This is where I collect all the books I love, and some I don't! Books are displayed chronologically based on when I read them. Novels are on the top shelf and manga below. Hover for more information about a specific book as well as my thoughts!
I'm currently adding both books I read years ago and books I just finished to the shelf, so the length and accuracy of the descriptions may vary.
Currently reading: Pojkarna by Jessica Schiefauer
This book had been heavily displayed in Swedish bookstores for a while when I happened to find one second-hand, so I picked it up! The title roughly translates to “damn men" so at first I assumed the author to be a woman, but it's in fact an autobiographical story about a boy growing up during the green wave in the 70s. The book is divided up into sections based on the different step-fathers that were currently in the authors life (seven in total). It's written with a lot of dry humor which makes it a very fun read!
Read: 25/04/12
Oranges are Not the Only Fruit is the first book I read by Jeanette Winterson, and has yet to be beaten. It follows Jeanette, a child being raised by her adoptive family to become a missionary, as she grows up and discovers her love for women. It's been a while now since I read it so I don't remember all of it, but I know that I really really loved it. It's got this very absurd sense of humor and feels very visually clear. It's also interspersed with surreal fantastical segments that parallel Jeanette's own life. One of my all-time favourite books, planning to re-read it!
Read: 22/06/21
I tend not to re-read books, but I've read On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous three times; twice in English and once in Swedish. Vuong is originally a poet, which becomes very apparent in this book. The prose is littered with word-play and metaphors and sections that are hard to interpret. Now, I've read some of his poetry and if I'm being honest I dislike most of it. I think Vuong really shines when he writes matter-of-factly rather than metaphorically. But with all that said I clearly really love this book. I think the poetic parts are really grounded by the rest of the writing, and the result is a book that is very fun and easy to read. And most surprisingly I actually prefer it in Swedish! It must be an incredibly difficult book to translate since Vuong plays around so much with language, but Andreas Lundberg did an amazing job. I also think Swedish as a language is less poetic than English which I like.
Read: 21/01/25
Skip and Loafer is one of my favourite pieces of media of all time. It really is the perfect manga, I can't recommend it enough. The only negative I can come up with is how it makes other manga pale in comparison. The story follows Mitsumi Iwakura as she moves from the countryside to Tokyo for high school. I think what really makes it stand out against other similar stories is the super thorough and consistent characterisations. The characters' actions steer the plot, not the other way around, which makes them feel like entirely real people. I recognise so much of both myself and other people within them. And I also think the author captures some super authentic aspects of girlhood that I think would be impossible to come up with without lived experience. Expect a longer post about this series in the future, it really has such a special place in my heart!
Progress: Currently reading new chapters as they drop!
I haven't finished this manga yet, but I read the first ten volumes in the autumn of 2023 when I was still 19 and I felt like I could relate so much to the main character Tsukimi. Tsukimi lives in an apartment complex together with a group of other women - all socially withdrawn from the rest of society and focusing solely on their own niche interest. No men are allowed in the building. Our main character's special interest is jellyfish. The story picks up when Tsukimi meets Kuranosuke, a rich and young cross-dresser who introduces Tsukimi to the world of fashion. I'm planning on picking this story back up again and finishing it, so I'll stop here for now!
Progress: Volume 11 Chapter 55