349 ratings (3.84 avg)
104 reviews

Victoria

Add friend

Victoria’s my-top-recommendations shelf

The Labyrinth of the Spirits by Carlos Ruiz Zafón

More…

Victoria’s Bookshelves

read‎ (362)
currently-reading‎ (3)

to-read‎ (64)
abandoned‎ (2)

to-be-continued‎ (2)
my-top-recommendations‎ (41)

my-top-five‎ (5)

Stats | More…

Victoria is Currently Reading

Victoria is currently reading

The City of Mist (Cemetery of Forgotten Books)

by Carlos Ruiz Zafón

bookshelves: currently-reading

Reading for the 2nd time

read in January 2022

Rate this book

Clear rating

1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

Victoria said: " I was devastated when Carlos Ruiz Zafon passed away in 2020 following a secret cancer battle. His death aged 55 was cruelly premature, and robbed the world of the opportunity to read another book by him 'for the first time'. But Carlos Ruiz Zafon was I was devastated when Carlos Ruiz Zafon passed away in 2020 following a secret cancer battle. His death aged 55 was cruelly premature, and robbed the world of the opportunity to read another book by him 'for the first time'. But Carlos Ruiz Zafon was thinking ahead. Knowing his diagnosis was terminal, he prepared this volume of short stories to be published after his death as a gift to fans. What a beautiful soul.

As soon as I'd read the first page of The City Of Mist, I was back in Zafon's gothic Barcelona, steeped in rolling darkness, ghostly mystery and lyrical description. His unique voice was so familiar, it was like being reunited with an old friend. As with any collection of short stories, some resonated more than others, but I immensely enjoyed being back inside Zafon's vivid imagination. I especially loved the references to characters that feature in his novels (or their ancestors), and reading about the beginning of the Cemetery of Forgotten Books. The final pages were the first chapter from The Shadow of the Wind and as I read the familiar words for the hundredth time, tears were rolling down my face.

Carlos, thank you. This was a gift indeed, and so were you.

"𝙊𝙣𝙘𝙚, 𝙞𝙣 𝙢𝙮 𝙛𝙖𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙧'𝙨 𝙗𝙤𝙤𝙠𝙨𝙝𝙤𝙥, 𝙄 𝙝𝙚𝙖𝙧𝙙 𝙖 𝙧𝙚𝙜𝙪𝙡𝙖𝙧 𝙘𝙪𝙨𝙩𝙤𝙢𝙚𝙧 𝙨𝙖𝙮 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙛𝙚𝙬 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙜𝙨 𝙡𝙚𝙖𝙫𝙚 𝙖 𝙙𝙚𝙚𝙥𝙚𝙧 𝙢𝙖𝙧𝙠 𝙤𝙣 𝙖 𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙙𝙚𝙧 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙛𝙞𝙧𝙨𝙩 𝙗𝙤𝙤𝙠 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙛𝙞𝙣𝙙𝙨 𝙞𝙩𝙨 𝙬𝙖𝙮 𝙞𝙣𝙩𝙤 𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙝𝙚𝙖𝙧𝙩. 𝙏𝙝𝙤𝙨𝙚 𝙛𝙞𝙧𝙨𝙩 𝙞𝙢𝙖𝙜𝙚𝙨, 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙚𝙘𝙝𝙤 𝙤𝙛 𝙬𝙤𝙧𝙙𝙨 𝙬𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙠 𝙬𝙚 𝙝𝙖𝙫𝙚 𝙡𝙚𝙛𝙩 𝙗𝙚𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙙, 𝙖𝙘𝙘𝙤𝙢𝙥𝙖𝙣𝙮 𝙪𝙨 𝙩𝙝𝙧𝙤𝙪𝙜𝙝𝙤𝙪𝙩 𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙡𝙞𝙫𝙚𝙨 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙨𝙘𝙪𝙡𝙥𝙩 𝙖 𝙥𝙖𝙡𝙖𝙘𝙚 𝙞𝙣 𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙢𝙚𝙢𝙤𝙧𝙮 𝙩𝙤 𝙬𝙝𝙞𝙘𝙝, 𝙨𝙤𝙤𝙣𝙚𝙧 𝙤𝙧 𝙡𝙖𝙩𝙚𝙧—𝙣𝙤 𝙢𝙖𝙩𝙩𝙚𝙧 𝙝𝙤𝙬 𝙢𝙖𝙣𝙮 𝙗𝙤𝙤𝙠𝙨 𝙬𝙚 𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙙, 𝙝𝙤𝙬 𝙢𝙖𝙣𝙮 𝙬𝙤𝙧𝙡𝙙𝙨 𝙬𝙚 𝙙𝙞𝙨𝙘𝙤𝙫𝙚𝙧, 𝙤𝙧 𝙝𝙤𝙬 𝙢𝙪𝙘𝙝 𝙬𝙚 𝙡𝙚𝙖𝙧𝙣 𝙤𝙧 𝙛𝙤𝙧𝙜𝙚𝙩—𝙬𝙚 𝙬𝙞𝙡𝙡 𝙧𝙚𝙩𝙪𝙧𝙣." ...more "

Jan 02, 2022 02:33PM · see review

Victoria is currently reading

Aisling and the City

by Emer McLysaght

bookshelves: currently-reading

Rate this book

Clear rating

1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

Sep 29, 2024 06:29AM

Victoria is currently reading

The Heart of Yoga: Developing a Personal Practice

by T.K.V. Desikachar

bookshelves: currently-reading

Rate this book

Clear rating

1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

Sep 13, 2024 05:26AM

Victoria’s Notes & Highlights

Book cover for Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets by J.K. Rowling

1 highlight

It is our choices, Harry, that show what we truly are, far more than our abilities.’

07 Feb 21 · Flag

Lucii Dixon

I love this quote from The Chamber of Secrets. It’s so true.

07 Feb 21 · Flag

Victoria

Harry Potter is full of wisdom!

08 Feb 21 · Flag

Lucii Dixon

Absolutely!

The Shadow of the Wind (The Cemetery of Forgotten Books, #1)

by Carlos Ruiz Zafón

2 highlights

Victoria’s Quotes

“I love you, Karla,” I said when we were alone again. “I loved you the first second I saw you. I think I’ve loved you for as long as there’s been love in the world. I love your voice. I love your face. I love your hands. I love everything you do, and I love the way you do everything. It feels like magic when you touch me. I love the way your mind works, and the things you say. And even though it’s all true, all that, I don’t really understand it, and I can’t explain it – to you or to myself. I just love you. I just love you with all my heart. You do what God should do: you give me a reason to live. You give me a reason to love the world.”
― Gregory David Roberts, Shantaram

tags: fiction, love-quotes

5 likes

“Once, in my father's bookshop, I heard a regular customer say that few things leave a deeper mark on a reader than the first book that finds its way into his heart. Those first images, the echo of words we think we have left behind, accompany us throughout our lives and sculpt a palace in our memory to which, sooner or later—no matter how many books we read, how many worlds we discover, or how much we learn or forget—we will return.”
― Carlos Ruiz Zafon, The Shadow of the Wind

tags: part-i

1561 likes