Barbara's (Ameise1) ROOTing in 2024
Forum2024 ROOT Challenge
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1Ameise1
Hi, my name is Barbara (62). I am married to Thomas (62) and we have two lovely daughters Isabelle (31) and Marina (24) and their partners. What warms our hearts the most are our two wonderful grandsons Juri (will be 2 on 4.1.24) and Timo (born on 19.8.23). We are always happy when they are with us.
I will be working as a primary school teacher until the end of July 24 and will then retire early after 40 years in the teaching profession. Thomas has been on early retirement since the end of June 23. We are both looking forward to being independent in the summer.
We have a few long-term adventures up our sleeves. One is cycling from the source of the Rhine to the mouth of the Rhine, and the other is cycling from the source of the Rhone to the mouth of the Rhone. However, we will do this in different stages, as we will mainly be travelling in good weather and don't want to be stressed under any circumstances. These projects may therefore take us years to complete.
And of course we are also looking forward to spoiling our grandchildren even more.
In the second half of the year, we will be in Maastricht from time to time, as Marina will be doing her international master's degree in law there.
I will be working as a primary school teacher until the end of July 24 and will then retire early after 40 years in the teaching profession. Thomas has been on early retirement since the end of June 23. We are both looking forward to being independent in the summer.
We have a few long-term adventures up our sleeves. One is cycling from the source of the Rhine to the mouth of the Rhine, and the other is cycling from the source of the Rhone to the mouth of the Rhone. However, we will do this in different stages, as we will mainly be travelling in good weather and don't want to be stressed under any circumstances. These projects may therefore take us years to complete.
And of course we are also looking forward to spoiling our grandchildren even more.
In the second half of the year, we will be in Maastricht from time to time, as Marina will be doing her international master's degree in law there.
2Ameise1
My ROOTing in 2024
# 1 Dunkelkinder by Nora Luttmer (4 stars)
# 2 I Am Your Judge by Nele Neuhaus (4½ stars)
# 3 Small Mercies by Dennis Lehane (4½ stars)
# 4 Deadline in Athens by Pétros Márkaris (4 stars)
# 1 Dunkelkinder by Nora Luttmer (4 stars)
# 2 I Am Your Judge by Nele Neuhaus (4½ stars)
# 3 Small Mercies by Dennis Lehane (4½ stars)
# 4 Deadline in Athens by Pétros Márkaris (4 stars)
4Ameise1
>10 Ameise1: thanks so much Jennifer.
5connie53
Lovely picture of your grandsons!
And what a great plans for the year. I live relatively near Maastricht. (a half hour by train) so maybe we can meet up somewhere.
Good luck with your ROOting.
And what a great plans for the year. I live relatively near Maastricht. (a half hour by train) so maybe we can meet up somewhere.
Good luck with your ROOting.
6Ameise1
>5 connie53: Thank you very much, Connie. Yes, I would be delighted to meet up with you.
9rabbitprincess
Welcome back, Barbara! Love the photo of your grandsons! Have a great reading year :)
12Ameise1
>11 cyderry: Thanks so much, Chèli. 😀
15MissWatson
Happy New Year, Barbara, and thanks for the introduction to your grandsons. And I wish you success with your great cycling projects, they sound amazing!
17Ameise1
Hi Jackie, Beth, Birgit and Joanne, thank you so much for your welcome. I'm starting a bit late with the ROOTING as I've read a lot of books from the library so far. But now the first book from my TBR pile is read. More to come soon.
As I said, I've already read some very good books this year. You can check them out on my main thread.
As I said, I've already read some very good books this year. You can check them out on my main thread.
18Ameise1
ROOT 1 Read in German book 19 in 2024
Dunkelkinder
What fascinates me about Nora Luttmer's books is that she is very knowledgeable about the life and culture of Vietnam. In addition to being an author, she is also a journalist, studied Southeast Asian Studies with a focus on Vietnam and regularly spent long periods of time in Hanoi in the 1990s.
This story is set in Hamburg, but the protagonists are Vietnamese. Inspector Mia Paulsen comes across a dead 'ghost child' in a cold case where nobody knows where it came from or who it was. Shortly after she takes on the case, two fresh corpses are found at the same location. The coroner's office establishes that these bodies are from Vietnam. Mia sees a connection to her cold case and wonders whether the dead child might also have come from Vietnam. The deeper she digs, the more complicated the whole thing becomes.
This story is also about the Vietnamese drug cartel in Germany. The story is told from different points of view: Mia, Luka (son of a murdered policeman), Sam (a 'ghost child', very much alive) and Aunt Lien (interpreter for the police, but deeply involved with the Vietnamese drug cartel).
It is written in a very exciting and varied way.
DunkelkinderWhat fascinates me about Nora Luttmer's books is that she is very knowledgeable about the life and culture of Vietnam. In addition to being an author, she is also a journalist, studied Southeast Asian Studies with a focus on Vietnam and regularly spent long periods of time in Hanoi in the 1990s.
This story is set in Hamburg, but the protagonists are Vietnamese. Inspector Mia Paulsen comes across a dead 'ghost child' in a cold case where nobody knows where it came from or who it was. Shortly after she takes on the case, two fresh corpses are found at the same location. The coroner's office establishes that these bodies are from Vietnam. Mia sees a connection to her cold case and wonders whether the dead child might also have come from Vietnam. The deeper she digs, the more complicated the whole thing becomes.
This story is also about the Vietnamese drug cartel in Germany. The story is told from different points of view: Mia, Luka (son of a murdered policeman), Sam (a 'ghost child', very much alive) and Aunt Lien (interpreter for the police, but deeply involved with the Vietnamese drug cartel).
It is written in a very exciting and varied way.
19MissWatson
>18 Ameise1: I've never heard of this author. Sounds very interesting!
20Ameise1
>19 MissWatson: Birgit, a few years ago I read the first two books of the Kommissar Ly series, which is set in Hanoi, and I was absolutely thrilled. I can highly recommend the books by Nora Luttmer.
21MissWatson
>20 Ameise1: The name goes on the ever-growing list. Thanks!
22Ameise1
>21 MissWatson: Birgit, you're welcome. My list is once again growing immeasurably too. 🫣😂
23Ameise1
ROOT 2 Read in German book 20 in 2024
I Am Your Judge
Detective Inspector Pia Kirchhoff is actually on her way to her honeymoon, but a mysterious murder case makes her stay at home. An elderly lady is shot in the head at long range while walking her dog. What at first seems like a big mystery soon turns out to be a serial killer who has an agenda as an 'avenger'. Kirchhoff and her colleague von Bodenstein are always one step behind the murderer during their investigations. The underlying theme is organ donation and how some doctors deal with it.
Another very exciting crime thriller by Nele Neuhaus, which I can highly recommend.
I Am Your JudgeDetective Inspector Pia Kirchhoff is actually on her way to her honeymoon, but a mysterious murder case makes her stay at home. An elderly lady is shot in the head at long range while walking her dog. What at first seems like a big mystery soon turns out to be a serial killer who has an agenda as an 'avenger'. Kirchhoff and her colleague von Bodenstein are always one step behind the murderer during their investigations. The underlying theme is organ donation and how some doctors deal with it.
Another very exciting crime thriller by Nele Neuhaus, which I can highly recommend.
24Ameise1
ROOT 3 Read in German book 21
Small Mercies
This was another Lehane that made me think a lot. Please don't get me wrong, I am against any form of racism, but the way the solutions were implemented in Boston to bring about mixing was doomed to failure in my eyes. How is this supposed to work when children are bussed across the city to attend a school where there are mixed races? The question that should have been asked is how to mix neighbourhoods so that different ethnicities can live together and the school would also be mixed. This is hardly possible in America because rich parents send their children to private schools and the public schools (as it seems here in Switzerland) do not have the best reputation.
The second focus is drug dealing and consumption. How easy it is as an Irish population that is against the mixing of the races, but big in the drugs business, to blame all misdeeds on the weak population. They are often supported/covered up by the 'white' police.
Sometimes I felt really sick while reading, with so much injustice. And I ask myself, when I look at today's American politics from a distance, why after so many years the USA has somehow still not come up with a solution to racism.
Small MerciesThis was another Lehane that made me think a lot. Please don't get me wrong, I am against any form of racism, but the way the solutions were implemented in Boston to bring about mixing was doomed to failure in my eyes. How is this supposed to work when children are bussed across the city to attend a school where there are mixed races? The question that should have been asked is how to mix neighbourhoods so that different ethnicities can live together and the school would also be mixed. This is hardly possible in America because rich parents send their children to private schools and the public schools (as it seems here in Switzerland) do not have the best reputation.
The second focus is drug dealing and consumption. How easy it is as an Irish population that is against the mixing of the races, but big in the drugs business, to blame all misdeeds on the weak population. They are often supported/covered up by the 'white' police.
Sometimes I felt really sick while reading, with so much injustice. And I ask myself, when I look at today's American politics from a distance, why after so many years the USA has somehow still not come up with a solution to racism.
25Ameise1
ROOT 4 Read in German Book 38
Deadline in Athenes
This is the first volume in the Inspector Kostas Charitos series. He is the head of the homicide squad in Athens and is supervised by Nikolaos Gikas. They are not always on the same page, as Charitos is a gut man and his boss only works with facts. Despite many misunderstandings, Gikas has Charitos' back. Charitos is married, and even though he loves his wife, they often have arguments.
Charitos investigates together with Sotiris and Thanassis. They are called to a house where two Albanians have been found dead. Despite questioning the neighbours, they make no progress. If it wasn't for the ambitious journalist Jana Karajorgi, who spreads the word that there must be another child. The TV journalist stops at nothing and keeps spreading new stories until she is found murdered shortly before the midnight programme. Now Charitos and his team get a new lead and wonder why the journalist had to die. Her successor is also found dead shortly afterwards. Charitos also realises that there is a mole inside the police department. Who is it?
The case escalates into child trafficking and power games. It is written in such an exciting and varied way that the reader only realises who the culprit is on the last page.
Deadline in AthenesThis is the first volume in the Inspector Kostas Charitos series. He is the head of the homicide squad in Athens and is supervised by Nikolaos Gikas. They are not always on the same page, as Charitos is a gut man and his boss only works with facts. Despite many misunderstandings, Gikas has Charitos' back. Charitos is married, and even though he loves his wife, they often have arguments.
Charitos investigates together with Sotiris and Thanassis. They are called to a house where two Albanians have been found dead. Despite questioning the neighbours, they make no progress. If it wasn't for the ambitious journalist Jana Karajorgi, who spreads the word that there must be another child. The TV journalist stops at nothing and keeps spreading new stories until she is found murdered shortly before the midnight programme. Now Charitos and his team get a new lead and wonder why the journalist had to die. Her successor is also found dead shortly afterwards. Charitos also realises that there is a mole inside the police department. Who is it?
The case escalates into child trafficking and power games. It is written in such an exciting and varied way that the reader only realises who the culprit is on the last page.
27MissWatson
>25 Ameise1: I remember my mother liked that series...maybe I'll check my sister's library this weekend.
