...from a BookLover

Monday 31 December 2012

The last day of the year...

Here it is again - the last day of the year. So many thoughts, hopes and dreams of a year gone by are being reviewed. Was it a good year? Perhaps even a great one? Or was it a rather bleak year, with far too many regrets? Perhaps your hopes for the year to come are all that matter right now. Or the chance to redeem yourself, to make up for something you have done badly or not done at all. We all need second chances in life. New opportunities and possibilities.

Hopefully the year to come will be your best one yet.

My lovely friend sent me this picture today. What a brilliant idea this is! A jar with random paper tidbits with notes about good things that happen - who would not love to open that next New Years Eve?

Photo
So simple, yet so amazing.

Whoever you are, wherever you are - I bid you a Good New Year. And thank you for the old.

Caz

Sunday 23 December 2012

Merry Christmas, everyone!



I wish everyone

A Very Happy Christmas!

May you get everything you wish for - and be surrounded by love, family and friends.




My little Santa-village

Santa and his reindeer on the move

Friday 21 December 2012

Decorating for Christmas!

Today we put up our Christmas Tree - which I carefully chose from the neighbouring farm a couple of days ago. I even got a sheaf of grain to put up for the birds for Christmas and some lovely porridge. Quite a fun day. The only thing left to do now is baking a couple more cookies, and that is it! Tomorrow (today, actually!) my entire family arrives. I am so excited! I have been looking forward to this for weeks!

I thought I would share a few photos of our Christmas house with you - I hope you like them.

Our living room
Peek-a-boo!


My favourite view...
...and my favourite room!


































Perhaps there will be some brand new books in there in a few days...! *fingers crossed*

Sunday 16 December 2012

Anyone up for a ghost story?

It is Sunday yet again, and this time I am reading a ghost story. The book is called "The Woman in Black" and is written by Susan Hill. This will be the first book I have read by her, which is very exciting.

Here is my teaser:
'You must know at least one ghost story, stepfather, everyone knows one...'
Ah, yes, yes, indeed. All the time I had been listening to their ghoulish, lurid inventions, and their howling and groans, the one thought that had been in my mind, and the only thing I could have said was, 'No, no, you have none of you any idea. This is all nonsense, fantasy, it is not like this. Nothing so blood-curdling and becreepered and crude - not so...so laughable. The truth is quite other, and altogether more terrible.'
 The Woman in Black, p. 20

I cannot wait to read the rest of the story he is about to tell... Can you?


More teasers:
Flukten fra virkeligheten
Should Be Reading

Friday 14 December 2012

Winter Wonderland




Last week, on my trip home from work, I flew across Norway. When looking out the window, I saw our mountains covered in snow. So pretty! The sun was peaking up above the horizon and painted the landscape pink for a little while.

This, along with my new book "The Woman in Black", made for a great start on the day 


Monday 10 December 2012

Santa, I'm...

...wishing upon a Christmas star...

1.  The Little Vampire by Angela Sommer-Bodenberg:
      I have seen parts of the movie and whatnot, so reading the book seems like
      something I just have to do.

2.  The Whisper Jar by Carole Lanham:
      A collection of secrets... I have been wanting to read these short stories for a long 
      time!

3.  The Dead Girls Detective Agency by Susy Cox: 
      A bunch of dead girls solving their own deaths? Count me in.

4.  The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore by William Joyce: 
      Flying books! This sounds like a dream coming true. 

5.  The Goose Girl by Shannon Hale: 
      This girl is talking to animals - she is a princess - travelling the land - fighting for her 
      right - clearly this must be a good read!?

6.  The Eyre Affair: A Thursday Next Novel by Jasper Fforde: 
      Someone is kidnapping characters from books, and Thursday sets out to solve the
      mystery. This is the first book about her.

7.  The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster: 
      Quite a few people seems to think that this is their favourite book from their 
      childhood - which intrigues me. I have also heard that the language is very good, 
      and that Juster is playing on words and meanings in this book.

8.  A Light In The Attic by Shel Silverstein: 
      A poetry collection with characters that have funny names. Sounds like a fun read.

9.  Time Cat: The Remarkable Journeys of Jason and Gareth by Lloyd Alexander: 
      Cats AND timetravel! Quite interesting.

10. The Case of the Missing Servant: from the Files of Vish Puri, Most Private Investigator by Tarquin Hall:
       The blurb tells me that this is India's answer to Mma Ramotswe from The No.1 Ladies' 
       Detective Agency. Need I say more?


Now, which ten books do you hope Santa brings this Christmas?

My wise Christmas owl

Thursday 6 December 2012

Waiting for Christmas

It is December again ♥ 

I love this time of the year! Snow outside, hot chocolate and a happy log fire in the fireplace. Family spending time together.

We made gingerbread the other day at my grandma's place. It is a long time since someone did that. She was so happy and loved the smell of freshly baked gingerbread with icing on. I even wrote 'grandma' on one of them! Or, rather, the norwegian equivalent: Mormor. She laughed good at that.
Yummy!
1st of December I was supposed to light the advent star in our home. Instead I had to go to work (quite the annoyance, I know). I cannot wait till I get back home so I can start decorating the house for Christmas! This year my family is coming down for Christmas, so I will even have a Christmas tree to decorate! Hooray! This will be our second Christmas tree ever (no point in having a tree if one does not celebrate Christmas at home, right?). Sitting in the living room late at night with only the lights on the Christmas tree lit is wonderful. We have little coloured lights on our tree, so they really give the room a warm and enchanted atmosphere.

This Christmas will also be a little sad... There will be no cats running around beneath the tree - we have lost them all the last two years. I am still struggling to find my footing again. They do get under our skin, our pets - do they not? I am still expecting to see them at the door, wanting to get inside. Sometimes I round a corner and think I see them at their favourite places, only to be bitterly disappointed. They were my precious babies 

My boyfriend has also lost a grandma this year. She is greatly missed. She was such a positive, wise and kind person, and we were always looking forward to seeing her the next time we were visiting back home. The world is not quite the same without her.

Even though Christmas is a time for rememberance, Christmas will still be Christmas. My family will stay for about a week, and during those days we will bake some more cookies, decorate a little more, wrap the last presents and put them under the tree (I wonder if there will be many books there this year?), have Christmas dinners, both at our place and at my grandma's, go to the cinema to watch The Hobbit (I am so excited!) and in general enjoy the time together. I am sure there will be quite a few late nights, too. I am hoping the snow will keep on falling the entire of December. It is so pretty outside when it is all white and sparkly! I love snow - the crisp feel to the air, the ice crystals and the softness of the landscape. A winter wonderland, for sure! 


The first snow gives a hint of what is soon to come.

Monday 3 December 2012

Good Omens - all Hell breaks loose

Another brilliant book from Neil Gaiman - and Terry Pratchett. I have not read it through yet, but from what I have read so far this is one funny book.

What happens if the angel does the wrong thing, and the demon the right thing? Is that even possible?
What happens when the world is going to end next Saturday according to prophecy?
Well, rather a lot...

In this novel, the two authors have combined their imagination and somewhat obscure view of the world and the things in it, added a big dose of humour and storytelling - and hence ended up with a book about The Apocalypse you never thought you would read. Which, now that you do know of it, you obviously must read. I hope you like it.

Here is a teaser from Good Omens, p. 4:
 ............................................................................................................................
Eventually Crawly said, "Didn't you have a flaming sword?" 
"Er," said the angel. A guilty expression passed across his face, and then came back and camped there.
"You did, didn't you?" said Crawly. "It flamed like anything."  
"Er, well--" 
"It looked very impressive, I thought." 
"Yes, but, well--" 
"Lost it, have you?" 
"Oh no! No, not exactly lost, more--" 
"Well?" 
Aziraphale looked wretched. "If you must know," he said, a trifle testily, "I gave it away."
 ............................................................................................................................
 
More teasers:
Flukten fra virkeligheten
Should Be Reading


Friday 30 November 2012

Between the pages...

Look what I found between the pages of Three Cups of Tea! I am aware that it is not the best picture, but it is a handmade card made by some children. I cannot make out to whom. I am certain someone out there is missing it, and I wish I could return it. As I cannot, though, it will remain between the pages where I found it ♥

So cute!

Monday 26 November 2012

Three Cups of Tea



This is an inspiring and fascinating read. I have never given much thought to mountain climbing, apart from the random television show or article. I have heard of the Sherpa, but I cannot remember ever hearing about the Balti. Greg Mortenson, on the other hand, came to know and care a lot about the Balti people. After a failed attempt to the summit of K2, Greg Mortenson stumbled into a village so small it did not even show on the maps of the K2 area. The little village, Korphe, nursed him back to health and soon came to think of him as a son. Greg Mortenson's life completely changed course by that chance encounter.

This is his story. It is a story about how one person can make a difference. About the things which can really be achieved when setting your heart into something. Greg Mortenson gave up his old life to fullfill a promise about a school. Operating in such a remote and isolated area, where no foreigner has ever set foot before, can be a daunting task. Still, Greg Mortenson set out to learn the Balti language and understand their culture in order to help them.

For a long time Greg Mortenson strived to build the school fo r the children of Korphe as he had promised he would. He faced loads of problems, but kept on trying - stubborn as few. In the end he managed to find the people that were the puzzle pieces he needed to complete the school. Later on, he built many more schools for the children in the impoverished and remote areas of the Karakoram Mountains. He is their hero. He gave them the possibility of an education. It may not seem like much to you, but for them it meant the world 
" "When the porcelain bowls of scalding butter tea steamed in their hands, Haji Ali spoke. "If you want to thrive in Baltistan, you must respect our ways," Haji Ali said, blowing on his bowl. "The first time you share tea with a Balti, you are a stranger. The second time you take tea, you are an honored guest. The third time you share a cup of tea, you become family, and for our family, we are prepared to do anything, even die," he said, laying his hand warmly on Mortenson's own. "Doctor Greg, you must make time to share three cups of tea. We may be uneducated. But we are not stupid. We have lived and survived here for a long time." 
"That day, Haji Ali taught me the most important lesson I've ever learned in my life," Mortenson says. "We Americans think you have to accomplish everything quickly. We're the country of thirty-minute power lunches and two-minute football drills. Our leaders thought their 'shock and awe' campaign could end the war in Iraq before it even started. Haji Ali taught me to share three cups of tea, to slow down and make building relationships as important as building projects. He taught me that I had more to learn from the people I work with than I could ever hope to teach them." "
Three Cups of Tea, p. 150

I hope you enjoy the book as much as I have.


More teasers:
Flukten fra virkeligheten
Should Be Reading

Friday 23 November 2012

Egypt = no books!

Whenever we travel somewhere I go pottering about until I find a book store. That is a part of the fun - to see which particular books they sell in that particular place. I love buying books as souvenirs. Often you can find a local book or a book you have never seen before!

In Sharm el Sheik this did not work out, though. I tried so hard to find a book store - but to no avail. No one knew of one. The closest thing I could find was the library in the hotel we stayed at. Which was not much to talk about, to be honest. A couple of left-behind books on a shelf only.

The result is that I have come home without any more books in my suitcase than when I left. For once. I do believe that is a new record for me! Fingers crossed our next journey will bring better luck bookwise. Although I must say I did have a happy boyfriend who got off the usual spending-time-in-book stores-hook... I am pretty sure he did not mind one bit...*laughing*

At the hotel...

At the beach...

Wednesday 14 November 2012

Christian Watson "Glass Full of Questions" Kinetic Typography

I really had to share this poem - even though it seems like it is well known in the blog-sphere. I loved the drawings and the creativity of it, and I found it so wise.

Now, is your glass half empty or half full...? Do tell.

Thursday 8 November 2012

Relaxing days!

We are in Egypt! It is not as warm as I thought it would be, but that is quite all right. It is still warm enough to swim and sun bathe - which feels wonderful, I must admit. I love it down here (apart from the 97 mosquito bites I got the first evening before we bought a mosquito repellent, that is! I look truly horrible!). It seems like it will be two relaxing weeks - what with our baby godson around. Who is enjoying himself tremendously, by the way! He is rolling around in his diapers all day, all giggles and smiles. Such a happy baby. The rest of us is taking turns in amusing him. In the evenings, when he is sleeping, we sit on our balcony, chatting away, or bring him with us in his stroller while exploring the area. I can get used to this. No more pantyhoses or scarves for at least ten days to come! Yey! Why ever do we live in Norway?!

I brought with me "Three Cups of Tea" - I hope it will be a good read in the sun.


Saturday 3 November 2012

Off to Egypt!

Tonight I am wondering which books I should bring with me on my holiday to Egypt. We are about to enjoy two weeks of sunshine, swimming, beaches, relaxing - and it goes without saying - reading, starting Sunday. I know myself well enough to realise that even though we are travelling with some really good friends and their baby son (our little godson, that is!), I will eventually get bored on the beach if I have not got enough books with me.

The last time I was in Egypt (about 6 years ago), I read Zahir by Paulo Coelho amongst others. That was the perfect choice back then!

So, does anyone have any suggestions? Something fitting - like deserts, beaches, travels, the african continent, foreign countries, oceans and so on. Something that says this should be read in Africa!

Egypt 6 years ago - how time flies!

Friday 2 November 2012

Busy busy!

It is taking ages adding all my books to my new app! I have spent hours - and I have not even done half of my library...yikes!

A busy bee!


Wednesday 31 October 2012

Adorable kids

Oh my! what a lovely picture. How cute are they - sitting there under the umbrella, reading, with a bottle of milk beside them in the middle of the forest? Both dressed in autumn colours? What a precious moment.

Picture taken by
Glazastik Finch

Sunday 28 October 2012

More than one teaser from "The Dragon Book"!

So, I have been reading The Dragon Book these last few days. It contains several short stories written by different modern fantasists - some famous, some lesser known. The book is edited by Jack Dann and Gardner Dozois.

The stories vary a lot. Some tell of ancient dragons, some of newly hatched ones. You will encounter evil dragons that prey on mankind - and also wise dragons that count humans as friends. Some of the dragons even coexist with our modern world - living in disguise amongst us. Dragons are all strength, fire and magic - and many of them are truly beautiful. Some are simply as mischievous as you can get it. Everyone of them leaves you with the impression of a magnificent creature that demands and deserves your utter respect. You will do wise to tread carefully. And perhaps to keep an eye on the sky...

" So anyway - I wanted to know everything about 'em, growing up. Asked everybody in my village what they knew about dragons. Nobody knew much. Used to watch the dragons dive in the river for fish. Found out the sorts of things they like to eat when they can't get fish, found out what they physic themselves with when they're ill, that sort of thing.
   And then, one time, I followed one back to the cliffs where it nested and climbed up there to have a look, and that was when I found its hoard. All this gold! Nobody in my village had any, you can be sure. I reached in and grabbed this goblet with rubies on it - got my arm bitten pretty badly too - and carried it home. "
Are you afflicted with Dragons? by Kage Baker

" The dragon sniffled, but it lifted its head again to regard him in some wonder. Surprisingly severe, it said, "You are a witness to the rarest sight in the world - a dragon in tears - and all you can say is don't do that? I don't get you people at all." But it did stop crying; it even made a sound like rustling ashes, which Guerra thought might be a chuckle. It said, "Or did I embarrass you, Mike-O?"
 Oakland Dragon Blues by Peter S. Beagle

" At that, he gave off a burst of furious heat and exhaled a stream of green fire. She dodged him and ran toward the crevice.
   One huge forepaw came down directly in front of her. When she wheeled, his other paw came down, fencing her in.
   "You can't leave!"
   She put her hands over her ears, the roar shaking her whole body. The ground trembled under her. He was lying down, curled around her. She lowered her hands. He was calm again, but his great scaled bulk surrounded her. Only a few feet away, the enormous eye shut and opened again. "Tell me a story." "
Dragon's Deep by Cecelia Holland



Enjoy!

More teasers:
Flukten fra virkeligheten
Should Be Reading

Thursday 25 October 2012

"Perfectly written" - a poem

Perfectly Written

Rice wine
on your smooth
maroon lips and brave
you asked
what I really thought
of you.

At last, a glimpse of the man! The man beyond 
his buttonhole career, the real Lee Songjin.
Inside the silver threads of your flashy suit,
the one you wore to sell pharmaceuticals, the man
outside of your SUV and the gold watch 
you wore successfully, I saw past 
the You that I thought I knew.

What could I say?

Now, cinched with regret
that I never said ̶ 

you are not 
a compilation
of characteristics.

With a former lover, we'd never greet with a hello or a kiss,
but ease up to each other like two unfamiliar cats.
We'd brandish our noses in each other’s necks
sniffing out that exact word, one that would fit
our own personal poems, and when we found it
we'd boldly leap through the lines knocking over
metaphor and metres into some wordless embrace ̶ oh,

you don't even know
you are a poem, have
never taken the time 
to read your own 
pages, don't even know 
what lies inside the cover
in which your culture 
has bound you.

Nobody’s ever told you,
you are already
perfectly written.

~coreen boucher~            

I met Coreen while backpacking in Asia years ago now. Strangely, I only found out about her poems today! The more I read this one, the more I like it. I hope you enjoy it, too.

Check out her webpage for more poems: www.coreenboucher.com

Picture taken by
Laura Johansen

Sunday 21 October 2012

A quote - a wish


May the saddest day of your future be no worse than the happiest day of your past.


I love the language in this series. There are so many great quotes and lines in it. I mean, can you get more adorable than this sentence above is?! It is so full of hope, dreams and wishes for the future... I love it.

May it be true.

The first book in
"The Children of the Lamp"-series

I introduced my youngest brother to these books years ago when the first one came out. Today there are at least seven books in the series. I am missing a few of the latest ones, which I really ought to do something about - because we cannot have that, now, can we? A collector like myself, missing books in one of her series? No, certainly not. Not a chance. Must acquire. Obviously.

Now, I really did like reading these books. That is why I thought them fitting for my brother in the first place. Back then I always preferred to know the books I was giving him as he was so young. Nowadays I sometimes get him books I have not yet read myself, although I am still quite selective. It is fun when you see a book and straight away connects it with a person - the way you are certain he or she will love it. The look in their eyes when they see that book for the first time.

About the books:
The two main characters in the books are the twelve-year-old twins; John and Philippa. They all of a sudden find themselves as djinns with magic powers and the ability to grant wishes. Needless to say that their lives is about to change. In a world where there suddenly are other djinns - some good, some evil, ancient magic, old pharaohs, whirlwind travels around the globe, poisonous cobras and curses, they have to trust themselves, their friends and their newfound powers just to stay alive. Fighting for good can be a most scary task. 

Other teasers:

Friday 19 October 2012

My latest book haul

In the airport's book store the other day I found myself some more books! I cannot wait to get started on one of these.

"Swamplandia!"


" In the Florida Everglades, gator-park Swamplandia! is in trouble. Its star performer, the great beauty and champion alligator-wrestler Hilola Bigtree, has succumbed to cancer, and Ava, her resourceful but terrified 13-year-old daughter, is left in charge with her two siblings. But Ava's sister has embarked on a romantic relationship with a ghost, her brother has defected to a rival theme park, and her father is AWOL. And then a mysterious figure called the Bird Man guides Ava into a perilous part of the swamp called the Underworld, promising he can save both her sister and the park... "


"Girl Reading"



" An orphan poses nervously for a Renaissance maestro in medieval Siena, and an artist's servant girl in seventeenth-century Amsterdam snatches a moment away from her work to lose herself in tales of knights and battles. In a Victorian photography studio, a woman holds a book that she barely acknowledges while she waits for the exposure, and in a Shoreditch bar in 2008 a woman reading catches the eye of a young man who takes her picture. "




"The Dragon Book"



" Whether portrayed as fire-breathing beasts at war with humanity, or as noble creatures mystically bonded to the warriors who ride them, dragons have been found in nearly every culture's mythology. And in The Dragon Book today's greatest fatasists reignite the fire with legendary tales that will consume your imagination. "

" These stories make up an incredible collection that will challenge your perceptions of dragons - and leave you watching the skies... "







Friday 12 October 2012

My new app!

Oh my - do I love my new IPad! My cousin showed me an absolutely brilliant new app which I downloaded last week. The app is called "My Library" and you can scan the barcodes of books with it to make a vertual register of all the books in your library. Different statuses also mean that you can add books you want, have borrowed or lent out. Did I mention it is brilliant?! Lately I have bought so many books, looked at so many books and thought about so many books that I quite easily forget which ones I actually have back home. Sometimes I find myself standing in the book store with a book or two in my hand, wondering if I did get them that other day I was thinking about getting them or not. You see my predicament?

Well, now all that is soon to be solved once and for all. I am currently scanning or manually entering all my books - which, by the way, I can promise you takes a small eternity. I knew I had a lot of books, but...seriously. Sigh. It will all be worth while in the end, though. I cannot wait to finally have a proper "card index" of my library (although digital) with me at all times.

Next time I am unsure about a book I can simply look it up - what a treat that will be!
My new app in action - flipping through the books!

Wednesday 10 October 2012

The last day of summer

The other day we had what I believe was the last day of this summer. At least it felt like it to me. That day it was entirely possible to sit outside on the verandah, in the sun, with a cuppa tea and a book - still in summer clothing, I should point out - and soak in the sun. I do not think this will be possible again, not here, not until spring arrives with warm summer rays next year. In a way it is a shame, but autumn has its own pleasures just waiting to be re-discovered: crackling fires, hot chocolate, cozy blankets, homemade cookies, plenty of new books arriving in the book stores...to name but a few. I cannot not be looking forward to that, right?

So, here is a picture from that loveliest of days:

Only thing missing is my cat!

Wednesday 3 October 2012

Old prints/drawings

I would like my library to become a place where you can find unexpected things - and answers to your questions. Maybe one day it will look like that antique, labyrinthlike and slightly chaotic place you imagine a professor's den to be: a place overflowing of surprises you would never have imagined.

I mentioned in an earlier blog post that I love old prints or drawings of plants, insects and animals. Some of them are truly beautiful - plus, quite often they give you at least something of scientific value. That be the correct name of the item in question, naming of structural or skeletal parts, some latin to add to your vocabulary...perhaps simply a better understanding of the diversity of nature.

 The pictures certainly are a step in the right direction of that professor's den, don't you think?

Drawings of spiders.
Found in an antique store in Prague.
I love the details!

A bird and a flower. Prints from the 1800's sometime.
Found in an antiquarian in Oslo.
Not sure when the colour came to. 

A picture of a dragonfly I have had for a while.
This is where the idea came from.

Nowadays I find myself flipping through stacks of pictures (in addition to the usual stacks of books, of course) in second hand stores. Who knows where my next picture is waiting to be found!

Monday 1 October 2012

A thought experiment - and a teaser

Today I am cheating a little. As I am still reading "Beautiful creatures", I thought I would give you a teaser from a book I read some time ago.

"The end of Mr. Y" by Scarlett Thomas left me mind boggled. It really plays with strange and exceptional theories, and it is written as a huge thought experiment. It really left me wondering - what if all this was even remotely possible? What if it was possible to leap through other people's minds, experience their memories? That sure would change the way we view the world.

So, here is my teaser:

"   'And this is all for a magazine article? ' 
    'Yeah. I do it pretty intensively. For a month I'll live and breathe, say, Samuel Butler. Then I'll find some link from him to take me to the next piece. The column is called Free Association. I started with the Big Bang about three years ago.' 
               Burlem laughs. 'And what did that lead to?'
    'The properties of hydrogen, the speed of light, relativity, quantum mechanics, probability theory, Schrödinger's cat, the wavefunction, light, the luminiferous ether - which is my personal favourite - experiment, paradox...'
    'So you're a scientist? You understand all that stuff?'
     I laughed. 'God, no. Not at all. I wish I did. I probably should'nt have started with the Big Bang, but when you do, that's what you get. At some point I went from artificial intelligence to Butler, and now here I am with Lumas. While I'm working on him I'll probably decide on what link I'm going to follow through next so I can order all the books. I might do something about the history of photography, actually, following through from "The Daguerreotype". Or I might follow it through to the fourth dimension, and that Zollner book, although that takes me back to science again.'  " 

"The end of Mr. Y" by Scarlett Thomas

More teaser's:
Flukten fra virkeligheten
Should Be Reading

Saturday 29 September 2012

A book igloo

I just love this idea. Imagine sitting inside the igloo, completely surrounded by books - that is a place for dreams and discoveries. It is just lacking some blankets and pillows and cozy lights... Cannot really figure out how they made this - some of it looks rather haphazardly stacked to me. Quite an achievement to pull this off!

Miler Lagos' Book Igloo

Thursday 27 September 2012

A teaser from Beautiful creatures


I am so far really enjoying the start of the Caster Chronicles series by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl. The characters are so cute, there is magic and a curse - what more to ask for? I am really looking forward to the next books...and to the movie, too!

" I felt like I had sucked the air out of a giant balloon, like my brain wasn't getting enough oxygen. 
  Clouds were more interesting, the lunchroom less disgusting, music sounded better, the same old jokes were funnier, and Jackson went from being a clump of grayish-green industrial buildings to a map of times and places where I might run into her. 
  I found myself smiling for no reason, keeping my earphones in and replaying our conversations in my head, just so I could listen to them again. 
  I had seen this kind of thing before. I had just never felt it. "

More teaser's:
Flukten fra virkeligheten
Should Be Reading

Saturday 22 September 2012

Treading on dreams

I heard this wonderful poem the other day. Do try reading it aloud - it is most charming.

 " Had I the heavens' embroidered cloths,
Enwrought with golden and silver light, 

The blue and the dim and the dark cloths 

Of night and light and half-light, 

I would spread the cloths under your feet:

But I, being poor, have only my dreams; 

I have spread my dreams under your feet; 

Tread softly because you tread on my dreams. "
William Butler Yeats


I wish I knew more about poetry - I am completely mystified as to where to look for great poems and poets. I have never heard of this particular poem before, and that just shows how frightfully ignorant I am.

Thursday 20 September 2012

A fun weekend at Oslo book festival!

Last weekend there was a book festival in our capital, Oslo. There were several tents filled with books and authors just waiting to be discovered! I obviously wanted to go, but as it is an hour drive from us to Oslo I knew I was in for spending the whole day there. Which, by the way, I was already inclined to do...! My boyfriend, however, was much less inclined to do just that - so the quest was on to find something for him to occupy his hours with. Fortunately, there was a food festival just around the block from the book tents, so that was easy going. He was quite happy to drop me off at the book festival before he went off in the persuit of delicacies down at the food market!

This is my dream scenario, you know - loads of books stacked in high piles on every available surface, authors to meet and get signed copies of, new book stores to explore, discussions, shows... - and (almost) all the time in the world! Needless to say - I loved it!

Firstly, I wandered past this little antiquarian shop. I have never seen it before, so, as you might have already guessed, I spun around on a dime and went straight in. It was big, had all these lovely old books and was covered in owls! Yep, that is right - owls. Porcelain owls, wooden owls, glass owls, paper owls, pictures and drawings of owls - the place was covered in them. They were standing in between the books, hanging from the ceiling, lying in baskets, on the walls...quite astonishing! I was (and am) completely mesmerized. Believe me, I could have spent hours in there.

So colourful! Cannot wait
to read them!
As it happens, though, I was a good girl. I found three books I just had to take with me home and two old printings. I love old printings or drawings of animals, birds or plants. Anything accurate - like old biology posters from schools. These two were of a bird and of a flower - both had been a part of old books once upon a time. I will get them framed and hang them up in my library. I will post pictures later.

The rest of the time was spent roaming about between the book tents. I queued up and got several authors to sign my books - Victoria Hislop, Cecilia Samartin, Jennifer Cody Epstein and Linda Eide. Great fun to meet them! They were all so nice and even took their time to chat a little. I did not have a camera, so sadly I have no pictures of them. That is something I should remember the next time!

Sadly, I could only find one
of these in English
I also met this old man when I was waiting for Victoria Hislop. He said he was so old that he no longer had a home, and so did not have the space to store books anymore. Instead he collected signatures. He had this bunch of nice little blank cards which he got people to sign on. He was ever so cute - he just kept on talking and talking as he showed me the signatures he had got on the festival so far. An adorable man.

Last stop of the day was down on the food market where I found my boyfriend. We sat on a bench there, munching away on a trout wrap and a deer burger with some apple cider samples. Quite tasty, all of it. We stopped by my grandma on our drive home. I gave her a book I got signed for her about the history of Oslo itself by Nils Petter Thuesen, and I told her all about our day over some tea and coffee 
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