Friday 31 December 2010

Santa Came!

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I meant to have this post up last week. I took a picture of my present. Then I couldn’t find the cable for my camera. Then when I found my cable I could no longer find my camera. My brain and I are no longer talking to each other. Finally today I found both cable and camera at the same time so now I can tell you what Robyn at The Book Club Blog sent me!

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Pretty pink wrapping paper!

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Inside was Three Cups of Tea, some Rooibos tea which is a speciality from Robyn’s home country and chocolate! Thank you so much! The chocolate is half eaten already Open-mouthed smile! I am so pleased to receive Three Cups of Tea because I’ve wanted to read it for ages but I keep not buying it. No idea why.

Overall Santa was very good to me he brought me a book by Mark Levengood and a new cookbook by Jamie Oliver 30 Minute Meals (look for a review in 2011) but I will say that it looks really interesting. And then Santa brought me an awesome gift, which unfortunately I haven’t been able to put my grubby little hands on yet since it is caught in a mail hellhole somewhere. I got a *drum roll*

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I am so super excited about this. Especially since I will in all probability be spending quite a bit of time commuting this coming year. It will make reading for school (which I will also be doing full time in the spring) so much easier. I am currently haunting my mailbox Smile

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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 30 December 2010

Challenge Sign-Up: Memorable Memoirs

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I did Memorable Memoirs in 2010 and I really enjoyed it so I am throwing my hat in the ring once more. I’ve got at least one book lined up: Underbara dagar framför oss (Wonderful days ahead of us) which is a biography of former Swedish Prime Minister Olof Palme. I hope I will be able to fit in a couple of other ones but I don’t know which ones yet.

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Wednesday 22 December 2010

Book Review: Om Gud (About God)

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Om Gud (About God) by Jonas Gardell

Publisher: Nordsteds

Category: Non-fiction

Challenges: GLBT Challenge, World Religion Challenge

My Thoughts: Jonas Gardell grew up in a Baptist Church and is a practising Christian, but as he himself says at the end of the book, “I am a writer, I am not a researcher and not an academic”. Despite this he manages to give, in my opinion, a very good picture of the Old Testament. The book is, as the title says, about God. It tells of the contradictory pictures of God that appear in the Bible. God as a benevolent father. God as vengeful and mean. He talks about how the image of God that we have today grew out of the many different gods that existed before him.

It was perhaps this argument that I found most interesting. Gardell argues that the mere mention of the first commandment: Thou shalt have no other gods before me Exodus 20:3, means that God acknowledges the existence of other Gods. He (or she) is wants you to have no other gods BEFORE him. Gardell doesn’t say that we should worship these other gods, but that the fact that they existed before what we now consider the One God means that they influenced the perception of God as noted down in the Old Testament. He further argues that these many different gods and their different characteristics are the reason why so many different versions of God exist in the old testament.

I found this book very interesting but a bit hard to follow. Lets be honest, my knowledge of the Bible isn’t all that great, I wasn’t raised in the Christian faith. I have read parts of the Bible. Some parts more than others. One of my reading goals in life is to read both the Old and New Testament (I also want to read the Koran). But right now I only know bits and pieces really. Add to that the fact that most of my Bible reading has been in English, and that I know the names of the books of the Bible in English, I was even more confused since this book is written in Swedish, with the Swedish names. Thankfully BibleGateway made it easy to look up the different passages when I got super confused. Because of this I wouldn’t recommend this book to someone as an introduction into the Christian faith. It requires a bit more background knowledge than that.

I read a review of this book in Swedish once (and now I can’t find it) and the person was disappointed by the middle parts. I can see why, although Gardell doesn’t claim to be a scholar, the middle of the book has a very scholarly feel. The first and last chapters (and bits and bobs in between) have a very personal feel, he talks about people trying to stop him from taking communion because he is gay and how his faith sometimes waivers. However the bulk of the book is about the view of God presented in the Bible. In the final chapter he does touch upon his view of God. I would like to quote that here because, although I myself am not a Christian, I do find that he has a point here (translation mine):

“The same prophet who in one breath preaches about eternal peace, love for thy neighbour and fight against social injustices, can in his next breath greedily fantasises about the bloodiest revenge and redress.

And here we stand still today, with the two paths—the path of hate and the path of love—both well described and determined in the Bible—and we must choose between them. And I assert, yes, maintain with certainty, that only one of those paths lead to God. The other is a blind track that leads to the Devils mirror which shows the shabbiest and all the worst that mankind is” (277).

This book hasn’t been translated to English as far as I can tell. I wish it had because it is an interesting read. I shall be reading the next book in the series Om Jesus (About Jesus) during 2011 and I am really looking forward to it.

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Tuesday 21 December 2010

Challenge Sign-Up Post: South Asian Author Challenge 2011

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I really enjoyed the South Asian Author Challenge this year and when I heard that it was making a return this year I knew I had to join in. Like 2010 I am aiming for three books and I’ve already picked them.

The Dowry Bride by Shobhan Bantwal I read and enjoyed The Forbidden Daughter by Bantwal for the 2010 challenge and I really wanted to try another book by the same author.

Unaccustomed Earth by Jhumpa Lahiri I’ve read two of Lahiri’s other books: Interpreter of Maladies and The Namesake. I really enjoyed Interpreter of Maladies (pre-blogging) but was less impressed with The Namesake. When I reviewed The Namesake many told me that Unaccustomed Earth was much closer to Interpreter and I am really excited about reading it.

Secret Daughter by Shilpi Somaya Gowda I keep coming across positive reviews of this book and it sounds fabulous so I am excited about trying it.

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Monday 20 December 2010

Challenge Sign-Up Post: GLBT Challenge

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The GLBT Challenge aims to raise awareness of GLBT books, authors and issues. I participated this year and intend to do so next year as well. I am aiming to read at least on GLBT book per quarter so that is 4 books. I would love it if I could squeeze in more. I have a few books planned but might add more. The ones I have planned are ones that overlap with other challenges.

Ett ufo gör entree and Om Jesus by Jonas Gardell. I read En komikers uppväxt which goes before Ett ufo gör entree and is a semi-autobiographical book. Om Jesus is Gardell’s book about the New Testament. I am currently reading Om Gud which is about the Old Testament. In Om Gud Gardell looks at different topics of the OT and talks about his interpretations of the different stories. He also puts them in a historical perspective and talks about how he sees the Bible as being useful today. I am finding it very interesting.

Frukta inte by Anne Holt. This is a mystery book and the 4th in the series. I own this book but will probably try and read the preceding books as well. Holt is the former Minister for Justice in Norway. This book drew my interest because it has a female protagonist as well as female victims. I am interested in seeing how it plays out. It is included in this challenge because Holt is a lesbian.

A Room of One’s Own this is one of the books for the Year of Feminist Classics and one I have wanted to read for quite some time as it deals with creating a female language, something I find fascinating. I am also really looking forward to discussing it with the other participants in the reading group.

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Sunday 19 December 2010

TSS: 2010 Challenges Round-Up 1

The Sunday Salon.com

So the year is coming to an end. Time to sum up the reading done. Since much of my reading has been for challenges I am going to start by wrapping up those challenges I have not yet written wrap up posts for. Since I took part in quite a few challenges I’m doing them in batches (also I am still living in a somewhat vain hope that I will get a few more books read before the end of the year and thus get in a few more challenges done).

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My start of challenge post
Level: Suffragette (8 books, at least 3 non-fiction)
My List of Books:
Fiction

  1. My Ántonia by Willa Cather
  2. The Yellow Wallpaper by Charlotte Perkins Gilman (short story)
  3. Little House on the Prairie by Laura Ingalls Wilder
  4. Madicken by Astrid Lindgren 
  5. Mrs. Dalloway by Virginia Woolf
  6. The Forbidden Daughter by Shobhan Bantwal 
  7. The No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency by Alexander McCall Smith
  8. Gaudy Night by Dorothy Sayers
Non-Fiction
  1. Mias Systrar (Mia’s Sisters) by Maria Eriksson and Kerstin Weigl
  2. Lilla Feminist-boken (The Little Feminist Book) by Sassa Buregren
  3. Living History by Hillary Rodham Clinton
  4. Mystics, Mavericks, and Merrymakers by Stephanie Levine
  5. Baby Catcher: Chronicles of a Modern Midwife by Peggy Vincent 

I enjoyed all the books I read for this challenge. The books that stayed with me the most though are Gaudy Night and Mystics, Mavericks, and Merrymakers. I read Gaudy Night on the recommendation of several bloggers and although I enjoyed the earlier books in the series this one pretty much bowled me over. I stayed up late several evenings to read it. I really couldn’t put it down. Mystics, Mavericks, and Merrymakers was interesting from a different perspective as I felt that it gave me a nice insight into a world that I didn’t even know existed. In addition to this from a very geeky perspective, I found reading the methodology and reasoning for the methodology to be quite interesting. I am definitely glad I took part in this challenge.

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My start of challenge post
Level: Read 3 Books
My List of Books:

  1. The Namesake by Jhumpa Lahiri
  2. The Forbidden Daughter by Shobhan Bantwal 
  3. Haunting Bombay by Shilpa Agarwal

My favourite here was beyond a shadow of a doubt Haunting Bombay. It was really quite spooky but also very interesting. I will admit that I was disappointed by The Namesake. I really liked Interpreter of Maladies by the same author but this book suffered from not having a proper ending. You can tell that this story was originally meant as a short story. This is a challenge I will be repeating in 2011.

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My start of challenge post
Level: Read 20 Books
My List of Books:

  1. Young Adult
    1. My Most Excellent Year by Steve Kluger
    2. The Bermudez Triangle by Maureen Johnson
  2. T.B.R. **
    1. John Adams by David McCullough
    2. The Woman in White by Wilkie Collins
  3. Shiny & New
    1. White Noise by Don Delillo
    2. A Fountain Filled With Blood by Julia Spencer-Fleming
  4. Bad Blogger’s ***
    1. Baby Catcher: Chronicles of a Modern Midwife by Peggy Vincent
    2. Gaudy Night by Dorothy Sayers
  5. Charity
    1. The Life and Times of The Thunderbolt Kid by Bill Bryson
    2. Emma by Jane Austen
  6. New in 2010
    1. Fantasy in Death by J.D. Robb 
    2. Indulgence in Death by J.D. Robb
  7. Older Than You
    1. Anne of Avonlea by L.M. Montgomery
    2. Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoevsky
  8. Win! Win!
    1. The Last Hero by Terry Pratchett
    2. The Forbidden Daughter by Shobhan Bantwal
  9. Who Are You Again?
    1. Tracks by Louise Erdrich
    2. The Distance Between Us by Masha Hamilton
  10. Up to You! Memoirs
    1. Living History by Hillary Rodham Clinton
    2. True Compass by Edward M. Kennedy

I really enjoyed that this challenged made me read a wide variety of books. Since I have already spoken of my love for Gaudy Night I will comment on some other books I read for this challenge. I found True Compass to be absolutely fascinating. I am at times a bit of a political junkie and it was so interesting to hear about American politics in the last 50+ years from someone who saw it from the inside. Further this was an audiobook for me and I really enjoyed the narration. A Fountain Filled with Blood is part of the Reverend Clare Fergusson/Russ Van Alstyne series that I discovered at the beginning of this year and absolutely adore! I can’t wait for the next book in the series which is due out in April.

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My start of challenge post
Level: Cashier at Ankh-Morpork Mint (3)
My List of Books:

  1. Hogfather by Terry Pratchett
  2. The Last Hero by Terry Pratchett 
  3. Unseen Academicals by Terry Pratchett

I’ve loved Terry Pratchett for many many years and that particular love affair continues. Hogfather was a re-read that I enjoy reading around Christmas. The Last Hero was a beautifully illustrated book which I HIGHLY recommend. The illustrations elevated a great book to awesome. I enjoyed Unseen Academicals both because of its discussions of football (soccer) and it’s commentary on social classes. All of the books were fantastic.

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My start of challenge post
Level: Read at least 4 Memoirs/Biographies/Letters/Diaries
My List of Books:

  1. Freedom in Exile by the Dalai Lama
  2. Living History by Hillary Rodham Clinton 
  3. Baby Catcher: Chronicles of a Modern Midwife by Peggy Vincent  
  4. The Life and Times of The Thunderbolt Kid by Bill Bryson 
  5. John Adams by David McCullough 
  6. True Compass by Edward M. Kennedy

Since I’ve already talked about True Compass in this post I wanted to highlight two other books: Baby Catcher and John Adams. Baby Catcher was really interesting for me even though I have never given birth. The experiences of Vincent’s patients sound so incredibly different from all the birth stories I hear here in Sweden. Yes she has an agenda but still… John Adams was a very interesting look at American history. I have to admit that although I have a fair general idea of American history the two books by McCullough I have read have really helped me understand the history around the formation of USA. I highly recommend this book to anyone who is interested in history. This is another challenge that I am repeating for 2011.

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Thursday 16 December 2010

Challenge Sign-Up Post: Shakespeare Reading Challenge

Shakespeare Reading Challenge 2011

1. All plays must be read between January 1, 2011 and December 31, 2011. Anything begun before that cannot be included.
2. Audio versions are also acceptable but all plays must be unabridged.
3. You don't need to list your plays ahead of time but you may, if you'd like.

I’m going for level 1 Puck, that’s 4 plays. I make lists so here is mine:

The Tempest

Henry VIII

Hamlet

Much Ado About Nothing

The Tempest is currently being performed at the Royal Theatre in Stockholm so I might go see that as well (it ends its run in February). I will still probably read it and compare, especially since the play will be in Swedish.

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Tuesday 14 December 2010

Challenge Sign-Up Post: What’s in a Name 4

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Here's How It Works
Between January 1 and December 31, 2011, read one book in each of the following categories (my initial choices are in italics after the category):

  • A book with a number in the title: One Was a Soldier by Julia Spencer-Fleming
  • A book with jewelry or a gem in the title: ?
  • A book with a size in the title: ?
  • A book with travel or movement in the title: Ett ufo gör entree by Jonas Gardell
  • A book with evil in the title: Djävulens stjärna by Jo Nesbo
  • A book with a life stage in the title: The Dowry Bride by Shobhan Bantwal

    As you can see I have books chosen for 4 of the 6 categories. I have a few alternatives for the others as well but I haven’t decided. I also might choose other books for the categories as well Open-mouthed smile

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  • Saturday 11 December 2010

    Weekend Cooking: Cookbook Review Tupelo Honey Cafe

    Weekend CookingWeekend 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.

    tupelo honey cafe cookbook

    Tupelo Honey Cafe by Elizabeth Sims, Chef Brian Sonoskus

    We’ve tried one (well kinda three) recipes out of this book. For dinner one night we had the Nutty Fried Chicken with Smashed Sweet Potatoes and Milk Gravy.

    The Nutty Fried Chicken tasty and quite easy to make. The recipe calls for mixed nuts for the coating of the chicken, I ended up using a mixture of cashews and peanuts, I wanted some pistachios as well but the only ones they had in the store were in shells and I didn’t really fancy de-shelling them (all the pre-mix nuts had almonds or raisins in them and I wasn’t sure how the almonds would work). My parents and I could all really taste the peanuts in the the coating, it was actually a bit overpowering so next time I will probably use less peanuts and more other nuts, possibly go with some almonds as well. I did have some problems with cooking some of the chicken bits, next time I will make sure they are cut a bit smaller. I ended up sticking them in the oven at 400F for about 15 minutes to make sure they were cooked all the way through. The chicken was really moist and tender though.

    The Smashed Sweet Potatoes were also easy to make but here I also had to do some substituting, maple syrup around here is frightfully expensive so I used the Swedish “sirap” which is syrup. I also had some equipment issues as my hand mixer went belly up recently and I haven’t had a chance to replace it yet. You really need the mixer to make the potatoes all fluffy. The recipe calls for baking the potatoes for 1 1/2 but mine only took about 45 minutes so keep an eye on them (I might have cut the potatoes a bit smaller than called for Open-mouthed smile).

    With the milk gravy I added a bit more cayenne pepper than the recipe called for (I didn’t measure exactly) since my dad and I like our food on the spicy side (dad on the VERY spicy side) and I felt that without this it would be a bit bland. It did complement the chicken really well though.

    The recipe serves six, I halved it for three and still had leftovers of everything but the sweet potatoes. The chicken kept really well but the gravy wasn’t as good the next day.

    What I really appreciated about the book other than the incredibly yummy recipes was the fact that at the back of the book they had a conversion table between imperial and metric. It makes it so much easier for me!

    Overall this is a beautiful cookbook that I highly recommend!

    It is out in spring 2011 but you can pre-order it from:

    Tupelo Honey Cafe itself

    or

    Andrews McMeel Publishing

    I get nothing for promoting this book, but I’m going to buy it myself when it comes out! Thank you NetGalley and Andrews McMeel Publishing for allowing me a chance to try out this book.

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    Tuesday 7 December 2010

    Challenge Sign-Up Post: Mystery and Suspense Challenge

    The Mystery and Suspense challenge is fairly simple. Read at least 12 books that would fall under the mystery and suspense category. Do so between January 1st and December 31st 2011. There is no need to make up a list beforehand and even if you do you don’t have to stick with it. Since I love lists here is mine:

    Fladdermus Manen by Jo Nesbo (in Swedish)

    Kackerlackorna by Jo Nesbo (in Swedish)

    Treachery in Death by J.D. Robb

    One Was a Soldier by Julia Spencer-Fleming

    Rödhake by Jo Nesbo (in Swedish)

    Smärtans hus by Jo Nesbo (in Swedish)

    Djävulens stjärna by Jo Nesbo (in Swedish)

    Frälsaren by Jo Nesbo (in Swedish)

    Snömanen by Jo Nesbo (in Swedish)

    Pansarhjärta by Jo Nesbo (in Swedish)

    Frukta inte by Anne Holt (in Swedish)

    Bones to Ashes by Kathy Reich

    As you can see the list is heavily skewed toward Jo Nesbo that’s because I picked up all of his books at the Gothenburg Book Fair earlier this year so I have all of them to read. I am also really excited about the next book in the Clare Fergusson/Russ Van Alstyne mystery that is due out in April. And as always I love me a good In Death mystery, there is a new one out in February and there is usually one out in November so that might be another contender. As always I might change my mind Smile

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    Monday 6 December 2010

    Challenge Sign-Up Post: Nordic Challenge

    Nordic Challenge 2011

    So I set up the Nordic Challenge so that I could read more Nordic authors. Which books have I chosen (no one else has to make up lists beforehand, I just like to)? Well I am aiming for the Vallhalla 20+ books so:

    Underbara dagar framför oss by Henrik Berggren (biography) This is a biography of former Swedish Prime Minister Olof Palme. Palme was shot on his way home from the cinema in 1984. The person who did it has never been caught. Even before that Palme had a somewhat mythical reputation in Sweden. This is a new biography and I am really excited about reading it. This book has not been translated

    Fladdermus mannen; Kackerlackorna; Rödhake; Smärtans hus; Djävulens stjärna; Frälsaren; Snömannen; Pansarhjärta by Jo Nesbo (crime) Yup, a whole bunch of Jo Nesbo. I own the whole series so I figured I should read it. I have heard a lot of good about them. Also they overlap nicely with the Mystery and Suspense challenge. Most of these books have been translated to English. I’ll be reading them in Swedish though.

    Frukta inte by Anne Holt (crime) Another Norwegian crime writer. This is in the middle of a series so I might also read the preceding books. Holt is the former Norwegian Minister for Justice. Her books also overlap with the GLBT challenge as Holt is a lesbian. Holt’s books have been translated to English. I’ll be reading it in Swedish.

    Ett ufo gör entree by Jonas Gardell (fiction) this is the continuation of En komikers uppväxt that I read earlier this year. I’ve never read this book but I do love Gardell. Again this book overlaps with the GLBT challenge. To my knowledge it has not been translated to English.

    A Doll’s House by Henrik Ibsen (classic) This is also part of the Year of Reading Feminist Classics but has been on my TBR list for years. Great excuse to read it.

    Fröken Julie by August Strindberg (classic) I figure a year of reading Nordic authors wouldn’t be complete without reading some Strindberg. I haven’t read Fröken Julie (Miss Julie) but we did see a production of The Father when I was in high school.

    Mina drömmars stad; Barn av sin stad; Minns du den staden; I en förvanlad stad; Stad i världen by Per Anders Fogelström (classic) I don’t normally love assigned reading for school but when we were assigned Mina drömmars stad in high school I fell in love. So much so that I immediately went out and bought the rest of the books in the series so that I could read them all. It tells the story of a working class family in Stockholm with the start in 1860 and then ending in about 1960. It is a wonderful historical fiction about ordinary people.

    Gösta Berlings Saga by Selma Lagerlöf (classic) This was Lagerlöf’s first novel and it has a very famous opening line “Finally the preacher stood in the pulpit”. It is often used as an example when teaching writing as it is not the normal way to start a novel. This book has been translated into English.

    Historietter by Hjalmar Söderberg (classic) This is a series of short stories that I read for the first time when I was in high school. I remember some of them and really want to read them again. I haven’t been able to find them translated but Söderbergs Doctor Glas has been translated recently and I highly recommend that.

    Titta Madicken det snöar; Jul i Bullerbyn by Astrid Lindgren (children) These two books are in my plans for December since they are Christmas books. Jul i Bullerbyn has been translated to English as Christmas in Noisy Village. Titta Madicken det snöar has not been translated.

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    Sunday 5 December 2010

    TSS and Weekly Geeks: Challenges

    The Sunday Salon.com

    I’m going to start this Sunday Salon post (as I have before) with an apology. I haven’t been around much lately. I haven’t been reading or thinking about book other than my thesis books. I am once again deeply buried in thesis land and it isn’t pretty. Add to that the holiday season and job hunting (since I graduate in January) and I have been super busy. I have an interview for a job that would be great on Tuesday and I have been offered a job that is good but not perfect so I will definitely be working in the spring. The thesis is finally back on a track of sorts, so I am hoping to get my reading back on track in the next week or so (this week is going to be super busy).

    WG Relaxing_thumb[3]

    I have slowly started planning my reading for the next year though and thus also the challenges I plan on taking part in. That makes this weeks Weekly Geeks topic perfect since it asks for our challenges for next year and why we do them!

    First off there is my own challenge:

    Nordic Challenge 2011

    Nordic Challenge 2011 where you read authors from the Nordic countries (Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden).

    Then there are, in no particular order:

    whatsinname4

    What’s in a Name 4 This challenge looks like fun both because you can choose any genre, you just need to try and fit in the books Smile

    Shakespeare Reading Challenge 2011

    Shakespeare Reading Challenge I’m (almost) an English teacher but to be honest I’ve not read that much Shakespeare. I do own the complete works of Shakespeare so I have really no excuse. I have decided to aim for quite a low level and only read 4 plays, but you know, baby steps (most of the Shakespeare plays I have read I’ve read more than once).

    glbt 11

    GLBT Challenge 2011 I did this challenge this year and I want to continue with it as I’ve enjoyed it. This challenge doesn’t have any levels instead we set our own. I haven’t quite decided what my levels are going to be.

    South Asian Author Challenge Again this is a repeat challenge for me but one that I enjoyed and one where I already know most of the books I want to read.

    Mystery and Suspense Challenge This one was a no brainer for me, I read a lot of mystery books so this one fits perfectly with my current reading patterns.

    All of these challenges allow you to use a book for more than one challenge and that is important to me. I have some books who fit into 3 or 4 challenges.

    A year of feminist classics

    I will also (as I’ve said before) be taking part in the Year of Feminist Classics. I don’t know if I will be reading all the books but my aim is to read a fair chunk of them.

    I take part in challenges because they challenge me to read books I would otherwise not consider, and this goes for challenges which genres I normally read as well. Plus I love making lists Smile. I’ve also joined some challenges that shine a light on issues that I find important such as the GLBT Challenge and the Year of Feminist Classics. These challenges, with their focus allow me to consider aspects of the books that I might otherwise not have thought about.

    war and peace vintage classics

    I am also pretty sure I’ve signed up for a couple of Read A-Longs (Carin are we still doing that?) Plus I am reading War and Peace at a pace of a chapter a day.

    Look out for my lists for my reading challenges over the next few days as well as my round-up posts for completed challenges this year!

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    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.