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Did You Know Birthdays in Denmark Can Get Rather Spicy?

Pepper Denmark Tradition

So, what’s been going on in my life lately?

Well, I turned 30 earlier this month, so of course my friends tied me to a lamppost and covered me in ground pepper.

Pepper Denmark Tradition

Let me explain:

In Denmark, it’s tradition to cover a person in certain spices if they reach certain age milestones without having gotten married. On your 25th birthday it’s cinnamon (I dodged that one) and on your 30th, as you can see, it’s pepper.

So, how did this tradition start? Well, I’m fairly sure it has something to do with how the Danish expression for an ‘old maid’ is ‘pepper maiden’ (pebermø). Don’t ask me about the cinnamon. For all I know, that might just have been made up by people who were afraid the jackass mate they wanted to harass would get married before he turned 30, so they needed an earlier occasion.

As far as I know, the Danes are the only ones with this tradition. Probably for good reason, since – if your friends are assholes – it can be a rather horrible (and borderline dangerous) experience.

I, however, know that my friends aren’t complete sociopaths who would go overboard with no regards to safety (google it if you want to see what I’m talking about), so I told them they could do it, but also demanded that if they were going to do it, they had to do it properly. Tie me to a lamppost or don’t even bother!

They were happy to abide.

I did get back at them, though. It was a windy evening, and my loose hair was whipping around and throwing pepper at everyone involved. It also felt like a bit of payback for all the times I have been compared to the girl from the Grudge. Fear the hair!

(Insert evil laughter here)

I also tried to hug people after I got free, but for some reason they kept running away from me…

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Top Ten Tuesday – Characters I’d Name a Pet After

Vetinari Cat Discworld

The week speeds past, and before you know it, it’s time for another Top Ten Tuesday post. This week the topic is ‘Characters I Would Name a Pet After’, so I had to think about all my potential future pets.
If I end up impulsively adopting ten animals tonight, I don’t think any blame can be put on me.


Artemis Fowl

Believe it or not, I have never read Artemis Fowl. But… I do have an owl – a fowl, if you will – named Artemis. Sure, he’s named after the Greek goddess of the hunt, but we can pretend otherwise for the sake of this post.

Havelock Vetinari (Discworld)

The Patrician of Ankh-Morpork in the Discworld series is one of my favorite characters, and both his first and last name would make a good pet name. I think I would use ‘Havelock’ for a hawk or a falcon, and ‘Vetinari’ for a cat. Or possibly a snake.
Funnily enough, the character himself is a dog person.

Havelock Vetinari Discworld Paul Kidby

Katniss Everdeen (The Hunger Games)

‘Katniss’ is a name so well-suited for a cat that I imagine thousands of cats around the world already carry it.

Nymeria (A Song of Ice and Fire)

I approve of Arya Stark’s taste in wolf names, so I could see myself naming a dog this.

Gaspode the Wonder Dog (Discworld)

If I were ever to adopt a scrawny rescue dog with too much brains for his own good, I would name him Gaspode.

Gaspode Discworld Paul Kidby

Minerva McGonagall (Harry Potter)

‘McGonagall’ would be too hard to call, but ‘Minerva’ would do the job as a name.
Obviously for a cat.

Inspector Lestrade (Sherlock Holmes)

‘Lestrade’ has a nice ring to it. However, I’m not sure if it’s better for a cat or a dog.

Sirius Black (Harry Potter)

Is it too meta to name a dog after a character named after the Dog Star…?

Nobby Nobbs (Discworld)

Naming a dog ‘Nobbs’ might be jinxing myself. I would just end up with a dog that steals everything.
Besides, I could hardly have Nobby without his trusty partner… and I really don’t want a dog named ‘Colon’.

Nobby Nobbs Discworld Paul Kidby

Crowley (Good Omens)

If I’m not getting a snake and calling it Crowley, what am I even doing with my life?


Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly book prompt hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl and it’s a lot of fun. Go check it out!

But first: Tell me your favorite name for a pet. The weirder the better!

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Top Ten Tuesday – Book Titles that Would Make Great Song Titles

Book Covers Fantasy

It’s time for Top Ten Tuesday!

This week’s topic is Book Titles that Would Make Great Song Titles, so I raided my bookshelves for candidates. It was surprisingly easy this time, but I think it’s because I read so much fantasy, and fantasy books tend to have catchy titles.

If you’re unfamiliar with the whole Top Ten Tuesday thing, it’s a weekly book prompt hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl and it’s a great way to find new book bloggers and just talk about books, books, and more books.

Now, let’s begin.


We Hunt the Flame Hafsah Faizal cover

We Hunt the Flame

by Hafsah Faizal

I feel like this would make a great goth metal song, maybe sung by Evanescence or Within Temptation.

This Savage Song V. E. Schwab Cover

This Savage Song

by V. E. Schwab

This would be punk rock, since it makes a very ‘meta’ song title.

The Strange Case of the Alchemist's Daughter cover

The Strange Case of the Alchemist’s Daughter

by Theodora Goss

This would most definitely be a song by Panic! at the Disco…

Kingdom of Copper S. A. Chakraborty

The Kingdom of Copper

by S. A. Chakraborty

This would make for a great rock song.

The Bear and the Nightingale cover

The Bear and the Nightingale

by Katherine Arden

It’s not quite ‘The Bear and the Maiden Fair’, but I still feel like this is a song I would hear at a Renaissance Fair.

Jade City Fonda Lee

Jade City

by Fonda Lee

Another one I feel would make a good rock song.

Making Money Terry Pratchett cover

Making Money

by Terry Pratchett

This might actually already be a song by some ego-tripping rapper…

Shadow and Bone Leigh Bardugo cover

Shadow and Bone

by Leigh Bardugo

I love this title, but I’m not quite sure of which music genre it would be. Some subgenre of metal, perhaps?

A Hat Full of Sky Terry Pratchett cover

A Hat Full of Sky

by Terry Pratchett

Time for some pop music, don’t you think? If Natasha Bedingfield were ever to make a sequel to ‘Pocket Full of Sunshine’, this would probably be the title.

Good Omens cover

Good Omens

by Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman

I imagine this as a really upbeat pop song. Owl City should get on it.


There you have it: My contribution to the world of bookish music.

Any of you agree with my choices? Or maybe you think I have the genres all wrong?

Throw me a comment and let’s talk books!

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Top Ten Tuesday: Books with Colors in the Titles

Color Book Covers

Due to a couple of crazily busy weeks, I have skipped a few Top Ten Tuesdays, but now I’m back!

This week’s prompt by That Artsy Reader Girl is Books with Colors in the Titles. I decided to only choose books I have either read already or that are on my TBR list, and let me tell you: The task turned out harder than I had expected! Which is why I stretched the definition a little by including things like metals and gems as colors.

I guess my taste in books is just not that colorful…


The Colour of Magic Terry Pratchett

The Colour of Magic by Terry Pratchett

Okay, it might not have the name of a color in the title, but it does have a color! Of course it’s Octarine, the eight color of the rainbow and the color of magic, but just because it’s a fictional color does not mean it doesn’t count.

(No, I’m not trying to justify borderline cheating with this list. What are you talking about?)

A Darker Shade of Magic V. E. Schwab

A Darker Shade of Magic by V. E. Schwab

Look, if The Colour of Magic counts, so does this…

I Shall Wear Midnight Terry Pratchett

I Shall Wear Midnight by Terry Pratchett

The Midnight in this title refers to a shade of black that the protagonist Tiffany Aching intends to wear when she gets old.

City of Brass S. A. Chakraborty

Kingdom of Copper S. A. Chakraborty

Kingdom of Copper S. A. Chakraborty

The City of Brass, The Kingdom of Copper and The Empire of Gold by S. A. Chakraborty

Metals are often used to refer to certain colors, so the books in the Daevabad Trilogy totally count.

The Black Prism Brent Weeks

The Black Prism by Brent Weeks

This might just be the only book on this list that irrefutably belongs on it!

Jade City Fonda Lee

Jade City by Fonda Lee

Jade is green. End of story.

Blackwing Ed McDonald

Blackwing by Ed McDonald

Blackwing has got ‘Black’ in it, right?

Red Country Joe Abercrombie

Red Country by Joe Abercrombie

I had to scour Amazon for a last book to add to this list, so I guess I have to read this now…


So, tell me: Did you guys also have to cheat ever so slightly to fit ten books on this list?
Please tell me I’m not the only one!

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Top Ten Tuesday: Books That Make Me Smile

Books Pratchett Gaiman Jones

The Top Ten Tuesday post I did last week was a lot of fun, so I guess I’m doing another one this week!

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly book blog prompt, hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl, and this week the topic is Books That Make Me Smile. I might as well come right out and say that my list will be heavily Terry Pratchett-centered, but a couple other books also made the cut. I included a few quotes from each book that made me smile, which is why this post is so ridiculously long!

Guards! Guards! (Terry Pratchett)

Guards Guards Terry Pratchett


Guards! Guards! is my all-time favorite book. It is absolutely hilarious, and you can’t help but adore the dysfunctional characters that make up the Night Watch. There’s the new recruit, Carrot, the six-foot-something human who thinks he’s a dwarf and who is so by the book that he tries to arrest a dragon for murder. There’s Colon and Nobby, veteran guardsmen who know that doing their job is a sure-fire way to get into trouble and instead spend most of their time guarding bridges, just in case someone tries to steal them. And of course, Captain Vimes, who’s not sure how his job suddenly got so complicated.

Quotes

“A book has been taken. A book has been taken? You summoned the Watch,” Carrot drew himself up proudly, “because someone’s taken a book? You think that’s worse than murder?”
The Librarian gave him the kind of look other people would reserve for people who said things like “What’s so bad about genocide?”

Sergeant Colon owed thirty years of happy marriage to the fact that Mrs. Colon worked all day and Sergeant Colon worked all night. They communicated by means of notes. He got her tea ready before he left at night, she left his breakfast nice and hot in the oven in the mornings. They had three grown-up children, all born, Vimes had assumed, as a result of extremely persuasive handwriting.

“Might have just been an innocent bystander, sir,” said Carrot
“What, in Ankh-Morpork?”
“Yes, sir.”
“We should have grabbed him, then, just for the rarity value.”

Colon didn’t reply. I wish Captain Vimes were here, he thought. He wouldn’t have known what to do either, but he’s got a much better vocabulary to be baffled in.

The Wee Free Men (Terry Pratchett)

The Wee Free Men Terry Pratchett


I’m usually not a fan of child protagonists, but Tiffany Aching is my kind of gal. What’s a 9-year old girl to do when she sees a monster in the river?
Well, if you’re Tiffany, you use your little brother as bait, then whack the monster in the head with a frying pan.

Quotes

“I can see we’re going to get along like a house on fire,” said Miss Tick. “There may be no survivors.”

“They can tak’ oour lives but they canna tak’ oour troousers!”

“And then there was the headless horseman!” said Tiffany. “He had no head!”
“Well, that is the major job qualification,” said the toad.

Mort (Terry Pratchett)

Mort Terry Pratchett


It’s not often I say things like this, but Death is adorable.
In Mort Death takes on a human apprentice and it’s both hilarious and cute how hard he tries to be a good master to the kid, despite knowing very little about humans.

Quotes

Death was standing behind a lectern, poring over a map. He looked at Mort as if he wasn’t entirely there.
YOU HAVEN’T HEARD OF THE BAY OF MANTE, HAVE YOU? he said.
“No, sir,” said Mort.
FAMOUS SHIPWRECK THERE.
“Was there?”
THERE WILL BE, said Death, IF I CAN FIND THE DAMN PLACE.

The wizards, such of them who were still on their feet and conscious, were rather surprised to see that Death was wearing an apron and holding a small kitten.

“That’s Binky,” said the heap. “He’s just trying to be friendly. I expect he’d like some hay, if you’ve got any.”
With royal self-control, Keli said, “This is the fourth floor. It’s a lady’s bedroom. You’d be amazed at how many horses we don’t get up here.”

Going Postal (Terry Pratchett)

Going Postal Terry Pratchett


Moist von Lipwig is the most likable conman ever and his totally over-the-top ways of solving problems will always put a smile on my face.

Quotes

“Did I do anything last night that suggested I was sane?”

And the nice thing about a stake through the heart was that it also worked on non-vampires.

If he’d been a hero, he would have taken the opportunity to say, “That’s what I call sorted!” Since he wasn’t a hero, he threw up.

The Graveyard Book (Neil Gaiman)

The Graveyard Book Neil Gaiman


The Graveyard Book made the list despite the ending being heartbreaking, because it’s also a really heartwarming story about a cemetary full of ghosts raising a human boy.

Quotes

“You’re brave. You are the bravest person I know, and you are my friend. I don’t care if you are imaginary.”

“I think . . . I said things to Silas. He’ll be angry.”
“If he didn’t care about you, you couldn’t upset him,” was all she said.

Bod shrugged. “So?” he said. “It’s only death. I mean, all of my best friends are dead.”

Witches Abroad (Terry Pratchett)

Witches Abroad Terry Pratchett


The locals always fear tourists, but when those tourists are two elderly witches with a total disregard for everyone else and a total lack of understanding of other cultures, it just gets so much better. You can’t help smiling when you’re following Granny Weatherwax and Nanny Ogg tackling ‘foreign parts’.

Quotes

“Blessings be on this house,” Granny said, perfunctorily. It was always a good opening remark for a witch. It concentrated people’s minds on what other things might be on this house.

“It pays to advertise,” Nanny agreed. “This is Greebo. Between you and me, he’s a fiend from hell.”
“Well, he’s a cat,” said Mrs. Gogol, generously. “It’s only to be expected.”

“Excuse me,” said Granny, empowering the words with much the same undertones as are carried by words like “Charge!” and “Kill!”, “Excuse me, but does this pointy hat I’m wearing mean anything to you?”

Howl’s Moving Castle (Diana Wynne Jones)

Howl's Moving Castle Diana Wynne Jones


Howl’s Moving Castle is quirky and charming, and definitely one of the books I would recommend someone who needs more smiles in their life.

Quotes

“I feel ill,” he announced. “I’m going to bed, where I may die.”

“I make that four horses and ten men just to get rid of one old woman. What did you do to the King?”

“Nothing is safe from you. If I were to court a girl who lived on an iceberg in the middle of the ocean, sooner or later— probably sooner— I’d look up to see you swooping overhead on a broomstick. In fact, by now I’d be disappointed in you if I didn’t see you.”
“Are you off to the iceberg today?” Sophie retorted.

Hogfather (Terry Pratchett)

Hogfather Terry Pratchett


Another book with Death being hilarious and cute. Hilarious because Death tries to do the Hogfather’s (Discworld’s Santa Claus) job, and cute because he tries so hard to be a good grandfather to his adopted human granddaughter, and fails spectacularly at it.

Quotes

HO. HO. HO.

One of the symptoms of those going completely yo-yo was that they broke out in chronic cats.

“You can’t give her that!” she screamed. “It’s not safe!”
IT’S A SWORD, said the Hogfather. THEY’RE NOT MEANT TO BE SAFE.
“She’s a child!” shouted Crumley.
IT’S EDUCATIONAL.
“What if she cuts herself?”
THAT WILL BE AN IMPORTANT LESSON.

The Colour of Magic (Terry Pratchett)

The Colour of Magic Terry Pratchett


The Colour of Magic might not be the best book, but it is funny and doesn’t take itself seriously at all, so it’s always good for a laugh.

Sometimes you just want to have fun and not worry about whether or not the book you’re reading actually has a plot…

Quotes

If complete and utter chaos was lightning, then he’d be the sort to stand on a hilltop in a thunderstorm wearing wet copper armour and shouting “All gods are bastards!”

On the Disc, the Gods aren’t so much worshipped, as they are blamed.

“We’ve strayed into a zone with a high magical index,” he said. “Don’t ask me how. Once upon a time a really powerful magic field must have been generated here, and we’re feeling the after-effects.”
“Precisely,” said a passing bush.

Thud! (Terry Pratchett)

Thud Terry Pratchett


I was laughing my ass off at the scenes with Sam Vimes reading children’s books to his son. Especially the last one where he snaps and starts fighting off an army of – rather freaked out – dwarfs while yelling about not being able to find his cow.

Quotes

“That’s! Not! My! Cow!”

Standing around watching people was, of course, Ankh-Morpork’s leading industry. The place was a net exporter of penetrating stares.

“It’s not my cow. It’s a sheep with a pitchfork. Unfortunately, it goes quack.”


That’s it for me!

What books make you smile? Is it something funny, or maybe something sweet?