The 17th Ity - Generosity. (And books)

Almost done, followers of the swami! I wonder how you have been faring with the 18 Ities. It has been fun, but also hard sometimes. It has made me reflect, at least, and I have had a laugh at most.

Generous people have my admiration.

Some are generous with their time (good!), some with their money (nice!) some with their love (best!!!), and some have such generous ideas that I think 'now why didn't I think of that?'.

I have no idea who started with this, who had the generosity to think of it, but somewhere someone started spreading books around.

When I was in Amsterdam a week ago, we came upon an outside window sill which had a bunch of books on it and a card in the window: feel free to take one.

And last week I came across this  sweet little house on a street corner in Enkhuizen with a stack of books in it. Again - for free. The only 'rule' (if you want to call it that) was that if you took a book out, they asked you to put another one in.

What a great idea! It inspired me to start a little spreading around of my own. Now, whenever I buy a cheapish (but good) paperback, I pass it on. And I ask the person I give it to, to pass it on themselves. Most people react surprised but happy, and promise to do so.

And it doesn't have to be books, it could be anything really.

Generosity. Such FUN!

A Sort of Book Review: The Fault In Our Stars - by John Green

Hiya!
We're back from 4 glorious days in Amsterdam. And, not incidentally, one of the best books I have read in a loooooooong time is partly set in that lovely city.

(She is sitting on the bench...yes, THAT bench!)

Some time ago my daring daughter pointed out to me that I HAD to read a book by John Green (never heard of him), as it was magnificent. But I was extremely busy and had two books on the go already...so I put it off and then forgot about it.

When we arrived in Amsterdam it was sweltering (27 degrees - extremely hot for Dutch people) and bursting to the seams with gay people as it was Gay Pride Weekend. We partied with them for exactly 10 minutes and then decided to flee into the most beautiful cinema Amsterdam has: the Tuschinski.

We could choose between 6 films, but darling daughter wanted to see The Fault In Our Stars. Again. 'You know, Mum, that book I urged you to read'.

Fine. It looked fine, and I wanted to please her, so we went in.

Holy moly, I came out crying my eyes out. And I wasn't the only one! I swear all the women and not a few of the men around me were sniffling discreetly, or bawling out loud.

We spent the next hour locating the particular bench that Hazel Grace and Augustus had been sitting on in the film. The director had helpfully filmed the name of the gracht, the Leidsegracht, and the church in the background helped as well. When we had found the bench, we had to wait our turn, as another mother and daughter were taking photographs.

Darling daughter sat down, and discovered people had put quotes from the book onto the bench. Sweet, albeit a little vandalistic. When we were about to finish, we were approached by a company of 6 people, who shyly asked us if this was THE bench.

And I tell you, when we took a canal boat trip two days later, and went past this bench, it was swarming with people, with them lining up in order to take photographs!

Now, I had immediately after leaving the cinema walked into the first bookstore I could find, and I had bought the book.

Every evening and every morning whilst in Amsterdam, I read. And, fair is fair, I prefer the book to the film. Sure, the film is romantic and great and the actors are wonderful! 

But the book is better.

Rawer, more realistic, less smooth.

I know about cancer and I know about pain. And the book tells you about this without being sentimental, and so insightful that I sometimes held my breath without realising it and then was wondering why I was so out of breath.

Mr Green, John, chapeau!!!!

You have written a book I will recommend to my pupils, and to all others I will meet for ever after.

So, folks, even if you never read a book: READ THIS BOOK!

If you have a family member, or a friend, or a neighbour, or a colleague, with cancer: READ THIS BOOK!

Are Books Almost Obsolete? Of course not!

" When people tell me they don't read, I try to stay focussed and not to judge."

Good afternoon, you there in far-flung places.
You read, don't you? (DUH! The fact that you are reading this right now doesn't mean a thing. Sorry! I mean, you read properly, don't you? Books!)

I sincerely hope you do. Reading is, next to eating and listening to music, the great pleasure of my life. When people tell me they don't read, I try to stay focussed and not to judge. But secretly I tend to tune out a tad. Ironically, I married a non-reader. I can still be amazed that Life dealt me such a low blow...but I fell in love with the guy...what can you do?

I started reading to my kids when they were still in the womb. I'm serious! There I was, in a hospital bed for four months whilst the medical profession was doing its utmost to keep my son safely where he belonged, and I read everything by Bill Bryson to him. I have the conviction that is a. why he loves to read himself and b. why he wants to be a travelling photographer and c. why he has such a superb sense of humour.

The first thing I did after taking my daughter home from hospital was to snuggle up with her and her big 4 year old brother in bed and read Winnie-the-Pooh to them. My daughter had a library card from when she was 4 weeks old.

So, one of my favourite places in Rotterdam being in trouble, pains me. I'm talking about Donner (sod that name Polaris, or even Selexys; it will always be Donner to me), the largest, most cool bookshop we used to have. It was filled with gorgeous beautiful books, and it had efficient staff and Bagels and Beans if you needed a coffee, with a lovely roof terrace. And it's in trouble, because people don't buy books anymore. They download them. They swop ways of getting eBooks for free. Or they buy them online.

Thank Frith that a couple of the Donner booksellers from old have started a crowdfunding FB page, in an attempt to save Donner for the readers of Rotterdam. The address is:

Donner moet blijven

So far, a lot of people have realised they don't want to buy their books from a very limited supply in the supermarket, and have donated money. But not enough, yet.

So this is a double-edged plea. Buy (and read) real books. And help save Donner!

Thanks! XXX

Do you have a Dream? I do. I Dream BIG!

 When I was a little girl, people would ask me what I wanted to become when I was grown up, and I used to say 'a writer'. 

And I took myself very seriously; I wrote my first book when I was 17 and had it accepted when I was 20 and finally published when I was 23 (publishers work in mysterious ways).

I had envisaged that I would be the next Fay Weldon (someone I admired at the time), but instead the book vanished without a trace after the first edition and I was forced to pursue other venues to earn some money.

Photo art by Wibe Koopman

You may have noticed I call myself 'a writer'. Not 'an author'. That's because I view my writing as a creative outlet more than a skill as such. I am a skilled teacher. But writing is a way of life for me. Always has been, always will be. Like singing (although I'm a better writer than a singer). So that little wooden plague on my wall is wrong...it should read 'writing'...etcetera. They didn't have that one though...

So. After years and years and years of pursuing other venues (and not a lot of money) I wrote my second book, found another publisher and...

still have to earn my bread and butter as an English teacher.

Not that I mind, I love teaching English.

But...But sometimes it itches. When people nowadays would ask me what I want to become when I grow up, my answer would be a variation on the original answer. I would like to build a place where people like me, who earn their money contentedly but who yearn for a platform for their creative creations (ugh...sorry) can show their work and do their thing and sell their stuff. I know quite a few youngsters who make or produce wonderful little gems; photographs, movies, write songs, make jewelry, draw. And all this productivity drowns in the massive mire of the Internet, because they don't have the money to pay for a slick website and advertising.

Right. I started by asking you if you dream. I do. I dream BIG. If I ever win the lottery, I'll get myself a building, and I'll start a dreamer's collective, where people like me (and you?) can show their best work. Have a cup of tea. Listen to a song, or a poem. Gosh, it will be wonderful.

Book by Gerard Korver almost in the shops...Guess who took the photographs?

Hi, extremely proud Mum here!

Wibe, by Wibe Koopman- 2013.

Gerard Korver

 In a short while there's a book coming to the shops. So what? you think. Well, this isn't just any book.

It's a book by psychologist/coach Gerard Korver, about how to keep your relationship/marriage successful. (Right! No need to seek further help, you've found the solution!) 

It will initially be published in Dutch, but an English translation is being produced as I'm writing this, so you'll be able to read it as well. Now isn't this COOL?

No?

Ready? Wibe has done the photography.

This is the cover photo-in-progress.

He has also taken the portrait of Gerard Korver. You'll have to visit my FB sister page of Rays of Light  for the promo. When you do visit, you can see the cover photo and portrait and read the blurb on Gerard.

Proud!!!!!

Rays of Light - the Facebook Page