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I LOVE BOOKS! Ex libris - see my library detailed here.
~ Whenever I need some inspiration or comfort, I always dip into this wonderful book,
The Flowering of the Soul, edited by Lucinda Vardey: 'From Julian of Norwich and Hildegard of Bingen to Mother Teresa and Marge Piercy - an unprecedented collection
of prayers by women throughout the ages.'
[The lovely tea cup was a present from *my lovely mother.]
Day 369- Today we went to our local library book sale and I bought all of these books for only $12. I buy almost all of my books second hand and usually from the local library. It's a great way to support your community, the money they make goes back into local programs like reading programs for kids. It's a great cause and on top of that you get wonderful books at super low prices. I am probably stocked up with enough books to read for two years but that most likely won't stop me from buying more before I read them all.
One of my favourite photographers André Kertész has a book and the photo exhibition with the theme "On Reading".
Here is the link about his exhibition.
www.mocp.org/exhibitions/2006/06/andr%C3%A9-kert%C3%A9sz-...
We know reading is one of the most interesting activities (private or public). And I mean reading paper books and media like newspaper. And this will be no longer there in may be 10 years I am guessing as people will move to ebooks.
My images will be much less appealing compared to the ones of André Kertész. But still I would like to pay tribute to the great master.
This is a reading scene I saw in Minoru Park.
Happy Monday!
Nikon D300
Nikon 70-300mm F4-5.6 lens
~~William Styron, interview, Writers at Work, 1958
Some of the books I've got through this summer. All the Pretty Horses was the highlight of the summer and am half through reading it again, it was so beautifully written, please do try and read it if you get a chance - I can promise you won't be disapointed.
49/365
Bookshelf porn
Most of the books on this shelf I have read already. But there are shelves dedicated particularly for those I yet need to get to... my estimate is that I would have enough books for about 2 to 5 years (depending on my reading pace which is somewhere between 25 and 50 books a year). I won't complain.
I love love love books and I always try to find a cozy corner by the window especially when its raining or snowing with a scalding cup of chai :)
The Kite Runner a beautiful novel by Khalid Hosseini, is one of my fav. books that ranks among the best-written and provocative stories of the year 2003. It was an unforgettable book, and even more remarkable was the fact that it was his first novel. "A Thousand Splendid Suns" by Khalid Hosseini, was coming out in May 2007 and I couldn't wait to read it. But after reading A Thousand Splendid Suns I found The Kite Runner to be more emotionally powerful (even devastating at times) than A Thousand Splendid Suns.
A Thousand Splendid Suns is an interesting read and keeps one absorbed till the end. I was enchanted by the story and actually moved to tears at points.The portrayal of each character is amazing and I found it easy to slip into each of their hard lives and personalities.
A Thousand Splendid Suns, spanning the lives of two seemingly very different women - Mariam and Laila - brought together by mutual suffering at the hands of their husband. Both suffer appalling traumas in spite of their different upbringing, and these horrors draw them together to become the deepest of friends. The book spans several decades and educates the reader to the destruction of life and property that Afghanistan has suffered in recent times. A book with a taste of politics. It drags the reader into a dark world, which is unfortunately a horrible reality.
Once again we have a novel set over the recent history of Afghanistan from the last days of monarchy through to the overthrow of the Taliban. This time the story is mainly through the eyes of two women Mariam, and Laila. My heart cries for Mariam, the somber and quite one, and a melancholy surrounds me when I think about it. All she wanted was to be loved by her father and husband but in return she got dejection and a death sentence. I'm sure it must have happened with so many innocent girls and they suffered a lot more than what we could ever think of. Author's writing style was emotive and fine. A very moving, powerful and poignant read.
My fav. part of the book was these two lines by a 17th Century Persian Poet. Few words but very deep and go perfectly with the story :)
One couldn't count the moons that shimmer on her roof..
Or thousand splendid suns that hide behind the walls.
Saib-e-Tabrizi
A 17th Century Poet.
I regard Lahiri as a worthy successor to R.K.Narayan for her fluency and talent as "Interpreter of Maladies" so wonderfully said her Pulitzer Prize winning collection of short stories.
The Namesake is a tremendous novel...beautiful prose...deeply-hued characters within an interesting story...It is not however "Interpreter of Maladies" her debut work...Every single story in the prior novel ended with me craving more...wishing they would go on....The Namesake is a story about the Ganguly's - Ashoke....his wife Ashima who is a sweet..simple and a conventional wife/mom...the children Gogol and Sonali... Ashoke and Ashima Ganguli have a traditional family background in Calcutta...After they marry (an arranged marriage) they move to Cambridge, Massachusetts where Ashoke pursues his education....Their lives are made more difficult by the separation from their families and homeland and they cope by drawing their Bengali friends in the U.S. close to them...Through an implausible series of events...they have no name prepared when their son is born....Forced to put down something they choose "Gogol" to be his name...To their son..that name is a curse that he bears which puts distance between him and his family....The book revolves around Gogol and end with him drawing comparions of his life with his namesake, the Russian writer Nikolai Gogol....Ashima Ganguli is her finest creation in the book and you will relate deeply to this woman...What bothered me alittle about the book is that it moves off of Ashima too much after the beginning....The first part of the book focusing on the parents is primarily a social novel...The second part..focusing on the son but the mother also to some extent is more a novel of character....The novel is touching and quite true to the reality that immigrants and children of immigrants from any nationality have to face...The author reveals the hardships of living apart from our closest family members...missing birthdays and deaths.
When a book is made into a film there are so many expectations...Mira Nair is a very talented director and she made "The namesake" which I thoroughly enjoyed...I have seen almost all her films and love the way she portrays her charaters so well developed that everytime I felt like I was there myself....Beautiful cinematoghraphy....So evocative and when I cried I felt someone I knew died....very poignant and intensely emotional and so well produced movie.
i love this book so much.. it's a keeper!
now i've finished, i feel a little lost, like i miss the characters, the way you do when a book has really entered your heart and mind forever.
The Bhopal Disaster of 1984 was the worst industrial disaster in the history of the world. It was caused by the accidental release of forty metric tons of methyl isocyanate (MIC) from a Union Carbide India Limited (UCIL) pesticide plant located in the heart of the city of Bhopal in the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh....Amulya Malladi used the Bhopal gas tragedy as a background and continues her story...A Breath of Fresh Air is a complex exploration of love...recrimination and forgiveness....The tale is tragic but heartwarming....Be prepared to weep at the end cuz I did :)
I really do love my books. This was a little bit fun. I've had a pretty long day, but still felt like doing something creative :)
Moth Smoke adeptly depicts the shocking disparity between the social classes of Pakistan. Daru is introduced in the novel as a well-educated young man, who socializes with the jet-set of Lahore. Later he descends into a life of drugs and deception. This book reveals the decadent life styles of the young elite and sketches out ,very clearly the line between those who have it and those who were just not born into it. Mohsin Hamid demonstrates that whereas the lower classes of society act as a buffer against the collapsing economy, the rich remain unaffected.
My favorite characters were Murad Badshah and Mumtaz :)
I love chai its my fav. drink of the day :) and enjoying chai over breakfast with a nice book is just too good...by the way did u notice a heart in the tea cup?
Recently read this book and it made me miss Pakistani summers and loads of mangoes so very much...I miss eating mangoes with my siblings and cousins under the shade of neem tree...squeezing the fruit and the yellow juice running down to our elbows...stealing eachother's mangoes from the balti (pot) and running away hiding and devouring the fruit...I don't know but I have always had a ravenous appetite for mangoes...Ahhhh *bawling*
I was browsing through the adult fiction section of my local library when I came across The Mango Season. I wasn't too sure whether I should read this book but somehow my love for mango compelled me to read this book.It was fantastic and couldn't stop reading.
The brilliance of Malladi lies in her skill of presenting articulate conversation between Priya and her conservative family. Priya tries to convince her family that the quality of a person does not lie in his caste,wealth and University Degree but lies deeply in his character and treatment towards his partner.The novel invokes the culture gap between east and west where both sides have lot to offer each other. The Mango season is very realistic in its presentation of dilemmas faced by youngsters brought up in the west and their families stuck in the Eastern tradition. A very nice and entertaining read along with yummy pickle recipes :)
MADRAS ON RAINY DAYS is a vibrant and satisfying read that touches on several serious issues that deserve attention and consideration....In light of the seductiveness and whimsy of recent Indian literature published in the past several years this book is a good addition to the bunch....It is a rare writer indeed that can cover the issues of ethnic identity...sexual taboos...religious tensions and feminism in such a short span of pages and make the story interesting while not preachy...!
The beautiful poetic style of this book hooked me...Craving that moment each chapter where something simple in life is described beautifully....Arundhati Roy goes about describing every little minute detail with much exuberance in this story and her writing defies norm and an extraordinary look at cast...politics...love...loss and culture....I loved the way the plot was organized.
I remember talking to my cousin from Pakistan on phone few years back and she told me enthusiastically about "The God of Small Things" it won't be months later until I finally get to devour the entire novel...She wasn't wrong and I knew the book would be unforgettable because days after reading it...here I am..still madly infatuated with the book...This book is deeply soaked in tragedy is evident from the very beginning but beyond this the ideas all remain a surprise....THE GOD OF SMALL THINGS jumps right into Indian culture and tells the story of a set of two egg twins...From the day dreamy funeral of Sophie Mol to Rahel's separation from Estha and Ammu...each event is carefully plucked from the discerning eyes of an adolescent....The events of the story are meticulously woven to be consistent with a remembrance as Rahel returns after many years of being away from her home and family....You end the book feeling a new appreciation for life and love....If you just haven't found the time...take out some time and read it...You can thank me later ;o)
"The Twentieth Wife" by Indu Sundaresan is a historical novel based on facts of the late 16th and early 17th century rule Mughal Empire in India an intriguing and pleasurable read...The Mughal Empire was so vast and so rich that it was inevitable that there would be lots of in-fighting for the throne...The Empire had a harem but only one of his sons could be Emperor....Competition was ugly...Wars were fought...Lives were lost...A sweeping saga that goes through generations...wars...betrayals...politics and most of all enduring love.
The main character, Mehrunnisa was definitely a woman of ahead of her time and one of the most popular women in the History of India...Mehrunnisa who is beautiful... smart...patient and cunning...was real a woman who married the Emperor when she was no longer young and who then ruled the Empire with him.
At age 8...Mehrunnisa finds herself mesmerized by Salim...the future heir to the throne....She immediately thinks he is beautiful and later develops feelings for him and through the years she dreams of becoming one of his wives...Salim was spellbounded by Mehrunnisa's beauty after seeing her few times but Emperor Akbar did not approve this marriage and she got married to a soldier named Ali Quli and had one child with him....Ali Quli did not appreciate her intellect..mind and intelligence....Stuck in a dead end marriage...she felt that this was her fate but things changed...Ali Quli died and Salim who was the Emperor Jahangir now approached her and she became Dowager Empress Nur Jahan...Jahangir and Nur Jahan madly in love....I'm not going to spoil the details for you all....The Twentieth Wife is a rich.. exotic view of the women...their desires and female's position in society in the Mughal Empire of 1600's India...An excellent novel with equally excellent themes about the power behind the veil....True love always prevails...I couldn't stop reading and finished in 4 days...This novel took me to another world...a world I have never been to...I visualized the sound of emerald bangles and anklets...The soft swish of their ghagara's and feet when they walked in red stone forts...Every page I turned with so much enthusiasm and eagerness that what is going to happen next....The story of Mehrunnisa is one of the great love stories of all time Great book...Savor it!
Btw Mehrunnisa was Jahangir's twentieth and last wife :)
I just finished reading its sequel "The Feast of Roses" and immensely enjoyed :)
Una niña desmayada, o aparentemente muerta
Foto tomada con #iPhone4s
Tomada en el museo San Carlos.
Ciudad de México
#SanCarlos #cdmx
De
Arlyn Quinn.
#ArlynQuinn #autora #creativecommons
#terror #horror #miedo #horrormovies #gabber #hardcore #creepy #o #movie #halloween #scary #art #cinema #paranormal #cine #movies #dark #a #film #misterio #uptempo #horrormovie #gore #suspense #life #historiasdeterror #horrorfan #hakkuh #thriller #bhfyp #hakken #fantasmas #earlyhardcore #arte #uptempohardcore #s #hardcorewillneverdie #spooky #gabbers #blood #instahorror #netflix #thunderdome #ghost #n #peliculas #horrorfilm #horrorart #gabberina #terrormovies #filmes #photography #filme #drama #speedcore #love #instagram #filmesdeterror #drawing #lol #suspense #thriller #bookstagram #mystery #drama #horror #terror #romance #books #cinema #movie #film #book #booklover #bookworm #crime #netflix #o #fiction #bookstagrammer #movies #action #novel #reading #misterio #booksofinstagram #authorsofinstagram #filmes #filme #bhfyp #love #art #writersofinstagram #bookish #livros #booknerd #cine #bookaddict #bibliophile #ebook #bookreview #suspensethriller #fantasy #kindle #horrormovies #series #readersofinstagram #s #goodreads #a #author #instabook #thrillerbooks #instabooks #literatura #scifi #crimefiction #bookaholic #murder #paranormal #pictures #snapshot #art #beautiful #instagood #picoftheday #photooftheday #color #all_shots #exposure #composition #focus #capture #moment #photoshoot #photodaily #photogram #booksofinstagram #bookstagram #bookworm #books #booklover #bookstagrammer #bookish #booknerd #bibliophile #bookaddict #book #reading #readersofinstagram #booksbooksbooks #bookaholic #bookphotography #booklove #igreads #bookshelf #bookblogger #bookcommunity #instabook #instabooks #read #reader #bookobsessed #bookreview #booklovers #booksofig #bhfyp #bookclub #goodreads #currentlyreading #igbooks #amreading #readingtime #ilovebooks #bookgram #bookstagramfeature #authorsofinstagram #bookrecommendations #bookstack #literature #love #bookblog #bookishlove #writersofinstagram #instareads #fiction #bookdragon #booklife #bookporn #booknerdigans #author #booksofinsta #tbr #bookaesthetic #readersofig #ilovereading #romance #followforfollow #followforfollowback #followforfollowers #followforfollows #followforfollowbacks #followforfollowbackalways #kpopfollowforfollow #followforfollower #f4ffollowforfollow #followforfollowme #50followforfollow #followforfollowbackinstantly #followforfollowalways #followforfollowbackandlike #followforfollowbac #gayfollowforfollow #dogfollowforfollow #followforfollowbackalwaysfast #followforfollowbackfast #followforfollowing #followforfollowe #instafollowforfollow #btsfollowforfollow #followforfollowteam #10followforfollow #petfollowforfollow #followforfollowindonesia #likeforlike #likeforlikes #likeforlikeback #likeforlikealways #likeforliketeam #likeforlikesback #likeforlikeandfollow #l4likeforlikesback #likeforlikesfromme #likeforlikers #likeforlikebackandfollow #kpoplikeforlike #instalikeforlike #likeforlikes❤ #teamlikeforlike #likeforlikeindonesia #likeforlikesalways #panasonic #DMC_TZ3
"The Kite Runner" one of my fav. books tells a heartbreaking story of the unlikely friendship between Amir(a suni) and Hassan (a shia) One is a voracious reader..the other illiterate.This is one of those marvelous books that opens up our hearts and minds. This is a gritty book..the beauty and violence of this country...Afghanistan...comes to life..The customs and food and smells of the city...the desolation of life and the loss of the country to madmen who are running it with only their imagined vulgar needs and wealth in mind that destroys a culture so varied and rich...I couldn't stop reading this book and I look forward with anticipation for Hosseini's next book "A Thousand Splendid Suns" due out in may.
De
Arlyn Quinn.
#ArlynQuinn #autora #creativecommons
#terror #horror #miedo #horrormovies #gabber #hardcore #creepy #o #movie #halloween #scary #art #cinema #paranormal #cine #movies #dark #a #film #misterio #uptempo #horrormovie #gore #suspense #life #historiasdeterror #horrorfan #hakkuh #thriller #bhfyp #hakken #fantasmas #earlyhardcore #arte #uptempohardcore #s #hardcorewillneverdie #spooky #gabbers #blood #instahorror #netflix #thunderdome #ghost #n #peliculas #horrorfilm #horrorart #gabberina #terrormovies #filmes #photography #filme #drama #speedcore #love #instagram #filmesdeterror #drawing #lol #suspense #thriller #bookstagram #mystery #drama #horror #terror #romance #books #cinema #movie #film #book #booklover #bookworm #crime #netflix #o #fiction #bookstagrammer #movies #action #novel #reading #misterio #booksofinstagram #authorsofinstagram #filmes #filme #bhfyp #love #art #writersofinstagram #bookish #livros #booknerd #cine #bookaddict #bibliophile #ebook #bookreview #suspensethriller #fantasy #kindle #horrormovies #series #readersofinstagram #s #goodreads #a #author #instabook #thrillerbooks #instabooks #literatura #scifi #crimefiction #bookaholic #murder #paranormal #pictures #snapshot #art #beautiful #instagood #picoftheday #photooftheday #color #all_shots #exposure #composition #focus #capture #moment #photoshoot #photodaily #photogram #booksofinstagram #bookstagram #bookworm #books #booklover #bookstagrammer #bookish #booknerd #bibliophile #bookaddict #book #reading #readersofinstagram #booksbooksbooks #bookaholic #bookphotography #booklove #igreads #bookshelf #bookblogger #bookcommunity #instabook #instabooks #read #reader #bookobsessed #bookreview #booklovers #booksofig #bhfyp #bookclub #goodreads #currentlyreading #igbooks #amreading #readingtime #ilovebooks #bookgram #bookstagramfeature #authorsofinstagram #bookrecommendations #bookstack #literature #love #bookblog #bookishlove #writersofinstagram #instareads #fiction #bookdragon #booklife #bookporn #booknerdigans #author #booksofinsta #tbr #bookaesthetic #readersofig #ilovereading #romance #followforfollow #followforfollowback #followforfollowers #followforfollows #followforfollowbacks #followforfollowbackalways #kpopfollowforfollow #followforfollower #f4ffollowforfollow #followforfollowme #50followforfollow #followforfollowbackinstantly #followforfollowalways #followforfollowbackandlike #followforfollowbac #gayfollowforfollow #dogfollowforfollow #followforfollowbackalwaysfast #followforfollowbackfast #followforfollowing #followforfollowe #instafollowforfollow #btsfollowforfollow #followforfollowteam #10followforfollow #petfollowforfollow #followforfollowindonesia #likeforlike #likeforlikes #likeforlikeback #likeforlikealways #likeforliketeam #likeforlikesback #likeforlikeandfollow #l4likeforlikesback #likeforlikesfromme #likeforlikers #likeforlikebackandfollow #kpoplikeforlike #instalikeforlike #likeforlikes❤ #teamlikeforlike #likeforlikeindonesia #likeforlikesalways #panasonic #DMC_TZ3
Books I've read in the past few months (when Flickr turns me loose).
I have another stack of "to be read" books. Flickr has seriously hampered my reading! I'm going to have to declare a Flickr-Free day each week.
Yeah, I know, good luck with that.
Haha, so this is...different.
I'm reading The Help by Kathryn Stockett right now, and it's making me think about how much I used to actually read. When i was in elementary and middle school, I used to LOVE books so much. But now, thanks to computers/internet/tv/so much other work, I never get a chance to read anymore. Which makes me very sad. So even though I'm getting overwhelmed with work and other stuff, I'm going to still try and make an effort to read more. So, if anyone has any book recommendations, feel free to put them in the comments!
Also, bonus points if you know what any of these books are :P
In the beginning there was a book -- more precisely: one sentence of John Irwing's "The World According To Garp".
Ever since I discovered his work some years ago, I loved reading John Irving, but his books never ranged among those which gave me what I'm actually looking for: being touched, moved -- and changed. Of course, Irwing is a brilliant story-teller, and a true lover (remember "The Hotel New Hampshire": Who could NOT fall in love with John and Franny, Lilly and Egg, and even with Frank or the farting dog!?), but even so, there was never one sentence I would have underlined in order to engrain it -- until I've read "The World According To Garp".
There, close to the end of the story, I came across that one sentence which I underlined, and which should become one of the most influential key-sentences I've ever read.
It was in the very first days of October 2008; after having marked and engrained the few crucial words, I closed the book and went to bed. I didn't need to find out the end of the story, for I had found what I had been looking for -- the key fitted into the lock, and the door opened.
In that following night I had a dream. And in the early morning, yet before the sun rose, I got up -- wide awake and dreaming at the same time -- and wrote down the "dreamed vision" which referred both to the key-sentence -- Imagining something is better than remembering something -- and to the short story "The Dollhouse" which I had written down a few days ago after a long time of not having been able to write.
Thus the first two chapters of a book were born... but it took some weeks or even months till I realized that I was on the way to write a book. I just continued writing down, chapter after chapter, whatever I was given by the continually emerging visions -- 700 pages within eight months.
It was a wondrous time, and very difficult, disconcerting, eerie, and it was the beginning of a metamorphosis I've been longing for all times.
And I, too, was ready to become the other person who budged in me, under despair, pain, and mourning, for such a long time. (Christa Wolf, Kassandra)
I went through heaven and hell, through Hades and Elysian Fields -- and I'm still on the way. The writing of this book has changed my life like hardly something before ever did -- and it's not yet completed. The last two and a half chapters as well as the whole revision still wait to be done. But since May I'd been unable to write. Blocked. Paralyzed by outer and inner cataclysms, pains, fears, and going blind again against visions and dreams.
It's only since yesterday that I certainly know: I'm really going to complete this book, since I'm really going to live on the island of my dreams for about one year. Don't ask me (for I don't know) how I managed to reach this point, blindly stumbling ahead through spring and summer time, without faith, or belief, or any idea where my steps will lead, in the end. The only thing I knew for sure, was that I have to finish the book and that the island is the one and only place to live up to this task -- and there I go. The departure will take place at the end of October.
Yes, really, there I go... excited, anxious, brave, and eager to resume work on this wondrous book about the mystery of birth and love and death (you know: the most essential subjects of man), about guilt and innocence, freedom and responsibility, dream and reality, and last but not least: duality versus polarity... -- a book which offers more questions than answers, even to myself, since I only write down what pours out of the unfathomable depth of dreams and visions into my mind... and I'm very curious about the conclusion. Yet, I don't know anything about it, but I can imagine this and that... and imagination, in the end, is the key both to every vision and to every creation.
Finally about the photo, high above this incommensurately long text... taken quite exactly one year ago, when I moved into the house of my companion, it shows approximately one third of my books -- I try to keep only those which are, by some means or other, really important for me, but that's a permanent struggle against my insatiable passion for literature.
And last but not least... while I was writing this text, something quite weird happened: The iTunes of the old Mac activated completely self-acting the online radio; the screen was black, stand-by mode, but the music was played... and for some seconds, I was completely baffled. Then I couldn't help grinning. So, that's how the land lies! As soon as I dare to be engaged in the book, weird incidents start to pop up -- how the hell had I been able to forget this?!
Sounds absolutely crazy, I know, but that's just the way things work, for me -- Jorie Graham describes it wonderfully:
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The way things work
is by admitting
or opening away.
This is the simplest form
of current: Blue
moving through blue;
blue through purple;
the objects of desire
opening upon themselves
without us; the objects of faith.
The way things work
is by solution,
resistance lessened or
increased and taken
advantage of.
The way things work
is that we finally believe
they are there,
common and able
to illustrate themselves.
Wheel, kinetic flow,
rising and falling water,
ingots, levers and keys,
I believe in you,
cylinder lock, pulley,
lifting tackle and
crane lift your small head --
I believe in you --
your head is the horizon to
my hand. I believe
forever in the hooks.
The way things work
is that eventually
something catches.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
A gift from someone very special...Shantaram is dazzling...Elegantly written...Splendidly evoking an India few outsiders know...Shantaram is about Author Roberts based much of the plot on his own life....He escaped from an Australian prison after being convicted of a string of robberies and spent 10 years hiding in India....Part travelogue,...part love letter,...part autobiography but Shantaram is entertaining and I have thoroughly enjoyed reading this book :)
I've travelled the world twice over,
Met the famous; saints and sinners,
Poets and artists, kings and queens,
Old stars and hopeful beginners,
I've been where no-one's been before,
Learnt secrets from writers and cooks
All with one library ticket,
To the wonderful world of books.
~ Anonymous ~
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