Author: Geoff W

Reading my way through life.
Random

We Survived Spain

Geoff W

2015 06-20 Shipping Back to BostonIn case you were wondering, we survived Spain. The photo is from right after we landed in Boston last Saturday evening. You know you’re jealous of that tan, we spent the last day in Spain at Sitges, a resort type town on the coast.It was a wonderful trip and I have so much to write about, but things are still very busy.

If I would’ve planned ahead I would’ve just posted through to the end of June, AKA NOT try to conquer the behemoth that is Don Quixote (I’m roughly 33% into it), but I didn’t. Instead you get this lovely update. I do think I will break Don Quixote into three posts, one each on Part 1 and Part 2, and then a separate one about Madrid and Don Quixote!

This afternoon I head up to Gloucester for a wedding. If you remember ALL the way back in Sept 2013, I posted these photos from when we decorated their apartment while they were off getting engaged,

Well it’s finally here. I’m honored to be a part of the wedding and I can’t wait for tomorrow! I’ll, hopefully, be back to regular postings next week. I do have an entire podcast to edit by Wednesday, so fingers crossed!

Books, The Classics Club

Book 358: The Metamorphosis – Franz Kafka

Geoff W

This isn’t the first Kafka I’ve read. I read Amerika way back in 2011 and my opinion is pretty much the same: the man is a bit weird but he writes well.

I can, with utter confidence, say I have no idea what in the hell I just read. I mean, I know exactly what the words said and can tell you the story pretty much verbatim, but as to the meaning behind it, I haven’t got a clue. (Don’t worry, I’m going to look it up in a minute and see if it in anyway makes sense to me.)

I honestly thought it was some sort about sickness and loss of health, but no one seems to agree on that. There was a lot of talk about dependence and the family needing to learn how to care for themselves and that his metamorphosis resulted in the family being more productive and less lazy. Honestly, I don’t really know.

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Books

Book 357: Eleven Minutes – Paulo Coelho

Geoff W

Again, I’m not sure when I picked up this and The Witch of Portobello, but I’m assuming sometime back in 2011 as I mention them in a post as far back as my May 2012 update. I once again ask why I don’t read more of his and why I put it off for so long between reading his works. He said something in the forward, that struck me,

“Some books make us dream, others bring us face to face with reality, but what matters most to the author is the honesty with which a book is written.”

Having now read six of Coelho’s many published works it is easy to see he truly lives by this. His stories make you dream and bring you face-to-face with reality, and every one of them have an honesty that is hard to find in so many authors’ works. I have yet to read a book written by him that didn’t touch me in some way whether it was on a spiritual or inspirational level or on a cognitive level.

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Random

Adios Madrid y Hola Barcelona!

Geoff W

2015 06-03 Vas a BarcelonaLast week we were in Madrid and this week we are in the beautiful Barcelona. I have no idea what we’re doing in Barcelona and I cannot wait to find out. I know we’ll see a lot of Gaudí and I am excited about that, but other than that I’m not sure.

The reason for this is, when we decided the trip I was going to plan one city, Madrid, and Tim was going to plan the second city, Barcelona. There were I’m sure more museums and artsy things (and of course a bookstore visit) in Madrid, but I’m excited to let Tim take me where he wants in Barcelona!

I hope you are ready for the explosion of pictures when I come back!

Books

Book 356: The Witch of Portobello – Paulo Coelho

Geoff W

In a further attempt to get a few more posts up while I’m on vacation I went to my TBR shelf and found I had two more Paulo Coelho novels yet to go so I grabbed them to read. They’re always easily written, well translated and fascinatingly beautiful and The Witch of Portobello , was no exception. I’m actually not sure when I picked up this book as I can’t find a photo of it, so I’m going to assume it was sometime in 2011 right after I read The Alchemist.

Every time I read a book by Coelho, I find myself wondering about and searching for my spirituality. Whether he is talking about the Mother or organized religion (usually not), Coelho has a way of writing incredibly complex ideas and intricate narratives that is so simple and beautiful that it’s almost breath-taking. I do wonder if it is even more beautiful in his native Portuguese, how can it be so incredibly beautiful translated into English and not be beyond beautiful originally. So that being said, some credit must, obviously, be given to Margaret Jull Costa who has translated other works by Coelho including Veronika Decides to Die and Eleven Minutes (my next read) and many works by José Saramago including Seeing.

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