MissWatson enjoys her elevenses – last round

I'm Birgit and I live on the Baltic Sea. This year I am concentrating on a manageable number of categories (or so I hope). The title was inspired by a wonderful scene from the Fellowship of the Rings movie.



(Picture taken from my own copy of the DVD)

So, the challenge is to:


The aim (again) is to whittle down my TBR. Double entries are allowed if the book has more than 400 pages. Multiple entries are allowed if the book has more than 500 pages.



January: 2,411 pages
February: 3,319 pages
March: 4,481 pages
April: 2,495 pages
May: 2,698 pages
June: 2,979 pages
July: 3,806 pages
August: 4,604 pages
September: 3,045 pages
October: 3,294 pages
November: 3,522 pages

1. Histoire de la princesse de Montpensier et autres nouvelles by Mme de Lafayette
2. Maria Stuart by Friedrich Schiller
3. Geschichte des Fräuleins von Sternheim by Sophie von La Roche
4. The Life and Adventures of Robinson Crusoe Written by Himself by Daniel Defoe

1. Ein König Lear aus dem Steppenland by Iwan Turgenjew
2. Jezebel's Daughter by Wilkie Collins
3. L'argent by Émile Zola
4. The Queen of Hearts by Wilkie Collins
5. Ellernklipp by Theodor Fontane
6. The Perpetual Curate by Mrs Oliphant
7. A rogue's life by Wilkie Collins
8. Sylvia's Lovers by Elizabeth Gaskell
9. Mary Barton by Elizabeth Gaskell
10. Miss Mackenzie by Anthony Trollope
11. Like and unlike by Mary Elizabeth Braddon
12. Unwiederbringlich by Theodor Fontane
13. Uncle Bernac by Arthur Conan Doyle
14. Liza of Lambeth by W. Somerset Maugham
15. Der Tod des Iwan Iljitsch by Leo N. Tolstoj
16. Die Kreutzer-Sonate by Leo N. Tolstoj
17. Der Teufel and Vater Sergius by Leo N. Tolstoj
18. Miss Marjoribanks by Margaret Oliphant
19. The lifted veil by George Eliot
20. Brother Jacob by George Eliot
21. The dead secret by Wilkie Collins
22. The country of the pointed firs by Sarah Orne Jewett
23. Der verzauberte Wanderer by Nikolaj Leskov

1. Tanzpause by Vicki Baum
2. My brilliant career by Miles Franklin
3. My Ántonia by Willa Cather
4. Der Hahn ist tot by Ingrid Noll
5. I capture the castle by Dodie Smith
6. Knots and crosses by Ian Rankin
7. Death in the Andamans by MM Kaye
8. Cakes and Ale by W. Somerset Maugham
9. Der Untertan by Heinrich Mann
10. Eaters of the dead by Michael Crichton
11. A mind to murder by P.D. James
12. Sir Nigel by Arthur Conan Doyle
13. A place of greater safety by Hilary Mantel
14. Epitaph for a spy by Eric Ambler
15. Chatterton Square by E. H. Young
16. Rendezvous in Paris by Vicki Baum

1. Asterix und der Greif by Jean-Yves Ferri and Didier Conrad
2. Sea of poppies by Amitav Ghosh
3. Carpentaria by Alexis Wright
4. The man in the wooden hat by Jane Gardam
5. Cox oder Der Lauf der Zeit by Christoph Ransmayr
6. Das Nest der Nachtigall by Marco Malvaldi
7. Im Schatten des Turms by René Anour
8. Ich mag keine Bücher. Nie. Niemals. Nie. by Emma Parry
9. Scherbenpark by Alina Bronsky
10. Gallows Thief by Bernard Cornwell
11. Mord auf dem Wilhelmstein by Bodo Dringenberg
12. Days without end by Sebastian Barry
13. Katzentreffen by Eva Demski
14. Die Muskeltiere und Ewig Fünfter by Ute Krause

1. Die Welt im 16. Jahrhundert edited by Peter Feldbauer
2. Catherine the Great : a short history by Isabel de Madariaga
3. The Anarchy by William Dalrymple
4. The corporation that changed the world by Nick Robins
5. Dark Rome : Das geheime Leben der Römer
6. Kulturgeschichte der österreichischen Küche by Peter Peter
7. Das Haus Baden am Bodensee by Casimir Bumiller
8. Maria Stuart by Stefan Zweig
9. Our long walk to economic freedom by Johan Fourie
10. Iron kingdom by Christopher Clark
11. The tales of Peter Parley about Europe by Samuel G. Goodrich
12. The devil's highway by Luis Alberto Urrea
13. 1913 : Der Sommer des Jahrhunderts by Florian Illies
14. Economic backwardness in historical perspective by Alexander Gerschenkron

1. Rehragout-Rendezvous by Rita Falk
2. Der letzte Tod by Alex Beer
3. Die kalte Mamsell by Elsa Dix
4. Slaves and obsession by Anne Perry
5. Ode to a banker by Lindsey Davis
6. Der stumme Tod by Volker Kutscher
7. Der Hund aus Terracotta by Andrea Camilleri
8. Modeste Mignon by Honoré de Balzac
9. Still life by Louise Penny
10. Speaking from among the bones by Alan Bradley
11. The dead in their vaulted arches by Alan Bradley
12. Death of a stranger by Anne Perry
13. Die Wissenschaft des Raubdrucks by Robert Darnton

1. Paris-Brest by Tanguy Viel
2. L'argent by Émile Zola
3. Bel-Ami by Guy de Maupassant
4. Арктур – гончий пес by Jurij P. Kazakov
5. La petite Fadette by George Sand
6. Le grand Meaulnes by Alain-Fournier
7. Contes d'une grand-mère by George Sand
8. La guinguette à deux sous by Georges Simenon
9. Modeste Mignon by Honoré de Balzac
10. Les quatre vies du saule by Shan Sa
11. El misterio del eunuco by José Luis Velasco
12. Chronique du règne de Charles IX by Prosper Mérimée
13. Churchill m'a menti by Caroline Grimm
14. Robur-le-Conquérant by Jules Verne

1. Immer dieser Kater! by Annette Herzog
2. Totentanz im Pulverschnee by Joe Fischler
3. Lolly Willowes by Sylvia Townsend Warner
4. Die Rolle meiner Familie in der Weltrevolution by Bora Ćosić
5. Der Gärtner von Otschakow by Andrej Kurkow
6. Teufelsfrucht by Tom Hillenbrand
7. Shadows of the pomegranate tree by Tariq Ali
8. Der Nachbar by Patrícia Melo
9. Passing by Nella Larsen
10. The touchstone by Edith Wharton
11. Sixteen ways to defend a walled city by KJ Parker

1. Dead Reckoning by C. Northcote Parkinson
2. Black Sheep by Georgette Heyer
3. Der 35. Mai by Erich Kästner
4. Castle Rackrent by Maria Edgeworth
5. Le petit Nicolas a des ennuis by Goscinny/Sempé
6. Stine by Theodor Fontane
7. Tregaron's Daughter by Madeleine Brent
8. Queens' Play by Dorothy Dunnett
9. The siege of Krishnapur by J. G. Farrell

1. Der Hals der Giraffe by Judith Schalansky
2. Flucht übers Watt by Krischan Koch
3. Milchgeld by Volker Klüpfel / Michael Kobr
4. Die Schnelligkeit der Schnecke by Marco Malvaldi
5. Die Romanfabrik von Paris by Dirk Husemann
6. These violent delights by Chloe Gong
7. Still midnight by Denise Mina
8. The namesake by Jhumpa Lahiri
9. Lorettas letzter Vorhang by Petra Oelker
10. Farina Der Parfümeur von Köln by Ina Knobloch
11. Orchis by Verena Stauffer
12. Der stumme Tod by Volker Kutscher
13. Im Schatten des Turms by René Anour
14. Bugles in the afternoon by Ernest Haycox
15. The pursuit of love by Nancy Mitford
16. Die zerbrochene Uhr by Petra Oelker
17. Maroni, Mord und Hallelujah by Manfred Baumann

1. Menschenwerk by Han Kang
2. Warum bist du nicht vor dem Krieg gekommen? by Lizzie Doron
3. Scheunenfest by Nicola Förg
4. Ellbogen by Fatma Aydemir
5. Baba Dunjas letzte Liebe by Alina Bronsky
6. Aufstand der Fischer von St. Barbara by Anna Seghers
7. Der Wald der gehenkten Füchse by Arto Paasilinna
8. Alfons, die Weihnachtsgans by Kari Köster-Lösche
9. Goldstein by Volker Kutscher

1. Coraline by Neil Gaiman and P. Craig Russell
2. Die kalte Mamsell by Elsa Dix
3. Vorbei ist eben nicht vorbei by Kirsten Boie
4. Vivaldi und seine Töchter by Peter Schneider
5. Mord in Sunset Hall by Leonie Swann

Meet Sir Puss. He will keep account of the CATS and KITS. I will just list them here and I have no ambition to read a book for all every month. It if happens, great, if not: so what.

(This is a piece of fabric which my sister made into a bag.)

January MysteryKIT: series
Rehragout-Rendezvous by Rita Falk
Totentanz im Pulverschnee by Joe Fischler
Der letzte Tod by Alex Beer
January Shakespeare: King Lear
Ein König Lear aus dem Steppenland by Iwan Turgenjew
RandomKIT: home
Paris-Brest by Tanguy Viel
My brilliant career by Miles Franklin
January AuthorCAT: indigenous authors
Carpentaria by Alexis Wright
January WomanCAT
Catherine the Great : a short history by Isabel de Madariaga

February AuthorCAT: 19th century
Jezebel's Daughter by Wilkie Collins
L'argent by Émile Zola
The Queen of Hearts by Wilkie Collins
Bel-Ami by Guy de Maupassant
Ellernklipp by Theodor Fontane
February WomanCAT: in translation
Menschenwerk by Han Kang
Warum bist du nicht vor dem Krieg gekommen? by Lizzie Doron
February ShakespeareCAT: romantic comedy
Black Sheep by Georgette Heyer
February RandomKIT: cats
Coraline by Neil Gaiman and P. Craig Russell

March MysteryKIT: small towns, big secrets
Flucht übers Watt by Krischan Koch
Der Hahn ist tot by Ingrid Noll
Milchgeld by Klüpfel / Kobr
Die kalte Mamsell by Elsa Dix
Die Schnelligkeit der Schnecke by Marco Malvaldi
Scheunenfest by Nicola Förg
March AuthorCAT: career started at 40 or later
Der Hahn ist tot by Ingrid Noll
Slaves and obsession by Anne Perry
March SFFKIT: historical
Die Romanfabrik von Paris by Dirk Husemann
These violent delights by Chloe Gong
March ShakespeareCAT
These violent delights by Chloe Gong

April WomanCAT: Women of Colour
Ellbogen by Fatma Aydemir
The namesake by Jhumpa Lahiri
April AuthorCAT: debut novel
Ellbogen by Fatma Aydemir
The namesake by Jhumpa Lahiri
April MysteryKIT: noir
Still midnight by Denise Mina
Knots and crosses by Ian Rankin
April ShakespeareCAT: revenge
Knots and crosses by Ian Rankin
April RandomCAT: April Showers
Death in the Andamans by MM Kaye

May AuthorCAT: from your own country
Baba Dunjas letzte Liebe by Alina Bronsky
Lorettas letzter Vorhang by Petra Oelker
Aufstand der Fischer von St. Barbara by Anna Seghers
Farina Der Parfümeur von Köln by Ina Knobloch
May MysteryKIT: detectives in translation
Das Nest der Nachtigall by Marco Malvaldi
May CATWoman: classics
Aufstand der Fischer von St. Barbara by Anna Seghers
Sylvia's Lovers by Elizabeth Gaskell
May RandomCAT: flowers
Orchis by Verena Stauffer

June CATWoman: set in a city
Mary Barton by Elizabeth Gaskell
Ode to a banker by Lindsey Davis
June MysteryKIT: historical mysteries
Ode to a banker by Lindsey Davis
June ShakespeareCAT: ancient history
Ode to a banker by Lindsey Davis
Dark Rome : Das geheime Leben der Römer by Michael Sommer
June AuthorCAT: non-fiction author
Dark Rome : Das geheime Leben der Römer by Michael Sommer
Kulturgeschichte der österreichischen Küche by Peter Peter
June RandomCAT: Cookin' the books
Kulturgeschichte der österreichischen Küche by Peter Peter

July RandomKIT: Dog Days of Summer
Der Hund aus Terracotta by Andrea Camilleri
July MysteryKIT: Golden Age mysteries
La guinguette à deux sous by Georges Simenon
July AuthorCAT: Asian Authors
Les quatre vies du saule by Shan Sa

August CATWoman: YA
Vorbei ist eben nicht vorbei by Kirsten Boie
Henriettes Heim für schüchterne und ängstliche Katzen by Alicia Potter
Ich mag keine Bücher. Nie. Niemals. Nie. by Emma Parry
Scherbenpark by Alina Bronsky
August AuthorCAT: awards
Vorbei ist eben nicht vorbei by Kirsten Boie
El misterio del eunuco by José Luis Velasco
August RandomKIT: Canada
Still Life by Louise Penny
Speaking from among the bones by Alan Bradley

September AuthorCAT: African authors
Our long walk to economic freedom by Johan Fourie
September CATWoman: women in war
Churchill m'a menti by Caroline Graham
SeptemberRandomKIT: A time to harvest
Chatterton Square by E. H. Young

October RandomKIT: What's in a name
Vivaldi und seine Töchter by Peter Schneider
Der Tod des Iwan Iljitsch by Leo N. Tolstoj
The tales of Peter Parley about Europe by Samuel G. Goodrich
Miss Marjoribanks by Margaret Oliphant
October MysteryKIT: about food
Teufelsfrucht by Tom Hillenbrand
Mord in Sunset Hall by Leonie Swann
October AuthorCAT: in translation
Der Tod des Iwan Iljitsch by Leo N. Tolstoj
Die Kreutzer-Sonate by Leo N. Tolstoj
Der Teufel and Father Sergius by Leo N. Tolstoj
Der Wald der gehenkten Füchse by Arto Paasilinna
Der Nachbar by Patrícia Melo
October CATWoman: women and crime
Die zerbrochene Uhr by Petra Oelker
Mord in Sunset Hall by Leonie Swann
Der Nachbar by Patrícia Melo

November MysteryKIT: Gothic
The lifted veil by George Eliot
Tregaron's Daughter by Madeleine Brent
The dead secret by Wilkie Collins
November WomenCAT: women's issues
Death of a stranger by Anne Perry
Passing by Nella Larsen
The dead secret by Wilkie Collins
November RandomKIT: city
Rendezvous in Paris by Vicki Baum
Sixteen ways to defend a walled city by KJ Parker

December RandomKIT: Christmas Sweets
Maroni, Mord und Hallelujah by Manfred Baumann
December MysteryKIT: Holiday mysteries
Maroni, Mord und Hallelujah by Manfred Baumann
December AuthorCAT: favourite authors
Der verzauberte Wanderer by Nikolaj Leskov

This is probably insane, but I love the Bingo and I'm going for a second round.



1: Rendezvous in Paris by Vicki Baum
3: The tales of Peter Parley about Europe by Samuel G. Goodrich
4: Mord in Sunset Hall by Leonie Swann
5: Chronique du règne de Charles IX by Prosper Mérimée
6: Speaking from among the bones by Alan Bradley
7: Die Muskeltiere und Ewig Fünfter by Ute Krause
8: Death of a stranger by Anne Perry
9: Maria Stuart by Stefan Zweig
10: Passing by Nella Larsen
11: Histoire de la princesse de Montpensier by Mme de Lafayette
13: Der Nachbar by Patrícia Melo
14: Days without end by Sebastian Barry
15: Iron kingdom by Christopher Clark
16: Gallows Thief by Bernard Cornwell
19: Liza of Lambeth by W. Somerset Maugham
20: El misterio del eunuco by José Luis Velasco
22: Vivaldi und seine Töchter by Peter Schneider
23: The Life and Adventures of Robinson Crusoe Written by Himself by Daniel Defoe
24: Stine by Theodor Fontane
25: Die Rolle meiner Familie in der Weltrevolution by Bora Ćosić

Birgit's folly



I have a sad penchant for wanting to participate in every reading challenge that comes my way. Here's where I make room for them.
This is the Monopteros which stands in the English Garden in Munich, a nice example of what the English call a folly. Took me some time to find the photo, and it's hard to believe that it's been seven years since we visited Munich.

And here is the All the Year Round Challenge, pinched from Judy's thread (thank you!)
1. A book with a main character whose name starts with A, T, or Y Black Sheep by Georgette Heyer
2. A book connected to a book you read in 2021 Dead Reckoning by C. Northcote Parkinson
3. A book with 22 or more letters in the title Ein König Lear aus dem Steppenland by Iwan Turgenjew
4. A book that fits a prompt that did not make this list Sylvia's Lovers by Elizabeth Gaskell
5. A book by an author with two sets of double letters in their name Ich mag keine Bücher. Nie. Niemals. Nie. by Emma Parry
6. A book with an image of a source of light on the cover Churchill m'a menti by Caroline Grimm
7. A book set in or about Australia Carpentaria by Alexis Wright
8. Three Books set on different Continents: Book 1 - Europe Le grand Meaulnes by Alain-Fournier
9. Three Books set on different Continents: Book 2 - Asia Menschenwerk by Han Kang
10. Three Books set on different Continents: Book 3 - Africa
11. A book from the genre of historical fiction Sea of poppies by Amitav Ghosh
12. A book related to glass Jezebel's Daughter by Wilkie Collins
13. A book about a woman in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and maths) Der Hals der Giraffe by Judith Schalansky
14. A book with fewer than 5000 ratings on Good Reads Ellernklipp by Theodor Fontane
15. A book without a person on the cover Paris-Brest by Tanguy Viel
16. A book related to Earth Day
17. A book from NPR’s Book Concierge
18. A book by an Asian or Pacific Islander Les quatre vies du saule by Shan Sa
19. A book that involves alternative reality, alternative worlds, alternative history Die Romanfabrik von Paris by Dirk Husemann
20. A fiction or non-fiction book that is set between 1900 - 1951 I capture the castle by Dodie Smith
21. A book with one of the Monopoly tokens on the cover L'argent by Émile Zola
22. A book with a Jewish character or author Warum bist du nicht vor dem Krieg gekommen? by Lizzie Doron
23. A book that features a loving LGBTQIA relationship Still Life by Louise Penny
24. A book related to inclement weather Vorbei ist eben nicht vorbei by Kirsten Boie
25. A book less than 220 pages or more that 440 pages Coraline by Neil Gaiman and P. Craig Russell
26. Two books with the same word in the title - Book 1
27. Two books with the same word in the title - Book 2
28. A book that won an award from Powell's list of book awards
29. A book set on or near a body of water Flucht übers Watt by Krischan Koch
30. A book related to mythology
31. A book published at least 10 years ago My brilliant career by Miles Franklin
32. A book where the main character is a female detective/private eye/police officer Scheunenfest by Nicola Förg
33. The next book in a series Slaves and obsession by Anne Perry
34. A book with an academic setting or with a teacher that plays an important role Die Schnelligkeit der Schnecke by Marco Malvaldi
35. Two books, one related to flora - Book 1 Farina Der Parfümeur von Köln by Ina Knobloch
36. Two books, one related to fauna - Book 2 Henriettes Heim für schüchterne und ängstliche Katzen by Alicia Potter
37. A book that uses all 5 vowels (a,e,i,o,u) in the title or author's name Aufstand der Fischer von St. Barbara by Anna Seghers
38. A book by a Latin American author Der Nachbar by Patrícia Melo
39. A book from the TIME List of 100 Best YA Books of All Time
40. A book related to one of the 22 Major Arcana cards of the Tarot
41. A book with a theme of food or drink Milchgeld by Klüpfel / Kobr
42. A book with a language or nationality in the title
43. A book set in a small town or rural area Rehragout-Rendezvous by Rita Falk
44. A book with gothic elements Im Schatten des Turms by René Anour
45. A book related to a game Gallows Thief by Bernard Cornwell
46. A book with a non-human as one of the main characters Der 35. Mai by Erich Kästner
47. A book with hand writing on the cover Stine by Theodor Fontane
48. A book posted in one of the ATY Best Books of the Month threads in 2021 or 2022
49. A book connected to the phrase, "Here (There) be Dragons"
50. A book that involves aging or a character in their golden years The Queen of Hearts by Wilkie Collins
51. A book published in 2022 Die kalte Mamsell by Elsa Dix
52. A book with a time related word in the title Chronique du règne de Charles IX by Prosper Mérimée

Just for good measure I'm putting the Virago Monthly Challenge here:
Jan – nuns, teachers, governesses: Der Hals der Giraffe by Judith Schalansky
Feb – North American author: My Ántonia by Willa Cathert
Mar – just has one book on the Virago list: I capture the castle by Dodie Smith
Apr – a name in the title: Lolly Willowes by Sylvia Townsend Warner
May – tells the story of a life: Sylvia's Lovers by Elizabeth Gaskell
Jun – book by a Virago author that Virago didn’t publish: Like and unlike by ME Braddon
Jul – a book by an Irish author or set in Ireland: Castle Rackrent by Maria Edgeworth
Aug – a journey:
Sep – family relationships: Chatterton Square by E. H. Young
Oct – now in print with another publisher: Miss Marjoribanks by Margaret Oliphant
Nov – author from Australia:
Dec – haven’t been able to fit into a theme yet--??? leaving this open for last minute whim!

May madness and other lunatic endeavours

The historical fiction challenge reported by NinieB was fun, so I am trying again.

1. Set in the country you're from Die zerbrochene Uhr by Petra Oelker
2. Set in a different country El misterio del eunuco by José Luis Velasco
3. Set in your favourite historical period Gallows Thief by Bernard Cornwell
4. Set in a period you're less familiar with Shadows of the pomegranate tree by Tariq Ali
5. Historical fiction with a speculative element Tregaron's Daughter by Madeleine Brent
6. About a real historical figure or a specific event Chronique du règne de Charles IX by Prosper Mérimée
7. A classic work of historical fiction Histoire de la princesse de Montpensier by Mme de Lafayette
Bonus: a work of historical fiction of over 500 pages Goldstein by Volker Kutscher

I am open for business, please drop in!

Happy new thread, Birgit! The pinching is getting passed around, I'm pinching the all year challenge from you. I don't know how I missed it on Judy's thread.

Happy new thread!

Happy new thread, Birgit! Keep enjoying those challenges!

>17 MissWatson: That's a demanding new challenge!

Happy new thread! You're making great progress on your reading challenges.

>20 Tess_W: Thanks, Tess. It's a perennial on GR (I'm not a member, so I participate vicariously.) The prompts based on US communities can be tough to fill.
>21 rabbitprincess: Thanks, rp!
>22 DeltaQueen50: Hi Judy! As long as I can enjoy stuff like that, life is good.
>23 pamelad: Hi Pam! Yes, but one I approach in a very relaxed frame of mind.
>24 RidgewayGirl: Thanks, Kay. I am bit disappointed with my 18th century, and I'm even less in the mood for books like that in my current predicament.

Keepers / Bingo: favourite author / GR: a hand writing on the cover

Stine is a novella with a similar theme to Irrungen, Wirrungen: a Prussian aristocrat, an invalid of the Franco-Prussian war, has a liaison with a working class girl. In this case though, it's unconsummated, he wants to marry her, and when she refuses, commits suicide. There's much talk of the sun going down in this, so it's pretty obvious where it is going. I like the way Fontane writes conversations, they tell you so much about life in the late 19th century.
The cover of the Ullstein edition which I own is exceedingly ugly in my opinion, but it features a picture of a woman writing, and you can clearly see her hand, so that fills another prompt.

In other news: I'm still positive, and the GP can't say much more than take fluids and wait how it turns out. Which is NOT my strong suit. I think I'll do a little housework today to take my mind off things.

ETA

Happy new thread, and continued covid-thwarting wishes!

>27 Jackie_K: Thanks, Jackie!

In Spanish / AuthorCAT: award-winning / Bingo: award winner / May madness: set in a different country

El misterio del eunuco is a historical mystery set in Muslim Córdoba, written for young adults, and apparently it is very popular in Spanish schools as a reading text. It has also won the Premio Gran Angular, thus it ticks a few boxes and completes my foreign languages category.
The mystery is pretty basic and the reader can guess pretty quickly where things are going. But it was good practice and not too demanding.

Happy new thread!
We work with a supplier in Bavaria, and they've been struggling with the holiday season and increasing covid rates amongst those not on holiday. Hope you're feeling better soon.

>30 Helenliz: Thanks! Yes, the serious lack of staff due to Covid almost daily makes the news. My GP put me on official sick leave, which means that at least my statutory holidays aren't wasted on getting over the infection, but I do hope this is over soon. At least I can still read!

21st century / Bingo: capital city / GR: related to a game / May madness: favourite period

Gallows Thief is a standalone featuring Captain Rider Sandman, charged by the Home Secretary with proving the guilt of Charles Corday, sentenced for killing a countess. So our hero embarks on an investigation into London high society with support from an aristocratic friend and a former sergeant. There's quite a lot of cricket, a detailed description of Newgate hangings, and rich people getting away with murder. Entertaining, but not enough to keep it.

18th century / Bingo: published in a year ending in 2 / May madness: a classic work of historical fiction

Histoire de la princesse de Montpensier is definitely a classic, although not from the 18th century, as it was first published in 1662. That's close enough for my purposes. In modern spelling, this was a surprisingly easy read and short, admittedly. We have some members of the first families in France here against the background of the religious wars of the 16th century, so I was on familiar ground. The sentiments of these people are very much removed from our time and yet understandable. Honour and reputation are much more important for women, and thus it ends badly.
The book also contains Histoire de la comtesse de Tende which is even shorter and less successful. And Histoire d'Alphonse et de Bélasire, an excerpt from Zaide, and this one really got my hackles up. It's told in first person narrative by one of the most self-centred narcississ I've yet encountered who ruins his own life and that of his fiancée by first seducing her into love and then working himself into a pathological case of jealousy because he succeeeded. With the Montpensier story, you have a sense that the main characters live a busy life at court and in the wars; Alphonse has nothing else to do but brood over his feelings.
One thing I noticed in particular is that the author says all her heroines are immensely beautiful, but she gives no detail, thus offering no indication what the prevalent ideal of beauty in her time was.

Okay, and now I would like to know what Stefan Zweig has to say about the Duc de Guise, if he is the one who married Maria Stuart to François...
Or mabye I'll read Mérimée's version of the story.

>33 MissWatson: dropping a lot of names, Birgit! I can't read French, but is the book about the Princess of Cleves? If so, I have that in English on my shelf. Also, I'm a Zweig fan. I'm halfway through his bio on Marie Antoinette and have Joseph Fouché: Portrait of a Politician on my TBR. What Zweig might you be referring to in connection with Duc de Guise?

>31 MissWatson: Yes, I feel the same, at least I can still read! The fatigue and dry cough are my biggest issues now. Best wishes to feel better soon. (I just caught up with your last thread, and we seem to have gotten ill at about the same time. The nights without sleep were awful for us too. Thankfully we had no plans for the days, unlike you, and I am sorry you had to abandon your trip for now.)

I love your Sir Puss graphic for the CATS and Kits. My kitties approve too, especially since my Charlie (aka Charlie Dickens) is known as "Mister Kitty" here.

>34 Tess_W: Yes, that's the Princess of Cleves. And I was hoping to read more about the Guise family in his biography of Maria Stuart, but have been disappointed so far. She's just back in Scotland, and a thoroughly bleak and barbaric place it is after the refinements of the French Royal Court.

>35 LadyoftheLodge: Sir Puss says thank you! He loves to be admired. I am very disappointed about my trip, but I am also very grateful that the symptoms have been mild. Even the cough has become better and I can sleep again. It could have gone another way so easily.

>36 MissWatson: We are also improving a bit each day, and thankful for that too.

Non-fiction / Bingo: non-fiction

Maria Stuart was a follow-up read to Mme Lafayette, but somehow the Guise family barely makes an appearance here. The focus is strictly on Mary and Elizabeth, the men around them remain strangely vague and other women are barely mentioned. For the first 80 pages I didn't warm to the book: too much pompous verbosity, too many repetitions and redundancies, too much murmuring of fate, destiny and the poisoned blood of the Valois. However, once Mary falls for Darnley, he paints a very credible and convincing psychological portrait of her. This part was good, but it cannot fully compensate for a dated view of history and of women.

18th century

Pedants say that a century starts with the year -01, which puts Friedrich Schiller's drama about Maria Stuart just into the 18th century category. Zweig constantly refers to it, because to most Germans at the time it would have been their first encounter with the Scottish queen. Schiller is her partisan and he's somewhat generous with historical facts, but I was surprised to see that he uses some of the same quotes that Zweig mentions in his book.
And now I need a break from serious stuff.

I have decided to cancel my trip to Lake Constance. The tests are negative, but I'm not really up to spending ten hours on a train with a mask, so I'll be taking things easy at home. As a consolation, I went book browsing, and lo and behold, Hugendubel had the bargain bins up. 3 for 12 €, how could I resist?

>40 MissWatson: Good idea to keep resting up rather than travelling for a long time. Book shopping sounds like a good alternative :)

>40 MissWatson: I think that's a wise decision, Birgit - the fatigue post-covid can last quite a few weeks after the period of infection. And I agree with >41 rabbitprincess: - book shopping is an excellent alternative way to make yourself feel better.

>40 MissWatson: Great idea!

>41 rabbitprincess: >42 Jackie_K: >43 Tess_W: Thanks, ladies. Making up my mind has helped a lot, and I plan to spend most of my time reading.

>40 MissWatson: Probably that's the best decision! I went grocery shopping for the first time yesterday and came home absolutely exhausted. I couldn't face such a train ride right now at all. Book shopping and reading sounds like an excellent holiday activity!

>40 MissWatson: I am sorry you had to cancel, but I agree that it was a wise move on your part. Although my hubby and I feel better, the fatigue is still there. I have projects to work on but don't feel like doing much other than reading. You did great with your book browsing! No need to resist.

>45 MissBrangwen: I think so, too. It's a good thing that I only need to cross the street to buy my vegetables at the farmers market.
>46 LadyoftheLodge: Reading makes up for a lot!

Series / Bingo: about sisters or brothers / RandomCAT: Canada

I needed something completely different and fished Speaking from among the bones from the shelf. I bought the book eight years ago, in Munich, but never picked it up for some reason. And I have to say, I was not overwhelmed. Quite a few things struck me as anachronistic, the situation at Bogmore Hall was unnecessarily Gothic, and all of Flavia's running around the village didn't really tie in with the murder, in my opinion. However, since it ends on a real cliffhanger I'll be reading the next episode sooner than later.

>48 MissWatson: I read most of the Flavia novels, but they got to be tiresome after awhile so I broke up with them. I liked the first few much better than the latter ones.

BTW--Negative covid tests for hubby and myself today. Yippee!! (Jumps up and down with glee.)

So sorry you had to miss the trip to Lake Constance. Enjoy your reading.

>49 LadyoftheLodge: Congratulations!

>49 LadyoftheLodge: That's great news!
>50 pamelad: Thanks. I plan to console myself with more bookbrowsing today!

in French / Bingo: in another country / GR: time-related word / May madness: a specific event

I returned to 16th century France with Chronique du règne de Charles IX, first published in 1829, about the Massacre of St. Bartholomew. Apparently, Mérimée much admired Walter Scott's historical fiction and tried his hand at his own country's history. Later critics pointed out anachronisms, but in all I found this very readable and enjoyable, not explicitly gory (which would have been easy given the atrocities reported) and a pleasant surprise.
The plot is a bit disjointed: we meet young Mergy, a Protestant, on his way to Paris to join Coligny's service, in an inn where he meets with a troop of German cavalry, he meets his estranged (because he converted to the old religion) brother in Paris, is introduced to court, has a passionate love affair with a catholic countess who later hides him during the massacre, and then he makes his way in disguise to La Rochelle to help defend the city. The moral of the story lies in young Mergy and his brother finding themselves on opposite sides of the siege and the brother gets killed by Mergy's soldiers, thus bringing the civil war home into the family.

Time for a monthly roundup. Sitting at home meant I read more than usual, but not necessarily for the CATs and KITs. The best book of the month was Scherbenpark, and I truly enjoyed my trip to France, although it was a very dark age. I think I will return to this over the next weeks. Queen's play comes to mind...

Glad you're feeling better.

>54 Helenliz: Thanks, so am I. It's a good thing I have a few days of my vacation left for taking things easy.

>52 MissWatson: Believe it or not, I found this book in translation on Kindle for only $.99! I will pair that with a huge tome Henry, King of France, (Heinrich Mann), and also take myself back to France. I once wrote a college research paper (1970???) concerning the phrase, " Paris is worth a mass."

>56 Tess_W: Enjoy! The notes to my edition pointed out everything Mérimée lifted from the writings of D'Aubigné who is my favourite character in Mann's book.

21st century

I watched a TV travel show the other day where the reporter takes a 1914 Baedeker for Northern Germany as his guide and tries to find out if the landmarks mentioned still exist. He visited the artificial island of Wilhelmstein in the Steinhuder Meer, once a fortress and school of artillery, and I thought: wait, I have a book set there! I bought this because it is almost local history, the lake once belonged to the Counts of Schaumburg-Lippe who resided in Bückeburg where one of my great-uncles lived. And in the book the little independent principality is invaded by Hessen-Kassel, which has two castles named Wilhelmshöhe and Wilhelmsthal which we visit occasionally.
Unfortunately, the book is a mess. The author jumps around in time and between different points-of-view, there are passages in first-person narrative for no apparent reason where you don't know who's talking, and others who are never properly introduced. You can't get a grip on what is going on. Mercifully, it was short, and now it goes into the bin.
ETA: this is Mord auf dem Wilhelmstein.

>58 MissWatson: What a pity! This would have been of local interest to me, too. I like the Steinhuder Meer very much and I grew up in the county of Lippe (not Schaumburg-Lippe, but the one in NRW, but it's the same family I believe). We also visited Bückeburg once, and Wilhelmshöhe is definitely on my list (I haven't heard of Wilhelmsthal so far). But from your descriptions it doesn't not sound like reading the book would be worthwhile.

Happy new thread. Glad you are recovering from Covid, it can take a while to get back to normal. And sorry you missed the trip to Lake Constance even though you got in some good reading.

>53 MissWatson: The Alina Bronsky book sounds good. That's one to watch out for.

>58 MissWatson: oh dear, that doesn't sound like a great read. At least it was only short. We have travel programmes like that, one based on railway travel guides of the Victorian era. It can be interesting to see what they noted about a place and what has survived. It's also instructive to view your area as a tourist, to look at it with fresh eyes occasionally.

>59 MissBrangwen: Would that be Lippe-Detmold? That's on my bucket list for local things to visit. Wilhelmshöhe is spectacular when they turn on the cascades below the statue of Hercules.

>60 VivienneR: Yes, I have noticed that I get tired more easily. And Lake Constance will still be there in two or three years.

>61 Helenliz: I have learned amazing things about the cellars of the town hall in Bremen where they keep some of the oldest wines in Germany.

series

I started The dead in their vaulted arches because the previous book ended on a sort of cliffhanger. Well, things have taken a very unexpected turn, and I don't like it. It's preposterous, in my opinion. Right now I am seriously thinking about abandoning the series.

>62 MissWatson: Yes, it's Lippe-Detmold. I haven't returned in ages because I don't have family there anymore, but Detmold is a beautiful city and the area in general is very nice.
I heard about the cascades and I really wish to see them!

>63 MissWatson: That is what I did, broke up with the series as the later ones became less credible and more yucky.

19th century / Bingo: title contains a Z

Liza of Lambeth was published in 1897, is very short and apparently not typical of Maugham's writing, but I still liked it, it had charm. I own a hardcover containing six of his novels and I plan to read them in chronological order. Unfortunately, it has a huge number of typos which sometimes make a sentence hard to understand, as if whole words or lines were missing.

book bullets / Bingo: in translation

On the occasion of the 90th birthday of Bora Ćosić published a big article about him, naming him one of Serbia's most important modern writers. So for curiosity I brought home Die Rolle meiner Familie in der Weltrevolution. I freely admit that I don't get this. I have no idea how I am to read this or make sense of it. Away it goes.

18th century

Geschichte des Fräuleins von Sternheim was a bestseller in its time and counts as a milestone in the history of German novel writing. It is hard to understand today what a novelty it was in 1771, and the constant weeping and sighing gets a bit annoying. But it was fun to see how much the German language has changed since then.

Book bullets

The name of Andrej Kurkow is on most lists of recommended authors from Ukraine, and I finally picked up Der Gärtner von Otschakow. We meet Igor and his mother who hire Stepan to work in their garden. He has no papers and a somewhat shady past, and when Igor starts exploring this, he ends up travelling to the past, the year 1957, to be exact...
This is a bit odd, but a very good read.

non-fiction / September AuthorCAT

Our long walk to freedom didn't quite live up to expectations, the book is written for non-economists in very short chapters and sometimes simplistic. There's also not enough about Africa, but what there is is good. The author is South African, so I'm adding him to the AuthorCAT this month.

>58 MissWatson: Too bad the book wasn't very good, but the TV show sounds interesting. I've visited various parts of Germany but have not travelled much in Northern Germany except for a business trip in Rostock many years ago. I would love to make another visit to the area.

>71 mathgirl40: These regional mysteries are very much hit-and-miss, as their authors often let their enthusiasm for local history run away with them. But if I look up things or people mentioned in the book and thus learn something new, I consider it time well-spent.
The whole of Northern Germany has been very popular these last two years for people who didn't want to spend their holidays abroad, to the point where the locals start grumbling about being overrun. But it is a lovely area!

Non-fiction / Bingo: long book

It's taken me a long time to finish Iron kingdom, but it was worth the time. Also interesting to read this at a time when the BBC channel I get on TV was full of the history of the British monarchy and how much of the ritual was invented in the 19th century; there were quite a few parallels.

in French / September CATWoman / GR: source of light on the cover

The bookmark in Churchill m'a menti tells me I bought this in Granville during our holidays in Normandy. The provocative title (Churchill lied to me) caught my eye, and the subject matter looked interesting: the German occupation of Jersey which I know little about. It turns out the author was ignorant, too, until her father talked to her about reading Churchill's memoirs and told her that his brother had been a prisoner of the camp on Alderney. So this is partly about the author learning about her own family history (who were Jewish on her father's side) and about a chapter of Anglo-French relations that has been pretty much swept under the carpet.
So, the subject matter is serious, but the author's method of tackling it is highly problematic. She arranges her material chronologically, seen from different viewpoints, most of them women, who all tell their story in a first-person narrative. Everything is fictionalised, but given that on a small island verybody knows everybody, each of these persons could be related to their counterpart in real life – which either presents them in a wrong light or denounces them when they can no longer defend themselves. The use of a first-person narrative feels especially wrong in the cases of the two people who kill themselves – to whom exactly would they have been telling their story?
The author herself also makes an appearance, recounting her research and visit on the island, and for this, too, she uses a fictitious name. The whole thing leaves a bad aftertaste.
And now the explanation for the title: the French edition of Churchill's book that her father was reading showed a map of the Channel Islands close to France (which, of course, is where they are), and he chose to interpret it as Churchill pretending them to be French, not a part of the United Kingdom, so that he could say the UK had never been invaded after 1066. I find that a very odd argument, and it slightly mars the valid point she makes elsewhere in the book when she relates how her great-uncle's wife had to fight both the French and British authorities to be recognised as the widow of a man deported and persecuted for political reasons.

20th century / September RandomKIT / Virago September: families

Chatterton Square shows us two families, one happy, one not so happy, and how limited the options for women were in the first half of the 20th century. The "basso continuo" of the novel is the menace of war that hangs over their lives. The author never names places or people, but to those who know their history it's obvious we are approaching the Munich Agreement, and that's where the book ends. Reading this now, with the world going up in flames in so many places, is – unsettling, to say the least.
What I really loved about the book is the relationship between Rosamund Fraser and her friend Agnes Spanner.

>75 MissWatson: I look forward to this book after your review--this one and Celia are my last E. H. Young novels to read published by Virago. I have loved all of her books that I've read, except The Vicar's Daughter.

>76 kac522: I had only read Miss Mole before this, which I loved. I am certainly looking for more!

My sister has arrived for a long weekend, so I won't be spending much time here over the next days. See you on Tuesday!

Enjoy the time with your sister!

Have a great time and enjoy the long weekend!

Have a lovely weekend with your sister, Brigit!

New books / Bingo: love to see this as a movie / RandomKIT: what's in a name

Vivaldi und seine Töchter caught my eye among the new releases and since Vivaldi is one of my favourite composers I had to buy it, of course. It is billed as a novel, which it is not in my opinion. It is dedicated to Michael Ballhaus, the cinematographer, who would have loved to create images for Vivaldi's music, and this book grew from a joint project with the author who was going to write the script for such a movie. He tells of his research into Vivaldi's life, there are fictional bits which presumably would have been in the movie, and we learn a lot about Vivaldi's career. The project fell through because Ballhaus went blind and died before they could find funding.
This has lots of interesting stuff, especially since the author plays the violin himself and his father initiated a festival for baroque music. So I'm going to keep this for a while and listen to some of the music he describes and explains here, especially the operas. He also names his sources and some of them look truly fascinating, such as the books about the rediscovery of the composer's work.

>79 Tess_W: >80 MissBrangwen: >81 DeltaQueen50: Thank you, we had a lovely time, although it started badly: it took her eleven hours to arrive because of an accident with a truck, they closed off the autobahn for salvage and they were stuck there for hours until they got traffic rerouted. Sheer chaos. Ah well, she arrived safely, the weather was better than we hoped for and we even went to a book sale organised by the Friends of a local library. No reading done during the last days, and it will take me ages to catch up with the threads :-).

ETC

>83 MissWatson: glad you had a good weekend once your sister arrived.
I feel your pain on the catching up. I was on holiday last week and I'm still making my way back round threads!

>84 Helenliz: I saw the picture on your thread and was so jealous!

Book bullets / MysteryKIT: about food

Teufelsfrucht is the first in a series of mysteries recommended to me by my sister. It features Xavier Kieffer, who runs a small restaurant in the city of Luxemburg. We start off in Papua New Guinea where a food scout hopes to discover a novel ingredient for haute cuisine, then a restaurant critic dies in Xavier's restaurant and suddenly a mighty food conglomerate is involved – the kind who always tries to replace natural ingredients with substitutes made from animal leftovers and other garbage. Not to be read after you've had a meal bought from the deep freezer.

21st century / Bingo: a book club read

I chose Days without end for the Monthly Author Reads, that's close enough to a book club for me. Barry is an author I knew nothing about, and I am very pleased with my new discovery. The subject matter is rather bleak, and Thomas McNulty's narrative voice takes some time to get used to, but it is great.

19th century / AuthorCAT: in translation / RandomKIT: what's in a name

It's been forty years since I read Der Tod des Iwan Iljitsch for my final thesis at university and I had forgotten all the details. Such a masterful portrait of a life packed into a mere 80 pages. But I have no idea where my Russian copy has gone. Getting rid of books is so dangerous, there always comes a day when you regret it.

>88 MissWatson: Isn't it a pleasure to re-read a great book? How interesting that it was for your final thesis!

I've been meaning to re-read this, as there's a group read this quarter here: https://www.librarything.com/topic/344862#

...although there hasn't been much activity.

And yes, getting rid of books can be dangerous, but lately for me it's out of sight, out of mind...

>89 kac522: Hi Kathy! I saw that thread, and it prompted me to pick this up for a re-read. My thesis was more of the linguistic type, counting verbs and such, which is why I didn't appreciate the content enough. I have also decided to re-read it in Russian because my translated version differed much from one I found online, and it made me curious. Hopefully it arrives today so I can spend the weekend with it. I'm a bit worried that my Russian has grown too rusty over the years.

I'm (also) very behind on the threads, apologies for not visiting sooner.

I have Chatterton Square on the TBR pile but reading your comments re the link to current times I'm wondering if I won't just leave it there a little longer. I do love its new British Library edition - a beautiful looking book series.

>91 charl08: Thanks for dropping in! I bought Chatterton Square because of that lovely edition and I wish they would publish more of her books.

19th century / AuthorCAT: in translation

Next story in the book is Die Kreutzer-Sonate which proved to be one of those works I don't really like. Yes, an excellent depiction of an unhappy marriage and male jealousy, but his ideas on sexuality and women just don't work for me.

As usual I'm trying to catch up with threads that grow faster than I can read them!

>75 MissWatson: I'm glad you posted your opinion of Chatterton Square, which I'm adding to my wishlist. I've enjoyed everything I've read by E.H. Young, which admittedly hasn't been a lot.

>94 VivienneR: Hello! I am looking forward to finding more of her books, I really enjoy her writing, too.

19th century / AuthorCAT: in translation

I have also finished Der Teufel and Vater Sergius, both are rather short and involve too much male soul-searching for my patience. I think I can part with this without regrets.

Lots of bookish news in Wednesdays FAZ: a review of Tomás Nevinson, Javier Marías' last book, very favourable. And I still haven't read what I've got on the shelves!
The gates of Europe has been translated into German, I want to read this, but can I really find the headspace for it in dark, long, depressing winter nights?
And an interview with Irene Vallejo about her surprise bestseller Papyrus. This is right up my street, I hope to find the original Spanish edition...which is probably going to be very expensive. I notice book prices imported from the UK have gone up drastically.

Okay, by accident (while looking up Tolstoy's Devil, actually) I have stumbled across a Publishers series, The Art of the Novella https://www.librarything.com/nseries/256438/The-Art-of-the-Novella.
Now, this looks like a promising reading project!

>97 MissWatson: The Gates of Europe is languishing on my shelf. I know that now is the time to read it, but I just can't find the gumption for it!

>99 Tess_W: There are quite a few books that I haven't got the courage to read right now. Sometimes I want to stick my head in the sand and read something frothy.

>97 MissWatson: I ran across a review of Papyrus by Irene Vallejo a few weeks ago and pre-ordered it with birthday money. Once I look it over I may buy it for a friend's birthday present in January too. I should have it next week (released in U.S. Oct 18) but I don't think I'll read it until after the first of the year.

>98 MissWatson: Yes, it is a wonderful series. I have at least one book not on the LT list--The Poor Clare by Elizabeth Gaskell--I'll need to figure how to add it. (ETA: figured it out--it's on the list now).

To see the Melville House full line: https://www.mhpbooks.com/series/the-art-of-the-novella/

For example, The Poor Clare is a "Melville House Hybrid Book", and the publisher has additional materials on their website about the book (background, biography of the author, letters, reviews, etc.)

>102 clue: I probably won't lay my hands on it for quite some time, but I'll keep a look out for your comments!
>103 kac522: Thanks for that info, Kathy, I've added Gaskell to my list and will check out that link. Right now I'm thinking about including this in my 2023 challenge...

We're having another spectacular day of sunshine and I took a short trip to Eckernförde where they held a jumble sale. Turns out it was more antiques than junk, so I came away empty-handed but spent a wonderful hour sitting on the beach. The only drawback were the trains: some were cancelled because the drivers reported in sick (probably Covid, it's going round). Luckily I had provided myself with a book!

Book bullets / May madness: a period you're less familiar with

Shadows of the pomegranate tree was a BB from Judy (DeltaQueen) and a very interesting read. Set in the year 1500, it shows the reaction of one Muslim family to the Reconquista and the growing repression demanded by the Catholic church, which manifests itself in the burning of Arabic books in Granada.
I'm not really familiar with the time, and I wish the author had given us some information about his sources. He strikes me as biased in his own way. (Which means I'll have to do some follow-up reading).
What I find remarkable are the similarities between the Moorish and the Castilian nobility: outdated ideas of chivalry, a disdain for people in trade and their offspring brought up in pampered luxury. I also seriously doubt that tomatoes, potatoes and chillies were a staple food in Moorish families at this time.

Non-fiction / Bingo: a gift / RandomKIT: what's in a name

The tales of Peter Parley about Europe is a slim volume which was produced as a promotional give-away by Diogenes publishers in 1982, a facsimile reproduction of a collection of anecdotes about numerous European countries, first published in 1828. My friend received this as a gift when she worked in a bookstore and presented it to me, so it's a double gift. Quite entertaining, actually.

And this fills the non-fiction category.

>106 MissWatson: I think you are correct about the foodstuffs. I know that the chillies were brought to Spain by Columbus and the tomatoes from Mexico when the conquistadors returned. (at least that's what they teach us in American textbooks!) This would have been 1500 at the very earliest, so their cultivation and spread would not have been that quick. Not sure about the potatoes, though. I do remember reading something, though, that the potato was not widely accepted in Europe for decades after their introduction.

>108 Tess_W: Yes, that was my memory, too. Tomatoes from Mexico, so not before Cortés got there (who has a cameo in the book). The Spaniards were among the earliest who actually cultivated potatoes at home, but it took them quite some time to figure out how to grow them successfully. Or so I learned from a cookbook.

From the bargain bins / AuthorCAT: in translation

It's very difficult to characterise Arto Paasilinna's books: clueless men having weird adventures in the Finnish wilderness might be one way to do it. In Der Wald der gehenkten Füchse we have a criminal who masterminded a gold theft from the National bank, double-crosses the two men who committed the actual crime and goes on the run when the more brutal of the two gets released from prison. In the woods he runs into a major of the Finnish army whose career has stalled because of excessive drinking and they spend several months keeping house in an abandoned cabin in the woods. Enter a ninety-year old Sami woman on the run from social services who want to put her into a nursing home for the elderly...
Weird, but fun. This is one of his earlier books, from the eighties, so no cell phones or other technology we now take for granted.

Leaving the house / CATWoman: women and crime / May madness: set in my own country

Die zerbrochene Uhr is a historical mystery set in 1768 Hamburg. A teacher of the Johanneum gymnasium has been stabbed and our trusted team of merchant, police officer and theatre actress start sleuthing. The case is close to home, as the merchant's son attends the school.
The case falls a bit flat, as it revolves around a big inheritance that only comes to light towards the end. But these mysteries are read for the things you learn about Hamburg, and here it delivers in spades. Lots of real people cross our heroes' path, like Lessing or Bode, and CPE Bach has just taken up his post as the city's musical director. There are also decent maps and notes about real people and events. And I love the covers, this one shows the front entrance of the building where the murder takes place.

19th century / RandomKIT: what's in a name / Virago October

Miss Marjoribanks is part of the Carlingford Chronicles and features a heroine unlike any I've yet met in Victorian fiction. It also offers a very bleak view of marriage and gentlemen in general. Quite unusual.

>112 MissWatson: Miss Marjoribanks was my favourite book in the Carlingford series because of its humorously entertaining heroine: well-meaning, good-humoured and completely full of herself.

>111 MissWatson: Oh, I love mysteries like that with rich details about a place. And maps are a definite bonus. Beautiful cover, too.

>113 pamelad: Yes, she's so sure and proud of herself, unlike all the other wet blankets in Victorian fiction.
>114 charl08: And it's always fun to compare her descriptions to what the city looks like now.

>112 MissWatson: The Carlingford Chronicles sits on my shelf and I hope to read them as my 2023 reading series project!

New books / CATWoman / MysteryKIT / Bingo: features a dog

Mord in Sunset Hall caught my eye in the bookshop and the blurb looked promising. It's about a group of senior citizens who live together in a big house somewhere in the English countryside. They get into trouble when the old lady in the manor, a friend of Agnes Sharp who owns the house they live in, is killed by the same gun that has been used on one of their own residents. Agnes decides to investigate on their own. They don't trust the police for several reasons...
The plot advances slowly, at the speed of the turtle they keep and their own, handicapped as they are with arthritis and other ailments. We slowly learn that most of them have been in law enforcement or espionage and have had rather sharp minds, but they are diminishing now and their biggest fear is to be found out and packed off into a nursing home.
Food plays an interesting role here, they are much preoccupied with it, and the chapters are named for a food or a drink. There's also an Irish wolfhound, besides the turtle.
The most remarkable thing about this book, though, is the author's deliberate decision to set this in England (where she lives herself), and yet the only English words in this are the names of people and places. Usually, these "Fernwehkrimis" (mysteries set in favourite holiday destinations) give you heaps of local phrases and customs to make you feel inside the place. Not so here. It's Frau Sharp, always, and Frau Inspektorin for the police officer. It gives a very strange atmosphere to the book. Especially when it comes to baked goods. "Hefezopf" is not something I've come across in English cookbooks.
(Look here if you want to know what it is in Germany: https://www.swrfernsehen.de/kaffee-oder-tee/rezepte/hefezopf-102.html. And let me know what you call it in England)

>111 MissWatson: I have the "Christmas special" of this series on my shelf (Drei Wünsche), but I did not know that this is a crime series when I bought that one. I totally agree about the covers, and I think the Christmas book was a cover buy!

>117 MissWatson: This sounds very strange indeed!

>117 MissWatson: Not sure, not something I'd expect to see in a standard bakery. Maybe the seniors were eating in a German café?
(!) Looks delicious though!

>117 MissWatson: Looks a bit like a fruit bread or a tea loaf. But they do tend to be loaf shaped (for want of a better description!) Not terribly common, no.
I mean, I wouldn't turn it down, but it's not usual cafe fare.

>118 MissBrangwen: Oh, In have not yet come across the Christmas book! One to look for.
>119 charl08: The charwoman bakes for them. It's a bit like brioche, with less butter, I think.
>120 Helenliz: We usually have it for breakfast when we rent the apartment during our North Sea holidays. It's perfect for jam.

Book bullets / AuthorCAT: in translation / CATWoman: women and crime / Bingo: read a CAT / GR: Latin American author

Der Nachbar was aspontaneous buy because I had read a favourable review of the author's mysteries in my newspaper. She's Brazilian and the story is set in Sao Paulo. A teacher is driven nearly insane by noise when a new neighbour moves into the apartment directly above him and things deteriorate very quickly...It's told in first-person narrative, and the description of what is going on in his mind is quite brilliant. To say more would be spoilering. Definitely an author to look out for.

I just baked a few cookies to take to my sister's tomorrow. I'm spending a few days with her. See you soon!

Have a great time with your sister! What kind of cookies did you bake? :D

Have a good time and enjoy the cookies!

Have a great time with your sister - and hope you both enjoy the cookies.

>124 rabbitprincess: My simplest Christmas cookies: raisins steeped in whisky for at least 24 hours, walnuts, almonds, and a bit of dough to keep everything in shape. Lots of cinnamon, too.
>125 MissBrangwen: Thanks! It was her birthday, so there was also plenty of cake!
>126 Helenliz: They are her favourites, and only privileged people are allowed to nibble. I kept some back for myself...

21st century

I actually managed to read a book during my visit, one of my sister's birthday presents. Katzentreffen is a short collection of stories and poems the author wrote about the cats in her life, illustrated by some snarky pictures by an artist who has a regular weekly strip in the FAZ. A bit of fluff, but very enjoyable.

>127 MissWatson: the cookies sound wonderful!

21st century / Bingo: children's book

Die Muskeltiere und Ewig Fünfter is the latest instalment in a series about five rodents who live together below a delicatessen in Hamburg, sharing the leftovers from the kitchen every night. This time they have picked up a lost egg from which hatches and they also have to go up against a bad guy who threatens to throw their food provider out of the house and her job. Cute, as always.

18th century / Bingo: travel or journey

Decades ago I read Robinson Crusoe in an abridged version for children. Now I finally tackled the original, in the form of a pretty little bibliophile edition. The illustrations by Cruikshank look familiar, I think some appeared in my kids' version. I am pretty sure that all mention of slave-trading was excised for the kids, and the earlier episodes in his life were new to me. The old-fashioned language takes some getting used to, but it is a remarkable story. And some very modern thinking, on occasion.

19th century / MysteryKIT: Gothic

The lifted veil is a strange little novella, told in the first person which is unusual for George Eliot. A crime is planned, but not committed.

>132 MissWatson: Next up for me!

>133 Tess_W: I'm looking forward to your comments. It was not at all what I expected.

Series / WomanCAT: women's issues / Bingo: silver on the cover

The lot of women in Victorian England is one the main ingredients in Anne Perry's Monk series, and I finally got around to the 13th book, Death of a stranger. Rather disappointing, to be honest, maybe I'm just getting tired of the series. The first part dragged interminably, there's too much repetition, and the solution was presented deus ex machina-like in the trial. We learn some important things about Monk's past, but the road towards it was far too stony.
I've got one more on the shelves, but I probably won't bother to acquire the next volumes.

Book bullets / WomanCAT / Bingo: name of a friend

I have seen Passing reviewed repeatedly on LT, and when I saw this in a bookstore recently I picked it up. It really is a remarkable read and I'm glad I finally got round to this.

>136 MissWatson: on my TBR...hopefully can get to it in 2023!

>136 MissWatson: Yes, it has so much packed into a small volume.

>137 Tess_W: It is short, but very intense.
>138 kac522: It's certainly worth a re-read some time, in an edition with more explanatory detail.

from the bargain bins

Alfons, die Weihnachtsgans was an impulse buy because it is set on the hallig of Langeness, close to the island of Föhr where we take our North Sea holidays. The author lives on Langeness and shows us some customs of Christmastide, tied in with a nice story about a goose saved from being slaughtered for the holiday dinner. Fluff, but very pleasantly done.

Never leave the house / MysteryKIT: Gothic / May madness: speculative element

A tagmash search with Gothic and mystery brought up Tregaron's Daughter, the first of a couple of historical romances written by Peter O'Donnell under a female pseudonym. No doubt he would be pilloried for this today, and it's a bit sad to think how much imagination and yes, empathy, we are losing.
Anyway, I loved these books when I was a teenager and read them as romances. But they are defiintely mysteries, too, and very Gothic, when we go to Venice and meet the heroine's sinister uncle. All the author's heroines have unusual backgrounds and are very courageous – much like his best-known creation Modesty Blaise.

19th century

Another short lunch read was Brother Jacob which was unexpectedly funny in its satirical portrait of small town society.

Book bullets

I forget where I saw The touchstone mentioned, but when it turned up in the "The Art of the Novella" list, I went to look for a digitised copy. These short works are ideal for lunch break reading.
An interesting psychological study of self-loathing for a shameful act, but the social norms feel dated. I also got impatient with her elaborate style quite a few times, she uses so many images that they crowd each other out.

>143 MissWatson: Yes, that one is an early work and I felt the influence of Henry James in the writing style.

>144 kac522: Ah, thanks. I haven't read much Henry James – yet. Obviously an author to save for my leisure days. Lunch breaks at work need something snappier.

>145 MissWatson: 😆 Love it--Mr James definitely is not snappy!

19th century / CATWoman: women's issues / MysteryKIT: Gothic

The dead secret was published shortly before The woman in white, and while it is a nice example of Victorian Gothic, it suffers from too much predictability. It is obvious to the seasoned reader what the secret is, although we have to wait more than 200 pages before we are told. Sarah Leeson is too much in the mould of overwrought nervous wrecks to gain my sympathy, but I do concede that she is much put upon.
The introduction in the OUP edition was less than stellar, and so I'm passing it on, keeping the facsimile Dover Thrift edition which has some nice illustrations.

We've had our first snow. It started last night and when I looked out at 6 a.m. today, the world was white. It's too warm to last, but still...what a great reason to stay home and read!

>148 MissWatson: How beautiful! It started snowing here about half an hour ago. It looks so pretty and gives me all the cozy vibes.

>149 MissBrangwen: And I am so surprised that it didn't all melt away instantly! It actually inspired me to bake some Christmassy cookies.

20th century / RandomKIT: city / Bingo: published the year you joined LT

Rendezvous in Paris was re-published in 2012, in the reformed spelling which looks weird in a book from the 1930s. She wrote this in 1933 when she was in California while the Nazis were burning her books.
It has an interesting concept which she borrowed apparently from a novel by Gina Kaus (note to self: track down!). It takes place over a few days, and the events of each day are told from three different viewpoints: that of Frank, Evelyn and Evelyn's husband Kurt. It has a certain breathlessness, things are taking place at accelerated speed, crammed into few hours, and offers a fabulous glimpse of life in Berlin and Paris at the time. It's a good thing that her books are being re-issued, I'm going to treat myself.

>151 MissWatson: I don't know much about Vicki Baum other than that I have a copy of Grand Hotel. I stopped at an estate sale earlier this year because BOOKS was included on the flyer. This was in a house that was at one time a great beauty but hadn't been kept up and would be demolished. I only bought this one book from the large library because most had water damage. It was a sad thing to see. I'll put this on my list for early next year.

>151 MissWatson: Rendezvous in Paris looks interesting so I've been looking for a copy. I've found only German editions so hope that more of her books will be republished in English. My copy of Hotel Berlin is from 1944, and Shanghai '37 is a second-hand academic reprint. Both were breathlessly melodramatic, but well worth reading for the depiction of life in wartime Berlin and Shanghai. Grand Hotel is much easier to find, so I've put it on the wish list.

It was already there!

>152 clue: Oh, that is a pity! Grand Hotel is one I have no memory of reading, but I'm planning to look for it when I see my sister this weekend. I'm sure there'll be a copy among the donations, as it was one of the most-bought books in the German bookclubs in the 60ies.

>153 pamelad: There's some renewed interest in women authors from that period here in Germany, I wonder how long it will last. I hope to make room for her memoir soon.

Non-fiction

I wish I could have liked The devil's highway better, as it tells an important story. But I found it confusing and strangely disorganised.

19th century

Another entry on the list of the Art of the Novella is The country of the pointed firs which introduced me to a new author. Her descriptions of Maine are wonderful.

>156 MissWatson: Isn't that a wonderful little book? I just discovered it this year, too, although I didn't realize it was in the Art of the Novella list. It felt like an American Cranford in a way, except set on the ocean.

>156 MissWatson: I wanted to add this to the WL, but it was already there!

>157 kac522: Yes, it is. I particularly liked the comments on how the seafaring life broadened people's minds, and how the decline of the industry turned the small communities more into themselves.

>158 MissBrangwen: Ha!

>156 MissWatson: Thanks for the BB. It was a free download!

>156 MissWatson: Jewett is in almost all American high school textbooks, mostly short stories. I have The Tory Lover and The Country Doctor on my tbr....must get to them soon!

>161 Tess_W: Glad to hear she is included now; her work certainly wasn't in my Midwest high school texts some 50+ years ago.

>160 LadyoftheLodge: Enjoy!
>161 Tess_W: I'm definitely looking for more.
>162 kac522: It's good to know that curricula change.

Book bullets / RandomKIT: city

I'm back from a short visit to my sister and didn't spend much time reading. However, since rail travel is growing ever more unreliable, I was able to finish Sixteen ways to defend a walled city on the train. Sadly, I didn't make a note where I got hit by this particular BB, but I am very, very grateful. It made me care less about the atrocious train ride!

>164 MissWatson: That's a shame about the train, especially now that we all want to avoid planes because of climate change. When I'm overseas, trains are my favourite way of travelling. In Australia they're a slow way to cover such large distances but picking up in popularity because flights are expensive and unreliable due to the pandemic.

>165 pamelad: I really used to love train travel, it was reliable, comfortable and gave you time to read or just watch the countryside. Right now, it's a mess. But I may live to see the benefit of all the maintenance being done after having neglected it for decades.

Bargain bins / May madness

Goldstein is the third in a series of historical mysteries set in Berlin in the early 20th century. It's now 1931, and our police officer is detailed to observe an American gangster signalled by US police forces. It turns out he's merely come to meet his dying grandfather, but it's possible we may meet him again in 1936, the author lays a trail here. There's also a young girl bent on revenge after her partner in thieving has been killed by a uniformed police officer, and of course their paths cross eventually. To be honest, at 574 pages this is too long, and Rath's relationship with his girlfriend takes up too much room. But it's quite atmospheric in its description of Weimar Berlin, and I'm pretty sure we'll meet the bad guy again.

Non-fiction

1913 : Der Sommer des Jahrhunderts looks at the lives of artists in the year before the Great War, month by month. It's the kind of book you should read in instalments, otherwise it becomes a bit repetitive. And to be honest, I've had my doubts about Rilke before this, but here he comes across as a real wimp, whining and complaining all the time and gladly sponging off the women in his life. And he's not the only one I would happily avoid. As for the painters, some of them were obviously lunatics.

Leaving the house / MysteryKIT / RandomKIT

I am not much in the habit of reading Christmas-themed books, but Maroni, Mord und Hallelujah caught my eye because it is set in Salzburg. Four stories featuring detectives from a series which seems worth seeking out on the strength of these. One of them is drafted into the jury for a Christmas cookie baking competition, and I learned that the Austrians say "das Keks" instead of "der Keks" (and in my neck of the woods we make a distinction between Keks, which are store-bought, and Plätzchen, which are home-made).
And we learned quite a lot about the customs for the Twelve Nights, or Rauhnächte, in the Salzburg region.

Non-fiction

Economic backwardness in historical perspective caught my eye because some review mentioned that he suggested novels as a source for economic information about Soviet Russia. This is a collection of essays about industrialisation, and how it happened differently in different countries because of structural differences. I skimmed these and went straight to the two essays where he dissects recent Soviet novels for what they tell the reader about the reality of Soviet industrial production. Quite entertaining, actually, but the books he cites can be safely left unread.
The real meat was in the last essay, his analysis of Doctor Zhivago. He regrets that the scandal around the Nobel Prize put the book in the hands of too many people who knew nothing about Russia and would therefore misunderstand it. He himself sees it as a return to proper literary language, not the newspeak of Stalinism, and also as a swansong of the Russian intelligentsia. Poetry matters more than the action of the novel, and for a proper understanding of it you would need to be familiar with the poems of Alexander Blok. Quite the intellectual challenge, then. I hope I remember this if ever I get around to the book. And he has nothing but praise for the translation by Max Hayward and Manya Harari. Nitpickers like Edmund Wilson may have found a few mistakes, they count for nothing when held against the many difficult problems they solved brilliantly.

>170 MissWatson: Doctor Zhivago is in the top 5 of my favorite books of all time. It was Paternak's only novel. He was a celebrated poet and that even shows through in the novel. I am unaware of Alexander Blok, but will have to take a look see.

>171 Tess_W: I have a hard time "getting" poetry, so I've never really read Akhmatova, Mandelstam, Blok or any of the famous greats. But I think that would be essential reading for the time.

>172 MissWatson: I also have a hard time "getting" poetry!

>164 MissWatson: Sounds good, I've added it to the wishlist this morning. Looking at the catalogue, my library has a copy, so that's handy.

>174 charl08: One of the things I enjoyed most about it was trying to figure out his inspiration for his empire. It has a very Byzantine feel to it.

Books to keep

Queens' Play turned out to be rather hard work, as you have to look up so many things to understand the conversations. And the first part dragged, that steeplechase across the roofs was way too long and tedious. Still, I can see myself re-reading this some time.

>176 MissWatson: I've got Dunnett's The Game of Kings on my shelf but have not yet been inspired to read it. Can't remember why I was inspired to buy it!

>177 Tess_W: She certainly knows her history.

>177 Tess_W: Ha! Good to know I am not alone in buying books and then wondering why I did.

Books to keep

Inside The siege of Krishnapur I found a clipping from the Neue Zürcher Zeitung with a review of his work which tells me I've owned this for at least thirty years. Why, oh why didn't I read this sooner? It doesn't really tell you anything new about the Indian Mutiny, but it gives a wonderfully sardonic picture of the English and how some of their certitudes crumble. It would have been a perfect read for the January 2023 RandomKIT. Maybe his other books will turn out to be just as good?

ETC

In French

It's always fascinating how some books will send you down a rabbit hole. I was intrigued to see that the Empire in Sixteen ways to defend a walled city was built by a people called the Robur, which instantly put me in mind of a novel by Jules Verne: Robur-le-Conquérant. Alas, it sheds little light on why Parker should have chosen this name for his book, unless it be that Verne's character is a gifted engineer?
It is one of Verne's less successful efforts, about the rivalry between the men who dream of aviation by balloon or by flying machines. He proposes a machine flying by an arrangement of vertical propellers, almost like a helicopter, and we spend more than 200 pages flying across the world, dazzled by numbers: speeds, heights, longitudes, latitudes. The technical babble is boring, the characters mere ciphers (and his attitude towards black people offensive to modern readers), and there's barely any action. Ah well, can't win them all.

>180 MissWatson: The Siege of Krishnapur is one of my favourite books, so I'm so glad you liked it. Troubles is also excellent.

Delighted to find I have The Siege of Krishnapur and Troubles. Both have been languishing on the shelf for a long time!

>182 pamelad: I won't get to it this year, time's running out on me. But next year for sure!
>183 VivienneR: I can wholeheartedly recommend the first and I am eager to get to the second.

Non-fiction

The only benefit of monitoring my library's Twitter account that I can see is that I learn about unusual sources for free online reading. In this case a series of the Carl Friedrich von Siemens Foundation which publishes lectures given at their invitation, now available in open access. Die Wissenschaft des Raubdrucks caught my eye, about the illegal bookprinting and -trading in the 18th century. Darnton uses the archive of the Société typographique de Neuchâtel to show us the economics of this business, and it is fascinating. I am now looking for The Business of Enlightenment.

19th century / AuthorCAT: favourite authors

Leskov was a late discovery for me, but I've liked everything I've read. The enchanted wanderer features on many lists, including the Art of the Novella. This one reads like a Russian picaresque, and the one thing that strikes me most is how commonplace violence is, and nobody seems to think it odd. The serfs get beaten, legal punishment is given as beatings, and so on. Animal lovers should be warned that horses are treated abominably, too. Yet Ivan takes everything in his stride and never loses his optimism.
I'm sure you can read a lot into this. I think I want to read a bit more about Leskov before I make up my mind about this.

ETC

>180 MissWatson: been on my TBR for quite some time. I hope to get to it in 2023! Glad you enjoyed it!

>187 Tess_W: I hope you will, too, Tess!

Well, it looks like my train will be running, so I am off LT for the next two weeks.

Wishing Happy Holidays to all my fellow LTers and I hope to see you all safe and sound in January!