A list of the 200 best books... check off list!

 HELLO!

This is a list I found today... I will post my results later.

How many have YOU read?!? :)

Good luck!

https://www.listchallenges.com/the-greatest-novels-of-all-time

Cinders

Getting out of the reading slump of my life - spring of 2026

Good morning from Jakobstad!

I hope you're having a nice warm and sunny spring! 

We are really having nice weather here and it's very sunny almost every day! It helps with everything really and keeps me happy and upbeat. I realised lately what a huge horrible reading slump I have been for years really! It is awful. But a lot better now. I have read and listened to 23 books so far in 2026. I have been in a very very VERY big "reading with my eyenballs"-slump, so to say. I have only been listening to audiobooks and I have lost the joy and experience of reading with my eyeballs! Recently I have been trying to rekindle that joy and habit, so I have been reading books that I don't have on audio or some that I want to try to read with my eyeballs first before trying the audiobook. I often love reading along.... But it doesn't appeal to me so often. I have definitely lost some of my ability to focus! It's horrible... But as I said, I have read 23 books so far this year and some of them have been rereads. I can post the link to my challenge here:

Goodreads challenge 2026

Wish me luck with my goal! :) 

I am currently reading with my eyeballs only "Colorless Tsukuru and his years of pilgrimage" by Haruki Murakami. I am really liking it so far, I am on page 97... It's very different and my first Japanese book. I have read a book from India, two books by an American Chinese lady and one historical fiction about things happening in China. During my years at the University of Stockholm our teacher was from India and we read a wonderful book that still is striking in my memory (I read it in 2001). It's named "the God of small things" by Arudanthi Roy. It was amazing. I still have it at home. I haven't read it since the University but I just remember it was amazing. That's the only thing I remember and that there were twins in the book... I love books about twins. It started with the Sweet Valley Twin series by Francine Pascal and since then I have been fascinated by books about twins. My first ever Sweet Valley twins book was the collection with all the four first books in the series. My dad gave it to me when we were visiting London in February 1993. I was 12 years old and hadn't read a lot, especially not in English! LOL. It was my first book in English, I love it a lot.

Well, I hope you're all having a great reading year! 

Until next time! 

Bye bye bye! LOL

Cinders

Happy Halloween!

 Happy Halloween! 

Today is Halloween and I have spent most of today relistening to a favorite thriller 

"They never learn" by Layne Fargo

I have about two hours of it left. I just can't stop, it is really a "ear turner" for me. I have a very difficult time doing other things. I just want to listen to it to the end. It has been a few years since I listened to it. A few weeks ago I bought it as an audiobook, because I love the narration and the book in general. There are some scenes that are a bit "too sexy" for me. If the book would leave some of that out, it would have been an all time favorite. Sorry Layne Fargo!

Now that I will most likely listen to it to the end, I can start another Halloween-y book! YAY!

Maybe some of my countless Swedish crime and horror books (also, I have one from Norway and one from Denmark, but I own them in Swedish...) I love "Nordic noir" books. I lived in Stockholm for 12 years, so that has influenced my taste a lot. I started reading with  my eyeballs 👀 Läckberg and Lexeus' book: BOX. I got it from a friend. It is really gruesome and I almost already DNF's it after less than the first chapter, but I will try to continue. If it gets to be too much, I will DNF it. 

I also love reading Fantasy and Sci-Fi on Halloween. I think it might be because I don't really vibe with death, gore and guts... :D HAHA! :D But you know what I mean? I think some Fantasy books are scary enough! I might reread some Fantasy, or restart for example: "The priory of the orange tree" by Samantha Shannon. As for Sci-fi, I REALLY love aquatic sci fi... Like Sphere by Michael Crichton, The swarm by Frank Schätzing. I also love Ready player one by Ernest Cline.

I have ordered yet another pile of books for me, they will be my Christmas gifts! :) I love the book store I go to and I am very loyal to them! 

https://www.suomalainen.com/pages/kauppakeskus-ratina  

This is not a paid sponsorship! I just think they are so nice and friendly. They know me well. I remember many worker's names, they all know my name!  It's so nice. Once I was gifted a box of chocolate! (From the staff). They are lovely. I was loyal to them even through the pandemic. :) 

I have gotten so many recs for horror and thriller and crime books from booktube!  I know that some people don't like getting their recs from booktube but I love it! From Jordaline I have gotten the most recs, I think... For example "no one gets out alive" by Adam Nevill, "The dumb house! by John Burnside and many more but I can't think of them right now... 

I might also continue my reread of Jurassic Park by Michael Crichton. One of my all time favorite books! I own it in Swedish, I got it from my aunt when I was maybe 13 years old. I have read it more than five times!

HAPPY SPOOKY SEASON!

Updates on my reading goals of 2025...

 Good morning everybody!

SO. I am four books behind the schedule I have set for myself for 2025. 

I often mark a book as read and DNF'd when they have wasted my time and I really didn't like them.

I am not feeling guilt for DNF'ing books anymore... My time is precious.

https://www.goodreads.com/readingchallenges/gr/annual/2025/QTNNUjhLMFlFMk9HWkkMjAyNQ

My current status of my reading goal :)

Having anxiety and other hobbies doesn't really help my reading slumps... I am SO often in reading slumps. I need to get back on track, but it takes a long while to get back to reading. When I have anxiety because I am tired, I can't concentrate and hence, I end up in a slump and it just gets more difficult. It's an evil circle :D HAHA.

More later!

Cinders

Sunrise on the reaping -readathon with Katie Colson

 Hello there, dear reader! 

Today is the 10th day of the "Sunrise on the reaping" -readathon hosted by Katie Colson!

I really really really love participating in it! It's my first readathon where I actually read a lot. Katie saved me from my slump! :) We have a lot of sprints, almost on a daily basis. I won a giveaway and I was gifted ONE month on Katie's Patreon! :) SO happy and excited. This readathon will last the whole month of July... I have been having health issues and I need to rest a lot, it really helps me read more... Count your blessings!

During the first four or five days I listened to the hunger games trilogy by Suzanne Collins. I was really happy to do that, because I haven't read for months! I am going to try to hit each prompt and I have chosen a preliminary TBR... More about that later!

Here is Katie's channel on YouTube:

@KatieColson

This is the link to her Patreon:

Katie's Patreon

The Patreon is SO nice, the people there are so kind. I have never met nicer people online! :) 

Especially during this readathon, I am moved by the kindness and friendship I have felt with everyone who is participating. You don't need to be on Katie's Patreon to participate in the readathon but I think it's even more fun! :) 

I will post my TBR and other things later!

TA! Cinders

An update of my reading life

 Good morning from the North, dear reader,

Lately I changed my reading goal to 45, which is my age (on my birthday in May). I have now read and/or listened to 12 books this year so far. I am "on track", it makes me happy. I hope to gain momentum from my recent reads and raise my goal back up to 50 or even 52 books... I am an overachiever or I wish to be one (often, not always). I am maybe a little bit too harsh on myself sometimes. 

Here is my Goodreads profile, if you want to be my friend or follow me:

Goodreads

I am so grateful because I have been collecting books basically all my life, so now I almost have a never-ending TBR pile (To Be Read). I also have a lot of them as audiobooks. Some of them I have not listened to yet. I love immersive reading and it is easier for me to concentrate. I often also listen to non-fiction. It is my favorite kind of audiobook to listen to. Weird, because I would think it would be easier to learn and retain the knowledge by reading with your eyeballs, but nope! Not for me! HAHA! 

Otherwise my "immediate TBR" are some of my physical books at home, that are my most anticipated ones. Not like current or latest, just the ones I have been putting off until "the right moment". I love reading. I often feel anxiety when I can't choose what to read next, but I always have (or almost always) my nostalgic relistens on a never-ending loop: The Harry Potter -books by JK Rowling (I listen to them once a year at least) and The Twilight -Saga by Stephenie Meyer. I know those authors are not perfect and I am not standing for the opinions of JK and I don't appreciate the toxic traits of some of the characters in Twilight. I just relisten to them, they are the nostalgic kick I sometimes need. I have not read the eight book in the Harry Potter series, I don't know if I will. I do own it. I bought it before JK revealed her opinions. Anyway, there is a chance I might read the eight book because it's so easy to read fast, I don't know yet.

In other news, I have noticed that I love reading books with "different" kind of characters. I have autism and ADHD, I have always been different. I relate to that. Also, I didn't grow up at the proper pace, because I had some difficulties as a child and I still love Young Adult books and other books intended for younger readers.

Have a good reading weekend! Until next time! 

TA! :D 

The Helmet reading challenge: choosing the books...

 Good morning everyone!

Yesterday I did the laborious task of writing down each prompt in my reading journal, in Finnish. I am only starting to choose books for each prompt. I think I will update my blog and tell you all what I read, once I have finished the book(s). I might update about a few books at a time or only one. I don't know yet. It will come to me. LOL.

Here are the prompts again, straight up:

1. The book title has a subordinating conjunction (for example: after, although, as if, as much as, because, before, if, once, since, than, unless, until, whenever, while)

2. Fantasy book

3. The main character of the book is younger than you

4. The characters of the book stay up at night

5. A book someone else has chosen for you

6. The book has a prologue, i.e. a preface

7. A book that brings you joy

8. The main colour of the book cover is green or the book title has the word green in it

9. There is a conflict in the book

10. The characters of the book go to the movies

11. A non-fiction book published in the 2020s

12. The book has a mean or evil female character

13. The author has worked in the library

14. The translator of the book has won the Mikael Agricola Prize or some other translation award

15. The characters are shipwrecked

16. A book with a family tree or character list

17. The main character of the book has a cat or a dog as a pet

18. The author’s name has more than two parts

19. The book is on Keltainen kirjasto’s list of books

20. You think the book would make a good movie or TV series

21. There is a musician in the book

22. The characters are on holiday

23. You like the book’s name

24. The characters do something illegal

25. There is a snake on the cover or in the title of the book

26. The book includes a chosen family

27. A book that is banned in some country and published in the 21st century

28. The book takes place on a lake

29. The author’s latest book

30. There is a wedding or a funeral in the book

31. Career is important to the main character

32. The book has something to do with Tove Jansson (Moomins 80 years)

33. The characters ride horses

34. There is a famous building in the book (The Year of Built Heritage 2025)

35. The title of the book has the word “man” or “boy” or their conjugation

36. The characters study at a boarding school

37. The author is from a country you would like to visit

38. Biographical novel

39. The characters are solving a mystery

40. In the book, time or a clock/watch plays an important role

41. The book takes place in an era you would not want to live in

42. The main character of the book makes bad choices

43. There is a spice in the title, cover or description of the book

44. The characters take care of a person (Finnish Nurses 100 years)

45. The characters include a father and daughter

46. A popular book that everyone else seems to have read

47. Two books in which the main characters have the same name

48. Two books in which the main characters have the same name

49. The book was published in 2025

50. The book was recommended by a library employee

There are some errors in the grammar at least, as far as I know, but it's OK. Nobody is perfect. I shouldn't maybe be pointing that out but if you are good at English, you might notice the errors... Sorry! 

Anyway, I am soon starting to find books for each prompt from my already owned books. I will (probably not) be buying books for some of the prompts. I have never succeeded in this challenge and I don't expect it this time either. I am excited and happy that I can try to complete it though...

I here is my goodreads goal for this year:

https://www.goodreads.com/readingchallenges/annual

Do you guys have goodreads? You may add me there, if you would like.

More later! 

The Helmet reading challenge 2025

 Dear reader(s),

Each and every year, the past few years, I have wanted to participate in the Helmet reading challenge... 

https://helmet-tukisivusto.hel.fi/en/recommendations/helmet-reading-challenge-2025/

It consists of 50 prompts, that you will read a book for. I already asked the librarian here in Jakobstad for a rec and I haven't yet read her recommendation, she gave me five suggestions. One I have read before, one that did not interest me in the slightest and one that is so awful I donated it after I read one page (last year in Tampere). She also recommended a few others, if I remember correctly. But I only want to read the one I have read before and maybe the one that's new, that she said is a kind of sci fi and very different:

"Axiom's end" by Lindsay Ellis...

I will borrow it or buy it in Tampere, I can't take it with me to Tampere.

The one I would like to reread is:

"The world according to Garp" by John Irving...

That used to be my favorite book.

Anyway. :) My goal is to read 100 books this year. So far I am already one book behind schedule. That is awful I know. It's difficult for me to get back into reading with my eyeballs, I have been listening to so many audiobooks :( But they have been pretty good. At home in Tampere I have a huge pile of new books that I bought last year, I only took one book with me to Jakobstad hahhah! I know, very unusual for me LOL.

My parents are napping. I am "sprinting" i.e. reading and writing. 

We have sprints with Gavin in the evening. Here is Gavin's channel:

https://www.youtube.com/@GavinReadsItAll

He is so awesome. I admire people like him. Really fun to sprint with him and the other Patreons.

I experienced some booktube drama for the first time last year when a booktuber thought I was either really obsessed with becoming her friend or that I imagined myself being her friend. That was really a different kind of experience. I have never been through that before. I am still a bit flabbergasted to be honest. But it's okay. Not everyone can understand me. And I was in a weird mood back then, I was maybe having some hyper active behavioral problems or something. Thank goodness it's over!

I read 50 books last year! :) I am starting soon planning my TBR for Helmet. 

See ya!

My reading wrap up from 2024 and goals for 2025! :)

 Reader, I am back! 

So. Another year has gone by. Time to start a new reading year. I am 204ish pages into Marissa Meyer's "Heartless" and it's slowly getting better in my opinion. I will finish the book. I also have it on audible but I really only wanna read with my eyeballs now. I listened so much last year, now I need to work on my eyeball reading capabilities and train my concentration capacity to the way it used to be: Long, good and brilliant! LOL.

I made a pledge on Goodreads as usual, I wanna read 100 books this year! 

https://www.goodreads.com/readingchallenges/annual

I know, it is very ambitious... last year I only read 50 books!

I am happy with my goal though. It makes me wanna reach for the stars! I mean, I gotta dream BIG. I love books. I love big books. I love big books and I cannot lie! :) That's my motto... It rhymes with Otto hahhah! :D

Which reminds me, I want to read more of my owned books in Swedish and Finnish. Also listen to more audiobooks in Swedish and Finnish... I read like 4+ books as audiobooks in November alone, all non-fiction in Finnish! I loved them so much, I got a few of them as physical copies too! I love non fiction as audiobooks, especially in Swedish and Finnish! (English is also really fine.

Here are the results from my reading challenge last year:

https://www.goodreads.com/readingchallenges/gr/annual/2024

I was pretty satisfied with my list. Too many rereads though...

Now I need to get back to reading lol. 

Later! 

My reading history and recent books I have read and am reading. Update.

 Good morning everybody! 

I am happy today, as I am most mornings. I have read a little, but mostly with my ears, i.e. I have been listening to audiobooks. Which is no shame, no less of a way to read. My eyeballs sometimes follow along the page, if I am reading along in the physical book. I own a lot of books that I also own the audiobook of. Double the pleasure. LOL.

I am currently relistening and reading Jari Tervo's book about one of my favorite artists: LOIRI. It is in Finnish and it's actually OK but too many swear words and sexy stuff. I don't like that, so I zone out sometimes for a while :D  Í don't let the smut stick to my brain, so to speak lol. But it's not like smut smut, it's more like jovial and jokingly written. Which honestly, is not a lot better than it being actual smut. Just saying... I have lifted my standards a bit.

I liked to read as a young girl but I had a friend who tried to shame me for not reading as much as her. Yeah, I just realized that it wasn't that nice. LOL. I don't want to compare myself to other people's reading habits. Besides, I had other things to do, like all the stuff at church. She didn't have that...

The first books I read were like Sweet valley twins by Francine Pascal, in Swedish usually. I also bought the first four books in the series as an omnibus in English when I visited London with my dad in 1992-1993 sometime. So I started reading in English "for fun" from an early age. Like 12-13 years old... Other books I enjoyed as a kid were The Nancy Drew -books by Carolyn Keene. Those two are a series I used to read a lot when I was a teenager and I read them almost always in Swedish. It is my native language so...

When I was 11, I got the Anne of Green gables -series in Swedish (by LM Montgomery. My mom gave them to me at Christmas 1991 so I was indeed 11 years old back then lol. I have read the first book so much, it is nearly falling apart :( It has achieved a respectable age! 

I hate it when someone tries to shame me for what I read or tries to shame me for not reading enough.

It has happened regrettably often....

I am in a semi-reading slump but I have listened to a few non-fiction books lately that have been really good. About trans history, mental health issues and about ADHD. The one about trans history and rights is in English, the two others are in Finnish. I am blessed to know several languages. I read fluently in three languages. I think I still read the fastest in Swedish. Then in Finnish, the slowest in English...

I love reading.

I hope to overcome my slump. It is so difficult for me to choose what to read. That is why I often start a lot of different books, also read a lot of favorites from earlier. I love rereading really old favorites, like Jurassic Park by Michael Crichton, I read it in Swedish because I got it in Swedish when I was like 13 years old, maybe.

I need to read Quo Vadis, it is written by a Polish author. I got it from my aunt and cousins for Christmas 1993! I have started it a few times, but got stuck somewhere... I am so sorry. I want to read it. It is a little intimidating, big book. So it's difficult for me. It is in Swedish though...

Today I am going to try to read as much as I possibly can. I need the escape from reality. I have been having challenges in my life... I listen to music, read and watch series, movies and YouTube a lot. I also enjoy blogging, journaling and knitting.

More later! :)

Getting back into reading and bookish purchases in the USA

 Dear readers,

Last month I traveled for the first time in my life to Utah, USA. One of the more important things I wanted to do there was visit Barnes and Noble. It is such an awesome bookstore! I love it so much... Also, the staff was pretty nice! 

The first B&N I visited was very new. There I found three blue books I liked: 

Banned books published by Penguin Random House

My reading life (a book journal) published by Spruce books

and

The fault in our stars by John Green (I have read it before but lost my copy of it)

My suitcase was really full... And I needed to bring a whole new suitcase too because of gifts and other purchases. I bought my friend two Monster High dolls and myself a few Barbies and other fashion dolls. I also wrote my journal to the end on my trip so I needed a new journal.

Later I got a few more books. I can add pictures here too. I got:

The secret garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett

The 1619 Project by Nikole Hannah Jones

Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen

Then I got a self-care journal. a few scriptures ( my old ones were falling apart )... Also a few pens and stationary. Stickers are so cool in the USA! :) lol I bought candy too, some are still left for later. I did not find root beer barrel candies even though I know they exist.

I am almost out of my reading slump now...

I have relistened to the Harry Potter series (I have yet to read The cursed child, I don't know if I want to... lol) and I am currently relistening to the Twilight books (I am on the first part now), both are very familiar series so I can basically fall asleep anytime and when I wake up, I know exactly what has happened while I napped :D LOL!  I have many issues with the author of Harry Potter and the whole Twilight (the toxic guy etc.) series but I still listen to them every year, because of nostalgia...

I have been kinda collecting many bookmarks and I can post pictures of some of them.

Have a great weekend! 

Summer is here! :) and my slump is gone! (?) hopefully!

 

Good morning dear readers! 

(Like readers in general, not just the ones reading this! lol)

How are you all doing? Reading something nice?

Here is a picture of my "reading pillow"! :) Isn't it cool, yet a little creepy? lol. I love it though... I don't use it so much while reading but sometimes as a thing my Barbies can lean against when I am having a fashion photo shoot with them. HAHHA! No, I am serious! 

Anyway...

I have been in a reading slump for a few months. I often have a really good start of the reading year and read a lot in January and February each year, then a slump hits usually in March and I get stuck for weeks, if not months.

BUT! (and it's a big butt, and it's mine) hah! 

Now I have been reading a little, which is a lot more than before, I didn't read anything for several weeks! It was horrible. I think a few audiobooks put me in a slump. Now I am rereading the hunger games by Suzanne Collins, it is still SO good! I love it lots...It's helping me get out of my reading slump! I will continue the series and then go on to the prequel, which I haven't read yet at all!

I love big books and I cannot lie. But I also love and appreciate "quick reads" like the hunger games and some Young adult with big font etc. YA books often have larger font. Thus, they are easier to finish fast.

Have a great reading weekend! 

Good (very early) morning! :)

 Hello! 

I have been in a reading slump for some months. I have read a little more than usual lately though and I started rereading The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins a few days ago and I am 86 (!) pages into it... That is some kind of record for me, the way I have been reading lately. I usually get stuck pretty early on. The paralysis sets in: I can't choose what to read. Or if I want to read,.

I have finished like 25-26 books so far this year... That is not a bad thing, it's just a little underwhelming.

I have decided to take a break from audiobooks because they often make me sleepy lol :D Unless I am reading along... I need to reread ninth house by Leigh Bardugo and a few other books. Rereading old favorites helps often. Ninth house is not an absolute favorite but it's ok and I need to reread it before reading the sequel: Hell bent.

Booktube has put me in a slump. Only booktuber that helps me feel better about my reading is "Gavin reads it all" :

@GavinReadsItAll

He is so awesome! 

More later! :) 

My reading update 22nd of March 2024

 Good morning!

I have relistened to many many books so far this year, also DNF'd a few audiobooks and even one that used to be a favorite but I can't stand anymore. My reading taste has changed and I am more picky with what I read... Here is my reading goal so far:

goodreads goal 2024

I have really been enjoying my re-listens. But I am trying to read more with my eyeballs and more new books, that is, new to me. LOL. I have many unread books on my shelves and many unlistened audiobooks.

I had to DNF a few...

If you want to follow me on goodreads, here is my profile:

cindarella

I have read a little in Swedish lately, and I am trying to find some book in Finnish that I own that I would enjoy reading.. That is difficult. I don't own a lot of books in Finnish. Despite the fact that I studied it for years at the University of Stockholm. LOL.

More later! :)

Start of the reading year 2024

 Good morning from Finland! 

The reading year has started pretty well. I have listened to so many audiobooks. I am content, even though most of them are rereads/re-listens. I have managed to dnf a book but then I might give it another chance later. It is "A house of special purpose" by John Boyne. I got so upset when the author made up a city/town in Finland that I stopped very abruptly reading it and almost threw it away in disgust... But I think I will give it another shot.

In case someone wants to be my friend on goodreads, here is my profile:

https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/9024548-cindarella

I have a lot of books on my TBR but right now I am rereading too much.

My goal is to read more with my eyeballs, and especially new to me books. Wish me luck!

I have listened to 10 books so far this year and dnfd the book by John Boyne and plan to pick it up again soon... I started two very intimidating books yesterday:

Leo Tolstoy: Anna Karenina and War and peace.

Those are two very chunky books :)

"I love big books and I cannot lie!" is my motto after all :D

More later! 

The Helmet reading challenge 2024

The Helmet Reading Challenge 2024

1. A book with a proper noun in the title  

Barbie and Ruth by Robin Gerber (audiobook)

2. A book in which someone uses magic  

Leigjh Bardugo: Hell bent

3. A book that has won the Booker or Pulitzer prize  

Esi Edugyan: Washington Black ( the man booker prize 2018)

4. A book that features a president  

Suzanne Collins: the ballad of songbirds and snakes (president Snow)

5. A book whose author’s initials are not part of your name  

Mina Hansson: My little pony

6. A book set in the 1920s  

ML Stedman: the light between oceans

7. A book in which someone falls in love  

Louisa May Alcott: Little women

8. A book with a family member in the title  

 Lucinda Riley: the seven sisters

9. A book in which someone runs away  

Stephenie Meyer: Midnight sun

10. The tenth book that you read this year  

 Christopher Paolini: Eragon

11. A book with one of the four elements (air, water, earth or fire) on the cover or in the title  

Garth Risk Hallberg: City on fire

12. A children's poetry book  

---

13. A book set in a closed or enclosed space  

Emma Donoghue: Room

14. A book in which someone engages in a hobby  

Massimiliano Capella: Barbie the icon

15. A book with at least three authors or illustrators 

several: Nouse luontoni

16. A book with photographs  

Ransom Riggs: Miss Peregrine's home for peculiar children

17. A book with an annoying character  

Stephenie Meyer: Midnight sun

18. A book with jewellery on the cover or in the title  

Meg Cabot: The princess diaries

19. A book in which Finland is mentioned  

John Boyne: The house of special purpose

20. A book published by a small publishing company  

Taru Luojola: Myöhempien aikojen liiketoimintamahdollisuuksia

21. A book that has been adapted into a TV series  

Robert Jordan: The eye of the world

22. A book recommended by an author  

 Jane Austen: Persuasion

23. A Finnish detective novel or thriller  

 Anni Polva: Tiina

24. A book set in a capital city  

Roslund och Hellström: Flickan under gatan (Stockholm)

25. A book involving the celebration of a holiday (such as Christmas or Midsummer)  

John Grisham: Skipping Christmas

26. A book with the word ‘book’ in the title  

Joseph Smith JR. : The book of mormon

27. A book about rebuilding  

 Wilhelm Moberg: Utvandrarna

28. A book by an author from a Mediterranean country  

 Orhan Pamuk: Den vita borgen (translated by Kemal Yamanlar and Anne-MarieÖzkök

29. A book in which someone tells lies  

Scott Lynch: the lies of Locke Lamora

30. A book without named or numbered chapters  

Ken Kesey: One flew over the cuckoo's nest

31. A book that features a disabled person  

Jojo Moyes: Me before you

32. A book originally written in a language that has no more than 10 million speakers

Selma Lagerlöf: Jerusalem  

33. A book in which someone moves to the countryside  

CS Lewis: The lion, the witch and the wardrobe

34. A book with an order or suggestion in the title  

come follow me -handbook (Sunday school, the church of Jesus Christ of latter-day saints)

35. A book in which someone spends time in nature  

LM Montgomery: Anne på Grönkulla

36. A book written by an immigrant  

Nicola Yoon: The sun is also a star

37. A book that elicits strong emotions  

Kim Östman: Mormonit

38. A book with a hand or hands on the cover or in the title  

Stephenie Meyer: Twilight

39. A book that features a bisexual or pansexual person  

Samantha Shannon: the priory of the orange tree & a day of fallen night

40. A book in which the weather is very cold or hot  

Annie Proulx: The shipping news

41. A book in which a child is born  

Kim Edwards: The memory keeper's daughter

42. A book with a subtitle  

Johanna Huhtamäki ja Vappu Pimiä: Valon antajat: Kiitä unelmasi todeksi

43. A book that does not have a main character  

Johanna Huhtamäki ja Vappu Pimiä: Valon antajat: tehtäväkirja

44. A non-fiction book written by a woman  

Johanna Huhtamäki: Pakkopositiivisuudesta tasapainoon

45. A book in which people play games  

Ernest Cline: Ready player one 

46. A book with a predominantly black cover or a title with the word ‘black’ in it  

Stephenie Meyer: New Moon

47.-48. Two books translated by the same translator  

Christopher Paolini: Den äldste; Brisingr översatta av Lottie Eriksson

49. A book published in 2024  

???

50. A book recommended by a library employee

Jane Austen: Emma

Good afternoon from my library! :)

 Good afternoon from my "office"-líbrary :)

The reading slump of the DECADE (2020's) has been continuing into 2024...

It started in February 2023, with my brain not being happy about concentrating on reading. I couldn't concentrate a lot. Then, I also had problems during the whole year which book to read and where to read plus which position. My back has been worse and my legs are hurting a lot and also my hips. SO. Imagine trying to choose the book, choose the place to read and choose to find which way you sit so the back doesn't get worse. I know, those shouldn't be problems. But yet, here I am, finding weird problems. :D 

This year one evening I listened to the entire (short) book by Jean-Dominique Bauby: The diving-bell and the butterfly. I know it almost by heart and I listen or read it almost always every year nowadays. It is SO good, sad and touching. Makes you think. Or: "Do a think" as I sometimes say/think and obviously also write, as I just did HAHHHAH! :D Excuse me, I am in a humorous mood... Yeah. Sunlight can do that. (The sun is shining here today...)

I am so happy with my ONE book read in 2024-acheivment so far hahhah. My goal is 84+ books in 2024. My goal is on Goodreads:

 goal for 2024

I love reading challenges as many of you know, if you like this blog. Even if you don't, I bet I have mentioned it plenty of times hahhah. I never ever manage to complete my more elaborate reading challemnges and it makes me sad, but each year at the end I realise, I couldn't have stuck to a certain TBR or such. So I forgive myself each year and try or change my tactics or something. :D This year will be no different, I think. I will just try to avoid many and long reading slumps. Wish me luck! :)

Here is another lovely challenge:

Helmet-reading challenge 2024 

IF I decided to take it on, I will post my TBR here :) 

I have also last year watched a lot more youtube than earlier and listened more to the radio. I also knitted a lot. Three scarves (the last one is almost done soon). I should have listened to more audibooks while knitting, maybe I should try that more this year... I love music, it is very important to me. I think I need new and better lists on Spotify to follow and listen to while reading. I can make a few new ones myself too. 

I have been out in the world a lot more last year. My new friends pulled me out of my coma... (Not a real coma, just my feelings of depression and anxiety etc). Music, youtube and knitting also pull me out of my mental slump of anxiety.

Good luck with all of your reading years! :)

More later.

Hi! :) reading slumps sucks...

 

Hello hello! :)

I have been in a severe reading slump since February... I visited my parents in July and read a few really short books and DNF'd a few too... I have read the first book, the pink one in Finnish, three times this year as an audiobook, I like it so much! And I am currently reading many books but focusing a lot on "the girl who played with fire" by Stieg Larsson (reading it in my native tongue of Swedish) and "one day" by David Nicholls. :) they are pretty okay.

I am trying to catch up on my Reading challenge on goodreads. I have started marking DNF's as read because I need revenge because they wasted my time... lol. I know, I am a bit weird. :D I just can't with some books and then get angry at them for being bad. 

here is my goodreads challenge:

 https://www.goodreads.com/user_challenges/39099137

I am currently sprinting with Jordaline from Canada, a booktuber on youtube... Here is a link to her awesome channel:

https://www.youtube.com/@JordalineReads 

Have a great "time of the day"! :) lol

The two first books of 2023 :)

 Hello! 

I have had a slow reading start to the year but today I finished two books:

TJ Klune: Under the whispering door (audiobook, my third time listening to it as an audiobook on Scribd)

and

 Raisa Omaheimo: Ratkaisuja läskeille. Audiobook on Bookbeat.

 *Under the whispering door* by TJ Klune is a re-listen and one of my favorite soft fantasy books. I listened to it twice in 2021. This book is like a warm hug. It's about grief, death and sorrow. It's one of the few books that has made me shed tears in the recent years. There are some triggering parts, in which case you might want to google some spoiler free reviews, just in case. Wallace is dead and he is brought to a Tea shop by a reaper and is waiting to cross over to the other side. Wallace was a bit of a butthole in life and in death he becomes a little or a lot better. The nice people who are at the Tea shop help him to learn and grow. This book is very heart-warming and cozy. If you are open minded and up to reading wonderful stories about tragic and beautiful life stories, I really recommend this book. 4/5 stars. Not five stars because it was a little dragging in some parts in my humble opinion.

*Ratkaisuja läskeille* by Raisa Omaheimo. Freely translated: *Solutions for fatsos*. This book was such a good one. I would want all of my friends who have ever been on a diet or told someone else to go on a diet, or has had any problems with being overweight etc. to read this amazing book! I saw red and got really wound up by this book. It made me sad, mad and proud at the same time. It is a book with kind of experiences and facts and opinions that I have been thinking for years and some I just realizerd I should have been thinking and voicing. It is not a problem to be fat. It's not something wrong with you if you are overweight. If you have a problem with fat people, it's your problem, not the fat person's problem. You need to rethink dieting, weight-loss, BMI and healthy and unhealthy views of your own weight. I think this book is simply brilliant. After I read it, (aka listened to it in one sitting), I wrote a little note in Finnish to myself that said: I am a fat activitst. I do not support fatphobia or fat hate. This was such a powerful experience for me. I cried a little. This lady, the author, really knew all the struggles. I will recommend it to EVERYONE. 5/5 stars

 

That's it for the first two books :) My goal is to read 88 books in 2023 and to write a review of each and every one! Wish me luck! :)

 

 

 

 

 

New books :)

 Good morning everyone! 

How's it going? I'm doing really well :)

I have read 82 books this year so far and my goal I have lowered to 88 books for this year on goodreads. I am one book behind schedule... But I think I will make it. Just six more books to go. This year I have re-read and re-listened to some familiar books, my comfort reads. Next year my goal is to re-read some series only ONE TIME. It will be tough but it is okay. I have also decided to listen and read to most my books that I have as audiobooks and a physical copy of, also a few books I don't have a audiobook of.

I had my bookshop-card almost full this fall and bought the last book that was required and got one FREE! I love this system they have lol. I bought Daisy Jones and the six by Taylor Jenkins Reid and Ninth house by Leigh Bardugo. I have Daisy Jones also on audible, so that's going on my list for 2023. I am trying to read the seven husbands of Evelyn Hugo and Malibu Rising before I dive into Daisy Jones and the six.

I started Evelyn Hugo but got stuck as usual... I will try to jump back into it asap.

I started Bird box by Josh Malerman and it's good. I have it  both as a paperback and on audible :) I love reading & listening, it is like a movie in my head. It's really nice. I love audiobooks... I have a few that I don't own as physical copies but sometimes I just enjoy listening. 

More later!