Germany – The Planets

The Rocky Horror Picture Show is one of my all time favourites, including this song:

In the velvet darkness
Of the blackest night
Burning bright
There’s a guiding star
No matter what or who you are
There’s a light …

Jupiter and Saturn

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Dinosaur of the week: Great Tit

This Parus major was catching insects in the WWT wetland in London a couple of years back. Fewer insects mean fewer birds.

J’apprends le français 21/30

Donner des cours à la langue est très interessante. Aujourd’hui était le premier jour de cours nouveau est les étudiantes ont parlé de ses activités de loisir. Mes élèves s’interessént à faire de randonné, Nasa, lire, la photographie, les sports et ainsi de suite. C’est un melange magnifique.

J’apprends le français 17/30

La fin de semaine – je suis très fatiguée.

J’apprends français 14/30

Je commence lire moi premier livre en français. J’aime lire la science-fiction. Quand j’était une enfant, Jules Verne était mon écrivain préféré.

J’apprends français 7/30

Il est le chat des mes beaux-parents. Il s’appelle Hamish et il habite à Oxford. Le chat a juste trois jambes, mais il escalade trè bon. Il est un animal de compagnie très gentil.

J’apprends français 4/30

Native Speakers Aren’t Better – So Don’t Believe It.

This is a reblog from ‘The Best Ticher’.

When I started this blog, I foolishly assumed that I was writing for an audience like my younger self: British (or perhaps American), relatively young (maybe one or two years out of university) who…

Source: Native Speakers Aren’t Better – So Don’t Believe It.

Exploring the East: Hiking in Zádielska

If you want to go hiking, Slovakia has a lot to offer. The valley of Zádielska (Zádielska dolina or Zádielska tiesňava) is certainly a great place to do so. The hike can be done as a loop, in which case I’d recommend walking it anti-clockwise. This way, you’ve got the steep ascent at the beginning, followed by a leisurely stroll when you can enjoy the views.

One from each country – January

This is a first update on my little reading project. I don’t have the energy to write a fully-fledged review for each book, but maybe a word or two. Just so I can keep track of what is happening in the book world.

Here are my read project books from January, countries/territories in alphabetical order.

1. Canada: Atwood – Moral Disorder — like honey with chilli, delectable and disturbing
2. England: Thubron – Shadow of the Silk Road — every turn of the road or page a new discovery
3. Finnland: Rajaniemi – The Quantum Thief — incomprehensibly exciting
4. Hungary: Kertész – Roman eines Schicksallosen — chillingly factual and deeply disturbing
5. India: Ghosh – In an Antique Land — crisscrossing times, places, genres yet never losing its bearings
6. Poland: Kapuściński – Another Day of Life — made me feel the heat and never wanting to go to Angola (something that needs to be rectified) (translation: I do want to go)
   
7. USA: Greenberg – The 23 Greatest Solo Piano Works — great inspiration for my piano lessons
8. Wales: Wynne Jones – Chrestomanci Series — magical and a gazillion times better than other young wizard books

There it is: I’ve read eight books and nothing to complain about. Instead, I thoroughly revelled in all of them. I’ve got to admit that this is a rather rare event. Usually, it’s even small inconsistencies within the story or fictional universe which I don’t like and which put me off a book. Less often, I’m not too happy about some author’s style or use of language. On top of that, regarding audiobooks the narrator can make or break the enjoyment of a story. In ‘Shadow of the Silk Road’, Jonathan Keeble created some new places and people in China, but on the whole his performance was still alright to my ears.

Well, so I can recommend all of the above mentioned books. Do you have any recommendations for me?