EllaTim, hoping for the best in 2024

Hi everybody, my name is Ella. Living in Amsterdam, with hubby Marc.
I'm active in my community, and we have an allotment garden on the other side of the town.

I like to read fantasy, but also lots of other stuff.

Hoping for the best in 2024, because we need it!

For my culling books project, here’s the LFL map of Amsterdam:
https://www.google.com/mymaps/viewer?mid=15tEYpDFqfkNYBFAHRxNeM6AAxWBRxXcb&h...

Books read in 2024:

1. Acqua Alta by Donna Leon (It/USA, reread) ****
2. The Hound of the Baskervilles by Arthur Conan Doyle (UK, audio) ****

11. Arrows of the Queen by Mercedes Lackey ***

Best of 2023

Fiction
Dutch:
Bitter Herbs by Marga Minco, read by the author (Dutch) *****
Het Sleutelkruid by Paul Biegel (dutch, audio) *****
Knielen op een bed violen by Jan Siebelink (dutch)****1/2
Orpheus in de Dessa by Augusta de Wit (dutch, 1901) ****1/2
Het Dwaallicht by Willem Elsschot (dutch/Belgium) ****1/2
De Camino by Anya Niewierra (dutch, audio) ****

Several classics here. I was surprised by how much I liked them.
De Camino is a prizewinner of 2023

English:
Best five:
Skippy Dies by Paul Murray (Ireland) *****
The Eagle of the Ninth by Rosemary Sutcliff (UK, historical fiction) ****1/2
All the Light we cannot see by Anthony Doerr (USA) ****1/2
East of Eden by John Steinbeck (USA) ****1/2
Howards End by E.M. Forster (UK) ****1/2

Four ****1/2 star, but still a bit less memorable?
Long Bright River by Liz Moore (USA) ****1/2
Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby Van Pelt (USA) ****1/2
Julie of the Wolves by Jean Craighead George (USA) ****1/2
Homecoming by Cynthia Voigt (USA) ****1/2

Non-Fiction
Glucose Revolution: the life-changing power of balancing your Blood Sugar by Jessie Inchauspe ****1/2
De Mooie Voedselmachine by Giulia Enders ****1/2
Reizen zonder John by Geert Mak (dutch) ****

Series:
A Venetian Reckoning by Donna Leon (reread) ****

For next year: I was surprised by how much I liked my dutch authors, and the books for children I read! I'll be trying to find some more of those pearls.

And I will be trying to add some more non-fiction. I have been feeling tired most of the year, and obviously reading non-fiction suffered from that.

Reading plans:
After listening to Wintergasten, an interview with Noreena Hertz. She is an economist who has written about globalization, and the world-wide epidemic of loneliness that seems to be going on. I thought she was very interesting. I can notice some of this in my own neighbourhood, where people have a hard time meeting each other. The Lonely Century

Tonight Wintergasten has Nino Haratischwili!

BAC: https://www.librarything.com/topic/355015

Wildcard: Blast from the Past

January: Joan Aiken &
Arthur Conan Doyle: The Hound of the Baskervilles

February: Emma Newman & Ronald Firbank
Started on one by Emma Newman, but didn’t finish it.

March: Welsh Authors
Farthing by Jo Walton.

April: Barbara Pym & Anthony Trollope

May: Portal Fantasy

June: Kiran Millwood Hargrave & DH Lawrence

July: Animal Tales

August: KJ Charles & Winston Churchill

September: The 1980s

October: Gothic Fiction

November: EM Delafield & TH White

December: Books Acquired in 2024

Participating in War room:
MONTH - BY - MONTH IN THE WAR ROOM

JANUARY - The Ancients (Greeks, Romans etc)
Options: The Iliad? Cassandra or The Last of the Wine
FEBRUARY - The American War of Independence
MARCH - The War of the Roses: The Sunne in Splendour
APRIL - Wars of Religion
De vuuraanbidders by Simon Vestdijk
MAY - The Napoleonic Wars
JUNE - The English Civil War
JULY - Colonial Wars
AUGUST - World War Two
SEPTEMBER - The American Civil War
OCTOBER - American Follies (Korea, Vietnam, Afghanistan and the Gulf Wars)
NOVEMBER - World War One
DECEMBER - The Spanish Civil War
WILDCARD - Pick your own fight!

See: https://www.librarything.com/topic/355667#

I probably won't manage to read for every month here. Some look easier than others.

See the planning thread: https://www.librarything.com/topic/356288

For the January AAC Mark Twain: Huckleberry Finn
February Susan Sontag

Series:
The Brunetti series by Donna Leon.
Just finished nr 5: Acqua Alta
6: Death of Faith

Oke, this was all I could think of. Now we're off to feed the birds.
Come in everyone. Allthough it's a bit empty and unfurnished here. I hope to amend that later.

Happy new year and Happy new thread, Ella.
All the best for you in 2024!

Welcome back, Ella!

Happy new thread and new year, Ella. I think 2024 HAS TO be better for so many of us, after the awful 2023, right? ;-)

Hi Ella!

Wishing you a great one!

Happy New Year, Ella. Looking forward to hanging out with you again in 2024.

Happy new year, Ella!

Happy reading in 2024, Ella!

Happy New Year, and Happy New Thread, Ella!

Hi everybody, so nice to see you all!
and thanks for all the good wishes for the new year. The same to all of you.

One good thing is the participation in this group of kind and friendly people. And the joy from reading, and reading more....

I finished my first, but of course already started in 2023.

1. Acqua alta by Donna Leon (It/USA) (reread)****

I'm not going to do a review, it's a reread for me. But I am still enjoying this series a lot. Here the description of a flooding Venice was a big part of the story. Made for an immersive and very atmospheric read!

Happy new year, Ella.

>19 EllaTim: Good to see you off to a flying start.

>20 PaulCranswick: Thank you Paul!

Reading now:
The Hound of the Baskervilles. Listening to the audio. Great.

Had a job today, finances, for a subsidy. Took me ages. I think bureaucracy frightens me. But it’s done.

2. The Hound of the Baskervilles by Arthur Conan Doyle (UK, audio) ****

Well, this was fun. A nice creepy atmosphere. Adventures, and suspicion. The story told by doctor Watson. And a big and exciting finish. After which Holmes explains the rest.
The creepy atmosphere, the unexplained and scary mystical hound makes the story so much fun, but the other part of it is, that after this rationality has the upper hand, and with it safety is restored. We can breathe again, the hellhound is revealed.

Well, your first two reads are definitely good ones in my book! Carry on! : )

Happy New Year, Ella.

>4 EllaTim: Did you watch the Wintergasten with Nino Haratischwili? Did you like it?

Hi Ella. Happy New Year! All my best for 2024 to you and Marc.

>2 EllaTim: Two books already. Congrats.

drat. double post. sorry.

Hi Ella my dear, Happy New Year. I will be visiting throughout 2024 dear friend.

Happy New Year, Ella! Yours is the first thread I've visited with two books already completed. Congratulations!

I'm hoping to keep up better this year, and look forward to seeing what you will read!

>24 Berly: Hi Kim. Yes, so they were! glad you liked them.
>25 DianaNL: Thanks Diana! I don't watch TV every day. It tires me (that's what you get from this stupid fatigue). But thanks for reminding me, cause I really want to see it! Did you?
>26 karenmarie: Hi Karen. Thanks for the new year's wishes.
Two already was easy, first book started in December of course.
>28 johnsimpson: Hi John, I'll be visiting your thread as well. And happy New Year my friend.
>29 streamsong: Hi Janet. Thank you.
I'm having trouble keeping up as well, but I'll be interested in what you read! Of course I appreciate any visit here, but I completely understand about being tired, or busy. No problem at all!
I've been tired all year, and it has had it's effect on me as well.

Reading: The Wolves of Willoughby Chase

Happy New Thread, and Happy New Year, Ella! Enjoy The Wolves of Willoughby Chase. I read it when I was younger and loved it. She is a great author ( or was -, likely she has passed away ).

Happy New Year, Ella! I think I'm going to read The Wolves of Willoughby Chase as well, and then maybe continue with the series. I loved those books in the 60s and early 70s, but that was only the first four written at that time, and I've never read the later ones.

Hi Ella, hope 2024 is treating you well so far!
You seem to have started off well with your reading, at least.

Happy new year Ella, I'm just dropping my star. Looking forward to seeing your reads this year.

>32 vancouverdeb: Hi Deb! Thanks!
Joan Aiken: You made me wonder, and I looked her up. Yes, she died in 2004. Maybe I’ll look for some of her other books.
>33 ronincats: Hi Roni! Oh, that is some time ago. I hope you’ll love your reread.
>34 PawsforThought: Hi Paws, I hope the same for you!
>35 sirfurboy: Hi Stephen! Happy New Year!

>30 EllaTim: No, I didn't see Wintergasten. I was just curious if it was a good conversation.

3. The Wolves of Willoughby Chase (UK) ****



Sylvia has lived with her poor aunt Jane, but she is moving to her aunt and uncle’s in the country, who are very well to do, and can take care of her better. During the train journey she meets a strange man, who happens to protect her from a wolf pack that was attacking the train (it’s mid winter). He contrives to get taken home with her by some clever means. Then it turns out who the real wolves are, and how they threaten Sylvia and her cousin Bonnie.

This is a good story, but what stays with me the most are the images in it, and the people. The wolves, the snow-clad icy cold landscape. The two little cousins, and their rescuer independent Simon and his geese.

Thinking of reading part two in this series.

Good luck with your 2024 reading and that garden!

>38 EllaTim: Hi Tess! Thank you and the same to you.

I have been wanting to read Mansfield Park by Jane Austen https://english.shabd.in/mansfield-park-jane-austen/book/10278715

>41 Annie_09: Hi! Good luck. I don’t know that one, but Jane Austen is worth while.

>41 Annie_09: I really love Mansfield Park. It has an unexpectedly subversive wit in what is related straight forwardly and in how it plays with the conventions of its days.

>43 quondame: Sounds good!

>37 DianaNL: Hi Diana! I have now seen more than half of it. Yes, it’s interesting. She tells about Georgia, and the collaps of the Soviet Union. And about growing up under those circumstances. It’s nice to have a face, and some background for a writer.

>43 quondame: Really! That's good to hear. I have been Holding off reading it for a while. I guess I'll start it soon enough.

>42 EllaTim: Thank you!!

>47 Annie_09: Have a good time with your reading!

Great start to the reading year, Ella.

I will be reading Black Hearts in Battersea this week all being well.

>49 PaulCranswick: Hi Paul! Oh, good for you. Maybe I’ll get to that one as well.

It’s finally stopped raining here! Yippee! We were getting sick and tired of staying inside, cloudy skies, and all. High time, there wasn’t any serious flooding, luckily.
And now in some places, kids are skating.

I’m at home, jobs to do, but still tired too soon. Marc’s at the allotment cause there’s pruning etc. Yesterday I could still harvest some beets, and today I’ll be making oven-roasted pumpkin with feta cheese.

4. . Het Monster Trotteldrom (dutch, comic) by Marten Toonder ****



Heer Bommel get to meet the Trots. Something is wrong in their island, there’s a monster they can’t get rid of. The trots are looking for help and advice. And of course our heroes are willing to give that (if a bit reluctant).
A good story, with some of my favorite characters, captain Walrus and professor Prlwytzkofsky.

Listening to:
De Achterblijvers over de vergeten pandemie van long covid by Anne Vroegindeweij.

I got my one neighbor to meet my other neighbor. She is a very nice lady, but getting very elderly. They liked each other, yeah!

>51 EllaTim: I love these editions of the Bommel comics, Ella. Bought them all right after they were published, back in the days we could afford to buy stacks of books at our regular bookshop :-)

Hurray for no rain today!! And the pumpkin & cheese creation sounds yummy. Nice job with the neighbors and happy reading!

>53 FAMeulstee: Hi Anita! That’s the best way to read them. I bought a number of small paperback editions, but I found it very unfortunate that the pictures were so small in those. This one I have borrowed from the online library. Reading it on my iPad it has the right size again!

>54 Berly: Hi Kim! Nice to see you!

For Paul’s War Room reading I had started on Pax Romana, but it is a tome and will take me ages. For the moment I picked a different book for this month’s challenge: The Lantern Bearers by Rosemary Sutcliff. Set in England after the Pax Romana has been gone. Not regretting this, it’s really very good. A pleasure to read.

I’d started Huckleberry Finn. I remember reading it as a teenager, and liking it then. My reread was an audio, from Librivox. But I’m finding it hard going, don’t know why. (Well, the accents aren’t easy, that’s one thing) So I’ll be trying again, now with the ebook version.

Also I am finding myself still tiring soon.

>56 EllaTim: I have loved nearly every book by Rosemany Sutcliff, Ella. The Lantern Bearers is one of my favorites.

Sorry you are still easily tired.

>58 FAMeulstee: Hi Anita! It’s really very good. I used to love her books, when I read them as a teen, and I still do.

This fatigue is really a bother. Backpain plays a part. Making me less active then I should be. I’m trying to be more active, but it isn’t easy.

Trying to make doing exercises a habit. Reading Atomic habits now. A suggestion from my sister. Make it easy. Good idea :-)

I’m working on decluttering. Today I took down the Christmas tree. Just in time, to prevent lots of needles everywhere.

>38 EllaTim: Great story. I loved it. There was a TV adaption years ago that was probably pretty bad - but I liked it at the time!

>61 sirfurboy: Hi Stephen! Yes, I looked it up on YouTube, and there seems to be a TV or movie adaptation. I’ve never seen that, though. It is a good story, and would make some nice visuals.

5. Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain (USA) ****



Huck Finn is being raised by two ladies, but his father, a drunk, and a rascal, takes him away. Huck likes it at first, but his dad doesn’t treat him well. At last Huck runs away, decides to play dead, and escapes along the river, the Mississippi. He meets another runaway, Jim, a black man, a slave of one of the ladies, and they go on together.
Follow lots of adventures, meeting all kind of strange people, but all’s well that ends well.

I had read this before, a long time ago. On reading it again I liked some parts a lot. I could see why the book was nearly banned, as Twain makes fun of religion, and how easily people are led and will believe anything. It’s clear from the story what he thinks of slavery. And it’s funny how he lets Huck decides he can’t denounce Jim, while at the same time condemning himself, thinking he’ll go to hell.

In other places I thought it really too long-winded, and especially the last part where Tom Sawyer shows up was really too much.

But overall it’s interesting, and it feels really fresh, not old-fashioned or dated. Huck is fun, he has his own way of looking at things, and makes the reader see too.

6. De Achterblijvers by Anne Vroegindeweij (Dutch, audio) ****

Anne Vroegindeweij is a LongCovid sufferer. She talks about what happened to her, and this forgotten pandemic. The patients are now finally getting some recognition, but at first doctors didn’t know what was going on. Information didn’t seem to reach them, a lot wasn’t known or recognized. This made the situation for patients really difficult. I know people who have LC now, but I also have a friend who had ME for a long time. Their situation is similar. So this was interesting to read. Post infection syndromes as a whole are being recognized now, and the similarities are being seen. Hoping for better treatment, but the first step is that the problem is not denied any longer.

7. The Lantern Bearers by Rosemary Sutcliff (UK) ****1/2



"Instead of leaving with the last of the Roman legions, Aquila, a young officer, decides that his loyalties lie with Britain, and he eventually joins the forces of the Roman-British leader Ambrosius to fight against the Saxon hordes."

I thought this was beautifully written. Aquila and his sister, at the start of the book. The atmosphere of their house, the apple orchard. There was something very melancholy about it.
The book is set right after the end of the Pax Romana. I read it for Paul’s War Room Challenge. Of course the Roman time has ended, but you can see here how important it was, and what this time of peace has meant.
Britain is being overrun by Saxons here. I liked the interlude where it becomes clear what was the background of these invasions.
Important theme is loyalty and ties. Aquila makes his peace in the end.

Another Huck Finn fan here. And a LC sufferer -- hope they find some treatments soon. And >65 EllaTim: Nice review -- I like how my friends push me to read outside my comfort zone. : )

>66 Berly: Hi Kim. Like minds eh?
I do hope they find treatments, and that we will decide to stop spreading the virus.

The Lantern Bearers was outside of my comfort zone as well. A battle scene! And so well described that I could feel why war and fighting can be attractive to people, and even addictive in a way.
I looked up the writer, Rosemary Sutcliff. Very surprising that she has spent most of her life in a wheelchair.

I started The Iliad again. I got stuck in it earlier, and couldn’t get through. Now I have found a new dutch translation, by Imme Dros. What a surprise! Her translation is set in rhythm, like the Greek one. It just pulls you along, making reading it easy and fresh.

Her translation of Achilles words against king Agamemnon is funny, and I find myself cheering him on.

“Koning volksuitzuiger! Je heerst over sukkels en stakkers,”

Not meaning that it doesn’t take an effort sometimes.

I listened to an interview with Imme Dros on radio. She talked about translating, and how she found herself thinking about a translation laying in bed, and sometimes waking up with the right words. I can see how it must have been a joy to her.

Happened on a wonderful site, artist Jackie Morris.
https://www.jackiemorris.co.uk/

For anyone who loves nature, books and painting!

She was the illustrator for The Lost Words by Robert MacFarlane.

Saw the newest book by Peter Frankopan in the bookshop. It’s massive. Also very tempting, for a book lover. A beautiful cover, and the side of the page also has a print, a must-have. But I have made a deal with myself to not buy any books on first view.



(Reviewers complain of the book being too detailed, also scary)

>69 EllaTim:- Jackie Morris has collaborated with MacFarlane on a number of books and is green, she is wonderful. Thanks for that link, Ella.

>71 jessibud2: Hi Shelley. Is that so? Which one do you like best? I love her art.

I’m in book three of The Iliad. I am flabbergasted. This is one of the highlights of Western Classical civilisation. A book that centuries of young schoolboys had to read. And what am I reading? 1000’s of men making war to get a woman back. Vowing not to leave until each of them has raped the wife of some Trojan warrior. Angry because this King’s property has been stolen, his wife. Fighting, and the winner will get her, and a bonus of course. Pfff, level. It’s interesting, yes. But imagine this piece of war cult, being chanted for hundreds of years, by series of bards.
Am I overreacting? Am I the only one?

>73 EllaTim: It is in fact appalling in what it says, what it says about patriarchy, and yet we see these people being people, of course mostly in the worst ways, and we recognize it.

>74 quondame: Hi Susan! O yes, we can recognize it. And not in the best way. I am going to go on reading, as it is interesting. But it has made me wonder. Epic history? Bard? Hmmm. But of course I am looking from my own cultural expectations.

>68 EllaTim: I read both Ilias and Odysseia in the translation by Imme Dros, I think she did a great job with her metric Dutch translation. I read an other translation long ago and had way more trouble getting into it.

>73 EllaTim: No you are not the only one, I wrote about Illias In 24 books the battles and internal quarrels of the Gods, Greeks and Trojans are told. Describing a lot of fights, many gruesome deaths, some history and some mythology. Mostly a good read, but the descriptions of beheadings, intestines coming out, maltreating of dead bodies etc. were a bit hard on me.

>76 FAMeulstee: Hi Anita! I agree, her translations are wonderful. I tried a different one, but couldn’t manage it.

O yes, I just came across a scene like that. Blow by blow description. Very graphic. The point is of course that this was war.

I do want to read the Odyssey.

8. Death of Faith by Donna Leon (reread)****

Another strong episode in this series. Now why do I like her writing so much? It isn’t the whodunnit aspect, it’s more there’s so much more to the books.

9. Black Hearts in Battersea by Joan Aiken (UK) ****1/2



Very entertaining follow-up of Wolves of Willoughby Chase

Simon is invited to London to learn how to paint, by his friend dr. Field. But on arrival dr. Field is nowhere to be found. He does find the Twite family, rather awful people. Dido Twite, their young neglected daughter is quite endearing though. Lots of adventures to follow, a plot to murder the King, and more. Recommended!

Caught a bug. Last Wednesday evening I think. Saturday I had to cancel a meeting. Because I didn’t feel right. Now I have this interesting gravelly voice, and I feel tired, and thirsty. Blech.
The meeting was about writing something, we’re working through the internet now. It works, but it’s no fun.

>63 EllaTim:
>65 EllaTim:
>78 EllaTim: - You are going through some great books I have loved. Huck Finn was a childhood favourite of mine. We were blessed not to study it for English (the year above did). I thus did not have my enjoyment dented by the need to write about it!

As for Black Hearts in Battersea, a great book by a great author.

>80 sirfurboy: Hi Stephen! Yes, I have been enjoying them. It’s a pity how demands from school can spoil our books for us.
I really like Joan Aiken, this book was so lively. I started out by listening to it, but as a non-native speaker of English the accents and the slang was just a bit too difficult.

Reading now, for the BAC I’ve started a book by Emma Newman: Planetfall. Starts good.
Still thinking about the AAC, Susan Sontag?

>79 EllaTim: I'm sorry to hear that, I hope you get better soon!

>81 EllaTim: Planetfall sounds interesting. I'll look forward to hearing what you thought of it.

>82 SirThomas: Hi Thomas, thanks. Feeling a bit better already.
>83 sirfurboy: I’ll keep you posted, Stephen!

Reading now:
Planetfall by Emma Newman
Ilias by Homer, making slow progress
Misleiding by Maria Adolfsson
And The Bee Sting by Paul Murray

And more reading now: I started on a book by Russell Shorto Revolution Song: A Story of American Freedom.
He tells the story of a number of individuals, one of them George Washington. I like the start.

Found the ultimate help in de-stressing: Rail-Away! A TV show that follows trains in beautiful parts of Europe. I’m watching the line from Dunrobin Castle to Thurso. Of course this leads to thoughts of holidays. …

I have to read a number of awful documents for a job I’m taking part in. Lots of text, and it’s very tiring. I’m afraid I won’t be doing a lot of other reading for the moment.

I wonder: at different times of the day I like different books. In the morning when I have more energy I can take a difficult book, but in the late evening I would love something nice and calm and soothing (pff, really). Yesterday I tried some poetry, that came close.

Am I the only one? Does it make a difference to other people?

10. Misleiding by Maria Adolfsson (Sweden) ***



English title Fatal Isles
remote island. A brutal murder. A secret hidden in the past . . . In the middle of the North Sea, between the UK and Denmark, lies the beautiful and rugged island nation of Doggerland. Detective Inspector Karen Eiken Hornby has returned to the main island, Heim?, after many years in London and has worked hard to become one of the few female police officers in Doggerland. So, when she wakes up in a hotel room next to her boss, Jounas Smeed, she knows she's made a big mistake

I picked this book from the library because of the intriguing setting in Doggerland, reminding me of the famous Doggerbank in the middle of the North Sea. But this book has nothing to do with that, it is an imaginary country where this very ordinary crime novel is set. I really don’t understand why the author chose to do that, it adds nothing.
I am not enthusiastic, the writing left me cold. I think some things were put in to make the story more interesting but I feel they didn’t really work. I don’t think I’ll be continuing this series.

I'm glad you found a good de- stressing TV show, Ella. Personally, I find I can only follow one book at a time. I supposed if I felt to stressed to read a book, I'd turn to a magazine, or even facebook.

>89 vancouverdeb: Hi Deb! Just one book at a time, huh? Maybe that’s a good idea.
Magazines, or facebook involve reading as well. I turn to Twitter, but maybe I would do better to avoid that!

Thanks for the lovely pictures on Amsterdam you linked on my thread, Ella. It's such a beautiful city! If I had the courage to fly , I would love to visit.

>91 vancouverdeb: Hi Deb. Amsterdam is still nice, though it isn’t all roses. You should here us complaining about trash and junk, Tic-Toc Rows, and rental scooters. I would love to visit Canada! So much to see and experience. But I am going to stay closer to home.

Making progress in The Bee Sting reading the part from PJ’s perspective. Not good.

Started the day reading. First some pages from The Bee Sting Imelda’s story. No punctuation, which makes for tiring reading, it has a breathless quality, and makes me feel like wanting to rush through. But you can’t, you have to force yourself to stop and look or you won’t understand what she’s saying. Annoying.

Then I read a chapter from The Ilias. Chapter 7. Quite a contrast, this is a translation in verse, very well done. It has a cadence, no rushing here, but it takes you along. Fighting again, of course, but I enjoyed this more.

And the last was a couple of pages from Revolution Song Benjamin Franklin is trying to get the thirteen colonies to unite. In the meantime a war is starting.

And now off to the jobs of the day.

Happy Friday, Ella. I hope things are going better with The Bee Sting. I should finish it tomorrow.

>95 msf59: Hi Marc! Things are going well with The Bee Sting! It’s just the no-punctuation style of Imelda’s part that made me feel tired. I will lag behind, but I am curious what everybody’s opinion will be. I am enjoying it, hearing the stories and seeing the different characters from their own perspectives.

I’ve managed to dispose of one paper folder, of old notes. Yeah! I took a book to a Little Free Library.
Very small steps, but still, something got done.

I’m going to combine culling books with setting steps.
On an earlier thread someone posted a map of Little Free Libraries of Amsterdam. There are lots of them, also in my neighborhood. So they will be my destination, and I am going to bring them books.
Started today. Found two LFL’s, but one of them is quite shoddy, and the other very small. But there are more.

Outside there are crocusses in bloom, small yellow ones. And flocks of starlings piled up in the poplar trees.

Read from The Bee Sting, finished Imelda’s part, which is almost too sad.

Exhausting job this afternoon. Stressed. Not enough time.
On a more positive note: a small walk to the nearest LFL. I donated one of my books, and took home another one. That’s the problem of course, you start browsing and finding new books.

LT doesn’t let me post?

I was looking for some nice pictures.
Birdix: https://www.birdpix.nl/album_page.php?pic_id=535363&recent=1&db=0#anchor

Beautiful shots. Worth browsing.

My neighbor called. She wants to swap houses with me. I can move to hers. She will move to mine. It’s just for a year for her, next year she can move out of town.
So nice of her! I’m grateful, it will mean much less noise and stress. And a small garden.
But the move itself will be a challenge.

>100 EllaTim: That sounds strange but then my memory is threadbare where the difficulties in your housing situation should be. I hope it works well for you.

>101 quondame: Hi Susan! No, you wouldn't know. My appartment is situated on a street with small shops, and some large restaurants with outside seating. Very busy lots of noise till late at night. My neighbor lives on the other side, where it is quiet. I am grateful that she wants to do this. She will be moving away, eventually.
I do hope it will work, it is quite a step.

>102 EllaTim: While I'm a great believer in having shops and restaurants on the ground floors of buildings, that office buildings, not residences! I don't know how one goes about trading houses unless they are rentals, but here it would all get complicated with values and taxes, I'm pretty sure.

>103 quondame: Yes, that’s right. We are both renting from the same owner. And we hope it will be OK! You have to ask for approval of course.

Oh - peaceful undisturbed sleep is very important in my life!
I wish you all the best for the house swap.
On the one hand, it's easier if you stay close by and don't need a removal lorry, but on the other hand, you'll both be moving at the same time...

>100 EllaTim: I hope this works out, Ella!
Moving is always a lot of work, going to a better house would be worth the effort!

>105 SirThomas: Hi Thomas! Exactly! Well we don’t have to do it all at once. We just have to think it through before we start.

>106 FAMeulstee: Hi Anita. Yes it is a lot of work. But we can get help.

How fabulous that you can switch apartments with your neighbour to quieter place. I've always thought it looked cool to live about shops, but I guess you would want it to be a quiet shop/ shops. My niece is living in a rented apartment with a friend while she is at university here in Vancouver, but the shops below her are quiet, like a shop that sell tea and tea-ware, that sort of thing. She lives across from a grocery store and since neither she nor her roommate have access to a car, they find it very handy.

>108 vancouverdeb: Hi Deb! Yes, it’s a big difference. I would like to live above a tea-shop! That was what our street was like, small shops, greengrocer, bakery. But now it’s too big café/restaurants on both sides. 350 places outside on the pavement. That’s a lot of noise every day.

I’ll be working on culling paperwork. I had to move twice, ten years ago, and had too many boxes then. I don’t want that now. So today I selected more than a kilo of paper. For the bin. Three books for the thrift shop. And some small stuff.

And I finished:
11. Arrows of the Queen by Mercedes Lackey ***

A reread. Light reading because I felt tired.

Later I read the next two in this series.

12. Arrow’s flight by Mercedes Lackey (fantasy) ***
And
13. Arrow’s Fall by Mercedes Lackey ***

Light and easy reading, even a bit boring. Just nice when you are tired and not up to anything taxing.

I bought a book. Of course. Just a small visit to Scheltema. Marc kept himself in check just buying some nice postcards. But I bought a cookbook. I’m clearing stuff, old cookbooks, and I have to buy a new one!
Ons Foodsaver Boek

Very useful boek giving ways to use every last scrap of food in creative ways.

Hope the apartment switch actually happens for you!! Good luck with the paper purge. : )

>111 Berly: Thanks Kim! Both will take time, I think.

I have been really tired again. Reading light and easy stuff. Today the weather was good. So we have been to the allotment. Pruning berry shrubs. Birds singing. Tomorrow another rainy day, so more time to read.

>109 EllaTim: I would like to live above a bookshop, Ella. I would cut out a secret hole in the floor and have midnight reading parties!!

Have a restful weekend. x

>110 EllaTim: That book sounds right up my alley. I hope you enjoy it and it's of practical use.

>113 PaulCranswick: Hi Paul! Fabulous idea, the midnight reading parties sound great as well.

>114 Tess_W: Hi Tess. Lots of good ideas to handle leftovers. It is a translation of an English language book, but I think from Australia. The one thing I liked less, as there is an emphasis on the kind of fruits that I can’t grow in my garden. But apart from that it’s really useful.

Culled some old computer books. Like a kilo of book. Too old for anything than the paper bin.

Best of luck switching places with your neighbor! Also love your project of bringing books you've finished to local Little Free Libraries.

>100 EllaTim: What a nice thing to do! I hope the new location will provide you with more peace and quiet than the one you are in now.

Hoping your weekend is a good one so far, Ella.

>116 bell7: Hi Mary, thanks. We’ve finished the first step. Now for the actual permission.

>117 figsfromthistle: Hi Anita. It is really nice of her. And it won’t be totally quiet, but a lot better I hope.

>118 PaulCranswick: Hi Paul! Thanks. I have overworked myself yesterday at the allotment. But today I spent reading and recovering, and I just finished my first five star book of the year, so I am happy.

14. Bel Canto by Ann Patchett (USA) *****



A Japanese businessman, his translator, the opera star they came to listen to, and a whole set of other people who came to the mansion of the vice-president of an unnamed south-American country are held hostage by a group of terrorists.
The situation is frightening at first but slowly the hostages find ways to deal with it. The opera star starts rehearsing again, and people fall in love with her and her music. Time seems to stand still in the house, while they are negotiating and nothing happens. Love, music, people.
This was a beautiful story that made me cry at some points, but also made me smile, and even laugh.
I think this one will stick with me.

Having a reading dip. I got stuck in The Bee Sting. Unrelenting depressive, and feeling like heading for worse.
I really started to long for lichter fare.
Today a day working at the allotment. Tomorrow recouperating at home.

I'm sorry to hear that, I hope you feel better soon!

Hi Thomas, thank you! I have to be more careful, it seems.

Reading Caste now. Some of it familiar. Just read a part where she writes about contamination obsessions. So strange. In India ‘untouchables’ had to wipe the floor where they had been walking, to keep it clean for higher caste people. One could explain that because Dalits are doing the dirty jobs. In America swimming pools reserved for white people. Disturbing, we are such strange animals.

I’m rereading Mercedes Lackey.

15. Magic’s Pawn ***
16. Magic’s Promise ***
17. Magic’s Price ***



This is a series: Valdemar, the last Herald-Mage.
Al revolving around Vanyel, who in the first book, is a teenage boy, being bullied and unhappy in his home.
Of course he finds a new home as a Herald. This is the common theme in the Valdemar books. And he finds love, and loses it again.
No great literature, but enjoyable, with a sweet ending here.

I’m not feeling too great, not up to a lot at the moment. Rereading Mercedes Lackey is a bit like eating comfort food. Comforting, not too tiring. I think I need it.

I was scrolling through the list of earlier winners of the Women’s Prize, here:

https://www.librarything.com/award/1353.1/Womens-Prize-for-Fiction-Winner

I have read some of them. Read praise for some.
I think I might try this one: The Book of Form and Emptiness

>125 EllaTim: Good for you, Ella! I hope you find something you enjoy reading. I have not read The Book of Form and Emptiness, so I can't advise. I hope you enjoy it. I'm glad you enjoyed Bel Canto so much. A great read is just the thing.

>126 vancouverdeb: Hi Deborah! A great read is just the thing, exactly. I hope you enjoy yours. I’m in the mood for something a little upbeat. But I’ll just have to try and see.

18. Maar ik ben Frederik, zei Frederik by Joke van Leeuwen (dutch) ****



Something weird happens to Frederik, during his boring office job. He turns into a small boy. And of course nobody will believe him when he tries to tell people what happened. Instead they try to luck him up, they take away his keys and his wallet. What can he do?
A sweet story where of course things end well, because this is a book for younger children.

With pictures by the author herself.

I found a reference to this, for me unknown author, and was curious. Not sorry for reading this. She has written books for a more grown up public as well, and poetry. Might try one of those next.

>128 EllaTim: You didn't know Joke van Leeuwen, Ella? I am surprised, she wrote so many good books.
Glad you enjoyed Maar ik ben Frederik, zei Frederik :-)

I recommend Iep! (Woutertje Pieterseprijs in 1997) and Bezoekjaren (Woutertje Pieterseprijs in 1999). Deesje won the Gouden Griffel in 1986 and Feest van het begin the AKO Literatuurprijs in 2013.

>129 FAMeulstee: Hi Anita! No I didn’t. I haven’t followed dutch literature much, as so often I didn’t care for it. Joke van Leeuwen was a pleasant surprise. Thanks for the recommendations. I loved her drawings as well.

Reading now: The Sunne in Splendour by Sharon Kay Penman. Recommended by Paul.
It’s a tome 891 pages, and I’m only at page 147. But it is drawing me in steadily.
Lots of names, and then the confusion of people having a name and a title, so you have to remember both! Just as challenging as any Russian novel. I did start by making a list on paper for referral.

I had a writing job, nearly finished. Exhausting work. And i made three cans of jelly, from the stock in my freezer. I have to defrost it, but there’s too much in it.

The library site is having problems playing the audiobooks. I wanted to listen, but it won’t work.

19. De Eik was hier by Bibi Dumon Tak (dutch) ****



The story of the big oak standing in the middle of highway A58. Dumon Tak gives him a voice, to tell of his history and what life is like for him. I enjoyed the conversations with the bird in his branches the most, a Jay. Jays are noisy and lively birds, so these converations were a lot of fun.

The tree was to be cut down, but it is still standing at the moment.

I started on a book by Jo Walton Farthing.
So far it’s an interesting mix of alternate history and detective novel.

20. Farthing by Jo Walton (UK) ****


Fantasy, taking place in an alternate reality. It’s 1949, Britain and Germany have made peace, Hitler is fighting Russia.
Peace is the result of negotiations by a group of politicians, the Farthing set. As a consequence they have risen to power. They are also a group of upper class people, family and friends. The novel starts out with a party that daughter Lucy is forced to attend, with her Jewish husband. During the party one member of this set is murdered, and the Jewish husband David comes under suspicion.
Slowly we find out that being Jewish is a problem in this reality. There is a detective story in the book, but there is also a political backdrop. The second gives the book it’s strength. Getting more and more claustrophobic and scary.
It’s alternate reality and fantasy but it felt very real, and realistic. I will be reading part two of this series.

Bel Canto was my first Patchett and I have been an avid fan ever since. She has never let me down. Caste was excellent. It will be a top read of the year for me.

We are doing a shared read of The Book of Form and Emptiness next month, if you would like to join us.

>134 msf59: Hi Marc! Yes, great idea. I will join you for that.

21. Pogingen iets van het leven te maken by Hendrik Groen (dutch) ****
Or Het geheime dagboek van Hendrik Groen 83 1/4 jaar

I borrowed this one from the allotment library. Finished it in one day. The secret diary of Hendrik Groen, living in a care home for the elderly. He is trying to make something of his life, not end up in complaining. He starts a club, and makes friends.
It was interesting, funny, and tragic as well.

We’re going to listen to the St. Matthew Passion this evening, invited by a friend of Marc’s. I thought it would be a good idea to start Maarten ‘t Hart’s book about Bach. Johan Sebastiaan Bach but unfortunately I didn’t like it at all. The author goes into great detail into the differences between a story from Bach’s life as described by several of his biographers. Wanting to show, I guess, that none of them are very reliable. But I don’t care about that, I wanted to read about Bach and his music. So, DNF.

I did finish the first book in the Narnia series:
22. The Magician’s Nephew (UK) ***1/2



"When Digory and Polly try to return the wicked witch Jadis to her own world, the magic gets mixed up and they all land in Narnia where they witness Aslan blessing the animals with human speech."
We witness how Narnia was created, and how the wicked witch came to be there. A charming read.

It was my bedtime story, I am also reading The Sunne in Splendour but I prefer something lighter late at night.

>137 EllaTim: The performance was beautiful, but my back started hurting during the second half. Ouch. It surely takes away from the enjoyment. I could have stayed at home, but skip a live performance?

23. Het Bloemenmeisje by Anya Niewierra (dutch, audio) ***



This is an earlier book from Anya Niewierra. I read De Camino earlier, and liked it. I like her writing style, and this was a good audio.
Still, this book was not really my cup of tea. There are lots of interesting elements in it, but she has put in so much, that I find it hard to give a summary. I think it was too much, and the book would have been more interesting if she had focussed more on one element.

24. Nettle and Bone by T. Kingfisher (USA) ****1/2



After years of seeing her sisters suffer at the hands of an abusive prince, Marra--the shy, convent-raised, third-born daughter--has finally realized that no one is coming to their rescue. No one, except for Marra herself. Seeking help from a powerful gravewitch, Marra is offered the tools to kill a prince--if she can complete three impossible tasks. But, as is the way in tales of princes, witches, and daughters, the impossible is only the beginning.

This fantasy was a lot of fun. It’s a twist from old fairy tale tropes. The Godmother, the tasks to accomplish.
Well written, and original.

Thanks to Mary (Bell7) for the recommendation on her thread.

>140 EllaTim: So glad to see you enjoyed it as much as I did!

Finishing another book by Jo Walton. Fun.

Plans for April:

A book by Barbara Pym, for the BAC

For Paul’s War Challenge, I’m planning on reading something from my own countries history. The theme for April is religious wars.

And The Book of Form and Emptiness as a joined read with Marc, and others.

25. Tooth and Claw by Jo Walton (UK) ****



A tale of contention over love and money - among dragons. Jo Walton returns with a very different kind of fantasy story: the tale of a family dealing with the death of their father, of a son who goes to law for his inheritance, a son who agonizes over his father's deathbed confession, a daughter who falls in love, a daughter who becomes involved in the abolition movement, and a daughter sacrificing herself for her husband. Except that everyone in the story is a dragon, red in tooth and claw. Here is a world of politics and train stations, of churchmen and family retainers, of courtship and country houses ... in which, on the death of an elder, family members gather to eat the body of the deceased. In which society's high-and-mighty members avail themselves of the privilege of killing and eating the weaker children, which they do with ceremony and relish, growing stronger thereby.

A really enjoyable what-if fantasy. Jo Walton has thought about what a dragon society could be like, and has managed to be very convincing.

>143 EllaTim: I love Tooth and Claw. I can just imagine the glee with which it was written!

Ella, have you and Marc been able to move from your apartment to the one that is quiet? I hope so. That will be great for both of you.

>140 EllaTim: Nettle and Bone sounds like a good one! How is the move going?

>144 quondame: Hi Susan, yes, I can imagine her chuckling over a good idea. Glad you love it too!

>145 vancouverdeb: Hi Deborah. Not yet, it takes time. We now have permission from the renters association. Then there are is some more bureaucracy, and then we can do the real move. How quiet it will be, is never completely certain, as there are people living on the floor above me. But it’s a quieter street, a room extra, and a garden!

>146 Berly: Hi Kim! Yes! I liked it a lot. The move: we are both preparing, and we’ve had an inspection of our houses. So we did a small spring cleanup. There’s some waiting now, and I will be decluttering and removing stuff. Donated my paper omnibus edition of Narnia to my neighbour, who obviously loves the book.

>147 EllaTim: : )

>147 EllaTim: Good to read you have permission for the move, Ella.
These things always take more time than anticipated. A quieter place, a garden, and an extra room are well worth all the bureaucratic trouble.

>149 FAMeulstee: Hi Anita! The bureaucratic trouble seems more or less over. Our houses have passed inspection yesterday. Now we’re breathing more easily.
I also heard that my neighbours upstairs neighbours are planning to move in the summer. They have been rather quiet. So new neighbours, could be neighbours from hell. You never know. If I could pay for it, I would be moving to that cottage in the countryside!

My neighbour is moving part of her stuff elsewhere. That’s her first step. I can then start moving my stuff into her house. And then she will move what was left of her stuff into my house. I have all summer for the move. So there will be time enough. I am going to declutter as much as possible before the move! Fifteen minutes a day, I can do it. Today I threw away part of my backlog of notes.

26. Demon Daughter by Lois McMaster Bujold (USA) ****



The latest novella in the series of Penric and Desdemona.
Still really enjoyable. A little girl accidentally acquires a young demon on board of the ship of her father. She then starts setting the ship on fire, and is thrown overboard. She is lucky enough to survive, and is taken up by Penric and his household. Who have to figure out what to do now.

A good story with a really sweet ending.

>150 EllaTim: Moving home always fills me with dread, Ella. Glad that it sort of seems to be coming together.

I also hate moving, but am so happy that this is working out for you, Ella. It will be worth the wait. It's also good that you have the time to do what you want and need to and aren't pressed for time. As for neighbours, there is an old saying that you can choose your friends but you can't choose your family. I believe that also applies to neighbours: you can choose your friends but you can't choose your neighbours! Best of luck on that front. ;-)

I'm glad that you will soon be moving. I don't enjoy moving either , but I hope it will be quieter and that you won't have any neighbours from hell. Fifteen minutes a day sound good for de-cluttering. Get stuff done, but not overwhelmed.

>151 EllaTim: I finished this novella this week too. Bittersweet since I will have to wait until another Penric tale is published. Otta's story is a good one.

Oh, how exciting that you get to move, and to an apartment that will be much better for you. Hope it all goes well with both the move and the pre-move purge.

>155 elorin: Hi Robyn. It really was lovely, and I think I missed the one before this one. Yes, the waiting, but I am glad she is still writing!

>156 PawsforThought: Hi Paws! Nice to see you here, and how are you doing? I’ll go and have a look at your thread.
Yes, and we thought we could count on it, and now they are again keeping us waiting.

I visited one of our neighborhood Little Free Libraries and found a golden oldie: Quo Vadis by Henryk Sienkiewicz. Strange how books can fall out of fashion. I couldn’t find it in the library any more when I looked for it last year.

Finished The Sharing Knife by Lois McMaster Bujold



Made up of:
27. Beguilement ****1/2
28. Legacy ****
29.
Passage****1/2
30. Horizon***1/2

I see there is one more, still to read!

I loved this series, in a post-disaster fantasy world. There’s magic, excitement, and humor. But the author shows how fantasy is suited to deal with societal issues. Here are two groups in society distrusting and resenting each other. How can anyone make them overcome these differences?
I read these four books in one go, very much recommended.

>158 EllaTim: I really liked the Sharing Knife novels, I am glad to read you liked them too.

>159 elorin: Hi Robyn. I think I like everything Ms Bujold has written. This series was new to me!

31. De Herberg met het Hoefijzer by A. den Doolaard (dutch, 1933) ***1/2



English geologist Raine is sent to Albania to look for minerals. He gets involved in a case of blood revenge, accidentally. A boy “borrows” his gun to shoot the lover of his brother’s wife. Raine meets the priest who has tried to protect the boy. Revenge has been forbidden by the authorities, the police is trying to catch the boy. And of course this all ends in tragedy.

It’s a small book, a novella, but it did make me think. Beautiful language. Who is the hero here? A stupid young boy following the silly rules of his country? (That’s what I can’t help thinking reading this).

I am trying to get rid of books, but maybe I am putting this aside for a reread later.

32. Tijl by Daniel Kehlmann (Germany) *****



” Daniel Kehlmann masterfully weaves the fates of many historical figures into this enchanting work of magical realism and adventure. This account of the seventeenth-century vagabond performer and trickster Tyll Ulenspiegel begins when he's a scrawny boy growing up in a quiet village. When his father, a miller with a secret interest in alchemy and magic, is found out by the church, Tyll is forced to flee with the baker's daughter, Nele. They find safety and companionship with a traveling performer, who teaches Tyll his trade. And so begins a journey of discovery and performance for Tyll, as he travels through a continent devastated by the Thirty Years' War and encounters along the way a hangman, a fraudulent Jesuit scholar, and the exiled King Frederick and Queen Elizabeth of Bohemia.”

A retelling of the folk stories of Tijl Uilenspiegel, set in Germany during the Thirty Years war. A troubled time. People believe in magic, and hunt witches. Tijl is the joker who makes fun of them all. The fate of King Frederick and his Queen is woven through the story.

>162 EllaTim: Glad to see you enjoyed Tijl, Ella.
Kehlmann is a good writer, I also enjoyed Het meten van de wereld, and have a few others on Mount TBR.

>163 FAMeulstee: Hi Anita! Yes, he is a good writer. He made the stories come alive. Some I had read before, but never as well written as here. Het meten van de wereld sounds interesting as well.

I’m ill, reading goes slowly. Watching TV is easier, but I did finish some books. Reviews to follow.

33. Quartet in Autumn by Barbara Pym (UK) ****1/2

” Shortlisted for the 1977 Booker Prize This is the story of four people in late middle-age - Edwin, Norman, Letty and Marcia - whose chief point of contact is that they work in the same office and they suffer the same problem - loneliness. Lovingly, poignantly, satirically and with much humour, Pym conducts us through their small lives and the facade they erect to defend themselves against the outside world. There is nevertheless an obstinate optimism in her characters, allowing them in their different ways to win through to a kind of hope.”

It took me some time to get into this story, but at some point it hooked me. There’s a lot to think about in the story. Loneliness, and starvation, literally and as a metaphor? The people in it are at my time of life (near) pensioners. So the story is a bit frightening as well.

But a book that can make you think is worth reading.

Feel better soon, Ella!

All good wishes for your health, Ella!

>166 jessibud2: Thank you Shelley!

>167 SirThomas: And you too Thomas!

A nasty bug. First my brother, then Marc, then me, then my other brother. My younger brother who had it first, suffered a heart episode as a result, heart fibrillations. That was on April 25. Thank God no serious consequences, but it was frightening for him. He has gotten over it, and has decided to start doing more of what he really likes. Stop the job he does now. Very good decision.

And now I am looking for something nice and light to read.

I own a used copy of Quartet in Autumn but I have yet to read it , Ella. I'm glad you enjoyed it. I'm so sorry you and your family have been unwell, especially your brother for whom the bug resulted in heart fibrillations. That must have been very scary. I hope you can find a nice, light , relaxing read, or some good TV. Sometimes when I am not feeling well, TV is all I feel up too.

>169 vancouverdeb: Hi Deborah! It was a good one, so maybe you’ll get to it one day?
It was really scary for my brother, but it seems to have helped him to make some decisions. He’s even talking about trying to get his drivers license again.
Thanks, and yes! I found a nice light TV program. ‘Through the Low Countries’ where they walk the Pieterpad, and then back to Belgium. Very nice.

34. Mozart in Praag by Jaroslav Seifert (Czech) **

Thirteen poems by Nobel prize winner Seifert. Translated from the Czech into Dutch.
I confess I am not a real poetry lover. Here the melancholy poems really didn’t work for me. Maybe it’s the translation, or maybe it’s me.

The two ** only mean it didn’t work for me.

I have been busy decluttering. I wanted to ask some moving companies for a cost estimation. They either want to visit or they wanted some pictures of my stuff. Ouch! I’ve got a lot of junk!
I don’t want to take a lot of junk to my new home, and have it cluttered up immediately. A lot of work, but it is worth it.

>172 EllaTim: So all is settled now for moving, Ella?
If you do the packing yourself, you can decide meanwhile what you want to take with you. You probably can get an estimate on the number of boxes you use.

We always had the same moving company, they moved us 5 times between 1988 and 2005. I wonder if they are still in business. They saw our library grow, and the number of boxes needed, through the years ;-)

>173 FAMeulstee: Five times! Having the same moving company is a good idea, knowing who you are dealing with and trusting them.

Yes, I will be doing the packing myself. But I need space to put the boxes.

I moved twice, in three months, ten years ago. House renovation. The moving company complained about the number of book boxes.

Yes, all is settled. But I don’t have to hurry, that is a good thing.

Good luck with the move/packing Ella. I know what a big chore it is and hope you are able to find someone to help you with it.

>175 figsfromthistle: Hi Anita! I will manage. I don’t have to do it all alone, my husband is helping. I will be doing most of the packing though.

Today we looked into the attic and found traces of woodworm, so that will be first priority, getting rid of the woodworm up there.

I'm glad you are moving , Ella. But yes, it is a chore. I'm thankful we have been in the same place for 23 years. So much work.

Lots of packing energy! I moved so much as an Air Force brat, that's part of why I have been in SA for so many years.

>177 vancouverdeb: Hi Deborah! I have been in my current home for a long time as well. 23 years is quite some time! I hope you love yours.

>179 EllaTim: Hi Robyn! You moved so much as a kid you now want to stay in one place? I can imagine. Being uprooted all the time doesn’t seem like fun.

35. The Book of Form and Emptiness by Ruth Ozeki (USA) ****1/2



Benny and his mother Annabelle, living through difficult times. Benny’s father has died, his mother feels guilty about it. She has developed a hoarding problem, and Benny is hearing voices. Things start to spiral out of control. Annabelle finds (or is found by) a booklet that will help her (Tidy Magic) written by a Japanese Zen monk. Benny starts visiting the Library as the only place where he feels more or less safe.

There’s a lot going on in this story, and sometimes it felt too complex. But I liked and loved parts of it. The Tidy Magic part is nicely serendipitous, as I am trying to get rid of a lot of clutter as well!

Pff, clearing out and decluttering paper archives turns out really stressfull. I know I’m not an organized kind of person, to be honest I’m just sloppy, sloppy, sloppy. Anyway, I’ve managed to clear a part.

>181 EllaTim:- I can really relate to this, Ella. My instinctive solution is Avoidance. I'm expert at that, always have been. Of course, that solves nothing, but delaying the pain.

Deep breaths...

>182 jessibud2: Hi Shelley! Yes, that’s me as well. Put it on a pile, and avoid.
Turns out my messy house is caused by me and my messy habits.
Clearing up is time consuming because of the time needed to return to calm…

So today I sorted part of the paper mess. I dumped a blanket (to the clothing container) and donated a book to the Little Free Library. And I prepared my old PC for the junk station.