Before my Tante Klara (my great-aunt) died, a few years ago, she wrote down her life history. She wrote it in her native language, German, and last year my aunt and second cousin put together an English summary of it, which was then emailed around the family. I didn't know anything about Tante Klara before that and I hadn't even met her, but I found the story really quite fasinating. The summary I emailed was a list of facts, some of which were not in chronological order. I've put it into full sentences and put it into order, and thought I'd share it with you here.

Ask all your old people to tell you the story of their lives. Otherwise these stories will be lost forever.

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( Tante Klara )

♥ The Little White Horse - Elizabeth Goudge When I was young, I had a whole bookcase of books that used to belong to my mum when she was a little girl. I read and loved nearly all of them, but one of the exceptions was The Little White Horse. I never read this book, for the very silly reason that I had never read it before, and I preferred to reread old favourites rather than start new books. I would occasionally look at the very pretty cover and think that it was a shame that I couldn't read it. The stupid thing is, there were other books I read that I hadn't read before (of course -- otherwise I'd have no books to reread) so why I felt this way about this particular book I have no idea. Anyway, I don't know what happened to that old copy but a few months ago I saw it half-price in Borders and decided I would finally give it a go.

I was really very silly to put off reading it for so long because it's just the kind of book I would've loved as a child (and still have a fondness for now). It's the story of an orphaned little girl who goes to stay with a kind old uncle in a castle-like house in a hidden valley, and discovers all the fairy-tale mysteries that exist there -- the legend of a Moon Princess, a generations-old feud between proud and powerful men, long-lost loves and magical creatures. I recommend this to anyone who enjoys old-fashioned children's classics such as The Secret Garden or The Wolves of Willoughby Chase or The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. (NB: I am not saying the story is like those stories. I'm just saying that if you like those stories, you'll like this.)

♥ The Suspicions of Mr Whicher, or the Murder at Road Hill House I kind of bought this book by accident a few months ago at Borders. (The same day I bought The Little White Horse, as it happens.) There was a promotional offer where this book was only £2.99 if you spent a certain amount of money, and when the cashier asked if I wanted it I said yes without thinking. When I got home, I had a look at it and failed to notice that it was non-fiction, and assumed it was a crime novel, something I'm not really into. I was going to put it on Bookmooch, but never got round to it, and then forgot all about it until wolfylady posted about it, saying how good it was and I realised it wasn't what I thought it was at all.

It's actually a non-fiction book about a murder in 1860, that inspired the country-house murder sub-genre of crime fiction and was one of the first crimes in Britain to be investigated by a detective. Not only is it a fascinating and chilling case, but it's a very interesting insight into Victorian society, such as the relationship between the upper classes and their servants, how the media reported crimes, and how people reacted to the new detectives. It was such a thrilling book that I read it all in one night, despite having an early shift the following morning.

♥ Star Trek (the reboot) I liked this movie more and more as it went on and now that it's over and I've been dwelling on it for a few days, I've decided I loved it and can't wait to see it again XD We rented the DVD from LoveFilm originally, but I think I'll buy it on blu-ray after Christmas. I'm not really a huge fan of the Star Trek franchise but I like the original series and I think the movie was a pretty respectful and fun reboot. Plus, although I don't usually find Zachary Quinto attractive but there was something rather hot about Spock XD



♥ Tumblr Which I think I mentioned in my last TiLT post (or possibly the one before) but feel like mentioning again because I'm still having a lot of fun with it. If you're familiar with Tumblr, it's a site that lets you reblog imaes, words, music, vidoes, anything you like and want to share with the world. It's simple and it's addictive. Here's my tumblr. It mostly contains pretty pictures, equality activism, and funny cartoons.

♥ This Swedish guide to the "vaginal corona", which aims to dispel some of the myths about the hymen and virginity. Really interesting, and very necessary. Why can't school sex ed be as informative as that? (Well, it probably is in Sweden. Good for Sweden -- they seem to get a lot of things right.)

Honourable mentions: Buying presents (almost as much as receiving them!) ♥ the adorable Totoro bento box and bonus Totoro plushie my Japanese penpal Yoko sent me ♥ mint hot chocolate ♥ my new gloves ♥ making mini shortbread with my bento vegetable cutters