Adding some new countries to #ReadTheWorld2025 in July and August: #NewZealand, #Finland, #Peru, #Pakistan, #SriLanka, #Hungary and #Sweden.

I now have covered 26 countries!

A wonderfully strange story about two lonely people seeking eachother‘s company while the coronavirus spreads across Japan. However, they don‘t become friends, they just live their lonely life in the same house. I can‘t say more, it is so weird. But I loved it.

📸 Amsterdam Castle

After the wonderful job @jlhammar did, @Lesliereadsalot and I are happy to announce the revival of #EuropaCollective. We‘ll read and discuss an Europa Edition every three months. The tagged book will be our October read.
For more details check out Leslie‘s post.
If you want to join us, please say so below and we‘ll keep you posted!

I enjoyed ‘Sorrow and Bliss‘ but this book by Meg Mason was disappointing. Such one demensional characters. A despairing young mother, a piece of shit father, a nasty MiL and a coward of a FiL. All so predictable.
Neighbour Phil, a just widowed woman, makes up for this but her character didn‘t really make sense either.

And yet I wanted to know the ending. It had some good points but was overall too predictable as well.

#AugustStats

4.25⭐️
King of ashes
Under the storm

4⭐️
Seascraper

3.75⭐️
The tenderness of wolves

3.5⭐️
The return of Faraz Ali
Silent parade
Thursday night widows

3.25⭐️
I see you‘ve called in dead

3⭐️
Crying in H Mart
Deal breaker
One boat

2.75⭐️
Flesh
The Plot

2⭐️
Nightwatching

#WeeklyForecast 36/25

I am reading a short Japanese novel (Someone to Watch Over You) ad then am ready for another #Bookerlonglist book, the tagged. I also want to read the new Sarah Moss, that I bought because of @TrishB ‘s review.

Wow, this is a what you call #NordicNoir! A fire and a murder in a small Swedish village continue to have effect on the village for years to come. A former police officer can‘t let go and neither does the nephew of the man convicted for the crimes.

In the mean time the book sketches a pretty good picture of the political and social circumstances of the country during the 90s and the 00s. ⬇️

#ReadTheWorld2025 #26 #Sweden

Another four months of #ISpy2025 (May-August) with lots of my unread books waiting to be a read and having that ✅ added!

Scroll down for an updated Jan-April grid.
I love the spying!

#ISpy2025 January - April

#WeeklyFavorites

This week‘s choice was good but not memorable as were many of this month‘s books. King of Ashes is my favorites of these, followed closely by Seascraper.

#FridayHappyReadingHour
I want to cut down on the wine a bit so am starting the weekend with Japanese tea (Genmai cha, with rice as the main ingredient) and Swedish noir. Can‘t think of a better start right now!

Not her best one but this early work by Claudia Piñeiro is still very entertaining. It is set in a gated community outside Buenos Aires where the very wealthy live so far away from reality that strange things can and do happen.

And with the end of #CampLitsy25 we add Wild Dark Shore to the #HallOfFame! These are our winners since 2022.

If you‘ve been camping with us, you know 💕

If you participated for the first time and are impressed by the excellent taste of the campers🤪, you know now what to read next!

If you haven‘t participated and have been wondering what Camp is all about, this is it! You‘re welcome next year.

A big SO to Meg and Helen for co-hosting 💖

We do have our #CampLitsy25 winner! A majority voted for this fantastic book and I couldn‘t agree more 😉. Woodworking ended on a second place, Tilt ended third.

Helen, Meg and I have enjoyed Camp again so much and want to thank you all for reading and discussing six great books with us. We have loved your thoughts, stories, reviews, insights, puns, etc.

We‘ll be back!

#BookerLonglist #4

Nothing much happens is this meandering novel about a women revisiting the Greek village she went to nine years ago to grieve her mother‘s death. Now she has lost her father. She notices the changes in the village and reacquaints with some of the people she met the first time.
It was nice to spend some time with the narrator yet I am not sure what the books is about or why it is nominated for the Booker Prize. A light pick

#WeeklyForecast 35/25

I am reading One Boat, another Booker nominated book. It‘s short so I‘ll finish it soon. Next will be the tagged book. I have been reading Claudia Piñeiro‘s backlist and it hasn‘t disappointed yet. She‘s a fabulous writer.
The third one was on the ToB longlist once I think. It‘s been sitting in my shelves while I‘ve been wanting to read it for a long time. Now finally its time has come ?

#CampLitsy25 Question 1

Our final discussion. Summer has flown by and so has Camp. We hope you‘ll stick around for choosing this year‘s winner in the coming days before packing your bags and return to autumn and reality!

We‘ll tag everyone once. Please scroll down to find questions 2 and 3!

#CampLitsy25 Question 2

That was quite the plot twist towards the end of the book, or wasn‘t it? Let‘s talk!

#CampLitsy25 Question 3

To conclude, let‘s discuss Roman, the “King of Ashes”. How do you feel about him?

Called The Plot this book is about the mindblowing plot of a book the narrator wrote and which made him a bestselling author. Until someone accuses him of having stolen that same plot.

Unfortunately the plot of The Plot (are you still there 🤣?) isn‘t that mindblowing. Almost from the start I could predict what would happen and I didn‘t even try that hard. So, another underwhelming read. Not my best month, this one.

📷 Sail Amsterdam

This book was recommended to me by ChatGPT. Well, they have a lot to learn. I kind of hated it. But I always dislike books about terrified mothers, protecting their children like lionesses. I don‘t know why but it happened before. And then the plot, it is so weak and predictable. A definite pan.

📸 Rotterdam, Netherlands

#BookerLonglist #3

I really liked Szalay‘s other books but I can‘t make much of this one.
István doesn‘t live his life, it just happens to him. He doesn‘t make choices or decisions. He just says okay to everything that is decided for him. There‘s just one time he does takes action, and it changes the course of his life. Yet it doesn‘t have any real impact on him or on me as a reader. So. Not very impressed.

And can someone explain the title?

#WeeklyForecast 34/25

This week‘s Booker read is Flesh, which is an easy read and I‘ll be finishing later today.
The Plot and The White Lie are from my TBR, I really want to clear some of those shelves before I buy new books!!

I haven‘t started yet with the winter colours but here are my choices for the books I read and paired with #Pantone25 until now.

These Japanese thrillers are so addicting. The decency: no cursing, no swearing. Just people talking and eating delicious food and in the mean time solving murder mysteries filled with twists. Quite the comfort read to me!

Welcome to our final #CampLitsy25 book. We hope King of Ashes hasn‘t scared you off because of its violence. There‘s so much more to the book. We are looking forward to your insightful comments.

We‘re discussing the first half of the book (until chapter 19) so please try not to include spoilers about the rest of the book!

As usual, I‘ll only be tagging all of you in this question. Scroll down to find both other questions. Enjoy!

#CampLitsy25 Question 2

Rowan thinks he can save his family. After all he is an extremely successful businessman. What do you think?

#Camplitsy25 Question 3

There is a lot to be said about the setting of the book in Jefferson Run. Let‘s talk about a bit about what it meant to you.

Next week we‘ll finish the book and discuss the second half. See you there!

#FridayHappyReadingHour

Can I join this hashtag? My mom has dementia, it‘s slowly increasing and I am cherishing these moments with her and a glass of French rosé wine

Set in a fictional Nursing Home in Sydney, this novel follows Sri Lankan immigrants Maya and Zakhir, who transformed the home into a sanctuary where “people will be valued.” Decades later, Maya is a resident, while Zakhir‘s disappearance remains unresolved. The flashbacks to war-torn Sri Lanka do complete the book.

Thanks for sending me this Carolyn🤍

#ReadTheWorld2025 #24 #SriLanka
#fictionaltraveler #someplacehot

I listened to this one to see if it might be a series I‘d enjoy but I don‘t think so. The plot is good and so are the twists but I didn‘t really warm up to main character Myron Bolitar. Also the sexism of Bolitar and his friends and probably Coben himself as well, was irritating. I know the book was written in the 90s, but is that an excuse?
So I‘m kind of relieved I can let go of these series!
I will try another stand alone Harlan Coben though.

A truly lovely book about a boy who scrapes the sea for shrimp and then meets a man who promises him Hollywood. The setting and scenery are drawn out so well, Thomas Flett is quite a special boy and the ending is… wow. Do visit the website mentioned at the end of the book 🎶

#Bookerlonglist #2

#WeeklyForecast 33/25

I‘m about to start my first (well I read Audition of course) #Bookerlonglist book, which is Seascraper. Afterwards I‘ll read the tagged one.
And I hope to start another Keigo Higashino.

This had been on my TBR since 2009 but I am glad I finally picked it up. It‘s a great read, set in Canada in a historical setting of empty landscapes, trackers, hunters, etc. A man is murdered and a boy is missing. What follows is a journey across the winter landscape with lots of pov‘s and storylines.

You were right Soubhi, it is a good read!

#CampLitsy25 question 1

Today we‘re discussing part two of Tilt.
As usual, I‘ll only be tagging all of you in this question. Scroll down to find both other questions. Enjoy!

#CampLitsy25 question 2

Let‘s discuss the title (and maybe the bird on the cover?)!

#CampLitsy25 question 3

That was quite the ending. You must have thoughts about it. Talk to us!

This is a very violent read, as was to be expected of Cosby, yet I loved it - as was to be expected too.
Characters and their dilemmas are so believable that I can tolerate the violence just to stick with them. And the ending is mindblowing - at least it took me by surprise.
Looking forward to our #CampLitsy25 discussion next weekend. First tbe second half of Tilt though!

Bud Stanley writes obituaries for a paper. After a bad breakup, a disastrous date, and one too many Scotches, he accidentally publishes his own obituary. The paper tries to fire him—only to find he‘s now listed as dead and can‘t be fired. Stuck in a bureaucratic mess, Bud tries to find meaning in living. This sounds sad but it‘s actually funny too!
Good recommendation @Lesliereadsalot

#WeeklyForecast 32/25

I started King of Ashes for #CampLitsy25 and have read a bit in I See You‘ve Called in Dead too. The tagged book is an oldie, I can‘t even remember why I bought it. It‘s my #Roll100 read for August.

I didn‘t love this book as much as most of you did. The narrator has been looking for her identity ever since her Korean mother died of cancer.
I loved the delicious Korean food descriptions and I could relate to the taking care of a dying parent but there were so many other subjects, that didn‘t really work for me. Less is more, I‘d say in this case.
Oh and I wish we had an H Mart where I live…it sounds amazing. #14weeks14books book 8

It‘s August and I‘m taking over the hosting from Meg for our final two #CampLitsy25 books. Today we‘re discussing Part One of Tilt.

As ever, if you‘ve read ahead, please try not to include spoilers for those who haven‘t.

Also, I‘ll only be tagging all of you in this question. Scroll down to find the other two questions. Enjoy!

#CampLitsy25

Let‘s discuss the two most important people in Annie‘s life: her mother and her husband!