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!