Book advent calendar – part 2 📚 ❄ 🎁

I’ve started The Toll House which I received in the first gift. The unsettling vibes are there immediately as we are moved between past and present. That house is not for me…. But I also wonder if the author will keep the same intense vibe throughout the book and if that is even possible.

This time I got an English Blend tea, cherry jam and the book Barrow of winter by H. M. Long. This is book 3 in The Four Pillars series which I haven’t heard of before. I believe this is a standalone book but I’m not sure. Have you read any of the books?

“In Duamel, Thray’s demi-god siblings rule under the northern lights, worshipped by arcane cults. An endless winter night cloaks the land, giving rise to strange beasts, terrible storms and a growing, desperate hunger. The people of Duamel teeter on the edge of violence, and Thray’s siblings, powerful and deathless, stand with them on the brink.

Thray is the Last Daughter of Winter, half immortal and haunted by the legacy of her blood. When offered a chance to visit the northern land of Duamel, where her father once ruled, she can’t refuse – even if it means lying to the priesthood she serves and the man she loves.

To earn her siblings’ trust and find the answers she seeks, Thray will have to weather assassinations, conspiracies and icy wastelands. And as her siblings turn their gaze towards the warmer, brighter land she calls home, she must harness her own feral power and decide where her loyalties lie.

Because when the spring winds blow and the ice breaks up, the sons and daughters of Winter will bring her homeland to its knees.”

Book advent calendar – part 1

One of the best things with winter is the book advent calendars from The English Bookshop in Sweden. I highly recommend you set a reminder for yourself next autumn if you want to try one!

The calendar comes in various categories to give readers something they like. I went with my most frequently selected category fantastika – ghost stories and fantasy to chill your bones.
The other options were classics, feel good, mystery and a mix. I’ve found the ghost stories fit in with Swedish winter 🖤

I got The Toll House by Carly Reagon, alongside some chocolate which I’ve hidden away for myself 🤫 and black Christmas tea.

“The past isn’t always dead and buried…
A house with history. That’s how the estate agent described the old toll house on the edge of the town. For Kelda it’s the perfect rural home for her young son Dylan after a difficult few years.

But when Kelda finds a death mask concealed behind one of the walls, everything changes. Inexplicable things happen in the house, Kelda cannot shake the feeling of being watched and Dylan is plagued by nightmares, convinced he can see figures in his room. As Dylan’s behaviour becomes increasingly challenging, Kelda seeks answers in the house’s mysterious past. But she’s running out of time.

And now it won’t rest…

Because something has awoken.”

As I’m already nervously respectful of the viking burials surrounding our house I’m sure this will not have a negative impact on me. It is not like I screamed when my husband by mistake turned off the light downstairs while I was walking up the stairs.

I’m calm and collected as a ferret on speed.

I will actually pick this one up now. Besides the cats I’m the only one awake so what good go wrong?

Reading retreat ❄

Day 1 of the winter edition of the retreat is under way! I’ve just unpacked while listening to the audiobook of this weekend’s book (I haven’t finished yet) and I wanted to share some photos from the day. Whatever photos happen at dinner are likely to be too blurry and dark anyways 🙃

These are my reading retreat hopefuls. I’m maybe halfway through Moon Witch Spider King by Marlon James. Listening to The Story About Mrs Berg by Ingvild H. Rishøi to get ready for tomorrow’s book circle. If I finish these I might start Onyeka or Drinking From Graveyard Wells.

I’ve set up a bujo station and hope this weekend will help me start writing. I bought the cat bookmark at the bookshop Sigtuna bokhandel.

Art seen at Sigtuna Museum which I visited with my family. Luckily we were the only visitors. There is something stressful visiting a museum with a kid… But he managed to charm himself to a stuffed animal from the museum shop.

Wallpaper art from the museum which was in a small library-like room.

Books at the bookshop.

A small book kiosk in Sigtuna city center (think little free library).

Street view from the gorgeous Sigtuna in Sweden. Highly recommend a visit!

Morning reading 📚☕

Inspired by my new-found love for reading vlogs on BookTube I wanted to do a reading update on my current reads.

The way spring arrives
I’ve finished the first story called The Stars We Raised by Xiu Xinyu (tr. Judy Yi Zhou). As the title reveals, in this story stars play a significant role. Stars appear and are “raised” by kids on a yearly basis for a couple of months until the stars are sold by the parents. We follow our narrator and the outcast Jiang Yang as they grew from kids to young adults. I liked the story, I viewed it as a comment on our society and the way we use things without care or consideration.

Jawbone
I’ve finished the first chapter and Fernanda is certainly in trouble. I suspect this will be a book where we get told the current situation and what came before it until it all explodes into some final scenes. High hopes for this being amazing.

Motherland by Paula Ramón – via Netgalley
This is described as powerful memoir from a Venezuelan reporter about one woman’s complicated relationship with her family as her beloved homeland collapses into ruin. I’ve finished the introduction this morning and believe I’m in for some beautiful language and reflections on what it means to lose your home and what home even is.

I’m also finishing Victory City by Salman Rushdie. My first book by Rushdie although I remember reading The Satanic Verses on the beach as a teenager. But I don’t think I ever finished it.

Attempted beach reading

I had a perfect day at the beach yesterday. Not too warm, most of the people had gone home, the water was cool with some minor waves to play in. I brought one of my current reads, Jawbone by Mónica Ojeda, and didn’t read a thing because I was in the water playing with the kid.

Oh well, I tried. And when I took the photo I really thought I would have a great time reading 😂

Currently reading: Demon Copperhead

I’m so far finding the storytelling by Damon captivating. I have a feeling I will be wishing for the best for these characters and getting none of it.

Grateful for…

only having 5 working days left before vacation which likely will take us all over the bottom half of Sweden

borrowing an empty house by the water with this gorgeous view

sleeping in a small cute cabin this night which brings all those summer holiday vibes from when I was a kid

that I bought a paddleboard last year despite all the barriers and that I got to go paddle around a small island today

that I got served fruits while reading, sitting halfway into the water by the small beach

dinner will be mozzarella pizza in a fancy pizza oven