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rebekkareed · 7 years ago

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The A-Z Book Tag

A. Author you’ve read the most books from

Anne-Cath Vestly

I have read a total of 34 books by her. Since I read them all around the age of 5-6 I don’t remember all that much, but I think my favourite was the “Mormor og de åtte ungene”-series. Here is a list of all the books I have read by her (I am not 100% sure whether I read absolutely all of these, but these are the ones by her I own at least):

-Åtte små, to store og en lastebil

-Mormor og de åtte ungene i skogen

-Marte og Mormor og Mormor og Morten

-En liten takk fra Anton

-Mormors promenade

-Mormor og de åtte ungene på sykkeltur i Danmark

-Morten og Mormor og Stormvind

-Lillebror og Knerten

-Trofaste Knerten

-Knerten gifter seg

-Knerten flytter ut

-Knerten og forundringspakken

-Knerten på sykkeltur

-Aurora i blokk Z

-Aurora og Pappa

-Aurora og den vesle blå bilen

-Aurora og Sokrates

-Aurora i Holland

-Aurora på Hurtigruten

-Aurora fra Fabelvik

-Guro

-Guro og nøkkerosene

-Guro alene hjemme

-Guro og fiolinen

-Guro og Lille-Bjørn

-Guro på Tirilltoppen

-Guro of Frydefoniorkesteret

-Ole Alexander Filibom-bom-bom

-Ole Alexander på farten

-Ole Alexander får skjorte

-Ole Alexander og bestemor til værs

-Ole Alexander på flyttefot

-Ole Alexander og julepresangene

-Småtassene og andre folk på Tirilltoppen

B. Best sequel ever

“Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows” by J.K. Rowling

An obvious choice since this is my favourite book of all time, and also a sequel.

C. Currently reading

“Where Things Come Back” by John Corey Whaley

I initially picked up this book due to the fact that it has won the Printz awards, and I want to read all Printz winners and honor books. At this point I am only a couple chapters in, but I am very intrigued by the two seemingly separate narratives.

D. Drink of choice

Coffee

Nothing beats a warm cup of black coffe and a good book.

E. E-reader or physical book

Easiest question so far: Physical book!!

To me a crucial part of the reading experience is the wight and shape of the book in your hands, the smell of them and the physical flipping of pages. I also want books that can stand on my bookshelf and look pretty. I only read e-books if that is the only available option.

F. Fictional character you probably would have been friends with in high school.

Cath from “Fangirl” by Rainbow Rowell

We are both introverts, we both love reading and obsessing over fictional characters and we have a lot of the same thoughts and insecurities. Overall we would have had a lot to talk about, and would easily understand the others boundries.

G. Glad you gave this book a chance

“A Man Called Ove” by Fredrik Backman

My parents bought this as an audiobook to listen to while we were going on a road trip thorugh northern Spain. The intended to listen to this while me and my sister listened to music on our phones. As it turned out both me and my sister decided to give this book a shot after hearing the first chapter. We both completely fell in love with it and consider it to be one of our favourite books of all time. Fredrik Backman has also become one of my top 5 favourite authors and my goal is to read everything he ever publishes.

H. Hidden gem

“And Every Morning the Way Home Gets Longer and Longer” by Fredrik Backman

Like I said; one of my favourite authors. This question was really difficult to answer since most of the books I read are pretty well known, and the lesser known books I have read I would not exactly call “gems”. This is at least a book (or novella) that I have not heard all that many people speak about. They definitly should though! This is a beautiful story about an old man struggling with Alzheimer’s disease. It is one of my favourite books (novellas) of 2017 and one of the most well written, honest and beautiful things I have ever read.

I. Important moment in your reading life

Discovering Booktube

I loved reading long before i discovered Booktube, but it has given my reading life a whole new dimention and made me even more exited about books. With Booktube I feel like I am a part of a community, and books are very present in my life even when I am not reading. It has also opened my eyes to a lot of authors and genres I otherwise may never have checked out.

J. Just finished

“Why We Broke Up” by Daniel Handler

I finished this book a couple of days ago. This was another book i picked up due to the fact that it’s a Printz honor book. I gave it a 3/5 stars. It was entertaining enough, but it did not have a particularly big inpact on me.

K. Kind of book you won’t read

I try to be as openminded as possible and explore all sorts of genres , so I never completly exlude the possibilty that I will pick up certain types of books. I do have to say however that I usually avoid very spiritual books since I have a hard time identifying with them.

L. Longest book you’ve read

“Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix” by J.K. Rowling

My edition of the book was 874 pages long.

M. Major book hangover because of…

“Lord of Shadows” by Cassandra Clare

I absolutely adored this book and was (and still am) completly obsessed with it. I had a really hard time getting in to other books after finishing this beacuse I only really wanted to read the sequel (wich comes out in 2019...). That ending did not exactly help the matter either...

N. Number of bookshelves you own

Actually a bit difficult to answer since my family is moving into a new house and don’t know how many bookshelves I will have in my new room (I won’t keep all those I have, and I will get some new ones).

In my old room I have two full bookshelves and two long planks with room for about 110 books.

O. One book you’ve read multiple times

“The Magician’s Nephew” by C.S. Lewis

I have read this book three times, wich is not all that many, but since I am not much of a rereader it is the only book I have read more than twice (excluding all the picture books I read as a child). Weirdly enough I have not even read any of the Harry Potter books more than twice (even though I feel like I have read them at least 10 times), since I read them with my family both times (meaning we only had time for a few chapters each week, and spent two years reading all the books both times). “The Magician’s Nephew” I first read with my dad when I was 6 or 7, then by myself when I was around 10, and lastly with my dad and sister when I was 16.

P. Preferred place to read

My absolute favourite place to read is in a leaning chair under the christmas tree; smelling the fir and letting the pages be lit up by the christmas lights.

Q. Quote that inspires you

“She knew that when she got old it would be more fun to look back on a life of romance and adventure than a life of quiet habits. But looking back was easy. It was the doing that was painful. There were plenty of things she would like to look back on but wasn’t willing to risk …”

From “Sisterhood Everlasting” by Ann Brashares.

R. Reading regrets

I guess my biggest regret is not writing down more short reviews or just thoughts I’ve had after finishing books. I have been pretty good at doing this for a few short periods, but I always get tired of doing it after a while. I guess I just have to find the right way to do it (a way that does not make it seem like a burden, but rather a pleasure).

S. Series you’ve started and need to finish

The “The 5th Wave”-series by Rick Yancey

This is not a favourite series of mine or anything (I do have sort of mixed feelings towards it), but I have read 2/3 books, and I own the last one, and I have the second one fresh in memory, so I really want to finish of this series as soon as possible.

T. Three of your all time favorite books

(I am exluding series to make this slightly easier)

“Wuthering Heights” by Emily Brontë

One of my two favourite classics and stand-alone novels.

“Nineteen Eighty-Four” by George Orwell

My other favourite classic and stand-alone novel, written by my favourite author (in addition to J.K. Rowling of course).

“My Granmother Asked Me to Tell You She’s Sorry” by Fredrik Backman

My favourite book by Fredrik Backman, which (as mentioned severeal times already) is one of my absolute favourite authors.

U. Unapologetic fangirl

Potterhead for life!

V. Very excited for this release

“Turtles All the Way Down” by John Green

This is one of my most anticipated releases of 2017. John Green is another one of my favourite authors, and I have loved every book I have read by him (which is every book he has published). This book also seem to deal with some themes that I can relate to (to some extent at least).

W. Worst bookish habit

The habit of choosing books over people I guess...

X. X marks the spot: Pick the 27th book from the top left shelf

Since I am currently at a boarding school of sorts I don’t have my bookshelves available. I do however have a tiny bookshelf with 9 books, so I guess I’ll use that:

“Jane Eyre” by Charlotte Brontë

I actually just finished reading this less than a week ago. This is one of my new all-time-favourites, and I have not been able to stop thinking about it since I finished it.

Y. Your latest purchase

I bought four books at the same time:

“The Last Star” by Rick Yancey

“The Raven Boys” by Maggie Stiefvater

“The Night Circus” by Erin Morgenstern

“The Handmaid’s Tale” by Margaret Atwood

Z. Z snatcher–book that kept you up way too late

The “Pretty Little Liars”-series by Sara Shepard

I started reading this series when I was 12 years old and for six years it kept compromising my sleep.

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justincharlacher · 8 years ago

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My Favorite Stuff of 2016

I was asked today if I had any favorite records of 2016, and after some consideration, the answer is no. I just didn’t listen to much music this year, and I’m actually relying on the year end lists of others to rectify that. I did watch a bunch of stuff and listen to a bunch of podcasts this year, so here is a list of stuff that moved me in those media, as well as two live music events that rocked me to bits in 2016.

Live music

The Local H reunion with original drummer Joe Daniels for a tour celebrating the 20th anniversary of their second record, As Good As Dead, kicked off in Chicago at the Metro on the anniversary weekend, April 15 and 16. I was there, and it was huge for me. Folks who know me know that Local H has been the band I’ve most consistently followed ever since seeing them touring for AGAD opening for Stone Temple Pilots in Philadelphia in November of 1996. So to be in their hometown for two sold out shows with Joe behind the kit for a set comprised of the entire AGAD record was amazing. It was made only better by the fact that current drummer Ryan Harding and singer/guitar/bass lunatic Scott Lucas kicked off the proceedings with a blistering set, and Lucas was then flanked by both drummers beating the ever-loving fuck out of a pair of quivering drum kits for a finale heavy on tunes from my favorite H record, 1998′s Pack Up the Cats. I would catch up with the tour a few weeks later in DC and Philly, a night that ended with a cheesesteak outing with the band and began with the fellas even tighter and more comfortable playing together. These dates were the highlights of my crappy 2016.

Nearly as awesome was seeing New Oreans sludge weirdos eyehategod in a tiny club in New York City in the fall. I’ve certainly seen EHG in tiny clubs before, but on this tour Lamb of God’s Randy Blythe was filling in for the ailing Mike Williams, and he was insane. I haven’t been into LoG for many years, and they long ago grew out of playing clubs, but this was a reminder of why I loved them so much. Blythe was a force of nature, a wild animal unleashed on a stage to a small room 2/3 full. Dude is the truth. Williams had a successful liver transplant at the end of the year, so hopefully he’ll back out croaking his unearthly vocals for the band soon enough, but catching the Blythe version was a real treat.

Podcasts

Extra Hot Great remains my favorite podcast. The crew who brought you Television Without Pity and Fametracker brave tech issues and thousands of miles of distance to bring discussion of television and ridiculous games. David T. Cole, Sarah D. Bunting, and Tara Ariano are the best thing I pipe into my earholes every week.

Slate’s Panoply network has expanded to include a wealth of great content, but I still gravitate to the OG lineup of The Culture Gabfest, Hang Up and Listen, and The Political Gabfest, which I turn on as soon as I wake up on Friday mornings. Each of these has three hosts with unique points of view and awesome chemistry, though they aren’t afraid to disagree.

The Read is Kid Fury and Crissle. Angry. Black. Queer. Put on your helmet!

The Film Pigs have the only podcast about movies on the internet, and certainly the only one that Chuck D. composed theme music for. Just ask them.

The Cracked Podcast often retreads ground covered in the articles on the site, but it’s worth it to hear Jason Pargin aka David Wong talk about anything. Dude is smart, thoughtful, and the kind of voice that needs exposure behind a humor site.

We Hate Movies. Start with the Boondock Saints II episode. You’ll thank me.

Television

Fleabag (Amazon Prime): This show you guys! Six episodes. Three hours. I dare you not to do it in one go. Phoebe Waller-Bridge is a revelation as the eponymous hero with a foul mouth and the need to nervously chat with the audience throughout her adventures. To say too much would be doing disservice to the fantastic narrative that Waller-Bridge, who also created and wrote the show, has constructed. Just brace yourself for a wallop of an ending--and the urge to start over again as soon as you’ve finished. This was my favorite tv thing in 2016.

Catastrophe (Amazon Prime): Season two. Rob and Sharon are parents. What could go wrong?

Banshee (Cinemax): This show aired its fourth and final season in 2016, though I only caught up with the first three seasons earlier in the year. It’s the show for folks (like me) who love the kind of R-rated, big dumb action pictures that Hollywood doesn’t make anymore. An unnamed thief gets out of prison after 15 years and hauls ass to small town Pennsylvania to meet up with the woman he left behind. By chance, he witnesses the death of the town’s new sheriff, and using quick thinking and a hacker best friend dressed in drag, assumes the sheriff’s identity. As sheriff Nate Hood, our hero fights crime and corruption, and an apostate Amish kingpin. The action is filmed spectacularly, the violence would make Kurt Sutter blush, and it’s Cinemax, so you know the sex is sultry and plentiful. This show is an underrated gem.

Rectify (Sundance Network): Like Banshee, this one wrapped a four season run in 2016, and I had only just caught up with it. The tale of Daniel Holden, a man sentenced to death at 18 and released nearly twenty years later on a technicality (the show is cagey about his guilt), this is the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen on television, full stop. With standout supporting performances from Abigail Spencer and Clayne Crawford so powerful that I followed the actors to lesser network dramas, this show creates a portrait of people just trying to work through an emotional bomb that as been dropped as the shattered son, brother, friend, and step-brother they thought they’d never see again walks among them. Powerful stuff from Ray McKinnon, who I still think of as Reverend Smith on Deadwood.

Better Call Saul (AMC): Season two finds Jimmy with the opportunity to settle in as a legit lawyer and partner to Kim. Watching him willfully blow it is agony.

Search Party (TBS): So yeah...TBS is making quality dramedies now. Alia Shawkat leads a group of painfully self-involved friends as they search for a missing girl who they sort of maybe knew in college. Being lost in life is the real thematic game here, and the show finds a fresh way to engage this age-old trope.

Bojack Horseman (Netflix): I’m not sure that there has been a show as depressing as this one. Bojack Horseman wraps the self destructive tendencies of Walter White, Don Draper, and James McGill together and multiplies them. It’s made worse because he also really feels things, kind of. The third season dropped on Netflix in 2016, but you have to start from the beginning and give the show some time to hook you. It’s well worth it.

The People V. O.J. Simpson (FX): Never in a million years did I think I would even like this, but boy howdy... I loved it. Sarah Paulson is jaw-dropping in bringing Marcia Clark to life and her chemistry with Sterling K. Brown’s Christopher Darden is scorching. Whether or not Darden and Clark hooked up in real life, I can’t imagine many folks who didn’t want these two characters to just get busy already. Courtney B. Vance crushed the role of Johnnie Cochran. And what in God’s name was Travolta doing?! I hate Ryan Murphy products. I loved this show!

Finally, I’m going to toss out a group of good but not great shows that also watched intently in 2016. The Girlfriend Experience on STARZ expands on Soderbergh’s film with a real actress this time (though I think Sasha Grey did what was asked of her in the film). Quarry on Cinemax tells the story of a man who returns to Memphis after two tours in Vietnam and finds himself drawn into a mysterious underworld as an assassin. Lethal Weapon on FOX is far better than it has any right to be, and casts Rectify’s brilliant Clayne Crawford as Riggs to Damon Wayans’s Murtaugh. And Timeless on NBC tells the story of a hijacked time machine and the ragtag crew sent to chase it through American history. Abigail Spencer shows up in this one, so score another extension of Rectify. None of these shows is going to compete with greats like Rectify or Breaking Bad or The Wire, but even in a crowded tv market, I think they are worth a look. They are solid.

Movies

This is a short one as I saw very few new movies in 2016.

Green Room: Jeremy Saulnier brings the hurt with this tale of a hardcore band touring the Pacific northwest who get caught up with group of violent skinheads after a gig. Practical gore. Psychological horror. Patrick Stewart bringing soft-spoken menace as the cool leader of the neo-Nazi group. Also, one of Anton Yelchin’s final performances before his tragic death. This one had me watching through my fingers in the theater.

Brand: A Second Coming: This documentary chronicling the ups and downs of Russell Brand was probably the most thought-provoking film I saw all year. Directed by Ondi Timoner, who has made a career of examining male hubris, this film depicts a man who seems to truly mean well but simply cannot get out of his own way. I found it to be a very powerful character study.

The Nice Guys: I’m in the bag for Shane Black. He still makes the big dumb action pictures. I even liked Russell Crowe in this one.

The Conjuring 2: Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga are terrific. These films are legit scary. James Wan expertly uses his camera for maximum tension.

Blue Jay: Sarah Paulson again. I love her. And I’ve also become very fond of Mark Duplass the actor. I’ve mentioned this film before. A lovely two-hander about what could have (and maybe should have) been.

So that’s it. On to 2017! Thanks for reading.

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