Jeg slutter meg helhjertet til Michael Ondaatje, som er sitert på omslaget mitt:
"Sheer entertainment. It is a book I'll re-read every few years - for the pure pleasure and skill of it"

Fantastisk driv i denne romanen. Ingen overflødigheter. Korthugd og konsist. Bokens Beth Harmon kunne forøvrig like godt vært gutt; hadde "hun" vært erstatte med "han" ville det fungert like godt. Vi blir først og fremst kjent med Beth gjennom hva hun gjør, og ikke hva hun føler. Hun har sex med hvem hun vil og lar seg ikke binde. I en hvilken som helst annen roman ville hun endt opp med sin første crush til slutt, naturligvis - men ikke slik her!
Først mot slutten av boka kommer Beths følelser frem. Kanskje i takt med utviklingen i rusmisbruk.

Romanen ble publisert i 1983, under den kalde krigen; og 2 år før Sting minte oss på at "Russians love their children too". Tevis beskriver russerne i Moskva så menneskelig i denne romanen. Og slutten er rett og slett perfekt. Sjakk bygger bro.

Jeg må si jeg liker bøker og filmer fra 80-tallet. Historiene var mer optimistiske, og alt var mulig! Hadde denne romanen blitt skrevet i dag ville den antagelig blitt en adskillig dystrere affære.
Forfatter Walter Tevis døde året etter, i 1984. 4 av hans 6 bøker ble filmatisert, med kjente hovedrolleinnehavere (Paul Newman, Tom Cruise, David Bowie, Anya Taylor-Joy). Litt av en bragd. Applaus!

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"

Uthevet tekst

A book that's published in 2021: Jonas Sundquist - "Jeg tror du hadde likt Ulrik"
An Afrofuturist book: Nnedi Okorafor - "Binti"
A book that has a heart, diamond, club, or spade on the cover: Jostein Gaarder - "Kabalmysteriet"
A book by an author who shares your zodiac sign: Peter S. Beagle - "The last unicorn" (Beagle var Vær, i det minste fram til siste datojustering. Født 20. april)
A dark academia book:
A book with a gem, mineral, or rock in the title: Colson Whitehead - «Nickelguttene»
A book where the main character works at your current or dream job: Taylor Jenkins Reid - "The seven husbands of Evelyn Hugo" (hvem har ikke drømt om å være skuespiller på et eller annet tidspunkt?)
A book that has won the Women's Prize For Fiction: Tayari Jones - «An American marriage» (2019)
A book with a family tree
A bestseller from the 1990s: Robin Hobb - "Assasin's quest"
A book about forgetting: Stephen King - "Det mørke tårn 2: De utvalgte" (Detta og Odetta glemmer hverandre osv.)
A book you have seen on someone's bookshelf (in real life, on a Zoom call, in a TV show, etc.): Astrid Lindgren og Sara Scwhardt - "Brevene dine legger jeg under madrassen" (fant den i mammas og pappas bokhylle)
A locked-room mystery: Fredrik Backman - «Folk med angst»
A book set in a restaurant: Linda Chapman - «Sugar & Spice»
A book with a black-and-white cover: Seanan McGuire - "Middlegame"
A book by an Indigenous author: Nnedi Okorafor - "Binti: Home" (Okorafor er av igbo-folket fra Nigeria)
A book that has the same title as a song: Tsetsi Dangarembga - «Nervous Conditions»
A book about a subject you are passionate about: Rebecca Solnit - «Men explain things to me»
A book that discusses body positivity: C S. Cooney - «Desdemona and the Deep»
A book found on a Black Lives Matter reading list: Justina Ireland - «Dread Nation»
A genre hybrid: Sir Arthur Conan Doyle - «The Hound of the Baskervilles» (horror / mystery (krim) hybrid)
A book set mostly or entirely outdoors: Marlen Haushofer - "The Wall"
A book with something broken on the cover: Brandon Sanderson - "The Well of Ascension" (min versjon har coveret med en ødelagt "skive" på: https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/51c8b8Bn7wL.jpg)
A book by a Muslim American author: S. A. Chakraborty - "City of Brass"
A book that was published anonymously: Mary Shelley - "Frankenstein"
A book with an oxymoron in the title
A book about do-overs or fresh starts: Becky Chambers - "The long way to a small, angry planet"
A magical realism book: Charles Dickens - «A Christmas Carol»
A book set in multiple countries: Geraldine Brooks - «People of the book»
A book set somewhere you'd like to visit in 2021: Kim Stanley Robinson - «New York 2140»
A book by a blogger, vlogger, YouTube video creator, or other online personality: Jonathan van Ness - "Over the top"
A book whose title starts with "Q," "X," or "Z": Walter Tevis - "The queen's gambit"
A book featuring three generations (grandparent, parent, child): Kristen Hannah - "The nightingale"
A book about a social justice issue: Terry Pratchett - "Equal Rites"
A book in a different format than what you normally read (audiobooks, ebooks, graphic novels): Elisabeth Acevedo - "The poet X" (slampoesi, lydbok)
A book that has fewer than 1,000 reviews on Amazon or Goodreads: Tore Renberg - «Tollak til Ingeborg»
A book you think your best friend would like: Jessica Townsend - "Hollowpox: The hunt for Morrigan Crow"
A book about art or an artist: Emily St. John Mandel - "Station Eleven"
A book everyone seems to have read but you: Colleen Hoover - «Verity»
Your favourite prompt from a past POPSUGAR Reading Challenge: A story within a story: Joshua Philip Johnson - «The Forever Sea»

Advanced
The longest book (by pages) on your TBR list: Brandon Sanderson - "The way of kings"
The shortest book (by pages) on your TBR list: Adrian Tchaikovsky - "Made things"
The book on your TBR list with the prettiest cover: China Mieville - "The city and the city"
The book on your TBR list with the ugliest cover: T. Kingfisher - "Clockwork Boys"
The book that's been on your TBR list for the longest amount of time: Margaret Atwood - «Oryx and Crake»
A book from your TBR list you meant to read last year but didn't: Philip Pullman - "Book of dust volume 2: The secret commonwealth"
A book from your TBR list you associate with a favourite person, place, or thing: J. K. Rowling - "Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone" (illustrert av Jim Kay)
A book from your TBR list chosen at random
A DNF book from your TBR list
A free book from your TBR list (gifted, borrowed, library): Paul Auster - "In the country of last things"