Day 30 – Your favourite book of all time

Really? You thought I would choose ONE book? I didn’t think so

I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again. I will never be able to choose ONE favourite book. I can rarely choose one book at a particular time, so choosing one of all time…ain’t gonna happen.

I will however feature a series that has meant a great deal to me:

Harry Potter by J.K. Rowling

I fell in love with this series at first read and over the years the books have provided me with comfort, laughs and above all a group of friends that I love. A group of friends with whom I went on holiday TWICE. First a general meet-up in Chicago where I laughed so hard I had a stomach ache for days afterward (Pot meet Kettle anyone). And then, in conjunction with the release of the last book (although when we first started planning we had no idea that it would be out then) a trip to London, the Scottish Highlands and Edinburgh, where we stood in line for hours to get our hands on the coveted final book. Without these friends I wouldn’t be who I am today. And they have stuck with me when I have been less than a friend (I have another group of friends that are the same and for those I am eternally grateful as well).

Although these books are far from perfect they will ALWAYS have a special place in my heart. Which brings me to the next project on this blog. My friend Roni challenged me (and herself and others) to read all 7 books before the release date of the next movie. Since I have already reviewed some of the books on here I won’t be doing reviews of them (I’ll save the rest of the books I have left to review in audiobook form). Instead I thought I would talk a bit generally every few days on how I am doing on reading them and my thoughts, with spoilers, on the books and what happens in them. So watch out for that in the next few weeks (I’ll also post some pictures from the above mentioned trip).

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 29 – A book everyone hated but you liked

I honestly can’t think of a title that I liked and no one else did. I have such an eclectic taste in books that it is hard to imagine no one else liking the books I like. I know I was one of the few in my class that LOVED Brave New World back in the day.

And I LOVE Per Anders Fogelström’s City series and my dad HATES it. But at the same time I know plenty of people really love that series too.

Image credit

Conversely I’m no big fan of most of Jane Austen’s books and, well…they are wildly popular. 

As I said earlier in the series I have issues with the concept of hate. It is such a strong word.

 

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 28 – Favourite title

Equal Rites by Terry Pratchett

It is just such a wonderful play of words considering the subject matter of the book. It makes me really happy just thinking about it.

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 27 – The most surprising plot twist or ending

I am rarely surprised by book endings or plot twists (mostly because I have a bad habit of reading the last few pages, I’m working on not doing it though). But I was super surprised by the plot twist in Tomorrow Pamplona by Jan Van Mersbergen just recently. I totally did not see it coming, and for once I’m not sure I should have. I just don’t know. I knew something wasn’t right but THAT! No I couldn’t believe it! (I won’t write more because I don’t want to spoil it for anyone else) It was such a punch in the gut!

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 26 – A book that changed your opinion about something

I can’t think of any book I’ve read that has made be change my opinion from black to white. But there are plenty of books that have made me see the world in shades of gray. Two such books are The Unlikely Disciple by Kevin Roose and Mystics, Mavericks and Merrymakers by Stephanie Levine.

Both books look at religious people from an immersive sociological perspective. Levine lives within the Hasidic community, and they are fully aware of the fact that she is writing a book about them. Roose on the other hand enters Liberty University under the guise of a newly born again Christian transfer student. Both books present their subjects in a very sympathetic way, that made the very secular me, appreciate and perhaps begin to understand their viewpoints. I don’t think we will ever agree with each other on a few key aspects but the two books gave me a better understanding of what makes these people who they are and why what they believe is so important to them.

 

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 25 – A character who you can relate to the most

Officer/Detective Delia “Dee” Peabody in J.D. Robb’s In Death series is probably the character that I relate to the most right now. She is unsure about herself, her weight but at the same time she is independent, knowledgeable, resourceful, loyal and kind. Those last things I hope I am. She makes me feel better about myself. To have someone in a book have some of the same fears that I have (my weight is a particular thorn in my side right now) validates those feelings some and therefore it is easy to relate to Peabody. She makes mistakes  but she always learns from them. She is just easy to relate to.  I just hope that there is someone like McNabb out there for 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 24 – A book that you wish more people would’ve read

I was thinking about talking about the books about Lina but I’ve already covered them. And I’ve talked about Per Anders Fogelström’s City series which I wish was completely translated. So coming up with a book for this topic has been hard. Then I realised that one of my favourite books growing up hasn’t been translated to English (to my knowledge) it is called Minus och stora världen (Minus and the Big World) by Sven Nordqvist. I’ve previously talked about my love for Nordqvist’s books about Pettson and his cat Findus but the book about Minus is equally awesome.

Minus is a young boy who goes out into the world in search of adventure. On each page spread in the book following the initial pages a number is featured, starting with 1 and ending with 10. On each page he gets an item of some kind (a pencil sharpener that looks like a globe and a handkerchief with a heraldry for example). On each of the spreads Nordqvist’s humorous drawings enforce the different numbers. Take as an example the spread for the number 4 here there are four churches on four hills, four rocks on top of each other, three apples and a pear (so four fruits) etc. This allows the parent and child to search each page for the correct number of the different items (educational AND fun ). After the initial ten spreads the following pages feature Minus giving away the items he has acquired as well as the numbers 11-100 in different ways.

This is such a fun book that I wish that it had been translated into more languages so that more people could read this fantastic 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 23 – A book you wanted to read for a long time but still haven’t

Sophie’s World by Jostein Gaardner. This one was easy. It is a book I’ve wanted to read since I was a teenager. I was 11 when it came out in Swedish and I think my desire to read it stems from the hype around it then. Philosophy really interests me, and that interest has grown over the years, yet I still never get around to reading the book. One day I will though.

The idea of presenting the philosophical thoughts to a young girl appeals to my need to get things in story form. I also like that a girl is the main character.

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 22 – Favourite book you own

I am guessing it comes as no surprise to anyone who reads this blog that I enjoy owning books. I know there are book bloggers who love borrowing books and I am all for supporting local libraries and I do utilise them. But I have to admit I LOVE owning books. I love seeing them on my shelf. Lining them up. Organizing them. Some books are better owned so that you can refer to them often. Or just leaf through at will. I love all my books. They are all special to me in some way. However some books have a special story of how I came to own them and that makes owning that particular book a  little bit extra special. For me one such book is Where the Sidewalk Ends  by Shel Silverstein.

I spent two summers living with my friends the Curls*. During a random conversation it became clear that I had never heard of Shel Silverstein. My friends were appalled . On a shopping trip we ended up in a B&N and when we left my friend handed me Where the Sidewalk Ends and told me that it was my Christmas present because everyone had to read it and I had to share it with my students. I was sceptical, I didn’t think my high school students would like it. My friend insisted they would. She was right. I was wrong. I have since shared this wonderful book with both my high school students and my beginner adult students. They all really enjoyed the whimsy and deep thought. Thank you Amy!

*The Curls is not their real name but rather their internet nickname

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 21 – Favourite book from your childhood

I’ve already covered some of my favourite books from my childhood in the posts on Astrid Lindgren and the post about the Anne Girl, that I wanted to feature another book today. A book that I knew by heart when I was about 2: Sagan om den lilla lilla gumman (The Tale of the Little, Little Old Woman)* by Elsa Beskow.

It is a story about a little old lady who has a cat. The cat jumps up on the table and drinks the lady’s milk and knocks it over. She gets angry and shouts at the cat. The cat runs away and never comes back. Super simple story but it has a very very repetitive story, and I ADORED it for some reason. I think it would drive me insane today, but at age two I thought it was the bees and ees.

*I really dislike the translation of the title into English but since there is a translation I will use it.

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 20 – Favourite romance book

I don’t read a lot of books in the romance genre but quite a few of the books I read have a romantic subplot (does that make sense?) My current favourite book with a romantic subplot is, and I am probably starting to sound like a broken record here, I Shall Not Want by Julia Spencer-Fleming.

This book deals with the fact that although there are times in relationships where one partner might need supporting more than the other it is important to realise that even though both of you are having a hard time you can, and should, still support each other.

Clare and Russ are both such perfectly flawed, real characters in this book, that unlike some romance books I’ve read, you can see yourself in their shoes. Maybe not exactly their shoes (I’m no Episcopal priest ) but in a similar situation, and for me that is more important in a good romance. I know some like to read romance as a way to escape, but I need mine firmly rooted in a reality I recognize as being plausible. Does that make sense?

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 19 – Favourite book turned into a movie

I am probably not the only one who is often disappointed by movie adaptations of books. They just rarely seem to capture the magic of the books (do not get me started on the travesty that is some of the Harry Potter adaptations nor how I feel about some of the later Anne movies). I have already featured one of my favourite movie adaptations although somewhat surreptitiously so I figured I wouldn’t feature that author again. Instead I would go with the author who wrote the quote I used for my favourite quote: Terry Pratchett. I ADORE his books and I really enjoy the adaptation of Hogfather.

Hogfather Trailer

Despite all the fanciful characters in these books this movie (in two parts) manages to really capture what I love about the Discworld in general and this novel in particular.

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.