(k) The 26 books I read in 2011 :)

Starting dates, titles, authors, and any comments I may wish to vomit up. I found a lot of new favourites this year, including some unexpected ones. :)

 

6-Jan-2011: 1. "Animal liberation" by Peter Singer

Fave! And a re-read. If I could recommend 1 book to everyone, THIS WOULD BE IT. :O When it becomes possible to download books directly into one's brain, I shall learn to write virus programs (by... downloading the knowledge into my brain?) and infect you all. MUAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAAAAAAA

 

9-Jan-2011: 2. "Contactcenter" by Mikael Anteskog Adler

A Swedish novel... in the form of a blog (found here), but the author calls it a book, so I shall too. It's about a guy who hates his job as a call center whore. I found it via a Swedish blog about asshole customers. :B Ahhh, glad I have a lonesome job... %P

 

22-Jan-2011: 3. "Catch-22" by Joseph Heller

Fave! Not at all sure why I picked it off the shelf in the 2nd hand shop, but the back made it out to be some kinda classic and it was very cheap, sooooo. :) Lolwatbook!

 

16-Feb-2011: 4. "Vävarnas barn" by Per Anders Fogelström

Fave! Swedish novel about misery and oppression in a clothing factory in the 1700s. Interesting and detailed. (Unlike many other works set in the olden days, it has a lot of bodily fluids in it. :S ) It's the first of a series of 8 novels set in the period between 1749 and 1968 - epic, eh! The others follow below. :) School made me read one of them in 1997 or something and I knew there were others, and... now I'd worked up the interest to read them. :p Since they seem to be classics, they've probably been translated to English. Well, maybe. If you wanna check them out... :q

 

26-Feb-2011: 5. "Krigens barn" by Per Anders Fogelström

Part 2 of the series of Swedish novels mentioned above. Kind of boring, a bit of a catalogue of naval battles. And mutilations. Which are less boring. :O

 

10-Mar-2011: 6. "The perks of being a wallflower" by Stephen Chbosky

A book thread in a forum made me wanna read it, and the news that Emma Watson would be in the movie made me hurry the fuck up before 34957397 other Potheads reserved all the library copies.

 

13-Mar-2011: 7. "Vita Bergens barn" by Per Anders Fogelström

Part 3 of the Swedish novel series, set in 1821-1860.

 

22-Mar-2011: 8. "Mina drömmars stad" by Per Anders Fogelström

Part 4 of the Swedish novel series, set in 1860-1885 or something. This was actually the first book to be written in the series, so it's one of 2 possible starting points for a reader. Think Star Wars.

 

26-Mar-2011: 9. "Barn av sin stad" by Per Anders Fogelström

Part 5 of the Swedish novel series, set between YEAR and YEEEEEEAR... anyway...

 

2-Apr-2011: 10. "Minns du den stad" by Per Anders Fogelström

Part 6 of the Swedish novel series.

 

8-Apr-2011: 11. "I en förvandlad stad" by Per Anders Fogelström

Part 7 of the Swedish novel series.

 

15-Apr-2011: 12. "Stad i världen" by Per Anders Fogelström

Part 8, the final one, of the Swedish novel series. It ends in 1968.

 

24-Apr-2011: 13. "Digital fortress" by Dan Brown

I'm pretty shitty with computers, but I like hacker stories and stuff...

 

2-May-2011: 14. "Into the wild" by Jon Krakauer

Fave! And the last book I read before I went Interrailing... Hehehe...

 

22-May-2011: 15. "Darwin's dangerous idea" by Daniel C. Dennett

The book I brought on my Interrail trip, since it wasn't too thin or too heavy, and because I didn't expect it to be an extreme pageturner and thus leave me book-less after 3 days. I was right. A lot of "?" and "wat" got written in the margins. :p I'll... I'll just keep reading Dawkins, who was probably the one who kept recommending Dennett's book. :)

 

14-Jul-2011: 16. "How the mind works" by Steven Pinker

Fave! Not as difficult as I expected. I knew some of the stuff already, but holy shit.

 

21-Jul-2011: 17. "Draken med de röda ögonen" by Astrid Lindgren

Swedish kiddy book (the really thin kind) about a cute freak dragon born to a pig. :') I read it (or had it read to me) as a tiny kid, but I forgot about it until I saw it at someone's house this year. :p

 

11-Sep-2011: 18. "Stumbling on happiness" by Daniel Gilbert

Interesting (and comforting) little book that was like a giant list of those lulzy psychological experiments in which scientists trick people. 8D It spent much time showing how hard we suck at predicting and remembering our emotions.

 

30-Sep-2011: 19. "The girl with the dragon tattoo" by Stieg Larsson

I read it in Swedish in 2007. Now I reread it (in English for the lulz) because the American movie was coming up, with MUSIC BY MESSRS NINE INCH NAILS; TRENT REZNOR AND ATTICUS ROSS!!!!!!!

 

18-Oct-2011: 20. "Breaking dawn" by Stephenie Meyer

I'll check out the final movie...s at some point.

 

2-Nov-2011: 21. "Free the animals" by Ingrid Newkirk

Fave! About a woman who quit her job as a cop and started rescuing tortured animals in the 80s. True story. Well, it's like a documentary in novel form.

 

11-Nov-2011: 22. "The help" by Kathryn Stockett

Revolution and home cleaning. (I mostly do the latter...) Had to read it before seeing the movie, although I haven't seen it yet.

 

17-Nov-2011: 23. "The life you can save" by Peter Singer

Fave! NEITHER LONG NOR DEPRESSING! The hows and whys of fighting global poverty. READ THE MOTHERFUCKING BOOK.

 

29-Nov-2011: 24. "Eating animals" by Jonathan Safran Foer

Fave! I think some of the best parts were "A case for eating dog" and the bit about how American chicken may contain only 11% of soaked-up poop-water. If I'd been on the fence about going veg (and very possibly if I'd never thought about it), I suspect this book would have knocked me down. And no, it's not just for Americans. :)

 

14-Dec-2011: 25. "Jordens herrar" by Pelle Strindlund

Fave! Swedish book whose title means "The lords of the Earth." It shows the many similarities between the "arguments" for slavery and for animal oppression. (I don't think it's been translated, but it should be.) Maybe because the tone is soft-spoken and sober, it's been praised by all kinds of reviewers. :) If you know any Swedes, tip them off.

 

31-Dec-2011: 26. "Slaveri: forntiden till renässansen" by Dick Harrison

Swedish book about... *drumroll*... slavery, part 1 (from ancient times to the renaissance [sp]) of 3. (I need me some more history books. Like, about everywhere and everywhen. Been meaning to learn more history since I was a young teenybopper. I don't know the reputation of any history writers, really, but I've finally made a little list of stuff that seems... useful. Tips = appreciated.)

 

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Vegan FAQ! :)

 

The Web Site the Meat Industry Doesn't Want You to See.

 

Please watch Earthlings.

Done