#philipp maas

[instantcaramel]

This energy

cannot believe they set up my boys like this……

[whatonyogaearth]

A Short Introduction to the Yoga Sutras

The Yoga Sutras are generally considered a foundational text of the yoga tradition. In this article we examine the context and background of the text, briefly explore its structure and content, and I also offer some reflections on the text’s relevance in modern times.

Note: I have decided not to use diacritics in this article. Diacritics are those little lines and dots above and below letters that tell you how to pronounce Sanskrit words. Normally I use diacritics in my writing, as they are essential for pronouncing Sanskrit correctly. However as this article is meant for non-scholars I have decided it would be better to try and write the Sanskrit words in a way that will make them easy to read and pronounce, so as not to put anybody off!

History & Context

Most scholars these days date the Yoga Sutras to somewhere between the 2nd and 5th centuries CE, with Philipp Maas placing it in the early 5th century.

The text is attributed to a sage named Patanjali. Biographically, we know next to nothing about Patanjali. The name is a compound word formed from the Sanskrit words pata (falling, flying) and anjali (the gesture of joining the hands together in reverence).

Yoga had already been around in some form or another for many centuries by this point. Therefore, Patanjali did not ‘invent’ Yoga. Nevertheless, this is the earliest comprehensive and systematic text on the subject that has survived.

Yoga was just one darshana or school out of many in ancient India. In terms of philosophy, it shares many similarities with the Samkhya school. But whereas Samkhya tends to emphasise the use of reason and knowledge to gain liberation, Yoga emphasises practical and experiential methods.

Philosophically, both the Samkhya and Yoga schools teach a form of dualism. This is a dualism between purusha (our true Self) and prakriti (everything else, including the body and mind) and the whole point of Samkhya and Yoga in a nutshell is to guide us towards the realisation of purusha, that is, our true Self. This is true liberation or moksha in Yoga.

Most of the ancient darshanas had their own sutra text. Sutra texts are known for their brevity. Basically, sutra texts are where the most essential teachings of a school are distilled into as few words as possible. Knowledge systems were handed down orally in ancient India and thus source material was kept minimal with a view to facilitating memorisation.

Other authors would then come along and write longer commentaries on these sutra texts. The Yoga Sutras have a rich commentarial tradition spanning many centuries. The first and most well known is the bhasya commentary by a certain Vyasa. Vyasa actually means something like ‘compiler’ or ‘editor’ so that probably wasn’t his actual name!

Some scholars even argue that Patanjali and Vyasa are actually one and the same person, though others would strongly disagree with this thesis. Either way, this commentary is indispensable when it comes to making sense of the sutras, and published versions of the Yoga Sutras tend to include the bhasya commentary or at least reference it.

As a final note, many scholars now use the term pātañjalayogaśāstra to refer to this text as a whole (sutras plus commentary), because that is the name our oldest existing manuscripts use. But to keep things simple we will continue to use the name Yoga Sutras!

Structure of the Text

The Yoga Sutras are divided into the following four padas or chapters:

Samadhi Pada: This is where Patanjali defines Yoga and then describes the nature and the means to samadhi, the goal of Yoga.

Sadhana Pada: Sadhana is the Sanskrit word for practice or discipline. Here the author outlines two forms of Yoga, the kriya yoga (yoga of action) and the ashtanga yoga (the yoga of eight auxiliaries or limbs). This is also where Patanjali discusses the kleshas, five ‘afflictions’ or impediments to Yoga.

Vibhuti Pada: Vibhuti is the Sanskrit word for power or manifestation. Supra-normal powers (siddhis) are said to be acquired by the practice of Yoga. However, the temptation of these powers should be avoided and the attention should ultimately be fixed only on liberation.

Kaivalya Pada: Kaivalya literally means isolation. This is the chapter on final liberation. The Kaivalya Pada describes the process of liberation, it explains how the mind is constructed and veils the inner light of the Self.

The Goal of Yoga

Not one for a lengthy preamble, Patanjali gets stuck right in there and clearly states the goal of Yoga in the well-known second sutra:

yogas chitta-vritti-nirodhah YS 1.2

Any Sanskrit sentence allows for a number of possible translations and this one is no different. A nice and accurate one is this one from Barbara Stoler Miller:

Yoga is the cessation of the turnings of thought

The reason I say this one is accurate is because a literal meaning of vritti is ‘turning’. Ever felt that thoughts are ‘going round and round’ in your head? Well this phrase nicely captures that! The vrittis in this statement refer to thoughts, emotions, ideas and basically any cognitive act of the mind. Patanjali lists five types of vrittis. These are, once translated:

Right knowledge

Error or false knowledge

Imagination

Sleep &

Memory

All such activities of the mind are products of prakriti and are completely distinct from the true Self, purusha, that pure awareness or consciousness which we are aiming to enter into through Yoga. The means prescribed by Patanjali in the first chapter of the Yoga Sutras to still the vritti states of mind are sustained practice (abhyasa) and dispassion (vairagya).

Specifically the practice offered is meditation, or keeping the mind fixed on any particular object of choice without distraction. Patanjali then describes a number of possible forms such meditation could take. By stilling all thought, meditation removes all objects of awareness. Awareness can therefore now be aware only of itself, of its own source, the true Self or purusha. This state is known as samadhi in Yoga and Patanjali makes it super clear that this state of samadhi is the goal of Yoga and thus the whole text is focused upon achievement of that goal.

Obstacles to Yoga

Patanjali mentions five kleshas, which can be translated as impediments or obstacles to achieving samadhi and thus Yoga. These five are as follows:

Ignorance

Ego

Desire

Aversion

Clinging

In the Yoga Sutras, and indeed in ancient Indian philosophy in general, the first item in any list is the most important and fundamental. It’s the same here. Ignorance here means failing to recognise our true Self or purusha and instead identifying ourselves with our body, mind and the material world. All of the other obstacles arise from this fundamental error.

Yoga Psychology

Like most other schools of Indian thought, the Yoga school believed in the related concepts of karma and rebirth. According to this doctrine, we are caught in an endless cycle of rebirths called samsara and the purpose of following a path such as Jainism, Buddhism or Yoga is to bring an end to this cycle. Where the Yoga Sutras really shine are in interpreting this doctrine in a highly sophisticated ‘psychological’ way, to use modern terminology.

According to this Yoga psychology, the mind forms an impression of an object through the sense organs, which is called a pratyaya. Once this pratyaya or active image of this object is no longer of active interest to the mind, it becomes an inactive or latent samskara. A samskara is an imprint left in the chitta, somewhat like a sound is imprinted on a tape recorder, or an image on photographic film. In this way the vrittis, the activities of the mind, are retained as samskaras when they fade.

It is important to note that these samskaras are not just passive imprints but vibrant latent impulses that can get activated under conducive circumstances and can exert influence on a person’s thoughts and behaviours, even many years after the impression was made. What’s more, according to Yoga these samskaras can persist from previous lives. The chitta is thus something of a storehouse of these recorded samskaras, deposited and accumulated there over countless lifetimes. One is here reminded of the theory of the subconscious in modern psychoanalysis.

According to Yoga, karma is generated by the vrittis, and the vrittis, in turn, are produced by the kleshas. There is thus a vicious cycle of kleshas, vrittis and samskaras. To run through the whole cycle again to try and make it as clear as possible: vrittis are recorded in the chitta as samskaras, and these samskaras eventually activate consciously or subliminally, producing further vrittis. These vrittis then provoke actions and reactions, which in turn are recorded as samskaras, and the cycle continues endlessly, leading to much suffering along the way.

The whole Yoga project aims to bring this vicious cycle to an end and it is liberation from this mind created suffering that we are after as yogis. The Yoga Sutras are effectively a manual guiding us towards this end, this state of samadhi or complete meditative consciousness.

The Yamas and Niyamas

The second pada or chapter of the Yoga Sutras contains a famous exposition of five ethical restraints (yamas) and five ethical observances (niyamas) and these are relatively well-known in the modern yoga world. The first thing to get clear is that these yamas and niyamas are NOT original or unique to Yoga. All ascetic schools in ancient India had these ethical codes, and the exact same ones appear in Jainism for example. Sometimes, you even get more of them. Some yoga texts for instance list 10 yamas and 10 niyamas.

The five yamas listed in the Yoga Sutras are:

Ahimsa (non-harming) Satya (truth telling) Asteya (non-stealing) Brahmacharya (chastity or celibacy) Aparigraha (non-acquisitiveness)

The five niyamas are:

Shauca (purity or cleanliness) Santosha (contentment) Tapas (self-discipline) Svadhyaya (study) Ishvarapranidhana (devotion to the Ishvara or Lord)

Many of these could do with further explanation and commentary but there is not space in this present article. The other thing I want to stress is that these yamas and niyamas were not seen as optional extras for yogis. Rather, these were the bedrock of fruitful yoga practice. Patanjali and others refer to them as the mahavratam or ‘great vow’. Importantly, having listed the yamas, Patanjali devotes an entire sutra to reiterating just how central and non-negotiable these yamas are. Once translated, this sutra reads as follows:

[These yamas] are considered the great vow. They are not exempted by one’s class, place, time or circumstance. They are universal. YS 2.31

So, regardless of your social status, regardless of where you live, in which time period you live, and any other extenuating circumstances (such as your career), adherence to the yamas, including especially ahimsa, the foundation of them all, is an essential part of being a yogi as defined by Patanjali’s system.

Vyasa is even more emphatic in his bhasya commentary to the Yoga Sutras, and it is here that the link between ahimsa and vegetarianism is explicitly and unequivocally made, and several examples are brought to bear. Refer to the work of scholar Jonathan Dickstein to read more about the strong case for vegetarianism made in Patanjali Yoga.

The Ashtanga Yoga

These yamas and niyamas are just the first two parts of Patanjali’s famous ashtanga or eight-part path. I would first like to clarify that this systematisation of yoga into a series of angas (a word translated by some modern scholars as ‘auxiliaries’ but more commonly rendered as ‘limbs’) was again not novel to Patanjali. Throughout the yoga tradition we find various similar schemes, predating and postdating Patanjali, including fourfold, fivefold, sevenfold and even fifteenfold schemes. I would also like to stress that, despite sharing the same name, this ashtanga yoga bears little relation to the modern postural form of yoga known as Ashtanga.

Following the yamas and niyamas then, we then have the following six angas:

Asana (posture): At last I hear you cry, postures! In Patanjali’s day meaning a steady and comfortable seated posture, asanas today comprise a set of physical exercises which stretch and strengthen the body. It is this aspect of yoga that has been most visibly exported to the West but too often stripped from its context as just one ingredient in a more ambitious and far-reaching sequence.

Pranayama (breath control): Prana refers to the universal life force whilst ayama means to regulate or control, but it can also mean to expand and lengthen. Prana is the vital energy needed by our physical and subtle layers, without which the body would perish. It is what keeps us alive. Pranayama is thus the control or expansion of prana through the breath, depending on which definition of ayama you use.

Pratyahara (withdrawal of the senses): This limb further deepens the above process by removing consciousness from all engagement with the senses (sight, sound, taste, smell and touch) and sense objects.

This is followed by the final three limbs collectively known as samyama: Dharana (concentration, fixation), Dhyana (meditation), and finally Samadhi (the latter of which Patanjali further divides into seven rather esoteric stages). These last three limbs are essentially different degrees of concentrative intensity and culminate in the realisation by the Self of its own nature.

Just to reiterate one more time, it is this Self-realisation, the state known as samadhi, that is the true goal of Yoga.

Relevance of the Yoga Sutras for Today

In this brief introduction we have of course only scratched the surface of this incredible text, and there is much more that could be said. But for now I want to end with some concluding reflections on the continuing relevance of the Yoga Sutras in the modern world.

One question that arises is whether Patanjali was prescribing a strictly ascetic path. And indeed, the general scholarly consensus has usually been to associate Patanjali's Yoga exclusively with extreme asceticism, mortification, denial and renunciation. However, there are dissenting vocies. For example, Ian Whicher has repeatedly and passionately argued that Patanjali's Yoga can be seen as enabling a more responsible living in and engagement with the world, and that Patanjali was not advocating total renunciation. For Whicher, following the path of Patanjali can lead one towards that integrated and embodied state of liberated selfhood whilst living, a state known as jivanmukti.

Regardless of whether Patanjali was historically preaching ascetism or not, the fact remains that the Yoga Sutras are full of valuable ideals and tools for the practitioner living in the modern world. Let’s face it though, this is a challenging path. As a scholar and practitioner I often perceive a huge disconnect between the kind of yoga I am seeing on the likes of Instagram and the teachings of the Yoga school as presented in the Yoga Sutras. After, all, the former is highly focused on body image, whereas the Yoga of Patanjali is all about dissociating ourselves from our body and mind and recognising our true Self. However, this does not mean that the two are necessarily irreconcilable.

Though there is absolutely no historical evidence that Patanjali and his followers were practicing postural yoga (that didn’t come until later with the emergence of the Hatha tradition) nowhere in the Yoga Sutras does it say that physical exercise cannot be part of one’s yoga practice. We just have to remember that as far as Patanjalian Yoga is concerned, such postural activity is just a further means or method on the path towards samadhi or full meditative awareness. This is why any so-called yoga that does not contain more internalised meditational practices but which focuses solely on physical exercise should not really be called yoga.

The Yoga Sutras remains undoubtedly the most famous ancient yoga text, and it is studied to some extent in probably every yoga teacher training course. To be honest, I personally feel that too much emphasis is placed on the Yoga Sutras, at the expense of other branches and other texts of the tradition. The Tantric texts, in particular, are still sorely neglected. One of my own aims in my work is to try and decentre the Yoga Sutras and provide a much wider overview of the history and philosophy of yoga and the other related schools of ancient India. This is not to take anything away from the Yoga Sutras, however, as it is without doubt an extraordinary text that continues to be highly relevant in the 21st century.

Further Reading

I have already mentioned some scholars whose work you may wish to refer to, such as Philipp André Maas, Ian Whicher and Barbara Stoler Miller. For a translation and commentary on the Yoga Sutras that is both scholarly accurate and reasonably accessible I would recommend that of Edwin Bryant published by North Point Press.

[ulkaralakbarova]

An orphaned boy raised by underground creatures called Boxtrolls comes up from the sewers and out of his box to save his family and the town from the evil exterminator, Archibald Snatcher. Credits: TheMovieDb. Film Cast: Archibald Snatcher (voice): Ben Kingsley Eggs (voice): Isaac Hempstead-Wright Winnie Portley-Rind (voice): Elle Fanning Fish / Wheels / Bucket (voice): Dee Bradley Baker Lady Cynthia Portley-Rind (voice): Toni Collette Lord Portley-Rind (voice): Jared Harris Mr. Trout (voice): Nick Frost Mr. Pickles (voice): Richard Ayoade Mr. Gristle (voice): Tracy Morgan Herbert Trubshaw (voice): Simon Pegg Oil Can / Knickers (voice): Nika Futterman Fragile / Sweets (voice): Pat Fraley Clocks / Specs (voice): Fred Tatasciore Sir Langsdale (voice): Maurice LaMarche Sir Broderick / Male Workman 1 / Male Workman 2 (voice): James Urbaniak Boulanger / Male Aristocrat (voice): Brian George Female Aristocrat (voice): Lori Tritel Shoe / Sparky (voice): Steve Blum Female Townsfolk 1 / Female Townsfolk 2 (voice): Laraine Newman Background Boy (voice): Reckless Jack Baby Eggs (voice): Max Mitchell Film Crew: Screenplay: Irena Brignull Director: Graham Annable Adaptation: Anthony Stacchi Novel: Alan Snow Music: Dario Marianelli Animation: Travis Knight Screenplay: Adam Pava Animation: Stephen Bodin Animation: Malcolm Lamont Animation: Matias Liebrecht Animation: Brian Leif Hansen Animation: Payton Curtis Animation: Joon Soo Song Animation: Adam Lawthers Animation: Shane Prigmore Animation: Chris Tootell Animation: Kyle Williams Animation: Mike Hollenbeck Animation: Danail Kraev Animation: Kristien Vanden Bussche Animation: Adam Fisher Animation: Anthony Straus Animation: Sean Burns Animation: Mael Gourmelen Animation: David Vandervoort Animation: Dan MacKenzie Animation Supervisor: Brad Schiff Animation: Kevin Parry Adaptation: Phil Dale Producer: David Bleiman Ichioka Animation: Jon David Buffam Animation: Rachelle Lambden Animation: Gabe Sprenger Animation: Philippe Tardif Animation: Ian Whitlock Animation: Daniel Alderson Animation: Charles Greenfield Animation: Jason Stalman Casting: Mary Hidalgo Line Producer: Matthew Fried Sculptor: Toby Froud Visual Effects Coordinator: Jeremy Fenske Choreographer: Nicole Cuevas Visual Effects Coordinator: Claudia Amatulli Sculptor: Benjamin William Adams Set Designer: Emily Greene Additional Editing: Ralph Foster Visual Effects Editor: Todd Gilchrist Set Designer: Carl B. Hamilton Sculptor: Scott Foster Production Design: Paul Lasaine Production Coordinator: Jocelyn Pascall Editor: Edie Ichioka Art Direction: Curt Enderle Editorial Coordinator: Dave Davenport Art Department Coordinator: Zach Sheehan CG Supervisor: Rick Sevy Music Supervisor: Maggie Rodford Music Editor: James Bellany Songs: Eric Idle Visual Effects Supervisor: Steve Emerson Costume Design: Deborah Cook Production Manager: Dan Pascall Additional Writing: Vera Brosgol Post Production Supervisor: David Dresher Editorial Manager: Trevor Cable Visual Effects Supervisor: Brian Van’t Hul Additional Editing: Christopher Murrie Director of Photography: John Ashlee Prat Set Designer: Polly Allen Robbins Visual Effects Producer: Annie Pomeranz Sound Re-Recording Mixer: Ren Klyce ADR Voice Casting: Barbara Harris Gaffer: James WilderHancock Modeling: Paul Mack Publicist: Maggie Begley Sound Re-Recording Mixer: Tom Myers Production Design: Michel Breton Prop Designer: Alan Cook Animation: Paul Andrew Bailey Assistant Art Director: Phil Brotherton Executive In Charge Of Post Production: Ben Urquhart First Assistant Director: Samuel Wilson Layout: Daniel R. Casey Layout: Simon Dunsdon Orchestrator: Geoff Alexander Set Dresser: Duncan Gillis Third Assistant Director: David J. Epstein Animation: Anthony Elworthy Animation: Dan Ramsay Animation: Jan-Erik Maas CG Animator: Carolyn Vale Digital Compositors: Daniel Leatherdale Digital Compositors: James McPherson Foley Editor: Thom Brennan Production Illustrator: Ean McNamara Sound Effects Editor: David C. Hughes Finance: Erin Baldwin Finance: Jason Bryant CG Animator: Jeff Croke Con...

[thatwasthenightthingschanged]

books read in 2020!

you asked, and you shall receive! up until Love, Creekwood these are probably just a fraction of those I still recall reading because my brain is literally like a dumpster, once I’ve read a book I usually immediately forget about it (especially w library books) AND this also includes a little ranking in the brackets! (highest is five out of five, lowest is zero out of five) (oh and this also includes books I had to read for literature class at uni)

Becoming - Michelle Obama (5/5)

The Sun Is Also A Star - Nicola Yoon (4/5)

The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn - Mark Twain (2/5)

Anne of Green Gables - Lucy Maud Montgomery (4/5)

Kann Man Mal Machen - Mirellativegal (4/5)

Yes No Maybe So - Becky Albertalli & Aisha Saeed (5/5)

All The Bright Places - Jennifer Niven *re-read* (4/5)

The Art Of Being Normal - Lisa Williamson (4/5)

Väterland (og titel: Embardée) - Christophe Léon (3/5)

This Is What Happy Looks Like - Jennifer E. Smith (2/5)

A Court of Thorns and Roses - Sarah J. Maas (4/5)

The Picture Of Dorian Gray - Oscar Wilde (4/5)

To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before - Jenny Han *re-read* (5/5)

P.S. I Still Love You - Jenny Han *re-read* (5/5)

Forever and Always, Lara Jean - Jenny Han *re-read* (4/5)

The Selection - Kiera Cass *re-read* (5/5)

The Elite - Kiera Cass *re-read* (5/5)

The One - Kiera Cass *re-read* (5/5)

The Selection Stories: The Prince And The Guard - Kiera Cass *re-read* (5/5)

The Heir - Kiera Cass *re-read* (5/5)

The Betrothed - Kiera Cass (3/5)

The Crown - Kiera Cass *re-read* (5/5)

The Hunger Games - Suzanne Collins *re-read* (5/5)

Dream A Little Dream - Kerstin Gier *re-read* (5/5)

Dream On - Kerstin Gier *re-read* (5/5)

Just Dreaming - Kerstin Gier *re-read* (4/5)

The Ballad Of Songbirds and Snakes - Suzanne Collins (5/5)

Simon vs. The Homosapiens Agenda - Becky Albertalli *re-read* (5/5)

Leah On The Offbeat - Becky Albertalli *re-read* (5/5)

Holding Up The Universe - Jennifer Niven *re-read* (5/5)

Divergent - Veronica Roth *re-read* (4/5)

Insurgent - Veronice Roth *re-read* (3/5)

Love, Creekwood - Becky Albertalli (5/5)

Allegiant - Veronica Roth *re-read* (2/5)

Dumplin’ - Julie Murphy (4/5)

If I was your girl - Meredith Russo (5/5)

On The Come Up - Angie Thomas (4/5)

The Stand-In - Steve Bloom (3/5)

It Had To Be You (the gossip girl prequel) - Cecily von Ziegesar (2/5)

Children of Virtue and Vengeance - Tomi Adeyemi (3/5)

Faceless - Alyssa Sheinmel (2/5)

Severed Heads, Broken Hearts - Robyn Schneider (4/5)

The Tragedy Paper - Elizabeth Laban (3.5/5)

Brown Girl Dreaming - Jacqueline Woodson (4/5)

Ich bin V wie Vincent - Lucinde Hutzenlaub (1/5)

Amina: Mein Leben als Junge - Carolin Philipps (3.5/5)

The Raven Boys - Maggie Stiefvater (4.5/5)

The Woman in White - Wilkie Collins (4/5)

You Should See Me in a Crown - Leah Johnson (4.5/5)

Breathless - Jennifer Niven (4/5)

The Perks of Being a Wallflower - Stephen Chbosky *re-read* (5/5)

The Upside of Unrequited - Becky Albertalli *re-read* (5/5)

What If It's Us - Becky Albertalli & Adam Silvera *re-read* (5/5)

Fangirl - Rainbow Rowell *re-read* (4.5/5)

Fingersmith - Sarah Waters (5/5)

Fated - Teri Terry (3/5)

A List of Cages - Robin Roe (4/5)

You Don't Look Gay - Julius Thesing (4/5)

Percy Jackson and the Greek Heroes - Rick Riordan (3/5)

Let It Snow - John Green, Maureen Johnson, Lauren Myracle (4/5)

Renegades - Marissa Meyer (5/5)

The Poet X - Elizabeth Acevedo (4/5)

Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone - J. K. Rowling *re-read* (5/5)

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets - J. K. Rowling *re-read* (5/5)

Pillow Thoughts II: Healing the Heart - Courtney Peppernell (3/5)

[chroma-imp]

Books!!!

I love talking about books so I decided to split the ones I have read recently/have feelings about in different lists. (No particular order, I’m mostly just looking at my bookshelf lol)

Books/ Book series I love and will talk about for a while if you do not stop me

The Invisible Library (Genevieve Cogman)

All for the Game (Nora Sakavic)

Rebel of the Sands (Alwyn Hamilton)

Uprooted & Spinning Silver (Naomi Novik)

The Winternight Trilogy (Kathereen Arden)

Girls made of Snow and Glass (Melissa Bashardoust)

Books I enjoyed (don’t hate) but have some issues with that I will rant about if prompted

Alex Verus (Benedict Jacka)

Neverworld Wake (Marisha Pessel)

His Dark Materials (Philipp Pullman)

Books that are just plain not good and I will complain about if given the chance

The Royal Trials (Tate James) these books are so funny and terrible istg

Cinder (the lunar chronicles)

Serpent & Dove (Shelby Mahurin)

The Selection (Kiera Cass)

Ink (Alice Broadway)

Falling Kingdoms (Morgan Rhodes)

The Gilded Wolves (Roshani Chokshi)

Stalking Jack the Ripper (Kerri Maiscalco)

Books I like a lot but don’t have much to say unless someone wants to like.. talk about it with me

The Falconer (Elizabeth May)

Station Eleven (Emily St. John-Mandel)

Modern Fairy Tales (Holly Black)

Carry On (Rainbow Rowell)

Nevernight (Jay Kristoff)

The Song of Achilles (Madeline Miller)

Perfectly Preventable Deaths (Deirdre Sullivan)

Truthwitch

Black Cat (Holly Black)

The Kiss of Deception (Mary E. Pearson)

Skulduggery Pleasant (Derek Landy)

Deathless (Catherine M. Valente)

House of Salt and Sorrows (Erin A. Craig)

The Hazel Wood (Melissa Albert)

A Kingdom on Fire Trilogy (Jessica Cluess)

The Wicker King (K. Ancrum)

Howl’s Moving Castle (Diana Wynne Jones)

Nght Circus (Erin Morgenstern)

The Thief (Megan Whalen Turner)

The Girl in Red, The Mermaid, Lost Boy & Alice (Christina Henry)

The Darkest Part of the Forest (Holly Black)

The Candle and the Flame (Nafiza Azad)

The Grisha Trilogy (Leigh Bardugo)

The Golem and the Jinni (Helen Wecker)

The Seven Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle (Stuart Turton)

An Enchantment of Ravens (Margeret Rogerson)

The Folk of the Air Trilogy (Holly Black)

Sorcery of Thorns (Margeret Rogerson)

Six of Crows (Leigh Bardugo)

The Language of Thorns (Leigh Bardugo)

The Raven Boys (Maggie Stiefvater)

The Scorpio Races (Maggie Stiefvater)

Vicious (V. E. Schwab)

Monsters of Verity Duology (V. E. Schwab)

Throne of Glass (Sarah J. Maas)

A Court of Thorns and Roses (Sarah J. Maas)

The Wrath and the Dawn (Renée Adieh)

Everless (Sara Holland)

Every Heart a Doorway Seanan McGuire)

The Coldest Girl in Coldtown (Holly Black)

Books I have no strong feelings about in general 

The Black Hawks (David Wragg)

Wild Magic (Tamora Pierce)

The Winner’s Curse (Marie Rutkoski)

Fly By Night (Francis Hardinge)

To Kill A Kingdom (Alexandra Christo)

Soulles (Gail Carriger)

The Wicked Deep (Shea Ernshaw)

The Bird and the Blade (Megan Bannen)

Spin the Dawn (Elizabeth Lin)

Harley Merlin and the Secret Coven (Bella Forrest)

Caraval (Stephanie Garber)

Stardust (Neil Gaiman)

The Glass Spare (Lauren deStefano)

Chidren of Blood and Bone (Tomi Adeyemi)

Lament (Maggie Stiefvater)

Crooked Saints (Maggie Stiefvater)

A Darker Shade of Magic (V.E. Schwab)

The Shadowhunter Books by Cassandra Clare

Percy Jackson (Rick Riordan)

Elantris & The Final Empire (Brandon Sanderson)

[newstfionline]

Wednesday, October 28, 2020

Pair of studies confirm there is water on the moon (Washington Post) There is water on the moon’s surface, and ice may be widespread in its many shadows, according to a pair of studies published Monday in the journal Nature Astronomy. The research confirms long-standing theories about the existence of lunar water that could someday enable astronauts to live there for extended periods. One scientific team found the telltale sign of water molecules, perhaps bound up in glass, in a sunlit region. Another group estimated the widespread prevalence of tiny shadowed pockmarks on the lunar landscape, possible shelter for water ice over an area of 15,000 square miles. Moon water has been eyed as a potential resource by NASA, which created a program named Artemis in 2019 to send American astronauts back to the moon this decade. Launching water to space costs thousands of dollars per gallon.

Colleges Slash Budgets in the Pandemic, With ‘Nothing Off-Limits’ (NYT) Ohio Wesleyan University is eliminating 18 majors. The University of Florida’s trustees this month took the first steps toward letting the school furlough faculty. The University of California, Berkeley, has paused admissions to its Ph.D. programs in anthropology, sociology and art history. As it resurges across the country, the coronavirus is forcing universities large and small to make deep and possibly lasting cuts to close widening budget shortfalls. By one estimate, the pandemic has cost colleges at least $120 billion, with even Harvard University, despite its $41.9 billion endowment, reporting a $10 million deficit that has prompted belt tightening. Though many colleges imposed stopgap measures such as hiring freezes and early retirements to save money in the spring, the persistence of the economic downturn is taking a devastating financial toll, pushing many to lay off or furlough employees, delay graduate admissions and even cut or consolidate core programs like liberal arts departments. “We haven’t seen a budget crisis like this in a generation,” said Robert Kelchen, a Seton Hall University associate professor of higher education who has been tracking the administrative response to the pandemic. “There’s nothing off-limits at this point.”

Thousands Forced to Evacuate From California Fires (NYT) Two firefighters were gravely injured and tens of thousands of Californians were forced to flee their homes on Monday as two new fires ripped through Orange County. About 90,800 residents in Irvine were put under mandatory evacuation orders because of the Silverado Fire and the smaller Blue Ridge Fire, said Shane Sherwood, a division chief for the Orange County Fire Authority. High winds and low humidity fueled the fires’ rapid growth. About 4,000 firefighters were fighting 22 wildfires across the state on Monday, according to Cal Fire, the state’s fire agency. As evening approached, the Silverado Fire had burned about 7,200 acres and the Blue Ridge Fire 3,000 acres. Later Monday night, the Orange County Fire Authority said that the Blue Ridge Fire had grown to 6,600 acres

Why N.Y.C.’s Economic Recovery May Lag the Rest of the Country’s (NYT) New York, whose diversified economy had fueled unparalleled job growth in recent years, is now facing a bigger challenge in recovering from the pandemic than almost any other major city in the country. More than one million residents are out of work, and the unemployment rate is nearly double the national average. The city had tried to insulate itself from major downturns by shifting from tying its fortunes to the rise and fall of Wall Street. A thriving tech sector, a booming real estate industry and waves of international tourists had helped Broadway, hotels and restaurants prosper. But now, as the virus surges again in the region, tourists are still staying away and any hope that workers would refill the city’s office towers and support its businesses before the end of the year is fading. As a result, New York’s recovery is very likely to be slow and protracted, economists said. “This is an event that struck right at the heart of New York’s comparative advantages,” said Mark Zandi, chief economist for Moody’s Analytics, a Wall Street research firm. “Being globally oriented, being stacked up in skyscrapers and packed together in stadiums: The very thing that made New York New York was undermined by the pandemic, was upended by it.”

Asylum-Seekers Face Violent ICE Coercion (Foreign Policy) U.S. immigration officers have threatened, pepper-sprayed, beaten, and choked asylum-seekers from Cameroon to coerce them to sign their own deportation orders, the Guardian reports. A coalition of advocacy groups, including the Southern Poverty Law Center, filed a complaint earlier this month describing a “pattern of coercion” by ICE agents at a Mississippi detention center that it called “tantamount to torture.” According to multiple accounts in the complaint, immigration officials used the coercive tactics to compel detainees to sign documents that would waive their rights to further immigration hearings. At least one individual was hospitalized as a result. One man, identified by the initials C.A., described how officers broke his fingers as they sought to force his fingerprint onto a document. “Officers grabbed me, forced me on the ground, and pepper-sprayed my eyes. … I was crying, ‘I can’t breathe,’ because they were forcefully on top of me pressing their body weight on top of me. My eyes were so hot. They dragged me outside by both hands,” said the individual, who was prevented from speaking to his lawyer before signing the document. C.A. was placed on a deportation flight on Oct. 13 but was one of two Cameroonians pulled off the plane moments before takeoff, as an investigation had begun into the allegations of abuse. At least 100 asylum-seekers, including many from Cameroon and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, were deported on the same flight. For two consecutive years, the Norwegian Refugee Council has deemed Cameroon the world’s most neglected displacement crisis due to an insurgency in the north and a brutal government crackdown on two English-speaking separatist regions. Since 2016, the two conflicts have killed over 3,000 people and displaced more than 700,000.

Belgium’s former King meets estranged daughter for first time (Reuters) Belgium’s former King Albert has met his daughter Delphine for the first time, after she won a seven-year legal battle to prove that he is her father, earning recognition as a princess. The two met Albert’s wife, Queen Paola, last Sunday at their royal residence, the Belvedere castle, in the Brussels suburb of Laeken, the royal household said on Tuesday. “This Sunday October 25, a new chapter has opened, filled with emotions, calm, understanding and also hope,” the king, the queen and Delphine said in a statement. “Our meeting took place at the Belvedere Castle, a meeting during which each of us was able to express, calmly and with empathy, our feelings and our experiences.” “After the turmoil, the wounds and the suffering, comes the time for forgiveness, healing and reconciliation. This is the path, patient and at times difficult, that we have decided to take resolutely together.” Delphine Boel, 52, a Belgian artist, fought a seven-year legal battle to prove that the former king is her father. After a DNA test confirmed that, a court granted her the title of princess earlier this month. Albert, 86, who abdicated six years ago in favour of his son Philippe, had long contested Boel’s claim.

Germany cautions Thai king (Foreign Policy) Pro-democracy protesters in Thailand marched on the German Embassy in Bangkok to deliver a letter asking German authorities to investigate whether King Maha Vajiralongkorn “has conducted Thai politics using his royal prerogative from German soil or not.” German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas, speaking from Berlin, said the German government was “examining” the issue “and if there are things we feel to be unlawful, then that will have immediate consequences.”

Belarus Opposition Calls General Strike, as Protesters Gird for Long Fight (NYT) When Belarusians took to the streets in the hundreds of thousands in August, after Mr. Lukashenko claimed a re-election victory that was widely seen as fraudulent, many predicted that it was only a matter of days or weeks until the longtime authoritarian leader stepped down. Instead, Mr. Lukashenko and the large swath of the public that is arrayed against him have settled into a drawn-out test of wills, with their country’s future on the line. Protesters continue to turn out in the tens of thousands every Sunday, chanting “Go away!” and waving the white-red-white flag of the opposition. Mr. Lukashenko responds with waves of crackdowns by the police and, backed by Russia, appears determined to wait the protests out. “In such a tense situation, absolutely anything could turn out to be the trigger that topples the system,” said Artyom Shraibman, a Minsk-based nonresident scholar at the Carnegie Moscow Center. “It could end in the course of a week, or it might not die for a year. No revolution has ever gone according to plan.” The authorities’ use of violence to try to put down the protests appears to be escalating, further feeding the anger in Belarusian society. It was a bout of severe police violence early in the uprising that supercharged the protests.

World’s largest IPO shows power of mobile payments in China (Washington Post) Go to a store, hop in a taxi, or even stop by a street peddler’s cart in China, and you will see QR codes strung up on colorful laminated squares. These mobile payment codes are the default way money changes hands in China these days, and the reason Ant Group’s initial public offering is set to be the world’s largest. China’s Ant Group—the Alibaba spinoff behind the ubiquitous blue QR payment codes across the world’s second-largest economy—announced plans on Monday to raise more than $34 billion in a joint listing across Shanghai and Hong Kong. This would trounce last year’s listing of oil titan Saudi Aramco, the reigning IPO champion. Mobile payments have replaced cash and credit cards in China as the preferred payment method, thanks to easy-to-use apps made by Ant Group and its closest rival Tencent. Ant Group’s Alipay and Tencent’s WeChat Pay are similar in spirit to wildly popular U.S. stock trading app Robinhood, in that they are user-friendly enough that anyone with a smartphone and bank account can make complicated financial transactions with a click or swipe.

China sanctions U.S. weapons manufacturers (Foreign Policy) China will impose sanctions on three U.S.-based weapons manufacturers after the U.S. State Department approved the sale of $1.8 billion worth of weapons and equipment to Taiwan last Wednesday. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian said the sanctions were necessary “in order to uphold national interests.” It’s not yet clear what form the sanctions will take. More sanctions could soon be on the way, as the State Department approved a further $2.37 billion in weapons sales to Taiwan on Monday.

Vietnam evacuating low-lying areas as strong typhoon nears (AP) Vietnam scrambled Tuesday to evacuate more than a million people in its central lowlands as a strong typhoon approached while some regions are still dealing with the aftermath of recent killer floods, state media said. Typhoon Molave is forecast to slam into Vietnam’s south central coast with sustained winds of up to 135 kilometers (84 miles) per hour on Wednesday morning, according to the official Vietnam News Agency. The typhoon left at least 3 people dead and 13 missing and displaced more than 120,000 villagers in the Philippines before blowing toward Vietnam. Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc ordered provincial authorities late Monday to prepare to evacuate about 1.3 million people in regions lying on the typhoon’s path. Phuc expressed fears that Molave, the latest disturbance to threaten Vietnam this month, could be as deadly as Typhoon Damrey, which battered the country’s central region in 2017 and left more than a hundred people dead.

Vaccines, not spy planes: U.S. misfires in Southeast Asia For months, by Zoom calls and then by jet, Indonesian ministers and officials scoured the world for access to a vaccine for the coronavirus that Southeast Asia’s biggest country is struggling to control. This month, their campaign paid off. Three Chinese companies committed 250 million doses of vaccines to the archipelago of 270 million people. A letter of intent was signed with a UK-based company for another 100 million. Absent from these pledges: the United States. Not only was it not promising any vaccine, but months earlier the United States shocked Indonesian officials by asking to land and refuel its spy planes in the territory, four senior Indonesian officials told Reuters. This would reverse a decades-long policy of strategic neutrality in the country. Washington’s campaign to buttress its influence in the region—part of its escalating global rivalry with China—has been misfiring, say government officials and analysts.

Bomb at seminary in Pakistan kills 8 students, wounds 136 (AP) A powerful bomb blast ripped through an Islamic seminary on the outskirts of the northwest Pakistani city of Peshawar on Tuesday morning, killing at least eight students and wounding 136 others, police and a hospital spokesman said. The bombing happened as a prominent religious scholar during a special class was delivering a lecture about the teachings of Islam at the main hall of the Jamia Zubairia madrassa, said police officer Waqar Azim. The attack comes days after Pakistani intelligence alerted that militants could target public places and important buildings, including seminaries and mosques across Pakistan, including Peshawar.

Hopes for peace in Libya (Foreign Policy) The two main factions in Libya’s civil war agreed to a nationwide cease-fire at U.N.-backed talks in Geneva on Friday. Previous attempts to broker an end to the yearslong conflict have failed, but the new agreement has cautiously raised hopes that it will lay the groundwork for a peace deal. The cease-fire, signed by the Tripoli-based Government of National Accord and Gen. Khalifa Haftar’s Libyan National Army, calls for all front-line forces to return to their bases and all mercenaries and foreign troops to withdraw within three months. The Libyan conflict has drawn in a multitude of international players, including Russia, Turkey, Egypt, and the United Arab Emirates. Their actions in the coming months could make or break the cease-fire.

[thesadchicken]

Tagged by @fictionandtheatre ♡♡♡♡

List your 10 favorites in each category: (honestly this was so hard and these aren’t in any particular order because I just can’t do that lmao)

MOVIES

Star Trek: The Motion Picture

The Nightmare Before Christmas

Sherlock Holmes (2009)

The Lion King (1994)

The Greatest Showman

Edward Scissorhands

Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl

The Birdcage

X-Men: First Class

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban

TV SHOWS

Star Trek (TOS, TNG, DS9 and VOY)

Jeeves & Wooster

The Good Place

Brooklyn Nine Nine

Elementary

My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic

Frasier

The Young Pope

Hilda

Over The Garden Wall

BOOKS

The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller

L’Elégance du Hérisson by Muriel Barbery

Circe by Madeline Miller

Peter Pan by J. M. Barrie

En l’absence des hommes by Philippe Besson

The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern

The ACOTAR series by Sarah J. Maas

Sherlock Holmes (all stories and books) by Arthur Conan Doyle

The Jeeves stories by P. G. Wodehouse

Pax by Sara Pennypacker

MUSIC ARTISTS

Michael Jackson

MIKA

The Weepies

Mumford and Sons

Florence + the Machine

dodie 

Kesha

Ellie Goulding

Elton John

Cole Porter

tagging: whoever wants to do this! :D

[animationnightsny]

Philipp Maas and Dominik Stockhausen’s virtual reality experience Sonar will be shown at Cardiff Animation Nights on Wed, August 9th.

[music-concrete]

Institute For Alien Research compilation

Requiem pour Pierre Henry

NOW NAME YOUR PRICE DOWNLOAD

featuring 15 tracks; all 4'33" in length; Shaun Robert, Ilya Melnikov, robert scott thompson, Philippe Lamy, Ian Haygreen, John Wiggins, I,Eternal, Ayis Kelpekis, DiscountGnostic, Pendro, mutant6beatniks, Rémy Carré, FJNA, John Oparyk, Public Domain

[sdws]

Recently restored organ was honored with a full program including //

Octopus Chamber Choir  Litanies Jehan Alain The Beatitudes Arvo Pärt Te Deum in C Benjamin Britten Chichester Psalms Leonard Bernstein

Bernard Foccroulle / Yoann Tardive – Salva Sanchis dance Kyrie, Christe, Kyrie Anonymous (Codex Faenza, ca 1400) Fanfare II (1972) Philippe Boesmans Première Fantaisie Jehan Alain Deuxième Fantaisie Jehan Alain The Fifth Hammer (Belgian premiere) Thomas Lacôte

Koen Maas - Pieter Pellens / soprano saxophone – Eric Sleichim alto saxophone – Piet Rebel tenor saxophone – Raf Minten baritone saxophone – Reitze Smits organ Water Music Suite, HWV 348-350 (arr. by Eric Sleichim & Reitze Smits) Georg Friedrich Händel Le Chaos (Les Élemens) - arr. Eric Sleichim Jean-Fery Rebel Ciaconne (Andante larghetto, e staccato - Concerto op. 7/5, HWV 310) Georg Friedrich Händel Music for the Royal Fireworks, HWV 351 (arr. Eric Sleichim & Reitze Smits) Georg Friedrich Händel

Damien Leurquin organ – Bart Verheyen organ – Maria Vekilova organ Ballo del Granduca Jan Pieterszoon Sweelinck Choral "Wachet auf, ruft uns die Stimme", BWV 645 Johann Sebastian Bach Carillon de Westminster, op. 54/3 (24 pièces de fantaisie) Louis Vierne Prelude and fugue in a (after J.S. Bach) Franz Liszt Toccata und Fuge, BWV 565 Johann Sebastian Bach Ich ruf zu dir Herr Jesu Christ, BWV 639 Johann Sebastian Bach Wenn wir in höchsten Nöthen sein, BWV 641 Johann Sebastian Bach Toccata (Symphonie n° 5) Charles Marie Widor

Francesco Filidei

Anna von Hausswolff & Band

[tarditardi]

Speciale AllaDisco Party, Beach, Cocktail & Festival: IDOL parte dalla Versilia (per poi far ballare Ibiza), i 45 anni di Mr.Charlie con Marco Rissa (from Thegiornalisti), Decibel a Firenze con la Nina di domenica da mezzogiorno (...)

Ci siamo accorti che troppo pochi siti e blog italiani curano il loro calendario di party e festival, per non parlare dei top dj - pure NINA KRAVIZ le sue date italiane sulla sua pagina NON le segnala - ma perché?... e allora ci pensiamo noi di AllaDiscoteca!

I top party & festival fino a fine giugno 2018

Zero Milano Cocktail week: per avvinazzarsi  con stile 18 - 24 giugno / gran finale @ Base 

22/6 Andrea Damante @ #Costez -Telgate (BG) #superstarpop

22/6 Black Coffee @ Magnolia Milano. Si chiama Nkosinathi Innocent Maphumulo ed è super cool. suona pure sulla isla #moltocool #blackcoffee #djset

23/6 (pomeriggio) WAVE by IDOL + TENAX @ FARUK Marina di Pietrasanta - Versilia. Con Alex Neri, Diego Donati, King Joshua (presto anche @ Sankeys Ibiza) - il party si ripete ogni sabato... chi si sente al top & up, dal 23/6 balla con IDOL dalle 18 alle 21 anche al 67 Sky Lounge c/o Principi di Piemonte di Forte dei Marmi --- e non è finita: dal 6 luglio @ Titilla Riccione, dal 3 luglio @ Sankeys Ibiza !!!

23/6 Marco Rissa from Thegiornalisti feat Sandiego dj set @ Mr.Charlie - Lignano... per un party che celebra 45 anni di divertimento

24/6 Decibel Open Air Firenze @ Visarno Arena (Parco delle Cascine): Carl Cox • Paul Kalkbrenner • Nina Kraviz • Marco Faraone #elettronica / party diurno da mezzogiorno

//////////

29/06 Martin Garrix @ Milano (Ippodromo) #sexyedm

29-30/6 Live’n’Love @ Vasto (CH), Abruzzo - c/o Aqualand con Afrojack, Hardwell, Tujamo, Daddy’s Groove, Promiseland #edm

ITALIAN TOP PARTIES PER LA TUA ESTATE

URBAN TOP PARTY: VIDA LOCA 140 date quest’estate seguile tutte qui ogni domenica Villa delle Rose (RN), mercoledì Pineta (Formentera)

HOUSE MILANO PARTY: FIDELIO, ogni martedì @ B38 ex Byblos

EASY HOUSE TOP DJ: Samuele Sartini con il suo singolo “It Will Shine” e tanti top party tra cui Pineta ed altri top club

TOP PARTY & FESTIVAL BY ALLADISCOTECA A GIUGNO, LUGLIO, AGOSTO 2018...  PRENDI NOTA!

Dal 25/05 Cosmo in tour in tutta Italia per tutta l’estate! Tutte le date qui, la prima è a Milano... http://www.alladiscoteca.com/post/173092256304/cosmo-è-in-tour-e-chi-non-va-a-ballare-la-sua

Cocoricò Riccione: i top dj set di tutta la stagione

16/6 AMELIE LENS, 06/7 DIMITRI VEGAS & LIKE MIKE, 13/7 MARSHMELLO, 20/7 ARMIN VAN BUUREN, 03/8 DEADMAU5, 04/8 JOSEPH CAPRIATI, 06/8 CARL COX, 13/8 HARDWELL,14/8 LOCODICE - THE MARTINEZ BROTHERS, 15/8 MARCO CAROLA, 16/8 NINA KRAVIZ, 01/9 LUCIANO

giugno - luglio '18 Trip Music Festival - Milano c/o Triennale. Dal 12/6 Cirque Alfonse, 5/7 Kruder & Dorfmeister (...) #art #electro #pop #teatro

(fino al) 30/06 Paul Kalkbrenner in Italia:  23/6 Milano (I-Days), 24/6 Firenze (Decibel), 30/6 Napoli (Noisy Naples) #elettronica http://www.alladiscoteca.com/post/172584703470/paul-kalkbrenner-in-italia-55-roma-spazio

24/6 Decibel Open Air Firenze @ Visarno Arena (Parco delle Cascine) con Carl Cox • Paul Kalkbrenner • Nina Kraviz • Marco Faraone #elettronica

29/6 - 1/7 Terraforma nel verde di Villa Arconati (Bollate, - Mi)  com Jeff Mills, Lanark Artefax, artisti, pop up hotel (…) #arte-avanguardia #elettronica http://www.alladiscoteca.com/post/172617402844/terraforma-nel-verde-di-villa-arconati-bollate

29-30/6 Live’n’Love @ Vasto (CH), Abruzzo - c/o Aqualand con Afrojack, Hardwell, Tujamo, Daddy’s Groove, Promiseland,  (...) #edm #scivoli

29/06 Martin Garrix @ Milano (Ippodromo) #edm

30/06 Molo Street Parade - Rimini Dalle 11 si balla con Holi Dance Festival on the beach, poi Fedez e pure Marco Faraone e 80 dj su 10 pescherecci #tuttogratis #ilpartypiuhot

Popfest Gallipoli (LE) by Musicaeparole @ Praja - Gallipoli dall'1 luglio a fine agosto con tanti protagonisti della scena pop mondiale (Bob Sinclar, Gianluca Vacchi, Ofenbach) #pop 1/7 Opening con Silvio Carranom 5/7 Ema Stokholma, 5/7 Jessie Diamond, 12/7 Daddy's Groove, 19/7 Michael Feiner, 22/7 Merk & Kremont, 23/7 Ofenbach, 25/7 Bob Sinclar, 30/7 VINAI, 2/8 Nicky Romero, 5/8 Sunnery James & Ryan Marciano, 9/8 Gianluca Vacchi, 12/8 Bob Sinclar, Albertino @ Cave - Gallipoli 13/8 Tujamo, 15/8 Deejay Time Reunion, 16/8 Gianluca Vacchi daytime event @ Hotel Gallipoli Resort, 16/8 Benny Benassi, 19/8 Dj Antoine, 23/8 Klingande, 26/8 Mike Candys

Cocoon @ Villa delle Rose - Misano Adriatico (RN) ogni mercoledì #electro #techno @chic mercoledì 4 luglio: Ilario Alicante, James Mile mercoledì 11 luglio: Luca Agnelli, Dana Ruh mercoledì 18 luglio: Patrick Topping, Carola Pisaturo mercoledì 25 luglio: Kölsch, Markus Fix mercoledì 1 agosto: Sam Paganini, Anthea mercoledì 8 agosto: Ilario Alicante allnight long mercoledì 15 agosto: Maurizio Schmitz + guest TBC mercoledì 22 agosto: Adam Port, Carola Pisaturo

7-8/7 Kappa FuturFestival - Torino con il meglio della techno  #elettronica 7/7 Adam Beyer, Amelie Lens, Andrea Oliva, Apparat, Body & Soul, DJ Tennis, Sam Paganini, Solomun, The Martinez Brothers, Timo Maas (...) 8/7  Derrick May, Fatboy Slim, Hot Since 82, Ilario Alicante, Luciano, Marco Carola, Ralf, Robert Hood, Seth Troxler (...) Il 7 c’è pure il grande, grandissimo Eric Prydz con il suo nuovo show Holo. Chi è a Treviso legga sotto che c’è una bella sorpresa.

17/7 The Chainsmokers @ Umbria Jazz - Perugia #easy #pop

Milano Summer Festival @ Ippodromo San Siro: 14/7 Holi Dance, 17/7 Justice + Mgmt + Parcels, 20/7 The Chemical Brothers + 2manydjs

Pyrex Arena Santa Cesarea Terme (LE) 14 e 15 agosto: super techno! #elettronica 14/8 Chris Liebing, The Martinez Brothers, Marco Carola 15/8 Joseph Capriati, Solomun, Paul Kalkbrenner

1/9 Eric Prydz @ Home Festival - Treviso con lo show Holo #genius NB: Prydz suona anche a Torino

27-29/9 roBOt 10 @ Bologna c/o Macro #festival #chic #sperimentale

1-4 novembre ‘18 18esimo Club to Club Torino. Tra gli altri artisti: Aphex Twin,  Avalon Emerson, Beach House, Blood Orange, Courtesy, David August, Dj Nigga Fox, Equiknoxx, Fever Ray, Iceage, Josey Rebelle, Obongjayar, Serpentwithfeet, Skee Mask, The Italian New Wave (Bienoise & more)  #chic #avantgard (...) 

COSA TI SEI PERSO? MA NON DISPERARE!!!

10 - 13/06 Mdrnty Cruise 10 - 13 giugno da Genova. Si balla con Ricardo Villalobos, Black Coffee, Stephan Bodzin (…) http://www.alladiscoteca.com/post/173025074014/mdrnty-cruise-10-13-giugno-da-genova-si-balla

2-3/6 Nevalon - Montalcino (SI) #arte-avanguardia dettagli in arrivo, ma si beve bene...

9/6 Richie Hawtin presenta il live show multimediale Close a Villafranca (Verona) il 9 giugno con Joseph Capriati, Ben Klock (…) #elettronica http://www.alladiscoteca.com/post/172617474499/richie-hawtin-presenta-il-show-show-close-a

9/6 Liberato a Milano

1/6 Bob Sinclar @ Villa Bonin - Vicenza #pop #house

01/6 RICHIE HAWTIN @ Cocoricò Riccione

1-3 giugno Happy Birthday Samsara Beach - Riccione! Con tanti super dj tra cui Federico Scavo #beachparty

1-3/6 Nameless Barzio (LC) con Steve Angello, Don Diablo, Axwell & Ingrosso, Armin Van Bureen, Fabri Fibra Sfera Ebbasta, Guè Pequeno (...) #edm #hiphop

1/6 IDOL meets Tenax @ Beach Club - Versilia djs: Marco Faraone, Alex Neri, Diego Donati, Philipp + Cole, King Joshua

2/6 Shade Bergamo (al coperto) con Marco Carola, Marco Faraone, Ilario Alicante, Green Velvet, Chris Liebing, Apollonia (...) #elettronica Tutti i dettagli qui

24/5 Molto club & restaurant - Carate Brianza Happy Birthday!

Giovedì 24 maggio si festeggia dalle 20 e 45 alle 3 del mattino. Aperitivo, cena o pizza per chi vuole mangiare all'aperto. Alla musica live pensano Banane & lamponi, più tardi il sound anni ‘80 - '90 è quello del di Corrado Apeddu #chic&dinner

25/5 Matura Party “La Notte Prima degli Esami” @ Mr.Charlie / Cà Margherita - Lignano (UD)

E’ il tradizionale appuntamento rivolto ai maturandi. Come raccontano gli organizzatori, che da ben 12 anni curano questo evento, è un party che chiude l'esperienza della scuola e inaugura un altro capitolo della vita.

27/5 Ben Dj  fa scatenare Dobermahn @ Terrazzamare / Jesolo (VE)

Domenica 27 maggio ad esempio in console all'esclusivo evento Dobermann al Terrazzamare di Jesolo (VE). Dobermahn è un party unico, in cui musica e coreografie in stile etnico si fondono per creare un show coinvolgente. #vipparty

27/5 Ralf on the Beach @ Bisceglie - Baia delle Sirene

dalle 17 alle 02 by Musicaeparole (che da quest’estate collabora anche con Guendalina, che apre il 23 giugno) #beachparty

29/5 Fidelio Milano Opening Summer Party @ B38! #fashion #house #fidelio

Al mixer ovviamente Stefano Pain ed Ale Bucci e tutta la Fidelio Family a ballare fino all’alba…

18/5 Steve Aoki @ Just Cavalli Milano #edm #torte #deluxe

19/5 Vida Loca @ #Costez - Telgate (BG) #hiphop #pop #show #reggaeton tutti i party Vida Loca qui: goo.gl/Gtx8rh

19/5 Opening! Praja Gallipoli! con Mark Lanzetta #pop #salento

20/04  Fatboy Slim @ Fabrique - Milano #pop #edm #house

21/4 Dj Antoine @ Nikita #Costez - Telgate (BG) #pop #edm #show

21/4 Vida Loca party # Big Club Torino & Peter Pan Riccione #pop #party #show

21/4 Prince - A Celebration @ Vinile - Milano  “Sono passati due anni da quel nefasto 21 aprile 2016, ma la musica di Prince è e sarà sempre con noi info: https://www.facebook.com/events/626873317648023

17-22 aprile Design Week Music Festival @ Milano, P.zza Castello dalle 18 (ingresso libero) con tanti dj tra cui Riva Starr, Soulcpal, Wolf + Lamb, Peter Kruder, Flashmob, Stefano Fontana) #elettronica #arte-avanguardia

21 - 25/04 Aperyshow @  Piazzola sul Brenta TUTTO per beneficenza con tanti super dj tra cui Angeli, Cristian Marchi, Tommy Vee (...) http://www.alladiscoteca.com/post/172991544431/aperyshow-2018-21-25-piazzola-sul-brenta-tutto #edm #pop #show

24/04 Claudio Coccoluto @ Noir - Lissone (MB) #house #club

Nina Kraviz: 24/4 Il Muretto Jesolo, 30/04 Social Music City, 1/5 Arenile di Bagnoli (NA) #electro #techno #djgirl

25/04 Ralf in Bikini a Cattolica #beachparty #elettronica

25/04 Samsara Beach - Riccione #beachparty #pop

25/4 Papeete - Milano Marittima  (RA) #beachparty

28/4 Bob Sinclar @ Mob Palermo, 25/7 Bob Sinclar, 9/8 Gianluca Vacchi @ PopFest c/o Praja Gallipoli  (LE) #edm #pop #house

Bob Sinclar in Italia 28/4 Popfest Palermo, 30/04 Cromie Castellaneta (TA), 1/6 Villa Bonin (Vicenza), 12/8 PopFest Cave - Gallipoli con Albertino

28/4 - 1/5 Sunbreak Malta - Club MTV, lo spring break più pazzo d'Europa fa ballare con Ofenbach, Timmy Trumpet, Federico Scavo, Valentina Vignali... ok è Malta... ma è quasi Italia è l’organizzazione è anche italiana. #edm #pop #house

29 - 30/04 Music Inside Festival @ Rimini (Fiera, Castel Sismondo, Teatro degli Atti) #elettronica Sul palco tra gli altri Loco Dice, Dixon, Ilario Alicante, Len Faki, Luca Agnelli, Nicole Moudaber, Sam Paganini, Santè b2b Sindey Charles (...)

30/04 Gigi D’Agostino @ Villa Bonin - Vicenza

30/04 Social Music City a Milano riparte con Nina Kraviz, Stephan Bodzin (live) e Tale Of Us… #elettronica http://www.alladiscoteca.com/post/172514283383/social-music-city-a-milano-riparte-il-30-aprile

1/5 Cosmo, Sfera Ebbasta @ Primo Maggio Roma #pop #italia #hiphop http://www.alladiscoteca.com/post/172618933609/primo-maggio-roma-suonano-anche-cosmo-e-sfera

1/5 One Day Music Festival a Catania con Sam Paganini, Boys Noize, Stephan Bodzin #elettronica http://www.alladiscoteca.com/post/172617546739/15-one-day-music-festival-a-catania-con-sam

[hoanq2802]

Du lịch châu Âu vật lộn tìm cách sống sót

New Post has been published on https://khachsanthanhdong.com/du-lich-chau-au-vat-lon-tim-cach-song-sot.html

Du lịch châu Âu vật lộn tìm cách sống sót

Nhiều quốc gia châu Âu đang nỗ lực tìm kiếm sự thăng bằng giữa các mối quan ngại về an toàn và mở cửa lại các điểm tham quan.

Khủng hoảng Covid-19 khiến ngành du lịch châu Âu rơi vào tình trạng hỗn loạn, biên giới đóng cửa, tàu bay nằm bãi, người yêu thích du lịch phải ở nhà. Nhưng nghiêm trọng hơn cả là các hãng du lịch có nguy cơ vỡ nợ và nhiều nền kinh tế phụ thuộc du lịch bị tàn phá.

Tương lai mù mịt 

Từ Algarve ở ý trung nhân Đào Nha tới các đảo Hy Lạp, từ các khu nghỉ dưỡng sang trọng ở bờ đại dương Amalfi của Italy tới quán bar, club của Tây Ban Nha, không ai biết được liệu khách du lịch có tới trong năm nay hay làm thế nào để sống sót nếu du khách không tìm tới.

Những tổn thất vô cùng kịch tính. Ủy ban châu Âu ước tính các hotel và nhà hàng trong khu vực mất một nửa doanh thu trong năm nay. Doanh thu du lịch Italy giảm 95% và 77% ở Tây Ban Nha vào tháng 3, theo nhà băng UBS.

Những con thuyền Gondola nằm phơi nắng ở Venice. Du lịch chiếm 13% GDP của tổ quốc hình chiếc ủng. Ảnh: Fabio Muzzi/EPA.

Trên khắp miền Nam châu Âu, nơi từng hồi phục du lịch từ cuộc khủng hoảng tài chính toàn cầu 2008, du lịch nhập vai trò quan yếu đối với các nền kinh tế. Chẳng hạn, du lịch chiếm 20% GDP của Hy Lạp, 18% của ý trung nhân Đào Nha, 15% của Tây Ban Nha, 13% của Italy, theo nhà băng toàn cầu.

Thierry Breton, Ủy viên thị trường nội bộ của EU, mời gọi thực hiện “kế hoạch Marshall” (kế hoạch tái thiết) sử dụng nguồn quỹ từ các gói kích thích kinh tế của châu Âu để phục hồi các hotel, nhà hàng và hãng lữ khách hoạt động trở lại sau suy sụp; các quan chức châu Âu cam kết sẽ hướng dẫn phát động du lịch trở lại.

Còn chủ doanh nghiệp du lịch ngày càng vô vọng và yêu cầu hành động nhưng các quốc gia không mấy tích cực phản hồi. Người Đức chưa sẵn sàng với các kỳ nghỉ ở châu Âu, thủ tướng Angela Merkel thẳng thừng trả lời hồi tuần trước. Thủ tướng Pháp Edouard Philippe cho rằng, “không hợp lý khi tưởng tượng sẽ đi du lịch nước ngoài sớm” vào thời khắc này. Còn Ngoại trưởng Tây Ban Nha Arancha Gonzalez Laya nói sẽ mở của trở lại du lịch, nhưng cho tới khi “chúng tôi trong tình trạng đảm bảo an toàn cho du khách”.

Biên giới nội địa của EU vẫn đóng cửa du lịch, không có dấu hiệu nào mở cửa trở lại hoặc sắp mở ít nhất vào cuối tháng năm. Đức đầu tuần trước tiếp tục nới rộng cảnh báo đóng cửa du lịch nước ngoài cho tới giữa tháng sáu. Cho tới khi có thông tin mới, tất vả những người không có có quốc tịch tới Pháp, bao gồm từ các quốc gia EU, phải có lý do chuyên môn hoặc lý do gia đình thiết yếu đối với hành trình của họ nếu không sẽ phải quay trở lại.

Ngay cả du lịch trong nước vẫn bị hạn chế ở một số quốc gia. Thủ tướng Italy Giuseppe Conte cho biết người dân nước này nên đi nghỉ nội địa, nhưng sẽ không được phép đi lại giữa các khu vực khi hạn chế mở đầu nới lỏng vào ngày 4/5. Công dân Pháp cũng vậy, bị giới hạn trong bán kính 100 km từ nhà của họ kể từ 11/5.

Tồn tại bằng cách nào? 

Lộ trình vận chuyển và du lịch được đề xuất cho thấy các hạn chế đi lại được nới lỏng trong các khu vực có ca nhiễm thấp, như Czech, Slovakia và Croatia , mở rộng tới các nước bờ đại dương Adriatic. Du khách có thể phải cần tới “hộ chiếu Covid-19”, một loại chứng thực sức khỏe cho hành khách trước khi đi du lịch, hoặc kiểm tra sức khỏe khi khách tới khu nghỉ dưỡng.

Đức đã từ chối các giải pháp song phương. Bộ trưởng Ngoại giao Heiko Maas cho biết “cuộc đua để xem nơi nào cho phép du khách tới trước tiên trong EU” sẽ đặt ra những rủi ro không thể chấp nhận. Đức cũng từ chối lời đề xuất từ Áo cho người Đức nghỉ dưỡng ở nước này và chỉ ra vai trò của khu nghỉ mát trượt tuyết Áo Ischgl trong scandal lây lan đại dịch ở châu Âu. Nơi này từng bị cho là phát tán Covid-19 vào cuối tháng ba khi vẫn mở cửa đón du khách.

Doanh thu hàng không toàn cầu dự báo giảm một nửa, mất khoảng 314 tỉ USD 2020, theo ước tính mới nhất của Hiệp hội hàng không quốc tế, xấu gấp ba dự báo hồi tháng ba. Trong ảnh, ga tới sân bay Anh Heathrow trống rỗng. Ảnh: Ilya Dmitryachev/ TASS.

Đối với những quốc gia bị tương tác du lịch nặng nề nhất, kiên cố du khách sẽ không thể quay lại vào mùa hè này và cả sau đó. Tại ý trung nhân Đào Nha, tới nay có số người chết dưới 1.000, các voucher du lịch bị buộc phải hủy bỏ và người dân chỉ được sắp xếp các chuyến đi cho tới cuối 2021. Một số hotel đang tính tới việc sẽ mở cửa trở lại nhưng người đứng đầu hiệp hội du lịch Algarve Eliderico Viegas cho biết nhiều nơi không thể làm vậy. Du khách nước ngoài không có năng lực quay lại cho tới tháng tư năm sau.

Covid-19 ở Tây Ban Nha bùng phát tồi tệ hàng đầu toàn cầu, hơn 24.500 người đã chết nhưng một số nơi tới ở nước này đã hoạt động trở lại, khiến người ta kỳ vọng vào một kỳ nghỉ mùa hè. Các quan chức đang thận trọng để khách du lịch quốc tế có thể được phép tới Mallorca và Ibiza từ cuối tháng bảy. “Balearics xếp hạng an toàn nhất trong châu Âu với năng lực nhiễm bệnh thấp”, Iago Negueruela, quan chức kinh tế và du lịch của quần đảo, phát biểu. Quần đảo Balearics nằm ngoài khơi Địa Trung Hải, gồm tư đảo lớn nhất là Majorca, Minorca, Ibiza và Formentera.

Tây Ban Nha là nơi đón nhiều du khách thứ nhị toàn cầu năm 2019 với 84 triệu khách du lịch. Kinh tế phụ thuộc quá lớn vào du lịch khiến chính quyền phải vật lộn tìm cách bảo vệ du khách trong mùa hè này. Ông Negueruela cho rằng “Chúng tôi muốn sẵn sàng mọi thứ để khách du lịch tới sớm nhất có thể”. thử thách nằm ở việc tạo ra thăng bằng giữa các điểm tham quan như vũ trường ở Ibiza và những yêu cầu mới phòng chống dịch bệnh. “Một vài lĩnh vực cần phải có sự thích ứng đang kể”, ông nói.

Hy Lạp, và cả Síp, đang xúc tiến EU đồng ý một tiến tình chung. Đối với cả nhị, câu hỏi là tồn tại như thế nào. Hơn một phần năm lực lượng lao động của họ làm việc trong lĩnh vực du lịch, gần gấp đôi mức trung bình ở châu Âu và du lịch có mức đóng góp lớn nhất cho nền kinh tế nhị quốc gia này.

Hy Lạp cho biết họ dự đoán mùa du lịch mở đầu vào tháng bảy, với tỉ lệ người chết và nhiễm bệnh thấp có thể khiến tổ quốc này sáng sủa và muốn trở thành nơi tới an toàn. “Tất cả đặt cược vào nhị tháng tới”, Grigoris Tasios, chủ toạ Liên đoàn hotel Panhellenic, nói.

Các khu nghỉ dưỡng ở miền Bắc Hy Lạp đang tìm kiếm nguồn khách từ các quốc gia Balkan đang xử lý tốt đại dịch. “Romania, Bulgaria, Serbia và Bắc Macedonia có tổng dân số 40 triệu và bất kỳ ai trong số đó cũng có thể tới với chúng tôi bằng ô tô”, ông nói.

Cơ quan du lịch quốc gia Italy dự báo giảm 20 tỉ euro doanh thu du lịch so với 2019. Bộ trưởng du lịch Italy Dario Franceschini, cho biết nước này đang nỗ lực để đạt được sự thăng bằng giữa các mối quan ngại về an toàn và mở cửa lại các điểm du lịch. “Điều đó là không đơn giản nhưng chúng tôi đang chờ xem”, ông nói.

Một phụ nữ đeo khẩu trang đi bộ trên khu phố trung tâm không người qua lại ở Madrid. Chính phủ nhiều nước châu Âu đang tìm cách mở cửa điểm tham quan để thu hút du khách quay lại trong bối cảnh dịch bệnh vẫn còn đe dọa. Ảnh: Sergio Pérez/Reuters.

Các doanh nghiệp du lịch châu Âu đang thử nghiệm các rào chắn bằng kính tư mét trên bờ đại dương và nhà hàng giữa các bàn ăn, nhưng tất cả đều biết tác động tới du lịch sẽ tới vào năm tới. Doanh nghiệp biết họ sẽ không thể quay lại mức trước Covid-19 cho tới 2023.

100 triệu người thôi việc

Du lịch toàn cầu đương đầu với khủng hoảng tồi tệ nhất lịch sử, với số khách quốc tế suy giảm từ 58 – 80% trong năm nay, theo Tổ chức du lịch toàn cầu (UNWTO). Con số 58% phụ thuộc mức suy giảm khi các nước mở đầu mở cửa biên giới trở lại và nới lỏng các hạn chế đi lại vào đầu tháng 7, còn 80% là tính từ đầu tháng 12.

Trên toàn cầu, suy thoái du lịch tương tác sinh kế của 120 triệu người sống dựa trực tiếp vào du lịch và hàng triệu người gián tiếp, mất mát từ doanh thu xuất khẩu nhờ du lịch từ 736 tỉ tới 971 tỉ bảng. UNWTO dự báo khoảng 100 triệu người thôi việc làm trong lĩnh vực du lịch và ¾ trong số này thuộc các nền kinh tế G20.

“Đây là tác động đáng sửng sốt trong một thời kì ngắn như vậy”, Jac Guevara, CEO của Ủy ban du lịch toàn cầu (WTTC), nói.” Chỉ trong tháng tư, nghiên cứu của chúng tôi cho thấy, 25 triệu việc làm bị mất trong lĩnh vực du lịch. Du lịch là xương sống của nền kinh tế toàn cầu. Không có nó, kinh tế toàn cầu sẽ vật lộn để phục hồi và hàng trăm triệu người sẽ chịu thiệt hại tài chính và ý thức trong nhiều năm tới”, ông nói.

Châu Á và thăng bình Dương phục hồi du lịch trước tiên, một số khu vực phục hồi cuối 2020 và đầu 2021, trong khi du lịch nội địa phục hồi nhanh hơn nhu cầu du lịch quốc tế. Tại Anh, Visit Britain dự báo du lịch inbound giảm 54% trong 2020, tương đương giảm 22 triệu lượt khách tới và mất 15,1 tỉ bảng doanh thu du lịch. Kịch khách du lịch dạng nếu du lịch Anh mở cửa vào tháng 6, khoản tiền mất đi là 22,1 tỉ bảng.

Những lệnh hạn chế đi lại được nới lỏng khi tình hình dịch bệnh được kiểm soát khả quan, người VN mở đầu đi du lịch trở lại.

Để giúp các cơ quan tính năng và doanh nghiệp du lịch nhận định đúng mực hơn về nhu cầu của thị trường nội địa, VnExpress phối hợp với Hội đồng Tư vấn Du lịch (TAB) mở cuộc khảo sát nhu cầu và xu hướng tiêu sử dụng của du khách Việt hậu Covid-19.

Mời độc giả tham gia khảo sát nơi đây.

Vi Nguyễn (theo Guardian)

Info: https://khachsanthanhdong.com/

[ladystylestores]

Which international destinations are reopening to tourists?

(CNN) — Although most governments are still advising against “nonessential” international travel, a host of popular destinations are beginning to ease their Covid-19 lockdown measures and border restrictions and are moving toward welcoming tourists back.

Earlier this month, the European Union unveiled an action plan to reopen its internal borders in time for summer, while countries such as Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania have formed “travel bubbles,” lifting restrictions for each other’s citizens.

A number of Caribbean islands are preparing to open their doors to foreign visitors in June, while destinations such as Mexico and Thailand are planning to open up again region by region in the coming weeks.

If you’re one of many travelers eagerly awaiting news on where you can travel to this year, here’s a guide to the top destinations making plans to reopen, as well as some of those that are keeping their borders firmly closed for now.

Aruba

Aruba has issued “tentative” reopening dates, which fall between June 15 and July 1.

LUIS ACOSTA/AFP/Getty Images

The Caribbean island of Aruba is planning to open its doors to travelers once again at some point between June 15 and July 1.

However, the visitor’s bureau for the Caribbean island, which has reported just over 100 confirmed coronavirus cases, says this “tentative” date may change if Aruba opts to “consider additional precautionary measures as needed.”

Although there’s no mention of any Covid-19 testing requirements for arrivals, tourists will be required to undergo temperature checks on arrival.

While nonessential businesses including shopping malls, cinemas, beauty salons and outdoor restaurants were allowed to reopen on May 25, the island country’s 10 p.m. to 5 a.m. curfew remains in place.

This means such establishments are required to close by 10 p.m. every day.

In addition, the department of Public Health has introduced the “Aruba Health & Happiness Code,” a mandatory cleaning and hygiene certification program for all businesses related to tourism in the country.

Bali

At least 6.3 million people visited Bali in 2019.

SONNY TUMBELAKA/AFP via Getty Images

Bali has also been successful in containing its coronavirus outbreak, with less than 350 confirmed cases and, at the time of writing, a total of four deaths.

The Indonesian island now hopes to welcome tourists back by October, provided its infection rates stay low.

Bali’s economy is hugely dependent on tourism and visitor numbers have been rising in recent years, with around 6.3 million people visiting in 2019.

“The coronavirus has collapsed the Balinese economy … it’s been a steep drop since [mid-March] when social-distancing measures were put in place,” Mangku Nyoman Kandia, a Bali tour guide, told ABC News in April. “No tourist, no money.”

All foreign nationals, except for diplomats, permanent residents and humanitarian workers, are currently banned from Indonesia, and anyone entering the island must undergo a swab test and provide a letter stating they are free of Covid-19.

It’s unclear what the entry requirements will be if restrictions are lifted later this year, or whether Bali will accept travelers from regions badly affected by the pandemic.

Cyprus

Cyprus has pledged to cover holiday costs for Covid-19-positive tourists and their families.

Courtesy Cyprus Tourism Organisation

Cyprus is so keen to get its tourism industry back on track, officials are offering to cover the costs of any travelers who test positive for Covid-19 while on vacation in the Mediterranean island nation.

According to a letter shared with CNN, the Cypriot government will pay for lodging, as well as food, drink and medication for tourists who are taken ill with coronavirus during their visit.

The detailed plan was set out in a five-page letter issued to governments, airlines and tour operators on May 26.

Officials have also earmarked a 100-bed hospital for foreign travelers who test positive, while a 500-room “quarantine hotel” will be available to patients’ family and “close contacts.”

“The traveler will only need to bear the cost of their airport transfer and repatriation flight, in collaboration with their agent and/or airline,” states the letter.

The news came shortly after Cyprus Transport Minister Yiannis Karousos announced hotels in the country will reopen on June 1, while international air travel will restart on June 9.

Once the destination reopens, visitors from only chosen countries will be allowed to enter.

Incoming flights from Greece, Malta, Bulgaria, Norway, Austria, Finland, Slovenia, Hungary, Israel, Denmark, Germany, Slovakia and Lithuania will be authorized first.

From June 20, Cyprus will also permit incoming flights from Switzerland, Poland, Romania, Croatia, Estonia and the Czech Republic.

However, the list is to be expanded to include furthe23r countries in the coming months.

Travelers heading to Cyprus will need to provide a valid certificate proving they’ve tested negative for Covid-19, while they’ll be subject to temperature checks on arrival as well as testing at random during the course of their trip.

The destination has already put measures in place to protect travelers and residents, such as ensuring hotel staff wear masks and gloves, regularly disinfecting sunbeds and keeping tables at restaurants, bars, cafés,and pubs at least two meters (6.5 feet) apart.

Egypt

International flights to Egypt are likely to recommence during June and July.

MOHAMED EL-SHAHED/AFP via Getty Images

Tourism brings in around $1 billion in revenue for Egypt each month, so the impact of the travel restrictions caused by the pandemic has been significant.

The government suspended passenger flights back in March, while all hotels, restaurants and cafes were closed and a night curfew imposed.

These measures are currently being relaxed, with hotels that meet certain requirements, such as having a clinic with a resident doctor on site, being granted permission to reopen for domestic visitors at a reduced capacity.

“A number of global carriers have expressed willingness to resume flights to Egypt in July, and as a result we are considering a gradual resumption of international flights beginning towards the end of this month and in the first half of July.”

France

Residents of France will be allowed to take holidays within the country during July and August.

DAMIEN MEYER/AFP via Getty Images

France was the most visited country in the world before the coronavirus pandemic.

Now, like the rest of the EU, restrictions are currently in place on all nonessential travel from outside the Schengen Zone (a grouping of 26 countries which normally have open borders).

Travelers who do enter the country, with the exception of EU citizens or arrivals from the UK, will be subject to a compulsory 14-day coronavirus quarantine until at least July 24.

Although the government is slowly lifting lockdown measures, with car journeys of up to 100 kilometers now allowed and beaches beginning to reopen, officials have made it clear the country is in no hurry to ease border restrictions for international travelers.

“Since the start of the crisis, the closure of the borders is the rule, and the authorization to cross a border is the exception.

“What is good for tourism is often good for France, what strikes tourism strikes France,” he said during a news conference.

Although some businesses have been given permission to reopen, the country’s hotels, bars, restaurants and cafés are to remain closed at least until June 2.

Even then, it’s unlikely establishments in Paris, which has been marked as a coronavirus “red zone” by officials, will be allowed to open any time soon.

It was announced on May 29 that the country’s most visited museum, the Louvre, will reopen July 6.

“Tourism is facing what is probably its worst challenge in modern history,” added Philippe. “Because this is one of the crown jewels of the French economy, rescuing it is a national priority.”

He went on to state that residents can take holidays within France during July and August.

The country’s hotels will be reliant on domestic tourism once they do reopen, as all signs suggest international travelers will not be able to enter for the foreseeable future.

“When the lockdown measures soften, French tourists are likely to want to stay close to home in the short term,” a spokesperson for French hotel chain Accor told CNN Travel earlier this month.

“It will be the moment for them to rediscover their own country and we will be there to welcome them.”

Georgia

Georgia aims to welcome back international travelers from July 1.

VANO SHLAMOV/AFP via Getty Images

But the country was forced to close its winter resorts and place a ban on all foreign visitors back in March because of the crisis.

Eager to revive its tourism sector, the country’s government says it plans to reopen to international travelers on July 1.

The next stage will allow for domestic travel in special “safe” tourism zones, while the final stage involves reopening borders and resuming some flights.

“[The] tourism sector will be first to which emergency relief measures will apply.”

Germany

Restrictions in Germany are being gently relaxed as the country prepares to revive its tourism industry.

JOHN MACDOUGALL/AFP via Getty Images

Although nonessential travel to Germany is prohibited at present, the land of poets and thinkers intends to lift restrictions for EU countries from June 15, according to German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas.

Officials are also considering allowing entry to visitors from Turkey, the UK, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland, although a final decision is yet to be made.

The proposal was listed in a paper called “Criteria for the Enabling of intra-European Tourism,” which suggested the current travel warnings would be replaced by individual travel advice relating to each country.

“The revitalization of tourism is important both for travelers and the German travel industry, as well as for the economic stability of the respective target countries,” it reads.

The Austria/Germany land border is also reopening — travel between Austria and Germany will be possible from June 15 — and restrictions around the country are being relaxed.

While bars are still closed, restaurants began reopening on May 18, while hotels were permitted to open up again from May 29.

Greece

Officials in Greece are hoping to reopen the country on June 15.

cunfek/Getty Images

Tourism accounts for almost 20% of Greece’s gross domestic product, as well as one in five jobs, so it’s perhaps no surprise the Mediterranean nation is angling to reopen to tourists as soon as it possibly can.

The European country, which managed to keep its coronavirus case numbers low by implementing a strict lockdown early on, plans to allow travelers back in on June 15.

“The tourism period begins on June 15, when seasonal hotels can reopen,” Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis announced on May 20.

“Let us make this summer the epilogue of the [Covid-19] crisis,” he added.

Mitsotakis went on to state that direct international flights to Greek destinations will slowly resume from July 1, and tourists from 29 designated countries will no longer be expected to take a Covid-19 test or go into quarantine on arrival.

However, Tourism Minister Haris Theoharis has indicated health officials will conduct spot tests when necessary.

“The tourism experience this summer may be slightly different from what you’ve had in previous years,” Mitsotakis told CNN earlier this month.

“Maybe no bars may be open, or no tight crowds, but you can still get a fantastic experience in Greece — provided that the global epidemic is on a downward path.”

The 29 countries are Albania, Australia, Austria, North Macedonia, Bulgaria, Germany, Denmark, Switzerland, Estonia, Japan, Israel, China, Croatia, Cyprus, Latvia, Lebanon, New Zealand, Lithuania, Malta, Montenegro, Norway, South Korea, Hungary, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Czech Republic and Finland.

Bars and restaurants have also been allowed to take up business again, while city hotels are scheduled to reopen on June 1, followed by seasonal hotels in July.

All international passengers had previously been required to take a Covid-19 test upon arrival or go into quarantine for 14 days.

Mitsotakis had suggested tourists would be required to undergo testing before their visit as a further precaution in the future, but it seems this is only the case for travelers from countries that aren’t on the list, which is based on a document from the European Union Aviation Safety Agency of airports worldwide “located in affected areas with high risk of transmission of the Covid-19 infection.”

Italy

Italy is dropping its compulsory quarantine for arrivals in a “calculated risk” to entice tourists back.

PIERO CRUCIATTI/AFP via Getty Images

Italy has been one of the destinations worst hit by the pandemic, but the hugely popular European country is keen to get its tourism industry up and running now that infection rates have slowed down.

Travelers from the EU, along with the UK and the microstates and principalities of Andorra, Monaco, San Marino and the Vatican, will be allowed to enter without having to go into quarantine starting June 3, in a move the government has described as a “calculated risk.”

“We have to accept it; otherwise, we will never be able to start up again.”

Visitors were previously required to undergo a two-week quarantine before being allowed entry.

All museums, including Rome’s Vatican Museums, have been slowly reopening throughout May with strict social-distancing rules. Bars and restaurants were permitted to reopen with reduced numbers of diners as well as plastic shields to divide customers, on May 18.

The Maldives

Private jets and super yachts will be permitted to enter the Maldives from June 1.

ROBERTO SCHMIDT/AFP/AFP/Getty Images

The Maldives closed its national borders and canceled all flights shortly after recording its first two coronavirus cases in March.

The island nation, which is made up of over 1,000 islands, has recorded around 1,457 confirmed cases and five deaths from Covid-19 so far.

While it was previously thought the destination would reopen at the end of the year, officials have brought this forward to July.

A spokesperson for the tourism board has confirmed the Maldives will be open to tourists of all nationalities from July.

While a previous draft proposal indicated travelers would need to present a medical certificate confirming proof of a negative Covid-19 test, the new plans will see visitors allowed to enter the country without prior testing or a mandatory quarantine period.

There are also no new visa requirements or additional fees.

“We are planning to reopen our borders for visitors in July, 2020,” reads an official statement issued by the Ministry of Tourism on May 30.

“We also want to assure our guests that they will not be charged any additional fees to enter the Maldives.”

The government is also considering issuing a “Safe Tourism License” for tourist facilities that comply with government legislation and certain safety requirements, such as having a certified medic readily available and holding an “adequate stock” of PPE equipment.

But the destination’s tourism board has confirmed that visitors will not have to commit to spending a minimum of 14 days in the country, as was previously suggested, nor will they need to have a confirmed booking with a tourist facility with a “Safe Tourism License.”

The Maldives received more than 1.7 million visitors in 2019 and the destination had expected numbers to rise to two million in 2020.

Mexico

Over the coming weeks, Mexico will begin to open up region by region.

ELIZABETH RUIZ/AFP via Getty Images

Mexico is aiming to welcome visitors back within weeks.

While the nation remains in lockdown, with hotels and restaurants yet to recommence business, officials are planning to reopen the country bit by bit in order to get things back on track.

“The target is domestic travelers first, followed by travelers from the US and Canada and then the rest of the world.

The border between the US and Mexico border is closed to “nonessential” travel until at least June 22 and most international flights in and out of Mexico’s key airports are currently suspended or significantly reduced.

However, Delta Air Lines will be increasing and/or resuming various services from the US to Cancun, Mexico City Los Cabos and Puerta Vallarta in the coming weeks.

Quintana Roo, a state on the Caribbean side of Mexico that’s home to the likes of Cancun, Playa del Carmen and Tulum, hopes to reopen in mid-June, according to Marisol Vanegas, the state’s tourism secretary.

“We want to revive tourism and expect to start opening sights and hotels sometime between June 10 and 15 but don’t know which ones yet,” she says.

“It depends on what the federal government allows us to do.”

Rodrigo Esponda, managing director of the Los Cabos Tourism Board, says he hopes to be able to accept both international and domestic travelers by August and September.

However, beach destination Riviera Nayarit, situated north of Puerta Vallarta, currently has no immediate plans to bring back tourists, according to Richard Zarkin, the public relations manager for the Riviera Nayarit Convention and Visitors Bureau.

Portugal

Foreign Minister Augusto Santos Silva recently declared that Portugal is open and “tourists are welcome.”

LUDOVIC MARIN/AFP via Getty Images

Portugal is still in the process of relaxing lockdown restrictions, allowing restaurants, museums and coffee shops to reopen at reduced capacity from mid-May.

But the European country is keen to revive its struggling tourism industry, with Foreign Minister Augusto Santos Silva recently declaring “tourists are welcome.”

While visitors from outside the EU are banned until at least June 15, some routes in and out of Portuguese-speaking nations such as Brazil are still operating.

The land border between Portugal and Spain, which has been closed to tourists since March, is unlikely to reopen until EU travel restrictions are lifted.

“We are gradually going to start looking at easing border controls,” Internal Affairs Minister Eduardo Cabrita said earlier this month.

Although the prospect of reopening to international tourists appears to be a little while off, officials are putting measures in place to ensure foreign travelers will feel confident to return once they’re able to.

Rita Marques, the country’s Secretary of State for Tourism, has launched a “don’t cancel, postpone” scheme, allowing tourists to reschedule any pre-arranged holidays to Portugal until the close of 2021.

This is valid for all bookings made through accredited travel agencies, along with hotels or Airbnbs, for trips scheduled between March 13 and September 30, 2020.

In addition, national tourism authority Turismo de Portugal has created a free hygiene-certification stamp to distinguish “Clean & Safe” tourism enterprises to increase visitors’ confidence.

Businesses will have to comply with hygiene and cleaning requirements for the prevention and control of Covid-19 to receive the stamp, which is valid for one year.

According to Santos Silva, Portugal’s airports will soon be introducing health checks for arrivals, but visitors will not be subject to a mandatory quarantine.

Spain

At least 84 million people visited Spain in 2019.

JAIME REINA/AFP via Getty Images

Spain’s lockdown was one of the toughest in Europe, but restrictions are gently being lifted. Beaches set to reopen in June while hotels in some parts of the country have already been permitted to resume business.

From July 1, the European destination, which welcomed a record 84 million visitors in 2019, will grant EU travelers permission to enter without having to quarantine for two weeks.

“Come July, we will allow the arrival of foreign tourists to Spain under safe conditions,” Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez said at a recent news conference.

“We will guarantee that tourists are not at risk, and that they don’t represent a risk (to Spain).”

While there’s been little mention of opening borders to travelers beyond the EU, it’s thought Spain is hoping to follow the lead of destinations such as Lithuania and the Czech Republic by establishing safe corridors, or a “travel bubble,” with nearby destinations that have managed to keep the outbreak under control.

“The issue of borders will be accompanied by the evolution of the health crisis.”

At present, it’s mandatory for anyone 6 and older to wear face masks while in public, both indoors and outdoors, “where it is not possible to maintain [an interpersonal] distance.”

St. Lucia

St. Lucia will begin its phased reopening on June 4.

DANIEL SLIM/AFP via Getty Images

St. Lucia is one of several Caribbean islands trying for a tourism comeback.

The tropical destination, which closed its orders to foreign travelers on March 23, is to begin its phased reopening on June 4, when it will lift it borders to visitors from the United States.

Those traveling to the country must present “certified proof” of a negative Covid-19 test taken within 48 hours of boarding their flight.

Visitors will also be subject to screening and temperature checks by port health authorities and must wear face masks and maintain social distancing during their visit.

Officials are also bringing in new safety measures for taxis to separate drivers and passengers.

“Our new protocols have been carefully crafted and will build confidence among travelers and our citizens,” Minister of Tourism Dominic Fedee said in a statement.

“The government of Saint Lucia remains resolved to protect both lives and livelihoods as it jump starts its economy.”

Local businesses have also been allowed to reopen, provided they have appropriate cleaning measures and social distancing measures in place.

Details of the second phase of the island’s reopening, which is to begin on August 1, will be announced in the coming weeks.

Thailand

Thailand plans to reopen different regions stage by stage towards the end of 2020.

JACK TAYLOR/AFP via Getty Images

Thailand has long been among the top destinations for travelers, receiving close to 40 million foreign tourists last year.

However, visitors have been banned from entering the Southeast Asian country since March because of the pandemic.

While the number of cases here has been relatively low in comparison to other destinations — Thailand has reported more than 3,000 confirmed cases and over 50 deaths — officials aren’t taking any chances when it comes to reopening the country.

“It is still dependent on the outbreak situation, but I think the earliest we may see the return of tourists could be the fourth quarter of this year,” Yuthasak Supasorn, governor of the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) told CNN Travel.

The governor went on to stress there will be limitations on who can visit the country and what regions they can go to once restrictions are relaxed.

“We are not going to open all at once,” he added. “We are still on high alert, we just can’t let our guards down yet.

“We have to look at the country of origin [of the travelers] to see if their situation has truly improved.”

This effectively means Thailand is unlikely to open its borders to travelers from destinations that don’t appear to have the coronavirus situation under control.

Those that are given permission to enter may be offered “long-stay packages” in isolated areas “where health monitoring can be easily controlled,” such as the remote islands of Koh Pha Ngan and Koh Samui.

However, Thailand’s borders are firmly shut for the time being.

The ban on incoming international commercial flights — excluding repatriation flights — was recently extended until June 30 and Phuket International Airport remains closed.

Like many other global destinations, Thailand is currently focusing on domestic tourism.

In fact, some resorts and hotels have already been given the go ahead to reopen — Hua Hin, located about 200 kilometers (124 miles) south of Bangkok, being one of them.

Shopping malls, museums, markets and some tourist attractions have also been reopening their doors, with Bangkok’s Grand Palace due to reopen on June 4.

Turkey

Turkey is aiming to receive international visitors from mid-June.

Burak Kara/Getty Images

Turkey made over $34.5 billion from tourism in 2019, and the transcontinental country is eager to get back in business.

According to Tourism Minister Mehmet Nuri Ersoy, the destination plans to restart domestic tourism by the close of May and hopes to receive international visitors from mid-June.

The country has set out new guidelines for its hotels and resort facilities, such as temperature checks at entrances and at least 12 hours of room ventilation after checkout. Guests will be required to wear face masks and maintain social distancing.

“The more transparent and detailed information we give, the more we will earn the confidence of tourists,” Tourism Minister Mehmet Ersoy told Reuters earlier this month while revealing plans to open around half of Turkey’s hotels this year.

Meanwhile, restrictions on intercity travel have been lifted, while restaurants, cafes, parks and sports facilities are permitted to reopen from June 1, along with beaches and museums.

Istanbul’s Grand Bazaar, one of the world’s largest markets, is also preparing to reopen for the first time in two months on June 1.

United Arab Emirates

Dubai hopes to welcome back travelers by September.

GIUSEPPE CACACE/AFP via Getty Images

When the UAE, which is made up of seven emirates, closed its borders in March, the stringent restrictions included withdrawing tourist visas and banning all outgoing flights.

Now the Emirati authorities are gradually scaling down these restrictions.

In the past few weeks, hotels have started to reopen for domestic tourists at a reduced capacity and under strict guidelines.

In Dubai, guests are required to wear masks at all times and can only check in to rooms 24 hours after the previous guest has checked out.

Meanwhile, in Abu Dhabi, masks are also compulsory for guests and all returning employees be required to undergo Covid-19 screenings.

A number of shopping malls and restaurants in Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Sharjah have been allowed to open their doors again, provided they follow strict sanitation and social-distancing rules, while Dubai’s public parks and hotel beaches are permitted to open for groups of up to five people.

Although flights remain suspended, the Emirates’ main airports are being reopened for connecting flights, while Emirates-based airlines Etihad, Emirates, flydubai and Air Arabia say they will recommence flight schedules in the coming weeks.

“We welcome the UAE authorities’ decision to re-open UAE airports for all connecting travelers. Emirates and Flydubai will shortly announce the resumption of passenger flights to more cities with connections to, and through, Dubai,” Sheikh Ahmed Bin Saeed Al Maktoum, President of Dubai Civil Aviation Authority, tweeted on June 3.

“The decision includes Abu Dhabi International Airport, Dubai International Airport, and Sharjah International Port, and covers Etihad Airways, Emirates, flydubai, and Air Arabia.”

Despite this, officials are yet to offer a strong indication of when international tourists will be allowed to return to the Emirates.

During a recent interview with Bloomberg TV, Helal Al Marri, the Director General of Dubai’s Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing, suggested that foreign travelers could return to the destination in July or September, depending on how the situation develops.

“The thing about this current scenario is it’s a global question: many airports internationally remain closed and it’s really about the bilateral discussions that are under way to have a coordinated approach to the reopening,” he said.

“We’re quite concerned about the timeline, that’s the main risk: is it going to be July when things open up? Is it going to be September?

“We just need to make sure we’re ready if things come earlier than expected.”

United Kingdom

A mandatory 14-day quarantine has been issued for all arrivals to the UK from June 8.

Maja Hitij/Getty Images

While other destinations are relaxing travel restrictions and bringing in measures to lure travelers back, the UK is choosing to enact stricter regulations.

Under the new rules, all arrivals will have to provide an address, at which they must remain for two weeks.

Those who break the rules will be subject to fines of up to $1,218.

The decision, which is to be reviewed every three weeks, has quashed any hopes of rescuing international tourism here in the coming weeks.

It’s thought the move may discourage airlines from restarting flight operations swiftly, while officials have warned there’s little chance of UK residents being able to go abroad this summer.

“I’m saying, right now you can’t travel abroad,” Transport Minister Grant Shapps said during a BBC television interview when asked whether UK citizens should book flights in July.

“If you are booking it, you are clearly by very nature taking a chance of where the direction of this virus goes and therefore where the travel advice is in the future.”

At present, hotels are primed to open in early July, but as EU border restrictions are still in place, it’s likely the UK will be focusing on domestic travel for now.

Luxury country house hotel Beaverbrook is one of many establishments eagerly waiting to be given the go ahead to open their doors again while implementing major changes to protect guests and staff.

“We’re still awaiting further clarity from the government on when the hotel can reopen, but we have been working behind the scenes to adapt our operations to ensure extra safety for both our staff and guests when we do,” a spokesperson from the Surrey hotel told CNN Travel earlier this month.

“All visitors and staff will be required to submit a temperature check on arrival and be asked to sanitize their hands when entering all buildings on the estate.

CNN’s Kocha Olarn, Karla Cripps, Shivani Vora and Elinda Labropoulou also contributed to this article.

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The Books I read in 2017 / part 2.

Despite my huge reading slump, I managed to read 33 books this year. These are the ones I read from July-December.

Víghólar – Emil Hjörvar Petersen: ☆☆☆ This story much more for me than Emil's first trilogy Emil wrote.  I really like the characters - like how the story was told from the perspective of both the mother and the daughter - as well as the setting. And how traditional Icelandic folklore was mixed with the more noir story style was great.

Saga, vol. 7 - Brian K. Vaughan: ☆☆☆ The story is still going on a very fast pace. I never know what's coming next and the story is exciting, but I'm starting to find some of these plot twists are not surprising me as much as they did.

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone - J.K.Rowling: ☆☆☆☆☆ Listened on Audiobook this while I was traveling across Britain this summer. A very pleasant experience listening to Hagrid landing in Bristol when I was on my way from the airport in Bristol by bus. Or listen to Harry Potter while I was on the train and stared at the English countryside shoot past me through my window.

The Girl's Guide to Summer - Sarah Mlynowski: ☆☆☆ In many ways, I found this story very easy-going and fun. I found the main character and story of her family very interesting and it worked very well within the story. I would have liked to get more of some real backpacking traveling, and the plot not being so heavy on the romance between the main characters best-friend and her boring ex-boyfriend. Both of them bored me to tears actually.

Every Heart A Doorway - Seanan McGuire: ☆☆☆ Very interesting story with some great, diverse character. Being ace myself I find it was nice to see a ace character within a fantasy story like this one and I though it was handled well. The story itself is very short, but it still managed to tell everything that it needed to say. I did not expect the ending, which was a great surprise. But at the same time I did not feel the desire to go and pick up the rest of the series after reading it.

The Crimson Skew - S.E.Grove: ☆☆☆☆ The second book was such a middle book for me that it kind of let me down. Like it was almost just there to tie this one to the first one and setting the plot up for me. This was more of the good-hearted adventure that I missed from the first one. It managed to trigger some wanderlust in me, this desire to go and explore the world and all it's wonders. I had a lot of fun with this one, especially when I could see all the little puzzle pieces that we had been discovering along the way coming together, while still managing to be its own story in a way.

A Conjuring of Light - V.E.Schwab: ☆☆☆ Very enjoyable end to this series, which I think is very interesting, mainly because I find the setting and the idea of this world so interesting. But for some reason it never managed to capture my heart. It felt a bit too long at times, it took me some time to get through this book, but I guess that has sort of always been my main issue with this series.

Tower of Dawn - Sarah J. Maas: ☆☆☆ I've been a bit annoyed with the last two Throne of Glass books, so I went into this with no expectations. Because I was so sure that it would be just one big filler, since it might have much to do with the other books. And that's how I felt at the very beginning. Sometimes I find Maas using the romance in her books just to add in some extra pages while she figures out what comes next. Like everybody is getting it on with somebody in this series and it's such a cliché. But after I got out of the middle part of the book things started to happen and I started to get some answers to certain things that I wanted to know, which I really appreciated.

The Book of Dust - Philip Pullman: ☆☆☆☆ I took my time with this book. I had been waiting for about 10 years after it after all. And I was going to enjoy being back in this world and meeting some old favorites. And I did very much enjoy it! I found the character great and all these little allusion to His Dark Materials were very welcome. And the story was such a great adventure, which is just about to start. And I cannot wait. I find it hard to judge this book on its own yet, because I know this is only the first part of that story.

IT - Stephen King: ☆☆☆ I found this to be a very interesting story about childhood. We get to observe the characters in two different times of their lives and how their childhood and the child in you affect you, in a sense. I really enjoyed that part of the story and I think, therefore, I found the end good. Even if this book felt a bit too long for me. Neither the blood nor the horror parts of the story had much effect on me and they story didn't really scare me in any way. It did however make me feel uncomfortable, with all the racial slurs and other words that were used in the text. Or reading about bunch of 11 or 12 year old children are having sex.

Moominland Midwinter - Tove Jansson: ☆☆☆☆☆ After reading King, I wanted read something fun and easy and lighthearted. An old childhood classic was what I choice, but I read this very slowly over one weekend and had a great time with it. The Moominvalley is so full of adventures and wonder and fun characters that are always nice to visit it again and again.

Blóðug Jörð - Vilborg Davíðsdóttir: ☆☆☆ The first book in the trilogy is still my favorite, but this one was almost as enjoyable. It took me a short while to realize where I was in the story, or what was happening, since it was so long time since I read the second book. The trip to Iceland was the most interesting and fun part of the book for me. But a very good ending in a fun and informative trilogy.

Gray Souls - Philippe Claudel: ☆☆☆☆ It was mentioned in this book that we are not black or white, but just different shades of gray. You can find both good and bad inside us all, though sometimes the other side takes a little more space. I felt the little rural village and the people who lived there, very interesting and gripping aspect of the story. Therefore it did not matter to me if I didn't think the murder that happened 20 years ago, and the mystery behind it, too compelling at first. I thought that part of the book would weigh the story down a little, but as I turned the last pages, I found myself rather liking how it was resolved.

Saga Vol. 8 - Brian K. Vaughan: ☆☆☆ at the moment, I feel like every time I read a new volume of Saga, the twist and turns just get more and more complex. Not much is resolved, ever. The plot is very stretched out at this point and I have no idea where we are headed with it, which is both exciting and a bit annoying, because I'm afraid that the story will not give itself time to tie all the loose ends before it ends and therefore not give a very satisfactory end to this story.