Showing posts with label reading. Show all posts

Life lately


It has undoubtedly been a while. This year marks the end of my high school education and the step further into university. Understandably, between studying for my final exams and practicing for my acceptance exams, there was hardly any free time left. And whatever time I had had to myself I diligently spent reading or catching up with my tv series (as one does). With July 10th all my schoolwork was officially done, and I am now left to my own devices, waiting to see what my future is going to be starting October 1st. Either way, having 3 whole months on my hands is more than enough time to get back on track with my idea of blogging.

Plans for summer

As always, I am planning no less than two daytrips to Venice, one to see the Viva Arte Viva Biennale Exhibition, and one to further discover the backalleys of the magnificent city. I'd also quite like to take the vaporetto (water bus) to the neighboring islands, mainly San Michele (the cemetery, to see Joseph Brodsky's grave) and Burano. 
Sailing around the Croatian coast is always on the agenda, however it saddens me to say that I won't get to see Rovinj this summer, as a large proportion of its coastal area is under construction, the marina has been torn down in order to have a new one built instead.
To commemorate my matura, my sister and I have decided to discover new corners of Europe. In August, we will be spending a week in Scandinavia, discovering the countries by plane, boat and bus. As Paris is currently the furthest I have ever been from home, and have not yet stepped foot on a plane, saying that I am looking forward to this trip is more than an understatement. 
Last week I took a trip to Vrsar and the past Saturday was spent rediscovering Aquileia and Grado. In a similar sense I might just visit Verona and Vicenza this summer. 
Above and in spite of it all, I plan on reading the hell out of my books, as I have acquired quite a collection over the past two years, and the books are not going to read themselves.

Music

Around 6 months ago the Slovene radio staions started playing Kaleo's Way Down We Go. Sometime later I found Save Yourself and No Good, but it took me until June to really comprehend the wide range of music the Icelandic band offers. I can't recall the last time I bought an album in the physical form, but let me tell you, I didn't even hesitate when buying A/B. Anyways, it doesn't hurt to check out some of their music, in fact, I strongly encourage you to do that.

Current favourite song: I can't go on without you
(look at me slapping links everywhere I go)

Film and television

I went to see Spider-Man Homecoming the other day, I enjoyed the film very much, and am very happy it silenced the reboot skeptics.

I was left gobsmacked at the end of Doctor Who's season 10, and am very excited at the revelation of the 13th Doctor, Jodie Whittaker!
As a fan of both Sherlock and Doctor Who, it was only a matter of time before Supernatural came to drag me into the ninth circle of hell, also known as Superwholock. In other words: I started watching Supernatural. To be completely honest, I take this to be one of my more stupid decisions, given that I can't handle anything remotely scary, and that I have 12 seasons worth of catching up to do. Nevertheless, I'm at the end of season 2 and have only had one nightmare, so I have my fingers crossed it stays that way. The series definitely did surpass my expectations, as once you get over the initial fear of all things unholy, you realise it's actually a very funny show with some dramatic elements and a great amount of action.

Books

The last two weeks had me in turbo reading mode, I managed to read Ray Bradbury's Fahrenheit 451, George Orwell's 1984, and Clarice Lispector's Agua Viva.

This summer I'm set to read the following books:
Evelyn Waugh - Labels
Henry Miller - The Colossus of Maroussi
Thomas Hardy - Two on a Tower
Brian Clegg - A Brief History of Infinity
F. S. Fitzgerald - The Beautiful and Damned
Virginia Woolf - Mrs. Dalloway
Bruno Munari - Design as Art

What will you be up to this fine summer?

x, Valens

Watermark: An essay on Venice - Joseph Brodsky


I understand that writing a book review is a bit pointless now, given the fact that summer is vastly nearing its end. However, as a fellow bookworm and all-around lazy person, who wanderlusts in the free time and has the attention span of a squirrel, I'd like to cordially introduce you to a gem of a book, written by the Nobel Prize for Literature winner Joseph Brodsky, called Watermark: An Essay on Venice. As I mentioned, time for dedicated reading is, or, in some cases, has already run out. Nevertheless, if there are any of you out there, who wish to squeeze in one last book without having to sacrifice your soul, this one is for you. A collection of short essays based upon the author's annual visits to Venice in winter is a compelling and relaxing read that takes you along his footsteps and philosophical musings about the city of water. Not only does this book show you a different, more enigmatic look on Venice, it also gives the reader some serious wanderlust and an itch to see when the next train for Venice departs.

“A tear can be shed in this place on several occasions. Assuming that beauty is the distribution of light in the fashion most congenial to one's retina, a tear is an acknowledgment of the retina's, as well as the tear's, failure to retain beauty. On the whole, love comes with the speed of light; separation, with that of sound. It is the deterioration of the greater speed to the lesser that moistens one's eye. Because one is finite, a departure from this place always feel final; leaving it behind is leaving it forever. For leaving is banishment of the eye to the provinces of the other senses; at best, to the crevices and crevasses of the brain. For the eye identifies itself not with the body it belongs to but with the object of its attention. And to the eye, for purely optical reasons, departure is not the body leaving the city but the city abandoning the pupil. Likewise, disappearance of the beloved, especially a gradual one, causes grief no matter who, and for what peripatetic reason, is actually in motion. As the world goes, this city is the eye's beloved. After it, everything is a letdown. A tear is the anticipation of the eye's future.”

 (official book description)
Watermark is Joseph Brodsky's witty, intelligent, moving and elegant portrait of Venice. Looking at every aspect of the city, from its waterways, streets and architecture to its food, politics and people, Brodsky captures its magnificence and beauty, and recalls his own memories of the place he called home for many winters, as he remembers friends, lovers and enemies he has encountered. Above all, he reflects with great poetic force on how the rising tide of time affects city and inhabitants alike.
Watermark is an unforgettable piece of writing, and a wonderful evocation of a remarkable, unique city.

The Night Manager



Here's the deal: I love spies. But I don't like spy novels. I gave Ian Fleming's James Bond a try a couple of years ago, but it just didn't do it for me. However, it was somewhere in October, when I decided to give John Le Carrè's novel The Night Manager a try. Come the beginning of March and with all the schoolwork, I finally managed to read it. 
The Night Manager is a story of an ex-soldier now hotelier, who gets involved with the mistress of an arms dealer after he is given files that serve as good evidence of Richard Roper's dirty business. After a tragic end, he decides to flee and revert into the life of nightly shifts in remote hotels. It is in a hotel in Switzerland when he gets to meet Mr. Roper and his business associates in person, and chooses to risk his life in order to take Roper down once and for all. He goes through an extended journey to create a viable liaison and claim a life of criminal content. The acquired specifications earn him the ability to infiltrate into Roper's world through a carefully planned strategy which is taken too far on his part and earns him an unenviable collection of slow-healing bruises. From then on, he is accepted as part of the team and taken on various dealings.
I must admit that the end of the book had left me in quite a large bubble of split confusion. On one part, I was left disappointed because as an enthusiast of spy stories, I had my expectations too high. On the other hand, after giving it some more thought, l realised it makes a lot of sense and is probably as happy as this story could end.
All in all, spy novels are still a thing I'm taking with caution. John Le Carré's storytelling is very fluid and intriguing, with well developed characters which, as opposed to many other works, are very human with limited capabilities.

What is the last book you read?

 x, Valens

If on a winter's night a traveller - Italo Calvino


As there are hundreds of books with different contents and concepts, each blowing your mind in it's own unique way, I find it impossible to determine which book is my favourite. So far I've read many books, mainly classics, which I enjoyed very much. However, there is one book that I found particularly exceptional; Italo Calvino's If on a winter's night a traveller.
It's a story of you, Reader, who buys the book with the same title and delves into it, only to later realise it has a printing mistake and is thus unreadable. With a wish to find the book in perfect condition, you are taken to various places and faced with secrets and creative complications. After going through 10 completely different books, all faulty, you end up desperate in your local library with a list of all the books, only to find out that all the titles form the first paragraph of another book.
By leading you through all the complications and books with storylines that have as many things in common as the night has with day, Italo Calvino entertains the concept of the author's personality being untraced in his work, and simultaneously makes fun of the readers who settle with ordinary romance, detective, spy, historical novels that hold no true meaning, and are only there to be read and forgotten. Calvino was an invenive writer who managed to create literature that tickles even the deepest parts of a reader's brain, and leaves them hanging in a very pleasurable way.
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