What better way to start the summer vacation than with a sunny blog?
That's why I'm taking you to Cuba today!
Last week my curiosity was piqued when I first heard about HaiCuba/HaiKuba.
Not only this extremely original children's book is bilingual (English-Spanish), but it has a nice writing style consisting entirely of haiku's as well.
You can read more about this book in my review.
Wild art at its purest!
Everyone knows the regular art forms that can often be found in museums like paintings, sculptures, …
Although really loving these, I'm also very much drawn to lesser known ones.
Have you ever heard of Skullmapping, shadowology, beach art, infinity rooms, … ?
These are just some of my favourite alternative art forms.
And now I've discovered a new one: foliage art!
Each of the following stories takes
only 2 minutes to read.
So if you have some
minutes to spare, you can see if they're your cup of tea or if you think
they're rather a mixed bag (pun intended).
Have you already
discovered the magnificent artwork of German author and illustrator Torben
Kuhlmann?
If not, read on and you'll be pleasantly surprised by his talent!
And even if you have, there still are interesting interviews ahead 😉
Yes, it's true: I'm bitten by the tsundoku-fever.
But I absolutely don't see that as a problem at all 😄
How about you?
Be prepared to make a trip around the world and discover some of nature's most amazing phenomenons!
What Are You Doing Today, Mother Nature?
This title intrigued me and so I requested this children's picture book at Netgalley.
When opening it for the first time, I was in awe for the beautiful pictures.
And while reading this book, I fell from one surprise to the next as I learned many things that were previously unknown to me.
Don't get me wrong, I love Goodreads.
Well, at least I
love the fact that thanks to this website I get to know people from all around
the world who share the same passion for reading!
My Goodreads-friends give me daily inspiration and I want to say a big 'Thank you!' to them all 😉
But if you're on Goodreads too, you'll probably know that sometimes there can be a glitch.
And that this website doesn't take its users seriously.
For example by totally ignoring the feedback they gave about the new layout of the book pages.
In the past Claudia and I already wrote several lyrics.
Time to bundle them
in one place and to add a new one for the latest blunder.
There's something very satisfying about solving a (murder) mystery.
Does this appeal as much to you as it does to me?
Then read on to discover some original tips!
Reading at least one
book from every country in the world and thus broaden my horizon even more,
that's my new reading habit from now on.
The first stop on this adventure is the Land of the Thunder Dragon!
These words were first written by novelist and playwright Edward Bulwer-Lytton in 1839, in his historical play Cardinal Richelieu.
After the terroristic attack on Charlie Hebdo in France in January 2015, we heard them a lot.
Time to use them again now for our friends in Ukraine!
Did you know that March 1 is World Compliment Day?
The perfect moment to cheer up the people around you by telling them nice things!
You can do it verbally, but you could also try following original idea 😉
... TED, an organization devoted to spreading ideas.
Usually in the form
of short but inspiring TED Talks, which only require between 5 and 20 minutes
of your time.
If you prefer to read this article in Dutch, you can head over to this blog article.
What a marvellous
short story!
It can be read in book form, but you can also watch the gorgeous animation movie on which it's based.
Lots of people choose a 'Word of the Year'.
It helps them to focus on a certain aspect in their life.
Have you already chosen one?
If you've got some time to spare in between the festivities today, here's some Christmassy inspiration.
Whichever book genre you prefer, there's a little Christmas movie to everyone's taste 😉
"So many books,
so little time."
Every reader knows this expression all too well.
But what if you could increase your reading speed and discover much more books than you expected?
Have you ever heard a 9 year old talking so convincingly about the importance of reading?
No wonder that his little speech was turned into a TEDx Talk!
Books about war …
some people like to read them, others don't.
But … even though I belong to the latter group, the graphic novel Four-Fisted Tales by Ben Towle approached the subject from such an original angle that it kept me totally hooked from beginning to end!
Especially in coronatimes like these - when travelling is not an easy feat - reading books about special places all around the world really inspires me.
Thanks to Atlas of Improbable Places by Travis Elborough I visited some that were totally unknown to me.
If you want to discover a few of them, just read on!
It's time for a major clean-up!
Both at home and at work I'm going through all my stuff.
At home there are two big piles: one with things that are still great and that I'll give away (mostly to a friend who does yard sales) and one with things I'm going to throw away.
Although I might rethink that last option …
"There are places in the world that feel
alive."
All places have their own personalities.
The Romans believed
that the spirit of the land - also known as 'genius loci' - protected his own
area.
Nowadays some people might dismiss this as mythology.
But have you ever had that strange feeling that you can sense a landscape's atmosphere?
Have you any idea
what books are doing when nobody's watching?
Last week we got an impression of what a night at the bookshop looks like.
This week we're diving even further, right into the inner world of books.
Let's go!
Do you want to
listen to an original bedtime story?
Or have you ever wondered what books are up to during the night?
Read on to discover both!
Book shops and libraries are heaven on earth for book lovers.
If they have an original concept or location, they attract even more visitors.
Did you ever hear of 'book churches'?
Let's discover some of them in Europe and Canada!
Have you ever
dreamed of going on a treasure hunt?
But did you believe that this was something you could only experience via books and movies?
Think again!
Whether you like
to drink coffee or not,
I bet that this kind of art will be your cup of tea 😄
Have you ever heard of mirrored rooms?
They give you such a feeling of liberty, wonder and infinity!
Time to discover some artists who made them.
Sometimes inspiration lies in small things.
Everyday objects, their shadows and a pen.
That's all Vincent Bal needs to create his imaginative art.
Welcome to the world of Shadowology!
Every Sunday another
lesser known artform is presented through this 'Wild Art'-series in which artists
venture off the beaten path.
Tomorrow summer begins!
What better way to
celebrate this than to introduce you to 'beach art'?
Some artists venture off the beaten path and create 'wild art'.
In this new blog-series you can get to know some of the artforms and artists that inspire me with their originality, beauty, ingenuity, …
Every Sunday I'll
introduce you to some new talent(s) 😊
Have you ever heard
of (a)estivation?
In fact it's the
opposite of hibernation.
Some animals sleep their way through summer.
Learn all about this interesting phenomenon and some amazing creatures in this blogpost!
Fractals are an
amazing phenomenon.
You'll find them
everywhere.
Both in nature and in art.
Or in artful nature, like this beautiful picture I captured two years ago on a winter morning 😉
Normally books are full of letters.
Or pictures.
Or both.
But have you ever seen books like these before?
This is the reason
why you didn't hear me the past few weeks.
At the end of February I discovered 'Book Bingo'.
The goal is to read at least 25 SFF-books (in which SFF stands for
Science-Fiction & Fantasy) and to fill up your bingo card with different
categories.
If you manage to make a row - be it horizontal, vertical or diagonal - you can
win a prize.
And if you manage to fill your whole card, you get a 'Reading Champion'-flair.
Although I first thought this probably wasn't my cup of tea, I soon became kind
of addicted to it!
Are you alone or in a relationship?
It doesn't matter.
This heartwarming romantic comedy musical short film is for all of you!
Happy Valentine's Day 😄
Today is Blue Monday, the most depressing day of the year.
In 2005 British
psychologist Cliff Arnall calculated that the third Monday of January was the
day on which most people feel down.
They struggle with keeping resolutions, the holidays are still a long way off, it's very dark and usually gloomy outside, for many people it's also the first day of the workweek, ...
Later it turned out that all of this was a PR stunt by a travel agency and that
they had recruited an academic to promote their idea and thus give it more
credibility.
Two years ago I visited Museum Hof van Busleyden in Mechelen (Belgium).
In one of the museum halls there was a white book.
It lay open on a white table next to a white wall with a white frame.
Strange …
The beginning of a new year always brings up lots of good intentions in people.
Goals are set (be it on reading level or in other areas) and sometimes we'll attain them and sometimes not.
But even if our good intentions may not come true, life's too short to regret things.
Except maybe like Françoise Sagan said: "The one thing I regret is that I will never have time to read all the books I want to read." 😋
Inspired by a
discussion with a friend about regrets
and the allegory of 'books of regret' that are 'flying away', this seemed the perfect
moment to let you all discover one of my favourite short animation films.
Let it inspire you to discover plenty of books in 2021 and above all - regardless the amount of books - to enjoy reading!
