Armchair BEA: Who are you, and how do you Armchair?

Welcome to Notes from the North! I’m Zee, I live in Sweden and I work as a high school teacher and I love books. I come from a long line of book lovers. I have always lived in houses filled with books. I read anything I can get my hands on from the back of the cereal box to War & Peace.

I don’t blog in any particular genre. I love too many different books for that. So far this year I have read: classics, sci-fi, YA, short stories, memoirs, mysteries, modern literature, poetry, fantasy. I’ve read paperbacks, hardbacks, e-books and listened to audiobooks. Pinning me down is hard .

I started blogging about books because I realised that I was getting stuck in a rut and I figured blogging was a good way of getting me to broadening my horizons both in genres but primarily in authors (I am a recovering re-reader, although I have seriously fallen off the wagon of late ), this is the reason why I take part in challenges. As last year was winding to a close I realised that I was not reading a great deal of Scandinavian authors so I created The Nordic Challenge, mostly to challenge myself but also to show others that Scandinavian literature is more than Nordic Crime (although I read that too).

The blog has been rather quiet the past few months, first I was involved with the thesis from hell and then I started my first teaching job which has zapped me of all energy (I have some challenging classes and a long commute). I am hoping things will settle once I move to the town where I will be teaching full time in the fall (there will still be some big adjustments as I will be teaching some new subjects). The blog is also not quiet right now as I am currently running a series of posts in honour of turning 30, so please poke around and see if I am featuring any books you like.

That’s pretty much me

Copyright ©2011 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.

Day 04 – Favourite book of your favourite series

So yesterday I cheated a bit and featured two of my favourite series: The Clare Fergusson/Russ Van Alstyne series by Julia Spencer-Fleming and the In Death series by J.D. Robb. Since I have two favourite series I will have to feature two books today, right .

For In Death I want to feature I book I have yet to review on the blog: Purity in Death. As I said yesterday one of the things I love about these books is the supporting characters and Peabody and McNabb have quite an important role in this book. It also takes up the very important topic of the morality of vigilantly justice as well as the issues regarding innocents getting hurt in cause that some might seem worthy. It is from this discussion that the book derives its title.

This book also features the lovely Troy Trueheart who really reminds me of Kevin Flynn in the Clare/Russ books. Both Truehart and Flynn make me believe that there can be truly good characters in bad worlds.

My favourite Clare/Russ book is I Shall Not Want. I adore the latest book One Was a Soldier too but I think that I Shall Not Want just beats it. First off it has “those” scenes . And then it explores some very important topics such as illegal immigration, grief and guilt. Plus this book has more Kevin than the earlier ones. This book also has some truly laugh out loud moments, I especially love the repartee between Clare and Sister Lucia at the start of the book.

Copyright ©2011 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.

Day 03 – Your favourite series

My favourite series…now that is a hard one! I have two series that there still books coming out for: In Death by J.D. Robb and Clare Fergusson/Russ Van Alstyne by Julia Spencer-Fleming. Then there is The Belgariad and The Mallorean by David Eddings. And there is always the Anne of Green Gables books by L.M. Montgomery. Since I have already featured a book from The Belgariad and I will feature Anne later I am going to cheat a bit and talk about two series today: Clare and Russ and In Death.

The Clare Fergusson and Russ Van Alstyne mysteries will feature in some of the later categories like Anne but I simply cannot leave them out of my favourite series contention. These books weave relationship, romance, mystery and social issues together so very well. Each book focuses on a particular social issue as well as a continued focus on the issues that occur in small towns. As I live in a small town in an area not unlike upstate New York (an area that relied on the natural resources and one or two big employers) I find that many of the issues in the books are issues close to my heart. Apart from the different social issues Spencer-Fleming also experiments with the chronological structure in each book. In Out of the Deep we see a young Russ, and a backstory from a minor character, switching between three time periods. In To Darkness and To Death we get to follow the characters during a 24 hour period. This helps keep the story from becoming stale and predictable. This series could easily have been a winner on its own.

I want to feature the In Death series by J.D. Robb because I do wait for each book with baited breath but I do find that the books have become somewhat repetitive of late. Something new and fresh needs to happen. Despite this feeling I do love the characters and stories that Robb (or Roberts) tells. What I like about these books is actually that I like the supporting characters better than the main characters. I find Even and Roark somewhat removed from me. Although they each have problems they are not problems I have ever faced. I am more like Peabody. I come from a large family, although we are not always close (mainly due to geographical location) I know that I can show up on anyone’s doorstep and I will get a warm meal and a place to sleep. I know that if I have a problem someone will be there for me. Although I sometimes feel lonely I have never been truly alone.

I also like the books for the humour in them. They can be hysterically funny. Both with the different idiosyncrasies of the individual characters (whenever Eve sees cows you KNOW you are going be laughing out loud) and for the sometimes dark and deadpan comments from different characters.

Copyright ©2011 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.

Day 02 – A book that you’ve read more than 3 times

Again so very many to choose from. I am a re-reader. One of the reasons I wanted to start this blog was to start reading outside my comfort zone. Before blogging I was reading and re-reading the same books over and over and over again. I still re-read but not quite as much as before. So without further ado, my book that I have read more than 3 times is *drumroll please*

Pawn of Prophecy by David Eddings

I could say any of the books in the series, and I will talk about the whole series but I figured I would feature the first book. Pawn of Prophecy was the first book in English from the grown up section of the bookstore I read, or actually had someone read to me. You see the book following this one was the last book my mother ever read out loud to me at bed time. Growing up my parents ALWAYS read to me at bed time. It was a really treasured time for me. I was about 11 when mom started reading Pawn of Prophecy to me and I was hooked. Absolutely hooked. So hooked that I would continue reading after mom had said good night, which was the reason why she stopped reading it out loud to me. I was reading to quickly.

Once I was hooked I re-read the whole series (at the time 10 books now 12) at least once a year, I still read them about once every other year. When I first started reading the books I really identified with the main character, Garion, but as I’ve gotten older I have come to identify more with Ce’Nedra and Polgara. It is a series of books I have been able to grow with.

Copyright ©2011 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.

Day 01 – Best book you read last year

Anyone who has read this blog or any length of time knows that I am really bad at picking favourites. There were several books that I loved last year but I’ve chosen to feature Gaudy Night by Dorothy L. Sayers today as I will feature other favourites throughout the next 30 days.

I’ve chosen Gaudy Night  because for me it was a perfect mixture of mystery, sweetness and academia. As I wrote at the time I really felt transported to Oxford in the 1930s. It felt so very very real to me. And it was refreshing to read a mystery where no one actually dies.

The book also discusses a topic dear to my heart: The Education of Women. Why educating women is important. It shows the start of women trying to break through the glass ceiling. As struggle that we are still fighting.

And then we have the river scene. Oh. My. The River Scene.

This is a book I think everyone should read.

Copyright ©2011 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.

The 30 Day Book Challenge

I turn 30 tomorrow (or 21 for the 10th time depending on how you count). In honour of this I thought I would do the 30 days of Books Challenge that is doing the rounds. I first saw it on Lost in Books. Here is the list of topics that will be covered over the next 30 days:

Day 01 – Best book you read last year
Day 02 – A book that you’ve read more than 3 times
Day 03 – Your favorite series
Day 04 – Favorite book of your favorite series
Day 05 – A book that makes you happy
Day 06 – A book that makes you sad
Day 07 – Most underrated book
Day 08 – Most overrated book
Day 09 – A book you thought you wouldn’t like but ended up loving
Day 10 – Favorite classic book
Day 11 – A book you hated
Day 12 – A book you used to love but don’t anymore
Day 13 – Your favorite writer
Day 14 – Favorite book of your favorite writer
Day 15 – Favorite male character
Day 16 – Favorite female character
Day 17 – Favorite quote from your favorite book
Day 18 – A book that disappointed you
Day 19 – Favorite book turned into a movie
Day 20 – Favorite romance book
Day 21 – Favorite book from your childhood
Day 22 – Favorite book you own
Day 23 – A book you wanted to read for a long time but still haven’t
Day 24 – A book that you wish more people would’ve read
Day 25 – A character who you can relate to the most
Day 26 – A book that changed your opinion about something
Day 27 – The most surprising plot twist or ending
Day 28 – Favorite title
Day 29 – A book everyone hated but you liked
Day 30 – Your favorite book of all time

Copyright ©2011 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.

Book Review: Sense and Sensibility

Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen

Publisher: Barnes & Noble Classics

Category: Classics

Challenges: The Classics Circuit

Synopsis: The two Dashwood sisters, Elinor and Marianne couldn’t be more different if they tried. Elinor is clam and considerate whereas Marianne is romantic and passionate. The two sisters have very different ideas of what constitutes a perfect husband, and both face heartache because they set their sights on men who do not quite live up to the sisters ideas of who these men are.

My Thoughts: Well I don’t think I will ever be an Austen fan and this book did nothing to change that (but for the Austen versus Dickens fight it should be noted that I am also not a Dickens fan, so call me a tie). I like this book better than I liked Emma last year but it is still not one of my favourites. I did see the humour and sarcasm that everyone seems to go on about in Austen’s books. Quotes such as the one below had me giggling:

At last the affair was decided. The ivory, the gold, and the pearls, all received their appointment, and the gentleman having named the last day on which his existence could be continued without the possession of the toothpick-case, drew on his gloves with leisurely care and bestowing another glance on the Miss Dashwoods, but such a one as seemed rather to demand than express admiration, walked off with a happy air of real conceit and affected indifference.

The comment about not being able to live another day without a toothpick-case strikes me as a rather caustic comment on the materialism of certain parts of society at the time. I found it highly amusing that we could write something similar about certain aspect of our own society. This is perhaps where we can find the reason why these books keep enduring. There is some insight into the character of mankind.

Despite this I do not love the book as others seem to love Austen. I think it is perhaps the fact that the books all seem to similar for me. There are the interfering older women; the miss understandings between the young couples; the need for money, although no one ever seems to actually work. It is all always so similar. I also found the ending to be a bit to pat for me, and I do like a happy ending.

I have now read all but one of Austen’s novels left to read: Persuasion and from what I have heard this is many people’s favourite so I will probably give it a go, but Austen will never fall on my frequent re-reads.

 

Copyright ©2011 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.