Sunday 31 May 2015

Until the Beginning by Amy Plum: Review

Until the Beginning (After the End, #2)
I waited so much for this book (more than nine months), since I finished After the End . I found it just when I couldn't take anymore DNFs and it was definitely worth the wait.

I held my breath until chapter 7 and then sighted with relief. This is just a tiny spoiler because simply by looking at the way chapters are organised you can tell that "THAT" was not going to happen  (but you never know, some authors want to shock readers and I don't know why on Earth an unhappy ending is sometimes considered to have more literary value than a happy one, though , again, this is not the case here).

One of the parts that I love about the first book is the special relationship Juneau and Miles have . The way a lost city boy and a nature goddess interact with each other .
 Miles says " And let me tell you, that hug fills every inch of void inside of me left by the conversation ..... I don't want to detach." They are meant to be together.

What also attracted me was the Gaia Theory. There are no more than five skinny trees in the street where I live, which I barely look at as I am usually in a hurry. The only contact with nature I have is from the (pre packed) salads that I have in my fridge and a potted plant which has  miraculously survived several years.

This book has made me think about how disconnected I feel from nature.Submerged in the daily grind ,we, or at least I forget about how good it feels to breath fresh air and to feel the soft grass on your bare feet, the grains of sand and the sea water on your toes.Although I don't think I would be able to survive in the wilderness, I believe that sometimes, specially in the cities , we are so far from this planet that is our home , that no wonder we destroy it everyday without giving it a second thought.

I would read a third book, if there was one.


Saturday 30 May 2015

Vinh Trang Pagoda in My Tho Vietnam

What makes this pagoda outstanding is the mixture of architectural styles : Chinese, Vietnamese and Cambodian, as a matter of fact a monk and an architect travelled all the way to Cambodia looking for inspiration and included as well some European styles. There are beautiful gardens surrounding the building with trees , statues and bonsais.

By P.B.









Friday 15 May 2015

What if by Rebecca Donovan: opinion

What If  
This is a gripping story about friendship and love and how sometimes friends become much more important in our lives than our own families. It is also a novel about loss and the fact that we really need to seize the day, write our bucket list and start fulfilling all our wishes RIGHT NOW!






Sunday 10 May 2015

The Windmills of Your Mind

This is an oldie which I happened to discover while falling asleep with the credits of Focus, the last film I saw with Will Smith.