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Showing posts from March, 2018

Blogging Anniversary - 10 years

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A while ago I checked when I did my first blog post, in order to celebrate with an anniversary post. Well, that day came and went without any reaction from me. Better late than never, so here a reminder of my very first blog post from 24 October 2012.  The book was New Finnish Grammar  by Diego Marani. Marani is an Italian novelist, translator and newspaper columnist. While working as a translator for the European Union he invented a language ‘Europanto’ which is a mixture of languages and based on the common practice of word-borrowing usage of many EU languages. It was a suitable book to start with, being a book about letters, languages and memories. With a beautiful prose, the novel went directly to my heart.  "One night at Trieste in September 1943 a seriously wounded soldier is found on the quay. The doctor, of a newly arrived German hospital ship, Pietri Friari gives the unconscious soldier medical assistance. His new patient has no documents or anything that can ide...

Bookmark Monday

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I am joining  Guiltless Reading  for  Bookmark Monday . On Thursday I went to Passa Porta, which is an international book shop here in Brussels. Visiting author was John Banville. I bought four of his books, which he kindly signed. When buying a book at the book shop, you get a bookmark and this is my sample of a Monday bookmark this week. As you see, I bought Mrs Osmond  by John Banville and got his signature. It was a joy to read.  More will come on the evening and the interview and the new books.

Bookmark Monday

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I am joining Guiltless Reading for Bookmark Monday . It was some time ago. On Saturday we went to Bruges for the day and visited a museum with pictures by Andy Warhol and Picasso. It was a very interesting visit and I came out of the museum shop with two bookmarks, one postcard and one keyring. I want to share these beautiful items with you here. What do you think? Are they not wonderful!

Book Beginnings on Fridays and The Friday 56

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Hello, a little bit late for this meme, but I really do not want to miss it. This week I choose a book I have just finished. The Girl in Rose, Haydn's Last Love by Peter Hobday. The beginning comes from the Overture to the book, obviously following a musical work. Book Beginnings on Fridays hosted by Rose City Reader "Studying history is like reading by candlelight: it takes time for the eyes to become accustomed to the shadows." The Friday 56 hosted by Freda's Voice "Back at the house in Bedford Row Fanny, the maid, had raised the alarm and told the Master that Miss Rebecca had left the house early in the morning and got into a gentleman's coach. " A review will follow on this book, which is well written, but most of it concerns the music world, which might not be such a bad case.

6 Degrees of Separation

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It is March and another chain of books for 6 Degrees of Separation , hosted by Books Are My Favourite And Best.   This month begins with a book published in 1990, The Beauty Myth  by Naomi Wolf. Summary from Wikipedia: " The basic premise of The Beauty Myth is that as the social power and prominence of women have increased, the pressure they feel to adhere to unrealistic social standards of physical beauty has also grown stronger because of commercial influences on the mass media. This pressure leads to unhealthy behaviours by women and a preoccupation with appearance in both sexes, and it compromises the ability of women to be effective in and accepted by society. " It comes well into the #metoo movement and is worth thinking of. That brings me to someone who was not happy with her looks, Charlotte Brontë and her heroine Jane Eyre. It is about a plain girl who manages to catch the hero with her brain rather than her looks. Women still fighting today to be taken for...