Coffee Stories: The Lost Art of Reading
For this week’s chat, I had the pleasure of discussing all things #bookstagram with the brilliant Emelie Landenberg.
Emelie is a lot of things; incredibly funny, lights up any room with her laugh, very smart, and - crucially - always a straight shooter. She is also fairly fearless, and has lived and worked all over the world. She also loves and devours books. In fact, I would argue stories are a part of her soul at this point. And for 2021 her goal is to get through a minimum of 100 books, sharing her journey with honest reviews and suggestions on her @lostartofreading Instagram page. That said, she does not believe in finishing a bad one (and we fully agree).
She is also a fellow Swede currently residing abroad (in her case Switzerland), but shockingly does not engage in coffee drinking!
Please enjoy the interview below, and do go and give her a follow!
Hello!! How are you? How has your year been?
Hello!! Really good thanks… But yeah… 2020… Longest year of my life!!
And I’m so sorry… I’m failing the Coffee Stories thing straight away, because I don’t actually drink coffee OR tea. Just water right now!
That’s fine! Occasionally we base this on a blatant lie – I’m drinking tea anyways so we are good!
Right, let’s get started then! What was the first book or book series that you remember being completely obsessed with?
For me it was the Narnia books… Yup, they were definitely the first series where I read one and had that moment of realising that ‘Oh my gosh… There is MORE?!’
Just knowing that it wasn’t over, it was so exciting. And when you are around five/six years old, that’s still a new thing... Most of the time you reach the end and that’s that, that’s what happens. But it was the first one that encouraged my imagination to keep going after the book finished.
And I think I own about four or five different editions of it now!
I’m guessing – and given there have been films and shows made from them too – you have re-read them all a few times too? How do you find reading the same material at different ages - Do you remember your reactions as a kid diving into that world versus re-reading them as an adult?
As an adult, I was certainly told or informed a lot by others… Things like “Well you KNOW it’s based on Christianity, right? And Aslan is Jesus” etc. And as a kid it’s just… You’re reading a fun story that’s possibly a bit like a fable, but it wasn’t until I was much older that I realised there was a whole bigger story.
If you’re thinking about the first book, obviously it isn’t as simple as just being about ‘Jesus’… But it IS about a character who effectively gets killed by the non-believers, and then comes back to life because he is innocent… So… You kind of go okay… I can see what they mean. So that’s been interesting.
And when I was in high school we had to do this extended essay, like a dissertation, which was my first in-depth analysis of a theme like this… And I chose to focus on Narnia and Harry Potter, and picked two books to compare the ‘mentorship’ figures – Aslan and Dumbledore.
What a fascinating theme!
Absolutely. We learned a lot about comparing and contrasting, and the theme was ‘the quest’ in the different stories. So, in Narnia there was a bit more of an internal quest, as opposed to Harry Potter for example.
Yeah… On a tangent this JK x Harry Potter thing is… Rough, and so deeply upsetting for so many.
Yes… I mean, had we been chatting about this two years ago I might have even said Harry Potter, because it has been such a huge part of my life. But… I don’t want to highlight her too much anymore. It’s just not someone worth talking about.
It’s tough indeed, it’s one of those things that I had really been looking forward to as a mom… Buying those copies again and reading them with my girls… And like you said, they were such a big part of our era I think. I remember popping to the book shop on the mornings of each release to get my hands on the next installment…
Oh yes, I remember I used to work in a bookshop at the time. And when they came out… It was like the biggest moment, so I’m incredibly disappointed in her. But I believe there is SO much else to read that’s absolutely brilliant.
Absolutely!
Still looking at childhood reading a bit… To me the library was an absolute sanctuary growing up. I got my library card very young, and my parents would drop me off at the kids section while they went to the shop or ran errands or whatever… And I LOVED it. But these days I’m wondering how libraries still fit in… I imagine my kids will be heading there (post pandemic), but am equally aware they are perhaps not the same busy places they used to be.
What are your thoughts around the future of libraries specifically as an institution? How do you see them evolving and fitting into our lives?
Libraries… The first thing that comes up in my memory is always going there as a kid. And in school, it was the building next door... So, I remember going there a lot and they would have a ‘book round-up morning’ where they recommended new reads…
And I have absolutely been obsessed with going there and borrowing everything they had for as long as I can remember... I think if you love reading, that’s going to be part of your experience.
I remember the first thing I started reading was the text on the milk cartons, and the second were kids-books from the library.
But we are talking about when we were little kids… And that is already a good 25+ years ago. So, it has already changed a lot since then. After all, a library isn’t just about finding books... It could be where you access information, or community! Which I find incredibly interesting.
I remember when I was an au pair, we would pop to the library once a week to borrow new books for the kids… And these days you can borrow e-books as well.
I think the library will become even more of a meeting-point for specific groups. For example, moms with kids for story time… Things like that. So, I think it will continue shifting from “hey we are a big space with a lot of books” to “this is a safe space to meet your people”.
And maybe they won’t be quite as big, perhaps they will become slightly smaller and focus more on ordering in what you need….
But I love them… I haven’t been to a single library in Switzerland though… Unfortunately, the English section just isn’t quite big enough.
But on #Bookstagram for example, a lot of people are talking about being on the library waiting-list for specific titles. And if you are a person who reads a LOT, it becomes a very expensive hobby, very quickly.
Yes! And then where do you store them?
Well, my shelves are full! There is just no more space! So, if you have a library where you can still consume that same amount of stories and literature… Without the expense or storage issues…
Which leads me to another question… You have lived all around the world – from Sweden to London to New Zealand and now Switzerland… How do you go about deciding which books to bring along, and what happens to the rest?
I mean… It has been incredibly hard, I hate it! Having to choose between my babies that I have to leave behind… Abandon my children!
But at the same time… Now I look at it like a collection, I am curating my unique collection. I’m not just buying a load of paper-backs to read on the road. There is purpose to the buying process now.
And I mean… I never used to learn my lessons, I did just keep buying books that I loved. But now, I’m making more specific investment choices. So, moving forward, this collection will always come with me from here on…
Which means it makes the most sense for me to only move within Europe from now on, so I can drive.
But I do also have a collection of… Around ten boxes… In my grandfather’s attic… And it is mainly children’s books. And I’ve often wondered, who is this for? Because I’m not necessarily looking to have kids of my own.
But it’s like having a little kids library almost. It’s having that special place for my friends kids, or if my sister has kids… So that they can come and I could actually offer a proper library where they could pick something to borrow, to get lost in. And it’s a lot of the classics that I think it’s important to keep saving.
So anyway… They are all coming from now on, I am not giving them up!
That is so special… I know, for my own kids, one of my favourite gifts is always when they receive new books. And I have saved some of my own (torn and worn editions) for them to enjoy as they grow…
Exactly! And when I’ve saved it’s always been the special ones… Not as much on the paper-back books…
It’s quite funny as well… I see all these memes saying “You shouldn’t judge a book by it’s cover” and then it cuts to the designer who spent two months on that cover going “Oh… right…” And… I absolutely judge a book by it’s cover. 100%! And I think another part of collecting IS that. I want them to be interesting; pretty to look at, AND interesting on the inside.
Absolutely! So… Looking forward. You’ve started @LostArtOfReading…. I was curious about the background for this?
You studied publishing at Oxford Brooks, and have obviously always held an interest in books in general. I would love to hear a little more about your journey from book lover to bookstagrammer?
That’s an interesting question. I remember when I was an Au Pair myself, a long time ago… I was looking to apply to University and was trying to figure out what to do. And I had been looking at things like ‘International Relations’ but… I started looking at what I had truly loved doing or held a continued interest in for the past ten years… And that one thing was books.
So, I literally googled ‘How to work with books?’ And to be fair, I had already spent my teens working in a book shop.
But I found the Publishing program at Oxford Brooks and got accepted there.
One way or another, I have always had books as a part of my plans. But… I graduated, and did not score a job in that industry straight away. So, I kick-started my career in another area, and have since lived and worked in five different countries and really enjoyed that side of it. Which is crazy to think!
But books were always there, and I did not want to lose that connection. Especially as I started thinking “Well… perhaps I will never work in Publishing per se.” But I did not want to just lose that link.
And especially, as I’m now living in this expat community in Switzerland where most just want to go skiing or hiking… There isn’t as much of that connection, or community, around books.
I started @lostartofreading to find that community a bit more. To find people that also loved books to chat to… People who might agree, or NOT agree, with my book ratings… Who could recommend - or wanted recommendations - new reads.
And the other, perhaps more selfish reasoning… I was hoping that perhaps this could one day become a bit of a route into that publishing world. Whether that means receiving and reviewing books, or there might be some partnerships or some other road map… Who knows. But it’s a very long-term plan.
At the moment there is a lot of negativity around that social space out. And of course those issues are very real too. But I also feel very strongly that there is a positive side, if you choose to look for it. Those online communities, and connections of people with similar interests and passions… Safe spaces to cheer each other on, to share knowledge and awareness, to find others to chat to…. It is a lovely way to connect, even if you are on opposite sides of the world! What are your thoughts?
Exactly, I agree. It shouldn’t have to be that complicated! And sure, some of the really big accounts who rely on this as an income or PR stream, they can be quite upset about the algorithm impacting their followers etc etc. Personally, I’m not anywhere near that level of stress or followers yet, so that isn’t impacting me as much…
For me it is more… I feel like this is something really fun and a positive challenge that encourages me to think a bit more, and an outlet for my hobby! That I will always have! I will always love reading – always have, always will.
There have been a handful or years where I haven’t enjoyed it as much… But I will keep going as long as this is fun, as long as I love reading and sharing that.
Speaking of books… What makes for a good book, to you? It is a very personal question, so feel free to interpret as you want…
For me… It requires more than ONE good character. There needs to be more than just the one person, with everyone else coming across as these flat supportive extras… For example, if there is the ‘best friend’ it can’t JUST be the girl walking around saying “OMG yeah totally…” There has to be an ensemble of three dimensional characters.
I also love a twist. And it does NOT have to be a “haha, gottcha”! It can just be something a bit different that challenges your expectations.
Because when you read as much as I tend to do… You can see most things coming. So, when I find myself feeling surprised… And again, it does NOT have to be “OMG he was the BAD GUY ALL ALONG!” Not that. But just… I love the feeling of the unexpected, of being genuinely surprised by the direction it takes.
That joyous feeling of “I got tricked!!”
What was the last twist that worked for you?
I actually read something last week, that was all about the witch trials in the 17th century UK. And the twist was… Unexpected… I enjoyed it… But, another thing I don’t like… Or rather, let’s shift to a positive... What I would like to see in a book is that the ending doesn’t come too easy.
There can absolutely be a happy ending, but what I’m not a big fan of is when you’ve had three hundred pages of struggle, and then bam everything works out JUST before the ending.
So I want decent three dimensional characters, an entertaining twist, and a well-planned road to the finale…
Would you rather a book made you ugly-cry or laugh hysterically?
Crying! Always! I laugh hysterically plenty, but a good cry… That’s golden.
It’s funny… I have resting bitch face in general, but I also have ‘reading face’. Where my face just… Will play out the story I’m reading in all sorts of crazy expressive ways whether I’m aware or not.
Haha! You do, you absolutely do!
All my life people have either complained about or praised me for being the best / most intense kind of an audience. Because I always give big reactions… Whatever it might be. From a performance to a book or a film in the cinema. I’ll be the one gasping, turning around saying ‘OMG WHAT IS HAPPENING!”. It’s part of the experience….
I have extremely big reactions. So actually, if a book is muted throughout…. I just can’t deal with literary fiction… Where it is just long and in depth and without much…
I mean I have had many a chat around how much I HATE ‘The Goldfinch’. It is SO boring!
It’s a trend for the ‘classics’. Who decided it had to be all the long dreary ones!
Exactly! And all the classics… There is always a whiney man in the lead. That’s how you write a classic.
The Goldfinch felt like a modern version of Catcher in the Rye. Which I HATE.
Thank you! Me too!!
YES! Here comes a whiney man who has such a hard life and complains about it for three hundred pages…
Indeed. The classic “No one understands me!” theme.
Right! “Oh my, the girl doesn’t like me back so I’m gonna go through this existential crisis now for the next five chapters.”
I would much rather go through big emotions… On my bookstagram I have actually added a ‘crying meter’. And some books can score higher in overall content, but low on the crying meter. Which isn’t as good.
Side tangent on that… I adore Fredrik Backman’s books…
Mmmmh I haven’t read them yet!
Well if you get a chance, ‘Britt-Marie’ just… Got me on another level. Hard crying while smiling.
I’m actually so bad at reading Swedish literature. Which is… I haven’t even read ‘The Gospel of the Eels’ (Patrick Svensson) yet, which even made the Good Reads selection, so you can even go vote on it!
Really?
I know, a Swedish book about Eels… Of course!
I am also really drawn to the whole concept of ‘reading to escape’. Which I think contributes to why I’m not reading that much Swedish literature. ‘A Man Called Ove’ for example… Too depressing.
Oooh please give it a chance sometime. There is… There is something more there. If you only read one though, please make it Britt Marie!
Honestly, it’s on the list. The best books I’ve read have come off recommendations. Which is what I love about my Instagram account too. If I can recommend a book that someone loves… It’s very much like when I used to work at the book shop.
When a customer would come in and explain what they were looking for, and I could guide them in that direction. And they would come in the next day and just go “I cannot put this down, it is so good!!”. That was great.
What is a book you would recommend everyone reads at some point?
Honestly, ‘The Lost Art of Keeping Secrets’ which inspired the name of the account…
It is a bit niche, to be honest… It is about an eighteen-year-old girl in 1950s London. But everyone I have recommended it to, especially those who are younger than me (and usually girls to be honest), have loved it. I’ve never encountered anyone who didn’t like it.
And a more recent find I would absolutely recommend is ‘The Midnight Library’ by Matt Haig.
He is… If you want to recommend a book that is about suicide, but is uplifting. This is the one! It’s one that perhaps a lot of people might need to read, to understand a bit more about mental health.
It came out in 2020 and has been very popular.
How important is a good title or summary?
Title, not so important. It helps heighten it, but is not the most important. I read a book the other day called ‘The New Guy’ which... I mean, not a great title... And to be honest, not the best book. But still…
Title doesn’t matter that much, it doesn’t have to be that memorable. And to be honest, many of the books I’ve loved the most… I can’t remember what they were called! Especially long titles.
Synopsis, yes. But It needs to be short. That’s why thrillers stress me out – they have this LONG explanation on the back!
Like they give away the whole thing... Too much of an extended trailer!
Right. But then to be fair, I love a good long trailer for a film. I have a goldfish memory so it doesn’t bother me, and I re-read books all the time too.
But the synopsis should be short and have a powerful hook.
I have to admit… I loved ‘Gone Girl’. And I remember my book had a super short summary.
So good! Wasn’t it just ‘X’s wife has gone missing. He is the only suspect’? Really short, strong hook… Spot on.
Next up, what is a pet-peeve in terms of structure? For example, the story is great, loads of potential, but it doesn’t translate on the page…
Too many repetitions. I read a book the other day where every piece of dialogue was… They would repeat the character’s name in every. Last. Line! I mean, I know their names by now, just get better at writing them next to each other!
So, repetitions… And too much description of the characters’ looks. I just don’t need that.
Personal feelings here… The Dan Brown books… I tried reading the Da Vinci Code and… It’s just description in such detail over so many pages…
See… I like all the Dan Brown books. Which is insane! And he has a lot of description. But crucially...
What I LIKE about it is that they don’t tell me too much about the characters themselves. I can imagine that. Like, I don’t need to know she was exactly 172 cm with short hair. I like the subtle bits more, like when you’re in deep with a story already and suddenly someone drops a tiny detail like “and then her mom – from Jamaica – called” and it’s a small detail where you can expand in your own mind.
On that note… Have you had a character that’s been SO strong and vivid in your mind, and then in the movie… It’s just been all wrong? For me… Guilty Pleasure but everything about every character in Janet Evanovich Stephanie Plum series… Everyone. Literally everyone was wrong in the film, and I adored the books!
Haha, yeah… I remember that. Well, the only one I can remember being truly pissed off about was Vanessa from ‘Gossip Girl’. Because I read those books obsessively when I was young. And then the show came out…
And in the books, Vanessa is this punk rock short-haired bisexual chic. She’s hard-core. And her looks aren’t… She’s not super pretty in the books. And then the show comes out and she is this stunning… And they gave her a scarf to wear in her hair and everyone is saying “Oh look, she’s SO boohoo!”
I remember going to the book-show that year, and Cecily was here, the author… And I actually asked her during the question time, what she thought about the casting for GG, because Vanessa was my favourite character…
And she didn’t even let me finish, she immediately just went “Oh my god, it was SO crazy. I hate it so much! This is the most beautiful girl I’ve ever seen, and they’ve like put an extra earring on her… And said she was punk rock.”
And I was like “Cecily! Same!”. So that’s one.
BUT, what I remember far more are the ones that succeeded…
For example, Hunger Games! That’s the best casting and book to movie I’ve ever seen. So insanely good. It was clever, they managed to secure a main cast that wasn’t TOO famous yet… I can watch those movies and read the books and it’s perfect. It’s the same.
One of the stand out ones for me… I could NOT stop reading them.
Haha right! And I mean, if we are being honest… Speaking of teen literature. Twilight.
I single-handedly increased the sales of Twilight significantly in Västerås, back in the day. Like 200%. Only the first one had come out in Swedish, and then the second was published in English. And my boss wasn’t keen, saying ”It won’t sell in English.” But I knew, I just said ”I promise, order it and we WILL sell the English version”.
So we ordered just a few copies. And I mean… I had promised this, so the preassure to shift them was… And then parents would come in looking for books to give to their kids.
So there I was… Saying ”Well, the first one is here. And we DO have the second in English too…” and they would say ”Oh, no, my child won’t want to read it in English.”
Then their kid would come in a week later, without fail, asking for the English version. Because obviosuly they just HAD to know what came next. It was such fun, people got so obsessed.
But yes, Hunger Games was… Just perfection.
Although… There was a prequel that came out recently. Do not bother! It’s about Snow’s journey, the whole ’how does he become a bad guy’ journey. Who cares! And it was SO long too, with nothing going on.
QUICK FIRE ROUND
What are you reading now?
’The Switch’ by Beth O’Leary. I finished her first book two days ago, and it was so good that I just kept going with the next.
Best Tip to Style a book shelf?
Doesn’t matter about size, but I adore colour coordination. Just play around with the colours.
Two books everyone should read…
’Midnight Library’ by Matt Haig and ’The Lost Art of Keeping Secrets’ by Eva Rice
A book you WISH you had read as a teenager?
To be honest, I wish I had read more romance genre books in general. Not a specific book, but there is a huge industry around romance novels. And so many different heroines… They all look different, act different, just varied… I wish I had read more of that when I was younger.
What book title would you love to read, that has not yet been written?
Hah. That’s a great question… Hmmm… To be continued!
Is it worth finishing a bad book?
No. There are SO many books out there, and you will never be able to get through them all. So why waste your time on a bad book?
What format – not to collect the actual books but in terms of your personal reading experience – do you prefer (kindle, hardcover, paper-back, anything else)?
Kindle. It is just so accessible and simple.
How do you take your Coffee?
With zero coffee, and lots of hot chocolate.