Sunday, April 25, 2010

Bookshelves

This is how my two main bookshelves look like at the moment. Note that nearly all of the books are on Mt TBR.

This first one is practically overflowing. I've started a second row on all shelves (bottom shelf is busy holding my binders). Shelf number three from the top holds all the BookCrossing books I haven't read yet (yikes!). A handful more are scattered across my flat. Number four contains paperbacks I've bought within the past three years.



This one contains mostly everything that isn't regular novels. Top shelf is books connected to TV/film + my latest Nancy Drew acquirements, second shelf is Tarot/astrology/lifetstyle/humour and third shelf is travel books, Christmas books and music sheets. The bottom two shelves that aren't in the photo contain DVDs and VHSs.


Then there's the books in my bedroom, under my desk, in the kitchen, at Mum's, at Dad's... Whew.

Tuesday, March 9, 2010

Wednesday, February 17, 2010

2009 in Books

2009 book meme.

How many books read in 2009?
32 plus 2 I didn't finish until after New Year's.

How many fiction and nonfiction?
30 fiction, 2 non-fiction. I really don't read a lot of non-fiction.

Male/Female author ratio?
21 male, 13 female (two books were written by two authors)

Favorite book of 2009?
The Lies of Locke Lamora by Scott Lynch and Inkheart by Cornelia Funke.

Least favorite?
Temple by Matthew Reilly.

Any that you simply couldn’t finish and why?
Fan-Tan by Marlon Brando, partly because I didn't have time to finish it before I left Australia to go back to Norway and I didn't have room in my backpack to take it with me, and partly because it wasn't all that good.

Oldest book read?
They Came to Baghdad by Agatha Christie (1951)

Newest?
The Doomsday Prophecy by Scott Mariani (12 January 2009)

Longest and shortest book titles?
Longest: Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood
Shortest: Temple

Longest and shortest books?
I didn't keep track of the number of pages in the books I read in Australia, but longest has to be The Glass Books of the Dream Eaters by G.W. Dahlquist. The shortest is probably L'oeil du loup by Daniel Pennac.

How many books from the library?
None... The books on my own shelves will last me a long time.

Any translated books?
3 translated from English to Norwegian and 1 from German to English.

Most read author of the year, and how many books by that author?
3 books by Scott Mariani, 2 by Neil Gaiman, 2 by Rosamunde Pilcher, 2 by Janet Evanovich and 2 by Clive Cussler.

Any re-reads?
Winter Solstice by Rosamunde Pilcher. I love reading that book over Christmas (started it in December 2008, but didn't finish it until January).

Favorite character of the year?
Locke Lamora from The Lies of Locke Lamora and Dustfinger from Inkheart.

Which countries did you go to through the page in your year of reading?
Oh dear. I don't remember all of them, but here are some: Scotland, England, USA, Australia, Italy, Germany, Iraq, Greece, Israel, Austria, Slovenia, France, Switzerland, Peru, Camorr, Discworld.

Which book wouldn’t you have read without someone’s specific recommendation?
I don't think anyone specifically recommended any of the books, but I had heard good things about some of them on BookCrossing, and would probably not have checked them out if not for that.

Which author was new to you in 2009 that you now want to read the entire works of?
Cornelia Funke

Which books are you annoyed you didn’t read?
I'm not annoyed, but I wish I had gotten around to finishing Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell.

Did you read any books you have always been meaning to read?
Define "always". There were a couple I had been planning to read for maybe two or three years, but no longer than that.

Friday, February 12, 2010

Booking Through Thursday



The northern hemisphere, at least, is socked in by winter right now… So, on a cold, wintry day, when you want nothing more than to curl up with a good book on the couch … what kind of reading do you want to do?

In the weeks leading up to Christmas I like reading Christmas-themed books; you know, the ones with love and family and miracles that make you feel warm and fuzzy inside just because it's Christmas. Through the rest of winter I like to curl up on my exceptionally comfy sofa with a blanket and a huge book of some sorts. I find winter a great season for historical fiction (especially gothic), epic fantasy and general thrillers. Oh, and Harry Potter.

Examples of "winter books" are The Historian, The Thirteenth Tale, The Other Boleyn Girl, Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell, Jim Rollins' Sigma series and Scott Lynch's The Gentleman Bastard sequence.

Monday, January 25, 2010

Read in April

8) Cyclops by Clive Cussler
Read: 21 March - 1 April
Pages: 473
Rating: 4

Good, old-fashioned Dirk Pitt adventure including Russian villains, a beautiful woman, a catastrophe to prevent and a hidden treasure. I missed Al Giordino through most of the book and never really warmed to Jessie LeBaron. I liked the endig, though. Far from the best Pitt adventure, but decent entertainment.

9) Bienes hemmelige liv av Sue Monk Kidd
Lest: 1. april - 10. april
Sider: 378
Karakter: 4

Thursday, January 21, 2010

Read in March

7) The Lies of Locke Lamora by Scott Lynch
Read: 18 February - 19 March
Pages: 719
Rating: 6

Only finished one book this month, but it was a great one. Exciting, funny and somewhat scary (I don't think a book has ever caused me to experience vertigo before), with colourful characters set in a world I could easily picture. Locke Lamora is a charming and witty conman with a good heart, leading an equally charming and witty band of young criminals who con rich people out of their money because it's what they do best. Engaging characters, black magic, scary villains, an interesting world and a clever plot, this is "a story of adventure, loyalty, and survival that is one part Robin Hood, one part Ocean's Eleven, and entirely enthralling..." (fantasticfiction.co.uk) What's not to love?

Monday, June 29, 2009

Read in February

3) The Godwulf Manuscript by Robert B. Parker
Read: 28 January - 2 February
Pages: 204
Rating: 4

First in the Spenser series.

4) National Treasure: Book of Secrets by Ann Lloyd
Read: 2 - 3 February
Pages: 144
Rating: 4

Quick, easy to read novelisation of the movie (which I love). This is intended for younger readers, and I'm sure they will find it exciting, but as an adult I would have like to see the story a bit more fleshed out. As it is, it's simply a retelling of the movie (did I mention I love the movie?), no more, no less (except for Mitch Wilkinson's death, which is decidedly less).

5) 1st To Die by James Patterson
Read: 4 - 12 February
Pages: 462
Rating: 5

First in the Women's Murder Club series. Good crime novel with some obvious and some less obvious plot twists. I really like the characters, though Lindsay's constant crying irritates me no end (can I blame it on a male writer trying to "soften" the tough police woman?).

6) De kom til Bagdad av Agatha Christie
Read: 13 - 17 February
Pages: 209
Rating: 4

Passelig spennende spionroman fra 50-tallet med et stort persongalleri og en stemningsfull setting.
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