The Content Reader

Joining Guiltless Reading for another Bookmark Monday. Being on a trip, visiting houses, castles and museums I mostly manage to find some bookmarks. I showed you two last week connected to Bussy-Rabutin . This week it is time for a more famous person, Voltaire. Having read Candide  for my litcourse, I was eager to visit houses where he had lived. Unfortunately, I was unlucky in both places. During the last years of his life he lived in Ferney, just on the border to Switzerland. They even renamed the town to Ferney-Voltaire (which is the name today) after him. The castle is under renovating since 2015 and will only open this summer. We could walk around the garden though. It is a beautiful, small (to be a castle) with a lovely view over the surroundings. Who would not enjoy living here? The small shop was full of Voltaire memorabilia and I bought two bookmarks. The other home of Voltaire is situated in the Délice area of Geneva. We were here mid-day but the museum only o...

Of my recent reads there were three classic novels that I really loved. Still fresh and interesting today. The first one is Candide (or Optimism) by Voltaire. One of his most famous books, and one of the great books of the Enlightenment. An ironic outlook on the surrounding world. The characters, the happenings and trips are written in a hilarious, witty way. With irony it is both tragedy and comic. Candide is living a sheltered life until one day he happens to kiss the daughter of the house. He is ousted by the angry father and life takes him around the world. His philosophical teacher Pangloss, taught him "we live in the best of worlds" and with this motto he looks on the world around him. In the end? He realises that it is not true and replies to Pangloss: "Let us cultivate our garden".  “Optimism," said Cacambo, "What is that?" "Alas!" replied Candide, "It is the obstinacy of maintaining that everything is best when it is wo...

This week my book beginning and page come from Candide by Voltaire. I read it for my literature course, and was quite surprised. It is a wonderfully, written and satirical book. The old classics are definitely alive. Book beginnings hosted by Rose City Reader "In the country of Westphalia, in the castle of the most noble Baron of Thunder-ten-tronckh, lived a youth whom Nature had endowed with a most sweet disposition. " The Friday 56 (57) hosted by Freda's Voice "You insolent dog!" cried the Baron. "You have the impudence to marry my sister, who bears seventy-two quarterings! Really, I think you are insufferably arrogant to dare so much as to mention such an idea to me.