Yet another Tuesday

Haven't finished The Dream of Scipio yet, but getting closer, should finish it before falling asleep tonight. The book is well written, although I'm not quite sure of what it's about yet. Think it is about the writing of an ancient philosophical text and subsequent analyses of the text. The story follows three men, the author of the text and two people reading and analysing the text. Telling their life story, we see that their life often mirrors each other, even though they live in different time periods. It is written very well, the language is good and easy to read, it is filled with historical information and so far I like it. Most of the story takes place in or around Avignon, with one character living during the time the papacy was seated there. Will write more when I have finished the book.

Other than reading, I'm still working a lot. Looking forward to starting a job with more regular hours. Have a meeting with my new boss next week to settle things out, then hopefully I'll start my new job as soon as possible. Well, that's it I guess. Until next time

cya

The Kite Runner

The Kite Runner is Khaled Hosseini's first book, and became very popular. Now it has even been made into a motion picture. After reading A Thousand Splendid Suns I was a bit disappointed by this book. The book tells the story of Amir and Hassan, growing up in Kabul in the 70s. Amir is the son of a rich merchant, while Hassan is the son of a servant. They grow up together and become friends even though their are seperated by their class differences. Their friendship changes one winter when Amir fails to help Hassan when he most needs it. Amir and his father than moves to the US, struggling to live in a completely new culture. After Amir's father's death, Amir returns to Afghanistan, where he gets a change to redeem himself from his past sins.

The book starts as sort of a childhood memoir, then, in the US, it's more of a drama, bordering on soap opera somewhat. But then, all of a sudden, Amir returns to Afghanistan, turning the book into more of an action book. The first part was good, sometimes, and the second part also had its moments, but the ending felt rushed and forced. The ending wasn't satisfying to me, somehow it felt like the book had been sold, and the author rushed to finish it by the dead line. The characters changed quickly, some turn of events felt strange, others showed up for a short time only to mysteriously disappear again. It just didn't feel right, and upon finishing the book I was left feeling unsatisfied, wondering about a lot of the characters.

Still, the book brings a good look into afghan culture, which probably a lot of westerners don't know a whole lot about. It is an interesting look into a different culture existing in the world today.

I have now started reading The Dream of Scipio, by Iain Pears. The novel tells the story of three men living in different times. Manlius, the Gallic aristocrat living at the end of roman civilization, Olivier, the poet living at the time of the Black Death, and Julien, the scholar living in the first half of the 20th century. All three men shares a love for a woman, and the love of wisdom, philosophy and literature. Olivier builds upon Manlius' writings, and Julien builds upon both Manlis' and Olivier's writings. The cool thing abot the book is the fact that it tells their stories simultaneoulsy, therefore not chronologically. It jumps back and forth in time to show the similarities between the protagonists. Haven't gotten that far into the book yet, so will write more when I get further into the book, or when it's finished.

Until next time

cya

The Forest and A Thousand Splendid Suns

Worked two shifts yesterday, but still found time for some reading as well. I finished The Forest by Edward Rutherfurd, a very good book just like the rest of his books. I know I have already written some about his books and his other books, and this books falls into the same category. The history of England's New Forest told through the eyes of a few select families, which we follow through the ages. As always, Rutherfurd's stories have quite a few unexpected plot twists, and often problems solve themselves in quite amazing ways. A highly recommended books.

After finishing The Forest i had to go back to work, which I did being very tired. But eventually that shifts was over, at midnight, and I returned home where I started on A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini, the author of The Kite Runner, now a major motion picture. Well, I started the book and found it quite interesting, though not one of the best books I've read. While some characters were well defined, others I found to be quite two-dimentional. The language, most of the time good, I found to be a bit simple and boring in other places. The story was good though. I haven't read many books about contemporary moslem life and the story of the 15 year old girl, who loses her mother and is sent away to marry a man 30 years her senior was quite moving. The whole age difference thing between the married couple I didn't find that shocking though, I guess after reading as much fantasy and historical fiction as I have, the notion of teenage girl marrying middle aged men becomes quite normal to read about. I feel like I read about it in every other book I read. Well, back to the book. It was good, it was gripping, despite some flaws. I wanna read the Kite Runner now, the book was that good, it made me wanna read more by the same author.

And then, suddenly, the book was finished and the clock showed a little past 4a.m. I had read the whole book in one sitting, something I haven't done in a long time. While reading the book, I lost all track of time and was transported to Kabul. I felt I was there, with Miriam and Rasheed, Tariq and Laila. I lost all track of time. So the book is good, mesmerising, gripping. It told a story set in a society I don't know much about, so different from western society, but happening now. It is a good book and I would recommend it to anyone.

Well, didn't wake up till 3p.m. today, quite late. But I haven't had a regular sleep cycle in two months. Working during the day, then night, then a few evenings, maybe a day agin, then two shifts a day really can mess up your internal clock. Hopefully I'll get a regular job soon, will know on Monday whether I get the manager position at 7/eleven I want.

That's it for now I guess, gotta go to the grocery store. Only my sister and I are home tonight, so we're having tacos for dinner. I buy, she makes. Until next time

cya

Fables

The other day, when visiting Outland, my favorite books store specialising in Fantasy, SF and comics, I found a new comic I on sale. Fables it was called, and since the first volume was sold for less than 1/3 of what I usually pay for comics, I just had to get it. It looked really good as well, so I ended up buying Fables Vol. 1: Legends in Exile. In the story, the creatures you read about in fairy tales have been driven from their homeworlds by their common enemy, the adversary, and have fled to New York where they have settled. Their community is pretty much run by Snow White, with the big bad Wolf as their police officer. Then one day, Jack from Jack and the Beanstalk rushes into officer Wolf's office, claiming his girlfriend Red Rose, sister of Snow White, has been brutally murdered. The rest of the story in the first volume focuses on Wolf's investigation into the murder, Pretty interesting stuff, a good plot, cool characters, lots of humor and good artwork as well. The character Prince Charming is funny, while Pinocchio is hilarious. So if you want to meet your favorite fairy tales characters in a new and modern setting, check out fables.

I am currently, upon the completion of London, reading The Forest, still by Edward Rutherfurd. This time, the story is about the history of The New Forest in south-east England. The novel is written in the same style as Sarum and London, telling the history of the place through the eyes of a few select families. Like anything else I've read of Rutherfurd, it is very good. The New Forest has been linked to witch-craft in the middle ages, something Rutherfurd incorporates into the story. In the foreword he confesses his ignorance of the subject, and how he used modern Wicca books to learn enough to write about it. Having some knowledge on the subject myself, I feel the books kinda falls short a bit on this subject. Modern Wicca was revived only recently, and has borrowed a lot from the Golden Dawn and Crowley, and I have some doubts that a witch in the middle ages would use the Lesser Banishing Ritual of the Pentagram, or something close to it. But apart from this, the book so far has been very good, definelately recommended. I am so glad I listened to my mum and started reading Rutherfurd's books.

Well, that's it for now I guess. Until next time

cya

London

Yesterday, I finished the book London by Edward Rutherfurd. The book was really good and is definelately a recommended read. The story, in similar fashion to Sarum, is the tale of several families living in London through the centuries. In a way it is a collection of several shorter stories from different periods in London's history, where the protagonists are all ancestors of each other. Since the history of London is shorter than the history of Salisbury Plains, the jumps in years between chapters weren't as big in this novel, sometimes the same character would appear in two or even three subsequent chapters. I really like this, since it made the reader able to connect more to the different characters. The stories told were all very interesting, teaching you something about history as well as being interesting, and often containing surprising plot twists and endings. So this is a book I recommend for other readers, don't be intimidated by it's length (1300 pages), since every chapter is sort of a stand-alone story.

I have also been reading more of the Preacher. Finished volume 4 and 5 yesterday, and need to buy the last 4 volumes soon.

Preacher Vol. 4: Ancient History,does not continue the plot started in the first three volumes, but instead goes back in time to tell the story of four of the characters you have already met, but not learned too much about, in the preceding three volumes. Saint of Killers tells the story of the Saint of Killers, who he was and how he became the Saint. Written as a western, it has more than it's own share of action and violence, as well as the appereance of the devil and several scenes set in hell. Very entertaining. The Story of You-Know-Who tells the story of Arseface, the son of a cop first set on Jesse's trail, his teenage rebellion and his failed suicide attempt. By shooting himself in the head, but surviving, Arseface ends up with a mutilated face, hence his nickname. The Good Ol' Boys is a very funny action-movie parody, containing two-dimentional cliche characters right out of bad action movies. The whole story is hilarious and so out of place within the larger plot, I was laughing a lot when reading it. The volume itself doen not add much to the Preacher story, but contains three interesting stories about minor characters, all in all I liked it. of course it fits into Preacher in the way that you never know what to expect when opening a new issue.

The next book, Preacher Vol. 5: Dixie Fried, we return to the story of Jesse Custer and his mission to make God stand up to his responibilities. In an attempt to unlock the screts locked up with Genesis in his brain, he travels to New Orleans to try some old-fashioned voodoo. This does not go totally according to plan as they run into a group who Cassidy has met earlier. In an earlier visit to New Orleans, Cassidy meets a fellow vampire, who after becoming bitten reads every book he can find about vampirism and sets out to cope them, word for word. This pisses Cassidy off, who himself liead a life nothing like that you read in vampire books. Cassidy sets out to change his fellow vampire, but things does not go according to plan. This issue also brings a lot of character development. You learn a lot more about the main character, and their relationship starts to change after certain events, like Cassidy telling Tulip he is in love with her. At the end of the volume you have the feeling the characters you have come to love might be a bit different that you thought.

Both volumes are excellent reads, offering interesting stories and good artwork. Ancient History, the fourth volume, is actually drawn bu other people than Steve Dillon, who does the artwork in the rest of Preacher. The result is good though, and it works in a good way. The different artwork gives a kind of different feel to the stories, which are different from the rest of Preacher from the start. In many ways they feel like spin-off stories off the real story.

Well, I've said this before and I'll say it again. Buy the Preacher, or borrow it or get a hold off it in some way.... Whatever you do, make sure to read it. It is a very good story.

Until next time

cya

The Preacher

As I already have written, I just started reading the comic book Preacher, and I have to say, they are really good. Have read the first three now, only have five out of ten I think, so might have to do some shopping soon (if I can find the money).

The series starts with Preacher Vol. 1: Gone to Texas, where we first meet the protagonist, Jesse Custer, and his two side kicks; his ex-girlfriend Tulip and the hard-drinking Irish wampire Cassidy. Jesse, who is a preacher in a small Texan town, sees his whole congregation burned to ashes by the half-angelic half-demonic entity Genesis, who also merges with Jesse, leaving Jesse on the run from the law. From Texas, the story continues in New York, where Jesse and his companions not only are troubled by Genesis, but also by the Saint of Killers, out to kill Gensis aka Jesse, and the Reaver-Cleaver, a sadistic serial killer. I won't go into too much detail here since I don't wanna spoil the story if you are gonna read it, but it is good, violent but good.

The story continues in Preacher Vol. 2: Until the End of the World, where we learn more of Jesse's history and how this seeminlgy not so perfect christian ended up becoming a minister. In this volume, God also makes his first appereance, trying to get Jesse to back off his trail. God, you see, one day suddenly left his job, leaving heaven in the care of his angels. Jesse, upon finding this out has decided to find God and make him take up his responsibility again. Cassidy, on the other hands, finds his girlfriend dying of a heroin overdose and sets out, with the help of Jesse and Tulip to avenge her. Towards the end, the Grail also makes an appereance. The grail is a society protecting the ancient and holy bloodline of Christ. Kinda similar to the DaVinci Code, but so much more fun and satirical.

In the third volume, Preacher Vol. 3: Proud Americans, Jesse and Tulip are headed to France, to the grail headquarters, to rescue Cassidy who is held captive by them. Jesse also meets an old friend of his dad, who died when Jesse was only five. Through him, Jesse learns more of his dad, who he only has a fleeting recollection of. Towards the end of the volume, we also learn Cassidy's history, how he became a vampire, what powers he then gained and how he came from Ireland to the America.

All three volumes show, in my opinion, a high level of storytelling ability, the characters are realistically portrayed, you really start caring for them (The scene where Jessy met his father's old army friend gave me goos bumps). At the same time, the story is filled with a lot of humour, black humour most of the time, and arcane biblical references. Also, the different storylines are often told in very different fashions, some time you feel you are reading a western, then an action story, sometimes the style is crime, sometimes drama. Garth Ennis tryly shows his artistic range and his ability as a writer. Supplemented with Steve Dillon's wonderful artwork, this comic becomes very good and I highly recommend it. But you need a strong heart, I reckon, the violence is everywhere and page after page is filled with bloody, gory details.

Well, that was my take on Preacher so far. Still have two more volumes of the story at home and plan to read them soon. I have also been reading in the novel London, of course, and is coming closer and closer to the end. Only about 50 pages left there, so tomorrow's post will be about London, and how I felt about that book after hving finished it.

That's it for now I guess, going back to my reading. Tomorrow I have a meeting concerning my new job, hopefully my boss and I are on the same page and can figure out all the details. The job looks interesting and I hope I end up having it. Wish me luck. Until next time

cya

Graphic Novels

A few years ago I was reading a lot of graphic novels, or comics, but when going to Australia I left them all with a friend. This week I picked them up again, and have a lot of interesting reading ahead of me. I have started on Preacher Vol. 1: Gone to Texas, a comic for adults by Garth Ennis. The story is of a preacher, who starts questioning God, and then partly taken over by an entity called Genesis, half angelic half demonic. He then sets out to find out more about Genesis together with his ex-girlfriend and an Irish vampire. This story is not for the conservative or the faint hearthed as it's quite violent and plays a lot around with christian views. God, for example, has, after creating the world, become fed up with his job and just left. The story is very good though, revealing small pieces of background information at a time, always leaving the reader wondering what has happened and what will happen. Also, I find the artwork quite good, allthough not the best I have seen from a comic. So if you like violence, urban fantasy and graphic novels, it is greatly recommended. And if you haven't read any graphic novels, this could be a good starting point (or even better, try The Sandman by Neil Gaiman) I am still reading the first volume, halfway through, and plan to finish it today before going to bed, maybe while enjoying a good glass of whisky.

Comics had in recent years/decades undergone quite a revolution. Some of the stories on the market today are as deep and complex as novels, and I have found many good stories through novels. For example: Sandman, Hellblazer, Swamp Thing and The Preacher. I know many people views comics as a lower form of storytelling, and art, but there are quite a few gems out there. I will make sure to post more posts about comics as my reading continues.

London is also progressing quite well, already gone through a few hundred pages since my last post, and with a lot less work in the week to come I am sure it will be done quite soon. And I already know which book I will continue with. I am staying with the same author, Edward Rutherfurd, and the book is The Forest. I am greatly impressed by the first two books I read by this author, so I guess I just have to continue with his books. Don't know if my mum has the rest of his books though. And since I can't afford buying any more books now I guess that will just have to wait.

Well, that's it for now I guess. Until next time

cya

London

Yesterday, after finishing work in the morning I was looking forward to a whole weekend without work. Didn't plan to do much, just read some, relax and see what happans. But then I got a call from work, of course, they really needed me to work another night shift and being the nice guy I am I couldn't say no of course. So I was working again last night, came home early this morning, went to bed and woke up just a few hours ago. Still very tired. So tonight I don't even wanna leave the house, just stay home and read and relax.

I am still reading London: The Novel, by Edward Rutherfurd (it is so long, 1300 pages in the paperback edition), but it is also very good, better than Sarum, the last book I read by the same author. The story takes place, as you might have guessed, in London and follows several families through their rise and fall and subesquent rise or fall in London society. The families are the protagonists, so every chapter jumps some time ahead in the future, from a few years to a few centuries. As in Sarum, the different family members often share a common family trait, or several, which helps identify them throughout history. Also, the families share a lot of interaction between each other, often members from different families marry each other, thereby linking the families closer together. I am currently come to the time of the reformation, after the War of the Roses, when the Plantagenet dynasty fell from the throne of England to be replaced by the House of Tudor. Almost halfway through the book, so stilla lot of fun and interesting reading ahead of me. very much looking forward to it.

Other than working and reading, not much has been going on in my life since coming home from Australia almost two months ago. Three years of studying without working certainly left a big dent in my wallet and I know have to pay for that. This was something I knew before coming home though, so no regrets. I had an awesome time down under, and a few onths of hard work when coming home is a small price to pay. In a month I will start my new job, and than will only work days, with every weekend off. Better pay will also help my situation. I hope to get my finances in order within a few months, hopefully by easter when I am going to Italy for a week.

Well, not much more to write about for the moment. heading back to the couch to read some more. Until next time

cya

Sarum Completed

Finally, after over a week of reading (seldom I use such a long time on a book) I have finished Edvard Rutherfurd's mammoth book Sarum, which tells the history of Salisbury Plains in England, the place where the famous Stonehenge lies. The book was very good, following the story of five families living around the plains, from the end of the last ice age to present days (the 1980s and 90s). I really liked the book, and have already started on one of his other books, London: The Novel, which surprisingly tells the history of London as seen through the eyes of a few select, fictional families. So if you like historical fiction and haven't heard of Edvard Rutherford, I greatly recommend him. In fact, I recommend him even if you have heard of him, and even if you don't like historical fiction.

Not much else is happening in my life, so I won't write about that.

We had snow yesterday, finally. Haven't had the white winters we're used to in Norway lately. Usually it's above freezing temperatures (would that be called melting temperatures), and onlt some rain. But last night came several centimeters of snow. But I really don't like the cold and I'm looking forward to the summer and missing the fine weather in Australia.

Until next time

cya

Not much happening

Not much have happened the last few days. Have been working most of the time, reading some, sleeping a little. Today I went to the movies to see Arn, a Swedish movie based on Jan Guillou's Knight Templar trilogy. Quite good, although the books were better. Haven't read them in four years almost, plan to read them again soon.

Still reading Sarum, but almost done. Then I plan to finish London and who knows what I'll read next.

Have a visit to the dentist tomorrow. Don't mind it really, except for the bill. Way too expensive.

Another short post here, a long one is coming up as soon as I have some more time to write, and have finished a book. Have read Sarum for over a week now.

Well, I'm off to bed. Until next time

cya

Went away for the Weekend

On friday, I went with my friend to his dad's summer house, about 2.5 hours away from here. It was a much needed relaxing weekend after a lot of work lately. The days were spent sleeping, reading, eating and playing games, Trivial Pursuit among others. Luckily I have been reading a lot of historical fiction lately, which really helped when playing Trivial Pursuit. I excelled at the history questions. Unfortunelately I forgot Sarum, the book I am reading, but brought the book London, by the same author (as i planned to finish Sarum while away). So I guess I have to read two books now, but only for a short while, as I am almost done with Sarum.

London, by Edward Rutherfurd, is similar in style to Sarum. London tells, as you might have guessed, the story of London, from a celtic gathering place, through the Roman town through to present day London. The story is told through the eyes of several families as we follow through time. Have only read about 200 pages so far, and the book is long, 1300 pages.

Well, now I must finish Sarum and London, so updates on both will follow. But over the next two days I have quite a work schedule, so probably won't have much time for either reading or blogging.

I have finally gotten a job as well. I am staying within 7-eleven, as I have gotten a manager position at a store dwontown. Not one of the ones I have been working at, but a different one. I start sometime in February, the details aren't quite worked out yet. But I am very much looking forward to having a steady job, and not just working whenever needed. The pay should be better as well.

Anyways, have to go to work soon, and need a shower before that. Until next time

cya

Still reading Sarum

Sarum really is a mammoth book, following the story of fimve families through generation after generation, through 10000 years. And I love the book. Lately I have started reading more and more historical fiction and this book is among my favorites. Sometimes, it can be hard to keep up with new characters though, as years pass between chapters (from a few thousands to hundred or more), and new characters are introduced very often. However, every family shows some sort of family trait which helps identify them. The book is also filled with history, not only English history, but European history as well.

Right now, I have reached the point of the War of the Roses, or just passed it, and come to the reformation and all the trouble that brough. New monarchs brought new looks at christianity, back and forth between Lutheran and Catholic, and heretics were burned and executed all over the place. Quite a violent age.

Well, I still have 400 pages or so to go, so a lot of reading still, which is good since the book is awesome. Until next time

cya

Sarum

Work again today, home at 4p.m. So tired. Plan to spend the evening at home, just sleeping, relaxing and maybe do some reading. Sarum is progressing very well. The book gets better and better. The characterisation gets better as the characters are given more time and pages, and since the book follows the story through five families, we can follow certain family traits through the generation, which makes for very interesting reading. The story started 10000 years ago, and currently I have reacher circa 800 AD.

Not much more to say I guess, take care. Until next time

cya

Name of the Rose and Sarum

Last night, in the early hours of the morning, I finished the Name of the Rose, thereby concluding my reading of all of Umberto Eco's novels. The Name of the Rose, had in my opinion, the best ending of all his books. The solution to the crimy mystery was a good one, surprising, but still possible to realise ahead of the protagonists, as long as you think some. The story was well paced, the characters good and interesting. All in all, a very good book and a recommended read.

So, now I have, in the span of two weeks, read all five of Umberto Eco's novels. The best one would have to be Focault's Pendulum, but that might be because it dealt with the subjects I am most interested in, occultism and hermeticism. The Name of the Rose comes a close second I think, but they are all so good it feels wrong to choose one over the other. Baudolino was really good as well, and had, I felt, the best translation. Queen Loana dealt with more recent subjects, books and comics from the first half of the century mostly, and really appealed to my own love of books. The Island of the Day Before was my least favorite I guess, but could have suffered from mediocre translation. I somehow felt the ending didn't deliver, mostly language wise. Eco's writing is so poetic and beautiful, it leaves a hard and demanding job of the translator. One day I have to learn Italian and read these books in their original language. All the books are high on my list of favorites, and I greatly recommend all of them.

I have now started on Sarum: The Novel of England, by Edward Rutherford, a historical fiction about the Salisbury Plains in Southern England, where Stonehenge is located. This is a massive book, over 1300 pages, and with an equally massive scope. It starts with the ending of the last great Ice Age, the creation of the British Isles, tells of how the Salisbury Plains then was populated, then continues through history up to recent years I guess. I have only just come to the erection of Stonehenge, 200 pages into the book. So I still have a long way to go. Could take a few days to read, i guess, but updates will follow. So far I like the book, it is written in an easy way, a lot of history is injected into the book, not only of the british isles, but of the rest of Europe as well, making it easy to know where in history you currently are. The chracterisation is lacking in certain spots, but that is mostly due to the few pages some characters receive (and I guess the simple hunter-gatherers at the time didn't have the same emotional range as us). Since the book covers thousands of years, it is apparent that every character cannot be given a lot of room. Rutherford does a good job of describing the society and culture existing at the different historical periods though, this is a book teaching you a lot of British History. So far, so good.

Well, another day off work. Yeay!! Plan to do some more reading, and tonight my dad is having a birthday party (his birthday was on friday). So I guess this is it for now. Until next time

cya

Heavy Metal

As a fan of heavy metal music, Trondheim is becoming a very good place to live nowadays. Last year Ozzy Osbourne graced us with his presence (which unfortunelately I missed since I was in Australia, and had to settle for Heaven and Hell, or Black Sabbath with Dio), and this year things are really taking off. Iron Maiden, Judas Priest and Def leppard are all playing, as well as Deep Purple, who has a concert outside the city, about half an hours drive from here. Can't wait for the summer. Already got my ticket for Iron Maiden, and as soon as my wallet has fattened up a bit I will get the other tickets. Wonder if this year can be topped by forthcoming years. I guess Led Zeppelin has to show up.

As for reading, I have had a lot of time for that today. No work today, and no plans either. Just a quiet and relaxing day, spent in the sofa with my books (The Name of The Rose). Should finish that one soon, and still not sure what to continue with. Maybe Paulo Coelho, my mum has most of his books, if not all, and as I have only read the Pilgrimage and the Alchymist, there are a lot of new books there to be discovered. And of course I still have the books I got for Christmas, and Century Rain by Alastair reynolds, which I bought a few days ago (my reward for putting in all those hours at work. Couldn't really afford it but... I really wanted it).

The Name of The Rose, by the way, is a really good book. A crime story injected with lots of historical observations, theological discussions and thoughts about books, literature, knowledge and signs. In the usual Eco fashion, reading this book will fill your head with new information, and enhance your love of books. Also, unlike the English translations of his other books I have read, the Norwegian translator translates all latin quotes as well (but doesn't omit the latin either, here you get both). This was great, since my fluency in Latin is rather limited (but I have actually studied it for a few months, but my vocabulary is rather limited). This way I can read both the Latin quote, try to figure it out and then look at the translation. In the other books where only the Latin quote was included in many circumstances, I could only pick out a word or two and had no idea of what it said really. Not only do I get the meaning this way, I can also pick up some on my Latin, which I plan to start learning again some time in the future. I actually started learning Latin with a friend, we both wanted to learn another language, and picked Latin for fun, since we figured that would be the most pointless and least useful language to learn. Or the most useful maybe, knowing Latin probably makes it easier to learn other European Languages, and helps in figuring out the meaning behind new and comlicated English words, many that derives from Latin counterparts. Anyways, back to the Name of the Rose. This is Eco's first book, and is both very similar and dissimilar to his other works, as all his books really are. The books are all set in different time periods, and is filled with information and knowledge from those time periods. The style of writing is the same in his books, maybe with the exeption of Focault's Pendulum, which is like Eco times 5 in many ways. Where the other books focuses on a story and injects discussions and information into that story, Focaul't Pendulum is more like an occult history book disguised as a story. The vast volume of historical information, many times greater than in his other books, is immense, and tends to confuse the reader. Sometimes it just seems to much, I actually finished this book only on my third try, the first two times I gave up, having lost track of all the names, secret societies, historical events etc.. A certain knowledge of the Templars, Masons, occultism, hermeticism and European history is recommended before reading this book. I recommend reading Holy Blood, Holy Grail before reading Focaults Pendulum, and maybe some books on the Kabbalah (especially the Tree of Life and the Sephiroth) and the Free Masons as well. This will prepare you, to a certain extent, to the flood of information you are about to receive.

Well, it's getting late here, and I plan to finish The Name of the Rose before falling asleep, so I guess I have to go now. Until next time

cya

Long Live the Weekend

Finally, my first weekend without work in a month or so. That's gonna be so good. Since I haven't gotten my pay check yet, I'm practically broke, so plan to spend weekend reading and relaxing. I am very tired from all the shifts at work lately. My last day off was Christmas Eve, so two days off in a row is gonna be good.

Haven't had much time too read lately, still reading Name of the Rose, only about 50 pages a days. This book I'm reading in Norwegian as opposed to English, kinda weird actually since I usually just read in English. Like the book so far, written in typical Eco-style. The story is a crime story, sorta, about some murders in an abbey, and the two munks trying to solve the case. The book also includes several discussions about theological views, and the living conditions at the time (14th century europe).

Hmm, what elso to write. Television, which used to be such an integral part of my life has now almost vanished. i used to watch the telly for hours every day, just lying in bed and switching channels. Since I came home from Australia in the beginning of December I have hardly watched any, maybe because my sister has taken my TV now, and I don't have one in my room. I don't miss it though, it was just the other day I realised I have quit watching. Interesting. Maybe watching Tv was just a symptom of my laziness, it was so easy to reach out for the remote and watch meaningless dribble for a few hours, putting my brain on stand-by. Nowadays, I don't do that anymore, I either chose to read or sleep instead (and of course with all the extra working I don't have mush time for TV anyways, I have been working a lot in the evenings, when all the interesting shows are on, what is showing at day time stinks anyways).

Well, not much has happened lately, so not much to write about. And now I'm gonna go back to reading again. Until next time

cya

The Island of the Day Before Completed

Today, I woke up very early, around 4a.m actually. I was very tired yesterday, and went to sleep around 10, so that's probably why. Anyway, lying in bed in the early hours of the morning I finished Eco's the Island of the Day Before. The book was good, not his best one though. The ending was very trippy actually, but good, mixing storylines and 'fact' and fiction in interesting ways. Reading a story about a man making up a story which he eventually starts believing is real can be quite funny. The book also has a quite funny explanation of how God could flood the whole world during the great flood.

I have now started on the last of Umberto Eco's novels, The Name of the Rose, which happens to be the first he published. So in a few days I will be finished with Eco's books, wonder what to read next. I actually bought a book today as well, Century Rain, by Alaister Reynolds. Alaister Reynolds is definelately one of my favorite authors. His books are Science Fiction or space opera, but he writes with a lot of scientific knowledge. Having studied physics and astronomy, and worked for the ESA (European Space Agency), I guess you can imagine he knows what he is writing about. His books are well researched, well structured and has interesting plots and characters. Amny of his books are also set in the same universe, but can be read as stand alone books. If you like SF, you should definelately check out Alastair Reynolds.

Well, that's all I'm writing for today I guess, gonna head back to the couch and read some more, before going to work in a few hours. Last day of night shift for a while, then day shifts, leaving more time availiable. Working during the evening kinda ruins the whole day, as I never seems able to get up in early, and end up just sleeping till I have to go to work. From tomorrow I'll be off work at 3p.m. so I can do something fun and useful during the evenings (if I just had some money). Well, well. Until next time

cya

Happy New Year

So, 2008 is finally here. New Year's Eve was mostly spent at work, or home alone, so no extravagant celebration for me. Enjoyed a good book and a glass of red wine.

Still reading the Island of the Day Before, but coming closer and closer to the end (of course I am, I'm not reading it backwards). Have also been reading a lot of Freud's writings lately, thought I would find out what psycho-analysis really is. Quite interesting really.

So, what will the new year bring for me, I wonder. I guess only time will tell. But I'll make sure to post whatever happens on this blog, if it is interesting of course. Won't write about any minor event, and mostly about my reading. Well, supper is coming up, I am tired, don't really feel like writing much now. Until next time

cya