I am a Tired Linguistics Student

but I need to get my shit together, like help... she/her | bisexual

[warriots]

⚔️ A GUIDE TO ARES WORSHIP ⚔️

So you decided you wanna worship Ares. Great! It's kind of hard to find information on him right away, so I'm here to help you out with this masterpost. It may be big, but covers up just about everything you need to know for a start.

WHO IS ARES?

In hellenic polytheism, Ares is the god of war, bloodshed, courage, battlelust, civil order and rebellion. He is the patron of soldiers and personification of strength.

Ares has been shown in media and in most greek myths as a hotheaded, stupid, sadistic jock who only cares about harming others and causing chaos, but obviously, he is a lot more than that.

Ares is angry, I wouldn't dare saying anything different, but he isn't out of control or mad. Ares is one for minorities and for women, he is a passionate god that inspires us to be brave and keep fighting whenever we feel like we can't anymore.

Most of mythology does not offer an accurate depiction of Ares' character, but that's not the case with the myth of Alcippe.

To sum it up, Alcippe was one of Ares' daughters. She was being raped (in some versions, was about to be raped or generally being sexually assaulted) by Halirrhotius, a son of Poseidon. She cried out for her father, who showed up and killed her rapist. Poseidon wasn't happy with the murder of his son, so the first trial took place. Ares was considered innocent and the hill where his trial took place was named Areopagus after him.

Another time his mythology did not fail him was the myth of the amazons, warrior women who were daughters of Ares. They fought side by side on many occasions and from what I noticed, he's giddy at any mention of them.

I'd describe Ares as an amazing father, a seeker for justice and someone who will be there for you when you need it most – wether it be as the hand on your back, supporting you and urging you on or as the final push of strength you didn't know you had in you.

SACRED DAYS & FESTIVALS

As Ares is connected to Mars, his sacred weekday is Tuesday. Tuesdays are associated with action, physical activity, sexuality, the color red, passion, strength, vitality, raising motivation and anger. Perfect match, right?

Ares had few temples, but was always honoured with special rites in times of war or before battle. Unfortunately, I haven't found many resources for festivals honouring him other than one celebrated only by women and one celebrated only by men.

The one celebrated only by men occured in Geronthrai, in Lakonia. Ares' cult in this village happened yearly, when he was asked to bless those who would serve as soldiers and asked for their victory.

The second festival honored Ares Gynaikothoinas, Ares Feasted by Women. It originated in the Lakonian war, after the women of Tegea set up an ambush for the Lakedaemonians. They won the fight and celebrated by giving victory sacrifices to Ares on their own account, without the men.

I think it's important to say that while the festivals were separated by the gender binary, that doesn't mean that Ares only accepts male or female followers. Being non-binary myself, I know that's not the case, but it's not like centuries of cisgender and heteronormative historians didn't do harm... Anyways! What I mean is: Ares loves every single one of his followers, whether they're cis or not.

TAROT CARDS

The tarot cards associated with Ares are The Chariot and The Emperor.

The Emperor upright means masculinity, stability, fearless, passion, fatherhood, authority, discipline and regulation.

The Chariot upright means advancement, mastery, assertion, willpower and control.

SACRED ANIMALS

serpents

the boar

vultures

dragons

dogs

barn owls

woodpeckers

eagle-owls

SACRED PLANTS

Ares doesn't actually have any sacred plants. In mythology or historical practices, there's nothing about it. Here's some of my UPG:

basil

buttercup

yarrow

ginger

anything with tiny yellow flowers

spicy stuff: peppers, paprika...

ARES' EPITHETS

Thêritas | Beastly

Aphneios | Abundant

Gynaikothoinas | Feasted by Women

Laossos | He Who Rallies Men

Khalkeos | Brazen

Teikhesiplêtês | Stormer of Cities

Aatos polemoio | Insatiate of Fighting

Rhinotoros | Flesh-Piercing

Deinos | Terrible

Enyalios | Warlike

Khrysopêlêx | Of the Golden Helm

Ares has many other epithets. Most of them are about his violence and bloodshed, so I picked my favorites or the ones that focused on other aspects of him.

ARES' SYMBOLS

a peaked warrior's helm

spear

shield

a dog

chariot

flaming torch

vulture

symbol of mars (masculine)

OFFERINGS & DEVOTIONALS

anything you made. seriously. as long as you worked hard and gave it your all, he'll love it.

hot sauce

pork ribs

a whole barbecue, if you'd like. even if it's vegetarian

pretty much any meat

peppers

a lighter

blades (of any kind)

anything that's sharp and potentially deadly

a homemade meal

alcohol in general, but especially whiskey, tequila and beer

exercising. it doesn't matter what it is, as long as you're exhausted, sweaty and gross by the end of it

energy drinks

things made out of iron or steel

beef jerky

bacon

cigarettes

broken glass

storm water

read him books on strategy or war history

take a self defense class

go to a protest

meditate focusing on your heartbeat

participate in political discussions

practice radical sports

dark chocolate (75-80% cocoa)

cookies (homemade are best)

matches

basil

strong scented stuff

study war history

learn first aid

healthy, unharmful things that give you adrenaline rushes (amusement park rides, bungee jumping, etc)

educate yourself on ptsd

spicy foods

follow through with your tasks

watch action movies with him

pet a dog

learn about his children

volunteer work

WHY WORSHIP A GOD OF WAR?

For me, life is war.

I don't say it to sound cool or edgy or whatever may be going through your head right now. In my country, trans people have a life expectancy of 35 years.

I didn't choose for it to be like this. I didn't sign up for a war. This is just my life. I just wanted to live it. I don't want to be fighting a battle every single day I go outside, but I am.

Can you imagine that? Your life being an incessant game of tug of war? Fearing everyone that looks at you funny on the street because oh well, this might be curtains for me?

All I know is war. It may not be the ones that get written down on history books and people make movies about, but it's war. It's terrible, but it's all I know. I can't imagine how my life would be without it. Sometimes, I wonder if there's anything to me but it.

Ares understands. He makes it better. I'm not sure he knows anything but war either, but he doesn't act like that's bad. War is all consuming, and Ares knows that better than anyone. Having him with me, every step of the way, makes it easier.

I was raised with a perfect God. A God that only cared about the beautiful, the perfect, the holy. The rest was shameful and should be cast aside, hidden.

I spent a long time ashamed of myself for it. Ares frees me from this.

He wants to know the ugly, the bad thoughts, the things that hurt and make you ashamed. Ares doesn't mind getting dirty. He'll hold you, bloodied and all, even if your tears wet his clothes.

Ares knows how bad humans can get. He's seen us at our worst, so he won't shy away when you're at the bottom.

He understands that we're flawed. I don't think he minds.

He isn't looking for perfect little angels, free of sin and guilt. You can come to him with with your evil, tell him all that's bad about you, all your past mistakes, all that makes you disgusting and ashamed, and Ares won't even bat an eye. He's seen worse. He might say it's okay, if you're scared. He won't be.

Ares will know all of your flaws and shrug. He will help you with them, loves seeing his followers grow, but won't think less of you for them. If you let him stick around long enough to learn all of your qualities too, Ares will love your bad and good all the same.

[jingerbreadloaf]

I am quiet.

I am quiet when going down the stairs,

Giving my roommates quite some scare.

I am quiet when going to the kitchen,

Eating a midnight snack.

I am quiet when my grades come out

Not in my best interest.

I am quiet when I see my friends thrive,

I don't want them to hear my drowning.

I am quiet when I cry at night,

Because I don't want my sadness to cover their light.

I'm quiet through my caught up breaths and the wet.

I will be quiet when I go.

[paranormal-pan]

Reblog if you support asexuals and aren’t a COWARD

RB if your blog is a safe, accepting space for asexuals!

[phyziks-deactivated20200903]

me, watching my moots reblog this post

[jingerbreadloaf]

Started reading again and I can't wait to dive into this underappreciated gem. I've heard many, many good things about it from friends and professors and I'm excited to see for myself.

[ultrafacts]

Source

Video of Tama

Follow Ultrafacts for more facts

[majikkant-deactivated20180504]

The picture in the background of the second one

[pizzaismylifepizzaisking]

Tama is boss

[ultrafacts]

[cat-fandom]

THE TRAINS HAVE CARTOON TAMAS ON THEM

[ultrafacts]

Sad update everyone, Tama recently passed away… An estimated 3,000 people, including railway officials, attended Tama the cat’s funeral on Sunday, days after she died of heart failure aged 16. [x]

[retro-geek-deactivated20220412]

For those who haven’t read articles about it, the local shrine elevated her to a god. She’s now the Eternal Stationmaster and patron god of the station.

[karinanotcinerina]

Beautiful.

[system-fail-ure-deactivated2021]

Now I’m crying thanks

[sapphic-matriarchy]

and a new cat was hired right?

[clarenecessities]

yep! her name is Nitama (essentially ”second tama” or “tama II”) and she served under Tama as an apprentice before being appointed her deputy

she works very hard

[beasti]

Everytime this crosses my dash, I reblog. It is the law.

[lafayettelabaguette]

Law

[tooiconic]

I’m crying at 11pm over train cats

[sighinastorm]

Nitama, already now a mature cat (born 2010), has a protege named Yontama (fourth Tama, b. 2016).  There is no information available for either the physical befellment or tragic self-disgrace which has removed Santama from contention.

^Nitama majestic, and below with Yontama

Yontama.

[linkislost]

a legacy

[bemusedlybespectacled]

okay but actually what happened to santama (or sun-tama-tama, which is her name because it’s a pun on santama) was that she was basically sent to train for the position in okayama and they liked her so much they refused to send her back

[kindaoffkilter]

“Sun-tama-tama” (a pun off of “Santama”, lit. “third Tama”) was a calico cat sent for training in Okayama. Sun-tama-tama was considered as a candidate for Tama’s successor, but the Okayama Public Relations representative who had been caring for Sun-tama-tama refused to give the cat up writing, “I will not let go of this child, she will stay in Okayama.” [25]

As of September 2018, Sun-tama-tama is working as the stationmaster in Naka-ku, Okayama and appears occasionally on Tama’s Twitter account.

[cryoverkiltmilk]

Every time I see this post there’s new info and it gets better

[northeastartist]

You are only allowed to scroll pass this after you pay tribute to the great Tama Station masters.

[redchrominance]

The shrine of Tama Daimyōjin (Great gracious deity Tama), next to the Kishi station where she worked.

Nitama presenting her yearly offerings to Tama Daimyōjin on the anniversary of Tama’s Death, June 23 (The offerings are presented by the company president, as Nitama is a cat and thus can’t hold the offerings herself) (Not pictured, but also present, Yontama)

[twimmythebabywitch]

you cannot pass without reblogging guys. i’m sorry, i don’t make the rules.

[dduane]

You can’t not reblog a goddess. It’s just what’s so. :)

[jingerbreadloaf]

Paying respect to the laws🔔🙇🙇 🙏🙏🙇

[jingerbreadloaf]

Wet pant legs and soaked socks, but worth it

[reordering-the-planets]

MBTI personality types as ancient Greek gods and godessess

ESFJ Aphrodite (Ἀφροδίτη): Born out of the foam of Uranus’ (God of sky) castrated parts that his son, Titan Cronus, had thrown to the sea. Thus, she emerged from the Ocean in all her beauty and grace and all the water Nymphs and all the Winds came to bow before her. Goddess of love and beauty, of pleasure and of passion as she was, all the men desired her and all the women envied her graces. She married Hephaestus, she desired Ares and she loved Adonis. One could always glimpse her winged son, Eros, god of desire, flying above her as she would’ve often whispered to his ear the next mortal whose his heart was about to be shot by Eros’ arrows.

ENFJ Apollo (Ἀπόλλων): God of light, of sun, of music, of poetry, of truth, of knowledge and protector of the arts. He was everything and he knew it all. People worshiped him all over the known world and build him the most gracious and marvelous temples and oracles, where sunbeams would make the white marbles shine as bright as the sun. In return, Apollo through the voice of gifted diviners would reveal to them what would the future hold. He played his lyre and his daughters, the Muses, would come over from the valleys to accompany his sweet melodies. He loved and protected the young as he, himself, remained a young man forever. He was a healer, but if the mortals were to infuriated him, he would bring the greatest of the plagues on them.

ISFP Artemis (Ἄρτεμις): Twin sister of Apollo as they where both children of Zeus and Leto. Quieter and humbler by nature than her twin brother, she found her call in the deep forests, the mountains and the moon. She befriended all the living things of the wild and devoted herself to their protection. Always bearing a bow in the hand and a handful of arrows on her back, she would hunt in the forests, but she’d never become violent, always honoring her prey. Although she took an oath to remain a virgin, young Orion became her hunting companion and he managed to win her heart. Their love was never meant to blossom, as Artemis shot Orion with an arrow by accident and killed him.

ESTP Ares (Ἄρης): Son of Zeus and Hera as he was, he would grow to become a forceful and a fearful one. Gifted with great physical strength and an everlasting blood lust, he excelled in the battlefields and become a soldier model for the Spartans. He was Aphrodite’s secret lover and together they had many children like Eros, who followed his mother, and Deimos (god of terror) and Phobos (god of fear), who both followed Ares as his warfare companions. The other gods tended to avoid him and on the great Trojan war he was on the losing side, therefore triggering Zeus’ anger towards him. Later, the Romans acknowledged his military intelligence and worshiped him by the name of Mars.

ESTJ Athena (Ἀθηνᾶ): If someone contrived to impersonate the essence of the ancient Greek spirit, it would look like her. It does not surprise that she was goddess of wisdom, handicraft and warfare as well. All three basic elements of the city that she fought with Poseidon for, thus founded and gave it her name, Athens. Athena always wore a helmet, brandished a spear and kept her shield with Medusa’s head on it (that Perseus had gifted to her for helping him in murdering that marine beast) by her side. Legend has it that she was born fully armored from Zeus’ forehead. However, Athena would never initiate an  unreasonable, blood spilling war against her enemies like Ares would do. Wise and strategic as her mind was, Athena favored those with strength and bravery, like Hercules and Perseus, with courage and valiance, like Bellerophon and Jason, as well as those with a sharp mind, like Odysseus, aiding them in multiple ways.

ENTJ Poseidon (Ποσειδῶν): He is known as the sea god, but in fact there was not an element that wouldn’t bow to his will. Poseidon was ruler of the seas, the rivers and all the running waters. He was commander of the earth, the soil, the storms and the mighty earthquakes. He was protector of the noble horses and, as many say, he was the true king of Atlantis. Although he lost supervision of Athens to Athena, the Athenians didn’t forget his volition to become their guardian and they worshiped him almost as much as her. They build him a magnificent temple on the windy top of Cape Sounion, where the waves of the great Aegean sea would crush the rocks beneath it. Poseidon would often help seafarers reach their destination safe and sound. Damn those who would dare sail without a sacrifice to his name for appeasing the tides. A tremendous storm created by a swing of his trident would crash their ship to an unknown land or, even worse, he would drag them all the way down to his wet kingdom. 

ENTP Zeus (Ζεύς): The father of the Gods wasn’t an easy one. As every king that walked the earth, the sea or the skies before and after him, he was whimsical, temperamental and stubborn as a bull. In fact, there were times that he would take the form of a real bull or an eagle, a swan, a bear, a serpent, a flame or even a shower of gold, always to seduce a new love interest of his own. Europa, Cassiopeia, Leda, Alcmene and Ganymede are just a handful of all the women and men he desired and approached while transformed into a creature of beauty, with the sole intention of sleeping with them. It’s no wonder that his wife, Hera, was always mad at him, thus she was the only one that ever managed to scare him a little bit. However, he was Father of everyone and everything. Mortals should not forget that without Zeus, the world would still be at the hands of his tyrannical father, Titan Cronus, whom Zeus with the help of his brothers and sisters managed to overthrow. Thus, he became the true ruler of the skies, bearer of the thunder and enforcer of law and order as well. Among mortals, he was yet another mighty symbol of civilization and justice.

INTJ Hera (Ἥρα): She wasn’t the wife next door. She was the queen of Gods and protector of all the women. Someone could even see her as one of the very first symbols of feminine power in ancient cultures. Her rightful rage towards her unfaithful husband, Zeus, was the fuel of her many vengeful actions against him and his lovers. Although she refused Zeus’ first marriage proposal, after marrying him, she became goddess of marriage and patron of the household and childbirth. Hera could be your worst enemy (even Zeus was sometimes afraid of her), but also your most valuable ally. But, most of all, she was true to herself and to her worshipers. After all, she was the queen-mother of the world.

INTP Hades (ᾍδης) or Plouton (Πλούτων): After the Gods defeated the Titans at the beginning of time, the males ones (Zeus, Poseidon and Hades at that time) gathered together to drew lots of ruler-ship over the world. Although Hades was the eldest between them, Zeus received the sky, Poseidon the earth and the sea, but Hades’ fate was to become king of the underworld. He took Persephone, Demeter’s daughter, for his wife and made her queen at his side. A giant three-headed dog guarded the doors to the underworld, thus making entrance to anyone alive almost impossible. Hades didn’t care for the affairs of the world of the living, or even for the matters of the rest of the gods. Although he wasn’t evil, mortals avoided to refer to him by his name in case they drew his attention. They mostly called him Plouton, which meant “rich”, as all the precious minerals came from the underground, thus the boundary of Hades’ kingdom.

ISFJ Demeter (Δημήτηρ): A rather motherly figure and a well-respected goddess. Demeter loved the earth and everything that came from the soil. She protected farmers and brought to them a good harvest year after year. The humblest seed took root whenever blessed by her. Nothing was more precious to her than her own daughter, Persephone. When Hades abducted Persephone with the intention to marry her, Demeter fell in deep sorrow and not a single thing would grow anymore. Everyone was desperate, and an era of great famine was upon the humans.

INFP Persephone (Περσεφόνη) or Kore (Κόρη): It is said that before her abduction by Hades, Persephone was called Kore, which means maiden or daughter. She was, in fact, the beloved daughter of Demeter, that one day while she was peacefully gathering flowers, Hades came and abducted her, as he was deeply in love with the girl. Demeter was so angry and sad after that incident, that forbade the earth to produce and she begun to wander around looking for Persephone. Zeus heard the cries of the hungry mortals and persuaded Hades to release her. Hades tricked Persephone to eat the seeds of a pomegranate before leaving the underworld, but she ignored that if someone tasted underworld food, they were obliged to come back. Demeter agreed that Persephone would spent half a year on earth and half below it. As a result, the time that Persephone returned to Hades as queen of the underworld, Demeter’s sorrow of her daughter’s absence would make winter on earth. As soon as Persephone come back to earth, she would bring the spring with her. Thus, people worshiped her as a goddess of the springtime and the flowers.

ENFP Dionysus (Διόνυσος, Diónysos) or Bacchus (Βάκχος): This one knew how to enjoy life to the fullest. As the god of wine, theater and ecstatic dance, Dionysus was an emblem of freedom and basically… fun. With vines in his hair, a thyrsus in his hands (a wand of ivy vines and leaves) and a smile on his face, Dionysus would stroll the valleys with his many followers, dancing ecstatically, driving them to divine mania. Mortals would call him “the god who comes”. His companion included goat-legged satyrs and maenads. The last ones were women who, after coming to ecstatic frenzy through dancing and drinking, would please Dionysus through blood-offerings, which in some cases meant that maeneds would kill men with bare hands. Dionysus is said to be a god who dies and rises back from the dead. His many, divine powers still remain a mystery to many of us, mortals.

ISTP Hephaestus (Ἥφαιστος): His form and character does not remind of a god. He was a shy one and would rather spend his time crafting weapons on his hot anvil. However, Hephaestus was the god of fire and served as a blacksmith of gods and heroes. His many creations include Hermes’ winged helmet and sandals, Aphrodite’s girdle, Achilles’ armor, Heracles’ bronze clappers, Helios’ (god of the Sun) chariot, Eros’ bow and arrows and all the thrones of the Gods in Olympus. The legend has it that he was Hera’s son, one that she made by herself out of jealously of Zeus giving birth to Athena out of his head. However, Hera ejected him from mount Olympus, because he was lame on one leg. Hephaestus took revenge against Hera by crafting her a magical golden throne, which, when she sat on, it didn’t allow her to stand up, thus making both her legs useless.

ESFP Hermes (Ἑρμῆς): Also known as the “divine trickster”, the messenger of the gods and the guide to the underworld. Hermes was a pleasant god who protected travelers, merchants, shepherds, athletes and thieves, as he was all of those things himself. His appearance is quite known. A young man with the top of his head full of playful curls, wearing winged sandals, winged petasus (traveller’s hat) and holding the kerykeion (a short staff entwined by two serpents and surmounted by wings). Always being on the move, Hermes loved playing tricks on other gods and mortals.

ISTJ  Hestia (Ἑστία): Hestia was one of the six children of Kronos and Rhea (among Zeus, Hera, Hades, Poseidon and Demeter) and therefore one of the oldest Gods. She was goddess of the home and domesticity as her name suggests (Ἑστία means “hearth”) as well as protector of households. Mortals used to gift her the first offering of every sacrifice in the household. During the founding of a colony, flame from Hestia’s public hearth in colonizers’ mother city would be carried to the newly founded one. Hestia rejected both the marriage proposals of Poseidon and Apollo, and took an oath of virginity (like Artemis). She cared little for the conflicts of gods and mortals and tended to her domestic matters. Hestia was the simplest and humblest between gods and even offered her place in Olympus to Dionysus, making him the 12th Olympian god in her place, thus showing her divine magnanimity.

INFJ Asclepius (Ἀσκληπιός): He was originally the son of Apollo and a mortal woman. His father offered him, when still an infant, to centaur Chiron to mentor him. Chiron taught him the art of medicine, but an ancient legend says that a snake returned a favor of Asclepius back to him by licking his ears clean and passing him secret knowledge of healing. In order to honor the snake, Asclepius made a rod wreathed with a snake his divine symbol. This very rod is still nowadays associated with healing and medicine. Asclepius mastery of healing reached the level of bringing people back from the dead. This act infuriated Hades and forced Zeus to kill Asclepius and turn him into a constellation known as Ophiuchus (“the Serpent Holder”), which many claim it to be the 13th sign of the zodiac circle.

[jingerbreadloaf]

Me, an E/INFP, dionysus and/or persephone, with no in-between

[anancientheart]

ok universe, i’m ready to feel good things. make me feel good things.

[anancientheart]

whenever i post this it works  reblog if u want to feel good things & the universe will bring u something sweet 

[magickkate]

pleeeaase

[jingerbreadloaf]

お願いします

[idontlikedicktionaries]

REBLOG IF ITS OKAY TO TALK TO YOU.

Please.

[1tsdanny]

PLEASE TALK TO ME Y’ALL

[space-777-girl]

My messages are always open!!

[jingerbreadloaf]

Please talk to me

[jingerbreadloaf]

New years resolution for 2021:

1. Survive, if possible try to go a lil above those standards.

2. Make sure Hydrating™

3. Read minimum one book.

4. Get straight A's

5. Manifest this resolution

6. Get a translation/foreign relations job/internship

7. Better skin

8. Self care

9. No bullshit

[jingerbreadloaf]

Before and after photos. The sheer amount of chaos from my lad over there.

[jingerbreadloaf]

An attempt at translating Haizi's poem, "facing the sea, with spring blossoms"

This is a short poem by the contemporary Chinese poet, Haizi. Some context and background to better understand his words is that Haizi committed suicide two months after writing this.

This poem records his final thoughts: wishing that the world could be simple again; hoping that the act of tossing away materialism and going back to the basics would bring him joy. Haizi wished to be away from the world, away from people and society.

Tis a checklist of things that might spark joy. Yet, it has a depressing nature of being a bucket list that he might never check off.

This irony is a wake up call to society that depression is not a simple matter of being sad. We can be depressed and still look towards a future. We can be depressed and still dream. We can be depressed and still love the world.

Thse last words bestow a prayer into the world, that a stranger might come across this poem and be inspired to have what he could not achieve. I hope I've managed to express the conflicted nature of this poem in English.

Facing the sea, with spring blossoms

From tomorrow on, become a happy man

Feed the horse, split some firewood, travel the world

From tomorrow on, care for the crops and vegetables

I have a house, facing the sea, with spring blossoms

From tomorrow on, write to all the loved ones

Tell them about my happiness

What the lightning bolt of happiness tells me

I will tell everyone

For every river and every mountain, designate an endearing name

Stranger, I wish you the best also

I hope you will have a brilliant future

I hope you will find love and a place to belong

I hope you will receive happiness on this earth

I only wish to face the sea, with spring blossoms

[jingerbreadloaf]

Book List for the 2020-2021 School Year: 20 books from 20 different countries

Ulysses, James Joyce, Ireland -------✓✓✓

Cloudstreet, Tim Winton, Australia

1Q84, Haruki Murakami, Japan

Kronikë në gru, Kadare, Albania -----✓✓

A Hundred Years of Solitude, Colombia

Faust, von Goethe, Austria

Heartbreak Tango, Manuel Puig, Argentina

The Master and the Margarita, Russia

The Count of Monte Cristo, Dumas, France

The Trial, Kafka, Czech Republic

Tale of Two Cities, Dickens, England

The Divine Comedy, Dante, Italy

Illiad, Homer, Greece

Forest of the Gods, Sruoga, Lithuania

The Long Walk to Freedom, Nelson Mandela, South Africa

Invisible Man, Ralph Ellison, USA

The Shadow of the Wind, Carlos Ruiz Zafón, Spain

We were the Lucky Ones, Georgia Hunter, Poland

Dust, Yvonne Owuor, Kenya

By the River Piedra I Sat Down and Wept, Paulo Coelho, Brazil