Käthe's book diary 2024

My name is Käthe and I live in Austria. 2024 will be a year of changes as I quit my job as a bookseller. January is my final month at the company where I have worked since 2011. In February I will begin a period of travelling - starting with New Zealand. I am planning to visit Australia, Japan and other countries as well.

In 2023 I managed to read about 95 books. I am not sure if I will keep up with that number during travellling. I'll definitely fail again to keep the thread up to date.

I love to read almost every kind of genre - contemporary and classic literature, non-fiction, graphic novels, etc.
Looking forward what the new year will bring!

Read in 2024

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Read in January

1. Blackwater 3-in-1 The Flood, The Levee, The House by Michael McDowell *****
2. Sea of Tranquility by Emily St. John Mandel ****
3. Catherine Certitude by Patrick Modiano ****

Read in February

4. Baedeker Neuseeland by Doris Evans *****
5. Terry Deary's Terribly True Crime Stories by Terry Deary **

Read in February

6. Indian Gods by Lux Karika (ebook) **
7. 100 Tales from Australia's Most Haunted Places by ***
8. Lonely Planet Best of Australia *****

Read in March

9. Miss Phryne Fisher Investigates by Kerry Greenwood (ebook) ****
10. Bat Out of Hell by Francis Durbridge ****
11. Lonely Planet Japan *****

Read in June

12. The Road to Ratenburg by Joy Cowley ***
13. Japan fürs Handgepäck by Francoise Hauser (Ed.) **1/2
14. Die Glocken von Nagasaki by Paul Takashi Nagai *****
15.

Second half

Sounds like you'll have an exciting year! Good luck and happy reading!

I envy you the travel! Good luck with both books and traveling in 2024.

All the best for your plans for 2024, Käthe.
I'm looking forward to pictures and book bullets!

>5 mstrust: Thank you! I have been waiting for it forever.

>6 Tess_W: Thank you, Tess! It will be amazing to be that far away from everything I know.

>7 SirThomas: There will probably be some book bullets, Thomas. The only little downside will be that I will have to travel lightly - hence I cannot buy all the books I'd like to.

For travelling I use my eBook reader - space for books and books and Books. And my local public library is worldwide available.

Welcome back, Käthe!

Lovely to see you back Kathe. I will be keeping you virtual company again in 2024

>1 PersephonesLibrary: I want to travel too in 2024 after I finish my current project. If you manage to stop over in Kuala Lumpur, Hani and I would be useful tour guides!

>11 SirThomas: I will take my eReader with me, too. But I don't manage to read only eBooks for a while. I mix the books and stories together and cannot remember well afterwards.

I need to switch between paper and ebook.

>12 drneutron: Thank you, Jim!

>13 PaulCranswick: That would be absolutely amazing, Paul! Be careful, or I will actually come for a visit.

>14 PersephonesLibrary: It was a bit like that for me too, but now I (unfortunately) read the electronic version much more.
But I couldn't live without paper books either.

>16 PersephonesLibrary: You would be very welcome, Kathe, honestly.

I too offer my services as coffee host and tour guide (local tips and hints)! I am LONG overdue an LT meetup, and New Zealand is my specialty. So, like Paul, I say 'keep in touch'!

I have tentative travel plans as well, the only spanner in the works (aside from saving enough money) are my children, who have a tendency to be tricky travel companions on account of their moods...

>18 PaulCranswick: Thank you, Paul! I will keep you updated! It is probably a stupid question, but is it safe to travel alone in Malaysia? If I don't speak the language I am ususally a bit timid..

>19 LovingLit: We could definitely organize a meetup! I haven't yet planned the itinerary, but I am sure there is no problem to find a meeting place. I want to visit both main islands and I am very flexible. :-)

I understand very well. Children can be quite uncooperative. I am in the lucky position that I am completely independent. It still took me 12 years to finally make the decision and take the time to travel.

Happy New Year and a wonderful start of 2024!

After my final exhausting Christmas season in the book store I hope to read a few pages today. I am currently reading the Blackwater series by Michael McDowell. I spent last October in France and the books were literally in EVERY bookstore. It's a spooky classic from the 1980's and has inspired several horror writers. Stephen King for example - he decided to publish The green mile in 6 books to honor McDowell.

I got the first volume of a collection which includes the first three novels The Flood, The Levee and The House. The second volume is on its way from the US. Hopefully it will arrive before I leave for my travels. I have read the first two books and hope to read the final one (The House) today.

The second book on my list is a travel guide for New Zealand - Baedeker Reiseführer Neuseeland.

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Happy New Year, Käthe.
Wonderful travel plans, you have something to look forward to.

>21 PersephonesLibrary: Paul could also give you some tips for travel in NZ!

Happy New Year, Käthe, and safe travels.

Happy reading in 2024, Käthe!

Looking forward to follow your travels.

>23 mstrust: Thanks, Jennifer! That's pretty much how NYE looked here at my place. :)

>24 EllaTim: Indeed, Ella! And despite having thought about travelling for several years, I still have to prepare a lot til February. Time will fly by!

>25 LovingLit: I am happy for all recommendations I can get! I have only started with the planning and have got a rough idea of what I want to do. So tips are welcome!

>26 BLBera: Thank you, Beth! All the best for you, too!

>27 FAMeulstee: Hi Anita and Frank! Thank you for stopping by!

1. Blackwater 3-in-1 The Flood, The Levee, The House by Michael McDowell *****

I enjoyed this a lot: It's starting of as a novel about power in the Caskey family. The Caskeys are one of three families in Perdido that got rich thanks to their sawmill. In 1919 not only a flood destroys land and business, but the mysterious Elinor enters the Caskey household and challenges the old power balances...

Additionally to the psychological aspects, there are spooky elements taking more and more space from one book to the next. I can't wait to get Volume II of the collection!

Happy new year and a happy new thread. Just dropping my star here.

>30 sirfurboy: Hi there, Stephen! How are you? Happy New Year!

2. Sea of Tranquility by Emily St. John Mandel ****

On Bluesky we did a SantaThingy as well and I was gifted this novel: There is one particular place on earth, where there seems to be a glitch in the system. Several characters experience this glitch in 1912, 2020, 2203 and 2401 and all see and hear a forest, violin sounds and the sounds of a spaceship. Their lives get intertwined through this place or moment in time.

Sea of Tranquility is a hopeful novel and deals with the fact that every generation has to deal with the feeling of "the world is ending". It might be war, a pandemic, or a personal twist of fate. But there will always be an "after" even if we are dead. There will always be people with love for others who keep humanity. There will always be some kind of civilization and community. And despite all the technological advances it's the human being and his connection to others that will last until the very end.

>20 PersephonesLibrary: The answer is a cautious yes, Kathe. The cities are very safe and you will have no trouble with the language barrier as most people speak English to a lesser or greater degree. Hani and I would take care of you for sure anyhow!

Have a lovely weekend.

>32 PersephonesLibrary: I liked this one, I recall, even though it was a tad fantastical.

>32 PersephonesLibrary: That's an interesting read. I'll look out for it.

>29 PersephonesLibrary: This sounds very good: historical mystery, family saga, supernatural, all in one!

>35 sirfurboy: Yes, it definitely is.

>36 Tess_W: I managed to read the second book in January, too. And I loved every single volume except the final one. I don't want to spoiler, so let's just say it was quite anti-climatic. I expected a bang at the ending which didn't come. But apart from that it is definitely worth a read!

Greetings from New Zealand! I arrived exactly two weeks ago and have already traveled to Auckland, Taupo and Napier.
Now, I am in Wellington.

The country is beautiful and the people are all very open and friendly. And you are always close to lakes ir the sea, which is my dream.

I don't read a lot but I visit every bookshop on my way. Too bad I can't buy much because I want to travel lightly.

I will try to upload some pictures.

I am sorry, I don't manage to put the pictures of my New Zealand travels in here. If ypu want to have a peek I have just uploaded them into my gallery:
https://www.librarything.com/gallery/member/PersephonesLibrary

>40 PersephonesLibrary: When I visited New Zealand I went to the South Island whereas you were in the North. That will be my next trip!

>40 PersephonesLibrary: Glad you're having a good time. Nice pics!

I loved New Zealand when I visited. Glad you are having a great time!!

>41 PaulCranswick: I will hop over to the South island on Saturday. To see Nelson, Kaikoura, Dunedin, Queenstown, etc.

>42 mstrust: It's lovely. The hardest part is not to buy stuff at bookshops...

>43 curioussquared: It's amazing. I love the nature, the melting pot.. and I understand why many people want to live here.

Have a wonderful journey, Käthe!
>40 PersephonesLibrary: The pictures are beautiful.

I hope you are doing well and enjoying life and books. All the best to you.

>48 SirThomas: Thank you, Thomas!

I am finally back home after travelling in New Zealand, Australia and Japan. I didn't manage a lot of books because I was on the road and sightseeing a lot.

I have updated the few books I managed to read.

Currently, I try to get over the grief of not travelling anymore. Hence, I am reading: Nagasaki, ca. 1642 by Christine Wunnicke.

Welcome home!
And another BB - my library doesn't have this one but I checked out Die Dame mit der bemalten Hand.

Glad to see you are back, Käthe!
Sounds like you had a great time traveling, now getting used to be back home ;-)

Thank you, Thomas & Anita! It takes time to get used to it again. I miss the daily new impressions. But hey, I can start planning the next trip now. :)

>50 SirThomas: I loved "Die Dame mit der bemalten Hand". Unfortunately, the Nagasaki book was a bit boring so I quit reading it. I hope you'll enjoy your selection!

>51 FAMeulstee: Glad to be back! I have got a lot of books to catch up with to still reach my goal. But fortunately, I have found a lot of inspiration while travelling.

After having neglected my reading schedule during the past months I try to catch up. Hence, I decided to join the #Sommerlochbingo2024 (Is "Sommerloch" actually called "Silly Season" in English?) on German Social Media. And of course, I don't follow the official rules but made up my own.

From June 1 to July 31 I try to read books by authors from every letter of the alphabet. If there are duplicates I will count the title. And no, I probably won't make the whole alphabet. It's more about the fun to strike something of a list and getting into the habit of reading again.

Here's my BINGO CARD:

Welcome back, Kathe! Where was your favorite place you visited on your travels?

I will confess I have never heard of either Summerloch or "Silly Season" but maybe it's more European?

Glad to see you safely home, Kathe. Which place on your travels impressed you the most?

Thank you, Nathalie and Paul! To be honest it is impossible to choose one place.

New Zealand as a whole was amazing - nature there is breathtaking and the ocean at every coast a little bit different. Here's a shot of the so-called Mirror Lakes.




Australia was historically intriguing. I had great experiences with capybaras, koalas and kangaroos. The Ponton at the Agincourt Reef at Great Barrier Reef was very picturesque.




And Japan was culturally fascinating. Beautiful shrines and amazing food! Most touching was probably Nagasaki with the atomic bomb hypocentre and the Atomic Bomb Museum.

Beautiful pics! Welcome back, and glad you had a such a good trip.

Thank you for sharing the wonderful pics.
I can understand your grief of not travelling anymore - It's been raining here for days...

>53 PersephonesLibrary: I downloaded a copy of your reading card. I might see what I can do with that goal.