Sö 250: ”Gynna reste denna sten efter Saxe, Halvdans son.”
“Gynna raised this stone after Saxe, Halvdans son”.
Ekeby runestone
Neil Hopcroft
A digital misfit
Book review: The Cat who Saved Books by Sosuke Natsukawa
[Read aloud to Adelle]
The Cat who Saved Books by Sosuke Natsukawa
This is another gentle Japanese cat story, following the story of Rintaro, a high school student who is left bereft by the death of his beloved grandfather, a reclusive owner of a second hand bookshop.
Rintaro is moping around in the bookshop one day, unable to face going to school and getting on with his life, when a talking cat enters the shop and takes him on some adventures.
These are a series of challenges where the cat shows Rintaro some people who have unhealthy relationships with books, and Rintaro helps them see the error of their ways and encourages them to respect books.
This is a story more about Rintaro recovering from the depression left by his grandfather and coming to terms with his life running the bookshop he was bequeathed and less about a talking cat. It is a charming story, with some interesting observations on the publishing industry and the place of technology in the future of written work. Albeit written from the perspective of a lover of books, the older and dustier the better – a perspective that resonates with me in some ways.
Who should read this book? Anyone with a love of kawaii Japanese cat stories, this is one of my favourites so far.
Hammersta slottsruin
In the nature reserve by Hammersta Slott is the ruin of the old castle.
Hammersta runestone
Outside Hammersta slott are a couple of rune stones, one is a modern memorial stone in the style of the ancient stones.
Hammersta Slott
Hammersta Slott is a manor house that is now converted into a spa and sits in a nature reserve, it was too muddy for me to explore too much around.
Väster haninge
Väster haninge (Swedish) is a small town at the centre of its commun, served by the Pendletåg from Stockholm central.
Björnö Nature Reserve
Ice Race Track
I found a car race track on the ice near Nacka, by the time I got there the weather had warmed a little so I didn’t want to risk taking the car out myself.
Book review: All Families are Psychotic by Douglas Coupland
[Read while waiting for appointments]
All Families are Psychotic by Douglas Coupland
Coupland is generally easy reading for me, with rambling sentence structures that flow with the consciousness and ordinary seeming characters getting themselves into extraordinary relationships with each other and the world in general. He holds a mirror up to show the darkness of the world through those interactions.
This book didn’t flow so well for me, this time around. Largely, I think, because it was an intermittent companion, I lost the flow in the gaps between appointments.
It centres around the Drummond family, their coming to terms with terminal illness and the launching of their daughter in the Space Shuttle. It is set in and around Daytona Beach, near the launch site.
There are some elements of a road movie here, with a lot of action taking place on journeys, without there being any real structure to them except for their advancement of the plot.
Overall, a good read but, like all his work, rather disposable. Its fun during the reading, but dissipates once you close the back cover.
Nacka Strand again
I went for another explore around Nacka Strand. Noticing this time that it must have been an old car works, with a similar feeling to the old Mini factory in Oxford.
