2025

Click the fleuron ❧ to read the full review.

• Prosessi by Klaus Maunuksela. About a night at a Berlin night club that totally isn’t Berghain. The part where they queue to get in is great, but I didn’t care for the rest.
• Foucault's Pendulum by Umberto Eco, translated by William Weaver. An adventure story about finding the Templars. Clever, postmodern, boring.
• Voittajantunti by Iida Sofia Hirvonen. A millennial art critic wanders in the night in Kallio. ❧
• Käräjät by Markus Nummi. A detective investigates a series of crimes in a small village in 1938 in South Ostrobothnia. ❧
• Coming into the Country by John McPhee. A journalistic foray into the pre-oil-boom Alaska of 1960s and 1970s. ❧
• ⭐ The Transit of Venus by Shirley Hazzard. On love and relationships over decades. Subtle.
• Päähenkilö by Johannes Ekholm. Yet another story from the Kallio Extended Universe. Interesting atmosphere, forgettable characters – lukuromaani. ❧
• Saatanallinen paniikki by Katri Ylinen. Gonzo story on the satanic panic of 1990s in Finland. No new revelations, but I enjoyed the interviews with the current-day satanists who can’t get along with each other.
• The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet by Becky Chambers. Cozy sci-fi.
• ⭐ Kiertorata by Matias Riikonen. Two train cleaners clean trains. Clever structure. Short and sweet.
• Antimemetics by Nadia Asparouhova. Reads like a Ribbonfarm blogpost. Very San Francisco.
• Rakenna, kärsi ja unhoita by Helmi Kajaste. On cinema and architecture. I didn’t know the movies the book talked about, so it was a bore.
• Chloé S:n sanakirja by Heidi Väätänen. Young people are trying to find their place in the world.
• Lintujen kesyttäjä by Antti Tuuri. A stranger arrives to the village. Easy reading.
• This is Pleasure by Mary Gaitskill. On friendship with a person who pushes boundaries too much.
• Afrikan vihreät kunnaat by Ernest Hemingway, translated by Tauno Tainio (English title: Green Hills of Africa). A travelogue: Hemingway goes hunting in Africa. ❧
• Keskeytysten arkisto by Pontus Purokuru. Short stories and essays vaguely about time. Funny. ❧
• Liars by Sarah Manguso. On a divorce that you could really see coming, yet the protagonist couldn’t.
• The Rock Warrior's Way by Arno Ilgner. On mental training for climbing. The warrior framework feels like woo, but the advice is pragmatic.
• ⭐ Matara by Matias Riikonen. A story about boys playing society. Exquisite. ❧
• Parade by Rachel Cusk. On numerous artists called G. More abstract than the earlier Cusk books.
• Pachinko-kuulat by Elisa Shua Dusapin, translated by Anu Partanen (English title: The Pachinko Parlour). On a daughter relationship with her Korean grandparents living in Japan. The topic is heavy but the book felt light.
• Tiny Habits by B.J. Fogg. Actionable advice on building and breaking habits.
• Manillaköysi by Veijo Meri. A funny story about a guy returning from the front during the Continuation War. Interesting to read about the war time culture among the common soldiers.
• Vanja-eno by Anton Chekhov (English title: Uncle Vanya). A classic play with a lot of shouting and a surprising (for the time) bit of environmentalism.
• Winning Long-Term Games by Luca Dellanna. A business book on playing the long game of achieving success in life.
• ⭐ Kalvot by Chi Ta-wei, translated by Rauno Sainio (English title: The Membranes). Cyberpunk soft sci-fi about identity. Reminds me of Ann Leckie’s books. Fresh considering its was published 30 years ago.