World Book Day is also my birthday

As a vulgar person, I tied my birthday to World Book Day. "Birthday books" were very popular for a while. My mother took me to the bookstore when I was in kindergarten and bought a copy just when I saw it.

The "Birthday Book on April 23rd" said that this day was the birthdays of Shakespeare, Cervantes, and Leonardo da Vinci. At that time, I definitely didn't know these people. My mother said that they were artists! But of course I don't know what an artist is, but my mother often said, "You are as sensitive as an artist"... When I was a child, everyone thought I could read art or design. A well-known children's painter once said that I have a talent for color, and I went to apprentice to learn art, but unfortunately, like the Ada clan, I always wear black all over.

In elementary and middle grades, Taipei City had only two exams for elementary school students for a while. The impression of celebrating birthdays is probably only when they are eight or nine years old. After that, there will be exam weeks for birthdays, and there is no chance to celebrate birthdays after middle school. At that time, my parents went to Las Vegas for two weeks in April every year. Afterwards, I will bring my birthday present back. I feel lucky. Birthday celebrations are always embarrassing, but I like surprises. My parents will definitely buy souvenirs when they go abroad. Because of "missing my birthday", my mother couldn't bear to send more gifts.

I have never been a person with material desires. I am happy as long as there are surprises. I especially like to receive inexpensive things like notebooks or books.

Speaking of books as gifts

I was reading the preface to the "Balzac Collection" earlier, which was written by the famous Chinese translator Liu Mingjiu. He said that he hoped that the publication of this series of famous texts would change the reading ethos. In the future, bourgeois treats would be to show off the collection of books on their bookcases (even if only to show off), and to give books as gifts during festivals. All right! In my impression, Taiwanese scholars of my parents' generation (not necessarily highly educated) would indeed show each other their reading, not sure if it was a show off or just a form of mutual recognition in the stratosphere, but I didn't think there was anything wrong or the bag dropped. Bad feelings...So social behavior at the time seemed very close to the exchange between the new bourgeoisie and the nobility after the French Revolution.

Now I am lying on the bed of the hotel typing this article on my mobile phone. At ten o'clock in the morning, I went out for coffee with Marshall and took a walk. Originally, Marshall's plan was to "buy a birthday present", but I (thinking about it for two days) didn't want it at all. Things... I went back to the hotel at almost two o'clock, and then I was lying on the bed reading a book while waiting for dinner in the evening, and I wrote this article by the way.

I don’t have any special wishes, I just hope that I can live as seriously as I used to. I should be entering middle age at this age. I remember a newspaper senior said that from my current age to the next ten years, I will be a non-literary writer. I am looking forward to the golden age!

This article can only be written here, but also set aside time to take a walk to the restaurant~