Books I've read in 2010 - April

Regnbogane by Olav H Hauge
Yemen: Travels in Dictionary Land by Tim Mackintosh-Smith
Slaves and Obsession by Anne Perry – AUDIO
The Suspicions of Mr Whicher or The Murder at Road Hill House by Kate Summerscale
Jenta som lekte med ilden by Stieg Larsson – AUDIO
Babettes gjestebud by Karen Blixen (Gyldendals lille bibliotek)
The Monk by Matthew Lewis
Reven var alt dengang jeger by Herta Müller
Kong Leopolds arv by Adam Hochschild
Luftslottet som sprengtes by Stieg Larsson – AUDIO
Åpent sinn eller høl i hue? by Dyrendal/Pettersen/Søderlind, eds.
Appelsinpigen by Jostein Gaarder
Darkly Dreaming Dexter by Jeff Lindsay
Tapte døtre by Xinran
The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie by Muriel Spark
Monster by Knut Nærum - AUDIO
Släpp inte taget by Harlan Coben – AUDIO

12 printed books, 2,836 pages.
5 audiobooks, 76h 30m.

Favorite fiction:
Meh. I've read several books this month that were good, in fact I haven't read any that were bad. But at the same time none of them really stood out. It's hard to choose one this month, I don't feel like I really have a favorite among these books. Maybe Babette's Feast, because that one I really really liked. :-) I guess I have to say The Monk. It was a good read, but also a pretty difficult one ... the plot goes off in so many directions and the language is so old-fashioned. Understandable, but still. :-)

Favorite nonfiction:
Now in this category I have the opposite problem ... !! :-D I've read so much wonderful nonfiction this month. I can hardly choose just one of them. The Xinran book was fantastic, especially since I'd just heard her speak about it here in Oslo a few days before reading it. But since I do have to pick just one, I think I have to say King Leopold's Ghost. A harrowing read, but just amazing. An absolute must read.

Favorite audio:
The Girl Who Played With Fire ... ? Same as last month, a reread, but it is such a good read and the audiobooks I've read this month that have been new haven't been all that. Except maybe Monster ... ? I guess Stieg Larsson wins again. :-)

Please note that I've read a book of poetry this month. Out of the box, hell yeah!

Kate Summerscale: The Suspicions of Mr Whicher

Published by Bloomsbury in 2008.
360 pages (trade paperback edition).

Books I've read in 2010 - February

Death of a Nobody by Georges Simenon (a Penguin 60)
American Eve by Paula Uruburu
When We Were Orphans by Kazuo Ishiguro - AUDIO
Dette blendende fravær av lys by Tahar ben Jelloun
Inkheart by Cornelia Funke
Talking with Serial Killers by Christopher Berry-Dee
De profundis by Oscar Wilde
Seierherrene by Roy Jacobsen - AUDIO
Natt til fjerde november by Karin Fossum
De dødes tjern by Bernhard Borge - AUDIO
What Should I Do If Reverend Billy Is In My Store? by Bill Talen
The Way Through the Snow by Lian Hearn

9 printed books, 2,314 pages.
3 audiobooks, 37h 10m.
Favorite fiction: I guess I have to say the Moroccan book - the English title is This Blinding Absence of Light. A heart-wrenching story, but also deeply moving and inspiring.

Favorite nonfiction: American Eve. A fascinating portrait of New York ca 1900.

Favorite audio: I'm tempted to say De dødes tjern, but I'm not sure if that can really count, since it was 'just' a reread. But there's no one title that really stands out this month.

Karin Alvtegen: Svik

Utgitt av Lydbokforlaget i 2004.

Lydbok, 7t 16m.

Lest av Andrine Sæther.

The review is in English.

Karin Alvtegen: Skygge

Utgitt av Lydbokforlaget i 2008.
Lydbok, 11t 17m.
Lest av Morten Andresen.



The review is in English.

Books I've read in 2010 - January

QuixotiQ by Ali al Saeed
The Maltese Falcon by Dashiell Hammett
Kunzelmann & Kunzelmann by Carl-Johan Vallgren – AUDIO
Perfect Happiness by Rachel Billington
Trankebar by Yngvar Ustvedt
Bartleby by Herman Melville (a Penguin 60)
Rør himlen by Susan Madison
Men ikke hvis det gjelder din datter by Jan Guillou – AUDIO
Twitterature by Aciman/Rensin
Den lille prinsen by Antoine de Saint-Exupery – AUDIO
Making Money by Terry Pratchett
Dead Ends by Michael Reynolds
Skygge by Karin Alvtegen – AUDIO
Tennyson's Gift by Lynne Truss
Svik by Karin Alvtegen – AUDIO

10 printed books, 2,639 pages.

5 audiobooks, 52h 20m.

Favorite fiction:

Making Money. Hey, it's Pterry, what can I say. He's my hero. :-)

Favorite nonfiction:

Not much to choose from here. I guess Trankebar, even though it was far from as well written as I had expected it to be. But the subject matter - Danish-Norwegian colonial history in India - was very interesting.

Favorite audio:

Hard to choose here. But I guess I have to go with Svik, even though the Vallgren book was fantastic too. Svik had an absolutely fascinating plot, and it was SO well read (by the actress Andrine Sæther - the perfect reader for this book). This really stood out because just before it I had read another audiobook by the same author, but with a different reader, who did a pretty crappy job.

And finally, although I don't normally do this, I have to mention my least favorite read too - QuixotiQ, by a total idiot with no talent. DO NOT READ.

Carl-Johan Vallgren: Kunzelmann & Kunzelmann

Utgitt av Lydbokforlaget i 2009.
Lydbok, 17t 57m.
Lest av Kai Remlov.
Boka kom opprinnelig ut på svensk i 2009.



The review is in English.

Måns Kallentoft: Midtvinterblod

Utgitt av Schibsted i 2008.
Opprinnelig utgitt på svensk i 2007.
Oversatt av Nina M. Due.
507 sider.



The review is in English.