Happy Birthday, Sherlock Holmes!

So, it looks like someone has a birthday today! Hamlette is celebrating at The Edge of the Precipice, and she graciously invited the rest of the Blogiverse to join in – thank you for hosting, Hamlette, I love your blog parties in case you didn't know! As it happens, I've been preparing a couple of Holmes related blog posts myself, so somewhere during this week you might expect a couple of Sir Arhur Conan Doyle book reviews, my opinions on the Guy Ritchie films, The Hound of the Baskervilles screen adaptations across the ages, and a couple of words... or a lot more than that... about BBC's Sherlock and CBS's Elementary. But first in order are Hamlette's party questions.


1. When and how did you first encounter Sherlock Holmes?

Sherlock Holmes is such an iconic character that I think everyone has some sort of an image of him, even if they don't intentionally seek him out. I was like this for the first 23 years of my life. I think I can call myself one of the "Cumberbatch generation" Sherlockians because, quite honestly, it wasn't till I got excited about Sherlock last March that I had any interest in Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's works. Before Sherlock, I think the only thing even close to Sherlock Holmes that I had ever consumed was Disney's The Great Mouse Detective – I still love that film, by the way.

2. Please share a fact or two about yourself related to Holmes. (You've read the whole canon, you've been to Baker Street, you're an official BSI member, etc.)

The aforementioned fact that my first Sherlock Holmes was the modernized one might already be  shocking enough for an old-school Sherlockian... Alright, I'm still going to add that Holmes' fixed association with the deer-stalker hat annoys the heck out of me. Only few months ago I read a (supposedly prestigious) film critic who went on about how Sherlock Holmes ain't a true Sherlock Holmes without that damned hat.

3. What are three of your favourite Holmes adventures?

I've only read the books in publishing order till The Hound of the Baskervilles, but I do have a couple of very strong favorites. The top three would be The Adventure of the Copper Beeches, The Final Problem and The Adventure of the Musgrave Ritual. 

4. What draws you to the Sherlock Holmes stories?

Initially, I wanted to see exactly how Sherlock compared with its source material and why the writers had felt like this character and his adventures would work particularly well in a modern setting. Then, I found out that the stories were hugely entertaining, especially regarding the main character himself. I love all of his snarky lines.

5. If you were going to give Sherlock Holmes a birthday present, what would it be?

I would give him a top hat because I'm obsessed with them myself. It's also much more fitting for a Victorian London gentleman than... you know, that hat.

6. If you could climb into a Holmes story and replace any one character for a day, who would you like to be? 

I would want to be one of the Baker Street Irregulars. I would totally be in for one day on the grimier side of London, and I'd get to do seemingly random but very important stuff for Holmes, like dig for newspapers and tail people.

7. Please share some of your favorite Holmes-related quotes. 

"-- I naturally gravitated to London, that great cesspool into which all the loungers and idlers of the Empire are irresistibly drained." (Doctor Watson in A Study in Scarlet)

"The chief proof of man's real greatness lies in his perception of his own smallness." (Sherlock Holmes in The Sign of Four)

"We solve crimes, I blog about it, and he forgets his pants. I wouldn't hold out too much hope." (John in BBC's A Scandal in Belgravia)


My Holmesy blog posts:

The Hound of the Baskervilles

Sherlock: Chronicles by Steve Tribe

My Top 10 in the Adventures and Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes

5+1 screen adaptations of The Hound of the Baskervilles

A Tolkien Blog Party of Special Magnificence – 2014

What a joy it was to find out that Hamlette is once again hosting A Tolkien Blog Party of Special Magnificence at her blog, The Edge of the Precipice! I've been in such a lovely Tolkien-iverse in my mind all day, and decided to re-read The Children of Húrin to mark the occasion, so you can expect a review somewhere during this week. I adore that book, let me just say that now. But before I get there, let's fill out the nice tag that Hamlette has made for her blog party.

1. Who introduced you to Tolkien's stories?

I got interested in Tolkien all on my own – though there's no doubt that the massive Tolkien hype of the day (the Return of the King film had just come out) had much to do with the reason why I got intrigued in the first place.

2. How old were you when you first ventured into Middle-Earth?

Like I said, all the LOTR films had been made when I started reading the book, so it must have been somewhere in 2004... which means I was thirteen years old. Funny, I was quite sure that I'd been a couple of years younger than that, but it must be thirteen.

3. Did you read the books first, or see the movie versions first?

I definitely read The Lord of the Rings before seeing any of the films. Possibly, I saw the films before I read The Hobbit or any other Middle-Earth related books.

4. A dragon or a balrog – which would you rather fight?

What a scary choice to make! I would go with the dragon, because they have exactly one redeeming feature compared to balrogs – they don't live deep underneath creepy mountain passageways. So with a dragon, there would be a smaller chance that I'd end up fighting somewhere pitch-black underground. Oh, and the dragon might even have the voice of Benedict Cumberbatch. One can always hope.

5. Who are three of your favourite characters? (Feel free to elaborate on why)

No matter how hard I think about this, I'll have to go with the same three characters that I named in last year's Tolkien blog party. I'll try to elaborate differently this time!

Number 1: Bilbo Baggins. I remember so well how I became an adamant Bilbo fan during the very first pages of The Lord of the Rings at my very first read, (apparently at the age of thirteen, seriously, how can it have been so late in my life?). Something about his character, his personality and what the other hobbits said about him (mainly how odd he was) just instantly clicked with me. In addition, the last two years for me have been very much about re-establishing my personal goals and coming to terms with the strengths and flaws about my personality, and I've found even more respect for Bilbo as an immensely inspirational character. I also think it's quite an accomplishment that he goes on quite cheerfully about his life and outlandish contacts "outsiders" despite what practically everyone in Hobbiton says about him. Bilbo just is the most awesome hobbit in my mind, and always will be. 

Number 2: Aragorn. Two of my very favourite passages in the book are Aragorn's first appearance (as Strider) at the Prancing Pony, and the first pages of The Two Towers when he's tracking down the Uruk-hai. He knows a lot of stuff about all sorts of lore, is just the man you want when a fight breaks out, and has wonderful understanding and compassion to people and races that are very different than him. Despite all this wonderfulness, I've never felt that his character is too perfect. 

Number 3: Éowyn. The Lord of the Rings is even more male-centric than Shakespeare's plays, which is saying something, but at least there's Éowyn. She carries a great mental burden all her life feeling like she can't rise up to her aspirations because she is a woman but never hesitates to show her loyalty to others. I respect her characterization more each time I re-read The Lord of the Rings. (But I still don't like Miranda Otto's portrayal of her, sadly.)

6. Have you ever dressed up like a Tolkien character?

I haven't, but now that I think of it, that would be so much fun. There would be so many great costumes to choose from...

7. If someone asks you to go on an adventure, how do you respond?

"Heck yes! Can you give me ten minutes to pack?"

8. Have you read any of the "history of Middle-Earth" books?

I haven't, but I saw them on the library's shelves just this week and was sorely tempted to borrow some. However, I already have so much to read right now and Middle-Earth is the kind of thing you really want to give your full attention.

9. Would you rather drink a bowl of Ent Draught or a glass of Old Winyards?

I don't drink anything with alcohol, so it would be Ent Draught. I would probably love it, it sounds so fresh and vitalizing. But then again, I wouldn't necessarily want the side-effect of growing taller... Yes, I'm saying that even though I'm no more than 155 cm tall. I like my size!

10. List up to ten of your favourite lines/quotes from the books or movies.

"All that is gold does not glitter,
Not all those who wander are lost;
The old that is strong does not wither,
Deep roots are not reached by the frost."

“I wish it need not have happened in my time," said Frodo.
"So do I," said Gandalf, "and so do all who live to see such times. But that is not for them to decide. All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given us.” 

“Faithless is he that says farewell when the road darkens.” 

“Deserves it! I daresay he does. Many that live deserve death. And some that die deserve life. Can you give it to them? Then do not be too eager to deal out death in judgement. For even the very wise cannot see all ends.” 

“If more of us valued food and cheer and song above hoarded gold, it would be a merrier world.” 

“It's a dangerous business, Frodo, going out your door. You step onto the road, and if you don't keep your feet, there's no knowing where you might be swept off to.” 

“May it be a light to you in dark places, when all other lights go out.” 

“How do you pick up the threads of an old life? How do you go on, when in your heart, you begin to understand, there is no going back? There are some things that time cannot mend. Some hurts that go too deep...that have taken hold.” 

“Where did you go to, if I may ask?' said Thorin to Gandalf as they rode along.
To look ahead,' said he.
And what brought you back in the nick of time?'
Looking behind,' said he.” 

"But no living man am I! You look upon a woman."

Meme: On Books & Reading

1. Favourite childhood book?

I can remember the exact moment when I learned to read, at the age of six on a summer day. This very special book was a picture book about different kinds of jobs called Things People Do (Finnish translation titled Iloisten ihmisten saari), by Anne Civardi and Stephen Cartwright. I can still remember in glorious detail how my mother and big sister encouraged me to read aloud from the chapter about the baker, and how the jumbles of letters finally made sense! So obviously, such an important book deserves a mention among my childhood favourites.

Other notable ones would be Roald Dahl's Matilda and Anna Sewell's Black Beauty. I loved all of Dahl's books when I was a kid (I still do!) but I felt a very special connection with Matilda because I happened to come across that book at the time I was beginning to realize just how much I loved books, so I felt very close to the book-loving title character – who also happens to share my first name!

2. What are you reading right now?

I'm actively reading Susanna Clarke's Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell – the Finnish translation. But I've also got bookmarks on George R.R. Martin's A Storm of Swords and Ken Follett's The Pillars of the Earth. They've been on hold now for quite a long time, waiting for their proper time to be finished.

3. What books do you have on request at the library?

I just requested a big book about British kings and queens (I can't remember the name) which seems super interesting! I should be getting it tomorrow.

4. Bad book habit?

As you can see from my answer to the second question, I'm currently in the middle of several books at once. This is a very recent habit and one which I don't like at all! I really want to give my full attention to just one book at a time and I have absolutely no idea how I ended up in this situation!

5. What do you currently have checked out at the library?

Shakespeare's Two Gentlemen of Verona, Directing in the Theatre by Hugh Morrison, and a Spanish text book called Español Uno.

6. Do you have an e-reader?

I don't, and I'm not really interested in having one. I already spend enough of my time staring at various kinds of screens (when I'm blogging, for example) so when I want to enjoy a good book I want the real thing.

7. Do you prefer to read one book at a time, or several at once?

As I mentioned before, I've always been a strictly one-book-at-a-time person... until recently.

8. Have your reading habits changed since starting a blog?

I think I'm more interested to try out different genres and authors nowadays, because I want fresh and interesting content for my blog.

9. Least favourite book you read this year (so far)?

Le Fantôme de l'Opéra by Gaston Leroux – as much as I love the stage musical, I couldn't wait to get rid of that book!

10. Favourite book you've read this year (so far)?

I've had the chance to read many great books recently! Perhaps the most favourite one would be Zadie Smith's White Teeth which was both thought-provoking and immensely entertaining.

11. How often do you read out of your comfort zone?

I try to broaden my reading horizons regularly, but I wouldn't say I read out of my comfort zone that often.

12. What is your reading comfort zone?

I read mostly well-known authors, most often not very modern ones (though I'm working on that too). I'm usually drawn to "big" stories – not necessarily big in terms of the number of pages, but rich in characters and a well-developed plot.

13. Can you read on the bus?

I always read on the bus if the ride is longer than half an hour. Now that I live quite in the middle of my home town I rarely have to take longer bus rides, but whenever I do it's absolutely necessary to have something to read.

14. Favourite place to read?

At home on the couch, and on any kind of transportation – trains, cars, airplanes, and, of course, buses.

15. What is your policy on book lending?

I only lend books to people I know well and can trust to 1. return my books 2. also return them in perfect condition. However, to these people that have earned my trust in this matter I'm very eager to recommend my favourites on my bookshelf and give them the chance to read them as well.

16. Do you ever dog-ear books?

No. No. No. No. Just NO.

17. Do you ever write in the margins of your books?

Just the thought of violating my books with a pencil makes me uncomfortable.

18. Not even with text books?

Alright, text books are different. I haven't quite been able to make notes on my text books, but I can definitely see that it could be very helpful. That is, if the text book is your own – I absolutely hate it when I have to borrow a book from the University library and someone else has underlined the whole book – having someone else's (often totally stupid and irrelevant) notes on a book that I'm supposed to be concentrating on is incredibly distracting! People, do you realize what's the point about library books? The fact that it's not your own – someone else will be reading it after you, complete with whatever idiotic notes and smiley faces you scribble on the margins!

19. What is your favourite language to read in?

English. I started reading in English when I was about 10 years old, and nowadays I rarely read in any other language.

20. What makes you love a book?

Well-developed characters, an engaging and unpredictable plot, interesting settings, and sophisticated use of language and narration techniques. That's about it.

21. What will inspire you to recommend a book?

If I'm still mulling over a book for several days after finishing it, I will definitely badger all of my friends about it.

22. Favourite genres?

Historical fiction, fantasy (though I'm quite picky about this genre nowadays), children's books, good detective stories, plays, and, perhaps above all else, social satire.

23. Genres you rarely read (but wish you did)?

I think I should read more biographies/autobiographies – I bet there are some absolutely fascinating real-life stories to find. I'm also planning to get a little more into the horror genre, which I barely ever read.

24. Favourite biography?

I just told you this is one of my least-read genres... In fact, I can't think of a single biography right now. Salman Rushdie's Joseph Anton is on my reading list though, and it probably qualifies as at least a partial biography because it's his account on the years he lived under the threat of the fatwa.

25. Have you ever read a self-help book?

Do horse riding manuals and "how to train your dog" books count?

26. Favourite cookbook?

Ahem, I don't really cook that much and on the rare occasion that I do, the recipe is usually from online or a really trusty old goodie that I know and love. There is a really big, beautiful cook book in my parents' shelf called Rakkaudesta ruokaan (= For the love of food) which I sometimes like to leaf through simply because all the things in it look gorgeous – the recipes, on the other hand, sound so dauntingly complicated I don't think they would ever work in a home kitchen.

27. Most inspirational book you've read this year (fiction or non-fiction)?

Noel Streatfeild's Ballet Shoes, which I recently blogged about, was a tremendously uplifting reading experience!

28. Favourite reading snack?

I usually have a cup of tea when I'm reading. Then again, if I give myself permission to nibble on something... my favourite alternative would be cheese puffs. I love those things way too much.

29. Name a case in which hype ruined your reading experience.

I made a whole blog post about much-adored books that disappointed me, but probably the best example of this would be Paulo Coelho's The Alchemist. I had heard nothing but praise and why haven't you read it alreadys about this book, then I read it and felt utterly, completely deflated.

30. How often do you agree with critics about a book?

I very rarely agree with critics. It's not always the "I loved it but the critics put it down" situation, or even vice versa – usually, even if I share a critic's overall impression of a book, I like and dislike completely opposite things than what they point out.

31. How do you feel about giving bad/negative reviews?

Blogging about things I intensely dislike is actually quite a lot of fun. On the other hand, I always try not to go the "This book just sucks, end of story" route, and I won't put anyone else down for liking something I don't.

32. If you could read in a foreign language, which language would you choose?

I do most of my reading in English, which counts as a foreign language for me. I've also read a little in French and Swedish. I'm currently learning Spanish and would love to be able to read properly in that language one day – Federico García Lorca's plays and Cien Años de Soledad by Gabriel García Márquez would be first on my Spanish reading list!

33. The most intimidating book you're too nervous to begin?

To be completely honest, I don't really get it how a book can be intimidating. If I'm interested in a book, I'll read it – simple as that.

34. Favourite poet?

John Keats. Ode to a Nightingale does such funny things to my brain every time I read it, it's like an enchantment.

35. Favourite fictional character?

Of course nobody is seriously expecting me to pick just one, so let's make a list of the great characters that first come to mind: Matilda from the Dahl book that I mentioned earlier, Bilbo Baggins, Albus Dumbledore, Remus Lupin, Nancy from Oliver Twist, Jon Snow, Arya Stark, Jean Valjean, Éponine...

36. Favourite fictional villain?

The White Witch from The Chronicles of Narnia and Dolores Umbridge from the Harry Potter series. I'm actually quite surprised to find that these two are the first ones to spring up in my mind!

37. Books I'm most likely to bring on holiday?

Like I mentioned earlier, I like to read on all kinds of vehicles. Therefore, I need something that will last both the airplane/bus/train/car rides there and back, and during the actual holiday. I'm laughably paranoid about this, so when I make the important (almost ritualistic) decision on what shall be my holiday read, it's always something chunky (The Lord of the Rings and Nicholas Nickleby are about the good holiday size in my opinion) and something I haven't started yet. People think I'm really weird, hauling my biggest books around when everyone else packs something light and practical.

38. The longest I've gone without reading

I'm always in the middle of a book. As soon as I finish one, I pick the next. As far as I can tell, it's been like this ever since I learned to read properly and really took up the habit of books. I honestly can't remember going without a book for more than 12 hours.

39. Name a book that you would/could not finish

I tried and failed to read Émile Zola's Nana this summer. I admit, part of the problem might have been that reading in French is a lot more challenging than reading in English or Finnish, but mostly, I think I just got bored with the characters and the very slow plot.

40. What distracts you easily when you're reading?

Any kind of noise, especially conversation. I'm just really bad at blocking out background noise. I've also found out that it's especially hard to read anything in English or French if someone is speaking Finnish nearby.

41. Favourite film adaptation of a novel

I've seen lots of good film adaptations, but the first ones to come to mind are the Les Misérables musical film and the Lord of the Rings trilogy.

42. Most disappointing film adaptation

This might seem bizarre, seeing as I just listed the LOTR films as my favourite adaptations, but I felt really, really sad about Desolation of Smaug. Sure, it looked great and most of the actors did a superb job (Martin Freeman, Lee Pace and Richard Armitage at least deserve to be mentioned) but I got incredibly frustrated with all the subplots and felt that all the best moments in the book where Bilbo saves everyone by just being quietly clever were converted into huge, messy action scenes that dragged on for way too long!

43. The most money I've ever spent in a bookstore at one time

I have a rubbish memory for numbers and I'm way too over-enthusiastic at the event of buying new books so I can't possibly remember anything as irrelevant as this.

44. How often do you skim a book before reading it?

If there are illustrations in the book, I often like to give them a peek before reading. Otherwise I don't, because I share River Song's attitude about spoilers.

45. What would cause you to stop reading a book half-way through?

If it bores the living daylights out of me.

46. Do you like to keep your books organized?

I like the idea of keeping my books organized by author and genre, but I have never managed to make it a reality. I always end up stowing my books wherever convenient, making my bookcase a sort of lovely mess.

47. Do you prefer to keep books or give them away once you've read them?

I try to make good use of the library so I don't have to buy every book I read. However, if a book holds any kind of special value to me, I will buy it and keep it forever.

48. A book you didn't expect to like but did

Every Finn has to read Väinö Linna's The Unknown Soldier at some point of their basic education, and I've usually found these compulsory reads of Finnish "classics" more or less terrible. However, I was genuinely surprised at how intense The Unknown Soldier was, and really admired Linna's depiction of the soldier boys who serve as the main characters.

49. A book that you expected to like but didn't

See my answer to question 29, and the blog post that I mentioned in it.

50. Favourite guilt-free, pleasure reading

No matter how hard I think about this, I can't really think of anything that would suit the description. I don't really do "light reading", to be honest. When I pick up a book, I'm looking forward to something at least mildly intellectual and thought-provoking.


I picked up this meme on Hannah's blog and had a lot of fun doing it! It's been a long time since I've properly assessed my reading habits, and it was quite refreshing to do that now! Anyone who comes across is most welcome to pass on the meme. There really isn't a better, more rewarding hobby in the world than reading books, is there?

Bucket List Tag

Hannah at Miss Daydreamer's Place tagged me for the Bucket List challenge – thanks for this really fun tag! The idea is to list ten things you want to do before you die, and then pass the tag to five people. So here I go, my Bucket List!

At some point in my life, I would like to...

See at least one of these insanely talented gentlemen live on stage: 

Benedict Cumberbatch

Tom Hiddleston

David Tennant

Go on a riding holiday in at least one of these places: 

Scottish Highlands 

Iceland 

South Africa

(Mind you, I could fill an entire book-length bucket list of countries that I'd like to visit, on horseback or otherwise!)

Sing at a karaoke bar

But only if there's a song selection up to my taste, so probably not in Finland.

See a play on Broadway

See these musicals on stage (I can't put an "at least one of these" on this one, these are all a must):

I saw a Finnish production of this once, but it was mostly dreadful so I demand another opportunity!

Own a beautiful Leonberger dog (or two)

Move to London

Learn at least one new language (because three isn't enough!)

Read all of Charles Dickens' works

So far, I've read Nicholas Nickleby, Oliver Twist, A Tale of Two Cities and A Christmas Carol.

Become a professional playwright!

Thinking up this list was really fun, so let's pass on the tag. Elwingda, Frankie Savage and Siiri L., are you up for the challenge...? I can't think of anyone else to tag, but everyone who happens upon this post is completely free to pick it up!

Tag: Ask my bookshelf

A friend of mine posted a really fun tag in Facebook, so I decided to share it here at Music & My Mind and pass it on to other bloggers! The idea is to answer the questions below with titles of books from your own bookshelf – just the titles as they are, no modifications or explanations! The questions are translated by me, because that friend in Facebook posted it in Finnish.

1. Are you a man or a woman?

Little Women

2. Describe yourself

The Hobbit

3. What does life mean to you?

Shakespeare & the Making of Theatre

4. How are you doing?

A Storm of Swords

5. Describe your current home.

The Two Towers

6. Where would you like to travel?

A Tale of Two Cities

7. Describe your best friend.

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows

8. What is your favourite color?

Black Beauty

9. What is the weather like now?

Wuthering Heights

10. What is the best season in your opinion?

The Winter's Tale

11. If your life was a tv series, what would it be called?

Unfinished Tales

12. What is your (romantic) relationship like?

The Casual Vacancy

13. What are you afraid of?

A Communicative Grammar of English

14. Aphorism for the day.

Tales of Mystery & Imagination

15. What advice would you like to give?

As You Like It

16. How would you prefer to die?

1000 Places to See Before You Die


And now it's time to tag some people and pass on the fun. I'll tag Frankie Savage, Indigo Montoya and Hamlette. There are no rules here as to how many people you should tag, and of course anyone is free to pass this on!

Have fun perusing your bookshelves!

Tag: 11 things about me

Frankie Savage shared this tag on her blog and said it was free-for-all, so I'll pass it on. How this goes is: I'll tell 11 random things about myself, then answer the 11 questions that Frankie displayed on her tag, then I'll make up 11 new questions which you will answer, if you decide to pass this tag on to your blog!

11 things about me

1. While I wash dishes I sing and do balance exercises on an air cushion. I guess you could say I believe in multi-tasking.
2. I find it easier to write in English than in my first language.
3. I would like to learn a new language, some language I know absolutely nothing about.
4. I loathe shopping for shoes, because my feet are so tiny that even if I actually find a nice-looking shoe, they usually don't have my size.
5. I have never been drunk.
6. My current apartment is the 10th home I've lived in.
7. I want to learn to do a headstand.
8. When I wake up in the morning it takes me at least an hour to be able to walk and think at the same time.
9. My head is a non-stop juke-box. There is not a waking moment in my life that I don't have some song playing in my head. I actually think it's rather fun – it only gets annoying if the same song replays for three consecutive days, which does happen quite often.
10. I don't like to wear white clothes, that's just not at all my colour.
11. I've only been to London twice but it feels like home.

Answers to Frankie's questions

1. Where have you travelled?
Sweden, Åland (which is technically a part of Finland but counts anyway because it's a remote group of islands where everyone speaks Swedish), Tallinn, England, Scotland, France, Spain, the Canary Islands, Italy, Cyprus and Egypt. There's also some places I've been to when I was a baby and therefore don't remember. And of course I've made some travels in Finland, mostly to Lapland and to Imatra, which is near the Russian border.

2. Where would you like to go if you'd like to go somewhere?
To London, always.

3. Do you like cats or dogs or both?
I'm a dog person all the way. I don't have any particular dislike for cats either, I just think they're a bit creepy, the way they move around without making a sound. And the way they never let on what they're going to do next.

4. Coffee or tea?
Definitely tea.

5. What do you think about contraceptive pills?
It should be every woman's right to use them if they feel like they're in a situation in life where they couldn't commit themselves 100% to raising a child. Seeing as the world is already hugely overpopulated, I don't see preventing an unwanted pregnancy as contradicting the will of any higher authority.

6. Rain or snow?
Snow! There's been a beautiful snowfall here all day and it finally looks like winter! So lovely.

7. Do you ever ice skate?
Never never never. I never learned to do it and skating lessons at school PhysEd were torture.

8. Have you ever seen a bird of paradise?
I don't have any specific memory of seeing one, but I did visit a park of exotic birds once when I was really small, so I might have.

9. Have you ever gone to the opera?
No.

10. Would you like going to the opera?
I don't have any special interest for opera, I somehow get the image that it's too... what's the word... static for my taste. But then again as a musical enthusiast I think I should get at least a little familiar with that art form. I could go and see La Bohème or Madame Butterfly someday, to see the original sources for RENT and Miss Saigon.

11. What's the one thing you couldn't live without?
This is going to sound incredibly sappy and cliché, but the first thing that comes to my mind is freedom of expression. It would be dreadful to live in an atmosphere where you'd constantly have to watch what you say or write. What's even more dreadful, many people actually have to live like that.

Questions for you to answer when you do this tag on your blog

1. What's the most terrible book you've ever read?
2. If you can remember any dreams you've had, what's your best one?
3. What do you want to be doing 15 years from now?
4. Do you have paintings or posters on your walls?
5. What is your favourite love song?
6. Are you going to watch this year's Academy Awards, or otherwise follow any news related to them?
7. Would you ever sing/have you ever sung in a karaoke bar?
8. Can you touch type? (=type without looking at the keyboard)
9. What colours do you mostly have in your wardrobe?
10. Do you vote? (if you're old enough to vote)
11. What do you do if you find it hard to fall asleep?

Have fun with the tag, I thought it was a really good one!

What Christmas means to me

So, from the fact that I'm prepared to do 24 blog posts devoted to Christmas, you can probably decipher that I'm a pretty big Christmas junkie. Every year, I wait anxiously for the day that I can start playing Christmas music without other people rolling their eyes and shouting "NOT YET!", and I was literally shocked when my mum told me she wasn't going to put up Christmas decorations in her and dad's apartment. Mostly, people regard my Christmas hype as nothing too unusual, but there have been a few who feel the need to ask me either

"Why is Christmas such a big thing to you – doesn't it bother you what a disgustingly commercialized spending spree it has become?"

or

"Why is Christmas such a big thing to you – you're not religious!"

My answer to the first question is pretty simple: I'm so soaked up on the positive things about Christmas that all the consumerism hype kind of passes over my head. Yes, maybe it's a bit early for all the shops and malls to be playing Christmas carols and putting up tinsels in mid-November, but is it such a big deal to fret and complain about? And frankly, I think that people who complain about all the stress and the crowds when they go Christmas shopping mostly bring it on themselves. How about planning things a little in advance and looking at the positive side of things? Can't people look at all the beautiful Christmas lights and feel the joy in their hearts when they're getting gifts for their family and friends?

As for the question about religion, I find it a little ironic. After all, Christmas has been around longer than Christianity, though with slightly different customs and another name. Weren't most Christian holidays (think about Easter and All Hallows' Eve for example) purposefully placed in the calendar to coincide with already existing pagan celebrations? Even today, our Christmas traditions are actually a mixture of Christian elements and those of Winter solstice celebrations. So while I admit I don't celebrate Christmas for the Christian reasons, there's still a lot about the season to be appreciated!

Here follows a list of What Christmas Means To Me:

• Light. As I've mentioned before somewhere in this blog, the days get pretty dark up here when autumn rolls on. Today, the sun rose at quarter past nine and set at quarter past three, and by the time we reach winter solstice, we'll have a whopping amount of about five hours of daylight. So it's really great to have a celebration with candles and Christmas lights – for me, Christmas time has always been like a great big torch in the dark winter season!
• Joy. In addition to bringing actual light, I think Christmas is a time to light up your heart. Forgetting about petty arguments and staying positive. 
• Caring and sharing. For some people, the whole gift-giving tradition now only serves to feed the consuming frenzy, but for me it has always been a beautiful representation of how we can get joy out of giving something for others, whether it be something material or not. 
• Peace. Christmas should provide a break from everyday obligations and stress. Get some time for yourself and the people who are important to you. 
• Beauty. Admittedly, there have been years when the Christmas weather was not like out of those snowy greeting cards, but generally I think everything looks incredibly beautiful at this time of the year. I like sunshine and green trees and all that, but what really moves my heart is a beautiful, easy snowfall. Actually, I think really violent blizzards are nice to look at as well, I just want to be safe indoors when they happen. Not on a bus stop waiting for a bus that is half an hour late. Anyway, landscapes covered in snow never fail to catch my eye, they look stunning both in the dark of night and when the sun shines on them and makes them sparkle.

What do you celebrate about Christmas? (or Yule, or Winter solstice, or Hanukkah, whatever you want to call it.) Give it a thought while listening to this uplifting Christmas tune by my favourite man Stevie Wonder, and leave me a comment!

Christmas is all around us...

Dear readers, Merry Christmas anticipation to you all and welcome to count down the days with me as I turn Music & My Mind into a Christmas calendar blog from this day till the 24th!

As Christmas is by far my favourite holiday – I usually start expecting it in September already – I knew that I wanted to some Christmas blogging in the Advent calendar style. One post for each day, that is to say. My initial idea was to share one of my favourite Christmas songs each day, but then it expanded as I wanted also to write about the things that I see and celebrate in the Christmas season. So I'm going to do both: for 24 days, I'm going to share a song and my thoughts. I'll make some effort to have the song match with the theme of the post, but if it doesn't, I won't sweat about it.

I'm going to start off with a fun Christmas tag! Feel free to fill in the tag yourself, either in a comment or, even better, in your own blog.

1. What's your favourite holiday movie?

Love, Actually without a doubt, though I have to say I don't really know many other Christmas movies... RENT is a close second; I guess RENT it's not "officially" a Christmas thing, but the story does begin and end on Christmas Eve, and the "appreciate each day you have" message goes very well with the Christmas season don't you think?

2. What are your favourite Christmas colours?

The silver and white of snow, the green of spruce and the brown of gingerbreads.

3. Do you like to stay in your PJs or dress up for Christmas?

I like to dress up nicely on Christmas Eve (because for some bizarre reason, in the Nordic countries we do most of the actual celebrating on the Eve) but change into pyjamas when we start to open the presents, which happens in the evening after the Christmas dinner.

4. If you could only buy one person a present this year who would it be?

That would be Mimi, my little puppy! She's only five months old so this will be her first Christmas and I know she'll be so very excited about the wrapped-up presents and will make us all happy.

Little Mimi! Isn't she lovely? Picture taken by me

5. Do you open your presents on Christmas Eve or on Christmas morning?

On Christmas Eve, the Christmas morning isn't really a thing in the Nordic countries.

6. Have you ever built a ginger-bread house?

My sister and I did it a couple of times when we were kids, though we used ready-made pieces that we just decorated and glued together with the sugar stuff.

7. What do you like to do on your Christmas break?

Listen to lots and lots of Christmas music, just walk around and soak up the lovely atmosphere, read good books with something warm to drink, spend time with family and friends, light candles...

8. Any Christmas wishes?

I wish for snow and a chance to get to sing Christmas carols.

9. Favourite Christmas smell?

Fresh spruce needles.

10. Favourite Christmas meal or treat?

There's a traditional, warm Christmas drink up here in the north which doesn't have its own word in English but is sometimes translated as mulled wine. It's not exactly the same thing though. Anyway, it's red, warm and spicy, and can be alcoholic or not (I prefer the non-alcoholic alternative). In Finnish it's called glögi and the word derives from the Swedish glödgat, heated wine.

I'm getting the Christmas feeling in my fingers while writing this... So let's finish off the first calendar post with the song of the day: Christmas Is All Around from the lovely film Love, Actually.

Tomorrow's post will be about the things that I celebrate about Christmas, so welcome back then!