November reading list

Random cat photo as I didn't take any book photos.
Bob in the forefront and Bunny in the background.

Not read yet:
Driving blind by Ray Bradbury. 
Still in the unread pile by my bed...

Partly read:
The smiling man by Henning Mankell.
Still reading it. Can't seem to get reading it again...
Cristallisation secrète (Secret crystalization) by Yoko Ogawa. 
I won't be finishing this one for now. Too depressing. It is set in a dystopian universe where things start disappearing, not physically but from the mind of people. So there are still birds, people can see there are birds but they ignore them, don't know what they are and they evoke nothing to them. 

Read:
The hand by Henning Mankell. 
A Wallander story. Fast read, staright to the point, very nice. Highly recommended. I like this shorter format better than the regular one.
Après (After) by Stéphane Allix. 
His worst book. Just a page filler with nothing new and not very interesting filler at that either. I zapped through it.
The Dyatlov Mystery by Anna Matveeva.
An odd book. A mix of fiction and a real mystery. The Dyatlov mystery is a real event. 9 people disappearing  while on a winter hike whose bodies were found in odd circumstances.
Though the mystery part is interesting, the pseudo/fictive investigation is not. Plus it's mixed with the investigator's love stories...bleeeeeh. 
That thing by Docteur JJ Charbonier 
The interesting point of view of a doctor on NDE's (near death experiences, or as he prefers calling them "temporary death exeperiences").

September reading list

Glow-in-the-dark Mothman pin by Maiden Voyage Clothing

Not read yet:
Driving blind by Ray Bradbury. 
One of my top 5 favorite authors so it's always a treat to find a book I haven't read yet. Collection of short stories.
Mysterious creatures 
Cheap book part of an Atlas anthology. Yeah, OK, not quality work...but it has Mothman on the cover (in case you don't know the Mothman, check my post here). It has no Mothman stories inside though...so seriously disappointed here.
Partly read:
Brain and meditation by Matthieu Ricard and Wolf Singer. Not light reading but it sounds very interesting. Really interesting but it takes lots of concentration to read...so I won't finish it right away.
Miss Seeton by Hampton Charles. 
I hated this one. Supposedly a sort of comedy detective story. Not sure why that series is so popular in the UK. Couldn't get past page 40. 
The smiling man by Henning Mankell.
Reading it right now. Really good. Great characters. Great story. Great writing (even translated). You may be familiar with the TV show Wallander with Kenneth Brannagh. The show is great too. Not very cheerful though.
Read:
Ponyo storybook based on the Miyazaki movie (one of my all time favorites).
Loved it, I discovered all sort of little details I had never noticed.
The art of  My Neighbour Totoro. Making of the movie. 
Wonderful if you're interested in traditional animation.
Man of two tribes by Arthur Upfield.
This one was really interesting. I picked it because the  main character is part aborigen and the detective story is set in a desert of Australia. I enjoyed this one a lot, mainly because of the desert description and fun(if somewhat caricatural) characters. It was written in the 50's so beware of some not subtle chauvinism ;)

Have you read anything good lately? I am always on the lookout for new stuff to read.

Harry Potter The Exhibition

The Harry Potter Exhibition finally landed in Brussels. After having missed it in Paris and London, I , at long last, got to see it !
I chose July 31st to visit it (HP fans will know why), assuming the new Harry Potter book would be available at the exhibition shop. It was not :'(  so I got the e-book when I got home ;)
It didn't disappoint...even though it was much smaller than expected.

Luna Lovegood outfit. Other than her blond hair, I am Luna...same wardrobe and same unorthodox interests.

Wedding outfits from the 7th film...left to right: Ron, Hermione, Luna and Luna's dad.

Gryffindor dorm

Professor Snape

Weird gross stuff, I don't think I'd have been good at potions.

Half-blood Prince 's potion book.

Quidditch Wolrd Cup

Candies!!!

Sirius Black outfit (Sirius fan here)

The middle wand is Sirius's, the green thing on the left is the deluminator.

Buckbeak

Fawkes

 As I didn't want to carry around my good camera I took those with my phone, hence the poor quality. If  you've read and liked the Harry Potter books, you probably love the attention to details JK Rowling put into them. And that attention to details completely translated into the films. If you're familiar with movie props, you know most of the time they're really cheap looking and it doesn't matter as it won't show on screen...but not so for Harry Potter...even little things that'll be seen for 2 seconds in the background look fabulous.

Taking it easy

Summer is here, at least for a few days. One of my favorite things is to have breakfast in the garden with a book.
I am recovering from 3 days of mean flu so I am taking it extra easy.

Bruno the Fabulous stays by my side.