Details from my home (reading) / Detalji iz moga doma (čitanje)

My home. The smell of old and new books joined into something that reminds me of libraries. Red roses. Lots of red roses and now and then a few pink ones. And always coffee and more coffee. Lots of reading. Linguistics is still a field that interest me, but literature is always my first love. I couldn't imagine life without literature. New interesting book read parallelly with classics. I never can get tired of classics. Rereading them never gets old. Not that I don't enjoy reading new things. 

Moj dom. Miris starih i novih knjiga spaja se u nešto što me podsjeća na knjižnice. Crvene ruže. Puno crvenih ruža i ponekad pomalo rozih. Uvijek kava i još kave. Puno čitanja. Jezikoslovlje me još zanima, ali književnost je moja prva ljubav. Ne mogu zamisliti život bez književnosti. Nove zanimljive knjige čitane zajedno s klasicima. Nikad mi ne mogu dosaditi klasici, čitanje njih je uvijek zanimljivo. Ne da ne uživam čitati i nove knjige. 

“He promised her that he would give her everything, everything she wanted, as men in love always do. And she trusted him despite herself, as women in love always do.” Philippa Gregory, The White Queen




“For he loved her and he understood that a woman cannot always live as a man. He understood that she cannot always think as he thought, walk as he walked, breathe the air that he took in. She would always be a different being from him, listening to a different music, hearing a different sound, familiar with a different element.” Philippa Gregory, The White Queen

Recently, I've read The White Queen. If you want my full review, you can check it out on my goodreads profile here but I will probably write an even longer review on my other blog soon. 

“He may make me feel like a fool, and like a woman who can do nothing, but what I can do I will. In my jewellery box is a dark locket of black tarnished silver and inside it locked in the darkness, I have his name: Richard Neville and that of George, Duke of Clarence, written in my blood on a piece of paper from the corner of my father's last letter. These are my enemies, I have cursed them. I will see them dead at my feet.” Philippa Gregory, The White Queen

At the moment I'm reading Kolarovi by Hrvoje Hitrec and this epic novel totally blew me away. I've almost finished reading this one and I'm loving every moment of it. I can't believe I didn't came across again it before because I do read a lot of Croatian literature. 

Another book I'm reading at the moment is Roman Tales by Alberto Moravia. I've been wanting to read more of Moravia, because I absolutely loved his The Woman of Rome. I'm really enjoying reading his short stories, he is an exceptiona writer. 

Nedavno sam pročitala Bijelu kraljicu, želite li moj puni ogled, možete ga vidjeti na goodreads profilu tu, ali ću vjerojatno napisati još duži na blogu uskoro.  Trenutno čitam Kolarove Hrvoja Hitreca i ovaj epski roman me oduševio. Ne mogu vjerovati da nisam prije na njega naišla jer doista čitam puno hrvatskih djela. Još jedna knjiga koju trenutno čitam su Rimske priče koje je napisao Alberto Moravia. Htjela sam pročitati još nešto od njega, jer mi doista svidjela njegova Rimljanka. Uživam u njegovim kratkim pričama, doista je sjajan pisac.





UPDATED READING RECOMMENDATIONS  (2024)

SIDDHARTHA BY HERMAN HESSE (BOOK REVIEW) + HUTOVO BLATO (TRAVEL POST) (modaodaradosti.blogspot.com)

Have you also learned that secret from the river; that there is no such thing as time?" That the river is everywhere at the same time, at the source and at the mouth, at the waterfall, at the ferry, at the current, in the ocean and in the mountains, everywhere and that the present only exists for it, not the shadow of the past nor the shadow of the future.”  Hermann Hesse, Siddhartha

Siddhartha is a novel by German author Herman Hesse, originally published as a short novel in 1922. By the time Hesse died in 1962, he wasn't widely read, despite the fact that he was a recipient of the Nobel Prize for Literature. In USA, Siddhartha was published (and translated to English) in 1951.

It was in the sixties that this short novel became influential, probably due to the hippie movement and its focus on Eastern teachings and religions.

 If you know me, you know that I love to reread stuff. I actually listened to an audio-version of this book (in Italian) twice, and I plan to reread this novel again in the future. 

“My real self wanders elsewhere, far away, wanders on and on invisibly and has nothing to do with my life.”

Nowadays, Siddhartha is a well-known novel for sure, a book both critically acclaimed and popular, but not without a reason, I would hasten to add. You know sometimes hyped works are really worth the hype. Fortunately for me as a reader, this novel met my expectations and I wasn’t left disappointed in any way. “

STRANGER IN A STRANGE LAND, A NOVEL BY ROBERT A.HEINLEIN (BOOK REVIEW) (modaodaradosti.blogspot.com)

Stranger in a Strange Land by Robert A. Heinlein is a science fiction classic. Intentionally provocative with its ideas, this novel caused quite a stir back in its day. Published in 1961, this science fiction novel won the Hugo award the following year. However, it still ended up being banned from most school libraries due to its controversial writing. 

The author had worked on this novel for a decade. Heinlein claimed he hadn't been in a hurry to finish it as he knew the public wouldn't have been ready anyhow. Heinlein said he published it in 1960s because  he felt the times were changing- and it certainly seems he was right. Despite the controversy (that was expected) and possibly partly because of it, this novel has become a cult classic. Stranger in a Strange Land has had a profound influence on our modern culture, influencing many works of art. It even inspired a pagan church that still exists to this day. Not that this was ever Heinlein's intention. 

LADY CHATTERLEY'S LOVER BY D.H. LAWRENCE (BOOK REVIEW AND RECOMMENDATION) (modaodaradosti.blogspot.com)

It used to be somewhat of a controversial book. Originally published in Italy almost a hundred years ago (in 1928), it had to wait for decades to be published in England. In fact, it wasn't until the 1960s, that the uncensured version of this novel wasn't published in English. When it was finally published as it was, it was put on a trial for obscenity in England! A trial it lost. Not surprisingly, if it is true that the prosecutor opening statement was: 'Is this a book you would want your wife or your servants to read?' Did somebody really think it was a good question to ask in the sixties? 

If you read it as a modern reader, you'll probably wonder what all the fuss was about. However, back in the day, this book caused quite a stir. A lot of fuss over nothing, really! It's a shame because it took away the attention from the novel itself. It really is a great novel in many ways. Perhaps you could say that it's a book that got famous for all the wrong reasons.  Lady Chatterley's Lover is not even a particularly erotic writing. Indeed, I cannot wonder whether the class question was the real controversy. You see the lady in the title has an affair with someone from the lower class. That could have been the real controversy, and not the few pages that talk about lovemaking! 

ALONGSIDE THE RIVER, A POEM BY VESNA PARUN (TRANSLATION AND TRAVEL POST) (modaodaradosti.blogspot.com)

Vesna Parun remains one of my favourite Croatian poetesses. Her poetry is truly one of a kind. When I came across this poem in a book (that I borrowed from the library last Summer and still haven't returned because I just couldn't stop reading her poetry), I knew that I had to translate and post it.




Do you enjoy reading? If yes, what do you like to read? Do you prefer books or magazines? Where do you keep your books or magazines? What is your favourite reading place? Do you prefer to read at home? Do you have a reading routine? What do you prefer to drink when you're reading? Coffee, water, juice, tea or a glass of wine? I prefer coffee, but I have a feeling you already knew that.

Volite li vi čitati? Ako da, što volite čitati? Volite li više knjige ili časopise? Gdje držite vaše knjige ili časopise? Koje je vaše omiljeno mjesto za čitanje? Volite li čitati kući? Imate li neku rutinu koje se držite kod čitanja? Što volite piti kad čitate? Kavu, sok, vodu, čaj ili čašu vina? Ja izabirem kavu, ali mislim da ste to već nekako i znali.