50 Books to Read Before You Die - Update

I love to read. Last May I started with "50 Books to Read Before You Die". Life got in the way and in the end I didn't finish the list before 2011. At all. I only read a few books. But I thought it would be fun to give you a little update. As it turned out, these classic books out of the English literature aren't even in our library. Which makes a little sense, because I live in the Netherlands. But still, I would thought that these books would be available. I think my new plan of attack is more realistic. I'm just going to read some one by one and I might tell you something about them if I really liked it. And every now and then I'll give you an update. How about that? 

The last time we spoke about this I just finished reading the Lord of the Rings Triology in 3 days. Which was so much fun. Now I've read Wuthering Heights, which was beautiful. And 1984, which was a bit creepy and didn't have a happy ending. But really gave you something to think about. I re-read Pride and Prejudice, my favourite book. Anyway, although I enjoy reading classics, I also love a good modern book every now and then. So I'm going to take it slow and see where it ends. Have you read a lot?


And here is my update: blue are the ones I've read.


1. The Lord of the Rings triology by J.R.R. Tolkien
2. 1984 by George Orwell
3. Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
4. The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck
5. To kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
6. Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte
7. Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte
8. A Passage to India by E.M. Forsfer
9.The Lord of the Flies by William Golding
10. Hamlet by William Shakespeare
11. A Bend in the Rivers by V.S. Naipaul
12. The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald
13. The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger
14. The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath
15. Brave New World by Aldous Huxley
16. The Diary of Anne Frank by Anne Frank
17. Don Quixote by Miguel de Cervantes
18. The Bible by Various
19. The Canterbury Tales by Geoffrey Chaucer
20. Ulysses by James Joyce
21. The Quiet American by Graham Greene
22. Birdsong by Sebastian Faulks
23. Money by Martin Amis
24. Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling
25. Moby Dick by Herman Melville

26. The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame
27. His Dark Materials Trilogy by Philip Pullman
28. Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy
29. Alice´s Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Caroll
30. Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier
31. The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time by Mark Haddon
32. On the Road by Jack Kerouac
33. Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad
34. The way we live now by Antony Trollope
35. The Outsider by Albert Camus
36. The colour Purple by Alice Walker
37. Life of Pi by Yann Martel
38. Frankenstein by Mary Selley
39. The War of the Worlds by H. G. Wells
40. Man without Woman by Ernest Hemingway
41. Gulliver´s Travels by Jonathan Swift
42. A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens
43. Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain
44. Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Dafoe
45. One flew over the Cockoo´s Nest by Ken Kesey
46. Catch 22 by Joseph Heller
47. The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas
48. Memoirs of a Geisha by Arthur Golden
49. The Divine Comedy by Alighieri Dante
50. The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde 

Image found on Weheartit.com

This is your life.

This about sums up my new year resolutions.

Picture found on Happiness is...

52. Quote of the Week

Missed our sidebar 'Quote of the Week'?
Here it is!

(:

It's finally over. I'm done with school. At least for the next three months. If I've done the exams good enough that is. But for now, I'll just assume that I did. So, I'll have plenty of time to post some lovely things. (I have a few fun small projects going on that I want to show you.)

(source: weheartit.com)

Karin.

Butterflies

And that was the last one for today. And also the shortest. But probably the most briliant one too.

(All the images were found on weheartit.com)

Karin.

How to be Happy.

I want to be remembered

Why not?

I've been looking for you.

Don't you love a good quote? You'll find 4 more today. Every three hours from now. Hopefully you can laugh about them, think about them and love them as much as I do.

Karin.

Friendship

A friend is one
To whom one may pour out all
The contents of one's heart
Chaff and grain, together,
Knowing that the gentlest of hands
Will take and sift it,
Keep what's worth keeping
And blow the rest away.

Dinah Craik (1859)

Karin.

Book Covers

Remember the Album covers? Weren't they lovely?
I went through my collection of books and I selected the prettiest ones. I know you can't judge a book by it's cover. But you can judge the cover.

Blue is definetely my favourite colour. I love the little drawings in the different shades of blue. I got this little book from my little sister. I immediately fell in love with the cover. It's so cute. And after reading it, I can say I love the content too. The book is filled with little fairytales.Do you know 'Wreck my Journal'? You should! It's an amazing way to explore different things and simply be creative. But it's about the cover here. I love the simple look of it. The tape is a funny detail. It isn't pretty or anything. It looks like something you could have done yourself. In this case, that's a good thing!Fleur got me this lovely book. She went to New York and visisted an exposition about paper. The book is filled with little papercuttings like the one on the cover. Isn't it amazing? Thank you Fleur!I bought this book last week. It's a modern cover with sweet colours and details. It's also a lovely story. But that's not what this article is about.This is a special book. Not only the cover is a quite interesting drawing, the whole book is filled with drawings. The drawings tell the story. I love how the cover really represents the mood of the book. I have a little weakness for drawn covers. ^^

Do you know any pretty bookcovers?

Karin.

Ps. I'll ask Fleur to do her H&M Wishlist tomorrow.. I'd love to see what she found.

Simple

(click on image for source)

Karin.

Unknown Destinations

(Found here)

Karin.

The Story of Winter

I love this little story. It's beautiful. Although we complain about so many things, a part inside us just loves winter: the cozy christmas evenings, hot chocolate, the lovely party dresses, snow, the feeling you get when you walk in a warm room after a long cold walk... I could go on forever. But just enjoy this lovely story by Elizabeth May. All credit goes to her!!

The Story of Winter

"I have to give you something," he said lightly, looking up at the expanse of sky stretched as far as the eye could see. "That's the way these things go. A deal is a deal."

"Right," I replied distractedly, wondering what he was gazing at.

"How about winter? I'll give you winter."

The night was cloudless. Inviting. I think I would live in the stars, if I could.
I glanced at him, studying his profile. I wasn't sure if he was mocking me or if he actually meant anything he said. I would never find out. I would die not knowing.

"Winter?" I asked, hoping that for just a moment he would look at me. "You can't just...give me a season. That's not possible."

He laughed. I loved it when he laughed. His cheeks dimpled; it took away his intensity and for one joyous moment, he appeared less burdened. Then his smile faded and he said softly, "Sure I can. I can give you anything you desire. Any season you wish. But I think winter fits best."

"Because I'm a frigid bitch?" I was joking. I wanted to see him laugh one more time before everything ended.

Finally, he looked down at me. Bottomless, steel grey eyes met mine and I lost everything I was thinking. Jaded thoughts and doubts and worries fled. I felt weightless, liberated. When he touched my cheek, his hand was warm. When he kissed me, it was achingly soft. He whispered against my lips, "There's beauty in it. Crystalline snow, silver skies…despite it, everything seems more overwhelming. The cold, the death, the lack of light. But you know what?"

"What?" I breathed.

"They always appreciate you more when you're gone."

©2009 =Auriethepixie on DeviantArt

Karin.

Happier than a Bird with a French Fry

I love this drawing. It really made my day.

Original picture by dazeychic on Etsy.com

Let's spread the love ^^.

A little while ago Karin send me this text.

Michael is the kind of guy you love to hate. He is always in a good mood and always has something positive to say.
When someone would ask him how he was doing, would reply, "If I were any better, I would be twins!"
He was a natural motivator.
If an employee was having a bad day, Michael was there telling the employee how to look on the positive side of the situation.
Seeing this style really made me curious, so one day I went up to Michael and asked him, "I don't get it! You can't be a positive person all of the time. How do you do it?"
Michael replied, "Each morning I wake up and say to myself, you have two choices today.
You can choose to be in a good mood or .. you can choose to be in a bad mood. I choose to be in a good mood.
Each time something bad happens, I can choose to be a victim or...I can choose to learn from it. I choose to learn from it.
Every time someone comes to me complaining, I can choose to accept their complaining or... I can point out the positive side of life, choose the positive side of life.
"Yeah, right, it's not that easy," I protested. "Yes, it is," Michael said. "Life is all about choices. When you cut away all the junk, every situation is a choice.
You choose how you react to situations. You choose how people affect your mood. You choose to be in a good mood or bad mood.
The bottom line: It's your choice how you live your life."
I reflected on what Michael said. Soon thereafter, I left the Tower Industry to start my own business. We lost touch, but I often thought about him when I made a choice about life instead of reacting to it.
Several years later, I heard that Michael was involved in a serious accident, falling some 60 feet from a communications towe! r.
After 18 hours of surgery and weeks of! intensive care, Michael was released from the hospital with rods placed in his back.
I saw Michael about six months after the accident. When I asked him how he was, he replied. "If I were any better, I'd be twins. Wanna see my scars?"
I declined to see his wounds, but I did ask him what had gone through his mind as the accident took place.
"The first thing that went through my mind was the well-being of my soon to be born daughter," Michael replied. "Then, as I lay on the ground, I remembered that I had two choices: I could choose to live or... I could choose to die. I chose to live."
"Weren't you scared? Did you lose consciousness?" I asked.
Michael continued, "...the paramedics were great. They kept telling me I was going to be fine. But when they wheeled me into the ER and I saw the expressions on the faces of the doctors and nurses, I got really scared. In their eyes, I read "he's a dead man. I knew I needed to take action."
"What did you do?" I asked.
"Well, there was a big burly nurse shouting questions at me," said Michael. "She asked if I was allergic to anything.
"Yes, I replied." The doctors and nurses stopped working as they waited for my reply. I took a deep breath and yelled, "Gravity."
Over their laughter, I told them, "I am choosing to live. Operate on me as if I am alive, not dead."
Michael lived, thanks to the skill of his doctors, but also because of his amazing attitude. I learned from him that every day we have the choice to live fully.
Attitude, after all, is everything.
"Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own." After all today is the tomorrow you worried about yesterday.
Enjoy each day, each breath and mostly---each and every friend.

(I couldn't find out who the author of this inspiring piece is, if anyone knows.. please tell me so I can give credit!)

I really wanted to share this with you, because it made me reconsider a few things. Like how easy it is to be optimistic. And how stupid some people (including myself) can be.
What do you think?

To finish here is one of Karin's (to my opinion) best conceptual photos :)

Let's spread the love ^^.

Fleur.

October is...

October is an artist

she scatters her collages everywhere she goes
shades of crackling oranges, and
the deep gray of the sky that might swallow you whole

October is a musician

the booming drum that splits the sky
and the drippling percussion accompanying it, rain
the pitter-patters beat against my windowsill
a peaceful companion on stormy nights

October is a writer

she writes in the tales of Halloween fables
of werewolves and ghouls and the children’s giggles
that we left behind in kindergarten

October is your childhood friend
don’t let her go

©by Oldforgegirl on DeviantArt

Karin.