A voyage in the world of books

 HELLO AGAIN!!!

After much thought about continuing the blog, I decided to take you on another journey. This time it will be in the world of books. My passion, apart from traveling, are books - of any genre, era, writers, format, plots. In recent years, I turned to the e-book for a number of reasons - mostly to read late. But unfortunately I found that I miss the smell of paper, flipping through the pages, which has its charm, visiting the bookstore for new editions /and not just because of the pandemic/.

Somewhere I came across the following thought /I quote from memory/: that reading a book is like a journey and much better than watching a movie - geographical areas, atmosphere, characters from different times, customs, orders, natural pictures. As I read, I imagine very clearly the place of the action, I dress the characters in roles and clothes, the atmosphere and the smell of a field, a forest, mountain rivers and lakes. I often ask myself the question: "How would I act in a given situation"?

Some of you probably remember the "reader's" diary from your school years. At the end of each school year we received a mandatory list of books to read with works that we will study next year. We used the long summer vacation, both for preparation and not to forget to read. It was especially confusing when we had to present the completed diary in the first days of the term. Unsuccessful students were reprimanded for not completing the task, and those who recorded their impressions were publicly encouraged and rewarded. We even had a contest for the most read pages and simple prizes for the best.

Whether for one reason or another, books are my journey - through rivers and seas, mountains and peaks, valleys and fragrant meadows, in ancient times or in the future, but I can not imagine a day without reading at least a few pages, regardless part of my day or my employment. I want to take you with me and share with you what I read, to make you empathize with the most valuable of all arts. Books have accompanied us for centuries, they will probably survive, perhaps in another form, but they will not disappear, despite the vicissitudes of time. I have given this passion to my children, I hope it will conquer my grandchildren in time.

Mandatory at the beginning or end of each book there are a few words of gratitude from the author to those who have contributed to varying degrees, the book to fall into the hands of the reader. In others there are references to research and cited literature as a source of data /especially for historical novels/. I imagine the long and persistent research work of the authors, who rely on their personal name and authority to sound authentic and credible facts stated in the work. We are all convinced that preparation for any job is half of its successful completion. Look around you and you can't disagree with me. I admire this hard work, which requires dedication and perseverance, discipline and perseverance. If we all share these qualities, each in his own field, I think our results will be more than good. And as I said discipline, in their interviews many authors say that they do not get up from their jobs until they fulfill the norm set by them - whether 10, 20 or more pages, whether in manuscript or computer. This is professionalism of the highest class and is evident from the number of published books and circulations, their transformation into bestsellers ...... If each of us works so hard, would our successes be greater???

To begin our new journey, I chose the Book of Books of All Time - THE BIBLE. I started reading it again, not only in connection with the continuation of my blog, but also to remember why this book enriched and changed me so much that it made me think about myself and the life of humanity. If we all make sense of the messages and instructions from it, our existence will certainly not be in vain and much more useful for us, nature and our future.

Published in thousands and thousands of copies, in many languages, read by millions of readers, it accompanies people for centuries - manuscripts can be seen in monasteries, with exquisite decorations, or in the possession of collectors and second-hand bookstores, in exhibition halls or on the Internet. Copying it over the centuries, until Gutenberg's discovery, was an extremely laborious task, remembering that electricity had not yet been discovered. For example, I can mention "The Name of the Rose" by Umberto Eco, which I have a hard time admitting, but I have indelible memories of the conditions in which the monks worked to carry out their God-pleasing work - the book to reach a wider circle of readers, to contribute to the consolidation of the place of the Church in the government of the old world. Let us also not forget that in their time monks were the most enlightened people, as they had access to primary sources, manuscripts, archival documents and thus contributed to the preservation of knowledge for generations. Well, sometimes the transcripts were completely accurate and correct, the transcribers made changes /due to inexperience and misunderstanding of the terms, dating of events, personalities, even ideas/, but always with enviable perseverance and dedication they worked to reach our days. the texts of the Old and New Testaments, the lives of Jesus and his disciples, the spread of the new doctrine, and the affirmation of the Christian faith. Not to mention the participation of the state in its imposition - Emperor Constantine introduced Christianity as the official religion of the Eastern Roman Empire, covering millions of inhabitants.

My grandmother's desk book was the Bible - with a black hardcover, A4 format, with yellowed pages, with shocking illustrations (in my children's eyes) - and now I see the tortured faces, the examined bodies, the pain in the difficult-to-describe poses of these, became victims of the global flood. From those years I was afraid of this book, I did not even dare to look at the nightstand, where it always stood. It took many years to overcome this feeling, but I still read it from end to end - 1500 pages, small print, thin paper, but on the other hand - very heavy.

I want to remind you of the power of the Bible in the 2010 film The Book of Eli, starring Denzel Washington. A post-apocalyptic picture of universal disintegration, various gangs trying to survive in nightmarish conditions and a traveling, blind stranger who keeps the only book in order to survive the universe after the last devastating war. Many years have passed since then, but the film is still in my mind, before my eyes pass the characters, their battles and confrontations, the decline of morals, the terrible damage to nature. I think that's how this film has affected many other viewers.

The Bible is made up of two main parts - the Books of the Old / Old / Testament and the Books of the New Testament, each of which consists of 50 Books of the Old and 27 Books of the New Testament. Genesis and Exodus lay the foundations of the sacred texts, the Holy Gospels, the Epistles and Revelations of the New Testament are dedicated to the spread of Christian teaching in the world of that time. Their reading was more accessible to me, mainly because of the understandable language in which they were written. The life and teachings of Jesus, considered in these parts, the work of his disciples to establish the new doctrine are also considered in specific miracles performed by him.

Here, it seems, everything is much clearer and more accessible, unlike the chapters in the Old / Old / Testament. It was difficult for me to understand many of the messages, I stumbled to explain archaic words, the many repetitions of the sentence in the previous text. And so far I do not understand the meaning of the word "covenant", which God constantly utters to the people chosen by Him - to strictly observe His precepts, to apply His ordinances in their lives, to follow them unquestioningly in their lives. I also do not understand why he punishes him for the slightest deviation from the imposed rules.

On the other hand, Chapter 20 - Exodus defines the so-called The 10 commandments of God, which for me are laws of life, the observance of which form the morality of every person and define him as a reasonable and full individual. The punishments that followed - the Great Flood, the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah and other natural disasters (science explains them) are a natural expression of God's wrath caused by the decline of morals in society.

I encountered difficulties in my ideas about the geographical location of the described places of action. The world known until then encompasses the so-called today the Middle East. If you remember, I visited Jordan recently and during my entire stay there I wondered if these were the lands described in the Bible and for which endless battles were fought. Bare hills, infertile lands / except for the artificial ones that do not appear /, screes and empty riverbeds !!! Let's not forget that thousands of years have passed since then and the natural conditions have changed a lot / climate change is not from yesterday and today, right? /. It was probably worth the efforts of the ancients to fight for pastures, food and water in order to survive. On the other hand, the human casualties that fell in these battles were justified. I keep thinking that the life of the common man has never (even today in some regions) had much value.

For me, the Old Testament is history - peoples from the hitherto known world, tribes / heirs /, social rules, struggles for territory, power and obedience, the eternal quest for supremacy on the part of the stronger to the weaker, but also care for widows. and orphans, opposing interests even within the family (Cain and Abel, for example), man's willingness to fulfill his commitment to God (or society) at the cost of personal sacrifice - Abraham and Isaac.

I will not retell the contents of the Bible (this is impossible and absolutely unnecessary for anyone who is interested in dealing with it himself). I will only mark the chapters of the Old and New Testaments, which, as I mentioned above, represent human history from those distant times when the world was organized to live by all the rules and laws, most of which are still valid today.

From the First Book of Moses - Genesis, through the Second - Exodus, Third - Leviticus, Fourth - Numbers, Fifth - Deuteronomy, they all contain the texts determined by God, incl. the so-called 10 God's commandments, and in fact they are exactly 26 in number, necessary for the orderly management of the human population, in the midst of the lands bequeathed by him - the blessed territory of Canaan, the promise made by the people to the Lord and his Covenant to them.

God's commandments are rules for the organization and management of the community - property of all kinds, relationships between people, legal issues of a personal and social nature, punishments or rewards in case of their violation or observance. God's wrath falls with all its might upon the guilty people, cities, and nations. Sodom and Gomorrah are one of them who have experienced the consequences of their wrongful life on their backs - fire and brimstone fall on them because of their unbridled lives.

The main theme in this chapter is the departure of Egypt from the tribes of Israel (tribes), which have been oppressed by Pharaoh and his overseers for more than 400 years. Because of their growth and proliferation, the children of Israel are a source of concern for supremacy over Egypt in the event of war and unification with their enemies. They are subjected to systematic ruthless exploitation in order to exhaust, humiliate and oppress them in order to deprive them of their faith and attachment to their God.Their persecutions continued in the following centuries in other countries and at other times, and the motive remained the same - to deny them the right to their own territory, self-government and religion. But that's another topic I'll probably come back to when I tell you about Philippa Gregory's "Queen's Jester".

Yet the children of Israel managed to leave Egypt, not without the help and figures of the Lord God, who forced Pharaoh to agree and yield to their request to perform their service and feast for God.The trials over the land of Egypt and the people carried out by the Lord and Pharaoh's long resistance to fulfill Moses' request bring much suffering to the common man. And the resistance does not stop even when the pharaoh gives in to the repeated demands for peaceful departure from the country. The fierce persecution of the leaving children of Israel, the miracle of the splitting of the waters of the Red Sea and their return to the Egyptians, which led to their destruction, again show the power of God's wrath on those who disrespect their faith in their Lord God and their will to self-determination. existence.

And here is the place to recall "Exodus - Gods and Kings" from 2014, a great historical epic directed by Ridley Scott, in which with many effects, wonderful acting, sets and exciting music, this chapter of the Bible is recreated. If you missed it, I highly recommend you watch it, not only from an artistic but also from a historical point of view you will not regret it.

Let me also recall Giuseppe Verdi's opera "Nabucco", which tells about the life, suffering of the children of Israel and their desire to leave the land of Egypt. Unforgettable chords sound in my ears from people of the Jews who mourn their sad fate and dream of returning to their homeland. If you remember, this was the last song of our "choir" on the ship, with which we completed our training in opera singing.

In the Third Book of Moses - Leviticus, the Lord God gives to the children of Israel his instructions on how to build the holy temples, how to offer sacrifices, how to act in cases of involuntary mistakes, how to treat people among themselves. In order to live by His rules, they must strictly follow the instructions, because all this is done in the name of the Lord. I still did not understand the difference between sacrifice through guilt, sacrifice through sin, the prescriptions on how to act in different conditions are very detailed - birth, illness, the services themselves.

I will make a small digression to share with you the trilogy of Paul Doherty, dedicated to the Egyptian dynasties from 1500 BC, and in particular the "Year of the Cobra", which describes the domestic political struggles of the various upper classes. - pharaohs and contenders for their succession, priests, army. The name of a tribe is mentioned - Haribu, an ally of the Egyptian state, from which, in fulfillment of one of the prophecies of the great heretic Akhenaten, the albino messiah - Moses was born and brought the oppressed Jews out of slavery.

I must admit that the Fourth Book of Moses - Numbers made it extremely difficult for me. Counting the twelve tribes of Israel was the easiest. Listing in numbers all the other instructions - the construction of the Tabernacles of the Lord, the assembly, the revelation, the conduct of the burnt offerings and the sacrificial animals, etc. I could not explain them / to insert also the measures and weights from those times remained difficult to compare with the units of measurement known to us today /. 

The most important thing in this Book is the number of people, and notice it - men over 20 who can take part in battles - over 600 thousand. If we add women and children under this age - the figure exceeds 1 million. And this number suggests territory, food and water, a livelihood for survival. And this is a difficult mission, especially in those difficult conditions in deserts, mountains and rivers, the passage of which lasts nearly 40 years and more than once causes popular discontent, and in turn - the wrath of God. It is harsh and with severe consequences - fire and brimstone, battles with people found in a given place, floods and earthquakes. I wonder why God constantly sends trials to His chosen people, whether to test them in their strength and faith in Him, whether because people do not always follow His instructions or for other reasons? In my imagination, God looks like a good-natured grandfather who looks fondly on his children and grandchildren. He scolds them lightly for their disobedience, pinches their cheeks or lightly slaps their asses when their mischief becomes dangerous to their health and life.Surely the causes of this anger and its consequences are intended to test the morals and strength of the spirit of the people in order to deserve His mercy and care. Still, it seems to me too high an expectation, each of us has moments of hesitation, fear and insecurity, should these troubles befall us, and without them our lives are difficult?

Among the many names of Abraham, Isaac, Sarah, Rebekah, Cain, Abel, and many, many other biblical figures, I have always wondered why women are placed one step lower than men, whether because of Eve's original sin. which the Serpent cunningly deceived her, whether because she considered her "unclean" in her menstrual cycle or because she was created from Adam's rib? I was very impressed by the content of Chapter Four - Numbers, where in the census of all 12 tribes /gender / women and children / regardless of gender/ up to 21 years are excluded, ie. only able-bodied men have found numerical expression in this chapter.

In the Fifth Book of Moses - Deuteronomy Chapter 16, item 19 reads - "Do not pervert the law, do not look at the face and do not take gifts, because the gifts blind the eyes of the wise and distort the work of the righteous." And we think that corruption is a phenomenon of today, and it has existed for thousands of years before us. Why then no ruler - emperor, dictator, king ..... have failed to fight it, on the contrary, even they themselves have taken advantage of their position for their own benefit and in this sense have violated the commandments of the Lord God?

And another thing impressed me from Deuteronomy - Ch. 10, items 22 - 75 people have gone to Egypt, and those who left after 430 years are 10 times more, ie. The Lord God has fulfilled the vow made before the fathers of the people of Israel to make them "as numerous as the stars of heaven." He promised them Obeton land / ie. in fulfillment of his vow to them /, but in return he demanded strict observance of His ordinances and commandments. He punished their discontent severely and for 40 years tested their faith and belonging to Him. And because of the disobedience of many of them, Moses endured God's decision not to allow him beyond the Jordan River.

I promised not to retell the contents of the Bible (this in itself is impossible and unnecessary) and I will keep my promise. I only note only those details that impressed me the most. I do not question God's provisions /these are the basic laws of life for me, which each of us should follow in our daily lives/ - the behavior in society, the rules of communication, the hygienic norms, the observance of certain promises - these are all things that are still valid today, as long as each of us makes sense of them and applies them in our lives.

The book of Joshua tells of the settlement of the tribes of Israel beyond the Jordan River with the help of "the Lord your God." He helps them take over these lands, defeat the tribes inhabiting them, and fulfill the vow made to their ancestors. It was difficult for me to comprehend the thousands of victims who fell during this period, and I wonder if they could join or merge with them. But the idea of ​​the Lord required this to happen, so that they would not succumb to the influence of other gods and stop serving Him, disregarding His commandments and commands.

I will pause for a moment on the Bible to tell you about Charles Fraser's book Thirteen Moons, which I have just read. An amazing work that intertwines documented facts from the history of America from the early 19th century, the author's reading of the glorious past of the Cherokee Indians, the rise of the tribe, its participation in the Civil War, attempts to build their own government, struggles and conflicts between them and the whites, the collapse of the community and their emigration to the West.

Incidentally, it also mentions the name of Moses, who brought the enslaved children of Israel out of Egypt.

To add also the wonderful language, the incomparable descriptions of the surrounding nature of the South-East, the life vicissitudes of the main character.

I do not know American history in detail, and I would be curious to read somewhere how the events of 1830-31 were interpreted, when the expulsion of the Indians was particularly brutal, and how the policy of Andrew Jackson, America's seventh president, was viewed from a modern perspective. point. / As they say, history is written by the winners! /

Some historians see these actions by the US government as a severe form of genocide that transcends the Holocaust and even South African apartheid. I tend to agree with these conclusions, especially given the attempts to attribute persecution to the Indians, such as imposing a new culture and lifestyle, eradicating pagan customs, and Christianizing them.

I leave aside the personal dramas of the protagonist, which are not to be underestimated, but in this case it is only a matter of comparing the historical facts described in the novel. I end here and I strongly recommend you to read it, and if you have something to share on the topic, we will be happy to discuss.

From the same author is the book "Cold Mountain", which is both filmed and next on my list to read.

I kept my promise to myself and the impressions of "Cold Mountain" exceeded my expectations. I have not seen the film, although it was awarded a Golden Globe in 2003, nominated for 7 Oscars, the style and narrative correspond to my ideas about nature, people and events of those years. The power of love, the adoration of human dignity, the will and the hope of surviving the harsh years of the Civil War, the poignant end of the story are described in a statement typical of Charles Fraser.

Coincidentally or not, after "Thirteen Moons" I read "Schindler's List" by Australian writer Thomas Kinley. If you remember the movie, unfortunately I didn't watch it, won 7 of the 12 Oscars and directed by Steven Spielberg, you can't  be excited by both the plot and the acting, the inspiring music and all the other details from the movie. I abstract its merits, I want to share with you my impressions of the book.

As you know, it was written on an actual case from the years of World War II. I will not retell its contents, I will dwell on the atrocities of Hitler's structures - the SS, the Gestapo and others, who persecuted the Jews with incredible cruelty, this time on the territory of Poland. It was surprising to me to learn that in this activity they were also supported by Polish citizens who had lived in peace with the Jewish population until before the war.

This is where Philippa Gregory's novel The Queen's Jester comes to mind, where a similar persecution of Jews took place in the mid-16th century. And not only there, this is repeated again and again in Spain, Portugal and other countries of old Europe.

I did not imagine that I would write this blog and for this reason I did not take notes about the books I have read on such topics, and they are not few. /I promise you that I will be stricter from now on to be specific and I will write down, everything that impressed me to share are you/.

I set aside my little digression and return to the content of the novel.

As a student, on our first trip abroad, we visited East Germany with our class. One of the must-see places at the time was the Buchenwald concentration camp. In addition to the museum, the barracks and the crematorium, we were shown a documentary from those years. I was too young to realize the real drama of the persecuted Jews, Gypsies, political prisoners and other victims of the nationalist regime. But even now I have before my eyes the rags, the ragged prison uniforms, the examined faces, the ones glued to the wire nets (some of which were electrocuted), the faces of many children, women and men, the elderly and sick prisoners, the human-made sconces, bindings for books and other articles.

I will never cease to wonder why this universal hatred, dating back centuries, to this race. Is it not based on the betrayal of Christ by the Jews and the position of the Church on this act or for some other reason. Considering that the wealth they possessed, plundered after their expulsion from the ghettos, the seizure of their functions as financial advisers to the individual kingdoms (I mean in Spain), perhaps this is the basis of this barbaric attitude. I know that the Jews were not allowed to own land and other property, for this reason they turned to trade, banking, medicine, science. And again, with this activity, they were a thorn in the side of the locals, who envied their initiative /in today's terminology - creativity/ and wanted to push them out.

Even today, Israelis do not have the peace and tranquility they want to live in harmony with their Arab and Palestinian neighbors. When I visited Israel some time ago, I was shocked by the sight of Arab and Palestinian neighborhoods and those of Jews - the complete opposite. The climatic conditions are the same for all people, but the order, cleanliness, friendly appearance of the homes are radically different. To add wire fences, checkpoints, armed soldiers, so that I don't even think about living there.

I stop here so as not to bother you and get bored. I would like to invite you to read it if you want to share your opinion with me. I am not saying that I am the last resort, I just want to make you sympathetic to the fate of different nations by generally accepted standards, which, however, are not always the best. The best thing, for me, is what makes people peaceful, happy in their lives, true to their customs and traditions, tolerant of others, to exist in peace and understanding with each other.

My dear followers,

I cordially congratulate you on the New 2022, I wish you good health, happy and successful next 365 days! Let our positive mood and cheerful view of the world not leave us for a moment, faith in the good to remain, to be tolerant and well-meaning to each other, to enjoy every minute here and now, because as we all know - life is very short!

I owe you a great apology for the long silence, not that I stopped reading, but I didn't have time to write about the holiday bustle. But I am recovering very quickly and I will tell you about some authors and books that surprised me, enriched me, I hope you will be intrigued.

I start with a completely unknown author - the South African writer JM Cutsey, winner of numerous literary awards, incl. and Nobel. The three books I read are "Shame", "Waiting for the Barbarians", "The Diary of a Bad Year". I was surprised by the fact that in addition to writing, he worked as an IBM programmer in London, as he studied mathematics and philology.

I start with "Waiting for the Barbarians", which shook me for a number of reasons. The place of the action is not specific, but some believe that this is the territory of South Africa, the homeland of the author himself. The small community of indigenous people, in my opinion these are aborigines, the judge, probably also the mayor of the settlement, his attempts to act according to his law and conscience, military and orders, but which they obey, causing mass chaos and riots are described as follows it is naturalistic that it is as if I am there, seeing the suffering of the people, the seizure of their food, the brutal treatment of defenseless people by the force. And immediately before my eyes appears the crippled girl, whom the judge takes under his protection, and last but not least to warm his bed on frosty winter days. I will never stop wondering why this cruelty to others is, why attempts to establish a "new" order are accompanied by the cost of many victims and destruction, why force must prevail over the established way of life of the common man and his life. ? And my answer is very short: There is no other way to impose your views and intentions when you meet resistance !!!

Shame is the other book I want to share my thoughts on. The action this time is positioned in a province of South Africa after the fall of apartheid. Violence again, but now the perpetrators are indigenous men who rob, kill, rape single women on their estates, armed and claiming to own their property, wealth and property. Probably this is the truth itself, albeit in literary form, but equally shocking, especially against the background of police inaction.

The Diary of a Bad Year is the strangest book I've read. It is built as a collection of essays by the aging writer / in my opinion this is a memoir collection /, with 3 actors, very different in terms of thinking - modern diseases, terrorism, pedophilia, prisons, music, purity of language, human relationships and, of course , love. Although direct speech is almost non-existent, the book is easy to read, the subtle humor and self-irony sound natural. Probably the author himself describes himself, his worldview, his understandings, his position on the issues under consideration. In my opinion, this is his autobiography.

It's time to share with you my impressions of a famous author - George Orwell /I have not read anything from him so far/. The political satire novels "1984" and "The Animal Farm" are dedicated to the darkest manifestations of totalitarianism. Big Brother is not a popular TV show, but a direct interference in the life of the "spills", the hardest part of the population, who have no rights but to work for the good of the elite and try to survive. Rewriting history, controlling the thoughts and consciousness of the common man, slander and slander, forced arrests and torture, preaching destructive doctrines and postulates can not but affect me. I grew up in years when expressing a different opinion from the party, being dissident, rebellious (even listening to the Beatles, wearing flared pants, or running longer hair) was considered punishable by imprisonment or for eviction behavior and quite a few people were punished by the authorities. So it surprised me how a man who did not live in such an environment wrote such a plausible book, or was a prophet about what would happen in the Eastern Bloc after his death, and lasted nearly half a century!

At times I felt like a direct participant in the events described, it seemed very real to me the attempts of the torturers to wash my mind and impose their slogans on me - "War is peace", "Freedom is slavery", "Ignorance is power" and the like. .

At the opposite pole in content is "More air". The nostalgic feeling of the protagonist in his passing youth, coping with life's difficulties, crushing monotony and the routine of everyday life are just as real. Soft, light haze is wrapped in the content of the novel, a little irony and awareness of the inevitable aging as part of the biological cycle of life - I can not help but like it, because it sounds very human.

As different as they are, the two books are fascinating, I liked them both in content and style and vocabulary, and I recommend them if you haven't read them before. Obviously, when you're ready, the right books come to you, obviously that's how it happened at the moment.

The time has come for me to tell you about an author unknown to me, but who has won world fame with the books, style, stories she tells, in which she intertwines her own destiny. The daughter of a Russian Jew who left her country after the 1917 revolution, she became a fascinating scholar, demonstrated excellent knowledge in various fields and captivatingly recreated action, in-depth study of scientific facts and concepts - this is Ayn Rand for me. I promise to read other of her works in order to get to know and comprehend her in more depth.

I begin with "We, the Living", a shocking drama about the fate of the Russian people - aristocrats and ordinary people, immediately after the revolution of 1917. I sensed the personal experiences of the author, felt the hopelessness of the doomed love of the protagonists, my heart sank , poverty and hunger, the attempts of the new government to control the daily life of the people. The discrepancy between party orders and their executors, corruption and the resistance of some Bolsheviks are filled with pain and sadness, sympathy and helplessness in the face of reality. The only way out is to leave your hometown, to look for other ways of development and a proper life, which is extremely difficult to achieve, sometimes ending in death. Once again, I became convinced that revolutions, like wars, do not bring anything good, but only destruction and hopelessness, despair and doom. We, the living, today can thank our destiny that we do not have to live in limitations / I do not mean the global pandemic with the Covid virus /, misery and horror of our destiny, to dream and work to achieve the desired result us. And last but not least, to fight, as much as our forces allow, not to allow such tragedies again.

The other novel is The Spring, a 800-page text describing the path and fate of several characters, equally interesting and provocative (at least for me) in the years of the Great Depression and pre-war America. I am far from architecture, I do not know the trends in its development around the world, I only know that big cities are developing in the east /from my uncle, who studied the profession in Germany before World War II/. It was interesting for me to learn many details /eg the nature of limestone and its use in construction/ about the profession of architect, to follow the introduction of new materials - e.g. plastic, the desire to make housing cheaper.

The fate of the protagonist and his professional path, defending their own understandings and views on the place and role of architecture in society, misunderstanding and rejection of his ideas from the mass taste and attitude of his competitors, the place of the tabloids in ordinary life, philosophy of a manipulator, personal happiness and affirmation of genius, this keeps me to the last page in tension to find out how it will all end. The description of nature, the seasons and their change, the inspiration and the inclusion of the buildings in it impressed me especially. I was happy with the end of the book because I always wanted to believe that beauty would save the world (although it sounds like a cliché), personal happiness and satisfaction are not just empty words, but a reality you have to work hard for. Again, I adore the extremely serious preparation for writing the novel, because the writer is hardly an architect by profession, but it sounds exactly like that. I recommend it to you and enjoy what you read.

Today I will tell you about the last book I read - "The King's Companion" by Anne O'Brien. Until the last page, I considered the reading to be a work of art, until I read the historical notes. The main character, Alice Perres, is a person from the second half of the 14th century in England, whose origins are lost in the past and for which there is almost no historical data. But this is not the most important thing in this case, the life, the order, the struggles in the royal court, the intrigues and the backstage, which I have met in other historical novels, are important.

I will make a small digression to explain my attitude towards the rich and famous, not only in the past, but also in the present / even more ruthlessly, when personal life is open and on display to society - e.g. the saga of the Kardashian family.

Most little girls, incl. and I, in my childhood, dreamed of the life of princesses, the brave knight on a white horse, the clothes and attributes of the palace style. Proof of how unhappy they are is the fate of the Princess of the People - Diana, why go back in time. Political interests, debt to the country and the family have sacrificed love, friendship, trust. Probably one of the few exceptions is the life of the Austrian Queen Maria Theresa, who marries the man she loves - Ferdinand II. But she also pays a heavy price at the end of her reign and is forced to ignore and withhold his open antics and lovers. Many princesses, despite the rich dowries they brought to their husbands, were forced to live in strict restrictions while their husbands showered their mistresses with gold and jewels purchased with funds from these dowries. Well, it took me years to shake off the girl's dreams, but as we know - life lessons are learned late.

So to continue with my heroine - Alice. The years of the second half of the 14th century did not require girls to read, write and think, on the contrary, they were viewed with suspicion and ridicule. Society expected them to marry, if possible to rich men, to decorate their homes and give birth to offspring. And Alice goes through these stages, but until that moment comes, thanks to fate, she acquires skills that later return with a gain in her life. Her first husband is a Lombard moneylender who teaches her the intricacies of the craft, which helps her a lot.

Alice's entry into the royal court was initiated by Queen Philip, who persuaded her to become a companion (understand mistress) of King Edward III. / something similar happens in "Women's Pavilion" by Pearl Buck /. Whatever Philip's motives and motives, her place is determined, the situation is established over the years, and until the king's death, she runs his home. This elevates her to the height of the White Queen, a recognition of the place, and which earns her many enemies. They predatorily attack her after the king's death, take away all the gains she managed to gain thanks to the king's generosity, the Good Parliament condemns her to exile, her husband saves her, whom she secretly marries.

I think I aroused your interest and I will be glad to direct you to an entertaining, but also very instructive reading. Enjoy reading!

Today I will tell you about a boy, and later a mature tennis player, who grew up with hatred and hatred for this sport, but also achieved many victories with tennis - Andre Agassi. Having won many victories in prestigious competitions, multiple title champion and number 1 in the world, Olympic champion, this young man won me over with his unadulterated feelings, pain, successes and failures, doubts, disappointments in personal and professional terms. The touchingly candid biography - "Open" - shook me with the power of emotions that filled his entire conscious life - from early childhood to his abandonment of professional sports after nearly 30 years in tennis.

I wonder how many of us are aware of what athletes are subjected to - beginners and stars, how much pain and pain their victories hide, what their bodies scream under their extreme load, how many people care about their technical, sports and mental condition. What do they owe to their loved ones, how is their absence reflected during the active season / lasting almost a whole year /, in their lives, what understanding should the family show to the competitors in order to preserve their physical and emotional health. For myself, I would say that it is incredibly difficult to empathize with every moment on the court, to inspire courage and hope in the face of inevitable losses, to analyze blows, positions and speed, to find the most accurate words and to be useful and productive .

The marriage to Stephanie Graf contributes to the meaning of his life, the birth of a son and their daughter fills their daily lives with meaning and content, and the foundation founded by the two and the construction of the Agassi Academy crown its goal to help and encourage talented children for their more. further development and success of young people. I will not retell the whole book, I just recommend you read it. Whether it will affect you as it happened to me or not, you will consider after reading it.

Today I will share with you my impressions of a famous French author - Andre Muroa and his two books, which I recently completed - "Climates" and "Disraeli". Of these, "Climates" is better known, and the second is a novelized biography of a famous English politician from the 19th century. quoted extensive correspondence with influential figures from aristocratic England, even Queen Victoria, with whom he has friendly relations.

For me, "Climates" is quite boring, melancholic, nostalgic, with a mutual misunderstanding of the feelings and moods of the main characters, probably a reflection of the generally accepted lifestyle in pre-war France. It wasn't until the end of it that I understood what its title meant - it is interpreted in the narrow sense of the word for family relationships. Honestly, I needed the whole patience to finish it. I do not think that I like this way of life, this total divergence of interests, desires and expectations of Philippe Marcena and his two wives - Odile and Elizabeth.

And I wonder if I do not understand something and do not evaluate it properly /it is much better known than "Disraeli"/, or 1 century is a very long time to change society itself, its values, rhythm and goals of people. In our hectic daily lives, I do not see how we will find time to analyze ourselves, let alone interpret the behavior of people around us, to succumb to doubts and premonitions, to look for reasons to be dissatisfied. Obviously, I am not ready to rise to such a literary height to appreciate "Climates" with dignity.

While reading Disraeli I could not wait to find out what awaits me in the following pages, to follow the manners and peculiarities of life and society in England in the 19th century. And here again there are personal coincidences /Benjamin D'Israeli is also a Jew like Andre Muroa/ , just as it is accompanied by the prejudices of the people towards this ethnic group, let us not forget that the Jews have been persecuted and persecuted for centuries throughout Europe /I have shared it with you many times/. I would be interested to know where the "Tories" and "Whigs" come from in the island's political life. I was very surprised by the way the sessions in Parliament are held, which sometimes end at dawn. The changes in the electoral legislation, which are also being debated in our country, are very difficult to pass, the material qualification of the voters is being broken, long before the suffragette movement started. As we know, women get the right to vote much later and it does not pass without personal attacks, strong resistance from men, persecution and imprisonment for the bravest activists. Are we aware of their self-sacrifice today, so that we have the right today to catch up with the "stronger" sex, or do we accept it as something we deserve rightly?!?!?

I was very impressed by the role of conservative England, during Disraeli's second term as Prime Minister, during the Russo-Turkish War of 1877/78, the holding of the Berlin Congress, whose decisions divided Bulgaria into two parts. Britain's political and economic interests, especially good relations with Turkey and Russia's opposition, prevailed in the peace treaty.

Ie the maxim "Divide and rule" is fully manifested at the expense of our country, to which Disraeli also contributes. Unlike William Gladstone, leader of the Liberal Party and defender of the Bulgarian people, Prime Minister Disraeli fully defended the interests of the crown and the British Empire. Well, years later, England is saying goodbye to its pearl - India, but it happens much later.

Another interesting thing on a personal level made me think hard. Disraeli's marriage to the much older and wealthier widow Mary-Ann surprised me, but there is a strong masculine logic for several reasons. According to him, marrying for love, judging by his observations of the families around him, is not always successful; the rich widow can provide him with the mental and material comfort he needs all the time; his very personality in her eyes elevates him to the height he wants to feel every minute. Let's not forget that he lives well beyond his means and is persecuted almost daily by his creditors, and a rich woman can cover his debts, take care of the household, which she does to the very end, she gives herself completely, to provide him with everything he needs and that has made them happy for more than 30 years. Are marriages on account really not the better solution ?????

Bible - Books of the New Testament - Holy Gospel of Luke

4.24 - And he said, Verily I say unto you, No prophet is accepted in his own country.

This statement fully applies to Boris Pasternak, his life and work.

The magnificent biography of the writer by Henri Troy tells of the tumultuous life of a famous Russian writer, from his early childhood until his death in 1960.

Growing up in a family of intellectuals - with an artist father and a pianist mother, surrounded by Russian poets, writers, composers, his childhood was spent in a cosmopolitan atmosphere, in a world of lively conversations about art, literature and notable artists of those years. Influenced by this creative environment, Pasternak changed his desires and direction for his future - composition, philosophy, poetry and prose. Changes in public life after 1905 led to the emigration of many Russian artists, including his family - his father, mother and sisters, but he himself, along with his brother / architect / remained in Russia.

The main motive for this decision is his attachment to the homeland, the Russian language, which he considers unique for the sonority of poetry, for the ability to express emotions and feelings in it. Despite the vicissitudes that accompanied him for the rest of his life, this sense of belonging to Russia is unchanging and makes him resilient to everything he will be subjected to in the years after the October Revolution, the purges of the intelligentsia, the dark years of the dictatorship. of Stalin, World War II and the change of party leadership.

"Doctor Zhivago" is Pasternak's most famous work, in which the author's personal experiences, troubles and difficulties are felt. I will not retell the content, probably many of you have read it or watched its filmed version. I will only note the response that caused its first release / note - in Italian !!!!! /, the nomination for the Nobel Prize / in my opinion well deserved !!!!! / The reaction of the Soviet state and society on this occasion was the complete desecration of the novel, the expulsion of the author from the Union of Soviet Writers, a ban on publishing his works, ie. his excommunication from all spheres of cultural life in the country. I can't even imagine what strength of spirit a man must have to withstand this moral harassment, what it cost him and his family, his legal wife and the one he lives with, his sons ...... Given the atmosphere of the 1930s and 1940s, the persecution of those uncomfortable with power, the disappearance of ordinary people and party functionaries sent to Siberia, it is a miracle that Pasternak lived to be 70 years old.

Still, after 1990 the rehabilitation of the writer began, his works entered the curriculum, his work received the recognition it deserved, but as they say - it's too late for himself.

Henri Troyes has Russian roots, lived to a respectable 95 years in France, author of many novels, of which the saga of the Eigletiers was available in the years of socialism in our country and I was able to read it. Unfortunately, I do not know many other of his works, but very recently I read "Alyosha" - a very beautiful story about youth friendship. I highly recommend it.

I haven't shared with you, my followers, what I've read lately. The explanation is that it took me a long, long time to deal with nearly 700 pages (which rarely happens) with Antoine Susan Bayot's Possession, an English writer, winner of the prestigious Booker Prize, Order of the British Empire and other honorary awards.

Starting it, I expected a light female novel, a love story, a quick denouement, a check-lit book. These assumptions did not come true and I found myself involved in two worlds - one in the second half of the 19th century and the other in the late 20th century. Victorian England with all its conventions, male and female territories, orders and barriers, allowed and not quite permissible performances of artists, and a bunch of bans on women.

As before, so now, I maintain that in past times the place of women has been strictly defined - at home, with family and children, the restrictions and ridicule of the "strong" sex have accompanied all attempts by the fairer half of the world to manifested itself elsewhere - e.g. in literature (some have outwitted and written and published their works under a male pseudonym - George Elliott, for example), the art, not to mention sports. I would say that emancipation has brought us recognition and opportunities today that a little over a century ago were unthinkable for our predecessors.

The novel traces the life and work of Randolph Henry Ash, a very popular poet of the time, his family, his scientific interests in the natural sciences, which were very modern in those years. The plot is contained in his illicit love for Cristabel Lamot, a gifted poet who originally began as an extremely platonic relationship because of her works, which later soon became a searing passion of reciprocity, briefly shared romance during one of the expeditions. his and with the natural ending - the appearance of their common daughter.

The intertwining of the research of contemporary researchers / Roland Mitchell and Maud Bailey, who turned out to be the direct successor of both poets / of their literary heritage, mystery and commercialization of English and American scientific circles lead to criminalization of who has what rights to this heritage, where to store it and gives a slight misunderstanding of the narrative. Jumping from the 19th to the 20th century, many heroes involved in the situation, the English climate and others. details are confusing - whether it was then or now, whether these or those people do this or that, etc.

Against the background of everything listed so far, I can not share the rich style, beautiful descriptions and comparisons, metaphors and allegories, the whole novel bubbles, bubbles, smells, shines and fills the imagination with beautiful natural pictures of spring, summer, autumn. The description of the north-west coast of England, with all its marine life - shapes, colors, species, explains the mass interest in the natural sciences at the time. And the poet is no exception to this fashion.

Although it was very difficult for me, I do not regret the time spent. My knowledge was enriched / nothing that I do not like poetry /, the conventions of Victorian England once again convinced me that nowadays life is easier and breather / corsets were still part of women's clothing /, style and language of the author passes from what is nowadays in a natural way, the complex relationships then and today are the same. If you trust me, take some time and read this book, you will not regret it, I'm sure of it! Until soon, I start "Atlas of Impossible Longing", I will dive into the secrets of "dark" India. Expect inclusion !!!

I hasten to share with you, my followers, my impressions of the Atlas of Impossible Longing by Anuradha Roy, an Indian journalist and writer who has won prestigious literary awards.

India, as I saw it 3 years ago, a country located on a whole subcontinent, a people who speak several official languages, bans and taboos, caste division even in the 21st century, contrasts and shocking orders, restrictions and isolation of women from public life, political biases and struggles - everything, and perhaps more than that, is this amazing country.

The action unfolds from the early 20th century until its midst, including liberation from British rule, persecution and expulsion of the Muslim population, the division of East Pakistan and India with all its biases, the collapse of some businesses and the inevitable invasion of the modern world.

The novel traces 3 generations through the lives of family members, differences in their views, attempts to avoid the old norms of behavior and education and something that did not surprise me - the subordinate role of women, centuries-old attitude to the caste, even today , and probably in the future.

The whole happiness of the modern woman is to be free, unencumbered by strict irrevocable rules, independent - physically and materially. We owe this to our predecessors, for which we must be very grateful.

At the same time, the book sounds strange to our ears in Hindi, Bengali, Gujarati, Kashmiri, Tamil and official English, there are probably other languages. You can feel the strong scent of exotic for us flowers, fruits, plants, grasses and shrubs, river and sea inhabitants. The onset of the monsoon season, endless rains and torrents, bring coolness after the heavy heat / I was there in early April in nearly 40 degrees in the shade and could barely breathe /. And here I want to recall "Rains" by Louis Bromfield, which during this period caused not only material damage but also mental problems for the population.

Yet the content is a glorification of love and longing, dreams and their fulfillment, romance and harsh reality, perseverance and lasting relationships, it really is an atlas and a kaleidoscope of experiences and emotions, hopes and expectations, failures and rise.

Whenever I read a book, the action of which takes place in a country I visit, I feel indescribable excitement, as I managed to touch, albeit briefly, the atmosphere, life and customs, I saw with my own eyes nature and people. And here I cannot fail to mention "Mother Australia" by Aaron Fletcher, who shook me with the description of the harsh nature and climate, the family saga of 3 generations, the difficulties in surviving the aborigines, entering the new order and adapting to it. I highly recommend it!

I'm finishing for now and I promise to take you on a new literary journey soon.

Every time I start a new book, I wonder what makes the writer tell these stories, how the idea for them was born, my own experience, heard experiences, fictional or actual fates and characters, researched archives or lawsuits or something else?!? !? Whatever is behind each of them, there is hard work, conscientious research of facts, doubts and dissatisfaction, copying and corrections, and, of course, a lot of creative imagination. How else are we going to make words smell, move free like the wind and birds, bubble and get excited, dress in summer clothes, or freeze on snowy, rainy, and foggy days? And the reader is immersed in the atmosphere of the story, breathes and lives to the last page with the fate of their favorite, and not so beloved, characters. Thus, I myself empathize with their destinies and I do not cease to admire the results of the author's work, regardless of the genre or age of the content.

These thoughts accompanied me from the beginning to the end of nearly 500 pages of the novel "Winds without Directions" by Belva Plain, a wonderful work covering the fate of 3 generations, the years between World War I and World War II, the Great Depression, the postwar period of the world, in particular medicine. The personal destiny of each of the characters, the desires and doubts of each of them, the achievements and capabilities of medicine, personal relationships and relationships, friendships and betrayals have variegated the pages of the book that it was very difficult for me to leave it until I reached the final denouement.

I will not retell it, let those of you who have intrigued me read it. Whether they approve of the stern and relentless Dr. Martin Farrell, his family, his personal drama in professional and family life, his contribution to building a neurosurgical center and collegial relations will show you what lies behind the facade of medical practice, dreams and aspirations of the young generation in post-war America, I remain to judge. Until then, nice communication with "Winds without directions" from Belva Plain and until recently!

"What is war - killing between people who do not know each other, to please people who know each other but do not kill each other", Paul Valerie, French poet and essayist, once said about others wars. This idea is still valid today, when a new bloody war is raging between two peoples, until recently united in one union - Russia and Ukraine. Occasions and reasons of all kinds, opposition and interests as well, the result is many, many victims - dead, wounded and driven from their homes. And all this in the 21st century, when the contradictions should be resolved in a civilized way, but they would not - we are witnessing the madness and cruelty of the military, the consequences of which are passed on to ordinary people, as always.

I wanted to share my opinion from the books I read - "The Hussar" and "The Siege" by the Spanish writer Arturo Perez-Reverte, which are also dedicated to the futility of war, centuries ago, but especially relevant today with what is happening before our eyes and not far from my side to the east.

I will start with what has always impressed me the most - the preliminary preparation before writing any novel, short story. Kurt's work, which precedes the study of historical sources, collecting reliable and scientifically based details of various areas of the narrative - this is what is behind each work of the writer /and not only in this case, but in general with all authors!/. Whether it will be for ballistics, trajectories, range, exact quantities and ingredients, taking into account the vagaries of time, patience and consistency for every moment of the police investigation, trade deals and risks, maritime affairs and more, more details.

How fragile human life ends in the madness of military operations, how romantic notions of heroism crumble before the reality of bloody fields of human bodies and the remains of purebred horses, how senior military personnel withdraw from battlefields with caravans of appropriated treasures of churches, monasteries and rich estates. I can't help but be shocked by all this, so the characters in both novels look authentic to me, young and cheerful hussars, who set out to conquer new territories for the next ruler of the throne, full of cynicism and determined to prove and punish the mass murderer of young girls in Cadiz, the romantic nuance in the relationship between the heiress of a prominent merchant family and the corsair, risking his life to save her wealth or bankruptcy of the company !!!

These are the thoughts that accompanied me as I read the fascinating books that made their author my favorite writer lately. I highly recommend it without forcing it to your attention. If you read them, I will be happy for you to share your thoughts with me, and until then I leave you with the conviction that I have again made you empathize with my literary characters and their creators.

Dear readers and followers,

I haven't shared the books I've read with you in a long time, not because I haven't read during that time, but because I came across an American writer, Belva Plain, whose work is like chic-lit literature. Their content is dedicated to many different characters, times, manners, life situations - wars, persecutions, the Great Depression in America in the 20th century, complex human relationships and, as a rule - with a happy ending. There is nothing wrong with such an ending, but several consecutive novels of this kind seemed almost the same to me, so I quickly went through them.

I offer you a new approach with the next epic - MAHABHARATA, which I start with interest and understandable excitement. I will focus on each chapter read separately, because the volume is large - over 1000 pages / The Bible has 1500 pages !!! / and because I am afraid to miss something from the story for this reason.

We have an expression - "Dark India", which we use when we want to define something unknown, mysterious, unknown. And yet for me it turned out that the world is the same / is, almost /, when you touch it for one reason or another, or try to understand the different from the world you know, to try to understand a different way of life and life, other beliefs and customs.

As in the previous parts of my blog I told you about my impressions of my visit to India, so now I will try to immerse you in the atmosphere of this so mysterious subcontinent, where everything is very different, colorful, fragrant, mystical, if you will. And in other books, e.g. "Shantaram" is about life there, about relationships, relationships, castes, orders, but this is about something completely different.

I suppose many of you have read the Bible, the Book of Books, the Ancient Greek Legends and Myths, all readings related to history, legends, fears and predestination. From the first chapters of the Mahabharata I sensed something familiar - every city is a kingdom, every mayor is a king, every hermit is a mystic, all gods and goddesses rule the population with a firm hand, everything goes according to the order established by them. the consequences are terrible - natural disasters fall on people's heads, punishments are inevitable, obedience must be observed. The wrath of the gods finds satisfaction in the inevitable sacrifices and sufferings of men. So far - nothing new, even today, in the 21st century, we are witnessing such an approach, even if we do not interfere with the gods - we all see what is happening around us.

Welcome to the wonderful world of the Mahabharata, says Krishna Dharma, the writer who has collected and summarized the many sacred scrolls and interpretations of the great epic created centuries ago by many more than one, each of whom has contributed to the fascinating reading. Sages / rishis /, gods and goddesses, dynasties and kings, rulers of vast territories, strange / for us / vows and beliefs, exotic names of many heroes and territories, as if reading a fairy tale, and maybe it really is a fairy tale of bygone times.

"Whatever exists in this epic in the realms of dharma (ethics), artha (prosperity), kama (enjoyment) and moksha (liberation) can be found elsewhere, but what does not exist here you will not find anywhere else." This is what the author says in the preface to the last edition of the epic, which took more than 7 years to process the sacred texts - from 09.1998 to 12.2005.

India's culture and religion are beyond doubt. The centuries-old existence of many nations in this vast territory, different religious beliefs and traditions, forms of government, have been at the root of constant conflicts of interest, as is happening today. These are told in the Bible, the ancient Greek legends and myths / there are probably many others, but unfortunately I am not familiar with them / - the most complete historical stories, and to this day no one is surprised by such conflicts in the 21st century.

Since I mentioned very close plots in all three books, I will mention one that surprised me greatly - the great Queen Satyavati gave birth to the sage Vyasadeva / Vyasa / like the Virgin Mary - as a virgin who kept her virginity and was endowed with a divine fragrance from heaven. rishi Parashara. Go and say that our common ancestors did not share the same values, the same beliefs, the same heroes. Yes, in different latitudes, different in time, different in beliefs, but in essence - almost the same. That's why I decided to read it very slowly and share each chapter separately to be absolutely sure that I will not miss something important.

Wars for territories and power, innumerable riches in the hands of the rulers, complete subordination of the population, intrigues and riots, corruption and conspiracies - is there anything that surprises us today? In my opinion, as they say - "Everything new is well forgotten old", ie. everything is historically repeated, regardless of the place and time of the event. As much as we want to be different - more moral and sublime, let us admit - everything that is in human hands can be deformed / unfortunately very rarely for the better /.

I want to share with you my joy that I was able to finish reading (although it cost me a lot of effort) the Indian Bible - the Mahabharata !!!, 35 chapters from Part II "Salvation" and more than 1000 pages were worth my effort.

Many gods and goddesses, demigods and demigods, sages, intercessors, friends and enemies, legends and myths, rebirth and resurrection, punishment and encouragement, natural disasters and calamities, prosperity and defeat, all this is entangled in such a colorful rug that you can hardly to follow her unequivocally. The main characters sometimes have more than one name - their nicknames are associated with their vows, often bordering on the absurd, and others - because of their merits and mission in life. It is difficult for a reader outside the vast subcontinent to grasp and comprehend in one reading all that lies in this vast epic. I promise that I will not undergo this test again - to read it several times (as Peter Deunov believes that he who reads the Bible 100 times will get closer to the life of the saints) to fully understand it. As something unusual and sounding almost exotic - yes, but more - no, thank you.

I learned a lot of details about this lifestyle and religion, everyone's place is predetermined by fate, in which I firmly believe, the caste division that still exists today - all this can be explained and affirmed for thousands of years. Even today, when India has its own astronaut, modern industry, Bollywood, spewing hundreds of movies a year, a person born in one caste has almost no chance of jumping into another, just society does not allow it.

But back to the narrative. As I said above, nothing new under the sun, the struggle for power and influence, wealth and luxury, accompanied by asceticism and religious worship of the galaxy of deities, the number of which I have not been able to establish.

The bloody battles, the divine weapons, the invulnerability of the main actors, the mass casualties and casualties can not leave you indifferent, so it happened to me. Visually, I imagined fierce battles, warriors and animals, cannons and divine intervention, hopes and disappointments, countless widows and orphans (unlike the Bible, their fate after the battle remained unclear to me). Lots of mysticism and incredible experiences, difficult to explain the injuries of the fighters and their survival for the next few days - all this for 18 days, according to the units used in them involved about 4 million people, not counting elephants, horses, weapons, the auxiliary number of assistants. It was difficult for me to imagine the place of the battlefields, where did these people and animals fit in?!?

Overall, my impressions of the Mahabharata are positive, leaving aside the difficulties I encountered in reading it. I will not retell it to you if you want, you can do it yourself, but I am biased towards the Bible, which is also fundamentally rooted in Orthodox Christianity, the religion of my society.

I am currently reading "Three Sisters, Three Queens" by my favorite author, Philippa Gregory, who traces the royal dynasties of the 15th and 17th centuries - the Stewards, the Tudors, the Platangenets. Once again, I am convinced that the lives of princesses and queens are not so glamorous, comfortable or safe. On the contrary - eternal intrigues and conspiracies, battles for the inheritance of the crown, friendships and betrayals, victories and defeats, treaties that are instantly violated when conditions allow, ie. the interests of one or the other party. And all this against the background of the harsh nature of England and Scotland, the eternal enemies - Spain and France, forced marriages, as they say in our country - "the royal crown is heavy."

MY DEAR READERS AND FRIENDS,

Here I am again ready to share with you the books I have read recently, and they are quite a few. Those of my favorite author stand out. , but now my impressions are very strong and immediate. The trilogy Atlas Shrugged and Triumph are such a realistic and true description of the totalitarian regime under socialism that I wonder if she did not live in that system or if she has prophetic abilities. Depersonalization, unification and leveling of the human mass, affirmation of a particular kind of thinking, i.e. lack of mental activity, and well before George Orwell and his "1984".

Only a contemporary of the years I witnessed can appreciate the veracity of the content, heightened at times, philosophically saturated at others, but startlingly true in its essence. To be different, dissenting in those times was tantamount to suicide, especially when publicly expressed.The persecution is brutal as all authorities are committed to maintaining the status quo at all costs. Examples of such a scenario can still be found around the world today - let's recall the murder of Georgi Markov in London, the showdown with critics of political power that are inconvenient to the Kremlin, not to mention other victims of dictatorships on different continents, who are talked about and written about quite a lot a little.

I admit that in places in "Atlas Shrugged" in the third part, the philosophical reflections got a little too much for me, but I promise that I will return to them again to analyze them more thoroughly, but I was in a hurry to understand the conclusion of the trilogy, which literary critics define as an opus magnum whatever is meant by that term.

The trilogy contains 10 chapters in each part - "Do not contradict them", "Do - or" and "A is A". Strong personalities, their own approach to solving life and economic problems, different forms of resistance, apocalyptic pictures of ruin and hopelessness, fiery tempers, uncriticalness towards authority, these are some of the more characteristic moments of the books.

I will not repeat them, I want to arouse in you the curiosity with which I hope you will approach them if you decide to read them. It is no coincidence that Ayn Rand is listed as one of the most influential philosophers of the 20th century, and I regret that I had not read anything by her until now, but I was clearly not ready for this kind of literature, and now I am catching up. I liked her works even more because I was a direct witness to what she described /in some places a little exaggerated/. I'd love for you to share your thoughts and reflections with me if you do reach out to this author.

I will deviate a little from my main purpose in the blog to share with you something very curious and in this case completely appropriate - "everything new is a well-forgotten old" /if you remember this is how I started the continuation of my blog/. At the end of the school year, my older granddaughter was given a list of must-read books to read over the holidays. You will say that vacation is a time for games and rest, but can electronics /phone, tablet, computer/ give what the book gives!?!?! And notice, it had, oh surprise, a factory-made reading journal as a teaching aid.

Some time ago I read in an article the advice of psychologists who recommended that parents read the same books that their children read in order to have common ground, to share plots and characters, to help shape the worldview and interests of their descendants. This, among other things, also leads to rapprochement of the parent body and adolescents, discussions and exchange of opinions, meaningful family life in free time for all.

And since modern parents never have time, I read them all 10 books with interest - fairy tales, poems, riddles, educational, and not quite, books. The magnificent "The Greedy Bear" by Emilian Stanev brought me to tears with the indescribable beauty of the speech, the magnificent description of nature, the fusion of reality and fiction, which should instill in children a reverence for mountains and forests, centuries-old rivers and lakes and their inhabitants. Probably here is the place and role of the teacher to make the children empathize with the reading, and it is also possible to take them outside and show them how a person can and should live in harmony with nature and protect it daily.

The instructive "Anton and Tochica" by Erich Kästner, "Matilda" by Roald Dahl made me think about how different parents are and how this affects their children. One thought from the first book deeply moved me personally and I plan to turn it into my motto - no one respects good people /the quote is not quite accurate, but the meaning is the same/. It may be an exaggeration, but it is absolutely true to me, and I will try to make it my shield against the excessive abuse of my goodness.

Lewis Carroll is the author of "Alice in Wonderland", which my granddaughter and I both found utterly boring and downright implausible - the Queen and her gratuitous cruelty /"cut off her/his head", "beheaded", "in prison"/ - all expressions inviting violence / the author hardly intended this, but that's how it sounds, and at the age of 9-10/, a talking mushroom / are we not talking about hallucinogenic ones/, blue or the green centipede, the mad hatter, the cantankerous cook and more and more.

Sorry for wasting time reading this classic, but it's not realistic to like everything, is it? I will be watching next school year which excerpt from the book will be in the textbook and I am curious what interpretation of the plot the teacher will choose. I hope it is something more meaningful and instructive, hopefully!!!

I've always maintained that writing books is hard, long, and dedicated work, except, perhaps, for cheap entertainment reads. It requires not only an idea, but also extremely serious preparation. E.g. for writing "Three Sisters, Three Queens" Philippa Gregory listed a bibliography of more than 7 pages. In order to sound believable, these novels have to check very ancient texts, they are about events long before Gutenberg, written and transcribed by hand, where accurate, where not quite, abbreviated or embellished documents, sometimes with the scribes' own opinion. We know that in the past, this activity mainly took place in the monasteries, where the monks were engaged in it, as well as the scribes in the palaces of the respective rulers.

Bernard Cornwell is the author who dedicated "The Pale Horseman" and "The Last Kingdom" to a fragmented England from the beginning of the 16th century, when the country was a collection of many independent states, kingdoms, regions subordinated to one or more rulers. They fell victim to devastating raids and attempted conquest by Denmark, with the aim of seizing the southern parts of the island and the favorable climate there. The battle scenes are poignant with the ferocity of the battles, the grisly remains of the victims on the fields in their wake, the vultures and ravens hovering in black flocks over the slain. How can you not believe these descriptions, especially since very often in the movies the footage shows the same thing.

I recently read a statistic that horrified me!!! It turns out that 20% of Bulgarians, including aged 15-30, haven't read a single book in a year?!?!? This is also the percentage of those who do not have more than 10 books at home?!?!? I wonder if this is true or journalistic "news". Whatever it is, it's very sad and disturbing.

And I still wonder how today's politicians, sending their soldiers to the battlefield, do not remember the past with all its consequences, do not realize what it will cost after the war to restore the damage and why, in the end, and who needs this? To prove ourselves /to whom?/ how powerful and ruthless we are!!! Or is the truth somewhere else, but how do we find it? If you know, point it out to me, I want to understand it and make sense of it! Until then, I leave you to the next books, which, I want to believe, will be more human and meaningful.

Now is the time to share my impressions of "The Eternal Wonder" by one of my favorite writers - Pearl Buck. The fate of this novel is more than strange - lost for more than 40 years, it was accidentally discovered and printed.

I guess most of you know about the author herself, who spent most of her life in China, where her parents were missionaries, about her awarding the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1932, and you may have read "Pavilion for Women" or "The Empress" and possibly other works of hers.

From what I have read of her work /and it is very little/, "The Eternal Miracle" is her last book. So much poetry in the speech, from the very beginning, as the main character prepares for his birth, through all the experiences of his being, his vast erudition, diverse interests, friendships and doubts, and all this within the framework of one human life. Fate and its vicissitudes, friendship and love, favor and corruption, war and peace, everything is entwined in a great ball of experiences, past, present and future, described with the mastery of Pearl Buck. The ending was quite unexpected for me, but the question of ethnicity, doubts about the origin and the place of a person of mixed marriage in the American post-war society prevailed in the decision of the heroine for this ending. And yet, the eternal miracle - life, continues, the main character finds his place and future as a writer.

The "Empress" tells about the last Chinese ruler who, from being the emperor's concubine, established herself as an autocrat at the end of the 19th and the beginning of the 20th centuries in China. Thanks to her personal qualities, she resists palace intrigues and conspiracies. sacrifices his own happiness for the sake of the empire, fights, unsuccessfully, to stop the new age and foreign interests. This distant and mysterious country is conveyed so colorfully and fascinatingly, with oriental luxury /for the rich/, with respect for traditions in manners, with the entry of modern technologies, that it is no wonder that in the end even the empress is forced to give way to age-old prohibitions and so China opens up to the world. I will not tell more, I hope I have piqued your interest and you will open it for reading as well.

Pavilion for Women is the first book by Pearl Buck that I read in my youth. Then I could not understand her, apparently as a result of my age, and I did not explain to myself how, at the age of 40, you will officially become your husband's mistress /today 40 years is the new 20, at least that's what it says in women's magazines!/. And it had reasons, not only physiological and biological, but also emotional and mental. Until her 40th birthday, Mrs. Wu had impeccably fulfilled her marital and domestic commitments, but after that she decided to indulge her own needs - artistic, spiritual, linguistic. At the end of the 19th century in China, it was tantamount to heresy - for a woman to abdicate family life and place herself above family conventions and devote herself to seeking her own happiness - in books, silence, contemplation, poetry and painting. This is how the author presents the emancipation of women, this applies in full force even today, at least that's how I interpret it and welcome it. I hope you agree with me.

I recently read a statistic that horrified me!!! It turns out that 20% of Bulgarians, including aged 15-30, haven't read a single book in a year?!?!? This is also the percentage of those who do not have more than 10 books at home?!?!? I wonder if this is true or journalistic "news". Whatever it is, it's very sad and disturbing.

These 15 or so years in youth are the time when the basic human qualities are formed, individuality is built, and the main characteristics that determine the further outlook of people and are important for their future are brought up. Many conclusions arise from these statistics, bewildering and even startling conclusions, but the primary source does not seem to come to the fore, but it is decisive.

I have always argued that it is the family model that is of utmost importance to the young person. An ill-mannered parent cannot raise an educated generation, can he? If the mother, father, grandparents read in the family, the children will read too, of course! And the reverse is also true. That is why it is necessary that the book should be revered at home, from an early age.

You will say that books are expensive! This is just an excuse, it is not by chance that it is said that the one who wants - looks for a way, and the one who does not want - looks for reasons. Yes, there is such a moment, but there are libraries, community centers, electronic bookstores, from which you can download all kinds of books completely free of charge. Almost every home has a computer, not to mention tablets and phones, with affordable applications for downloading literature. That is why the family factor must seriously think about overcoming this serious problem, because if a solution is not found now, after a while it will be irretrievably late. And we don't want that to happen, you agree with me, right?

If you like tales of corsairs, privateers, buccaneers, terrifying sea battles, if you are a fan of Sir Francis Drake or other famous names from the era of pirate wars, then "The Secret of Christopher Columbus" by David Hatcher Childress is your book.

The centuries-old battles of different countries - from the Mediterranean to America, numerous shot, hanged, imprisoned pirates have not uprooted this evil on all sea routes - from Pompey the Great to Thomas Jefferson have fought - successfully and not so much with this phenomenon.

Once upon a time, and even now (if you remember from my previous writings, there was such an attempt at our ship, fortunately unsuccessful/), piracy is one of the main sources of income for many brave, desperate or incapable men. Pompey the Great managed to neutralize the pirates in the Mediterranean Sea for nearly 2 centuries, and the navy of the newly formed American State greatly limited their field of action at the beginning of the 19th century.

Legends of untold treasures, mysterious maps of their location, burial rituals or the conditions for their discovery often ignite the imagination of many people who sacrifice time, money and sometimes their lives in an attempt to find the priceless objects. Even now, with the advanced means - underwater cameras, metal detectors or other devices, this activity is not at all easy and generally available, the sea hides its secrets and is not ready to share them with anyone else.

The interweaving of reality, mysticism, legends, and beliefs lead to the refutation of centuries-old postulates. This is confirmed by more than 100 bibliographic references. T.e.g. the personality of Christopher Columbus is composite - of Italian and Spanish men, one a wool merchant and the other an illegitimate prince. I leave it to you to give your preference to one of the two for America's first discoverer.

But even in this statement there is a discrepancy - from the cited historical documents, it has been established that more persons from biblical times went to America. T.e.g. the mythical country of Ophir, from which Solomon mined the gold for the Second Temple, researchers recognize Peru or Chile. This past is so distant, the maps, transcripts, translations of places and people have been made through so many hands, that like nothing, secrets will remain secrets for a very long time.

Here is the place to include the secret societies of Hospitallers, Templars, Freemasons, about whom there are many legends and are credited with participation in many spheres - the Crusades and the battles for Jerusalem, the naval wars with the Vatican after the ban on their existence at the beginning of the 14 c., the founding of America and a number of other events. But whatever the reality, the legends and myths about those times and the participants in them are still interesting today, in the age of the Internet. And whoever is more curious about the subject, I recommend reading this book.

I hasten to share with you the book I just read "The Covenant of Isis" by James Douglas /pseudonym of investigative journalist Douglas Jackson, author of numerous historical novels/. The book is like a bubbling pot with many ingredients, a strong fire, various aromas, and the contents may overflow from the cauldron at any moment.

Intertwining eras - from the time of Nero in the first century of the New Era, through Nazi Germany and the ashes of the Second World War to the present day.

Perhaps many of you have read and heard that in some moments of great excitement people speak in an unknown language that they have never learned. And so far, scientists cannot explain this fact, no matter how advanced medicine is!

The subject of the narrative is a myth that has been pursued over the centuries by Roman legions, the Nazi army and its famous units (SS, Gestapo, paramilitary units), Soviet soldiers in the days before the surrender of Germany - the famous crown of Isis from the treasure of Dido, hidden in the Atlas Mountains, darkened by the years, but resurrected with the plans of Hitler and his entourage to elevate the Aryan race above all others, for which he also needs a strong argument. And what could be more convenient than declaring the Germanic nation sublime with its criteria of greatness and the heiress of untold riches, all attempts to prove its antiquity, and also to harness all forces and artifacts to place the pure Aryans on a pedestal. We have read, we have seen, we have heard all kinds of stories about the attempts of German "scientists" to impress upon the whole world about their invincibility and infallibility, but historical facts are well known to all of us.

But back to the book. The narrative alternates from past to present, legends and legends, cruelty and remorse, a criminal element, even a light love affair, miraculous intervention and survival, thoughtless sacrifices and lots and lots of money, and finally - retribution overtakes the guilty. "The Curse of the Gift of Long Life" sounds plausible to some of them. This thought for me is proof that there is no unpunished evil, but it does not bring satisfaction to anyone, it comes late, but it is still a belated "reward" for the transgressions committed.

It was very interesting for me to learn that Hitler's entourage (himself an artist) - Goering, Himmler and other military men - were passionate collectors of art in all its types and forms. The looting of museums and private collections from the conquered territories has always been accompanied by cruelties and unnecessary atrocities. Many of the acquired treasures after the end of the war have disappeared forever, a very small part of them have been returned to their rightful owners.

The legends of the Egyptian rulers and their divine patrons reminded me of the power of the ancient land from several millennia before the new era, the palace intrigues and conspiracies, the dynastic struggles that led to its sunset, accompanied by both natural disasters and foreign enemies. Well, history always repeats itself, even today in the 21st century.

I was strongly impressed /again/ by how parents build their children in their own image and likeness in the face of one of the main characters in the novel, and once again I was convinced of my belief in heredity.

The last days of the Third Reich, the bunker and Hitler's suicide are described in very vivid colors, I was struck by the behavior of the closest associates of the ideologist and the initiator of the war, the betrayal and fear, the attempts to escape from their punishment, and subsequently the behavior them during the Nuremberg trials.

I stop there, and if I have provoked curiosity and interest, then you have the opportunity to personally make sure of the credibility of the narrative and to recall the story, and from it you can always learn the relevant lessons. Enjoy reading!

The last 3 books I read are by one of my favorite authors - John Grisham.

Some time ago I read 7-8 of it in a row and in the end they all seemed the same to me / the same happened with the works of Paulo Coelho, the "favorite" writer of the playmates, hahaha, just kidding, except for "The Alchemist" / and long after I didn't want to read that. But with interest I followed "Lawyer of Criminals", "Secret Witness", however "The Fugitive" somehow did not appeal to me, it looked like a teenage adventure novel, which is not bad, only it sounded rather medicated. . Many times I have reflected on the influence of the family environment in the upbringing and shaping of adolescents, and in this case it is confirmed by the main character - Theo Boom. I won't rehash it, but those of you who were interested can follow it up.

Here again I will touch on the subject of long and persistent work, preliminary preparation and self-discipline of writers. In this case, John Grisham's legal education and practice as a lawyer before he turned to writing is of utmost importance to the credibility of his works. "The Firm" was even filmed. Everything sounds believable, realistic, in some moments even frightening.

When I watched American crime films /quite a long time ago/, I always wondered if this was possible - corruption, bribery, double-dealing, fabricating alibis or guilt, I always thought that these were creative inventions. But as it is in life, anything can happen, even this. I won't overtax your patience, and I highly recommend that you read "Criminal Lawyer" in particular to verify my claims, or else to form your own opinion. The decision is yours, and until then - read on!!!!!

The time has come for me to share with you my impressions of a Russian writer - Alexandra Marinina, who turned her pen to the crime genre /in general I don't read such books anymore, but for this author I make an exception, you will understand why in a moment/. She herself worked for many years in the investigation of the Russian capital, i.e. has an accurate and unbiased view of crime and all its attendant consequences. Her approach to the subject is insightful and credible, at times I wonder how the censorship allowed the publication of novels that overflow with all kinds of obstacles for the investigators - lack of admissible evidence or indisputable alibis of the suspects, numerous examinations and analyses, significant omissions and misinterpretation of facts, endlessly busy and tired forensic experts, investigators, operatives, lack of time, a lot of documentation and formalism, pressure from superiors or interested parties and more, and more ..... In addition, my favorite heroine Anastasia Kamenskaya, who with her infallible experience, analytical mind and infinite patience manages to build the final picture of the crimes. Of course, this is a collective image, but I like it.

I have not kept the statistics of the books read by this author, there are probably over 20, maybe more, but the last of them "Angels do not survive on ice" deeply surprised and shook me, because it is dedicated to my favorite sport - figure skating. My interest in it dates back to childhood, I even tried to go skating at one point, but it turned out to be unsuccessful and short-lived, I was content from now on to follow all kinds of championships on TV, sometimes even late at night, and later late and on the internet. But that's not important, what's important is something else, about which I had absolutely no idea, and surely you, the viewers in front of the small screen, did too. I have not imagined a sport in which there is a place for preliminary agreements on ranking, convenient for the place of holding competitions and their reflection in the rankings, bribes or outright racketeering, personal malice and intolerance, smoldering conflicts for years, capable and not quite coaches, unbiased judges , assistants and many other details. I would have dismissed all of this as creative fantasy if it weren't for the writer's opening thanks to the many individuals who helped her craft a truthful account of the unflattering facts behind this magical sport. Adding that there are no specific exact measurements - time, height, length, weight, etc. undisputed criteria, the place for subjectivism is wide open. The Soviet, and later the Russian school of figure skating, have long-standing authority and results over a long period of time - Irina Rodnina, Evgeny Plushchenko, Ilya Averbukh, Tatiana Tarasova, Alexei Mishin are names, proven competitors and coaches, who wrote down the names you are in the "golden" book of this sport /if there is one, I wrote it now, I hope it didn't affect anyone's ambition.../, in the last year, the scandals with Kamila Valieva and her coach Eteri Tutberidze have been circulating on the Internet and the press for a long time, conveniently circulated and blown up by the media. I wonder, though, where is the truth? If I refer entirely to the book Angels Don't Survive on Ice, I wouldn't be surprised if this 15-year-old girl doesn't continue to compete and train after the doubts surrounding her tarnished image. I hope I'm not right in my suspicions, because she really is very talented.

I hope I have provoked your curiosity and turn to this book, and if you have time and desire, you can share your impressions with me. Until then, read on!!!!!

Today I will tell you a story - beautiful and very sad. It's about "The Most Beautiful Woman in Florence" by Alyssa Palombo. While reading it, I thought it was an artistic interpretation of the past, but from the historical notes at the end of the book I learned very real facts about the life and work of the Renaissance artist Sandro Botticelli and his remarkable painting "The Birth of Venus".

Italy, the second half of the 15th century, Florence and the famous patrons of the Medici family - patrons of all forms of art - literature, artists and sculptors, rapid construction of palaces and public buildings, etc.

While posing for her first portrait of Botticelli, with the permission of Marco, all too concerned for her safety and reputation, she falls in love with the artist, not only through his creative work, but also through a shared interest in the works of Dante, Petrarch and other authors from this period. As she read with interest the books provided by the rich Medici library, she discovered answers to her own questions that she could not share with her husband. And when she accidentally learns the truth about his infidelity, she doesn't have the strength to forgive him for a long time.

Simonetta Cattaneo Vespucci, the 16-year-old wife of Marco Vespucci /Amerigo Vespucci's cousin/ is the beauty of Florence, who is admired by the entire population of the city - men idolize her and women emulate her. Married according to the traditions of morality and prestige of the time, she was for a long time impeccable in her behavior and enjoyed the open courtship of the local nobles, until one of the Medici brothers crossed the threshold of prudence, and with the consent of her husband.

Personal tragedy and fragile health bind her more and more to Botticelli, but the price she pays for his masterpiece "The Birth of Venus" turns out to be her early death - only 22 years old. The family tomb by the Arno River housed her, and after Sandro's death, Botticelli was also laid to rest there.

It remains immortalized for generations, who to this day do not stop admiring the beauty that turns out to be a curse for the young woman.

And I urge you again - read, not only to make sense of your free time, but also to learn from the past!

I assume that all people in the world at least once in their life have heard or visited /me too/ the Eiffel Tower, the history and the reason for its construction, the scandals and conflicting opinions in connection with the construction, the main actors, but hardly /without the narrow specialists/ know the name of the chief designer - Emil Nougier. He is credited with the precision of the metal components of the structure, the strict adherence to the deadlines for its completion, the fine discipline of the construction, which cost him his personal life and peace of mind during the little more than 2 years of raising the symbol of Paris and France.

Emile Nougier is one of the protagonists of Béatrice Colin's novel Flowers of Ice and Ash, a touching personal and professional story related to Gustave Eiffel and his grandiose plan - the tower dedicated to the 100th anniversary of the French Revolution, divergent opinions and fears of Parisians to her. The life of the aristocracy and the common man, the naturalistic descriptions of Paris in the second half of the 19th century, the courtesies and hypocrisy of society, all this is intertwined in the beautiful tale of a widowed Scotswoman, her confidants - a brother and sister in the controversial French capital and the persons, busy with the erection of the eternal symbol - the Eiffel Tower.

While reading it, I remembered "The Fountain" by Ayn Rand, in which public opinion is critical of the new, the unconventional, mediocrity confronts the genius thought and courage of innovators, architects, engineers and constructors to create something new, progressive, with idea of ​​future and perspective. This fully applies to all branches of the economy and society, which is why geniuses often die in extreme poverty and absolutely unrecognized. Today, however, their creations are acquired for multi-million dollar/euro sums, and those such as the Eiffel Tower, the Suez and Panama Canals, skyscrapers, viaducts, tunnels, bridges bear their now legendary names.

True, most of us want security, stability, predictability, but without cutting-edge proposals and solutions, we would still be living in tribes and subsistence farming. The world needs visionaries and creators who have decided to challenge themselves and nature, to harness their knowledge and skills to fight against it and leave generations with evidence of their work.

I will not retell the content of the novel, I hope I have provoked your curiosity about the beautiful story - personal and professional, especially about the happy ending that I strongly hoped would happen. Read, this is a wealth that cannot be bought with money alone, it must be felt with the soul and heart of the reader!

It's very rare that I read two books at the same time. This time I alternated between them - one during the day, because it was in book format and very heavy, and the other - late at night from the kindle. "An Optimistic Theory of Our People" and the 3-volume "Beat and Soul of Our People" by Ivan Hadjiyski and "Arrest Warrant" subtitled "How I Became Putin's Enemy Number 1" by Bill Browder.

It is difficult for me to summarize the content of both, except for the volume of those of Ivan Hadjiyski, and the narration of "Arrest Warrant" shook me emotionally. In 2012, I was in Russia, in St. Petersburg for a short time, but my impressions of the local people are still in front of my eyes - I did not see any smile on their faces, I did not hear laughter and children's noise /it was in the summer/, I did not feel the Russian spirit, everything was gloomy /even the weather/, businesslike /even in the museums/, without warmth and a cheerful mood, which greatly surprised me.

Ivan Hadjiyski was killed during the Second World War at the age of 36, but he left behind such a rich literary legacy that amazes with a very clear and accurate picture of the soul of the Bulgarian, explains a number of differences from our and world bourgeois revolutions / in Bulgaria the Russo-Turkish War 1877/78 played the role of a bourgeois revolution with the features inherent in the war and its aftermath/. I have never come across such a precise description of ethnic traits, the sociological characteristics of our society, but I am not a specialist who has worked in this field to claim to know the subject.

A lawyer by education, a sociologist, an essayist, a journalist, a military correspondent - he probably possessed other skills, but what stands out most is the relevance of his judgments, the analysis of what happened after the Liberation in the political sphere, the contradictions and enmity of the individual parties and factions can apply today, so true and accurate are they. This is what makes me think that he is either a genius, a prophet, an oracle or a man years older than his contemporaries, or even the current generations. I can only recommend you /as our friends did for me this summer/ to read these works, which will convince you once again that every new thing is a well-forgotten old thing, and this comes after another early election in Bulgaria. The ego of the politicians will leave the people in the dark and cold, especially during war, but they will not think about how the thousands of Bulgarians who will wander among the dozens of candidates for power survive, and they, for their part, do not think about the people at all. And we will continue to spin in a vicious circle and again we will wait for someone to save us. Is it?

The other book is based on an actual case. Some of you have probably heard of the Magnitsky Act. I hadn't even given it a second thought until I completely stumbled upon Arrest Warrant by Bill Brother. I even googled it to make sure I wasn't confused, but no - what's actually described is a novelized documentary. I could not imagine the monstrous corruption in Russia from the end of the 20th and the beginning of the 21st century /now I understand why the average Russian is oppressed, depressed and drinking - his only joy/. The repressive state machine breeds robots and oligarchs who become rich overnight, having taken entire industries, factories, machinery and technologies for nothing, which fill their pockets, allowing the satisfaction of all whims, etc. However, if they encroach on the sacred authority, they fall into disfavor - e.g. Mikhail Khordokovsky, are imprisoned, mistreated, killed /Boris Nemtsov, Anna Politkovskaya/, convicted, sent to correctional institutions. False evidence is fabricated, false witnesses are called, compliant executors of corrupt practices are used, all without an iota of remorse or concern, let alone humanity.

Against this is investor Bill Browder's battle for global recognition of Russia's hostility to human rights, in the case of Sergei Magnitsky, who died at the age of 36 in prison after being repeatedly denied medical care. I stop here to let you judge for yourself who is to blame in this case, who should bear the responsibility, and this is especially imperative these days.

Until then, read - only books can tell you about the past, and it is being projected even today, if there is someone to understand it and understand it!!!

As happens lately, I started reading two books at the same time - "Day and Night" by Virginia Woolf and "Builders of Modern Bulgaria" by Simeon Radev, one on kindle and the other in book format, one for late evening and the other for during the day because it exceeds 900 pages and is heavier for that reason.

I'll start with the first one. Until now, I had not read anything by this English writer, essayist, publisher and, last but not least, feminist. I'm not biased, but if her other works are also in this style /too wasteful with many words, slow-moving action, delusions and doubts of the characters, etc., no wonder I limit myself to this one a book.

The main character at the end of the 19th century, who grew up in an intellectual family with famous literary ancestors, long doubts her feelings for a young man with poetic inclinations; the beginnings of the suffragette movement, a country guest causing a break-off of an engagement, and more life situations that fill the pages of the novel. I wondered for a long time how to finish this read, but true to myself, I overcame the slow development of the action, the long descriptions, although very beautiful, and finished it. I doubt that I will repeat it with any of the author's other works, but who knows, I might be afraid.

For a long time I wondered how I could have missed this remarkable book "Builders of Modern Bulgaria" by Simeon Radev years ago. The political intrigues taking place in our country at the moment - the endless elections /only in 2021 there were 3 in number/, caretaker governments, crises of all kinds - economic, health, and what not, the opposition of the various parties and formations, the spewing of scandals and lawsuits of their leaders, all this and more turned out to be a well-forgotten past. After reading the two volumes, I was convinced that nothing has changed in our country from the second half of the 19th century to the present day.

The two main political parties - liberals, conservatives and their factions, politicking and partisanship, one after another elections and governments, the union of the Principality of Bulgaria and Eastern Rumelia, the coronation and dethronement of Prince Batemberg, the role and goals of Russia after the Liberation - all this cannot be not to change my knowledge of history from school years.

I was especially interested in the author's explanatory notes at the end of the second volume, his reasons for writing the work.

I will not rehash the contents nor take sides, only add that if we want the truth about our recent past, we would do well to read this book carefully. They say that history is written by the winners, and it must be so, but shorthand protocols, reports, reports, official diplomatic notes are quoted here, not to mention the newspaper materials, which give a clear idea of ​​the atmosphere in post-liberation Bulgaria, the moods and attitudes of the people , the role of our army, the demagoguery of the Great Powers, etc., etc.

I highly recommend you to take time and remember how little Bulgaria tried to be independent in Europe. And the declaration of this independence took place only during the time of Ferdinand, but that is another topic. Again and again I urge you to read, it explains a lot in the present!

I hasten to share my impressions of "Nothing Ever Happened" by David Godman, a book dedicated to the Indian Papaji, who lived and preached Hindu philosophy in the second half of the 20th century.

In Bulgarian phraseology there is such an expression: Dark India.

This subcontinent, located thousands of kilometers from our country, inhabited by more than 1 billion people, covering different climatic zones, speaking many languages ​​- Hindi, Urdu, Kannada /not the North American country/ and who knows how many more, with a thousand-year history , with multiple deities and beliefs is difficult to describe and retell.

Those of you who read the second part of my blog about my visit to India probably remember the description of this experience, and those who had the courage to read my reflections on the "Mahabharata" will surely understand me completely.

During my sojourn, albeit for a very short time, I did not cease to marvel at the way of thinking and living, at the misery, the smells and the atmosphere, the presence of the animals in the streets, the crowds and the traffic. Traditions from ancient times and today accompany the population of billions, habits and customs have not moved a millimeter forward in time / and today caste division exists in society, without any chance to move from one caste to another, this condemns everyone to the social position from birth till death/ . Self-knowledge, abstraction from the world, the care and propitiation of the gods with rituals and offerings, the sanctity of the Ganges, Yamuna and other rivers, ashrams and pilgrims fill the pages of this almost documentary narrative.

The writer is a journalist by profession and has undertaken to study and describe the life and activities of this almost saint, starting from his early childhood years. It would be difficult to understand how all this happens - at the age of 6 to start your spiritual life, to create a family at the age of 16, to combine your military training, your work activity and spiritual transformation. And the strangest thing for me was his statement that the Lord /who of all?!?!?/ will take care of a wife, children, property in order to devote himself entirely to the service of God, to visit shrines, spiritual trips to the Himalayas , to communicate with living saints and saints, to build a circle of devotees who take all material care to look after you.

I stop here, I hope I have provoked your curiosity to read this book, and if you decide to share your impressions with me, I will be glad to read them. Until then, read, read, read!!!

Today I will take you to the American Southwest, the second half of the 20th century, the hippie movement, youth and student riots, the relentless depletion of natural resources, the contradictions between social strata and the greedy pursuit of corporations for excess profits, hypocrisy and the double standard in justice. All this can be found in "Assassins" by Elia Kazan, an extremely prolific writer, screenwriter, producer, and to my surprise, one of the close intimate friends /lover/ of Marilyn Monroe /recently found out about it!/, nominated and winner of the awards Oscar and Golden Globe for some of his films.

A trivial family story ends with the murder of two young men, one of whom is black, and the events that follow - a police investigation, court proceedings and a trial, a double standard in the administration of justice, and the death of the black man does not even enter a courtroom. In the background of all this, young people express their own positions in their own way, if there is room for such in their drug-addled heads.

As always, and now, the generations find it difficult to find a common language - the main character and his father, the protection in the person of the young lawyer and his father and boss, the youth rebel, but the means are fanciful and unrealistic - sit-ins, burning buildings, theft . These controversies have existed for millennia with no clear path to their proper resolution. But, as folk psychology says, the wiser must yield, wait, forgive. Are we still able to walk this path with our successors???

I must have piqued your curiosity, I'd love for you to share your thoughts with me on this novel. Until then - read, read, read!!!

Hello my dear followers and readers! I use this moment to apologize for the long silence and to congratulate you on the past and upcoming holidays!!! Be healthy, enjoy every single moment of your day, be glad that we are here and now, fight /each according to your skills and strengths/ so that we are there, so that our children and grandchildren are healthy and happy, yes let's save nature and the world for a long time! Let's not forget that life is a moment of eternity, but that doesn't mean we should be selfish and not think about the future we leave to our heirs. Let's be optimistic and positive about what is happening around us, we will survive, as our ancestors did in far more difficult times and they succeeded!!!

I know I've gone on long enough, but the fuss before, during, and after Christmas and New Year's takes time and energy, often takes up excess energy that should be channeled elsewhere, but such are traditions and we must not contradict them. This is what happened to me and my reading, not that I didn't read, but only now I got motivated to share with you my impressions of what I read. I can't explain my interest in the work of Elia Kazan - in the previous paragraphs I commented on "Murderers". I had a hard time finding "The Agreement", and the others - "The Anatolian" and "The Anatolian does not forgive" I cannot find even on the secondary market. I shared before that I started borrowing books from the City Library, but the disappointment of the look and later the content of the book left me bitter and even questioning whether to finish what I started. I can't imagine readers (I admit intelligent ones) tearing the pages like that, messing up the cars, even peeling off the body of the cover?!?!?!? As they say - wide world, all kinds of people! I will overcome the difficulties and finish it, especially since there is a lot of autobiography in it, as I read in the critics of his work. It is not at all easy, even now, for a foreigner to find his true place and vocation in America, often it costs a lot - health, strength, energy, etc. But they say - whoever can, can! So, go ahead! And you read, read, read, "The blind, seeing does", as the Bulgarian proverb says.

My dear readers and followers,

For a long time I wanted to tell you about a writer - Donna Tartt, whose characters greatly moved me and made me think. The young people from her two books - "The Pinball" and "The Secret History" have similar destinies, difficult childhoods and contradictory lives, but the end is different for each of them. America is not what we see in the movies, the contrasts are more than bright depending on the social status. Alcohol, drugs, terrorism, cigarettes, crime, envy, indifference to the fate of the person in trouble, all signs of the modern highly frustrated society are not absent in the novels.

Theo and Richard, the main characters in these books, painfully transition from adolescence to the next stage of their life's journey. Theo was orphaned at a very early age after a brutal terrorist act, Richard's parents were not at all present in his life and while he was living with them, and later during his college years.

In pursuit of a mysteriously missing painting, Theo experiences a gangster chase, endless drinking and drugs, an unbalanced relationship with his father in Las Vegas. / As I noted in my previous parts of the blog about my round-the-world trip, I also passed through this world-famous city where the contrasts between myth and reality are more than expected/. In this environment, the young boy has to survive in a world of insecurity, corruption, addictions without feeling real parental love and care.

Similar is the orist of Richard, who hardly fits into the small community of students taught by his strange teacher - Julian, in Greek literature. An intertwining of mysticism and reality, large quantities of alcohol and drugs, ancient occult practices lead to an accidental murder, then another and another, which brings tension and discord between the youth.

The author's style is unsellable, it exudes empathy for the fate of young people, without giving specific instructions to avoid the dangers before them, a pictorial description of nature, the hypocrisy of society towards the problems of the present, the difficult life of an ordinary person. I failed to mention that The Pinstripe won the Pulitzer Prize, which is a well-deserved recognition for Donna Tartt, especially since she rarely publishes her own works, which is why they are so anticipated and appreciated by critics and readers, I also agree them. And you read, read, read, every book is a way to self-knowledge and to know the world in which we have to live. See you soon!!!

Today I will tell you about a favorite author - Pearl Buck / it turns out that I have many favorite writers, without disparaging any of them, but Pearl Buck is my favorite because she takes me to a completely unknown world - China, so far and different , that everything described by her amazes me, I will support my statement with examples, read further/.

Born in America, but raised in China with missionary parents, she has come to know to a great extent the way of life, the soul, the traditions of the vast country in the transition from the feudal to the capitalist stage of its development.

"Pavilion for Women", "East Wind, West Wind" /there are more, with themes for China/ are part of her work dedicated to this country and its people.

"New Deities", "Marriage Mirror" are the other books, the action of which this time develops in America.

It is difficult for me to describe the style of the narratives, the richness of the means of expression is enormous, from them there is a whiff of unadulterated interest and empathy for what is happening, empathy for the emotions of the characters and personal sympathy for their fates. Whether it will tell about the difficult transition from complete and unconditional obedience of children to parents, whether foreigners with their appearance and behavior will reveal unknown features and modern achievements to the locals, from every word and paragraph the whiff of tension and reluctance of adults to give in to the inevitable invasion of the new in their life and lifestyle.

I have no intention of retelling the content of the novels, but if I managed to ignite your curiosity, I will be satisfied that I directed you to the work of this famous author, who, in addition to the Nobel Prize, is the winner of other prestigious prizes for literature. Do not stop reading, each book is another universe, another world from which you can draw experience and lessons! Read, read, read!!!

It's funny how different we humans are!!! Not only visual, linguistic, psychological, and any other distinction will be in force when we talk about peculiarities. Today I want to share with you about my differences from the generally accepted readers' and literary critics' reviews of some of the world-famous, even filmed, novels. It's okay if our opinions don't match, but in this case we're talking about a complete divergence of opinions about classic books - "The Great Gatsby", "Tender is the Night" by Scott Fitzgerald, "On the Road" by Jack Kerouac, "The Rise and Fall of the courtesans" by Honore de Balzac, and there are probably others that I can't think of at the moment, but these are some of them.

Some of you will probably be surprised at my opinion, others will think I'm pretending to be interesting, others will say - she doesn't understand anything!!! This may be true for you too, but everyone has the right to choose - whether to like or not what others praise or deny, that's democracy, isn't it, Moreover, I don't oblige any of you to accept my position, but I want to be honest and for this reason today I am sharing my impressions.

I have read reviews by literary critics that Fitzgerald's books contain quite a lot of personal experiences and autobiographical episodes. It must be so. During the first hundred pages of "Tender is the night" nothing else happens, except endless parties until early dawn, drunken bets, even a duel, disparate characters who /in my opinion/ cannot find themselves. "On the Road" is full of criss-crossing America, booze and cigarettes. About this novel, critics say that the generation after the First World War, of which the main character is a representative, is in a hurry to experience all the pleasures of life as they understand them. Balzac's Courtesans are from another era, completely distant and incomprehensible to me, and for this reason I did not finish the book /very rarely happens to me, but it also happens sometimes/.

This is how I explain why I don't like these famous novels, I emphasize again that this is my personal opinion and I don't oblige anyone to agree with me.

But on the other hand, we also need such moments if we want to understand the author, the period, the peculiarities, to draw lessons for ourselves. And you read, read, read, anything will attract interest and attention, you must try!!!

It's been a long time since I've posted what I've read, not because I haven't read, but the book I came across - "America Without a Mask" is soooo big and it took me a while to finish it, think about it and share it with you.

The author - John Gunter, is a journalist with a long practice who has traveled far and wide around the world, as a result of which he has written several books, rather documentaries, reflecting those countries he visited - Asia, Europe, South America.

I will repeat again, for the umpteenth time, that writing is not an ordinary activity for bored people. It requires a long preparation in libraries, hours on end in collecting and analyzing statistical publications, official documents - laws and other normative acts, numerous personal meetings and talks, an objective view and a sober assessment of the events that find a place in the book. In addition, the author spent a long time in the countries he visited, traveled hundreds of miles, in order to faithfully reflect the collected facts and impressions. It does not matter that the figures refer to times long gone - the post-war years, they reflect trends that are still relevant today.

"America Unmasked" is devoted to the great country, its states, numerous population - native and newcomers, nature and natural resources, industry and agriculture, political condition, statistics and demographics. From today's politically correct phraseology, "negro" and its other derivatives sound surprisingly, obviously at the time this was not a problem.

The comparison of natural features - mountains and forests, rivers and lakes, fields and plains, each of the states is described and compared with its neighbor, the legacy of the past - individual ranching and automated agriculture, the extraction of ores and oil, other minerals, electrification and rail transport are described at length, the figures cited showing the country's great industrial upsurge. This is especially evident in the years of the war, when all production forces were directed to the military industry - aircraft, ships, military equipment, which contributed to the successful participation and victory over fascism. There is no way to quote in detail everything that impressed me, one thing I can say - I have not read such a book and I highly recommend, if you have a desire, to enrich yourself with the content.

Another important part of the book are the personal meetings with political figures of all levels - presidents (the word "chairman" sounded rather strange to me instead of president/, senators and governors, union leaders, ordinary people who are not at all afraid to express their personal opinion on the problems that concern them and to express their proposal for solving them.

The book provoked my interest and the next ones I will read are those dedicated to Europe, Asia, Latin America and I hope to introduce you to them soon.

Until then, read, read, read!!! Let's not forget that history is a part of us and is projected into the future, so reading is not a waste of time and a valuable lesson for each of us.

My long silence does not mean that I do not read, on the contrary! But as I process what I read and what I want to share with you, it takes time, and as we all know, it is never enough.

The last book is the historical novel "The Heirs of Ivan Asen II" by Ivan Trenev. As we know from history, this is the Golden Age of Bulgaria, when its borders rest on three seas and dominates the Balkan Peninsula, when spirituality and religion flourish, when all neighbors are forced to recognize the might of the state and its ruler. The first half of the 13th century was the time of Mongols, Tatars, Cumans and other eastern tribes, who sought to seize new territories, rob and plunder, rape and kill, burn and destroy everything in their path. Until his death in 1241, Ivan Assen II managed to keep them away from our borders, but then a complete reversal occurred for the country when his successors failed to overcome their personal ambitions and passions in their quest to wear the royal crown. This leads to the inevitable separation of territories, poorly concluded peace treaties and their non-observance, popular rebellions and strengthening the influence of the Bogomils. More than once I have shared the popular wisdom "The royal crown is heavy" and not everyone deserves to put it on their head. And here, on these more than 400 pages, I am once again convinced of how wise our people are.

We are not an exception to the world, reading many of Philippa Gregory's historical novels I became convinced that human nature is the same everywhere - envy, malice, perishable connections and alliances, conspiracies and treacherous designs, poison, sword, arrow...... ..., all ways and methods to get to power. The Borgias, the Platangenetes, the Romans, the Nicaeans, let us add the Assenians to them, the list goes on and on, without trying to cover it all.

It would be good for today's politicians to read some historical documents /not novels/ to calm down a little in their ambitions for power, positions and privileges, if they really think about the people. The Bogomils and other heresies did not appear by chance. They were provoked by the greed of the boyars, the local rulers who mercilessly exploited the peasantry, the hypocritical clergy who enriched themselves from royal donations and recklessly used all material benefits.

And I urge you to read a lot, to learn from the past so that we don't make today's mistakes. Read, read, read, it adds meaning to your day and enriches your knowledge of the world and yourself!!!

Today I will tell you an exciting story /at least for me/ - "The Name" is the title of the novel by Jhumpa Lahiri. For him, the author is a winner of the prestigious Pulitzer Prize. She herself was born in England, but with Bengali roots and works in America.

A beautiful and sad story about immigration, about the clash of different cultures and traditions, painful adjustment and adaptation in another environment, family, friends, new society and its peculiarities.

Wars, natural disasters, economic and climate problems force many people to immigrate, to look for a better place to live for themselves and their children. Even today, in the 21st century, this phenomenon takes threatening proportions for the old world, towards which the eyes of the migrants are directed.

Fitting into the new environment is always painful, you break with the familiar, you remain alone in a society that is not always friendly, you lose ties with relatives and friends, you have to build a new world, which is often painful.

Fitting into the new environment is always painful, you break with the familiar, you remain alone in a society that is not always friendly, you lose ties with relatives and friends, you have to build a new world, which is often painful.

One railway a disaster, a miraculously saved man, a book by N.P. Gogol are the basis of the narrative, a lost letter from the homeland, a baby waiting in the maternity ward for its name to be written by him. Thus was born Gogol, the main character of the novel, his family immigrated from India to the United States, where he found his new homeland. One railway a disaster, a miraculously saved man, a book by N.P. Gogol are the basis of the narrative, a lost letter from the homeland, a baby waiting in the maternity ward for its name to be written by him. Thus was born Gogol, the main character of the novel, his family immigrated from India to the United States, where he found his new homeland.

Ashok and Ashima Ganguly follow the advice of a close friend to take a new path, to build their family in a distant country in the hope of finding their happiness there. However, this does not turn out to be easy. A very different climate, unfamiliar routines, unusual food, new customs, all this accompanies the young people, but with patience and consistency they manage to fit into the American reality, create their own circle of close friends. It turns out that they find compatriots with whom they often communicate in their traditional way.

As their children - Gogol and Sonya - grow up, their estrangement from their parents begins, as they perceive the new living conditions more easily, communication with friends from school, university and clubs gives rise to mutual misunderstanding of the other. Gradually settling in different states, communication was reduced to phone calls and family gatherings on major American and Indian holidays.

Gogol's protest is expressed in the change of name - Nikhil, with which /in my opinion/ he completely broke with his Indian roots.

I'll stop there, I won't retell the novel, if you want, read it yourself. And I call you again - read, read, read, this is the way to get to know the world, the way of life, the orders, the culture of many peoples. So you will also be enriched with new knowledge about him. Enjoy reading!

My dear readers,

It's been a long time since I've shared with you what I've read, but not because I haven't read, but because the volume of books was impressive - more than 1000 pages - a physical book and one on kindle. I love this genre - fiction biography. This time dedicated to such personalities who live off the wall and prose in the centuries - 15th and 16th centuries - Michelangelo Buonarroti and William Shakespeare. By adding the fact that I have visited the places where they lived and worked, the enjoyment grows immeasurably. "Pain and Rapture" and "The Secret Life of Shakespeare" are the titles of the two novels.

The authors - Irving Stone and Judd Morgan, are famous writers who devoted their work mainly to historical figures, the basis of which is written information and documents about them and makes them extremely believable.

The fate of both is quite similar, although they are separated by almost a century. Their fathers expected to inherit their craft, Michelangelo's father a fallen nobleman who despised manual labor, and Shakespeare's expected his successor to continue making gloves. This gives rise to an inevitable antagonism between the two, which continues almost until the death of the parents. Even achievements and public recognition fail to appease the adults, but the hidden pride of the sons' successes is barely visible on their faces.

Michelangelo grew up without a mother, and Shakespeare's was a typical wife of a despotic father. Both began their careers from early childhood - Michelangelo as a stonemason, and Shakespeare as a "player", i.e. actor of visiting troupes in Stratford. Their talent to create masterpieces - sculptures and plays, paintings and poetry, frescoes and sonnets outline their entire work. It would not be easy for society to accept their progressive works, they are often the object of disapproval and slander, of envy and malice from unfulfilled artists and writers. Sometimes there are physical altercations. As a student in the studio of Ghirlandaio, Michelangelo was disfigured forever by a blow to the face from another aspirant for world fame, driven by selfish motives. Shakespeare also became the object of slander by unrealized geniuses, but fortunately it did not lead to physical self-mutilation.

Innovators in their work, they did not receive recognition for a long time, especially Michelangelo. But even today we can see in the Sistine Chapel, in the Cathedral of San Pietro the result of the work of the sculptor and the artist, and Shakespeare's plays have not left the world's stages for centuries.

I will not tell you more about the contents of the books, I hope I have provoked your interest in them and I will be happy if I have succeeded. I will not stop urging you to read. This is the best means to learn from the life experiences of the ancestors so that they continue to inspire and stimulate us. Read, read, read!!!

My dear readers and followers,

I am extremely proud and happy to share with you a great recognition for Bulgarian literature - this year's winner of the prestigious Booker Prize is a Bulgarian - Georgi Gospodinov for his book "Time Asylum". He has a bunch of other awards, but so far he is the only writer with world fame. And all this is happening on the eve of the biggest Bulgarian holiday - that of the Bulgarian alphabet, better known as "Cyrillic", bearing the name of its first creator St. Cyril in collaboration with his brother St. Methodius. The Bulgarian Church recognizes them as saints because of its spread in the Slavic world in the 9th century and helped spread the Bible in these lands in an understandable language.

Initially named Glagolitic, their students later improved it and renamed it Cyrillic, in their honor. Today, more than 500 million people around the world use it - Russia, Mongolia, Macedonia, the Slavic nations of Slovenia, Slovakia, the Czech Republic, Serbia, Poland, with which we are particularly proud to have "given something to the world".

With only 30 letters, Bulgarian writers have created literary masterpieces, some of them were scheduled for nomination for the Nobel Prize for Literature - Pencho Slaveykov, Ivan Vazov, Yordan Yovkov, Elisaveta Bagryana, Emilian Stanev, Yordan Radichkov, Blaga Dimitrova, Anton Donchev, etc. ., but it cannot be reached for a number of reasons - objective and subjective.

As always, I appeal to all of you to read, in your mother tongue, in foreign languages ​​that you know and use, even with the help of dictionaries. Read, read, read, I will never stop repeating that by reading every day we can learn something new - about the past, present and future time. Neither newspapers nor radio or television can engage you the way a book will. That is why I urge you again - read, read, read!!!

I haven't shared with you about the books I've read in a long time - after all, it's summer, vacation, sea, beach, sun, caressing breeze, and reading fills the lazy hours of the day.

I managed to make time for Asylum, this year's shortlist for the Booker Prize. A wonderful book, I experienced the described events personally, I shared with all the other Bulgarians those times of isolation from the rest of the world, the prohibitions and restrictions, but still we survived.

The first chapter "Past Clinic" shook me the most. I'm not a doctor or a psychologist, but such a strong sense of inevitability I never imagined it possible to happen. We are all mortal, of course. Whether we will be patients of this or another clinic, only God decides when and how. So much sadness and grief emanated from the helplessness and hopelessness of the patients that it was extremely difficult for me to end it. I won't bore you any more, everyone has their own perspective on old age and death, so I leave it to you to enjoy the other chapters, which are so vivid and true that you are left with the feeling of your direct participation in the described incidents and events. I hope you will share your impressions and thoughts with me.

Now I will tell you a fairy tale - beautiful, sad, full of despair and inevitability, boiling with passions and excitement, unanswered questions. We are talking about "Promised Land" by Erich Maria Remarque - the unfinished novel, or one with an open ending, whichever the reader chooses.

The theme of the war, concentration camps, migration regime, emigrant life define the plot of many books - "Schindler's List", "America, America", "A Night in Lisbon", "The Japanese Lover" and more, and more...

This time the promised land is not Canaan promised by the Lord, but America in the years before and during World War II. Today we are again witnessing migration pressure from all countries - from the East, the Middle East, Africa, i.e. the process continues - some leave their homeland, driven by the circumstances - natural, economic, social, while others defend their territory from the foreign influx, way of life and culture, orders and habits. Mutual misunderstandings often give rise to enmity, expressed in violence and pogroms.

But back to the novel. Remarque's work is well known to the reader - "The Arc de Triomphe", "Shadows from Paradise", "Nothing New on the Western Front", "The Return Road" and many others.

The main character, Ludwig Sommer, manages with a foreign passport of his art mentor to escape the war, concentration camps and European border controls, staying in the prisons of several countries for 7 years and at the age of 32 tries to rebuild his life. The murder of the father he adored and his own helplessness to stop the bullying against him cannot be forgotten. These scenes of violence are constantly in his mind, they strengthen him and give him the courage to continue living and fulfill his mission - to bring justice to his father's killers and ultimately his own end.

The migrant life, the different characters in it, the attempts to fit into the American society that tolerates them but does not want to accept them completely, the hopes and despair, the attempts to overcome the people, the environment and the customs, the struggles with themselves flow from every line , every page, every chapter.....

I won't say any more, it's your turn to continue if you want. Again I urge you - read, read, read, from the books you can learn many lessons for yourself and for the times in which we live!

Here's what it says at the end of the summer vacation must-read list:

10 UNDISPUTED BOOK FACTS:

1. By reading the books of an author who writes well, you learn to speak beautifully.

2. Culture - this is not the number of reading, but the books you understand.

3. People who read books will rule those who watch TV.

4. The book is always better than the movie. However, your imagination has no budget for stage effects.

5. The more we read, the less we imitate those around us.

6. People are divided into two categories - those who read and those who listen to what the readers tell.

7. Pennies make a whole leva, and the sentences read become knowledge.

8. Reading is good for the mind as exercise is for the body.

9. To get smarter it is enough to read 10 good books, but to discover them you have to read 1000 others.

10. Trust the books. They keep quiet when they need to and share advice when you're ready to hear it.

These are tips and guidance for 10-year-old students, I hope you also share these thoughts, which I have repeatedly expressed at the end of each post about a book I have read. If each of us guides the teenagers close to us, it will benefit them and society as a whole. I believe you agree with me!

Coincidentally or not, the last book I read is again about events leading up to World War II, this time with Hungarian protagonists. A family with three sons who took different paths - architecture in Paris, medicine - in Modena, acting for the youngest of them. The common thing in their fate, as well as hundreds of thousands of others, is religion - Judaism.

Like other times, for other books, I have reflected on the persecution of Jews around the world, the lack of religious tolerance and humanity, with very rare exceptions, on the death camps, the pogroms in the Jewish ghettos, the confiscation of their property and another series of mass atrocities. Who needs it and why has this been going on for centuries? Will I ever find an answer to this question? Maybe I'll have to wait a little longer.

Briefly about fate, obstacles, cost of survival, deliverance and retribution. I did not know, or I have forgotten, that Hungary was an ally of Germany during this war. However, this does not mean that Hungarian Jews were treated like other Hungarians - for example, there were quotas for occupying certain administrative positions. The Hungarian Jews were mainly enrolled in the labor troops, who had the difficult task of providing the troops on the way to the eastern front and back, the appalling working and living conditions in the labor camps. Sometimes they get a little sympathy and humanity that morally supports them in their efforts to survive. Once again, the maxim that a person can bear more than he imagined is confirmed, it is a question of survival - physical and moral.

Mindless rules, inhuman and inhumane treatment by the military, freezing winters with constant hunger, disease and bombing, and more and more hardships accompany the Hungarian Jews, obscurity, hypocrisy, corruption and other monstrous perversions abound in the novel "The Invisible Bridge" by Julie Oringer. Here again I dwell on the need for serious preliminary preparation, collection of facts from reliable sources - protocols, lists, cyphergrams, media publications, in order for the narrative to be believable, and not just an author's interpretation of historical events.

I stop here to be sure that I have ignited your curiosity and desire to familiarize yourself with this book. I promise you won't be disappointed, especially if you're a fan of the recent history. It turns out that the memory of politicians and the military is very short-lived, today we have seen its repetition again.

And in conclusion I will ask you, do you know the cost of human life during war from millennia ago and today? You will be surprised if I tell you, but if you want, I can share it with you, just write me .......

Ken Follett, The Needle, World War II, Germany, England, France, Allied landings at Normandy, military and intelligence services, ordinary citizens, raid sirens and bomber danger, restrictions and devastation, food stamps and many more restrictions in wartime. A pinch of love affair for color and lots and lots of tension until the last page of the novel, a harsh climate in North East England and an ordinary family, is not quite, on the Isle of Storms.

That's it in brief for the content, almost trivial these days if we abstract from the past, but in wartime things are quite different - anxious, tense, the unknowns are endless, the historical facts are well known, and not quite, to the specialists, the ordinary readers learn them precisely from books.

I did not know that the Allied military command had a hesitation as to where to carry out the landing to open a second, western, front. The preparation for it was long and exhausting, invisible intelligence and analytical work of the services, disinformation methods were also used - in the radio communications, listening channels and other actions that aimed to deceive the Germans and carry it out as best as possible. Human casualties are by no means few, even with this preparation, but war is like war.

Again and again I will comment on the thorough preliminary preparation done by the author to write the book, the endless work of researching the indisputable historical documents, of course, and a little creative imagination that they kept until the last line.

I leave it up to you to decide whether to dive into the past, whether you will like it or not, you will form your own opinion. I will never stop asking myself - how the politicians have not learned the lesson of the past and why they continue to wage war today, in the name of whom and why, until we annihilate each other and liquidate the life of the only known planet in the Galaxy, in which has living conditions???

Today I invite you to a wonderful adventure - with the time machine we will travel several centuries back and find ourselves in the second half of the 17th century - the era of the Sun King - Louis XIV. Elizabeth Massey in her historical novel "Versailles - The Dream of the Sun King" tells us about the man who defines himself as "The State - this is me". If you have ever visited the Palace of Versailles, watched films and pictures about it, heard about its gardens, lakes, trees, gazebos and its other wonders, you have probably wondered what is hidden behind the glamorous facade of the palaces, the hall of mirrors and all the unique beauty. And this was by no means easy, believe me!

Today I invite you to a wonderful adventure - with the time machine we will travel several centuries back and find ourselves in the second half of the 17th century - the era of the Sun King - Louis XIV. Elizabeth Massey in her historical novel "Versailles - The Dream of the Sun King" tells us about the man who defines himself as "The State - this is me". If you have ever visited the Palace of Versailles, watched films and pictures about it, heard about its gardens, lakes, trees, gazebos and its other wonders, you have probably wondered what is hidden behind the glamorous facade of the palaces, the hall of mirrors and all the unique beauty. And this was by no means easy, believe me!

The turbulent years and the eternal enemies - Spain, England, Holland ..., the resistance of the nobles and the revolts of the population - open and secret, the ceaseless territorial claims - internal and external, conspiracies, intrigues, palace favorites and opponents - all this boils and boils in the small village next to Paris - Versailles. It was chosen by the Sun King to build a palace complex that would be synonymous with his reign, regardless of all the difficulties and obstacles that accompanied it. A pinch of spice in the relations of the main characters, harsh nature, the dissatisfaction of the builders and incessant wars, the poverty and misery of the common man, the luxury and extravagance of the court - all this spills over the pages of the novel, following the author's intention.

Personally, I was interested in following how women struggle for independence and a place in a man's world and their desire to overcome their role as a precious jewel and occupy a worthy place in their lives. The court physician's daughter, for example, managed to take his place, thanks to her training and advanced medical practices at a time when women were deliberately neglected and used for basic domestic needs.

I stop with my reasoning here and believe that I have managed to provoke you to read this intriguing historical novel, to enjoy the well-presented idea borrowed from a TV series. I have repeatedly shared with you my opinion that the exercise of power - in the past, and today, is not an easy job. It is connected with a lot of treachery and intrigue, provocations and resistance - overt and behind the scenes, supporters and opponents, of everything more or less depending on the circumstances.

One thing is absolutely certain - if we are sufficiently educated and intelligent, the failure of our good intentions is less than if we are illiterate and uninformed. Today it is easily accessible - you press "search" in Google and the necessary answers appear. Just try it and you read, read, read, this is the way of knowledge!!!

Do you believe in conspiracy theories??? Facts can be interpreted from different points of view, why not in these interpretations, especially if they are not fully clarified, not contain something else that should be hidden from people??? I don't trust them entirely, but I still have something in mind, especially when millennia-old postulates are challenged.

It was the content of "Their Struggle or How the Jews Conquered the World" by Dr. E. Antonov that led me to such thoughts. I have to point out that the inquiries I made on Google about the author did not make it clear to me who he is, what other books he has published, in which department he works or is a retired person with a lot, a lot of free time .....

It first happened to me while reading to take notes, but after the first chapter I gave up because I had to quote the book. It completely contradicts the contents of the Bible, the book of books with which I started this blog.

With a shock, I learned that Israel in translation means "the one who fights with God", the Old Testament is the content of the Torah, and the New - the Talmud and many other completely opposite texts from the Bible. The "wandering" tribe aims to dominate the world, but not by God's covenant, but by Satan's?!?!?

The origin of the yellow color and the yellow star dates back to the beginning of the 13th century, when the Roman popes imposed it, and later settled the Jews in isolated ghettos all over the world known until then - Spain, Portugal, Albion, etc. Decrees against them were issued by the pharaohs of Egypt, the kings of Assyria and Babylon, Persia and emperors of Rome. All these underlined facts confused me to the extreme and I stopped taking notes, unable to grasp the content of the book from the first reading. I'll have to read it again, probably a few more times, to make sense of what I'm reading.

I'm not sure if I should recommend it to you, but if I've piqued your interest, it wouldn't hurt to look at our imposed versions of the origin of the world, of the natural course of things in it, the 10 commandments of God and other covenants found at pages of the Bible, you will be surprised by the 180-degree look at them and will have something to think about for a long time. So will I, and you read, read, read, it will only bring you benefits!

Until "Troud" I knew Emile Zola only from the crosswords - "Money", "Nana", "Vertep" and that's it. I did not even guess that he was a socialist-utopian, influenced by the fashionable ideals of his time for "liberty, fraternity and equality". The French Revolution of 1789 is long in the past, but the phrase continues to evoke unrealistic expectations. The Napoleonic wars did not contribute anything to improving the life of the average Frenchman, on the contrary. The bourgeoisie - large and small - watches over its dominance in public life, guards the acquired wealth tooth and nail, and this causes dissatisfaction of the citizenry, this time clothed in utopian ideas of prosperity and equality.

However, this cannot happen in real life, but in "Labor" it happens, thanks to a young man with optimism and a vision for the future - Luke, his sponsor /the modern term/ Jordan - a rich inventor, financing his ideas and the love of three women - Josine, Seorette and Suzanne. In an unnamed region of France, where iron ore is processed, old methods of production and new technologies collide with the arrival of electric power, which transforms both the process itself and the lives of the working class.

So far so good, what did not happen with socialism also follows /because I am a direct witness of its collapse/ an abundance of goods /with the exception of the party whirlwind/, free thinking and equal rights in society.

I will not retell the plot, if I have provoked you to read the novel, I will have contributed to satisfy your curiosity, maybe someday we will again witness the struggle of people to fulfill the motto of fraternity and equality. Until then, read, read, read, I will never stop appealing for the only /me/ use of free time, believe me?

The next book on my summer list is Bianca Lancha by Zuzanne Stein - a historical reference to the first half of the 13th century, the time of the Inquisition and persecution of heretics, the Crusades and a dash of love intrigue for fun.

Seriously, historical documents point to Frederick II Hohenstaufen - Holy Roman Emperor as a real person, who played a significant role in the undeclared war against the absolute power of Pope Gregory IX, and concluded an irrevocable peace treaty with Sultan Al-Kamil.

Naturally, any novel about the past is based on indisputable facts, well researched by the author, but also a little creative fantasy for color, since history is not always pleasant to read, listen and watch. And here this rule applies in full force.

What was a surprise to me was to learn that mass epidemics of contagious diseases struck the troops that marched to liberate the stronghold of Christianity - Jerusalem, more victims in the camps of the wars and pilgrims than those who fell in the battles. Franciscans, Hospitallers, robbers, sailors, Saracens, human traffickers and more and more actors who weave exoticism, tension, unknown into the plot.

I'm not sure that I managed to intrigue you, but I would be glad if I did. One can always learn something more about the past, especially if it is presented seriously and reasoned, but also with finesse and an engaging statement. Believe me, it will be fun in the leisurely summer hours on the beach or under the shade of the pines to immerse yourself in the past, from which you will be greatly enriched. Read, read, read, I will not stop appealing to this useful activity!!!

"The Life of Edgar Cayce" by Thomas Sugrue is another title on this summer's reading list. Such a mysterious and strange person that I had to Google it to make sure it was a real person from the late 19th to mid 20th century who lived and worked in America. Phenomena of all kinds have existed since ancient times. During the Inquisition they were crucified or burned, known as witches and heretics because science could not explain their extraordinary qualities. Not that modern knowledge gives fully explainable explanations, but at least they don't burn them at the stake.

Edgar Cayce's life is a series of events - changing residences and professions, supporters and opponents, a deep spiritual relationship, especially with his mother, and later with his wife, ups and downs at different stages, inspiration and despair caused by the cases he deals with. The huge volume of notes, letters, reviews and thanks from healed patients, collected media publications, confrontation with the ancestral organs - this is a small part of the available materials that certify the real life of the "sleeping preacher".

Without special education, but with inexplicable talent, he diagnoses and prescribes treatment for diseases and cases for which doctors have exhausted scientific methods and written off as hopeless. The leading thought for each individual patient is to alleviate his condition, to prolong his days in relatively good health, and the most important for him are children and adolescents.

„Dream or reality is the prophecy of his early years, when a mysterious woman condemns him to a life of giving himself to people, based on his desire to be useful and his trust in the Bible. Immediately after this meeting, on his back, he used his skills and managed to name the exact diagnosis in a sleeping state, as well as indicate how to be cured. The rest, as they say, is history.„I believe I have drawn you into this interesting story and you will read the book. At times she is frightening with the inexplicable, helpful with advice - diets, fresh air, walks, baths - air, sun, water, moderation in everything. It sounds modern, right? We all want to be healthy, but we don't always manage to resist the temptations. That is why I recommend it to you, one can always learn, we are not the ones who discover the truths of life, but it is good to think about how we live and what price we will pay for it. Read, read, read, I will not stop calling you every time I fill this blog!!!

My dear readers and followers,

The summer of 2023 passed, a dynamic summer full of all kinds of emotions - it wasn't storms /"Hans" in the North Sea, "Daniel" in the Aegean Sea, devastating fires in Greece/, but this time too we survived /in defiance of the envious! !!/. As a nice addition - the obligatory list of books to read during the holidays. Some I had read last year - "Anton and Tochitsa", some of Valery Petrov's stories, others were completely new to me - "Heart" by Edmondo de Amiches, "Genselmo in the land of liars" by Gianni Rodari. Written in different eras - e.g. the second half of the 19th century, the middle of the 20th century, but affecting basic human and moral values ​​that should form the worldview of adolescents at the beginning of the 21st century. Whether they will cultivate these traits in young people, only time will tell, I strongly hope that this will happen, so that we have as a human society, resistant to all life's storms and trials, another generation will judge.

But back to the purpose of this blog - my summer reads, which are quite a few, interesting, teen-adventure, entertaining, you name it - I got through them. I will mention only a few titles that really impressed me. I will start with Taming of the Queen by my favorite author Philippa Gregory, Caesar by Conn Eagledon, My Oris by Paroush Sanii, Love Thy Neighbor and Erich Maria Remarque.

You know my opinion about the hard work of writers, the hours of researching historical documents, references, reports, reporter's notes that in one form or another are quoted in the books /only for "The Taming of the Queen" Philippa Gregory has listed in 15 pages the literature used /. It was very curious to me to learn that Henry the 8th had musical skill both in playing and composing. Caesar had a legal education and at the beginning of his political career made a living by practicing law. In the 1970s, Iran saw a major political clash between progressive forces and the Shah's regime, which culminated in the establishment of an Islamic republic, as a result of which strict rules were introduced regarding the morals and behavior of the population. The main theme of peace and war in Remarque's work, the violation of basic human rights, the sluggish work of international organizations to save political exiles and Jews, here we are again during the Second World War. A sad, shameful, cruel persecution of people of another faith, but with an optimistic ending. This gives me hope that today's vicissitudes in the fate of many peoples will end with a good end, if only we can wait for them!!!

By referring to these facts, we see that history repeats itself over and over again. That is why intellectuals often claim that a nation without history has no future. And I will repeat again, as I have done after every writing on this blog, read, read, read, the educated person asks questions and seeks answers, the illiterate person is easily manipulated and that is why dictatorships, repressions, political upheavals happen. Let's not be pessimistic, optimism, although insufficient, will outline a future in which we all want to live - we, our children and the next generations!

Hello again!

It's been a long time since I've shared with you, my readers and followers, about what I've read. Not that I didn't read, but "Istanbul was a fairy tale" by Mario Levi gave me quite a hard time - a little over 700 pages, almost no direct speech, many, many, many words and descriptions, repetitive thoughts, many characters, almost a century story of a large family, dreams and defeats, longings and disappointments, gradual dying of long-standing traditions - it takes time to understand and sympathize with the description of this tale.

I have been several times to Istanbul / Constantinople, Constantinople - at different times of its existence/ - a city located on two continents, the capital of the Eastern Roman Empire, many priceless architectural monuments, a rich historical past, oriental splendor and museum collections, the Bosphorus and caravans of all kinds of vessels, Islam and modern trends, more than 15 million population /as of 2020/, increased traffic, Kapalacharshi, palaces and caravanserai, smell of sea and spices and more, and more, more impressive facts about this metropolis.

A large family relocated from Spain since the time of the expulsion of the Jews from there, immigrants from Russia, victims of the Holocaust, family members who left the city for other geographical latitudes, a subtle change in family relations, collapsed dreams and hopes, unfulfilled desires. I still cannot understand, as I have shared before, why they were chased and persecuted, what are the reasons why, until recently, a peaceful coexistence of different faiths at some point degenerated into hostile relations.

I do not know the history of Turkey well, despite the proximity of our countries, but I was surprised to learn several facts that made me think about the repetition of history. Economic changes - the property tax introduced materially ruined many families, the nationalization of foreign industries and the forced departure of many investors, wars, a military coup and the rule of the generals, Kemal Atatürk's attempts to lead the country to a republican future. What is happening in the 20th century in Turkey is no different from other countries in the world - Greece, Chile, Africa, and elsewhere. I cannot answer the question that has been bothering me for years - what is it that prevents people from living peacefully and peacefully, what makes them from yesterday's friends to become enemies, what is the guarantee that tomorrow will be better well - for both. Is the policy of the government precisely in this - to have tension and enmity, to kill people who do not know and hate each other, at the expense of others who know and hate each other? This is not my thought, said a French poet and essayist. This is the explanation, we are witnessing this even today - Russia and Ukraine, Israel and "Hezbollah" and elsewhere. And how long this will last, I dare not make predictions, but it will hardly be tomorrow...

And you read, read, read, only in books will you find the answers to questions that torment you, only in them will you find both the beauty of the world and lessons for yourself.

It had never happened before that I read 3 books at the same time!!! But there's always a first time, right? A new author for me - Ken Follett and his The Man from St. Petersburg and Valley of the Lions, and Confessions of the Borgias by Alyssa Palobmo. The plot is the past - far back in the centuries, and in recent times, part of which I have been a direct witness. I have repeatedly shared with you how dirty a craft politics is - selfishness and private interests, contracts and commitments that remain only on paper, party vows and innocent victims. As a result of this opposition, numerous protest movements have mushroomed - anarchism, nihilism, paramilitary formats that are tacitly supported by corrupt governments. And a handful of militant rebels who, at the cost of their lives, defend a property, a family, a fragmented country. The hypocrisy of power takes on ugly manifestations, victims of which are children and old men, women and men.

Afghanistan - a distant, harsh, difficult country to live in, the object of military aggression by Russia for 10 years, power passing from the Taliban to the puppet government, extremely fragmented different tribes that can hardly unite around a common idea - to chase away the aggressor. Are the opium fields alone the target of the war that lasted so many years, or is there another reason that remains hidden from the general public.

What is the stake of British policy towards the Bosphorus and the Dardanelles, which were also within the reach of Russian policy before the First World War? Russia has had an appetite for access to the warm sea for centuries and has waged repeated wars with the Turkish Empire. And the approach to the oil fields of Persia goes through there, and this is evident as a consequence at the end of the First World War, the laying of a smoldering military hearth after the formation of Israel in 1948, which we are witnessing today in the fighting of the militant group Hamas and the Israeli troops, which lead to numerous human casualties and massive devastation of territories.

And even further back in time - towards the end of the 15th century, when one Borjdia - Pope Alexander - was at the head of the papal throne, who wanted to rule over the entire Christian world known until then. Cerase Borgia has the same appetites as his father, and does not hesitate when they must be carried out, regardless of all ways and means to this end. Or to put it another way - history always repeats itself, regardless of the time and place where these events take place. Or even more simply - every new thing and well-forgotten old. And yes, there are new weapons, new military tactics and strategies are applied, but the goal is always the same - for the stronger to rule over the weaker. And until the weaker unite to oppose the stronger, there will always be the exercise of force, threat, even terror, to ensure the rule of the stronger.

Why don't we learn from the lessons of history, I won't stop asking myself when there are wars going on somewhere in the world? And it is no coincidence that at the end of every single post on this blog I urge you to read, history always shows how we must fight violence, as long as we can understand its messages?!?!?

Do you love adventure? Especially marine ones? /If you have read the previous chapters of this blog, you will surely see that I adore them/. But those of today, with all its comforts of sailing, pampering, care for passengers, regardless of geographical parameters, variable climatic phenomena - rain, sun, storms, winds, mighty waves. The entertainment on board, the wonderful and abundant fresh food that is loaded at every port, the many tourist sites to visit.

Today I will tell you about one such sea voyage from more than 5 centuries ago - the beginning of the 16th century, when Fernando Magellan /Fernaon de Magellas in Portuguese transcription/ set out to discover a new sea route from the west to the Spice Islands /the Spice Islands/ - the Moluccas islands that are included in the composition for Indonesia /I duly looked them up in the atlas to make sure of their location!!!/. It is about Stefan Zweig's historical narrative - "Magellan - the man and his work". I had only read "Amok" by this author a long time ago, and I was very impressed by the content of the book, full of data, figures, facts from various historical sources, which once again convince me of the enormous preliminary work of the writers in order to be completely credible . From the years that have passed and the conflicting accounts of some of the surviving crew /I will come to the details later/, the royal honors, the unfulfilled promises, the enrichment of the Spanish crown from the discovered lands, it is difficult to sift the true from the false, but the author has tried to be objective and impartial.

The reason for writing the book is the writer's shame at the impatience he felt during the voyage to Brazil. His desire to arrive more quickly, the modern conveniences of navigation provoked him to think about those who paved the sea routes centuries ago and as a result the remarkable historical novel "Magellan - the man and his work" was born, which I read and took notes /hadn't happened to me since the Mahabharata/ to navigate the narrative more accurately and not mislead you about some facts now that you stop at my blog.

Today, the real reason for the crusades sounds very prosaic and understandable - the desire of the various states and the church to facilitate the supply of spices, in all their diversity, to remove the Muslim merchants and to break the monopoly of Venice in the final stage of their movement to Europe. Musk, ambergris, rose oil, nutmeg, dyes, incense for ecclesiastical rites, precious metals and pearls - all these old Europe needed many times, after having tasted them and varied her table, to make lavish ceremonies - palaces and churches . And the occasion - the release of the Holy Sepulcher and the Holy Land - was the disguise of the true pursuit of riches and prestige.

The roads to India were discovered by other brave men during the so-called Great geographical discoveries - Columbus in the west, Vasco da Gama in the south, Cabot - in the north towards Labrador. But it was Magellan who made the first round-the-world voyage to the west - the right man, in the right place, at the right time. Years and years before him, the idea for such a work was prepared by Henry /Enrique/ the Sailor, who never got to see his dream come true. The entire 15th century marks new and new points along the world's seas and oceans, overthrowing ancient Greek scientists such as Ptolemy, who predicted that there are places, but behind them there is nothing and they cannot be crossed. CaboTormentoso - the Cape of Good Hope marks the extreme coastline of Africa, but the irony is that the conditions for its passage require all the skill of seafarers to save the ships and the lives of the sailors. The Renaissance of the old world begins, not only in shipping, but in many other areas of life. The curious thing in this case is that Callistus III, with one stroke of his pen, divides the globe into two halves with a papal bull at the Cape Verde Islands, which will be ruled by Portugal and Spain with all the countries, islands, peoples they discovered and will enjoy their riches forever. This bull was also renewed under the next three popes - Pius II, Paul III, Sixtus IV, with which the two countries will enrich themselves enormously, seize natural resources, enslave generations of local residents, build palaces and palaces that will be proof for their leading role in world trade and colonial politics. However, with this they will provoke the envy of other countries, as a result of which in the future wars will be fought, borders will change, masters will change. But there is still a long time until then, and we will return to the personality of Magellan.

Reliable facts about Magellan's life are almost absent for a number of reasons. The most important of them is the silence or underestimation of his historical achievement - the strait off Patagonia and Tierra del Fuego, the attempt to downplay the audacity with which, in the name of Spain and the king, to facilitate the sea route to the dreamy Spice Islands. King Manuel of Portugal categorically refused his support for the preparation and equipment of the flotilla, but the luck of the brave sailor in most cases of his life brought him help and assistance in Spain - through King Charles V, then 18 years old, an association of calculating merchants and overcoming public opposition and the wounded national honor of the Spanish captains the idea was accepted and preparations for the voyage continued for nearly 2 years. Magellan's experience as a soldier, sailor and captain helped a lot for the precise and well-planned expedition, as well as the characteristics of his character - brave, decisive, restrained, cool-headed, with a strong belief in the rightness of the work started.

I stop here, with the conviction that I have provoked your interest to finish the book yourself, to make sure that the brave undertaking, which lasted almost 3 years, brought to the world new knowledge, new worlds, new territories. I'll just say that approaching the Spanish coast, the 18 surviving sailors were surprised to find that they lost a whole day / this happened to me too, when our national holiday - March 3rd - was missing from the calendar, thanks to the passage from the east to the west during my journey from the second part of my sea adventure blog/.

You can learn a lot by reading the historical novel /I would call it a retrospective/ of the exploit of Fernando Magellan. His ridiculous death, the desertion of an entire ship full of desperately needed food supplies, sailor mutinies, a whole ship full of much-needed provisions, sailors' mutinies, disobedience of Spanish captains, just punishments of the guilty, mistrust and doubts, natural storms and sea currents, all against the background of one brave man who dared to reshape the world's oceans in the name of the word given and the commitment made to the King of Spain.

I conclude again with the appeal I make to you every time - read, read, read, only in this way you will find that human nature at all times manifests itself in the same way, that history is written by the winners, and behind them there are many others , give your health and life for the successful realization of your dreams!!!

Hello my dear readers and followers,

The time has come for me to admit something very atypical for me - to establish and admit to my failures in the literary world, namely, as embarrassing as it may sound, that I have not read anything from the pre-Renaissance Italian poets - Dante, Petrarch, Boccaccio. A serious oversight that I need to fix in the next few months. In general, I have a hard time reading poetry, I probably don't understand it, but I'll have to fight that too, because after reading "Bocaccio" by Cesare Marchi, I realized how much I've missed over the years.

Italy, 14th century, Certaldo /Giovanni Boccaccio's birthplace/, the emerging bourgeois class - merchants, bankers, moneylenders, proud aristocracy, Guelphs /Guelphs/ and Ghibellines - warring political formations, wars and invasions, truces, betrayals, plague , natural disasters alternate in a certain cycle. Against the background of parts of the "Decameron" in a colloquial (not Latin) language, Boccaccio follows his main idea - to convey the life of an ordinary person, without the demonic religious prohibitions and threats to the afterlife, to laugh at the social order, sometimes at himself you are. Obeying the will of the family, Boccaccio studied as an apprentice with a merchant in Florence, but without success - literature was his world, his territory, where he felt most comfortable, as an observer and analyst of public life, where he could fully reflect the vices and weaknesses in him, to laugh at the false religiosity of churchmen.

Life in Naples, then Botuscha's cultural center, filled him with joy and satisfaction, a period he will always remember with gratitude and a little sadness, because it was there that he developed as an artist at the court of the local king. Let's remember that until the middle of the 19th century, Italy was fragmented into kingdoms and principalities, which often fought with each other for territory and power. Being respected by the local government, in his later years he was sent as an ambassador to neighboring areas to negotiate some political demands of the authorities.

I won't retell this fictional biography verbatim, I'll just mention that it uses much of Boccaccio's extant memoirs, numerous historical documents, and therefore sounds very authentic, as any author should treat his works.

In closing, I will again urge you to read, read, read, because it is reading that develops the imagination, explains historical facts, and helps us look at the future with a different eye.

I take this opportunity to wish you healthy, bright and happy Christmas and New Year holidays, may the table be full, the decorations shine, our hearts be full of joy and gaiety, and let's not forget that we are human and that everyone wants to be loved and respected, let's help the world to be better and peaceful tomorrow. To be!!!

HELLO MY DEAR READERS AND FOLLOWERS!

Hello to the first days of 2024! May it be peaceful and fruitful, peaceful and successful, may we be healthy and safe for the family, the people and the world! To forget the bad events, to look with faith and hope for the next 366 days /2024 is a leap year/, to be kinder and tolerant towards others, to fulfill our dreams and promises. I wish you this from the bottom of my heart with the hope that in another 365 days we will be together again and take stock of what has been accomplished and plan for what is to come.

And now to return to the purpose of this blog, namely to share what I've read recently, what I've learned, what I've been convinced of once again, what lessons I've learned for myself and, last but not least, to you I urge you /as always/ to read, I will never tire of doing so!

A new author /for me/ appeared in my reading list - Ken Follett. Well, not quite, if we go back a little further, you will read 2 titles from the same writer, but this time the genre is one of my favorites - history, and that of England from the beginning of the 12th century. "The Earth Stands" in 2 parts, a turbulent time for the kingdom, a civil war that lasted almost 20 years, the throne's struggle with the church for political supremacy, robbers and rioters, a creative upsurge in church building, personal dramas and revenge, a pinch of love and humanity and more and more.

The author himself, in the preface to the first part, frankly tells his initial idea for the novel, the preparation for it, the historical sources, including technical literature on church architecture, which took him almost 10 years.

The battle for the crown between the heirs of Henry I, the disgruntled barons and the landed aristocracy, who plot their supremacy, ordinary citizens and the emerging bourgeoisie, the eternal creditors - the Jews /money, they say they don't smell!!!/, the selfishness and hypocrisy of bishops and ecclesiastical figures, natural disasters paint a comprehensive picture of the first half of the 12th century, which the narrative recounts.I will never cease to wonder how human nature has not undergone a positive development in all these years and centuries. The thirst for power and greatness, supremacy and self-assertion do not select methods and means to achieve them. Common descent or kinship is of no importance, there are no eternal friends and enemies, but only eternal interests, oaths of allegiance and loyalty are broken hastily depending on the circumstances, all that remains is what was built in the name of the church, which we still see today. And yet we cannot enjoy them without thinking about who and what this or that builder did, what he left behind.

The end of the novel is poignant (for me) with the political assassination of Archbishop Thomas Becket, the ideological opponent of Henry II, whose death gives rise to the cult of the church-proclaimed saint and the public repentance of the king, who feels sympathy for his death. Does this gesture contain an iota of optimism for the future of medieval England?!?!? The following centuries dispute my point, the Stewards, the Plantagenets, the Tudors ...... is there lasting peace under their rule or ......

More than half of the month of January of the New Year 2024 has passed and life after the euphoria of the holidays has passed, and continues in its usual rhythm - as always ... During this time I did not stop reading, but chick-lit literature and crime fiction did not enter into my plans to share them with you until I opened "Memorable Heroes and Deeds" by the acclaimed historian Titus Livius. To this day, his 35 books, which have survived from the original 142, are considered the most reliable ancient works, reflecting the thousand-year history of Rome.

I will not retell the content of the work, it is completely impossible, because it reflects centuries of history - dated and indisputable facts, legends and traditions /where there are no reliable sources/, cities and localities /whose names I found in the alphabet at the end of the book/, tribes , kings, chiefs, dictators, emperors. Kingdoms, republics, democracy and demagoguery, clients and corruption, substitution of the popular vote, civil disobedience and wars - internal and external, the author has accurately conveyed the events he witnessed, with reservations he describes the history from the primary sources of such of them that happened goes back centuries in time.

Aeneas /considered the progenitor of the clan of the Julias/, Romulus and Remus, kings, senators, praetors, quaestors, tribunes of the people, the galaxy of great generals fill the pages of the book, describing the territorial conquests of Rome, the fierce resistance of the annexed tribes, the popular dissatisfaction with a time of grain crises, the triumphs of the victors and their gifts to the city. I was greatly impressed by the universal belief in predictions, divinations and omens, the building of temples and the worship of deities who are the protectors of the sacred city.

I have been to Rome, remnants of its 3,000-year history still impress more than anything, eloquently prove the quality of construction and reflect the past era of power and prosperity of the Roman state. That is why I am a lover of such books that show future generations that the world did not begin with them, but dates back centuries and that everything new is well-forgotten old..... History repeats itself - with more or less deviations, but the main goal - territory and power, has not changed for millennia ... These are the lessons for today's man, who is deaf and blind to the unchanged essence of the world ..... And you read, read, read, we can always take conclusions and to convince ourselves that life is unchangeable.....

Today I'm going to tell you about 3 books I recently read. Each of them is very different, but equally fascinating. As I have shared with you more than once how I expect to learn something more from them, to refresh my knowledge about something interesting and fascinating, to read indisputable historical facts and data, how proud I am when I find a Bulgarian presence there. This time I found no such trace, but the rest is interesting - e.g. The Great Depression in America in 1929, the story of the French composer Jean Baptiste Lully or Benjamin Franklin.

"The Seven Sisters" by Lucinda Riley absorbed me so much that I read it in one sitting, deeply moved by the plot, the characters, the historical vicissitudes of the time.

It turned out that I have read only one of the series - "The Story of Maya", I will have to look for the other 6, as well as "Atlas - the story of Papa Salt", the adopter of the seven sisters. Perhaps his story will explain many of the mysteries I found in this first book, most notably why each of the 7 sisters is named after one of the Pleiades - the Seven Sisters constellation.

/I will add in parentheses that in Norway there is a waterfall called Seven Sisters, which flows into the Geiranger Fjord and impresses with its rushing waters, especially with the melting snow, the spray that washes the passengers from the tourist boats and the flocks of seagulls that accompany them and greedily await a treat /.

But to continue with the "History of the Maya", which spans a period of nearly 100 years and intertwines the destinies of the Maya with her ancestors in distant Brazil and the home of Atlantis on the shores of Lake Geneva.

Love and filial duty, longings and disappointments, a grandiose creative project to build the statue of Christ the Redeemer over Rio de Janeiro on the Corcovado hill and its execution in Paris by the famous sculptor Paul Landowski according to the plans of the Brazilian engineer Heitor da Silva Costa, legends and mysticism, creative fantasy and historical facts - all this, as well as passing through the past and present make the book more than interesting and exciting. I expect to experience similar emotions after reading the other books in the series.

I was greatly impressed by the impact of the Great Depression on Brazil's economy. It turns out that American banks have been making significant loans to Brazilian companies that have been affected by their massive bankruptcies and for that reason have also affected the Brazilian economy, in particular the price of coffee, the main export product at the time. I.e. globalization is not a product of modernity, but has a historical origin of many years.

M. Nikolski has described in the series "Great examples - the lives of famous children" the story of the composer Jean Baptiste Lully from the first half of the 17th century in Italy and that of Benjamin Franklin from the first quarter of the 18th century in America. The first edition of these biographies is almost a century old, perhaps it sounds a little unrealistic nowadays, but it is fascinating and instructive how the fortunes of both of them have elevated them to the present day, which speaks of talent and a favorable confluence of circumstances that made them famous.

It is with great embarrassment that I admit that, although I have heard of this composer, I have not yet listened to his works, and I need to fill these gaps in my musical education, although I consider myself a music lover.

As for Franklin, I was surprised to learn that, in addition to being a statesman, he is also an inventor - he invented a lightning rod, and he made an accordion for Marie Antoinette. Until that moment I knew of him as one of the authors of the American Declaration of Independence after the end of the Civil War. But about his early years, I learned that he was a typewriter in Boston, at the age of 15 he wrote quite a few op-eds for the local newspaper published by his older brother Jacob. His restless spirit has taken him to New York, Philadelphia, England, France. In Philadelphia he was postmaster, at the same time he founded a public library, a fire department, an insurance company. He collected funds to build a school and a hospital for the poor. He was sent to France as minister plenipotentiary to America. A rich and meaningful life for the benefit of the society, left forever in history with his dedicated work for the benefit of the common people.

That is why we must read, draw conclusions and draw lessons for ourselves and try to follow the example of long-gone historical figures, there are such people everywhere, we only have to find them and follow them if we can ... ..

I hasten to share with you the just read "Cortés and Moctezuma" by Maurice Collis. First of all, I want to make a clarification - when we were studying world history, the name of the Mexican ruler before the Spanish invasion was pronounced as Montezuma, now I found that the pronunciation is different - Moctezuma is the name of the last ruler of the country. When I visited Mexico, I was surprised to find out that the locals pronounce her name as Mechico. In other words, we are talking about the same person, but with a different pronunciation. I've always had a very hard time getting to grips with these names, let alone what they mean as a definition. But you yourself, if you decide, will judge whether or not you should go into these details.

Before continuing to tell about the contents of the novel, I made a reference in the Internet space to make sure that the presented facts, dates, persons, etc. details correspond to the historical truth, but I did not find any confirmation or denial. It remains only to trust the author of these memoirs, Cortés Bernal, who participated in the adventure - the conquest of Mexico in the first quarter of the 16th century under the leadership of Hernán Cortés.

The whole adventure sounds like a fantastic experience, if it were not so dramatic for the Mexicans /later known to the world as the Aztecs/ who, ahead of old Europe in many ways, allowed themselves to be conquered by a handful of self-interested military and common soldiers in the name of distant Spanish King Charles V. Roads and road infrastructure /with their current names/, shining stone cities, developed crafts, modern government, but an endlessly cruel religion, beliefs, prophecies that actually doom them to destruction and submission to the Spanish invaders.

As I previously shared, Pope Callistus III /Alexandro Borgia/ in the middle of the 15th century divided the globe with a papal bull lengthwise - he entrusted the eastern one to Portugal and the western one to Spain. That is why all, or at least all, geographical discoveries were made by the two maritime states and benefited from their riches - gold, silver, spices, slaves, etc. And it is no wonder that today we continue to admire the palaces, museums and their collections that came precisely from their colonial possessions.

I have slightly deviated from my main goal, but it was important to recall again how this splendor and greatness of the two Western European countries in the Middle Ages was arrived at. But this also has its price - many material and human sacrifices, political intrigues and backroom deals, envy and sabotage, denunciations and slanders and all kinds of unflattering actions. But as they say - in war everything is justified.

The Mexican religion, incomprehensible to Europeans, with its rituals and beliefs, predictions and sacrifices, was the basis of the conquest of the country by Cortes and his nearly 400 soldiers.

The Mexican religion, incomprehensible to Europeans, with its rituals and beliefs, predictions and sacrifices, was the basis of the conquest of the country by Cortes and his nearly 400 soldiers. The aggressive military policy of the Aztecs, which was aimed at obtaining the necessary captives for the sacrificial offerings, the fragmentation of numerous vassal cities within the confederation, the frequent natural disasters - earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, devastating floods are explained by the anger of the endless series of deities who they often fight among themselves for supremacy and power over the population.

The Mexican religion, incomprehensible to Europeans, with its rituals and beliefs, predictions and sacrifices, was the basis of the conquest of the country by Cortes and his nearly 400 soldiers. The aggressive military policy of the Aztecs, which was aimed at obtaining the necessary captives for the sacrificial offerings, the fragmentation of numerous vassal cities within the confederation, the frequent natural disasters - earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, devastating floods are explained by the anger of the endless series of deities who often fight among themselves for supremacy and power over the population. 

A prediction of the return of the god Quetzalcoatl, who will appear from the east and will strikingly resemble Cortés physically, his victories and conquest of the cities through which he reached from the coast to the city of Mexico, break the First Speaker of the State - Moctezuma and are the basis of his further resignation to the inevitability of defeat and the loss of her independence.

I will say no more, if you choose - the book is at your disposal. It was a pleasure to immerse myself in the historical sketch of the discovery and conquest of Mexico, which sounds improbable, but the story is just that. See for yourself!!!

I honestly admit that I do not understand anything about fashion, I am not interested in fashion trends, I know that like everything, fashion revolves and repeats - something new is well forgotten old. However, there are individuals of tailors/fashionistas, designers is the modern term, who have left and traces remain during their lifetime and years after their retirement from this capricious world - fashion. Their masterpieces are timeless - take Chanel's "little black dress" and the eternal perfume "Chanel 5", the tarpaulin from which the bags and suitcases of Louis Vuitton and more and more fashion dictators are made. Let's not forget the fierce competition in this field, where to raise and keep you need a little bit of luck, apart from everything else.....

Henri Gidel and his "Coco Chanel" excited me for several reasons. First of all, the unhappy childhood of the 3 sisters abandoned by the family and their upbringing in orphanages behind the monastery walls. The lack of a solid education, which she managed to overcome, thanks to the circle of writers, philosophers, artists who formed her cultural salon. The rich imagination, sense of functionality and comfort of the garment he constructs with just scissors in hand. The eternal loneliness that accompanies her until her last days, the frantic ambition and dedication, the rich fantasy and creativity /the modern term/, the joyless life on a personal level.

I highly recommend this reading to you, it is indicative of how with will and perseverance, talent and self-discipline, faith in one's own capabilities, with the ability to anticipate new trends are the basis of the phenomenal and lasting success of this fighting woman. The thing that particularly impressed me was the huge library and Gabrielle Chanel's willingness to read and fill in the gaps in her education. Well, I'm not Coco Chanel, but I won't stop urging you to read, the only way you'll be enriched by the achievements and failures of the famous, and you'll also learn lessons for yourself. And as always - read, read, read!!!!!!

Those of you who follow this part of the blog have probably noticed a consistency - I rarely share my impressions of just one book, in most cases it's 2, 3 and sometimes more. Since I read every day, but I don't always have enough time to describe my observations and conclusions, that's why I follow this established tradition even today.

It is about 3 books - "The Last Queen of India" by Michelle Moran, "Mossad - On the Path of Deception" by Victor Ostrovsky and Claire Hoy and "My Years with Ayn Rand" by Nathaniel Brandon.

All three excited me for several reasons:

- I had visited the countries where the action takes place - India, Israel, America;

- I had read "The Mahabharata", Ayn Rand's works - "Hymn", "The Spring" and the trilogy "Atlas Shrugs".

- I touched very briefly the life of the common man, his problems and joys, I saw the dreams of the main character in "The Source" realized - the skyscrapers;

- it was hard for me to believe how the authorities allowed the facts presented in "Mossad", although the data is from many years back in time.

Britain's colonial policy dates back to the 17th century, when its traders set foot on the Indian subcontinent. Their presence is depicted very emblematically in an Indian fable about the camel and its owner's tent. The camel asked the man to let her warm her muzzle in it because of the cold evening outside. She gradually moved him out of there and moved inside, and he remained outside in the cold. This is how the British imperceptibly took over the vast country and imposed their rules and customs, ruthlessly plundering the riches of India and subjugating the population to their will and politics.

In The Last Queen of India, the historical events and dates are given at the end of the book. Of course, the author also used creative fantasy when describing the dramatic moments of the brutal expansion of England from the middle of the 19th century, but the facts are indisputable - thousands and thousands of human and material victims, broken families and destinies, looted wealth, unceasing resistance to the local population for freedom and independence, which came true a century later. On several occasions I came across the sincere reluctance of the British soldiers not to be in this place and not to participate in the pogroms, but loyal to their ruler - Queen Victoria, they fulfill their military duty.

I will not retell the plot of the novel if I have provoked your interest - you know how to do that.

The other book is also absolutely realistic - "My Years with Ayn Rand". I googled it to make sure I didn't mislead you. Author Nathaniel Brandon was indeed an admirer, close friend, and later lover of Ayn Rand, but that didn't surprise me. He was 25 years younger than her, and the wife of the current French President Macron is also that much older than him. Apparently, this is not an obstacle when the love is mutual, but the author's 18 years of cohabitation with the writer did not have a happy ending.

I have commented on the above works of Ayn Rand before on the blog, but now I have made sense of them in her philosophical style, not that it is the leading one for me. Some facts from her personal life, her creative pursuits, her circle of admirers - Collective, greatly surprised me with her authoritarianism and inflexibility in professional relationships, absolute imposition of her own understandings, I would even say intolerance to the opinions and views of others. This greatly affects not only the creative relationship, but also the personal contacts of the writer and her lover, especially when he meets true love.

If you are interested, you can read these little more than 400 pages in one sitting and realize that geniuses are not easy to live with.

And the last Mossad book is also quite interesting if you like that kind of reading - agents, informers, international corporations, conspiracies, assassinations, coups d'état, and of course, lots and lots of money. No matter what anyone tells you, know that it's about money. This sentence has its own explanation, but whether this is for the benefit of the common man, judge for yourself.

I'll let you decide which book to start with, and I promise to tell you about my preferences again soon, until then - read, read, read!!!

"Notes from a Small Island" by Bill Bison initially struck me as boring and slightly eccentric - typical Anglo-American humor, startling conclusions, insulting /at first glance/ qualifications and a very sharp dissection of the English way of life, understanding and behavior. Determined to finish the book, I somewhat changed my attitude towards it for several reasons.

First of all, the real-life orders introduced in the middle of the 19th century in the town of Salter, part of the Yorkshire region, by the local manufacturer Titus Salt, who (I think he borrowed Emile Zola's ideas from Labour) created a utopian society, lasted about a quarter of a century. The textile industry (mainly woolen) helped the family to accumulate enough funds to build churches, schools, hospitals, community centers, libraries, laboratories and other social institutions, which would change public morals, greatly curb drunkenness and form hardworking, sober and gentle workers, provided healthy working conditions /without having a Health and Safety at Work Act, which employers are currently supposed to comply with?!?!?/. The town had cobbled streets, lecture and concert halls, workers lived in 850 neat houses with gas heating, a gymnasium and the world's first moon park.

Unfortunately, the economic changes at the end of the century dealt a serious blow to what was achieved, and Titus Salt's venture has sunk into history. While reading Labor by Emile Zola I thought it was a pipe dream, but Bill Bryson proved me wrong. I wonder now, what is the assessment of contemporaries for this indisputably humane understanding of the working environment and conditions, when there were no legal requirements and everything was implemented according to the employer's own understanding and with personal funds???

Secondly, the detailed analysis of the transport system - trains, buses, ferries, which he used in his tour for 7 weeks, the conditions in them, the lack of coordination of the timetables between the individual transport companies, so that passengers do not have to wait for hours along with the arrival of the next train, bus, etc.

The urban changes in the towns, which to a certain extent have lost their identity with the introduction of modern architectural solutions, often to the detriment of their authenticity, not always in harmony with the natural conditions.

The conservatism of the English, especially in the deep countryside, who observe the established rules over the course of centuries, often incomprehensible to an outsider, English humor deeply moves the writer. All this disappointed him to some extent, but anyway, at the beginning of the new millennium he settled in Northern England with his whole family.

And finally, I have personally visited some of the described localities and towns - Salisbury and the famous cathedral where the Magna Carta is kept, Stonehenge, Inverness / I just wonder why he doesn't also tell about Loch Ness, where, according to the locals, the monster Nessie appears after 7th whiskey???/, Orkney.

After the Google search, I am determined to read his available books as well. And you read, read, read, you'll be surprised how many things you know, and even more you don't know, and that's how you'll learn them!!!

Isabel Allende / the niece of the legally elected president Salvatore Allende, who was liquidated by the military junta in Chile in 1973 / is an exceptional storyteller, mixing eras, characters, events in endlessly fascinating readings that at the same time shake with the frankness and naturalism of the action and involve the reader to the life dramas and upheavals of the characters described. Rich language, precise speech, alternating joy and excitement, doubts and disappointments, victories and pogroms, confidence and uncertainty and find their place in the narrative, not leaving the reader indifferent to the fate of the described persons - mothers, sisters, fathers, children , grandmas and grandpas...

I haven't shared my impressions of her other novels with you yet, but the last of them - "Paula" shook me to the core as a frank and painful almost biographical novel, written in the form of a letter and addressed to the dying daughter of an incurable disease. Past - distant and more distant, present, big families and their traditions, inevitable economic and social problems and clashes, a military coup and its consequences take turns sucking the heroes into a stormy vortex that drives them away from their homeland for many years and inflicts defeats both in physical and emotional breakdown.

I could not and do not want to retell the plot, but the emotions in it cannot leave the reader indifferent to the fate of the characters and especially the author herself. Mother's love and grief, hope and despair, all known to medicine, and not only traditional, means alternate in an attempt to avoid the inevitable, to help the young person overcome the consequences of the disease. The lessons from the novel must be taken personally by everyone, there are no ready-made recipes for dealing with such problems, but as they say - life goes on and decisions affect both the individual and others.

The world is dynamically developing and changing, today's achievements will be hopelessly outdated tomorrow, humanity is trying to humanize itself, but whether it will succeed, future generations will judge, today's diseases may find their cure tomorrow, but until then, what will we do today and now ?!?!? I personally have a solution for myself, to read and get to know the past with the hope of finding my place in the future, as they say in the past the future is also designed. And I appeal to you again - read, read, read, this will prepare you for the coming new time!

Today I will introduce you to two English-speaking writers - the Irish Maeve Binchy and the Canadian Margaret Atwood. Up to this point I had not read anything by either of them, but their novels "St. Anna's Spring" and "The Clairvoyant" are so different that it would be difficult for me to give a definite assessment of whether I liked them or not. I researched the two authors on the Internet to find out whether their personal experiences found their way into the books or not, and whether there was a biographical element to them. Turns out there wasn't, and that intrigued me even more.

I will start with "The Clairvoyant" because I finished it these days and my impressions are very vivid and frankly - quite confused. Extremely non-standard, chaotic, full of complexes from childhood, mysterious and scattered main character until the very end of the novel is torn by doubts and contradictions, unable to find her place in life. The parental mistakes made by the mother, and later by the father, leave indelible traces in the restless girl, and later in the grown woman.

Even the death of the mother does not stop the girl's nightmares from early childhood, when she forever endured the insults and lack of maternal caress. The excess weight of these years weighed on the psyche of Joan Crawford, who later adopted as a pseudonym the name of her aunt Louisa /Lou/ Delacour, who was genuinely interested in her. Later, she chose the writing field, using her rich imagination and realized herself successfully in the post-war years. A life messed up ends even more wrongly by faking her own death, which has caused even more trouble for her closest friends. And so the book ends with an open ending, which each reader can in his own way accept as credible, I personally could not do it....... I leave it to you to decide what the outcome is if you decide to read The Clairvoyant.

I had decided not to share anything about "St Anne's Spring" by Maeve Binchy, because there is a lot of mysticism and mystery in these lore that many of us ignore these days. Even the local priest inwardly resists the choral beliefs about the attributed miracles of the spring, but tries not to let this attitude show in his daily encounters with the local population. I think that everyone should decide for themselves whether to believe or not to believe the predictions, share them or deny them, a matter of personal choice.

Family feuds, broken families, economic problems, interpersonal battles, hopes and disappointments, crime and punishment - all mixed up in a wonderful mixture full of riddles and guesses, light crime element, expectation of get-rich-quick, different characters, each of whom bears typical features of the time or not. The vivid description of the nature around the spring even made me smell the air around me, I imagined realistically the cave from which the healing water springs, the leaves hung around it like flags with written requests and wishes. And the ending is so unexpected that it's not real, is it???

And again I urge you to read, read, read, there is always something new to learn!!!

While I was reading "French Lessons" by Peter Maile I had no intention of introducing you to her at all, but the ending provoked me to think. I have said more than once that reading is always useful, one learns many things that one cannot know if one does not read! The penultimate chapter of this book proved that this is completely true, especially when you are not a specialist in some narrow field of science and life, then who can say that they know everything???"

Many must have heard of the Michelin stars, but how many of you know the history of this stellar ranking in gastronomy?

It began in 1900, with the first issue distributed free of charge, written by the Michelin brothers, devoted to the novelty of automobiles - pneumatic tires and other extensive technical information on 400 pages, filled with the settlements of France arranged in alphabetical order. For the convenience of readers, the distances to them from Paris and some other large cities are indicated. Its purpose is to facilitate the entry of motorists on the roads of the country, crossing its territory, thus needing the new tires more and more. Numerous ads for cars, small cars, bicycles are posted here.

I was curious to know that among the many companies from that time to today, only Peugeot is recognizable, and that as a manufacturer of folding bicycles!!! The beginning of the visualized language was also set - the individual symbols indicate where the hotels, pharmacies, doctors, stations, post offices are through stylized images. Accommodations with running water are now listed in the next issue!!!

In 1920, the era of the cherished 3 stars for restaurants was set, its distribution was new - it was sold in bookstores and something that has been observed for more than a century - no, absolutely no advertising!!! In 1926, the categorization of restaurants began, which fought to acquire and preserve the brand's trademark - a stylized rosette. There are no forever subscribed to owning them, constant control can solidify them or take them away depending on the inspectors' reports. It never occurs to anyone to challenge the decisions of the Michelin headquarters, no one influences or interferes in its work, mainly because it is independent of sponsors, shareholders or other persons who seek profit on behalf of Michelin!!!

Monsieur/Madame Tout le Monde, exclusively les incognitos do their work full time, even on weekends. Absolute discretion - no names, gender, photos, interviews, participation in TV and radio programs, unlike culinary critics. They are chosen from candidates with practical experience in the hotel and restaurant industry between 8 and 10 years of experience, followed by 2 years of special training. They check at least 2 types of restaurants every day, taste between 10 and 14 types of cuisine in a working week, travel at least 30 thousand km. around the world annually, submit their reasoned reports.

Visits are carried out according to the usual order - reservation, consumption, payment, without unnecessary claims and requiring special treatment from the staff. Physically healthy, exceptional sense of taste, good education, alert, strict, self-control and self-discipline, concentrated, impartial, competent, punctuality and accuracy - these are only some of the necessary qualities to fulfill their commitments and responsibilities flawlessly. Is this within the power of each of us??? As the author says - "The life and work of these inspectors is like a witness protection program, but with better food".....

Michelin's 1939 maps of the settlements were so accurate that at the end of World War II, Allied troops used them to liberate France in 1944.

Another interesting fact is that the 2000 edition already has 1,700 pages and a circulation of over 880,000 copies, including more than 5,000 hotels and over 40,000 restaurants. Of the 116 recommended places, the Otel d'Europe in Avignon stands out, built in the 16th century, where Bonaparte was a guest, currently holding 1 Michelin star. One of the holders of 3 stars - Paul Bonnus, received them in 1965 and until the publication of this book - 2000, continues to work and defend them annually.

I dwelled on this chapter in more detail, because until that moment I only knew about the Michelin stars from general culture, and I am glad that I learned more. The rest of the book is no less interesting, with a knife, fork, spoon and corkscrew in hand, the author crosses France in all directions, for which he receives information about where, what and when it will happen - a fair, exhibition, festival or other occasion for gastronomic experience. They were not frogs, sausages, cheeses, snails, bloodsuckers, legs, not to mention wines - white, red, rosé. Nothing stops him from traveling miles and joining local parties. And a very thin sense of humor and self-irony. I highly recommend it, but please eat and drink well before enjoying the fascinating read. And take your time, relive the events with the author, and if you can, and you want to, in the last, really last chapter, you will find the addresses, telephones, faxes, and perhaps also e-mail addresses of the recommended restaurants, bistros, inns and other eating establishments. Enjoy your meal!!! And don't forget to read, something will always surprise you - and the soul, and through it the palate and the stomach!!!

You must be asking yourself - why haven't I shared anything for so long? And this is because I read nearly 600 pages of the history of Bulgaria in the years after the Second World War, in the era of the establishment of the socialist regime of the country.

And since I am a contemporary of many of the events described, I read carefully and remembered some things that in my childhood and youth were a part of me and I did not think about how they affected my grandparents, parents and relatives.

It is about "Absentee reports about Bulgaria" by Georgi Markov. I confess that his biography was unknown to me until I read the Reports. I learned with interest that he has an engineering education, the knowledge of which he practiced both as a worker and as a teacher. In those years, workers contributed to the construction of industry after the war's devastation, and teachers trained personnel for it. In theory, this is so, but the practice introduced in those years did not correspond to the educational postulates at all. The violently established ideology of the ruling elite, the cult of the personality of prominent party functionaries, the incompetent executors of the party's orders, gathered from the most illiterate stratum of society, but loyal to the death of the people who raised them to power, corruption and servitude, the repression of " the "enemies" of the people and more and more atrocities fill these pages and evoke many dark thoughts and memories of that time. The foreign worship of the USSR, the unprincipled copying of "innovations" in industry, agriculture, education, culture and public relations, as well as everywhere in life, weighed like a millstone on the more educated and wealthy citizens.

Confiscation of property, internment, prisons, camps, ban on practicing any kind of economic activity deprived the country of knowledgeable and able people, of means of the much-needed material means, which oppressed the atmosphere of those times. The lowering of the "Iron Curtain" does not stop the flow of information about what is happening in the countries of the Eastern Bloc - the Hungarian Uprising of 1956, the Prague Spring in 1968, etc., which lead to a slight change in the public climate and establish a more a soft regime in the country's governance.

But this does not prove to be enough for the intellectuals, to whom the author - writer, playwright, essayist, later dissident - imperceptibly joins. At this time he is in constant conflict with himself because he is unable to put into action the thought of the satiety of the wolf and the wholeness of the lamb. And as a result, he left the country forever, which, however, did not make him untouchable for the authorities, who in 1978 killed him in the center of London. To this day, nearly 45 years later, the truth about this murder is still unknown.

I don't want to repeat it, if you are interested - you will read it yourself. I was very confused by the facts, I often wondered how my relatives survived and what price they paid for this survival. Somewhere I had come across the maxim that every good idea gets into the wrong hands and minds. Communism as an ideology also sounds wonderful, but the authorities with their understanding and behavior have distorted it beyond recognition. In any case, it sounds very utopian, that it is impossible to realize in life according to the best plan.

I leave it to you to decide to go back a bit into our past, the lessons are not to be ignored, read, read, read, there is always meaning in the kiga whatever it is!!!