Saturday, September 25, 2010


Comic Style Headbands

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These are way too cool!! Love the whole concept :)



These headbands are available in different types of colors for $22. The same store also sells the following two designs:


The bottom one is a bit expensive than the ones above it's featured at $125.

Check out more of these at the Etsy Store

Nouriko

Wednesday, September 15, 2010


Even I think it's lame!

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So I found this as I was shoppin in virgin! Hey I'm a huge MJ fan and messin up the lyrics aint cool.. This is too funny LOL

Ps. Notice the out-of-place broken heart! :\
Sent from my BlackBerry ®

Nouriko

Tuesday, September 7, 2010


First Apple Home Computer

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Wow!! What a huuugggeee difference huh?!! well it has been 33 years. This home computer was released in 1977 and sold for US 1298 for the 4K RAM and US 2638 for the 48K RAM.

Nouriko

Monday, September 6, 2010


Free Hugs?!

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Awww or creepy?!!

Well from the looks of it... I'd go with creepy! :/


Nouriko

Saturday, September 4, 2010


Titanic sightings.. in Pakistan?!!

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No kidding!!.. Read on..



The above photo is from an amusement park ride on the banks of River Kabul.



Following Titanic (locally spelled as Taitanic) image is painted on a Bus. There are quite a few details worth mentioning in this photo. Do not forget to note the shadows of Kate Winslet and Leonardo DiCaprio at the front of the ship. The shadows however, seem to be sitting back to back after an apparent fight between the two. Also note the presence of two huge dish antennas on top of Taitanic. They are the size of those which are used to detect the presence of extra-terrestrial intelligence in the universe. It is amazing that inspite of so much technology present on our Taitanic it still managed to hit an iceberg.


And of course see how just above Taitanic’s deck, the gasoline in-let of the bus has been covered with a silver lid and a traditional lock.



The image above is also taken from a bus by gramali2007 @ Flikr

Nouriko

Friday, September 3, 2010


Funny Find

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So as I was looking through the bookstore when I was away. I found a dedicated section to the Twilight saga and interestingly enough found this book LOL!!
Sent from my BlackBerry ®

Nouriko


Happy Independence Day Qatar

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I Love you!! :")

Nouriko

Thursday, September 2, 2010


يوسف السباعي

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من أروع الشخصيات العربية والمصرية بالتحديد، ويعتبر من أجمل الكتاب ومن المفضليين لدي شخصياً، فقد تعرفت على كتاباته عن طريق والدتي، ومن بعدها لم أستطع التوقف عن القرآة له، والجميل في الإستاذ يوسف هو مقدرتة على إستحواذ القارئ من أول كلمة في صفحة كتبه ورواياته. ومن الأمور التي أبدع بها في كتاباته هو كتابة المقدمة أو الإهداء فلم ألحظ أحداً من المؤلفيين قبله كتب بتلك الروعة التي تفنن بها الإستاذ يوسف. كما حرص على إستخدم الأحداث التاريخية التي مرت بها مصر في تلك الفترة من أيام السادات في كتاباته، فأعطى فرصة لمن لم يعش في تلك الفترة أن يتعلم وينمي معرفته كأنما قد تعايش تلك الأحداث تماماً، ففي كلماته عفوية وبساطة إنسان أحب بلده وعمله وكان ذلك واضحاً في كل مؤلفاته.ن

وهذه نبذة بسطة لذلك الأديب الذي وإن إستمريت في الكلام فلن أوفيه حقه : ب



يوسف محمد محمد عبد الوهاب السباعي (17 يونيو 1917 - 18 فبراير 1978) << برج الجوزاء مثل برجي :)ن

تخرج السباعي في الكلية الحربية في سنة 1937. منذ ذلك الحين تولي العديد من المناصب منها التدريس في الكلية الحربية. تم تعيينة في سنة 1952 مديرا للمتحف الحربي وتدرج في المناصب حتى وصل إلى رتبة عميد.أديب مصري شغل منصب وزير الثقافة سنة 1973، ورئيس مؤسسة الأهرام ونقيب الصحفيين. قدم 22 مجموعة قصصية وأصدر 16 رواية آخرها العمر لحظة سنة 1972. نال جائزة الدولة التقديرية في الآداب سنة 1973 وعددا كبيرا من الأوسمة. لم يكن أديباً عادياً، بل كان من طراز خاص وسياسياً على درجة عالية من الحنكة والذكاء.عينه الرئيس المصري أنور السادات وزيراً للثقافة، وظل يشغل منصبه إلى أن اغتيل في قبرص في 18 فبراير 1978 بسبب تأييده لمبادرة السادات بعقد سلام مع إسرائيل منذ أن سافر إلى القدس سنة 1977

لقرأة المزيد زوروا صفحة ويكيبيديا

Nouriko

Monday, August 30, 2010


Disney Dream Portrait Series

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These are such an amazing series of photos done by the one and only Annie Leibovits, they belong to the Dream Portrait Serie which is an advertisement campaign from Disney featuring many well known celebrities as your traditional Disney characters. Check them out =)


^^ Scarlett Johansson as Cinderella


^^ Rachel Weisz as Snow White


^^ Mikhail Baryshnikov as Peter Pan, Gisele Bündchen as Wendy and Tina Fey as Tinkerbell


^^ Jessica Biel as Pocahontas


^^ Jennifer Lopez as Jasmine and Marc Anthony as Aladdin


^^ Whoopi Goldberg as the Genie


^^ David Beckham as Prince Phillip from Sleeping Beauty

What do you think is the best photograph?!


Nouriko

Thursday, July 15, 2010


Marie Antoinette: Event Insperation

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Most of you out there are familiar with the movie Marie Antoinette that came out in 2006 staring Kristen Dunst. Well, I came across this really cool Marie Antoinette Inspired event:


An enchanted evening awaits! Gather your best shoes, and Marie inspired gown and join us for a night of champagne, sweets and dancing at the grand ball!


There will be a gourmet feast of sweets offered fit for a queen, and a contest for the best Marie Antoinette costume!


To find out more about this event pls click here

Nouriko

Saturday, July 10, 2010


The Cell.. part 2

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Reveling more of my visit to The conciergire a former royal palace and a prison in Paris inwhich the queen Marie Antoinette was impresioned before her trial.



The Exterior of the Conciergerie.

The Amazing Interior of the Conciergerie.

Inside the cell of Marie Antoinette.



The most famous prisoners (and victims) included Queen Marie Antoinette, the poet André Chénier, Charlotte Corday, Madame Élisabeth, Madame du Barry and the Girondins, who were condemned by Georges Danton, who was in turn condemned by Robespierre, who was himself condemned and executed in a final bout of bloodletting. So you can clearly see that this place has seen dark and bloody days within French's history.

I read that the Conciergerie was decommissioned in 1914 and was opened to the public as a national historical monument. Today it is one of the top tourists attractions.


Related posts: The Cell..

Nouriko

Wednesday, July 7, 2010


Titanic Confirmed in 3D release

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That's right folks! James Cameron recently announced that he is going to release his 1997 blockbuster hit, Titanic in 3D.

The date has been set in April 2012 which happens to be the 100 year anniversary of the luxury liner's sinking.

Sounds really cool! I know I wouldn't wanna miss that one, even though I watched the movie like 100 times ^_^

Nouriko

Tuesday, July 6, 2010


J.K Rowling visits hogwarts

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Image: Universal has released two photos of JK Rowling touring the Wizarding World of Harry Potter theme park escorted by Mark Woodbury, president of Universal Creative.

JK Rowling, writer of the Harry potter series visited the Harry Potter theme park, the ‘Wizarding World’ recently. She amazed the onlookers when she spent 300 pounds on delights such as Bertie Bott’s Every Flavour Beans and Chocolate Frogs at the Honeydukes confectionary shop.

Rowling was one of the star guests who attended the VIP launch night of the theme park in Orlando, Florida, on Wednesday.

Honeydukes also gave fans the chance to purchase sweets enjoyed by Harry and his friends.

“She seemed thrilled that her creations had come to life and were on sale in real life, so she bought loads of sweets,” the Daily Express quoted a staff member as telling the Sunday Express.

Nouriko


Oxford celebrates Alice in Wonderland

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“We hope people will dress up and give the city a sort of Wonderland feel.” Esther Browning, Co-ordinator of the Oxford-based Story Museum.

OXFORD is set to become a magical Wonderland for a day as the city celebrates one of its most famous fictional heroines.
The third Alice’s Day is on Saturday, July 10, with a host of activities celebrating Oxford author Lewis Carroll’s most famous creation, Alice in Wonderland.
Up to 10,000 people are expected to attend. Taking part in Alice-themed events – with many expected to arrive in fancy dress imitating some of the books’ memorable characters.

Alice’s Day was first held in 2007, and again last year. More than 7,000 people took part in last year’s event, so organisers decided to make it an annual occasion.

Sounds really cool huh?! I really wanna attend one of those celebrations in the future ^_^

Nouriko

Thursday, July 1, 2010


Arabic section.. really?!!

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As I was stroling through Virgin the other day at Villagio, I walked towards the so clamied "Arabic" section in the books area.

I was surprised to see that the "Arabic" section held books under the names of: Daniel Steal, Simone de Bofore and William Fokner. Now correct me if I'm wrong but these names don't sound arabic to me?!!..

I do understand having forgien books translated into Arabic but these were the only books displayed there. I seriously feel sad to see that amazing Arabic writers like: Ehsan Abdelgdoss, Yousif Al Sebai and Najeeb Mahfoz not avaliable at the market and at such popular places as Virgin.

I felt like I needed to address this promblem that is occuring not only at Virgin stores but at many places in Doha.

Nouriko

Sunday, June 27, 2010


Toilet-less?!!

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Let's say this tops one of the WTF you'll ever encounter in your life!! let me tell you why..

Many of the things we wonder when we talk about history is the way of life (day to day life that is) from how people deal with daily normal activities. Thats one of the things that I wondered when I've been to the palace of Versailles.

I read once that the royalty in France in the 1700s and 1800s didn't have an actual "Bathroom" so automatically I thought okay so how do they do their business?! and what I discovered is that the servants bring the above pictured seat that can be carried anywhere and the royalties would use it then the servants have to get rid of it -_-"

As gross as that sounds.. that was the way life was before pluming! THANK GOD THAT CHANGED!!!

Ps. The picture was snapped by me when I was on a private tour at Versailles last year (Very Awesome)

Nouriko

Thursday, June 24, 2010


The List is life

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As you would have probably guessed by now im a history fanatic and a huge movie fan too! Now what if I had the pleasure of having a mixture of the two?.. Heaven!!!

A while back at univeristy, I watched a movie called “Schilnder’s List” for an English class and the movie was about the holocaust that occurred to the Jews in Germany during the Nazis era around 1939. That time was one of the most horrifying times in histoy, a pin point that will remain visable in the world’s historical records either told in books or captured by film which is how I was introduced to it.

Schidler’s List was directed by the one and only Steven Spileberg and starting Liam Neeson as Oskar Schindler, a German businessman who saved the lives of more than a thousand Polish Jewish refugees during the Holocaust by employing them in his factories. (Based on a true story)

This part of history is not only adopted by this film, many stories brought up hints about these events. It's funny how this storyline reminded me of, a cartoon called (La7n al7yah) which translates to: The sound of Music, which is cartoon was depicting. I remember at the final episodes of this cartoon, the Nazis were taking over Europe. As a viewer, you can see clearly how people/characters were terrifed by the ways of the Nazis who eventually became a part of today's pop culture as a sign of racism and prejudice.

The movie was excellent yet a little hard on the eyes as it displayed forms of tourture that took place in Auschwitz concentration camp. It was considered a box office hit, taking home 7 Academy Awards so it would be a good idea to give it a view :)

If you decide to watch it pls share your thoughts, I'd love to hear from you!

Nouriko

Monday, June 21, 2010


وإسلاماه

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من أجمل أعمال السينما المصرية في عصرها الذهبي ومن أحب الأفلام التاريخية لدي.. فيلم وإسلاماه.ح

وتدور أحداث القصة بين عامي ٦٣٣-٦٥٨ ميلادية في أفغانستان، وتبدأ مع هروب سلامه من هجوم التاتار علي مملكة السلطان جلال، وقد أخذ سلامه معه ابنة السلطان "جهاد" وابن أخته "محمود" وقرر بيعهم مع العبيد حتي لا يتم الإمساك بهم وهكذا تبدأ المغامرة وتنشأ قصة حب بين جهاد التي تقوم بدورها الفنانة لبنى عبدالعزيز ومحمود الذي يقوم بدورة الفنان القدير أحمد مظهر الذي قام ببطولة العديد من الأفلام المعروفة والناجحة.م

وما أعجبني في هذا الفليم هو الجو العام من أماكن التصوير إلى الديكور والملابس، فيقدم هذه الفليم جزء للجميع من قصة حب وأجواء إسلامية وتاريخية حتى جزء من الأكشن بمشاهد المبارزات والتفنن بركوب الخيل!ي

إنه لمن الأسف أن أعمال مثل هذه لم يشاهدها الأغلبية لأنني متأكدة أنه سينال إعجاب الكثيرين لتوافر كل مقومات العمل الناجح فيه.م

Nouriko

Tuesday, June 8, 2010


Nouriko?!! :/

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How did that come about?! Some wondered where did that nickname come from?!!

Well typically the nicknames for the name "Noor" are (Nawari.. Noorz.. Nawar.. etc) so "Nouriko" was something different than the usual. (a reason that made me like it eventually)

It all started with a cartoon I used to watch with my bro called "Al Batal" (The Champion) it was about a kid from tokyo who was striving to become a professional boxer. One of the characters in this cartoon was called Nouriko and from that moment on my bro kept calling me that.

I found it to be so annoying at the beginning cause I didn't like the character that much! but with time, PLENTY of it, I got used to the name and ended up liking it! ^_^

Good Job bro! :p

Nouriko

Friday, June 4, 2010


The Cell..

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“I was a queen, and you took away my crown; a wife, and you killed my husband; a mother, and you deprived me of my children. My blood alone remains: take it, but do not make me suffer long.” - Marie Antoinette

Following my path to exploring the incidents of the French Revolution, I headed to the Conciergerie which was a former royal palace and prison in Paris. Located across from the Louvre Museum, I didn't know what to expect when I dedicated a day to go there. Being to a royal palace is a cool thing but a prison? the idea of having one place that offered the thrill of opposite experiences sounded so appealing to me.

However, The real reason behind my quest was to see the famous cell of the queen "Marie Antoinette". YES, it was the ACTUAL cell that she was prisoned in during the revolution when she was captured. As I stepped in, I was amazed by the architecture of the place, it looked somewhat like a church from the inside with complex details and a twirl-shaped staircase that led to the kitchen (as I was told).

As I got to the queen's cell, I had the same excitement as I did when I went to see the Monalisa but this was different. This place went through tough times and it had that thing about it that made you want to stay silent as you wander around inside. Finally, after passing the prisoners cells I got to my destination and I looked through the small window with the overlapped bars (As you can see from the pic above) It was such a dramatic moment as I looked in and to my surprise there she was.


The recreation of the cell and her majesty sitting made me speechless as well as the tourists who were with me. I took good shots but I also observed and thought about how she could have possibly felt then. Alone, trapped with her husband and children taken away from her.

Speechless...

Nouriko

Saturday, May 29, 2010


A Slayer is Re-Born

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How many of us are hooked up on TV shows right now? let's say almost 99.9%? Well one of the shows that I've been watching for a long time is Buffy The vampire slayer. A product of one of the most creative minds in the business Mr. Joss Whedon!

What makes Buffy stand out for me is not just the story-line nor the characters, but the ability to experiment with the show. The buffy cast and crew did a musical episode that was endured in the sixth season entitled "Once More with feeling".

Not just that! but with the show ending at season 7, the creator of the show didn't want to disappoint the large number of awaiting fans so he turned into a different medium to tell the rest of the story.

Turning Buffy the vampire season 8 into a comic. The major plus about doing a comic is having more room to experiment with the story-line. Doing anything and everything that the writers can think of. Not to mention that the art of the comic is sooooo amazing and very much true to the feeling and the concept of the show.

I've been following the story every since issue 1 hit the stands back in March 2007.

Nouriko

Saturday, May 22, 2010


Whooo are youuu?!

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A very easy question yet not so easy to answer, at least I would think so.

We all are familiar with Alice in wonderland which is such an amazing story (one of the all time classics and one of my all time personal faves). The story goes like this: in Chapter 5 of the book, Alice comes across a Caterpillar that is resting on top of a giant mushroom smoking a hookah pipe. The two stare at each other in silence before the Caterpillar asks Alice, “Who are you?”

Alice in the other hand, finds it difficult to answer the Caterpillar's question. She is surprised that she's finding trouble with it. Think about it, who knows you more than you know yourself? yet can you seem to answer the above question easily?

Back to the book, Alice struggles with the importance and instability of personal identity. It is obvious that she is constantly ordered to identify herself by the characters she meets, but she herself has doubts about her own identity as well. I guess the positive thing about this is in one way or another we do know who we really are but because in time and in life we grow, change and experience things that affects and adds to who we are and ultimately to who we become.

Food for thought..

Nouriko

Friday, May 21, 2010


Many Faces

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" Though dreams can be deceiving, like faces are to hearts, they serve for sweet relieving, when fantasy and reality lie too far apart."

How often did you hear the expression "Don't judge a book by it's cover" ?
I guess every person takes a journey through life thinking that people are exactly like the way they look or the way they act. However, that doesn't seem the case. Many would agree that life or should I say
time teaches you to weigh in carefully who is being honest and who is not.

Nouriko

Thursday, May 20, 2010


Encountering the Monalisa

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Definitely one of the coolest things I've got to do this past summer in Paris. I decided to go to the Louvre which (funny enough) I've been wanting to do forever. I never got to go to the Louvre even after the number of times I've visited Paris. Every time I decide to go something has to happen to change that plan.

Anyways, Finally I decided okay! it's been long enough I have to spend a day at the Louvre so I went and ofcourse I was looking forward to seeing the famous "MonaLisa" as many of the tourists did. I have to admit when I entered the building I was truly amazed by the structure and a bit distracted by the Library and the Gift shop :P (which I spent hours at later).

I walked in, past all the sections and the periods of history with the excitement of getting closer to the Monalisa. It's funny how at every single corner there was always a poster that indicated "The Monalisa ---->" pointing you to the direction.. on the right.. on the left.. up the stairs.. down ahead! Until...

I got to a narrow long hallway that had paintings on both sides, I knew that the Monalisa was near since I saw crowds of people standing by a giant doorway on the right. So I entered and there she was. I have to admit that I was shocked by how extremely small the painting of Monalisa was. I thought it was just the effect of standing far away but as I got closer and closer.. I realized it was actually SMALL or not THAT big as you'd probably expect.

It was kinda funny as I kept staring at her while people were taking pictures as you can obviously see above. The Monalisa was one of those experiences that were considered as a "big deal" and it was! I would wanna go see her again, you know.. just to say Hello! :)

Nouriko

Wednesday, May 19, 2010


The Queen of France

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For many of the people who know me personally, they know that I am obsessed with everything that has to do with the French Revolution and Marie Antoinette (otherwise known as the last queen of France).

Where did that obsession come from you wonder? Well first of all the story of Queen Marie Antoinette is with no doubt one of the most tragic stories in history.

In my situation, It all started with a anime I watched when I was younger. Lady Oscar is what it's called in Arabic but in many other languages it's known as The Rose Of Versailles. The story of the anime takes place in France during the 1700s when Louis the 13th, the king of france marries off his grandson Louis the 16th to Maria Theresa's daughter Maria Antoinia (an austrian princess) who later became known as Marie Antoinette.

Growing up, I got more and more interested in reading about that time in France that was going through an era that changed the course of history where the people formed a union against the ruling of the King and Queen. The story to me is more like a soap opera and it is evident in the number of novels/fiction/movies written about Marie Antoinette and the era of the French Revolution.

However, to me the sad thing is the ideas and "misconceptions" most people have about the queen, with the famous quote "Let them eat cake" that she didn't say according to Author Antonia Fraser who wrote Marie Antoinette: The Journey that Sofia Coppola adopted into a movie in 2006.

Pls keep in mind that A) the queen was 14 years old when she got married. B) France and Austria were enemies 7 years prior to her marriage to Louis. C) She was handed over to a court that is known for being emotionless and overly strict. D) Being young, she trusted people around her and they took advantage of that. E) She was accused of not wanting to have children when her husband Louis had a condition that didn't allow him to preform his part, besides being awkward and not know how to deal with his wife.

Finally I just end with a quote by the queen herself. “Courage! I have shown it for years; think you I shall lose it at the moment when my sufferings are to end?”

Nouriko

Friday, May 14, 2010


And Then There Were None!

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.أول قصة قرأتها للكاتبة الشهيرة أجاثا كريستي، القصة التي عرفتني على أشهر الكتاب في التاريخ وبالفعل تستحق هذه الكاتبة العظيمة مكانتها في سماء أعظم كتاب للرواية عامة وللروايات البوليسية خاصة

الرواية تدعى "ثم لم يبقى أحد" وهي مترجمة عن أسمها بالأجنبية، ولكن كانت الرواية التي قرأتها مترجمة تحت أسم أخر وهو بعنوان "الجزيرة الغامضة" صادرة عن دار أسامة، وهي دار نشر في سوريا، تشارك سنوياً في معرض الدوحة الدولي للكتاب.

ومن المعروف أن الكثير من المكتبات ودور النشر قاموا بترجمة روايات عديدة لأجاثا كريستي، ولكن تظل دار أسامة هي الأفضل في رأيي، وذلك لبساطة الأسلوب وإستخدام الكلمات المناسبة، وليس بالإعتماد على الترجمة الفورية كما يفعل الأغلبية هذه الأيام.

تدور القصة عن عشرة أشخاص لايجمعهم اي قاسم مشترك، جائتهم دعوة غامضة إلي جزيرة معزولة، وفجأة خلال تناول العشاء دوي تسجيل صوتي للمضيف المجهول، متهماً كل واحد منهم بإرتكاب جريمة، ولا يلبث المدعوين إلا أن يسقط من بينهم ميت! ومع إستمرار القصة، تستمر الجرائم والجثث في الظهور.. ثم لم يبقى أحد.

ويجدر بالذكر أن مترجم الرواية للعربية هو الاستاذ محمد طريف فرعون.

Nouriko

Monday, May 10, 2010


The Royal Dairies

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The Royal Dairies is a set of novels published by different authors. The Royal Dairies of Maire Antoinette is written by Kathryn Lasky and I have to say that it was such a wonderful and easy read. It is what it is, a dairy "fictionally" written by Marie Antoinette. It truly feels like reading into the dairy of Marie Antoinette herself. Kathryn Lasky did an amazing job of interpreting the growth of the queen, where the dairy starts off when Marie is still at Austria before her marriage to Louis until her final days as the queen of France.

Nouriko