therese blog

All my life I’ve wanted to be a writer, an author. Since before I could form letters, I used to just scribble and then read to my parents what it said, some fairytale of this and that. I want to create worlds and I want to make a reader feel something, the thought of the words that I’m writing here in this small part of the world being read och felt on another continent as well as next door is a mesmerizing thought.

And I’ve also liked to read, I’ve had periods where I’ve read a few books but never really reading on a daily basis – at least not books/literature.

But I really like to buy books, I love buying books from foreign authors because the covers are always so spectacular, especially fantasy books. And fantasy is really where my heart lies. But I had a lot of unread books on the shelves, floors, storage room and I often passed a shelf having trouble choosing a book. So in 2023 I picked up all books and built a tower of books. No choosing, just take the top one, read it, and then next. That worked and in that year I read 22 books, adding to the towers original 18. In 2024 I thought I should expand my views and read something other than fantasy. I chose a genre that I really didn’t like or care for, because I wanted to challenge myself, and in doing so, hopefully hone my own writing skills. But I got stuck, romance is the same story over and over and over again. But the way it is written (somtimes) stirs so many feelings. 2024 the tally went to 19 books, a slow year, a lot of stuff happening in this thing we call life.

Then 2025 happened. 55 books. That, for me, was kind of bonkers. But I can now call myself an avid reader and really mean it. Has the reading made me a better writer? I think so, I do think about what I like in a book and what makes it work – for me. I read mainly in English but I write in Swedish, and even though I think the Swedish language is beautiful, it is sometimes lacking in words. This may be enhanced by the fact that I only read in English. And also, fantasy writing does not work well in Swedish for me, but I think it will get better and better as the genre is getting bigger here.

Anythawho, 55 books, I have a 1-5 star rating and then I rate 6 other things, for example – language, plot, joy of reading, spicy-ness, tears etc.

Out of 55 books, only 6 books got the coveted 5 STAR-rating, and only 4 books got the 1 star-rating.

With this said I will start transferring my reviews from my remarkable (and from Swedish) to this blog. I also want to say that listening to/reading anothers rating of a book can be unfair. Because what works for me, might not work for someone else. And being a person who has tried to write a book for like 35 years, I am in awe of anyone who actually completes that task – even though I give it one star. Something I think is important to point out.

This year I’m now currently reading number 20. And as a heads up my reviews will mainly be romance, fantasy and almost always queer books.