Reading My Way Through Life

Dewey's 24-hour-read-a-thon, 2011 - Progress Report

2011-10-22T15:05:00.011+02:00

Rather than spam you all with constant updates, I'm just going to have one post to serve as a progress report for my reading. That's what I've done the previous years as well, and it has always served me well. I'm not going to take time to write reviews during the Read-a-Thon, but they'll all be up at afterwards.

For now, I'm going to get myself sorted, so that I'll be all ready to hunker down and start reading when the clock turns 2pm (the starting time for central Europe)

13:59 - Hour 1 The crockpot has been turned on (, I'm trying your stew, and so far it smells divine!) so I don't have to worry about dinner, and I'm all ready to get started on Lady Knight by Tamora Pierce. Happy reading, everybody!

1)Where are you reading from today? Copenhagen, Denmark
2)Three random facts about me… a) I had to go on an unexpected bikeride today, because I'd accidentally bought an empty CD-case. Thankfully the shop believed me, and gave me a new one without problems. b) An anagram of my maiden name comes out to "Damnation, I'm a girl nerd!" It's true too! c) I learned how to read before I started school.
3)How many books do you have in your TBR pile for the next 24 hours? 9 I expect to read about half of them.
4)Do you have any goals for the read-a-thon (i.e. number of books, number of pages, number of hours, or number of comments on blogs)? No, I just want this to be FUN! :-)
5)If you’re a veteran read-a-thoner, any advice for people doing this for the first time? Stick to short, light books. You're less inclined to run dry that way.

15:02 - Hour 2 Progress in Lady Knight - 155 pages. That means I'm not even halfway, so I'm off to read on!

16:02 - Hour 3 I'd forgotten how easy it is to procrastinate by following other readers' statuses. Only managed to get another 70 pages read this last hour. The book's as good as always though - Tamora Pierce is a good choice for a readathon :)

17:06 - Hour 4 90 pages read this hour. I have another 90 to go of Lady Knight, so with a bit of luck, I'll finish before I update next. I've participated in my first mini-challenge too, which was a LOT easier said than done, as the challenge was to pick three books - non-fiction or fiction - that give a good description of the atmosphere of the state in which they were set. Not really being too familiar with US states, I had to go with the stereotypes. Hopefully that counts too! :-)

18:15 - Hour 5 I did it! Last 90 pages read, first book finished :-) I've also participated in another mini-challange - Sharing the Love, about the best ways for me to share my love of books with other people. For me, that all boils down to recommending and loaning out books. I view my library as just that - a library. I happily loan out books to friends and family (and fortunately have been very lucky with getting books back - I think I've only had to replace a book once). One of the best things I know is to loan somebody a book that I recommended them (i.e., not a book they asked to loan, but one I suggested that they loan), and have them come back to me and say, "Maria, that is the best book I have EVER read!" Apparently I'm not too bad at picking books for other people? At least I seem to have a good hit-rate with my closest friends. Carina fell in love with "Ender's Game", Nina couldn't put down "Twilight", Stine still raves about "The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society" and eeeeverybody loves "The Yada Yada Prayer group". It gives me a thrill every time I manage to 'match' a book to a reader properly :-)

19:55 - Hour 7 I decided to go with "The Beasts of Clawstone Castle" by Eva Ibbotson. I've been wanting to read this for ages, but it only recently became available in Danish libraries. I've had to break for dinner though, so have only read 43 pages since my last update. That should pick up in the near future though ;-)

21:11 - Hour 8 I'm starting to feel that I've been reading for pretty much 7 hours straight - I'm just a tad tired. Still, it's only just past 9pm, so I've got plenty of hours of reading ahead of me before I'll have to succumb and go to bed (I have church tomorrow, so I can't read the whole night through... as if I would have been able to no matter what! ;-) ). I'm almost done with "The Beasts..." - only another 20 pages to go! It's good, but much more of a children's novel than I had originally thought. Not that that's a bad thing! Oh, and I've participated in my third mini-challenge - the a.k.a. challenge at http://ratb2.blogspot.com/

22:01 - Hour 9 I finished "The Beasts..." and have started "Dragonsinger" by Anne McCaffrey. It's one of my favourite books, and I have read it time beyond number, but I've had the craving to reread it for a couple of months now, so I figured why not? It's excellent read-a-thon material, that's for sure!

I've also entered my 4th mini-challenge: The Book Sentence challenge where you have to make out a sentence from the titles of at least 3 books.

And another thing, Lady Knight. Where do I go?

23:11 - Hour 10 I think I may have to cry uncle soon. For some reason I'm TIRED - even more so than I usually am at this time of day - so reading is a bit of a struggle. Dragonsinger is keeping me well entertained though. I do love that book!

The mini-challenge this hour is at Reading Romances - come up with your own anthology, listing authors and a theme.
I'd like to see an anthology with Neta Jackson, Francine Rivers, Karen Kingsbury, Ted Dekker and Frank E. Peretti with the theme "Walk With God, Talk With God".

All the above are among my favourite Christian authors, and especially Neta Jackson has written some of the most inspirational books I've ever had the chance to read. Since their standard writing is so varied, I think an anthology would be absolutely fascinating to read.

00:04 - Hour 11 Alas, I have to get up early to go to church tomorrow, so as much as I would love to stay up - at least to finish "Dragonsinger" - I'm going to have to call it quits now. Fortunately I'll still have some hours for reading after church tomorrow even if the time difference means that most other readers will be asleep, so they might be somewhat lonely hours. At least the cheerleaders and cohosts over at 24hourreadathon.com will still be around :-) So 'see' you tomorrow.

12:01 - Hour 23 Not much longer to go now. I've had a good night's sleep, done a bit of reading, gone off to church (I sing in the choir, so couldn't skip out today) and done a bit more of reading since I came home. I've finished "Dragonsinger" and have now started "The Grounding of Group 6". It's still just getting started, so I don't know quite what I think of it yet.

13:06 - Hour 24 As per usual - the end of event meme:
Which hour was most daunting for you? 11-12. I'd hoped to be able to stay awake past midnight, but I just couldn't do it.
Could you list a few high-interest books that you think could keep a Reader engaged for next year? Anne McCaffrey and Tamora Pierce are both excellent Readathon Authors.
Do you have any suggestions for how to improve the Read-a-thon next year? Not really. Last year I suggested that fewer prizes were from The Book Deposit as they don't ship world-wide, and this year there were more Amazon prizes! Not that I won anything, but that's beside the point ;-)
What do you think worked really well in this year’s Read-a-thon? Preparing dinner ahead of time - having it simmer in the crockpot all day long, knowing I wouldn't have to take time out to fix it was excellent!
How many books did you read? I'm in the middle of book 4.
What were the names of the books you read? "Lady Knight", "The Beasts of Clawstone Castle", "Dragonsinger" and now "The Grounding of Group 6".
Which book did you enjoy most? "Dragonsinger". A reread, but one of my all-time favourite books.
Which did you enjoy least? "The Beasts..." Not that it wasn't good, it just wasn't AS good as the others.
If you were a Cheerleader, do you have any advice for next year’s Cheerleaders? N/A
How likely are you to participate in the Read-a-thon again? What role would you be likely to take next time? VERY likely! And as a reader again next time. Possibly I may also host a mini-challenge - haven't decided yet.

14:02 - FINISHED! "The Grounding of Group 6" turned out to be a slower read than I had expected, so I'm only about half way through, making the final stats as follows:

Time Spent Reading: 10 hours, 20 minutes
Currently Reading: The Grounding of Group 6 by Julian F. Thompson
Books Finished: Lady Knight by Tamora Pierce, The Beasts of Clawstone Castle by Eva Ibbotson, Dragonsinger by Anne McCaffrey
Pages Read 987 pages (soooo close to 1000 pages. A shame I didn't make it).

Dewey's Read-a-Thon, Reading Selection

2011-10-21T09:25:00.000+02:00

Tomorrow's the day! In case you hadn't guessed, I'm very excited about Dewey's Read-a-Thon. So far it's been great fun every time I've participated in it :) This will be my third time - the last two times I managed around 4-5 books and 1000'ish pages, so I'm going to aim for that this time too, but not setting myself any specific goals - after all, the point is to have fun! :-)

I've learned the hard way that light, short books are best, and that I need a larger selection than I'm actually going to have time for, in order not to limit myself. Not that there are any rules that you have to have picked out the books ahead of time, but I find that it motivates me to have a stack of books in front of me, and see it shrink as the day goes on :)

My selection this year will include, but not be limited to, some of the following

Let me know if you're going to participate too, so I can come cheer you on :)

Dewey's Read-a-Thon, April 2011 edition

2011-03-04T11:29:00.002+01:00

Dewey's April version of the 24 hour Read-a-Thon falls on April 9th this year. Since this is the weekend before I leave for my 3-week trip to New Zealand, I'll be doing a Read-a-Thon-lite this time - if DH's at work anyway, then great! but if not, I don't think he'd take too kindly to me devoting a full day to reading rather than spending time with him. I'm not sure I would take too kindly to me doing that either!

However, I'm still bound to get some reading done, but I'll just aim for a smaller goal. The last two years I've read for 12+ hours and a total of 1000+ pages, so I think 6 hours of reading and a total of 500 pages should be completely doable.

It'll be fun!

Books mentioned in "Shelf Discovery"

2011-02-19T23:56:00.004+01:00

I've just finished "Shelf Discovery" by Lizzie Skurnick (and loved it! You can read my review here), and thought it actually lent itself perfectly to a reading challange - reading all the books mentioned. Not having grown up in an English speaking country I have a LONG way to go, but here is the complete list:

*A Wrinkle in Time
From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler
Starring Sally J. Freedman as Herself
Harriet the Spy
*Farmer Boy
*Danny, the Champion of the World
Ludell
The Great Brain
*Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret
Sister of teh Bride
Blubber
The Cat Ate my Gymsuit
A Ring of Endless Light
*Tiger Eyes
The Long Secret
Then Again, Maybe I Won't
And You Give Me a Pain, Elaine
To Take a Dare
Caroline
The Westing Game
Daughters of Eve
The Grounding of Group 6
Summer of Fear
I am the Cheese
The Arm of the Starfish
Dragons in the Waters
Secret Lives
Jacob Have I Loved
Summer of My German Soldier
The Pigman
Bridge to Terabithia
Tell Me if the Lovers Are Losers
A Day No Pigs Would Die
Beat the Turtle Drum
The Gift of the Pirate Queen
*Deenie
Don't Hurt Laurie
Are You in the House Alone
*Go Ask Alice
It's Not the End of the World
Island of the Blue Dolphins
*Little House on the Prairie
The Witch of Blackbird Pond
Homecoming
The Endless Steppe: A Girl in Exile
Julie of the Wolves
Understood Betsy
Ghosts I Have Been
A Gift of Magic
The Girl with the Silver Eyes
*Stranger With My Face
Hangin' Out with Cici
Jane-Emily
Down a Dark Hall
*Forever
Happy Endings Are All Alike
*Fifteen
My Darling, My Hamburger
In Summer Light
The Moon by Night
To All My Fans, With Love, From Sylvie
*An Old-Fashioned Girl
The Wolves of Willoughby Chase
*The Secret Garden
*Cheaper By The Dozen & Belles on Their Toes
*A Little Princess
All of a Kind Family
*My Sweet Audrina
*The Clan of the Cave Bear
Wifey
*Flowers in the Attic
Domestic Arrangements

Mid-Event Survey

2010-10-10T01:16:00.001+02:00

1. What are you reading right now?
Squire by Tamora Pierce. It's a reread, but perfect for this time of night (it's currently 1am here), as it's engaging, well-written and - probably most importantly for this stage - an easy read.

2. How many books have you read so far?
I've completed 3 and am half-way in a fourth.

3. What book are you most looking forward to for the second half of the Read-a-thon?
I haven't completely decided on which books to read for the rest of the challenge, so I don't quite now. Perhaps more Tamora Pierce, in which case it'd be In the Hand of the Goddess. Perhaps I'll need a break from her after finishing Squire and pick up something else entirely, in which case I have no idea what that'll be.

4. Did you have to make any special arrangements to free up your whole day?
No, because I didn't free up my whole day ;) The read-a-thon started at 2pm DK time, and I was out until 4pm, so I missed out on two hours of reading time there. I have no other plans though, so should still get quite a bit read :D

5. Have you had many interruptions? How did you deal with those?
After returning home I've pretty much only been interrupted to make and eat dinner and to update my LJ and read other people's progress reports.

6. What surprises you most about the Read-a-thon, so far?
Nothing yet. It's my second read-a-thon, and I'm having just as much fun as the first time around! Oh, perhaps that it's quite a bit harder to stay awake, but that may just be because I hit the wall (and fortunately now also my second wind) earlier than last time.

7. Do you have any suggestions for how to improve the Read-a-thon next year?
I wish more mini-challenges offered prizes from other places than The Book Depository. Not only do they not offer free shipping to Denmark, they don't offer any shipping to Denmark, so there are SO many contests where I'm ineligible. I wish those had the alternative of a gift certificate to an Amazon of your choice instead.

8. What would you do differently, as a Reader or a Cheerleader, if you were to do this again next year?
I'd really, really try to free up my entire day. Sometimes it just won't be possible - like this year, I really couldn't/wouldn't use a read-a-thon as a reason not to have our birthday brunch today - but it could be fun to actually be available for all of it :)

9. Are you getting tired yet?
At 1:11am? You'd better believe it! Usually I've been in bed and asleep for 1-2 hours by now!

10. Do you have any tips for other Readers or Cheerleaders, something you think is working well for you that others may not have discovered?
I don't think so, no. I'd tell people to stick to light literature (YA and childrens' lit is great for that!) and well-known/trusted authors, so you're pretty certain to pick books that catch your attention, but most people seem to have figured that on their own ;)

Dewey's 24-hour-read-a-thon, 2010

2010-10-09T17:57:00.010+02:00

Yes, I'm joining Dewey's 24 Hour Read-a-Thon

The timing isn't optimal for me - it runs from 2pm Saturday - 2pm Sunday, meaning that I'm going to miss out on quite a number of hours because of sleeping and a family birthday. Still, it's a read-a-thon, so I'm sure I'm going to have a blast no matter what!

The idea is that I pick a list of books to read, and then spend the day alternatively reading and updating here on my progress. I'll probably just have the one post and then update as I go along. Cheering would be lovely - or join in the fun yourself!

Last year I discovered that shortish and light books are necessary in order not to get bogged down - especially in the later hours - so I was actually considering rereading a number of Tamora Pierce books. I'm not as much in the mood for her books any longer, so I'm reconsidering that, and trying to come up with other ideas. Funnily enough, there are very few YA books on my to-read shelf... didn't really plan that part too well, but like I said, I was planning on Tamora Pierce ;) On the other hand, I do have a LOT of YA on my e-reader, but I have a feeling that an e-reader won't do as well for a read-a-thon - I need the variety of physical books. Anyway, as I've always known, I'm an erratic reader at the best of times, and like to choose from book to book, so the following list is just a brain storm and me shouting to make a noise.

The Will of the Empress by Tamora Pierce
Page by Tamora Pierce
Tunnelmanden by Dennis Jürgensen
Sorcery and Cecelia by Patricia Wrede
Lake News by Barbara Delinsky

Last year I managed to read around 1000 pages. I'm not expecting to be able to do the same this year, as the family birthday will last longer, and Lars is home (he had a night shift last year). I'm going to give it my very best shot though! :D My reviews will be up at bogormen sometime after the Read-A-Thon has finished.

T-6 (8:00) This will be my progress post for the Read-a-Thon Challenge. I'll be updating it throughout the day, so those interested can bookmark it, and those not can just skip this post and forget all about it ;-) Right now I'm about to head out to the birthday brunch my cousins and I are having, so I won't be back until the read-a-thon is well under way. I'll see you then!

Hour 2 (16:00): Back from a lovely brunch with my family (19 people!!!!) and ready to start my first book. I'm going to deviate from the list already and start out with a very quick and easy read, to get myself motivated for a lot of reading. Claudia and the Perfect Boy by Ann M. Martin.

Hour 3 (17:01): BSC books always have been quick reads for me, so it was definitely a good book to start with. Wasn't the best BSC book ever though, but it seems to be that the later into the series we get, the weaker the books get. Ah well, it was a good way to spend 45 minutes ;) I've now started Tunnelmanden by Dennis Jürgensen - a quite famous Danish author. So far it seems good :)

Hour 4 (17:52): Tunnelmanden isn't half bad! Typically Dennis Jürgensen (thriller/horror for kids/YA), but a quick read and I'm actually really enjoying it. Progress: 235 pages. I'll need to take a break in about 30 minutes to make dinner, but hopefully I can finish it before then - I'm only missing 80 pages, so it should be do-able.

Hour 5 (18:29): Finished with one minute to spare! It was surprisingly good (although I don't know why I'm surprised - Dennis Jürgensen usually is good. Now on to some Tamora Pierce I think. But first - a break for dinner.

Hour 7 (20:55): Dinner made and eaten and I'm back at reading :) I picked up Page by Tamora Pierce, and just as expected, as soon as I started reading her books, I got into the mood for her writing again - she really is excellent! We'll see how many of her books I get through, or if I decide on something different again once I've finished this one ;) Progess - 103 pages.

Hour 9 (22:54): Finished Page and have picked up Squire. Yeah, yeah, I know. I take back everything I said about not being in the mood for Tamora Pierce. It wouldn't even surprise me if I end up picking up some of the Lioness series as well at some stage! But they really are perfect reading material for a read-a-thon, and as far as I can see, there are no rules against rereads ;) Progress on Squire - 26 pages.

Hour 10 (00:04): I'm paying for my lack of sleep right now. Last year I lasted until around 2am before having to give up and go to bed, but I only had 6 hours of sleep last night, and I can definitely feel that now. Staying up after midnight gets increasingly more difficult the older I get. So even though it's definitely more fun to be up when other participants of the read-a-thon are (and most of those are in the US), I think I'm going to have to give up and head off to bed now. See you in the morning. Oh, and progress on Squire - 100 pages.

ETA: Oh, I forgot the Mid-Event Meme occurs in one hour. I'll have to stay up for that! I don't mind doing some things out of order, but doing the Mid-Event meme 8 hours late just seems wrong. You're stuck with me for another hour then ;)

Hour 11 (01:01) Honestly I think I may have gotten my second wind, it's easier to stay awake now. I obviously don't read quite as fast when I'm tired though. Only another 62 pages read since last.

Hour 21 (10:54) I'm back! Not that I actually slept for all 10 hours, I just haven't had my computer on to update. I only have another 60 pages to go of Squire, so as you can see, I've been keeping busy! Oh, and happy 10-10-10! Thankfully a date USians and Europeans agree on ;)

Hour 22 (12:05) Only two hours left! I wonder if I'll have time to finish another book before the read-a-thon ends. I finished Squire about a half-hour ago, and have decided to take a bit of a break from Tamora Pierce and read Sorcery and Cecelia instead. I'm only 40 pages into it though, so haven't formed too much of an opinion about it yet.

Hour 24 (14:00) Alas, the last book I picked was too long for me to finish by the end of the read-a-thon. I'm only 239 pages into it, so still have another 80 to go -- meaning another 40 or so minutes to finish it. So that brings my grand total to 4.75 books read, 1388 pages read and 12h25m spent reading! I feel a bit bad for only spending a little over half the time reading, but at least I more than met my desired goal of reading more than 1000 pages :D

It was a LOT of fun! I'll definitely be doing it again next year, if time allows.

Books Read: Claudia and the Perfect Boy (150p), Tunnelmanden (314p), Page (245p), Squire (380p), Sorcery and Cecelia (239p, WIP)
Time Spent Reading: 12h25m

E-reader review: BeBook One

2010-09-13T14:33:00.000+02:00

I've had my e-reader for almost 9 months now, and am still really pleased by it, but it definitely does have its pros and cons.

My e-reader is a BeBook One from Endless Ideas. I've never tried reading books on any other e-readers (although I've briefly had my hands on both a Sony E-reader, a Kindle and an iPad), so this isn't a review of one e-reader compared to another, but of e-readers vs. paper books in general.

Pros:
It's a great conversation starter! I mostly use it when travelling, and have had several fellow train-/bus passengers ask me what it was or "Oh, is that that Amazon thing?" Obviously that isn't so good for shy people, but I love talking books in any shape or form, so it's never bothered me :)

It's so handy when I'm away on vacation! As you know, I read a LOT, so trying to guesstimate how many books to bring with me is always interesting. I hate being caught short (although that's of course more of an issue when going on vacations where I can't just go out and buy a new book, so not so relevant when going to London ;) ), so I tend to pack one for every second day or so, which can get rather heavy at times. With the e-reader I just need to bring one average-sized book and I have enough reading materials for several years :-D

E-books are cheaper than paper books. Not in Denmark though! You definitely don't want to buy e-books here. They are still so new that they often cost 2-3 times as much as a paper book. However, I can get hold of English books online, and there are several places where it's possible to find free e-books either for keeps or to loan.

It's nifty and a shiny new toy! Yes, my geeky heart loves new gadgets :) One of my colleagues saw me receive it (it was sent to work) and though he first laughed at me, he then admitted that new toys were great and new toys with cables were even greater ;)

Cons:
Yup, nifty and shiny, but not nearly as cozy as paper books. Apparently I have a great emotional attachment to the act of physically turning pages, feeling how many pages I've already read, and feeling how many pages are left. Seeing the number slowly increase just isn't the same.

It's really best for reading from A-Z. Flipping through a book to look for something specific is almost impossible. First of all because I tend to remember where things were written by how the book "feels" (approx. how many pages are left, was it on a right or a left page etc.) rather than the specific page number. Secondly it just takes too long to turn a page. Depending on the format and the size of the book it can take anything from 0.5-3 seconds to turn a page.

Apart from the sensation of reading paper books vs. e-books, there's also the issue of a physical library vs. a digital one. I'm proud of the library I've managed to put together by now. I would like it to be bigger, but who wouldn't?! ;) I like looking at my books, picking out old favourites to read a page here and a paragraph there. I like seeing a wall full of books and knowing that I've read them all. Looking at folders on a computer just isn't the same. Also I like having guests comment on my books and loaning books to others - and most people I know feel a LOT more comfortable browsing bookshelves in a living room, than browsing folders on a computer. The former is perfectly acceptable within etiquette, the latter definitely isn't unless expressed permission has been given.

An e-reader is a lot more egoistic than physical books. Mum didn't bring along enough books when we were on vacation together last. Had this been BER (Before E-Reader ;) ) I could just have given her one of mine to read, as I was bound to have brought several, but we couldn't very well both use the e-reader at the same time, so I couldn't be of any help. And I like being of help!

BeBook itself:
I got the BeBook One because it by far supported the most formats (lit, doc, rtf, txt, pdf, epub, html - just to mention the most common ones). At the time I received it, I'd never had my hands on any other e-readers, so I had nothing to compare it to. However, since then I've also seen a Kindle and the Sony e-reader, and I can see that it's definitely more low-tech than those two. It only has the most necessary features (page turn, zoom), no touch screen or keyboard, the screen's a very dark grey (similar to the old Palm) and it takes longer to turn a page than on the Kindle and the Sony e-reader.

My sensible self is satisfied with it. It fulfills its purpose, and that's really all I need it to do. My geeky self thinks it would be nice with something a bit more high tech and is seriously considering buying a Sony E-reader when I'm in London next ;) Or I might wait a couple of years until I see what actually becomes available in Denmark. Since I'm not out to replace my physical library with an electronic one (far from it!), I can say patient a while longer :)

Book Blogger Hop: Judging Covers

2010-09-09T14:35:00.000+02:00

The question was: Do you judge a book by its cover?

My answer: a clear yes and no.

Yes: When I go book-browsing, I judge a book by its cover. That and its title are the only two things you've got to go by when browsing unknown books, and I absolutely base my desire to pick it up and read the back blurb on whether or not the cover appeals to me. Sometimes an intriguing title can make me move past a lousy cover, but that doesn't happen terribly often, and I actually can't think of any specific examples right now.

I receive books for review, so I don't always get to chose the covers there, and some of them are ridiculously tacky. I'll still give it a chance, but sometimes it really goes against my better judgment. I've just received Eternal Hunger which looks really tacky, and Bloody Good by Georgia Evans was almost as bad - that one turned out to be okay entertaining though. Finally there was Seeing Me Naked by Liza Palmer, where the book was actually really great, but the cover was so suggestive that for the first time ever, I actually felt embarrassed reading it while on public transportation! See for yourself....

Of course, there are also covers that are so gorgeous that you (or I, at least) almost want to frame them and enjoy them in all their beauty. For me, some of those are The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield and The City of Dreaming Books by Walter Moers. Fortunately here the quality of the book fit the quality of the cover :)

No: When I have books recommended to me, I don't stay away from reading them, just because I don't like the cover. And if I have one edition of a book, I don't go out and buy another, just because I discover I prefer that cover. Some of my favourite books have absolutely hideous covers. Cases in point, the below editions of The Blue Castle by L.M. Montgomery and Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams. In both these cases I'm able to disregard the extremely ugly covers because I know and love the books so much.

And although I did write above that I judge a book by its cover when I'm browsing books, and probably pass over what may be terrific books because the cover don't catch my eye, neither do I buy books just because of the cover. An intriguing cover isn't enough. It has to be combined with an interesting-sounding back blurb. So I don't judge books that much.

Top Ten Childrens Books

2010-09-08T14:38:00.000+02:00

These are a mixture of books I loved as a kid and books I'm looking forward to reading to my own children. It does not include picture books, but only chapter books that I either read myself, or that I had read aloud. We had a great tradition of Dad reading aloud to us (actually lasting until I moved out, although in later years it was only when on vacation) and got through a lot of classics that way.

As usual, I've decided not to include any Danish books, but I would be remiss if I didn't even mention Estrid Ott, as she was one of my all-time favourite authors as a child. Especially her delightful series about the adventures of the stuffed toy-Elephant, Bimbi. It's such a shame that these have never been translated to English!

Picking my Top 10 is hard enough, so there's no way I could list them in order of preference. These are just in no particular order. Oh, I decided I could only pick one book per author, but there's no real "rule" about that ;)

Top 10 Childrens Books

The Year of Plenty - Rebecca LeeAnne Brammer (2009)

I only discovered this book last year, but it's a wonderfully cozy and charming book in the same style as Little House in the Big Woods. The language is suitable for children, and I think it would work very well as a read-aloud book. Definitely a book I plan on reading to my kids - even if I have to translate it to Danish myself! ;)

Professional Shrink - Mac (2008)

Another book I didn't discover until last year, but it's one of the very few childrens books that I read for the first time as an adult and still gave 5 stars on Goodreads. It doesn't need the rosy-coloured glasses of nostalgia, it just works! It's absolutely hilarious and delightfully quirky. Probably best for slightly older kids (8-12), and I wish I'd been aware of it (or rather, that it had been written!) when I was a kid.

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory - Roald Dahl (1964)

I couldn't write this list without including Roald Dahl, although it was really difficult to decide which book of his to use - Matilda runs a very close second. However, Charlie... was my introduction to Roald Dahl, so if for no other reason than that, it deserves a mention. I think it may still be my favourite - I've always been intrigued by the chocolate factory, and am sad that Willy Wonka rushed past so many interesting doors with no more than a quick mention. I'd love to roam about the factory more. One of the best things about Tim Burton's film adaption of it, was that he completely managed to capture the magic of the factory, and made me just as eager to explore it as Roald Dahl's book itself did.

Raging Robots and Unruly Uncles - Margaret Mahy (1981)

The first two books on this list were books had never read as a kid, this is a book I haven't read since I was a kid and had it read aloud to me. Margaret Mahy is a Kiwi author, and we discovered her during our first year in New Zealand, where Dad read this book aloud to us, to our great delight. Unfortunately I haven't been able to find it anywhere since, so I haven't read it after 1990! Obviously I don't remember much of it, other than that I LOVED it, so I'm very eager to get my hands on it again at some point. Perhaps it'll show up second hand somewhere.

Margaret Mahy's books were all delightfully quirky, and most of them were illustrated by Quentin Blake (who also illustrated many of Roald Dahl's books). I've always loved his work!

Heidi - Johanna Spyri (1880)

I vaguely recall seeing either a movie or a mini-series based on this book when I was young. Can't remember any details though, other than that I loved it, and immediately went out to find the book. It's a sweet classic which I was gratified to see completely passed the test of time, when I reread it a couple of years ago.

The Ordinary Princess - M.M. Kaye (1980)

I have very vivid memories of my Dad reading this aloud to us when we were in San Tropes, France in 1986. The book hasn't been translated to Danish yet, but Mum would try to keep ahead of Dad, translating a couple of pages at a time, and if we got impatient, Dad would translate on the fly (he's insanely good at that!). I loved the idea of an "ordinary" princess, and a fairytale where the prince and princess of an arranged marriage are finally allowed to get to know each other and fall in love ahead of time :)

Peter Pan - J.M. Barrie (1911)

This falls squarely into the "why haven't I read this before!" category. Again a book I read for the first time last year (what is this with last year? I obviously read a lot of great childrens books!), and I was very impressed by it. It's a lot darker than I had expected, but in a way that I think would go over the heads of most children, and I caught myself laughing out loud several times. I suspect it's a book that - like Narnia - works for both children and adults, but just on different levels.

Gone-Away Lake - Elizabeth Enright (1957)

I was reminded of this book just last month when it was chosen as book of the month for a book club I'm part of. I had completely forgotten how lovely it is, and was delighted to revisit Gone-Away Lake with Julian and Portia. It has all the important things in a childrens book - a magical atmosphere, good solid friendship both among peers and between the ages, and lots of fun adventures. I feel transported to another time whenever I read it.

Children of Noisy Village - Astrid Lindgren (1947)

No list of childrens books would be complete without a mention of Astrid Lindgren. She was a huge part of my reading while growing up. But it was almost impossible to decide which book to list, and I'm still not entirely sure I made the right choice. Other books I considered were Emil, Pippi Longstocking and Ronja Robber's Daughter. The reason I chose Children... is not that it's my favourite (I think that would be either Pippi or Ronja), but that it's the first book I can remember being read and reading myself. I remember loving the chapter where one of the girls gets her own room, and the descriptions of how she arranges it and keeps it nice and neat. I'd always get into a fit of tidying my room after reading it... a fit that would last for as long as it took me to move on to the next chapter ;)

Astrid Lindgren is a must on any book-shelf in a child's room. I can't wait to get to introduce my own children to her books.

Famous Five - Enid Blyton

And of course - Famous Five. I am almost certain that these were the first longer chapter books I read by myself, and I know that they were the first books I started collecting. For many years I'd get at least one for every birthday and Christmas, until I had the entire series - including some of the newer ones, written by ghostwriters. They weren't nearly as good, but I still wanted to read them all! My favourite was (and is) Five Run Away Together, because I loved reading about how they found the cave on Kirrin Island and Anne fixed it up really nicely :)

I still reread the original series every now and again, and fortunately they too pass the test of time. Also, they are remarkable in being a series where (at least in the first books) people actually get older the way they're supposed to! After four summer vacations, Julian went from being 12 to being 16! ;)

Books for August

2010-09-01T14:39:00.000+02:00

The Professor and the Madman - Simon Winchester, 3/5, 230 pages
This is one of those weird books where the subject matter is extremely interesting, but the writing only so-so. I'm glad I stuck it out though, because the descriptions of what it takes to complete a reference book as complicated as th Oxford English Dictionary was absolutely fascinating! It must have been an insanely daunting task, and I'm impressed that they didn't give up from shear overwhelmedness (yes, that's a word ;) ).

The story of the madman himself actually didn't interest me all that much, although it did make me wonder how much of a difference there is between the treatment of the criminally insane now and back then.

Billy and the Bubble-Ship - Elwy Yost*, 3/5, 141 pages
This was a childhood favourite, so I figured it was time to reread it. It's still enjoyable, but I must admit it couldn't quite live up to my expectations. Interestingly enough in part because it was too short! There were so many possibilities for expanding the plot and adding details, but since it's a childrens book, most of these were left out.

I liked Billy and the Princess and would have liked to read more about them.

Wicked Lovely - Melissa Marr, 3.5/5, ~10hrs
Another book in the long list of paranormal fantasy that has sprung up during the last years. I had no expectations at all about this one, but decided to give it a shot as I'd seen it around in book stores and then found it as an audiobook.

Actually, it's not half bad. I quite enjoyed it and was very gratified to see that the by now apparently compulsory love triangle didn't turn out Twilight'esque, but actually had a very agreeable resolution for once. It was a fun read, and I liked all the details about faeries.

Crystal Singer Omnibus - Anne McCaffrey*, 4.5/5, 1069 pages
This omnibus has the entire Crystal Singer trilogy ("The Crystal Singer", "Killashandra" and "The Crystal Line") in one book.

Over all, a 4.5-star trilogy, even though the first book is definitely the best. I guess I'd rate them 5, 4.5 and 4 respectively. I loved reading about how Killashandra learned how to cut crystal in the first one, and her relationship with Lars in the second.

I had this book recommended to me because I mentioned liking McCaffrey's Harper's Hall trilogy, so I assumed Crystal Singer would be similar to this trilogy in its atmosphere and descriptions of music. Not so at all! It took me awhile to shake my pre-conceived notions of the book. Not that I was disappointed, it was just disconcerting to expect to read about dragons and thread fall and instead read about spaceships and crystal cutters.

That said, I loved the book, as the rating indicates, and would recommend it to anybody who enjoys a good fantasy/sci-fi novel. Crystal singers have a long life-span but cutting also results in severe memory loss, which makes for some very interesting situations. It also made me think - if I knew I was likely to forget everything about my past and everybody I knew... how much effort would I go to to make recordings of my life? What would I willingly forget, and what would I want to remember?

Three Cups of Tea - Greg Mortenson, 4.5/5, 330 pages
I started this book with mixed expectations. One of my friends had LOVED it (all capital letters), another had thought it extremely overrated. As I usually trst recommendations from both people, I had no clue where on the scale I would end up. However, it kept popping up in discussions, reviews and on bookshelves, and the story fascinated me, so I decided I had to give it a chance.

It took me a bit to get into it - I've started to think that introductions should really be read last rather than first - but once I did, I was absolutely captivated. Greg Mortenson's story is extremely fascinating, and I'm deeply impressed by all that he does for the people of Pakistan. Also, it was really interesting to see the USA-Pakistan relationship from the Pakistani side of the fence.

I'm amazed by Tara's fortitude and bravery in letting Greg go off so often and for so long periods of time. I doubt I'd be able to do the same.

Three Cups... is in no way a literary masterpiece - it could definitely have profitted from a thorough editing - but it blew me away.

The Year of Living Biblically - A.J. Jacobs, 4/5, 332 pages
As a Christian who believes in a mostly* literal interpretation of the Bible, I found this memoir absolutely fascinating! First of all, it was interesting to see the Bible through a non-religious Jewish POV. And secondly it was fascinating to see anybody attempt to follow all the laws of both the Old and the New Testament.

I really enjoyed A.J. Jacobs' writing style, and was releaved to see how respectful his approach was. He actually ended up teaching me a thing or two about how to follow the Bible as well.

I've wanted to read this book for ages and was very gratified to see that it completely lived up to my expectations.

* There are some passages that are obviously meant to be taken figuratively - when Jesus calls the disciples "salt of the earth", He didn't actually mean they were made of NaCl ;)

Frankenstein - Mary Shelley, 2.5/5, ~12hrs
I knew almost nothing about this book when I started it - nor even about the story actually - but it turned out to be very different from my expectations. I'd expected it to be somewhat similar to Dracula (although that one ended up being different from my expectations as well, but that was mostly because of the writing style), but the similarities were slim to none - which ended up being to the detriment of "Frankenstein". The writing wasn't as captivating, and the characters were either unlikable or just plain boring.

While I did find the story interesting enough to finish it, I have to admit, I didn't care for it much, and it puzzles me how it managed to obtain the rating of 'a classic'.

Dewey - Vicki Myron, 4/5, 304 pages
I think it's a bit of false advertising to say this is a book about Dewey, the library cat. It's more a book about Vicki Myron's life as it intersected with that of Dewey's. That didn't stop me from loving the book, and I laughed out loud several times, but the descriptions of Dewey's antics were definitely the best parts of the books, and I felt the rest was mostly filler stuff to make the book long enough.

It was very, very charming though, and the perfect read for a cozy afternoon. I think I would have adored Dewey if I'd ever had the chance to meet him.

Gone-Away Lake - Elizabeth Enright*, 5/5, 172 pages
This was one of my favourite books as a child, and I'm happy to say that it completely passed the test of time. It's just as charming as I remembered it, and Elizabeth Enright really made me feel like I knew the characters and I got to care for them.

Usually I can take or leave illustrations in a book, but the illustrations in my copy of the book (or rather, my mother's copy) - done by Beth and Joe Krush - are gorgeous, and really add to the story.

Garlic and Sapphires - Ruth Reichl, 5/5, 333 pages
One of the best foodie books I've read in a long time - even if I did get ridiculously hungry for good food while reading it. I do NOT recommend reading a couple of chapters and then going out to heat up left-overs :-/

The stories of a restaurant critic were fascinating to read, and the way she went about creating new characters as not to be recognized had me in stitches. I really enjoyed Ruth Reichl's writing style, and also liked the way she portrayed herself in this memoir - not arrogantly, but aware of her own mistakes and shortcomings.

Really brilliant book, even if it is perhaps a tad too old to be used as an accurate restaurant guide for NYC - more's the pity, as I'd have loved to try some of the restaurants she visited!

Knit Two - Kate Jacobs, 4/5, 235 pages
Not quite as good as "Friday Night Knitting Club", but then sequels seldom are. And it's still a very enjoyable and comforting read. As usual it made me want to knit, so I guess I'll have to go out and replenish my stash after all ;) But to me, its true merit is in the descriptions of the friendships between the women of the knitting club. From "Saving Graces" to "The Sweetgum Knit Lit Society" that aspect never ceases to appeal to me.

Return to Gone-Away - Elizabeth Enright*, 4.5/5, 145 pages
Not quite as good as the first book in the series, but then it is hard to improve on perfection ;) And it's still really excellent, and a wonderful comfort read, even if the plot isn't as interesting and a tad more repetative.

Man jager et bæst og fanger et menneske - Bent Isager-Nielsen, 5/5, 267 pages
(You Hunt a Beast and Catch a Human)
Henni has worked together with Bent Isager-Nielsen for several years, so when she recommended this memoir of his, I was very keen on reading it. It's a fascinating account of how the police actually works in order to solve a serious crime, and a reminder that usually the killer is not that different from me or you - he's just less well equipped to handle setbacks.

Bent Isager-Nielsen makes a strong case for gun control as well as a national resident registry. He credits these two things for the fact that Denmark has a resolution percentage of more than 95% for murder cases (in 2007 39 out of 40 murders were solved) and no known serial killers.

"You Hunt a Beast..." is almost impossible to put down, and I was intrigued by this look behind the scenes and insight in the techniques and technologies involved in police work. Definitely a book well worth reading!

Mockingjay - Suzanne Collins, 4/5, 353 pages
As eager as I was to read this book, I have to admit it was a bit of a disappointment. I still liked it, and still had difficulties putting it down, but the series definitely decreases in quality as it goes along.

Mockingjay was less repetitive than Catching Fire, which was nice, but even without the hunger games, it was a lot darker than the two other books. Suzanne Collins still doesn't pull any punches, but here, for the first time, I felt that some of the punches were unnecessary and even pointless.

And once again an epilogue that sounded like it was solely tacked on to please the fans. I wasn't as invested in this series or the 'ships' though, so unlike "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows", I didn't mind it - even if I did see it for the cheap trick is was ;)

Good Book - David Plotz, 4/5, 320 pages
Very interesting book, especially when read (like I did) on the heels of The Year of Living Biblically by A.J. Jacobs. I'm not sure what I would have thought of it if I hadn't been as familiar with the Old Testament though - I have a feeling it could get a bit difficult to follow otherwise, but I do think it would be a great (although occasionally irreverent) commentary to a read-through of the OT. I didn't always agree with David Plotz on his conclusions, but at the same time, he did occasionally manage to point things out to me that I'd never noticed before (e.g. that there are two sets of 10 Commandments found in Exodus - one in chapter 20 and one in chapter 34).

Good book for anybody interested in the Old Testament - no matter whether they'd consider themselves religious or not.

After finishing the book, I discovered that David Plotz is also the author of one of my favourite blogs, Blogging the Bible, which I should really have guessed, but I just never added 2 and 2 to get 4.

Diget - Teddy Vork, 2.5/5, 190 pages
(The Dike)
I'll admit it. I only read "Diget" ("The Dike") because I had to. It's not the type of book I'll usually pick up, but my publisher sent it to me for review, so pick it up I did. That said, it actually wasn't half bad. "Diget" was a mixture of Knud's experiences inside the dike, old legends and his experiences with the people of his village which worked surprisingly well. Until now I've only known Teddy Vork to write short stories, and "Diget" also mostly read like a collection of short stories, tied together by the red thread of Knud's imprisonment and attempts to get out. Generally it worked well, but there was a time or two where the connection was a bit too forced.

The end was very different from what I had expected, but actually worked a lot better than the ending I had envisioned.

Still, I think Teddy Vork is a better short story author than a novel author, and while good, "Diget" didn't quite live up to the expectations his short stories had caused me to have.

Babysitters Club 250 pages
Only one this month - I'm slacking off obviously!

Book of the month: Hard choice, as there were SO many good ones this month, I think I'd have to say Garlic and Sapphires thought. Really interesting.
Biggest disappointment: Frankenstein. I'd expected more.

Book Blogger Hop - TBR shelf

2010-08-14T21:08:00.000+02:00

This week the Book Blogger Hop asks: How many books do you have on your "to be read shelf"?

I can't help but laugh at the thought of having just one TBR shelf! (Or even more - a TBR pile!) My owned, unread books take up 3 shelves, double stacked and at last count I had 153 books on those shelves... and that's not counting all the books on my TBR-list that I don't own.

TBR - Owned fiction
TBR - Owned Non-fiction

My Top Ten YA

2010-08-10T21:11:00.001+02:00

This list was really hard to make for two reasons. The first being that quite a number of my favourite YA are Danish books, which I decided not to include in this list, as it's more fun if you actually know the books I'm talking about ;) The second is that... well, what qualifies as YA? Some are obvious, of course, but others might just as easily be classified as children's books or as books for adults. I've tried to limit myself from taking any that are borderline - keeping the questionably young ones for "Top 10 Childrens Books" which I'm also certain will show up at some point ;)

I decided not to repeat books from my comfort reads list, so that excluded Alanna and Harper's Hall Also, I decided to limit myself to only one book per author.

And as always when I make lists such as these, I have the distinct feeling that I've forgotten some really obvious books, that for some reason chose this moment to completely elude both my memory AND my list at goodreads! Go figure ;) Also, I almost feel like I should only include books I've read more than once, so I know they're actually worth while, and I didn't just get overly excited on my first read-through. I don't reread nearly as much now as I used to though, so I feel like I'd limit myself far too much if I chose to do that. Still, with the exception of two, these are all regular rereads.

Top Ten YA Novels (in no particular order)

Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone - J.K. Rowling

I wavered between this one and Goblet of Fire - both are good, for very different reasons, but HPPS was more magical in that it was the first of the lot and thus my introduction to the series. I know it has received a lot of flack, but it started out being one of the best series I'd read in a very, very long time. Unfortunately J.K. Rowling couldn't quite perform under pressure, so the later books aren't as good, but the first four were excellent!

The Giver - Lois Lowry

One of those books I'd have to exclude if I only allowed myself to pick rereads, but I have to include this one! I can't rightly explain why, but it blew me away. I loved the universe described and the entire atmosphere of the book. Unfortunately the two companion novels didn't quite live up to my expectations, but this one was amazing! One of the rare books that I borrowed to read and then immediately went out and bought it.

Twilight - Stephenie Meyer

I realize the ridicule I'm opening myself to by including this book on my list, but honestly, there have been few YA books that have ever grabbed so completely hold of me, so I would be lying if I didn't mention it... even if it does make me sad that I feel like I have to defend it ;). I'm not claiming it's high literature, and I can see its flaws, but I love it regardless and end up completely disappearing into the universe whenever I read it. I wavered between Twilight, Eclipse and The Host - this one "won" by virtue of being the one I've read the most times and again by being my introduction to a new series/author.

Anne of the Island - Lucy Maud Montgomery

Quite possibly my favourite of the Anne books. She doesn't get into as many embarrassing scrapes as in AoGG, and I love reading about her schooling, and her life at Patty's place. I really need to reread that entire series sometime soon!

First Test - Tamora Pierce

Tamora Pierce is one of my all-time favourite authors, so I couldn't leave her off this list, just because I'd already used Alanna elsewhere. First Test is the first book of my second-favourite series of hers - I've always liked the Tortal ones best. While part of me misses the magic, another part of me is happy to finally see a "normal" heroine, who gets through based on her ingenuity alone.

Uglies - Scott Westerfeld

I greatly enjoy dystopian/post-apocalyptic novels (I tend to use the words interchangably), and thankfully this was no exception. The first one was definitely the best in the series, but actually I enjoyed all of them :) I know many people got frustrated with the vocabulary Scott Westefeld used among the characters ("happy-making", bubbly etc.), but I actually really liked it, and thought it added to the atmosphere.

Sue Barton, Student Nurse - Helen Dore Boylston

This has been one of my favourite series for the past 18 years! I've never wanted to be a doctor or a nurse myself, but I've always been fascinated by descriptions of their lives, and loved reading about Sue's experiences in nursing school. There's no great depth in the series, but it's just comfortable and cozy. Especially the first three books of the series I return to again and again.

Winter of Fire - Sherryl Jordan

Dystopian/fantasy - so basically a mix of my two favourite genres. I was introduced to Sherryl Jordan while living in New Zealand, and was immediately taken by her. I've enjoyed just about everything I've ever read by her, but this and Rocco have always been my two favourites. I like this one just a tad more, as I think the universe is more well-rounded.

Northern Lights - Philip Pullman

(a.k.a. "The Golden Compass") I never really took to the two other books in the series, but this first one blew me away. I vividly remember diving into it one Boxing Day not too many years ago, and not coming up for air until I finished it several hours later. No matter the quality of a book, if it swallows me up like that, I'm bound to love it, and will think of it fondly ever after (says the 30-year-old...). The compass especially fascinates me, and it's one of the few things I think they did get right in the movie. The series is accused of being anti-Christian, but I've never seen it, and will happily read it and recommend it :)

Min ven, Thomas - Kirsten Holst

Okay, I caved. I had to add just one Danish book to this list. Mostly because no YA list would ever be complete for me without it. Min ven, Thomas ("My friend, Thomas") is the coming-of-age book in Denmark (at least it used to be when I was that age). You follow a 16-year-old boy through the last years of high school, his falling in love with a class-mate and his sexual debut, his relationship with friends and family, and his discovering that his best friend is gay and is slowly dying from AIDS. It's extremely well-written and tragic and life-affirming at the same time. I haven't read it in years, but it used to be one of my favourite books, and one of the ones I'd get out of the library again and again until I finally decided to just get it over with and purchase it for myself ;)

July Reads - 20 Books

2010-08-01T21:13:00.000+02:00

Wicked - Gregory Maguire, 3/5, 454 pages
I'd heard very, very mixed reviews of this book, but absolutely loved the musical, and was intrigued by the book, so decided to give it a shot anyway. As the rating indicates, I found it fairly average - not as bad as I'd feared (low expectations always help), but not as good as I'd hoped either. The musical is definitely far superior, and they've changed the plot quite a bit, as the book is a lot darker and sadder. I still liked it through, and while I doubt I'll read more of Maguire's Oz books, I'm glad I've read this one.

The Man Who Tasted Shapes - Richard E. Cytowic, 2.5/5, 182 pages
Half interesting, half very dry and occasionally boring. Richard Cytowic is obviously very interested in synaesthesia - what causes it, how it is manifested in different people, whether or not you can track it by scanning the brain etc. - but his book isn't really meant for non-medical readers. I was fascinated by the experiments and the discoveries, but there was a LOT of medical babble that I had no interest in at all, and ended up just skimming.

A non-fiction that reads too much like a textbook for me to enjoy it as "casual reading".

84 Charing Cross Road - Helene Hanff, 5/5, 230 pages
This edition contains both 84 Charing Cross Road and The Duchess of Bloomsbury Street, and I'm glad, because I don't think either would have been complete without the other.

I had this book recommended to me because I loved The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society and I can definitely see how the later was probably inspired by this one, but apart from a similar start, the two books are very different in both genre and atmosphere.

The book is labelled "an unmitigated delight from cover to cover" by the Daily Telegraph, and I would have to agree, although for me the real charm came in the diary that makes up The Duchess of Bloomsbury Street rather than in the letters that make up 84 Charing Cross Road (the last four letters did bring tears to my eyes though). It was such a delight to follow Helene Hanff's pure joy in finally getting to visit London - especially since I knew many of the sites she visited.

It did surprise me how many fans she made through 84CCR though. Certainly, it is good, but I think it would be a book I'd soon forget, if it wasn't for the follow-up. I was very surprised by how short it was too! Not even 100 pages.

It's well worth reading though. Very charming and very enjoyable. I finished it in a day.

Rumo - Walter Moers, 4.5/5, 688 pages
Walter Moers is a fairly new discovery, but so far I've loved everything I've read by him. This was no exception, although it started out a lot more slowly than the other books, so took me longer to get thoroughly hooked. However, by the time Rumo made it to Wolperting, there was no looking back.

I love Walter Moers' quirky humour, and the way he lets the book medium help him tell a story and set an atmosphere. Rumo was a lot darker than the two other books, and it seemed like Walter Moers tried to combine more plotlines and tangents than he perhaps should have. The reasons for some of the digressions sometimes didn't become obvious until several hundreds of pages later.

A terrific book, and I came to care a lot for the characters and the universe both. Fortunately I still have one Zamonian book left to read.

Dystopia - Dennis Jürgensen*, 5/5, Audiobook ~18hrs
Dystopia is one of those amazing fantasy books, that - though I remember I love them - I forget from time to time just HOW good they are. I love the universe that Dennis Jürgensen creates, and the detail he puts into the description of it.

Even though I more or less know the story by heart by now, I still lose myself completely in the universe of Dystopia, and the fates of the eudaimons and the two humans. It's the age-old fight between good and evil, but with some delightful twists that make it seem new and original.

Unfortunately it's never been translated into English. It's well worth learning Danish to read it though! ;)

The Physician - Noah Gordon*, 5/5, 720 pages
I think this is the 5th or 6th time I read this, and I enjoy it every bit as much as on my first read-through. It's a long book, but there's a reason for the length, as it allows the author (and the reader!) to dwell on the atmosphere of the different places Cole visits, on the things he learn and on the people he meet. Not that it's slow-moving - quite the contrary, I have a very hard time putting it down once I've started it.

I don't know much about England or Persia in the 11th century, so I have no idea how accurate the descriptions are, but they fascinate me nonetheless, and I love reading about the life of a physician of that era.

It's one of those rare books that draw me in completely, and where I have a very hard time letting it go even after I've turned the last page.

Ex Libris: Confessions of a Common Reader - Anne Fadiman, 4.5/5, 162 pages
I love books about books, so when a friend recommended this as one of the best of the genre, I knew I had to pick it up. And it didn't disappoint.

Ex Libris is a charming essay collection all about books, reading and the love of both. As something of a bibliophile myself, I could very easily relate to Anne Fadiman's experiences, and was delighted to see some of my own thoughts echoed in her writing.

Dragonfly - Julia Golding*, 5/5, 354 pages
A gorgeous fantasy novel with lots of humour, romance and action. I was especially intrigued by how Tashi and Ramil not only had to learn how to get along, but had to learn to accept the traditions and culture of each other's countries.

And I was totally taken in by Tashi's self-appointed protector Gordoc, who in his simple-mindedness often ended up more insightful than all of his so-called 'knowledgeable' friends.

Lies - Michael Grant, 4/5, 502 pages
A fascinating continuation to the series. This book had a very interesting twist that once again has me wondering how many books are left in the series. Also, I'm starting to think that the series will soon start to get tedious/repetative if Michael Grant lets it go on for too much longer.

Aaanyway, for now the series is still interesting and captivating. It is not a comfortable read, but I'd come to expect that, so it didn't freak me out as much as the two first books in the series. I did feel that there were some threads that were just left hanging from the earlier books. The Human Crew was such a big part of Hunger but hardly touched upon at all in this one. On the other hand, I did like seeing something of a resolution to the tensions between Sam, Astrid and the Committee.

The fourth book is coming out in 2011, and after that, there are another 2 to go.

Mistwood - Leah Cypess, 4.5/5, 300 pages
I was oddly taken with this book from the very start, and have no idea why it took me so long to read, other than that I'd keep getting sidetracked by other books.

Mistwood is a fun and more classic fairytale/fantasy novel than most common publications. It got back to the basics of the genre, and I actually found it a refreshing change. Also, I liked that it kept me guessing, and I never could figure out what was up with the Shifter.

It's a very charming story, that I was sad to leave behind me. I would like to hope that it's part of a series, but it does very much seem like a stand-alone book... which in itself is a refreshing change for the fantasy genre ;)

Hævnens gudinde - Sara Blædel, 4/5, 420 pages
(Goddess of Revenge)
Just like many of Sara Blædel's other books, Goddess of Revenge is slow to start, but once it picks up, it's well worth the effort. This one especially because I loved the secondary plot-line of Louise's issues with getting used to having a foster son.

Sara Blædel is good at introducing believable twists to the story that neither seem forced nor are spotted a mile away (not by me anyway!). Her writing is tight, and any small detail is likely to be picked up again later in the book.

The book very obviously paves the way for a 6th book in the series which would be fine by me!

The Singer of All Songs - Kate Constable, 4/5, 297 pages
A friend recommended this series to me, and I was fascinated by the idea of singing spells, and having music be part of the magic, so I immediately went out and got it out of the library. Fortunately, it did not disappoint, and had I read it as a kid, I think it could easily have become a fast favourite.

The story itself was nothing out of the ordinary, and did occasionally come across as a bit rushed, but it was charming and I really got to care for Calwyn.

Unfortunately the copy I'd gotten hold of was rather poor quality, so the map was almost illegible, which did frustrate me a bit as I tried to follow their wanderings, but really - that's nitpicking!

Hell and a Loving God - Claus Tondering*, 5/5, 122 pages
I have read this book several times since I first got my hands on it, and now wanted to read the English version.

I won't claim to understand everything about hell - far from it - and there are still things that make no sense at all to me, but this book has given me a greater understanding for how the idea of a loving God can be combined with the horrors of Hell.

Babysitters Club, 1050 pages total
Only 7 this month.

Book of the month: 84 Charing Cross Road. Very charming book! Thanks !
Biggest disappointment: The Man Who Tasted Shapes. I'm very interested in the topic, but was bored by the book.

Currently Reading...

2010-07-26T21:14:00.000+02:00

A common question I often get asked is, "So, what are you reading at the moment?" Sounds like an easy question, right? Yet my answer very much depends on who asks, and how long an answer I think they're looking for ;)

See, I'm never reading just one book. I know there are readers who can't cope with (or simply don't want to) read more than one book at a time. I'm the complete opposite. I can't cope with ONLY reading one book. I think a typical average number would be somewhere between 4 and 6.

Exceptions to the rule are when I'm off on vacation - there I usually only read one book at a time. Don't know why, other than that it would be too much of a hassle to bring along THAT many books ;)

There are several reasons for why I read several books at a time. The first (although this is not quite as true as it used to be) is thta I get bored with reading just one book at a time. I need variation, so though there are days where I honestly only do pick up one book, I usually read a bit of at least 3 on any given day.

The second reason is that I need different books for different occasions! So generally it's not that I feel like reading and then arbitrarily decide which book to turn to - it all depends on the time of day, where I am, and what I'll be doing while reading. I don't want to lug around heavy books on commute, and I obviously have to pick an audiobook for 'reading' while doing the dishes.

So! In case you're wondering what I'm reading and the moment and why, I'm here to satisfy your curiosity!

Book 1: The "for my entertainment" book
There is usually one book that I consider my "main" read. Either this is because it is the book I'm most interested in reading just now, or it's because it's the one I need to finish first (in the case of an ARC or a library book that has to be turned in soon). If I don't think you really care about all the details, this is my stock answer to the "What are you reading" question.
The Physician by Noah Gordon
A reread - I think it's the 5th or 6th time I'm reading this. I love historical novels, and though I have no clue at all how accurate it is, I still find it fascinating. I'm currently debating whether or not to continue with Shaman once I finish. They're LONG books though (700+ pages), so they take awhile to get through - even for me ;)

Book 2: The audiobook
Ever since I discovered audiobooks, I've had one on my mp3-player to listen to on my bike ride to and from work. If it's an interesting enough book, I'll also have it on while shopping, doing dishes or other mindless chores. Audiobooks can't be too heavy, as I can't give them my full concentration all the time.
Wicked Lovely by Melissa Marr
One of those books I saw ALL the time on "Paranormal" book tables in book stores. I found it on audible and decided to give it a try, and it's actually not half bad. Quite entertaining, and not nearly as predictable as most books of that ilk.

Book 3: The commute book
Though I usually bike to and from work, sometimes I get lazy or the weather is too bad or my bike's in the shop, and I have to take public transportation. Of course I have to have a book for that occasion too! Ever since I got my e-reader, it's been an ebook, as they're so much easier to lug around :)
Wicked by Gregory Maguire
Though this has mostly received bad reviews from my friends, I've been intrigued by it ever since before I saw the musical. I decided I might as well give it a shot, and am actually enjoying it a lot more than I thought I would. I only have another 150-200 pages to go, so I'm pretty sure I'll finish it.

Book 4: The book I HAVE to read but simply can't get through
This is usually a book I have to review, a book for a book club, or a book that I for whatever other reason feel like I have to get through, but which doesn't hold my attention enough to end up in the "Book 1" category. So I set myself a set number of pages a day/week and plod my way through it as best I can.
The Blade Itself by Joe Abercrombie
I received this as an ARC as it's being considered for translation into Danish, but really can't make myself read it. I'm only a couple of pages in, but so far nothing about it appeals to me - not the writing style, not the characters, not the plot. I'll give it another 30-40 pages and then tell my publishers I had to give up. Thank goodness for that "boredom-clause" in my contract! :D

Book 5: The Book I WANT to read, but have currently abandoned
The book I have no real reason for not getting on with, but due to the other books being slightly more interesting (or more pressing), it's been put on the back burner.
The Man Who Tasted Shapes by Richard E. Cytowic
A slightly more scientific approach to synesthecia. It's interesting enough that I want to finish it, but unfortunately not interesting enough (and a tad too dry) to hold my attention. It's a library book though, so I have to finish by August 2nd. I may or may not give up - haven't completely decided yet.
If you've read this, and can let me know whether or not it's worth pushing through, I'd love to hear it!

Book 6: The inspirational book for mornings
That elaboration should become apparent in a minute ;) I try to hold a morning devotional every weekday morning, and read an inspirational book for about 10 minutes.
The Hippopotamus in the Living Room by Tommy Hellsten
Yes, I know it's usually called "The elephant in the living room", but it's not my fault that's not what the title is! An interesting book about children who've grown up with abusive and/or alcoholic parents.

Book 7: The inspirational book for evenings
And there you have the explanation ;) I try to read a few pages in bed each evening before going to sleep.
The Story of a Soul by St. Thérèse of Lisieux
Gretchen Rubin went on and on about this autobiography in her book, so I became intrigued and went out and bought it. I'm not that far into it yet, but so far I like it. It's interesting.

Book 8: The Bible
Hopefully selfexplanatory. I try to read a bit of the Bible as often as possible. At the moment I'm reading the Psalms for my morning devotion, and we're reading Galatians for Bible study.

Of course I don't always have books for every one of these categories. Books 1, 2, 6 and 8 I'll have at any given moment (although sometimes 6, 7 and 8 - or any two of those - will be the same book), but the others come and go as circumstances demand. Just a lucky coincidence that I actually have all 8 at the time of posting this! :D

June Reads - 29 Books

2010-07-01T21:16:00.000+02:00

I didn't go quite as nuts with BSC books this month - down from 49 to just 15! Which probably also accounts for the total number of books read.

Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close - Jonathan Safran Foer, 2.5/5, 323 pages
This is a really, really weird book. I still haven't quite decided what I think of it. I can see its literary merit, but I guess it just didn't appeal to me at all. I did like the way Jonathan Foer used the medium to tell the story though. I always appreciate it when authors dare use the book as more than just something to carry the words. However, the writing style did come across as very artsy at times. Not necessarily a bad thing (Milan Kundera does the same, and I rather liked his The Unbearable Lightness of Being), but completely different from what I had expected, so I wasn't prepared for it. However, it wouldn't surprise me if this becomes the kind of book people study in high school 5-10 years from now.

I'm glad I've read it, but I'm also glad I just got it out of the library rather than buy it, as I doubt it's a book I'd want to read again.

The Monsters of Otherness - Kaza Kingsley, 4.5/5, 320 pages
The second book about Erec Rex, and I think I might even like this a tad more than the first book. The first book tired to introduce too much of a new universe too quickly, which made the start rather cluttered. This sequel didn't suffer from that issue, meaning that the plot was a lot cleaner and got started much faster.

Of course the story is rather predictable, but it's well-written and fun! I like the main characters, and loved hearing about the tasks Erec had to fulfill in order to become a king -- even if he did only manage the first 2 in this book. I'm already looking forward to reading the next!

My Sergei - Ekaterina Gordeeva, 3.5/5, 187 pages
I picked this up because I'm fascinated by figure skating, and thought it sounded really interesting. And it was in parts, but unfortunately Ekaterina Gordeeva is obviously not a writer, so certain sections of the book were rather clunky making the emotions difficult to relate to.

Two things really affected my experience of the book though. The first was discovering that I may actually have seen Ekaterina and Sergie perform 'live'! At least I remember my mum taking my sister and me to an international skating competition back when I was a teen, and it might very well have been the 1994 World Championship in Copenhagen.

The second was thanks to modern technology - about halfway through the book, I realized that many of the competitions mentioned would probably be on YouTube. Honestly, it was a really, really odd feeling to read about a program, and then sit down to watch it on the computer - especially knowing that Sergei died rehearing for just such a competition.

It was a surprisingly slow read, but well worth the time spent on it.

The Gift of Fear - Gavin de Becker, 4/5, 300 pages
Very engagingly written. I found the subject interesting, and the language easy to read (meaning that it wasn't as dry and technical as it could have been). Hopefully I'll never have to put any of this theory into practise, and Becker himself said that the book was more relevant for people in the US than anywhere else.

What I found especially fascinating about the book was the view it gave the reader into the psyche of violent people - how there are always warning signs, how a person never "just snaps" and how to trust one's instincts. For that reason alone, I found the first half of the book most interesting, and it more thoroughly focused on what to look for. The last chapters was more made up of examples met by Becker's firm than case studies the average Jane could learn from.

I guess you could accuse the book of fearmongering, and I probably wouldn't recommend it to somebody already suffering from an anxiety disorder, but Becker does make a case for not worrying unnecessarily, and I guess that's what it all boils down to.

A very quick read, which I found difficult to put down.

It Must've Been Something I Ate - Jeffrey Steingarten, 3.5/5, 320 pages
An amusing collection of food-related essays. Like in almost all essay collections there were some I laughed at, some I found interesting, and some I couldn't relate to at all. Steingarten does have a very entertaining writing style, but I must admit that I didn't care much about his adventures when going fishing or the quest for finding the perfect original French cuisine restaurant.

On the other hand, I loved reading about his research of chocolate (who wouldn't!), his taste experiments of salt and coffee, and the description of how to make the perfect bread and pizza crust.

A fun read, and each essay only takes about 10-15 minutes to get through.

A Moment of Weakness - Karen Kingsbury, 3.5/5, 433
I honestly don't really know how to rate or review this book. There were parts of it I loved, and parts where I just wanted to throw the book across the room. I think I'll have to try something new, and do a review in bullet form.

Things I Liked
* The childhood friendship between Jade and Tanner. Very sweet.
* Jade's reaction to meeting God. Brought tears to my eyes.
* Jade and Tanner's friendship 'that summer'.
* Jade and Ty's relationship
* The 'conversations' with God. I always wish I could hear Him that clearly.

Things I Disliked
* The heavy, heavy, HEAVY forshadowing. It almost made me give up on the book already on page 70!
* The blatant moralizing.
* How the evil people were evil, with no remedying qualities.
* The unrealistic judge and courtcase (at least I hope both were unrealistic!).
* Worst of all - how things just got worse, and worse, and worse, and worse, and you could see that it was going to continue downhill (thanks to the lovely forshadowing mentioned above), until finally everything was resolved lickity-split and (as also mentioned above) in a very unrealistic manner. When you end up saying, "Oh, come ON!" as you read the final pages - it is not a good sign.

I don't know if this is standard for Karen Kingsbury, or just specific to this book, so I am going to give her a second chance, because as cringe-worthy as the bad things were, I LOVED the good things, so did end up finding it slightly more good than bad.

Halfway to Forever - Karen Kingsbury, 4.5/5, 339 pages
I'm glad I decided to give Karen Kingsbury a second chance, because I LOVED Halfway to Forever. It had all the good points of A Moment of Weakness and none (or only very few) of the bad ones. I do realize that this means I'll have to read more by her to figure out which is the rule and which is the exception ;-)

Halfway to Forever is a wonderful book about trusting God through adversity, and listening to Him, even when He seems far away. It's probably too in-your-face for a non-Christian, but an excellent reminder for a Christian. It's a sad book though. The adversity the main characters encounter is pretty severe, and I cried buckets while reading (good thing I was home alone!), but it was also very, very beautiful and reaffirming.

She's the One - Gregory Gilderman, 2.5/5, 189 pages
I don't know how I managed this, but I'd gotten completely the wrong impression about this book. I'd somehow been lead to expect that it was a Christian relationship book (probably by myself), and was therefore quite surprised to discover that that was definitely not the case.

Rather, it's a book for 20-30 year-old single women, whom the author think are being mislead by the media and he therefore wants to tell them what men really want.

So really not at all relevant for somebody who's been married for 7 years. Sure, there were some few pieces of advice I could use (e.g. a chapter on fighting, which was actually quite an eye-opener), but in general I read it more for its entertainment value than anything else.

Thankfully it did have that. Gregory Gilderman knows how to write catchy essays, and while I'm not always sure he's representative of "Average Joe", he's probably right more often than he's wrong.

So if you're single and looking for some light-hearted advice, I'd pick it up, but if you're in a committed relationship, I'd give it a miss.

The Scarlet Pimpernel - Baroness Emmuska Orczy, 4/5, ~8hrs
I'd seen a movie version of this ages ago, but remembered nothing of it other than the "They seek him here, they seek him there" rhyme and that I rather enjoyed it, so when I discovered that one of my favourite Librivox readers had recorded it, I decided to try it out.

And it's quite good. Nothing that blew me away, but definitely an enjoyable read. Quite predictable - I either guessed or subconsciously remembered all the twists - but as it wasn't exactly a whodunnit, that didn't bother me.

Who Do I Lean On? - Neta Jackson, 5/5, 358 pages
Neta Jackson never fails to inspire me through her books, and thankfully this third book in the House of Hope series was no exception. Though I did still occasionally want to shake Gabby for her bad choices, she had come far enough to realize her mistakes herself, before they got her in too much trouble.

Phillip was at his most likeable here, and I was grateful for this glimpse into the person he used to be - until now it had been difficult to understand why Gabby ever married him in the first place. Here we got to see behind his ambition to the person he could be.

I did think the Lee story line was much too easily resolved though. It seemed a bit too convenient - I would have liked to see Gabby come to a decision by herself, rather than being forced into it by an ultimatum.

But as always Neta Jackson delivered an AMAZING story that made me ache to be part of that kind of Christian fellowship myself.

I read the book in one sitting, and stayed up until 2am to finish it. Unfortunately the next (and last) book in the series won't be out until March 2011.

The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner - Stephenie Meyer, 3/5, 152 pages
To be honest, I wasn't sure I even wanted to read this novella. Everybody who's read Eclipse knows what's going to happen to Bree - why would I want to get to know and find sympathy for somebody I knew would die in the end?

And I have to admit, even after having read it, that's still my thought. This is NOT a novella for people who want happy endings - or even just closure. It was interesting enough, but I found myself much less engaged than usual, probably because I didn't care - and didn't want to care. The reason I still gave it a rating of 3, is that I can clearly see that this isn't the fault of the book.

I still love the Twilight saga, but I doubt I'm ever going to reread this.

Frygt - Helene Tegtmeier, 2.5/5, 192 pages
(Fear)
Not a very pleasant book, and I'm very dubious as to how realistic it was. That's usually not a problem, but I'm pretty sure this book was supposed to be realistic, which was unfortunate. I think the book would have benefitted from being longer, so not quite as much had to happen in as short a span of pages. The plot could easily have been stretched another 100 pages, as long as the author was competent enough to fill out the details. I'm not entirely sure that would have been the case though.

Idol Musings - Various, 4/5, 644 pages
I don't think the thrill of reading my own name in print is ever going to get old :-D

This collection of Idol Musings is very representative of the competition. Some entries made me laugh, some made me cry, some left me cold, and some made me sit back with a feeling that all is right with the world.

I doubt the book will register on the radar of people who haven't either participated in the writing competition themselves, or know some of the contributers, and that's a shame, because there's a lot of really, really good writing in there.

It's not a book I can sit down and read from A-Z, but for a few essays here and there, it's a pure treat.

Too Busy Not To Pray - Bill Hybel, 5/5, 180 pages
Somebody recommended this book to me many years ago. I no longer remember who, and I'm not even sure I got the right book, as Jo Carro has also written one with the exact same title. However, I'd been utterly unable to find that one, and the library had this one, so I'm going to claim this was it! ;)

Besides, even if it wasn't, I'm SO glad I've read it. Bill Hybels tackles some of the large issues about praying - how to pray, when to pray (scheduled prayer time is just as important as spontaneous prayer), why some prayers are answered and others aren't, and that listening is just as important a part of praying as talking is.

Very thought-provoking, very inspiring and very interesting, even if Bill Hybels didn't always touch on the topics that are most relevant to me: I have no doubt at all that God is able to provide whatever miracle I'm praying for - I wonder if he's going to. I know that listening is an important part of prayer - I just don't know how to, as my mind is always too busy with other things. He did have some practical advice though, which I'm going to try to follow.

A highly recommendable book, which I think I need to own for myself so I can underline stuff.

Babysitters Club, Babysitters Club Super Special
Not quite as many this month. Only another 15 books read. It's very obvious that the quality deteriorates the further into the series I get.

Book of the month: A tie between Too Busy Not to Pray and Who Do I Lean On?. Both were amazing.
Biggest disappointment: Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close. I'd expected SO much more of it!

My Top Ten Comfort Reads

2010-06-26T21:17:00.000+02:00

Stolen shamelessly from Giraffe Days. I have a feeling I'm going to be ganking a lot of "Top Ten" book lists from her :-)

I am big on comfort reads. If I'm feeling out of sorts, I turn to books first and foremost (well... not quite, but first out of material things anyway). I read when I'm bored, I read when I'm sad, I read when I desperately need to be distracted.

In those cases (well, not so much bored, but the other two), it's important that it's a book that won't have any triggers, and won't make me even more sad. In those cases, it's good to turn to the tried and tested and much loved ones. But of course I don't have to be sad or blue to pick up a comfort read... sometimes I just feel like re-reading a favourite book!

As for the definition of a comfort read... well, really, I'm just going to quote Giraffe Days there:

What is a comfort read? That's an easy one. It's a book that, no matter your mood, you can snuggle down with. A book that you know, because you've read it before, has the power to absorb you, de-stress you, shine a little light on your soul for however long. It's a book where the characters are like family, a book that has associations and memories for you - good ones. A book that's like your best friend, like a cuddly old jumper that you will never throw out no matter how tattered it becomes.

A comfort read is, quite simply, a book you read to comfort yourself with. You know what happens but that's never a problem. It's the characters and the story that you love, like a favourite movie or comforting song. And, for me, I think it needs a happy ending. I want to be left with that feeling of wholeness that is happiness.

My Top Ten Comfort Reads

The Blue Castle - Lucy Maud Montgomery
I can't remember when Mum first introduced me to this book, but I can't have been much older than 13-14, and I think I've probably read it about once a year since then. It fits all the hall-marks of a comfort read - humour, cozy descriptions, romance and - of course - a happy ending. Although this one is perhaps a little contrived ;)

But generally, almost everything LMM wrote would fit the bill of a comfort read, especially the first four and the last Anne book (a comfort read may be sad in the middle, as long as it has a happy ending!), Jane of Lantern Hill, and Emily of New Moon.

Little House... - Laura Ingalls Wilder
I know it's not one book, but it might as well be, as I seldom read just one :) Although truth be told, I do tend to skip Little House on the Prairie. It's just not nearly as interesting as the others.

My favourites are Little House in the Big Woods (although I'll often skip Father's stories), Farmer Boy, Little Town on the Prairie and These Happy Golden Years. I realise I just listed almost half of the series, but that just goes to show that it might as well be one book, with me reading favourite chapters ;)

I love all the descriptions of how the Ingalls (and Wilder) family lived, I love all the good food descriptions (even if it does make me terribly hungry!), I know the Ingalls family so very well by now, and love 'visiting' them, and it's just generally a nice series of a simpler time, with people generally being nice to each other. I know the latter is probably fabricated, or written through rose-tinted glasses, but that doesn't take away from my enjoyment of it in the slightest.

I've read at least one book in this series yearly since I was 10.

Wizard's First Rule - Terry Goodkind
I first read this in 1997 by recommendation of Christian (my BIL), and have already read it many, many times. It doesn't fit the usual definition of a comfort book, as it has some very unpleasant scenes, but this is where I have to resort to the definition above - it has the power to absorb me, it de-stresses me, and it holds good memories for me. At a time where my life was closed to be turned upside down it was the only book that could hold my attention long enough to read it (and even so, it doesn't now have bad connotations, because I'd already read it so many times by then). It's by far the best book in the series, and draws me in completely.

It's one of those books I really have to be careful not to start reading during the week, because I won't want to stop neither to go to sleep or to go to work.

Outlander - Diana Gabaldon
Another comfort read that includes some very unpleasant scenes. But the thing is, I know they're there, and I know it all works out in the end, so it doesn't matter terribly that I have to read them.

Again it's a book that draws me in completely. Again it's a book with humour and romance, and again it's a book that offers nice descriptions of how people lived, worked, cooked etc. Apparently such descriptions often occur in my comfort reads ;)

I was very, very unimpressed by the latest kerfuzzle surrounding the author and her views on fanfiction, and lost a lot of respect for her because of that. However, I love the books separate from my feelings about the author, so this still counts as one of my comfort reads.

The Yada Yada Prayer Group - Neta Jackson
This is probably one of the most comfortable comfort reads on my list. Reading this book (well, the entire series actually) is like coming home. I love the characters and am interested in their lives. These books have done more for my Christian life than any other book I've ever read - non-fiction and fiction both - and yet, despite being challenging, they're also comforting, and I'll happily dive into one and not come out of it again until the last page has been turned.

Alanna - Tamora Pierce
The Song of the Lioness was my introduction to fantasy (other than Narnia), so even if nothing else, I'd have to love it for that. Thankfully, the book itself turned out to be wonderful, and quickly made its way to being one of my favourites, and being a lovely comfort read.

Like I've already mentioned, I like descriptions of a person's life - this goes double for life at school (which you'll also see from the next book), so following Alanna's education is absolutely fascinating to me.

Dragonsinger - Anne McCaffrey
One of my very first internet friends recommended Harper's Hall trilogy to me. Fortunately the library had it, so I got them out, and was immediately hooked! Life at Harper's Hall was extremely fascinating to me, and I so desperately wanted to go there myself (even if I'm no where NEAR musically talented enough, but ah well). Humour - check, friendship - check, descriptions of school life - check, evil people getting their just desserts - check, lots and lots of lovely music - check. Oh, and it's short enough that I can read it in just over an hour. That's not a requirement for a comfort read (as you can see from some of the other books on this list), but it does make it handy for when I don't want a long dive, but just a quick dip.

Chronicles of Narnia - C.S. Lewis
Another series where I really can't pick just one. The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe is probably my favourite, but it's also the one I know the best, so I don't have the same need to reread it. I LOVE the part of Prince Caspian where the children first realise they've come back to Narnia, but the rest isn't as terrific. Voyage of the Dawn Treader is just lovely, but I miss Peter and Susan.

But they're all comfort reads. Lucy, Edmund, Susan, Peter, Caspian, Tumnus... they're all old friends, and I fully expect Heaven to be something like Narnia - talking animals and all! :)

Singularity - William Sleator
If Alanna was my introduction to fantasy, then this was my introduction to sci-fi. It's not your standard comfort book, as the plot itself is rather uncomfortable in places, but I'd still rate it as such, because of my familiarity of it. Also, I like that it makes me think, and the way it draws me into the universe so completely, that I occasionally have to shake myself to get back to reality and that I have just lived a year in the span of a night.

My love for this book cannot be explained. It's completely unlike most books I love, but it's fantastic.

The Rosary - Florence L. Barclay
No list of comfort books would be complete without a mention of The Rosary. I think this is possibly the most beautiful book I've ever read. The plot is fairly standard, and while both sweet and romantic, it's of the type that's a dime a dozen. No, it's the writing that really makes this book. Ms. Barclay has a way with words that is unlike almost any other I've ever encountered (with the possible exception of LMM).

So add beautiful writing, amusing scenes and a romantic story and you end up with a very happy Maria :)

I've stayed away from Danish books, as most people here wouldn't know them anyway. That's NOT to say there aren't some wonderful Danish comfort reads out there, and if you're able to read Danish, you should definitely go pick up some books by Estrid Ott :D

May Reads - 55 Books

2010-06-01T21:30:00.000+02:00

The Happiness Project - Gretchen Rubin*, 5/5, 296 pages
Yes, again. I finished this last month, turned right around and started from page 1 again. It is just that good.

No matter if you'd consider yourself happy or not, I cannot recommend this book highly enough.

Hypnotisøren - Lars Kepler, 4/5, ~20hrs
(The Hypnotist)
The narrator: This edition was read by Peter Jorde. In the beginning I didn't care much for him at all, because I found his reading style very monotonous, which made it difficult for him to keep my concentration until the plot grabbed me. Once that happened I didn't mind his style as much, and hardly thought of it at all near the end.

The writing style: Man, Lars Kepler could have done with a thorough editor! His writing makes it seem like he was paid by the word just like in the old days. There were long descriptions of "He went down to the garage and went into the car. Drove down the street. Stopped at the red light. Turned right and drove past a school", and it left me with a feeling of why on earth include all this? What's the point? That did get slightly frustrating at times.

The plot: Wow! This was a very wild, very dark ride. Lark Kepler constantly took us on detours making me think, "Why on earth is he spending so much time on this?!" but it (mostly ;) ) turned out to be essential to the plot. Parts of it were deeply depressing and disturbing, and I was incredibly frustrated by not getting proper closure to some aspects - Erik being fired, why Lydia, M. and Jussi had gotten together again, Joseph and Evelyn etc. - it always bothers me with an author just kills off certain characters, instead of exploring the consequences of their actions. Unfortunately that happens only too often in suspense novels, and always seems like 'the easy way out' to me.

In general though, an excellent book which I found it very, very difficult to put down.

Dark Life - Kat Falls, 5/5, 298 pages
Yet another book that proves to me that dystopian novels definitely very much are my thing! Dark Life had the added bonus of combining the dystopian genre with the pioneer genre (think "Little House"), which I also really enjoy, resulting in a YA novel that's right up my aisle. The differences between the lives of Topsiders and Dark Life were fascinating, and though despicable, the actions of the Government seemed only too likely in a semi-emergency as the one they found themselves in.

Honestly, the plot itself was nothing out of the ordinary, but all the unusual descriptions of every-day lives made the book a very interesting read regardless.

Sabriel - Garth Nix, 4/5, 368 pages
I loved the mix of old and new - cars and electricity on one side vs. magic and creatures of death on the other.

The story itself I thought was well-written and engaging. I wasn't quite as swept up in it as I had expected to be (thus the 4 star rating rather than 5 stars), but it did get increasingly more difficult to put down as the plot progressed. I was also very thankful to see that it actually had a proper ending, rather than leaving the reader with the cliff-hangers otherwise so common in fantasy series.

And I loved Mogget - kept picturing him as Salem (of "Sabrina the Teenage Witch"), but that actually seemed to fit his personality quite well, so I didn't try to stop myself.

I Pandoras æske - Pernille Eybye, 4/5, 192 pages
I Pandoras æske ("In Pandora's Box") is the second book I've read by Pernille Eybye, and I have to admit I was completely blown away. The first book had been a somewhat disappointing run-of-the-mill YA, so I hadn't really expected anything more from this one. Boy, was I ever wrong! Instead I found an incredibly fascinating suspense novel, that turned out to be an absolute page-turner. The plot was fascinating, but even more satisfying, the characters were refreshingly complex. Still targeted towards teenagers, but also a very enjoyable read for older people.

Messenger - Lois Lowry, 3/5, 168 pages
The third and last book in The Giver 'series' (for want of better word) and unfortunately by far the weakest. Slow to start, and though it had a very interesting middle, the end came much too soon and was far too rushed. Worse, so many questions were left unanswered that the ending seemed both inadequate and unsatisfactory.

I still give it three stars because the middle was terrific - I just wish it had been elaborated on further.

Up Here on the Hill - Bub Bridger, 5/5, 36 pages
I was first introduced to the New Zealand poetess Bub Bridger more than 10 years ago, and immediately fell in love with her poetry. I've been looking for this collection ever since, but without any luck until I finally stumbled across it second hand just last month.

It was well worth the wait. My favourite is still Blatant Resistance, but all her poems seem to have the same vibrancy and zest for life.

Sarah's Key - Tatiana de Rosnay, 4.5/5, ~11hrs
Unfortunately I didn't care much for the narrator (I don't remember her name, but as she was a Danish narrator, that won't really matter to most of you anyway ;) ) as her voice was very, very monotonous. Thankfully the plot more than made up for it!

World War 2 stories have always fascinated me, as they show so much about human nature. This one was especially interesting, as it brought home to me rather forcefully how difficult life was for Jews in other European countries - not just Germany and Poland. I tend to think that most were treated like Danish Jews, and keep forgetting that that's not the case.

Sarah's Key wasn't as devastating as I'd expected, but it was still a heartbreaking story. I liked the way it was written - with parallels to present-day France - as that gave a very nice perspective to the story. But some of the attitudes depicted in the book frustrated and infuriated me - just because it's been 60 years doesn't mean we should forget all about the Holocaust.

Great book, even if it did end up being very different from what I had expected.

The Last Song - Nicholas Sparks, 5/5, 390 pages
This is only the second Nicholas Sparks book I've read. The first (The Notebook) I found only so-so, so I never added him to my list of "must read authors", and probably wouldn't have picked up another book by him by myself. However, two of my sisters both raved over The Last Song and told me I HAD to read it. I trust my sisters, picked it up, and after an initial hiccup, finished 16 hours later.

It's a sweet book. A very, very sweet book. A feel-good book despite its ups and downs, troubles and sorrows. I really grew to care deeply about the main characters, and loved seeing how they developed through the book.

It's one of those books I'd categorize as "chick-lit with substance". It's not fluff, and though an easy read, it's one that will stay with you for awhile. I hope I'll be able to treat my teenagers as wisely should I ever have any.

Stilleleg - Julie Clausen, 2/5, 194 pages
Stilleleg ("Game of Silence") has a lot going for it, and at times I was totally mesmerized. Unfortunately, it also has a number of issues that made it quite uncomfortable for me to read. I don't necessarily think that's because it's a bad book, but more because I'm either a prude or have gotten too old for books like these.

I really was starting to enjoy it though - had gotten to a point where I could see past my personal issues and enjoy some of the adorable aspects of the book - but the ending ruined that completely. It seemed absolutely pointless to me, and turned an otherwise hopeful book into something completely depressing. Sad endings are sometimes necessary, but it really annoys me when authors uses them when they're not.

I contemplated giving it only 1 star, but I did enjoy some of it, and didn't have to force myself to finish it, so 2 it is.

Babysitters Club, Babysitters Club Super Special
I'm going to assume you don't care about my one-line reviews of the 49 BSC books I've read this month, so I'm just going to say that I am having SO much fun being on a nostalgia kick! I decided to allow myself to reread them all (and read some of them for the first time, since I found a whole bunch as ebooks recently) and am enjoying myself greatly!

Book of the month: The Last Song. Very sweet/bitter-sweet
Biggest disappointment: Stilleleg. Not really worth reading.

April Reads - 18 Books

2010-05-01T21:33:00.000+02:00

My publisher has been keeping me busy this month, so there are a few more paranormal novels than usual. Also, as part of my own happiness project, I'm rereading the BSC series, so expect a lot of those the next couple of months :)

The Struggle (Vampire Diaries #2) - L.J. Smith*, 2/5, 245 pages
Now I know why I didn't much care for the double album when I first read it. The Awakening was fine, but I did NOT like The Struggle. Its one redeeming factor is that we're supposed to find Damon dispicable. If it had been a book like Hush, Hush or Evermore where the dispicable guy is also the love interest, I would have thrown it across the room.

I think I'll take a bit of a break before tackling #3. At least they're quick reads - only took me about 2 hours.

Sophie's World - Jostein Gaarder*, 3/5, 530 pages
I am absolutely serious in labelling this YA. It came as a surprise to me, as I had definitely previously thought it was aimed at adults, but on this third reread, I discovered that the writing style is much more that of an YA novel, than that of an 'adult' novel. Truth be told, I wasn't too impressed by the writing style, and did not enjoy it nearly as much, as I had when I read it as a teen.

This is the third time I've read "Sophie's World". I first attempted it when I was 14/15 because my principal had told my class that we were too young for it, and I wanted to prove him wrong! ;) I won't say that he didn't turn out to be right after all, but I got through it, and was very proud of myself when adults were amazed that I'd finished it. I started skimming through it a couple of years later, just intending to read the Sophie parts of the story, but got sucked in and couldn't put it down. Since then, I've been meaning to reread it, to see what I'd think of it at the ripe old age of 30, and finally got around to do so over Easter. I'm no longer entirely sure what I think of it though. As mentioned above, I wasn't too impressed by the writing style, and I'm not too sure about the plot either. Why did Jostein Gaarder write a novel rather than a non-fictional book about philosophy? Simply to make it more accessible to your average readers? I'd like to believe that the philosophy course is pretty accurate, but don't know enough about philosophy, to know whether or not Gaarder did proper research. But what does Darwin have to do in a book about philosophy? Wasn't he a scientist more than anything else?

I still do think it's an interesting introduction to philosophy, but that's pretty much the only reason anybody should read this. The plot is practically non-existant, and it definitely reads more like a non-fiction than like a novel, making it rather heavy to get through (not text-book heavy, fortunately - or I'd never gotten through it ;) - just heavy for a novel).

The Fury (Vampire Diaries #3) - L.J. Smith, 3.5/5, 245 pages
After the disappointment that was book 2, I was actually very pleasantly surprised by book 3. It was even better than the first book - mostly because people actually started talking, instead of making weird assumptions. I have to admit to now being kind of curious to see what happens in book 4.

The similarities between this and Twilight aren't as great any longer either, which is a relief, as it makes it easier for me to view it as a series in its own right, rather than a much inferior 'prelude'.

Idlewild - Nick Sagan, 3/5, 275 pages
In style somewhat like The Adoration of Jenna Fox in that we get a few pieces of the puzzle at a time, and have to work them together ourselves. That's where the similarities end though. Idlewild is a very dark dystopian book. I was fascinated and disturbed at the same time, and can't quite figure out if I actually liked the book or not. I think it falls into the "I'm glad I've read it, but I probably won't read it again"-category.

I've never been fond of non-endings, so that was a bit of a disappointment. I can see how it would fit the rest of the story, but still felt I was left with too many unanswered questions.

The Count of Monte Cristo - Alexandre Dumas, 4.5/5, Audiobook ~50hrs
A good book that would have been great - even excellent - had it been properly edited. Dumas was paid according to length, and at times it shows. Had it been half, or even two-thirds the size I think it could have become one of my favourite books. As it was, I felt that there were some plotlines that were superflous and which I then naturally cared less about than the others. Also there were very few twists I hadn't guessed ahead of time.

It took me a bit to get thoroughly captivated by the book, and I almost gave up on it several times. I'm glad I stuck it out though, because it ended up definitely being worth the time spent on it, and it's one of those books I'm glad to be able to say I've read.

It didn't work too well as an audiobook though. First of all it was difficult to keep the names apart. Secondly the audiobook I'd found was read by multiple readers from Librivox, so the pronounciations of the names weren't consistant (which made it even more difficult to keep them apart), and some of them unfortunately had such strong accents that I found it difficult to understand them. If I ever choose to reread it, I'll pick up the physical book next time.

Gone - Michael Grant, 4/5, 558 pages
Since I seem to have a weakness for Dystopian novels, I fully expected to love Gone, and wasn't disappointed. Even the ending didn't bother me, as I knew it was the first in a series, and therefore didn't expect any real closure.

I guess it's similar to a modern day Lord of the Flies, but as I haven't read that one in years (if ever), I can't say how I'd rate it in comparison.

Thought-provoking, scary and just plain entertaining! I hope the next books match up.

Hunger - Michael Grant, 4/5, 590 pages
A fascinating continuation to the series. I think I liked book #1 a tiny bit better, because in this one I could so clearly see the mistakes Sam was making, and just wanted to yell at him for it. I like that he's not perfect though - it makes him less Gary Stu'ish.

The language is somewhat juvenile at times, but it works with the style of the book and helps set the atmosphere. That doesn't mean it isn't well-written though. I found it very engaging and even sinister in places. I also like reading an author who understands how to write a series - round off the small individual plot lines in each book, but let the larger plot unfold through the series. It makes me actually not mind not knowing how many books are in the series.

Me Talk Pretty One Day - David Sedaris, 4/5, 272 pages
"forced" me to buy this when I met her in NYC last year. I'd heard David Sedaris mentioned in passing before, but never read anything by him, and as I trust Irina's judgement I went for it :)

I'm not quite sure I get the point of books like this (or "Travelling Mercies" or "Pitching My Tent" which are the same style). I don't mean that negatively, because as the rating indicates I clearly liked it, but it's not quite a memoir, not quite an autobiography... so what is it? What made the author choose to write this book of seemingly unconnected anecdotes, and what is it that made it so interesting for people to read? (And if he can't, why can't I? ;) )

I still don't have a good answer to those questions, but have simply come to the conclusion that whether or not I understand the purpose of them, I do enjoy books like this, and that may be purpose enough. I especially enjoyed reading about David Sedaris' troubles with learning the French language. I never felt that way about learning English (fortunately), but it reminded me very vividly of my experience with learning German... a language that I never took to, and have now mostly forgotten, but where I found myself grasping for words and coming up with exceedingly more convulted sentences as I tried to find the words I needed, and avoid any use of gender-based grammar!

A well-written and very funny book.

Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief - Rick Riordan, 4.5/5, 375 pages
Started off slow, but quickly gained pace. Yes, it does have a lot of similarities to Harry Potter in style, but not at all in plot. I enjoyed the uniqueness of the story, and was fascinated by the Greek mythology. I've always been interested in Greek mythology, but for some reason, haven't spent much time exploring it, so I had fun learning more through this book - although I don't know how accurate it is.

Some of the so-called "twists" were rather predictable, but as the book in general was well-written and entertaining, that didn't bother me. The only problem now is that I don't have the rest of the series readily at hand, and I want to read more!

The Happiness Project - Gretchen Rubin, 5/5, 296 pages
It's been a long time since I last was this sad to finish a book - even longer since it happened to me with a non-fiction book! I ended up limiting myself to just one or two chapters a day, or I'd have breezed right through it. As it is, I'm now seriously considering turning back to page 1 and starting all over again.

Gretchen Rubin's book is down to earth, easy to read, and easy to relate to. Most of what's in the book can also be found on her blog (http://www.happiness-project.com), but I've found that I like things in a more condensed and structured manner, so I definitely benefitted from reading the book - I'm going to continue to subscribe to her rss-feed though.

"It's the rare person who can't benefit from starting a happiness project", Rubin writes, and I'm inclined to agree with her. Naturally everybody's project will look different, but it's been inspiring for me to follow Gretchen on her journey. She interspersed her book with comments from her blog, and while there occasionally were a few too many of them, it was fascinating to see this more interactive approach.

No matter if you'd consider yourself happy or not, I cannot recommend this book highly enough.

The Forest of Hands and Teeth - Carrie Ryan, 4.5/5, 308 pages
I've always steered clear of books about zombies. They just don't appeal to me in the least. At least, not in theory. Turns out that it's a completely different matter in practise. I didn't know anything about this book before I started, which was probably a good idea, or I doubt I'd ever have picked it up, but - surprise, surprise - I ended up being completely unable to put it down!

It probably helped quite a bit that it wasn't your stereotypical zombie tale, but more a dystopian novel that just happened to include zombies. My biggest problem with the book was that I felt there were a lot of questions that didn't get answered. I'm hoping some of them will be addressed in the sequel.

Dark Reunion (Vampire Diaries #4) - L.J. Smith, 3/5, 273 pages
I think L.J. Smith would have been better off stopping after the third book in the series. That one had a decent - although sad - ending and felt like a proper conclusion to the series. This one seemed more like L.J. Smith suddenly realising "Oh, I shouldn't have ended the series so quickly - I'd better find a way to continue it". It did work somewhat, but the fact that it was so obviously an add-on made me less impressed by the book.

It was still better than book #2 though. Though I found #4 an obvious fourth book in a trilogy, I did like the characters here, and thought they developed nicely through the book. The plot wasn't half-bad either.

Kristy's Great Idea (BSC #1) - Ann M. Martin*, 2/5, 150 pages
Not one of my favourite BSC books. I didn't care much for the pet-sitting incident, and found Kristy was absolutely insufferable in her behaviour towards Watson. But then, until Abby came along, Kristy was my least favourite character.

Claudia and the Phantom Phone Calls (BSC #2) - Ann M. Martin*, 4/5, 150 pages
Okay, so you really have to completely ignore the ages of the kids in these books ;) But that aside, this is one of my favourite in the series, without me really being able to say why - I just like it ;)

The Truth About Stacey (BSC #3) - Ann M. Martin*, 2.5/5, 150 pages
One thing I've learned from reading BSC - there are always plenty of baby-sitting jobs to go around... except in this book.

Jessi's Secret Language (BSC #16) - Ann M. Martin*, 4/5, 150 pages
One of my favourite BSC books. I tend to prefer Jessi's books, because I love reading about her ballet, and as I'm also very fascinated by sign language, this is extra interesting to me.

Snowbound (BSC SS #7) - Ann M. Martin*, 3/5, 250 pages
I was in the mood for some light reading. Not the best SS, but not the worst either.

Chosen (House of Night #3) - PC & Kristin Cast, 2.5/5, 249 pages
Gah, the further I get into this series, the more I just want to take Zoey and shake some sense into her! Her actions and dishonestly really bothered me while reading this book. I was fascinated by the plot and wanted to see what happened next, but at the same time I was disgusted by Zoey's behaviour. She's one of the most unlikeable Mary Sues I've ever encountered.

Also, I'm getting less and less fond of Zoey's original friends, and am starting to like Aphrodite more and more. Didn't think that would happen after her actions in the first books!

Hopefully the next book will be less focused on Zoey's boy-issues and we'll actually get some proper action. I'm too drawn in by the over-all arc to abandon it now, but I am getting tired of Zoey's sex-craze.

Book of the month: The Happiness Project
Biggest disappointment: Idlewild. I know I rated Chosen lower, but I'd expected more of Idlewild.

Movie adaptions

2010-04-27T21:36:00.000+02:00

Is there a book you really loved that was subsequently turned into a movie? Did it live up to your expectations? Why or why not?

There's no straight answer to this, because some did, some didn't, and some far exceeded my expectations - so I'm going to split up my answers in Yes, No and Somewhat, and give examples for each.

No

Twilight Yes, I'll admit it, I adore the books. However, the first movie was a huge disappointment, and I haven't even seen New Moon yet. I just don't think Kristin Stewart(?) is a very good actress, and not only do I not find RP at all attractive, I serious disagree with the way he acts Edward (I was going to call him a bad actor too, until I saw an interview with him - he's actually pretty brilliant!) Such a shame.

The 3rd Anne Movie I'm not sure which Anne book they thought they were making a movie adaption of, but it SUCKED. I'm seriously wondering if Sullivan even read any of the later books.

Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy Sorry. It just didn't work for me.

The Golden Compass I did like the way they portrayed the compass, but that was pretty much the only thing I liked. I don't know how they managed to get it THAT wrong, but they did.

Somewhat

Prince Caspian Caspian was far too old, and I disliked both the powerstruggle between him and Peter and using him as a love interest for Susan. Other than that I loved it - especially the description of the kids' return to Narnia.

Harry Potter - all of them. They are good, but could never live up to the books. Although some of the characters are EXCELLENTLY cast (Snape and Prof. McG in particular)

Yes

The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe They did a magnificent job on this one. I was so worried if it could live up to my expectations, and it far surpased them. Well done! :)

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory I didn't care much for the B-plot about Wonka's father, but otherwise I loved it. It was just as magical as the book.

The Lord of the Rings Of course it helps that I didn't care for the books much ;) I thought the movies quite well done though, so while they'll never become favourites, they did live up to my expectations in that they weren't boring either ;)

The Millenium trilogy I was very interested in seeing HOW they'd manage to turn these into movies - especially The Girl Who Kicked The Hornets' Nest - but they did an excellent job. Once again movies that surpassed my expectations.

... I'm probably missing some really obvious ones, but that's all I can think of right now. Other movie adaptions I either saw the movie first (like P&P, Traveling Pants and the Ya-Ya Sisterhood) or I didn't care much for the book in the first place (like The Jane Austen Book Club, Stardust and Bridget Jones)

March Reads - 11 Books

2010-04-01T21:40:00.000+02:00

Only 11 books in March? I'm losing my touch!

The Awakening - L.J. Smith*, 3/5, 245 pages
16 years before Twilight, there were the Vampire Diaries! Seriously, they are SO much alike. I still prefer Twilight though, and it wasn't really my own choice to reread this so shortly after my first read of it (or reread it ever actually), but it's being translated to Danish, so I was asked to review it for my publisher. Thankfully it's a quick read! It's not bad - it's just nothing special either.

The Lost Diary of Don Juan - Douglas Carlton Abrams, 3/5, 290 pages
Very, very slow start. I almost gave up on it, but got stubborn, and it did improve enough for me to feel it wasn't a waste of time to finish. I know nothing about the original story of Don Juan, so I don't know how accurate it was.

Where the Mountain Meets the Moon - Grace Lin, 4/5, 288 pages
Very sweet book for children. It has many similarities to "The Wizard of Oz" and will probably attract much the same audience. I did think that all the included Chinese folktales made it more interesting though, as I'm not terribly familiar with that culture, but terribly fascinated by it.

A charming story. No great page-turner, but it'll probably be good for reading aloud.

The Queen of Attolia - Megan Whalen Turner, 3.5/5, 278 pages
Very, very different from the first book in the series. A lot darker, and a lot more "grown up". I was very taken by it, yet it took me 7 days to read the first 150 pages. Granted, I then sat down and gobbled up the rest yesterday ;) It wasn't that it was slow to start, it was just too easy for me to put down.

Unlike the first book, The Queen of Attolia was written in third person, which I preferred. It was necessary for the plot, and I appreciated hearing parts of the story from other people's POV as well. I'm not entirely sure I bought the final twist from Eurigenes... it seemed a bit too convenient and too much tell, not show. I think I liked it though - it all depends on how it's explored in later books.

Number the Stars - Lois Lowry, 4/5, 131 pages
Very sweet book showing a snapshot of life in Denmark during World War 2. It was rather odd to read such an accurate account in a "foreign" book, but at the same time, I was almost proud that the Danish resistance was deemed interesting enough to be recorded by somebody outside Denmark.

It's a very quick read - took me no more than an hour - and obviously targeted towards children. For all that though, it was a very poignant book, and captured the atmosphere (as portrayed in other books... obviously I wouldn't know myself) very well. Actually, in style and atmosphere both it reminded me a lot of my favourite WW2 novel - "Karen Kurer" by Estrid Ott. "Karen Kurer" is aimed at a slightly older audience though and has unfortunately not been translated into English.

Professional Shrink - Mac, 5/5, 229 pages
It's not often that I give a children's book 5 stars. Especially not a children's book I read for the first time at the ripe old age of 30 ;) But just once in a blue moon it's justified, and I do believe this to be one of those instances.

The book's well written - or at least well translated, since I read it in Danish. It's aimed at children, but the language isn't 'dumbed down' in any way. The characters are well described, and although not exactly likely, they make the best out of being entertaining stereotypes - especially the hit-man, who turns out to have more heart than brain.

However, the best thing about the book is the extremely original plot - the idea of an 11-year-old shrink, who in 24 hours becomes so popular that the entire of NYC's population line up to make an appointment with her is so ridiculous and far out that I couldn't not love it.

Children's books are usually best when read in the rosy light of nostalgia, but that is definitely not necessary here.

The Gorgon's Gaze - Julia Golding, 4.5/5, 303 pages
Just as good as the first book in the series. It fully lived up to my expectations and perhaps even exceeded them. I would have liked to see Connie spend more time learning about her new-found abilities, but the plot quickly made it very obvious that that wasn't going to happen. As a single book in a series, that didn't bother me too much, but I hope Julia Golding will return to Connie's training in the next book.

I'll be very interested to see where Connie's fight with Kullervo will take her, and thought Julia Golding did a good job in introducing the dillemma she may eventually face in having to beat him.

Entertaining fantasy, and a quick read. At 303 pages I read it in just under 3 hours.

The End of Mr. Y - Scarlett Thomas, 4.5/5, 502 pages
You know how you sometimes have one idea of what a book's going to be like, and then you start reading it, and it turns out to be totally different? Yeah, that was me and this book. Not that that was a bad thing at all, it just took me completely by surprise. I had expected a fun fantasy - not an almost scientific account of thought experiments.

In writing style (not genre or plot, just style) it reminded me a lot of Sophie's World by Jostein Gaarder - a fictional story interspersed with a lot of non-fictional details. I was very grateful for my scientific education while reading it, as I fear a lot of the explanations would have gone over my head otherwise. As it was, it was absolutely fascinating, and the paradoxes in the book (which always seem to come about when time-travel is involved) were enough to make my head hurt.

Excellent book. I highly recommend it.

Fallen - Lauren Kate, 3.5/5, 464 pages
Fallen is the type of paranormal romance that seems to be a dime a dozen these days. However, it does stand out by being somewhat better written than many I've read recently, and for actually having a love interest that I find believable for once!

One thing that did bother me though was Luce's... I don't even know whether to call it naivety, cluelessness, recklessness or just plain stupidity. Very frustrating, and I occasionally wanted to shake her and get her to understand that That Is A Bad Idea(TM). Gah! Thankfully there were only 2-3 really bad moments, so it didn't become toe-curlingly obvious that her cluelessness was being used as a plot device.

I'm fascinated by the theory behind what makes Luce special (trying to stay away from too many spoilers here), but feel that a lot of questions were left unanswered. I'm assuming they have been left for later books in the series. For once the loose threads didn't bother me too much though, because Fallen felt complete since the plot itself was nicely concluded.

So yeah, run-of-the-mill YA, but surprisingly readable.

Gossamer - Lois Lowry, 4/5, 153 pages
I hadn't realized that this is much more a children's book than the other books I've read by Lois Lowry so far, so the first few chapters were spent readjusting my expectations. I'm glad I didn't know though, because I probably wouldn't have bought it if I had, and it's a very, very sweet story. I read it in one sitting and loved how hopeful it was.

One of those books that I'm already looking forward to reading aloud to my own kids.

Anne of the Island - Lucy Maud Montgomery*, 5/5, 243 pages
I needed a comfort read and picked this up :) It's probably my favourite Anne book, although it's difficult to say as they're all good :) I love reading about her life at Patty's Place, and I'm a hopeless romantic so the end is all good :) Also, I think the Roy-problematics are very well written and a very atypical inclusion in this type of book.

Most Recommendable: For geeks: The End of Mr. Y. I loved it to the bottom of my geeky heart! :) For parents with younger kids: Professional Shrink. Excellent entertainment.

Spring Reading Thing 2010 - 7/13

2010-03-25T15:45:00.009+01:00

I can't believe I missed the start of Spring Reading Thing 2010! Time is going by much too quickly, and I can't keep up. Ah well, I'm only five days late, so I hope I'll still be allowed in :)

As usual I'm going to go for one book per week, i.e. 13 books in total, as the challenge runs from March 20th to June 20th. No special theme, just books I want to read.

Wintergirls - Laurie Halse Anderson
The Lost Diary of Don Juan - Douglas Carlton Abrams
Mistwood - Leah Cypress
The Count of Monte Cristo - Alexandre Dumas
Knit Two - Kate Jacobs
Blood and Chocolate - Annette Curtis Klause
Where the Mountain Meets the Moon - Grace Lin
September - Rosamunde Pilcher
Sabriel - Garth Nix
The Lightening Thief - Rick Riordan
Idlewild - Nick Sagan
Me Talk Pretty One Day - David Sedaris
The Book of Elsewhere - Jacqueline West

Update
For the first time ever, I didn't finish the spring reading thing challenge! That doesn't mean I haven't read, just that I haven't been reading these particular books. However, the challenge states that I may change my list at any time, so I guess I could just exchange the last 6 books for some I have read, and consider it completed! ;)

Opening Hooks

2010-03-14T21:41:00.000+01:00

There really is nothing better than a really great opening hook in a novel - it piques the interest and curiousity and begs you to read more immediately. It lets you know that you've chosen a good book. And it gives you a bit of an idea of what you are in store for.

Here are some of my all-time favourite opening lines. Sometimes the books themselves unfortunately don't live up the the first line, but thankfully most often they do.

"If it had not rained on a certain May morning, Valancy Stirling's whole life would have been entirely different." From L.M. Montgomery's The Blue Castle.

"Mr and Mrs Dursley, of number four, Privet Drive, were proud to say that they were perfectly normal, thank you very much." From J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter and the Philosopher's/Sorcere's Stone.

"There was a boy called Eustace Clarence Scrubb, and he almost deserved it." From C.S. Lewis's Voyage of the Dawn Treader.

"Ross Wakeman succeeded the first time he killed himself, but not the second or the third." From Jodi Picoult's Second Glance

"It wasn't a very likely place for disappearances, at least at first glance." From Diana Gabaldon's Cross-Stitch/Outlander.

"People usually start life by being born." From Walter Moers' The 13 1/2 Lives of Captain Bluebear.

"The Herdmans were absolutely the worst kids in the history of the world." From Barbara Robinson's The Best Christmas Pageant Ever.

"I might as well say, right from the jump: it wasn't my usual kind of job." From Geraldine Brooks' People of the Book.

"I am what they call in out village "one who has not died yet" - a widow, eighty years old." From Lisa See's Snow-Flower and the Secret Fan.

"My father had a face that could stop a clock." From Jasper Fforde's The Eyre Affair.

(While I'm at it, check out the first sentence of Anne of Green Gables - it's an entire paragraph!)

February Reads - 14 Books

2010-03-01T21:46:00.000+01:00

Be Angry But Don't Blow It - Lisa Bevere, 3/5, 192 pages
Difficult book to review because it was A) very different from what I had expected, and thus B) not very relevant to me, yet C) very well written.

I had assumed that it was a book on all aspects of being angry, meant both for those who got too angry and for those who didn't get angry enough. It turned out it was only aimed at the former, and as keeping my temper isn't really a problem to me, there wasn't much in the book I could use.

Lisa Bevere has an interesting and captivating way of writing though, and there were some chapters that were spot on - not keeping a grudge for instance, and giving an honest apology if you were in the wrong - so at the end of the day, I'm glad I read it, even if I didn't get as much out of it as I'd originally hoped.

The Year of Plenty - Rebecca Brammer*, 5/5, 175 pages
A delightful "comfort read" written in the style of American classics like the Little House series. We get to follow the life of a family - we hear about their holiday traditions, their joy and sorrows, their schooling, their friendships and relationships, and - my favourite parts - the running of the farm. I've always been utterly fascinated by all the every-day chores that came with running a farm 100 years ago, and the work necessary for setting away food to last through the winter.

The Year of Plenty is one of those books you sink down into, and it's almost torture to have to come back out again. I came to care about all the members of the family, and wanted to hear more about what happened to them. I can't wait for the next books in the series to come out.

Uncategorized: The ABD and Other Tales - Sue Lange, 4/5, 280 pages
Honestly, in general I'm not too big a fan of short stories. Possibly because I subconsciously hold them to the same standards as novels, which is blatantly unfair as there's not nearly the same time to create an atmosphere, sympathy for the characters and an interest in the plot.

Sometimes you have to go out on a limb though, and as I am a big fan of sci-fi and thought the premise of "Uncategorized..." sounded interesting I eagerly agreed when offered the chance to review it. And Sue Lange didn't disappoint. The stories were well-written and interesting, sometimes taking the alternative universe to the extreme (or absurd), which is just how I like it!

A fun read, that I'd happily recommend to others.

Little House In the Big Woods - Laura Ingalls Wilder*, 4.5/5, 138 pages
This is one of the best comfort-book-series around - although I always get so hungry when reading it! I want to try fresh made maple syrup and culled corn too! A cozy book about life in the US more than 100 years ago.

Do You Think I'm Beautiful? - Angela Thomas*, 4/5, 208 pages
While I still greatly appreciated the message shared in the book, I wasn't quite as blown away by it as on my first read through, and therefore had to downscale my rating to 4/5. I'm not sure what the difference is, only it jumped out at me on this read-through that Angela Thomas spends a lot of time on the theory, and very little on how to put it into practice. I think just about any Christian woman would want to dance with God, but if a person doesn't know how to actually go about doing it, they won't necessarily learn it from this book.

On the other hand, they might. And it's still a beautiful sentiment and theory, so I'd still highly recommend it.

Ulm - Nick Clausen, 4/5, 154 pages
An exciting new ya thriller by this Danish author. I've been very pleasantly surprised by his books so far, and while I was a bit disappointed by the ending (or non-ending rather, which is what bothered me. But he's in good company - I've discovered that Stephen King is likely to do the same), the book in general was a great read and will probably be even more popular among his targeted audience than his debut.

Answering 911 - Caroline Burau, 4/5, 203
I've wanted to read this book for ages, but never seemed to be able to find it in any physical bookstores or libraries. Finally I gave up, and bought it online.

It was worth the wait. Real-life stories from less-than-common careers have always fascinated me (other books that fit those criteria: "ER Confessional" and "Kitchen Confidential"), and "Answering 911" was every bit as interesting as I'd expected it to be. I liked Caroline Burau's way of writing and appreciated that she didn't feel the need to always tie the stories neatly together or draw up a moral, as they stood nicely on their own.

One thing that quickly became very obvious to me was that this is not a job I'd be able to do. It would be utterly impossible for me to "leave work at work", and I have come to have the greatest respect for the personnel manning those phones.

The Hunger Games - Suzanne Collins, 5/5, 366 pages
Absolutely amazing book! I think it's pretty obvious by now, that I simply adore this kind of book. Books like "Uglies", "The Giver", "Matched" and now "The Hunger Games" have an undeniable appeal to me. I'd read lots of raving reviews about this, and it did not disappoint. If I hadn't had work today, I would have stayed up all night to finish it.

The entire idea of Hunger Games is appalling and sickening! I hope later books focus on some way of overthrowing the Capitol to get rid of that practice. It does really show what man will do to man if given enough motivation - or even if they think they're given enough motivation. I'm reminded of the movie "The running Man" (haven't read the book yet, though it's on my list) and am wondering if the similarities are deliberate or not.

I loved Rue. She was really sweet, and it was a relief that not every other tribute was nasty, evil and/or conniving.

The mutts shocked me. I had not seen that coming, and think that's probably the one trick played by the Capitol that disgusted me the most.

Thankfully I have "Catching Fire" readily available. I can't wait to see what happens next!

Sandheder og løgne - Mette Julin, 3/5, 358 pages
(Truths and Lies)
I'll be the first to admit that I started reading "Truths and Lies" with very low expectations as I assumed it was a run-of-the-mill YA novel. Part of the way I was right - the plot is very traditional, but about half way through Mette Julin started focusing more on the heavier threads and spent time addressing the dangerous issues a 15-year-old encounters in school and at parties.

Even more surprising was the ending. Of course I won't give that away here, but it knocked my feet out from under me, and meant I couldn't get the book out of my head after finishing it. That's very rare for a YA novel, and earns it an extra star.

It did have its issues as well - one thread was left hanging, which I really wanted to get properly tied up. I'm hoping that it was left hanging on purpose to pick up in a sequel, because if not, I think Mette Julin was remiss in not addressing it.

More problematic was the writing style, which concentrated a lot more on 'telling' rather than 'showing', especially in the beginning. Also I was unimpressed by both the amount of swearing and her self-censoring in the swearing (i.e. writing "Oh f..." and "Oh s..."). I've always been of the opinion that if you're going to swear (which I'd actually really rather you didn't), you should at least have the guts to swear properly and write the words out in full. Anything else just seems coy.

So +4 stars for plot and making me laugh out loud several times. -1 star for writing style and missing resolution.

Catching Fire - Suzanne Collins, 4/5, 415 pages
As fascinated as I was by "The Hunger Games", I immediately turned to "Catching Fire" as my next book. I couldn't see how any sequel could possibly live up to the first book, but I was eager to see it try. And I was right, it couldn't live up to the first book, but it made a very decent attempt, and I'm now impatiently awaiting "Mockingjay"'s release in August.

"Catching Fire" was every bit as well written and interesting as THG. Suzanne Collins really has a way with words that draws you in, and doesn't let you go again until the last page is turned. The games are so attrocious, the deaths so furtile that one can't help but be effected - I couldn't anyway.

My biggest problem with it was the sense of repetition in it. I often found myself thinking, "Well, yes. This is all very exciting... but didn't the same thing happen in THG?" It made it seem like Suzanne Collins was running out of ideas, which other details made it obvious wasn't the case.

I can't wait to see what happens next!

Battle Royale - Koushun Takami, 4/5, 624 pages
Several people mentioned this book in their reviews of The Hunger Games so I was intrigued, and jumped at the chance to read it. The reason for comparison is obvious and both are amazing books in their own right. I think I marginally prefer THG though - mostly because Battle Royale did get a tad repetitive at times. After all, there were twice as many people to kill off, and only so many ways to do it.

That said, it was still almost impossible to put down - both physically and mentally - and a very interesting social commentary. Many of the twists I had not seen coming, and some of the deaths (or the timings of them at least) were very unexpected.

It's a lot more gory than THG, but also - IMHO at least - more unrealistic. Some of the things people survived I would not have thought possible... although admittedly that may be because I know next to nothing about mortal combat. Fortunately!

The King of the Trees - William D. Burt, 2.5/5, 213 pages
Christian fantasy. The first half of the book was really good - great writing and I really got to care about the characters. Unfortunately the writing lost some of its tightness in the second half, resulting in stilted conversations and awkward jumps from scene to scene. Really a shame, because I enjoyed the plot and found it very interesting.

I think the author would have benefited from not having the King of the Trees reference the Bible quite as much though. The same effect could have been achieved without the direct quotes, as the allegory was sufficiently obvious, so they seemed unnecessary and threw me out of the story, as he started sounding like he was in fact quoting, rather than talking himself.

Had those two points been handled better in editing, I would have considered this a great book, because the story itself really drew me in, and made me want to learn more about the universe and the characters. Seeing as this is the author's debut novel, I think it's reasonable to hope that these weaknesses will disappear in later books in the series.

The Thief - Megan Whalen Turner, 3.5/5, 280 pages
A charming YA fantasy. I had it recommended to me by and (I think) as a pleasant comfort read, and it definitely fit the bill. It entertained me, and while it was perhaps not particularly thought-provoking, it managed to be straight-forward without being predictable. At one point I was afraid that too much of the book would be taken up by retelling the stories of the old Gods, but fortunately that turned out not to be the case. I still don't quite see the purpose of them, but it may have been to help set the stage for later books.

Small spoiler below:
I liked most of the twists and turns the story took, but have to admit that one of them I found somewhat unbelievable. Since the entire book was written in the first person, it seemed odd that he would keep a secret from the reader. Looking back, I don't think he ever directly lied to the reader - things were just left to be assumed, and I - as planned - made the wrong assumption. I do think it was a cheap trick to play, but as I was very satisfied by the result of the twist, I'll forgive the author for that one.

Book of the month: The Hunger Games
Biggest disappointment: The King of the Trees

January Reads - 16 Books

2010-01-31T21:49:00.000+01:00

Yay! My first book post of the year :)

The Girl in a Swing - Richard Adams, 4.5/5, 395 pages
I hardly know how to describe this book. It started out very slowly, and I was wondering if I'd have the patience to work my way through it, but suddenly it captured me completely, and I read the last 200 pages in one sitting.

It is so very, very different from Watership Down that it's almost hard to believe it was written by the same author. Instead of being a social commentary, The Girl in a Swing touches upon the supernatural while tying it up to Christian theology.

I'd been warned that the book was depressing, but I actually didn't find it so. It was sad to be sure, and both troubling and disturbing, but I'm obviously no good at figuring out clues, so it took me almost to the very end, to figure out what the secret was - and suddenly, a lot of the earlier theological debates made sense.

A lot of the book takes place in Copenhagen, Denmark, and I have to admit to being tickled pink by all the references to places I know, and even all the Danish words being thrown in there - that's very rare to see.

The Book With No Name - Anonymous, 5/5, 380 pages
I saw this book on Amazon during a random browsing, and was so completely intrigued by the premise that I just had to read it. Thankfully the library had it, so I didn't have to wait too long :)

I've heard it described as a Quentin Tarantino style book, and I would have to agree. There are a lot of similarities to "From Dusk Till Dawn", both in plot and in style which makes for a very fascinating page-turner. And don't be mislead - it's just as bloody (in less graphic detail, thankfully), so don't assume anybody is safe, just because they seem a major character.

The story is told from several different POV, which works quite well in providing the reader with the full pictures... well, as full as we're allowed to get anyway. There are some questions left unanswered, that I assume will be picked up in the sequel.

Kvinden i buret - Jussi Adler-Olsen, 4.5/5, 379 pages
(The Woman in the Cage)
I've found a new author to look out for. Jussi Adler-Olsen writes excellent page-turners, and so far I've been very impressed by his books.

Jussi Adler-Olsen writes from several different POVs which makes for a more interesting read, than if we had just gotten one of the stories. It starts a bit slowly, as he sets up his characters and the universe, but quickly picks up pace and keeps it high for the rest of the book.

It's not really meant to be a 'whodunnit' (I'd guessed the identity of the criminal before it was revealed), but more a psychological thriller. I was shocked by the thought of being kept captive for 5 years with nothing for company but your own thoughts. I think I'd go mad!

Excellent book. I'm looking forward to reading more of his work.

Wishful Drinking - Carrie Fisher, 4/5, Audiobook ~3hrs
Very amusing memoir. As more or less a transcript of her stand-up show it was quickly read and very easily accessible. I enjoyed learning more about Carrie Fisher. I've heard so many rumours about her, that it's nice to be able to separate at least some of the facts from the fiction.

The version I found was read by Carrie Fisher herself, with lent a nice touch to it.

The Long Winter - Laura Ingalls Wilder*, 4/5, 251 pages
It'd been insanely cold for an insanely long period of time (after Danish standards anyway), so I figured it was quite appropriate to reread this now. I read it in one sitting and enjoyed it as much as always. Definitely made me realize how lucky I am to live in a day and age where electricity, heat and transportation are things we can take for granted.

The Eye of the Moon - Anonymous, 4/5, 380 pages
Seems like the body count was even higher here than in The Book With No Name. It was still a fascinating story, but didn't seem quite as well thought out. The author tried to give Bourbon Kid a motivation here, whereas in the first book, it was just the way he was - which actually was more in the spirit of the book.

I still really enjoyed it though, and had a very difficult time putting it down. It's wacky enough to appeal to my sense of the absurd, and only occasionally had me wincing from the graphic decapitations.

Farmer Boy - Laura Ingalls Wilder*, 4.5/5, 236 pages
It took me quite awhile to read this one the first time around, because I didn't originally think that a book not about Laura could possibly be as good. I don't know why I thought that, seeing as it was the same person writing them, and fortunately my mum talked me into reading it. Now, it's one of my favourite of the series. It has a lot more explaining how they do this or that, but that doesn't bother me at all, since lots of this is completely new to me. I also like the fact that this book spans over almost exactly one year, so you get to see how life on a farm was back in those days.

Her Fearful Symmetry - Audrey Niffenegger, 2.5/5, 400 pages
I absolutely adored The Time Traveler's Wife and consider it one of my favourite books, so when I heard Audrey Niffenegger had written a new book, I was thrilled, and knew I had to read it.

Unfortunately I ended up terribly disappointed by it. I found myself completely unable to care for any of the characters (which the possible exception of Martin, who unfortunately got far too little page-time) as they all seemed incredibly selfish and unsympathetic. The climax disturbed me greatly and I felt absolutely disgusted by the people who brought it into fruition.

For plot alone I would give Her Fearful Symmetry only 2 stars, but Niffenegger's captive writing is still in action, so she gets another half star for making me unable to put down the book despite my misgivings.

Harry Bentley's Second Chance - Dave Jackson, 3.5/5, 336 pages
An enjoyable book that unfortunately suffered from being compared to its compagnion novel.

Harry Bentley's Second Chance is a well-written Christian novel. If I'd read it as a stand-alone, I'd have enjoyed it greatly. It's an interesting story with believable characters and a sweet love story.

Unfortunately it just doesn't measure up to its companion novel ("Where Do I Go?" by Neta Jackson) in poignancy, and therefore unfairly falls flat, where it'd have been enjoyed more in its own right. If you haven't read either, I recommend reading this one first in order to do it justice.

Fasandræberne - Jussi Adler-Olsen, 3.5/5, 399 pages
(Pheasant killers)
Still a page-turner, but unfortunately the weakest of Jussi Adler-Olsen's books. Or perhaps I just didn't find the plot as interesting. Also, I discovered that Jussi Adler-Olsen suffers from the same issue as many other genre-writers - their books end up being very similar, which isn't a problem as long as you don't read them too closely together.

That said, I'm still excited to have found a new and talented Danish author, and will definitely be following his career with interest.

My Life In France - Julia Child, 4/5, 333 pages
My Life in France is one of those delightful non-fiction books that reads like fiction, and is therefore easily accessible and enjoyable.

Reading about the making of a cookbook (or cookery-bookery as Julia Child called it) was fascinating, and made me realise how much work went into putting together Mastering the Art of French Cooking. It wasn't just a matter of choosing some favourite recipes - they had to be tried and tested numerous times, using both French and American ingredients.

My Life in France wasn't quite as bad at making me hungry as Julie&Julia because while as stock-full of mentions of good food, Julia Child didn't go into as much detail as Julie Powell did.

I do want to get my hands on MtAoFC now though, and try out some of the most delicious-sounding recipes.

Little Town on the Prairie - Laura Ingalls Wilder*, 4.5/5, 223 pages
This is one of my favourite LIW books. I'm fascinated by the descriptions of life in town. Two things that struck me in particular were a) how modestly they lived and b) how quickly they had to grow up. Just think of Laura, going off to teach at age 15. I was no where near mature enough for that at that age. And they all seemed so selfless too - always passing on things to each other, because they didn't need them themselves, and thought the other person would like them more.

These Happy Golden Years - Laura Ingalls Wilder*, 5/5, 237 pages
I love all of Laura's books, but if I had to choose a favourite, it would probably be this one. It takes up exactly where "Little Town..." leaves off and describes Laura's life now that she's suddenly a grown-up school teacher. I couldn't imagine teaching school at an age where I still ought to GO to school! It's fascinating. And the courtship between her and Almonzo is just adorable. I always finish this book with a content sigh :)

The 13 1/2 Lives of Captain Bluebear - Walter Moers, 5+/5, 681 pages
Now this is just brilliant! The 13 1/2 Lives of Captain Bluebear is one of the most fascinating books I've read. Walter Moers creates a vivid and imaginative universe and stays absolutely true to it to the very end. I think it might even be a bit better than The City of Dreaming Books although I don't like to admit it.

I love his way of using the book media to tell his story, and though I generally don't care much for illustrations one way or another, here they definitely enhance the story. The characters are original and well described, and the 13.5 lives different enough to make for a very interesting story. I simply couldn't put the book down but devoured it in 2 days.

Book of the Month: The 13 1/2 Lives of Captain Bluebear. It's seldom I give books a rating of 5+, but this one deserved it.
Biggest disappointment: Her Fearful Symmetry. I'd expected so much more.

Dewey's Read-A-Thon

2009-10-25T00:02:00.008+02:00

Yes, I'm joining Dewey's 24 Hour Read-a-Thon

The timing isn't optimal for me - it runs from 2pm Saturday - 2pm Sunday, meaning that I'm going to miss out on quite a number of hours because of sleeping and a family birthday. Still, it's a read-a-thon, so I'm sure I'm going to have a blast no matter what!

The idea is that I pick a list of books to read, and then spend the day alternatively reading and updating here on my progress. I'll probably just have the one post and then update as I go along. Cheering would be lovely - or join in the fun yourself!

Past readers suggest reading shortish and light books in order not to get bogged down and stay motivated, so here's a list of the books I'm contemplating. Mind you, I'm a very erratic reader, so chances are quite high that I might end up picking up something else altogether ;)
Who Do I Talk To? by Neta Jackson, 400p
Gathering Blue by Lois Lowry, 215p
Gifts by Ursula Le Guin, 288p
Tre piger i en bil by Estrid Ott, 200p (estimate)
Evermore by Alyson Noel, 301p
Sorcery and Cecelia by Patricia Wrede, 336p

No, I am NOT expecting to be able to read almost 2000 pages in just 24 hours, but at least this gives me a nice selection to choose from. It'll be fun! And slightly insane ;)

T-4 (10:00) This will be my blogpost for the Read-a-Thon Challenge. I'll be updating it throughout the day, so those interested can bookmark it, and those not can just skip this post and forget all about it ;-) Right now I'm about to read out to run my weekend errands, so I'll be ready for the non-stop reading to commence once the clock strikes 2pm. see you then :)

Hour 0 (13:55): Ready to start with a glass of water and my first book Lærkeunger by Helene Hørluck.

Hour 2 (16:00): Okay, Lærkeunger was no fun. I wanted to start with a trip down memory lane, but I've obviously outgrown the book. I read the first 10 pages and by then I'd had enough. Instead I picked up Gathering Blue by Lois Lowry and am already half way! :-) Have exchanged the glass of water for a bag of chips and a Pear Somersby.

Hour 3 (17:10): Finished Gathering Blue. It's not quite as good as The Giver but I still really enjoyed it. I wish I'd known I'd like it so much, and I'd have bought The Messenger while in NYC. I'll have to see if the library has it. Next up: Who Do I Talk To? by Neta Jackson.

Hour 4 (18:30): Progress on Who Do I Talk To? - 78 pages. I'm taking a break from that now to go make dinner and listen to The Angel's Game by Carlos Zufon on my audiobook :) I'm glad audiobooks count as well!

Hour 7 (21:00): Got about half an hour's worth of listening done while making dinner. Had to take a break while eating though, as Lars has a night shift, and I wanted to socialise with him during the meal. He's left now, so I'm all by myself until 8am tomorrow morning... which is really 12 hours from now since we're falling back tonight. I probably won't be able to read through the night, but I'll give it my best shot! :-D Progress on Who Do I Talk To? - 120 pages.

I cannot write the title of that book without thinking of I Go To The Rock sung by Breeze of Gospel. Go listen to it, it's excellent!

Hour 8 (22:00): Progress on Who Do I Talk To? - 202 pages. That's 80 pages in 45 minutes, not too shabby, eh? I've got another 193 pages to go, so if I don't take too many breaks, I may just make that by midnight. We'll see.

Remember to go cheer the others on as well! :)

Hour 10 (23:50): Made it with 10 minutes to spare! :-) And it was EXCELLENT. After my disappointed reaction to Where Do I Go?, Neta Jackson more than redeemed herself in this one, and had me alternatively laughing and crying. Alas, the next book doesn't come out until June next year - go figure!

Next up... haven't quite decided yet. Either Gifts or Evermore. Since it's getting late, I'll be going for whichever has the biggest chance of keeping me awake for a couple of more hours.

Hour 11 (01:14): Gotta admit, staying awake is getting harder! It's at times like these I wish caffeine helped me stay awake. I ended up picking Evermore and have read 68 pages. It's interesting enough to keep me awake so far, but I keep shaking my head at how much of a Twilight-wannebe it is. I'll try to finish it, but it's another 230 pages, so I may have to admit defeat sometime before then.

Hour 12 (02:00): Still reading, but am going to turn off the computer now. Expect the next update in 7-9 hours. Progress on Evermore - 130 pages.

Hour 21 (10:00): No, my maths isn't off, we fell back ;) Once again awake, once again reading. Progress on Evermore - 217 pages.

Hour 22 (11:00): Just finished Evermore. Wow... people who think Edward was a creepy stalker SO shouldn't read this one. I have no qualms with Twilight, but Evermore reminded me a bit too much of Hush, Hush (which made me feel dirty by reading) for comfort.

This will probably be my last update until the Read-a-Thon is over. I'm going out shortly and won't be back until after the 24 hours are up. I'll still be reading though :)

Running Totals
Number of books completed: 3
Total number of pages read: 909
Number of hours reading: 12 hours out of 22

My reviews will be up at bogormen sometime after the Read-A-Thon has finished.

Fall Into Reading 2009 - DONE

2009-10-02T16:27:00.008+02:00

Okay, I'm back. Fall Into Reading over at Callapidder Days was my first and is still my favourite challenge, so I'm going to have to join in on this one. Of course it helps that the criteria are really, really easy to fulfill :)

Simple: List any number of books you want to read (or finish) between now (or September 22nd rather, but I forgot all about it and thus am late) and December 20th. No book limit at all. Easy, right?

I figure listing books I've read since September 22nd would be A) cheating, B) defeating the purpose, so I'll make a brand new list of books I want to read from now on. One book per week left comes to 11 books.

Hmm... looks I have a bit of a fantasy/paranormal/goth theme going ;)

5 Year Reading Plan

2009-04-28T15:34:00.008+02:00

I'm not returning to my earlier level of challenge commitment yet, but the 100project on LiveJournal sounded like a suitable compromise. The idea is to pick 100 books you've been wanting to read for awhile, and commit yourself to reading those within the next 5 years, posting regularly with progress reports. I like the idea that it's a 5 year plan, as that makes it a lot more realistic challenge. I easily read more than 100 books in a year (am at 64 so far this year alone), but with my various jobs I can't have that many books from a reading list. I wouldn't have time to read anything else, and I'd get bored. There HAS to be some room for spontaneity. But 5 years is perfect - that's just 20 books from the list each year or one every second'ish week.

The books I've chosen are a random selection of my GoodReads 'to-read-owned' and 'to-read-not-owned' lists - I've limited myself to books I know are available at the libraries, as I don't want to be hindered by the difficulty of finding the books.

The Lost Diary of Don Juan - Douglas Carlton Abrams
If You Could See Me Now - Cecelia Ahern
The Five People You Meet in Heaven - Mitch Alborn
Tuesdays with Morrie - Mich Alborn
Dime Store Magic - Kelley Armstrong
A Gentle Madness - Nicholas A. Basbanes
Library: An Unquiet History - Matthew Battles
*Corelli's Mandolin - Louis de Bernières
Libri di Luca - Mikkel Birkegaard
Daughter of the Blood - Anne Bishop
Valiant - Holly Black
The Boy in the Striped Pajamas - John Boyne
In a Sunburned Country - Bill Bryson
Ill Wind - Rachel Caine
*Xenocide - Orson Scott Card
The Rape of Nankin - Iris Chang
The Alchemist - Paulo Coelho
About the Author - John Colapinto
A Home at the End of the World - Michael Cunningham
Limes Billede - Leif Davidsen
*Blink - Ted Dekker
Slammerkin - Emma Donoghue
The Stolen Child - Keith Donohue
*The Last Concubine - Lesley Downer
The Count of Monte Cristo - Alexandre Dumas
The Memory Keeper's Daughter - Kim Edwards
Middlemarch - George Eliot
The Crimson Petal and the White - Michelle Sagara Faber
Ex Libris: Confessions of a Common Reader - Anne Fadiman
Cathedral of the Sea - Ildefonso Falcones
Time and Again - Jack Finney
Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close - Jonathan Safran Foer
World Without End - Ken Follett
Inkdeath - Cornelia Funke
*The Last Gospel - David Gibbins
Cold Comfort Farm - Stella Gibbons
And Then He Kissed Her - Laura Lee Guhrke
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time - Mark Haddon
*Pompeii - Robert Harris
The Observations - Jane Harris
Dune - Frank Herbert
Assassin's Apprentice - Robin Hobb
The Year of Living Biblically - A.J. Jacobs
*A Very Long Engagement - Sébastien Japrisot
*The Eye of the World - Robert Jordan
Ironweed - William Kennedy
The Secret Life of Bees - Sue Monk Kidd
Halfway to Forever - Karen Kingsbury
Blood and Chocolate - Annette Curtis Klause
Goodnight, Beautiful - Dorothy Koomson
Beggars in Spain - Nancy Kress
Unaccustomed Earth - Jhumpa Laihiri
Gone, Baby, Gone - Dennis Lehane
*Boys from Brazil - Ira Levin
What the Dead Know - Laura Lippman
The Giver - Lois Lowry
Wicked - Gregory Maguire
A Game of Thrones - George R.R. Martin
Bella Tuscany - Frances Mayes
The Road - Cormac McCarthy
The Birth House - Ami McKay
Firethorn - Sarah Micklem
Sabriel - Garth Nix
The Scarlet Pimpernel - Emmuska Orczy
Here be Dragons - Sharon Kay Penman
Bloodhound - Tamora Pierce
*September - Rosamunde Pilcher
The Perilous Gard - Elizabeth Marie Pope
My Name is Asher Lev - Chaim Potok
Good Omens - Terry Pratchett
*Equal Rites - Terry Pratchett
The Cross-Legged Knight - Candace M Robb
*Shantaram - Gregory David Roberts
Contact - Carl Sagan
Idlewild - Nick Sagan
*Border Wedding - Amanda Scott
Me Talk Pretty One Day - David Sedaris
Peony in Love - Lisa See
Frankenstein - Mary Shelley
The Shape-Changer's Wife - Sharon Shinn
The Pilot's Wife - Anita Shreve
Outer Banks - Anne Rivers Siddons
The Bronze Horseman - Paullina Simons
Animal's People - Indra Sinha
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn - Betty Smith
The Amulet of Samarkand - Jonathan Safran Stroud
Sophie's Choice - William Styron
The Bonesetter's Daughter - Amy Tan
The Kitchen God's Wife - Amy Tan
The Hundred Secret Senses - Amy Tan
Vanity Fair - William Makepeace Thackeray
*Vienna Prelude - Bodie Thoene
The End of Mr. Y - Scarlett Thomas
City of Pearl - Karen Traviss
Reunion - Fred Uhlman
Rabbit Angstrom - John Updike
*Ben Hur - Lew Wallace
The Glass Castle - Jeannette Walls
Cast in Shadow - Michelle Sagara West
The House of Mirth - Edith Wharton

Abandoned for the time being...

2009-03-10T11:07:00.002+01:00

I've recently landed a new job as book reviewer and book consultant for a Danish publisher. Very sweet job and they absolutely shower me with new books to read. Unfortunately this means that I no longer have as much time to read books of my own choosing, so I've decided to leave the challenges be for the time being.

I'm still hosting the LMM Mini Challenge and the Whitcoulls challenge, and am not planning on giving those hostings up, but I'll probably not actively participate in either.

That doesn't mean I've abandoned my reading though! My reviews can always be found at Bogormen. I still update that a couple of times a week on average.

I hope you will join me there.

Christian Readers 09 - DONE

2009-01-08T09:19:00.004+01:00

This will be my progress and wrap-up post for the Christian Readers challenge. Since the challenge runs for 4 months, I'll challenge myself to read 4 books.

1) Jamen, bad jeg da for lidt? - Leif Andersen (The title translates: But... Then Didn't I Pray Enough?)
2) The Way of the Heart - Henry Nouwen
3) The Screwtape Letters - C.S. Lewis
4) Traveling Mercies - Anne Lamott

LMM Mini Challenge - DONE

2009-01-01T21:18:00.007+01:00

Since I created this challenge I figured I'd better take part of it as well ;) Here are my 4 books:
1) The Doctor's Sweetheart (Short story collection)
2) The Blue Castle (novel)
3) Chronicles of Avonlea (short story collection)
4) Further Chronicles of Avonlea (short story collection)

I've chosen these four because they're all available as free audiobooks at librivox, so I can listen to them when I bike to and from work :)

What's In A Name - Take 2 - DONE

2009-01-01T21:12:00.007+01:00

I had so much fun with this one last year, so here goes again. The What's In A Name challenge. This year the categories are as follows:

1. A book with a "profession" in its title. Dog Whisperer - Nicholas Edwards

2. A book with a "time of day" in its title. Midnight Sun - Stephenie Meyer

3. A book with a "relative" in its title. Stepford Wives - Ira Levin

4. A book with a "body part" in its title. Erec Rex: The Dragon's Eye - Kaza Kingsley

5. A book with a "building" in its title. The Tea House on Mulberry Street - Sharon Owen

6. A book with a "medical condition" in its title. Insomnia - Stephen King

Books in 2008

2008-12-31T22:26:00.066+01:00

This is a sticky-post. Scroll down for the newest posts.

Below are the books I've committed to read for different challenges in 2008. Considering I usually read at least 100 books/year and typically more it should be very doable and even give me time to spare! Excellent :-)

Underlined means I'm currently reading it. * means it's a reread. I delete books from the list once they're read.

DONE! :D

Completed Challenges 2008

2008-12-31T21:25:00.001+01:00

These are only the ones I've blogged about here. In addition to these I've completed another 20 challenges either on other blogs or on the ANovelChallenge YahooGroup.

Montgomery Mini-Challenge 2009

2008-12-29T12:47:00.006+01:00

There are so many wonderful books by Lucy Maud Montgomery that get overlooked because most readers only know about the Anne-series, and aren't aware that she wrote more than 20 novels as well as several short-stories and poems. I think that's a shame, so therefore this challenge to introduce people to the rest of her work.

So, by November 30th, 2009 (her would-be 135th birthday) read books of LMM that aren't part of the Anne series.

How many books should you read? Well, up to you really, but I'd say at least four, in order to get a proper variety of her work. If you really want to be thorough, you can pick a novel, a short-story collection, a poetry collection and one of her journals! (I recommend the first as being the most interesting) but just reading four of her novels is fine as well :)

Audiobooks are allowed, and books can be used for other challenges as well.

Most of her books are available through Gutenberg or Librivox (so they can be used for e-book and audiobook challenges as well!) - I've found links to all her novels here. For a complete list of her works (including short-stories, poetry and non-fiction) go here.

Sign up by leaving a comment on this post linking to your challenge post. If you don't have a blog, just post the list in the comments :)

Winter Reading Challenge 2009 - DONE

2008-12-23T21:23:00.010+01:00

This will be my progress and wrap-up post for the Winter Reading Challenge. The challenge runs from December 21st - March 20th.

* The Thirteenth Tale - Diane Setterfield
* The Other Boleyn Girl - Philippa Gregory
* The Woman in White - Wilkie Collins
* Saving Faith - Patrick Garry
* The Time Paradox - Eoin Colfer
* Tales of Beedle the Bard - J.K. Rowling
* In Search of the Castaways / The Children of Captain Grant - Jules Verne

Chick-Lit Challenge 2009 - 9/10

2008-12-22T11:24:00.007+01:00

This will be my progress and wrap-up post for the 2009 Chick Lit Challenge which runs from January 1st to December 31st, 2009.

1. Legs - Angela Lam Turpin
2. While My Sister Sleeps - Barbara Delinsky
3. The Secret Diaries of Miss Miranda Cheever - Julia Quinn
4. Grand Avenue - Joy Fielding
5. And Then He Kissed Her - Laura Lee Guhrke
6. The Stepford Wives - Ira Levin
7. Border Wedding - Amanda Scott
8. By the Time You Read This - Lola Jaye
9. Goodnight, Beautiful - Dorothy Koomson
10. If You Could See Me Now - Cecelia Ahern

2009 Audiobook Challenge - DONE

2008-12-21T19:26:00.013+01:00

This will be my progress and wrap-up post for the 2009 Audiobook Challenge. The goal is to listen to 12 audiobooks in 2009. I have no list yet, but am counting on getting lots of inspiration from Librivox. The challenge runs for all of 2009.

1. In Search of the Castaways / The Children of Captain Grant - Jules Verne
2. Chronicles of Avonlea - LMM
3. Further Chronicles of Avonlea - L.M. Montgomery
4. A Mango-Shaped Space - Wendy Mass
5. Enchantment - Orson Scott Card
6. Run for Your Life - James Patterson & Michael Ledwidge
7. Peter Pan - J. M. Barrie
8. The Horse and His Boy - C.S. Lewis
9. The Voyage of the Dawn Treader - C.S. Lewis
10. The Silver Chair - C.S. Lewis
11. The Last Battle - C.S. Lewis
12. The Story of the Treasure Seekers - E. Nesbit

Fall Into Reading 2008 - Wrap Up

2008-12-20T09:31:00.004+01:00

The Fall Into Reading 2008 officially ends today, so it's time to do my wrap-up post. I only read half the books for the challenge that I did last year, but you have to remember that last year I wasn't quite as addicted yet, so there weren't as many different challenges to read books for ;)

Anyway, to remind you, the books I read were:

The Wrath of the Empress - Tamora Pierce
The Spellcoats - Diana Wynne Jones
A Jolly Good Fellow - Stephen Masse
Last Chance Saloon - Marian Keyes
The Death Committee - Noah Gordon
The Magicians' Guild - Trudi Canavan
Dragonfly - Julia Golding

Out of those the best surprise was Last Chance Saloon. I expected a simple chick-lit and while it definitely belongs in that genre, Marian Keyes managed to add an extra something to it, making it a "deeper" book than I had expected.

My two favourites on the list were The Magician's Guild and Dragonfly - both of which blew me away though I hadn't expected them to.

The biggest disappointment was The Death Committee. I usually love Noah Gordon's books, but this one just wasn't up to snuff and I basically had to force myself to get through it.

My favourite thing about the Fall Into Reading challenge is the flexibility of it - I can make it as easy or as demanding as I'm motivated for. So I'll definitely be signing up for the Spring Reading Challenge once March rolls around! :-)

999 Challenge - DONE

2008-12-18T14:13:00.031+01:00

The 999 challenge is even more daunting than the 888 challenge seeing as there are now 9 categories with 9 books in each. But I assume that also means 9 overlaps allowed? The challenge runs from Jan 1st - Dec 31st, 2009. I haven't decided on the books yet, but here are the categories:

1. Kushiel's Dart - Jacqueline Carey
2. Knife - R.J. Anderson
3. Storm Front - Jim Butcher
4. The Fledging of Az Gabrielson - Jay Amory
5. The Tales of Beedle the Bard - J.K. Rowling
6. A Game of Thrones - George R.R. Martin
7. Bloodhound - Tamora Pierce
8. Finnikin of the Rock - Melina Marchetta
9. The Innocent Mage - Karen Miller
1. The Other Boleyn Girl - Philippa Gregory
2. Atonement - Ian McEwan
3. Freedom to Love - Rhonda Kulczyk
4. The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society - Mary Ann Shaffer
5. The Pillars of the Earth - Ken Follett
6. The Secret Life of Bees - Sue Monk Kidd
7. The Secret Diaries of Miss Miranda Cheever - Julia Quinn
8. Mr. Allbones' Ferrets - Fiona Farrell
9. The Cross-Legged Knight - Candace Robb
1. The Powers of a Praying Wife - Stormie Omartian
2. Ghost Girl - Torey Hayden
3. Lucy Maud Montgomery: The Gift of Wings - Mary Henley Rubio
4. The Way of the Heart - Henry Nouwen
5. Bibelen fortalt for store og små - Ingrid Schrøder-Hansen
6. The Coffee Mom's Devotional - Celeste Palermo
7. Traveling Mercies - Anne Lamott
8. Leave Me Alone, I'm Reading - Maureen Corrigan
9. Bounderies - Henry Cloud
1. Marcelo in the Real World - Fransisco X. Stork
2. Dog Whisperer - Nicholas Edwards
3. Run for Your Life - James Patterson & Michael Ledwidge
4. The Allure of the Curse - Patrick Vaughn
5. A Deadly Habit - Andrea Sisco
6. The Music Teacher - Barbara Hall
7. The Thirteen Treasures - Michelle Harrison
8. My Swordhand is Singing - Marcus Sedgwick
9. Melting Stones - Tamora Pierce
1. Jamen, bad jeg da for lidt? - Leif Andersen
2. Tonni på tourné - Estrid Ott
3. Dødens mange facetter - Dennis Jürgensen
4. Libri di Luca - Mikkel Birkegaard
5. Dronningeofret - Hanne-Vibeke Holst
6. De to komtesser - Valborg Dahl
7. Ateistisk andagtsbog - Leif Andersen
8. Drager over Kabul - Morten Hesseldahl
9. Mission: drømmeprins - Pernille Eybye
1. The Stepford Wives - Ira Levin
2. By the Time You Read This - Lola Jaye
3. If You Could See Me Now
4. Assassin's Apprentice - Robin Hobb
5. Dune - Frank Herbert
6. And Then He Kissed Her - Laura Lee Guhrke
7. Kafka on the Shore - Haruki Murakami
8. Dime Store Magic - Kelley Armstrong
9. The Sweetgum Knit Lit Society - Beth Pattillo
1. Legs - Angela Lam Turpin
2. Everything Is Fine - Anne Dee Ellis
3. Grand Avenue - Joy Fielding
4. Addition - Tori Jordan
5. Shiver - Maggie Stiefvater
6. The Adoration of Jenna Fox - Mary E. Pearson
7. The Friday Night Knitting Club - Kate Jacobs
8. Hello, Darkness - Sandra Brown
9. The Sweetgum Ladies Knit for Love - Beth Patillo
1. The Conch Bearer - Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni
2. Marked - P.C. & Kristin Cast
3. Betrayed - P.C. & Kristian Cast
4. Stolen - Kelly Armstrong
5. Pirates of the Relentless Desert - Jay Amory
6. The Treasure Seekers - Edith Nesbit
7. Erec Rex: The Dragon's Eye - Kaza Kingsley
8. The Tea House on Mulberry Street - Sharon Owen
9. Priestess of the White - Trudi Canavan
1. Farthing - Jo Walton
2. A Mango-Shaped Space - Wendy Mass
3. Peter Pan - J.M. Barrie
4. The Girl She Used to Be - David Cristofano
5. The Book of a Thousand Days - Shannon Hale
6. Odalisque - Fiona McIntosh
7. The Shack - William Paul Young
8. The Reader - Bernhard Schlink
9. Testimony - Anita Shreve

TBR Lite 2009 - DONE

2008-12-18T13:21:00.011+01:00

It doesn't look like the "usual" TBR challenge is being repeated for 2009, but instead I found this TBR - Lite challenge. I'll be doing option A, meaning I have to read 6 of the following 12 books. Challenge runs from Jan 1st - Dec 31st, 2009.

1) Little Earthquakes - Jennifer Weiner
2) The Pillars of the Earth - Ken Follett
3) The Eye of the World - Robert Jordan
4) Assassin's Apprentice - Robin Hobb
5) If You Could See Me Now - Cecelia Ahern
6) And Then He Kissed Her - Laura Lee Guhrke
7) Monday's Child - Louise Bagshawe
8) The Stepford Wives - Ira Levin
9) Sabriel - Garth Nix
10) Farthing - Jo Walton
11) By the Time You Read This - Lola Jaye
12) Goodnight, Beautiful - Dorothy Koomson

2009 ARC Reading Challenge - DONE

2008-12-18T11:39:00.011+01:00

This will be my progress and wrap-up post for the 2009 ARC Reading Challenge. I don't currently have 12 ARCs, but fully expect to receive that many (at least) in 2009. The challenge starts now and ends on December 31st, 2009. Some of these are older books, but as they're only now being translated into Danish, and I'm receiving them as Danish ARCs, I'm counting them anyway :-)

1. Saving Faith - Patrick Garry
2. Marcelo in the Real World - Fransisco X. Stork
3. Dog Whisperer - Nicholas Edwards
4. Run For Your Life - James Patterson & Michael Ledwidge
5. Legs - Angela Lam Turpin
6. The Allure of the Curse - Patrick Vaughn
7. The Fledging of Az Gabrielson - Jay Amory
8. Freedom to Love - Rhonda Kulczyk
9. The Conch Bearer - Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni
10. Storm Front - Jim Butcher
11. Priestess of the White - Trudi Canavan
12. The Girl She Used To Be - David Cristofano

9 For 09 - DONE

2008-12-18T10:06:00.006+01:00

This will be my progress and wrap-up post for the 9 for 09 challenge that runs from Dec 27th, 2008 to Dec 27th, 2009 (the person hosting it hates starting anything on January 1st ;) ) For definitions of the different categories, see challenge website.

Long: The Pillars of the Earth - Ken Follett (more than 1000 pages)
Free: A Deadly Habit - Andrea Sisco (received for free as an ARC)
Dusty: Dune - Frank Herbert (has been standing on my shelves for AGES)
Used: Atonement - Ian McEwan (received via Bookmooch)
Letter: A Mango-Shaped Space - Wendy Mass (the letter 'M' is both in my real name, the title and the author's name).
Strange: Farthing - Jo Walton (alternative history - not something I typically read)
Distance: Everything in Fine - Anne Dee Ellis (Any book placed in the US would fit this description, as there are more than 6000km from Denmark to the US.)
Alive or Not: The Horse and His Boy - C.S. Lewis (Died in 1963)
Cover:

100+ Reading Challenge - DONE!

2008-12-18T09:39:00.027+01:00

This will be my post for the 100+ Reading Challenge. January 1st, 2009 - December 31st, 2009

A progress report can be found here

The Countdown Challenge - DONE

2008-12-08T14:44:00.011+01:00

Read 9 books published in 2009, 8 in 2008, 7 in 2007 etc.

This challenge runs from 08-08-08 until 09-09-09

2009
1. The Vampire's Revenge - Raven Hart
2. Marcelo in the Real World - Fransisco X. Stork
3. Dog Whisperer - Nicholas Edwards
4. Run for Your Life - James Patterson & Michael Ledwidge
5. Knife - R.J. Anderson
6. Freedom to Love - Rhonda Kulczyk
7. Dødens mange facetter - Dennis Jürgensen
8. The Coffee Mom's Devotional - Celeste Palermo
9. The Music Teacher - Barbara Hall
2008
1. Hvor skyggen falder - Teddy Vork
2. Sagen om den brændende klovn - Dennis Jürgensen
3. Spiral Hunt - Margaret Ronald
4. Immortal Warrior - Lisa Hendrix
5. The Scarlet Spy - Andrea Pickens
6. Breaking Dawn - Stephenie Meyer
7. Book of Lies - Brad Meltzer
8. Shadowmagic - John Lenahan
2007
1. Extras - Scott Westerfeld
2. Snow Flower and the Secret Fan - Lisa See
3. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - J.K. Rowling
4. The Spy Wore Silk - Andrea Pickens
5. A Jolly Good Fellow - Stephen Masse
6. Demon - Tosca Lee
7. The Yada Yada Prayer Group Gets Decked Out - Neta Jackson
2006
1. Perfect Match - Jodi Picoult
2. The Yada Yada Prayer Group Gets Caught - Neta Jackson
3. Peaches - Jodi Lynn Anderson
4. Does My Head Look Big In This? - Randa Abdel-Fattah
5. Farthing - Jo Walton
6. A Perfect Mess - Eric Abrahamsen
2005
1. The Yada Yada Prayer Group Gets Real - Neta Jackson
2. The Jane Austen Book Club - Karen Joy Fowler
3. The Death Committee - Noah Gordon
4. Avalon High - Meg Cabot
5. Where Rainbows End - Cecelia Ahern
2004
1. The Yada Yada Prayer Group Gets Down - Neta Jackson
2. The Novice - Trudi Canavan
3. Bitten - Kelley Armstrong
4. The High Lord - Trudi Canavan
2003
1. Reading Lolita in Tehran - Azar Nafisi
2. A Breath of Snow and Ashes - Diana Gabaldon
3. The Conch Bearer - Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni
2002
1. The Other Boleyn Girl - Philippa Gregory
2. Atonement - Ian McEwan
2001
1. The Farseekers - Isobelle Carmody

1% Well Read - DONE

2008-11-21T13:51:00.003+01:00

The goal of this challenge is to read 10 books in 10 months from the 1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die list. For you non-math people, 10 out of 1001 is approximately 1%, hence the title. The challenge will run from May 1, 2008 through February 28, 2009.

You may change your list at any time and cross-posting to other challenges is permitted. The only requirement is that your ten book choices must be on the ‘1001 List‘.
1) Life of Pi – Yann Martel
2) The Poisonwood Bible – Barbara Kingsolver
3) A Suitable Boy – Vikram Seth
4) Wild Swans – Jung Chang
5) The Color Purple – Alice Walker
6) Animal Farm – George Orwell
7) Around the World in Eighty Days – Jules Verne
8) Little Women – Louisa May Alcott
9) Villette – Charlotte Brontë
10) The Three Musketeers – Alexandre Dumas

Genre Challenge - DONE

2008-11-11T10:33:00.008+01:00

This challenge runs from November 1 2008 - November 1 2009 and sounds like lots of fun.

The goal:
To read one book in at least 10 of the following genres: crime fiction, detective fiction, mystery fiction, horror fiction, thriller fiction, romance fiction, science fiction, action/adventure fiction, fantasy fiction, realistic fiction, historical fiction, and western fiction. Specific definitions of these genres can be found in this post.

The rules can be found at the sign-up post.

Crime Fiction: A Jolly Good Fellow - Stephen Masse
Detective Fiction: Farthing - Jo Walton
Mystery Fiction: Atonement - Ian McEwan
Horror Fiction: Pet Semetary - Stephen King
Thriller Fiction: My Swordhand is Singing - Marcus Sedgwick
Romance Fiction: Last Chance Saloon - Marian Keyes
Science Fiction: The Adoration of Jenna Fox - Mary E. Pearson
Action/Adventure Fiction: Enchantment - Orson Scott Card
Fantasy Fiction: The Novice - Trudi Canavan
Realistic Fiction: The Tea House on Mulberry Street - Sharon Owen
Historical Fiction: The Other Boleyn Girl - Philippa Gregory
Western Fiction: Freedom to Love - Rhonda Kulczyk

Fortunately I may change the list at any time :)

Whitcoulls Challenge - Take 2 - DONE

2008-11-04T09:22:00.006+01:00

I had so much fun last year, so of course I'll be doing the Whitcoulls challenge again :)

The rules this year are a bit different - you only have to read a minimum of 4 books, but they all have to be new reads (i.e. no rereads) and all from the same list!

I've chosen the following from the 2008 list.

1. The Pillars of the Earth - Ken Follett
2. The Other Boleyn Girl - Philippa Gregory
3. Dune - Frank Herbert
4. Atonement - Ian McEwan

Extra credit / Alternatives:
5. Captain Corelli's Mandolin - Louis de Bernieres
6. Santaram - Gregory David Roberts

The challenge runs from November 15th, 2008 to November 15th, 2009

The 2009 Pub Challenge - DONE

2008-10-30T10:17:00.010+01:00

Of course I had to join this challenge! How could I not :-D

The Rules:
# Read 9 books published for the first time in 2009 in your own country (i.e. translations are okay - Hardcover to paperback is not).
# No children's/YA titles allowed, since we're at the 'pub.'
# At least 5 titles must be fiction.
# Crossovers with other challenges are allowed.
# You can add your titles as you go, and they may be changed at any time.
# Books must be read between Jan 1st, 2009 and Dec 31st, 2009

I'm not going to make a list ahead of time, as I never knew which books my consultant and reviewing jobs will bring me next (the last one was a book due to be published in 2010!!!!), so I will just update this post as the books arrive.

1. Dødens mange facetter - Dennis Jürgensen
2. The Coffee Mom's Devotional - Celeste Palermo
3. Run for Your Life - James Patterson & Michael Ledwidge
4. Freedom to Love - Rhonda Kulczyk
5. The Music Teacher - Barbara Hall
6. A Deadly Habit - Andrea Sisco
7. The Girl She Used to Be - David Cristofano
8. Homegrown: The Terror Within - Cialan Haasnic
9. Good Things I Wish You - A. Manette Ansay

The Whitcoulls Challenge - Take 2!

2008-10-20T16:01:00.005+02:00

I had so much fun with the Whitcoulls challenge this year, that I decided to repeat it for next year! Whitcoulls was my favourite bookstore in NZ. Every now and again they made a survey asking all their customers for their 3 favourite books. The top 100 made it into this list. So it's not a list of what people ought to read, or topsellers, but what people actually did read and love.

Read Your Way Through The Whitcoulls Top 100 List.

Time:
* From November 15th, 2008 to November 15th, 2009.

The Rules:
* Pick one of the 4 "Top 100" lists linked below and decide how many books (at least 4) you want to read from that list.
* The initial 4 have to be 'new' reads (new to you, that is).
* Books beyond the initial 4 may be rereads.
* All books may be cross-overs for other challenges.
* Audio-books are A-OK :)
* You may change your list at any time.
* If you read enough books to actually complete one of the "Top 100" lists, I'll make a post in your honour!

The Lists:
1998, 2002, 2006, 2008

Leave a comment here with the link to your list :)

Fall Into Reading 2008 - DONE

2008-09-19T15:59:00.010+02:00

Fall Into Reading 2007 was the first official challenge I signed up for, so of course I have to do that again this year, now that Callapidder Days is hosting it again.

The rules are very simple: make a list of books you want to read between September 22nd and December 20th - there's no list too short and no list too long :)

As I really want to whittle down my TBR pile (I own FAR too many books I haven't read yet) I'm going to only take books from that pile, and as I'm likely to get a LOT of ARCs over the fall (I usually get one every second week or so), I'll limit myself to 7 books as to not overwhelm myself completely.

The Wrath of the Empress - Tamora Pierce
The Spellcoats - Diana Wynne Jones
A Jolly Good Fellow - Stephen Masse
Last Chance Saloon - Marian Keyes
The Death Committee - Noah Gordon
The Magicians' Guild - Trudi Canavan
Dragonfly - Julia Golding

Second Unread Author Challenge and Bang Bang Challenge - DONE

2008-08-26T23:09:00.008+02:00

I'll more or less be reusing the same list for these two challenges, so it goes in the same post:

The Second Unread Authors Challenge

Rules:
1. The challenge will run from August 1, 2008 to January 31, 2009. You may join at any time before or during those six months.
2. During those six months, read at least SIX books by an author whose work you have never read before.
3. You may choose six different "unread" authors to introduce yourself to, or you may choose just one or two and explore their work in greater depth.
4. Authors may be drawn from any genre of literature. The only requirement is that they be authors whose work you substantially regret not having read yet.
5. Your choices may overlap with other challenges you have underway.

My books:
1) Reading Lolita in Tehran - Azar Nafisi
2) Atonement - Ian McEwan
3) The Other Boleyn Girl - Phillippa Gregory
4) Bitten - Kelley Armstrong
5) Kushiel's Dart - Jacqueline Carey
6) A Suitable Boy - Vikram Seth

All except #4 are reused for the BangBang Book Challenge for which the rules are to read 5 fiction books set during a war between September 1st and February 28th (the challenge said that wars are defined loosely, so I hope that means fictional wars count too ;) ).

2nds Challenge - 2008 - DONE!

2008-08-26T23:06:00.004+02:00

Have you recently (or not so recently) read a book by a "new-to-you" author and can't wait to dive into another one of his/her books? If so, please join us in the second 2nds Challenge!

Read 4 books by authors that you have only read one other between September 1st and December 31st, 2008

My list:
* The Scarlet Spy - Andrea Pickens
* Ashling - Isobelle Carmody
* The Novice - Trudi Canavan
* Avalon High - Meg Cabot

Lit Flick Challenge

2008-08-26T23:01:00.004+02:00

RULES
1. Challenge runs from September 1, 2008 to February 28, 2009.
2. Read 5 books/pieces of literature that have been made into movies.
3. Then watch at least 2 of the movie adaptations of the works you read.
4. Your list may change at any time and may include overlaps with other challenges.

My list:
1) The Other Boleyn Girl - Philippa Gregory
2) Atonement - Ian McEwan
3) The Jane Austen Book Club - Karen Fowler (Saw the movie and thought the movie was loads better than the book - that's unusual!)
4) The Cider House Rules - John Irving
5) Kramer vs. Kramer - Avery Corman

I haven't yet decided which two to watch, but probably 1) and 3).

(These books will also double for the Book to movie challenge)

Naming Conventions Challenge - Read books dictated by your name - DONE!

2008-07-29T15:00:00.025+02:00

Graphic kindly provided by Jaime!

My aim with making this challenge is to have as random a challenge as possible but still having some sort of guideline to work from. Yes, I'm weird, I know.

Even the length of the challenge is random! Well, it starts on September 1st, but how long it lasts depends on how long your name is.

Confused yet? No reason to be, just hang on, and I'll explain it all.

Instructions
1) Write down your first name (or whatever name you usually go by)
2) Do any or all of the following (i.e. do 2a and/or 2b and/or 2c):
2a) For each letter, pick an author whose last name starts with that letter.
2b) For each letter, pick an author whose first name starts with that letter.
2c) For each letter, pick a book that starts with that letter.
3) Books can be cross-overs from other challenges, but each book can only be used once in this challenge. Authors may be repeated though.
4) The challenge lasts one month per letter of your name
5) Sign up by commenting to this post.

The books can be read in any order and the list changed at any time during the challenge.

So for me, my name being Maria, the list could look something like this.

2a	2b	2c
~~Meyer, Stephenie~~ A~~pplegate, K.A.~~ ~~Rosenthal, Amy Krouse~~ Irving, John ~~Armstrong, Kelley~~	~~Marian Keyes~~ ~~Anne McCaffrey~~ ~~R.J. Anderson~~ ~~Ian McEwan~~ ~~Angela Lam Turpin~~	~~Magicians' Guild~~ And Then He Kissed Her Reunion ~~I Do Again~~ ~~Avalon High~~

All books
Stephenie Meyer: Eclipse
K.A. Applegate: Animorphs 35: The Proposal
Amy Krouse Rosenthal: Encyclopedia of an Ordinary Life
John Irving: The Cider House Rules
Kelley Armstrong: Bitten

Marian Keyes: Last Chance Saloon
Anne McCaffrey: Dragonflight
R.J. Anderson: Knife
Ian McEwan: Atonement
Angela Lam Turpin: Legs

Trudi Canavan: Magicians' Guild, The
Laura Lee Guhrke: And Then He Kissed Her
Fred Uhlman: Reunion
Scruggs: I Do Again
Meg Cabot: Avalon High

Alternatives:
Reading Lolita in Tehran - Azar Nafisi (for book 'R')
A Mango-Shaped Space - Wendy Mass (for book 'A')
Since my name is 5 letters, the challenge ends on February 1st, 2009.

Finished 2b and 2c

What An Animal - Wrap up

2008-07-29T09:59:00.003+02:00

I finished "What An Animal" over the weekend. Even with 12 books instead of 6 it was a quick challenge as they were short books ;) I'll continue reading the series though, so who knows - I may make it through all 64 books before the challenge is out :D

So far my two favourites were #13 The Change and #19 The Departure as I found those the two most poignant and thought-provoking so far. Yes, I know they're children's books, and crappy ones at that, but still.

The Change showed the Hork Bajir(sp?) for what they are when not infested with Yeerks, and gave Tobias another chance.
The Departure finally touched upon the moral dilemma of the Animorphs and the fact that not all Yeerks are intently evil.

Good books both of them.

YA Romance Challenge - DONE

2008-07-25T11:42:00.010+02:00

* Read six YA romance novels between July 1, 2008 and February 28, 2009.
* Romance should be a strong element within the story. But it doesn't have to be the only element. Realistic fiction (contemporary). Historical. Fantasy. Science Fiction. Retold Fairy Tales. All genres are allowed.
* They can be part of a series, or stand-alones.
* They can be long or short.
* Happy books are NOT a requirement
* Audio books are allowed.
* Up to three movies can be substituted for books. So you could watch 3 movies, read 3 books if you prefer.

My books:
* Eclipse - Stephenie Meyer
* Breaking Dawn - Stephenie Meyer
* Avalon High - Meg Cabot
* Checkmate - Malorie Blackman
* Haunted Sister - Lael Littke
* Tell Me How The Wind Sounds - Leslie Davis Guccione

Alternatives:
Dragonfly - Julia Golding

The ARC challenge - DONE

2008-07-14T12:34:00.005+02:00

The challenge will run from June 21, 2008-September 21, 2008. It will be to help those of us with ARC's to get in gear and read and review them.

Here are the rules:

1. Make a list of all of the ARC's that you currently have and/or are on their way to you.

2. If you have:
1-3 ARC's then pick at least one to read and review for this challenge.
4-6 ARC's then pick at least two to read and review for this challenge.
7-9 ARC's then pick at least three to read and review for this challenge.
10 or more Arc's then pick at least 4 to read and review for this challenge.

I'm going to just stick with the ARCs I already have, as living in Denmark I can never be 100% sure that the books allegedly on their way here actually arrive (some publishers pull the book when realising the costs of shipping here.

So I'm going to read and review the following:
"The Millionaire's Proposal" by Trish Wylie
"The Hidden Man" by Anthony Flacco
"The Scrapbook" by Peggy B. Baker

...adding more to the list as they come.

What An Animal - DONE

2008-07-09T14:38:00.008+02:00

The rules are simple:
1. Read at least 6 books that have any of these requirements:
a. an animal in the title of the book
b. an animal on the cover of the book
c. an animal that plays a major role in the book
d. a main character that is or turns into an animal.

2. The animal can be any type of animal (real or fictitious)--dog, cat, monkey, wolf, snake, insect, hedgehog, aardvark...dragons, mermaids, centaurs, fairies, vampires...you get the idea...

3. Challenge runs from July 1, 2008 to June 30, 2009.

This is almost too easy as I want to read the Animorphs series. Every book in this series has an animal on the cover of the book and main characters turning into animals. So since the Animorph books are so short (only around 150 pages each) I'm going to extend the challenge and say I have to read 12 books.
* ~~#7 - The Stranger~~
* ~~#11 - The Forgotten~~
* ~~#12 - The Reaction~~
* ~~#13 - The Change~~
* ~~#14 - The Unknown~~
* ~~#15 - The Escape~~
* ~~#16 - The Warning~~
* ~~#17 - The Underground~~
* ~~#18 - The Decision~~
* ~~#19 - The Departure~~
* ~~#20 - The Discovery~~
* ~~#21 - The Threat~~

July Book Blowout - DONE

2008-07-02T16:51:00.003+02:00

This challenge is almost too easy. I don't even have to write a list, but just set myself a goal for how many books I want to read in July. The rules are as follows:
* Only books read between July 1 and July 31 count towards the challenge
* You can include re-reads - as long as they are read within the month of July
* Books you abandon will only count as half a book
* If you read to your children you can include all books which have more than 100 pages
* You can include up to two graphic novels
* You can include up to two audio books - (if you have a visual impairment that prevents you from reading then you can use just audio books for the challenge)
* Books you read for other challenges are eligible - use this as an opportunity to catch up!
* If you start a book before July 1 and then finish it during the month of July then you can count is as half a book

I have a lot of REALLY long books (3 book between 600-1400 pages) coming up, so I'm going to aim for 15 but of course hope I manage more than that :)

This makes me want to do a challenge where you aim for a number of pages rather than a number of books. Hmmm... watch this space :D

A Thousand Splendid Suns - Khaled Hosseini

2008-06-10T21:49:00.003+02:00

I'm glad to say that A Thousand Splendid Suns is MILES better than The Kite Runner and has restored my faith in Khaled Hosseini's writing abilities. I highly recommend it - even if you didn't like KR.

Knife Edge - Malorie Blackman

2008-06-09T17:16:00.002+02:00

Unfortunately Knife Edge doesn't quite live up to the first book in the series. It's a lot darker, more slow-moving and ends with a bigger cliff-hanger. I'd already ordered the last book in the trilogy before reading this one, or I'm not sure I'd have bothered.

Wild Mountain Thyme - Rosamunde Pilcher

2008-06-09T10:34:00.002+02:00

Wild Mountain Thyme isn't Rosamunde Pilcher's best, but it definitely isn't her worst either. A good read, if you've got nothing better to do.

Whitethorn Woods - Maeve Binchy

2008-06-08T20:15:00.003+02:00

Whitethorn Woods is unfortunately not Maeve Binchy's finest work. Not that she could ever write something decidedly boring, but since it's constructed as a bunch of short stories with a common theme, I never got as interested in the characters as I would in one of her other novels. A shame, as I usually consider her among my favourite authors.

Summer Reading Challenge - DONE

2008-06-06T09:58:00.010+02:00

Since I just finished the Spring Reading Thing, I do of course have to join the Summer Reading Challenge. The challenge runs from June 1st (so I'm a bit late, but I'll manage) to August 31st. There's no specific number of books to be read, but the purpose is to encourage "intentional" reading - i.e. change the list as little as possible after the challenge has started!

I'm going to be quite busy the next wee while, so I won't stick to my usual 1 book per week, but give myself a bit of leeway and say 1 book per fortnight, so a total of 7 books (rounding up, of course ;) ) However, to add a bit of challenge to the ... ehh... challenge I'm going to set two other rules for myself: 1) the books cannot be used for any other existing challenge except my personal reading challenge (should I add other challenges later, I can use them). 2) the books must all come from my TBR pile (which is why I had to include the personal reading challenge, or I'd have no books at all to choose from! ;) )

The Yada Yada Prayer Group Gets Down - Neta Jackson
The Amateur Marriage - Anne Tyler
The Yada-Yada Prayer Group - Neta Jackson
Knife Edge - Malorie Blackman
The Colour Purple - Alice Walker
Perfect Match - Jodi Picoult
Let Me Call You Sweetheart - Mary Higgins Clark

On the other hand the rules for the Summer Reading Thing clearly states that the list may be identical to that of another challenge, so I'm killing two birds with one stone and doing that one as well here :-)

The Hunted - Mike Dellosso

2008-06-05T16:21:00.002+02:00

By finishing The Hunted I've completed the Pub 2008 challenge. The Hunted read a lot like The Oath by Frank Peretti, and I enjoyed it greatly.

Spring Reading Thing - Wrap-up

2008-06-01T22:48:00.003+02:00

I finished the Spring Reading Thing today and am actually very satisfied with the books I chose for it. It's a lot more varied than what I usually read, with a nice selection of new reads and rereads, non-fiction and fiction and books based in several different countries and eras.

The books were:

The Red Tent - Anita Diamant
The Three Musketeers - Alexandre Dumas
Pope Joan - Donna W. Cross
Mathilda - Roald Dahl
Seven For A Secret - Victoria Holt
Mrs. Darcy's Dilemma - Diana Birchall
20,000 Leagues Under the Sea - Jules Verne
Wild Swans - Jung Chang
No Compromise - Melody Green
The No 1. Ladies Detective Agency - Alexander McCall Smith
The Clan of the Cave Bears - Jean M. Auel
Water for Elephants - Sara Gruen
The Poisonwood Bible - Barbara Kingsolver

My favourite book was Water for Elephants, the best surprise was Wild Swans, the biggest disappointment a toss between The Poisonwood Bible and The Red Tent as I'd expected a lot from both, but just didn't think they could deliver. Unfortunately.

I don't think the challenge made me read more than I would've otherwise, but it definitely helped me get through some of those books I've wanted to read for awhile, but just never got around to. I'd definitely be interested in another "Fall Into Reading" challenge this fall.

The No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency - Alexander McCall Smith

2008-06-01T22:36:00.001+02:00

After a slow start, The No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency turned out to be a very enjoyable read. Not great literature, but entertaining and with sympathetic characters.

Book Binge Challenge - Done!

2008-06-01T19:48:00.001+02:00

Here’s how it goes: For the month of May, participants keep track of each and every book you read. At the end of the month, everyone will blog their list of books. Simple, no?

I read a lot of really good books this month :)

Alcott, Louisa May: Eight Cousins, 10/10
Alcott, Louisa May: Rose In Bloom, 9/10
Ali, Ayaan Hirsi: Infidel, 9/10

Chang, Jung: Wild Swans, 9/10
Chapman, Gary: The Five Love Languages, 10/10

Green, Melody: No Compromise, 8/10
Gruen, Sara: Water for Elephants, 9/10

Henderson, Dee: The Truth Seeker, 7/10

Kaye, M.M.: The Ordinary Princess, 9/10
Kingsolver, Barbara: The Poisonwood Bible, 7/10

Martel, Yann: Life of Pi, 10/10
Meyer, Stephenie: The Host, 10/10
Montgomery, Lucy Maud: Across the Miles, 9/10

Nesbit, Edith: Nine Unlikely Tales for Children, 9/10

Pierce, Tamora: Shatterglass (Circle Opens #4), 8/10

Stewart, Mariah: Mercy Street, 8/10

Winfield, Jess: My Name is Will, 8/10

My favourites were Life of Pi and The Host.

Across the Miles - L.M. Montgomery

2008-05-31T14:46:00.000+02:00

Lucy Maud Montgomery is one of my favourite authors, and one of the only ones where I actually enjoy her short stories. Across the Miles is my very favourite short story collection, and I'm always glad for a chance to reread it.

Classics Challenge - DONE

2008-05-28T11:51:00.010+02:00

Classics: We love them, we hate them, now we are going to challenge ourselves to reading more of them. Because there are so many different types of classics, different genres are acceptable and encouraged--for example, novels, short story collections, non-fiction, poetry, essays--I'm open for other suggestions!

Read 5 classics between July 1st and January 1st
Read 1 book that may not considered classics but that people think should be or will be a classic one day - list of suggestions can be found at http://classics2008.blogspot.com/.

My list
5 old:
* The Rosary - Florence L. Barclay
* Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats - T.S. Eliot
* The Alpine Path - L.M. Montgomery
* Just So Stories - Rudyard Kipling
* Little Women - L.M. Alcott
1 new:
* A Suitable Boy - Vikram Seth

Herding Cats - DONE

2008-05-28T11:47:00.003+02:00

Recommendation lists are always great, but how often do we actually get to read any of the books on those lists? Renay wants to change that, so for this challenge, you post a list of 10 books you love (my list can be found here), and pick 3 books to read from the master list.

I've chosen the following three books (but may come back to add more):
A Wrinkle In Time - Madeleine L'Engle
Wild Swans - Jung Chang
Life of Pi - Yann Martel

No Compromise - Keith Green

2008-05-22T09:11:00.000+02:00

Keith Green was (I think) my introduction to Christian contemporary music, and still one of my favourite artist. His life as described in No Compromise is absolutely amazing - how incredible it must be to meet somebody THAT on fire for God. It makes me wonder what I'm missing out on.

Wild Swans - Jung Chang

2008-05-16T23:16:00.001+02:00

Wild Swans is a book that's far too often overlooked. While people study WW2 in order to prevent the atrocities to repeat themselves, few people are aware that Mao caused more deaths than Hitler and Stalin put together. Reading this book really opened my eyes.

Catch-up post - Challenges

2008-05-16T10:32:00.024+02:00

Unfortunately I haven't been too good at listing new challenges here, and one part of that is my perfectionism as all posts have to be just so with links, pictures, lists etc. That's no good, as it keeps me from posting at all when I don't have the time to do it right and update my template as well, so this is a catch-up post with some of the challenges I haven't listed here yet. I'll list the finished ones in a different post to try not to make this FAR too long.

100+ Reading Challenge - DONE!
Read 100 books in 2008. I've currently read 78 so I'm well on my way here :-)
Read book #100 in June :)

I Heard it Through the Grapevine - DONE
Read 3 books recommended by others from May-Nov. So far I'm not doing too well with this one, because people aren't recommending me enough books! Get to it, people! ;) The list:
* Wild Swans - Jung Chang
* Me and Mr. Darcy - Alexandra Potter
* Obernewtyn - Isobelle Carmody

Jane Austen Mini-Challenge - DONE
Read or watch two books/movies related to Jane Austen in 2008.
Read: Mrs. Darcy's Dilemma - Diana Birchall
Read: Me and Mr. Darcy - Alexandra Potter

Short Story Challenge - DONE
Read 5 short story collections by 5 different authors.
* Down to a Sunless Sea - Mathias Freese
* Just So Stories - Rudyard Kipling
* Across the Miles - L.M. Mongtomery
* Nine Unlikely Tales for Children - E. Nesbit.
* Sorry, The Stork Takes No Returns - Claire Bowen

Nineteenth Century Women Writers - DONE!
Read 6 books in 2008 written by Nineteenth Century Woman Writers.
* Eight Cousins - L.M. Alcott
* Rose In Bloom - L.M. Alcott
* The Rosary - Florence L. Barclay
* Vilette - Charlotte Bronte
* Nine Unlikely Tales - E. Nesbit
* Heidi Johanna Spyri

Soups On!
I love cooking and though I seldom have time to experiment much, I always enjoy reading cookbooks and trying new recipes. I now have more than 11 months (until March 31st, 2009) to read through 6 cookbooks and make at least one recipe from each. The cookbooks can be old or new, official or homemade - the important thing is to try out some new recipes.
* Saving Dinner - Leanne Ely
* ??? - Jamie Oliver
* Smoothies - ???
* Asian Cookbook - ???
* Mum's Cookbook - my mum :)
* Frk. Jensens kogebog - Frk. Jensen

Wind-up challenge - DONE!
Read 1-3 books you've read more than 50 pages of before May 1st and then abandoned. Timeframe: May 1st-Nov 15th.
I'll pick between the following: Possession, Dune, Gone With the Wind, House of the Spirits, We Need To Talk About Kevin, Life of Pi, Couple's Comfort Book.

Pub 2008 - DONE!
This year, read 8 books published in 2008. The books cannot be childrens/YA as we're 'at the pub'.
* My Name Is Will - Jess Winfield
* Between the Sheets - Rebekka Wells
* Hollywood Crows - Joseph Wambaugh
* Seduced by a Spy - Andrea Pickens
* Mrs. Darcy's Dilemma - Diana Birchall
* Mercy Street - Mariah Stewart
* The Host - Stephenie Meyer
* The Hunted - Mike Delloroso

All enjoyable books, but my favourite was without a doubt The Host. It stood head and shoulders above the rest.

Chick-lit - DONE!
Read 3 chick-lit books between June 1st and September 1st.
* Where Rainbows End - Cecelia Ahern
* When She Was Bad - Louise Bagshawe
* The Rosary - Florence L. Barclay

10 books that I love

2008-05-15T09:45:00.002+02:00

Time for a new challenge! But first of all, a preparation for a challenge, as the challenge requires me to make a list of 10 books that I love to share with other participants of the challenge.

In no particular order, the books are:

Outlander - Diana Gabaldon
The Rosary - Florence L. Barclay
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo - Stieg Larsson
Wizard's First Rule - Terry Goodkind
Scarlet Feather - Maeve Binchy
Alanna - Tamora Pierce
Crystal Singer - Anne McCaffrey
Pope Joan - Donna W. Cross
The Blue Castle - L.M. Montgomery
Ender's Game - Orson Scott Card

The Ordinary Princess - M.M. Kaye

2008-05-11T17:07:00.003+02:00

In honour of the gorgeous weather we're having this weekend, I wasted away half an hour on the lawn enjoying the sun reading The Ordinary Princess by M.M. Kaye. Very enjoyable reading :)

The Five Love Languages - Gary Chapman

2008-05-09T13:38:00.004+02:00

I read The Five Love Languages before I got married, and really liked it. Now that I've been married 5 years I decided to read it again, and appreciated it a LOT more. Being in love, you never think you'll feel in need of getting your 'love bucket' filled more than it already is, but once marriage becomes more 'routine', it's more obvious how important it is to speak each other's love language.

Nine Unlikely Tales for Children - Edith Nesbit

2008-05-08T22:42:00.001+02:00

I'm not usually one for short stories, but Nine Unlikely Tales for Children is a collection of extremely sweet fairy tales, that I couldn't help but be charmed by.

Water for Elephants - Sara Gruen

2008-05-07T10:57:00.001+02:00

Water for Elephants is a gorgeous book which I'd recommend to anybody, but especially those who (like me) are fascinated by the circus life.

The Poisonwood Bible - Barbara Kingsolver

2008-05-05T12:27:00.001+02:00

The Poisonwood Bible is a very intriguing but slow read. I'm glad to have it crossed off my list finally :)

First In A Series - DONE

2008-05-01T15:02:00.005+02:00

This challenge started by January 1st, so I'll count books read since then, even if they weren't deliberately chosen for this challenge.
First in a Series challenge. Read 12 books in 2008 that are the first in a series. New authors are not required.

My list:

Sue Barton, Student Nurse - Helen Boylston
Wild Magic - Tamora Pierce
Outlander - Diana Gabaldon
The Clan of the Cave Bear - Jean M. Auel
Sandry's Book - Tamora Pierce
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo - Stieg Larsson
Looking Forward - Marcia Willett
The Princess and the Goblin - George MacDonald
Heidi - Johanna Spyri
The No 1. Ladies Detective Agency - Alexander McCall Smith
Bitten - Kelley Armstrong
Dragonflight - Ann McCaffrey

Alternatives or extra credit:
The Wheel of Time 1
Liveship Traders 1

20,000 Leagues Under the Sea

2008-04-29T12:36:00.000+02:00

20,000 Leagues Under the Sea is definitely one of Jules Verne's better books. I really enjoyed it.

Seven for a Secret - Victoria Holt

2008-04-26T23:37:00.000+02:00

Victoria Holt writes fluff and Seven for a Secret is no exception. However, for a lazy Saturday it was just the right read, and I was greatly entertained.

The Three Musketeers - Alexandre Dumas

2008-04-25T09:29:00.001+02:00

The Three Musketeers is a great book and a deserving classic.

Villette - Charlotte Bronte

2008-04-24T08:39:00.000+02:00

The ending of Villette could use a visit from Thursday Next (of "The Eyre Affair"), but other than that, I loved the book.

Initials Reading Challenge - DONE

2008-04-23T14:10:00.010+02:00

From April 1st to November 30th, read 5-8 books by authors who publish under their initials.

I've chosen the following 6:
* Prince Caspian by C.S. Lewis
* The Alpine Path by L.M. Montgomery
* Deathly Hollows by J.K. Rowling
* Nine Unlikely Tales for Children by E. Nesbit
* Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats by T.S. Eliot
* Charlotte's Web by E.B. White

Alternative/Extra credit
Something by P.G. Woodhouse
"Eight Cousins" by L.M. Alcott
"The Ordinary Princess" by M.M. Kaye

Celebration of Discipline - Richard Foster

2008-04-14T16:19:00.002+02:00

While not as good as I remembered it, Celebration of Discipline is still very educational and well worth reading.

The Primrose Way - Jackie French Koller

2008-04-14T12:06:00.001+02:00

I've been on the lookout for The Primrose Way ever since I was 13 or 14 (making it 14 or 15 years) and FINALLY found it. Fortunately it was well worth the wait :)

Pope Joan - Donna W. Cross

2008-04-13T13:37:00.001+02:00

Due to a really unfortunately timed 24-hour virus I finished Pope Joan much faster than I'd expected to. Not a problem, I'd forgotten how good it is :-)

The Clan of the Cave Bears - Jean M. Auel

2008-04-06T13:25:00.000+02:00

The Clan of the Cave Bears has always been one of my favourite books, and fortunately it hasn't lost any of its magic in the years since I read it last. I hope I'll have time to reread "The Valley of the Horses" soon too.

Hollywood Crows - Joseph Wambaugh

2008-04-05T09:38:00.001+02:00

Hollywood Crows is a mixture between a short story collection and a novel, but unlike "Evacuation Plan", here it actually works. It was disturbing, but interesting.

Mrs. Darcy's Dilemma - Diana Birchall

2008-03-28T23:04:00.001+01:00

Mrs. Darcy's Dilemma is the first Pride and Prejudice sequel I've read, and fortunately I wasn't disappointed, as Diana Birchall managed to copy Jane Austen's style better than I would have thought possible. A relief as P&P is one of my favourite books.

Matilda - Roald Dahl

2008-03-21T16:36:00.001+01:00

Together with "The BFG" and "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory", Matilda has always been one of my favourite Roald Dahl stories, and one that stands the test of time well :-)

The Red Tent - Anita Diamant

2008-03-20T21:52:00.003+01:00

The Red Tent claims to be based on the story of Dinah (Genesis 34), but it's a very loose connection at best, and the story would have benefited from either being closer to the original or not trying to follow it at all.

Winter Reading Challenge - A Wrap-up

2008-03-20T12:18:00.000+01:00

The Winter Reading Challenge ended yesterday, so I think it's fitting with some concluding comments.

These were the books I chose for the challenge.
# Terrier (Beka Cooper #1) - Tamora Pierce
# The Last Jew - Noah Gordon*
# Looking Forward - Marcia Willett
# Around the World in 80 Days - Jules Verne*
# The Hiding Place - Corrie ten Boom*
# Diary of a Young Girl - Anne Frank*
# Wild Magic - Tamora Pierce*
# Wolf Speaker - Tamora Pierce*
# Emperor Mage - Tamora Pierce*
# The Realms of the Gods - Tamora Pierce*
# Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH - Robert O'Brien
# The Stormcaller - Jacob L. Grant

At the start of the challenge, Inksplasher wrote:
'I would like to suggest that we stretch a little. If you normally read fiction, put at least one non-fiction on your list (and vice versa). Or try a genre you don't usually read. Or try a new author chosen totally at random. But most importantly, make your list FUN so you'll want to read!'

I certainly had lots of fun, but upon looking back at it, there was an incredible number of rereads on the list (all those marked with an asterix). Compared to how seldom I reread books these days, to have a list that's 67% rereads is very surprising, and probably went quite a lot against Inksplasher's suggestion. Can't say I stretched myself a lot in any way. I've been more conscious of this for the Sring Reading Thing, so hopefully that reading list will be more diverse.

Favorite book of the challenge: Terrier
Least favorite book of the challenge The Realms of the Gods
Any new authors read in this challenge: Marcia Willett, Robert O'Brien and Jacob L. Grant.
What I learned: Rereads are lots of fun too!

Robin Hood - Howard Pyle

2008-03-18T10:47:00.001+01:00

Robin Hood was unfortunately a huge disappointment. A childhood illusion burst.

Orbis Terrarum Challenge - DONE

2008-03-17T13:02:00.011+01:00

- The Orbis Terrarum Challenge begins April 1 2008
- For the challenge each reader is to choose 9 books (for the 9 months).
- Each book must be by an author from a different nation in our world.

1) Whitethorn Woods - Maeve Binchy (Ireland)
2) Hollywood Crows - Joseph Wambaugh (USA)
3) The Three Musketeers - Alexandre Dumas (France)
4) A Thousand Splendid Suns - Khalad Hosseini (Afghanistan)
5) Wild Mountain Thyme - Rosamunde Pilcher (Scotland)
6) Long Walk to Freedom - Nelson Mandela (South Africa)
7) The Alpine Path - Lucy Maud Montgomery (Canada)
8) The No 1. Ladies Detective Agency - Alexander McCall Smith (Botswana)
9) A Suitable Boy - Vikram Seth (India)

Alternatives:
Wild Swans - Jung Chang

Non-fiction Five - DONE

2008-03-17T12:59:00.008+01:00

1. Read 5 non-fiction books during the months of May - September, 2008

2. Read at least one non-fiction book that is different from your other choices (i.e.: 4 memoirs and 1 self-help)

My books:
* No Compromise - Melody Green (Biography)
* Long Walk to Freedom - Nelson Mandela (Autobiography)
* The Alpine Path - L.M. Montgomery (Biography)
* Wild Swans - Jung Chang (Memoir)
* The Five Love Languages - Gary Chapman (inspirational)

Another Blooming Challenge x2 - DONE?

2008-03-17T12:56:00.008+01:00

More cool challenges are coming up, so here we go again :-)
Here's flower-themed challenge to get you in the spirit of the season.

1. The challenge will run from March 20, 2008 - June 20, 2008.
2. You can choose one of the four levels (or participate in several levels!)
3. You can cross-post with other challenges. You can even count the same book for different levels in this challenge!

You can see all the levels at the original challenge. I'm going for the bud-vase (DONE) and/or bouquet (DONE).

Books:
Biggest disappointment: The Poisonwood Bible - Barbara Kingsolver
Favourite read: The Primrose Way - Jackie French Koller
Whitethorn Woods - Maeve Binchy
Wild Mountain Thyme - Rosamunde Pilcher

Extra credit:
Rose in Bloom - L. M. Alcott
Flowers in the Rain - Rosamunde Pilcher

(If I get the two 'extra credit' read I qualify for the Garden challenge as well.)

f2f - Phillip Finch

2008-03-17T12:44:00.001+01:00

While waiting for the Spring Reading Challenge starts, I'm catching up on some of my rereads. Weirdly enough f2f wasn't nearly as good as I remembered it, but never mind. Still a quick read :-)