A Cup of Tea & Biscuits

I await, with bated breath, this movie. Its trailer had me sighing (swooning and drooling too - for Thorin Oakenshield ) because I can go back to Middle Earth!! Yes, it's The Hobbit !!! And the dwarves sing!! Which is the whole point of this post :) Here's the complete poem , as written by Tolkien and below is what appears in the trailer of The Hobbit. Far over the Misty Mountains cold, To dungeons deep and caverns old. The pines were roaring on the heights, The wind was moaning in the night, The fire was red, it flaming spread, The trees like torches blazed with light. The Hobbit Making Of The Hobbit - Trailer

Day 7: The Most Underrated Book I'm going with Hans Keilson 's The Death of the Adversary ( see my earlier review here ). Set in the time of World War II - the beginning of, actually - it tries to answer the questions ripe in everyone's heads. Why did so many people succumb to the tyranny that Hitler brought upon the world? To Germany and the Jews? We know of the fear and the hatred people held for him, but what about individuals who were just content living their lives? This book is very anonymous, in that the 'adversary' is never named, but we all know his identity because we know history. It is designed to try and explain to you the simplicity of it all. The path of a human life in a time when it was questioned.

Day 6:   A Book that Makes Me Sad It took me a while to think through which book might possibly qualify as one that makes me sad.  Villette by Charlotte  Brontë wasn't foremost on my mind, but it does make for this category. Lucy, though not my favorite protagonist, is one to be reckoned with. The themes of the book, the loneliness, repression, and the intense feminist theme that's familiarly Miss  Brontë, keep you glued to the pages. Without giving away too much of the story, I must say that it would be the ending that made me think of this book as a sad one. The story has its plot twists and a very literal ambiguity to it, and will keep you hooked.

Once you've read the Twilight series , you know what to expect from a Stephanie Meyer book. The Host is definitely, in my opinion, much better than the tales of vampire love, probably because it's just one book that takes you through the life of a Soul inhabiting a human body. It's a quick read - took me less than two days to finish it - and an entertaining one. Wanderer, a silvery centipede-like alien, is implanted into the body of a human host, Melanie Stryder, with the hope that she will be the key to finding the human resistance that lies hidden and seems to be, in some way, fighting the invasion from these peace-loving creatures. Now living in the body of another, Wanderer finds that she cannot suppress Melanie. Her memories are too strong, and Wanderer begins to turn... human. She falls in love with the people that Melanie loves, and turns against her own kind to find Jared and Jamie. At first, she isn't accepted, because she is, after all, an alien. No one is a...

Day 5:   A Book That Makes Me Happy An unconventional choice this shall be. Generally, any book would make my happy, but if we're going by the story and writing, then my vote (at this point in time) would go for Gaudy Night by Dorothy Sayers . A mystery novel published in 1935, this book is pro-feminist novel. Very unique, it stands out in the series of Lord Peter Wimsey's investigations in that Harriet Vane is the primary investigator and there isn't really much of a mystery to look into. Importance is given to women and their struggles in society. For someone who places education and independence above all else, this book is definitely the perfect choice. I love Sayers' humor in Wimsey's lines, and I love Lord Peter even more. It's also probably one of my favorite books in the series because Harriet finally accepts Peter's hand in marriage.

Day 4 :  Favorite Book from a Favorite Series I may have picked ' The Eyre Affair ' had I not read through most of the series. The first book definitely remains the one that got my hooked onto the series but for literary purposes I love ' Lost in a Good Book' most. Thursday Next (see here for my review of the series) is now married to Landen Park-Laine , lives in Swindon and is happily chasing after literary crimes, while dealing with stardom born from her having changed the ending of Jane Eyre (in the book, Jane actually goes off to India with her cousin, but Thursday's intervention - after killing her nemesis, Acheron Hades , which causes Bertha Rochester to die in the fire and Rochester to lose his eyesight and an arm - results in Jane returning to Thornfield and marrying Rochester), then coming to terms with Landen's eradication by a rogue member of the ChronoGuard who is working with the Goliath Corporation's Brik Schitt-Hawse, who is in the course o...

Day 3:   My Favorite Series (current) Since I'm currently on the track of, and because it is a pretty darned good series, I am going to say the Thursday Next series by Jasper Fforde . Set in an alternate England, this is every book lover's dream come true, encompassing everything that is literature, British literature specifically, and all that is cool. You go into books, see how a book is constructed and projected to the reader, be read by a reader, drive with Mrs. Havisham, conduct help-groups for characters, jump between books, kill grammasites and mispeling vyrus, mark a minotaur with slapstick, die and be not-dead, trap Supreme Evil Beings in glass jars, make money killing zombies and vampires, travel through time, deal with snarky politicians and curb apocalypses by winning a Croquet Superhoop final, keep dodos as pets, experience mammoth migrations and be friends with neanderthals, meet cloned Shakespeares and Napoleans, bring Hamlet into the real world, be the bellman ...

Day 2: A Book I've Read At Least 3 Times Apparently I have a thing for books by authors who are no longer living. Quite naturally they are all at least a century old. Pro-feminist novels of the time definitely have my attention, but it is the literature that keeps me. North & South by Elizabeth Cleghorn Gaskell (see my previous review ) is an industrial novel set in the fictional town of Milton, in northern England. The main aspect of this book, and the writing, is the passion in it. The passion for life, or the lack of it. The class and cultural differences of the time are clearly laid out before the reader. There is descriptive power in every word and all of the characters are uniquely defined. It is one of my all time favorite books, so it is no wonder that I've read it more than 3 times. Mr. Thornton is an amazing man and I love this book more for him. The story might drag along for some, but almost every aspect of living in an industrial town is covered. Beginning f...

Day 1: Best Book I Read Last Year Captain Wentworth's Diary by Amanda Grange This is Persuasion from Captain Fredrick Wentworth's point of view, from the time he first sets foot into Anne Elliot's life as a penniless naval officer, to the acceptance and eventual refusal of his offer of marriage by Anne, his returning as a somewhat wealthy captain of the Navy, and his struggles as he decides to 'settle down'. I'm not very certain if this book deserves the title of 'best book I read last year' but it definitely is one of my favorite in the past 10 months. It is filled with enough detail to stay honest to Miss Austen's narration. I found the beginning most interesting, the initial courtship when Wentworth falls in love with Anne. It is so pure and just. *sigh*

I did this once before, but due to lack of review writing on my part, I thought of redoing the 30 Day Book Challenge on my blog :) It's going to be a month, one book a day, and some amount of description about the book, or something related to it. Day 01 - Best book you read last year Day 02 - A book that you’ve read more than 3 times Day 03 - Your favorite series Day 04 - Favorite book of your favorite series Day 05 - A book that makes you happy Day 06 - A book that makes you sad Day 07 - Most underrated book Day 08 - Most overrated book Day 09 - A book you thought you wouldn’t like but ended up loving Day 10 - Favorite classic book Day 11 - A book you hated Day 12 - A book you used to love but don’t anymore Day 13 - Your favorite writer Day 14 - Favorite book of your favorite writer Day 15 - Favorite male character Day 16 - Favorite female character Day 17 - Favorite quote from your favorite book Day 18 - A book that disappointed you Day 19 - Favorite book turned into a movie Day...

If the reality that I've read nearly 10 Austen spin-offs (I will not take into account the Austen books I have read this year), of which 8 are based on P & P, in 9 months doesn't cement the fact that I am addicted to Jane Austen, and Mr. Darcy is my idea of a perfect gentleman (and my man, of course), then I don't know what will. Though Jules Verne is undoubtedly the one who opened to me the gates of literature, Jane Austen will always be credited as the one who held me, inspired me, and fascinated me. This, not just because she is one of the best authors ever, or the fact that she had strong feminine lead characters - being a feminist I quite naturally like that -, but more because of her way with words, which I am sure all book nerds will agree with. And because I am such an addict and Austen nerd, and because I love the English language and mannerisms of the 19th century, I've always been a bit wary of reading spin-offs. Some have disappointed me hugely, others h...

When I hear the word ' gulag ' I first feel incredulity, horror, pity and then resignation. Natural, don't you think? Imagine bitter cold, working like dogs, probably worse, almost to your death - or at least for the sake of survival, in the middle of nowhere, making the best of what you have, protecting what you own, knowing that all that matters is that you get your day's worth of ration to sustain you for another day. Unimagineable? Not so much, because One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich by Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn tells you almost all you need to know about it. This simple, yet vastly informative book, is one in existence that gives an inside view of life in the gulag. Drawn from Solzhenitsyn's own experience at one of this labor camps, it is aimed at chronicling a singe day, from reveille at 5 a.m. to bed time at 10 p.m., in the life of a prisoner. The story mainly concerns Ivan Denisovich Shukov, though parts of it are narrated by an omniscient observer. I...

I haven't watched a lot of musicals, truth be told, but those I have watched I have loved! The Sound of Music, The Lion King, Mary Poppins, Oliver!, Grease, Chicago,and  West Side Story being some that I can recall at this moment. My most recent flirtation with a musical was Jane Austen's Persuasion. Funky, right? :) Anyway, a few days back, I said the words, "reviewing the situation" to someone and it set into motion this particular series of memories and I, being one of those that loves almost anything to do with books, went on a musical spree. Here are some of my favorites. Reviewing the Situation - Oliver Twist Ron Moody, who played Fagin in the 1968 movie, made me love Oliver Twist - which isn't, if you come to think of it, a very endearing read for an eight year old! Be Prepared - The Lion King Jeremy Irons' voice send shivers down my spine whether he's talking or singing, and he deserves due recognition for being the perfect ...

For anyone, who is as obsessed with P & P as I am - and I'm certain there are many - the most natural thing is to wonder, after you've read P & P, what was going on in Darcy's head. What's his side of the story? His point of view, his opinions? Jane Austen told us one of the greatest love stories (I'm going out on a limb here, but I dare you to refute me) through the heroine's eyes. While Elizabeth is a practical and generally sensible story teller, it might seem very biased. Just the story-telling part of it. And because I like Mr. Darcy more than I like Elizabeth, for all the obvious reasons, I've always wondered, from probably my second reading of the book over ten years ago, what exactly was he thinking? This book, Darcy's Story by Janet Aylmer , came out soon after the BBC adaptation of the classic. There are way too many around, if you ask me, and very few live up to the expectation. Many try to mimic Miss Austen because there is no other...

A bookworm's treat! That's one of the best compliments I can give to any book, and this series of novels by Jasper Fforde deserves the title like no other in the postmodern literature movement! A very literary inclined friend of mine suggested that I read this series. Or at least the first book, The Eyre Affair . She insisted that for someone who has grown up with English literature as the backbone for her love of books, this would definitely provide for interesting reading! And how right she was! The protagonist, Thursday Next , is an agent with the Literary Division of SpecOps , daughter of Wednesday and Colonel Next , niece to Mycroft and Polly Next, one an inventor and the other a brilliant mathematician. They live in a world, an alternate (and republic) England, with George Fromby is President, where literature is taken seriously. So seriously that people are named, or change their names, to their favorite authors, and have to be tattooed with an identification number; ...

I've been reading quite furiously of late. And watching a lot of Sherlock Holmes and Peter Wimsey movies. Sherlock Holmes, here, refers to the 2010 BBC miniseries with Benedict Cumberbatch (ah, the voice) as Sherlock and Martin Freeman as Dr. Watson . I loved it! The new, updated Sherlock Holmes is as every bit enjoyable as the Edwardian detective! Rupert Graves , who plays D.I. Lestrade, soon became my fixation. And so, being the fan girl that I am, I went on to YouTube and while browsing through fan videos, came across Skillet , a band whose name I was familiar with, but knew little about their music. Anyway. I loved the song 'The Last Night' and listened to a bunch of their songs on Spotify and found Comatose. Here they are for you hearing pleasure. Quick note on the Jace Everett song - I don't watch True Blood. I stumbled upon this song on a Lestrade/Mycroft Holmes fan video. This may be the beginning of my rock flirtation phase - when I tend to listen to old m...

I've always thought that the  Brontë  sisters , namely Anne, Emily and Charlotte, were messed up. I was, perhaps wrong at the time, but it was soon after I read Emily's Wuthering Heights that I came to this conclusion. I think anyone would have done the same! I digress. I read an abridged version of Jane Eyre , Charlotte's masterpiece, for a long time regarded as the best book between the three sisters. It, actually, is the most famous one, isn't it? The story? An orphan growing up in a loveless family, being sent off to boarding school, growing up to become a governess and taking on the position of a tutor, falling in love with her master, dealing with crises, and reconciling herself to love. Familiar enough? So, why does this book make it to my top favorites? Because it talks about people in the way people would react and do in situations. It's very pro-feminist. The protagonist, Jane Eyre, grows up with the idea of independence rooted in her mind. Jane Eyre is t...

A coming of age novel, of sorts, in the time of World War 2. The last bits of it, at least. It follows the life of Michael Berg from the age of 15 into adulthood and his rather scandalous affair with a former streetcar conductor and SS guard, old enough to be his mother. That said, this book, "The Reader" (Der Vorlesser) written by Bernhard Schlink , is simple and, if you care to look deep enough into it (or just pay attention to it), profound. There is absolutely nothing hidden in it. Straightforward sentences, no beating around the busy with the story, small chapters, with so much information. While the undertone of the book is distinctly post-war, the essence of it deals with a boy, a teenager growing up and understanding himself. He studies the law, and reasons during a trial for crimes against humanities by women Nazi guards. The turmoil he faces when he finds that the woman he loves, or at least had an intimate physical relationship with, is being accused of murder is ...

Karl Stig-Erlad Larsson , better known to the world as Steig Larsson , the creator of the Millenium trilogy , wrote just three books in his lifetime. Three books the pretty much catapulted him to fame after his death in 2004. Amazing isn't it? That well written books even when published posthumously become a phenomenon and the author's life becomes even more interesting? It's fascinating, Larsson's life and his stories, especially with claims that his stories are based off of actual experiences, that the characters are fictional manifestations of some that he knew... Either way, I was quite drawn into the story behind the author and the story itself. And I liked it. It starts of darkly. Actually, it is dark, the storyline, the history of the characters, the backdrop. And it's cold. It's everything a locked room mystery /crime novel should be. The general tone of the novel is depressing, to be very honest. It is very well written, don't get me wrong, with a...

As I begin the fun process of reorganizing my music, I've been listening to some of the older stuff... things that I listened to when I was a child, growing up. They were fun, and still remain some of the best songs ever! Here's a sampling of what I've been subjecting myself to over the weekend. It's Raining Men by The Weather Girls I Will Survive by Gloria Gaynor Walk Like An Egyptian by The Bangles And just for the heck of it, and because the song is rather catchy: Moves Like Jagger by Maroon 5 (feat. Christina Aguilera)

Still on my instrumental/sentimental phase, also experimenting (because of a friend) with some indie rock, so here it goes! Noir - Solitude by the Window Something of an End - My Brightest Diamond I heard Shara Worden live last week, she played at one of the radio stations for select audience and I went along because of a friend and fell in love with her voice. This song and another (She didn't brave the war, but she saved the day) made me cry.

I have a thing for 19th century novels. I don't know when it started, I don't know how, and I really can't explain it, but I love them. All of them. I'm fascinated by the history, traditions and culture of the time that I can't get enough! Which is why I'm thankful that there are so many books from that era, and that I can never tire of them no matter how many times I've read them! So, to the point now. North & South . Not so very well known, unless you like 19th century novels, or watch the BBC period drama productions. I knew of Elizabeth Gaskell , of Cranford fame, and was aware of her novels, but didn't really pay much attention to the others until a YouTube video of period dramas led me to look up Mr. Richard Armitage , North & South and then Mr. John Thornton. Good succession of things, I'd say. And so I watched the BBC adaptation of the book , fell head over heels in love with it right after the very first episode, printed out the eBo...

Sticking with my current phase of instrumental music, I was listening to one of Pandora stations - I forget which one though - and heard this darkish, strong, subtle music waft into my ears and I fell in love. It was Die Verbannten Kinder Evas - which I guessed to be the 'discarded' children of Eve from my limited knowledge of German and turns out I was close enough (it's translates to 'the exiled children of eve')! As soon as the song was done, I went on YouTube, found their YouTube playlist, which I created my own 'Darker Instrumental' playlist , and have been listening to it since. This was three days ago and I am hooked. They are wonderful! The music caters to my metal and classical preferences, and it just leaves me breathless every time! So, here are some of their compositions that have got me begging for more :) Cease to Breathe Catharsis The Serpent's Voice

As one normally does, I go through phases of music. It generally varies between classical, sub-genres of metal, instrumental - mostly piano or violin. I'm very selective in what I listen to so while this doesn't seem like too much of a variety, I can assure you that there's enough music in all of these put together to last me a life time and a few more! Anyhow, my current phase is a piano instrumental one. It has been recurring, but of late it seems to have gone on for a little longer. This meant that I was able to understand what exactly I like about the sound of a piano being played. I noticed that I preferred the more mellow, subtle sounds that the overtly happy ones. Like this one by David Nevue called The Vigil. And the simple beauty of Just You and Me by Michele McLaughlin. This just follows my liking of epic music, either the emotions/feelings are represented in massive strength, or take time in presenting themselves. I...

Bible Black by Heaven & Hell from The Devil You Know (2009) Last year at this time I was reveling in the victory of my favorite football club - them winning the Premier League was the highlight of May 2010 - and all I listened to for weeks were Chelsea FC songs . While they mean a lot to me, they don't qualify as my favorite songs. Going back into my blog by a year, I realized that it was also my Black Sabbath (and all related) phase. I listened to their entire discography and if I remember correctly, Bible Black was an obsession for me. Ronnie James Dio is one of my metal idols. His voice! Ah! I would've given anything to watch him perform live, but when he was performing I was too young, and then I never had the opportunity! But his music shall live on! At last alone, his fire's dying, burned another day Now to pretend and make up an ending, somewhere far away He reached for a book all bound in leather Something that he knows he's never...

Hungarian Rhapsody No. 2 by Franz Liszt Tom & Jerry is an all time favorite cartoon. I have, from a very young age, enjoyed and admired the creativity in each of these shorts that dominated my TV watching. This being a cartoon from the early 1930's there were a lot of classical elements to it, musically speaking, and I was delighted to note that one of my favorite rhapsodies was used in this cartoon! Tom's and Jerry's rivalry takes a musical twist in this one, with Jerry trying to get back at a Tom, a concert pianist, for not letting him sleep in peace in the piano! I love how their rivalry, the need to beat and hurt each other, is integrated into this absolutely beautiful song! Liszt was genius and this is my favorite composition of his - probably because of the cartoon I associate with it, but it's still my favorite and definitely one of the highlights of my childhood!

Don't Say A Word by Sonata Arctica from Reckoning Night (2006) I don't recall a song that has actually made me feel guilty. I've cried to songs but not out of guilt. I suppose the only song I can think of in terms of guilt is this one. A bit of a creepy song, actually, meant to frighten the wits out of you! But the lyrics are aimed to make one feel guilty, to hurt and anger them even. I think one of the main reasons I thought of this song is because when I put myself in the shoes of a character that I wrote, I saw through her eyes and felt her guilt because of certain events. The blame placed at her door were along the lines of those described in this song - not literally but figuratively. So yes, I guess this song does make me feel guilty! Written by: Connell, Andrew; Drewery, Corinne I am your poison candy gram, the love that's meant to fade away Vade retro, alter ego, move aside, I'm choking on this life I think I tolerate your hate, as...