In asteptarea primaverii

Duminica am fost la MTR la targ. Captura de martioare se prezinta ca in poza :) Alaturi este Nichi, my super cat!

Seria neagra - Eroare judiciara

Pe langa cele 26 de litere cunoscute, alfabetul norvegian mai cuprinde trei vocale, plasate dupa z :

æ - vocala intermediara intre a si e care se pronunta  ca a-ul englez din "man"

ø -  care se pronunta ca grupul eu din termenul francez "peu"

å - care se pronunta ca o

<<Cand acceptase, cu oarecare retinere, sa studieze eroarea judiciara a carei victima fusese Aksel steier, o facuse datorita interesului pe care il prezenta cazul acesta pentru proiectul ei. La un moment dat - nu putea spune cu exactitate cand -, toata povestea incepuse sa aiba o viata proprie. Nu mai avea nimic de-a face cu institutul, cu cercetarea, Aksel Seier era o taina pe care o impartasea cu o doamna batrana, iar atractia pentru acest mister alterna cu vointa de a-i pune cruce odata pentru totdeauna.>>

Mi-a placut cartea, dar cred ca am avut asteptari prea mari - coincidenta este cuvantul de baza cand vine vorba de cartea asta. Un barbat rapeste si omoara copii intr-un mod greu de detectat si ii trimite mamelor cu un bilet "Ai primit ce ai meritat". Un politist si o cercetatoare, fosta profiler FBI sunt pe urmele lui. Cu ani in urma un barbat a fost condamnat pentru uciderea unei fetite si investigatiile de acum arata ca a ispasit o pedeapsa pentru o fapta pe care nu a comis-o. Dupa multe carti de Agatha Christie si dupa multe CSI-uri  si Lege si Ordine nimic nu ma mai surpinde :) imi doream sa fie ca trilogia Millennium, dar Stieg Larsson are farmecul lui neegalat din punctul meu de vedere de Anne Holt.

Cado' de dincolo de ocean

Adica direct din Philadelphia via M mic - The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck (Pulitzer 1940) - dupa ce am citit La Rasarit de Eden mi-am dorit sa citesc si alte carti de Steinbeck. Am primit-o impreuna cu un super magnet din New York. Multumesc, M mic :)

Shopping spree

da, s-a ales praful de planul meu de a nu cumpara nici o carte cel putin in februarie...era promo la Diverta :) 3 for 2. Dickens nu am citit nimic pana acum spre rusinea mea, de Henry James doar am auzit, dar prima pe care o voi citi va fi Varsta inocentei - pentru Pulitzer project. Wish me luck! ah, toate-s in engleza, deci vor merge incetuc, incetuc. Aviz amatorilor - le imprumut cu placere :)

My No 10 - The Road

This is my No 10 in Sarah's list -

• Ask a friend (preferably a person of impeccable taste, and definitely not someone who might have an axe to grind) to choose a book that you will, in their opinion, like 

So I asked a friend with impeccable taste to recommend me a book and he did: The Road.
This book, by American writer Cormac McCarthy was awarded the 2007 Pulitzer prize for Fiction so this made me twice as happy to read it - having in mind my wish to read as many Pulitzer books as possible. Well...to be true to myself I didn't enjoy reading it. I hated reading it, I felt guilty for the comfort of my house, the beauty of my world, the food I was eating, everything I had and they didn't. Father and son in an apocalyptic world, with people turned into animals, people eating babies,cannibals with no trace of compassion, humanity, nothing at all. I felt it was all an enumeration of all the awful, dreadful things that could happen. And I couldn't help myself but feeling optimistic, that things will change at the end of the book and they will reach the coast. A hint of positivity was left with me once I was done. And I am thankful for that. I will not read it again too soon, but I am going to read it again, a bit masochistic, I know. Don't read it if you feel down, don't read it if you are happy, excited or in a good place in your life. Read it when it's quiet and warm and it's snowing outside and read it all at once, like a bitter pill you have to swallow to feel stronger.
I've tried to see the movie, but it was too much for me. Half way through I said enough. Sorry.

Let The Great World Spin

Last week I’ve finished reading Let the Great World Spin. Loved the book, loved the characters and New York, and totally hated the small print. It’s the last time I’m buying/ reading a book printed in such a small font. If it weren’t for the story I would’ve dropped many many times. This book is about ordinary people living theirs lives, interposing in each others’ paths in the 70ties in New York. Two Irish brothers Corrigan and Ciaran living in Bronx, Claire and Gloria, mothers grieving their sons, Lara, a struggling painter, Tillie and Jazzlyn, mother and daughter hookers, Solomon, a judge, all connected on way or another with each other and witnessing or interacting in some way with Petit’s tightrope walk between the Twin Towers. I liked the writing and the way the style shifted when the story was told from another character’s perspective. Solomon was for me the most surprising. He is a judge and it is not every day that you see the world from a judge’s point of view. Gloria was closest to my heart with her difficult life, all that happened to her and still she finds the strength to move on, to help others and do good. 

 It's been a couple of days since I've closed this book, but I'm still thinking of Lara, Jazzlyn... and the beautiful way Colum McCann combined all their stories in one wonderful book.

 

A bit of melancholy

wet wet wet - love is all around

What do people live for ?

See Clip

Song of the day

Looking forward to the Munich Take That concert this summer July 29th. I feel like a teenager all over again:)

Shame

Who is Philippe Petit ?

I admit I was not familiar with the name, I didn't know who he is, I never thought that someone would do something similar to this. You read, you learn. He says: "When I see three oranges, I juggle; when I see two towers, I walk." On the 7th of August 1974 he walked on a steel wire between the Twin Towers - 61 meters between the towers, 450meters high in the air using a balancing pole. He walked the wire for 45 minutes, making eight crossings between the towers, a quarter mile above the sidewalks of Manhattan. In addition to walking, he sat on the wire, gave knee salutes and, while lying on the wire, spoke with a gull circling above his head.(wiki) It is called "the artistic crime of the century" and it took him 6 years to prepare. I am amazed by his determination and courage. I admire that he had a dream, a crazy dream if you ask me, but I love that there are people out there capable of stunning acts like this one. 

I'm half way reading Let The Great World Spin so right now I'm in the 70s, in Manhattan, in the Bronx, in the Upper East Side...all over the place :)  and I'm meeting all kinds of people. Soon I'll tell you more about them.

Design

What do you think ?

My No 8 - East Wind: West Wind - Pearl S Buck

This is my first book for Sarah's challenge - Not a Rat’s Chance in Hell Challenge 
Pearl Buck is the first American women ever to receive the Nobel Price in literature (1938). She also won the Pulitzer in 1932 for her novel The Good Earth.
East Wind: West Wind is a novel written in 1930 and I've read it fairly quickly because I was so into it and looking forward to the ending, although I knew the greater ending. It is about the huge differences between the Chinese culture and the American/western civilization, about following rules and customs, about parents and sons and love boundaries. The Chinese way of life, the obedience, different perspective of life may seem strange and hard to take in.

"O, raspunse ea cu indoiala, stapanul nostru stie foarte multe. Dar, e deajuns sa te uiti in jur ca sa te convingi ca pamantul nu este deloc rotund. Uite ce, daca te urci in varful pagodei de pe muntele Stelei Nordului, poti vedea pamantul pana la o departare de o mie de mile, numai munti, ogoare si tarini, lacuri si rauri, dar totul afara de munti este neted ca o lipie de secara, asa ca nimeni n-ar putea spune ca este rotund. Cat despre tara noastra, ea trebuie sa fie la mijloc. Altfel, ce motiv ar fi avut batranii nostri intelepti, care le stiu pe toate, sa-i spuna Imperiul de Mijloc."

"Oh, she replied with doubt, our Master knows a lot. But it's enough to look around to convince yourself that the earth is not round. Look, if you climb to the top of the North Star pagoda on the mountain, you can see up, as far as a thousand miles away, just mountains, fields, lakes and rivers, but everything is smooth like a rye pita, so nobody could say that it's round. And our country must be in the middle, otherwise, why would our wise elders, who knew it all, call it the Middle Empire."
 
I have another book by Pear Buck in my library The Mother, I am impatient, curious to discover that strange Asian world and atmosphere and I am sure that I will find it in her books time and time again. 
So my "rather not" turned out to be a surprising  book and I've enjoyed reading it. 

Clubbin' baby!

Aseara Waldo's, pizza, vin fiert, bere si povesti cu aventuri la volan si ROI. Women rull ! Apoi Club Control cu iO si Calin :) Rythmul a fost cam asa - Lykker Li . Nu cred ca am fost vreodata club addicted sau macar aficionado,dar m-am simtit bine si m-am bucurat pentru iO - Djitza noastra.

Waldo's here we come!

si apoi o sesiune de Control :)
cel putin asa este planul acum, sa vedem daca apar modificari! Over and out!