April 15, 2021. In the blog post “蒹葭 / Reed / Schilf” I compare four poems and songs with the similar idea, that is, “my beloved is across the water, so close yet unreachable.” Water as symbol for obstacle that can not be overcome. The poems I compared were: Chinese Folk Poem – 《诗经 . …
“Hugh and I were married at St. Chrysostom’s Church on January 26, 1946. … …There in the chapel of the church, Hugh and I made promises, promises which for forty years we have, by some grace, been able to keep.” – Madeline L’Engle Madeline was writing this memoir while accompanying her husband Hugh going through …
Out of the Hitler Time trilogy is semi-autobiographical novels by Judith Kerr. The first book When Hitler Stole Pink Rabbit is about 9 years old Anna and her family’s escape from Hitler in 1933. Her father was a fierce anti-Nazi writer, the Nazis burned his books and put a price on his head. All he …
Do you read non-fiction books? Reading good non-fiction books help me gain more clarity, here are 12 non-fiction books that cover my 3 most concerned topics: Christianity, Love and Art. Art The War of Art – Steven Pressfield Sounds and Sweet Airs – Anna Beer Undistracted – Bod Goff Counterfeit Gods – Timothy Keller “The …
Dad says October, October, …He never says my name once when he can say it twice, like it’s the words to a song and the sound rises like music. October, OctoberKatya Balen A girl called October is raised in the woods by her father. Her mother is a city girl lives in London. They both …
“So that they go home with a joyful heart.”Ton Koopman Since I attended his masterclass. “A joyful heart” as souvenir to the audience has become what I aim for every time I play organ. Joy is not something shallow like simply saying “don’t worry, be happy”, nor the optimism build on the air. Joy is …
Spoiler alert. If you have not read the book and do not want to know about the story yet. You might stop reading here, and come back later after you read the book. The setting of the story is in Penang year 1921 and 1910. The house of doors was a place where infidelity happened. …
I am in the chapter 5 of Donna Tartt’s The Secret History. The privileged, well-educated and moral-degraded college kids are getting more horrible page by page. I have only read 1/3 of the book, it is still too early to say anything definitive about the book. One thing for sure, Donna Tartt is an extraordinary …
I read Noel Streatfeild’s books in July and in August. I immensely enjoyed the four books I read and my summer 2023 is great because of Noel Streatfeild (1895-1986). Here are the four books I read. Ballet ShoesG.U.M (Great Uncle Matthew) adopted Pauline, Petrova and Posy into his family but he left them to Sylvia …
When I am not reading, I am probably playing organ. One of my various musical engagements is accompanying funeral service at the organ. Some funerals are unforgettable beautiful. Recently, I encountered this kind of funeral again. A man has died, I play organ at his funeral. The atmosphere was calm and peace, the clergy read …