Bogormen

Title: A Supposedly Fun Thing I'll Never Do Again
Author: David Foster Wallace
Genre: Essays
Rating: 3/5
# pages: Read about 118 out of 355
Date read: March, 2012

In this exuberantly praised book - a collection of seven pieces on subjects ranging from television to tennis, from the Illinois State Fair to the films of David Lynch, from postmodern literary theory to the supposed fun of traveling aboard a Caribbean luxury cruiseliner - David Foster Wallace brings to nonfiction the same curiosity, hilarity, and exhilarating verbal facility that has delighted readers of his fiction.

An almost impossible book to rate and review, because I only read about a third of it, but what I read, I loved.

The title essay is an incredibly amusing essay on David Foster Wallace's experiences on a week long cruise in the Caribbean... only, the cruise could really be anywhere, because as far as I can make out, he never leaves the ship! Like the title reveals, he really doesn't think too highly of being on a cruise, yet he still manages to make me long to go on one! Probably basically because the things that drive him crazy, I'd love ;-)

So 5 stars for that essay alone, but unfortunately it was one of the very few that I managed to get through, as most of the others I couldn't get past the first few pages, so with about half of the book being a solid 1-star (my standard rating for abandoned books), it all averages out to this 3 star rating.

Title: Neither Here Nor There
Author: Bill Bryson
Genre: Memoir
Rating: 4/5
# pages: Audiobook ~9hrs
Date read: March, 2012

Anyone who has been to Europe or dreamed of going will recognize the engaging blend of admiration and fascinated bewilderment that Bryson brings to this sharp and very funny account of a trip around the continent. Blending hilarious anecdotes with droll and worldly insights, he travels from Norway to Istanbul to Rome to Vienna.

What I really appreciated about "Neither Here Nor There" is that unlike many of his other travelogues, I've actually been to many of the places Bill Bryson visits here. Of course I especially loved reading about his stay in Copenhagen (not the least because he liked it here :) ), but it was fun walking together with him in my mind's eye and seeing how my experiences of Amsterdam, Rome etc. meshed with his.

I'm glad the book ended when it did though - he became increasingly frustrated with being abroad, and that clearly influenced his opinions of the later places he visited.

I'm amazed his wife and kids are okay with him travelling so much though! I'm not sure I would have been, if I'd been in her shoes.

Title: Pigen fra Auschwitz (The Girl From Auschwitz)
Author: Morten Vestergaard
Genre: Non-fiction, WW2
Rating: 5/5
# pages: 205
Date read: March, 2012

Arlette Levy Andersen lived in the concentration camps Birkenau and Auschwitz for more than a year near the end of World War 2. For four decades Arlette didn't even tell her own Jewish family what she experienced there.

In "The Girl From Auschwitz" Arlette finally opens the doors to the horrible experiences because she feels obliged to do so. "Soon nobody will be left to tell about what happened," is her way of expressing it. Arlette tells about her childhood in Paris, being arrested at her university, being deported in stock cars and the stay in the concentration camps. About surviving. About staying quiet and keeping her memories to herself. And about the love that took her to Denmark after the war, where she got married and made a new life for herself.


One of the most moving books I've read about concentration camps and WW2. I couldn't not read it in one sitting, and put it down with a heavy sigh and tears in my eyes.

What makes this book so powerful is that Arlette's story isn't unique. She is merely one of 1,3 million prisoner's of Auschwitz, but unlike 1,1 million others, she got out of there alive.

I'll never understand the Holocaust (nor do I really want to, actually!). Killing people in active war is one thing, but slaughtering people like that, in cold blood, is quite another. How could the soldiers make themselves do it? How could they live with themselves afterwards? I guess they must somehow have convinced themselves that they weren't proper humans, and that killing them was no worse than killing animals... at least, that's the only explanation I can find.

I'm glad Arlette decided to speak out, and agreed to have this book written. Granted, it didn't tell me anything about Auschwitz that I didn't already know, but hearing it from somebody who experienced the terrors herself and survived makes for a very powerful story.

Unfortunately "The Girl From Auschwitz" hasn't been translated to other languages.

Title: The Yellow-Lighted Bookshop
Author: Lewis Buzbee
Genre: Memoir
Rating: 4/5
# pages: 225
Date read: March, 2012

Lewis Buzbee celebrates the unique experience of the bookstore - the smell and touch of books, the joy of getting lost in the deep canyons of shelves, and the silent community of readers. He shares his passion for books, which began with ordering through the Weekly Reader in grade school. Woven throughout is a fascinating historical account of the bookseller trade - from the great Alexandria library to Sylvia Beach's famous Paris bookstore, Shakespeare & Co. Rich with anecdotes, The Yellow-Lighted Bookshop is the perfect choice for those who relish the enduring pleasures of spending an afternoon finding just the right book.

A lovely and charming memoir. If you love not just reading books, but shopping for them as well and consider browsing through bookshops a worthwhile occupation, even if you don't purchase anything, then this is the book for you. It was filled with fun anecdotes and made me want to rush out and find the nearest bookshop, just to go browsing through it. Unfortunately Danish bookstores (at least the chain stores) aren't nearly as charming as those I've encountered in other countries, so good thing we're going to London soon!

Title: Who Killed My Daughter?
Author: Lois Duncan
Genre: Memoir, Suspense
Rating: 4.5/5
# pages: 368
Date read: March, 2012

This was a very difficult book for me to read for several reasons.

First of all, I knew even before starting the book that it would supply me with no answers. I was afraid that would make for a frustrating read, and I was partly right, but on the other hand it probably also spared me an even greater frustration of turning the last page and not getting the information I wanted.

Secondly, what a horrible, horrible situation to be in! Of course I know that it's written from a slanted viewpoint, but I still can't believe the disinterest of both the APD and the FBI.

Thirdly, I'm very much a sceptic when it comes to psycics, and thus disinclined to believe in ESP and the likes at all. I have no problem with it in fiction, because... well, it's fiction so different rules apply. But this wasn't fiction and makes me wonder what to make of it. Obviously I believe theres more between heaven and earth than what we can see, but reinvarnation and psycic readings aren't part of it.

It took me quite awhile to enable myself to suspend my disbelief and move past that, and I did find it easier when they started getting evidence from other places as well.

But what a dreadful thing to have to go through! I'm fascinated to see that Lois Duncan and family are still so involved in finding an answer, and hope they will eventually succeed.

Title: Hustler: Mit liv i prostitution (Hustler: My Life in Prostitution)
Author: Odile Poulsen
Genre: Memoir, non-fiction
Rating: 3/5
# pages: 88
Date read: March, 2012

For two years Odile Poulsen worked as a prostitute. Preceding that were years as a victim of incest, an abusive marriage, suicide attempts and stays in a psychiatric ward. "Hustler" is the account of Odile's years on the sheets under the pseudonym Nikki - the author's nom-de-guerre in the sex-business.

Later Odile decided to step away from the shame of her past - a shame many ex-prostitutes live with every day - and acknowledge her story.

A fascinating story about an environment I can't even begin to imagine (nor do I want to!). Odile wasn't sold into prostitution, nor was she 'forced' by an addiction - she merely saw it as an easy way to earn some extra cash, but eventually realized that it is completely impossible to sell yourself on a daily basis without it affecting your feeling of self-worth.