Bogormen

Title: Under the Tuscan Sun Author: Frances Mayes Genre: Non-fiction, cultural Rating: 10/10 # pages: 327 Date read: December, 2007

Summary: In this memoir of her buying, renovating, and living in an abandoned villa in Tuscany, Frances Mayes reveals the sensual pleasure she found living in rural Italy, and the generous spirit she brought with her. She revels in the sunlight and the color, the long view of her valley, the warm homey architecture, the languor of the slow paced days, the vigor of working her garden, and the intimacy of her dealings with the locals. Cooking, gardening, tiling and painting are never chores, but skills to be learned, arts to be practiced, and above all to be enjoyed. At the same time Mayes brings a literary and intellectual mind to bear on the experience, adding depth to this account of her enticing rural idyll.

Review: I was about 100 pages into it before I realized it was non-fiction rather than fiction - it read like a novel! I'm now starting to understand Valancy's fascination with John Foster's books in The Blue Castle.

"Under the Tuscan Sun" is amazing. From the very first page I was hooked, and by the time I'd finished the book, I had such a desire to go to at least Italy, perhaps even Tuscana and experience the culture and atmosphere so eloquently described in the book.

It's a book that'll make you really, really hungry for good Italian food. Fortunately it has lots of recipes included, so I know what I'll be making for dinner the next couple of days.

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Title: Darling Jim Author: Christian Moerk Genre: Suspense Rating: 8/10 # pages: 311 Date read: December, 2007

Summary: The line between mythology and reality is thin as a piece of paper in this romantic thriller. It is the story of three sisters, whose love for each other is their only defence against a man whose seductive charm is more dangerous than the sharpest weapon.

Jim Quick is irresistable. When he arrives at the sleepy Irish town of Castletownbere he turns everything tupsy-turvey. He is a so-called séanachai, a bard who tells legends and myths. Everybody is whisked into his fantastic world, where wolves and knights fight for both life and love.

At the same time more and more young girls are bestially murdered in the towns Jim has visited. Only three sisters, Fiona, Aoife and Róisin saw through the facade of the town's darling and noticed that his tales start to correspond a bit too much to the horrible events of reality. They shadow him and discover he has a lot more than mysterious stories in his baggage. An abundance of secrets are hidden deep within a secret forest, where only a lonely wizard knows the answer to who Jim really is.

Review: Darling Jim was a Christmas present from my brother- and sister-in-law. It was a true page-turner, but very troubling in its plot. One of those books where the main characters ought to have gone to the police so many times but didn't and therefore ended up suffering a totally unnecessary death. That plot-device always bothers me. I enjoyed reading it, but doubt it's one that'll end up being a regular reread.

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Title: The Ultimate Hitch-Hiker's Guide Author: Douglas Adams Genre: Sci-fi Rating: 10/10 # pages: Audiobook Date read: December, 2007

Summary: This omnibus edition begins with The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, in which Arthur Dent is introduced to the galaxy at large when he is rescued by an alien friend seconds before Earth's destruction. Then in The Restaurant at the End of the Universe, Arthur and his new friends travel to the end of time and discover the true reason for Earth's existence. In Life, the Universe, and Everything, the gang goes on a mission to save the entire universe. So Long, and Thanks for All the Fish recounts how Arthur finds true love and "God's Final Message to His Creation." Finally, Mostly Harmless is the story of Arthur's continuing search for home, in which he instead encounters his estranged daughter, who is on her own quest. As the series progresses, its wackier elements diminish, but the satire of human life and foibles is ever present.

Review: I've absolutely adored this series ever since my Dad first introduced me to it when I was 13'ish. The wacky humour that may be too much for some is right up my aisle and even know I practically know the books by heart by now, I still very much enjoy both reading and listening to them. The first three are definitely the best, but they're all well worth reading and lots of fun :)

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Title: Julius og Gregor Author: Claus Tøndering Genre: Non-fiction Rating: 8/10 # pages: 132 not including appendixes Date read: December, 2007

Summary: Julius and Gregor gives a thorough walk-through of the structure and history of our calendar with all the mysteries and curious stories it contains. Because of this, the book is aimed at anybody who finds calendars interesting.

In addition to this, the book gives the reader a large set of tools to understand and calculate past and future calendar situations. Because of this, the book is aimed at anybody who needs - or is fascinated by - tables and calculations.

And if one needs a calendar for every year from 600-2299, the book has that too. Julius and Gregor is interesting reading for anybody who's gifted with a healthy curiosity towards all the peculiarities hidden in our calendar.

Review: I have to admit to having an ulterior motive in reading and reviewing this book. Claus Tøndering is my dad :) (And he'll probably find this entry through Google alerts. Hi Dad! *waves*) Still, I hope you can trust that I read enough to know my mind and give an unbiased review regardless.

I'm a geek. This is no secret and something I'm proud of. I love maths, I love logic and I love formulas. For that reason along this book was right up my aisle. I now know how to calculate the day of the week for any given date between 1900-2099. I don't know that I'll ever need it, but just being able to is cool :)

But even non-geeks will find J&G interesting, because of the number of anecdotes spread out throughout it about curiosities connected to the history of our calendar. E.g. the myth that Augustus added a day to August because he didn't find it fair that Julius got 31 days whereas he only got 30 (untrue, but funny), or the practise of renaming dates to fit a deck of cards... seeing as there are 52/53 weeks in a year and 52/53 (if you count the joker) cards in a deck: "Let's meet up on Thursday in King of Spades".

I found the book both informative and interesting. And even if I'll probably never end up needing any of the information gained, it'll come in handy when playing Trivial Pursuit! :-)

Granted, the book is in Danish, but if any of the above caught your fancy, check out Claus's calendar faq at http://www.tondering.dk.
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Title: To Say Nothing of the Dog Author: Connie Willis Genre: Sci-fi Rating: 8/10 # pages: 493 Date read: December, 2007

Summary: Ned Henry is badly in need of a rest. He's been shuttling between the 21st century and the 1940s searching for a Victorian atrocity called the bishop's bird stump. It's part of a project to restore the famed Coventry Cathedral, destroyed in a Nazi air raid over a hundred years earlier.

But then Verity Kindle, a fellow time traveler, inadvertently brings back something from the past. Now Ned must jump back to the Victorian era to help Verity put things right--not only to save the project but to prevent altering history itself.

Review: Definitely not CW's best book. I had a very hard time getting into it, and it wasn't until around page 200 that I really started enjoying it, as I found the beginning very jumbled and confusing. I'm glad I'd already read The Doomsday Book or it would have been even more confusing.

I did end up enjoying it though, and managed to read the last 300 pages in less than 24 hours - feeling very smug that I'd guessed at least part of the mystery already on page 230 :-D

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Title: The Stand Author: Stephen King Genre: Thriller Rating: 8/10 # pages: 1007 Date read: December, 2007

Summary: This is the way the world ends: with a nanosecond of computer error in a Defense Department laboratory and a million casual contacts that form the links in a chain letter of death.

And here is the bleak new world of the day after: a world stripped of its institutions and emptied of 99 percent of its people. A world in which a handful of panicky survivors choose sides -- or are chosen. A world in which good rides on the frail shoulders of the 108-year-old Mother Abigail -- and the worst nightmares of evil are embodied in a man with a lethal smile and unspeakable powers: Randall Flagg, the dark man.

Review: For some reason it took me ages to get through The Stand. I'm not sure why, because I quite enjoyed it, so it wasn't that I neglected it, I just found it a slow read.

In many ways it read a lot like some of the post-apocalyptic books I've read - the fight between good and evil, where you know good is going to come out on top, the only question is how many people will die along the way.

It's very different from King's usual writing style, and I think for that reason alone I liked it more than his other books. I was slightly disappointed by the ending as it seemed as if things were solved too easily, but on the other hand I understand why he chose to end it that way.

I read the "complete and uncut" edition (literary talk for 'directors cut' I guess?) - wonder how much was taken out in the original versions.

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Title: Thunderwith Author: Libby Hathorn Genre: YA Rating: 8/10 # pages: 311 Date read: December, 2007

Summary: Lara has just lost her mother to cancer; a search by kindly neighbors turns up Dad, whom she barely remembers. The two quickly form a comfortable bond, but Dad's new wife, Gladwyn, and their four kids are less welcoming. Gladwyn's resentment borders on hatred; she declares openly that there's no room for Lara in the one-room shack where they live, eking out a meager living from a vegetable garden and hoping to make a profit on newly planted palm seedlings. Dad is gone on business, with almost no communication, for months; a neighbor who rides on Lara's school bus is a cruel bully. Grieving for her mother, Lara at first receives scant comfort except from Thunderwith, a dog she encounters in the hills. In time, she also makes friends with a sympathetic aboriginal storyteller, while her new siblings, one by one, come to love her.

Review: Sent to me by aurillia as a present. We usually share taste in books, so when she told me this was one of her favourites, I was certain I'd love it too.

And I did. It's an incredibly charming YA story. Sweet and sad at the same time. I really enjoyed the Aboriginal folklore included in the tale. While I did occasionally feel like shaking Lara to make her see sense, in the end she always ended up doing what I thought she ought to do :)

A beautiful book I'd gladly recommend to all YA readers.

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