Bogormen

Title: How the Heather Looks
Author: Joan Bodger
Genre: Non-fiction
Rating: 3/5
# pages: 249
Date read: February, 2012

Over forty years ago, Joan Bodger, her husband, and two children went to Britain on a very special family quest. They were seeking the world that they knew and loved through children's books.

In Winnie-the-Pooh Country, Mrs. Milne showed them the way to "that enchanted place on the top of the Forest [where] a little boy and his Bear will always be playing." In Edinburgh they stood outside Robert Louis Stevenson's childhood home, tilting their heads to talk to a lamplighter who was doing his job. In the Lake District they visited Jemima Puddle-Duck's farm, and Joan sought out crusty Arthur Ransome to talk to him about Swallows and Amazons. They spent several days "messing about in boats" on the River Thames, looking for Toad Hall and other places described by Kenneth Grahame in The Wind in the Willows. Mud and flood kept them from attaining the slopes of Pook's Hill (on Rudyard Kipling's farm), but they scaled the heights of Tintagel. As in all good fairy tales, there were unanswered questions. Did they really find Camelot? Robin Hood, as always, remains elusive.

Somehow I had managed to misunderstand what the book was about, so in case others are under the same misconception, I'll state it clearly. This is not a book about books. It's a book about the scenery of books. As such, it is a very charming travel account, but as I only knew very few of the books listed (probably one of the problems with only having grown up with those English books that have been translated to Danish), and don't care much about book settings in the first place, I probably didn't get as much out of it as a reader who grew up loving "Wind in the Willows", Beatrix Potter and "Winnie the Pooh".

Title: The Last Gospel
Author: David Gibbins
Genre: Suspense
Rating: 2/5
# pages: 542
Date read: February, 2012

Jack Howard is about to discover a secret. Perhaps the greatest secret ever kept.

What if one of the Ancient World's greatest libraries was buried in volcanic ash and then re-discovered two thousand years later? What if what was found there was a document that could shatter the very foundations of the Western World? What if you were the one who discovered this secret? And were then forced to confront terrifying enemies determined to destroy you to ensure it goes no further?

This is the story of one last Gospel, left behind in the age of the New Testament, in the greatest days of the Roman Empire, and of its extraordinary secret, one that has lain concealed for years. Follow Jack Howard as he discovers the secret and must prevent others from doing the same

It would seem as if David Gibbins tries to imitate both Dan Browns's writing style and his choice of controversial topics, only where I actually rather enjoyed "The Da Vinci Code" and wasn't at all offended by it, neither of those things can be said about "The Last Gospel".

The main premise of "The Last Gospel" is that Jesus wasn't really the son of God, but that was just a twist his disciples (Paul especially) put on his teachings. Okay, obviously not something I can get behind, but I'm willing to withhold my judgment and see if David Gibbins can put a spin on this to make it good reading anyway - after all, Dan Brown managed that quite nicely in TDVC.

Thankfully very little time was actually spent on that part of it, so it could have been okay, but... ooooh boy!

The writing was atrocious! If ever there was an author who told rather than showed, David Gibbins is it! Pretty much every or every second chapter had page upon page of the main character explaining this or that aspect of archaeology to his trusty side-kick, who seemed to have no other purpose than to stand there and gaze adoringly at Jack while he spouted off his latest theory.

The story was unbelievable. I don't mean in a "this could never happen" kind of way, because I'm perfectly happy to suspend my disbelief for the sake of a good story, but a book has to be believable in the universe it creates for itself, and this just.... wasn't. In about a week Jack and his companions had found no less than four ancient archeaologic sites that either they were the first to discover, or they were the first to explore because of... what? Nobody ever thought to do so before? "Oh, here's an ancient site that might go back to 70 AD. Yeah... let's not explore it - nobody's interested anyway." Suuuure...

Finally, for somebody "finding a secret people would go to great lengths to see remain secret" Jack & co. had surprisingly few run-ins with thugs.

Most of all, it seemed as if David Gibbins wanted to write an elaborate treasure hunt and had to think up a plot that would allow him to do so. I had expected that more focus would have been on what happened after they solved the puzzle, but apparently that was of less importance than solving it in the first place.

So why did I end up giving this two stars after all? Well, first of all, cryptography and treasure hunts have always fascinated me, so despite the writing, David Gibbins did manage to keep me intrigued there. Secondly, even if I didn't agree with some of his artistic liberties with historical figures, I rather enjoyed others and was amused by the flights of fancy about how it could have been. Finally, he did actually end up making me care enough about the story that I wanted to see how it all turned out. I wasn't exactly satisfied by the conclusion, but at least it kept me reading through all 542 pages.

... But it's still time that could have been better spent reading other books, so do yourself a favour and give this one a miss.

Title: Letters From the Inside
Author: John Marsden
Genre: YA
Rating: 3/5
# pages: 165
Date read: February, 2012

Mandy and Tracey have never met, but they know everything about each other. Connected through a pen-pal ad, they exchange frequent letters, writing about boyfriends and siblings, music and friends. They trade stories about school and home. They confide their worries and hopes. It almost makes it easier, and more special, that they've never met - they can say whatever they want in the safety of their private world of letters.

But that private world may not be as safe as it seems. Can Mandy trust Tracey to be who she says she is? What secrets hide between the lines of their letters?

I read this many, many years ago and seem to remember that I loved it. I recently got the urge to reread it, and thankfully was still able to find it at the library. Can't exactly say I still love it though. The ending is infuriating and sad all at the same time. I want to know what happened!

I liked the book up until then though - even if I did know what was coming. The friendship that grew between Tracey and Mandy seemed very realistic and it made me miss the days before email when I had several penpals myself. Email just isn't as cozy!

It is rather dated though. A lot of the circumstances and secrets necessary for the plot could never happen today, with the Internet, Google etc.

Title: Leap of Faith
Author: Queen Noor Al-Hussein
Genre: Memoir, non-fiction
Rating: 4/5
# pages: Audiobook, ~17hrs
Date read: February, 2012

With eloquence and candor, Queen Noor speaks of the obstacles she faced as a naive young bride in the royal court, of rebelling against the smothering embrace of security guards and palace life, and of her own successful struggle to create a working role as a humanitarian activist in a court that simply expected Noor to keep her husband happy.

As she gradually took on the mantle of a queen, Noor's joys and challenges grew. After a heartbreaking miscarriage, she gave birth to four children. Meshing the demands of motherhood with the commitments of her position often proved difficult, but she tried to keep her young children by her side, even while flying the world with her husband in his relentless quest for peace.

This mission would reap satisfying rewards, including greater Arab unity and a peace treaty with Israel, and suffer such terrible setbacks as the Gulf War and the assassination of Prime Minister Rabin.

A fascinating book about an amazing love story. American-born Lisa ends up being married to King Hussein of Jordan and changing her name to Noor Al-Hussein - the light of Hussein.

The book spans from the early 1960s to the late 1990s and as such deals heavily with the various conflicts in the Middle East of those years. It gives a very different view on certain events than one usually hears, and made me question some things I had otherwise taken for granted. I know "history is written by the winners", but neither the USA nor Israel come out of this smelling like roses.

But though very political, the main attraction to me was the personal aspect - hearing life of royalty described by one of their own. Queen Noor Al-Hussein comes across as a charming and charismatic woman who ended up being a definite asset to Jordan.