Today in Literature and Paying it Forward

OK so I'm two days late on this one, but on October 8, 1930 one of my favorite books was published - The Waves by Virginia Woolf.  The Waves was Woolf's last major work, and IMO one of her least accessible but most rewarding.  If you thought the stream-of-consiousness...ness.. of To the Lighthouse was frustrating, just give The Waves a shot and then get back to me.  I'll be honest, the first time I picked it up (I think I was probably 21), I went "WTF" and put it down after 20 pages or so.  It took a while for me to appreciate the beauty of this novel but I'm glad I gave it another shot.  Virginia Woolf remains one of my all-time favorite writers.

The original 1931 cover

Read this article from Today in Literature if you're interested :)

...and here's a passage from the end of the novel:

"And in me too the wave rises. It swells; it arches its back. I am aware once more of a new desire, something rising beneath me like the proud horse whose rider first spurs and then pulls him back. What enemy do we now perceive advancing against us, you whom I ride now, as we stand pawing this stretch of pavement? It is death. Death is the enemy. It is death against whom I ride with my spear couched and my hair flying back like a young man's, like Percival's, when he galloped in India. I strike spurs into my horse. Against you I will fling myself, unvanquished and unyielding, O Death!"




The waves broke on the shore.

And FINALLY, I am getting around to this blog award.  A few months ago, I was honored to receive a Reader Appreciation Award from the lovely Katharina of Katharina's Food adventures and I never passed it on!  Better late than never though, right?  So without further adieu...the reader appreciation award (and accompanying instructions)

The logo!

1. Include the award logo somewhere in your blog.
Done!

2. Answer these 10 questions, below, for fun if you want to.
Done!

3. Nominate 10 to 12 blogs you enjoy. Or you pick the number.
I will probably pick fewer than 10 - and is it cheating to pick some of my real-life friends/family members as recipients?  I'm going to go with no.

4. Pay the love forward: Provide your nominee’s link in your post and comment on their blog to let them know they’ve been included and invited to participate.

5. Pay the love back with gratitude and a link to the blogger(s) who nominated you.
Thank you Katharina!  Your blog is lovely and your creativity in the kitchen is really inspiring.
Link to Katharina's Food Adventures


Les Questions:

1. What is your favorite color?
Deep blue, deep purple, and really dark emerald green.  Most jewel tones actually although you'd never know it from looking at my wardrobe which seems to be composed almost entirely of grey, black, cream/oatmeal, and navy.



2. What is your favorite animal?
Cats!  Sorry Sidney - I love you dude but cats win this category. 




WAT I won?!

3. What is your favorite non-alcoholic drink?

Tea!  Especially herbal tea - I love all of the Yogi Tea varieties but really any herbal is awesome.  Peppermint is my new favorite.

4. Do you prefer Facebook or Twitter?
I like Twitter in theory, but I never use it.  It depends on the context I guess - for keeping up with friends, Facebook.  For baseball, news and other amusements, Twitter.


5. What is your favorite pattern?
I'm a sucker for floral and paisely patterns, especially ones that have an asian feel.  Pour Example:

Awesome Turkish tiles

Awesome Indian Shawl

Wood carved awesomeness from Thailand

6. Do you prefer getting or giving présents?
Definitely giving.  I love giving gifts - choosing presents for my friends and family has always been one of my favorite activities :)


7. What is your favorite number?
I honestly have no idea how to answer this.  I might have to go with five, just because it's purple and I like purple (synesthesia, sorry...)


8. What is your favorite day of the week?
Saturday!  Mostly because it is the one day of the week when I don't have to be anywhere in the morning.  I get to sit around in my pj's with coffee and I dare you to stop me.
9. What is your favorite flower?
I love orchids...but I have difficulty keeping them alive :/

10. What’s your passion?
This sounds really odd and generic but I think I would have to say my passion is learning.  I love reading, I pretty much devour books...I love discovering a new subject and diving into it head on, I love solving puzzles, looking at how everything is interconnected, just getting lost in discovering new things and diving deeper into the things I already know.

And as my husband could probably tell you, I am also passionate in my geeky excitement to immediately share my newfound knowledge with whoever has the bad luck to be sitting next to me at the moment.  This person probably does not care about the influence of Wagner on Nietzsche, but I'm going to tell them all about it and they really have no choice.

...and now, the moment you have all been waiting for since the beginning of never...the awards!

Coco, Melissa, Katie, Lindsey, Meri, Emmy, and Ben

Thanks again to Katharina for passing this on!  Hope you are all having a lovely week.