I do not like the misogyny in “The Thing on the Doorstep“, but I was happy to learn that Lovecraft abandoned his racist thought when he got older (if the afterword is to be believed). This book includes “The Colour Out of Space“, which is one of the best stories Lovecraft has ever written (imo). It's so tense and frightening. I loved rereading it and it was just as impressive as the first time.
Picture includes our own Thing on the Doorstep.

I read this without knowing it was a second part. I just wanted to read more by Natasha Pulley. Because I didn't know the setting and the characters I first had some trouble getting into this book, but the more time I spent there, the more I loved it. As with her other book I read, Pulley needs some attention. Her view of time is different from everything I've read so far. It feels more like a living thing. An amazing story!

I will get quite a few books for birthday and Christmas, so I try to focus on my TBR this month 😁

#bookspin #doublespin @thearomaofbooks

Yes! I finished this junkster! And volume three was intense, very intense. At the end I almost forgot to breathe. This time it often was hard to read a Warhammer novel, since in this one the decisions made by the ruling warriors were way too close to reality. Are we heading towards a Warhammer 40K reality? As much as I'm into this universe, I do not want this to become real. But seems like we're on our way there...

#doublespin @thearomaofbooks

Am I happy about this book being my #roll100 this December? You bet! 😸😸

@PuddleJumper

Don't you just love finding gems in your TBR shelves? This book found me reading breathless, always returning into the story, whenever I had to pause. What a great book to kick off after days without reading at all! ❤️

#roll100 @PuddleJumper

I wanted to hit 50.550 but I missed it. Whatever. But I thought this nice number is worth a little giveaway. So I decided so make a Random Giveaway. To win a book:

Post your wish list (Link, Litsy Post...) and tag me.

On December 14th (my birthday, hehe) I will choose a random winner (Random.org) and a random book from their list.

So, have fun? I hope 😄

Not tagged book but close enough. And yes, the cover is ugly af. But the stories in there actually are quite good. If you're looking for something lovecraftian this might be worth a look. The reader of the audio book could've done a better job and some music would've made the experience better, but all in all it was more than I expected when I put it on.

This is the third book with Grimm and Möhrchen and the first picture book for smaller children. Once again I adore those two and how they play with words. Also the little hint that vegetables are fun is nicely placed 😁 But the illustrations didn't work for me in this format and the song is too animating for something that should be a lullaby to fit the book. Not well thought through.

This is a powerful coming of age novel written in prose. It includes so much, but it all fits. It's about being Afro- European, about domestic violence, about being queer. I learned so much from reading this book and even after finishing it a couple of days ago, I'm still deeply impressed.

I'm so, so annoyed! I've been sick for a couple of days now (not the C-thingy!) and only slowly getting better. But the worst thing is that I can't read! 😭 My whole reading plan is upside down. How do I manage to finish my BuddyReads and challenge books in time now? 😰 Ok, enough with the whining, I hope you all are safe and sound ❤️

I loved the book about Clara Zetkin from this series, so I was looking forward to learn more about Liebknecht & Luxemburg. BUT this book isn't really about them. Only the last few pages deals with their destiny. Everything else is about the political state of Germany during and past WWI. It reads more like a textbook from school, than the one about Zetkin that felt more like a novel. Also, misleading title if you ask me.

The tagged book is volume one, while this is the second book with kitty Mia Marmelade (= jam). This book talks about very important topics like being a refugee, prejudices, trauma and dealing with feelings. So no, this not a feelgood adventure, but a very, very important book. Through Mia the kids learn what it means leaving ones home, loosing a close person and finding oneself in a foreign country. A book for teachers, care-takers and parents.

I've decided to join @AkashaVampie with the #BookishMonopoly 😸 This is my game board (lovingly decorated by @VaniBarelyReads ❤️). Not sure if I start in 2024 or already in December 🤔

So I am a romance reader now? Guess I'm old enough to get my share of Awwws now. The plot is nothing new, not at all. We all now what'll happen, when it'll happen and how it'll happen. But the characters are so lovable, that I didn't mind. For the first time. I just loved spending time with them. This book was the comfort read I was looking for and gave me exactly what I wanted and needed.

#BookSpin @TheAromaOfBooks

Not accurate Tiger in the picture!

I first read this book in English shortly after it was published. Now after talking with my dear friend from India I wanted to reread it. She stated that at least the movie is relatable to modern day India.

This book shows again that a character doesn't have to be likable to make a good book. Balram is a rather dark dark grey MC and somewhat of an unreliable narrator. Deep insight into the soul of capitalism.

Raffi likes running around, playing soccer and his pink tutu. When he starts wearing it to school, the other kids are confused...

This book is not about gender, but about being who you are and standing up for it. Even though the other kids bully Raffi at first, they soon get used to him and his tutu. It's a cute but also touching story that might also help family members supporting their kids in difficult situations.

I wish I would've come across this earlier in my recovery. Even now I felt so seen and understood, at some points I had to stop because what Megan is talking about was exactly what was going on in my mind and life. This book is like a hug from a close friend and I think that's what Megan went for. What I especially love are her tipps to accept and appreciate one's belly more. I really need to do these, since I'm still struggling...

Library Haul! She Gets The Girl is my #BookSpin for November and I'm so happy about this - I wanted to read this book ever since I saw that cover 😍

@TheAromaofBooks

At first I thought this would just be another 60-something literati writing about how bad gaming is for our children. What a prejudice (the author is younger than I am)! It's actually quite the opposite. It's a book about abuse, about being young and becoming an adult, about first love and about finding what you're really good at and standing by it. It's a good coming-of-age novel with really hard to read scenes, that also brought memories back.

I do NOT agree with Lovecrafts racism in any form, however, I still adore his work. “Kadath“ is a story more based in fantasy than horror, which took me some time to getting used to. It has this LotR feeling, just missing it's depth. It could've worked if it would've been longer. I loved the cats and the ghouls. I think they're somewhat adorable 😅
Not Lovecrafts strongest work, but still an interesting read.

It was not easy choosing a Number One this month. I've had many good books on my list. But I think this one I invested the most emotions and and moved me the most. Might also be because we saw the author live 😃

#BookoftheMonth #botm

This one I liked so much more than the first book, I'm happy that I did continue the series. Maybe it was because I listened to the audio book and thought the narrator was a good choice. Maybe it was because this book is less teenage-y (duh). Maybe it was because it had more story. Or maybe it was because of a very cool witch. Or all of it. I think Klune really made progress with his writing and therefore part three is already preordered.

This is the second of the three available Tanizaki books. I could relate to this more than I could to the first one, because this one is about art and culture. If you're deeply interested in Japanese culture than I highly recommend reading these texts, even though they're a bit dated. I was fascinated by the pictures of the Japanese actors and interested in the authors meaning about German movies.

15 pages in and I'm already terrified...

The style of a script took me a little of getting used to, but afterwards it worked pretty well. More and more we are digging into the Eiram, E'ronoh and the Path of the Open Hand. I'd recommend reading the previous books before this one, because the are pretty much based on each other. Even though it's “only“ a script, George Man manages to capture the characters, their feelings and the atmosphere of the scene.

#StarWarsBuddyRead @bookwormAHN

I am very impressed by Cummings writing and was happy for the bilingual edition, even though I thought more than once “how are you going to translate that?!“. Cummings plays with language in a way that often seems untranslatable. I didn't like the collection in that way that the editor focuses on his love poems, while I wanted to read the political ones. Still, I got a taste of Cummings writing and it's outstanding.

What's up with Joachim B. Schmidt and writing in parts? While I loved the first two parts of his last book and didn't enjoy the last one, here it was the opposite. Only the last 100 pages really got to me. Only then I connected to the characters and the story. Only then I started to wonder what happened back in the past. The first parts were very slow and I was wondering why I was reading this book at all...

Reading this book during this troubled times was sometimes pretty hard. But that's what I love about Sci-Fi: you take a step back (or forwards) and can take a good look on our society, politics and international affairs. This book is heavy on religious topics, but it shows us that we can live alongside each other without fear. That we're stronger together than separate and that hate only ends in death and destruction. I'm quite impressed, tbh.

Anna Rosenwasser is a force of nature and so are her texts. Sometimes I had to put the book away to emotionally deal with what she's writing about. She writes about being queer in Switzerland, she writes about being a minority in Switzerland. She's angry, she's funny, she's cute, she's honest and open. Honest and open about her sexuality, about discrimination, about politics. Oh, and she's awesome and brilliant in any way. And so are her texts.

November is right around the corner and therefore here's my #BookSpin list for next month.

@TheAromaofBooks

This is the second book with our MC Kalmann and I'd say it's a soft pick for me. I loved the first two parts, showing the differences between the silent nature of Iceland and the liveliness of America. But I agree with other reviewers that the last third is too much. It doesn't fit the narration or the atmosphere. In another book with other settings or other characters, yes. But here? Rather not.

I found this challenge on Habitica and thought I'd join in even though I only have one month left. But due to my normal reading habits I could cross off one task already 😄

#challenge #autumnpagesadventure

Lovely, lovely #roll100 for November, and yes, Warhammer is my guilty pleasure 😜

@PuddleJumper

This is the novelization of the sixth Star Wars movie and the book once again adds to the movie. It goes deep into the thoughts and feelings of our (anti) heroes and explains their actions more. Kahn uses a dramatical narration which for me took some time to get used to, because in some scenes it's somewhat of an overkill. But these books could be a help of getting people into reading, which is a great thing.

#BookSpin @TheAromaofBooks

After reading her essays/letters I also wanted to read Parsua Bashis graphic novel. The art style needs time to get used to, but it fits the GN and its atmosphere. I learned a lot reading this book and got some new views on the world and also about how other people see us Swiss people 😁😅

Look at that beauty that just arrived! 😍

#bookmail

Halloween bath bomb: check ✅
Not waterproof book: check ✅
Extremely curious, extremely clumsy and extremely clingy tomcat: check ✅

We'll see how that goes... 🙈

This is a totally revised edition of one of Udo Rauchfleischs older books. With this book Rauchfleisch, who has accompanied trans people and their families for more than 50 years, address friends, families and coworker of trans people, who want to learn how to handle this situation. It's very well written, so even people who don't read that much, can take a look at it. A much needed book that will help many people.

Not as strong as Where You Come From, but also an extremely well written book. Tiny hints of great humor, at some points I had to laugh out loud while listening to the audio version read by the author himself. Connections between the past, the now and the people that live in the spaces between. Life on the country side where everything takes its time. Critics say there's no plot. They're right. But there's feeling, there's comfort. There's home.

Yeah, why?

@BookwormAHN #StarWarsBuddyRead

The second book in the trilogy is just as good as the first one. The authors really managed to work together and make the story work. I didn't so much care for the combat scenes, but for everything that happens before and afterwards. The characters and their development, the philosophical topics about war, power and religion. One might be surprised, but those books do have depth and ask important questions.

#DoubleSpin @TheAromaofBooks

At first I was sceptical about the new Nobel Prize Winner (*cough* diversity *cough*), but this book, even though small in page numbers, is magnificent. Ghostsory, Historical Fiction, Family Drama, Lovestory - all this in a stream of consciousness that left me breathless. The story switches between point of views and time periods. If you want to know if you're ready for Ulysses, try this book first.

At first I wasn't really convinced by this, but the more time I spent with these characters and more I got to like them, the more I enjoyed the story. The topic of this book hit me from the start, especially with all that's going on in the world right now. Could we maybe borrow some Jedi, please? Some scenes were hard on my feelings, which seems to happen more and more with the new Star Wars books.

@BookwormAHN #StarWarsBuddyRead

Bookish Song Nr 53: Hall of Fame

You can go the distance, you can run the mile
You can walk straight through hell with a smile
You could be a hero, you could get the gold
Breaking all the records they thought never could be broke
Yeah, do it for your people, do it for your pride
How you ever gonna know if you never even try?
Do it for your country, do it for your name

Can't stop thinking about Nicole whenever I hear this song.

What better release date than Friday the 13th for the sixth and last volume of the second season with the Inglorious Bitches?

First, I thought the book was a bit slow compared to the other ones, but that was only so Savage could bring on a huge finale. And what a finale it is!

Now of course there has to be a third season, right?

Every now and then even I like a little YA. And yes, this one is pretty much YA, but I even rooted for Matilda and Quinn. The audio book is read by the same narrators as book one, so it felt like reuniting with friends. The book made me laugh out loud several time and I could shut out the whole being grown-up thingy while diving into this story. Part two is also less
ableist then the first one. There's only one whole year to wait for next volume.

This book is hard, this book is though. It's impressive how Lehane captures all the different point of views and lets his characters talk about their fears and thoughts. Dennis Lehane does not write lovable characters, but human ones. He gets deep into their souls. And into the soul of the city and the time. I'm glad I read this book. Once again I learned about history. A sad part, though...

#TitlesAndTunes #Blues @barbarabb @cinfhen

A gift to my mom, since we both love guinea pigs. Of course I had to peek inside too. The artwork is lovable and cute, so is the story. There's a lot going on on a single day with the Porcelli family. But the book feels a bit “old-fashioned“ when it comes to gender roles and behaviour. I hope my mom likes it, though.