I would like to share with you the list of books that I read throughout the year of 2015. I had started a GoodReads challenge back in March I guess and had set a goal to read at least 35 books in 2015. I am proud to annouce I managed to complete it. Here is a link that would direct you to my GoodReads page with a list of the books I read with my rating.
As you can see, in addition to presenting thumbnails for each book, the system also highlights the longest and shortest you read, as well as the most popular in general. All is presented in an eye-friendly way.
Any book recommendations for 2016 you'd like to share?
I often wonder why do we always strive for attention? Tyler, the alter-ego of the protagonist of Fight Club by Chuck Palahniuk, would say:
"We buy things we don't need with money we don't have to impress people we don't like."
And doesn't that ring a bell? I always enjoyed swimming in the anonymity of a big city, wearing whatever I like and being a nonconformist. Lately - as I was doing the annual end-of-the-year clearup in my closet it struck me how little I actually need (even including those few pieces I'd keep out of vanity). I am not bashing the need to flaunt or to dress up with those colourful feathers to impress others, I just wonder if maybe there's nothing wrong with blending with the gray anonymous masses and even disappearing form the social scene for a while. I am experimenting on that. Is there something to discover about myself? I will keep you updated with my thoughts and conclusions. Hey, maybe I am pulling my own leg here?
Today I wanted to recommend podcasts of a very popular radio programme on BBC 5 which is "Kermode and Mayo's Film Review". The podcast features two eminent radio hosts, Mark Kermode and Simon Mayo, who, in the space of approximately 1,5 h talk about latest cinematic realeases and movie box office hits. All shows feature guest stars such as Kate Winslet, Alan Rickman (sir?), Dame (see, that I know!) Judi Dench, Daniel Craig to name but few. The banter between those two is witty, insightful and they offer an in-depth analysis in an up-beat, un-snobbish way (you know those capital city intellectual snobs? I guarantee they are not at all like that). The reviews include also letters, mails, tweets etc. from the listeners from all over the world who can express their opinion about the movies presented in the programme and I greatly appreciate the fact that no matter what the hosts' feelings on a movie are, the reviews are very holistic, touching every aspect of the moviemaking from the script to dialogues to casting to infinitessimaly small details like news from behind the scenes and pros and cons are presented no matter if the film is an utter flop or a revelation. And it's done in an elegant, neat, concise and polite way. Hence the title above.
Simon Mayo (left) and Mark Kermode (right).
Photo taken from the webpage of BBC News
The show reminds me in a way of Marek Niedźwiedzki's music hits chart broadcast weekly on Trójka (Polish Nationnal Radio 3), but it's a bit more lively and you can really hear the hosts' passion and enthousiasm for movies. They quite often disagree which adds a nice flavour to the programme. I genuinely recommend listening to it while commuting to keep you engrosed in something pleasant as opposed to contemplating the unappealing faces of Poznanian bus/tram commuters.
Hashtags - Black Friday, Small Business Saturday, Cyber Monday
I don't really get the notion of those huge pre-Christmas shopping holidays (you can call them shopping holidays, can't you?) I heard on a local radio that people were rushing right after Thanksgiving dinner to the malls (LOL can you hear Robin Sparkles' "Let's Go to the Mall'' already?) or even having their turkey as a takeaway whilst standing in a queue. That's what I call determination. I hope they do enjoy those things they've bought! I was watching "Eat Pray Love" the other day and I think that Thanksgiving is such a lovely tradition. I mean mainly the idea behind it, not the turkeys. I think it's great to express one's gratitude among family and friends. And it makes you realise how many things you can be grateful for, too, that would otherwise get unacknowledged. I wish we had a holiday like that. We'll take Halloween for the time being, I guess.
source: Tumblr, thegreatpeanut. Edith Cushing and Thomas Sharpe
Inspired by the new movie by the Mexican director Guillermo Del Toro, "Crimson Peak", I decided to go a little behind the scenes and snoop around any additional information about the production and the cast. Due to the fact that I am generally not into gossip and more into fact, I was very pleased to find a clip on Talks At Google's channel on YouTube with an interview with the master himself and the 3 actors playing the lead characters (I wrote about the movie in my previous blog post, if you feel like finding out a bit more on the topic). Since the interview is almost an hour long, I wanted to share with you just a fragment of it. I really want to know your opinion on the subject if you endure to read the quotation in whole... The interviewer asked Guillermo about the things that scared him. He answered "Politicians!" - and then added:
Guillermo del Toro, source: www.criterion.com
"Another thing that scares me - and that's why I make movies - because I thoroughly believe in love and I think think that love has become almost something to be afraid of. We are almost in the equivalent to the Victorian times - [in] Victorian times [people were] afraid of sexuality and they used these tales [ghost stories/gothic romance] to talk about sexuality in a veiled way. And I feel that we are in a world where we become very negligent to talk about emotions and love. That scares me a lot. Because we don't want to be vulnerable. The automatic cool (?)* is to be distant and aloof and you instantly are smarter if you're sceptic. And if you're a believer, you instantly sound stupider. [...] When people think why this "Twilight" [series] is so successful - strangely enough - for whatever gothic element "Twilight" has, you realise that now we're using it to articulate love. They couldn't talk about sex in the Victorian era and now the only way that a fantasy about a perfect love can be articulated is gothic. The guy has to be a vegetarian vampire [laughs]. And it speaks of the morals of our times."
* I didn't quite catch that :)
Franco Zefirelli's 1968 movie "Romeo and Juliet"
I chose to put it in writing, because what Guillermo said trully shoke me to the core. I wanted to shout out: DITTO!, but realised that, in fact, his words were a huge wakeup call for me as well.
I've been meaning to write a blog post on Guillermo Del Toro (the director ofPan's Labirynth) newest production, CRIMSON PEAK, for a few weeks now, but I felt like I need to digest the topic a bit. I saw the movie two weeks ago and I was really impressed with it. This post could very well be 2 pages long, but I won't do that, obviously. Let me just state that - as a gothic romance, it is as beautiful and scary as it is dark and memorable. I haven't been so impressed with the set (the house in which the action of the movie takes places ) and the performance of the actors who played the main parts in the film for a very long time. You can always count on Jessica Chastain and Tom Hiddleston to deliver.
Tom Hiddleston and Jessica Chastain as Sir Thomas Sharpe and Lady Lucille Sharpe
The entrance and the hall of Allerdale Hall aka Crimson Peak. Since the set does exist in Ontario, I would love to visit it. Isn´t it amazing? It feels haunted and alive and gothic. It was described to have the feeling of a killer-jar for the butterflies with all the spikes and angles that you can see.
Sir Thomas Sharpe introduces his new bride, Edith, to the house. Photo taken from Architectural Design webpage
The master suite. Look at all the details! Credits: Architectural Design
I feel as the trailers don't do the film justice (but you probably want to watch one, so here you go - be prepared to be scared and grossed out, because there are ghosts and it IS a Guillermo Del Toro movie after all), so here are some pictures and featurettes taken from the movie to perhaps tempt you to watch it. I loved how the director and the actors stayed true to the convention of a gothic romance - there is a virginal, innocent girl falling in love for a stranger with a dark past and a secret, there is the creepiness and ghosts, and the gloomy, Victorian, onirious-like mansion is a caracter itself, yet they have played with it a bit as well. The young and innocent Edith seems to be a delicate butterfly but yet she is quite defiant and independent. The portrayal of Lucille, played impeccably by Jessica Chastain is so perfect - the more you get to know about this character, the more you loathe her and - at the same time - pity her. The story and the secret behind it is trully heartbreaking, even though you can figure it roughly all out towards the end, it still escalates both in action and in intensity of the feeling that flow through you.
I would gladly corner you somewhere at the university and talk you to death about this movie, in the meantime, I recommend it, especially is the aesthetics of the movie appeal to your taste (which they have to me, even though I kept my eyes mostly closed for the parts in which ghosts showed up).
Edith Cushing as the butterfly, Sir Thomas Sharpe as the stranger with the dark past, Lady Lucille as the moth and Dr Alan McMichael as the Guardian Angel - the characters of Crimson Peak
Halloween is just around the corner and to celebrate that I've decided to make a quick, fun post about a quiz I once took on J. K. Rowling's official page dedicated to Harry Potter, Pottermore.com - the Sorting Hat Quiz (ever since the webpage has changed, it is, sadly,, no longer available, but you can check out some other Sorting Hat quizes that are out there if you like) . If you have read the Harry Potter series, you have a main idea what this quiz is about, and if you haven't... Oh, that's very drool... You haven't?! REALLY? Jesus Christ, what HAVE you been doing since 1998?! Ok, let's make it 2000, when the first polish edition of Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone came out. No, just kidding, I won't be mean or anything like that (especially to an unbelieving Muggle like yourself), and I will explain that the Sorting Hat Quiz basically verifies which Hogwart's House you should be in. It's like the Sorting Ceremony, only, I must say that with a tear in my eye, the Hat does not sing a welcoming song for you (sniff...).
Also, if you were wondering,I am a Ravenclaw at heart, even though on multiple tests I score mostly Griffindor OR Ravenclaw. Click here to see what J. K. Rowling has to say about Ravenclaw
Because in this particular test I scored ostly Griffindor, here's a little something about the Griffons:
Gryffindor's cardinal traits are bravery, pride, stubbornness and impulsiveness. Most people in the house of Gryffindor will be extroverted. (Remember, introversion is different than being shy: you can be a shy extrovert.) Gryffindors gain energy and life by being around people, grain strength from friends and enjoy working with those close to them. However, they are also emotionally volatile and can experience a wide range of feelings in a short amount of time, from unbridled happiness to deep depression to unrestrained rage. They are less emotionally stable than some of the other houses (such as Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff); Gryffindors are also impulsive. They're also generally good-hearted and trusting, and for the most part like people at first sight unless they are given a reason not to. Gryffindors are Prideful, bad at taking criticism and easily get into conflicts with others—this is the main trait that would bring their overall level of agreeableness from high to average.
A Gryffindor's prideful nature coupled with their sense of justice and stubborn behavior causes them to be extremely set in their ways. They have a difficult time backing down from a fight or admitting that they are wrong. It's also very hard for them to get over a bad first impression or change their opinion on someone.
I don't necessarily agree with this portait, so I am going to post the description of the Ravens as well, as I intuitively side with this house the most:
Or yet in wise old Ravenclaw,
if you've a ready mind,
Where those of wit and learning,
Will always find their kind;
The cardinal traits of Ravenclaw are intellect, wit and openness to experience. They are the most introverted house of the four. Ravenclaws are more likely to prefer small gatherings of like-minded individuals and require recooperation after stressful social interaction. These individuals are intuitive creatures, the quintessential researchers. Theylack the stubborn, strict, and rule-abiding qualities that would inhibit intellectual growth—one can't be too set in their ways if they are to be open to exploring new ideas and paths of thought.In contrast to Slytherin and Gryffindor, Ravenclaws in general are much moreemotionally stable. Their reactions seem dampened compared to the sometimes dramatic responses of the other houses—they're much less likely to get offended, they're more open to criticism, not particularly argumentative and interested in hearing different points of view. They can at times seem to be less interested in people and more interested in their owninner world, and appear to be disconnected from the rest of humanity. Ambition is secondary to them. Although they may strive to excel in school, knowledge and self-enrichment is the primary goal as opposed to simply wanting good marks. If they do happen to strive for excellence, it is because it fits with their other goals, not out of a desire to be superior or the best. Due to their intuitiveness and willingness to listen, Ravenclaws can beempatheticand makegood advisors. They should generally leave leadership roles to people who are more extraverted and who would enjoy them more, however.
Because in this particular test I scored ostly Griffindor, here's a little something about the Griffons: 
