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 how to declutter your TBR list 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.
First, we have Book Beginnings on Fridays, hosted by Rose City Reads. 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 Friday 56 and it is hosted by Freda's Voice. For this one, we have to share a small snippet from a book, taken from page 56 (or 56% on an e-reader).
So, this week we're looking at some snippets from Love, Rosie 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.
Book Beginnings
"To Alex
You are invited to my 7th birthday party on Tuesday the 8th of April in my house"
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.
Friday 56
"Divorced_1: ...Does your kid look like your ex?
Buttercup: Well thankfully she's not his so, no, she doesn't.
LonelyLady: My goodness, did he know?
Buttercup: Of course he did, I had my daughter years before I met him.
Wildflower: Oh well that's a shame, thought we were onto something good there."
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!
Have you read Love, Rosie? What are some favourite quotes from the books you've been reading?
Hello, everyone! We are back with another instalment of KpopXBooks. 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.
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 The Concept Kings. 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.
So, with further ado, let's begin!
Shangri-La
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.
Shangri-La is a fictional place that appears in the novel Lost Horizon, 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.
However, even before Lost Horizon, there has been a reference to such a place. The first one comes from the fable The Peach Blossom Springby 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 "Even peaches/ Under the fluttering petals".
Furthermore, there is Shambhala, 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.
Scentist
So, I've spent a really long time thinking that this song was titled Scientist, which isn't. Its title is SCENTIST and it makes total sense when you learn that it's based on a book. Of course, I'm talking about The Perfume: The Story of a Murderer. 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.
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!
Hyde
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 Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, by Robert Louis Stevenson. In fact, the whole album is titled Hyde. 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:
Don’t leave me, please... (No, leave me alone!)
‘Cause I love you, dear... (No, I hate you one!)
I am both Jekyll and Hyde, don't run away from me.
I’m not so bad. I love you…
Don’t do such frightened eyes.
Please, believe me – there is a different person that is not me inside of me,
There is a different me that is not me inside of me.
Just can’t control
Dynamite
Dynamite 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 Dynamite, the song inspired by the daemon of jealousy and rivalry, Zelus or Zelos.
Fun fact: the word "zeal" originates from the name of this deamon.
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.
All mine, her mind
Maybe I’m jealous
what are you looking at? let me go! don't tell me to relax
what's the use of it?
it's already obvious, I see the end
Fantasy
Fantasy is the next song in the ancient Greek Gods series. This song is inspired by Hades, 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:
Acheron - the river of sorrow and woe
Cocytus - the river of lamentation
Phlegethon - the river of fire
Lethe - the river of oblivion
Styx - the river of hate
Even though there is no indication that they used this myth, the fact that they are running in misty woods and the lyric "Exhausted, I’ve lost my way", remind me of the myth of Orpheus and Eurydice.
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.
The Closer
VIXX's ancient Greek gods series closes with the song The Closer. This song is inspired by Kratos, 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.
The thing about love, I’ll close your doubt
The thing about love, I’ll give you something you’ve never experienced
When the storming night is gone
It will be disappeared with me
Let me control you
Fun fact: In modern Greek, this word means nation.
Beautiful Liar
Beautiful Liar is a song by the sub-unit VIXX LR, taken from the album Hyde. Like the title song, it is inspired by Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, 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.
Jekyll
Jekyllis the title of the repackaged version of the Hydealbum. For this album, VIXX has added the intro song Jekyll. In the lyrics, they repeat again and again "I'm still here forgive me", which is fitting with the character of Doctor Jekyll.
This was it for today! Which bookish concept was your favourite?
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 our favourite genres and the diversification of our reading. In the last discussion post, I shifted to a more practical matter, that of choosing our next reads. 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!
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!
How to Declutter your TBR List
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.
So, let's see the criteria that we'll be working with. I have to remove from my TBR list all:
Classics that I've added to my list because I had 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. A Little Princes is an example of a book from my Goodreads list. Another example of mine is Little Dorrit that I actually own a physical copy of.
#2, #3, #....... books in a series. 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.
Books that were adapted to movies, 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. 🤷♀️
Non-fiction books that would be cool to read but never actually will. To these books defense, I have to mention the case of non-fiction science books that I've recently built a passion for. A brief history of time 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!
Books that I've added back in 2013, 2014, 2015,...., 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.
Books I've outgrown. 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.
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.
Ok, I'm done! After this process, my TBR counts just 96 books. In all honesty, it feels like I'm starting afresh! I only hope that I won't end up filling it up again...
How to Declutter your Physical Books
Well, Goodreads decluttering was relatively easy - all I had to do was click an X button. Bus 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!
Extra tips
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 are in my Kindlefor years! 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.
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.
This was it for the day! Have you decluttered your TBR list? What criteria will you use to help you remove books from your list?
Book Beginnings
