Sunday 31 October 2010

TSS: October in Review and R.I.P. V Wrap-Up

The Sunday Salon.com

So this month has actually been a really good reading month but not so good on the review front Open-mouthed smile Bad case of writers block with all my writing mojo going towards the avalanche of school related writing I’ve had. I really do hope that my writers block goes bye bye in the next few days since I have an intensive thesis writing season coming. So on to what I’ve read in October and then for a wrap-up post for the R.I.P. V Challenge that I really enjoyed!

Months-October18bymagic_artImage Credit

haunting-bombayPettson tälterUnseen Academicals

Haunting Bombay by Shilpa Agarwal this was a deliciously creepy and well told ghostly mystery. I am so glad that I read it and highly recommend it to almost everyone. It portrays a India after partition that is both modern and old fashioned. It is so vividly told that you feel like you are there (which helps with the creepy factor). Great read!

Pettson tältar (Pettson Goes Camping) by Sven Nordqvist The books about Pettson and his cat Findus are childhood staples here in Sweden and I am so incredibly glad that most of them have been translated into English because it means that I am better able to share them with you, my readers, as well as some very special people in my life who do not speak Swedish. The stories are funny and sweet but what takes these stories into the amazing is the illustrations which are detailed and often tell a bigger story. These illustrations also lend an extra dimension to the books as an adult and when you share it with a child. Highly recommend them!

Unseen Academicals by Terry Pratchett I enjoyed this instalment of the Discworld series (even though Death only has a cameo). This book deals with the sport of foot-the-ball (football or soccer depending on where in the world you are). As I am a life long fan of the beautiful game I found this book to be hilariously funny. The description of the offside rule was priceless. As with all of Pratchett’s books this book also had something more profound to say, this time about loving yourself for who you are, not for the labels others put on you.

och-jag-laste-att-det-var-omojligt-att-leva-lycklig-forutan-digtrue_compassGuardians of the west

Och jag läste att det var omöjligt att leva lycklig förutan dig (And I Read that it was Impossible to Live Happily without You) by Mark Levengood This was a quick read consisting of short thoughts or stories. I’m pretty sure not all the stories were true, they held elements of truth but many of them were told to make a point, a point worth thinking about. Unfortunately this book has not been translated into English but I wish it had.

True Compass by Edward M. Kennedy [audio] This was a really interesting listen. Although Kennedy himself didn’t narrate the book it felt like he was. It was him telling his story. Although he does cover some of the less than stellar parts of his life he doesn’t dwell on them. And to be fair, he says he won’t up front. What I did find interesting was his thoughts on the historic events he saw and lived. I recommend this book to anyone interested in American political history.

Guardians of the West by David Eddings for me this is a comfort read pure and simple. I get to get together with old friends and have a laugh. And right now I really need literature that doesn’t challenge me. These books are witty and do require you to keep track of some things, but for me as they are a re-read they don’t pose a great deal of difficulty. I am super stressed with school and reading these are the prefect antidote to intellectual overload.

King of the MurgosDemon Lord of KarandaSorceress of Darshiva

I’ve also read King of the Murgos, Demon Lord of Karanda and Sorceress of Darshiva all by David Eddings but they will come in a review together fairly soon (I want to finish Seeress of Kell which is the last book in the series before the Epilogue/Prologue books). I realised that it was to difficult for me to do individual reviews of these books so I’ll lump ‘em all together Open-mouthed smile

ripv300

I had a list for the R.I.P. V challenge. I love lists. I read some of the books off the list, some I did not. I did LOVE all of the books I did read. They ranged from the creepy to the lovely (in a creepy way). They all had things that go bump in the night and were shrouded in mystery. I read three books and listened to two on audio. What did I read?

haunting-bombayUnseen AcademicalsThe Woman in White

Haunting Bombay by Shilpa Agarwal I am not normally a ghost story person but the premise of this book had me intrigued. And in the end I loved it. It was just creepy enough mixed with mystery and a, to me, fascinating culture. I highly recommend this to anyone! And the ghosty creep factor should make it an excellent candidate for anyone wanting to do the R.I.P. Challenge next year.

Unseen Academicals by Terry Pratchett Terry Pratchett is one of my favourite authors and this book really lived up to my expectations. Although it did not include much of my all time favourite characters, Death, it still had plenty of bump in the night characters to fulfil its inclusion in the challenge.

The Woman in White by Wilkie Collins I had some problems with the portrayal of women in this book, yeah yeah yeah I know it isn’t fair to hold a book to our more modern standards but still… I kinda do. But in general I really enjoyed this book. It was a great ghostly mystery. This book more than deserved its inclusion in the R.I.P. V challenge as it had both mystery and certain ghostly apparitions.

 harrypotter_philosopherThe Graveyard book

Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone by J.K. Rowling [audio book] For me this was a re-listen and I love listening to Stephen Fry read these books, he does such an excellent job of it. In addition to this listening to this book made me fall in love with the Harry Potter series all over again (and today October 31st, 2010 is the 29th anniversary of the death of James and Lily Potter may they Rest in Peace). This book had to be included in the R.I.P. V challenge as it has things that go bump in the night as well as mystery and intrigue.

The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman [audio book] I couldn’t put my finger on why I loved this book, but loved it I did Open-mouthed smile It was a sweet book with some scary parts. Definitely a good R.I.P. V book

Signature

Copyright ©2010 Zee from Notes from the North. This post was originally posted by Zee from Notes from the North. It should not be reproduced without express written permission.

Wednesday 27 October 2010

Book Review: Guardians of the West

Guardians of the west Guardians of the West by David Eddings

Publisher: Corgi

Category: Fantasy

Synopsis: We once again meet Garion, Ce’Nedra, Polgara, Belgarath and all the others from The Belgariad. This time Garion is older and starting to settle in as a king when events once again draw him into the shadowy battles between the two Prophesies

My Thoughts: The previous books in this series have focused primarily on the character Garion, with the stories being told from his point of view. The books have only deviated from this perspective on a few occasions, when they focus on Ce’Nedra. Growing up I really liked this because I was of a similar age with the characters at the time and I really felt that I could relate to them. This book goes back to a younger narrator at first focusing on the “thief” Errand and his life with Polgara and Durnik in the Vale. This makes for a very clam and slow start to the series, if I hadn’t been emotionally invested in these characters I might not have continued reading, but as it is, if you get to this book you probably will be emotionally involved, it is like getting back in touch with old friends.

The second part of the book goes back to focus on Garion and his life with Ce’Nedra. Again this book feels quite slow and episodic. Timewise it jumps in leaps and bounds. But again meeting old friends is always nice.

It is in the final part of the book where the action is heightened with the murder of a character and the ensuing battles it causes (it is a fantasy book about kings and queens and magic, of course a murder leads to battles :D). It is also here that the intrigue that has been hinted on in some of the previous episodes starts to take on a more substantial form. You start to see where it is leading to.

As I mentioned above for me reading this book is like meeting up with old friends. Good friends whom I have missed. I chose to read the books now because school is really stressing me out and I felt that I needed something that was familiar and comforting and for me these books are all that. The books hold that feeling for me not just because I have read them several times but also because the story lines are familiar and the characters funny in a way I appreciate. There is a certain dry humour in them that I really appreciate. You do need to have read the books in The Belgariad before you read this book to really appreciate them but all the books in the series are so comforting I have to recommend them :D

Purchase The Guardians of the West from BookDepository

CymLowell

Signature

Copyright ©2010 Zee from Notes from the North. This post was originally posted by Zee from Notes from the North. It should not be reproduced without express written permission.

Saturday 23 October 2010

Weekend Cooking: Food to go with Mystery Books

Weekend Cooking

Weekend Cooking is hosted by Beth Fish at Beth Fish Reads and it is open to anyone who has any kind of food-related post to share: Book (novel, nonfiction) reviews, cookbook reviews, movie reviews, recipes, random thoughts, gadgets, fabulous quotations, photographs. If your post is even vaguely foodie, feel free to grab the button and link up anytime over the weekend. Please link to your specific post, not your blog's home page. For more information, see the welcome post.

A couple of months ago on what would turn out to be one of the last really warm days of the year (It SNOWED here last Friday and again this Friday) I was laying in the garden reading Gaudy Night when I had this overwhelming craving for scones and tea. It got me thinking of food that goes well with mystery books. For me it is definitely some good freshly baked scones with marmalade and a BIG cup of tea.

Fall 2010 025

My favourite scones recipe is from Choice of Pie which I found out about from Jade at No Longer 25 earlier this year. I like to make mine with a little bit of vanilla extract and raisins. I often eat my scones with orange marmalade but now I’ve got plum and cinnamon marmalade that I made with my abundance of plums this year. Cinnamon to me is a very Autumn spice which makes it perfect for mystery reads

Plum Marmalade with Cinnamon

1 1/2 kg fresh or frozen plums

1/2-2 dl water

1 cinnamon stick

12 dl sugar

2 tsp citric acid

 

Wash off the plums (defrost frozen ones) and cut them into quarters. Keep the stones and tie them into a piece of gauze or thin cotton.

Use 2dl of water if the plums are barely ripe less if they are more ripe. Cook plums, water, cinnamon and the bag of stones in a lidded pot on a low heat for approximately 30 minutes. Then let the mixture cook at a high heat for about 5 minutes.

Remove the pot from the stove. Remove the bag of stones. Add the sugar slowly while stirring. Put the pot back on the stove and let it start boiling. Allow it to boil without a lid for about 15 minutes. Check if it starts to thicken.

Once it starts to thicken remove from stove and allow it to cool a bit. Remove any foam. Add the citric acid mixed in a table spoon of water.

Pour the marmalade into clean warm jars all the way up to the edge. Put lids on immediately. Store in a cool place.

Now what mysteries do I recommend with these goodies?

Well I’ve already mentioned Gaudy Night which I highly recommend, as well as Strong Poison and Have His Carcase which are the two books before Gaudy Night in the Harriet Vane series. I still have one book left to read in this series as well as all the Sir Peter Wimsey books. I’m looking forward to this!

For me you also can’t go wrong with the In Death series by J.D. Robb (Nora Roberts pseudonym). Some people will probably balk at this series as many of the crimes are sex related and often quite gruesome but for me the banter, love and friendships in it more than make up for the blood, gore and general misery.

Finally I want to recommend an author who’s next book I am waiting for with a great deal of impatience truth be told. Julia Spencer-Fleming’s Clare Fergusson/Russ Van Alsytne series completely bowled me over earlier this year I completely devoured it (link goes to my review of the last published book as it has links to my reviews of the previous books). The next book (and I think it might be the last but I could be wrong) is due out in April and I so want to lay my grubby little hands on an ARC of that it is insane!

What are your favourite mysteries?

Signature

Copyright ©2010 Zee from Notes from the North. This post was originally posted by Zee from Notes from the North. It should not be reproduced without express written permission.

Monday 18 October 2010

Book Review: True Compass [Audio]

true_compass True Compass by Edward M. Kennedy

Narrated by John Bedford Lloyd

Publisher: Hachette Audio

Category: Memoir

Challenges: 2010 Challenge (Up to You), Memorable Memoir

My Thoughts: I am going to start this review by saying that politically I line up very well with Edward Kennedy and that might have influenced my thoughts on this book.

I really enjoyed this book. One of my all time favourite shows is The West Wing and for me it was fun to see the amount of incidents that were taken from reality. I also really enjoyed learning more about American politics. It made me realise how little I actually knew about the history of American politics. I actually wish that there had been more of this in the book. Much of the book is taken up with campaigning and then the big pieces of legislation or confirmations. I would have liked to have heard more about the day to day work as a Senator. I liked the behind the scenes information that someone who served in the Senate for so long could provide, because no matter how you feel about him politically there is no denying that he has served for a long time.

I know that there was some criticism about the fact that he only briefly touches on the many scandals that have peppered his life but I appreciate the fact that he feels that commenting on scandals only feed them, I actually wish that more politicians took this view. And Kennedy does make this very clear very early on. This is not a book where he apologises for what he has done, he tells what happened and that is that.

One of the things that I took with me from this book was Kennedy’s unfailing wish to do good. Although he had lived a privileged life (one he fully acknowledges) he wanted to help those less privileged, not because it was politically expedient but because it was the right thing to do. I know that not everyone feels that this is the way to go, but as I said earlier politically I agree with this. And even if you don’t agree with his political ideas I don’t think he can be criticised for his motivations.

I also enjoyed getting his opinions on the different political leaders of the modern era. To get a more personal view on the different Presidents during his time in the Senate was illuminating.  Although he doesn’t always agree with the different decisions they make he does allow that they had good intentions (most of the time). Here I do have one small criticism of the book, I felt that sometimes he highlighted his own importance over that of others, but I think this is often the case when it comes to biographies, and it is somewhat tempered by the fact that he does acknowledge his own faults.

I listened to this book in audio and I am very happy with this decision. John Bedford Lloyd really brings the book to life, you almost feel as if you are sitting with Kennedy in his house in Hyannis Port, MA, listening to him tell the story. It lent a certain reality to the stories, I especially enjoyed a story about Kennedy’s mother while he is stationed in France with the Army and a pair of dancing shoes. I was sitting on a train listening to that story and I think people around me thought I was insane, I was giggling so much. Although this book is a serious book, it is also a very funny book, little anecdotes like this one are peppered throughout the book and make it an enjoyable listen/read.

Overall I really enjoyed this book and wouldn’t mind reading it in hard copy so that I can take notes. I highly recommend it to anyone interested in politics, American history and people in general.

Purchase True Compass in audio from BookDepository

Signature

Copyright ©2010 Zee from Notes from the North. This post was originally posted by Zee from Notes from the North. It should not be reproduced without express written permission.

Sunday 17 October 2010

TSS: Thinking of Hosting a Challenge

The Sunday Salon.com

So I was sitting here looking at all the challenges being posted for next year and thinking about Iris resolve to read Swedish books and I thought there is a challenge in there. So here is what I’m thinking: A year long challenge to read Nordic authors, I’ll host a link up every quarter, there will be prizes and levels. Anyone interested in this? I’ll put together a resource list of Nordic authors translated into English both adult, YA, children’s etc.

So what would I like to know? Is anyone interested at all in doing something like this?

deweys-readathonbutton

Now to an explanation of why I never wrote a round up of the Read-a-thon and why I just kinda dropped out of it. It is quite simple really, I woke up on Sunday with a really bad migraine. It had been lurking on Saturday making me feel really stupid and thick. Sort of like trying to read through porridge. It isn’t fun and it meant that I had a hard time focusing. I feel really bad about just giving up but I now know what I need to do for the next one, I shall try again!

Signature

Copyright ©2010 Zee from Notes from the North. This post was originally posted by Zee from Notes from the North. It should not be reproduced without express written permission.

Friday 15 October 2010

Bok & Biblioteksmässan (The Gothenburgh Book Fair)

Bok och bibliotek

During the last weekend in September you could find me at Svenska Mässan in Gothenburg for this years version of the Book Fair. It was a great if somewhat overwhelming experience.

Thursday and Friday were spent primarily going to teaching related seminars. From a professional development point of view it was a bit meh…mostly reinforcing things I already knew, although that is always interesting. I did get to speak to one of  the leading researchers in the field I will be writing my thesis in, only briefly but he gave me some pointers. Also I was the only person in the audience to pipe up during a packed seminar on social media in schools. I have a big mouth. By far the highlight of those two days was getting to hear Alexander McCall Smith speak.

Fall 2010 006 

He was very funny and nice. My favourite quote from him was regarding the charge that he is a very prolific writer. His comment was that he likes spending time with his characters and because of that writing was fun. As a reader who enjoys spending time with his characters this was very gratifying to hear. I also enjoyed hearing that his characters sometimes do things that surprise even him :D. I didn’t get a book signed by him on the Friday because they weren’t selling any in English at the talk (I ended up buying the book I later got signed at the train station going back to my grandparents) but I did get my book signed on Saturday after standing in a long line :D.

Saturday was spent going to different signings and perusing book tables. I do wish I had gone to more of the seminars, especially the ones on Africa but many of these were on the stages and I am quite short and I found it hard to see and hear over the sea of people. Next year (yes I am going back) I will plan it a little bit differently. One of the reasons I regret not getting to more of the talks was that I would have liked to hear more about African literature and to have found some more books by authors from that continent. I did peruse the Africa tables but none of the books grabbed me, maybe they would have had I heard the authors. There were some author talks I would have LOVED to have seen (Nadine Gordimer and Nawal El Saadawi being the two that jump to my mind) but time just ran away for me.

So which author signings DID I get to? Well some that I had planned (the aforementioned Alexander McCall Smith) and some I ended up going to on the fly.

Fall 2010 016

First up was a man I hadn’t read anything by before but whose book I really wanted to read: Mark Levengood. This picture was taken at about 10am and yes he is very dapperly dressed :D. He signed his newest book Och jag läste att det var omöjligt att leva lyckligt förutan dig (And I read that it was impossible to live happily without you) (see link for review). I wasn’t very far back in line after he had spoken about the book but it took FOREVER to get the book signed. He talked to everyone. He was such a sweetheart. When he signed my book he commented on the spelling of my name (which is different but not creative if you know what I mean) and said that it was really nice :D.

Fall 2010 022 Next up was Anne Holt. She was one of my surprise picks :D My grandmother and I were watching Skavlan (a interview program) on Friday evening and Anne Holt was one of the guests. I was really impressed with her, and as she writes crime novels, one of my favourite genres. In addition to that this series features a strong female lead (I would expect no less from Ms Holt :D)

Fall 2010 018 Then I got to see one of my all time favourite children’s books authors Sven Nordqvist. He writes the books about Pettson and his cat Findus. One of the books I got was Pettson tältar (Pettson goes camping) (see link for review), the other books I got are a secret (Christmas pressies). Sven Nordqvist was very gracious even though he seemed quite shy. The table where he was signing was absolutely mobbed but he did smile when I told him a story about my sister and how much she likes the advent calendar they did from his characters (she laughs so hard she cries every time she sees one of the episodes).

Apart from the signing with Alexander McCall Smith I managed to go to one more signing on Saturday, one that I had planned just not when it happened. Jo Nesbø was signing his latest book Pansarhjärtan (not sure what the English title will be) at his Swedish publishers booth. About an hour or so before I had gone off the convention floor in search of a patFall 2010 046ch of quiet. I ended up near these signing tables and I realised that one of them had Nesbø’s name on it. I asked the woman standing by the table if he was coming soon. She told me they were expecting him any minute. So I ended up second in line to get my book signed. I was so surprised by it all I forgot to ask him a question I wanted to ask. When I turned around to see if I could ask it, he was being whisked away again. I didn’t even have a chance to take his picture. As you can see from the above picture I DID by all of his books. Pocketforlaget.se had a deal where you could buy 3 books for 100SEK. A pretty good deal all round (plus I got a bunch of cool magnetic bookmarks in the shape of their logo).

The books by the authors who signed the books were however not the only books I bought. I also scored three books from a series I loved as a child: Kulla-Gulla. They are no longer in print and therefore I have to find them used in charity shops, antiquaries or (and this was a real find a couple of weeks ago) the library used book store. I was so pleased to find the three I did. I also got two (or possibly more one never does know ;D) books for my niece. One was the new Alfons Åberg (Alfie Atkins) which has a missing word at the end. I thought that was kinda funny :D I also got her a board book with a Swedish children’s song (Små Grodorna (The Little Frogs)). I love frogs so that was a no brainer :D I also got a BIG cookbook. The kind that has all sorts of recipes. I have a couple like that and I like them because they help give me cooking ideas (review forthcoming in a future Weekend Cooking post).

I found the whole experience fun but a bit overwhelming. I don’t really do well with big crowds. Although I had won my entry for all four days I didn’t go back on the Sunday, the logistics just felt overwhelming to me, so instead I spent the day hanging out with my grandparents, uncle and cousin, which was really nice.

If you are interested in seeing some of the seminars you can check them out here (I’m not sure this works outside Sweden but it is worth a try).

All that said, I will definitely be going back next year when the theme is Literature in German!

Signature

Copyright ©2010 Zee from Notes from the North. This post was originally posted by Zee from Notes from the North. It should not be reproduced without express written permission.

Thursday 14 October 2010

Book Review: Och jag läste att det var omöjligt att leva lycklig förutan dig (And I read that it was impossible to live happily without you)

och-jag-laste-att-det-var-omojligt-att-leva-lycklig-forutan-dig

Och jag läste att det var omöjligt att leva lycklig förutan dig (And I read that it was impossible to live happily without you) by Mark Levengood

Publisher: Pirat Förlaget

Category: Short stories (causeries)

Challenges: GLBT Challenge

My Thoughts: I want to call this collection a book of short stories but that isn’t quite right. The author often does “Thoughts for the Day” (Tankar för dagen) on Swedish Radio P1 and many of the stories in this collection come from these thoughts. Each story is very short (none longer than four pages and that includes artwork). Each story does have a point, usually something fairly superficial but at the same time incredibly profound. Something worth thinking about.

Many of the stories tell of cultural peculiarities to Sweden and Finland (Levengood is from Finland but lives in Sweden). There is a particularly funny story about winter and him wanting to curl up next to the boiler in cased in all their blanket while his husband is outside comparing frostbite stories with the neighbour. I’m pretty sure it looses something in the context.

For those who don’t know Mark Levengood is a bit of a tv profile here in Sweden and he always comes across as an incredibly nice and genuine person. He has done children’s programs and he is the voice over on the Swedish versions of the Moomin movies. He speaks with Finnish accent and quite a soft voice. It is very distinct and while reading the book I kept hearing the voice. Has that ever happened to you? That you hear the voice of the author? It made for a very interesting read.

Unfortunately this book has not been translated into English but I think it would work quite well in some respects. In others there might be some problems, especially around some of the cultural aspects that people here get straight away.

Signature

Copyright ©2010 Zee from Notes from the North. This post was originally posted by Zee from Notes from the North. It should not be reproduced without express written permission.

Wednesday 13 October 2010

Book Review: Unseen Academicals

Unseen Academicals

Unseen Academicals by Terry Pratchett

Publisher: Corgi

Category: Fantasy

Challenges: Terry Pratchett 2010 Challenge, R.I.P. V Challenge

Synopsis: How can one write a synopsis for a Terry Pratchett book? I I feel like it is trying to herd cats. So bare bones here we go: It is about finding out about yourself. And also about how to make the street brawling previously known as football into a more elegant game played by gentlemen like the wizards, also about pie. And love. And fashion. But in a very Ankh-Morpork way.

My Thoughts: I loved the message of love and acceptance in this book. Acceptance of others but above all acceptance of oneself. And also not judging a book by its cover. All this done with Pratchett’s usual humour and insight.

As I said way back when in my Terry Pratchett 2010 Challenge introductory post I wanted to read this book partially because of my life long love for football (or to use classic Pratchett Foot-the-ball). And I wasn’t disappointed. The explanation of the off-side rule was just brilliant! Not to mention the discussion of fans and who is really in charge of the game.

I will admit that I have not read these books in any sort of sequence (publishing or otherwise) but I had no problem following along in the sequence of things. The wizards, with the Archchancellor always in the lead, really need no explanation. Add to that the fact that the wizards are really background characters, and it matters little if you have read the previous books. The main characters in this book are (I believe) pretty new to the series, and if not that then expertly presented in this book. 

Although this book deals with football I don’t want the non-sports fans out there to shy away from it because of it. It is much more about other things. The football aspect is (and please excuse me, I’m about to put to use my behavioural psychology classes to use) much more about the dynamics of team work, about establishing new rules for old things and as I said in the introduction about finding and accepting yourself. All themes (and now the English teacher hat goes on) that are familiar to anyone, regardless of how you feel about sports.

Overall this was a fantastic book one I really recommend (even though Death only makes a cameo in it)!

Purchase Unseen Academicals from BookDepository

CymLowell

Signature

Copyright ©2010 Zee from Notes from the North. This post was originally posted by Zee from Notes from the North. It should not be reproduced without express written permission.

Monday 11 October 2010

Book Review: Pettson tältar (Pettson Goes Camping)

Pettson tälter

Pettson tältar (Pettson Goes Camping) by Sven Nordqvist

Publisher: Opal

Category: Children’s picture book

Synopsis: Findus (the cat in the green trousers in the picture) finds a tent in the attic and like all small children thinks camping sounds like a great idea. Along with fishing and climbing a mountain.

My Thoughts: Just as funny and sweet as always. The stories about Pettson and Findus are always predictable. Pettson invents something that doesn’t quite work, Findus does things the normal way. Neighbours think Pettson is insane for a)invention b)talking to his cat. Reader knows there is a perfectly true explanation for what occurs. But still every story seems fresh somehow.

Part of the freshness is absolutely the artwork which is perhaps the best part of the books for adults and children alike. Each page has its own illustrative artwork that goes with the story. At the same time within each illustration there is something else going on. Take for example the page where Pettson and Findus are camping, in it you can also see a small animal of undetermined kind fishing for ants. It is just a small picture on the side of the page, but finding these little extra pictures puts a whole new dimension on the reading experience. I would love to share some of the illustrations with you, but quite frankly copyright laws terrify me. There are some out on the net so if you are interested I suggest you google them. They are hilarious.

Findus the cat also acts like a small child. Always asking questions and getting into things. Slightly (okay, very) impatient but generally a good heart. Pettson, is an older man (gubbe in Swedish indicates an older man, close to or already retired) who invents things. Therefore he has a rather messy house with a workshop. He also has neighbours who thinks he is insane and most of the time he doesn’t care about this (except when they notice him doing the really weird stuff). This sounds like an odd setup but it really really works. And if you don’t believe me, many of the books are translated into English :D

Signature

Copyright ©2010 Zee from Notes from the North. This post was originally posted by Zee from Notes from the North. It should not be reproduced without express written permission.

Saturday 9 October 2010

Dewey’s 24-Hour Read-a-Thon Mini-Challenge 1: Back in the Day Children’s Books

deweys-readathonbutton

This first mini-challenge is hosted by Elizabeth from Miss Wisabus and she asks us to tell about her favourite children’s books. Those books we loved as a child, or discovered as an adult.

I’ve previously talked about my love for anything by Astrid Lindgren. You really can’t go wrong with any of her books. I also love love love Anne of Green Gabels. But I want to talk about one of the authors whom I plan on reading during these 24 hours: Sven Nordqvist. He writes these fantastically funny sweet stories with the most amazing illustrations. And many of his books have been translated into English. They are the kind of books that you can read over and over and over again and never grow tired of, both because the stories are sweet but mostly because the illustrations are incredibly funny and detailed! You see each page has a main illustration but within these illustrations you can find a million more pictures. It is really hard to describe but I really urge anyone to read his books.

I will be reading Pettson Goes Camping later today!

Signature

Copyright ©2010 Zee from Notes from the North. This post was originally posted by Zee from Notes from the North. It should not be reproduced without express written permission.

24-Hour Read-a-Thon: Start and Stats Post

 deweys-readathonbuttonSo here I sit with Tea Cup and Unseen Academicals ready to start my very first 24-Hour Read-a-Thon in Dewey’s memory.  Although I’ve been a blogger for two previous Read-a-Thons I wasn’t able to take part those times so this is my very first one. I am super excited!

I will be updating my stats for the day in this post but doing new posts for different mini-challenges as I take part in them.

Today’s Stats:

Books Read: 2

Pages Read: 396

Books Finished: 1

Cups of tea drunk: 2

My total Read-a-Thon time: 13 hours

Other things accomplished: Lunch and a catnap (I didn’t sleep well AT ALL last night and just couldn’t keep my eyes open, Dinner, hanging out with the parental units, cheering, SLEPT, ate breakfast

Mini-challenges participated in: 1

Update 3:

Books Read: 2

Pages Read: 115

Books Finished: 1

Cups of tea drunk: 2

My total Read-a-Thon time: 2 hours (I slept for over 9 hours)

Other things accomplished: SLEPT, ate breakfast

Mini-challenges participated in: 0

Update 2:

Books Read: 1

Pages Read: 143

Books Finished: 0

Cups of tea drunk: 2

My total Read-a-Thon time: 11 hours

Other things accomplished: Dinner, hanging out with the parental units, cheering

Mini-challenges participated in: 1

Update 1:

Books Read: 1

Pages Read: 142

Books Finished: 0

Cups of tea drunk: 2

My total Read-a-Thon time: 4 hours

Other things accomplished: Lunch and a catnap (I didn’t sleep well AT ALL last night and just couldn’t keep my eyes open

Mini-challenges participated in: 0

 

Signature

Copyright ©2010 Zee from Notes from the North. This post was originally posted by Zee from Notes from the North. It should not be reproduced without express written permission.