7-Dec-2014

The Cooking Book Of All Books

The Best Cookbook Ever

There is no plot here, but instead an extensive, precise, detailed list of everything that can be done to food. It is truly brilliant and necessarity for anyone who's ever so slightly interested in cooking. It can be extremely useful for the newbie cooking enthusiast but in the same time it can be amazing addition even for the professional chef.

I've been looking for this book for a while, maybe a year or so. It was my boss who showed it to me and let me look through his copy. I honestly believe that this book is a game changer for anyone who wants to eat good quality food. It is inspirational, in a way, and it makes me wanna spend every moment of every day in my kitchen, cooking all those amazing dishes. If you ever come across this book in a bookshop - buy it. It's a treasure to have in your home, and an incredibly rare find in the same time. No surprise people don't sell it on Ebay or Amazon - I know that I'm never selling mine!

You can't get lost if you don't know where you're going...

15-Nov-2014

The Book That Was Better Than The Other One

Plot:

Welcome in the court of Henry VIII, the most glorious prince in the Christendom, and Queen Katherine of Aragon, the prettiest and finest woman in Europe. They are happy, but Henry is eager to have an heir, a son to sit on his throne when he dies, and the Queen have only one surviving child - Princess Mary, a girl and therefore not fir to inherit the crown.

Growing unhappy with the lack of an heir, king Henry takes fancy in Mary Boleyn, an genuinely sweet and innocent girl but her family, the Boleyns, the Howards are ambitious and power-hungry family. Mary rises to become the absolute favourite of the king, and even has two children with him, a girl and a boy. But her happiness is short when the king turns his eyes to the other Boleyn girl, her sister - Anne.

Why It Was Better Than The Other:

Remember when I discussed The Virgin's Lover? Well, this book, The Other Boleyn Girl, is it's pre-pre-prequel. Philippa Gregory has written 6 books, I think, on the Tudor dynasty, and The Other Boleyn Girl is the second one, while the The Virgin's Lover is the fifth one. I liked the story better, it was more complex and gave the characters more depth. Also, I prefer books where the narrative is told by just one character, it feels a lot more personal and real.

On top of that, I have a long-standing obsession with Henry VIII and his 6 wives. Anne Boleyn is a favourite of mine in particulate, since she has always seemed as a very bright determined strong woman. Just the why I like them.

However, read with caution. It's a historical novel, and some things are changed so they fit the narrative better. It's not 100% accurate. But it is enjoyable.

You can't get lost if you don't know where you're going...

10-Sept-2014

10 Books

Here's the thing - all my Facebook friends have been sharing the 10 books that have changed them. It's some sort of a challenge that  they have been going around the web for few days now and everyone is sharing (or bragging) with the 10 most important books in their life, so far. I've been nominated as well, but since I'm not big on Facebook and I would much rather share this here, on the blog, here are my 10 books. 

The TEN books that changed me:

1. 1984 by George Orwell

1. The Catcher In The Rye by J. J. Salinger

1. La Casa De Los Espíritos trilogy by Isabel Allende

1. For Whom The Bell Tolls by Ernest Hemingway

1. Fight Club by Chuck Palahniuk

1. Harry Potter Series by J. K. Rowling

1. The Godfather by Mario Puzo

1. Dreams from My Father: A Story of Race and Inheritances by Barack Obama

1. The Anatomist by Federico Andahazi

1. Cien Años De Soledad by Gabriel García Márquez

Other notable mentions:

1. To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee
2. On Black Sisters Street: A Novel by Chika Unigwe
3. Stories by O.Henry
4. Pandora by Anne Rice
5. The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald
6. East Wind: West Wind by Pearl S. Buck
7. Тютюн by Dimitar Dimov
8. The Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy by Douglas Adams
9. The Taming of The Shrew by William Shakespeare
10. Perfume: The Story Of A Murderer by Patrick Süskind 

You can't get lost if you don't know where you're going...

9-Jun-2014

The Book That Turned Out To Be Fairly Interesting

Plot:

Set in the second half of the 16th Century, the book follows the first two years of Queen Elizabeth I's reign. The narrative is told by the four main characters in the book - the Queen herself, Sir William Cecil, her most trusted adviser, Sir Robert Dudley, Queen's closest friend and favourite, and Amy Dudley, Sir Robert's wife. The obvious sympathy between Elizabeth and Robert ignites hundreds of whispers and may even cost the Queen her throne.

Why It Turned Out To Be Interesting:

The book is widely based on historical truths, so that makes it quite reliable. It also gives a nice insight of the political and social life in those years. Also, the book was written in nice, kind of high-brow English, which makes it feels like the right thing.

To be honest, I have nothing bad nor extremely good to say, but it was interesting in a way. And it is very good for just filling in the hours before going to bed or when I needed a break from all the papers for school. It's a very good book for what it can offer - a historical novel focused on what the official books could never know.

You can't get lost if you don't know where you're going...

16-Apr-2014

The Book That All Adults Should Read

Plot:

Scout Finch is a six-year-old girl that lives in the fictional town of Maycomb, Alabama with her older brother, Jem, and their widowed father, the lawyer Atticus. The story takes time during the Great Depression, a time of great prejudices and short-mindedness. Atticus takes the case of defending a black person accused of committing a crime (but he's innocent). The town rebels against Atticus' tries to prove his client's innocence and makes their life incredibly difficult, especially taking in account that he is a single father. The end is special, showing the best and the worse in people. The Finch children make a new friends and learn a great lesson - don't kill mockingbirds, all they do is sing.

Why All Adults Should Read:

First, this is a children's book, believe it or not. Second of all, is a golden classic. It's about justice, prejudices and learning what is right and what is wrong. It's beautifully written and the story keeps you interested in all times, it evolves and challenges reader's perspective. All adults, that claim themselves to be very open-minded and not to have any prejudices at all, have to test themselves and see whose side they'll take while reading it. And Scout is such a lovable, charming and sweet character that the reader can't help it but dream of meeting her in real-life or imagining that they would've been the same if they were in her position. It's truly beautiful!

You can't get lost if you don't know where you're going...

3-Apr-2014

The Book That Sounds Like A Song

The Night That Max Wore His Wolf Suit...

Plot:

This is the rather short story of Max and his adventure as the Kind of the Wild Things. You know, it all starts with him wearing his wolf costume and doing one mischief after another.

Why It Sounds Like Song:

Because the WHOLE book is in rhymes! And I love reading it out-loud because it just sounds like reading through a very nice poem. About a boy in a wolf suit. And wild things that won't let him go!

I read this book for the first time in the Winter of 2012 and absolutely charmed me. And the art of the book, ah, it's stunning!  Highly recommend to everyone who at one point or another of their lives are reading a bedtime story to their beloved little ones.

You can't get lost if you don't know where you're going...

23-Mar-2014

The Book That Makes Perfect Sense At Its Very End

The Plot

This is the story of the Buendia Family and the town of Macondo. The patriarch of the family - Jose Arcadio Buendia founded the village after he and his wife (and 1st cousin) Ursula leave their hometown of Riohacha, Colombia, to find better life for themselves and their future children. After that seven generations of Buendias live there, interconnecting their lives and destinies with that of Macondo. They are doomed to live together or die together.

What Makes It So Special

Everything! The magical realism! The fact that you'll find out that the only way of keeping track of who's who and what is their relation to the others is by making a map. The constant repetition of the names. The craziness! The colours! The simbols! And yes, it all, every little peace, comes to it's rightful place at the end! You need to read it to the last letter of the last sentence!

P.S. Bonus points if you can read the original book in Spanish! It's so much better and the language used is just magnificent!

You can't get lost if you don't know where you're going...

25-Feb-2014

The Book That The President Wrote Himself

Plot:

This is the autobiographical story of Barack Obama's childhood and early adulthood. He talks about the struggles he had finding who he is and what he wants from life. This is the story of a boy who have never seen his father and creates this glorious image of him in his mind and eventually the young man who goes on a journey in Africa to find who his father really was, to discover his roots and himself.

Why I like it:

I read this book during Christmas 2012 while Mr. Boyfriend and I were babysitting our friends' cats. It stroke me as incredibly readable narrative, great usage of words and expressions. I was also surprised and charmed to see the life-story of the current President of the U.S.A. written by himself so personally and open-heartedly. The reader get an inside on the ideas and thoughts that made Barack Obama the man he is now - the first black president. Published first 1995 when he enters the political life for the first time - it's obvious that this is not a political propaganda. It's just the honest story of a man who lost and found himself within himself.

You can't get lost if you don't know where you're going...

12-Feb-2014

The Book that Started Excitingly But Ended Predictably

This is the first and so far the only Orhan Pamuk book that I have read so far. It's beginning was quite promising and I had big expectations for it. Besides, I only have heard praise about the author and its books. Although I had my prejudices before I started it I was pleasantly surprised by the book.

The Plot

This is the story of two men who look incredibly alike. One is an Italian prisoner in Istanbul, the other a Turkish scholar known as Hoja (Turkish title for Master since the Ottoman Empire). It all starts when Hoja buys the Italian prisoner and the two start to teach each other everything they know. They get to know the other so profoundly and proficiently that no one, not even they, are able ever to distinguish then from one another.

Why The End Was Predictable

The suspense was growing up to the middle of the book and then ... it was just obvious what was about to happen. Nothing to surprise me, not a single turn in the story, nothing to thrill you or scare you. I almost felt like in the middle of the story the author lost his inspiration or he just didn't care to think about the ending. Nevertheless, the beginning is a masterpiece - the fabula goes nicely, every single detail has its perfect place and contributes to the whole picture. A wonderful first half, I would always recommend the book just for the sake of reading the beginning. But be prepared that you'll guess how would end way before you would wish to.

You can't get lost if you don't know where you're going...

7-Feb-2014

The Book That Changed My Life

I know, it sounds possy and atificial but "The Cather in the Rye" really did change my life and the way I see the world around me. I read it for the first time 5-6 years ago, at a moment in my life when I was struggling with finding my inner voice and deciding what I want from myself and my life. I read it one warm November night, I remember it clearly as it was yesterday. I cried a lot while reading it (I cry a lot at books, only written word can shake the whole of me and to touch a very tender place in my heart) and cried even more after I finished it. Truly magnificent book that sounds very contemporary over 60 years after its first publishing.

The Plot

This is the story of Holden Caulfield told by himself. The dear old Holden is the most anti-hero hero you will ever meet in your book roamings. It will be an oversimplification to say that he is lost and angry young man that struggles with finding his place in the world. The storyline starts just before the Christmas vacation and Holden is expelled (and will not return after the vacations) from his exclusive private school. Later we will get to know that this is not the first time for Holden to get expelled from school. The general feeling we get from him is for a depressed, preoccupied and lost young man. A number of occurrences later Holden is back in New York and gets even more depressed. A date night went wrong doesn't improve his already bad mood and he gets really drunk. This is when we meet his little sister - his only solace and dearest friend. It is her to whom he shares his dream of becoming a "catcher in the rye". He imagines himself staying at the cliff edge of a rye field and being a sole guardian of the children playing there - he catches them if they are about to fall of the cliff. The story goes on and at the end we realise that Holden is now living in a mental institution after he "got sick".

Through the whole story two things keep on coming up - the death of his brother Allie and his very specific use of language (more or less talking "inappropriately"). The first is a symbol if his emotional attachments to his family and his vulnerability. The second is an act with which he tries to cover his vulnerability and to prove that he is already better than everyone else.

Why I love it

Because Holden is so beautifully lost that I just wish I am able to do something to help him. I wish I could be his cather, I wish I could be THE cather - to save the children from the storms and falls of the adulthood. The book is rather short but really emotional for someone like me who tries to save everyone at the same time. It is a symbol for all those turbulent first years into the adulthood, it deals with alienation, identity crisis, lost sense of belonging. Holden is so real that you can actually hear his sharp tongue in you ear while reading the pages. Holden is my best-friend and my mirror image - he is my dear old good boy who made all the bad choices. And he is the ultimate proof that goodness can exist even in the darkest corners of our  mind.

You can't get lost if you don't know where you're going...

6-Feb-2014

The Library In My Head

Mr. Boyfriend told me the other day that most people don't read the books I recommend because I never recommend light and easy readings. At first it sounded to me like a bit of exaggeration but then I gave it a go and I realised that he was right, again. Don't tell him the last part - his self-esteem doesn't need much of a boosting. However, it is a fact that most of the time I read serious and some-what difficult books. Or world classics, that in most cases are equally hard to read. I like big, interesting, overwhelming stories that leave me breathless. I search for magnetic characters who can teach me about life. I like to get lost between the lines and to define myself through the book. I like my books like I like my cakes - better than everything one could've ever expect out of something so simple.

This whole tirade was just to say that many would not like my taste in books and that's just fine. However, I intend on sharing my personal reviews on the books that have impressed my or have had a huge impact on who I am and what I want form life. Feel free to prove me wrong if you wish to. Tomorrow I promise to tell you about the book that changed my life.

You can't get lost if you don't know where you're going...