En øm og ærlig liten bok om to unge mennesker som prøver å forstå seg selv og hverandre. Det som fascinerer meg mest ved boken er skrivestilen til Sally Rooney. En minimalistisk stil hvor dialogene driver historien uten lange avhandlinger fra forfatteren. Det er nærmest som om forfatteren ikke har hatt noe med boken å gjøre - hun har bare ført den i pennen slik den var.

Det første jeg gjorde når jeg leste den ferdig var å bestille debutromanen hennes. Det må være et greit kompliment.

Normal People er en velskrevet oppvekst- og kjærlighetsroman, satt i både bygd og by i Irland. Boka er meget velskrevet. Språket er stramt, men har også melankolske og poetiske innslag. Historien drives fram av de to hovedpersonenes fortellerstemmer, noe som gir et fint innblikk i begge karakterenes tankeliv. Til tross for at bokas intriger er gjenkjennelige og universelle, oppleves den aldri banal eller triviell. En av årets varmeste anbefalinger!

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A book that's published in 2020: Susanna Clarke - "Piranesi"
A book by a trans or nonbinary author: Zeyn Joukhadar - «Et kart av salt og stjerner»
A book with a great first line: Fredrik Backman - "Bjørnstad". Linja er: "Sent en kveld i slutten av mars tok en tenåring en dobbeltløpet hagle i hånden, gikk rett ut i skogen, satte våpenet mot et menneskes panne og trakk av."
A book about a book club: Will Schwalbe . "The end of your life book club"
A book set in a city that has hosted the Olympics: Lars Saabye Christensen - "Byens spor" (Oslo)
A bildungsroman: Sally Rooney - «Normal people»
The first book you touch on a shelf with your eyes closed: Lise Myhre - «Nemi - Skumle Damen»
A book with an upside down image on the cover: Max Gladstone og Amal El-Mohtar - «This is how you lose the time war»
A book with a map: Robin Hobb - "Royal assasin"
A book recommended by your favorite blog/podcast/online book club: Jim Butcher - "Storm front"
An anthology: "The long list anthology: More stories from the Hugo award nominations list" (David Steffen, red.)
A book that passes the Bechdel test: Leigh Bardugo - "Ninth house"
A book with the same title as a show/TV show but is unrelated to it: Blake Crouch - "Dark Matter"
A book by an author with flora or fauna in their name: Jay Kristoff - "Nevernight"
A book about or involving social media: Emma Lord - «Tweet Cute»
A book that has a book on the cover: Abbi Waxman - "The bookish life of Nina Hill"
A medical thriller: Jodi Picoult - "A spark of light" (muligens litt tvilsom, men er en thriller satt til en medisinsk praksis (abortklinikk)
A book with a made-up language: Andrzej Sapkowski - "The last wish"
A book set in a country that starts with C: Margaret Atwood - «Alias Grace» (Canada)
A book you picked because the title caught your attention; Shobha Rao - "Girls burn brighter"
A book published the month of your birthday: Steven Erikson - «Gardens of the moon»
A book by or about a woman in STEM: Rebecca Skloot - "The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks"
A book that won an award in 2019: Taylor Jenkins Reid - "Daisy Jones & The Six"
A book on a subject you know nothing about: Amir Levine og Rachel Heller - "Attached" (visste ingenting om tilknytningspsykologi før dette)
A book with only words on the cover, no images: Jo Nesbø - "Kniv"
A book with a pun in the title: Kathy Reichs - "Bones are forever"
A book featuring one of the seven deadly sins: Diana Gabaldon - «Voyager» (lust, jealousy)
A book with a robot, cyborg, or AI: China Mieville - "Embassytown"
A book with a bird on the cover: William Shaw - "The birdwatcher"
A fiction or nonfiction book about a world leader: Frank Herbert - "Dune" (Muad'Dib er verdensleder på Arrakis)
A book with bronze, silver, or gold in the title: Naomi Novik - "Spinning silver"
A book by a WOC: Toni Morrison - "Beloved"
A book with at least four stars on Goodreads: Diana Gabaldon - «Dragonfly in amber»
A book you meant to read in 2019: Robert Jordan/Brandon Sanderson - "A memory of light"
A book with a three word title: Kathy Reichs - "Bones never lie"
A book with a pink cover: Delia Owens - "Where the crawdads sing"
A Western: Stephen King - "The gunslinger"
A book by or about a journalist: Jonas Hartford Sundquist - Upublisert manus/hemmelig (jeg er beta-leser)
Read a banned book during Banned Book Week: Bram Stoker - «Dracula»
Your favorite prompt from a past Popsugar challenge: A book with an LBTQ+ protagonist (2018): Erin Morgenstern - "The starless sea"

Advanced - a book written by an author in their 20's: Samantha Shannon - "Priory of the orange tree"
Advanced - a book with 20 or twenty in the title: Jules Verne - "20,000 leagues under the sea"
Advanced - a book with a character who has a vision impairment or enhancement: Frank Herbert - "Dune messiah"
Advanced - a book set in Japan: Kij Johnson - "The cat who walked a thousand miles"
Advanced - a book set in the 1920's: Agatha Christie - «Den åpne graven»
Advanced - a book by an author who has written more than 20 books: Agatha Christie - "And then there were none"
Advanced - a book with more than 20 letters in the title: Sir Arthur Conan Doyle - "The adventures of Sherlock Holmes"
Advanced - a book published in the 20th century: Stephen King - "The Stand"
Advanced - a book from a series with more than 20 books: Kathy Reichs - "Bones of the lost" (litt juks ettersom bok nummer 20 kommer til neste år. Men flere novellaer er skrevet i samme serie/univers også)
Advanced - a book with a character in their 20's: Diana Gabaldon - «Drums of autumn» (blant annet: Brianna, Roger, Stephen Bonnet)

Mommy Mannegren

2020 Reading Challenge
52 Books in 52 Weeks: mangla én bok her.

1. A book with the letter “W” in the title: «Przewalskis hest»
2. A hardcover: Zeyn Joukhadar - "Et kart av salt og stjerner"
3. By an indigenous author: Tommy Orange - "There there" (norsk tittel Powwow)
4. Set in winter: Naomi Novik - "Spinning silver"
5. A character who is a senior: Kathy Reichs - «Bones never lie» (moren til Brennan)
6. Written in the 1970’s: Carl Sagan - "Cosmos" (trolig, gitt ut i 1980)
7. An author local to you: Lars Saabye Christensen - "Byens spor"
8. Orange on the cover: Fredrik Backman - "Bjørnstad"
9. Set in space: Aliette Bodard - «On A Red Station, Drifting»
10. A bestseller: Jo Nesbø - "Kniv"
11. A book that leaves you thinking: Fredrik Backman - "Vi mot dere"
12. A “guilty pleasure”: Kathy Reichs - "Bones are forever"
13. Written by a female author: Erin Morgenstern - "The starless sea"
14. Book in a series: Robin Hobb - "Royal Assassin"
15. Book with romance: Agatha Christie - "Den åpne graven"
16. Borrowed from a friend: Sally Rooney - "Normal people"
17. Written by more than one author; Amir Levine; Rachel Heller - "Attached"
18. Published in 2020: Emma Lord - «Tweet Cute»
19. A Stephen King novel: Stephen King - «The stand»
20. An author whose last name starts with the same initial as yours: Leigh Bardugo - "Ninth house"
21. Written by a blogger or journalist: Rebecca Skloot - "The immortal life of Henrietta Lacks"
22. A character that frustrates you: Kathy Reichs - "Bones never lie" (Slidell, Brennan selv i blant)
23. Title beginning with A: Agatha Christie - "And Then There Were None"
24. Title beginning with B: Maja Lunde - "Blå"
25. Title beginning with C: Sayaka Murata - "Convenience Store Woman"
26. A strong “friendship” theme: Shobha Rao - "Girls burn brighter"
27. A comic book: Lise Myhre: «Nemi - Skumle damen»
28. Literary Fiction: Toni Morrison - "Beloved"
29. An award-winning novel: Taylor Jenkins Reid - "Daisy Jones & The Six" (Goodreads award best historical fiction, Glass bell award for fiction)
30. A book with recipes inside: Elizabeth Acevedo - "With the fire on high"
31. A book featuring royalty: Diana Gabaldon - «Dragonfly in Amber»
32. A spy novel: Brandon Sanderson - "Mistborn"
33. A book containing poetry: Diana Gabaldon - "Drums of autumn"
34. A book with illustrations: Lisa Aisato - «Livet - illustrert»
35. An author’s debut book: Alex Michaelides - "The silent patient"
36. Written in first person: Ransom Riggs - «Miss Peregrine’s home for peculiar children»
37. A book featuring the medical profession: Jodi Picoult - "A spark of light
38. Set in the future: Frank Herbert: - "Dune Messiah"
39. A book used in a celebrity book club: Delia Owens "Where the crawdads sing" (Reese's book club)
40. A book on the Mensa reading list for grades 9-12
41. Published when you were 20: Kij Johnson - "The cat who walked a thousand miles"
42. Reuse a prompt from a past year; Blake Crouch - "Dark Matter" (prompt: featuring time travel)
43. Set in a country you’ve never visited before: Kathy Reichs - "Bones of the lost" (USA og Afghanistan)
44. “Recommended” to you by Amazon: Samantha Shannon - «Priory of the orange tree»
45. A book that cost you less than $5: Andrzej Sapkowski - "The last wish"
46. By an author used in an earlier category: Lars Saabye Christensen - "Byens spor: Maj"
47. Story takes place on a form of transportation; Diana Gabaldon - "Voyager" (a bit of a stretch, men mye av handlinga foregår på skip)
48. Character who wears glasses: Abbi Waxman - "The bookish life of Nina Hill"
49. About a World Leader: Frank Herbert - "Dune" (Muad'Dib blir leder for planeten Arrakis)
50. An author you previously disliked: Suzanna Clarke - «Piranesi»
51. A genre you don’t normally care for: Bram Stoker - "Dracula"
52. A book with a Foreword: Sir Arthur Conan Doyle - "The adventures of Sherlock Holmes" (Audible-versjonen, med forord av Stephen Fry)