What I'm reading + NOTD pt. 31

A month ago I showed you the first part of the Jonathan Strange &Mr Norrell, now it's time for the second part, titled Jonathan Strange. In the second book we are acquainted with Jonathan Strange, who is young, handsome, and daring. He becomes Norrell's student, and they join forces in the war against France. But Strange is increasingly drawn to the wildest, most perilous forms of magic, straining his partnership with Norrell, and putting at risk everything else he holds dear. 

After reading the first book I couldn't decide yet if I like the book or not. Now after the second book I'm a little bit more convinced about it, but I think I will wait for the third part, to let you know about the final evaluation. 

The nail polish is from Catrice, with the name Robert's Red Ford. It's not a classic red, it's a little bit more muted, leaning on the cool side. Two easily applied coats were enough for full coverage. 

Have a great day :)

Jennifer Niven: ALL THE BRIGHT PLACES

I picked this one up from my sister's library. It was actually my gift to her for her birthday. My sister read it before me and unfortunately I saw her reading it. I'm saying unfortunately because this was some kind of spoiler for me. I saw her with red eyes and nose which meant she was crying. And all the time while reading I kept thinking when will the sad part start. At the end I wasn't crying so hard as my sister, but I can say that this is that kind of book that leaves you thinking about life.

Theodore Finch is fascinated by death, and he constantly thinks of ways he might kill himself. But each time, something good, no matter how small, stops him. Violet Markey lives for the future, counting the days until graduation, when she can escape her Indiana town and her aching grief in the wake of her sister's recent death. When Finch and Violet meet on the ledge of the bell tower at school, it's unclear who saves whom. And when they pair up on a project to discover the 'natural wonders' of their state, both Finch and Violet make more important discoveries: It's only with Violet that Finch can be himself - a weird, funny, live-out-loud guy who's not such a freak after all. And it's only with Finch that Violet can forget to count away the days and start living them. But as Violet's world grows, Finch's begins to shrink. How far will Violet go to save the boy she has come to love? 

“The thing I realize is, that it's not what you take, it's what you leave.” 

“The great thing about this life of ours is that you can be someone different to everybody.” 

(pinterest.com)

“I learned that there is good in this world, if you look hard enough for it. I learned that not everyone is disappointing, including me, and that a 1,257-foot bump in the ground can feel higher than a bell tower if you’re standing next to the right person.” 

“When you consider things like the stars, our affairs don’t seem to matter very much, do they?” 

(pinterest.com)

“Listen, I’m the freak. I’m the weirdo. I’m the troublemaker. I start fights. I let people down. Don’t make Finch mad, whatever you do. Oh, there he goes again, in one of his moods. Moody Finch. Angry Finch. Unpredictable Finch. Crazy Finch. But I’m not a compilation of symptoms. Not a casualty of shitty parents and an even shittier chemical makeup. Not a problem. Not a diagnosis. Not an illness. Not something to be rescued. I’m a person.” 

“For what it's worth, you showed me something, Ultraviolet - there is such a thing as a perfect day.” 

“I mean, I know but I don't. I've always been different, but to me different is normal.” 

Have you raed it? What are your thoughts on it?

Have a great day :)

What I'm reading + NOTD pt.31

'Once there was a widow with three sons, and their names were Black, Brown and Blue. Black was the eldest; moody and aggressive. Brown was the middle child; timid and dull. But Blue was his mother's favourite. And he was a murderer.' 

Blueeyed boy is a novel written by Joanne Harris: a dark and intricately plotted tale of a poisonously dysfunctional family, a blind child prodigy, and a serial murderer who is not who he seems. Told through posts on a webjournal called "Badguysrock", this is a thriller that makes creative use of all the multiple personalities, disguise and mind games that are offered by playing out a life on the internet.

Nail polish is Knock Out Violet from Deborah, from their Pret a Porter line. And the colour in the bottle doesn’t transfer completely to the nails. In the bottle it looks like it could be almost holographic. It shifts from violet to pink to golden. But on the nails is just violet with shimmer. No shift of colours. The application was easy, and I applied two coats, as usual.

Have a great day :)

What I'm reading + NOTD pt.30

I'm sorry, but it seems that this book is not translated into English, but on Wikipedia the title is translated as "The Sweet Poison Cook". There certainly is poison and there is also an old lady who is traumatized by her nephew. Every month, when she receives her pension the nephew visits her and forces her into giving him the money. The authorities don't do much in the matter so she decides to take matters in her hands.

As of 2009, Paasilinna has published about 12 non-fiction books and 35 novels, with almost one novel each year from 1972 to 2009, so I find it strange that just two of his book are translated in English. His books have been translated overall into at least 27 languages: the translations beyond neighbouring Scandinavian countries include: 16 into German, 11 into French, 9 into Slovenian, 8 into Italian, 6 into Dutch, 5 into Spanish,4 into Korean, and 2 into English, Ukrainian and Catalan (Wikipedia).

Paasilinna's books reflect quite common Finnish life, usually from a middle-aged male perspective, and in rural Finland. Fast-paced, light and humorous in style, many of these narratives can be described as picaresque adventure stories with often a satirical angle towards modern life. 

The nail polish is from Essence, but from the Show Your Feet line. This line is still available, but not this colour, which is Iced mint frappe. This line is specially designed for nails on your feet, but feel free to use them on your hands, no harm in that. The colour is similar to Victoria's secret Lucky, just lighter and greener, if this makes sense. The application was easy. The first coat is a bit uneven, but the second coats evens out the surface just perfectly. 

Have a great day :)

What I'm reading + NOTD pt.29

A powerful and tragicomic blend of politics and personal destiny, Black Box records in a series of letters the wrecked marriage of Ilana and Alex. Seven years of silence following their bitter divorce is broken when Ilana writes to Alex for help over their wayward and illiterate son, Boaz, and old emotional scars are reopened.

This one took me a whole week to finish, even though is not long. Sometimes I have to push myself to read on and I encourage myself to read at least to the next paragraph, then I put the book down, the next time I grab it give myself another finish line and so on until I finish the book. Sometimes is like this till the end and sometimes I read with more ease and don't need to force myself to read forward. With Black Box I needed to push myself till the very end, but I'm still glad that I read it, because it wasn't bad book at all. I think a lot of times is also the timing with the book. Maybe sometimes we are just not in the right mood for certain books.

Even so I can say that in this book you will find very interesting characters, one of them is Ilana's current husband Michel, a religious fanatic and moralist who is making a true virtue out of his insignificance.

Nail polish is from Catrice and it has a special name that will appeal to all of them who like Harry Potter, me included. The name is Berry Potter and Plumbeldore. The name is appropriate and not just because of the berry colour, but also because it looks like magic in the bottle. It is violet with green hue. 

The formula is thin and you have to be careful that it doesn't get all over your cuticles, but other that that the application is easy. Two coats are needed for decent coverage.

Have a great day :)

What I'm reading + NOTD pt. 28

The author of I Called Him Necktie (original title Ich nannthe ihn Krawatte) is Milena Michiko Flašar, the daughter of a Japanese mother and an Austrian father. "I Called Him Necktie" won the 2012 Austrian Alpha Literature Prize. 

Twenty-year-old Taguchi Hiro has spent the last two years of his life living as a hikikomori--a shut-in who never leaves his room and has no human interaction--in his parents' home in Tokyo. As Hiro tentatively decides to reenter the world, he spends his days observing life around him from a park bench. Gradually he makes friends with Ohara Tetsu, a middle-aged salaryman who has lost his job but can't bring himself to tell his wife, and shows up every day in a suit and tie to pass the time on a nearby bench. As Hiro and Tetsu cautiously open up to each other, they discover in their sadness a common bond. Regrets and disappointments, as well as hopes and dreams, come to the surface until both find the strength to somehow give a new start to their lives. 

I also learned the meaning of hikikomori, a thing I didn't know existed. So what is hikikomori? This is how they name people in Japan who refuse to go out of their house and are isolated in their room, Even the connections with their families are limited. The time of isolation is different for every individual and can go on for fifteen years or even more. How many hikikomoris are there is not known, because the families may hide them because of the stigma. The estimated number circles around 100.000 and 320.000 people, mainly younger population. The main reason is said to be high productivity pressure and the feeling of disconnection with society.

Interesting, isn't it?

About the nail polish. It’s from Essence from the gel nail polish line and you can still get it. The name is Miss captain and the colour is very interesting. It is blue, but under some lights it looks almost grey. The application is easy and two coats are needed for full opacity and even surface. As always, I have a base coat underneath and a top coat.

Have a great day :)