Books I read in 2017 – Covers

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The Loveliest Quotes #2

“Who, being loved, is poor?”

– Oscar Wilde, A Woman of No Importance

 

 “Some birds aren’t meant to be caged. Their feathers are just too bright.”

—Arnold Bennett, The Shawshank Redemption

 

“It’s always been you. I tried to fight it and I’ve tried to deny it. And I can’t do it. I can’t. You’re undeniable.”

– Seth Cohen, The O.C.

 

“I am thankful for all of those who said NO to me. It’s because of them I’m doing it myself.”

– Albert Einstein

Life Update – Work, Health, Reading, Watching, Doing, Going

Hello dearest WordPress population and fellow blogging neighbors and friends!!

I’m alive!!

I have been busy as you can probably tell by my absence.

I thought I would take the time to update you on whatever I’m doing these days:

Health:

I have actually missed work today because I’m dealing with a nasty cold since Friday. So far I’ve had to miss a wedding on Saturday, work and a birthday dinner today. Damn you cold. Damn you sinusitis that shows up whenever I have a cold just to torture me even more.

Mental Health:

I’m so much better. Really, I mean it. I haven’t had anxiety or panic attacks in months. I haven’t been feeling any of the usual depression symptoms. I think I’m finally on the right medicine combination. I feel well, I sleep well and I’m generally happy. Being busy might also have a role to play in this. I thrive on being a busy bee and having a task list.

Work:

I’m so happy with my job. The kids are both cute, funny and difficult but I love working with them. My colleagues are so nice. I feel like I’ve won the job lottery. It’s the first time I actually feel 100% fulfilled with a job.

My freelance work is going great as well. No lack of work. There’s always something coming up and I love the work I do and the extra money I get besides my salary. It’s good to be able to have a side income and a pretty good one, thank God.

Home:

Well, we definitely need to do some cleaning. It hasn’t been a priority which I understand and accept but it still bothers me. We have been wearing clothes directly from the laundry basket for way too long.

Reading:

I have been reading more because I’m now used to reading kindle books on my phone. I think I’ve told you I finished After You. Then I began The Substitute by Denise Grover Swank, which is part of the series and the first book I’ve ever read by this author. It was fun to read, I would give it 4 stars, considering the genre and quality of writing. If I think about great classics I would probably give it a 2 but I need to be fair.

Then I read another book in just one day. I was bed-ridden on Saturday and didn’t have internet so reading was my only hope, while everyone else was stuffing themselves at the wedding. I read Golden Chances by Rebecca Hagan Lee. Another series (period one) and another author I did not know. I would give this book 4 stars as well, despite the fact that I liked it more than the latter. Different genres and I know I favor this one. It’s about 350 pages but I started it and finished it in a few hours.

I then began Diary of a Sex Addict’s Wife: The First Year, which is pretty good so far. It’s exactly what the title says. A woman discovers that her partner of 20 years has been having sex with prostitutes and hiring escort services for the last five. The book is about her thought process in dealing with such discovery and with what her marriage has become. There’s a lot of pain and doubt and loneliness and broken trust.

 

Watching:

Outlander has come back to me. Rui loves it too after watching the first 2 seasons so we’re enjoying season 3 together. It’s such a good show. Please watch it. I plan on reading the 8 books the series is based on.

American Horror Story season 7 has begun and, as always, I’m not convinced yet. Too weird. Three episodes in and I have no idea what it is all about.

I’m finishing season 4 of The Tudors. I’m going to miss it, actually. It’s been fun watching the life of Henry VIII unfold. They have just executed his 5th wife, Catherine Howard, for adultery. That’s where I’m at.

I have also watched Annabelle: creation expecting it to be the shittiest ever and was surprised to find it was not that bad, at least in my humble opinion. Most people I know that have watched it found it pretty bad but both Rui and I enjoyed it.

I want to watch It as soon as I get the chance.

Well, I guess this is pretty much it for today.

Have you been reading my Student Wisdom posts? My students say the funniest things.

Student Wisdom #1

Student Wisdom #2

Student Wisdom #3

What about my (almost) daily questions? I’ve heard there will be prizes at the end of the month for those who answer them all.

Question of the day #1

Question of the day #2

Question of the day #3

Question of the day #4

Question of the day #5

Question of the day #6

Question of the day #7

Question of the day #8

Question of the day #9

Question of the day #11

Question of the day #12

(#10 is missing purposefully)

Don’t forget you can pretty much always find me on Instagram and I would really love it if we could be friends on Goodreads so I can snoop on what you’re reading!! (Both bottom of the page)

See you, dear friends!!

 

 

One Month Blogging Challenge – Day 10 (My favorite books)

Dearest friends,

Please don’t forget that I’m doing this challenge with Maggie and Angela, so be sure to go over to their blogs and check their answers to the challenge. Today, you have the chance to know what their favorite books are.

I’ve been reading since I can remember. I’ve had always loved books. It become a passion when I was about sixteen. That’s when I made my first library card. It was on my Summer vacation. I didn’t have much to do and nowhere to go, as my mother was working all Summer. I needed to take two buses to get there but that didn’t stop me at all. I would go once a week and bring 10 books. That was the number the library would allow. 5 fiction and 5 non-fiction. For non-fiction I would usually get health related books, general knowledge and facts books, History and science related books. Fiction, always a few novels. Books were really good friends of mine. I would always have a book on me. Teachers would get mad because they would catch me reading in class. When it came to subjects such as Literature and Portuguese, I would be one of the few who would actually read the book. Sometimes I had read it the Summer before, and would read it again once it was assigned to us. When the time to choose where I wanted to go for college, I knew that Literature had to be part of it. So I decided on my degree (Languages, Literature and Cultures) because it seemed that it had everything I was interested in and good at. Once in college, I realized I was really good at English and that I was drawn to all of the American history, literature and culture courses, so I decided that would be my Major. American Studies. I still loved English authors and culture, so English Studies became my minor. Funny story, I had first chosen it to be the other way around, but then I changed according to my interests. My school’s library is the second best in the country and has a wide range of books in English. And so, first year of college, I began to read everything in the original language (for English and American works), no translations. Yes, even Shakespeare. I believe that reading in English helped me in becoming fluent. When I started university I was at a B2 level and I got to a C2, which the native equivalent. And then teaching came into my life.

I needed to tell you this little story, of how I feel in love with books. Now, finally, I’ll get to my favorites.

My favorite books: (and authors)

• Every single one of Jane Austen’s novels

“A lady’s imagination is very rapid; it jumps from admiration to love, from love to matrimony in a moment.”

— Mr. Darcy, Pride and Prejudice

Please consider this as my birthday gift. Please?

 

• Little Women by Louisa May Alcott

“I am not afraid of storms, for I am learning how to sail my ship.”

― Louisa May Alcott, Little Women

 

Such a warm and familiar novel. It makes my heart happy!

 

• Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë

“He’s more myself than I am. Whatever our souls are made of, his and mine are the same.”

― Emily Brontë, Wuthering Heights

 

Probably my favorite ever. I’ve read it so many times I know some quotes by heart

 

• Gone With The Wind by Margaret Mitchell

“Burdens are for shoulders strong enough to carry them.”

― Margaret Mitchell, Gone With The Wind

 

Oh Scarlet…

 

 

• The Great Gatsby by Francis Scott Fitzgerald

“So we beat on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past.”

― F. Scott Fitzgerald, The Great Gatsby

 

I named a cat after this one. Gatsby lives very happily at my mother’s house

 

• O Primo Basílio by Eça de Queirós

One of my favorite Portuguese novels

 

• Ensaio sobre a Cegueira by José Saramago

You might know “Blindness” because it become a movie a few years ago

 

• La Casa de los Espíritos by Isabelle Allende

Will never get tired of this one!

 

Authors worth mentioning:

Shakespeare – Romeo and Juliet; Macbeth; The Tempest; Midsummer night’s dream

D.H.Lawrence – Women in Love; Sons and Lovers

Daniel Defoe – Robinson Crusoe; Moll Flanders

Charlotte Brontë – Jane Eyre

Jack Kerouac – On The Road

Jodie Picoult – My Sister’s Keeper; The Pact; Handle With Care

Danielle Steele – No Greater Love; Sisters

Dorothy Koomson – My Best Friend’s Girl; The Rose Petal Beach; Goodnight Beautiful

Daphnee du Maurier – Rebecca

Pearl S. Buck – The Good Earth; East Wind: West Wind

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How many of them have you read? Do we share any favorites?

(All pictures are from Google images)