Jonathan Van Ness er for mange kjent fra Netflix-programmet "Queer eye". Men bak det sprudlende og livsglade ytret er en mann som har opplevd noe av det verste livet kan by på - mobbing, overgrep, HIV-stigma, dop, psykiske lidelser og en småby som ikke kunne godta den han var. Men Jonathan har kommet seg ut av mørket og er nå den strålende JVN vi elsker, og som gir så mye glede til verden rundt seg. Boka forteller om reisen fra en destruktiv ungdomstid, gjennom store traumer, til renselsen ved å lære og elske seg selv - for å kunne spre kjærlighet til andre.

En bok som ga meg et nytt inntrykk av Van Ness og livet han har levd - og en ny respekt for en person jeg allerede var blitt glad i. Lev livet som du er - og slipp løs din indre dronning!

A – «An American Marriage», Tayari Jones
B – "The book of dust", Philip Pullman
C – «Clap when you land», Elisabeth Acevedo
D – «Det mørke tårn 2: De utvalgte», Stephen King
E – «Equal rites», Terry Pratchett
F – «Folk med angst», Fredrik Backman
G – «Gideon the Ninth»
H – "Hollowpox: the hunt for Morrigan Crow", Jessica Townsend
I – «In the country of last things», Paul Auster
J – "Jeg tror du ville likt Ulrik", Jonas Sundquist
K – "Kabalmysteriet", Jostein Gaarder
L –
M – "Made things", Adrian Tchaikovsky
N – "The Nightingale", Kristin Hannah
O – «Over the top», Jonathan Van Ness
P – "People of the book", Geraldine Brooks
Q – "The queen's gambit", Walter Tevis
R –
S – «Speaking in Bones», Kathy Reichs
T – "Tollak til Ingeborg", Tore Renberg
U –
V – «Verity», Colleen Hoover
W – "The Wall", Marlen Haushofer
X –
Y –
Z –

Mini-utfordringer:
JANUAR – A book you purchased in 2020 but didn’t read: «Station Eleven», Emily St. John Mandel
FEBRUAR – A book with non-romantic love (siblings, parent-child, friendships): «The poet X», Elisabeth Acevedo
MARS – A book written by a person of a different race than you
APRIL – A book with an Autistic main character (April is Autism Awareness)
MAI – A book about a nurse
JUNI – A co-written book (2 authors): "Brevene dine legger jeg under madrassen", Astrid Lindgren og Sara Schwart Ikke lest i juni
JULI – A Christmas book (Jul i juli!)
AUGUST – A book by an Indie author (self-published or independent): Nnedi Okarafor - «Binti»
SEPTEMBER – A memoir/biography
OKTOBER – A book written by a new-to-you author: Joshua Philip Johnson - «The Forever Sea»
NOVEMBER – A book outside your normal genre: Rebecca Solnit - "Men Explain Things To Me"
DESEMBER – A backlist title (published BEFORE Jan 1, 2021): J. K. Rowling - "Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone"

Set in a school: Jessica Townsend - "Hollowpox: The hunt for Morrigan Crow"
Featuring the legal profession: Sir Arthur Conan Doyle - «The Hound of the Baskervilles» (Sherlock må da gjelde?)
A dual timeline: Margaret Atwood - "Oryx and Crake"
An author that is deceased: Terry Pratchett - "Equal Rites"
Published by Penguin: Philip Pullman - "The book of dust volume 2: The secret commonwealth"
A character with the same name as a male family member:
An author with only 1 published book: Joshua Philip Johnson - «The Forever Sea»
A book in the 900’s of the Dewey Decimal System:
Set in a Mediterranean country: Jostein Gaarder - «Kabalmysteriet»
Related to the word “fire”: S. A. Chakraborty - "City of Brass" (daeva-folket og deres religion)
Book with discussion questions inside: Tayari Jones - "An american marriage"
Title starting with the letter “D”: C. S. Cooney - «Desdemona and the Deep»
Includes an exotic animal: Peter S. Beagle - "The last unicorn" (enhjørningen)
Written by an author over 65 (when published): Kathy Reichs - "A conspiracy of bones"
A book mentioned in another book: Geraldine Brooks - «People of the Book» (nevnt i «The end of your life book Club»)
Set before the 17th Century: Terry Jones - «Terry Jones’ Medieval Lives»
A character “on the run”: Mary Shelley - "Frankenstein, Or The Modern Prometheus"
Author with a 9-letter last name: Siri Pettersen - "Odinsbarn"
Book with a deckled edge:
Made into a TV series: Sir Arthur Conan Doyle - "The memoirs of Sherlock Holmes""
Book by Kristin Hannah: "The Nightingale"
A family saga:
An ending that surprises you: Brandon Sanderson - "The well of ascension"
A book you think they should read in schools
A book with multiple character POV: Brandon Sanderson - "The hero of ages"
An author of color: Elizabeth Acevedo - "Clap when you land"
First chapter ends on an odd page number: Walter Tevis - "The queen's gambit"
Includes a historical event you know little about: Colson Whitehead - «Nickel-guttene»
Featuring the environment: Kim Stanley Robinson - «New York 2140»
Watch out for dragons! Robin Hobb - «Assassin’s Quest»
Shares a similar title to another book: China Mieville - "The City And the City" (minner om f eks "A tale of two cities")
A selfish character: Tore Renberg - "Tollak til Ingeborg"
Featuring adoption: Tasmyn Muir - "Gideon the Ninth"
A book you’d rate 5 stars: Seanan McGuire - "Middlegame"
Set in a country that starts with the letter “S”: Fredrik Backman - «Folk med angst» (satt til Sverige)
A nameless narrator: "The Wall" - Marlen Haushofer
An educational read: Rebecca Solnit - "Men explain things to me"
Recommended on BookBub: Taylor Jenkins Reid - "The seven husbands of Evelyn Hugo"
An alternate history novel: Justina Ireland - "Dread Nation"
Found via #bookstagram: Emily St. John Mandel - "Station Eleven"
An endorsement by a famous author on the cover: Colleen Hoover - «Verity»
An epistolary: Astrid Lindgren og Sara Scwhardt - "Brevene dine gjemmer jeg under madrassen"
A character with a pet cat: Kathy Reichs - "Speaking in bones"
Includes a garden: Becky Chambers - «The long way to a small, angry planet»
A coming of age novel: Tsitsi Dangarembga - «Nervous Conditions»
Winner of the National Book Award – any year: Elisabeth Acevedo - "The poet X"
A character with a disability: Stephen King - "Det mørke tårn 2: De utvalgte" (Detta/Odetta/Susannah)
A cover with a woman who is facing away: Paul Aster - "In the country of last things"
A flavour in the title: Linda Chapman - «Sugar & Spice»
A shoe on the cover: Jonathan van Ness - "Over the top"
Published in 2021: Jonas Sundquist - «Jeg tror du ville likt Ulrik»
Re-do one of the previous 51 categories from this 2021 challenge: C. S. E. Cooney - "Desdemona and the deep": a selfish character (flere, bl a. faren)