05 April 2018

The Bookshelf & The Lookbook

Alina Ceusan # Giveaway # Looks # Spring

How often do you feel the need to disconnect yourself from the online environment, infinite scrolls on Instagram, colorful boards on Pinterest and active communities on Facebook to linger with a book in your arms?

We want to bring you an article about offline small pleasures today and because we want reading to be among your favorite activities, we have prepared a list of books that become indispensable items in the category “What’s in my bag” . Obviously, packed with three outfit proposals. Start reading!

The Shadow of the Wind – Carlos Ruiz Zafon

Barcelona, ​​1945. The owner of an antique shop, Mr Sempere, takes his son, Daniel, to the Cemetery of the The Forgotten Books, an old and precious library that hides thousands of volumes belonging to unknown or forgotten writers. Daniel follows the rules of the first visit and chooses a book that will significantly change his life.

Zafon has an impeccable writing that impresses by the way phrases are built, along with the characters, managing to create a sustained atmosphere of suspense and humor written with skill:

“We headed for the market, where a bitch of the old lady cocked the pigeons on the spot, reducing their lives to a crumbling game and waiting. I held a table beside the door of the bar, where Fermin began to make his snacks, his and mine, a beer mug, two chocolates, and a triple-rusty coffee. Like a dessert, Sugus shot. At the next table, a man looked at Fermin stealthily over the newspaper, probably thinking like me. “

I tell you, the book is an absolute delight. It is the first part of a trilogy that enjoyed international recognition. And if so far I have not convinced you, I want you to read Zafon’s works only for the perfect way he tells about 20th century Barcelona.

About the author

Carlos Ruiz Zafón is a Spanish writer and script writer, born in Barcelona in 1964. Since 1994, he lives in Los Angeles. In 2001, he published the novel La sombra del viento (The Shadow of the Wind), the first ‘adult’ novel to be sold to millions of children worldwide. The book has received numerous international awards and is acclaimed by literary critics around the world.

A man named Ove – Frederik Backman

This book comes with an interesting cover and a fair story. The movie, faithful to the literary writing, won the 2016 best comedy award at the European Film Academy Awards.

Ove, an old mizanthropist, a great lover of order and discipline, organizes his life according to clear principles, always choosing the same route of travel with the only car he appreciates, a Saab paying his taxes, carefully inspecting the irregularities in the small neighborhood he lives and, in general, is dedicated to the routine, including that of stirring up conflicts.

“When Ove had gone out, the houses were dwindling in silence and darkness. As expected and expected … In this neighborhood no one was tempted to get up sooner than needed, Ove knew it too well. That they lived there only by freelancers and all sorts of dubious people. “

Beyond the airy and humorous style, the reading of this book also proposes serious themes, exploring love, death, loneliness, but also friendship, kindness, and empathy. Do not be discouraged by the number of pages that pass easily by 400, I promise you that Ove will snatch you repeated smiles and maybe will justify the sulky behaviors that we sometimes judge without having an overview.

About the author

Born June 2, 1981 in Sweden, Frederik Backman is an editor, blogger and writer. His books enjoyed a resounding success in his native country, quickly conquering readers from all over the world, with literary creations translated into over 25 languages.

Click here for the movie trailer

Behind the Beautiful Forevers: Life, Death, and Hope in a Mumbai Undercity – Katherine Boo

We move to Asia this time, on India-Mumbai coins. At the outskirts of this city live millions of people living in conditions hard to imagine. The author of this ambitious journalistic project lived in the midst of such a community for several years to authentically document the lives of the slums. The result, a documentary with novel valences, tells the dramatic story of families struggling for a better life, at the intersection of the imminent dangers of the abolition of these enclaves and improper living conditions.

“Every morning, thousands of waste collectors were spreading around the airport looking for a sell able surplus [..]. These garbage collectors were collecting packs of cigarettes thrown from cars with dark windows. They scuttled through the canals and scrubbed through the trash cans of water and beer. Every evening they came back down the road to the slum with thick cloth bags full of rubbish in the back, like a Santa Claus procession with broken teeth and mind to profit. “

It is a heavy book that should make us grateful for what we have and determinate in our intentions of being ourselves the changes we want to see in the world. I recommend reading as a social exercise, observation and introspection. Can we also get involved in helping local communities whose life is similar to that of the characters in this book?

About the author

Katherine Boo was born in 1964 in Washington. Currently, she writes for The New Yorker and shares her time between the United States and India, where she lives with her husband, Sunil Khilnani. In 2012, her project of documenting life in the slum, materialized by publishing the book Beyond Perennial Beauty. Life and death and hope in the lower city of Mumbai brought him a Pulitzer Prize.

Online reference here

And now, to welcome this new initiative propely, we invite you to respond in the comments section to the question “What is your preferred reading set-up?”

And that’s because we can talk freely about books as long as we have that intimate, inviting, comfortable and pleasant space, where we can hide to escape in stories, between words and pages, smelling new and old at the same time.

We beat the three books that I have told today on the blog, which will come along with a message and Alina’s signature.

On condition that the winner (or the winner) will have to promise to give the book he/she likes the most to a loved one. #spreadthebook

The closing date for the competition is April 5th, 20:00. The winner will be selected by lottery. Success!