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Is tarot like crochet?

According to Pessoa, his mental and literary activities are. And to me, tarot does fall into that category.

We pull cards everyday. Do spreads. Dive deep. Psychoanalyse. But for what?

It does sometimes feel like a “stitch on stitch forming a whole without a whole”. We find our messages, but how do we use them?

Do we just read the cards? Or feel for ourselves deeply and move on? Or, do we use them to really live?

Im into my 6th book of the year now as I‘ve had time off work and there isn‘t a lot to do in lockdown! I‘m focusing on books translated from languages other than English this year, and so far I‘ve read one Portuguese and one Ukrainian. Across the books there have been 2 Black writers, one lesbian writer and one writer who I imagine would have been diagnosed with a mental illness had he lived today.

#integrateyourshelf @ChasingOm

I was very lucky with my first book of 2021. Bizarre and kaleidoscopic - definitely don‘t read if you want anything approaching a plot. A recluse who thinks he‘s better than everyone stream of consciousness word vomits his thoughts and normally I‘d find that infuriating, but the writing was THAT good, even when it was melodramatic I got into the melodrama. My goal of reading more translated fiction this year is off to a good start!

While I know this is a #Portugese masterpiece I weren‘t able to enjoy it. The ongoing stream of consciousness of a man who describes himself as an ordinary office clerk but in the mean time judges all and everyone with a superiority that I found annoying. So much so that I couldn‘t really appreciate the at times gorgeous sentences and clever thoughts.
Maybe this was not the best time to finally tackle it.

#1001books #ReadingEurope202 🇵🇹

Going in. Finally. I‘ve heard so many good things but it‘s not an easy one. And it‘s a chunkster. However, if I read 28 pages a day I‘ll finish the 31th and will finish #ReadingEurope2020 just in time! #Portugal #1001books

Excellent. On page 57

A book and author with a backstory almost as fascinating as the text. Pessoa conceived of this work as a diary of observations by one of his fictional alter egos. The composition was done in two phases: in the 1910s and then resumed in the 1930s. I found the first phase difficult, but beautiful. The second phase feels more story-like. It is not a book that is lightly read, but when in the right mood it's clever, ruminant, provoking, and affirming.

Quarantine Inspirational Quote: "Freedom is the possibility of isolation. You are only free if you can withdraw from men and feel no need to seek them out for money, or society, or love, or glory, or even curiosity, for none of these things flourish in silence and solitude. If you cannot live alone, then you were born a slave."

#QuotsyAug20 Day 26: #Sculpt

And because this book is absurd, I love it;...

When I read Pessoa I can see parallels between proust and him. Great minds think alike!!!

Whether or not they exist, we are slaves to the gods.

#QuotsyJuly20 Day 17: #Wallow

I write as if sleeping and my entire life is an unsigned receipt

"Omnia fui, nihil expedit"
I have been everything nothing is worth anything

Suddenly I'm all alone in the world. I see all this from the summit of a mental rooftop. I'm alone in the world. To see is to be distant. To see clearly is to halt. To analyse is to be foreign.

Because I'm the size of what I see
And not the size of my stature

We never know self realisation
We are two abysses- a well staring at the sky

In these random impressions and with no desire to be other than random, I indifferently narrate my factless autobiography, my lifeless history. These are my confessions and if in them I say nothing, it's because I have nothing to say.

Starting

“When I write, I solemnly visit myself.“

Remembering Fernando Pessoa on his birthday.

#BiblioMAYnia Day 16: This voluminous edition fits the #PurpleCover. I really did finish reading it even if it was 🤯

#AcrossApril Day 3: My #AprilTBR - a few titles started last month and carried over for this one. Reading one chapter a day of Dorian Gray with my 18 yo girl. Pessoa is a head trip. I‘ve seen the hbo adaptation of the outsider so seeing how diff it is from the novel. The Elizabeth Taylor is for our #NYRBBookClub.

#MagnificentMarch Day 28: It is our good #fortune that we are still able to order online and have paella and halloumi cheese pizza (because they have run out of burrata) delivered straight to our doorstep in gloves. Strange times we are living in, that much is certain. I am really struggling with tagged book: at times it reads like pessoa was high on psychedelic drugs, but I diagnose clinical depression, more than Emo Lit.

This is what we're currently reading in the classics book club I'm a member of in my community. I'll give a proper review later but for now I'll say its full of incredible quotes but I'm not finding it an easy read.

#QuotsyFeb20 Day 4: Vacuum

💛💛💛

For me, one of the most attractive aspects of the #boxwallabook box, is not knowing much about the authors or books included. I‘m introduced to authors & books I may not stumble upon here on Litsy or in a bookstore, etc. They move me, push me as a reader, explore themes & ideas that are heartbreaking, & beautiful & always leave me wanting more. Also, I love how each book takes me on a worldwide adventure - somewhere exotic, foreign & romantic.

The new #boxwallabook box is in and it is better than last time! I feel like this box subscription totally aligns with my taste. I've been wanting this edition of Pessoa's Book of Disquiet and I totally love Natalia Ginzburg.

Highly enjoyable intelligent read! I had no expectations, but in the end I got so much out of it. In many ways it reminds me of Oscar Wilde‘s writings, even though it‘s different. Fantastic translation! “Literature is the pleasantest way of ignoring life”. It is for sure one of the most intriguing autobiographies I‘ve ever read.

Hi mommy, what are you doing? Don‘t mind me.

Makes me sad when I get a not-so-new book from the library, and no one has read it before me. This has happened several times during my #readtheworld challenge. #Portugal

#quotsydec18 @TK-421

Prompt: Symphony

Day 2: #symphony

#quotsydec18
@TK-421

#QuotsyDec18 Day 2: Celebrating the #Symphony of one‘s soul that only the self can hear.

I certainly can't remain quiet after receiving these 2 amazing books in the mail today as the lucky winner of the #LesMisBuddyRead Giveaway. And wouldn't you know that our cohost @vivastory would aptly include a book filled with digressions! ? At least all of these digressions in "Packing My Library" are about our relationship with books. Whew! Thanks for such a generous gift, @vivastory ??
@Kalalalatja

“I‘ve never done anything but dream. This, and this alone, has been the meaning of my life. My only real concern has been my inner life.” #ponder #quotsyjune18

#QuotsyJune18: Such #Fusion of reality and dream seems glorious, as only Pessoa is able to write it. Am looking forward to reading my copy of this book which just arrived a few days ago from BookDep, no thanks to Alameddine‘s novel (An Unnecessary Woman) which described this book so exquisitely.

I‘m feeling full of gratitude after this Mother‘s Birthiversary week. I managed to not break my #bookbuyingban and still received an abundance of generosity from friends and family.

Thanks to all of you wonderful humans on @Litsy for the birthday wishes and for being a perpetual source of encouragement and light in a dark and bitter world. I love you guys!