Book reviews: Translations | Semiosis | Persuasion

Title: Translations

Author: Brian Friel

Original title: Translations
First published: 1981
Genre: Play, Historical
Series: --
Publisher: Faber Faber
Format: Paperback
Pages: 91
Finished: 20/10/2021
Summary: The time and place is late August 1833 at a hedge-school in the townland of Baile Beag - an Irish speaking community in County Donegal. The 'scholars' are a cross-section of the local community, from a semi-literate young farmer to and elderly polygot autodidact who reads and quotes Homer in the orginal.In a nearby field camps a recently arrived detachment of the Royal Engineers, engaged on behalf of the Britsh Army and Government in making the first Ordnance Survey. For the purposes of cartography, the local Gaelic place names have to be recorded and transliterated - or translated - into English, in examining the effects of this operation on the lives of a small group of people, Irish and English, Brian Friel skillfully reveals the unexperctedly far-reaching personal and cultural effects of an action which is at first sight purely administrative and harmless. 

My thoughts: This was a short play that I was asked to read for a university course about sociolinguistics this semester. It was indeed a very fitting play for the course, as it portrays domains and varieties well, and also gives some good examples of codeswitching (bet I won't know for sure what these terms mean in a year, or even six months from now.... I barely know what they mean right now lol). Anyway, disregarding the connections this had to my studies, I did find it to be a decent play and I did get fairly emotionally invested. I cared for Manus and felt that his relationship to both his father and brother were realistic and engaging. It was interesting to see the colonization of Ireland by Britain from this perspective and presented in this way. I wish I could see the play someday. In the end, though, reading play scripts is not my preferred cup of tea, and Translations did not really change that. I enjoyed it a fair bit, but I can see myself forgetting all about it pretty soon.

Rating: 3/5

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Title: Semiosis

Author: Sue Burke

Original title: Semiosis
First published: 2018
Genre: Sci-fi, Adult
Series: Semiosis #1
Publisher: HarperVoyager
Format: Paperback
Pages: 325
Finished: 13/08/2012
Summary: Only mutual communication can forge an alliance with the planet's sentient species and prove that mammals are more than tools. Forced to land on a planet they aren't prepared for, human colonists rely on their limited resources to survive. The planet provides a lush but inexplicable landscape--trees offer edible, addictive fruit one day and poison the next, while the ruins of an alien race are found entwined in the roots of a strange plant. Conflicts between generations arise as they struggle to understand one another and grapple with an unknowable alien intellect. 

My thoughts: Semiosis was a great novel to end the sci-fi summer course with, as it turned out to be one of my favourites from the reading list. I think it's up there with Solaris and Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?. In fact, I think I liked this most of all. If I had to pitch this novel to someone, I'd describe it as Spore fanfiction written really well. For real. Following the humans on Pax as they evolve and expand their civilization over the course of many generations was fascinating and I would love to read more about their story. Splitting the novel into several perspectives was a choice well made, as I would probably have been bored following only one character from one generation. With a timeline that encompasses 107 years of history, getting bored was never a problem. Furthermore, Burke's depictions of non-human sentient beings was clever and creative, more so because she describes several such beings which are severely different from each other. An intelligent rainbow bamboo? Giant insect-like creatures, descendants of an ancient advanced civilization? More of this, please! It has been especially engaging to write my final essay for the course about this book and Annihilation by Jeff VanderMeer, in which I explore the causes of human conflict upon encounters with foreign environments and non-human beings. I recommend this novel to anyone who wishes to ease themselves into the sci-fi genre without being bombarded with scientific terms, confusing descriptions posing as world building, or too gloomy characters. This novel will entertain you, fascinate you, and have your imagination running wild.

Rating: 4,25/5

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Title: Persuasion
Author: Jane Austen

Original title: Persuasion
First published: 1817
Genre: Classic
Series: --
Publisher: Thomas Nelson
Format: Hardcover
Pages: 279
Finished: 06/08/2021
Summary: Twenty-seven-year old Anne Elliot is Austen's most adult heroine. Eight years before the story proper begins, she is happily betrothed to a naval officer, Frederick Wentworth, but she precipitously breaks off the engagement when persuaded by her friend Lady Russell that such a match is unworthy. The breakup produces in Anne a deep and long-lasting regret. When later Wentworth returns from sea a rich and successful captain, he finds Anne's family on the brink of financial ruin and his own sister a tenant in Kellynch Hall, the Elliot estate.

My thoughts: Slowly but surely, I work my way through all of Jane Austen's delightful novels. This is the fourth book of hers that I have the pleasure of reading, and it did not disappoint. Persuasion is written in the same elegant prose which Austen never fails to deliver. Her every word is carefully selected, her dialogues thoughtful, and her characters captivating. Anne develops so much in this novel, going from repressed and shy in her character to blossoming and revealing her true traits. It was a joy to follow her unravelling, and no less a pleasure to read of her love for Wentworth.

I am learning of the typical traits of Austen's novels, and it saddens me a bit that they all seem to follow the same patterns. Unlikely romances, class differences, men of deceptive appearance, and love triangles to create drama and suspense. However, as I like to say, why change a successful concept? Austen obviously masters her tropes well and can execute them like no other. Though this, to me, did not live up to the level of Pride and Prejudice, I still liked it a lot and will recommend it with warmth.

Rating: 4/5

Book reviews: Letters to Alice | Solaris | Sanning och skvaller

Title: Letters to Alice
Author: Fay Weldon

Original title: Letters to Alice
First published: 1984
Genre: Non-fiction
Series: --
Publisher: Spectre
Format: Paperback
Pages: 149
Finished: 02/07/2021
Summary: Inspired by a series of instructive letters written by Austen to a novel-writing niece, 'Letters to Alice' is an epistolary novel in which an important modern writer responds to her niece's complaint that Jane Austen is boring and irrelevant. By turns passionate and ironic, "Aunt Fay" makes Alice think--not only about books and literature, but also life and culture.

My thoughts: Ask me to define the word 'pointless' and I will refer to this novel. At least in the context of the literary course about Jane Austen to which this book was assigned. First of all, less than half of this book is even about Austen. Mostly it's the ramblings and whining of the author herself, which might have been slightly of value if put in another context. Nevertheless, as a book about Jane Austen and to be used in writing an essay about said author's works, it is very close to useless. I gained no inspiration, can collect no facts, and felt no enjoyment reading it. I can only be thankful that it was so short.

Rating: 1/5

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Title: Solaris
Author: Stanisław Lem

Original title: Solaris
First published: 1961
Genre: Sci-fi
Series: --
Publisher: Faber & Faber
Format: Paperback
Pages: 214
Finished: 15/07/2021
Summary: When Kris Kelvin arrives at the planet Solaris to study the ocean that covers its surface he is forced to confront a painful, hitherto unconscious memory embodied in the physical likeness of a long-dead lover. Others suffer from the same affliction and speculation rises among scientists that the Solaris ocean may be a massive brain that creates incarnate memories, but its purpose in doing so remains a mystery . . .

My thoughts: This is the best book (according to me at least) that I've read for the summer sci-fi course so far. It's very typical of that 1950/60's writing style that I love but find difficult to pinpoint the exact characteristics of. I recognize it from Stoner by John Williams (1965), Our Man in Havana by Grahame Green (1958), Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe (1958), and most recently Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep by Philip K. Dick (1968). Perhaps because the sentences are often direct, not too metaphorical or eccentric, while still managing to convey so much emotion. Whether that's actually the trick or not, I did really like this book.

Did I like anything else, besides the style of the writing. Yes! Lem manages, from the start, to create such an eerie atmosphere that I found myself sitting at the edge of my seat from the first one or two chapters. The uncanny feeling continues throughout the novel as the protagonist, Kelvin, begins to fall in love with the alien (which has taken the shape of his dead wife). I admit I became frustrated with Kelvin at times, thinking he was selfish and unreasonable for wanting to protect and keep the illusion of his wife rather than communicating with the other scientists and solving the problem. But then I thought of what I would feel in the same situation, given the opportunity to bring back a loved one and being unable to then let them go, and I could no longer find it in myself to judge Kelvin to harshly. Though I didn't feel any particularly strong emotions for his character or his wife, I was still able to sympathise with him for the situation he was put in (which I think is no small feat).

What lowers the grade some is that I became a bit disinterested in the story towards the final third or fourth of the book. I was no longer interested in reading about previous research about Solaris or the alien there, and Kelvin's possessiveness for his wife also turned repetitive. I don't think the novel was too long (it's hard for a novel of barely 200 pages to feel too long), but I wish the final part of the book had been plotted or executed differently.

Rating: 3,75/5

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Title: Sanning och skvaller
Author: Curtis Sittenfeld

Original title: Eligible
First published: 2016
Genre: Contemporary
Series: --
Publisher: Månpocket
Format: Paperback
Pages: 460
Finished: 24/07/2021
Summary: Liz is a magazine writer in her late thirties who, like her yoga instructor older sister, Jane, lives in New York City. When their father has a health scare, they return to their childhood home in Cincinnati to help and discover that the sprawling Tudor they grew up in is crumbling and the family is in disarray. Enter Chip Bingley, a handsome new-in-town doctor who recently appeared on the juggernaut reality TV dating show Eligible. At a Fourth of July barbecue, Chip takes an immediate interest in Jane, but Chip's friend, neurosurgeon Fitzwilliam Darcy, reveals himself to Liz to be much less charming. . . . And yet, first impressions can be deceiving.

My thoughts: This modern retelling of Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice is yet another book from the reading lists of my summer courses. I also decided to include it in my own little Reading Rush, since there is no official one this year. The challenge I used it for was to read a book with a face on the cover.

I want to start of by saying that the sheer amount of pages this book consists of (460 pages) is completely unwarranted. So many pages... so much torture to my poor mind. This novel was purely a waste of time. It brought nothing very new or interesting to the original story, and really only served to provoke and upset me. The author uses black and trans persons with flat personalities/no depth to make the Bennet sisters seem contemporary and progressive in their dating lives, which just comes across as cheap and disrespectful. The fact that one of the characters supposed to represent Wickham from the original story is not scandalous because he is a manipulative, irresponsible liar (a valid scandal), but is a trans person and THAT is the big betrayal/scandal is unreasonable and immature. The character "Ham", who is trans, is obviously connected to Wickham in P&P, and this connection suggests Ham is a bad person for being trans??? I've seen several people on Goodreads also reacted to this and have written way better reviews than this one, so if you feel like reading more critique you can have a look there.

Moreover, Liz and Darcy had NO chemistry, even less than in the original. In P&P, their love grows from how compatible their minds are, but that was replaced by physical attraction in this book, which just felt weird. Nope, this was not for me and I will recommend it only to my enemies.

Rating: 1,5/5

Book reviews: Emma | Macbeth | Frankenstein

Title: Emma
Author: Jane Austen

Original title: Emma
First published: 1815
Genre: Classic
Series: --
Publisher: Repris
Format: Hardcover
Pages: 578
Finished: 02/02/2021
Summary: Emma Woodhouse is the lovely, lively, willful, and fallible heroine of Jane Austen's fourth published novel. Confident that she knows best, Emma schemes to find a suitable husband for her pliant friend Harriet, only to discover that she understands the feelings of others as little as she does her own heart. Emma puzzles and blunders her way through the mysteries of her social world in a small town undergoing historical transition.

My thoughts: After thoroughly enjoying Austen's "Pride and Prejudice" last summer, I was eager to discover more of her works. I picked up "Emma" next, both because I already had it at home and because I soon wish to see the new movie adaptation. While I did enjoy "Emma", it did not charm me in the same way that Elizabeth Bennett's story managed to. This book seemed to drag out quite a bit and did not need to be over 500 pages long, in my humble opinion. Much focus was put on more or less annoying side characters, which I could have gone without, and the romance that I had to wait so long for was sort of sweet, but not as satisfying as I'd hoped. Some heart-warming relationships were explored, such as between Emma, her father, and her once governess. I will continue to seek out Austen's works, and the flaws I found in "Emma" will only be remembered as trivial as I'm sure I'll enjoy her next book very much.

Rating: 3,5/5

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Title: Macbeth
Author: William Shakespeare

Original title: Macbeth
First published: 1606
Genre: Classic
Series: --
Publisher: Longman
Format: Paperback
Pages: 224
Finished: 13/04/2021
Summary: One night on the heath, the brave and respected general Macbeth encounters three witches who foretell that he will become king of Scotland. At first sceptical, he’s urged on by the ruthless, single-minded ambitions of Lady Macbeth, who suffers none of her husband’s doubt. But seeing the prophecy through to the bloody end leads them both spiralling into paranoia, tyranny, madness, and murder.

My thoughts: This play evoked very few and lukewarm emotions in me. Indeed it is a classic tale and one of Shakespeare's most well known tragedies, and the story truly holds historical and cultural value. However, it was not quite to my tastes and I will not remember it as a particularly pleasant or exciting read. The edition I read was helpful, with its added definitions of difficult words and explanations of what happens on each page.

Rating: 2,5/5

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Title: Frankenstein
Author: Mary Shelley

Original title: Frankenstein
First published: 1818
Genre: Classic, Sci-fi
Series: --
Publisher: Flame Tree Publishing
Format: Hardcover
Pages: 116
Finished: 18/06/2021
Summary: Obsessed with creating life itself, Victor Frankenstein plunders graveyards for the material to fashion a new being, which he shocks into life with electricity. But his botched creature, rejected by Frankenstein and denied human companionship, sets out to destroy his maker and all that he holds dear.

My thoughts: Seeing "Frankenstein" on the reading list as the first book to tackle in the sci-fi literature course I'm taking this summer, I was a bit surprised. I had never perceived this classic horror novel to also be a work of science fiction. With this perspective in mind, it was a very interesting reading experience and I was able to connect elements of this story to modern books in the same genre. However, while I definitely found myself intrigued by these elements, I was underwhelmed by other sides of the story. The narrative had a tendency to drag on and the eerie atmosphere that I had hoped to encounter was nowhere to be found. I understand this story was terrifying and uncanny when it was first published, but to someone who has seen or read modern horror stories, the tale of Frankenstein and his monster just can't compare. While the writing style was somewhat elegant and enticing, it couldn't make up for the boring whining of both Frankenstein and the creature. All in all, I'm glad to have read this novel and it really is interesting to see it as a work of science fiction, though it is not a book I think I'll ever feel the desire to re-read.

PS: I don't recommend this specific edition. The pages are rather large and the text is, regrettably, very small. What's usually nearly 300 pages has been compressed to a meagre 116 pages :(

Rating: 3/5

Book reviews: The Cuckoo's Calling | Stolthet och fördom | Ædnan

Title: The Cuckoo's Calling
Author: Robert Galbraith (J.K. Rowling)
Original title: The Cuckoo's Calling
First published: 2013
Genre: Crime, Adult
Series: Cormoran Strike #1
Publisher: Sphere
Format: Paperback
Pages: 550
Finished: 27/07/2020
Summary: When a troubled model falls to her death from a snow-covered Mayfair balcony, it is assumed that she has committed suicide. However, her brother has his doubts, and calls in private investigator Cormoran Strike to look into the case. A war veteran, wounded both physically and psychologically, Strike's life is in disarray. The case gives him a financial lifeline, but it comes at a personal cost: the more he delves into the young model's complex world, the darker things get - and the closer he gets to terrible danger.

My thoughts: I read this together with some friends over the course of a few weeks. Unfortunately, we were all very disappointed in it. The writing style is definitely Rowling's, and that's good when we're talking Harry Potter. However, it did not work as well in this context. Rowling mixes in crude words and attempts a harsher style, which doesn't go naturally with her normal style. The clash wasn't pleasant. Another thing is the change in perspective. We switch from Cormoran to Robin now and then, but they both have the exact same narration. The POV would also change in the middle of a chapter without warning, which was confusing and lead to annoyance. Overall, the characters had little depth. I think part of the fault here is the sheer amount of characters explored in the murder investigation. There were so many that most of them became only shallow figures based on stereotypes. Then there's Rowling's way of describing black people as opposed to white. She only described skin colour when observing a black character, and many times such characters would be described with words like 'exotic'. Also, the only characters who had written out accents were black. Need I say more?
What of the mystery? Well, the investigation was mostly tedious and to someone like me who has read close to no crime novels before, this was not the one to make me more interested in the genre. In the end I became too bored to feel any curiosity. I stopped wanting to know who was the murderer, if there even was one. The resolution was unsatisfactory. I didn't buy the motivation for certain things.
Overall, I don't recommend the book, but it could've been worse. I liked most of Robin's character, and Cormoran was okay at times. I will most likely never continue with the series.

Rating: 2,5/5

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Title: Stolthet och fördom
Author: Jane Austen
Original title: Pride and Prejudice
First published: 1813
Genre: Classic
Series: --
Publisher: Albert Bonnier
Format: Danskt band (??)
Pages: 462
Finished: 31/07/2020
Summary: Mrs. Bennet has but one aim in life: to find a good match for each of her five daughters. Mr. Bennet, a mild and indolent man given to witty cynicisms, refuses to take this vulgar project seriously; he ridicules his wife instead of giving her support in her schemes. One of the daughters, Elizabeth, becomes prejudiced against her future suitor, Darcy, because of his arrogance and his uncalled-for interference with his friend Bingley’s courtship of her sister Jane. In interfering with Jane and Bingley, Darcy is influence by Mrs. Bennet’s undisguised husband-hunt and her impropriety in general; he mistakenly believes that Jane is only seeking an advantageous match and that her feelings are not sincere. In spite of his disapproval of the Bennet family. Darcy cannot keep himself from falling in love with Elizabeth, and he proposes to her. The tone of the proposal (it is evident that his love for Elizabeth is a blow to his pride) and her own prejudice cause Elizabeth to coldly reject him.

My thoughts: Probably one of my new favourite classics, and definitely one of the best books I've read this year. Austen writes characters and relationships in an expertly manner and I instantly felt at home in the historical setting with its balls, intrigues, and minor scandals. I loved the bond that Elizabeth had to her sisters and parents; it actually felt like a real family. Each sister was their own person, and her parents were truly polar opposites of each other. There's also a lot of humour in this novel, and I had to laugh out loud at several points while reading. To think that the wit of a British lady who lived two hundred years ago is still funny! Furthermore, this is of course an iconic work of romance. Reading about Mr Darcy and Miss Bennet was exciting and romantic. However, I want to point a finger to the wonderful feminism that's sprinkled over the story, even despite of the time it was written. Elizabeth is a woman with an independent mind and will, with obvious feminist values that were thoroughly refreshing for a classic. If all this sounds intriguing to you, I highly recommend you pick up this book soon!
Note: 'Danskt band' is a format for which I can't find any proper translation. It means 'Danish bind' and is a mix between paperback and hardcover. It has the shape of a hardcover but the soft bind of a paperback.

Rating: 4,5/5

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Title: Ædnan
Author: Linnea Axelsson
Original title: Ædnan
First published: 2018
Genre: Historical, Poetry
Series: --
Publisher: Albert Bonnier
Format: Hardcover
Time: 760
Finished: 
Summary: A mother and her youngest son rest with a few other women, elders, and children in a goahti. Ahead of them on the migration route, her husband and elder son push the herd of reindeer. They're headed for an island in northernmost Norway, where they will find pasture for summer. Nobody suspects that the border to Norway will close for them in a few years; that they will be forced to leave their home, and that future generations will face difficulties of a new kind.

My thoughts: Ædnan is old sámi and means the land, the ground, and the Earth.

This is a brick of a book, but it's read quite swiftly. I'm unused to reading in verse, which this is written in, but it was interesting to try it out. I think I've concluded that the format isn't really for me, or perhaps I should begin a search for a verse novel that suits me. Either way, I feel that the format was somewhat to this book's disadvantage. Being poetic can come at the cost of making the content of the story more difficult to understand and interpret. Whilst I feel that I grasped what the story was meant to tell, I fear a lot was still lost on me. Another factor to this was the way the storytelling switched constantly back and forth on the timeline, as well as between points of view. Had the story not been written in verse, I think it would have been easier to keep track of the different characters and their stories. However, I could never quite grasp who was who and what relationships the characters had to each other or what happened when and what consequences things had. I wish we'd just followed a maximum of three characters the entire book, and not jumped back and forth on the timeline. Like I said; a lot was probably lost on me because of the way the story is told.

Still, this book has some powerful scenes. And I did learn some things. It was emotional to read about the sámi people being forced to alter their lifestyle by the cruel ambition of Swedes. They were stripped of their land, their rights, and their dignity when the Swede decided through 'scientific racism' that sámi were beneath them, inferior and undeserving. It's a dark and despicable time in history, and the sámi deserved so much better. The book does a good job of explaining what the sámi people have been exposed to and how they're still affected today by the actions of the Swedish people. I dearly wish that whatever steps can be taken for the sámi people to regain their rights, their land, and their former lifestyle will be executed as soon as possible. They deserve respect and love. I'd like to read more fiction or books by sámi people and about sámi culture and history. Perhaps I will have a greater chance at understanding the message of a book written in traditional prose.

Also, wtf Vattenfall? Rude!!

Rating: 3,25/5

Book reviews: Animal Farm | The DUFF | Liftarens guide till galaxen

Title: Animal Farm
Author: George Orwell
Original title: Animal Farm
First published: 1945
Genre: Classic, Dystopian
Series: --
Publisher: Penguin
Format: Paperback
Pages: 95
Finished: 23/07/2019
Summary: A farm is taken over by its overworked, mistreated animals. With flaming idealism and stirring slogans, they set out to create a paradise of progress, justice, and equality. Thus the stage is set for one of the most telling satiric fables ever penned –a razor-edged fairy tale for grown-ups that records the evolution from revolution against tyranny to a totalitarianism just as terrible.

My thoughts: My second read for this year's Reading Rush! "Animal Farm" was read to complete the challenge "read a book with a non-human main character".
Wow! A really good story for its length (95 pages). It manages to fit a surprising amount of character depth, political satire, and storyline into a short tale about animals on a farm. I’d love to reread it sometime at a slower pace, and maybe attempt to write an analysis on it, just to really get into the morals and ideas of the piece. For now, I don’t have a lot more to say.

Rating: 4,25/5

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Title: The DUFF: Designated Ugly Fat Friend
Author: Kody Keplinger
Original title: The DUFF: Designated Ugly Fat Friend
First published: 2010
Genre: Contemporary, YA
Series: --
Publisher: Hodder Children's Books
Format: Paperback
Pages: 277
Finished: 24/07/2019
Summary: Seventeen-year-old Bianca Piper is cynical and loyal, and she doesn't think she's the prettiest of her friends by a long shot. She's also way too smart to fall for the charms of man-slut and slimy school hottie Wesley Rush. In fact, Bianca hates him. And when he nicknames her "the Duff," she throws her Coke in his face.  But things aren't so great at home right now, and Bianca is desperate for a distraction. She ends up kissing Wesley. Worse, she likes it. Eager for escape, Bianca throws herself into a closeted enemies-with-benefits relationship with him.  Until it all goes horribly awry. It turns out Wesley isn't such a bad listener, and his life is pretty screwed up, too. Suddenly Bianca realizes with absolute horror that she's falling for the guy she thought she hated more than anyone. And eventually, through this realization, Bianca begins to see how harmful her unhealthy way of dealing with her problems has been, and finds a way to confront them head on.

My thoughts: This is the third book I read for this year's Reading Rush! "The DUFF" was read to complete the challenge "read and watch a book to movie adaption".
Also, lo and behold, this is the 222nd book on my "read" list!

This is a book that receives a (to me) low rating not because it is exceedingly bad, but because it was exceedingly not good. I just can’t think of anything that I particularly liked about it. On the bright side, I didn’t struggle with reading it, which means it wasn’t horrible. I’d compare it to unsalted pasta, perhaps a bit overcooked. Sure, I can eat it, and in the right mindset I won’t outright disapprove of it, but I certainly won’t savour it like actual good pasta.
The character did have different personalities, but none of them really stuck with me, and I was hardly rooting for someone. The storyline was basic af; idk how many times I’ve seen this exact plot in a low budget American high school movie. The not-super-girly girl and the school’s hottest and rudest guy fall for each other and everybody’s minds are blown… not. I can honestly see how this novel tries to twist the cliché tale, but the added elements that hope to achieve this just aren’t enough or miss the mark. I have a hard time appreciating the effort, since coming up with something a little more original would have been a lot more admirable. In the end, I’ve had too much good pasta to like “The DUFF”. Sorry.
(Oh, and the movie seems so different from the book? Why did they change so much about the plot? If possible, they made it more like the cliché story than the book already was.)

Rating: 2,75/5

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Title: Liftarens guide till galaxen
Author: Douglas Adams
Original title: The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
First published: 1979
Genre: Sci-fi
Series: Liftarens guide till galaxen #1
Publisher: Månpocket
Format: Paperback
Pages: 168
Finished: 26/07/2019
Summary: Seconds before the Earth is demolished to make way for a galactic freeway, Arthur Dent is plucked off the planet by his friend Ford Prefect, a researcher for the revised edition of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy who, for the last fifteen years, has been posing as an out-of-work actor. Together this dynamic pair begin a journey through space aided by quotes from The Hitchhiker's Guide ("A towel is about the most massively useful thing an interstellar hitchhiker can have") and a galaxy-full of fellow travelers: Zaphod Beeblebrox—the two-headed, three-armed ex-hippie and totally out-to-lunch president of the galaxy; Trillian, Zaphod's girlfriend (formally Tricia McMillan), whom Arthur tried to pick up at a cocktail party once upon a time zone; Marvin, a paranoid, brilliant, and chronically depressed robot; Veet Voojagig, a former graduate student who is obsessed with the disappearance of all the ballpoint pens he bought over the years.

My thoughts: My fourth read for this year's Reading Rush (AND my fortieth read this year)! This one was read to complete the challenge "read a book in the same spot the entire time". I had some business outside my house the day I read this, so I had to squeeze it into my schedule before and after daily activities. I didn't manage to finish it the day I intended, but luckily I had it finished the day after before noon.

The concept of “random is funny” has seen many failures, but also a few successes. I believe this book is one of those few. At first, I was somewhat put off by the seemingly incoherent plot, but as I continued reading, I found logic and pattern in the madness as the pieces slowly started to come together and become understandable. I was definitely able to appreciate the book’s humour, and I laughed out loud at several points while reading. It would surely seem that in the case of “The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy”, random is funny.
My main complaints about the book are that it took me slightly too long to get into it, that I didn’t really find the plot exciting (though it was entertaining still), and that the text was too small for my liking. Other than that, I liked it! I am very likely to continue reading the series (since I have the whole thing in this bind-up edition).

Rating: 3,5/5

Book Reviews: We Were Liars | Call me by your name | Rör mig inte!

Title: We Were Liars
Author: E. Lockhart
Original title: We Were Liars
First published: 2014
Genre: YA, Mystery, Contemporary
Series: --
Publisher: Delacorte Press
Format: Paperback
Pages: 225
Finished: 15/07/2019
Summary: We Were Liars. I will LIE too, as to not spoil your reading. This is a book about a girl, about friendship, about summer. It's a book about money and a wealthy family. It's a book about values and about pretending. It's a book about LIES, those that we tell others and the ones that we tell ourselves. The LIES that are exposed and also, the hidden lies.

My thoughts: “We Were Liars” by E. Lockhart became an object of hype and mystery within the YA reading community upon its release ca. four or five years ago. Its biggest selling point is that the reader should have as little knowledge as possible about the plot when diving into the novel, hence I won’t give a summary of the plot itself in this review. I will, however, discuss my thoughts about it.
We follow the protagonist and teenager Cady Sinclair; the eldest grandchild of a filthy rich old man who, amongst other things, has three daughters and a private island, which the family visits each summer. Cady hardly made a good impression on me. Usually, I tend to favour protagonists that have flaws; it makes a character more relatable. However Cady didn’t offer any other characteristics than spoiled, boring, and slow. Not even the mystery of a rich family’s dirty secret could save her from being plain, and neither was she saved by the attempt of a poetic writing style.
Yes, this is my segue to talking about the writing style. At first, I was annoyed by it, because it reminded me of other disappointing novels with failed tries at unique and poetic language. Nevertheless, it wasn’t too bad, and I got used to it in the end, though I sometimes found that the style of writing clashed with the personality of the protagonist. And though I got used to the style, it never got good.
So what made this novel? Well, in the end this book is held up by its selling point, the mystery. It’s the mystery, unravelling, and reveal that made this book worth the read. And these things are executed well by the author; I could tell that the resolution was thoroughly thought out and plotted by Lockhart, and I’m glad to say the ending made an impact on me. However, I need more than the climax of the novel to affect me for it to be considered good. In the end, I’ll remember this as a book with a grand finale, but not, unfortunately, as anything else.

Rating: 3/5

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Title: Call me by your name
Author: André Aciman
Original title: Call Me By Your Name
First published: 2007
Genre: Contemporary, LGBTQ+
Series: Call Me By Your Name #1
Publisher: Brombergs
Format: Hardback
Pages: 262
Finished: 21/07/2019
Summary: A sudden and powerful romance blossoms between an adolescent boy and a summer guest at his parents' cliff-side mansion on the Italian Riviera. Unprepared for the consequences of their attraction, at first each feigns indifference. But during the restless summer weeks that follow, unrelenting buried currents of obsession and fear, fascination and desire, intensify their passion as they test the charged ground between them. What grows from the depths of their spirits is a romance of scarcely six weeks' duration and an experience that marks them for a lifetime. For what the two discover on the Riviera and during a sultry evening in Rome is the one thing both already fear they may never truly find again: total intimacy.

My thoughts: I watched the movie adaptation of this when it came out in 2017 and pretty much loved it. In February of this year (2019), I finally purchased the novel at the annual Swedish book sale. And now, in July of 2019, I’ve read it.
The movie and book are rather different; since the novel is mostly based on Elio’s thoughts, fantasies, and observations of Oliver, the movie became a compilation of the few actual scenes that the book offers, resulting in a slow paced, silent, and atmospheric film. However, we never realise the full extent of Elios feelings for Oliver in the movie, because we miss out on everything that goes on in his head. This is where the novel fills in.

Elio is beyond taken by Oliver; he’s all he can think about, really. Every page has a paragraph dedicated for Elio’s thoughts on the American, though despite everything being about Oliver, I felt that I rarely got to know him. He’s more the object for Elio’s desires and fantasies, rather than a character that we become familiar with. We truly only see him as Elio sees him. This has a charm to it, because while Oliver remains as some sort of centre for the plot, Elio really takes up all the space in the novel. “Call me by your name” is just Elio, who is just about Oliver, if that makes any sense.

I have a hard time finding things to say about this novel. I enjoyed the writing style and the depiction of Elio’s total obsession. It was a nice summer read, and I’m glad I’ve finally read it. Though I think I liked the movie a bit more, I want to say that the two really compliment each other well. I warmly recommend them both.

Rating: 4/5

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Title: Rör mig inte!
Author: Tahereh Mafi
Original title: Shatter Me
First published: 2011
Genre: Fantasy, YA, Dystopia
Series: Shatter Me #1
Publisher: B. Wahlströms
Format: Hardback
Pages: 302
Finished: 22/07/2019
Summary: Juliette hasn’t touched anyone in exactly 264 days. The last time she did, it was an accident, but The Reestablishment locked her up for murder. No one knows why Juliette’s touch is fatal. As long as she doesn’t hurt anyone else, no one really cares. The world is too busy crumbling to pieces to pay attention to a 17-year-old girl. Diseases are destroying the population, food is hard to find, birds don’t fly anymore, and the clouds are the wrong color. The Reestablishment said their way was the only way to fix things, so they threw Juliette in a cell. Now so many people are dead that the survivors are whispering war – and The Reestablishment has changed its mind. Maybe Juliette is more than a tortured soul stuffed into a poisonous body. Maybe she’s exactly what they need right now.

My thoughts: First book read for "The Reading Rush" 2019! This one was read for the challenge "read an authors debut novel". I completed it within my schedule, which means I read and finished it within the first day of the week.
I have a few scattered thoughts about this novel that I took notes on with my phone, so this review will be a sort of coherent compilation of those notes.
The best part of the book was the beginning. I felt compelled by the writing style, which I’d heard a lot about from the time when this novel blew up back when it was first released. Yes, the style is worth noting, and yes, I liked it at first, though I felt that what I enjoyed about it (which is mostly the crossed out parts of the text) ebbed out as the story progressed. Hence, what I liked most about the writing style sort of went away the more I read, which was really too bad, though I can understand it was used as a tool to note the character development of the protagonist and improvement of her mental state/health. 
I quickly noticed that Adam, the main love interest of the book, seemed to be built on rather weak and ambiguous descriptions. That’s a nicer way of saying his character lacks depth, and this is a problem basically from the moment he’s introduced and for the rest of the novel. I actually found that this was the case with pretty much every character besides Juliette, but even she wasn’t a striking exception. I’d hoped Adam would grow with time, but unfortunately that didn’t happen. Nevertheless, it’s very possible that we see a greater change with him in future novels of the trilogy, hopefully along with all the other characters.

Furthermore, speaking of Adam, I found the main romance pretty boring… It started off as sort of intriguing, but their falling for each other went way too quick and didn’t feel motivated enough, despite the author’s attempts.

Another thing that annoyed me were the shallow descriptions. It seems this novel is overflowing with metaphors, yet I rarely got any elaborate or imaginative descriptions on the environments that Juliette finds herself in. Perhaps that’s something that was lost in translation, but I honestly doubt it. The shallowness also affected character descriptions overall; new characters were introduced clumsily, mainly because Juliette was annoyingly quick to judge them as good or bad. Because of that, I as a reader felt that the author was trying to tell me outright to think a certain way about a character, rather than actually showing me the nature of their character with actions and interactions. For example, Juliette is at one point introduced to a new character, and she has legit not known him for more than an hour before she starts making statements like “I could never imagine This Character ever being surprised at anything!”, which I found highly unrealistic and clumsy. Really, this book would have needed an extra 100 pages or so to delve deeper into characters, relationships, and world building in order to truly convince me that this is a decent/good book.

I sound negative, I know. But despite my many remarks, I did enjoy reading this a bit. Maybe not as much as I’d hoped, and the faults of it were a tad too many, but I think I would consider reading at least one of the sequels. The plot was rather fast paced (maybe too fast, actually), and I can see the potential. Overall, it’s not a book that I struggled with completing because of its flaws, but I didn’t really fly through it because I enjoyed it a lot.

Spoiler thoughts (mark white text in order to read it): Adam’s motivation of risking so much for Juliette is very weak! Why would he risk the safety of this younger brother, which should be his main priority since he’s his brother’s only guardian, in order to save Juliette? I didn’t buy that their love was strong or deep enough at that point in the plot for him to be so reckless.

Rating: 3/5