#WeeklyForecast 03/22

I‘m having an emotional week. My mother in law passed away unexpectedly and we‘re arranging her funeral, to be held on Thursday. For comfort I‘ll reread one of my favorite Dutch books (tagged) and we‘ll be doing our Divers #buddyread, Cindy 💕
Nothing too ambitious except maybe for In the Freud Archives, which I am reading at the moment for the #NYRBBookClub. I‘m reading it slowly and so far am really enjoying it.

Another tough read. A kind of Kafka in #Egypt. Governments and bureaucracy are hidden behind a gate and people are queuing to ask their questions and requests for all kinds of basic human rights. The gate never opens though and people spend their lives just waiting in line.

#pop22 #NameOfABoardGameInTitle #FoodAndLit #ReadingAfrica2022 🇪🇬
#19822022 #2016 #52BooksIn52weeks #AuthorWithXYZinTheirName

#BookReport 02/22

I read four books this week, all completely different. My favorite is Subdivision, what a trip was that!

I had a hard time with this difficult books about women in #Ethiopia at war against Italy in the 1930s. The characters (Hirut, Kidane and Aster) were introduced well but soon they became mere characters in ongoing descriptions of battles, sieges, and rape. In between we learned about Haile Selassi leaving his country in need, but even this part didn‘t really work for me.

#19822022 #2019 #Booked2022 #AboutAFictionalRoyal #ReadingAfrica2022 🇪🇹

Look what I ran into on my way to work! Couldn‘t resist!

A solid read about a female scientist, renowned for her work in the field of cloning, who meets a clone representing herself. This woman is her ex husband‘s new lover. A great start, an engaging middle and a weak ending make for a soft pick. I don‘t think it should have made the #ToB22 shortlist. I do think that of several books this year 🥴

#pop22 #OnomatopoeiaInTitle

Look wat finally arrived Carolyn! This is such a lovely gift! That tea towel and the story accompanying it, my favorite chocolate (salty!) and the book 😍. The comparison to The Stone Angel makes me love it already. Thank you so much for thinking of my birthday (in November!), I am so happy this package didn‘t get lost after all! 😘

“Like this country, I am a child in extremis. That is why my parents named me Maya -- illusion, the one whom we believe is, but who is not.”

Maya grows up in poverty on the island of #Mauritius, near a luxurious tourist resort. When she falls in love with its manager, she dares to dream but in the end the gap between their two worlds is too big. Her love turns into fury.

#ReadingAfrica2022 🇲🇺 #19822022 #2004 #pop22 #ReadInOneSitting

#WeeklyForecast 02/22

I am focusing on a first good month of #ReadingAfrica2022 and the #ToB22. Of course I hope to tick off some prompts of other challenges as well and so far that‘s been easy - as it always is at the start of the year. Happy reading!

Wow, this book totally sucked me in. It reminded me of old school adventure computer games, each chapter learning a bit more about what the story is about. I loved the dreamlike style, the lingering sadness throughout the whole book and the way it came together in the end even though I‘m not sure how it ends.
Books like this are why I love the Tournament of Books.

#Doublespin #Tob22 #Booked2022 #SetInAnInn #52books #AuthorsPhotoOnCover

#BookReport 01/22

The first week of the year was a good one. I enjoyed all three of these. Nice progress on the #ToB22 and #readingAfrica2022

I‘m in for another year of #FoodAndLit! For #Egypt I‘ve chosen this dystopian novel that‘s been on my tbr a long time. In the background you see Luxor, a place that I visited some years ago and which is so very impressive! Thanks for organizing again!

This book made me laugh out loud. It is so recognizable to me. Slack, the use of emojis, the attitude towards the clients: it's really like the typical office culture within creative agencies. I enjoyed how the whole book was written in Slack channels and I liked the storyline, even though I'm not sure how it ended with Gerald and Slackbot. A fun read, but not really memorable and I doubt if it's worth the Rooster! #Tob22 #pop22 #SocialHorror

Against the background of contemporary #Burundi this is the story of a young mute man who is falsely accused of trying to rape a woman. All of the community turn against him and his fate is in their hands.

It‘s an easy short book but it‘s insightful as well.

#19822022 #2012 #ReadingAfrica2022 🇧🇮 #52books #ChaptersHaveTitles #Booked2022 #BlackOwnedPublisher

(Pic: Quarantaine again. Son tested positive)

A lot is happening in this book. It‘s a book about books, about ghosts, about Native Americans, the pandemic and George Floyd. Erdrich is very good in bringing her characters to life. I loved Tookie, Pollux and Hetta and their interactions, I enjoyed many storylines, and I learned a lot. With a 100 pages less it would have been perfect!

#pop22 #BookAboutTheAfterlife #ToB22 #19822022 #2021 #52books #FeaturingABookstore

(Pic: Gengenbach, Germany)

#WeeklyForecast 01/22

A new year, new challenges. This first week I‘d like to read these three, of which the tagged one is for #ReadingAfrica2022 and both others for the #ToB22.
I am a hundred pages into The Sentence and not sure yet what to think.

When #Senegal was a French colony local soldiers were recruited to fight for France during WWI. This book shows what war can do to people and how it affects them. A little book but it packs a punch.

#ReadingAfrica2022 🇸🇳 #52books Main character POC #pop22 A book featuring a man-made disaster #19822022

(Pic: French Alps)

#BookReport 52/21

2021‘s last report. I have been holidaying so plenty of time to read. I enjoyed all of them except Firefly Lane (on audio).

Kicking off #Booked2022 #ReadingAfrica2022 #pop22 #foodandlit #52in52 #ATY22 #bookspin #doublespin #bookspinbingo
Continuing #tob22 #1001books

Happy New Year everyone 🤍

#12BooksOf2021

I am sharing my almost-favorites of the year. The ones who didn‘t make my #Top21Of21 but are favorites nevertheless. One for each month.

For #December I am using the book with which I completed #ReadingAsia2021. It has been such a great experience and I can‘t wait to explore Africa thanks to @Librarybelle and #ReadingAfrica2022.

My 2021 stats. Very cool that #Storygraph features these. I had a good year, the stars are as expected. My preference has been shifting from classic to contemporary literature during the past years But I‘ll guess it‘ll keep changing and it‘s fun to keep track.

#WrapUpDecember #bookspin #Bookspinbingo

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Fresh Water For Flowers

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
America is not the heart
Rewind
Hell of A Book

⭐️⭐️⭐️✨
Out of Africa
Infinite country

⭐️⭐️⭐️
The other black girl
Libertie
The Ten Thousand Things
In concrete
Firefly Lane
People from my neighbourhood

⭐️⭐️✨
Matrix

“But, in the end, as it is with all of us, he could not be protected from the world.”

This is a book about how hard it is to grow up as a black person in the US. It is also satirical and clever. It has different storylines. It‘s a book in a book. It‘s funny and sad. There is even some magical realism. Or is there? It‘s a hell of a book and a good one to finish the year with.

#12BooksOf2021

I am sharing my almost-favorites of the year. The ones who didn‘t make my #Top21Of21 but are favorites nevertheless. One for each month.

My #November choice is The Trees, the new Percival that I hadn‘t even heard of but that appeared on the #ToB22 shortlist. And he delivers again. So good.

#12BooksOf2021

I am sharing my almost-favorites of the year. The ones who didn‘t make my #Top21Of21 but are favorites nevertheless. One for each month.

This book I read in #October and it still lingers in my mind. That says a lot I think.

#12BooksOf2021

I am sharing my almost-favorites of the year. The ones who didn‘t make my #Top21Of21 but are favorites nevertheless. One for each month.

In #September I joined the #manawakans buddyread, in which we read all books by Laurence set in the fictional Canadian place Manawaka. What a discovery. She is a master in bringing her characters to life. And what a characters they are!

#12BooksOf2021

I am sharing my almost-favorites of the year. The ones who didn‘t make my #Top21Of21 but are favorites nevertheless. One for each month.

This was a favorite of #August. I was swept away by this fast paced story from the first page. What a ride!

Another end of the year wrap-up. In 2021 I only read 13 books from the #1001books list. I have now read 650 of the listed books.

#12BooksOf2021

I am sharing my almost-favorites of the year. The ones who didn‘t make my #Top21Of21 but are favorites nevertheless. One for each month.

In #July I discovered Ania Ahlborn‘s horror and ever since reading this one I have meant to read more. So far I haven‘t but I definitely will.

The combination of Japan and such a cover 😍 was irresistible to me. The book is a collection of short stories about the strange and unique people that color this Japanese neighbourhood. Throw in some magical realism and you have a quick, fun but forgettable read.

#12BooksOf2021

I am sharing my almost-favorites of the year. The ones who didn‘t make my #Top21Of21 but are favorites nevertheless. One for each month.

Persephone books are always good and often outstanding. In #June I read and loved this one.

The perfect holiday read. I guessed the twist early on but it still was a great read about instagram influencers, journalists of gossip websites and people who‘d like to stay below the surface. Thanks for sending me this one Meg, it was as good as I hoped.

(Pic: French Alps)

To finish the #52Booksin52Weeks challenge I needed to read a book by Hannah. I thought I‘d skip the prompt but the control freak in me made me pick up this one on audio. Pooh. Way too chick lit for me.
Two girls promise to stay friends forever but it‘s hard when the beauty gets a glamorous career and no one to love, and the insecure one becomes a stay at home mother surrounded by love. Too cliche. And yes I cried at the end. Cheap emotions.

#12BooksOf2021

I am sharing my almost-favorites of the year. The ones who didn‘t make my #Top21Of21 but are favorites nevertheless. One for each month.

This book had been sitting on my shelves for years. In #May @Megabooks encouraged me to finally read it. And how right she was. This is an amazing atmospheric and thrilling book.

#12BooksOf2021

I am sharing my almost-favorites of the year. The ones who didn‘t make my #Top21Of21 but are favorites nevertheless. One for each month.

2021 was the year of #ReadingAsia2021 and that led to reading many gems and broaden my horizons. One of those special reads is this one about the importance of being beautiful in South Korea, that I read in #April.

#12BooksOf2021 I am sharing my almost-favorites of the year. The ones who didn‘t make my #Top21Of21 but are favorites nevertheless. One for each month.

This is my choice for #March. I love almost everything by Maggie O‘Farrell and this one was no exception.

#WeeklyForecast 52/21

I have a lot to choose from this last week of the year. These are the books I brought on my vacation. Not in the picture are my current reads: the tagged one, which I just started but am enjoying lot, and Firefly Lane on audio.

#12BooksOf2021 I am sharing my almost-favorites of the year. The ones who didn‘t make my #Top21Of21 but are favorites nevertheless. One for each month. This is my choice for #February. This book came exactly at the right moment and it made me change the way I look at my career and what I want to do professionally (not actually growing coffee, but work for companies with a purpose).

Thanks for tagging me @Andrew65 , I‘ll gladly share #12BooksOf2021. Because I have already posted my #Top21Of21 I‘ll now share twelve books that just just didn‘t make that list but that I loved anyhow.
In #January this was Perfect Days, a wonderful creepy read!

#BookReport 51/21

Three books this week of which I liked Infinite Country best!

I admire the word games in this book, it‘s quite eloquent and I‘m in awe of the translator. However the story was very thin and couldn‘t keep my attention. #ToB22

(Picture: Lake Geneva, Switzerland)

Thank you my lovely friend for this well thought Christmas present! I remember your review and how it made me want to read this book. I am very happy you thought of it and of me. I wish you all the best and want you to know I cherish our friendship ❤️. Happy holidays 🎄🍀

It‘s hard to review this book. It captures so well how it must be to live undocumented in a new country with half of your family in the country you left. The dilemma: going back or staying? Both options have risks, both have advantages. So I was engaged by the theme but not so much by the storytelling.
I am happy to have read it though, especially for the parts set in Colombia, a country of which I have fond memories.

(Pic: Kronberg, Germany)

These may well be my favorite sentences of the book. The reality of immigrants in half a page. Wow 💔

Today I received a book that I‘ve been wanting to read for a long time. But I don‘t know who to thank for it!
Please let me know so I can thank you properly!

When my family came to Holland from Indonesia they brought with them their ghosts and mystique. The stories in this book are similar to some that have been told in my family for generations. I think these stories are just a tool to create that Indonesian atmosphere. I understand and respect what Dermoût is doing but had a hard time following along. #NYRBBookClub

#WeeklyForecast 51/21

I‘ve started the tagged book for the #NYRBBookClub. For those who read Wild, it‘s one of Cheryl‘s favorite books during her journey.
Next up is my #buddyread with @squirrelbrain : Infinite Country. And because I‘m off work from Thursday till the end of the year I guess I‘ll also can read another one for the #ToB.
Happy with all of these!

Finally! My #pop22 plans. It‘s quite the challenge this year and I had to add a lot of books I don‘t have on my shelves. Of course, all will probably change 😃

#BookReport 50/21

Two disappointing #tob22 reads but Fresh Water for Flowers made up for that ❤️❤️

She strikes again! What a fantastic box filled with goodies!!! The book looks spectacular (my graphic design heart beats faster just looking at the artwork!) and all those presents make me feel special! Thank you so much. I hope my parcel will reach you soon too! 😘