Sunday, May 31, 2009

New Writers

In my quest to broaden my horizon on writers of Non-English speaking or Swedish backgrounds, I picked up The Chameleon by Jane Aadmund. A Danish writer, writing what I would probably classify as chicklit. It was a good book, nothing spectacular but good enough for me to recommend it here.
It is fun to walk into the library with no other objective than to find a book by someone totally new to you. It always brings an interesting perspective. This time I was lucky and it was a good one.
Now take my challenge and find your closest library and pick up a book that you might not have looked twice at before. It could be fun! Be sure to let me know how it went.
Josefine

My recommendations: Teahouse fire by Ellis Avery

Wednesday, May 20, 2009

Fried Green Tomatoes….

…just to hear the name perks your interest. What is this about? Who would serve something like that? The name of a book really tells a lot about the book and this one in particular. I know it is not a new book and some of you might have read it already, but I want to mention it here anyway. The title Fried Green Tomatoes, makes you think of something different and almost exotic and Fannie Flagg has managed to give us just that. She has created a story that contains the most love & conflicts, old & new, racism & tolerance and a mystery. A story that takes us back to one time in a recent past and at the same time tells us about life here and now.
Her characters are strong and easy to like, even the minor characters are someone you would want to know more about. They are not only complementing the main characters but also create a story on their own.
If you haven’t yet, read it! Then watch the film, it is good as well.
Josefine

My recommendations: Welcome to the world Baby Girl! By Fannie Flagg

Sunday, May 17, 2009

Herland – Feminist literature

Writing in the US at the start of the 20th century, Charlotte Perkins Gilman, tells us about the Utopian society in the Amazon jungle where there exist no men. It is a group of explorer (all men) who finds this remarkable place. Certain that everything will be chaos and mayhem, they are amazed of how well things work and some things even better without men.
The story is short but the message is clear. Women are as good as men, maybe even better. A story worth reading, even today.
Read it love it! (or hate it).
Josefine

My recommendations: The Feminine Mystique by Betty Friedan

Saturday, May 9, 2009

Three views of Crystal Water

A book can tell you so much about a world you would never have been able to see from the inside. You travel to cultures you never knew existed, you meet people you would never have gotten to know. Katherine Govier’s book Three views of crystal water, takes us to a society in Japan where women rule and foreigners are rarely let into the society. A young Canadian girl is thrown in at the deep end and pushed to her limits by herself and the village to fit in. A magic story that keep you turning the pages.
Josefine

My recommendations: A year in the Merde by Stephen Clarke

Sunday, May 3, 2009

Finishing a book

Do you also get the blues whenever you have finished a good book? It feels like you have left a dear friend behind and you want to go back and fetch them. I guess I could always re-read them, but there are so many new books I want to read that I don’t have time to go back to the old.
I have trick to make this transition easier and that is always reading at least two or three books at the same time. Right now though I might have stretched myself a bit too far, considering I have six books on my nightstand. Anyway, it does the trick!
Josefine

My recommendations: White Oleander by Janet Fitch