Perfume

I wasn’t really impressed by Patrick Süskind’s book Perfume. I had heard so much about it and that is why I bought it, but after finishing it, I was far from satisfied. This is not a book I will remember in a couple of years.
I thought the story was lacking depth and I never got into it. In the end it became a chore to finish it, rather than a pleasure. But I guess that is how it is with some books, you are just not that in to them!
Josefine

My recommendations: The scarlet letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne

Death again

I keep finding these books about death the last one I read were James Bradely’s The Resurrectionist. It is about a boy in London during the 19th century who studies anatomy under a famous anatomist. He soon becomes tangled up with the people who provide the body for the great doctor. Body snatcher would probably be the term of today, but then they were resurrectionists and making good money out of it.
The ending was a bit tame and could have been made more interesting, but it was a good read anyway. Lots of violence but not disturbingly written.
Josefine

My recommendations: Black water by Joyce Carol Oates

Books and feelings

I like books that have strong feelings and even better if the author manages to convey that feeling to the reader. It is far from many books and writers that have that effect on me. There are many writers who write good books that I enjoy reading, but they will not last in my mind more than a couple of weeks.
I like to laugh out loud when I am reading, look behind my back so no one will squeeze up on me and fall in love with the love interest of the character. These feelings are necessary for me to keep the interest in the book. Some of the writers that almost always succeed in capturing my attention are Stephen King, Dodie Smith and Fannie Flagg.
I will always finish a book I started, if it interests me or not, but there are only a few of them that I will remember vividly a year from now.
Josefine

My recommendations: The girl who loved Tom Gordon by Stephen King

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

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

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

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