three (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
threeplusfire) wrote2014-09-01 12:09 pm
threeplusfire) wrote2014-09-01 12:09 pm
stories that stayed
DAY TWENTY-SIX: favorite books
Well I'm glad they didn't say pick one or five or even ten.
My two most favorite in the entire world, because Josef Skvorecky wrote the way I wish I could write.
The Miracle Game - I read this in Prague during my summer abroad. I stayed up until nearly 4am, reading in the harsh overhead light. There's a passage about them fleeing the Soviet tanks rolling towards Prague, trapped on the road with a tank convoy and these Russian soldiers who want to try to Coca Cola the kids are drinking. It is one of the most heart breaking things I've ever read, even though I'm not sure it is really meant to be. But I remember feeling the whole world stop as I stared at the page, the tears welling up my eyes and the ache in the back of my throat like I just wanted to sob out loud but my roommate was asleep three feet away.
The Engineer of Human Souls - Skvorecky's massive epic about love and loss and home and living in a world that doesn't make much sense.
Also see basically every single book by Josef Skvorecky ever.
Crime & Punishment by Fyodor Dostoevsky- the book that kicked off my obsession with Russia, with Slavic languages and history and literature. I read my mother's battered paperback copy, which I still have. I also own several other translations because of course I need them. My favorite academic paper to write in university was about Raskolnikov's dream.
The Reef
The House of Mirth
The Age of Innocence
Twilight Sleep by Edith Wharton - possibly one of my most favorite American authors ever. Wharton wrote with a viciousness and brightness of her world.
Splitting
Chalcot Crescent by Fay Weldon - I think of Weldon as Wharton's spiritual heir, even though she writes of British characters of various classes and in a modern setting. She's razor sharp and brilliant.
The Night Watch series by Sergei Lukyanenko - beautiful dark urban fantasy in a Russian setting. Won't like, Anton Gorodetsky in this series influenced my choice of name. He listens to his music on headphones and has great moral conflicts.
No Saints or Angels by Ivan Klima - I read this when it first came out over a decade ago and frequently wrote things down in my notebooks from it. I need to do a re-read now that I'm older, now that death is a more familiar thing. It is utterly beautiful and about acknowledging the shift of mortality.
I'm just going to stop now, because otherwise I'll end up listing everything on the top shelf of my oldest book case.
DAY ONE: introduce yourself / list your likes and dislikes
DAY TWO: make a bullet list of everything that happened in your day
DAY THREE: your favorite movie
DAY FOUR: a photo of you taken over ten years ago
DAY FIVE: a letter to your crush
DAY SIX: list what you ate today
DAY SEVEN: a youtube video that you find funny
DAY EIGHT: a photo of you taken recently
DAY NINE: list some of your favorite websites
DAY TEN: a letter to the person you hate the most or caused you a lot of pain
DAY ELEVEN: share your favorite recipe
DAY TWELVE: we want to see your teeth today
DAY THIRTEEN: whatever tickles your fancy
DAY FOURTEEN: a song from your childhood
DAY FIFTEEN: a letter to someone you wish you could meet
DAY SIXTEEN: provide pictures of 5 celebrity crushes
DAY SEVENTEEN: a photo that makes you sad
DAY EIGHTEEN: set or share a goal
DAY NINETEEN: whatever tickles your fancy
DAY TWENTY: a letter to someone that changed your life
DAY TWENTY-ONE: your favorite television program
DAY TWENTY-TWO: a photo that makes you happy
DAY TWENTY-THREE: share one of your current favorite tunes
DAY TWENTY-FOUR: a letter to yourself a year ago
DAY TWENTY-FIVE: a letter to someone you judged by their first impression
DAY TWENTY-SEVEN: a talent of yours
DAY TWENTY-EIGHT: favorite places to shop
DAY TWENTY-NINE: provide the hex code of your favorite color
DAY THIRTY: a letter to the friendliest person you knew for only one day
DAY THIRTY-ONE: whatever tickles your fancy
DAY THIRTY-TWO: a photo you took
DAY THIRTY-THREE: what you're craving right now
DAY THIRTY-FOUR: your favorite quote
DAY THIRTY-FIVE: a letter to an ex
DAY THIRTY-SIX: some hobbies of yours
DAY THIRTY-SEVEN: a song that you like to dance to
DAY THIRTY-EIGHT: a photo of your parent(s)
DAY THIRTY-NINE: zodiac sign and do you think it fits your personality
DAY FORTY: a letter to a deceased person you wish you could talk to
DAY FORTY-ONE: whatever tickles your fancy
DAY FORTY-TWO: bad habit(s) you have
DAY FORTY-THREE: a picture of your favorite place in the world
DAY FORTY-FOUR: something that fascinates you and why
DAY FORTY-FIVE: whatever tickles your fancy
DAY FORTY-SIX: photos of personal things in your life (pets, family, house, etc.)
DAY FORTY-SEVEN: birthday wish list
DAY FORTY-EIGHT: a photo of you right now
DAY FORTY-NINE: hopes, dreams and plans for the next 365 days
DAY FIFTY: a letter to your reflection in the mirror
Well I'm glad they didn't say pick one or five or even ten.
My two most favorite in the entire world, because Josef Skvorecky wrote the way I wish I could write.
The Miracle Game - I read this in Prague during my summer abroad. I stayed up until nearly 4am, reading in the harsh overhead light. There's a passage about them fleeing the Soviet tanks rolling towards Prague, trapped on the road with a tank convoy and these Russian soldiers who want to try to Coca Cola the kids are drinking. It is one of the most heart breaking things I've ever read, even though I'm not sure it is really meant to be. But I remember feeling the whole world stop as I stared at the page, the tears welling up my eyes and the ache in the back of my throat like I just wanted to sob out loud but my roommate was asleep three feet away.
The Engineer of Human Souls - Skvorecky's massive epic about love and loss and home and living in a world that doesn't make much sense.
Also see basically every single book by Josef Skvorecky ever.
Crime & Punishment by Fyodor Dostoevsky- the book that kicked off my obsession with Russia, with Slavic languages and history and literature. I read my mother's battered paperback copy, which I still have. I also own several other translations because of course I need them. My favorite academic paper to write in university was about Raskolnikov's dream.
The Reef
The House of Mirth
The Age of Innocence
Twilight Sleep by Edith Wharton - possibly one of my most favorite American authors ever. Wharton wrote with a viciousness and brightness of her world.
Splitting
Chalcot Crescent by Fay Weldon - I think of Weldon as Wharton's spiritual heir, even though she writes of British characters of various classes and in a modern setting. She's razor sharp and brilliant.
The Night Watch series by Sergei Lukyanenko - beautiful dark urban fantasy in a Russian setting. Won't like, Anton Gorodetsky in this series influenced my choice of name. He listens to his music on headphones and has great moral conflicts.
No Saints or Angels by Ivan Klima - I read this when it first came out over a decade ago and frequently wrote things down in my notebooks from it. I need to do a re-read now that I'm older, now that death is a more familiar thing. It is utterly beautiful and about acknowledging the shift of mortality.
I'm just going to stop now, because otherwise I'll end up listing everything on the top shelf of my oldest book case.
DAY ONE: introduce yourself / list your likes and dislikes
DAY TWO: make a bullet list of everything that happened in your day
DAY THREE: your favorite movie
DAY FOUR: a photo of you taken over ten years ago
DAY FIVE: a letter to your crush
DAY SIX: list what you ate today
DAY SEVEN: a youtube video that you find funny
DAY EIGHT: a photo of you taken recently
DAY NINE: list some of your favorite websites
DAY TEN: a letter to the person you hate the most or caused you a lot of pain
DAY ELEVEN: share your favorite recipe
DAY TWELVE: we want to see your teeth today
DAY THIRTEEN: whatever tickles your fancy
DAY FOURTEEN: a song from your childhood
DAY FIFTEEN: a letter to someone you wish you could meet
DAY SIXTEEN: provide pictures of 5 celebrity crushes
DAY SEVENTEEN: a photo that makes you sad
DAY EIGHTEEN: set or share a goal
DAY NINETEEN: whatever tickles your fancy
DAY TWENTY: a letter to someone that changed your life
DAY TWENTY-ONE: your favorite television program
DAY TWENTY-TWO: a photo that makes you happy
DAY TWENTY-THREE: share one of your current favorite tunes
DAY TWENTY-FOUR: a letter to yourself a year ago
DAY TWENTY-FIVE: a letter to someone you judged by their first impression
DAY TWENTY-SEVEN: a talent of yours
DAY TWENTY-EIGHT: favorite places to shop
DAY TWENTY-NINE: provide the hex code of your favorite color
DAY THIRTY: a letter to the friendliest person you knew for only one day
DAY THIRTY-ONE: whatever tickles your fancy
DAY THIRTY-TWO: a photo you took
DAY THIRTY-THREE: what you're craving right now
DAY THIRTY-FOUR: your favorite quote
DAY THIRTY-FIVE: a letter to an ex
DAY THIRTY-SIX: some hobbies of yours
DAY THIRTY-SEVEN: a song that you like to dance to
DAY THIRTY-EIGHT: a photo of your parent(s)
DAY THIRTY-NINE: zodiac sign and do you think it fits your personality
DAY FORTY: a letter to a deceased person you wish you could talk to
DAY FORTY-ONE: whatever tickles your fancy
DAY FORTY-TWO: bad habit(s) you have
DAY FORTY-THREE: a picture of your favorite place in the world
DAY FORTY-FOUR: something that fascinates you and why
DAY FORTY-FIVE: whatever tickles your fancy
DAY FORTY-SIX: photos of personal things in your life (pets, family, house, etc.)
DAY FORTY-SEVEN: birthday wish list
DAY FORTY-EIGHT: a photo of you right now
DAY FORTY-NINE: hopes, dreams and plans for the next 365 days
DAY FIFTY: a letter to your reflection in the mirror