Tag: literature

Quote of the day

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I’ve just re-read The Collected Dorothy Parker. To be honest I prefer her short stories over her poems, partially because poetry is such a particular form I find I need to concentrate much more in order to take it in. Especially with the poetry written in my second language. But she sure wrote some sharp poems and her sarcastic/cynical wit is totally up my alley.

Indian Summer

In youth, it was a way I had
To do my best to please,
And change, with every passing lad,
To suit his theories.

But now I know the things I know,
And do the things I do;
And if you do not like me so,
To hell, my love, with you!

Being a recovering people-pleaser, this does resonate with me quite a bit.

books I’ve read lately

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headerCMYKHoly Cow! by Sarah Macdonald

I’m usually not a huge fan of travel books – to me they can often feel like sitting through a stranger’s long tedious slideshow of What I Did on My Holiday. This author though spent some time actually living in the country, and India always fascinated me (and ok, I really liked the colourful book cover). I’ve been to India about nine years ago, and if I hadn’t travelled to Egypt a couple of years previously I’d probably have found it as much of a culture shock as Sarah did on her first trip. It leaves her absolutely hating India and she swears to never return again; however when her partner moves to India for work she follows him to New Delhi and tries to make a life there.

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Thank You for Discworld Terry

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Terry Pratchett passed away today. I’ve known about his Alzheimer’s for years but despite everything I was always hoping he’d be with us for a while longer, certainly longer than 66 which is no age to die at all. And while Alzheimer’s is a tragedy for anyone, how much more cruel it is to happen to one of the sharpest, brightest minds in writing.

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Quote of the day

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I’m reading Ian McEwan’s Amsterdam right now. I’ve got many favourite authors that I love for various reasons, but McEwan is a writer whose command of English language just makes me pause and go, damn this man can write.

This passage really stuck with me, partly because of some personal things going on in my life that made me reflect on people and relationships:

We know so little about each other. We lie mostly submerged, like ice floes, with our visible social selves projecting only cool and white.