#ReadingTheAmericas2023

With a jumpstart in December last year I now have read 6 books for the challenge:
▪️USA - Ocean State
▪️Puerto Rico - Olga Dies Dreaming
▪️Paraguay- H(a)ppy
▪️Mexico - My Volcano
▪️Greenland - An African in Greenland
▪️El Salvador - The She-Devil in the Mirror

So I‘ve made a first dent in the 48 countries to be read!

Manny‘s restaurant The Lobster has to shut down. Today is the last day it‘s open. It‘s snowing hard and Manny wonders whether his staff will turn up. Or any customers, for that matter. Yet he still goes about his business like it‘s just another day at The Lobster. Very touching and so well-written.

#52Booksclub23 #SetInWorkplace #pop23 #TakesPlaceInOneDay

My first four #Pantone2023 matches and again with appealing color names: #BlazingYellow, #CherryTomato #FieryRed and #LoveBird 🌈
Thanks for organizing this fun challenge again Cassandra!

#WeeklyForecast 05/23

Ambitious plans… I am still reading Babel for the #ToB23, switching between audio and print. It‘s an enjoyable read. My next one for the tournament will be The Passenger 🤞🏽 but first I am starting Last Night at the Lobster. I enjoyed Ocean State and wanted to read another book by O‘Nan and then @DreesReads called it one her best reads of ‘22 on Instagram (still missing her on Litsy!). The tagged book is my #Roll100.

I recently read only disappointing reviews about this book so went in with low expectations but I really loved it. Sure there‘s a lot going on but to me it made sense. I loved Olga as a character, was very interested in reading about the historical injustices committed to #PuertoRico, and enjoyed the romance part and the Latino atmosphere throughout the book. So definitely another #ToB23 pick!

#ReadingTheAmericas2023 🇵🇷

#BookReport 04/22

Work is killing me. And when I‘m not working I‘m too tired to read. Every time I do read, I can‘t keep my eyes open. Today is a Sunday though without any plans so I hope to spend it reading.
The two books I did finish were both gorgeous by the way!

Claire Keegan drafts her story so carefully and tenderly that I was pulled in from the start. A father drops his daughter at the farm of an aunt and uncle she hardly knows. She has no idea how long she will have to stay and is very scared. However from the first moments onwards the couple just show her love and tenderness. The girl learns about life, trust and grief. Keegan manages to do so in as few pages as possible. Perfection.
Thanks Cindy💖

It‘s another 5⭐️ read for me, this Lucy. She is just someone I like so much. How she approaches life, her past, her daughters and, very carefully, her maybe new future in Maine during the pandemic. I hope Elizabeth Strout will continue writing so beautiful about her and her wonderful family. Thank you for this gorgeous signed edition Helen 🤍

#Booked2023 #AboutAPandemic #52bookclub23 #FinalBookInASeries #pop23 #RecommendedByAFriend
#Roll100

#WeeklyForecast 04/23

I am reading and cherishing Lucy at the Sea and listening to Babel on audio. I do have a copy too but the audio is very good and easy to listen to. Babel and Olga are for the #ToB23 and Foster I just want to read asap 😀

#BookReport 03/23

An eclectic week again. Loving that!

A light pick because of its originality. The book is bonkers! A volcano arises in the midst of Central Park and it seems connected to Mount Fuji. All over the world volcanos are acting up and weird things start happening everywhere. Unimaginable things. I don‘t watch many movies but I‘d make an exception if this book would be made into one.

#ToB23 #ReadingTheAmericas2023 #Mexico 🇲🇽 #52Booksclub23 #FirstWordIsThe #pop23 #FirstTimeAuthor

Look Cindy what arrived so very fast! You chose two fantastic books for me. I am so glad I‘ll be able to join in the hype regarding Foster and the tagged Ken has been on my wishlist for a very long time. It‘s about Japan… totally my kind of book. Thank you for sending me these wonderful books 💖💖

I am listening to this book and am surprised by how readable it is and how much I am actually enjoying it, especially the bits about translation seen in a historical (read: colonial) context. I am at 40% now, and hopeful I‘ll end up with a pick! #Tob23

In 185 super short chapters, all based on a dictionary entrance, we read about the many phases of falling in love and being a couple. Beautiful written, gorgeous quotes, often recognizable. The book made me smile, nod and think. I hope they‘ll stay together forever 💖Thanks so much for sending me this book @KarenUK

#52bookclub23 #BookWithASubtitle

#weeklyforecast 03/23

I am reading The Lover‘s Dictionary, a wonderful little book sent to me by the lovely @KarenUK . Next will be the tagged one for #ToB23 (just like you Cindy!) and I hope there‘ll be time to start American War!

After piano virtuoso Glenn Gould dies, the unscrupulous narrator (alter ego of the author) and their friend Wertheimer are free to blame him for the fact they haven‘t become piano geniuses themselves.
After Wertheimers suicide, Bernhard as usual doesn‘t hold back. Again he pours out tons of criticism about Austrian society, and he mocks and taunts both of his friends with demonic pleasure. It is a pleasure to follow his linguistic brain.

#BookReport 02/23

Just those two. The Persephone was very good, as usual. 2 AM was just an okay read for me, though I had some new insights thanks to @Megabooks and @Hooked_on_books Always happy for our bookish talks!

Like most others I enjoyed the first part of this book. The collapse of the US, the people seeking refuge in other countries: it is an intriguing and disturbing premise. However in the second part strange things start happening to Ron, the narrator of the story. I didn‘t get if he is just unreliable or if his circumstances are. Too vague, too disconnected to my taste. #ToB23

#TBRtarot #52Booksclub23 #TimeInTitle #pop23 #PetCharacter

Harriet is a young woman with a small fortune. A mental disability makes her an easy target for the handsome and unscrupulous Lewis Oman. After winning Harriet's love, Lewis, along with his brother and mistress, sets in motion a cruel plan to get his hands on her money.

A very good, shocking story, not in the least because it is based on a true one from 1877

#Roll100 #pop23 #IndependentBookstore #52Booksclub23 #FeaturingOneOfTheSevenDeadlySins

#WeeklyForecast 02/23

I am having the Persephone one, Harriet, in progress. Next will be another shortlisted book from the #ToB23 which I can use for #TarotTBR as well. When there‘s time I‘d like to start the tagged book by Thomas Bernhard. Not a light read probably but the man can write!

Olga Maria has been killed and her best friend Laura must find out who did it. In a manic and chattery account she tells about her investigation in possible suspects and she reveals about corruption and impunity in #ElSalvador. As her anger and panic grow, Laura talks faster and faster. It is kind of funny if it weren‘t so sad.

#pop23 #shortestTBRbook #52Booksclub23 #Under200pages #Booked2023 #GiftedByAFriend #ReadingTheAmericas2023 🇸🇻

#BookReport 01/23

In this first week I read two #TOB contenders. I liked the tagged one but both aren‘t worth the Rooster imo. The Finlay was delicious: suspenseful and filled with twists. Overall a good start of the year!

If there were no other books waiting for me I would have spend more time with this one but since there are a zillion books out there calling my name I read this one diagonally. I think I got the point anyhow. Revenge indeed and a lot of anger. And that repeating and repeating.

#pop23 #QueerLead #Booked2023 #TransPerson #52Booksclub23 #SurvivalStory #ToB23

#12BooksOf2022

My favorite of December is this one, a wonderful story about a man traveling the world on the brink of the pandemic in search of a woman he used to know.

#12BooksOf2022

Based on its cover I‘d never had expected this book to be so dark. But it is. At times. And I loved it. My favorite read of November.

(Just one last pic of my Christmas tree 😉)

Two massacres, fifteen years apart. Two survivors, a suspect on the run, police and FBI seeking the truth. All these ingredients make for a very, good fast-pacing read. So many twists. I can‘t wait for the next Finlay. Great gift @TrishB, thanks ❤️!

#pop23 #SongLyricAsTitle #52booksclub23 #chapterswithcliffhangers #booked2023 #UsingTheWordTwist

#12BooksOf2022

My favorite book in October was this one, written by the Nobel Prize winner. It‘s the story of boy looking for his place in the world. An emotional read for #ReadingAfrica2022.

#12BooksOf2022

I read way too few classics in 2022 but I am so glad that I did read this one. It is fantastic. And it‘s Japanese of course, which I always seem to enjoy just a bit more!

I love StoryGraph to keep track of my reading, for the reading challenges and of course for their stats. My 2022 stats really do show me who I am 😀

#WeeklyForecast 01/23

Another year, new challenges! I am about to start The Night Shift because I really want to and I can use it for many challenges. The tagged one is for the #ToB23. I need to read one a week to finish them all in time.
The She-Devil is for #ReadingTheAmericas2023.

Happy new year 📚 📚📚📚

2022 is a wrap. Here are the books I read: 12 months, 12 shelves.

I enjoyed this book but I don‘t think it should be shortlisted for the ToB with so many better ones on the longlist.
The coming of age story of Sally, who loses her sister and best friend by a car accident, is a compelling one. The only one who understands her is Billy, her sister‘s boyfriend and the one who drove the car. An emotional yet humorous story.

#52bookclub23 #funeral #booked2023 #LoveTriangle #ToB23

Pic: Stuttgart, Germany

#12BooksOf2022

My August five ⭐️ read. Happy new year!

#12BooksOf2022

This might very well be my favorite book of the year. I read it in July, a month after my father died, and I loved the father/daughter parts in the book. I cried my eyes out but it felt good.
A perfect example of the right book at the right time.

Here they are, my #Top22of22! Not my best reading year, few five stars reads, but these 22 I can recommend wholeheartedly!

This was a thought provoking short story, the only one Morrison ever wrote. The concept of writing a story without racial coding about two girls (Twyla and Roberta) of different race for whom race is vital makes for an interesting experiment.

I read somewhere that apparently you can tell the race of the reader by what race they think Twyla is. An interesting thought!
Also, Zadie Smith‘s introduction is excellent.

#12BooksOf2022

I didn‘t read much in June and don‘t remember much of the books I read that month. The tagged one I do remember though and it‘s always comforting to read Strout. Looking forward to Lucy by the Sea!

Unfortunately I didn‘t like this book as much as I expected. It is a slow read, and it takes so long to get to the point. A point that was obvious from the beginning. So, more than fiction, the book was about exploring class in Maine. And this could have been much more interesting without the plot and half of the characters. So it felt like a mixed bag to me.

#12BooksOf2022

My May favorite was my favorite #ReadingAfrica2022 read as well. I loved that challenge and highly recommend the book!

#12booksof2022

My April favorite was undoubtedly this one. A unique book about the relationship between a mother and daughter, navigating between dependence, hate and love, but also about aging and Parkinson‘s disease. A very sad and beautiful story.

Is this a thriller? Certainly no whodunnit because we know from the start who did it. He‘s on death row, hours before his execution. So maybe no thriller, but definitely one of the best books I read this year. Is it possible to pity a serial killer? Danya Kukafka made me in what is best described as a psychological drama. Wow.

(Pic: French Alps)

#12BooksOf2022

I am a fan of Lucy Barton but this stand-alone novel (although the Burgess boys are playing a role in Lucy‘s novels as well) by Strout is easily just as good. I loved the family dynamics in this book and the always present New England setting.

Catching up on #12booksof2022.

The tagged book is my favorite January book and will probably be an all-time favorite. According to my stats Priestdaddy was my favorite of February but to be honest I hardly remember anything about it.

I loved this book. The plot, the setting and the style.
A student from Iceland meets a Japanese girl in Londen in the early 1970s. They fall in love until she suddenly disappears. Many years later they reconnect on Facebook, just when Covid hits the world. It is another gorgeous read from the #toblonglist. Many thanks for sending me this one Meg, it‘ll make my #top22of22 🤍

#WeeklyForecast 52/22

The last forecast of yet another year! I chose four book I am looking forward to but I am not sure how much reading time I‘ll have, staying with a group of 12 in a holiday home in the French Alps. I don‘t complain though, it‘s wonderful to have these people around!
In progress I am having Touch, which I am LOVING!

Happy holidays everyone ❤️❤️

Penny is an elder woman, she starts forgetting things, has an aching knee, doesn‘t take care of herself very well. When she moves to Six Cedars, a small housing facility for the elder, all seems to go better for a while. Penny is a lovely unreliable narrator, does she forget things or is time playing tricks on her? And what about Shelley, who manages the place? A disturbing read about aging, typically Iain Reid.

Picture: Kronberg, Germany

"We don‘t need the Nazis to destroy us; we‘re destroying ourselves”. Otto Frank said it in WWII, but it is as true in America in 2016, when Trump gets elected. It‘s the central message of this book, that is centred around Anne Frank‘s diary. The first half is set in the 80s, when the diary is turned into a high school play by the kind of sexist teacher that was quite normal in the 80s. We follow all cast members. ⬇️⬇️

As children in rural France after WWII, Fabienne and Agnès live in their own private world, needing nothing or no one. Until Fabienne comes up with the plan to write a book together with Agnès as its official author. This is the beginning of the end of their perfect little world. I am not sure of the meaning of the book, I feel like I missed something (see spoiler below), but it is an atmospheric and intense read. #ToB2023

#WeeklyForecast 51/22

Four books I can‘t wait to read! I am in the middle of The Book of Goose and enjoying it. I hope to finish it soon but of course there is the soccer finals later today.

Three more days of work and then I have time off until the end of the year. Plenty of time to read these beauties and some more that I‘ll take with me on a vacation across Germany and Switzerland to France where we‘ll be skiing for a week 🙏

#BookReport 50/22

A good week. So many good books at the end of the year and with the ToB longlist in the back of my mind. The tagged and Grown Ups didn‘t make it to the shortlist but are good nevertheless, especially Grown Ups. Dinosaurs did make it to the shortlist and rightly so. I loved it. Happy is a fun #1001books read, fantastic designed.