Anita (FAMeulstee) still goes where the books take her in 2022 (8)

Welcome to my eighth thread in 2022!

I am Anita Meulstee (59), married with Frank (60) since 1984. We live in Lelystad, the Netherlands. We both love modern art, books and walking.

At the end of June we visited the expostion "Under the spell of Mount Ararat" in Assen, showing artefacts from the rich history of Armenia.
Archeological findings from Armenia dating between 1800 BC and 400 AD.

Left: Red deer in bronze ca. 1100 BC; right: Golden bowl ca. 1700 BC
 

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 two years 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.

total books read in 2022: 226
46 own / 180 library

total pages read in 2022: 70.425

--
currently reading:
De vertellingen van duizend-en-één-nacht 3 translated by Richard van Leeuwen

e-book: Geteld, geteld (They Were Counted) by Miklós Bánffy, 728 pages
De man zonder eigenschappen: deel 1 by Robert Musil, 450 pages

--
books read in August 2022 (29 books, 9.723 pages, 5 own / 24 library)
book 198: 365 dagen Nederlander by Naeeda Aurangzeb, 365 pages, TIOLI #1 (msg 54)
book 199: De laatste kans (Anton Wachtercyclus 8) by Simon Vestdijk, 255 pages, TIOLI #5 (msg 55)
book 200: Max en de Maximonsters (Where the Wild Things Are) by Maurice Sendak, 41 pages, TIOLI #10 (msg 56)
book 201: De goddelijke komedie (The Divine Comedy) by Dante Alighieri, 992 pages, TIOLI #5 (msg 57)
book 202: De Kapellekensbaan (Chapel Road) by Louis Paul Boon, 405 pages, TIOLI #7 (msg 58)
book 203: De kathedraal van de zee (Cathedral of the Sea) by Ildefonso Falcones, 686 pages, TIOLI #4 (msg 96)
book 204: De weg naar Oxiana (The Road to Oxiana) by Robert Byron, 320 pages, TIOLI #13 (msg 97)
book 205: De vijand van mijn vader by Almudena Grandes, 351 pages, TIOLI #18 (msg 98)
book 206: Waar ik nu ben (Whereabouts) by Jhumpa Lahiri, 160 pages, TIOLI #10 (msg 99)
book 207: Flush (Flush) by Virginia Woolf, 155 pages, TIOLI #6 (msg 100)
book 208: Het licht van weleer (A Memory of Light; Wheel of Time 14) by Robert Jordan and Brandon Sanderson, 1008 pages, TIOLI #14 (msg 118)
book 209: Het vertrek van de mier by Toon Tellegen, 195 pages, TIOLI #11 (msg 119)
book 210: Staatsraad (The State Counsellor; Erast Fandorin 6) by Boris Akoenin, 348 pages, TIOLI #9 (msg 120)
book 211: Een revolverschot by Virginie Loveling, 209 pages, TIOLI #5 (msg 121)
book 212: Na de Amazone by Redmond O'Hanlon, 94 pages, TIOLI #3 (msg 122)
book 213: De vallei der verschrikking (The Valley of Fear) by Arthur Conan Doyle, 238 pages, TIOLI #5 (msg 123)
book 214: De hond van de Baskervilles (The Hound of The Baskervilles) by Arthur Conan Doyle, 255 pages, TIOLI #17 (msg 124)
book 215: De krokodillen van Yamoussoukro (The Crocodiles of Yamoussoukro) by V.S. Naipaul, 116 pages, TIOLI #8 (msg 148)
book 216: De plantenjager uit Leningrad by Louise O. Fresco, 318 pages, TIOLI #16 (msg 149)
book 217: Tortilla Flat (Tortilla Flat) by John Steinbeck, 158 pages, TIOLI #12 (msg 150)
book 218: Gloed (Embers) by Sándor Márai, 156 pages, TIOLI #2 (msg 151)
book 219: Een geschiedenis van de wereld in 10½ hoofdstuk (A History of the World in 10½ Chapters) by Julian Barnes, 312 pages, TIOLI #15 (msg 152)
book 220: Het purperen land (So Big) by Edna Ferber, 319 pages, TIOLI #5 (msg 186)
book 221: Kafka op het strand (Kafka on the Shore) by Haruki Murakami, 638 pages, TIOLI #13 (msg 187)
book 222: Poolnacht (Rupture; Dark Iceland 3) by Ragnar Jónasson, 317 pages (msg 188)
book 223: De zevende functie van taal (The Seventh Function of Language) by Laurent Binet, 439 pages, TIOLI #1 (msg 189)
book 224: De witte tijger (The White Tiger) by Aravind Adiga, 270 pages, TIOLI #2 (msg 190)
book 225: Kruisende lijnen (Quicksand) by Junichirô Tanizaki, 189 pages, TIOLI #2 (msg 206)
book 226: 1795 by Niklas Natt och Dag, 413 pages, TIOLI #1 (msg 207)

August 2022 reading plans
still reading De vertellingen van duizend-en-één-nacht 3 translated by Richard van Leeuwen

TIOLI August 2022 SWEEP
#1: Read a book with an uneven number in the title
- 365 dagen Nederlander - Naeeda Aurangzeb, 365 pages (e-library)
- 1795 - Niklas Natt och Dag, 413 pages (library)
- De zevende functie van taal (The Seventh Function of Language) - Laurent Binet, 439 pages (library)
#2: Read a book where the first name of the author has more characters than the last name
- Gloed (Embers) - Sándor Márai, 156 pages (library)
- Kruisende lijnen (Quicksand) - Junichirô Tanizaki, 190 pages
- De witte tijger (The White Tiger) - Aravind Adiga, 270 pages (library)
#3: Read a book where you have heard the author talk about their work
- Na de Amazone - Redmond O'Hanlon, 94 pages (library)
#4: Read a book that has the last three letters of your city’s name in the title
- De kathedraal van de zee (Cathedral of the Sea) - Ildefonso Falcones, 686 pages (e-library)
#5: Read a book published by an author who died before April 1972
- De goddelijke komedie (The Divine Comedy) - Dante Alighieri, 992 pages (e-library)
- De laatste kans (Anton Wachtercyclus 8) - Simon Vestdijk, 255 pages
- Het purperen land (So Big) - Edna Ferber, 319 pages (library)
- Een revolverschot - Virginie Loveling, 209 pages (e-library)
- De vallei der verschrikking (The Valley of Fear) - Arthur Conan Doyle, 238 pages (e-library)
#6: Read a book from the LT list of "favorite animal fiction"
- Flush (Flush) - Virginia Woolf, 155 pages (library)
#7: Read a book in your favorite genre by an author new to you
- De Kapellekensbaan (Chapel Road) - Louis Paul Boon, 405 pages (e-library)
#8: Read a book that has a real non-European city name in the title or subtitle
- De krokodillen van Yamoussoukro (The Crocodiles of Yamoussoukro) - V.S. Naipaul, 116 pages
#9: Read a book with a job title in the title
- Staatsraad (The State Counsellor; Erast Fandorin 6) - Boris Akoenin, 348 pages (library)
#10: Read a book with WHO, WHAT, WHERE, WHEN, WHY and then HOW in the title (rolling challenge)
- Waar ik nu ben (Whereabouts) - Jhumpa Lahiri, 160 pages (e-library)
- Max en de Maximonsters (Where the Wild Things Are) - Maurice Sendak, 41 pages (library)
#11: Read a book with an invertebrate in the title or author's name
- Het vertrek van de mier - Toon Tellegen, 195 pages (e-library)
#12: Read a book set during the Great Depression
- Tortilla Flat (Tortilla Flat) - John Steinbeck, 158 pages
#13: Read a book you share with a Legacy Library
- De weg naar Oxiana (The Road to Oxiana) - Robert Byron, 320 pages (library)
- Kafka op het strand (Kafka on the Shore) - Haruki Murakami, 638 pages (e-library)
#14: Read a "summer book"
- Het licht van weleer (A Memory of Light) - Robert Jordan, 1008 pages (library)
#15: Read a book by a Booker Prize Longlisted Author but not a book that was Longlisted
- Een geschiedenis van de wereld in 10½ hoofdstuk (A History of the World in 10½ Chapters) - Julian Barnes, 312 pages
#16: Read a book by an author one of whose names is an English noun
- De plantenjager uit Leningrad - Louise O. Fresco, 318 pages (library)
#17: Read a book for the Dog Days of Summer challenge
- De hond van de Baskervilles (The Hound of The Baskervilles) - Arthur Conan Doyle, 255 pages (e-library)
#18: Read a book/work with a significant part set in/dealing with the period from 1 January 1945 to 31 December 1964
- De vijand van mijn vader - Almudena Grandes, 351 pages (e-library)

Not in TIOLI:
Poolnacht (Rupture; Dark Iceland 3) - Ragnar Jónasson, 317 pages (e-library)

Reserved for TIOLI September 2022

I might skip the TIOLI Challenges in September, and dedicate the month to two very big tomes.
- De droom van de rode kamer (Dream of the Red Chamber) by Cao Xueqin, 2160 pages
- Man zonder eigenschappen (The Man Without Qualities) by Robert Musil, 1785 pages
Of course I will put them in a TIOLI challenge if I can fit them in.
And I will read the library books I didn't finish in August.

--

TIOLI September 2022
#1: Read a nonfiction book by or about an individual who either ran for or held an elected office
-
#2: Read a book (either F or NF) about someone with a long standing major problem who grows either because of or in spite of it
-
#3: Read a work of fiction set prior to 1922 in a country then (or once) part of the British Empire
-
#4 Read a book with the word “trickster(s)” in the title or listed under tags F/NF
-
#5: Read a book with one person on the cover, who is looking out at the reader
- De drie bruiloften van Manolita - Almudena Grandes, 704 pages (library 26/9)
#6: Read a book about a person who was born in the same decade as you
-
#7: "S" is for September and Science Fiction: Read a book on The 50 Best Sci-Fi Books of All Time located here
-
#8: Read a book first published in the 1990s or 2000s
? Ruim duizend dagen werk by Koos van Zomeren, 1028 pages
#9: Read a book whose title contains more than 22 letters
- Daar op het plein is niemand - Dolores Prato, 829 pages (library 26/9)
- Waarom schurken pech hebben en helden geluk - Jurriën Hamer, 174 pages (e-library 11/9)
#10: Read a book that has part of a college or university's name in the title or author's name (list the college)
-
#11: Read a book about Korea or written by a Korean or ethnic Korean author
-
#12: Read a book about a dead laureate of the Nobel Prize in Literature OR one written by a living laureate
-
#13: Read a book set in Europe in the 20th century
The Man without Qualities in 4 volumes:
- De man zonder eigenschappen: deel 1 - Robert Musil, 450 pages
- De man zonder eigenschappen: deel 2 - Robert Musil, 424 pages
- De man zonder eigenschappen: deel 3 - Robert Musil, 472 pages
- De man zonder eigenschappen: deel 4 - Robert Musil, 440 pages
- De avant-gardisten - Sjeng Scheijen, 603 pages (library 16/9)
- Geteld, geteld (They Were Counted) - Miklós Bánffy, 728 pages (e-library 5/9)
? Uiteengescheurd (They Were Divided) - Miklós Bánffy, 336 pages (e-library)
#14: Read a book With a word begining or ending with one of the following letters
- De droom van de rode kamer (Dream of the Red Chamber) by Cao Xueqin, 2160 pages
- Te licht bevonden (They Were Found Wanting) - Miklós Bánffy, 472 pages (e-library 16/9)
#15: Read a book originally written in French by a citizen of a member nation of "La Francophonie"
- Charlotte (Charlotte) - David Foenkinos, 236 pages (e-library 16/9)
? Verloren illusies (Lost Illusions) - Honoré de Balzac, 733 pages
#16: Read a book where all the words in the title have the same number of letters
- Mungo (Young Mungo) - Douglas Stuart, 399 pages (library 26/9)
#17: Read a book that completes the verse “See you in September or lose you to……….”
- Leven en lot (Life and Fate) - Vasili Grossman, 959 pages
? De god van kleine dingen (The God of Small Things) - Arundhati Roy, 337 pages

books read in January 2022
book 1: Pippi Langkous gaat aan boord (Pippi Goes on Board) by Astrid Lindgren
book 2: De onderstroom (The Offing) by Benjamin Myers
book 3: Pippi Langkous in Taka-Tukaland (Pippi in the South Seas) by Astrid Lindgren
book 4: Het vierde offer (Borkmann's Point; Van Veeteren 2) by Håkan Nesser
book 5: De terugkeer (The Return; Van Veeteren 3) by Håkan Nesser
book 6: Drie sterke vrouwen (Three Strong Women) by Marie NDiaye
book 7: De grote angst in de bergen (Terror on the Mountain) by Charles-Ferdinand Ramuz
book 8: 10 minuten 38 seconden in deze vreemde wereld (10 Minutes 38 Seconds in This Strange World) by Elif Shafak
book 9: Sjakie en de grote glazen lift (Charlie and the Great Glass Elevator) by Roald Dahl
book 10: De lijst van dingen die niet zullen veranderen (The List of Things That Will Not Change) by Rebecca Stead
book 11: Dochters van een nieuwe tijd by Carmen Korn
book 12: Tijd om opnieuw te beginnen by Carmen Korn
book 13: De tijden veranderen by Carmen Korn
book 14: De lange weg naar huis (The Book of Eels) by Patrick Svensson
book 15: Dankzij de dingen by Rutger Kopland
book 16: De Godden broers (The great Godden) by Meg Rosoff
book 17: Hotel New Hampshire (The Hotel New Hampshire) by John Irving
book 18: Laurier en leeuwerik (The Lark and the Laurel; Mantlemass 1) by Barbara Willard
book 19: De Cock en de dood van de Helende Meesters (De Cock 58) by A.C. Baantjer
book 20: De loot van de brem (The Sprig of Broom; Mantlemass 2) by Barbara Willard
book 21: De witte vesting (The White Castle) by Orhan Pamuk
book 22: De moeder van Nicolien by J.J. Voskuil
book 23: Avontuur Amerika by Cees Nooteboom
book 24: Teleurstellen vergt lef (Dare to Disappoint) by Özge Samanci
book 25: De overlevenden (The Survivors) by Alex Schulman
book 26: Witte onschuld (White Innocence) by Gloria Wekker
book 27: Viersprong van de schemer (Crossroads of twilight; Wheel of Time 10) by Robert Jordan
book 28: De onzichtbaren (The Unseen) by Roy Jacobsen
book 29: Petersburg (Petersburg) by Andrej Bely
book 30: De voorspelling (Pawn of Prophecy; Belgariad 1) by David Eddings
book 31: Benedenwereld (Underland: A Deep Time Journey) by Robert Macfarlane
book 32: Een koude wind (A Cold Wind Blowing; Mantlemass 3) by Barbara Willard
book 33: De oudste zoon (The Eldest Son; Mantlemass 4) by Barbara Willard

books read in February 2022
book 34: Ilyas by Ernest van der Kwast
book 35: Inham (Cove) by Cynan Jones
book 36: De rode prins (The Red Prince) by Timothy Snyder
book 37: Gekraakt (Come to Grief) by Dick Francis
book 38: De harde kern boek 1 by Frida Vogels
book 39: Mes van dromen (Knife of Dreams; Wheel of Time 11) by Robert Jordan
book 40: Over het doppen van bonen (A Treatise on Shelling Beans) by Wiesław Myśliwski
book 41: De Sparsholt-affaire (The Sparsholt Affair) by Alan Hollinghurst
book 42: De rode anjer (The Red Carnation) by Elio Vittorini
book 43: De laatste eer (The Confession of Brother Haluin; Cadfael 15) by Ellis Peters
book 44: Het rode korenveld (Red Sorghum) by Mo Yan
book 45: De jongen, de mol, de vos en het paard (The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse) by Charlie Mackesy
book 46: Als Beale Street kon praten (If Beale Street Could Talk) by James Baldwin
book 47: Hoe ik nu leef (How I live now) by Meg Rosoff
book 48: Selma by Carolijn Visser
book 49: De magische koningin (Queen of Sorcery; Belgariad 2) by David Eddings
book 50: Binnen de muren (Within the Walls) by Giorgio Bassani
book 51: Het woud der verwachting (In a Dark Wood Wandering) by Hella Haasse
book 52: Langs de IJssel by Kester Freriks
book 53: Maangloed (Moonglow) by Michael Chabon
book 54: De preek over de val van Rome (The Sermon on the Fall of Rome) by Jérôme Ferrari
book 55: Hersenschimmen (Out of Mind) by J. Bernlef

books read in March 2022
book 57: De gouden bril (The Gold-Rimmed Spectacles; Ferrara 2) by Giorgio Bassani
book 58: Opgewekt naar de eindstreep by Hendrik Groen
book 59: De harde kern boek 2 by Frida Vogels
book 60: De troonopvolger (Unto Us a Son Is Given; Brunetti 28) by Donna Leon
book 61: Vijftien namen by Levie de Lange
book 62: Het uur u by Martinus Nijhoff
book 63: De naderende storm (The Gathering Storm; Wheel of Time 12) by Robert Jordan & Brandon Sanderson
book 64: Van steen en been by Bérengère Cournut
book 65: Verduistering (Don't turn out the lights; Martin Servaz 3) by Bernard Minier
book 66: De groef by Maartje Wortel
book 67: Tovenaarsgambiet (Magician's Gambit; Belgariad 3) by David Eddings
book 68: De grootsheid van het al by Raoul de Jong
book 69: Pieterpad deel II: Vorden-Maastricht by Toos Goorhuis-Tjalsma & Bertje Jens
book 70: Wat er werkelijk is by Nelleke Noordervliet
book 71: De dood van Achilles (The Death of Achilles; Fandorin 4) by Boris Akoenin
book 72: De Bommellegende by Marten Toonder
book 73: Generaal zonder leger by Özcan Akyol
book 74: De vergelder by Marten Toonder
book 75: De laatste rituelen (Burial Rites) by Hannah Kent
book 76: Een verhaal met een angel (A sting in the tale) by Dave Goulson
book 77: Herfst (Autumn) by Karl Ove Knausgård
book 78: Misverstand in Moskou by Simone de Beauvoir
book 79: Een vlucht zwanen (A Flight of Swans; Mantlemass 6) by Barbara Willard
book 80: Gods wegen by Marijke Schermer
book 81: Dodelijk web (Under Orders) by Dick Francis
book 82: Surrogaten voor Murk Tuinstra by Simon Vestdijk
book 83: De om by Willem Jan Otten
book 84: Wedervaring by Bodo Kirchhoff
book 85: Lezen als geschenk (The Gifts of Reading) by Robert Macfarlane
book 86: De droogte (The Dry) by Jane Harper
book 87: Zaaien en oogsten (Harrow and Harvest; Mantlemass 7) by Barbara Willard

books read in April 2022
book 88: Het einde van Mantlemass (The keys of Mantlemass; Mantlemass 8) by Barbara Willard
book 89: Luitenant-kolonel de Maumort (Lieutenant-Colonel de Maumort) by Roger Martin du Gard
book 90: De gesloten kamer (The Locked Room; Martin Beck 8) by May Sjöwall & Per Walöö
book 91: Tot ziens daarboven (The Great Swindle) by Pierre Lemaitre
book 92: Zeldzame aarden by Sandro Veronesi
book 93: De kleuren van de brand (All human wisdom) by Pierre Lemaitre
book 94: Out of Africa (Out of Africa) by Karen Blixen
book 95: De honderd dagen (One hundred days) by Joseph Roth
book 96: Achter de deur (Behind the door; Ferrara 4) by Giorgio Bassani
book 97: De spiegel van ons verdriet (Mirror of our sorrows) by Pierre Lemaitre
book 98: Vrouw of vos (Lady into Fox) by David Garnett
book 99: Weigering (Refusal) by Felix Francis
book 100: De woestijn van de Tartaren (The Tartar Steppe) by Dino Buzzati
book 101: Het geluk van de wolf by Paolo Cognetti
book 102: De hemel is altijd paars by Sholeh Rezazadeh
book 103: Herinneringen van een engelbewaarder (A Guardian Angel Recalls) by W.F. Hermans
book 104: Soms zou ik de wind willen zijn by Franco Faggiani
book 105: Dit soort kleinigheden (Small Things Like These) by Claire Keegan
book 106: Het lied van de Orbus (Castle of Wizardry; Belgariad 4) by David Eddings
book 107: De grutto by Albert Beintema
book 108: Witte zee (White Shadow) by Roy Jacobsen
book 109: Het evangelie van O. Dapper Dapper by W.F. Hermans
book 110: De slag om Europa by Thomas Piketty
book 111: Uitnodiging voor een onthoofding (Invitation to a Beheading) by Vladimir Nabokov
book 112: De man die twee keer dood ging (The man who died twice) by Richard Osman
book 113: IJzerkop (Ironhead) by Jean-Claude Van Rijckeghem
book 114: Voetsporen in de sneeuw (A Murder Of Quality; George Smiley 2) by John le Carré
book 115: Op de planken by Gerrit Komrij
book 116: De ombrenger by Marten Toonder
book 117: Buitenpost (Outpost) by Dan Richards
book 118: De God Denkbaar, Denkbaar de God by W.F. Hermans
book 119: De vader van Artenio by Frida Vogels
book 120: Huis voor de dag, huis voor de nacht (House of Day, House of Night) by Olga Tokarczuk
book 121: Terug tot Ina Damman by Simon Vestdijk

books read in May 2022
book 122: De vrolijke verrader: Een KGB-spion uit Rotterdam (Spies, Lies, and Exile) by Simon Kuper
book 123: De wilde stilte (The Wild Silence) by Raynor Winn
book 124: De kauw by Achilles Cools
book 125: Kleine helden by Almudena Grandes
book 126: De torens van middernacht (Towers of Midnight; Wheel of Time 13) by Robert Jordan & Brandon Sanderson
book 127: De Titanic by Martin van Neck
book 128: De tweeling (The Twins) by Tessa de Loo
book 129: Liraël (Lirael; Old Kingdom 2) by Garth Nix
book 130: Abhorsen (Abhorsen; Old Kingdom 3) by Garth Nix
book 131: Sapiens (Sapiens) by Yuval Noah Harari
book 132: Eindspel (Enchanters' End Game; Belgariad 5) by David Eddings
book 133: Fado Alexandrino (Fado Alexandrino) by António Lobo Antunes
book 134: Voor het verdwijnt en daarna by Rutger Kopland
book 135: De reiger (The Heron; Ferrara 5) by Giorgio Bassani
book 136: Twee vrouwen (Two women) by Harry Mulisch
book 137: Limonov (Limonov) by Emmanuel Carrere
book 138: Koningin Eenoog by W.F. Hermans
book 139: Middernachtbibliotheek (The Midnight Library) by Matt Haig
book 140: De andere school (Anton Wachter 4) by Simon Vestdijk
book 141: De beker van de min (Anton Wachter 5) by Simon Vestdijk
book 142: De vliegeraar (The Kite Runner) by Khaled Hosseini
book 143: De geur van hooi (The Smell of Hay; Ferrara 6) by Giorgio Bassani
book 144: Inktzwart (Blackout; Dark Iceland 2) by Ragnar Jónasson
book 145: De wateraap by Mariken Heitman
book 146: Wormmaan by Mariken Heitman
book 147: Voor al uw geschenken by Jean Rouaud
book 148: Vos & ik (Fox & I) by Catherine Raven
book 149: Spijt! by Carry Slee
book 150: Het eiland van het tweede gezicht (The Island of Second Sight) by Albert Vigoleis Thelen

books read in June 2022
book 151: Mannen die vrouwen haten (The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo; Millennium 1) by Stieg Larsson
book 152: Anomalie (The Anomaly) by Hervé Le Tellier
book 153: De engel van Venetië (The Garden of Angels) by David Hewson
book 154: Dubbele Lotje (Lisa and Lottie) by Erich Kästner
book 155: Onder de korenmaat by Maarten 't Hart
book 156: Zomerhuis (Will and Testament) by Vigdis Hjorth
book 157: Zalm by Lars Kvamme
book 158: Centaur by Chris Polanen
book 159: De laatste zomer in de stad (Last Summer in the City) by Gianfranco Calligarich
book 160: Spoedgeval (Dr Dark and Far-Too Delicious and Secrets of a Career Girl) by Carol Marinelli
book 161: Baron by Theun de Vries
book 162: Briefjes voor Pelle by Marlies Segers
book 163: Scheepsberichten (The Shipping News) by E. Annie Proulx
book 164: De vrije vogel en zijn kooien (Anton Wachter 6) by Simon Vestdijk
book 165: De vrouw die met vuur speelde (The Girl Who Played with Fire; Millennium 2) by Stieg Larsson
book 166: Het Opritsjnik-orkest (The Set-Up) by Vladimir Volkoff
book 167: Duister water (Trace Elements; Brunetti 29) by Donna Leon
book 168: Het landgoed Ulloa (The House of Ulloa) by Emilia Pardo Bazán
book 169: Outlaws (Outlaws) by Javier Cercas
book 170: Bittere tijden (Harsh Times) by Mario Vargas Llosa
book 171: Jaguarman by Raoul de Jong
book 172: Het woeden der gehele wereld (The raging of the whole world) by Maarten 't Hart

books read in July 2022
book 173: De vlamberken (The Sixteen Trees of the Somme) by Lars Mytting
book 174: Quo vadis? (Quo Vadis) by Henryk Sienkiewicz
book 175: Waterjager by Chris Polanen
book 176: De vlucht uit Falaise (Escape from Falaise; Rangers Apprentice 16) by John Flanagan
book 177: Gerechtigheid (The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest; Millennium 3) by Stieg Larsson
book 178: La Superba (La Superba) by Ilja Leonard Pfeijffer
book 179: De politiemoordenaar (Cop Killer; Martin Beck 9) by Maj Sjöwall & Per Wahlöö
book 180: Congo (Congo) by David Van Reybrouck
book 181: De rimpels van Esther Ornstein (Anton Wachter 7) by Simon Vestdijk
book 182: Rupsje Nooitgenoeg (The Very Hungry Caterpillar) by Eric Carle
book 183: De goddelijke komedie (The Divine Comedy) by Dante Alighieri
book 184: Anna, Hanna en Johanna (Hanna's Daughters) by Marianne Fredriksson
book 185: Vertrouwelijke zaken (Blood from a Stone; Brunetti 14) by Donna Leon
book 186: De kunst van het oorlogvoeren (The Art of War) by Sun Tzu
book 187: Vlucht (Migrations) by Charlotte McConaghy
book 188: Leven en wandel van Zorbás de Griek (Zorba the Greek) by Nikos Kazantzakis
book 189: Het ijzig hart (The Frozen Heart) by Almudena Grandes
book 190: De tuinen van Dorr (The Gardens of Dorr) by Paul Biegel
book 191: De harde kern 3 by Frida Vogels
book 192: De vrouw met de moedervlek (Woman with Birthmark; Van Veeteren 4) by Håkan Nesser
book 193: De tunnel by Anna Woltz, 231 pages
book 194: Bijzondere opdrachten (Special Assignments; Erast Fandorin 5) by Boris Akoenin
book 195: Ogen van de Rigel (Eyes of the Rigel) by Roy Jacobsen
book 196: De reparatie van de wereld by Slobodan Šnajder
book 197: Requiem voor een vriend by J.J. Voskuil

Reading plans in 2022
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 2022:
Ideeën (1-7) by Multatuli, 3846 pages
De droom van de rode kamer (Dream of the Red Chamber) by Cao Xueqin, 2160 pages
Man zonder eigenschappen (The man without qualities) by Robert Musil, 1785 pages
De razende Roeland (Orlando furioso) by Ludovico Ariosto, 1783 pages
De kracht van Atlantis (Atlas shrugged) by Ayn Rand, 1373 pages
✔ Luitenant-kolonel de Maumort (Lieutenant-Colonel 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

--
Some other books I want to read in 2022:
✔ De goddelijke komedie (The Divine Comedy) - Dante Alighieri, 599 pages
✔ De goddelijke komedie (The Divine Comedy) - Dante Alighieri, 992 pages
✔ Binnen de muren (Within the Walls) - Giorgio Bassani, 207 pages
✔ Petersburg (Petersburg) - Andrei Bely, 429 pages
Anatomie van een moment (The Anatomy of a Moment) - Javier Cercas, 539 pages
Jean-Paul Sartre : zijn biografie (Sartre: A Life) - Annie Cohen-Solal, 610 pages
✔ Het ijzig hart (The Frozen Heart) - Almudena Grandes, 854 pages
✔ Sapiens : Een kleine geschiedenis van de mensheid (Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind) - Yuval Noah Harari, 461 pages
Duitse les (The German Lesson) - Siegfried Lenz, 511 pages
Een beloofd land (A promised land) - Barack Obama, 896 pages
✔ Het eiland van het tweede gezicht (The Island of Second Sight) - Albert Vigoleis Thelen, 994 pages
Aarde der mensen (This Earth of Mankind) - Pramoedya Ananta Toer, 457 pages
✔ De wilde stilte (The wild silence) - Raynor Winn, 318 pages

Tickers

2022 totals





--
Totals since 2008:

Monthly statistics
January: 33 books / 9.366 pages
February: 23 books / 7.869 pages
March: 31 books / 7.429 pages
April: 34 books / 9.531 pages
May: 29 books / 9.276 pages
June: 22 books / 7.901 pages
July: 25 books / 9.331 pages

--
Previous threads in 2021
book 1 - 28: thread 1
book 29 - 56: thread 2
book 57 - 87 : thread 3
book 88 - 121 : thread 4
book 122 - 150 : thread 5
book 151 - 172 : thread 6
book 173 - 197 : thread 7

The new "Charts and Graphs" is fun to use, my readings since 2008:


My reading in previous years in text
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)
2021: 288 books -   94.339 pages (258,5 ppd)

Lists on my WikiThing

The best books I have read, by year first published
My Five star reads
The best 50 books I have read (fiction)
The books by Nobel prize winners I have read
The Booker prize winners I have read
The Pulitzer prize winners (fiction) I have read
The winners of some Dutch literary prizes

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

Anton Wachtercyclus by Simon Vestdijk 8/8
1 Sint Sebastiaan; 2 Surrogaten voor Murk Tuinstra; 3 Terug tot Ina Damman; 4 De andere school; 5 De beker van de min; 6 De vrije vogel en zijn kooien; 7 De rimpels van Esther Ornstein; 8 De laatste kans

Ari Thór Arason (Dark Iceland) by Ragnar Jónasson 3/4
1 Sneeuwblind; 2 Inktzwart; 3 Poolnacht; 4 Ademloos

Arsène Lupin by Maurice Leblanc 0/6
1 Arsène Lupin, gentleman inbreker; 2 Arsène Lupin versus Herlock Sholmes; 3: De holle naald; 4 Het dubbelleven van Arsène Lupin; 5 De drie misdaden van Arsène Lupin; 6 De kristallen stop

The Belgariad by David Eddings 5/5
1 De voorspelling; 2 De magische koningin; 3 Tovenaarsgambiet; 4 Het lied van de Orbus; 5 Eindspel

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 16/20
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 58/71

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

Ferrara by Giorgio Bassani 6/6
1 Binnen de muren; 2 De gouden bril; 3 De tuin van de Finzi-Contini's; 4 Achter de deur; 5 De reiger; 6 De geur van hooi

George Smiley by John Le Carré 5/9
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 29/30
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; 30 Vluchtig verlangen

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;

Konráð by Arnaldur Indridason 3/3
1 Smeltend ijs; 2 Boven water; 3 Smeulend vuur; 4 Vallende stenen (Þagnarmúr)

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 9/10
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 3/7
1 Een kille rilling; 2 Huivering; 3 Verduistering; 4 Schemering; 5 Weerzin; 6 Afdaling; 7 Afrekening

Sherlock Holmes by Arthur Conan Doyle 3/8
1 Een studie in rood; 2 De vallei der verschrikking; 3 De hond van de Baskervilles; 4 Het teken van de vier; 5 Het laatste probleem; 6 Het avontuur van de duivelsklauw; 7 Zijn laatste buiging; 8 De onbekende avonturen van Sherlock Holmes

Het rad des tijds (Wheel of Time) by Robert Jordan (and Brandon Sanderson) 15/15
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

Van Veeteren by Håkan Nesser 4/11
1 Het grofmazige net; 2 Het vierde offer; 3 De terugkeer; 4 De vrouw met de moedervlek; 5 De commissaris en het zwijgen; 6 De zaak van Münster; 7 Carambole; 8 De dode op het strand; 9 De zwaluw, de kat, de roos en de dood; 10 Van Veeteren en de zaak-G; 11 De vereniging van linkshandigen

Books acquired in 2022: 26

January
Verdriet is het ding met veren - Max Porter
Morgen - Walter Kappacher
De droom van de rode kamer - Cao Xueqin (e-book)
Lezen als geschenk - Robert Macfarlane (e-book)

February
De wand - Marlen Haushofer
Terug naar Reims - Didier Eribon
De Sparsholt-affaire - Alan Hollinghurst
Kind van een vreemde - Alan Hollinghurst

April
Voetsporen in de sneeuw - John Le Carré
Edelman, bedelman, schutter, spion - John Le Carré
De laatste spion - John Le Carré
Monterosso mon amour - Ilja Leonard Pfeijffer
Veranderen: methode - Édouard Louis

Juni
Zuid-zuid-west - Albert Helman
Doctor Vlimmen - A. Roothaert
Vlimmen contra Vlimmen - A. Roothaert
Vlimmens tweede jeugd - A. Roothaert
Het eiland van het tweede gezicht - Albert Vigoleis Thelen
Mefisto - Klaus Mann
Hebben en zijn - Dimitri Verhulst
Onder de Drachenwand - Arno Geiger
Zonnegloren - Matthijs van Nieuwkerk
Biljarten om half tien - Heinrich Böll

July
Jaguarman - Raoul de Jong

August
Lijfrente - Vrouwkje Tuinman
De vijand van mijn vader by Almudena Grandes

Welcome!

Happy New Thread Anita!
>12 FAMeulstee: Also, yes, going over all the charts and graphs and fun numbers from my library was one of my favorite things about joining this site. You've had a lot of impressive years!

>17 WhiteRaven.17: Thank you, Kro.

I love how much is possible on LT now, it has grown so much over the years.
Thanks again, the last years have been very good reading years.

Happy new thread, Anita!

Happy new thread!

Happy New thread, Anita. I love the bronze, red deer up there! Have a great week.

Happy new thread, Anita.
Thank you for sharing th wonderful pics and your impressive stats.
>2 FAMeulstee: I think my books will stay a little shorter this year....

>19 alcottacre: Thank you, Stasia!

>20 figsfromthistle: Thank you, Anita!

>21 msf59: Thank you, Mark, happy week ahead!
It was only a small statue, but captured the deer perfectly. Almost unbelievable it was made so long ago.

>22 SirThomas: Thank you, Thomas.
I completely forgot to share the pictures right after our visit to the Drents Museum.
I am not sure yet if I can do it. It will lower the numbers of books read this year, the average number of pages will go way up ;-)

Happy new thread!

Happy new thread! Thanks for visiting mine!

Happy New thread!!

Happy new thread, Anita!

>25 drneutron: Thank you, Jim!

>26 foggidawn: Thank you, Foggi, my pleasure.

>27 hredwards: Thank youm Harold!

>28 curioussquared: Thank you, Natalie!

Happy new thread Anita.

Happy new thread, Anita!

>31 ArlieS: Thank you, Arlie.

>32 quondame: Thank you, Susan!

Happy new thread, dear Anita.

>34 PaulCranswick: Thank you, Paul.

--
Read, not yet reviewed:
#198: 365 dagen Nederlander by Naeeda Aurangzeb

Reading now:
De laatste kans by Simon Vestdijk
De Kapellekensbaan (Chapel Road) by Louis Paul Boon
De goddelijke komedie (The Divine Comedy) by Dante Alighieri

Happy New thread, Anita!

Happy new thread!

>36 swynn: Thank you, Steve!

>37 zuzaer: Thank you, Susan!

Happy new thread, Anita.

>1 FAMeulstee: I love the deer. Wonderful, and so old. Makes one wonder about the country, and it’s history.

I agree with >39 EllaTim:, that's a very fascinating exhibit about a place we don't much think about.

*smooch*

Happy new thread, Anita!

>39 EllaTim: Thank you, Ella.
The exposition in the Drents Museum lasts until the end of October. The museum is not fasr from the train station.

>40 richardderus: It was a very informative exposition, Richard dear, as I hadn't heard of the Urartu kingdom before.
Like most I do know a little about the Assyrian, Egyptian, and Chinese cultures from those times. A whole new world to explore :-)

>41 jessibud2: Thank you, Shelley!

Thanks for sharing some of the items you found at the "Under the spell of Mount Ararat" museum!
Interestingly, I posted something on my thread regarding my reading habits. They are right in line with what you read!
I've also been a part of the group since 2008. I am so very glad I connected with you right from the beginning!

I continue to enjoy reading your recommendations, sharing your love of art, and like you, I've had to take a periodic leave of the group when I've had surgeries. But, we are still both here, reading, writing and sharing.

I am very glad you are a member of this group!!!

I thought of you when I saw this image from the incredible illustrator Pamela Zagarenski:

>43 Whisper1: Cicero, as always, has the best thing to say about us :)

>43 Whisper1: It always makes me happy to see a message from you, Linda!
So many shared memories here at LT.
You found me a lovely image. I could manage without a garden, but not without my library .

Hi Anita my dear, Happy new thread dear friend, i have just about caught up with the threads and will be able to start posting without being so far behind.

>46 johnsimpson: Thank you, John.
The threads can be overwhelming, when you have been away a while.
Give my regards to Karen.

Read, not yet reviewed:
#198: 365 dagen Nederlander by Naeeda Aurangzeb
#199: De laatste kans (Anton Wachtercyclus 8) by Simon Vestdijk
#200: Max en de Maximonsters (Where the Wild Things Are) by Maurice Sendak
#201: De goddelijke komedie (The Divine Comedy) by Dante Alighieri

Reading now:
De Kapellekensbaan (Chapel Road) by Louis Paul Boon
De weg naar Oxiana (The Road to Oxiana) by Robert Byron

Hooray for Wheel coming up, Anita! I'll put it on my current list today. I have forgotten to mention that I have a copy of the *WHEEL Companion* that is a huge help, so I'll be looking things up for both of us unless you have a copy too.

Stunning art topper!!!!! My piano guru, who completely recreated my technique for the good, was an Armenian woman, born in Jerusalem, moved to Lebanon in '48, and settled in Chicago. Her first teacher was a member of the French Academy, and she later studied at Juilliard. She and her family now live in LA. So --- I admire all things Armenian.

Happy new thread, Anita! Love the toppers, especially the reindeer. I know very little about Armenian history. May have to remedy that!

>49 LizzieD: So now we are going to finish Wheel, Peggy.
I don't have the Wheel Companion, until now I have found everything I needed to know in the register on the last pages of each book, or else after an internet search. I just noticed the register isn't there in the last book. So I will ask, if needed.
There were many beautiful, ancient, Armenian artefacts at the exhibition. Glad you like them.

>50 Storeetllr: Thank you, Mary.
I knew next to nothing about Armania in ancient times. Since visiting the exhibition I know a little more.

Happy new thread Anita. Wonderful to visit over here!

>52 mdoris: Thank you, Mary, you are always welcome!

book 198: 365 dagen Nederlander by Naeeda Aurangzeb
library, ebook, Dutch, no translations, 365 pages
TIOLI Challenge #1: Read a book with an uneven number in the title

365 short dialogs, and random comments Naeeda has to face every day.
From microagression, common racist words, to blatant racism. These comments do make her feel unwanted, even "good" coworkers, saying hurtful things.

It is hard to face how, beneath the surface, common racism has become. Or better said, how racism still is common, and is more and more openly demonstrated.

Title translated: 365 days Dutchman

book 199: De laatste kans by Simon Vestdijk
own, Dutch, no translations, 255 pages
TIOLI Challenge #5: Read a book published by an author who died before April 1972

Anton Wachtercyclus book 8
Anton continues his study medicine in Amsterdam. He falls in love again, but decides marriage is not for him. He passes his final exams, and will start as temporary replacement for a family doctor soon.

Title translated: The last chance

book 200: Max en de Maximonsters by Maurice Sendak
library, picture book, translated, original title Where the Wild Things Are, 41 pages
TIOLI Challenge #10: Read a book with WHO, WHAT, WHERE, WHEN, WHY and then HOW in the title (rolling challenge)

Max is misbehaving, and send to his room. There he goes into an adventure, meeting monsters. When the monsters are not appelaing anymore, he returns to his room

Short fantasy adventure, with lovely illustrations.

Dutch title translated: Max and the Maximonsters

book 201: De goddelijke komedie by Dante Alighieri
library, e-book, translated from Italian, English translation The Divine Comedy, 992 pages
TIOLI Challenge #5: Read a book published by an author who died before April 1972

After reading The Divine Comedy in prose translation last month, I saw this translation in rhyme at the e-library, and decided to read it too.
More difficult to read, as the strict metrum and rhyme makes it impossible to translate the whole content. The added comments and explanation are needed to get it, and I had the other translation fairly fresh in mind.

I admire the translators for their skills translating this huge work in this way, but sometimes it felt a bit forced.

English and Dutch title are the same

book 202: De Kapellekensbaan by Louis Paul Boon
1001 books, library, e-book, Dutch, Dutch Canon, English translation Chapel Road, 405 pages
TIOLI Challenge #7: Read a book in your favorite genre by an author new to you

Louis Paul Boon intertwines three stories:
The story of Ondine, born in 1800 and someting in a poor family. She is determined to climb socially, but finds out that the rich boys only want her for entertainment, not marriage.
The present day (1950s) life of the writer and his friends, political struggle, the writer is losing his communist friends (and job at the communist paper), as he doesn't always agree with them.
The story with Reynard the fox, a well known story from the Middle Ages (Van den vos Reynaerde), and Isengrinus the wolf.

A dense read, this Flemish social commentary/satire in different forms, emphasizes that the writer does not accept any authority. A very free thinker.

Dutch title translated: The Chapelroad

Read, not yet reviewed:
#203: De kathedraal van de zee (Cathedral of the Sea) by Ildefonso Falcones

Reading now:
De vijand van mijn vader by Almudena Grandes
De weg naar Oxiana (The Road to Oxiana) by Robert Byron

The Armenian artefacts are beautiful, and rather similar to those of the Scythian peoples from Central Asia. I guess there were trade networks across the whole region so it's not surprising they have traits in common. Hope all is well with you and Frank.

>56 FAMeulstee: This is an all-time favorite. I think I love it better today than I did when I was a preschooler, and I loved it then.

>54 FAMeulstee: Interesting comment about racism. I moved to NL a few years before Suriname became independent. I got a lot of stern comments about American racism in that time but then as lots of Surinamese started arriving in NL I found many Dutch to have attitudes/comments/jokes at least as bad as those in the US. I moved back to the US in the late-70's so don't know how things are now but the speed with which underlying attitudes surfaced was a bit shocking.

>57 FAMeulstee: I read John Ciardi's verse translation of it in the 1970s. He lamented that he could find no satisfyingly elegant way to use the Italian terza rima structure in English during his Foreword...I remember thinking "oh thank GAWD I don't have to get that sea-sick feeling!" (Rhyme and rhythm interacting for longer than a pop song gives me an upset stomach.)

I wish I'd had a prose translation of it then!

>56 FAMeulstee: Such a cute book...and "maximonsters" is a lovely play on words.

>54 FAMeulstee: Human beings are...well...not very nice as a rule, says my internal editor as I went looking for a nicer way to say "scum."

>57 FAMeulstee: I forced myself to read this after graduating from the university and surprised myself by enjoying it!

>61 swynn: I did read it before, Steve, but as an adult. I probably would have loved it more if I had read it the first time as a youngster. Glad to know it is a favorite to you.

>62 RebaRelishesReading: The Dutch are good in telling others what they do wrong, Reba, always have been.
It is way harder to most to admit own shortcomings. Pointing out racism often gives very agressive reactions. It has become much worse, and more openly since the 1970s :'(

>63 richardderus: I read it now in both ways, Richard dear, and much prefer the prose translation. And I don't have that thing against rhythm and rhyme, like you.
Yes, in this case the completely different Dutch title is a good one.
Sadly that is true, but not all humans are like that. There are still plenty of good people, although not nearly enough.

>64 ocgreg34: Glad you enjoyed it, Greg. I mainly likeed Hell and Purgatory, see my review of the prose translation last month.

>65 FAMeulstee: "Dutch telling other what they do wrong" makes me think of a comedian from the same era who did a whole routine about the "little dutch finger" waving in other people's faces -- it was hysterical.

>67 RebaRelishesReading: I can visualise that, Reba, it has always been a good subject for comedians :-)

>66 FAMeulstee: I doubt the number of good people ever varies significantly, as a percentage of all people.

Just the distribution is random.

>69 richardderus: That is probably true, Richard dear.

Read, not yet reviewed:
#203: De kathedraal van de zee (Cathedral of the Sea) by Ildefonso Falcones
#204: De weg naar Oxiana (The Road to Oxiana) by Robert Byron
#205: De vijand van mijn vader by Almudena Grandes

Reading now:
Het licht van weleer (A Memory of Light; Wheel of Time 14) by Robert Jordan and Brandon Sanderson
Waar ik nu ben (Whereabouts) by Jhumpa Lahiri

I liked Whereabouts hope it is a good read for you Anita. My copy is one of those slim hardbacks that are so easy to hold: I could happily fill a whole library with books printed this way.
Hope you are managing to keep cool.

>72 charl08: Thank you, Charlotte, I also have some books like that. But my copy of Whereabouts is from the e-library. My Kobo is always good to hold, and I love the adjustable fonts.

I hope you can stay cool too.

We managed well enough up until now, keeping the windows downstairs open at night, and running the airco upstairs. During the day all screens and curtains closed, so the sun doesn't get in. No afternoon walks, but evening bike rides instead. And no cooking, salads or take away for diner.
Still not looking forward to this week, expecting six days above 30°C, starting today :-(

>59 FAMeulstee: I will be curious to see what you thought of The Road to Oxiana.

Have a wonderful Wednesday, Anita!

>73 FAMeulstee: Oh, gross. I'm sure 30C seems like hell on earth to the Dutch. It ain't that fun for us, and we get it a lot more often...if it came but seldom, it wouldn't be even the tiny fraction welcome it is here.

Survive it with your good humor intact, dear Anita. I am so sad we didn't do a lot more a lot sooner to mitigate this disaster.

>74 alcottacre: Thank you, Stasia, happy Wednesday!
At least one more book to finish before I write reviews. It is easier for me to do some in a row, try to set my mind from Dutch to English. Four or five reviews in a row suits me best.

>75 richardderus: Indeed, Richard dear, although not everybody dislikes the heat as much as I do.
A more worrysome problem is the drought, the rivers are almost at an all time low. And still no rain in sight.

But we had a wonderfull bike ride on the dike this evening. On the right the sun was going down in the Markermeer, and on the other side the almost full moon was rising above the Oostvaardersplassen. A beautiful sight!

>76 FAMeulstee: Your bike ride sounds good, Anita. We were on the road as well, and noticed that full moon as well. The one advantage of this weather, the evenings feel really nice.

>77 EllaTim: Thank you, Ella, how nice you also saw the moon on your way. We might repeat that bike ride again this evening. The moonrise will be about half an hour later, so still close to sundown.

>73 FAMeulstee: We forecast the same heat here Anita. So far I've managed to keep the house a reasonable temperature (no air-con here). It's 31°C outside and 24.5°C in the house, which is manageable. It's forecast to get hotter the next couple of days, but they are forecasting some rain next week, thank goodness.

>76 FAMeulstee: Droughts are scary as hell. I am always unnerved when rain fails to fall.

Happy slide into Saturday! *smooch*

>79 SandDune: Today the temp inside went up to 23.5°C, Rhian, so that is good. With more 30+ days it will go up around 1 degree per day. If forecast is right, we also will have some rain Monday, the garden really needs it.

>80 richardderus: I feel the same, Richard dear.
I'll take Friday first ;-)
*smooch*

We did the same bike ride on the dike again yesterday evening. So again we saw the sun going down in the Markermeer (at West North West), and the moon coming up above the Oostvaardersplassen (East South East).
Tis time I took pictures. The moon was full.

Sundown, moonrise
 

Beautiful, Anita. 30 here today. I'll be the one parked next to the fan.

>83 charl08: Yes it was beautiful, Charlotte. In real even more, and the temperature doable at 25°C.
We expect 33° today and the next two days :-(
Try to stay cool, I will do the same.

Beautiful pictures, thank you so much for sharing, Anita.
With us it also remains dry and hot, I long for dark clouds....

>82 FAMeulstee: I love the huge full moon! I was able to see it on my way home last night, but not get a photo.

Happy Friday, Anita. I love the sunset & the moonrise. Beautiful. Have a great book-filled weekend.

Lovely photos, Anita! Give my best wishes to Frank; I miss the two of you.

>82 FAMeulstee: - So beautiful! Well done.

>82 FAMeulstee: Lovely! I'm impressed that you're so well-timed.

I hope the heat breaks early there.

>82 FAMeulstee: BEAUTIFUL!!!

Anita, read on. I know how annoying the prologues are, and I don't have a lot of patience right now. I'll try to forge ahead since you assure me that the first real chapter will hook me. I expect that you're right.

>85 SirThomas: You are very welcome, Thomas.
Same here, we hope the predicted rain, and cooling down, will come on Monday.

>86 Sakerfalcon: Glad you saw it, Claire, as it was very special. Sundown and moonrise were in almost exact in opposite.

>87 msf59: Thank you, Mark. I have a nice library stack, and enough books on the shelves to fill more than the weekend ;-)

>88 kidzdoc: Thank you, Darryl.
Greetings back from Frank, we miss you too!

>89 jessibud2: Thank you, Shelley.
I came prepared, remembered to take my camera, as it was almost the same the day before.

>90 richardderus: Thank you, Richard dear.
As I said to Shelley in my previous message ^, I came prepared.
The day before the sundown and moorise were almost at the same time. In this time of year the sun goes down a few minutes later, and I looked up the time of moonrise (half an hour later) and noticed it would be a full moon.

>91 LizzieD: Thank you, Peggy!
Some patience is needed for the Wheel, not as much as in some previous books, as Sanderson writes better.
I finished an other book today and started two others, just to be sure. I will return to the Wheel tomorrow, and hope to finish it on Sunday.

Read, not yet reviewed:
#203: De kathedraal van de zee (Cathedral of the Sea) by Ildefonso Falcones
#204: De weg naar Oxiana (The Road to Oxiana) by Robert Byron
#205: De vijand van mijn vader by Almudena Grandes
#206: Waar ik nu ben (Whereabouts) by Jhumpa Lahiri

Reading now:
Het licht van weleer (A Memory of Light; Wheel of Time 14) by Robert Jordan and Brandon Sanderson
Flush (Flush) by Virginia Woolf
Het vertrek van de mier by Toon Tellegen

book 203: De kathedraal van de zee by Ildefonso Falcones
library, e-book, translated from Spanish, English translation Cathedral of the Sea, 686 pages
TIOLI Challenge #4: Read a book that has the last three letters of your city’s name in the title

Historical fiction mainly set in 14th century Barcelona.
1320, Bernat Estanyol flees from his land, as the aristocracy keeps their people in brutal serfdom. He takes his baby son with him to Barcelona. If he manages to stay there a year and a day, he will become an inhabitant of the city.
We follow father and son through their lives of fortune and disaster. War, the plague, the building of the church (not a cathedral) Santa Maria del Mar. The book ends in 1384.

A fairly good read, sometimes a bit far fetched coincidences.

Dutch title translated: The Cathedral of the Sea

book 204: De weg naar Oxiana by Robert Byron
library, translated, original title The Road to Oxiana, 320 pages
TIOLI Challenge #13: Read a book you share with a Legacy Library

In 1933/1934 Robert Byron traveled through Iran and Afghanistan.
The book starts in Venice, going through Cyprus, Palestina, Syria and Irak, to Persia (as Iran was called at that time). He is mainly interested in islamic architecture, and writes lyrical about the old mosques and other buildings he visits. His travels are sometimes difficult, roads blocked, civil servants who deny access, etc. He often describes these troubles with dry humor.

An enjoyable read, I would have liked some more historical background here and there.

English and Dutch title are the same

book 205: De vijand van mijn vader by Almudena Grandes
library, e-book, translated from Spanish, no English translation, 351 pages
TIOLI Challenge #18: Read a book/work with a significant part set in/dealing with the period from 1 January 1945 to 31 December 1964

1947, a small village in the south of Spain. Elsewhere in Europe fascism has been beaten, yet in Spain Franco still rules.
Nino is the son of a guardia civil. In the mountains are still some escaped left wing men fighting the Franco regime. Nino's father and his collegues fight them, and terrorise every inhabitant of the village, who is suspected of supporting the republicans. Nino's family is living in the barracks, and at night his younger sister sometimes hides in Nino's bed, when the screaming of tortured suspects gets too bad.
Nino is small, and his father is afraid he will stay to short to become a Guardia Civil later in life. So through Nino's new friend Pepe, his father arranges type lessons for him. He is send to the "red" farm, where widowers of death republicans, and wife's of those in the mountains live. No one in the village should know about this. His typing teacher lets Nino read her books, and slowly Nino gets his own opinion about the world he is living in.

A great read, Almunda Grandes is now defitive a favorite writer. I have reserved the next book at the library, and bought a hadback copy od this book.

Title translated: The enemy of my father

book 206: Waar ik nu ben by Jhumpa Lahiri
library, e-book, translated from Italian, English translation Whereabouts, 160 pages
TIOLI Challenge #10: Read a book with WHO, WHAT, WHERE, WHEN, WHY and then HOW in the title (rolling challenge)

An unnamed, female narrator, in an unnamed Italian city, works as academic. She is single, had some relations in the past. She observes her surroundings, tells about certain places, and the people she meets. She keeps her distance. Later we find out a bit of her past, that might have influenced her behavior.
All is told in short chapters, barely connected, named after the place she is telling about. This gives a bit estranged feeling, and also a strong sence of place.

This was the first book Lahiri wrote in Italian, before she wrote in English.

Dutch title translated: Where I am now.

book 207: Flush by Virginia Woolf
library, translated, original title Flush, 155 pages
TIOLI Challenge #6: Read a book from the LT list of "favorite animal fiction"

Flush was Elizabeth Barrett Browning's red cocker spaniel, and trough Flush we see a little of Elizabeth's life. Virginia Woolf based the story on the little bits Elizabeth wrote about Flush, and expanded that into this book.
She really captures the dog life, where scent is way more important than sight. We follow Flush from the country side where he was born, to London where Elizabeth Barrett lives. Flush becomes soon completely devoted to Elizabeth. He is kidnapped, and rescued. His later life in Italy, where Elizabeth lived with her husband Robert Browning. Up until the end, as the life span of dogs is so much shorter than the life of his humans.

A lovely look into a dog's life, and a little peek into Elizabeth Barrett Browning's life.

English and Dutch title are the same

Saying hello before I miss an entire thread of yours, Anita. Hope you're having a good weekend.

>99 FAMeulstee: I read Whereabouts earlier this year. I felt so distanced from the narrator that I didn't really like it, but I read it with my book club and we had a good discussion about it. I haven't read anything else by Lahiri, though, so I want to try some of her short stories next.

>99 FAMeulstee: I think Lahiri's greatest strength in storytelling lies in short fiction. Her economy of words is that much more effective in tighter spaces.

>96 FAMeulstee: I bought it when the Spanish-TV miniseries came to Netflix, meaning to read then view the story. I have, to date, done neither. I got a bad case of "this is Pillars of the Earth in Català" creepskin.

I'm...glad?ish?...that your review doesn't force it up the pile too terribly far.

Happy weekend, Anita. I wish I could send you our 21C nighttime weather.

>101 bell7: Thank you, Mary.
The weekend is mainly sitting quiet to stand the heat, and read a lot. The good news it that the heatwave will end next week.
This was also my first Lahiri. The distance didn't push me away, I was more intrigued by it.

>102 richardderus: Thank you, Richard dear, so would you recommend Interpreter of Maladies as my next Lahiri read?
Pilars of the Earth was way better, so keep Cathedral of the Sea down the pile, unless you feel an urge to know more about 14th century Spain. Although a Wikipedia search could learn you as much in less time.
Looks the temperature will go down next week. Until then I will keep quiet, and keep on reading most hours of the day. I am glad the nights are still under 20°C, so the house does cool down a bit at night.

It is done! I just finished A Memory of Light, the last The Wheel of Time book.

>104 FAMeulstee: That was quite a battle, wasn't it?

>104 FAMeulstee: Yay! Mission accomplished.

>103 FAMeulstee: Oh, okay, Ildefonso won't be my next Catalan companion. Maybe Mercè Rodoreda.

Yes indeed! Eleventeen stars for Interpreter of Maladies!

>104 FAMeulstee: OH MY GOODNESS!!!!! Congratulations on your completion!!!!!!! I did read a little today, but I'm still in the prologue. I feel better now that I have Talmanes and Nynaeve and Bayle and Egeanan/Leilwin in my view.
I was never going to read it as quickly as you, so I'll plug along and report over the next few months. I would really, really like to finish it by year's end.

>105 quondame: Yes it was, Susan, in both ways.

>106 richardderus: Thanks, Richard dear.
I have only read one book by Mercè Rodoreda, it was Colometa, and I wasn't overy impressed. I might try an other some day. You may have noticed above that Almudena Grandes is my favorite Spanish writer now, some are available in English translation.
Added Interpreter of Maladies to mount TBR.

>107 LizzieD: Thank you, Peggy!
It has been so hot the last days, so I could do not much else than read. And I stayed up last night to finish the book.
Yes, when the known characters returned, I got more into the story.

>82 FAMeulstee: Stunning photo Anita.

>100 FAMeulstee: This is the only VW novel I haven't read. Maybe it will come off the shelf today.

>109 Caroline_McElwee: Thank you, Caroline, it was so beautiful.
Flush was the first VW novel I ever read, back in my teens.

Read, not yet reviewed:
#208: Het licht van weleer (A Memory of Light; Wheel of Time 14) by Robert Jordan and Brandon Sanderson
#209: Het vertrek van de mier by Toon Tellegen
#210: Staatsraad (The State Counsellor; Erast Fandorin 6) by Boris Akoenin

Reading now:
Een revolverschot by Virginie Loveling

---
Library haul today:
De drie bruiloften van Manolita - Almudena Grandes
Mungo (Young Mungo) - Douglas Stuart
Daar op het plein is niemand - Dolores Prato

And a few e-books from the e-library:
Poolnacht (Rupture; Dark Iceland 3) - Ragnar Jónasson
De vallei der verschrikking (The Valley of Fear) - Arthur Conan Doyle
Kafka op het strand (Kafka on the Shore) - Haruki Murakami
Geteld, geteld (They Were Counted) - Miklós Bánffy

>111 FAMeulstee: Great library haul! I have heard excellent feedback about Young Mungo.

Happy Tuesday!

>112 figsfromthistle: Thank you, Anita. So did I, and I loved Shuggie Bain.
Happy Tuesday!

Read, not yet reviewed:
#208: Het licht van weleer (A Memory of Light; Wheel of Time 14) by Robert Jordan and Brandon Sanderson
#209: Het vertrek van de mier by Toon Tellegen
#210: Staatsraad (The State Counsellor; Erast Fandorin 6) by Boris Akoenin
#211: Een revolverschot by Virginie Loveling
#212: Na de Amazone by Redmond O'Hanlon
#213: De vallei der verschrikking (The Valley of Fear) by Arthur Conan Doyle

Reading now:
De plantenjager uit Leningrad by Louise O. Fresco
De hond van de Baskervilles (The Hound of The Baskervilles) by Arthur Conan Doyle

>76 FAMeulstee: I can understand doing the reviews in bulk, Anita. I normally do mine as I finish the book just to get them out of the way, lol, although I am not sure what I do can be honestly be called "reviews."

>82 FAMeulstee: Beautiful!

>97 FAMeulstee: I am glad to see that you enjoyed it. I liked it slightly more than you did though. I very much appreciated the humor throughout.

>98 FAMeulstee: I am sorry that one has not been translated into English. I would love to try some of his work.

>100 FAMeulstee: I have had that one in the BlackHole forever, but have never gotten my hands on a copy.

>104 FAMeulstee: Congratulations!!

Have a wonderful Wednesday, Anita!

>114 FAMeulstee: I'm astonished. You've been on the entire Wheel of Time! Well done you.

I'm done doctoring for the moment. Hope your week's been less irritating than mine was.

>115 alcottacre: Thanks, Satasia, happy Thursday!
I think anything that expresses your thoughts about a book is a review.
Some other books by Almudena Grandes are available in English translation. I think you added her book The Frozen Heart to the BlackHole, when I read it last month.
I hope you do find a copy of Flush one day.

>116 richardderus: Thank you, Richard, I am glad Wheel of Time is done now :-)
The heat is finally gone and we had some rain, so my week is good.
I hope the remaining days of this week are more bearable for you.
*smooch*

book 208: Het licht van weleer by Robert Jordan and Brandon Sanderson
library, translated, original title A Memory of Light, 1008 pages
TIOLI Challenge #14: Read a "summer book"

Wheel of Time book 14
Darkness and light come to their final battle, Tarmon Gai'don, leading us to the end of this epic fantasy.

Robert Jordan created a wonderful world, with many original aspects, and intriguing characters.
It has been a long ride, almost 12,000 pages, that I started back in 2019. I liked the first books, slogged through some middle books, and was drawn back into the story in the last books, where Sanderson took over. The fact that Brandon Sanderson wrote the last three books of the series was the main reason I started Wheel of Time, as I have loved every book by him.
I am glad it is done.

Dutch title translated: The light of old times

book 209: Het vertrek van de mier by Toon Tellegen
library, e-book, Dutch, no translations, 195 pages
TIOLI Challenge #11: Read a book with an invertebrate in the title or author's name

Ant is gone, and all other animals contemplate about ant, and what "gone" means. Some miss him, and go searching.
In the second half of the book we follow ant, walking through the desert on his way to the distance.

Not as good or funny as some other Toon Tellegen books, still a worthwile read.

Title translated: The departure of the ant

book 210: Staatsraad by Boris Akoenin
library, translated from Russian, English translation The State Counsellor, 348 pages
TIOLI Challenge #9: Read a book with a job title in the title

Erast Fandorin book 6
Erast is now State Counceller. Nihillists and anarchists are trying to destabilise the Russian Empire with terroristic attacks. When the newly appointed governor-general of Siberia is murdered, Fandorin is arrested, as the murderer imposed him. Fandorin is put aside from the investigation by a head of investigation from Saint Petersburg, but still advises him.
We also follow the group who did the attack.

A very good book in the series. Sadly only one more book is available in Dutch translation, so I am near the end of the series now.

English and Dutch title are the same

book 211: Een revolverschot by Virginie Loveling
library, e-book, Dutch, no translations, 209 pages
TIOLI Challenge #5: Read a book published by an author who died before April 1972

Set in the countryside of Flandres in the 19th century. Two sisters, ten years apart, fall in love with a recently widowed neighbor. He is going after the youngest sister, but does also tempt the oldest. The story starts like a cross between romance and Flemish local novel, but has a unexpected twist.

I only recently heard about this book, it is better known in Flandres. With recent increasing interest in female writers, this story finally gets some acknowledgement.

Ttitle translated: A revolver shot

book 212: Na de Amazone by Redmond O'Hanlon
library, non-fiction, translated, only published in Dutch translation, 94 pages
TIOLI Challenge #3: Read a book where you have heard the author talk about their work

Two short travel stories, one taking place in Italy, and one in Venezuela, both taking place after O'Hanlons Amazon expedition (In Trouble Again). And two essays, one about Charles Darwin, and one about Bruce Chatwin.

Title translated: After the Amazon

book 213: De vallei der verschrikking by Arthur Conan Doyle
library, e-book, translated, original title The Valley of Fear, 238 pages
TIOLI Challenge #5: Read a book published by an author who died before April 1972

After a long hiatus, I did read A Study in Scarlet back in 2018, I am returning to Sherlock Holmes, as they are now available at the e-library.
Besides the story in the title, this volume also contains four short stories:
A Scandal in Bohemia, The Man with the Twisted Lip, Five Orange Pips, and A Case of Identity.

Yes, I know, it looks like I read the Sherlock Holmes books out of order. But the publisher of these Dutch editions follows an other order, and the numbers are prominently displayed on the covers. So I will follow that order.

Dutch title translated: The valley of terror

book 214: De hond van de Baskervilles by Arthur Conan Doyle
1001 books, library, e-book, translated, original title The Hound of The Baskervilles, 255 pages
TIOLI Challenge #17: Read a book for the Dog Days of Summer challenge

I think this is the best known Sherlock Holmes. A well crafted mystery.
Besides the story in the title, this volume also contains four short stories:
The Red-Headed League, The Adventure of the Dying Detective, The Greek Interpreter, and The Adventure of the Copper Beeches.

English and Dutch title are the same

Hi Anita. A very belated happy new thread.

From your previous thread, impressive July/year stats, as always.

>1 FAMeulstee: I love the red deer and could easily see it in my house.

>82 FAMeulstee: Gorgeous photos, thanks for sharing.

>97 FAMeulstee: Somehow or another this ended up on my Kindle, a BB from somebody here on LT.

You're getting close to 75 x 3. Brava.

>121 FAMeulstee: This sounds really good...no translations doesn't make me feel too happy, but I hope by mid-2023 to be able to get to reading fluency adequate for some *real* reads!

>120 FAMeulstee: I lost steam with the Fandorin series after this one.

>119 FAMeulstee: I've got a request in for the Dutch edition of the book.

>125 karenmarie: Thank you, Karen. The reading is still going very well.
The red dear was a small piece, the ring around his neck about the size of a ring you could wear on your thumb. It was very lifelike, must have been an exceptional craftsman who made it so long ago!
You are very welcome, both sun and moon were so beautiful that evening.
I love to read about travel, especially traveling to uncommon places.
I will probably get to 3 x 75 this month :-)

>126 richardderus: That would be great, Richard dear, if you get able enough to read in Dutch!
Only one more Fandorin in Dutch translation after this one, so my journey with him will end anyway.
How nice, Toon Tellegen is a great writer, But you already knew it :-)

>82 FAMeulstee: Anita, What beautiful images!! Thanks for sharing these awesome photos! Years ago, when Will and I first dated, we watched sun sets from the windows of his medical office. His office was very near his house, and we often walked up the hill, and sat on the grass enjoying the view.

Now, I think of those happy times, and they sustain me when I am sad that he is no longer watching the sun and the moon with me. But, I am so very glad for those precious times.

You are reading some very interesting books. I wish De vijand van mijn vader had an English translation.

It's wonderful that you are approaching 3 x 75.

Hi Anita -- lost of good reading there. I keep hoping to find another Audible book in Dutch but they don't make it easy. The best way I've found is to have a title in Dutch and then search for it on Amazon. I tried that with Een revolverschot (which sounded very interesting to me) and found I could order a paper copy in Dutch but not on Audible. Guess I'll just keep trying as you post things that catch my interest :)

>128 Whisper1: Thank you, Linda.
I am glad they reminded you of good times with Will.
(((hugs)))

>129 streamsong: Thank you, Shelley. Some other books of Almudena Grandes are available in English translation, you can find them on her author page. Besides The Frozen Heart, that I loved last month, The Wind from the East sounds good to me.
The books keep threating me well :-)

>130 RebaRelishesReading: Thank you, Reba.
I will keep on reading Dutch books, and hope you can find them :-)

Read, not yet reviewed:
#215: De krokodillen van Yamoussoukro (The Crocodiles of Yamoussoukro) by V.S. Naipaul
#216: De plantenjager uit Leningrad by Louise O. Fresco

Reading now:
Kafka op het strand (Kafka on the Shore) by Haruki Murakami
Tortilla Flat (Tortilla Flat) by John Steinbeck

Hi Anita! I have another book by Virginie Loveling on my shelves but I haven’t read it yet: Oorlogsdagboeken 1914-1918

I’ll be interested in your review of De plantenjager uit Leningrad!

Have a nice weekend, so nice to be rid of the heat!

>134 EllaTim: I haven't read any other books by Virginie Loveling. Are you planning to read her Oorlogsdagboeken?
De plantenjager uit Leningrad was a good read. Nikolaj Vavilov was a brilliant scientist who got in disgrace at the time of Stalin... more will come later.

Still way to warm for me, I feel much better when it gets below 20°C.

>135 FAMeulstee: Yes, when my reading is going a bit better than right now. It’s not a small book.

Okay! I’m still interested.

That’s too bad, Anita. It will take some time to get beneath 20, I think. I still need to open all windows in the evening to freshen up the house, but it isn’t as uncomfortable for me as last week.

Both The Dream of the Red Chamber and The Man Without Qualities are books I loved. Enjoy!

>131 FAMeulstee: Thank you, Anita. AmazonUS has The Frozen Heart available as a download for $2.99 right now, so that is what I will try. At 800 pages, it is a bit daunting, so I may wait until winter to start it. We are forecast to have an unusually cold winter, due to whatever water and air currents they predict that with, so I will stay snug with books.

In the meantime, we have another 100 degree F day forecast for today.

Saturday *smooch* from comfortably 27C beachside me.

>136 EllaTim: We have kept the house cool enough, is hasn't been over 24,5°C in the livingroom. Now it is 23°C. Which is doable as long as I keep quiet. And when I get too warm, I go upstairs and sit in front of the airco for a while. It is only 1,5°C less there, but without humidity the air feels way cooler.

>137 sibylline: Thank you, Lucy.
I hope to read both next month.

>138 streamsong: You are welcome, Shelley.
That was a nice deal for The Frozen Heart. I hope you will like it as much as I did, when you get to it!
Sorry you are still suffering from hot weather. I still feel overheated with only 75F today....

>139 richardderus: Thank you, Richard, *smooches* right back at you.
27°C might be doable with an ocean breeze, we got to 24°C today. And the night will be nice at 14°C, so with all windows open the livingroom should cool down a bit.
Well, at least I read a lot with this kind of weather, as there is not much else I can do.

Read, not yet reviewed:
#215: De krokodillen van Yamoussoukro (The Crocodiles of Yamoussoukro) by V.S. Naipaul
#216: De plantenjager uit Leningrad by Louise O. Fresco
#217: Tortilla Flat (Tortilla Flat) by John Steinbeck
#218: Gloed (Embers) by Sándor Márai

Reading now:
Kafka op het strand (Kafka on the Shore) by Haruki Murakami
Een geschiedenis van de wereld in 10½ hoofdstuk (A History of the World in 10½ Chapters) by Julian Barnes

Happy weekend, Anita!

Kafka on the shore looks to be interesting. I hope it is a good read for you.

>142 FAMeulstee: I just finished Kafka on the Shore tonight, it was quite an interesting read. Look forward to seeing what you think of it.

>143 figsfromthistle: Thank you, Anita, happy weekend!
I am only a few pages in, so can't say much about it yet.

>144 WhiteRaven.17: I noticed you were also reading Kafka on the Shore, Kro. I hope to read your thoughts about it soon.
This is my second Murakami. I did read Norwegian Wood back in 2019.

>145 FAMeulstee: I've posted my thoughts now, though I wish I was better at reviewing books. It's a skill that I'm working on. This was my first by Murakami, but I'm interesting in reading more by him so I'll add that one to look up.

>146 WhiteRaven.17: The only way to get better, is doing it, Kro.
I like your review of Kafka on the Shore, I think you are better than you think you are :-)

book 215: De krokodillen van Yamoussoukro by V.S. Naipaul
own, non-fiction, translated, original title The Crocodiles of Yamoussoukro, 116 pages
TIOLI Challenge #8: Read a book that has a real non-European city name in the title or subtitle

The writer traveled to Ivory Coast. Yamoussouko was once a small, remote village. Because the president came from this village, it is now expanding fast. Next to the presidential palace crocodiles are kept, they are not native. Feeding time always attracts many people. He meets other people who, like him, originate from the West Indies. Also some thoughts about African beliefs/religion, and the Western perception.

In English this story was published, with other stories, in Finding the Center.

English and Dutch title are the same

book 216: De plantenjager uit Leningrad by Louise O. Fresco
library, Dutch, no translations, 318 pages
TIOLI Challenge #16: Read a book by an author one of whose names is an English noun

A fictional biography of Nicolaj Vavilov, based on known facts.
In his youth he witnessed famine, the rest of his life he focussed on ways to get better harvests, through selected crops. He traveled the world to get seeds from domesticated and wild crops. Based on Darwin and Mendel, he started cross varieties, to get good seeds for the different regions in Russia. Under Lenin his scientific approach was highly valued, and he could continue his travels all over the world. When Stalin came, Vavilov was challenged by Trofim Lysenko, who promoted Lamarckism, denouncing both Darwin and Mendel. He seemed to get better and faster results, and became a favorite of Stalin. All scientists had to deny "Western genetics". Nicolaj Vavilov could not do so, as he was sure he was right. He was convicted in 1941, and died in prison in 1943. In the 1960s he was rehabilitated.

The beautiful cover is a painting by Kazimir Malevich (Bust of Woman). I love how colors of the painting come back in title and author.

Louise Fresco is a Dutch agricultural professor, who was president of the Dutch agricultural Wageningen University from 2014 until 2022.

Title translated: The planthunter from Leningrad

book 217: Tortilla Flat by John Steinbeck
1001 books, own, translated, original title Tortilla Flat, 158 pages
TIOLI Challenge #12: Read a book set during the Great Depression

When Danny enherits two houses, he is suddenly rich. After serving in the army Danny and his friends lived in poverty, stealing what they could and drink as much as they could get. They continue this way of life, in Danny's house, sharing all they have.

I had better hope for this book. I didn't love it like I loved other books by Steinbeck. The humor saved it.

English and Dutch title are exactly the same

book 218: Gloed by Sándor Márai
1001 books, library, translated from Hungarian, English translation Embers, 156 pages
TIOLI Challenge #2: Read a book where the first name of the author has more characters than the last name

Two boys become friends at military school. Henrik is from an old noble family, Konrads parents live in poverty to pay for his study. After 41 years of separation, both in their seventies, Konrad comes to visit Henrik at his family castle. Something has driven them apart all these years ago, and in a long monologue (disguised as questions) Henrik tells what he thinks has happened back then.

Dutch title translated: Glow

book 219: Een geschiedenis van de wereld in 10½ hoofdstuk by Julian Barnes
own, translated, original title A History of the World in 10½ Chapters, 312 pages
TIOLI Challenge #15: Read a book by a Booker Prize Longlisted Author but not a book that was Longlisted

Loosely connected stories. From Noah's ark to a funny look at heaven.
I liked the way Barnes jumps through history. Some stories are better than others. I loved the first story (The Stowaway) where we travel at Noah's ark, seen through the eyes of a woodworm. And the fifth story (Shipwreck) the story behind Géricault's painting, and the story of the painting itself.

English and Dutch title are the same

>147 FAMeulstee: No better place to practice than on here. We are always our own toughest critics. Thank you Anita. :)

>151 FAMeulstee: I liked this one much more than you Anita, though its a while since I read it. I think it was the tone.

>150 FAMeulstee: I agree. Tortilla Flat was by far my least favorite Steinbeck.

>150 FAMeulstee: Tortilla Flat was just that...flat.

*smooch*

>153 WhiteRaven.17: You are very welcome, Kro.

>154 Caroline_McElwee: I found the Henrik very preoccupied, Caroline.
41 years is a long time to think it over, but being so sure you found the truth... It annoyed me.

>155 RebaRelishesReading: Glad I am not the only one, Reba.

>156 richardderus: A bit disappointing, Richard dear, he wrote his great books later.
*smooch*

>149 FAMeulstee: Thanks for your review Anita! Lysenko of course has become well-known, in a bad way. Stalin even more so. And Vavilov has been forgotten, glad Louise Fresco has written about him.

>152 FAMeulstee: Oh, I like that, the stowaway on Noah’s Ark!

>151 FAMeulstee: Lovely cover.

Happy reading, Anita!

>159 EllaTim: It was an informative read, Ella. I liked the way Louise Fresco portrayed Vavilov.
Yes, that was funny, Noah's Ark comes back a few times in the other stories, and so does the woodworm.
Happy Tuesday!

>118 FAMeulstee: I am glad it is done. I bet you are! Congratulations on the achievement.

>120 FAMeulstee: That is a series I really need to return to. One of these days. . .

Have a terrific Tuesday, Anita!

>160 FAMeulstee: I loved each re-appearance of the woodworm. Sneaky little pests.

>161 alcottacre: Thank you, Stasia, Wheel of Time was a lot of reading.
Happy Wednesday!

>162 quondame: Indeed, and I started to like them ;-)

We had a lovely visit to my father yesterday.
And the day before we visited the Floriade for the fourth time (no pictures, forgot my camera). We went to the pavillions of Suriname, Germany and Japan.

Today and tomorrow are going to be hot again, over 30°C.
So I will use the laptop as less as possible.

Read, not yet reviewed:
#220: Het purperen land (So Big) by Edna Ferber

Reading now:
Kafka op het strand (Kafka on the Shore) by Haruki Murakami
De zevende functie van taal (The Seventh Function of Language) by Laurent Binet

Have a wonderful Wednesday, Anita!

Happy Wednesday, Anita. Is this your first time reading Kafka on the Shore? If so, enjoy- my favorite Murakami and I think it is Joe's too.

Count me in as another Kafka on the Shore fan!

>166 alcottacre: Thank you, Stasia, the same to you!

>167 msf59: Yes, Mark, it is the first time I read Kafka on the Shore. I just finished it, and I did enjoy it. I liked it better than Norwegian Wood, that I read a few years back. Looking forward to read more Murakami :-)

>168 curioussquared: Glad to be in good company, Natalie!

Hi Anita! I hope you and Frank are doing well.

>152 FAMeulstee: I have this one on my shelves and have tagged it ‘2022 toberead’. This may or may not happen, but at least I have a reminder that you liked it.

>165 FAMeulstee: So Big's Dutch title fits it well, especially since there's no way to convey what the colloquial "sense" of so big is in US English.

Stay as cool as possible!

>170 karenmarie: Thank you, Karen. Doing well enough, we try to keep as cool as possible.
It has been on our shelves since 1991, we bought it right after it was published in Dutch translation. I will see if you get to it, it is very different from what you read mosly now.

>171 richardderus: I thought the same, Richard dear. 'Zo groot' may be the exact translation, but has a very different feel. And the purple land has an important role in the story.
Doing my best to keep cool. Just back downstairs, after reading an hour in the cool of the airco upstairs. Finished my e-book (Rupture; Dark Iceland 3), so came down to the laptop, to mark it as read.
I hope your weather is better than ours.

Read, not yet reviewed:
#220: Het purperen land (So Big) by Edna Ferber
#221: Kafka op het strand (Kafka on the Shore) by Haruki Murakami
#222: Poolnacht (Rupture; Dark Iceland 3) by Ragnar Jónasson

Reading now:
De zevende functie van taal (The Seventh Function of Language) by Laurent Binet
Geteld, geteld (They Were Counted) by Miklós Bánffy

I hope your heat didn't last too long, Anita. It has been warm here too but I like it. Sadly it's supposed to be cooler tomorrow with rain. The grass could use it!

>174 Familyhistorian: Thank you, Meg, it is much better today. It will take some days before the house has cooled down, but it helps knowing that the temperature is heading in the right direction for me.

Summer isn't my favorite season, I am always glad there are others who DO enjoy it :-)

The drought here also continues. Despite the lower temperatures there is still no rain in sight. Rivers are falling almost dry, the Rhine is at its lowest level ever. This makes river transport difficult, barges can take only 1/4th of their usual load.

>175 FAMeulstee: So glad it has cooled down today! No rain predicted for another week. Boats are still passing through the canal near our place, but upstream is where the problems start. How’s your garden doing?

>173 FAMeulstee: Anxiously awaiting your review of Kafka on the Shore. I think it may have been the first (if not, close to) Murakami I ever read.

Have a fantastic Friday, Anita!

>176 EllaTim: So am I, Ella!
The canals have locks, so the water can be regulated. The Markermeer and IJsselmeer won't fall dry either.

Most plants in the garden are well settled after many years, and the groundwater level is still maintained in the polder. The first leaves of the plum are falling, a little early, but not worrysome. A few plants have burned leaves, they will recuperate.
I only water the potted plants as they always need watering, and once a week I water the prunus subhirtella that we planted some years ago. I still have a bit of water in my rainwater tank to continue.

>177 alcottacre: It will come somewhere in the next days, Stasia.
My presents reads are slow reads, and at least one more book to finish before I start writing reviews.

The same to you!

>179 FAMeulstee: I understand about "slow" reads, Anita :)

>180 alcottacre: I know you understand, Stasia.
For most others my "slow" read would seem like a rather fast one ;-)

The Dutch Woordle was fun today, I had all letters in the second guess
Woordle 433 3/6

⬜⬜⬜🟩⬜
🟨🟩🟨🟩🟨
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 pioen, kater, raket

Wordle went well too:
⬜⬜🟩🟩🟩
⬜🟨🟨⬜⬜
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 peony, mirth, irony

>182 FAMeulstee: I love it...each of them in three! Heh, my goodness it's fun to get a head start. (I did, too.)

Weekend-reads orisons, Anita.

>183 richardderus: So did I, Richard dear.
I got that second Wordle word from you, most of the time it works out well. I have thought about adopting your first word, after abandoning "adieu". Prefer this one because of the "pesky letter".

Happy Friday!

--
Now off to the library, I reserved a book (The White Tiger) back in June, and it finally arrived. Someone was over a month late with returning it!

Read, not yet reviewed:
#220: Het purperen land (So Big) by Edna Ferber
#221: Kafka op het strand (Kafka on the Shore) by Haruki Murakami
#222: Poolnacht (Rupture; Dark Iceland 3) by Ragnar Jónasson
#223: De zevende functie van taal (The Seventh Function of Language) by Laurent Binet

Reading now:
Geteld, geteld (They Were Counted) by Miklós Bánffy
De witte tijger (The White Tiger) by Aravind Adiga

book 220: Het purperen land by Edna Ferber
library, translated, Pulitzer Prize 1925, original title So Big, 319 pages
TIOLI Challenge #5: Read a book published by an author who died before April 1972

When Selina Peak becomes an orphan, when her father is shot by mistake, she takes a job as teacher in a Dutch community near Chicago. The stiff Dutch mentality is strange to her, but she manages, as she keeps seeing beauty where no one alse does. She marries Pervus DeJong. They get a son, Dirk, but Pervus dies. Now Selina takes over the farm, works hard, and makes it a succes. The community doesn't like a woman in charge. She raises her son to get a better life. He does get a better life, but will never understand the way his mother could see beauty everywhere.

Dutch title translated: The purple land

book 221: Kafka op het strand by Haruki Murakami
1001 books, library, e-book, translated from Japanese, English translation Kafka on the Shore, 638 pages
TIOLI Challenge #13: Read a book you share with a Legacy Library

Kafka Tamura (not his real name) is a 15 year old runaway. He left his abusive home to find his mother and sister. They left when he was very young. He finds refuge in a library in Takamatsu.
Satoru Nakata was a promishing young boy in 1944. A strange incident took place, he and his fellow school kids all fainted. All others came back unharmed, but Nakata was in hospital for months, and never was the same. Lost his intelligence and reading ability. Now he lives from welfare, and earns a little money with finding runaway cats.
A man is murdered, cats are serverly tortured (took that better than anticipated), a strange journey through woods, a small painting, eventually all is connected. Sometimes in almost magic ways.

A very enjoyable read, above is only an inadequate description of the strange way this book pulled me into a very real, but also magical world, with many references to music and literature.

English and Dutch title are the same

book 222: Poolnacht by Ragnar Jónasson
library, e-book, translated from Icelandic, English translation Rupture, 317 pages

Dark Iceland book 3
An very infectuous, deadly virus has killed two inhabitants of Siglufjörður. The village is in quarantaine now. As there is not much to do, Ari Thór dives into a mysterious death, that occured 50 years ago. Someone asked him to look into it, as recently an unknown picture was discovered, that reveals there was one more person living there, besides the two couples.'
Meanwhile Ísrún, the reporter we met in Blackout, is busy in Reykjavic with the abduction of a baby boy.

Slightly better than the two previous books.

Dutch title translated: Polar night

book 223: De zevende functie van taal by Laurent Binet
library, translated from French, English translation The Seventh Function of Language, 439 pages
TIOLI Challenge #1: Read a book with an uneven number in the title

A satirical book about language, semiotics especially, disguised as a mystery.
When Roland Barthes is run over by a car, soon rumors spread that he had found "the seventh function of language". A Parisian cop, Jacques Bayard, is put on the case, and gets help of Simon Harzog, a liguist. They travel all over the globe, followd by secret agents. They find a secret group, the Logos Club, where members battle in debate. Meanwhile a large cast of famous French intelectuals and politicans play their role.

I don't know much about linguistics, I knew some of the famous French, looked many others up in Wikipedia. I don't pretend to have understand it all, but it was a fun read. And I learned a lot.

Englsh and Dutch title are the same

book 224: De witte tijger by Aravind Adiga
1001 books, library, translated, Booker Prize 2008, original title The White Tiger, 270 pages
TIOLI Challenge #2: Read a book where the first name of the author has more characters than the last name

In seven nights Balram Halwai writes about his path to succes in a letter to Chinese prime minister Wen Jiabao, who will visit India soon.
Balram was born in a very poor part of India, where corruption is rampant, and only a few landowners, who stick together, live a good life, terrorising everyone else. Balram is lucky, he can learn to drive, and becomes the private driver of the son of one of the landowners. He moves to New Delhi with his boss, also full of corruption, and slowly he makes a plan to escape his poverty.

This look into India makes me sad. Of course, I know most of the facts, but a detailled read has way more impact than headlines...

Englsh and Dutch title are the same

Hi, Anita.

Congratulations on finishing the lengthy Wheel of Time series. I thought
Brandon Sanderson did an excellent job with the concluding books. I read that Robert Jordan left plot outlines, so I’m sure that helped.

Kafka on the Shore is one of my favorite books ever; I’m so glad it worked well for you.

Sending our love to you and Frank.

>190 FAMeulstee: ...a book I disliked intensely.

>189 FAMeulstee: I've got a hardcover of it here and am now sorry I got that instead of a DRC. *sigh* But read I shall.

>186 FAMeulstee: Oh, I'm so glad you liked it. I wondered if the Dutch, um, characters might not bother an actual Dutch person.

Happy week ahead! *smooch*

>191 jnwelch: Brandon Sanderson wrote an article about meeting with Jordan and listening for some hours while Jordan narrated to the planned ending.

>187 FAMeulstee: That is BB for me!

Sorry to hear about the continued drought. Here we were blessed with a few days rain this week which really saved the crops and trees. It was so dry that some of the leaves on the trees were already changing color at the beginning of the month.

>191 jnwelch: Thank you, Joe. The Wheel of Time was an unique, and lenghty, reading experience. I am glad it is done. The first books by Robert Jordan were good, and also the last ones by Brandon Sanderson.

I know Kafka on the Shore has many fans here. I enjoyed it very much. It made me want to read more by Murakami.

Greetings and love back to you and Debbi from both of us.

>192 richardderus: It doesn't happen often that our appreciation is so much apart, Richard. The main character of The White Tiger isn't very nice, but somehow he touched me.
You might like it. (What is DRC, an e-book?)
No, not bothered at all, I would say mostly typical Dutch abroad, sticking together and being extra Dutch... ;-)

>193 quondame: Thanks, Susan, I didn't know that Sanderson had met Jordan. I thought Sanderson only came after Jordan died.

>194 figsfromthistle: I hope you enjoy Kafka on the Shore as so many others did, Anita.
Glad to read you did have some so much needed rain.
It is the same here, on some trees the leaves are coloring, and falling. I keep watering one tree in the garden once a week, a winter blooming prunus that we planted a few years back. It looks like I am pulling it through.

Read, not yet reviewed:
#225:Kruisende lijnen (Quicksand) by Junichirô Tanizaki

Reading now:
Geteld, geteld (They Were Counted) by Miklós Bánffy
1795 by Niklas Natt och Dag

Good reviews of Kafka & The White Tiger, Anita. I also loved both books.

>196 FAMeulstee: I wasn't sold on the main character as a character, still less as the main character intended to carry the story!

Digital Reader's Copy, like an ARC but for the e-reader.

>198 msf59: Thank you, Mark.
Always nice to find out others love the same books.

>199 richardderus: Understood, Richard dear, I can see why you didn't like it.
Thank you, I sometimes have trouble with abbrevations. Late at night it tends to be worse ;-)

Hi Anita! This year I seem to have lost track of threads more than usual; I've started crafting during/ after the pandemic and it cuts into my reading and posting time.

Did you do Worldle today (29th August)?

>201 humouress: Glad you found my thread again, Nina.

Yes, I do Worldle, Wordle and Woordle every day. Only missed a few days in June, when I was away.
And I know why you thought of me after today's Worldle :-)

>202 FAMeulstee: It was your polder walking that helped me get it in one.

>203 humouress: Glad I to know I have added to your geographical knowledge :-)

Read, not yet reviewed:
#225: Kruisende lijnen (Quicksand) by Junichirô Tanizaki
#226: 1795 by Niklas Natt och Dag

Reading now:
Geteld, geteld (They Were Counted) by Miklós Bánffy
De man zonder eigenschappen: deel 1 by Robert Musil, 450 pages

book 225: Kruisende lijnen by Junichirô Tanizaki
own,translated from Japanes, English translation Quicksand, 189 pages
TIOLI Challenge #2: Read a book where the first name of the author has more characters than the last name

Kakiuchi Sonoko* lost her husband recently, and meets the writer to tell what has happened.
At art school Sonoko meets the beautiful Tokumitsu Mitsuko, and they fall in love. Mitsuko is a very manipulative woman. When Sonoko's husband finds out, she promises to quit, but Mitsuko knows ways to get Sonoko back. Later Mitsuko's boyfriend becomes part of the relationship, and finally Sonoko's husband falls for her too.
Feelings of love, jealousy, and anger, combined with manipulating, push the characters to an unexpected ending.

*The translator kept the Japanese way of naming, where the family name comes first.

I didn't like the characters, although Tanizaki describes them prefectly.

Dutch title translated: Crossing lines

book 226: 1795 by Niklas Natt och Dag
library, translated from Swedish, no English translation yet, 413 pages
TIOLI Challenge #1: Read a book with an uneven number in the title

The final book in the Bellman Noir trilogy
Mickel Cardell and Emil Winge are still hunting Tycho Ceton. They also keep on searching for Anna Stina. Tycho manages again to do some gruesome things, when returning to his former brothers.

Again a well written historical mystery, mostly set in Stockholm. Detailed descriptions of the harsh life of the poor, and the luxury the rich can permit.
I liked this one a bit better than the second book.

Dutch title translated: 1795

That was it for August, no more books to finish this month. My two present reads will be finished in September at least I hope so
I have dedicated next month to two very big tomes and 5 more books with over 500 pages pages (see >4 FAMeulstee: ).

August 2022 in numbers
  (Totals for the year between brackets)

29 books read, 9.723 pages, 313,7 pages a day
  (226 books read, 70.425 pages, 289,8 pages a day)

--
books:

own books: 5 (46)
from the library: 24 (180)

male author: 22 (160)
female author: 7 (66)

originally written in Dutch: 6 (66)
translated into Dutch: 23 (160)
- original language:
  Chinese: 0 (2)
  Croatian: 0 (1)
  Danish: 0 (1)
  English: 12 (74)
  French: 1 (16)
  German: 0 (7)
  Greek: 0 (1)
  Hebrew: 0 (1)
  Hungarian 1 (1)
  Icelandic: 1 (2)
  Italian: 2 (14)
  Japanese 2 (2)
  Norwegian: 0 (7)
  Polish: 0 (3)
  Portuguese: 0 (1)
  Russian: 1 (5)
  Spanish: 2 (7)
  Swedish: 1 (14)
  Turkish: 0 (1)

fiction: 26 (190)
non-fiction: 3 (36)

paper books: 17 (137)
e-books: 12 (89)

mystery/police procedural: 5 (29)
childrens/YA: 1 (32)
1001 books: 6 (17)
  Total 1001 books since 2008: 244
Dutch Canon: 2 (6)
  Total Dutch Canon since 2008: 41 of 125

--
pages:

0 - 100 pages: 2 (21)
101 - 200 pages: 7 (45)
201 - 300 pages: 5 (57)
301 - 400 pages: 8 (56)
401 - 500 pages: 3 (21)
501 - 999 pages: 3 (23)
1000+ pages: 1 (3)

longest book 1008 pages (1077 pages)
shortest book 41 pages (28 pages)
average book 335 pages (312 pages)

--
own books read are on the shelf since:

before 2008: 5 (35)
2010: 0 (2)
2016: 0 (1)
2017: 0 (1)
2020: 0 (3)
2021: 0 (2)
2022: 0 (2)

--
date first published:

5th century BC: 0 (1)
14th century: 1 (2)
19th century: 0 (2)

20th century
1900s: 1 (1)
1910s: 2 (3)
1920s: 1 (3)
1930s: 4 (9)
1940s: 1 (10)
1950s: 1 (8)
1960s: 2 (8)
1970s: 0 (18)
1980s: 2 (23)
1990s: 2 (20)

21st century
2000s: 4 (21)
2010s: 5 (61)
2020s: 3 (36)

--
ratings:

0 (4)
2 (18)
12 (85)
13 (77)
2 (39)
0 (2)

--
Best books in August


De vijand van mijn vader by Almudena Grandes
Kafka op het strand (Kafka on the Shore) by Haruki Murakami

===

walking in August: walked 16 days, 73,8 km; average 4,61 km/day
  (182 days, 969,8 km; average 5,33 km/day)

e-biking in August: biked 15 days, 262,4 km; average 17,49 km/day
  (61 days, 1167,4 km; 19,14 km/day)

Oh, I forgot one thing. According to Richard August was 'Women in translation month', and I decided to add the numbers of female/male translators in my statistics.

translators:
male : 6 (67)
female: 13 (87)
unknown: 3 (6)