It somewhat surprises me that, for all I like to think of myself as a culturally astute young lady, until yesterday I’d never once been to see a ballet.  I used to go to ballet classes when I was young but, as my ever-encouraging teacher was so fond of telling us, we were “about as graceful as a herd of elephants” (in case anyone ever needs to know, this is exactly the right way to make a bunch of five year-olds despise ballet dancing, if not develop group eating disorders).

But childhood scarring aside, I think the main reason I’ve never been to the ballet is that I have a bit of a thing about story lines.  I like to follow them near-obsessively, somewhat like a devoted sniffer dog at a baggage carousel.  If I become even temporarily lost or confused by a book or a film I’m liable to crossing my arms and huffing.  I’m definitely not the best at sitting back and letting something wash over me.

But ever since I saw The Artist a couple of weeks ago I’ve become slightly more open to the idea that you really don’t need to have dialogue, or a narrator, to follow something.  That actions really can speak louder than words, if you’ll mind the cliché.  The Artist was incredibly easy to follow as it turned out – the music, the facial expressions and the movement all played their part in ensuring the audience wasn’t left in the dark.

And the same, by and large, goes for the ballet.  Although there were a couple of moments yesterday where I found myself thinking, “but wasn’t she…?” or “but why is he…?”, on the whole, I got it.  And small pockets of minor incomprehension were not even remotely capable of spoiling the fun I was having overall.  Because therein lies the other thing about ballet: it’s just so pretty to look at that it doesn’t really matter if you’re just a wee bit lost, some of the time.  In fact, the storyline almost becomes irrelevant, so profoundly enjoyable is it to sit in front of a live orchestra and to watch colourful tutus, lithe limbs and pointed toes as they leap and float around a stage.

I was amazed by how much I loved it.  Ballet?  A. Good. Thing.

What new stuff have you tried recently?

Image above from here.

I was pondering updating my What I’m Reading page earlier, and in doing so got to reminiscing about all the many books that have come into and gone out of my life over the past year or so.  I love to keep a note of the books I’ve read, mainly because I seem to use them as a means of mapping out my life.  Last year, for example, I remember finishing New Europe by Michael Palin on one of the windiest days we had, when going outside wasn’t even an option.  I also vividly remember reading Committed by Elizabeth Gilbert on the grass in front of the leaning tower of Pisa in May, when the sun was so hot I couldn’t possibly have walked anywhere other than the nearest gelato kiosk.  Books are to me what I guess diaries are to people who use them properly: a record of one’s life, and a reminder of the little things that have happened that we might otherwise simply forget in our haste to keep moving forward.

With all the free time I had last Summer and all the many bus journeys I seem to have taken since starting my new job, I seem to have managed to read an impressive pile of books over the course of the past 12 months.  So in case you find yourself looking for a little literary inspiration this January, here are some recommendations based on what I’ve read and enjoyed recently.

If you want to read a classic but you dislike ‘the classics’, read Jane Eyre.  The writing is digestible, the characters aren’t annoying and although it’s a love story at heart it’s not sickly sweet and schmaltzy.  I read this during the first couple of weeks at my new job last September.  It was welcome respite at the end of busy days full of new faces and things.

If you want to laugh really hard until you think you might pee a little, read either Bossypants by Tina Fey, or Juliet, Naked by Nick Hornby.  Either one will produce the desired effect.

If you want to be gripped, read The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo.  I blame this book (and its two sequels) for many a groggy-headed morning in October and November.  I literally couldn’t put it down.  Not even for sleep, or to finish making a cup of tea.

If you want to learn things you’ll remember and that will make you sound knowledgeable, read A Little History of the World by E.H. Gombrich.  This is definitely in my top 3 reads from last year.  It’s full of interesting stuff, but it’s also written in such a way that reading it doesn’t feel like learning.  In fact, reading it feels like drinking hot chocolate in front of a roaring log fire while it snows outside.  It’s perfect.

If you want to escape, read His Dark Materials trilogy.  There are enough ideas in these three books to keep you thinking for months, and enough magic to rival the whole Harry Potter back-catalogue.

If you want to cry (sometimes I genuinely do want this from a book), read Into the Wild by Jon Krakauer.  This quickly became one of my favourite books of all time, and I read the whole thing in one evening.  It’s brilliant, and heart-breaking, and all kinds of life-affirming all at once.  I can’t recommend it highly enough.

If you just want to be entertained, read Boiling a Frog by Christopher Brookmyre.  This didn’t change the way I see the world, and it didn’t cause me profound, deep thoughts or the loss of any sleep.  But it was funny, it was intriguing and it really did entertain me.  And sometimes, when it comes to a book, that’s really all you need, isn’t it?

What have you read recently that’s worth recommending?

Image above from here.

This weekend I’m visiting friends, so I expect to be working on more tea, more laughter, more dreaming and more fun.  Not so much on the more sleep, but there’s always next week!  Happy Fridays everyone.

Image above from here.

I find I get the most out of writing Things I Love Thursday posts when it feels like my Thursday hasn’t really been all that brilliant.  Like today, for example.  A couple of awkward moments at work were followed by a couple of near-misses with buses and taxis on the way home, a shouting match with a pedestrian who was clearly unaware of the green cross code and (to my shame) a bit of post-confrontational sobbing.  Hmm.

But behold!  It’s none other than the re-emergence, through the emotionally cleansing practice of positive blogging, of all the good stuff in my life on this one day that I would quite possibly have completely ignored had I not paused to write about.  Praise be to TilTing, blogging and generally being so very thankful.  Here’s what’s ace about today:

The fact that I even have a job to feel awkward about sometimes.  And a job that 98% of the time I feel positive about at that.

The financial freedom to be able to buy whatever food I think will put a smile back on my face when my day has been less than perfect.  Tonight that tonic was falafel wraps with guacamole, coriander, yoghurt and cucumber.

These headphones, which I bought a couple of weeks ago and have hardly had off of my noggin since.  Benefits: they are comfortable, they keep my ears warm and I am spared the rather unnatural and fairly gross process of jamming something hard and plastic into my ear every time I want to listen to Arcade Fire.  I’m in love.

Crap from the street.  I found an abandoned book case sitting out in the rain this evening as I arrived home after the cycle from hell.  I’ve been pining for a place to display my books for months now and this was too perfect an opportunity to pass up (it was also proof that good, and sometimes free, things come to those who wait because they are stingy).  I’m going to spend some time this weekend making it look pretty and arranging my books by all sorts of order like the nerd I am, but I’ll share a photo or two afterwards.

New people!  My flatmate is in Antarctica at the moment (I KNOW), so I’m getting new living space company for the next couple of months.  I can’t wait to have someone to offer my banal, uninteresting post-work chat to again – the past few weeks I’ve had to resort to talking to myself, which is but the first step on a very slippery slope, I think.  And finally…

My Bed.  It’s warm, it’s comfortable and no matter how bad any day becomes it will never be too long before I can pile it high with blankets and burrow in until the storm blows over.

Now you!  What’s making you smile this Thursday?

Image above from here.

…and granny blankets.  As the temperature drops the race to finish this quilt intensifies, but I’m pleased to report that the cheery colours are helping to keep my January bright.  So far, 42 squares are done, which leaves 22 to go.  Can we all just quietly ignore for now the reality that I’m going to have to sew the whole thing together before it can keep me cosy at night?

What are you making this Winter?