MissBrangwen's First Year in Club Read - II

Hi,

my name is Mirjam! I will celebrate my tenth Thingaversary in 2022, but I only started writing in the groups/forums last year. So far I mainly posted in the Category Challenge, but I was looking for another group and really liked what I saw here.

I'm a teacher living in the north of Germany with my husband, teaching German and English in College on various levels. We have just moved to a new apartment that we absolutely love and I hope that in 2022 we will spend many hours reading there.

My reading year starts on Christmas Eve, so it runs from Dec 24 to Dec 23.

I am happy to be here and look forward to meeting you all and discovering what you read!

ETA Aug 22:
Time for a new thread! I have enjoyed my first months in Club Read so much and truly feel at home here. Thank you again for making me feel so welcomed!

Currently Reading

Chronological Reading List 2022 - First Half

1. Nußknacker und Mausekönig by E.T.A. Hoffmann
2. The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien
3. Death of a Dancer by Jill McGown
4. Kartoffeln mit Stippe by Ilse Gräfin von Bredow
5. Abendglanz by Hanna Caspian
6. Far from the Madding Crowd by Thomas Hardy
7. Der Ritter mit der Web-Adresse - Walisische Panoramen by Michael Bengel
8. Lesereise Kanarische Inseln - Archipel der Glückseligkeiten by Claudia Diemar
9. Tracks by Louise Erdrich
10. Black and Blue by Ian Rankin
11. A Street Cat Named Bob by James Bowen
12. The Distant Echo by Val McDermid
13. Auf der Datumsgrenze durch die Südsee by Klaus Scherer
14. A Darker Domain by Val McDermid
15. Aquis Submersus by Theodor Storm
16. Nachtfeuer by Hanna Caspian
17. Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
18. The Lake District Murder by John Bude
19. The Garden Party and Other Stories by Katherine Mansfield
20. Still Life by Louise Penny

Chronological Reading List 2022 - Second Half

21. Das glühende Grab by Yrsa Sigurðardóttir
22. Morgenröte by Hanna Caspian
23. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban by J.K. Rowling
24. The Murders of Mrs Austin and Mrs Beale by Jill McGown
25. Inselstolz - Zwischen Strandkorb und Sturmflut ed. by Gerhard Waldherr & Uwe Bahn
26. The Lying Game by Ruth Ware
27. Malaysia - The Essential Guide to Customs & Culture by Victor King
28. The Magician's Guild by Trudi Canavan
29. The Matrimonial Advertisement by Mimi Matthews
30. A Line To Kill by Anthony Horowitz
31. The Maid by Nita Prose
32. The Dark by Emma Houghton
33. The Novice by Trudi Canavan
34. The Dig by John Preston
35. Treasures of Sutton Hoo by Gareth Williams
36. The Magician's Nephew by C.S. Lewis
37. Das kleine Friesencafé by Janne Mommsen
38. A Modest Independence by Mimi Matthews
39. Eine Halligfahrt by Theodor Storm
40. Midnight in Austenland by Shannon Hale
41. Das letzte Ritual by Yrsa Sigurðardóttir
42. Tauben fliegen auf by Melinda Nadj Abonji
43. Das gefrorene Licht by Yrsa Sigurðardóttir
44. The Welsh National Anthem - Its Story, Its Meaning by Siôn T. Jobbins
45. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire by J.K. Rowling
46. The Ruin by Dervla McTiernan
47. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix by J.K. Rowling
48. A Star Called Henry by Roddy Doyle
49. The Lifted Veil (Penguin Little Black Classics) by George Eliot
50. Tanz mit dem Engel by Åke Edwardson
51. Aunt Bessie Considers by Diana Xarissa
52. The Great Fire of London (Penguin Little Black Classics) by Samuel Pepys
53. Dame Traveler by Nastasia Yakoub
54. The Black Moth by Georgette Heyer
55. Frisch hapeziert - Die Kolumnen by Hape Kerkeling
56. Buddha - Leben, Lehre, Legende by Axel Michaels
57. The Trespasser by D.H. Lawrence
58. Bilbos Reise zum Erebor by Stefan Servos
59. His Christmas Wish by Melissa McClone
60. The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson
61. The Sense of an Ending by Julian Barnes
62. When Harry Met Harry by Sydney Smyth
63. Unterm Birnbaum by Theodor Fontane
64. Once Upon A Christmas Eve by Elizabeth Hoyt
65. A Week in December by Sebastian Faulks
66. Die eisblaue Spur by Yrsa Sigurðardóttir
67. A Jane Austen Christmas - Regency Christmas Traditions by Maria Grace

Rereading fiction

There are some wonderful novels that I haven't read in a decade or more and always mean to read again.

1. "The Lord of the Rings" by J.R.R. Tolkien
2. "A Darker Domain" by Val McDermid
3. "Pride and Prejudice" by Jane Austen
4. "Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban" by J.K. Rowling
5. "The Magician's Nephew" by C.S. Lewis
6. "A Star Called Henry" by Roddy Doyle

Series

Ongoing series

Inspector Rebus by Ian Rankin (reading in order)
- Black and Blue (8/23)

Lloyd & Hill by Jill McGown (reading in order)
- Death of a Dancer (3/14)
- The Murders of Mrs Austin and Mrs Beale (4/14)

Harry Potter by J.K. Rowling (reading in order)
- Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (3/8)
- Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (4/8)
- Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (5/8)

Hawthorne & Horowitz by Anthony Horowitz (reading in order)
- A Line To Kill (3/4)

Isle of Man Cozy Mystery by Diana Xarissa (reading in order)
- Aunt Bessie Considers (3/26)

New series

Gut Greifenau by Hanna Caspian (reading in order)
- Abendglanz (1/6)
- Nachtfeuer (2/6)
- Morgenröte (3/6)

Karen Pirie by Val McDermid (reading in order)
- The Distant Echo (1/6)
- A Darker Domain (2/6)

A Street Cat Named Bob by James Bowen (reading in order)
- A Street Cat Named Bob (1/3)

Armand Gamache by Louise Penny (reading in order)
- Still Life (1/18)

Dóra Guðmundsdóttir by Yrsa Sigurðardóttir (reading somewhat in order)
- Das letzte Ritual (1/6)
- Das gefrorene Licht (2/6)
- Das glühende Grab (3/6)
- Die eisblaue Spur (4/6)

Kyralia - The Black Magician Trilogy by Trudi Canavan (reading in order)
- The Magician's Guild (1/6) - (1/3)
- The Novice (2/6) - (2/3)

Parish Orphans of Devon by Mimi Matthews (reading in order)
- The Matrimonial Advertisement (1/4)
- A Modest Independence (2/4)

The Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis (reading in order - reread)
- The Magician's Nephew (1/7)

Cormac Reilly by Dervla McTiernan (reading in order)
- The Ruin (1/3)

The Last Roundup by Roddy Doyle (reading in order)
- A Star Called Henry (1/3)

Erik Winter by Åke Edwardson (reading in order)
- Tanz mit dem Engel (1/13)

Mountain Rescue Romance by Melissa McClone
- His Christmas Wish (1/5)

Finished and up-to-date series

Austenland by Shannon Hale
- Midnight in Austenland (2/2)

Extra

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Welcome to my new thread! :-)

Regarding covid, I am feeling a little better today!
My husband has caught it now, too, but it is not that surprising. We kept our distance, but it is not that easy in an apartment and we probably started too late. So far his symptoms are not too strong and I hope it continues to be like that!

I have a few new reading resolutions/developments that I wish to share with you!

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The first is that I got my very first kindle! I truly never ever wanted one, but on the trip to Malaysia I really started envying my husband who was able to download whatever book he felt like and start reading straight away. Before the pandemic, I bought many, many books on my trips and dragged them around like a badge of honor, but now, while I still enjoyed the shopping, the additional weight in our luggage got on my nerves, as well as the worry if everything would fit etc. So now my husband bought a new kindle for himself because he wanted a better one, anyway, and I am getting his old one, which is a bit smaller. I think it will be primarily for traveling, but who knows where this will lead. I still think I will never like it as much as paper books, but I see some of the advantages now.

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The second one is that I am abandoning my reading goal of completing my university reading list. This was a hard one because I had this goal for fifteen years, but I realized that I just don't like that list as a total anymore. There are still many titles that I wish to get to, but there are others that I would only read to complete the list, some of them very long, and no - I just won't do that. I will just pick those titles that really interest me.

I managed to find the current reading list of the University of Cologne (German Studies) online (here, you have to scroll to p. 44) - it is CONSIDERABLY shorter compared to the one from 2007, when I started my studies. On the other hand, while our list was longer (and impossible to complete during the time of studies), it didn't have a direct connection to the exams, whereas this one has, as is explained above it.

Although it is shorter, I like the new list a lot more because it includes more female writers (23 women compared to 9, and that although the new list is hundreds of titles shorter)! The lack of female writers was one reason why I started to dislike the old list, so I am happy to see that this has changed, at least a little bit. I still think that there are not enough female writers of the last ten to tweny years, and not enough writers of different cultural backgrounds, but there are two, so that's a start.

I contemplated if I should abandon my old list and use the new list from now on, but again, I don't feel like reading any other baroque texts at all, or any novel by, let’s say, Christoph Martin Wieland, so nope. But from now on I will use both lists as inspiration without any definite goal. I think that the goal of completing the list just hampered my appetite for these books, which is reflected by the fact that I didn't read anything from the list for several years, and I hope that now I will have a fresh look at German literature and just discover what I like.

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Third: I realized that I am starting so many new series, but decided that I don't care! After the slog of the last few years and all that has been happening, I just feel like new starts and new books, so why not?

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Kudos if you've made it this far, but I wanted to write this off my chest and to document it in my threads! These are milestones for me because I was always adamant against using a kindle, because I am a completist and that list meant so much to me during my studies and guided my reading for several years back then, and because I always wanted to finish series before starting new ones. But I am so proud of my progress towards reading what I want and going with the flow instead of doing what I feel I "should" do.
And sorry if my writing was a bit rambling and my syntax is a bit weird. My brain is a bit fogged by covid and I noticed that my word order has been more “German” than it usually is, which is kind of an interesting effect.

I love my kindle, especially for travel and reading in bed at night. But I also love "real" books. I simply read both ways. Most of the time I have two books going - one on my kindle and one paper book.

>15 MissBrangwen: You don't need any cheerleading, I imagine, but still—good on ya for re-evaluating those reading goals and letting go of what doesn't work for you. I've been grappling with a lot of pre-sets lately—not so much reading, but a few goals/habits that I set up early in lockdown that are good ones, and honorably aspirational, but don't need to be ironclad disciplines at this point. If I find I'm feeling bad about not being able to hit my targets every day or every week, why do that to myself? I'm not talking about work, where obviously I have a ton of goals I need to accomplish all the time, but mostly creative exercises I've set up for myself. I've been thinking a lot about how to get the fun back in my writing and art—I write for a living, which is of course wonderful, but I don't want to be that person who gives up my own work for the paycheck-generating stuff. There are enough areas of discipline in my life—I've been considering how to regenerate my sense of play, so that's been on my mind lately and it's good to hear other people's re-evaluation of what is fun and what's not over time.

And yeah, the Kindle (or any e-reader or tablet) is such a nice tool for book access. I know some folks don't like ebooks at all, but if you can stand them, it's really a game changer.

>15 MissBrangwen: Congratulations on making those great adjustments to your reading process and projects. I know some folks who are really resistant to those sorts of personal sea changes and I don't think that resistance serves them well in the long run. There is a healthy sense of achievement that comes sometimes with shaking off old paradigms and engaging in new ones that are better fits. We change as we pass through different stages in life. Why not acknowledge that and be comfortable with the ride?

Letting go of reading goals is hard and good for you for seeing that it wasn't enhancing your reading anymore. I also resisted an ereader and still vastly prefer paper books, but the ease of use is good. And nothing like being able to start reading a book at 2 am in your pajamas instead of waiting until you can get to a bookstore or library.

Glad your recovery is moving in the right direction. I'll join you in hoping your husband's experience will be short and unremarkable.

Kudos for adapting your reading - both in medium and direction. (I don’t use a Kindle, but read on my Iphone with the Kindle app…or other apps.) Glad you’re feeling better, but I’m really sorry your husband now has it. And I swear, reading this, I felt I could relate to that state you were in when you wrote it.

>16 japaul22: That sounds like a good approach!

>17 lisapeet: A little cheerleading feels good from time to time! :-) I think it is important to re-evaluate such things occasionally because otherwise one lives on autopilot... And that is something I wish to avoid.
You also mentioned "sense of play" and that made me reflect - I think it is something that has been almost completely missing from my life for years. It is a rather novel thought to me but I will ponder it!

>18 rocketjk: I completely agree with what you have written. I know many of those people, too (especially at my job!) and I don't wish to walk into that trap, although it is easier said than done and requires some work!

>19 RidgewayGirl: "And nothing like being able to start reading a book at 2 am in your pajamas instead of waiting until you can get to a bookstore or library." Exactly! And thank you for the good wishes.

>20 dchaikin: "And I swear, reading this, I felt I could relate to that state you were in when you wrote it." That is so kind of you!

>21 MissBrangwen: "although it is easier said than done and requires some work!"

Amen!

Glad that you are starting to feel better and best wishes to your husband! Just wanted to add my voice to the compliments for adapting your reading goals - it can be hard to realise that something is no longer working for you and put it aside. I hope you find new and interesting books that you enjoy! (and how interesting to see how the reading list has changed over the years)

I've had almost the opposite experience in the last year. For several years I was a completely serendipitous reader. Due to life circumstances, my reading had dropped way off, and I was only reading when I could squeeze it in and then only what was easily digested. This year I have joined the Asian Book Challenge, and also tried to participate a little in the Graphic Novel thread, Reading Globally Theme Reads, and a tribute to rebeccanyc. Wow, that's a lot! Adding structure back into my reading feels natural to me, and I like most of the books I've read, but sometimes it starts to stress me out, and I have to remember that reading is a passion, not a duty (in my case). Finding the right balance is a constantly moving target, is it not?

>24 labfs39: Im like you, still read what grabs my attention, but the Asian challenge and Reading Globally is pushing min into new territory through reading works in translation. . Found authors new to me that I want to read more of. It feels like a book group I was in a long time ago: we picked a theme then read what we wanted from it and met to discuss the reads. Its a little structure, with lots of choice along the way.And I still can read what I want along the way

>24 labfs39: I agree, it is all about the balance! Structure is a good thing to me as well and I plan to read more for my "personal projects" in the remaining months of 2022, and complete the bingo and my personal challenge from the Category Challenge. But the important aspect to me is to find a point where I have reading goals but, as you said, do not make it a duty.
I think everything is ok as long as it works for you and you are happy with it! And the discussions about this topic in this group have also shown me that it is ok if reading goals change over time, or if your reading looks like this one year and like that another year. So many others wrote about their experiences and it has helped me to become more relaxed about my reading.

>25 cindydavid4: "Its a little structure, with lots of choice along the way.And I still can read what I want along the way" This sounds like a very good balance to me. Reading more translated works will be one of my goals in the future, too!

Nice discussion about your revamped reading goals, and your decision to use an e-reader. I love the Kindles I've owned, although it took me at least a year or two, and input from close friends who owned one, after they were first introduced for me to decide to buy my first one. I like being able to borrow library e-books, and I receive daily e-mails from several sites that inform me of sales on Kindle books, which allows me to obtain books I've wanted to read but had not purchased yet.

>27 kidzdoc: I am happy to read so many positive opinions about the kindle, it makes me more confident to finally use one! Thank you for stopping by.

The Novice by Trudi Canavan was my very first book read on my kindle! I read book 1 of this series in July and couldn't wait to get to the next one.
Cover comment: Unless I didn't miss anything, there isn't any winged horse anywhere in the story, so this cover doesn't make sense at all!



Book No 33

"The Novice" by Trudi Canavan
Series: Kyralia (2), The Magician's Guild (2)
First published in 2002
HarperCollins e-books
Kindle e-book, 578pp.
Rating: 3 1/2 stars - ***°

In "The Novice", Sonea, a girl from the slums, starts her studies at the university to become a proper magician. She is the only student who is not a member of a genteel family, and the other students as well as some of the teachers are giving her a hard time. So much of this novel feels like a high school novel, mainly revolving around bullying, pranks and exams. I must say that I did not enjoy these aspects very much, mainly because it was too repetitive, because it is not what I look for in a fantasy novel, and because it was just too frustrating. The other storylines - Dannyl becoming ambassador and traveling to other countries, and of course, the dramatic plot line about the High Lord - held my attention, though, and I enjoyed these chapters very much. There are a few new characters that bring new aspects to the novel, as well, and I just felt at home in this world and rooted for my favorites.
All in all, what I wrote about book 1 goes for the second installment of this series as well: There were several things I didn't like so much, but still this is a great read and I am looking forward to continuing this series!

>29 MissBrangwen: So how was your experience reading on the Kindle? Pros/cons? I have yet to try it, although I did read a book on the kindle app on my laptop recently, which was awkward.

Oh, ugh. Yeah. Longform reading on a laptop is a _pain_, literal and figurative - I still have to do that for PDFs, which don't reflow to smaller screens. I have a Kindle but have barely used it, but I read on my phone and tablet constantly. That allows a comfortable posture (as long as I'm careful about tech neck).

>30 labfs39: All in all, it was much better than I thought, although I still clearly prefer a paper book. The kindle has its advantages, though.

Pro:
- Easy access to lots of books, no wait if you want to read the next book in a series or another book by an author you just discovered.
- The pages look better than I thought. I did not find it tiring to the eyes.
- My kindle is very small and easy to carry in my handbag, so I am taking it to places where I probably wouldn't take a book
- It is possible to adjust the size of the font and the brightness of the screen, which is good for readers who have problems with their eyes
- You can use the kindle app on your phone and it synchronizes, so if you are somewhere and need to wait but don't have your kindle, you can even read on your phone. It is good because it prevents me from wasting my time on social media!

Cons:
- It is a technical experience, not as bad as I thought, but still. I love the feel of a paper book and "switching off" while reading.
- Sometimes I want to look something up in the beginning or end of the book (such as chapter names, a map,...), and this is harder on the kindle. I dislike the way you have to do that and I always need to search for it.
- When I have read for some time or finish reading for the day, I like to have a look at how much I have read by looking at the physical book and how big each "chunk" of pages is (read - to read). No chance to do that with the kindle. It shows the percentage of how much you have read, but I hate percentages and it is not how I think.
- It is possible to highlight passages or quotes on the kindle, but there is no variation, it is just grey markings (at least on mine, but I presume that it's the same on all kindles). When I read non-fiction, I like to use different colors, to also use the margins instead of just underlining in order to mark longer parts of text, to draw arrows and exclamation marks etc. I missed that variation on the kindle. You can write notes as well, but I didn't try that function so far. Using these functions feels a little too much like using a computer to me.

I hope I didn't get anything wrong - if any longterm kindle users have any tips or corrections, feel free to chime in!

The actual reading does not feel any different to me, once I am in the story, I am in the story. And this is the most important point to me so far, and I was relieved to see that it worked!

>31 jjmcgaffey: I used the kindle app on my phone, too. I still prefer the kindle because it is more similar to paper and because the screen is bigger, but I like the possibility to use the phone as well.

Last year I repeatedly watched the teaser of the Netflix adaptation of The Dig by John Preston, simply because we were watching a lot of Netflix at the time and the teaser just came up frequently. I was enthralled at once but decided that I wanted to read the novel first. This weekend, I finally did!



Book No 34

"The Dig" by John Preston
First published in 2007
Penguin Books
Paperback, 231pp.
Rating: 4 stars - ****

"The Dig" depicts the events of the excavation of Sutton Hoo in Suffolk: The tentative, hopeful beginnings, the spectacular finds, and the fight over the treasure and where it should go. However, while it includes the important persons associated with the archeological dig, it is not a faithful account, but a novel, and it is foremost about the characters. The story is narrated by alternating voices, who narrate long parts of it before the narrator changes. Like this, it is possible to experience the events from various perspectives, each with different focus.
It is also a rather quiet and slow novel, and the atmosphere is very serious. There is always the impression of impending doom: On a large scale, because it is 1939 and war is coming, which is never dwelt on too much, but which is visible in small details and observations. Mirroring that is the small scale of the personal relations of the characters, the way some of them treat each other, their personal disappointments and failures.
All this made for a fascinating read, although I must admit that in the end, I felt that I had wanted more - a deeper insight, more of a real conclusion, or even more of an open conflict. Because of this, it left me a little unsatisfied, although that may just be what it intended.

Reading The Dig by John Preston provided the perfect opportunity to finally dig out (haha!) a book I bought ten years ago on a trip to London. On that trip, I visited the British Museum for the very first time and headed straight to the exhibition of the Sutton Hoo finds. I had first seen the famous helmet on the cover of an edition of Beowulf that I read as a teenager and was fascinated by it. When I became aware that I would be able to see that very helmet in London I was overjoyed.
The exhibition totally blew me away and I spent ages gazing at the beautiful golden objects, the intricate patterns, the strange decorations. I had never seen anything like it before.
So of course, I bought a souvenir book about this treasure and browsed it later to commemorate my visit, but today was the first time that I actually read it from beginning to finish.



Book No 35

"Treasures from Sutton Hoo" by Gareth Williams
First published in 2011
The British Museum Press
Paperback, 48pp.
Rating: 3 1/2 stars - ***°

Gareth Williams, the author of this book, is a curator of the British Museum. The book has 48 pages, so it is really only a short introduction to the Sutton Hoo finds, gathering the most important information. You could find all of this info by yourself online, but here it is neatly presented and for me it serves as a nice memento of my memorable first visit to the British Museum.
The book starts with a chapter on the discovery and excavation of Sutton Hoo and then gives a short introduction to the kingdom of the East Angles and the historical background. The next chapter presents the most important artifacts, such as the famous helmet, a large shield, and beautiful buckles. The descriptions lead to the question of who was buried there, which apparently cannot really be answered, although the most probable assumption is that it is the burial place of Rædwald, who was over-king of large parts of England and died around 625AD. The book concludes with an overview of similar excavations in England and a small description of the site as it is today.
As said above, this is a short introduction for readers who have not heard about Sutton Hoo before or who have little knowledge of the Anglo-Saxons. I liked this concise read to refresh my memory and I enjoyed the beautiful pictures of the objects, but I still wished for more. Even this short book could have included some more depth. Some of the pictures are very large and I would have preferred it if these would have been smaller to allow more pictures to be printed. The pictures could also have been explained a little more to add more detail.

Do you think you will watch the movie now? I did earlier this year and enjoyed it, but like you, ended up wanting more. I spent some time on the Internet, but it's a new area of interest for me, so I was getting the basics. Lucky you for seeing the artifacts in person!

>35 labfs39: Yes, I plan to watch the movie soon and I'm looking forward to it very much. Carey Mulligan is one of my favourite actresses, so that is another reason I'd like to watch it.

>30 labfs39: Reading via the Kindle App (on a phone, a tablet or a laptop) is really different from reading on a proper kindle (not a Fire - the Fire is a tablet). Still, I prefer to read non fiction on paper because I need to reference around the book and it is easier. Fiction? At this point I don’t care if it is on the kindle or on paper for the most part. I still like paper though :)

>32 MissBrangwen: You can add notes and not just underline - still not the same but still. I find the kindle works the best for fiction or narrative non-fiction - the books where you do not need to jump around and where formatting does not matter. (I got my first kindle shortly after I moved to the States in 2011 so I guess I count as long term user :) ). And it is a life-saver when traveling or having unclear plans with a lot of waiting time. :)

>31 jjmcgaffey: My main kindle has one of the book like covers so if I want to, I can hold it the same way I hold a book. Even when folded or when I use the other one (which is without a cover), it is still a similar grip as with a book (if anything, it is a tad more comfortable than holding a heavy book). But that may depend on how you hold your book when reading.

>33 MissBrangwen: >34 MissBrangwen: I visited the Sutton Hoo site last week. Quite interesting to see it, and the National Trust have done quite a lot to develop the site for visitors since I was there last, 30 years ago, but in the end it's still just a field with a few mounds in it. All the important artefacts are in the British Museum, but there were some replicas and a temporary exhibition with small items from the "Staffordshire Hoard" — thrilling to see the tiny scale of the workmanship. The friends I was with were talking about the film The dig, but didn't seem very impressed with it.
It was also interesting to visit the workshop of a group in Woodbridge that is trying to build a full-scale replica of the Sutton Hoo ship. They haven't got much further than the keel, as yet, but they seem to have done a lot of experiments to decide how the carpentry should work.

I read on the Kindle app on my iPad, and find it works really well for looking things up—you can highlight a word or phrase and it will take you to your browser app (Safari on my iPad, which I think is standard unless you replace it with something else) and look up whatever you want with wikipedia or the browser search. I actually find it more helpful than reading a print book when it comes to something like that—I was just mentioning Dorothy Dunnett in the Avid Reader thread, and she uses ALL these period words and references that I'd be lost without being able to look up.

As far as note-taking, I highlight passages and then paste them in my Notes app, and if I really want something elsewhere—commonplace book or wherever—I copy them later. Not as good as making notes in margins if you're used to that, but I've never been an annotator straight into books so I'd be copying things out anyway. And if it's a book or galley you own, you can highlight in different colors right in the app, and search them later. Again, that's for the Kindle app on the iPad—I haven't used a Kindle since the early black and white iterations, so I don't know what they're like these days. And really, it comes down to what feels right for you—but it can take a few books to see, and get that muscle memory of annotating/highlighting in a way that works for you.

Hello! Just catching up. Hope your finished with covid!

>34 MissBrangwen: It really is remarkable to see the Sutton Hoo treasures in person.

>39 thorold: When I visited the Sutton Hoo site the guide told us that the only reason that grave was not robbed, as most of the other graves had been, is that a later (medieval?) road had cut across the bottom of the mound. The grave robbers used to dig into the middle of the mounds, but because the shape of the mound had been changed by the road, they dug in the wrong place and assumed the grave had been robbed by someone before them. Incredible chance that the pieces survived to be found when they were!

>43 wandering_star: interesting!

>37 AnnieMod: I totally agree with you. From my little experience so far the kindle works better for reading fiction ("the books where you do not need to jump around and where formatting does not matter" - exactly!), and reading on my phone using the kindle app is different from using the kindle itself.

>39 thorold: Oh, how interesting! Thank you for mentioning the workshop, I didn't know about that. The Stafforshire Hoard is described in Treasures from Sutton Hoo, too.
"but in the end it's still just a field with a few mounds in it" - I think I know what you mean. I visited the excavation site in Nebra where the Nebra Sky Disc was found, and felt similar about it. There are markers in the field that show where different objects where found and there is a tower and a visitors centre. It is a nice place to visit, but seeing the actual disc in the historical museum in Halle was much more fascinating. I'd still very much like to visit Sutton Hoo just to see it for myself!

>40 lisapeet: Thank you for explaining how you go about it. The wikipedia feature has popped up from time to time but I haven't used it so far because there was no need to. I will keep it in mind for when I read more challenging books.
"And really, it comes down to what feels right for you—but it can take a few books to see, and get that muscle memory of annotating/highlighting in a way that works for you." Yes, that makes sense!

>41 Nickelini: >44 Nickelini: Thanks for stopping by!

>42 RidgewayGirl: It is indeed!

>43 wandering_star: How fascinating and what luck! Thank you for posting this.

I'm glad I finally caught up on your thread!
I really liked what you wrote on goals. I have shifted from no goals to too many goals and commitments this year.
I think >24 labfs39: sums it up well:

Finding the right balance is a constantly moving target, is it not?

The right balance changes with time, with what we like about reading and why we read. Each time I change my system, I think I finally got where I wanted, and then I find that it does not suit me anymore. I finally figured out the issue is not my reading system, it's what we expect from my reading that is a constantly evolving.

On the kindle issue, I do not have a kindle, but I have an ereader. I still prefer paper books, and I do agree with your cons in >32 MissBrangwen:. Most could seem trivial, but are not. Despite those cons, there are still pros:
- it's not a screen so there is not any "blue light" effect that prevents me from sleeping if I use the computer before going to bed;
- it solves my bookworm-travel-anxiety (you know, the feeling of not having enough reading material in your bag despite having a ratio of more than 100 page a day...);
- it does save a bit of bookshelve space (according to LT I would need 23 billy bookshelves for my library, and I guess you would need at least as many as I do...)
- and it allows me to read from netgalley, which has become a great source of books for me in the past couple of years.

So not ideal, but a great complement to our beloved paper books. A complement that I would not be ready to forgo now that I have used an ereader for over 5 years (and it’s actually my second ereader, as the screen of the first one aged a bit too quickly for my taste).

>46 raton-liseur: "Each time I change my system, I think I finally got where I wanted, and then I find that it does not suit me anymore." This has been my experience as well!

"it solves my bookworm-travel-anxiety (you know, the feeling of not having enough reading material in your bag despite having a ratio of more than 100 page a day...)" Exactly! This was my main reason to finally wanting a kindle. I saw how relaxed my husband was about his holiday reading, while I was all stressed about which books I should take. Then, when we were already in Malaysia, I was again a bit stressed about which books I should buy and if they would last until we came to the next bookshop... And then having to pack all these books and drag them around! It was too much and I am having no more of this. Although I am sure I will still buy books when traveling, haha!

The bookshelf space is another good point! I moved twice within the last four years and I got rid of many books in the process, but we still have twelve billies. We had some space in them one year ago when we moved here, but they are filling up more quickly than expected... We could add one additional shelf on top using the extensions that are available, but after that there is no more room at all. We downsized out of choice when we moved here and we will definitely have no more room.

"So not ideal, but a great complement to our beloved paper books"
That sums it up perfectly!

I loved "The Chronicles of Narnia" as a child and read most of those books many times. They were my introduction to fantasy and my very favourite books before I discovered Tolkien and somewhat grew out of the Narnia stories. I think that I last read them when I was about 12 years old and I have wanted to reread them for many years. Two weeks ago, I decided on a whim to just start my reread. I still have all my old German Narnia books in a box somewhere up on the shelves, but I bought a beautiful complete collection in English four years ago and I read from that one. I started with the first book in chronological order, The Magician's Nephew.



Book No 36

"The Magician's Nephew" by C.S. Lewis
Series: The Chronicles of Narnia
First published in 1955
HarperCollins
Hardcover, 71pp. (Complete collection: 524pp.)
Rating: 2 1/2 stars - **°

This complete collection is a beautiful, big hardcover book, but it was a bit hard to read. It is very heavy and there is a lot of text on each page. However, it includes the wonderful illustrations of Pauline Baynes, which I haven't seen before because they were not included in the German Narnia books of my childhood. Knowing that Pauline Baynes was J.R.R. Tolkien's favourite illustrator of his own books made them even more interesting to me.

"The Magician's Nephew" is a kind of prequel to the other Narnia stories and takes place several decades before the events of the more famous "The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe", which was the first one to be written and published. Apparently, many scholars think that the books should be read in publication order and not in chronological order and I agree with them. This prequel tells the story of Narnia's creation and how the first humans came to arrive there, and I think it takes away some of the wonder that you would usually experience when reading "The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe". So I agree that it works better to read the prequel later, to be able to fully enjoy "The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe", discovering Narnia for the first time with the Pevensie children in that one.

I clearly remember that "The Magician's Nephew" was not my favourite when I read it as a child and that I was a bit bewildered by it. It did not feel as authentic and natural as the other books. More than twenty years later, I still agree with that.
The main characters are Digory and Polly, two children living next to each other, who one day stumble into the secret room of Digory's uncle and are transported to another world by his magic rings. They ultimately end up in Narnia and witness the lion Aslan creating a new world.
The novel includes a lot of Christian elements and draws heavily from the book of Genesis and I must admit that it is all too much for me. I feel like Lewis drums those Christian messages into it with too much force. The character of Digory's uncle feels too comical to me, and altogether, many elements are rather too silly for my liking. The story feels quite fragmented sometimes because the silly elements seem to clash with the heavy topics of sin, temptation and guilt. The plot also drags a bit, which might be a consequence of the fact that Lewis took several years to write it with long breaks in-between.
Apart from that, I rather like the London setting of parts of the story, and the nostalgic feeling. It is told in retrospect, looking back to a time that is gone, and although that is sugar-coated of course, I enjoyed reading about it. The ending also makes up for a lot of aspects I didn't like, because the following Narnia stories are foreshadowed and I became all excited to read those, too.

I chose to listen to Das kleine Friesencafé (The little Frisian café) by Janne Mommsen because of its setting on the island of Föhr. While I live close to the North Sea, Föhr is still about 200km further to the north.
I moved to this region eight years ago, but I still get so excited about the sea, the wind, the salt in the air... So I had the idea of listening to some audiobooks set in this special area of Germany. Föhr is an island that I would love to visit, so this audiobook looked particularly appealing. While shallow, contemporary "chick lit" of this kind is usually not my kind of thing, I decided to give it a go because it has so many good reviews and because the author comes across as friendly and somewhat sophisticated.



Book No 37

"Das kleine Friesencafé" by Janne Mommsen
Series: Das kleine Friesencafé (1)
First published in 2022
argon hörbuch/audible
Digital audiobook, 6h 57min
Rating: 1 1/2 stars - *°

As I have stated here before, my audiobooks usually are for mere escapism. I only listen while doing household chores or getting ready for bed in the evening, and I do not mind simple or predictable stories or formulaic plots, as long as I like the characters and the audiobook keeps me entertained. However, "Das kleine Friesencafé" was too much to bear. This story got on my nerves from the first chapter. Why did I keep listening? Because I wanted to believe that there was a chance that it would get better.
The main character is Julia, a young women going on thirty, who works in her grandmother's flower shop and lives in an apartment provided by her grandmother. Her mother died when she was a baby, so when her grandmother finds a folder of paintings her mother did on the island of Föhr, Julia decides to travel there in order to visit all the places her mother painted.
Of course it is not a problem that Julia just leaves the flower shop for 8+ weeks, and of course she secures an affordable room on busy Föhr in high season at once!
Julia starts painting, hires an old barn where she exhibits her works, then she also bakes and serves drinks there, and of course love is on the horizon, too.
While the story would have been ok, I could simply not stand it because Julia is such a terrible character - entitled and spoiled, but at the same time naive and acting like a thirteen year-old, not like a woman. She expects everyone and everything to act in her favor all of the time, while patting herself on the back for doing what? Nothing! Her grandma helps her with all the things she wants to achieve time and time again, just for Julia to believe that she herself has moved mountains and that she has grown beyond herself.
On top of that, while I have never been to Föhr, I can safely say that Julia's hometown of Gelsenkirchen is painted in quite a wrong light. The cultural differences between the people from the Ruhr area and the north are exaggerated beyond measure. In the beginning, Julia acts as if she was on a dangerous mission to an "exotic" country, meeting "natives" from the "bush" that have just learned to speak German - excuse the colonial imagery, but that is exactly how she behaves. I cannot believe it, because I am quite sure that any German of her age has been to northern Germany at least once, with family or on a school trip, and if not, they would at least have seen a film or documentary and would not be surprised that the landscape is flat and that there are tides. How can she seriously be angry to find mud when there is low tide???

I wanted to give this book half a star, the lowest possible rating, but I decided to give half a star more for some nice descriptions of the island's landscape, and another half for a love story that happens in the second part of the book and that is rather sweet.

Needless to say, I will not continue with this series. I have another audiobook of this author (first book of another series) because it came for free, but I will need a long time before I will be brave enough to give it a try.

>49 MissBrangwen: Too bad your latest audiobook was a dud, especially when the setting had such promise. Ah well, what's next?

>50 labfs39: Yes, I am just happy to move on now!

>48 MissBrangwen:, >49 MissBrangwen:
I so very much enjoyed both of your posts here!

1. The Magician's Nephew - this was the first Narnia book that I read, and I discovered it for myself when I was probably 10 or 11. I loved it. And I did get the religious allegory, which I thought was quite beautiful at the time. I had read a lot of turgid, pedantic religious fiction that my relatives gave me or that I found in my church library, and so to find something that was Christian but also not terrible was a delight at the time. But the religion was only a bit of the book and I loved so much of the rest of it. Especially that scary little world with the puddles in the forest. The Magician's Nephew remains one of my favourites in the series, and I am a fan of reading it first, because that's how I read the series -- by accident.

Anyway, I've read the Narnia series 4 times . . . at that age, then when I was about 17, and then in my mid-twenties, and finally in my 30s after I'd had kids. I thought that was probably my last reading, since I'd now earned an English Lit degree and read a lot of the criticism, and also am definitely not religious anymore. But recently, I've thought that I'd reread them. I gave away my original beat up copies (with the Pauline Baynes illustrations) but have two complete other special editions. And I'm not about to give them up, so I might as well read them again. My daughters never much got into Narnia, but they did love Harry Potter, so I see the similarities. Yes, you've inspired me to reread Narnia.

2. Obviously I'm not going to read this book, but reading your comments was fun and it gives me vacation ideas! I love corners of Europe that are off the vacation track for non-Europeans, and I'd love to explore more of Germany (LOL - I've been to Germany many times -- most of them within the Frankfurt airport, so outside of 2 very short trips to Bavaria, I haven't seen any of Germany. Must fix that). Anyway, I looked up the island of Fohr and that's just a wonderfully obscure place that I want to know more about! Thank you for the introduction.

>52 Nickelini:
1. Thank you so much for relating your personal memories of the Narnia books! How special. I grew up in a religious family as well (although definitely not as strict as yours from what it sounds like), and I think I understood some of the allegory, but not the majority of it. I enjoyed the forest, too, one of my favourite parts of this particular book.

2. Bavaria is quite different from other parts of Germany as far as I can judge (I have been to Munich twice and of course Bavaria is in the media a lot). I think there are many cultural differences (concerning the customs, language, food and also mentality I guess) and the landscape is completely different as well.

The north of Germany is a very popular destination for people from all the other parts of Germany, even more so during the pandemic, so I definitely wouldn't travel there in the summer months if it can be avoided. But it is beautiful and I love living here, I cannot imagine to leave anymore. I do not even live in one of the areas considered to be very pretty, but I do like the landscape, the fresh air, the sense of openness, and the people who are more relaxed.
I think it is so cool that you looked up Föhr because of my review! There are many places in this region that I haven't visited yet, and I hope to do so in the years to come. I will be interested to see where your travels will lead you!

I started a new series, "The Parish Orphans of Devon", this summer. It was a BB from christina_reads. I listened to the first book, The Matrimonial Advertisement, narrated by Justine Eyre, and enjoyed it so much that I started the second book, A Modest Independence, right away.



Book No 38

"A Modest Independence" by Mimi Matthews
Series: Parish Orphans of Devon (2)
First published in 2019
Perfectly Proper Press ; Audible
ebook, 460pp. ; Digital audiobook, 12h 22min
Rating: 3 1/2 stars - ***° ; 2 stars - **

I was looking forward to listening to this very much, but unfortunately, the narrator had changed and the second book was narrated by Alex Wyndham. Although I tried, I couldn't warm up to his narration. His reading is so monotonous and he makes the characters sound as if they were fearful and anxious all the time. This angered me because from the first book I knew that they were not like that at all, so the narration characterized them in a different way than the actual words present them. The whole story seemed depressing now. Because of that, I switched to the ebook after listening for about two hours in total. I was much happier with that, although I must add that it was harder for me to tolerate the cheesier bits of the story when reading the written word. I was also more critical of the language, probably because I was actually concentrating on it now as opposed to just listening while doing housework.

I like the concept of this series, which is one of the reasons that made me want to continue. The orphans are four men who grew up in an orphanage in Devon as a tight knit group of friends. Each book of the series concentrates on a different man, while the others make appearances as well and there is a storyline running through all of the books (as far as I can judge after finishing half of the series).
The main characters of "A Modest Independence" are Tom Finchley, a London solicitor, and Jenny Holloway. Jenny appears in the first book because she was Lady Helena's companion. After Lady Helena married Justin Thornhill, she bequeathed a considerable sum to Jenny so that she does not have to work as a companion anymore. Although she is not terribly rich, she can afford to lead a better and independent life now. She decides to travel to India, both to have an adventure and find her own footing, and also to search for Lady Helena's brother who was pronounced dead after a gruesome battle. Because Tom was appointed to manage Jenny's financial affairs, she has to seek his council first.
I did enjoy this story because I loved the characters and Jenny is a character I can really identify with in her fight for emotional and financial independence. Like the first book of the series, this one was painstakingly researched. You can notice it throughout the book and there is an appendix vouching for it as well. I think the author succeeded in finding a balance between portraying colonial India without surrendering to racist terms and inappropriate imagery on the one hand and drawing a world that is too modern and too unrealistic on the other hand.
Unfortunately, the back and forth between Tom and Jenny became a bit too prolonged and was a little boring after some time. The story rambled on a bit because of that. I think the search for Helena's brother could have been developed in a more interesting way, too. The language appeared too modern in some instances, especially when it came to the dialogues.
Nevertheless, I still enjoyed it and look forward to continuing with the series and reading other works of this author, too.

After the disaster that was Das kleine Friesencafé, I decided to listen to the real thing when it comes to North Sea settings and chose Eine Halligfahrt by Theodor Storm, which I had added to my Audible wish list a few months earlier. This novella did not disappoint at all!
Storm is one of my favourite authors, although I have only made a dent into his numerous novellas and poems so far. There is still a lot to discover for me.



Book No 39

"Eine Halligfahrt" by Theodor Storm
First published in 1871
Naxos/Audible
Digital Audiobook, 1h 9min
Rating: 5 stars - *****

Review contains spoilers

As most of Storms novellas, "Eine Halligfahrt" is framed by a background story and told by a narrator looking back to events that have long gone.
The narrator, an advocate, recalls visiting his much older cousin who was living on a Hallig. The Halligs (Halligen) are tiny islands in the North Sea. While some have a population of a few dozen people, others are only inhabited by a handful or less. In the story, the cousin lives on an unnamed Hallig on his own and leads a lifestyle similar to that of a hermit.
The narrator travels to the Hallig together with a privy councillor's wife and her daughter, Susanne. The Hallig is presented like a dreamlike place and the trip feels like traveling to a fairytale island. Storm also refers to the legend of Rungholt, a settlement that sank due to a storm tide in the 14th century. While Rungholt most probably existed in reality, there is also a legend tied to it, namely that it was a prosperous city that sank because of the inhabitants' sins. It is said that Rungholt's church bells can still be heard below the waves.

The advocate, Susanne and her mother spend a little time in the cousin's house and it is obvious that the advocate feels drawn to Susanne. They even share an embrace on the beach, although nothing comes of it - maybe because Susanne just sought shelter from the attack of a sea bird, maybe because the narrator does not feel up to marrying a councillor's daughter.
The cousin fled from the numbing pressures of everyday life in the efficient Prussian state, he prefers the harsh beauty of the Hallig and the solace that his books and violin can provide to the companionship of his mundane contemporaries. Mirroring that, the advocate relates that he was advised to change his moustache and his clothing style in order to achieve a career, but he denies to do that.
Thus, this novella does not only show Storm's love of the North Sea, but it also criticizes the Prussian state in a subtle way.
The advocate finally leaves the Hallig and does not see Susanne again.

When his cousin dies, he inherits the violin as well as some written notes in which the cousin remembers a concert he once played, coerced by a woman called Evelin. He left her - presumably because society did not approve of the connection and because he chose to live on the Hallig - but it becomes clear that he always missed her. In the end, the reader learns that living on the Hallig - rejecting society and creating your own world - is not the solution, and it is not what Storm did, as much as he might have desired it.

This novella captivated me with its dreamlike scenes, with beautiful words and phrases to remember. The audiobook was narrated by prolific actor and voice actor Peter Groeger, who died in 2018. I have seldom listened to a text read aloud so well. I will certainly listen to this again.

After listening to Eine Halligfahrt, I became intrigued by the Rungholt story, so here are two maps from wikipedia:

The area as it was in the beginning of the 14th century:


The area as it is today (the map shows a smaller area, though):

Pellworm is a proper island, while Nordstrand is a peninsula. Hooge, Norderoog, Süderoog, Südfall and Nordstrandischmoor (connected to the mainland by a dam) are Halligs. Föhr, from my previous audiobook, is in the north.

This is supposed to be one of the remains of Rungholt, visible during low tide:

read the place names on the older map and had to smile atm" boking
hered" making me think of Baked Herring. I'll see my way out...

>56 MissBrangwen: how cool!

>56 MissBrangwen: >57 cindydavid4: Sounds good. I only know about that area from a couple of films I’ve seen about the Halligbahn to Oland and Langeneß, but it all looks very interesting. I expect you have to go there in bad weather to experience it properly.

That “city that sank because of the inhabitants' sins, where you can hear the church bells” must be a universal myth — they say the same thing about Dunwich in Suffolk, where I was a few weeks ago, and of course Ys in Brittany (Debussy’s “Cathédrale Engloutie”), and no doubt lots of other places.

I checked the audiobook service I subscribe to: needless to say, none of the three audiobooks of Eine Halligfahrt they have is the one you listened to…

>57 cindydavid4: Haha! :-) It really looks similar.

>58 dchaikin: Isn't it?

>59 thorold: Bad weather must be so frightful out there. I watched a documentary yesterday about the 2013 storm (it was called Xaver in Germany) as it was experienced on some of the Halligs and the water came up within a five meter distance to the living quarters on some of them. As much as I would like to visit a Hallig for a day, I could not at all live there permanently.

I guess you are right about the universal myth! I had not heard about Dunwich and Ys before but came across them when reading up on Rungholt.

>55 MissBrangwen: and >56 MissBrangwen: I did not read the review in details (because of the spoilers), but the books appeals to me and this story is fascinating...
It has not been translated into French, but Der Schimmelreiter, his last novel, has been and the subject seems really similar. Have you read it?

>59 thorold: I definitely thought about Ys as well, but I did not know there were so many other examples of sunk cities (and church bells still ringing), including "real life" cities. It's fascinating and adding another layer to the myth.

>61 raton-liseur: Der Schimmelreiter was the first Storm novella I read and I have read it several times. I highly recommend it, although it is a little different from Eine Halligfahrt. It is darker, but it also draws from legends and is strongly connected to the North Sea and the topic of storm tides. It has some technical details about dyke building that might be a bit boring to some readers, but I never minded it. I just love the North Sea and the atmosphere Storm creates.

I read Austenland by Shannon Hale more than ten years ago because I wanted to read it before watching the film. Well, I thought the film was quite terrible, and the book was not my absolute favourite either, but I had already bought the second book of the series and kept it to read it one day. Now I have finally read it!
I still remember most of the first book, but the second one can be read as a standalone anyway.



Book No 40

"Midnight in Austenland" by Shannon Hale
Series: Austenland (2)
First published in 2012
Bloomsbury
Paperback, 273pp.
Rating: 2 1/2 stars - **°

Charlotte is a mother in her late thirties who is the founder of several successful online businesses. Her self-esteem, which has never been great, has suffered even more because her husband left her for another woman. When she learns about Austenland, she decides to travel there in order to forget her worries and maybe, to experience a little bit of romance. So she travels from the US to Pembrook Park in England to wear Regency attire, meet handsome actors in costumes, take part in excursions to Gothic abbeys and drive around in carriages. Then a game of "Bloody Murder" turns rather serious and suddenly she might be in grave danger... Or is she just falling prey to her fantasies, like Catherine Morland?

My chief problem with this novel was that it tries to be all at once: Jane Austen Pastiche, mystery, modern love story and humorous chick-lit. I liked certain parts of it (especially some parts of the mystery and the chapters that rather seemed like a historical novel), but the change of style and tone did not work for me. It seemed like a puzzle but with mismatching parts. To me, the author tried too much in this novel and accomplished very little.
Another problem I have is that the Jane Austen setting is just a prop and it reinforces the stereotype of her novels as historical romance novels written to sell lavender soap and pink tea pots on their backs. This kind of book just doesn't do them justice. Moreover, everything feels just so fabricated - the surnames and place names sound so fake and not British or Regency at all, like someone imagining a historical Disneyland without respect for the real thing. Maybe it is supposed to be funny, but to me it is just annoying. Miss Gardenside? Mrs Cordial and Miss Charming? Grey Cloaks Abbey? No thank you.

I do not think that there will be a third Austenland novel because it has been ten years since the last one and the film apparently was quite a flop. If there is ever a third one, I will have a good look at the plot before deciding to read it or not.

>63 MissBrangwen: Oh, that Austenland movie was AWFUL and I couldn't get past the first few chapters of the book. I agree with all of the problems you noted. You or I could have done a better job!

I did, however, enjoy your comments very much

>62 MissBrangwen: You make it sound such a good book... I'll definitely order it before my next visit to the bookshop (they don't store that type of book, unfortunately, making impulsive buys difficult for me those days, sadly).

>65 raton-liseur: I hope you won't be disappointed, but even if you don't like it, it is quite a short read, so it won't steal much of your time :-)

>66 MissBrangwen: I'll let you know (although it might be some time before I actually read it!).

I started this series by Yrsa Sigurðardóttir earlier this year, but accidentally read book 3 first. Now I followed up with book 1, Das letzte Ritual. The title of the English translation is "Last Rituals". The main character is called Thóra in the English version, but it is Dóra in the German version, so I am sticking to that one because otherwise I will be confused.



Book No 41

"Das letzte Ritual" by Yrsa Sigurðardóttir
Series: Thóra Guðmundsdóttir (1)
Original Title: Þriðja táknið
First published in 2005
S. Fischer Verlag
Paperback, 384pp.
Rating: 3 1/2 stars - ***°

This crime novel is set in Reykjavik where a German student is found dead in the university. The body is in a gruesome state, but the murderer is arrested shortly after. However, the wealthy parents of the victim believe that the wrong man has been arrested. Dóra, a divorced lawyer and mom of two children, is asked by them to investigate and find the real murderer. She teams up with their handsome German employee Matthias and dives deep into the history of the Icelandic witch trials. The victim was fascinated by this topic and was researching it for a thesis, and it seems like his death might be connected to this dark topic.

"Das letzte Ritual" was an easy and quick read that kept me interested. I like Dóra as a main character and I enjoyed the mystery and the various twists. The parts involving her private life did not divert from the plot of the book, but enhanced the characterization.
What I did not like (once again - it was the same in book 3) was the constant body shaming and comments on people's looks and figures. Some of the other characters were also rather flat and stereotypical. I cannot comment on the background of the witch trials, but it seemed a little too "Dan Brown" to me and I wonder which parts of it were historical facts and which were fabricated for the sake of the novel. But then, this topic is altogether too dreadful and I am not inclined to dive further, so I will probably not find out.

>63 MissBrangwen: I'm a sucker for any modern reimagining of an Austen novel and most of them are terrible, so I enjoyed the Austenland books as being at least coherent and well-written. My bar is very low. I have not seen the Austenland movie and so I think I will do so as soon as possible (my bar here is likewise very low. I liked the newest version of Persuasion, watching it as more a movie tangentially related to the book than as a faithful adaptation).

>69 RidgewayGirl: LOL my bar is usually very low with those as well, but sometimes I just get irritated by them. Austenland was even one that I loved to hate. Maybe it comes down to my mood

>69 RidgewayGirl: >70 Nickelini: I haven't read any other modern versions, so I cannot compare Austenland to other novels.
"watching it as more a movie tangentially related to the book than as a faithful adaptation." I think that is a good approach - it is how I will view the new Tolkien series when I finally watch it.

Tauben fliegen auf by Melinda Nadj Abonji (available in English as Fly Away, Pigeon) had been on my wish list for a long time. When I had to choose two books from a list of four for a new course that I will be teaching this term, and saw that this novel was on the list, I naturally chose it. It took me a long time to read it, because I took so many notes, but also because it raised many emotions and sometimes I did not feel up to it. But it was definitely not the novel's fault - now that I have finally finished I can say that it is a great novel and I am so glad that I finally got to it. I am looking forward to teaching it and to hearing the perspectives of my students!



Book No 42

"Tauben fliegen auf" by Melinda Nadj Abonji
First published in 2010
dtv
Paperback, 315pp.
Rating: 5 stars - *****

The author, Melinda Nadj Abonji, was born in Vojvodina when it was still a part of Yugoslavia. Today it is a part of Serbia. The family belonged to the Hungarian minority of the region and moved to Switzerland in the 1970s. Ildíko, the narrator of the novel, has a similar life story - although it is not an autobiography, there are definitely some parallels. And this small list of places might already show the reader that the question of belonging, of identity, is central to this novel and that it might not be easy to find an answer.

Ildíko tells her story in a stream of consciousness: Her old home in Vojvodina, and her wish that nothing will ever change there, and that her grandmother will always be there in her old house, a safe haven and anchor. There are those long-awaited visits home, full of bliss, but also of new disappointments when Ildíko and her sister learn that indeed they have changed, their perspective has changed, and they are seen in a different light now.
The parents' hopes when they come to Switzerland, disappointment and sorrow, feelings of guilt, fears because of the war. Above everything, there is the pressure to conform, to fit in, not to stand out - because it is the only way Ildíko's parents can see in order not to lose the only chance they have, the chance to build a life in this new country. But Ildíko and her sister slowly realize that it is not their way and that, like pigeons, they have to fly, to find their new identity in the in-between.

Chapter after chapter the reader gets more glimpses into Ildíko's everyday life, from one time of her life or the other: Parties and political discussions back in Vojvodina, the casual racism of the customers in the family's restaurant, conservations with her parents trying to make them understand her point of view, new freedoms, but also new conflicts. The stream of consciousness and many flash backs and time warps made it a bit hard to get into the narration at first, but after some time, I settled into it and appreciated the way the author tells this story: Directly, raw and emotional.

I feel like I cannot do this novel justice in my review, but I want to end with the statement that it will stay with me for a very long time.

>72 MissBrangwen: sounds terrific. What is the name of the course you will be teaching? (Well, the English equivalent of the name)

>73 dchaikin: The course is called "Narrated Identity". I usually get only a little say in what courses I get to teach, and I am very happy with this one! I think it is a bit revolutionary in Germany to teach literature like this for the Abitur (A levels/university entrance certificate).

>74 MissBrangwen: I had forgotten you were a teacher. This sounds like a fun course to teach or take.

I finished another installment of the Thóra Guðmundsdóttir series by Yrsa Sigurðardóttir: Das gefrorene Licht. After reading the first and third book earlier this year, I now read the second one, so I am finally caught up and will be able to continue the series in order.
This novel is available in English as "My Soul To Take". The main character is called Thóra in the English translation, but it is Dóra in the German one, so as before, I am sticking to Dóra.



Book No 43

"Das gefrorene Licht" by Yrsa Sigurðardóttir
Series: Thóra Guðmundsdóttir (2)
Original Title: Sér grefur gröf
First published in 2006
btb
e-book, 414pp.
Rating: 3 stars - ***

This crime novel sees Dóra, a divorced lawyer, traveling to the Icelandic coast where she stays in a hotel offering all kinds of esoteric services. The hotel's owner wants her to investigate a possible breach of contract concerning the sale of the land. He believes that the place is haunted. Dóra does not believe in ghosts, but she agrees to have a look at the problems because she could do with a little holiday... Her holiday turns out a bit more stressful than expected when the hotel's architect is found dead on the beach. Is the murder connected to a wartime story that Dóra finds some hints to? Is all this about land and money? Or is there really a ghost, returning from the dead each night?

It is hard for me to rate this novel because while I loved the setting and the case, Dóra got on my nerves in this one, as did her private life. In my view, her relationship to Matthias, a German banker whom she meets in book 1, is strange in this novel, and he adds nothing to the story. To my mind, Dóra acts weird about him, and the added plot line of her children just seems like a distraction and is over the top. This caused my enjoyment of the novel to dwindle, although I am not sure if some of it is down to the translation (the jokes, for example, might come across differently in Icelandic or English).
In contrast, I adored the bleak seaside setting, the rocky beach, the old farms with their desolate buildings and dark secrets. Although I am not an experienced reader of the genre, I believe that this setting is nordic noir at its best. The background stories of revenants and superstitions add to the eerie atmosphere.
The characters seemed very real to me and I enjoyed uncovering the secrets and different layers of this place's history with Dóra. However, I do think that the plot could have played out a little better and the investigation could have been more interesting. I was hoping for a little more excitement.

I will definitely continue with this series, although maybe not too soon because I need a break now after reading the first three books in a relatively short time frame.

On my first trip to Wales (in 2012) I spent St David's Day in Cardiff. I walked around the city enjoying the festive atmosphere, when I arrived on a square full of people who started to sing the Welsh anthem. I have never really been one for national anthems, and nationalism of any kind is not something that is close to me - but experiencing the singing of Hen Wlad fy Nhadau that day in Cardiff was one of my best travel moments. The memory still gives me goosebumps. It was simply beautiful. This anthem has been my favourite anthem ever since.
Four years later I traveled to Wales again and spotted a small book about the anthem in the souvenir shop of Pembroke Castle which of course I had to buy: The Welsh National Anthem - Its Story, Its Meaning by Siôn T. Jobbins. Today I finally read it because Reading Through Time's monthly topic is music and all the other books I could read for this topic are far too long for me to commit to them right now. So I traveled back to Wales in my mind and spent the evening with this interesting book.



Book No 44

"The Welsh National Anthem - Its Story, Its Meaning" by Siôn T. Jobbins
First published in 2013
Y Lolfa
Paperback, 62pp.
Rating: 4 stars - ****

This is a very short book and a quick read, but it still manages to pack quite a lot of content. After a short introduction, the author starts by the creation of the original song, its development and how it gained the form it has today. He then traces its history through concerts, rugby and football matches and other events until it was established as the official national anthem of Wales. There is a short chapter on the composers, Evan and James James (yes, that is his name!), and another one on versions of this anthem in other countries and nations. The last chapter is a line by line explanation and interpretation of the anthem, followed by a sheet of music, the Welsh text, an English translation and a phonetic version.

I read this book with interest and while I have some basic knowledge of Welsh history, I learned some interesting facts that I did not know about and refreshed my memory of other aspects. The book is entertaining but not sloppy. The author is one of the co-founders of YesCymru, so of course he has a strong viewpoint of Welsh independence and especially the Welsh language. He does not hide that he is not an admirer of the British Royal Family. I found it interesting to learn about his points of view in the light of the discussions following Prince William becoming the new Prince of Wales.

>77 MissBrangwen: that sounds oddly fascinating. Great post.

>78 dchaikin: Thanks, Dan! I was fascinated by it, too.

>77 MissBrangwen: What a great little find

Great review of The Welsh National Anthem, Mirjam. I'll have to ask my friend Paul Harris (Polaris-), a formerly active member of Club Read who lives in Wales, if he has heard of and read this book.

>80 labfs39: I though so, too!

>81 kidzdoc: Thank you! I have never spoken to Paul but his nickname seems familiar to me.

>82 MissBrangwen: You're welcome! I saw Paul regularly when I visited London, at least once a year, although I haven't traveled there since 2018, but we still keep in close contact on Facebook.

>77 MissBrangwen: An interesting little book!
The (unofficial) anthem for Brittany is "Bro Goz Ma Zadou" (old land of my fathers). It was composed in 1897, clearly based on the Welsh anthem.
Same as you, I am not into nationalism, but I understand the goosebump effect...

>84 raton-liseur: "Bro Goz Ma Zadou" is mentioned in the book, too!

Enjoy your trip to Ireland!

>86 labfs39: Thank you, Lisa!

Very belatedly trying to catch up with people's threads. Will you be in Northern Ireland on your travels? Let me know if so!

Going back a bit, I enjoyed your review of The Dig. I really enjoyed the film, so this is one I might add to my towering list.

>88 AlisonY: Thanks for stopping by! No, we will not go to Northern Ireland on this trip, we are only visiting the southwest and Dublin.
I went to Belfast and Giant’s Causeway in 2013 and enjoyed it a lot, and I do hope to explore more of Northern Ireland in the future!

I haven‘t watched the film of The Dig yet - I don‘t know why, probably some things got in the way - but I really want to. Thank you for reminding me!

>89 MissBrangwen: Enjoy your trip!

>55 MissBrangwen: Too bad that it does not seem to have been translated into English (and my German is really not up for listening/reading a complete these days). Scratch that - it had been translated in Hans and Heinz Kirch: with Immense and Journey to a Hallig. Never heard of the author but he sounds interesting so thanks... I think.

>63 MissBrangwen: I had been looking at this series for awhile and it did sound a bit muddled in what it is supposed to be. While that can sometimes work, usually it does not. Sounds like I am not missing much.

>68 MissBrangwen: I really really need to get back to this series (and probably start it again as it had been more than a decade since I read any of them). She was my introduction to Icelandic crime fiction but somehow she managed to get lost in my reading (which happens a lot to authors I like and I am trying to fix that).

>72 MissBrangwen: Fly Away, Pigeon sounds fascinating although growing up during that war, essentially next door, makes me a bit cynical about books which touch on that specific time and space.

>77 MissBrangwen: I really enjoyed your story and the review. I like books like that - there is something oddly fascinating in reading about things you never thought you want to know more about (and no, Wikipedia does not count).

And I think I am all caught up here :)

>91 AnnieMod:

Oh great, you managed to find an English version of the Hallig novella! I did not, but then I don't remember if I really went looking. Immensee is another one I loved, but I haven't read Hans and Heinz Kirch yet - I don't think the title sounds appealing, to be honest! Although I have it on the shelf and will get to it sooner or later.

Yrsa Sigurðardóttir was my introduction to Icelandic crime fiction, too, and the only one I've read so far.

Thanks for stopping by and taking the time to catch up!

Hi all,

I am back from the trip to Ireland! It was a wonderful trip! We stayed in Killarney for eight days and then drove to Dublin to spend four days there. It was my third trip to Ireland, but my husband's first, and fortunately he loved it just as much as I do. For me, it was the first time traveling around by car (something I am still getting used to because until 2018, when we became a couple, I did all my trips solo and relied on public transport and sometimes guided tours).

Yesterday we visited the Museum of Literature Ireland which was a very good museum. I haven't been before but I recommend it if you ever get to Dublin. It is modern and immersive, but not overdone, and apart from the obvious big names it includes oral literature, translations, connections to Scotland and more.

I also managed to read quite a lot on this trip, and have a few reviews to write! And of course many threads to catch up on!

>93 MissBrangwen: I'm so glad you had a good trip! I love travelling by car as it allows for unscheduled stops and getting off the beaten path, but like you when I travelled solo I went by train/bike. The museum sounds interesting.

>93 MissBrangwen: Congratulations on having a wonderful Ireland vacation with your husband. I've been there three times, now. Twice on my own in the "dark before days," (i.e., before I met my wife) and once, just a few years back, with her. I love it there and would like to go back at least once more. That museum sounds terrific. Cheers!

>94 labfs39: "I love travelling by car as it allows for unscheduled stops and getting off the beaten path" Exactly! It made this trip so much different from the ones I took before.

>95 rocketjk: The expression "dark before days" made me smile :-) I hope you will make it back to Ireland in the future and have another wonderful trip!

I have one review still to write from before the trip: I read Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. As I have explained earlier, it is my goal to read through all the Harry Potter novels before February because then I will go and watch the play, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, in Hamburg with my husband and my younger cousin. We bought the tickets way back in 2019 and now we can finally go and watch it. My husband and I would not buy them now, but we did not know about the author's views back then and we do not want to drop out now for various reasons.
This was the first time that I read this book.



Book No 45

"Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire" by J.K. Rowling
Series: Harry Potter (4)
First published in 2000
Bloomsbury
Paperback, 617pp.
Rating: 4 stars - ****

I thoroughly enjoyed "Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire", although not as much as the previous books of the series. There were several reasons for this.
First, the story revolves around the triwizard tournament so much, and a lot of the plot has just to do with school and teenage worries, and that simply is not my cup of tea, at least when it is told excessively as it is here. For long parts, it felt like any high school novel, and I am not interested in reading about that (probably because it is pretty much part of my everyday fare as a teacher, depending on which classes I teach in a given year).
Second, in this book there is a lot of conflict between the members of the golden trio, and while I understand that this is all a part of growing up, I simply did not enjoy reading about it and found it to be frustrating. I also felt that because of this, other emotions were lacking that I enjoyed reading about in the previous books.
Third, there is the body shaming that has been in all of the books, but in this one it is even more prominent and disturbing. I also honestly do not like stupid people being compared to pigs because pigs are highly intelligent animals and I also think that they are very cute.
Apart from these aspects that I did not enjoy, it was a good read, which makes me still rate it four stars - Hogwarts is still a place to come home to, it is a feel good novel providing cosy vibes and there are some interesting new characters, too. The story darkens considerably now as the threats grow more serious.
I read this within two days although it has more than 600 pages - the pages just flew!

This was the first trip where, apart from one "emergency book", I only took my new kindle to save on luggage space and weight and to be able to instantly read what I wanted. When we had arrived, I wished to read a crime novel set in Ireland and found a blogpost listing several options. The Ruin by Dervla McTiernan appealed to me at once and it did not disappoint at all.



Book No 46

"The Ruin" by Dervla McTiernan
Series: Cormac Reilly (1)
First published in 2018
Sphere
ebook, 380pp.
Rating: 4 1/2 stars - ****°

Cormac Reilly has recently relocated to Galway from Dublin, where he was a member of a highly specialized unit. Now he has to get used to working in a rather usual station again and needs to adapt to a new team. So far, he has only been assigned cold cases, which is rather boring, until one pops up that was his own case many years ago... One chilly night, he was sent to a disrepaired house where the mother of two neglected children had died, apparently from a drug overdose. Reilly traveled to the hospital with the two pitiful children, only for one of them to disappear and never to be found again.

The other main character is Aisling Conroy, a young doctor hoping for a glittering career, when her boyfriend is found dead in the Corrib river. His death is quickly ruled a suicide. Aisling cannot really believe that, but does not see any other way. She throws herself into her work again and tries to come to terms with what happened, but then things take a turn...

This novel totally gripped me and the characters and events haunted me whenever I was not reading. I liked how the author combined two genres - it is one part police procedural and one part thriller, and the cold case part as well as the recent mystery are equally compelling. The only aspect that I found wanting was the ending because it felt a bit too rushed, as if the author suddenly had the need to finish. It could have been a bit longer and more detailed.

The Galway/Ireland setting is something out of the ordinary, at least for me. The author also succeeds in introducing social topics and aspects of Irish history into the novel without overdoing it or overshadowing the plot or the characters.

I am happy that I discovered this series and hope to read the second installment soon!

Next, I continued with my Harry Potter project. This was a spontaneous decision because the mood just felt right for the long read of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. As I had not brought it with me, my husband shared his kindle version with me via our 'Kindle family library' (don't ask me, he set it all up!).



Book No 47

"Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix" by J.K. Rowling
Series: Harry Potter (5)
First published in 2003
Pottermore Publishing
ebook, 800pp.
Rating: 4 1/2 stars - ****°

I don't really like the cover of the kindle edition, so here is the cover of my Bloomsbury paperback edition as well (it is from a beautiful boxed set that I bought in 2015). I think that the depiction of the ghostly horses is rather well done in this one.



I was surprised when I started "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix" because for the first time, the story starts rather differently to the others and Harry only travels to Hogwarts after nine chapters and more than 150 pages. I really enjoyed the beginning, though, and could hardly stop reading once I had started.

Continuing, Dolores Umbridge is a powerful new character and apart from what she adds to the plot, I think the interesting aspect that she adds is the question of what the real job and function of a teacher is. (I could say so much on this from my everyday experience and many conflicts with some of my colleagues who, like her, relish the power that our occupation gives us, but I refrain from it because it truly makes my blood boil.)

Of course this book is the fifth installment and by now there are several plot lines, many characters and numerous important aspects, and I feel like sometimes the author has a few problems holding it all together, so the reading experience feels a bit hectic from time to time, like you need to jump from this to that, back and forth between so many things. There are a few aspects that I would have liked to read more about and that seem to be forgotten. For example, Harry does not even seem to miss Quidditch that much - I would have liked to see more of his feelings after he is not allowed to play it anymore. It must hurt him a lot, especially when he visits a game for the first time, but this is not really mentioned.

What stood out most to me is that in this novel, Harry learns that the grownups he has come to love and admire are not able to fix every problem that arises. In the first books, whenever Dumbledore or McGonagall appear, Harry (and the reader) knows: Everything will be alright now.
That is not the case anymore in this book. The adults struggle just as much as the young people do, they fail and make mistakes and sometimes they are not sure what the right way is. To realize this is a part of growing up.

Well, I feel that this is not a concise review but rather just my rambling thoughts, but there you go.

I first read A Star Called Henry by Roddy Doyle when the German translation was published in 2000. I was fourteen or fifteen at the time and was a bit disappointed. My mom worked in a bookshop and had given it to me because I loved the Maeve Binchy novels and devoured all books set in Celtic places, but I must admit that A Star Called Henry went right over my head at the time, even though I had a basic knowledge of Irish history.
Looking for more novels set in Ireland but not wanting to read another crime novel, I came across this one and figured that it was time for the reread I had long envisioned, so I downloaded the original version to my kindle.



Book No 48

"A Star Called Henry" by Roddy Doyle
Series: The Last Roundup (1)
First published in 1999
Vintage
ebook, 341pp.
Rating: 4 stars - ****

"A Star Called Henry" starts brilliantly. In the first part Henry remembers his childhood as a poor boy living in the slums of Dublin in the early 1900s. He narrates it tongue in cheek, unreliable, not sparing any details, but still full of heart and funny. The text is the saddest I have read for some time, but still I laughed out loud quite often.
In the next part, Henry is older and is caught up in the Easter Rising, and the subsequent parts deal with how the Irish revolution plays out and Henry's role in it. I am not writing in more detail to avoid spoilers.
In these parts, Henry is still the cheeky, courageous and overly self-assured person he once was, but I became a bit tired of this after a while and would have liked to see more development. There are a lot of sex scenes and also a lot of violence, and while I understand that this is a part of the story and the characterization, it was a bit too much for me.
The historical details play a big role as well and help paint a vivid picture of the time, although sometimes I got tired of some of the military (or rather paramilitary) aspects.
Still, Henry is one of the most memorable characters I have read about so far. Doyle's usage of language is dazzling, and the dialogues are witty and poignant. I hope to read much more of this writer in the future and am glad that I decided to give him another chance after my teenage self could not appreciate his writing.

A series of wonderful reviews. You read so much on vacation. I'm glad you enjoyed them all to a greater or lesser degree.

>101 labfs39: Thank you! I am so happy about the fact that I was able to read so much on this trip because it has not always been the case. For several years I did not succeed in putting my phone aside in the evenings, and was always sad about it afterwards - not only because I would rather be reading, but also because what I saw on social media often did not match my mood, or the mood I aspire to when traveling. It was very distracting.

On a general note, when I had covid, I decided to deactivate the instagram app and it has done wonders to my reading. Now I check two news websites once a day and that's it. Other than that, when I have time to spare, I am here on LT or I grab a book or my kindle. I have not been so happy with my reading since before I got my own internet access in 2006. I could cry for joy and I hope it stays like this as much as possible.

I bought The Lifted Veil by George Eliot (the Penguin Little Black Classics edition) in 2016 on a trip to London, at least I gather that from the date I added it to my LibraryThing library - in those days I still dutifully entered every single book as soon as I bought it!
I brought it with me to Ireland because it is so small and because it was one of the few books with a "V" for this month's AlphaKIT (I have started doing some challenges again to help me decide which books of Mount TBR to read next). I also thought that a gothic read was perfect for October!



Book No 49

"The Lifted Veil" by George Eliot
Publisher Series: Penguin Little Black Classics
First published in 1856 (essay) and 1859 (novella)
Penguin
Paperback, 110pp.
Rating: 4 stars - ****

This short volume includes two texts: The essay "Silly Novels by Lady Novelists", which was published in the Westminster Review, and the novella "The Lifted Veil". I read the essay first although in the book it comes second.

In her essay, George Eliot cleverly analyzes the different kinds of 'silly novels' written by contemporary female writers. She criticizes them for various reasons, her main points being the following:
- These writers only write about the upper classes and either completely ignore ordinary people, or if they do include them, they depict them badly or falsely because they do not know anything about their lives.
- They do a disservice to 'serious writers' (Eliot names Charlotte Brontë and Elizabeth Gaskell as examples) because on the one hand they take up much of the spotlight that the others also need, and on the other hand, because they provide more fodder to those men who are of the opinion that women are not able to write.
There are many more aspects in the essay, but these were the ones that stood out most to me. I am not going to write more because then I will just repeat the whole essay.

The novella "The Lifted Veil" is fundamentally gothic. I have not a lot of experience with gothic texts - I have read a few, but without realizing what they really were, and have not read any for a long time - but I did like it.
The narrator, Latimer, a sickly young man and younger son of a wealthy banker and land owner, falls in love with a beautiful woman when he discovers that he has the gift of foresight. It turns out, though, that it is not a gift at all, but it troubles him with no end.
Again, I will not write more because otherwise all the surprises would be gone. It is a very short novella, but it has a few turning points and different parts to it. The underlying suspense and unease is strong and makes for a chilling and depressing read. I was intrigued but of course it is unusual for George Eliot.

>99 MissBrangwen: What stood out most to me is that in this novel, Harry learns that the grownups he has come to love and admire are not able to fix every problem that arises. In the first books, whenever Dumbledore or McGonagall appear, Harry (and the reader) knows: Everything will be alright now.
That is not the case anymore in this book. The adults struggle just as much as the young people do, they fail and make mistakes and sometimes they are not sure what the right way is. To realize this is a part of growing up.

Intersting point of view on this instalment of the Harry Potter series. It is the book I liked less in the series, so it's even more interesting to see what I missed!

I didn’t realize you live in Germany. Donegal is very popular with Germans. Have you been to Donegal? The last time I was there was 2000 but I got to rent a cottage on the Atlantic for 3 weeks.

>104 raton-liseur: I think so far I liked Goblet the least, but of course I still have two to read, so the final judgement has to wait!

>105 dianeham: I have not been to Donegal so far but I would love to go one day! Renting a cottage there for three weeks sounds like a dream.

My husband owns several books of the Erik Winter series written by Åke Edwardson. I have wanted to try this series since I saw them on his shelves when I first perused those. When I was looking for the next book to read on the trip, the series came to my mind. My husband does not own the first one anyway, so I downloaded it.
The original title is Dans med en ängel and the English version is Death Angels. The English version is probably cheaper because of the fixed book prices in Germany, but for some reason I prefer reading Nordic Noir in German.



Book No 50

"Tanz mit dem Engel" by Åke Edwardson
Series: Erik Winter (1)
Original Title: Dans med en ängel
First published in 1997
List Verlag
ebook, 480pp.
Rating: 4 stars - ****

There were many excellent aspects in this novel, and others that were not so good, but altogether it was a fantastic reading experience.

To begin with, I really like the investigator in this novel. Erik Winter is in his late thirties, he has affairs with several women, and his parents are so wealthy that he does not have to work for a living, but only does so because he likes it. His lifestyle is very luxurious. All of this would usually make me loath the character, but somehow it is not so with Winter - because he has a lot of empathy, I like his work ethics, and he treats his fellow policemen rather well.

The story takes place in Göteborg where a young man from London is murdered in a hotel room. Shortly after, it is discovered that the same also happened reversed - a Swedish young man was killed in a hotel room in London. The murders are very gruesome and the police are at a loss.

Well, the plot is interesting, but what is even more striking is the language. In the beginning the author includes many metaphors and similes, the language is sometimes almost lyrical. It seems a bit too forced, though, and hems the reading flow. After a few chapters, this is toned down, and from then on I loved the language and the atmosphere it creates, creating pictures in my mind and slowing down the reading to make room for emotions like fear and uncertainty.
I became totally engrossed in this story and did not want to put it down. The language remains a bit uneven from time to time, but I am quite sure that it is due to the translation. Other reviewers have commented on that as well and I am happy to see that the translator (Wolfdietrich Müller) changes after the second book.

The only thing that could be improved is the ending because there are several investigation lines left hanging:
Why did the murderer wear a wig?
Why did he dance, or what else did the footprints signify?
What about the aspect of homosexuality? Was it a coincidence or does the murderer hate gay men?
What happened to the burglar who found the clothes?
Why did the murderer choose to kill in two cities, and why London and Göteborg? Was it just to confuse Winter? I thought there might be a deeper meaning.

I also think that the motive is too weak and could have been made stronger by giving more of a background story, by explaining more about the childhood/teenage stories of Winter and Bolger.

I have not read as much Nordic Noir as many others, but I do think that this is very good novel apart from the few points I mentioned above. I am looking forward to continuing with this series very much.

I started reading the Aunt Bessie books by Diana Xarissa (The Isle of Man Cozy Mysteries) last year after getting a BB from LittleTaiko. They are very cosy indeed and perfect for when I just want to relax and need a comfort read. I started the third book of the series, Aunt Bessie Considers, before the trip to Ireland, but only read the first 40 pages or so because that week got very stressful and I did not have the time.
In the end of the trip I felt the wish to continue with this and once again the kindle came in handy - I just downloaded it for a small price and was able to read it.



Book No 51

"Aunt Bessie Considers" by Diana Xarissa
Series: Isle of Man Cozy Mystery
First published in 2014
self-published
Paperback/ebook, 217pp.
Rating: 3 stars - ***

Aunt Bessie is an elderly lady who resides in a cottage on the beach on the Isle of Man. She reads crime books, drinks tea and eats cookies, she is always there for her numerous friends (many of them younger, hence the honorary title of 'aunt') - and from time to time she solves a murder.

Apparently Bessie has another hobby and does some research on the history of the Isle of Man. In this book she intends to give a talk as part of a conference taking place in a historical museum, but of course, things do not go as planned when a scholar who is about to present a very important discovery is found dead.

The setting of the museum is a very good one - on the one hand because I simply love museums and enjoyed reading a story taking place in one, on the other hand because it provides for a locked-room mystery, which is always good.
Just like in the first two books, I loved the characters of Bessie and her friends. The case itself was rather weak this time, even for such a very cosy mystery, and I would have liked things to gather a bit more speed. It seems like the characters talk and talk and talk about the same details, and suddenly Bessie knows who did it - I would have wanted to see how she got there and to see an actual solving of the case.
Apart from these flaws, I think that the writing has improved in this third installment, and anyway, I read these for the atmosphere and the vibes and not foremost for the plot. This novel provided that again: It was like sitting down with a few very good friends, cuddling a hot water bottle, eating chocolate and drinking my favourite tea.

>107 MissBrangwen: I've had this conversation with native German speakers, but German does suit Nordic lit more than English. The English translations often feel distanced or stilted, but not the German ones.

I've enjoyed catching up on your travels and reading. One day I hope to get to Ireland too

>106 MissBrangwen: I hope you get to Donegal. My father was raised there and I still gave some 2nd cousins there. They are sheep farmers.

>100 MissBrangwen: my fav book of Roddy Doyle was the committments I will admit to have watched the movie first (and still have the two soundtracks) but quickly found and read the book, along with the van and the snapper just brillant HE also wrote paddy clarke hahaha which I have but for some reason haven't read.

>109 RidgewayGirl: That sounds about right to me.

>110 Nickelini: I hope you will travel there one day. Thanks for stopping by!

>111 dianeham: How interesting to have a family connection.

>112 cindydavid4: I think I watched that movie in sixth grade or so in a music lesson, but I do not remember a thing! I did not even connect it to this author until recently.

I did a road trip up the west coast of Ireland 20 years ago and it was great. I'd like to go back, but hesitate because I don't eat meat now and I remember living on ham sandwiches... has road/pub food there evolved at all? They were excellent sandwiches, as I recall... onions, mustard, big thick slabs of bread. But I can't do those anymore.

>114 lisapeet: My husband and I are vegans and we did not have any problems at all. We found vegan food pretty much everywhere we went, and vegetarian food should not be a problem at all.

Do you know the HappyCow website/app? I have used it for many years to find restaurants (people can add vegan, vegetarian and veg-friendly restaurants there and also supermarkets and other shops) and it is my life saver whenever I travel somewhere new. It might be worth trying when you go somewhere where you are unsure about which restaurants to choose for vegetarian food.

I've never been as far north as Donegal, though I hope to get up there someday. But I've had a lot of fun twice, once on my own and once with my wife, in County Sligo, just a bit to the south of Donegal. The first time I went to Sligo, on my own, I stayed in a hotel in a small harbor town called Mullaghmore. The hotel filled up with vacationers down from Belfast for the weekend. Because this was off-season for tourists, I was the only Yank in the place, and hence more or less a curiosity. That was a fun few days. During that time, I spent a blissful afternoon wandering around atop Ben Bulben Mountain. When I returned to Sligo with my wife a few years pre-Covid, I promised her I would not try to relive my earlier experiences in the region, other than that I wanted to go up atop Ben Bulben with her. My disappointment was profound when the proprietor of the B&B we were staying in (in the Sligo County village Aclair) informed us that it's no longer allowed for folks to wander up there on their own. We also stayed away from Mullaghmore, as we'd read online that it had become a surfing destination. I have absolutely nothing against surfing or surfers, but it just wasn't the vibe we were looking for, and I didn't want to mess with my memories of the place. Aclare was wonderful.

>115 MissBrangwen: Great to know, thanks! I'm guessing a lot has changed in the past 15-20 years, as I'm sure it has in the UK, where in 1985 I found myself eating a lot of Indian food to avoid liver... and that HappyCow is a great resource, so thanks for that as well.

>116 rocketjk: Thank you for relating your travel memories, it all sounds so interesting. Sometimes it can be a good choice NOT to return to a place one loved.

>117 lisapeet: I totally agree. Things have certainly changed a lot in that department!

It sounds like you have really taken to your kindle. I'm on the fence. I love paper books, but there are times when I try and read online, either on my phone or laptop, and that doesn't work well for me. Can I ask what kind you have?

>119 labfs39: I guess I have... I did not expect this at all because for many years I was totally against having one, but this year it just sort of happened! I think that seeing my husband using his kindle and being able to sort of test it made the decision easier for me.
I have my husband's old kindle and it is just the standard version (the cheapest one). This particular one is not available anymore it seems, but there are newer versions of it.
For me it feels very different to reading on my phone or laptop because it is not as distracting. I think the difference may be that I use the kindle ONLY for reading and associate it with nothing else, whereas I associate my laptop or phone with many different things and therefore they have a different vibe. Moreover, the lighting is a bit different and there is a kind of "paper effect". I still love the feeling of a physical book, having a real cover, the smell and the pages. I don't think I will ever stop collecting physical books. But I must say that when I read, once I am within the story it doesn't make a difference. However, that is just me!

Do you maybe have the option to borrow someone's kindle for a day or to test one in a shop? As I said, I don't think I would ever have taken the plunge without testing my husband's kindle first (which is mine now because we figured that it made more sense if he got a new one because he uses it even more than I do). Just sitting down with one and reading a few pages might show you if it works or if you feel like reading on your phone or laptop. Just an idea in case you haven't thought about that...

>120 MissBrangwen: Thank you for giving some things to think about. Test driving some would make sense, I just don't know anyone local who has one. I will have to go to a store. I also need to research what the differences are between reading on a kindle and on an ipad. I don't have one of those either, but have been wondering if an ipad would solve multiple needs.

>121 labfs39: While you can read on an ipad and some people do, it is like reading from a computer screen, just more ergonomic. Kindle (and Nook and the rest of the regular readers) use eInk - it feels more like a real book (and stresses your eyes less). I vastly prefer reading from my kindle compared to my iPad (unless it is a comics or something else with color and/or maps - then you need the iPad or a tablet of some type (or a laptop/desktop)).

>122 AnnieMod: Thanks, Annie. Good to know. I tried to read a graphic story on my laptop once, and it was very frustrating because the format wouldn't allow me to resize the pages, so I couldn't see any detail. I could see how an e-reader would be even more limiting that way.

>123 labfs39: Well, that and it is black and white only (limitation of the eInk technology). It works well for text where the formatting does not matter and where you are just reading. It does not work for most poetry, texts that need a LOT of referencing to different parts of the text and for anything requiring color...

Most comics readers softwares have the ability to pop a frame on its own - on laptop/desktop or on a tablet. It may not be intuitive sometimes but it helps more than resizing will. I had been reading some comics on the iPad and it takes some time go get used to but it ends up being occasionally better than paper - you can see some of the details much better, especially when the originals are on either newspaper or the coated one that always reflects light. If the story was just in a PDF or something like that then yeah... that won't work well...

>124 AnnieMod: Thanks, more good information. I'll look into popping frames. And I'm thinking it's time for me to take the plunge and get a Kindle.

Sorry for hijacking your thread, Mirjam.

>121 labfs39: Libraries sometimes have "petting zoos" where you can try out different kinds of tech. You might check to see if yours does.

I read on my iPad and am happy with it... I don't mind the screen factor, and having color/lookup ability is important to me.

>126 lisapeet: Ha! You forget I am in rural Maine now. In Seattle, our library even lent out devices with preloaded books, but here that's far beyond their scope.

I don't want to monopolize Mirjam's thread, so I am going to redirect my questions about e-readers over to my thread. Thank you for your patience, Miss Brangwen!

>127 labfs39: No worries, I enjoyed the conversation, too. Reflecting on our reading habits is always interesting :-)

>127 labfs39: OK, that's right... but more and more libraries are doing that kind of thing, even the small ones, so I wasn't totally off base.

>129 lisapeet: I agree, I was teasing a bit. And the preloaded devices were great for elderly people who had a hard time with OverDrive, etc. Hopefully those services have gotten easier to use.

This week I have not read much because I had so much work to do, but I have bought a few books - some have already arrived, others are on the way.

The Colony by Audrey Magee
Small Things Like These by Claire Keegan
I read so much about these here in CR and in other groups. I almost bought them in Ireland but they are so pretty that I did not want to haul them around in a suitcase and to damage them (and The Colony is rather heavy), so I ordered them now. I really wished to have physical copies of these!

Blutbuch by Kim de L'Horizon
This one won the German Book Prize recently. It will be my first novel written by a non-binary author. I am looking forward to it very much because I read an essay by the author which was written so well that I decided to read the novel ASAP (that is, as soon as I have enough mental space for the topic).

Herkunft by Saša Stanišić
Der Russe ist einer, der Birken liebt by Olga Grjasnowa
In my posting >72 MissBrangwen: about Tauben fliegen auf (Fly away, pigeon) I explained about the list of four novels from which I had to choose two for the new course I am teaching. These two are the ones I did not choose, but I decided to buy and read them anyway and to use excerpts from them to compare with the novels that we read, or maybe to use excerpts in exams.
(Probably you think that I should have read all four before making my choice, but well, I had to decide in a time that was utterly stressful and I was buried in work, so I just did not have the time to read them all).

All We Can Save ed. by Ayana Elizabeth Johnson and Katherine K. Wilkinson
Another book for my work. Next term I am going to teach an English course about current challenges and of course climate change is one of them. I have taught this course before and it was a bit difficult because some of the students are suffering from climate anxiety anyway and talking more and more about it doesn't help. I hope that this book will give another perspective or that we can learn about possible solutions. I will read it first and use some excerpts in the lessons if possible.

It was a lot of fun to read The Lifted Veil in October, and it reminded me of the Little Black Classics and how much I have always enjoyed reading them. So I decided to pick up another one of my small collection, bought on that same trip to London six years ago: The Great Fire of London by Samuel Pepys.



Book No 52

"The Great Fire of London" by Samuel Pepys
Publisher Series: Penguin Little Black Classics
Written in 1665/66
Penguin
Paperback, 51pp.
Rating: 4 stars - ****

I have heard so much about the diaries of Samuel Pepys: That they are interesting and funny, but also that they are very heard to read, boring and long. So when I saw this Little Black Classic, I thought that it would be a good way to just dip into this work and have a look.
This book contains excerpts from the diaries focused on two topics. The first contains entries from the period when the plague hit London in 1665 and Pepys was concerned with the Second Anglo-Dutch War, the second part consists of entries about the fire.
Most reviews I read say that the first part is very boring compared to the second part, when the fire provides a more interesting backdrop, but to me both parts are equally interesting. I might even like the first part a bit more, because of all the fascinating small details making up the writer's daily life in 1665, for example, having to look at his pocket watch every few minutes because he is so fascinated by it (and proud to own it, I guess!) or admiring fish living in a glass. It strikes me how many of the writer's worries are similar to our own: He feels sorry because he cannot see his mother more due to duties at work, he is tired in the mornings and kind of wishes for a better work life balance, but is worried about how others might perceive his work ethos, he likes new clothing and discusses the fittings of his new suits with his wife... It all sounds so familiar, and it seems that people do not really change after all.
Of course, the second part is a little more exciting action wise. Pepys eyes the fire from day to day, travels all over London and describes what he sees, endeavors to rescue his belongings and goes through some hardships while being aware that others have it much worse. These entries are much longer, but I read them quicker because more things happen in them.

So do I want to read all of the diaries one day? I am still on the fence. If so, it will be a very long project. I am wondering if audio would be a good idea. I will see...

In ordered Dame Traveler in 2021 when I was missing traveling a lot, but somehow I only read it now. I followed the author, Nastasia Yakoub, on instagram for a long time - from 2017 until I basically stopped using instagram a couple of months ago.



Book No 53

"Dame Traveler" by Nastasia Yakoub
First published in 2020
10 Speed Press
Hardcover, 216pp.
Rating: 3 stars - ***

It is not easy to write a review for this book, because there are some aspects I absolutely love about it, and others that I do not like at all. Moreover, as explained above, I followed the author on instagram for several years and even exchanged messages with her. She is a very kind person and it is not easy for me to criticize her work, but I will try because there are a few things I need to point out in my review.
"Dame Traveler" is a beautiful coffee table book that includes two hundred photographs taken by traveling women, most of them solo travelers. This book stems from the Dame Traveler instagram account, which was one of the first female travel accounts on instagram and created a community of female solo travelers.
The book therefore has two components:
1. Beautiful photographs of many destinations around the world, mostly depicting the female traveler as well as a background of wonderful scenery, nature, architecture etc.
2. Tips, quotes and short texts (similar to instagram postings) encouraging women to travel solo, giving information on specific destinations or topics like safety, hotels or transport, relating personal stories of how the different women overcame different obstacles in order to be able to travel, or just cheering other female travelers on.

The photos are of the typical instagram variety: Women wearing white or colorful dresses or hipster outfits posing in front of the beautiful scenery, mostly gazing at it, so the person looking at the picture does not see the woman's face. The photos are beautiful indeed, but well, there are a million pictures of this kind all over instagram. The women only use the scenery as a backdrop to show themselves, and there is nothing really new about these kind of pictures. While they are perfect, to me they are also boring - even more so because it is obvious that they are totally contrived, that the women probably brought the dresses and accessories with them in bags, in many places waited in a queue to get to the famous spot, got changed and then posed until they got the perfect shot...

The texts are a mixed bag. I enjoyed many of these snippets, especially those about the emotions you feel when you travel. I could relate to many of them: The goosebumps when you first see a very new place, the excitement and the energy, but also times of loneliness. I was never really afraid on any trip, but I know the feeling of strength and self-esteem I develop through travel. All this is referenced in many of the texts. The safety tips were good as well (I knew most of them, but they might be handy for new travelers). The destination tips were a bit off to me, because I do not think that a very detailed tip about a hike, a beach or a viewpoint is that helpful if you have not planned the trip at all so far or have not even started doing the basic research about the destination.

My main criticism of the book is that to me, the texts and photos on the one hand and the proposed message of the book on the other hand do not really match. If travel is for everyone, if you want to encourage ordinary women to travel solo, why only show curated, perfect photographs that show dressed up, styled women in the most extraordinary locations? Why feature luxury hotels, destinations that are very hard to reach, and make it look like things have to be perfect in order to enjoy them? It is my main criticism of the travel community on instagram, and of this book as well. Because travel has not to be luxurious and perfect at all.
For most young women who start solo traveling, travel will be cheap hostels, long bus rides, and meals at fast-food restaurants. Maybe some women - and mainly the so-called influencers or those fortunate enough to be sponsored by their parents - will be able to travel like this book shows, but what about the others? Depictions like these might make them wait for better days to come because they might think that if their travels do not look like this, they will be worthless. And I hate the thought of that.

On a more positive note, the book is inclusive in many aspects. It features Black women and women of color, there are accounts of travelers with a disability and pictures of women who have a high weight. Some of the travelers are hijabis, there is a lesbian travel couple and there are women who travel with toddlers. The author herself is Iraqi-American and has overcome prejudice and expectations in order to lead the life she wished for.
However, as much as I like the spirit of "Go for it! You can do it!", I would have liked to see more reality in this book.

>132 MissBrangwen: Great review for an author I had not heard about. Sounds interesting. I think I'll pass because it is not of immediate interest for me and I do not have enough reading time to accommodate it but I'll make a not for it and I'm happy I've came across this book thanks to your review.

>133 MissBrangwen: Great review again. Not really for the book this time, but because you bring interesting points. I enjoyed reading your review (maybe more than you enjoyed reading the book...).

>133 MissBrangwen: yeah thats the reason I don't get Conde Naste travel (was a gift subscription from my bro coz he knew I loved traveling ) all the comments you make fit this too, but without all the color and diversity of this one.

BTW its Iraqui :) sorry you can take the teacher out the school but you cant take school out of the teacher

>134 raton-liseur: Thank you! I am not sure myself if I should commit to all of the diaries... If so, it won't be any time soon I guess.

>135 cindydavid4: Thanks, I fixed it (I mixed it up with the German word). I understand about Condé Nast.

I had never really heard about Georgette Heyer until I became a member of the Category Challenge last year and her books appeared in several threads. When I became more interested in the romance genre this autumn (primarily for my audio book listening), I thought that it was finally time to try one of her books. Being overwhelmed with choice, I decided to start chronologically and listen to her first one, The Black Moth.



Book No 54

"The Black Moth" by Georgette Heyer
First published in 1921
Penguin/Audible
Digital audiobook, 10h 40min
Rating: 4 stars - ****

First of all I should say that I listened to the Penguin audiobook narrated by Stewart Clarke. This narrator does an excellent job! He is particularly good at doing different voices and for long stretches I forgot that this was indeed the same person. I was under the impression of listening to a dramatized version because he does it so well - and all without overdoing it and making it all ridiculous.

Now on to the story: Jack Carstares, the Earl of Wyncham, has been living as a highwayman for seven years. Back then, his brother cheated at cards, but Jack took the blame onto himself to save his brother from ruin and despair, and went into hiding.
The Black Moth refers to the Duke of Andover, Jack's enemy and the scoundrel of the story, who wishes to marry Diana Beauleigh and plans to abduct her.
As is to be expected, there are many turns and twists. There are also quite a lot of other characters who have important roles in the story.

I must admit that in the beginning, it was a bit hard for me to settle into Heyer's style. I had trouble keeping up and was confused by all the different names and characters. But after some time, it became easier and I enjoyed the story very much. The characters are so lively and I like how Heyer takes her time to let things develop. The dialogues are not rushed and it all plays out nicely.
I only wish that there was more of Diana herself - she as a character as well as the actual love story come a bit short.

>135 cindydavid4: Interesting. Not to drag this out, but I have only ever seen Iraqi in English.

Having lived in Iraq (as a family member of an embassy employee), yes, in English it's Iraqi. Looking up Iraqui on the web, it seems to be the Spanish word (and apparently the German one?).

I also lived in Afghanistan, where we spent a good deal of time correcting new arrivals that the people are Afghans and the money is Afghanis. Unfortunately, the misconception seems to have taken solid hold - even people born in Afghanistan (but raised in the US) refer to themselves as Afghanis. It makes me wince every time. So I don't want a similar misconception to arise over the term for people rooted in Iraq.

>136 MissBrangwen: ha, that makes sense then!

>139 jjmcgaffey: I don't want a similar misconception to arise over the term for people rooted in Iraq.

really, ive corrected peoples naming of countries and their populations many times and it always amazs me as much time that they watch the new they dont get it right (assuming silly me, that reporters would bet it right) Makes sense that different languages would have their own spelling.Then there is pronounciation - I cringed every time I heard my FIL say 'I raq' or 'I ran' instead of i. I liked him so I let it pass, but really...

>138 labfs39: >139 jjmcgaffey: Thank you for clarifying!

>133 MissBrangwen:, >137 MissBrangwen:

So much interesting reading. I enjoyed your thoughts on these books

>143 Nickelini: Thank you, Joyce!

>132 MissBrangwen: Really interested in your Pepys review. I might check that out. I was in England last month and saw a full collection of Pepys' diaries in a secondhand bookshop; it was enormous. So many books and each a huge size.

Like you, I don't think I'd be committed to read the whole lot, but the one you read sounds like a great dipping into point.

I used to live in a very dull village in Hertfordshire where the only interesting point about it was that Pepys had once stopped at the local Inn.

>145 AlisonY: It was a good way to get an impression of the diaries, although it is only a very short collection.

My week was quite stressful and I couldn't really concentrate on anything, so I was looking for something very, very light for my next audio book. Somehow I thought of Hape Kerkeling, a German comedian who became a bestseller author in 2006 when he published an account about his pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela. I loved the audiobook of that one because of his wonderful narration. He has published a few more books since, but I was looking for something short, and settled on a collection of columns that he wrote for Gala, a German celebrity magazine (at least it is one that is a little more classy than others).



Book No 55

"Frisch hapeziert - Die Kolumnen" by Hape Kerkeling
First published in 2018
Osterwold/Audible
Audiobook, 3h 38min
Rating: 2 stars - **

Hape Kerkeling is one of the most popular comedians in Germany, although he has not been very active for several years. It seems like he is making way for the next generation, despite being only in his fifties. He wrote the columns collected in this book from summer 2017 to summer 2018. They deal with many different topics, foremost with celebrities since Gala is that kind of magazine, but also with current events and scenes from everyday life.
I liked those columns best in which the author tells us something about his own life or recalls some interesting memories. For example, he explains what the introduction of same sex marriage in Germany meant to him (finally being able to properly marry his partner instead of just registering a life partnership), he reminisces on the day he was part of the Federal Assembly and voted for the President of Germany, and he tells a funny story about celebrating carnival with fellow comedian Hella von Sinnen.
A lot of the columns deal with royalty, especially Dutch and British royalty. These were a little interesting because his thoughts were relatable to me. However, the columns about celebrities were neither funny nor did they hold any interest. In general, I found that Kerkeling's humor in these columns was not really mine, and I had hoped for more funny thoughts or more witty moments.
I still like Kerkeling's reading voice and his style of narration and the audio book served the purpose of providing a few hours of light entertainment, so I don't have any regrets, but next time I will seek out his proper books instead of something like this.

>146 MissBrangwen: I hope you are able to relax a bit this weekend and that next week isn't as stressful. Sorry your light pick didn't hit the spot. Better luck with your next one.

>148 labfs39: Yes, my weekend is definitely better and I think that everything will be a little slower next week!

On my first trip to Thailand in 2015 I was fascinated by the Buddhist temples and decided that I wanted to learn more about the religion of Buddhism. I wished to be able to understand more of what I saw, and I was also interested on a personal level. In the following years I read several books about this topic and became involved more deeply, also traveling to South East Asia twice more. However, from 2019 on a series of very stressful years began and my Buddhist reading (and tentative practices) fell behind and came to a halt.
It is my wish to pick this up again and make room for it in my life, so I figured that I would start by rereading some of the books I read in the beginning, to rekindle my knowledge and find my footing again.
One of the first books I read, and now reread, was Buddha - Leben, Lehre, Legende, written by Axel Michaels, a professor of South East Asian Studies.



Book No 56

"Buddha - Leben, Lehre, Legende" by Axel Michaels
Publisher Series: C.H. Beck Wissen
First published in 2011
C.H. Beck
Paperback, 115pp.
Rating: 3 1/2 stars - ***°

This short book provides an overview of many aspects that are connected to Buddhism. First, the author gives a short outline of the main sources and scripts of the Buddhist canon. After that, he gives an account of the historical Buddha's life as well as the Buddha of legends. These first chapters make up roughly the first half of the book and while the style is somewhat dry and very academic, they are still understandable and interesting.
After that, the author tries to pack all of the important aspects of the religion into the remaining pages, so it is very intense and condensed reading, made up of many lists. I appreciate that he supports everything with translated quotes from the canon, but I think that the space devoted to these quotes should rather have been used for explanations since the quotes do not really enhance the understanding but rather make it even harder.
The last part of the book deals with the different schools of Buddhism as well as its arrival in the Western countries, but again, the writing is very concise and it is hard to follow.

I must say that this reading was a bit easier for me because now I knew many of the terms and had read more extensive explanations of the basic teachings, although several years ago. But still, a lot of it went over my head. It is clear that the author is very knowledgeable and there are many important and interesting aspects, but the book should be double length (none of the books in this publisher series are more than 120 pages, so the length is not the author's fault). It serves its purpose as a rather academic overview or introduction, but if the reader wishes to understand more of the teachings, other books are more helpful.

When I was in my twenties, D.H. Lawrence was one of my favourite authors, as you can see from my LT name which I chose at the time. My love for him has faded a bit in recent years, but I still have a number of his novels waiting on my shelf, mainly because I bought a stack of them for a small price at Leakey's Bookshop in Inverness in 2016 (that trip was the only trip ever where I had to pay for additional baggage for the flight home because of all the books I bought!). I chose to read The Trespasser this month because of Reading Through Time's quarterly theme of reading books concerned with the years between 1900 and 1913.



Book No 57

"The Trespasser" by D.H. Lawrence
First published in 1912
Penguin
Paperback, 217pp.
Rating: 4 stars - ****

Siegmund is a professional musician approaching forty, he feels trapped in his marriage and falls in love with his student Helena, feeling torn between her and his four children (he does not consider his wife all that much). Siegmund and Helena spend a week on the Isle of Wight together, which makes up the main part of the novel. Although it is not long, it took me a long time to read it, because the reading is slow - for many chapters, nothing really happens. The couple spend their time swimming, walking and talking, sometimes quarreling, and well - being emotional. The writing is almost cinematic when the landscape, and especially the sea, is described, and it is heavy with metaphors and symbols, requiring a slower reading pace. The feelings of uncertainty, longing, despair, attachment and resentment are reflected by nature - the sea, the vegetation, the wind, the moon. It seems like every day just drags on, without any certain outcome.
This somewhat changes when they return to London and Siegmund has to face the fact that he cannot go on like this, but has to make a decision. The atmosphere in his family home is suffocating and cold, which Lawrence conveys in a poignant way, and in a stark contrast to the openness of the days on the island.

I found reading this rather depressing because I was frustrated with the characters. I missed the determination and stamina some of Lawrence's later characters show. However, I am still glad I read it, because the writing is truly stellar and will leave a lasting impression, and I did like the end with its tentative signs of hope.

You might know by now that J.R.R. Tolkien has been my favourite author for more than twenty years. I love Peter Jackson's Lord of the Rings films very much, too, so naturally I was excited when the first Hobbit film came out, and I bought lots of memorabilia, including this magazine: Bilbos Reise zum Erebor (Bilbo's Journey to Erebor), written by Stefan Servos. I only leafed through it back then and finally managed to read it thoroughly, ten years later!
FYI, I liked the Hobbit films a little better than most people did, although there were many aspects that I did not agree with. All in all, I am able to just be happy about what they did get right, and ignore the rest. Oh, and I love the soundtracks almost as much as the LotR ones!



Book No 58

"Bilbos Reise zum Erebor" by Stefan Servos
Space View Fantasy Special
First published in 2012
HEEL Verlag
Paperback, 80pp.
Rating: 3 1/2 stars - ***°

Stefan Servos is probably the foremost German expert on Peter Jackson's Middle-earth films. He managed the biggest German website about the films for many years until it was one of the casualties of the pandemic, he wrote several books about them, and he even traveled to New Zealand to interview Peter Jackson.
This small book - in fact a magazine, but with a bookish feel because of its chapters and layout - was published in 2012 when the first Hobbit film came to the cinemas.
The first half of the work was the most interesting to me because after a few short chapters on how Tolkien wrote The Hobbit, Servos recalls the long history of how the films came to be. While I had heard all of it some time before, it was entertaining to read about it in a concise version: The first attempts and older film versions, the success of the LotR films and how the Hobbit films were planned, the odyssey of studios and contracts, strikes and obstacles, major changes and revelations, until the first film was finally about to be released.
After that, there are portraits of the major characters and the actors and actresses who play them - this chapter is more like a summary of wikipedia entries.
Next, the major filming locations are presented, as well as the different companies and studios belonging to Peter Jackson's imperium. I enjoyed both chapters because I learned new things and I liked the photos very much. The last chapter goes back to the beginning and explores how by adapting The Hobbit in a new way, Peter Jackson adds to the myth and contributes to it being alive. To be honest, this is a rather euphemistic view of the many changes to the story and some of the terrible new characters, but still, it is an interesting concept.
All in all, Servos is fanboying a bit too much when it comes to Peter Jackson and I would have liked to read a more balanced commentary. The many typos and some grammar mistakes also got on my nerves. Apart from that, I spent an enjoyable couple of hours with this and had a good time journeying down memory lane for a little while.

>152 MissBrangwen: My daughter and I watched LOTR recently for the umpteenth time. Love it every time.

>153 labfs39: Oh yes, I never tire of those films, no matter how often I watch them! How wonderful that you share that with your daughter.

When TessW from the Category Challenge shared a link listing kindle books that were for free at the moment, I couldn't resist but have a look and add a few to my collection. I started reading His Christmas Wish by Melissa McClone right away because it was exactly what I was looking for this past weekend.



Book No 59

"His Christmas Wish" by Melissa McClone
Series: Mountain Rescue Romance (1)
First published in 2018
Cardinal press
e-book, 251pp.
Rating: 4 stars - ****

When I read the blurb of this novel I was not sure if I should read it, because the trope of a young widow finding new love in a new place is one I am a bit weary of. However, the cover of this novel spoke to me and somehow I had a feeling that I would like this book. And I did!
The trope is a bit twisted, because Carly, the protagonist of "His Christmas Wish", does not move to a completely new place, but visits the town where she grew up after she has been away for some time. Six years ago, her brother and her fiancé died in a climbing accident and Carly moved away. Now she returns to help her brother's widow, who remarried and is heavily pregnant. And of course she meets Jake, her dead brother's best friend and once her teenage crush.
It all sounds a bit construed, but it worked for me. I absolutely loved the characters and the story became real to me. Although it is of course a little cheesy, it felt authentic and I felt at home in the town of Hood Hamlet and couldn't wait to read on. Christmas plays a part in many of the chapters, and I couldn't help but consume cookies most of the time I read. My only criticism is that both the beginning and the ending felt rushed. Not really insta love, because the characters of course knew each other from six years ago, but still I think that they would have needed a bit more time to warm up to each other again after all that had happened. And well, I could have done without an instant engagement and a wedding three months after that - but that is just me and maybe I am not the target audience.
Apart from that, I enjoyed this novel very much and I am looking forward to continuing with this series. The topic of mountain rescue adds interest because I have always been fascinated by operations like that. I am eager to learn more about the other members of the rescue team.

Today I finally read The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson - it had been waiting on my shelf for six years.



Book No 60

"The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde" by Robert Louis Stevenson
First published in 1886
Penguin Popular Classics
Paperback, 88pp.
Rating: 3 1/2 stars - ***°

This novella was very different from what I had expected it to be. I must admit that reading it was a bit laborious to me because well, like most people I already knew the solution to the mystery (although I only knew the barest facts), and the story is a little slow, so I basically waited for something interesting to happen. In spite of that, the actual solution - in its details - did surprise me, and I found the ending to be very chilling. It actually gave me the creeps, and I did not expect that from this story. It was worth the read for the last one or two pages alone.

Another short read, this time chosen because it fit perfectly for this month's reading prompt from "Reading Through Time". I bought The Sense of an Ending by Julian Barnes about five years ago but was always a little intimidated by it without knowing why. Now I have finally read it.



Book No 61

"The Sense of an Ending" by Julian Barnes
First published in 2011
Vintage
Paperback, 150pp.
Rating: 4 1/2 stars - ****°

It is very hard for me to review this novel because although I absolutely loved reading it, I couldn't say that it is one of my favorite novels now, and I cannot even really put my finger on why that is. So here are just a few thoughts.
The writing is beautiful, stellar, it made me read paragraphs and sometimes pages again and again to make it sink in. The topics of aging and memory, interpreting and reinventing your past are dealt with masterfully. Unlike many other readers - judging from the reviews - I even feel sympathy for the narrator, and quite like him. And yet, I feel a distance to the story and the person telling it.
I think I will ponder this novel for quite some time, and might reread at some point.

>157 MissBrangwen: I enjoyed that one very much

>156 MissBrangwen: I was amazed by how much insight from today's perspective that Stevenson had into the working of the mind. It deserves to be a classic.

>158 Nickelini: Glad to know you did, too!

>159 SassyLassy: I agree. I tried to imagine how the reading experience would have been to contemporary readers.

I discovered When Harry Met Harry by Sydney Smyth because I only had a few audible credits left and wished to use those for Christmas books, so I browsed the audible books that are included in the subscription, and this is one of those, which means that I was able to listen to it for free. The cover and blurb spoke to me for some reason, and so I decided to give it a try.



Book No 62

"When Harry Met Harry" by Sydney Smyth
First published in 2020
Audible Originals
Digital audiobook, 8h 6min
Rating: 4 stars - ****

The story starts at Changi International Airport in Singapore, where two very different men embark on a flight to San Francisco and have to sit next to each other, getting on each other's nerves: Henry, a Singaporean businessman who lives for his job and his status symbols, and Harrison, returning home from a backpacking trip around the world and dreaming of becoming an actor. After many hours crammed into their seats and not getting along, they are just happy to leave. But of course, in San Francisco they keep running into each other and start an unlikely friendship that might become more if they are brave enough to let that happen...
Granted, the story is both predictable and improbable at the same time, but I didn't care because I just loved these characters. After listening about them for eight hours, I am sad to let them go. Somehow I just rooted for them and enjoyed getting to know their lives so much.
My only criticism is that after a few hours, the story lost a little of its pace and seemed to drag a bit. The twists and turns got too much and felt a bit forced. Although I would happily have learned more about these characters, the plot itself could have been more interesting in the second half.

I must admit that I have never watched "When Harry Met Sally", so I don't know how similar the stories are, but judging from other reviews there are only a few nods to that famous film.

Another thing I liked about this book were the references to popular culture, such as Harry Potter, Star Wars and Friends. These gave the story a more realistic feel.

This novel is not available in print or as an ebook, it is an audible original that was only published as an audible audiobook so far. I was not able to find out anything more about Sydney Smyth, other than that they have published two more of such audible originals, both also contemporary romances featuring gay characters.
I will listen to those for sure in the future and hope that the author will publish more and maybe in print as well.

Unterm Birnbaum (published in English as Under the Pear Tree) by Theodor Fontane has been on my shelf for ages. I bought it because I love both Effi Briest and Irrungen Wirrungen by the same author, although Der Stechlin and Frau Jenny Treibel were a bit hard to get through. I plan to reread Frau Jenny Treibel at some point.



Book No 63

"Unterm Birnbaum" by Theodor Fontane
First published in 1885
VMA Verlag
Hardcover, 130pp.
Rating: 3 1/2 stars - ***°

"Unterm Birnbaum" is unusual for Fontane because it is a crime novel. It takes place in the (I presume fictional) village of Tschechin, which is located on the banks of the Oder river, back then in Prussia and now on the German-Polish border.
The crime happens in one of the early chapters, and it is not explained in detail, but it is obvious to the reader: Abel Hradscheck, an inn keeper who is highly in debt, accidentally finds a French soldier who was buried under the pear tree in his garden more than two decades ago. This gives him an idea, and he and his wife Ursel decide to kill a company representative who lodges at their inn and to whom they have given all of their money.

As the novella starts with the crime, it is obvious that this is not a whodunit, but that the story deals with the consequences of the murder. Hradscheck and Ursel expected to be happy now that their financial life is so much better, yet, they find it hard to live with the guilt and deal with it in very different ways. This is complicated by their neighbor, a whimsical old lady who observes her surroundings all day and who clearly suspects something. She succeeds in driving Hradscheck nearly mad with her carefully ambigous comments. Soon, the villagers start suspecting the couple, too...

This is a great story with a lot of interesting themes: Greed, guilt, secrets, expectations, values. The psychological aspects are more important than the plot itself and are dealt with in an impressive way. Nevertheless, reading this felt a bit laborious because there are so many other things thrown in as well: Endless ramblings of the local men meeting in the inn, more village characters who write letters and exchange their views, songs and too many dialogues. Parts of these are written in Low German (one of the eastern varieties of course, not the one spoken where I live now). Although many words can be guessed from the context and I also knew a few words from my grandfather who grew up in West Prussia, this was a bit difficult for me. I appreciate the local flavor it gives, but it hindered my reading flow.

To conclude, I think this would have been a better novella if it had been more streamlined, and it is not my favourite Fontane work, but it is worth the read for the psychological aspects. It is was especially interesting to me to compare it to "The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde", written around the same time and also dealing with a character who has to keep a terrible secret.

I came across Once Upon A Christmas Eve by Elizabeth Hoyt when I was browsing audible for historical romance novels featuring Christmas. I had never heard of the author before and well, I won't read anything else by her.



Book No 64

"Once Upon A Christmas Eve" by Elizabeth Hoyt
Series: Maiden Lane (10.7)
First published in 2017
Hachette Audio/Audible
Digital audiobook, 3h
Rating: 2 stars - **

The premise of this novella sounded promising to me: Adam Rutledge, a viscount, and his grandmother are on the way to visit relatives for Christmas, when their carriage breaks down in the countryside and they have to seek shelter at the nearest house. Because of the fierce snow and his grandmother's failing health, they are forced to spend Christmas with the St John family, among them Sarah, the eldest daughter. The problem is that Adam is a known womanizer, while Sarah detests men like him...

Of course the plot is utterly predictable, but I did enjoy the atmosphere of the story: The group of bachelors invited in the hope of finally finding a husband for Sarah, the preparations for Christmas, the countryside setting. I would have wished for more of a Christmas atmosphere, but I enjoyed the descriptions that were included. The characters were very flat, though, and there are many references to sex and some very explicit scenes. While I don't mind those in general, I rather disliked the wording of these and generally thought that they felt off and did not fit the story.

This novella is part of a series, but it can be read as a standalone. While I don't regret listening to this because of the aspects I liked, and because the narrator, Ashford McNab, does a really good job, I will not read other installments of the series or any other works by this author. There are so many historical romances to choose from and it seems that I prefer those that are a little less steamy.

A Week in December by Sebastian Faulks is another book that I have owned for nearly seven years. I bought it because I enjoyed Birdsong by this author so much, and I started it, but dropped it after a few pages. Last week I finally made a second attempt and pushed through the first few chapters. After that it became much easier to follow the story and I read the whole novel in just three days.



Book No 65

"A Week in December" by Sebastian Faulks
First published in 2009
Hutchinson
Paperback, 392pp.
Rating: 4 stars - ****

"A Week in December" offers a view of life in London over the course of one week in December 2007. There are numerous characters and the reader gets to know them all, some more than others. And chapter after chapter, the links between them come to light, some superficial and obscure, others much deeper than you first thought.

There is a financial tycoon who only lives for the next big deal, a teenage boy addicted to drugs and reality TV, a Polish footballer just starting his career in a London team, a young female tube driver who plays an online game in her free time, a poor lawyer trying to find his way, a young muslim ensnared by a radical group, a literary critic who hates contemporary literature, and so on...
In the beginning it was hard for me to keep the characters straight and to get used to the story which was much more about these characters than about a specific plot. But after some time, I just went along with the ride and the characters grew on me. Each of them, in their own way, is looking for a life worth living, dealing with feelings of loneliness and isolation, trying to find something to hold on to. It is so true to life on the small scale. On the big scale, however, Faulks hits on basically every contemporary topic that was big in the late 2000s: The world of finance, terrorism, TV & online media, the publishing world, the health system, integration. His satire is sharp, yet the strength of the book for me is in the characters and the ties between them. I would happily have read a whole novel about each of these characters, with the exception of the hedge fund manager, because well, there was already more about the finance world than I ever wanted to know in this novel.

>164 MissBrangwen: I enjoyed that novel very much when I read it. If you want more of that sort of thing, Capital by John Lanchester is similar

>164 MissBrangwen: It always feels so good when a book that didn't show promise on an earlier attempt works out well later.

>165 Nickelini: An author I keep meaning to try

>165 Nickelini: I think I am rather done with reading about the financial crisis, but thanks for the recommendation!

>166 SassyLassy: Yes, I have a tag called "paused" for these works and I am always happy when I pick one up again and succeed in reading it!

I have come down with a nasty cold but wanted to try and read a book, so I chose Die eisblaue Spur by Yrsa Sigurðardóttir because I knew it would be an easy read. The English version is called The Day is Dark.

Fun fact: The financial crisis played a minor role in this one, and I was rolling my eyes because of what I wrote above, haha!



Book No 66

"Die eisblaue Spur" by Yrsa Sigur∂ardóttir
Series: Dóra Guðmundsdóttir (4)
Original Title: Auðnin
First published in 2009
btb
ebook, 333pp.
Rating: 2 stars - **

This novel promised to be interesting because of its setting: A research station in Greenland, in the middle of winter. Unfortunately, I don't think that the author managed to play out the strengths and opportunities of this setting.

Dóra, a lawyer from Reykjavik, and her partner Matthias travel to Greenland in order to investigate the delays in a project of a mining company. All of the workers have left the station and refuse to return, and three people are missing.
While the premise is a great one, I found the execution lacking in plausibility. I was shaking my head at Dóra's actions most of the time. I also felt uncomfortable because of the depiction of the Inuit, who were exoticized throughout, setting "civilized" Iceland and Denmark against "wild" Greenland where everything is mysterious.
The plot itself has many strands, and there were a few that got me excited and made me turn the pages quicker, but the solution was much simpler than what I expected, which left me disappointed.

I will continue with the series because these books are good palate cleansers when I need a quick and easy read, and I have only two remaining in the series, but I do hope these will be better.

Nice review of A Week in December, Mirjam. I've owned a copy of that book for at least a decade, but I haven't read it yet.

I hope that you're feeling better by now.

>169 kidzdoc: I hope you will get to it one day, I think it is worth it, even if it's not a masterpiece.

Unfortunately my cold has turned out to be the flu or something like that (maybe RS virus). I have been feeling slightly better for the last two days, but apart from that it was the worst infection I had since I was a child. I felt much worse than when I had covid. I suspect that my immune system is not what it was before having to fight covid in August.
I had to use the hours when I felt a little better to grade papers, so reading for pleasure wasn't possible at all so far.

Sorry you're not feeling well, Mirjam! Hope you can turn it around soon

>170 MissBrangwen: I'm sorry you are fighting yet another virus. I think that with so many things going around, our immune systems are taking a pounding. My daughter's immune system doesn't seem to have bounced back after covid. Now when she gets even a cold, it lasts for weeks. I hope you feel better soon. I hope you have some time to rest and recover over the holidays.

>171 Nickelini: I'm finally feeling better now!

>172 labfs39: It seems that many medical experts agree with what you described. In Germany, 10% of the population are ill right now.
I hope your daughter's health will completely return and her condition will improve over time. All of this is so nasty!

Part of the issue is probably that a lot of people spent the last couple of years at home, away from people’s germs as much as possible. Which helped with not dying but also lulled the immune system into a sense of security. Almost like a child starting kindergarten. :)

Hope you feel much better. :)

>174 AnnieMod: Fortunately, I feel like I am finally on the mend!

Today I finished listening to A Jane Austen Christmas - Regency Christmas Traditions by Maria Grace, which was another short audible book.



Book No 67

"A Jane Austen Christmas - Regency Christmas Traditions" by Maria Grace
Series: Jane Austen Regency Life (1)
First published in 2015
White Soup Press
Digital audiobook, 2h 19min
Rating: 3 1/2 stars - ***°

This is one of those books that merely uses Jane Austen's name to generate more interest. There is nothing at all about Jane Austen in the work, apart from the fact that it is concerned with regency traditions. This did not bother me at all, though, because it is a very interesting book and I enjoyed listening to most of it. It presents a large array of Christmas and New Year traditions in Great Britain, the interesting aspect being that it deals with the festivities as they were before Queen Victoria and the ideas of a more contemplative Christmas gained influenced and changed these traditions forever. I was surprised to hear about the wild parties the gentry had, especially on Twelfth Night, and it was interesting to learn that these often provided a disguise to be able to talk to members of the other sex more freely or even perform small acts that would otherwise be totally scandalous. Another example is the fact that Christmas was foremost not considered a holiday for children, who were often left behind when visiting relatives or acquaintances. There are many fascinating pieces of information like that in the book - of course they might not be as interesting to readers who are more knowledgeable about British Christmas traditions than I am on the whole.

Unfortunately, the last third of the book is solely made up of recipes that are read out aloud. If I had had a paper book, I would have browsed them to see if there was anything interesting, but listening to them for such a long time was simply not something I was prepared to do, so I fast forwarded to the end. Thus, this book might be much better suited to be a paper book than an audiobook, even more so because most of the traditions are listed in short chapters without a lot of context, making it a bit strenuous to listen to it for a longer period of time.

Hi Mirjam, Hope all is well. Happy New Year!

>177 labfs39: Thank you Lisa, and Happy New Year to you, too!

All is well with me, I am just a bit overwhelmed with LT at the moment, and have been visiting family over the holidays, so not much online time.