In 2006, I had set myself the goal to read 52 books as a New Years resolution. Unfortunately, things got a bit more busy than I had expected and I only made it to 44. Below is a list of books I read with a very short commentary for each one.

I liked many of the books I read but I think White Oleander by Janet Fitch and The House with the blind glass window series by Herbjørg Wassmo are my absolute favorites.

44. Sólskinshestur - Steinunn Sigurðardóttir
Comment: A very Icelandic book but one of the better one I have read in a long time. I could identify myself in the protagonist a person that feels very colorless and only gets its color when someone cares enough to see her colors. This part was the most brilliant part of the book but the rest was very well written too and managed to create a lot of sympathy for a person that was really very colorless and dull.

43. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban - J.K. Rowling
Comment: As the other Harry Potter books, good, light entertainment. The wrap up in this book was a bit clumpsy and felt a bit rushed and the fantasy for cool magic things seemed to be running out. But still, good entertainment!

42. Empress Orchid - Anchee Min
Comment: A slightly sad book which kept me interested throughout. Not a masterpiece in any sense but rather a colorful entertainment piece. Interesting to read as it is supposed to be based on the story of the last empress in China.

41. Disgrace - J.M. Coetzee
Comment: Very good book but it is hard to explain how. I guess it was its down-to-earth atmosphere that made it special. The characters that seemed to become one with their surroundings and the harsh reality the book depicted. It was very well written and I liked it even if I cannot quite pinpoint why, yet.

40. Dina's Book - Herbjorg Wassmo (no)
Comment: Not quite as spectacular as her series about Tora but nontheless a masterpiece. Dina is an unbelievably cruel woman who does horrible things if it suits her. You can't help but admire her and be facinated by her. Be facinated by her mixture of evil and kindness. Very well written and confirmed my belief that Wassmo is one of the best authors I have read.

39. A Long Walk to Freedom: The Autobiography of Nelson Mandela - Nelson Mandela
Comment: The story of an extraordinary man. It was very interesting to read about Mandela himself, South Africa, and the story of apartheid. The book itself was a bit too long and stretched out sometimes. It was also quite clear in the book that Mandela was proud of himself which he seemed to be trying to disguise and made it a bit ackward. Would have been better if he hadn't tried to hide behind modesty that didn't seem quite real. The man deserves to be proud of himself!

38. Dance, Dance, Dance - Haruki Murakami
Comment: I think I was too young and immature when I read Murakami the first time. I didn't quite get it. This time around things were different. I might not have gotten it completely but I fell in love with the book. So weird, so full of atmosphere, and so mystical. Makes me curious and crave for more. The protagonist wasn't exactly the type of person I would like but his mental crisis and his way of dealing with them was facinating. Very well written book I recommend if you are craving for something different.

37. The Shadow of the Wind - Carlos Ruiz Zafon
Comment: The atmosphere in this book was wonderful. It was like walking around Barcelona's narrow streets at night (where the book takes place). You felt a little like in a dream. The story was exciting and well written. Not really a literary masterpiece but high quality entertainment.

36. Det som er mitt - Anne Holt
Comment: This has to be one of the worst book I have read this year. Absolutely horrible ending. Weakest ending I have seen in a long time. It felt like she had thrown a dice to pick two storylines and then simply done anything she could to try to make them into an exciting ending. First and last book I will ever read by her.

35. The Half Brother - Lars Saabye Christensen (no)
Comment: It was book that started growing on you after a while. You started having feelings for the characters and the interwoven storyline got better as it grew on you. I am still in doubt whether I will another book by him even if I enjoyed it in the end.

34. Krig og fred og religion og politikk og sånn - Anne-Kat Hærland (no)
Comment: Funny but she fell quite short when she started discussing politics. She made the fatal mistakes to make some assumptions about racism that weren't properly backed up so you started taking her less seriously. On less serious matters she is razorsharp and hilarious.

33. Like Water for Chocolate - Laura Esquivel
Comment: Beautiful story! The magical realism in this book is kept at a perfect level and the writing is beautiful because it was so simplistic. Magical book!

32. The Devil Wears Prada - Lauren Weisberger
Comment: Disappointing! It wasn't really that bad but it lacked the charm the book could have had. It wasn't sassy enough and the main character was too weak and boring. Seeing the trailer for the movie had made me expect something more.

31. River God - Wilbur Smith
Comment: The protagonist was too cocky and it ruined the entire book for me. It was fun to read about ancient Egypt and the story was all right but not good enough for me to read the follow-up.

30. Fingersmith - Sarah Waters
Comment: Very good book with interesting twists. It took me a little while to get into the story but when I did I enjoyed it a lot. Very well written!

29. Watermelon - Marian Keyes
Comment: An entertaining summer read with a pathetic ending. The ending didn't really matter. It was girly and sassy story. Perfect vacation reading.

28.Tafl fyrir fjóra - Birgitta Halldórsdóttir
Comment: A weak Icelandic crime story, not much else to say.

27. Backroads - Tawni O'Dell
Comment: This one surprised me. I had no expectations but it actually managed to entertain me well. A little bit of excitement over the story line and reasonable writing made it a pleasant read.

26. Aztec - Gary Jennings
Comment: Way too long. I enjoyed the first two hundred pages due to its descriptions of Aztec life and culture but the other eight hundred pages were long and a bit too painful. It was a weak story.

25. Possession: A Romance - A.S. Byatt
Two scholars are researching the lives of two authors and find that they were more involved with each other than anyone knew. I found this book extremely hard to get into. The character building of the two researches was all right but I found the two authors extremely dry, boring, and I didn't manage to connect with them at all. Much of the material in the book was supposed to be extracts from their works and I struggled a bit keeping my attention. I however started seeing the grandness towards the end and the story was generally quite thourough and complete. It was well written and even exciting towards the end. I definitely warmed up towards it after having finished it. Recommened to anyone that is interested in Victorian literature or that it is a perfectionist.

24. Ljúlí, ljúli -Guðrún Eva Mínervudóttir (is)
Comment: Story about a young woman growing up i a house of artists (dad and his four friends). The writing was quite good but the story was exceptionally weak. I really enjoyed the prose but was bored out of my mind by reading about people with no ambition, doing absolutely nothing the entire book.

23. The Celestine Prophecy - James Redfield (no)
Comment: Only to be read by people that like spiritual things. Just didn't appeal to me but I know numerous people that would love this one.

22. People of the Wolf - Kathleen O'Neal Gear, W.Michael Gear
Comment: I am a sucker for pre-historic novels but this one was bad. Two weeks later and I need to think hard to remember anything from it. Dull story, poor characters, equally exciting as watching water in glass!

21. Hudløs himmel - Herbjørg Wassmo (no)
Comment: See The House with the blind glass window below.

20. Angles - Marian Keyes
Comment: Surprisingly refreshing holiday read! Light, entertaining, sassy, girly novel! I will pick up more of her books when I need some good beach reads. A bit Bridget Jones like. Now I finally understand why her books are all over the place.

19. The Lone Eagle - Danielle Steel
Comment: Trash! I think I have graduated past Danielle Steel. It is too much trash to even be one of those "braindead romance reads" I need once in a while.

18. Det stumme rommet - Herbjørg Wassmo(no)
Comment: See The House with the blind glass window below.

17. The House with the blind glass window - Herbjørg Wassmo (no)
Comment: Beautifully written books about Tora, a girl which grows up in Northern Norway. Her mother had her with a German soldier during the 2nd World War which gave her a hard childhood. Her stepfather abuses her and there are many heartbreaking moments in the books. The story follows her till she is a grown-up and give a good glimps into her world, thoughts, and pain. I read through all three books in just few days I loved them so much! I will read more of Wassmo as soon as I get the chance. Wonderful books, wonderful author.

16. Beloved - Toni Morrison
Comment: I read this book at the wrong time I think. Tired right before going on a vacation and this book is quite heavy. It was beautifully written but needed more attention that I was able to give at that exact moment. I will re-read this one at some point.

15. Keeping Faith - Jodi Picoult
Interesting relating to the fact that it touched on a religious subject. A girl that all of a sudden get stigmata and saves people's life. The plot involves her parent's marriage breaking up and a custody battle. The writing was rather dull and thin but it was all right entertainment.

14. Dauðar rósir - Arnaldur Indriðason (is)
Comment: I am not a big crime person but this one managed to keep me interested throughout. Nothing spectacular really just mediocre entertainment.

13. Tímar í lífi þjóðar - Indriði G. Þorsteinsson (is)
Comment: A book slightly outdated by time. Three stories in one book from different parts of the century describing the life of different people living in Iceland. Little bit interesting to get a glimps of the time but the stories were rather weak and just didn't appeal too me enough.

12. Love in the Time of Cholera - Gabriel Garcia Marquez
Comment: Marquez is just a fantastic storyteller which manages to make small reading treats out of the least trivial things. This story wasn't particularly strong but I still enjoyed every page of this book, the writing was so colorful. He from now on has a secured place in my favorite author list.

11. Out of Africa - Karen Blixen
Comment: Wonderful descriptions of Karen Blixen's life on a coffee farm in Kenya. The book is extremely well written, full of character, with a valuable educational part (to learn of the life in Africa). It got a bit watered out towards the end but I truly enjoyed reading this book.

10. Rilla of Ingleside - L.M. Montgomery
Comment: I wish I had never read more than the four books that were published in Iceland of the Anne of Green Gable series. By the time of the 8th book in the series the charm is gone. Anne herself is almost non existant and has been replaced by her kids that in no means have inherited her charm. Going from the first three books about Anne which will always be among my favorite books and to this piece of crap was disappointing.

9. Paradise Reclaimed - Halldor Laxness

8. Dís - Birna Anna Björnsdóttir, Oddný Sturludóttir, Silja Hauksdóttir

Comment: The book made me homesick. It reminded me of living in Reykjavík, how Icelandic people are and all of that. The story was simple and nothing special but I at least enjoyed feeling like I was at home for a little while.

7. White Teeth - Zadie Smith
Comment: I think it was simply too British. Not a bad book by no mean but I just didn't get all of it. I felt I was severly lacking some cultural, society understanding while reading it. So I just got a story which at some times was really good but a bit too long to be read as pure entertainment.

6. Eitruð epli - Gerður Kristný (is)
Comment: All right stories, some a bit clever. Easy reading but nothing that sits to deeply with me.

5. Trist som Faen - Ari Behn (no)
Comment: A short story book which has the direct translated title "Sad as the devil" but more accurate translation would be "Fucking sad". The title pretty much sums up the book. In other words, it was fucking sad! Pretentious short stories with seemingly no meaning.

4. Life of Pi - Yann Martel
My Review of Life of Pi

3. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets - J.K. Rowling
Comment: Same as the first book in the series. The imagination was fascinating but the story followed the exact same pattern as the first book which made it a bit unoriginal.

2. White Oleander - Janet Fitch
Comment: A sad, heartbreaking story written in beautiful language. The rich use of analogies that fell smoothly into the flow of the story was absolutely brilliant. The description of the complex, untraditional mother-daughter relationship was haunting. Highly recommended!

1. Christmas with Anne and Other Holiday Stories - L. M. Montgomery
Comment: Too cute children Christmas stories. Same story all the time. People learning the true meaning of Christmas by doing good deeds and helping others have an enjoyable Christmas. None of the new stories manages to capture the spirit of the Anne of Green Gable stories. The book also includes to smaller stories cut from the Anne of Green Gable books.