Connie's ROOTs in 2014, part 2

This is Thread number 2 for 2014.

TBR 588 + 6 = 594 - 4 = 590
Read ROOTs: 4
Books leaving the house unread:
Read others: 2
------- p-books:
------- e-books: 2

Totally Read 2014: 6
Books into the house: 6

----------------------------------------

My goal is 24 Books of the shelves. That will leave room for new books (just bought) or books that have not been on my shelves long enough.

I decided on a different approach. ROOTs that will count are books that have been on my shelves for more then 12 months. Books bought in december 2012 will count if I read them in januari 2014 or later in 2014. Re-reads will count too.










This is my points ticker. I will give points to books I've read and the longer my book has been on the shelves, the more points it gets.
2014 - 1 point
2013 - 2 points
2012 - 3 points
2011 - 4 points
2010 - 5 points
2009 and older - 6 points










My thread from ROOT 2013: http://www.librarything.nl/topic/154394

List of ROOTs I have read in 2014

01). Lucretia Grindle - Villa Triste - 471 pages - 2012 = 3 points -
02). Raymond E. Feist - Reis door de nacht - 349 pages - 2010 = 5 points -
03). Ransom Riggs - De bijzondere kinderen van Mevrouw Peregrine - 378 pages - 2012 = 3 points -
04). Naomi Novik - Tong van de draak - 300 pages - 2012 = 3 points -
05). Raymond E. Feist - De toorn van een waanzinnige god - 477 pages - 2010 = 5 points -
06). Jan Siegel - De kinderen van Prospero - 314 pages - 2009 or before = 6 points -
07). Jan Siegel - Drakendwinger - 320 pages - 2009 or before = 6 points -
08). Guy Gavriel Kay - Tigana - 594 pages - 2010 = 5 points - *

Other paper books read in 2014

01). Peter James - Schijndood - 396 pages -
02). Anthony Ryan - De schaduw van de raaf - 671 pages - *
03). Emma Donoghue - Een kus voor de heks - 191 pages -

Ebooks read in 2014

01). Ruth Newman - Schaduwkant - 302 pages -
02). Ruth Newman - Oogcontact - 304 pages -

* = currently reading

List of books bought in 2014

01). Vijf kwarten van de sinaasappel - Joanne Harris
02). De hemel van Heivisj - Benny Lindelauf
03). In de Schaduw van de Raaf - Anthony Ryan
04). Negen open armen - Benny Lindelauf
05). De held van weleer - Brandon Sanderson
06). Schijndood - Peter James
07). De droomtuin - Rachel Hore
08). De dode kamer - Bronja Hoffschlag
09). Al wat schittert - Eleanor Catton
10). Een kus voor de heks - Emma Donoghue
11). Elizabeth George - Verloren Onschuld
12). Tommy Wieringa - Een mooie jonge vrouw
13). Lauren Beukes - Stralende meisjes
14). Isa Hoes - Toen ik je zag
15). Ransom Riggs - Omhulde stad

Welcome to my new thread!

Wow, thread #2! Nice work! :)

Hi RP, How nice of you to swing by!

The Ruth Newman books don't seem to be available here in the US. I could order from the UK, though.

Yes, you could. I think they are real good with all kinds pf plot twists. The last one I'm reading now is a bit overdone in my eyes. That wpuld be Oogcontact.

New thread already - lot's of things going on in the group this year.

Sorry about your bookstore. I hope it will get back up and running soon!

Hi Henrik. Nice to see you here!

There are a few more bookstores in my town that did not belong to that particular chain. And there is always online buying. But I like being in a bookstore and feel and smell the books.

A question, Connie. I have a ticker posted on my own thread. Do I then need to post also in the ticker thread?

Yes, please do.

You just copy the HTML code from your thread and put it in the ticker thread! Cyderry (Chèli) can see all tickers together in one spot. And she doesn't have to open all 177 personal threads (we have 177 members! Wow) So it's just to make her job easier.

You're off to a good start!

Thanks, Stacy.

Happy Thread #2!

I was sorry to read about your favorite bookstore on the last thread. I'm seeing too many bookstores close.

Gracious. On your second thread already. How do you find time to actually read books on top of all your activity on LT?

No idea, Robert.

It is sad about the bookstore closing. Amazon has a lot to answer for :(

Nice new thread!

Thanks, Birgit!

Whoo! 2nd Thread! :)
After all this talk about used bookstores closing, I decided to visit an old friend, Page One... but it was closed!!! Fortunately, it was only closed in that location bc it moved. ;) AND even better? the new location is closer to my house & rocks!

So, some of these stores are trying to stick it out...
hope for my someday wish of owning a physical bookstore...

>20 avanders:: Oh, are you in Albuquerque, avanders? Greetings from a fellow New Mexican! Page One is an an awesome indie bookstore. I know when they found out they were losing their lease, they were worried they might have to close, and I am so very glad they didn't.

So, naturally, I had to go there before they moved and buy some books so they'd have less to transport, and then after they moved so I could see the new place. Good for them, more than a little dangerous to my TBR Pile!

(And, also, since I don't believe I've posted on this thread yet: Hi again, Connie! You're doing well!)

Hi, Bragan, Thanks!

>21 bragan: why yes, I am in Albuquerque! Greetings to you too :) Well, it's a weird little strip mall over there in their new location, but it's busy! And the store itself is great :) I'm glad too!

lol - I know. I bought 5-6 books on this last visit. Just to help 'em out. I'm very selfless that way ;)

>23 avanders:: It is a weird little strip mall, but at least the parking lot is easier to get out of!

We are all wonderfully selfless when it comes to book-buying. We should get medals. :)

TBR 588 + 6 = 594 - 3 = 591
Read ROOTs: 3
Books leaving the house unread:
Read others: 2
------- p-books:
------- e-books: 2

Totally Read 2014: 5
Books into the house: 6

--------------------------

This is not going well!

One ebook finished:
Oogcontact by Ruth Newman
This book was a bit of a disappointment. I thought it would be more exciting, it was in way, but the end was really forced, with to many plot changes.
And since it's an ebook it's no ROOT.

And then there was a email that there were two new books waiting for me at the Supermarket. Yes, we get our books delivered there from BOL (the online shop). Very easy when you are working all day.

So after I had lunch with my best friend Vera and she went home again, I cycled to the Albert Hein to get some groceries and my books

De held van weleer by Brandon Sanderson


703 pages

This is the almost literal translation of The Hero of Ages
Mistborn # 3

Tricked into releasing the evil spirit Ruin while attempting to close the Well of Ascension, new emperor Elend Venture and his wife, the assassin Vin, are now hard-pressed to save the world from Ruin's deadly Inquisitors, the insidious lethal mists called the Deepness and the increasingly heavy falls of black ash that threaten to bury the land and starve its inhabitants.

Schijndood by Peter James


396 pages

This is the translation of Not dead yet
Roy Grace #8
Not dead yet = Nog niet dood
Schijndood = There is no word for that in English. Or non that i could find. It is person who looks dead but really is in a deep coma or something.

For LA producer Larry Brooker, this is the movie that could bring the fortune that has so long eluded him ...For rock superstar, Gaia, desperate to be taken seriously as an actor, this is the role that could get her an Oscar nomination For the City of Brighton and Hove, the publicity value of a major Hollywood movie being filmed on location, about the city's greatest love story between King George 1Vth and Maria Fitzherbert - is incalculable. For Detective Superintendent Roy Grace of Sussex CID, it is a nightmare unfolding in front of his eyes. An obsessed stalker is after Gaia. One attempt on her life is made days before she leaves her Bel Air home to fly to Brighton. Now, he has been warned, the stalker may be at large in his city, waiting, watching, planning.

So it's 2 books in and no books out!

Two books "in" is good. Necessary, or you wouldn't be here :)

Yes I know. I'm doing better, but sometimes I'm weak!

I really have to get some reading done! I just hang out on LT and reading all kind of threads! That's not good.

Can somebody push me a little??

Those books aren't going to read themselves you know. Turn off your computer and start reading. (Is that enough of a push?)

Thanks Robert! I needed that.

I know how you feel, keeping up with other people's reading is fascinating but distracting. By the way, Schijndood looks like it would be scheintot in German, and the translation offered is "seemingly dead". Obviously a case where we have a proper word for it.

I'm almost halfway Tong van de draak and I'm doing better with reading versus LT threads!

This afternoon my daughter Eveline is coming over. We are going to watch a show on tv together and talk. Her boyfriend and my husband are going out for drinks and we plan a mum-daugther evening. And she stays the night.

My daughter Eveline stayed over last night .



We went grocery shopping for our dinner, a mixed salad with some pieces of chicken and a glass of wine (or three) and nice snacks for the evening.

She and I watched a tv show: "All you need is love" and in between we worked on the puzzle and chatted a lot!!!

Ohh, jigsaw puzzles. I love doing jigsaw puzzles but don't have time these days. I remember once doing a 2500 piece puzzle. It was so big that I had to keep it on a board that I slid under a bed. When I finished it there were two pieces missing. I think the cat ate them!

Sounds like fun! I do love my sons (now aged 34 and 35), but I have missed not having a daughter; especially when we could now be best friends! Could not get one of my sons to do this with me. Although I would never put a puzzle together--that makes me tense. But do miss having somebody to do girly things with.

I have a son and a daughter. (and a son in law and a daugther in law (not official yet, but they are living together). We all love to do puzzles and games, only my husband is not that kind of guy. So they must have inherited this from me.

Amazing puzzle! I have a daughter who can do them. My part is watching and admiring her progress.

>25 connie53:, The cover for The Hero of Ages is beautiful. It would make quite a nice puzzle itself. :)

Yes, that's true Merryann. All three Dutch covers of Mistborn are beautiful.

Sounds like a great time and no reading was involved!

It's difficult to understand such a thing sometimes, Chèli. But is can be done!

That's a huge puzzle. How many pieces are there?

2000! almost finished!

And we won again! Michael, Jan and Ronald (1,2 and 3) 500 meter speed skating!

Congratulations!

Thanks. This was so exciting and a bit bittersweet for Jan, who tought he was number 1, But he needed 0,0012 sec. more to win!

Oh! That's almost as bad as my daughter missing her full college scholarship by two tenths of one percent.

Congrats on your country's Olympic wins!

I shy away from puzzles. Once I get going, it's too hard to stop and too frustrating to keep going. I see now what I have been missing... a glass of wine!

Nice pictures - beautiful daughter and Mom ;-) Thanks for sharing.

Hi Sis. A glass of wine on the side is helping. It stands there and I completely forget about it.

And you have a new niece! ;-))

OMG! A new niece! How wonderful!
I love baby girls the best. What fun.

Um, did you just have a baby?

Umm, no, those days are over. But my daughter is of course your niece. And you have a nephew too

Oh! Not a newborn niece... rather a new niece and nephew that comes with a new sister. Now I get it. duh

I love big girls too. I'm finally thinking boys are pretty ok, too - as proven to me by my 3 grandsons.

TBR 588 + 6 = 594 - 4 = 590
Read ROOTs: 4
Books leaving the house unread:
Read others: 2
------- p-books:
------- e-books: 2

Totally Read 2014: 6
Books into the house: 6

Late yesterday evening or rather very early this morning I finished Tong van de draak by Naomi Novik ROOT # 4. Finally.....

Temeraire, the dragon, and his rider Lawrence are in Australia with some other travelers. They are in a very primitive version of Sydney and they are forced to travel through a desert to the other side of this continent. This is the last translated Temeraire book # 6 in the series. And certainly not the best one.

I'm starting a new ROOT:

De toorn van een waanzinnige god by Raymond E. Feist


477 pages - on my shelves since 2010 = 5 points

This is the literal translation of Wrath of a Mad God and # 3 in the Darkwar Saga. I have this as a book and as an ebook.

Also started a new and shiny one. Just bought it a few days ago.

Schijndood by Peter James. See post # 25 for details.

Beautiful family, and sounds like you had a wonderful evening!

Thanks, Ava!

TBR 588 + 7 = 595 - 4 = 591
Read ROOTs: 4
Books leaving the house unread:
Read others: 2
------- p-books:
------- e-books: 2

Totally Read 2014: 6
Books into the house: 7

-------------------

Peet and I went downtown today to buy a new wireless doorbel. We went to the HEMA, a department store, and there was a display with books (of course, why else would I mention our trip downtown). While Peet went to pay for the bell I browsed through them and there was a book I was searching for.

De droomtuin by Rachel Hore



The translation of The Memory Garden
Memory = herinnering of geheugen
Droom = Dream.

So it's not a literal translation.

Lamorna Cove, in Cornwall's far west, has become home to Melanie Pentreath, who has retreated to the overgrown gardens of Merryn Hall following the death of her mother and the end of a relationship. It is in this idyllic setting that Melanie meets Patrick, and they soon find themselves becoming closer to one another.

These trips are not good for my TBR pile!

It sounds like you and your daughter had a wonderful evening last week. And some very good ROOTing is going on here too!

You found me!! Welcome!

Might be funnier going to the hardware store here, if they also had book sections!

The Memory Garden looks like a good book...and another one with a beautiful jigsaw puzzle quality cover. :)

Oh. I love the idea of books in the hardware store! It would give me something to do and give my DH time to drool over the tools - or whatever.
That would be funny - the men dragging the women out instead of in. But men who love to read would have a very hard time making it home for supper ;-)

Hi Sis! Glad you got a book you were looking for. Are you starting to think "gardening"?

It was not really a hardware store, just a store where you can buy anything: clothing, cheese, toys, books, tools, towels, cushions etc.. I thought that was called a department store ;-))

But Henrik must have been dreaming of buying tools so he in interpreted it to his wishes, LOL

Or maybe I was hoping for extra fun the next time I go there?

You might, Henrik!

>61 connie53: Department stores are mainly really big clothing stores, that will usually have some home stuff (dishware, linens, etc) as well. The Galeria Inno, De Bijenkorf, and V&D are department stores. I guess C&A probably is, too. I wouldn't call Hema one (for the Americans, Hema pretty much = Target).

C&A is just clothes and accessories. We don't call such a store 'een warenhuis'.

Hey there, finally got some time catching up on various threads. That cover of you latest acquisiton looks absolutely beautiful!
What's the picture on the jigsaw puzzle, looks interesting?

Keep going with your ROOTs, you're doing such a great job with keeping all of us on track and motivated and listeming/reading to our threads. Just take some time for yourself and your reading!

I should, shouldn't I?

But I got some reading done this morning.

This is the puzzle:

That's a cool puzzle! I bet it's rather difficult with all these little things to put into the rght places?

Yes, it's 1500 pieces, so that is a challenge. And even the little things are devided ans on two or three pieces. But that's what I like about puzzles. It makes my head empty. I just put in the last piece! Finished.

Oooo- that's a great puzzle

Wow that was fast. Congrats an finishing the puzzle :-)

Lovely puzzle. So bright and colorful!

Great puzzle, especially all the stuff in the attic!

I don't do puzzles but my mom does and I think she would think that this one is funny. Lot's of little details and not 200 pieces of blue sky which all look the same.

Hi all,

Thanks, I love all those little details.

@ Henrik - I don't like those blue skies in puzzles, in real live i'm very fond of them. Your mum might like all puzzles by Colin Thompson.

@ T-R : this one took me much longer then I expected. I think it took me maybe 10 days

Wow, that's quite jigsaw puzzle!

Started a new one!!

ooh fun puzzle! I also wanted to "like" the picture of the puzzle, but such is not an option here on LT... ;p

Hahahaha, Ava! That would be a nice extra!

That must have been a wonderful jigsaw puzzle to work at. I love all the details in each room. It reminds me of a doll's house where the back wall is removable.

TBR 588 + 8 = 596 - 4 = 592
Read ROOTs: 4
Books leaving the house unread:
Read others: 2
------- p-books:
------- e-books: 2

Totally Read 2014: 6
Books into the house: 8

---------------------------

A new book just arrived from the online bookstore BOL.com:

De dode kamer by Bronja Hoffschlag.



This is an original Dutch book and the title means: The dead room.

This is a poem that is quoted on the first pages of the book and it's by a Dutch singer/songwriter. I liked the poem a lot but I question the English in some places.

Looking back through the crystal of colours
at the good things gone by in your life.
Don't you see that they're vague and deceptive
and you'll never return though you try.
It's easy to follow and it's hard to make your own way.
So you sit and you think, trying to find the missing link
in your life.

As you walk through your days of confusion
and you cry because something seems lost,
You feel helpless and sad as you wonder
without knowing what fine that it costs.
It's easy to sorrow and it's hard to live something new.
So you just wait and see, this will never set you free
in your life.

If you dream of a mountain of golden
that will shine out for what you are worth.
When you wake, don't start wasting the morning
For a mountain is part of this earth.
It's easy to linger and it's hard to climb that old high.
So you sit and you pray for a short and easy way
in your life.

So how come you are feeling so lonely?
You've got friends taking good care of you.
And they're all so alike and they love you,
But you never can tell who is who.
It's easy not to wonder and it's hard to think for yourself.
Where am I? Who are they?
This could be the longest day
in your life.

Boudewijn de Groot, 1968

The book is about 2 brothers that have drifted apart since their parents died in a car crash 15 years before. Lennart is a man who has made an carriere of his unemployment, blowing, drinking and making sure his social benefits stay the same. His younger brother Mischa is a succesful architect who works 16 hours a day. The contact between them is very difficult and there are periods of weeks in which they have no contact. When Misha does not answer his phone for a very ling time and Lennart starts to search, he discovers that his brother has resigned and left for America.

It is the beginning of a weeklong search, which confronts Lennart mercilessly with the past, lies and truths, mysteries, riddles, codes, hidden agendas and reminders. As his quest progresses and he uncovers more and more aspects of Misha's life, Lennart finds out that he did not know his brother that well and that he has no idea where Misha is capable of. Meanwhile, Misha confronts the ghosts of his past and some new demons, while the secret he carries with him for fifteen years, draws him more and more into darkness and he plunges into a desperate revenge mission. Possibly unintentionally and unwilling he draws the attention of serial killer Donald Skinner .

Hmm, interesting... reminds me a bit of Iron House ... is that available in Dutch?

Yes, it is! By John Hart? And I have that book as an ebook!

Yes by John Hart! My book group loved it -- felt like it was a good, thriller'y, quick read. Not high-brow stuff, but entertaining!

Okay, I will keep that one in mind, Thanks Ava!

I'm still reading ROOT # 5 but not making to much progress. I'm now on page 202 / 477. I like it a lot, but reading is slow these days. I had lots to do at school and worked some afternoons (normally I don't work afternoons) and housekeeping is an ongoing job. And then there is jigsawpuzzles and LT! But friday is the start of Carnaval (till wednesday) and school is closed for that week. So 9 days off!

I've added The iron house to my to read list, Ava!

I think that happens to all of us, Connie! Life gets in the way of our precious reading time ;)
Carnaval sounds like a great time to get some reading in! Good luck!

And hope you like Iron House!

Hi Connie, I envy you those extra reading days! You close down schools for Carnaval? Is it as big a thing as in Cologne and Düsseldorf? I always thought it was an important part of the Catholic tradition?

Yes, It is. Not in every province of the Netherlands though.
In Limburg and North Brabant (perhaps Zeeland, but i'm not sure about that one) it is a 4 to 5 day thing.

Just speaking about the town that I live in, Roermond:

Tomorrow is the kick-off when all the students get together on the square in front of the train station. the Sjolefestatie ( you get all three words mashed together: School, feest (party), Station)
Sjool = School ('We' speak Limburgs in these regions)



They celebrate from 12.00 am till late......

Saturday on the same square is the Statiefestatie. That is for everybody. You get pictures like these:







And every bar in Roermond is filled with people form friday 12.00 am till tuesday 00.00 am

Monday is the day of the big parade:





Tuesday is Bachus verzuipen:
Verzuipen = drowning
zuipen = lots of drinking.
Bachus, being the God of wine and drinking, is thrown into the river Roer and if it was a real person he would drown.



It's a puppet of course. But it's the official end of Carnival and the start of the lent term.

And it has its origin in the Catholic faith, but it doesn't have any connection with that religion anymore I think. Certainly not for the younger people.

We tried to keep the students at school for a few years, but that was futile. So now the carnivalbreak for the students started this afternoon.

wow that is colorful! Looks like a lot of fun!

Green, yellow and red are the colours of Carnival!

This is a picture of my son Jeroen and his Rianne



This are daughter Eveline and her Cyrille

Holy cripes that is waaaaay too many people! :o

That's why I stay home and read!

I would too! The Deventer Boekenmarkt is about my limit on crowds!

Hahaha. I bet you get the same feeling looking at the crowds there

Man, they have those photos of the crazy curvey shelfy thing on their site, and it looks so cool, but I've not seen anything like it the times I've gone! I want to see that!! Hrmph.

It's crowded, no doubt, but it's not anything all packed in like those Carnaval pictures!! Those people are as good as sardines, they're stuck! You might have to work your way through people at parts of the Boekenmarkt but it's not that hard! :P

Great pictures connie! it looks like fun! and I really like the band one! And like you to many people for me, I would probably stay home and watch it on TV!
Enjoy your reading!

Wow, that is spectacular. You can think of me eating pancakes on Sunday -- it should be on Shrove Tuesday, but it's difficult getting together with friends during the week so we're having our pancakes on Sunday instead.

Love the pics of your son and daughter and their others! Thanks for sharing!

Thanks for sharing the pictures, Connie! That is definitely a time to stay at home and lock the doors, I really don't like crowds.
Here in Kiel, I always try to get home before Kiel Week kicks off at the end of June. People tie themselves together with ropes and washing lines so they won't lose each other in the crush. SO not my thing!

That's not for me too. Tied together sounds scary!

Copy and paste from the 75ers:

Back from the hospital. A very nice femal physician who took all the time needed and examined all joints (even the very small ones, like in my hands and feet). She noticed immedeatly that my right knee was very swollen and she was sure there was a rheumatic inflammation in it that caused me to walk in an awkward way to unburden my knee. Which caused strain to my hips, but not to the joints, but to the muscles and sinews from my hips down.
But she wanted to examine some other options and find out why my shoulders and neck were hurting that bad. So I had to visit the X-ray department and the laboratory. 7 tubes of blood!! And x-rays from my lungs, feet, hands, shoulders and knees!

In two weeks time I have to go back and then we will see what the results are.
And I got anti-inflammatory painkillers. I hope they will help me to make me sleep painless.

Hey connie, I hope your results will be of a good nature and that the painkillers work and give you some good night's rest!

>103 Tallulah_Rose: I hope the same! I've been running on an avarage of 5 hours sleep. And I know some people can handle that, but I need an hour or so more.

I echo Tallulah Rose! Feel better soon!

Hope you feel better soon, Connie.

Ouch! That's a lot of blood samples! I hope they are able to find out what's wrong and that the painkillers help you sleep!

Great photos, Connie. I hope that you feel better soon.

Poor you! That sounds incredibly awful--pain, no sleep, and that is some party raging on outside! I hope it all resolves, and quickly.

Ouch! Good luck with it all, Connie! Here's hoping the painkillers help you sleep well (but aren't the kind that make your head feel too muddled-up to read!).

This morning I felt rather spacey! But now I think my body is getting used to it and now I feel all right. And the pain is lessened!

Hope you have a quick recovery!

Feel better soon Connie, and I hope that the docs can get to the bottom of what is going on.

Hey connie, sending prayers for a good outcome on all your tests.And it's great that the painkillers are working.

Connie, I hope you feel better soon. And I'm glad you got a doctor who was thorough about checking everything out when you went to the hospital. All the tests can be a bit daunting, but you'll know everything has been properly examined.

Thanks Jacckie, LadyB and Terri.

Connie - I hope you can get some answers soon! Until then, hopefully the meds will help with the pain and inflammation without making you feel too spacey to read!

>117 johanna414: Thanks Johanna. The meds are really helping against the pain. I don't know about the inflammation. My knee is still much bigger then the other one. And the spacey feeling has subsided, making room for sleepiness. But I can still concentrate on reading. So that's good. And since I have the week off I can sleep whenever I want to.

On that note: I finally finished another book. Schijndood by Peter James.

Now I'm going to update everything that needs to be updated.

I started another ROOT because for the March challenge on my Dutch forum.
I needed to start in a book belonging to a triology.

I choose De kinderen van Prospero by Jan Siegel The touchstone on the title is not working.


314 pages.

Fern and Will, the children of a feckless art dealer, find themselves sharing the remote farmhouse he has inherited with his current, and sinister, mistress. Something snuffles outside; a stone in the garden, which bears an odd resemblance to a passing tramp, moves in the night; a wolfish dog befriends them. Dreams and sleepwalking and the most remarkable videotape ever watched provide 16-year-old Fern with evidence that the world is not the controllable, rational place she thought it was--and that her own future is to be altogether more remarkable, and full of pain and wisdom, than she has expected.

I am so sorry to hear you are in pain. And your poor knee! I do hope when you go back to the doctor they will have good news for you. Meantime, how is the anti-inflammatory working? Are you getting more sleep?

Are you far enough away from those colorful crowds to have enough quiet for sleep? Those are beautiful pictures! I can't imagine what it would feel like being in the center of a crowd that size. I think I would want to go, if I could be connected to a rope that stretched up to an invisible ceiling. Then, if I got scared, I could tug on the rope and be lifted up, above the crowds, and out. :)

>120 Merryann: Hi Mary Ann. The meds are doing allright. I'm almost painfree most of the day. And I sleep for 6 hours without waking up. I have a week off from work so I do not need to get out of bed at a particular time. I just make myself a cup of tea and get some pillows and my kobo. And snuggle up in bed again.

Our house is on the outskirts of the town. In fact there is only one row of houses and a road between our house and the townborder. Then there is a highway and then meadows and woods and farms. We don't hear the noice from the towncentre up where we live.
And I'm not celebrating carnival anymore, I just stay home and read.

Enjoy the reading!

Sounds peaceful and lovely. I am glad you are not in as much pain. This message is deliberately short so as not to cut into your reading time, lol!

Hahaha, I always love your posts Mary Ann. Happy to see you here.

TBR 588 + 9 = 597 - 5 = 592
Read ROOTs: 4
Books leaving the house unread:
Read others: 3
------- p-books: 1
------- e-books: 2

Totally Read 2014: 7
Books into the house: 9

----------------------------------------
An email told me that a book had arrived that I had pre-ordered. So I took my bike and cycled in the spring sunshine to the neighbourhood supermarket.
I'm really pleased with that new possibility to use the supermarket as an pick up point for things ordered online.

In januari I was hit by a BB and now it was available in Dutch:



Al wat schittert by Eleanor Catton.

This is the translation of The Luminaries
Not literally translated.
Al wat schittert = All/Everything that shines/sparkels/glitters.

It's a big Tome: 832 pages.

On a blustery January day, a prostitute is arrested. In the midst of the 1866 gold rush on the coast of New Zealand, this might have gone unnoticed. But three notable events occur on that same day: a luckless drunk dies, a wealthy man vanishes, and a ship's captain of ill repute cancels all of his business and weighs anchor, as if making an escape. Anna Wetherell, the prostitute in question, is connected to all three men.

This sequence of apparently coincidental events provokes a secret council of powerful townsmen to investigate. But they are interrupted by the arrival of a stranger: young Walter Moody, who has a secret of his own...

Ooooooooooh, I'm very excited to see the Luminaries. I have it on my kindle... looking forward to your take on it!

Hope you're feeling at least a little better!

Connie! My sweet Sis...
What happened?
First I see all those cool pictures of Carnival (where I too would avoid those crowds) and then you are in the hospital for testing top to toes?
What did I miss? After taking all that blood, I can imagine the pain killer hit you pretty hard. Oh, poor baby. hugs...
I hope you get good rest on your break and find out what is wrong and how to fix it.

The pictures of my niece and nephew with their lovely others (#91) are not quite how I pictured them. But they look like they are having fun! lol What a celebration - wow.

Enjoy what peace you have.

>127 -Cee-: Hahaha, this is quite a way to start the morning, dear Sis. I read your post on my phone while still in bed. And I really had a smile from ear to ear on my face.
You are such a sweethart.

Here's the story: I have been having pain in my hips and knees for several months now. first I did see my GP and he did some tests (blood again) and I had X rays and an MRI made. Went to fysiotherapy and that did not help much. The pain moved to my schoulders and my wrists. And I insisted to see a specialist. In Holland the GP has to write a reference before you can go to such a person. In my blood there were some traces of rheumatism. So I was referred to a rheumatologist. Next Thursday we will hear the results of all those tests and x-rays made last friday. Nothing to worry about.

As far as your niece and nephew are concerned.

This is me with nephew Jeroen



and with his girlfriend Rianne



This is niece Eveline with boyfriend Cyrille



This is Eveline again



This is the whole Happy Family



These photo's were made on a family weekend to Baden Baden in Germany. We visited the Casino and stayed for 2 nights in a hotel. And had a lovely time.

Gorgeous!

Thanks, Birgit!

Lovely family

That is a breathtaking beautiful picture of Eveline and the glass. Her eyes look magical!

Thanks Mary Ann. It was a beautifull spot we were at. I love that picture of my daughter because it is so full of summer and good memories.

Wonderful photos! Just made for sharing. I love seeing what other LTers look like and what they are doing. Carnaval looks very exciting and a lot of fun. Your family are lovely.

Thanks, Vivienne.

This morning I finally finished ROOT #5 De toorn van een waanzinnige god by Raymond E. Feist. It took some time to read and it certainly is not one of Feists best books. That's all I can give it. Too many battles going on in this one. And too chaotically written. But in order to read the later books I had to finish this one.

I'm more than halfway into De kinderen van Prospero by Jan Siegel and that's a ROOT also.

I'm going to make a start in a New & Shiny One De schaduw van de Raaf by Anthony Ryan

671 pages, so that will probably take a while.

Update: Today is was a beautiful day in the Netherlands. The sun is still shining but now has set behind the houses and I wanted to do some LTing. I've been reading all day with some breaks for pruning the lavender brushes and hanging clothes out to dry. A friend of Peets came over for cup of coffee.

In de schaduw van de Raaf is a really very nice read. Traditional fantasy. Boy who is taken by his father to a school to become a warrior. He gathers a few good friends around him at the school and he is probably destined to safe the world or the king or defeat the darkness. It's very well written, I'm just flying through it. I'm now at page 184/671

And I made some progress in my 6th ROOT De kinderen van Prospero 211/314.

While sitting in the garden I noticed a tree in the front yard of our neighbours. I think it is a kind of prunus.



And what do you think of this place in the sun?



I always forget the bench is there. But I can use it to catch the morning sun in summer.

Great bench, I envy you for it. We spent yesterday morning and noon in our garden, getting it ready for the new season. It felt so great!
Congrats on your reading progress, glad to see you're enjoying your reading. Did you read outside in the garden?

>137 Tallulah_Rose: the whole afternoon! But not on that bench.

Just sitting here (photo from the summer of 2013)

TBR 588 + 10 = 598 - 5 = 593
Read ROOTs: 4
Books leaving the house unread:
Read others: 3
------- p-books: 1
------- e-books: 2

Totally Read 2014: 7
Books into the house: 10

-------------------------------------

Hi all, Today is another sunny day with more reading in the garden. I just arrived home from work, did some grocery shopping and changed into a skirt and a top with spaghetti straps ready to go.

When I arrived at school there was a package waiting for me. It apperently had been lying in the mailroom throughout the spring break. But I'm glad I have it now to put on the TBR pile. And it will be read soon!



Een kus voor de heks by Emma Donoghue
This is the translation of Kissing the Witch
Een kus = a kiss
de heks = the Witch
voor = for

So that's quite literally translated.
This is a book with short stories.
I'm a fan of Emma Donoghue since I read Kamer and this was the only translated book I was missing in my collection.

I love the cover. It's the painting of Queen Eleanor and fair Rosamund by Evelyn de Morgan.

Description:

Cinderella forsakes the handsome prince and runs off with the fairy godmother; Beauty discovers the Beast behind the mask is not so very different from the face she sees in the mirror; Snow White is awakened from slumber by the bittersweet fruit of an unnamed desire. Acclaimed writer Emma Donoghue spins new tales out of old in a magical web of thirteen interconnected stories about power and transformation and choosing one's own path in the world. In these fairy tales, women young and old tell their own stories of love and hate, honor and revenge, passion and deception. Using the intricate patterns and oral rhythms of traditional fairy tales, Emma Donoghue wraps age-old characters in a dazzling new skin.

Beautiful garden! Looks very peaceful... :)

>140 avanders: you should hear the two little boys (3 and 1,5) from the back neighbors scream and cry! The eldest is a kid that screams and kicks whenever he does not get his way. And his little brother is copying him. Luckily they still nap in the afternoon!

aww .. that sounds terrible :(
Nice that you get a little reprieve in the afternoons
... it's rough reading through that though!

Yes I know. I've learned to shut them out most of the time though and I hope they will grow out of it eventually. Or I get ear plugs

Just before dinner I found myself reading the first story in Een kus voor de heks by Emma Donoghue. I liked it

Kissing the Witch sounds intriguing.
Have you read Cinder, Scarlet, and Cress by Marissa Meyer. A futuristic fantasy where fairy tale characters are interwoven from one book to the next. Meyer is still writing... I'm glad. Loved the books I read so far (the first two).

Love your garden and bench area.
So. You're the one with all the sun! May we have a little of that please?

But of course dear Sis! Take all you need.

>145 -Cee-: About the Cinder books, No I have not read them. I searched for the translations. Only the first two are translated, so before buying them I would rather wait and see if the third one is translated too. They (publishers) tend to stop translating half way through a series.

Those are lovely photos of your family and your home grounds, Connie.

Thanks Terri!

TBR 588 + 13 = 601 - 5 = 596
Read ROOTs: 4
Books leaving the house unread:
Read others: 3
------- p-books: 1
------- e-books: 2

Totally Read 2014: 7
Books into the house: 13

------------------

Bougth some books today! It's 'boekenweek' = The week of books
When you buy a book for € 12,50 or more you get a novella for free 'Het boekenweekgeschenk' - 'The gift in the week of books'
And since I've been collecting the latter I had to buy a book. The bookweek ends this sunday so I went down town after work and visited 'The bookstore'. We have only one real bookstore, 3 secondhand shops and a few supermarkets that sell some books on the side.

So three books on the TBR pile (total of 13 for this year so far)

Verloren onschuld by Elizabeth George
Part 18 in the Lynley and Havers series



The translation of Just One Evil Act

And the translation of the title is really very unlike the real thing
Verloren onschuld = Lost innocence
Just one evil act = Maar één kwaadaardige daad
evil = kwaadaardig/slecht
act = daad

When Hadiyyah Upman disappears from London in the company of her mother, Detective Sergeant Barbara Havers is as devastated as the girl's father. They are her close friends as well as neighbours, but since the child is with her mother, nothing can be done. Five months later, Hadiyyah is kidnapped from an open air market in Lucca, Italy, and this triggers an investigation in the full glare of the media spotlight. Barbara's clever manipulation of the worst of London's tabloids forces New Scotland Yard to become involved. But rather than Barbara herself, her superior officer DI Thomas Lynley is assigned to handle a situation made delicate by racial issues, language difficulties, and the determination of an Italian magistrate to arrest and convict someone - anyone - for the crime.

Stralende meisjes by Lauren Beukes



The translation of The Shining Girls
Good translation!

Chicago 1931. Harper Curtis, a violent drifter, stumbles on a house with a secret as shocking as his own twisted nature – it opens onto other times. He uses it to stalk his carefully chosen 'shining girls' through the decades – and cut the spark out of them.
He’s the perfect killer. Unstoppable. Untraceable. He thinks..

Chicago, 1992. They say what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger. Tell that to Kirby Mazrachi, whose life was shattered after a brutal attempt to murder her. Still struggling to find her attacker, her only ally is Dan, an ex-homicide reporter who covered her case and now might be falling in love with her.
As Kirby investigates, she finds the other girls – the ones who didn’t make it. The evidence is.. impossible. But for a girl who should be dead, impossible doesn’t mean it didn’t happen..

And the 'boekenweekgeschenk'

Een mooie jonge vrouw by Tommy Wieringa



The title should translate into this: A beautiful young woman

A brilliant microbiologist meets a beautiful young woman. She is a victory on the time, but he can not avert his impending old age and decay. Their marriage is a clash between her idealism and his realism where she connects with the suffering of others he lacks empathy, according to her. But when control of his life slips away from him, he also learns to know the meaning of pain.

That's a cool idea the bookwek. So, if you collect the gifts, do shelf them in a special way or just among the other books?

Nice to see the green garden and flowering trees. We had another major snowfall Wednesday, so green for us is likely several weeks away. At least it has warmed up temporarily. I am enjoying your pictures, as well as your book descriptions!

Ooh! the Lauren Beukes novel sounds intriguing! that may have to go on my BB list! ;-)

>151 Tallulah_Rose: Among the other books! Every year a writer (almost always Dutch)is asked to write this novella and there is a bookweek for childeren too. I started 30 years ago to buy a book for my baby son (now almost 31) and later also for my baby daughter (now 28). I did that till they were 20 something. When they were old enough they could of course choose a book to there own liking and I would pay.

Bookweek does sound like a lovely idea!
And your kids are pretty lucky to get their books every year! (That's a gift that is *always* welcome ;))

Sounds like you've added some pretty exciting TBRs to your shelf!

TBR 588 + 13 = 601 - 6 = 595
Read ROOTs: 5
Books leaving the house unread:
Read others: 3
------- p-books: 1
------- e-books: 2

Totally Read 2014: 8
Books into the house: 13

--------------------------------------------------

Update: I almost finished my ROOT # 6. Just a few more pages. And then off to search for # 7. I've no idea what to choose, nothing is really calling out loud enough so maybe I will read part 2 by Jan Siegel in the Kinderen van Prospero Series. (I know the touchstone mentions another writer, but they are the same)



Flowers from my brother! Aren't they gorgeous?

Yes indeed! Such beautiful pinks!

Lovely!

Beautiful flowers!!

Beautiful Flowers!

And getting to choose your next book? An envious position... :)

I finished ROOT number 6 De kinderen van Prospero van Jan Siegel aka Amanda Hemingway.

Nice enough, but I think there could have been more story.

But I liked it enough to choose part 2 in these series for ROOT # 7.

Jan Siegel - Drakendwinger



In the enchanting novel Prospero's Children, Jan Siegel introduced an extraordinary heroine and the lushly evocative world of wonders and terrors that quickly enveloped her normal adolescent life. Now Siegel summons us back to the magic with the continuing story of Fern Capel--and the remarkable power of her extraordinary Gift . . .

After surviving an amazing, terrifying summer twelve years ago, Fern makes a fateful decision: to deny the mystical powers that pulse through her family's past. Yearning for a simple, quiet life, she decides to marry a man twenty years her senior, a man who insists they wed at the Capels' summer house in Yarrowdale, a place swelling with mood, marvel, and magic. For when Fern returns there with her best friend, Gaynor, ancient, sinister forces reawaken.

Yet Fern has had enough: Enough of running from her fate, enough of hiding from her Gift. As she turns to face her destiny, the real world falls away, and Fern is once again swept into another land, removed from Time, void of comfort. It will take all her skill and daring to fight her way back to the present and save the people she loves from the ever-growing danger that threatens to destroy them. And to her utmost surprise, the key to survival is a dragon with the capacity to rule the world . . . but who will relinquish it all to one man.

And I bought a new one!

Isa Hoes - Toen ik je zag.



The title translates into: When I saw you.

This is a special book for some Dutch People. Isa Hoes (the writer) and Antonie Kamerling are kind of famous in the Netherlands. They met doing auditions for a soap series on tv Goede tijden, Slechte tijden that has been running for years, since 1990!
They married, got two children and in oktober 2010 Antonie took his own live because he could not fight his depressions anymore. In 2013 Isa was strong enough to write a book about their love and the struggle against the depressions.

Mm I love being able to actually read series novels in a row... Enjoy!
And congrats on the new book! Sounds fun :)
I've lately been a little better about buying, but my amazon wish list is, to be honest, a little ridiculous at this point... ;p

Hi connie. Could you describe a bit about this tv oap opera? I'm a bit curious, because we've also got one with the same title (in german of course Gute Zeiten, schlechte Zeiten) running since 1990. I'm not quite sure at this moment if it's still running, but I guess. It's set in Berlin and it's full of intrigues, love, lost family members and so on. :-) I'm curious if it's the same or if two different series with the same name developed at the same time?

I think in Germany they started a version of our soap. According to wikipedia it started on German television in 1992.

http://nl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gute_Zeiten,_schlechte_Zeiten

Ah okay, interesting. Haven't watched it in years :-)

>166 Tallulah_Rose: I don't watch soaps. Sometimes I catch the last few minutes while waiting for the next program.

Wow, I had a nice afternoon in the garden, but my leggs were preventing me from sitting down. So I stood there reading, a bit of walking up and down like monks do. The book I'm currently reading is a big one (665 pages) and very heavy so I choose Een kus voor de heks by Emma Donoghue and now I'm almost finished. I like the way Ms. Donoghue connects the short stories to each other.

In between the stories she lets the main character ask a question to the second person in the story.

That sounds like:
Who were you before you bought me for a handful of radishes

And the second person answers:
shall I tell you my own story? It's a fairytale about a brother

And then you get a new story. At first I thought this book would not live up to my expectation, but it's really nice. I was expecting a larger lesbian angle ( I don't care at all) but Ms. Donoghue just hints that way.

How fortunate you are to have such a lovely garden to while away time reading. Emma Donoghue's book sounds intriguing.

Agreed! Previously, I only knew about her book, Room (which is on my shelves)... Sounds like she has some broad range!

Kamer is my favorite book of 2013! I gave it the full 5 stars. But Kamer is very different from her other books! Landen is also a good one 4 stars.

TBR 588 + 15 = 603 - 7 = 596
Read ROOTs: 6
Books leaving the house unread:
Read others: 3
------- p-books: 1
------- e-books: 2

Totally Read 2014: 9
Books into the house: 15

----------------------------------------------------------

And today book # 15 came into the house


430 pages

Omhulde stad by Ransom Riggs
The second book in the series about Mrs. Peregrine and the translation of Hollow City

Omhulde Stad = Enveloped City, so it is not really a literal translation.
Hollow City = Holle stad.

This second novel begins in 1940, immediately after the first book ended. Having escaped Miss Peregrine’s island by the skin of their teeth, Jacob and his new friends must journey to London, the peculiar capital of the world. Along the way, they encounter new allies, a menagerie of peculiar animals, and other unexpected surprises.

Complete with dozens of newly discovered (and thoroughly mesmerizing) vintage photographs, this new adventure will delight readers of all ages.

The TBR pile is skyhigh now. I need to read more and buy less.

>168 connie53: connie, sorry to hear of your ache in your legs. I hope it was not too bad walking arond while reading. Did you habe the outcome of your blood test already?

>173 Tallulah_Rose: Yes, the doctor called late yesterday afternoon and told me that everything was looking good. They researched my liver and kidney functions and now that those are alright I can start tomorrow with a larger dose.

And I have to move my legs. When I am sitting in a chair they start to itch. Like ants are walking through my veins. So walking and standing up is more comfortable.

Very sweet of you to ask!

Connie, that sounds terrible. I hope you find the cause soon. Meanwhile, it might be better for you to keep moving anyway. Are you able to sleep?

>175 VivienneR: Most of the nights I can, Vivienne. It's called Restless Legs, I have medication that worked for a while, but now it's starting up again. It lasts for an hour or so and then I do what I'm doing standing up (watch TV, reading, Posting on LT)

TBR 588 + 15 = 603 - 8 = 595
Read ROOTs: 6
Books leaving the house unread:
Read others: 4
------- p-books: 2
------- e-books: 2

Totally Read 2014: 10
Books into the house: 15

----------------------------------------

I finished Een kus voor de heks by Emma Donoghue. This is not a ROOT because I just bought it 10 days ago. I really liked the way the short stories were linked together. You can read how it is done in post >168 connie53:.

>176 connie53: I sympathize with you having Restless Leg Syndrome. My husband suffered with it too when his Parkinson's Disease medication stopped working. He could sit but not lie down. I hope you are able to find a solution soon.

Work has pretty much kept me off LT for a while, so I haven't read your thread. Very sorry to hear about your illness and I hope you'll get well soon.

(And that the warm days of early march will be back soon, so you can get out and enjoy your lovely garden)

Thank you, Henrik! I hope spring will return soon too. It's now rainy and cold.

Today was a busy day at school. 110 children came to take an entrytest. They want to come to our school next september and when they registered a week ago there were some questions about the level they would be admitted to. So here they came. Nervous and kind of timid sitting in rows in the assembly hall. We were with six people to start the day, but when the test was on the way it was just me and a teachers assistent to lead them through the tests (Spelling, technical reading, comprehensive reading, vocabulary and arithmetic) and give instructions on how to do them. Lots of questions to answer. And lots of miles to walk. So my legs were hurting a lot. In the afternoon we with six again to score all the tests (really all). Tomorrow or wednesday I will know the number of children who will have to take an additional test on thursday.

I was exhausted when I got home and took a nap after dinner.
I seems like my energy level is very low, because a year ago I would do this with no difficulty.

Oh Restless Leg Syndrome :( I have a very mild case and I can only imagine how difficult it would be for it to be any worse! Hope they find a "fix" soon!

>182 avanders: I get medication that is also used for patients with parkinsons disease. But they don't seem to work anymore. I don't have RLS in the night anymore (when it was at its worst) but it has shifted to the daytime.

And I so hate going to the docter's office so I keep postponing that visit. I know I should go...

So frustrating!
I know the feeling, though... It's SO much easier to postpone that visit than to go... ;)

Hi Connie, best wishes that things will get better soon!

I'm so glad your liver and other tests came back good, so you can now take enough of the medicine to help your legs. :)

You're on the second Miss Peregrine book and I haven't even found my first yet! I've been labeling books with the same dedication as the elves finishing the presents so Santa can leave on time but haven't come across my copy yet. I'm so glad you and others read it and liked it, as this gives me great incentive to keep organizing the books.

#186 Merryann: did you maybe lent it to someone and don't remember?

>188 connie53: Are there any update photo's, Mary Ann?

Connie, sorry to hear about your Restless Leg Syndrome and energy issues, though I'm glad to hear that your blood work was OK.

Thanks Terri! Tomorrow I have to go to the hospital again for a blood check up. and again in two weeks time. I hope it stays okay and the medication will start to work. 5 weeks form now I should be feeling better (they take a long time to do some good)

5 weeks! Oh dear. Wishing you the best to get through that waiting time.

Oh, okay that sounds horrible. I hope the medication will do its work and you've got nicer hospitals then we have here. Gong there every two weeks would be really awful for me.

>187 Tallulah_Rose: Oh my! I hadn't thought of that. I don't remember loaning it out, but that doesn't mean anything. I could break down and get it from the library, but it's such great incentive to keep getting the books on the shelves properly.

I should take some new pictures, Connie. It's really starting to come along nicely. This is really good, because everything else over the last month has been a mess. So, when I got overwhelmed I'd tune out the world and list books into LT. My downstairs is starting to look a little bit better as the books get more organized, so that's a benefit too. :)

>192 Tallulah_Rose: >191 Robertgreaves: You learn to live with things. So this thing will pass too.

Hi, Connie!

Very sorry to learn about your physical problems, and hoping that the med. will start working effectively as soon as possible.

You're doing well on the ROOTS project! Don't feel bad about buying books--we all do it, all the time.

Have a good evening.

>191 Robertgreaves: echo! Wishing you the best during your next 5 weeks!
But yes, >194 connie53: ... this, too, shall pass :)

TBR 588 + 15 = 603 - 9 = 594
Read ROOTs: 7
Books leaving the house unread:
Read others: 4
------- p-books: 2
------- e-books: 2

Totally Read 2014: 11
Books into the house: 15

-------------------------------------------------

I finished ROOT # 7 just before the end of march, Yeah!!

Drakendwinger by Jan Siegel The book gets from me.

I enjoyed the book very much. There were parts that were very tensive and parts that were tedious. But overall it was an okay book. I have part three ready for reading beside me. But first another book that has to fit in the April challenge on the ff-leesclub.nl.
The theme will be revealed tomorrow.

Just popping in to say Hi! and hope you feeling great!

You are making such good progress, Connie!

Woot! Congrats on 7 ROOTs!

The april challenge on my bookclub is 'yellow'. So that means a book with yellow in the title, yellow as part of the authors name or a yellow cover.

I choose Tigana by Guy Gavriel Kay because the cover is bright yellow.



One by one, the divided provinces of The Peninsula of the Palm had fallen, conquered by the armies and the sorcery of the two Tyrants. Now, Alberico of Barbadior holds the provinces of the Eastern Palm while Brandin of Ygrath rules the West, and normality of a sort has returned to the peninsula. But for one province there can be no peace. For there is one land that dared to spill the blood of Brandin's beloved son. A land that has been broken and burned, its towers razed and its people crushed, and through the dark magics of the Tyrant of Ygrath, had its very name erased from the world. It falls to a small band of exiles from this shattered land to attempt to achieve what nine provinces could not, and bring down not one, but two, tyrants. Driven by fierce pride, love and the memory of what was, this brave handful of men and women will risk all that they have to return freedom to the Palm, and to hear once more the music of a forgotten name: Tigana.

594 pages (847 on my reader)

I started it this afternoon and I really like it thus far. (9%)

Ooo, I read one of his last year and really liked it.

Sounds like an intense book! Are you still enjoying it?

wow yeah, does sound intense!
Fun challenge :)

Still reading it, Mary Ann!! And still enjoying it.

We just came home from 4 days in London. I will let everyone know more tomorrow, now off to bed!

Good night! Hope you had a good trip!

My head is in London still! I really love that city. It is second on my list right after Berlin.

The alarm rang at 04.15am on wednesday and by 05.30am Peet and I were driving to Eindhoven to board the plane to London Stansted where we arrived at 08.00am. We bought an Oyster card to travel on the tube/underground and two tickets on the Stansted Express to London Liverpool street station.

We were in no hurry. Our hotel was available from 12.00am so we had coffee and a sandwich at Stansted an at Liverpool street more coffee. The hotel was good and new, a bit on the expensive site. Here it is, in the background, the modern building. We were on the 10 floor facing the Westminster bridge



In the afternoon Peet wanted to go to the place we had to be the next day for a presentation by his students. So of to the Dutch ambassy we went, keeping track of time. The ambassy is on a street bordering Hyde Park.



We spend some time in Hyde park and had drinks in restaurant on a small side street of Kensington High street before returning to the hotel for some rest. Dinner in an Italian restaurant.

Thursday was the day we planned to spend with the students. First the presentation and discussion afterwards between the students and people of some Londen groups (London Cycling Campaign and Transport for London). I thought this was quite informative and lively. We had some Lunch and want to the London Centre for built environment where we were welcomed by a real gentleman who told us all about the rise of London.
At about 04.00pm we all went our seperate ways for the evening. I had walked a lot and took some painkillers, but I wanted to rest before going out for dinner again. So we did that.

Friday was a day free of obligations and we just walked around and enjoyed the city and visited Waterstones!

The Royal Albert Hall



The London Eye



Big Ben



With Westminster Palace



Downing street



Parks



Covent Garden

And I bought a new book too!



Mr. Penumbra's 24-hour Bookstore by Robin Sloan

Mr. Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore is an old school mystery set firmly in tech-loving, modern day San Francisco. Clay Jannon (former web designer) lands a job at a bookstore with very few patrons and even fewer purchases. His curiosity leads him to the discovery of a larger conspiracy at play, one exciting enough to rope in his best friend (CEO at a startup) and love interest (works at Google). As Clay and company unravel the puzzles of Mr. Penumbra's book shop, the story turns into a sort of nerdy heist, with real-life gadgets, secret societies, and a lot of things to say about the past, present, and future of reading.

I'm glad you enjoyed London Connie! I used to live there, before I moved to Scotland. I don't think I could live there again, but I always enjoy it when I go back.

Jealous! I miss London so much. And Scotland. Looks like you had a great time :)

Connie, great pics and sounds like a great time you had in London!

And I think your new book was a good decision. I bought the same just a week ago and started it yesterday evening. It drew me in in an instant, it's easy to read and I like the narrators voice. It seems to be a good mystery on books, people and book stores!

Oh, looks like the weather in London was not exactly sunny? Glad you enjoyed your trip, it's been ages since I last went to London. The pictures make me want to pack my bags now!

ooooh sounds & looks lovely!! Now I want to go back! (I've only been once... ready for a 2nd visit!)
And glad you got Penumbra! I have it on my kindle... eager to get to it one of these days!

Oooh! You make me want to return to London too! This is fairly ironic given that I've only been once and, I was so overwhelmed by the sprawl that I quickly retreated to Scotland! What makes this doubly ironic is that I'm really a city girl! But your pictures make me realize what I have missed and I'd love to go back. Maybe in 2017...

Thanks you all! I really love all your comments. And if you get the chance everyone should go and visit London (first time or returning).

The weather was good, MissW. It was dry all the time and sunny sometimes, just not when I was making the pictures. ;-))

Looks like a wonderful trip to London. We went there last summer, and I'm sooo ready to go back there again.