Barbara's (Ameise1) reading world 2022

Hello, my name is Barbara (Ameise1), I am 60 years old and I live in Zürich, Switzerland. I am married to Thomas and we have two wonderful daughters with their partner. We will soon be grandparents for the first time and are really looking forward to it.

I've always read, sometimes more - sometimes less. I prefer to read physical books. But I also have an e-reader. When I am out and about on foot or by public transport, I always listen to an audio book. In the past year I have mainly read series (fiction, crime, mysteries). But I also like to read across the board and am always open to new things.
I've been with LT for 10 years. For the past few years I've been active in the 75 group, but since the pandemic broke out, I've hardly had any time to actively participate.
It is the first time that I have participated in this group and I hope that, as a newcomer, I will adapt well to the customs. Otherwise you will tell me if I do something wrong.

I work as a primary school teacher. The past two years have been very stressful to work. The school was only closed for the first 6 weeks, since then we have been working on site. Our school is tested weekly. The number of cases among children has risen rapidly since November. Yesterday a mother contacted me and said that her son had been in the children's hospital because of PIMS since December 26th. He fell ill with COVID at the end of November. I had a very restless night after that. I am very concerned about it and I hope that he will get well again.

I'm looking forward to the upcoming reading year and also to getting to know 'old' and new people.

I wish you all a happy and healthy 2022. Stay healthy.

Welcome to Club Read :)

>3 AnnieMod: Thanks so much, Annie. :-)

Hello Barbara, and welcome!
I think you will find that it is much less hectic in Club Read than in the 75 group. I actually have time to read everyone's threads, though I don't always comment, and there is a great variety of reading going on here!

>5 arubabookwoman: Thanks so much, Deborah. I like it when it isn't too hectic.

Welcome Barbara. I plan to follow you in 2022. My wife is a teacher (high school art/art history) (and my daughter, in high school, was positive with Covid this past weekend, a mild case. She is vaccinated). Wish you well with these covid issues. I'm worried about your student. I wish him a full recovery.

>7 dchaikin: Thanks so much, Dan for your warm welcome. He is always in my thoughts. Fingers crossed that he will fully recover.

Welcome to Club Read!

>9 Julie_in_the_Library: Thanks so much, Julie.

Found and starred, Barbara.

Happy reading in 2022!

>11 FAMeulstee: Thanks so much, Anita. I have to look for your 2022 thread.

>12 Ameise1: Not there yet, Barbara, will create my 75 in 2022 thread in the next hour.

👍

ed!!

I hope you don't mind if a 75er follows you over here. ; ) I hope you find a reading group that better fits your needs. And Happy New Year!!

>15 Berly: Hi Kim, you're very welcome. I felt guilty in the 75 group. It was too hectic for me and I didn't get to follow the threads. Since the pandemic broke out, I've had it very severely and hardly any time for free time.

>16 Ameise1: You need to protect yourself and LT is supposed to be fun, not a chore. Move on without guilt! : )

>17 Berly: 😘💖

Welcome and happy New Year, Barbara! I'm sure you'll enjoy your new home in Club Read - we're a very relaxed group.

>19 AlisonY: Thanks so much, Alison. That's exactly what I was looking for.

Looking forward to following along with your reading. Thanks for the New Years wishes.

>21 markon: You're welcome. Nice to see you here, Ardene.

Happy New Year, Barbara.

>23 BLBera: Thanks so much, Beth. I wish you a wonderful reading 2022, too. 😍

Happy New Year, Barbara. I'll be following your thread as I've missed you for the better part of last year.
I'm hoping you'll soon feel at home here. It may not seem like it now, but generally, this group is a lot less hectic and 'manageable' than the 75ers.

Hi Barbara!

>27 SandDune: Hi Rhian, nice to see you here.

>25 Berly: Thanks so much, Kim. 🤗

>26 Trifolia: Thanks so much, Monica. I suppose in the beginning of a new year threads everywhere are very busy. 🙃

>26 Trifolia:, >27 SandDune: Definitely (re threads being busy in the New Year). CR usually settles down after a few weeks in later January.

>30 AlisonY: My thoughts, Alison.

Happy New Year, Barbara.

Sorry you are not over at the 75ers yet this year but I am happy that I was able to find you over here. xx

Hello and happy new year, Barbara ! Hope you like it here :-)

Happy new year Barbara! I hope that we will all have fewer Covid worries in 2022.

>32 PaulCranswick: Thanks so much, Paul. A very happy and healthy new year to you and yours, too. The 75ers are too hectic for me and I was no longer able to post since the outbreak of the pandemic.

>33 Dilara86: Thanks so much, Dilara. I wish you a wonderful happy new year too.

>34 Sakerfalcon: My thoughts, Claire. Thanks so much and Happy New Year to you too.

Since three hours I'm for the first time a very proud grandmother (called Nani). It's a little boy named Juri. Mother and son are fine and we are all over the moon. May the little sunshine have a happy, healthy, adventurous life. God bless him.

CONGRATULATIONS, Nani!!!

Thanks so much, Monica. 😍

Congratulations! What a lovely new year gift.

Congratulations! Being a grandmother (Nani) is the best!

>40 AlisonY: >41 arubabookwoman: Thanks so much Alison and Deborah. We are sooo happy. 😍

Congratulations! I am Nana to my seven grandchildren. It is the very best time of your life. Enjoy every minute. 😊

>43 NanaCC: Thanks so much, Colleen. I definitely will do so. 😍

>37 Ameise1: Congratulations! How wonderful!

>45 SandDune: Thanks so much, Rhian. I am overjoyed and glad that my daughter and little Juri are doing well. She had a great midwife and her doctor too. Not to forget our great son-in-law.

Congratulations, grandmother Barbara!
And to also the proud parents :-)

Congratulations to your whole family! Do you live close enough that you will visit often?

>47 FAMeulstee: Thanks so much, Anita. My adrenaline level is still so high that I cannot even think about sleep at the moment, even if I am usually in bed at this time of day. 🙈

>48 markon: Thanks so much, Ardene. It's just a 15min walk to the young family. 🙃😀

Congratulations Nani!! And how lucky that you live so close to them. Enjoy!

Congratulations to you and your family, Barbara!

Congratulations! I've got my fingers crossed for grandkids, but not just yet.

>35 Ameise1: I have a number of friends over here too, Barbara, and will drop by often to keep up with you and wish you well. x

>37 Ameise1: Congratulations to you all. I hope that mother and baby are doing well.

Congratulations, and Welcome to you, Barbara! Club Read is plenty busy for me--it hope it suits you--I'm sure it will.

How exciting! Congratulations!

>50 Berly: >51 kidzdoc: >52 lisapeet: >54 PaulCranswick: >55 sallypursell: >56 labfs39: Thanks so much Kim, Darryl, Lisa, Paul, Sally and Lisa for your kind wishes. My daughter and Juri are doing well. When it stay so they can leave the hospital on Friday. Be sure I'll welcom them personally then. Due to COVID they can't get any visitors at the hospital. Luckily my SIL is aloud to visit his young family.

Happy new year and happy new thread, Barbara!
Have fun in the new group, I will also visit you here often - even if my TBR pile will be even higher, I'm sure.
As a granny you need less hustle and bustle ;-)
Congratulations and all the best for the family!

>58 SirThomas: Thanks so much, Thomas. My reading during January won't be high up due to not have much time. First of all comes my grandson and secondly I need to write long school reports. So you'll be a lucky man with not much BBs this month. 😉

>37 Ameise1: Congratulations to you and to the proud parents!
As it happens, I also became a first-time grandmother recently (back in October), and I'm a nani too!

>60 Dilara86: Congratulations to you too, Dilara. I just had a nice video chat with my daughter. The little man was sleeping. Both had a good night and are fine.

Before I went to the grocery store, I went to the library and got the following books The Gustav Sonata by Rose Tremain and I Will Never See The World Again a biography by Ahmet Altan

Congratulations to you! What wonderful news to start the year!

>63 Sakerfalcon: Thanks so much, Claire. We are over the moon. I'm realy looking forward holding him for the first time in my arms. It will probably be on Saturday.

A grandson, that's a nice way to start a new year, full of hope for the future!
>62 Ameise1: I hope you'll enjoy I Will Never See The World Again as much as I did. It was not yet translated in English when I read it at the beginning of 2020. I'm happy that it's now available for English readers.

>65 raton-liseur: Thanks so much, raton-liseur. It is the best gift one can wish for.
I'm realing looking forward to read I will never see the world again. I've a German copy.

>64 Ameise1: My own grandchildren thrill and please me so much that I am excited for anyone embarking on this journey. Kiss him for us, and your daughter, too.

Happy New Year, Barbara!

>62 Ameise1: Yay! I'm looking forward to your comments on The Gustav Sonata

Hope you are just busy being a grandma and that all is well. : )

Thank you again for introducing me the Whisky Business Mysteries Series, Barbara.
I hope you are well!

Dear all
I'm reporting from the 'sinking'. It's been a tough few months, but first for the better: we enjoy our grandson who, like all babies, is developing rapidly and we always discover something new that he can now do. The best thing is that he smiles and smiles at us when he sees us. We enjoy the time with him.
Professionally, the weeks between the Christmas holidays and the ski holidays were very exhausting. I always came home totally exhausted.
On the first day of the 'well deserved' ski holiday I got the first symptoms of Covid. I vaccinated and boosted 2 times, but the omicron was just stronger. I was flat for three weeks. The worst was the headache, which almost drove me insane. In the second week I had to go to the hospital because the suspicion of brain and pulmonary emboly arose. Luckily, the all-clear was then given. I was given a very strong drug cocktail to make the headache bearable to some extent. Unfortunately, I didn't have the kind of rest that a vacation should be, and after three weeks I fought my way back to everyday school life unrefreshed. The first week of work wasn't fun because my strength was like that of a very old woman, now it's getting better every day.
Shortly I will post what I have read so far or heard as an audiobook.
I hope you are all well.

Reading update:

# 1 The King Arthur Casee by Jean-Luc Bannalec (4 stars)
# 2 Mörderisches Lavandou Remy Eyssen (4 stars)
# 3 Der Judaskuss by Anna Grue (4½ stars)
# 4 Endstation Côte d'Azur by christine Cazon (4 stars)
# 5 I Will Never See The World Again by Ahmet Altan (5 stars)
# 6 The Gustav Sonata by Rose Tremain (4 stars)
# 7 50 by Hideo Yokoyama (4 stars)
# 8 Missing You by Harlan Coben (4½ stars)
# 9 Sörensen hat Angst by Sven Stricker (4½ stars)
#10 Schwarzer August by Gil Ribeiro (4½ stars)
#11 The Swallows of Kabul by Yasmina Khadra (4 stars)
#12 Shalom Berlin by Michael Wallner (4 stars)
#13 Im Haus des Hutmachers by Stefanie Koch (4 stars)
#14 The Target by David Baldacci (4½ stars)
#15 Die Karte des Todes by Stefanie Koch (4½ stars)
#16 Strange Shores by Arnaldur Indriðason (4 stars)
#17 The Book of Mother by Violaine Huisman (4½ stars)
#18 Last To Die by Tess Gerritsen (4 stars)
#19 Später Frost by Roman Voosen (4 stars)

Currently reading:

 Rotwild

Currently listening:
 Cop Town

>72 Ameise1: Oh, no! I'm so sorry. It's hard when we do all the "right" things, but still get sick. I had covid in the very first wave, before vaccines, abundant tests, or knowledge about long covid existed. Fortunately I never had headaches like you suffered. I'm glad you are on the mend, but do take care. It can be tenacious.

I see that you read and loved I Will Never See the World Again too. It was my favorite read of the first quarter.

>75 labfs39: Thanks so much, Lisa. They put me on the long covid list, just in case. I really hope not getting the next variant, too.

Isn't it a great story. My husband liked it, too.

Oh no! That's awful! I'm so sorry you went through that. Glad you're on the mend now.

Sometime when you feel like it, I'd like to hear your thoughts on the Gustav Sonata

That's rotten. Why do these things always happen when you're on a much needed break? Glad to hear you're on the mend, though.

What a time you’ve had. So sorry to hear.

>72 Ameise1: Sorry to read the tough times still continue for you, Barbara. Catching Covid and the headaches sounds really bad. Glad you are getting better now.
Happy to read your grandson gives you so much joy :-)

>73 Ameise1: I have read two books from your list, both in Dutch translation. I Will Never See The World Again by Ahmet Altan and Strange Shores by Arnaldur Indriðason, they were both 4½ star reads for me.

>72 Ameise1: I am sorry to hear this, I hope you are feeling better, Barbara.
>73 Ameise1: I know some books on your list - and I love the Sörensen series.

>72 Ameise1: It's wonderful to see you posting again. But how awful that covid hit you so hard and you were not able to recuperate long enough. Let's hope spring will bring back your strength. And I can imagine your grandson's smile is also working its magic.

Hello, Barbara

Just checking in to see how you're doing. You didn't have a good start to 2022!

Hope you are mostly recovered by now?! I still need a nap most days, but that is slowly improving. How are you doing?

>72 Ameise1: Hope you will be able to pop in and give us a update. Perhaps you are just busy with that grandson....

Are you recovered from round one? I am on round two of this frickin' Covid!! Grrrr. Hope you are doing okay.

Wherever you are, whatever you are doing, I hope you are well, Barbara.
And happy birthday!

Happy birthday, Barbara!