#WeeklyFavorites

Fortune Smiles (and Tell No One) were both 4 stars for me this week. Yet The Correspondent is this month‘s favorite!

I had not read Harlan Coben before and ChatGPT recommended this one to start with. Still sailing the Greek Mediterranean I had the perfect day starting and finishing this 400 pages fast paced thriller in one go. A perfect day and a pageturning read. Lots of twists and suspense from the moment David Bech receives a message from his wife who was murdered eight years before.

📸 Kythnos, Greece

You were right Meg, such a great short story collection! Challenging too, subjects like child porn, a former Stazi prison, a world dominated by drones etc. Challenging for sure but I loved it!

📸 Kythnos, Greece

At 70% I am sharing another update of #BookChain2025. Great prompts, Sarah!

“Highsmithian” says a blurb about this book. But that‘s way too much praise. Characters were caricatures in this book, no comparison to Patricia Highsmith‘s.

A woman in her 80s and a boy of 8 years old trying to destroy each other in a luxury hotel in Egypt during the pandemic. Too far fetched to my taste. The ending was far fetched too but I liked that twist the best.

#14Books14Weeks book 4

This was so disappointing. A bunch of siblings goes on a roadtrip in search of their father, who left them all with a different mother. The characters aren‘t worked out at all, nor is the father or are his reasons for leaving them all. Nor, for that matter, is the roadtrip across the US.

Kevin Wilson did much better in Nothing to See Here.

📸 Syros, Greece

What the f*ck are Israel and the US doing? Or more to the point, those two irresponsible scary men? I am completely freaked out and even the blue waters of the Mediterranean aren‘t calming at this moment. I am so scared.

I couldn‘t read either and listened to this shorty. Nothing special but it did distract me for a bit.

📸 Photo taken by my sister from the plane, our small boat anchored near a cruise ship in Mykonos, Greece

The first of a series I‘d liked to try after @Bookwormjillk posted about it and I enjoyed another book by Laura Lippmann. I am not sure if I will continue though. So many characters in this book, I couldn‘t keep track. And the plot was, well, okayish I think.

📸 Anti Paros, Greece

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Sybil is in het 70s and writes letters. To everyone. Through these letters we get to know her and she‘s a wonderful wonderful person. The sorrows, the joy, the books she reads, the friendships, the struggles, the past and the present. Highly recommended, my favorite of the year so far!

It reminded me of Fresh Water for Flowers. Don‘t want to be too pushy but I will tag some people who l think will love this one!

📸 Sifnos, Greece

Tom, Rachel and their two small kids are driving home from a lunch at his parents, when Tom runs the car off the road, wanting to end it all for all of them.
Rachel survives and this is about her before and afterwards. How did it come so far and how will she be able to live on afterwards? It‘s a sad story, very well written.

📸 Sefiros, Greece

This story is set in New York during the pandemic. When they are waiting for a train in an empty subway station, Cora‘s sister is killed. “Bat Eater‘ the man shouts, words that keep haunting Cora. The killer is never caught.
The plot turns into a horror/ghost story but don‘t let that fool you. It‘s a book that teaches us wise lessons and whatever you do, don‘t skip the author‘s note. Recommended!

📸 Kea, Greece

Cléo is not a very likable woman but she‘s honest as a narrator and she only has one goal: becoming world famous. She succeeds (no spoiler) and for some inspiration and recharging she spends some time on an uninhabited island, reminiscing about her life.
It‘s an easy read and I enjoyed it but it‘s not as good as My Husband.

#fictionaltraveler

? Lavrio, Greece

I just closed my laptop and will travel to Greece tomorrow to sail The Cyclades for three weeks.
Plenty of time to read so I spent hours choosing my books. These are the ones I‘ll bring in the boat 🥰

Thoughts?

I love this dedication in Maud Ventura‘s new book. Such a witty one!

Cindy sent me this book. Forty stories about people who were attacked by Hamas on October 7 2023.
Some survived, some not or have been taken captive. Their stories are told by their family.
It‘s horrible what happened on that day, it‘s very hard to read. People dancing on a festival one minute and entering a nightmare the next one. The stories do feel a bit too propaganda for me though.⬇️

#ReadTheWorld2025 book 19 #Israel

Max and Vincent start dating and while they‘re getting to know each other so does the reader. She‘s a trans woman, he is a man with a past. Both are struggling with complex feelings and like a teenager I kept wishing them to stick together because I loved them both so much! Fantastic read!

#14Books14Weeks book 3

? Plombières, Belgium

In the aftermath of a horrible crime, witnessed from a distance by Stella, a lot of stories come together. Most of them by women, most of them Métis, most of them carrying trauma and and loss. It‘s a tough read, with a lot of violence. I felt for these indigenous women and I could have spend some more time with them.

#WeeklyForecast 24/25

I am almost finished with The Break which is sad and good. Next will be Disappoint Me, I‘ve been looking forward to that one. One Day in October is a book gifted to me by Cindy about the 7 October massacre. A very hard read which I‘ve been reading for a few months now and want to finish before I go on vacation Friday. I have a big stack of books for the 3 weeks I‘ll be sailing in Greece and will share them later this week.

#EuropaCollective

I have mixed feelings about this book. I loved reading it because it is so well written and I was intrigued by the main characters and the way they chose to live their lives. However, there‘s been written a lot about the art scene in Paris; parts of the book felt to me like I‘d read them before.
I‘d wanted to read more about Gabriele and Francis themselves instead of them crossing all over Europe and NYC ⬇️

I didn‘t like this book as much as everyone else. Maybe because I know little of the Ted Bundy case and how it must have held America in its grip.
Best part to me was the law suit in which Pamela described how much of a myth the man had become despite being a serial killer. The female take on the story is good and original. And welcome.

#WeeklyForecast 23/25

I just started Gabriele for #EuropaCollective and I think I am going to like it. I am also reading Bright Young Women bug that‘s a slow read for me. Next will be the tagged - I‘d have preferred the American cover but this edition was much cheaper 🤷🏻‍♀️

Sayaka Murata has written a novel around the concept of a world in which sex doesn‘t longer exist and children are more or less fabricated and raised by all. Which means the end of families too.

It is an interesting starting point but the story around it fell a bit short, as if it was just a necessary vehicle to execute that concept.
Then again, the ending made up for a lot of that. A light pick.

#14Books14Weeks book 2

#MayStats

4.5⭐️
Air

4.25⭐️
Time of the flies

4⭐️
A room full of killers
Tiny beautiful things

3.75⭐️
My Documents
Beladen huis (Dutch)

3.5⭐️
The book of disappearance
Nine Lives
Theory & Practice
The Tokyo Suite
Death of the Author

3.25⭐️
On the calculation of volume II
Audition
The Devil‘s Larder

3⭐️
The Yellow House

DNF
The Bass Rock
On a woman‘s madness

#WeeklyFavorites

This was quite a unique read. I could relate to some stories and they made me tear up, while others felt so far away from me. But that‘s what makes these columns special. I think everyone can relate one way or another

The good news is there will be a summer edition of the ToB, the setback is that the longlist is the same as that for #ToB25 minus the ones that were shortlisted. This means I‘ve already read most of the books that were appealing to me. However, there will be good discussions and voting is possible now and here: https://www.tournamentofbooks.com/welcome-to-the-summer-bracket?ref=themorningne...

Starting June 27!

I liked Zelu‘s story much more than the book-in-the-book, the SF novel. And I didn‘t get the ending of that SF novel. But it doesn‘t matter, this book is quite an experience and a perfect book to discuss around the fire during #CampLitsy25 in July!

#ReadTheWorld2025 book 18 #Nigeria

Everyone needs a Dear Sugar in their life. I didn‘t know these columns in which she answers questions about love, life, sex and other complicated matters. But she can write and she‘s so honest and I loved reading her advice. Some made me tear up too. A book to return to. Thank you Meg, for sending me this one ❤️❤️

#roll100
Photo: my adult son aka my baby 👵🏼

After the death of her husband, a woman understands that their house has become overgrown with stuff and melancholy. As she cleans up the rooms, space slowly emerges in her feelings for him again. She wants to find out how he once was, how she once was and understand why their life together went the way it did.

A thought provoking read.

#WeeklyForecast 22/25

I started Death of the Author, it‘s very promising! Next will be the tagged book and in between I am hoping to read Cheryl Strayed‘s columns.

@Billypar ‘s review made me pick this one up and I wasn‘t disappointed. Short stories about food are totally my thing! It‘s short and delicious and it‘s not about caviar 😉

A nanny kidnaps the little girl she takes care of. It takes a while before their disappearance is noticed because the girl‘s mother has a career and much going on. In this story the intertwined stories of mother and nanny highlight the societal expectations placed on women and the consequences. A very surprising read! Thanks for the rec @Lesliereadsalot

#ReadTheWorld2025 book 17 #Brazil

? Last pic from the weekend in San Sebastián, Spain

It took me forever to read and finish this short book. I wanted to understand what‘s happening and maybe I did, a bit, but mostly I didn‘t, probably ??‍♀️

I love Kitamura‘s style but I am not sure at all what to think of this book. It‘s perfect for a #CampLitsy25 discussion though, that‘ll be so enlightening. And I might make a pick from this so-so afterwards!
#14books14weeks book 1

? Last weekend in San Sebastián, Spain

Tomorrow the winner of the #InternationalBooker prize will be announced. I managed to read 5 out of 6 of them (I didn‘t read Heart Lamp yet).

I have especially enjoyed Perfection, Under the Eye of the Big Bird and On the Calculation of Volume I but my absolute favorite is Small Boat. I hope it‘ll win the prize tomorrow.

Do you have a book you root for?

#WeeklyForecast 21/25

I have started Audition for #CampLitsy25 and halfway through I still don‘t have a clue where the story will go. But I like it.
Next will be The Tokyo Suite and hopefully I‘ll start Bright Young Women too!

Starting my first #CampLitsy25 read at the beach in San Sebastian (Spain). Nothing more to wish for!

Oh I loved it. The perfect ending of the Elements series. Maybe not that traumatic but at least as moving. This is the story of Aaron who travels either his 14 years old son from Australia to the small Irish island where it all started. What a read 💝

📸: Guggenheim Museum Bilbao, Spain (love my job ❤️)

I know myself, with #CampLitsy25 on its way and probably #CampToB25 (why hasn‘t it been announced yet?!) and the upcoming #Booker longlist I know I‘ll keep changing my reading plans. So to make it doable I chose the shortest books on my TBR shelves for #14Books14Weeks. Looking forward to reading all of these!

The story follows a young woman in 1980s Melbourne who is researching Virginia Woolf while trying to live out her feminist ideals. As she navigates relationships, academic life, and her own contradictions, the novel explores the gap between theory and real life. It‘s thoughtful, sharp book, told in a creative, unusual style.

I listened to the audiobook about nine people, all receiving a letter with nine names on it, including their own. They don‘t know each other but one after the other gets killed. Inspired by Agatha Christie‘s And Then There Were None this is a quick read and although I think you couldn‘t guess the outcome it is was entertaining enough! A light pick.

#Roll100

Another cool read by Claudia Piñeiro! This one is about feminism, flies and fumigation and I loved it even though I figured out the twist early one. I loved the characters and their dialogues. The plot is great and a real pageturner. I absolutely continue reading Piñeiro‘s backlist now!

Thanks for sending me this one Trish, you were right that I would love it ?

#FictionalTraveler #SpanishSpeaking ??

We do have our six winners for #CampLitsy25! We‘ll discuss half a book each weekend in June, July and August. Details will follow. For now Meg, Helen and I hope you are as happy with the winning books and look as much forward to go camping as we do!

If you want to be tagged or removed from the taglist, let us know!

I am adding the final two winners to the #CampLitsy25 reads. We‘ll be reading Tilt and King of Ashes in August. We are super excited about this mix of books and we hope you are too! I‘ll post an overview of all six books next so you know what books you might want to get a hold of!
Just a few weeks to get ready for 🏕️ !

#WeeklyForecast 20/25

An exciting reading week ahead! I just started Time of the Flies, which drew me in immediately. Next will be the tagged, which I can‘t wait to read either. I hope to start Theory & Practice as well, recommended by @sarahbarnes , and if there‘s time left I might even start Audition, out first #CampLitsy25 read (not on photo).

Just after @Graywacke ‘s review that should encourage me to continue, I do bail on this one. It reads like a fever dream, these memoirs of a Surinam-Dutch woman but I can‘t make head nor tail of it. #bookerinternational #ReadTheWorld2025 book 16 #Suriname

This is a hard book to read, especially considering what‘s happening now in Israel and Gaza and that it was written in 2014.
It‘s so complicated, Arabs and Jews living in and fighting for the land they feel it‘s theirs. What if all Palestinians vanished from Israel one day?
Ibtisam Azem tries to write from various pov‘s and that just shows how complicated it all is.
A poignant #InternationalBooker book.

A new Mieko Kawakami. I was super impressed by all her books I read so far but this one is a bit disappointing. A girl tries to earn her living in the Tokyo nightlife. That is interesting but 500 pages later I wasn‘t much the wiser. Not sure. Maybe it‘s the translation 🤷🏻‍♀️

For the past few days I‘ve been listening to this book but audio is clearly not the way to go here: the various Scottish dialects are very hard for me to understand and I am not that patient.
Maybe I‘ll try it in print one day because I loved The Echoes but for now it couldn‘t hold my attention.

📸 Porto, Portugal

The narrator is still living in her alternate reality of a daily returning November 18. How to spend the time when you‘re caught in that one day again and again?
It‘s a concept that I found fascinating and the author writes so well. The ending felt a bit hurried but makes me eager to read the third part!

📸 Porto, Portugal

#WeeklyForecast 19/25

I am reading the second volume of On the Calculation of Volume. Such an interesting story.
Next will be the new Mieko Kawakami (in Dutch, it isn‘t translated in English yet) and last but not least I‘ll continue my #InternationalBooker journey with The Book of Disappearance.

These series is getting better by the book. DCI Matilda has to deal with a group of under aged murderers, detained in Starling House, a rather unusual detention center, where one of them is murdered. As always her private life catches up with her too, and then there‘s one of the young killers who she feels needs help.
A great palette cleanser with a nice cliffhanger. I‘ll make sure to get a copy of the 4th installment.

📸 Porto, Portugal