Frankie reads 2014

[nursenblack]

The Rabbit Back Literature Society is going on my wishlist.  It sounds like my kinda read. It gets released here in the States on January 20th.

[frankie]

Good to see that you loved The Rabbit Back Literature Society by Pasi Ilmari Jääskeläinen  , it's on my TBR list too. Sorry you didn't get on so well with the The Library of Unrequited Love.

 

Ooh, I'm happy to hear TRBLS is on your TBR list. And I'm also curious: how did it get there?  

 

Interesting to see we share two recent reads in common - doesn't seem to happen to me very often! I have to admit with this one, I gave it another go, having read it for our book group and thoroughly disliked it, but had a thoroughly interesting discussion with others who were rather more positive. Turned out rather the opposite from your experience - if anything I disliked it even more intensely, and couldn't get through more than 70-80 pages before binning it for good! As you say, it's definitely a book that polarises!

 

I also enjoyed reading your comments about The Rabbit Back Literature Society. You'll be pleased it was a rather more positive reading experience (!). Even if not quite the 5/5 experience you had, it was definitely very different to anything else I've read lately, with much provocation of thought! I'm certainly glad that I read it, especially given that I only picked it up on a complete off-chance.

 

I've been reading your reading log as I read others' but usually you and I read very different sorts of novels, so yes, us having two novels in common in a short period of time is pretty rare! I'm sorry you weren't as lucky as me as to enjoy The Dinner - if luck has anything to do with it. But sometimes it makes for a more lively and interesting discussion when you dislike a book that others have enjoyed. Certainly more interesting than reading a book that didn't really do anything to you, good or bad. 

 

I remember seeing you mention somewhere that you enjoyed TRBLS although not quite to the extent that I did myself, for example. I'm still happy that you read it, it always warms my heart to hear someone reading a Finnish novel. It doesn't happen that often in the English speaking world. And I'm really glad that it was a different sort of a novel to the other ones you've been reading lately. It shows that sometimes it's good to pick up a random book; you never know what great piece of literature you might find. Of course there are the duds, too...  

 

The Rabbit Back Literature Society is going on my wishlist.  It sounds like my kinda read. It gets released here in the States on January 20th.

 

I'm happy to have 'seduced' you into adding the book to your wishlist! I can't wait to see what you make of it  

 

 

Hurrah for The Rabbit Back Literature Society!  

[frankie]

In other bookish news: on Christmas Eve I opened the book package I received on my Bday. I took it home with me and was dying to open it the whole week but managed to save it for Christmas. I had no idea who'd sent it. 

 

It was Best Served Cold by Joe Abercrombie! If I remember correctly, I first came upon the novel when I was working at the library. I liked the cover and read the blurb and more importantly, the 'reviews' or recommendations on the first few pages. Now that I checked those recs, it turns out that the one that made me add it to my wishlist was written by George R. R. Martin. So he's not completely useless, is he?   

 

After I'd added it to my wishlist I think I searched for any reviews on here and talked about the novel with a few fellow members and I was more reassured that I want to read the book.

 

Thank you Steve for getting me the copy!    And it's the good copy, the beautiful one. 

 

 

 

 

I also got another book from Santa. A Finnish novel, Historia on minut vapauttava, by Jussi Siirilä. He's yet another Finnish author I haven't heard of before. The book sounds very promising. I liked the blurb and when I read a few excerpts I laughed out loud. 

 

If I'm being totally honest, it was from Dad. We have the same kind of humor so trust him to buy a book that I'm likely to enjoy. I gave my parents books as presents, too. I got Dad a copy of Beyond the Great Indoors by Ingvar Ambjørnsen (I couldn't find any copies at the bookshops so had to give him my own copy. I need to replace it ASAP!) and Mom got a copy of Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn. She likes thrillers so I'm hoping she'll enjoy the novel

Edited December 29, 2014 by frankie

[willoyd]

But sometimes it makes for a more lively and interesting discussion when you dislike a book that others have enjoyed. Certainly more interesting than reading a book that didn't really do anything to you, good or bad.

Definitely! By far and away the best discussions are when we have a range of opinions, preferably with at least two diammetrically opposite! The discussion on The Dinner was one of the best for a while - with me at one extreme, most scattered across a spectrum, and one at the opposite end! When we've all agreed either good or bad, the discussion tends to wander!

 

 

I remember seeing you mention somewhere that you enjoyed TRBLS although not quite to the extent that I did myself, for example. I'm still happy that you read it, it always warms my heart to hear someone reading a Finnish novel. It doesn't happen that often in the English speaking world.

 

I think it's possibly my first Finnish novel, which is a bit surprising given my enjoyment of so much Scandinavian (OH is a bit of a Tove Jansson fan, but I've never read any of her work) - but then Finland is the only Scandinavian country I've yet to work in or visit - must change that, especially as my two main sporting loves (outside cycling) are cross-country skiing and orienteering!

 

This is quite an interesting article: http://www.theguardian.com/books/2006/feb/08/finland, and there are few others when searching on the net highlighting Finnish writers, but any that you particularly recommend?

Edited December 29, 2014 by willoyd

[frankie]

#60. Lottery by Patricia Woods

 

 

I had written down the blurb from the actual book cover on a document before my laptop crashed, and now that all my files are missing and I've been looking for the blurb, I've only managed to find other synopses that I haven't liked but here's what they've said: Perry L. Crandall knows what it's like to be an outsider. With an IQ of 76, he's an easy mark. Before his grandmother died, she armed Perry well with what he'd need to know: the importance of words and writing things down, and how to play the lottery. Most important, she taught him whom to trust: a crucial lesson for Perry when he wins the multimillion-dollar jackpot. As his family descends, moving in on his fortune, his fate, and his few true friends, he has a lesson for them: never, ever underestimate Perry Crandall.

 

 

Thoughts: I'm pretty sure I came by this novel on the Goodreads recommendations application and that's how it ended up on my wishlist. The local library had a copy and so I borrowed it. Again, this is one of the books I read months ago so I don't remember all the details, but I really enjoyed the novel. That's not to say there were any amazing moments in it, but I liked Perry and the plot and the general writing style. When I was going to write this review, I googled Patricia Woods and found out these interesting things on wikipedia: "Wood drew on personal experience: her father won $6 million from the Washington state lottery, and her brother-in-law had Down's syndrome. Wood wrote the novel in 3 months, and sold it for a reported six-figure deal."

 

 

4/5

[frankie]

#61. Behind Closed Doors by Jenny Tomlin  

 

 

From Amazon: Jenny grew up in a house where no-one was safe. Born one of five children in the East End, her childhood was spent in squalor and terror. Her father's violent beatings, humiliations, and sexual abuse were part of daily life; her mother - also his sexual victim and savagely beaten - was no source of help. Deprived of love and all comforts, the children would turn to each other for support and to the only adult they could trust, Auntie. This is the story of how Jenny, her sister Kim and brother Laurence, not only survived but ultimately transcended the unimaginable degradations heaped on them. With the power of love, cunning, the blackest of black humour and an indestructible self-belief, Jenny eventually broke free of her past.

 

 

Thoughts: I suppose you could say that this is one of those 'misery reads', but I don't like to call them that: even if you know when you pick up the book that you're going to feel miserable when reading the book, it's still another person's life and a real story and some of the victims to these atrocious things deal with them by making them into books. And usually the ones that do have found some inner peace and have managed to overcome the worst. 

 

I think this was another Goodreads recommendation. And again, it was months ago when I read the book so I don't remember the particulars but I do remember one specific incident and it was a new one for me, even though I've read more than my fair share of these 'misery books' and true crime books. I'm glad that the author seems so upbeat and positive and never let her past dictate her future. 

 

The thing that surprised me was when I found out, from the dedications or something else, that the author is the mother of Martine McCutcheon whom we all know from Love Actually. Thinking back, maybe it wasn't the dedication... She mentioned her daughter being in the business but didn't in any way flaunt the fact, if that's the way to express it. She did mention her daughter's name and when I googled it, I was astonished to see the lovely 'Natalie'.

 

4/5

[frankie]

#62. Kirjeitä Tiinalle by Anita Korhonen 

 

 

I'm not really sure what the use of reviewing this book is. It's a Finnish non-fiction book and I know none of you are going to read it because it's not been translated into English nor will it ever be. It's Anita's letters to her daughter who becomes addicted to drugs and is constantly in and out of rehabs. The two of them live in different countries most of the time and it's heart breaking to read how the mother is so anxious about her daughter, knowing that she can't even visit and check if she's okay, living in a different country (usually a different continent, as well). 

 

Since I moved to Espoo, I've been able to visit my aunt in Helsinki a few times and she was the one to recommend the book to me. Actually she recommended the book to her son but since I showed interest in it, too, she talked about the book with me. Her other son, my cousin, was into drugs and kept bad company and, well, long story short, he committed suicide in 2006. It's something we never talked about for a long, long time. My aunt is a real trooper. She's not had it easy but she keeps on going. 

 

2/5

[frankie]

I've just realized I've only read 16 books off my TBR list this year. How the hell is that possible? I know I've read a lot of library books this year, but I thought that was only after I moved to Espoo and had a chance to get into the southern Finland library selection... 16 books off the TBR list!!! That's rubbish I'm wondering if I should set some sort of rule for next year: I should read one TBR book per each library book I read... 

 

Edit: I checked: I've read 68 library books! 68! And only 16 TBR books. That's disrespectful towards my own precious, personal library...

Edited December 30, 2014 by frankie

[willoyd]

Edit: I checked: I've read 68 library books! 68! And only 16 TBR books. That's disrespectful towards my own precious, personal library...

Take pleasure from the fact that you've been such a good supporter of your local library!!

[pontalba]

Very glad you enjoyed The Dinner, it's definitely one that I liked quite a lot.  His Summer House With Swimming  Pool is excellent

as well.  If you enjoyed one, you'd most likely enjoy the other.

Glad to see you back online again, with good reviews.

 

 

I'm glad you enjoyed The Dinner much more this time! I liked it when I read it earlier this year. I bought the film on DVD but haven't yet watched it.

I'm also glad you liked The Library of Unrequited Love even if you didn't like it as much as some other people.

 

I didn't know there was a film!!  Gotta find it!

 

EDIT:  Found the Dutch version, but not available to the U.S., as far as I can tell.  BUT!......found this when I was agoogling about.  http://deadline.com/2013/09/cate-blanchett-director-debut-the-dinner-herman-koch-591108/

Edited December 30, 2014 by pontalba

[Athena]

I didn't know there was a film!!  Gotta find it!

 

EDIT:  Found the Dutch version, but not available to the U.S., as far as I can tell.  BUT!......found this when I was agoogling about.  http://deadline.com/2013/09/cate-blanchett-director-debut-the-dinner-herman-koch-591108/

Awwww . My DVD has English subtitles, but it is of course region 2. It's rare we have something here but not in the US, usually it's the other way around for me when there are a lot of US TV shows that unfortunately never get a DVD release in region 2.

 

That news is exciting, though!

[Marie H]

Ooh, I'm happy to hear TRBLS is on your TBR list. And I'm also curious: how did it get there?

It was on Amazon Kindle daily deals in November, and the reviews were very intriguing.

‘The Rabbit Back Literature Society] Mixes the small-town surrealism of Twin Peaks with the clandestine-society theme of Donna Tartt's The Secret History’ The List

 

‘Unnerving, enigmatic... Hints of Let the Right One In and Haruki Murakami's elliptical early science fiction novels flavour a creepy tale about mutating books, buried secrets and ghostly encounters’ - James Lovegrove, Financial Times

 

‘Wonderfully knotty... a very grown-up fantasy masquerading as quirky fable. Unexpected, thrilling and absurd’ Sunday Telegraph

 

‘Charming, chilling and gripping from its very first page’ Bizarre

 

 And at 99 pence cost, I was easily tempted   !

[pontalba]

We've been tempted to buy a machine that plays multi-regions as we've seen several films we'd like to purchase, but are Region 2.  But I'm not sure it would warrant the price. 

 

I think Cate Blanchett would certainly be an able Director for The Dinner. 

[Athena]

We've been tempted to buy a machine that plays multi-regions as we've seen several films we'd like to purchase, but are Region 2.  But I'm not sure it would warrant the price. 

 

I think Cate Blanchett would certainly be an able Director for The Dinner.

I have no idea how much they cost, but that makes sense. My boyfriend has one that can play all regions, I don't know how much he paid for it (in the UK).

 

I agree! I'd be interested in seeing the film if it all goes ahead.

[frankie]

I've just finished my 100th book for the year!     A few months ago I was behind on my target of 100 read books by 15 or so books and I thought it would be impossible to reach that goal. But then when my laptop broke down and I had a lot more time for reading, and I got my mojo back, too... It started to seem possible again. 3 hours and 15 minutes left of the year, I've reached the goal I've had the same goal for the past four years, but the last three years I've not reached it. It feels pretty good now I had a great reading year overall! 

[chesilbeach]

Congratulations!!!!    Nice to see you've had a good reading year too, it makes it even more special to achieve that goal.

[frankie]

Thanks Claire! I'm so stoked I read 18 books this month, which is definitely a new record for me. 10 books a month is usually a very, very good month, and 18 is just beyond my own belief. Sure, I did read a few children's novels that don't take that much time to read, but still. 

[pontalba]

I've just finished my 100th book for the year!     A few months ago I was behind on my target of 100 read books by 15 or so books and I thought it would be impossible to reach that goal. But then when my laptop broke down and I had a lot more time for reading, and I got my mojo back, too... It started to seem possible again. 3 hours and 15 minutes left of the year, I've reached the goal I've had the same goal for the past four years, but the last three years I've not reached it. It feels pretty good now I had a great reading year overall! 

 

Yay, hooray!!  That's wonderful, frankie!!  It's great to accomplish that goal!  

[Janet]

Wow, that's a great achievement.  And 18 books in a month is just staggering!     Well done. 

[frankie]

Definitely! By far and away the best discussions are when we have a range of opinions, preferably with at least two diammetrically opposite! The discussion on The Dinner was one of the best for a while - with me at one extreme, most scattered across a spectrum, and one at the opposite end! When we've all agreed either good or bad, the discussion tends to wander!

Indeed! And there's only so many times you can say 'I liked that, too, in the book!' before it stars to sound repetitive and there's nothing to add. Mixed opinions make a more diverse convo!

 

 

I think it's possibly my first Finnish novel, which is a bit surprising given my enjoyment of so much Scandinavian (OH is a bit of a Tove Jansson fan, but I've never read any of her work) - but then Finland is the only Scandinavian country I've yet to work in or visit - must change that, especially as my two main sporting loves (outside cycling) are cross-country skiing and orienteering!

 

I'm happy to hear you are a Scandinavia enthusiast I enjoy all things Norwegian, Swedish and Danish, too, and I would probably enjoy Icelandic things, too, but they are harder to come by. 

 

Finland is one of the five Nordic countries, but whether it's part of Scandinavia is debatable, or rather, it depends on the context. This is from wikipedia: 

 

"

Scandinavia^[a] is a historical and cultural-linguistic region in Northern Europe characterized by a common ethno-cultural Germanic heritage and related languages. It comprises the three kingdoms of Norway, Denmark, and Sweden. Modern Norway and Sweden proper are situated on the Scandinavian Peninsula, whereas modern Denmark is situated on the Danish islands and Jutland.

The term "Scandinavia" is historically used for Denmark, Norway and Sweden, and is still used that way in Scandinavia and in most uses in English, though the term is also used more ambiguously in English (see terminology and use below).

The name "Scandinavia" is derived from the formerly Danish, now Swedish, region Scania. The terms "Scandinavia" and "Scandinavian" entered usage in the late 18th century as terms for the three Scandinavian countries, their Germanic majority peoples^{[dubious – discuss]} and associated language and culture, being introduced by the early linguistic and cultural Scandinavist movement. The term "Scandinavia" can also include Iceland, the Faroe Islands, and Finland, on account of their historical associations with the Scandinavian countries.^[1]

"

 

In addition, Finnish language is nothing alike the other languages of the Nordic countries. Danish, Norwegian and Swedish all have their own characteristics but they're all related languages and mutually intelligible. So in this respect, Finland is a bit of an outsider. 

 

 

This is quite an interesting article: http://www.theguardian.com/books/2006/feb/08/finland, and there are few others when searching on the net highlighting Finnish writers, but any that you particularly recommend?

 

I went through the article in the link. I have to say there aren't that many books mentioned that I've read. Off the list I would say that if you want to try something Finnish, you could try The Railroad by Juhani Aho, The Unknown Soldier by Väinö Linna (that is, if you don't mind war novels), 

 

I wouldn't mind recommending Mikael Niemi's novel off the list, but how it got there is beyond me. He's a Swedish author Yes, he lives close to the Finnish border, but still...

 

I could really use a website which lists all the Finnish novels that have been translated into English. That would be easy! 

[frankie]

Take pleasure from the fact that you've been such a good supporter of your local library!!

 

Very true! If we keep going in and borrowing books we'll stand a bigger chance to keep our great libraries. Also, I read somewhere that an author gets ~60e from every 1000 times his/her book has been borrowed. So I must think of it as putting some money in the authors' pockets  

 

Very glad you enjoyed The Dinner, it's definitely one that I liked quite a lot.  His Summer House With Swimming  Pool is excellent

as well.  If you enjoyed one, you'd most likely enjoy the other.

Glad to see you back online again, with good reviews.

 

I didn't know he had a book called Summer House with Swimming Pool! Thanks, I'll have to check it out  

 

It was on Amazon Kindle daily deals in November, and the reviews were very intriguing.

‘The Rabbit Back Literature Society] Mixes the small-town surrealism of Twin Peaks with the clandestine-society theme of Donna Tartt's The Secret History’ The List

 

‘Unnerving, enigmatic... Hints of Let the Right One In and Haruki Murakami's elliptical early science fiction novels flavour a creepy tale about mutating books, buried secrets and ghostly encounters’ - James Lovegrove, Financial Times

 

‘Wonderfully knotty... a very grown-up fantasy masquerading as quirky fable. Unexpected, thrilling and absurd’ Sunday Telegraph

 

‘Charming, chilling and gripping from its very first page’ Bizarre

 

 And at 99 pence cost, I was easily tempted   !

 

Cool, I'm glad he's so well exposed. Although for 99p, what a bargain! I feel sorry for him, Finnish authors never make a living just by writing books (except for maybe 5-10 authors, the most read authors), and now that he's gaining foothold in the international market, his books are sold for so little. 

 

I'm not judging people for buying the book for such a little sum, I'm just frustrated by how little money the Finnish authors make over here. 

 

Anyhow, back to the actual topic... I'm a bit worried that they've mentioned Twin Peaks and The Secret History in reference to the book, because those two are such well loved works and some might be disappointed that the book was nothing of the sort. Not that the book isn't good, it's just that I hope they are not painting too ambitious a picture of the book! 

[frankie]

Yay, hooray!!  That's wonderful, frankie!!  It's great to accomplish that goal!  

 

 

Wow, that's a great achievement.  And 18 books in a month is just staggering!     Well done. 

 

Thanks gals! Still very happy about it. Although now I'm going to have to pay a hefty price for it: I have to really get going with the reviews! I'm only 40 behind or so...   

[Janet]

I'm pretty certain The Black Rabbit... book was 99p as a Kindle Deal of the Day book which was why it was so cheap. It's currently £3.99 on Kindle and £6.?? in paperback.

 

Oops at the Guardian getting Mikael Niemi's nationality wrong!

[Athena]

Congratulations on finishing 100 books !

[frankie]

I'm pretty certain The Black Rabbit... book was 99p as a Kindle Deal of the Day book which was why it was so cheap. It's currently £3.99 on Kindle and £6.?? in paperback.

 

Oops at the Guardian getting Mikael Niemi's nationality wrong!

 

Thanks Jänet for checking the price. I hope people will buy the novel even when it's more 'appropriately' prices  

 

Yep, naughty Guardian! They've not done their homework It's easy to get confused, though, Niemi is a Finnish last name and I used to think he was Finnish But there are a lot of people with Swedish last names living in Finland, and a lot of people with Finnish last names living in Sweden, so it shouldn't be such a tell tale sign of a person's nationality.