Last Year's Literature (Tati)

So, here's a list of my accomplished reading of last year. I would say it's about half of what it usually is, I have prioritised differently. Also, reding Vargas Llosa in Spanish took a very long time, being my third language, and I also wasted a lot of time trying to get through a book by García Márquez that I never finished due to it being utterly boring.

Carlos Ruíz Zafón: Vindens skugga
Gabriel García Márquez: Love in the times of cholera
Mario Vargas Llosa: La fiesta del chiv0
Isabel Allende: La suma the los dias
Mitch Albom: The five people you meet in heaven
Frank McCourt: Angela's ashes
Roberto Bolaño: The savage detectives
The Bible, Genesis
Haruki Murakami: Norwegian wood
Jack Kerouac: On the road
Oscar Wilde: The picture of Dorian Gray
Lotta Abrahamsson: Full koll

Dreamwords

Dreamwords
Paul Story
Honesty Edition, 2011

First impression:
The most special thing about this book is that it was delivered to the students of my university in large outdoor bunches for people to pick up, read at their leisure, and pay for if they wished to see the sequel in print. This is such a unique and wonderful idea I feel a bit bad about reviewing the book itself, being far from the genre I normally gravitate towards. So I will leave it, I think, until I've finished it.

Review:
Being a book largely concerned with dreams, I was not surprised to find it quite surreal and confusing, however, as my attention span is rather short, I spent a lot of time struggling to remember where I was and how I got there. I did enjoy the science fiction bits, though, and found it a nice twist to a traditional adventure novel. Once into the plot, the book was captivating but I'm afraid it lacked the kind of depth I need to fully submerge myself. Nevertheless I will pass it on and continue to promote the project as I think the attention is definitely deserved.

Rating: Decent

Handla

Tänkte tillhandahålla den lista över bra webbplatser för bokinköp som tidigare låg i länkfältet:

Svenska butiker
Adlibris: Levererar fraktfritt inom Sverige
Bokia: Mainstream men med goda möjligheter att beställa in
Bokus: I samarbete med Akademibokhandeln
CDON Böcker: Billigt men med ett mindre sortiment
Bokbörsen: Utmärkt andrahandssida med stort urval

Engelska butiker
Abebooks: Nytt eller second hand, snabbt, smart och billigt
The Book Depository: Stort urval med gratis frakt
Alibris: Mycket stort sortiment, säljer även second hand
Amazon Books: Bra prisjämföring, säljer även e-böcker
Bookfinder: Stark sökmotor med överblick över återförsäljare
Oxfam Books: Second hand-butik för välgörenhet
The Book People: Bra erbjudanden på bokserier och samlingar
Waterstones: Mycket utförlig butik men något dyr
WHSmith: Resonabelt bra, har tråkigt nog mest bestsellers
Bookswim: Online-bibliotek, tyvärr endast USA
Borders: Mycket utförlig men även här endast USA

Byten
Bookcrossing: Hitta böcker som andra gömmer i världen
Bookhopper: Networking för utbyte av oönskade böcker
Bookmooch: Bytessite med poängsystem
Swapshop: Bestsellers och även andra varor efter poängsystem
Read It Swap It: Bokbyten mellan individuella användare
Paperback Swap: Byte av pocketböcker, endast USA

My own welcome to myself

It's true as they say. I do read an awful lot. More than most people I know. (Except from Bell. Possibly. I'd say it's a pretty tight race.) And because of that the literary whizz-woman herself has invited me to join this honourable operation. I can't promise to keep up to her standards, and I won't, but I'll share some thoughts with y'all, and hopefully you'll get something out of it.
(Provided, of course, that you're not plain dumb by nature and prefer, let's say, Stephanie Meyer to Poe. If that's the case, please ignore my posts.)


This year's literature so far:

Filip Hammar and Fredrik Wikingsson: Tårtgeneralen
Belle De Jour: The Intimate Adventures of a London Call Girl
Yan Martell: Life of Pi
William Shakespeare: Romeo and Juliet, Sonnets to Sundry Notes of Music, The Phoenix and the Turtle
J.K. Rowling: Tales of Beedle The Bard
Selma Lagerlöf: Löwensköldska Ringen, Charlotte Löwensköld
Gunnar Ardelius: Jag Behöver Dig Mer Än Jag Älskar Dig Och Jag Älskar Dig Så Himla Mycket
Jon Ronson: The Men Who Stare At Goats


I don't think I'll be writing any reviews on any of these books. Maybe later. My first review will be on The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde as soon as I finish it.

//A.

Last Year's Literature

Last year held the following books in store for me:

Jules Verne: Around The World In 80 Days
Irvine Welsh: Trainspotting
Les Murray: Den Svarta Hunden
Jonas Gardell: Jenny
Lucy Eyre: I Döda Filosofers Sällskap
Michael Palin: Hemingways Stol
Michael Palin: Spegelstenen
Terry Jones: Erik Vikings Saga
John Cleese; Robin Skynner: Livet Och Hur Man Överlever Det
Jennifer Lee Carrell: Shakespeares Hemlighet
J.K. Rowling: The Tales Of Beedle The Bard
Erlend Loe: Expedition L
The Harvard Lampoon: Bored Of The Rings
Jan Cederquist: Slumpen Är Ingen Tillfällighet
Helen Fielding: Bridget Jones's Diary
Joseph Heller: Something Happened
Stephenie Meyer: Twilight
Mary Roach: Kroppens Sällsamma Liv Efter Döden
Catherine Cookson: Gökungen
Mark Lynas: Sex Grader: Vår Framtid På En Varmare Jord
Göran Hägg: Författarskolan
J.R.R. Tolkien: The Hobbit
Gail Anderson-Dargatz: The Cure For Death By Lightning
Susanna Clarke: Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell
Alan Moore; Dave Gibbons: Watchmen
Robert Rankin: Snuff Fiction
Mary Shelley: Frankenstein, Or, The Modern Prometheus
Evelyn Waugh: A Handful Of Dust
Jane Austen: Emma
Karl Pilkington; Ricky Gervais; Stephen Merchant: Ricky Gervais Presents: The World Of Karl Pilkington
William Shakespeare: Much Ado About Nothing
Martin McDonagh: The Cripple Of Inishmaan
Andrew Bennett; Nicholas Royle: Introduction To Literature, Criticism And Theory
Belle De Jour: The Intimate Adventures Of A London Call Girl

The Kindle

I can not overestimate my enthusiasm at the handy little gadget that is the Kindle. Speaking as a bookworm as well as a tree-hugger, there are many little battles to be won on going electronic. And I do like the slightly nostalgic idea of the black-and-white, as well as the energy-saving technology that also saves on the eyes.

Amazon quite recently released their second generation machine, the Kindle 2, as they imaginatively call it, and yes, my interest persists. Upon first hearing about e-readers in general I was delighted, but was told that there are yet to be any on the market actually worth the money. This, unfortunately, still seems to be the case.

For although I will admit I am very, very fond the tree-slaughter trophies that occupy my bookshelf at present, their proposed physical absence is not the sole reason of my concern. First of all, its budgetly Applish outers do not allure me. The design is indeed cleverer than its predecessor's, but to perfection it clearly has some way to go.

But the most important thing is the range of books available, and at this point I find only disappointment. I ran my bucket list through the online Kindle Store and came out with a meagre 39% of the works. To a high degree, the site is void of both popular literature (with the exception of mind-numbing chick-lit and crime) and classics.

And though I will grant them that the prices are generally decent, they are yet to win me over. For, stingy as I am, my loyalty is hard to acquire without a few free samples.

Bottom #10

I was asked to list my ten least favourite books, in reference to the Top #10 quite recently. I feel obliged to mention that they are not necessarily in the same class of "bad", but merely unappreciated at the time.

Nick Stone: Mr. Clarinet
Marian Keyes: Lucy Sullivan Is Getting Married
Joseph Conrad: Mörkrets Hjärta
Jennifer Lee Carrel: Shakespeares Hemlighet
Jonas Hassen Khemiri: Ett Öga Rött
Arto Paasilinna: Hoppsan, Jag Är Död!
Ronny Sandahl: Vi Som Aldrig Sa Hora
Tony Parsons: Saker Vi Kunde Berätta
William Shakespeare: Hamlet i översättning av Britt Hallqvist
Franz Kafka: Processen

Last Year's Project

The Book Of The Month project was a cheap attempt at increasing my literature collection by at least 12 items. Here are the results (click to enlarge):

Top #10

A bucket list for you, this time, of my favourites. Namedropped, not sorted.

Chuck Palahniuk: Fight Club
Mikhail Bulgakov: Mästaren Och Margarita
Michael Palin: Hemingway's Chair
Anthony Burgess: A Clockwork Orange
Pär Lagerkvist: Dvärgen
Graham Chapman: A Liar's Autobiography
Peter Høeg: Kvinnan Och Apan
Kurt Vonnegut: Breakfast Of Champions
Patrick Süskind: Parfymen: Berättelsen Om En Mördare
Irvine Welsh: Trainspotting

Bucket List

This is a bucket list of works I wish to get a hold of. Please don't be intimidated by its size, I do all I can to work it down to a minimum.

A list of books I am interested in reading or acquiring. It is constantly added to and deducted from.

Ali, Monica: Brick Lane
Alighieri, Dante: Den Gudomliga Komedin
Almquist, Carl Jonas Love: Det Går An
Ariely, Dan: Predictably Irrational
Asimov, Isaac: I, Robot
Auster, Paul: The Illusionist (again)

Barnes, Jonathan: The Somnambulist
Barker, Clive: Abarat
Barrie, James Matthew: Peter Pan
Beavouir, Simone de: She Came To Stay
Beckman, Birger: Bankkamrern Som Kunde Flyga
Bergman, Sten: Min Far Är Kannibal
Blatty, Peter William: The Exorcist
Bradbury, Ray: Fahrenheit 451
Brontë, Emily: Wuthering Heights

Camus, Albert: Främlingen
Carlbring, Magnus: Paul Exodus Propp
Carroll, Lewis: Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, Through The Looking-Glass and The Hunting of the Snark
Carson, Anne: Short Talks
Cassidy, Nathan: Cure for the Common Cold
Cervantes, Miguel de: Don Quixote
Coelho, Paulo: (anything)
Crick, Mark: Kafka's Soup
Crosley, Sloane: I Was Told There'd Be Cake
Cullin, Mitch: Tideland

Dahl, Roald: James and the Giant Peach
Danielsson, Tage: Paket
Defoe, Daniel: The Fortunes and Misfortunes of the Famous Moll Flanders
DeLillo, Don: White Noise
DiCamillo, Kate & Ibatoulline, Bagram: Edward Tulanes Fantastiska Resa
Dickens, Charles: David Copperfield
Didion, Joan: The Year of Magical Thinking
Diverse författare: Lyckad Nedfrysning av Herr Moro
Dixelius, Kalle: Toffs Bok

Easton Ellis, Bret: American Psycho
Elliot, Will: The Pilo Family Circus
Ende, Michael: The Neverending Story
Faulkner, William: The Sound and the Fury
Fischer, Tibor: The Thought Gang
Fitt, Matthew: But n Ben A-Go-Go
Fitzgerald, Francis Scott: The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Flaubert, Gustave: Madame Bovary
Foucault, Michel: (anything)
Freud, Sigmund: Civilisation and its Discontent
Fry, Stephen: Paperweight

Gaiman, Neil: Neverwhere and American Gods
Goethe, Johann Wolfgang von: Faust
Gregory, Philippa: The Other Boleyn Girl

Haden Elgin, Suzette: Native Tongue
Halberstam, Judith: Skin Shows: Gothic Horror and the Technology of Monsters
Hardy, Thomas: Jude the Obscure
Heberlein, Ann: Det Var Inte Mitt Fel!
Hemingway, Ernest: (anything)
Hesse, Hermann: (anything)
Hoff, Benjamin: The Tao of Pooh
Hoffman, Abbie: Steal This Book
Homeros: Illiaden och Odysséen
Houllebecq, Michel: To Stay Alive: A Method
Hornby, Nick: About a Boy
Hugo, Victor: Ringaren i Notre-Dame
Huxley, Aldous: Brave New World
Huysmans, Joris-Karl: Against the Grain

Jacot de Boinod, Adam: The Meaning of Tingo
Janouch, Katerina: Svenska Kvinnors Hemliga Sexuella Äventyr
Jernelöv, Arne: Ibland Blir Det Helt Fel (Men God Mat Tröstar)
Jersild, Per Christian: En Levande Själ
Johnson, Spencer: Who Moved My Cheese?
Joyce, James: Ulysses
Jung, Carl: The Archetypes and the Collective Unconscious

Kay Davies, Deborah: True Things About Me
Kalush, William & Sloman, Larry: The Secret Life of Houdini
Keret, Etgar: Åtta Procent av Ingenting
Klosterman, Chuck: Sex, Drugs and Cocoa Puffs
Krauss, Nicole: History of Love; The Great House

Laing, Ronald David: The Divided Self
Lavers, Christopher: The Natural History of Unicorns
Lawrence, Caroline: The Thieves of Ostia
Lawrence, David Herbert Richards: Lady Chatterley's Lover
Lessing, Doris: (anything)
Lewis, Clive Staples: The Screwtape Letters and The Chronicles of Narnia
Lindsey, Jeff: Darkly Dreaming Dexter
Loe, Erlend: Doppler och Volvo Lastvagnar

Machen, Arthur: The Great God Pan
Martinsson, Harry: Aniara
Márquez, Gabriel García: One Hundred Years of Solitude
McCall Smith, Alexander: (anything)
McCarthy, Cormac: No Country for Old Men
McEwan, Ian: Atonement
Melville, Herman: Moby-Dick
Mishima, Yukio: The Sailor Who Fell From Grace With the Sea
Moody, Hank: God Hates Us All
Morgan, Edwin (translator): Beowulf
Morran, Chris: Hardly Working
Murakami, Haruki: (anything)

Niffnegger, Audrey: The Time Traveler's Wife
Nilsson, Mats-Eric: Den Hemlige Kocken och Äkta Vara

Ormes, Nene: Udda Verklighet
Ott, Thomas: Nummer 73304-23-4153-6-98-8

Palin, Michael: Limericks and Hemingway's Chair (again)
Paolini, Christopher: Eragon (again)
Phillips, Christopher: Socrates' Café
Picouly, Jodi: My Sister's Keeper
Pratchett, Terry: (anything)

Raspe, Rudolf Erich: The Surprising Adventures of Braon Munchausen
Rhinehart, Luke: The Dice Man
Rice, Anne: The Vampire Chronicles
Robinson, John Elder: Look Me in the Eye
Roche, Charlotte: Wetlands (again)
Roman, Andreas: När Änglar Dör
Ronson, Jon: The Men Who Stare At Goats
Roos, Harry & Hemmingsson, Nina: Demoner
Roth, Philip: Portnoy's Complaint
Rushdie, Salman: The Satanic Verses
Rymer, James Malcolm: Varney the Vampire

Sacks, Oliver: The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat
Sapphire: Push
Sarine, Douglas & Nichols, Kent: The Ninja Handbook
Sebold, Alice: The Lovely Bones
Selby, Hubert Jr: Requiem for a Dream
Shearman, Robert: Lovesongs for the Shy and Cynical
Shteyngart, Gary: Super Sad True Love Story
Solanas, Valerie: Scum Manifesto
Southern, Terry: The Magic Christian
Sterne, Laurence: The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy
Stenberg, Birgitta: Erotiska Noveller
Stevenson, Robert Louis: The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde and Treasure Island
Stross, Charles: Accelerando
Swarup, VIkas: Q & A

Trenter, Ulla: Rika Barn Leka Bäst
Tusset, Pablo: The Best Thing That Can Happen to a Croissant

Verne, Jules: Journey to the Centre of the Earth
Vonnegut, Kurt: (anything)

Walpole, Hugh: Rogue Herris
Weber, Bernard: (anything)
Wegelius, Jacob: Legenden om Sally Jones
Wells, George Herbert: The Time Machine
Westerlund, Tina: Svenska Oförskämdheter
Wetterberg, Thomas: Dingo Dingo
Wica, Wictoria: Blommorna i Trädgården Bredvid
Willén, Linnea: Barfota Änglar
Woolf, Virginia: Mrs. Dalloway and The Second Sex

Yu, Charles: How to Live Safely in a Science Fictional Universe

Zola, Émile: Thérèse Raquin