terça-feira, 12 de dezembro de 2017

Conquering King's heart (jogo sedutor [Portuguese])

By Maureen Child:
Source: Jogo sedutor. Goodreadscom. Available at: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18722944-jogo-sedutor. Accessed December 12, 2017.

This is the 4th book in the «Kings of California» collection, by Maureen Child. The book was published by Harlequin Ibérica, SA, in 2009. The author's website is https://maureenchild.com/index.html.
I liked the other book (Wedding at King's convenience) more because it had a better description of the landscapes and places of development of the action. However, it is always pleasant to read such a novel because happy endings and love leave us happier.

quarta-feira, 6 de dezembro de 2017

When I'm with you (quando estou contigo [Portuguese])

By Beth Kery:
Source: Quando Estou Contigo. Goodreadscom. Available at: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/31741482-quando-estou-contigo. Accessed December 6, 2017.

The second book of the collection «because you are mine», translated into Portuguese by Teresa Martins de Carvalho and Nanci Marcelino. Most of the book consists of a detailed description of sexual scenes. The plot develops only in the last pages. However, the story is beautiful. The next book in the collection is called «because we belong».

sábado, 2 de dezembro de 2017

How to lie with Statistics (como mentir com a estatística [Portuguese])

By Darrell Huff (text) and Mel Calman (illustrations):

Source: Como Mentir com a Estatística. Goodreadscom. Available at: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18779720-como-mentir-com-a-estat-stica. Accessed December 2, 2017.

This book was recommended to me by Dr. Mário Carreira, Unidade de Epidemiologia do Instituto de Medicina Preventiva e Saúde Pública da Faculdade de Medicina da Universidade de Lisboa, Portugal (Epidemiology Unit of the Institute of Preventive Medicine and Public Health of the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Lisbon, Portugal). As Dr. Mario Carreira mentioned, this book is required reading for any citizen who wishes to be informed. We can do a lot of gymnastics with statistical calculations, without these being wrong. But the informed citizen must be aware of what the publisher wants to convey.

sábado, 4 de novembro de 2017

The ultimate beauty book (manual completo de beleza [Portuguese])

By Sally Norton, Kate Shapland, and Jacki Wadeson

A book rich in beauty tips and very well supported by wonderful photographs.

quarta-feira, 11 de outubro de 2017

O evangelho segundo Jesus Cristo (Portuguese) (the gospel according to Jesus Christ)

By José Saramago:

Source: O Evangelho Segundo Jesus Cristo - José Saramago, SARAMAGO, JOSE em Fnac.pt. Fnaccom. Available at: https://www.fnac.pt/O-Evangelho-Segundo-Jesus-Cristo-Jose-Saramago/a173311. Accessed October 11, 2017.

romanticized vision of the life of Jesus Christ, with a well-grounded description of the main historical eventsIt is a historical novel with fiction mixed with facts truthful. It is a majestic book, which may shock prudes and marvel open minds.

domingo, 16 de julho de 2017

From the heart (no fundo do coração [Portuguese])

By Nora Roberts:
Source: Fnac.com. (2017). Do Fundo do Coração - Nora Roberts em Fnac.pt. [online] Available at: http://www.fnac.pt/Do-Fundo-do-Coracao-Nora-Roberts/a911493 [Accessed 16 Jul. 2017].

Book translated into Portuguese by Isabel C. Penteado. It's three novels by Nora Roberts: «tonight and always (uma última noite [Portuguese])», a matter of choice (uma questão de escolha [Portuguese])», and «endings and beginnings (fins e recomeços [Portuguese])».
«Tonight and always» is a beautiful novel. The story is written with love and passion, and first published in July 1983. Nora Roberts manages to put sweetness in what she writes. The story is captivating because there is a detailed description of the feelings, the decoration of the house, ... everything is beautiful and rich. The characters are good-looking. It's a typical plot with action, pain and a happy ending. Some quotes:
  • «(...). The sophisticated clothes and manners were offset by a certain sensuousness around the mouth. She liked the contrast. He was built like a tennis player, (...). Good shoulders, trim, strong hands. (...).»
  • «(...). She had a filling there was a temper under the cool sophistication. She knew, from reading his books, that he was intelligent. (...).»
  • «(...). He's brilliant, conservative, successful. Incredibly sexy. (...).»
  • «"We'll make love soon or later, you know."» Jordan said to Kasey.
  • «(...). She would not, could not, involve herself emotionally or physically with a man unless there was a firm base. (...).»
  • «(...). There was a vibrant sensuality about her that she did nothing to accentuate. She rarely wore anything but the most casual clothes and almost never bothered with even the most basic cosmetics.»
  • «(...) some [Plains Indians] practiced self-mutilation to get into a trance and receive visions.» Kasey said to Jordan.
  • «"(...). The money is very good, Jordan. (...). But tends to blur reality."»
  • «(...). He is not bound by social conventions as I thought. There is a strong rebellion beneath that social politeness. (...).»
  • Palm Springs, Riverside County, California, United States:
Source: PALM SPRINGS. Zummprojetosblogspotpt. Available at: http://zummprojetos.blogspot.pt/2015/05/palm-springs.html. Accessed November 1, 2017.

Source: NC Palm Springs Trip. Ncmodernistorg. Available at: http://www.ncmodernist.org/palm.htm. Accessed November 1, 2017.
  • «(...). Feeling useful was essential to herself.»
  • «"(...). There is nothing like the love of a child. Children don't impose conditions on their emotions. They just give. They have a purity that we lose when we grow up. (...)."» Kasey said to Jordan.
  • «(...). "Life is like a mustache, it can be good or bad but it always tickles."» Jordan said to Harry.
  • «(...). Even when I leave here and I walk away from him, I'll never be free again. Love binds us together (...).»
  • «(...). We should always finish what we started (...).»
  • «(...). Why no one bothers to talk to this child? (...). She absorbs the words like a sponge.»
  • «"(...) tonight is very cold. White is not used when it is cold."» Beatrice said to Kasey.
  • «(...) there were long hours of idleness, and she [Kasey] had never been able to cope well with it.»
  • «(...). Emotions clouded her intuition and she could not see clearly. (...).»
  • «(...). Her [Allison] ability to feel was far greater than any other person he knew. Would not it mean that her ability to suffer would be equally great? (...).»
  • «(...). Where she [Kasey] loved, she was vulnerable, and where it was vulnerable, the mind had no control. (...).»
  • «(...). There were lights and people and the muffled noise of traffic. She was perplexed about how she had missed from the visions and smells of humanity. She had felt the need for noise and movement.»
  • «(...). So many people, so much life. (...).»
  • «"The widening schism between elitist and popular literature has made it difficult for the average person to enjoy light, entertaining reading without feeling guilty."» Kasey said.
  • «"She told me that you were (...) a charming man, especially when you forget to be educated." (...)/(...)./"Why don't you kiss me again like you kissed me at the party, like a dominant male?"» Kasey said to Jordan.
  • «"(...). Nothing can go wrong with a unicorn. (...)."» Kasey said to Jordan.
Source: B9582 Bibelo De Cristal E Metal Dourado Em Forma De Unicórn - R$ 29,99. Produtomercadolivrecombr. Available at: https://produto.mercadolivre.com.br/MLB-933754942-b9582-bibelo-de-cristal-e-metal-dourado-em-forma-de-unicorn-_JM#redirectedFromParent. Accessed November 12, 2017.

  • «"I'm here at work, Mrs. Taylor, and I'm not anyone's maid unless I want to."» Kasey said.
  • «Jordan thought he would not like to have to share her. (...). Jealousy was a new sensation to him. (...).»
  • «"(...). An archaeologist is who studies the life and culture of ancient people excavating ancient cities, relics, artifacts. An anthropologist is the one who studies races, physical and mental characteristics, population distributions, habits, social relations." (...).» Kasey said to Liz.
  • «"(...). You walk into a room and everyone looks at you, including me."» Jordan said to Kasey.
  • «(...). It was so hard to be strong when he was kind. (...).»
«A matter of choice», first published in May 1984, is a police novel with a love story between two socially different people, but both alone and in need of mutual comfort. It was another fascinating novel by Nora Roberts. She knows how to create exciting, vibrant scenes that make a woman's heart pop with recognition. Some quotes:
  • «(...). It was only the nouveau riche who went in for ostentation. (...).»
  • «(...). Jessica had too much drive, too much energy, to drift. Once she had decided to start a business, she'd moved quickly. Then that same drive and energy had made it work. (...).»
  • «The fingers that had gripped her arm had been strong. His build had been wiry. (...). There was something... hard in his eyes. Yet she hadn’t been repelled or frightened but drawn. Even when he’d looked at her for those first three or four seconds, with that intensity that seemed to creep beneath her skin, (...). Safe, (...). He’d made her feel safe. (...). Why should she suddenly feel safe when she had no need for protection?»
  • The writing desk, the Queen Anne:
Source: Blog - Patrick Sandberg Antiques. Antiquefurniturenet. Available at: http://www.antiquefurniture.net/blog/a-guide-to-help-you-identify-queen-anne-antique-furniture-3542. Accessed November 14, 2017.

  • «"When you want something badly enough, and you don’t give up," (...), “you get it.” Jessica said to Slade.
  • «(...) This chair was Chippendale (...). This cabinet was French Baroque—in satinwood, gilded and carved. (...).

Chippendale chairs

Source: Child's Chippendale Chair 3/4. Laurel Crown Furniture. Available at: https://www.laurelcrown.com/childs-chippendale-chair-3-4. Accessed November 14, 2017.

French Baroque cabinet
Source: Louis XIV style (Baroque). Pinterest. Available at: https://www.pinterest.pt/pin/533606255824188378/. Accessed November 14, 2017.
  • «It’s the way he [Slade] looks at me, Jessica decided, as if he could see what I’m thinking. (...).»
  • «(...) He [Slade] had such long, lean fingers. Strong. She [Jessica]’d liked the look of them. Now, she caught herself wondering how they would feel on her body. Competent, experienced, demanding. (...).»
  • «"(...). It’s sensible to make a career out of something you know and appreciate, don’t you think?"» Jessica asked Slade.
  • «(...) If he could have her, even once, the ache would go. Slade could almost convince himself of that. He needed to touch that butter-soft skin, experience that promise of passion, then he’d be free of her. (...).»
  • «(...) He’s quicksand, (...). You’ll never get away if you take that final step. And yet the risk tempted her.»
  • «(...) Arousal was too tame a word, excitement too bland. Jessica felt a frenzy, a burst of energy that could only be tamed by possession./Touch me! (...). Take me! It’s never been like this and I can’t bear to lose it. (...).»
  • «(...). “Do you think women always dress to stir men up?”/“Don’t they?”/“Normally I dress for myself.” (...)».
  • «“Have you had many lovers?” (...)./(...)“I imagine you have,” (...). “You’re a very physical man.” (...).»
  • «She’d felt the spark once or twice in her life — that quick jolt that says maybe, just maybe. There’d been no spark with Slade, she mused. There’d been an eruption. (...).»
  • «“You’re a beautiful woman, Jessica.”/(...). And somehow she felt he wasn’t only speaking of physical beauty. No, he was a man who’d look beyond what could be seen and into what could only be felt.»
  • «"Slade..." (...). "(...). You’re an easy person to confide in because you listen a bit too well.”»
  • «(...). Michael, with his smooth gestures, was well groomed in voice and manner, sleekly dressed. Jessica reflected that she’d never seen him in anything more casual than a polo shirt and golf pants. He was all civilized charm and sophisticated sexuality./And she wouldn’t term him rugged though he favored jeans and sweaters. Not charming but disarming, (...). And his sexuality was anything but sophisticated. Animal.»
  • «(...). “You haven’t the experience to deal with me, lady.” (...). “I’m not one of your polite country club men, Jess,” (...). “You don’t know the places I’ve been, the things I’ve done. I could show you tricks that would make your French lover look like a Boy Scout. If I decided I wanted you, you couldn’t run fast enough.”/(...).“Which of us is running, Slade?” (...)./“Damn you, Jess.” On a groan, his mouth came down to savage hers.»
  • «"(...). Slade, no one that reads that is going to be untouched.” (...). “And isn’t that why a writer writes?”»
  • «(...). There was a wall between them—the thin glass wall of status (...). (...).»
  • «(...). If the doorbell hadn’t rung, he would have said things best left unsaid, asked things he had no right to ask of a vulnerable woman.»
  • «(...). Sipping her drink, she turned to the fire. She wouldn’t let him see the hurt. Every day that she’d been confined in that sterile white room she had waited for his call, watched the door for his visit. Nothing. He’d cut himself out of her life when she’d been too weak to prevent it. (...).»
«Endings and beginnings», a novel first published in January 1984: when I think Nora Roberts' imagination has run out, she ends up surprising me with another wonderful story. Her stories always have a happy ending. She has a huge ability to describe feelings, especially love. She also supports the plot with solid information about the characters and scenarios. Some quotes:
  • «(...). He had the two things most essential to a reporter: credibility and sources. (...).»
  • «(...). Thorpe dressed down on the job, wearing nothing to distract the viewer's attention from his reporting. (...).»
  • «(...). Liv separated men into two categories: safe and dangerous. (...).»
  • «(...). I have not led up to it. (...). She knew the signs to look for: the smiles, the soft, promising words. Thorpe hadn't spared any of those. It was an impulse, (...). There hadn´t been anything desperate or ever particularly loverlike in the kiss. He hadn't been rough; he hadn't tried a seduction. (...).»
  • «"What do you want?" (...)./To be the best, (...). To win. To be Olivia Carmichael without having to lose pieces of myself along the way. I want to be whole again.»
  • «"I liked the fast pace, (...)." Thorpe said.»
  • «Thorpe was used to pressure in his work. In truth, he thrived on it. That was his secret. He could go for days on snatches of sleep and still throb with energy.He did not need vitamins, (...).»
  • «(...). He had noticed the hesitation. It pleased him to know that she wasn't indifferent toward him. If he made her nervous, it was a beginning. (...).»
  • «"I work." (...). "That keeps me busy enough."» Liv said./«(...)./(...)./(...). "What do you do on Sunday afternoons?"» Thorpe asked Liv./«(...)./"I usually try to catch up on my reading." (...).» Liv answered.
  • «(...). Her scent was different, he [Greg] noticed, more sophisticated, less artless. (...).»
  • «"You were a good friend to us, Greg. (...). It was a difficult period of my life. You made it a bit easier." (...).» Liv said.
  • «(...). The grief was still there, only dulled by time. (...).»
  • «"(...). I wanted too much from him; he didn't want enough from me." (...).»
  • «(...). Liv kept her ears tuned to the light political talk and gossip. She wouldn't learn any state secrets, but she had made contacts. A reporter couldn't afford to ignore the smallest scrap of information. You could never tell what could lead to bigger things. (...).»
  • «(...). I lived on extremes. Staggeringly happy, unbearably sad. It's better this way, without all those peaks and valleys of emotion. Safer. I've had enough of risks and failures. Smarter. (...). You can't be hurt if you don't take chances.»
  • «This is what she had decided she wanted. Quiet, privacy. No one to depend on — no one to answer to. What she had now was hers; what mistakes she made were hers. (...).»
  • Memorial Stadium, Baltimore, Maryland, USA:
Source: Memorial Stadium (Baltimore). Enwikipediaorg. Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Memorial_Stadium_(Baltimore). Accessed December 20, 2017.

Source: Memorial Stadium - history, photos and more of the Baltimore Orioles former ballpark. Ballparks of Baseball - Your Guide to Major League Baseball Stadiums. Available at: http://www.ballparksofbaseball.com/ballparks/memorial-stadium/. Accessed December 20, 2017.
  • Orioles:

Source: Baltimore Orioles. Enwikipediaorg. Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baltimore_Orioles. Accessed December 20, 2017.

Source: MLB Baltimore Orioles Logo Black Background 1920x1080 HD MLB Baseball / Baltimore Orioles. Sportshdwallpaperscom. 2017. Available at: http://www.sportshdwallpapers.com/hd/mlb-baseball/baltimore-orioles/mlb-baltimore-orioles-logo-black_1920x1080_956-hd.html. Accessed December 20, 2017.

Source: Reliever Oliver Drake makes team, Orioles' Opening Day roster nearly finalized. baltimoresuncom. Available at: http://www.baltimoresun.com/sports/orioles/blog/bs-sp-orioles-norfolk-0401-20170331-story.html. Accessed December 20, 2017.
  • «He knew how to arouse a woman, even a reluctant one. Arrogance, yes, but he was so blatantly at ease with it, the trait was somehow admirable.»
  • «(...). She didn't want to rely on anyone for safety again. It was too easy to be disappointed. (...). His eyes were intelligent, shrewd, saw too much. The more he saw, the greater the risk that he could gain an emotional hold on her./She had allowed herself to be involved before. She still bore the scars. For years she had lived on the belief that the only way for her to keep her serenity was by withdrawal. (...).»
  • Soho, London, United Kingdom (UK):


Source: Soho London Guide |Your Guide to the Local Area. Everything you need to know about rent and living in London. Available at: https://www.movebubble.com/2015/01/soho-london-guide/. Accessed January 1, 2018.




Source: Soho - Hidden London. Hidden-londoncom. Available at: http://hidden-london.com/gazetteer/soho/. Accessed January 1, 2018.

  • Westminter Abbey, London:


Source: The History of Westminster Abbey, London. Historic UK. Available at: http://www.historic-uk.com/HistoryMagazine/DestinationsUK/Westminster-Abbey/. Accessed January 14, 2018.

Source: Westminster Abbey » Picture Gallery. Westminster-abbeyorg. Available at: http://www.westminster-abbey.org/visit-us/picture-gallery. Accessed January 14, 2018.


  • The Big Ben, London:

Source: Big Ben: Tudo que você precisa saber sobre o maior símbolo de Londres | eLondres.com. eLondrescom. Available at: https://www.elondres.com/big-ben/. Accessed February 11, 2018.

  • «(...). That had been in their college days, when there had still been dreams. (...). Then, there had been no love left to spare for dreams. (...).»
  • Scotland Yard, the Metropolitan Police Service of London:


Source: Getty. The Met moves from its historic New Scotland Yard HQ. getwestlondon. Available at: https://www.getwestlondon.co.uk/news/west-london-news/metropolitan-police-moves-headquarters-after-12110769. Accessed February 12, 2018.



  • «(...). If it didn't make sense, it didn't matter. If it wasn't safe, she didn't care. She had needed an evening with someone who could make her laugh, make her think. Make her feel. (...). A few stolen hours was all she wanted. A few hours to forget all the promises she had once made herself. (...). Tonight she was free of the past, free of the future.»
  • «(...). Couldn't she see how much he loved, how much he needed, and have pity on him if nothing else? (...), he was desperate enough to take pity if it was all she could give him. (...).»
  • «(...). And she had sensed something in him, a desperation that she didn't dare accept.»
  • «(...). He wanted her to experience every drop of pleasure he could give. (...). Each time she moaned his name or reached for him, the shock of it rocketed straight through him. Desire pulsated from her - for him. That alone took him to the edge of reason.»
  • «(...). Intimacy was no small gesture for her. Intimacy meant commitment. To her, the two had always, would always, walk hand in hand. (...).»
  • «(...). When you had gone through the worst and survived, nothing could ever hurt you in quite the same way again. (...).»
  • Capitol dome, Washington, United States of America:


Source: United States Capitol. Hoffmann Architects, Inc. Available at: http://www.hoffarch.com/projects/united-states-capitol-dome/. Accessed April 30, 2018.

  • «(...). If you live calmly, without disturbing your life with emotional attachments, you can't be hurt. That's how I was going to live. From that moment. No one, nothing, was ever going to take me to that point again. (...).»
  • Potomac river:
Source: US Capitol. Destination360com. Available at: http://www.destination360.com/north-america/us/washington-dc/us-capitol. Accessed May 6, 2018.

  • «(...): no questions, no advice, only support. (...)»
  • «"I haven't thanked you" (...). (...). "For being there, and for not saying all those tidy little words people say when someone falls apart.", Liv said to Thorpe.
  • «(...) "I need you. It scares me to death." (...). "I know what it is to lose. I'm not sure I can survive a second time." Liv said to Thorpe.


sábado, 8 de julho de 2017

Wedding at King's convenience (aposta segura [Portuguese])

By Maureen Child:
Source: iBooks. (2017). Aposta segura por Maureen Child en iBooks. [online] Available at: https://itunes.apple.com/ni/book/aposta-segura/id596335021?mt=11 [Accessed 8 Jul. 2017].

This is the 6th book in the «Kings of California» collection, by Maureen ChildThis novel of love was very pleasant. From time to time, by interspersing more robust books, it is good to read a novel by Harlequin. This story tells the love between an American film producer man and a farmer woman in a small Irish town. It is the contradiction between the luxury and the vanity of Hollywood and the simplicity and purity of country life. It has beautiful passages.
Some quotes:
  • «In Ireland scouting locations for an upcoming movie from King Studios, Jefferson had stumbled across Maura’s sheep farm in County Mayo and had realized instantly that it was just what he’d been searching for. (...).»
Source: GmbH F. Coast / Connacht / Ireland | HD Stock Video 417-673-365 | Framepool & RightSmith Stock Footage. Available at: http://footage.framepool.com/en/shot/417673365-scottish-blackface-mayo-county-sheep-farming-goat. Accessed October 29, 2017.

Source: Machair Habitat - Calveys Achill Lamb, Mayo, Ireland. Calveys Achill Mountain Lamb. Available at: http://calveysachillmountainlamb.ie/what-is-a-machair-habitat/. Accessed October 29, 2017.

Source: Rural Holiday Cottages Ireland | Self Catering Irish Cottages In The Country. Sykescottagescouk. Available at: https://www.sykescottages.co.uk/rural-country-cottages-ireland.html. Accessed October 29, 2017.

  • «The shadow of the Partry Mountains looming behind them and the whole of Lough Mask stretching out in front of them, (...).»
Partry Mountains in County Mayo
Source: Partry Mountains in County Mayo. Ramblingtravelercom. Available at: http://www.ramblingtraveler.com/2008/08/partry-mountains-in-county-mayo.html. Accessed October 29, 2017.

Lough Mask in County Mayo
Source: To See and Do @ Lough Mask Mobile Home - Ballinrobe, Co. Mayo, Ireland. Mayomobilehomescom. Available at: http://www.mayomobilehomes.com/to-see-and-do.html. Accessed October 29, 2017.
  • «(...). "Did you always want to be a sheep farmer?"/(...). "(...), what made you choose to be what you are?"» Jefferson King askered Maura Donohue. «"I like my life being my own. I’ve always worked the farm. I answer to no one. No clock to watch, no boss to kowtow to. No harried rushing about to drive into the city."» She answered.
  • «(...), no one had said anything about permanent. (...). What he had with Maura was fun. Uncomplicated. Best to leave it at that.»
  • «(...) a black dog as big as a small bear (...)./(...)./“Irish wolfhound,” Maura told him [Jefferson], (...).
Irish wolfhound
Source: Meet Kingston. He will grow to be a giant Irish Wolfhound. • r/aww. reddit. Available at: https://www.reddit.com/r/aww/comments/5zyf2i/meet_kingston_he_will_grow_to_be_a_giant_irish/. Accessed October 29, 2017.

Irish wolfhound
Source: Hannah. Here be Dragons. Pinterest. Available at: https://www.pinterest.pt/pin/206250857913932921/. Accessed October 29, 2017.
  • «(...). Westport was awake and partying. Lovers walked along the Carrowberg River, (...).»
St Mary's Church and Carrowberg (Mall) River, Westport, County Mayo, Ireland.
Source: Cawley F. Castlebar - County Mayo - Christmas Day Cathair na Mart. Castlebarie. Available at: http://www.castlebar.ie/FCawley/Christmas-Day-Cathair-na-Mart_printer.shtml. Accessed October 29, 2017.

Carrowberg (Mall) River, Westport, County Mayo, Ireland.
Source: Cawley F. Castlebar - County Mayo - Christmas Day Cathair na Mart. Castlebarie. Available at: http://www.castlebar.ie/FCawley/Christmas-Day-Cathair-na-Mart_printer.shtml. Accessed October 29, 2017.

Carrowberg (Mall) River, Westport, County Mayo, Ireland.
Source: Cawley F. Castlebar - County Mayo - Christmas Day Cathair na Mart. Castlebarie. Available at: http://www.castlebar.ie/FCawley/Christmas-Day-Cathair-na-Mart_printer.shtml. Accessed October 29, 2017.

  • «(...) that kiss haunted him, waking and sleeping. Need was a clawing, vicious beast crouched inside him, tearing at him constantly.»
  • «(...). Could the man not see that he loved her? She felt it in his touch. Saw it in his eyes. Sensed the gentleness beneath the passion and knew that it didn’t come only from desire. From lust. There was feeling there — and it was more than affection./(...). Held himself safely distanced from the risk of love. What was it, she wondered, that made him so determined to avoid giving his heart?»
  • «"Don’t you get it? If I admit to loving Maura now,” he [Jefferson King] said, “I’m essentially saying that Anna didn’t count. That what we shared was replaceable."»/(...)/«"What, you’re only allowed to love one person in your life?"/(...)./"Are you saying Anna would want you alone and lonely for the rest of your life to prove that you loved her?"» Justice asked Jefferson.
  • «(...) time had a way of dulling the edges of pain or grief. (...) the vaguest feeling of guilt for having to live on. To keep breathing while the one you loved was gone.»
  • «(...) he could love more now, deeper now, because he’d lived longer, knew more, had experienced more. His life had made him more than he had been at the time, so he was capable of feeling more than he’d been able to at twenty.»

segunda-feira, 26 de junho de 2017

The heir (a herdeira [Portuguese])

By Kiera Cass:
Source: Continente.pt. (2017). Kiera Cass "A Herdeira" - Marcador - Continente Online. [online] Available at: https://www.continente.pt/stores/continente/pt-pt/public/Pages/ProductDetail.aspx?ProductId=5842995(eCsf_RetekProductCatalog_MegastoreContinenteOnline_Continente)&refiner=%23%2F%3Fpl%3D80%26page%3D10 [Accessed 26 Jun. 2017].

This novel was translated into Portuguese by Alexandra Cardoso. It is the fourth book in the series "the selection", and I did not like it as much as the others because the action only developed in the last two chapters. In the first chapters, the book seemed to have been written by a different author. But I understand that the first person was different too... she was no longer America, the mother, but her daughter, Eadlyn. Next book is «the Crown».
Some quotes:
  • «(...). The outfit was feminine enough to soften me but strong enough that I’d be taken seriously. (...).»
  • «"(...). You need to be strong, decisive. (...)."» Eadlyn's father, the Prince Maxon, said.
  • «"(...), they serve different purposes. The calls are for updates and to see how her day went. The letters are the things I can’t always say out loud."» Ahren, Eadlyn's brother, said.
  • «"(...). You’ll be the first girl to hold the throne fully in her own right. And people expect a lot from you." (...). "But, (...), that also gives you a lot of bargaining power." (...). "If they really need you to do this, then negotiate."» Ahren said.
  • «I remembered to smile and speak articulately. Years of lessons on how to address an audience had drilled the proper technique into me, (...).»
  • «"(...)." While I wanted to scream those words, I said them with the voice I’d been trained to use in interviews, and I even managed to smile through most of it.»
  • «I knew what she was doing, digging at the same question until I snapped. (...).»
  • «(...) I’d been taught plenty of disarming techniques for interviews or negotiations, (...).»
  • «"(...). We only exist because they found each other. Any other combination would not have created the two of us."» Eadlyn said to Ahren.
  • «"(...) I do think it’s good for you to have someone in your life. (...). There are some things you don’t learn about yourself until you let someone else into the most intimate places of your heart."» Ahren said to Eadlyn.
  • «"(...). You need to experience a romantic relationship at least once in your life."» Ahren said to Eadlyn.
  • «"(...). I’m smart and beautiful and strong. I don’t need to be rescued."» Eadlyn said to Ahren. «Ahren shrugged. "Maybe not. But you never know if one of them might need to be."»
  • «(...). Love did nothing but break down defenses, and I could not afford that. I already gave so much affection to my family that I knew they were my weakness, (...).»
  • «(...), but I have work to do.» Eadlyn said to Baden. «(...). "But don’t you always have work to do? I bet you could stay up till three in the morning if you had to." (...). "And it’ll all still be there when you get back."» Baden said to her.
  • «I gave an award-winning smile.»
  • «"What are you looking for in a husband?"» Gravil asked Eadlyn. «(...). "I’m not sure anyone knows what they’re looking for until they find it."» Eadlyn answered him.
  • «(...). All I needed was to find situations that kept things as close to the surface as possible.»
  • «(...) his [Jack] moves were slow, watching my rising frustration with a reserved thrill of energy, enjoying the building tension until the moment of release.»
  • «(...). Sex and violence were connected in his [Jack] head, and to give him one was close to giving the other.»
  • «"(...). This [cooking] is actually kind of soothing. (...)."» Fox said do Eadlyn.
  • «"(...) I live on my own, so I cook for myself, and I love all the traditional Swedish foods. (...)."» Erik said to Eadlyn.
  • «(...), I picked up the tiny bowl and mallet I assumed was meant for thread crushing and started pressing. It was a strangely satisfying exercise. (...).»
  • «"(...) I think aggression is a sign of weakness. I’m always more impressed when people can end something with words." (...). "(...). (...) '(...), words are weapons. They are all you need.'"» Erik said to Eadlyn.
  • «It was good for everyone if things could be processed where they were grown. (...)./«“I know a little bit about how much it costs to get supplies, and I figured out that it’d be possible to build these smaller huts, (...), fairly inexpensively. (...)."» Kile said to Eadlyn./«(...). They each had a door and a side-facing window. A little tube at the top caught rainwater, and a small bucket collected it by the door. Vents lined the top, and a small tarp jutted out in front, shading the front of the space./"They look so tiny though."» Eadlyn said./«"But they’d feel like a mansion if you were homeless."» Kile answered her./«(...). "There can’t be space for a bathroom in there.”» Eadlyn said. «"No, but most people use facilities inside the plants. (...). This would be strictly for shelter, which means workers would be more rested, have better health . . . and there’s just something special about having a place to call your own.”» Kile answered.
  • «(...). Even her [Camille] perfection was a quiet thing as if she hardly noticed it at all. So though I really, really wanted to hate her, I knew that would look much worse for me (...).»
  • «(...). "There is no measure. Isn’t there one person who fills your heart and takes up all your thoughts?"» Camille asked Eadlyn.
  • «(...). Even with the boys I hadn’t spent much time with, I knew that each of them had a hold on me in some way. (...).»
  • «(...). Maybe there would be one person who’d still want to kiss me when I had a runny nose or would rub my shoulders after a long day of meetings. Maybe I could find someone who didn’t seem so scary, who made letting him past the wall seem natural. (...).»
Kiera Cass thanks «God, (...) mostly for making a world where things like kittens wearing bow ties are a reality»:
Source: Reasons Why Cats Are The Best. The Odyssey Online. Available at: https://www.theodysseyonline.com/reasons-cats-best. Accessed October 29, 2017.

See the trailers:


terça-feira, 9 de maio de 2017

História da ciência em Portugal (Portuguese) (history of science in Portugal)

By Carlos Fiolhais:
Wook.pt. (n.d.). História da Ciência em Portugal, Carlos Fiolhais - Livro - WOOK. [online] Available at: https://www.wook.pt/livro/historia-da-ciencia-em-portugal-carlos-fiolhais/15334948 [Accessed 9 May 2017].

I liked Lourenço Pereira Coutinho's book more than this, both from the same collection of El Corte Inglés, because the former is more organized.
Some interesting quotes:
  • In 1823, Eduardo, abbé José Correia da Serra's son, «described the city of Lisbon that he found: it is a "den of ignorance and superstition fed by a multitude of monks, priests, and friars, whose interest is to keep the lower class in this condition"».
  • The mathematician Francisco Gomes Teixeira (1851-1933) «argued that the Portuguese should publish their scientific work in languages other than Portuguese, in order to allow greater internationalization.»
  • «(...), in 1860, 16 years before the Bell patent, a Luso-German built the first telephone that worked, without registering it. His name was Johann Philipp Reis and his device became known by "Reis' telephone". Reis was the grandson of Sephardic Jews from Beira Baixa who emigrated to Germany in the 18th century. Orphaned as a child, he was raised by a rather deaf Portuguese grandmother. And the phone came from the idea of an artificial ear for the grandmother. (...)! Reis was defeated by his self-dictatorship (his articles in scientific journals were refused), by anti-Semitism and, finally and worse, at age 40, by tuberculosis, the disease of the time, that had killed so many geniuses.»
Johann Philipp Reis (1834-1874)
Source: En.wikipedia.org. (2017). Johann Philipp Reis. [online] Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johann_Philipp_Reis [Accessed 29 Jul. 2017].


Reis' telephone

Source: En.wikipedia.org. (2017). Johann Philipp Reis. [online] Available at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johann_Philipp_Reis [Accessed 29 Jul. 2017].
  • In 1878, Adriano Paiva «proposed a primitive television system, although he never did it in practice.»
  • «Admiral Carlos Gago Coutinho, who became known for the first aerial crossing of the South Atlantic, performed with Sacadura Cabral (...) in 1922, pioneered TSF in Portugal, having patented a signal detector in 1900.»
  • «The hydro-mineral wealth of Portugal has been known since the time of the Romans.»
Geomineral occurrences.
SourceDev.igeo.pt. (n.d.). Atlas de Portugal. [online] Available at: http://dev.igeo.pt/atlas/Cap3/Cap3b_8.html [Accessed 4 Aug. 2017].

The waters.
Source: Bardini, G. (n.d.). As Águas: Os Recursos Hidrominerais. [online] Slideplayer.com.br. Available at: http://slideplayer.com.br/slide/10296475/ [Accessed 4 Aug. 2017].
  • «(...) recognition "that Portugal was perhaps the country of Europe where, in proportion to its territory, there was more mineral water".»
  • «The Royal Schools of Surgery of Lisbon and Porto were created in 1825, associated with the Hospital de S. José [Hospital of Saint Joseph] and the Hospital da Misericórdia [Hospital of Mercy] (today, Hospital de Santo António [Saint Anthony Hospital]), respectively, with a more practical purpose than the Faculty of Medicine of Coimbra.»
Hospital de S. José, Lisbon.
Source: Wikiwand. (n.d.). Hospital de São José | Wikiwand. [online] Available at: http://www.wikiwand.com/pt/Hospital_de_S%C3%A3o_Jos%C3%A9 [Accessed 4 Aug. 2017].

Hospital de Santo António, Porto.
Source: Aresta, M. (n.d.). Turismo do Porto - Portal Oficial - Visitar - Hospital de Santo António (Centro Hospitalar do Porto). [online] Visitporto.travel. Available at: http://www.visitporto.travel/visitar/paginas/viagem/DetalhesPOI.aspx?POI=1830 [Accessed 4 Aug. 2017].

Faculty of Medicine of Coimbra.
Source: Neves, V. (2008). Panoramio - Photo of Universidade de Coimbra - Faculdade de Medicina. [online] Panoramio.com. Available at: http://www.panoramio.com/photo/16651764 [Accessed 4 Aug. 2017].
  • «(...) emerged, as early as 1836, the Medical-Surgical Schools of Lisbon and Porto, that would give rise to the Faculties of Medicine of Lisbon and Porto.»

Faculty of Medicine of Lisbon.
Source: Medicina.ulisboa.pt. (2017). Faculdade de Medicina da Universidade de Lisboa | História. [online] Available at: http://www.medicina.ulisboa.pt/sobre-a-fmul/historia-missao-visao/ [Accessed 4 Aug. 2017].

Faculty of Medicine of Porto.
Source: Sigarra.up.pt. (2017). FMUP - Faculdade de Medicina da Universidade do Porto. [online] Available at: https://sigarra.up.pt/fmup/pt/web_page.inicial [Accessed 4 Aug. 2017].
  • «(...) pneumonic plague, the terrible Spanish flu, that decimated many people in 1918, at the end of World War I.»
  • «(...) studies in the Faculties of Mathematics and Philosophy had to precede the studies of Medicine.»
  • Júlio Dinis (a writer) was the pseudonym of a professor at the Medical-Surgical School of Porto. He died of the disease that people called phthisis (tuberculosis).
  • «(...) sea air was good for the disease [tuberculosis] (...) there were those who went to the island of Madeira - many famous names, like Empress Elizabeth of Austria, better known by Sissi, (...).»


Empress Elizabeth "Sissi" of Austria on Madeira.
Source: DeLancey R. Empress Elizabeth "Sissi" of Austria. Pinterest. Available at: https://www.pinterest.pt/pin/20407004533311047/. Accessed September 2, 2017.

Romy Schneider as Sissi (3, 1957) with Magda Schneider on Madeira.
Source: Margarete M. Sissi. Pinterest. Available at: https://www.pinterest.pt/pin/297237644142164896/. Accessed September 2, 2017.
  • «In Portugal for many, many years, only the biology of classification was practiced, since there were numerous samples available from the country and from the colonies.»
  • «Guilherme Dias Pegado, professor of physics at the Polytechnic School, requested the Government to create a Meteorological Observatory in this school./(...). From 1865, the Lisbon Meteorological Observatory published a bulletin containing the probable weather in Lisbon for the following day.»
Polytechnic School, Lisbon
Source: Vieira J, Santos N. Disciplina - História das Ciências e das Tecnícas. Available at: http://libbmartins.wixsite.com/cienciasetecnicas/sculo-xix---o-sculo-das-cincias-. Accessed September 4, 2017.
  • «Both in the political movement that led to the Republic and in the governments of the First Republic there is a large number of doctors.»
  • «(...), in 1911, the Technical Superior Institute was founded, on the initiative of Alfredo Bensaúde, and, right at the start, it housed some foreign teachers, (...).»
  • «(...) in the period from 1900 to 1944, (...). The author with more works was Abel Salazar, with eight articles. The most cited author was Egas Moniz with 78 citations to his 1937 article that earned him the Nobel Prize.»
Egas Moniz, at the presentation of the results of angiography, at the Santa Marta Hospital, Lisbon.
Source: 12 de Novembro de 1935. A história esquecida das lobotomias de Egas Moniz. ionline. 2015. Available at: https://ionline.sapo.pt/artigo/479975/12-de-novembro-de-1935-a-historia-esquecida-das-lobotomias-de-egas-moniz-. Accessed September 6, 2017.
  • «Abel Salazar was an outstanding physician at the University of Porto. (...)./(...) it was he who said: "The doctor who only knows Medicine not even Medicine knows."»

Abel Salazar (1886-1949)
Source: Homenagem a Abel Salazar. Arquivosrtppt. Available at: https://arquivos.rtp.pt/conteudos/homenagem-a-abel-salazar/#sthash.kS2PyzrU.dpbs. Accessed September 9, 2017.
  • Mário Silva, «together with Álvaro de Matos, professor of medicine, created in 1931 the Radium Institute of Coimbra. Although it was almost ready and Madame Curie accepted to come to the opening, what should have been the first Portuguese Institute of Nuclear Physics, as well as the first Institute of Medical Oncology, it never even opened. The scientific activity of Professor Mário Silva was interrupted with his expulsion from teaching.»
  • «(...), despite his obvious merit, the young mathematician [António Aniceto Monteiro] didn't find a job in a high school. (...). All this because the wise man did not want to sign a role of fidelity to the Estado Novo, (...)./(...) "I don't accept limitations to my intelligence!", he said.
  • «António Egas Moniz (1874-1955) (...). He was born António Caetano de Abreu Freire de Resende, and he was renamed Egas Moniz because the Resende family descended directly from Egas Moniz, the tutor of D. Afonso Enriques.»/«(...) our only Nobel Prize in science: received the Nobel Prize in Medicine and Physiology in 1949 for his work on the prefrontal lobotomy, together with the Swiss Walter Rudolf Hess (...).» In Coimbra, «(...) he took his doctorate, with a thesis entitled "The Sexual Life - Physiology", (...)» in 1910. «(...) he moved the following year to the University of Lisbon when there opened the Faculty of Medicine.» Lobotomy is no longer practiced in the 60s and some families of patients requested that the award of the Nobel Prize were annulled.
  • During the Estado Novo, «(...) construction of some hospitals, such as that of Santa Maria in Lisbon in 1953 and that of St John in Porto in 1959. (...).»
  • «The official beginning of the nuclear in Portugal dates back to 1954 with the creation of the Nuclear Energy Board. The Laboratory of Physics and Nuclear Engineering (predecessor of the current Technological and Nuclear Institute) began to be built in Sacavém in 1957, (...).»
  • «(...), the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation, established in 1956, installed in 1961 the Gulbenkian Institute of Science, which was dedicated mainly to the area of Biology.»


Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation
Source: Fundação Calouste Gulbenkian. Ptwikipediaorg. Available at: https://pt.wikipedia.org/wiki/Funda%C3%A7%C3%A3o_Calouste_Gulbenkian. Accessed September 23, 2017.

Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation
Source: Alves J. Fundação Calouste Gulbenkian - Portugal para Miúdos. Portugal para Miúdos. Available at: https://www.portugalparamiudos.pt/fundacao-calouste-gulbenkian/. Accessed September 23, 2017.

  • «(...) entry of Portugal in the European Union in 1986 (...).»
  • «Investment in science increased until it reached 1.5% of gross domestic product in 2010, reflecting the increase of (...) researchers and their activity. One measure of this growth is the huge increase in the number of PhDs done in or out of the country (increasingly in the country), (...). It also increased the number of scientific publications accordingly.»
  • «1290 - Foundation of the Portuguese University, (...).»
  • «1484 - Queen Dona Leonor founds the Hospital of Caldas da Rainha.»

D. Carlos I Park, Caldas da Rainha

Source: Cruz C. File:Pq d carlos i pavilhoes 1.JPG - Wikimedia Commons. Commonswikimediaorg. 2010. Available at: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Pq_d_carlos_i_pavilhoes_1.JPG. Accessed October 8, 2017.
  • «1536 - The Inquisition is established in Portugal. (...).»
  • «Pedro Hispano (c. 1215-1277) (...) was the first and so far the only Portuguese Pope, although there were before Popes who were born in the region where today is Portugal.»
  • «Garcia de Orta (c. 1500-1568): (...) "Colóquios dos Simples" ("Colloquia of Simple"), a world reference work on plants in India and its medicinal virtues.»
  • «António Nunes Ribeiro Sanches (1699-1783). (...). Empress Catherine the Great gave her a coat of arms with the motto "believed to have been born to be useful not to himself but to the whole world". (...).»
  • «Ricardo Jorge (1858-1939) (...). He introduced concepts and techniques of Public Health in Portugal. (...).»
  • «Augusto Celestino da Costa (1884-1956) (...). He is considered the father of embryology in the Iberian Peninsula. (...).»
  • «António Gião (1906-1969) (...). It was the first Portuguese to publish in "Nature". (...).»
  • «Mário Corino de Andrade (1906-2005) (...). (...) disease of the feet, Andrade or Corino-Andrade disease.»