This week's Scribble Picnic is fill in the blank. I did this little animation. For more Scribble Picnic, go here.
October 9, 2017
owner of a quiet heart
 |
| 'a quiet heart' |
I was going to write something today but nothing came to me so, enjoy this art piece and this quote:
“I understood that as much as I had resisted the outside, as much as I had constricted my life, as much as I had closed and narrowed the channels into me, there were still many takers for the quiet heart.”
– The Pleasure of My Company by Steve Martin
– The Pleasure of My Company by Steve Martin
September 29, 2017
Books read in August & September
 |
| "Reading is dreaming with open eyes." - YoYo |
The beginning of 'The Blue Castle' is great but the middle is a bit slow with nothing much happening but wonderful details of Valancy's new life. The ending is a bit quick and maybe a bit too perfect. I had some guesses that turned out correct. I also kind of expected the story to end this way because I just don't see it ending any other way. So even though there are no surprises and everything just seem so conventional and even a bit mild, I still enjoyed reading the book. I just have a few thoughts:
(a) I don't like the way people around Valancy keeps telling her how unpretty she is and that she lacks beauty. That's just, I don't know, kind of being rude isn't it? Does she really need the reminder all the time?
(b) I still don't like her name – Valancy – but it's definitely better than the nickname her family give her - Doss.
(c) about the ending – SPOILER AHEAD >>> I think a family who dismissed you and thought of you as dead, suddenly accepted you back because you it turned out the man you married is actually a millionaire and not a murderer or criminal, doesn't seem like a family you want back. They don't even apologize for their awful behavior toward Valancy. Like everything is perfectly acceptable as long as you marry someone rich. >>>SPOILER ENDS
Favorite Passage:
"You see — I've never had any real life", she said. "I've just — breathed."
Reading Dickens is a bit challenging. I like Dickens writing style most of the time – it's quite elegant and sometimes quite blunt with great details but sometimes I think when I'm reading, I'm being taken through a rather long route just to get to the point. And there are exhausted details that I rather not read but I guess if they aren't there and if the length is not long then it wouldn't be a Dickens' book right?
'Little Dorrit' started in a jail with two characters neither which is Little Dorrit nor Arthur Clennam which I thought is rather disappointing but these two are important characters. I sort of want a better introduction to Little Dorrit because in the scene when she is supposed to be seen by Arthur Clennam, she was there but isn't mentioned until later, like she is an afterthought.
I actually saw the miniseries with Claire Foy & Matthew Macfadyen first before reading the book. I know people often say the book is better but to me, the miniseries is better because the stories are condensed and the extraneous characters are removed and I don't have to spend hours waiting for something to happen.
Favorite Passage:
"It was one of those summer evenings when there is no greater darkness than a long twilight. The vista of street and bridge was plain to see, and the sky was serene and beautiful. People stood and sat at their doors, playing with children and enjoying the evening; numbers were walking for air; the worry of the day had almost worried itself out, and few but themselves were hurried. As they crossed the bridge, the clear steeples of the many churches looked as if they had advanced out of the murk that usually enshrouded them and come much nearer. The smoke that rose into the sky had lost its dingy hue and taken a brightness upon it. The beauties of the sunset had faded from the long light films of cloud that lay at peace in the horizon. From a radiant centre, over the whole length and breadth of the tranquil firmament, great shoots of light streamed among the early stars, like signs of the blessed later covenant of peace and hope that changed the crown of thorns into a glory."
'Daddy-Long-Legs' is a bit of a bit one-sided as the story is told completely in letters by Judy aka Jerusha Abbott to Daddy-long-leg aka Mr. smith. It does starts with a short passage which sets up the reason for the letters. I kind of guessed who Daddy-Long-Legs is just by the introduction of a certain character and Judy got along with that character really well though there really weren't that many to choose from anyway.
'Dear Enemy' is sort of a sequel to 'Daddy-Long-Legs' with the similar letter format. Sallie is Judy's friend and she writes her letters to Judy and various other people. I think there are more happenings in 'Dear Enemy' though it's more of the same but probably with a little bit more drama. We get some bits/news about Judy which is kind of nice. I actually like Sallie a lot better than Judy. There just seems to be more depth to Sallie's character here or perhaps we get more about her feelings than Judy in 'Daddy-Long-Leg.'
'Daddy-Long-Legs' and 'Dear Enemy' are fun to read and both have cute drawings by Webster that adds to the humor.
Favorite Passage:
"I went to bed last night utterly dejected; I thought I was never going to amount to anything, and that you have thrown away your money for nothing. But what do you think? I woke up this morning with a beautiful new plot in my head, and I've been going about all day planning my characters, just as happy as I could be. No one can ever accuse me of being a pessimist! If I had a husband and twelve children swallowed by an earthquake one day, I'd bob up smilingly the next morning and commence to look for another set."
– 'Daddy-Long-Legs'
#1 - The Magician's Nephew
#2 - The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe
#3 - The Horse and His Boy
#4 - Prince Caspian
#5 - The Voyage of the Dawn Treader
#6 - The Silver Chair
#7 - The Last Battle
I read 'The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe' first because I got interested in that book because of the movie which I never saw but I have seen gifs and scenes from the movie that bloggers used in their posts. So I suppose blogging isn't a lost medium like people say because that's pretty much where I find my next read.
Not reading in order didn't make the reading confusing because there are summary of the pervious storylines and the books are self-contained so they can be read in any order.
The writing is very direct and there's no fluff. These are very short books that you can read in one sitting. My favorite of the series 'The horse and his boy' because it doesn't involve the Pevensies children, I don't really like them except for Lucy, I'm sorry to say. Plus the talking horse is named Breehy-hinny-brinny-hoohy-hah or Bree for short and he's a horse that likes to roll on his back.
Ending of the series – SPOILER AHEAD >>> I don't quite sure I like the ending to this series. They all died and get to live in Narnia like a afterlife reward? Sounds a bit too, I don't know, nice? Or perhaps superfluous? And what about Susan & her wanting to be an adult? So Susan lost her imagination and that is why she can't come to Narnia anymore? And what about the fact she is left alone in England with most of her family dead? Are we to ignore that? I could ignore Susan but mostly because I'm not attached to her. I guess I was just a little bit disappointed by the end but it's not a terrible ending. >>> SPOILER ENDS
Cover notes: I have the paper editions with really nice art but I'm annoyed that the cover for 'The Voyage of the Dawn Treader' has that stupid printed-on sticker about the 'made for movie' announcement. What is the point of a beautiful cover just to have some stupid announcement which I don't care about anyway?
Favorite Passage:
"You don't think, do you," said Bree, "that it might be a thinkg talking horses never do — a silly, clownish trick I've learned from the dumb ones? It would be dreadful to find, when I get back to Narnia, that I've picked a lot of low, bad habits. What do you think, Shasta? Honestly, now. Don't spare my feelings. Should you think the real, free horses — the talking kind — do roll?"
– 'The Horse and His Boy'
Have you read any good books lately? Leave your recommendations in the comments.
September 28, 2017
Top Ten Thursday: Life Swap
 |
| 'two roads' |
01/ No coffee whatsoever because you dislike it.
02/ You will walk a lot because you don't drive or own a car. And you will use a lot of public transportation such as the subway, well, mostly the subway.
03/ No talking when you're in a bad mood.
04/ Sometimes at work (as a graphic designer), you might have to juggle about three or four projects at the same time and you probably have to finish them all on the same day and mostly because they hand you the projects way too late and so you have to rush, rush al the time. But do remind yourself your work hours are 9-5 week days and you will only do overtime during a rush project which usually may be about every other week.
05/ You will owe a lot of money due to excessive online shopping.
06/ You're a procrastinator – just accept it because there's just no way around it.
07/ Your cooking skill is a bit lacking. The only thing you can cook is scramble eggs and those instant noodles.
08/ You will sometimes be waken by helicopters, fireworks, birds, odd animal sounds, car alarms or your neighbors during the hours of 3 through 5 am.
09/ You will probably have a anxiety attack every couple of days due to some crisis or other because you're a worrier, you worry even sometimes without a cause but that's normal.
10/ Organize and reorganize the spaces around you constantly because seeing a mess upsets your brain.
What do I need to know if I want to live your life?
For more Top Ten Thursday, go to Tamara's blog over here.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)