This is an older poem, already published on this blog, but I changed word order in one sentence, then decided to post it again. XD
Do not be fooled so easily
With odour and colours of flowers.
(A rose is just a ruse
Leading you to thorns.)
Do not be dazzled blind
By the charming candlelight.
(A candle without fire
Leaves you in the dark.)
Do not let yourself believe
That warmth never ceases.
(Because winter always comes
But loss hurts less once it freezes.)
Katy from Ardent Attachments nominated me for The Sunshine Blogger Award! Thank you so much for this! :* If you want to see her post, click HERE.
Now let me start from the beginning. Here are the rules:
And here are my answers to the questions:
1. Favourite book-to-film adaptation?
I usually don’t like the film adaptations… But I’ve seen A Monster Calls recently, and I think the film was amazing! There were some changes but they were done great. I also like the Interview with the Vampire film.
2. Following on – what book do you want to be made into a TV show/film?
None. Just let books be books. 😉 Maaaaybe The Vampire Chronicles series? But one-season series, I don’t want it to go to far from the books.
3. Lastly – now dreamcast that film/tv show, only a few characters.
I think Jared Leto would be a great Lestat. And someone nice for Louis, maybe Tom Hiddleston since he already played a brooding vampire in Only Lovers Left Alive and he was great. Natalie Dormer would definitely be a great Gabrielle! And when you say Akasha, I think Aaliyah… She was so perfect, I don’t think anyone would be able to compare to her… Just look at her! It’s so sad and unfair that she’s gone…
4. If you were to write a book, what do you think your main character would be called?
Well, the main character of my WIP is called Evelyn.
5. What are three songs you adore and why?
This is soooo hard! *spends an hour thinking* OK, I’ll just say these three before I change my mind: “White Flag” by The Romanovs, “Deception” by The Crüxshadows, and “Pain Looks Good on You” by London After Midnight.
6. Do you play video games? What are a couple of your favourites?
I don’t play as much as I used to. My all time favourite game is Vampire the Masquerade: Bloodlines. (Vampires seem to be the theme of this post. XD) And I love The Sims, I have to admit. They are my on-and-off obsession.
7. What book would you like to play through as a video game?
Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman. I think that would be very fun!
8. What is your favourite Disney film?
Just one? Oh, I can’t pick one, so here’s a few: The Emperor’s New Groove, Tangled, Mulan, The Huchback of Notre Dame, Lilo and Stitch…
9. What three book characters would you like to have lunch with?
Hermione Granger, because she’s great and bookish and I think we would get along quite well. Lady Trent from A Natural History of Dragons by Marie Brennan – we would talk about dragons and she would teach me a lot. And Newt Scamander, because we could talk about magical creatures. I think Newt, Lady Trent and Hermione would all get along perfectly so if we all had luch together, that would be great. 🙂
10. If you were to get a book related tattoo, what would you get?
A quote, definitely. I love quote tattoos! I’d pick one from Fankenstein because that’s my favourite book, but there are a few I like so I’m not sure which one… Or, since we’re talking so much about The Vampire Chronicles, this one from The Vampire Lestat: “Who cares? Kingdoms rise and fall. Just don’t burn the paintings in the Louvre, that’s all.”
11. What’s your favourite breakfast food?
Oatmeal, either with grated apple and cinnamon, or with cocoa and coconut crumbs. Mmmmmm…
I tag: Blogging for Dopamine, Slamah’s Bookshelf, Nicole, llady literary, Misty, Azia, Reg, bookowly, The Storyteller’s Abode, Cat’s Shelf, Birdie Bookworm, Silvia.
And here are my questions, if you want to answer them (no pressure, of course!)
1. What are you currently reading? Are you enjoying it?
2. If you had a theme song, which song would it be?
3. What is the last movie you’ve seen? Would you recommend it?
4. Besides reading, what are some of your other passions?
5. What fictional world would you like to visit?
6. Now, let’s get back to real life – what is the place in real world you want to visit most?
7. What’s your favourite mythological creature?
8. Which is the last book, film or series that made you cry (or really sad).
9. Do you have a favourite superhero? Who is it?
10. What superpowers would you like to have?
11. Share one of your favourite quotes!
Happy blogging! 🙂
I wasn’t sure if this needed a post, but in the end I decided to do it. I’ve been trying to make my blog look better for a while now, but it never turned out the way I wanted it to. Now, I think I’m quite satisfied with it, though I’m not very good at this stuff. XD
First of all, I want to introduce you to Sheila the owl, my new mascot. 🙂
Sheila was a template I found on pixabay.com (a great place to find free stock photos!) and then I just adjusted her colours. Owls were always a symbol of wisdom (and bookishness – if that’s not a word it should be) so she is perfect for this job! Sheila will be featured in my memes, such as Captured Moments and Quote for Thought. I also created a banner for the Top 5 Wednesday posts since I’m planning to do these regularly (maybe not every Wednesday, but most).
I am also planning to introduce a new monthly meme called In First Person, which will be posted every 1st day of the month. In these posts I will talk about a theme that I found interesting that month, something new I discovered, and mostly about things that are not related to books, because sometimes I want to talk about some other things as well. Once a month will be enough for that I think. This is Books and Hot Tea after all. 😉
This means I will also be following a certain schedule:
So, this means posting three days a week. Well, at least for now… We’ll see how it works. I don’t want to put too much pressure on myself. Sometimes, I might skip a post or so.
I’m also using a new theme – Misty Lake. I’m very satisfied with this one!
And that’s it! Happy blogging, people! 🙂
Thank you so much Dear Kitty for nominating me for the Versatile Blogger Award! It really made me happy. 🙂
Befora I start, I just want to say that I’m sorry for being so inactive lately… I really like this blog and the lackk of time for it bothers me, but I’ve been quite busy and now I’ve even gotten sick. Anyway, the blog is still alive, and I will try to find more time for it. 😉 Now let me get back to this lovely award nomination!
The rules for the award are:
It’s really hard to talk about yourself, isn’t it? XD Anyway, here are some random faccts about me:
Well, I hope thore were at least slightly interesting… I’m not sure who accepts awards and who doesn’t so, of course don’t feel like you need to do the post. Anyway, the people I tag are: Nicole, Misty, sinisterdarksoul, Miguel Olmedo Morell, Miracle, Julia, llady literary, Anita, Katha, bookwormhay, WovenEclipse
It was time for school, and the boy left his home with the bag on his shoulders. The boy. That’s how he came to think of himself. Yes, he had a name, and not a bad one, but not everyone knew it. As he walked through the farmer’s market each day, people would call after him. And they called him boy.
“Hey, boy, do you want some sweet strawberries?”
“Little boy, a few lovely apricots to take to school!”
“Come, boy, buy an apple! You now what they say about apples and doctors!”
The word started to sound right to him, though a bit disheartening. That was what he was. A boy. Just a boy. A nobody. Most people were nobodies, pretending to be somebodies by wearing a name. Only a few really became more than what the people in the market place called them. The rest – just numerous boys, girls, ladies and sirs. The boy wanted more than that. He hated monotony. He yearned for something exciting, something new, something magical. As he passed through the market, it seemed painfully dull to him, despite all the orange apricots, red apples, yellow lemons and green cucumbers. Colours were nothing in comparison to what he hoped for. He dreamed of dragons, fairies, and evil forces that had to be defeated. He wished to be a hero, brave and kind, loved by all.
Suddenly, an old man caught his attention. The man was wearing dirty, shapeless clothes, and begging for some money. He seemed completely grey, standing not so far from the colourful market. Some people passed by, but no one seemed to notice him.
The boy had nothing in his pockets. He wanted to become a hero, but now, he couldn’t even give some change to the poor old man. He felt embarrassed.
Well, the boy thought, I may have no money, but at least I’ll show him that I see him. I will show him that I care.
With the widest, kindest smile, the boy turned to face the old beggar.
“Good morning!” he greeted him.
The old man raised his eyes, and the boy saw that he was smiling. The lines on his face started to fade. The old beggar jumped from joy, but when his feet touched the ground, he wasn’t an old man in rags anymore. His clothes were clean and white, and on his now golden hair proudly stood a royal crown.
“Magic!” the boy gasped.
A single “good morning” turned the beggar into a prince.
I haven’t done a fun book tag in a while, and I’ve come across this one (among others) many times and thought: Well, this one sounds fun. So I finally decided to do it. J The tag was originally created by booktuber Mary Berg.
So, let’s get to the questions!
What book is on your night stand now?
A Darker Shade of Magic by V.E. Schwab, and I’m almost finished with it. It’s really fun! There’s also Romantic Outlaws: The Extraordinary Lives of Mary Wollstonecraft & Mary Shelley by Charlotte Gordon, a double biography of the two wonderful Marys. I love them both, and I love the book as well.
What was the last truly great book that you read?
The Vegetarian by Han Kang! I loved that book! It’s so beautifully written, and it’s very methapohorical, it almost feels like reading poetry.
But I also want to mention Alice by Christina Henry, for entirely different reasons. This retelling of Alice in Wonderland is truly disturbing, violent and bloody, but so sooo interesting. I love how Christina Henry deals with the characters, and makes entirely different stories for them, but they still have some of the essence of the original characters.
What books might we be surprised to find on your shelves?
I don’t think anything’s too surprising… I read different kinds of books, and I think I talk about different kinds of books here on the blog. But I don’t think I’ve mentioned that I really like superheroes, so maybe you wouldn’t expect me to own some comics. Spider-man is my favourite.🙂
How do you organize your personal library?
In a way only I understand, and is impossible to explain.😄 But I know exactly where every book is, so it seems it works well.
What book have you always meant to read and haven’t gotten around to yet? Anything you feel embarrassed never to have read?
Slaughterhouse-five by Kurt Vonnegut, a book I’ve wanted to read for so many years… I would actually like to read more Vonnegut in general. But I’m also quite embarrassed that I don’t read almost any contemporary Croatian authors, and I’m from Croatia. I definitely should…
What kinds of stories are you drawn to? Any you stay clear of?
I actually like to read different things, depending on my current mood. Classics are always a go-to when I’m not sure what to read next, and I like to read about history. I’m also drawn to magic, in its different shapes and forms. And I like to read about different cultures… So, when I think about it, I guess I like to read about anything that I can’t experience myself, anything different and unknown.
The only thing I don’t read are contemporary romances. I just don’t find them interesting… Romance is fine as a part of the story, but I don’t like it to be the entire story.
If you could require the president to read one book, what would it be?
That’s an interesting question.😄 I don’t really like our (Croatian) president. (Sorry, not sorry.) She should read something nice and heart-warming, maybe something about a different culture, to make her more open-minded. For example A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini. That’s such a beautiful, sad book… Or, if I was feeling mean, I’d give her something really, really boring to read.😉
What do you plan to read next?
I’ll probably continue with the Shades of Magic series, and after that – who knows! I don’t usually plan ahead, it’s best to read the books you’re in the mood for. And who knows what mood I’m going to be in after A Gathering of Shadows.😄
And that’s it! Since I wasn’t tagged to do this, I won’t tag anyone, but if the questions seem interesting to you, I’d like to hear your answers. 🙂
Yes, I’ve been neglecting my blog for some time… The beginning of the school year is hard for teachers, too. XD Anyway, here’s something unpolished, a part of something I’ve been working on. I like this little detail about one of my characters. Meet Bastian! 😉
If the door is impenetrable, there’s always a window to use.
That became some sort of a motto for Bastian. Climbing the walls was something he was very good at. It took him some years to become an expert, but he flattered himself that he had a natural talent for it.
The walls on the house were made of white stone, which was fashionable among rich people. Unfortunately, the stone was not left crude. It was completely smooth. Impossible to climb. Rich people liked everything to look sleek. There were no pipes or drains on the building’s facade. There were, however, large windows on the ground floor, because bright rooms were also fashionable. Those windows made of impenetrable glass, and connected to an alarm. They were, also, climbable.
Bastian first stepped on the bottom edge of the window. The windows had frames, also made of white stone, and were richly ornamented. The frame was quite narrow, but Bastian was good at keeping his balance. He was also tall. Just barely, he was able to reach the upper edge of the frame. As he held the frame firmly, he put his feet on the side of the frame and cautiously climbed up, pressing his feet at the frame and walking horizontally. Soon, he was standing on the upper edge of the frame, feeling proud of himself.
Who else could pull this off, eh?
He now had to reach for the first floor window, which was also huge, and quite far away. The difficult thing was not falling off the narrow edge. Bastian learned how to be careful. He was doing this for years. He started with simple houses in poorer neighbourhoods, and then gave himself bigger and bigger challenges. He was only caught once, when he was fifteen, to his parents’ great embarrassment. He didn’t actually steal anything, so they just had to pay a fine for his breaking in. It helped that they were influential people.
The window proved easy to open. The family wasn’t expecting anyone to break in though this window. It didn’t even have an alarm. Bastian entered the house. He was swept by the feeling of accomplishment. He still wasn’t sure how this unusual hobby came to his mind. Why did he love to break into random houses? Partially, because it was a challenge. He also liked that it was completely illegal. Breaking the rules made him feel strong.
Well, I’m done here. Off to my next stop.
Image courtesy of Pixabay.com
Challenge No : 4
You write it down
And cast it far away,
Hoping someone will find it
Somewhere in the sea of words,
In the atmosphere of versed clouds.
It often starts simply
With an image, a memory,
An emotion long forgotten,
Turning soon into something more,
Fictional but true.
You bare your soul,
And offer pieces of your mind.
Sometimes the feeling’s good,
Inspiration like a warm hug,
Other times it makes you weep,
Art born from pain once felt.
And you write on,
Cry out your poetry in silence,
Each letter a scream,
Each word laughter,
And you cast it in the air
For someone to find and read –
Your message in a bottle.
Image courtesy of Pixabay.com
#MiracleChallenge : Week – 10
Challenge No : 5
Write a Tiny Tale /Poem using below prompt image in 5 or less sentences(for tale) and 5 or less lines(for poem)
He came back home, exhausted. It was late, and she was probably already asleep since she had to go to work early in the morning.
He cursed his life, but then, suddenly, his mood changed. His heart warmed up as he noticed that she had left a message on the table, using his childhood toys. Smile, her message said, and he did smile, remembering why life was not so bad after all.
So, as I mentioned in a previous post, I went on a vacation to Ireland this summer. We were staying in Dublin, but we also made two bus tours outside the city. The first one was to Northern Ireland, so I decided to dedicate this post just to that one tour. It would be to much to fit everything in just one post. 😉
Anyway, we left Dublin early in the morning, 7:30. It was a quiet ride until the first stop – the Dark Hedges.
Now, if this isn’t gorgeous, I don’t know what is. The hedges were planted by the Stuart family in the eighteenth century. It was intended to impress visitors as they approached the entrance to their home, which I think they succeeded in. And, yes, Game of Thrones was filmed there.
The next stop was wonderful as well – Carrick-A-Rede island which is connected to the coast by a rope bridge.
It was really fun to cross it! And the nature there was perfect.
That’s me in the last photo, trying to make my own version of Wanderer Above the Sea of Fog. XD
The next stop was at the Giant’s Causeway – the 37,000 basalt columns whose tops form “stepping stones” leading from the cliff foot and disappearing under the sea. It’s a real wonder of nature! The legend says it was built by the giant Finn McCool who wanted to cross over to Scotland to fight the Scottish giant. The Scottish giant proved to be much bigger than Finn, so he ran away and hid himself in his son’s nursery. When the Scottish giant came and saw how big the baby was, he deduced that its father must be enormus, so he ran away, destroying the causeway behind him.
That’s me and my brother frowning behind me. XD
And finally, we had a little bit of time to walk around Belfast. The city is very beautiful, both old and modern, unfortunately we didn’t have the time to see much of it.
We were back in Dublin in the evening, a little before 9 p.m. And I plan to take you to Dublin as well, soon. 😉
BOOKS AND HOT TEA 