Books I've read in 2009 - March

Tyvenes marked by Jan Guillou - AUDIO
Ella Minnow Pea by Mark Dunn
Dongola by Idris Ali
Tricks of the Mind by Derren Brown
Nobels testamente by Liza Marklund - AUDIO
Millioner by Frank Cottrell Boyce
Lakse-enka by Ingrid Bjørnov - AUDIO
Tortoises, Terrapins and Turtles by Ivor & Audrey Noel-Hume
The Black Swan by Mercedes Lackey
Livstid by Liza Marklund - AUDIO
Unge Tørless by Robert Musil
Harens år by Arto Paasilinna
Overtalelse by Jane Austen - AUDIO

8 printed books, 1,752 pages.
5 audiobooks, 49h 20m.

Best fiction: Ella Minnow Pea, no question. So creative, so clever, so entertaining and yet so thought-provoking. It dealt with an unreal and unrealistic situation, yet it held a mirror up to reality for me, in some ways. I can't recommend it enough.

Best nonfiction: I've only read two, so there isn't much to choose from. :-) I have to say Tricks of the Mind. An interesting read, entertaining, certainly well written. Not all the material held my interest equally but there was more than enough there to make it worthwhile. And Brown is a funny guy. :-)

Best audio: Kind of hard to choose. But I think I'll have to go with Overtalelse (original title: Persuasion). I'd read it before, of course, and I know the story well, which makes it all the more impressive that I enjoyed it so much this time too. The ending moved me almost to tears even though I knew exactly what would happen. The book was beautifully read by the actress Petronella Barker. She did a wonderful job, really made the story and characters come alive. I don't think I've 'read' this book for the last time. ;-)

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Cross-posted from my main blog, here.

Good article on AbeBooks.com

Here's a good article on the excellent website AbeBooks.com. It's about children's literature and how it's important that kids have access to 'darker' reading material as well - think Roald Dahl, say, or the Brothers Grimm - and not just fluffy cutesie stories. I so agree. :-)

A rhyme on books

Books to the ceiling
Books to the sky.
My pile of books
Are a mile high.
How I love them!
How I need them!
I'll have a long beard
By the time I read them.

Arnold Lobel

Opening night jitters ...

... I has dem ... :-)

The Niels Arden Oplev movie based on Stieg Larsson's first Millennium novel opens in Norway tonight. I've got my ticket and I can't hardly wait. :-)

Flea market season is almost here ... !

Next weekend marks the opening of the flea market season here in the Oslo area. :-) There are two events on the 14th/15th, one of which I would normally definitely go to - namely, the flea market held twice a year at Hasle elementary school. Unfortunately, I will have to miss this one, since I will be in Warsaw, Poland next weekend. I'm OK with that. :-) I'll be back for the one at Høyenhall, though - I always go to that one (it's also twice a year) and I will definitely be there on March 21st. :-)

If you're in the Oslo area and you're looking for a flea market, this is the place to go to: loppemarked.info, a great site with lots of detailed info on a huge number of events. I'm addicted to that site during the season. :-) Check it out. :-)

These are some pictures of various hauls I've brought home from flea markets in the past. Mostly books, yeah. ;-)

Henrik Ibsen: Terje Vigen

Der bode en underlig gråsprængt en
På den yderste, nøgne ø;-
Han gjorde visst intet menneske mén
Hverken på land eller sjø;
Dog stundom gnistred hans øjne stygt; -
Helst mod uroligt vejr, -
Og da mente folk, at han var forrykt,
Og da var der få, som uden frygt
Kom Terje Vigen nær.

Siden jeg så ham en enkelt gang,
Han lå ved bryggen med fisk;
Hans hår var hvidt, men han lo og sang
Og var som en ungdom frisk.
Til pigerne havde han skjemtsomme ord,
Han spøgte med byens børn,
Han svinged sydvesten og sprang ombord;
Så hejste han fokken, og hjem han foer
I solskin, den gamle ørn.

Nu skal jeg fortælle, hvad jeg har hørt
Om Terje fra først til sidst,
Og skulde det stundom falde lidt tørt,
Så er det dog sandt og visst;
Jeg har det just ej fra hans egen mund,
Men vel fra hans nærmeste kreds, -
Fra dem, som stod hos i hans sidste stund
Og lukked hans øjne til fredens blund,
Da han døde højt opp' i de treds.

Resten av diktet her.

Book quote

After love, food is the most important thing in life, and whoever thinks politics more important should ponder the fact that politics would not exist but for a lack of food and love.

JF Federspiel, The Ballad of Typhoid Mary
(Penguin Books?, 1985)

My copy on BookCrossing here.