The Ball, Gaston La Touche

Old books in Michael Moon’s Bookshop, Whitehaven.

"To fly a rocketship, you need to be an optimist. No astronaut launches into space with their fingers crossed."

"The best antidote for fear is competence. If you can make yourself competent, then you're not just relying on fear, but you're actually a person who can do this thing. And if you are competent, not only can you do this thing, but you can relax while you're doing it."

- Chris Hadfield

Best advertisement ever! 💕

‘nocturne op. 9 no. 2’ by chopin but you’re in a hotel lobby avoiding the rain on a cold night in an unfamiliar city, captivated by the soft piano music that reminds you of home. (youtube)

Ophelia by George Varodi

It is essential to practice reading as an art.

Friedrich Nietzsche, The Genealogy of Morals (via philosophybits)

the ambience of shakespeare and black coffee

Facing Pollock

© Marie V Vollmer aka Lulette  ||  MoMA, New York City, 8 octobre 2010

ig: herdrafts I’ve been reading so many ebooks during the lockdown that I’m almost get accustomed to them, despite I miss the feeling of printing papers under my fingertips. I often read in English because it appeal to me better but often I struggle when it comes to approach a book; regardless of genre, choosing what language you want to read, it has a great influence on the reading itself and perhaps on the outcome of the review. Translation sometimes can be better than the original version, maybe when you can’t enjoy the author’s writing you can read the same novel ‘touched’ by the translator work, but you can’t really understand the meaning of the prose or the difference of styles between an author to another, if you are interested in this aspect as well. In short, this was my ranting because often I can’t decide in what language to read.

To be beautiful means to be yourself. You don't need to be accepted by others. You need to accept yourself. When you are born a lotus flower, be a beautiful lotus flower, don't try to be a magnolia flower. If you crave acceptance and recognition and try to change yourself to fit what other people want you to be, you will suffer all your life. True happiness and true power lie in understanding yourself, accepting yourself, having confidence in yourself.

— Thích Nhất Hạnh