READING, READING, AND THEN SOME MORE READING For the past three semesters (1.5 years) I have been studying my Masters at the University of Zurich. I’ve been doing a lot of reading and learning, and despite the stress of assignments and those deadly deadlines, I have enjoyed myself. I have read books that I never … Continue reading
The last time I was in London I was 20. It’s been about eight years between jaunts, but I will be returning to London very soon. For many Australians, London represents the pinnacle of the ‘lost homeland’, but for many people with Scottish heritage, I was brought up to treat London and England with caution … Continue reading
Anne Hume was a Scottish writer in the mid-1700s who died in 1821. I would like to think that her songs and words not only speak to me because of their beauty, but because of an inexplicable link with Scotland, and my Father and our shared heritage. The song is about lost love and it … Continue reading
This book started off like a small rock slowing rolling down a snowy hill that eventually turns into an avalanche. What you are left with at the end of the novel is silence and white powder. John Lanchester’s novel borrows its title from the famous Karl Marx and his “Das Kapital”. Although, the book is … Continue reading
The first time I heard the word “Africa” was from my Mum. We were sitting at the dinner table and I wouldn’t eat my peas. They smelled funny and there was no way she was going to convince me otherwise. She told me in a stern strong voice, “There are children starving in Africa you … Continue reading
Reality T.V. seems to be a love/hate genre. There are those who think that it is completely beneath them and, then the idea of watching rich people fight and argue with each other on Semi-scripted sets ignites peoples passions. The general consensus about reality T.V. though, seems to be that it is vapid, soul-crushing, and … Continue reading
Adichie’s novel “Purple Hibiscus” is like her other novels: a close look at family dynamics with a particular focus on women and the conflict of Nigerian traditions versus the influences of the British West. I am a huge fan of Adichie’s work and I love to read the variety of female characters coming to terms … Continue reading
Corrine, or Italy – Madame de Stael (1807)
If you can’t get the man of your dreams, let him marry your half sister. Before dying of a broken heart, teach your half sister all your tricks so he’ll never be able to forget you. Continue reading
“We murder who we were so we can rebirth ourselves in the image of our dreams.” (29) This is, for me, the most powerful sentence in Bharati Mukherjee’s Jasmine. In this one sentence it summarises the story of the novel by embodying the nature of transcontinental lives and living. The main protagonist in Mukherjee’s novel … Continue reading
For the first time in my life, I am living in a country that doesn’t have a Remembrance Day because it has not fought in a war for over 100 years. The Swiss pride themselves on neutrality as though being neutral proves or even protects the country’s innocence. I’m not sure how much I can … Continue reading
bound2books 
You must be logged in to post a comment.