10 books with long titles 📚

Ciao! I hope everyone is doing good. I had a different post planned altogether as I’m behind schedule with new material, but I couldn’t resist doing this fun post after seeing areadingwritr do it this week. It’s not going to be an every Tuesday thing, but I’ll love to do a few more at some point.

The Artsy Reader’s Top Ten Tuesday ‘s theme for the week is all about Super Long Book Titles. Over the years, I’ve had my fair share of loooonngggg book titles, but most of them are probably forgotten by now. I’m going to share 10 long titles that are on my TBR (most of them are Paris-based). 

1. Love and Louis XIV: The Women in the Life of the Sun King by Antonia Fraser

Every year, I keep saying that I’ll get to this book, but I’m yet to pick it up… sadly. 

2. The 100-Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out the Window and Disappeared by Jonas Jonasson

Another book that’s been collecting dust on the TBR.

3. We’ll Always Have Paris: Trying and Failing to Be French by Emma Beddington

I’m actually close to reading this memoir!

4. Eiffel’s Tower and the World’s Fair: Where Buffalo Bill Beguiled Paris, the Artists Quarreled, and Thomas Edison Became a Count by Jill Jonnes

This is probably the longest title I own! 

5. The Only Street in Paris: Life on the Rue des Martyrs by Elaine Sciolino

Can’t wait to read about this iconic street!

6. The Lost King of France: How DNA Solved the Mystery of the Murdered Son of Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette by Deborah Cadbury

I was going to add this book to the wishlist when I realized that I already have it in my TBR!

7. Bright Lights Paris: Shop, Dine & Live…Parisian Style by Angie Niles

Ah, Paris, the capital of everything! I look forward to probably breezing through this book soon.

8. The knowledge of the holy: The attributes of God, their meaning in the Christian life by A.W. Tozer

I can’t wait to read this book, but I have to be in a good headspace to start.

9. Letters to a Law Student: A Guide to Studying Law at University by Nicholas J. McBride

I got this book during my law phase and although it’s cooled now, I still look forward to reading this book.

10. Learn Japanese: Discover the right approach to Japanese, forget phrases learn how to form your own sentences by Languages World

This book – and several other language books – is for special hoarding purposes.

Well, that was fun! How about you? Do you have a book with a super long title to share? Let me know in the comments.

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Congrats Giroud and all the best Cavani!

Today was a good day for Olivier Giroud! He played his 100th game for France becoming only the 8th player to do so for Les Bleus joining the likes of Hugo Lloris, Lilian Thuram, Thierry Henry, Marcel Desailly, Zinedine Zidane, Patrick Vieira, and current Les Bleus manager, Didier Deschamps. It was only a friendly against Ukraine in which Les Bleus won 7-1, but it was brilliant!

Welcome to the 100th club, Giroud.

Ollie is a World Cup winner and France’s second-highest goalscorer at 42 goals. Only Henry stands in his way with 51 goals. I’ll love to see Ollie beat that. Only today I was reading an interview about Ollie talking about his new book, ‘Always Believe It’ and he said something that stuck with me, so I’ll share that here: 

“I am a very religious person who asserts his Christian faith more and more in recent years. It allowed me to overcome trials, to put things into perspective and to always believe in my chances, in his destiny and in Jesus, who is there, at all times, to watch over me.” 

And Edinson Cavani is a new-mint Manchester United player. I’m no fan of anything Man U, but all the best, Cavani… even though that red shirt is going to hurt mi eyes. Show the English why we call you ‘El Matador’! I’ll also leave something from Cavani’s interview that resonated with me:

“I believe that in life things come when they are meant to and sometimes, no matter how much you want something, if it doesn’t happen, it doesn’t happen.”

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Fall in Rhode Island 🍁

The essence of Fall!

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Beautiful photo @ wonderful_places (Instagram).

Although the island doesn’t experience Fall as this engaging capture, I look forward to this beautiful season every year. 

Scripture of the Month: the Lamp is the city’s lamp

Out of a job… now what?

As the French say: C’est la vie!

Life is unpredictable. Sometimes, that’s the beauty of it. Sometimes, it’s not. 

Hmm, where do I start? I actually have no idea where to begin, but let’s rewind back to the summer of ’69. Nah, just joking… but I hope you caught the Bryan Adams’ reference! Let me rewind back to when I was jobless.

When I left Secondary school, I went job hunting like everyone else. Back then, although there were lots of advertisements on the job market, an actual job was hard to get for someone like me who had just left school with future plans to attend a college in Atlanta. My resume was unpolished and on top of it, my family was in the middle of bankruptcy, so I had to forget about the college of my dreams. I recall going from interview to interview and even registering with two job agencies to no avail. It took a while, but then I registered with the On-the-Job Training Programme, and I was called within a month (?).

I was placed with an upholstery company. OJT didn’t pay the trainees back then. What they did was place you within wherever they thought was fine even if it was at a KFC, and whatever the company decided to pay the trainee was not the ministry’s problem. My salary was $150 a week (*Le gasp!*). The employers were advantageous and it was during this time, I started to seek God… although it’ll take a few years later for me to actually seek Him 100%. Given that I was anemic and a headache sufferer of sorts, this place was toxic for me to stick around, so I left despite the fact that things were looking gloomy.

Now, memory is something I tend to leave in the sands of time whether good or bad, as I like to live in the moment, but I recall signing up with a marketing company for training. However, I left after the first training day after witnessing my trainer lying about the products he was peddling to an old lady. That was not my thing. I don’t care if that’s a way to make a living, it’s wrong to lie to people about what you’re selling. It took a while, but I eventually signed up with the MuST programme. I honestly didn’t want to do the programme for I did not want to be a part of the Hospitality Industry, but God had plans for me, and although those 6 months flew by pretty quickly, it was some of the best moments I’ve ever experienced as I was placed within a French bakery/restaurant. There weren’t French people working there, but whenever the well-dressed French bigwigs came through, it was lit! And if you’re a reader of this blog, you guys know how I love anything French!

After this training experience, I grew to appreciate the hospitality industry, and I came to realize that this was where God wanted me to be as I had training to complete in different areas of my life, be it emotionally, financially, physically, or spiritually. 

Now, fast-forward.

God placed me within one of the best institutions for tourism and hospitality allowing me to experience what it was like to work in an academic library. It was really the opportunity of a lifetime as I’ve always wanted to work in a library ever since I was little. I started out in the Student Services department, actually, and after the OJT contract came to an end, the HR manager at that time asked me to come in temporarily to work in the lab, but the library was short-staffed and the Librarian asked for me to hold on, on evenings… it eventually became permanent when I was offered to stay on and a contract and I know that this was all God’s doing.

However, things started going downhill from 2017 and it finally escalated last month which resulted in the institution permanently closing its doors. I’ll like to go in-depth, but this is not the place or time for it.

The doors are closed temporarily. It’s not going to be closed forever, but I believe that closed doors give us the opportunity to grow. God closes doors to remind us that He is still in charge, to bring us (back) closer to Him, and to grow us in many areas. James 1 reminds us that patience is the key to growth. 

But let patience have her perfect work,
that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing.

James 1:4

Now what?

In a world where people are running scared of a pandemic instead of trusting in the Lord, and one in which the government has no money, I put my trust in the Lord. I’ve been at peace and calm throughout this situation because I decided to lean on and trust God, not man. 

I wait for the Lord, my whole being waits,
    and in his word I put my hope.

Psalm 130:5

I was blessed to be a part of such memories I’ll hold dear, for it was there I met my bestie Tammy, a meeting I’m eternally grateful for. I may not be able to see the future, but God can, and I know that He has my back. We may not see it now, but when God closes a door, He opens the one He desires you to enter. 

I’ve been working on this post since August, but for some reason, I couldn’t seem to sit down long enough to actually focus on completing it… as many other half-finished articles currently collecting dust in drafts. Also, also, I apologize for this being a little too lengthy, but it was the direction I was led to write in. 

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Life is unpredictable.
Sometimes, that's the beauty of it,
sometimes, it's not.

Return to your First Love!

Come, let us return to the One Who first loved us. Let us burn our idols, take celebrities down from the pedestals, and put away our fleshy desires. O, Repent! Let us wash our hands, clothe ourselves in righteousness, and ask the Lord to make our sins white as snow.

Come, let us be holy as our Father is holy. Let us love and serve as Christ did. Let us be guided by the Holy Spirit. Let us draw closer to God, abide in Him, and walk in His ways.

Come, let us return to the One Who first loved us.

Consider how far you have fallen! Repent and do the things you did at first. If you do not repent, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place.

Revelation 2:5

The Dark Academia Book Tag

Okay, so here’s what I know about dark academia: It’s the latest aesthetic to sweep social media after taking off on platforms such as Tumblr and TikTok. It draws inspiration from the classic Greek writing, architecture, and arts. Good Reads couldn’t have said it better:

Dark Academia is an aesthetic that revolves around classic literature, the pursuit of self-discovery, and a general passion for knowledge and learning.

And the inspired fashion ain’t bad either.

I’m not really into dark academia, but I was looking for a book tag to do, for it’s been a while and when I came across this tag over at Madame Writer, I decided that this tag was going to be the one as there were some pretty interesting questions in-between that caught my attention, so let’s do this!

1. What is your favourite “academia” or “dark” book + movie?

Book: I’ve had my fair share of books in this category including Dorian Gray and Secret History, but I’ll have to go with To Kill A Mockingbird. I’ve read the book twice and up to this day, I still like the book.

Movie: If I were still into movies, I’ll go with Good Will Hunting. When it comes to movies, Dead Poets Society reign supreme for DA enthusiasts.

2. What dead poet would you like to have a drink with?

The one, the only, King Solomon! His poems are beautifully crafted, timeless, and full of passion. 

3. What is your favourite painting and/or sculpture?

Painting: Claude Monet is my all-time favorite painter and one of my favorite paintings of his is the Garden at Sainte-Adresse. An art category is in the works, so I’ll talk more in depth about him at a later date.

Sculpture: My all-time favorite is Auguste Rodin’s Le Penseur (The Thinker). This thinking man is often used as an image to represent philosophy.

4. What is your favourite architectural marvel?

Here’s the thing, I marvel at many structures from both the ancient and modern world. Back then, I really marveled at the Lighthouse of Alexandria, the Hanging Gardens of Babylon, and yes, the GIGANTIC Colossus of Rhodes. Right now, I’m awed at the Château de Peyrepertuse in Aude, France. I mean, look at it!:

5. What Shakespeare play would you want to be the lead in?

Certainly not Juliet! But on a serious note, I have never gotten into Shakespeare, so I can’t answer this question. And I’m just not into plays.

6. How many languages do you speak and which language would you most like to learn?

One, and that is English. I speak little French, but I’m not serious about it. It’s the language I’ll love to learn the most, but I just can’t seem to commit.

7. What is your favourite quote (from poetry, prose, plays, etc.)?

Let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth—for your love is more delightful than wine.

This is single-handedly the greatest opening line of a poem. It’s taken from Song of Solomon 1:1. I could quote other favorite lines, but I’ll just end up quoting the entire book. 

8. Which fictional character’s death is your ideal way to go?

However, the Lord sees fit to take me is the ideal way to go. I’m never shy about death, for its inevitable and when I was younger, I used to say the ideal way to go was in my sleep.

9. What university/college would you most like to attend?

I tend to bore easily in classrooms, but I don’t mind studying at the heritage-rich Université de Paris. Just the building alone is an architectural wonder by itself.

10. What is your murder weapon or murder method of choice?

I’ll skip this question for murdering someone should never be on the mind.

11. What mythology would you most like to a part of?

I remember being into Greek mythology and feeling out Norse mythology, but I find Egyptian mythology to be the most interesting.

12. If you had to do a PhD what would you choose to do it on?

I’m a history fanatic, so anything to do with history. 

13. Which fictional character would you die for?

No one. I rather die for my loved ones (John 15:13).

Rapid-Fire: Pick One

1. Leather bound or cloth bound books?

Neither.

2. Dog-earing pages or highlighting pages?

Neither.

3. Sculptures or paintings?

I prefer paintings.

4. Piano or violin?

I’ve always been drawn to piano music, but the violin is wonderful too. So, both. Sides, they make beautiful music together.

5. Films or theatre?

I wouldn’t have seen TC at a theatre, so films.

6. Poetry or prose?

Both.

7. Museums or bookshops?

Actually, lately, I prefer stationery shops. If I have to choose, I’ll go with bookshops… and I’ve always wanted to work in one.

8. Smell of books or smell of coffee/tea?

I love the smell of new books and strong coffee.

9. Fountain pen or typewriter ?

Fountain pens! I used to enjoy using them to improve my writing when I was younger. Mom was actually the one that got me into those pens. 

10. New or used books?

New. Most of the time when I’m done with them, I pass them on that’s why I’m careful not to dog-ear or highlight a book.

Well, that was something! As I’m snail-likely working on new material, I may as well publish a few filler posts and this one was definitely worth it.

If you’re up to do this challenge, feel free to and don’t forget to check out Madame Writer’s entry here: 

The Dark Academia Book Tag

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Welcome home, Bale!

I can’t believe that it has been 7 years since Bale left Spurs for Real Madrid… a move I didn’t want him to make in the first place. Under Zidane’s management, Bale was mistreated in a disgraceful way – just as Lionel Messi under Bartomeu, but that’s another story – and it was disheartening to see.

But I’m happy to see Bale back at Spurs where I know (I hope) he’ll get the respect he deserves.

Welcome back, welcome home, Bale. Here, is where you belong, even if it’s just for a season-long loan. 

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You are not on or for sale!

Current reflections

Time stopped…

…and everything around me suddenly came to a grinding halt. In that moment, I stood still with the world. I was one with nature. I made a promise to myself to appreciate life more. To let go of toxic people and old habits.

Most of all, I promise myself to love life no matter where it may take me, and enjoy the adventures God has set up for me as I focus on His will and the reason why He placed me here.

I do my best reflections at the ocean where it’s most peaceful.

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