"Notes from Underground/The Double" - Dostoyevsky

skjkdksdkskadsjhdshkj
a,dkjashjdhsjkdhjkasd
alkkdhksdjhjkshdjksd

"Occult Sciences" - Nandlal Vanvari

jajshdkjsjdhksj
akjfkjsdhkjdhskj
akjfhkjshdkjsdhkdhka

"Frankenstein" - Mary Shelley

"Frankenstein" by Mary W. Shelley is a horror story about a doctor Victor Frankenstein who dreams of creating life.

He goes to cemeteries and slaughter houses and collects body parts out of which he creates an eight foot tall monster.

The monster becomes alive and escapes into the streets, scaring and killing some people. 

The story is indeed very grim but at the same time it is emotional. The monster has human emotions that are soft and gentle but his appearance just scares people away from him. He goes insane and really becomes dangerous.

I liked the story because I think many of us can relate to the monster. Sometimes we might be kind at heart but keep seeing people judging us on our appearance, race or culture that make a monster from us because we start seeing ourselves from the eyes of others. We become hurt and angry at this "unfairness" and want to take revenge. Maybe that's how a killer is being made.

Also, it is a tragic story of a creative genius, a doctor, who sincerely wanted to benefit society by creating something amazing, by creative and preserving life. However his creation turns against him and he is unable to control it anymore. 

It is a thrilling read and this particular version by OM Books is adapted to junior high children.

"First Spanish Reader" - Angel Flores

A great book consisting of various stories written in Spanish and English. I loved the choice of stories and how easy it was to understand Spanish.

"Phenomenon" - Sylvia Browne

lkjsawjdkasdkljsld
akjhdsksakjdajjdkashd
aksdaskdkjsadjsajdhkjsdh

"Untouchable" - Mulk Raj Anand

"Untouchable" by Mulk Raj Anand is a story of 148 pages. It is about a teenage boy Bakha who is born in a sweeper's family and is considered an untouchable. Untouchable is a lowest caste in a Hindu caste system (or Indian class system).

The book is based on experiences of a real person (depicted in the picture). The author's goal is to help us imagine that we are Bakha, we are the sweeper, we live in a slum, we freeze to death at our hut at night, we have to get up at 4 of 5 am and go clean public latrines and get scolded every time they are not cleaned on time.

The author writes about Bakha being a normal child who loves to play cricket, wear western clothes and has bright dreams. However his reality and even his family remind him again and again that his whole being and life is only meant to clean toilets, bury dead cows and dogs, sweep the streets and be constantly hated just because he is BORN in a caste of sweepers. 

The thing that shocked me the most in the novel was that a sweeper, when walking down the street, was supposed to shout: "Sweeper coming, out of the way! Sweeper coming, careful!" If the sweeper would touch a person, the person would beat him up for "making him dirty". The sweeper is never free. If he wants to go out to buy ice-cream and on the way there is a dead animal, he has to forget about everything and do what everyone says (bury the animal). So he is in a way a slave of his caste. 

This story definitely has a very deep meaning, it is an eye-opener and makes us think. What if I was a sweeper? Is this right? What about human rights? Why can't a beautiful teenager with dreams be like everyone else? But then are those of higher castes happier? Are British happier? Who really is better, higher? 

Excerpt:

"'Yes,' came the forceful answer. 'Yes,' said Bakha, 'I shall go on doing what Gandhi says'. 'But I shall never be able to leave the latrines?' came the disturbing thought. But I can. Did not that poet say there is a machine which can do my work?' The prospect of never being able to wear the clothes that the sahibs wore, of never being able to become a sahib, was horrible. 'But it doesn't matter,' he said to console himself, and pictured in his mind the English policeman, whom he had seen before the meeting, standing there, ignored by everybody." - Mulk Raj Anand p.147

I would recommend this book to everyone who wants to get a glimpse of the sweeper's life, to try and understand what it feels like to be untouchable and what it feels like to be Bakha. Also, it is a masterfully written book and might help with improving your English vocabulary and learn about how things were in 1930's India.

"How to Win Friends and Influence People" - Dale Carnegie

skjhdkjsahdja
akjhdksahdsjakdsah
akjjdhkasdhsjkdhjkasdkh

"Russian Stories/Русские Рассказы" - edited by Gleb Struve

"Russian Stories" by Gleb Struve is an amazing dual-language book in Russian and English to help English speakers to learn Russian.

The book has twelve short stories by Pushkin, Gogol, Turgenev, Dostoyevsky, Tolstoy, Leskov, Chekhov, Sologub, Bunin, Zamyatin, Babel and  Zoshchenko. All stories are classic works of Russian literature and this was my first time to read most of them.

I was surprised to discover these amazing works and it made me fall in love with Russian literature. I feel like reading more works by these authors. I especially loved "The Stationmaster" by Pushkin, "A Living Relic" by Turgenev, "The Three Hermits" by Tolstoy and "Sleepy" by Chekhov.

The book seems to be edited and combined with loads of love for Russian literature, every detail thought over, explanations, questions and vocabulary included.

One of the best books I've ever bought that inspired me to read more works by Russian writers.

"Placebas" Jurga Ivanauskaitė

Jurgos Ivanauskaitės romanas "Placebas" yra detektyvas ir kriminalas. Veiksmas vyniojasi apie rastą nužudytą (o gal nusižudžiusią) įžymią Vilniaus tarologę Juliją. 

Romanas vėliau sukasi apie jai artimiausius žmones, namų tvarkytoją Violetą, jos du sūnus Maską ir Tadą, draugę žurnalistę - Ritą, katę Bastetę ir kitus.

Rašytoja rašo labai atvirai ir nesigėdydama giliausių ir tamsiausių minčių ir pastebėjimų, apžvelgdama charakterių vaikystes ir analizuodama jų sudėtingą daugialypę psichologiją. 

Kaip visada, Ivanauskaitė tiksliai aprašo kas vyksta visuotiniame ir politiniame Lietuvos gyvenime ir su jumoru atspindi nuotaikas tų metų Lietuvoje.

Knyga yra parašyta rašytojei būdingu stiliumi, kiekvienas žodis, sakinys ir frazė atrodo šimtą kartų apgalvotą, geniali, ir, svarbiausia - juokingą. 

Gyvendama užsienyje jau šešiolika metų ir turėdama tik vieną lietuvišką knygą (būtent šią), esu perskaičiusi ją jau tris kartus ir iš pirmo karto aš nesupratau kaip mirė tarologė. Man knyga atrodė sunkoka ir pernelyg "vingiuota" ir turinti per daug ivanauskaitiškųjų kūrybingųjų "nukrypimų į šalį". Aš nesugebėjau susikoncentruoti ir sekti siužeto. 

"Buda ir Kristus vaikščiodami po dykumas sakė: "Patys būkit sau žiburiai!"

Tačiau šį trečiąjį kartą, bandžiau iš visų jėgų  suprasti kiekvieną sakinį (ir jeigu nesupratau, tai grįždavau atgal ir vėl perskaitydavau). Esu laiminga, kad pagaliau supratau kas įvyko ir kaip mirė pagrindinė veikėja.

Kaip visada, geriausias Ivanauskaitės bruožas yra jos drąsa rašyti tą, ką galvoją, ką jaučia širdies gilumose nepaisant to, ką kiti pasakys ar pagalvos. Aš visada būnu sužavėta jos žodžių, sakinių, minčių ir net personažų vardų pasirinkimu. Aš manau, Jurgos Ivanauskaitės darbai yra ne vien tik apie "kas", bet svarbiausia apie "kaip". Jie pini nuostalgijos, senų prisiminimų, vietų, žmonių ir yra labai lietuviški: 

"SAUSIO pabaiga ir vasario pradžia buvo beviltiški. Dienos ilgėjo taip palengva, tarsi ten, aukštybėse, kažkam būtu gaila kas rytą paaukoti bent po mažą spindulių pinigėlį iš savosios švietumo skrynios."

Taip pat manau, kad galima arba mylėti arba nemylėti jos darbų. Jeigu "pagaunate" ir suprantate jos jiumorą, jos stilių, jos sarkazmą, aš manau, jums patiks ir ši knyga. Jei jųs jaučiate, kad Ivanauskaitės darbai "ne jūsų stilio", vadinasi yra tikėtina, kad jums nepatiks ir ši knyga. 

==================================================================

"Placebas" is one of the last works by the famous Lithuanian modern writer Jurga Ivanauskaite. It's a novel narrating a story of an elite Lithuanian tarot reader who was found dead in her own home. The question is: "whodunnit"?

Then the author introduces different personages appearing in the book, even the cat (it's a character that has a human mind), analyzes their pasts, presents and futures, even psychologically profiles them. 

The book is written in the style that is very unique, very descriptive and very artistic. It may seem difficult at first to understand what is really going on as the straight plot line isn't so straight, covered with the never ending author's philosophizing. 

The story line moves back and forth with at least 5 or 6 main characters being introduced all at once and their lives in flashback. 

Jurga Ivanauskaite is a very important personage in Lithuania's history and culture. She was one of those fighting for Lithuania's independence from the USSR and associates with the free, brave, rebellious spirit. She never lost that spirit even after the Independence and she wrote very openly, sarcastically and honestly about everything she ever thought of.

"Placebo" is more than a detective novel. It is a social novel that analyzes and observes Lithuanian capitalism with all its positivism and upbeat culture, and compares it with the scary and suffocating communism. She does so subtly, sarcastically and using humor. Ivanauskaite doesn't judge - she destroys both camps, shamelessly admitting she possesses a bit of both herself.

The best thing is, we eventually come to a satisfying end that reveals what happened to the famous tarot reader of Vilnius. 

This book is a detective, a comedy, a work of philosophy, mysticism and religion (Ivanauskaite's favorite theme), a social novel and a romantic story. It made me laugh a lot and I totally enjoyed THE WAY it was written. The other author that Ivanauskaite reminds me of is probably Dostoyevsky and, in general, many Russian authors that use the self-critical and demeaning humor.

"How to be Parisian" by Caroline de Maigret

"How to be Parisian" by Caroline de Maigret was a spontaneous buy. I first saw the author on YouTube channel by "ALEXACHUNG" and I found "ALEXACHUNG" while watching a video about body shapes by "Justine Leconte officiel". 

I bought "How to be Parisian" via Google Books and, I must say, it was such a fun read! I don't particularly want to be Parisian or "chic" (I know I could never pull it off) but I really have noticed that French people do dress differently, their hair is different, there's something about them and I was really intrigued to know why would they "dress down" (I mean the natural look), what is the philosophy behind it.

So the book surprised me by how beautiful it was, it had nice photographs and artistic illustrations, it really made me feel like I'm in Paris, in some other world, sitting on a windowsill in some old historical building with high ceilings that has seen wars and revolutions and I could feel a very old and very advanced culture. I remembered the times when French and not English was the lingua franca of Europe and the world (at least it was in Russia at the time that Alexander Pushkin was alive). I thought that Paris must have the similar atmosphere to the Eastern European old towns (old historical parts of the capitals and bigger cities), and I felt like I could imagine what it's like and I could understand the culture behind it. It was the classical culture, the one that was followed and copied by those wanting to be "classy", to do things "elegantly", the mothers from Lithuania and Russia must be copying the French because "lacy, see through, silk underwear and high heels plus not the very "smoothed out look" is what the women who are into fashion are trying to achieve. Pretending that it's "accidental" and pretending that they're not on diet (they're natural like that). I've never been like my mom (who was classy), like my best friend (who was bohemian) and my other friend (who worked as a model in Paris, but you couldn't tell - she was so modest and simple and natural). So, I guess, I needed this book.

I really loved every bit of this book, except for the one bit - it was too short. I could've read and read. I think I read it because I liked "the feel". As someone who has been living in Asia for the last 10 years, I'm very "Europe-sick" and where I live there's no culture at all (the European theater, art and museums type of culture in which I was brought up). Where I live, it's malls and take-away culture, I would say most likely British-American-Australian-Canadian type of culture. 

The author Caroline de Maigret was very blunt and honest while writing this book, you would think she wrote what she thought. There was loads of humor and the sort of humor that made me physically laugh. It was a bit sarcastic or dark or hidden (I'm sure there is a better word) but it was my type of humor, so I was really happy about that. 

When it comes to covering tips on how to be "Parisian", is very similar to the tips of "how to be a city girl/woman" in a bohemian and snobbish kind of way. It's for those girls/women who want to love "stylishly", have stylish friends and fit in into the bohemian circle.It's not that complicated as long as you know which buttons to press, it's easy to imitate. But it's not easy to imitate for long, although it might become a habit and a character in the end. It might be a bit hard though if one doesn't have the money, but you can always pretend that not having the money "is kind of cool". 

I nevertheless really loved the book because it made my day when I read it, it had a sort of healing power over me, I needed something fun and rebellious (from my perspective) to read and something coming from a woman, not from a man. It also reminded me of the works of Dostoyevsky and my favorite Lithuanian writer Jurga Ivanauskaite, because of how "self critical and self demeaning" (which is funny) it was. I realized that this is the stuff that really makes me laugh.

The author also pleasantly surprised me (I really didn't expect that) by including some of the recipes (there are maybe about 10 recipes of how to cook chicken and a desert and salad) and I will actually try those recipes (when I have to) . 

At the end of the book there's also a list of places to visit and shops to go to if you're actually visiting Paris. I think it could be a great city guide. I would recommend this book for those wanting to learn to be Parisian and "chic", for those moving or travelling to Paris, for those wanting to learn more about French culture, for those interested in world countries and cultures, for those interested in "how women think", for those interested in fashion, for those who want to have a laugh and for those who want to read something refreshing.