thedavinoparadox

[thedavinoparadox]

the pen i’ve been using for 2.5 years ran out of ink ;(

[thedavinoparadox]

Selenio, 31st December 2023

And with this the year of 2023 comes to an end. I can’t believe it is going to be 2024 tomorrow… Time truly is the most terrifying yet rewarding part of our human existence. Cruel, because it takes so much we treasure from us, rips it out of our grasp and waves its broken pieces in front of our face. Gentle, because it provides us with the only solace to a meaningless existence: memories and nostalgia. I can only hope that 2024 will be happier, more fulfilled and I hope that I have accomplished to at least lay the foundation to a successful new year. See you all on the other side!

[thedavinoparadox]

6. House of Leaves by Mark. Z. Danielewski (2000)

Selenio, 31st December 2023

This mammoth of a book has been comfortably sitting on my reading list ever since I first heard somebody talk about it a couple of years ago. There is just something so fascinating about its concept that I couldn’t resist daydreaming about what it would be like reading it and caught myself thinking about it a lot. Now university has finally given me a rational reason to purchase it and I can’t tell you how overjoyed I was when I finally held it in my hands.

House of Leaves on the very surface is about a family who moves into a house which is much bigger on the inside than it looks from the outside. (Please excuse the Dr. Who reference…) But whoever opens the pages for the first time will quickly realize that it is so much more than just that. It’s the scientifical analysis by someone who has watched a video tape of this house and the subsequent editing process of Johnny who has found Zampanós manuscript and story.

There are so many layers to this book and it was such a fascinating process to try and peel them all off one by one like a very large, very intricate onion. The book in itself is a labyrinth and has the scary ability to truly pull you inside of its net. It is a very captivating experience, although some of the 700 pages were indeed a little bit hard to get through. Still, it is an absolute cult classic and I highly recommend it, If you have the time to spend. I especially loved the letters in the end which provided a wholly new perspective and layer to the whole text. Just remember: there is no wrong way for a book to be enjoyed, except for not enjoying it.

[thedavinoparadox]

5. Under the Tuscan Sun by Frances Mayes (1996)

Selenio, 31st December 2023

One of the only books I did not finish this year. Involuntarily, I have to add. Not at all because it was a bad read or in some way distasteful like the other book I had to put down this year, but simply because I couldn’t identify with it in the current phase of my life.

Under the Tuscan Sun is a memoir written by Frances Mayes in which she describes the purchase of an old villa in the Tuscan countryside and the subsequent strenuous but ultimately rewarding process of renovation.

Let me preface this review by stating that this is a wonderful and absolutely beautiful book. The descriptions of the scenery were simply stunning, the recipes sound delicious and the way in which Mayes describes characters, relationships and emotions is almost flawless. However, the book is written very slow-paced and without a “real” plot to keep the reader engaged and hooked, so to speak. Now, if my life gets too hectic and chaotic, I tend to shy away from books with a little bit of a slower pace, as they tend to agitate me more. What might have also added a bit into the mix is the fact that I started reading this after returning home from Italy and sometimes the pain of homesickness is just too much to bear.

[thedavinoparadox]

4. Shelter by Ursula Poznanski (2021)

Selenio, 31st December 2023

Somehow it has become somewhat of a monthly habit of mine to read or at least listen to at least one book by Ursula Poznanski and maybe there is some more psychological depth behind this, which I should explore. Or simply my ambition to finish all of her books…

In Shelter, a group of German students invent a type of alien race on an internet forum, which supposedly uses human beings as shells or “shelters”. What starts as a harmless experiment soon spirals into something none of them can control when people really start to believe in their stories.

I listened to the audiobook of this book and once again I was not disappointed. I just can’t get enough of the way, Poznanski crafts her characters and how realistic their motivations and background always seem to be. Her novels, despite being largely targeted at teenagers, feel plausible and believable, although as the plot progresses it often becomes dramatical and chaotic in the best way possible.

[thedavinoparadox]

3. Comparative Literature by Alexander Nebrig and Evi Zemanek (2012)

Selenio, 31st December 2023

One of the first real study books I had to read for university and although it feels wrong to list it here, it was still a “book I read in December”. To make a (too) long story very short: It is exactly what you’d imagine it to be.

This book briefly goes over a multitude of different concepts and ideas of studying literature, while also providing helpful insights and reading recommendations.

Me and non-fiction books are not… on very good terms. Every time I read one of them I just can’t help but imagine all the wonderful worlds and stories I could lose myself in instead… Well, I read it, wrote a lengthy review on it and believe there is nothing more to be said on the matter.

[thedavinoparadox]

2. The Vampire of Havena by Sebastian Thureau (2015) and Lovely Princess Yasmina by Gerd Böder and Andreas Michaelis (1989)

Selenio, 31st December

My first dive into the very specific solo-subcategory of the German version of Dungeons & Dragons. (Although I have to ashamedly admit that I cheated a couple of times when I believed to have hit a dead end).

In these novels, the reader slips into the role of the novel’s protagonist in this very intricate magical world who has to make choices, fight battles and live through exciting adventures.

I found the humour in these two novels to be particularly charming and loved how well thought out and eccentric the characters were. I found the concept of this RPG-esque writing style to be very intriguing and enjoyed the passages, in which the works parodied their own genre. Although some of the jokes probably went right over my head I really enjoyed myself. Despite dying quite a few times…

[thedavinoparadox]

1. Madame Bovary by Gustave Flaubert (1956)

Selenio, 31st December 2023

The first read of this month was a book which I had planned to read for quite a long time now, since I sensed that I would probably identify a lot with the main character. Well, apart from her gender. I, too tend to be a overtly dramatic, decadently melancholic dreamer whose plans always tend to look a little bit flashier and more beautiful than reality. Now that I had to read it for my university class, I finally had a reason to delve deeper into this literary masterpiece.

Emma Bovary, the wife of Charles Bovary, a doctor from the countryside has dreamed about being in love for her whole life. Now that she is married however, she has come to realize that she can’t live the life she has always imagined and thus begins to have affairs while also spending and extraordinary amount of money to adapt the Parisian lifestyle in her country home.

Emma is exactly the kind of morally grey, despicable yet charming type of protagonist I’ve come to love and adore so much. She is also absolutely insane and in many scenes behaves incredibly selfish, while also possessing a kind of intricate allure which made me unwillingly root for her. I found the writing style to be stunning and perfectly reminiscent of the aesthetic obsession which is portrayed. Overall, a wonderful read and the most perfect way to start off December.

[thedavinoparadox]

❄️☃️December Reading Wrap-Up🎄⛸️

Selenio, 31st December 2023

To appreciate the beauty of a snowflake it is necessary to stand out in the cold. - Aristotle

And there, December has gone already. I really can’t believe how quickly the past few months have gone by and I somehow feel like I’m still stuck in March, terrified of my A levels. So many hurdles had to be climbed, so many difficult decisions had to be made and so much pain had to be endured. Still, I persevered and I think this is a reason to be proud of. One year ago I never would have thought to once find myself in the place I am right now and even though I still have a long way to go, I think I used December to pave the way for a successful 2024.

The books I've read this month (more detailed reviews will follow!):

Madame Bovary by Gustave Flaubert (1956)

The Vampire of Havena by Sebastian Thureau (2015) & Lovely Princess Yasmina by Gerd Böder and Andreas Michaelis (1989)

Comparative Literature by Alexander Nebrig and Evi Zemanek (2012)

Shelter by Ursula Poznanski (2021)

Under the Tuscan Sun by Frances Mayes (1996) - DNF

House of Leaves by Mark Z. Danieleswki (2000)

[thedavinoparadox]

❄️☃️December Reading Wrap-Up🎄⛸️

To appreciate the beauty of a snowflake it is necessary to stand out in the cold. Aristotle And there, December has gone already. I really can’t believe how quickly the past few months have gone by and I somehow feel like I’m still stuck in March, terrified of my A levels. So many hurdles had to be climbed, so many difficult decisions had to be made and so much pain had to be endured. Still, I…

[thedavinoparadox]

🍂🌧️November Reading Wrap-Up ☕🍁

“November always seems to me the Norway of the year.” Emily Dickinson This month truly has been one of the busiest in a very long time. So many choices had to be made – both on an academic and personal level – and so many projects have been started. Before I get into this month’s reads – which have been quite interesting – I want to use this opportunity for making a rather happy announcement.…

[thedavinoparadox]

I know, I know. Another Reading Wrap Up in the middle of the next month but what can I do. Again: better late than never. University really took more time out of my days than I initially expected (and I even had to write up a few of these passages while sitting in lectures…). I do hope at the end of next month (and this year… oh, how fast time flies…) a few things will have cleared up and I will be able to organize my time more efficiently. The Wrap-Up for December will hopefully be ready before the 31st but I have learned to not make promises I’m not sure I will be able to keep.

🍂🌧️November Reading Wrap-Up ☕🍁

Selenio, 16th December 2023

"November always seems to me the Norway of the year." - Emily Dickinson

This month truly has been one of the busiest in a very long time. So many choices had to be made – both on an academic and personal level – and so many projects have been started.

Before I get into this month’s reads – which have been quite interesting – I want to use this opportunity for making a rather happy announcement. My sister, who I was forced to watch struggle with her mental health for the past year now – has made the exciting choice to record and upload her own YouTube-Let’s Plays. I have to admit that it is not quite my scene, however I was positively surprised by her courage in front of the camera.

But now, what I have been reading this month?

[thedavinoparadox]

10. The Sorrows of Young Werther by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1774)

Now it is the season when the days get longer and the nights darker. Thus it seemed only fitting to indulge myself in the joys of Goethe’s early melancholy again. From times, when there was still this kind of youthful hope to his suicidal tendencies. The Sorrows of Young Werther probably is one of the most well known German classics and in my opinion, very much rightfully so. It is a short epistolary novel, composed by the letters of Werther to his friend, detailing the miseries of his one-sided and deeply unhappy love to the engaged Lotte. I still remember the first time I picked up this book a few years ago and how smitten I was with how in-touch the main character was with his emotions, as opposed to modern writers today. Young teenage me felt… understood in a way. Like there was something consoling in the fact that somebody a few hundred years ago had also gone through what I was going through at the time. Now that I’m a bit older, this romantization has subsided a bit and I can acknowledge the overdramatic sides of this book – although this doesn’t necessarily make me enjoy them less.

🍂🌧️November Reading Wrap-Up ☕🍁

Selenio, 16th December 2023

"November always seems to me the Norway of the year." - Emily Dickinson

This month truly has been one of the busiest in a very long time. So many choices had to be made – both on an academic and personal level – and so many projects have been started.

Before I get into this month’s reads – which have been quite interesting – I want to use this opportunity for making a rather happy announcement. My sister, who I was forced to watch struggle with her mental health for the past year now – has made the exciting choice to record and upload her own YouTube-Let’s Plays. I have to admit that it is not quite my scene, however I was positively surprised by her courage in front of the camera.

But now, what I have been reading this month?

[thedavinoparadox]

9. The Murders in the Rue Morgue by Edgar Allan Poe (1841)

I’ve been meaning to dive more into Poe’s work for centuries but unfortunately never got around to do it. Partly, because I simply did not know where to start. Now my university has finally given me the opportunity to do so. This short story details the solving of a gruesome and almost paradoxical double murder by the two protagonists. How can you be very surprised and… very much not surprised at the same time after reading a text? I can’t really explain it but this was the case for me in the instance of this story. I think a lot of Poe’s works have been absorbed into the collective mind of our world and although I am quite sure to never have read this particular work of his, I sometimes had a sense of Deja-vu when reading the end (which is magnificent by the way and has wonderfully critical connotations to it).

🍂🌧️November Reading Wrap-Up ☕🍁

Selenio, 16th December 2023

"November always seems to me the Norway of the year." - Emily Dickinson

This month truly has been one of the busiest in a very long time. So many choices had to be made – both on an academic and personal level – and so many projects have been started.

Before I get into this month’s reads – which have been quite interesting – I want to use this opportunity for making a rather happy announcement. My sister, who I was forced to watch struggle with her mental health for the past year now – has made the exciting choice to record and upload her own YouTube-Let’s Plays. I have to admit that it is not quite my scene, however I was positively surprised by her courage in front of the camera.

But now, what I have been reading this month?

[thedavinoparadox]

8. The Library of Babel by Jorge Luis Borges (1941)

A very short story which feels much larger than it is. In this surrealistic piece, the library as a concept is so vast and all-encompassing that it almost exists as it’s own cosmos. Not only does it hold every book in every language ever written but any string of words one could ever think of. The library is it’s own micro- or better macrocosm and resembles a living, breathing thing in many respects. This story was both fascinating and eerie at the same time. The image of a library in which everything that has ever been said or will ever be said exists in written form is incredibly haunting. The depth of this text feels like a bottomless pool you can never escape once you dip your toes into it.

🍂🌧️November Reading Wrap-Up ☕🍁

Selenio, 16th December 2023

"November always seems to me the Norway of the year." - Emily Dickinson

This month truly has been one of the busiest in a very long time. So many choices had to be made – both on an academic and personal level – and so many projects have been started.

Before I get into this month’s reads – which have been quite interesting – I want to use this opportunity for making a rather happy announcement. My sister, who I was forced to watch struggle with her mental health for the past year now – has made the exciting choice to record and upload her own YouTube-Let’s Plays. I have to admit that it is not quite my scene, however I was positively surprised by her courage in front of the camera.

But now, what I have been reading this month?

[thedavinoparadox]

7. Mademoiselle de Scuderi by E.T.A. Hoffmann (1819)

I’m always on the hunt for good novels with female protagonists and in this case I was baffled by the fact Mademoiselle de Scuderi was portrayed in more than just a representative role. The novel is based on the real life of a French author of the same name. It takes place in 1680 when Madeleine of Scuderi becomes part of an exciting hunt for a murderer whose victims are young men carrying jewelry to the mistresses. Madeleine de Scuderi is one of those historical figures where you could absolutely drown in the rabbit hole of Wikipedia and magazine articles about her shenanigans. She was an absolute icons and one of the most influential authors of her time. I really admire her as a person and am glad I could make up a more personified image of her in my mind by the means of this book.

🍂🌧️November Reading Wrap-Up ☕🍁

Selenio, 16th December 2023

"November always seems to me the Norway of the year." - Emily Dickinson

This month truly has been one of the busiest in a very long time. So many choices had to be made – both on an academic and personal level – and so many projects have been started.

Before I get into this month’s reads – which have been quite interesting – I want to use this opportunity for making a rather happy announcement. My sister, who I was forced to watch struggle with her mental health for the past year now – has made the exciting choice to record and upload her own YouTube-Let’s Plays. I have to admit that it is not quite my scene, however I was positively surprised by her courage in front of the camera.

But now, what I have been reading this month?

[thedavinoparadox]

6. Death comes with the Camper by Susanne Hanika (2018)

A very short, light hearted novel I listened to on the long bus ride back home. This is the first instalment of a rather long series of books in which a young woman from the North of Germany inherits the camping ground of her deceased Italian grandmother and slowly learns about her ties to organized crime and shady business in general. I found this book to be utterly adorable and the narrator of the audiobook was very successful in portraying this very confused young woman who gets sucked into a life of suspense and danger without having signed up for it. The suspense was well made and the writing style was humorous without being obnoxious. My only pet peeve was her pronouncing “Nonna” (the Italian word for grandmother) as “Nona”.

🍂🌧️November Reading Wrap-Up ☕🍁

Selenio, 16th December 2023

"November always seems to me the Norway of the year." - Emily Dickinson

This month truly has been one of the busiest in a very long time. So many choices had to be made – both on an academic and personal level – and so many projects have been started.

Before I get into this month’s reads – which have been quite interesting – I want to use this opportunity for making a rather happy announcement. My sister, who I was forced to watch struggle with her mental health for the past year now – has made the exciting choice to record and upload her own YouTube-Let’s Plays. I have to admit that it is not quite my scene, however I was positively surprised by her courage in front of the camera.

But now, what I have been reading this month?