Reading Material

After finishing a book I am in dire need of new reading material.

1.) Witch of Portobello by Paolo Coelho

It is a novel about a woman who is filling out her so-called pauses or spaces. She does this by learning new rituals and methods while traveling. The way this is written is like a compilation of interviews from people she meets. This way, they are the ones telling the story of Sherine.

2.) Highland Velvet by Jude Deveraux

A romantic graphic novel that depicts the life of the 4 Montgomery brothers. Each brother has their own novel and this one is of Stephen Montgomery, the second son. He is a rough man with no idea how to please women except in bed. He is to marry Bronwyn, a scotswoman who is not easily persuaded by a man and is in fact, manly herself. These two collide in a battle not on swords but with their hearts.

3.) Us Weekly

On the Cover: Hilary Duff, Lauren Cndrad and Taylor Swift
Of course there is always something magnetic about a tabloid magazine. All that juicy gossip and awesomely bad celebrity pictures, hookups and catfights. Who doesn't want to read this.

4.) NYLON Magazine

On the Cover: The adorable Zoey Deschanel
Nylon is one of the few magazines that, in my opinion, truly capture urban life, real good music, movies with substance and serious fashion. It has the essence of the anti-social, the unconventional, the eccentric, the outside-of-the-norm... The Underground World that is outside of the super fake Hollywood. It is just so.... Cool!

5.) Vanity Fair

On the Cover: The "enchanting" Amy Adams
Why Vanity Fair? Because there was no Vogue. Just Kidding! It was either this or Elle. Another joke! Well, why not? It does offer couture and runway fashion. I am a big advocate of fashion and glamour so this is perfect for me.

XOXO Yana

And Death said, "I am Haunted by Humans."

I have finished The Book Thief. Naturally, I try to run away from books that has contents depicting tragic life during wars and the holocaust. I am more of a renaissance/philosophical/romance kind of girl. So to me it is just too awful and I would just feel bad. In which case, I don't want to feel bad because nothing can ever justify what had happened to those innocent people. Also, it happened to those people so it does feel selfish to feel bad about them. But I decided to give it a try because it sparked this interest in me.

Before anything else, I would just like to mention that this is the most different, engrossing and eccentricly simple novel that I have read. It might as well be written for children but it has the essence and maturity for an adult.

Firt of all, the main thing that caught my attention was the narrator. It turns out that "Death" decided to tell the story of the "Book Thief." From his point of view, Death has shown interest in the human soul and is envious of the end of our lives whereas he has to be who he is until there is still humans left. We could all be dead and he could be alone. Now who will save him from his fate? Ironically, Death is envious of life or in a way reaching for life.

So Death was captivated by this little girl and he moment of thievery and remorse that Death wanted to share her story, one that she wrote in her own words.

Liesel Meminger - The Book Thief
Hans and Rosa Hubberman - Adoptive parents
Max - German Jew that the Hubbermans hid in their basement

and my favorite character

Rudy Steiner - Her loyal bestfriend who, in the entire book, has been asking her for a kiss, that she secretly loved.

XOXO Yana