I suppose there hasn’t been much reading happening for me this month. Why? House projects, travel, and general summertime activities. I have been TIRED! For some reason only she knows, Sweet Girl has been very difficult with going to bed. Maybe it’s that thing where they can regress right before a big developmental milestone happens. I sure hope so.
I took this paperback along on a beach vacation and it was the perfect book to read a little bit here, a little there. Hales has written a celebration of the Italian language and culture. Her love is infectious! As she journeys through the liveliest parts of Italian’s history, she invites the reader along to meet people, visit important places, and discover her reasons for learning this language and bringing it into her heart.
“And what a language it is! Italian, handcrafted by poets and wordsmiths, embodies its native speakers’ greatest genius: the ability to transform anything–from marble to melody, from the humble noodle to life itself–into a joyous art. English, like a big black felt-nosed Magic Marker, declares itself in bold statements and blunt talk. Italian’s sleek, fine-pointed quill twirls into delicate curlicues and dramatic flourishes. While other tongues do little more than speak, this lyrical language thrills the ear, beguiles the mind, captivates the heart, enraptures the soul, and comes closer than any other idiom to expressing the essence of what it means to be human.”
Written by a scientist and engineer, this book surveys 10 common materials and their relationship to our culture and specifically how they came about and affect our lives. A fascinating look at materials science in layman’s terms.
The world blazes along with its critical tongue and shallow impatience, not understanding the moment, the breath, the seeing.
This novel is based on the story of Mary Cassatt and Edgar Degas. Degas helps Cassatt realize her potential and strength as an artist, but he can be cruel and stubborn, making their relationship complicated. Still, their connection is strong and reading about their lives, separate and together, was fascinating. The societal pressures on the Impressionist movement when it first arose was also something new to me.
Knowing Mary was to know more of himself, an astonishing development at his age. Few knew him as she did, and fewer loved him, of that he was more than certain. Right now he could not even name a woman other than Mary whom he could tolerate for longer than a few minutes. Or perhaps it was the other way around. Perhaps he was too harsh, or too crude, or too truthful for a woman to tolerate, none of which had ever mattered until now.
Sigh. This is an absolutely beautiful story. It speaks of young social pressures, of the class divisions in our society, and first love. I’d wanted to read this for about 3 years now, since it came out, because I’d heard that all ages of readers love this young adult novel. It’s true. Highly recommend.
Holding Eleanor’s hand was like holding a butterfly. Or a heartbeat. Like holding something complete, and completely alive.
There’s only one of him, she thought, and he’s right here. He knows I’ll like a song before I’ve heard it. He laughs before I even get to the punch line. There’s a place on his chest, just below his throat, that makes me want to let him open doors for me. There’s only one of him.
Every 4 months, Colin Wright asks his blog readers to vote on where he should go next. He travels as a way of life. I began reading this simply because I like Colin Wright. It’s made up of short chapters with tips and stories about his full-time travel life. I like that he describes how the idea of travel relates with the reality, cultural relativism, the ethics of traveling, how to explore most efficiently and effectively, how to document your travels, and so much more.
