KSena's Journal

And onwards, I should probably say. Because it’s not like I’ll stop doing either of those things. :-)

Here goes…

I do track the books I’ve read on Goodreads.Com, so you can always track me there if you’d like. And if you want to see my year in books the way they’d tracked it, you can do so here: KSena’s Year in Books 2017.

I only read 12 books and graphic novels. But I’m a slow reader that usually feel too stressed to read, so that would be the reason why there. I have, however, started to listen to audiobooks, which makes me feel less stressed. I can listen to audiobooks when I’m on the bus or when I do dishes or vacuum or whatever.

And there I’ve punctured the myth of librarians reading a ton of books… *LOL* I, obviously, don’t. :-)

These are the books I’ve read (link to my review in the title):

• Making the rounds with Oscar - about a cat in an elderly home that can sense when a patient is about to die… and the doctor that tries to figure out why that is. REALLY interesting, even if you’re not a cat-person.



• Endometrios: Mensvärken från helvetet - a swedish book about how it is to live with Endomatriosis and how you can tackle doctors and nurses and tips and ideas for those living with endo-sufferers and just… a lot of really good info. This book needs to be translated to english stat.



• The story of my life - about the life of Helen Keller. I’ve always been curious about her since seeing a movie about her. And even though this was in her words and interesting, it was also… extremely dull here and there.



• Street Cat Bob - also a story I’ve been curious at. Listened to this through an audiobook service here in Sweden, and it worked really well! A really good book, heart wrenching story! Seen the movie to!



• Trump och vredens Amerika - some seriously effective finnish journalists who wrote a book about Trump and how he managed to get a hold of power the way he did. They also try to figure out how he ended up the man he is. It was VERY interesting and I like how they’d split up the book in various sections.



• Monster - a biography by and about the biggest YouTube star in Sweden, Joakim ‘Jockiboi’ Lundell. And I was RAGING when I listened to this audiobook!!! I read it since I wanted to know what the deal was with this guy, and why the kids/teens at the school I work was all over him. The fangirling/fanboying over this guy is off the charts. And he puts both Edward from Twilight AND infamous Mr Grey to shame… My GAWD! What an absolutely HORRIBLE guy this man is! o.O Aptly named book...



• Ibland mår jag inte så bra - a biography by and about the biggest female YouTube star in Sweden, Therese Lindgren. My expectations was way low when I started listening to this, and it turned out to be a really good book about mental health!



• Kris vid trekaffet - about a retired couple and their daily lifes and how they deal with their children and grandchildren. Sounds dull? Not in this graphic novel! The dialogue is great, and the odd style in the drawings just match up. A lovely little gem.



• När mammorna blev kära - a very easy to read book for 8-12 year old kids about two divorced mothers that fall in love with each other and how their daughters deal with it. A VERY important book! I read it once it had arrived to the library, and it was really good! It’s been read aloud in a few classes at the school, and the discussions have been both wild and civil. So important with LGBT+ books for ALL ages!!!



• Spelet är spelet - a book I bought for the library since a teen at school (almost or nearly a hooligan…) wanted to read it. So I did to, or listened to the audiobook. It’s written by Leo Carmona and is heavily based on how he grew up, how he ended up a criminal extremely young and why and the issues that Sweden has today (we do, although not as bad as a certain president and his supporters claim…). This was good. VERY good. And very eye opening to me. I have a greater understanding for my hooligans after reading this. I don’t condone what they do or how they act, but I can understand why. Makes sense?



• Hungerhuset - was just a LOVELY little horror graphic novel! The images was GORGEOUS! Detailed, sharp and black and white. Swedish comic-artists are SO GOOD at horror! Seriously! And this one was definitely one of those really good ones! Such a nice read!



• Svinet - was seriously a feel-bad story (instead of a feel-good one). And Åsa Grennvall is SO GOOD at this! Especially at showing emotion in her characters faces. And it’s some scary emotions in this. A lot of mental illness among the female characters, and then there’s the man that is in the center of the story… Extremely abusive and manipulative man. I feel the most for his mother, in this story. Even if she is… not quite well or OK either. I don’t know why I like Grennvall’s stories, they are really horrid stories. But I do love them. For some reason.

So that’s what I’ve been reading this year. I know orangerful for example read more than that in a month. But I’m slow and I can’t really settle down and relax with a book. *shrug* Thank heavens for audiobooks. Goal for 2018? Read more than 12 books, so I can beat 2017 at least. :-)

I might take a leaf from orangerful and make a post as soon as I’ve read something? Don’t expect to see that to frequently though. ;-)

When I haven’t been reading I’ve been watching TV-shows and listened to podcasts.

Podcasts are really my new love! Seriously!

Mostly I listen to swedish podcasts through the app that Sveriges Radio has (Sweden's national publicly funded radio broadcaster). They make a lot of good radio shows and they are ALL saved in their massive archive so you can listen to them whenever you want.

Brilliant says I. :-) So I listen to a few of my favorites.

• Ligga med P3 - A pod/radio show about sex. Plain and simple. And they are do not sugarcoat anything. They talk about EVERYTHING!!!! :-D And they are great fun to listen to, not taking themselves seriously at all. A GREAT listen!



• P3 Dokumentär - A pod/radio show that is like a documentary you see on TV. I mean, it’s SO well made! They put sounds to it as if it was a movie and they make sure to interview as many as possible…. And it’s just… so well made. The BEST pod/radio show that Sveriges Radio has to offer, according to me!



• P3 Historia - I’m a history-nerd and this pod/radio show is ALL about history! They take a historic person or event and then they nerd out as much as possible about it/him/her during the show. It’s great! Really really good to listen to!



• P3 Spel - This is about games to consoles and to computers. All the games all the time! It’s really good and the hosts are SO FUN to listen to! Any interests in games whatsoever, this is the one for you!



• Radiosporten Dokumentär - I’m not into sports usually, so I don’t listen to all the episodes to this one, since this is the main sport-channel that Sveriges Radio has and this is their documentary show. But since I do LOVE documentaries, this pod/show is really good to, since there are quite a lot of sport personalities that are really interesting as well! So some of these documentaries are really good to!



• Sommar & Vinter i P1 - This is a classic pod/show, especially during summer. P1 invites a certain number off more or less famous people to talk on air for 1½ hours about… whatever they want! And the person gets to choose the music to. During end of December and beginning of January they do the same thing. I don’t listen to all, only those that I find interesting as people. But it’s a good pod/show!

Then there’s my second favorite from Sveriges Radio:

• USA podden - It started out as a podcast/radio show to report on the latest election in the USA. But since it got so popular and since Trump won and everyone here in Sweden wants to know what is going on… It has continued even after the election. The hosts doing this are experts on US-politics in one way or another and most have lived or do live in the USA their job being to report back to Sweden what is going on. So it’s very interesting to listen to.

Not a podcasts from Sveriges Radio, but there is another favorite I have, but it’s on hiatus right now for obvious reasons, and thats…

• Tronspelet (meaning literary game of thrones) - These hosts watched the Game of Thrones episodes as soon as they could here in Sweden (long live HBO Nordic!), and then they sat down and discussed it, as many itty bitty details they could think about. And the sense of humour among these, my GOODNESS!! X-D They are HILARIOUS! And I so hope they’ll continue once Game of Thrones comes back with it’s last season!

There’s ONE english speaking podcast that I follow with regularity and that’s:

• My Favorite Murder - I know, I know… A comedy show about murder? How does that even work, you ask? I can’t even describe it. It’s all about the hosts, Georgia and Karen. And the way they discuss and tell about the murders they’ve researched for each episode. It’s awesome. I’ve ALMOST listened to every single episode now from start. And I’m definitely a murderino (fan) by this point. :-D

I’ve listened to a couple of other podcasts as well, but just an episode here and there. Oh My Heck needs a mention (about how the mormon church works form an ex-mormon, in english), Död Mans Podd (school librarian doing a horror-pod), Spår (going into detail during several episodes about a swedish crime) and Mordpodden (similar to My Favorite Murder, but in swedish). I haven’t listened to all the episodes here, and I probably should. Maybe I will when I’m all caught up with My Favorite Murder? Who knows?

When it comes to TV-shows (and Netflix shows), there’s one pretty obvious one…

• Game of Thrones - Oh my anything holy shit! That is ONE well made TV-show, that’s for sure! I have no words. To me, it just keeps getting better. Unfortunately I have to wait until 2019 to see the end of the whole thing. But man. What a STORY!!!! And no, I haven’t read the books. :-P

And there’s these that are worth a mention:

• American Horror Story Hotel - I was hesitant since I get nightmares easily, but I saw a series of gifs with Lady Gaga and since I DO love vampires… Well, I watched this season, and it was REALLY good! Here someone have done their own take on the vampire-myth and they did it CLEVERLY. Really good!



• Frontier - Totally blame Jason Momoa for this, but really. This show is so much more than him. That things were rough in North America when the europeans invaded, that I knew. And I bet they’re not far off with how harsh and gory it was here. The twists and turns makes my head spin sometimes, but overall, a great watch!



• RuPaul’s Dragrace - Not much need be said. X-D This is my guilty pleasure. And when I’ve felt really low, this show has picked me right up!

I love documentaries and true crime, can you tell, so…

• Making a murderer - how a crime can grow into an avalanche that is unstoppable… even if the convicted is innocent to start. This was really interesting. US? There’s some really fucked up things going on in your justice system. *shakes head*



• Killer couples - A british show that tells the stories about couples that murder together… and it tries to figure out why and how and so on. Really interesting!



• The Keepers - Just started this, and oh my world! It’s SO GOOD! Catholic priests school girls and choir boys, I tell you…. *shakes head* About the murder of the nun Sister Cathy, and it’s so good. So horrible and so good, I can not get enough. I am sure I’ll return to this in a post once I’ve finished it. :-)

Right, so… That was my lists! Kudos if you managed to read all that. :-) I’m sure there’s trailers and info all over the internet for all these, but I’m sure you all know how to use Google to find out more. ;-)

I’ve seen the Snowflake Challenge here and there on my friends journals, and I admit that I’m considering joining in.

Shorter posts then, I’m sure, but just to get back into the habit. :-)

This entry is cross posted between LJ and DW. Comment where you are comfortable.

53: have you ever watched the rocky horror picture show? heathers? beetlejuice? pulp fiction? what do you think of them? I love the RHPS! I've seen it many times, but not the new version. I do want to, but I think the original will always be best. Beetlejuice is also an old favorite, as is Pulp Fiction! But I've not heard of Heathers before, so that one is new. If it's anything like the others, maybe I should check it out. :-)

54: who's the last person you saw with a true look of sadness on their face?
What kind of quesiton is that? Hmm... At my age relatives start do die off. So it's probably been at a funural or other. Clear memories are of my brother and mother when dad died. And my best friend when her grandmother died.

55: what's the most dramatic thing you've ever done to prove a point? Can't think of anything to be honest. I usually go loud and does a lot of weird things with my hands when I'm in a discussion and wants to prove my point.

56: what are some things you find endearing in people?
When people dare to be honest with me. When they trust me enough to be that. And when they dare to be close for hugs. Hugging is something I love to do. Both with family, friends... Kids and teens in school... You dare do that, you'll get one hell of a hug in return! Got like 8 hugs at work on day, that was probably the best day at work ever!

57: go listen to bohemian rhapsody. how did it make you feel? did you dramatically reenact the lyrics?
Not one of those that feel a need to reenact said song, but damn... It's one HELL of a piece of music! I LOVE Queen! Would love to see Queen and Adam Lambert one day!

58: who's the wine mom and who's the vodka aunt in your group of friends? why?
I have no idea what this means, and I don't feel like looking it up, so I'll just ignore it. *continues*

59: what's your favorite myth?
Oh gawd... I have many, to be honest. I LOVE Norse Mythology. As in the Aesir with Odin, Thor, Frey, Freya, Loke... Etc, etc... And no, I do NOT mean the Marvel version!!!! I mean the proper mythology that has survived from the vikings to our days. THAT is my favorite mythology!!! All the stories about them gods. From the creation of the world, to Ragnarök where the world dies... I'm not going to get into it, I can be longwinded. :-P

60: do you like poetry? what are some of your faves?
According to common belief apparently librarians are supposed to enjoy poetry.... Poetry and red wine. I enjoy neither. *shrug* I guess I'm the weird librarian.

61: what's the stupidest gift you've ever given? the stupidest one you've ever received?
I think I bought some sextoy or another to a friend once... together with penis-shaped pasta. X-D Yes, apparently those USED to be a thing once. Can't think of any stupid thing I've gotten, but probably clothes that are to small. I hate that. :-/

62: do you drink juice in the morning? which kind?
No, I don't. I drink a vitamin-drink every day instead. :-)

63: are you fussy about your books and music? do you keep them meticulously organized or kinda leave them be?
I'd like to keep them organized, it's a thing from work I suppose... But since we have so many books in such different sizes, it's impossible. I've gone through my books many times and throw away a lot. Let's just say... Peting don't believe in doing that... *cough*

64: what color is the sky where you are right now?
Black, since it's in the middle of the night/early morning.

65: is there anyone you haven't seen in a long time who you'd love to hang out with?
I sometimes wonder what happened to the friends I had in the village / community where I grew up. I'd just like to say hey and ask what they've been up to. I think we're to different now to be friends, but still it would be nice.

66: what would your ideal flower crown look like?
Lots and lots of wildflowers native from Sweden. :-)

67: how do gloomy days where the sky is dark and the world is misty make you feel? Depends on when during the year... If it happens during winter or summer, it doesn't bother me much. I just snuggle down with tea and something good to read or watch. February though.... That's my bad month. If it happens then, and it does. That whole month is gloomy as fuck. Then I lose energy, get snappy, and is generally not nice person with very little patience. And I usually have A LOT of patience.

68: what's winter like where you live?
Dark. X-D That about sums it up. Very dark, since we have precious little daylight hours. And cold and wet, since it either snows or rains. And it's usually quite windy to. Sounds lovely, doesn't it? X-D

69: what are your favorite board games?
If we're talking boardgames and not roleplaying games, it has to be Cluedo / Clue. I LOVE THAT GAME!!!!

70: have you ever used a ouija board?
Nope. You shouldn't play around with things like that. You just never know...


71: what's your favorite kind of tea?
I like black tea, preferably flavored with some fruit or berry. I love the tea from the swedish company Kränku that is based on Gotland. They flavor their tea themselves, and it's a DELIGHT to drink!


( All the questions! )

This entry is crossposted between LJ and DW. Comment where you are comfortable.

OMG! I have soooo many links open that I wanna share! o.O Might as well get to it. Prepare for a sharing post! :-D

First off I found this DELIGHTFUL musicvideo by the band GeekGirls & The Doubleclicks. :-D Why is it delightful you aks? Because the video is FILLED with geekgirls! :-D Geekgirls and fangirls holding signs, and I pretty much melted on the spot! SO MANY GEEKGIRLS! :-D

( GEEKGIRLS RULE! And got Nothing to Prove... ;-)  )

I can't even remember how many tiems I've played World of Warcraft and got to hear from young boys I've played with tell me that old woman like me (I'm 36) don't play games. At one point I even played together with my workmate... who is a woman... over 60... and OWNED their asses! X-D

Geekgirls of all ages. WE DAMN WELL ROCK!

And then I made a brief visit to Tumblr (it happens, if rarely...). And found this. A damn well AWESOME comic about two princesses that rescue each other and fall in love. No prince here, no! :-D It is SO CUTE! I LOVE IT! And I recommend anyone to check it out! It is brilliantly written and the art is great! Not to mention it pokes fun at pretty mcuh anything! :-D

Check it out here:

Princess Princess by Strangelykatie

So cute! :-D

Also, while re-reading an old OLD RP that me and my partner considers picking up again, I found that I'd been pretty good at finding resources way back then to. :-) Like this site and it's forum (that my character turned to for advice).

Shy Bi-guys.Com

And discussing bisexuality is somethign that never gets old, so when this link flashed by on my tweet-feed, it sure caught my eye. :-)

Should I date a bisexual?

I guess they make a point. :-) As a bisexual I have twice as much to look at, don't I? ;-)

Then someone posted this here in LJ... I think it was melluransa. And reading this theory, my mind was properly blown. o.O

The Pixar Theory

I just... What, wait? o.O *mind-blown* Read the whole thing. You won't be sorry.

Then I gotta pimp this amazing comic-artist Erika Moen. I ran into her comic Oh Joy Sextoy! not that long ago, and it is a PURE JOY to read! (NSFW, obvousily!) The awesome thing is that both she and her husband are queer... so it is ANY sextoy you might imagine in that comic! HIGHLY recommended! :-D

And while we are on the subject of sex... (Lovely subject, ain't it?) I found this vid the other day... and promptly cracked up. X-D SO MUCH TRUTH!

( Porn Sex vs Real Sex: The Differences Explained With Food )

It IS true, isn't it? X-D

Staying in the sex area some more, the same Erika Moen also tipped about a porn-series called The Crashpad Series... that is queer and with ANY sexuality thrown in pretty much! I haven't watched a full episode, but looking around on that site among the actors... men, women, transmen, transwomen, straight, lesbian, gay, overweight, underweight, kink, vanilla, white, black, asian... This seem to have ANYTHING UNDER THE SKY! There can't be many porn movies or series that can give you that. Without even watching it, I am mildly impressed...

The CrashPadSeries.Com

Yeah, you have to pay to watch the full episodes. Still. Pretty cool a concept. :-)

This entry is crossposted between LJ and DW. Comment where you are comfortable.