...from a BookLover

Monday 21 October 2013

_____________Come change_____________



The Autumn


Go, sit upon the lofty hill,
And turn your eyes around,
Where waving woods and waters wild
Do hymn an autumn sound.
The summer sun is faint on them —
The summer flowers depart —
Sit still — as all transform’d to stone,
Except your musing heart.

How there you sat in summer-time,
May yet be in your mind;
And how you heard the green woods sing
Beneath the freshening wind.
Though the same wind now blows around,
You would its blast recall;
For every breath that stirs the trees,
Doth cause a leaf to fall.

Oh! like that wind, is all the mirth
That flesh and dust impart:
We cannot bear its visitings,
When change is on the heart.
Gay words and jests may make us smile,
When Sorrow is asleep;
But other things must make us smile,
When Sorrow bids us weep!

The dearest hands that clasp our hands, —
Their presence may be o’er;
The dearest voice that meets our ear,
That tone may come no more!
Youth fades; and then, the joys of youth,
Which once refresh’d our mind,
Shall come — as, on those sighing woods,
The chilling autumn wind.

Hear not the wind — view not the woods;
Look out o’er vale and hill —
In spring, the sky encircled them —
The sky is round them still.
Come autumn’s scathe — come winter’s cold —
Come change — and human fate!
Whatever prospect Heaven doth bound,
Can ne’er be desolate.




                                                             Elizabeth Barrett Browning (1833)



The first snow arrived yesterday 




Thursday 10 October 2013

A free short story or two, anyone?

I found this amazing link to some of Neil Gaiman's short stories:

http://www.openculture.com/2011/12/neil_gaimans_free_short_stories.html

I have not tried all the links, so I am not sure if they all works, but it is definitely worth a try for those of you who like Gaiman's work!

You can also find a fun song sung by Neil Gaiman and Amanda Palmer here, if you want to.

Source


At the bottom of the article they posted one of Gaiman's New Year's Eve messages - and I had to re-post it here as it is so beautifully put:

"May your coming year be filled with magic and dreams and good madness. I hope you read some fine books and kiss someone who thinks you’re wonderful, and don’t forget to make some art – write or draw or build or sing or live as only you can. May your coming year be a wonderful thing in which you dream both dangerously and outrageously. 
I hope you will make something that didn’t exist before you made it, that you will be loved and you will be liked and you will have people to love and to like in return. And most importantly, because I think there should be more kindness and more wisdom in the world right now – I hope that you will, when you need to, be wise and that you will always be kind. And I hope that somewhere in the next year you surprise yourself."

I hope all of you have done some of these things in the past year, and that you will keep doing them in the years to come. Best wishes to you all 



Tuesday 8 October 2013

Ocean and ocean... Any resemblance here?






I love this song. It is beautiful, haunting - and today it reminded me of one of my new books! Though, I should probably say it reminded me of the title and cover of one of my new books, namely "The Ocean at the End of the Lane" by Neil Gaiman. I bought this in hardcover edition last time I was home, but have not started reading it just yet. Gaiman is one of my favourite authors, and I want to save it for a little while. Do any of you ever do that with a long-awaited book? Simply put it on the table or nightstand for some time before you read it - a place where you can keep glancing at it and feel that little spark of anticipation?





Thursday 3 October 2013

A good feeling

One lazy afternoon last week I surrounded myself with some of my favourite things. It is really nice sitting in our kitchen - easy access to goodies, my kettle and a garden view do wonders in making a cosy atmosphere, so I spent quite a few enjoyable hours in there.



I brought out my ancestry table earlier that morning, and it is fun to see it coming together. Are any of you making one? I have spent years on mine, and although I do not do the actual searching myself I simply collect the data different family members possess. So easy!


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