Self-imposed isolation, day 3

Today was a good day. I got to see my daughter! I know, it’s only been one day when I didn’t actually see her, but we’ve been together very nearly every day for 13 years. She must have been 4 or 5 before I ever spent an entire day without seeing her (we had been apart for a night, but never for a whole day). Now we figured it should be safe if we went for a walk – meeting outside, not getting too close, wearing masks. It was fun, I got to hear about her day, school, friends… but it was sleeting and the streets were icy – so you had to look where you were going but my glasses kept fogging up. Still, that was easily the best part of today! 💗

And there's more! In the hallway, I discovered this bookshelf. For a bibliophile, that was almost like going to the library: a treasure hunt! I do love going to the library and just browsing between the shelves, picking books up randomly. You never know what you’re going to find! You might discover a new favourite series or a new favourite author – and you can try anything at all! Anything!!! This is one of the few areas where I can say I am adventurous. 😁 (In case it’s not clear yet, I love libraries and have actually written about them before here. Now I haven’t been to the library for over a year and it is one of the things I really miss.) So I picked a couple of books, and they’re now in a quarantine of their own. I can’t wait to see what they’re like! 

 

 

Spooky reads for Halloween

In a previous post, I mentioned that as the nights grow darker, so does my taste in books. On those dark and stormy nights, I have a yarning to read something a bit gothic or books such as “Wuthering Heights” or “Jane Eyre”. Anything featuring wind-whipped moors or a dark, mysterious mansion seems suddenly tempting. Do autumn and the approaching Halloween affect your reading preferences? Do you have a favourite horror (or any other dark) novel or perhaps a favourite author whose work would be perfect for this time of year? In the spirit of Halloween, here's a little look of some of my favourite spooky, dark and mysterious reads.

I have never been a big fan of horror, although I did experience a brief eerie period in my teens when I read all the spooky books I could locate in the library of a small village. My favourite was Bram Stoker’s “Dracula” – and while it might not appear so very frightening to a modern reader, it is, after all, a classic and holds a special place in the dark corner of my heart.

Another classic that I’m fascinated by is Shakespeare’s “Macbeth”, which, with its witches and obscure prophesies, bloody murder and mist-shrouded castles seems like a perfect Halloween treat. Double, double toil and trouble; Fire burn, and cauldron bubble!

In this context, I must mention Robert R. McCammon and his excellent werewolf books, “The Wolf’s Hour” and “The Hunter from the Woods” (a collection of short stories/novellas rather than a novel) which may not be strictly horror, but work with historical fiction and lycanthrope lore to weave together stories that are a fascinating combination of adventure, action and even a bit of romance. They are gory and bloody but also rather dark and thoughtful. I’ve previously reviewed “The Wolf’s Hour”.

Another favourite of mine are the novels by Phil Rickman, whose work falls somewhere between mystery, horror and crime; in many of them, contemporary mysteries intertwine with mystical, mythological and historical elements. The writing creates an atmosphere that is hauntingly beautiful – and a bit creepy. His John Dee series is not contemporary but historical fiction steeped in mystery (my review of "The Bones of Avalon" here.)

A childhood favourite of mine, simply perfect for this time of year, is a series by an Estonian author Aino Pervik (illustrations by E. Walter). These books feature a witch, Emmeline, who lives alone on a rocky island, makes potions and gathers herbs, until she meets a sea captain called Trummi. I fear that even back when my parents read me these stories, I felt a certain affinity with the hermit witch... look, she even lives in a tree!

Last but not least – I used to love “The Witch’s Handbook” by Malcolm Bird when I was a child. Now this has become one of my daughter’s favourites, and our yearly tradition is to read it around Halloween. This is the book my daughter prefers over playing and other activities! Packed with hilarious illustrations and clever advice, this book is a must-have for anyone inspiring to become a witch.

This year, I’m also reading “Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban” to my daughter – and it happens to be quite appropriate (just look at the cover)!

As horror isn’t generally my preferred genre, I’ve written few horror stories. There are, however, a couple that come close. Almost exactly a year ago now, the weird tale “Entombed” I wrote with my DH appeared in the “666” horror anthology (also recommended Halloween reading material) - and quite recently, our werewolf novella, “Musta Susi” (“Black Wolf”), was published in the Finnish science fiction and fantasy magazine Portti. Since it sort of fits the theme of this post, here's the title page of our story. The illustrations are by Kari T. Leppänen, and I have to say I love them; they capture the mood of the story - and look at the detail on that ship!

Currently reading

I am currently reading three different novels. Their settings:

- France, 17th century
- England, 17th century
- Germany, 17th century

I don't know how that happened. So I'll just add a picture of a 17th century painting by Abraham Bosse ("Five senses: Touch"). This one always makes me smile (talk about awkward family photos!).

Reading gloves

These are my new reading gloves.

Reading gloves? What's that? Well, now that it's cold and I should keep my hands warm, I intend to wear these while reading. And they're touchscreen gloves - those little patches on the two fingers mean that I can use my Kindle while wearing these!

(The book? It's a graphic novel I found in the library and borrowed just because it said 17th century... I haven't read it yet.)

Holiday preparations

It’s that time of the year again, with Winter Solstice only two days away, and preparations are under way... or should be; sometimes I feel a little overwhelmed (can you be “a little overwhelmed”?) by everything that needs to be done, but then I remind myself that we have our daughter’s gifts sorted out, we have bought lots of chocolate, and I know which books I’m going to read during the holidays. The rest is just... details. :)

I’ve mentioned before that I tend to be rather particular about my holiday reads, and this goes especially for Yule, because, well, spending lots of time reading books and eating chocolate is just what we do then (it may be the best part about the holidays, if you ask me or my DH).

This year, I chose “Children of Earth and Sky”, the latest by Guy Gavriel Kay, who, these days, is about the only fantasy author whose books I still read (and re-read). It is a nice, thick tome, but it will not be enough, of course, so I picked one of the Medieval adventures by Kaari Utrio as well – this one is set in the 14^th century. Neither of these is a re-read, and I’m really looking forward to the day when I can start celebrating (= open the first book).

Bargain books

As I may have mentioned, I can't resist a book sale. Another one of my weaknesses are the library sales. Yesterday, we went to a second-hand store, and they had shelves after shelves of used books there! We came back home with six. One for my daughter, one for my DH (all right, fine, that one was actually also for our daughter, although my DH picked it so he could read it to her ;)) and four for me! All four are by one of my favourite authors, Kaari Utrio, who writes excellent historical fiction. One of the books I chose is non-fiction, however; the history of Finnish women.

I was not going to buy all of them, but the price was just 1 € per book! How could I have resisted?

Friday!

Right. I was not going to do another “Friday reads” post, but I couldn’t resist!

First, because a novel titled “Pyöveli” (“Executioner”) just seemed so perfect for a bookish still life that I had to play with it and snap a picture, and, second, because I’m so thrilled to finally get ahold of this novel. It’s set in the 17^th century Finland, which alone is fascinating. But what's more, it’s written by Anneli Kanto, whose previous 17^th century novel ("Piru, kreivi, noita ja näyttelijä" - "Devil, Count, Witch and Actor") I quite liked and whose "Veriruusut" ("Blood Roses") was nothing short of excellent. So it is with great expectations that I start reading this (probably rather grim) book.

If everything goes according to plans, however, there won’t be much time to read this weekend... which means I’d better start now! ;)

Back to Manderley

I read “Rebecca” when I was a teenager, and I remember hardly anything about it. I’ve been meaning to read it again – it is a classic, after all – but somehow never got around to doing it.

But then the local library had a book sale, and I found this copy. True, it’s just a paperback, nothing special about it really, but I was attracted to the sort of misty blue and grey cover... and the price was just one (1) €! This is why I get so excited about those book sales! :D I’ve been saving it... but now it seems to me that this book might be a good fit for August, when the nights are getting darker and the days, it seems, a bit chilly... so I'm all settled for a cosy Friday night.

Friday reads

It's Friday night... all right, fine; afternoon... and I think it's time to relax with a book. I found this novel in the library; I didn't even read the text on the cover, I just saw the word "Shakespeare" and I had to have it. Luckily, it was the library, not a book store. ;)

Last week, it was warm and sunny, and I spent the Friday afternoon with some heavy reading.

Have a lovely weekend, everyone! :)

A perfect book

 
It seems to me that, these days, I rarely give a book a five star rating. This is beginning to worry me. What happened? Can’t I find good books any more? Have I become more critical/demanding/harder to please with age? What’s going on here?

I have no idea. However, this led me to wonder what, exactly, is a “perfect book” for me. What is it that I want? Let's see.

A good story. I don't think that one needs an explanation, but I'm very open about this one and like all sorts of plots. As long as something does happen. And that something is interesting.

Great characters. Relatable, real, with strengths and weaknesses, characters to root for, etc. etc. – you know how it goes. That’s what readers want; characters are who they connect with. And the best books... the best books make me fall in love with their characters! Mmm, nothing like a good literary crush! ;)

Feelings. This is simple. A book can be entertaining, but if it fails to make me feel, I can’t rate it among the best. Make me laugh, make me cry, make me grip the book in fear... The really good ones, of course, cause a wide variety of different feelings. The best ones have made me laugh and cry within a single paragraph. Some have made me put the book down and pace around in agony because it’s too much, I can’t take it any more!!!

Food for thought. It doesn’t have to be extremely profound or philosophical and deep, but I like it when a book gives me something to think about. Questions, ideas, a whole new perspective into things – it doesn’t really matter what; sometimes it's enough to find myself thinking about the book while, say, doing the laundry.

Beautiful writing. I know. It shouldn’t matter so much. But I can’t help it. It’s the word wrestler in me. It can’t resist evocative language, words that flow like music, phrases that are so beautiful or poignant that I have to read them again and again just to savour them. A skilful use of words alone doesn’t make a book great. However, even if everything else falls into place but the writing is flat, I can’t consider it a perfect book.

Genre? That's fairly irrelevant to me. "Fairly", because historical fiction gets extra points. ;)

How often do you see all these points come together in one book? Rarely? Hardly ever? Should I be less demanding? After all, it would take something close to superhuman skills to pull it off. Yet I’ve seen it done. Some books just are that good.

So... what do you want from a perfect book?

(The books in the picture aren't actually my favourite books - except maybe "The Shadow of the Wind", which is awesome; a book about books! - I just put them there because they look pretty. :) )

All set for the holidays?

The big unmentionable is almost upon us, but due to unfortunate circumstances, such as battling stubborn cold viruses, my preparations have been... not quite what I planned. But I've got the most important things covered and the rest is all about being in the right mood, which should be easy enough.

There is one thing, though, that I planned well in advance. Among my reading quirks, I've mentioned the habit of carefully choosing my holiday reads. This year, I'm going with Manda Scott's latest, “Into the Fire” and Kaari Utrio's "Haukka, minun rakkaani". The first will take me to the 15th century France and the latter to the 14th century Finland. I've been saving both and already look forward to diving into their world with a box of chocolates within my reach...

And so, without further ado - Joyous Yuletide! Read, eat chocolate and be merry!

Raiders of a book sale

Yesterday, our local library hosted a book sale. We always go there (as I may have mentioned), looking for bargains, especially source books in history. Not many of those available this time, but here's what we found:

The Pratchett is for my DH and the Coopers are for my daughter.

My DH found me this. I don’t know if it can be regarded as a reliable source of information, but it certainly looks like fun!

As soon as my daughter (who stayed with her grandpa while we raided the book sale) saw the Viking album, she grabbed it in her greedy paws and asked, “What’s this? Is it yours, mum?”
Me (smiling smugly because brainwashing inducing interest in history was always our goal): “It is indeed… but I can read you bits of it.”

And finally, this lovely old book:

It’s titled “Suomen kansan satuja ja tarinoita” (Finnish folk tales and myths) from 1920 (the first edition came out in 1852). Folk tales alone make it something that should be in our collection... but wait, there’s more! It is not in a perfect condition, unfortunately, but it's just so pretty…

...and besides being printed in this old font...

...it also uses some archaic words and expressions, which, for a language geek (or a word wrestler), makes it absolutely fascinating! (What? I should get a life? Why do you say that?) And it is almost 100 years old – not exactly a collector’s item… correction: for a poor book lover, it is a collector's item. :)

Treasure Hunting, or, Reading quirks, Part 8

Well, this is not so much a reading quirk as just a quirk, but it is related to books, so...

Last weekend, my DH and I celebrated our 15^th engagement anniversary (the actual day is September 9, but it was just more convenient to celebrate during the weekend). And what did we do? Our favourite thing: we drove to the capital to visit our favourite bookstore and our favourite Indian restaurant! I know. It doesn’t get much geekier than that. Except maybe those times we’ve visited The National Museum and their history collection instead of the bookstore...

And we were really, really lucky, for in the bookstore we found several huge discount tables packed with paperbacks... and the prices were crazy, like one or two Euros! After inspecting the history section, we pretty much forgot everything else and started browsing the discount tables. At some point, my DH remarked that we’d been at it for about an hour and it seemed impossible – I’d have said it had been maybe ten minutes. By that time, I had an armful of books, but I was able to show an admirable amount of self-restraint and bought only two. My DH also bought two books (but they both seem rather tempting to me too...), so in the end we bought four books for only eight Euros! Over the delicious Indian meal, we could hardly stop congratulating each other, we were so pleased with the bargain.

If you’ve connected with me in Facebook, you’ve already seen this... but it seemed to me that an illustration was needed.

 

I’m not much of a shopper (which probably explains why I have clothes that are over 20 years old... how soon can I call them vintage? :P), but books are another matter entirely. Buying books is always fun... and finding bargain books is a real thrill! The same thing happens every time our local library organises a book sale. We go there like we’re hunting for treasure – you never know what you might find! And when we discover something interesting, it makes us ridiculously happy. Our bookshelves don’t agree though...

Sacred pages, or, Reading Quirks, Part 7

I came across this on For Reading Addicts' FB page and it immediately resonated with me.

Yes, the same goes for reading books in general; who'd want to be disturbed? Unfortunately, that does tend to happen, and unless you learn not to go berserk every time someone interrupts your reading, I predict you won't be able to read very much. Or at least you might want to choose the time and place for that activity very carefully. ;)

However, the final pages of a book (usually more than three though!) are a different matter. Something about them just requires concentration and your full attention. It's not just that it's where things come to a conclusion (for most books; at least on some level) and, if it's been a good book, you're desperate to find out what happens. You don't want to miss a thing. But it may also be that, with the sense that this is the end, you don't want that end to come upon you abruptly. You want to linger in that world a little longer; maybe you're saying your good-byes to the characters (even if you don't think about it that way). It's a farewell and you don't want to rush it. And, after, you may be blown away by what just happened and/or feeling a little melancholy. Or utterly heart-broken or overjoyed or... whatever it is, you need some time to process.

I'm calling this another reading quirk, but I'm clearly not alone with this one. I'm lucky in that my DH shares the sentiment. Thus, as it can be impossible for a parent to find that peace and quiet to finish a book, we have an unspoken agreement. When the kid comes and wants to play, if one of us is about to finish a book any minute, we look at the other imploringly and say, “I've only five/ten pages left!” And the other immediately understands, whisks the kid away and puts her up to something (relatively) quiet.

Finishing a book is an emotional experience. It's important to be able to enjoy/suffer it in peace.

But I have nothing to read! Or, Reading Quirks, Part 6

All right, I'll admit: having nothing to read is not one of the problems I have to deal with. I always have something: books waiting for their turn on the bookshelves or in my Kindle, books I've hoarded from the library (I get a little crazy every time I see all those books I can read for free!), and of course there's always the option of rereading old favourites. My problem tends to be the good old “so many books, too little time” (but, as far as problems go, that's one of the most pleasant ones).

Still, there's always that moment when you finish a book and wonder, what next? Where do I go from here?

I'm afraid this won't be one of those How to posts, because I don't have a foolproof method for solving this “problem”. I don't really have a method. My approach, as in so many other situations, is: go with your feelings.

I look at my options and choose whichever book/story/genre I happen to be in the mood for. No listing pros and cons, no scientific methods, no logic, no reason. It's entirely instinctive. The weird thing – a bit of a reading quirk, one might say – is that I often choose something very different from what I just finished: different genres, different authors, and never (well, almost never) two books in a series one after the other. Unless, of course, I feel like breaking that pattern.

Yes, there are exceptions. If I have brought home that bagful of books from the library, I try to read them first because they have to be returned eventually. If I'm going on a holiday, it might be a good idea to choose an ebook because a Kindle is easier to carry than a heavy hardback.

How do you decide what to read next? Do you read your books in the order you purchased them? Have you ever tried those “What should I read next” quizzes and did they work for you?

Holiday reads, or, Reading quirks, Part 5

With Halloween behind us and the Big Unmentionable approaching much more quickly than I'd like to acknowledge, it's time to look at another one of my reading quirks. This is all about holiday reads!

A necessary accompaniment for holiday reads.

Let's start with the closest one, the one we know as Joulu, Yule, Christmas... call it what you will, I'm going to claim that books are an important part of the holiday spirit. For me, they might even be the best part: to have several days when you don't have to do much, when you can just sit back and relax and read, read, read. Candles, the tree, a good book and, another essential, plenty of chocolate. Yes, that is indeed the best part!

And to thoroughly enjoy that, you need a good book. You need a great book. A really wonderful book. Which is why I always start the selection process well in advance. Or started, anyway... it has become much easier over the years, because I've decided to always go for certain favourites, something I can trust to be good.

My choice is usually something by Guy Gavriel Kay, who has let me down only once (with “Ysabel”). If he's published a new book that year, I save it (it's hard but hey, iron will... ;)) until I can open it on the 23^rd of December. If there isn't anything new, I re-read one of the older ones. Kay is one of the first fantasy authors whose work I ever read and it looks like he'll be the last one as well. I've always been a very selective reader of fantasy, and lately I've only read works of a few authors... and since I keep dropping names off my list, there will soon be no one left! But I'm not giving up on Kay, his novels are everything I can wish for: they're entertaining but thought-provoking, there's history with just a bit of fantasy (the settings are fictional, but they are inspired by real places/locations/cultures), intriguing characters, epic events, a bit of romance, and stunningly beautiful writing. Yes, I am a big fan of his style, rather (melo)dramatic and poetic though it may be. These are books to get lost in, the sort where the story, the characters, the mood haunt me even when I'm not reading. They're the right books for Midwinter, when the world lies in darkness, when the wine is spiced and the candles glow.

Hefty tomes though most of Kay's books are, one isn't always enough to tide me over the holidays. Kaari Utrio's novels are also excellent choices, especially the ones set in Medieval times, or her great Viking/Crusader trilogy that takes you on a thrilling adventure from the pagan Finland through early Medieval Europe and the Byzantine court to the Middle East and even to Vinland. These are also books very rich in detail, in colour, and that just seems like a perfect fit for the holidays.

And what about the other holidays? For Midsummer, I like to choose something set in the pre-Christian times – it just seems to suit the magical feel of the Summer Solstice. And though Halloween hasn't yet established its place in my reading routine, it has done so regarding the bedtime stories I read to my daughter. Every year around Halloween we read “The Witch's Handbook” by Malcolm Bird. What is truly special about this hilarious book (try reading it and not wanting to be a witch!) is that I used to adore it as a child – and now my daughter is also a fan!

The terrifying final page, or, Reading quirks (Part 4)

This came up in a fairly recent Facebook discussion, and I realised it's another one of my reading quirks. When you discover an author whose books you love and find out that the author has written several books, do you go and acquire and devour them all at once? When you come across a captivating first book in a series, do you keep reading them (assuming the entire series is out already, or at least more than the first volume) until you have none left?

I don't. I read just the one. Then I wait. (And read something else, of course!) Then, after some time has passed, I pick up the next book in the series, or another book by that great, “new” author. Again I take a break before moving on to the next one. In other words, I never read books in the same series one after the other (unless, perhaps, they've been published as a single volume). I'm calling this a reading quirk because I've been told it's a weird way of doing things and other readers have questioned my method. (I wish they had admired my patience and self-control and will power, but no...)

Which made me wonder, why do I do that? If the series really is that good, why don't I race through it? I would want to, sure. But even more than that I want to avoid that inevitable feeling of the end. As long as I don't read the next book, and, in particular, the very last book, the characters are still there, the world is still there... it's not over yet! Anything can happen! I can always go back. And I want that feeling to last.

Yes, I can always re-read the series, and so go back into that world, but somehow it's just not quite the same when you know how it's all going to turn out. The last book, the last page... there is a terrible finality there!

Reading, dreaming... or, Reading Quirks, Part 3

Image from the Facebook page of "Grammarly"

A good book is a book you don't want to put down, right? But a great book is a book that makes you want to close your eyes and dream... and dream... What I mean is that, for me, those really great books are the ones that give me materials for my dreams. And that includes both the dreams we have when we sleep (I love it when characters from a book invade my dreams!) and daydreams. Anything else interrupting a session with a great book is irritating, but these dreams and musings I actually love!

Are you feeling adventurous, or, Reading quirks, Part 2

I am not a particularly adventurous person. I do enjoy new experiences and have a certain kind of curiosity, but I am definitely not a risk taker. But one of the areas where I can be bold and adventurous is... reading!

Most of us have a favourite genre – the one that, when you come back to it after a detour to other genres, makes you feel like you're coming home. My favourite genre is historical fiction, but I enjoy exploring other genres. Sometimes I'm asked why; why would I read something contemporary, why am I reading something I don't normally read, aren't there enough books in my preferred genre if I'm forced to read something else. The reason is variety!

When it comes to historical fiction, I have my favourite periods, but sometimes I pick an era and events that I know very little or nothing about, for that very reason. After I've read the book, I know at least a little more. I admit that I'm always more interested in individual characters and what happens to them rather than the general events and the “great lines” of history, which is why I may not always glean any facts from these books but rather just a “feel” for the period. On the other hand, sometimes a novel gets me interested in the era or the events so much that I want to learn more about them.

Such a book was a Finnish novel titled “Veriruusut” (translation: “Blood Roses”) by Anneli Kanto. I first came upon Kanto's debute novel “Piru, kreivi, noita ja näyttelijä” by accident; I was just browsing in the library when the old-style font on the spine of that book caught my eye (one of the things that attract me, as I've mentioned before). The novel is set in the 17^th century, my dear husband's favourite era, so I borrowed the book for him. He never read it though, so I – a greedy, curious creature that I am – decided to read it instead. I didn't fall in love with it, but I liked it well enough to want to find out what else Kanto had written. And there was this book about the Finnish Civil War in 1918 (yes, way too modern a period for me!). More particularly, it is about the women who joined the “Red Guards” and fought in the war. Immediate interest. It is also a subject of which I knew very little.

The story isn't beautiful. It's brutal. The women who had dared to take up arms... let's just say the endings they got were far from the "happily ever after". Kanto describes how the women ended up joining the “Red Guards”: how some hoped that the labour movement, with its goal of improving the workers' conditions and rights, would also make women equal to men. How, for some, it was a necessity (as the factories were closed down, women lost their jobs, and they had children to feed – the Guard members were paid and they received food and clothes). Some had no idea what they were getting themselves into. Many of these women were very young: some of the girls were only 14.

It seems impossible to describe the horrors of war, yet Kanto does it and by doing so, she breaks your heart. The cruelty a human being is capable of – and what that cruelty does to those who wield it – makes you despair. That could easily make the reading experience intolerable, but Kanto gives us humour, she gives us brave, resilient, yet very human heroines, but above all, a glimmer of hope – and often where you'd least expect it. Someone greedy and violent is stunned by the atrocities of war and, even against their will, ends up extending a helping hand. A truly spineless person is pushed to that one act of courage which may seem small but will have a tremendous influence on the lives of others.

I had just complained to a friend how books no longer touch me, but suddenly I had in my hands a book that brought tears into my eyes more than once and that I didn't want to put down. The story still lingers in my mind. I will want to read more about these women, and I hope there will be another novel, preferably historical fiction, from Kanto.

Reading quirks, part 1

One book, two books, three books... can several books compete for your attention? Some of us juggle a number of books, reading a bit of this and a bit of that and then some of something else, going back to the first one and then maybe starting yet another... Some of us like to focus on one book at a time and refuse to open (or even think of opening) a new one until they're finished with the one.

One way isn't better than the other, and these habits can change. I used to read only one book at a time, but over the recent years, I've developed a completely different style. I usually have 2-4 books on my currently-reading pile. Sometimes more.

Why? I start a book (or two... or three) and realise it isn't as good as I expected but there's something there and I can't just give up on it. Instead, I keep giving it another chance (or maybe I just persist because I'm stubborn... or hey, I've read nearly half of it, I can't quit now!). But I'm not excited about it – and that's not very satisfying. I need something more engaging. Something to indulge in. Something to pamper myself with. Sometimes I save these treats for the weekends or evenings when my daughter is asleep and I can actually read more than half a line at a time. These are my luxury reads.

A reader pampering herself

I read mostly in English, which is a second language to me, but I don't want to neglect my Finnish, either. That's why I often also have a Finnish novel on the side.

And then there are the non-fiction books. With those I usually, but not always, manage to keep my focus on one at a time.

Sometimes people ask me how I can do this. Don't I get confused? Well, no. Usually the books happen to be different genres or otherwise just different, and it's easy enough to keep them straight. Of course, now and then a book comes along that's so good it forces me to drop everything else. That's a great feeling. With my favourite authors, I always do that: set everything else aside to properly savour the book. I even have designated times, such as holidays, when I consistently do just that... but that's another reading quirk. ;)