Books

Book 356: The Witch of Portobello – Paulo Coelho

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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30x30, Personal Project

30 x 30: #3 – Take a hip-hop dance class/workshop

2014 11-29 The Dance Complex OutsideFourth one this week and I’m down to six on my 30×30 list! I’ll cross off another one on Monday (YAY NaNoWriMo being over) and maybe the bike ride too as the weather is supposed to be decent.

If there was one on my list I thought I might skip out on (aside from the tattoo), it was this one. I did some research and found The Dance Complex which wasn’t too far from where I live and wasn’t too expensive for a drop in class, but MOST importantly they had a Hip Hop Beginner Basic class. I clung to that basic because I was like okay so it’s even easier than Beginner right?

A few weeks ago my friend Caitrin and I tried to go to the class, but they were very strict about no street-shoes in the studios, so we went for breakfast instead. This time I showed up and no one said anything about shoes of any type! Maybe they just assumed I had shoes in my backpack or something, but not a word!

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30x30, Personal Project

30 x 30: #24 – See the Boston Symphony Orchestra again

2014 11-28 BSO Program & PostcardsI’m chipping away, slowly but surely, but really I think this week I’m carving vast swaths into my list! I’ve already visited and gambled at a casino AND visited the rest of the MFA. I’ll hopefully have another post Sunday from a Saturday morning activity and then I’ll have a wrap-up to my NaNoWriMo experience.

For the second item this week I went to see the Boston Symphony Orchestra (BSO) with my friend Patrick, who you’ll hear more from on the next episode of Come Read with Me! I’m not sure why I’ve not gone since the last time I went but shame on me! I got tickets a few weeks ago to see Bartók, Haydn and Mussorgsky featuring Leonidas Kavakos, conductor and violin. It was last-minute and the only performance left before BSO switches over to the Holiday Pops series and I’m beyond priced out of range.

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CRWMPodcast

CRWM #02: The Man Who Loved Pride & Prejudice

CRWM02It’s here! It’s here! It’s finally here!

As promised I’ve finally edited and posted Episode 2 of Come Read With Me! My guest this episode is my friend Caitrin and we discuss Abigail Reynold’s The Man Who Loved Pride & Prejudice which I wrote about back in January! Thankfully, there weren’t any technical issues this time.

By far the highlight of this episode, apart from all the general Austen love, is about nine minutes in when I realize I misspoke about my favorite Jane Austen novel. It’s a good thing it wasn’t later in the podcast (aka later in the bottle of wine) or I might’ve cried! From pick up lines and my confusion over Colin Firth and Colin Farrel to Caitrin’s adoration of Sense and Sensibility and the Classics Club, nothing is off-limits.


You can download it by right clicking this link and selecting save as.

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30x30

30 x 30: #25 – Sing a song at live-band Karaoke

I2014 10-15 Live Band Karaokef there was one item on the list I thought I would chicken out on, it was this one. Seriously, if I ranked them from those I was most dreading to those I was most excited about this would be #1 dread and #30 most excited, but just like that I’m done with it. I will say Jukebox Heroes bill it as come be a rockstar and that’s what it feels like when you’re up there!

I’ve been to Live Band Karaoke a few times with my friend Dominic, but I’d never got up the guts to actually get on stage and sing, so when I made my list I knew I had to add this one. I’m a decent singer but rarely sing in public or within hearing range of anyone else. I tried out for a few musicals and music groups in undergrad and always made call backs but didn’t have the confidence to get the role, but either way. I added this to my list because I knew it would pull me out of my comfort zone!

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