frankie

I know some members have read the book and some of them have found this book on tidying up very useful. I think I first heard about the book from chaliepud who talked about it in Brian's reading log... Some time after that I came by the book at a book shop and did a bit of browsing. I've now borrowed the book from the library a few times but have never gotten around to actually reading it... And then my friend who never, ever reads books, mentioned the book to me and said she was going to listen to the whole thing as an audiobook. It only took her three days and she then re-organized a few closets and found lots of stuff to give away. She got proper excited, and then she talked about it to my Boss (who is her neighbor) and now Boss has been going through her things, assisted by me. So now I'm totally wanting to read the book and do a mega cleanse myself I've actually already started and gone through the drawers of my desk, and I already feel my apartment's smarter because of that. I want to now do the whole apartment, but as my flat furnished by the landlord, I can't obviously touch his stuff... I now actually have finally gotten the new lease signed and sealed and now I will be living in this apartment till the end of May next year, so I don't have any hurry with getting rid of things because I don't have to move out in the next 7 months, but I'd still like to do a clearance and it's good to be doing it early rather than five minutes before D-day. Have you read the book, and what did you think of it? Did it make you act on it and go through your things, or did it leave you underwhelmed and not bothered? Did you learn anything about yourself, and did you perhaps find something you'd thought had been long gone? I'd be interested in hearing all the details! My friend got rid of a lot of stuff, and she gave me socks (I'm always in dire need of socks as mine always tear up for some reason! So annoying!!), a pan and two audiobooks. My Boss found a sheet of stamps she can now use for work! (Saved her 12€!) I got two fridge magnets from her. I personally found a pin I'd thought I'd lost. It reads I Love Books and I love it <3 I also found a cute green nail polish I didn't even remember I had And now my chargers and chords are in order, which is amazing. By going through my things, I'm also spending less time online which I'm finding thoroughly envigorating. Edit: If you want, before and after pictures are also welcome! May they be showing an entire room or just a cupboard or a shelf

Re: Truly Madly Guilty... I was enjoying it, but I'd been reading it for such a long time. (Work has been a distraction, and life in general as well.) I was wanting to finish it... And in the end, I have to say it wasn't as good as her other two novels I've loved, The Husband's Secret and Big Little Lies. I think TMG lacked a few twists and turns. I personally think David Sedaris is boring... I read the book you're reading a few years ago and thought it was very, very bleh. Try Augusten Burroughs instead, if you want to read essays. Much better But I'm a fangirl, so I'm biased. I hope you're still loving Middlesex I'm currently reading Be Frank with Me by Julia Claiborne Johnson, and I'm really liking the book, but once again I'm not finding enough time to read it.

I know, it's pretty amazing to have a pleasure like that given to you! It was my first ever book gift card... One of the best presents ever I think you would be pleased to know I was looking for Jasper Fforde books. But you would be equally disappointed to know there weren't any. :( What has happened to that bloody bookstore. There used to be Jasper Fforde books there!!!!! I'm happy you're delighted It was only my opinion, and, well, the Swedes do what they do... Personally, I think I'll have to come to terms with the fact that there's always next year

My thoughts exactly! Give him some sort of lifetime work of art Grammy or something... A musicional Nobel. But Nobel on literature??? Chrissy's echoing what my Boss said about Bob Dylan writing beautiful lyrics and poems. However... in my humble opinion, that's being a writer for music. In my humble opinion it takes an author to win any kind of award in literature. Especially such an esteemed award as this. Call me stubborn, call me a shut mind, I don't care. This prize is for authors. There are other equally worthy prizes for musicians and song-writers.

And why did Bob Dylan win the Nobel Prize in literature?? Most bizarre news I've read in a while. I was talking about this with my Boss the other day... I'd read an article where it said that Haruki Murakami was a strong contender, and I got excited. Then my Boss said people have been speaking about Bob Dylan, and I was like, whaaaat? He's not an author... And then the next day I read that Bob Dylan got the prize. Boss was happy, I was not. Boss loves poetry and has written poems herself (and has self-published one book which I've read, and I liked it, by the way!) and so she was way more understanding about Dylan's victory as I was. What the f.

I was supposed to meet a friend in town today, but it got cancelled. As I was already on my way to town, I decided I'd finally go to the bookstore to which I have a gift card, which I got for my Birthday last year. And what do you know, there was a sale. It wasn't a very good sale, as I personally find the prices of books in bookstores very high to begin with (in Finland, books are more expensive than in the UK, for example.), and there were more interesting paperbacks in Swedish than in Finnish... But I did find a copy of The Truth According to Us by Annie Barrows for 4,90€. It's a book I almost, almost bought earlier this year, for 13€ or so... Totally psyched about getting a much cheaper copy! Then I got a Finnish copy of The Altogether Unexpected Disappearance of Atticus Craftsman by Mamen Sánchez. I've read the book before, and I totally loved it, and have been wanting to get a copy for myself (as I read the library copy). The book was 3,90€. Then I was troubled: what to buy? There was nothing else on sale that I wanted... And they've completely changed the sections and it's just so stupid... They used to have this very clear-cut, awesome section of English titles, but now they've dissected it to different sections and they've thrown in the Swedish titles and the classics are in a completely different area. I wish they'd kept to sections by language... Sigh!! Anyhow... I spotted an English copy of Once in a House on Fire by Andrea Ashworth, which I've been eyeing before, too. It's one of the books on poppyshake's '1001 Books' list, and so it must be good. I now decided to get the book, finally I did the maths and thought I still had almost 10€ left... I had a few different options, but then went for I Saw a Man by Owen Sheers. It's a book which I've seen on the library's new-acquired-books-list online. It sounded interesting enough and I thought I could take a gamble. The four books were a bit over the 30€ limit I had on the gift card, but who cares... I paid the extra from my own pocket, quite happily! Oh, and I also got three other books from charityshops and secondhand bookshops a week or so ago: The Storied Life of A. J. Fikry by Gabrielle Zevin The Woman Who Went to Bed for a Year by Sue Townsend Punainen erokirja by Pirkko Saisio These three are all books that I've already read, but as I've loved them, I always wanted to get my own copies of them. I was so happy to find all of them! And now some pictures... The last one is the Finnish cover of the A. J. Fikry book, and I wanted to show it to you as it's a Finnish original. What do you think? I read the book in Finnish, initially, and I think the cover's nice, although I find the white male head above the book semi-disturbing... There are so many beautiful editions in English...

September reading summary: September 42 - Hylätyt by Michael Hjorth & Hans Rosenfeldt - library loan 4/5 43 - Slammed by Colleen Hoover - library loan 2/5 44 - Varaudu pahimbaan by Petteri Nuottimäki - library loan 4/5 Only three read books Oh well. Two of them were great: the Hjorth&Rosenfeldt thriller which is the 4th or 5th one in the series (I think the first one has been translated into English... or is in the making, at least... But I might be wrong!), and the Nuottimäki book, which is a Swedish comedic debut. Some have compared it to the 100yo. man and while I see what they mean, I still think they're different. But it was still funny! It took me several days or even weeks to read it, because of being busy at work and stuff, but I still loved it. I'd like to re-read it again some day, when I'm not swamped with stuff, and pre-occupied.

I think I'm used to dogs that give back the ball on command, as I've met more of those than the other kind, so meeting Mokka was fun in that respect, too. He's quite small and therefore he doesn't have the strength a much bigger dog would have, to hang on to the ball, so it was comfortably easy to get the ball from him But like you said, we don't mind as long as there's dogs around to have fun with in the first place As he should, because one ought to be proud of doing a particularly hard chase Oh Reuben... He's such a good, handsome boy!! I'd love to see how Jojo throws the ball at you!! My friend's chihuahua is a bit... ahemstupidahem... He'll run after a toy to fetch it, and he'll pick it up, but then he will walk only a few steps and then he'll drop the toy, as if I'm supposed to go there, and then get it and throw it again I'm sorry to call him a bit stupid... But he really is. My friend has said the same thing: he's a bit of a simpleton. I don't know if I'll see Mokka again... As much as I love him and would love to see him on a regular basis, and as much as his owner is a fun, nice lady, I'm too socially awkward to have asked for her number when I still had the chance. I would feel rather shy, going to see her just to get to see her dog. She's from the same area as me and she's fun, but I think I'd struggle to find things to talk about. (Yes, I know we could always talk about Mokka, but I wouldn't want her to think I'm meeting her just because of him... Even though that would be the truth If you know what I mean!) However, my Boss and the woman exchanged numbers and so I'm hoping Boss will want to ask her to visit some day, when I'm at work That would be swell!

I'm still reading Truly Madly Guilty by Liane Moriarty. I hope to finish it today so I can finally start something else.

We have a few threads on the subject: Spooky winter read? Christmas reads? Winter/Snow/Christmas themed books I hope this helps!

Wohoo! This is awesome! Going on my wishlist I'd heard about this I've reserved a copy from the library! (As soon as they have 'em...) I'm personally looking forward to reading a new novel written by a Finnish author whose books I've read and loved: Niina Hakalahti.

Sorry to hear about Bella, Virginia. What a gorgeous dog she was! RIP. Sorry to hear about the cockrel, Athena!

I read the first book in the series some years ago and really liked it. I never got into the rest of the series, never even gave the second book a chance... I'm wondering if I should try.

Wohoo!! I'm really happy that you're enjoying the novel so much!! I'm currently reading Truly Madly Guilty by Liane Moriarty.

I know! He's such a lovely, happy dog!

I've forgotten to post my August reading summary.... August 38 - Veljen vaimo by Henna Helmi Heinonen - library loan - 4/5 39 - Kun mustarastas laulaa by Linda Olsson - library loan - 1/5 40 - The Bucket List to Mend a Broken Heart by Anna Bell - library loan - 2/5 41 - Charlotte Street by Juliette Mead - TBR book - 1/5 Also started and abandoned many other books, as mojo was fighting me. What a horrible reading month Good riddance!

I want to share a few more pictures with you guys. Mokka was being playful the other day, and wanted me to throw the ball... Instead I started taking pictures He would've much preferred playing ball... Which we did, after a few photos. He doesn't give up the ball on command, he wants the other person to wrestle for it After one week of staying at the cabin and seeing Mokka a few times, he came in one morning, running as fast as he could with his short legs, and when he reached me he immediately got down and on his back and wanted belly rubs It was sooo cute! His owner reconned he knew me by then. I was so impressed, and kept swooning I hate to have to say goodbye to him next week :( In other news, I've read no book off my TBR but have acquired five books... I got them all from the library for free: - Kate Atkinson: Case Histories (this I've read before, it was really good! I want to re-read the book before continuing with the series) - Jeffery Deaver: Edge (couldn't believe my eyes when I saw this English copy!) - Ernest Hemingway: A Moveable Feast (I already have an English copy, but thought that this Finnish copy might be easier to read... so lazy!) - David Mitchell: The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet (this has been on my mental wishlist) - Nick Ortner: Tapping Solution (this sounded interesting)

He's awesome My boss is the best in that and other respects, too Not everyone would let people do that! I've only got one week left, and at least two of those days will go in a mad hurry, packing things up and cleaning the place before we leave for boss's home. As much as I planned to go walking about the area after work, in order to relax and be one with the world, I've hardly ever done it I always just want to go home and have dinner and take a shower. I'm such a lazy arse No Tove for me yet, please How about Moby Dick? Do you think that book would break the utter crap reading spell? Truth be told, my last read was wonderful, a bit similar to the Swedish 100yo. Man. And the book that I'm currently reading will be ace, I think. If only I had the time to get into it! It's been erratic I hope you've had a greater time with things, my darling! I hope to catch up with you soon!! xo

Mokka is the cutest little darling! I love it how he wants to meet and greet everyone! The other day, my boss and I were outside and Mokka came over with his owner and I got down to pet him, and then the owner was leaving and wanted Mokka to come along, but he wouldn't leave without going over to my boss and greeting her, too! He put his snout under boss's hand in order to get her to pet him I don't think protective shoes would be enough, I'd need one of those fisherman's long boots It's so nice looking out the window Although I confess, I keep looking out for Mokka, to see if he's out It's become a habit, I catch myself looking towards his post Me, too! It's so relaxing. And we've had good weather for the past two weeks, too! It's like a mini summer came by to bid its fairwell

I'm glad you're liking the book I think I've read it, it's been ages though... The movie totally creeps me out! Oh dear Poppyshake read it rather recently and thought it was not nearly as great as the first novel in the series :( Shucks!! I'm currently reading a book by a Swedish author, and I don't think it's been translated into English yet... It's been compared to the 100yo. Man.

You guys are totally right! I had honestly forgotten there had already been a sequel to the original novel, and that thus the Peaches book would be the third... :blush: I feel very silly now!!! Sorry Athena!

This is the view from the sea shore that's 30 meters from Boss's cabin. This was a sunny day, so particularly lovely We get to see two swans, and a selection of other birds. I would've loved to go and dip in the sea, but there's seaweed and I cannot deal with that. I'm not a good swimmer and I get really icky if there's anything 'extra' in the lake/sea. I don't like to be touched by any kind of seaweed or anything. Yucky yuck! And as much as I love the sea... this little bugger is a greater joy to my work days This is Mokka, a mixed breed dog who lives in a cottage 20 meters from ours. His owner is really nice and fun, we met her on our first week at the cabin. She's from north Karelia just like me! No wonder she's so great Anyhow... We met Mokka when he was on his daily walk and ever since then I always go and greet Mokka if I see him about. Just the other day, I saw Mokka from our window and was watching what he was up to, and Boss noticed I was watching out the window and asked me what was up. She then told me to go and say hello to Mokka because I obviously wanted to Mokka is very, very friendly, he likes other dogs and people. He's let me rub his belly, and one time he had his tennis ball in his mouth while I was rubbing his belly and he just closed his eyes and he looked like he was reaching his personal nirvana... I absolutely adore him! He has these stubby short legs like a corgy, and he likes to reach out to people by jumping them and putting his front paws on one's legs... (Mokka means 'mocha' in Finnish. Very approriate for a Finnish dog, as we do like our mocha ) Edit: Looking back, the pictures of the sea don't seem like they're of a sea... The place where we're at, is very islandy and so there's a lot of land to look at, too. But it's the sea alright. You can actually see the cruise ships to Sweden and back sail by on a daily basis. It's pretty mind boggling for someone like me who's always lived a very inland kind of life.

I can't remember if I've told you... Boss's home is under renovation for 6 weeks, and so we've relocated to a rented cabin of sorts, owned by an organization which caters for people with disabilities. We've been there for 3 weeks now. The thing about the place is, it's so close to the sea! Our cabin is only about 50 meters from the seashore... It's as close as I've ever lived / worked to a sea before I have a few pictures I want to show you... Here's a picture of the cabin. There's a lovely veranda, and inside the cabin there's one big room with all the necessities and then there's a bathroom. I really like it This is some sort of villa that's only maybe 300 meters from our cabin. I don't know what it was built for, but it's very lovely. It's for sale, so if you fancy it... And this is the view you get right next to the villa... It's just gorgeous I was totally in awe when I went to check it out.

I'm very late to the replies on this thread from you guys, sorry! I was never a choc-a-holic but in my 'late years' I've come to like chocolate more and more... I imagine that's the case with quite a few books from our childhood. I know I have my own favorites and then when people read them, I'm disappointed that they didn't love them quite as much as I did. Nostalgia is always an extra benefit You are not butting in at all! I welcome all discussion in my thread I'm sorry, though, that the movie didn't do anything for you. Like you, I know movie makers need to follow their 'own path', but boy oh boy do we get upset if they mess up our favorites too badly!! Nobody likes that sort of p*ss taking However, in this particular case, I first saw the movie, and therefore I loved it. I only found out about the book years later. I started the book and almost finished, but then something came along and made me put the book aside. Unfortunately! I really want to read it now, though. Actually, I had no idea the movie's so different from the book... Thanks for the warning! That might be a good idea indeed!

Last night I went to see a Finnish rapper called Paperi T (which would translate as 'Paper T'). I don't normally listen to rap, but when I was watching an episode of the Finnish version of Gogglebox, one of the participants commented on the rapper who made an appearance at a Finnish music gala. A few weeks after that, on a Friday in April, I thought I'd give the rapper's album a go, and I fell in love with it. I've wanted to see his gig ever since then. I found out about his Helsinki gig in July and bought a ticket asap. I was not happy to have to go alone, once again, but I thought, I'd rather go alone than not at all... When the people were let in, I found out that it was an odd place: there were rows of seats I've never been to a gig where you can sit... We all sat, however. It was also one of those gigs where you could take young ones... I saw a few kids in their pre-teens in the audience. It was so odd for a rap gig.... But it was awesome I loved it. I was in the third row, happily enough. I love the music and the lyrics and I have to say, the rapper appeals to me physically, too Best 15,50€ I've spent in ages!