Reading is part of my everyday life. Everywhere I go, I take books with me.
Reading is my joy, my relief after a stressful day, it's freedom, it's passion, it's thinking, it's alive.
E pensar que tudo começou com uma revistinha da Turma da Mônica, presente do meu
pai.
.
This is my April 2014-April 2015 Reading Challenge:
60 Books in a Year
and this bookshelf is my way of registering my journey...
26. The Snows of Kilimanjaro by Ernest Hemingway
A book of short stories but only the first one really worth reading - in my humble opinion.
25. Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn
60 Books in a Year
and this bookshelf is my way of registering my journey...
29. Mrs Bridge by Evan S. Connell
Life without a purpose is no life at all. This book makes you feel happy that women now have jobs, careers and everything else that comes with that. Funny, moving and sad all at the same time.
Life without a purpose is no life at all. This book makes you feel happy that women now have jobs, careers and everything else that comes with that. Funny, moving and sad all at the same time.
28. Pygmalion by Bernard Shaw
Another play for my list, a absolute classic. Read it, please. I laughed so much; it is scandalously good. Bravo to the Duchess and her Dr Frankenstein.
27. The Pianist by Wladyslaw Szpilman
A hard book to read. Even harder to finish it. A story of survival, resistance and love. Very sad and very beautiful, slightly different from the movie.26. The Snows of Kilimanjaro by Ernest Hemingway
A book of short stories but only the first one really worth reading - in my humble opinion.
25. Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn
Read this book in three days. The sickest story I've read in a very long time. I don't think I will be watching the movie though. No, the book was quite enough.
24. Call for the Dead by John Le Carre
Engaging detective story. Easy reading - not remarkable but good reading all the same.
23. The Rich Boy by F. Scott Fitzgerald
Engaging detective story. Easy reading - not remarkable but good reading all the same.
23. The Rich Boy by F. Scott Fitzgerald
"Let me tell you about the rich. They are different from you and me. They possess and enjoy early, and it does something to them, makes them soft where we are hard, cynical where we are trustful, in a way that unless you were born rich , it is very difficult to understand." It seems that Mr Fitz was exorcising his own demons with this book - in a healthy way of course.
22. Cat on the Hot Tin Roof by Tennessee Williams
Another duo...even better reading. It's the "nothing is what it seems" type of story, family gatherings, washing up the dirty laundry, cliche you might be thinking... but no, a mind blowing piece of writing and originality. Read it then watch the movie or the play if you can.
21. A Streetcar Named Desire by Tennessee Williams
Avant-garde, a powerful story. What a great play! Even I wanted to beat Blanche, what a irritating woman. Will see it live when I have a chance, you should do the same.
20. Animal
Farm by George Orwell
I could not resist...I had to have some more Orwell. Of course, it did not
disappoint me. Creative, original, intelligently funny and so political, a truthful portrait of human nature. It got me thinking
what a predicable lot we are!
19. 1984 by George Orwell
An
unsettling book. There is nothing like it, not even close. A ruthless
description of the world we live in (even if it was written in 1949). The
inspiration for The Matrix, V-for Vendetta, live TV, Big Brother and a warning
to Humanity! It would make my list of books to take in Noah's Ark.
18. Life is so Good by George Dawson and Richard Glaubman
Mr. Dawson walked the walk of life for 103 years, he lived through the whole 20th
century and at the age of 98 this is what he had to say: "Life is so good
and it gets better every day!" Remarkable.
17. Dreams from My Father by Barack Obama
This book is beaaaauuutifully
written. A honest and moving account of a man's journey to find himself. A
journey of acceptance, forgiveness, perseverance and most of all love. Mr
President has really made an impression on me.
16. The Art of Happiness - a handbook
for living by HH Dalai Lama & Howard C. Cutter
Buddhism teachings in a nutshell. It is all the
Western world needs to know in order to become more civilised and less
neurotic.
15. The Hour of the Star by Clarisse Lispector
A book for adults. She is Brazil’s Virginia Woolf. Yes, there is a lot more to
Brazilian Literature than Paulo Coelho and A LOT better.
14. Inferno by Dan Brown
The worst book ever written. Awful.
13.Siddhartha by Hermann Hesse
A journey inside the Buddha. Sensitive
narrative, profound (and short) account of the life of Gautama – the man before
the Buddha. A proof that
life is more fluid than we think.
12. First Love and Other Novellas by Samuel Beckett
Selection of short stories of an Irishman who
wrote in French and translated his own works into English. Feeling good about my
Portuguese-English blog now.
11. The Death of Ivan Ilyich by
Leo Tolstoy
When you mention this name, do you need say
more? Ageless, intriguing, intelligent. Mr Tolstoy is the cream of the top.
Always.
10. The Master and Margarita by Mikhail Bulgakov
Craziest book I've ever read! Imagine what would happen if you met
the devil and tried to convince him that he didn’t exist?
9. The Shadow of the Sun: My
African Life by Ryszard Kapuscinski
Here he shares his almost anthropological
experience of a white man living amid Africans - before safari was accessible
and bought in a travel - package, when Africa was Africa.
8. Eeny Meeny by M.J. Arlidge
I was in a Hannibal Lector mood so I picked this one. Intelligent, well-written, a bit
predicable but definitely worth your time.
7. Another Day of Life by Ryszard
Kapuscinski
He managed to make travel journalism sound like
poetry. It's about Angola independence, some very interesting insights on the
Latin way of thinking and doing things. He is one of my absolute fave writers
of all times.
6. Mrs Dalloway by Virginia
Woolf
If you love London you will definitely love this
book. It took me some getting used to the style of writing (incredibly
innovative, even for today) but it’s a unique work just like her.
5. Disgrace by JM Coetzee
Easy reading but I am too much of a
"Shawshank Redemption" type of person for read this book. You know
the type that loves come-backs and still manage to get all excited with Rocky
III? This book is about
helplessness, decline. no light in the end of the tunnel. Hummm…it gets a no,
no from me.
4. The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll
and Mr Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson
If you fancy Victorian stories… go for it. For
me it was a bit heavy and v -e- r- y- s -l- o- w- r- e- a- d- i- n- g. Meaning: boring as hell.
3. The Outsider by Albert Camus
What do you think it would happen if you decided to tell the
truth no matter what? Read this to understand. I loved the book and hated
the main character. A warning: this book will make you think. 100% guaranteed
or your money back.
2. One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez
Marvellous, unique,
unforgettable. The inhabitants of Macondo invite you for a journey… here is my tribute to Gabo.
1. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain
A great way to start any reading challenge! Loved it. Loved it.
Loved it. Have a look on my post Mark, Huck and Jim here
