Catching the Blogger Reading

Weekly Geeks: 

"This week, for a Geeky assignment, how about a picture? A self portrait of sorts. I think it would be fun if you all took a picture of yourself (or have someone help you most likely) reading your current book (so we can see what it is) in your favorite reading spot. Then post it! " 

So here you see me in my favourite corner, Kindle in my hand, the hot stove behind me, a mug of coffee in front of me. I thought the moment was perfect - just back from the library with six crime novels (and from the hairdresser, to be honest) - all ready for the photographer.

Weekly Geeks # 24: trivia

Weekly Geeks is another activity I have not had time to participate in for several weeks, but this week offers a good opportunity to write a crime-related post: ask some book trivia questions.

Here we go. How many first names do you remember?

1) The British writer Agatha Christie´s two best known detectives are Monsieur Poirot and Mrs Marple. What are their first names?

2) American Sue Grafton´s alphabet series is about the female detective Millhone. What is her first name?

3) Scottish Alexander McCall Smith writes about Mma Ramotswe from Botswana. Her first name?

4) American Elizabeth George writes about the British couple Lynley and Havers. What are their first names?

5) Swedish author Stieg Larsson´s famous trilogy features Blomkvist and Salander. What are their first names?

6) British Colin Dexter´s famous couple are called Morse and Lewis. What are their first names?

Send a comment with your answers. They are moderated, but I will add your name to the post plus how many of your ten first names are correct.

Answers so far:
Whereisrikki: five correct answers of five suggestions
Olelog: one correct answer of one suggestion (the tricky one).
Farmlanebooks: cannot remember Inspector Morse´s first name. Small wonder, Jackie.
Crimescraps: ten correct answers - plus a confession that he watches too much TV.
Lahni: one answer, which is correct.
Gautami Tripathy: five answers, all correct.
Kerrie: eight correct answers of eight suggestions (but you have mixed up question 5 and 6 :)) Kerrie has discovered her mistake - ten out of ten correct.
Claire: two answers, which are both correct.

NB: from Monday I will be away on holiday.

Marked by Reading

Weekly Geeks # 17

When in need, I use anything as a bookmark, old receipts, corners torn off the newspaper, old postcards etc, but I prefer a nice one of cartoon which is a bit shorter than the pages of the book.

The photo above is a small collection of Irish bookmarks, bought in Dublin during a wonderful holiday two years ago.

The second photo shows some pretty or funny bookmarks – nice and colourful.

The third photo, below, a cheap and tattered bunch – but very useful, and for free.

NB: my grandfather told my father and his brothers never to use a fried egg as a bookmark. A very useful advice, I should say.


Bemærkelsesværdige Bogmærker.
I en snæver vending bruger jeg hvad som helst som bogmærke; gamle kvitteringer, hjørnet af en avisside, gamle postkort mm, men jeg vil allerhelst have et pænt, stift karton-bogmærke, som er lidt kortere end bogsiden.

Øverst ser du en lille samling irske bogmærker, købt i Dublin under en pragtfuld ferie for to år siden.

Det andet billede viser nogle pæne eller sjove bogmærker – skønne og farverige.

Til sidst er der de luvslidte. Der er ikke andet at sige, end at de er nyttige og gratis.
Og som min farfar sagde til min far og hans brødre: I må aldrig bruge et spejlæg som bogmærke!

Weekly Geeks # 13. National Poetry Month

This post is dedicated to Mike Burden & the Weekly Geeks. It is based on Ruth Rendell, Put on by Cunning (1981) and a former post on Reg Wexford (see ´No More Dying Then´).

An inspector called Mike Burden

Vexed by bosses, crooks and scoundrels

Toiled and laboured in Kingsmarkham

Saving damsels, felling villains

Never lured a drink or lark him

Though so upright, smug and moral

No one offered him a laurel.

Husband, father and breadwinner

Married once, but lost to cancer

Wife and bliss in one fell swoop

Lost his heart, the poor romancer

Parted from his sense of judgment

Gobsmacked, in St Lukeses summer

Until Jenny came, a godsend.

Married twice, this time with Jenny,

Wonder, wife and paragon

Who excels at cleaning, cooking,

Teaches Burden nightly booking

Even plays the violin deftly

But who plays the second fiddle?

Is the reader´s constant riddle.

Smartly dressed in sheepskin jacket

Modernized with new horizon

With his great deductive powers

Newfound literary skills

Burden, full of flame and fire

Waits for Wexford to retire

Ready for chief Griswold´s call

Just a sidekick ever after

Or will Rendell budge at all?

Weekly Geeks # 12. Linking to other reviews.

[Remember to try my competition & win a thriller/crime novel - 30 hours left]

1.Write a post encouraging readers to look through your archives: the easiest way to find my reviews is to follow the label ´review´. That is what I would do myself.

3. Visit other Weekly Geeks and go through their reviews. Leave links for them.
In principle, I am all for linking to other people´s reviews, and I even remember to do so occasionally. It will not be easy for me to find many Weekly Geek participants whose reviews I can link to, however, as I blog about crime novels only, and around half of the books are Scandinavian – some of which are not even translated into English.

During my hunt I came up with the following:
1) Louise of Lou’s Pages who has reviewed Asa Larsson, Black Path (in Danish). I have linked to Louise´s review in my own review (immediately below this post), and added two links to English reviews written by blog friends who are not Weekly Geeks.

2) Kerrie of Mysteries in Paradise has reviewed Jo Nesbo, Nemesis. My Nemesis review is here.

3) Erika of Kiss My Book has reviewed Sue Grafton, A is for Alibi. My review of A is for Alibi

Weekly Geeks # 11. Historical Fiction

[Remember to participate in my competition & try to win Sophie Hannah´s Little Face]

I decided to answer question 2: Do you have a favourite book that really pulled you back in time, or perhaps gave you a special interest in that period? My choice is not a single book, but a whole series:

Andrew Taylor, The Lydmouth Series (8 volumes published between 1994-2006)
This is a good and well-written crime series with engaging plots, but it would not be the same at all without the fictive Lydmouth environment and the British setting of the late 1940s and 50s (a period I am too young to have experienced but feel I recognize from literature and films). The books are not always cosy, however, as they give a fairly accurate view on the time rather than a picture postcard. In the first book, An Air that Kills, we are taken even further back in time when some local builders find the skeleton of a tiny baby which may date back to the Victorian era, a period when a pregnancy meant serious trouble to unmarried women.

Lydmouth is an enclosed little world populated with a manageable number of citizens, many of whom return in several books. Jill Francis, stubborn and dedicated journalist and one of the two main characters, is employed by an old friend, Philip Wemyss-Brown, editor of the Gazette, him and his wife being pillars of the local society where newcomers will be newcomers. She needs a fresh start after a hurtful love affair in London, and thinks quiet Lydmouth may be the answer.

Inspector Richard Thornhill, encumbered with mortgaged house, wife and children, is also new to Lydmouth, his wife´s home town. He tries to live up to the expectations and moral standard of the place, but obviously pretty young Jill, a successful and independent woman, seems more attractive than his slightly worn little housewife who worries about insignificant details such as threadbare socks, school uniforms and having a meal ready whenever it pleases her husband to return home in the evening.

For more information on this series you might visit Andrew Taylor´s homepage and go to “Lydmouth series” e.g. to read Martin Edwards´ very thorough introduction.

Weekly Geeks # 11 – historisk fiktion.
Jeg bestemte mig for at besvare denne uges spørgsmål 2: har du en yndlingsbog, som virkelig fører dig tilbage I tiden, eller måske gav dig en særlig interesser for denne periode? Jeg har ikke valgt en enkelt bog, men en hel serie.

Andrew Taylor, Lydmouth-serien (8 bind udgivet I perioden 1994-2006)
Her er tale om en fin og velskrevet krimiserie med spændende plots, men den ville på ingen måde være det samme uden det fiktive Lydmouth-miljø i 1940ernes og 50ernes England (en periode, jeg er for ung til at have oplevet, men som jeg føler jeg genkender fra litteratur og film). Bøgerne er ikke nødvendigvis hyggelige, da de giver et meget præcist indtryk af perioden, og ikke noget glansbillede. I første bind, De dødes måned, bliver vi bragt endnu længere tilbage i tiden, da nogle lokale bygningshåndværkere finder skelettet af et spædbarn, som muligvis stammer fra viktoriatiden, en tid hvor en graviditet betød alvorlige problemer for en ugift kvinde.

Lydmouth er en lukket lille verden, beboet af et overskueligt antal bysbørn, som ofte vender tilbage i adskillige af bøgerne. Jill Francis, vedholdende og engageret journalist og den ene af de to hovedpersoner, bliver ansat af en gammel ven, Philip Wemyss-Brown, redaktør for The Gazette. Wemyss-Brown-parret er solide amfundsstøtter i det lokale samfund, hvor man er tilflytter på livstid. Jill har brug for en frisk start efter et vanskeligt forhold i London, og forestiller sig, at fredelige Lydmouth må være svaret på hendes bønner.

Kriminalassistent Richard Thornhill, bebyrdet af hus og prioritetslån, kone og børn, er også ny i Lydmouth, hans kones fødeby. Han prøver at leve op til stedets forventninger og moral, men det står ret klart, at smarte unge Jill, succesrig og uafhængig kvinde, er mere tiltrækkende i hans øjne end hans lettere nedslidte lille husmor, som bekymrer sig om ubetydelige detaljer som hullede sokker, skoleuniformer og varm mad, uanset hvornår Thornhill kommer hjem om aftenen.

For flere oplysninger om serien, som kan læses og nydes for kærlighedshistoriens skyld, for beskrivelsen af efterkrigstidens England eller for forbrydelserne, er det en god idé at besøge Andrew Taylors egen hjemmeside og gå ind under ”Lydmouth series”, bl.a. for at læse Martin Edwards´ meget grundige introduktion.

Weekly Geeks # 9 - A Quote a Day.

This week´s task is to post a quotation every day for a week:

"You may want to come up with a theme, such as favorite passages from books, author quotes, political quotes, quotes about books or reading, humorous quotes, whatever. Or you may not want a theme at all; maybe you just want to gather up seven assorted quotes that appeal to you. You may want to start each of your posts of the week with a quote, or you may want to give quotes posts of their own in addition to your regular posts. It’s all up to you!"

Without having a clear plan in my mind for the whole week, I have decided to start out by giving you a short appetizer for tomorrow´s post:

"Dora´s manner, when she came down, was injured and distrait, but the chief inspector had been married for thirty years and had seldom permitted petticoat government."




Weekly Geeks # 9 - et citat om dagen ...

Ugens opgave går ud på at bringe et citat hver dag, enten som et selvstændigt indlæg, eller integreret i ugens øvrige indlæg. Jeg har ikke lagt nogen slagplan for hele ugen, men lægger ud med en appetitvækker til morgendagens indlæg:

"Doras væsen, da hun kom ned, var såret og fjernt, men kriminalinspektøren havde været gift i tredive år, og havde sjældent tilladt noget skørteregime."

Crime with a Message - Weekly Geeks # 8.

This week´s theme: write about a political or social issue that matters to you.

Classical crime fiction, often called whodunnits, were usually mere entertainment, an intellectual puzzle meant to kill a few hours. Noteworthy crime writers who have changed the genre are the Swedish couple Maj Sjöwall and Per Wahlöö who wrote ten very famous crime novels in the period from 1965 to 1975 with the clear agenda of exposing inequality and abuse of power in the Swedish society. Since then several crime writers have voiced social indignation on behalf of children, women, immigrants, minorities etc.

The theme I have chosen to focus on today is abuse of women (a theme which should be relevant to any woman - and fortunately many men also feel obliged to join in the important fight against it).

British & American crime fiction about abuse of women:
Ruth Rendell, Simisola (1994). A novel about exploitation and abuse of illegal immigrants who for obvious reasons dare not go to the police.

Elizabeth George, A Great Deliverance (1988). Here I find it difficult to write about the theme without spoiling the plot.

Scandinavian novels:
The most famous Scandinavian (crime fiction) writer right now may be Swedish Stieg Larsson and his millennium trilogy. His debut, "The Girl with The Dragon Tattoo" (2008), deals with a mass murderer exposing young women to horrible sexual maltreatment before killing them.

Other Scandinavian crime novels in which abuse of women is a central theme:
Camilla Läckberg, The Preacher (2009) Prædikanten (2006) - Swedish
Liza Marklund, Paradise (2000) Paradiset (2001) - Swedish

The last three are not translated into English (at least not for the time being)
Kim Småge, Containerkvinden (1999) - Norwegian
Elsebeth Egholm, Personskade (2005) - Danish
Jo Nesbø, Snemanden (2007) - Norwegian

NB: the list is certainly not conclusive. Please send me a comment if you would like to add any of your ´favourite´ crime novels on this serious subject.

Readers´ additions:
Helene Tursten, The Glass Devil (Swedish)
Stieg Larsson, The Girl who Played with Fire (Swedish)
Sophie Hannah, The Other Half Lives (British)

Australian crime fiction:
Michael Robotham, The Night Ferry
Kathryn Fox, Without Consent (forensic thriller)

American crime fiction:
James Patterson, 1st to Die
Tess Gerritsen, Vanish
Christa Faust, Money Shot
John D. MacDonald & the protagonist Travis McGee - several novels about abuse of women
Andrew Vachss - has also written a number of novels on the theme.

Krimi med et budskab - Weekly Geeks # 8.
Denne uges ´weekly geek´ opgave går ud på at skrive om et politisk eller socialt emne, som betyder noget for mig.

Den klassiske krimi blev normalt skrevet udelukkende for at underholde, et intellektuelt puslespil, som skulle slå nogle timer ihjel. Et par krimiforfattere, som har været med til at ændre genren er det svenske ægtepar Maj Sjöwall og Per Wahlöö, som skrev ti berømte krimier i perioden 1965-1975, med den klare hensigt at udlevere manglende lighed og magtmisbrug i det svenske samfund. Siden da har utallige krimiforfattere brugt deres bøger som talerør for udsatte børn, kvinder, immigranter, minoriteter osv.

Det tema, jeg har valgt at fokusere på i dag er misbrug af kvinder (det burde være relevant for enhver kvinde, og heldigvis er der også mange mænd, som har sluttet sig til kampen imod det).

Britisk og amerikansk krimilitteratur om misbrug af kvinder:
Ruth Rendell, Simisola (1995). En roman om udnyttelse og misbrug af illegale immigranter, som af åbenlyse årsager ikke tør henvende sig til politiet.
Elizabeth George, En fars begær (1988).

Skandinaviske krimier:
Den mest berømte netop nu må være Stieg Larssons debut, "Mænd der hader kvinder" (2005).
Kim Småge, Containerkvinden (1999) - norsk
Liza Marklund, Paradiset (2001) - svensk
Elsebeth Egholm, Personskade (2005) - dansk
Camilla Läckberg, Prædikanten (2006) - svensk
Jo Nesbø, Snemanden (2007) - norsk

Læsernes tilføjelser:
Helene Tursten, Glasdjævlen (svensk)
Stieg Larsson, Pigen som legede med ilden (svensk)

NB: listen er på ingen måde fuldstændig. Send gerne en kommentar med flere eksempler.

Weekly Geeks # 6 - what´s in a name

- this week´s task is to write about the name of one of the fictional characters we like

The name of my favourite British crime fiction heroes is Adam - can you guess who?

- here is part of the information found at BabyNamer
Meaning: Its source is a Hebrew expression meaning "Red earth."
Languages: This boy's name is used in Hebrew, German, English, French, Hungarian, Kiswahili, Polish, Serbian and Croatian.
Feminine Forms: Adamina
Narrative: Some authorities believe this name is Phoenician in origin, and simply means ''man.'' Others believe the Hebrew original refers to ruddy skin.
In the Jewish scriptures, this is the name of the first man. Though we aren't told if Adam named himself, it was his job to give names ''to all cattle, and to the fowl of the air, and to every beast of the field.''
Adam was also the first person to give a name to another human being. He named his wife and helpmate Chava (in English, Eve), meaning ''life,'' because she was ''the mother of all living.''

The prize: when someone has sent me the correct name, I will post a photo! (No, not of the winner - of my hero, of course). Congratulations, Steph (from WhoDunnit)

Weekly Geeks # 6 - om navne.
Denne uges opgave går ud på at skrive om navnet på en af de litterære figurer, vi holder af.
Min britiske helt hedder Adam - kan du gætte hvem han er?

Gevinst: når nogen har gættet navnet og sendt det til mig, viser jeg et fint billede her på siden (nej, ikke af vinderen, men af helten)

Book covers: Kerstin Ekman, Blackwater

Weekly Geeks # 5 & Bingo post 7
Which cover do I prefer? Difficult to say, but the white one with the eye in it is certainly the ugliest! The Swedish one in blue and red may be the prettiest one, but the Danish one to the left certainly suits the sinister environment best.
Stay tuned: a review of Blackwater is coming up soon.

Weekly Geeks # 4 - Blue Monday

[Bingo post 2]
1. What are you passionate about besides reading and blogging?
2. Get us involved.
3. Visit other Weekly Geeks. Link in your post to other Geeks who've peaked your interest in their passion. Or maybe you might find a fellow aficionado among us, link to them.

I really want to participate in Weekly Geeks. Still, I try to stick to my principle that this blog is dedicated to crime (fiction). So I have decided to let a few photos speak for themselves of my ´blue collection´, and as you can see, one of them is actually crime-related.

I know that this is not really going to involve anyone, but as I need good pictures of beautiful tins & boxes for my weekly feature "Bait in the Box" I would appreciate any link to photos of this kind (which I may borrow).

NB: I am aware that text and photo overlap but don´t know what to do about it.

Weekly Geeks 2009 # 3

For at vise mine reelle hensigter, har jeg besluttet mig for at deltage i "Weekly Geeks" denne uge. Jeg har valgt at besvare sp 2 og 3 (i hvert fald så nogenlunde da).

2) Read at least one chapter of a classic novel, preferably by an author you're not familiar with. (og her begynder snyderiet allerede: jeg kender udmærket Wilkie Collins, og de to bøger jeg har af ham står i sommerhuset, men jeg har i hvert fald læst den ene i 2008).

De bedst kendte, klassiske krimiforfattere er formodentlig Arthur Conan Doyle og Edgar Allan Poe. Personligt holder jeg dog mere af Wilkie Collins, "Kvinden i hvidt" (1859), som også er højst aktuel for danske læsere, da forlaget Tiderne Skifter udgav en ny udgave i 2008.

Bogen var en nyskabelse i 1860ernes England, og regnes for at være en tidlig kriminalroman. Da jeg som nævnt ikke lige har bogen for hånden, klipper jeg lige en bid af Litteratursidens glimrende anmeldelse: "Walter Hartright møder en nat i Londons gader en kvinde klædt i hvidt som er på flugt fra en gruppe forfølgere. Han hjælper hende, men kan ikke siden få hende ud af hovedet. Kort tid efter får Walter Hartright ansættelse som tegnelærer hos den hovne godsejer, Mr. Fairlie, hvis niece, Laura, han skal uddanne, og som i øvrigt til forveksling ligner den mystiske kvinde i hvidt. De to forelsker sig i håbløst i hinanden på trods af at Laura har lovet sig bort til en anden mand, den spøjse Sir Percival Glyde."

Og så kan det 600 sider lange drama begynde. Rigtig hyggelig bog for læsere, som holder af viktorianske (spændings)romaner.

3) Let's say you're vacationing with your dear cousin Myrtle, and she forgot to bring a book. The two of you venture into the hip independent bookstore around the corner, where she primly announces that she only reads classic literature. If you don't find her a book, she'll never let you get any reading done! What contemporary book/s with classic appeal would you pull off the shelf for her?

Jeg ville helt klart lukke munden på kusine Myrtle med Margaret Laurence, "Stenenglen" (1988). Hun ville overhovedet ikke opdage, at bogen var hundrede år for ny, i det mindste ikke før hun var fanget ind.

Denne fantastiske dannelsessroman med den kvindelige hovedperson Hagar (mere strid og stædig end godt er), hører hjemme på min personlige top-ti. Laurence drager på fremragende vis paralleller mellem unge Hagar Shipley og Hagar fra det Gamle Testamente, Abrahams trælkvinde, som han fik et barn med. En storslået bog om en skotsk familie i Canada, og en stærk kvinde, som kæmper med sig selv og mændene omkring hende helt på sin egen måde.

Weekly Geeks # 3.
To show my honourable intentions, I have made up my mind to be a geek this week. I have decided to answer questions 2 and 3 (more or less correctly).

2) Read at least one chapter of a classic novel, preferably by an author you're not familiar with. (and here begins my cheating: I know Wilkie Collins fairly well, and the two books I own by him have been left in our cottage - but at least I read one of them in 2008).

The best known classic crime fiction writers are presumably Arthur Conan Doyle and Edgar Allan Poe. Personally, I prefer Wilkie Collins´ book "The Woman in White" (1859) which is even of current interest to Danish readers as "Tiderne Skifter" published a Danish edition in 2008.

The book was quite innovative in Charles Dickens´ England, and is regarded as an early mystery novel. As I do not have the book at hand, I have borrowed some lines from a Danish review, "One night in the streets of London Walter Hartright meets a woman dressed in white who is escaping from a group of persecutors. Mr Hartright assists her and is unable to forget her. Soon after he is employed as a drawing master by the arrogant landowner Mr Fairlie, to teach his niece Laura. (Incidentally, Laura and the woman in white are hardly distinguishable). The two of them fall helplessly in love even though Laura is betrothed to another man.

Let the 600-pages-long drama begin. A cosy read to people who are fond of Victorian (mystery) books.

3) Let's say you're vacationing with your dear cousin Myrtle, and she forgot to bring a book. The two of you venture into the hip independent bookstore around the corner, where she primly announces that she only reads classic literature. If you don't find her a book, she'll never let you get any reading done! What contemporary book/s with classic appeal would you pull off the shelf for her?

I would definitely shut dear Myrtle up with "The Stone Angel", written by Margaret Laurence in 1988. She would never realize her mistake - at least not until she had been captured.

This great bildungsroman with the female main character Hagar (more headstrong and stubborn than is good for her) belongs to my personal top-ten. (Yes, I happen to read books without murders). Laurence draws parallels between young Hagar Shipley and Old Testament Hagar, Abraham´s bondwoman who gives birth to his firstborn son. A magnificent novel about a Scottish family in Canada, and a strong woman fighting with herself and the men around her on her own terms.

[Cannot help adding a link to an interesting analysis of the book: "The Biblical Archetypes of The Stone Angel"]