Patrick Ness: SEDEM MINUT ČEZ POLNOČ ( A Monster Calls)

Some books are a true art, and not just because of the story which is so magnificently told, but also because of how the book looks. The whole package is something to admire and I think this is the case with the book Sedem minut čez polnoč (A Monster Calls is the original title). 

An unflinching, darkly funny, and deeply moving story of a boy, his seriously ill mother, and an unexpected monstrous visitor. At seven minutes past midnight, thirteen-year-old Conor wakes to find a monster outside his bedroom window. But it isn't the monster Conor's been expecting-- he's been expecting the one from his nightmare, the nightmare he's had nearly every night since his mother started her treatments. The monster in his backyard is different. It's ancient. And wild. And it wants something from Conor.

The author is Patrick Ness, but the story was inspired by Siobhan Dowd, whose premature death from cancer prevented her from writing it herself. Illustrator of the book was Jim Kay. The book won several awards, Ness and Kay won the Carnegie and Greenaway Medals for writing and illustration, recognising the year's best work published in the UK. The double win alone is unprecedented in more than fifty years since the illustration award was established.

I would recommend this book to everyone, really. It's such a powerful, strong novel. And the last paragraph is so heartbreaking jet so beautiful. 

Quotes from the book:

“You do not write your life with words...You write it with actions. What you think is not important. It is only important what you do.” 


“There is not always a good guy. Nor is there always a bad one. Most people are somewhere in between.” 


“Stories don't always have happy endings."
This stopped him. Because they didn't, did they? That's one thing the monster had definitely taught him. Stories were wild, wild animals and went off in directions you couldn't expect.” 


“And if one day,' she said, really crying now, 'you look back and you feel bad for being so angry, if you feel bad for being so angry at me that you couldn't even speak to me, then you have to know, Conor, you have to that is was okay. It was okay. That I knew. I know, okay? I know everything you need to tell me without you having to say it out loud.” 

And now I'm crying again.

Have a great day!

What I'm reading + NOTD pt. 27

"This is a book for teenagers but this is also a book that every adult should read. And maybe the world would become a better place." This is written on a back of the book and I agree with it. Wonder is a beautiful book about acceptance, friendship, love, it's a "funny, frank, astonishingly moving debut to read in one sitting, pass on to others, and remember long after the final page." 

August wants to be an ordinary ten-year-old. He does ordinary things - eating ice cream, playing on his Xbox. He feels ordinary - inside. But ordinary kids don't make other ordinary kids run away screaming in playgrounds. Ordinary kids aren't stared at wherever they go. Born with a terrible facial abnormality, Auggie has been home-schooled by his parents his whole life. Now, for the first time, he's being sent to a real school - and he's dreading it. All he wants is to be accepted - but can he convince his new classmates that he's just like them, underneath it all? 

The story is told by August, but also by his sister Via and her boyfriend Justin, by August’s’ school mate Jack, his friend Summer and by Via's friend Miranda. The translation in Slovene is also great which is the work of Boštjan Gorenc - Pižama (so far I really like all of his translations). 

“Kinder than is necessary. Because it's not enough to be kind. One should be kinder than needed.”  

“Courage. Kindness. Friendship. Character. These are the qualities that define us as human beings, and propel us, on occasion, to greatness.”  

“The best way to measure how much you've grown isn't by inches or the number of laps you can now run around the track, or even your grade point average-- though those things are important, to be sure. It's what you've done with your time, how you've chosen to spend your days, and whom you've touched this year. That, to me, is the greatest measure of success.” 

The nail polish was a gift from my friend, brought to me directly from USA. It’s Lucky from Victoria's Secret and I wouldn't say that is particularly good. Here you can see two coats, but three coats wouldn't be too many. The application is not the easiest, but it's manageable. The polish is very runny, so I had a bit of problems with that. 

Have a great day :) 

Essence colour & care strengthening nail polish in the colour 04 Lean on me

Colour & care is supposed to be 2 in 1 nail polish, meaning that you get healthy looking nails & trendy colour. On the bottle it says that it strengthens and protects the nail surface from daily stress, contains natural ingredients. 

This line was made permanent with last Essence update. I don't mind what it says on the bottle, as I bought it because of the colour. But I have to say I find the bottle cute and I noticed that is has mixing balls inside, which never happened with Essence nail polishes before. 

The brush is really wide and flat so I had to be careful that it didn't go over my nails during the application. Other than that I haven't had any problems with it. Two coats were enough and when you get a hold on the brush the application is easy. 

I like the colour a lot. It's a pastel yellow shade. I was a bit worried that the colour would look almost white, but you can see that they are yellow. I think this shade is great for summer days, when the hands will be a little bit more tanned. 

As for the staying power I can't say much, with my nails I will be lucky if they last a whole day on me. 

Have a great day :)

What I'm reading + NOTD pt. 26

Interestingly enough, just like in the novel Stoner, the novel A Whole Life (original title Ein ganzes Leben) by Robert Seethaler, describes the life of a man from his childhood to his death. 

Andreas Egger has gone through rough childhood, has survived one war and one avalanche. He endures on this earth more than he expected he will. He doesn't remember where he comes from and he certainly doesn't know where the path will lead him. But he looks on his life without any regrets and with constant amazement. 

A Whole Life is a tender book about finding dignity and beauty in solitude. 

What about the nail polish? First there is the name. I ordered it online, and I was intrigued by the name, Neon Sapphire. But there is nothing neon in here. It's a dark blue creme. There is one more thing. It has already become goopy and it's not even that old. So I had problems with the application. And the colour also changed a little. It has become more violet, but it certainly wasn't like that at the beginning. Oh well, I guess this is it for us :) I almost forgot to tell you what brand it is, it's Kleancolor. 

Have a great day :) 

What I'm reading + NOTD pt. 25

This is a story of William Stoner, born at the end of the nineteenth century into a dirt-poor Missouri farming family. Sent to the state university to study agronomy, he instead falls in love with English literature and embraces a scholar s life, so different from the hardscrabble existence he has known. And yet as the years pass, Stoner encounters a succession of disappointments.

This novel was written in 1965 by John Williams and was translated for the first time in Slovenian language in 2015. When published in 1965 the novel sold fewer than 2,000 copies. It was out of print a year later, then reissued in 2003 by Vintage and 2006 by New York Review Books Classics. French novelist Anna Gavalda translated Stoner in 2011, and it became Waterstones' Book of the Year in Britain in 2012. In 2013, sales to distributors tripled. If you have heard of Stoner you may heard that its "the greatest American novel you've never heard of."

At first I thought that the reading will be slow, that I will have to push myself to read every page, but after a few chapters I didn't have problems with reading and I was completely absorbed in the story. We follow Williams throu all of his life from university till his death. And I don't think that his life was bad, I just wish that he would stand for himself more and fought for the things that mattered. There was one time, that I felt that he was fighting for something that mattered to him, and that didn't end so well. It just brought him more problems and dissatisfaction. If you would like to know more about him, read the book ;)

The nail polish is one of the oldest ones. Nivea Calcium power in the colour Cardinal. On some fingers one coat, on other two coats, as usual. Ok application. A nice classic red. 

Have a great day :)

What I'm reading + NOTD pt. 24

Fun fact number 1: I started reading Agatha Christie's books when I was about 13 years old. I think her novels are the reason why I enjoy reading criminal novels so much. Returning to Agatha Christie, I get excited every time I find a book that I haven't read yet. It doesn’t happen often, but from time to time there are published newly translated books. And what about the TV series? How perfect is David Suchet as Hercule Poirot? On point! :) 

Regarding this one (original title Taken at the Flood) I actually found out that I read this one before, not only this, I have the book at home, but it is in Italian language, so I didn't recognize it from the title. But it didn't matter very much, because I didn't remember who the murderer was :) A few weeks after marrying an attractive young widow, Gordon Cloade is tragically killed by a bomb blast in the London blitz. Overnight, the former Mrs Underhay finds herself in sole possession of the Cloade family fortune. Shortly afterwards, Hercule Poirot receives a visit from the dead man's sister-in-law who claims she has been warned by 'spirits' that Mrs Underhay's first husband is still alive. Poirot has his suspicions when he is asked to find a missing person guided only by the spirit world. Yet what mystifies Poirot most is the woman's true motive for approaching him... 

Fun fact number 2: I bought this nail polish just because I was going to Mugello to watch a MotoGP race and since I'm a fan of Valentino Rossi I wanted to have something yellow. There was by chance a limited edition Geometrix from Catrice that also included a yellow nail polish (with the name Yellow) so I bought it. And I haven't used it since. But now, I thought that it would look good with the cover of the book. Yes, sometimes I match my nail polish to the books I'm reading. I applied two coats, but three would be needed for full opacity. The application after two coats is uneven and you can see the nail line. I hate nail polishes that need three coats, so I won't be wearing this anytime soon. And watching the photos I think the polish is better for summer days when we have a bit of tan, so it stands out more. 

Have a great day :)

What I'm reading + NOTD pt. 23

The work of Susanna Clarke Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell is in Slovenian translation divided into three books. The first book, as you can see here, is Mr. Norrell. I haven't make up my mind about this book. I guess I have to read the second and the third part to have a proper opinion.

At the dawn of the nineteenth century, two very different magicians emerge to change England's history. In the year 1806, with the Napoleonic Wars raging on land and sea, most people believe magic to be long dead in England-until the reclusive Mr Norrell reveals his powers, and becomes a celebrity overnight. 

Soon, another practicing magician comes forth: the young, handsome, and daring Jonathan Strange. But this awaits us in the second book.

On my nails is another pastel shade. I would say it's a popular shade a Mint Candy Apple wannabe, just a little darker and maybe a little bit more blue. Even if it seems it's not a pure creme, because it has tiny shimmer, although it is invisible on the nails, but if you try hard enough you can see it in the bottle. The polish is from Essence, You Belong to Me, from their old colour&go line. Weren't those tiny bottles cute? Two coats, easy application and perfect spring nails are here.

Have a great day :)