World of Tau

Boekenautomaat

Een vakantie naar het drielandenpunt staat garant voor een gevarieerd programma: van natuur over ruïnes tot musea. En dat in België, Nederland en Duitsland.

Tijdens een uitstap naar onze oosterburen mocht een bezoek aan de Dom van Aken uiteraard niet ontbreken.
Telkens wanneer ik daar vertoef, weten de prachtige plafondmozaïeken dat heerlijke gevoel van verwondering op te wekken!

Hoewel ik hier een volledig artikel mee zou kunnen vullen, ga ik het vandaag hebben over een andere ontdekking in deze boeiende stad: de boekenautomaat!
Stel dat je favoriete boekenwinkel gesloten is, maar je toch een enorme leeshonger hebt?
Dan kan je bij Mayersche (Buchkremerstraße 1-7, Aachen) 24/7 vóór de gevel terecht voor vers leesvoer!
Bovendien zijn de meeste boeken verpakt als cadeautje, zodat je een blind date kan aangaan. Heerlijk, toch?
Hou je niet van complete verrassingen, dan kan je op een kaartje ook steeds enkele steekwoorden lezen en zo meer te weten komen over het genre of de inhoud van het verhaal.

Dit is eigenlijk de enige boekenautomaat die ik ooit gezien heb en zoiets wakkert natuurlijk meteen mijn nieuwsgierigheid aan: waar zou je nog meer exemplaren kunnen vinden?
Een rondje internet maakt mij natuurlijk geen expert, maar ik ben alvast boeiende zaken tegen gekomen.
Krijg je al zin om mee te gaan op ontdekkingsreis?

Welkom in het trollenbos!

Ben je op zoek naar een origineel en "fantastisch" uitje de komende maanden?
Trek dan je wandelschoenen aan - of laarzen als het geregend heeft - en zet koers naar Boom (België)!
Vlak bij Antwerpen vind je immers een heus trollenbos met maar liefst 7 metershoge houten trollen 😉

Easter eggs

Morgen is het Pasen en dus weer tijd voor de jaarlijkse zoektochten naar chocolade eieren.
Maar wist je dat je het hele jaar door op zoek kan gaan naar “easter eggs”?

Easter eggs (Engels voor “paaseieren”) zijn immers verborgen boodschappen. Deze zijn op heel wat verschillende plaatsen terug te vinden. Zowel in de computerwereld (programma's, spelletjes, websites) als in de kunstwereld (films, muziek, boeken, …).

Wat gaat de tijd toch snel: er zijn al 3 maanden voorbij gevlogen dit jaar!
En zeggen dat ik het zelfs te druk heb gehad om een “woord van het jaar te kiezen” …

Reis je mee met de Wayback Machine?

Tegen het einde van het jaar zouden de huidige blogspots en de leesclubs van de Hebban-website verdwijnen.
Dit zorgde bij veel mensen voor wat paniek. Maar hé, er zijn verschillende oplossingen!
Sowieso zijn ze bij Hebban aan het nakijken wat de eventuele mogelijkheden zijn om zaken over te hevelen naar het forum. Daar zal Sander ons wel van op de hoogte houden en zijn oplossing zal voor velen misschien nog wel de makkelijkste optie vormen.
Daarnaast zijn verschillende leden toch al begonnen met het veiligstellen van hun favoriete pagina's door ze lokaal op hun pc op te slaan. Dit is uiteraard de meest "zekere" manier om later de mogelijk verloren info toch nog te kunnen raadplegen. Je bent dan immers niet afhankelijk van een website en het feit of deze al dan niet online staat.
Er bestaat echter ook nog een andere mogelijkheid: de Wayback Machine …

Dankzij het nieuwe Hebban-forum lijken we met z'n allen in een science-fiction film terecht gekomen te zijn met parallelle werelden 😄

Om de weg niet kwijt te geraken, vind je hier een overzicht van waar "World of Tau" allemaal terug te vinden is:

oude Hebban spot: https://www.hebban.nl/spot/world-of-tau
nieuw Hebban forum: https://forum.hebban.nl/d/211-world-of-tau-inhoudstafel
eigen blogspot (die Engelstalig was, maar momenteel dus terug van koers verandert): https://world-of-tau.blogspot.com/

Tijdens de overgangsperiode van het Hebban forum (tot eind 2025) zullen al deze parallelle werelden actief zijn en dezelfde inhoud weergeven.
Nadien is het mogelijk dat *Tau* zich definitief in één van deze werelden settelt.
Wordt vervolgd 😉

HaiCuba/HaiKuba

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).

The bugs on Goodreads are still there and multiplying.

Time for another round of parodies!

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?

Wonders of nature

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?

It has been quiet here the past few weeks.

But now this blog is back in full force!

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 😉

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