tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10426756002566204222024-02-08T02:13:47.343+01:00Helena's bookshelfHelenahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10180600036667918968noreply@blogger.comBlogger120125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1042675600256620422.post-83641063248240345652012-04-13T14:18:00.000+02:002012-04-13T14:18:00.374+02:00The 60's called...... they wanted their values back.<br />
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<a data-mce-href="http://helenasbokhylla.files.wordpress.com/2012/04/hunger_games_ver24.jpg" href="http://helenasbokhylla.files.wordpress.com/2012/04/hunger_games_ver24.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" class="alignleft wp-image-1150" data-mce-src="http://helenasbokhylla.files.wordpress.com/2012/04/hunger_games_ver24.jpg" height="317" src="http://helenasbokhylla.files.wordpress.com/2012/04/hunger_games_ver24.jpg" title="hunger_games_ver24" width="214" /></a>So, hubby and I went to see <i>Hunger Games</i> last week. <span class="" id="result_box" lang="en"><span class="hps">And I</span> <span class="hps">must</span> <span class="hps">say I am</span> <span class="hps">really satisfied</span> <span class="hps">with the result! </span><span class="hps">The book</span> <span class="hps">is of course</span> <span class="hps">- as always -</span> <span class="hps">a lot better</span> <span class="hps">but I still think</span> <span class="hps">that even</span> <span class="hps">the film version was</span><span class="hps"> of good standard</span>. <span class="hps">My husband</span> <span class="hps">thought it was</span> <span class="hps">a little</span> <span class="hps">slow,</span> <span class="hps">but I thought</span> <span class="hps">it was fantastic</span>. <span class="hps">However, I am</span> <span class="hps">also not</span> <span class="hps">quite as</span> <span class="hps">sensitive</span> <span class="hps">to</span> <span class="hps">slow</span> movie <span class="hps">sections as he is. I do wonder as bit though, </span></span><span class="" id="result_box" lang="en"><span class="hps">how the movie</span> <span class="hps">was</span> <span class="hps">if you</span> <span class="hps">have not read</span> <span class="hps">the books.</span> Do you understand everything or do you miss a lot of subtle messages?</span><br />
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But what's mainly been bothering me about this movie however, is actually not the movie itself, but rather <span class="" id="result_box" lang="en"><span class="hps">the</span> <span class="hps">twitter</span> <span class="hps">debate that</span> <span class="hps">has raged</span> <span class="hps">in the United States</span> <span class="hps">about</span> <span class="hps">Rue</span><span class="hps">.</span> <span class="hps">Rue</span> <span class="hps">is described</span> <span class="hps">in</span> <span class="hps">the</span> <span class="hps">book to have</span> <span class="hps">"dark</span> <span class="hps">brown</span> <span class="hps">skin"</span> <span class="hps">but apparently</span> the <span class="hps">reading</span> comprehension levels have decreased so rapidly as of lately <span class="hps">that many people</span> <span class="hps">missed</span> <span class="hps">that detail.</span> <span class="hps">But that's not the main problem. Okay, so maybe one can miss that kind of important detail but</span></span><span class="" id="result_box" lang="en"><span class="hps"> then</span> <span class="hps">when it turns out</span> <span class="hps">that</span> <span class="hps">Rue</span> <span class="hps">is played by</span> <span class="hps">a dark-skinned</span> <span class="hps">girl</span>, <span class="hps atn">a person in their right mind should be thinking "</span>Oh, she was back? I<span class="hps"> missed</span> that. <span class="hps">What do you know.</span>" </span><span class="" id="result_box" lang="en"><span class="hps">End</span> <span class="hps">of story.</span></span></div>
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<span class="" id="result_box" lang="en"><span class="hps"> </span><br />You would think<span class="hps">.</span> <span class="hps">But no</span>. Instead of accepting the fact and moving on, people log on to the Internet and post awful and rastistic tweets about how <span class="hps">they do not</span> <span class="hps">want to</span> <span class="hps">see the film</span>, <span class="hps">that</span> <span class="hps">it ruined</span> <span class="hps">the whole movie</span> <span class="hps">or</span> <span class="hps">the most disgusting thing</span> <span class="hps">of all -</span> that <span class="hps">Rue's</span> <span class="hps">death</span> <span class="hps">was not as</span> <span class="hps">sad</span> as they'd imagined - because of the color of her skin. </span></div>
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<span class="" id="result_box" lang="en">Hence, the 60's called... Seriously, people... Haven't we gotten further than this?</span></div>Helenahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10180600036667918968noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1042675600256620422.post-50782155749203226872012-04-11T14:32:00.002+02:002012-04-11T14:32:55.241+02:00Review: Mini Shopoholic by Sophie Kinsella<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://image.bokus.com/images2/9789173517294_large_en-mini-shopaholic-i-mammas-fotspar" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://image.bokus.com/images2/9789173517294_large_en-mini-shopaholic-i-mammas-fotspar" /></a></div>
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<i><b>Plot:</b> Becky Brandon (nee Bloomwood) thought motherhood would be a breeze and
that having a daughter was a dream come true - a shopping friend for
life! But it's trickier than she thought - two-year-old Minnie has a
quite different approach to shopping. She can create havoc everywhere
from Harrods to Harvey Nicks to her own christening. She hires taxis at
random, her favourite word is 'Mine', and she's even started bidding for
designer bags on ebay. On top of everything else, there's a big
financial crisis. People are having to Cut Back - including all of
Becky's personal shopping clients - and she and Luke are still living
with Becky's Mum and Dad. To cheer everyone up, Becky decides to throw a
surprise birthday party - on a budget - but then things become really
complicated. Who will end up on the naughty step, who will get a gold
star and will Becky's secret wishes come true? </i><span id="freeText6788480241426074852"></span></div>
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<b>My opinion: </b><span class="" id="result_box" lang="en"><span class="hps">Sophie</span> <span class="hps">Kinsella-s</span> <span class="hps">Shopoholic</span>-<span class="hps">series</span> <span class="hps">is a bit</span> <span class="hps">of a</span> <span class="hps">guilty pleasure</span> <span class="hps">for</span> <span class="hps">me.</span> <span class="hps">I have followed</span> <span class="hps">Rebecca</span> <span class="hps">Bloom</span> <span class="hps">Wood</span> <span class="hps">ever since</span> <span class="hps">the first book</span> <i><span class="hps">Confessions of a Shopaholic </span></i><span class="hps"><i></i>eas released in</span><span class="hps"> Swedish</span> <span class="hps">paperback</span> <span class="hps">in 2006 and</span> have gotten <span class="hps">to experience</span> <span class="hps">great things in</span> <span class="hps">her life:</span> <span class="hps">marriage,</span> <span class="hps">new</span> <span class="hps">job,</span> <span class="hps">baby.</span> <span class="hps">And</span> <span class="hps">this latest</span> <span class="hps">book is supposed to</span><span class="hps"></span> <span class="hps">be about</span> <span class="hps">Rebecca's</span> <span class="hps">daughter according to the blurb.</span></span></div>
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<span class="" id="result_box" lang="en"><span class="hps">I find this book to have</span><span class="hps"> a little</span> <span class="hps">more serious and</span> <span class="hps">darker</span> <span class="hps">undertones</span> <span class="hps">than normal</span>; not <span class="hps">even in the</span> <span class="hps">Rebecca</span> <span class="hps">Blom</span>w<span class="hps">oods</span> <span class="hps">universe</span> <span class="hps">can one</span> <span class="hps">escape the</span> <span class="hps">financial crisis.</span> <span class="hps">But</span> <span class="hps">Rebecca</span> <span class="hps">Bloom</span> <span class="hps">Wood</span> <span class="hps">must</span> <span class="hps">be</span> <span class="hps">at least partially,</span> <span class="hps">cat,</span> because <span class="hps">no matter</span> <span class="hps">what obstacles</span> <span class="hps">she encounters</span><span>, she</span> <span class="hps">always</span> lands <span class="hps">on two feet.</span> <span class="hps">My</span> <span class="hps">favorite part</span><span>,</span> <span class="hps">which</span> <span class="hps">recurs in</span> <span class="hps">all the books</span><span>, are</span> the <span class="hps">at first very</span> <span class="hps">polite</span> <span class="hps">but at the end</span> <span class="hps">more and more frustrated</span> <span class="hps">letter</span> <span class="hps">Rebecca</span> <span class="hps">get from</span> <span class="hps">banks, shops</span> <span class="hps">and so on.</span> <span class="hps"></span></span><span class="" id="result_box" lang="en"><span class="hps">In this book</span> <span class="hps">she receives</span> <span class="hps">such</span> <span class="hps">a letter from</span> <span class="hps">the Treasury,</span> <span class="hps">with a polite thanks but no</span> <span class="hps">thanks</span> <span class="hps"></span><span class="hps">for her</span> <span class="hps">tips on</span> <span class="hps">the government finances. Epic.</span></span></div>
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<span class="" id="result_box" lang="en"><span class="hps">Like the</span> <span class="hps">previous books</span> <span class="hps">in the series,</span><span class="hps"> this</span> <span class="hps">one is also easy to</span> <span class="hps">get into</span> <span class="hps">and hard to</span> <span class="hps">put down.</span> <span class="hps">A more light read</span> <span class="hps">than this</span> <span class="hps">is hard to find</span><span>,</span> <span class="hps">and although I</span> <span class="hps">sometimes</span> <span class="hps">get a little angry</span> <span class="hps">with</span> <span class="hps">Rebecca</span> for never being able to stop spending money, I still like here.</span><span class="" id="result_box" lang="en"><span class="hps"></span> <span class="hps">In the future, if</span> <span class="hps">there will be another</span> <span class="hps">book in</span> <span class="hps">the</span> <span class="hps">series</span><span class="">, I will</span> <span class="hps">definitely</span> <span class="hps">read it.</span></span><span class="" id="result_box" lang="en"><span class="hps"> </span></span><span class="" id="result_box" lang="en"><span class="hps"></span></span></div>Helenahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10180600036667918968noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1042675600256620422.post-7489646504047773122012-04-09T19:52:00.000+02:002012-04-09T19:52:06.627+02:00I'm back!<div style="text-align: justify;">
I couldn't keep away any longer! I missed bloging too damn much! I just hope you're still there! </div>
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While I've been away from here, I've still been bloging though. I still have my personal blog about my everyday life (mainly for my family and relatives far away) and I've also tried book blogging in Swedish, which is awesome too. Then I realized that "Hey, I can do both!" I mean, If I write a review on a book in Swedish, it's fast work to translate it into English. And hell, sometimes it is easier to write it in English than in Swedish although Swedish is my mother tongue... Weird. Must be all those book blogs in English that I keep consuming. I kinda pick up on the English book lingo rather than the Swedish dito.</div>
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Aaaanyway... after having summarized my 2011 reading back in January, I realized that I've had a very one-track mind when it comes to my reading so for 2012 I have given myself a few challenges book wise. </div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><b>Book challenges 20120</b></span></div>
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<br /><i>1. More men</i> During 2011, I managed to read only three books by male authors as opposed to the 40 female authors whose books I've tried out. So more equality gender wise is my first challenge. <br /><br /><i>2. More Swedish</i><br />Perhaps a drag for most of you who don't understand Swedish, but.. Many Swedish authors, especially crime writers are translated into other languages such as English, German and Dutch at the moment, though. So, why more Swedish you ask? Apart from the fact that it might be nice to keep up to date with Swedish literature, it's also easier and cheaper to come by in Sweden, which brings us to my next order of business. <br /><br /><i>3. More library visits</i><br />Materialist - ja visst! Or owning is awesome! I do love owning my books. But I'm just don't have the financial situation right now where I can afford to buy as many books as I previously have. So more visits to the library is another challenge. That's also where "More Swedish" comes in to the picture. Swedish libraries mainly have Swedish books - shocking, I know! At least, my (small) local libraries have a limited selection of foreign books. But they do have a lot of new Swedish books and quite a good selection of books translated into Swedish. <br /><br /><i>4. A better mix</i><br />This challenge can be summed up in one simple sentence and in a way it kind of includes the others: I'm basically going to try to achieve a greater variation when it comes to genre, language, sex of the author etc. Simply more variation.</div>
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That's it for now. I hope to see you around! </div>Helenahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10180600036667918968noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1042675600256620422.post-38756985834577618482011-12-28T11:11:00.000+01:002011-12-28T11:11:17.256+01:00So long, Farewell, Auf Wiedersehen, Good-bye<div style="text-align: justify;">These last few days I have though a lot about the future of this blog and I have come to a decision. I'm going to pause "Helena's Bookshelf" for a while. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Where it started off as something fun in my life, lately it has felt like another chore. And I've had constant bad conscious about not reading enough and not posting enough and not participating in enough memes and features. It's been a great year, you guys, and I've gotten to know some great people and learned so much. But I just don't have the time and commitment right now. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">I'm not gonna close the blog altogether, I still wanna keep all my kick-ass reviews. When I retrace my steps and read my first reviews that I had almost forgotten, I realize the job I've put into them and I feel quite proud. And maybe I'll get withdrawal symptoms after a while and decide to go back, who knows?</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Anyway, I would like to take the opportunity to thank my followers for your time and support. You have made this one h*ll of a journey and a great expericene. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">TACK!</div>Helenahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10180600036667918968noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1042675600256620422.post-29705023756696439682011-12-24T11:36:00.002+01:002011-12-24T11:36:57.422+01:00Merry Christmas!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrfQMAura3SrAglOJ04iLfEHlNu38llv9bsfkLt4yLVlYWrrlL7pE44zER0BBEQmd8okc5u7DaDiht_RoA3A3Qee5T73zydA-6Qqwk-aUfznviYp7yEB21sEzIB1LUnM2d2RkyONmjJeBe/s1600/IMG_1464.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrfQMAura3SrAglOJ04iLfEHlNu38llv9bsfkLt4yLVlYWrrlL7pE44zER0BBEQmd8okc5u7DaDiht_RoA3A3Qee5T73zydA-6Qqwk-aUfznviYp7yEB21sEzIB1LUnM2d2RkyONmjJeBe/s640/IMG_1464.JPG" width="480" /></a></div><div align="justify"></div>Helenahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10180600036667918968noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1042675600256620422.post-70495203816375469932011-12-17T15:34:00.000+01:002011-12-17T15:34:40.022+01:00Review: Carrier of the Mark by Leigh Fallon<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1307640737l/10335701.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><b><img border="0" height="320" src="http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1307640737l/10335701.jpg" width="212" /></b></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>The plot:</b> <span id="freeText14206438902376462404"><i>From the moment she sets foot at her new school in Ireland, Megan is inexplicably drawn to the darkly handsome Adam DeRis. But Megan soon discovers that her feelings for Adam are tied to a supernatural fate that was sealed long ago—and that the passion and power that unites them could be their ultimate destruction. <span style="font-size: x-small;">(Summary from goodreads.com)</span></i><span style="font-size: x-small;"><br />
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><b>My opinion:</b> <span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">I’ve been holding back on reading this novel on purpose because I had read ecstatic reviews on it, but I’ve really been struggling with it. It’s taken me over two weeks to finish it, which is a long time for me. With a good book I read at every opportunity, but this one has spent most of its time lying in the bathroom. I even forgot to bring it to work to reads on the train there.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">Although I usually frown upon the fact that everything paranormal is to be compared to Twilight (though it’s lessened somewhat as of lately) but when reading this novel I couldn’t help but doing it too. It’s just too evident. First there are the mysterious siblings at school that everyone’s sort of suspicious about. Then there’s the I-should-stay-away-from-you-but-I’m-not-strong-enough á la Edward Cullen and after that the professing of their undying love for one another after having know each other for what, two weeks? However, Twilight for me, though perhaps not Nobel Prize material, made me feel. I felt their love and their pain, but sadly this novel didn’t do anything in that department. There was no chemistry on the page.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">That said, reading it was perhaps not a complete waste of time. The world building was sound and Megan was a likable character. I was intrigued by the mythological element of the Marks. Ancient prophecies are always great. Had the book circled more around that than the Megan-Adam love story, it probably would’ve been much better. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">If you loved Twilight and want to read the same story again, this might be the book for you. If you loved Twilight but want to read books with other storylines this is not. Personally I will not pick up the next </span><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">installment</span><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"> </span><span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">in the series. </span></div>Helenahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10180600036667918968noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1042675600256620422.post-16840774142705982992011-12-04T08:13:00.000+01:002011-12-04T08:13:00.150+01:00In my mailbox (32)<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbOtS4o39LoU9yoe3IcHff6euj-c7wJDI3CUpX_2syl8V7XTMx-HaPodfcpgCaId_X-AW2fx9Y9BHM9Vc3ytDecE7FMwG8CwxFY24FiASkOuAJMsJCjysJAF4Nq24_U3MSEQlwOGeurpfM/s1600/IMG_1120.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbOtS4o39LoU9yoe3IcHff6euj-c7wJDI3CUpX_2syl8V7XTMx-HaPodfcpgCaId_X-AW2fx9Y9BHM9Vc3ytDecE7FMwG8CwxFY24FiASkOuAJMsJCjysJAF4Nq24_U3MSEQlwOGeurpfM/s200/IMG_1120.jpg" width="150" /></a><br />
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In My Mailbox is a meme created and hosted by Kristi @ <a href="http://www.thestorysiren.com/">The Story Siren.</a><br />
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</div><div style="text-align: justify;">It is a great way for everyone to share their new books with the world: bought, gifted, won, borrowed or from the library.<br />
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<div style="text-align: center;"><b>Bought: </b></div><br />
I admit that these aren't books but movies. However, I still think they qualify to make it into my IMM this week.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4gCxZhwkFQGnDIV1YaJHUCMDkdr16jY3-dKbTK9Q7BBtO6k2EbU7ydfHlkDAw75VajFQOa0p-7b-aONj7WoBDwDHV8_fAmvSs97WwVFo9vEHjPHzo9dX8pvGu0XAdskOL0AlMY8nOsvgj/s1600/Harry-Potter-Collection.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="303" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4gCxZhwkFQGnDIV1YaJHUCMDkdr16jY3-dKbTK9Q7BBtO6k2EbU7ydfHlkDAw75VajFQOa0p-7b-aONj7WoBDwDHV8_fAmvSs97WwVFo9vEHjPHzo9dX8pvGu0XAdskOL0AlMY8nOsvgj/s400/Harry-Potter-Collection.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br />
<div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Harry-Potter-Complete-8-Film-Collection/dp/B005OCFGTO/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1322905805&sr=8-2">Harry Potter Collection</a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><i>We already had the five (I think) first Harry Potter movies in our movie collection, although in a semi-illegal format (or probably totally illegal), but when I could get my hand on all the HP movies in a totally legal and great looking box for a reasonable price, I seized the opportunity. Merry Christmas to me!</i></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><i><br />
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</div><div style="text-align: center;">What was in your mailboxes this week?<i><br />
</i></div></div>Helenahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10180600036667918968noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1042675600256620422.post-26059337733913391462011-12-03T11:44:00.001+01:002011-12-03T11:44:51.084+01:00Christmas in Sweden, part 1<div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Warning: </b><i>This post has nothing to do with books. It's all about my personal (and partly traditional Swedish) Christmas celebration. I think it's my teacher side wanting to educate you all. This is part 1: Advent.</i></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">I love Christmas. I always have. But even more than Christmas, I nowadays love Advent. You know the four Sundays before Christmas Eve, and all the weekdays in between of course. Second advent is coming up tomorrow, it's crazy how time flies.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Anyways, me and mom started our Advent preparations last Saturday. Advent for me is very much about traditions and the first tradition is the making of the wreath to hang on your door. So we went out in the forest and picked juniper twigs that we formed into wreaths, which we decorated with red ribbons and hung on our respective doors. This is mine this year (pretty, huh?) and beside it a decoration for the porch made of the juniper twigs that were left over.</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8eb-ZIHFPWBpYvKl9iJAVabXsPNmJn59KD-nLz86iX8r1WEPBQ_fgvgpRuMn57qYog6teflLOknJgoQoVSTvRKc7a4BL0fHOlnyAhuYZH31gCEOyIGAeI_Lqy_iQX9KLy_ZWWUuzDM-FA/s1600/IMG_1394.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8eb-ZIHFPWBpYvKl9iJAVabXsPNmJn59KD-nLz86iX8r1WEPBQ_fgvgpRuMn57qYog6teflLOknJgoQoVSTvRKc7a4BL0fHOlnyAhuYZH31gCEOyIGAeI_Lqy_iQX9KLy_ZWWUuzDM-FA/s320/IMG_1394.jpg" width="240" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmEZMAMCPpLYuoEKD0HfP6MhdswUcloTBWe-5L97bIyjyKD-FnVRtxTkMjFvYaAmKL9Moi9jojt33ddsPDPme002vjK3sGtCtjJSAdyub7Ts6L9l3TabCL89DqXQIOL4QP5zcdRzB0nyYG/s1600/IMG_1410.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmEZMAMCPpLYuoEKD0HfP6MhdswUcloTBWe-5L97bIyjyKD-FnVRtxTkMjFvYaAmKL9Moi9jojt33ddsPDPme002vjK3sGtCtjJSAdyub7Ts6L9l3TabCL89DqXQIOL4QP5zcdRzB0nyYG/s320/IMG_1410.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><br />
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</div><div style="text-align: justify;">After the making of the wreaths, it was time for another important Advent tradition, namely baking gingerbread cookies. My mom always makes her own gingerbread dough and it's the best. We have a few different traditional pastry-cutters such as Christmas pig, gingerbread man and his wife, Christmas tree, heart, Christmas goat (an old Scandinavian pagan tradition dating back to the Viking Age) and my favorite: the angel. Mmm... gingerbread cookies warm out of the oven. You can't beat that.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEie1u51eDfFWjYqraZabL1o3CF3fD4kdbx9rrNn-nNDJlll71X7NtlM0zKakRGZ1GlCJfRtDRpkS9hRXNWjLqP4DCw9it9ITyahWEvmRmUGZylCFluNrPUkj_k8p-nfcNsq_m6j9yfiWLx_/s1600/IMG_1385.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEie1u51eDfFWjYqraZabL1o3CF3fD4kdbx9rrNn-nNDJlll71X7NtlM0zKakRGZ1GlCJfRtDRpkS9hRXNWjLqP4DCw9it9ITyahWEvmRmUGZylCFluNrPUkj_k8p-nfcNsq_m6j9yfiWLx_/s400/IMG_1385.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br />
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<div style="text-align: justify;">At this time of year, in the northern hemisphere it is quite dark. And in the northern parts of the northern hemisphere it's even darker. And in the countryside in the northern parts of the northerns hemisphere far away for any street lights it is crazy dark! So the perhaps most important Advent tradition is that of spreading light. </div><br />
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<div style="text-align: justify;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAF5f4b6rxGS42wY71XWa6iI7R-32k1REAVDzbwAUWUzGXlGZnkJDvM6l-cWPv5O25odLVLCX65aCf9vktRA04bOYtrmJim8WBcbAvUqPl7MQOQY2_-Tltlh4pzz5xMRkeIp9lxAIp64u9/s1600/IMG_1411.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAF5f4b6rxGS42wY71XWa6iI7R-32k1REAVDzbwAUWUzGXlGZnkJDvM6l-cWPv5O25odLVLCX65aCf9vktRA04bOYtrmJim8WBcbAvUqPl7MQOQY2_-Tltlh4pzz5xMRkeIp9lxAIp64u9/s320/IMG_1411.jpg" width="320" /></a>Electric candle sticks can be seen in almost every window around Sweden this time of year, as well as electric stars. The one of the left is from my kitchen window. For me, the light of these electric candle sticks almost gives me butterflies in my stomach because it feels so much like Christmas. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
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</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> It is also common to have a Christmas tree outside in your garden and decorate it with electric lights. To the right is our own Christmas tree. We went out into the tiny bit of the forest that now is ours and cut a tree. You can see for yourself that the light of the tree is important in all that compact dark.</div> <br />
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</div><div style="text-align: justify;">However, not only electric lights are a part of Advent. So are of course ordinary candles. Thus is an Advent candle stick, with one candle for each Sunday of Advent. Tomorrow it's time to light the second one.</div>Helenahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10180600036667918968noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1042675600256620422.post-32071790364654535622011-12-01T15:44:00.000+01:002011-12-01T15:44:53.041+01:00Review: Rules of Attraction by Simone Elkeles<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHC32zrgqscC06or44B2zaES6vQJFcOpScgbqKkg4z0-cmCZAwaEjbmsEtXaYQgYr4PesNwrKA60ctc5RXlAq4HSWX_ukdrpFMW1EEIOn_-ifI2w2NfpmHsYncWljnhkLJXmo4b6zonzw/s1600/roa.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHC32zrgqscC06or44B2zaES6vQJFcOpScgbqKkg4z0-cmCZAwaEjbmsEtXaYQgYr4PesNwrKA60ctc5RXlAq4HSWX_ukdrpFMW1EEIOn_-ifI2w2NfpmHsYncWljnhkLJXmo4b6zonzw/s320/roa.jpg" width="209" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>The plot:</b> <i><span id="freeText908334843691828382">When Carlos Fuentes returns to America after living in Mexico for a year, he doesn’t want any part of the life his older brother, Alex, has laid out for him at a high school in Colorado . Carlos likes living his life on the edge and wants to carve his own path—just like Alex did. Then he meets Kiara Westford. She doesn’t talk much and is completely intimidated by Carlos’ wild ways. As they get to know one another, Carlos assumes Kiara thinks she’s too good for him, and refuses to admit that she might be getting to him. But he soon realizes that being himself is exactly what Kiara needs right now. <span style="font-size: x-small;">(Summary from goodreads.com)</span></span></i></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span id="freeText908334843691828382"><b>My opinion: </b>P</span>erhaps since I was absolutely breath-taken with the first Simone Elkeles novel I read, <i>Perfect Chemistry</i>, I had a bit too high expectations of this second novel. Don't get my wrong, I though it was great, but it didn't knock me out of my socks like the first one did. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">The plot and the Romeo and Juliet theme is rather similar to Perfect Chemistry as well as the macho attitude of the male MC. It just didn't feel unique, but then again, I hadn't expected that. Elkeles uses the same writing technique of altering POV's letting us enter both their heads, which makes me fly through a novel in no time. After all, I finished this page turner in less than two days only reading on the train to work and before going to bed. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">For a YA novel, the sex scenes were pretty graphic. Up until now I've never seen myself as a prude but during the time I've read this novel I've had to reconsider. I was at times almost embarrassed when reading it, especially when I read it on the train on my way for work the other day. But, as much sex as there was in this book, I missed some of the heartbreaking romance from the first novel. The falling in love part just went a bit too... fast this time. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
Although not as good as its predecessor, Rules of Attraction is definitely well worth reading and I'll definitely read the third and final (?) novel abut the Fuentes brothers.</div>Helenahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10180600036667918968noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1042675600256620422.post-33471713946034100852011-11-27T08:43:00.001+01:002011-11-27T08:55:07.761+01:00In my mailbox (31)<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbOtS4o39LoU9yoe3IcHff6euj-c7wJDI3CUpX_2syl8V7XTMx-HaPodfcpgCaId_X-AW2fx9Y9BHM9Vc3ytDecE7FMwG8CwxFY24FiASkOuAJMsJCjysJAF4Nq24_U3MSEQlwOGeurpfM/s1600/IMG_1120.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbOtS4o39LoU9yoe3IcHff6euj-c7wJDI3CUpX_2syl8V7XTMx-HaPodfcpgCaId_X-AW2fx9Y9BHM9Vc3ytDecE7FMwG8CwxFY24FiASkOuAJMsJCjysJAF4Nq24_U3MSEQlwOGeurpfM/s200/IMG_1120.jpg" width="150" /></a>In My Mailbox is a meme created and hosted by Kristi @ <a href="http://www.thestorysiren.com/">The Story Siren.</a><br />
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</div><div style="text-align: justify;">It is a great way for everyone to share their new books with the world: bought, gifted, won, borrowed or from the library. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div style="text-align: justify;">You may or may not have noticed that I did not post an IMM last week. Although it's sad not to receive any new books it also means that I'm doing awesome at my quest to buy less books. My new motto will be: Less is more! </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">That means that I will not buy as many books but perhaps pricier ones, for example hardbacks, that I really really want to have. This week though, I have gotten myself some paperbacks that I really really wanted. I am also a bit OCD'd about my books, so if I've started a series in one format I have to get all of them in that format. So there'll be some paperbacks featured too.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><b>Bought:</b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
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<div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.bookdepository.com/Rules-Attraction-Simone-Elkeles/9780857070432">Rules of Attraction</a> by Simone Elkeles</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><i>I totally loved the first novel about the Fuentes brothers (Perfect Chemistry), and though I've heard that this one isn't supposed to be as good I'm still totally psyched to read it.</i></div><br />
<div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.bookdepository.com/Unearthly-Cynthia-Hand/9780061996177">Unearthly</a> by Cynthia Hand</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><i>I've read so many good things about this one and feel like I've waited forever for the paperback with this pretty cover to be released. Totally look forward to it.</i></div><br />
<div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.bookdepository.com/Divergent-Veronica-Roth/9780062084323">Divergent</a> by Veronica Roth</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><i>I wasn't sure if I wanted to read this for some time. Not because it didn't seem great, but because its plot reminded me so much of </i><i>The Hunger Games, and I though perhaps that they'd be too similar. But as time went on and I decided to get it anyway, because the reviews have been so raving. </i></div><br />
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<b>And some work items... </b><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">And as I suspect you know, Christmas is just around the corner so I ordered some German Christmas goodies from buch.de for work. You may not know, but I am a German teacher and so of course I need to spread the Christmas spirit German style. (I actually cheated and had some Stollen last week...)</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzqmNTap9w975yOvLIXbfOj7cRkv5JfJ5FTC-5v9BkFpyKL1PICVfvtoTHPJp9czBE1N0fIXjO41q2OSB_vBRqWgf09gdx-ZuU__72GSejt3r-ypT7QRqdX-FLxQVAMSE05z8AtGRxQLOJ/s1600/IMG_1369.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzqmNTap9w975yOvLIXbfOj7cRkv5JfJ5FTC-5v9BkFpyKL1PICVfvtoTHPJp9czBE1N0fIXjO41q2OSB_vBRqWgf09gdx-ZuU__72GSejt3r-ypT7QRqdX-FLxQVAMSE05z8AtGRxQLOJ/s320/IMG_1369.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.buch.de/shop/home/suchartikel/weihnachten_in_deutschland/EAN4260149821133/ID25256204.html?jumpId=1404285">Weihnachten in Deutschland</a> (Christmas in Germany) - CD</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><i>This is a compilation of common German Christmas Carols, obviously a must when creating holiday spirit German style. Myself I really like Morgen kommt der Weihnachtsmann.</i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.buch.de/shop/home/suchartikel/astrid_lindgren_weihnachten_mit_astrid_lindgren_2/astrid_lindgren/EAN0886975662098/ID17913547.html?jumpId=1404499">Weihnachten mit Astrid Lindgren 2</a> (Christmas with Astrid Lindgren) - DVD</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><i>Believe me, I am fully aware that Astrid Lindgren is not German. She is Swedish! But what can be more Christmasy than Astrid Lindgren, I mean really? The answer to that is probably nothing! So this DVD contains Christmas and winter clips from "The Children of the Noisy Village" - my favorite - and also from "Life on Seacrow Island" synchronized in German.</i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.blogger.com/goog_1911030694"><br />
</a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.buch.de/shop/buecher/artikeldetails/warten_auf_weihnachten/sabine_ludwig/ISBN3-7891-4016-3/ID4179930.html?jumpId=1404997">Warten auf Weihnachten</a> (Waiting for Christmas) - Book</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><i>A collection of short stories or excerpts from longer books all centered around Christmas, obviously also written in German. Also for teaching purposes.</i></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
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</div><div style="text-align: center;">How about you, what did you receive this week?</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div>Helenahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10180600036667918968noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1042675600256620422.post-77763179432609115012011-11-21T15:31:00.000+01:002011-11-21T15:31:07.563+01:00Review: I'd tell you I love you but then I'd have to kill you by Ally Carter<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNqVO7B7X6rvrSMFIK5moKdtUMZIwlRvTyNlm-lHfZ2pZWoRD-0IBw4KSxEVGUPbsDChlIJ9SBHt6ACZhGqD7J60h259puqbZi8YzdsxEADbpk0k8uvKoqNG7XyxyrgRJvRtInx7Tc0Xka/s1600/idtellyouilvoeyoui.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNqVO7B7X6rvrSMFIK5moKdtUMZIwlRvTyNlm-lHfZ2pZWoRD-0IBw4KSxEVGUPbsDChlIJ9SBHt6ACZhGqD7J60h259puqbZi8YzdsxEADbpk0k8uvKoqNG7XyxyrgRJvRtInx7Tc0Xka/s320/idtellyouilvoeyoui.jpg" width="208" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>The plot:</b> <span id="freeText3652458293752308063"><i>The Gallagher Academy for Exceptional Young Women lives up to its name. Not only does this exclusive boarding school teach advanced language skills and correct deportment; its students also master the arts of tapping phones, hacking into computers, and spying in public places. At school, second-generation Gallagher Girl Cammie Morgan has impeccable credentials: She is fluent in 14 languages and able to kill an assailant in seven different ways. But recently life has dealt Cammie a card that she never anticipated: She has fallen in love with an ordinary boy who knows nothing about her exotic double life. A truly covert romance. <span style="font-size: x-small;">(Summary from goodreads.com)</span></i></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><b>My opinion:</b> The title is obviously great (just as the sequels') and the covers with the tartan boarding school skirts are awesome too and what got me to want to read the novel in the first place. But what about the content?</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">This is a light and funny read. A very funny one. On more than one occasion, I've found myself laughing quietly to myself while reading. It is<span lang="EN-GB"> Cammie’s voice that makes this novel fun, for me. She's a teenager without being annoying. She’s ironic, sarcastic and utterly funny. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><i><span lang="EN-GB">“Number of empty Ben & Jerry's ice cream containers: 3 - two mint chocolate cookie, one plain vanilla. (Who buys plain vanilla ice cream from Ben & Jerry's, anyway? </span>Is there a greater waste?)”</i></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">And although a super spy, Cammie's just as insecure about herself as any other teenage girl, making her easy to relate to. Add her falling for a "normal" boy and trying to get him without compromising her school and her spy identity. </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"></div><div style="text-align: justify;">I adore the spy boarding school setting of the Gallagher Academy, and the girls being female James Bonds. Talk about girl power! In a very small way it reminds me of Harry Potter, but only in the sense that they attend a specialized boarding school special subjects (spy-connected ones) instead of ordinary ones, except for foreign languages I suppose, although there are unusually many of them. As a language teacher myself I especially appreciate the boards in the lunch room telling the students what language to speak in. Or how Cammie sometimes is unsure what language she actually spoke just then. (There I can relate although I'm only speaking three languages.)</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">As I started by saying, this is a light and funny read and I'm definitely gonna check out the next installment in the series.</div>Helenahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10180600036667918968noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1042675600256620422.post-31397352209556457612011-11-19T10:54:00.000+01:002011-11-19T10:54:00.541+01:00District 5: Power<div style="text-align: justify;">As of now I am a proud citizen of <i>District 5: Power. </i>Find out which of <a href="http://www.thecapitol.pn/">Panem's 12 districts</a> you belong in.<span style="font-size: x-small;"> (Too bad though, that I couldn't pick Sweden as my country of origin, that's why it says other...)</span></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrllQVNEkWFfGcXjYtzi_QzNhKGYD3RDKQ8Ay4aWvdb6x_hRii-AKVkTZhDR7sGDzROErL4HHES-mGS927Zt6SRGbpq4kX5F5kMUH5Wxt3BMRxzDbeF8V3ZJAib-TkiDBhW2mFP9hcnXPu/s1600/image_dip%25281%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrllQVNEkWFfGcXjYtzi_QzNhKGYD3RDKQ8Ay4aWvdb6x_hRii-AKVkTZhDR7sGDzROErL4HHES-mGS927Zt6SRGbpq4kX5F5kMUH5Wxt3BMRxzDbeF8V3ZJAib-TkiDBhW2mFP9hcnXPu/s400/image_dip%25281%2529.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">May the odds be ever in your favor!</div>Helenahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10180600036667918968noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1042675600256620422.post-18279128378793468102011-11-18T18:12:00.000+01:002011-11-18T18:12:16.640+01:00Review: Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1267522241l/6936382.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1267522241l/6936382.jpg" width="212" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>The plot: </b><i><span id="freeText18408178761421851829">Anna is looking forward to her senior year in Atlanta, where she has a great job, a loyal best friend, and a crush on the verge of becoming more. Which is why she is less than thrilled about being shipped off to boarding school in Paris - until she meets Etienne St. Clair: perfect, Parisian (and English and American, which makes for a swoon-worthy accent), and utterly irresistible. The only problem is that he's taken, and Anna might be, too, if anything comes of her almost-relationship back home.<br />
<br />
As winter melts into spring, will a year of romantic near - misses end with the French kiss Anna - and readers - have long awaited? <span style="font-size: x-small;">(Summary from goodreads.com)</span></span></i></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>My opinion:</b> I have yet to encounter someone who's read <i>Anna and the French Kiss</i> and didn't love it. Of course, I am no exception though it took me long enough to get to it. I absolutely adored this novel and it was well worth its wait. I hardly know what to write that won't be just a massive chunk of superlatives. For a romance lover like myself, this book has it all. Paris. A main character to feel for and to relate to. A wonderful leading man. A believable love story that progresses in a normal way. A few bumps in the road. A happy end. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">...just read the fricking book already!!!<span style="font-style: italic;"> </span></div>Helenahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10180600036667918968noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1042675600256620422.post-26988059001837315652011-11-13T08:12:00.000+01:002011-11-13T08:12:00.819+01:00In my mailbox (30)<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbOtS4o39LoU9yoe3IcHff6euj-c7wJDI3CUpX_2syl8V7XTMx-HaPodfcpgCaId_X-AW2fx9Y9BHM9Vc3ytDecE7FMwG8CwxFY24FiASkOuAJMsJCjysJAF4Nq24_U3MSEQlwOGeurpfM/s1600/IMG_1120.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbOtS4o39LoU9yoe3IcHff6euj-c7wJDI3CUpX_2syl8V7XTMx-HaPodfcpgCaId_X-AW2fx9Y9BHM9Vc3ytDecE7FMwG8CwxFY24FiASkOuAJMsJCjysJAF4Nq24_U3MSEQlwOGeurpfM/s200/IMG_1120.jpg" width="150" /></a>In My Mailbox is a meme created and hosted by Kristi @ <a href="http://www.thestorysiren.com/">The Story Siren.</a><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">It is a great way for everyone to share their new books with the world: bought, gifted, won, borrowed or from the library. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><br />
<div style="text-align: center;"><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">I didn't post any IMM last week because I wasn't at home but at my in-laws' celebrating All Hallows' Eve. And then I didn't get that much to share either. This week is a totally different story. Perhaps not that much in numbers but in content. </div><br />
<br />
<b>Bought:</b><br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdzkgMA29MgLelD0hqm8deIJ1ayfmLFPhLl4_vlIFnYwrDYnev0DPpHErZpV9xA30IZ6ZTgeu1Yv2Sz_hGLgaUj0FMH9t-_TvHi5yF91H_eFLr2m7eL7EKiBFOukAotUkIZSIEny3CDPfb/s1600/IMG_1341+c.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="235" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdzkgMA29MgLelD0hqm8deIJ1ayfmLFPhLl4_vlIFnYwrDYnev0DPpHErZpV9xA30IZ6ZTgeu1Yv2Sz_hGLgaUj0FMH9t-_TvHi5yF91H_eFLr2m7eL7EKiBFOukAotUkIZSIEny3CDPfb/s400/IMG_1341+c.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><br />
<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6936382-anna-and-the-french-kiss">Anna and the French Kiss</a> by Stephanie Perkins<br />
<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/9961796-lola-and-the-boy-next-door">Lola and the Boy Next Door</a> by Stephanie Perkins<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><i>I doubt these books need any presentation. I finished Anna in just a few short days and of course loved it. Review coming up soon. I am yet to decided whether to jump right into Lola or save it for a rainy day when I know I'll need a pick-me-up. I just like knowing that I have great novels in front of me.</i></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><i><br />
</i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">How was your book week?<i><br />
</i></div></div>Helenahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10180600036667918968noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1042675600256620422.post-79744269228242050192011-10-30T07:45:00.004+01:002011-11-12T10:59:30.403+01:00In my mailbox (29)<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbOtS4o39LoU9yoe3IcHff6euj-c7wJDI3CUpX_2syl8V7XTMx-HaPodfcpgCaId_X-AW2fx9Y9BHM9Vc3ytDecE7FMwG8CwxFY24FiASkOuAJMsJCjysJAF4Nq24_U3MSEQlwOGeurpfM/s1600/IMG_1120.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbOtS4o39LoU9yoe3IcHff6euj-c7wJDI3CUpX_2syl8V7XTMx-HaPodfcpgCaId_X-AW2fx9Y9BHM9Vc3ytDecE7FMwG8CwxFY24FiASkOuAJMsJCjysJAF4Nq24_U3MSEQlwOGeurpfM/s200/IMG_1120.jpg" width="150" /></a> <br />
<br />
<br />
In My Mailbox is a meme created and hosted by Kristi @ <a href="http://www.thestorysiren.com/">The Story Siren.</a><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">It is a great way for everyone to share their new books with the world: bought, gifted, won, borrowed or from the library. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><br />
<div style="text-align: center;"><br />
<b>Bought:</b></div><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXqwWlVwNQoP-Gg_HWHQSL6Vh2Lyr7hIeffcIoTYqIm97oTPXZvRqfuvyTfCWWFtCYHaZuR__jdUbWs-6ncXSOfapzOJoQ-kNCJ7fhiuDmciqrVT3Ry-ynb_n-QVuJqohicpxoI7a1C-fb/s1600/Darker+Still.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="263" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXqwWlVwNQoP-Gg_HWHQSL6Vh2Lyr7hIeffcIoTYqIm97oTPXZvRqfuvyTfCWWFtCYHaZuR__jdUbWs-6ncXSOfapzOJoQ-kNCJ7fhiuDmciqrVT3Ry-ynb_n-QVuJqohicpxoI7a1C-fb/s400/Darker+Still.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/10841336-darker-still">Darker Still</a> by Leanna Renee Hieber</div><div style="text-align: justify;">This cover may look pretty in this picture, but it is soooo much prettier in person. All shiny and nice. I pre-ordered it a long time ago, but was a bit surprised though, when I found it in my mailbox this week. You see, according to The Book Depository (where I ordered it from), it wasn't to be released until November 1,and as far as I can tell it's still October and it most definitely was when it arrived on Wednesday. Oh well, I'm not complaining. Just the tagline from goodreads makes me want to sink my teeth into it: "<span id="freeText15606981829356081265">The Picture of Dorian Gray meets Pride and Prejudice, with a dash of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde."</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div>Helenahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10180600036667918968noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1042675600256620422.post-87556364717832065802011-10-28T16:44:00.000+02:002011-10-28T16:44:50.870+02:00Book Blogger Hop (8)<div class="MsoNormal"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://crazy-for-books.com/2011/09/book-blogger-hop-92-95.html" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://i595.photobucket.com/albums/tt34/crazybookblog/cfbmemebutton-2.png" width="175" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The Book Blogger Hop is a place for book bloggers and readers to connect and share our love of the written word! Hosted by <a href="http://crazy-for-books.com/2011/10/book-blogger-hop-1028-1031.html">Crazy for Books</a>, this weekly meme is an awesome opportunity for book bloggers to connect with other book lovers, get to know someone new and basically just share our love of books! So, grab the logo, post about the Hop on your blog, and start HOPPING through the list of blogs that are posted in the Linky list! </div></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><i>This week's question:</i><br />
<b>What is your favorite Halloween costume? Even if you don't celebrate, what kinds of costumes do you like?</b><br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">I do not celebrate Halloween. It's not that I mind the tradition of Halloween - in America - but I don't live in America and Halloween has never been a part of Swedish culture. We have another type of tradition around that same time that sort of derives from the same roots, All Hallows Eve. But instead of dressing up we go to the churchyard and light candles to remember our dead. I love this tradition, I think it's very beautiful. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">The more americanized Halloween has excises in Sweden for about ten years, no more, and brought here by store owners wanting to make money. Thus I boycott it. I might imagine celebrating it if I ever was in the US at the time of Halloween, though. And I'm sure I would've loved it if I actually was American. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">In my part of the country though, we have a tradition of children dressing up on January 13 and going around "dancing the Christmas out". I once dressed up as a Christmas tree and it was a huge success, so I guess I'll go with a tree. </div>Helenahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10180600036667918968noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1042675600256620422.post-56136412191998433112011-10-27T18:36:00.000+02:002011-10-27T18:36:00.288+02:00Review: Blue dahlia by Nora Roberts<div style="text-align: justify;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://cdon.se/media-dynamic/images/product/00/04/16/06/62/3/roberts-nora-bla-dahlia.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://cdon.se/media-dynamic/images/product/00/04/16/06/62/3/roberts-nora-bla-dahlia.jpg" width="197" /></a></div><b>Plot:</b> <i><span id="freeText1805027173426486701">Trying to escape the ghosts of the past, young widow Stella Rothchild, along with her two energetic little boys, has moved back to her roots in southern Tennessee-and into her new life at Harper House and In the Garden nursery. She isn't intimidated by the house-nor its mistress, local legend Roz Harper. Despite a reputation for being difficult, Roz has been nothing but kind to Stella, offering her a comfortable new place to live and a challenging new job as manager of the flourishing nursery. As Stella settles comfortably into her new life, she finds a nurturing friendship with Roz and with expectant mother Hayley. And she discovers a fierce attraction with ruggedly handsome landscaper Logan Kitridge.<br />
<br />
But someone isn't happy about the budding romance...the Harper Bride. As the women dig into the history of Harper House, they discover that grief and rage have kept the Bride's spirit alive long past her death. And now, she will do anything to destroy the passion that Logan and Stella share... (<span style="font-size: x-small;">Summary from goodreads.com) </span></span></i><br />
<br />
<b>My opinion:</b> Sometimes I just need a break from all YA and love triangles and with Nora Roberts you always know what you will get - and from time to time that's exactly what I need. Although as predictable as ever, three strong and beautiful women befriending each other and finding themselves having to cooperate to finish as task, Nora Roberts still manage to keep my interest up during the course of the novel. I always like the supernatural elements of Roberts' novels and this is no exception. I am really curious to see who the Harper Bride is and what she wants. Being a history buff I can also appreciate that the answer most probably is to find in history. <br />
<br />
Nora Roberts trilogies really are guilty pleasure of mine and I'll keep reading them when I need a break from the YA stuff. Not only does this novel contain great gardening tips (at least if you live in the American South and don't have as cold as climate as we do here) but also a ghost story and a steaming romance. After having read almost merely YA for a while now, I had forgotten how graphic the act of making love is depicted in books written for adults. I bet I was blushing while reading parts of the book. That won't stop me from devouring the other two books in the trilogy though, I'm sure. </div>Helenahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10180600036667918968noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1042675600256620422.post-67786728542765189382011-10-26T16:38:00.000+02:002011-10-26T16:38:00.704+02:00Review: Beautiful Creatures by Kami Garcia & Margaret Stohl<div style="text-align: justify;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtuy6XOaUeKh-62qMVyWFB8v20-HZFyeBUIcDGk4gYpV6jywXGUqVYMi8g_yaiaHfwLm9tYNKyk1CRuIsUe1l6cvLJJJq5dvCrUnx_FwYYp4dSFupz9Kh1xuy8medNsxlypBt1Zzq468t8/s1600/Beautiful+Creatures.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtuy6XOaUeKh-62qMVyWFB8v20-HZFyeBUIcDGk4gYpV6jywXGUqVYMi8g_yaiaHfwLm9tYNKyk1CRuIsUe1l6cvLJJJq5dvCrUnx_FwYYp4dSFupz9Kh1xuy8medNsxlypBt1Zzq468t8/s320/Beautiful+Creatures.jpg" width="209" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>The plot:</b> <i>Lena Duchannes is unlike anyone the small Southern town of Gatlin has ever seen, and she's struggling to conceal her power, and a curse that has haunted her family for generations. But even within the overgrown gardens, murky swamps and crumbling graveyards of the forgotten South, a secret cannot stay hidden forever.</i></div></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><i>Ethan Wate, who has been counting the months until he can escape from Gatlin, is haunted by dreams of a beautiful girl he has never met. When Lena moves into the town's oldest and most infamous plantation, Ethan is inexplicably drawn to her and determined to uncover the connection between them.</i></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><i>In a town with no surprises, one secret could change everything. </i></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><i><span style="font-size: x-small;">(Summary from goodreads.com)</span></i></div><br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: justify;"><b>My opinion:</b> I'm sad to report that I was somewhat disappointed with this novel. I had expected more from it. The novel started out great and I was hooked from page one, but then the pace was just too slow and I started losing interest. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Also, the romance aspect of the novel did nothing for me, and given the fact that I am a great admirer of love stories I was a bit bummed out. As it sadly too often happens in YA, the love story progressed too fast and the two lovebirds started sharing their undying love for one another like the day after they met and I didn't buy it. What's wrong with letting one's characters fall in love like normal people? I also didn't care that much about if the ended up together or not, which basically is death for a literary character in my book. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">On the upside, what did I like about the novel was a male MC, the somewhat unique premise and the world building, it was intriguing. I do understand the need for detail when building a new world with so much lore, I really do, but this is a case of details gone wild. There's just too much of it and the pace suffers. I found myself skimming through large chunks of text to get somewhere. I finished it though, more out of some kind of "obligation" than actual interest. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">If the authors had chopped about a third of the novel, i.e. all unnecessary details, thus pacing the story a bit, it might have been an excellent book, but now it just wasn't my cup of tea. </div>Helenahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10180600036667918968noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1042675600256620422.post-40747295254718472872011-10-25T18:28:00.000+02:002011-10-25T18:28:30.741+02:00Girl with the dragon tattoo movie<div style="text-align: justify;"><a href="http://collider.com/wp-content/uploads/rooney-mara-the-girl-with-the-dragon-tattoo-06.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://collider.com/wp-content/uploads/rooney-mara-the-girl-with-the-dragon-tattoo-06.jpg" width="231" /></a>Why oh why? </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">I just saw a trailer for the first American re-make of the Swedish film "The girl with the dragon tattoo" (Swedish: Män som hatar kvinnor) and I've one question (actually two): Why have they made Rooney Mara speak English with some kind of weird accent? And why don't they at least give her a Swedish accent if they want to give her one? Why oh why? </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Not only am I Swedish, I am also an English teacher in Sweden and I KNOW what a Swedish accent in English sounds like. And believe me, that's not it. The thing that usually gives us away is that we don't voice our s's (since we never do that in Swedish) and distinct stress patters that differ from English intonation, British, American or other. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Oh well, I guess we should be happy that they at least shot the movie in Sweden. And of course, I will see the American version when it's released.</div>Helenahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10180600036667918968noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1042675600256620422.post-57359427378970592672011-10-23T16:03:00.000+02:002011-10-23T16:03:40.193+02:00No IMM<div style="text-align: justify;">Well, there'll be no In My Mailbox this week because my mailbox has been sadly empty of books this week. Partly due to a rather limited budget for books at the moment and partly due to the fact that I have earlier ordered and pre-ordered some books that I wait for but that have yet to reach me.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">It's not really a problem though because I have so many books that I haven't read yet to make me last all year through. Maybe I should get to them instead of always buying new ones. But then again, I really have a hard time keeping from getting new books...</div>Helenahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10180600036667918968noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1042675600256620422.post-36964678844773756772011-10-19T15:37:00.005+02:002011-10-19T15:37:01.045+02:00Review: Perfect Chemistry by Simone Elkeles<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://blackplume.files.wordpress.com/2011/08/perfect-chemistry.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://blackplume.files.wordpress.com/2011/08/perfect-chemistry.jpg" width="210" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>The plot:</b> <i><span id="freeText5754893286539227136">When Brittany Ellis walks into chemistry class on the first day of senior year, she has no clue that her carefully created “perfect” life is about to unravel before her eyes. She’s forced to be lab partners with Alex Fuentes, a gang member from the other side of town, and he is about to threaten everything she's worked so hard for—her flawless reputation, her relationship with her boyfriend, and the secret that her home life is anything but perfect. Alex is a bad boy and he knows it. </span></i></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><i><span id="freeText5754893286539227136">So when he makes a bet with his friends to lure Brittany into his life, he thinks nothing of it. But soon Alex realizes Brittany is a real person with real problems, and suddenly the bet he made in arrogance turns into something much more. In a passionate story about looking beneath the surface, Simone Elkeles breaks through the stereotypes and barriers that threaten to keep Brittany and Alex apart. <span style="font-size: x-small;">(Summary from goodreads.com)</span></span></i></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>My opinion:</b> If I was to sum up this novel with only one word, that word would be AH-MAZING! And for someone who generally thinks that she's not that into contemporary novels that is saying a lot. Another word that also comes to minds in connection with this novel is unputdownable, because that is exactly what it was. I started reading it on Thursday when riding the train to work and finished it on Friday after getting home from work. On Thursday night I stayed up over an hour later than planned just because it couldn't put the book down. It was highly addictive! I even caught myself thinking about it at multiple times during work on Friday.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">This love story for me was incredibly intense, and extraordinarily well-written. The sexual tension was excellently executed and thus very believable. I found myself having butterflies in my stomach on more than one occasion while reading.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">I am generally in favor of stories told from two different POV's and so also with this novel. Having the privilege of getting to be inside both MC's adds to the story, I find, because then one can get to see and understand feelings and reactions from both sides. This writing technique is also very efficient in making me cover many pages in one sitting because I always want to go to the next MC and see how he/she reacts to what just happened. All the time with this novel, I had to force myself not to read "just one more chapter"...</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">So all in all, I can't wait to take on the other two Fuentes boys... were it not for my sad lack of book funding this month. Oh well. Christmas is soon here. </div>Helenahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10180600036667918968noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1042675600256620422.post-56043560828724755542011-10-16T08:08:00.000+02:002011-10-16T08:08:00.322+02:00In my mailbox (28)<div style="text-align: justify;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbOtS4o39LoU9yoe3IcHff6euj-c7wJDI3CUpX_2syl8V7XTMx-HaPodfcpgCaId_X-AW2fx9Y9BHM9Vc3ytDecE7FMwG8CwxFY24FiASkOuAJMsJCjysJAF4Nq24_U3MSEQlwOGeurpfM/s1600/IMG_1120.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbOtS4o39LoU9yoe3IcHff6euj-c7wJDI3CUpX_2syl8V7XTMx-HaPodfcpgCaId_X-AW2fx9Y9BHM9Vc3ytDecE7FMwG8CwxFY24FiASkOuAJMsJCjysJAF4Nq24_U3MSEQlwOGeurpfM/s200/IMG_1120.jpg" width="150" /></a></div><br />
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In My Mailbox is a meme created and hosted by Kristi @ <a href="http://www.thestorysiren.com/">The Story Siren.</a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">It is a great way for everyone to share their new books with the world: bought, gifted, won, borrowed or from the library. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><br />
<div style="text-align: center;"><br />
<b>Bought:</b></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWunORfAcOQQ_ew8WDQxN2vYOob4sT_cr69i36QdrQHVZulbYEISRetCY51XRINaO1ShsCInQgWgy1Q_8K77z3skLpEBfzZ6G6pq-BO2T4ae0f_bOvYy74wPwqbbeFV1S0ps6A4vilZNrV/s1600/IMG_1279.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="315" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWunORfAcOQQ_ew8WDQxN2vYOob4sT_cr69i36QdrQHVZulbYEISRetCY51XRINaO1ShsCInQgWgy1Q_8K77z3skLpEBfzZ6G6pq-BO2T4ae0f_bOvYy74wPwqbbeFV1S0ps6A4vilZNrV/s400/IMG_1279.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br />
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<div style="text-align: center;"><i>Blå dalia (Blue Dahlia) </i>by Nora Roberts</div><div style="text-align: center;"><i>Svart ros (Black Rose) </i>by Nora Roberts</div><div style="text-align: center;"><i>Röd lilja (Red Lily)</i> by Nora Roberts</div><br />
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<div style="text-align: justify;">Before I first read Twilight and discovered the whole YA scene and after I stopped reading children's and middle school books like the twins of Sweet Valley High I mainly read books for adult because there no other types of books to be found in Sweden at the time. Nowadays, YA is superbig here too and many teenagers even read English books. Yay! That was not the case ten years ago though. So technically, me, my mom and my two older sisters read the same books and the same authors. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">One of these authors was Nora Roberts and I can still appreciate her from time to time, especially her "paranormal trilogies", for example I've read the Key Trilogy and the Gallaghers of Ardmore Trilogy. I borrowed the first novel in this so-called In the Garden Trilogy (Blue Dahlia) from my mother-in-law a few years ago and liked it. So where there was a three-for-two grab I decided go get the whole Trilogy. Sometimes I just need some Nora Roberts in-between all my YA.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">And by the way, aren't the Swedish covers just so much prettier? They almost always are when Nora Roberts in concerned, for some reason. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
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</div><div style="text-align: center;">Did you get something good this week?</div>Helenahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10180600036667918968noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1042675600256620422.post-86661809790852751822011-10-12T19:07:00.035+02:002011-10-14T17:09:59.722+02:00Review: Epic fail by Clair LaZebnik<div style="text-align: justify;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-7P10PC8sxqM/TSovvyPZY8I/AAAAAAAAAzA/3nH2gqstiS8/s1600/Epic+Fail+by+Claire+LaZebnik.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-7P10PC8sxqM/TSovvyPZY8I/AAAAAAAAAzA/3nH2gqstiS8/s320/Epic+Fail+by+Claire+LaZebnik.jpg" width="211" /></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><b>The plot:</b> <i>Will Elise’s love life be an epic win or an epic fail? At Coral Tree Prep in Los Angeles, who your parents are can make or break you. Case in point: As the son of Hollywood royalty, Derek Edwards is pretty much prince of the school—not that he deigns to acknowledge many of his loyal subjects. As the daughter of the new principal, Elise Benton isn’t exactly on everyone’s must-sit-next-to-at-lunch list. </i></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><i><br />
</i></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><i>When Elise’s beautiful sister catches the eye of the prince’s best friend, Elise gets to spend a lot of time with Derek, making her the envy of every girl on campus. Except she refuses to fall for any of his rare smiles and instead warms up to his enemy, the surprisingly charming social outcast Webster Grant. But in this hilarious tale of fitting in and flirting, not all snubs are undeserved, not all celebrity brats are bratty, and pride and prejudice can get in the way of true love for only so long. <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">(Summary from goodreads.com)</span></i></span></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br />
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<div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><b>My opinion:</b> I was very eager to get started with this novel, seeing as Pride & Prejudice is one of my all-time favorite novels (and not to mention the 1995 BBC miniseries. Colin Firth... yum). I just had do read this modern take on it. </span></div><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">For me, this novel was somewhat of a Catch 22. I'll explain what I mean. A big part of why I really enjoyed this novel was that it is based on P&P. I spent a considerably large amount of the reading time trying to figure out who corresponds to whom in the original story and the same for the plot really. I was a little bit lite detective work, and I enjoyed it very much indeed. But I also think it might have limited the actual story in the novel, having read the 'original' so many times and knowing it so well. However, as highly entertaining as I found it to try and link the characters and events of this novel to those of P&P, it also kind of made me lose focus on this story. I spent too much time comparing and not enough actually reading this story for what it was. Thus my Catch 22 moment. </div>Helenahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10180600036667918968noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1042675600256620422.post-60589337107505278612011-10-09T08:14:00.000+02:002011-10-09T08:14:00.814+02:00In my mailbox (27)<div style="text-align: justify;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCA0DqAeLh2r-2IJmekjE0hGH5ggUfLv2lf7Q5JFEEwTmhcnoFXFDdtrpPQcxXUi73h8zJksVcNzYKYrbl7i8dGw_4yE2CzNH1LagnBgiTxvc0pcUM4M-IP3Jqw-5fr1PuPHQH_mH9TBor/s1600/IMG_1120.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCA0DqAeLh2r-2IJmekjE0hGH5ggUfLv2lf7Q5JFEEwTmhcnoFXFDdtrpPQcxXUi73h8zJksVcNzYKYrbl7i8dGw_4yE2CzNH1LagnBgiTxvc0pcUM4M-IP3Jqw-5fr1PuPHQH_mH9TBor/s200/IMG_1120.jpg" width="150" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">In My Mailbox is a meme created and hosted by Kristi @ <a href="http://www.thestorysiren.com/">The Story Siren.</a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">It is a great way for everyone to share their new books with the world: bought, gifted, won, borrowed or from the library. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">All links go to Goood reads.<i> </i><b> </b></div></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Since I haven't been blogging for a few weeks, this IMM contains several weeks' worth of books. Sadly. I wish I'd be able to buy this many books each week...</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
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<div style="text-align: center;"><b>Bought:</b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiUyz7UcTdI8NcU9e7hjoR2j6zoYCoLJzr3lGDfwchJuOLg3XHMAUqJeVK1DvP6ufcPDmpty_L1nN4vGOkjezkZdKCnktQ0jx7dbBqWhHPVK4JJ-r7dXpctqw3-SoUplcyU0RQFDjDRR5X/s1600/IMG_1168.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="246" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiUyz7UcTdI8NcU9e7hjoR2j6zoYCoLJzr3lGDfwchJuOLg3XHMAUqJeVK1DvP6ufcPDmpty_L1nN4vGOkjezkZdKCnktQ0jx7dbBqWhHPVK4JJ-r7dXpctqw3-SoUplcyU0RQFDjDRR5X/s400/IMG_1168.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.bokus.com/bok/9789170018633/flickan-med-sno-i-haret/">Flickan med snö i håret</a> by Ninni Schulman</div><div style="text-align: justify;">This is a Swedish novel written by a Swedish author and the title translates to "The Girl with Snow in her Hair". As always with the Swedish novels I post here it is a crime novel. The interesting thing about this one is that it is set in a small town just about half an hour-an hour away from the town where I grew up and I recognize many of the places and things mentioned in the novel. Fun! </div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRQAkTZEibO6VfT3ExuBUelpA-45nXp8-U0WNAwX67OB3cy7xz50kihMWpbJu0vzW23i043Q45be7Gh4L8SBOjWH-K_DMHouob3oPjfHGn_Yeux6K2c_tMsaPOwkoRaiKA99sLEOplkGB-/s1600/v+40.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="188" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRQAkTZEibO6VfT3ExuBUelpA-45nXp8-U0WNAwX67OB3cy7xz50kihMWpbJu0vzW23i043Q45be7Gh4L8SBOjWH-K_DMHouob3oPjfHGn_Yeux6K2c_tMsaPOwkoRaiKA99sLEOplkGB-/s400/v+40.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
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<div style="text-align: center;"> <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/7744064-infinite-days">Infinite Days</a> by Rebecca Maizel</div><div style="text-align: center;">I'm not quite sure what made me get this one. It seems good, though. Any thoughts?</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/7842288-beautiful-darkness">Beautiful Darkness</a> by Cami Garcia & Margaret Stohl</div><div style="text-align: justify;">I have the first novel of the series on my bookshelf but I haven't read it yet. However I read in a number of reviews that these novels tend to end with a cliffhanger so I though I'd better have the next one ready if I too would suffer from withdrawal symptoms. </div><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiY71TF0uomdPnobsK0iNzd2t8M8qHukYC8QgCKFgLTjneIsxRridA5AbvFqXsv9qfOjTXp_KXuZEldV2z2K_ZFNKPethGwxQRDSpkxmQEQayl8Vs1P3gOIP7DsV9IS0kF1DX8DygClHCgS/s1600/v+40+%25282%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="241" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiY71TF0uomdPnobsK0iNzd2t8M8qHukYC8QgCKFgLTjneIsxRridA5AbvFqXsv9qfOjTXp_KXuZEldV2z2K_ZFNKPethGwxQRDSpkxmQEQayl8Vs1P3gOIP7DsV9IS0kF1DX8DygClHCgS/s400/v+40+%25282%2529.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
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</div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/10335701-carrier-of-the-mark">Carrier of the Mark</a> by Leigh Fallon</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Soooo pretty! I've had my eyes on this baby for a long time and even pre-ordered it. Since then I've read that many people compare it with Fallen, which I really didn't like (couldn't even bring myself to finish it). I hope that's not the case.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/9792199-elemental-reality">Elemental Reality </a>by Cesya MaRae Cuono </div><div style="text-align: center;">Okay, okay I admit it! I got it because of the gorgeous cover! </div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/10459088-enthralled">Enthralled</a> by Melissa Marr and Kelley Armstrong (editors)</div><div style="text-align: justify;">And again with these short story collections that I hardly ever read. But still I keep getting them. Perhaps this one I should actually read. It seems promising. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
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</div><div style="text-align: center;">What was in your mailboxes?</div>Helenahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10180600036667918968noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1042675600256620422.post-82000135830997376902011-10-08T18:17:00.000+02:002011-10-08T18:17:59.602+02:00Back in the land of the living<div style="text-align: justify;">This has been a lot longer blog break than I ever intended but there was just no time for it. Or for reading even. So I had not to blog about. We've finally moved into our new house, yay! And cleaned out the old apartment. And done most of the teacher-student-parent talks that we are obliged, by law, to do every semester. Only four more to go and they won't be until two weeks so finally I'm back on the book track. I've read three books since last time and there'll be reviews soon. This last one I read really was exactly what the doctor ordered to get my reading mood going! </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
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</tbody></table>Helenahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10180600036667918968noreply@blogger.com1