i bang my own drum

Tonight, I'm not going to write sophisticated stuff on art and literature (ha! like I ever do...) as is my way, I just want to share some beautiful moments from this week.

This week has been one thing above all - exhausting. I've been really tired lately, and no matter how long I sleep, I just can't seem to drag myself out of bed and I just drag on for the rest of the day. It's not doing wonders for my motivation, my homework, or even poor Moby Dick, which hasn't been getting much attention from me although I've been at it for about a week. This all made me need those little moments that make you smile even more than usually.

Well, what are things that make me smile? Books, of course! I have made it a habit to go to the school library whenever I have a little bit of spare time, even though there aren't many books I'm interested in. That is mainly due to the fact that they don't really have a lot of English books, so not much to choose from, and I don't really like reading the German translations. I'd decided that I'd like to read something German again though, and so I stood in front of the shelf, waiting for something to jump out on me. I left with Frühling by Thomas Lehr and Pascal Mercier's Lea. Both pretty books on the outside, but I'm not so sure about what's inside them. We'll see!

On Tuesday, I was walking home from the train - which I rather like to do since it is a rather beautiful walk. At the bus stop, there were two interestingly clad hikers asking a little boy for the way. They made to start again, but then the woman turned back and searched through her flower-print bag for a coin which she gave the boy with a "And thank you kindly for the information!". His face was positively glowing afterwards, it was so adorable!

And now on to the rabbit poo! Um. I always go out in the evening to give the rabbits hay and water before I bolt the hatch. When it's not too cold, I go out barefoot because I can't be bothered to put on my shoes. So what happened when I put my naked foot outside? Yeah, it landed in rabbit excrements. I was delighted. Anyway, I learnt from my mistake and went out on Wednesday with my shoes on. And it was just so beautiful outside! It was all still and cool and a little windy, and there were really dark grey clouds with a patch of sky visible just where the moon shone through. And it was not a pale moon that doesn't really give any light at all, but a very intensely yellow moon that was almost orange. When I looked up a little later, it could be seen for a few seconds just before it disappeared behind a huge mass of clouds. That was such a perfect and touching moment. :)

But I want to end the entry with a hopefully funny anecdote! I take the train to go to school in the mornings, and although it isn't a long ride, it's always pretty annoying because of all the stupid kids. There are some eleven- or twelve-year-olds who like to show off by using strong language and stuff. On Thursday, one of them yelled something along the lines of "XY said that the girl behind us already has boobs!". I wasn't really sure if they meant me, since I think there's nothing unusual about having boobs when you're almost eight-teen, but when the train stopped, they waited to get out so I had pass by them. When I did, one of them whispered to the other with an almost awe-struck tone, "that's the one with the boobs!". Me: "Yeah, it's more than you've got brains." And then he made a shocked little face and all that came out of his mouth was "oh". It kind of made my day. :D

So, I'm sitting here in Normandy, the sun shining on my nose, a light breeze playing in my... uh, too-short hair. It's really nice over here, the weather is perfect (in my opinion at least; I don't like it too hot), we've already been to the beach once and we're going once again later, to look for sea shells. Germany came in third at the World Cup, the world's a nice place... ah. :) Oh, by the way; would anyone like to get a postcard? If so, just drop me your address!

Now on to my meme! This time, it wasn't difficult to think of something at all. There are a few screen adaptations I really love, such as The Lord of the Rings, and Inkheart, and The Shipping News, although I watched that a long time ago and I haven't read the book either. That is something that happens rather rarely. Usually, I read the book first and then watch the movie. But there is one other book where it was the other way round, and where I love both the book and the film. But the film even a little more than the book. It's The Perfume by Patrick Süskind.


I am incredibly fascinated by the idea of someone who can smell practically anything. The things Grenouille does are kind of morbid, but he does them in a rather poetic way, and I think that his actions have a weird beauty to them. The film conveys this so well it's crazy. Ben Whishaw is just brilliant as Grenouille, the right mixture of revolting and fascinating, and the cast also features two other of my favourite actors, Corinna Harfouch and Alan Rickman. That is of course not the sole reason for which I love this film, but it plays into it. I know my father doesn't like it that they left out so much, but I think that they left out what was not really vital to the plot, tightening it up so that the necessary parts are still there, turning it into something even more beautiful than it is on paper.

I can't really decide because there are so many awesome books I would want to read to my kids! There's all the books by Astrid Lindgren which are just lovely, there's The House of Arden by Edith Nesbit which I read as a kid and loved to bits. (I have been wanting to reread it for a long time, but I can't seem to find it anywhere in English.) And then there's also Tuck Everlasting, which is immensely cute - and so is The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame.


It's about the rat and the mole who go on adventures together; it's written in a nice and simple style and all the animals/characters are just so... alive. I like that about children's books. There was once an animated series based on the book, and I only remember the part where the toad had to be rescued or something, and had to wear a frock. Anyway, I read the book way after having seen this, and it brought back all the fond memories, so that's why I chose it today.

I really thought I wouldn't have an answer to today's question, mainly because people don't come up to me saying, "man, I'd never have though that you read this!" Much of the fantasy I read might not seem to be something I'd read, because of all the blood and warfare, but I think that most people realise rather quickly that I am an avid reader of fantasy books. But then something came to my mind!


I do also read classics, but I think that Treasure Island is slightly different, since it mostly consists of pirates and pistol shots. It might be that people wouldn't think that this is a book I'd read, but then again I didn't like it that much.

Even though bound in three volumes, that's definitely The Lord of the Rings by J. R. R. Tolkien with its about 1500 pages. It's rivalled by the Bible and Sherlock Holmes - The Complete Stories.

I've read it twice from cover to cover (to cover to cover...). The first time, I got it from the International Library at my old school after having watched the second part of the first film and the first of the second, which really piqued my curiosity. I believe that it was the first English book of comparable length and complexity that I read. I've always been wondering why people complain about it being that difficult to read since I didn't have many difficulties at all.

I did consider going for Spring Awakening by Wedekind for this one instead of for Emilia Galotti by Lessing. I love Spring Awakening for its humour and also for the fact that the author had the courage to treat a taboo of this time with so much levity and aplomb. I think that Wedekind really did a great job at this, and I had a good time analysing the play with my ex-German teacher. But in the end, Emilia Galotti made it.


While I was reading it, I wasn't all that fascinated by the book, but the more we talked about it in German class, the more I came to love it. There are so many ways of interpretation and it's great fun to analyse it. I love it for the intrigue, for the social criticism, and for many of the characters being total and utter hypocrites. Ranking high on this list is the oh-so-pure-and-innocent Emilia. Yeah, I like this book. I really do. :)

That's easy since I got a really pretty edition of Philip Pullman's His Dark Materials for Christmas. I'm also reading the trilogy at the moment, and I take off the book jackets for this purpose because I don't want them to have any dog ears or stuff. They're just so pretty! Here they are:


I'm about one third into Northern Lights and really liking it. When I was a child, I read those books in German, but I remember almost nothing at all. Only some unimportant scenes have been stuck in my head and it's fun to explore the universe as though I'd never read those books before. :)

I don't know if this even qualifies as "reading", but one of the first books I remember is The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle.

I think I will always love this book. It's beyond adorable.

I didn't have to think about this for long, because that book is totally A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens.


It's one of those must-read classics you absolutely want to read because you are sure you will love it because, after all, it was written by Dickens, and then you think- but there is nobody to squee about it with! That has always been one of my problems. No one over here reads the kinds of books I do. English fantasy - nope, apart from what everybody has read, such as Harry Potter; English classics - nope, and certainly not in English. And then the marmfish came along, not only with their love for English fantasy and YA, but also with a tremendous love for classics! hanelissar  is the fishy who shares my absolute love for Dickens, and who kept telling me to finally read A Tale of Two Cities. This is why, when I think of this book, I always think of Hannah as well. :)

After having finished reading Johnny, my Friend for the fourth time, and having enjoyed it just as much as I did during the past three reads, it would have every right to be posted here. But I don't want to bore you guys, so I went for another book today: Tintenherz by Cornelia Funke (Inkheart in English).


Every time that I open this book, I know it will be a journey - a wonderful journey through words and pages. Every time I open it, I fall in love with the world and the characters all over again. I love the whole trilogy, and the only thing that lessens my love for it a little bit is the fact that I don't like the third book as much as the other two. But snugly sitting on these pages is one of the most beautiful ideas, and Cornelia Funke has made it come to life, in an incredible story, at times using such delicate, feathery language, and at times such grand metaphors. It's love, pure and simple. :)