I loved Swimming Lessons and had been looking forward to another novel by Claire Fuller. Unfortunately Bitter Orange is promising in its set-up, scenery and characters, but in the end it didn‘t deliver.
It's the story about a complicated friendship between three people (a couple and a single woman) taking care of an old mansion. Add a vicar, some ghosts, some lies, a few timelines and you have the ingredients of an amusing read, no more no less.

#revolver #MOvember

This is such a surprise! Birthday mail all the way from Malaysia. Thank you so much Jessie, for thinking of me 💕. I have been eyeing this book for months and am really happy with it! 😘

Some of you may know that I‘ve worked many years for the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam. Though his Sunflowers started boring me after some time, my admiration for the artist grew with the years.
Today however, I bring them up one more time, because, no matter what I think, they are a #Masterpiece, as is the tagged book, which is a bit about Van Gogh and his flowers as well 🌻🌻#MOvember

https://themorningnews.org/article/the-year-in-fiction-2019

Here it is: The longlist for the #ToB2020. So many good books. And so much to read. A lot of them I have never heard of. One of the things I love about this Tournament 💙❤️🐓

After a shipwreck Edward lands on an island in the Indian Ocean. Here he meets Dr. Moreau, a brilliant but controversial biologist who fled England because he had conducted prohibited experiments on animals. On the island he and his assistant Montgomery experiment with vivisection on animals.
It may be an interesting premise but not for me. The ending is the best part of the book I think.
So, only 1 #LuckyStar for me! ⭐️

#MOvember #1001books

With a picture of her aunt and the Sacred Heart watching over her from opposite sides of the room, Judith Hearne tries to keep in control of life and her inner demons. She‘s a spinster, living in a furnished room in a Catholic boarding house. When she meets Mr Madden, she feels he is her last chance to ‘get off the shelf‘, as she describes it herself at the end of the book.
It‘s a bittersweet read and another great #NYRBBookclub choice.

#WeeklyForecast 47/19

I‘m almost finished with The Lonely Passion of Judith Hearne, our #NYRBBookclub choice, and loving it.

Next will be Bitter Orange For #ATY2019, where this week‘s prompt is ‘a book related to food‘.

If there‘s time left, I‘ll start Missoula for #ReadingUSA2019. Krakauer is such a good non-fiction writer.

In between, there‘s still Doctor Moreau. It‘s less than 200 pages but it takes forever to finish them.

Kevin Pace, a 56-year-old painter, works on an enormous canvas that he will permit no one, not even his wife or his best friend, to see. The painting is dominated by #TrueBlue, a color with which Kevin is not comfortable and which he hardly ever used. “I could never control it,” he says. “Regardless that blue was so likable, a color that so many loved or liked — no one hated blue — I could not use it.”

I loved this book. #MOvember

#BookReport 46/19

This week I finished two great books: We are Called to Rise and Too Much Lip.
I also managed to make a start with this month‘s choice for the #NYRBBookclub.
And I am still reading the Wells. I am not enjoying it at all and just able to read it in very small portions.

I love it when a first sentence pulls me right in! #NYRBBookclub

"All we do, mija, is love. Love is the answer. Nothing stops it. Not borders. Not death." 

One of my favorite books this year tells what it means to be the first generation to live two lives across one #borderline. #MOvember

Following @Kalalalatja @julesG and @Simona I‘ll post a few local authors for some Dutch inspiration for the ones participating in #ReadingEurope2020. 🇱🇺🇱🇺

Below I‘ll tag some favorites, but of course there‘s always Herman Koch too 😀

It took some time getting into this novel, mainly because of the use of local slang. But then it took off and I was drawn hard into the fast-paced plot about an Aboriginal family. They all have developed their own ways to cope with Australian society and their position within it. Addiction, criminal activities, lethargy, avoidance: it is each for their own, within society and within the family. 👇🏼👇🏼👇🏼 #ozfiction

We‘re taking a trip through Europe in 2020! Join @Librarybelle and me on a year long challenge to read books set in an European country or by an author from an European country. Track your reading by signing up for the challenge using the below link. Post throughout the year with #ReadingEurope2020 and remember to tag us!

https://forms.gle/BcMKBX7ouLganu2K8

“Near London Bridge, a wrecked wherry boat was plainly visible, lying on the bed of the river where it had sunk last autumn. The old bumboat woman, who was carrying her fruit to market on the Surrey side, sat there in her plaids and farthingales with her lap full of apples, for all the world as if she were about to serve a customer, though a certain blueness about the lips hinted the truth."

The #Frozen Thames described by Woolf. ?❄️ #MOvember

I couldn‘t resist this one again. It‘s just books and chocolat and I loved it last year. Thank for organizing @MaleficentBookDragon ! Check Chelle‘s post for all details, you can still enter! #Jolabokaflodswap

@robinb @squirrelbrain Today I was finally allowed to open your parcels and postcards. You sending me this from across the North Sea and the Atlantic means so much to me. I am so happy to have you in my life 💕! And Helen, the book does seem weird, I agree, but I‘ve seen so many good reviews! I‘ll keep you posted! Thanks again!

Check @Cinfhen ‘s post about #BelowZer00s. In January it is party time again 💃🕺I am co-hosting Cindy in the #buddyread of Case Histories and in sharing our memories (Music🎶! Food🍿! Drinks🍷! Hair💇🏽‍♀️! Outfits👗!) of the zero‘s. We will be celebrating here the weekend from 10-12 January. So get your copy and get ready! All Littens are welcome to join of course. Tagged are some people who have indicated that they wanna join. Share the word!

#LikeAPrayer
This is the heartbreaking story of the gradual but unstoppable slipping of a wounded man, who flees into the darkest Calvinism and the pain this causes in his immediate environment. It‘s also the story of the love between a man who lives for the hereafter, and a woman who wants to live now.

This is one of my favorite Dutch novels and I can recommend it for #ReadingEurope2020 (soon to be announced by @Librarybelle and me‼️)
#MOvember

Las Vegas, city of opposites, where glamour and wealth seem never far away from poverty and harshness.
A refugee boy, a lonely wife, a war veteran with PTSD, another veteran in rehab, and a social worker. I‘d like to read more about each of them.
But this book is about the tragedy that interweaves their storylines. A tragedy that represents the major themes of current times. It is sad with a glimpse of hope. I loved it.

#ReadingUSA2019 #Nevada

#WeeklyReport 46/19

I started We are Called to Rise today and am absolutely LOVING it so far. Thanks for bringing this to my attention, Cindy. Next will be Too Much Lip, which I am so happy was gifted to me by @CarolynM Her review was so good. I‘ll read this one for #ATY2019.
In between I‘ll continue reading the Wells, both in hardcopy and on #SerialRead.
Lovely week ahead, don‘t you think?!

#BookReport 45/19

According to plan I finished Beware of Pity (4*) and The Glass Bees (3*). Also I made a start with The Island of Doctor Moreau for the #1001books list. I am looking forward to an easy book to read alongside this one.

I‘m the first to review this book on Litsy. That hardly happens anymore!

This is a disturbing story of a jobless former soldier who feels lost in an overmechanized world symbolized by artificial bees. He has an unusual job interview at Zapparoni Works.
The narrative blends his depiction of this interview, flashbacks to his childhood and his days as a soldier, and reflection on the themes of technology and morality.

#NYRB #1001books

A young Austrian officer befriends a local millionaire and his family, but in particular the man's crippled daughter, Edith, for whom he feels sorry. The consequences are terrible.
But there is so much more to the story. As always, Zweigs‘ plot unfolds through things left unsaid, situations misread.
The only possible downside to this book is that it would be even more powerful if he‘d written it as a novella.

#Booked2019 #SoldiersStory

I too have started planning my books for the winter prompts of #Booked2020. I am now thinking of these six but can‘t promise that it won‘t change completely.
But I love the planning, it‘s so much fun!

He feels #sorry for her but is that a good starting point for a relationship? That‘s what this book is about and I don‘t know where it will lead yet, but it‘s great. Zweig‘s style is addictive. It‘s just that Chelsea-Ajax is on tv and that is distracting! #MOvember

Voting for the #GoodreadsChoiceAwards is open now. I‘m disappointed again by the nominated books. They are so middle of the road, so predictable and uninspired. I know it‘s based on added and reviewed books on the platform itself, so I shouldn‘t be surprised, yet I do think these Awards do add nothing to what we already know without voting. 🤦🏻‍♀️🤷🏻‍♀️

#WeeklyForecast 45/19

A new month means another 50 pages of Proust - like I‘ve been doing since 2017. This is the last book in the series but it‘ll take months to finish it.
I just started the tagged book. Zweig is becoming a favorite author.
Next will be a shorty for the #1001books list, The Glass Bees.
I guess that will be it for this week but just in case, I added the next one for the #ReadingUSA2019 challenge, We are Called to Rise.

An old school western, this book. Raving reviews everywhere but I wasn‘t pulled in for one minute. I couldn‘t connect to the plot, the setting or the characters. Well, at least I can tick off #Arkansas for the #ReadingUSA2019 challenge!

#BookReport week 44/19

The Man who Saw Everything was a quick read and everything I hoped for.
The Princess of Cleves, a kind of 18th century soap, I had to bail on. I used it for the public domain prompt for #Booked2019 though.
The Lowland had been on my shelves since 2014. I finally read it because it is set in Rhode Island, a state I still needed for #ReadingUSA2019. I enjoyed it much more than I anticipated.

So I had a good reading week!

Sometimes I wish you all would speak Dutch. Then I could share this book with you. It contains the lyrics of my favorite Dutch band, called De Dijk.
I grew up with their #music (a mix of rock and blues), and their lyrics are pure poetry; they touch my heart again and again ❤️
#MOvember

I liked this book more than I expected. It is a family saga set in turbulent Calcutta and quiet Rhode Island. It‘s about brothers and wives, mothers and daughters. Above all it is about people making choices for themselves and the consequences of those choices for others. Lahiri is a thoughtful storyteller with a lot to tell.

#ReadingUSA2019 #RhodeIsland

I just received the #Persephone Biannually, always a pleasant surprise. But in it I read that they consider to stop publishing if/when Brexit continues. That would be such a shame!

A classic from the #1001books list. Really short but I didn't manage to finish it. I think it is supposed to be a kind of classic soap novel but I really couldn't keep track of all the character. Sometimes it seemed as if in every other sentence a new character was introduced or mentioned. Not for me!

#Booked2019 #PublicDomain

#octoberstats #octoberwrapup

In October I read 14 books, a pretty good amount for me. Among those 14 my favorite was the tagged little book, more of a poem actually but so heartbreaking. That was a 5 star read for me, but I also had 9 (!) 4 star reads so I had a very satisfactory month!

Almost there! With another 4 reads in October I have only 7 states left to read my way through for the #ReadingUSA2019 challenge. And I do have a title for these 7, so I think I‘ll be able to finish before the end of the year!

The 4 books I read this month are:
🍀 Indiana: The Fault in our Stars
🍀 South Dakota: The Work of Wolves
🍀 Connecticut: On Earth we‘re Briefly Gorgeous
🍀 South Carolina: The Secret Life of Bees

It‘s that time of the year again, the one in which to decide what reading challenges to participate in and what books to choose for each prompt. It‘s almost as good as the reading itself 😍

#ATY2020, Goodreads‘ Around The Year Challenge, is the first I saw and it‘s looking great. It won‘t be the same doing this challenge without @Rachel_nyc 💔but I am tempted to participate again.

Saul Adler, the main character in this book, is not a very likeable character, but the way Levy places him in the middle of the turbulent second half of Europe‘s 20th century is brilliant.

I can‘t say much without spoiling things, but be prepared that even the smallest details recur, reform, and return with new significance and meaning in Saul‘s struggle to bring order to his life and story.

#booker
(Pic: Dutch skies)

I am at loss for words but I just found out and feel I need to inform you that my dear Litsy friend Rachel_nyc passed away.

I didn‘t know her personally but through our shared passion for books, it feels as if I‘ve lost a real friend.
I feel so sorry for your family and loved ones, dear Rachel. You were way too young to die. Way too full of life and plans

I will miss you here and I‘m sure many more of us will❤️💔❤️ (tagging the #nyrbbookclub)

Such a great new idea from @Cinfhen , to do a #weeklyforecast on Sunday followed by a#Bookreport on Saturday!

I started the tagged book today and when it‘s as good as other Levy‘s, I‘ll finish it soon. Then I will start The Lowland for the #ReadingUSA2019 challenge, a book I have been dreading for years, I don‘t know why. On @SerialReader and hardcopy I started The Princess of Cleves, a #1001read. This will take a while I think.

Such a lovely read about a young girl learning what love is all about among a group of women and bees. A feel good book with a touch of YA but a perfect read for a lazy weekend and I am glad I finally read it!

#ReadingUSA2019 #SouthCarolina

“Because all I can think tonight is how deep the sea is. How powerless I am to protect you from it.
You are the most precious cargo there ever was.
I pray the sea knows this. Inshallah.”

What a heartbreaking book, inspired by the story of Alan Kurdi, the 3-year old Syrian refugee who drowned in the Mediterranean Sea trying to reach safety in Europe in 2015. 😢💔

This book reminded me of The Collector and The Wasp Factory. Books with main characters who are cold and ruthless in an intelligent and argumentative way. I don‘t know what it says about me 🙈 but I did enjoy this freaky read about a man using his own kids to create a ‘Dumb House‘ experiment.

Thanks for sharing @Cinfhen 💕 and for putting it on my radar @Kalalalatja 😘

(Pic: Drents Museum, Assen, NL)

#notbookrelated

For work I visited the exhibition Sprezzatura in Assen, the Netherlands. It‘s about Italian artists from the 19th century. Look at this painting by Antonio Mancini, of a boy reading. Love it! #art

Disappointing. Two ambitious women, chasing a career in science (which is not really relevant for the plot), know about eachother‘s secret. This results in a strange balance between them, waiting to be disturbed.
Megan Abbott wants to put so much in this thriller but in the end it‘s all rather far-fetched.

I went to this musical tonight because my sister had an extra ticket. I don‘t like musicals at all, I thought. But I was wrong. I had such a good time! Such great actors, fantastic choreography, and such terrible political incorrect songs 😂 Loved it!

Park Minwoo is a Korean architect who is part of Seoul‘s rapid urban development. The traditional slums are fast being removed and replaced by modern buildings. But with it, Minwoo realizes his own roots and that of his country are disappearing. A slow, sad read. Very good!

(Pic: Amsterdam marathon)

For me this book was too crowded. Too many people, too many rooms and corners in the house, too many words. All of this made it hard for me to concentrate on what was happening. Still it was a scary read with smart twists. The horror was real and I am looking forward to discussing this one with the #NYRBBookClub!

(Pic: My son in his usual pose 😂)

Somehow I never read this one. I now did. In one breath. To imagine that what Wiesel went through happened here, in Europe, just 75 years ago! It‘s incredible and good to always be reminded of. This can never happen again and yet, when I read the news and realize that I know just a fraction of what is happening right now in Syria, in Central Africa, in Haiti, to name just a few. It‘s incomprehensible what people are able to do to one another 💔