The Whole World and Me

You know that feeling when a music starts playing and your whole body shivers? Your soul is transported to another dimension, the background slowly melts and it's just you and a damn good song?

This is how I felt when I heard this concert, like everything fell into place. 

I was introduced to Death Cab for Cutie by a wonderful American girl I met in Paris a lifetime ago. Their songs just go to a whole new level with this orchestra. I'm just so happy right now....!

If you can't listen to the whole concert, do youself a favor and just listen to the first 5 minutes, it's pure magic!!!

This was a fun and relaxed weekend, with markets, brunch, dinner with friends, shopping, flowers, blogging and Thai dances. Almost every moment captured by my faithful iPhone.
How about you? How was your weekend? Hope you had a great time and enjoyed the sun!

Ok, so this is not your normal book and most definitely not your normal story. I should also add that the author also wrote Fight Club.

Here's the plot:

There's this woman, Penny, she's not very bright, or at least not in the first 100 or so pages of the book. Penny struggles to find her place in the world; a world where women already broke every frontier and so there's really nothing new and ground breaking for Penny, who is ambitious even if not the brightest, to do. And then she meets Maxwell who is a multi-billionaire. They start dating and Penny finds herself in every tabloid's cover, best restaurants and VIP parties in the world. On their first date, Maxwell sits across from Penny in a restaurant and takes notes on his little notebook during the whole meal. This notebook continuous to be a third wheel on their relationship, but Penny doesn't find it weird, she almost finds it endearing (which is baffling to me!). Moving on... On their first trip to Paris Penny and Maxwell make love for the first (and only) time. The love making is accompanied by different sex toys, lubs and concoctions and soon Penny has a the biggest orgasm ever (almost entering into a sex induced coma). I know...! So, starting from here, the story is filled with very scientific descriptions of their sexual encounters, which actually become their whole relationship. Maxwell experiments different toys and things designed to enhance Penny's pleasure while taking notes, recording and explaining, in the least sexy way possible, everything that is happening step by step. Moving forward and Penny learns what every reader already understood 50 pages before, that Maxwell is testing on her a new line of sex toys which he will be releasing soon. With her help, Maxwell perfects every product and launches Beautiful You worldwide with a smashing success. But soon something goes terribly wrong... women start to disappear. They leave their jobs, their families and husbands and choose the Beautiful You products over real life. 

I'm not telling you anything else about the story, except there are nano bots, 200 year old sex gurus, a woman President and a death live at the Oscars. What is really important to know is this:

This story, albeit weird, is a portrait of today's consumerism society. In an exaggerated way, the author portrays how women, who are the main consumers in our world, are driven by trends and celebrities to buy everything and anything, from shoes to vampire novels. The women in the book are as mind controlled as we are. The first ones by sex toys and orgasms and us by advertising, instagram, magazines and everything in between that makes us want, wish, ney NEED, every product we buy. On the other hand, and as we approach the end of the book, we also see how this story depicts the low self-esteem that characterizes most women. We find flaws in everything we do, our bodies are never perfect, we could always be better mothers, professionals and so forth. As Penny evolves and matures in the book, we see her transformation from clueless girl to a confident woman, we reach the end of the story, when Penny finds her place in the world. The ending is just endearing and sweet and, ultimately, a love dedication to women all around the world.

So, if you're in the mood for a kinda strange story, full of comic situations, which will also make you think, then this is the book for you. A light and fun read for these spring days that lay ahead of us!