Anita (FAMeulstee) goes there where the books take her in 2021 (8)

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Anita (FAMeulstee) goes there where the books take her in 2021 (8)

1FAMeulstee
Ago 1, 2021, 4:39 am

Welcome to my eighth 2021 thread!

I am Anita Meulstee (58), married with Frank (59) since 1984. We live in Lelystad, the Netherlands. We both love modern art, books and walking.

I have been hanging around in this group a few months after finding LibraryThing in March 2008. I skipped one year (2013), when my reading dropped to almost nothing. This was a side effect of taking Paxil. In 2015 I was able to wean off Paxil, and a year later my reading skyrocketed. The last year it is slowing down, my initial "reading hunger" has waned a bit.

I read (almost) everything, from childrens and YA books to more serious literature, mysteries, historical fiction, fantasy and I try not to forget to throw some non-fiction into the mix.

--

Walking
Our local walking project: walking the dikes that surround the Flevopolder, the largest artificial island of the world.

Once in a while we go by car to the place where we ended the previous time. We walk about 3 km (and back), the total distance is about 142 km. We have walked 136,5 km, and 5,3 km left to go.

Left: the province Flevoland (red) is in the middle of our country.
Right: Map of the Flevopolder, the red line is the part that we have walked until now.
 

--

Pets in my life
Will be continued in a next tread, for now a picture of our first two smooth Chow Chows: Nemo and Pandora

2FAMeulstee
Modificato: Set 1, 2021, 4:09 am

total books read in 2021: 193
51 own / 142 library

total pages read in 2021: 61.788

--
currently reading:
De vertellingen van duizend-en-één nacht deel 2 (2/3) translated by Richard van Leeuwen, 1112 pages, started 01-01-2021
Ideeën van Multatuli. Derde bundel by Multatuli, 782 pages, started 2021-02-01

--
books read in August 2021 (24 books, 8.180 pages, 5 own / 19 library)
book 170: Een bijna volmaakte vriendschap (I Called Him Necktie) by Milena Michiko Flašar, 157 pages, TIOLI #2 (msg 45)
book 171: De wilde vrouwen van Pella by Theun de Vries, 155 pages, TIOLI #6 (msg 46)
book 172: Hart van de winter (Winter's Heart; Wheel of Time 9) by Robert Jordan, 672 pages, TIOLI #2 (msg 60)
book 173: In tijden van afnemend licht (In Times of Fading Light) by Eugen Ruge, 349 pages, TIOLI #1 (msg 61)
book 174: 't Hooge Nest (The Sisters of Auschwitz) by Roxane van Iperen, 381 pages, TIOLI #2 (msg 62)
book 175: Fandorin (The Winter Queen; Erast Fandorin 1) by Boris Akoenin, 249 pages, TIOLI #16 (msg 63)
book 176: De wetten van water (Stillicide) by Cynan Jones, 189 pages, TIOLI #2 (msg 64)
book 177: De klokkenluider van de Notre Dame (The Hunchback of Notre Dame) by Victor Hugo, 551 pages, TIOLI #4 (msg 90)
book 178: De zusterklokken (The Bell in the Lake) by Lars Mytting, 416 pages, TIOLI #4 (msg 91)
book 179: De Indiase bruid (Calling Out for You; Konrad Sejer 5) by Karin Fossum, 325 pages, TIOLI #2 (msg 92)
book 180: De Cock en moord op bestelling by A.C. Baantjer, 138 pages, TIOLI #8 (msg 93)
book 181: Gösta Berling (The Saga of Gösta Berling) by Selma Lagerlöf, 443 pages, TIOLI #7 (msg 108)
book 182: De lachende politieman (The Laughing Policeman; Martin Beck 4) by Maj Sjöwall and Per Wahlöö, 240 pages, TIOLI #4 (msg 109)
book 183: Het wonder dat niet omvalt by Ernest van der Kwast, 202 pages, TIOLI #2 (msg 110)
book 184: Witte tanden (White Teeth) by Zadie Smith, 407 pages, TIOLI #13 (msg 111)
book 185: Thomas Mann en de zijnen (Thomas Mann and His Family) by Marcel Reich-Ranicki, 287 pages, TIOLI #2 (msg 118)
book 186: Een klein leven (A Little Life) by Hanya Yanagihara, 751 pages, TIOLI #2 (msg 119)
book 187: Bloedgeld (Hot money) by Dick Francis, 366 pages, TIOLI #2 (msg 133)
book 188: De goede oude man en het mooie jonge meisje (The Nice Old Man and the Pretty Girl) by Italo Svevo, 93 pages, TIOLI #2 (msg 134)
book 189: 1794 by Niklas Natt och Dag, 446 pages, TIOLI #2 (msg 135)
book 190: Zwemmen in het donker (Swimming in the dark) by Tomasz Jedrowski, 223 pages, TIOLI #15 (msg 136)
book 191: Reis naar het einde van de nacht (Journey to the End of the Night) by Louis-Ferdinand Céline, 560 pages, TIOLI #3 (msg 163)
book 192: Vermoedens omtrent Jakob (Speculations about Jakob) by Uwe Johnson, 303 pages, TIOLI #2 (msg 164)
book 193: De tuin van de familie Finzi-Contini (The Garden of the Finzi-Continis) by Giorgio Bassani, 277 pages, TIOLI #4 (msg 165)

3FAMeulstee
Modificato: Ago 31, 2021, 4:03 pm

August 2021 reading plans
Ideeën by Mutatuli, 3846 pages (1252/3846)
De vertellingen van duizend-en-één nacht deel 2 translated by Richard van Leeuwen, 1112 pages

TIOLI August 2021
#1: Read a book with a “furniture vocabulary word” in the title or in the first paragraph of Chapter One or its equivalent
- In tijden van afnemend licht (In Times of Fading Light) - Eugen Ruge, 349 pages (e-library)
#2: Read a book published between 1930 and 2021
- 1794 - Niklas Natt och Dag, 446 pages (library)
- De Indiase bruid (Calling Out for You; Konrad Sejer 5) - Karin Fossum, 325 pages (library)
- Bloedgeld (Hot money) - Dick Francis, 366 pages
- Een bijna volmaakte vriendschap (I Called Him Necktie) - Milena Michiko Flašar, 157 pages (library)
- Een klein leven (A Little Life) - Hanya Yanagihara, 751 pages (library)
- De goede oude man en het mooie jonge meisje (The Nice Old Man and the Pretty Girl) - Italo Svevo, 93 pages
- 't Hooge Nest (The Sisters of Auschwitz) - Roxane van Iperen, 381 pages (e-library)
- Vermoedens omtrent Jakob (Speculations about Jakob) - Uwe Johnson, 303 pages
- De wetten van water (Stillicide) - Cynan Jones, 188 pages (library)
- Thomas Mann en de zijnen (Thomas Mann and His Family) - Marcel Reich-Ranicki, 287 pages (e-library)
- Hart van de winter (Winter's Heart; Wheel of Time 9) - Robert Jordan, 672 pages (e-library)
- Het wonder dat niet omvalt - Ernest van der Kwast, 202 pages (e-library)
#3: Read a book with a word in the title that implies a measurement of time
- Reis naar het einde van de nacht (Journey to the End of the Night) - Louis-Ferdinand Céline, 560 pages
#4: Read a book that starts with the definite article
- De zusterklokken (The Bell in the Lake) - Lars Mytting, 416 pages (e-library)
- De tuin van de familie Finzi-Contini (The Garden of the Finzi-Continis) - Giorgio Bassani, 277 pages (library)
- De klokkenluider van de Notre Dame (The Hunchback of Notre Dame) - Victor Hugo, 573 pages
- De lachende politieman (The Laughing Policeman; Martin Beck 4) - Maj Sjöwall, Per Wahlöö, 240 pages (library)
- De laatste dichters (The Last Poets) - Christine Otten, 446 pages (e-library) DNF
#5: Read a non-fiction book about food or drink
-
#6: Read a book that has something on the cover that is mentioned in the title
- De wilde vrouwen van Pella - Theun de Vries, 155 pages (library)
#7: Read a book where the author's name contains at least two common nouns (list them)
- Gösta Berling (The Saga of Gösta Berling) - Selma Lagerlöf, 443 pages (library)
#8: Read a book which is tenth or higher in series
- De Cock en moord op bestelling - A.C. Baantjer, 138 pages (e-library)
#9: Read a book about someone who can't stop bragging
-
#10: Read a book with a traditional anniversary gift in the title
-
#11: Read a book with a word indicating quantity in the title, but not a number
-
12: Read a book listed in Among Others
-
#13: Read a book with an occupation in the title or author's name
- Witte tanden (White Teeth) - Zadie Smith, 407 pages (library)
#14: Read a book or work (fiction or non fiction) in which the character{s) or subject(s) read and discuss their reading
-
#15: Read a “coming of age” book that was suggested to you by someone else
- Zwemmen in het donker (Swimming in the dark) - Tomasz Jedrowski, 223 pages (library)
#16: Read a book which has the name of a mineral water well among the first words
- Fandorin (The Winter Queen; Erast Fandorin 1) - Boris Akoenin, 249 pages (library)

4FAMeulstee
Ago 1, 2021, 4:40 am

Reading plans in 2021
Reading books from the 1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die list
Read some big tomes (1000+ pages)
Read books by Nobel Prize for Literature winners

I join the TIOLI (Take It Or Leave It) challenges each month.

--
Some big tomes I might read in 2021:
Ideeën (1-7) by Multatuli, 3846 pages
Man zonder eigenschappen (The man without qualities) by Robert Musil, 1785 pages
De razende Roeland (Orlando furioso) by Ludovico Ariosto, 1783 pages
✔ Een jaar uit het leven van Gesine Cresspahl (Anniversaries: From a Year in the Life of Gesine Cresspahl) by Uwe Johnson, 1596 pages
✔ De essays (The complete essays) by Michel de Montaigne, 1557 pages
De kracht van Atlantis (Atlas shrugged) by Ayn Rand, 1373 pages
De vertellingen van duizend-en-één-nacht deel 2 translated by Richard van Leeuwen, 1112 pages
Luitenant-kolonel de Maumort by Roger Martin du Gard, 1077 pages
De vertellingen van duizend-en-één-nacht deel 3 translated by Richard van Leeuwen, 1047 pages
Baron by Theun de Vries, 1016 pages

5FAMeulstee
Ago 1, 2021, 4:41 am

Totals since 2008:



6FAMeulstee
Ago 1, 2021, 4:41 am

Books read in Januari
book 1: Bankier (Banker) by Dick Francis
book 2: Ik kom terug by Adriaan van Dis
book 3: De kille maagd (The Virgin in the Ice; Cadfael 6) by Ellis Peters
book 4: 1177 v.Chr. : het einde van de beschaving (1177 BCE: The Year Civilization Collapsed) by Eric H. Cline
book 5: De dood in Rome (Death in Rome) by Wolfgang Koeppen
book 6: De laatste dag by Beppe Fenoglio
book 7: Wie vlucht en wie blijft (Those Who Leave and Those Who Stay; Neapolitan Novels 3) by Elelna Ferrante
book 8: Het onbekende kind (The golden egg; Brunetti 22) by Donna Leon
book 9: Treindromen (Train Dreams) by Denis Johnson
book 10: Angstige mensen (Anxious people) by Fredrik Backman
book 11: Boven water (Konráð 2) by Arnaldur Indriðason
book 12: De tocht van de tienduizend (The Anabasis) by Xenofon
book 13: De levende berg (The Living Mountain) by Nan Shepherd
book 14: Het Rosie resultaat (The Rosie result) by Graeme Simsion
book 15: De nachtstemmer by Maarten 't Hart
book 16: Reis door de Oriënt by Gustave Flaubert
book 17: Gewaagd leven by Astrid Roemer, 239 pages
book 18: Ideeën van Multatuli. Tweede bundel by Mutatuli

Books read in Februari
book 19: Morgen toen de oorlog begon (Tomorrow, when the war began; Tomorrow 1) by John Marsden
book 20: Het verhaal van het verloren kind (The Story of the Lost Child; Neapolitan Novels 4) by Elelna Ferrante
book 21: Over paden : een ontdekkingstocht (On trails : an exploration) by Robert Moor
book 22: Tegenstroom (A Necessary End, Inspector Banks 3) by Peter Robinson
book 23: Ik, Claudius (I, Claudius) by Robert Graves
book 24: Veranderingen (Change) by Mo Yan
book 25: Het holst van de nacht (The Dead of the Night) by John Marsden
book 26: Nachtvlucht (Night Flight) by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry
book 27: Kindertijd (Childhood) by Tove Ditlevsen
book 28: Denken aan vrijdag (Friday on my mind) by Nicci French
book 29: Sodom en Gomorra (Sodom and Gomorrah; In search of lost time 4) by Marcel Proust
book 30: Rinkeldekink by Martine Bijl
book 31: Beminde (Beloved) by Tony Morrison
book 32: Lijken op liefde by Astrid Roemer
book 33: Alleen : de Pacific Crest Trail by Tim Voors
book 34: Het nut van de wereld by J.M.A. Biesheuvel
book 35: Het enige verhaal (The Only Story) by Julian Barnes
book 36: Jeugd (Youth) by Tove Ditlevsen
book 37: Huis van volmaakte eenzaamheid (House of Splendid Isolation) by Edna O'Brien
book 38: Afhankelijkheid (Dependency) by Tove Ditlevsen

7FAMeulstee
Ago 1, 2021, 4:41 am

books read in March
book 39: Een kroon van zwaarden (A Crown of Swords, Wheel of Time 7) by Robert Jordan
book 40: Een kille dageraad (A Killing Frost, Tomorrow 3) by John Marsden
book 41: De avond valt (Darkness, Be My Friend, Tomorrow 4) by John Marsden
book 42: Butcher's Crossing (Butcher's Crossing) by John Williams
book 43: Ik ben er even niet (I'm Off Then) by Hape Kerkeling
book 44: Bergje by Bregje Hofstede
book 45: Bezoek van de knokploeg (A Visit from the Goon Squad) by Jennifer Egan
book 46: Confrontaties by Simone Atangana Bekono
book 47: Het uur van de wraak (Burning for Revenge, Tomorrow 5) by John Marsden
book 48: Wandelparadijs Nederland: te voet door alle provincies by John Jansen van Galen
book 49: Tussen de regels (By its cover, Brunetti 23) by Donna Leon
book 50: Christus kwam niet verder dan Eboli (Christ Stopped at Eboli) by Carlo Levi
book 51: De omweg naar Santiago (Roads to Santiago) by Cees Nooteboom
book 52: Camino (Two steps forward) by Graeme Simsion and Anne Buist
book 53: Kameleon, ahoy! by H. de Roos
book 54: Groene Heinrich by Gottfried Keller

books read in April
book 55: De Cock en de dwaze maagden by A.C. Baantjer
book 56: Wachten op het donker (The Night is for Hunting, Tomorrow 6) by John Marsden
book 57: Een andere kant van vrijheid (The Other side of Dawn, Tomorrow 7) by John Marsden
book 58: Oeroeg (The Black Lake) by Hella Haasse, 79 pages
book 59: De duivelse droom (The Devil's novice) by Ellis Peters
book 60: De man die kon rekenen (The Man Who Counted) by Malba Tahan
book 61: Zondeval (The Hanging Valley, Inspector Banks 4) by Peter Robinson
book 62: Meisje, vrouw, anders (Girl, woman, other) by Bernardine Evaristo
book 63: Van oude mensen, de dingen die voorbijgaan (Old People and The Things That Pass) by Louis Couperus
book 64: Over liefde en over niets anders by Toon Tellegen
book 65: Jheronimus Bosch: Visioenen van een genie (Hieronymus Bosch: Visions of Genius) by Matthijs Ilsink
book 66: Drie dingen over Elsie (Three Things About Elsie) by Joanna Cannon
book 67: De waarheid over honden (The Truth about Dogs) by Stephen Budiansky
book 68: De naam van mijn vader by Rindert Kromhout
book 69: De vriend (The friend) by Sigrid Nunez
book 70: De vergelding (The dark vineyard) by Martin Walker
book 71: De drie musketiers (The Three Musketeers) by Alexandre Dumas
book 72: Leon & Juliette by Annejet van der Zijl
book 73: Alles tegen (Odds Against) by Dick Francis
book 74: Het jaar van de tuinier (The Gardener's Year) by Karel Čapek
book 75: Winnetou (Winnetou) by Karl May
book 76: Verloren woorden (The lost words) by Robert Macfarlane
book 77: Smalle paden (Thin Paths) by Julia Blackburn
book 78: Foon by Marente de Moor
book 79: Archief van verloren kinderen (Lost Children Archive) by Valeria Luiselli
book 80: De drieëntwintig dagen van de stad Alba (The Twenty-three Days of the City of Alba) by Beppe Fenoglio
book 81: Tussen Orinoco en Amazone (In Trouble Again) by Redmond O'Hanlon
book 82: Afscheid van Berlijn (Goodbye to Berlin) by Christopher Isherwood
book 83: Volwassenen onder elkaar (Adults In The Room) by Yanis Varoufakis
book 84: De Schotse marsen (The Marches) by Rory Stewart
book 85: De heilige Rita (The Blessed Rita) by Tommy Wieringa
book 86: De jaren (The Years) by Annie Ernaux

8FAMeulstee
Ago 1, 2021, 4:41 am

books read in May
book 87: De 3 bestaat niet by Gerbrand Bakker
book 88: De vermiste prins (The Missing Prince, Rangers Apprentice 15) by John Flanagan
book 89: Een vrouw in de poolnacht (A Woman in the Polar Night) by Christiane Ritter
book 90: De eerste wandelaar by Flip van Doorn
book 91: Grijs verleden (Field Grey, Bernie Gunther 7) by Philip Kerr
book 92: Het geheime netwerk van de natuur (The Secret Network of Nature) by Peter Wohlleben
book 93: Een paleis voor de doden by Herman Clerinx
book 94: Overtuiging (Persuation) by Jane Austen
book 95: Ik aanbid je (Falling in Love, Brunetti 24) by Donna Leon
book 96: Het zout der aarde (Salt of the Earth) by Józef Wittlin
book 97: De hengelaars van Castelnau (The origin of the world) by Pierre Michon
book 98: Het pad der dolken (The Path of Daggers, Wheel of time 8) by Robert Jordan
book 99: De Cock en de dode tempeliers by A.C. Baantjer
book 100: Brekebeen (Bonecrack) by Dick Francis
book 101: Wit konijn, rode wolf (White Rabbit, Red Wolf) by Tom Pollock
book 102: Asterix en het gouden snoeimes (Asterix and the Golden Sickle) by René Goscinny
book 103: Vlucht van de havik (Celtic bride) by Margo Maguire
book 104: Als het zaterdag wordt (Saturday Requiem, Frieda Klein 6) by Nicci French
book 105: Een lied voor Achilles (The Song of Achilles) by Madeline Miller
book 106: De betovering van lijsten (The infinity of lists: from Homer to Joyce) by Umberto Eco
book 107: Piranesi (Piranesi) by Susanna Clarke
book 108: Portnoy's klacht (Portnoy's Complaint) by Philip Roth
book 109: In het licht van de vuurtoren (The lightkeeper's daughters) by Jean E. Pendziwol
book 110: De onbeduidende Jude (Jude the Obscure) by Thomas Hardy
book 111: De passievrucht (A Father's Affair) by Karel Glastra van Loon
book 112: De vergaderzaal by A. Alberts
book 113: De zwarte heuvel (On the black hill) by Bruce Chatwin
book 114: Rituelen (Rituals) by Cees Nooteboom
book 115: De bibliotheek bij nacht (The library at night) by Alberto Manguel
book 116: Getemde schoonheid (Briana) by Ruth Langan
book 117: Ik wou (I Wish) by Toon Tellegen
book 118: Quarantaine by Ilja Leonard Pfeiffer
book 119: Claudius de God (Claudius the God) by Robert Graves
book 120: De Cock en de blijde Bacchus by A.C. Baantjer
book 121: Zondagochtend breekt aan (Sunday Silence) by Nicci French

books read in June
book 122: De dag van de doden (The Day of the Dead, Frieda Klein 8) by Nicci French
book 123: De essays (The Complete Essays) by Michel de Montaigne
book 124: Connemara: Luisterend naar de wind (Connemara. Listening to the Wind) by Tim Robinson
book 125: Vrijwilliger in Spanje (Volunteer in Spain) by John Sommerfield
book 126: De zwarte diamant (Black Diamond) by Martin Walker
book 127: Circe (Circe) by Madeline Miller
book 128: In Siberië (In Siberia) by Colin Thubron
book 129: БAM : een reis van niets naar niets by Jelle Brandt Corstius
book 130: Sneeuwblind (Snowblind) by Ragnar Jónasson
book 131: Robinson Crusoe (Robinson Crusoë) by Daniel Defoe
book 132: Het geluid van de berg (The Sound of the Mountain) by Yasunari Kawabata
book 133: Wat wij zagen by Hanna Bervoets
book 134: Geachte Muizenpoot en achttien andere gedichten by F. ten Harmsen van der Beek
book 135: De tijgerkat. Herinneringen aan mijn kindertijd en andere verhalen by Giuseppe Tomasi di Lampedusa
book 136: Cliënt E. Busken by Jeroen Brouwers
book 137: Wraak en andere novellen (Legends of the Fall) by Jim Harrison
book 138: De gierzwaluw by Remco Daalder
book 139: Een roos van vlees (A Rose of Flesh) by Jan Wolkers
book 140: Het veelkleurig land (The Many-Colored Land) by Julian May
book 141: De 90ste verjaardag van Louis van Roosgaarde by Jan Terlouw
book 142: De gouden halsring (The Golden Torc) by Julian May
book 143: De druiven der gramschap (The Grapes of Wrath) by John Steinbeck
book 144: Johannes Viator by Frederik van Eeden
book 145: De troonveroveraar (The Nonborn King) by Julian May

9FAMeulstee
Ago 1, 2021, 4:42 am

books read in July
book 146: De tegenstrever (The Adversary) by Julian May
book 147: Kapitein Corelli's mandoline (Captain Corelli's Mandolin) by Louis de Bernieres
book 148: Aristoteles & Dante ontdekken de geheimen van het universum (Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe) by Benjamin Alire Sáenz
book 149: Bij gaslicht by F. Bordewijk
book 150: Een jaar uit het leven van Gesine Cresspahl (Anniversaries: From a Year in the Life of Gesine Cresspahl) by Uwe Johnson
book 151: Bonjour tristesse (Bonjour tristesse) by Françoise Sagan
book 152: De ziener by Simon Vestdijk
book 153: Tokio mon amour (A Tokyo romance) by Ian Buruma
book 154: Eeuwige jeugd (The Waters of Eternal Youth; ; Brunetti 25) by Donna Leon
book 155: De Peloponnesische oorlog (The History of the Peloponnesian War) by Thucydides
book 156: De N.V. Mateor by Havank
book 157: De Patrick Melrose-romans (The Complete Patrick Melrose Novels) by Edward St Aubyn
book 158: Pluk de dag (Seize the Day) by Saul Bellow
book 159: Heidi: kind van de bergen (Heidi) by Johanna Spyri
book 160: De rekening (The invoice) by Jonas Karlsson
book 161: Het behouden huis (An Untouched House) by Willem Frederik Hermans
book 162: Shuggie Bain (Shuggie Bain) by Douglas Stuart
book 163: Hele verhalen voor een halve soldaat by Benny Lindelauf
book 164: De gouden speld (Dead Man's Ransom; Cadfael 9) by Ellis Peters
book 165: De outdoorwaanzin by Are Kalvø
book 166: Het stille huis (The House in the Forest) by Michèle Desbordes
book 167: De trein naar Pavlovsk en Oostvoorne by Toon Tellegen
book 168: Huivering (A Song for Drowned Souls; Martin Servaz 2) by Bernard Minier
book 169: De gevangene (The Captive; In search of lost time 5) by Marcel Proust

10FAMeulstee
Ago 1, 2021, 4:42 am

Monthly statistics
January: 18 books / 5.137 pages / 165,7 ppd
February: 20 books / 5.689 pages / 203,2 ppd
March: 16 books / 5.805 pages / 187,3 ppd
April: 32 books / 9.247 pages / 308,2 ppd
May: 35 books / 9.682 pages / 312,3 ppd
June: 24 books / 8.547 pages / 284,9 ppd
July: 24 books / 9.501 pages / 306,95 ppd

--
Previous threads in 2021
book 1 - 18: thread 1
book 19 - 38: thread 2
book 39 - 54: thread 3
book 55 - 86: thread 4
book 87 - 121: thread 5
book 122 - 145: thread 6
book 146 - 169: thread 7

--
My reading in previous years
2008: 130 books - 35.152 pages (96,0 ppd)
2009:   78 books - 21.470 pages (58,8 ppd)
2010: 121 books - 38.209 pages (104,7 ppd)
2011:   84 books - 30.256 pages (82,9 ppd)
2012:   53 books - 18.779 pages (51,3 ppd)
2013:   13 books - 3.692 pages (10,1 ppd)
2014:   17 books - 3.700 pages (10,1 ppd)
2015:   29 books - 10.080 pages (27,6 ppd)
2016: 253 books - 72.391 pages (197,8 ppd)
2017: 453 books - 110.222 pages (302,0 ppd)
2018: 534 books - 111.906 pages (306,6 ppd)
2019: 413 books - 110.873 pages (303,8 ppd)
2020: 226 books - 79.216 pages (216,4 ppd)

--
Lists on my WikiThing
My best books by year list.
My Five star reads.
The books by Nobel prize winners I have read

Working on: Booker prize winners; Dutch prize winners

11FAMeulstee
Modificato: Ago 18, 2021, 5:17 pm

Series I read, a list to keep track

Alan Banks by Peter Robinson (re-read 4/20)
1 Stille blik; 2 Nachtlicht; 3 Tegenstroom; 4 Zondeval; 5 Schijnbeeld; 6 Woensdagkind; 7 Zwanenzang; 8 Innocent Graves (not translated); 9 Dead Right (not translated); 10 Verdronken verleden; 11 Kil als het graf; 12 Nasleep; 13 Onvoltooide zomer; 14 Vuurspel; 15 Drijfzand; 16 Hartzeer; 17 Duivelsgebroed; 18 Overmacht; 19 Uitschot; 20 Dwaalspoor; 21 Dankbare dood; 22 Slachthuisblues; 23 When the Music's Over (not translated); 24 Sleeping in the Ground (not translated); 25 Careless Love (not translated); 26 Many Rivers to Cross (not translated)

Ari Thór Arason by Ragnar Jónasson 1/3
1 Sneeuwblind; 2 Inktzwart; 3 Poolnacht

Bernie Gunther by Philip Kerr 7/12
1 Een Berlijnse kwestie; 2 Het handwerk van de beul; 3 Een Duits requiem; 4 De een van de ander; 5 Een stille vlam; 6 Als de doden niet herrijzen; 7 Grijs verleden; 8 Praag fataal; 9 De man zonder adem; 10 De vrouw van Zagreb; 11 De schaduw van de stilte; 12 Pruisisch blauw; 13 Vergeven en vergeten; 14 Metropolis

Broeder Cadfael by Ellis Peters 12/20
1 Het heilige vuur; 2 Het laatste lijk; 3 Het gemene gewas; 4 De kwade knecht; 5 De eenzame bruid; 6 De kille maagd; 7 Het vege lijf; 8 De duivelse droom; 9 De gouden speld; 10 Een wisse dood; 11 Een hard gelag; 12 De ware aard; 13 Een witte roos; 14 Het stille woud; 15 De laatste eer; 16 Het rechte pad; 17 Een zijden haar; 18 Een lieve lust; 19 De heilige dief; 20 De verloren zoon

De Cock by A.C. Baantjer 57/70

Erast Fandorin by Boris Akoenin 1/7
1 Fandorin; 2 Turks gambiet; 3 Leviathan; 4 De dood van Achilles; 5 Bijzondere opdrachten; 6 Staatsraad; 7 De kroning

Frieda Klein by Nicci French 8/8
1 Blauwe maandag; 2 Dinsdag is voorbij; 3 Wachten op woensdag; 4 Donderdagskinderen; 5 Denken aan vrijdag; 6 Als het zaterdag wordt; 7 Zondagochtend breekt aan; 8 De dag van de doden

George Smiley by John Le Carré 4/9
1 Telefoon voor de dode; 2 Voetsporen in de sneeuw; 3 Spion aan de muur; 4 Spion verspeeld; 5 Edelman, bedelman, schutter, spion; 6 Spion van nobel bloed; 7 Smiley's prooi; 8 De laatste spion; 9 Een erfenis van spionnen

Guido Brunetti by Donna Leon 24/29
1 Dood van een maestro; 2 Dood in den vreemde; 3 De dood draagt rode schoenen; 4 Salto mortale; 5 Acqua alta; 6 Een stille dood; 7 Nobiltà; 8 Fatalità; 9 Vriendendienst; 10 Onrustig tij; 11 Bedrieglijke zaken; 12 De stille elite; 13 Verborgen bewijs; 14 Vertrouwelijke zaken; 15 Duister glas; 16 Kinderspel; 17 Droommeisje; 18 Gezichtsverlies; 19 Een kwestie van vertrouwen; 20 Dodelijke conclusies; 21 Beestachtige zaken; 22 Het onbekende kind; 23 Tussen de regels; 24 Ik aanbid je; 25 Eeuwige jeugd; 26 Wat niet verdwijnt; 27 Vergiffenis; 28 De troonopvolger; 29 Duister water

John Rebus by Ian Rankin 3/18
1 Kat & muis; 2 Blindeman; 3 Hand & Tand; 4 Ontmaskering; 5 Zwartboek; 6 Vuurwerk; 7 Laat maar bloeden; 8 Gerechtigheid; 9 Door het lint; 10 Dode zielen; 11 In het duister; 12 Valstrik; 13 Lazarus; 14 Een kwestie van bloed; 15 De rechtelozen; 16 Gedenk de doden; 17 Laatste ronde; 18 Cold case;

Konrad Sejer by Karin Fossum 5/14
1 Eva's oog; 2 Kijk niet achterom; 3 Wie de wolf vreest; 4 De duivel draagt het licht; 5 De Indiase bruid; 6 Zwarte seconden; 7 De moord op Harriet Krohn; 8 Een andere voorkeur; 9 Kwade wil; 10 De waarschuwer; 11 Veenbrand; 12 De fluisteraar; 13 De verduistering; 14 Zwanenzang

Martin Beck by Maj Sjöwall & Per Wahlöö 5/10
1 De vrouw in het Götakanaal; 2 De man die in rook opging; 3 De man op het balkon; 4 De lachende politieman; 5 De brandweerauto die verdween; 6 De man die even wilde afrekenen; 7 De verschrikkelijke man uit Säffle; 8 De gesloten kamer; 9 De politiemoordenaar; 10 De terroristen

Martin Servaz by Bernard Minier 2/5
1 Een kille rilling; 2 Huivering; 3 Verduistering; 4 Schemering; 5 Weerzin; 6 Afdaling

Op zoek naar de verloren tijd (In Search of Lost Time) by Marcel Proust 5/7
1 De kant van Swann; 2 In de schaduw van meisjes in bloei; 3 De kant van Guermantes; 4 Sodom en Gomorra; 5 De gevangene; 6 De voortvluchtige; 7 De tijd hervonden

Het rad des tijds (Wheel of Time) by Robert Jordan (and Brandon Sanderson) 10/15
0 Een nieuw begin; 1 Het oog van de wereld; 2 De grote jacht; 3 De herrezen draak; 4 De komst van de schaduw; 5 Vuur uit de hemel; 6 Heer van chaos; 7 Een kroon van zwaarden; 8 Het pad der dolken; 9 Hart van de Winter; 10 Viersprong van de schemer; 11 Mes van Dromen; 12 De naderende storm; 13 De Torens van Middernacht; 14 Het licht van weleer

12FAMeulstee
Ago 1, 2021, 4:43 am

List of Nobel Prize for Literature winners:
(in bold the writers I have read)

1901 Sully Prudhomme
1902 Theodor Mommsen
1903 Bjørnstjerne Bjørnson
1904 Frédéric Mistral
1904 José Echegaray y Eizaguirre
1905 Henryk Sienkiewicz
1906 Giosuè Carducci
1907 Rudyard Kipling
1908 Rudolf Christoph Eucken
1909 Selma Lagerlöf
1910 Paul Heyse
1911 Maurice Maeterlinck
1912 Gerhart Hauptmann
1913 Rabindranath Tagore
1915 Romain Rolland
1916 Verner von Heidenstam
1917 Karl Adolph Gjellerup
1917 Henrik Pontoppidan
1919 Carl Spitteler
1920 Knut Hamsun
1921 Anatole France
1922 Jacinto Benavente
1923 William Butler Yeats
1924 Władysław Reymont
1925 George Bernard Shaw
1926 Grazia Deledda
1927 Henri Bergson
1928 Sigrid Undset
1929 Thomas Mann
1930 Sinclair Lewis
1931 Erik Axel Karlfeldt
1932 John Galsworthy
1933 Ivan Boenin
1934 Luigi Pirandello
1936 Eugene O'Neill
1937 Roger Martin du Gard
1938 Pearl S. Buck
1939 Frans Eemil Sillanpää
1944 Johannes Vilhelm Jensen
1945 Gabriela Mistral
1946 Hermann Hesse
1947 André Gide
1948 T.S. Elliot
1949 William Faulkner
1950 Bertrand Russell
1951 Pär Lagerkvist
1952 François Mauriac
1953 Sir Winston Churchill
1954 Ernest Hemingway
1955 Halldór Laxness
1956 Juan Ramón Jiménez
1957 Albert Camus
1958 Boris Pasternak
1959 Salvatore Quasimodo
1960 Saint-John Perse
1961 Ivo Andrić
1962 John Steinbeck
1963 Giorgos Seferis
1964 Jean-Paul Sartre
1965 Michail Sjolochov
1966 Sjmoeël Joseef Agnon
1966 Nelly Sachs
1967 Miguel Ángel Asturias
1968 Yasunari Kawabata
1969 Samuel Beckett
1970 Aleksandr Solzjenitsyn
1971 Pablo Neruda
1972 Heinrich Böll
1973 Patrick White
1974 Eyvind Johnson
1974 Harry Martinson
1975 Eugenio Montale
1976 Saul Bellow
1977 Vincente Aleixandre
1978 Isaac Bashevis Singer
1979 Odysseas Elytis
1980 Czesław Miłosz
1981 Elias Canetti
1982 Gabriel Garciá Márquez
1983 William Golding
1984 Jaroslav Seifert
1985 Claude Simon
1986 Wole Soyinka
1987 Joseph Brodsky
1988 Nagieb Mahfoez
1989 Camilo José Cela
1990 Octavio Paz
1991 Nadine Gordimer
1992 Derek Walcott
1993 Toni Morrison
1994 Kenzaburo Oë
1995 Seamus Heaney
1996 Wisława Szymborska
1997 Dario Fo
1998 José Saramago
1999 Günter Grass
2000 Gao Xingjian
2001 V.S. Naipaul
2002 Imre Kertész
2003 John Maxwell Coetzee
2004 Elfriede Jelinek
2005 Harold Pinter
2006 Orhan Pamuk
2007 Doris Lessing
2008 J.M.G. Le Clézio
2009 Herta Müller
2010 Mario Vargas Llosa
2011 Tomas Tranströmer
2012 Mo Yan
2013 Alice Munro
2014 Patrick Modiano
2015 Svetlana Alexievich
2016 Bob Dylan
2017 Kazuo Ishiguro
2018 Olga Tokarczuk
2019 Peter Handke
2020 Louise Glück

13FAMeulstee
Modificato: Ago 29, 2021, 7:04 am

Books acquired in 2021: 30

January (2)
De dood in Rome - Wolfgang Koeppen
Veerman - Emile Verhaeren

February (5)
In weerwil van de woorden - Dimitri Verhulst
Ik wou - Toon Tellegen
Gebroken wit - Astrid Roemer
De melancholie van het verzet - Lásló Krasznahorkai
De reparatie van de wereld - Slobodan Šnajder

March (2)
Olga en haar driekwartsmaten - Astrid Roemer
Alles tegen - Dick Francis

April (4)
Hele verhalen voor een halve soldaat - Benny Lindelauf
Winnetou - Karl May
Bloedgeld - Dick Francis
Brekebeen - Dick Francis

May (13)
Wandelingen door Nederland met pen en potlood. Deel 1 - J. Craandijk (e-book)
Wandelingen door Nederland met pen en potlood. Deel 2 - J. Craandijk (e-book)
Wandelingen door Nederland met pen en potlood. Deel 3 - J. Craandijk (e-book)
Wandelingen door Nederland met pen en potlood. Deel 4 - J. Craandijk (e-book)
Wandelingen door Nederland met pen en potlood. Deel 5 - J. Craandijk (e-book)
Wandelingen door Nederland met pen en potlood. Deel 6 - J. Craandijk (e-book)
Wandelingen door Nederland met pen en potlood. Deel 7 - J. Craandijk (e-book)
Nieuwe wandelingen door Nederland met pen en potlood - J. Craandijk (e-book)
Radetzkymars - Joseph Roth
De wereld van gisteren - Stefan Zweig
Het zout der aarde - Józef Wittlin
Cliënt E. Busken - Jeroen Brouwers
Wat wij zagen - Hanna Bervoets

August (4)
Strijd en metamorfose van een vrouw - Édouard Louis
Een bijna volmaakte vriendschap - Milena Michiko Flašar
Tonio Kröger en andere verhalen - Thomas Mann
Een beter milieu begint niet bij jezelf - Jaap Tielbeke (e-book)

14FAMeulstee
Ago 1, 2021, 4:43 am

Welcome!

15PaulCranswick
Ago 1, 2021, 5:04 am

Happy new one, Anita.

I should probably look at my top ten active series and track them like you have down - it is a great idea.

Have a lovely weekend.

16FAMeulstee
Ago 1, 2021, 5:48 am

>15 PaulCranswick: Thank you, Paul.
I started that way a few years back, it is a good way to keep me on track with these series.
Happy (what is left of your) Sunday.

17ursula
Ago 1, 2021, 7:25 am

Only 5.3 km left in your walking project! Do you have another one in mind after this?

18msf59
Ago 1, 2021, 7:45 am

Happy Sunday, Anita. Happy New Thread! You asked about Bree's due date, on the last thread. They bumped it up a week, so she is due around the 20th. Yah!! The excitement is building.

19SirThomas
Ago 1, 2021, 10:02 am

Happy New Thread, Anita!
Your statistics are impressive.

20RebaRelishesReading
Ago 1, 2021, 10:03 am

Happy new one, Anita.

21karenmarie
Ago 1, 2021, 10:46 am

Happy new thread, Anita, and I love the pic of Nemo and Pandora.

22jessibud2
Ago 1, 2021, 10:50 am

Happy new thread, Anita. I love the pic of Nemo and Pandora, and am looking forward (hopefully) to more related stories/memories.

23FAMeulstee
Ago 1, 2021, 11:19 am

>17 ursula: Thank you, Ursula. I have thought of rounding the northern part of Flevoland, but then we have to drive further. So no new plan yet, We will continue walking the Pieterpad in our vacations.

>18 msf59: Thank you, Mark, happy Sunday to you.
Exiting time, becoming a grandfather soon. I will keep an extra eye on your thread around the 20th.

>19 SirThomas: Thank you, Thomas.
I did read more large books this month, very content with my numbers :-)

24FAMeulstee
Ago 1, 2021, 11:23 am

>20 RebaRelishesReading: Thank you, Reba.

>21 karenmarie: Thank you, Karen. Nemo and Pandora were a nice couple together, half brother and sister.

>22 jessibud2: Thank you, Shelley.
I had no inspriration today, and was away most of yesterday. I hope to get back on track next month.

25EllaTim
Ago 1, 2021, 1:37 pm

Happy new thread, Anita. Your reading is going really well.
Loved the picture of Nemo and Pandora, beautifully matched dogs!

26richardderus
Ago 1, 2021, 3:01 pm

I'm still stunned at the contrast between today, and the difficult years, Anita. I'm so glad that time is behind you.

How was Papa's birthday celebration yesterday?

27FAMeulstee
Modificato: Ago 1, 2021, 3:36 pm

>25 EllaTim: Thank you, Ella, the books treat me well :-)
Nemo and Pandore were the first of six smooth Chow Chows we had through the years.

>26 richardderus: Times have surely changed a lot for me, Richard dear, thank you.

Well... my father didn't attent the celebration :'(

On Friday he didn't feel well, turned out he had a very bad bladder infection, and got antibiotics from his GP. He still hoped to be with us the next day, but when my brother came to pick him up in the morning of his birthday, he didn't feel well enough to come. I spoke to him on Friday, and he urged us to go anyhow, even if he would not.
So we went (by bike) to the holliday house on the other side of the Flevopolder, that my brother and sister in law recently bought. My father attended by video on smartphone for a while.
It felt very odd to have a birthday party without the one who's birthday we celebrated...

ETA: Normally we would have celebrated with dinner at the restaurant at my father's place. The restaurant opened a few months ago, but only for residents, visitors are not welcome yet. Last year it was also closed, so we went to my brothers place.

28johnsimpson
Ago 1, 2021, 3:45 pm

Hi Anita my dear, Happy New Thread dear friend.

29quondame
Ago 1, 2021, 3:49 pm

Happy new thread!

30Caroline_McElwee
Ago 1, 2021, 5:04 pm

>27 FAMeulstee: How disappointing for everyone Anita. I hope your father feels better soon, and you can see him.

31FAMeulstee
Ago 1, 2021, 6:43 pm

>28 johnsimpson: Thank you, John.

>29 quondame: Thank you, Susan.

>30 Caroline_McElwee: Thank you, Caroline, it was a bummer to all.
We saw my father last Wednesday, when he visited us. Lately he sometimes is a bit unsure about driving the car, and then he comes to us to prove for himself he still can drive.
The good part was seeing my niece's baby daughter (born last November) for the first time, and my nephew and his family.

32scaifea
Ago 2, 2021, 8:04 am

Oh, I'm sorry that your dad missed his own birthday party! But yay for meds and I hope he's feeling much better very soon!

33FAMeulstee
Ago 2, 2021, 10:48 am

>32 scaifea: Thank you, Amber. I will phone him this evening, and do hope the meds do their work.

34RebaRelishesReading
Ago 2, 2021, 12:21 pm

Hope your dad feels better soon.

35swynn
Ago 2, 2021, 12:51 pm

Happy new thread, Anita!

Adding my wishes for your father's health. Hoping things improve soon.

36FAMeulstee
Ago 2, 2021, 3:26 pm

>34 RebaRelishesReading: Thank you, Reba.

>35 swynn: Thanks, Steve, and thank you.

I had my father on the phone, and he sounded much better than last Saturday. The bladder infection is slowly going away. Today he had his last meeting with the residents committee, where he has been secretary the last two years.

37richardderus
Ago 2, 2021, 3:33 pm

That bladder infection is hanging on. Never any fun, but to make him miss his birthday celebration is the outside of enough.

Have a lovely Tuesday in an hour or so.

38FAMeulstee
Ago 2, 2021, 5:08 pm

>37 richardderus: Thank you, Richard, Tuesday is less than an hour away.
Yes, it was sad my father missed his birthday celebration. I hope there will be a next for him to celebrate.
We will visit him next week.

39EllaTim
Ago 2, 2021, 6:13 pm

>36 FAMeulstee: I am glad your father sounded better on the phone. But sorry he missed his birthday! Hope he will keep feeling better and you can visit him next week.

40connie53
Ago 3, 2021, 4:24 am

Good to hear your father is doing better, Anita!

41FAMeulstee
Ago 3, 2021, 5:34 am

>39 EllaTim: Thank you, Ella, so was I. The antibiotics do help, so expect he will be better next week.

>40 connie53: Thank you, Connie, it is a relief.

42kidzdoc
Ago 3, 2021, 10:56 am

I'm glad that your father's UTI is improving, Anita.

43charl08
Ago 4, 2021, 2:18 am

Sorry to hear your dad has been unwell Anita. Hope that you all get to reschedule a celebration dinner when he is feeling better.

44FAMeulstee
Ago 4, 2021, 2:56 am

>42 kidzdoc: Thank you, Darryl, so are we.

>43 charl08: Thank you, Charlotte.
Frank and I will visit him next week, and have a late birthday dinner.

45FAMeulstee
Ago 4, 2021, 3:14 am


book 170: Een bijna volmaakte vriendschap by Milena Michiko Flašar
library, translated from German, English translation I Called Him Necktie, 157 pages
TIOLI Challenge #2: Read a book published between 1930 and 2021

Taguchi Hiro isolated himself from society, and spend the last two years in his room of his parents house. A "hikikomori" as they are called. Now he is slowly exploring the world again, sitting on a bench in the park. There he meets a "salaryman", an officeworker, who also spends his days in the park. After a while they start talking to eachother, and a beautiful friendship begins.

A beautiful and sad story of two lost souls, who find a bit of comfort in eachother.
As Frank also wants to read this, we bought our own copy.

Dutch title translated: A nearly perfect friendship
The English title is an exact translation of the original German title

46FAMeulstee
Ago 4, 2021, 3:28 am


book 171: De wilde vrouwen van Pella by Theun de Vries
library, Dutch, no translations, 155 pages
TIOLI Challenge #6: Read a book that has something on the cover that is mentioned in the title

When the playwright Euripides is 75 years old, he leaves Athens and settles in Pella (Macedonia). The king of Macedionia wants his court to be more civilised, more Greek, and surrounds himself with Greek artists. His wife is practising the old ways. When the queen and many other women leave the city for and old Dyonisian ritual, Euripides secretly follows them, and uses his experiences in a play.

Theun de Vries is my favorite Dutch writer. In this story he captures the tension between old religious ways and the new.

Dutch title translated: The wild women of Pella

47kidzdoc
Modificato: Ago 4, 2021, 7:55 am

I Called Him Necktie sounds very interesting, and I remember reading another positive review of it sometime recently. The Kindle version of it is on sale for $2.99 in the US, so I just purchased a copy of it.

48msf59
Ago 4, 2021, 7:59 am

Happy Wednesday, Anita. I hope you are having a good week. With our milder temps, I have been out birding & hiking every day- today will make 6 days in a row. We leave for our camping trip tomorrow and I expect to get out regularly there too.

49karenmarie
Ago 4, 2021, 9:28 am

Hi Anita!

I'm sorry your father missed his own birthday celebration, and hope that the UTI is quickly going away.

50RebaRelishesReading
Ago 4, 2021, 12:16 pm

I have some Audible credits to spend so thought I would get I Called Him Necktie but, alas, it isn't in audio yet.

51bell7
Ago 4, 2021, 2:32 pm

Happy new thread, Anita!

52banjo123
Ago 4, 2021, 11:28 pm

Happy new thread! I liked I Called Him Necktie.

53FAMeulstee
Ago 5, 2021, 4:38 am

>47 kidzdoc: Good you found a copy of I Called Him Necktie, Darryl. I think you will like it.

>48 msf59: Thank you, Mark, happy Thursday to you.
Six days of birding and hiking, and a camping trip today sounds good.
We went out on the e-bike yesterday, and were back just in time before the rain started. We have some cool and wet days ahead, and will try to walk a bit in between the rain.

>49 karenmarie: Thank you, Karen.
It was a bummer my father couldn't come. He will now see an urologist, as his GP wasn't completely sure it was only an infection.

54FAMeulstee
Ago 5, 2021, 4:48 am

>50 RebaRelishesReading: Sorry it isn't available in audio, Reba. Maybe you can find a paper copy somewhere.

>51 bell7: Thank you, Mary!

>52 banjo123: Thank you, Rhonda.
Glad you also liked I Called Him Necktie. I read about it somewehere, and then found a copy at the library the next day.

55SirThomas
Ago 5, 2021, 9:21 am

I enjoyed De outdoorwaanzin very much, thanks again for the recommendation in your last thread, Anita.
All the best wishes to you and yours!

56FAMeulstee
Ago 6, 2021, 3:25 am

>55 SirThomas: You are very welcome, Thomas.

57FAMeulstee
Ago 6, 2021, 4:23 am

Read, not yet reviewed:
#172: Hart van de winter (Winter's Heart; Wheel of Time 9) by Robert Jordan
#173: In tijden van afnemend licht (In Times of Fading Light) by Eugen Ruge

Reading now:
De klokkenluider van de Notre Dame (The Hunchback of Notre Dame) by Victor Hugo
Fandorin (The Winter Queen) by Boris Akoenin
't Hooge Nest (The Sisters of Auschwitz) by Roxane van Iperen

58richardderus
Ago 9, 2021, 7:48 pm

Hi Anita! How goes the reading?

59FAMeulstee
Ago 10, 2021, 2:44 am

>58 richardderus: Still reading The Hunchback of Notre Dame, Richard dear, I hope to finish it today.
And I started reading A Little Life and The Bell in the Lake.
I enjoyed my first Erast Fandorin (The Winter Queen) and hope to get the next from the library this week.

Time to write some reviews.

60FAMeulstee
Ago 10, 2021, 2:54 am


book 172: Hart van de winter by Robert Jordan
library, e-book, translated, original title Winter's Heart, 672 pages
TIOLI Challenge #2: Read a book published between 1930 and 2021

Wheel of Time book 9
Well nothing much happens again, although at the end the story perks up a bit. So maybe there is hope for the next book.
Only 5 books left to go :-)

Dutch title translated: Heart of the winter

61FAMeulstee
Ago 10, 2021, 3:09 am


book 173: In tijden van afnemend licht by Eugen Ruge
library, e-book, translated from German, English translation In Times of Fading Light, 349 pages
TIOLI Challenge #1: Read a book with a “furniture vocabulary word” in the title or in the first paragraph of Chapter One or its equivalent

The life of four generations from the Eastgerman Umnitzer family in the second half of the 20th century, show the decline and fall of the DDR.

Well written, jumping forth and back in time, giving voice to each generation. Somehow the characters never came fully alive to me.

English and Dutch title are the same

62FAMeulstee
Ago 10, 2021, 3:30 am


book 174: 't Hooge Nest by Roxane van Iperen
library, e-book, non-fiction, Dutch, English translation The Sisters of Auschwitz, 381 pages
TIOLI Challenge #2: Read a book published between 1930 and 2021

When the writer and her family bought a house, and started renovating, they found hiding places all over the place. In some were still papers of the WWII resistance. She decided to find out what happened in this house during WWII.
Two Jewish sisters joined the resistance early. They rented the house when they needed a hiding place. Many others found a hiding place there as well, until they were found by a Dutch Jew-hunter. All residents were sent to Auschwitz in 1944. The sisters stayed together, even when they were transported to Bergen Belsen, and survived. They were also the last ones who saw Margot and Anne Frank alive.

Dutch title translated: The High Nest (the name of the house)

63FAMeulstee
Modificato: Ago 10, 2021, 3:39 am


book 175: Fandorin by Boris Akoenin
library, translated from Russian, English translation The Winter Queen, 249 pages
TIOLI Challenge #16: Read a book which has the name of a mineral water well among the first words

Erast Fandorin book 1
A rich young man commits suicide in a park in Moskow. The first case for young police officer Erast Fandorin, as he urges his chief there is more to this suicide.

This book has been on my list for years, I am glad I finally got to it. It was an enjoyable read, I reserved the next book at the library.

No need to translate the Dutch title ;-)

64FAMeulstee
Ago 10, 2021, 3:52 am


book 176: De wetten van water by Cynan Jones
library, translated, original title Stillicide, 189 pages
TIOLI Challenge #2: Read a book published between 1930 and 2021

Twelve interconnected stories, set in a near dystopian future, where water has become scarse.
Water is transported to the city by train. The railway is guarded, because of fear for terrorist attacks. The lastest attempt to get more water is an iceberg from the north being transported over sea. To accomodate the transport of the iceberg an Ice Dock is being build, for this many people have to leave, as their houses stand in the way. There is a protest going on, against the demolishment of houses for this Ice Dock.

A book that makes you think, certainly after the latest cilmate report...

Dutch title translated: The laws of water

65swynn
Ago 10, 2021, 9:14 am

>64 FAMeulstee: Ooh, I have Stillicide in the Tower of Due. Really looking forward to it.

66FAMeulstee
Ago 10, 2021, 10:03 am

>65 swynn: I hope you'll enjoy Stillicide as much, Steve.
I moved it towards the top of mount TBR after a glowing review by Richard last year.

67richardderus
Ago 10, 2021, 12:56 pm

>66 FAMeulstee:, >65 swynn:, >64 FAMeulstee: And not to brag, he bragged, Cynan Jones really liked my review.

Lovely reading! The Sisters Of Auschwitz needs my eyeblinks...and hooray for Erast making a hit!

68FAMeulstee
Ago 10, 2021, 3:19 pm

>67 richardderus: Thanks, Richard dear, for both Stillicide and Erast. I think I found them both on your thread (Erast was a looooong time ago). You are always welcome to brag here ;-)

Yes, do read The Sisters of Auschwitz, it is a very good read. One of few, besides the books of Theun de Vries, that gives credit to the role of the Dutch Communist Party in the resistance during WWII.

69charl08
Ago 10, 2021, 3:52 pm

>63 FAMeulstee: Even his name is translated differently! And the cover reminds me of Alice in Wonderland. I do love this series, I think my favourite is the tribute to Death on the Nile.

70FAMeulstee
Ago 10, 2021, 5:10 pm

>69 charl08: Indeed, Charlotte, that is because the "u" in English sounds like "oe" in Dutch. Many Russian names are slightly different in Dutch translation.
Only the first seven books are available in Dutch translation, in English there are 16.

71FAMeulstee
Modificato: Ago 12, 2021, 3:52 am

Yesterday we visited my father. He felt much better now, although his age shows more than it did before. We enjoyed a lovely dinner at the restaurant of the facility, and the workers at the restaurant were very happy to see us back.

72FAMeulstee
Modificato: Ago 12, 2021, 3:53 am

Read, not yet reviewed:
#177: De klokkenluider van de Notre Dame (The Hunchback of Notre Dame) by Victor Hugo

Reading now:
De zusterklokken (The Bell in the Lake) by Lars Mytting
Een klein leven (A Little Life) by Hanya Yanagihara

73msf59
Ago 12, 2021, 8:05 am

Sweet Thursday, Anita. I hope you are having a great week. Good luck with A Little Life. That was an incredibly difficult book to get through, although I am glad I read it. Possibly the most gut-wrenching book I have ever read.

74FAMeulstee
Ago 12, 2021, 3:29 pm

>73 msf59: Thank you, Mark, my week went fine. A lot of family: we visited my father yesterday, tomorrow we will visit my brother and sister in law.
We will go out on the bike in an hour, hoping to spot some meteors. Today should be the peak of the Perseids, and the sky is getting clear.

75richardderus
Ago 12, 2021, 3:41 pm

Does "klokkenluider" mean "bell-ringer," Anita? I just looked at >72 FAMeulstee: and suddenly...two "klokken" words; it means bell; oh! Quasimodo was a *bell*ringer...did I figure it out right?

76FAMeulstee
Ago 12, 2021, 3:53 pm

>75 richardderus: Yes, you are right, Richard dear. Your Dutch is getting better and better! In a little while you can start reading Dutch books :-)
And indeed, the job of the hunchback Quasimodo was to ring the bells of the Notre-Dame in Paris.

77richardderus
Ago 12, 2021, 4:17 pm

Yay for a life-long reading habit! Can't remember the last time I read the book and still kept that one crucial detail fresh.

78FAMeulstee
Ago 13, 2021, 4:40 am

>77 richardderus: It is sometimes unbelievable what is stored in our brain, Richard dear, or better said: what can be retrieved after years from memory.

79connie53
Ago 14, 2021, 3:30 am

>62 FAMeulstee: Great book! I really loved it and found it very inspiring.

You and I can get Richard to be fluently in the Dutch language! ;-))

80FAMeulstee
Ago 14, 2021, 4:07 am

>79 connie53: I wanted to read 't Hooge Nest for some time, Connie. Then I saw Roxane van Iperen at "Zomergasten", and had to read it right away.

:-)

81connie53
Ago 14, 2021, 4:13 am

I know how that works. She is a very inspiring woman.

82FAMeulstee
Ago 14, 2021, 6:34 pm

>81 connie53: Yes, she is inspiring, Connie.

83Berly
Ago 14, 2021, 7:37 pm

Hopelessly behind on your thread so starting fresh from here. Congrats on hitting 177 already! Enjoy your visits with friends and stargazing. : )

84richardderus
Ago 14, 2021, 7:50 pm

Heh, I'm not ready for a whole *book* yet but I'm getting a little bit better at the news websites.

85FAMeulstee
Ago 15, 2021, 6:09 am

>83 Berly: Thank you, Kim, happy to see you here :-)
We saw some meteors again on Thursday, and had a nice visit with my brother, sister in law and nephew on Friday.

>84 richardderus: Then a picture book with little text should be doable, Richard dear.

86FAMeulstee
Ago 15, 2021, 6:17 am

Read, not yet reviewed:
#177: De klokkenluider van de Notre Dame (The Hunchback of Notre Dame) by Victor Hugo
#178: De zusterklokken (The Bell in the Lake) by Lars Mytting

Taking a little break from Een klein leven (A Little Life) by Hanya Yanagihara, as it is an emotional heavy read. I hope to continue later this week.

Reading now:
Gösta Berling (The Saga of Gösta Berling) by Selma Lagerlöf
De Indiase bruid (Calling Out for You) by Karin Fossum
De Cock en moord op bestelling by A.C. Baantjer

87charl08
Ago 15, 2021, 6:49 am

I am still resisting picking up A Little Life, but can appreciate you might want a break. I read their The People in the Trees and still feel slightly bothered by it. It asked so many questions about cultural relativism in a really grim context (abuse), I almost wish I hadn't read it. Amazing writing, but just so heavy.

88FAMeulstee
Ago 15, 2021, 9:24 am

>87 charl08: I hadn't heard before of The People in the Trees, Charlotte. So thanks for mentioning, I might want to read it, but not anytime soon after A Little Life.

89FAMeulstee
Ago 17, 2021, 2:29 pm

Read, not yet reviewed:
#177: De klokkenluider van de Notre Dame (The Hunchback of Notre Dame) by Victor Hugo
#178: De zusterklokken (The Bell in the Lake) by Lars Mytting
#179: De Indiase bruid (Calling Out for You; Konrad Sejer 5) by Karin Fossum
#180: De Cock en moord op bestelling by A.C. Baantjer
#181: Gösta Berling (The Saga of Gösta Berling) by Selma Lagerlöf

Reading now:
Het wonder dat niet omvalt by Ernest van der Kwast
Thomas Mann en de zijnen (Thomas Mann and His Family) by Marcel Reich-Ranicki
De lachende politieman (The Laughing Policeman; Martin Beck 4) by Maj Sjöwall & Per Wahlöö

Paused, to be continued soon:
Een klein leven (A Little Life) by Hanya Yanagihara

90FAMeulstee
Modificato: Ago 29, 2021, 8:11 am


book 177: De klokkenluider van de Notre Dame by Victor Hugo
1001 books, own, translated from French, English translation The Hunchback of Notre Dame, 551 pages
TIOLI Challenge #4: Read a book that starts with the definite article

Paris, 1482. In this tragic story archdeacon Claude Frollo of the Notre Dame and deformed bell ringer Quasimodo both fall in love with Esmeralda, a gypsy girl. Esmeralda has fallen in love with Captain Phoebus. When Esmeralda is accused and found guilty of witchery, Quasimodo saves her.

I liked most, but some parts were a bit of a slog. I loved Esmeralda's little goat!

Dutch title translated: The bell ringer of the Notre Dame

91FAMeulstee
Modificato: Ago 29, 2021, 8:11 am


book 178: De zusterklokken by Lars Mytting
library, e-book, translated from Norwegian, English translation The Bell in the Lake, 416 pages
TIOLI Challenge #4: Read a book that starts with the definite article

Norway, 19th century. In a remote village the new pastor has big plans to build a new and larger church. The present church is a 700 year old wooden stave church, with two special bells that were a gift of an ancestor of Astrid.
Meanwhile in Dresden a professor and a servant of the queen have ambitious plans to buy the old church and rebuilt in Dresden. The student Gerhard is send to Norway to lead the break down of the old church.
Astrid wants that the bells don't go with the old church, they should stay in Norway.

An interesting and likable story.

Dutch title translated: The sisterbells

92FAMeulstee
Modificato: Ago 19, 2021, 4:51 am


book 179: De Indiase bruid by Karin Fossum
library, translated from Norwegian, English translation Calling Out for You, 325 pages
TIOLI Challenge #2: Read a book published between 1930 and 2021

Konrad Sejer book 5
A middle aged single man travels to India, hoping he will find a wife. He meets Poona and marries her. Due to circumstances Poona can't leave with Gunder, and will travel later. At the day of her arrival Gunder's sister has an accident, and he asks someone else to pick up Poona.
Konrad Sejer and his assistant Jacob Skarre are called when the body of an unknown foreign woman is found. They have to find out who the woman is, and who did his to her.

Good, but very sad story.

Dutch title translated: The Indian Bride

93FAMeulstee
Ago 19, 2021, 4:59 am


book 180: De Cock en moord op bestelling by A.C. Baantjer
library, e-book, Dutch, no translations, 138 pages
TIOLI Challenge #8: Read a book which is tenth or higher in series

De Cock, book 57
A man is shot at the door of his house. De Cock and Vledder start their investigation. Two more murders, before they solve the case.

In May I said I would take a break from this series, but this TIOLI challenge made me change my mind. Still the latest books are getting very formulaic: a murder, two more murders, and the fourth murder is prevented & the perpetrator caught.
With only 13 (of 70) books left to go, I will probably get to reading them all.

Title translated: De Cock and murder on order

94Caroline_McElwee
Ago 20, 2021, 7:28 pm

>91 FAMeulstee: I enjoyed this too Anita, and am looking forward to volume 2 next year.

95PaulCranswick
Ago 20, 2021, 10:26 pm

Dropping by to wish you a lovely weekend, Anita.

96msf59
Ago 21, 2021, 8:12 am

Happy Saturday, Anita. Glad you are sticking it out with A Little Life. That was a tough one.

97FAMeulstee
Ago 21, 2021, 10:09 am

>94 Caroline_McElwee: So am I, Caroline, I thought he intended to write a third as well.

>95 PaulCranswick: Thank you, Paul, wishing you the same.

>96 msf59: I just moved A Little Life back to the couch, Mark, that is where the books I actively read are. So after finishing White Teeth, I will continue.

98karenmarie
Ago 21, 2021, 10:52 am

Hi Anita! Just stopping in for a quick hello.

I'm glad to read that you got to visit your father and visit your brother, SiL, and nephew.

99FAMeulstee
Modificato: Ago 21, 2021, 12:52 pm

>98 karenmarie: Hi Karen, nice to see you here.
Yes, we were glad to see them all. It is very nice my brother and SiL have a holliday villa now that is near to us. Makes it easier to visit them.

100richardderus
Ago 21, 2021, 12:54 pm

>93 FAMeulstee: SEVENTY!! Wooow...that's a series with legs. How many decades of publishing does that represent?

Happy weekend, Anita!

101FAMeulstee
Ago 21, 2021, 1:00 pm

>100 richardderus: Thank you, Richard dear, happy weekend to you too!

The first was published in 1964, the last in 2008. An other writer is still continuing the series, so it has grown to 86 books now... I think to keep it at the 70 by the original writer.

102Caroline_McElwee
Ago 21, 2021, 2:06 pm

>93 FAMeulstee: I have 5 or 6 of these Anita, still unsampled, I'm never going to get to 70 ha!

103FAMeulstee
Ago 21, 2021, 2:43 pm

>102 Caroline_McElwee: I don't think all are available in translation, Caroline. With 5 or 6 you have more than enough. The stories are average, and as I said they get repetitive.
Sometimes they are good to fill a TIOLI challenge, as they are short ;-)

104EllaTim
Ago 21, 2021, 3:54 pm

Hi Anita!

>103 FAMeulstee: I am not that fond of this series, but when i do read one i like the atmosphere, and the fact that the stories are set in Amsterdam.

105FAMeulstee
Ago 22, 2021, 5:17 am

>104 EllaTim: Neither am I, Ella, but I am a completist. I started reading them when I got my e-reader. Nice short books, all available at the e-library.
Sadly there is no comparable series set in Rotterdam! ;-)

106EllaTim
Ago 22, 2021, 4:44 pm

>105 FAMeulstee: Someone should write it, maybe?

107FAMeulstee
Ago 23, 2021, 2:56 am

108FAMeulstee
Modificato: Ago 23, 2021, 3:14 am


book 181: Gösta Berling by Selma Lagerlöf
1001 books, library, translated from Swedish, Nobelprize, English translation The Saga of Gösta Berling, 443 pages
TIOLI Challenge #7: Read a book where the author's name contains at least two common nouns (list them)

The adventures of Gösta Berling. He was a minister, because of bad behavior was defrocked, and went into the world as beggar. He wants to end his life, a woman keeps him from suïcide. She takes him up in her houshold, where twelve "cavaliers" live. We follow them in a year full of adventures, with some saga's and folktales woven in.

An enjoyable tale, not the great read I was hoping for.

No need to translate the title ;-)

109FAMeulstee
Modificato: Ago 29, 2021, 8:11 am


book 182: De lachende politieman by Maj Sjöwall and Per Wahlöö
library, translated from Swedish, English translation The Laughing Policeman, 240 pages
TIOLI Challenge #4: Read a book that starts with the definite article

Martin Beck book 4
Two policeman find a bus in Stockholm, where all passengers and the driver are shot. One of the victims is a policeman, a collegue of Martin Beck. Digging into the case there is no clue why this happened, or who is the murderer. Finally digging into the policeman's life, they find a link with a cold case.

Although it was written over 50 years ago, still an enjoyable read.

Dutch and English title are the same

110FAMeulstee
Ago 23, 2021, 3:38 am


book 183: Het wonder dat niet omvalt by Ernest van der Kwast
library, e-book, Dutch, no translations, 202 pages
TIOLI Challenge #2: Read a book published between 1930 and 2021

Short portraits of people working in Rotterdam.
From a female chimney sweeper, to a beekeeper who keeps the bees on a roof. From a 4th generation dance school owner, to one of the last postage stamp sellers on the market.

Dutch title translated: The miracle that doesn't fall

111FAMeulstee
Ago 23, 2021, 3:57 am


book 184: Witte tanden by Zadie Smith
1001 books, library, translated, original title White Teeth, 407 pages
TIOLI Challenge #13: Read a book with an occupation in the title or author's name

Following three families in London, in the last quarter of the 20th century. Archie Jones and Samad Iqbal met eachother near the end of WWII, when they were both in the army. They both marry late in life. Their children give some trouble, and later a third family is introduced, Marcus and Joyce Chalfen and their offspring.

The multicutural life in Londen, where people with very different backgrounds live an English life together. Religion and science are both important, and children take different paths, sometimes against their parents wishes. Written with some humour, and clearly before 9/11.

Dutch and English title are the same

112FAMeulstee
Ago 23, 2021, 4:01 am

Read, not yet reviewed:
#185: Thomas Mann en de zijnen (Thomas Mann and His Family) by Marcel Reich-Ranicki

Reading now:
Een klein leven (A Little Life) by Hanya Yanagihara
Lotte in Weimar (The Beloved Returns) by Thomas Mann

113richardderus
Ago 23, 2021, 8:13 pm

Oh my, Anita, you've done some really interesting reading! >110 FAMeulstee: intrigues me. I like the "slice of life" non-fiction.

Happy Tuesday!

114FAMeulstee
Modificato: Ago 24, 2021, 6:19 am

>113 richardderus: Thank you, Richard dear, I also like these kind of peaks in other's lifes.

Yesterday I finished A Little Life, very impressive, I gave it the full stars. I have never read such a good description of servere trauma, and the consequences.
I started Hot Money by Dick Francis, for a lighter read. And Journey to the End of the Night by Louis-Ferdinand Céline, for more substantial reading.

ETA: Yesterday I got Zwemmen in het donker (Swimming in the Dark) by Tomasz Jedrowski from the library, and today arrived a second hand copy of Tonio Kröger en andere verhalen by Thomas Mann that I ordered online. The book about Thomas Mann made me want to read more of his books.

115FAMeulstee
Ago 25, 2021, 5:25 am

Read, not yet reviewed:
#185: Thomas Mann en de zijnen (Thomas Mann and His Family) by Marcel Reich-Ranicki
#186: Een klein leven (A Little Life) by Hanya Yanagihara
#187: Bloedgeld (Hot money) by Dick Francis

Reading now:
Lotte in Weimar (The Beloved Returns) by Thomas Mann
Reis naar het einde van de nacht (Journey to the End of the Night) by Louis-Ferdinand Céline
1794 by Niklas Natt och Dag

116SirThomas
Ago 26, 2021, 1:43 am

>109 FAMeulstee: I keep coming back to this series too, Anita.
In my current run through, I have completed number 3. This book is next - very soon, if nothing comes up.
All the best!

117FAMeulstee
Ago 26, 2021, 3:29 am

>116 SirThomas: It is my first time, Thomas. I only started to read krimi's some time after I came to LT.
Enjoy Endstation für neun, when you get to it.

118FAMeulstee
Ago 26, 2021, 3:40 am


book 185: Thomas Mann en de zijnen by Marcel Reich-Ranicki
library, e-book, non-fiction, translated from German, English translation Thomas Mann and His Family, 287 pages
TIOLI Challenge #2: Read a book published between 1930 and 2021

Essays about the life and writings of Thomas Mann, Heinrich Mann, Klaus Mann, Erika Mann, and Golo Mann.

The writer was a famous German literatature critic, who made me want to read more of Thomas Mann's books. So I ordered Tonio Kröger en andere verhalen, as we only have Tonio Kröger in German on the shelves.

Dutch title translated: Thomas Mann and his own

119FAMeulstee
Modificato: Ago 29, 2021, 6:30 am


book 186: Een klein leven by Hanya Yanagihara
library, translated, original title A Little Life, 751 pages
TIOLI Challenge #2: Read a book published between 1930 and 2021

The story of four young men who meet in college, following them in their succesful careers in the next years. One of them never talks about his past, as what he has endured during his youth is unspeakable. Through the book we slowly find out how terrible his upbringing was. His friends care, try to help in their, sometimes clumsy, ways. He is loved, but he thinks he doesn't deserve it. His succes is easier to handle.

I have never read such a real description of servere trauma. How it feels, the need for physical pain, to ease the mental pain. I recognised a lot, and shed a few tears. Sometimes broken can't be mended, only endured.
No easy read, but very rewarding.

Dutch and English title are the same

120SirThomas
Ago 26, 2021, 4:15 am

>117 FAMeulstee: It probably won't be long now....

121humouress
Ago 26, 2021, 6:39 am

Hi Anita; happy new thread! I'm realising that I haven't been active on LT so I'm losing track of people's threads.

I'm sorry to hear your father had to miss his birthday but happy to hear that he's feeling better now.

122msf59
Ago 26, 2021, 7:53 am

Sweet Thursday, Anita. I am glad you stuck with A Little Life and ended up giving it a perfect rating. It was a difficult read for me but I am glad I read it. I read a couple of the Martin Beck mystery books back in the 80s. Glad to hear they still hold up.

123FAMeulstee
Modificato: Ago 27, 2021, 3:03 am

>120 SirThomas: Looking farward to your review, Thomas.

>121 humouress: Thank you, Nina, happy you found my thread again :-)
My father felt so much better, he managed to overdo it yesterday. Two appointments in the morning, and then visit us. When he arrived here he admitted that was a bit to much. I hope he learned from it.

>122 msf59: Thank you, Mark, happy Thursday in return.
Yes, A Little Life was a difficult and emotional draining read, but as a whole very rewarding.

124streamsong
Ago 27, 2021, 1:57 pm

Hi Anita! Wow - as always I'm impressed by the wonderful reading that you are doing.

I have not read any classics this year. Perhaps The Hunchback of Notre Dame should be on my winter list. The hours of daylight are already getting quite a bit shorter.

125richardderus
Ago 27, 2021, 2:54 pm

>119 FAMeulstee: Your take on the book makes me think I completely misunderstood it! I'll dredge it out one fine day, your five stars tell me for sure that something big got past me.

Happy weekend ahead's reads!

126charl08
Ago 28, 2021, 3:13 am

>119 FAMeulstee: I wasn't sure I could cope with this one, but your comments make me think the attempt is worth a try.

I've just read a review of a new biography of W E Sebald, and am thinking I should give him a try again too. Maybe starting with The Emigrants. So many authors I haven't read, as always!

127FAMeulstee
Ago 28, 2021, 5:27 am

>124 streamsong: Thank you, Janet, the books treat me well.
The classics are calling to me, already 27 down this year. Reading Journey to the End of the Night right now.
The days are indeed getting shorter, I have to put on the light shortly after 8pm, when it gets to dark to read.

>125 richardderus: For me it was an impressive read, Richard dear. We don't always agree (I liked Overstory way better than you did), so that could also be the case here. What did put you off?
Happy weekend to you!

>126 charl08: It is an emotional hard read, Charlotte, at least it was for me. I had to put it down a while at 1/3rd in.
Sebald is on my list, mount TBR, with Austerlitz. Í don't know if I ever get to him. There are way more books I want to read, than I ever will be able to read. This is the fate of readers ;-)

128FAMeulstee
Ago 28, 2021, 5:48 am

Read, not yet reviewed:
#187: Bloedgeld (Hot money) by Dick Francis
#188: De goede oude man en het mooie jonge meisje (The Nice Old Man and the Pretty Girl) by Italo Svevo
#189: 1794 by Niklas Natt och Dag

Reading now:
Lotte in Weimar (The Beloved Returns) by Thomas Mann
Reis naar het einde van de nacht (Journey to the End of the Night) by Louis-Ferdinand Céline
Zwemmen in het donker (Swimming in the dark) by Tomasz Jedrowski

129richardderus
Ago 28, 2021, 3:10 pm

>127 FAMeulstee: Jude's unremittingly awful life. I don't care how accurate or inaccurate it is, I was jut brow-beaten and bashed by it; frankly, it's too much for me.

So, no...on balance I don't like it because it's borderline torture porn.

130FAMeulstee
Ago 28, 2021, 5:26 pm

>129 richardderus: I understand Jude's life can be too much, Richard dear, and be off putting because of that. Personally I found all the shiny carreers a bit much.

131connie53
Ago 29, 2021, 4:00 am

>119 FAMeulstee: Good to hear you gave it 5 stars, Anita. That book is on my tbr too.

132FAMeulstee
Ago 29, 2021, 5:38 am

>131 connie53: I hope you will also love it when you get to it, Connie.

133FAMeulstee
Ago 29, 2021, 5:49 am


book 187: Bloedgeld by Dick Francis
own, translated, original title Hot money, 366 pages
TIOLI Challenge #2: Read a book published between 1930 and 2021

Malcolm Pembroke is a very wealthy man, who loves to spend a lot of money. He has been married 5 times, and his last wife was recently murdered. She wanted a divorce, so he was one of the suspects. Now it looks like a murderer is after him. He asks Ian, the only child of his second wife, for help.
His other children all await his death, as they would inherite the fortune. They feel robbed from their future inherentance every time the papers write about his last spending spree. So they all have a reason to kill him. Ian tries to find out who is behind the murder attempts.

Enjoyable read, the family dynamics and unexpected plot were very good.

Dutch title translated: Bloodmoney

134FAMeulstee
Ago 29, 2021, 5:59 am


book 188: De goede oude man en het mooie jonge meisje by Italo Svevo
own, translated from Italian, original title The Nice Old Man and the Pretty Girl, 93 pages
TIOLI Challenge #2: Read a book published between 1930 and 2021

An old man falls in love with a young woman. When he gets ill, he thinks his illness is related to his affair.

Not very interesting, some parts are very well written, a quick read.

Dutch title translated: The nice old man and the pretty young girl

135FAMeulstee
Modificato: Ago 31, 2022, 3:59 am


book 189: 1794 by Niklas Natt och Dag
library, translated from Swedish, no English translation, 446 pages
TIOLI Challenge #2: Read a book published between 1930 and 2021

Sequel to The Wolf and the Watchman.
A woman asks Mickel Cardell for help, her daughter is murdered during her wedding night. Cardell gets help from Emil Winge, the younger brother of Cecil Winge (who died at the end of the previous book). Later on we also see Anna Stina back.

Again a well written historical mystery, mostly set in Stockholm. With gruesome details and a very cruel perpetrator.

Dutch title translated: 1794

136FAMeulstee
Ago 29, 2021, 6:27 am


book 190: Zwemmen in het donker by Tomasz Jedrowski
library, translated,, original title Swimming in the dark, 223 pages
TIOLI Challenge #15: Read a “coming of age” book that was suggested to you by someone else

Ludwik grows up in Poland behind the Iron Curtain. When he was young he had a crush on a classmate, but one day he was suddenly gone. The family moved to Israel, according to a neighbor.
At a summer camp, the last hurdle to graduate from university, he meets Janusz. After the camp they go on holiday together and spend some love filled weeks together. Back in Warsaw their relationship continues, but not openly. Janusz wants to be succesful in Poland, while Ludwik dreams of an escape to the West.

Interesting look at finding your identity in difficult circumstances.

Dutch and English title are the same

137connie53
Ago 29, 2021, 6:41 am

>132 FAMeulstee: I will let you know!

138FAMeulstee
Ago 29, 2021, 8:57 am

>137 connie53: I'll see it at you thread by then, Connie.

139FAMeulstee
Ago 29, 2021, 8:59 am

Read, not yet reviewed:
#191: Reis naar het einde van de nacht (Journey to the End of the Night) by Louis-Ferdinand Céline

Reading now:
Lotte in Weimar (The Beloved Returns) by Thomas Mann
De tuin van de familie Finzi-Contini (The Garden of the Finzi-Continis) by Giorgio Bassani
Vermoedens omtrent Jakob (Speculations about Jakob) by Uwe Johnson

140karenmarie
Ago 29, 2021, 9:48 am

Hi Anita!

>133 FAMeulstee: So glad you liked Hot Money. I also thought it was excellent.

141FAMeulstee
Ago 29, 2021, 10:25 am

>140 karenmarie: Thanks, Karen, I saw your review at the thread. It was one of the better books.
And thanks again for hosting the shared Dick Francis reads this year!

142richardderus
Ago 29, 2021, 2:36 pm

>136 FAMeulstee: I'm glad it spoke to you, Anita.

>135 FAMeulstee: Do wish they'd get busy and translate that one already!

>134 FAMeulstee: That's one that had aged badly when I read it decades ago...

143LovingLit
Ago 30, 2021, 2:28 am

Hi Anita- just popping in to say hi

>119 FAMeulstee: I have been under intense pressure by my RL bookclub friend to read this. I am just not sure I can face it!

144charl08
Ago 30, 2021, 5:15 am

>135 FAMeulstee: What Richard said about the speed of the translation. I enjoyed the first one, even if it did test my tolerance levels for grim detail.

145SirThomas
Ago 30, 2021, 5:57 am

>123 FAMeulstee: It will come soon...
I wish you a good start to the week, Anita!

146FAMeulstee
Ago 30, 2021, 6:00 am

>142 richardderus: I added Swimming in the Dark to the pile after your review, Richard dear. And I am gld I did get to it so soon.
The third will be published in Sweden this fall.
Even aged worse now ;-)

>143 LovingLit: Hi Megan!
I understand your reservations, it is an emotional draining read. I also understand your friend, who would love to talk about the book with you.

>144 charl08: I hope for both of you that the English translation is on its way, Charlotte.
Both books are very grim and gruesome, on the edge of tolerable, but very good.

147FAMeulstee
Ago 30, 2021, 6:02 am

>145 SirThomas: Thank you, Thomas, wishing you a good week ahead.
I keep an eye on your thread :-)

148msf59
Ago 30, 2021, 7:39 am

Hi, Anita. I hope you had a nice weekend. I admire the wide-ranging approach you take to your reading. You touch down upon nearly everything. I need to improve on my classic reading. That is for sure.

149FAMeulstee
Ago 30, 2021, 4:15 pm

>148 msf59: Thank you, Mark, we had a good weekend. Frank had to work Friday and Saturday night, but is off now until September 10th.
With reading it is just that I am interested in almost everything :-)

--
I saw a Kentish plover today, lifer!

Original: Davidvraju, edit: MPF, CC BY-SA 4.0 , via Wikimedia Commons

150Caroline_McElwee
Ago 30, 2021, 4:22 pm

>149 FAMeulstee: Pretty lifer for you Anita.

151EllaTim
Ago 30, 2021, 6:25 pm

>149 FAMeulstee: Such a cute little bird! Would be a lifer for me as well. Great find, Anita.

152FAMeulstee
Ago 30, 2021, 6:47 pm

>150 Caroline_McElwee: Thank you, Caroline, it took me a while to figure out what kind of bird it was.

>151 EllaTim: Just lucky, Ella, we were e-biking at the IJsselmeerdijk, and there it was. I saw on waarneming.nl there were more sightings in the Oostvaarderplassen and the Markerwadden this month.

153EllaTim
Ago 30, 2021, 6:49 pm

>152 FAMeulstee: Not luck alone, Anita. You saw it, you could have passed right by, without noticing anything. I looked it up as well, IJmuiden Zuidpier would be my nearest opportunity.

154richardderus
Ago 30, 2021, 6:57 pm

>149 FAMeulstee: A Kentish plover's quite a ways from home, isn't it? Lelyveld isn't a simple, brisk swim from Kent!

Happy that my warbling got Swimming in the Dark into your hands early.

155Familyhistorian
Ago 30, 2021, 8:08 pm

I see you are keeping up with your reading, Anita. Sorry to see that your father missed his birthday celebration but that you were able to have a dinner with him at his facility when he was well again.

Reading your thread has made me feeling like I am in good company. I see that I am not the only one having difficulty keeping up with threads from another couple of messages on here.

156SirThomas
Ago 31, 2021, 2:22 am

>149 FAMeulstee: Congratulations on your sighting, Anita.
So there are still people who don't just look at their smartphones when they're out and about ;-)
Enjoy your time off!

157FAMeulstee
Modificato: Ago 31, 2021, 4:36 am

>153 EllaTim: I always look around outside, Ella. And I am lucky to live where many different kind of birds can be seen.

>154 richardderus: LOL! I am not responsable for the English name of the bird, Richard dear ;-)
The Dutch name is "strandplevier", translated "beach plover". They are rare here, but have a large habitat in parts of Europe, Africa and Asia.
I am always happy to find a book on your thread that is availabe in Dutch translation.

158FAMeulstee
Ago 31, 2021, 4:36 am

>155 Familyhistorian: Thank you, Meg, I am glad my reading still goes very well.
My father is the last of our parents, and aging is hard on him.
Keeping up with the treads is never an easy task in this group.

>156 SirThomas: Thank you, Thomas.
I am one of very few who doesn't even have a smartphone :-)
Next month Frank will have 3 weeks vacation. This break was just accidently in the schedule. Every three months Frank and his collegues make the schedule for the next three month, and sometimes is works out with a bit of time off for him.

159charl08
Ago 31, 2021, 7:51 am

Oh I love those seabirds. A lovely spot.
We had a hedgehog visit the garden over the weekend, a nice surprise. He (she?) walked past the back door and kind of froze midstep as it realised it was being watched. I am very much hoping it comes back again.

160msf59
Ago 31, 2021, 8:02 am

Congrats on the Kentish plover, Anita. What an adorable bird. Nice sighting.

161FAMeulstee
Ago 31, 2021, 4:56 pm

>159 charl08: Thank you, Charlotte, it was a surprise to spot a Kentish plover there.
A hedgehog in the garden, how sweet!
I used to see hedgehogs sometimes, when I did the late evening walk with the dogs. Sadly they can't come into our garden. Back in the days I made the garden escape-proof for puppies with chicken-wire unto the ground.

>160 msf59: Thank you, Mark, you'll have to cross the Atlantic to spot one yourself ;-)

162FAMeulstee
Ago 31, 2021, 4:59 pm

I was late finishing my last book in August. The last reviews and the stats will have to wait until tomorrow.

--
Read, not yet reviewed:
#191: Reis naar het einde van de nacht (Journey to the End of the Night) by Louis-Ferdinand Céline
#192: Vermoedens omtrent Jakob (Speculations about Jakob) by Uwe Johnson
#193: De tuin van de familie Finzi-Contini (The Garden of the Finzi-Continis) by Giorgio Bassani

Reading now:
Lotte in Weimar (The Beloved Returns) by Thomas Mann

163FAMeulstee
Set 1, 2021, 3:12 am


book 191: Reis naar het einde van de nacht by Louis-Ferdinand Céline
1001 books, own, translated from French, Franse bibliotheek, English translation Journey to the End of the Night, 560 pages
TIOLI Challenge #3: Read a book with a word in the title that implies a measurement of time

Ferdinand Bardamu leaves Paris to fight in World War I. He gets wounded, and desperately tries to avoid his return to the troups. He manages to escape the army, by going to an African colony. Life in Africa isn't much better than army life. His escape from the colony brings him to New York, and after that Detroit. He doesn't feel at home there either, so finally he returns to France. He finishes his study in medicine, and becomes a doctor in a poor part of Paris.

Very well written dark and depressing view on humanity, there is barely a nice character found. The black humor keeps it readable, but it was no easy read.

Dutch and English title are the same

164FAMeulstee
Set 1, 2021, 3:40 am


book 192: Vermoedens omtrent Jakob by Uwe Johnson
own, translated from German, English translation Speculations about Jakob, 303 pages
TIOLI Challenge #2: Read a book published between 1930 and 2021

Jakob Abs was a train dispatcher in East Germany. At the start of the book he gets killed by a train, just after his return from West Germany, where he visited Gesine Cresspahl. Was it an accident, a suicide, murder? In five chapters people who knew Jakob are talking about him. It isn't clear who is talking to who, although I got some clues in the afterword. Slowly is found out who Jakob was, why the Stasi was interested in him, and about his relation to Gesine and her father.

The same characters that later appear in Anniversaries show up in Uwe Johnson's first published book. An intriguing view into East Germany in the 1950s. I don't think I "got it" all, I will read it again someday. Reading Anniversaries before this one, helped a bit, as I already knew some from the stories from that book.

Dutch and English title are the same

165FAMeulstee
Set 1, 2021, 4:07 am


book 193: De tuin van de familie Finzi-Contini by Giorgio Bassani
1001 books, library, translated from Italian, English translation The Garden of the Finzi-Continis, 277 pages
TIOLI Challenge #4: Read a book that starts with the definite article

A Jewish boy grows up in Ferrara, Italy. Life is slowly changing for the Jewish community, at first they were accepted by the fascists, in 1938 they are expelled with racial laws. As the narrator can't have a social life with non-Jews anymore, he is invited at the Finzi-Contini's, a very wealthy Jewish family. He spend a lot of time there, with the son Alberto and the daughter Micòl. As he isn't allowed to go to universtity, he studies and writes his thesis there, with help of their father: professor Ermanno Finzi-Contini. He also fallls in love with Micòl.

Bassani wrote six books about Ferrara, this one is on the 1001 books list. I have put the otthers on my reading list.

Dutch and English title are the same

166FAMeulstee
Modificato: Set 1, 2021, 5:15 am

August 2021 in numbers
  (Totals for this year between brackets)

24 books read, 8.180 pages, 263,9 pages a day
  (193 books read, 61.788 pages, 254,3 pages a day)

--
books:

own: 5 (51)
library: 19 (142)

male author: 17 (135)
female author: 7 (58)

originally written in Dutch: 4 (46)
translated into Dutch: 20 (147)

fiction: 21 (153)
non-fiction: 3 (40)

paper books: 17 (130)
e-books: 7 (63)

mystery/police procedural: 6 (34)
childrens/YA: 0 (17)

1001 books: 5 (29)
  Total 1001 books since 2008: 212
Dutch Canon: 0 (3)
  Total Dutch Canon since 2008: 35 of 125

--
pages:

0 - 100 pages: 1 (14)
101 - 200 pages: 4 (29)
201 - 300 pages: 6 (60)
301 - 400 pages: 5 (49)
401 - 500 pages: 4 (22)
501 - 999 pages: 4 (17)
1000+ pages: 0 (2)

longest book 751 pages (1596 pages)
shortest book 93 pages (42 pages)
average book 341 pages (320 pages)

--
own books read were on the shelf since:

before 2008: 3 (29)
2008: 0 (2)
2009: 0 (1)
2010: 0 (1)
2015: 0 (1)
2016: 0 (2)
2017: 1 (1)
2019: 0 (3)
2020: 0 (3)
2021: 1 (8)

--
date first published:

4th century BC: 0 (2)
16th century: 0 (1)
18th century: 0 (1)
19th century: 2 (10)

20th century
1900s: 0 (1)
1910s: 0 (1)
1920s: 0 (3)
1930s: 2 (11)
1940s: 0 (4)
1950s: 1 (9)
1960s: 2 (12)
1970s: 0 (6)
1980s: 2 (17)
1990s: 2 (22)

21st century
2000s: 4 (17)
2010s: 8 (63)
2020s: 1 (13)

--
ratings:

1 (6)
3 (20)
9 (67)
8 (64)
3 (30)
0 (4)
0 (2)

--
Best books in August


Een klein leven (A Little Life) by Hanya Yanagihara


Een bijna volmaakte vriendschap (I Called Him Necktie) by Milena Michiko Flašar
't Hooge Nest (The Sisters of Auschwitz) by Roxane van Iperen
Vermoedens omtrent Jakob (Speculations about Jakob) by Uwe Johnson

===

walking in August: walked 27 days, 149,8 km; average 5,55 km/a day
(walking in 2021: walked 222 days 1307,0 km; average 5,89 km a day)

e-biking in August: biked 4 days, 92,3 km; average 23,08 km/a day
(e-biking in 2021: biked 21 days 457,0 km; average 21,76 km a day)

167karenmarie
Set 1, 2021, 7:31 am

Hi Anita!

>141 FAMeulstee: You’re very welcome. I’ve enjoyed hosting the Dick Francis SHARED read this year.

>149 FAMeulstee: Congrats on your LIFER, the Kentish Plover. What a striking and cute little bird.

>166 FAMeulstee: Your stats are always interesting and impressive.

168FAMeulstee
Set 1, 2021, 8:08 am

>167 karenmarie: Thank you, Karen.
I was plesantly surprised when I saw an unknown little bird. It took a while before I identified it as a Kentish plover.
I always enjoy putting the numbers together at the end of the month, just like you do :-)

169humouress
Ott 2, 2021, 4:37 am

>149 FAMeulstee: How cute.

I wonder why it's called a Kentish plover since (following your link) the nearest it seems to get to Kent is the other side of the Channel? But, apparently, I might be able to spot them in Singapore.

170FAMeulstee
Ott 2, 2021, 4:46 am

>169 humouress: Thank you, Nina.
I have no clue why it is called Kentish plover in English. The Dutch name is "Beach plover", although I saw it elsewhere. They sould be near you part of the year.
Questa conversazione è stata continuata da Anita (FAMeulstee) goes there where the books take her in 2021 (9).