Many roads and many faces

Well, June happened fast! And not just in the -the days just went by and I didn't notice- sort of way, more the -wow, a lot happened there, and I've barely managed to keep up- sort of way :). Not that that was a bad thing, just seems to have left me feeling almost a bit dazed.

In some ways this has been a much more "normal" summer month compared to the last several years. Periods of beautiful sunny weather interspersed with cooler days and rain. Which is actually a lot better for how things grow here. I should probably cut the grass, but it seems very happy and it feels bad to just get rid of all the beautiful wild flowers :).

This (the sunny - rainy see-saw weather) was also true when we went up north to Rørvik! The week and a half we spent there in some ways feels scarcely believable now, event though it was only three weeks ago! Norwegian fjords come in all sorts of shapes and sizes, but living literally a stone's throw away from such beauty is something I can't imagine ever getting used to :).

There was a lot of time spent catching up with friends we hadn't seen in a long time. And being together over a stretch meant we got to catch up in a way that quick weekend trips and meetings can never really replicate. It was also fun to be able to lend a hand in the preparations for the confirmation which was the nominal reason for our visit :).

Not long after we were back, it was our turn to be hosts :). Chats and walks, again, a nice way to spend time catching up with a visiting friend. Particularly when said friend is about to head off to Japan for an as yet undetermined number of years!

And finally last weekend we volunteered to help at a children's camp for some seventy odd 7-10 year olds! I mean, I'm not exactly in bad shape or anything, but keeping up with that many highly energetic kids just getting started with their summer holidays definitely made me feel old :D.

I guess when you write it down like that it doesn't sound like a lot, but with work alongside bringing its ups and downs, I guess a little bit of peace and quiet wouldn't be the worst thing :). And to be honest, I have been disappearing into books from time to time as a bit of a getaway.

I feel like I have to mention that My Sweet Orange Tree got an absolutely phenomenal reception at the book club! Different people found different aspects of the story as well as the storytelling itself fascinating, but mainly people seemed touched by just the simplicity yet depth in an emotional journey which wasn't weighed down by points being made.

Most of this month though, I spent working my way through Hyperion. Once I'd finished it, I was left wondering, did I like it? But there doesn't appear to be a straightforward answer to that. Did I enjoy reading the book? In parts certainly, although not always. Did I find the writing and storytelling interesting? Also a resounding yes. Did I find the world(s) fascinating? Absolutely. In fact that was probably one of the parts of the book I enjoyed the most, the discreet world building from multiple perspectives.

You sense a but coming don't you? So do I, but as I try to pin down quite what it is about Hyperion that leaves me unsettled, I'm having a hard time. Part of it, and there are likely to be spoilers ahead, may well be what the introduction dropped such a large and annoying spoiler about, that is the pilgrims, such as they are, don't actually reach their destination before the book ends. Although having read it, I can see how this book was more about the various trajectories and how they intersect than about the destination.

While the vastly different narrative styles, settings and characterizations in the six different "stories" were set out masterfully, I was left with a jumbled up sense of overlapping realities that, unlike in say some of Iain M Bank's works, didn't easily add up to a rich whole. Maybe one needs to read some more of the books in the series? Something I definitely find myself not wanting to commit to in the immediate future at least. So yes, an interesting experience.

This month's book club book was one I'd read before, but several years ago now. The last time I read The Bullet that Missed, it was part of a readthrough of all three then-published books of the Thursday Murder Club series. I decided seeing how a copy was available in the local library, it would be fun to read it in Norwegian this time!

I can't quite make up my mind if I found it less funny this time purely because I was actually comparing it to the first or second books, which I remember being very funny, or if my far from complete grasp of Norwegian meant I missed just enough to lose some of the humour. Luckily I didn't have any issues following the actual story :).

Now I've started with Remarkably Bright Creatures and while it's very early days, so far things look promising :). Which is something one might also say for the upcoming month or so. The summer holidays have begun, so the office is beginning to empty somewhat. Often this means I get the extra headspace to move forward with things I've been wanting to do but haven't really found time for. There's of course the risk of ending up doing things others would have done if they weren't on holiday :). Such is life.

Old stories and new

And just like that summer is over! Well, not really, but let me elaborate :). Like I mentioned last time around, the start was excellent, if a bit overenthusiastically early. This actually continued into May, particularly the second and third weekends! This was quite useful, as on the first of those we had the Holmenkollen relay in Oslo, and on the second was the Norwegian national day! Since then though, it's been significantly chillier weather and rain, basically :/.

I have to say, in some ways, I was more apprehensive going into the Holmenkollstafetten weekend this time around. Which is weird, because last year was the first time I was organizing, the first time we'd ever run as a company, and the first time running in seven years. So having managed that with some success, you'd think that the second time around everything would be easier! Well, that's not quite how life works.

Luckily, despite the complete lack of fitness on my part personally, several injuries and other reasons leaving most of last year's runners unable to participate, more last minute drop outs and a general feeling of being down on enthusiasm, probably because of the above reasons... So yeah, despite all of that, it was great fun! And yes, the weather definitely helped! We even managed to get the post run dinner off to a much better start this time, in that, the food actually arrived right on time! :)

I have to admit I did feel the after effects of that run for a while. But then it was time for the 17th of May. We did the usual thing of joining the local parade and watched the band and general excitement in the morning and then joined some friends for a very relaxed barbeque the most of the rest of the day. And yes, midway through the week after, the weather turned.

Which means that between stressing out over running and the weather being horrible for outdoor activities, I still haven't managed to get out on the bike even once this year :/. Oh well, other things have been happening :).

Speaking of which, books! I did in fact manage to finish reading ...Sheep well in time for book club, and a fun occasion it proved to be :). This turned out to definitely be one of those books that grew in my mind through the discussion. Would I have picked a nice good work of fiction over this though? Oh yes.

So as I went back to the library to return ...Sheep, I decided to pick up a couple of books more my speed. One of the relatively new Miles Morales graphic novels, and Hyperion. More on the latter in a bit. I enjoyed With Great Power quite a lot! The style seemed thoughtful yet pacey. I have to admit that had I known this was the second in the series, I might have tried to acquire the first, still, it was no great impediment.

And then I started on Hyperion. So the odd thing is that someone at work had mentioned it within the last month or so, but I'd completely forgotten that when picking the book up. I read the blurb on the back, but didn't notice that this was merely a newer edition of an book first published in 1989 rather than a more recent work altogether. All of which is to say that when I started reading it, it was a bit of a shock to my system more attuned (at least recently) to the Mark Lawrence, Richard K Morgan, Martha Wells end of speculative fiction!

Don't even get me started on the horror show of an introduction. I mean, really?! It spoils part of the ending to start with. Then proceeds to talk down the sequels in a bizarre attempt at talking up the first book (Hyperion). It launches into random philosophical tangents and makes strange leaps into literary history. So basically when the next book club book arrived once I'd gotten about ten pages into the actual book, I just stopped.

My Sweet Orange Tree only really got picked because it was the only fiction offering last time around :). Yup, I'm not the only one getting a bit tired of the deluge of non-fiction. Having read it, it's certainly an apt question to ask, how closely can fiction need to follow real life and still remain fiction? Which is not to say I didn't enjoy reading it :).

As a pretty significant piece of Brazilian literature (or so I'm told), I managed to get the local library to order a copy. And it must be of general interest, because there's already reminders telling me to return it on time as there are others waiting for it! Yay!! OK, slight diversion incoming. I feel libraries are excellent ways of accessing vast amounts of books, music, films, whatever, in a fun and socially responsible way. So if I've asked for a book, and I find that others are also interested in it, I find this extremely gratifying :).

Anyway, back to My Sweet Orange Tree then. Turns out it is autobiographical. But with such beautifully lyrical storytelling with overtones of magical realism, that it really is quite something. Much of the subject matter covering parts of the author's childhood is quite painful. Growing up in a Rio favela in the 1920s, particularly when there's unemployment involved, seems heartrending in many ways. The book never drowns the reader in its obvious sorrow.

I'm curious how others found the book. Particularly because of some comments from fellow book-clubbers in the mean time related to the way the story unfolds, and how much focus there is (or not) on various characters. I found the way of storytelling immensely relatable, enjoyable and familiar. To me, the whole book was about inviting the reader into a particular life experience. Not about guiding them along a particular plot. Given the emotional toll it took on me though, I took my time. For a very short book, it took me a while to finish :).

When I then returned to Hyperion, I think I was in a much better headspace :). Or at least my expectations had been appropriately adjusted. And while I can't put the entirety of that annoying introduction out of my head, most of it has happily faded. 

I'm probably about a quarter of the way through, and rather enjoying the often wild ride! Parts of the storytelling is deeply unsettling I'm finding, but in a way that raises questions about wider societal and cultural norms. Things we take for granted. Space travel has for decades provided authors license to selectively remove, add or adjust aspects of life on earth, with often thought provoking results. This definitely does that!

For the next week and a half or so though, it will be back up in middle Norway! Visiting some friends this time. The question is, should I take something other than Hyperion with me on my travels?

Of memories, musk ox and an early start to summer

April has practically flown by, and there's a lot to write about! There was the highly anticipated Easter road trip, some interesting reading and number twenty! But through it all, the odd sense of displacement. On the one hand, I kept feeling like this must be May already, the weather being as warm as it is. On the other hand, it feels like there hardly was an April, so it can't possibly be May already!

I guess it's not a total surprise, this early start to summer, but while last year the snow at least lasted into April, this time around it's been gone almost mid March! I mean, is there actually anyone still left actually believing that anthropogenic climate change is not a thing? Oh well. 

But it did mean that the Easter trip to middle Norway with some visiting friends went a bit differently that it might have done! Given that one of said friends was a lot happier to not have to deal with too much snow, this actually worked out quite well in the end :).

So the plan had actually been theirs to start with, spend a week in Norway, focus on exploring the mountains and fjords, scenery over urban experiences. Which was perfect seeing how they'd also picked Easter week, when most of Norway pretty much shuts down :). 

The trip ended up being a visit and stay at Åndalsnes, a place we'd been to nearly eleven (eleven!!) years ago, and then a stop on the outskirts of the Dovrefjell national park on the way back. It ended up being a really nice relaxed holiday, just what we all needed :).

My memories of the last trip to Åndalsnes are rather heavily dominated by the Romsdalseggen hike, but also the beauty of the landscape. What we had not done last time was spend any sort of time in the town itself! Something we remedied thoroughly this time around :). It's a really pretty little town, nestled at the head of a fjord and surrounded by towering mountain peaks on all sides. Given the holiday week, it was quiet, but with enough going on to keep us entertained :).

We did do a bit of hiking, however there had never been any thought of repeating the whole hike to the top. We spent a bit of time exploring the paths near the bottom, and then decided to use the new installation since our last visit, the gondola to the edge of the ridge!! A lazy but quite spectacular way to enjoy the views! There was even a nice restaurant at the top! We did spend some time actually hiking the ridge, and yes, the views were just as dramatic as I remembered :).

One of the days we decided to head over to Ålesund, get a bit of the city experience, but also explore more of the fjord landscape that can be so breath taking in that part of the country! Having been there no a separate trip about seven years ago, it was fun to see how much of the navigation could be done without help of GPS :). The answer turned out to be mostly, but not quite entirely :D.

One big source of anticipation throughout the trip was our planned musk ox safari! Seeing how we were going to be passing Dovrefjell, and the only place in Norway (and indeed one of the few anywhere in the world) where one can see mux oxen in the wild, it seemed like an opportunity too good to pass on. There was, as I say, much anticipation, particularly from one of our visitors :).

I am happy to report, that not only did we get to see some of the magnificent beasts, it was a wonderful day to be out! We didn't even have to venture too far to get to the point where a heard of more than twenty were happily grazing, play-fighting and generally lounging about. Our guide proved to be quite the character as well, full of entertaining, and occasionally weird and wonderful anecdotes and pieces of information :).

All in all, the trip, as I said was a success. We even managed a quick pitstop at Lillehammer on the way down south to the much tamer landscape. To be honest, even the landscape in the area hear around the Oslofjord is pretty spectacular if one were to compare it to other parts of the world, but the majesty of the landscape is just on a completely different level once one ventures a bit further north :).

During the holiday and otherwise during this month, I also explored Abeth! Book of the Ancestor proved to be great fun! Partly because, I imagine, this being the second Mark Lawrence trilogy I read, I did go in a bit better prepared :). For one thing, once I'd noticed the sometimes disconcerting changes of pace and shifts in the passage of time, I decided to take my time, and not rush headlong through the three books :).

There are definitely some great lines in this series :). Here's one that lends itself very easily to being quoted:

It is important, when killing a nun, to ensure that you bring an army of sufficient size.

I mean, seriously?!! :D. Yes, totally badass. Having said that, it's not all about action, as usual. There's as I said, a lot of variety to the pace. Once you get used to it though, I feel it's easy enough to navigate. There's a very different tone to this series compared to The Red Queen's War. There's isn't the same level of grimness, although it still is pretty grim, and neither is there the layer of almost forced mirth.

The ending did feel a tad predictable, in that the hero/heroine unlocks power of ancient advanced sci-fi tech buried on planet stuck in a medieval fantasy social structure while battling personal evils and a society on the brink because aforementioned sci-fi tech is failing. Also, unlocking of power happens in a way unlike that anticipated by everyone... You get the idea. Still, very much worth the read :).

Now I'm finally trying to make my way through the book club book of the month, the appropriately named A Short History of the World According to Sheep! I have to say, after the entertaining and frankly wild ride of the short history of Nona Grey's life, this is a hard one to get properly into :P. I'm about halfway through (which is good, because book club is in less than a week, so maybe actually not so good, but anyway) and so far it mainly feels like a long string of entertaining but rather random facts about sheep. Or things related to sheep. Sometimes rather tangentially.

Anyhow, the other big one, number twenty!! At the start of the season, there was no other word to describe how I felt other than cautiously optimistic, meaning, top four finish and hopefully deep runs in the cups. Then in January, it was suddenly this surreal situation of being on top of everything! At which point the inevitable thing is to remember that LFC is the club with the record of number of seasons where they've topped the table at Christmas/New Year and not won.

Then of course we're in the middle of March and the cup losses meant that there was a proper sense of loss. I was speaking to a fellow Liverpool FC supporter the other week, how at the start of the season, being top of the league in April would have felt like the best thing ever! And yet there was a sense of what might have been. Last week though, and I think the game in particular, blew all that away, and it was just pure joy :).

Who knows what'll happen next season, but as a sports fan, you've got to enjoy these moments :). YNWA

From snow to slush and beyond

It feels sort of fitting that I spoke about snowboarding last month, with my lasting memory from that trip being of the fresh, soft powder snow on the last day. And now, a month later, I'll talk about snowboarding again, except this time, it was on slush :).

So like last year, work organized an afternoon of downhill (or uphill if you wanted to hike) activity at the local ski centre in Oslo. It was the same time of year as last time too, except, this March has been unseasonably warm. In fact it almost feels like summer's arrived early! The end result? A fun, but rather wet afternoon on my snowboard :).

Otherwise, it's been a month of surprisingly warm sunshine interspersed with cold wind. There was the rather late snow once most of the older snow and ice had disappear, the thing that normally happens at the end of April or in early May. It disappeared just as quickly as the late snow usually does.. In a way I guess the winter was disappointing. But on the other hand, sunshine is always welcome :).

Haven't managed to get out on the bikes yet, although they have been sorted out, so now it's more of a case of using them. I keep thinking I should go out running in the mean time. Holmenkollstafetten is coming up in about a month, and getting a team together has begun. Will I show up any more prepared than last year? I guess time will tell!

On the reading front, I wasn't particularly thrilled by the choice this month, plus (in?)conveniently the copy I'd ordered from the library still hasn't arrived after more than a month of waiting, so I turned to the unread section of my bookshelf, and found a book that had not been picked for book club some years ago, but a friend had thought it would be something I'd like!

Midnight at the Bright Ideas Bookstore did turn out something I sort of liked, more than most murder mystery thrillers anyway :). I rather liked the style of writing, oddly floaty and atmospheric. And there were parts of the plot that held rather a lot of promise. As with a lot of these things though, the overall feeling I was left with was somewhat meh. But a positive meh, if there's such a thing :D.

Now I've gotten my hands on The Book of the Ancestor trilogy, and am nearing the end of Red Sister (aka book one). It's good fun! In fact, I think I'm enjoying it rather more than I did the last book of the previous trilogy. One thing that has not changed is the rapid, and often sudden, variations of pace! The style of writing also seems somewhat different, but then again, it's a rather different sort of story :).

What stays the same is the sci-fi fantasy blend which rather fascinates me :). I am trying, and will continue to try to read these books at a somewhat slower pace to try and not tie myself in knots like I did the last time. Let's see how that goes!