Reading.
Non-exhaustive list of books I've read and am reading, in reverse chronological order.
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Morgonstjärnan
Karl Ove Knausgård
I thought Knausgård would be a hard read, but it was not. "Morgonstjärnan" is so lovely. The author has this superb power of making seemingly mundane everyday people and tasks become interesting. His description are rich, and the pace is perfect. I was really captivated and inspired.
April 2022 — Fjällnäs, Sweden
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Once Upon A Time… In Hollywood
Quentin Tarantino
It's quite rare that a book is written after a film, and by the film's creator too. I loved this one: it's 100% Quentin Tarantino-ness all way through. He has space to go deeper in the conversations between the characters, whose stories he can give justice too. Like the film, it somehow entertains me without having a real plot.
April 2022 — Stockholm, Sweden
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The Clash
Strummer, Jones, Simonon, Headon
An okay account of the history of the band, told by themselves in interview format.
November 2021 — Stockholm, Sweden
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Ålevangeliet
Patrik Svensson
Stockholm, Sweden
In progress
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Fight Club
Chuck Palahniuk
I honestly think the movie is better. I'm sure the book would be cool if I'd read that first, but I couldn't stand the fast paced dialogue with random sentences thrown in between lines.
September 2021 — Florence, Italy
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American Psycho
Bret Easton Ellis
The book is a lot more psycho than the movie. More explicit than I thought. The unreliable monologues of the narrator are amazingly written, and there are more layers to the book than just the obvious one.
September 2021 — Florence, Italy
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What I Talk About When I Talk About Running
Haruki Murakami
I love Murakami's straight forward language. This one made me want to start running. He's very honest about himself in this semi-biography, but never sentimental. Feels very Japanese.
September 2021 — Florence, Italy
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Samlade Verk
Lydia Sandgren
This is an epic describing the live of a couple of individuals from the 1970s until the 2010s in Gothenburg, Sweden. It really touched me, on several layers. I'm very sentimental about the city Gothenburg, and I was constantly impressed by the cultural references, the plot, and the language of the relatively young author. There's this amazing melancholia hanging over the whole work.
August 2021 — Österlen, Sweden
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Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind
Shunryu Suzuki
It took me a long time to finish this very thin book. The language is dense, and I wanted to soak every page in. I had to re-read a couple of sentences. But I liked it as a whole, especially the laser focus of the author's message.
February 2021 — Stockholm, Sweden
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Ishmael
Daniel Quinn
A philosophical discourse about the evolution of homo sapiens. Some things are controversial, like population control. The book's dialogue is about biodiversity, climate change, urbanisation: a lot of contemporary topics. It's a nice pairing together with Sapiens.
August 2020 — Österlen, Sweden
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Herakles
Theodor Kallifatides
I like mythology, especially like Greek mythology. This book is a novel – I guess a bit dramatised – about the life of the hero Hercules. It was good, very vivid and nuanced.
August 2020 — Stockholm, Sweden
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Normal People
Sally Rooney
I saw the series before reading the book, and both formats have their charm. The author has a great language, and manages to capture the atmosphere that surrounds that age from high school to university.
August 2020 — Stockholm, Sweden
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Cosa Nostra
John Dickie
A non-fiction history about the Sicilian mafia. Entertaining.
July 2020 — Stockholm, Sweden
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About A Boy
Nick Hornby
Very 'fun' and unforeseeable language. The thoughts of the two main characters – the man and the boy – are written in a way that feels authentic. I liked the randomness and quick turns of the book.
July 2020 — Stockholm, Sweden
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Jag Kan Ha Fel
Björn Natthiko Lindeblad
Written by a Swedish businessman who became a Buddhist monk for 17 years. It's not a classic self help book, nor some kind of teaching about Buddhism. It's merely his story, with some of his philosophies thrown in. He mixes serious subjects with wit.
June 2020 — Stockholm, Sweden
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The Godfather
Mario Puzo
Even better than the movie. More details (of course), and deeper descriptions of characters.
March 2020 — Stockholm, Sweden
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The Alchemist
Paolo Coelho
I loved it in the beginning, but then it turned out to be boring New Age-y stuff.
January 2020 — Sri Lanka
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The Zahir
Paolo Coelho
Like The Alchemist, this one was boring. Poorly written, boring plot, and not believable at all.
January 2020 — Sri Lanka
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The Snow Leopard
Peter Matthiessen
A travel diary of an American in an expedition into the Himalayas. He's real goal is to catch a glimpse of the very shy Snow Leopard. This travel text captures the beauty of Zen without speaking too much about it. It's kind of dense at times, but very, very grand.
January 2020 — Sri Lanka
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Men Without Women
Haruki Murakami
I like short story collections, and Murakami's language is the best. Read this.
January 2020 — Sri Lanka
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The Sun Also Rises
Ernest Hemingway
May 2019 — Barcelona, Spain
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A Brief History of Time
Stephen Hawking
March 2019 — Stockholm, Sweden
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A Little Life
Hanya Yanagihara
The saddest book I've read in all my life. But oh so good.
July 2018 — Stockholm, Sweden
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21 Lessons for the 21th Century
Yuval Noah Harari
May 2018 — Stockholm, Sweden
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Hero – David Bowie
Lesley-Ann Jones
October 2017 — Lisbon, Portugal
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Sapiens
Yuval Noah Harari
August 2017 — Nice, France
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The Mountain Shadow
Gregory David Roberts
Sequel to Shantaram. Not as good, but nevertheless a good sequel.
July 2017 — Gothenburg, Sweden
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M Train
Patti Smith
October 2016 — New York, USA
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A Moveable Feast
Ernest Hemingway
May 2016 — Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
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The Essential Hemingway
Ernest Hemingway
May 2016 — Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
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Dancing with the Devil in the City of God
Juliana Barbassa
May 2016 — Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
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Just Kids
Patti Smith
Very touching, and beautifully written.
November 2015 — San Francisco, USA
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Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance
Robert M. Pirsig
September 2015 — Vienna, Austria
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W. Axl Rose
Mick Wall
January 2015 — Gothenburg, Sweden
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Becoming Steve Jobs
Brent Schlender & Rick Tetzeli
April 2015 — Gothenburg, Sweden
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Steve Jobs
Walter Isaacson
August 2015 — Gothenburg, Sweden
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Shantaram
Gregory David Roberts
July 2015 — Gothenburg, Sweden
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Scar Tissue
Anthony Kiedis
Raw and honest.
July 2014 — Gothenburg, Sweden
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Into the Wild
Jon Krakauer
January 2014 — Paris, France
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Black Sabbath
Mick Wall
July 2012
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The Road
Cormac McCarthy
The minimal language is perfect.
July 2011
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Life of Pi
Yann Martel
August 2010 — Calgary, Canada
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Infinity
Brian Clegg
July 2010 — Calgary, Canada
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Rework
Jason Fried & David Heinemeier Hansson
May 2010 — Calgary, Canada
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The Holy Blood And The Holy Grail
Michael Baigent, Richard Leigh & Henry Lincoln
April 2010 — Calgary, Canada
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No One Here Gets Out Alive
Jerry Hopkins & Danny Sugarman
May 2010 — Calgary, Canada
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Interview wih the Vampire
Anne Rice
February 2010 — Calgary, Canada
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Led Zeppelin – When Giants Walked The Earth
Mick Wall
January 2010 — Kauai, Hawaii
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Hammer of the Gods – The Led Zeppelin Saga
Stephen Davis
January 2010 — Kauai, Hawaii
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The Old Man and the Sea
Ernest Hemingway
May 2008
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1984
George Orwell
August 2007
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Animal Farm
George Orwell
August 2007
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The Silmarillion
J.R.R. Tolkien
May 2002
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Bilbo
J.R.R. Tolkien
January 2002
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The Lord of the Rings
J.R.R. Tolkien
December 2001
55 books