p/playlist-by-book.html" target="_blank">Play(list) by the Book</a></b></i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i><br /></i></div>Konnahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03650740689826904595noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1749963558058074095.post-88845828067387721172021-07-06T19:45:00.000+03:002021-07-06T19:45:11.615+03:00Play(list) by the Book - After the Quake, by Haruki Murakami<p style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcBolNGMdMG6niUoQMbodh_7xyf3t3a-usBJ2xzjuXBLg1rG0bIUQqxyFjJ02IbOxlO3ktxGa_F0IIkUbNaq_AsGCK2ayvb2Az5dhc4c179pD3c9GHd4ETq_zx8orNm8C5w1HYmYqhMX2D/s500/1012_cassette.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="320" data-original-width="500" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcBolNGMdMG6niUoQMbodh_7xyf3t3a-usBJ2xzjuXBLg1rG0bIUQqxyFjJ02IbOxlO3ktxGa_F0IIkUbNaq_AsGCK2ayvb2Az5dhc4c179pD3c9GHd4ETq_zx8orNm8C5w1HYmYqhMX2D/s0/1012_cassette.png" /></a></p><p style="text-align: left;">Hello, everyone! Even though I hadn't planned a new <i><b>Play(list) by the Book</b></i>, I happened upon a short story collection that gave me a chance of creating a new one. </p><p>Of course, it's not surprising if you consider that it's yet another Haruki Murakami book. Previously, I had created a playlist dedicated to <i><b><a href="https://thereadingarmchair.blogspot.com/2015/05/playlist-kafka-on-shore.html" target="_blank">Kafka on the Shore</a></b>, </i>and the author is known for using music in his work. This playlist though is short and features a lot of old school jazz songs. I can see myself putting on with a glass of wine. Sit back and enjoy! </p><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><iframe allow="encrypted-media" allowtransparency="true" frameborder="0" height="380" src="https://open.spotify.com/embed/playlist/18LO92c3rsrFeFWTIIkzLT?theme=0" width="100%"></iframe></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><p style="text-align: left;">As per usual, for this list, I have used all the songs and artists mentioned in the text. In this case, there were just a few songs mentioned specifically. Since I wasn't familiar with most of these jazz musician, I selected random songs that I liked. </p><p style="text-align: left;">If you want to dig a little deeper, then you can check out <i>Jazz at the Philarmonic All Star</i> and the album <i>Concerts by the Sea,</i> by Erroll Garner. These are the only cases where I had an ensemble and a specific album to choose from. Moreover, in the text, there is a mention to the Trout Quintet by Schubert, from which I have only included one part. </p><div><p style="text-align: left;">This <i style="font-weight: bold;">Play(list) by the Book</i> was a surprising addition to the series as until the fourth short story I didn't really have enough songs to justify a playlist. However, I always have so much fun compiling these literary playlists, and this was no exception!</p><div><br /></div><p style="text-align: center;"><span>Find more playlists at: </span><i><b><a href="https://thereadingarmchair.blogspot.com/p/playlist-by-book.html" target="_blank">Play(list) by the Book</a></b></i></p></div>Konnahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03650740689826904595noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1749963558058074095.post-65335854537218068542021-04-28T11:26:00.001+03:002021-04-28T11:26:05.330+03:00Graphic Novel Review: The Shabows, by Vincent Zabus and Hippolyte<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigVaQeMIH5-VudkV1efJe9jw7g9Q_9moW7alba1tPElHUtbcDk7JPj7c6mngLcKJumIIgVofJrN0-gRLDcOW_j951OjrCrylA54IvsKDDfYtu94d0f1yYLuWDduPybbbI2vG3eU7HJ0wHp/s2048/The+Shadows-000.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1527" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigVaQeMIH5-VudkV1efJe9jw7g9Q_9moW7alba1tPElHUtbcDk7JPj7c6mngLcKJumIIgVofJrN0-gRLDcOW_j951OjrCrylA54IvsKDDfYtu94d0f1yYLuWDduPybbbI2vG3eU7HJ0wHp/s320/The+Shadows-000.jpg" /></a></div><b style="text-align: justify;">Title: </b><span style="text-align: justify;">The Shadows</span><p></p><div style="text-align: justify;"><div><b>Author: </b>Vincent Zabus</div><div><br /></div><div><b>Illustrator: </b>Hippolyte<br /><br /></div><div><b>Publisher: </b>Europe Comics</div><div><br /></div><div><b>Date of Publication: </b>November 20th 2020</div><div><b><br /></b></div><div><div style="text-align: left;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Number of Pages: </b>190<br /><br /><b>See it on Goodreads: </b><i><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/56240444-the-shadows" target="_blank">The Shadows</a></i><br /><br /><br /><h2><b>Summary</b></h2><div>At the end of an arduous journey, refugee 214 finally gets his chance to enter the Other World. But to see his wish granted, the boy must first tell the story of how he and his sister were forced to flee their homeland. Frightened and helpless, they crossed forests, deserts, and seas, encountering creatures each more mysterious and frightening than the last: the capitalist ogre, the smuggler-snake, and the ever-present shadows from the great beyond… The boy’s story must be told in every detail—but will the truth save him, or condemn him? This is the odyssey of a brother and sister who are forced to fight for their freedom and survival at every turn, all the while trying not to forget about where they’ve come from, and what they’ve left behind. A subtle and captivating tale about exile and refugees today.</div><div><br /></div></div></div></div></div><h2><b>Review - A Tree With No Roots</b></h2><div>Writing about this graphic novel is not easy. I have been thinking about how I should start writing this review for a while now, and I only end up looking at the blank screen. So, I'm just going to start placing one word after another, and we'll see where this goes.</div><div><br /></div><div>Before getting into the actual graphic novel, I'd like to mention that this is the adaptation of the 2008 theatrical play of Vincent Zabus. The writer adapted the script for the graphic novel, and Hippolyte illustrated it. This isn't the first time that the writer and the artist have collaborated, having also created <i>Incredible!. </i></div><div><br /></div><div>As the summary of this book suggests, this is the story of Refugee 214. The graphic novel begins with our young protagonist in an interrogation room. He is surrounded by the shadows of the people that he has lost along the way. They all represent his story, his memories, his regrets, and his shame. He knows that what he tells in this interview will be his ticket to get accepted to this Other Country, the place where he will start afresh. But, is his conscience ready to accept what he has been through? Is he brave enough to admit what he was forced to do just to survive, even though he might be framed as a criminal?</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8e28A6Y5osrjwEUczZSNDWfO0r0OHfhprykfy6FMAmH73sQhmCUECtc0CV9AnSd2gTph3iiP-ajnthE5QWDDUZBAhaD2j6w9vjCpKPAaDQwVuBJV1IwEE369npGdj3YfvvlEmCKG3ZXHn/s1719/The+Shadows-016.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1113" data-original-width="1719" height="256" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8e28A6Y5osrjwEUczZSNDWfO0r0OHfhprykfy6FMAmH73sQhmCUECtc0CV9AnSd2gTph3iiP-ajnthE5QWDDUZBAhaD2j6w9vjCpKPAaDQwVuBJV1IwEE369npGdj3YfvvlEmCKG3ZXHn/w397-h256/The+Shadows-016.jpg" width="397" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div>Refugee 214 began his journey from the Low Country with his sister. Low Country is a place with rich soil and for this reason, there is always someone trying to claim it. When the situation gets worse, the protagonist has to flee with his sister, without even saying goodbye to their mother. And then, their struggles begin. They get lost in the woods and ultimately captured by the Capitalist Ogre, who thrives through the hard labour of people and children just like them. They manage to escape and gain two more companions along the way. They reach the High Country and feel lost in the big city until they can find the means to pay the smuggler who will take them to the Other Country.</div><div><br /></div><div>All through this way, our protagonist sees the shadow of his father. He had fled the country before them to find a better place for them. However, he died on his way there, and so, he tries to help his son and daughter through his experiences. We learn about the exile sickness, a condition that turns people into living corpses. A condition that ultimately consumes the individual and lets his memories float above the sea. </div><div><br /></div><div>To be honest, this story feels like a punch in the gut. If you live in Europe, then you are familiar with what the refugees have to go through. You have probably heard of how many people were lost in the Mediterranean Sea and how the smugglers' false promises took everything from these people. And the graphic novel doesn't shy away from all the horrendous things that might happen along the way. One of the companions gets sexually assaulted and murdered, and our protagonist has to kill to defend himself.</div><div><br /></div><div>However, what is even more heart-wrenching in this story is the part after Refugee 214 reaches the Other Country. We witness the interview and how the interrogator claims to be impartial. Yet, when our protagonist tells the truth, he is willingly calling him a criminal. We never learn if he gets accepted in the Other Country and whether he starts a new life. And this, makes me wonder just how many people are in my own country in the same situation. Greece is the temporary home for thousands of refugees that tried to reach some EU country. </div><div><br /></div><div>The story stretched out all these feelings and thoughts by not including any name. I understand that for some this might be a drawback as it eliminates an element that will make the reader feel closer to these characters. Nevertheless, I thought that this was an excellent choice. Again, being from Greece, I have read on the daily news about refugees lost at sea, saved from a shipwreck, put in camps, etc. The news is always about the refugees, not individual stories. This graphic novel seems to understand this, and it puts actual stories to the nameless word <i>"refugee"</i>. </div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIxU2_O_AQbFGVVnoFpykP1_o6_Ko9shLlRc6fg0amvyNPsQ34i6f8VqC6LUhF6tqnao4kmZYHnBCKDy1f00DCNehXNw-RqBY_WP-9584fvC1UkuXscR39ZTrqAHCFIWKlniyBN5KMqeL4/s1697/The+Shadows-116.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="The Shadows - Vincent Zabus, Hippolyte" border="0" data-original-height="1459" data-original-width="1697" height="339" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIxU2_O_AQbFGVVnoFpykP1_o6_Ko9shLlRc6fg0amvyNPsQ34i6f8VqC6LUhF6tqnao4kmZYHnBCKDy1f00DCNehXNw-RqBY_WP-9584fvC1UkuXscR39ZTrqAHCFIWKlniyBN5KMqeL4/w394-h339/The+Shadows-116.jpg" title="The Shadows - Vincent Zabus, Hippolyte" width="394" /></a></div><br /><div>As I've already mentioned, the story is a powerful one. However, I can't end this review without talking about the art style. Hippolyte has made a good job at illustrating the story. First, I have to admit how much I love watercolour, and I'm usually drawn to graphic novels with this art style. Indeed, <i>The Shadows</i> was no exception to this rule as there were some pages that I didn't want to stop looking at. </div><div><br /></div><div>However, the illustration is not just dreamy watercolour. The illustrations follow the emotional journey of these characters and evolve accordingly. There are panels with dark, bold lines that give off an ominous feeling. When the story reaches a hopeful stage, then the outlines and colours get softer and warmer. </div><div><br /></div><div>The character design is peculiar. All of our protagonists have faces that remind a mask without many characteristics. I believe that this is another element that ties with the fact that we don't have any names for the characters. The shadows actually remind me of some creatures that I could have seen in a Miyazaki film. They are huge black masses with a white face and no other distinct features. </div><div><br /></div><div>All in all, <i>The Shadows</i> is a graphic novel worth checking out. It is definitely not an easy read, even though it is concealed under a fantasy element. It will break your heart but show you the stories of so many people fighting for survival. </div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><a href="https://thereadingarmchair.blogspot.com/p/reviews-z.html" target="_blank">Read more of my reviews here</a></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div>Konnahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03650740689826904595noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1749963558058074095.post-48042050130035896942021-03-03T11:43:00.001+02:002021-03-03T16:18:03.709+02:00Discussion: Did This Writer Really Say That?<p> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAGSFMC7CkDIQuUzx6b83QbYD_95cPeEkL4znD1c5-IlFjvA5AZcgGbk7CWxk539jkakGdOCDMpuZk5o6hny4FJxCKTj7ZZm8SUsvEqzqwEyDyQy8KTRluVVF9G4oSlwa-EwsJYLiWxoZR/s1200/did+these+writers+really+say+this.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="630" data-original-width="1200" height="336" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAGSFMC7CkDIQuUzx6b83QbYD_95cPeEkL4znD1c5-IlFjvA5AZcgGbk7CWxk539jkakGdOCDMpuZk5o6hny4FJxCKTj7ZZm8SUsvEqzqwEyDyQy8KTRluVVF9G4oSlwa-EwsJYLiWxoZR/w640-h336/did+these+writers+really+say+this.jpg" width="640" /></a></p><p></p><p>Hello, everyone! I have been thinking about the topic I should discuss next, and I couldn't find any inspiration. Then, one evening I was mindlessly scrolling down on Facebook, when I noticed a book quote. Well, this is nothing strange for social media, although this quote clearly didn't belong to the credited writer. So, I have decided to just have fun and gather some misattributed and inaccurate book quotes that have been circulating social media. I promise to follow this up with a more fleshed out <a href="https://thereadingarmchair.blogspot.com/p/discussions.html" target="_blank">discussion</a> post, or even a book/comic book <a href="https://thereadingarmchair.blogspot.com/p/reviews-z.html" target="_blank">review</a>.</p><p>In fact, there are so many of them that I don't really know where to begin. However, I'm going to give you the quote that started it all!</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9nWetG-aJK-5evpecuUzEXXuZ0ULkeYR4SkaPLiHcMLfgtpCeRITOaTWUlkLVs2LQuPB2ZIUY49QkItOywml6JvsaI3EJcuUsYhYpM8VlJ-5jCUgIU162b136c_WHaMOpZie1UHIH0mf1/s5447/divider.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="206" data-original-width="5447" height="24" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9nWetG-aJK-5evpecuUzEXXuZ0ULkeYR4SkaPLiHcMLfgtpCeRITOaTWUlkLVs2LQuPB2ZIUY49QkItOywml6JvsaI3EJcuUsYhYpM8VlJ-5jCUgIU162b136c_WHaMOpZie1UHIH0mf1/w640-h24/divider.png" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><h2 style="text-align: left;">🔖 <b>Ernest Hemingway</b></h2><blockquote><div><b><i>We are all broken, that's how the light gets it. </i></b></div></blockquote><p>Have I told you before how important Leonard Cohen is for me? I think I have, when I talked about his poetry on my <a href="https://thereadingarmchair.blogspot.com/2020/07/favourite-love-poem.html" target="_blank">post on love poems</a>. Knowing this, you can understand my annoyance and amusement, when I first saw this quote! You see, there is no way I couldn't recognize such a popular Leonard Cohen lyric as <i>"That's how the light gets in"</i> is. This lyric comes from the song Anthem, where the chorus goes like this:</p><p><i>Ring the bells that still can ring</i></p><p><i>Forget your perfect offering</i></p><p><i>There is a crack, a crack in everything</i></p><p><i>That's how the light gets in</i></p><p>So, how come this appears with another beginning under the name of Hemingway? Well, this article on <a href="https://quoteinvestigator.com/2016/11/16/light/" target="_blank">Quote Investigator</a> has a thorough explanation on the quote. In essence, Ralph Waldo Emerson had written in 1841 <i>"There is a crack in every thing God has made"</i>. I can clearly imagine Leonard Cohen getting inspired by this quote. I haven't dug into Hemingway's work so much to be in a position to say the same. However, there is a quote in <i><b>A Farewell to Arms</b></i>, where he writes <i>"The world breaks everyone and afterward many are strong at the broken places"</i>.</p><p>There you have it! This is actually the only quote on this list that triggered me (but that's only because Cohen is so important to me).</p><p><br /></p><h2 style="text-align: left;">🔖 <b>Mark Twain</b></h2><blockquote><div><i><b>There are three kinds of lies: lies, damned lies, and statistics.</b></i></div></blockquote><p>Everyone loves a good Mark Twain quote! If you go on social media, chances are you are going to find someone quoting Twain. This writer has said so many things that it's easy to get lost, misattributed him, or just place his name on any quote, without anyone noticing. </p><p>The above quote is one of the most popular ones that Mark Twain didn't actually say, even though he is the one that popularized it. In fact, Mark Twain himself has attributed it to Benjamin Disraeli, which was a 19th century British Prime Minister. However, <a href="https://www.phrases.org.uk/meanings/lies-damned-lies-and-statistics.html" target="_blank">on this website</a>, you can read that the writer was probably wrong, leaving the actual origin of this quote unknown. The earliest appearance of the quote found today comes from 1892 from Arthur James Balfour.</p><p><br /></p><h2><b>🔖 C. S. Lewis</b></h2><blockquote><div><b><i>We read to know that we are not alone.</i></b></div></blockquote><p>What a wonderful quote! As bookworms, these words speak directly to our hearts. But did C.S. Lewis really say or write them? There is no indication that the writer ever did. William O'Flaherty has done a thorough research on the work of C.S. Lewis and all of his sayings. You can check his book <b><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/39904670-the-misquotable-c-s-lewis" target="_blank">"The Misquotable C.S. Lewis: What He Didn’t Say, What He Actually Said, and Why It Matters"</a></b>, or read the analysis for the specific quote <a href="https://essentialcslewis.com/2015/09/05/we-read-to-know/" target="_blank">here</a>.</p><p>What happened in this case is that this was a phrase from the 1993 film <b>"Shadowlands"</b> were Anthony Hopkins played C.S. Lewis. The actor speaks these words in the film, even though it is never stated that they originated from the famous writer. It's easy to understand where the mix-up happened. </p><p><br /></p><h2><b>🔖 Oscar Wilde</b></h2><div><blockquote><b><i>I’m Not Young Enough To Know Everything.</i></b></blockquote><p>If you are looking for the most quotable writer, then you probably have to pick Oscar Wilde. There are so many witty quotes from this writer, that it's easy to understand why they have spread on social media. However, this quote doesn't belong to Oscar Wilde. This <a href="https://interestingliterature.com/2015/10/who-said-i-am-not-young-enough-to-know-everything/" target="_blank">article</a> makes it clear that the phrase comes from the play <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/37139.The_Admirable_Crichton" target="_blank"><b>“The Admirable Crichton”</b></a>, by J. M. Barrie. The only Oscar Wilde quote that comes close is <i>"The old believe everything; the middle-aged suspect everything; the young know everything"</i>.</p><p><br /></p><h2><b>🔖 Albert Einstein</b></h2></div><div><blockquote><b><i>Time Is What Keeps Everything From Happening At Once.</i></b></blockquote><p>So, Albert Einstein isn't a writer, but I couldn't really resist! His quotes are EVERYWHERE online, so I had to check which ones are inaccurate. From all the ones you will find online, I chose this one because it is an interesting case. Einstein is famous for his relativity theory. So, why would he justify the existence of time, when he clearly proved that time is relative? </p><p><a href="https://quoteinvestigator.com/2019/07/06/time/" target="_blank">Quote Investigator</a> has once again provided us with a thorough research that shows us all the times that this quote has appeared anywhere. The first time was in 1919 in the short story <b>“The Girl in the Golden Atom”</b>, by Ray Cummings (which you can download and read <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/21094" target="_blank">here</a>). This quote has also been attributed to Mark Twain. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9nWetG-aJK-5evpecuUzEXXuZ0ULkeYR4SkaPLiHcMLfgtpCeRITOaTWUlkLVs2LQuPB2ZIUY49QkItOywml6JvsaI3EJcuUsYhYpM8VlJ-5jCUgIU162b136c_WHaMOpZie1UHIH0mf1/s5447/divider.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="206" data-original-width="5447" height="24" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9nWetG-aJK-5evpecuUzEXXuZ0ULkeYR4SkaPLiHcMLfgtpCeRITOaTWUlkLVs2LQuPB2ZIUY49QkItOywml6JvsaI3EJcuUsYhYpM8VlJ-5jCUgIU162b136c_WHaMOpZie1UHIH0mf1/w640-h24/divider.png" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p><span style="font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; font-size: 17.388px;">That's it for today! Let me know if you enjoyed this topic so that can I write a part 2 in the future. I had a great time researching these quotes. </span></p><div style="font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; font-size: 17.388px;"><br /></div><div style="font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; font-size: 17.388px;"><div style="text-align: center;"><b>Which is your favourite misattributed/incorrect quote?</b></div></div></div><p><br /></p>Konnahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03650740689826904595noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1749963558058074095.post-55926358119851944372021-02-09T15:06:00.001+02:002021-02-09T15:06:20.677+02:00Discussion: What Did Your Favourite Books Teach You?<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbuMCp3KE3Em_vP3H1l0UVU1vr8p2M2QeTB0ahyphenhyphenn3wSeu6gLH4xJvYhRNST68lbj7jdJPCr-h7QIwef9jSiiNS1RmaHpA7S2qnlnfP4pYtlDi9wfDbbLwOXQt-17R-YnsY-HGem9d0ougD/s1200/what+did+your+fav+books+teach+you.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="630" data-original-width="1200" height="336" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbuMCp3KE3Em_vP3H1l0UVU1vr8p2M2QeTB0ahyphenhyphenn3wSeu6gLH4xJvYhRNST68lbj7jdJPCr-h7QIwef9jSiiNS1RmaHpA7S2qnlnfP4pYtlDi9wfDbbLwOXQt-17R-YnsY-HGem9d0ougD/w640-h336/what+did+your+fav+books+teach+you.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Hello, everyone! How have you been? I am finally back, and I know that I've told you so many times before. However, this time I'm back with a post, and so this marks the official end of my hiatus. I'm still in the healing process, but I will try to keep a schedule and post at least once per week. </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">First, I would like to thank all of you for helping me choose what I should write about. The <a href="https://thereadingarmchair.blogspot.com/p/discussions.html" target="_blank">discussion topics</a> are always so fun to write, and in the process, I have challenged myself (like when <b><a href="https://thereadingarmchair.blogspot.com/2020/06/declutter-tbr-list.html" target="_blank">decluttering my TBR list</a></b>). </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">So, the majority of you wanted me to share some personal story about reading, and this is what you are getting! However, I have added a twist - instead of getting one story, you are going to read many of them. </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">This week's discussion topic is <i><b>What did your favourite books teach you?</b></i> On this post, I wanted to talk about my favourite books and how each one of them influenced me as a person and as a writer. I hope that you enjoy this discussion and share your reading stories with me. I can't wait to read how your favourite books have influenced you!</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9nWetG-aJK-5evpecuUzEXXuZ0ULkeYR4SkaPLiHcMLfgtpCeRITOaTWUlkLVs2LQuPB2ZIUY49QkItOywml6JvsaI3EJcuUsYhYpM8VlJ-5jCUgIU162b136c_WHaMOpZie1UHIH0mf1/s5447/divider.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="206" data-original-width="5447" height="24" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9nWetG-aJK-5evpecuUzEXXuZ0ULkeYR4SkaPLiHcMLfgtpCeRITOaTWUlkLVs2LQuPB2ZIUY49QkItOywml6JvsaI3EJcuUsYhYpM8VlJ-5jCUgIU162b136c_WHaMOpZie1UHIH0mf1/w640-h24/divider.png" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><h2 style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><b>Number9Dream by David Mitchell</b></h2><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7BmTsAqGNM3sZhLj04Y1_L0qZuRVFzJLL07hDUDZm3IAWWWFzZqeeHFJ24GNYXloWVVQBMxrQ9yCzaa6o1bGI44zS9bFIZGMXx586ko30G9lp7mwybEmUGa5TA1RlxoxRK5rF6DUQtPVo/s450/6820.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="450" data-original-width="292" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7BmTsAqGNM3sZhLj04Y1_L0qZuRVFzJLL07hDUDZm3IAWWWFzZqeeHFJ24GNYXloWVVQBMxrQ9yCzaa6o1bGI44zS9bFIZGMXx586ko30G9lp7mwybEmUGa5TA1RlxoxRK5rF6DUQtPVo/s320/6820.jpg" /></a></div><div>It is no secret that my favourite author is David Mitchell. It is also no secret that <i><b>Cloud Atlas</b> </i>is probably my favourite book. However, I have talked plenty of times about <i><b>Cloud Atlas</b></i>! Here, I wanted to tell you about another David Mitchell novel that holds a special place in my heart.</div><div><br /></div><div><i><b>number9dream</b> </i>is an interesting case of a novel. For this blog, it is special as it is the second novel <a href="https://thereadingarmchair.blogspot.com/2015/01/number9dream-by-david-mitchell.html" target="_blank">I have ever reviewed</a> (although right now, I found these early reviews pretty cringy).</div><div><br /></div><div>Despite the writing style, theme, story, etc. <i><b>number9dream</b></i> holds a special place in my heart and my library, because it was <i>the </i>book that made me want to write. And I mean to write interesting novels that are not bound by genre rules. </div><div><br /></div><div>The thing about this novel is that it is divided into chapters with different themes that influence the writing style. How did I interpret that as a young write? My first (completed) novella has 14 chapters in total. What I wanted to do is write 14 short stories about the same protagonist that would work perfectly as standalone stories and as a whole. I don't know if the result is 100% what I wanted it to be, but I am very satisfied with it. I will talk about it more later on as there are more books that influenced my writing style. </div><div><br /></div><h2 style="text-align: left;"><b>Women in Love by D.H. Lawrence</b></h2></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihI4rIJwh48wsqMCUWU5oogzHE4YgPOke1SEN3bW0C1c_IhUsUj4q8lU8mFZ7vVJGTExj2b-C11aM0Qj20kbfmAtbJ9Go-3ic8dPX1pQ5BuE8InXnq2deXDXPJcLcN8ub3JLu4g_FEj8Nj/s500/womeninlove.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="303" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihI4rIJwh48wsqMCUWU5oogzHE4YgPOke1SEN3bW0C1c_IhUsUj4q8lU8mFZ7vVJGTExj2b-C11aM0Qj20kbfmAtbJ9Go-3ic8dPX1pQ5BuE8InXnq2deXDXPJcLcN8ub3JLu4g_FEj8Nj/s320/womeninlove.jpg" /></a></div>Oh boy, here we come! <i style="font-weight: bold;">Women In Love</i> is one of those books that I feel like I have recommended you many times, even though I have never talked extensively about it. Today, you are going to discover why it is such an important book for me. <br /> <br />Before saying anything else, I have to admit that the first time I read it, I was in a very delicate state emotionally. I picked up <i style="font-weight: bold;">Women In Love </i>after breaking up with my first boyfriend of 3 years, when I was 21 years old. I was young and devastated, and I believed that I chose this books because of the title. You know, at first glance, I though that it would be a classic like Jane Austen, Elizabeth Gaskell, etc. I couldn't be more wrong! <br /><br />If you are familiar with D.H. Lawrence, then you know that his writing style is rather sensual. In this novel, I didn't get a typical love story, where the protagonists overcome the obstacles and manage to find their happy ever after. Instead, what I got was two very strange relationships that fall in all the places in between. Even now that I'm 30 years old, I believe that what <i style="font-weight: bold;">Women In Love</i> taught me about relationships is something that I could never gain from my own experiences. </div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">Moreover, we have to mention the elephant in the room. We can't talk about a D.H. Lawrence novel and not talk about the sex. This was the first novel that I realized that sex can be a statement. It can mean so many things, and in the hands of a skilful writer, the statement will be powerful. The same thing is even present on <i style="font-weight: bold;">Lady Chatterley's Lover</i>, which is another novel that I really love (and also has my favourite sex scene in literature). </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><h2 style="text-align: left;"><b>The Housekeeper and the Professor by Yoko Ogawa</b></h2><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJ9uYH6PkXAqQu6A4NXqf8hBVvj_YI1R0DEWbjMGdK9_ivuvg9KiLLydOOyFFCIT45FvikfbyUlzsU1g1uEWMUut1PHx-f4tzYiQpXMTkvVnJe4GLhU_vXIkFSq7A680fpKkL8dWZ-K4de/s500/24017_large.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="325" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJ9uYH6PkXAqQu6A4NXqf8hBVvj_YI1R0DEWbjMGdK9_ivuvg9KiLLydOOyFFCIT45FvikfbyUlzsU1g1uEWMUut1PHx-f4tzYiQpXMTkvVnJe4GLhU_vXIkFSq7A680fpKkL8dWZ-K4de/s320/24017_large.jpg" /></a></div><div>Yes, we have arrived in Japanese literature. You all know it very well that I LOVE Japanese literature, and I especially love the work of Yoko Ogawa. Even though I have reviewed <i style="font-weight: bold;"><a href="https://thereadingarmchair.blogspot.com/2015/04/review-hotel-iris-by-yoko-ogawa.html" target="_blank">Hotel Iris</a></i> and <i style="font-weight: bold;"><a href="https://thereadingarmchair.blogspot.com/2020/05/review-memory-police.html" target="_blank">The Memory Police</a></i>, I have never really talked to you about <b><i>The Housekeeper and the Professor.</i></b></div><div><br /></div><div>Earlier, I mentioned that I would talk about another book that influenced my writing. This book is <i style="font-weight: bold;">The Housekeeper and the Professor</i>, which has a more fitting original title (The Professor's Favourite Equation). </div><div><br /></div><div>What I have learnt from this novel is that you can express more feelings in a quiet setting, where things seem to be ordinary and mundane. Feelings can be expressed without words in small gestures and everyday phrases. You don't always need grand expressions to be passionate. Tenderness is something that can exist in silence. And this is a thing that I have only found in Japanese literature.</div><div><br /></div><div>At this point, I have to admit that my own writing style has been very much influenced by this. My novella is written in first-person narrative and I have tried to keep the prose simple and quiet. It fits my protagonist's personality and world view. I have even chosen not to name him, which is another thing that I have seen a lot in Japanese literature.</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9nWetG-aJK-5evpecuUzEXXuZ0ULkeYR4SkaPLiHcMLfgtpCeRITOaTWUlkLVs2LQuPB2ZIUY49QkItOywml6JvsaI3EJcuUsYhYpM8VlJ-5jCUgIU162b136c_WHaMOpZie1UHIH0mf1/s5447/divider.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="206" data-original-width="5447" height="24" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9nWetG-aJK-5evpecuUzEXXuZ0ULkeYR4SkaPLiHcMLfgtpCeRITOaTWUlkLVs2LQuPB2ZIUY49QkItOywml6JvsaI3EJcuUsYhYpM8VlJ-5jCUgIU162b136c_WHaMOpZie1UHIH0mf1/w640-h24/divider.png" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div><br /></div></div>That's it for today! I hope that you enjoyed my stories. Feel free to let me know what <i>your </i>favourite books have taught you in the comments!<div><br /></div><div><div style="text-align: center;"><b>What did your favourite books teach you?</b></div></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><br /></b></div>Konnahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03650740689826904595noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1749963558058074095.post-87267332305250648152020-11-25T15:44:00.000+02:002020-11-25T15:44:12.190+02:00I'm Back! <p> Hello, everyone! I hope that you are all well and healthy.</p><p>These past few months have been a challenge for me. I needed some time off to sort out my thoughts and my mental state. My biggest regret is that I couldn't write the review for <a href="https://thereadingarmchair.blogspot.com/2020/08/playlist-utopia-avenue.html" target="_blank">Utopia Avenue</a> (the book that I wanted to write the most about). I guess that now it will have to wait until I reread it as I want to do this book justice. </p><p>However, now I feel ready to start writing and be creative again 🎉 </p><p>I have plenty of ideas but I believe that my comeback should be with a new <a href="https://thereadingarmchair.blogspot.com/p/discussions.html" target="_blank">discussion post</a>. So, I would like to ask for your help. Below, you will find a list of blog post ideas. <b>What would you like to read about the most?</b> </p><iframe frameborder="0" height="691" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" src="https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdt6f8zqzt32rRoLy9b3VJh5W3rx966is1UFSPw28GuDfn4vw/viewform?embedded=true" width="640">Loading…</iframe>Konnahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03650740689826904595noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1749963558058074095.post-59795374980068594112020-08-16T10:49:00.004+03:002020-08-16T10:49:32.489+03:00Play(list) by the Book - Utopia Avenue, by David Mitchell<p style="text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcBolNGMdMG6niUoQMbodh_7xyf3t3a-usBJ2xzjuXBLg1rG0bIUQqxyFjJ02IbOxlO3ktxGa_F0IIkUbNaq_AsGCK2ayvb2Az5dhc4c179pD3c9GHd4ETq_zx8orNm8C5w1HYmYqhMX2D/s500/1012_cassette.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="320" data-original-width="500" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcBolNGMdMG6niUoQMbodh_7xyf3t3a-usBJ2xzjuXBLg1rG0bIUQqxyFjJ02IbOxlO3ktxGa_F0IIkUbNaq_AsGCK2ayvb2Az5dhc4c179pD3c9GHd4ETq_zx8orNm8C5w1HYmYqhMX2D/s0/1012_cassette.png" /></a></p><p style="text-align: left;">Hello, everyone! It's finally here! I know that I've been hyping you for weeks about this book, this literary playlist, and the book review (which will come shortly - I hope). Today, I have finally compiled this <i><b>Play(list) by the Book</b></i>, so it's time to explore the '60s! </p><p style="text-align: left;"><i>Utopia Avenue</i> is about a psychedelic band in London so the novel has plenty of references to the era's scene. This playlist is probably the biggest one I have compiled for these posts, but at the same time, it was one of the most interesting. So, sit back and enjoy!</p><p style="text-align: left;"></p><div style="text-align: center;"><iframe allow="encrypted-media" allowtransparency="true" frameborder="0" height="380" src="https://open.spotify.com/embed/playlist/2qgcht0Yqsql7zzDhjvnPB" width="300"></iframe></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">As per usual, for this list, I have used every song, artist, band, and album mentioned in the text. Some songs, like Joni Mitchell's <i>For Free</i> or Peter Gabriel's <i>Mercy Street</i>, found a way in the list through lyrics. However, for this playlist, I haven't used any songs by individual members. For example, John Lennon is an elusive figure in the book and he is mentioned numerous times (as well as the rest of The Beatles). Despite this fact though, the book takes place in 1968 his solo stuff came a little later. For this reason, I haven't also included a song by Yoko Ono.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">For the albums, I included the song that I liked the most (and in some cases, it was just a random choice). For the artists and bands mentioned, I went to their back catalog and picked a song that was released in 1968 or earlier. Below, you will find a couple of songs that I couldn't find on Spotify and a list of the albums (in case you want to dig deeper).</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>Nina Simone </b>–<b> You Don't Know What Love Is</b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/BguiWbW5j3Q" width="560"></iframe><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>Syd Barrett </b>–<b> Have You Got It Yet?</b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/fwOXk9stg9A" width="560"></iframe><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>Nina Simone </b>–<b> Mississipi Goddam</b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/LJ25-U3jNWM" width="560"></iframe><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>Bruce Forsyth </b>–<b> I'm Backing Britain</b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><br /></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/rT8LsRVN7C4" width="560"></iframe><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><br /></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>List of the Albums mentioned in <i>Utopia Avenue</i></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>Miles Davis – Kind of Blue</li><li>Blue Note Albums</li><li>The Who Sell Out</li><li>The Byrds – Younger than Yesterday</li><li>Big Bill Broonzy And Washboard Sam</li><li>The Jimi Hendrix Experience – Are You Experienced</li><li>The Mothers of Invention – Freak Out!</li><li>Cream – Fresh Cream</li><li>The Beach Boys – Pet Sounds</li><li>Bert Weedon – Play in a Day!</li><li>Andrés Segovia – Master of the Spanish Guitar</li><li>Odetta – Odetta Sings Ballads and Blues</li><li>Harry Smith – Anthology of American Folk Music</li><li>Stan Getz and João Gilberto – Getz/Gilberto</li><li>The Rolling Stones – Their Satanic Majestic Request</li><li>The Jimi Hendrix Experience – Axis: Bold as Love</li><li>Bob Dylan – Blonde on Blonde</li><li>John Coltrane – A Love Supreme</li><li>Etta James – At Last!</li><li>Aretha Franklin – I Never Loved a Man the Way I Love You</li><li>Love – Forever Changes</li><li>Otis Redding – Otis Blue: Otis Redding Sings Soul</li><li>The 13th Floor Elevator – The Psychedelic Sounds of the 13th Floor Elevator</li><li>The Beatles – Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band</li><li>The Zombies – Odessey and Oracle</li><li>The Band – Music from Big Pink</li><li>The Beatles – Rubber Soul</li><li>Bob Dylan – Bringing it All Back Home</li><li>Aretha Franklin – Lady Soul</li><li>The Mothers of Invention – We're Only in It for the Money</li><li>The Beastie Boys – Paul's Boutique</li></ul><div>There you have it! This <i style="font-weight: bold;">Play(list) by the Book</i> has been a pleasure to compile (but it's the same every time). I hope that I will soon stumble upon a book with plenty of musical references.</div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span>Find more playlists at: </span><i><b><a href="https://thereadingarmchair.blogspot.com/p/playlist-by-book.html" target="_blank">Play(list) by the Book</a></b></i></div><div><i style="text-align: center;"><br /></i></div></div><p></p>Konnahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03650740689826904595noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1749963558058074095.post-64624544718889387702020-07-29T15:54:00.000+03:002020-07-29T15:54:02.164+03:002PM - My House: A Fairy Tale Mash-Up (KpopXBooks #5)<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Hello, everyone! This week, we are back with another instalment of <b>KpopXBooks</b>. It's already the fifth post of the series and I have to admit that it has become one of my favourites. As <i>a Kpop fan and a bookworm</i>, it's always great to find the opportunity to combine them.<br />
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The previous instalments, like <i><b><a href="https://thereadingarmchair.blogspot.com/2020/05/fairytales-IU.html" target="_blank">The Fairy Tales of IU</a></b></i>, <a href="https://thereadingarmchair.blogspot.com/2020/06/shinee-bookish-concepts.html" style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;" target="_blank">The Bookish Concepts of SHINee</a>, and <b><i><a href="https://thereadingarmchair.blogspot.com/2020/06/vixx-book-concept.html" target="_blank">VIXX: The Book Concept Kings</a></i></b> required a lot of research. However, this week I'm trying a different take on the series. In the fifth instalment of <b>KpopXBooks, </b>we are going to explore the concept of a single music video.<br />
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For this post, I had a few contenders. But I decided to go with <i style="font-weight: bold;">2PM's "My House"</i>. It's a song that I really like, and it's (almost) considered a classic in the Kpop community. The concept of <i style="font-weight: bold;">"My House"</i> is fairy tales. Some imagery (which will see in more detail later) refers to specific and well-known fairy tales. Moreover, other imagery reveals a fairy tale origin, even though I couldn't trace a specific one. Some examples are the castle, the goat's head, and the crests shown on the walls.<br />
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Before we start talking specifics, let's take a look at the MV of <i style="font-weight: bold;">"My House"</i> by <i style="font-weight: bold;">2PM.</i><br />
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Cinderella</h3>
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Surprise, surprise! The music video begins with the clock striking 12 and our protagonist trying to run away from a posh ball. From all the fairy tales referenced on the MV, I believe that <i style="font-weight: bold;">Cinderella</i> and another one (I won't reveal it now though) are the main inspirations. The <i style="font-weight: bold;">Cinderella</i> reference becomes even more obvious at the ending of the video, where the protagonist takes off one of her shoes and throws it at the staircase. I like this more modern twist of the fairy tale, which is not the only one I have spotted in the music video! </div>
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Alice's Adventures in Wonderland</h3>
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<i style="font-weight: bold;">Alice's Adventures in Wonderland</i> is a favourite book for the Kpop art production teams. We've already seen a handful of MVs inspired by it, both by IU and SHINee. Furthermore, I have many other videos in mind, and one of the future instalments will be dedicated to this concept. The <i>Alice in Wonderland</i> imagery in <i style="font-weight: bold;">"My House" </i>is just the protagonist running through a long corridor and encountering this cute rabbit. </div>
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Red Riding Hood</h3>
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In the same corridor that the protagonist encounters the rabbit, she then meets a wolf. It could be <i style="font-weight: bold;">Red Riding Hood</i> or any other shapeshifter wolf. However, since we are talking about fairy tales, I thought that <i>Red Riding Hood </i>is the appropriate choice.</div>
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Snow White</h3>
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<i style="font-weight: bold;">Snow White </i>is much clearer to spot in the music video. First of all, we get to see the apple (what else could it reference?). If it was this imagery alone, I would be hesitant to call it. However, we do get another one: one of our handsome princes/monsters is giving the apple to the protagonist, which she accepts. </div>
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Beauty and the Beast</h3>
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This is the second fairy tale hat I believe inspired this MV, even more than <i style="font-weight: bold;">Cinderella</i>. This visual is taken straight from the Disney movie. You can even see the fur in the back of the chair. As if this wasn't enough, we get more pointers that <i style="font-weight: bold;">Beauty and the Beast</i> is our main fairy tale.</div>
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The next <i><b>Beauty and the Beast</b></i> imagery couldn't be any clearer. The protagonist tries to leave and the beast grabs her and leads her back to the castle. While we get a closeup of the hands, we see that the prince's hand has turned into that of the Beast. Once more, the imagery reminds of the Disney movie.</div>
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Lastly, we get this shot. In my research, I've read that this might be <i style="font-weight: bold;">Romeo and Juliet</i> and even <i style="font-weight: bold;">Rapunzel</i>.<i style="font-weight: bold;"> </i>If this were the case, the roles are reversed from the originals and I really like it! However, for me, this is just imagery from <i style="font-weight: bold;">Beauty and the Beast</i>. The red roses are huge in this fairy tale, just as the balcony is shown numerous times in the movie. </div>
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<b>This was it for today! Did you get any other fairy tale imagery in 2PM's "My House"?</b></div>
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<b>Stay tuned for more <i><a href="https://thereadingarmchair.blogspot.com/search/label/kpop" target="_blank">KpopXBook</a></i> lists!</b><br />
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Konnahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03650740689826904595noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1749963558058074095.post-56645321683359724422020-07-26T19:06:00.000+03:002020-07-26T19:06:31.987+03:00Discussion: What are your Reading Quirks?<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Hello, everyone! How is your summer going? As I've already told you, I'm in a somewhat inactive state, just working and reading <i><b><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/49536488-utopia-avenue" target="_blank">Utopia Avenue</a></b></i>. I've yet to finish it but I can already talk on and on about this book. However, I'll keep all my thoughts for the review, which will be live next week (I hope so). The only thing I will tell you is that this book will have a <a href="https://thereadingarmchair.blogspot.com/p/playlist-by-book.html" style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;" target="_blank">Play(list) by the Book</a>, and a lengthy one.<br />
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Anyway, today we are going to talk about our reading quirks. A thing that you hear a lot about bookworms is how particular we are about reading and books. There are even jokes about it! And the thing is that it is completely true. There are no two readers that have the same habits. Some of the things we do might even be considered weird. I know, for sure, that some of my quirks can raise a brow or two, but we'll get to that later. So, let's get to it...<br />
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What are your reading quirks?</b></h2>
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And with this, it's time to spill the beans. Some of my reading quirks are normal, for some I'm a bit embarrassed to admit, but overall they make my reading what it is.<br />
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<b>I always, and I mean ALWAYS, read the last sentence of a book.</b><br />
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How do you determine if you want to read a book or not? Is it the cover, the premise, the first page, or none of the above? For me, it's the last sentence of the book. This is probably the weirdest and most embarrassing of my reading quirks, as many people look me in horror when they find out. However, I have always been subconsciously doing it.<br />
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For me, this is a clear indicator of whether I will enjoy a book or not and it's only on rare occasions that I was proven wrong. This reading quirk, though, isn't working well with e-books, as the preview usually includes only some parts from the first chapters.<br />
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As for spoilers, the last sentence is rarely one. Imagine a murder mystery - the killer is revealed in the last (or second to last) chapter, but not in the last line. It would be weird to just end <i>"The detective revealed that it was all X's doing. THE END"</i>. I honestly don't know what it is, but there you have it!<br />
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<b>I hate it when they change a perfectly fine book cover for the movie one</b></div>
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I know that this is more of a marketing thing, but is there a reason why they can't keep the two mediums apart? Yes, if I loved a book I will watch the movie and if I loved a movie I might read the book (but not always). I even own some books that have the movie cover, for example <i>Atonement </i>by Ian McEwan. However, I will go out of my way to find a book cover that I actually like to keep on my bookshelf.</div>
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<b>If I have the choice, I will read the original version of the book and not the translation</b></div>
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I know that this might not apply to many native English speakers. However, as a native Greek speaker, I can find many books both in English and Greek. When I have a choice, I will always go for the book in English, if this was the original language. For example, right now I'm reading <i>Utopia Avenue</i> (I haven't already mentioned it 1000 times). Some days ago, a Greek publishing house announced that the book will be translated in Greek and will become available in 2021. There is no way that I could wait this much to read the most awaited novel of the year for me. Moreover, I'm not sure how this writing style is going to be translated (I know, I know, but more on that on my review). And, of course, I am a die-hard David Mitchell fan that I had pre-ordered a hardcover and signed edition of the book. </div>
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However, as much as I would love to, I don't have much choice when it comes to Japanese literature. My level in Japanese isn't that advanced to understand a novel, and the majority of them aren't translated in Greek. So, almost all the Japanese literature I read is through English translations.</div>
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<b>I don't mind spoilers</b></div>
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This applies to books, comics, movies, series, video games, etc. Luckily, this quirk enables me to watch/read the same story on different mediums and still maintain my interest. I could give <i>Pride and Prejudice </i>as an example, and I know that there are many other Jane Austen fans who do the same.</div>
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<a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/BV5FMvLDVKz/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading" style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">A post shared by Reading Quirks (@readingquirks)</a> on <time datetime="2017-06-28T17:37:40+00:00" style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px;">Jun 28, 2017 at 10:37am PDT</time></div>
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(I liked the <i>Cloud Atlas</i> movie adaptation, though)</div>
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<b>I don't read all the books of a series one after another</b></div>
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It's so rare for me to pick the first instalment of the series, and then the second, the third,...., until I finish it. I will read the first one, then move on to other books, and some months later, I will move on to the second book. Even though I usually do that, I have no trouble remembering the characters and story. The longest I've done to read the last book of a series was 5-ish years! According to Goodreads, I read <i>Artemis Fowl #7</i> in 2014 and <i>Artemis Fowl #8 </i>in 2019. Go figure!</div>
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<b>I'm hesitant to read books that are 600+ pages long...</b></div>
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...but this doesn't mean that I won't read one if it piques my interest. Nevertheless, if I'm between two books, the number of pages can usually be the deciding factor. It's not that I want to show that I've read more in a year. Instead, I think that I feel that a novel this long is a commitment that I can't easily make. </div>
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<b>So, there you have it! What are your reading quirks?</b></div>
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Konnahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03650740689826904595noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1749963558058074095.post-82864940466298837452020-07-24T13:45:00.000+03:002020-07-24T13:45:51.551+03:00Book Beginnings / Friday 56 - The Princess Bride, by William Goldman<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsN6e4Bz35aHXN3CR3nikLY8yHbBqfb5z9ugJt5HXA3fBNw0-qfuTHEyTBNwWnSU_Uk8LfEfWw5SpBd2aD00DcYngBg79O-6FKXimjIUr-QilLwfF2e-JckDdETDfYBmKUmeS9luPNaxcp/s1600/Book+Beginnings+on+Friday.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="460" data-original-width="718" height="205" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsN6e4Bz35aHXN3CR3nikLY8yHbBqfb5z9ugJt5HXA3fBNw0-qfuTHEyTBNwWnSU_Uk8LfEfWw5SpBd2aD00DcYngBg79O-6FKXimjIUr-QilLwfF2e-JckDdETDfYBmKUmeS9luPNaxcp/s320/Book+Beginnings+on+Friday.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Hello, everyone! How was your week? I have been feeling very inactive lately, so I was mostly doing the work I had to do and nothing much else. However, I am enjoying <i>Utopia Avenue</i>, for which I hope that you'll read the review soon. Anyway, today it's Friday, so I decided to drag myself </div>
to participate in these two fun bookish memes.<br />
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1. <i style="text-align: justify;">Book Beginnings on Fridays,</i><span style="text-align: justify;"> hosted by </span><a href="https://www.rosecityreader.com/search/label/Book%20Beginnings" style="text-align: justify;" target="_blank">Rose City Reads</a><span style="text-align: justify;">. In this meme, we have to share the first sentence (or a bit more) from the book we are currently reading.</span><br />
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2. <i style="text-align: justify;">Friday 56</i><span style="text-align: justify;"> that is hosted by </span><a href="http://www.fredasvoice.com/" style="text-align: justify;" target="_blank">Freda's Voice</a><span style="text-align: justify;">. For this one, we have to share a small snippet from a book, taken from page 56 (or 56% on an e-reader).</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6yva7_xWTsvvlI0QoXTZSAQ72gXorE6ts-ceIUhQucA9jVF1o76a3IfRoRgkbcDPZG45ZQ7i5C4pou6HcjhJU_v_7dgXt-CB3CFbHH5k4etQRB-QHbPDF6xGaCV5f6z6jnfzjjX_Ox0Ab/s1600/Friday+56.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="200" data-original-width="144" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6yva7_xWTsvvlI0QoXTZSAQ72gXorE6ts-ceIUhQucA9jVF1o76a3IfRoRgkbcDPZG45ZQ7i5C4pou6HcjhJU_v_7dgXt-CB3CFbHH5k4etQRB-QHbPDF6xGaCV5f6z6jnfzjjX_Ox0Ab/s1600/Friday+56.jpg" /></a></div>
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Since I'm still reading <i>Utopia Avenue </i>that I featured last week, this week I'll be featuring one of my favourite books: <i><b><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/21787.The_Princess_Bride" target="_blank">The Princess Bride</a></b></i>. This book really has everything: action, adventure, romance, revenge, fights, pirates, and the list goes on! </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0Sr6eds025shx__rra8dIcoDgfW9bgi4QLxoK5rv5K_9GrlUm-qSpPRoQsWMGBFcvJFfoxW-_OBKHJ2H46ie_nfQ448pC9hNO4jZriLSOjT15gv03p9iX7WVufFkVsu1VcFzewcfKo37L/s1600/princess-bride-01.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="541" data-original-width="360" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0Sr6eds025shx__rra8dIcoDgfW9bgi4QLxoK5rv5K_9GrlUm-qSpPRoQsWMGBFcvJFfoxW-_OBKHJ2H46ie_nfQ448pC9hNO4jZriLSOjT15gv03p9iX7WVufFkVsu1VcFzewcfKo37L/s320/princess-bride-01.jpeg" width="212" /></a></div>
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<span style="text-align: justify;">Book Beginnings</span></b></h2>
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<span style="text-align: justify;"><i>"This is my favorite book in all the world, though I have never read it."</i></span><br />
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<span style="text-align: justify;">If this opening line can't pique your interest, which one can? <i>The Princess Bride</i> is actually about a book titles <i>The Princess Bride</i>. So, the story we all know and love happens in the book within the book. </span><br />
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<span style="text-align: justify;">Friday 56</span></b></h2>
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<span style="text-align: justify;">“Nonsense; you climbed the Cliffs of Insanity, and this isn’t nearly that steep.”</span></div>
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“And it took a little out of me too, let me tell you. And after that little effort, I tangled with a fella who knew a little something about fencing. And after that, I spent a few happy moments grappling with a giant. And after that, I had to outfake a Sicilian to death when any mistake meant it was a knife in the throat for you. And after that I’ve run my lungs out a couple of hours. And after that I was pushed two hundred feet down a rock ravine. I’m tired, Buttercup; do you understand tired? I’ve put in a night, is what I’m trying to get through to you.”</div>
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This snippet comes from 56% of the ebook. These lines summarise many of the adventures that have already happened in the book so far, and it's only midway through it! The continuation promises to be even more thrilling. Of course, if you've watched the movie, you already know what's going to happen.</div>
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<b>What's a beautiful quote from the book you are currently reading? </b></div>
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Konnahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03650740689826904595noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1749963558058074095.post-39821874145361163922020-07-17T15:24:00.001+03:002020-07-17T15:24:02.672+03:00Book Beginnings / Friday 56 - Utopia Avenue by David Mitchell<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsN6e4Bz35aHXN3CR3nikLY8yHbBqfb5z9ugJt5HXA3fBNw0-qfuTHEyTBNwWnSU_Uk8LfEfWw5SpBd2aD00DcYngBg79O-6FKXimjIUr-QilLwfF2e-JckDdETDfYBmKUmeS9luPNaxcp/s1600/Book+Beginnings+on+Friday.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="460" data-original-width="718" height="205" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsN6e4Bz35aHXN3CR3nikLY8yHbBqfb5z9ugJt5HXA3fBNw0-qfuTHEyTBNwWnSU_Uk8LfEfWw5SpBd2aD00DcYngBg79O-6FKXimjIUr-QilLwfF2e-JckDdETDfYBmKUmeS9luPNaxcp/s320/Book+Beginnings+on+Friday.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Hello, everyone! How was your week? For me, it's been a fairly relaxing week with some great reads. I really enjoyed writing about my <a href="https://thereadingarmchair.blogspot.com/2020/07/favourite-love-poem.html" target="_blank">favourite love poems</a> and I also wrote <a href="https://thereadingarmchair.blogspot.com/2020/07/who-is-batman.html" target="_blank">a long rant on Batman: The Dark Knight Returns</a>. Today, it's Friday, so it's time for our two bookish memes:<br />
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1. <i style="text-align: justify;">Book Beginnings on Fridays,</i><span style="text-align: justify;"> hosted by </span><a href="https://www.rosecityreader.com/search/label/Book%20Beginnings" style="text-align: justify;" target="_blank">Rose City Reads</a><span style="text-align: justify;">. In this meme, we have to share the first sentence (or a bit more) from the book we are currently reading.</span><br />
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2. <i style="text-align: justify;">Friday 56</i><span style="text-align: justify;"> that is hosted by </span><a href="http://www.fredasvoice.com/" style="text-align: justify;" target="_blank">Freda's Voice</a><span style="text-align: justify;">. For this one, we have to share a small snippet from a book, taken from page 56 (or 56% on an e-reader).</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6yva7_xWTsvvlI0QoXTZSAQ72gXorE6ts-ceIUhQucA9jVF1o76a3IfRoRgkbcDPZG45ZQ7i5C4pou6HcjhJU_v_7dgXt-CB3CFbHH5k4etQRB-QHbPDF6xGaCV5f6z6jnfzjjX_Ox0Ab/s1600/Friday+56.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="200" data-original-width="144" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6yva7_xWTsvvlI0QoXTZSAQ72gXorE6ts-ceIUhQucA9jVF1o76a3IfRoRgkbcDPZG45ZQ7i5C4pou6HcjhJU_v_7dgXt-CB3CFbHH5k4etQRB-QHbPDF6xGaCV5f6z6jnfzjjX_Ox0Ab/s1600/Friday+56.jpg" /></a></div>
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This week I'm featuring the book I was most eager to read this year! It was finally published this week and I've started reading it. I'm talking about <i><b><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/49536488-utopia-avenue" target="_blank">Utopia Avenue</a></b> </i>by David Mitchell. So far, I'm not disappointed, but stay tuned as I'll soon post a review and (perhaps) a new <i>Play(list) by the Book.</i></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQeP0DhPCXvNN_43KnFDP4vSBXQxevwElXoF8Ijyx1sXXgtz_qunFFnfDcpDniMn6ooxvaBIU_1azHJwSPJLiPeOmTDZyzSAsjb3sIppbMJ3IL_-MEqRak_pUTNpEsdbNIzVyCWkdO97Y-/s1600/utopia-avenue.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="416" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQeP0DhPCXvNN_43KnFDP4vSBXQxevwElXoF8Ijyx1sXXgtz_qunFFnfDcpDniMn6ooxvaBIU_1azHJwSPJLiPeOmTDZyzSAsjb3sIppbMJ3IL_-MEqRak_pUTNpEsdbNIzVyCWkdO97Y-/s320/utopia-avenue.jpg" width="208" /></a><br />
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Book Beginning</b></h2>
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<i>"Dean hurries past the Phoenix Theatre, dodges a blind man in dark glasses, steps onto Charring Cross Road to overtake a slow-moving woman and pram, leaps a grimy puddle and swerves into Denmark Street where he skids on a sheet of black ice."</i></div>
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The first sentence makes sure to make you have a grasp of the book's setting. If you've ever visited London, then these roads in Soho will probably ring a bell. The book transfers you to Soho in late '60s, where a new psychedelic-rock scene was booming.<br />
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Friday 56</b></h2>
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<i>Jasper played </i><i>‘</i><i>Asturias</i><i>’</i><i> by Isaac Albéniz. Formaggio’s guitar wasn’t the best, but the half-dozen fell under the moon-swaying, sun-cracking and blood-thumping spell, and when Jasper finished, nobody moved. ‘In fifty years,’ said Jasper, ‘or five hundred, or five thousand, music will still do to people what it does to us now. That’s my prediction. It’s late.’</i></div>
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This is a cheat, as it's actually from page 51, instead of page 56. However, this quote was just too beautiful not to share it. So, there you have it! </div>
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<b>What's a beautiful quote from the book you are currently reading? </b></div>
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Konnahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03650740689826904595noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1749963558058074095.post-9250666501467466202020-07-14T17:16:00.001+03:002020-07-14T17:16:29.710+03:00Comic Book Review: Batman - The Dark Knight Returns by Frank Miller<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjq1R-hYg4GRpiM_6SwKF5Ew_OocuGBeh7YOBh7iml_PXCxLaR9_VUOjqx0fNRy905k8IMDmbcmSRCslEhYMjvPPk6Qf_mcvUHupKyRY315SfwxYqmYb4IPiseKcLokt3VksPFFlnkB2Wpi/s1600/Batman-The-Dark-Knight-Returns-TP.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="809" data-original-width="510" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjq1R-hYg4GRpiM_6SwKF5Ew_OocuGBeh7YOBh7iml_PXCxLaR9_VUOjqx0fNRy905k8IMDmbcmSRCslEhYMjvPPk6Qf_mcvUHupKyRY315SfwxYqmYb4IPiseKcLokt3VksPFFlnkB2Wpi/s320/Batman-The-Dark-Knight-Returns-TP.jpg" width="201" /></a></div>
<b style="text-align: justify;">Title: </b><span style="text-align: justify;">Batman: The Dark Knight Returns</span><br />
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<b>Writer/Artist: </b>Frank Miller<br />
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<b>Illustrator: </b>Klaus Janson<br />
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<b>Colouring: </b>Lynn Varley<br />
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<b>Publisher: </b>DC Comics</div>
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<b>Date of Publication: </b>November 2012 (first pub. 1986)</div>
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<b>Number of Pages: </b>197<br />
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<b>See it on Goodreads: </b><i><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/59960.Batman" target="_blank">Batman: The Dark Knight Returns</a></i><br />
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<b>Summary</b></h2>
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Crime runs rampant in the streets, and the man who was Batman is still tortured by the memories of his parents' murders. As civil society crumbles around him, Bruce Wayne's long-suppressed vigilante side finally breaks free of its self-imposed shackles.</div>
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The Dark Knight returns in a blaze of fury, taking on a whole new generation of criminals and matching their level of violence. He is soon joined by this generation's Robin—a girl named Carrie Kelley, who proves to be just as invaluable as her predecessors.</div>
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But can Batman and Robin deal with the threat posed by their deadliest enemies, after years of incarceration have made them into perfect psychopaths? And more important, can anyone survive the coming fallout of an undeclared war between the superpowers—or a clash of what were once the world's greatest superheroes?</div>
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Review - Who is Batman?</b></h2>
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1986... What a year that was for comics! <i>Batman: The Dark Knight Returns</i> was first published that year, influencing the way we see Batman, even to this day. As someone who has enjoyed various Batman comics and movies, I have been meaning to read it for a long time. Finally, I got the chance to do it. Would it live up to its fame?</div>
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<i>Batman: The Dark Knight Returns </i>revolutionized Batman by the way it depicts him. In this comic, we get a much darker and authoritative version of him. This is a trend that you will encounter in many of the comics published during this time. Superheroes have become human, thus they are tortured and flawed. I can see why this comic book turned out to be an important one at that time in history. </div>
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And this is the point where the good things I have to say about this comic end. I have really struggled to find a way to appreciate it and understand why <i>The Dark Knight Returns</i> has left a mark. However, the more I think about it, the more I wonder whether a comic has to be good in order to be influential. In fact, I can go as far as to say that any book doesn't have to be good to be influential (I have written plenty of bad reviews for classics anyway).</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9nWetG-aJK-5evpecuUzEXXuZ0ULkeYR4SkaPLiHcMLfgtpCeRITOaTWUlkLVs2LQuPB2ZIUY49QkItOywml6JvsaI3EJcuUsYhYpM8VlJ-5jCUgIU162b136c_WHaMOpZie1UHIH0mf1/s1600/divider.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="61" data-original-width="1600" height="24" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9nWetG-aJK-5evpecuUzEXXuZ0ULkeYR4SkaPLiHcMLfgtpCeRITOaTWUlkLVs2LQuPB2ZIUY49QkItOywml6JvsaI3EJcuUsYhYpM8VlJ-5jCUgIU162b136c_WHaMOpZie1UHIH0mf1/s640/divider.png" width="640" /></a></div>
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So, let's begin with what I didn't like about <i>The Dark Knight Returns</i>:</div>
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<b>The story.</b> It sounds basic, but the story of this comic book is ALL OVER THE PLACE. We get so many story threads and none is really treated as the main story. We have Two-Face that sort of plays like a potential villain in the first issue, but we soon forget about him. Of course, we have Joker as a villain. Then we have the mutant gang, that (I guess) they aren't really mutants. When their leader is killed the members of this gang become Batman fanatics. On top of this, we have a nuclear threat and Superman enters the stage. Why should Batman and Superman fight in the end? I guess because it's cool. Will it end in tragedy? No, not really. </div>
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Did anything of the above make sense? I wouldn't even attempt to try and summarize this book. </div>
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<b>The way that the story is told.</b> <i>The Dark Knight Returns</i> is very political. The whole comic book is a dialogue of Batman's personality and influence in society. Psychologists, politicians, and reporters argue about his sanity and whether the real villain is actually him. We get to read this as a part of news reports. Even though this is a great trick for quick exposition, I find that in this comic it was overused. So much, in fact, that the dialogues feel awfully repetitive. I have been feeling that I am reading the same arguments again and again.</div>
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<b>Batman. </b>Yes, I've told it. This is the book that redefined him and I can't stand him! The first thing I have to say about him is that he is one-dimensional. There is not a single characteristic I could think to attach to this character. Throughout the comic, we are constantly reminded that Batman's parents were murdered and that's it. What I get is that he is someone who blindly enjoys violence. He has tried to stay away, but he couldn't keep it in any longer. And he even takes a teenage tomboy as Robin. He says that he only hunts down criminals, but he does nothing to stop the ex-mutants, now Batman fanatics. Some of his expressions reminded me of Rorschach from <i>Watchmen</i>, even though he is a much more complex character.</div>
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<b>The art style.</b> This is the first comic book that I couldn't read in one sitting, even if I wanted to! The ratio of text within the illustration was a bit much. Moreover, the smaller panels are a complete pain. There are some that I have to look for a long time until I understand what they are showing. With the being said though, I have to comment that some of the full-page illustrations are more than impressive and completely iconic. </div>
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I think that all these things sum up my opinion on <i>The Dark Knight Returns</i>. I had high hopes that they were unfortunately never met. The page I include here (⬅️) is one of my favourites in the whole comic. Even on this page, you can see that the smaller panels aren't some of the greatest. </div>
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I also enjoy that Batman says "I am born again" as it reminds me of another Frank Miller comic I have read and enjoyed very much, <i>Daredevil: Born Again</i>. It's very interesting if you take into consideration that both of these comics were published at the same time (February 1986), yet the result is so vastly different. </div>
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However, 1986 is the year of publication of two other comic books that are both on my list for the best books ever written. First, we have the first issue of <i>Maus</i>. Then, we have <i>Watchmen</i> that was released just a few months after <i>The Dark Knight Returns.</i> </div>
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In <i>Watchmen</i> you will find all the politics, dialogue, doubt, confusion, deconstruction, humanization of superheroes, flawed characters, in a much richer way than in this comic book. If you want to read something impactful, then you'd better read <i>Watchmen</i>. Unfortunately, time wasn't kind on <i>The Dark Knight Returns. </i></div>
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(Somehow, this review ended up being a continuation to <b><a href="https://thereadingarmchair.blogspot.com/2020/03/review-watchmen.html" target="_blank">my love letter to <i>Watchmen</i></a></b>).</div>
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<b><a href="https://thereadingarmchair.blogspot.com/p/reviews-z.html" target="_blank">Read more of my reviews here</a></b></div>
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Konnahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03650740689826904595noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1749963558058074095.post-29148185641516078262020-07-12T19:11:00.001+03:002020-07-12T19:11:45.909+03:00Discussions: What's Your Favourite Love Poem?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6ruU9hYiiqJ3rxp157k-sN_7gjA7ih0TuoOBCu36-TOmrMMoD3vJ66o9GNSpCKPeXWR5nKaA6H8KLpiLPR6ZGNtv3V0aqXgsUMBkyhkgf9Orf1qPMwA9rU_fwBxywJHLosctRyQ4ihwGA/s1600/favourite-love-poem.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="628" data-original-width="1200" height="334" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6ruU9hYiiqJ3rxp157k-sN_7gjA7ih0TuoOBCu36-TOmrMMoD3vJ66o9GNSpCKPeXWR5nKaA6H8KLpiLPR6ZGNtv3V0aqXgsUMBkyhkgf9Orf1qPMwA9rU_fwBxywJHLosctRyQ4ihwGA/s640/favourite-love-poem.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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Hello, everyone! How have you been? A took a small break from blogging since I was traveling back to my hometown for the summer. Nevertheless, I don't want to miss another discussion post. The truth is that the topic I have been preparing is completely different than this one. However, I have decided to push it until the following week (it's going to be a fun one, I promise).<br />
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My plans changed because today is the birthday of Pablo Neruda, the famous Chilean poet. I have always possessed a soft spot for love poetry and Pablo Neruda's work is the most extraordinary example of the genre. I still remember the first time I read "<b><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/5932.Twenty_Love_Poems_and_a_Song_of_Despair" target="_blank">Twenty Love Poems and a Song of Despair</a></b>" back when I was still a university student. The experience was intense and even now, I can't really say that I have read finest love poems.<br />
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Therefore, today's discussion is going to be about our favourite love poems, in honour of the great Pablo Neruda.<br />
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Why do we need poetry to express love, anyway?</b></h2>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaSnNyF6gJyvOOcLLF_sYztiICULDN6xBeBSNbH-UpZWQB0auA9KHO5YYJXNPQCwyXdbA7epAmd02q5JrYu22OMPCs0h3NHU-MSNX0M3b0r04atN8kT3tM04Acrp3xQsTp1SPzgQs3gASv/s1600/neruda-books.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1546" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaSnNyF6gJyvOOcLLF_sYztiICULDN6xBeBSNbH-UpZWQB0auA9KHO5YYJXNPQCwyXdbA7epAmd02q5JrYu22OMPCs0h3NHU-MSNX0M3b0r04atN8kT3tM04Acrp3xQsTp1SPzgQs3gASv/s320/neruda-books.jpg" width="309" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Poetry collections by Pablo Neruda</td></tr>
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<i>What is love?</i> This is probably the world's oldest question with no definitive answer. You can take a look at the psychological effects, the chemical reactions in the brain, and you still have an unclear image of what it is all about. If you are interested in reading more about our body's reaction to love, you can read <b><a href="http://sitn.hms.harvard.edu/flash/2017/love-actually-science-behind-lust-attraction-companionship/#:~:text=High%20levels%20of%20dopamine%20and,eat%20and%20can%27t%20sleep." target="_blank">this easy-to-read scientific article</a></b>. No matter the physical effects of this feeling, every person experiences love in a different way. On top of that, the expression of love also varies among people. </div>
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This is where poetry becomes essential. Imagine this: your heart burns with love and you are alone in your room. You are too shy to communicate your feelings to your special someone, what can you do? You take a sheet of paper and a pen (yes, I believe that poetry should still be written by hand). You write a word and then another. Before you know it, you have filled the page with your feelings. Will you ever give this writing to the person that inspired you? Most probably not, even though it's the most romantic thing you can do. As the editor of <b><a href="https://observer.case.edu/on-writing-love-poetry/" target="_blank">this Observer's article</a></b> writes: </div>
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<i>When you give someone a love poem, you are telling them, “I love you so much, I have placed myself in the company of generations of poets and wordsmiths. I have created words out of what I feel for you in my heart.”</i></div>
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<i>But why poetry?</i> The answer to why we need poetry has many answers. It is a well-known fact that poetry teaches us empathy and lets us get in touch with something inner deep in our hearts. When you are feeling troubled, you can find comfort in poetry. For many centuries, poets have been trying to express every feeling, both known and unknown to humans. By recognizing your thoughts in someone else's work, you realize that you are not alone (<b><a href="https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/clare-dyckhoff-702/why-do-we-need-poetry_b_9550060.html?guccounter=1&guce_referrer=aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuZ29vZ2xlLmNvbS8&guce_referrer_sig=AQAAADpa-xF-EdcehRUJGmz7NZzjrIKgS_5nw-Y_OcajJgc6-57fUuD0y5qQjilQwJ1JG7esSv5T0Jh9MAH9izQKwEJpGXckZaKqxJraM411JySIIe-TK2Z5owGGjhnPOej9yvWWeobrq_tS5AlxXTCG8ZmoSWzPLe_f2XiQQzghEOaT" target="_blank">this is a great article on this</a></b>). Love makes you feel detached from your everyday life, often leading to vast loneliness. Therefore, poetry is the perfect expression for this feeling. </div>
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How many love poems are there in the world? The answer is probably some millions. So, the endeavour to pick just a handful of poems is daunting. This <b><a href="https://www.poetryfoundation.org/collections/145134/love-poems" target="_blank">collection from the Poetry Foundation</a></b> is great to get you started on love poems of many different types. However, in this post, I have chosen some of the love poems that are closer to my heart.<br />
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<h3>
<b>
Pablo Neruda - Your Laughter</b></h3>
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<div>
<b><br /></b></div>
<div>
<div>
Take the bread from me, if you want</div>
<div>
take the air from me, but</div>
<div>
do not take from me your laughter</div>
</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<div>
Do not take away the rose,</div>
<div>
the lanceflower that you pluck,</div>
<div>
the water that suddenly</div>
<div>
bursts forth in your joy,</div>
<div>
the sudden wave</div>
<div>
of silver born in you.</div>
</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<div>
My struggle is harsh and I come back</div>
<div>
with eyes tired</div>
<div>
at times from having seen</div>
<div>
the unchanging earth,</div>
<div>
but when your laughter enters</div>
<div>
it rises to the sky seeking me</div>
<div>
and it opens for me all</div>
<div>
the doors of life.</div>
</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<div>
My love, in the darkest</div>
<div>
hour your laughter</div>
<div>
opens, and if suddenly</div>
<div>
you see my blood staining</div>
<div>
the stones of the street,</div>
<div>
laugh, because your laughter</div>
<div>
will be for my hands</div>
<div>
like a fresh sword.</div>
</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<div>
Next to the sea in the autumn,</div>
<div>
your laughter must raise</div>
<div>
its foamy cascade,</div>
<div>
and in the spring, love,</div>
<div>
I want your laughter like</div>
<div>
the flower I was waiting for,</div>
<div>
the blue flower, the rose</div>
<div>
of my echoing country.</div>
</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<div>
Laugh at the night,</div>
<div>
at the day, at the moon,</div>
<div>
laugh at the twisted</div>
<div>
streets of the island,</div>
<div>
laugh at this clumsy</div>
<div>
boy who loves you,</div>
<div>
but when I open</div>
<div>
my eyes and close them,</div>
<div>
when my steps go,</div>
<div>
when my steps return,</div>
<div>
deny me bread, air,</div>
<div>
light, spring,</div>
<div>
but never your laughter</div>
<div>
for I would die.<br />
<br />
I had great difficulty choosing just one poem by Pablo Neruda. I have chosen "Your Laughter" because it is an excellent example of the poet's work and one of the best to get you interested in discovering more. If you know Spanish, then I recommend that you <b><a href="https://msu.edu/~sullivan/NerudaPoemLaugh.html" target="_blank">read it in its original language</a></b> as well.<br />
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<h3>
<b>
Odysseus Elytis - The Monogram</b></h3>
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</div>
<div>
<b><br /></b></div>
<div>
This is how I speak of you and me<br />
Because I love you and in love I know<br />
To enter like a Full Moon<br />
From everywhere, for your small foot in the vast sheets<br />
To pluck jasmine petals – and I have the power<br />
As you are asleep, to blow to take you<br />
Through glimmering passages and hidden archways of the sea<br />
Hypnotized trees with spiders that shine silver.<br />
<br />
Waves know you from hear-say<br />
How you caress, how you kiss<br />
How you say ‘what’ and ‘eh’ under your breath<br />
All around the neck, the bay<br />
It’s always us the light and the shade.<br />
<br />
Always you the little star and always I the dark vessel<br />
Always you the harbour and I the lantern on the right side<br />
The moistened wharf and the shine on the oars<br />
High at the house with the vine arbour<br />
The tied roses, the water that cools<br />
Always you the stone statue and always I the shade that grows<br />
<br />
The ajar shutter you, the wind that opens it I.<br />
Because I love you and I love you.<br />
Always you the coin and always I the worship that cashes it:<br />
<br />
So the night, so the bluster in the wind<br />
So the drop in the air, so the silence<br />
Around (is) the sea the despotic<br />
Arch of the sky with stars<br />
So your faintest breath<br />
<br />
That I no more have anything else<br />
Between the four walls, the ceiling, the floor<br />
To call of you and be beaten by my own voice<br />
To smell of you and cause people’s anger<br />
Because whatever is untried and brought from elsewhere<br />
People cannot bear and it is soon, can you hear me?<br />
It is still soon in this world, my love,<br />
<br />
To speak of you and me.<br />
<br />
Being Greek, I grew up with a lot of Greek poets. Even though you might not know it, Greece had a generation of great poets. Odysseus Elytis was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1979 <i>"for his poetry, which, against the background of Greek tradition, depicts with sensuous strength and intellectual clear-sightedness modern man's struggle for freedom and creativeness".</i> His whole body of work is just like Greece, full of the sun, the sea, and intense feelings. <i>The Monogram,</i> in particular, is a devastating work. I have only included one part of it and you can <b><a href="https://www.academia.edu/2356388/_2012_MA_THESIS_The_Language_of_Emotions_in_Elytis_Poetry_and_the_Affect_of_Culture_A_Cognitive_Linguistic_Analysis_of_Elytis_THE_MONOGRAM" target="_blank">read the whole poem here</a></b>.</div>
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<h3>
<b>Federico Garcia Lorca - Sonnet of the Sweet Complaint</b></h3>
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<b><br /></b></div>
<div>
<div>
Never let me lose the marvel</div>
<div>
of your statue-like eyes, or the accent</div>
<div>
the solitary rose of your breath</div>
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places on my cheek at night.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div>
I am afraid of being, on this shore,</div>
<div>
a branchless trunk, and what I most regret</div>
<div>
is having no flower, pulp, or clay</div>
<div>
for the worm of my despair.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div>
If you are my hidden treasure,</div>
<div>
if you are my cross, my dampened pain,</div>
<div>
if I am a dog, and you alone my master,</div>
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<br /></div>
<div>
never let me lose what I have gained,</div>
<div>
and adorn the branches of your river</div>
<div>
with leaves of my estranged Autumn.</div>
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<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Federico Garcia Lorca's poetry mesmerizes me. This particular poem is about the fear you have that your love might end. It is a plead for love and affection that cannot leave your heart unmoved.</div>
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<h3>
<b>Leonard Cohen - A Thousand Kisses Deep</b></h3>
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<b><br /></b></div>
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<div>
I loved you when you opened</div>
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Like a lily to the heat.</div>
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I´m just another snowman</div>
<div>
Standing in the rain and sleet,</div>
<div>
Who loved you with his frozen love</div>
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His second-hand physique -</div>
<div>
With all he is, and all he was</div>
<div>
A thousand kisses deep.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div>
I don't remember if I've mentioned it before, but I love Leonard Cohen. His music, his poetry, and even his fiction. His work merges love, life and death, and religion. <i>A Thousand Kisses Deep </i>is one of my most favourite poems written by him. I have only included a small part, but you can <b><a href="https://www.leonardcohenfiles.com/kisses.html" target="_blank">read the whole poem here</a></b>.<br />
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<h3>
<b>Honourable Mentions</b></h3>
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<b><br /></b></div>
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I could go on and on about love poems. However, the post has already gotten quite lengthy, so I'm just going to include some links to some other poems I really love:</div>
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<br /></div>
<div>
<ul>
<li>Sylvia Plath - <b><a href="https://allpoetry.com/Mad-Girl's-Love-Song" target="_blank">Mad Girl's Love Song</a></b></li>
<li>Lisa Olstein - <b><a href="https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/48139/dear-one-absent-this-long-while" target="_blank">Dear One Absent This Long While</a></b></li>
<li>Maya Angelou - <b><a href="https://allpoetry.com/When-You-Come" target="_blank">When You Come</a></b></li>
<li>Ella Wheeler Willcox - <b><a href="https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/50334/i-love-you-56d22d5628559" target="_blank">I Love You</a></b></li>
<li>E. E. Cummings - <b><a href="https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poetrymagazine/poems/49493/i-carry-your-heart-with-mei-carry-it-in" target="_blank">[i carry your heart with me(i carry it in]</a></b></li>
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These were some of my favourite love poems. <b>What are your favourite ones?</b></div>
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<b><br /></b></div>
Konnahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03650740689826904595noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1749963558058074095.post-82651098420265780072020-07-11T16:01:00.001+03:002020-07-11T16:01:46.851+03:00Book Beginnings / Friday 56 - The Silent Patient, by Alex Michaelides<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsN6e4Bz35aHXN3CR3nikLY8yHbBqfb5z9ugJt5HXA3fBNw0-qfuTHEyTBNwWnSU_Uk8LfEfWw5SpBd2aD00DcYngBg79O-6FKXimjIUr-QilLwfF2e-JckDdETDfYBmKUmeS9luPNaxcp/s1600/Book+Beginnings+on+Friday.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="460" data-original-width="718" height="256" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsN6e4Bz35aHXN3CR3nikLY8yHbBqfb5z9ugJt5HXA3fBNw0-qfuTHEyTBNwWnSU_Uk8LfEfWw5SpBd2aD00DcYngBg79O-6FKXimjIUr-QilLwfF2e-JckDdETDfYBmKUmeS9luPNaxcp/s400/Book+Beginnings+on+Friday.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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Hello, everyone! I might be a bit late again, but I don't want to miss the Friday bookish memes for this week, as well! What have you been doing?</div>
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<span style="text-align: justify;">Let's see what the bookish memes are all about: First, we have </span><i style="text-align: justify;">Book Beginnings on Fridays,</i><span style="text-align: justify;"> hosted by </span><a href="https://www.rosecityreader.com/search/label/Book%20Beginnings" style="text-align: justify;" target="_blank">Rose City Reads</a><span style="text-align: justify;">. In this meme, we have to share the first sentence (or a bit more) from the book we are currently reading. The second meme is called </span><i style="text-align: justify;">Friday 56</i><span style="text-align: justify;"> and it is hosted by </span><a href="http://www.fredasvoice.com/" style="text-align: justify;" target="_blank">Freda's Voice</a><span style="text-align: justify;">. For this one, we have to share a small snippet from a book, taken from page 56 (or 56% on an e-reader).</span></div>
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This is a bit of a weird week! I'm waiting (anxiously) for David Mitchell's new novel on 14th and until then I didn't want to start reading a lengthy book. For this reason, I'm currently reading a Greek short story collection. However, it's in Greek and so I can't share it with you. Instead, today I'll feature a book from my TBR list. I've chosen <i><b><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/40097951-the-silent-patient" target="_blank">The Silent Patient</a></b></i> by Alex Michaelides. </div>
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<div>
<div>
<i>"JULY 14</i></div>
<div>
<i>I don’t know why I’m writing this.</i></div>
<div>
<i>That’s not true. Maybe I do know and just don’t want to admit it to myself"</i></div>
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<div>
<i><br /></i></div>
<div>
<span style="text-align: justify;">Nice opening line! It seems like a diary entry and it captures your attention from the very first line.</span></div>
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<span style="text-align: justify;"><br /></span></div>
<h2>
<span style="text-align: justify;"><b>Friday 56</b></span></h2>
<div>
<div>
<i>“I heard about your plan to get Alicia painting,” he said between mouthfuls.</i></div>
<div>
<i>“I see news travels fast.”</i></div>
<div>
<i>“It does in this place. Your idea?”</i></div>
<div>
<i>I hesitated. “It was, yes. I think it’ll be good for her.”</i></div>
<div>
<i>Christian gave me a doubtful look. “Be careful, mate.”</i></div>
</div>
<div>
<i><br /></i></div>
<div>
This is from the 56% of the ebook. Once again, I have no idea what's going on but I find it very intriguing. </div>
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<span style="text-align: justify;"><b>Have you read <i>The Silent Patient</i>? </b></span></div>
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<span style="text-align: justify;"><b>What are some memorable quotes from the books you are currently reading?</b> </span></div>
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<br />Konnahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03650740689826904595noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1749963558058074095.post-27736427939007381482020-06-29T20:25:00.001+03:002020-06-29T20:25:47.814+03:00Discussion: What's your Favourite Reading Challenge?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Hello, everyone! It's the day of the week when we discuss various bookish topics (and I have to admit that I'm looking forward to writing these posts). This week, I would like to know which is your favourite reading challenge. As bookworms, challenges offer a great way to read both outside of our comfort zones and to read books from our TBR lists. Just a little research on social media and book blogs will bring you a huge number of challenges to choose from.<br />
<br />
So, let's get down to it:<br />
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<h2 style="text-align: center;">
<b>
What's your favourite reading challenge?</b></h2>
<h3 style="text-align: center;">
...and how to craft one based on your reading style!</h3>
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<div>
Before I begin, I need to mention that I am not the most active reading challenge reader. I mean, I read a lot but the books I choose are rarely based on a challenge. Maybe this post will help me discover a challenge that I will willingly participate in. Of course, there is <b><i><a href="https://thereadingarmchair.blogspot.com/2020/03/reading-challenge-2020.html" target="_blank">The Reading Armchair's Reading Challenge</a></i></b>, which is not the easiest one around. It challenges you to read books from different regions and read classics and award-winning books. It's needless to say that I haven't completed it yet, even though this is a promising year.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div>
So, where is a good place to begin? </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<h4>
The Simple Challenges</h4>
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If you are like me, the simplest challenge you can take part in is the <b>"read X books in a predetermined time"</b>. You all know the Goodread's challenge, where you basically set a number for the books you'd like to read within the year. However, instead of doing it for the whole year, you can also do it for each month. The challenge that I've been seeing a lot and I think that it would be fun to participate in is "<b>a themed book each month</b>". For this one, you know that you will read 12 books. You already know the theme of each month, so you can pick books that have already caught your eye.<br />
<br />
Moreover, you can spice things up and create a reading challenge specifically for your reading habits. The challenge on this blog is a great example of this, as I have always been interested in diversifying my reading. An easy way to spice up your reading is to say that you will read "<b>one book of X genre each month</b>". This is not a big commitment and by the end of the year, you will have gone through a significant amount of books in a genre that is not normally your thing. I really liked <b><a href="https://bookriot.com/diy-reading-challenges/" target="_blank">Book Riot's "DIY Reading Challenges"</a></b> ideas.<br />
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The Difficult Challenges</h4>
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Apart from the above simple challenges, there are also those who ask you to go all out and actively read books to complete it. They are challenges that ask you to find books with specific colours on their covers and specific words on their titles. They are challenges that ask you to clean your TBR list and others encourage you to read diversely. The most obvious example of a difficult challenge is the "<b>A-Z reading challenge</b>". Some letters are easy to fill, while others are extremely difficult to find any titles. Another one that sounds great is the "<b>TBR jar</b>" (hey, that would be an ideal fit for the <b><a href="https://thereadingarmchair.blogspot.com/2020/05/choose-next-read.html" target="_blank">How to choose your next read discussion</a></b>). </div>
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The Fun Challenges</h4>
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However, we are bookworms and we read for pleasure. So, why not pick a challenge that is also fun? For this category of challenges, I have two ideas: <b>reading bingos</b> and <b>readathons</b>.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-XBfHJ6zaZhtd6nfsHvmZKMDpvfsXaU7XAyidPf-CytLLLTypLoglJTYhWAtY-JYs4xQ-1c8lSQZtuwQEfhFPD1na2QiX01kw3fIMN86jSsRSTMhCw5ycHgm_LBB2osY1JvHe6jmI2BkE/s1600/Book+Bingo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1500" data-original-width="1500" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-XBfHJ6zaZhtd6nfsHvmZKMDpvfsXaU7XAyidPf-CytLLLTypLoglJTYhWAtY-JYs4xQ-1c8lSQZtuwQEfhFPD1na2QiX01kw3fIMN86jSsRSTMhCw5ycHgm_LBB2osY1JvHe6jmI2BkE/s320/Book+Bingo.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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A reading bingo is a very interesting concept. If you know of any active reading bingos, let me know in the comments as I think that I would love to try one. If you want a light challenge, you can go for just one line. However, if you want something more demanding, you can go for multiple ones. Here is an old one <a href="https://www.penguin.co.nz/activities/2291-turning-pages-book-bingo" style="font-weight: bold;" target="_blank">that Penguin did</a>. I could easily see myself trying this one (I might have even made a bingo with the books that I've read so far).</div>
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A readathon is a more demanding challenge as you normally have a short amount of time that you dedicate to reading. They could range from 24 hours to a whole month, although these are the rarer cases. If you are in the hunt for upcoming readathons, I would recommend that you check the <b><a href="http://www.littlebookowl.com/p/read-thon-calendar.html" target="_blank">directory in Little Book Owl</a></b>. As for myself, I have spotted readathons that got me thinking. The first one is the "<b><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/group/show/976576-jane-austen-july-2020" target="_blank">Jane Austen July 2020</a></b>" readathon, which is always great to have an excuse to read one of her books. The other one is <b><a href="https://twitter.com/koreadathon" target="_blank">Koreadathon</a></b> and I'm tempted to join, even though I'm not sure how many books I can read in a week. </div>
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Reading challenges are great and most of the time they are the incentives we need to read novels and genres outside of our comfort zones. For this reason, crafting or joining a reading challenge is a personal matter. It depends on your reading habits and on what you aim to achieve. If, for example, you find it stressful to meet the goals of a more demanding challenge, then you are not benefiting from it. Their ultimate goal is to enrich our reading lists and have us communicate with each other. </div>
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This was it for today! <b>What's your favourite reading challenge? Would you like to participate in a new one?</b></div>
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Konnahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03650740689826904595noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1749963558058074095.post-45729867993282957782020-06-27T11:32:00.000+03:002020-06-27T11:32:22.780+03:00Book Beginnings / Friday 56 - Batman: The Dark Knight Returns, by Frank Miller, Klaus Janson, and Lynn Varley <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsN6e4Bz35aHXN3CR3nikLY8yHbBqfb5z9ugJt5HXA3fBNw0-qfuTHEyTBNwWnSU_Uk8LfEfWw5SpBd2aD00DcYngBg79O-6FKXimjIUr-QilLwfF2e-JckDdETDfYBmKUmeS9luPNaxcp/s1600/Book+Beginnings+on+Friday.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="460" data-original-width="718" height="256" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsN6e4Bz35aHXN3CR3nikLY8yHbBqfb5z9ugJt5HXA3fBNw0-qfuTHEyTBNwWnSU_Uk8LfEfWw5SpBd2aD00DcYngBg79O-6FKXimjIUr-QilLwfF2e-JckDdETDfYBmKUmeS9luPNaxcp/s400/Book+Beginnings+on+Friday.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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Hello, everyone! How was your week? The truth is that I have only been thinking about vacations, even though I'm not sure when that will be. Anyway, today it's Friday and so we have our two bookish memes.</div>
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<span style="text-align: justify;">First, we have </span><i style="text-align: justify;">Book Beginnings on Fridays,</i><span style="text-align: justify;"> hosted by </span><a href="https://www.rosecityreader.com/search/label/Book%20Beginnings" style="text-align: justify;" target="_blank">Rose City Reads</a><span style="text-align: justify;">. In this meme, we have to share the first sentence (or a bit more) from the book we are currently reading. The second meme is called </span><i style="text-align: justify;">Friday 56</i><span style="text-align: justify;"> and it is hosted by </span><a href="http://www.fredasvoice.com/" style="text-align: justify;" target="_blank">Freda's Voice</a><span style="text-align: justify;">. For this one, we have to share a small snippet from a book, taken from page 56 (or 56% on an e-reader).</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6yva7_xWTsvvlI0QoXTZSAQ72gXorE6ts-ceIUhQucA9jVF1o76a3IfRoRgkbcDPZG45ZQ7i5C4pou6HcjhJU_v_7dgXt-CB3CFbHH5k4etQRB-QHbPDF6xGaCV5f6z6jnfzjjX_Ox0Ab/s1600/Friday+56.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="200" data-original-width="144" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6yva7_xWTsvvlI0QoXTZSAQ72gXorE6ts-ceIUhQucA9jVF1o76a3IfRoRgkbcDPZG45ZQ7i5C4pou6HcjhJU_v_7dgXt-CB3CFbHH5k4etQRB-QHbPDF6xGaCV5f6z6jnfzjjX_Ox0Ab/s1600/Friday+56.jpg" /></a></div>
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Today, I'm featuring <i>Batman: The Dark Knight Returns</i>, which is a super-famous comic book from 1986. This is one of the comic books that I've been meaning to read for years as it's so influential. For both <i>Book Beginnings </i>and <i>Friday 56</i> I will be focusing on the first issue of the series.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh30jAaT5wG4TMIkrAzm35QS0osZLFUgrweyObgjQM-Zrs4Z-J9KvKrThFx_7jkECIgNsR8ad0U-_qUYwqn8JWGvvHd-2xaovhL_K7ybX0d8Ln4GO8ImoM-xn0gZcZSQzTyZNE4PF75dVWO/s1600/Batman-The-Dark-Knight-Returns-TP.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="809" data-original-width="510" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh30jAaT5wG4TMIkrAzm35QS0osZLFUgrweyObgjQM-Zrs4Z-J9KvKrThFx_7jkECIgNsR8ad0U-_qUYwqn8JWGvvHd-2xaovhL_K7ybX0d8Ln4GO8ImoM-xn0gZcZSQzTyZNE4PF75dVWO/s320/Batman-The-Dark-Knight-Returns-TP.jpg" width="201" /></a><i></i><br />
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Book Beginnings</b></h2>
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<i>"I've got the home stretch all to myself when readings stop making sense, I switch to manual </i><i>-- But the computer crosses its own circuits and refuses to let go. I coax it"</i><br />
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<span style="text-align: justify;">This graphic novel begins with a Bruce Wayne that has stopped being Batman for almost a decade. His urge to dress up again and fight crime hasn't gone and he's trying his best to substitute the thrill with other activities. The first panels, that these words come from, show us that Bruce Wayne is taking part in races.</span></div>
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<span style="text-align: justify;">Friday 56</span></b></h2>
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<span style="text-align: justify;"><i>"This should be agony. I should be a mass of aching muscle -- broken, spent, unable to move. And, were I an older man, I surely would... But I'm a man of thirty -- of twenty again. The rain on my chest is a baptism -- I'm born again..." </i></span></div>
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<span style="text-align: justify;">In the 56% of the first issue, Batman is back! At this point, Bruce Wayne is supposed to be in his 50s, even though it hasn't been explicitly mentioned. However, when he moves as Batman again he feel younger again. The way he thinks reminds me a bit of Rorschach from <i>Watchmen. </i>Also, the last line <i>"I'm born again"</i> reminds me of another comic <i>Daredevil: Born Again</i> that was written by the same author in the same year as <i>The Dark Knight Returns</i>. </span></div>
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<span style="text-align: justify;"><b>What are some of your favourite comic books? </b></span></div>
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<span style="text-align: justify;"><b>What are some memorable quotes from the books you are currently reading?</b> </span></div>
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<br />Konnahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03650740689826904595noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1749963558058074095.post-43722766771745434072020-06-25T22:39:00.001+03:002020-06-27T12:09:01.711+03:00And Here Be Dragons! (Highfire by Eoin Colfer - Book Review)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhO9i1BPSMhR9R9RVpEmyHx91aY4WQRVLubVybY1p3BSPDVcIKGXfo0XdfPF15D3aIQ_VBWO2hiugNDgt4K2lrtGTSS-2v9qp_6f_jdzDKa0Bx2gyyEOc65mDGYbDaAIYGRrPZ13Mg489u4/s1600/highfire.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Highfire - Eoin Colfer" border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1067" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhO9i1BPSMhR9R9RVpEmyHx91aY4WQRVLubVybY1p3BSPDVcIKGXfo0XdfPF15D3aIQ_VBWO2hiugNDgt4K2lrtGTSS-2v9qp_6f_jdzDKa0Bx2gyyEOc65mDGYbDaAIYGRrPZ13Mg489u4/s320/highfire.jpg" title="Highfire - Eoin Colfer" width="213" /></a></div>
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<b>Title: </b>Highfire<br />
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<b>Author: </b>Eoin Colfer<br />
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<b>Publisher: </b>Harper Perennial</div>
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<b>Date of Publication: </b>January 28th 2020</div>
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<b>Number of Pages: 377</b><br />
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<b>See it on Goodreads: </b><i><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/44890077-highfire" target="_blank">Highfire</a></i><br />
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<b>Summary</b></h2>
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From the New York Times bestselling author of the Artemis Fowl series comes a hilarious and high-octane adult novel about a vodka-drinking, Flashdance-loving dragon who lives an isolated life in the bayous of Louisiana—and the raucous adventures that ensue when he crosses paths with a fifteen-year-old troublemaker on the run from a crooked sheriff.</div>
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In the days of yore, he flew the skies and scorched angry mobs—now he hides from swamp tour boats and rises only with the greatest reluctance from his Laz-Z-Boy recliner. Laying low in the bayou, this once-magnificent fire breather has been reduced to lighting Marlboros with nose sparks, swilling Absolut in a Flashdance T-shirt, and binging Netflix in a fishing shack. For centuries, he struck fear in hearts far and wide as Wyvern, Lord Highfire of the Highfire Eyrie—now he goes by Vern. However...he has survived, unlike the rest. He is the last of his kind, the last dragon. Still, no amount of vodka can drown the loneliness in his molten core. Vern’s glory days are long gone. Or are they?</div>
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A canny Cajun swamp rat, young Everett “Squib” Moreau does what he can to survive, trying not to break the heart of his saintly single mother. He’s finally decided to work for a shady smuggler—but on his first night, he witnesses his boss murdered by a crooked constable.</div>
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Regence Hooke is not just a dirty cop, he’s a despicable human being—who happens to want Squib’s momma in the worst way. When Hooke goes after his hidden witness with a grenade launcher, Squib finds himself airlifted from certain death by…a dragon?</div>
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The swamp can make strange bedfellows, and rather than be fried alive so the dragon can keep his secret, Squib strikes a deal with the scaly apex predator. He can act as his go-between (aka familiar)—fetch his vodka, keep him company, etc.—in exchange for protection from Hooke. Soon the three of them are careening headlong toward a combustible confrontation. There’s about to be a fiery reckoning, in which either dragons finally go extinct—or Vern’s glory days are back.</div>
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<b>Review - And Here Be Dragons!</b></h2>
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<div style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #0e101a; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span data-preserver-spaces="true" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">Growing up, I was a big fan of </span><em style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">Artemis Fowl</em><span data-preserver-spaces="true" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">. Even now, I still consider that this series one of the best fantasy series for kids, with great characters and humour. So, when I learnt about </span><em style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">Highfire</em><span data-preserver-spaces="true" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">, I was eager to read it. I couldn't imagine how Eoin Colfer's writing style would fit into an adult novel about a vodka-drinking dragon. One of the things I was most curious about was the fact that there </span><em style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">was </em><span data-preserver-spaces="true" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">a vodka-drinking dragon. I am used to having dragons in fantasy novels, but they never are the protagonists of the book, or at least treated in this way.</span></div>
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<div style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #0e101a; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span data-preserver-spaces="true" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">The summary of the book is quite extensive, so I don't need to get into details about the plot. Vern is the last dragon on Earth (or at least he thinks so) and he likes to spend his days watching cable and drinking vodka. His life in the swamp gets disrupted when Everett "Squib" Moreau learns of his existence. Vern decides to kill the teenager but he ends up employing him. The two of them get closer until their peaceful life in the swamp is threatened by Regence Hooke, a constable who has other plans.</span></div>
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<div style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #0e101a; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<em style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">Highfire </em><span data-preserver-spaces="true" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">is a book that contains a little bit of everything – action, fantasy, violence, folklore, history, gangsters, heart-warming moments, and even some romance. I somewhat enjoyed this mixture because there is always something happening. Of course, the fact that the main protagonist is a dragon plays a big role in enjoyment. The fight scenes are extravagant and worthy of a mythical creature. I mean, how can a scene about a dragon storming into a gangster hotel and burning everyone ever be boring? But somewhere along the story, the spark has gone.</span></div>
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<div style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #0e101a; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span data-preserver-spaces="true" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">Other than that, the main trope of the book is pretty over-used (see enemies to lovers, frenemies, etc.). I expected some kind of twist that would bring something new, but oh well... Vern and Squib are in similar but also vastly different situations. At first, they begin on the wrong foot. However, as they get to know each other, the prejudices disappear and they become close. By the end of the book, they no longer are a dragon and his familiar but a family. </span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirDWoV7HeQCbfae2TprOrciu9ZAOkenn6s73rC3SZ5QAID94bDQZw_RwnxPS5hQ0UU92_cDDw9KOlIfhafeiIMKPxNCNOTfm9eC8VhMHQ_yg5cXQhPHnlshTLAYoghjwCATs3v9UmizB_3/s1600/1024px-Bertuch-fabelwesen.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="776" data-original-width="1024" height="302" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirDWoV7HeQCbfae2TprOrciu9ZAOkenn6s73rC3SZ5QAID94bDQZw_RwnxPS5hQ0UU92_cDDw9KOlIfhafeiIMKPxNCNOTfm9eC8VhMHQ_yg5cXQhPHnlshTLAYoghjwCATs3v9UmizB_3/s400/1024px-Bertuch-fabelwesen.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: #f8f9fa; color: #202122; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 13.3px;">Friedrich Justin Bertuch, </span><i style="background-color: #f8f9fa; color: #202122; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 13.3px; text-align: start;">Bilderbuch für Kinder</i><span style="background-color: #f8f9fa; color: #202122; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 13.3px;">, 1790-1830 (Eigenbesitz), Fabelwesen.</span></td></tr>
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<div style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #0e101a; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span data-preserver-spaces="true" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">Vern is by far the best character of </span><em style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">Highfire</em><span data-preserver-spaces="true" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">. The chapters where we are reading Vern’s POV are the easiest to read and if I had a choice, I would want more of them. Vern believes that he is the last dragon, even though he is not sure about it. He prefers self-preservation, rather than risking getting spotted in his attempt to find the rest of his kin. In ancient times, he wasn’t the bulkiest or bravest of a dragon. Even so, this turned out to be an advantage of him as he manages to avoid the mob and survive for centuries. </span></div>
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<div style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #0e101a; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span data-preserver-spaces="true" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">Throughout the book, we read about his hate for humans and what they did to his species. So, instead of having to deal with them, he prefers to stay in his cabin deep in the swamp, watch cable, and drink as much as he can. There is only one guy he trusts, Waxman, and he is not even entirely human (more on him later). Vern has a complexity that I really enjoyed even though I would like to get more backstory. At this point, we only learn about Vern’s past from what he reveals to Squib. A thing that struck me as odd is that the friendship between Vern and Squib came relatively easily. I mean, humans have killed every dragon, apart from Vern. Yes, he argues that this was long ago and he thinks about it from time to time, but I feel like it could play a bigger role. </span></div>
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<div style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #0e101a; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span data-preserver-spaces="true" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">However, I would like to comment on a specific scene with Vern. When Waxman isn’t around anymore, Vern feels depressed. He is at a point where he feels that his life has no meaning. He is alone and once he is gone, his species will die with him. So, he decides to kill himself by taking a pill that Waxman has. Squib finds him and manages to save him and from this point on, they start bonding. I think that this is the best scene in the whole book. Vern shows a complexity that no other character possesses. At this moment, you can feel the loneliness of having to leave alone for so long, without being able to reveal himself. He not just a lazy dragon who enjoys his alcohol a little too much - something happened to him and he has fallen into this half-alive state.</span><br />
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<div style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #0e101a; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
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<div style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #0e101a; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span data-preserver-spaces="true" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">Squib is a somewhat interesting character. I like that he is a Kajun and I find it interesting that his talking reminds me of New Orleans. Squib is a teenager who has grown up without a dad and has suffered from a horrible step-dad. He has a really soft spot for his mother and tries to stay out of trouble for her sake. However, he has the bad luck to witness something he shouldn’t, thus finding himself in a dangerous position. No, I’m not talking about Vern. The fateful night, he witnesses Regence Hooke murder someone in cold blood and gets spotted by a dragon. Well, he manages to get in good terms with the dragon but I can’t say the same about Hooke. </span></div>
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<div style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #0e101a; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span data-preserver-spaces="true" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">I honestly don't have much more to say about Squib, as I found his character pretty standard. He is a good boy, even though he has to do some illegal things now and then. His friendship with Vern brings him a whole new world and the economic comfort to study and make his life easier. I feel like I should find him more compelling. Even so, I can't say nothing else rather than he's ok. 🤷♀️</span></div>
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<div style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #0e101a; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span data-preserver-spaces="true" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">Hooke is the villain of </span><em style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">Highfire</em><span data-preserver-spaces="true" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"> and he is the character that I couldn’t stand. He is so over the top that I can only characterize him as a cartoon villain. He is one of those ruthless guys with no conscience that will stop at nothing. Moreover, like all the super-villains, he won’t die even though a dragon is throwing fire on him. The only intriguing part about him is that he is the son of a clergyman. His father apparently was delusional and Hooke at some point killed him. A common theme is Hooke’s thinking is that maybe heaven rewards bad guys after all. But was this enough to make up for his unnatural evilness? Not really. </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9nWetG-aJK-5evpecuUzEXXuZ0ULkeYR4SkaPLiHcMLfgtpCeRITOaTWUlkLVs2LQuPB2ZIUY49QkItOywml6JvsaI3EJcuUsYhYpM8VlJ-5jCUgIU162b136c_WHaMOpZie1UHIH0mf1/s1600/divider.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="61" data-original-width="1600" height="24" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9nWetG-aJK-5evpecuUzEXXuZ0ULkeYR4SkaPLiHcMLfgtpCeRITOaTWUlkLVs2LQuPB2ZIUY49QkItOywml6JvsaI3EJcuUsYhYpM8VlJ-5jCUgIU162b136c_WHaMOpZie1UHIH0mf1/s640/divider.png" width="640" /></a></div>
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<div style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #0e101a; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span data-preserver-spaces="true" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">Let’s return to the summary of the book to talk about my main issue with </span><em style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">Highfire</em><span data-preserver-spaces="true" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">. As you can see, it is too wordy and the book is no different! I have to admit that it took me about two weeks to reach chapter 4 (which is just the 17% of the book) and once I got through this part I finished the book in 4-5 days. The reason why I struggled? We have too much backstory about Regence Hooke! In fact, I find that the whole book dedicates an almost illogical amount of pages on Hooke and his past. Almost half of the book is about the story's villain. If I’m going to read about someone’s past, let it be Vern’s. Hooke’s pattern of thought is very specific and I consistently found it very tiring to get through. Even towards the climax, I was almost inclined to skip the pages in Hooke’s POV. </span></div>
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<div style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #0e101a; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span data-preserver-spaces="true" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">Another thing that disappointed me in this novel is that it has so many missed opportunities. Waxman is an excellent example. This character is supposed to be a mogwai, dragon and human. How cool would it be to have some dragon AND mogwai action? Waxman in this story is the one that brings Vern what he needs and we are told that they share a true friendship for about half a century. However, somewhere in the first one-third of the book, Waxman informs Vern that he has to be buried to replenish his energy. This is also the incident that pushes Vern to employ Squib. Until this point, everything is great. The next time we see Waxman again is when Hooke unearths him. At first, Waxman seems formidable but Hooke somehow bullies him and then kills him (???). That's a total waste of a character that was setup to become so much more. Anyway. </span>🤷♀️ </div>
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<div style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #0e101a; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span data-preserver-spaces="true" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">The next missed opportunity is also related to Waxman. I’ve already mentioned the pill that can kill Vern. Waxman is supposed to have a bag with various trinkets that can deal with anything. </span><em style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">Anything.</em><span data-preserver-spaces="true" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"> If a writer mentions this bag multiple times, it’s only natural that I would expect it to be used, right? Turns out, I was wrong! In the final battle, Vern is injured and cannot produce fire. For this reason, I thought that he would use Waxman’s bag on Hooke. This would work perfectly as it would also serve as some kind of revenge for Waxman’s death. But no, Vern has a better idea – call the alligators to eat Hooke. The alligators that we had earlier seen try to provoke Vern about the territory. It's as if you have Chekov's gun in the story, but you never use it. </span></div>
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<div style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #0e101a; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span data-preserver-spaces="true" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">As you may have guessed, I am disappointed in this book. It could be so much more, but it fails time and time again. In my opinion, this novel needs serious re-working with an editor. They need to find a good balance on the POV distribution and the enrichment of the character. I really enjoy it when the characters turn to have more facets, just like Vern. As it turns out, Vern is only the exception. Now that it has been a few days since I’ve finished it, I can only recall how overwhelming Hooke’s presence is.</span><br />
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<span data-preserver-spaces="true" style="background: transparent; color: #0e101a; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">I wouldn’t call </span><em style="background: transparent; color: #0e101a; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span data-preserver-spaces="true" style="background: transparent; color: #0e101a; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">Highfire </span></em><span data-preserver-spaces="true" style="background: transparent; color: #0e101a; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">a masterpiece. There are a few good and fun parts. Apart from these though, there are bad parts that at some point had me wanting to quit reading.</span></div>
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Konnahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03650740689826904595noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1749963558058074095.post-67397267681705395182020-06-21T21:37:00.003+03:002020-06-21T23:39:14.422+03:00Discussion: Favourite Father Figures in Books (Happy Father's Day)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIu9kT9TqFI8kQGCs2UFHCeA6hpQ_w4Y3i8qiKKBxnJolnIdDIqOIE584FPcmlZm1U4eUDpxI0uScWhr1MwCJU1hdvmG6rSkTGIA_5xTdahU-WqU7wfiwe77cm3Y1sLuZcdgCxXFkbyqu4/s1600/fathers-books-fb.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="628" data-original-width="1200" height="334" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIu9kT9TqFI8kQGCs2UFHCeA6hpQ_w4Y3i8qiKKBxnJolnIdDIqOIE584FPcmlZm1U4eUDpxI0uScWhr1MwCJU1hdvmG6rSkTGIA_5xTdahU-WqU7wfiwe77cm3Y1sLuZcdgCxXFkbyqu4/s640/fathers-books-fb.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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Hello, everyone! <b>Happy father's day</b> 💖</div>
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As today is a special day, I have decided to push my <i>discussions </i>schedule back to write about fatherhood. As a daddy's girl, I have to admit that I have a soft spot for my dad. There are certain fatherly figures in literature that you will find in any list about this topic. However, I thought that I would shake things up and create a list that features <b>only non-biological fathers</b>. There is no need for another list that states that <i>Atticus Finch</i> is the best literary father - you already know that!</div>
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All these non-biological fathers are a proof that blood-relationships are not essential for the development of a strong bond. In fact, some of them go to great lengths to protect their children and provide for them. A nice father-kid relationship is heart-warming in any book. The following fathers have moved me with their tenderness and devotion.</div>
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And with this introduction, let's move on to the list!</div>
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1. Jean Valjean</h2>
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I have a very special relationship with <i style="font-weight: bold;">Les Misérables.</i> If I had to pick one book that I have associated with my childhood and my dad, this would be it. You see, my dad has a fascination with this novel, and when I was a kid he used to read it to me. At some time, I was even able to recite parts from the book. </div>
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So, when I decided to compile a list of non-biological father figures, Jean Valjean was the first and most obvious choice for me. Jean Valjean is a troubled character, who goes through a living hell. However, he is a man of conscience and always try to do justice. When he was hiding under the name of Madeleine, he gets acquainted with Fantine and even stands up for her when she gets arrested. When Fantine, ultimately gets sick, he promises to her that he will take care of her eight-year-old daughter, Cosette.</div>
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Jean Valjean is an overprotective father to Cosette and comes to love her dearly. When he learns about Marius, he gets furious and tries to stop her. However, he understands her feelings and he goes as far as to risk his life to save him. </div>
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2. Will Freeman</h2>
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This unlikely father figure comes from the novel <i><b>About a Boy</b></i> by Nick Hornby. Will Freeman is not what a father is supposed to be like: he is a bachelor, he has no need or will to work, he cares about pop culture, and he is often after women. One of Will's schemes to meet women is to attend a single parents' meet-up, for which he invents a two-year-old son. In this meet-up, he gets acquainted with Fiona, the mother of the twelve-year-old Marcus. </div>
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Marcus is a socially awkward boy and Will teaches him how to be trendy. The two of them form a bond that is both heart-warming and hilarious.</div>
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3. Sirius Black</h2>
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The godfather of <b style="font-style: italic;">Harry Potter </b>becomes a fatherly figure for the young wizard. Mind you, the relationship isn't always easy. In <i><b>Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban</b></i>, Harry, Hermione, and Ron confront Sirius and even try to kill him. However, by the end of the book, Harry and Sirius get closer, with Sirius even asking the young wizard to move in with him.However, later in <b><i>Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix</i></b>, Sirius is killed by Bellatrix Lestrange. Nevertheless, he leaves Harry as his heir.<br />
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I know that Harry Potter has been a hot topic lately, for all the wrong reasons. Due to this fact, I need to state that I'm separating the work from the author. Under no circumstance, I agree with J.K. Rowlings' statements. I understand all those who cannot see the Harry Potter series under the same light. In fact, I am also reluctant to revisit it, at least any time soon.<br />
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4. Abel Magwitch</h2>
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This character from <i><b>Great Expectations</b></i> is more of a benefactor, rather than a fatherly figure. Pip meets Abel when he is just a boy. Abel is a convict and tricks Pip into bringing him the tools he needs to escape, as well as some food. When he escapes, he flees to Australia where he becomes rich. Even though he is far from England, he hasn't forgotten about Pip and provides everything he need to become a gentleman. When Pip later discovers his secret benefactor, he gets disappointed. Nevertheless, Pip warms up to Abel when he learns more about his story. On his deathbed, Pip tells Abel that his daughter, Estella, is alive and that he has feelings for her. Abel dies at this moment with Pip holding his hand. </div>
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5. Hans Hubbermann</h2>
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If you are looking for a heart-warming and moving father-daughter relationship, you don't have to go any further than <i>The Book Thief</i>. Liesel's foster father supports her and tries to help her in any way he can. He brings her books and they both struggle together with reading and writing. He is a kind and loving father and one of my favourite in literature.</div>
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Honorable Mention: Ned Stark</h2>
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This is more speculation than anything else as in the books we have yet to learn whether Jon Snow is Ned's son or not. If Jon's origins are the same, Ned Stark deserves a spot on this list for carrying this secret for so many years. Since the show has revealed this information, I think that we are one step closer into getting this theory confirmed for the books. </div>
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This was my list! <b>Who is your favourite father figure in literature?</b></div>
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Konnahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03650740689826904595noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1749963558058074095.post-10377374110591781222020-06-19T19:25:00.000+03:002020-06-19T19:25:23.284+03:00Book Beginnings / Friday 56 - Love, Rosie, by Cecelia Ahern<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsN6e4Bz35aHXN3CR3nikLY8yHbBqfb5z9ugJt5HXA3fBNw0-qfuTHEyTBNwWnSU_Uk8LfEfWw5SpBd2aD00DcYngBg79O-6FKXimjIUr-QilLwfF2e-JckDdETDfYBmKUmeS9luPNaxcp/s1600/Book+Beginnings+on+Friday.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="460" data-original-width="718" height="256" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsN6e4Bz35aHXN3CR3nikLY8yHbBqfb5z9ugJt5HXA3fBNw0-qfuTHEyTBNwWnSU_Uk8LfEfWw5SpBd2aD00DcYngBg79O-6FKXimjIUr-QilLwfF2e-JckDdETDfYBmKUmeS9luPNaxcp/s400/Book+Beginnings+on+Friday.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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Hello, everyone! How was your week? I'm finally beginning to understand that it's summer and I can't wait for the time when I can go to the beach. Anyway, last Sunday, I did a little experiment on myself. To be more precise on my TBR list. I wrote a discussion article on <b><i><a href="https://thereadingarmchair.blogspot.com/2020/06/declutter-tbr-list.html" target="_blank">how to declutter your TBR list</a></i></b> and I had to try it out. The results were impressive, and it was also a great chance to discover books that I've been meaning to read. So, on today's bookish memes, we are going to take a look at one book I found deep on my TBR list. </div>
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<span style="text-align: justify;">First, we have </span><i style="text-align: justify;">Book Beginnings on Fridays,</i><span style="text-align: justify;"> hosted by </span><a href="https://www.rosecityreader.com/search/label/Book%20Beginnings" style="text-align: justify;" target="_blank">Rose City Reads</a><span style="text-align: justify;">. In this meme, we have to share the first sentence (or a bit more) from the book we are currently reading. The second meme is called </span><i style="text-align: justify;">Friday 56</i><span style="text-align: justify;"> and it is hosted by </span><a href="http://www.fredasvoice.com/" style="text-align: justify;" target="_blank">Freda's Voice</a><span style="text-align: justify;">. For this one, we have to share a small snippet from a book, taken from page 56 (or 56% on an e-reader).</span></div>
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So, this week we're looking at some snippets from <i style="font-weight: bold;">Love, Rosie</i> by Cecelia Ahern. According to Goodreads, I placed this book on my TBR list in 2015 and 5 years later, I've yet to read it. But I have a confession to make: I have watched the movie adaptation. I don't really mind spoilers, so it's not going to be a problem for me. Anyway, now that I'm reminded of it, maybe it's time to finally read it. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjunX3Uug7kwkJ7YAd8LFC-ir1TO0soN9wtvzidDXSjQ3VZk-_mR13sNXHs3v_7i_8WYmJqwYb3FSNMx1EabUf2m6rmMfNwNYCLsb3RExJ01dMeMmK-lz04wybob3Neo9oVvqoteRdBkoG1/s1600/love-rosie.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="400" data-original-width="264" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjunX3Uug7kwkJ7YAd8LFC-ir1TO0soN9wtvzidDXSjQ3VZk-_mR13sNXHs3v_7i_8WYmJqwYb3FSNMx1EabUf2m6rmMfNwNYCLsb3RExJ01dMeMmK-lz04wybob3Neo9oVvqoteRdBkoG1/s320/love-rosie.jpg" width="211" /></a>Book Beginnings</b></h2>
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<i>"To Alex</i></div>
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<i>You are invited to my 7th birthday party on Tuesday the 8th of April in my house"</i></div>
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This novel is supposed to be epistolary, so the story is told in notes, letters, texts, and emails. I'm curious to find out how this form of narrative will work in a modern setting. However, it sounds interesting. From the beginning, we learn that the protagonists are childhood friends, so it's definitely going to be a friends to lovers trope.</div>
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Friday 56</b></h2>
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<i>"Divorced_1: ...Does your kid look like your ex?</i></div>
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<i>Buttercup: Well thankfully she's not his so, no, she doesn't.</i></div>
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<i>LonelyLady: My goodness, did he know?</i></div>
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<i>Buttercup: Of course he did, I had my daughter years before I met him.</i></div>
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<i>Wildflower: Oh well that's a shame, thought we were onto something good there."</i></div>
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Ok, I'm lost! I arrived at 56% on my Kindle. It seems like I am in the middle of a chat room conversation. I don't know who is who, but my guess is that Buttercup is Rosie. Anyway, the snippet promises a lot of drama, which is always good in a read!</div>
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<b style="text-align: center;">Have you read <i>Love, Rosie</i>? What are some favourite quotes from the books you've been reading?</b></div>
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Konnahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03650740689826904595noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1749963558058074095.post-18033504913047912772020-06-17T22:04:00.001+03:002020-06-17T22:04:04.176+03:00VIXX: The Book Concept Kings (KpopXBooks #4)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Hello, everyone! We are back with another instalment of <b>KpopXBooks</b>. As a Kpop fan, I'm more than thrilled every week that I decide to add a new instalment to this series. The research is always interesting and I always discover some songs that I really like.<br />
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The <b>KpopXBooks </b>series consists of posts that are dedicated to Kpop music videos and songs that have some sort of bookish concept. The first instalment of the series was <i style="font-weight: bold;"><a href="https://thereadingarmchair.blogspot.com/2020/04/book-recommendations-kpop-mvs.html" target="_blank">Book Recommendations from Kpop MVs</a></i>, while the next ones featured specific artists. We have seen <i style="font-weight: bold;"><a href="https://thereadingarmchair.blogspot.com/2020/05/fairytales-IU.html" target="_blank">The Fairy Tales of IU</a></i> and <i style="font-weight: bold;"><a href="https://thereadingarmchair.blogspot.com/2020/06/shinee-bookish-concepts.html" target="_blank">The Bookish Concepts of SHINee</a></i>.<br />
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This week, we are continuing our single artist/group focus and we will discuss a group with undoubtedly some of the most impressive concepts. We are talking about VIXX, a group that is often characterized as <i>The Concept Kings</i>. VIXX debuted in 2012 and they made a name for themselves when they adopted some darker concepts. Some of the MVs we are going to discuss today have a similar vibe.<br />
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So, with further ado, let's begin!<br />
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Shangri-La</h4>
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I begin this list with probably my favourite song and music video of VIXX. I actually had a really hard time picking out a screenshot, since every frame is so beautiful.</div>
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<b>Shangri-La</b> is a fictional place that appears in the novel <i><b>Lost Horizon</b></i>, by James Hilton. The author has revealed that for the creation of this place, he used Tibetan material that he found in the British Museum. In the book, Shangri-La is described as a utopia. It is an enclosed place in the Himalaya, where there is a lamasery. The people there live for hundreds of years and they don't seem to age that much. In recent years, Shangri-La is used as a synonym to a hidden paradise, where people live an enlightened and happy life. </div>
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However, even before <b style="font-style: italic;">Lost Horizon</b>, there has been a reference to such a place. The first one comes from the fable <i><b>The Peach Blossom Spring</b> </i>by Tao Yuanming. According to this story, a fisherman stumbles upon a grove filled with peach trees in full bloom. There, people live happily, away from the troubles of the world. When the fisherman returns to his home, he reveals this place to the others, but no-one is able to ever find it again. Even though there is not a connection between the story of this tale and that of the music video, we clearly can see a silver peach. Moreover, we get the lyrics <i>"Even peaches/ Under the fluttering petals".</i></div>
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Furthermore, there is <b>Shambhala</b>, which according to Tibetan Buddhism, is a realm of harmony between man and nature. There is a high chance that Hilton was influenced by Shambhala since the location for Shangri-La can be found in the Shambhala Sutra.</div>
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Scentist</h4>
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So, I've spent a really long time thinking that this song was titled <i>Scientist</i>, which isn't. Its title is <i><b>SCENTIST</b></i> and it makes total sense when you learn that it's based on a book. Of course, I'm talking about <i><b>The Perfume: The Story of a Murderer</b></i>. As you can clearly see in the image, the members of the group are making perfumes. The lyrics of the song (as expected) talk about scents, flowers, losing control, and madness taking over.<br />
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I have to admit that I was impressed that they chose a book like this one as their concept. It is an excellent book that I would recommend you, but it's not one that I would ever think of becoming a song/music video!<br />
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Hyde</h4>
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This is probably the most VIXX song on the list! It's one of the dark concepts that we've got to love them. As the title suggests, the inspiration for this song is the <b style="font-style: italic;">Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde</b>, by Robert Louis Stevenson. In fact, the whole album is titled <i><b>Hyde</b></i>. Both in the music video and the lyrics, we see the members of the group be torn between their two shelves. They realize that inside them lives a mad person and we see them try to hurt the woman they love. However, they snap out of it and try to apologize. The lyrics also leave no room for doubt:</div>
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<i>Don’t leave me, please... (No, leave me alone!)</i></div>
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<i>‘Cause I love you, dear... (No, I hate you one!)</i></div>
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<i>I am both Jekyll and Hyde, don't run away from me.</i></div>
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<i>I’m not so bad. I love you…</i></div>
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<i>Don’t do such frightened eyes.</i></div>
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<i>Please, believe me – there is a different person that is not me inside of me,</i></div>
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<i>There is a different me that is not me inside of me.</i></div>
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<i>Just can’t control</i></div>
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Dynamite</h4>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZgSaMCLybjt3LezNiG8kPfRK165XIYPEsAZwuR58HY2rOSbnR1iyAxkZHy0ZLlxNnJzj6-3ksmoxbtNVrz2H53wRH8n8X0wTyoAFl-1v4FG0vMKwUw-pAfnRpT4NJ6tB-zz4pwzPt13ET/s1600/vixx-dynamite.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZgSaMCLybjt3LezNiG8kPfRK165XIYPEsAZwuR58HY2rOSbnR1iyAxkZHy0ZLlxNnJzj6-3ksmoxbtNVrz2H53wRH8n8X0wTyoAFl-1v4FG0vMKwUw-pAfnRpT4NJ6tB-zz4pwzPt13ET/s640/vixx-dynamite.jpeg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<i>Dynamite</i> is a part of a series of songs that are inspired by ancient Greek gods. As a Greek, I was very happy when I discovered them. The first song of the series is <i><b>Dynamite</b></i>, the song inspired by the daemon of jealousy and rivalry, <b style="font-style: italic;">Zelus </b>or<b style="font-style: italic;"> Zelos</b>.</div>
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Fun fact: the word "zeal" originates from the name of this deamon.</div>
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The only imagery that I've found on the MV that can be interpreted as jealousy is the one you can see on this image. The mannequins that encircle the woman are the competition for her heart. The lyrics of the song, on the other hand, state clearly that this is a song about jealousy.</div>
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<i>All mine, her mind</i></div>
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<i>Maybe I’m jealous</i></div>
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<i>what are you looking at? let me go! don't tell me to relax</i></div>
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<i>what's the use of it?</i></div>
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<i>it's already obvious, I see the end</i></div>
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<i><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/4bnIb1JJHdA" width="560"></iframe></i><br />
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<h4>
Fantasy</h4>
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<i><b>Fantasy</b></i> is the next song in the ancient Greek Gods series. This song is inspired by <b><i>Hades</i></b>, the god of the underworld. As it's expected, this is a song where the members of VIXX lament a lost love. The lyrics don't have a clear reference to Hades, but the music video does. From the above picture, you see that they are in a boat. According to the ancient Greek myth, when people died has to cross the river Acheron on a boat to reach the realm of the underworld. However, this is not the only river that the underworld has. In fact, there are 5 of them:</div>
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<ol>
<li>Acheron - the river of sorrow and woe</li>
<li>Cocytus - the river of lamentation</li>
<li>Phlegethon - the river of fire</li>
<li>Lethe - the river of oblivion</li>
<li>Styx - the river of hate</li>
</ol>
Even though there is no indication that they used this myth, the fact that they are running in misty woods and the lyric <i>"Exhausted, I’ve lost my way"</i>, remind me of the myth of <i><b>Orpheus and Eurydice</b>.</i><br />
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According to this myth, Orpheus and Eurydice are happily married. One day, Eurydice is dancing in the woods with the nymphs, when she is bitten by a snake and dies on the spot. Orpheus immediately decides to go to the underworld and bring Eurydice back. He plays his lyre and attracts Hades. The god tells Orpheus that Eurydice will return to the overworld with him on one condition: Orpheus should not look at her before they reach the light. If he does he will lose her forever. Everything goes smoothly, but a few steps away from the exit. Orpheus turns to look at Eurydice and she immediately returns back to Hades. Orpheus tried to return to the underworld, but no human can enter the realm twice while alive. </div>
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The Closer</h4>
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VIXX's ancient Greek gods series closes with the song <i><b>The Closer</b>. </i>This song is inspired by <i><b>Kratos</b></i>, the daemon of strength, might, sovereign, rule, and authority. Kratos is, in fact, the brother of Zelos. The video doesn't have clear imagery that connects it to this daemon, even though we could say that the members of VIXX are dressed in some kind of military outfits. The lyrics of the song describe the feeling of possessive that comes with wanting someone.</div>
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<i>The thing about love, I’ll close your doubt</i></div>
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<i>The thing about love, I’ll give you something you’ve never experienced</i></div>
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<i>When the storming night is gone</i></div>
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<i>It will be disappeared with me</i></div>
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<i>Let me control you</i></div>
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Fun fact: In modern Greek, this word means nation. </div>
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<iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/Q2Rsmi7jhg8" width="560"></iframe></div>
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Beautiful Liar</h4>
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<i><b>Beautiful Liar</b></i> is a song by the sub-unit VIXX LR, taken from the album <i>Hyde</i>. Like the title song, it is inspired by <b style="font-style: italic;">Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde</b>, by Robert Louis Stevenson. For this song, Leo and Ravi play the two facets of a personality. This is another sad song, where the lyrics are about a guy hiding himself. By this, he is trying to protect his lover. </div>
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<h4 style="text-align: center;">
Jekyll</h4>
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<i><b>Jekyll</b> </i>is the title of the repackaged version of the <i><b>Hyde</b> </i>album. For this album, VIXX has added the intro song <i><b>Jekyll</b></i>. In the lyrics, they repeat again and again "I'm still here forgive me", which is fitting with the character of Doctor Jekyll.<br />
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<b>This was it for today! Which bookish concept was your favourite?</b></div>
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<b>Which is your favourite VIXX song?</b></div>
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<b>Stay tuned for more <i><a href="https://thereadingarmchair.blogspot.com/search/label/kpop" target="_blank">KpopXBook</a></i> lists!</b><br />
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Konnahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03650740689826904595noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1749963558058074095.post-75145579926721339642020-06-14T21:51:00.001+03:002021-09-23T20:55:18.991+03:00Discussion: How to Declutter your TBR list 📚<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Hello, everyone! We are back once again with a new discussion topic. Up until now, I've focused more on topics that had to do with <a href="https://thereadingarmchair.blogspot.com/2020/05/favourite-book-genre.html" target="_blank">our favourite genres</a> and the <a href="https://thereadingarmchair.blogspot.com/2020/05/discussion-how-do-you-diversify-your.html" target="_blank">diversification of our reading</a>. In the last discussion post, I shifted to a more practical matter, that of <a href="https://thereadingarmchair.blogspot.com/2020/05/choose-next-read.html" target="_blank">choosing our next reads</a>. Today, I'll continue with another everyday problem that all the bookworms face: the never-ending TBR list. You know exactly what I'm talking about!<br />
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The issue of getting books, only to have them on the shelf without reading them, has been around for (probably) as long as there are bookworms. However, the digital format and all the recommendation websites have contributed to this in a whole new level. You see, adding a book to your Goodreads TBR list, doesn't mean that you spend any money on it and it doesn't occupy any physical space. The same happens with those e-books that you found on Amazon for free and are now sitting on your Kindle for years. So, it is finally the time to face the issue!
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How to Declutter your TBR List</b></h2>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggJPeG9s00eAI0KWOfFkQxQR5sj2Lf-oh4mZbTSJD4nuteEgz6bkN6TikPyzpCXnlomOiu6Uhyphenhyphen8yHJlKXWpVNU-JoqtvVgyNzX0o-u2ZNUCQi1uMlQ2TzW4TCemKQGKSidDPmS8EnyZ6ax/s1600/tbr+example.png" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="548" data-original-width="626" height="350" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggJPeG9s00eAI0KWOfFkQxQR5sj2Lf-oh4mZbTSJD4nuteEgz6bkN6TikPyzpCXnlomOiu6Uhyphenhyphen8yHJlKXWpVNU-JoqtvVgyNzX0o-u2ZNUCQi1uMlQ2TzW4TCemKQGKSidDPmS8EnyZ6ax/s400/tbr+example.png" width="400" /></a>For the sake of this post, I will take my Goodreads TBR list as an example. Right now, this list contains 322 books, which is (let's face it) a reasonable number. However, the first books I've added to this list date back in 2011 when I registered to Goodreads. As you may realize, there are so many books on this list that I wanted to read for some reason but never got to it. In this picture, you see 7 books from my TBR list that I'm probably going to remove. Taking a look at all 322 books, I've determined some criteria to help me decrease the number of my TBR list. Let's see how it will work for me so that you can apply it as well. </div>
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So, let's see the criteria that we'll be working with. I have to remove from my TBR list all:</div>
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<li><b>Classics</b> that I've added to my list because I <i>had </i>to read them, they are among the celebrated books in the world. Yet, I never seem to be in a mood to actually read them. <i>A Little Princess</i> is an example of a book from my Goodreads list. Another example of mine is <i>Little Dorrit</i> that I actually own a physical copy of.</li>
<li><b>#2, #3, #....... books in a series</b>. Of course, this depends on book #1. If I can't even remember the plot of the first book, then there is no point in keeping all the sequels on my TBR list.</li>
<li><b>Books that were adapted to movies</b>, or books that came after the movie. Yes, I've enjoyed the movie but will I ever read the book? I highly doubt this, since it never is one of my priorities. I don't care about knowing the story from the movie, spoilers never destroy the enjoyment I get from a good story. However, when picking my next read it will never pop up in my head. 🤷♀️</li>
<li><b>Non-fiction books that would be cool to read</b> but never actually will. To these books defence, I have to mention the case of non-fiction science books that I've recently built a passion for. <i>A brief history of time</i> was sitting on my TBR list for years and eventually, I did read it (and loved it). Nevertheless, this is the exception. Just like the classics, I never seem to be in the mood for any of the non-fiction books in the picture. And all of you that follow this blog, you know my love for Jane Austen!</li>
<li><b>Books that I've added back in 2013, 2014, 2015</b>,...., because they were extremely popular at the time. A general rule is that if you haven't read it by the time that it's hype has faded, there is a high chance that you never will. I'm sorry to say this, but they have to go.</li>
<li><b>Books I've outgrown</b>. No, I don't mean to remove any children's book if you're an adult. You can always read and appreciate a children's book, no matter your age! I'm talking about books in specific genres that you liked for a period but have since moved on. For example, there was a time when I was reading a lot of historical romance, like Amanda Grange (I still love her books though) and Lisa Kleypas. But, some years ago I worked for a pen name business that released books in the genre and I have to do plot writing, beta reading, editing, blurb writing, and all that stuff. I guess I was so fed up that now I'm very reluctant to pick a book of this particular genre. If you want to learn more about my experience in this job, let me know in the comments and I can write a post on it.</li>
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These rules seem more than enough to me. Let's take a moment to declutter the TBR and I'll be back with the final number.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhF8cswtJIU5h-CdCH-OI6Ukb6mkCcQRMVkP2jjUlAZqVHJPfgw4mp-bbvkVwQM8MyQyJJi7_8U56atqk5HEzKiK06_m_imjGF5jxPkXbmSkE4AQvIf8jXL8SQJ8dbAp3G4KeDRYP6S3YW8/s1600/maxresdefault.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="1280" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhF8cswtJIU5h-CdCH-OI6Ukb6mkCcQRMVkP2jjUlAZqVHJPfgw4mp-bbvkVwQM8MyQyJJi7_8U56atqk5HEzKiK06_m_imjGF5jxPkXbmSkE4AQvIf8jXL8SQJ8dbAp3G4KeDRYP6S3YW8/s320/maxresdefault.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Ok, I'm done! After this process, <b>my TBR counts just 96 books</b>. In all honesty, it feels like I'm starting afresh! I only hope that I won't end up filling it up again...</div>
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<b>
How to Declutter your Physical Books</b></h3>
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Well, Goodreads decluttering was relatively easy - all I had to do was click an X button. But what about all the books on my shelves that remain unread for years? Well, the process is exactly the same. You can use the same criteria as for the online decluttering. The big difference is that now you will end up with a bunch of books that you don't want, and take up much space. In this case, you need to figure out where you want to donate or exchange them. They will certainly bring joy to someone else!</div>
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<b>
Extra tips</b></h3>
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In my case, I tried to be relentless. For some books on my TBR list, I still had second thoughts. But I know that some of them <i>are in my Kindle</i> <i>for years</i>! Why wouldn't I read them? For these books (because I'm sure you'll have some too) try to be firm in your decision. And if you ever read it, you can add it straight to your currently reading list.</div>
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The next thing, I would recommend is to make a habit of decluttering your TBR list once a year. At this moment, I might have a list of 96 books but this number can easily increase, especially since most of my currently reading books don't come from my TBR list. And if it's only a year, the process will be much, much quicker.</div>
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This was it for the day! <b>Have you decluttered your TBR list? What criteria will you use to help you remove books from your list?</b></div>
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<b>Read more <a href="https://thereadingarmchair.blogspot.com/search/label/discussion" target="_blank">discussion posts here</a>.</b></div>
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Konnahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03650740689826904595noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1749963558058074095.post-87036472970422752122020-06-13T19:47:00.002+03:002020-06-13T19:47:58.074+03:00Book Beginnings / Friday 56 - Slade House by David Mitchell<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Hello, everyone! How have you been? I'm busy as ever, but there was no chance I would miss another week of blogging. The previous week, I didn't have the chance to post anything. This one, at least I managed to post another<b> <a href="https://thereadingarmchair.blogspot.com/2020/06/shinee-bookish-concepts.html" target="_blank">KpopXBooks instalment</a></b>, this time about the music of SHINee. But with work and the finals for the journalism seminar I was attending I thought I'd lose the Friday memes. Even though I'm a little late, I decided to do them even on a Saturday.<br />
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<span style="text-align: justify;">First, we have </span><i style="text-align: justify;">Book Beginnings on Fridays,</i><span style="text-align: justify;"> hosted by </span><a href="https://www.rosecityreader.com/search/label/Book%20Beginnings" style="text-align: justify;" target="_blank">Rose City Reads</a><span style="text-align: justify;">. In this meme, we have to share the first sentence (or a bit more) from the book we are currently reading. The second meme is called </span><i style="text-align: justify;">Friday 56</i><span style="text-align: justify;"> and it is hosted by </span><a href="http://www.fredasvoice.com/" style="text-align: justify;" target="_blank">Freda's Voice</a><span style="text-align: justify;">. For this one, we have to share a small snippet from a book, taken from page 56 (or 56% on an e-reader).</span><br />
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<span style="text-align: justify;">This week, I'm featuring a book by my favourite author, David Mitchell. I've just realized that the release of his upcoming novel is just one month away and I can hardly wait! For the bookish memes, I've chosen <i><b>Slade House</b></i>, which is a short horror novel that consists of five interconnected "short stories". You can read in more detail about it <b><a href="https://thereadingarmchair.blogspot.com/2015/12/review-slade-house-by-david-mitchell.html" target="_blank">on my review</a></b>. </span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUK5WKKfA2dLoXP7aqfiO310FbQfVzFFmW6XyUBDQIbuvhO7EnLhOyRUawa0ue_bwU5U9wEU6VcN0Zz4SEW-_R0RM_vZUdYHd0BmIYRz9AZ5vu5pvzGav2HfyXF_WRd63dWux1JhQPKraf/s1600/51GpWJZU3RL._SX400_BO1%252C204%252C203%252C200_.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="402" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUK5WKKfA2dLoXP7aqfiO310FbQfVzFFmW6XyUBDQIbuvhO7EnLhOyRUawa0ue_bwU5U9wEU6VcN0Zz4SEW-_R0RM_vZUdYHd0BmIYRz9AZ5vu5pvzGav2HfyXF_WRd63dWux1JhQPKraf/s320/51GpWJZU3RL._SX400_BO1%252C204%252C203%252C200_.jpg" width="257" /></a><span style="text-align: justify;"><i><div>
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<span style="text-align: justify;">Book Beginnings</span></b></h2>
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"Whatever Mum's saying's drowned out by the grimy roar if the bus pulling away, revealing a pub called The Fox and Hounds. The sign shows three beagles cornering a fox. They're about to pounce and rip it apart."</i></span></div>
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<span style="text-align: justify;">Although I've read this book more than once, I've never realized how grim the imagery at the very beginning really is. Now that I've read it, without continuing to the rest of the page, I believe that it unconsciously sets the right tone for a horror(ish) novel. Of course, we don't learn anything about Nathan and his mother.</span></div>
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<span style="text-align: justify;">Friday 56</span></b></h2>
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<span style="text-align: justify;"><i>"Who gives a shit honestly? I turn off the radio, get out and lock my car. Same space as seven days ago, smack bang outside The Fox and Hounds. What a god-awful day."</i></span></div>
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<span style="text-align: justify;">So, this snippet from page 56 is from the second short story that takes place 9 years after the first story. The protagonist is different and you can easily understand that by the writing style. Let me fangirl a little and just admire the versatility of David Mitchell's writing. He's done it many times before, but it never ceases to amaze me. This inspector arrives at the same pub, since it is close to the <i>Slade House.</i></span></div>
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<span style="text-align: justify;"><b style="text-align: center;">Have you read <i>Slade House</i>? What are some favourite quotes from the books you've been reading?</b></span></div>
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Konnahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03650740689826904595noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1749963558058074095.post-77688652010841001872020-06-09T23:17:00.000+03:002020-06-09T23:18:59.907+03:00The Bookish Concepts of SHINee (KpopXBooks #3)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUV9sgjB9JwPxyUTbw6WzaiJNgbP3Lgq-QA6taoCRH7NXbukOKTZnVmsYnm1n1h2DkJAR1e6jRHHK4KYl_IZij11currgOM5JBLzmJdipV-RD6qfKzY8YygZ8m7yYGnB6SlA5_cJda2x-M/s1600/shinne-1200.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="630" data-original-width="1200" height="336" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUV9sgjB9JwPxyUTbw6WzaiJNgbP3Lgq-QA6taoCRH7NXbukOKTZnVmsYnm1n1h2DkJAR1e6jRHHK4KYl_IZij11currgOM5JBLzmJdipV-RD6qfKzY8YygZ8m7yYGnB6SlA5_cJda2x-M/s640/shinne-1200.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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Hello, everyone! This is another instalment of the <b>KpopXBooks </b>series and... <i>SHINee's Back </i>(Shawols out there are going to love this 💖💎).<br />
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The <b>KpopXBooks </b>series consists of posts that are dedicated to Kpop music videos and songs that have some sort of bookish concept. So far, we've seen <i style="font-weight: bold;"><a href="https://thereadingarmchair.blogspot.com/2020/04/book-recommendations-kpop-mvs.html" target="_blank">Book Recommendations from Kpop MVs</a></i>,<b> </b>as well as a closer look at <i style="font-weight: bold;"><a href="https://thereadingarmchair.blogspot.com/2020/05/fairytales-IU.html" target="_blank">The Fairy Tales of IU</a></i>.<b> </b><br />
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Today, I am more than happy as we are exploring the music of SHINee! They recently had their 12th anniversary as a group and as a fan, it was very emotional. SHINee is a group with unique sounds and concepts. With every comeback, they bring something new to Kpop. A few years ago, they went through a tragedy with the passing of their leader, Jonghyun. The rest of the group managed to stay strong and keep it together.<br />
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In this blog post, we are going to explore the MVs of SHINee that have a bookish concept. Moreover, I went through all of their back catalog and spotted a couple of songs that have been definitely inspired by books.<br />
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So, with further ado, let's begin!<br />
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<h4 style="text-align: center;">
Dream Girl</h4>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixhR4gT-6jgnSdqM1ygbdUBwNMJ61e9BMhEP-jqCd4wOZKE0nb2KN05tPDuiTVZWy5j1KRYP3qSQ2M62g4m7BEBP5gcCsMssgqSfVb0xfzj-2Sy9oHnNQJDaH-4VOLzskMxZxV9BHLlMa4/s1600/Dream-girl-shinee.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixhR4gT-6jgnSdqM1ygbdUBwNMJ61e9BMhEP-jqCd4wOZKE0nb2KN05tPDuiTVZWy5j1KRYP3qSQ2M62g4m7BEBP5gcCsMssgqSfVb0xfzj-2Sy9oHnNQJDaH-4VOLzskMxZxV9BHLlMa4/s640/Dream-girl-shinee.jpeg" width="640" /></a></div>
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A bookish concept that is very common in Kpop music videos is <i style="font-weight: bold;">Alice's Adventures in Wonderland </i>(one of the future instalments of this series is going to be about that)<i>. </i>So, I wasn't surprised to find that <i><b>Dream Girl</b> </i>had elements that indicated that this book inspired the MV. </div>
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No, the members of SHINee aren't dressed as Mad Hatters and Red Queens. This MV focuses more on the scene where Alice becomes small and large and small again. In <i>Dream Girl</i>, this scene is reflected in dimension-bending sets and shots that make one member seem larger than the other. It's fun and rather whimsical! I wouldn't expect anything else!</div>
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<iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/vhxjEXDAy6s" width="560"></iframe></div>
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<h4 style="text-align: center;">
Why So Serious?</h4>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAm5rV7jHvb-aPX3iEVRmOUfetzfEbTAD8sojTrExikKfbQ0GA3kZDplqYCGiB2dPK_d1OOxTk3FKsErjoGuKw5rcNH_P-WJ0fH9f4J_fEJTk_zW1f26wuWowHRpvsCgaTtWUTFX3S-Wd-/s1600/why-so-serious-joker.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAm5rV7jHvb-aPX3iEVRmOUfetzfEbTAD8sojTrExikKfbQ0GA3kZDplqYCGiB2dPK_d1OOxTk3FKsErjoGuKw5rcNH_P-WJ0fH9f4J_fEJTk_zW1f26wuWowHRpvsCgaTtWUTFX3S-Wd-/s640/why-so-serious-joker.jpeg" width="640" /></a></div>
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Ok, I will admit it - including <i><b>Why So Serious?</b></i> in this list was rather a stress. However, I do believe that there must be a connection to Joker, the Batman villain. The music video's story is about a zombie who falls in love with a human. Maybe it has a <i><b>Warm Bodies</b></i> influence? </div>
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Anyway, <i>Why so serious</i> is a super famous quote from the movie <i>The Dark Knight</i>. Even though Joker clearly says it there, I couldn't find any reference to any comic book. The closest lines come from <i><b>The Killing Joke</b></i>, where Joker says <i>"Why don't you laugh" </i>and <i>"Why can't you see the funny side"</i>. </div>
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Another thing the makes me believe that there is a connection between this MV and Joker is the subtitle of this album, which is <i><b>The Misconception of Me</b></i>. I find that this subtitle is perfect for Joker.<br />
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Plus, there is a reference of <i>Romeo and Juliet</i> in the lyrics.</div>
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<iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/hgeAmF7bgoE" width="560"></iframe></div>
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Sherlock (Clue + Note)</h4>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_E78v0gzN7O2_Z3q1K59wWtoLsjPa2VfqOAECkhZPef5iXGP6dZQOsbAtGfM5IFK-qbTK5RvlwV8GpGpICwLYVpV9mjQj63glyD-nzU0XrxCxCP-lW-DqQT6km1gWouUXH2uPFRQlnEgX/s1600/Sherlock-shinee.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="1280" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_E78v0gzN7O2_Z3q1K59wWtoLsjPa2VfqOAECkhZPef5iXGP6dZQOsbAtGfM5IFK-qbTK5RvlwV8GpGpICwLYVpV9mjQj63glyD-nzU0XrxCxCP-lW-DqQT6km1gWouUXH2uPFRQlnEgX/s640/Sherlock-shinee.jpeg" width="640" /></a></div>
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The title of this song is pretty explanatory - it is based on <i><b>Sherlock Holmes</b></i>. In the music video, the members are in the hunt of an elusive woman. Furthermore, all the video is sprinkled with <i>Sherlock</i> references. A great example is the above picture, where we can see the violin and even Toby. The lyrics of the song don't refer to <i>Sherlock</i> directly, even though they mention investigations, suspects, etc.</div>
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Fun fact: <i>Sherlock </i>is one of the most expensive MVs ever made.</div>
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<iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/8kyG5tTZ1iE" width="560"></iframe></div>
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<h4 style="text-align: center;">
Good Evening</h4>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNnE4pXyyGHJDnZuDy0HIh1EQCeAJGovvwWvCZvbdickeiGS4DvD-AqKcHbpRGUeoj3LrQhDWgJoro-XBN4hLvZT0DwexCf8zSXo8Z4gsfP1CL-hrC6Zw9BKwL4I-e-uMPFE6SUFws9nHC/s1600/good-evening-shinee.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNnE4pXyyGHJDnZuDy0HIh1EQCeAJGovvwWvCZvbdickeiGS4DvD-AqKcHbpRGUeoj3LrQhDWgJoro-XBN4hLvZT0DwexCf8zSXo8Z4gsfP1CL-hrC6Zw9BKwL4I-e-uMPFE6SUFws9nHC/s640/good-evening-shinee.jpeg" width="640" /></a></div>
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The MV for <i><b>Good Evening</b></i>, as well as the following song, are both based on <i><b>The Little Prince</b>.</i> The members of SHINee decided to do that to honor Jonghyun since this was his favourite book. <i><b>Good Evening</b></i> is a chill song. In the MV, we get the scene shown above where Onew has a moment with this fox. Of course, the fox is an important character in <i><b>The Little Prince</b>.</i></div>
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<iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/7dGwk5-QMpc" width="560"></iframe></div>
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<h3 style="text-align: center;">
I Want You</h3>
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<i><b>I Want You</b> </i>comes from the second part of a trilogy of albums that SHINee released, after <i><b>Good Evening</b></i>. For this music video, they got inspired by <i>The Little Prince</i>. At the very beginning of the video, we see the fox once again, but this time all the members are chasing it in the woods. This video also features the interplanetary travel that we all know that <i><b>The Little Prince</b> </i>did. </div>
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<iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/IDpWeURKkbI" width="560"></iframe></div>
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Romeo + Juliette</h4>
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<iframe allow="encrypted-media" allowtransparency="true" frameborder="0" height="380" src="https://open.spotify.com/embed/track/5lycbSxZhxKFVWkK8fm0FT" width="300"></iframe></div>
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It comes as no surprise that there is a song titled <i><b>Romeo + Juliette</b></i>. This is probably the most famous tragic love story. Therefore, if you want to make a sad love song, then this is the concept to try. As expected, the lyrics are super sad, filled with regret and lingering feelings. </div>
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Juliette</h4>
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<iframe allow="encrypted-media" allowtransparency="true" frameborder="0" height="380" src="https://open.spotify.com/embed/track/6RgCQuMSvdZJW2Irj44QHK" width="300"></iframe></div>
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<i><b>Juliette</b></i> is included in the same mini album as <i><b>Romeo + Juliette</b>.</i> The album itself is titled <i><b>Romeo</b></i>. Even though the latter is a sad love song, <i><b>Juliette</b> </i>is upbeat and it expresses the feelings of love and admiration. In this song, we get some direct references to <i><b>Romeo and Juliet</b></i>. In more detail, the first verse is the following:</div>
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<i>Song for my Juliette!</i></div>
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<i>The moonlight, as if it’ll spill, is definitely dark</i></div>
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<i>Including the almost exploding torchlight</i></div>
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<i>I need to learn how to shine like she does</i></div>
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<i>If I look at her, I’ll be blinded</i></div>
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Quasimodo</h4>
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<iframe allow="encrypted-media" allowtransparency="true" frameborder="0" height="380" src="https://open.spotify.com/embed/track/6VvKWfhsRNdioqyt9HoPzk" width="300"></iframe></div>
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It is so rare to get a pop song that is inspired so openly by <i><b>The Hunchback of Notre-Dame</b></i> by Victor Hugo. <i><b>Quasimodo</b></i> is, of course, named after the well-known character from this novel. Like the character, the lyrics of this song are about a man who is passionately in love, even though he cannot express his feelings. It's a beautiful song from the <i><b>Lucifer</b> </i>album. </div>
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Shine (Medusa I)</h4>
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<iframe allow="encrypted-media" allowtransparency="true" frameborder="0" height="380" src="https://open.spotify.com/embed/track/0vGE9EqATO9Vs7mxEhQY8x" width="300"></iframe></div>
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<i><b>Shine (Medusa I)</b></i> comes from the <i><b>Why So Serious? - The Misconception of Me</b> </i>album. It is an album that deals with darker themes, compared to other albums. The lyrics of <i><b>Shine (Medusa I)</b></i> talk about someone who is in the dark and finds someone that shines for him. The reason why I have included this song on the list is because of the ancient Greek myth of Medusa. However, there is not a clear connection between the myth and the lyrics. I can only say that Medusa is herself a character that stays away from the light.</div>
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Dangerous (Medusa II)</h4>
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<iframe allow="encrypted-media" allowtransparency="true" frameborder="0" height="380" src="https://open.spotify.com/embed/track/0UNZLoq6KyOG2gmObbR8ob" width="300"></iframe></div>
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<i><b>Dangerous (Medusa II)</b></i> is from the same album as the previous song. However, in this song I have found lyrics that refer clearly to the myth of Medusa. According to the myth, everyone who saw the face of Medusa turned into stone - so <i>danger, danger, danger</i>. The lyrics are the following:</div>
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<i>They say the moment our eyes meet is the end,</i></div>
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<i>To them you’re nothing but</i></div>
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<i>Trouble, the rumors are double, they’re running wild</i></div>
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<i>Danger, danger, danger</i></div>
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<i>You’re someone that can’t be approached </i></div>
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<b>This was it for today! Which bookish concept was your favourite?</b></div>
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<b>Which is your favourite SHINee song?</b></div>
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<b>Stay tuned for more <i><a href="https://thereadingarmchair.blogspot.com/search/label/kpop" target="_blank">KpopXBook</a></i> lists!</b></div>
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Konnahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03650740689826904595noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1749963558058074095.post-77132799811608519132020-05-31T22:03:00.000+03:002020-05-31T23:12:31.924+03:00Discussion: How to Choose Your Next Read<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Hello, everyone! It's another Sunday and we're back for another one of our <a href="https://thereadingarmchair.blogspot.com/search/label/discussion" target="_blank">bookish discussions</a>. In the previous posts, we have talked about our favourite genres, as well as finding ways to diversify our reading. Today, we will take a closer look at a common problem among bookworms - deciding what to read next.<br />
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With so many choices, this decision is not an easy one. If I wanted to limit my options, I could easily take a look at my TBR list. On Goodreads, this list contains about 300 books, plus many more that I haven't added. My Kindle and my shelves also contain many unread books waiting patiently for me to pick them up. In this case, what can you do?<br />
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In this post, I will try to figure out ways that will help us make our decisions quicker. Hopefully, with your suggestions, we will all discover what is best for ourselves. Like so many things, every choice works differently for every individual.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9nWetG-aJK-5evpecuUzEXXuZ0ULkeYR4SkaPLiHcMLfgtpCeRITOaTWUlkLVs2LQuPB2ZIUY49QkItOywml6JvsaI3EJcuUsYhYpM8VlJ-5jCUgIU162b136c_WHaMOpZie1UHIH0mf1/s1600/divider.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="61" data-original-width="1600" height="24" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9nWetG-aJK-5evpecuUzEXXuZ0ULkeYR4SkaPLiHcMLfgtpCeRITOaTWUlkLVs2LQuPB2ZIUY49QkItOywml6JvsaI3EJcuUsYhYpM8VlJ-5jCUgIU162b136c_WHaMOpZie1UHIH0mf1/s640/divider.png" width="640" /></a><b><h2>
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Let's find out how to choose our next reads</b></h2>
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The thing about choosing your next read is that it depends on different factors, from the book you have just finished, to the stress-load of your everyday life. Therefore, we need to take into consideration every case.<br />
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Select the next book of a series you've started</h3>
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First, we are going to begin our investigation with an easy trick. If you have already started a series, then your next book is almost predetermined. However, this trick falls flat in the cases of various mystery and thriller series, where the books are standalone. For example, <a href="https://www.ianrankin.net/rebus-books-in-order/" target="_blank">Ian Rankin's <i>Inspector Rebus</i> series</a> consists of 22 books, with another one on the way. You might enjoy reading 1 or 2 in the row, but after a while, you just need something with a different tone (at least, I do). This leads us to the next suggestion.<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQf8qgCq9aP6VAyj1tv29e5Q9ZcxbrQVPb9UbzO-1lrVaHc2VegJguyUOG8vlSijeKcU6r74dhq3-zb-4jIPiY7iUCCH0GmnQtmiOwQQQKO5eGCZetp2YPt5LvXBTcNvKrWYIOeEwYVcoP/s1600/utopia-avenue.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="416" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQf8qgCq9aP6VAyj1tv29e5Q9ZcxbrQVPb9UbzO-1lrVaHc2VegJguyUOG8vlSijeKcU6r74dhq3-zb-4jIPiY7iUCCH0GmnQtmiOwQQQKO5eGCZetp2YPt5LvXBTcNvKrWYIOeEwYVcoP/s320/utopia-avenue.jpg" width="208" /></a><br />
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Choose a book by an author you like</h3>
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We all have some favourite authors. We are fascinated by their work because they have something that talked into our hearts. You all know by now that I will read anything that David Mitchell is publishing. So, when July arrives, no matter how busy I am, my next read is going to be <i>Utopia Avenue</i>. And this will definitely be my easiest decision on what to read next. Which authors will you read without a second thought?<br />
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Pick with your emotion</h3>
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Let's be honest, the way we are feeling at the moment of our choice is going to be the deciding factor. There are moments when I want to read something hilarious and others when I want to feel depressed. Sometimes, I feel lonely and need to read something heart-warming and other times I feel lazy and want to set off on an adventure. There are even cases that I have been reading a demanding book and I want to pick a light and fun book next - even give in to my guilty pleasures (I'm looking at you cozy mysteries). Not everything we pick up should be an award-winning and renowned book. It should make us feel good, no matter the genre/quality/reviews/just about anything.<br />
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Create a reading list for the whole month</h3>
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I really envy the organized people. In fact, this is a great way to regulate your reading and always have an easy choice to make. However, it's not for me because I would feel confined. Next.<br />
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Compile Lists </h3>
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This is totally up to you. You can have a list for each one of your bookshelves. You can also compile lists that divide your TBR list by genre or mood. You can even use pre-made lists of Nobel prize recipients, Booker award-winning novels, best classics, etc. A reading challenge can also work like a list that points you on what you should read next. Be creative and find what works the best for you!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhwMdDxD6J6ocMlox_xerQhqBDh-S1o-8o_uDFo2UmNwlWhrxhcrpL6_hfrd1QzZ5ouSGHJQBtxbdcTZ71souvZE0q0sR7WugyioRqSERMQuYNvwVmnHWDmvHfAygf25JQeQe_tJBeh2ss/s1600/Opera+Snapshot_2020-05-31_213203_www.random.org.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="192" data-original-width="170" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhwMdDxD6J6ocMlox_xerQhqBDh-S1o-8o_uDFo2UmNwlWhrxhcrpL6_hfrd1QzZ5ouSGHJQBtxbdcTZ71souvZE0q0sR7WugyioRqSERMQuYNvwVmnHWDmvHfAygf25JQeQe_tJBeh2ss/s1600/Opera+Snapshot_2020-05-31_213203_www.random.org.png" /></a>Let total randomness take over</h3>
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Now, we are truly entering the weird territory. Let's use the lists we have mentioned above. For the sake of this experiment, I will use The Guardian's list of the <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/books/2015/aug/17/the-100-best-novels-written-in-english-the-full-list" target="_blank">100 greatest novels of all time</a>. But, you can also use a jar, write a list on your notebook, and whatever works. Then, I will visit <a href="http://random.org/" target="_blank">random.org</a> and let it pick a random number for me. In this experiment, it picked number 74 and so, if I should go with this method, my next read should be <i>Lord of the Flies</i>. Easy right?<br />
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Use a recommendation website</h3>
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The most realistic (and possibly practical) way to find books that interest you enough to pick them up is to use a recommendation website. <b>Goodreads</b> is probably the most well-known website that you can browse lists and find similar books. Every book's page has a section called "Readers also enjoy" and there you can find something that piques your interest. Another similar website is <a href="https://www.librarything.com/" target="_blank"><b>LibraryThing</b></a>.<br />
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<a href="https://www.whatshouldireadnext.com/" target="_blank"><b>What should I read next</b></a> is a cool website that lets you type a book or an author and gives you a list you might enjoy. Another website with recommendation lists is <a href="https://www.whichbook.net/" target="_blank"><b>Whichbook</b></a>. If you want to take an extra step, you can use Whichbook to find a list of books that match your mood and then use the above randomizer method. Are you feeling any adventurous yet?<br />
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This was it for today! I hope that you have found something useful in this post - I tried to include various ways, even though some of them require commitment and scheduling (which I'm not a big fan when it comes to my reading habits). <b>How do you choose your next read? Is there a specific topic that you'd want me to write about?</b><br />
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Konnahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03650740689826904595noreply@blogger.com4