5 Oscar Wilde - The picture of Dorian Gray

First off, I'm really sad Oscar Wilde only wrote one novel. How dare he leave me hanging. He was in prison, shouldn't he have had enough time to write another one? Also, if you put someone in prison for being gay, is prison really the best place to put them (dropping-soap-scenarios, you know what I mean)?

"The picture of Dorian Gray" was also a recommendation from a friend and I'm really glad he thought of me because it definitely ranks with my favorite books of all time (I think second/third place).

Dorian Gray is a young, inexperienced boy and meets an artist, Basil, who worships him deeply and needs him as a muse. Through Basil he meets Lord Henry Wotton who thinks only pleasure and beauty makes life worth living (I do too, but for me that means pizza). Lord Henry puts all kinds of ideas into innocent, sweet little Dorians head and Dorian realizes how beautiful and captivating he is to other people. After Basil gifts him a picture of himself, Dorian wishes that the picture should age instead of him. Well guess what... 

He meets a young actress, Sybil Vane, who he intends to marry but after she puts on a bad peformance he looses his interest and she kills herself (ok, condensing the story like this makes it sound crazy). That changes Dorians life and things happen that I won't tell you about because I spoiled enough of the story! 

It has a lot of references to other literary pieces and to antique history which is genious and really made me look up a lot of names and background stories. But it didn't feel forced and I understand how this is a classic. My highlight were always dialouges that included Lord Henry and I did mark some interessting quotes. There are a lot of conversations and I think it's because Oscar Wilde was more into writing theater pieces.

I loved it. 

Ten out of ten hot dudes!

4 Jean-Paul Didierlaurent – The reader on the 6.27

I am behind on my blog posts because I underestimated the work that comes with also writing about what you read.

Guylain Vignolles hates his job at a book pulping factory, so he steals a few pages of what is left of the books to read them out loud on the 6.27 train as his higlight of the day. One day he finds the diary of a woman which he falls in love with by reading it on the train.

The reader on the 6.27 was recommended to me because one of my favorite book is "The Reader" by Bernhard Schlink. So I was excited and maybe I got my hopes up too high to be objective. Since it's a french book I did know the book was going to have a really romantic, honest voice much like "Amelie". But I felt like there was constant repetition, like we didn't already understand Guylain hated his job and the book pulping machine. It's often used as an artistic device but in this book it seemed clunky and unnecessary to me and a lot like Mr. Didierlaurent was either short on pages or really drunk. While the characters were well-rounded, I didn't come to like the whiny main character. I only appreciated the guy in the wheelchair whose legs got ground up in the pulping machine and recycled into books that he was collecting. But instead of helping this poor guy move on Guylain was withholding some of those books to keep wheelchair man busy. Yes, you're saving him from not having a purpose but you're also keeping him from finding a new one that doesn't focus around his tragic accident. WELL DONE.

So I was already over this book by the end of the first half. I understand that some people can really appreciate it and its story and maybe I just had too many expectations in the beginning. A French production firm already bought the movie rights and I can definitely see this as a good movie. I would watch it because all in all I did like the idea of the book.

I'll give it 4 out of 7 Baguettes.

So I've made the huge error of reading 4 books at a time, getting frustrated and then watching 2 seasons of Gilmore Girls. A show that in no way represents my taste in tv series but rather how much I appreciate family drama that I'm not involved in. Also, I had a great book idea where humans land on earth 66 billion years ago and eradicate dinosaurs with their arrival, making the world fall into an ice age and then leaving again, 'cause we're dicks. I seriously started writing that! But I'm not setting aside enough time for concentrated reading. Mostly because my grandma is visiting and I don't have the heart to tell a god-fearing person I'm writing fiction about dinosaurs.

Some people ask me why my English is so good. And there are many reasons for that. But my favorite one is that some words are just very similar since they derive from the same origin (like latin, which is Latein in German by the way, so point proven). So when in doubt, I just pronounce a German word English and hope it's right. And when it is, it's usually a really eloquent (in German eloquent) way of saying it and people are mildly impressed.

Now, there are a few false friends though.

For example, the word for the spray that waterproofs your shoes is "Imprägnierspray" in German. So if I was to say "I'm waterproofing my shoes" by using my method of pronouncing things in English, I would say "I'm impregnating my shoes" (which would be one of my lesser weird fetishes I guess). 

Or the voice recorder on my phone is called "Diktiergerät" which literally translates to dictating machine, something that sounds like Hitler would have appreciated. 

So now you know my secret. 

I have been really sick these past days. And you'd think I'd get more reading in this way but it's quit the opposite. I get very frustrated that I can't do anything so most of my time is consumed by me thinking about how I can't do anything. And since my mom (who is here) is less of a "have tea and lie down" kind of mother but more of a "well great, now you can't get anything done" kind of mother the frustration just grows because I'm not only not getting things done, I'm also made to feel bad about it.

I also can't hear very well. And so most of my day is me calling "Did you just talk to me?" and "What did you say?".

A friend of mine sent me a book as a present which I'm excited about reading. I've once dated said friend and it's the typical "the one who got away" scenario, so whenever he does overly nice things like this it proves that he's the one who got away.

3 Jenny Lawson - Furiously happy

So I've decided to write in English because I can reach a broader audience that way. And because I read most books in English anyway. Like this weeks read:

Jenny Lawson - Furiously happy

I got this book from a friend who wanted me to read something lighter for a change but also because she was reminded of me a little. After reading the book though, I'm not exactly sure if I should be insulted or not. Jenny Lawson has most of the mental illnesses you have ever heard of. And with that, her life is a little complicated, crazy but vastly entertaining. And I believe that's what reminded my friend of me, as well as the very authentic, straight-forward writing style (I hope but I will not ask to verify, ignorance is bliss). 

I laughed out loud a bunch of times and really enjoyed this book. All the while thinking "Thank god that's not me". But it also made me think that everybody should appreciate their "weirdness" and maybe even celebrate it. It's what makes you unique and it's what fascinates others. I've recently struggled to accept myself with all the craziness that comes with being me. And I also realized how long I've been trying to overcome my weirdness instead of accepting it and making the best out of it. So if you want a good laugh but you also need a little reminder that you're okay the way that you are, this book is the right thing for you.

Since it's a fun read, I'll give it 8 out of 10 Antidepressants.

2 Traudl Junge - Bis zur letzten Stunde

Ich erinnere mich noch genau an den Geschichtsunterricht in der Schule, der in der Oberstufe daraus bestand, jedes Jahr über den Nationalsozialismus zu reden. Das hat entscheidend dazu beigetragen, dass ich mich für diese Periode der deutschen Geschichte überhaupt nicht mehr interessiert habe. Aber vor kurzem fiel mir das Buch von Traudl Junge in dem Bücherregal eines Bekannten auf und ich fing an ein paar Zeilen zu lesen und hatte sofort Lust, mehr zu erfahren.

Traudl Junge - Bis zur letzten Stunde

In ihrem Buch verarbeitet Traudl Junge ihre Zeit als Hitlers Sekretärin. Kurz nach dem Fall des NS-Regimes schreibt sie alles über ihre Zeit im Dienste des Führers auf, Jahre später wurde dann dieses Buch veröffentlicht, in dem sie selber erzählt, wie schockiert sie über die Naivität ihrer Aufzeichnungen war. Ich fand die Ausführungen über Hitler, seinem Wesen und seinen Angewohnheiten sehr interessant. Und es lässt auch einblicken, warum viele von Hitlers Gedankengut angesteckt werden konnten.

Amazon-Link zum Buch:
Traudl Junge - Bis zur letzten Stunde

1 Noelle Hancock - Wer nichts riskiert, verpasst das Leben

Das Jahr 2017 hatte einen schweren Start für mich: Obwohl ich viele Menschen auf kleinem Raum nicht ausstehen konnte, zog ich nach Berlin. Ja, die Idee war so gut, wie sie sich anhörte.
Weil so eine Veränderung auch immer Existenzängste mit sich bringt, wollte ich dieses Jahr mit einem Buch anfangen, in dem es um Ängste und ihre Überwindung geht.

Noelle Hancock - Wer nichts riskiert, verpasst das Leben

Das Buch hat eins der wohl abschreckendsten Titelbilder, die ich je gesehen habe: Rosa Hintergrund und ein Krokodil in einer Badewanne. Und auch der Titel ließ mich einen abgedroschenen Ratgeber vermuten. Doch ich wurde eines Besseren belehrt. 

Die junge Journalistin Noelle Hancock verliert ihren Job und weiß nicht mehr weiter. Bald beschließt sie, inspiriert durch ein Zitat von Eleanor Roosevelt, jeden Tag eine Sache zu tun, die ihr Angst macht. Immer wieder zieht sie Parallelen zu Eleanors Leben, zeigt Mitschnitte aus ihren Therapiestunden und erzählt von ihren beeindruckendsten Mutproben. 

Das Buch hat Spaß gemacht und zum Denken angeregt. Ich bin vor allem von dem Mut der Autorin beeindruckt, habe mir aber auch sofort eine Biographie von Eleanor Roosevelt gekauft. 

Ich habe es im englischen Original gelesen (My Year with Eleanor).

Amazon-Link:

Noelle Hancock - Wer nichts riskiert, verpasst das Leben