- Rambling on the Road to Rome – Peter Francis Browne
- Eats, Shoots & Leaves: The Zero Tolerance Approach to Punctuation – Lynne Truss
- Faster, They’re Gaining – Peter Biddlecombe
- A Good Man in Africa – William Boyd
- The Scarlet Letter – Nathaniel Hawthorne
- Ikoner i et vindu – John Erik Riley
- The Arm of the Starfish – Madeleine L’Engle
- No Logo – Naomi Klein (reread)
- Anansi Boys – Neil Gaiman
- Pappa for første gang – Finn Bjelke
- ABC for spedbarnsforeldre – Nina Misvær
- The Baboons Who Went This Way and That – Alexander McCall Smith
- The Outlaws of Sherwood – Robin McKinley
- Spindle’s End – Robin McKinley
- Vita Brevis – Jostein Gaarder
- False Impression – Jeffrey Archer
- Tales of a Female Nomad – Rita Golden Delman
- Misfortune – Wesley Stace
- Goodnight Mr. Tom – Michelle Magorian
- Running with Scissors – Augusten Burroghs
- Dødens drabanter – Gunnar Staalesen
- Venezia – Kjell Ola Dahl
- Friends in High Places – Donna Leon
- I Know You’ve got Soul – Jeremy Clarkson
- Draogonsinger – Anne McCaffrey (reread)
- Dragonsong – Anne McCaffrey (reread)
- Dragonflight – Anne McCaffrey
- Dragonquest – Anne McCaffrey
- Sorcery and Cecelia: Or the Enchanted Chocolate Pot – Patricia C. Wrede and Caroline Stevermer
- The Grand Tour: Or the Purloined Coronation Regalia – Patricia C. Wrede and Caroline Stevermer
- Encounters with Animals – Gerald Durrell
- The Overloaded Ark – Gerald Durrell (reread)
- Dope – Sarah Gran
- Fever Pitch – Nick Hornby (reread)
- JPod – Douglas Coupland
- Sudden Wealth – Robert Llewellyn
- Peat Smoke and Spirit – Andrew Jefford
- A Short History of Tractors in Ukranian – Marina Lewycka
- A Piano in the Pyrenees – Tony Hawks
- One Hit Wonderland – Tony Hawks
- Assassin trilogy – Robin Hobb (reread)
- Liveship Trader trilogy – Robin Hobb (reread)
- Her Mother’s Daughter – Marilyn French
- Inkspell – Cornelia Funke
- Love Over Scotland – Alexander McCall Smith
- Dragondrums – Anne McCaffrey
- Draogonsinger – Anne McCaffrey
- Dragonsong – Anne McCaffrey
- Pappan och havet – Tove Jansson
- Three Dot-books – Inge Møller
- The Lighthouse – P. D. James
- The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time – Mark Haddon
- My Uncle Oswald – Roald Dahl
- The Wicked Winter – Kate Sedley
- Lake Wobegone Days – Garrison Keillor
- The Fourth Estate – Jeffrey Archer
- Hver sin verden – Marianne Fredriksson
- Something Rotten – Jasper Fforde
- The Well of Lost Plots – Jasper Fforde
- Lost in a Good Book – Jasper Fforde
- The Eyre Affair – Jasper Fforde
- De fire og han som gjør galt verre: begynnelsen – Hans Frederik Follestad
- Frelseren – Jo Nesbø
- Blue Shoes and Happiness – Alexander McCall Smith
- Charlie and the Great Glass Elevator – Roald Dahl
- At the Tomb of the Inflatable Pig: Travels in Paraguay – John Gimlette
- Inkheart – Cornelia Funke
- Going Solo – Roald Dahl
- According to Queeney – Beryl Bainbridge
- Diplomatic Baggage: The Adventures of a Trailing Spouse – Brigid Keenan
- Waltzing Through Flaws – Paula Sharpe (reread)
- The Last Battle – C. S. Lewis (reread)
- The Silver Chair – C. S. Lewis (reread)
- The Voyage of the Dawn Treader – C. S. Lewis (reread)
- Prince Caspian – C. S. Lewis (reread)
- The Horse and His Boy – C. S. Lewis (reread)
- The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe – C. S. Lewis (reread)
- The Magician’s Nephew – C. S. Lewis (reread)
- A Perfect Match – Sinead Moriarty
- The Baby Trail – Sinead Moriarty
- 100 Shades of White – Preethi Nair
- Our Hearts were Young and Gay – Emily Kimbrough and Cornelia Otis Skinner
- The Business – Iain Banks
- The Deep Blue Goodbye – Travis McGee (reread)
- The Chronicles of Robin Hood – Rosemary Sutcliff (reread)
- Lost for Words – John Humphrys
- Wedding Season – Darcy Cosper
- The Crocodile on the Sandbank – Elisabeth Peters
- English Journey – Beryl Bainbridge
- Warmly Inscribed – Lawrence and Nancy Goldstone (reread)
- Slightly Chipped – Lawrence and Nancy Goldstone (reread)
- Used and Rare – Lawrence and Nancy Goldstone (reread)
- 84 Charing Cross Road – Helene Hanff
- (part of) A Game of Thrones – George R. R. Martin
- Something Muffins – Stewart Clark
- Broken English Spoken Perfectly – Stewart Clark
- Typisk norsk – Petter W. Schjerven et. al.
Yikes!
It’s been so long (12 November?!) that I’m not even sure I can remember everything, never mind which order…
Eats, Shoots & Leaves: The Zero Tolerance Approach to Punctuation by Lynne Truss – while I agree with the zero tolerance approach, this book didn’t quite do it for me. Not quite funny enough, and not quite extreme enough. Or something.
Faster, They’re Gaining by Peter Biddlecombe – entertaining enough, but that’s about it (will be bookcrossed).
A Good Man in Africa by William Boyd – received as a RABCK. I loved the film when I saw it years back, I struggled somewhat with the book, though. I think it’s probably just my old problem of needing to empathise with the main protagonist and, frankly, Morgan Leafy is not the most appealing of characters… However, as Morgan «grows» as a character, I get more caught up in the story, so that by the end I’m beginning to forget about the struggle with the first half (or so). Still, not, I think, Boyd’s best (and I’ve only read two).
The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne – Uhm. Yeah. Classic, you say? Why? Not my cup of tea. For one thing I find it hard to believe that ANYONE (let alone a seven-year-old child) ever spoke like that.
Ikoner i et vindu av John Erik Riley – Tja. Ikke dårlig, bare ikke særlig bra. Hovedproblemet, kanskje, er at de forskjellige fortellerstemmene lignet alt for mye på hverandre til å være særlig overbevisende som forskjellige fortellere. (Blir bookcrosset.)
The Arm of the Starfish by Madeleine L’Engle – another RABCK. Pretty enjoyable, this, but I agree with rednumbertwo who sent it to me that the religious/spiritual overtones were a little hard to swallow. Not giving up on L’Engle, though.
No Logo by Naomi Klein – a reread prompted by the Husband reading it for the first time. Somehow it’s stayed with me for longer and been more fundamentally upsetting this time round, probably because of the pregnancy. It seems worse, somehow, to contemplate the baby wearing clothes sewn by children or even adults in sweatshops than wearing such clothes myself (though I hardly like the latter thought). I suppose it’s a good thing to become more «hung up» on such issues, but it’s certainly made shopping a lot more difficult…
Anansi Boys by Neil Gaiman – clever and entertaining, and a quick read as it was quite difficult to put down for any amount of time.
Pappa for første gang av Finn Bjelke – kjøpt til mannen i julepresang (kjempeoppfinnsomt, sant?). Lettlest (vi hadde begge lest den innen utgangen av 2. juledag) og underholdende, men med noen gode poenger (tror jeg da – vi får se hvordan realiteten blir…).
ABC for spedbarnsforeldre av Nina Misvær – sikkert nyttig…
The Baboons Who Went This Way and That by Alexander McCall Smith – another collection of folk tales from Africa.
The Outlaws of Sherwood and Spindle’s End by Robin McKinley – McKinley was a pleasant discovery. The Robin Hood version caught my eye, as I collect Robin Hood versions, and since they were both on sale and Spindle’s End looked intriguing, I bought both. In The Outlaws of Sherwood we meet a Robin Hood like no other Robin Hood I’ve ever come across. It’s a more realistic novel than any other Robin Hood novel I’ve ever read, and the characters are all more human and fallible. Much as I love the legend of the (almost) invincible outlaw, I hugely enjoyed this fresh take. Spindle’s End is Sleeping Beauty retold, with surprising twists to the tale, and rather a lot of «embroidery», seeing as filling a novel with just the basic tale would be rather difficult. It’s pretty and competent embroidery, however, and is to be recommended. I’ll be looking for more McKinleys – and not just on sale, either.
Vita Brevis av Jostein Gaarder – jeg nærmest skummet gjennom denne. Kanskje fortjener den mer oppmerksomhet, men jeg er ikke så sikker (nok en bookcrossing-bok).
False Impression – Jeffrey Archer
And he does it again.
Tales of a Female Nomad – Rita Golden Gelman
Tales of a Female Nomad – Living at Large in the World came to me through bookcrossing. First someone on the book talk forums mentioned the book and I put it on my wishlist. A while later, I got a PM asking if I wanted to be in a bookring for it, to which I obviously replied in the affirmative. And on Monday it arrived.
The short story: Rita (it feels unnatural to use anything but her first name once you’ve read the book) leads a so-called priveleged life in Los Angeles, dining with celebrities and attending all sorts of glamorous events. When her marriage falters at a point where the kids have moved away from home, she realises that there is finally nothing stopping her doing what she’s really wanted to do all along; travel, meet people in foreign places and share their lives for shorter or longer periods.
The book is a well-written account of her development into a female nomad and of the places and people she meets along the way. For anyone with a case of wanderlust, this is a book to lose oneself in, imagining getting away from it all and doing exactly what Rita is doing. As for copying her in real life, not everyone could. She has a steady income of 10-15 thousand dollars a year from her children’s books, not enough to live on in the states, but more than enough to provide a sound base when travelling in developing countries. I imagine the book may therefore be frustrating if you really want to do what Rita is doing. However, I know myself well enough to realise it’s not just money stopping me. Yes, I do love to travel, but I also love being «at home». I need a base, and I like my packrat possessions, I would feel frustrated living out of a suitcase for more than a few weeks, never mind years and years.
And how wonderful, then, that such books as these let me experience some of the thrill of discovery while I sit at home in my favourite chair.
I can’t help but think that Rita would appreciate her book becoming as well-travelled as she is through bookcrossing. It certainly seems appropriate to me. Rita has her own webpage here (with deleted scenes!), and this copy’s bookcrossing journal is here.
Misfortune – Wesley Stace
Misfortune by Wesley Stace is just a really weird book. It’s certainly not a bad book, but I failed to be overwhelmed.
The basis for the plot is interesting enough: A baby is abandoned to die on a rubbish heap in early 19th century London, but is rescued by Lord Loveall who is in need of an heir. He brings the baby home and contrives a marriage and birth to make the outside world believe the child, named Rose after his dead sister Dolores, is really his. The problem is that Rose is undisputably male, not female, however, he is brought up believing himself to be a girl and much hoo-ha ensues once the truth is discovered.
Just after his discovery, Lord Loveall dies, and Lord Rose inherits, but in true victorian style, Rose’s right to inherit is contested by «the other side» of the family, but this conflict drowns somewhat in Rose’s breakdown following his discovery of his maleness. This is one of the novel’s weaknesses, Rose himself ceases to care what happens to his estate and fortune and as he is the narrator at this point (and through most of the novel) I, as the reader, also failed to care much, while the tension in the plot – the «what happens next?» – hinges at least partly on just what happens to the family inheritance.
Another weakness centers on the characters themselves, to a large extent they remain two-dimensional and to me, certainly, none of them really come alive. This makes it difficult to care overly much one way or another about anything that happens in the book. And though Rose’s journey to find him-/herself is actually the most original and in some ways the most convincing part of the plot, it loses most of its power when the reader doesn’t really care.
I also found the resolution of the inheritance plot somewhat contrived (though predictable). This is perhaps excusable, as it is the genre norm that such things be contrived. Less excusable is the downright dreariness and sillyness of the final confrontation between the two conflicting sides of the family, this failed to engage me on any level whatsoever other than «oh, get on with it!».
The strength of the novel, such as it is, lies in the use of historic materials and settings. A lot of research has obviously gone into making the plot and backdrop believeable, and this is largely successful. Apparently, some of the ballads used are available on CD, The Love Hall Tryst: Songs of Misfortune, recorded by the author under his other name of John Wesley Harding (what’s the story there, I wonder) and some fellow musicians.
So: Was it worthwhile? I’m not entirely sure what the answer is just now, I’ll have to get back to you on that.
(I still feel an O’Brian reread coming on, and such half-maddening reading experiences as this one are only likely to hasten that as they leave me with a need to read something I know to be worthwhile.)
Collecting
Goodnight Mr. Tom – Michelle Magorian (should come with a free box of Kleenex…)
Running With Scissors – Augusten Burroughs (weird and wonderful – if you think your family is dysfunctional, read this and the probability is you’ll change your mind)
Dødens drabanter – Gunnar Staalesen (simply great, as usual)
Venezia – Kjell Ola Dahl
Høst og Tapirsalg. Slikt kan man like. Denne gangen fant jeg blandt annet Kjell Ola Dahls bidrag til Spartacus’ «Forfatterens guide» serie – han skriver om Venezia, en morsom tilfeldighet etter ukens lesing av Donna Leon.
Dahls portrett av Venezia er sånn passe engasjerende. Dette er slett ikke det beste bidraget jeg har lest i serien, men siden jeg selv har et forhold til byen i det bidraget jeg likte best er det vanskelig å vite om jeg er helt rettferdig (Bringsværd om London vinner hands down så langt – men for å rettferdiggjøre min kritikk likte jeg Rileys bok om San Fransisco bedre, og det er også en by jeg ikke har noe forhold til selv). Men det er allikevel et interessant portrett vi blir budt. Venezia er uten tvil en fascinerende by, og Dahl har mye på hjertet.
Hovedproblemet mitt med boka er noe som ikke kan karakteriseres som annet enn slett redaksjonsarbeid. For det første er boka «full» av stavefeil. Med dagens redigeringsverktøy er noe særlig mer enn ett eller to tilfeller skjemmende, og her er det fler enn jeg kan telle på fingrene (blandt annet på omslaget: «Dahl fotaper seg…» kan vi lese der). Dessuten skulle noen ha gått gjennom Dahls manuskript og fikset på setningsoppbygningen hans – feilene her varierer mellom de forvirrende og de bare rent merkelige. For eksempel: «Florian åpnet så langt tilbake som i 1720. Navnet skriver seg fra grunnleggeren Floriano Francesconi. Egentlig var det to konkurrenter – og den andre lå på motsatt side av Markusplassen: Cafe Quadri.» (s. 80) Eller er det bare meg som blir sittende og lure på hvem den andre konkurrenten til Florian var? «Ved bardisken, der drikker du brennevin.» (rett etter, på s. 81) Jeg vil gjerne stryke «, der». Men det er kanskje mer personlig smak enn objektiv grammatikk? «Det meste er selvsagt på italiensk, men her kan de som ikke visste det fra før, få øynene opp for bredden i tegneseriekunst.» (s. 154) De som ikke visste hva fra før? Det siste en god korrekturleser burde gjort, etter min mening, er å spørre Dahl om det er nødvendig å bruke så mange fremmedord når vi har slike adekvate uttrykk på norsk. «Partyet»? Hvorfor ikke «Festen»? «Grabber»? Hvorfor ikke «griper» eller «grafser til seg»? Det er kanskje en smakssak, og jeg må innrømme at jeg selv bruker «grabbe» i dagligtale, men altså i dagligtale, ikke på trykk i bokform.
Hadde det ikke vært for stavefeilene hadde jeg kanskje ikke hengt meg opp i setningsoppbyggingen. Og hadde jeg ikke hengt meg opp i setningsoppbygningen hadde jeg neppe gjort annet enn å trekke lett på skuldrene av anglifiseringen av språket. Som det er gjør jeg altså begge deler, og blir til tider såpass irritert at jeg får lyst til å legge fra meg boka og skrive krasse brev til Spartacus om nytten av automatisk stavekontroll. I stedet skiver jeg småsure blogginnlegg, som garantert vil vise seg å inneholde stavefeil. Ja, ja. «Livet er en kamp, Hjørdis» som min mor pleier å si.
Nå skal jeg forsøke å finne noe morsomt å lese.
Friends in High Places – Donna Leon
Friends in High Places showed up in the zone recently, and I decided to bring it home and give it a look-see, not having read anything by Donna Leon before.
I rather enjoyed this peek at Venice, and especially the darker sides of Venetian society. I must say, though, that if Leon’s descriptions of «how society works» are accurate, I’m sure glad I don’t have to live there.
An especially endearing aspect of the book was that Brunetti’s daughter Chiara is reading the Aubrey/Maturin series (and therefore wants to learn how to sail), and that his wife has read them and loved them. One cannot but admire their excellent taste in literature…
I Know You Got Soul – Jeremy Clarkson
I Know You Got Soul by Jeremy Clarkson is a book about machines. As such, you might not think it would be the sort of book I’d read. You’d be right, too, normally I don’t read books about machines (the exception being manuals for machines I actually own, since I’m one of those rare people who actually find manuals enlightening). But this is Jeremy Clarkson, you know. So I did read it. And I rather enjoyed it, too, though I think I enjoy Top Gear more, on the whole.
More catch-up
Perhaps I had better stop promising to write more? I don’t seem to have the wherewithall lately…
Dragonflight & Dragonquest – Anne McCaffrey (and then Dragonsinger and Dragonsong again, though I only just read them)
Sorcery and Cecelia: Or the Enchanted Chocolate Pot & The Grand Tour: Or the Purloined Coronation Regalia – Patricia C. Wrede and Caroline Stevermer (a charming discovery, though I found the difference in the voices of the two correspondents to not differ sufficiently – I frequently had to stop and think in order to figure out which one of them was talking – which is a flaw when the narrative is letter (or journal) based).
Encounters with Animals & The Overloaded Ark – Gerald Durrell (the first because I found it at a second-hand sale, the second because one morsel of Durrell at a time is never quite enough).
And I’m trying to think… Were there more? I rather think not. So that will have to do for now.
Edit: I remembered one more:
Dope – Sarah Gran, which is a fairly cleverly spun 50ies style noir novel, but it somehow lacked the big wow-factor.