3 songs that go together

Hello!

Lately I've been enjoying a few songs that were really popular in Romania this year and I find that they work together. Without further ado, here are my 3 picks:

Asaf Avidan - One day / Reckoning song (Wankelmut Remix)

Asaf Avidan has an unique voice and a lot of good songs that I'm slowly discovering.

Major Lazer - Get Free

Get free sounds like water, it always makes me think that I'm floating in a deep dark blue sea. There is an alternate video, which offers an important life lesson. You can watch it here!

Santigold - Disparate Youth

This song was featured in a telephone company commercial and it went big here. I like Santigold's voice, but haven't really listened to anything else.

Hope you liked these songs!

How to read The Chronicles of Narnia

Hello!

The Chronicles of Narnia is a magical series, perfect for all ages, especially for all of us who are little kids at heart. If you are like me, the order in which you read a series is very important and in this case we have 2 different ways of reading these books.

You can read the books in the chronological order, numbered from 1 to 7, which is the order in which you find the books in stores.

The chronological order of the books is the following:

1. The Magician’s Nephew
2. The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe
3. The Horse and His Boy
4. Prince Caspian
5. The Voyage of the Dawn Treader
6. The Silver Chair
7. The Last Battle


The second way, is in the published order. Like in the photo below:

I opted for the second version, because I wanted to read the books on which the movies are based first and because I didn't want to learn more about Narnia before the first adventure with the Pevensie brothers in this magical land.

When Lewis started writing the books, he didn’t really have much of a plan for the complete series.  In fact, if he didn’t find inspiration for four more books, The Voyage of the Dawn Treader would have been the end of the series.  This would have altered a lot of other book series to come later, as J.K. Rowling has stated that her primary reason for writing seven Harry Potter novels was inspired by and in honor of the seven Chronicles of Narnia.  That was not a coincidence, but an intentional decision she made as a fan of Narnia. 

Here are the books in Publication Order: 

The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (1950)

Prince Caspian (1951) 

The Voyage of the Dawn Treader (1952) 

The Silver Chair (1953) 

The Horse and His Boy (1954) 

The Magician’s Nephew (1955) 

The Last Battle (1956) 

[source]

You see, Lewis started the series with The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe.  It is evidenced by not just the date of publication, but also by the language which Lewis uses as the narrator.  When they are in the home of Mr. and Mrs. Beaver, the first mention of Aslan occurs:
 “They say Aslan is on the move – perhaps has already landed.”
And now a very curious thing happened. None of the children knew who Aslan was any more than you do; but the moment the Beaver had spoken these words everyone felt quite different.

If you had started with The Magician’s Nephew, then you, the reader, would know who Aslan was.  The narrator would not have said “None of the children knew who Aslan was any more than you do.”

I hope this was helpful. You can read my little opinions on the books in my last 2 book hauls: here and here.

Have fun reading!

June Book Haul #4

I finished reading "The Chronicles of Narnia"! And it is definitely one of those series that you have to read once in your lifetime either as a kid, a grownup or to your children or grandchildren.

Sadly, in June I was able to read the last 2 remaining books of the Chronicles, but I highly recommend them. And now lets proceed by saying a few words about them.

The Magicians nephew is the 6th book based on the publishing order or the 1st book if you would like to read the series in chronological order. The main characters are Digory and Poly. Digory is the professor that we all know and love from the first movie, in whose house Lucy, Edmund, Susan and Peter stayed when they discovered Narnia. Basically, in this particular volume, we learn about the Which - and why she ends up being so bitter and wanting to rule over Narnia, we meet Aslan for the first time and see how he creates the magical land and how he gives the animals the gift of speaking. This is one very important book, because it teaches you a lot about Narnia's beginnings.

In "The last battle" we are reunited with Jill and Eustace, the heroes of "The Silver Chair". There are many rumors concerning Aslan, but what the Narnians do not know is that the Aslan that gives them order to kill the trees and to make slaves out of the talking animals is only a donkey dressed in a Lions fur, who is ordered by a Monkey. In the end everything we used to know about Narnia will end and the true Narnia will arise, and all of our heroes from the first book will return and remain there, with one exception. This last book raised a lot of contrary opinions. All I have to say is that I understand why this book had to end the way it ended, considering it is a Christian allegory.

I can say that the last book was special, it had it's twists and turns, and in the end things happened the way they were supposed to.

I really do hope more people will start reading this Chronicles and have fun and go on adventures together with the characters.

Because of the lack of books mentioned in my last book hauls, I will make another post about the ways in which you can read the Chronicles of Narnia.

Keep reading!

May Book Haul #3

 Hello there! I am back with my May Book Haul. I hope you don't mind me talking about a series for children :)
As I grew up I didn't have access to any C. S. Lewis book. The Chronicles of Narnia was released in my country after/ during the debut of the first movie: The Lion The Witch and The Wardrobe, back in 2005. I did read the first book then, but thought that it was too expensive to buy all 7 books, especially because they were for children and couldn't afford them back then. A week before Easter I saw the box set in a local book store, next to my Uni, and I just knew I had to have them if I ever want to read them.

You will notice that I didn't read the books in chronological order and that is because I opted to read them in order in which they were first published. I will make a post about ways you can read the books. So, I should probably start to actually describe/ review this beautiful Chronicles!

The first book that I've re-read was The Lion, Te Witch and The Wardrobe, on which the first movie is based. I wouldn't have wanted to start with a different book. This is probably the most Narnian like book of the Chronicles, it sets the scene for all the others. It is a lot more softer than the movie. The only downside for me was that I couldn't really get to know the characters more in depth. The symbols, the descriptive passages are marvelous and breathtaking. It is a must-read! Plus the friendship between Lucy and Mr. Tumnus is adorable.

After I've started reading Prince Caspian. You can tell that the book gets slightly, just slightly more mature. Lucy, Susan, Peter and Edmund return in the magical land of Narnia, right next to the ruins of Cair Paravel. They find out that it has been hundreds of years since they ruled over this magical land. They meet prince Caspian, the future king, and help him make justice and get revenge for his fathers death.

The 3rd book that I've read was The Voyage of the Dawn Treader. I must startt by stating that the book felt very different from the movie. This time only Lucy and Edmund return to Narnia, together with their cousin, Eustace Scrubb (perfect name for our dear boy at the beginning of the adventure). They are reunited with Caspian, captain of the Dawn Treader. They travel the seas, discovering new lands, some pond that turns everything into gold, meet a fallen star, see mermaids and find Aslans home. If you have seen the movie, you must read the book, you will see how very different they are!

The next volume that I've peeked up was The Silver Chair. Eustace returns, together with a class-mate, her name is Jill. They learn how to trust each other, on their mission to find Prince Caspians sun, who was put under a spell by a very dangerous snake, that took shape of a very enchanting Princess. On their way they meet Puddleglum - a marsh - wiggle, a few giants - who want to have a feast of human flesh and a lot of earthmen.

Next up, I've read The Horse and his Boy. This was probably my favorite so far. We meet 2 new characters, Shasta - a slave boy who will have a drastic change of destiny and Aravis - a girl trying to escape from marrying a very old man. We will see Lucy, Susan and Edmund - as grown royalties, Peter is only mentioned - he was away on royal business. I am not going to give any more information away, because I really enjoyed this one and hope you will decide to pick this one up and give it a chance!

So this are the books I've read last month:

Sadly I didn't have much time to read books for pleasure, as finals, evaluations, research papers and thesis rule my life until august. So, if you ever feel like there is too much work to do and you can't find time and energy to read, as a trick, you can read something easy and fun.

Keep reading!

xoxo

April Book Haul #2

Hello there!
This Book Haul is a little boring because it consists mainly in the Mortal Instruments series by Cassandra Clare and one manga. So, let's start with the manga!

Ever since I was 6 I have been in love with Sailor Moon and usually you can't find the manga here, in Romania, but this year Comic Con happened! I didn't get to go because all the tickets were sold out, but a friend of mine managed to get me the 5th manga in the series (the one about Black Lady) and this lovely bookmark. While I was reading the book I remembered the episodes so well. Sailor Moon fan forever!

I've read the 1st book of the series, City of Bones, last month and even though I didn't expect to like it I ended up caring for the characters, which is lovely because the series will have a total of 6 books. The 2nd book, City of Ashes, does the series justice. We find out more about Valentine, Jace's history, how Simon is adapting to his new life and witness Clary and Jace falling deeper in love.

And then we have the 3rd book, City of Glass! This book was brilliant from the first to the last word! It was intense, the battle scene was described perfectly, the plot had so many twists! I loved it! If you want you can skip the first two and jump right into this one. And even though I am supposed to hate the evil new character, Sebastian, I can't. I actually really like him, he is manipulative, yes, but for a person with angel and a lot of demon blood, being raised by Valentine, I can understand why he acts this way. An amazing book, great job Cassie!

And then we have the 4th book, City of Fallen Angels. After the marvelous 3rd book it was clearly that the 4th will not measure up. This book concentrates more on Simon and his acceptance of his new life. Maia's boyfriend, Jordan, appears in this book and a few characters from Cassandra's Infernal Devices Series. I didn't read that series, but I will do once summer is here. The first 200-300 pages were a bit boring, but when we get to the fight scene it is a roller coaster and your love for the series will be restored.

                               

So, this is it! April's book haul.

Hope this made you want to read one of these books :)

Keep reading!

xoxo

March Book Haul

I always wanted to do one of those book hauls I keep seeing on Book Tube :) Therefore, this is what I'm doing now!

I really do love reading book, even more now that I don't have time to read as much as I would like to and that I don't really have to read.

In March I've started 2 new series: "Divergent" & "Mortal Instruments" and read a really cool Romanian novel called "All the owls" by Filip Florian.

First off, the "Divergent" series by Veronica Roth. Most people compare it with "The Hunger Games" and I tend to agree. In this case, we don't have 12 Districs but 5 Factions. The 1st book was all about getting to know the characters personalities, the main traits of every faction. The 2nd book, Insurgent was more intense. It is a very light read, you will love it if you are into YA, dystopian books.

When my friends saw the cover of the book they though I only bought it because of the owls. So wrong! Filip Florian is one of my favorite Romanian writers because his novels always cheer me up and are incredibly well written! Owls are a recurring symbol in this book. The story is written from 2 perspectives: a child's and his new friend, an elderly person that teaches him everything he know about books and life. This book was so good that one of my teachers actually caught me reading it during class. I know, it was embarrassing!

The last book from my March Haul is City of Bones by Cassandra Clare. I started this just to see what all the fuss is about and I was surprised that I actually liked it. I think you can compare it with Buffy - The Vampire Slayer, except that - and this is the tricky part for some - it is not that much about vampires. The plot involves: love - as all Fantasy books nowadays, loyalty, friendship, the eternal fight between good and evil. So, if you are looking for something to read for fun this is the book for you!

I hope this was helpful in a way and maybe you will start reading one of these books. 

Have fun reading!

A Fine Frenzy brings us Pines

Ever since her 1st album "One cell in the sea" I've been in love with Alison Sudol's music. Her lyrics are very lyrical and nurturing.

And now she will release her 3rd album, Pines, on October 9th! The album comes with a book which will tell us the story of the main character on this record - the story of an evergreen, Pine. And it is also accompanied by a short movie!

According to Alison this album is a fable. And each song is a chapter in the fable. All characters are not human.

Here is a little snippet of a lovely interview about the making of the album:

Comfort is something that Pines definitely offers, with its varying musical and lyrical textures telling the story of a tree creating a life of her own. It takes you through all of the mighty horizons and shadowy crevasses of the journey. “It’s like charging into uncharted territory,” she describes, “Thrilling, scary, fascinating. I learned so much and stretched so much. It was an amazing, amazing gift to get to do all these different things. And humbling, too.”

From the very soft, intimate, ukelele-driven “Dream In The Dark” to the booming and enchanting “They Can’t If You Don’t Let Them,” Pines is more than a record – it’s an experience. And it’s no wonder, since recording was a unique experience and process for Alison and the band, who recorded the album in just seven days. “Playing ‘They Can’t if You Don’t Let Them’ was pretty amazing,” she recalls, “… singing it was just so fun and so powerful, and we were all just going for it. Things were falling apart and rattling and falling over and I almost fell over.”

Pines is all-encompassing. The kind of record you can play when you want to be taken somewhere else entirely – an otherworldly place. There’s no doubt in my mind that the book and the film will add wonderful layers to the story of Pines. ”It’s a ride,” she says, “I wanted it to be that.”

For the original & complete interview click here!

And here is the 1st single, "Now is the start"!