Wednesday, January 11, 2012

Suite Francaise


I managed to finish this before school begins again. I really enjoyed this book. The second appendix is so hard to read - and by that I mean painful because of its content (not because it was technically tricky). The fictional parts were great as well, though sometimes I found myself needing to push onwards to finish. WWII novels can be so difficult to read. I will never be able to understand how someone could inflict so much pain on so many people.

Suite Francaise - Irene Nemirovsky

Friday, January 6, 2012

Nicola-Formichetti



Nicola-Formichetti Store by Gage/Clemenceau Architects. Images from Knstrct.

Estonian Academy of Art


Estonian Academy of Art Competition - Gage/Clemenceau Architects. Images from Gage/Clemenceau.

Stardust

I wasn't supposed to read. I have a lot of schoolwork and work to finish during this holiday break, so I purposely prohibited myself from reading. Unfortunately, I have a fresh stack of used books in the corner of my room that were given to me for Christmas and I was too tempted. It started as a way to pass time as I waited for Sketchup to stop being temperamental. And Stardust is not a difficult read, so I managed to get through about half the book this way. I ultimately stopped working and just finished the book. It was not bad. I enjoyed the plot and the final sentence in the book was so hauntingly sad and beautiful that it pushed the book, in my mind, into the "good" category. That being said, the characters were not very well developed. I watched the movie long ago and watched it a second time recently and I really enjoy the movie. In fact, the characters are better developed in the movie and if it hadn't been for that fact, I think I would have enjoyed the book less. The storyline in the book differs from that in the movie and I like that aspect, to some degree. Overall, it was a pleasant read. This type of fantasy novel always appeals to my romantic (in the nostalgic sense), imaginative side.

Stardust by Neil Gaiman

Thursday, January 5, 2012

A tree in Hawaii. Photography by Brandon Russell

Bourrasque



By Paul Cocksedge
Images from Dezeen

Busan Opera House




Images from suckerPUNCH.