March Favorites 2014

Hello again, internet. There aren't many favorites this month, but I do want to share two things with you. Here goes...

Favorite Books
"Mamma used to say, you have to know someone a thousand days before you can glimpse her soul.” — Dashti

Based on a classic fairy tale from the Brothers Grimm, Book of a Thousand Days is one of the best classic rewrites I've read for a long time. Here is a somewhat detailed description of the story (spoiler free, of course).

Dashti grew up in the Steppes with her mother and older brothers, learning the magic of the mucker people — magic cast through song. (That's the best description I can give without the book, which I had to return to the library. There's a better one in the story itself). But when a series of tragic events casts her adrift into the world alone, all she has to strengthen her is a stalwart spirit and a rock solid sense of what is right and wrong.

Her path leads her to the home of Lady Saren, where her resolve is tested. Lady Saren's father has promised his daughter in marriage to a cruel lord from a nearby land; but she refuses to marry him, because she has already betrothed herself to another lord whom she claims to love. In an attempt to break his daughter, Saren's father sentences her to imprisonment within a windowless stone tower for a thousand days, or until she changes her mind. Dashti, as her new lady's maid, must make a choice. If Dashti quits her mistress' service, she can escape suffering imprisonment at Saren's side.

But part of becoming a lady's maid involved making an oath to the gods that she would never abandon her mistress, no matter what happens; and it's because of this oath that Dashti submits to her fate. Besides, she sees how frightened mistreated Saren is, and Dashti's tender heart resolves to help her first and only mistress through this horrible punishment.

I would tell you more, but I'm afraid of giving away important information regarding the plot. Let's just say I finished it within ten hours. Dashti is a complex mixture of bravery, vulnerability,  humility, and compassion. Obedient to a fault, she is willing to give everything for the sake of duty and the welfare of those she loves; but ultimately it is her own heart she must learn to trust. I'm surprised I haven't heard of this book before this month.

Anyway, that's the best I can do for a summary. I borrowed the book from the library and had to return it a week ago, haha.  Read it. That's all I can say.

Favorite Coffee Mug:

Need I say more?

 Here's the link to the website where my friend ordered this awesome cup :-) http://www.artscow.com/

That's all for this month. Thanks for reading!

Until next time...