Alt skal brenne

Alt skal brenne av Sofia Nordin er en bok om vennskap. Den type vennskap du har når du er ung og på ekte tror at du kan endre verden. Og at den du er venn med alltid kommer til å være der. At det er dere to til evig tid. En slags barnlig naivitet om verden og framtiden. Agnes og Minna kjemper for vegetarmat på skolen, lik behandling av gutter og jenter på skolen, feminisme, miljø og alt annet som er politisk korrekt og viktig. De gjør det sammen. De arbeider frivillig sammen. Det er de to mot verden. Minna kjemper høyest, er mest aktiv, har flest idéer, er full av energi. Hun er også den som får kjæreste, setter kjæresten foran Agnes og bryter tosomheten deres. Det er en bok om alt det fine ved et intenst vennskap, om mental helse, om å være tenåring, om å stå på barrikadene og om ensomhet. Sofia Nordin skriver utrolig godt og ekte om utfordringer rundt mental helse, om å vokse opp og vennskap. En bok jeg absolutt anbefaler alle å lese.

Om muser og menn

Om muser og menn av Marta Breen handler om kvinners, eller kunstneriske kvinners posisjoner opp gjennom historien sammenlignet med menns posisjoner. Det er egentlig utrolig å lese, og jeg blir faktisk helt matt. Og ikke på en god måte, men det har overhodet ikke noe med Marta Breen sine skriveregenskaper å gjøre. Det har mer med hvordan menn alltid har behandlet kvinner og kommet unna med det. Det er i grunnen helt utrolig. Sigmund Freud sin kone som passet på seks barn, mens han skrev, i tillegg til at hun kledde på han hver dag, serverte lunsj kl.13 og godtok at han dro på ferie med lillesøsteren hennes. Sigrid Undset derimot skrev alle bøkene sine på natta, siden det var den eneste tiden hun hadde til å skrive. På dagtid passet hun ungene, lagde mat, stoppet sokker, vasket klær og vasket huset. Hun tar også for seg ordvalget og spørsmålene journalister stiller kvinner i media kontra hva de velger når det gjelder menn i media. Det er utrolig provoserende med kvinnelige ledere som tripper rundt på landsmøter og får spørsmål om å være mor, mens mannlige ledere er bestemte og får spørsmål til sak. Hvis noen lurer på hvorfor det fortsatt trengs kvinnedag og feminisme, så les denne boka.

"Førti år senere mener noen at likestillingen er gått for langt. Da tenker jeg i mitt stille sinnet de burde prise seg lykkelig over at vi kun er ute etter likestilling - og ikke hevn." Marta Breen

Nevermoor The Trials of Morrigan Crow

I am late to the party, I know. I have started to read this book about five times the last year, but I have never been able to finish it before I had to return it to the library. This time I finally finished it. I don't know why it took me so many tries to finish it. It's not a bad book, it's quite entertaining, really. I guess a mix of a lot to do with studies and work, and maybe a bit slow start, is what made me use so long to finish it. The book is said to be the new Harry Potter. I can understand why, but this book is no new Harry Potter. Morrigan Crow can manage without the comparison. She is a girl who feel different and can't really fit in. Just before she turns 11, Jupiter North takes her to Nevermoore. She has to participate in a series of trials to become a member of Wundrous Society. All the other contestants have a special skill, but not Morrigan.

The book took a bit of time to really make it into Nevermoore, but once in, I really look forward to read book number two.

An Anonymous Girl

An Anonymous Girl by Greer Hendricks and Sarah Pekkanen is a crime book, but a bit different. Jessica Farris is a make-up artist struggling to make ends meet. One day she does the make up for two psychology students and listen to them talk about a study about ethics and moral with a generous compensation. She meets up lying about being a friend of one of the students. The study continues beyond the survey on a computer, and she ends up not knowing what is part of the study and what is real life.

The book starts off real good with an interesting plot. The question about morality and ethics is always an interesting one, and mostly it never is one correct answer. But after the very promising start, I think the book ends up in the same track as a lot of other books. And no, it's nothing wrong with good old affairs and lying, but I just had bigger expectations to where this was going.

Heads You Win

Heads You Win by Jeffrey Archer is another massive novel from him. As always in his books you follow two main characters, male, and they somehow migrate from one country to another, often one of the characters migrate to USA. This novel is not the exception, Alex Karpenko migrate from Russia to USA with his mother, or migrate, flee is more accurate. As always in his books, you follow the two character's life from they migrate and how they work hard to achieve their goals and build a new life for themselves. They struggle a bit in the start with no money, but they always end up doing better than most immigrants ever do, owning big hotel chains or leader for huge businesses or banks. This novel is no exception here either, Alex end up in a bank doing real well. The other main character, Sasja Karpenko, ends up in the UK and he is also making a better life for himself there. It's not that the novel lacks of plot or is not interesting to read, it's just I feel I have read it before. I have read a lot of Jeffrey Archer's books, and I don't think they are poorly written books at all. It's a reason I have read so many, but now I got a bit bored. Not because I didn't enjoy it, but it was all so known to me. I knew where he was going with the characters since he seems to follow the same pattern. And not even the little twist at the end was enough for me to think this novel was something extraordinary.  But it was good enough to entertain me the first afternoon in my summer vacation.

Educated

While reading this, I had to google if the story was actually was a memoir and based upon a true story. Some of the story seems almost too over the top to be true. But it is true. It is a novel based upon the life of the author Tara Westover. She grew up with a father who was probably undiagnosed bipolar and didn't trust authorities. Her mum learned to be a midwife from other women in the mormon society. And later she made a business out of making different oils to heal and cure people's illnesses and pain, since Tara's family didn't trust the science and doctors. And not trusting doctors, was almost fatal several times after some heavy accidents.  Sometimes the story just hurts too much to even think about how she got out and turned her life around, is amazing. Sometimes I just forgot it was a memoir. And to me that is a good thing, since I normally don't read a lot of memoirs and biographies. This book though, I would recommend. Well written and an amazing story.

Vi skulle vært løver

Vi skulle vært løver av Line Baugstø handler om Malin. Malin har ingen bestevenninne, men vil gjerne ha en. Så flytter Leona til byen og starter i klassen til Malin. En ypperlig mulighet for Malin å få en bestevenninne. Det viser seg at Leona har en hemmelighet, og da må Malin velge; skal hun være en kujon eller en løve? Boka er enkelt skrevet og har et enkelt språk, men noen ganger trenger man ikke lange utgreiinger om følelser og tanker. Det er ofte det helt enkle som rører. Og Line Baugstø har skrevet en viktig og god bok om det å være født i feil kropp. Det trengs ikke mange detaljer om hva som skjer, men heller noen som modellerer handling uten å vise pekefinger. De små tingene, de hverdagslige tingene som selv om de er små, er så store og viktige, som viser aksept, respekt og forståelse for at vi alle kan være den vi er, det er de episodene som Line Baugstø virkelig får fram i denne boka. Jeg ble rørt! 

64

64 by Hideo Yokoyama is a thick crime book from a different environment than I'm used to be reading. The Japanese culture is far from the crime books I normally read, and I don't think I've ever read a crime book from Japan. The main story line is the case number 64 about a girl who went missing 14 years prior to when the book starts its story. The case was never solved. The cops are still trying to solve the case, since loosing face if it doesn't get solved is not something taken lightly. The daughter of police commissioner Mikami and his wife has just disappeared and Mikami is being called out to identify a dead girl. Everything is connected, and this crime book has a slower pace than normal. It takes its time, and sets the mood and describe Japan and really lets the reader get to know the characters. Its different than other crime books. I liked the fact I get to know a different culture at the same time as I'm reading a crime book. I think the crime itself might have come second after the description of environment and description of characters in this book. But it's not necessarily a negative thing. Normally what makes me turn the pages in a crime book is the crime itself and the pace things happen. In this book the reading experience is enough. I enjoyed it, and I've read this is Hideo Yokoyama's third book, but the only one translated. I hope the other two gets translated as well.

Til ungdommen

Jeg har hørt masse positivt om denne boka. Endte opp med å plukke den med meg fra biblioteket da jeg så den på hurtiglån. Jeg leste den på et par timer. Noen ganger er sånne bøker som bare blir skrytt av, litt lett for å falle igjennom hos meg. Jeg får høye forventninger også blir jeg skuffa. Ikke for at det egentlig har skjedd så ofte når jeg tenker meg nøye om. Uansett, Til ungdommen er en utrolig god bok. Jeg lo høyt etter to sider, gråt etter tretti sider. Til ungdommen er korte tekster skrevet etter inspirasjon Linn Skåber fikk etter å ha pratet med ungdom. Tekstene er såre, åpne, varme, ærlige, morsomme og det er lett å kjenne igjen ungdom og seg selv i tekstene. Og med Lisa Aisato sine fantastiske tegninger i tillegg, så er dette den beste boka jeg har lest hittil i år. Anbefales virkelig, selv om den er en sånn bok alle har lest og liker.