Number 74 on my list of 100 fun things to do for no particular reason is “See Beethoven’s Ninth in concert.” Check. Done. Last night I went to the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam (related item on the list — #70: see a concert in the Concertgebouw) where the Orkest van het Oosten performed Beethoven’s choral symphony. [...]
Category Archives: 100 things
100 Things: Climb the Onze Lieve Vrouwetoren
July 12, 2011 – 22:57
In the center of Amersfoort there is a tower. It’s quite noticeable too: at 98.33 meters, it’s the third highest church tower of the Netherlands. And since I moved to Amersfoort nearly eleven years ago, I kept on not getting around to actually climb it. So I put it on my list of 100 things [...]
First Lines: The Great Gatsby
June 13, 2011 – 17:37
The only inhabitant of West Egg not to enjoy Jay Gatsby’s legendary parties is Jay Gatsby. The one girl he seeks to impress with them is already married. Glamorous, dangerous, hopeful and desperately in love, Gatsby’s naive dreams can only lead to destruction. Don’t worry that this back cover blurb gives away the ending. The [...]
First Lines: Brave New World
May 17, 2011 – 22:31
As a story, there’s not much to Aldous Huxley’s Brave New World: the characters are uninteresting at best, and the plot is merely there to hang theories on. As a novel of ideas, Brave New World is much more interesting. Huxley describes a society where everything that faintly resembles individualism has been abolished in favor [...]
Eerste regels: De uitvreter / Titaantjes
March 20, 2011 – 22:22
Een lijstje maken met veertig boeken om voor je veertigste verjaardag te lezen klinkt makkelijker dan het is. Nu heb ik het geluk dat ik nog geen veertig ben, dat scheelt minimaal de helft, maar dan nog: ik vond het een pokkenwerk. De richtlijnen die ik mezelf opgelegd waren eenvoudig: 1) geen werk van auteurs [...]
