brilliant once again

He did it again. Khaled Hosseini wrote a beautiful touching second novel and I devoured it and loved it just as much as "The Kite Runner." Or maybe even more so, as I felt very close to the women he portrays this time around. The lifes of Mariam and Laila could seem crude and exageratedly melodramatic, as one horror succeeds the other; it is however a sadly accurate version of what many Afghan women have experienced. Except for some of the unrealistic romantic and fairy-tale turns that is, but they make the novel enjoyable and readable. Call me naive, but I enjoyed its happy twists!

A good read

Stumbling on a good read is such a wonderful feeling that I need to share it here with you. I ordered "The Kite Runner" on Amazon, along many other books, liking the reviews I read about it. I am now only half way through it, but I am enjoying it so very much, that I find myself riding on a rollercoaster of emotions along with Amir, its main character. I look forward to going to bed each night and reading a new chapter of this wonderful and touching book; looking forward to seeing whether I will shed a tear of laughter or sadness tonight.

What a great feeling that is!

Current status

Feeling: lazy, bored and unmotivated

Physically located: in the office

Mentally located: everywhere but the office. Have been pretty much surfing the net all day long: blogs, job search, astrological previsions, travel deals, gossips, and much much more.

Reading: I started Atlas Shrugged as soon as I started my holidays and have been reading it every single day by the pool. Yet, I have still not finished it and I am seriously not a slow reader. The book has 1075 physical pages but seriously, it is written so small and condensed that each page counts double in my book. Other than that, I am loving it.

Listening to: mainly the last albums of Jack Johnson and Coldplay, even if the holidays included a variety of genres ranging from Madonna's 80s hits to Bob Marley.

Looking forward to: Nat's visit this weekend which promises, not to say ensures a wild and intense mission of quemar Madrid; Marc coming back for a week in August; the jornada intensiva starting in August (which basically means starting early, around 9am and leaving extra early, around 3pm); being the only one in the office (and thus being able to cheat on the jornada intensiva official hours) and spending the afternoon at my uncle's pool two blocks away from the office!

Eating: After a quite healthy diet during the holidays, consisting of lots of fruits and vegetables, I have decided to try to continue even if it is not as easy when I work. Let's see how I do and if I loose some weight at last (seeing myself in the pics from the holidays has horrified me!)

New fave

I am reading quite a lot these days; pretty much devouring every book that falls into my hands, and starting a new one as soon as I finish another. I thus bought many books at various stores mostly located at airports, placed many orders at amazon and even sacked my father's flat. In the latest sack is where I found a new favourite: the book is titled 'Anthem' by Ayn Rand. It's a short novel depicting a world of the future, a society so collectivized that even the word "I" has vanished from the language:

"We are nothing. Mankind is all. By the grace of our brothers are we allowed our lives. We exist through, by and for our brothers who are the State. Amen."

It's extraordinary. What's incredible to me is that it was written in 1936. Ayn Rand, the woman, her life, is fascinating. Born and raised in Russia under Soviet tyranny, she leaves to the US where she becomes a writer, screenwriter, and founds the philosophy of Objectivism. Anyway, I am hooked on this amazing woman and have now started her 1075 pages masterpiece 'Atlas Shrugged'. Quite promising if you ask me.

PS: All book recommendations are more than welcome. Novels only please.