Home Feed
Home
Search
Search
Add Review, Blurb, Quote
Add
Activity
Activity
Profile
Profile
Henrik_Madsen

Henrik_Madsen

Joined April 2018

I love books and reading. I read classics, 1001-books, new Danish litterature, and graphic novels. And some other stuff.
reading now icon
The 42nd Parallel by John Dos Passos
reading now icon
Logicomix: An epic search for truth by Apostolos Doxiadis, Christos Papadimitriou
blurb
Henrik_Madsen
post image

I was walking along, minding my own business. Then this happened...
(It says “Giant bookfair” in Danish)

Bklover Oh boy!!! Have fun!📚📚📚📚📚 5y
rabbitprincess Awesome!! 5y
BarbaraBB Hi! Just checking in. All well? 4y
20 likes3 comments
review
Henrik_Madsen
The Illustrious House of Ramires | Jos Maria de Ea de Queirs
post image
Pickpick

The book was published in 1900 after the authors death and tracks the attempts of Goncalo Ramires, last son of an ancient Portuguese noble family, to find his way in life. Should he write a historical novel? Should he pursue a political career? Should he concentrate on his business?
So much is possible but he struggles to make up his mind and actually finish something. There is intrigue and trouble but things never get truely dire. #portugal

BarbaraBB Great review. Are you still in Portugal? 5y
Henrik_Madsen @BarbaraBB Sadly not. I have already been back to work for two weeks but I‘m a bit behind on reviews. 5y
14 likes2 comments
review
Henrik_Madsen
Elephant's Journey | Jos Saramago
Pickpick

When the king of Portugal decides to give his brother in law an elephant all kinds of things happen. An expedition sets out and it has to deal with both politics and the very practical problems in travelling with an elephant. It is a great piece of storytelling in typical Saramago style but it feels lighter - in a good way. Definitely a pick.

blurb
Henrik_Madsen
Logicomix: An epic search for truth | Apostolos Doxiadis, Christos Papadimitriou
post image

Back at work also means back to commuting in train most days. Which means back to reading on the train most days! 🤓🤓

rabbitprincess Yay for commute reading! 5y
10 likes1 stack add1 comment
blurb
Henrik_Madsen
post image

The oldest bookshop in the world is located in Lisbon - or at least the place where there has been sold books from the same adress for the longest time. It all started in 1732, more than twenty years before the devastating earthquake which wiped out the lower parts of the city.
Today it is part of ‘Bertrand‘, a chain of bookshops, and though it is a beautiful shop it doesn‘t look THAT old. I bought the tagged book which I look forward to.

review
Henrik_Madsen
Splendor of Portugal | ANTNIO LOBO ANTUNES
post image
Pickpick

This was a tough but really good read. Tough because the composition is complex with four narrators and intersecting memory and present but also tough because the subject is hard to take.
Isilda sendes her children from Angola to Portugal in 1978 and stays behind beacause it‘s her home - except it is not after independence. The story fleshes out the moral corruptness and violence of colonial rule. It is a rewarding book with great carachters.

BarbaraBB Great pic! And a suitable read while in Portugal! Did you bring this one too (from the 1001 list) or did you read it already? 5y
Henrik_Madsen @BarbaraBB Maybe I have. I read a selection of his poems in Danish many years ago. Is this poetry or prose? 5y
BarbaraBB Prose. I haven‘t read it yet but it‘s supposed to be very good. And by a Portugese! 5y
Henrik_Madsen I found a few Portuguese books before going but none of them were on the list. Not even the Saramago! 5y
9 likes4 comments
blurb
Henrik_Madsen
Mensagem | Fernando Pessoa
post image

Fifty years after his death the great Portuguese poet was moved to the beautiful monastary Mosteiro dos Jéronimos in Belem, Lisbon.

It is cool to see people honour their authors and from what I have read by and about Pessoa, I think he would be pleased with the discreet monument.

review
Henrik_Madsen
Orbit | Ib Michael
Mehso-so

I forgot to rate this book when I finished it. It is the story of Ronnie and Christina who meet in contemporary Denmark and are thrown across time and space where they like Orpheus and Eurydike have to rescue eachother from hell.

As long as Michael just tells the story in his usual magical realism style it is entertaining. Trying to explain the time travel is silly and hinting at a conspiracy behind everything doesn‘t do anything good either

blurb
Henrik_Madsen
post image

Rowling lived some years in Porto when she was working on the first volume of the Harry Potter series. Apparently she wrote a lot in the Majestic Café which should be wonderful but had a long line when we passed by.

So that‘s the last update from Porto. Now it‘s on the train and next up is Lisboa?

BarbaraBB Enjoy your trip! I‘ll follow you to Lisbon. Portugal is such a beautiful country! 5y
Henrik_Madsen @BarbaraBB We are! Portugal is a both beautiful and friendly country to travel in and I‘m looking forward to Lisbon where I have never been before. Hope you enjoy your trip over there. 5y
BarbaraBB I do though it‘s completely different - all about it! 5y
31 likes3 comments
blurb
Henrik_Madsen
Livraria Lello | Porto, Portugal (Bookstore)
post image

As a booklover going to Porto I obviously had to visit the famous and incredibly beautiful bookshop Lello with the famous red staircase in the middle.

It is as wonderful as advertised but it is also a perfect example of how tourists spoil what we visit. We all seek this authentic feeling, but when there are too many of us the authenticity is lost.

(Continued in comments)

Henrik_Madsen Lello is still a bookshop, but you have to buy a ticket which becomes a voucher (so if you actually buy books it is free). It is very crowded, the girl in the information desk boldly stated she didn‘t know anything about the books but only worked with the tourists (she did find a person who could help me), and lots of people were clearly there for the photo opportunity and not the books. (1/2) 5y
Henrik_Madsen I did buy a book and I am happy to have seen such a beautiful shop, but I also felt very much aware of the falseness of it all. Whoever once used Lello as their go-to shop has found more quiet places and it is not the place for browsing. I don‘t have a solution, but I do understand how the people who actually have the famous cathedrals as their parish church must feel. (2/2) (edited) 5y
Bklover So disappointing! Wouldn‘t it be wonderful to visit after hours? I think that bookstores should take much greater care with whom they employ. The people you speak to help set the tone of a place. Still glad you found something to buy! 5y
See All 6 Comments
Henrik_Madsen @Bklover A visit after hours would be brilliant! It was somewhat disappointing but I can see their problem. It‘s a small shop and it‘s in every guide book so people will come. Sometimes tourists just ruin it for themselves, I guess. 5y
Liz_M Oh no! I am sorry to hear that a beautiful bookstore is almost unable to function as a bookstore. 5y
Henrik_Madsen @Liz_M Yes, it is sad. If I go back in autumn or winter, I`ll try again. Maybe it will be a bit less sought after then. 5y
16 likes6 comments
blurb
Henrik_Madsen
Splendor of Portugal | ANTNIO LOBO ANTUNES
post image

Not a typical book for the beach, but so far it‘s pretty good.

blurb
Henrik_Madsen
post image

Guess where we have just started vacation...

ValerieAndBooks Have fun!! 5y
Henrik_Madsen @ValerieAndBooks Thanks - we will! As usual we will make the kids go through more Churches and museums than they want, but we can‘t stay on the beach all the time. 😎 5y
11 likes2 comments
review
Henrik_Madsen
post image
Pickpick

An enjoyable read. Rachel is a wonderfully unreliable narrator and as a regular train commuter it is easy to recognize the fascination with the houses you pass. Also: I thought the description of Rachel‘s alcoholism was both realistic and depressing. Not everything is believable, but it kept me on my toes and that is what a thriller should do.

rather_be_reading one of my all time favs 5y
Henrik_Madsen @rather_be_reading I wouldn‘t go that far but it was a good book and an original take. I‘m glad I have finally read it. 5y
19 likes2 comments
blurb
Henrik_Madsen
post image

#bookhaul or should I say #bookrescue ? My local library had given up on these comics even though they are in almost mint condition, so I had to buy them (4 $ for six volumes) and give them a new home.

Guess the locals are just not into speculative French sci-fi comics... 🤔

review
Henrik_Madsen
Blacksad: Amarillo | Juan Diaz
post image
Mehso-so

There is some decent stories and some outstanding artwork in the Blacksad series, but this is by far the weakest album. There is no real plot, and the art is substandard. (Which is not terrible. Guarnido is too talented for that.) It is understandable that the series is on a break now.

review
Henrik_Madsen
post image
Mehso-so

This is the third installment in a mystery series featuring Copenhagen policeman Roland Triel. Since there is a story spanning the whole series as well as a case to be solved in each volume, that might not be the best place to start. The writing is funny and original and the book was generally pretty good but not great.

review
Henrik_Madsen
Lonely Road | Nevil Shute
Mehso-so

I have read a number of Shute books and most of them are pretty average. Here Captain Stevenson gets involved in a weapon smuggling affair with political implications and with a young dancer from the working class. As such it is an interesting take on English society after WWI but as a thriller and as literature I wasn‘t impressed.

BarbaraBB Have you read 5y
Henrik_Madsen @BarbaraBB Yes, I have read On the Beach which I loved even though it gave my nightmares about nuclear war. I think that is why I bought a bunch of his other novels at a yard sale many years ago. I read somewhere that his writing and approach to war changed a lot after emigrating to Australia, because this doesn‘t really remind of On the Beach 5y
BarbaraBB I read some others too but nothing made such an impression as On the Bea! 5y
10 likes3 comments
review
Henrik_Madsen
F | Daniel Kehlmann
post image
Pickpick

F for falseness, F for fiction, and F for fooling yourself. Before the financial crisis in 2008 three brothers are living on a lie - and it‘s all coming crashing down. Kehlmann writer with psychological insight a sharp criticism of a society losing its way.

Definitely a good read!

blurb
Henrik_Madsen
post image

Seems like the right place for this one...

marleed Yes! 5y
25 likes1 stack add1 comment
review
Henrik_Madsen
post image
Pickpick

A moving novel about growing up in a dysfunctional family in Jutland. Tue is a teenager trying to cope with adolescence and a tough life. The farmer is nearly broke, his mother is suffering from depression and he is invreasingly isolated in school. Being gay might be the least of his worries. Powerful story and a succesful debut.

blurb
Henrik_Madsen
Rystet spejl: digte | Sren Ulrik Thomsen
post image

I‘m very much a fan of content over wrapping but I do appreciate a good cover. This poetry collection is titled “Shaken Mirror” and the front is a reflecting mirror in silver on a black background. 👌

7 likes1 stack add
review
Henrik_Madsen
Hostage | Guy Delisle
post image
Pickpick

I enjoyed this book. Delisle really shows the repetitiveness and the struggle to stay optimistic as the knidnapping of a French NGO-worker in the Caucasus just drags on and on. The art work is good too. Delisle uses simple drawings and great colour work to show his beard growing longer and the days passing by one after the other.

review
Henrik_Madsen
Saga, Vol. 1 | Brian K. Vaughan
post image
Mehso-so

Marko and Alana are lovers from different races who have been at war throughout the galaxy for millenia. Now they are fleeing with their daughter because both sides want them dead and the child handed over. Why? That‘s not explained. There are many loose ends and I didn‘t love the art work as much others.

phantomx There are more volumes that come with this series that explains more. For most of the story, bounty hunters are tracking the family down 'cause their daughter is proof that the two opposing races can see past the war between each other. As for the loose ends, I think the wirter doesn't want readers to assume they know entirely a character in the first volume. If you didn't like the story of Saga, then you could try Paper Girls. 5y
Henrik_Madsen @phantomx Thanks for the comment. I haven‘t given up on the series - and I understand the writing trick of holding something back - but I just wasn‘t blown away by the first volume. Maybe it will grow on me. 5y
15 likes2 comments
review
Henrik_Madsen
Die Frauen der Nazis | Anna Maria Sigmund
post image
Pickpick

Sigmund portrays eight women who were close to the Nazi elite. Here are the wives of Göring, Magda Goebbels and Eva Braun. It was interesting to read their different stories but also to see the similarities. A lot of them were fanatic believers in Nazi ideology even though it assigned them an inferior status. It also made me think about their guilt. They had no official positions to order people killed, but they supported those who could.

review
Henrik_Madsen
Disgrace | J. M. Coetzee
post image
Pickpick

This is a brilliant novel. David Lurie has lost touch with the world around him when he is dismissed from his University in Cape Town after an affair with one of his students. He knows he is wrong but he doesn‘t realize HOW wrong in South African society that is passing him by after the end of apartheid.
Lurie is annoying and sometimes likeable but he is above all human. #1001books

BarbaraBB Excellent review. A very good book indeed. My favorite Coetzee. 5y
RaimeyGallant Nice review! 5y
Henrik_Madsen @BarbaraBB It was my first Coetzee, but it will be hard to top. On the surface it‘s a pretty straight-forward story, but below it feels almost mythological. 5y
19 likes4 comments
review
Henrik_Madsen
post image
Pickpick

The young Frédéric goes to Paris in the 1840s to fulfill his dreams about a rich social life with erotic relations. He is drawn to the artdealer Artoux and falls hopelessly in love with his wife. Frédéric is indecisive and in many ways annoying, but Flauberts writing is beautiful and full of psycholigical depth. Not Madame Bovary but still a great book. #1001books

Theaelizabet I've had this on my shelves for such a long time. I have an old translation (Anthony Goldsmith) and every time I pick it up I think, “There's probably a better translation,“ and place it back on the shelf. One day I'll actually take action and move forward. 5y
Henrik_Madsen @Theaelizabet I don‘t know the English translations, but I was happy to read this newish Danish edition. The writing was very fluent and Falubert‘s penchant for detailled descriptions was there without it getting boring. That aside: read it. It‘s a compelling and not too complicated story. 5y
OwlReader Thanks for the follow!! 5y
11 likes3 comments
blurb
Henrik_Madsen
Die Frauen der Nazis | Anna Maria Sigmund
post image

After a loooong day at work it‘s time for a little spare time reading. It is a pretty interesting read so far. Craziest detail so far: Emmy and Hermann Göring kept lions as pets. Bringing it to their house in Berlin it was installed in the basement but it got out and opened the door to their bedroom i the middle of the night! Sadly it didn‘t bite him...

BarbaraBB That is too bad indeed! 5y
12 likes1 comment
review
Henrik_Madsen
Blacksad: A Silent Hell | Juan Diaz Canales
post image
Pickpick

My favorite cat detective goes to New Orleans to help music promotor Faust Lachapelle find his missing star Sebastian. The story is well told but hardly original. The art, however, is gorgeous. Guarnido draws light masterfully and New Orleans looked just the way I think it should.

Swe_Eva Agree, the art is something else! 5y
Henrik_Madsen @Swe_Eva I‘m mostly a plot / story guy, so it‘s hard for me to value books which are mostly remarkable for the art work, but here it‘s just so obvious. 5y
8 likes2 comments
blurb
Henrik_Madsen
post image

My local library has a display pushing Steinbeck books to its visitors. When I was in my late teens Steinbeck was one of my favorite authors - maybe it‘s time to revisit some of his novels? 📕📗📘😊😊

review
Henrik_Madsen
Druuna - Tome 01: Morbus Gravis - Delta | Paolo Eleuteri Serpieri
post image
Pickpick

Sex, postapocalyptic violence and strange mutations are the main ingredients of the Druuna series. This volume contains the first two albums where Druuna fights to keep her mutated boyfriend as well as the whole city alive. I liked the story and the art is beautiful but not for the prudent. Druuna dresses sapringly and Serpieri gives her lots of reasons to take them off.

review
Henrik_Madsen
In the Forest | Edna O'Brien
post image
Pickpick

The novel is a chilling story inspired by an actual crime in 1994. A disturbed young man is releashed from prison and murders a woman, her child and a priest. It is well-written but also heartbreaking as O‘Brien shows how society let Mich down - he is horribly abused in institutions - and fails to protect innocent people when he is released. Hard but rewarding read. #1001books

CafeMom I haven't read this one but I enjoyed another book of hers on the list. 5y
Henrik_Madsen @CafeMom I look forward to her other books - especially the Country Girls series. I really like her courage in dealing with the unpleasant sides of society. 5y
8 likes2 comments
review
Henrik_Madsen
Pond | Claire-Louise Bennett
post image
Panpan

I know I‘m in the minority here, but I thought the book was pretty boring. The narrator lives alone in rural Ireland and spends her time thinking about her past and everyday life, but I wasn‘t really touched by her reflections.

blurb
Henrik_Madsen
post image

It‘s time for another #1001books !

blurb
Henrik_Madsen
In the Forest | Edna O'Brien
post image

Travelling back from Ireland yesterday - and in gold company with one of my purchases. It is a grim and troubling book about how boys are hurt and how they bring havoc when they become men.

CafeMom I like this author. 5y
BarbaraBB Hi Henrik! I ‘know‘ you from the 1001 books group on LibraryThing! I am Simone2 over there and not as active as I used to be since I discovered Litsy. So I am happy to follow you here! 5y
Henrik_Madsen Hej Barbara / Simone. Good to see you here. I too am a bit torn between Litsy and Librarything. They have different strengths but at least for cataloguing purposes Librarything is indespensable. I have been a bit off the 1001 train lately (study, work, needing some lighter reads etc.) but I look forward to get going again. 5y
BarbaraBB @Henrik_Madsen Yes, LT is still my catalogue and I write some review there but I prefer Litsy for all the bookish posts and that it is so low key. 5y
BarbaraBB I‘m off the 1001 train a bit too by the way. I am more in the mood for contemporary fiction at the moment! 5y
8 likes5 comments
review
Henrik_Madsen
At Swim-two-birds | Flann O'Brien
post image
Mehso-so

A novel deconstructing the idea of the novel, a story of a young man living a bohemian life without ending up in the gutter, writings both using and making fun of Irish mythology - there are so many layers in this book. It was funny and not that hard to read - but it tried to do so much that I wasn‘t blown away by any of it.

Henrik_Madsen The picture is from Galway BTW. Love reading boks from the countries I visit when I‘m there. 5y
BarbaraBB Me too, I always take pics from my books where I read them! 5y
13 likes2 comments
blurb
Henrik_Madsen
Ulysses | James Joyce
post image

You know the writer is famous when the birth place of his wife becomes a museum - even if it‘s only open “randomly” as a note in the window says...

blurb
Henrik_Madsen
At Swim-two-birds | Flann O'Brien
post image

I‘m certain Flann would aprove...

Liz_M How are you liking the novel? I'm intimidated by this one! 5y
Henrik_Madsen I finished it last night and I don‘t know what to think, really. It is not a hard read, in some parts it‘s really funny and ironic but it is also confusing with lots of beginnings and endings leading nowhere. I don‘t think it‘s a novel that will be a classic for me, but it wasn‘t a struggle to get through either. 5y
8 likes2 comments
review
Henrik_Madsen
The Colour: A Novel | Rose Tremain
Mehso-so

Lots of drama in this tale from the gold rush in 19th Century New Zealand. Joseph Blackstone has gone there with his wife and mother but they soon discover that succeeding is only for the few. My problem with the novel is, I never really believed the characters and therefore didn‘t really care about them.

CafeMom I actually really liked this one. Sorry it was not a hit for you. 5y
Henrik_Madsen I know - lot‘s of people liked it when it was discussed on Librarything. Just not for me I guess. 5y
7 likes2 comments
review
Henrik_Madsen
post image
Pickpick

Overall I enjoyed this book. Some parts were beautiful and fascinating - especially the motorcycle parts - and Kushner generally writes well. The parts about the New York art scene got a little long in the tooth, however.

Liz_M I loved the description of the race on the salt flats, too. 5y
8 likes1 comment
blurb
Henrik_Madsen
A Handful of Dust | Evelyn Waugh
post image

Having fun with some good old ruling class satire...

9 likes1 stack add
blurb
Henrik_Madsen
A Caribbean Mystery | Agatha Christie
post image

Designing covers which shows the point of a mystery without giving it away, is difficult. I don‘t think this one succeeds.

blurb
Henrik_Madsen
Night Flight | Antoine de Saint-Exupry
post image

I absolutely LOVE the cover of my 1941 edition of Night Flight!

7 likes1 stack add
review
Henrik_Madsen
An Unnecessary Woman | Rabih Alameddine
Pickpick

72-year old Aaliya is looking back on a life lived through literature. After a failed marriage she has workshop in a bookshop, read, read, read and every year translated another work into Arabic. Now she faces a crisis and in book-filled flat in Beirut.
The story is well-told and the many book references are a joy to read.

blurb
Henrik_Madsen
post image

Summer. Reading.
👍

Liz_M If only it would stop raining in Brooklyn I could take my thick pb edition of this novel and do the same. 6y
Henrik_Madsen @Liz_M I hope weather gets better soon. We have had great weather for a month after approximately 15 months of crappy weather in a row! 6y
8 likes2 comments
review
Henrik_Madsen
post image
Pickpick

Pick, pick, pick. I loved this book. Great plot, great characters, great writing. T.S. Eliot might have been right when he called it “the first, the longest, and the best of modern English detective novels.”

Swe_Eva It‘s really very engaging. And looong. 😉 6y
Henrik_Madsen @Swe_Eva It is long, but I think the alternating narrators made up for it. I especially enjoyed miss Clack. 6y
Swe_Eva @Henrik_Madsen It's the same with all of those that were published as serials first, but this one was very engaging. Ms. Clack is quite the pill! 😂 6y
Swe_Eva @Henrik_Madsen I just realized I used "engaging" twice about it, so it must be true. ? 6y
14 likes4 comments
review
Henrik_Madsen
A Bride's Story | Kaoru Mori
Pickpick

Volume one was very promising. Beautiful artwork and an engaging story about the girl Amir who gets married at the ooold age of twenty to a younger boy. Great characters and an interesting setting in 19th Century Central Asia. Looking forward to the next installments. 🤗

8 likes1 stack add
quote
Henrik_Madsen
post image

“So I passed that blissful night. On rising the next morning, how young I felt! I might add, how young I looked, if I were capable of dwelling on the concerns of my own perishable body. But I am not capable - and I add nothing.”
Miss Clack is just the perfect hypocrite!

review
Henrik_Madsen
Childe Harold's Pilgrimage | George Gordon Byron Baron Byron
Panpan

Harold seems like a thinly veiled excuse to tell what Byron himself has seen. It is a reflection of places he sees, of the struggle between freedom and tyranny, the Napoleonic wars and characteristic traits of the places he visits. It is also a celebration of the past as it expresses itself in ruins and memorials. In that sense Byron is more tourist than anthropologist.
Stylistically impressive, but large parts were just pathos topped with pathos.

blurb
Henrik_Madsen
Night Flight | Antoine de Saint-Exupry
post image

Ooops I did again!
Nice bookhaul today. A couple of old Saint-Exupéry fly books and a couple of shiny new ones. #classics #bookaholic #happiness

blurb
Henrik_Madsen
A Bride's Story | Kaoru Mori
post image

Time for some train travel & reading🤓👍

Swe_Eva That whole series is really great! 6y
Henrik_Madsen Cool - I just discovered it and really enjoy it so far. 🤗 6y
Gezemice I saw this in the library, looked interesting... 6y
6 likes1 stack add3 comments