Melon's reads: 2011

[thelastmelon]

2010 was like a roller coaster when it came to my life and also to my reading, and I am hoping that 2011 will be more consistent in how much I read. I don't want a month to pass and not having read a single book. That is my goal, and it should be reachable.

[thelastmelon]

January:
The Penelopiad - Margaret Atwood
Girl Meets Boy - Ali Smith
Dream Angus: The Celtic God of Dreams - Alexander McCall Smith
Gender In World Perspective - Raewyn Connell

February:
The Sky is Everywhere - Jandy Nelson
Rosa elefanter - Karin Brunk Holmqvist
Konsten att säga nej med gott samvete - Jesper Juul
Frogs and Snails and Feminist Tales: Preschool Children and Gender - Bronwyn Davies
Att komma hem ska vara en schlager – Per Hagman

March:
Alltid den där Anette! – Peter Pohl
Allt du behöver veta innan du börjar arbete med jämställdhet i skolan – Jan Lif
Janis den magnifika - Johanna Nilsson
In the Ceiling the Stars Are Shining - Johanna Thydell
Good Morning, Comrades - Ondjaki
Millionären och andra historier - Fritiof Nilsson Piraten
Burma Boy – Biyi Bandele
Militärmusik - Vladimir Kaminer

April:
The Devil Wears Prada - Lauren Weisberger
Coronado - Dennis Lehane
I Ur och Skur - Friluftsfrämjandet
L'Echappée belle - Anna Gavalda
Sula - Toni Morrison
Martin Birck's Youth - Hjalmar Söderberg

May:
Jerusalem I - Selma Lagerlöf
Jerusalem II - Selma Lagerlöf
The Whistler - Ondjaki
Blondie - Birgitta Andersson
Childhood Interrupted - Kathleen O'Malley
Loving Che - Ana Menèndez
Skapande barn: att arbeta med bild i förskolan - Stina Braxell
Water for elephants - Sara Gruen

June:
Beneath the Lion's Gaze - Maaza Mengiste
The Sorrows of Young Werther - Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
Det fattas en tärning – Johanna Thydell
Det är bara gudarna som är nya (my transl. Only the Gods are new) – Johannes Anyuru
Bland bollar och klossar: Matematik för de yngsta i förskolan – Camilla Björklund

July:
That thing called love – Tuhin A. Sinha
A Concise Chinese-English Dictionary for Lovers – Xialou Guo
The Guardian - Nicholas Sparks
Doppler - Erlend Loe
Omega - Johannes Anyuru
Sputnik Sweetheart - Haruki Murakami
The Great Gatsby – F. Scott Fitzgerald
Lagom finns bara i Sverige: och andra myter om språk – Mikael Parkvall

August:
Utvandrarna (The Emigrants) - Vilhelm Moberg
Invandrarna (Unto a Good Land) - Vilhelm Moberg
Nybyggarna (The Settlers) - Vilhelm Moberg
Sista brevet till Sverige (The Last Letter Home) - Vilhelm Moberg

September:
Northern Lights - Philip Pullman
The Fall of the Imam - Nawal El Saadawi
The Hunger Games - Suzanne Collins
Catching Fire - Suzanne Collins
Mockingjay - Suzanne Collins

October:
The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society – Mary Ann Shaffer
Room – Emma Donoghue
One Day – David Nicholls
Svinalängorna – Susanna Alakoski
Le ciel de Bay City – Catherine Mavrikakis

November:
Jane Eyre – Charlotte Brontë
The Book Thief – Markus Zusak
Three strong women – Marie NDiaye
Välkommen till den här världen – Amanda Svensson
The Help – Kathryn Stockett

December:
The Real Story of Ah-Q and Other Tales of China - Lu Hsün
A Christmas Carol - Charles Dickens
Les Honneurs perdus - Calixthe Beyala
Sleepwalking Land - Mia Couto

[Winifred]

Ha! I just finished listening to it on tape, thelastmelon. What did you think of it? My feelings were mixed, I tend to like the ideas in Atwood's books more than the reading of them.

[thelastmelon]

Ha! I just finished listening to it on tape, thelastmelon. What did you think of it? My feelings were mixed, I tend to like the ideas in Atwood's books more than the reading of them.

I actually quite liked it! I do understand what you mean by liking the ideas of her books, but not always the reading of them. But for me, in this case, I also enjoyed the reading! I liked the wittiness and the way she weaved the past and present together.

[thelastmelon]

March has been a good month for me and my reading:

Alltid den där Anette! – Peter Pohl
Allt du behöver veta innan du börjar arbete med jämställdhet i skolan – Jan Lif
Janis den magnifika - Johanna Nilsson
In the Ceiling the Stars Are Shining - Johanna Thydell
Good Morning, Comrades - Ondjaki
Millionären och andra historier - Fritiof Nilsson Piraten
Burma Boy – Biyi Bandele
Militärmusik - Vladimir Kaminer

[thelastmelon]

So this is what I read in April:
The Devil Wears Prada - Lauren Weisberger
Coronado - Dennis Lehane
I Ur och Skur - Friluftsfrämjandet
L'Echappée belle - Anna Gavalda
Sula - Toni Morrison
Martin Birck's Youth - Hjalmar Söderberg

[thelastmelon]

This is my reading the past two months.

May:
Jerusalem I - Selma Lagerlöf
Jerusalem II - Selma Lagerlöf
The Whistler - Ondjaki
Blondie - Birgitta Andersson
Childhood Interrupted - Kathleen O'Malley
Loving Che - Ana Menèndez
Skapande barn: att arbeta med bild i förskolan - Stina Braxell
Water for elephants - Sara Gruen

June:
Beneath the Lion's Gaze - Maaza Mengiste
The Sorrows of Young Werther - Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
Det fattas en tärning – Johanna Thydell
Det är bara gudarna som är nya (my transl. Only the Gods are new) – Johannes Anyuru
Bland bollar och klossar: Matematik för de yngsta i förskolan – Camilla Björklund

[thelastmelon]

In August I read only in Swedish, and in September I only read in English. :)

August:
Utvandrarna (The Emigrants) - Vilhelm Moberg
Invandrarna (Unto a Good Land) - Vilhelm Moberg
Nybyggarna (The Settlers) - Vilhelm Moberg
Sista brevet till Sverige (The Last Letter Home) - Vilhelm Moberg

September:
Northern Lights - Philip Pullman
The Fall of the Imam - Nawal El Saadawi
The Hunger Games - Suzanne Collins
Catching Fire - Suzanne Collins
Mockingjay - Suzanne Collins

[thelastmelon]

I noticed that I'm not very good at keeping this post updated, but now I updated it for the past two months!

[margaine]

I noticed that I'm not very good at keeping this post updated, but now I updated it for the past two months!

hey, but at least you're reading ;-) I've been reading the same thing for months (How the Garcia Girls Lost their Accents by Julia Alvarez)

[thelastmelon]

hey, but at least you're reading ;-) I've been reading the same thing for months (How the Garcia Girls Lost their Accents by Julia Alvarez) Is that any good, margaine? I've recently planned to buy that book.

[margaine]

Is that any good, margaine? I've recently planned to buy that book.

It is good (I just have no time to read). It comes across as a bit dated and you'll recognize typical immigrant narrative/cultural conflict themes. But I think it was probably unique and significant when it first came out.