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BeccaBooks

BeccaBooks

I am currently working as an Auxiliary Nurse for the NHS, but as of September will be a full time student studying Nursing.
I'm really quite addicted to books - reading them and owning them. I can quite happily spend hours in a book store just browsing, and love to talk to anyone who will engage in a conversation about books and literature.... more »
  • Wiltshire, En, UK
  • member since May 4 2009

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Public Notes

  • Akram Qureshi

    Akram Qureshi says

    Hahahahaahhaaaaa
    You are cute
    But I don't want to be put in your care............
    wink

    posted 3 months ago. ( send a note )
  • Akram Qureshi

    Akram Qureshi says

    But while in night duties if you read classics you will fall asleep and your patients will suffer!

    posted 3 months ago. ( send a note )
  • Akram Qureshi

    Akram Qureshi says

    Now that is a rich shelf you have assembled here...........

    posted 3 months ago. ( send a note )
  • Laurie G

    Laurie G says

    You are most welcome!!! See you in Polonia!

    posted 4 months ago. ( send a note )
  • Laurie G

    Laurie G says

    Becca,just an FYI,I have added more books on Poland to my shelf,they are fiction,historical.

    posted 4 months ago. ( send a note )
  • Sarah G

    Sarah G says

    I notice you liked "The Lovely Bones". Glad you ended up liking it!

    posted 4 months ago. ( send a note )
  • Wrichik B

    Wrichik B says

    All the excuses in the known universe put together couldn't justify why it took me so long to reply, so I won't even try.

    You oughta be proud of yourself ... you set yourself a target, drove at it and finally reached it ... if that isn't something to be proud of, I really don't know what is. Late September is a good five weeks away ... what are you doing until then ?

    I read your piece on Writebuzz. I wasn't expecting what I found. Is that really a true story from your life ? The writing did seem to be coming from a very personal pain that you harbor in you. Btw, if I'm crossing any lines here, I'm sorry ... just let me know and I won't probe.

    I'm a movie buff alright ... you might find my picture next to the "cinephile" entry in a dictionary some day. "Pan's Labyrinth" was awesome, it's one of my favorites too ! "K-Pax" was very interesting too ... Thanks for telling me about "Grey Gardens" ... I'll check it out when I can.

    I've heard a lot about a film called "The Fall" directed by Tarsem. It's supposed to be along the lines of "Pan's Labyrinth" ... haven't seen it yet though. You might like it !

    Among some of the films that I've watched and liked recently are "The Dreamers" by Bertolucci, "The Unbearable Lightness of Being" and "He Died With A Felafel In His Hand".

    I'm also a die-hard Blackadder fan ... even more than Monty Python ... how about you ?

    Sorry about the huge delay again, B ...

    Bye
    W.

    posted 4 months ago. ( send a note )
  • Sarah E

    Sarah E says

    Hello Becca, how do u do? am Sarah, i think this is the first ti me for me to write on ur wall, quick info about me; am an English teacher, i teach English as a second language in college. i enjoy reading a lot as well :). well, there's a book am reading these days which i think is worth reading, it's named "Ignorance" or the french writer Milan Kundera. if u havent read it yet and have the time for some deep philosphical inspirations about, homesickness, loneliness and ignorance; go for it :) it is a good one and not boring!

    posted 4 months ago. ( send a note )
  • Wrichik B

    Wrichik B says

    Nana getting better ... Check

    Bro staying over and you're having fun ... Check

    You got into the university ... BIG, FAT, EXTRA CHEESE CHECK !!!

    !!! CONGRATULATIONS !!!

    [ I'm usually more articulate than just using !s and caps, but this is all shelfari would let me do :( ]

    So, which uni is it, what're you going to study there and when do your classes begin ?

    The Life of Pi was really engrossing. I would rather believe the "Tiger on the boat" story than the alternate story. How about you ?

    I've just finished Gandhi's autobiography and halfway through Jhumpa Lahiri's "Unaccustomed Earth". You can check out the latter ... it's a nice read if you're into human relationships and all that.

    Well, well, well ... you owe me a sneak peek into your short piece now ... wasn't I the one who egged you on to go cyber with your writing ? :)

    Are you a movie buff ?

    Peace
    W.

    posted 5 months ago. ( send a note )
  • Wrichik B

    Wrichik B says

    Hi !

    Congratulations to your friend.
    A big "Get Well Soon" to your Nana.
    "Yo" to your brother.

    ... and "How's everything ?" to you.

    Is the varsity interview over ? How did it go ?

    I've read the book about a year back, and I really loved it back then. Yann Martel's understanding of Indian culture seemed quite sound, his insights into zoo life and religion were interesting and the ordeal in the ocean is unforgettable. The ending was really good too.

    Keep in touch !

    W.

    posted 5 months ago. ( send a note )
  • Laurie G

    Laurie G says

    You're quite welcome!!!!! I sent the link to the article but it only covers 1 book. I will email the list to you tonight when I get home!!!!!
    Yours in reading!

    posted 5 months ago. ( send a note )
  • Laurie G

    Laurie G says

    Hi Becca!
    Just wanted to let you know our local Polish newspaper has published their summer reading list. I will send you a link for the books and the newspaper.I know you and I were both looking for some books with Polish subject matter. This list covers all genre. The list has "maybe" 10 books on it.

    posted 5 months ago. ( send a note )
  • Wrichik B

    Wrichik B says

    Hey Rebecca !

    Back from the graveyard shift yet ?

    W.

    posted 5 months ago. ( send a note )
  • Wrichik B

    Wrichik B says

    Hi !

    What's up ? Been quiet for some time now ... everything okay ?

    posted 6 months ago. ( send a note )
  • Sheetal S

    Sheetal S says

    Hello!!
    How do you do? so you are from UK...
    I used to work as a Billing Analyst with 3G...the bad network phone co... yes thats it!!!.
    I always wanted to come and see UK, much of the curiosity that came is after being enthralled in the remains of all the architecture that epitomises and is a significant part of Mumbai built by the English.
    So you are a nurse thats such a benevolent profession... My mother wanted me to be a Doc, but I faint at the sight of blood...I wish I could be more useful to humans like you, there is so much to do...
    I do jewellery designing , but as of now its on hold, now I am working for a Media monitoring firm, I have a cute & very gorgeus German sheperd called Chanel. You say you have guinea pigs, I have read that they are obediant gaints, are they?!?!?!?
    Cooking is one of my passions as well... though I do not posses a green thumb!!! though I wish some times a idyllic life with my own backyard garden where I can grow my own veggies... the reality of Mumbai Life is a direct antithesis to this...

    well do write...

    Take care.




    take care

    posted 6 months ago. ( send a note )
  • Wrichik B

    Wrichik B says

    I admire your work for mentally afflicted people a lot. It must be very demanding and frustrating at times but that's what makes it really nice of you to go ahead and still do it. Hats off !

    Keep in touch.

    Bye,

    W.

    posted 7 months ago. ( send a note )
  • Wrichik B

    Wrichik B says

    Hi Rebecca !

    I enjoy our discussions too. I've grown very fond of Shelfari precisely because several people I've met here are open to having free, intelligent discussions.

    Your point on introducing children to the idea of prejudice first and then letting them understand it's ills is well taken. It reminds of the blue/brown eye experiment carried out by a school teacher decades ago. In case you aren't aware of it, you can read all about it here : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jane_Elliott.

    The pressure to conform and the urge to belong are very dangerous forces. Cult massacres and terrorism arising out of religious fervor are testimonials to the lobotomizing effect that the mentioned forces have. People, when treated as "people", will act as a mass lacking true judgment or conscience, instead relying on their leaders to determine their actions. Reduction of a person to a nationality or a political affiliation or a faith is the basis for partisan politics, jingoism and religious fundamentalism.

    I have to say that while understand your take on leadership, I do not completely endorse it. I agree that history is full of examples of power hungry despots who have made sheep out of men in the name of leadership. However, except for the hardly feasible system of direct democracy and the dreadful option of anarchy, any system of governance requires leaders, regardless of the intellect of it's subjects. The trick is to find benevolent, knowledgeable, incorruptible and practical leaders and getting people to like them.

    Your observation about teens mimicking primeval behavior sounds interesting. Tell me more about it.

    I share your fear of self-destruction. Considering the fragility of the ecological balance as we know it and the tremendous amount of insensitivity towards it among the general public, I fear we are headed towards an irreversible meltdown. At the risk of sounding like a neo-luddite, I must say that technological progress and population growth have harmed us in ways we're only beginning to discover.

    posted 7 months ago. ( send a note )
  • Kelsey K

    Kelsey K says

    Awesome to hear!!! Thanks I'll be sure to read those soon then! Thanks!

    posted 7 months ago. ( send a note )
  • Wrichik B

    Wrichik B says

    The anecdote you mentioned is very interesting. I guess she might have picked up on the idea of ostracizm from television or from a friend in the neighborhood. I'm shocked by the amount of sexuality and violence glamorization that has seeped into childrens' entertainment today. Whatever be the reason, it is very disturbing.

    I don't mind long posts at all ... what is it that holds us back from taking time to express ourselves any way ?

    Animal cruelty pisses me off like few others. Cruelty to humans is obviously just as unacceptable, but I find far fewer champions of the former cause. I gave up eating meat as a kid and continue to be that way to this day. I haven't been able to give up fish yet though ... but one of these days I will. Some times I have second and third thoughts about the idea of going veggie, but I've grown so used to it for so long now that it's become a part of who I am. (I don't know if that made any sense at all to you ... )

    If it's fear of rejection that's holding you back, why don't you put your writing up on an anonymous blog and see for real what people think of it ? Of course, if it's purpose and content are private, then you wouldn't want to do that any way.

    I must say that on more counts than one, you're very similar to this shelfarian friend of mine ... http://www.shelfari.com/o1517926842

    Keep smiling.

    W.

    posted 7 months ago. ( send a note )
  • Wrichik B

    Wrichik B says

    Evolution has indeed taken us all the way from hairy savannah dwellers to Coke-guzzling, web-surfing urbanites, but strip away the gift wrap and you'll find that we're still what we were. Apes. Highly territorial, predominantly omnivorous, bipedal apes. Darwin continues to be as relevant for us as for gazelles and pangolins. Our superiority is not an illusion in my opinion - since we have successfully established ourselves at the top of the food chain with few natural predators threatening us in our day to day lives. However, I feel (and I understand that you do too ...) that we are extremely wasteful of our capabilities as the superior species. How is it that war, in spite of it's numerous occurrences in history with well documented ill consequences, continues to be a commonplace incident in the world ? As we speak, Darfur burns in it's pyre, Pakistan and India tussle over Kashmir, Palestine remains in it's eternal state of hellish controversy, Iraq, Sri Lanka, Myanmar - the list goes on ...

    As you rightly pointed out, we are masters of self deception and use post facto justifications to wipe our consciences clean.

    Communism is fantastic in principle but it's feasibility does seem very low. The state that I come from in India, West Bengal, has seen Communist rule for the past three and a half decades. It was meant to be the cure for the near autocratic rule of the party which had ruled till then, but has become a monster of indomitable proportions today. "Animal Farm" describes it perfectly. In my opinion, and I do not know if you'd agree, religion also has the same problem. The lives lost in the name of religion and the inhumanities performed in the name of religion make you wonder if the concept is flawed at it's core.

    posted 7 months ago. ( send a note )


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