fools gold..

“does character develop over time? in novels, of course it does: otherwise there wouldn't be much of a story. but in life? i sometimes wonder. our attitudes and opinions change, we develop new habits and eccentricities; but that's something different, more like decoration. perhaps character resembles intelligence, except that character peaks a little later: between twenty and thirty, say. and after that, we're just stuck with what we've got. we're on our own.”

julian barnes - the sense of an ending 

river of deceit..

 

“as your perspective of the world increases not only is the pain it inflicts on you less but also its meaning. understanding the world requires you to take a certain distance from it. ... throughout our childhood and teenage years, we strive to attain the correct distance to objects and phenomena. we read, we learn, we experience, we make adjustments. then one day we reach the point where all the necessary distances have been set, all the necessary systems have been put in place. that is when time begins to pick up speed. it no longer meets any obstacles, everything is set, time races through our lives, the days pass by in a flash and before we know that is happening we are forty, fifty, sixty... meaning requires content, content requires time, time requires resistance. knowledge is distance, knowledge is stasis and the enemy of meaning.”

karl ove knausgaard - my struggle, book 1

pics via tumblr

swinging london..

i finally got my hands on the book that i've been waiting for some time to be published in my country. 'past imperfect' by julian fellowes is one of the books that every vorshiper of british culture should read, especially if you're familiar with and like his other work too. he portraits a group of londoners connected with friendship and love affairs in the sixties and their lives today, forty years later when they've all gone separate ways. the way he describes the era where aristocratic way of life clashed with the unconventional things that modern times have brought, the contrast of life back then and now, the status of high-class society and how it was changing are just some of the things that make this book more than enjoyable and interesting to read. although he's not focused directly on what popular culture was all about back then, you'll inevitably think about carnaby street and king's road, beatlemania and the rolling stones hyde park concert, groupies and mods, pattie boyd and twiggy, past times which seem like past perfect from today.

sunday morning..

eating cherries is even more sweeter after you've picked them on your own climbing up the tree..

this may seem like a pretty boring post, but sundays are like that, beautiful in their easyness and boringness. all you need is a cup of your favorite tea, easy literature and hopefully electricity blackout so you're not tempted to turn on your laptop, tv or other unnecessary devices.  

the candles from my other birthday cake make such a great decoration that i've decided not to throw them away yet. sophie dahl's first novel is one of the books/souvenirs i brought back from london a few months ago. i haven't read it yet, it's on the pile that waits long, worryless summer days..

smells like grunge spirit..

although it should have been on my bookshelf years ago already, it was only recently that i got myself michael lavine's photography book called 'grunge'. as the go-to photographer for the preeminent grunge label sub pop, michael lavine brings a selection of pictures of all the bands from the so called grunge era, and also some seattle street style photos before street style even existed.. with the legendary thurston moore's comments included, this book is an ode to the movement which after the hippies in the sixties and punks in the seventies left a permanent trace in music and subculture history. a must-have literature piece for all the grunge kids who were 'so uncool they were beyond cool', as thurston would say. <3

into the void..

if lisbeth salander was into colors, i'm sure she'd love this spiked pink sack and high-top creepers..with nine inch nails t-shirt underneath this burberry studded jacket. killer combo. 

english rose..

 the pile of my garden/beach literature is getting bigger every day. this summer should last much longer for all i've prepared to read. anyway, love it when people go to london and think of me. although it would have been nice to get some vintage vivienne westwood souvenir from portobello road, i'm the girl of small pleasures, so the stones biography works quite fine for me this time. and the fact of having the august issues of my favorite magazines on the 10th of july is also pretty satisfying.