Music
Mads Langer
Okay, I admit it: I discovered this sultry Danish singer through Castle. (That TV show offers up way too many great and underrated artists.) I've been obsessed with this song ever since. To me, it's seems to represent the romantic idea of love perfectly: the longing, the feeling that you will never be good enough to deserve the love of the one you love. The excruciatingly slow but delicious-in-its-slowness buildup to the risk, the jump, the fall. Replay.
The Civil Wars
Thank you, Hunger Games soundtrack, for introducing the greater world to The Civil Wars. There's nothing quite like listening to a song that contains eerie harmony, and these two singers' voices are so different, yet blend together for a simple but intense film that reaches into your very veins to stir your blood.
Postcard Sets
I used to collect postcards up until high school, but lately I have been really getting into sending them. I love how they are like little notes: they don't need the time commitment of a full-length letter, and they make people feel special when they receive one in their mailbox. My pointer finger itches to click on these glorious postcard sets and BUY them:
The Art of Pixar: 100 Collectible Postcards (photo by Wenjin Lu)
So, so much more. What, then, do you do with 500 postcards when you've given in to the urge to buy them all? Why, you join PostCrossing.com, of course, to connect to thousands of people around the world who also love to send and receive postcards. Let me tell you, it's SO COOL to carefully select the postcards you're going to send to a perfect stranger, and to open your mailbox and discover a postcard containing unique postage from a country you may have never even heard of before. Join if it sounds interesting to you, or leave a comment if you're interested in exchanging postcards with me!
Books
April has been a splendid month for me in terms of reading. I'm highly aware of the fact that my reading tastes are changing, and I have a lot less patience for stuff that I probably would have nicely pushed myself through in the past. I've also been carefully considering people's book recommendations to me, and have discovered these four new favorites:
My review of this book is going up soon (though it's already on Goodreads if you follow me there), contains the line, "At around 700 pages, The Name of the Wind is the perfect shape and story to sleep with." I also take a jab at hipsters in the review. (That's what writing a review at 3 in the morning does to you.) OH MY GOSH IT'S BEEN A MONTH SINCE I'VE READ THIS BOOK AND I STILL AM LIKE THIS ABOUT IT. It's... it's... it's... It's like when you read Harry Potter for the first time. At first you can be all, This is any ole thing, but before you even know it you're so far into the story you can't remember your life without it. Anyway. You need to read this.
I'm hesitant when it comes to Maggie's books (remember Shiver?), but this one was just exquisite and totally deserving of its Printz Honor. I love how the romance never overpowers the incredible, desolate, razor-edge fearful majesty of Thisby and the capaill uisce. So glad this one turned out so beautiful!
I was in a reading slump after The Scorpio Races, picking up books, reading the first few chapters, and putting them away with a sigh of disappointment. Then Aaron Vincent of Guy Gone Geek suggested I read characters who love books, and recommended me Among Others. I had heard of the title--it was nominated for a Hugo this year--and immediately downloaded that shizz for my Kindle. It's like I Capture the Castle, with a slightly fantastical element. Adorable. Mori primarily reads pre-1980s science fiction which goes way over my head but it's just fun to see her geek out in her journal without going into too much literary analysis. She's just a bookworm talking about books.
This book has been on my radar for months and MONTHS. Mostly because my dear blogger friend Chachic seems to go on and on about it on every single social networking platform I am on. And now, closer and closer to the US release date, more and more people are raving about this, until I finally caved in and bought a UK copy online. It's AMAZING. I love the narrator's voice, she manages to still be feisty even in her difficult situation. I have a feeling that, once I finish this book, I'll immediately flip back to the beginning to read it again. Love love love.
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Okay, I've blathered on for long enough, but fortunately I've made myself happy in doing so. So share with me, because the world can't have enough happiness: what things have made you happy lately?
Name of the Wind sounds awesome. Code Name Verity coming up soon for me!
ReplyDeleteAwesome! I've been Postcrossing for 4 yrs now. I enjoy it a lot! :D In the beginning, I use to nag friends & family ALL the time to join up and send postcards, but I never got through to them. :p At least lately, I feel like I've been hearing about more book bloggers doing Postcrossing, so that's really cool! Books & postcards...it's perfect.:)
ReplyDeleteWhat beautiful postcard sets! I heard about Among Others and was curious to check it out, so it's good to hear what you thought. Also, *squee* for Scorpio Races love! I was just like you about Maggie's writing (I was lukewarm towards Shiver), but SR left me breathless. :)
ReplyDeleteSomething that made me happy lately: Jason Mraz's new album! He can always lift my mood. :)
You know if I wasn't lazy I'd organize a book blogger postcard swap or something like that. I've been looking at that Pixar postcard set and I'm so tempted to buy it even though I already have the Puffin and the Ladybird sets. So glad you've signed up for Postcrossing, it's a lot of fun, isn't it? :P You've reminded me that I need to send more postcards soon.
ReplyDeleteYAY for the Code Name Verity love! I'm sorry if I keep going on and on about it, you know how it is when you fall in love with a book and you want EVERYONE to read it. It's just that I've been in love with EWein's writing for years - I don't understand why she's an under-the-radar author. I'm thrilled that Code Name Verity has been getting a lot of buzz recently - I hope that encourages more readers to pick up the rest of her books.
Oh and I'm also planning to read Among Others as soon as I get a copy.
Code Name Verity is so incredibly amazing. I wasn't sure how I would feel about it, but I ended up sobbing uncontrollably on the train at "Kiss me, Hardy". People eyed me warily the whole rest of the way home...
ReplyDeleteI'm listening to your "sultry Danish singer" right now and loving it. :) I'm such a huge fan of The Civil Wars too. It's nice to talk about other things sometimes isn't it? I've been really wondering about Among Others (since it was nominated) and now I'll definitely have to check it out.
ReplyDelete1) Oh, these two songs have me in a lazy mood this morning. I just want to shut my door and sway to these songs for a good 10 minutes. (THG soundtrack intro'd me to Civil Wars, too!) May I also suggest to you The Staves? Carla from The Crooked Shelf tweeted them to me the other day. I really love Mexico (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hYV0Wp0MdZ4) but she also rec'd Motherlode and Winter Trees.
ReplyDelete2) Shame on you for reiterating the fact that I canNOT buy that Pixar set until all of my Penguin postcards are gone!
3) So much love for Code Verity! I haven't read it yet, but I've got super high hopes for it from all the praise I've seen so far.
I want to read CODE NAME VERITY very badly. I've been hearing nothing but great things, and Elizabeth Wein wrote the terrific THE WINTER PRINCE.
ReplyDeleteI am procuring a copy of CODE NAME VERITY very soon, and I can't wait to read it! Also, based on your love of Name of the Wind, I think I'm going to give it a try on audio. I'll let you know how that goes.
ReplyDeleteI own a copy of THE NAME OF THE WIND and really need to get on that.
ReplyDeleteTHE SCORPIO RACES is just perfect.
Steph, you are a woman after my own heart! I also collect postcards and am obsessed with Postcrossing. I joined about two years ago and have sent/received about 350 cards... a little crazy when I think about it, but it's so. much. fun. I've actually started ordering postcards from Moo.com with my own photos to send, and I think the letter writing is my favorite part! I love choosing just the right card for someone. Would love to exchange postcards with you!
ReplyDeleteSo many things to love here! Like The Civil Wars! And
ReplyDelete