BOOKS Archivi - Page 4 of 12 - Keep Calm and Drink Coffee

AFGHANISTAN WHERE GOD ONLY COMES TO WEEP

Jul 30, 2022 | BOOKS, WOMEN, WORLD

Afghanistan where God only comes to weep is the title of the book written by Siba Shakib that I read thanks to Vincenzo Franca e Francesco.

Also with Siba Shakib I share month and year of birth.

And in this video among other things she talks about sitting together and drinking coffee.

But this time the reading instead of a relaxing moment was particularly painful.

This book was still a journey, from which, however, I returned with a wound.

Afghanistan, where God only comes to weep.
I think the words chosen by the author as an introduction to her book are absolutely emblematic.

When I told about Denise Ho, Gabriella reminded how important it is to keep the focus on other realities as well, and surely the condition of women in Afghanistan is one of them.

On July 1, the Human Rights Council concluded its 50th regular session after adopting 23 resolutions and held an urgent debate on the human rights of women and girls in Afghanistan. In a resolution, the Council reaffirmed its unwavering commitment to the full and equal enjoyment of all human rights by all women, girls and children in Afghanistan, including the right to freedom of movement, the right to education, the right to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health, including their sexual and reproductive health, the right to work and the right to access justice on an equal basis with others. The Council asked the High Commissioner to hold an enhanced interactive dialogue during its 51st session, with the participation of the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Afghanistan.

Yet these words seem sterile empty and useless: UN News on July 1 published a terrible “statistic”

The situation of women in Afghanistan is so desperate that they commit suicide at the rate of one or two a day.

FOUR THIRDS PI R3

Apr 26, 2022 | BOOKS

I infinitely thank Lucia Amendola Ranesi, together with Mari’s Manual, for the opportunity to discover the book Quattro Terzi Pi Greco Erre Tre which I loved very much.

What is the volume of the sphere? Four Thirds Pi r3.

It is not the first time that I have told my interest in books on mathematics, but in this case I was immediately struck by the affinity of thought.

Starting with a formula to tell a story.

Or starting from a story to tell a formula.

Actually both.

The “formula” to which one arrives, however, is not a calculation, but a journey that leads, or rather: brings back, to the origin.

I don’t like to reveal too much, because I would like you to try the same engaging reading experience that I had, and I would like you too to come to the “full circle” with all the load of emotions that accompanied me.

I considered Quattro Terzi Pi Greco Erre Tre as the equation of a world in which to enter through a wonderful exchange of letters, precisely those handwritten letters, the letters so dear to me.

A family sphere, but also a historical sphere.

And through the life of the characters I first understood the vocation: the passion for studying and teaching, together, as in a real union that lasts for a lifetime.

But the book also teaches that fate is not always behind the things that scare us the most.

And it shows how pure and true love cannot in any way be dirtied.

I will certainly not forget a special Grandmother, whom I wish I could hug as she repeats that all soldiers are sons.

And a special woman: Maria Moreno, who I hope will be remembered for her ability to combine literary and scientific studies, delicacy and strength of mind, poetry and everyday life.

Obviously I tend to focus more on the female characters, but undoubtedly Rodolfo too, as well as two important figures who have left a mark on our history, offer very interesting reflections.

What if I told you Renato Caccioppoli? What if I told you Ettore Majorana?

In a book so close to my heart, could coffee be missing?!

Obviously not! In fact, here it is:

SCHOOL DIARY

Apr 13, 2022 | BOOKS, BOOKS

I owe the reading of Daniel Pennac’s School Diary to Luciana: THANK YOU Lucy, I’m really grateful to you!

A diary edited by Feltrinelli, which I absolutely loved and which, in my opinion, should also be read at school.

Daniel Pennac, or Pennacchioni, is a teacher in Paris since 1970, better to use his exact words:
We learn that for a quarter of a century the author has practiced as a teacher and that he has chosen this apartment overlooking the courtyards of two schools a bit like a railway worker retiring above a marshalling yard.

In fact, I’ll tell you more: listen to whoever reads these words

I open a dutiful parenthesis on Sport’s Bar even if surely you also know Luisona and all the other characters, right?

But let’s go back to reading and to the emblematic phrase of Daniel Pennac’s mother: “Do you think he will get away with it sooner or later?”

Were you doing well in school? Were you among the deserving students and with the high average?

He definitely not, yet he first became a teacher and then a writer!

Daniel Pennac tells us that what he wrote is the “pure truth” and for this reason I found his message even more important.

What better example to give confidence to all those who are faced with uphill paths, who are out of the ordinary “patterns,” who are experiencing momentary failures?

I was thrilled with both the hope this book instills and the way it portrays true teaching.

I find that another sentence of his that deserves a standing ovation is this:
I always thought that school was first and foremost done by teachers. After all, who saved me from school if not three or four teachers?

And also:
Instead of collecting and publishing the pearls of the dunce students that arouse hilarity in so many classrooms, we should write an anthology of good teachers. Literature does not lack similar testimonies: Voltaire who pays homage to the Jesuits Tournemine and Porée, Rimbaud who submits his poems to Professor Izimbard, Camus who writes filial letters to Mr Martin, his beloved teacher, Julien Green who fondly remembers the image vivid of Professor Lesellier, his history teacher, Simone Weil praising his teacher Alain, who will never forget Jules Lagneau who introduced him to philosophy, J.B. Pontalis celebrating Sartre, who “stood out” so much among the other professors …
If, in addition to these famous teachers, the anthology offered the portrait of the unforgettable teacher that almost all of us met at some point in our scholastic path, perhaps we would draw some light on the skills necessary for the practice of this strange profession.

About professors and school diary just recently with Eleonora in the comments you can find here we remembered the glorious years of high school by telling about the decorations of the diaries.

Do you still keep any of yours?

The talk with Eleonora then continued also on the teachers, in particular on those we remember with greater esteem.

And what do you remember of your teachers?

Were any of them particularly enlightening or extremely ironic?

Daniel Pennac’s irony comes to life above all through the stylized men he draws that I obviously like very much.

Apparently I’m not the only one, so much so that I discovered an unofficial site dedicated to Daniel Pennac, and look at what image the author has chosen!

Coincidence?! I do not think so …

DYNAMIC LEADERSHIP MODEL

Apr 5, 2022 | BOOKS, JOURNEY FROM MUG TO MUG, WORK

Dynamic leadership model is the book published by Santelli Editore that Milan Krajnc is currently presenting in Italy.

Dr. Milan kindly sent me a picture of his coffee in Milan for the column “journey from mug to mug.”

I thank him, with the best wishes for his book presentation tour.

Dynamic leadership model is a project to which he cares in a particular way, telling of how it basically involves future and humanity, according to the principle that man first takes care of his own goals.

The cornerstone is Nature.

Business and material goals must support personal goals, according to Dr. Milan’s model.

A truly optimal concept, especially in this black period on all fronts, not least work, don’t you think?

I have had the opportunity to hear the experiences of many people and honestly, despite all my cosmic pessimism, I would not have been able to imagine to what levels one falls, in terms of working conditions, in too many areas and in too many cases, unfortunately.

This is why I feel strong empathy, in particular with my classmates from the last course I attended: a heterogeneous yet complementary group, capable of cementing itself by turning into a truly beautiful friendship.

I hope you have no problems with your job, I hope you find it satisfying, I hope your merits are recognized and paid in a suitable manner.

I hope you can witness the satisfaction, the realization of dreams, the realization of your project, just like Milan with his Dynamic leadership model.

BEFORE YOUR MEMORY FADES

Mar 23, 2022 | BOOKS

Before your memory fades … but the Italian title is The first coffee of the day… could I not read it?

Actually no, and that’s why my husband decided to give it to me.

Before your memory fades is the new book by Toshikazu Kawaguchi 川口俊和 published in Italy by Garzanti.

Do you know him?

I was very impressed to discover how Toshikazu Kawaguchi here in Italy has established himself thanks to the word of mouth that has been unleashed since March 2020, when his book Before the Coffee Gets Cold debuted and finished in the bestseller list within a week.

In fact, going backwards, about Toshikazu Kawaguchi

March 2012: the Grand Prize of the Suginami Theater Festival for the stage “Before the Coffee Gets Cold”

December 2015: the novel “Before the Coffee Gets Cold” published

April 2017: the Grand Prize Bookshop nomination

September 2018: cinema adaptation of “Before the Coffee Gets Cold” with Kasumi Arimura

February 2019: 100,000 copies of “In front of cold weather” exceeded in Taiwan

February 2020: the UK version of “Before the coffee gets cold” is 10th in the Bookseller ranking

March 2020: the British version wins the first place in the best-selling literary books in Singapore

until May 2020: his biography mentions a 3rd place as a novel translated in Italy in the ranking of the Corriere della Sera that I have not been able to recover

January 2021: Tales from the Cafe.

Autumn 2021: the project for a TV series produced by SK Global and developed by The Jackal Group.

And January 2022: Before your memory fades.

I don’t want to anticipate the focal point of these coffees nor what happens while the coffee is hot, in case you don’t know the story yet, but surely the idea of these special encounters over a cup of coffee is the key concept here on the blog too.

Unfortunately, without the magic and the Japanese delicacy, and with very different cooling times, but with the same intent to try, very modestly, to give small trips.

And about the first coffee of the day would you like to tell yours?

THE BLACK BOOK OF THE VATICAN

Mar 16, 2022 | BOOKS

The black book of the Vatican, published by Chiarelettere, is such a tome that it can hold the cup as a secure support …

In reality it is a collection of five books:

Vaticano S.p.A.

His Holiness

Way of the cross

Original sin

Universal Judgment

united and integrated with new unpublished texts.

So at once I rattled off what I perceived as mysteries of a rosary. All painful, though.

Honestly, it took me more stomach in this case than reading Stephen King … other than horror …

In reality, Gianluigi Nuzzi tells news from chronicle that are well known, that we have lived and heard, but up to now I had remained only on a superficial level, except for the case of poor Emanuela Orlandi whom I have always followed with impotence, maintaining the thought to family members.

The black book of the Vatican shows documents that report mind-boggling figures, tells anecdotes that in my opinion surpass even science fiction, but above all it outlines the tragic weakness of the human soul with respect to the power of money in all its subtle manifestations.

Gianluigi Nuzzi was tried on charges of putting the economic security of the Vatican at risk, and for the dissemination of confidential information, in the context of the procedure known as Vatileaks 2.

This is his statement on the day of the sentence:

Today, for the first time in the history of the Church, the Vatican court will unfortunately pronounce a sentence on a journalist, accused of how he did his job. The prosecution asked for a year in prison for me. In their opinion, I was guilty of “moral competition” given “psychological impulse” with my “presence and availability” for the dissemination of confidential information by those who had to keep the secret. The accusation is all here. I hope after the sentence – whatever it may be – that journalists with their “presence and availability” will always be on the hunt for information, meeting sources to bring you all news, rooms from every country (or almost obviously). Perhaps uncomfortable news, on the malfeasance and mismanagement of community money, even the offers that citizens give to the Church. Being present and available is a professional ability not a crime. So freedom of the press is loudly at the center of this absurd process. This is why I am convinced that today the court will not pass this unacceptable idea. For this I will go to court with my head held high with your incredible support in my heart. Thank you

There is also a parliamentary question to the European Parliament for the trial against Nuzzi, which will be acquitted, as published in Avvenire, because the alleged facts occurred outside the ordinary jurisdiction of the Vatican Court.

Avvenire also reports the declarations of the director of the press office, Father Francesco Lombardi who reiterate the reasons: this trial had to be done above all to demonstrate the will to decisively fight the demonstrations and the incorrect consequences of the internal Vatican tensions and controversies, this was not in any way way a trial against the freedom of the press.

A German production television series is currently in progress, based on the Vatileaks scandal and the subsequent resignation of Pope Benedict XVI, edited by UFA Fiction which acquired the rights and appointed Gianluigi Nuzzi as Head Consultant.

Producer Peter A. Weckert said: The truth has to come out!

Will the truth come out for real?