Quote of the Day~ By Winnie

Anyone who reads this blog on a regular basis knows by now my love for quotes. I think this partly comes from being an English major, and the subsequent years and years I spent immersed in the most powerful of books and awed by the beauty of our language. Also, in part, I love quotes because I'm constantly amazed at how only a few words or one simple sentence can so profoundly move me.

Yesterday was a fun day. While texting with a girlfriend she brought up Winnie the Pooh. Don't ask me why. It just happened that way. I'm a sucker for children's books, especially the enduring classics. Books for kids are generally so wholesome and simple and sweet, but hold messages about life and love and friendship that everyone can relate to. I spent some time after work last night reading through Winnie the Pooh quotes and I immediately felt warm and fuzzy. And so, here starts my latest devotion to Winnie and his lovely way of life. Hmmm, I think I feel like some hunny!

Quote of the Day by Winnie:

"When late morning rolls around and you're feeling a bit out of sorts, don't worry; you're probably just a little eleven o'clockish."

"If the person you are talking to doesn't appear to be listening, be patient. It may simply be that he has a small piece of fluff in his ear."

more to follow...

(for the Christina's)

ee II

The Grand Gesture

Every girl dreams of the "grand gesture". You know, the grand gesture~ that moment at the end of the movie when the man decides he can't live without "her" after all and states his feelings and intentions in over the top, romantic style. Does this happen in real life? 

I wonder all the time. 

Hundreds of films and novels over my thirty years have made me susceptible to the concept of the grand gesture. Fairy tale love, soulmate love~ whatever you call it, I'm a sucker for it. Meant to be. What does that even mean? I believe in it, absolutely, but never quite known it. And I have never experienced the grand gesture. Sometimes I think my idealism has been formed by all those movies I have wept through. After a recent "disagreement" with someone I cared for this ran through my mind~ What if I go home to find him waiting on my door step? If that were ever to happen would there be flowers? Some kind of declaration? This didn't happen, naturally. 

The door step was empty, the phone silent. 

Do men (in real life) believe in the grand gesture? Or does taking that leap mean being too vulnerable, thus too scary to actually act? Risking all is terrifying but the grand gesture is always used and loved in the movies because of that very element of the unknown. The bigger the risk the greater the reward. People love that. Especially women. 

We love the idea of the grand gesture. 

Why do we dream of this? For me~ it is because if someone ever did that for me then that would be utter proof, not only of the person's feelings for me but also a testament to the kind of man they are themselves. I dream of someone that is brave enough and strong enough to take that leap. Every girl wants a man who will take a risk for them. My advice to all boys out there~ scary be damned, risk all for that girl you love. Do it. Sometimes real life can be like the movies. Fairy tale love does exist. Everyone wants a grand gesture, sometime in their life. 

Embrace the romance and leap. 

My all time favourite grand gestures on film:

-Will driving cross country to "see about a girl" in Good Will Hunting

-Harry flying to Paris to tell Erica he loves her in 

Something's Gotta Give

-Mark's Christmastime cue card love tribute to Juliet in Love Actually

-Mr. Darcy's declaration of love to his supposed nemesis 

Elizabeth Bennet in Pride & Prejudice

-Linus quitting his company and moving to Paris for his love in Sabrina

There must be more..... What are your favourite grand gestures? 

Have you ever experienced this in real life? 

ee

Hurricane

I saw this passage and it intensely captured me. I've been reading it over and over for at least a month, moved by the words. I love the comparison between people and rain (I understand feeling like drizzle). I think it's an incredibly beautiful and romantic way to describe someone, as a force of nature. He obviously loves her, to want to sleep next to her rather than with her. What must that feel like, to be loved like that? Deep thoughts for me at 2am. Time for bed. 

Home Schooling For a Lit Major

School starts in six days and for the first time in four years I won't be there when thousands of kids flood the campus of UBC, laden down with books and dreams. My part time degree has, admittedly, taken me longer than most but I've never been much of a sprinter. Besides, here I am. Two (torturous) French classes away from my BA (how can a girl who loves France so much be so hideously bad at learning the language? It seems wrong!). 

So here it is September and there is a definite longing in me to pull my book bag out of my closet, go buy fresh school supplies and sit in one of those comfortably charmless classrooms to learn. But just because I won't be on campus doesn't mean I can't stop being a Lit major at home. I've had a summer off with little reading (and I've missed it) so my plan is this: a new book every two weeks means I will have read eight by Christmas. There are some books I've purchased and always wanted to read, others will be suggested along the way. Here are a few on my hit list:

1. Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte~ I've sadly never read this but since being given it as a very thoughtful gift, I can't wait to get into the iconic love story. (My favourite quote by Emily here)

2. Vanity Fair by William Makepeace Thackeray

3. Less Than Zero by Bret Easton Ellis~ A life of money and excess means when you're at the top there is nowhere to go but down. Amazon bills it as "The Catcher in the Rye" for the MTV Generation, so I'm reading it. 

4. The Moonstone by Wilkie Collins

5. Revolutionary Road by Richard Yates~ I'm at a stand still with this one after Chapter one, as it just seemed too depressing, yet I keep hearing it's amazing so I will persevere (and I have yet to see the film either, which is on my list too).

6. The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls~ A memoir written by the child of two extreme eccentrics, this one sounds touching and hilarious and sad at the same time. 

7. Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy~ An English Lit major has to read some Russian Lit. 

8. The Year of the Flood by Margaret Atwood~ I've read only one of Atwood's books (Oryx and Crake) and it was for a class, though it still haunts me. This one, while compared to it, is reviewed as even better. It's not released until September 8, but I can't wait. 

What are you reading right now? Or any recommendations of must reads? 

ps- Isn't this the prettiest photo in the world? I love it so much! 

(Photo via Paper Tissue)

Used Bookstores~ In Search of Alice

On the hunt to add to my burgeoning collection of vintage Alice in Wonderland books I have come across some of the best used bookstores in Vancouver. As a literature major I love books, especially old ones. When I first started at UBC many a moon ago my absolute favourite place to hang out (or nap!) was buried in the dusty stacks in the old Main Library. It seriously broke my heart when I re-enrolled many years later only to be back on campus and find the Main Library was basically being torn apart and renovated. Some people say updated... I say ruined. But that's neither here nor there. I love old books as much as I love old libraries. The musty smell, the beautiful fine print, the leather bound covers. There is so much history and character in old books in comparison to ones nowadays. 

Lewis Carroll's Alice in Wonderland is incomparably my favourite childhood book so I'm scouring the city for the prettiest old volumes of it I can find. You can stumble across so many interesting finds in a used bookstore and it's the mystery of it I love. Plus the markdowns are a great bonus! 

If you're looking for the latest best seller or wanting something with a little more time behind it try one of these three fantastic used bookstores:

Canterbury Tales Secondhand Books

1990 West 4th Ave. (at Maple) 

604-733-1130

Characters Fine Books and Coffee Bar

8419 Granville Street (in Marpole near the Safeway) 

604-263-4660

Tanglewood Books

1553 West Broadway (between Granville and Fir) 

604-736-8876

Update: Have just been sighing over First Edition copies of Alice on ebay. Now that would be the most amazing gift ever! Any great First Edition actually! 

Quote of the Day

"Whatever our souls are made of, his and mine are the same."

-Emily Bronte

Have you ever felt this way about someone?

(Image from the film Amelie)