Proud Norwegian Ravenclaw

My pretty mittens

I knitted some typically Norwegian mittens (Selbuvotter) during my Christmas break, and I decided to do them in Ravenclaw* colours because...well, because I identify with that house (and I was sorted into it on Pottermore), and I love the colour combination from the films (navy and light grey). It was fun knitting from a pattern. The pattern I used can be found here (leave a comment if you want a translation). I am pleased with the result, although for my next house colour project, I will be using a lighter shade of blue (this one is too close to black, I feel). My next project will be a house scarf, like those worn in Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (the film). I'll post pictures when I'm finished (which will be in quite a while, I think).

These mittens will allow me to show that I am Norwegian (everyone here wears mittens like these), and subtly hint to my house identity. I really like that double message. It makes them a bit special.

You know how I talked about reading loads of books in my Christmas holidays? Yeah...that didn't happen, as you can probably guess. I decided I wanted to knit more than I wanted to read. I ended up having read 40 books in 2012. This year I have decided to focus more on the pleasure of reading, reading because I want to instead of trying to complete a goal.


All the same, if I continue reading at the pace I have been so far this year, reading 50 books shouldn't be so hard. I've already read seven books since the start of January, although lying in my bed sick for a week might have accounted for that number. The seven books I have read have been extraordinarily good - I am off to a good start on my pleasure reading year. The books I have read so far are, in order:

Isn't this book pretty?

Trains and Lovers by Alexander McCall Smith
I read this on the train returning to school. It is, according to the author, best read on a train journey. I agree. It is a book that makes you examine your heart and it has a feel and pace to it that made me relax and feel good.







Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone by J. K. Rowling
This one is really good, but you knew that, right? I listened to the audio book read by Stephen Fry, and it made me appreciate the book in fresh ways.

Moreta: Dragonlady of Pern by Anne McCaffrey
This is another epic tale from the planet of Pern. It's good, but a little slow at times. I would recommend that you read other Pern books before this one - try Dragonflight for a taste of the world.



Mutant Message Down Under by Marlo Morgan
A message to all of us on how to treat each other and nature. Powerful and wonderful, the story of a woman's journey to learn valuable life lessons.

The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien
This one is good, but I feel that I'm not really the right audience for it. It's really good nonetheless, and of course I had to read it after seeing the film in cinemas three times.

This cover is really nice,
one of my favourites

Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs
A really cool and kind of scary and creepy book that is packed with suspension and just makes you want to continue reading. A really good story with villains, marshes, an orphanage, magic, and love.

This cover is also
one of my favourites
(so stylish!)

The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern
A really good book about a mysterious circus that just suddenly appears, and is open only at night. The story is told wonderfully, even though the narrator seems kind of detached from the story. It works well, though, and I am left with amazing, almost living, wonders in my head.







* Ravenclaw is one of the four houses of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry - Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, Slytherin, and Hufflepuff.  Its house colours are blue and bronze in the books, although in the films this is changed to blue (navy) and silver. The other houses have other house colours. The Harry Potter series is mostly set at Hogwarts.

I like big books and I cannot lie (but short books are convenient for reaching goals)

So I've been trying to complete the 50 books challenge this year, too. The only hitch? I've been in full time education, including a summer course... I am currently at 38 books, but I have a plan. I have short and easy books lined up for the holidays (now that I finally have them). So although I like big books, short books are convenient for reaching goals.

The books I plan on reading this holiday.

Although, I might need to change the wording of that a bit. I like good books, not necessarily big (as in thick) books. As some of you remember, I have been reading Les Misérables for the past year, and I am really stalling now. I have also given up on reading The Casual Vacancy - the stories were quite heavy emotionally. It's not that I don't like those two books, but they are hard to get through.

So the grand plan is to read Of Mice and Men, Romeo & Juliet, The Chronicles of Pern, Let it Snow, and Miss Peregrine's House for Peculiar Children. And then to read the whole Narnia series, because I read one of those books in an evening. That will add up to a total of twelve books, which is just enough to complete the 50 books challenge! Now I just need to find the time to read - maybe I should take that out of my internet time?

I will go and pack now. It will be a challenge, fitting all the books and the presents in, but I'm sure I can manage. After all, I don't need to bring the Narnia books, since we have a copy of those at home. I am looking forward to sitting on the train home, reading, knitting and looking out at the beautiful winter scenery.

Have a lovely holiday, everyone! Merry Christmas!

Dragons, Privateering and waiting for packages

I have just finished reading Anne McCaffrey's Dragonsdawn, and I enjoyed it thoroughly. It is about the colonisation of Pern, set around two thousand years before the other Pern books I have read. It was a page-turner and a wonderful read, full of suspense and exciting events. I suddenly understood much more of the names of the places in the books set to later millennia. This book was more of a science fiction book than the Dragonriders trilogy (the ones set in later milennia), with interplanetary travel, colonisation of new worlds and a lot of interesting technology. It appears that the people of Pern lose their sophisticated science and technology in later generations, and revert to something of a medieval system.

The omnibus containing Dragonsdawn by Anne McCaffrey,
Privateering by Mark Knopfler, and autumn trees outside

I thoroughly enjoy both the time periods and, more than anything, Anne McCaffrey's writing. Her style and technique is wonderful and draws you into the story. I have become accustomed with following several characters at once, and I really like the way it gives me a bigger picture of what's going on. Well, in short, the books about Pern by Anne McCaffrey are highly recommended. I recommend starting with the Dragonriders trilogy for an exciting introduction to Pern and the dragonriders, but I guess you could start with Dragonsdawn too, if you want to read the books in chronological order.

Since I last posted, Privateering (the new album from Mark Knopfler) has come in the mail. I was told by Amazon that it would arrive about a week after the release, but I was anxiously waiting for a full two weeks, trying not to spoil myself by listening to it on Spotify. I was very happy when it finally arrived in my post box. I have been listening to it a lot, and some of my favourites are 'Dream of the Drowned Submariner', 'Go, Love', 'Yon Two Crows' and the two pre-releases 'Redbud Tree' and 'Privateering'. I love the album, and the fact that there are two discs and a total of 20 songs makes the whole thing really wonderful.

Talking of waiting for things to arrive in the mail, 'The Casual Vacancy' by J. K. Rowling has finally been published. Once again, Amazon tells me that it will arrive a week after the release, which means I could have it by the coming friday. But if my last experience tells me anything, it is not to trust the estimates amazon gives. So I will have to be patient and try not to expect it before friday in almost two weeks. Which is hard, considering that I have already seen the book in a bookshop. Actually, I saw it in a new and wonderful bookshop here in Trondheim called Bookstars. It is a combined bookshop and coffee bar, and they have decided to drop all the other things, and focus entirely on books. I like their concept very much, and I have already added it to the list of places to visit when I'm in town shopping. A perfect place (a little difficult, though) to practice not buying books.

Autumn has really begun here, with vibrantly coloured trees and a heightened need for tea, blankets and a good book. I am going to enjoy the season sitting in my favourite reading spot with tea and books about dragons and small villages in England. And maybe with some soothing music from Mark Knopfler in the background. All this, of course, in between all the other things I will be busy doing.

Summer haul

The summer holiday is soon over, and any holiday is book buying time (especially when in England, since the books are cheaper there). This time, I think that maybe I bought a bit too many books (the plan was one). But I love buying books! So here they are, the books and DVDs (as well as some old second-hand comic magasines) I have bought this summer.

Wow...that is a lot of stuff (full list below). No more books before Christmas! Except the already preordered ones and schoolbooks, of course... And preferably no more DVDs either, excepting new releases, like the Hunger Games, of course.

And how many of these books have I read? Only three: Dawn of the Bunny Suicides, Fahrenheit 451 (for the nerdfighter book club), and Wonderstruck. I LOVED Wonderstruck, it was fantastic. Just wonderful and beautiful. If you haven't read it yet, read it, and soon (it doesn't take long to read, since half the pages are drawings)!

This summer, I have also been listening to Harry Potter audio books, read by Stephen Fry. He is a very good audio book reader (is that what you call it?), and I am enjoying it. As I have scrolled through the chapters on my iPod, I am starting to appreciate J.K. Rowling's skill in naming chapters. Usually, when I read, I don't really read the chapter title (sorry, writers). So being aware of the chapter title is a new experience. I am also, as I listen to the audio book, picking up little rhymes and alliteration that I don't catch when I'm reading. This adds even more fun to the reading experience for me.

I hope to be blogging more often this autumn (than this summer - it won't take much), but I can't guarantee anything, since I am not going to force myself to write (unless you readers (if you are out there) demand it).

I love lists, so here is a list of all the stuff in the picture:

Book on top:

    Dawn of the Bunny Suicides - Andy Riley

Standing, from left to right:

  DVDs:

    Night at the Museum

    Slumdog Millionaire

    Pixar Short Film Collection volume 1

    Wall-e

    Tangled

    Stardust

    Love actually

    Emma

    Hugo

    Footloose

    Finding Nemo

  Books:

    Miles, Mutants and Microbes - Lois McMaster Bujold

    Masterharper of Pern - Anne McCaffrey

    Acorna - Anne McCaffrey and Margaret Ball

    Acorna's Quest - Anne McCaffrey and Margaret Ball

    Fahrenheit 451 - Ray Bradbury

    Let it Snow - John Green, Maureen Johnson, and Lauren Myracle

    I Capture the Castle - Dodie Smith

    The Eyre Affair - Jasper Fforde

    The Night Circus - Erin Morgenstern

    The Second Book of General Ignorance - John Lloyd and John Mitchinson

    Doctor Who: Dead of Winter - James Goss

    Ohrid - Tor Obrestad (poems)

    Wonderstruck - Brian Selznick

    On Dragonwings - Anne McCaffrey

    Daytripper - Fábio Moon

Lying on the floor:

    One Calvin and Hobbes magasine, and nine old Donald Duck magasines, all in Norwegian. I don't know if there even exists Donald Duck comic magasines outside Scandinavia...you are definitely missing out.

Summer reading

And I'm back! After a long break from both reading novels and writing blogposts, also known as exam time, I have come back to talk about what I'm going to read this summer. This summer will be different than usual, field courses and trips to go on, and an exam at the end of the "holiday". Nonetheless, I will be getting back to reading books, catching up with the 50 books challenge (according to goodreads, I'm one book behind), and finishing Les Misérables.

That is actually a major goal with my reading this summer - finishing Les Misérables. I have been reading it since Christmas, and as you can see from the picture, I am almost halfway (the green bookmark marks the page). I actually like it quite a lot, but reading it requires a good portion of concentration and time. I mean, I'm almost halfway, but I still have over eight hundred pages to go! And I will finish it!

In addition I will finish The Wind in the Willows, which I started during the exam period, but didn't finish. It's a pleasant children's book, perfect for getting back into reading. Next on my list is to read Good Omens by Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman. This is for a youtube book club that sablecaught is arranging, and I am looking forward to reading and talking about a book with others. Next up after that, is Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children, which lots of people have recommended. The cover and design of the book are lovely, and I can't wait to know what's inside that beautiful cover.

During the summer, I will also read three Pern books by Anne McCaffrey. I discovered that my local library actually have many Pern books, so I borrowed three of them for summer reading. I love the world of Pern, and I can't wait to visit it again.

And then I have the "just in case"-books. If I finish the previous books, I will read one of the ones in the picture.  Name of the Wind and the two last books of His Dark Materials have been sitting on my shelf for far too long, so they will be priorities. Everyone I talk to who have read Name of the Wind have loved it, and they all assure me that it is a gem, and something to look forward to. I just hope it lives up to the hype. I haven't read The Help yet, or seen the movie (I pledged, remember?). So that will be done soon, if not during the summer. I have also heard good things about Between Shades of Gray, so I'm looking forward to reading that one too.

This is shaping up to be a summer full of the reading of good books and learning to name nature. I'm almost becoming a child again, running around in the woods or along the beach being amazed by nature, shouting out when I find something cool. Many organisms have earned this label lately, spiders among others. I am a bit overwhelmed by the sheer number of animals and plants we have to know, but i think it's fun. It's almost like going treasure hunting, and who doesn't love that?