Book tips for autumn

Reading today is not as easy as it was decades ago. In past decades, there was more time. Then came cell phones. Text messages and worm game. The time spent reading decreased. The smartphone was the final straw. I have the whole world in my pocket all the time. Facebook, Twitter and Netflix. I don't get up to read books anymore. I have to update Facebook what I've eaten, watched or listened to. My ability to concentrate is at the same level as a gerbil. There's no point in trying to read Moby Dick, I can watch cat videos.

Of course, it's worth remembering that the person staring at the smartphone is not necessarily a soothsayer. More and more often, he reads an e-book or a newspaper. Lending of e-books is growing all the time, both as text and as audio books. Various paid audiobook streaming services are growing in popularity all the time.

I'm going to read a lot this fall. I will, again. First, I'll read Niko Rants' police novel Sinu voortei vyodatte. It's already halfway through. Rantsi continues the Joensuu line as Matti Yrjäna, that is, he writes about ordinary police work. No terrorists, no international conspiracies, just everyday grind with family life problems.

Next, I will read Leena Lehtolainen's latest Maria Kallio novel Jälkikaiku. Or I'll listen, if we're being precise. My commute is long and Maria Kallio has been my travel companion dozens of times. Sometimes when I come home in the evening, I have had to sit in the car for a while, because the book has been in such an awkward place. The characters in Lehtolainen's Kallio books are my good friends. Nothing really needs to happen in the books, the main thing is that I get to hear what my friends are up to.

I am also going to read Tuomas Kyrö's autobiographical novel The Typewriter Thief. It's already waiting on the floor next to my bed. There are many other books waiting there, including the library's next week's reading group book, Anna Lihammer's When Darkness Covers the Earth. Reading the reading circle book is left to the last drop. What is it that every time you "have" to read a book, reading turns into a chore and a compulsion.

I'm eagerly waiting for Ville Kaarnakari's new book Operation Gambitti. Kaarnakari's war thriller this time cuts to the weapons cache and tells how it really went. Or how it went in the parallel reality created by Kaarnakari. I am also going to read Juice Leskinen's interview book Kootut muistelmat vol II, although reading the first part was difficult due to the interview format. However, the books are interesting in terms of cultural history and as evidence that sheds light on Leskinen's difficult personality.

In my weak moment, I promised to give tips to middle schoolers, stoppages and yuses. That's why I'm going to read the books Brush your teeth before you poop, Oath of the Twelve, Curse of the Ashen Dead and Book of the Dead - Return to the Beyond of the Sacrifice. Authors Satu Kivinen, Raili Mikkanen, Siiri Enoranta and Magdaleena Hai. Along with them, I recommend Stephen King's It, Marko Lamberg's The Witch's Mother and Henriikka Rönkkönen's Imaginary Boyfriend for the sake of contrast. And something else. The task is exciting, I've only advised adults before. I can handle this too.

Yep, that Moby Dick. I picked up this Herman Melville classic book for myself as a summer vacation project. The book is good. Fun too. However, at the point when the narrator of the story was narrating rather alternative facts about different species of whales with a side note, my enthusiasm started to wane. However, I got over it and happily continued reading. Still, the book is still unfinished because I had to update Facebook that I'm about to read Moby Dick.

mika. kahkonenimatra.fi (mika[dot]kahkonen[at]imatra[dot]fi)
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