Some culture and history in Prague

Thursdsay in Prague-

While Stu picked out a Czech gift to bring her grandmother when she visits Ireland this weekend, I wandered around the store. It's called Manufaktura, and there are several in Prague. Lots of traditional items to bring home as souvenirs.  

 some felt fairies that reminded me of nova toys

 

another traditional crafts shop

We also went to an English bookstore where I attempted to find a specific book that I've been looking for (Broken Harbour, Tana French). They have it in the U.S., but only in hardcover and it is just soooo expensive; sadly, this store only had the hardcover copy too. So instead, I bought Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy! I began reading it on my flight home to France and it's great so far! I just love how quickly suspense novels move - perfect for my short attention span!

 

reading in bed

the second wedding couple i've seen, and the bride had a fuzzy white coat both times! 

I got to tag along on Stu's Art and Architecture class in the afternoon. Basically, their class goes on lots of field trips to art museums and to see architecture (for, like, four hours), so it wasn't strenuous, and I actually ended up actually learning! We went to the Baroque Arts museum in the castle (hradčany) district, looking at paintings, armour, and artifacts in the basement. Some facts (from Stu's really crazy professor) to share with you all:

• the Renaissance was all about coming up with new ideas, and pushing the intellectual envelope; so architecture from the Renaissance has lots of small rooms where people could sit around, talk, and think without being bothered.
• in contrast, the Baroque period was about showing off, so much of the architecture from that period, like the Castle Square, is designed for people to be able to look at the royals' and nobles' wealth.
• the amount of religious monuments, statues, buildings, references, and relics is disproportionate to the amount of pious people in the Czech Republic. for example, only about 10% of people practice religion, but there are huge, attention-grabbing churches everywhere; in the U.S. closer to 70% of people practice religion, but our Separation of Church and State (and since our history only goes back so far, to simpler, Puritan times) makes it so that there is much less of these religious symbols in plain sight.
• whoever King Rudolph II was, he was crazy!
• Bohemia refers to the region of the Czech Republic that Prague is in. as a sovereign region, it has been around much longer than the country itself. historically, it is one of the three Czech Lands, along with Moravia and Silesia.
• Czechs had curved swords back in the day, too! like samurai swords, the shape of their blade was more "economical at killing people," as the professor said. in other words, more aerodynamic when slicing through the air to meet some poor guy's neck.

After class, me, Stu, and one of her housemates went to get dinner at a nearby brewery. The brewery is one of the originals in Prague, and is located near a monastery so that the monks could go there during their down time (naturally... why didn't I think of that?). My last night in Prague :( But I had good company, good food, and good drink! I ordered some traditional Czech beef thing (not goulash) in a creamy tomato sauce... and it came with whipped cream on top! Never would've thought to put sweet whipped cream on my meat! It was delish anyway, although I didn't eat it with the whipped cream. The house beer was good too. I had their IPA and Stu got their amber brew. Well, it better have been good since it was made right there!!!

 reminds me of the barrington brewery

After dinner, we walked back home alllllll the way down the castle hill and through Mala Strana and on the tram and down the street and up the stairs.

We collapsed on the couch, watched The Parent Trap (the Lindsay Lohan one, of course, such a classic), and went to bed.

xxo, S

Summer books 2011

Last night I finished reading The Help by Kathryn Stockett. It's a wonderful story that centers around the prejudice that was very much prevalent in 1960s Mississippi. Told from the point of view of three different women, it is fast paced, touching, and innovative. Not many people wrote about such controversy back then, not many people write about it now. I remember learning in high school that the U.S. has an unusually long legacy of slavery and race issues which has had an effect on our country even through today.

A lot of critics have compared The Help to Harper Lee's To Kill A Mockingbird, which is an old favourite of mine. I think that is a fair comparison because it tackles race issues from a somewhat naive perspective. But I think that the messages in each book are a little different, which is good because you wouldn't want to read the same book ;) I highly recommend this book to EVERYONE!

Also this summer, I've read:

One Day, David Nicholls

Tinkers, Paul Harding

Away, Amy Bloom

and I'm working on:

The Nanny Diaries, McLaughlin & Kraus

xxo, S

The damn book I'm still reading

The Time Traveler's Wife. I love it! It's beautiful! Getting up there on my list of favourite books! But it just takes so darn long to read...
I got it at the beginning of January. It is halfway through March now. That more than three months. Usually I am WAY done with books at this point. Obviously not.

I'll let you all know when I'm done.

xxo, S

Espionage & Spies

(in the literary sense, of course)

My aunt brought me a book over Thanksgiving titled, The Tourist by Olen Steinhauer, plus its sequel. Having never been one for modern literature, I was hesitant about reading it. But it sucked me in so fast, I forgot about my resistance instantly! I ripped through both novels and quickly proceeded to research the upcoming third in the sequence. Need I spell it out? A M A Z I N G .

Not to be confused with the recent film of the same title starring Angelina Jolie and Johnny Depp, Steinhauer's novel follows the life of disenchanted secret agent, Milo Weaver (to whom we are introduced under a different name). It turns out that his life has been entirely shaped by the underground world of espionage. We follow Milo through a series of events that threatens to overthrow everything he has worked to create after he vowed to leave the Company. Steinhauer's narrative also revamps the spy world audiences were exposed to by John le Carré and relates how we all deal in this post-9/11 world.

After reading these books, I watched a little James Bond marathon and The Bourne Identity, having been inspired by the life of a spy. Next, I want to read old-school spy novels like le Carré and Flemming. But I think I'll stay on this side of the metaphoric wall - no martial arts or rifling classes for me ;)

xxo, S

Becoming literate

I made it a goal this year to become more "well-read." This has a different meaning for everyone; for me, it means reading old books, classics if you will, and actually enjoying them. When I read these kinds of books, I want to really appreciate the language, style, and structure that's captivated so many people over the years.

Here's where I'm at so far:
Pride and Prejudice
Alice's Adventures Under Ground
Through the Looking-Glass
Slaughterhouse Five

I also just finished what is now one of my favourite books of all time, Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen. The film version is being released this coming April starring Robert Pattinson, Reese Witherspoon, and Christoph Waltz, all of whom I adore. If you haven't gotten the chance, read it! I tore through it in one week... probably would've been less time if I hadn't had so much actual work to do (oh, college). Seriously though, I rarely recommend books written today, so pick this up - especially if you plan on seeing the movie.


xxo, S

Summer book list

Books I've read so far this summer:

Pride and Prejudice (not as difficult to read as I had thought)
The Fellowship of the Ring (much more difficult to read; I wanted to read the whole trilogy this summer, but that's just way too long!)
Sweet Deceit: A Privilege novel > (these two were mindless, "trashy beach novels" I read at the beach)
Tan Lines: A Summer novel >
Charlie St. Cloud (compelling, sad, meaningful, and inspiring; better than I thought it would be)
The Memory Keeper's Daughter (not at all what I was expecting. bittersweet and beautifully written)
and now I am working on Eat, Pray, Love 

Charlie St. Cloud was much better than the movie; The Fellowship was much longer than the movie. And now I can only wait and see how EPL compares to its own new movie.

xxo, S

The most threatening customer ever

That must be me. Allow me to explain...

Today I went to the Barnes and Noble on 86th Street; a fairly normal place to go since I like to read books, and apparently so do a lot of other people. However, I was not greeted by the usual "New Releases" sign. Instead, an intimidating, authoritarian, uniformed black man stared me - and the three other people who entered the store with me - down.
Well, this is a new way to "greet" customers.
After being thoroughly freaked out, I assumed it was just security to make sure no one stole anything from the store. I then proceded down the institutional escalator (the store is downstairs, adding to the institutional, literally-underground feel) and looked around for the poetry section. While I was meandering around the store, I found myself being watched by another security guard; this time, a tall, hulking, bald white man sporting a handgun and beat-you-up stick. The poetry section turned out to be towards the back of the store where yet antoher security guard stood.

A proper greeting

Now, there may have been a bomb threat there today. Okay, that's normal, we are in New York so we have to take precautions. Except that my friend who frequents this Barnes and Noble told me she's had the same experience there - every time she goes in.

So... what, did I look like I was coming into the store to 1: stab the cashier with my oh-so-threatening high heels, 2: ignite the books into a raging fire which would 3: explode the building and all the terrifying bookworms inside? Yeah, sure.
Honestly, I did not like being watched as I perused the works of Frost, Chaucer, Steinbeck and Cummings. And if I had to guess, I'd say that the manga geeks felt the same; so, probably, did the history buffs, the mystery nerds, even the causual reader. Moms with little kids in the children's section must've felt pretty concerned, too.
Like, what the hell, Barnes and Noble?! What up with the random - and unneccessarily scary - security? Are you afraid all the poetry lovers are gonna steal all the anthologies?
OR are you trying to employ more of New York's fine law enforcement team? Then in that case, bravo, B&N, way to do your part during budget-cut time. I'm sure burly, police academy graduates feel uber-manly "guarding" books all day. "So, what are you doing in the force now?" "Oh, I watch skinny nerds read books for six hours." "Wow, you must be so tough!" Yeah, I'm sure that's exactly how it goes.

Helping policemen become more manly one book at a time

All I'm trying to say is, why the need for so much security in a bookstore? One or two guys at the exit where the don't-steal-books-alarm is makes sense. It's scary having people stare at you while you're trying to find the latest Stephenie Meyer book (as if you don't feel judged enough)! If terrorists aren't coming into B&N, then I really don't see a need for such security measures. A word to the bookstore chain: your bad business tactic is gonna lose you customers.

xxo, S