Love can be bittersweet when a girl hears "no"

Not to broadcast another YouTube video... but it is Music Monday Feature!


While I was in England last week I discovered Caro Emerald's music. Caro is a Dutch girl with catchy, jazz infused songs. I seriously love her stuff! ... it sounds so... European? It is not something that fits snugly into the currently North American music scene.

Take a listen below:

Caro Emerald - You Don't Love Me
* Title for this post is from Caro Emerald - You Don't Love Me.

The Woman He Loved Before

The Woman He Loved Before, written by Dorothy Koomson, was one of the many books I bought while visiting the Land of E this summer.  It was a book which sounded like a promise of a good read but failed to come to fruition.

The Woman He Loved Before is about the relationship between Libby and Jack, complicated pasts, and twisted family ties.  Libby, Jack's second wife, is haunted by the unanswered questions behind the death of Jack's first wife, Eve.  Koomson takes readers on a tale of love, sensuality, and abuse as she explores the life of Eve and it's impact on Jack's new relationship.  Libby comes to question her relationship with her husband and the possibility of his hand in the murder of Eve.  The book's main question:  How and why did Eve die?

Pear-Shaped

Photo taken by Ms. C. 

I found Stella Newman's Pear-Shaped at a little bookstore in Newcastle, UK.  To be honest, I was attracted by the cover.  The light blue background, teeny tiny pear shaped white dots, bright pink font, and 1950s style woman beckoned to me.

Pear-Shaped is about Sophie, an English girl, who meets and falls in love with James, a man who is completely and utterly bad for her sanity.  James is an older and slightly overweight man who has a history of dating models and fraternizes with a host of womanizing men.  Newman's tale focuses on the turbulent relationship between Sophie and James.

I am torn with this book.  Newman's writing is, at times, hilariously funny.  I think many people can relate to Sophie's story - a girl who falls in love with the wrong man.  Newman is able to depict Sophie's dilemmas in an entertaining, engaging, and funny way.  However, most of the time I wanted to slap her characters.  Why?

In the post

Earlier this week I received two Amazon.co.uk packages in the mail from E.  You see, sometimes the UK has things that you just can't get in Canada.  Like awesome specialty teas, Trebor Extra-Strong Mints, and good books published in London.

So, what were in the packages you ask?

J.K. Rowling's The Casual Vacancy and Jojo Moyes' The Girl You Left Behind!

Photo taken by Ms. C.  

Photo taken by Ms. C.  

Of course, Rowling's newest book can be purchased in Canada... but I really wanted a copy of her book from her country itself.

As for Moyes - if you have visited my blog before you know I love her work.  Sadly, it is very difficult to find in Canada... there are only a few select titles available.  The Girl You Left Behind is her newest edition that I cannot wait to read.

And, the big question... what should be read first?  

I sided with Rowling, like any good Potter fan would.

Happy Thanksgiving!

The Angel's Game

Photo taken by Ms. C.  

I am the first to admit that I do not quite understand Carlos Ruiz Zafon's The Angel's Game.  The novel centers around David Martin, a conflicted writer, and a series of spooky, sinister events - that I can assure you is correct.  However, much of the plot has left me unsure of what truly happened.

Picture Me Wednesday - Heart

Photo taken by Ms. C. 

My iPod Touch sock =) 

It comes with me everywhere now that I am commuting all the time.

A Secret in an Envelope...

Click here to view on YouTube (TheCivilWars, 2012).

The Civil Wars: 20 Years

I first heard this band and song in England earlier this summer.  Perhaps I feel a bit nostalgic as summer is now mere hours from being officially over... but I swear I can feel myself being transported to Nottingham when I close my eyes and listen to the lyrics.

Hope you all enjoy the last official day of summer and have a lovely Labour Day!  

I'm back to uni tomorrow.   

Picture Me Wednesday - Shakespeare

Photo taken by Ms. C.

Why Shakespeare, you ask?  A few months ago I visited Stratford-Upon-Avon with E.  I absolutely *loved* my stay in Stratford - which is incidentally the city of Shakespeare's origins.  I bought this pin from the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust.  Quoted here is a famous line from Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream. 

Before Ever After

Photo taken by Ms. C

I first heard of Samantha Sotto's book when she commented on my blog.  I like to respond to people's comments and see if they have a blog I can visit in return.  Low and behold, Sotto's comment led me to her blog post about Before Ever After - a book she had released a few days prior.  Her book sounded amazing and its cover was gorgeous... I mentally filed it into my TBR list.  Last month, while browsing my bookstore's shelves, I found Sotto's book and knew I had to give it a read.

Sotto provides us with the story of a bereaved widow's quest to find the truth behind her late husband's life. Shelley, the widow, is told that her husband is alive and somehow seems immune to aging three years after his supposed death. The story is based on Shelley's  recounts of how she met her husband on an European trip and his intimate knowledge of history during her flight halfway across the world in search of her late husband.

The Shadow of the Wind

Carlos Ruiz Zafron's The Shadow of the Wind is a hypnotizing tale of the impact of literature on both readers and writers.  Zafron's work is written with the air of a suspenseful mystery, adventure, and romance tale. 

Zafron tells the story of Daniel, a young boy who locates The Shadow of the Wind, a fictional novel in Zafron's story which is purportedly written by Julian Carax and had been long-forgotten in a labyrinth library titled the 'Cemetery of Forgotten Books' during the 1940s.  The mystery begins when people in his city, Barcelona, discover that Daniel has this book and seek to remove it from his possession.  Zafron chronicles the life of Daniel, as he slowly grows into adolescence and adulthood, and begins to learn the secrets of Julian Carax.  Daniel soon finds that the author is similar to himself in more than one way.  Eventually the plot thickens to a race of time and wit and will culminate in a very climatic conclusion.

From the Land of E to Home

Over the past four weeks I have been in England.  I seem to have good timing for travel - last year I was able to see Will and Kate's royal wedding while the jubilee was in full swing this time around.  I swear I didn't plan it!  Actually, I didn't even know the true date of the jubilee until I landed and heard all of the British news coverage leading up to the big weekend celebrations.


So, how was the Land of E? ---- Great! 

I loved each and every minute... besides those dreadful final goodbyes.   E and I were able to visit awesome literary sites (the birthplace of Shakespeare and the Harry Potter studio tour in London). Partly my jet lag and partly my cold - I managed to be sick my entire stay and am currently propped up in bed - prevent me from further explaining these awesome sites.  That, and the fact that Potter and Shakespeare deserve far more than a few sentences.   Over the next little while I will upload both photos and stories from these very places.

PS - I may be a coffee addict but tea is another one of my weaknesses.  Stay tuned for a very British tea tasting review held from Nottingham!

My Temporary Life

Martin Crosbie's My Temporary Life is a complex and dark tale of the life of Malcolm, a Canadian-Scottish man in the late twentieth century.  Crosbie delves into the childhood, adolscence, and adulthood of Malcolm as he experiences the hardships of his parents divorce, trans-Atlantic life (he spends his summers in Vancouver with his mother and remaining time in Scotland with his father), puberty, and his slowly developing romance with Heather which sends him on a suspenseful chase throughout Canada.

Coventry

Helen Humphreys' Conventry: A Novel portrays the National Socialist bombing of Coventry, England, during World War II.  This book is a fast read which permits its readers to become lost in English culture and values during the turbulent 1940s. 

London Under

What exists under London's streets, the Thames, and England's historical past?  London Under, written by Peter Ackroyd, examines these very questions.  I found this book during my trip to the Land of E last Spring and knew I had to read its contents.  London Under's title page, in-and-of-itself, spiked my interest and its pages of text made this quick read.

Objectification & Sexualization

When I visited Facebook this morning my home page contained a link to an article about the use of Photoshop and the modeling world. You can view it here.

My take:

Photoshop is only one expression of the messed up standards in society. But, it's probably never going to leave - it makes too much money due to the men who buy the images and fantasize over them, and the women who look at it and think they need the next cosmetic line, fad diet book, or some other item that 'should' make them look just like that female on the glossy pages. Photoshop all you want - just know that all you are saying is that women are pieces of ass for sexual gratification.

On the other hand, Photoshop does occur for images of men... just not the same extreme and probably not as socially powerful. Girls are taught from a young age that they're objects which should be objectified and sexualized for men (aka - take a look at your Sun (if you're in England) - you don't see any naked men in there, do you).

Parisian bookstore - tres chic

An interesting little video on a Parisian bookstore. I love, love, *love* the bookshelves and aura of this shop!

Ps - sorry, couldn't avoid throwing a little French into the title for this post! ;)

Chaucer Fuss - The Clerk's Tale

"The Clerk's Tale" is a story that I secretly love. Why secretly? Because this work seems simultaneously degrading and progressive for women.

The Clerk's Tale focuses on the relationship within a nuclear family. The husband is shown exercising ultimate control over his wife's actions... including persuading her to agree to the murder of their two children.

Chaucer Fuss - The Miller's Tale

We are quickly introduced to the miller in Chaucer's The Canterbury Tales. The miller, described as an athletic and charismatic man, tells a graphic tale of adultery. The wit and sexual capabilities of an intellectual and tradesman are pitted against each other within this work.

Chaucer Fuss - The Knight's Tale

"The Knight's Tale," Chaucer's first character-led story in The Canterbury Tales, explores gender relations and notions of marriage in medieval England.

The Knight, a man of chivalry and little means, tells the tale of an ancient love triangle. For, as luck should have it, two men imprisoned in a jail cell fall in love with the same woman, Emily. Locked in their cell, the men may only steal glances of Emily as she walks outside their prison window. The Knight provides an account of each man's escape from prison, search for Emily, and battle to win her heart.

Chaucer Fuss

I had heard of the British Library's special collections and exhibit marked "Treasures of the British Library" before leaving for England in April. The exhibit was said to be a room full to the brim of sacred texts, historical documents, and beautifully crafted manuscripts. There was no choice. I had to make a visit while in London, as any eager and upcoming librarian would do.