Once upon a time in the library...

... when I had all the time in the world to read :)

Audiobooks - why not?

Well, I never thought this day would come, but here we go - I've listened to my first audiobook. Instead of holding a book in my hands,  turning pages, coming back to the passages I like I simply sat in the chair with my eyes closed and listened to the voice of an actor reading "Bury my Behind the Baseboard" by Pavel Sanaev. I wouldn't say the book was inspiring, but it managed to catch my interest - I always liked a child's perspective in literature ("To kill a mockingbird" by Harper Lee is a prime example).

Anyway, the experiment was extremely successful - after a busy day of looking after my three kids, cooking, shopping and working on my freelance  projects I still  had a chance to absorb a great portion of the book and give some food to my thoughts. Whereas with a conventional reading my eyes close after a couple of pages. And not because a book is boring!.

So, an audiobook is not my first choice, but it's a good substitute for a traditional book when I'm busy or tired. It's also a great way to read while traveling without spoiling your eyes due to continuous shaking. What will be my next audiobook? I was thinking to fill the gaps I've been planning to fill for years - "Dandelion Wine" by Ray Bradbury, "Roadside Picnic" or "Snail on hte Slope" by the Strugatsky brothers... something like that.

Photos of my bookcase

Just like some people can't stop taking pictures of their cats, I like to photograph my books. Actually, these photos were taken by my cousin. I missed my Ukrainian bookcase in India, so she did me a huge favor by visiting my parent's house and taking these photos. We've gathered a decent library in India as well, but my Ukrainian bookcase will always hold a special place in my heart - so many wonderful moments were spent over these books in my teens and early twenties.

List of books I enjoy reading (and even rereading :))

Of course, it's a mini version of the list - usually I submit it in different forms when they ask what sort of reading I prefer. I guess in a nutshell it gives an idea of what sort of books I read. As you can see, no "50 shades of grey" or "Eat. Pray. Love" is included :)

Dostoevsky "Crime and Punishment", "Idiot"
Lesya Ukrainka "The forest song"
Bulgakov "Master and Margarita"
Vladimir Nabokov "Lolita"
Victor Hugo "Les Miserables", "The hunchback of Notre Damme" Stendal "Red and Black"
Honore de Balzac - quite a few novels
Antoine de Saint Exupéry  "The planet of people"
Dickens "Dombey and son",
Charlotta Bronte "Jane Eyre"
Oscar Wilde "The picture of Dorian Gray"  John Fowles  "The Magus"
Cervantes "Don Quixote"
Erich Maria Remarque "Three comrades", "Arch of Triumph"
Stefan Zweig "Impatience of the heart"
Salinger "Catcher in the rye"
Ken Kesey "One flew over the cuckoo's nest"
Jack London "Martin Eden"