São Paulo - 459 years

São Paulo is the largest city in Brazil. Its 11 million inhabitants are used to crowded places, to the everyday heavy traffic and to being always in a hurry. It's a cosmopolitan city, with lots of different cultures converging on a very urban scene.

If you have ever heard of São Paulo, this is probably what they told you about it - and I can surely tell you it's true. But there's more about this city than that. On the 459th anniversary of my homeplace, I had visited one of its 63 parks and decided to share some pictures with you.

by Bruno

by Bruno

by Bruno

I always say that I'm a very urban person and that I love to live on a big city. But it's always nice to take a rest on a green area, and that is also possible in São Paulo. So, this is my tribute post to my city on it's day (which was actually 2 days ago, but I'm still enjoying the holliday!).

Happy Birthday, São Paulo!

My reading list in 2012

Happy new year, everyone! I hope you all had great holidays! I sure had, mainly since I spent reveillon with friends and having lots of fun. I hope 2013 will be a great year for everyone and that we will be able to reach all of our goals.

For 2012, I didn't set a list of goals. But I did set a goal for reading: I planned to read 20 books, and at least 5 of them should be in English. Now I want to share with you all the list of the books I read, kind of in the order I did.

Please note: the first title I'll mention for the book is on the language I read it. If it's a translation, then the original title will follow in parenthesis.

Here is my list:

Books I read in 2012

Luka and some of the books of this list

1. O senhor dos anéis: o retorno do rei (Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King), by J. R. R. Tolkien. Rate: 5/5

2. World War Z, by Max Brooks. Rate: 5/5

3. A agência nº 1 de mulheres detetives (The No.1 Ladies' Detective Agency), by Alexander McCall Smith. Rate: 2/5

4. Eeee eee eeee, by Tao Lin. Rate: 4/5

5. Três sombras (Trois Ombres), by Cyril Pedrosa. Rate: 5/5

6. Eusébio Macário, by Camilo Castelo Branco. Rate: 1/5

7. O guia do mochileiro das galáxias (The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy), by Douglas Adams. Rate: 5/5

8. O restaurante no fim do universo (The Restaurant at the End of the Universe), by Douglas Adams. Rate: 4/5

9. How to Train Your Dragon, by Cressida Cowell. Rate: 5/5

10. Desesperados (Desesperate Characters), by Paula Fox. Rate: 1/5

11. Persépolis (Persepolis), by Marjane Satrapi. Rate: 4/5

12. A vida, o universo e tudo mais (Life, the Universe and Everything), by Douglas Adams. Rate: 5/5

13. The Fault in Our Stars, by John Green. Rate: 3/5

14. Tia Júlia e o escrevinhador (La tia Julia y el escribidor), by Mario Vargas Llosa. Rate: 5/5

15. Dexter: a mão esquerda de Deus (Darkly Dreaming Dexter), by Jeff Lindsay. Rate: 3/5

16. Até mais, e obrigado pelos peixes! (So Long, and Thanks for All the Fish), by Douglas Adams. Rate: 4/5

17. The Perks of Being a Wallflower, by Stephen Chbosky. Rate: 4/5

18. The Casual Vacancy, by J. K. Rowling. Rate: 5/5

19. Looking For Alaska. Rate: 4/5

Reading Looking for Alaska on my tablet, during the reveillon trip

So, as you see, I didn't reach my mark of 20 books, but 7 out of 19 books were in English, so I'm proud enough. For 2013 I'll keep the mark of reading 20 books, and at least 7 of them must be in English. Wish me luck with that!

Did you read any of the books on my list? Although I didn't write a review for any of them, I'm always willing to debate and comment everything I read. So, please comment if you have an opinion on these books! :)