Pokémon GO raids

Posted on by
Reply

I think Pokémon GO is getting more popular again after everything that Niantic did this summer. I think it is great, and especially the latest thing with legendary raids. Everyone wants them, they are here for a limited time, and that means that people are getting very social and friendly with strangers. I like it a lot!

Today, I was out with one of my co-workers from Liseberg after work. We met up with groups, took down the boss and caught it afterward. He had somewhere to be at 7pm so I walked around myself. At one raid in Slottskogen, I ran into an old friend from high school. I then went to downtown where a Lugia and Zapdos were right next to each other. I went back and forth, doing both of themm twice, once for me, once for my boyfriend. There was one family with two kids, probably 3 and 5 years old. The youngest girl really liked me. She was so cute. She gave me candy, hid from me and was just the most adorable kid ever.

On top of having a new fan, the parents and everyone around were so friendly. Everyone wished everyone good luck when it was time to capture it and so on. I wonder how this game will be when these legendaries are gone. I have only done one level4 raid (legendaries are 5), but I hope people will continue to meet up after this event to do those. I would love to get another Tyranitar for example and a better Venosaur.

I like Pokémon GO, it makes you go out and walk (I have walked 2335 km with the app for the past year) and it makes you talk to people and be social in a completely different way than you usually would. I miss my Pokégo-partner. I hope he is having a great time up in the far far north of Sweden with his dad!

Review of “Odinsbarn” by Siri Pettersen

Posted on by
Reply

Title: Odinsbarn (~Children of Odin)
Author: Siri Pettersen
Translator (Swedish): Ylva Kempe
Series: Korpringarna #1
Genre: Fantasy
Pages: 661
Published: 2013 (translated 2015), B. Wahlströms
My Grade: 5 out of 5 ravens

GOODREADS’ DESCRIPTION (translated to English by me)

Imagine that you are missing something that others have. Something that proves that you belong in this world. Something that is so important, that without it you are nothing. A plage, a myth, a human.

Hirka is fifteen winters old when she learns that she is a child of Odin – a tail-less beast from another world which spreads decay. Her whole existence is turned upside down. She is despised, feared and hunted, and someone wants to kill her in order to keep her identity a secret. But there are worse things than children of Odin, and Hirka is not the only creature who got through the worlds…

Odinsbarn (~Children of Odin) is the first part in the series Korpringarna (~The Raven Rings), a spectacular fantasy story with roots in the Norse mythology. It is an epic and violent settlement with xenophobia, blind faith and ambition. The book has become a sensational success in home country of Norway where it is praised by its originality, its language and its intrigue.

MY REVIEW

I have only heard good things about this book, that it is original. It is cooler than “normal” fantasy because it has roots in Norse mythology which is not too common. I agree with everyone who praise this book. It is brilliant. It is so well-written and the Swedish translation was really good. Usually, I don’t like reading fantasy in Swedish (and that is why I am writing my own book in English) but with this setting it was perfect.

The characters were realistic, not supernatural in any way. They acted and thought naturally. Most of the books that I read, I feel that the characters are alive, but this was taking the liveness to another level. They remember stuff that happened to them, things that would have been overlooked in other stories, things that actually would matter and leave a mental scar. Having the point of a sword making a small hole in your back is definitely something a normal person would remember. You don’t have to lose an arm just to have something memorable. If that makes any sense?

Another thing that I really loved about Odinsbarn is that it was unpredictable! Usually you can think ahead and figure out what will happen, but in this book, you read and kept reading until something was revealed that was completely unexpected. That happened a lot. Lots of surprises everywhere, no way of predicting anything. Except the ending, I knew what would happen a bit beforehand.

One slow thing was that it was kind of slow. Power games are important in this world and politics. Siri made it interesting though and easily understood. The whole book was slow in the beginning as well. It took a long time for things to actually starting to happen. And some things were not explained until a hundred pages later when it came naturalyl in the story.

It was an interesting book in many ways and I really liked how it was written. Very inspiring. It is too bad it is only in Swedish, it might come to English at one point? I will give it a 5 out of 5. It is definitely on that top shelf with my other fives.

Grass widow

Posted on by
Reply

This morning I said goodbye to Jesper. He is going up north with his dad for 10 days to hike in Sarek, the national park. Me joining was completely out of the question, I have to work, and I also don’t have the right physique for it. I would probably complain most of the time of heavy backpacks and mosquitos. I am sure they will have a great time though, walking around surviving in nature, taking pictures with their professional cameras, some father-son time.

This means however, that I am alone for the next ten days, I will be a grass widow (gräsänka in Swedish), which is something that a woman is when her man goes away temporarily. Ever since we started dating a little bit more than a couple of years back, we have never been apart (except for my weekend trip to Marseille a couple of months after we started dating, and when I was in Nynäshamn a couple of days last week). Ten days is a lot! I have to admit that I have looked forward to it, some alone time for this lone wolf sounds nice. But then I realized that he won’t have any reception up there. We won’t even be able to text or call each other. FOR TEN DAYS! No one to hold me during the night for ten whole days. That made it harder to say goodbye today. I will miss him… I hope they will be careful, especially when driving. 17 straight hours of driving!

But, no downside without an upside! This is a great opportunity for me to write on my book. My goal is to reach 20,000 words by the time he comes home. I have 13,200 now. Could be doable, right? I will start with that right now. And then go to sleep in the huge bed all by myself. Maybe Ramses will come and sleep next to me? Maybe even Cleo?

Signed book copies

Posted on by
Reply

A while ago, I learned that Good Choice Reading has virtual signings of books and the release of the next book from my favorite series is coming! Tower of Dawn is the 6th book in Throne of Glass series and The Assassin’s Blade is the prequel. They also offer Empire of Storms (#5) but I already have that one in my bookshelf.

Both of those two books, personally signed to me for only $55. And shipping is included! Shipping to Sweden would have been $84 but since my mom has this amazing work buddy in Philadelphia who comes to Sweden twice a year, she was so kind and told me that she could bring them if I ordered them to her place. She has helped me a lot previously as well, like Advils (not even comparable to similar aspirins here in Sweden, costwise) or candies that I miss. Super super sweet woman!

I can’t wait for October when she gets here!

A couple of days in Nynäshamn

Posted on by
Reply

Two days in Nynäshamn with my uncle and cousins was just what I needed. The east coast of Sweden has had a real summer, pretty much the opposite of the west coast. They have had one day of rain for six weeks, we have barely have any sun and lots and lots of rain and storms.

The weather was not perfect, a bit cloudy, but we still went swimming in the ocean right below their house. We took their boat out, unfortunately algae were blooming like crazy out there. We also barbecued, ate ice cream in the harbor, and enjoyed an amazing sunset over the ocean from their jacuzzi.

A very nice weekend. Lots to drive since I am not used to driving, and 10 hours in a couple of days was a lot. But I listened to an audiobook and it was a new experience. I finished Legend by Marie Lu and 25% of the second book Prodigy.

Review of “Legend” by Marie Lu

Posted on by
1

Title: Legend
Author: Marie Lu
Series: Legend #1
Genre: Science Fiction, Dystopia
Pages: 305
Published: 2011, Penguin Books
My Grade: 3 out of 5 plague victims

GOODREADS’ DESCRIPTION

What was once the western United States is now home to the Republic, a nation perpetually at war with its neighbors. Born into an elite family in one of the Republic’s wealthiest districts, fifteen-year-old June is a prodigy being groomed for success in the Republic’s highest military circles. Born into the slums, fifteen-year-old Day is the country’s most wanted criminal. But his motives may not be as malicious as they seem.

From very different worlds, June and Day have no reason to cross paths—until the day June’s brother, Metias, is murdered and Day becomes the prime suspect. Caught in the ultimate game of cat and mouse, Day is in a race for his family’s survival, while June seeks to avenge Metias’s death. But in a shocking turn of events, the two uncover the truth of what has really brought them together, and the sinister lengths their country will go to keep its secrets.

MY REVIEW

First, before anything else, I have to say that the grade might have been affected by the fact that this was not read, but listened to. I almost feel like I have cheated. For the first time in my life, I have listened to an audiobook. I took a trip up to my cousins in Nynäshamn and it is 5 hours each way. I was alone and felt that I would get bored if I only listened to music, so I tried an audiobook for the very first time. During those 10 hours it took me to drive back and forth, I managed to finish Legend and 25% of Prodigy (#2).

I usually don’t have big expectations on books. But I was a little disappointed by this. Don’t mistake me, it was a good book and definitely enjoyable listening too. Perhaps I went through too much of it in too short time, but it felt like not much was happening. I also got the feeling that this was a very long introduction to the story, that most of the exciting things are happening in #2 and forward.

I really liked the characters, they felt real. Although it is pretty cliché-y that the main characters are from opposite sides of the social hierarchy and that they fall in love and all of that. But it does not overtake the main story of the new Republic of America.

One thing I really liked when listening to it was that they had two people reading, one man for the boy and one woman for the girl. It made it feel more alive, even if perhaps I wouldn’t have given them those voices in my head.

Character building

Posted on by
Reply

I have come so far in my story now that it is time to really think about the characters, to get to know them. So far it has just been the main character. But now there are other characters, and even if they aren’t too many yet, I still need to know everything about them when I am writing so I give the right hints about who they are without writing right off who they are. I realized this today. So I wrote about 500 words in the story, and then have dedicated the rest of the evening to character descriptions.

Name – title of the character
Looks
Age
Gift
Inevitability
Heritage
Background

These are the categories I am now describing my characters with. As for now, it is enough. I give them a little background story that motivates their actions and behaviors in the present. It is really fascinating, it is like I am really getting to know these people.

Here, let me introduce to you the first group of people in my story: Myra, Leem, Meon, Uulu, Yuli, Mali, Edo, and Nio. Who they are, you will have to stay tuned to find out.

A big help

Posted on by
Reply

Today I got my first real constructive criticism and it was so inspiring! One of my mom’s friends has taken many writing classes and knows what makes a text a good one. She read chapter 1 and 2 and gave me a lot of tips that I will think about in my writing from now on. I did already feel that chapter 1 and 2 were very different from at least 4 and forward, but I couldn’t put my finger on what it was. She helped me to understand what it was and the biggest thing is that I have only used descriptions in those two chapters, not “gestaltning” as she called it. That is best explained as when you are writing events as they are happening, rather than describing them. It is hard to understand, but as soon as she said it I totally understood what she meant, and I will rewrite some in those two chapters. On the other hand it is a nice progression from only backward-looking descriptions in the beginning to more descriptions of actual events as they happen and I think that progression is going very smoothly, like the introduction of the book is slowly turning into the actual book, if that makes any sense.

She also told me the importance of good environment descriptions and how to use them. I have good descriptions, but she told me that I can use some of them in the future when the character is looking back at something for example. That is good advice. It is no fun reading and not leaving anything mysterious for the reader to think about.

It was extremely helpful and I am so grateful that I got some real help with my writing. She also told me that it is very well-written and that I write better than some that she has taken writing classes with. That felt good to hear and a perfect spurr for me to continue. Today, after meeting her, I wrote almost 1 000 words! I think I finished chapter 6! Go me!

She was also super nice and lent me three books about writing. Stephen King’s memoir, a course book she had for one of the courses she took and a book about fantasy “Thousand Years of Fantasy” with descriptions of fantasy through the ages. I am not going to write high fantasy with dragons, unicorns or dwarfs, but I am sure I can learn a lot from it anyway! I compare my book with Sarah J. Maas’ A Court of Thorns and Roses the most. It will be a feel-good fantasy story.

A big big shoutout to Helena. Thank you!!

Swedish summer – the best day of the year

Posted on by
Reply

This summer, that is not a joke. Today has been the only day so far this summer that was something to hang in the Christmas tree (I think that is a Swedish expression, but it basically means something that was good). And best of all, both Jesper and I had the day off work! Since I love the ocean, we went to it with my mom and Jespers younger sister.

It was 25 C (77 F) and the hottest day so far this year. It has been around 15 C, rainy and on the verge of storm for three weeks straight! It’s been awful. Tomorrow, it will be colder again and rain all day. So this might literally have been the only summer day that was this year. Sad, sad, sad…

We drove to Öckerö, an island in the northern archipeago of Gothenburg. When I was a kid, we always drove out there, had lots and lots of ice cream and played in the water for hours every day (back then, the summers were always warm and not stormy, it would probably be fair to say that the amount of sunny days this summer equals the amount of stormy and fall-y days when I was younger). Not so much playing in the water today, but I definitely went in and I am fairly certain when I say that this was my first dip in the Swedish ocean probably since 2015 or maybe 2014. Not okay!! Water is my element and it sucks that I haven’t been in it for so long (Greece last July though).

I did not get any reading done, nor any writing or thinking of ideas for my book. We walked around, Jesper took pictures and we barbecued dinner on the cliffs. It was the perfect summer day!

Here are some pictures that I took:

And here are some pictures that Jesper took:

What do YOU want to read?

Posted on by
Reply

I have had some troubles coming up with names for my book, but today at work I got a great idea from a dear colleague of mine. He asked me where Örebro (his hometown) fit in my story. I told him that if I changed it to sound a little more English-y I would definitely name a place that. Then he also asked me to put a castle in it. I might actually use it where I am in the story right now, under water. Or perhaps later in the ice plain?

Anyway, my great idea is for you, my dear fellow readers, to give me names of places you want in my story. Or things. Like his idea of putting Örebro with a big castle in the story. So, let me know what you want to read!