What happens when you are up till late and the TV is on as background noise? You end up watching a film you wouldn't normally choose to watch. And, sometimes, you find something interesting.
Lancashire is a wonderful county with gorgeous little villages and amazing picturesque views. Sometimes it is also isolated, that is where the Mobile Libraries comes in. Like me, you might not know this service is available, so I thought I should spread the word! 
The Mobile Libraries are different. They are obviously smaller and move around to provide adults and children with easy access to books. I came across this one in the tiny little village of Dunsop Bridge, in between Waddington Fell and the Trough of Bowland! If you own a Lancashire Library Card you will be able to use it like you would in any library. You can also return books you have rented from your local library and vice-versa. 
One of them was actually already reviewed here (to read the review click here). "Sabado a Noite" (Saturday Night) by Babi Dewet is a fab book and I stayed up untill 5am reading it because I just could not put it down. If you can read Portuguese, it is most definitely worth checking her blog as well. A Beatles and McFly fan, Babi is a seriously cool chick with her fingers on the pulse of all the good things happening in Rio's cultural scene.
Another favourite is "Sete Faces do Amor" (The Seven Facets of Love) by Pedro Bandeira, Luiz Maria Veiga, Jesse Navarro e Márcia Melo, Júlio Emílo Braz Viviana de Assis Viana, Fernando Portela e Edson Gabriel Garcia - a collection of seven short stories put together in an anthology. Each story looks at a different type of love: all-consuming, platonic, romantic, and possessive, the love of a friend, the love that betrays and the one that is on your life for a short period of time for a reason. The best thing I can tell you about this book is that I read it quite a few years ago as part of the list I had to read for my Literature classes. I very rarely found on that list books that I liked, but this was lovely and over a decade later I still remember it.
The third book is actually a collection of books (sorry, I know I am cheating, but I just could not pick just the one!) - a series called "Plenos Pecados" (Simply Sins - click here for more information) by seven different authors, some of which are not actually Brazilian. Each book focuses in one of the Seven Deadly Sins and the intention is to not only read about them but also make you feel them. My favourites are the books on the sins of: Anger ("Xadrez, Trucos e Outras Guerras" - Chess, Cards and Other Wars - by Jose Roberto Torero), Lust ("A Casa dos Budas Ditosos" - The House of Happy Buddhas - by Joao Ubaldo Ribeiro) and Envy ("Mal Secreto" - Secret Evil - by Zuenir Ventura). I didn't really enjoy the book on the sin of Sloth, but hey! That was the only one I did not enjoy out of the entire series, which is not bad. Definitely worth reading. A quick tip: Take deep breaths at the end of the Anger book and try not to burn it or scream at your walls. Get the cold shower running while you read the book on Lust, you will need it. Seriously. And get ready to bite your nails to the quick while reading the one on Envy. 
Fancy that!
I am taking a break from our Brazilian Week to talk about a very special book review!
The stories are about kids' stuff: the endless war in between boys and girls, Cebolinha constantly trying to steal Mônica 's rabbit only to fail and get smacked by her with the same rabbit, the whole crew ganging up to try give Cascão a shower... But in the end it is about friendship. How this four very different kids love each other's company and how, no matter what the situation is or what happens, they are still friends. It is about how everyone has a little quirk, but these quirks do not make any of us any less lovable. So while being good fun, Mauricio's comics are also educational. There is even a new series, Turma da Mônica Jovem (Monica's Teen Gang), portraying the gang a little older and tackling teen issues. 
Needless to say, I had a lot in common with Mônica - the weird looking girl, with funny teeth and an attitude to guard her sensitive soul - and now my daughter also reads the comics. I don't know about you, but I find this quite beautiful and it is a credit to Mauricio and his team. It is has to be amazing, as an author, to see your work pass from one generations to the next.
This week I am having a Brazilian party on the blog. On Monday we listened to some music (more Brazilian music here), yesterday we talked about Brazilian beauty and today we are talking about food! Yummy Yum!
Ambient: *****
City of Fallen Angels by Cassandra Clare - My copy is actually staring at me as I write this and my hands are itching. CoFA (as we call it) is the fourth book of The Mortal Instruments series. There is a little too much to explain but, in short, Clary, her love interest - Jace - and their friends are demon hunters; also known as Shadow Hunters. The events in this book take place a few weeks after the events on the third book, City of Glass, where they just about managed not to be killed. Unfortunately for them, and fortunately for us, the drama is not over.
Exile by Rebecca Lim is the sequel to "Mercy", the first book of a series by the same name. Mercy has a strange gift: she wakes up on the body of a stranger and cannot remember where she was last or even what she looks like. A few things were left unexplained on the first book so I am looking forward to some clarity as well as finding out if she will remember the human boy who won her heart on her last life. Exile is out in June.
Forever by Maggie Stiefvater is the final installment of The Wolves of Mercy Falls trilogy. In the first book Grace met wolf-boy Sam; on the second book they were torn apart and there is something more sinister lurking under the surface. We also met Cole. (Ah! Cole... *day dreams* I think I have developed a serious book crush) The third book is out in July and as the story reaches a resolution my question is: would that be a good or bad one? Stiefvater has said the tears on the book cover could be the tears of her fans. My nails are bitten down to the quick.
Stealing Phoenix by British author Joss Stirling is the sequel to "Finding Sky" (read my review here). When her parents accept an offer to work in the U.S. Sky discovers some really interesting things about herself and Zed, the boy she met at her new college. Apparently, they both possess some very unique talents and an unbreakable bond. That is... Apart from the fact that they don't actually get on! Unfortunately for Sky, discovering more about her talents means unlocking the past she run away from. While on the first book you are introduce to the Bennedict Brothers and Zed in particular, on the second you get to find out more about another talented Bennedict - Yves - and his Soulfinder. Out in September.
First it was the launch of "City of Fallen Angels", her most recent book and fourth on The Mortal Instruments saga - we had everything from book trailer to posters and play lists (click here for more). Then there was Jace's famous letter to Clary in "City of Glass" (click here to read it) and now... She has released a couple of excerpts from "City of Ashes" and "City of Bones":
2. "Kissed" is part of "City of Bones" and it is very insightful as to how Magnus and Alec's releationship started. It is also quite interesting as most of this romance happens off page and it is not until "City of Glass" that you actually see them as a couple. I must warn you, just in case, that Alec and Magnus' is a gay relationship so if you do not like this kind of thing, it is better left unread. Personatly, even though I would not get out of my way to read anything LGB, I think Cassie's writing is as beautiful as ever and the only thing that is different is the fact that the scene happens in between two boys. She is also very candid to the issue of coming out as being gay, as that is Alec's difficulty. Definitely worth it. Click here to read the entire scene.
On another update... Cassandra Clare has announced the cover for Clockwork Prince, the second book of her "Infernal Devices" series, will be revealed at the Book Expo America, NYC by Simon & Schuster on Wednesday 25th at 9am. If, like me, you will not be in New York for the revealing, don't worry. All us, other Mundanes, will be able to see it over at Mundiemoms at 10am on the same day.
Next week Wicked Lovely author Melissa Marr is also launching her new adult novel: Graveminder. Check out the video below and if you want a sneaky preview click here to read the first few pages. This particular book is also set to become a TV series in America.  |
| Cheryl making the candles |
This was a few years ago. Now Melt is a quirky gift shop full of hand-made or otherwise organic treats sourced from all over the world: French parfum, Italian handbags, organic beauty products, hand painted mugs and cups, interesting books, hand-made cards and jewelry and much more. Though time has passed and success has come, the candles remain the same. The only difference being that the range is now bigger and better and no longer only sold in this little shop but also in a series of boutique retailers around the country including department store Liberty. You know what I like the most about it, though? Even though as a business Melt has achieved great success, you can still find Cheryl, the owner, serving behind the counter most days and that woman knows her stock like you would not believe. |
| Bethany Rose |
Price: ££££
If you are a comic book fan, you will notice the changes to the plot and the more purists of followers might not actually like them, but I thought it was a good way to shorten an otherwise quite lengthy story. Thor has been appearing in Marvel Comics since August 1962 so there had to be a cutting line somewhere. In short, I thought the plot was short and sweet with plenty of action to satisfy the boys and a subtle, but still pretty much there, romance to make the girls happy. As a romance fan, I would love to have seen more happen in between Thor and his human love interest Jane, however what does happen in between them has an innocent and pure feel to it, making it quite sweet and giving the god of thunder a soft spot. If you are a fan of special affects, you will like all the other worlds created in this movie and some of the fighting moves are nothing if not acrobatic. 
Be it online, during an event or at a personal level, I think anyone who admires or follows a particular artist will agree that it is great when you can interact with them.I think Joss was talking about the song Mercy by Duffy, but I like Mercy by One Republic and I think the lyrics suit the storyline beautifully. Hear it here.
OUT OF CURIOSITY: Exupéry has the longest name I have ever seen! Antoine Jean-Baptiste Marie Roger de Saint Exupéry. It is believed The Little Prince was inspired by Exupéry's experience while stranded in the Sahara Desert after a plane crash in 1935. He was not only a commercial pilot, but also a French pilot during World War II. His plane mysteriously disappeared off the French coast on his last mission in 1944 and his body was never found, although the body of an unknown French soldier was recovered several days later but never proven to be his. They did, however, find his plane and his identification bracelet a few years later. 
