2015 was quite a mixed reading year for me. I didn't read as much as I wanted, at least the second half of the year I was in a reading slump. But even though I didn't read that many books, most of the books were really good reading experiences. I'm gonna share the best of them with you. I'm not gonna tell you too much about the books, but more about why I liked them. I'll also link their Goodreads pages. The Book Thief by Markus Zusak was an exceptional experience. The book is beautifully written and I think that is what captured me instantly. It's kind of an odd story that maybe not everyone finds that captivating. Death is the storyteller, so you are told the story through deaths eyes. It's also been made into a movie which I haven't seen yet. Next we have the Mistborn trilogy by Brandon Sanderson for the fantasy lover. The trilogy consists of The Final Empire, The Well of Ascension and The Hero of Ages. I don't even know how to express myself when it comes to these books. Brilliant, they're simply brilliant. They went straight to the top of some of the best books I've ever read. Andreas used to sit and laugh at my expressions and bursts of tears mixed with screams at the end of each book. At some point during the third book I didn't want to continue reading, because I was so afraid of what was going to happen. The elements of surprise came out of nowhere. The last book I'm gonna mention is Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis. I'm lending it to a friend at the moment. Lewis was asked during WWII to give a couple of speeches to the British population through the radio. These broadcasts where later on remade into this book. It explains the core of the Christian faith, and it's made in a simple and accessible way. At some points I was surprised about the way Lewis was able to make things so understandable. I thought it would be hard to get through but I literally flew through it.
These were the books that has stuck with me the most after reading them. And I will most likely read them all again someday, that's when you know something is really good.
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Christmas went by quicker than ever. The evening before Christmas Eve I all of a sudden got a fever and all I could do was to try to survive. That's probably why Christmas this year went by in a blur.
I am quite lazy at heart, if I'm honest. So it's been a relief to be able to force myself to not do anything but the necessary. I've been able to spend hours reading on the sofa, which it feels like I haven't done in ages. Cuddling up next to one of the cats with a chocolate bar or piece of brie cheese and a large cup of tea. Enjoying time well spent. I'm so easily distracted these days. That's possibly one of the reasons why I haven't been spending as much time reading as I wanted this year. Of course there will be new years resolutions this time of the year, it's always great getting a chance at a new beginning at something. I'm a sucker for new beginnings. So I've decided that 2016 I will find a lot more time for reading. Because it's simply one of the things I love the most. I have plans on writing a post on my favourite books of 2015. So more on that later. I've recently started reading more of the non-fiction genre to hopefully get something more out of reading. More than just the pleasure of escaping reality for a moment. I love fictive stories, and will always keep on reading them. But once in a while you need something else mixed in. Since it stood in our book shelf just waiting to be read I picked it up, Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell. The book consists of a lot of different stories to make you understand what makes someone successful. How no one actually can make it on their own. I'm not gonna tell you too much about what the book is about. But I can honestly say that it was really interesting.
I really recommend this book, but don't believe it will contain a recipe for success. The point is to get a better understanding at how people get where they are. I personally think success is a kind of strange word. Because what is success actually? Some (or a lot) would probably say success is fame. But I don't agree. Success to me is being able to do the things you love and still being true to yourself. A lot of people today strive for fame and success, but loose themselves along the way. And what's the point of that? I really hope to find things that make me happy, and keeps me satisfied. And I wish I'll be able to hold on to that and make time for it. If you're a fellow reader or interested in following what I read, join Goodreads and add me (username eliningrid). It's the best place for getting great book recommendations and keeping track of your reading. Okay, apparently I had a lot to do last week. Have been trying to study and focus on that mostly, and on taking time to relax. At least for me it's super important to take quality time when I focus on resting and doing things I really enjoy. That means reading, a lot. While Andreas was out in the forest hunting this weekend I was sitting inside by the fire, reading, and it was so relaxing. When I grew up I could sit in my room and read for hours. And when I went to the library I always came home with a large pile of books. It's something I've always loved to do, and I'm so thankful for it. I'm so grateful that I'm able to go into another world, another land and learn so much from words. Even if it's just a fictional novel, there is always a lot to learn. This is one of our book shelves. When we noticed that we had too many books for our book shelf we found an old potato box. Andreas then remade it into a small book shelf, perfect for our paperbacks.
I have spent a lot of time lately looking at book reviews and making a list of books I wish for my birthday and christmas. So if you also are a bibliophile, please give me your best book recommendations in the comments! And for those of you who haven't found goodreads, it's a great place for finding new books and getting recommendations. /E Even though I'm sick and don't have so much extra energy right now I thought I could write a few short lines about two books I'm reading at the moment. They're both in Swedish, but I guess they are worth reading. I've only just started reading both. The first one is Badskumt by Katarina Johansson. It's mainly about cosmetic products and all the toxic ingredients, the effect they have on the products and on our body. If you start reding it you probably will want to start making a change in which products you buy and use. For me when I started reducing the amount of hairproducts and heating, and because I use natural shampoo, my hair became much healthier, grows faster and has less split ends.
The other book is Den hemlige kocken by Mats-Eric Nilsson. A book that will make you question what food you buy. When I started reading it I became so disgusted by the food industry. Nilsson writes about all kinds of aromas and added ingredients to make the food look more appealing but also makes it taste fake. For example meat can by the help of aromas be made so that it tastes and looks like it's been grilled, but it hasn't even come near a grill. This isn't the case with all the food in stores, but at least much of the cheap food is made in cheaper ways. So take a good look at the ingredients when you buy food next time and see how much extra is added. Now I will go back to resting and getting better. /E |