Banned Books Week, Gianna's Take

If you are anything like me (I hope not), you turn to banned book lists to carve out your own personal reading in hopes of finding something truly filthy (never really happens) or a book you can agree is worth banning (Bridges of Madison County for example). Recently I found a list of books banned from prisons…it's an excellent list that includes Pulitzer and National Book Award winners, Nobel winners, and even Shakespeare. [Does anyone else think that Gianna's overly fixated on the prisons?]

Here is a list of my favorite books banned from prisons across this great country.

1. If you are in prison, you aren’t going to get a pop-up book. You just aren’t. You aren’t going to get Pirates of the Caribbean The Black Pearl, The Human Body, Graceland an Interactive Pop Up Tour, The Pop Up Book of Sex, Pixie Hollow Pop Up or my favorite…The Pop Up Book of Celebrity Meltdowns (it's very possible that my soul mate is in prison requesting this book!). If you love pop-up books…stay on the straight and narrow, my friends.

2. Easy Origami Fold a Day Calendar. I don’t know if this was requested by a female or not, but if it’s a dude; this being banned may have saved you from an ass beating. Blessing in disguise.

3. Law in America was banned because it had an uninspectable (prison word) front cover. I suspect the real reason is that no one likes a know-it-all on the outside, let alone in prison. Annoying.

4. Einstein: The Life of a Genius. This book apparently has glued documents throughout. I don’t know if the fear is getting high off glue (is it bad that was my first thought?) or if a naughty prisoner could hide things behind glued documents? [Physics is scary.]

5. Road Atlas. Yeah…Road Atlas. This was banned because it has a detailed map of Texas. Two thoughts because I live in Texas: was this banned from a Texas prison, or do all prisons ban this due to the map of Texas? Why must all criminals head this way? Is it Mexico? Because if so…they are on to you…head north when you escape. [Canada's prettier anyway.]

6. Sharing Lovers: Twice as Nice. No comment needed. [...I don't get it.]

7. Two Way Radios for Dummies and Ham Radios were both banned due to sexual content. Note to self… set up ham radio! [Gianna already has her handle--Undergarment Varmint rides again!]

8. Family Medical Guide. I assume that this was banned due to gross pictures you can’t help but look at over and over again.

9. Selma: The March that Changed the South. Banned due to racial content. When will somebody finally write a book about the struggle for racial equality and not get bogged down in racial content?

10. You love the arts? Too bad you dirty birdy. Art of Film, Art of Painting, Art of Photography, and How to Draw the Human Figure are all banned due to sexiness. Calm down. Penthouse Censored and Letters to Penthouse: Let’s Get this Party Started are no longer on the ban list! Yay!

Well that’s it, my top 10 favorite banned books in prisons …oh what is that? You’re a white supremacist and you gots to get your read on? No worries; white supremacist books are easy to come by, as is Mein Kampf.  [At least people are reading.  That's what's important, right?]

Operation Chuck: Fight Club

Lemuria Books, Jackson, MS

Chuck Palahniuk has a new novel coming in October, a delightful book called Damned.  Better, Mr. Palahniuk is touring to one of my bookstores, Lemuria Books in Jackson, Mississippi.  Lemuria has never hosted Chuck before and to say the least, they are a wee bit excited.  The store has made t-shirts and posters promoting the event.  They are planning a party with a band, and an art show, and they blog about Chuck every three days or so.  Their enthusiasm is what makes my job fun.  Nothing, seriously NOTHING, is better than an excited bookseller telling people about books they have to read (and buy).  Okay, so maybe chocolate is as good....and I'm sure that Gianna can suggest a few things to do with inmates, but occupationally, book excitement is the best.

I'm still not going to date a convict.  Moving on.

Bookseller Zita sporting
a Damned t-shirt.

So Lisa, the terrific bookseller and editor for Lemuria's blog, emailed me two days ago and asked if I'd write a Chuck-related blog piece for Lemuria since I'm such a big fan.  While I want to support my stores in any way possible, I was confused.  I actually had only ever read about a few samples of Chuck Palahniuk books (reps are supposed to read excerpts of books in order to obtain a taste of the writing and story).  I'm a little crazy, though, and sometimes I suggest ideas without thinking them through completely.  For example, let's say that I suggest that I read all of Chuck Palahniuk's books between now and the Lemuria event on October 20th and then I could write authoritatively about the man's writing.  Never mind that we're talking about, like, a dozen books in 22 days and I have a full time job.  (I don't have a social life...but no, I'm still not going to date a convict.)

I am Liz's Mental Illness and Blurry Eyes.

Chuck Palahniuk

One book down, started this morning, finished tonight.  I started with Fight Club because I saw the movie long, long ago...and I admit I didn't really like the movie much.  I'm not a Brad Pitt fan and the Marla character was one dimensional and the only sympathetic female character (Bob with the man boobs) is killed.

I appreciate that the book Fight Club is slightly different from the movie.  Marla is significantly more compelling in the book, for one thing.  The "twist" is more transparent and far more believable.  And while the idea of Fight Club is about male bonding and the definition of masculinity, there's enough satire to keep me from throwing the book across the room.

I am Liz's outraged Intro to Women's Studies curriculum.

Fight Club is juvenile.  It glories in the vulgar practical jokes and tiny acts of anarchy that pervade the service industries.  It shouldn't be taken as a textbook.  It's one of those books where I think most of the readers take it too seriously and consider it The Catcher in the Rye of the 90's.  The afterward is testament to the ridiculous responses this book has produced, and actually makes me think I might like this Chuck Palahniuk guy.  We'll see.  I have quite a few books to go.

I am Liz's inability to sleep.

I realize that I'm going to be reading a Chuck Palahniuk book about every day and a half for a couple of weeks, and that's on top of the reading I need to do to prepare for my next sales conference.  And that full time job.  (Still no to the convicts, though.)  I don't sleep much.  Filling my time and brain with the unladylike lit of Chuck Palahniuk could rot my brain, but I'll try to chronicle my mental collapse properly.

Next up: Survivor

O romantismo nas roupas de Amália de Fina Estampa

O estilo romântico permanece em todos os looks da personagem Amália, da novela Fina Estampa, inclusive nos acessórios.

Outro fator é a preocupação social e ambiental intrínseca no figurino, sobretudo pelo uso de tecidos naturais e aplicações artesanais nos looks.
O figurino – sob orientação de Renaldo Machado e Beth Filipecki – é composto por sobreposições e roupas curtas; eles são extremamente femininos, com predomínio de vestidos e saias de cintura alta rodadas, além de aplicações de rendas e bordados artesanais (tendência para Verão 2012).

O perfil romântico da personagem é refletido não só no vestuário, mas também nos acessórios, como os calçados de estilo Mary Jane e Anabela.
No figurino de Amália há sempre algum padrão floral ou acessório de flor, como os broches e os acessórios de cabelo, os quais, algumas vezes são substituídos por laços, mas sempre com uma feição romântica.
Há também o estilo jovial no figurino da personagem, com referência à década de 80 e 90, composta principalmente com o uso de blusas em comprimento cropped – tendência desde o Inverno 2011 – além das camisas amarradas pouco acima da cintura.

Outro detalhe é a presença de saias com babados ou evasê, vestidos leves com camadas, e shorts curtos de cintura alta. Nos looks há muita mistura de estampa, cuja base em geral é a floral; e mesmo de tecidos como os florais de tecido plano com jeans ou com aplicações artesanais ressaltando o perfil social e ecologicamente correto da personagem.

Segundo o figurinista Renaldo Machado, as roupas de Sophie Charlotte foram feitas artesanalmente, com algodão colorido vindo da Paraíba. E o lado eco da personagem também transparece no uso de florais.

Fonte: Portais da moda

Fragmentos que falam de amor

"De que são feitos os dias?
De pequenos desejos, vagarosas saudades, silenciosas lembranças"
Cecília Meireles

É

PRIMAVERA...!!!
FLORESÇA...ACONTEÇA...!!!
RENOVE-SE ...e se FORTALEÇA....!!
ENCONTRE Novos CAMINHOS que te MEREÇA...!!
...vamos Dar e RECEBER...
..vamos AMAR e ser AMADOS...
...vamos CUIDAR e ser CUIDADOS..!!
...e TORNE-SE um SER RENOVADO....CURADO..!!
...Seja Bem –Vinda... LINDA PRIMAVERA..!!
Gal Sarkis

"Aprendi também que por mais que você queira muito alguém,
ninguém vale tanto a pena a ponto de você deixar de se querer."
(Tati Bernardi)

Assim que o amor entrou no meio, o meio virou amor ;
O fogo se derreteu, o gelo se incendiou;
E a brisa que era um tufão…
Depois que o mar derramou, depois que a casa caiu;
O vento da paz soprou.
(Romeu e Julieta -Los Hermanos )

Só de uma coisa não me esqueço. Que Deus me ama!

10 Cool Things: Blue Willow Bookshop

Blue Willow Bookshop--A Houston Landmark

Sell like a champion!

To celebrate this, our 100th blog post, we're starting a new, semi-regular series profiling the booksellers and stores that make the world of independent bookselling great.  We're starting with Blue Willow Bookshop, located at the corner of Memorial and Dairy Ashford in West Houston.  Blue Willow proves that small bookstores can thrive, and owner Valerie Koehler is well known and respected in the bookselling world and among Houston retailers.  Blue Willow Bookshop is well worth a visit while in Houston.


10 Cool Things About Blue Willow Bookshop

1. Fantastic Author events.  Every visiting author signs the wall.  Hooray for literary graffiti!

2. Wonderful website and blog.

3. They have a suspicious off-site storage area that employees have been trapped in which really intrigues us. This may actually not be true but we like the drama idea of it.

Reading Groups Shop Here.

4. Great book club selection - you're in a book group? This is your store. No one knows book groups like the Blue Willow staff.

5. Insanely good kids and young adult shopping.  [Children are 3 for $1 after each story time, and according to Jonathan Swift, make great eating.  What?  Like you can tell me what the "meat" is in a tamale?]

6. Staff is widely read - and will actually be honest with you about books.

7. Staff is funny as hell...and seem to look past the fact that we are really strange.  [...I'm strange?]


8. Pretension-free zone.  You want a book with a pink dust jacket?  You got it. 


9. We love the wall quotes from books.  

10. We can sum up my love for Blue Willow in one word: Alice. We gots a major crush on Alice and we don't care who knows it!

That's Alice in action on the right.  Ahhh....Alice.

Marisa Monte – Ainda Bem

Nova música de Marisa Monte. Linda, como sempre!

Ainda Bem

Ainda bem
Que agora encontrei você
Eu realmente não sei
O que eu fiz pra merecer Você

Porque ninguém
Dava nada por mim
Quem dava, eu não tava a fim
Até desacreditei
De mim

O meu coração
Já estava acostumado
Com a solidão

Quem diria que a meu lado
Você iria ficar
Você veio pra ficar
Você que me faz feliz
Você que me faz cantar
Assim

O meu coração
Já estava aposentado
Sem nenhuma ilusão

Tinha sido maltratado
Tudo se transformou
Agora você chegou

Você que me faz feliz
Você que me faz cantar
Assim

 

Marisa Monte

Frases em imagens para tumblr

Imagens para tumblrs

Justin Bieber e Selena Gomez em passeio romântico

Justin Bieber e Selena Gomez encontraram uma brecha na agenda para namorar. Durante um passeio romântico, em Malibu, Califórnia, o jovem casal foi clicado aos beijos e carinhos, na sexta-feira (23/09). De acordo com o site “Gossip Center”, que publicou as imagens, os dois foram até a praia para que a cantora pudesse se alimentar algumas gaivotas que habitam o local.

Antes do passeio, Justin e Selena almoçaram no Café Beach. Atualmente, o fenômeno teen se prepara para levar sua turnê à América Latina.  Em outubro, Justin Bieber passará pelo Brasil.

O casal se divertiu durante um programa em Malibu, Califórnia. São muito fofos!

Fonte:Quem