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FeaturedNights at the Alexandra by William Trevor | Book Review
Advertisements Nights at the Alexandra by the Irish writer, William Trevor is a quiet, reflective novella that captures the fragile emotional lives of ordinary people in the small Irish town of Cloverhill. The story unfolds through a series of small, carefully observed moments, revealing how memory, regret, and compassion continue… Read more
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FeaturedThe Offing by Benjamin Myers | Book Review
Advertisements Written in rich, lyrical prose, The Offing by Benjamin Myers is a quiet, deeply reflective coming-of-age novel that unfolds over a single transformative summer in post-World War II England. The story is framed by an elderly Robert Appleyard looking back on the summer of 1946, when, at just sixteen,… Read more
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Featured8 Quiet Literary Novels for Introverts That Feel Like Solitary Walks
Advertisements Some books feel like solitary walks, or moving through stillness, introspection, and the quiet landscapes of the human mind. I compiled a list of the books that introverts in particular will enjoy due to their calmness and emotional depth. 1 JOURNEY TO THE EDGE OF LIFE BY TEZER OZLU… Read more
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FeaturedThe Anthropologists by Aysegul Savas | Book Review
Advertisements “There was no place where we could feel at ease, no language that, after so many years, we could sink into like a deep sleep. And we hadn’t even begun to consider the greater issues of being rootless yet, such as where we might be buried, what words of… Read more
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FeaturedCopenhagen Diaries | Quiet Winter Days, Art Galleries and Museums
Advertisements In December I spent a few days in Copenhagen. I really enjoyed the quiet atmosphere of the city and its beautiful museums and galleries. I hope you will enjoy a few videos I made during my time in Copenhagen. This video below was taken on my first day. I… Read more
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FeaturedJourney to the Edge of Life by Tezer Özlü | Book Review
Advertisements Journey to the Edge of Life by the Turkish writer, Tezer Özlü is one of those books that feels less like a novel and more like being invited into someone’s restless, searching mind. Originally written in German and later translated into Turkish and reshaped by Özlü herself, the book… Read more
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FeaturedRed Water by Jurica Pavičić | Book Review
Advertisements Jurica Pavičić’s Red Water is a powerful and unsettling novel that combines a crime narrative with a profound meditation on moral ambiguity, collective trauma, and historical rupture. Set on the Dalmatian coast, the novel centres on the disappearance of a seventeen-year-old girl, Silva, in the late 1980s, on the… Read more
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FeaturedA Dream of White Horses by Paul Scraton | Book Review
Advertisements “Once I left the country of my childhood, I realised those differences were everywhere: in the shape of the street furniture and the painted lines by the side of the road, the strength and colour of the light cast by the streetlamps or the sound of the ambulance sirens… Read more
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FeaturedBudapest Diaries | The Beauty of Central Europe
Advertisements In late September I spent a few days in Budapest. I was hoping for the autumnal weather but instead I was welcomed by a heatwave. I still enjoyed my time in the beautiful capital of Hungary. First Day | Arrival in Budapest and afternoon walk The first video was… Read more
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FeaturedTwelve Nights by Urs Faes | Book Review
Advertisements “It seemed to him that a story told, a story from the past, would never truly fade once it had moved someone. The act of remembering, of reading, was like a return, a homecoming into a story. He was never closer to himself than in the remembered and read.”… Read more
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FeaturedSputnik Sweetheart by Haruki Murakami | Book Review
Advertisements “So that’s how we live our lives. No matter how deep and fatal the loss, no matter how important the thing that’s stolen from us – that’s snatched right out of our hands – even if we are left completely changed people with only the outer layer of skin… Read more
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FeaturedBook of Clouds by Chloe Aridjis | Book Review
Advertisements Book of Clouds by Chloe Aridjis is a deeply reflective and thoughtful novel with subtle elements of magical realism and a dreamlike atmosphere exploring themes of isolation, loneliness, solitude, the invisibility of people, their emotional displacement from the past, the impact of history on one’s life, the relationship between… Read more
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FeaturedThe End of Summer Diaries | South West Coast Path and Puzzlewood
Advertisements A few weeks ago I visited Torquay. One day I decided to walk along South West Coast Path from Babbacombe via Long Quarry Point, Ansteys Cove, Brandy Cove, Meedfoot Beach, London Bridge Arch and finally reaching Torquay. This video includes images from that walk along South West Coast Path.… Read more
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FeaturedGreece Diaries: Hydra Island
Advertisements During my time in Greece I took a ferry to Hydra island – a place of solitude, a place which inspired Leonard Cohen and where he found solace in the late 1960s, where Henry Miller found inspiration in the 1930s and where Sandra Cisneros finished The House of Mango… Read more
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FeaturedSweet Days of Discipline by Fleur Jaeggy | Book Review
Advertisements Published in 1989, a haunting novella Sweet Days of Discipline by the Swiss writer Fleur Jaeggy tells a story of a nameless distant protagonist, an adolescent female reminiscing nostalgically about her teenage years in an oppressive boarding school located in post-WW2 Switzerland. In her book, Jaeggy explores the meaning… Read more
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FeaturedAll the Roads Are Open: An Afghan Journey (1939–40) by Annemarie Schwarzenbach | Book Review
Advertisements “The beginning of a great journey has become a gentle, untroubled memory, like a dream you need not fear and do not lose.” All the Roads Are Open: An Afghan Journey (1939–40) by Annemarie Schwarzenbach (1908-1942) is an account of a trip that Schwarzenbach undertook with a fellow traveller and… Read more
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FeaturedAthens Diaries | Life Steeped in Books, Rest, Sunsets, and Gentle Sounds of Cobblestone Streets
Advertisements In June I spent a few days in Athens and on the island of Hydra. Below you can see a few recordings I took during my first days in Athens. ARRIVAL My day of arrival in Athens welcomed me with an extremely hot weather. I used public transport to… Read more
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FeaturedSlow Living | Quiet Days in London and Liverpool
Advertisements These are a few snapshots I took during May and June in London and Liverpool. I also acquired new books that I shared in the video. I hope you will enjoy it and it will bring you some peace and solace.
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FeaturedM Train by Patti Smith | Book Review
Advertisements “This is how I live, I am thinking.” “I walked east to St. Mark’s Bookshop, where I roamed the aisles, randomly selecting, feeling papers, and examining fonts, praying for a perfect opening line. (…).” Written in poetic, luminous, melancholic and fragmentary prose M Train by Patti Smith is an… Read more
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FeaturedLondon Diaries | Quiet Spring Days | Museums, Bookshops, Parks and Solitary City Walks
Advertisements I made a recording of my quiet spring days in London and time alone I spent on walking around the city during April weeks. I love long solitary walks. I visited cafes, Foyles Bookshop, the National Gallery, St James’ Park. I particularly enjoyed visiting the exhibition: A View of… Read more
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Featured7 Dystopian Book Recommendations Like I Who Have Never Known Men by Jacqueline Harpman
Advertisements I Who Have Never Known Men by Jaqueline Harpman is one of my beloved books I have ever read. You can find my full review here. I prepared a list of seven books that you might also enjoy if you love I Who Have Never….Most books listed below share… Read more
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FeaturedVienna Diaries | Art, Literature and the Beauty of Vienna
Advertisements In April I spent a few days in Vienna. On a day of my arrival I took a train to the Inner City and I saw the State Opera, then walked to the Austrian National Library to see its magnificent State Hall. I must say this is the most… Read more
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FeaturedPerfection by Vincenzo Latronico | Book Review
Advertisements Perfection by Vincenzo Latronico (translated by Sophie Hughes) captures the soul of the modern globalised and culturally homogenised society shaped by the constant flow of online images available on the internet which promises the purposeful and uncomplicated life. The reality however does not always live up to these pictures.… Read more
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FeaturedLondon Diaries | The Petrie Museum of Egyptian Archaeology, City Walks and Cinema
Advertisements I recorded a few snapshots of my London life during the month of March. In the video you will see Gordon Square and Reading Room at Welcome Collection in Bloomsbury where I often have my lunch breaks, my afternoon and evening walks in Soho, Trafalgar Square and Russell Square.… Read more
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FeaturedThe Odd Woman and the City by Vivian Gornick | Book Review
Advertisements “(…) nothing healed me of a sore and angry heart like a walk through the city. To see in the street the fifty different ways people struggle to remain human – the variety and inventiveness of survival techniques – was to feel the pressure relieved, the overflow draining off.”… Read more
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FeaturedBerlin Melancholy | Walking in the City of Solitude
Advertisements “Berlin is a city condemned forever to becoming and never to being.” Karl Scheffler, 1910 At the end of February I spent a few days in Berlin. On my first day I wandered the streets of Berlin, saw the Brandenburg Gate by day and night, visited Friedrich Strasse, Holocaust… Read more
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Featured8 Books by Egyptian Writers Everyone Should Read
Advertisements I have prepared a short list of books by Egyptian authors exploring the texture of the Egyptian society throughout various eras of the 20th century and early 21st century which I hope you will find useful and interesting. 1 Woman at Point Zero by Nawal El Saadawi Woman at… Read more
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FeaturedTraces of Enayat by Iman Mersal | Book Review
Advertisements Traces of Enayat by the Egyptian writer Iman Mersal was published in 2019 and tells a story of another Egyptian female writer, Enayat Al-Zayyat who committed suicide at the age of 26 in 1963. She only wrote one book called Love and Silence which initially rejected for publication but… Read more
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FeaturedExploring the Golden Age of the Mughal Art: A Journey Through History | A Visit to Victoria and Albert Museum
Advertisements [dates in the brackets indicate the dates of the reign] A few weeks ago I went to see the beautiful exhibition dedicated to the Great Mughal art that traces the evolution of this distinctive art that flourished in the 16th and 17th century under the reign of three Mughal… Read more
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FeaturedA Visit to Tate Britain | A Quiet Day in London
Advertisements One Saturday I went to Tate Britain. It was a lovely visit. I forgot how beautiful Tate Britain is inside. I love their collection of Turner’s paintings. I recorded my visit and I hope you will enjoy it.
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FeaturedDiscovering London: Art and Literature
Advertisements A few weeks ago I went to see the exhibition at Royal Academy of Arts dedicated to Leonardo da Vinci, Raphael and Michelangelo. I then visited one of the oldest and most beautiful bookstores in London called Hatchards, right across the street from the Royal Academy. After browsing through… Read more
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FeaturedOne Day in York | A Relaxing Escape from London
Advertisements I decided to spend one day in York which is around two and half hours away from London by train. I left London very early and travelled across the misty hills and fields of North England. The city was covered in the mist when I arrived. It was such… Read more
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FeaturedAppointment with Yesterday by Celia Fremlin | Book Review
Advertisements In her book Appointment with Yesterday Celia Fremlin explores the position of older women in the society of the 1970s England focusing on the disintegration of one’s mind and paranoia in the domestic setting shown through the lenses of relationships, abandonment, guilt and using the institution of marriage as… Read more
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FeaturedThere are Rivers in the Sky by Elif Shafak | Book Review
Advertisements “Home is where your absence is felt, the echo of your voice kept alive, no matter how long you have been away or how far you may have stayed, a place that still beats with the pulse of your heart.” “(…) immigrants don’t die of existential fatigue or nihilistic… Read more
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Featured8 Books that I Cannot Stop Thinking About
Advertisements I have prepared a short list of books that I cannot stop thinking about and had a huge impact on me. I wholeheartedly recommend all of them but if I have time just for one book then please read I Who Have Never Known Men by Jacqueline Harpman. This… Read more
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FeaturedDead-End Memories by Banana Yoshimoto | Book Review
Advertisements Dead End Memories by the Japanese writer Banana Yoshimoto is a collection of five poignant stories filled with melancholy and nostalgia. Each story follows a woman who experienced loss and pain in her life. In all the stories each protagonist finds a refuge in the moments of the daily… Read more
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FeaturedAutumn in the Lake District | Keswick, Ullswater, Windermere and the Hill Top | Introvert Diaries
Advertisements I put together another video from my time in the Lake District. This time I took a bus from Windermere to Keswick, and I went for a walk around Derwentwater. I then took a bus to Ullswater and Aira Force Waterfall. Next day I took a ferry from Windermere… Read more
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FeaturedAutumn in the Lake District | Grasmere, William Wordsworth and Rydal | Introvert Diaries
Advertisements The best portion of a good man’s life: his little, nameless unremembered acts of kindness and love. – William Wordsworth In October I visited the Lake District. On my first day I visited the beautiful village of Grasmere, the famous Gingerbread shop that has been selling its produce since… Read more
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FeaturedAutumn in Cambridge | Introvert Diaries
Advertisements I visited Cambridge one Saturday in October. I loved autumnal colours of the season and I enjoyed the cosy weather very much. I took a train from London King’s Cross in the early morning and I was able to experience a train journey through the foggy fields and hills… Read more
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Featured8 Books that Feel like a Warm Hug
Advertisements I have prepared a list of books that are comforting and offer a peaceful and calming refuge to escape into. AUTUMN ROUNDS BY JACQUES POULIN Autumn Rounds by the Canadian writer, Jacques Poulin is a gentle, tender, luminous and deeply meditative novel exploring the meaning of solitude, literature in our… Read more
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FeaturedNorth Woods by Daniel Mason | Book Review
Advertisements North Woods by the American writer, Daniel Mason is a wonderful, spellbinding novel written in a variety of literary styles, from prose to letters to poems and songs, including cleverly placed illustrations and photographs of natural landscape and artistic expression. It is a tale of one country, the Unites… Read more
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FeaturedIntrovert Diaries | A Visit to the British Museum | Quiet Vlog
Advertisements Recently I have visited the British Museum on a few Friday evenings and recorded some snapshots for my memories. I have not visited all the rooms in the museum yet but I’ll visit it again soon and will record more. In the meantime I hope you will enjoy this… Read more
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FeaturedIntrovert Diaries | Summer in London
Advertisements Over the past few weeks of July and August I made a few recordings of my wanderings around London. I spent some time in Shoreditch, East London in the place called Arnold Circus which has been my favourite reading spot for the last ten years. I also visited Eastern… Read more
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FeaturedOn the Roof: A Thatcher’s Journey by Tom Allan | Book Review
Advertisements Thatching is one of the world’s oldest crafts which means building a roof with dry plants such as straw, heather or sedge. On the Roof: A Thatcher’s Journey by Tom Allan explores man’s connection to the nature and land as well as the importance of tradition. Following his work… Read more
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FeaturedAll the Lovers in the Night by Mieko Kawakami | Book Review
Advertisements All the Lovers in the Night by the Japanese writer, Mieko Kawakami is a beautiful novel exploring the quiet tragedy of the ordinary life and loneliness of its inhabitants. Written with profound compassion, this novel is also an ode to the life of introverted individuals and to those who… Read more
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Featured10 Books for Summer
Advertisements I hope you all are doing well and enjoying summertime. I have compiled a list of books below that might make great summer reads. All these books evoke a great sense of place they are set in, from warm Algeria, Tunisia to the mountainous Alps, unknown dystopian land, sunny… Read more
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FeaturedIntrovert Diaries | My visit to Eel Pie Island | My life in London
Advertisements I hope you all are enjoying summertime wherever you are. I have taken a few recordings of my wanderings around London over the period of the last few months. I also included a video of my visit to Eel Pie Island which used to be an important artistic hub,… Read more
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Featured6 Books about Disenfranchisement, Poverty and Social Inequality
Advertisements I compiled a short list of books tackling the issues of poverty, social injustice, financial instability and lack of opportunities written by the authors from different countries: USA, France, Tibet, Zimbabwe, and Ukraine. I hope this list will inspire you to pick up some of the titles listed below.… Read more
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FeaturedThe Wall by Marlen Haushofer | Book Review
Advertisements “I’d spent most of my life struggling with daily human concerns. (…) Since my childhood I had forgotten how to see things with my own eyes (…); loneliness led me, in moments free of memory and consciousness, to see the brilliance of life again. (…) I don’t know whether… Read more
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FeaturedLike a Mule Bringing Ice Cream to the Sun by Sarah Ladipo Manyika | Book Review
Advertisements Like a Mule Bringing Ice Cream to the Sun by the Nigerian writer, Sarah Ladipo Manyika is a life-affirming novel exploring ageing, personal independence, debilitating illnesses that affect us as we grow older, loneliness, friendship, loss, immigration, the importance of books in one’s life and the position of older… Read more
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Featured12 Must-Read Books Featuring Older Women
Advertisements I have prepared a list of book featuring older women at the centre of the story. I have tried to include books from various parts of the world: Nigeria, Ukraine,Argentina, Lebanon, Egypt, Israel, England, Italy and Germany and written mainly by female writers. I hope you will find this… Read more
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FeaturedUpstream by Mary Oliver | Book Review
Advertisements “(…) literature – (…) wants and strives to be a true part of the composite human record – that is, not words but a reality.” “Through these woods I have walked thousands of times. For many years I felt more at home here than anywhere else, including our own… Read more
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FeaturedBrian by Jeremy Cooper | Book Review
Advertisements Brian is a profoundly moving meditation on the meaning of solitary life, of art and cinema in shaping one’s perception of and connection with the world, of the hidden depths of human soul often kept private in fear of misunderstanding and stigma, and of the importance of companionship and… Read more
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FeaturedStrong Female Character by Fern Brady | Book Review and Reflections on Neurodiversity and Autistic Spectrum Disorder (ASD)
Advertisements “I still exist in a work environment where I’m forced to mask because to expect accommodations would still be seen as asking too much in a world where most people know next to nothing on my neurotype. (…) I have accepted I may never have lasting friendships or know… Read more
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Featured15 Books Translated from 15 Foreign Languages to Diversify Your Reading
Advertisements I have prepared the list of 15 books translated from various languages that can help you diversify your reading experience. I hope this list will be of use. 1 FRENCH: I Who Have Never Known Men by Jacqueline Harpman I Who Have Never Known Men is a dystopian novel… Read more
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FeaturedIstanbul Diaries
Advertisements I have spent a few days in Istanbul. I made a few videos which I’m going to share below. I tried to keep sounds of the city as much as possible. I put music in the background only if there is some noise or my heavy breathing …😛 I… Read more
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FeaturedThe Details by Ia Genberg | Book Review
Advertisements “We live so many lives within our lives – smaller lives with people who come and go, friends who disappear, children who grow up – and I never know which of these lives is meant to serve as the frame.” “With time I have come to understand that everything… Read more
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FeaturedThe Night Always Comes by Willy Vlautin | Book Review
Advertisements “When you look at a person’s life it’s easy to pass judgement if you don’t know them. The more you know the more you understand. Sometimes you find out what a person has gone through and you’re surprised they are even upright. Other times it’s the opposite, some people… Read more
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FeaturedA Love Letter to Venice | Walk around the Water City
Advertisements In December I spent a few days in Venice. During my stay I made a few recordings of my peaceful walk around Venice. I hope you will find these videos soothing and they will bring you a slice of Venice into your life.
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Featured12 Captivating Books with Introverted Characters
Advertisements I have prepared a list of books with introverted characters who deeply connect to the landscape of their inner feelings and thoughts. I hope you will find this list of use and interest. 1 I Who Have Never Known Men by Jacqueline Harpman “I discovered physical solitude, something so… Read more
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FeaturedThe Country Will Bring Us No Peace by Matthieu Simard | Book Review
Advertisements “Forty year from now there will be nothing left of us. Our memory and the photographs and the recollections of those who disappeared will all be gone, like the notes from a cello in the ruins of an old house. (…) Forty years from now, no one will remember… Read more
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FeaturedI Who Have Never Known Men by Jacqueline Harpman | Book Review
Advertisements “(…) I had to come to think that I was different. (…) I was forced to acknowledge too late, much too late, that I too had loved, that I was capable of suffering and that I was human after all.” “This was the first time that I’d ever found… Read more
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Featured20 Bookshops and Literary Places Everyone Should Visit in London
Advertisements I have prepared a list of 20 bookstores and literary places in London that every bibliophile should visit. I tried to put them in the order based on their proximity to each other. Undeniably London has always had an immense significance as a literary hub and provided so much… Read more
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FeaturedWatermark: A Love Letter to Venice by Joseph Brodsky | Book Review
Advertisements I am currently spending a few days in the Italian city of Venice. I spend these days on roaming the city streets and being accompanied by the words of Joseph Brodsky he shared in his essay called Watermark: A Love Letter to Venice written in 1989. By the time… Read more
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FeaturedAutumn in London | A Visit to the Rare Books Fair, John Sandoe Bookstore and the Highgate Cemetery
Advertisements I hope you all are doing well and stay healthy. I am sharing this little video of London during late autumn months. In the last few weeks I visited the Rare Books Fair held at the Chelsea Old Town Hall, and while in Chelsea I went to see one… Read more
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Featured10 Books with Inspirational Male Characters
Advertisements I made a list of books with inspirational male characters. I tried to include books from various cultures which I hope can be of interest to all of you. The list includes books from Mauritania, French-speaking Canada, Turkey, USA, Cuba, Ukraine, Algeria, Pakistan and France. The characters I appreciate… Read more
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FeaturedMarzahn, Mon Amour by Katja Oskamp | Book Review
Advertisements “The middle years, when you’re neither young nor old, are fuzzy years. You can no longer see the shore you started from, but you can’t yet get a clear enough view of the shore you’re heading for. You spend these years thrashing about in the middle of a big… Read more
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FeaturedPostcard from Oxford | One Day Trip from London
Advertisements Last Friday I went for a one-day trip to Oxford.. I took a train from London Marylebone Station shortly after 7:00 am and I arrived in Oxford shortly after 8:00 am at the time when the city was slowly waking up. Upon my arrival in Oxford I went to… Read more
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FeaturedAutumn Rounds by Jacques Poulin | Book Review
Advertisements “She had started to pick some new books and it was a pleasure to see how comfortable she was in the library. She’d pick up the books, leaf them, stroke them, talk to them, and breathe in their odor. Bathed in the soft light spread by the sun as… Read more
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FeaturedKatalin Street by Magda Szabo | Book Review
Advertisements Katalin Street by the Hungarian writer Magda Szabo was originally published in 1969. This story explores the issues of historic trauma, living with guilt, heavy sorrow, grief wrapped up in solitude and existing in a constant survival mode. This novel also tackles the irreversibility of our actions, emotions and… Read more
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FeaturedLiterary London: A Book Lover’s Guide to the City by Eloise Millar and Sam Jordison | Book Review
Advertisements Literary London delves deep into the literary history of London following in the footsteps of some of the most iconic writers who have lived or visited London. Literary London explains where to find the best literary landmarks in London with the objective to tell the stories behind the stories.… Read more
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FeaturedA Kidnapped West, or The Tragedy of Central Europe by Milan Kundera | Book Review
Advertisements “Central Europe: the maximum diversity in the minimum of space.” “The people of Central Europe are not conquerors. They cannot be separated from European history; they cannot exist outside it; but they represent the wrong side of this history; they are its victims and outsiders. It’s this disabused view… Read more
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FeaturedPrague Diaries | The Klementinum Library, Astronomical Tower and The Old Town
Advertisements Another video from my recent trip to Prague. One morning I went for a walk around The Old Town and I visited the majestic Klementinum Library also known as the National Baroque Library of the Czech Republic which was built in 1722 by Kilián Ignác Dienzenhofer. The bookshelves in… Read more
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FeaturedThe Love of Singular Men by Victor Heringer | Book Review
Advertisements “I’ll never discover where they ended up, no one knows the humble fates of so many people. (…) this entire world is no more than a delusion of my crippled mind. (…) another such world is possible, (…) but a little less heinous.” “I’ve always believed I didn’t come… Read more
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FeaturedPrague Diaries | The Charles Bridge, the Prague Castle and Golden Lane
Advertisements Following my trip to Paris I flew to Prague. On my arrival I checked into a lovely old hotel next to the Charles Bridge and started exploring the city in the afternoon. It’s not my first time in Prague so I did not have to visit many places but… Read more
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FeaturedParis Diaries | One Day Walking around Montmartre and Le Marais
Advertisements One Morning in Montmartre During my stay in Paris I spent one morning walking around Montmartre. I did not have much time but I tried to enjoy small walk along the old cobbled streets. I started at Opera Garnier and from there I walked north to the Pigalle Metro… Read more
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FeaturedParis Diaries | Walk Around Paris On A Balmy Summer Day
Advertisements I have recently spent a few days in Paris to deal with personal matters. I found some time in-between to walk around Paris. I created a few walking videos to keep the record of my memories. I have been to Paris many time before and I have already done… Read more
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FeaturedThe Map by Barbara Sadurska | Book Review
Advertisements “The turning point came one day when we were searching the house of someone wed brought in for interrogation. I came across a black and white photograph. On the back, written in pencil, was a place name and a date: April 1940. (…) Women standing in a line on… Read more
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FeaturedWhat Have You Left Behind? Voices From A Forgotten War by Bushra Al-Maqtari | Book Review
Advertisements “From that morning, what’s engraved on my mind (…) it is the shock of how war was conjured, how life collapsed in one fell swoop: civil infighting, the humiliation of hunger, the indignity of it all, our generation’s lost dreams. They split the citizens into two warring camps, leaving… Read more
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FeaturedThings We Do Not Tell The People We Love by Huma Qureshi | Book Review
Advertisements Things We Do Not Tell The People We Love by Huma Qureshi is a collection of ten profoundly moving short stories, written in lyrical and luscious prose underpinned by a variety of subtle emotions. Each story explores themes of loneliness, relationships, connections, misunderstandings, silences, unspoken emotions and feelings, internal… Read more
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Featured20 Books about Immigration, Belonging and Identity
Advertisements I have prepared a list of 20 books exploring themes of immigration, belonging and identity related to social class, ethnicity, and nationality. Often the theme of immigration intersects with the theme of belonging and identity. Therefore, I have decided to include all these themes in one list. As usual… Read more
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FeaturedVisit to the Memorial and Museum Auschwitz-Birkenau
Advertisements Last September I went to visit the Memorial and Museum Auschwitz-Birkenau, a site of former German Nazi Concentration and Extermination Camp during WW2. I took this short video during my last video. Emotionally it was difficult for me to film inside the blocks. I mostly captured the outside area.… Read more
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FeaturedLondon Moments | Walk around Hampstead Heath and Visit to the 19th Century Cemetery in East London
Advertisements I hope you all are doing well. I recently went for a peaceful walk around Hampstead Heath in North London. I love taking nature walks to find a way for me to stop, to breathe, to seek out the wondrous moments in the present. This is a form of… Read more
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FeaturedMichel The Giant. An African in Greenland by Tete-Michel Kpomassie | Book Review
Advertisements Michel the Giant by the Togolese writer and adventurer, Tete-Michel Kpomassie is an extraordinary book about a long journey that Michel took from his home in Togo via Europe to reach Greenland, the land of eternal ice he had become fascinated with as a child and dreamt of visiting. In 1950s when… Read more
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FeaturedStories of the Sahara by Sanmao | Book Review
Advertisements Sanmao belongs to the 20th century most iconic women. She was a writer, traveler, and university teacher born in China in 1943 and then raised in Taiwan. As an adult she travelled extensively across Spain, Germany, Central America and spent a few years living in the Western Sahara where… Read more
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Featured12 Books with the Inspirational Female Protagonists
Advertisements I hope you all are doing well. I would like to share with you a few book recommendations with the Inspirational Female Protagonists. These are characters dealing with loneliness in its various forms, trauma, ageing, poverty, life within strict religious and social norms, no opportunities for ‘better’ life. I… Read more
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FeaturedThe Desert and The Drum by Mbarek Ould Beyrouk | Book Review
Advertisements “I refused to be intimidated by the chapters of the past or the indecipherable pages of the future. (…) It was time to detach myself from the old ways: I was no longer from here. I was from nowhere, and I was going faraway”. “I am nothing. I am… Read more
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FeaturedUnder the Tripoli Sky by Kamal Ben Hameda | Book Review
Advertisements “The soul of life is the little things, the minor events no one notices…. That’s where life is, the pleasure of being alive, otherwise there’s just this vast blueness casting its shadow over us. (…) Take care of your soul as the wind does, have fun your own as… Read more
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Featured10 Books about Loneliness
Advertisements I have prepared a list of my favourite books which explore a theme of loneliness, solitude, and aloneness in various forms and aspects of daily life. The stories mentioned below portray loneliness related to the contemporary urban existence, traumatic experiences caused by war or displacement, being an outsider within… Read more
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FeaturedA Single Rose by Muriel Barbery | Book Review
Advertisements A Single Rose by a French writer, Muriel Barbery is a beautifully crafted book which can fill one’s heart with gentle warmth, peace, and hope for a better tomorrow. If you are in need of reading something delicate, comforting written in ethereal prose, this slender volume won’t disappoint you.… Read more
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FeaturedThe Halfway House by Guillermo Rosales | Book Review
Advertisements Guillermo Rosales (Havana 1946 – Miami 1993) was a Cuban writer of excellence with a very unique style and profound level of sensitivity shining through his words. Prior to his death, he destroyed all his work except for two books ‘El Juego de la Viola’ and this one, The… Read more
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Featured8 Best Books by Elif Shafak
Advertisements I always devour every book written by the Turkish writer Elif Shafak. I deeply connect with the way she tells the stories of people on the peripheries of society and how she gives a voice to the voiceless. In her books, Elif Shafak always offers a nuanced perspective and… Read more
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FeaturedThe Peace of Small Moments | Cosy Winter Day Off in London
Advertisements I know I have not posted a book review for some time but I am currently reading a lot and hopefully very soon I will be able to share with you a few book recommendations. Also, I have been on very strong medications since November to treat my autoimmune… Read more
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FeaturedLondon Slow Winter Day | A Visit to the Crossness Pumping Station, Borough Market and Southwark Cathedral
Advertisements I hope you all are doing well. A small piece of London for you 💜🌺💜 I made a video from my recent visit to Crossness Pumping Station in Abbey Wood followed by a short visit to Borough Market and Southwark Cathedral. I hope this video will bring you a… Read more
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FeaturedA Visit to the Victoria and Albert Museum and Natural History Museum | London Slow Moments
Advertisements I hope you all are doing well, and can enjoy some slow moments in life 💜 I made a recording of my recent visit to the Victoria and Albert Museum in London. I also managed to squeeze a short tour of the Natural History Museum. I hope this video… Read more
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FeaturedChristmas in London | Covent Garden, Regent Street, Trafalgar Square, and Kenwood House
Advertisements I am back in London and decided to go for a walk around London and check Christmas decorations, and Christmas Markets. It was extremely busy and streets were so crowded. Therefore, recording was very difficult and chaotic but I hope you will get a glimpse of some places in… Read more
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FeaturedThis Mournable Body by Tsitsi Dangarembga| Book Review
Advertisements This Mournable Body by the Zimbabwean writer, Tsitsi Dangarembga, tells a story of a middle-age woman, called Tambu living in Harare (Zimbabwe) who is trying to find her way in this world. Tambu leaves her stagnant job as a copywriter with hope that she will find a better job… Read more
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FeaturedChristmas Market in Poland
Advertisements I spent a few weeks in Poland and very much fell in love with a beautiful city of Wroclaw. I was lucky to have a few days off during the week of the Christmas Market’s opening. I was surprised how huge Christmas Market was there. It looked like a… Read more
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FeaturedDiary of an Invasion by Andrey Kurkov | Book Review
Advertisements “I […] will continue to write for you so that you know how Ukraine lives during the war with Putin’s Russia.” “This war (…) will continue as a war for historical truth and historical memory. “ “Ukraine will either be free, independent, and European, or it will not exist… Read more
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FeaturedAutumn in Poland | All Saints’ Day and a Splendid Stroll in the Park
Advertisements I spent All Saints’ Day in Poland, and it has been the most wonderful time. Unfortunately, I forgot to switch the night mode on so the quality of this video is not the best, but I hope you will get a sense and better understanding of All Saints’ Day… Read more
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FeaturedPoland is Beautiful | A Visit to the Japanese Garden in Wroclaw
Advertisements Another little vlog from my time spent in a beautiful city of Wroclaw in Poland. I went to Szczytnicki Park and the most beautiful Japanese Garden which is located within Szczytnicki Park. The Japanese Garden was designed by the Japanese gardener, Mankichi Arai for the occasion of the 1913… Read more
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FeaturedElizabeth Finch by Julian Barnes | Book Review
Advertisements “We must certainly consider, not just in this class, but outside it, in our own turbulent and fretful lives, the element of chance. The number of people we deeply meet is strangely few. Passion may mislead us furiously. Reason may mislead us just as much. Our genetic inheritance might… Read more
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FeaturedAutumn in London | A Peaceful Visit to The Leighton House Museum
Advertisements I hope you are having a peaceful autumnal week 🍂🍁🍂 I have recently visited The Leighton House Museum, an art museum near High Street Kensington in West London. I highly recommend this place. It is just beyond beautiful, stunning, with amazing history. There is also a lovely cafe and… Read more
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FeaturedPoland is Beautiful | Exploring the Old City of Krakow
Advertisements In September I spent a few weeks in Poland. One of the cities I have visited was Kraków, an ancient capital of Poland, currently one of the most important cultural centres in Europe. Below you can see the video of my trip from Wroclaw to Krakow by train and… Read more
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Featured10 Books to Soothe Your Soul
Advertisements As my stress levels have been skyrocketing over the last weeks and months, I often find myself seeking a refuge in books. During the times of anxiety, I am always in need of reading something heartwarming, soul-healing, soul-soothing and gentle. I have prepared a list of 10 books that… Read more
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FeaturedAutumn in London | A Visit to Waterstones Piccadilly, the biggest bookstore in Europe
Advertisements Over the weekend I went to Waterstones Piccadilly in Central London, the biggest bookshop in Europe, with books spread over five floors. I made a relaxing video inside this bookstore. It was extremely busy and crowded so the footage is not the best, but I hope this little video… Read more
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FeaturedRead With Me | Autumn Evening Reading Session
Advertisements I am currently reading The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova. I invite you for a 25-minute evening reading session accompanied by soft and relaxing music. I hope this video will help you to find peace and calmness.
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FeaturedPoland is Beautiful | Exploring the Old City of Wroclaw
Advertisements I spent a few days in a beautiful city of Wrocław in Poland. It is visually one of the most beautiful cities I have visited. Beautifully taken care of, with many cafes, restaurants, bookstores, markets, wonderful public transport! I highly recommend it to everyone.
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FeaturedPoland is Beautiful | Evening Walk in Kazimierz, The Old Jewish Quarter | Krakow
Advertisements I hope you all are well. Wishing you a very peaceful start of the week! I am sending you a lot of hugs! Just a little comforting video for you which I hope will provide you with many moments of calmness. In September I visited a beautiful city of… Read more
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FeaturedDaughter by Tamara Duda | Book Review
Advertisements Daughter [Dotsya] by Ukrainian writer, Tamara Duda [Tamara Horicha Zernia] has been included by the Ukrainian Book Institute in the list of thirty most important books published after 1991. Tamara Duda was awarded the 2022 Shevchenko National Prize, the highest literary award in Ukraine. It is worth mentioning that… Read more
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Featured8 Atmospheric Books to Read in Autumn
Advertisements Autumn is my favourite time of the year. As we are slowly about to say goodbye to summer and welcome Autumnal Equinox in the Northern hemisphere on 23 September, I put together a list of few books with autumn vibes, a beautiful veil of melancholy and nostalgia. In my… Read more
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FeaturedWithout Blood by Alessandro Baricco | Book Review
Advertisements Written in sparse, minimalist prose, Without Blood by the Italian writer, Alessandro Baricco is a poignant short story exploring themes of morality, a vicious cycle of revenge and violence, the destructive nature of war, its cruelty, savagery and its long legacy on the lives of its participants and survivors.… Read more
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FeaturedWhat We Live For, What We Die For by Serhiy Zhadan | Book Review
Advertisements What We Live For, What We Die For by Ukrainian writer, Serhiy Zhadan born in Luhansk Oblast (Eastern Ukraine), currently living in Kharkiv where he supports defense of the city and his country. Zhadan’s collection of poems written between 2001 and 2015 reminds us that Ukraine is an extremely… Read more
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FeaturedA Woman’s Battles and Transformations by Édouard Louis | Book Review
Advertisements “I think I’d forgotten that she had been free before my birth – even joyful (…) that she had once been young and full of dreams (…) her freedom and contentment had become an abstract notion, something I vaguely knew.” “ (…) the telling of her life’s story was… Read more
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FeaturedThe Teacher by Michal Ben Naftali | Book Review
Advertisements “The greatest mystery of my life: living in the aftermath.” The Teacher by the Israeli writer, Michal Ben Naftali is an exceptional and profoundly moving novel. I cried towards the end of the book and after I closed the last page of this book. The Teacher tells a story… Read more
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FeaturedThis Tilting World [Pièces détachées] by Colette Fellous | Book Review
Advertisements “I say, too: could all of us, perhaps, without knowing it, the French, the Italian, the Maltese, the Jews, the Greeks, the Muslims of this country, we who watch and play together at the café, in this small nowhere-town, yes could all of us already be refugees, already hostages… Read more
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Featured7 Books by Ukrainian Writers Everyone Should Read
Advertisements Below you can find a list of books by the contemporary Ukrainian authors exploring the war in eastern Ukraine which started in 2014 as well as the annexation of Crimea. All these books are available in English and constitute an important contribution to the public discourse when it comes… Read more
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Featured10 Great Books by African Writers
Advertisements I have prepared a few book recommendations written by the African writers including Mohamed Sarr, Kamal Ben Hameda, Adrienne Yabouza, Mbarek Ould Beyrouk, Sarah Ladipo Manyika, Ivan Vladislavic, Tsitsi Dangarembga, Tete-Michel Kpomassie, Leila Aboulela, Scholastique Mukasonga, Tahar Ben Jelloun, Kaouther Adimi, Andre Aciman. I hope you will find this… Read more
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FeaturedJourney to Karabakh by Aka Morchiladze | Book Review
Advertisements Journey to Karabakh by the Georgian writer, Aka Morchiladze is set in the post-Soviet Georgia of the early 1990s and in the heavily contested region of Karabakh between Armenia and Azerbaijan. This book can be read as a metaphor for the meaning of individual freedom and social as well… Read more
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FeaturedFlowers of Lhasa by Tsering Yangkyi | Book Review
Advertisements “People change over time. People’s lives, and loves, are ever shifting, never permanent. But everyone has one goal that never changes: the pursuit of that word “happiness”. Everyone has the right to pursue a happy life, and no matter what people do to pay the bills, it’s always a… Read more
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Featured10 Short Books You Can Read in One Day
Advertisements These are some of my favourite books under 200 pages including Patrick Modiano, Zofia Nalkowska, Adrienne Yabouza, Mohsin Hamid, Tahar Djaout, Yevgenia Belorusets, Octavio Paz, Jhumpa Lahiri, Alifa Rifat. I hope you will find these recommendations of interest.
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FeaturedIn Light of India by Octavio Paz | Book Review
Advertisements In Light of India by the Mexican poet and the 1990 Nobel Prize laureate, Octavio Paz is a rich collection of essays on India, packed with ideas, informative, well- researched and lived-through insights, deep ruminations on culture, history, religion, philosophy, society, architecture, languages, Sanskrit poetry and the notion of… Read more
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FeaturedLife Went On Anyway by Oleg Sentsov | Book Review
Advertisements “But life went on anyway. It didn’t finish. Life never finishes, even if someone leaves it.” Life Went On Anyway by a Ukrainian dissident artist, writer, filmmaker, Oleg Sentsov is a collection of autobiographical stories which portray Sentsov’s childhood and growing up in the Crimea during the last years… Read more
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FeaturedThe Weight of Loss [Garden of Earthly Bodies] by Sally Oliver | Book Review
Advertisements The Weight of Loss is a beautifully crafted debut novel by an extremely gifted writer, Sally Oliver. The novel offers a profound exploration of a young life shaped by grief, loss, trauma and troubled relationships. It is also a story of how the ordinariness of the reality we inhabit… Read more
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FeaturedCo-wives, Co-widows by Adrienne Yabouza | Book Review
Advertisements Adrienne Yabouza is a writer from the Central African Republic (CAR). She worked as a hairdresser for many years in the capital of CAR, Bangui. Currently Adrienne dedicates her time to writing books for children and adults in French, Sango, Yakoma, and Lingala. As a young woman she fled… Read more
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FeaturedStoner by John Williams | Book Review
Advertisements I remember reading Stoner by John Williams about a decade ago, when it was republished here in the UK—almost forty years after its original publication in the USA. It had a huge impact on me. When Stoner was first published in 1965, it sold only two thousand copies and… Read more
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FeaturedLucky Breaks by Yevgenia Belorusets | Book Review
Advertisements Lucky Breaks by Ukrainian writer and photojournalist, Yevgenia Belorusets in translation of Eugene Ostashevsky is a collection of vignettes accompanied by a series of black and white photos taken by the author herself and placed carefully within the text. Even though these photographs do not illustrate any of the… Read more
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FeaturedGrey Bees by Andrey Kurkov | Book Review
Advertisements Grey Bees by the great Ukrainian writer, Andrey Kurkov has become one of my all-time favourite books and its protagonist, one of the most beautiful solitary characters I have encountered in literature, Sergey Sergeyich is someone I would love to set off on a journey with across free, independent… Read more
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FeaturedReputation by Sarah Vaughan | Book Review
Advertisements Reputation is a compelling crime novel providing a nuanced social and cultural commentary on a modern society. While I was reading Reputation by Sarah Vaughan, I could not stop thinking about a Labour MP Jo Cox who was murdered in 2016 by the man who was shouting ‘Britain First’,… Read more
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FeaturedDeath and the Penguin by Andrey Kurkov and Ukrainian Literature
Advertisements I have read a few books by the great Ukrainian writer, Andrey Kurkov in the past. Each of them deserves a wider audience especially these days. His books are an emphatic reflection of the Ukrainian soul. Death and the Penguin by Andrey Kurkov is an original book which is… Read more
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FeaturedPalace of the Drowned by Christine Mangan | Book Review
Advertisements For those who can read these days and want to escape into a world of written words for a few moments, I would like to recommend you Palace of the Drowned by Christine Mangan set in Venice of the nostalgic 1960s, before and after the 1966 Venice flood. It… Read more
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FeaturedRed is My Heart by Antoine Laurain and Le Sonneur | Book Review
Advertisements “I feel as if I am looking at the world through a keyhole and what I see scares me.” Many people in Eastern Europe go currently through grief, an extreme level of anxiety, shock, pain, a feeling of loss. For many Eastern Europeans, generational traumas have resurfaced. For those… Read more
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FeaturedBrotherhood by Mohamed Mbougar Sarr | Book Review
Advertisements A few thoughts about about one of my favourite books I have read recently, Brotherhood (Terre Ceinte) by the Senegalese writer, Mohamed Mbougar Sarr, a winner of the French prestigious 2021 Prix Goncourt for La plus secrete memoire des hommes (Men’s Most Secret Memories). Written with maturity and unmatched… Read more
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FeaturedLiving Quietly | Walk With Me Around East London
Advertisements Let me take you for a winter walk around East London. Have a restful Friday and weekend ahead. “…I have so many dreams of my own, and I remember things from my childhood, from when I was a girl and a young woman, and I haven’t forgotten a thing.… Read more
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FeaturedMartita, I Remember You by Sandra Cisneros | Book Review
Advertisements “People look at me and they just see a woman who works in an office. It’s as if your body isn’t an anchor or an iron bell anymore. That’s all. Just someone who answers the phone. Nobody asks me, what’s that you’re reading? Eduardo Galeano’s The Book Of Embraces?… Read more
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FeaturedThe Sundays of Jean Dezert by Jean de La Ville de Mirmont | Book Review
Advertisements Jean de La Ville de Mirmont (1886 – 1914) was killed at the age of 27 during the World War I. He was an author of a collection of poetry, short stories and a 1914 self-published novella, The Sundays of Jean Dezert. Mirmont was a close friend of another… Read more
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FeaturedQuartet in Autumn by Barbara Pym | Book Review
Advertisements Quartet in Autumn by Barbara Pym published in 1977 (and nominated for the Booker Prize) is a poignant exploration of loneliness. This is a story of four single people in their 60s: Marcia, Letty, Edwin and Norman who have worked together for several years in an office in Central… Read more
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FeaturedThe Wheel by Jennifer Lane | Book Review
Advertisements “In the world we live in, we have been taught from a young age that traditionally masculine traits are what will make us succeed; intelligence is measured logically through tick-box tests, the loudest voice in the room tends to win the debate and we are told to be cruel… Read more
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FeaturedNo Touching by Ketty Rouf | Book Review
Advertisements “Today , I don’t exist. Tomorrow, I probably won’t, either. (…)Today is the first day of school.” “Exhausted. (…) Do your job. Hang on. (…) It is a truly wretched existence, one that drove me to seek stimulation by reading the great philosophers. Where the hell did I get… Read more
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FeaturedInvisible Ink by Patrick Modiano | Book Review
Advertisements “It comforted me to think that even if you sometimes have memory gaps, all the details of your life are written somewhere in invisible ink.” “I did not want to quantify my life. I let it flow by, like mad money that slips through your fingers. I wasn’t careful.… Read more
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FeaturedThe Island of Missing Trees by Elif Shafak | Book Review
Advertisements ‘Where do you start someone’s story when every life has more than one thread and what we call birth is not the only beginning, nor is death exactly an end?’ ‘People on both sides of the island [Cyprus] suffered – and people on both sides would hate it if… Read more
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FeaturedThe German Room by Carla Maliandi | Book Review
Advertisements “No matter where I go, I’m still broken. And now I’m thousands of miles from home, in a place where I barely speak the language and I have no idea what to do.” “Even if I crossed the whole world looking for a place to feel at home, I… Read more
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FeaturedThe Disaster Tourist by Yun Ko-eun | Book Review
Advertisements “Not all disasters catch your eye. The ones that become real issues are distinct. (…) The disaster has to be on a certain scale for busy people to take the time to sympathize or pay attention. (…) The empathy can fade too. (…) If you compared several disasters that… Read more
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FeaturedFresh Water For Flowers by Valerie Perrin | Book Review
Advertisements Fresh Water for Flowers is an extraordinary, moving tribute to the resilience of the human spirit. I must admit that I don’t remember the last time I was so deeply touched by a story. This book hugs you, offering comfort and countless moments of tenderness, while evoking profound emotions… Read more
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FeaturedThe Last Summer of Reason by Tahar Djaout | Book Review
Advertisements “Books — the closeness of them, their contact, their smell, and their contents — constitute the safest refuge against this world of horror. They are the most pleasant and the most subtle means of traveling to a more compassionate planet.” Tahar Djaout (1954 – 1993) was one of the… Read more
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FeaturedNorth Korea Like Nowhere Else by Lindsey Miller | Book Review
Advertisements North Korea Like Nowhere Else is a photographic exploration of the life in North Korea from the unique perspective of the Westerner living in the capital city of Pyongyang between 2017 and 2019. Through a series of evocative as well as informative stories, anecdotes and captivating photos accompanied by… Read more
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FeaturedInternat [The Orphanage] by Serhiy Zhadan | Book Review
Advertisements Internat also published in English under the title ‘The Orphanage’ by the Ukrainian writer Serhiy Viktorovych Zhadan (Serhij Zadan) is my favourite book I have read so far this year and definitely one of the best books I have ever read. Yale University Press published an English translation of… Read more
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FeaturedA Bookshop in Algiers by Kaouther Adimi | Book Review
Advertisements A Bookshop in Algiers by the Algerian writer Kaouther Adimi is a literary feast. This book might be small in size, just under 150 pages, but it is dense with captivating literally anecdotes related to both Algerian and French titans of literature as well as with many unique perspectives… Read more
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FeaturedA Month in Siena by Hisham Matar | Book Review
Advertisements “I found something in Siena, for which I am yet to have a description, but for which I have been searching, and it came (…) at that strange meeting point of two contradictory events – the bright achievement of having finished a book and the dark maturation of the… Read more
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FeaturedHumankind: A Hopeful History by Rutger Bregman | Book Review
Advertisements If you are not familiar with a wonderful Dutch historian, Rutger Bregman, I would highly recommend you to watch his 2017 TED Presentation: ‘Poverty Isn’t a Lack of Character, It’ s a Lack of Cash.’ Also, I would encourage you to watch his now viral talk at the 2019… Read more
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FeaturedWhereabouts by Jhumpa Lahiri | Book Review
Advertisements Whereabouts was originally written in Italian by the Bengali-American writer, Jhumpa Lahiri who also translated the book herself. “Solitude: it’s become my trade. (…) It’s a condition I try to perfect”. Written in forty-six short vignettes, Whereabouts portrays daily wanderings and inner workings of the narrator’s mind… Read more
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FeaturedAnna Langfus | Introduction
Advertisements I would like to share with you a lit bit about one of my favourite writers who is almost unknown these days to the anglophone audience. I hope that some of my French followers might have read some of the books by this remarkable author of a profound sensitivity.… Read more
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FeaturedHot Stew by Fiona Mozley | Book Review
Advertisements Hot Stew is the second novel by Fiona Mozley whose debut novel, Elmet was shortlisted for the 2017 Man Booker Prize. Hot Stew is a wonderful ode to London’s Soho providing a sharp social analysis of life in a modern metropolis. The book tackles the issues of gentrification, social… Read more
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FeaturedThe Photographer at Sixteen by George Szirtes | Book Review
Advertisements “Displacement hits you later than you expect, just when you think you have settled down and become part of the world all over again. That is when it begins to ache, when a certain inarticulable desolation creeps in. Your body is not where your body ought to be (…).… Read more
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FeaturedEl Excluido [‘The Excluded’] by David San Jose Martinez | Book Review
Advertisements El Excluido’ [‘The Excluded’] by the great Spanish writer, David San Jose Martinez. This book is a wonderful literary achievement, beautifully written with a very rich language, a veil of nostalgia and profound emotional sensitivity. It is a novel but its form – the collection of vignettes, somewhat separated,… Read more
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FeaturedIn Other Words by Jhumpa Lahiri | Book Review
Advertisements “Why do I write? To investigate the mystery of existence. (…) To get closer to everything that is outside of me. (…)Writing is my only way of absorbing (…) life.” In Other Words by Jhumpa Lahiri constitutes an astonishingly beautiful discourse exploring the subjects of identity, the meaning… Read more
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FeaturedCockroaches by Scholastique Mukasonga | Book Review
Advertisements “Nothing in Rwanda was left in me but a wound that could never be healed.” “Humiliated, afraid, waiting day after day for what was to come, what we didn’t have a word for: genocide. And I alone preserve the memory of it. And that’s why I am writing this.” … Read more
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FeaturedThe Melancholic Soul of Fernando Pessoa | Reflections
Advertisements “Literature is the most agreeable way of ignoring life.” A few thoughts from “The Book of Disquiet” by Fernando Pessoa (1888 – 1935), a Portuguese writer who is the dearest to my heart. Fernando was a Portuguese poet, considered one of the most significant literary figures of the early… Read more
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FeaturedMedallions by Zofia Nalkowska | Book Review
Advertisements Medallions by a Polish novelist and essayist, Zofia Nalkowska (1884 – 1954) Medallions is considered the masterpiece in the world Holocaust literature, deeply influences by Nalkowska’s experience as a member of the Commission for the Investigation of Nazi War Crimes which was established in 1945. During that time, she… Read more
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FeaturedEleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman | Book Review
Advertisements “If someone asks you how you are, you are meant to say FINE. You are not meant to say that you cried yourself to sleep last night because you hadn’t spoken to another person for two consecutive days. FINE is what you say.” “Time only blunts the pain of… Read more
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FeaturedThe Readers’ Room by Antoine Laurain | Book Review
Advertisements “Marcel Proust, Iike all writers of genius, had succeeded – and he more than any other – in this transmutation which is the very essence of literature: a spirit and soul embodied in a rectangle of bound paper, living on after them.” “The Readers’ Room” by Antoine Laurain This… Read more
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FeaturedThe Beekeeper of Aleppo by Christy Lefteri | Book Review
Advertisements “𝑺𝒐𝒎𝒆𝒕𝒊𝒎𝒆𝒔 𝒘𝒆 𝒄𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒕𝒆 𝒔𝒖𝒄𝒉 𝒑𝒐𝒘𝒆𝒓𝒇𝒖𝒍 𝒊𝒍𝒍𝒖𝒔𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒔, 𝒔𝒐 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒘𝒆 𝒅𝒐 𝒏𝒐𝒕 𝒈𝒆𝒕 𝒍𝒐𝒔𝒕 𝒊𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒅𝒂𝒓𝒌𝒏𝒆𝒔𝒔.” The Beekeeper of Aleppo is beautifully written, but it should be mainly read for its subject matter. Christy Lefteri portrays the journey of Syrian refugees in a realistic, emphatic, and respectful manner. The… Read more
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FeaturedLost for Words by Stephanie Butland | Book Review
Advertisements My stress levels have been skyrocketing over the last weeks and months due to the current situation related to pandemic. For that reason I have been in need of reading something heartwarming, soul-healing, soul-soothing and gentle. And, this little gem of a book, Lost For Words by Stephanie Butland… Read more
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FeaturedThe Library at Night by Alberto Manguel | Book Review
Advertisements “At night, here in the library, the ghosts have voices. (…) But at night, when the library lamps are lit, the outside world disappears and nothing but the space of books remains in existence. ” – The Library at Night by Alberto Manguel The Library at Night by Alberto… Read more
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FeaturedThe Reluctant Fundamentalist by Mohsin Hamid | Book Review
Advertisements This book offers beautiful writing and delights with a very sharp approach to the question of identity, “cultural power”, cultural clash between the West and the East in a context of the dominance of one powerful country such as the United States (US) prior and after the attacks on… Read more
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FeaturedAnita Brookner | Introduction
Advertisements Let me introduce you to one of my favourite writers, Anita Brookner. Anita Brookner was an English novelist and art historian, born into a Polish-Jewish family in North London. She was appointed Slade Professor of Fine Art at the University of Cambridge in 1967, becoming the first woman to… Read more
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FeaturedLondon | An Autumn Visit to West Highgate Cemetery
Advertisements I hope you are all well and enjoy the autumn if you are based in the Northern hemisphere. A few weeks ago I went to visit West Highgate Cemetery in North London to roam the leafy, ancient avenues of this Victorian cemetery. The cemetery opened in 1839 and there… Read more
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FeaturedThe Distance by Ivan Vladislavić | Book Review
Advertisements The Distance by a wonderful South African novelist, Ivan Vladislavic is a magnificent and stunning literary achievement. This is a remarkable, thoughtful read and a real feast for all the bibliophiles. This book is both, global and local; universal and South African – Praetorian; ordinary and surreal; alien and… Read more
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FeaturedMadonna in a Fur Coat by Sabahattin Ali | Book Review
Advertisements ‘When we walked side by side, did I not feel his humanity most profoundly? Only now did I begin to understand why it was not always through words that people sought each other out and came to understand each other.’ I was profoundly moved by this gem of a… Read more
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Featured6 Compelling Autumn Reads
Advertisements A Start in Life by Anita Brookner (1928 – 2016) “Dr. Weiss, at forty, knew that her life had been ruined by literature” is one of the boldest opening sentences I have ever read. The main protagonist, Ruth, turns to books for comfort while navigating through many ambiguities in… Read more
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FeaturedAmour | How the French Talk about Love by Stefania Rousselle | Book Review
Advertisements “I am single today, and I have been struggling with my thoughts. And after so many years, I want to know what it is just to be two. United. One. I’ve never had that experience. People say they ‘fall’ in love. That word is so negative. I want to… Read more
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FeaturedReturning to Reims by Didier Eribon | Book Review
Advertisements ‘Returning to Reims’ by Didier Eribon moved me profoundly. This book is about suffering, pain and shame related to one’s social background. Through showing his personal story of social exclusion, cutting ties with his working class origins, Eribon explores a number of important themes including the history of France… Read more
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FeaturedThis Blinding Absence of Light by Tahar Ben Jelloun | Book Review
Advertisements “For a long time I searched for the black stone that cleanses the soul of death. When I say a long time, I think of a bottomless pit, a tunnel dug with my fingers, my teeth, in the stubborn hope of glimpsing, if only for a minute, one infinitely… Read more
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FeaturedDistant View of A Minaret by Alifa Rifaat | Book Review
Advertisements “Distant View of A Minaret” by Alifa Rifaat (1930 – 1996) is a collection of fifteen short stories depicting lives of women within a traditional Muslim society.Rifaat shows Muslim women who wish to adhere to strict religious teachings and they see men as the ones who do not follow… Read more
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FeaturedThe Black Notebook by Patrick Modiano | Book Review
Advertisements “Many years later I tried to find that hotel I hadn’t recorded its name or address in the black notebook, the way we tend not to write down the most intimate details of our lives, for fear that, once fixed on paper, they’ll no longer be ours”. I read… Read more
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Featured84 Charing Cross Road by Helene Hanff | Book Review
Advertisements This a little uplifting book recommendation from my side for anyone in need of magical and cosy stories. “84 Charing Cross Road” by Helene Hanff provides one of these pleasant reading experiences. It is a true story written by real life events; this tale is both life-affirming and sad… Read more
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FeaturedExit West by Mohsin Hamid | Book Review
Advertisements “(…) but that is the way of things, for when we migrate, we murder from our lives those we leave behind”. “(..) to love is to enter into the inevitability of one day being able to protect what is most valuable to you”. “We are all migrants through time”.… Read more
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FeaturedA House of My Own: Stories from My Life by Sandra Cisneros | Book Review
Advertisements “I feel fortunate at least to open books and be invited to step in, if that book shelters me and keeps me warm, I know I’ve come home”. “I’m fascinated with how those of us who live in multiple cultures and the regions in between are held under the… Read more
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FeaturedFrench Lessons by Alice Kaplan | Book Review
Advertisements “I have been willing to overlook in French culture what I would not accept in my own for the privilege of living in translation”. French Lessons by Alice Kaplan is an interesting book. The author elaborates on such themes as living life through an acquired language and its impact… Read more
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FeaturedThe Master and Margarita by Mikhail Bulgakov | Book Review
Advertisements The Master and Margarita by Mikhail Bulgakov is one of my favourite books I have ever read. This book holds a special place in my heart as it depicts beautifully with all the necessary nuances the most important characteristics related to Russia and Eastern Europe during the course of… Read more
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FeaturedHoneymoon by Patrick Modiano | Book Review
Advertisements ‘Honeymoon’ by Patrick Modiano is an evocative, melancholic tale, and, at times, it resembles a frame from “film noir” of the 1950s. Modiano presents the lives of the protagonists from the point of an observer, never depicting the reality in a straightforward manner, but rather showing different angles, playing… Read more
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FeaturedMelmoth by Sarah Perry | Book Review
Advertisements Melmoth by Sarah Perry is a tale of moral complexity related to the human condition. Perry’s book draws upon Melmoth the Wanderer by Charles Robert Maturin written in 1820 which once was a well-read book with a greater significance. Perry retells the legend of Melmoth, the loneliest being in… Read more
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FeaturedLondon | 10 Literary Places to Visit
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FeaturedAn Unnecessary Woman by Rabih Alameddine | Book Review
Advertisements “I would be reading at my desk, something she deemed part and parcel of my job, and considerate as she was, she kept me company but left me undisturbed. We were two solitudes benefiting from a grace that was continuously reinvigorated in each other’s presence, two solitudes who nourished… Read more
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Featured10 Minutes 38 Seconds in This Strange World by Elif Shafak | Book Review
Advertisements “The possibility of an immediate and wholesale decimation of civilization was not half as frightening as the simple realization that our individual passing had no impact on the order of things, and life would go on just the same with or without us.” “We must do what we can… Read more
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FeaturedReunion by Fred Uhlman | Book Review
Advertisements Reunion by Fred Uhlman is a small book—depending on the edition, just over ninety pages long. It tells the story of a friendship between two young boys, Konrad and Hans, growing up in Germany in the 1930s, where the political landscape was changing drastically. Hans was born into an… Read more
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FeaturedJames Baldwin | Reflections
Advertisements Books written by James Baldwin have always had a special place in my heart. They helped me to overcome many struggles that I faced as a young immigrant earlier in my life. I cannot express with words how much Baldwin’s writings mean to me. I especially like this quotation… Read more
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FeaturedNight Train to Lisbon by Pascal Mercier | Book Review
Advertisements “We leave something of ourselves behind when we leave a place, we stay there, even though we go away. And there are things in us that we can find again only by going back there.” Mercier, P., Night Train to Lisbon, London: Atlantic Books, 2009
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FeaturedNo Place to Lay One’s Head by Françoise Frenkel | Book Review
Advertisements “It is the duty of those who have survived to bear witness to ensure the dead are not forgotten, nor humble acts of self-sacrifice left unacknowledged. (…) I dedicate this book to the MEN AND WOMEN OF GOODWILL who, generously, with unfailing courage, opposed the will to violence and… Read more
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FeaturedThe Bastard of Istanbul by Elif Shafak | Book Review
Advertisements “The path of fiction could easily misled you into the cosmos of stories where everything was fluid, quixotic, and as open to surprises as a moonless night in the desert” Shafak, E., The Bastard of Istanbul, Penguin Random House UK, 2015, pp. 96 – 97
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