A book haul??

Another week, another post. This week I thought I'd do a bit of a book haul (can you do those?). Over the past two weeks I have brought quite a few books, some for me and some for others and I thought I'd share them with you. Now of course everyone is currently having a mid-year sale and Dymocks is currently having a three for two deal on most of their orange penguin books. I do love the penguin books because they have an amazing range and lots of older, more obscure books for amazing prices. So how could I go past their sale?

When I went in I had my eyes set on The Great Gatsby, Breakfast at Tiffany's and 1984. Unfortunately they didn't have 1984 in stock and they had moved all of their Great Gatsby novels to the front counter due to the movie release so they weren't in the penguin section either. I found Breakfast at Tiffany's and chose two new novels, got back to the counter and saw The Great Gatsby. Not being able to chose which one to put back I just got the four. I wanted to get The Great Gatsby due to the movie which I do want to see (stars Leonardo DiCaprio and directed by Baz Luhrmann, yes please!) but I wanted to read the book first. I am currently reading it and it is really good, it has a nice pace to it and is well written but not as glamorous as you would expect. Breakfast at Tiffany's was next on my list as I had heard a lot about it and I have read Truman Capotes work before so I was very happy to get this.

The two unexpected books (well one book, one poem) that I picked up were The Picture of Dorian Gray and Beowulf. A friend of mine read The Picture of Dorian Gray as part of her year 11 literature classes and she highly recommended it to me. In addition the summary she gave me really intrigued me so I am quite happy with that. Beowulf has been something that I've wanted to investigate for some time now. I'm constantly seeing it mentioned in other works and I've been seeing the movie on tv for years but never really knew what the legend was about so when I saw that it was an immediate decision to get it.

I've also picked up two novels for a birthday coming up which to be honest I am quite eager to read myself. I did end up finding a copy of 1984 in another book store, one of my favourites called QBD, and I also got the latest Dan Brown novel, Inferno. Dan Brown seems to be an author that people either love or hate. I personally love his works, I find them well written and exceptionally well researched. In fact I've just finished reading his novel The Lost Symbol (which I adored). 

Well that's all of my books for the past couple of weeks, I'll let you know how they all go. And let me know, what books have you brought recently? That's all for this week. Until next time,

Catherine  

To university or not to?

So recently I thought my life was relatively figured out. I have a job that I really enjoy, a university placement waiting and a path I wanted to follow. It wasn't perfect but it was a set plan for the next couple of years. Until the other day that is. I was having a conversation with my parents when it was mentioned that I didn't necessarily have to go to university to get a good job in this day and age. Now I knew that there were options, a lot of them, but I never thought about me not going to university. University is pushed on us from the day we enter school, it's almost assumed. But the fact is is that most people don't go to university, only about one in 6. So where does this leave me (or you for that matter)? 

Well for one thing it is an incredibly liberating idea. Instead of going from school, to a temporary job, to more school and then to a career, all of a sudden I can go straight to a career. It may be a slower route and I will have to climb my way up instead of being boosted but it saves me another 4-6 years of school with thousands of dollars of debt with an uncertain way to pay them off. And what if, after all of that, I change my mind? 

On the other hand, the idea itself is petrifying. I had had everything worked out (I'm a planner, not obvious at all...) and all of a sudden I'm back to where I started. As for career opportunities, I'm not too worried. As I said, it may be slower to work my way up in a company but I can go to TAFE (a much cheaper and underrated version of university), and some companies will even pay for you to do some courses, such as management. 

So how do I (or you) figure this out, how do we choose between university or just working? Well that depends, why do you want to go? Are there other courses (back to TAFE again) that you can do that would be faster? Do you even need to do a course for your line of work? And finally, are you sure you will enjoy the job that you are studying for? Now I want to study psychology. There are no TAFE courses to become a psychologist and I don't just want to be a councillor, I do need to do a course but I'm not sure if I will enjoy it or be any good at it. I'm a very empathic person so the big question is, can I take on all so much of other people's troubles and not be severely affected? Fortunately for me, there is a solution. There are many life-lines and help lines that take on volunteers and give them a short course in counselling. So problem solved. If I like counselling I will go on to university and if I hate it I will do something else. Probably business.

I'm not discounting the experience of university, I think it will be great. I just think that I'm not spending that much money on an experience if I don't need it. So what about you guys? What are your thoughts on university and do you want to go. Thanks for reading, don't forget to comment. Until next time, 

Catherine 

Paper passion and other things

Well hello everyone, yes it is Monday and yes, I was supposed to upload a post yesterday. I have been so sick it's ridiculous and my mind just hasn't been working properly for the past two days. So yes, I forgot and you have my deepest apologies.

Now on with the show.  It is no secret that I am a colossal bibliophile but there are still some out there who are more infatuated with books than I am. There is a perfume out there that is supposed to smell like the pages of a book. Now I admit, when I heard about this I was quite eager to get some. I am less so now. The perfume is supposed to actually smell like books and have quite a nice scent anyway. The packaging is a hardcover book containing texts from Karl Lagerfeld,Günether Grass, Geza Schoen and Tony Chambers. It is a beautiful idea and is carried out to perfection. However, it is very expensive! It has a retail of $98 for 1.75 fluid ounces or around 50 ml. This for designer perfume is fairly standard however this is supposed to be not very long lasting at all. That being said I am still very intrigued and should I suddenly come in to a lot of money I think I will find it hard not to invest. For all of you who do have that kind of money I give you a link to amazon:

http://www.amazon.com/Paper-Passion-Perfume-Geza-Schoen/dp/3869305010

The same perfume here is about $65 so you will be saving some money.

For those of you who are equally mad but have no interest in perfume I give you the book candle! Light it and you room will be fragranced with the delicate scent of books. This products however is very similar in execution to the perfume. Don't let the word candle fool you about the price! Once again the packaging is lovely and the glass holder contains quotes. However, yet again this is a very expensive products. Online it retails for $49 for 195g (I could be wrong about that) and despite my thrifty ways I cannot find you a cheaper version, sorry! None the less, for those of you still eager and rich as anything I provide you with the link:

http://www.assouline.com/9782843234590.html

The company who makes these candles also has a range of scented candles including leather and wood. An interesting product for yourself or as a gift, if you can justify it that is.

Well that's it, the two book related products that have astounded and intrigued me over time. I would like to point out that neither of those links are sponsored, I haven't been blogging long enough for them to be but should that time come I will always inform you first. I do apologise for the delay, feel free to leave all sorts of comments about my ability and memory. Until next time,

Catherine

Reviewing 'The Historian'

Hello everyone, so last week I had promised you another book review and I shall deliver. I do apologise as this will be quite short due to the fact that it is extremely late at night and I am extremely tired. So this weeks book is 'The Historian' by the extremely talented Elizabeth Kosova. Now I must warn you this is a vampire novel, however it is not the 'young adult' rubbish that we are finding more and more of today. This was published in 2005 two months before 'Twilight' and is nothing like it. This novel is intelligently written (a must for me as you will well know) and entirely captivating. 

Now 'The Historian' has been referred to as the sequel or an update of Stokers 'Dracula' however this is not the case. While Stoker merely used the name Dracula, taken from ruler Vlad Tepes Dracula, Kostova forms a tale following Vlad Dracula from the grave and the family who holds a terrifying bond with him. Her story is one with a more historical nature than 'Dracula'. 

That being said the narrative of Kostova's story is similar to two of the most famous horror stories ever written, 'Dracula' and 'Frankenstein'. Much like 'Dracula' the narrative is formed through different sources, letters and verbal accounts. However unlike 'Dracula' the story is retold through one main narrator instead of several. This being said the novel is also very much like 'Frankenstein' in that one persons story is told by another with the addition of their own which in turn is told by another. In short, three main narratives all being recounted by the one person in layers.

This book is immensely well written and captivating from the first page. In fact it has one of the most wonderful beginnings that I have ever read. 

"The story that follows is one I never intended to commit to paper. Recently, however, a shock of sorts has prompted me to look back over the most troubling episodes of my life and of the lives of several people I loved best. This is the story of how as a girl of sixteen I went in search of my father and his past, and of how he went in search of his beloved mentor and his mentor's own dark history, and of how we all found ourselves on one of the darkest pathways into history. It is the story of who survived that search and who did not, and why. As a historian, I have learned that,in fact, not everyone who reaches back into history can survive it. And it is not only reaching back that endangers us; sometimes history itself reaches inexorably forward for us with its shadowy claw." *

Oh, wasn't that wonderful? 

And with that I leave you. I highly recommend this to everyone, especially if you are a bit of a history buff or loved 'Frankenstein', 'Dracula' or both. Until next week,

Catherine

* This is not my work, it belongs to Elizabeth Kostova. I have only included this for the sake of providing an example of her tremendous writing.

The hopeful notes

Hi everyone, so this week I was going to write about something completely different but this morning I came across a YouTube video that really got me excited so I thought I'd share it with you. Now I am subscribed to a lovely English vlogger by the name of Carrie Fletcher, I highly recommend her, I think she is witty, intelligent and charming. So today she was discussing the acts of kindness we perform and how, unfortunately, some of these acts are only done when we want something in return. 

Now I've done this, I've made my dad coffee when I wanted a lift somewhere etc. However I often go out of my own way to make someone feel good or to make their lives easier. An example, I went out with a friend the other day just to catch up. We're both extremely broke however her more so than me. That day all she could bring for lunch was a musli bar. Now I being less broke brought her lunch. Something she was incredibly grateful for. She's done it for me as often as I have for her. It may seem simple but I now have $5 in my purse until payday. Now I'm not complaining, and I'm not trying to make out as if I'm a perfect friend, I certainly am not. I'm forgetful, terrible at keeping in touch and could really work on listening. But I do have another friend whom I don't see or speak to often who would never do the same for me though I would do it for her. And yet another one who only ever speaks to me when she wants something. 

These differences really intrigue me however its not really what I was talking about (way to go off on a tangent!) what Carrie was suggesting was that we, as a community, start something called 'the hopeful notes'. Leaving notes or post its around with positive messages for others to find. Go and check out her video, she probably explains the concept a lot better than I will http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=u2OYwkUUPQI. Now being a community thing she has set up a twitter account for the purpose of documenting this. Of course you can do it by yourself but should you want to join in leave @thehopefulnotes at the end of your message and then jump on twitter and post where you left it and what you wrote, simple!   https://mobile.twitter.com/search?q=thehopefulnotes&s=typd

Now, for everyone who may be dubious, I do not know Carrie Fletcher, I have not been asked to recommend this and I'm not getting anything out of it. I just think its a nice idea. On other notes, I have a book review coming up for you, it's one that I've just started reading but absolutely love so keep an eye out for that. As you may have noticed you can now subscribe to my blog so of course do that! I hope that you are all well, I've been a bit under the weather lately and my foots swollen! I hit it only a couple of hours ago and it's been giving me a whole heap of grief! Until next week,

Catherine