Summer reads pt 2

Two/three weeks left of the summer holiday, and I never got around to do some of the things I wanted to do. Even though I've gotten around to do abit planning on the book I want to write, I never got around to start writing it. I never got around to start sewing and to blog as much as much as I would like to.

Still, I got around to read as much as I could. Ofcourse I could always need abit more time to read, but I've managed to read 14 books and four graphic novels. Last year I managed 20 books, but I still got a couple of weeks left. Even though school is starting, I will still get the chance to read some books I've always wanted to read in the American literature class I'm taking. I managed to read 9 books (and three graphic novels) on the summer reads list I made at the beginning of the summer. Instead of reading World Without End and The Distant Hours, I read these:


A storm of Swords pt 1 ~ George RR Martin
(2000)
"The Seven Kingdoms are divided by revolt and blood feud; a bitter winter is approaching and the wildings are poised to invade the Kingdom of the North. Robb Stark must protect himself from them and from the threat of his mortal enemies, the Lannisters, in the south."

A Clash of Kings ~ George RR Martin
(1998)
"Sansa Stark is trapped in marriage to the feeble Lannister boy, child of incest, who is King Joffrey. In the North, the Starks prepare for battle with the Lannisters."

The Pillars of the Earth ~ Ken Follett
(1989)
"Tells the story of Philip, prior of Kingsbridge, a devout and resourcefull monk driven to build the greatest Gothic cathedral the world has known; of Tom, the mason who becomes the architect - a man divided in his soul; and of the beautiful, elusive Aliena, haunted by a secret shame."

Buffy The Vampire Slayer: No Future For You ~ Joss Whedon
(2007)
"When a rogue debutant Slayer begins to use her power for evil, Giles is forced to recruit the rebellious Faith, who isn't exactly known for her good deeds. Giles offers Faith a clean slate if she can stop this snooty Slayer from wreaking total havoc - that is, if Bbuffy doesn't beat her to it."

Good Omens ~ Terry Pratchett & Neil Gaiman
(1990)
"Taking a cynical look at the horror genre, this book features Crowley and Aziraphale, two friends who attempt to prevent the prophesised Armageddon. When the Antichrist is born they divert him from his original home at the American Embassy to Tadfield, where he grows into an unkempt individual."

The Fashion File: Mad Men ~ Janie Bryant
(2010)
"Costume designer Janie Bryant offers readers a peek into the dressing room of Mad Men, revealign the design process behind the various characters' looks and showing every women how to find her own leading lady style - whether it's vintage, modern, or behamian."


I'm reading this at the moment:

World War Z ~ Max Brooks
(2006)
"It began with rumours from China anout another pandemic. Then the cases started to multiply and soon revealed itself to be much worse. Based on interviews with survivors and key-players in the 10-year fight-back against the horde, this book brings the tradition of American journalism to bear on an incredible story in the history of civilisation."


I'm planning to read these:

Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Wolves at the Gate ~ Joss Whedon
(2008)
"Buffy and the slayer-legion travel to Tokyo in order to learn more about their dangerous new foes, as Xander journeys to Transylvania to solicit the only person they've ever known to possess such powers - Dracula."

Stardust ~ Neil Gaiman
(1999)
"In a coutnryside town bordering on a magical land, a young man makes a promise to his beloved that he'll retrieve a fallen star by venturing into the magical realm."

The Last Unicorn ~ Peter S Beagle
(1968)
"The Unicorn, alone in her enchanted wood, discovers that she may be the last of her kind. Reluctant at first, she sets out on a journey to find her fellow unicorns, even if it means facing the terrifying anger of the Red Bull and malignant evil of the king who wields his power."

The Child in Time ~ Ian McEwan
(1987)
"Stephen Lewis, a successful author of children's books, takes his three-year-old daughter on a routine Saturday mornign trip to the supermarket. While waiting in line, his attention is distracted and his daughter is kidnapped."

A Storm of Swords pt 2 ~ George RR Martin
(2000)
"Robb Stark wears his new-forged crown in the Kingdom of the North, but his defences are ranged against attack from the South, the land of House Stark's enemies the Lannisters. His sisters are trapped there at the whim of the Lannister boy-king Joffrey and his depraved mother Cersei."



(The desciptions are taked from bookdepository, imdb and shelfari)

Summer reads pt 1

Here are the books I would most like to read this summer. I have always felt that there is so many classics that I have to read, but since many of the classics can be quite heavy to read, the reading can sometimes feel too much like school. So, this summer I will spend time reading books I want to read, that are lighter and more summery.
(all descriptions are taken from bookdepository or shelfari)


Jeffrey Eugenides - The Virgin Suicides
(1993)
"The shocking thing about the girls was how nearly normal they seemed when their mother let them out for the one and only date of their lives. Twenty years on, their enigmatic personalities are embalmed in the memories of the boys who worshipped them and who recall their shared adolescense"

Terri Windling - The Wood Wife
(1996)
"When prize-winning poet Davis Cooper died mysteriously in the canyons east of Tuscon, Arizona, he left his estate to Maggie Black, a young writer who knew him only from his letters. There, in his desert home, Maggie begins a journey of self-discovery that changes her forever, encounter terrible danger and passionate love, coming face to face with the wild spirits that inhabit the strange and magical place"

Neil Gaiman - Neverwhere
(1996)
"Richard Mayhew is a young man with a good heart and an ordinary life, which is changed forever when he stops to help a girl he finds bleeding on a London sidewalk. His small act of kindness propels him into a world he never dreamed existed. There are people who fall though tht cracks, and Richard has become one of them. He must learn how to survive in this city of shadow and darkness, monsters and saints, murderers and angels, if he is ever to return to the London he knew."

Ken Follett: World Without End
(2007)
"In the year 1327, four children slip away from the cathedral city of Kingsbridge. In the forest they see two men killed. As adults, their lives will be braided together by love, greed and revenge. They will see prosperity and famine, plague and war. And they will live under the shadow of the unexplained killing they had witnessed"

George R. R. Martin - A Game of Thrones
(1996)
"The first volume in the "A Song of Ice and Fire" trilogy which tells of the treachery, greed and war threatening the Seven Kingdoms south of the Wall. In a world scarred by battle and catastrophy, it describes the deeds of a people locked in conflict and the legacy they will leave their children."

Dodie Smith - I Capture the Castle
(1948)
"Cassandra Mortmain lives with her impoverished family in their crumbling castle. Her journal records her life with her bored sister Rose, her stepmotehr Topaz, her little briother Thomas and her novalist father who suffers from fiancially crippling writer's block. However, all their lives are turned upside down when American heirs to castle arrive"

Ian McEwan - Solar
(2010)
"Michael Bard is a Nobel prize-winning physicist whose best work is behind him. Trading on his reputation, he speaks for enormous fees, lends his name to the letterehads of renowned scientific institutions and half-heartedly heads a government-backed initiative tackling global warming"

Kate Morton - The Distant Hours

(2010)
"Edie Burchill and her mother have never been close, but when a long lost letter arrives with the return address of Milderhurst Castle, Kent, printed on its envelope, Edie begins to suspect her mother's emotional distance masks and old secret"

John Wyndham - The Day of the Triffids
(1951)
"When a cosmic event renders most of the Earth's population blind, Bill Mason is one of the lucky few to retain his sight. But another menace stalks blind and sighted alike. With nobody to stop their spread the Triffids, mobile plants with stingers and carnivorous appetites, seem set to take control."

Karl Pilkington - Karlology
(2008)
"Cult author Karl Pilkington is a man who thinks owing 1.777 acres of the moon is a good idea, and believes that the human testicles should be relocated to the earlobes. Maybe he's right. Perhaps his brand of wisdom and insight is what the world has been waiting for? This book takes you on the voyage though his strange yet mesmerising mind."

Karl Pilkington - Happyslapped by a jellyfish
(2007)
"A collection of insights and anecdotes, diary entries, poems, "true" facts and cartoons on travel. It includes the author's reflections on life back in England, from Salford joy rides to what his girlfriend's mum and dad have for dinner on a Thursday"

Joss Whedon - Buffy the Vampire Slayer season 8 vol 1: The Long Way Home
(2007)
"Since the destruction of the hellmouth, the Slayers - newly legion - have gotten organized and are kicking some serious undead but. But not everything is fun and firearms, as an old enemy reappears and Dawn experiences some serious growing pains."

Bill Willingham - Fables vol 14: Witches
(2010)

"While the meek flying monkey Bufkin is trapped in Fabletown's collepsed business office with the evil witch Baba Yaga, Freu Totenkinder and the withces of the Woodland's thirteenth floor prepare to deal with Mister Dark in what's left of Fabletown"

Bill Willingham - Fables vol 15: Rose Red

(2011)
"Rose Red, sister of Snow White, has finally hit rock bottom. Does she stay there, or is it time to start the long, tortous long climb back up? The Farm is in chaos, as many factions compete to fill the voide of her missling leadership. And there's a big magical fight brewing down in town square, right under her window."

Summer plans

Only three weeks left, and then I can take a well deserved break. So here are my plans:

Read:
I can read all the boks I want, and let me tell you: the list is long! I'll write an entry about my summer reads list as soon as I've got the time. I'm planning to spend as much time outside with a good book as I possibly can, and to only spend time on the computer when i's raining or when the sun has gone down.

(source)

Travel:
I'm staying in Sitges with my mum and my dad for a week in July. It will be nice to get some sun and to take a day trip to see Barcelona. I'm also traveling to London with my sister in June. She has only been there once, and that is about 5-6 years ago, so it will be lovely to show her the city I hold so dearly. Hopefully, I'll get the chance to see Dublin with the boy, and to take a short trip to Brighton to see if it's a city I would like to live in for 3 years. And if there is some time left, I hope we can stay in our cabin for some days.

(source)

Sew:
I'm planning to learn how to sew, to buy some patterns and to fix some of the dresses I've got laying around.

Write:
I've been thinking about starting to write again, and I've got the idea for a book. I don't think I will have the time to start writing this summer, but hopefully I can start finding some sources, facts, etc for the book I'm planning.

(source)

Blog:
Finally, I can start writing more entrys for this blog. I want to continue on some of the series I had going on, but I've also planned some new entries. I'm thinking about having a giveaway as well.

(source)

If any of these pictures are yours and you want them removed: just let me know.

I've had a summer vacation for seven weeks now, and it feels like it's only been two weeks since I finished my last exam for the second semester. The summer goes by so quick and I've only got 5 weeks left, and I guess I have to work at least 15 days of those weeks. That means I have to stay in Oslo most of the time.

I love my work, but I wish I could spend the summer doing nothing. That would make the summer feel endless, and I wouldn't feel like I'm missing one day of the summer when the weather is bad. I love the norwegian summer, but lets face it: most of the days consist of clouds and rain. I would like to feel that the summer was as long as the winter, and that eventually I would get tired of it and wait for the fall to arrive.

You know those summer days you had when you were a child? those summer days that felt so long, to the pont that you actually got abit bored. I would like that. I would like to spend all my days outdoors (even if it rains), just reading and dozing off. Spend all my days at my cabin and the little country place where I grew up (my real home). Where all you hear is the water, the wind blowing in the trees, some boats sailing by, the birds singing and the insects making those little busy noises that they make. Because honestly, the noise from cars and people who are busy is not what I want to hear in the summer...

... and guess what?
Just as I wrote this, the sun came out and I can finaly spend my last day at home reading books in the sun, eating watermelon and breakfast at four o'clock in the afternoon.

7 girly books you should read this summer:

One timetraveler, several deaths and murders, headstrong women,
one serial killer, one suicide, magic, war, drama and lots of love

I got an exam in two days. It's the last exam before the summer holiday, and also the most difficult one. I try to read, but I'm too busy thinking about all the books I want to read this summer. You see, the summer is the only time of the year where I can read other book than the books from the curriculum. Believe me, I love the fact that I get to read some wonderful litterature at school, but it's something special to read books in the summer, when you have nothing else to think about than the pages you're holding between your hands... Actually, the thought gives me butterflies.

I desperatly want a bell tent, a yurt or some other cozy tent...

pictures: weheartit.com and belltent.co.uk