Nothing is written

I've been to the cinema, reader. I don't know exactly what happened, but it got me all crazy. Not the film itself, more the way back... I walked, for like an hour, and upon coming home, I felt like a sock: turned completely inside out, with a few strings hanging out.

I've been to see Jane Eyre, actually, and I knew upon going that it was going to be a weird experience, and that I probably wouldn't enjoy it. But hey, it's Jane Eyre, it's my favorite book in its own way, it's important, and I wouldn't have missed it. I did not like it (big surprise there), but how could you possibly get angry at someone for failing at an impossible task? I don't actually think it could have been any better. I think probably Charlotte Brontë would have approved, and the girls next to me at the cinema had obviously never read the book and got out intending to do it. So, well, mission accomplished, I guess.

Please forgive the crappy photo-video thing I just had no idea for a picture, and I really like the song, and find it appropriate.

I personally think that filming Jane Eyre is impossible. All the details matter too much. All that she says, all that he says, all the "little" characters on the side (her nurse at Gateshead, her teacher friend at Lowood, everyone matters in their own way). I think that's what makes it such a good book, actually, there's hardly anything that's not useful (only St John, if you ask me. Not useful at all, and a terrible bully, as well as a bore. Someone should rid us of St John once and for all. He's insufferable. Yes. I said it. Insufferable.)

I would have made it differently, of course. I would have added more of this, and cut a few of these long shots of her walking under blossoming cherry trees, but honestly, there were really, really good ideas. I think what I would do is make an 8 hour long version, with EVERYTHING in it, except maybe make Lowood slightly shorter, and St John slightly less annoying The trouble is, in order to produce all this, I'd probably have to make some concessions. Like put a huge battle in it. With orcs, and elves, and someone screaming "Haldir! To the gate!", and probably she'd need a sidekick. I don't think Jane Eyre would be quite the same with Jar Jar Bings telling her to "cheer up, missi".

Two things I can't forgive, though, even though it's perfectly well cast, made me cry, and did turn me inside out, after all (that must mean something): Rochester never says "He would not rue his bloody blunder more than I now rue mine", and that's like filming Hamlet but cutting the part when he says "To be, or not to be", and also he doesn't accuse her of trying to drown him in his sleep, which is one of my favorite parts of the book, and which was exactly the excerpt that they chose to print in the leaflet that they distributed at the cinema. Why would you make me read that scene again, make me want to see it very badly, and then not put it in? Why? I do not understand it.

Anyway. Do go see it, though, it was actually good. I did not like it.

Transylvanian concubine

Well, reader, I've been watching True Blood. A lot. I don't really really like it, but like many series, I find it weirdly addictive. And it features vampires. I can't resist vampires, shame on me. And I liked the book. Why am I looking for excuses? I just watch True Blood. And then I saw some top 10 list from the Rolling Stones magazine, about their top 10 best and worst vampires.
So I figured, go ahead, write your own top 10. And then I figured I couldn't, because I don't know that many vampires at all. But here's a top 5 list, anyway. And if you think I missed out on some great vampires, please do not hesitate to tell me. Aaaaah, vampires.

1. Spike. From Buffy the Vampire Slayer. I blame my love of anything vampirey, Twilight included, on Buffy the Vampire Slayer. I'm still looking for something as great as Buffy, and though I know it will come from Joss Whedon (as soon as he gets the chance to shoot more than two seasons of one of his AWESOME series...), I can't help but check on vampire stuff as well. Anyway. Yeah. Spike. My favourite vampire ever (though maybe he has too much of a sense of humour to actually be a proper vampire), and in fact, one of my favourite characters ever. EVEN THOUGH he has bleached hair, which is saying something.

2. Vampire Eric from the True Blood books. I couldn't figure out why everyone was so crazy about Alexander Skarsgaard in season 1 of True Blood, but he gets more interesting in season 2, I must say. Still, in the books, he's really great. He's got blond hair, and he's sarcastic. See a pattern emerging here? I think I just like sarcastic blonds, whatever their eating habits...

3. The one from Neil Gaiman's short story "Snow, glass and apple". I loved it. And it was terriffying. Some would argue that's how a vampire should be. Terrifying, not sarcastic. I fully understand this point of view, and would endorse it too if only I didn't love the two previous items on this top 5 so much...
4. Dracula. I read it when I was in Ireland a while back, and though I really, really did not like the ending (am I the only one who thinks that Bram Stoker just got bored halfway through? Am I criticizing a major literary work although I mostly read chick lit? I think I am. Sorry about that.)I found the vampire himself amazing. It is one of the... well actually it is the only book I ever read that literally kept me from turning the lights out at night. It may have had something to do with my flatmates at the time... And with the fact that I was probably (and inadvertently) responsible for the death of their son's pet gerbil and was afraid it was going to come back and nibble at my toes. "Whyyyyyy did you give me hobnobs, you crazy lady? Eeeeeek! Eeeeeeeek!" Just thinking about it gives me the creeps.

5. Edward Rochester's wife in Jane Eyre. Now I know she's not a vampire. But I can't help it. She'll always be a vampire to me. And she is compared with one at one point of the novel, I believe. So she comes 5th in here. I'm pretty sure her version of the book would be very interesting, poor woman. It would be so awfully sad and terrible that it would probably receive a Nobel Prize and/or be adapted for the screen by Lars Von Trier... Anyway.

So here it was. My top 5 favourite vampires, only one of them isn't one. And by the way, I apologize for the lack of originality of this post. It seems like just about eeeeeveryone is talking about vampires these days. We'll blame this one on peer-pressure, I already blamed the boogie too many times.

Defying gravity

Hi, reader ! I'm writing this both from my hotel room in Limoges and from my brand new eeePC, so, please forgive the typos, which can tonight be blamed both on the tiny keyboard and on the weird location (is that not a valid excuse for bad spelling ? Ah, well. Will have to do.)

I had a huge allergy problem yesterday night, asthma so bad it made my head hurt, and a terrible case of the sneezes. I learnt my lesson, and will leave my friend A's cat alone next time, even though it's cute and I compensate never having a pet of my own.

Anyway, I felt a little weird when I got up, and today, as I was on my way to my next contract (in Limoges, as I said), many weird things happened to me. I think I saw a baby elephant in a garden on the train (in a garden I saw from the train. Not a baby elephant in a garden on the train), I think I saw the blond woman from Fringe staring very hard at me from an old Renault when I was crossing the street, and I think everyone looked at me in a weird way. Also my brand new eeePC had a terrible blue-screen episode, which I hope won't happen again. I just mean to give you more explanation as to why the following post might be a little weird. Oxygen deprivation and all, I think I may be a little high.

Anyway. Today's top 5 is : "The top 5 questions about books that I asked myself on the train from Colmar" I hope you'll like it, though it is a very self-centered post. If you do not like it, I'm very sorry, I blame it on the boogie.

1. Is it true that I like books written by women more than books written by men? I always thought I did, but come to think of it, some of my favourite books and stories were written by men. Even though Jane Austen and Charlotte Brontë will always be my favourite, I really love male authors too. William Goldman's The Princess Bride, Neil Gaiman in general, John Irving, Vikram Seth's A Suitable Boy and Stephen King (though I must admit I mostly only really liked Dolores Claiborne). So I don't really know anymore. And William Shakespeare, though I can't honestly claim I know anything about him. He still wrote that line in Hamlet which is so beautiful it makes me shiver.

2. Would I still love The Princess Bride as much if I read it again now ? Did I only love it that much because it was the first time I really read a book in English ? Did I only love it that much because I liked the movie ? Will I ever be brave enough to read it again to find out, or had I better just let it be, in case I do not love it as much re-reading it ?

3. Can you establish a link between a book's popularity and its quality ? I loved The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society that I just finished on the train, and it was a huge success. I really liked The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie that I read coming back from Finland, and it was a success too, I believe. I kinda like the Charlaine Harris books, and they're very popular. I like to think that when something is really, really popular, it means there is something particularly good in it. Might not be the best thing ever, and all, but I figure there is always a fair reason why people love something.

It's a comforting thought, somehow. Take Brad Pitt, for example : He's a superstar, and though you may like him or not, you can't deny that he's a really good actor. He doesn't owe it all to his good looks. (Then again, Avatar is a huge box-office success, and I think it's a really sucky movie...). My point is : Do I really have abysmal taste in literature, or is there some hope yet ?

4. How much of my liking a book is owing to the environment I'm in when reading it. I told you about reading Jane Austen in an old military club a few months back, and today I read through half of The Guernsey Literary... in the train, while being slowly steam-cooked by the SNCF's crazy heating system, and listening to some classical music on my MP3 player, so focused and so into the book I would not swear I was really conscious. Did I really like the book, or is it only the artificial, heater-and-comfy-jumper-induced fever that made me so enthralled? (How I hate that word...) Is there any way of knowing if a book is really good without reading it twice?

5. I think I should have brought The Shining with me, seing how the hotel I'm in is the perfect location to read it. Would that have been a good idea, do you think ?

Paperback writer...

Another questionnaire about books !

1 - What do you remember about learning to read ?
I remember my dad asking me to read signposts and ads.
I remember waking up my mum when she was sleeping one day and asking her to tell me how to spell "crocodile". She was not exactly overjoyed.

2 - Your favourite books, as a child ?
Homecoming. No hesitation. Not even for a second.

3 - Do you like reading out loud ?
I sometimes whisper when I read, especially in German. I hope it helps my pronunciation. But I don't think it does, really.

4 - Your favourite fairy tale ?
"Le Diable Ricouquin", but only if my sister F reads it. With her BIG VOICE when the devil is speaking. (O.ô + gggRRRAAARRRGgg = F), (^_^+ hysterical giggles = me)

5 - Best adaptation of a book or play ?
Crap, I can't answer that ! That would take a whole top 5 ! I must mention "The Princess Bride" and also "Sense and Sensibility" though. For Inigo Montoya and Hugh Grant dressed as a a penguin.

6 - Do you learn some poems, lines, extracts by heart?
Never, I hate it. Except maybe when bits stay stuck in my head, like "he would not rue his bloody blunder more than I now rue mine" (Jane Eyre) or
"-Surrender!
-Death First!" (The Princess Bride, at its coolest)
or "But break, my heart, for I must hold my tongue" (Hamlet). I think that's the most beautiful line ever written, by the way. Makes me shiver, even out of context. So beautiful it is.

7 - Do you have books or magazines in your toilets?
No, I don't. What's it to you, anyway???

8 - Are you reading several books at the same time at the moment? How many? What books?
I am, sadly, not reading anything at the moment. Decided yesterday evening to give up on the book I was reading. Going to buy a new one as soon as I get out of work tonight.

9 - The poet you'll never get tired of reading over and over again?
Here. And also some song lyrics.

10 - The book you read the fastest? the slowest? (I know that's not English, by the way, I can only pray that you understand...)
The fastest... might be "Gone With the Wind". The one that took me very long... I guess might be Lord of the Rings, because there was an interval of, like, 6 years between the day I tried the beginning and the day I finished the third volume. Even though I liked it in the end, I must say Tom Bombadil kind of killed the thrill. It took Viggo Mortensen to get me interested again...

11 - Do you like paperbacks better than originals? Why?
Paperbacks of course. Lighter, easier to read and to transport, and paradoxically tougher. Also they hurt less. No hard corners.

12 - The book(s) that always lie around in your room?
All my books always lie around in my room.

13 - Physically, how do you read? Do you lie down, sit, stand up to read?
Mostly, either lying in my bed or sitting in a train/bus.

14 - Do you comment on what you read with a pencil?
Never, no. I hate it.

15 - Ever give books as a present?
Very very seldom. Happened twice, maybe. One of these persons did not like it, the other one never read the book (absolutely no hard feelings though). Not much incentive to give books.

18 - Any authors by whom you read all the books ? (Not English either... "Any author you read the complete works of"?)
I do not think so. Maybe Jane Austen, though I doubt it. Maybe the Bronte sisters? But only maybe. I tried to read all William Goldman books, but I failed, because I couldn't find them all.

19 - A book that made you laugh?
"I capture the Castle" by Dodie Smith

20 - A book that particularly moved you ?
Lassie (about the collie dog, yeah. By Eric Knight. Read it over and over again as a child.) I Capture the Castle. Jane Eyre. Sense and Sensibility. So many many moving books...

21 - The book that most terrified you ?
The beginning of "Dracula" by Bram Stoker. Couldn't turn the lights off. Then he lost me completely.

22 - The book that made you cry ?
I don't cry much when I read, except for "The Cider House Rules" by John Irving. Ooooh how I cried... I started at page 1 and did not stop until the end.

24 - The most striking, original, clever title?
I don't know... I don't know... I'm sure I know but it doesn't come back to me right now...

25 - Describe your library.
A big bunch of books, lying around in my room.

26 - The book you decided to get rid of in the end?
A german book, featuring gross sex scenes, and starring the son of Anastasia the Russian princess and a woman who could communicate with a tiger by the sheer power of her mind. Book For The Dimwits. The only one I ever got rid of.

27 - The most original place you read in?
I don't read in very original places, I must say... The train, I guess? Does "reading in a train" qualify as original? I hardly think so.

28 - What would you read or re-read if you had only three days left to live?
Homecoming. And Jane Eyre. And "A suitable Boy" by Vikram Seth, only it would take me more than three days. Maybe it would buy me time ?

29 - Your favourite art's book?
I don't really read art's books. There are some I like, though, at my grand-mother's place. Amazing books, weigh a ton each...

30 - The ideal library?
A really really big one like that of Dublin's trinity College I visited with my sister M. Books up to the ceiling. Only you'd add a huge huge armchair.

31 - The beginning that most struck you?
"I am writing this sitting in the kitchen sink" (I capture the castle). M pointed this one out to me. it is brilliant.

32 - The ending that most struck you?
I've never been good with endings...

Waiting for my rocket to come...

Hey reader! I'm stressed out! I'm stressed out! I wish I were another person altogether!

Tomorrow's my big interview to know if I'll be going to interpreting school year 2 next year. I don't like big issues like that, and I do hope things are going to be OK. I am all cranked up as far as motivation's concerned, but I hope the tests are going to go OK as well! African rivers, here I come, I'm going to spend some time on Wikipedia now... yeah, I figure I'd better make some change into this evening, which is getting a little depressing...

I ate three dinners alone in my room (yeah, somehow, my brain's on vacations tonight, I guess it must be collecting some extra energy for tomorrow), one of which included raw carrots (yeah I know I shouldn't complain, I'm just plain silly...). Now I'm pukey and I sneeze and I look like one sick rabbit. But well, it's going to be much better by tomorrow. I might even decide to go jogging right now, in order to spill all that extra brainless energy, and since I already look like crap, I guess being also red in the face and sweaty wouldn't hurt much. Oooh, this post must be the most terribly self-pitying I ever wrote! Sorry, reader!

What I really wanted to do, though, was answer a mail-thing my sister Marion sent me (well, not quite, but I don't have time to explain, if you want to know where it comes from and know how to speak French, click here.

Here's what's in my book, page 123, 5th sentences. Hope you like it. The book's name is "The Metaphysical Touch", by Sylvia Brownrigg. It's real good, and just like the idea behind the good part of this post, comes from my sister Marion.

"Your mother has told you all this to lead up to her point, which is that your father, bless him in spite of his absence, would in no way approve of what you're doing now. Thinking about ending it -Why, that's ridiculous! He would never stand for it, not for a minute. And yes, your father had feet that moved too far and too fast, but that is no reason for you to allow yours to freeze into place now and give up. You think that's smart, to react against him by doing the obvious? You think suicide is such a new idea?"

Well, here you go. Sorry, reader, I think we got unlucky with both the book (tis good, but inappropriate...) and the passage... Now this post looks worse than ever.

Anyway. I'll be going now, I think it would be much better if I just focused on African rivers and the Time!!

Have a nice evening! Maybe I'll tell you how it went!! Wish me luck!

Father'll want to brain her with a brick...

Hey people!

Haven't written in a terribly long while, but I've been busy with the university, and could not find anything interesting to say to my English speaking blog... But things are definitely going to get better from now on, insofar as I just came back from my study-week in Munich (which was brilliant, by the way, I might write a post about it as soon as I get photos to post!), and am going to go to Saarbrücken in Germany at the end of the week to start my internship over there. Might be some blogging material on the other side of the bordure!

While I was in Munich (and had a great time, did I mention?) I found the time to read a little (when I was not studying, or hanging out), and I re-read "I Capture the Castle" by Dodie Smith, the woman who wrote "101 Dalmatians". I think re-reading books is the best option when you're on holidays, because it's OK if you don't have much time, (you won't be wanting to go back to your book all the time, since you already know what happens in it) and yet, when you get the time, you're sure to enjoy it (yeah, usually, when you re-read a book, it's because you liked it in the first place.)

Anyway. Just wanted to mention the book here because it's such easy English, it's great to read, it's very fun, and it's also thought material, a little. It's about growing up and stuff, and in my personal opinion, it's the best book of the sort since Jane Austen. It really woke up my enthusiasm the first time a read it, and the second reading did not make me change my mind. I think the main character, Cassandra, is just about brilliant, what with her "consciously naive-ness" and stuff. She must be around, what 16 I guess, and she's really funny, the kind of person you think it would be nice to spend time with. It's a story about her poor family and their meeting with two rich young men, called the Cottons.

There are quite a large amount of side-stories with their father, who's a writer who doesn't write anymore, their step mother who's a crazy painter's model, and the farm-boy. Farm boys always have a little charm, I must say, only this one is really daft. I also like the Cottons, but her big sister really annoys me. Which is exactly what should happen, so I guess it's one more reason why the book's so great.

I heard there was a cinema adaptation of the book recently, with Buffy's Riley as one of the characters. Whatever the said character might be, I'm against it. I don't think Buffy's Riley should ever play anything but a stupid soldier boy. But then again, that's just my personal opinion. It doesn't make me want to see the movie too much, though. He's got the charisma of a turnip, and I'm afraid that's the opposite of what any of the characters of the book should be. Except Stephen the daft farm boy... Let me check... No he doesn't play the daft farm boy. Definitely casting mistake, if you want my opinion.

Anyway. If you've got some time, I Capture the Castle's a great pick. And here's to my sister M who told me to read it in the first place (I'd have terrible taste if it wasn't for you, people!) and encouraged me to write a new post! I swear, I'll come back soon, and bore you to death with stories from Germany!!

PS: No photographs anymore except for the ones I'll be taking, I figure I hotlinked wayyyy to much as it is, and do not want to get into trouble. So I'll have to take to photography... Maybe I can make drawings on paint, how about that??

Take this pink ribbon off my eyes...

** Here be spoilers : If you have not yet read "Mansfield Park" and intend to do it -Though you'd better not-, do not proceed further**

Well, well, I finally did finish Mansfield Park. What a disappointement, reader. I had found a novel by Jane Austen that I had not yet read, and I was so happy, and I started reading it, and I was already a little less happy, but then around page 350 things got interesting again, and then IN THE END, it all went terribly wrong and terrible!

I knew it was not going to be the best book I ever read, because I had had some advice from my sisters, who told me it was not her best book. But then again, I wanted to read some proper Jane Austen to compensate for reading that novel about her supposed life, which annoyed me a little. And I did not want to re-read a book I had already read, because I was not in the mood. So I thought, let us read Mansfield Park, it might not be her best, but it's bound to be really good, like all her other books.

It was pretty good in some parts, really interesting, and incredibly funny (I don't think I ever laughed so much out loud reading a Jane Austen book before) but I just couldn't like the characters as much as I usually do. That Fanny Price girl, honestly... I don't know if you've ever read Mansfield Park, reader, but she is just terrible. She's shy and perfect, she's always incredibly nice, and never does anything that would not do her credit, she never hurts anyone, speaks softly and has pale eyes, and is very pretty. Who cares about such a girl? Let her be a little witty, a little mischievous, and it'll get me interested! But as she is, really, angel-like and perfect, honestly, she just calls for disappointment.

Anyway. She's in love from childhood with her stupid cousin Edmund, who is perfect too, of course, and beautiful, and rich, and clever and wants to be a clergyman. COME ON!

Of course, he's in love with someone else, and she has to put up with being courted by some other guy, who is quite cool, for a change, and really bad, a kind of Willoughby, and he's called Mr Crawford. I'd rather be called Mrs Crawford than marry a guy called Edmund, whatever their respective characters may be, but even considering their attitudes to life, I'd rather spend my life with a terrible flirt than with the image of perfection. Nothing to talk about but kindness, how great our neighbours are, and maybe, once in a little while, criticize some girl's behaviour. Well OK, the other characters really behave terribly, but still, at least they do something! Nice change!

In the end however, Saint Edmund does marry Saint Fanny, and I do wish them joy. I'm sure they'll have plenty of children, only I don't know if they'll get to really know them, since I'm sure they'll start glowing like lightbulbs as soon as they're born, and then they'll fly directly up to heaven, through the nearest window, with the little wings they were born with.

Not a decent proposal scene in the whole book, too! Honestly, that's not serious! So I decided I needed to compensate, and am now reading Emma instead. I did not remember quite how witty and clever it was, and I'm enjoying it very much. That Mr Knightley, that's someone. I think I'm going to hell...

O captains my captains!

Well, I figured I might as well talk about my top 5 favourite male characters. It's going to be much much tougher. It's going to be terrible, I guess. Even worse than the 5 female character's I'd most like to be. Once more, I feel like I have to make excuses, so I'll just say it again: It's not classified in any kind of order, and it's just today's top 5, it's incomplete and some people who are not on it might very well turn out to deserve to be in it much more than those who actually are.

Well, I guess I'd better just shoot instead of being terribly boring.


1. Captain Jack Sparrow. Yeah. Oh Captain, my Captain... Ultimately cool, really. Funny, witty, and incredible looking. I think it might well be my favourite movie character ever. You just can't beat Captain Jack sparrow.

2. OK, so I'll start grouping people up, because otherwise I'm never ever going to make it. In the same bag, right here, I'll put Spike, (Buffy's Spike), because he's incredibly funny and carries the whole last season on his shoulders as well as many an episode with Riley the Endive in it. (Endive = Chiccory, by the way, I just checked that up in the dictionnary). He's English, too, by the way, and he's got a nice voice. Next in point two comes Malcolm Reynolds. It's in point two as well because it's a Joss Whedon Character. And next in point two (again) comes Han Solo, because I like him for the same reasons as Malcolm Reynolds, and I wouldn't want to have written them twice: they are strong and stubborn and more or less reliable, only you know they are when it really matters, and they are classy and fun, and they are at war with their respective beloved, (a Princess with LONG LONG HAIR for one, and a prostitute for the other) only everyone knows they love each other. In the end, I'm sure they'd have ended up together, in Firefly, if only Fox had given them time enough to get back together.

3. (I guess I'd better stop cheating... but then again...) Rohit, in Kal Ho Naa Ho. Rohit is in love with Naina, only she's in love with someone else. And he's incredibly generous and kind about it. Besides, he's fun, as well. Fun really is important. And he's got a nice smile, and he's doing that weird thing with his legs while dancing the disco, which really amazes me. OK, so I guess I'd put Colonel Brandon in there as well, because they are both unlucky in love, and very generous about it. Colonel Brandon comes from Sense and Sensibility. He's in love with Marianne Dashwood, only she's unhappy in love with Willoughby, who's a terrible, terrible person. I guess Colonel Brandon also has my vote because he's played in the movie by Alan Rickman, who is a great actor, with an incredible voice, and said he wanted to tear Robin Hood's heart out with a teaspoon in another movie. I doubt that he can do that weird thing with his legs while dancing the disco, though, but then again, I'm not even sure I'd want to see him try...

4. Now comes my Number 4, also called "cool englishmen". It's a really far fetched association, I'll admit (though, honestly, it doesn't seem as terrible as Rohit and Colonel Brandon), but I'd say Geoffrey Chaucer in a Knight's Tale (Ahhh, Paul Bettany!! He's just brilliant! The accent, the height (Taller than me!!) the class and the backside... ) and Dr Who. I don't know, they both look like overgrown asparaguses (asparaguss? apsaragus? asparaguzs?), and one of them has got eyeballs twice the normal size, but I'll say it again, would David Tennant ever care to come knock on my door and ask me if I'd travel to the past with him, I'd say yes immediately. I think. Not to mention Paul Bettany. I'd probably do a little dance first (which might make him run away even before hearing my answer).

5. Inigo Montoya. From the Princess Bride. He's just brilliant. You want him to win so badly really. It doesn't happen too often, mostly revenge doesn't seem to me as a very valuable cause, but Inigo... I don't know. Maybe it's because of his cool speach, might explain it. "Hello, my name is Inigo Montoya, you killed my father, prepare to die". Clear and concise, explains it all... I give him a vote too.

Now I hope Dr House never comes on this blog, nor Moulin Rouge's Christian and Much Ado About Nothing's Benedick, nor the Dead Poet's Society's Captain, nor Neo... ugh... I'm going straight to hell for being a terrible ungrateful person.

Have a nice day! I'll go roast in guilt!

My shirt, my hat, my books, my trip to the zoo...

New idea, reader!! For a change, instead of writing stuff about the latest book I read, or the latest movie I saw, I thought I'd tell you about the five female fictional characters I'd most like to be. Once more, I am afraid I did not classsify them in any kind of order. I classified them in the order in which they came up, in fact. Besides, as most of my top fives, they are just today's top five, and not any kind of general and eternally right top five. I might write a completely new one tomorrow. You never know. Soooo, let's go...

1. Jane Eyre. Well, she's not pretty, and if I could, I'd rather be an incredibly pretty and wondrous creature with glamorous lips and a pretty glow to her skin. Rather than a "sprite". But I'd still put her in my top 5 list of the fictional characters I'd most like to be like. Just because she's nice and lives true to her principles. She's independant and loving, she's solid and well... I just wish I could be more like Jane Eyre. Like perfect.

2. Martha Jones. Now I expect this one's not going to be recognized by too many, she's the Doctor's friend in Dr Who. I wish I could be her, just because she gets to do so many cool things, and had he ever asked me to follow him to some weird trip in his time machine, I'd have said yes too. Maybe. I wish I were Martha Jones, once in a while. Aslo she's pretty and strong and clever and all. What's not to like ?

3. Elizabeth Bennet. Complete lack of originality for this pick, I know, but well, Elizabeth Bennet... What wouldn't I give to ride horses in a great big park under the willow trees in the company of Mr Darcy? I said Elizabeth Bennet, but I would also like to be more like Elinor Dashwood, who is perfect as well. And suits my purpose of riding horses under willow trees in the company of gentlemen. Only if I ever did ride a horse under a willow tree, I'd be likely to get swollen and red in a matter of seconds, and to have bloated eyes and a running nose, which would not be so romantic I guess. But then again, if I were Elinor Dashwood indeed, I would not have been allergic to horse because ozon would not have made me allergic, and I'd probably be just fine. Long evenings by the fire, embroidering purses and talking about Shakespeare's sonnets, here I come. Only I've never read any of Shakespeare's Sonnets. Well, I can remedy that, for sure.

4. Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Because she hardly ever complains and she's so strong. Now that I come to think of it, I'd also like to be Zoe, and Inara (except I might choose another line of business), Kaylee, Willow and nearly all female characters in Joss Whedon's fictions. Well. You know. They're all ulitmately cool. Except for River Tam, Drusilla and Glory, who are just a little too weird for me to really like. But still. Good thing too, they rarely have anything to do with horses, what with flying around in spaceships or living in an American city, so it's quite all right. Besides, what wouldn't I do to be a crew member of Captain Reynolds, or one of Spike's acquaintances?

5. Princess Leïa. THE HAIR! THE LONG LONG HAIR!! And also, Han Solo. And the style. And the coolness. And the cool tresses. Which takes us back to THE HAIR!! THE LONG LONG HAIR!!Then again, I don't exclude the possibility of my being allergic to Ewoks. Sad but true. Anything hairy, but me, and then again.

Now I'm sure I've forgotten a good dozen of the fictional character's I'd most like to be (not to mention the fact that it's probably fictitious and not fictional), but that's what I thought of today. Might be a 'continued' post, you never know...

...And a heart is not a stone...

"And a heart is not a stone, It's fragile, fragile when alone"

I thought I'd quote Ben Harper the poet to start this post. I thought it pretty fitting to my mood recently while reading the book I told you about in my last post, "The Lost Memoirs of Jane Austen." Sorry to say, though, seems like a lonely heart also softens the brain.

I don't really know why I bought this book. It was girly and pretty, and I figured "why not" is the reason I gave you before. I had not even reached page 10 when I realized it was a very bad idea indeed. I don't think Jane Austen would have been like that, though I don't know her and probably never will (though you never know, with the great progress of science...). I don't think it's aboslutely necessary to have been in love and have had you heart broken to write books like Jane Austen's. You can read them and understand them, and be moved by them, even when you've never fallen in love and your heart's never been broken, why should it be different for the writing of them? I don't like the starting point of that novel very much.

Besides, I don't like "true stories" in general. I'm not a non-fiction kind of person. Really not. Apparently, pretend-non-fiction doesn't work too well on me either.

However, and that's why I suppose my brain's defect, I think the book's not entirely bad. It's easy to read, for one thing, and some parts are really good, and do seem like they could have been written by Jane Austen. I just love the English of that time. It's easier than Shakespeare, but it's still... I don't know. Very pretty and romantic. (Ooo, do I sound silly today!! "I am overpowered by mortification and vexation"!) Makes me think that reading any kind of cheesy love story now makes me completely marshmallowy and lame... Maybe I'm just a hopeless case....

As for the imaginary Mr Ashford, who would have inspired most main works of Austen... I don't know, people, she falls in his arms by accident, he's got blue eyes, he's rich and hansome... and she goes most shamelessly fishing for compliments as soon as she sees him... I'm not so sure... I don't think... Well, you know. It doesn't sound too likely... somehow...

Anyway. That'll teach me... Next time, I'll buy some Paul Auster.

Have a nice day! ope it's as sunny where you are as here in Colmar!

I shot the sheriff

Guess what, reader?? (you still there, reader? I haven't written in quite a while, so I hope you're still hanging on!) I should be working again! I should be working very hard, as a matter of fact, and instead, I have been reading a book which was in English, so I hope it counts a little bit as work. Let's say it will improve my English and thus help me pass my exams. Who knows. Sweet dreams. Anyway...

I have been reading books, as I said, and more particularly one book which my sister F gave to me, and which was really great. The reason why she gave it to me was that it was written by the famous Hugh Laurie, whom I have already mentioned on this blog a few times, because he is also known for playing the infamous Dr House. The one with the cane and the evil lines. The brilliant one who always figures it out in the end. Well, he wrote a book. Or rather, the actor wrote a book.

It's areally cool book, and it's real fun to read. It's very interesting and keeps you riveted from beginning to end. And aslo it made me laugh out loud on the train. Which is nice and doesn't happen too often, but not so nice, because afterwards, people look at you as if you were a madwoman. I think I am know by train users in Alsace as "the madwoman who sneezes all the time". They must love me. Allergic to the train's air conditionning system, I guess... Anyway. Back to "the Gunseller". Yeah, cause that's the name of the book, "The Gunseller". It's really fun, as I said, and it's about a guy who gets dragged into some international terrorism plot. It's not goofy and annoying, because it's a book and not a comic book. It's serious at times, and the hero is real cool. And it's very entertaining.

Now I've read it through, and bought a new book called "The Lost Memoirs of Jane Austen". Indeed. I shouldn't have. I bet it's going to be crappy. I'd better re-read Sense and Sensibility. But you never know. And besides, the cover is nice, there's a fake ribbon on it, and it appealed to my girly feelings. A nice change from international terrorism, I must say. But hell, you never know. I haven't even gotten started on it yet, so I'm going to give it a chance, I should not slander it even before I read a single page!

Well, reader, I've got to go now, and do a little work at last, before I have to get back to class (tonight's specialised theme. I like it, but it's from 18 to 20.30, and I'm already hungry, so forgive my lack of enthusiam, please.)

Have a nice evening!!

Bloody Blunder

I'm kinda bored, reader... I've been on holidays for two weeks now, and it's going to go on till the 21st of January. I know I shouldn't complain, because I'm going to complain again about having to go to the university pretty soon, but however, I'm young and healthy, and I think I should be doing something else than sleeping until noon and watching TV. Depressing. Besides I should be a little solidary and think about my poor friends who have exams everyday now. Good luck everybody! I'm sure you'll do great!

Anyway, I thought about telling you about Invasions today, because I watched the two first episodes and it's got a cute heroe, and it's kind of interesting, but it's a bit bland, really, so I thought I'd better write the answers to the books-questionnaire my sister answered a few weeks back. I hope that you'll like it.

Sooo... Let's start with 4 books from my childhood...

-Homecoming, by Cynthia Voigt. Brilliant. Still one of my favourite books in the world, even though I read it when I was little.

-Little House in the Prairie. Had a fancy to Laura Ingalls and her blind sister. That is more difficult to explain today, but still.

-"Ma vie a changé" by Marie Aude Murail. A book about a divorced woman and her son who adpot a house-elf. That was before Harry Potter, so the elf is beautiful and winged. Really good, funny and... well, really good.

-Lassie. Yes. The book about the dog. I read it a lot when I was a kid. I don't think this book list is going quite as well as I would have wished, really...

4 books from my teens...

-Jane Eyre. Oh yeah.

-Pride and Prejudice... Yeas, I know, no points for originality, but hell, I was asked for the truth, raised my right arm and said "Je le jure"... (Do they actually say "I swear" in America? Sounds really weird...)

-The Princess Bride. Already told you about this one, again and again. Brilliant book. Not overly clever, but really really good.

-Monsieur Malaussène, by Daniel Pennac, mostly because it's so funny. And because of the characters.

4 books I read recently (Yeah, It's supposed to be 4 books from when I was a student, and then 4 books I read recently, but as I am a student now, I guess I'm entitled to make little changes...)

-The Cider House Rules (John Irving). Might well be the best book I've ever read, though it's probably not my favourite.

-Dracula. Did not like this one much either, but it still prevented me from turning the lights out, which hasn't happened too often with other books. I read it in Dublin( did you know that Bram Stoker was Irish, reader? He seemed not to like the fact much, and did not advertise it, but still! He's from Ireland! Doesn't that make a big change in your life??), and I kept checking under my bed and stuff, and I had to wait until I was nearly asleep before I turned the lights out, otherwise I started thinking some stuff was after me, and it was terrible. Whatever.

-A Suitable Boy, by Vikram Seth. "Read it once, and it will keep you company for a lifetime", it said at the back. Very accurate description. But you do need a lifetime to read it once...
-Devdas, by Sarat Chandra Chatterjee. One of my biggest shocks, litterature-wise. Still haven't gotten over it. A FISHING ROD!!! A FISHING ROD!!! He HITS her with a FISHING ROD!!!!!!!!! (That's a bad shock, by the way, as well as a bad book, and you should not read it. Watch the movie. Watch the movie. It's a much better move.)

There you go. A list of books. I guess I forgot more than half of what I wanted to put in it, and if you ask me tomorrow, you'll have a different result. But well, there you go! My book list! A movie lst would be waaaay easier... I'm going to think about it... I haven't been making many lists here lately...

Have a nice day, reader!!

My beloved monster and me...

Hey reader!

I noticed yesterday that my "general" file was getting fuller and fuller, and everything else has been a little let down ever since I don't have to write serious things from time to time in order not to look like I'm having too much fun blogging in my vererated English teacher's eyes... So today, I decided it might be a good idea to tell you about the book I'm reading right now, which is in English as well as really cool.

Besides, I should be working for an English presentation about Feminism, and since it's tomorrow, I figured it might be a good idea to start doing something completely different, so as to be sure to go to bed at 2 a.m. tonight and look half dead during my presentation tomorrow (maybe pity can win me one or two points?) -By the way, reader, if you wonder why I chose feminism as a topic when it drives me so mad, I thought it would be a good idea to know more about it (in order to sound less radical and more composed in my argumentation), and besides, since I have an actual opinion on the subject, I thought it would be easier to get my fellow students to talk about it. Anyway. So much for my presentation's topic, let's get back to the book!

It's called "Wicked" and was written by Gregory Maguire. The main reason why I bought it (at the airport in the US) was because I liked the title. Besides, it looked cool (the pages are bright green) and I had just finished reading Charley Boorman and Ewan McGregor's chronicle of their motorcycle trip around the world. That was really cool, by the way, and the title is "Long way around" if anyone is interested. Pretty cool book. Particularly the scenes describing Ewan McGregor singing "Running to stand still" with a guitar around the fire. Marshmallows, anyone?

Anyway, anyway, let's get back to "Wicked". It might well be the most difficult book I've ever read, the vocabulary is terrible (even worse than "Jaywalking with the Irish", guys, do you believe this?) and I sometimes don't really get the necessity of the political analysis of the situation in Munchkinland, but it's still a very good book, with lovable characters. It takes place in the world of Oz (remember the Wizard of Oz?) but you don't need to know anything about the original book to read "Wicked" (as for me, I only ever heard about "The Wizard of Oz", and know some stuff about a cowardly lion and a heartless plumber. Or something like that.)

The main character of "Wicked" is the Wicked Witch of the West, Elphaba (if I understood things right, she's the big meany in the original book), which was born green skinned, and is a very funny character. She is some kind of a geek, and I like her cynical humour and attitude to life. It's not as if she were disillusioned or anything, it's not a depressing book at all, she just sees through things easily, and I like the way she behaves.

Anyway, it's a really good book, though I'm not much of a fan of talking Animals and weird fantasy lands, so if you don't know what to read, you can read that! I have to run now, the little bra-burning people of Cixousland are waiting for me!! Time to stop talking about "Wicked" and be a good girl! Have a nice day!!

Kalinka

Hey reader!

I'm kind of bored, because I don't have much to do, but still must stay a little longer, because I'm waiting for an important e-mail, and I can't leave until I get it. I just love feeling useful, once in a while. Especially these days, because I've been working at the customer service this week, and since I am not very experienced, I mostly just say "sorry, wait a minute, I'll ask my colleague", or "I'll see that with the person in charge" and then I wait until the screaming stops. I love customer service. No, honestly, I like it. It's the challenge I like about it. Keep your nerves in check, stay collected, stay composed, always be nice, and stuff. It's just the best way to procede, I think (I'm not a full time customer service girl, so I can't really say, but so far, that's what I've seen.) An it teaches you zen!

Apart from that, I'm afraid there's not much to talk about in my life lately... I'm back to reading Stephen King in English, by the way, but that's just transitory, I'm going back to the German library tonight, and I'll be reding in German again by tomorrow. I just don't know what to buy, that's my main problem.

The last book I read was by Charlotte Link, a German author that was recommended to me by my best friend V, and it was really good, but it's the second I've read, and they're really long, so I'm thinking maybe I should try something else. Then again, I like her style, and the last one was really gripping. Some kind of "Gone with the Wind"-ish novel, but which took place in England under Henry VIII instead of America during the Civil War... So I don't really know what I'm going to do.

I guess I'll just end up with one more Charlott Link. After all, why should I read something else? When you compare it with the ultimately cheap chick lit I used to read before, I guess it's an improvement. I bought the famous one by Patrick Süskind lately, but could not get beyond the first three pages, because it was already too gross and hopeless for me.

I just remember this extremely bad book I threw away straight after reading it, which was about a girl who had to get married (for unknown reasons) to a man who turned out to be the heir of the russian czars. As if that was not cheesy, ridiculous and un-original enough, the girl happened to be able to communicate with tigers because of weird psychic abilities. Yeah, because her new husband, Mr Nikolaï III, owned a circus (all people of Russian origins own travelling shows of some kind, did you not know ?) I don't really remember the story, I was just struck by its stupidity and the absolutely revolting sex scenes that punctuated it. A real work of art.

I don't usually throw books in the bin, by the way, reader, I'm not a criminal, and think it is morally wrong, I guess burning them at least, would be useful, generate some heat, and good looking flames. I just finished the book, stood up, saw the bin, and the temptation was too strong... besides, the whole book was very wrong, trust me. I think it would not have burnt. I think it would have farted instead.

Anyway. My point is, I think Germans should make an effort and write better cheap love books. After all, it is a style in itself. I mean, how could we recognize a good book, if we did not have things which look bad in comparison? And I demand books in German, because what's the point of reading stuff in German if it's a translation, really, I ask you, reader!

I guess I'll just stop complaining now and go make some enquiry about this mail, because I want to go home! I'm kind of tired, I guess it's all those shrill voices in the phone... Besides, it's so rainy outside that it feels like it's been night all day long, so I'm really longing to get into bed!!! (whooohoo, by the way, here comes my mail!)

One

I have not written anything in a while, so I thought, go, Claire, find inspiration. But it did not come. So I went on the stupid TV links website (baaaaad Claire) and watched most of the updates of the American Idol shows. I am ashamed, but some good was bound to come of it, and, in order to soothe my bad conscience, after watching the "Idol gives back" show, I added the www.one.org link to my favourite websites. Please go, have a look around, and just add your name and your e-mail adress on the list, you don't even have to donate! And Bono, the super-hero, will be personally grateful for your efforts. Isn't that wonderful? If he had a chance, I'm sure he'd come swooping through your window in his white cape too, and give you a kiss, but I'm told he's very busy lately, what with saving the world and stuff...

Anyway. Let's focus on something really important, i.e. my opinion about adaptations of books in the movies. My friends and I made a little presentation about that when I was in High School, and I just think it's a fascinating subject, so when my best friend V suggested I should make it a post subject, I thought it was a wonderful idea. Thanks V!

Some think books are always better, some think that the better is always the one you get to know first, but I have mixed feelings about the issue.

-Sometimes, both are just as satisfying, and thus watching the movie can save a little time. That's the case for Jane Austen's adaptations for the screen. Haven't seen any, from Clueless to Sense and Sensibility, which I did not like. And I am working hard on seeing them all.

-Sometimes, I can't read the books, because I think it's too hard and not worth the trouble. That's true only for theatre. Why should I bother reading Shakespeare when Kenneth Branagh will do the whole work for me?

-Sometimes, you read the book, then see the movie, and then get a terrible, murderous impulse. You want to go to the Airport, buy a ticket to L.A., and personally go and terminate the miserable carreer of the director by cutting his head off with a teaspoon. (Doesn't happen too often). The only case I can remember, it was already too late, the director had died of a natural death.

-Sometimes, you see the movie, love it, and then read the book, and you can't believe how it's possible to turn such a lousy, terrible book, into such a wonderful masterpiece. I think I should really mention the incredible Devdas, by Sanjay Leela Bhansali, here. I saw the movie at the cinema, lost 80% of my body water through my eyes, gave birth to a French Ganges at the Albatros cinema in Paris with my sister Françoise, and so I decided I would read the book, and see what would happen. I actually cried. Not for the same reasons. Have any of you seen the movie? No? Well, it's about a young man (Devdas, played by Shahrukh Khan, the one, the only), who is madly in love with a young woman (Parvati, the incredibly beautiful Aishwarya Rai), and blows his chances. She gets married to another man, and he becomes a drunk (now that's to make it short, the movie is actually a bit more than 3 hours long).

At some point in the story, he goes and sees her, on the day of her engagement, and begs her to leave with him. She refuses, because she can't dishonour her family, and he hits her with a pearl necklace, to scar her face forever, leave a mark on her, and punish her for her vanity. He leaves a bleeding cut on her forehead, reminiscent of the red powder that husbands put in their wive's hair on their wedding day in India. Now isn't that incredibly romantic reader?? You crying? No? Well, it's very moving when you actually get to see it. Now you read the same scene in the book: Devdas comes. "Marry me" says he. "No", says she. And then he gets angry, and hits her on the head with... a fishing rod.

A FISHING ROD!!! This is supposed to be the Ultimate Indian Litterature Classic!! The Indian Romeo and Juliet! Can you picture it, reader? Romeo hitting Juliet on the head with a fishing rod? How romantic is that? Not very. Anyway, my point is, some directors really have an incredible imagination, thank God for that.

There should be other categories, such as the cases when both the book and the movie are bad ("The DaVinci Code"), or movies you did not even know were adaptations (such as "The Dead Poet's Society"), but I'm afraid I'm running out of time, now, so I'll just leave it at that for tonight. I'm very proud I can actually classify this entry into both "Books" and "Movies" :)

Here is a little link to the scene of Devdas! Hope you'll like it!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9pw5Y8OOeNo&mode=related&search=

(Please don't watch it if you've never seen the movie before, as it looks very silly, by itself...)

Good night reader! Sweet dreams!

Sigh no more, ladies, sigh no more

Hello! Today is a beautiful day, and I decided it was a good one to talk about laziness and how to turn this fault into an advantage.

I have a lot of trouble learning German, somehow, as the few of you who have heard me struggle with my words might have noticed, and I can't seem to motivate myself enough to start doing nice, clever exercises out of a grammar book, somehow. I know I should, but I can't.

So I decided I would try reading books in good German, and when I was in high school, I decided I would start with Effi Briest. Bad, bad idea. I don't know if any of you ever tried reading Effi Briest. It's a book about a woman trapped in a loveless mariage, who falls in love with another man. Supposedly. I never reached further than page 3. I would have stopped earlier, actually, but page three was the end of the first sentence. We have that joke in French, and we say that if you buy the complete works of Goethe in the original version, all the verbs will be in the last volume... :)

Anyway. Effi Briest did not work, so I guessed Goethe would be a waste of my money too, as for now, and I felt I was not interested in reading Harry Potter all over again in German, somehow. But I had to find something good, that would be gripping enough for me not to want to let it down again, and yet, with a limited vocabulary. So I thought and thought, and decided to buy one of those crappy love stories, cheap chick-litt, as they call it in England. That worked so well reader!!

Well, yes, I know, my German still sucks, but I promise you, reading is such an efficient way to absorb proper structures and vocabs without even knowing it! Especially these kind of books, because they are not exactly written for German scholars, and you don't need to pick up your Duden every three words. As long as you know how to say "love", "sad", and "happy". And "rich", and "beautiful".

And after this slow and shameful beginning, I had to actually read some proper books for the university, worthy of the name, and it had become so much easier! I guess it also has to do with the fact that I was not afraid of the size of the book anymore. I mean, I had read books in English before, but those huge tomes in German, how could I possibly?? Reading bad literature helped me overcome this, and now I am a happy German-book-reader. I had decided I would try my luck with a Swedish one, but I did not manage to open it yet. It is still too frightening... An my Swedish is getting rustier and rustier, so I fear it is not going to happen any time soon...

Anyway, reader, I have to run, I promise you, my next post is goint to be about something clever and researched, not some random idea that crosses my head. I am afraid that's all for today... You still there reader? Thanks for hanging on!

I see trees of green, red roses too...

What wonderful wonderful weather outside, isn't it amazing? Is it always like that, "frühling" in Austria? How long before the depressing anchormen start talking about drought and death, cataclysms and end of the world, global warming and dying goldfish??? Hope we still have a little time!!

Anyway, in order to accomodate the mediterranean weather outside, I decided I'd tell you about the few pages of "A year in Provence" that I have read so far. The fact that I keep calling it either "under the sun of the Provence" or "A year in Tuscan", does not bode well for the future of this post...

Anyway. I like the book, so far, and I find very nice to read, very entertaining, a little bit more so than JWI. However, I agree with Pam Mandell: It's absolutely not realistic. I mean, first of all, I haven't spent a very long time in Provence, I know, but I have spent some, and I can testify, people there are not complete backbirths, who kill their dinner and think the Earth getting flatter is the sole explanation for the change of climate. And what's more shocking, is that these examples are not exceptions, "strange" people met by the narrator, no! They are a faithful portrayal of the average "provençal", seen by Peter Mayle. And it is true that so far, things are pretty much blue sky and butterflies. Or should I say "Ciel bleu" and "Papillons"?

Doesn't it get mightily on your nerves when Mayle uses all those French words all the time?! I just can't stand it. Why can't he decide, once and for all, wether he wants to write his book in French or in English? If I may make a suggestion here, it would be to choose English, because his French is not so good. (I looooove doing that. I already told you about Rousseau's accent in Lost? Well, I don't quite know why, reader, but I find it incredibly satisfying to spot French mistakes in the original version of books and films. I'm just a big big snob...)

The book is a really good read, however, but don't expect a faithful portrayal of the reality here!! I mean, all rural Austrians don't wear Dirndls and Lederhosen, nor do they all listen exclusively to Hansi Hinterseer or Marianne und Michael, do they? DO THEY? *fear*... Well, I don't think so. And I know that at least part of the rural people in the South of France own a brain as well as numerous pigs and rabbits. Maybe I'm overreacting, I know, but I felt I needed to tell you. The "Ewok tribe" kind of feeling to the book somehow got to me. All these nice, innocent, stupid peasants...

Anyway, reader, I have to go, my potatoes are cooked... Actually it's a meal composed of more butter and salt than actual potatoes, but well... in this cold, one ought to make oneself a nice, cushiony layer of fat, so as not to catch cold... Bye bye!!

Tamtam, tam tam tamtam, tam tam tam tam

(This is supposed to be the Mission : Impossible music, for those of you who hadn't noticed.)

I finished Jaywalking with the Irish!! In my awful train ride from Strasbourg to Graz, I had more than enough time, thanks, once again to the DB. I would now like to launch into a terrible diatribe about travelling conditions, staff politeness, taxi music, smoking in trains, and why my asthma medicine always has to crawl all the way to the bottom of my suitcase when I need it in a crowded train, but I won't because it has nothing to do with JWI. So...

Let's talk about what really interests us: My opinion about JWI... (yeah, I know you're terribly interested about my opinion, reader, you always are. And if you're not, anyway, why are you even reading this?? Huh??)

So. I have mixed feelings about this book, and I'm being very honest. I liked some parts, found it funny, and interesting, and liked the characters that were described throughout the book, but I seem to have a little problem with Monagan himself, with whom I don't always agree. I mean, he's kind of two-faced about the whole Ireland business!

He seems to regret the "good old Ireland" of his past, the pre-Celtic Tiger Ireland, which everybody loved, and stuff. And this is something that I have also heard a lot myself when I was in Dublin, by the way: "Oh, it was so much better before, when we actually knew what money was worth, and nature was open and beautiful, and we knew that generosity was a value, much more than coins and banknotes". I do agree with that. But then again, guys, and I'm talking to non-native Irish there, they were not going to stay country bumpkins all theirs life just to please you. I feel that it's not doing justice to how much people had to struggle at the time, to regret this "good old past" which was not all that good, really, looking back on it.

And when Irish try (however clumsily) to recover this lost past, they are mocked for building Disneyland around their historical monuments. Are we never ever to be content with what we have? It's funny, because I think that this is an ultimate sign of begrudgery amongst Irish people. They always say it is one of their main traits, and now, they are actually begrudging themselves. I mean:

"Couldn't they see the Dublin I used to know [says Monagan with a teary voice], with its characters from the country who cinched their pants with rope, and shawl cloaked vegetable-stall women who bawled into the morning, crude and carefree? [...] So much was gone."

Yeah. I'm really convinced those people regret having fitting blue jeans and jobs that allow them to wake up at 8 instead of 3 am.

In general, I understand what he means, I liked the book, and the style of writing, because it's nice to learn so many new words, and I felt for the characters in all the right places, and laughed in all the right places too, but it could not become my favourite book. Some of the anecdotes that were related were really interesting and nice, but in general, I think one of the reasons why I didn't like it so much was the lack of events in his life. But that's me, I'm just not used to autobiographies!

Well, I have mostly written about what I didn't like about JWI, even though I really enjoyed reading it, but I think it's more interesting to criticise than to praise, so there you go, reader. That was My Opinion About JWI. What do you think?

The Church Mice

Today, I want to tell you about "The Church Mice", a series of books by Graham Oakley. I was looking back at my childhood, and trying to find when my interest in English dated back to, and I decided that... well OK, no, it was actually my sister who told me that it would be a good theme. And it's a very good idea.

I don't suppose any of you have heard of "The Church Mice, Arthur and Samson's method: learn English with humour". For one main reason, i.e., it's supposed to be a method to learn English when you are a French kid, which none of you SUK4 students are. But I figured it was nevertheless a good thing to write about here, because it is, after all, despite all these terrible backside references and lots of nonsense, a Language Learning Blog. So let's be serious for a second.

As you might have understood, "The Church Mice" are a series of children books. They are written both in French and in English, with the English version on one side of the page, and the French one on the other. It is about mice, which live in a church, in the company of a religous cat, which has learnt that one should love, and not eat, his neighbour. Both races cohabitate more or less peacefully.

They are very funny books, with really good illustrations by the author of the texts, which proves that the guy is really talented. My personal favourite is "the Church Mice at Christmas", when the mice decide to raffle the cat, in order to get money for their christmas party.

It's very English humour, and the good thing about it is that it gives you good insight into the English culture. Well, they might actually be kind of outdated now, because they were published in 1984 (gosh!! 23 years ago already!!), but they are nevertheless really cool, and you get acquainted with things like "peaches in brandy" and "pickled walnuts". Besides, there is a good vocabulary list at the end, which is funny, and interesting, and helps you understand more precisely what different things are, which might require a longer definition, and not just a French equivalent.

Of course, one can debate about wether or not having texts written bilingualy actually is a good method for learning a foreign languages, or wether one perhaps ought to read things in just one language, in order to avoid getting the bad habit of translating everything in your head instead of actually thinking in the foreign language. But in my personal opinion, though it might not be the best method, it is nevertheless a good way of getting kids interested in learning, which is already a victory.

The point of writing all this when I know that none of you would read it in French is also that I suppose it might have been translated to German, because, after all, why not!!

Anyway, I hope this will be a little bit useful, in case you want to teach English to your 9 years old cousin (or sister, or brother)... Or just have a little relaxing, easy read, in order to rest your brain after 1 chapter of JWI... I really like them, even now that I'm supposed to read books which don't have pictures in them...

It's time for me to go to bed now, I guess... All my family is coming back home for easter and my mum just got out of the hospital, so I guess tomorrow will be a busy day!! I love familly reunions! Especially when they involve a lot of chocolate eating. And coming back home after a long while.... Good night reader!!

De smell off Patrick Bridge is wicked. How does Father Mathew stick it?

Hi Reader!! How are you today?

I just wanted to write a little tiny post here, to state that I began reading "Jaywalking with the Irish" today. Of course, I haven't gotten very far yet. I must say that what I read so far has been less terrible than I imagined, although I do agree that it is sometimes a little bit difficult to stay focused, because of the number of words I don't understand. I don't know how you read things like that, but personally, I try not to use my dictionary, and have a "if I don't understand it, it can't be that important" philosphy. In the case of most books, it's OK, but in this one, I must admit that I sometimes have te read whole chunks over and over again until I finally manage to make sense of them.

I look forward to being able to show off my newly-learnt vocabulary list, because really, I'd love to casually put "idle away", or "throng" in a conversation.

Anyway, the main purpose of this entry is just to make sure that I read it at a reasonable pace, because I won't have an excuse for taking my time. I can't lie about Amazon's delays anymore!! I am doomed!!

Honestly though, I kind of like the characters, so far, especially the kids (though as I said before, I'm not too much into little people in books, somehow...), so I have good hopes of actually liking the books (i.e. the parts that I manage to understand).

Well, reader, I'm in Strasbourg now, catching up with my French friends which I haven't seen in quite a while, so I guess I'll stop there and go have some fun in Alsace's second prettiest city!!

Have fun while I'm away!!