Musing Mondays

I haven't written in two weeks as I've been trying to adjust to my new timetable. So no better time to come back as with Musing Mondays.

The question is kinda perfect: What distracts you when you really "should be reading"?

Most of the time, my classes. I study literature, so there's a lot of reading involved there, but I do also take language classes that are (at least for me) more demanding and I need to spend more time on them. When I read for school, I don't get the impression that I'm doing school work, so I always feel guilty and think that I should be doing something else. 

Aside from classes, the Internet. I can't count how many of times I've said I'd just look something up really quickly and then go back to reading. The next thing I know is that it's hours later and I've wasted all the time redditing or doing something even more useless. I usually listen to music while browsing through useless things and I end up convincing myself I've been studying "poetry". Yeah, right. 

Musing Mondays

Unfortunately, I haven't had the time to write a blog post ever since the last Top Ten Tuesday. I don't like not having posts in between the two memes that I write, so I din't plan on doing this week's Musing Monday. But... The question is so good that I decided to answer anyway. 

The question is: What is your least favorite book? Why?

I usually choose my books rather well, so I don't come across bad books that I don't like that often. I do read a stinker once in a while. One of them was P. S. I Love You.

Seriously, this is one of my least favorite books and I immediately start raging when I hear or think about it. What I dislike the most is that tons of readers continue raving on how awesome and great the book is. Well, guess what. It's not. It's poorly written, the main character (I think her name was Holly, but I'm not sure on this one and am too lazy to google anything regarding P. S. I Love You) is annoying. She's not annoying in the "the author is so good that she writes amazingly convinceable characters", she's annoying in the "this writing is so bad that I want to smack her in the face" way. 

This woman is in her thirties and loses her husband. Very bad, I'm sorry and I do sympathize. But why does she keep on acting as if she were four years old? She has no job, she has never had a job, has no school and yet, she declines jobs because she thinks she's too good for them. What the actual fuck? And I'm supposed to feel bad for her? Hell no. I'm a good student and  when I graduate university I hope to get any job, I wouldn't dream of declining anything that would keep me above poverty level and this woman that has no skills (life skills or skills gained through education) and she's declining jobs. And she needs to pay bills.  

The writing is so bad that I actually started counting how many times the author used the phrase (more or less, I'm paraphrasing here): He/She opened his/hers mouth like a goldfish. It was four in the last third. I shit you not. i never got to the romantic part. Holly is a grown up who is treated as a child by her husband. He did this when he was alive and he continued doing so in his death. 

Okay, I could go on writing, but enough for this rant. I'm gonna go calm myself. 

Top Ten Tuesday - Thought Provoking Books

It's time for the Top Ten Tuesday meme! We're supposed to come up with ten most thought provoking books. To be honest, I think a lot while I read, so for me, every book is thought provoking. Sometimes I over think stuff. But here are ten.

In no particular order:

1. Animal Farm by George Orwell - I don't think this one needs much explaining. A commentary about society and the human nature that doesn't change no matter how society changes.

2. Captain Corelli's Mandolin by Louis de Bernieres - A beautifully written love story set in Greece during World War Two. Asks us can we really love someone who we're supposed to hate and not get our heart broken.

3. Fifty Shades of Grey by EL James - Makes me think how stupid people are and that it is true that less and less people read these days. Oh, well... More great books for me.

4. The Master and Margarita by Bulgakov - A modern fairy tale set in Stalin's Russia, exploring the themes of love, death, literature, art and most importantly good and evil. Leaves us with a strong message, hatred and evil are on this Earth only because of humans. The Devil's got nothing to do with it.

5. Death and the Dervish by Meša Selimović - One of my favorite books of all time. I know parts of it by heart. Lets you know what happens when we try to exclude and shelter ourselves and than we're forced to face the real world. Among other things. 

6. Saturday by Ian McEwan - Reminded me a lot of Virginia Woolf's Mrs Dalloway, set in 2003 and takes place during just one Saturday. Made me think about the modern world and modern politics and also that there are two sides of each story. 

7. The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafon - Not really thought provoking, but fantastic in every sense and deserves to be mentioned here. I'd describe it the best by haunting.

8. Harry Potter by JK Rowling - A beautiful story that matures as the reader does and teaches us some of the most important values we ought to have.

9. To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee - A bildungsroman that made me think about the value of innocence and made me feel grateful for everything I have today.

10. Ports of Call by Amin Maalouf - A gentle albeit a bit unrealistic and far fetched story about people who are stuck in a time they can't escape. Truly shows us how little and unimportant we are in the grand scale of events. Our plans don't really matter because there's always something that can get between our hopes and dreams and there isn't much we can do about it.

Musing Mondays

This week's musing question is: Do you take notes while you read?

Yes, I take notes. I always have. I sometimes take it more seriously, sometimes less, but I always take some sort of notes. It first started in primary school, where I regularly attended book reading contests. The student that read the highest number of books won. We'd prove how many books we've read by writing short reviews of those books and you naturally needed notes if you were to write a review.

Later, we had to write book reports for literature class in school and I found it was pleasurable to read with a pen and paper next to you. Today, I usually underline most of my books and will mercilessly scribble all over them with my thoughts and ideas. I do have a notebook intended for by notes, but I usually judge it to be too far to get up and stop my reading for it. Ever since I started writing this blog, I find myself using that notebook more and more, not only for books, but for movies and TV series too. 

Living to Tell the Tale by Gabriel Garcia Marquez

Whenever I read South American writers I get the impression that they come from a land where everyone is a poet. Professional writers, journalists, illiterate grandparents, fishermen, midwives... All of them have great stories to tell and they have the tools of folk stories to help them. I can't know if my impression is right, but I sometimes do get jealous and I think I'd have loved it if I had been born somewhere in Argentina or Columbia, lands that seem so magical in books. But then I remember that all of this is probably just an illusion and that every place in the world is equally magical and that writers are those who make it mystical. 

I used to think that One Hundred Years of Solitude was a product of an only imaginative mind. After reading Living to Tell the Tale I know it isn't completely true. It's not only imagination, this guy was practically born into his greatest novel. He explores his family and its history and combines them into the greatest adult fairy tale of all time. I admit I knew almost nothing of South American history prior to reading this book and I did know that a lot of critics praised One Hundred Years of Solitude for its historical accuracy. I could never be bothered to find out more, I thought it would destroy my view of the book and of the universe Marquez and I have built in my mind. A lot of things are now clearer, as Marquez writes about his inspirations for the novel in his autobiography. I knew his work was autobiographical in a part. Every writer's work is somewhat autobiographical, but Marquez takes it further. He dilutes his life in prose and ads ingredients of pure and healthy imagination.

Plenty of times, when I see an autobiography of a writer, I think to myself: But, who in the world would read that? Somehow, I tend to think that all writers do is, how imaginative, write. What is there to write an autobiography about. Today I sat and wrote. I had a walk and then I wrote some more. This is one of the occasions that I'm always wrong about. And I love to be constantly proven wrong as Living to Tell the Tale shows that one of the things that make a great writer is an immensely rich inner life and thoughts. A great writer is great because of his thoughts and ideas. Gabriel Garcia Marquez is no different. He has fears, hopes, dreams, existential issues, he loves and he aspires like all of us do. In a word he is human. A human with a gift of words.

Living to Tell the Tale is filled with excellent episodes and pictures, but my favorite part is the constant lament about the importance of telling a story in his universe and he reveals us a simple truth: writing is just a way in which we try to avoid death. And the purpose of all art is to produce an illusion that shows us where life is heading. 

I believe that i don't know enough words to express just how much love for books comes out of the pages of this book. And not only books, but every way of stories. Stories are the purpose of Marquez's life. Maybe I could illustrate it in the best way with some of his very own words.

Children's lies are a sign of great talent. 

When children are told the first story that in reality appeals to them, it is very difficult to get them to listen to another. I believe this is not true for children who are storytellers, and it was not true for me. I wanted more. 

It was not necessary to demonstrate facts: it was enough for the author to have written something for it to be true, with no proof other than the power of his talent and the authority of his voice. 

This has been a long and exhausting read. I can't remember the last time it took me so long to finish a book and yet, it's highly rewarding in the end. Truly inspiring and gives you an irresistible urge to stand up, take a pen and start writing. No matter what. I think I'll lay of biographies and memoirs for a while, just to let this one sink completely in.

I had dreamed about the good life, going from fair to fair and singing with an accordion and a good voice, which always seemed to me to be the oldest and happiest way to tell a story. 

- Gabriel Garcia Marquez

If you think you are capable of living without writing, do not write.

- Rainer Maria Rilke

Top Ten Tuesday - Top Ten Books on my Fall TBR List

This week's Top Ten Tuesday question isn't as difficult as some the others have been. Most of these book were on my TBR list for the summer, but as usual, I didn't have the time to read them all. Here they are:

1. Thus Spoke Zarathustra by Friedrich Nietzsche - My knowledge of philosophy is seriously lacking and I need to improve it. Nietzsche is an author who we mention quite often in class, so his works seems important to actually read. So far I've only been reading about him. Somehow, I never get to it.

2. A Moveable Feast by Hemingway - Ever since I saw Woody Allen's Midnight in Paris, I wanted to read this book. This was in January this year and I still haven't gotten around to it.

3. Little Women by Louisa May Alcott - It's mentioned in Friends, my favorite sitcom of all time. Little Women have been on my TBR lists for years including this one. Although, I seriously doubt I'll be reading it.

4. The Troublesome Offspring of Cardinal Guzman  by Louis de Bernieres - This is the third part of a trilogy I've enjoyed. I plan to read it as soon as possible.

5. Tropic of Cancer by Henry Miller - I bought it a couple of months ago, but haven't read it yet. Naturally, it's on my TBR list.

6. Heart of a Dog by Bulgakov - I liked The Master and Margarita and I've heard great stuff about this book too. I'll definitely give it a chance as soon as possible.

7. Middlesex by Jeffery Eugenides - Actually, everything i know about this book is that some people, whose taste in books I trust, have liked it. And I've heard it was compared to Captain Corelli's Mandolin which is one of my favorite books ever. That's good enough for me.

8. Ulysses by James Joyce - As a literature student, I'm supposed to read it, but I don't even know where to start. Am I too young for it? Do I know enough to follow Joyce? Should I read something else by Joyce first? Should I get some sort of critical opinions to read parallel with Ulysses? So many questions, so little time, so many other books to be read....

9. The Subtle Knife by Philip Pullman - The second part of an immensely imaginative trilogy. I read the first part two years ago and I loved it. I always plan this to be my next book, but I never read it.  

10. War and Peace by Tolstoy - The same as for Joyce only add another question: Do I have the willpower not to quit after three hundred pages?

I'm certain I could come up with more, but since the question says ten, this has to be enough.

Musing Mondays

I decided to share my answer to this week's Musing Mondays question. The question is: Have you ever considered writing a book before? What genre would you write?

Honestly, I have thought about writing a book and not only thought, but I constantly think about it. I'm always scribbling something, I write short stories which I submit to some contests, but I don't really expect anything out of them. I think I have some good book ideas and I work on them all the time, but I'm not very diligent. I write a page or so every few months. I still haven't found the will power to write more. Or maybe if I have a better idea, I'll work harder. Even though I doubt it, these ones are good enough, I just need to stop procrastinating.

I'm not sure about the genre. I believe that good books are beyond a genre. Most of the stories I come up with are set in the past, but they're not exactly historical novels. I like the stream of consciousness, the psychological novel and plenty more. Some of my short stories have elements of SF in them. So, no genre from me.   

Nothing really is stopping me from writing a book, and I'm currently doing it. The good news is, if I continue writing in this pace, it should be done when I'm about forty.

Casanova

This week, I decided to watch BBC'c production of Casanova, Russel T Davis's view on the story of the legendary womanizer. In the course of three episodes, we see Casanova's rise to power, fame, fall, rise again and repeat this over and over again.

The cast is lead by the brilliant David Tennant, who, I have to confess, isn't your usual choice for the role of Casanova. Especially if you consider that Heath Ledger starred in the same role the same year. The old Casanova is played by Peter O'Toole.

The story sets of as Casanova stories usually do - with a flashback. The old Casanova is in a castle, writing his memoir. There he is joined by a young servant, Edith, who asks him to tell her the story of his life. The story of an unhappy love, a man who indulges himself, but beneath all the love and sex, there's a basic story of pride and rivalry between two men.

Casanova arrives in Venice, after having finished his studies in Padua. There he meets the love of his life, Henriette, but she's engaged to another man whose best quality is that he's rich. Casanova doesn't seem to be too heartbroken, he finds condolence in the beds of many different women. One of the most important is Bellino, a woman he thought was a castrato. They're supposed to get married, but she realizes that Giacomo is in love with Henriette and decides that she can't go through. Henriette admits she's in love with Casanova, but also says that she could never be with him because he's poor. In a twist of weird luck, Casanova gets adopted by a rich priest and is now a suitable husband for the golddigging Henriette. Grimani, the man who she was supposed to marry, doesn't want to go down without a fight, so he manages to get Casanova arrested and sentenced to fifteen years in prison. The hero of the story quickly escapes prison and is on the run with his manservant and the boy who is his illegitimate son. Their adventure from all over Europe begins and takes place in the most memorable places like Paris, London and Naples. The old Casanova tells Edith that the most shocking story is set in Naples, that's where he reunites with Bellino who admits that she gave birth to his daughter and that very same daughter is about to start a sexual relationship with his son. That's where Casanova realizes all's gone to hell. Quite literally.

Bellino, Casanova and Henriette

One thing that usually boggles my mind is how come every portrayal of Casanova is so likable. I mean, if we knew him in real life, we'd probably think he was a douche. This dude is somewhat of a Barney Stinson from two hundred years ago. This one is a bit different. Casanova is still likable enough. He's funny, adorable and honest, but he gets to face the consequences of his actions. He has a son and his son is his own reflection. In the end, he has to face the fact that the boy is exactly what he saw. I find it a bit ironic that Casanova wanted to make the money and fight so that he could be a good role model for his son, and yet, he does become a role model, but only in the bad. We can see the sad, the mournful side of the man who is thought to have been a decadent living to his fullest, never looking back. The dialogue is a bit more worldly than I would believe it to have been and brings us a dash of the twenty first century. I highly doubt it that in the middle of the eighteenth century anyone would be as open and encouraging of a homosexual relationship as was Henriette. 

The story in Naples felt a bit pushed and unnecessary. If the point was to show that his son ends up in the same way as he did, it could have bee done a bit differently. It's too short and too jumbled up. The other part of the plot I found silly was the whole story with Henriette. I thought it could have been handled a lot better. She's a golddigger and that's it. How do all these men want her? First, she wants to marry one just for his money and he's OK with it. Then the other one gets rich. All of a sudden, he's acceptable and she dumps the first guy. The second guy gets arrested and loses everything. Suddenly, the first one doesn't seem so bad. I'm not saying that you can eat and drink love, but this isn't love it's pure interest. Yet, we're supposed to believe that she wasn't in all of her relationships for money. Had she chosen Casanova before he was rich, she probably couldn't have been promised the life of a lady, but it was comfortable enough. But she wanted to be a lady, she put the material before her emotions. After toying with these men for so long, why do they want her? Can't they see that she doesn't care about anything other that herself?

I love the humor behind the story. It's a wonderful self-satire where we see the racy Brits who are governed by their lust, they drink tea with lemon and some even like sandwiches! Oh, the insolence! It's even more funny because the story set in London comes after the one set in Paris where the court is shown as a total joke and all the women wear extremely short dresses.  

Casanova is just one of the many wonderful mini series produced by BBC and I give it my highest recommendation! 

Top Ten Tuesday - Bookish Confessions

I didn't want to do this week's Top Ten Tuesday, hosted by our The Broke and the Bookish, but it was too much fun to miss out on. I have many...

1. I judge people based on what their favorite books are - I try not to be a snob and I'll read anything, but I think a favorite book says a lot about a person. If you're over twelve and your favorite book is Twilight I will think you're a twit without a brain. If your favorite author is Joyce, I expect us to have a nice conversation about him and his books. If your favorite author is Paulo Coelho or Dan Brown, I will think that you don't know enough words to explain why they're your favorite authors. 

I've had a lot of these conversations:

A person: Oh, you like reading. You should really read The Alchemist, it changed my life....

A voice in my head: You, sir/madam, are a moron.

Me: Yeah, sure... (Poker face)

2. I use books as coasters - I always have books around me. Usually what I'm currently reading or my favorite books that always have to be near me. I always have a cup of coffee. This leads to an insane amount of coffee stains on my favorite books. The more stains it has, I've probably read it more times.

3. I write all over my books - Sometimes it's just underlining, sometimes I write a sentence I liked, sometimes I write my own thoughts.

4. I've never actually done this, but - I wouldn't feel guilty about not returning a book to a library - If I really, really wanted it and I couldn't find it anywhere to buy, I would just say I lost it and pay the fine. I've never done this because... My fifth confession.

5. I don't go to libraries - If I have to find something for class, I will borrow a library book. But a casual read... Hell no. One of the main reasons - My sixth confession.

6. I never return a book in time - Back in the day when I tried going to libraries, I hated that I had to read a book in two weeks. It's not too short and I could read it in less, but I hated the pressure and it stopped me from enjoying the books I read. So I just stopped going to libraries. 

7. I never lend my books - There are exceptions, like my aunt, but generally no. I will usually say that I don't know if I have the book and I need to check or that I have so many that I need time to find it do to my poor maintenance skills.Then I hope they've forgotten about it. The truth is, the only thing I keep organized and neat are my books and I can tell I which books I have any time of the day. I hate it because people seem to consider my books like public property and don't take me seriously when I say I want them back. My money, my book. Just return it! Also, my shelves are a whole, they seem sad when there's a part missing.  

8. If I  do lend you my book - I will hunt you down until you return it. I don't care how psycho it makes me look. My money, my book! I don't care if I said I didn't like it.

9. I read the last page - Then I try guessing how the plot gets there. I don't mind spoilers at all, whether I'm reading or watching a show or whatever. I'll usually just go finding spoilers on my own. 

10. Danielle Steel and Sidney Sheldon - I read more of their books than I can count. Don't judge too harsh. I was ten and I stumbled upon them at home. I was just proud I could read "real", "grown up" books. To this day, I think Master of the Game and Bloodline are awesome books.

I could go on like this forever, but it seems to be enough.

Girls

I recently saw the first episode of a relatively new TV show called Girls. I had nothing better to do, didn't feel like watching Downton Abbey, so inspired by all the praise I've been hearing, and all the Emmy nominations, I decided to give it a shot. 

It's not bad by any means. I could say it seems fantastic considering that I've seen just one episode. But something about it seems gloomy and dark. I'm so not in the right place to watch Girls. I'm a bit younger than the main characters, I'm still in college and I don't really want to think too much about what happens later. Especially not while watching a dark and depressing show. Not to be too dark, it did have some funny parts. I snorted with laughter when Hannah said that there were two angels in the kitchen, one a Victoria's Secret angel and the other a fat baby angel. 

The four mane characters, Hannah, Marnie, Jessa and Shoshanna; are inspired by the characters from Sex and the City. So far, I don't really see it. Girls from Girls seem more realistic, but bare in mind I'm talking based only on the first episode. They seem to deal with bigger problems than Sex and the City. If maybe not bigger, than in a more serious way. They go through life one mistake at a time (the line is part of the tagline, I find it clever and catchy).

Described as the life of a generation of girls that grew up watching Sex and the City. I think I was too young to watch Sex and the City when it first aired, but I did watch the series later and I can't consider myself to have grown up with it. I don't know if it's just me or what, but I thought it was just some cheap fun, fluff. It didn't have any affect on me what so ever. When did we start taking things so seriously? The reason why I watched so many episodes of Sex and the City was to look at some nice clothes, laugh at some outfits that I'd never wear in my right mind, laugh at some jokes and spend thirty minutes not thinking about anything serious. It showed me a life I didn't have and a life I didn't want. I'm writing this because I'm only a little bit younger than the girls from Girls, so it comes to me surprising and unbelievable that anyone could make their decisions based on four silly fictional characters. Is Sex and the City a cult? Does anyone really believe that you can spend almost every day having lunch, breakfast and drinks with your friends, that you can write one lousy column in a shitty paper and still afford all those designer clothes? If you do, you have a problem. And that problem isn't Sex and the City.

Everyone with half of a brain should know that you can't live your life the way those girls did. Everyone knows that shows like How I met your Mother or Friends aren't real because no one can lead a lifestyle like that. But I don't see anyone making shows about the life of a generation that grew up watching Friends and now thinks that the can live their entire lives just sitting in a coffee shop drinking the entire day without a worry in their mind and still afford the fabulous apartments they live in. I'm just wondering how many future doctors will be extremely depressed because medicine isn't exactly what we see on House or Grey's Anatomy. Come on, people, common sense isn't that difficult to find.

Sex and the City was a phenomenon mainly because it showed a generation of emancipated women that didn't need, but wanted a man; and because it handled a topic that wasn't actually addressed before: what does it mean to be a single woman in her thirties. And all that in a slightly ditsy, humoristic manner. 

Girls isn't a bad show, it really isn't. At least not from what I've seen so far. I'm just more caught up in people who take all of this shit so seriously and try to find out whether they're a Samantha or a Carrie, a Charlotte or a Miranda. Or, whatever. If you get around to it, watch an episode or two of Girls. You might really enjoy it and you could be in a better place than I am for a show like this.

Top Ten Tuesday - Favorite Books I've Read During the Lifespan of this Blog

I'm a bit late on this week's Top Ten Tuesday, a meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish. I haven't been blogging long enough to read ten books in the lifespan of my blog, so I'll write about the books I loved lately.

1. One Day by David Nicholls - A refreshing, slightly melancholic story of two people spanning over two decades. My review. 

2. Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov - One of the best books I've ever read ant not only during the span of my blog. Truly a favorite and a book I'll be returning to plenty of times in the next years. My review.

3. The Return of Filip Latinovicz by Miroslav Krleža - A book by a Croatian author, dealing with some of his favorite topics. Art, liberty, homesickness, love, infatuation, crime, family, human psychology, existentialism, decadentism and many, many more. A true gem of Croatian and other south Slavic literatures.  

4. Inshallah, Madonna, Inshallah by Miljenko Jergović - A short story collection, each was inspired by a traditional Bosnian folk song. A book that breathes and smells of my native Bosnia.

5. The Counterfeiters by André Gide - A gentle book that seems to float somewhere between a dream and reality and has one of the most interesting compositions I've ever read featuring a novel in a novel. A lot of events are inspired by Gide's real life.

6. The Woman of Rome by Alberto Moravia - I wrote a paper on this book and thanks to the paper i had to delve deeply into the text which got me thinking about the beauty of Moravia's language, the excellent portrayal of the main character, Adriana, and his subtle writing about Rome, politics and human destiny. Had there not been my paper, I probably wouldn't have liked it as much.

7. Balthasar's Odyssey by Amin Maalouf - Balthasar is a Christian living in the Levant. He sets of to a journey to track down a book. The journey takes him as far as London. Maalouf's themes are universal and almost the same from book to book, and yet always brought to us with a dash of new thinking.

8. Three Comrades by Erich Maria Remarque - A powerful antiwar book that shows us what happens when guns fall silent and you have to continue with your every day life. Strong, moving and above all - haunting.

9. To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee - A gentle book that reminded me a lot of Dickens. A bildungsroman about a girl who's drawn in to events she can't understand, thus being forced to grow up sooner. In the end, her childhood innocence is lost forever and we are left with a strong message: that it's a sin to kill a mockingbird.

10. The Prague Cemetery by Umberto Eco - Plenty of literary critics have said that this wasn't one of Eco's finest, but I disagree. Maybe I'm just too fond of Eco, but I think The Prague Cemetery is as good as his earlier work. It's a story of conspiracy, murder, mystery and fine philosophy. 

I've read all of these books during this year and this list features some really great books. I'm happy!

Downton Abbey - the Beginning of Season One

So far I've seen the first four episodes of the series Downton Abbey. The show centers around the life of a noble family and the lives of their servants. It opens in 1912. right after Titanic sank. Downton Abbey is an estate which can only be inherited by male heirs and the Earl of Grantham has three daughters. His heir, who was engaged to his eldest daughter, died on Titanic. This reveals the center conflict of the show, how will they get accustomed to the new heir who isn't a part of their noble world. Or will he be the heir at all?

Hugh Bonneville takes the role of the merciful aristocrat Robert Crawley, his American wife is played by Elizabeth McGovern. They have three daughters, Mary, Edith and Sybil. They are joined by the heir presumptive, Matthew, and his mother Isobel Crawley. The entire family is watched over by the firm eye of the matriarch of the family - the Dowager Countess who is marvelously brought to life by the brilliant Maggie Smith. 

The Crawley sisters are interesting, but I also feel a bit sorry for them. They lead such boring lives. They wake up, they get dressed, they eat, they talk, they frequent other people. I know this was the normal life for an aristocratic woman, but I think we might get to see a lot of changes for them. Especially since we know that World War One is approaching. 

So far, Sybil is my favorite sister and it seems that we are starting to see a lot more of her. She's the only one of the sisters that seems to be doing something with her life. She's open minded and outspoken. It seems the Earls won't have an easy time with her.

Mary is an interesting character and i think her whole life could be summed up in a single sentence I'm not as rebellious as everyone thinks. I think she's a woman trapped in certain rules that she doesn't know how to get rid of, nor does she know if she wants to. I'm not sure how I think about her yet. At times, I admire her, and sometimes I think she's being mean and petty and unreasonable. Being open minded is great, but she doesn't seem to think about the consequences of anything she does. She's seduced by the Turkish diplomat who dies in her bed, discards Napier too easily. If she doesn't become a bit more careful, she might lose everything. 

Cora's accent was a bit annoying at first. I thought that she should well decide whether she wanted to be American or British. But then I realized that considering the time she's been living in England, she probably would have acquired some foreign accent, but also never would have completely lost her old one.

The servants' story begins with the arrival of the new valet, Mr. Bates. He's a mysterious man with a limp and knows the Earl seeing as both of them had served in the war. The ambitious servant, Thomas, is hurt by this as he had hoped to become the Earl's next valet. The other servants are William, Daisy, Carson, Mrs. O'Brien, Anna, Gwen and Mrs. Hughes. 

One thing I don't like so far is that the relationship between Thomas and William seems a bit forced. We haven't really seen the core of it, the only thing they have in common is Daisy. But Thomas isn't interested in her, he only wants her so that he could get to William. I don't want to accept that the only reason behind the conflict is that Thomas is a prick who doesn't like the fact that William is nice. I hope they explore this a bit further. Their relationship is basically the thing that runs everything with the servants. They seem to be divided in two polar opposites, the bad ones who enjoy plotting - around Thomas: and the nice ones, the martyrs - around William. I hope they change this and we get a bit more insight.  

I'll make a guess here and say that Bates's story hides something deeper and that and the plot line with Kemal Pamuk will be the center of future conflicts.

These four episodes have all been interesting and I'm curious to see how will World War I change things in Downton Abbey. 

Tim Burton's Corpse Bride

I admit that I tend to give more importance to some stories than they realistically have. I guess that Corpse Bride is one of them. I'm going to justify that by two simple facts. One, I'm a big fan of Tim Burton, and two, I love cartoons! Sure, there have to be a few more, but these two are the first ones that come to mind.

So, basically, the story is this: Victor is supposed to marry Victoria, but just can't seem to get his vows right. He goes to a forest to practice them and there he accidentally marries a corpse, Emily. Isn't it great?

My general opinion on Tim Burton these days is that he should take a giant brake from filming with Johnny Depp and Helena Bonham Carter. I love all three of them and I think they've made some great stuff together, but right now I think everyone is fed up with the two of them in crazy, out of the ordinary roles. My impression is that he just makes movies around the two of them, fitting the roles to match the actor, instead of trying to find the perfect actor for the role. I don't know how often that is among directors (there is the whole story with their muses), but Tim Burton is starting to be a bit unimaginative and boring. Let's dress up Johnny and Helena in a costume and make them do weird, crazy shit! Victor looks just like Johnny Depp and Emily looks just like Helena Bonham Carter. That being said, I did like them in this movie, but too much is too much.

Beneath a simple story, there lies a deeper message. One I liked the most was exploring the concept of marriage. Victor comes from a rich family, but their wealth is newly acquired. Victoria is from a noble family, but unfortunately, the family wealth is no more. Victor's family needs social status, Victoria's family needs the money. There is no thought of love here. Nobody cares if the two people are even going to like each other, let along love the other one. The wedding is stopped after Victor is too nervous to say the vows. Aren't the vows lovely: With this hand I will lift your sorrows, your cup will never empty, for I will be your wine, with this candle I will light your way in darkness, with this ring I ask you to be mine.

I always enjoy a nicely told love story, but it's important to note that Corpse Bride isn't a typical love story. In the beginning we see a moment between Victor and Victoria. I'd say that the emphasis was on Emily and her failed marriage, the one the left her as the Corpse Bride. At first, we get the impression that she isn't bitter, but as the story progresses, it's easily seen that Emily still holds a grudge (perfectly understandable, I'd say) and that she's having a difficult time letting go of her past life. She doesn't want to understand that Victor has a life above the Earth and will do anything she can to bring him to the afterlife.

There's a glitch, Victor can't stay in the afterlife as the only living thing, he has to stop hi heart forever in order to give it someone forever. Victor and Emily organize a wedding in Victor's world and decide that in the end, Victor will die. I thought it was symbolic and beautiful in a creepy, eerie sort of way.

I found myself thinking a lot about the portrayal of the afterlife. I don't know if it's heaven or hell, or maybe just some sort of limbo, but it's unusual seeing that everyone gets to go to the same place after they've gone. It's as if they're saying that just by enduring everything in the life of the living, you deserve to go to the same place. The afterlife isn't perceived as a punishment or as a reward for your actions during your life. It's more of a next thing, just a natural progression, where you continue your life in almost the same way as you lived it.

Tim Burton decides to give us a happy ending. Emily realizes that, no matter what the social norms and the proper thing is, you can't make someone love you. She finally finds her peace leaving us with the message that, in the end, the only thing we do need for love is a beating heart.

Top Ten Tuesday - Romances That Could Survive in the Real World

This weeks topic hosted by The Broke and the Bookish is a bit more difficult. I don't read that many romance novels and those that I have read are completely unrealistic. Let's give it a shot:

1. Fermina Daza and Dr. Juvenal Urbino from Gabriel Garcia Marquez's Love in the Time of Cholera - Their marriage is out of interest. Fermina is pretty, Juvenal is sort of rich and they get along together. It's not a love that conquers all, that moves the universe, an undying passion, but they did live a happy life for fifty years. Maybe it did conquer all?

2. The Reader and Ludmilla from Italo Calvino's If on a Winter's Night a Traveler - This isn't a typical romance, but then again, If on a Winter's Night a Traveler isn't a typical novel. You are the Reader and you're stuck in a book, but it's not really you. Trust me on this one. There, you meet Ludmilla, the other reader and you go on an adventure together. In the end you get married and are pronounced the Reader and the Reader (in Italian Lettore and Lettrice). Face it, relationships between readers work. Most of the time.

3. Pelagia and Antonio from Captain Corelli's Mandolin - Technically, they didn't have a love story, but I think it was very realistic. They fell in love, life separated them and they spent their life wondering what could have been. Sounds like real life to me. 

4. Sibel and Kemal from Orhan Pamuk's The Museum of Innocence - Their relationship didn't work out in the book, but had they lived outside of a book, I'd bet it would have. Men of Kemal's background and breeding don't leave their sophisticated fiancées in order to pursue a girl who is almost fifteen years younger, outside of his class and doesn't want to be caught. At least, this one wouldn't have the courage.  

5. Holly and Gerry from Cecelia Ahern's P.S. I Love You - I hated this book and will fight everyone who says it was amazing, but I can't deny that stories like this exist. A couple gets married way too young and then one of them doesn't know how to go on with their life without the other one.

6. Lotte and Albert from Goethe's The Sorrows of Young Werther - The entire book is written from Werther's perspective and we don't really know how Lotte feels, but from the glimpses we get of the real her and not the one that's constantly on Werther's mind, she's in love with Albert, and Albert is in love with her. They chose each other and are as happy as they can be.

7. Lata and Haresh form Vikram Seth's A Suitable Boy - While I was reading this book, I didn't want Lata to marry Haresh. I was rooting for her to defy her family and marry the one who she chose, even if it would have been more difficult. In the end, she makes the sensible choice and marries the hardworking, sweet guy her mother chose for her. Most people do make the sensible choice.

8. Marguerite and Armand from Alexandre Dumas's The Lady of the Camellias - A girl who is using a guy who's smitten. I know there's a lot more to The Lady of the Camellias than all the using, but this is the part that certainly works in real life.

9. Cecilia and Roby from Ian McEwan's Atonement - Both of them are stubborn and know what they want. Even though they come from different social backgrounds they decide to fight for each other in the book and are each other's equal. I think a similar thing would happen in real life.

10. Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson from The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes by Arthur Conan Doyle - Not a love story, but I want a tenth and don't want to leave it at nine! And while we're at it, they could work in real life. And they're almost a love story. 

I can't believe it I've listed ten of them! Well, this is basically every love story (if we interpret a love story as a story that has some love in it) I've ever read that's a tiny bit realistic. Some of my favorite love stories are from The Master and Margarita, or A Tale of Two Cities, but they don't have the tiniest shot of happening in real life. 

The Christmas Cookie Club - Ann Pearlman

The first word I came up with when trying to describe this novel is lovely. It's an interesting story of eleven women whose lives collide a bit before Christmas. These women (Marnie, Charlene, Rosie, Juliet, Laurie, Alice, Jeannie, Allie, Sissy, Vera, Tracy, Taylor) all gather once a year to exchange their holiday cookies and stories behind them. Each chapter is named after a different character, begins with a recipe and ends with a story about a different ingredient or spice, presenting us with some more or less known trivia about them. I have to be honest and admit that i didn't actually read all the recipes. I can't cook and they didn't mean anything to me, so I just skipped most of them, but i guess that it could be an interesting part for someone who enjoys cooking.

I really loved the composition of The Christmas Cookie Club. It was interesting and the thing that initially drew me to read it, but it could have been implemented better. I know that the plot is based on true events and that the author participates in the real cookie club, but there are just too many characters. I know that most of us know a lot of people and a real life club can exist with more than twelve members. But it doesn't work in a book when it's only some two hundred pages long. 

The Christmas Cookie Club is supposed to show us the value of friendship and love and that we can go through a lot with the help of loved ones. It manages to do so in a certain extent, but it's naive most of the time. I thought their stories weren't explored enough and that they should have been shown with a bit more insight and depth. We don't have enough time to get to know and care all of them and to understand their motivations and feelings There are just so many of them that it was difficult to follow which story belonged to who. The book would have been a lot better if it had dealt with only three or four people and their entire stories. This way, I constantly thought I was reading a draft for a really lengthy novel.

My favorite part of the book is the cover. I think it catches the essence perfectly: holidays, cookies, gifts and women walking alone into a house where they will find moments of happiness and understanding. I know there are many people who think that the cover isn't important and that it's a trivial thing to care about, but I can't help loving beautiful cover art. Each time I look at the cover my book, I can almost smell a special blend of tea I drink at Christmas time, apples and cinnamon.  

My cover

I appreciated not sugarcoating almost anything. These women are ill, they cheat and are cheated on, they fight with finances, raise their children on their own and with help. It got me thinking if any genuinely happy people exist. Of course, everyone has their own problems, but the problems of these women are difficult and feel very real. Marnie's husband passed away from cancer, her second husband cheated on her, her younger daughter, Tara, is pregnant at eighteen, her elder daughter, Sky, has had two miscarriages and a stillborn. Charlene's son died in an accident on a construction sight. Taylor lost her job and had to move out of her house. If I had written it, I would have had Sky's baby ill. I know this makes me an awful person, but I think it would have made the story a bit more realistic and I prefer unhappy endings.

The Christmas Cookie Club doesn't actually have a happy ending, it's more bittersweet. Some things have gone okay, the others not so much, but it leaves hope that something will change and that their lives will get better over time with the help of friends.  

My Right to Defend Fanfiction

We've been hearing a lot about fanfiction lately. I blame Fifty Shades of Grey and its conception as Twilight fanfiction. I've read some horrible thoughts on people who either write it or read it, but I think it's a bit too harsh. Fifty Shades is obviously not the brightest shining gem in the world of fanfiction (my review/rant), but I really don't understand all the hate on the concept of fanfiction.

Here are the reasons why I defend fanfiction:

1. I used to read it - One summer, many years ago, I was extremly bored and I was just discovering Mugglenet and I stumbled upon Mugglenet fanfiction. All of a sudden, I had something to do the entire summer. 

2. I used to write it - Unsuccessfully. I was twelve and decided that writing fanfiction would be awesome. I started writing something about Harry, Ron and Hermione in a cave, but I only wrote the first paragraph and came to the conclusion that writing in English is too difficult. So I just went back to reading it.

3. There's some great writing over there - I regret profoundly that I've forgotten my Mugglnet username and password because I had some great stories marked as favorites. One that brought me to tears was Harry at the grave of his parents in Godric's Hollow talking to them about Ginny, Ron and Hermione. There are stories that are witty, sad and imaginative. So what if they borrow characters from someone else?

4. Imitation is the best form of flattery - I think writers feel great when they see that someone cares enough about their work that they want to write something inspired by their books.

5. It's a great way to practice - Most of fanfiction is posted online. I don't know anyone who writes fanfiction and then just keeps it to themselves. What would be the point? If you publish your work online, you're most likely to get some sort of feedback, telling you what to do better and what you're already doing well enough. Even if you don't get feedback, you have to practice in order to get better and there's no other way to practice than to write constantly.

6. Some consider it fun - If people have fun writing it - great! If people have fun reading it - great! I don't see the problem. No one is making you read anything.

I need a better reason to diss fanfiction than it's lame.

Top Ten Tuesday - Ten Posts I Think Give You the Best Glimpse of Me

It's time for another Top Ten Tuesday hosted by The Broke and the Bookish! This week's topic is ten posts that give you the best impression of me. Now, I haven't been writing this blog for a long time, so i don't have that many posts, but I'll do my best to give a few posts I think say the most about me so far. Ok, seems like fun, let's go!

In no specific order:

1. My first post where I say (in not that many words) what i plan to be doing and writing in this blog.

2. My Fifty Shades of Grey rant gives you the impression of books I don't like to read.

3. My latest Lolita review gives you the impression of the kind of books I love to read.

4. My review of Hysteria gives you a glimpse into the kind of movies I like watching during a rainy day to relax.

5. The Top Ten Tuesday from last week says a lot about my favorite books and characters I wish i could become.

So there it is. Five. I think it's enough for now, considering that I currently have maybe a bit more that ten posts, this is more than enough and I think it could give you a pretty good impression of who I am. Until next time!

Nabokov's Lolita - A World of Poetic Prose

One of the first things I'd advise a reader before starting this book is to get to know what the concept of an unreliable narrator is. If you've already read Lolita than you probably know, or at least should know that that's Humbert Humbert.

The greatest success of this novel is the psychological manipulation. Before Nabokov introduces Lolita to the story, he introduces Humbert. A disturbed European individual. The first thing we get to know about him is that his mother died when he was very young and that he lost his first love even before he was old enough to appreciate it. At this point, it's over. We already sympathize with the boy. Even when he tells abut going to parks and watching little girls, most of readers will think that they understand him. He lost his life and his bride, can't we cut him sum slack? The portrayal of Humbert's character does make us understand him, but it is difficult, and i'd also add, wrong, to sympathize. 

The manipulation continues, so much that by the end most of us will think that Humbert is actually the victim here, that he was manipulated by the little girl. One of the things I had to keep saying to myself while reading was this girl is only twelve, this girl is only twelve, in order to avoid falling into a trap that Humbert has laid out for us.

If look at Lolita's situation, what choice does the girl really have? She's just lost her mother, has no father, what prospects does she have? Actually, we know nothing of her. We have no idea what her fears are, little pleasures, hopes and dreams. The only thing we do know are the things Humbert says. And he is mentally unstable. Lolita's character is Humbert's portrait. Everything we know about her comes from Humbert. This is the first thing he tells us  

She was Lo, plain Lo, in the morning, standing four feet ten in one sock. She was Lola in slacks. She was Dolly at school. She was Dolores on the dotted line. But in my arms she was always Lolita.

My favorite part of Lolita was the beautiful language. I think my heart starting pumping faster each time I came across one of the many beautiful sentences. For instance, look at the way Lolita starts

Lolita, light of my life, fire of my loins. My sin, my soul. Lo-lee-ta; the tip or the tongue taking a trip of three steps down the palate to tap, at three, on the teeth. Lo. Lee. Ta.

In the words of Gabriel Garcia Marquez: It was like finding poetry dissolved into the soup of daily life. That is a great accomplishment. Nabokov is capable of creating poetry out of anything. And i really do mean everything. A sunset, an encounter, hope, hatred. 

Lolita is enjoyable on so many levels. Just for the plot, the language, the relationship between the reader and the writer, the subtlety of Nabokov's literary references (and the ones not so subtle). To be honest, I've always thought that Poe's Annabel Lee was romantic and beautiful, but Lolita put it in a bit more perspective. No matter how hard I try, I can't stop thinking about Poe as an inspiration for Humbert Humbert. Nabokov links existence with literature, thus explaining some of the simplest and most exquisite truths about life.

I have often noticed that we are inclined to endow our friends with the stability of type that literary characters acquire in the readers mind.

Some of his heroes are Edgar Allan Poe, Ronsard, Proust, Joyce and many others. With Lolita I have cried, I have laughed, gasped, hoped, dreamed. Truly a favorite.   

I will create a brand new God and thank him with piercing cries, if you give me that microscopic hope.

 -Vladimr Nabokov

   

Around the World in Eighty Books

Around the World in Eighty Boos is a book challenge hosted by Goodreads. I don't use Goodreads very often so I'm not doing this challenge with them and I've come up with some of my own rules that might, or might not be similar to the ones on Goodreads. If you're interested, you can find them here.

These are the rules I've decided to follow and I might have invented some of my own:

1. I'm doing this challenge independently from Goodreads.

2. I haven't given myself a deadline.

3. I started from my country of birth.

4. I can go from a country to a country only if they border each other, either by land or by sea. I find it that this is too difficult, I will disregard this rule.

5. I don't count books I've already read, only the ones I haven't read yet.

6. If I have to go through a country twice, I'll read another book, but i won't count it. For instance, if I start in Spain and go to Portugal, then start another book set in Spain and then from Spain go over to France, the total is three, not four.

I think this is about it. It seems fun, but I don't want it to become my main preoccupation. I won't be finding books that fit this challenge specifically, but if they do great. I don't even know if I'll finish it. So far, it's benn fun, and this is what I've read. I started in early june.

1. Inshallah, Madonna, inshallah by Miljenko Jergović - The first book in the challenge, set in my native Bosnia and Herzegovina, written by a Bosnian/Croatian author. It was a great surprise, as it comes from an author that isn't one of my favorites. A collection of short stories each of which was inspired by a different Bosnian traditional folk song. Comprises a lot of Bosnia's traditions and also history. It smells of my home country.

2. Konstantinovo raskršće by Dejan Stojiljković - The second book, set in Serbia and written by a popular Serbian author. I don't think it's been translated into English yet, but the translation would be something like Constantine's crossing. It deals with Niš, the birthplace of the emperor Constantine, during World War II. This book was really successful in Serbia and Bosnia, but I just didn't feel it. It was awfully written, the plot line ridiculous and character development nonexistent.

3. The Return of Filip Latinovicz by Miroslav Krleža - One of hte best books written by one of my favorite authors. Set in Croatia, written by a Croatian author. He explores the human nature, urges, feelings and the society with a story of a painter who returns to his home town after many years. 

4. Foucault's Pendulum by Umberto Eco - The book set in Italy. I didn't find it some of Eco's finest work, but it still was compelling at times, but overall, I thought it too long. Eco makes fun of conspiracy theories and gives us some insight into philosophy. 

5. The Red and the Black by Stendhal - Set in France. A bildungsroman that follows Julien from his days as a poor teacher until his rise to riches and finally his demise.  

6. One Day by David Nicholls - The book I chose for Great Britain. You can read my review, but I'll write it once more. This was one of the gentlest and most touching books I've read in a while. 

So far, I've read six books and have no idea where to go next. I think I'll print a map of the world so that I can follow where I've been. It's a lot more difficult than it seemed at first. It's just struck me just how many books I have to read. Even if books for this challenge were the only ones I had to read, it would take me around two years to finish. But, I don't care. It's been fun so far and I don't think I'll stop just yet.       

Jason Reitman's Juno

I was afraid Juno could end with us not knowing whether or not Juno will give the baby  up for adoption. Those are the kinds of movies I don't like, because it seems to me that the writer doesn't have enough courage to decide what is going to happen and than just leaves it up to the audience to come up with an ending they like. I was pleasantly surprised when I saw that wasn't the case with Juno. I had imagined an ending where Juno and Vanessa stand next to the baby and then the end. Nope. Vanessa adopts Juno's kid. 

I did quite enjoy Juno, but i have some serious problems with it. One is glamorizing teen pregnancy. Come on. It's as if a teen gets pregnant, decides to have the baby and everything else just falls into piece. She goes to school until the very day she gives birth. Yeah, right. And the biggest discomfort of her pregnancy is some morning sickness.

I didn't like the character of Juno. She's spoiled and doesn't have any manners. I know she's supposed to be quirky and unusual, but she acts bratty for most of the time. She wears Converse shoes, listens to obscure music ad watches ancient horror movies. Hurrah! We've got ourselves a unique personality! Imagine you were to meet a Juno. Just how many people would think she was a nice person? And how many would just want to punch her in the face? One more thing I didn't like about her is the way she acts towards her pregnancy. As if it were no big deal. Sure, her entire life doesn't have to end just because she got pregnant at sixteen, but that doesn't mean you get to act like a brat.   

The part of the movie I enjoyed the most was watching J K Simmons, a former neo-Nazi prisoner from Oz, play a loving and a gentle father. But, hey, he's an actor, so that's how things are supposed to work.

The most interesting relationship in Juno is the one between Mark and Vanessa. But we don't get to see anything about them, because, you know, Juno is the title character and we're just too busy watching her act like a brat to even notice the drama going on in these people's lives. Vanessa wants to be a mother, Mark doesn't feel ready to be a father and they're stuck in a situation that can't get resolved without someone getting hurt.

I had fun watching Juno, but I didn't get the reason for all the praise. Just another low budget movie I'll soon forget about. 

How Has a Kindle Changed My Reading Habits

I am a proud owner of a Kindle reading device for almost two years now. And truth be told, I haven't changed my reading habits instantly. It took some time, but a few days ago, I finally realized how much having a Kindle has changed me.

I was looking at some fairly expensive copies of James Joyce and right when I was about to buy them I decided I wasn't going to do that because I could buy a Kindle version for much less money. A year ago, I would have definitely bought the books. I always thought that one of the biggest traits of my character was that I was never sorry to pay much money for a good book. And yet, last week I chose the e-book.

To be perfectly honest, I don't consider e-books to be real books, yet. There is just something sad about listing books instead of holding them in your hand and looking at them on a book shelf. I don't get the same feeling of value when I hold a Kindle with a thousand books as when I look at a crowded shelf. Or are books losing their value over all? Maybe I'm too materialistic and can give real value only to something physical.  

Now, I'm not only a reader, I'm also a bibliophile and a book collector. I've always spent a lot of money on books and I think that the only decorating my walls need is a good bookshelf. The most perfect reading experience is a nicely done book, printed on good paper, with nice cover art. But those are rare.

I have a second point of view, the one of an avid reader. I don't care what the book looks like, they can be torn into pieces, it doesn't even have to be bound, the only thing I want is for all the words to be there. For this kind of reader, an e-book reader is perfect. 

I really doubt it that any sort of an e-book reader will ever change the feeling of a real book completely for me, but times change. My father and his sister used to collect LP records. I have never bought one. Most of the music I listen to comes from youtube. I fully comprehend the idea that my hypothetical children might find  the idea of a book store odd and consider that their Kindle filled with e-books is the same thing as my bookshelf.

Top Ten Tuesday - Top Ten Characters I'd Like to Switch Places With for 24 Hours

I decided to answer the weekly question hosted by The Broke and the Bookish. This week they're asking us which characters we'd switch places with for 24 hours. Here it goes (without any particular order):

1. Hermione Granger  from the Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling - She's one of the smartest students at Hogwarts, an incredibly talented witch, a fierce and loyal friend. Also, we both have messy brown hair. And hey, it's Hogwarts! Who wouldn't want to go there?

2. Dante from Dante's The Divine Comedy - Dante is guided by Virgil and Beatrice through hell, the purgatory and heaven while discovering some of the deepest philosophy known to a man from the Middle Ages. Even if we disregard the philosophy it would be awesome to be a living person who goes through hell and heaven, sees the Devil and God.   

3. Anne Boleyn from The Other Boleyn Girl by Phillipa Gregory - Anne was the toast of the court, the king's sweetheart and an incredibly smart and scheming woman. She wore pretty dresses and conversed with some of the smartest and most educated people of her time. I'd love to be in her shoes for a day, but considering my luck that would be the day she got decapitated.

4. Miranda Tate from the Bard Academy series by Cara Lockwood - Miranda is a spoiled brat who gets sent away to boarding school as a punishment. But what she and her parents don't know is that the school is haunted. Some of Miranda's teachers are Virginia Woolf and Ernest Hemingway. The coolest thing is that Bard Academy is the place where literary characters come to life. I knew it I should have been a brat when I was in high school.

5. Margarita from Bulgakov's The Master and Margarita - She's the woman who loves unconditionally, is the protagonist of one of my favorite books and gets to become a witch, fly all over Russia while riding a broomstick and hosts Satan's ball. What's not to like?

6. Irene Adler from Arthur Conan Doyle's A Scandal in Bohemia - Need I say anything else than that she's the woman who outwits my favorite fictional detective?

7. Scarlett O'Hara from Margaret Mitchell's Gone with the Wind - Scarlett is a girl every man falls in love with and every woman despises. She knows her way around the world, is stubborn, knows what she wants and will do anything to get it.

8. Lyra Belacqua from His Dark Materials trilogy by Philip Pullman - She's brave, smart, has a cute daemon and has to save the world. I always thought of her as an excellent role model for young girls. 

9. Sayuri Nitta from Arthur Golden's Memoirs of a Geisha - I've always wondered whether I'd be any good as a geisha. Probably not, but that doesn't change the fact that I find their world incredibly fascinating. To me they're the women who made the best out of a bad situation and were as independent as they could be in a world ruled by men. They were incredibly talented and educated for the time. They could read, write, recite poems, dance. Almost a liberal arts degree. Heck, if I can't be a geisha, may I dress up in a kimono and wear the make up? Just for a day?

10. Lord Henry Wotton from Oscar Wilde's The Picture of Dorian Gray - He's perfectly cynical, an idle lord who makes Dorian into what he became. Leads almost the same life as Dorian does and manages to escape from it without almost any consequences. 

So, there they are. My top ten. It was a lot more difficult than it seemed. I have to give an honorable mention to Wendy from Peter Pan and Beatriz from The Shadow of the Wind.