monthly things - july24

kurt cobain's favorite book is weird

before we go to sleep, joe and i sit next to, or lean against one another, reading our books. the orange light of the salt lamp shining on the pages. i asked him what his favorite recent book was and why.

i like asking this question because i am very interested in what moves people. i want to know why they gravitate towards certain stories or genres. it reveals details about a person in some way or another. do you have a very specific niche you like to read? a certain writer you admire? or do you find joy in a broad selection of genres? i guess i just love learning about human behavior, seeing our differences and similarities, and finding comfort in both.

but not only books tell stories. you can find personality in the things people like in general. which is why i decided to start a ‘monthly things’ and i am excited! btw - i could never do a weekly things because i don’t want the pressure of designing an artificial interesting life for this blog. i am a ‘slow living’ (read:boring) kinda gal. my weeks are pretty, err, similar.

anyway! i really enjoyed writing these down, hopefully you’ll enjoy reading it!

books

i have a strange obsession with kurt cobain and it’s gotten to it’s peak recently. it’s something i find hard to understand about myself because i’ve never fallen into the ‘celebrity idolization’ but somehow kurt captivates me. i just want to read everything there is about the guy, watch all the interviews, and try to understand how his brain worked. in one of the interviews he mentioned that his favorite book was perfume by patrick suskind. he told the interviewer he’d read it at least 10 times and carried it around with him wherever he went. maybe you know the song scentless apprentice? the lyrics are inspired by the book. obviously i had to get my hands on it.

the book is weird alright. but i don't mean it in a bad way. i’ll try to nutshell it: the main character, jean-baptiste grenouille is born in the 18th century. his mother dies at birth and nobody wants to raise him due to his lack of scent. it creeps people out. as he grows older people feel generally uneasy around him. something is wrong with the kid but they can’t really pinpoint what it is. grenouille goes through life alone, but he prefers it that way. he hates people, he can’t stand them, he wants to get away from them. but there is a dark desire in him to control them and make them idolize him. even though he is born without a scent, he has the best nose in the world. he could smell people, food, water, anything, from miles away and he is a master at dissecting scents. he can easily distinguish the ingredients of a perfume, which is why he decides to create one himself that will make people adore him. i will stop here in case you are interested in reading the book.

the thing that is quite disturbing after reading it, was realizing this was kurt his favorite book and he related to it. and i can totally see the resemblance of a misunderstood kid, that wasn’t popular but was bullied. he developed mistrust in human kind and later became a world famous rock star. all of the sudden the whole world idolizes him for something he created. i can’t really get further into my unprofessional analysis about these correlations because.. well.. major book spoiler. but i am sure you know what happened to nirvana’s lead man.

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OK - i know i said bookssss which is plural, but man, i’m already at 680 words which is a 4 minute read! consider this a yappa yappa piece.

*ps. currently i am reading the bell jar by sylvia plath and i’ll keep my opinions for the next list.

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food

pasta

i LOVE food. and in particular, pasta. without pasta, there would be no meaning to life. it’s that serious. if i have an off day, or my period is perioding, joe always prepares my favorite dish which is spaghetti arrabbiata. a spicy tomato sauce (fresh tomatoes, garlic and chili) with spaghetti. super simple, super basic. they say, you are what you eat. but, this week he made a tagliatelle bolognese with tomatoes and red wine. it was heaven.

burger

so, the day i hit 100 subscribers i was sad AF. not because of it, but because i couldn’t really feel joy that day. but i still wanted to celebrate the little milestone. i decided to try to make the best of it and take myself on a date. i went to a second hand book shop i’d never been before and bought myself a little gift. i also had a rare and particular craving for a milkshake and a cheeseburger from mcdonalds, so i satisfied that.

pancakes

this is starting to look like a children’s menu by now. oh well. we eat home made american pancakes every sunday morning. obviously with fruit to make it seem healthy. i love this tradition so much i couldn’t give it up any time soon (and why would we?). sometimes, before i fall asleep on a saturday night i mumble, ‘‘honey; what day is it tomorrow?’’ and if he catches what i mean by the question he replies ‘‘pancake daaaayyy!’’ god, we are children.

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movies

kinds of kindness (no spoilers)

i went to see kinds of kindness with a friend at lab111. (lab111 is an arthouse cinema in amsterdam west, i highly recommend if you’re in ams!) hmmm, what to say about this movie. first of all, it stuck with me. the three stories are just bizarre but in a way it will stick to your brain and you will keep thinking about it. what was connected? what was the meaning? who the hell is r.m.f? all these types of questions. my interpretation of the narrative was that we can go too far in acts of kindness and our pursuit for love. anyway, i really enjoyed it. i did cover my ears from time to time. some scenes were just too gory!

before sunrise (no spoilers)

i love this movie so much! i’ve seen it before and i re-watched it this month. if you are a hopeless romantic like myself, and you haven’t seen before sunrise yet, what have you been doing with your life!!!?? jk, but really. go watch it today. ethan hawke and julie delpy have such cute chemistry. i think ethan really knows how to play the ‘annoying young guy in love’ very well. the plot is about two strangers meeting on a train, and after a short meet-cute, they decide to spend the day in vienna together. that’s all you’re gonna get from me, just watch it!!! oh, and another gift to unwrap if you haven’t seen it, it’s a trilogy. you’re welcome.

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other things

1. a pink striped blouse i bought in the thrift shop, i have been looking for one because i got influenced by this girl on pinterest. here is a photo of the pinterest girl and the one i found. it’s not the same but it’s close enough. it was €2!! can you believe it?

   also, i’ve really been into the color pink lately!

   

   inspiration

   

   the one i found

2. staying on the topic of (second hand) clothing. i’ve been looking for the perfect leopard summer top, but the thrift shops i go to can be hit-or-miss. most of the time when i’m looking for something specific the thrift gods just laugh in my face, so i took the matter into my own hands and ordered 2 from vinted (an app i use regularly to buy second hand clothing) i love them!

   

   

3. art on the wall - finally hanging some paintings i had neglected in storage

4. more books - speaking of storage.. i have been living in this house for over a year and i’ve kept a lot of my books in storage because we were set on the idea of finding the perfect book shelf first. welp, that hasn’t happened yet (still looking, so picky!) so i decided to dig them out of the storage unit and bring them to the living room. they are currently stacked on the floor and i kinda like it.

5. my digital compact camera - i have taken it out a couple times now and i would like to get more into it. it’s so fun to transport back to the 2000’s / 2010’s and forget your phone for a while.

6. bob dylan vinyl record of freewheelin’ - finally!! after so many years of looking for this one in record shops! really one of my favorite bob dylan albums.

7. the beach - summer has been complete shite in the netherlands. some people claim to love the rain, but i believe they have never lived in the netherlands. it will cure that love for you real quick. anyway, we finally had a couple of good days! so i made it to the beach. i saw this older couple, both reading their books, and i thought it was the sweetest sight for some reason (photo below)

8. a bumble bee in a flower - walking in the sun, looking at the flowers, told you i was a hopeless romantic. i saw this cuuuute little bumble bee crawl into the flower and his little butt was sticking out a bit. had to capture this moment and share it with you guys. i know, so sappy.

i hung the paintings! and the books scattered after i took them out of a moving box

my camera's and the vinyl record with it's iconic photo

an older couple reading and a bumble bee

alright, that was all for now my dear friends. i am really curious if there is anything you relate to, or maybe share as a favorite? also, which book are you reading and what do you think of it?

hope to see you in the comments <3

xoxo