Faffy's bookshelf: all en-US Sat, 01 Mar 2025 17:11:50 -0800 60 Faffy's bookshelf: all 144 41 /images/layout/goodreads_logo_144.jpg Confess 22609310
For once, Auburn takes a chance and puts her heart in control, only to discover that Owen is hiding a huge secret. The magnitude of his past threatens to destroy everything Auburn loves most, and the only way to get her life back on track is to cut Owen out of it—but can she do it?]]> 306 Colleen Hoover 1476791457 Faffy 4 4.14 2015 Confess
author: Colleen Hoover
name: Faffy
average rating: 4.14
book published: 2015
rating: 4
read at: 2015/04/23
date added: 2025/03/01
shelves: 2015, 2012-2016-4-5-stars, audiobooks
review:

]]> Madicken (Madicken, #1) 2060510 184 Astrid Lindgren 9129657865 Faffy 0 owned 4.17 1960 Madicken (Madicken, #1)
author: Astrid Lindgren
name: Faffy
average rating: 4.17
book published: 1960
rating: 0
read at: 2009/01/01
date added: 2024/11/28
shelves: owned
review:

]]> Evna (Ravneringene, #3) 25793186
Hirka forbereder seg på å møte det rådende huset i en kald, hierarkisk verden der forakten for svakhet regjerer. Motvillig aksepterer hun sin skjebne, i håp om å holde Rime i live og Ymslanda trygt. Men de likfødtes tørst etter Evna er altoppslukende, og Hirka innser at krigen hun ville stanse, er uunngåelig. En innsikt som snart vil utfordre alt hun har trodd på og kjempet for. Evna er den tredje og siste boka i den kritikerroste fantasyserien Ravneringene. En spektakulær finale som utforsker røtter, makt og hovmod.]]> 500 Siri Pettersen 8205458685 Faffy 5 4.39 2015 Evna (Ravneringene, #3)
author: Siri Pettersen
name: Faffy
average rating: 4.39
book published: 2015
rating: 5
read at: 2015/11/29
date added: 2024/08/06
shelves: 2015, fantasy, norwegian, owned, 2012-2016-4-5-stars, favourites, series-finished
review:

]]> The Prophets 52576333 9780593085684

A novel about the forbidden union between two enslaved young men on a Deep South plantation, the refuge they find in each other, and a betrayal that threatens their existence.

Isaiah was Samuel’s and Samuel was Isaiah’s. That was the way it was since the beginning, and the way it was to be until the end. In the barn they tended to the animals, but also to each other, transforming the hollowed-out shed into a place of human refuge, a source of intimacy and hope in a world ruled by vicious masters. But when an older man—a fellow slave—seeks to gain favor by preaching the master’s gospel on the plantation, the enslaved begin to turn on their own. Isaiah and Samuel’s love, which was once so simple, is seen as sinful and a clear danger to the plantation’s harmony.

With a lyricism reminiscent of Toni Morrison, Robert Jones, Jr. fiercely summons the voices of slaver and the enslaved alike to tell the story of these two men; from Amos the preacher to the calculating slave-master himself to the long line of women that surround them, women who have carried the soul of the plantation on their shoulders. As tensions build and the weight of centuries—of ancestors and future generations to come—culminate in a climactic reckoning, The Prophets masterfully reveals the pain and suffering of inheritance, but is also shot through with hope, beauty, and truth, portraying the enormous, heroic power of love.]]> 400 Robert Jones Jr. Faffy 0 to-read 3.91 2021 The Prophets
author: Robert Jones Jr.
name: Faffy
average rating: 3.91
book published: 2021
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2023/02/21
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> Uprooted 25442488 Alternate cover edition for this ISBN can be found here.

Agnieszka loves her valley home, her quiet village, the forests and the bright shining river. But the corrupted Wood stands on the border, full of malevolent power, and its shadow lies over her life.

Her people rely on the cold, driven wizard known only as the Dragon to keep its powers at bay. But he demands a terrible price for his help: one young woman handed over to serve him for ten years, a fate almost as terrible as falling to the Wood.

The next choosing is fast approaching, and Agnieszka is afraid. She knows - everyone knows - that the Dragon will take Kasia: beautiful, graceful, brave Kasia, all the things Agnieszka isn't, and her dearest friend in the world. And there is no way to save her.

But Agnieszka fears the wrong things. For when the Dragon comes, it is not Kasia he will choose.

From the author of the Temeraire series comes this hugely imaginative, engrossing and vivid fantasy novel, inspired by folk and fairy tales. It is perfect reading for fans of Robin Hobb and Trudi Canavan.

]]> 400 Naomi Novik 1743538014 Faffy 0 currently-reading 4.15 2015 Uprooted
author: Naomi Novik
name: Faffy
average rating: 4.15
book published: 2015
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2022/11/11
shelves: currently-reading
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Maybe I Don't Belong Here: A Memoir of Race, Identity, Breakdown and Recovery]]> 56530526 ONE OF THE OBSERVER'S BEST MEMOIRS OF 2021 AND THE TIMES' BEST FILM AND THEATRE BOOKS OF THE YEAR.

'As a Black British man I believe it is vital that I tell this story. It may be just one account from the perspective of a person of colour who has experienced this system, but it may be enough to potentially change an opinion or, more importantly, stop someone else from spinning completely out of control.' � David Harewood

Is it possible to be Black and British and feel welcome and whole?

Maybe I Don't Belong Here is a deeply personal exploration of the duality of growing up both Black and British, recovery from crisis and a rallying cry to examine the systems and biases that continue to shape our society.

In this powerful and provocative account of a life lived after psychosis, critically acclaimed actor, David Harewood, uncovers devastating family history and investigates the very real impact of racism on Black mental health.

When David Harewood was twenty-three, his acting career beginning to take flight, he had what he now understands to be a psychotic breakdown and was sectioned under the Mental Health Act. He was physically restrained by six police officers, sedated, then hospitalized and transferred to a locked ward. Only now, thirty years later, has he been able to process what he went through.

What was it that caused this breakdown and how did David recover to become a successful and critically acclaimed actor? How did his experiences growing up Black and British contribute to a rupture in his sense of his place in the world?

'Such a powerful and necessary read . . . Don't wait until Black History Month to pick up this book, it's a must-read just now.' - Candice Brathwaite, author of I Am Not Your Baby Mother

'David Harewood writes with rare honesty and fearless self-analysis about his experiences of racism and what ultimately led to his descent into psychosis . . . This book is, in itself, a physical manifestation of that hopeful journey.' - David Olusoga, author of Black and British]]> 304 David Harewood 1529064147 Faffy 5 4.36 Maybe I Don't Belong Here: A Memoir of Race, Identity, Breakdown and Recovery
author: David Harewood
name: Faffy
average rating: 4.36
book published:
rating: 5
read at: 2022/11/09
date added: 2022/11/09
shelves: 2020-2022, biographical, psychology
review:
Started reading chapter 1-2 on 1 Nov 2021. Continued to chapter 5 on 1 Nov 2022.
]]> <![CDATA[The Transgender Issue: An Argument for Justice]]> 56155135
In this powerful new book, Shon Faye reclaims the idea of the 'transgender issue' to uncover the reality of what it means to be trans in a transphobic society. In doing so, she provides a compelling, wide-ranging analysis of trans lives from youth to old age, exploring work, family, housing, healthcare, the prison system, and trans participation in the LGBTQ+ and feminist communities, in contemporary Britain and beyond.

The Transgender Issue is a landmark work that signals the beginning of a new, healthier conversation about trans life. It is a manifesto for change, and a call for justice and solidarity between all marginalised people and minorities. Trans liberation, as Faye sees it, goes to the root of what our society is and what it could be; it offers the possibility of a more just, free and joyful world for all of us.]]> 292 Shon Faye 0241423147 Faffy 0 to-read, owned, non-fiction 4.55 2021 The Transgender Issue: An Argument for Justice
author: Shon Faye
name: Faffy
average rating: 4.55
book published: 2021
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2022/11/02
shelves: to-read, owned, non-fiction
review:

]]> Ten Steps to Nanette 40588534 Nanette, even as she declared that she was quitting stand-up. Now, she takes us through the defining moments in her life that led to the creation of Nanette and her powerful decision to tell the truth-no matter the cost.

'There is nothing stronger than a broken woman who has rebuilt herself.' -Hannah Gadsby, Nanette

Gadsby's unique stand-up special Nanette was a viral success that left audiences captivated by her blistering honesty and her ability to create both tension and laughter in a single moment. But while her worldwide fame might have looked like an overnight sensation, her path from open mic to the global stage was hard-fought and anything but linear.

Ten Steps to Nanette traces Gadsby's growth as a queer person from Tasmania-where homosexuality was illegal until 1997-to her ever-evolving relationship with comedy, to her struggle with late-in-life diagnoses of autism and ADHD, and finally to the backbone of Nanette - the renouncement of self-deprecation, the rejection of misogyny, and the moral significance of truth-telling.

Equal parts harrowing and hilarious, Ten Steps to Nanette continues Gadsby's tradition of confounding expectations and norms, properly introducing us to one of the most explosive, formative voices of our time.]]> 400 Hannah Gadsby 1742374034 Faffy 0 4.45 2022 Ten Steps to Nanette
author: Hannah Gadsby
name: Faffy
average rating: 4.45
book published: 2022
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2022/11/02
shelves: to-read, owned, non-fiction, biographical
review:

]]> <![CDATA[A Court of Wings and Ruin (A Court of Thorns and Roses, #3)]]> 23766634
She has left the Night Court - and her High Lord - and is playing a deadly game of deceit. In the Spring Court, Tamlin is making deals with the invading king threatening to bring Prythian to its knees, and Feyre is determined to uncover his plans. But to do so she must weave a web of lies, and one slip may spell doom not only for Feyre, but for her world as well.

As mighty armies grapple for power, Feyre must decide who to trust amongst the dazzling and lethal High Lords - and hunt for allies in unexpected places.

BUT WHILE WAR RAGES, IT IS HER HEART THAT WILL FACE THE GREATEST BATTLE.

THE THRILLING THIRD BOOK IN #1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLING FANTASY SERIES FROM SARAH J. MAAS.]]> 705 Sarah J. Maas 1408857901 Faffy 0 4.41 2017 A Court of Wings and Ruin (A Court of Thorns and Roses, #3)
author: Sarah J. Maas
name: Faffy
average rating: 4.41
book published: 2017
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2022/11/02
shelves: 2017-2018, audiobooks, fantasy, series-to-read
review:

]]> Jernulven (Vardari, #1) 54248140
Men når familien trues av vardari, de uhyggelige varige som aldri eldes, vikles Juva nådeløst inn i jakten på blodlesernes arv: en mørk hemmelighet som en gang forandret verden, og kan gjøre det igjen.

For ĂĄ overleve mĂĄ hun konfrontere barndomsminnet hun har kjempet for ĂĄ glemme: Den gangen hun sĂĄ djevelen.

JERNULVEN er et fengslende fantasy-mysterium med norrøne røtter, om blod, begjær og avhengighet. Det er den første boken i trilogien VARDARI, en uavhengig serie fra universet i den prisbelønte fantasysuksessen RAVNERINGENE.]]> 490 Siri Pettersen 8205504288 Faffy 0 4.36 2020 Jernulven (Vardari, #1)
author: Siri Pettersen
name: Faffy
average rating: 4.36
book published: 2020
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2022/11/02
shelves: fantasy, owned, norwegian, series-to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Lies of Locke Lamora (Gentleman Bastard, #1)]]> 127455 Ocean's Eleven, and entirely enthralling...

An orphan's life is harsh � and often short � in the island city of Camorr, built on the ruins of a mysterious alien race. But born with a quick wit and a gift for thieving, Locke Lamora has dodged both death and slavery, only to fall into the hands of an eyeless priest known as Chains � a man who is neither blind nor a priest.

A con artist of extraordinary talent, Chains passes his skills on to his carefully selected "family" of orphans � a group known as the Gentlemen Bastards. Under his tutelage, Locke grows to lead the Bastards, delightedly pulling off one outrageous confidence game after another. Soon he is infamous as the Thorn of Camorr, and no wealthy noble is safe from his sting.

Passing themselves off as petty thieves, the brilliant Locke and his tightly knit band of light-fingered brothers have fooled even the criminal underworld's most feared ruler, Capa Barsavi. But there is someone in the shadows more powerful � and more ambitious � than Locke has yet imagined.

Known as the Gray King, he is slowly killing Capa Barsavi's most trusted men � and using Locke as a pawn in his plot to take control of Camorr's underworld. With a bloody coup under way threatening to destroy everyone and everything that holds meaning in his mercenary life, Locke vows to beat the Gray King at his own brutal game � or die trying...

]]> 499 Scott Lynch 0553804677 Faffy 0 series-to-read 4.28 2006 The Lies of Locke Lamora (Gentleman Bastard, #1)
author: Scott Lynch
name: Faffy
average rating: 4.28
book published: 2006
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2022/11/02
shelves: series-to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet (Wayfarers, #1)]]> 25201920
Rosemary Harper doesn’t expect much when she joins the crew of the aging Wayfarer. While the patched-up ship has seen better days, it offers her a bed, a chance to explore the far-off corners of the galaxy, and most importantly, some distance from her past. An introspective young woman who learned early to keep to herself, she’s never met anyone remotely like the ship’s diverse crew, including Sissix, the exotic reptilian pilot, chatty engineers Kizzy and Jenks who keep the ship running, and Ashby, their noble captain.

Life aboard the Wayfarer is chaotic and crazy—exactly what Rosemary wants. It’s also about to get extremely dangerous when the crew is offered the job of a lifetime. Tunneling wormholes through space to a distant planet is definitely lucrative and will keep them comfortable for years. But risking her life wasn’t part of the plan. In the far reaches of deep space, the tiny Wayfarer crew will confront a host of unexpected mishaps and thrilling adventures that force them to depend on each other. To survive, Rosemary’s got to learn how to rely on this assortment of oddballs—an experience that teaches her about love and trust, and that having a family isn’t necessarily the worst thing in the universe.]]> 519 Becky Chambers Faffy 0 series-to-read 4.19 2014 The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet (Wayfarers, #1)
author: Becky Chambers
name: Faffy
average rating: 4.19
book published: 2014
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2022/11/02
shelves: series-to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Abyss Surrounds Us (The Abyss Surrounds Us, #1)]]> 24790901 Cas has fought pirates her entire life. But can she survive living among them?

For Cassandra Leung, bossing around sea monsters is just the family business. She’s been a Reckoner trainer-in-training ever since she could walk, raising the genetically-engineered beasts to defend ships as they cross the pirate-infested NeoPacific. But when the pirate queen Santa Elena swoops in on Cas’s first solo mission and snatches her from the bloodstained decks, Cas’s dream of being a full-time trainer seems dead in the water.

There’s no time to mourn. Waiting for her on the pirate ship is an unhatched Reckoner pup. Santa Elena wants to take back the seas with a monster of her own, and she needs a proper trainer to do it. She orders Cas to raise the pup, make sure he imprints on her ship, and, when the time comes, teach him to fight for the pirates. If Cas fails, her blood will be the next to paint the sea.]]> 273 Emily Skrutskie 0738746916 Faffy 0 series-to-read 3.87 2016 The Abyss Surrounds Us (The Abyss Surrounds Us, #1)
author: Emily Skrutskie
name: Faffy
average rating: 3.87
book published: 2016
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2022/11/02
shelves: series-to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Name of the Wind (The Kingkiller Chronicle, #1)]]> 186074
The intimate narrative of his childhood in a troupe of traveling players, his years spent as a near-feral orphan in a crime-ridden city, his daringly brazen yet successful bid to enter a legendary school of magic, and his life as a fugitive after the murder of a king form a gripping coming-of-age story unrivaled in recent literature.

A high-action story written with a poet's hand, The Name of the Wind is a masterpiece that will transport readers into the body and mind of a wizard.]]> 662 Patrick Rothfuss 075640407X Faffy 0 series-to-read 4.52 2007 The Name of the Wind (The Kingkiller Chronicle, #1)
author: Patrick Rothfuss
name: Faffy
average rating: 4.52
book published: 2007
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2022/11/02
shelves: series-to-read
review:

]]> Dune (Dune, #1) 234225 Dune is the story of the boy Paul Atreides, heir to a noble family tasked with ruling an inhospitable world where the only thing of value is the "spice" melange, a drug capable of extending life and enhancing consciousness. Coveted across the known universe, melange is a prize worth killing for...

When House Atreides is betrayed, the destruction of Paul's family will set the boy on a journey toward a destiny greater than he could ever have imagined. And as he evolves into the mysterious man known as Muad'Dib, he will bring to fruition humankind's most ancient and unattainable dream.

A stunning blend of adventure and mysticism, environmentalism and politics, Dune won the first Nebula Award, shared the Hugo Award, and formed the basis of what is undoubtedly the grandest epic in science fiction.]]> 604 Frank Herbert 0340839937 Faffy 0 series-to-read 4.21 1965 Dune (Dune, #1)
author: Frank Herbert
name: Faffy
average rating: 4.21
book published: 1965
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2022/11/02
shelves: series-to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Red Rising (Red Rising Saga, #1)]]> 15839976 "I live for the dream that my children will be born free," she says. "That they will be what they like. That they will own the land their father gave them."

"I live for you," I say sadly.

Eo kisses my cheek. "Then you must live for more."

Darrow is a Red, a member of the lowest caste in the color-coded society of the future. Like his fellow Reds, he works all day, believing that he and his people are making the surface of Mars livable for future generations.

Yet he spends his life willingly, knowing that his blood and sweat will one day result in a better world for his children.

But Darrow and his kind have been betrayed. Soon he discovers that humanity already reached the surface generations ago. Vast cities and sprawling parks spread across the planet. Darrow—and Reds like him—are nothing more than slaves to a decadent ruling class.

Inspired by a longing for justice, and driven by the memory of lost love, Darrow sacrifices everything to infiltrate the legendary Institute, a proving ground for the dominant Gold caste, where the next generation of humanity's overlords struggle for power. He will be forced to compete for his life and the very future of civilization against the best and most brutal of Society's ruling class. There, he will stop at nothing to bring down his enemies... even if it means he has to become one of them to do so.]]> 382 Pierce Brown 0345539788 Faffy 0 series-to-read 4.26 2014 Red Rising (Red Rising Saga, #1)
author: Pierce Brown
name: Faffy
average rating: 4.26
book published: 2014
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2022/11/02
shelves: series-to-read
review:

]]> Vicious (Villains, #1) 13638125 A masterful tale of ambition, jealousy, desire, and superpowers.

Victor and Eli started out as college roommates—brilliant, arrogant, lonely boys who recognized the same sharpness and ambition in each other. In their senior year, a shared research interest in adrenaline, near-death experiences, and seemingly supernatural events reveals an intriguing possibility: that under the right conditions, someone could develop extraordinary abilities. But when their thesis moves from the academic to the experimental, things go horribly wrong.

Ten years later, Victor breaks out of prison, determined to catch up to his old friend (now foe), aided by a young girl whose reserved nature obscures a stunning ability. Meanwhile, Eli is on a mission to eradicate every other super-powered person that he can find—aside from his sidekick, an enigmatic woman with an unbreakable will. Armed with terrible power on both sides, driven by the memory of betrayal and loss, the archnemeses have set a course for revenge—but who will be left alive at the end?

In Vicious, V. E. Schwab brings to life a gritty comic-book-style world in vivid prose: a world where gaining superpowers doesn't automatically lead to heroism, and a time when allegiances are called into question.

Listening Length: 9 hours and 55 minutes]]> 368 Victoria E. Schwab 0765335344 Faffy 0 series-to-read 4.24 2013 Vicious (Villains, #1)
author: Victoria E. Schwab
name: Faffy
average rating: 4.24
book published: 2013
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2022/11/02
shelves: series-to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Walk on Earth a Stranger (The Gold Seer Trilogy, #1)]]> 17564519 Gold is in my blood, in my breath, even in the flecks in my eyes.

Lee Westfall has a strong, loving family. She has a home she loves and a loyal steed. She has a best friend—who might want to be something more.

She also has a secret.

Lee can sense gold in the world around her. Veins deep in the earth. Small nuggets in a stream. Even gold dust caught underneath a fingernail. She has kept her family safe and able to buy provisions, even through the harshest winters. But what would someone do to control a girl with that kind of power? A person might murder for it.

When everything Lee holds dear is ripped away, she flees west to California—where gold has just been discovered. Perhaps this will be the one place a magical girl can be herself. If she survives the journey.

The acclaimed Rae Carson begins a sweeping new trilogy set in Gold Rush-era America, about a young woman with a powerful and dangerous gift.]]> 436 Rae Carson 0062242911 Faffy 0 series-to-read 3.93 2015 Walk on Earth a Stranger (The Gold Seer Trilogy, #1)
author: Rae Carson
name: Faffy
average rating: 3.93
book published: 2015
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2022/11/02
shelves: series-to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Stars Above (The Lunar Chronicles, #4.5)]]> 25689074
CONTENTS
The Keeper: A prequel to the Lunar Chronicles, showing a young Scarlet and how Princess Selene came into the care of Michelle Benoit.
Glitches: In this prequel to Cinder, we see the results of the plague play out, and the emotional toll it takes on Cinder. Something that may, or may not, be a glitch�.
The Queen’s Army: In this prequel to Scarlet, we’re introduced to the army Queen Levana is building, and one soldier in particular who will do anything to keep from becoming the monster they want him to be.
Carswell’s Guide to Being Lucky: Thirteen-year-old Carswell Thorne has big plans involving a Rampion spaceship and a no-return trip out of Los Angeles.
After Sunshine Passes By: In this prequel to Cress, we see how a nine-year-old Cress ended up alone on a satellite, spying on Earth for Luna.
The Princess and the Guard: In this prequel to Winter, we see a young Winter and Jacin playing a game called the Princess and the Guard�
The Little Android: A retelling of Hans Christian Andersen’s “The Little Mermaid,� set in the world of The Lunar Chronicles.
The Mechanic: In this prequel to Cinder, we see Kai and Cinder’s first meeting from Kai’s perspective.
Something Old, Something New: In this epilogue to Winter, friends gather for the wedding of the century…]]> 400 Marissa Meyer 1250091845 Faffy 3 2015, series-to-read 4.16 2016 Stars Above (The Lunar Chronicles, #4.5)
author: Marissa Meyer
name: Faffy
average rating: 4.16
book published: 2016
rating: 3
read at:
date added: 2022/11/02
shelves: 2015, series-to-read
review:
Basically Han Solo or Flynn Rider in a high school setting.
]]> <![CDATA[The Girl of Fire and Thorns (Fire and Thorns, #1)]]> 10429092 Once a century, one person is chosen for greatness.
Elisa is the chosen one.

But she is also the younger of two princesses, the one who has never done anything remarkable. She can't see how she ever will.

Now, on her sixteenth birthday, she has become the secret wife of a handsome and worldly king—a king whose country is in turmoil. A king who needs the chosen one, not a failure of a princess.

And he's not the only one who seeks her. Savage enemies seething with dark magic are hunting her. A daring, determined revolutionary thinks she could be his people's savior. And he looks at her in a way that no man has ever looked at her before. Soon it is not just her life, but her very heart that is at stake.

Elisa could be everything to those who need her most. If the prophecy is fulfilled. If she finds the power deep within herself. If she doesn’t die young.

Most of the chosen do.]]> 423 Rae Carson 0062026488 Faffy 0 series-to-read 3.78 2011 The Girl of Fire and Thorns (Fire and Thorns, #1)
author: Rae Carson
name: Faffy
average rating: 3.78
book published: 2011
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2022/11/02
shelves: series-to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Archived (The Archived, #1)]]> 10929432 Imagine a place where the dead rest on shelves like books.

Each body has a story to tell, a life seen in pictures only Librarians can read. The dead are called Histories, and the vast realm in which they rest is the Archive.

Da first brought Mackenzie Bishop here four years ago, when she was twelve years old, frightened but determined to prove herself. Now Da is dead, and Mac has grown into what he once was: a ruthless Keeper, tasked with stopping often violent Histories from waking up and getting out. Because of her job, she lies to the people she loves, and she knows fear for what it is: a useful tool for staying alive.

Being a Keeper isn't just dangerous—it's a constant reminder of those Mac has lost, Da's death was hard enough, but now that her little brother is gone too, Mac starts to wonder about the boundary between living and dying, sleeping and waking. In the Archive, the dead must never be disturbed. And yet, someone is deliberately altering Histories, erasing essential chapters. Unless Mac can piece together what remains, the Archive itself may crumble and fall.

In this haunting, richly imagined novel, Victoria Schwab reveals the thin lines between past and present, love and pain, trust and deceit, unbearable loss and hard-won redemption.]]> 327 Victoria E. Schwab 1423157311 Faffy 0 series-to-read 3.96 2013 The Archived (The Archived, #1)
author: Victoria E. Schwab
name: Faffy
average rating: 3.96
book published: 2013
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2022/11/02
shelves: series-to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Wrath and the Dawn (The Wrath and the Dawn, #1)]]> 18798983 One Life to One Dawn.

In a land ruled by a murderous boy-king, each dawn brings heartache to a new family. Khalid, the eighteen-year-old Caliph of Khorasan, is a monster. Each night he takes a new bride only to have a silk cord wrapped around her throat come morning. When sixteen-year-old Shahrzad's dearest friend falls victim to Khalid, Shahrzad vows vengeance and volunteers to be his next bride. Shahrzad is determined not only to stay alive, but to end the caliph's reign of terror once and for all.

Night after night, Shahrzad beguiles Khalid, weaving stories that enchant, ensuring her survival, though she knows each dawn could be her last. But something she never expected begins to happen: Khalid is nothing like what she'd imagined him to be. This monster is a boy with a tormented heart. Incredibly, Shahrzad finds herself falling in love. How is this possible? It's an unforgivable betrayal. Still, Shahrzad has come to understand all is not as it seems in this palace of marble and stone. She resolves to uncover whatever secrets lurk and, despite her love, be ready to take Khalid's life as retribution for the many lives he's stolen. Can their love survive this world of stories and secrets?]]> 416 Renée Ahdieh 0399171614 Faffy 0 series-to-read 4.05 2015 The Wrath and the Dawn (The Wrath and the Dawn, #1)
author: Renée Ahdieh
name: Faffy
average rating: 4.05
book published: 2015
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2022/11/02
shelves: series-to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[A Gathering of Shadows (Shades of Magic, #2)]]> 20764879
Now, restless after having given up his smuggling habit, Kell is visited by dreams of ominous magical events, waking only to think of Lila, who disappeared from the docks as she always meant to do. As Red London finalizes preparations for the Element Games--an extravagant international competition of magic meant to entertain and keep healthy the ties between neighboring countries--a certain pirate ship draws closer, carrying old friends back into port.

And while Red London is caught up in the pageantry and thrills of the Games, another London is coming back to life. After all, a shadow that was gone in the night will reappear in the morning. But the balance of magic is ever perilous, and for one city to flourish, another London must fall.]]> 512 Victoria E. Schwab 0765376474 Faffy 0 4.20 2016 A Gathering of Shadows (Shades of Magic, #2)
author: Victoria E. Schwab
name: Faffy
average rating: 4.20
book published: 2016
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2022/11/02
shelves: series-unfinished, series-to-read
review:

]]> Unwind (Unwind, #1) 764347 Connor, Risa, and Lev are running for their lives.

The Second Civil War was fought over reproductive rights. The chilling resolution: Life is inviolable from the moment of conception until age thirteen. Between the ages of thirteen and eighteen, however, parents can have their child "unwound," whereby all of the child's organs are transplanted into different donors, so life doesn't technically end. Connor is too difficult for his parents to control. Risa, a ward of the state, is not enough to be kept alive. And Lev is a tithe, a child conceived and raised to be unwound. Together, they may have a chance to escape and to survive.]]> 337 Neal Shusterman Faffy 0 series-to-read 4.17 2007 Unwind (Unwind, #1)
author: Neal Shusterman
name: Faffy
average rating: 4.17
book published: 2007
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2022/11/02
shelves: series-to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[An Ember in the Ashes (An Ember in the Ashes, #1)]]> 20560137 This is a previously-published edition of ISBN 9781595148032.

Laia is a slave.Ěý

Elias is a soldier.Ěý

Neither is free.

Under the Martial Empire, defiance is met with death. Those who do not vow their blood and bodies to the Emperor risk the execution of their loved ones and the destruction of all they hold dear.

It is in this brutal world, inspired by ancient Rome, that Laia lives with her grandparents and older brother. The family ekes out an existence in the Empire’s impoverished backstreets. They do not challenge the Empire. They’ve seen what happens to those who do.

But when Laia’s brother is arrested for treason, Laia is forced to make a decision. In exchange for help from rebels who promise to rescue her brother, she will risk her life to spy for them from within the Empire’s greatest military academy.

There, Laia meets Elias, the school’s finest soldier—and secretly, its most unwilling. Elias wants only to be free of the tyranny he’s being trained to enforce. He and Laia will soon realize that their destinies are intertwined—and that their choices will change the fate of the Empire itself.]]> 446 Sabaa Tahir Faffy 0 series-to-read 4.28 2015 An Ember in the Ashes (An Ember in the Ashes, #1)
author: Sabaa Tahir
name: Faffy
average rating: 4.28
book published: 2015
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2022/11/02
shelves: series-to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Finnikin of the Rock (Lumatere Chronicles, #1)]]> 6719736
But all safety is shattered during the five days of the unspeakable, when the king and queen and their children are brutally murdered in the palace. An impostor seizes the throne, a curse binds all who remain inside Lumatere's walls, and those who escape are left to roam the land as exiles, dying by the thousands in fever camps.

Ten years later, Finnikin is summoned to another rock--to meet Evanjalin, a young novice with a startling claim: Balthazar, heir to the throne of Lumatere, is alive. This arrogant young woman claims she'll lead Finnikin and his mentor, Sir Topher, to the prince. Instead, her leadership points them perilously toward home. Does Finnikin dare believe that Lumatere might one day rise united? Evanjalin is not what she seems, and the startling truth will test Finnikin's faith not only in her but in all he knows to be true about himself and his destiny.

In a bold departure from her acclaimed contemporary novels, Printz Medalist Melina Marchetta has crafted an epic fantasy of ancient magic, feudal intrigue, romance, and bloodshed that will rivet you from the first page.]]> 399 Melina Marchetta 0763643610 Faffy 0 series-to-read 4.08 2008 Finnikin of the Rock (Lumatere Chronicles, #1)
author: Melina Marchetta
name: Faffy
average rating: 4.08
book published: 2008
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2022/11/02
shelves: series-to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Daughter of Smoke & Bone (Daughter of Smoke & Bone, #1)]]> 8490112
In a dark and dusty shop, a devil’s supply of human teeth grows dangerously low.

And in the tangled lanes of Prague, a young art student is about to be caught up in a brutal otherworldly war.

Meet Karou. She fills her sketchbooks with monsters that may or may not be real, she’s prone to disappearing on mysterious "errands", she speaks many languages - not all of them human - and her bright blue hair actually grows out of her head that color. Who is she? That is the question that haunts her, and she’s about to find out.

When beautiful, haunted Akiva fixes fiery eyes on her in an alley in Marrakesh, the result is blood and starlight, secrets unveiled, and a star-crossed love whose roots drink deep of a violent past. But will Karou live to regret learning the truth about herself?]]> 418 Laini Taylor 0316134023 Faffy 0 series-to-read 3.98 2011 Daughter of Smoke & Bone (Daughter of Smoke & Bone, #1)
author: Laini Taylor
name: Faffy
average rating: 3.98
book published: 2011
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2022/11/02
shelves: series-to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Darkest Minds (The Darkest Minds, #1)]]> 10576365
Now sixteen, Ruby is one of the dangerous ones.

When the truth comes out, Ruby barely escapes Thurmond with her life. Now she’s on the run, desperate to find the one safe haven left for kids like her—East River. She joins a group of kids who escaped their own camp. Liam, their brave leader, is falling hard for Ruby. But no matter how much she aches for him, Ruby can’t risk getting close. Not after what happened to her parents.

When they arrive at East River, nothing is as it seems, least of all its mysterious leader. But there are other forces at work, people who will stop at nothing to use Ruby in their fight against the government. Ruby will be faced with a terrible choice, one that may mean giving up her only chance at a life worth living.]]> 488 Alexandra Bracken 1423157370 Faffy 0 series-to-read 4.17 2012 The Darkest Minds (The Darkest Minds, #1)
author: Alexandra Bracken
name: Faffy
average rating: 4.17
book published: 2012
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2022/11/02
shelves: series-to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Bronze Horseman (The Bronze Horseman, #1)]]> 5391078
Yet there is light in the darkness. Tatiana meets Alexander, a brave young officer in the Red Army. Strong and self-confident, yet guarding a mysterious and troubled past, he is drawn to Tatiana—and she to him. Starvation, desperation, and fear soon grip their city during the terrible winter of the merciless German siege. Tatiana and Alexander's impossible love threatens to tear the Metanova family apart and expose the dangerous secret Alexander so carefully protects—a secret as devastating as the war itself—as the lovers are swept up in the brutal tides that will change the world and their lives forever.]]> 811 Paullina Simons Faffy 0 series-to-read 4.26 2000 The Bronze Horseman (The Bronze Horseman, #1)
author: Paullina Simons
name: Faffy
average rating: 4.26
book published: 2000
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2022/11/02
shelves: series-to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Winner's Curse (The Winner's Trilogy, #1)]]> 16069030 Winning what you want may cost you everything you love...Ěý

As a general’s daughter in a vast empire that revels in war and enslaves those it conquers, seventeen-year-old Kestrel has two choices: she can join the military or get married. But Kestrel has other intentions.

One day, she is startled to find a kindred spirit in a young slave up for auction. Arin’s eyes seem to defy everything and everyone. Following her instinct, Kestrel buys him—with unexpected consequences. It’s not long before she has to hide her growing love for Arin.

But he, too, has a secret, and Kestrel quickly learns that the price she paid for a fellow human is much higher than she ever could have imagined.

Set in a richly imagined new world, The Winner’s Curse by Marie Rutkoski is a story of deadly games where everything is at stake, and the gamble is whether you will keep your head or lose your heart.]]> 355 Marie Rutkoski 0374384681 Faffy 0 series-to-read 3.94 2014 The Winner's Curse (The Winner's Trilogy, #1)
author: Marie Rutkoski
name: Faffy
average rating: 3.94
book published: 2014
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2022/11/02
shelves: series-to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Period Power: Harness Your Hormones and Get Your Cycle Working For You]]> 40653191
Ninety per cent of women experience symptoms of PMS, a syndrome which features a wide range of signs and symptoms and yet there’s an enduring lack of understanding about what it actually is, and a disappointingly meager range of treatment options.

So many of us have a Jekyll and Hyde experience of our lives; we feel on top of the world, capable, confident and sexy for part of each month, then find ourselves in a state of physical and emotional discomfort and fatigue, wanting nothing more than to collapse on the sofa in front of Netflix. But what if instead of just trying to plan for our dark days, women were equipped with ways to improve them? What if our desire to improve ourselves could be combined with our need to know just what our womb and ovaries are getting up to every month? Not to mention how to take advantage of the natural superpowers that sit in each phase of our cycle, so that we can plan our month to perform at our best.

Maisie Hill is uniquely placed, as an acupuncturist, women’s health practitioner and doula, to explain just how we can achieve this, as well as focusing on particular milestones that require an altered approach, such as coming off hormonal birth control, infertility, pregnancy, motherhood and the perimenopausal years. Using what Hill calls the cycle strategy--a woman’s secret weapon when it comes to improving her relationships, career and health--she will apply the principles of Eastern and Western medicine to give women all they need to make sense of their cycles, as well as accessible and practical suggestions through which readers can improve their physical symptoms, and stop berating themselves because of the way that they evolve through each menstrual month.]]> 352 Maisie Hill 147296361X Faffy 2 2020-2022, non-fiction
But then the things of substance became fewer and far between, and it started to feel like I was reading a horoscope. "You will feel like this - but also like this, the total opposite". Anecodes, upon anecdotes, with little evidence to back them up.* Oh, and the book recommends acupuncture a lot. Turns out the author is an acupuncturist. That's her qualification for writing this book. Deep breath. Acupuncture doesn't work. Just take a paracetamol, please.

I kept reading for the "the cycle strategy" the book kept referring to, only to realise I'd probably already read it. Was that it? What did I miss?

Moreover, the book doesn't use any references to support its claims. Don't get me wrong, after yeeears of doing a PhD I am delighted to not be reading an academic text. But ma'am, you've got to back up your claims. It becomes impossible for the reader to know what's evidence backed and what's woo. A lot of it, turns out, is woo.

The book lost me when going on about how serotonin is involved in happiness etc, only to point out that most of our serotonin is in our gut - implying that it's doing the same job that it's doing in our brains. No it doesn't! The serotonin in the gut is involved in digestion! *screams in psychology PhD*

And side note: I've yet to hear a single trans person actually prefer the term "menstruator", but I appreciate the inclusive effort on Maisie Hill's part.

I generally like the tone and style of the book. It's coming from a good place, but it's lacking in substance. DNF at 52%


*It's not that I categorically hate anecdotes. Sometimes, in the absence of peer-reviewed research evidence, anecdotes is all we've got. That's womanhood for ya. For instance, I'm seeing tons of anecdotes online on how people experience less benefit from their adhd-meds when starting progesterone, but the research is lacking.]]> 4.09 2019 Period Power: Harness Your Hormones and Get Your Cycle Working For You
author: Maisie Hill
name: Faffy
average rating: 4.09
book published: 2019
rating: 2
read at: 2022/05/31
date added: 2022/11/02
shelves: 2020-2022, non-fiction
review:
I wanted to like this book. Hell, I thought I'd love it. I rarely find "general advice to women" applicable to me because neurodivergence in women, hormones and all, is so poorly researched. So when I heard that Maisie Hill is neurodivergent (loved her on the 'I Weigh' podcast!) I jumped on this book right away. And in the beginning I loved the book and already started recommending it to friends.

But then the things of substance became fewer and far between, and it started to feel like I was reading a horoscope. "You will feel like this - but also like this, the total opposite". Anecodes, upon anecdotes, with little evidence to back them up.* Oh, and the book recommends acupuncture a lot. Turns out the author is an acupuncturist. That's her qualification for writing this book. Deep breath. Acupuncture doesn't work. Just take a paracetamol, please.

I kept reading for the "the cycle strategy" the book kept referring to, only to realise I'd probably already read it. Was that it? What did I miss?

Moreover, the book doesn't use any references to support its claims. Don't get me wrong, after yeeears of doing a PhD I am delighted to not be reading an academic text. But ma'am, you've got to back up your claims. It becomes impossible for the reader to know what's evidence backed and what's woo. A lot of it, turns out, is woo.

The book lost me when going on about how serotonin is involved in happiness etc, only to point out that most of our serotonin is in our gut - implying that it's doing the same job that it's doing in our brains. No it doesn't! The serotonin in the gut is involved in digestion! *screams in psychology PhD*

And side note: I've yet to hear a single trans person actually prefer the term "menstruator", but I appreciate the inclusive effort on Maisie Hill's part.

I generally like the tone and style of the book. It's coming from a good place, but it's lacking in substance. DNF at 52%


*It's not that I categorically hate anecdotes. Sometimes, in the absence of peer-reviewed research evidence, anecdotes is all we've got. That's womanhood for ya. For instance, I'm seeing tons of anecdotes online on how people experience less benefit from their adhd-meds when starting progesterone, but the research is lacking.
]]> <![CDATA[Fødselsdag. Mitt første år som mor, eller En reise i underverdenen]]> 59125179 295 Ida Jackson 8205553777 Faffy 4 4.16 Fødselsdag. Mitt første år som mor, eller En reise i underverdenen
author: Ida Jackson
name: Faffy
average rating: 4.16
book published:
rating: 4
read at: 2022/11/01
date added: 2022/11/01
shelves: owned, norwegian, biographical, non-fiction, 2020-2022
review:

]]> <![CDATA[NeuroTribes: The Legacy of Autism and the Future of Neurodiversity]]> 22514020 Ěý
Along the way, he reveals the untold story of Hans Asperger, the father of Asperger’s syndrome, whose “little professors� were targeted by the darkest social-engineering experiment in human history; exposes the covert campaign by child psychiatrist Leo Kanner to suppress knowledge of the autism spectrum for fifty years; and casts light on the growing movement of "neurodiversity" activists seeking respect, support, technological innovation, accommodations in the workplace and in education, and the right to self-determination for those with cognitive differences.]]> 477 Steve Silberman 158333467X Faffy 5 4.27 2015 NeuroTribes: The Legacy of Autism and the Future of Neurodiversity
author: Steve Silberman
name: Faffy
average rating: 4.27
book published: 2015
rating: 5
read at: 2022/05/05
date added: 2022/05/05
shelves: owned, non-fiction, 2020-2022, audiobooks
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Queen of Shadows (Throne of Glass, #4)]]> 18006496
She has embraced her identity as Aelin Galathynius, Queen of Terrasen. But before she can reclaim her throne, she must fight.

She will fight for her cousin, a warrior prepared to die for her. She will fight for her friend, a young man trapped in an unspeakable prison. And she will fight for her people, enslaved to a brutal king and awaiting their lost queen’s triumphant return.

The fourth volume in the New York Times bestselling series continues Celaena’s epic journey and builds to a passionate, agonizing crescendo that might just shatter her world.]]> 648 Sarah J. Maas 1619636042 Faffy 4 4.56 2015 Queen of Shadows (Throne of Glass, #4)
author: Sarah J. Maas
name: Faffy
average rating: 4.56
book published: 2015
rating: 4
read at: 2018/06/07
date added: 2022/05/05
shelves: series-unfinished, audiobooks, fantasy, 2017-2018
review:

]]> Outlander (Outlander, #1) 10964
Hurled back in time by forces she cannot understand, Claire is catapulted into the intrigues of lairds and spies that may threaten her life, and shatter her heart. For here James Fraser, a gallant young Scots warrior, shows her a love so absolute that Claire becomes a woman torn between fidelity and desire—and between two vastly different men in two irreconcilable lives.]]> 850 Diana Gabaldon 0440242940 Faffy 5 4.25 1991 Outlander (Outlander, #1)
author: Diana Gabaldon
name: Faffy
average rating: 4.25
book published: 1991
rating: 5
read at: 2018/03/13
date added: 2022/05/05
shelves: audiobooks, fantasy, 2017-2018
review:

]]> Lighter than My Shadow 17456953
But in any life a set of circumstance can collide, and normal behavior might soon shade into something sinister, something deadly.

Lighter Than My Shadow is a hand-drawn story of struggle and recovery, a trip into the black heart of a taboo illness, an exposure of those who are so weak as to prey on the vulnerable, and an inspiration to anybody who believes in the human power to endure towards happiness.]]> 509 Katie Green 0224090984 Faffy 5 4.39 2013 Lighter than My Shadow
author: Katie Green
name: Faffy
average rating: 4.39
book published: 2013
rating: 5
read at: 2018/04/16
date added: 2022/05/05
shelves: biographical, graphic-novels, non-fiction, owned, 2017-2018
review:

]]> Alias Grace 72579
An up-and-coming expert in the burgeoning field of mental illness is engaged by a group of reformers and spiritualists who seek a pardon for Grace. He listens to her story while bringing her closer and closer to the day she cannot remember. What will he find in attempting to unlock her memories?

Captivating and disturbing, Alias Grace showcases best-selling, Booker Prize-winning author Margaret Atwood at the peak of her powers.]]> 468 Margaret Atwood 0385475713 Faffy 4 audiobooks, 2017-2018 4.08 1996 Alias Grace
author: Margaret Atwood
name: Faffy
average rating: 4.08
book published: 1996
rating: 4
read at: 2018/05/10
date added: 2022/05/05
shelves: audiobooks, 2017-2018
review:

]]> Hva jeg gjorde med pengene 60116213 351 Maren Skolem 8203378315 Faffy 5 2020-2022, norwegian, owned 4.40 2022 Hva jeg gjorde med pengene
author: Maren Skolem
name: Faffy
average rating: 4.40
book published: 2022
rating: 5
read at: 2022/04/30
date added: 2022/05/05
shelves: 2020-2022, norwegian, owned
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks]]> 6493208
Yet Henrietta Lacks remains virtually unknown, buried in an unmarked grave.

Now Rebecca Skloot takes us on an extraordinary journey, from the “colored� ward of Johns Hopkins Hospital in the 1950s to stark white laboratories with freezers full of HeLa cells; from Henrietta’s small, dying hometown of Clover, Virginia � a land of wooden quarters for enslaved people, faith healings, and voodoo � to East Baltimore today, where her children and grandchildren live and struggle with the legacy of her cells.

Henrietta’s family did not learn of her “immortality� until more than twenty years after her death, when scientists investigating HeLa began using her husband and children in research without informed consent. And though the cells had launched a multimillion-dollar industry that sells human biological materials, her family never saw any of the profits. As Rebecca Skloot so brilliantly shows, the story of the Lacks family � past and present � is inextricably connected to the history of experimentation on African Americans, the birth of bioethics, and the legal battles over whether we control the stuff we are made of.

Over the decade it took to uncover this story, Rebecca became enmeshed in the lives of the Lacks family—especially Henrietta’s daughter Deborah, who was devastated to learn about her mother’s cells. She was consumed with questions: Had scientists cloned her mother? Did it hurt her when researchers infected her cells with viruses and shot them into space? What happened to her sister, Elsie, who died in a mental institution at the age of fifteen? And if her mother was so important to medicine, why couldn’t her children afford health insurance?

Intimate in feeling, astonishing in scope, and impossible to put down, The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks captures the beauty and drama of scientific discovery, as well as its human consequences.]]> 370 Rebecca Skloot 1400052173 Faffy 0 to-read 4.12 2010 The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks
author: Rebecca Skloot
name: Faffy
average rating: 4.12
book published: 2010
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2022/03/12
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> Homegoing 27071490 An alternate cover edition can be found here.

A novel of breathtaking sweep and emotional power that traces three hundred years in Ghana and along the way also becomes a truly great American novel. Extraordinary for its exquisite language, its implacable sorrow, its soaring beauty, and for its monumental portrait of the forces that shape families and nations, Homegoing heralds the arrival of a major new voice in contemporary fiction.

Two half-sisters, Effia and Esi, are born into different villages in eighteenth-century Ghana. Effia is married off to an Englishman and lives in comfort in the palatial rooms of Cape Coast Castle. Unbeknownst to Effia, her sister, Esi, is imprisoned beneath her in the castle's dungeons, sold with thousands of others into the Gold Coast's booming slave trade, and shipped off to America, where her children and grandchildren will be raised in slavery. One thread of Homegoing follows Effia's descendants through centuries of warfare in Ghana, as the Fante and Asante nations wrestle with the slave trade and British colonization. The other thread follows Esi and her children into America. From the plantations of the South to the Civil War and the Great Migration, from the coal mines of Pratt City, Alabama, to the jazz clubs and dope houses of twentieth-century Harlem, right up through the present day, Homegoing makes history visceral, and captures, with singular and stunning immediacy, how the memory of captivity came to be inscribed in the soul of a nation.

Generation after generation, Yaa Gyasi's magisterial first novel sets the fate of the individual against the obliterating movements of time, delivering unforgettable characters whose lives were shaped by historical forces beyond their control. Homegoing is a tremendous reading experience, not to be missed, by an astonishingly gifted young writer.]]> 305 Yaa Gyasi Faffy 0 to-read 4.48 2016 Homegoing
author: Yaa Gyasi
name: Faffy
average rating: 4.48
book published: 2016
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2022/03/12
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Why I'm No Longer Talking to White People About Race]]> 48891539
Exploring issues from eradicated black history to the political purpose of white dominance, whitewashed feminism to the inextricable link between class and race, Reni Eddo-Lodge offers a timely and essential new framework for how to see, acknowledge and counter racism. It is a searing, illuminating, absolutely necessary exploration of what it is to be a person of colour in Britain today.]]> Reni Eddo-Lodge Faffy 5 non-fiction, 2020-2022 4.46 2017 Why I'm No Longer Talking to White People About Race
author: Reni Eddo-Lodge
name: Faffy
average rating: 4.46
book published: 2017
rating: 5
read at: 2020/06/02
date added: 2022/02/01
shelves: non-fiction, 2020-2022
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Women and Girls with Autism Spectrum Disorder]]> 25519486
Outlining how autism presents differently and can hide itself in females and what the likely impact will be for them throughout their lifespan, the book looks at how females with ASD experience diagnosis, childhood, education, adolescence, friendships, sexuality, employment, pregnancy and parenting, and aging. It will provide invaluable guidance for the professionals who support these girls and women and it will offer women with autism a guiding light in interpreting and understanding their own life experiences through the experiences of others.]]> 248 Sarah Hendrickx 1849055475 Faffy 5 4.19 2015 Women and Girls with Autism Spectrum Disorder
author: Sarah Hendrickx
name: Faffy
average rating: 4.19
book published: 2015
rating: 5
read at: 2020/02/23
date added: 2022/02/01
shelves: psychology, owned, non-fiction, 2020-2022
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Camouflage: The Hidden Lives of Autistic Women]]> 42415482
The charming illustrations lead readers on a visual journey of how women on the spectrum experience everyday life, from metaphors and masking in social situations, to friendships and relationships and the role of special interests.

Fun, sensitive and informative, this is a fantastic resource for anyone who wishes to understand how gender affects autism, and how to create safer supportive and more accessible environments for women on the spectrum.]]> 48 Sarah Bargiela 1785925660 Faffy 4 3.82 2019 Camouflage: The Hidden Lives of Autistic Women
author: Sarah Bargiela
name: Faffy
average rating: 3.82
book published: 2019
rating: 4
read at: 2020/02/23
date added: 2022/02/01
shelves: psychology, owned, non-fiction, 2020-2022
review:

]]> <![CDATA[We're Not Broken: Changing the Autism Conversation]]> 55985404 "This book is a message from autistic people to their parents, friends, teachers, coworkers and doctors showing what life is like on the spectrum. It's also my love letter to autistic people. For too long, we have been forced to navigate a world where all the road signs are written in another language."

With a reporter's eye and an insider's perspective, Eric Garcia shows what it's like to be autistic across America.

Garcia began writing about autism because he was frustrated by the media's coverage of it; the myths that the disorder is caused by vaccines, the narrow portrayals of autistic people as white men working in Silicon Valley. His own life as an autistic person didn't look anything like that. He is Latino, a graduate of the University of North Carolina, and works as a journalist covering politics in Washington D.C. Garcia realized he needed to put into writing what so many autistic people have been saying for years; autism is a part of their identity, they don't need to be fixed.

In We're Not Broken, Garcia uses his own life as a springboard to discuss the social and policy gaps that exist in supporting those on the spectrum. From education to healthcare, he explores how autistic people wrestle with systems that were not built with them in mind. At the same time, he shares the experiences of all types of autistic people, from those with higher support needs, to autistic people of color, to those in the LGBTQ community. In doing so, Garcia gives his community a platform to articulate their own needs, rather than having others speak for them, which has been the standard for far too long.]]> 309 Eric Garcia 1328587878 Faffy 0 4.13 2021 We're Not Broken: Changing the Autism Conversation
author: Eric Garcia
name: Faffy
average rating: 4.13
book published: 2021
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2022/02/01
shelves: currently-reading, owned, non-fiction
review:

]]> Inattentive Subtype 59844322 Mia Lever has heard them all. Or at least, done her best not to.

The product of 30 years of her own protective measures, Mia is a woman dedicated to self-soothing.
She’s a woman of comforts- a couch sitter, a cat mom, a box wine aficionado, a superfan of the nostalgic
cartoon cat, â€Snugglesâ€�.

But that’s all about to change.

In making the radical decision to return her 30th birthday gift, Mia must force herself to abandon the security of her apartment and interact with actual people for the first time in...is it years?
However, as soon as she steps into G.E.L.com’s flagship store, Mia’s plans for a painless transaction are eliminated. When her personal items mysteriously disappear from her purse, she is forced deeper and deeper into the massive brick and mortar store in order to find them.

Follow Mia through the floors of the Gargarean Engineered Lifestyle corporation as she encounters an increasingly bizarre collection of people and events that force her not only to question her sanity but eventually to face the truth about herself in ways she could never have imagined.

On the surface, returning a birthday present might seem like an everyday task but for Mia Lever? This everyday task is about to become something much, much darker.]]> 150 E.M. Townsend 1777813301 Faffy 0 to-read, owned 5.00 Inattentive Subtype
author: E.M. Townsend
name: Faffy
average rating: 5.00
book published:
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2022/02/01
shelves: to-read, owned
review:

]]> Hvis jeg faller 58808881
Hvis jeg faller er en utforskning av den særlige sårbarheten som følger med kronisk sykdom og funksjonshemning. I denne beretningen undersøker Jan Grue, med fundament i eget liv og egne erfaringer, hvordan samfunnet møter denne sårbarheten med et krav om usynlig arbeid - om at den som har kroppslige utfordringer må anstrenge seg desto hardere, må jobbe desto mer, for å bli godtatt som et fullverdig menneske.]]> 182 Jan Grue 8205553653 Faffy 0 4.18 2021 Hvis jeg faller
author: Jan Grue
name: Faffy
average rating: 4.18
book published: 2021
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2022/02/01
shelves: to-read, biographical, non-fiction, owned, norwegian
review:

]]> Men du ser ikke syk ut 53265455
Hun er en av flere hundre tusen nordmenn som lever med en usynlig sykdom. Selv om de har ulike diagnose, kan de oppleve samme bagatellisering og mistenkeliggjøring - fra leger, Nav og arbeidsgiver, til og med fra venner og familie. De får høre at de må skjerpe seg. Slutte å syte. Bare tenke positivt.

I boken "Men du ser ikke syk ut" utfordrer Holmås denne mistenkeliggjøringen. Hun inviterer leseren med bak kulissene til en person som later som om hun er frisk i frykt for å bli mistenkt for å late som hun er syk.

Hennes historie om skjuling, skam og selvbedrag flettes sammen med korte essays og kreative elementer til en sjarmerende, men samfunnskritisk bok. Med humor og lekenhet utforsker hun hvor fordommene kommer far, hvorfor kunnskapshullet om sykdommer som rammer flest kvinner er så stort, og hvorfor i alle dager folk prøver å kurere henne med yoga og rare juicer.]]> 236 Ragnhild Holmås Faffy 5 4.57 Men du ser ikke syk ut
author: Ragnhild HolmĂĄs
name: Faffy
average rating: 4.57
book published:
rating: 5
read at: 2021/11/06
date added: 2022/02/01
shelves: non-fiction, favourites, biographical, 2020-2022, norwegian, owned
review:
I loved this book. The content. The way it was written. The format. The message. This book was right up my alley on all accounts. We sorely need more books like this, and I'm so glad this book did well in Norway.
]]> <![CDATA[Neuroqueer Heresies: Notes on the Neurodiversity Paradigm, Autistic Empowerment, and Postnormal Possibilities]]> 59645969
Neuroqueer Heresies collects a decade's worth of Dr. Walker's most influential writings, along with new commentary by the author and new material on her radical conceptualization of Neuroqueer Theory.

This book is essential reading for anyone seeking to understand the foundations, terminology, implications, and leading edges of the emerging neurodiversity paradigm.]]> 196 Nick Walker 1945955260 Faffy 0 4.31 Neuroqueer Heresies: Notes on the Neurodiversity Paradigm, Autistic Empowerment, and Postnormal Possibilities
author: Nick Walker
name: Faffy
average rating: 4.31
book published:
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2022/02/01
shelves: currently-reading, 2020-2022, non-fiction, psychology
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Jeg lever et liv som ligner deres]]> 41126216 Nominert til Nordisk rĂĄds litteraturpris 2018

Jeg har en medfødt muskelsykdom. Jeg er rullestolbruker. Jeg har høy utdannelse. Jeg er i jobb. Jeg er familiefar. Jeg er tilsynelatende vellykket. Hva skulle til for å komme hit?
Jeg lever et liv som ligner deres handler om å leve i en sårbar kropp. Det er en fortelling om arbeid, om drømmer og om en lengsel etter det allmenne. Det er en bok om det vanlige og det uvanlige livet.
Inn i det ukjente; vi vet ikke hvor vi er på vei.Vi seiler i en båt som lekker, vi vet at vi er døende dyr.Vi drømmer om Bysants, vi øser det vi makter, vi seiler sammen.Vi er argonauter, kosmonauter, eventyrere, utforskere. Vi er på reise.]]> 168 Jan Grue 8205515573 Faffy 4
The book is doing many things at once, and I love it! But I struggled to get a sense of the structure as it's neither ordered thematically nor chronologically. I could read the paragraphs in a different order and it'd make the same amount of sense to me. I'd find bits that I was excited to read and then the book went back to the more clouded language I couldn't grasp.

In conclusion, I enjoyed this book more for the disability reflections than the writing style. And when those reflections were clear to me I was mentally cheering. If anything, it's the story of an emerging "I won't accept inaccessibility anymore" capital-D-Disabled person. In that sense, it reads more like the prequel to the beginning of a story, and I'm here for it. I can't wait to read the next book on my shelf by Grue.]]> 4.23 2018 Jeg lever et liv som ligner deres
author: Jan Grue
name: Faffy
average rating: 4.23
book published: 2018
rating: 4
read at: 2022/02/01
date added: 2022/02/01
shelves: 2020-2022, owned, norwegian, non-fiction, biographical
review:
I know this is a 5 star book, but for me it was a 3 star book, so I'll average it to 4. I'll certainly recommend this book without hesitation. But as ever, I struggle with books that expect me to read between the lines. Some paragraphs were a *pleasure* to read whereas I've got no clue what other paragraphs are trying to convey. So a lot of the 5-star material go straight over my head.

The book is doing many things at once, and I love it! But I struggled to get a sense of the structure as it's neither ordered thematically nor chronologically. I could read the paragraphs in a different order and it'd make the same amount of sense to me. I'd find bits that I was excited to read and then the book went back to the more clouded language I couldn't grasp.

In conclusion, I enjoyed this book more for the disability reflections than the writing style. And when those reflections were clear to me I was mentally cheering. If anything, it's the story of an emerging "I won't accept inaccessibility anymore" capital-D-Disabled person. In that sense, it reads more like the prequel to the beginning of a story, and I'm here for it. I can't wait to read the next book on my shelf by Grue.
]]> <![CDATA[Drama Queen: One Autistic Woman and a Life of Unhelpful Labels]]> 57663544
During the first thirty years of her life, comedy script writer Sara Gibbs had been labelled a lot of things - a cry baby, a scaredy cat, a spoiled brat, a weirdo, a show off - but more than anything else, she'd been called a Drama Queen. No one understood her behaviour, her meltdowns or her intense emotions. She felt like everyone else knew a social secret that she hadn't been let in on; as if life was a party she hadn't been invited to. Why was everything so damn hard? Little did Sara know that, at the age of thirty, she would be given one more label that would change her life's trajectory forever. That one day, sitting next to her husband in a clinical psychologist's office, she would learn that she had never been a drama queen, or a weirdo, or a cry baby, but she had always been autistic.

Drama Queen is both a tour inside one autistic brain and a declaration that a diagnosis on the spectrum, with the right support, accommodations and understanding, doesn't have to be a barrier to life full of love, laughter and success. It is the story of one woman trying to fit into a world that has often tried to reject her and, most importantly, it's about a life of labels, and the joy of ripping them off one by one]]> 352 Sara Gibbs 1472274334 Faffy 0 currently-reading 4.38 2021 Drama Queen: One Autistic Woman and a Life of Unhelpful Labels
author: Sara Gibbs
name: Faffy
average rating: 4.38
book published: 2021
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2021/11/01
shelves: currently-reading
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Steinfalken (Crystal Birds, #1)]]> 17661262 112 Lene Kaaberbøl 8204084390 Faffy 0 owned 3.70 2003 Steinfalken (Crystal Birds, #1)
author: Lene Kaaberbøl
name: Faffy
average rating: 3.70
book published: 2003
rating: 0
read at: 2002/01/01
date added: 2021/06/23
shelves: owned
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Ready Player One (Ready Player One, #1)]]> 20603758 A world at stake.
A quest for the ultimate prize.
Are you ready?
It’s the year 2044, and the real world is an ugly place.
Like most of humanity, Wade Watts escapes his grim surroundings by spending his waking hours jacked into the OASIS, a sprawling virtual utopia that lets you be anything you want to be, a place where you can live and play and fall in love on any of ten thousand planets.

And like most of humanity, Wade dreams of being the one to discover the ultimate lottery ticket that lies concealed within this virtual world. For somewhere inside this giant networked playground, OASIS creator James Halliday has hidden a series of fiendish puzzles that will yield massive fortune—and remarkable power—to whoever can unlock them.

For years, millions have struggled fruitlessly to attain this prize, knowing only that Halliday’s riddles are based in the pop culture he loved—that of the late twentieth century. And for years, millions have found in this quest another means of escape, retreating into happy, obsessive study of Halliday’s icons. Like many of his contemporaries, Wade is as comfortable debating the finer points of John Hughes’s oeuvre, playing Pac-Man, or reciting Devo lyrics as he is scrounging power to run his OASIS rig.

And then Wade stumbles upon the first puzzle.

Suddenly the whole world is watching, and thousands of competitors join the hunt—among them certain powerful players who are willing to commit very real murder to beat Wade to this prize. Now the only way for Wade to survive and preserve everything he knows is to win. But to do so, he may have to leave behind his oh-so-perfect virtual existence and face up to life—and love—in the real world he’s always been so desperate to escape.]]> 386 Ernest Cline Faffy 5 4.38 2011 Ready Player One (Ready Player One, #1)
author: Ernest Cline
name: Faffy
average rating: 4.38
book published: 2011
rating: 5
read at: 2015/02/18
date added: 2019/01/17
shelves: 2015, 2012-2016-4-5-stars, favourites
review:

]]> Mort: A Discworld Big Comic 61659 96 Terry Pratchett 0575056991 Faffy 4 4.41 1994 Mort: A Discworld Big Comic
author: Terry Pratchett
name: Faffy
average rating: 4.41
book published: 1994
rating: 4
read at: 2016/06/27
date added: 2018/12/01
shelves: 2016, 2012-2016-4-5-stars, fantasy, graphic-novels
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Heir of Fire (Throne of Glass, #3)]]> 20613470 565 Sarah J. Maas 1619630656 Faffy 4
While I read the first 5% in March, I didn't touch it until July, and then finished it rather quickly. Now I am very very very excited about the next book. People often say that the books of this series 'build upon one another', rather than being mere continuations. Now I finally understand what they mean.

For the first time I am actually really empathising with, and rooting for, the characters in this book. We actually get to know Celaena in this book. While I am not swooning over any of the guys (yes, even Rowan), I still like the relationship they have with Celaena and one another. As opposed to a lot of readers, I actually liked the Sorscha-thing, and the outcome fucking killed me. The Manon story line is also really cool. I am definitely looking forward to see how her story intertwines with Celaena's.]]> 4.47 2014 Heir of Fire (Throne of Glass, #3)
author: Sarah J. Maas
name: Faffy
average rating: 4.47
book published: 2014
rating: 4
read at: 2015/07/28
date added: 2018/06/07
shelves: 2015, 2012-2016-4-5-stars, fantasy
review:
I've been debating with myself whether to give this book 4 or 5 stars. While this book doesn't quite measure up to most of my other 5 star books, I really cannot think of any reason it should not be rated as such. It's just great. And massive. Holy crap, I had to turn 10 kindle pages to get through 1% of the book.

While I read the first 5% in March, I didn't touch it until July, and then finished it rather quickly. Now I am very very very excited about the next book. People often say that the books of this series 'build upon one another', rather than being mere continuations. Now I finally understand what they mean.

For the first time I am actually really empathising with, and rooting for, the characters in this book. We actually get to know Celaena in this book. While I am not swooning over any of the guys (yes, even Rowan), I still like the relationship they have with Celaena and one another. As opposed to a lot of readers, I actually liked the Sorscha-thing, and the outcome fucking killed me. The Manon story line is also really cool. I am definitely looking forward to see how her story intertwines with Celaena's.
]]> <![CDATA[A Court of Mist and Fury (A Court of Thorns and Roses, #2)]]> 17927395
Nor has Feyre forgotten her bargain with Rhysand, High Lord of the feared Night Court. As Feyre navigates its dark web of politics, passion, and dazzling power, a greater evil looms—and she might be key to stopping it. But only if she can harness her harrowing gifts, heal her fractured soul, and decide how she wishes to shape her future—and the future of a world cleaved in two.

With more than a million copies sold of her beloved Throne of Glass series, Sarah J. Maas's masterful storytelling brings this second book in her seductive and action-packed series to new heights.]]> 626 Sarah J. Maas Faffy 4 4.60 2016 A Court of Mist and Fury (A Court of Thorns and Roses, #2)
author: Sarah J. Maas
name: Faffy
average rating: 4.60
book published: 2016
rating: 4
read at: 2017/09/01
date added: 2017/09/01
shelves: 2017-2018, fantasy, audiobooks
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Well of Ascension (Mistborn, #2)]]> 12968706
Worryingly for her Vin has become the focus of a new religion, a development that leaves her intensely uneasy. More worryingly still the mists have become unpredictable since the Lord Ruler died and a strage vaprous entity is stalking Vin.

As the siege of Luthadel intensifies the ancient legend of the Well of Ascension offers the only glimmer of hope. But no-one knows where it is or what it can do...]]> 804 Brandon Sanderson Faffy 0 currently-reading 4.44 2007 The Well of Ascension (Mistborn, #2)
author: Brandon Sanderson
name: Faffy
average rating: 4.44
book published: 2007
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2017/08/25
shelves: currently-reading
review:

]]> <![CDATA[A Court of Thorns and Roses (A Court of Thorns and Roses, #1)]]> 16096824
Dragged to a magical kingdom for the murder of a faerie, Feyre discovers that her captor, his face obscured by a jewelled mask, is hiding far more than his piercing green eyes would suggest. Feyre's presence at the court is closely guarded, and as she begins to learn why, her feelings for him turn from hostility to passion and the faerie lands become an even more dangerous place. Feyre must fight to break an ancient curse, or she will lose him forever.]]> 419 Sarah J. Maas 1619634449 Faffy 4 4.17 2015 A Court of Thorns and Roses (A Court of Thorns and Roses, #1)
author: Sarah J. Maas
name: Faffy
average rating: 4.17
book published: 2015
rating: 4
read at: 2017/08/22
date added: 2017/08/22
shelves: 2017-2018, audiobooks, fantasy
review:

]]> Se, Marikken, det snør 18216300 32 Astrid Lindgren 8251774845 Faffy 0 owned, 1990-1999-childhood 4.39 1983 Se, Marikken, det snør
author: Astrid Lindgren
name: Faffy
average rating: 4.39
book published: 1983
rating: 0
read at: 1996/01/01
date added: 2017/08/10
shelves: owned, 1990-1999-childhood
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Handmaid’s Tale (The Handmaid's Tale, #1)]]> 38447
Funny, unexpected, horrifying, and altogether convincing, The Handmaid's Tale is at once scathing satire, dire warning, and tour de force.]]> 311 Margaret Atwood 038549081X Faffy 5 4.15 1985 The Handmaid’s Tale (The Handmaid's Tale, #1)
author: Margaret Atwood
name: Faffy
average rating: 4.15
book published: 1985
rating: 5
read at: 2017/05/16
date added: 2017/05/19
shelves: 2017-2018, 2012-2016-4-5-stars, favourites
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Assassin's Blade (Throne of Glass, #0.1-0.5)]]> 18243700 Contains all five novellas.

Celaena Sardothien is Adarlan's most feared assassin. As part of the Assassin's Guild, her allegiance is to her master, Arobynn Hamel, yet Celaena listens to no one and trusts only her fellow killer-for-hire, Sam. In these action-packed novellas - together in one edition for the first time - Celaena embarks on five daring missions. They take her from remote islands to hostile deserts, where she fights to liberate slaves and seeks to avenge the tyrannous. But she is acting against Arobynn's orders and could suffer an unimaginable punishment for such treachery. Will Celaena ever be truly free? Explore the dark underworld of this kick-ass heroine to find out.]]> 448 Sarah J. Maas Faffy 3 fantasy, 2016 4.30 2014 The Assassin's Blade (Throne of Glass, #0.1-0.5)
author: Sarah J. Maas
name: Faffy
average rating: 4.30
book published: 2014
rating: 3
read at: 2017/05/19
date added: 2017/05/19
shelves: fantasy, 2016
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Throne of Glass (Throne of Glass, #1)]]> 22448422
Her opponents are men-thieves and assassins and warriors from across the empire, each sponsored by a member of the king's council. If she beats her opponents in a series of eliminations, she'll serve the kingdom for three years and then be granted her freedom.

Celaena finds her training sessions with the captain of the guard, Westfall, challenging and exhilirating. But she's bored stiff by court life. Things get a little more interesting when the prince starts to show interest in her... but it's the gruff Captain Westfall who seems to understand her best.

Then one of the other contestants turns up dead... quickly followed by another. Can Celaena figure out who the killer is before she becomes a victim? As the young assassin investigates, her search leads her to discover a greater destiny than she could possibly have imagined.]]> 416 Sarah J. Maas Faffy 4 4.00 2012 Throne of Glass (Throne of Glass, #1)
author: Sarah J. Maas
name: Faffy
average rating: 4.00
book published: 2012
rating: 4
read at: 2014/12/16
date added: 2017/01/15
shelves: 2014, 2012-2016-4-5-stars, fantasy
review:

]]> A Monster Calls 8621462
At seven minutes past midnight, thirteen-year-old Conor wakes to find a monster outside his bedroom window. But it isn't the monster Conor's been expecting - he's been expecting the one from his nightmare, the nightmare he's had nearly every night since his mother started her treatments. The monster in his backyard is different. It's ancient. And wild. And it wants something from Conor. Something terrible and dangerous. It wants the truth.

From the final idea of award-winning author Siobhan Dowd - whose premature death from cancer prevented her from writing it herself - Patrick Ness has spun a haunting and darkly funny novel of mischief, loss, and monsters both real and imagined.]]> 226 Patrick Ness 1406311529 Faffy 5 4.35 2011 A Monster Calls
author: Patrick Ness
name: Faffy
average rating: 4.35
book published: 2011
rating: 5
read at: 2016/09/21
date added: 2016/09/21
shelves: 2016, fantasy, 2012-2016-4-5-stars
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (Hitchhiker's Guide, #1)]]> 7799247 Alternate cover edition can be found here

Seconds before the Earth is demolished to make way for a galactic freeway, Arthur Dent is plucked off the planet by his friend Ford Prefect, a researcher for the revised edition of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy who, for the last fifteen years, has been posing as an out-of-work actor.

Together this dynamic pair begin a journey through space aided by quotes from The Hitchhiker's Guide ("A towel is about the most massively useful thing an interstellar hitchhiker can have") and a galaxy-full of fellow travelers: Zaphod Beeblebrox--the two-headed, three-armed ex-hippie and totally out-to-lunch president of the galaxy; Trillian, Zaphod's girlfriend (formally Tricia McMillan), whom Arthur tried to pick up at a cocktail party once upon a time zone; Marvin, a paranoid, brilliant, and chronically depressed robot; Veet Voojagig, a former graduate student who is obsessed with the disappearance of all the ballpoint pens he bought over the years.

Where are these pens? Why are we born? Why do we die? Why do we spend so much time between wearing digital watches? For all the answers stick your thumb to the stars. And don't forget to bring a towel!]]> 179 Douglas Adams Faffy 4
Every sentence is gooddamn brilliant though. I can't quite figure out how one man can have so many clever ideas. I feel like I should have more to say on the matter, but this review pretty much covers it.

One drawback is the lack of female presence. There is one female character. One! Of course she is romantically involved with some dude. Of course. (well apparently there was a 2nd one too, briefly, who is also a romantic interest.)

Other than that, I think Arthur Dent serves as a brilliant character for the reader to become part of the story. His reactions to all the absurdities he encounters are roughly the same as you would have shown. I think his presence made me more engaged in all the randomness that went on.

So long! And thanks for all the fish!]]> 4.11 1979 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (Hitchhiker's Guide, #1)
author: Douglas Adams
name: Faffy
average rating: 4.11
book published: 1979
rating: 4
read at: 2015/09/22
date added: 2016/09/12
shelves: 2015, series-unfinished, audiobooks, 2012-2016-4-5-stars
review:
Simply put: a fun read! A bit too fast paced and random for me to keep track of everything via audio book at times though (read by the best audio book narrator ever: Stephen Fry!). The beginning is, in my opinion, the best part. If the book stayed at that level, I'd give it 5 stars.

Every sentence is gooddamn brilliant though. I can't quite figure out how one man can have so many clever ideas. I feel like I should have more to say on the matter, but this review pretty much covers it.

One drawback is the lack of female presence. There is one female character. One! Of course she is romantically involved with some dude. Of course. (well apparently there was a 2nd one too, briefly, who is also a romantic interest.)

Other than that, I think Arthur Dent serves as a brilliant character for the reader to become part of the story. His reactions to all the absurdities he encounters are roughly the same as you would have shown. I think his presence made me more engaged in all the randomness that went on.

So long! And thanks for all the fish!
]]> <![CDATA[The Final Empire (Mistborn, #1)]]> 12968705 Brandon Sanderson's epic fantasy trilogy overturns the expectations of readers and then goes on to tell the epic story of evil overturned in a richly imagined world.

A thousand years ago evil came to the land and has ruled with an iron hand ever since. The sun shines fitfully under clouds of ash that float down endlessly from the constant eruption of volcanoes. A dark lord rules through the aristocratic families and ordinary folk are condemned to lives in servitude, sold as goods, labouring in the ash fields.

But now a troublemaker has arrived and there is rumour of revolt. A revolt that depends on criminal that no-one can trust and a young girl who must master Allomancy - the magic that lies in all metals.

A word of mouth success in the states the Mistborn trilogy has, this year, broken onto the New York Times Bestseller list. The time is ripe for its success to cross the Atlantic.]]> 676 Brandon Sanderson Faffy 5 4.50 2006 The Final Empire (Mistborn, #1)
author: Brandon Sanderson
name: Faffy
average rating: 4.50
book published: 2006
rating: 5
read at: 2016/09/03
date added: 2016/09/03
shelves: 2016, series-unfinished, 2012-2016-4-5-stars, fantasy, favourites
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Evolution of Mara Dyer (Mara Dyer, #2)]]> 13643567 “Can we become other than what we are?�

Mara Dyer once believed she could run from her past.
She can’t.

She used to think her problems were all in her head.
They aren’t.

She couldn’t imagine that after everything she’s been through, the boy she loves would still be keeping secrets.
She’s wrong.

In this gripping sequel to The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer, the truth evolves and choices prove deadly.

What will become of Mara Dyer next?]]> 545 Michelle Hodkin 1442421819 Faffy 3 2016, audiobooks 4.20 2012 The Evolution of Mara Dyer (Mara Dyer, #2)
author: Michelle Hodkin
name: Faffy
average rating: 4.20
book published: 2012
rating: 3
read at: 2016/07/10
date added: 2016/07/10
shelves: 2016, audiobooks
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer (Mara Dyer, #1)]]> 11408650
It can.

She believes there must be more to the accident she can’t remember that killed her friends and left her strangely unharmed.

There is.

She doesn’t believe that after everything she’s been
through, she can fall in love.

She’s wrong.]]> 456 Michelle Hodkin 1442421789 Faffy 3 2016, audiobooks 4.01 2011 The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer (Mara Dyer, #1)
author: Michelle Hodkin
name: Faffy
average rating: 4.01
book published: 2011
rating: 3
read at: 2016/07/09
date added: 2016/07/09
shelves: 2016, audiobooks
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Mort (Discworld, #4, Death, #1)]]> 6567818 Death comes to us all. When he came to Mort, he offered him a job.

Death is the Grim Reaper of the Discworld, a black-robed skeleton carrying a scythe who must collect a minimum number of souls in order to keep the momentum of dying, well... alive.

He is also fond of cats and endlessly baffled by humanity. Soon Death is yearning to experience what humanity really has to offer... but to do that, he'll need to hire some help.

It's an offer Mort can't refuse. As Death's apprentice he'll have free board, use of the company horse - and being dead isn't compulsory. It's a dream job - until Mort falls in love with Death's daughter, Ysabell, and discovers that your boss can be a killer on your love life...]]> 269 Terry Pratchett Faffy 4 4.43 1987 Mort (Discworld, #4, Death, #1)
author: Terry Pratchett
name: Faffy
average rating: 4.43
book published: 1987
rating: 4
read at: 2016/06/26
date added: 2016/06/26
shelves: 2016, fantasy, audiobooks, 2012-2016-4-5-stars
review:

]]> Small Gods (Discworld, #13) 34484
And the Word was: "Hey, you!"

For Brutha the novice is the Chosen One. He wants peace and justice and brotherly love.

He also wants the Inquisition to stop torturing him now, please...]]> 389 Terry Pratchett 0552152978 Faffy 4 4.32 1992 Small Gods (Discworld, #13)
author: Terry Pratchett
name: Faffy
average rating: 4.32
book published: 1992
rating: 4
read at: 2016/06/22
date added: 2016/06/22
shelves: 2016, audiobooks, 2012-2016-4-5-stars, fantasy
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Restaurant at the End of the Universe (Hitchhiker's Guide, #2)]]> 76617 IN THE BEGINNING THE UNIVERSE WAS CREATED... THIS MADE A LOT OF PEOPLE ANGRY AND HAS BEEN WIDELY REGARDED AS A BAD MOVE

You decide.

Come along on a zany journey to the low-rent neighborhood of the Cosmos with earthling Arthur Dent, sexy space cadet Trillian, that imperturbable alien Ford Prefect and Zaphod Beebelbrox, the two-headed, three-armed ex-head Honcho of All Creation.

Don't forget to bring a towel, but don't bother to pack a lunch. You'll be dining at...

THE RESTAURANT AT THE END OF THE UNIVERSE ]]> 256 Douglas Adams 0671442686 Faffy 4 4.11 1980 The Restaurant at the End of the Universe (Hitchhiker's Guide, #2)
author: Douglas Adams
name: Faffy
average rating: 4.11
book published: 1980
rating: 4
read at: 2016/06/17
date added: 2016/06/18
shelves: 2016, 2012-2016-4-5-stars, audiobooks
review:

]]> Saga, Volume 5 25451555
Collects: Saga #25-30.]]> 152 Brian K. Vaughan 1632154382 Faffy 4 4.40 2015 Saga, Volume 5
author: Brian K. Vaughan
name: Faffy
average rating: 4.40
book published: 2015
rating: 4
read at: 2016/04/28
date added: 2016/06/15
shelves: 2016, 2012-2016-4-5-stars, graphic-novels
review:

]]> Watchmen 472331 Watchmen, the groundbreaking series from award-winning author Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons, presents a world where the mere presence of American superheroes changed history—the U.S. won the Vietnam War, Nixon is still president, and the Cold War is in full effect.

Considered the greatest graphic novel in the history of the medium, the Hugo Award-winning story chronicles the fall from grace of a group of superheroes plagued by all-too-human failings. Along the way, the concept of the superhero is dissected as an unknown assassin stalks the erstwhile heroes.]]> 416 Alan Moore 0930289234 Faffy 3 2016, graphic-novels 4.38 1987 Watchmen
author: Alan Moore
name: Faffy
average rating: 4.38
book published: 1987
rating: 3
read at: 2016/06/11
date added: 2016/06/12
shelves: 2016, graphic-novels
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Cognitive Psychology: A Student's Handbook]]> 18013988
Traditional approaches are combined with the cutting-edge cognitive neuroscience approach to create a comprehensive, coherent and totally up-to-date overview of all the main fields in cognitive psychology. The major topics covered include perception, attention, memory, concepts, language, problem solving, and reasoning, as well as some applied topics such as everyday memory.

New to this edition:


Presented in full-colour throughout, with numerous colour illustrations including photographs and brain scans Increased emphasis on cognitive neuroscience, to reflect its growing influence on cognitive psychology A NEW chapter on Cognition and Emotion A WHOLE chapter on Consciousness Increased coverage of applied topics such as recovered memories, medical expertise, informal reasoning, and emotion regulation incorporated throughout the textbook More focus on individual differences in areas including long-term memory, expertise, reasoning, emotion and regulation.
The textbook is packed full of useful features that will engage students and aid revision, including key terms, which are new to this edition, chapter summaries, and suggestions for further reading.

Written by one of the leading textbook authors in psychology, this thorough and user-friendly textbook will continue to be essential reading for all undergraduate students of psychology. Those taking courses in computer science, education, linguistics, physiology, and medicine will also find it an invaluable resource.

This edition is accompanied by a rich array of supplementary materials, which will be made available to qualifying adopters completely free of charge. The online multimedia materials include:


A PowerPoint lecture course and multiple-choice question test bank A unique Student Learning Program: an interactive revision program incorporating a range of multimedia resources including interactive exercises and demonstrations, and active reference links to journal articles.]]> 760 Michael W. Eysenck 1134440464 Faffy 0 3.65 1990 Cognitive Psychology: A Student's Handbook
author: Michael W. Eysenck
name: Faffy
average rating: 3.65
book published: 1990
rating: 0
read at: 2013/06/01
date added: 2016/04/13
shelves: psychology, 2012-2013, non-fiction
review:

]]> Alle vi barna i Bakkebygrenda 25847294 I Bakkebygrenda bor det seks barn. Lars, Bosse og Lisa på Midtimellom, Berit og Anna på Nordigarden og Ole på Sørigarden. Det er akkurat passe mange barn i grenda til å kunne finne på mye moro sammen, synes Lisa, som forteller om bursdagsfeiring og skoledager, om å rømme og om å ha hemmeligheter. Og leker, det gjør barna i Bakkebygrenda. Nesten alltid!]]> Astrid Lindgren 8282180262 Faffy 0 1990-1999-childhood 4.43 1946 Alle vi barna i Bakkebygrenda
author: Astrid Lindgren
name: Faffy
average rating: 4.43
book published: 1946
rating: 0
read at: 1996/01/01
date added: 2016/03/30
shelves: 1990-1999-childhood
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Den største forbrytelsen: Ofre og gjerningsmenn i det norske Holocaust]]> 23438961
På begynnelsen av 1900-tallet kommer det unge jødiske ekteparet Benzel og Sara Braude til Kristiania. De slår seg ned på Grünerløkka og får fire barn: syersken Helene, kommunisten Isak, skuespillerspiren Harry og bokseren Charles. På en annen kant av byen vokser Stian Bech jr. opp. Han er sønn av en antisemittisk høyesterettsadvokat og sliter med å leve opp til omgivelsenes forventinger. Krigen skal gi Bech jr. nye muligheter. En kald februardag i 1941 kommer Wilhelm Wagner fra sikkerhetspolitiet i Berlin til Oslo for å kartlegge alle jøder i Norge. På hvert sitt vis flettes alle disse skjebnene inn i nazismens fanatiske utryddelsesprosjekt.

Hvem stod bak forsøket på å utslette jødene fra Norge? Hvorfor og hvordan kunne denne forbrytelsen skje? Marte Michelet behandler dette traumatiske kapitlet av norsk krigshistorie i sin fulle bredde, basert på moderne forskning og en møysommelig gjennomgang av norsk og tysk arkivmateriale. Det er en rystende beretning, og samtidig et levende portrett av jødisk liv i Norge i mellomkrigstiden og de skjebnesvangre okkupasjonsårene.

26. november 1942 stĂĄr ofre og gjerningsmenn ansikt til ansikt. Da gĂĄr den første transporten med norske jøder til Auschwitz. Bare et fĂĄtall skal vende tilbake i live.]]> 320 Marte Michelet 820547043X Faffy 5 ´Úø±ô±đ±ô˛ő±đ˛Ô av, og ikke bare viten om, hvor meningsløst det hele var, og at alle ofrene burde fĂĄ sin historie fortalt slik som familien Braude fĂĄr i denne boken.

Jeg klarer ikke en gang se for meg hvor enormt mye research som mĂĄ ha inngĂĄtt i ĂĄ skrive denne boken. Jeg er helt imponert over detaljkunnskapen. Allikevel har forfatteren greid ĂĄ fatte seg i korthet slik at boken faktisk er god ĂĄ lese.

I starten av boken fant jeg mange paralleller til hvordan minoritetsgrupper som blant annet romfolk og muslimer omtales og behandles i dag. Mens parallellene på en side er skremmende så blir det også klart for meg at vi faktisk har lært av historien. Når det er sagt, skulle jeg så definitivt ønske at de som kommer med slike uttalelser leste denne boken slik at de selv kan se hvordan det gjenspeiler de første små stegene mot holocaust.

Boken er med andre ord dagsaktuell, samtidig som det var på høy tid at det ble skrevet en slik bok om norske jøder før og under andre verdenskrig.]]> 4.41 2014 Den største forbrytelsen: Ofre og gjerningsmenn i det norske Holocaust
author: Marte Michelet
name: Faffy
average rating: 4.41
book published: 2014
rating: 5
read at: 2015/08/06
date added: 2016/03/10
shelves: 2015, norwegian, biographical, 2012-2016-4-5-stars, non-fiction
review:
Selv om du vet aldri sĂĄ godt hvor grusomt holocaust og jødeforfølgelsen forøvrig var, sĂĄ hindrer det deg ikke av ĂĄ bli dypt sjokkert og vantro nĂĄr folk du kan navnet og livshistorien til jages nakne inn i gasskammerne. Du sitter igjen med ´Úø±ô±đ±ô˛ő±đ˛Ô av, og ikke bare viten om, hvor meningsløst det hele var, og at alle ofrene burde fĂĄ sin historie fortalt slik som familien Braude fĂĄr i denne boken.

Jeg klarer ikke en gang se for meg hvor enormt mye research som mĂĄ ha inngĂĄtt i ĂĄ skrive denne boken. Jeg er helt imponert over detaljkunnskapen. Allikevel har forfatteren greid ĂĄ fatte seg i korthet slik at boken faktisk er god ĂĄ lese.

I starten av boken fant jeg mange paralleller til hvordan minoritetsgrupper som blant annet romfolk og muslimer omtales og behandles i dag. Mens parallellene på en side er skremmende så blir det også klart for meg at vi faktisk har lært av historien. Når det er sagt, skulle jeg så definitivt ønske at de som kommer med slike uttalelser leste denne boken slik at de selv kan se hvordan det gjenspeiler de første små stegene mot holocaust.

Boken er med andre ord dagsaktuell, samtidig som det var på høy tid at det ble skrevet en slik bok om norske jøder før og under andre verdenskrig.
]]> <![CDATA[Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda (Simonverse, #1)]]> 19547856
With some messy dynamics emerging in his once tight-knit group of friends, and his email correspondence with Blue growing more flirtatious every day, Simon’s junior year has suddenly gotten all kinds of complicated. Now, change-averse Simon has to find a way to step out of his comfort zone before he’s pushed out—without alienating his friends, compromising himself, or fumbling a shot at happiness with the most confusing, adorable guy he’s never met.]]> 320 Becky Albertalli 0062348671 Faffy 4
A very (but not overly) cute read I fled through via a very good audiobook.
A+ for realistic characters, settings and story line, as well as dealing with topics of sexuality, friendship, race...

This book was very appropriate for where a lot of us are now in terms of accepting homosexuality. It's not that Simon was ever scared of coming out, it was just that he did not want to deal with the hassle around it. Thus effectively questioning the entire notion of having to come out as if straight is the default.

Also, although it took me a good chunk of the book to realise it, Leah was a very relatable character for me.]]> 4.14 2015 Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda (Simonverse, #1)
author: Becky Albertalli
name: Faffy
average rating: 4.14
book published: 2015
rating: 4
read at: 2016/02/22
date added: 2016/02/22
shelves: 2016, audiobooks, 2012-2016-4-5-stars
review:
I totally went and bought a pack of Oreos after reading this book.

A very (but not overly) cute read I fled through via a very good audiobook.
A+ for realistic characters, settings and story line, as well as dealing with topics of sexuality, friendship, race...

This book was very appropriate for where a lot of us are now in terms of accepting homosexuality. It's not that Simon was ever scared of coming out, it was just that he did not want to deal with the hassle around it. Thus effectively questioning the entire notion of having to come out as if straight is the default.

Also, although it took me a good chunk of the book to realise it, Leah was a very relatable character for me.
]]> <![CDATA[Charlie and the Great Glass Elevator (Charlie Bucket, #2)]]> 385247 splendiferous new hardback of Charlie and the Great Glass Elevator, part of a collection of truly delumptious classic Roald Dahl titles with stylish jackets over surprise printed colour cases, and exquisite endpaper designs.
WHOOSH! Inside the Great Glass Elevator, Willy Wonka, Charlie Bucket and his family are cruising a thousand feet above the chocolate factory.
They can see the whole world below them, but they're not alone. The American Space Hotel has just launched. Lurking inside are the Vernicious Knids - the most brutal, vindictive murderous beasts in the universe.
So grab your gizzard! Hold your hats! Only Charlie and Willy Wonka can stop the Knids from destroying everything!

Listen to CHARLIE AND THE GREAT GLASS ELEVATOR and other Roald Dahl audiobooks read by some very famous voices, including Kate Winslet, David Walliams and Steven Fry - plus there are added squelchy soundeffects from Pinewood Studios!

Look out for new Roald Dahl apps in the App store and Google Play- including the disgusting TWIT OR MISS! and HOUSE OF TWITS inspired by the revolting Twits.]]> 159 Roald Dahl 0141301120 Faffy 0 1990-1999-childhood 3.43 1972 Charlie and the Great Glass Elevator (Charlie Bucket, #2)
author: Roald Dahl
name: Faffy
average rating: 3.43
book published: 1972
rating: 0
read at: 1998/01/01
date added: 2016/02/22
shelves: 1990-1999-childhood
review:

]]> The BFG 170674 But the BFG is no ordinary bone-crunching giant. He is far too nice and jumbly. It's lucky for Sophie that he is. Had she been carried off in the middle of the night by the Bloodbottler, the Fleshlumpeater, the Bonecruncher, or any of the other giants—rather than the BFG—she would have soon become breakfast.

When Sophie hears that they are flush-bunking off in England to swollomp a few nice little chiddlers, she decides she must stop them once and for all. And the BFG is going to help her!]]> 208 Roald Dahl 0141301058 Faffy 0 1990-1999-childhood 4.14 1982 The BFG
author: Roald Dahl
name: Faffy
average rating: 4.14
book published: 1982
rating: 0
read at: 1999/01/01
date added: 2016/02/22
shelves: 1990-1999-childhood
review:

]]> George's Marvelous Medicine 265750 89 Roald Dahl 0141301112 Faffy 0 1990-1999-childhood 3.78 1981 George's Marvelous Medicine
author: Roald Dahl
name: Faffy
average rating: 3.78
book published: 1981
rating: 0
read at: 1999/01/01
date added: 2016/02/22
shelves: 1990-1999-childhood
review:

]]> The Witches 170668 real witches. Real witches don't ride around on broomsticks. They don't even wear black cloaks and hats. They are vile, cunning, detestable creatures who disguise themselves as nice, ordinary ladies. So how can you tell when you're face to face with one? Well, if you don't know yet you'd better find out quickly-because there's nothing a witch loathes quite as much as children and she'll wield all kinds of terrifying powers to get rid of them.]]> 208 Roald Dahl 0141301104 Faffy 0 1990-1999-childhood 4.13 1981 The Witches
author: Roald Dahl
name: Faffy
average rating: 4.13
book published: 1981
rating: 0
read at: 1999/01/01
date added: 2016/02/22
shelves: 1990-1999-childhood
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Me and Earl and the Dying Girl]]> 12700353
Until Greg's mother forces him to rekindle his childhood friendship with Rachel.

Rachel has been diagnosed with leukemia—cue extreme adolescent awkwardness—but a parental mandate has been issued and must be obeyed. When Rachel stops treatment, Greg and Earl decide the thing to do is to make a film for her, which turns into the Worst Film Ever Made and becomes a turning point in each of their lives.

And all at once Greg must abandon invisibility and stand in the spotlight.]]> 295 Jesse Andrews 1419701762 Faffy 3 2016, audiobooks
From what I understood, Greg wasn't just an uncaring selfish prick, but rather someone with low self-esteem and concern for what others thought of him to the point that he did not want to admit it to himself. But I wish we'd see a bit more of that. That we got to go a bit under his skin. Other than that I really did like how the book was very self-conscious in how it was telling its story.

Also TFIOS comparisons are just uncalled for. This is a completely different story set out to do completely different things.

The audiobook was alright, but I found Greg to sound a bit too cyncial, Rachel a bit too plain and Earl not quick enough. Overall, the characters just sounded a bit disengaged. ]]> 3.53 2012 Me and Earl and the Dying Girl
author: Jesse Andrews
name: Faffy
average rating: 3.53
book published: 2012
rating: 3
read at: 2016/02/19
date added: 2016/02/19
shelves: 2016, audiobooks
review:
A good-enough funny-enough book that was a welcomed break from the big epic reads I've been dragging myself through lately. I didn't find it hilarious though. Nor did I feel any major connection with any of the characters.

From what I understood, Greg wasn't just an uncaring selfish prick, but rather someone with low self-esteem and concern for what others thought of him to the point that he did not want to admit it to himself. But I wish we'd see a bit more of that. That we got to go a bit under his skin. Other than that I really did like how the book was very self-conscious in how it was telling its story.

Also TFIOS comparisons are just uncalled for. This is a completely different story set out to do completely different things.

The audiobook was alright, but I found Greg to sound a bit too cyncial, Rachel a bit too plain and Earl not quick enough. Overall, the characters just sounded a bit disengaged.
]]> Lies We Tell Ourselves 20579291
Sarah Dunbar is one of the first black students to attend the previously all-white Jefferson High School. An honors student at her old school, she is put into remedial classes, spit on and tormented daily.

Linda Hairston is the daughter of one of the town's most vocal opponents of school integration. She has been taught all her life that the races should be kept separate but equal.

Forced to work together on a school project, Sarah and Linda must confront harsh truths about race, power and how they really feel about one another.

Boldly realistic and emotionally compelling, Lies We Tell Ourselves is a brave and stunning novel about finding truth amid the lies, and finding your voice even when others are determined to silence it.]]> 368 Robin Talley 0373211333 Faffy 0 to-read 4.04 2014 Lies We Tell Ourselves
author: Robin Talley
name: Faffy
average rating: 4.04
book published: 2014
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2016/02/15
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Six of Crows (Six of Crows, #1)]]> 23437156 Alternate cover of ISBN 9781627792127

Ketterdam: a bustling hub of international trade where anything can be had for the right price—and no one knows that better than criminal prodigy Kaz Brekker. Kaz is offered a chance at a deadly heist that could make him rich beyond his wildest dreams. But he can’t pull it off alone...

A convict with a thirst for revenge

A sharpshooter who can’t walk away from a wager

A runaway with a privileged past

A spy known as the Wraith

A Heartrender using her magic to survive the slums

A thief with a gift for unlikely escapes

Six dangerous outcasts. One impossible heist. Kaz’s crew is the only thing that might stand between the world and destruction—if they don’t kill each other first.]]> 480 Leigh Bardugo 1627792120 Faffy 4 4.47 2015 Six of Crows (Six of Crows, #1)
author: Leigh Bardugo
name: Faffy
average rating: 4.47
book published: 2015
rating: 4
read at: 2016/02/14
date added: 2016/02/15
shelves: 2016, series-unfinished, fantasy, audiobooks, 2012-2016-4-5-stars
review:
This series could potentially fill the 'lunar chronicles void' in my heart in terms of amazing characters , intriguing world, and a truly exciting plot. It was way better than The Grisha trilogy, which I was a bit "meh" about. I ship all the ships here!
]]> Carry On (Simon Snow, #1) 23734628
That’s what his roommate, Baz, says. And Baz might be evil and a vampire and a complete git, but he’s probably right.

Half the time, Simon can’t even make his wand work, and the other half, he sets something on fire. His mentor’s avoiding him, his girlfriend broke up with him, and there’s a magic-eating monster running around wearing Simon’s face. Baz would be having a field day with all this, if he were here—it’s their last year at the Watford School of Magicks, and Simon’s infuriating nemesis didn’t even bother to show up.

Carry On is a ghost story, a love story, a mystery and a melodrama. It has just as much kissing and talking as you’d expect from a Rainbow Rowell story—but far, far more monsters.]]> 522 Rainbow Rowell 1250049555 Faffy 4
When people say not to compare this to Harry Potter, what they mean, I think, is to not read it as "that kind of book". Yes, just about every character mirrors someone in the Potter-series, but then slowly they take on a life of their own, and you stop reading them as Harry, Draco, Hagrid, Hermione, Dumbledore... It's as if this book was carefully crafted to give you just that experience! Very clever, Rainbow.

What I mean when I say "don't compare them because they aren't the same kind of book", I mean this book takes itself a lot less seriously. And you're supposed to take it less seriously. If you're going into this, expecting 'The Deathly Hallows', you will be disappointed. This book is a lot more caricatured, exaggerated and light hearted.

It was a bit slow at first, but as with any Rainbow Rowell book, you're in it for the characters and the dialogues between them. I wish we'd find out more about the bits that were left off as loose ends.

I loved the romance, I loved the magical system, I loved the friendship, I loved Baz. And there were parts that were simply heartbreaking. I am so close to giving this 5 stars, but the loose ends were too many and too important for me to ignore.]]> 4.14 2015 Carry On (Simon Snow, #1)
author: Rainbow Rowell
name: Faffy
average rating: 4.14
book published: 2015
rating: 4
read at: 2016/02/06
date added: 2016/02/07
shelves: 2016, audiobooks, fantasy, 2012-2016-4-5-stars
review:
I really didn't like the 'Simon and Baz' bits in Fangirl, and had early on decided to ignore this book entirely. But then I kept hearing how people who felt the way I do completely blown away by this book, so I decided to give it a go. And now I'm not sure whether to give it a 4 or a 5 star rating!

When people say not to compare this to Harry Potter, what they mean, I think, is to not read it as "that kind of book". Yes, just about every character mirrors someone in the Potter-series, but then slowly they take on a life of their own, and you stop reading them as Harry, Draco, Hagrid, Hermione, Dumbledore... It's as if this book was carefully crafted to give you just that experience! Very clever, Rainbow.

What I mean when I say "don't compare them because they aren't the same kind of book", I mean this book takes itself a lot less seriously. And you're supposed to take it less seriously. If you're going into this, expecting 'The Deathly Hallows', you will be disappointed. This book is a lot more caricatured, exaggerated and light hearted.

It was a bit slow at first, but as with any Rainbow Rowell book, you're in it for the characters and the dialogues between them. I wish we'd find out more about the bits that were left off as loose ends.

I loved the romance, I loved the magical system, I loved the friendship, I loved Baz. And there were parts that were simply heartbreaking. I am so close to giving this 5 stars, but the loose ends were too many and too important for me to ignore.
]]> <![CDATA[Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them]]> 41899 Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them resides on almost every wizarding household in the country. Now, for a limited period only, Muggles too have the chance to discover where the Quintaped lives, what the Puffskein eats, and why it is best not to leave milk out for a Knarl.

Proceeds from the sale of this book will go to improving and saving the lives of children around the world, which means that the dollars and Galleons you exchange for it will do magic beyond the powers of any wizard. If you feel that this is insufficient reason to part with your money, I can only hope most sincerel that passing wizards feel more charitable if they ever see you being attacked by a Manticore.

-Albus Dumbledore

]]> 128 Newt Scamander 0439321603 Faffy 3 fantasy, audiobooks, 2016 3.95 2001 Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them
author: Newt Scamander
name: Faffy
average rating: 3.95
book published: 2001
rating: 3
read at: 2016/02/01
date added: 2016/02/01
shelves: fantasy, audiobooks, 2016
review:
A witty read! I loved returning to this world.
]]> <![CDATA[Ruin and Rising (The Shadow and Bone Trilogy, #3)]]> 14061957 Alternative Cover Edition #1

The capital has fallen.

The Darkling rules Ravka from his shadow throne.

Now the nation's fate rests with a broken Sun Summoner, a disgraced tracker, and the shattered remnants of a once-great magical army.

Deep in an ancient network of tunnels and caverns, a weakened Alina must submit to the dubious protection of the Apparat and the zealots who worship her as a Saint. Yet her plans lie elsewhere, with the hunt for the elusive firebird and the hope that an outlaw prince still survives.

Alina will have to forge new alliances and put aside old rivalries as she and Mal race to find the last of Morozova's amplifiers. But as she begins to unravel the Darkling's secrets, she reveals a past that will forever alter her understanding of the bond they share and the power she wields. The firebird is the one thing that stands between Ravka and destruction—and claiming it could cost Alina the very future she’s fighting for.]]> 350 Leigh Bardugo Faffy 3 3.97 2014 Ruin and Rising (The Shadow and Bone Trilogy, #3)
author: Leigh Bardugo
name: Faffy
average rating: 3.97
book published: 2014
rating: 3
read at: 2016/01/31
date added: 2016/01/31
shelves: fantasy, audiobooks, 2016, series-finished
review:
I seem to be in the minority who considers this book to be better than its predecessors. I still found it hard to keep track of the bigger picture due to all the angsty stuff that was made more central. But this time I found the story to have more content and less fillers in the middle. The angst was more understandable as well. It was more about the rather shitty situation rather than the interpersonal bickering of the previous books. The ending was arguably a bit too convenient, but I don't really mind.
]]> Heartless 18584855 Long before she was the terror of Wonderland—the infamous Queen of Hearts—she was just a girl who wanted to fall in love.

Catherine may be one of the most desired girls in Wonderland, and a favorite of the unmarried King of Hearts, but her interests lie elsewhere. A talented baker, all she wants is to open a shop with her best friend. But according to her mother, such a goal is unthinkable for the young woman who could be the next queen.

Then Cath meets Jest, the handsome and mysterious court joker. For the first time, she feels the pull of true attraction. At the risk of offending the king and infuriating her parents, she and Jest enter into an intense, secret courtship. Cath is determined to define her own destiny and fall in love on her terms. But in a land thriving with magic, madness, and monsters, fate has other plans.

In her first stand-alone teen novel, the New York Times-bestselling author dazzles us with a prequel to Alice's Adventures in Wonderland.]]> 453 Marissa Meyer 1250044650 Faffy 0 to-read 4.10 2016 Heartless
author: Marissa Meyer
name: Faffy
average rating: 4.10
book published: 2016
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2016/01/07
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Winter (The Lunar Chronicles, #4)]]> 13206900
When Winter develops feelings for the handsome palace guard, Jacin, she fears the evil Queen will crush their romance before it has a chance to begin.

But there are stirrings against the Queen across the land. Together with the cyborg mechanic, Cinder, and her allies, Winter might even find the power to launch a revolution and win a war that's been raging for far too long.

Can Cinder, Scarlet, Cress, and Winter claim their happily ever afters by defeating Levana once and for all?]]> 827 Marissa Meyer 0312642989 Faffy 5 Need time to digest.]]> 4.42 2015 Winter (The Lunar Chronicles, #4)
author: Marissa Meyer
name: Faffy
average rating: 4.42
book published: 2015
rating: 5
read at: 2016/01/04
date added: 2016/01/05
shelves: 2016, series-finished, favourites, 2012-2016-4-5-stars
review:
Oh stars, I love this book.
Need time to digest.
]]> <![CDATA[Siege and Storm (The Shadow and Bone Trilogy, #2)]]> 14061955 Alternative Cover Edition #1

Darkness never dies.

Hunted across the True Sea, haunted by the lives she took on the Fold, Alina must try to make a life with Mal in an unfamiliar land, all while keeping her identity as the Sun Summoner a secret. But she can’t outrun her past or her destiny for long.

The Darkling has emerged from the Shadow Fold with a terrifying new power and a dangerous plan that will test the very boundaries of the natural world. With the help of a notorious privateer, Alina returns to the country she abandoned, determined to fight the forces gathering against Ravka. But as her power grows, Alina slips deeper into the Darkling’s game of forbidden magic, and farther away from Mal. Somehow, she will have to choose between her country, her power, and the love she always thought would guide her—or risk losing everything to the oncoming storm.]]> 435 Leigh Bardugo Faffy 3 2015, audiobooks
I really liked how Alina grew as a character, becoming more strong willed, ballsy and determined. However, this was treated by other characters, such as Captain Whiny-pants Mal, as her "power taking over her". I was also not-so-amused by the slut shaming Alina faced. It's not exactly her fault FOUR guys were lusting after her. It's a helluva ridiculous plot point though.

The Darkling is still a brilliant villain though, and Sturmhond is absolutely fantastic. Also, A+ for the gender equality among the Grisha.

The ending however... did not make much sense to me. At all.]]> 3.81 2013 Siege and Storm (The Shadow and Bone Trilogy, #2)
author: Leigh Bardugo
name: Faffy
average rating: 3.81
book published: 2013
rating: 3
read at: 2015/11/13
date added: 2015/11/15
shelves: 2015, audiobooks
review:
This book started out really exciting, surprising me right from the very beginning. But the middle section and most of the last half was sooo slow and boring, mostly filled with interpersonal bickering and unnecessary drama. Even though there are interesting things going on, these things are kept in the periphery. In fact so much emphasis was placed on the interpersonal hullabaloo that I couldn't figure out what the hell had happened to the Darkling. How had he lost his powerful position and how did Alina gain hers? When did this happen?

I really liked how Alina grew as a character, becoming more strong willed, ballsy and determined. However, this was treated by other characters, such as Captain Whiny-pants Mal, as her "power taking over her". I was also not-so-amused by the slut shaming Alina faced. It's not exactly her fault FOUR guys were lusting after her. It's a helluva ridiculous plot point though.

The Darkling is still a brilliant villain though, and Sturmhond is absolutely fantastic. Also, A+ for the gender equality among the Grisha.

The ending however... did not make much sense to me. At all.
]]> The Kite Runner 18996134 THE NUMBER ONE BESTSELLER'Devastating' Daily Telegraph'Heartbreaking' The Times'Unforgettable' Isabel Allende'Haunting' IndependentAfghanistan, 1975: Twelve-year-old Amir is desperate to win the local kite-fighting tournament and his loyal friend Hassan promises to help him. But neither of the boys can foresee what will happen to Hassan that afternoon, an event that is to shatter their lives. After the Russians invade and the family is forced to flee to America, Amir realises that one day he must return to Afghanistan under Taliban rule to find the one thing that his new world cannot grant redemption.]]> 348 Khaled Hosseini Faffy 0 to-read 4.61 2003 The Kite Runner
author: Khaled Hosseini
name: Faffy
average rating: 4.61
book published: 2003
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2015/11/03
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Shadow and Bone (Shadow and Bone, #1)]]> 10194157 Alternative Cover Edition #1

Surrounded by enemies, the once-great nation of Ravka has been torn in two by the Shadow Fold, a swath of near impenetrable darkness crawling with monsters who feast on human flesh. Now its fate may rest on the shoulders of one lonely refugee.

Alina Starkov has never been good at anything. But when her regiment is attacked on the Fold and her best friend is brutally injured, Alina reveals a dormant power that saves his life—a power that could be the key to setting her war-ravaged country free. Wrenched from everything she knows, Alina is whisked away to the royal court to be trained as a member of the Grisha, the magical elite led by the mysterious Darkling.

Yet nothing in this lavish world is what it seems. With darkness looming and an entire kingdom depending on her untamed power, Alina will have to confront the secrets of the Grisha . . . and the secrets of her heart.]]> 358 Leigh Bardugo 1250048117 Faffy 3 2015, audiobooks - Also for not being, apart from the "Russian" setting, very original
- And having a very underdeveloped world and shallow characters
- I can understand if people who've read this book were angry with 'Red Queen'. Holy crap what a rip-off.
- I liked the last 3/3rd of the book a lot. It was surprising and thrilling
- ...but ended a bit too conveniently.]]> 3.93 2012 Shadow and Bone (Shadow and Bone, #1)
author: Leigh Bardugo
name: Faffy
average rating: 3.93
book published: 2012
rating: 3
read at: 2015/10/31
date added: 2015/11/02
shelves: 2015, audiobooks
review:
- 3 stars for having a slow 2/3rd of the book.
- Also for not being, apart from the "Russian" setting, very original
- And having a very underdeveloped world and shallow characters
- I can understand if people who've read this book were angry with 'Red Queen'. Holy crap what a rip-off.
- I liked the last 3/3rd of the book a lot. It was surprising and thrilling
- ...but ended a bit too conveniently.
]]> Attachments 8909152 "Hi, I'm the guy who reads your e-mail, and also, I love you..."

Beth Fremont and Jennifer Scribner-Snyder know that somebody is monitoring their work e-mail. (Everybody in the newsroom knows. It's company policy.) But they can't quite bring themselves to take it seriously. They go on sending each other endless and endlessly hilarious e-mails, discussing every aspect of their personal lives.

Meanwhile, Lincoln O'Neill can't believe this is his job now—reading other people's e-mail. When he applied to be "internet security officer," he pictured himself building firewalls and crushing hackers—not writing up a report every time a sports reporter forwards a dirty joke.

When Lincoln comes across Beth's and Jennifer's messages, he knows he should turn them in. But he can't help being entertained—and captivated—by their stories.

By the time Lincoln realizes he's falling for Beth, it's way too late to introduce himself.

What would he say . . . ?]]> 323 Rainbow Rowell Faffy 4
Rowell has a unique way of writing characters that are highly relatable for me. Whether it's someone who would rather stay in their room instead of asking where the cafeteria is (Fangirl), someone who is afraid of, and think themselves unworthy of, love (E&P), or someone who just can't get over past relationships, feelings, and "old patterns" of behaviour (Attachments). I know some readers find these characters to angsty and "stuck" to their tastes - but this is exactly why I find them so relatable. This is exactly what some of us are like, and we can't really help it. Moreover, I find books like these so helpful when wanting to change those patterns.

Wow. I am surprised by how much I liked this book. I was not expecting that at all.]]> 3.86 2011 Attachments
author: Rainbow Rowell
name: Faffy
average rating: 3.86
book published: 2011
rating: 4
read at: 2015/10/16
date added: 2015/10/16
shelves: 2015, audiobooks, 2012-2016-4-5-stars
review:
Oh wow, this was the cutest read among all cute read, and I don't even like cute reads. But Rainbow Rowell can write dialogues and characters like nobody's business. So you get hooked, even though nothing's really happening. That was my only issue with this book, for 95% of it, it's basically what it says at the back of the book. So I was starting to fear that this book would have the most anticlimactic ending ever. Or leave me with the feeling that the story is not finished, like I got with Eleanor & Park and Fangirl. But this book delivered!

Rowell has a unique way of writing characters that are highly relatable for me. Whether it's someone who would rather stay in their room instead of asking where the cafeteria is (Fangirl), someone who is afraid of, and think themselves unworthy of, love (E&P), or someone who just can't get over past relationships, feelings, and "old patterns" of behaviour (Attachments). I know some readers find these characters to angsty and "stuck" to their tastes - but this is exactly why I find them so relatable. This is exactly what some of us are like, and we can't really help it. Moreover, I find books like these so helpful when wanting to change those patterns.

Wow. I am surprised by how much I liked this book. I was not expecting that at all.
]]> Uglies (Uglies, #1) 24770
But Tally's new friend Shay isn't sure she wants to become a pretty. When Shay runs away, Tally learns about a whole new side of the pretty world—and it isn't very pretty. The authorities offer Tally a choice: find her friend and turn her in, or never turn pretty at all. Tally's choice will change her world forever....]]> 425 Scott Westerfeld 0689865384 Faffy 2
But seriously though, every major character in this book were really, really, dumb! Tally, Shae, David... you name it. I also did not like that, for the vast majority of the book, things simply "happened to" Tally. Words were put into her mouth and actions into her hands, without her seeming to have any opinions, intentions or willpower to speak of.

It was a good story and an exciting read though. I suspect most of my annoyance was caused by the awful audio book narrator. She more or less made everyone sound downright stoned.]]> 3.85 2005 Uglies (Uglies, #1)
author: Scott Westerfeld
name: Faffy
average rating: 3.85
book published: 2005
rating: 2
read at: 2015/05/13
date added: 2015/10/16
shelves: 2015, series-unfinished, audiobooks
review:
I suspect I am reading this series a bit too late. Both in terms of age, and in terms of how many, more recent, dystopian future YA books I have read prior to this book. A lot of the themes have since become tropes, making it a rather predictable read.

But seriously though, every major character in this book were really, really, dumb! Tally, Shae, David... you name it. I also did not like that, for the vast majority of the book, things simply "happened to" Tally. Words were put into her mouth and actions into her hands, without her seeming to have any opinions, intentions or willpower to speak of.

It was a good story and an exciting read though. I suspect most of my annoyance was caused by the awful audio book narrator. She more or less made everyone sound downright stoned.
]]> Burial Rites 17333319
Set against Iceland's stark landscape, Hannah Kent brings to vivid life the story of Agnes, who, charged with the brutal murder of her former master, is sent to an isolated farm to await execution.

Horrified at the prospect of housing a convicted murderer, the family at first avoids Agnes. Only TĂłti, a priest Agnes has mysteriously chosen to be her spiritual guardian, seeks to understand her. But as Agnes's death looms, the farmer's wife and their daughters learn there is another side to the sensational story they've heard.

Riveting and rich with lyricism, Burial Rites evokes a dramatic existence in a distant time and place, and asks the question, how can one woman hope to endure when her life depends upon the stories told by others?]]> 336 Hannah Kent 0316243914 Faffy 5
Final thoughts: This book grabbed hold of me and completely immersed me in vivid imagery of 1820s Iceland. The atmosphere and the writing are unlike anything I have ever come across in a book. You feel the coldness, smell the scents and hear the sounds. You're there.

As for the story: throughout this book you always get a sense that things were not as it seemed with regards to Agnes' alleged crime, but she never confesses nor denies her guilt. Slowly the book uncovers what Agnes' life has been like, what led up to the murders and what actually happened that faithful night.

I listened to the audiobook, and I absolutely recommend it. Hell, I might even recommend it over reading the book. The pace and the softness of the narrator's voice was perfect for the mood of this novel. I also advise you stick around for the author's note. I was surprised to hear about how much research went into this book. For some reason I assumed everything but the name and ultimate faith of the main character was fiction.

Also, I couldn't help but imagining Eva Green as Agnes.]]> 4.00 2013 Burial Rites
author: Hannah Kent
name: Faffy
average rating: 4.00
book published: 2013
rating: 5
read at: 2015/10/12
date added: 2015/10/12
shelves: 2015, audiobooks, 2012-2016-4-5-stars
review:
Initial thoughts: They eat a lot of skyr and do a lot of knitting. I already like this book.

Final thoughts: This book grabbed hold of me and completely immersed me in vivid imagery of 1820s Iceland. The atmosphere and the writing are unlike anything I have ever come across in a book. You feel the coldness, smell the scents and hear the sounds. You're there.

As for the story: throughout this book you always get a sense that things were not as it seemed with regards to Agnes' alleged crime, but she never confesses nor denies her guilt. Slowly the book uncovers what Agnes' life has been like, what led up to the murders and what actually happened that faithful night.

I listened to the audiobook, and I absolutely recommend it. Hell, I might even recommend it over reading the book. The pace and the softness of the narrator's voice was perfect for the mood of this novel. I also advise you stick around for the author's note. I was surprised to hear about how much research went into this book. For some reason I assumed everything but the name and ultimate faith of the main character was fiction.

Also, I couldn't help but imagining Eva Green as Agnes.
]]> <![CDATA[The Little Android (The Lunar Chronicles, #0.6)]]> 19208103 Note: this short story is also available in "Stars Above".

The Little Android is a retelling of The Little Mermaid, set in the world of The Lunar Chronicles by New York Times-bestselling author Marissa Meyer.

When android Mech6.0 saves the life of a handsome hardware engineer, her body is destroyed and her mechanics discover a glitch in her programming. Androids aren’t meant to develop impractical reasoning or near-emotional responses…let alone fall in love.]]> 35 Marissa Meyer Faffy 3 2015 I was slightly confused by the ending though.]]> 3.90 2014 The Little Android (The Lunar Chronicles, #0.6)
author: Marissa Meyer
name: Faffy
average rating: 3.90
book published: 2014
rating: 3
read at: 2015/10/05
date added: 2015/10/06
shelves: 2015
review:
Only Marissa Meyer can write about android in a way that makes me care and empathise this much.
I was slightly confused by the ending though.
]]> <![CDATA[Slaget pĂĄ Vigrid (Song for Eirabu, #1)]]> 13444926
Dronning mot offerprestinne
Då dei to eldste jentene, Ragna og Berghitte, blir 14 og 15 år, er tida inne for at dei skal innvies i oppgåvene dei er esla til. Ragna vert opplært som offerprestinne i eit kongedøme, mens Berghitte blir dronning i eit anna. Det går mot krig mellom dei to kongedøma, og soleis òg mellom dei to søstrene. Kaoskreftar er i sving, og dette blir ei forteljing om spennet mellom gamle spådomar og eigen vilje, age for gudane og hug og lengt etter makt.

Eigne val mot gamle spĂĄdomar
Psykologen og debutanten Kristine Tofte (f. 1970) har med Song for Eirabu skapt eit fiktivt univers med utspring i norrøne mytar, fylt med kvinnelege hovudpersonar, offerprestinner, gudar og andre mytiske skapnader. Menneska si vilje og eigne val blir sett opp mot gamle spådomar og gudane sine krefter. Med psykologisk innsikt og eit sikkert og litterært språk gjer Tofte kampen mot verdas undergang levande og gripande for lesaren.]]> 482 Kristine Tofte Faffy 5
Fremdriften (i mangel pĂĄ bedre ord) i plottet var ogsĂĄ fantastisk. Du tror kanskje du vet hva som skjer, men blir allikevel overrasket. Jeg tenkte "JassĂĄ, sĂĄ dette er historien om Ragna som skal bli blodgytje. Kult. Jeg liker Ragna." Men boken handler om sĂĄ mye mer enn det, og blir sĂĄ uendelig mer kompleks.

Jeg trodde nynorsken skulle gjøre det noe strevsomt, men overkommelig, som jeg bare måtte finne meg i og se bort i fra for å nyte boken.* Det viste seg derimot at språket beriket leseropplevelsen enda mer. Jeg kan ikke se for meg denne boken skrevet på noen annen målform eller et annet språk. Når det er sagt skulle jeg allikevel ønske at denne boken ble oversatt på engelsk - og gjerne utgitt på et større norsk forlag så alle kan få banket inn i skallen at denne. serien. finnes.!

* Ikke at jeg har noe som helst imot nynorsk, jeg finner det bare tyngre å lese (med mindre jeg er på ferie på sørvestlandet, merkelig nok).]]> 4.16 2009 Slaget på Vigrid (Song for Eirabu, #1)
author: Kristine Tofte
name: Faffy
average rating: 4.16
book published: 2009
rating: 5
read at: 2015/08/30
date added: 2015/10/04
shelves: 2015, norwegian, 2012-2016-4-5-stars, favourites, fantasy
review:
Selv om denne boken er en sekser hva gjelder plot, fremdrift, bakgrunnshistorie og alt annet krimskrams - så er det først og fremst persongalleriet som er dens styrke. Så og si alle figurene er fullstendige slik at man forstår deres handlinger. Selv om de står på motsatt side så tar du deg selv i å heie på begge parter. Kvinnerollene i denne boken må også applauderes. Her blir ikke bare kvinnene påvirket av det som skjer, men DE påvirker i aller høyeste grad det som skjer.

Fremdriften (i mangel pĂĄ bedre ord) i plottet var ogsĂĄ fantastisk. Du tror kanskje du vet hva som skjer, men blir allikevel overrasket. Jeg tenkte "JassĂĄ, sĂĄ dette er historien om Ragna som skal bli blodgytje. Kult. Jeg liker Ragna." Men boken handler om sĂĄ mye mer enn det, og blir sĂĄ uendelig mer kompleks.

Jeg trodde nynorsken skulle gjøre det noe strevsomt, men overkommelig, som jeg bare måtte finne meg i og se bort i fra for å nyte boken.* Det viste seg derimot at språket beriket leseropplevelsen enda mer. Jeg kan ikke se for meg denne boken skrevet på noen annen målform eller et annet språk. Når det er sagt skulle jeg allikevel ønske at denne boken ble oversatt på engelsk - og gjerne utgitt på et større norsk forlag så alle kan få banket inn i skallen at denne. serien. finnes.!

* Ikke at jeg har noe som helst imot nynorsk, jeg finner det bare tyngre å lese (med mindre jeg er på ferie på sørvestlandet, merkelig nok).
]]> <![CDATA[The Raven Boys (The Raven Cycle, #1)]]> 17675462 “There are only two reasons a non-seer would see a spirit on St. Mark’s Eve,� Neeve said. “Either you’re his true love . . . or you killed him.�

It is freezing in the churchyard, even before the dead arrive.

Every year, Blue Sargent stands next to her clairvoyant mother as the soon-to-be dead walk past. Blue herself never sees them—not until this year, when a boy emerges from the dark and speaks directly to her.

His name is Gansey, and Blue soon discovers that he is a rich student at Aglionby, the local private school. Blue has a policy of staying away from Aglionby boys. Known as Raven Boys, they can only mean trouble.

But Blue is drawn to Gansey, in a way she can’t entirely explain. He has it all—family money, good looks, devoted friends—but he’s looking for much more than that. He is on a quest that has encompassed three other Raven Boys: Adam, the scholarship student who resents all the privilege around him; Ronan, the fierce soul who ranges from anger to despair; and Noah, the taciturn watcher of the four, who notices many things but says very little.

For as long as she can remember, Blue has been warned that she will cause her true love to die. She never thought this would be a problem. But now, as her life becomes caught up in the strange and sinister world of the Raven Boys, she’s not so sure anymore.]]> 409 Maggie Stiefvater 0545424925 Faffy 3 2015, series-unfinished
I also found the book way way waaay to slow paced. Either not much happened, or I did not understand what was going on. I still have no idea what ley lines are or what's the deal with Glendower.

I suspect a lot of readers don't mind the slow plot as they seem to fall head over heels in love with the characters. Sadly, I did not care much for the characters for the first half of the book. They are however what could persuade me to pick up the next book.

Whether I continue on with the series or not depends how similar the next books are to this book. I don't know why this book did not appeal to me as much as I had hoped. Maybe I am just getting too old...]]> 4.05 2012 The Raven Boys (The Raven Cycle, #1)
author: Maggie Stiefvater
name: Faffy
average rating: 4.05
book published: 2012
rating: 3
read at: 2015/10/01
date added: 2015/10/01
shelves: 2015, series-unfinished
review:
Given that virtually every booktuber and goodreads reviewer I follow gave this book either 4 or 5 stars, I was very intrigued by this book. However, it was quite a disappointment for me. Maybe it's the whole "psychics, ghosts, energy and pentagrams"-theme that doesn't quite work for me.

I also found the book way way waaay to slow paced. Either not much happened, or I did not understand what was going on. I still have no idea what ley lines are or what's the deal with Glendower.

I suspect a lot of readers don't mind the slow plot as they seem to fall head over heels in love with the characters. Sadly, I did not care much for the characters for the first half of the book. They are however what could persuade me to pick up the next book.

Whether I continue on with the series or not depends how similar the next books are to this book. I don't know why this book did not appeal to me as much as I had hoped. Maybe I am just getting too old...
]]> Sharp Objects 66559
Sent to investigate the disappearance of two little girls, Camille finds herself reluctantly installed in the family mansion, reacquainting herself with her distant mother and a precocious thirteen-year-old half-sister she barely knows. Haunted by a family tragedy, troubled by the disquieting grip her young sister has on the town, Camille struggles with a familiar need to be accepted.

But as clues turn into dead ends, Camille finds herself identifying with the young victims and realises: she will have to unravel the puzzle of her own past if she's to survive this homecoming.]]> 254 Gillian Flynn 0307341542 Faffy 2 2015, audiobooks
Semi-spoilery paragraph: You spend the entire book hating these certain characters. Gaaah they are annoying as hell! And how about that? They are the villains all along. Was the idea to make it so obvious that it wasn't obvious?

My main problem with this book was the way the story was laid out: from the beginning you know that one girl is found dead and the other one is missing. Very little happens from this point on to the very end. Then, at the end, one character is exposed by a "hunch" almost out of the blue. Then, when certain things don't add up, these things are solved in a mere summary.

How about spacing things out so that all these thrilling events happen a bit more evenly throughout the book?]]> 3.89 2006 Sharp Objects
author: Gillian Flynn
name: Faffy
average rating: 3.89
book published: 2006
rating: 2
read at: 2015/09/20
date added: 2015/10/01
shelves: 2015, audiobooks
review:
After having really enjoyed Dark Places, I was rather excited about this book. But it turned out to be a huge let down. (the audiobook narrator did not help either).

Semi-spoilery paragraph: You spend the entire book hating these certain characters. Gaaah they are annoying as hell! And how about that? They are the villains all along. Was the idea to make it so obvious that it wasn't obvious?

My main problem with this book was the way the story was laid out: from the beginning you know that one girl is found dead and the other one is missing. Very little happens from this point on to the very end. Then, at the end, one character is exposed by a "hunch" almost out of the blue. Then, when certain things don't add up, these things are solved in a mere summary.

How about spacing things out so that all these thrilling events happen a bit more evenly throughout the book?
]]> Dark Places 5886881
Since then, she has been drifting. But when she is contacted by a group who are convinced of Ben's innocence, Libby starts to ask questions she never dared to before. Was the voice she heard her brother's? Ben was a misfit in their small town, but was he capable of murder? Are there secrets to uncover at the family farm or is Libby deluding herself because she wants her brother back?

She begins to realise that everyone in her family had something to hide that day... especially Ben. Now, twenty-four years later, the truth is going to be even harder to find.

Who did massacre the Day family?]]> 424 Gillian Flynn 0307341569 Faffy 4
While I was sceptical to the multiple perspectives at first, they really did add to the story eventually. There isn't anything to really *like* about this book though. But it is very much intriguing. I had a few theories about the mystery, and I was sort of right and sort of wrong all at once. It's dark as hell though, so be prepared, if you pick this up.

From seeing the movie trailer, I am a bit worried though. Quite a few things don't seem true to the book. Such as Libby's conversations with her brother.]]> 3.95 2009 Dark Places
author: Gillian Flynn
name: Faffy
average rating: 3.95
book published: 2009
rating: 4
read at: 2015/09/17
date added: 2015/10/01
shelves: 2015, audiobooks, 2012-2016-4-5-stars
review:
First of all, I enjoyed this book much more than Gone Girl. Whereas the latter was only interesting in the final half, this book got me hooked from the very beginning. The more you find out about the mystery of this book, the less of a clue you have about what happened. Some things I was surprised that I had seen coming, whereas other things, that were in hindsight obvious, I did not.

While I was sceptical to the multiple perspectives at first, they really did add to the story eventually. There isn't anything to really *like* about this book though. But it is very much intriguing. I had a few theories about the mystery, and I was sort of right and sort of wrong all at once. It's dark as hell though, so be prepared, if you pick this up.

From seeing the movie trailer, I am a bit worried though. Quite a few things don't seem true to the book. Such as Libby's conversations with her brother.
]]> Marekors (Harry Hole, #5) 26081594 419 Jo Nesbø 8203356028 Faffy 4
A major let down with this book was Hole's revelation about his former colleague's murder. Basically this entire thing was reported in hindsight. I would very much have appreciated to learn about his reaction in the present.

Oh right... the positives! The story was exciting - keeping me on my toes throughout. The villain/s were properly bat shit crazy. And Harry is able to solve this entire thing even though (perhaps even because of) he is about to lose just about everything in his life. Let's just say I found the ending very satisfying.

...oh and that water bed scene. Wow.]]> 3.71 2003 Marekors (Harry Hole, #5)
author: Jo Nesbø
name: Faffy
average rating: 3.71
book published: 2003
rating: 4
read at: 2015/09/13
date added: 2015/10/01
shelves: 2015, norwegian, audiobooks, 2012-2016-4-5-stars
review:
Probably my favourite in the series so far. Although I will admit I sighed deeeeply when the book started off with more women being killed or reported missing.

A major let down with this book was Hole's revelation about his former colleague's murder. Basically this entire thing was reported in hindsight. I would very much have appreciated to learn about his reaction in the present.

Oh right... the positives! The story was exciting - keeping me on my toes throughout. The villain/s were properly bat shit crazy. And Harry is able to solve this entire thing even though (perhaps even because of) he is about to lose just about everything in his life. Let's just say I found the ending very satisfying.

...oh and that water bed scene. Wow.
]]>