Narratives & Notions

A few days ago, we attended a candlelight concert in Amsterdam, featuring songs from Bridgerton. As soon as I arrived in the city, my first stop—once again—was Scheltema. One of the books I picked up there was The Book of Hope. In it, Jane focuses on the kind of hope that is active and action-oriented….

A few days ago, I started reading Rewitched. I was immediately drawn in by the gorgeous cover and that cozy, autumnal atmosphere. But, much like The Honey Witch, the storytelling is starting to get on my nerves. The author spends pages describing characters…Why not show us who they are through the story itself? That is…

Chinese Cinderella was the last book I read this year, and it is also one of the best. Six Crimson Cranes is another favorite; as my husband recently pointed out, both books are Chinese (although Six Crimson Cranes also contains Japanese elements). I guess the way these authors think and write is simply very appealing…

A few days ago, I went to Amsterdam with my mother. We wandered the streets, looking for a cozy cafe for a quick coffee and maybe a lunch. On Kaizersgracht, we spotted a place called Bagels & Beans. It was in one of those charming old buildings with multi-pane windows – the kind that make…

A few weeks ago, I wandered into a small bookshop in Amsterdam and I came across this book (see above). I’m working on improving my Dutch, especially in psychological sciences, and this author is a clinical neuropsychologist. It felt like the perfect combination for me, so I decided to give it a try. As expected,…

Recently, I attended a writing workshop (in Dutch!) and the given theme was ‘celebrations’. At first, I thought I had nothing to write about – I had not really taken part in any celebrations for quite some time. But then it struck me: maybe that was exactly what I should write about. I began thinking…

Fair warning – this blog contains many spoilers! Keep going if you have already watched or if you do not intend to watch the following movies: One of the things I love about the Netherlands is that you can get a cinema membership that lets you watch ** as many movies as you want ** …

I recently read a book, titled The Shadow play/ Het schaduwspel, written by Simone van der Vlugt. It is about the marriage between Jan Pieterszoon Coen (1587-1629) and Eva Ment (1606-1652). Jan Coen was a governor at the Dutch East India Company and he established a monopoly for the nutmeg trade through quite violent means….

In an humble attempt to nurture my storytelling skills and meeting like-minded people, I attended my first in-person writers’ meetup. The event began at 20:15, held at an easily accessible venue. My initial reaction was: why so late? That was quickly followed by an anxious thought: would I even stay awake, given that I am…

There is a coffee corner open only at night in Seattle. And it rains every night. One can order a variety of coffee, tea, and more. Chat with the barista. Chat with other customers. Or listen to their conversations.  That is the cozy environment that this game puts you in. The sound of the rain…