SaraPepparkaka

I tend to dislike hype. That has a lot to do with me, and the way I absolutely hate being told what to do. So if I hear from all directions that THIS is the book to read, then I probably won't. There's two exceptions - I trust my friends' recommendations (on the net and in real life..) and a recommendation from someone working in the library I usually go to (they know my reading habits by now), and will read even a hyped book if I can see why friends or library workers are recommending it to me.

I visited the trusted local library this weekend, and found some very interesting reading material.

If you're giving me a present, then I prefer good quality dark chocolate. My mom, however, would prefer white chocolate. I'd say you'll have to ask her.

Yes, I think I will try to find "The Angel's Game". Is it just as good? Similar in style?

I'm really trying to remember what I have read since Christmas.. The best one was Carlos Ruiz Zaf

"Classic" Finnish authors I recommend are Mika Waltari (at least "Sinuhe the Egyptian" and "Michael the Finn" are translated to English) and V

I felt just about the same you do about "The knife of never letting go". I have "The ask and the answer" on my shelf now, I hope it's just as good as the first in the series.

Another bunch of books read. "Living with the dead" by Kelley Armstrong- yeah, I still like Women of the Otherworld. Nothing spectacular or surprising. Janet Evanovich "Visions of Sugarplums"- did not like, even if I 've read a few of the Stephanie Plum books and liked them. No plot as I could see, and a random new guy thrown in just to confuse things. Caitlin Kittredge "Street Magic"- good solid urban fantasy, a promising start to a series. "Already dead" Charlie Huston. Now, I didn't appreciate the storyline, and some of the writing rubbed me the wrong way. But I have a weak spot for wiseguys, so I enjoyed myself just the same. "Heart of Stone" C E Murphy. And what genre? Why, urban fantasy, of course. Better than "Street Magic" and "Already dead", interesting plot, the main character is strong and knows what she wants. There was a (fairly central to the story) moment where I felt that the gargoyle Alban acted totally out of his character, but other than that I thought it had everything.

Finished the Andy McNab, it was called "Deep Black". Not the kind of book I've been reading lately, and also very pessimistic. Not a bad read. The I read "Persepolis" by Marjane Satrapi, a real surprise from my Secret Santa. I found it interesting. I picked up "The lies of Locke Lamora" by Scott Lynch, started over and read all of it this time. It was an uneven book, sometimes it was brilliant, and at other times I almost fell asleep.

Hello! Hope you enjoy the forum.

Thank you Santa for the present. I hope you don't mind that I couldn't wait and had to open it..

Hello! Hope you like it here.

I made that decision a thousand times, and it only made me read MORE for fun and LESS study.. I wonder what issue it is that I have about doing things I'm supposed to. Best of luck to you, Echo.

I've lost count of the short stories I've read this week where a well-placed mistletoe gives the "happily ever after" -ending.. I also read a book about bandits on Sicily, Sardinia and Corsica, by Maud Webster. A non-fiction, but it was short and only touched the subject on the surface. Anyway- it was THE nonfiction book that completed my non-fiction category, and the whole challenge, in my librarything 999 challenge (nine books in nine categories, read in 2009). Now I've started on an Andy McNab book that I found in a second hand bookstore.

One book that comes to mind is "Emotional Geology" by Linda Gillard- there should be a thread on the forum about it. It may be the best love story I've read this year.

Reading has been on low priority, and all kinds of activities and Christmas cleaning and and and.. has been on high priority. But now all the scouting badges are sewn onto the brand new scout shirt, the present for the birthday party tonight is wrapped, we actually have food in the fridge, babysitter arranged for tonights visit to the cinema, I bought fabric for new Christmas curtaind to the kitchen and my Mom promised to make the curtains, busy busy busy with a million things. I read a few romantic Christmas short stories. I guess it will be time for Dickens soon. Not yet, but soon.

Long books = perfect beach/poolside reading. The boys are good swimmers so I only have to keep the occasional eye on them, and husband was diving so I had no need to be social either. "Moby Dick" FELT long, but with "World without end" I just kept on turning pages never really noticing how many pages I actually turned

Now, my reading in Egypt. I read: "The world according to Bertie" by Alexander Mccall Smith. I love the quiet humor in these books. "The king of Attolia" by Megan Whalen Turner. Excellent finish to the trilogy. "Moby Dick" by Heman Melville. I've had it forever and never read it, so I'm glad I read it now. Parts of this book were brilliant, and then sometimes I wanted to throw it in the pool and never read another description of another whale ever again. "World without end" by Ken Follett, another one I've had for quite some time and never gotten round to, scared off by the mere length I guess. But it was an easily flowing story and certainly didn't feel as long to read as it could have. I always take a couple of books along on my trips that I've had for a while, but this is the first time I've actually read them. I usually find new books to buy on the airport or somewhere, but not this time.

Where I live: Finland Will send to: Anywhere in the world And I believe in surprises, so 1-5 wildcards for me!

I've read a little non-fiction. A book by Anna Politkovskaya about Russia under Putin's rule. So, it's a bit outdated, but nevertheless interesting. Then a book about "Cities then and now" by John Antoniou, Rome, London, Paris, San Fransisco, Athens and so on. Mostly just pictures, but that was really the point of the book, to see how the cities had changed over time. "The Mephisto Club" by Tess Gerritsen I finished last night, it was a book from the library and I didn't want to take a library book to egypt, so I had to finish it. Leaving for Egypt tonight after work!

I'm with Andy on the rape, that it wasn't a literal rape but some other kind of "taking", something that was impossible to report. Regarding the toilet paper/ green pepper, I thought it was the case that Kumiko had done most of the shopping and cooking up until Toru quit his job, and that Toru just hadn't paid any attention to these things before he began to cook and shop. Also that he hadn't paid a lot of attention to his wife, because things were just rolling along one day after another.

I remember enjoying the beginning. I know how far I got, too, but most of what I read when I had fever I really don't remember. So I decided to let Locke Lamora rest for a while and make a fresh start later. Maybe next week- we're going on a holiday. Sunny Egypt instead of the November darkness in Finland. Husband will be diving- I'll have plenty of reading time.

More books read. "An Ice Cold Grave" by Charlaine Harris, an enjoyable read. Then I read "Graceling" by Kristin Cashore, I'd gotten several recommendations, and it was an exciting romantic book. I will certainly read more by this author.

I used to read a lot of Elizabeth George's books, but that was some time ago. Welcome to the forum!

I have read two books by Haruki Murakami before this one. "Norwegian Wood" and "Sputnik Sweetheart". This is a lot longer, maybe even a bit too long. On the other hand, it twists and turns and tells many different stories, so it doesn't get boring. Toru Okada: I really loved one thing about him, he was willing to quit a job that didn't feel right to him, even if he hadn't figured out an alternative. Sometimes you need to be passive, and have a break to think things over. I think sometimes passivity and acceptance are a sign of strength, not weakness. I'm usually frustrated by loose ends, but I guess I was expecting it in this book. I'm always a bit disturbed by the role sex plays in Murakami's books. In my world, sex is something private and intimate, certainly not something I would do with someone I didn't love, and certainly something I wouldn't NOT do with someone I did love. In Murakami's books, it seems it's always more complicated than that. These were some thoughts I had.