Double-Stacked Bookshelves

Week one of the A-Z Blogging Challenge has come to an end and landed on the letter G.  Today's post is all about my favorite painter: Gustav Klimt I remember the first time I encountered one of Klimt's works.  It was in college during a Vienna 1900s course taught by my favorite German professor, Dr. Laura Stahman (an incredibly inspirational woman who I still have coffee with).  In this class we covered everything pertinent to that era in Vienna: literature, culture, economics, society, and art.  The first painting of Klimt's she showed us was this: Life and Death   I remember being in awe right off the bat.  The use of color and the juxtaposition of elements is breathtaking.  The actions and feelings of society are clearly reflected throughout his work. His work is a true representation of the Fin de Siecle of Austria, especially Vienna.  I became obsessed with Klimt and all of his work.  He had such a wide array of work that it's imp...

I found a copy of Pam Jenoff's The Diplomat's Wife for a measly two bucks at a secondhand store recently and have decided that I'm going to plunge into it!  Because of that, here's a teaser: "'Before we could escape, the Kommandant found Emma and discovered that she was Jewish.' I recount hiding in the shadows, watching the Kommandant confront Emma.  'I had hoped she might be able to somehow talk her way out of it.  He seemed to have genuine feelings for her so I thought he might understand.  But when he pulled out his gun, I had to do something.  I shot him.'" (112) Oh man...I love novels set during this time period.  Despite the horrific atrocities that occurred, for some reason it is my favorite point in history.  I'm excited for this read.