Bookshelf Revisited: Wintersonnenwende

 

In two days will be the winter soltice ('Wintersonnenwende' in German) and as usual I am reminded of one of my favourite books, a true children's classic that has hugely influenced the kind of books I like and the stories I want to write.

I was quite obsessed with Wintersonnenwende (engl. The Dark is Rising) by Susan Cooper and with the whole series she wrote about the Light and the Darkness. I must have read it dozens of time and even had favourite music I would read the books to and that became connected with the story in my mind (Generator by Bad Religion, how weird is that?). And I will always see the cover of the 1980's German Paperback edition in front of my eyes, mustard yellow and bleak, although I found one cover for a newer English edition online which I really liked.

The book is actually quite dark and when I read an extract while sitting with friends around a fire when we engaged in a spot of wild camping, one of them squealed and begged me to stop as the book was too atmospheric and scary for this particular occasion ...

On 22 December we will finally be half-way out of the dark.

Much love,
Qaroline

Roadtrip: Hughenden Manor & West Wycombe Park

At West Wycombe Park

Two weeks ago I went on a trip to Hughenden Manor and West Wycombe Park, to see some more gardens. I always had wanted to visit West Wycombe Park, as this house features in so many films and TV series I love (like The Importance of Being Earnest or Cranford ...) and public access is restricted to three months a year. And I have recently read the mind-boggling "Matters of Fact in Jane Austen - History, Location and Celebrity" by Janine Barchas [seriously, read this book!] in which ties between the real Dashwood family of West Wycombe Park and Austen's fictitious Dashwood family are explained.

Suggestive architecture: Temple of Aphrodite at West Wycombe Park ... well, yeah.

But I loved Hughenden Manor (once belonging to Benjamin Disraeli) even more. It had a beautiful walled garden where I was given free perpetual spinach seeds [which are doing great and will be potted on shortly].

Hughenden Manor

Hughenden Manor

I hope you're doing something equally wonderful this weekend.

Love, Qaroline

Bildunterschrift hinzufügen

At West Wycombe Park

The Book That Turned Me Into a Reader

What a great idea to create a link up book club! As soon as I saw this on Stephanie's blog Bassability I knew I had to link up - I have wanted to blog more about books in the last few weeks and I knew I had to join in!

The question for this week's No Stress Book Club post is: 

What book turned you into a reader?

I grew up with next to no television (ours had three channels and we were only allowed to watch about an hour of children's programmes a day) and reading took its place. My parents read aloud to my brother and myself and one of the books I loved so much that I couldn't stop looking at them and that really made me want to read was "Malwine in der Badewanne" ("The Mysterious Tadpole") by Steven Kellogg. This beautifully illustrated book tells the story of a boy who gets a special birthday present from an uncle who visited Scotland: a tadpole that keeps on growing until it gets even bigger than the bathtub. The German title "Malwine in der Badewanne" means "Malwine [the name of the tadpole] in the Bathtub" and I remember that even the title sounded weird and magical to me.

I am sure that I owe some of my passionate interest in books to this early reading experience and maybe my later fascination with the more unusual kind of fantasy literature has to do with the fact that Malwine is a very sweet kind of monster ...

Bookshelf Revisited: Fantasy Literature Overload

"Second hand books are wild books, they came together in vast flocks of variegated feather, and have a charm which the domesticated volumes of the library lack. Besides, in this random miscellaneous company we may rub against some complete stranger who will, with luck, turn into the best friend we have in the world."

Virginia Woolf: Street Haunting: A London Adventure

I read a lot of fantasy literature when I was a teenager and although I have become a bit bored with the usual orks-and-elves-variety, I still try to read some fantasy literature now and then, especially the one aimed at children and teenagers. 

During the last weeks I have read more than my usual share, for instance: "Sabriel", by Garth Nix, which I really loved because it had steampunkish elements (although rather Edwardian than Victorian style). "Das Labyrinth der Träumenden Bücher" by Walter Moers ["The Labyrinth of Dreaming Books"] is the sequel to "The City of Dreaming Books" which I HIGHLY recommend if you love the Discworld Novels or anything that is a bit out of the ordinary - Moers's books are brilliantly illustrated by the author and I love his approach to the fantasy genre. The third book I want to write about is Joe Abercrombie's "Best Served Cold". I was very smitten with his First Law Trilogy and I simply loved "Best Served Cold" - it is ruthless, bloody and has very believable characters. The description of the of Shivers, a Northman who wants to become a better man in the South and how he deals with his moral dilemmas were very addictive.

Love, Qaroline

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Früher habe ich wirklich viel Fantasyliteratur gelesen. Obwohl ich von der üblichen Orks-und-Elfen-Fantasy mittlerweile eher gelangweilt bin, versuche ich aber doch hin und wieder das eine oder andere Buch zu lesen, besonders Fantasyromane, die sich an Kinder und Jugendliche richten. In den letzten Wochen bin ich dann doch wieder etwas rückfällig geworden und möchte an dieser Stelle über drei Bücher schreiben. Das erste, "Sabriel" von Garth Nix, hat mir sehr gefallen, vor allem wegen seiner Steampunk-Elemente (obwohl es eher Edwardianische Zeit als Viktorianische Zeit ist). Das zweite, "Das Labyrinth der Träumenden Bücher" von Walter Moers, ist wie immer total zauberhaft, wenn man vor allem ungewöhnlichere Fantasy mag und eine originelle Herangehensweise an das Genre bevorzugt - zugegeben, es hat ein paaaaaar Längen, aber die Beschreibungen des Neuen Buchhaim machen das alle Mal wieder wett. Das dritte, Joe Abercrombies "Best Served Cold" ist unglaublich gut, wenn man es eher hart und blutig mag. Den Charakter des Shivers, eines kampferprobten Nordmannes, der ein besseres Leben im Süden führen möchte, fand ich sehr faszinierend. Zum Einstieg in Abercrombies Fantasy ist aber auch seine First Law Trilogy sehr gut - und macht hochgradig süchtig!

Love, Qaroline

Writing Landscapes: Baltic Coast

Me on location

The last 19 days have been quite an experience. Today I finished the first (handwritten) draft of my November novel and I feel as if someone hit me over the head with a shovel.

I really hope that my 212 handwritten pages translate to the 50 000 words that I need to be a successful NaNoWriMo-participant but honestly, I am not sure that I still care about that. Finishing a first draft is always a curious mixture between elation and feelings of loss. So I looked at photographs of the landscape that inspired the original idea for this series of stories and I would like to invite you to take another walk with me: along the Baltic coast in Northern Germany, in the county of Schleswig-Holstein.

Landscapes have always featured heavily in my writing and this one has been the most important of all. It is hilly and sweet, you can find lots of beautiful things on the stony beaches and there are lots and lots of dolmens and prehistoric sites around. Since my first visit I have gone back there almost every year. In summer 2012 my bestie and I went on a camping trip and took a LOT of pictures.

I would love to hear from you: Which landscapes have really inspired you?

Love, Qaroline

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Die letzten 19 Tage waren der Hammer. Heute habe ich meinen ersten (handschriftlichen) Entwurf für das Novemberprojekt beendet und ich fühle mich, als hätte mich jemand getreten. Ziemlich doll.

Ich hoffe, dass meine 212 mit Bleistift (Härte B) beschriebenen Seiten schließlich zu 50 000 Wörtern werden, damit ich mit Erfolg den Na[tional]No[vel]Wri[ting]Mo[nth] 2012 beenden kann - aber ehrlich gesagt, ist mir das gerade schon fast wieder egal. Einen ersten Entwurf zu beenden ist für mich immer mit einer Mixtur aus Jipee-Rufen und Wehmut verbunden und darum habe ich mir heute die Bilder von der Landschaft angesehen, die mich zu der Originalidee hinter den Geschichten gebracht hat. Wenn Ihr Lust habt, dann kommt doch mit an die Ostseeküste, genauer gesagt: in die Holsteinische Schweiz.

Für meine Schreiberei waren Landschaften immer sehr wichtig, aber keine hat solchen Einfluss auf meine Projekte gehabt wie diese. Sie ist hügelig und sanft, an den Steinstränden kann man wunderschöne Dinge finden und überall gibt es Hünengräber und ähnlich prähistorisches Kram. (Außerdem wurden dort die Immenhof-Filme gedreht, Insider-Info für Ponymädels.) Seitdem ich das erste Mal in der Holsteinischen Schweiz war, komme ich fast jedes Jahr zurück. In diesem Sommer war ich in Begleitung meiner besten Freundin auf Campingurlaub und wir haben SEHR VIELE Bilder gemacht.

Welche Landschaften fandet ihr ganz ungeheuer wichtig? Berichtet von Euren schönsten Urlauben, lasst mir einen Link da, wenn Ihr Fotos ins Netz gestellt habt - ich fände das sehr spannend!

Love, Qaroline

Writing Fatigue: In Desperate Need of Tea

Hamish fulfilling his life-long ambition: sweet and cuddly, boys, just sweet and cuddly! / Hamish erfüllt seine Mission: süß und knuddelig, Jungs, süß und knuddelig!

I think I need a lie-down. This is the eighth day of writing my November Novel and I am seriously knackered. I have anticipated that it would not be easy, even if I (theoretically) have the time to do it this month. 

I am currently writing about 2200 words a day and type at least one chapter in the evening. I am still determined to see this through, even if I feel raw, irritated and constantly in desperate need of really strong tea.

The thing I love about writing (see Post No. 3: Escape) are the very things that make this regime so difficult to do: You're not just writing - you need to get emotional. All the time. The plot of my November Novel is essentially a very complicated love story between two young men and man, those two can be annoying! I am quite serious: I get annoyed with my characters each day. 

I hope that you have your strategies to handle the wet and rainy days to come (e.g. tea or cuddly cats) and if your participating in NaNoWriMo, that you are still able and willing to finish your own November Novel project!

Love, Qaroline

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Ich glaub, ich muss mich mal kurz hinlegen. Dies ist der achte Tag meines Schreibeabenteuers und ich fühle mich tatsächlich wie gerädert. Ich hab mir ja schon gedacht, dass es nicht einfach wird, auch wenn ich (rein theoretisch) in diesem November die Zeit zum Schreiben habe.

Momentan schreibe ich etwa 2200 Wörter am Tag und tippe mindestens ein Kapitel am Abend. Ich bin immer noch fest entschlossen, das durchzuziehen, auch wenn ich mich reizbar und wund fühle und entsetzlich viel starken schwarzen Tee trinke.

All die Dinge, die ich eigentlich am Schreiben liebe (siehe Post Nr 3: Escape) sind auch die Dinge, die mir jetzt solche Schwierigkeiten bereiten. Schließlich schreibt man nicht nur - nahein, man muss emotional dabei sein. Die gan-ze Zeit. Der Plot meines Novemberprojekts ist im wesentlichen eine komplizierte Liebesgeschichte zwischen zwei jungen Männern - und mein Gott! Ich finde sie beide so anstrengend! Ich meine das wirklich erst: Ich rege mich jeden Tag über sie auf.

Ich hoffe, dass ihr so eure Strategien habt, um mit dem grauen Wetter umzugehen (z. B. Tee und knuddelige Katzen) und dass, wenn ihr denn beim NaNoWriMo mitmacht, euch immer noch tapfer jeden Tag durch euer Pensum arbeitet, um Euer eigenes Novemberprojekt zu beenden!

Love, Qaroline

just finished: my TARDIS button! / gerade fertiggestellt: mein TARDIS-Button!

Writing Trip: Zutphen & Deventer

dreikant bakery in Zutphen / Bäckerei dreikant in Zutphen

This weekend I went on a little trip to the Netherlands - and spent a lot of the time writing my NaNoWriMo project. I have always loved writing in cafés and luckily my bestie who loves reading or knitting in cafés agreed to put up with my constant scribbling!

Tea-Rose teashop in Deventer / Im Tea-Rose in Deventer

We visited a friend of mine from university who lives with her husband in Deventer and had a lovely weekend chatting, cooking, shopping (too many great shops in Deventer - aaaargh!), drinking tea and watching Doctor Who (ever since I have lived in England I have become a massive fan). Even though the weather was windy, wet and chilly we had a wonderful time and managed to visit Zutphen as well, which is just about 10 kilometers away. 

I have lately finished reading the last volume of Virginia Woolf's diary. She visited Zutphen on the 6th of May 1935 (and this was why I wanted to go there in the first place) and writes on this day about the houses she saw in the Netherlands: 

Every street is 16th or 17th century, with curved apricot coloured awnings. As we say, the houses are the glory of Holland - the richly carved big windowed houses; some lean a little, others are peaked; but each is a solid spruce perfectly self respecting house, in which last night I saw the Sunday diners, old men old women sitting round with children, cactuses; a cat & a dog.

in Zutphen

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Letztes Wochenende habe ich mit meiner besten Freundin einen Kurzurlaub in den Niederlanden gemacht. Die meiste Zeit habe ich an meinem NaNoWriMo-Projekt herumgekritzelt. Ich liebe es, in Cafés zu schreiben und gottseidank mag meine Freundin gern in Cafés sitzen und lesen oder stricken und ertrug meine Skribbelei mit Engelsgeduld!

Wir haben eine andere Freundin besucht, die mit ihrem Mann in Deventer wohnt und verbrachten ein fabelhaftes Wochenende mit Schnacken, Kochen, Shopping (viel zu viele großartige Geschäfte in Deventer! gah!), Teetrinken und Doctor Who-Gucken (seitdem ich in England gewohnt hab, bin ich ein groooooßer Fan). Obwohl das Wetter etwas ekelig war und der Wind schneidend kalt, haben wir uns prächtig amüsiert und es auch noch geschafft, das etwa 10 Kilometer entfernte Zutphen zu besichtigen.

in Zutphen

Vor kurzem habe ich den letzten Band der Tagebücher von Virginia Woolf beendet. Am 6. Mai 1935 besuchte sie Zutphen (deshalb wollte ich auch so unbedingt hin) und schrieb am gleichen Tag über die Häuser, die sie in den Niederlanden sah:

Every street is 16th or 17th century, with curved apricot coloured awnings. As we say, the houses are the glory of Holland - the richly carved big windowed houses; some lean a little, others are peaked; but each is a solid spruce perfectly self respecting house, in which last night I saw the Sunday diners, old men old women sitting round with children, cactuses; a cat & a dog.

in Zutphen

Writing Project: National Novel Writing Month!

Oh my god, this is really scary ... I have just signed up for NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) even though I haven't the foggiest how to produce 50 000 words in ONE month!

I can't enter the project I would be really keen to work on as I have started with it some time ago and I really want to play by the rules (what is the point otherwise?) - so I have to either enter some half-baked idea that would really need a few more months to ripen or start with the third part of a larger writing project that I have at least started to think about ... aaaaargh! (must obviously work on my oooooooh-let's-do-that-then impulses ...)

Another big problem for me is that I usually start with a handwritten manuscript and revise by typing the second draft into the computer so either I will have to write really fast or type from the beginning which usually ends in complete disaster. Brilliant.

I simply love the idea of the national novel writing month and there is a German division (although it would be fun to try writing in English ...) - and I really love that November is the month of choice! 

Please please please wish me luck and the necessary stamina! 
Yours, Qaroline

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Okay, wahrscheinlich habe ich gerade einen gewaltigen Fehler begangen.

Ich habe mich soeben als Mitmacher beim National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) eingetragen, obwohl ich keine Ahnung habe wie man 50 000 Wörter in EINEM Monat schreibt!

Mit dem Projekt, an dem ich wirklich gern arbeiten würde, kann ich leider nicht teilnehmen, da ich schon begonnen habe, daran zu schreiben und ich möchte mich wirklich, wirklich an die Regeln halten (sonst kann man es ja gleich lassen). Also muss ich mir jetzt innerhalb von 9 Tagen noch was ganz Neues ausdenken oder den dritten Teil eines größeren Projekts schreiben, über den ich zumindest schon mal nachgedacht hab - aaaargh! (Muss definitiv an meinem Ooooooooooh-lass-uns-da-mal-mitmachen-Impuls arbeiten ...)

Ein weiteres Problem ist auch, dass ich normalerweise alles erst mal per Hand schreibe und dann die zweite Version in den Computer tippe. Entweder muss ich jetzt sehr schnell schreiben oder es direkt tippen, was meistens in einer totalen Katastrophe endet. Na fein.

Die Idee eines National Novel Writing Month ist natürlich absolut großartig und es gibt tatsächlich eine deutsche Abordnung (obwohl es schon lustig wäre, es auf Englisch zu versuchen) - und natürlich ist es fantastisch, dass ausgerechnet November der Austragungsmonat ist!

Bitte bitte bitte wünscht mir das nötige Glück und Durchhaltevermögen!
Eure Qaroline

Reading Project: Virginia Woolf's Diaries

I have loved Virginia Woolf's writing since I participated in a seminar about her novels in my first year of University and a large part of my graduation thesis was about Mrs Dalloway, Orlando and Woolf's relationship with Vita Sackville-West. I think it was To the Lighthouse that really hooked me with its wonderful descriptions of family dynamics and the coastal landscape; I have always found her writings to be unnervingly close to the reality of living a life.

Now I have embarked upon a very ambitious and very time-consuming reading project. I am going to read the five volumes of her diary that were published by the Hogarth Press in the 1970s and 80s and while I am reading these I try to read or re-read all the novels, non-fiction and short fiction that she writes about in her diaries. I have started some time ago with the diaries but I have just now decided to make this into a biiiiiiiiiiiiiiig, probably exhausting project. The local University has an excellent library and I have found quite a lot of material of Woolf's I haven't read before (sigh). So I guess some quotes will be popping up now and again:

Life is not a series of gig lamps symmetrically arranged;
life is a luminous halo, a semi-transparent envelope surrounding
us from the beginning of consciousness to the end.
Virginia Woolf: The Common Reader. First Series.

Wish me luck!