Oook!*

*Which means: 'I have great news!'

I just found out that my favorite writer sir Terry Pratchett received the Margaret A. Edwards Award ‘for a significant and lasting contribution to young adult literature.’

Portrait of Sir Terry Pratchett with lil' Discworld by me :)

Terry Pratchett is famous for his Discworld series, which started with The Color of Magic published in 1983. He still writes, and since he was diagnosed with the Alzheimer’s disease in 2007 he has published two bestselling books, and he is already writing two more. But now he seems to be mainly fighting for legalization of assisted suicide in the UK. He gives his reasons for it in his Dimbleby Lecture entitled ‘Shaking hands with Death’ (I found it extremely gripping, and if anyone is interested in watching it, let me know and I’ll give you a link).

Moreover, if you’d like to start reading his books, I’d recommend starting with one of the earliest ones, like ‘The Color of Magic’, ‘Mort’ or ‘Guards! Guards!’. Although each novel (excluding ‘The Color of Magic’ and ‘The Light Fantastic’) tells an independent story, there are groups of characters who come back now and again and if you read the books in a random order, you may miss some fun.

For those of you, who prefer moving pictures to still letters: three Discworld novels have been made into movies: ‘Hogfather’, ‘The Color of Magic’ and ‘Going Postal’. The first two are available in Poland (I saw them in Empik before Christmas, but you’d have to look in the section entitled: Movies for Kids).

Now, I don’t want to you jump to conclusions; Terry Pratchett does not write books for children. He writes books for ‘adults of all ages’ and there are books which are categorized as ‘young adult books’. Nevertheless, most of his novels are directed to grown-ups :)

My personal favorite is ‘Small Gods’, featuring The Great God Om who has only one believer and is inclined to remain in the form of a one-eyed tortoise. Maybe now you will understand why the little tortoise always attached to my bag is called Om :)

Before I finish this note, here’s a short quote about my idol, Susan Sto Helit, granddaughter of Death :)

She'd become a governess. It was one of the few jobs a known lady could do. And she'd taken to it well. She'd sworn that if she did indeed ever find herself dancing on rooftops with chimney sweeps she'd beat herself to death with her own umbrella.

(Terry Pratchett, ‘Hogfather’)

Hm… isn’t it the word we were looking for during our last Grammar lesson? ;)

Sweet home Września

My home town is Września.

I’m sure every one of you has heard of this place at one time or another, thanks to the famous Children of Września who refused to pray in German, which resulted in a severe punishment delivered by their Prussian teachers. I think it is important to mention that, however reasonable it would seem to ban it, German is still one of the languages taught in the local schools.

There’s so much to say about this place that I find it difficult to decide what to write about. So I think it would be best to write what Września means to me.

I’ve lived in Września since I was born and I think it will always be my home. Even though I sometimes nag about some features of it, like the lack of public transport or roundabouts sprouting on almost every possible crossroads, I am a Child of Września at heart (those of you who want to point out that I do study German, remember that I don’t find it particularly pleasant).

Września is much quieter than Poznań and that is what I really like about it.

My family and I usually take a stroll around the artificial lake of Lipówka, which is a trully beautiful place. I love going there because, even though there are always people walking here and there, it is really peaceful and you can take some awesome pictures there.

In summer, when it’s nice and warm, I enjoy riding my bike around the city, with no actual destination in mind. But usually, I go to the Park of Maria Konopnicka, mainly because there are hills so it’s a lot of fun. Also, it is always possible that an event of some kind is taking place in the amphitheater, so I tend to get off my bike and enjoy the singing, dancing or cotton candy.

There is one more reason I go to this park. The camels. Yes, we have camels. Don’t ask me, I have absolutely no idea why they are there. It seems that at one time the mayor decided it was a good idea and that it would bring tourists to Września. But, honestly, I don’t know if it’s really the case.

I live about two kilometers from the city center, so my neighborhood is extremely peaceful, sometimes even boring. Nevertheless, there are many things you can do to keep you occupied. I love drawing or reading in my garden and, ever since they made decent streets, roller skating has become my second favorite physical activity.

It’s a wonder how the way of spending my free time has changed: when I was younger I would watch the trains passing nearby and check if I could run as fast as them. I still like going there. If you’re lucky, you may witness breathtaking views like this:

Well, I guess it’s all I’ve got to say about Września for now. If you’re interested in a more down-to-earth information on this city, I’d recommend taking a virtual trip – it’s free of charge and really entertaining :)

For a trip, go to: http://www.wirtualna.wrzesnia.pl/

Some music :)

Here is a great tribute to my favorite composer John Williams. His most famous movie themes ('Indiana Jones', 'E.T.', 'Jurassic Park', 'Jaws') are performed a capella with funny Star Wars references.
Enjoy.

A long time ago in a Galaxy far far away...

Hi guys :)
This is my first post here, so I won't write too much :)
If you're bored, go and check out my deviantArt profile :)