Alfabethuset / The Alphabet House

Av Jussi Adler-Olsen

Jeg ble etterhvert litt lei av å lese om Sherlock Holmes, så jeg begynte på litt moderne dansk krim i stedet. Jeg ble anbefalt Alfabethuset av min samboer og hadde svært høye forventninger. De ble dessverre ikke helt innfridd. Jeg syntes den første delen av boken var utrolig treg. Det skjedde ting hele tiden, men det var ikke nok driv. Heldigvis kom det seg veldig i andre halvdel hvor det ble veldig actionfylt og spennende. Dessverre matte jeg «lide meg gjennom» en halv bok før jeg endelig ikke klarte å legge den fra meg, så det blir bare 3 hjerter.

By Jussi Adler-Olsen

I got tired of reading about Sherlock Holmes, so instead I started on some modern Danish crime. My boyfriend recommended The Alphabet House to me and my expectations were high. Unfortunately they were not met. I think the first half of the book was extremely slow. Things happened, but there just wasn’t enough drive. Luckily the second half was much more exciting. Unfortunately I had to «suffer through» half a book before I finally came to the point where I just could’t put it away, so only three hearts this time.

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The Hound of the Baskervilles

Av Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

Åå, spennende, spennende, spennende! Fy søren, for en bra bok! Det er lett å skjønne hvorfor dette har blitt den mest berømte Sherlock Holmes-historien. Her er det spenning og intriger og twister i flust og den overrasker stadig. Skal du lese èn Sherlock Holmes-bok, velg denne.

By Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

Oh my lord, this was exciting! What a great book! It is easy to see why this is the most famous of the Sherlock Holmes stories. It has excitement, intrigues and twists, and it just keeps on surprising you. If you’re only going to read one Sherlock Holmes book, you should pick this one.

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The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes

Av Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

Dette er den andre novellesamlingen i boken. Den fortsetter i samme stil som The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, med mange små historier fortalt av Dr. Watson. De er ikke fortalt kronologisk og kan for så vidt leses litt i den rekkefølgen man ønsker, men det siste historien, The Final Problem, bør leses sist. Dette var også den mest spennende av fortellingene. Gleder meg til neste bok, som er The Hound of the Baskervilles.

By Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

This is the second collection of short stories in the book. It goes on the same way as The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, with many short stories told from the point of view of Doctor Watson. They are nok written in a chronological order and can therefore be read in the orden that you would like, but the last story, The Final Problem, should be read at the end. This was also the most exciting one of the stories. I can’t wait to start the next book, which is The Hound of the Baskervilles.

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The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes

Av Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

En deilig liten samling med Sherlock Holmes-mysterier. Tolv små historier fortalt av Doktor Watson. Etter de to bøkene A Study in Scarlet og The Sign of the Four, var det ganske forfriskende å lese disse småhistoriene. De gikk selvfølgelig ikke like intenst inn i hvert mysterie, men det gjorde liksom ikke noe. Disse historiene kan leses separat, men jeg anbefaler å ha lest de to første bøkene først, da det er en del referanser til tidligere saker.

By Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

A lovely collection of som of Sherlock Holmes’ many mysteries. Twelve short stories told by Doctor Watson. After reading the two books A Study in Scarlet and The Sign of the Four it was quite refreshing reading these short stories. Of course the story of each mystery isn’t as intricately as in the books, but it really didn’t matter. These stories can be read separately, but I recommend reading the two first books first, as there is quite a lot of references to earlier cases.

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The Sign of the Four

Av Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

Dette er bok nr. 2 om Sherlock Holmes. Dette er jo så bra bøker! Jeg er virkelig overrasket over hvor lettleste de er, til tross for at de er skrevet på engelsk på 1800-tallet. Jeg må si jeg likte A Study in Scarlet bedre enn The Sign of the Four, selv om dette også var en svært spennende bok. Men den hadde ikke samme flyten som den første boken. Den får derfor ett hjerte mindre.

By Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

This is the second book about Sherlock Holmes. These books are so great! I am trult surprised of how easy they are to read, despite the fact that they are written in English in the 19th Century. I have to say I liked A Study in Scarlet better than The Sign of the Four, even though this too was an exciting story. But it didn’t have the same flow as the first book. That’s why it gets only five hearts.

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A Study in Scarlet

Av Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

Jeg har begitt meg ut på litt av et bokprosjekt, nemlig å lese hele Sherlock Holmes-samlingen. Jeg begynte på den første boken i går, A Study in Scarlet, og jeg klarte ikke legge den fra meg før jeg hadde lest den ut. Jeg har selvsagt sett serien og tenkte dette ville ødelegge litt for spenningen i historien, men det gjorde det virkelig ikke, heller tvert i mot. Den første episoden i første sesong i serien Sherlock (A Study in Pink) er tydelig basert på denne boken, men jeg fikk likevel så mange wow-øyeblikk at det ikke gjorde noe som helst. Jeg storkoste meg med den og gleder meg til fortsettelsen.

By Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

I’ve started quite the book project: reading the complete Sherlock Holmes collection. I started the first book, A Study in Scarlet, yesterday and I couldn’t put it down until I had finished it. Of course I’ve seen the tv series and thought it would kind of ruin the excitement in the story, but it really didn’t, quite the contrary. S01E01 of the tv series Sherlock is clearly based on this book, but I still had lots of wow moment, so it didn’t really matter. I enjoyed this book tremendously and I can’t wait to read the rest.

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Jeg heter Lucy Barton / My name is Lucy Barton

Av Elizabeth Strout

Dette er virkelig ikke min type bok, men jeg var så heldig å få tak i et forhåndseksemplar, så da måtte jeg nesten gi den en sjanse. Den er veldig lettlest og kort, men jeg syntes likevel den var ganske treg. Jeg ventet hele tiden på at noe stort skulle skje, men det var liksom aldri noen vendepunkt eller twister. Jeg syntes også språket hakket litt, men nå skal det sies at dette eksemplaret ikke har gjennomgått siste korrektur, så jeg kan nesten ikke dømme språket og oversettelsen. Dette er en bok for de som liker enkel og lettlest litteratur og ikke krever for mye av historien. Boken er i salg fra 10. februar.It

By Elizabeth Strout

This is really not my type of book, but is was so lucky to receive an advance copy, so I felt I should give it a chance. It is very easy and short, but I still feel it was too slow. I kept waiting for something big to happen, but there just never was any turning points or twists. I also think the language was not good, but this advance copy hasn’t had it’s final correction, so I really can’t judge the language and translation. This is a book for those of you who prefer simple and easy literature and doesn’t have too high demands for a good story. This book will be on sale in Norway on the 10th of February.

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Hjertet er en ensom jeger / The Heart is a Lonely Hunter

Av Carson McCullers

Jeg brukte en måned på å lese denne boken, men det var kun fordi julen og strikking kom i veien, ikke fordi den ikke var bra. Dette er virkelig en nydelig historie om, som tittelen hentyder, ensomhet. Den er skrevet i 1940, men har fått sin renessanse nå. Jeg anbefaler den virkelig.

By Carson McCullers

I spent a month on this book, but that’s only because Christmas and knitting came in the way, not because it’s not good. This is a lovely story about, as you can guess from the title, loneliness. It was written in 1940, but kind of has it’s renaissance now. I truly recommend it.

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Det dyrebare

Av Linn Ullmann. Jeg fullførte denne for en ukes tid siden, men har ikke rotet meg til å skrive et innlegg om den før nå. Dette er uten tvil en god bok, men jeg tror jeg har lest litt for mye Ullmann i det siste, så jeg har nok blitt litt lei. Hun skriver vanvittig bra, men etter min smak er bøkene kanskje litt for like. Likevel blir det litt urettferdig å dømme denne boken etter dette, for alene er den virkelig bra, kanskje en av hennes beste. Dette er en historie om familie, utroskap, alderdom og livet generelt. En ganske realistisk fortelling. Hvis du ikke har lest noe av Ullmann før, anbefaler jeg denne.

By Linn Ullmann. I finished this about a week ago, but I haven’t «had the time» to write about it until now. There’s no doubt that this is a good book, but I think I’ve read a little too much Ullmann lately, so I guess I have gotten a little tired of her books. She writes incredibly well, but my opinion is that her stories are too similar. Still, I believe it would be kind of unfair to judge this book by that, for by it self this story is just wonderful, maybe one of Ullmann’s best. This is a story about family, affairs, growing old and about life itself. A pretty realistic story. If you haven’t yet read any of Ullmann’s books I recommend this one.

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November Summary

I haven’t really read much this month as I have started knitting instead, making Christmas gifts :) I only read on the train to work and home again and in my lunch break, so one book takes forever. But it’s only until Christmas; in January I’ll be back on track.

I did read some books though. I got to finish the Berlin Noir Trilogy with the last book A German Requiem. It was amazing, I really recommend it.

As I have just fallen in love with Linn Ullmann’s books, I got on with reading Nåde (Grace). I just love her writing, the way he jumps back and forth in time without it getting confusing.

Last I read the short story White Nights by Dostoyevsky. It’s been a while since I read Dostoyevsky but I didn’t feel like reading a thick, heavy book, so this little story was perfect.

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This is the last book in the Berlin Noir trilogy. Even thought I feel it didn’t quite measure up to book No. 2 I the series, The Pale Criminal, it certainly was close. All in all a perfect ending to a very exciting criminal trilogy. I can truly recommend this book.

 

 

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A beautiful, sad and powerful book about death and life. Linn Ullmann has a way of jumping back and forth in time without it getting confusing. I love her style of writing. This book is beautifully written and hard to put down.

 

 

 

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 A lovely short story in the true writing style of Dostoyevsky. About four summer nights, dreams, friendship, love and lust.

 

 

 

 

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What about December?

I have almost finished Det dyrebare, another Linn Ullmann favorite. So my plan is to finish it in a couple of days. I have a new book in my shelf, The Heart is a Lonely Hunter by Carson McCullers, so I believe I will read this afterwards. I also hope I will find time during Christmas to read one of Charles Dickens’ Christmas classics The Chimes.

But, as I said, I am quite occupied with knitting these days, so if I only read two books in December, that’s okay.

Hvite netter / White Nights

Av Fjodor Dostojevskij. En deilig liten novelle i sann Dostojevskij-stil. Om fire sommernetter, drømmer, vennskap, kjærlighet og begjær.

By Fyodor Dostoyevsky. A lovely short story in the true writing style of Dostoyevsky. About four summer nights, dreams, friendship, love and lust.

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Nåde / Grace

Av Linn Ullmann. En vakker, trist og sterk bok om døden og om livet. Linn Ullmann har en måte å hoppe frem og tilbake i tid på uten at det blir rotete. Jeg elsker skrivestilen hennes. Boken er nydelig skrevet og vanskelig å legge fra seg.

By Linn Ullmann. A beautiful, sad and powerful book about death and life. Linn Ullmann has a way of jumping back and forth in time without it getting confusing. I love her style of writing. This book is beautifully written and hard to put down.

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Et tysk rekviem / A German Requiem

Av Philip Kerr. Dette er den siste boken i Berlin Noir-trilogien. Selv om jeg syntes den ikke nådde helt opp til bok nr. 2 i serien, Den bleke forbryter, var den neimen ikke langt unna. Alt i alt en perfekt avslutning på en spennende kriminaltrilogi. Jeg anbefaler virkelig denne.

By Philip Kerr. This is the last book in the Berlin Noir trilogy. Even thought I feel it didn’t quite measure up to book No. 2 I the series, The Pale Criminal, it certainly was close. All in all a perfect ending to a very exciting criminal trilogy. I can truly recommend this book.

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October Summary

October has been like a true autumn month – looong. September feels like ages ago. But long and dark autumn months aren’t necessarily bad. It is more tempting than anything sitting inside with a book and a cup of tea.

I spent almost 3 weeks reading Sangen om den røde rubin. Not because it was a boring book, it really wasn’t, but because there was so many things happening that reading wasn’t a priority.

I went on to another Norwegian writer, one of my new favorites, Linn Ullmann. Her book Et velsignet barn wasn’t as good as the first one I read (De urolige), but it was still a great read.

After these two Norwegians I felt like reading something very different, so I picked up Philip Kerr’s Berlin Noir Trilogy. I’ve read the first two books, and I just love them! Can’t wait to start No. 3.

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I really liked this book, but I believe I would have loved it even more if I had read it at a normal pace. When I am reading the same book for a long amount of time, I get tired of it, no matter how good it is. But it was a fun read. It is easy to see why there was a lot of fuss when it was first published. It is really well written, with vivid descriptions, and it’s actually quite an easy read.

 

 

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 I loooved De urolige, so I wanted to read some more books by Linn Ullmann. But Et velsignet barn (A blessed child) is not quite as good. The way of writing is the same, but this one is a little bit harder to keep track of the time leaps. The story is good and quite exciting. You understand that something terrible happened a long time ago, but it’s not until at the end you understand what it was. The book is both lovely and gruesome, but all in all it was a good read. I believe I will read more of Ullmann in the future.

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This is the first book in the Berlin Noir trilogy. I’ve had this trilogy on my TBR for a while and I found the book at a market earlier this fall. It’s been gathering dust in my book shelf while I’ve been struggling for the courage to embark on this monstrous book of 880 pages. But I started it and was pleasantly surprised. Not only is it quite easy to read, but it is really exciting. We meet the private investigator Bernie Gunther in Berlin in 1936, so of course the story concerns a lot of the course og World War II. I really enjoyed March Violets. The only thing negative is Philip Kerr’s extreme love for metaphors, which is a little over the top. 

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Oh my God, this book! I love it. March Violets was almost perfect, while The Pale Criminal was just the perfect historical detective novel. The story continues where March Violets ended, just a couple of years later. We’re still in the interwar period, but World War II is just around the corner. What I found a little negative in the first book, Kerr’s great love for metaphors, there is considerably less of in this book, and I feel that this gave the story a better flow. I can’t wait to start book No. 3, A German Requiem.

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What about November?

First of all I am going to finish the Berlin Noir Trilogy. I imagine this will take another week. Afterwards I have a few books that I feel I should read. I’ve been wanting to read Dracula for some time and I believe November is the perfect month to do so. Also I want to read Heart of Darkness, but this will not be a priority, as I believe that’s a tough read.

Of Norwegian books I really want to find time for Jon Fosse’s Melancholia. I also think there is a good chance that I will be tempted to read some more of Linn Ullmann.

Den bleke forbryter / The Pale Criminal

Av Philip Kerr. Denne boken altså! Jeg digger den. Marsfioler var liksom nesten perfekt, mens Den bleke forbryter var den perfekte historiske kriminalromanen. Historien fortsetter der Marsfioler sluttet, bare et par år senere. Vi er fremdeles i mellomkrigstiden, men 2. verdenskrig er rett rundt hjørnet. Det jeg syns var litt negativt ved den første boken, altså Kerrs overbruk av metaforer, er dempet betraktelig i denne boken, noe som jeg syns ga historien bedre flyt. Jeg gleder meg skikkelig til bok nr. 3, Et tysk rekviem.

By Philip Kerr. Oh my God, this book! I love it. March Violets was almost perfect, while The Pale Criminal was just the perfect historical detective novel. The story continues where March Violets ended, just a couple of years later. We’re still in the interwar period, but World War II is just around the corner. What I found a little negative in the first book, Kerr’s great love for metaphors, there is considerably less of in this book, and I feel that this gave the story a better flow. I can’t wait to start book No. 3, A German Requiem.

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Marsfioler / March Violets

Av Philip Kerr. Dette er første bok i Berlin Noir-trilogien. Jeg har hatt denne trilogien på TBR-listen min en stund og fant den på et bokmarked tidligere i høst. Den har stått i bokhyllen min og samlet støv, mens jeg har samlet mot til å begi meg ut på en slik murstein; tre bøker, 880 sider. Men jeg startet og ble positivt overrasket. Ikke bare er den lettlest, men den er virkelig spennende. Vi møter privatetterforskeren Bernie Gunther i Berlin i 1936, og det er da en selvfølge at historien er preget av forløpet til 2. verdenskrig. Jeg likte Marsfioler kjempegodt. Den eneste som trekker ned er Philips Kerr ekstreme kjærlighet til metaforer, noe som blir litt i overkant.

By Philip Kerr. This is the first book in the Berlin Noir trilogy. I’ve had this trilogy on my TBR for a while and I found the book at a market earlier this fall. It’s been gathering dust in my book shelf while I’ve been struggling for the courage to embark on this monstrous book of 880 pages. But I started it and was pleasantly surprised. Not only is it quite easy to read, but it is really exciting. We meet the private investigator Bernie Gunther in Berlin in 1936, so of course the story concerns a lot of the course og World War II. I really enjoyed March Violets. The only thing negative is Philip Kerr’s extreme love for metaphors, which is a little over the top. 

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Et velsignet barn

Av Linn Ullmann. Jeg eeeelsket De urolige, så ville derfor lese mer av Linn Ullmann. Men Et velsignet barn er nok ikke like bra som De urolige. Skrivestilen er det samme, men denne er litt mer rotete og det er ikke så lett å holde styr på tidshoppene. Historien er god og ganske spennende. Man forstår at noe forferdelig hendte for lenge siden, men det er først mot slutten man forstår hva det var. Boken er både fin og ganske fæl, men alt i alt var det er bra leseopplevelse. Jeg vil nok lese mer av Ullmann i fremtiden.

By Linn Ullmann. I loooved De urolige, so I wanted to read some more books by Linn Ullmann. But Et velsignet barn (A blessed child) is not quite as good. The way of writing is the same, but this one is a little bit harder to keep track of the time leaps. The story is good and quite exciting. You understand that something terrible happened a long time ago, but it’s not until at the end you understand what it was. The book is both lovely and gruesome, but all in all it was a good read. I believe I will read more of Ullmann in the future.

♥♥♥♥♥♥

Sangen om den røde rubin

Av Agnar Mykle. Endelig ble jeg ferdig med denne boken. Ikke «endelig» fordi jeg ikke likte den, men fordi jeg har hatt så mye å gjøre de siste ukene at jeg har brukt snart 3 uker på denne ene boken. Så det var godt å bli ferdig. Jeg likte boken godt, men jeg tror jeg hadde likt den bedre om jeg hadde lest den i normalt tempo. Når jeg holder på med én bok så lenge, blir jeg lei, uansett hvor bra boken er. Men det var gøy å få lest den. Den er jo ganske drøy og det er lett å forstå hvorfor det ble opprør da den ble utgitt. Den er utrolig godt skrevet, med levende beskrivelser og variert språk. Egentlig ganske lettlest.

By Agnar Mykle. I finally finished this book. Not «finally» because I didn’t like it, but because I’ve had so much to do lately that I ended up spending almost 3 weeks on this one book. So finishing it felt good. I really liked this book, but I believe I would have loved it even more if I had read it at a normal pace. When I am reading the same book for a long amount of time, I get tired of it, no matter how good it is. But it was a fun read. It is easy to see why there was a lot of fuss when it was first published. It is really well written, with vivid descriptions, and it’s actually quite an easy read.

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September Summary

The last week has been so busy, with a trip to Copenhagen in the weekend, a lot of work, going to the gym and studying Italian, so my reading and my blogging have been going slow.

September went by like a gust and once again we have started a new month. September was my Norwegian Literature Month and I really enjoyed reading books from my own country. I am planning on reading some more Norwegian books.

I started my Norwegian Literature month with Svøm med dem som drukner by Lars Mytting. I’ve had it in my shelf for a couple on months and I don’t know why I haven’t read it sooner. I just loved it! It was so exciting and well written, and I enjoyed every page.

I continued the month with a true classic: Kristian Lavransdatter by Sigrid Undset. I was planning on reading the whole trilogy, but before I was halfway through the second book I had to put it down. The first book was actually quite lovely, but it was just too much reading more than one book about this girl.

Next I decided to read another classic: Pan by Knut Hamsun. And what a great book it was! My boyfriend is a true Hamsun fan. He made me read Mysteries earlier this year and now he recommended me Pan. I actually liked it better than Mysteries.

Next was De urolige by Linn Ullmann. And I fell in love. I now believe this is my favorite book. I just loved the story and her way of writing. I have recently bought another Ullmann book that I am planning to read soon.

I also started Sangen om den røde rubin by Agnar Mykle, but because of my super busy week I have still only read about 80 pages of it. But it’s good, I really like it.

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What a fantastic book! A novel disguised as a mystery – or perhaps the other way around. A great story, I loved it from the first to the last page. This one deserves 6 hearts!

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Kristin Lavransdatter (The Wreath) by Sigrid Undset

I really liked the first book of the trilogy, The Wreath. The language was very old, which in the beginning I found quite challenging, but after a while I started to appreciate it. Sigrid Undset really knew how to describe nature and environment without it getting boring. The book had some amazing depictions of Norwegian nature. I give it 4 out of 6 hearts.

 

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Pan by Knut Hamsun

A wonderful story with few characters and a lot of action. Hamsun often wrote about troubled souls and this makes his books so amazing. When you read it’s like you’re inside the head of the narrator, in this case lieutenant Thomas Glahn, and you can almost feel his problems and thoughts as if they were your own. I loved this book, reading it was like reading poetry.

 

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De urolige by Linn Ullmann

I got this as a birthday present from my sister. I´ve been holding on reading it because I was very sceptic. I´ve thought that Linn Ullmann only sold books because she has famous parents. Well, I was wrong. What a lovely book! I couldn’t it away, so I read it in 3 days (which is quite fast for me). I have rarely found something that moved me in the same way this book did. Beautifully written. What it is about? I don’t know. About life?

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What about October?

As I really enjoyed the book by Linn Ullmann I am going to read some more of her books in October. I have bought Et velsignet barn and I will read it after I’ve finished Sangen om den røde rubin by Agnar Mykle.

I also have the Berlin Noir trilogy laying around, so perhaps I should give it a try. Also No Logo by Naomi Klein is very tempting as my sister has recommended it to me for years. I also have Dracula on my TBR, but I don’t know if I will read it in October or November.

 

De urolige

Bok nr. 4 av min Norwegian Literature Month.

Av Linn Ullmann. Jeg fikk denne til bursdagen av min søster. Jeg har ventet med å lese den fordi jeg har vært skeptisk. Jeg har tenkt at Linn Ullmann kun selger bøker fordi hun har berømte foreldre. Så feil kan man ta. For en nydelig bok! Jeg klarte ikke legge den fra meg og leste den ut på 3 dager (noe som er kjapt til å være meg). Sjelden har jeg kommet over noe som har grepet meg slik denne boken gjorde. Utrolig vakkert skrevet. Hva handler den om? Jeg vet ikke. Om livet?

Book No. 4 of my Norwegian Literature Month.

By Linn Ullmann. I got this as a birthday present from my sister. I´ve been holding on reading it because I was very sceptic. I´ve thought that Linn Ullmann only sold books because she has famous parents. Well, I was wrong. What a lovely book! I couldn’t it away, so I read it in 3 days (which is quite fast for me). I have rarely found something that moved me in the same way this book did. Beautifully written. What it is about? I don’t know. About life?

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