Allied POWs in Switzerland in WW2

While I was supposed to be working on my English presentation, I couldn't help noticing the book on the side of the table.  It was called "Shot from the Sky: American POWs in Switzerland. I ended up reading section of the book, which included testimonies from American veterans. Whilst one claims that conditions for the soldiers were very bad, the other states that his plane was shot down. In addition, the book calls this one of Switzerland's dark secrets, at a time when, ironically, the Geneva conventions didn't apply to neutral countries.

Whilst I didn't continue reading this particular book, I decided to research the subject deeper. I found out that there were three internment camps for POWs. It is believed by many people, or at least the history teachers and swiss people with whom I talked about this, that the soldiers would reside in hotels or apartments. In reality, that was only for those who demonstrated very good behaviour. Those who were deemed capable of escaping were placed in these camps. Funny enough, the "neutral" country did not host a single soldier of Germany or any other country allied to the Nazis, but thousands of allied soldiers. As a matter of fact, Nazi planes were allowed to land and refuel.

The conditions in the detention facilities were very poor, with the accommodates being cottages in which many people would altogether sleep on hay. Guards would sometimes mistreat an d often beat up the allied soldiers. Finding out all of this couldn't stop e thinking: How did I not know all this until now?

The Lightbringer Series

This is a four book series written by Brent Weeks. I read the first three books this term and will read the fourth book when it comes out in October. Having read and enjoyed Brent Weeks' previous series, the Night Angel series, I looked with much anticipation to the Lightbringer series and was not let down. The books were extremely good, speaking of a fictional world where there are the normal people, and the light-users (aka drafters in the book) who are able to split the white light and draft a color or colors into a solid form. The books take place in the Chromera, the main city of this world, and follow Kip, a bastard only claimed by his father in his teenage years, his father who is one of the most powerful men in the world. I greatly enjoyed the books, and would definitely recommend the series.

Me before you by Jojo Moyes

This is one of my private reading books I have read over the last few weeks, I am almost finished with it and I wish there would be a sequel since it is such a fascinating and beautiful story. The book is about a paralyzed young man who falls into a deep depression because of this severe, life changing accident. His life is going downhill until a very chaotic but happy and energetic young woman comes along to work as a "carer", helping him eat, changing his bed sheets etc. The book takes many positive and negative turns which keeps the reader very interested. I absolutely loved the book and I can mostly recommend it to the girls since its more of a love story. Still, based on a true story, it is very inspirational and insightful.

Leonardo Da Vinci by Giorgio Vasari

The little black book by Giorgio Vasari is a Brief Biography of three Italian artists: Da Vinci, Filipipo and Botticelli. The book had some very inspiring phrases in it, describing different paintings about these world famous artists which was my favorite part about it. One of the many beautiful phrases describing the Mona Lisa was 'In this painting of Leonardo's there was a smile so pleasing that it seemed divine rather than human.' The book is amazing for anybody which is interested in art history, which I definitely am therefore I was very pleased when I finished it. A great read, I can only continue recommending it! 


I have almost finished the second little black book from Johann Wolfgang von Goethe "Sketchy, Doubtful, Incomplete things."  The book has a selection of the most insightful maxims and reflections from one of Germany's greatest ever thinkers like Goethe.  The book is slightly harder to read, and certainly takes longer to read than the last one. I would not recommend this one unless very interested in these writers or thinkers. Still, it is very educational and insightful. 

The Scarlett Letter

I started reading "The Scarlett Letter" a few weeks ago, but I didn't reach that far. The main character, Hester, is condemned to public shaming for "adultery" and she goes on stage holding her kid. She has cheated on her husband, because he had left her. Another punishment of hers is to have the letter A embroidered on every gown she wears, in order to embarrass her even more and draw more attention to her "crime". Her husband had left her to go to America, but she recognises him in the crowd, but he tells her not to reveal who he is. The two meet later and he makes it clear that he wants revenge on her and her lover.

That's as far as I have reached in the book, but I am really enjoying it. It is easy to read and even though, I have only read 5 chapters, the action has begun from the beginning. The book really keeps me wanting to read and know what's going to happen next. The emotions are conveyed really well and the old times are described throughly, which makes it easier for the reader to imagine being there and to guess what life was like at those times.

The curious incident of the dog in the nighttime

I am still currently reading the curious incident of the dog in the nighttime, and i have to say that I really enjoy how the story flows throughout the book, and also how no matter the situation, and no matter the consequence the boy still does not know how to lie or how to try to get out of a situation. The boy still acts like he did during the first incident when he discovered the dog dead on the road with a pitchfork in it, and he still replies the same way when anyone asks him any questions. All in all I am really enjoying the book and I hope all of you get a chance to read this very mysterious and humorous book as well.

Emily Brönte: What influenced her poems?

Over the past months, I have been reading various poems by Emily Brönte. my favourite one so far was probably "The night is darkening round me", which I analysed here on blogger. This is why I decided to look into the life of Emily to truly understand what is behind her poems.

Brönte was born during the First World War in a small English village called Haworth, in West Yorkshire. Her mother tragically died of cancer when Brönte was two years old, leaving her five daughters and one son. With most children being sent Cowan Bridge School, two of Brönte's sisters also became writers. Her two other sisters finished school early because they were very sick, later passing away.

This very likely affected her writing. In her poem, there are often characters with no parents, no other or they were abandoned. She was vey interested in nature, which is also reflected in her writing: birds, plants and other forms of nature often appear in many of her poems.

Like many writers at her time, Brönte wrote poems about being in jail, as well as dying. Along with her sisters, she wrote small books of poems and even wrote a book called "Withering Heights". In poems, she often described am imaginary world she called "Gondal", which she defined as a world of"royalty, intrigue, abandonment, war, murder and assassination.

During victorian times, people tended to die at a much younger age. Diseases were spread at a much faster rate and people would mostly live inn unhygienic conditions. Brönte herself believed in Christianity. Like today, many Christians would embrace death. The only difference is that Christianity would be much more important to the daily life of an Englishman than today. In conclusion, Emily Brönte's poems were mainly influenced by death. her siblings, her personal interests and Victorian culture.