Image by jiao tang from Pixabay
Hello there,
the sun is shining, the roses are blooming, and the days are getting warmer but, with a busy schedule in the coming months, the nerves get numb, the senses dormant and a feeling of hibernation creeps in. To beat it, below is a shortlist of books, articles, and videos I have been recently perusing and watching:
Madame Bovary by Gustave Flaubert
Naturalistic prose, bursting with accurate and prescient observations of human nature. Gustave Flaubert dissects a woman’s heart and a society’s predicament with his doctor protagonist’s surgical blade.
The Black Swan by Nassim Nicholas Taleb
Mathematics scholar and probability philosopher Nassim N. Taleb makes a case for the improbable “Black Swan” guiding our (personal, social, and economic) lives. An overdue “must-read” from my side.
Gold by Rumi
In a melodic and spirited English translation by Haleh Liza Gafori, Rumi’s ethereal and eternal voice speaks to the heart, and the culture-specific becomes ecumenical.
Mama: A World of Mothers and Motherhood by Helene Delforge and Quentin Greban
Last but not least, a soulful exploration of all emotions accompanying motherhood that delights the eyes with mesmerizing illustrations of mothers around the world. Also doubles as a belated Mother’s Day gift.
Around the web
Currently Reading:
This book review: The Memoir That Exposed a Family’s Secrets. And a Society’s
On languages and memory
The Face in the Mirror from the writer of Exit West and The Reluctant Fundamentalist
Re-visiting oldies but goodies:
The unique and ultimate Toni Morrison detailing her writing routine
Combined with the epic Maya Angelou’s ingenuity:
“Of course, there are those critics—New York critics as a rule—who say, Well, Maya Angelou has a new book out and of course it’s good but then she’s a natural writer. Those are the ones I want to grab by the throat and wrestle to the floor because it takes me forever to get it to sing. I work at the language.” - Maya Angelou
Jia Tolentino’s cultural comment on our relation to our phones
A haunting family story that leaves the reader with a punch in the gut, by master storyteller, Lauren Groff.
Watching:
I am also on Day 2 of Summer Brennan’s Essay Camp
With gratitude,
Katerina