Arja Mäkinen: Vanhojapiikoja ja vapaita naisia

 

(free translation to English could be something like Old spinsters and free women)

This is the book made out of the authors Thesis Oikeesti aikuiset (Real adults). Basically it's the dummies version of the first one. Maybe if i hadn't read the thesis first i wouldn't feel like this, but this is how i view it now. 

It is a really good book describing the situation where you are alone and don't want any children.. And as a little lighter reading than the original thesis this could do the trick. But for me having to read the other one first, i kind of rely on that one more and this is.. just what it is: kind of repetive and doesn't really give anything new to the table.

Arja Mäkinen: Oikeesti aikuiset

Free translation of the title could be  Real adults. 

Little bit background: I've apparently started to reach that agepoint where most of my friends have already have children, are either pregrnant, dream of having children or are trying to have them. Some how i do kind of feel like left out. Not because i would want to be in their situation, 'cause honestly i don't even want to. But to be that only person who doesn't dream about the same dreams and doesn't really want to live life like that - it's sometimes quite hard in a society where living life without children is kind of a thing where you get judged on easily. 

The book is a thesis of women who live alone and don't have any children/ don't want any children or cannot have any children. There hasn't really been that much of studies on the subject and specially not within Finland, so i was really pleased i found this one (and actually couple others from the same writer). 

Of course when this is a thesis, it's not really any kind of self-help book, but anyways at least for me, it really helped out to see that there are really others like me. Others that kind of maybe would like to be in a relationship but it hasn't really ever happened - but are satisfied in their lives anyhow, but seem to get this judgement from the people and the whole society that gives out the norm that it's almost obligatory to get into a relationship, get married and have kids. 

It's really releaving that eventhough majority of the people don't understand this kind of way of living and probably assume it's either being some crazy manhunter or gay, there are other people out there who has to fight against these same assumptions and has to justify their way of living. In the perfect world you wouldn't have to justify it, but in rhe real world i don't see that happening in anytime soon..

Juhani Mykkänen: Matkaoppaat

The book is based on a hit realityshow of mainly Finnish travelguides working in Alanya, Turkey. The book interviews the guides and gives behind the scenes look to the show. A fine book, but nothing really that special as books about tv-shows never really are.

Anja Lampela: Pyry

If anything could go wrong, it definitely goes in this one.

Pinja is living in a relationship and she is pregnant. She is thinking that her relationship is happy and in the excact place where every working relationship should be, but she is quite wrong.

It's really hard to describe the book without giving too much away. Overall this book contains every single thing why i hate reading Finnish literature...

Mervi Koski: Hirviökäsikirja

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This is a Finnish guidebook to monsters and other creatures. The monsters are divided into spesific groups such as snakes, horses, birds etc. Each of the creatures are presented with information about their livinghabits, appearance, size and other details.

The book also lists dangerous levels on each creature and how to possible to survive their attack. For example dangerous level for zombies is high but you might escape from them if you feed them something salty. Running also helps. The information is quite funny usually but it makes me wonder why they had to write into the introduction that monsters doesn't really exist. If they don't exist, why would you need to know ways to escape from them?!

Overall the book is very good and the illustrations are amazing. The reason why i'm not giving it the full five stars is my little doubts on if i can really trust this one. The book says that for example the Basilisk has a head of a rooster and body of a snake. In Harry Potter the basilisk most definitely not had a head of a rooster! So which one to trust?! Also another creature from Astrid Lindgrens books doesn't seem really that correct. It totally can be that these other books are wrong, but they are the versions i'm and a lot of people are used to, so it's really hard to think otherwise and therefore i cannot support this book with the five stars.

Minna Kiistala: Minä en sitten muutu

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The book is telling a true story of a woman who becomes pregnant and finds it hard to adjust to the "most precious time you can ever have". The book is filled with witty comments about mothers and their children and how people kind of get lost in the family after having a child (ie. forgetting everything else). The book questions the motherly love and passion as well as supports it while her pregnancy goes further.

I really enjoyed the writers attitude, i'm not sure though that would a person with kids appreciate it as much as me - a person who doesn't have kids. The only minus (and withdrawal of one star) is that the last chapter kind of sums up all the feelings - and you are kind of left to wonder that is she really going to be one of those onlineforum-mothers whose only purpos in life is to live through her own child and put down upon people who don't believe in that. I hope she doesn't turn into that and i'll hope she'll have a good head on her shoulder even after her child is born. Maybe she should write a sequel?! ;)

Mari Kujanpää: Minä ja Muro

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A cute story of a little girl who hasn't really got any friends other than her bear Muro. Her life is quite miserable because her parents ignore her a lot too.. but after a teenage-girl comes to the school to help out the kids the main character Lauhas life starts to change...