What I’m Reading…

Time for the second round of what I’m reading. This is already becoming difficult as I started this post on Tuesday, the day after posting the first in this series, and I already had four articles to share. I will try to limit the number of articles posted here, those who want to see more of what I’m reading can follow me on Twitter, where I frequently share the articles I enjoy. This past week has included…

The book

• This has been quite a busy week, so I’m still on the same book as last week, ‘The Dark Tower V: Wolves of the Calla’.  It’s getting to that exciting part where I have to force myself to put it down so I can get some sleep.

Articles

• My flatmate alerted me to this beautiful article from Poetry Magazine about the Island of Lampedusa, which many African asylum seekers travel to, by boat, as a way into Europe. The author manages to represent the perspectives and positions of all involved in a very honest and respectful manner. Also, the author references The Leopard, one of my favourite books, several times, as well as Dr Who, one of my favourite shows! It is quite a long article, but I strongly encourage you to read to the end.

• This is an interesting post by author Jennifer Weiner on whether or not the New York Times book reviewers are sexist.  Here is a response on Salon.com.

• Can you be feminist and care about fashion? Ms Magazine explores.

• Beautiful illustrations of Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale on The Guardian (sample shown above).

• Add some spice to your cooking with some help from Monica Bhide. I have tried any of these yet, but have every intention of doing so some time in the next year.

• And here is an article from last year by my favourite Guardian angry man, Charlie Brooker, on aspect ratio.  As he says ‘There are only two kinds of people in this world: those who don’t have any problem with watching things that are randomly stretched or squashed, and decent human beings who still have standards’.

Blog/site of the week

• A little while ago I discovered the work of photographer Joel Robison. It’s a lot of fun and very creative. Check out his work on Flickr.

• Downtown from behind is a tumblr with a fabulous photographic series of cyclists from behind on various New York streets.

Okay, I’ll play

My good friend over at Mummy In Progress tagged me in this game, and because I always like a bit of distraction (and talking about myself) I’ll play along.

First Things First, The Rules:
You must post the rules.
Post eleven fun facts about yourself on the blog post.
Answer the questions the tagger set for you in their post, and then create eleven new questions to ask the people you’ve tagged.
Tag eleven people and link them on your post
Let them know you’ve tagged them!

Eleven fun facts about me (in no particular order):

1. I wear bifocals for lectures and when I’m knitting in front of the TV.
2. I knit.
3. Throughout high school I was known by my close friends as Fred, or Fred of the Outback.
4. I was an annoying goodie two shoes in high school. Ask anyone I went to high school with, they’ll  agree.
5. I kind of still am a goodie two shoes, but hopefully not as annoying.
6. I like beards, maybe not on women though, but I am open minded.
7. I believe that every self respecting woman should own a pair of red flats. I am currently not a self respecting woman, however I do own a pair of red chuck taylors. Do they count?
8. My pet hate is people who say ‘would of’ instead of ‘would have’. I hate it so so so so so so so so so so much.
9. I’m considering getting some tattoos, but am pretty sure I’ll chicken out.
10. I have lived in four different countries in my nearly 29 years.
11. I turn 29 tomorrow.

Okay, now for Mummy in Progress’ questions:

1. Cat person or dog person?
Dogs, but I actually really want a pet pig.

2. Who is your hero, and why?
Anyone who knows me will know that I have a bit of an obsession with Audrey Hepburn. Why? She’s fabulous. But you could add Katherine Hepburn too. Why? She’s fabulous.

3. What is the weirdest thing you’ve ever eaten?
Probably tarantula or crickets, but I no longer consider those weird.

4. What’s your favourite book?
The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton. You could also include anything by Margaret Atwood, who is my favourite author.

5. If you could have 6 people, living or dead, over for a dinner party at your place, who would you invite?
Hmm, Slavov Zizek, Zach Galifianakis, Kate Winslet, Margaret Atwood, Stephen Fry, and Christian Bale (of course).  I am not confident about this list.

6. What is your favourite song?
La Vie en Rose by Edith Piaf.

7. What language/s do you speak?
I speak English, basic French, and basic Khmer. I used to speak Solomon Pidgin and Roviana (a dialect in my village in the Solomon Islands), but alas, no longer.

8. What is the number one thing on your “bucket list”?
See the Northern Lights.

9. How do you like your coffee?
I drink espressos.  But if I want to curl up with a cup of coffee, I take it black with a tiny dash of milk. If the coffee’s a little weak, I’ll add one sugar.

10. Who would play you in a biopic of your life?
Leeana Walsman. She had short hair when I did and I fancied we looked alike.

11. Which animal would you steal from the zoo, and how would you get it out of there?
I’d steal elephants from bad zoos and take them to the elephant refuge in northern Cambodia. I have a plan, but I need to acquire some super powers first.

I’m tagging:

I only know two people that would even think about doing this, and one of them tagged me, so you’re it Thought and Musing.

My questions:

Yes, I’m going to be that person and revert to the ones Mummy in Progress asked me.