Kettilsdotter

Books of the Month: September 2016

With 76 books read during 2015 and 44 books read so far this year, I feel that I’ve finally gotten into reading again – and it feels wonderful! I’ve read a good mixture of books I’ve meant to read for ages, series I’ve started but not got very far, new series that seem interesting, and books I’ve never heard of but were recommended to read. This year’s big project is to continue reading The Wheel of Time by Robert Jordan, since I still haven’t read the final few books in the series. However, “continuing” with a series of this size and with its number of characters and details means “starting from the beginning”. I don’t mind that at all though, because I really love this series! But in this post I meant to review what I’ve read during the month of September.

Number of books read: 3
Number of pages read: 1 400

 

Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell

FangirlCath is a Simon Snow fan. Okay, the whole world is a Simon Snow fan… But for Cath, being a fan is her life–and she’s really good at it. She and her twin sister, Wren, ensconced themselves in the Simon Snow series when they were just kids; it’s what got them through their mother leaving. Reading. Rereading. Hanging out in Simon Snow forums, writing Simon Snow fanfiction, dressing up like the characters for every movie premiere. Cath’s sister has mostly grown away from fandom, but Cath can’t let go. She doesn’t want to.

Now that they’re going to college, Wren has told Cath that she doesn’t want to be roommates. Cath is on her own, completely outside of her comfort zone. She’s got a surly roommate with a charming, always-around boyfriend; a fiction-writing professor who thinks fanfiction is the end of the civilized world; a handsome classmate who only wants to talk about words…and she can’t stop worrying about her dad, who’s loving and fragile and has never really been alone.

For Cath, the question is: Can she do this? Can she make it without Wren holding her hand? Is she ready to start living her own life? And does she even want to move on if it means leaving Simon Snow behind?

I liked the story idea, and the fact that the author apparently did lots of research about the world of fanfiction. It felt like she did a very good job writing about fanfiction and hardcore fans in a way that makes them appear just as normal as everyone else and with lots of understanding. Nothing in the book felt weird or unrealistic, but somehow I couldn’t really connect with any of the characters on a deeper level.

Rating: 3/5

 

Stora boken om vikingarnas gudar och myter by Lars Magnar Enoksen
“The Big Book about the Viking Gods and Myths”

Stora boken om vikingarnas gudar och myterReligion in the pre-Christian Nordic countries was violent and filled with drama, just like its time. Here you can find not only the famous gods Thor, Odin and Frey, but also a huge number of other gods, giants, elfs, dwarves and monster – all the creature that inhabitet the nine different worlds our ancestors divided existence between. The colorful myths and sagas tell about how Asgard was built, when the Fenrir Wolf was bound, how they lived in Valhalla and how everything perishes in Ragnarok – before the world is recreated. This is a newly written and richly illustrated book based on first-hand information from the most important sources of ancient Norse Mythology.

I love mythology but so far I’ve mostly studied the Greek Mythology, and read books/watched movies based on that one. Lately I’ve decided to get more familiar with the Scandinavian/Norse Mythology since I come from Sweden. Many books about mythology are filled with references here and there, or are heavy reading for different reasons. But this book focuses on the most famous myths in an easy-to-read and interesting way. The encyclopedia part of the book, about gods, goddesses, monsters and other beings, is just as easy-to-read. Furthermore, the book is filled with large beautiful illustrations. I recommend this book as an introduction to Norse Mythology!

Rating: 4/5

 

The Fires of Heaven by Robert Jordan

The Fires of HeavenPart 5 of the series The Wheel of Time. The bonds and wards that hold the Great Lord of the Dark are slowly failing, but still his fragile prison holds. The Forsaken, immortal servants of the shadow, weave their snares and tighten their grip upon the realms of men, sure in the knowledge that their master will soon break free… Rand al’Thor, the Dragon Reborn, knows that he must strike at the Enemy, but his forces are divided by treachery and by ambition. Even the Aes Sedai, ancient guardians of the Light, are riven by civil war. Betrayed by his allies, pursued by his enemies and beset by the madness that comes to the male wielders of the One Power, Rand rides out to meet the foe.

There’s a lot of jumping back and forth across the continent while following the different characters and their adventures. I love the story and this series as a whole, but I can’t help thinking that there’s not very much happening in this particular book, especially since it’s approximately 900 pages long. There’s even one of the three main characters that we don’t get to meet at all in this book.

Rating: 4/5

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