It’s Monday! What are you reading?

I am in the middle of moving from Hammerfest, one of the most northern towns in the world, to Sandes, near Stavanger, so I don’t have much time for reading. However, I try to sneak in some reading time, and some of the books I’m reading now are:

Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
Glass Houses by Rachel Caine (The Morganville Vampires Book One)
Dagene før mai by Sanne Mathiassen

Monday 23 Jan 2012

Bookish videos

So, I fist came across this wonderful video called “The Joy of Books”. I simply love it!



Turns out the people behind it made another cute video, “Organizing the Bookcase”:



And by that video, I came across some other videos, among others, this one, called “Interval Library”:



Guilty Pleasures?

J.A. Saare asked in her blog a little while ago:

How many of you have guilty pleasures? What are they if you don’t mind me asking? Is there a movie or book that you love that you just can’t bring yourself to talk about because you know the reaction you receive won’t be a positive one?

Guilty Pleasures

I’m not sure I can call it guilty pleasures, as I don’t feel very guilty about it, though a lot of people might think I should. Even if others would frown upon me, I don’t care. Why should I? Who is to tell me what I should or should not enjoy? To be quite frank, I find the idea of looking down on somebody for what they enjoy reading for quite snobbish, and not in a positive way. It is, of course, OK to disagree. One doesn’t have to like the same things, that would be rather boring. But telling someone that they’re stupid or whatever because they happen to like what they like, that’s is not OK.

But on to what I probably should think of as “guilty pleasures”, though I simply refuse to call them so. I love vampire books. Always have done, long before vampires were “in”. Most of them, at least. My favourite by far is Bram Stoker’s Dracula, though I think it’s probably not seen as something to feel guilty about, it being a classic and all that. But I also enjoy other books. Like the Twilight series. I loved it, it was a very exciting read. (I can’t stand the films, though, they aren’t even close to being as good as the books). Another series is the Anita Blake, vampire hunter. They can be quite sappy, I guess, but they’re pure entertainment. Not to mention the Vampire Chronicles by Anne Rice (though I’ve only read the first three books).

I think this sort of books is like all other type of entertainment. I don’t read them for depth or to learn something. I read them to escape reality for a while, to relax and have a bit of fun. It’s not the only type or genre I read, but I like variety.

So, that’s my reply to J. A. Saare’s question, I guess… Though it’s maybe not quite what she expected?

Book Review: Crossroads, by Hardit Singh

CrossroadsI got Crossroads by Hardit Singh as an e-book for free a little while ago, as I follow him om Twitter (@HarditSingh1). I’m always curious about new literature, and a short story like this was a nice break between everything else on my reading list.

Crossroads is the story about Robert, who on the day we meet him, has landed at Heathrow early. Instead of heading home, he has headed for a bar. There he meets the beautiful Elise. They soon find out that though they are strangers, they both find themselves in similar situations in their marriage. Together they make plans that will change their lives drastically…

Though this is a short and easy read, I really enjoyed it. Even though it touches something that could be heartbreaking and sad, it has a sense of humor. I found myself chuckle loudly more than once while reading it.

The story is a nice break in everyday life, and you can get it at Amazon (Kindle) or Kobo (ePub).

Bookie Brunch: Christmas Edition!

Last night was Yule Eve (I celebrate midwinter). Being a Norwegian, that means having dinner with your family, opening presents and all that jazz.

This time the Bookie Brunch, an idea originated from Sasha Soren, is hosted over at Jennie’s Corner. The questions are related to this very season, and here’s my take on them.

What do you think of festive themed books?

I actually enjoy them. We have lots of them in Norway, and working in a library, I can see new ones being published every year.

Do you have a favourite christmas book to read? If so, What is it and why? or will you be avoiding them?

My favourite Christmas book is Letters from Father Christmas by J. R. R. Tolkien, one of my favourite authors. I am supposed to have a tradition of reading it every 23rd December, after decorating the tree, but the last few years I’ve been living alone and in Finnmark far from my family, and have therefore not been at home around Christmas. I hope to take this tradition up again at some point.

Letters from Father Chrsitmas