A Cup of Tea & Biscuits

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...