BOOKS I READ (AND LISTENED TO) IN 2018
08.27 am / books
In English below.
Idag tänkte jag lite berätta om böckerna jag läste under förra året. I början av 2018 bestämde jag mig för att försöka få 15 böcker läst under året, men jag kom endast upp till 10 böcker. Inte allt för dåligt, men kunde ha varit betydligt bättre. Jag läste mest under sommaren då jag inte hade skola att stressa över (under våren och hösten var jag något otroligt stressad över skolan), men en stor orsak till att jag överhuvudtaget ens kom upp till 10 böcker är tack vare ljudböcker. Om ni känner mig personligen så vet ni antagligen hur mycket jag alltid hatat ljudböcker, så det är fullt okej att vara förvånad. Jag är det också. Tänkte skriva ett litet inlägg om det senare.
Några av böckerna jag lyssnade på läste jag också en del av i fysisk form, men av en eller annan orsak valde att avsluta boken i form av ljudbok, och några lyssnade jag på från början till slut. De jag lyssnade ens lite på är:
Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda av Becky Albertalli. Jag valde att lyssna på de sista ca. hundra sidorna av denna för att hinna få den klar innan jag skulle se den på bio. Boken tyckte jag var helt okej, en ganska vanlig YA-roman om ung kärlek. På Goodreads gav jag boken 3,8/5 stjärnor, vilket jag är lite förvånad över nu (varifrån kom 0,8?!). Skrev att det var en gullig berättelse men att jag kanske hade för höga förväntningar (vilket jag nog definitivt hade).
Jere av Aki Linnanahde. Denna började jag lyssna på eftersom jag ännu hade hela gratis provtiden kvar i appen. Boken handlar om ishockeyspelaren Jere Karalahtis liv med droger och alkohol, var ganska tråkig och enformig men lyssnade nog till slut för det.
Veitola av Maria Veitola. Har lite svårt att säga vad jag egentligen tyckte om den här boken, men den var tillräckligt bra för att jag senare ville köpa den i fysisk form, så det säger väl något. Tyckte i synnerhet om att lyssna på den då författaren själv läste den.
Antti Tapani av Antti Aro, Anton Vanha-Majamaa och Antti Tuisku. Är ett stort fan av Antti Tuisku och var exalterad över boken, men jag tyckte inte alls om hur den var skriven. Det var i princip bara en lång intervju som fått en hård pärm runt sig. Boken kunde ha varit hur bra som helst annars. Jag började läsa den i fysisk form men eftersom jag inte gillade hur den var skriven så var jag tvungen att lyssna på den för att bli klar.
Becoming av Michelle Obama. Jag visste inte riktigt vad jag skulle förvänta mig utav denna, men jag var positivt överraskad. Jag tyckte det var väldigt intressant och roligt att få en liten inblick i bland annat hurdan barn- och ungdom Michelle Obama hade, både innan och efter hon träffade sin man, hur det var att bo i Vita huset, hurdant livet var som presidentens fru och också hur livet har varit efter att de lämnat Vita huset. Rekommenderar varmt.
Omgiven av idioter av Thomas Erikson. Tror nog ingen har missat den här boken som handlar om personligheter och "hur man förstår den som inte går att förstå". Så många tycker om boken och boken har överlag fått ganska mycket positiv feedback, och eftersom jag är intresserad av psykologi så var jag väldigt intresserad av boken. Sanningen var dock den, att jag kämpade mig igenom den, och slutet var jag tvungen att lyssna på i bakgrunden för att bli klar med boken, då jag inte ens tittade på boken i flera månaders tid. För någon som är intresserad av ämnet men inte vet någonting om det, kan det definitivt vara en bra bok och jag kan till och med rekommendera att prova läsa den. Men för mig fungerade den inte.
Det osynliga barnet av Tove Jansson. Jag lånade boken från stadsbiblioteket och skulle läsa den, men det blev aldrig av, så då jag hittade den som ljudbok bestämde jag mig för att lyssna istället. Det var dessutom Tove Jansson själv som läste den, så det kändes lite extra bra. Trots att jag är ett stort fan av Mumin så har jag aldrig tidigare läst (eller lyssnat) på en muminbok, men det ska nog bli ändring på det nu.
Majoriteten av årets böcker var faktiskt inte fiktion, vilket jag är väldigt stolt över mig själv för. En stor orsak till detta var nog det att jag helst läser fiktion i fysisk form, så när jag lyssnade en hel del så valde jag andra typer av böcker. Den enda icke-fiktion boken jag inte alls lyssnade på var Talking as Fast as I Can av Lauren Graham. Jag tyckte mycket om boken och i synnerhet delarna som handlade om Gilmore Girls, som också är en av mina favorit tv-serier.
Fiktion böckerna jag läste i år.
They Both Die at the End av Adam Silvera. Den här boken är nog tror jag min favorit från förra året. Jag hade en varm känsla i hjärtat under största delen av boken, tills hjärtat brast i tusen bitar mot slutet. Den fick mig att både skratta och gråta. Åh, alla de där tårarna... När jag väl kom in i den så kunde jag inte släppa taget. Trots att boken var en stor hjärtekrossare så har jag på sistone funderat på att läsa den pånytt.
We Were Liars av E. Lockhart. Den här boken har jag ägt länge, och hört mycket gott om. Däremot tyckte jag inte riktigt alls om den. Den var väldigt långtråkig och det hände inte riktigt någonting förrän de sista sidorna då sanningen kom fram. Hade kanske också för höga förväntningar på denna.
// ENG: I decided in the beginning of last year that I would try to read 15 books, but I only got to 10. It could have been worse, but it could definitely have been better, too. The reason I even got to 10 books at all was because I listened to a lot of audiobooks. I got through quite a few non-fiction books this year, which I would say is mostly because I prefer to actually read fiction books, so, when I listened to audiobooks I naturally chose other types of books.
The one's I listened to:
Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda by Becky Albertalli. I read most of this book, but decided to listen to the end so I would finish it before I went to see the movie. Maybe my expectations were too high, but I didn't absolutely love it. It was a cute and a pretty basic teenage love story. Gave it 3,8/5 stars on Goodreads but now I would maybe only give it a 3.
Jere by Aki Linnanahde. A book about the ice hockey player Jere Karalahti's life with drugs and alcohol. It was pretty boring and repetitive, but I finished it anyway.
Veitola by Maria Veitola. I really liked listening to this as the author herself read it. I also liked it enough to actually want the physical copy on my bookshelf.
Antti Tapani by Antti Aro, Anton Vanha-Majamaa och Antti Tuisku. I'm a big fan of Antti Tuisku, but this book was a huge disappointment. It could have been great, but I didn't like how it was written just as a really long interview.
Becoming by Michelle Obama. I didn't really know what to expect from this, but I was pleasantly surprised. I thought it was really interesting and fun to know a little more about Michelle Obama, what her childhood was like, what her life was before and after she met her husband, what it was like to be the First Lady, to live in the White House, and what life has been like after moving out of the White House. I highly recommend. I also really liked listening to it as Michelle herself read it.
Det osynliga barnet (eng. The Invisible Child) by Tove Jansson. I was supposed to read this one, but I never got around to doing it so I decided to listen to it. Although I'm a big Moomin fan I've actually not read any of the books before, but that's definitely going to change now.
Omgiven av idioter (eng. Surrounded by Idiots) by Thomas Erikson. I don't think anyone in the Nordic countries has missed this book about human behaviour and how to understand how and why people act like they do. (I'm actually really surprised to find out it's being released in English later this year, I was sure it has been out already for years!) As I'm really interested in psychology I thought this seemed interesting, and it has also gotten a lot of positive feedback. Unfortunately it didn't work for me. But people who are interested in the topic, but don't really know anything about it, might really like it and I even recommend giving it a chance.
The one's I read:
Talking as Fast as I Can by Lauren Graham. I liked this quite a bit, especially the parts about Gilmore Girls, which is one of my favourite tv-shows. I highly recommend if you're a fan of Lauren Graham.
They Both Die at the End by Adam Silvera. I think this was my favourite book this year. It made me have a warm feeling in my heart, until the ending when my heart was crushed into millions of pieces. It made me both laugh and cry. Oh, all those tears... I couldn't stop reading once I actually got into it. I've even been thinking about rereading it soon.
We Were Liars av E. Lockhart. Oh, this book. I had high expectations since I had heard a lot of good about it, but I just didn't feel it. It was boring and nothing happened until the last few chapters when the truth was told. Very disappointment.
End of The Year Book Haul
Äntligen får jag detta inlägg publicerat! Book haulen jag skulle publicera redan innan jul. Köpte en del av dessa böcker på Black Friday för en lite billigare slant, medan några var resultatet av ett snabbt besök till bokaffären.
// Finally, I'm getting this blog post published! The book haul I was supposed to publish already before Christmas. I bought some of these books on Black Friday for a little cheaper, and a few of them are the result of me going for a short visit to the bookstore.
Mielikuvitusystävä ja muita sinkkuelämän perusasioita by Henriikka Rönkkönen / L'Art de La Simplicite: How to Live More with Less by Dominique Loreau / Turtles All the Way Down by John Green / They Both Die at the End by Adam Silvera / The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas
Hälften av dessa böcker är faktiskt böcker jag väntat på redan långt innan de utgavs - They Both Die at the End, Turtles All the Way Down och Mielikuvituspoikaystävä. The Hate U Give var inspirerad av Black Lives Matter rörelsen och var troligtvis en av de populäraste YA romanerna från förra året. Är väldigt glad över att den äntligen står på min bokhylla. L'art de La Simplicite bokens pärm fångade min uppmärksamhet under ett snabbt besök till bokhandeln, absolut en av mina favoriter. Började läsa Turtles All the Way Down, men kom inte riktigt in i den. Har hört mycket bra om den men bestämde mig för att ställa den tillbaka på bokhyllan och börja läsa en annan bok istället.
// Half of these books are actually books I've been waiting to get since long before they were even released - They Both Die at the End, All the Way Down and Mielikuvituspoikaystävä. The Hate U Give is inspired by the Black Lives Matter movement, and it was probably one of the most popular YA novels last year. I'm glad to finally have it on my bookshelf. L'art de La Simplicite got my attention because of its very beautiful cover, definitely one of my favourites. I started reading Turtles All the Way Down, but it's now back on my bookshelf waiting for a second chance because I couldn't get into it at all.
doing it by hannah witton | book talk
11.00 am / books
In English below.
Eftersom Hannah Witton är en av mina favorit youtubers, och jag är intresserad av ämnen som sexualitet, sex, kön osv., så kan ni tänka er hur exalterad jag blev då jag fick veta om denna bok! Läste den redan för en tid sedan, men av någon orsak har jag inte fått ett blogginlägget skrivet förrän nu.
Boken handlar alltså om lika ämnen relaterat till sex, som oskuldhet, könssjukdomar, kroppsbild, och sexualitet. Boken är fylld av fakta, samt Hannahs egna tankar och erfarenheter. Även ett antal andra personer, med mer erfarenhet gällande olika ämnen, har skrivit egna texter till boken, t.ex. gällande bisexualitet (Alayna Fender), hur det är att dejta då man är transsexuell (Riley Dennis) och sexpositiv pornografi (Erika Lust). Tyckte personligen detta var en positiv sak och alla texter var dessutom väldigt intressanta att läsa.
Boken är mer riktad för tonåringar, men jag är nästan helt säker att även äldre har nytta av boken. Det är en jätte bra grundbok - allt det viktigaste, och lite till, har tagits upp i boken, och den är definitivt mer informativ än skolans sexundervisning. Jag rekommenderar definitivt Doing It!, för både yngre och äldre läsare. Kanske du lär dig någonting nytt, kanske inte. Du får åtminstone läsa om tre generationers sexundervisning, hur man ger samtycke då man är döv och dessutom friska upp ditt minne gällande alla de ämnen som tas upp.
Hannah Witton is one of my favourite youtubers, and I'm interested in everything related to sex, sexuality, gener, etc., so I was very excited when this book was announced. It's already been a while since I read it, but for some reason it has taken me this long to write about it.
The book is about things related to sex, like virginity, STI's, body image, and sexuality. It's full of facts, but also Hannahs own thoughts and experiences. There's also guest writers, who have written about subjects they have more experience with than Hannah herself. Some of the subjects are biexuality (Alayna Fender), dating while trans (Riley Dennis) and sex-positive pornogrphy (Erika Lust). Personally I thought this was a really nice add to the book and I found the stories and subjects all very, very interesting.
The book is more targeted for teenagers, but I'm sure older people can get something out of it, too. The book contains all the most important subjects (as well as some other things), and it's definitely more informative than sex education in schools. I would definitely recommend Doing It!, both for younger and older readers. You might or might not learn something knew. At least you get to read about what sex education has been for three different generations and how you give consent when you're deaf, as well as refresh your own memory about the subjects in the book.
books i took with me when i moved
11.00 am / books
Som ni kanske har redan klurat ut, så har jag flyttat från lilla Hangö på grund av studier i Helsingfors. Jag har i planerna ett inlägg gällande flytten, men jag vet inte ännu när jag kommer skriva och publicera det. För tillfället bor jag iallafall hos min moster i min kusins gamla rum, tills jag hittar en egen lägenhet.
Eftersom jag inte kunde ta med mig alla mina hundra böcker, så var jag tvungen att välja några att ta med mig. Det var inte ett lätt val, det kan jag lova. Personligen tycker jag om att se på videon på YouTube där folk visar böcker de tagit med sig till college/universitetet, så jag ville göra min egen version av det nu.
// As you might have already figured out, I've moved from Hanko because of studies in Helsinki. I will write a blog post more about that, but I don't know when yet. I'm currently living with my aunt in my cousin's old room until I find my own apartment. Since I couldn't take all my one hundred books with me, I had to choose only a few to take. I like watching "books I took with me to college/university"- videos on YouTube, so I wanted to make my own version of it.
The Girl with Seven Names by Hyeonseo Lee / The Power of Personality by Sylvia Loehken / Doing It! by Hannah Witton / Unfiltered by Lily Collins
Jag ville ta med mig både skönlitteratur och facklitteratur, så dessa tre blev mina val för facklitteraturen. Doing It läste jag då jag flyttade, så den kom självklart med. Unfiltered är nästa på min lista, och de två andra valde jag helt enkelt för att de är böcker jag jätte gärna vill läsa inom en snar framtid.
// I wanted to take both fiction and non-fiction books with me, so these are my non-fiction ones. I was reading Doing It when I moved, so obviously I took it with me, too. Unfiltered is the next book on my TBR, and the two other books I chose simply because they're books I really want to read in the near future.
The Book Thief by Markus Zusak / Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov / Angus, Thongs and Full-Frontal Snogging by Louise Rennison
Dessa skönlitterära böcker var de enda jag var helt, eller nästan säkra att jag ville ta med mig. Angus, Thongs and Full-Frontal Snogging hade jag precis börjat läsa innan flytten, så den var också ett självklart fall.
// These two fiction books were the only ones I was sure, or almost sure, I wanted to take with me.
The Sun is Also a Star by Nicola Yoon / All The Bright Places by Jennifer Niven / We Were Liars by E. Lockhart / The Drowning of Arthus Braxton by Caroline Smailies
Av dessa fyra böcker hade jag faktiskt endast tänkt ta med mig två stycken, The Drowning of Arthur Braxton och den andra tänkte jag välja på basen av vitsordet på Goodreads. Dock slutade det med att jag packade dem alla ner i lådan.
// I was actually only supposed to take two of these with me. The Drowning of Arthur Braxton for sure, and the other one I tried to choose based on their grades on Goodreads, but as you can see, I ended up putting them all in the box anyway.
Jag tänkte också att jag behöver iallafall en kokbok med mig, ifall jag någon dag behöver matinspiration. Denna verkade på basen av en snabb titt ha bättre vardagsmat, och det står ju faktiskt på boken "helppoa ja hyvää" dvs. lätt och gott! Perfekt ju. Wreck This Journal tog jag med mig ifall jag skulle behöva något lätt tidsfördriv någon dag.
// I also wanted to take at least one cookbook with me, in case I need some inspiration for food some day, and my Wreck This Journal came with me in case I get bored and need something to do.
spring and summer book haul
When you own about 80 unread books, what is the one thing you need more of? Yes, that's right. More books. I placed an order consisting of five books earlier this summer, and besides that I've also bought some other books here and there. All of these books are bought between April and July, except for The Sun Is Also a Star which I bought already in January.
Carve the Mark by Veronica Roth / Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone by J.K. Rowling / Hollow City and Library of Souls by Ransom Riggs / The Sun Is Also a Star by Nicola Yoon / The One Memory of Flora Banks by Emily Barr
Unfiltered by Lily Collins / Angus, Thongs and Full-Frontal Snogging by Louise Rennison / Before I Fall by Lauren Oliver / We Were Liars by E. Lockhart / The Drowning of Arthur Braxton by Caroline Smailes
Lily Collins is my biggest woman crush, favourite actress and overall a person I really love. When I heard she's writing a book, oh you have no idea how excited I got! I decided to wait a bit until I bought it, so when I decided to buy some books this was the first one I added to the basket. I haven't read it yet, but it's next on my TBR.
I read Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children earlier this year (link to review, opens in a new window), and when I went to Helsinki a few days after, I decided to look for the other two books in the series. I found them, and now they're sitting on my bookshelf waiting to be read. As I mentioned in the review, I'm excited to see how the story continues. Not sure when I'll be getting to these though.
Look at this one! It's the 20th anniversary, Slytherin edition of the first Harry Potter book. There's some information about the house, but otherwise it's just the regular book on the inside. The outside though, so so so beautiful. And so hard to get a good picture of.
This one has been on my "to buy" list for a very long time. I wasn't familiar with this book until summer 2015 when youtuber Luke Cutforth announced he needs help funding his idea to make this book into a movie, and ever since I've wanted to read it. I finally own it, and I'm excited to read it in the near future, hopefully before the movie is finished.
Everything, everything | book talk
03.00 pm / books
Everything, Everything by Nicola Yoon • 2015 • Young adult, contemporary • 307 pages • Stand-alone
Everything, Everything is a contemporary novel about Madeleine, who hasn't left her house in seventeen years due to her disease. She has lived her whole life indoors with her mother and her nurse Carla, so she doesn't really know anyone from the outside world or know what it is like to be there. Even a minute outside could kill her.
People have moved in and out of the house next door during the years, but this time it's different. The family moving in this time will change Madeleine's life, or to be more exact, the boy, Olly, will change her entire life.
Everything, Everything is about 300 pages long, but most of the chapters are really short, so it's incredibly fast to get through, and the language is more on the simpler side so it's also an easy read. The author, Nicola Yoon, has a talent with using words and making basic, informal words transform the sentence into something completely else. I loved the fact that the book isn't just 300 pages full of words, but there's also for example online chats between the characters, lists and hand-drawn illustrations in the book, which add a little extra to it, and especially the illustrations allow the story to come to life.
Although the thought of a story about a girl who has never been outside might seem a bit depressing, this really isn't. Madeline has spent her entire life indoors, but she still has such a positive view on life and makes the most of it doing what she can. Carla, the nurse, has a bright personality too, which brings even more positivity into the story. The love story between Madeline and Olly start from nothing and changes into love in practically no time at all, which makes it feel somewhat unrealistic, but then again, why wouldn't it be possible to happen in real life too.
The ending gave me mixed feelings. It really wasn't what I had expected, not at all. While I didn't mind the plot twist and the ending, I feel like it's something the majority of the readers might not like. It did feel rushed too, at least for me personally. It was like the writer got to the thing, and then just wanted the book to end as fast as possible. How did the thing affect life, the relationships etc. in the long run? Did things stay like that forever or did it change? What happened? I wanted to know more, before the last few pages came along and the book ended.
Everything, Everything is overall a really lovely and cute young adult novel, an exciting and easy read. If you're in a reading slump, in the mood for a short book or just want to read a young adult, contemporary novel, this is the perfect book for you. If you're a seasonal reader, save this one for the warm summer days (or day, because you'll probably finish it in a few hours).
Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children | Book Talk
03.10 pm / books
Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs / 2011 / Young adult, fantasy / 352 pages / First in a trilogy
I'm really bad at summaries, so I'm letting the blurb on the back of the book do its thing.
I heard about this book on YouTube and it sounded really interesting and different from what I've read before so I decided to buy it. I had kind of high expectations, which really is a shame. I definitely think my high expectations ruined it for me a little bit.
The book started very slow but there was something that still made me want to continue reading. And I'm glad I did, because once the slow part was over, I was hooked. I loved the addition of the photographs, it made the reading experience interesting and some characters were easier to imagine. I went into the book thinking it would be at least a little creepy, but I did not find it creepy or scary at all. The story was still really interesting and I wanted to know more. It's also Ransom Rigg's first novel, which I'm impressed by because it did not feel like a first novel, at all.
I can't say I loved the book, but I definitely did like it a lot and I do love the story and the world. I loved the time travelling aspect in the story, the characters were all very unique, some more likeable than others and there was even a bit of a plot twist, at least for me.
When I finished reading the book, I immediately watched the movie. I was both excited and scared to watch it, to be honest. As a movie it was good and especially for someone who hasn't read the book I can imagine it was a great one, but as someone who read and liked the book I think there were just too many things wrongs with it. I still enjoyed it and I think all the actors did a great job. However, I absolutely prefer the book.
My rating for Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children is maybe a 3.75. The slow start of the book really is the only reason I don't want to give it a 4, and 3 or 3.5 feels too low. The reason it took me so long to read it, is simply because I couldn't get into it because of the slow start. I do recommend this book if you have the patience to read through the first half. I'm very excited to read the next book(s) to see how the story continues and if the questions I have will be answered.
Books I Want to Read in 2017
09.08 pm / books
I don't really have any specific books I want to read this year, so this is really more of a "what I want to read" list. Let's be real, I probably won't even get to half of these, but these are just what I would like to read, and hopefully I will read at least some.
This year I want to read...
➤ A Harry Potter book. Yes, I am one of those who haven't read the books yet. Don't judge me. I own them all though!
➤ A non-fiction book. This is overall something I want to read more of.
➤ A book in Swedish. I pretty much only read books in English, which means my vocabulary in my mother tongue isn't as good as it could be. This year I want to read at least one book in Swedish, which won't be very hard since I do own quite a few. A book in Finnish would be nice too, but I know I definitely won't get to that one.
➤ A book I've had on my TBR list for a very long time. When I say "a long time", I mean years.
➤ A book I've started before, but not finished. Not sure if I have more than two of these, but at least it will be easier to choose.
➤ A book that fits into the "diversity" category. I believe I only own one of these, but there's so many more I want to read too. This probably means book shopping, which I'm not too mad about!
What are some books you want to read this year?
Books I read in 2016
03.02 pm / books
When I was younger, I absolutely loved to read, but as I've gotten older I've started to read less for various reasons. Last year I decided that I would try to read more than I did the years before, when I pretty much only read when I had to for school.
As I'm an active user of Goodreads, I decided to participate in the Goodreads Reading Challenge. My goal was to read 20 books, I think I was feeling really, really inspired when I did that. In the beginning of the year I read quite a lot, but after summer I actually didn't finish a single book.
At the end of the year I had finished a total of 11 books. It was more than half of my goal, which I'm really happy about. For 2017 I set my goal a little lower, at 15 books.
1. Konsten att göra det man vill med sin tid by Birgitta Sandberg-Hultman (Loosely translated The Art of Using Your Time As You Want). This is a book from 2000 which I found at my grandmother. I only read it because it was short, I wanted to read something and I didn't have any books with me. ★ 2/5.
2. Eleanor & Park by Rainbow Rowell. There aren't enough words to describe my love for this book. I wrote a short post about it after reading it, which you can find here. ★ 5/5.
3. Fat Dad, Fat Kid by Shay and Gavin Butler. I really wanted to read this as I've been watching the Shaytards on YouTube for years, and I find Shay to be one of those people who no matter what he's talking about, it still sounds really intelligent and interesting. Didn't like the book as much as I had hoped, though. ★ 3/5.
4. Divergent by Veronica Roth. ★ 4/5.
5. Insurgent by Veronica Roth. ★ 4/5.
6. Allegiant by Veronica Roth. As the film adaptation of Allegiant was coming up, I decided to finally read the book series. I liked it, some parts more than others. ★ 4/5.
7. Vadelmavenepakolainen by Miika Nousiainen (Raspberry Boat Refugee). This one I read for school. It's not the best book, but it's not the worst either. Some parts were really boring and I even skipped some pages here and there because there was absolutely nothing worth reading on them, but then there were some things I really liked too. ★ 2/5.
8. Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins. I started reading this in late 2013 I believe, but it was so incredibly boring I had to take a break from it and I couldn't pick it up again until now. ★ 2/5.
9. Nya dikter by Bo Carpelan (Loosely translated New Poems). A poetry book! I had to analyse a poem for school, so I decided to read the whole book. Poetry is not my thing, I don't understand it, so I decided not to rate this book at all.
10. The Lifeboat by Charlotte Rogan (I read it in Swedish, Livbåten). This is another one for school. I didn't like it at all, I just thought it was really boring. ★ 2/5.
11. Me Before You by Jojo Moyes. This book is just. Beautiful. I cried and I laughed. Sure, there are some things you might find problematic, but I didn't get that feeling from it. Although I didn't personally find it a problem, I'm aware of it and I decided to let it affect my rating. ★ 4/5.
NEW BOOKS
Why post normal hauls when you can share your new books with the internet, because, books! Who doesn't love books? These are definitely not books I've bought all at once, I wish I could spend that kind of money at once! These are books I've bought anytime between April and October, four days ago to be exact.
Eat Smart by Niomi Smart / Harry Potter and the Cursed Child by J.K. Rowling, Jack Thorne, John Tiffany / City of Bones by Cassandra Clare / The Bricks that Built the Houses by Kate Tempest
My copy of Eat Smart is actually signed! I decided to spend a few extra euros to get it signed, when I pre-ordered it earlier this year. I haven't tried any recipes yet but there isn't one that doesn't look or sound good. Can't wait to try them out.
Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs / The Book Thief by Markus Zusak / Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell / All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr / When We Collided by Emery Lord
ELEANOR & PARK | BOOK TALK
07.53 pm / books
After being away from home for a year, after her abusive and alcoholic stepfather sent her away, Eleanor returns back home and starts a new school. When she gets on the school bus on the first day, the other students seem to have already decided not to like her, and she's forced to sit next to the weird, Korean guy who's sitting alone - Park.
When I started reading this book, I expected it to be a cute love story, but it's so much more than that. Eleanor & Park is a young adult book about first love, difficult family relations and being an outsider. We get to experience how these two characters - who are complete opposites, fall in love, how difficult the life as a teenager can be and how unfair life sometimes is. Rainbow Rowell, the author of the novel, really doesn't sugarcoat anything, she's real and writes about things in a realistic way, no matter how harsh it might be.
The novel isn't just 225 pages of sadness. It also shows us how there can be some kindness in the world when everything is bad. Rowell is amazingly good at describing what it feels like to fall in love. What it feels like to hold hands, and to kiss for the first time. It really is a beautiful, beautiful story.
I feel like no review is good enough for this book. I also feel like the less you know about the book, the better your reading experience will be. I personally couldn't stop reading this book, once I got into it. It made me smile, it made me cry, it made me feel butterflies in my heart. And I still, months after finishing it, think a lot about this book and the characters.
The Amazing Book Is Not On Fire
08.18 pm / books
Dan and Phil are two of my favourite youtubers, so I immediately knew I needed this, no matter what. I didn’t really know what to expect from this book, and since I hadn’t really read, seen or heard anything regarding it, everything was a complete surprise from start to finish when I read it.
Dan och Phil är två av mina favorit youtubers, så jag visste genast att jag behöver denna bok. Jag visste inte riktigt vad jag förväntade mig av den, och eftersom jag inte hade läst, sett eller hört någonting som hade med boken att göra, så var allting en överraskning från början till slut då jag läste den.
I love this book, but at the same time I can't help but feel a tiny bit of disappointment. The Amazing Book Is Not On Fire is written for Dan and Phil’s fans. I can’t see someone who isn’t a fan enjoying this book. Which isn’t a bad thing, not at all. I like the fact that they wanted to make something new, something else than just a video, for their fans, and themselves. I was hoping for more written content, though. It kind of made me feel like they put more time into what it looks like, all the pictures and different fonts, than the actual content, and when they decided what the content should be they just decided to write down things their fans already know. Again, there's absolutely nothing wrong with it. I like it this way too, I actually love the fact that it's more like a scrapbook, instead of just 200-something pages of text. This book is exactly what they are like, this is them in a book, this is exactly what you should have expected when you found out they've made a book. It’s basically like a scrapbook showing the best and main parts of their videos and their friendship, and what makes them danisnotonfire and AmazingPhil.
Jag älskar boken, men på samma gång känner jag mig en aning besviken. The Amazing Book Is Not On Fire är skriven för Dan och Phils fans, jag tvekar att någon som inte är ett fan skulle tycka om den särskilt mycket. Det är inte en dålig sak, inte alls. Jag älskar att de ville göra någonting nytt, någonting annat än en video, för deras fans och dem själva. Dock hoppades jag på mer skrivet innehåll. Det kändes som om de satt mer tid på hur boken ser ut, på alla bilder och de olika fonterna, än själva innehållet. Vilket inte heller är en dålig sak. Jag älskar att det är mer som en scrapbook med de viktigaste sakerna från deras videos och vänskap än en bok fylld med 200 sidor text. Den är exakt vad du borde förvänta dig at Dan och Phil. Den är fylld med allt det som gör dem till danisnotonfire och AmazingPhil.
As a fan, I still really enjoyed the book. Maybe a weird word to describe a book, but it was kind of cute actually. I especially liked Going Deep with Dan and Phil, Dan’s fanfiction, Phil and Dan in Japan, Jessica’s and Becky’s pages, their university experiences, and the Vegas story. The book is filled with pictures, stories, humour, more pictures and them just being their silly selves.
Jag tyckte ändå mycket om boken, som ett fan. Jag tyckte särskilt mycket om Going Deep with Dan and Phil, Dans fanfiction, Phil and Dan in Japan, Jessicas och Beckys sidor, deras erfarenheter från universiteten, och historien om Vegas. Boken är fylld med bilder, historier, humor och mer bilder.
It’s definitely a fun book. It’s fun to both read and look at. I don’t feel like it’s anything you need to own if you’re a fan, but if you love them, have some extra money and have space for it in your bookshelf, I don't see why you wouldn't want it. If you’re not a fan, it’s not really anything for you. If you’ve never heard of these guys before, I recommend that you check out their YouTube channels by clicking here and here.
Det är definitivt en rolig bok. Det är roligt att både läsa och se på den. Det är inte någonting du precis behöver äga om du är ett fan, men om du älskar dem, har lite extra pengar och utrymme för den, så ser jag inte varför du inte skulle vilja ha den. Dock är det inte riktigt någonting för dig om du inte är ett fan. Om du aldrig hört om dem tidigare, rekommenderar jag att du kollar deras YouTube kanaler här och här.
A MAN CALLED OVE | BOOK TALK
08.38 pm / books
This book is about Ove's life - both past and present. One day his new neighbours accidentally break his mailbox and after that both Ove's and his neighbours lives change forever. You get to read about his childhood and how he met the love of his life. You get to experience both the good and the bad times.
This is a book I probably wouldn't have read if it wasn't mandatory in a Swedish course at my school. I'm happy it is, because this is probably one of the best books I've read. Before I started reading I thought it would be a fun book about an old man, and oh boy how I was wrong! It's so, so much more than that.
At first I was a bit annoyed at Ove, I really didn't like the character. But as I read more and got to know him more, I kind of fell in love with him. I also fell in love with the other characters, they're all so unique and lovely.
The original language of this book is Swedish, but it has been translated into other languages. Here is a goodreads list where you can see what editions you can find it in.
Go find it in the nearest book store or library, read it and fall in love.
This year I will try to read lots of books. My goal is 20 books (which isn't really many, but for me it's quite a lot), and I'm going to write a few words about some of them on my blog. I'm going to be using goodreads to rate the books I've read, and there you can also see what book I'm currently reading and how much I've read. Here is my account, follow or send me a friend request if you'd like.
GIRL ONLINE | BOOK TALK
09.57 pm / books
As I actively watch YouTube videos, including Zoella's, I'm of course really happy and proud of all these YouTuber's getting book deals. Whether it's fiction, makeup or more fun books. This also means that I have a need of buying pretty much all of them. The second YouTube bok (can I call it that?) I bought was Zoe's Girl Online.
Overall I think this book is quite cute. It does have a clichéd plot, but it didn't really bother me that much. It might just be me who's on an emotional roller coaster whenever I watch or read something, but I did feel a lot of emotions while I was reading, - I fell in love, I got annoyed and other times I sat in my bed just constantly smiling. It was also really easy to read, no difficult words, just basic English. I do think this book was mostly written for young girls. What does bother me a little bit is that Zoe could have done so much with this book and the characthers, - there was absolutely no character development for instance.
You might or might not be aware of the fact that there was a lot of drama around this book when it was released because it's ghostwritten. I don't really see the problem in this, I mean, the story and the characters are all Zoe's, and it's not like this is the first book that's ever been ghostwritten. And of course Zoe needed help, she's not even close to being a professional writer. The writing was sometimes really good, and sometimes a little less, especially in the beginning, which makes me believe that the ghostwriter, Siobhan Curham, did in fact not write everything. It really doesn't bother me, and I don't see why it should bother anyone at all.
Completely ignoring things like the ghostwriting, the poorly written parts and the fact that it's Zoe's book, and only focusing on the story and how it made me feel, I would give it 3 out of 5 stars.
There's a blog post between some chapters, and text messages are shown kinda like actual messages.
This year I will try to read lots of books. My goal is 20 books (which isn't really many, but for me it's quite a lot), and I'm going to write a few words about some of them on my blog. I'm going to be using goodreads to rate the books I've read, and there you can also see what book I'm currently reading and how much I've read. Here is my account, follow or send me a friend request if you'd like.
Boktips: The fault in our stars
06.41 pm / books
[Den högra bilden är inte min, vänstra är.]
Svensk titel Förr eller senare exploderar jag
Kort sagt handlar boken om 17-åriga Hazel som har cancer, och hon kommer aldrig bli frisk igen. Hon blir tvingad att gå till en cancer stödgrupp, där hon träffar Augustus Waters som är friskförklarad från cancer.
Jag har länge viljat läsa denna bok och när jag äntligen i sommar hade tid att läsa läste jag den på tre dagar. Den fick mig att le, gråta och tänka. Jag tror jag aldrig läst en bok som påverkat mig på samma sätt som TFIOS, och det är absolut min favorit bok. John Green är dessutom en super bra författare, han kan skriva bra och super bra. If that makes sense.
Jag skulle kunna sitta timtal och berätta om mina känslor och tankar om denna bok, jag älskar den så otroligt. Dock är jag lite besviken på vem som ska spela huvudpersonerna i filmen, som de ska börja filma senare i år.
