MissWatson roams the centuries, part 4

Hello, I'm Birgit, I live on the shore of the Baltic Sea and this is my eighth year in the CategoryChallenge. This year I'm taking things a little easier. I won't set numerical goals for my categories. Fiction reading will be categorised just by the century it was written in. There's a subgroup for historical fiction set in that period. Overlap between the CATs is allowed, even welcomed in the spirit of achieving CATtricks. Of course there's room for the Bingo and other reading challenges. By happy coincidence we're having a HistoryCAT this year, which fits in nicely with my plans.

21st century



Time flies
Faster and faster, and sometimes I can't believe this century is already two decades old!

1. The Eyre Affair by Jasper Fforde
2. Revenger by Alastair Reynolds
3. Wie die Tiere by Wolf Haas
4. Papanini : Pinguin per Post by Ute Krause
5. Papanini : Pinguin in Gefahr by Ute Krause
6. The mortal word by Genevieve Cogman
7. Old Filth by Jane Gardam
8. To be taught if fortunate by Becky Chambers
9. Die Muskeltiere und die rattenscharfe Party by Ute Krause
10. Die Muskeltiere und das Weihnachtswunder by Ute Krause
11. Unter Katzenfreunden by Axel Scheffler and Frantz Wittkamp
12. Heimsuchung by Jenny Erpenbeck
13. Kurt – EinHorn, eine Mission by Chantal Schreiber
14. Die vielen Talente der Schwestern Gusmão by Martha Batalha
15. Der falsche Inder by Abbas Khider
16. Der Wald ruft by Moritz Matthies
17. Civilizations by Laurent Binet
18. Poulets grillés by Sophie Hénaff
19. Gray by Leonie Swann
20. Mary Celeste : Ein Schiff auf ewiger Reise by Eigel Wiese
21. Exit West by Mohsin Hamid
22. Frère d'âme by David Diop
23. Die Muskeltiere und die große Käseverschwörung by Ute Krause
24. Kommissar Pascha by Su Turhan
25. A natural history of dragons by Marie Brennan
26. Der norwegische Gast by Anne Holt

20th century



While I breathe, I hope
Two great wars and innumerable conflicts make this century very bleak. Literature reflects this and I have mostly ignored it (genre fiction apart). Time to remedy this by means of lists, lists and more lists.

One of the lists I'm using for this project is Deutsche Welle's "A century of books" which presents 100 seminal titles by German authors whose books have been translated into English: https://www.dw.com/en/top-stories/100-must-reads/s-43415865

1. Elkes Sommer im Sonnenhof by Emma Gündel-Knacke
2. Das fliegende Klassenzimmer by Erich Kästner
3. Verschlossen und verriegelt by Sjöwall/Wahlöö
4. Astérix et les normands by Goscinny/Uderzo
5. Mirjam by Luise Rinser
6. Skandinavische Märchen
7. Au rendezvous des Terre-Neuvas by Georges Simenon
8. Die tückische Straße by Walter Serner
9. Tage der Kindheit by Waldemar Bonsels
10. The doll's house and other stories by Katherine Mansfield
11. The return of the soldier by Rebecca West
12. Liebe kleine Ursula by Margarete Hahn
13. Drei Kameraden by Erich Maria Remarque
14. Uncommon danger by Eric Ambler
15. Von alten Menschen, den Dingen, die vorübergehen by Louis Couperus
16. La maison du juge by Georges Simenon
17. Die dritte Kugel by Leo Perutz
18. Der Flachsacker by Stijn Streuvels
19. Der letzte Sommer by Ricarda Huch
20. The borrowers by Mary Norton
21. The Z murders by J. Jefferson Farjeon
22. Heimweh nach Prag by Joseph Roth
23. Summer by Edith Wharton
24. The riddle of the sands by Erskine Childers. DNF
25. Tuf voyaging by George R.R. Martin
26. Phantom Banjo by Elizabeth Scarborough
27. Das Blockhaus am Minnewana by Käthe Recheis
28. Dammbau by Margarete Boie
29. Kindred by Octavia E. Butler
30. Ja, damals ... by Else Hueck-Dehio
31. Der große Augenblick by Clarice Lispector
32. Kim by Rudyard Kipling
33. Große, kleine Schwester by Peter Härtling
34. Goodbye to Berlin by Christopher Isherwood
35. Seven Gothic tales by Isak Dinesen
36. The wind in the willows by Kenneth Grahame
37. Sin noticias de Gurb by Eduardo Mendoza
38. Letters from Father Christmas by JRR Tolkien
39. Monsieur René by Peter Ustinov

Historical fiction
1. Tod an der Wien by Beate Maly
2. Mord auf der Donau by Beate Maly
3. Sommer in Wien by Petra Hartlieb
4. Der tote Rittmeister by Elsa Dix
5. Die Tote in der Sommerfrische by Elsa Dix
6. A necessary evil by Abir Mukherjee
7. Ein königliches Theater by Marco Malvaldi

19th century



Faster, higher, stronger
My favourite literary period. So many great classics! Also a century that believed in progress and competition.

1. Unterm Birnbaum by Theodor Fontane
2. Clair de lune {et autres nouvelles} by Guy de Maupassant
3. Orley Farm by Anthony Trollope
4. The beach of Falesá by RL Stevenson
5. The ebb-tide by RL Stevenson
6. Elizabeth and her German garden by Elizabeth Von Arnim
7. Alice's adventures in wonderland by Lewis Carroll
8. Through the looking-glass by Lewis Carroll
9. The struggles of Brown, Jones, and Robinson by Anthony Trollope
10. Die beiden Baroninnen by Hans Christian Andersen
11. Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen
12. Humoristischer Hausschatz by Wilhelm Busch
13. The chronicles of Carlingford by Mrs Oliphant
14. The face in the glass by Mary Elizabeth Braddon
15. Voyage au centre de la terre by Jules Verne
16. Bunte Steine by Adalbert Stifter
17. Rachel Ray by Anthony Trollope

Historical fiction
1. Die rote Stadt by Boris Meyn
2. The reluctant widow by Georgette Heyer
3. Death comes to Pemberley by P.D. James
4. Die sizilianische Oper by Andrea Camilleri
5. Wide Sargasso Sea by Jean Rhys
6. Feuer in der Hafenstadt by Anja Marschall
7. Falschmünzer des Kaisers by Nora Urban
8. Mystère rue des Saints-Pères by Claude Izner
9. Les proies de l'officier by Armand Cabasson
10. Grimms Morde by Tanja Kinkel

18th century



Dare to know.
The Age of Reason or Enlightenment. Novels written in this century tend to be dreary or moralising, but there's lots of historical fiction here.

Historical fiction
Maria Christina : Tagebuch einer Tochter by Rebecca Novak
Der Grenadier und der stille Tod by Petra Reategui
Die Dame mit der bemalten Hand by Christine Wunnicke
1794 by Niklas Natt och Dag
Murder in Grub Street by Bruce Alexander
The black dwarf by Walter Scott

17th century



From the deep I call.
A time of religious disputes and wars in the middle of Europe. If I can finish five books written in this period, I shall be truly proud of myself.

Historical fiction
Pirate Latitudes by Michael Crichton
Das Fräulein von Scuderi by ETA Hoffmann
Die Schatten von La Rochelle by Tanja Kinkel
Alatriste by Arturo Pérez-Reverte

Before 1600



What we are you will be.
I don't see myself reading many books actually written in these centuries, but you never know until you try.

Hisorical fiction
Three hands in the fountain by Lindsey Davis

HistoryCAT



Since the foundation of the city.
History is a subject that fascinates me, some periods more than others. This is a strictly non-fiction section. The category title is taken from Livy's history of Rome.

hosting December

January: Middle Ages
Krieger und Bauern by Georges Duby
Die Ritter by Karl-Heinz Göttert
The Byzantine Economy by Angeliki Laiou
Einladung ins Mittelalter by Horst Fuhrmann

February: Modern 1800 to now
The War in the Peninsula by Robert Knowles
Rifles by Mark Urban
Die King's German Legion 1803-1816 by Jens Mastnak
L'économie de la Révolution Française by Florin Aftalion

March: early modern era 1500-1800
Piraten und Korsaren im Mittelmeer by Salvatore Bono
The Queen's agent by John Cooper
The world of Renaissance Florence
Der Astronom und die Hexe by Ulinka Rublack
The Merchant Republics by Mary Lindemann

April: ancient history
Rom : Aufstieg einer antiken Weltmacht
Entfernte Zeiten so nah : Pandemien und Krisen

May: Dynasties, civilisations, empires
The fate of Rome by Kyle Harper

June: War, Military, Revolutions
Bürger, Bauern, Söldner und Gesandte by Gunnar Teske
Les deux régentes by Simone Bertière

July: Social history
A la table des seigneurs, des moines et des paysans du Moyen Âge by Eric Birlouez
Die Himmelsscheibe von Nebra by Harald Meller and Kai Michel

August: Your own country
La traversée de la nuit by Geneviève de Gaulle Anthonioz
Ostpreußen : Geschichte einer historischen Landschaft by Andreas Kossert
1813 : Die Völkerschlacht und das Ende der Alten Welt by Andreas Platthaus

September: Religion/Philosophy/Politics/Law
Götter und Mythen des Nordens by Klaus Böldl
Die Welt aus den Angeln by Philipp Blom

October: Country of your choice
Louis XVII : La vérité by Philippe Delorme

November: Events
Revolution und Revolutionsforschung by Rolf Fischer et.al.
Joseph Fouché by Stefan Zweig

December: Discovery, Exploration and Adventure
Kolumbus und der Tag von Guanahani by Stefan Rinke
Die Portugiesen in Asien by Peter Feldbauer

RandomCAT



The dice is cast.
The quintessence of randomness, and my favourite category.

January: LOL
The Eyre Affair by Jasper Fforde
The reluctant widow by Georgette Heyer

February: Fruits & veggies
Unterm Birnbaum by Theodor Fontane

March: Surprise
Revenger by Alastair Reynolds
Wie die Tiere by Wolf Haas
The ebb-tide by Robert L Stevenson

April: from the library of a fellow LTer
Mirjam by Luise Rinser
Old Filth by Jane Gardam
To be taught if fortunate by Becky Chambers

May: Let's play Monopoly
The Doll's House and others stories by Katherine Mansfield
Drei Kameraden by Erich Maria Remarque
La maison du juge by Georges Simenon

June: Everything old is new
Wide Sargasso Sea by Jean Rhys

July: Summer!
Elizabeth and her German garden by Elizabeth Von Arnim
Summer by Edith Wharton
Der tote Rittmeister by Elsa Dix
Die beiden Baroninnen by Hans Christian Andersen
Die Tote in der Sommerfrische by Elsa Dix

August: On the road again
Tuf voyaging by George R.R. Martin
Phantom Banjo by Elizabeth Scarborough

September: Winner, winner
Frère d'âme by David Diop

October: a character who gives
Murder in Grub Street by Bruce Alexander

November: Fortune or Glory
Der norwegische Gast by Anne Holt

December: Christmas and Winter Holidays
Letters from Father Christmas by JRR Tolkien

GenreCAT



Variation delights.
I am very much looking forward to buffet reading.

January: Non-fiction
Krieger und Bauern by Georges Duby
Die Ritter by Karl-Heinz Göttert
The Byzantine Economy by Angeliki Laiou
Einladung ins Mittelalter by Horst Fuhrmann

February: memoir/biography
Monteverdi by Wulf Konold

March: Action and Adventure
Revenger by Alastair Reynolds
Pirate Latitudes by Michael Crichton

April: Literary Fiction
Mirjam by Luise Rinser
Old Filth by Jane Gardam

May: Short stories/essays
Die tückische Straße by Walter Serner
The doll's house and other stories by Katherine Mansfield

June: Historical fiction
Sommer in Wien by Petra Hartlieb
Wide Sargasso Sea by Jean Rhys
Feuer in der Hafenstadt by Anja Marschall
Die Schatten von La Rochelle by Tanja Kinkel
Die Dame mit der bemalten Hand by Christine Wunnicke
Alatriste by Arturo Pérez-Reverte

July: Romance
Summer by Edith Wharton
Der tote Rittmeister by Elsa Dix
Die Tote in der Sommerfrische by Elsa Dix

August: Poetry/Plays/Graphic Novel
Humoristischer Hausschatz by Wilhelm Busch

September: Children's / YA
Das Blockhaus am Minnewana by Käthe Recheis
Die Muskeltiere und die große Käseverschwörung by Ute Krause

October: Supernatural/Horror
The face in the glass by Mary Elizabeth Braddon
The black dwarf by Walter Scott
Seven Gothic tales by Isak Dinesen

November: SFF
Seven Gothic tales by Isak Dinesen
Voyage au centre de la terre by Jules Verne
Sin noticias de Gurb by Eduardo Mendoza

December: Mysteries
Grimms Morde by Tanja Kinkel
Three hands in the fountain by Lindsey Davis

BingoDOG



Beware the dog.
There's no need to worry, the BingoDOG is a cute little puppy! Which is why I am going to do a second card in the second half of the year.



1: Elizabeth and her German garden by Elizabeth Von Arnim
2: Große, kleine Schwester by Peter Härtling
3: Summer by Edith Wharton
4: L'économie de la Révolution Française by Florin Aftalion
5: Der falsche Inder by Abbas Khider
6: A natural history of dragons by Marie Brennan
7: La traversée de la nuit by Geneviève de Gaulle Anthonioz
8: Frère d'âme by David Diop
9: Der tote Rittmeister by Elsa Dix
10: Voyage au centre de la terre by Jules Verne
11: Die beiden Baroninnen by Hans Christian Andersen
12: The black dwarf by Walter Scott
13: A necessary evil by Abir Mukherjee
14: Civilizations by Laurent Binet
15: Ein königliches Theater by Marco Malvaldi
16: Monsieur René by Peter Ustinov
17: Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen
18: A la table des seigneurs, des moines et des paysans du Moyen Âge by Eric Birlouez
19: Die Himmelsscheibe von Nebra by Harald Meller and Kai Michel
20: Grimms Morde by Tanja Kinkel
21: Alatriste by Arturo Pérez-Reverte
22: Les deux régentes by Simone Bertière
23: Der Wald ruft by Moritz Matthies
24: Der große Augenblick by Clarice Lispector
25: Letters from Father Christmas by JRR Tolkien

January: 2,470 pages
February: 2,749 pages
March: 3,890 pages
April: 2,915 pages
May: 3,719 pages
June: 3,172 pages
July: 4,793 pages
August: 3,782 pages
September: 3,120 pages
October: 2,604 pages
November: 3,104
December: 2,519

The Popsugar reading challenge:

A book that's published in 2021 Sommer in Wien by Petra Hartlieb
An Afrofuturist book Kindred by Octavia E. Butler
A book that has a heart, diamond, club, or spade on the cover Alice's adventures in wonderland by Lewis Carroll
A book by an author who shares your zodiac sign Unterm Birnbaum by Theodor Fontane
A dark academia book Krieger und Bauern by Georges Duby
A book with a gem, mineral, or rock in the title Bunte Steine by Adalbert Stifter
A book where the main character works at your current or dream job Tod an der Wien by Beate Maly
A book that has won the Women's Prize For Fiction
A book with a family tree Les deux régentes by Simone Bertière
A bestseller from the 1990s
A book about forgetting The return of the soldier by Rebecca West
A book you have seen on someone's bookshelf (in real life, on a Zoom call, in a TV show, etc.)
A locked-room mystery Verschlossen und verriegelt by Sjöwall/Wahlöö
A genre hybrid Die Tote in der Sommerfrische by Elsa Dix
A book set mostly or entirely outdoors Pirate Latitudes by Michael Crichton
A book with something broken on the cover Die Schatten von La Rochelle by Tanja Kinkel
A book by a Muslim author Der falsche Inder by Abbas Khider
A book that was published anonymously The black dwarf by Walter Scott
A book with an oxymoron in the title Große, kleine Schwester by Peter Härtling
A book about do-overs or fresh starts Die rote Stadt by Boris Meyn
A book set in multiple countries Die tückische Straße by Walter Serner
A book set somewhere you'd like to visit in 2021 Mord auf der Donau by Beate Maly
A book recommended by a blogger, vlogger, YouTube video creator, or other online personality Entfernte Zeiten so nah : Pandemien und Krisen
A book whose title starts with "Q," "X," or "Z"
A book featuring three generations (grandparent, parent, child) Von alten Menschen, den Dingen, die vorübergehen by Louis Couperus
A book about a social justice issue Exit West by Mohsin Hamid
A book set in a restaurant Au rendezvous des Terre-Neuvas by Georges Simenon
A book with a black-and-white cover
A book by an lndigenous author
A book that has the same title as a song A necessary evil by Abir Mukherjee
A book about a subject you are passionate about The fate of Rome by Kyle Harper
A book in a different format than what you normally read (audiobooks, ebooks, graphic novels) Astérix et les normands by Goscinny/Uderzo
A book that has fewer than 1,000 reviews on Amazon or Goodreads Maria Christina : Tagebuch einer Tochter by Rebecca Novak
A book you think your best friend would like Grimms Morde by Tanja Kinkel
A book about art or an artist Monteverdi by Wulf Konold
A book that discusses body positivity
A book everyone seems to have read but you The wind in the willows by Kenneth Grahame
A book found on a Black Lives Matter reading list
Your favorite prompt from a past Popsugar Reading Challenge Rachel Ray by Anthony Trollope

Advanced
The longest book (by pages) on your TBR list
The shortest book (by pages) on your TBR list The War in the Peninsula by Robert Knowles
The book on your TBR list with the prettiest cover
The book on your TBR list with the ugliest cover Falschmünzer des Kaisers by Nora Urban
The book that's been on your TBR list for the longest amount of time Skandinavische Märchen
A book from your TBR list you meant to read last year but didn't
A book from your TBR list you associate with a favorite person, place, or thing Die beiden Baroninnen by HC Andersen
A book from your TBR list chosen at random A la table des seigneurs, des moines et des paysans du Moyen Âge by Eric Birlouez
A DNF book from your TBR list The riddle of the sands by Erskine Childers
A free book from your TBR list (gifted, borrowed, library) Das Fräulein von Scuderi by ETA Hoffmann

This is for the GoodReads Around the Year Challenge, borrowed from Judy's thread.

1. Related to "In the Beginning": Feuer in der Hafenstadt by Anja Marschall
2. Author's Name Has No "A, T or Y": Monteverdi by Wulf Konold
3. Related to the lyrics of the song "Favorite Things": Elizabeth and her German garden by Elizabeth Von Arnim
4. Monochromatic Cover: Krieger und Bauern by Georges Duby
5. Author is on USA Today's List of 100 Black Novelists You Should Read: Kindred by Octavia E. Butler
6. A Love Story: Maria Christina : Tagebuch einer Tochter by Rebecca Novak
7. Fits a Suggestion that Didn't Make the Final List: Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen
8. Set somewhere you have never visited: Verschlossen und verriegelt by Sjöwall/Wahlöö
9. Associated with a specific season or time of year: Summer by Edith Wharton
10. A female villain or criminal: Orley Farm by Anthony Trollope
11. Celebrates The Grand Egyptian Museum: Die Himmelsscheibe von Nebra by Harald Meller and Kai Michel
12. Written by a woman and translated to English: Der letzte Sommer by Ricarda Huch
13. Written by an author of one of your best reads in 2020:
14. Set in a made up place: Tuf voyaging by George R.R. Martin
15. Siblings as main characters: Der Wald ruft by Moritz Matthies
16. A building in the title: The doll's house and other stories by Katherine Mansfield
17. Muslim character or author: Die Dame mit der bemalten Hand by Christine Wunnicke
18. Related to the past: Adeliges Leben im Baltikum by Agnese Bergholde-Wolf
19. Related to the present: Heimsuchung by Jenny Erpenbeck
20. Related to the future: To be fortunate if taught by Becky Chambers
21. Title and Author contain the letter U: Einladung ins Mittelalter by Horst Fuhrmann
22. Posted in one of the ATY Best Book of the Month Threads:
23. A Cross Genre Novel: Die Tote in der Sommerfrische by Elsa Dix
24. About Racism or Race Relations: Kolumbus und der Tag von Guanahani by Stefan Rinke
25. Set on an island: Die sizilianische Oper by Andrea Camilleri
26. A Short Book (less than 210 pages): Unterm Birnbaum by Theodor Fontane
27. Book has a character that could be found in a deck of cards: Through the looking-glass by Lewis Carroll
28. Connected to ice: Die Welt aus den Angeln by Philipp Blom
29. A Comfort Read: Liebe kleine Ursula by Margarete Hahn
30. A Long Book: Les deux régentes by Simone Bertière
31. Author's career spanned more than 21 years: The reluctant widow by Georgette Heyer
32. Cover shows more than 2 people: Tage der Kindheit by Waldemar Bonsels
33. A Collection of Short Stories, Essays or Poetry: Clair de lune {et autres nouvelles} by Guy de Maupassant
34. A book with a travel theme: Der falsche Inder by Abbas Khider
35. Set in a country on or below the Tropic of Cancer: Die vielen Talente der Schwestern Gusmão by Martha Batalha
36. Six or More Words in the Title: A la table des seigneurs, des moines et des paysans du Moyen Âge by Eric Birlouez
37. From the "Are You Well Read in Literature List": Wide Sargasso Sea by Jean Rhys
38. Related to a word given to you by a random word generator:
39. Involves an immigrant: Exit West by Mohsin Hamid
40. Flowers or Greenery on the cover:
41. A new-to-you BIPOC Author:
42. A Mystery or Thriller: Die rote Stadt by Boris Meyn
43. Contains elements of magic: Astérix et les normands by Goscinny/Uderzo
44. Title Contains a Negative:
45. Related to a codeword from the NATO phoenic alphabet: Rachel Ray by Anthony Trollope
46. Winner or nominee from the 2020 Goodreads Choice Awards:
47. Non-Fiction book other than a Memoir or a Biography: Rifles : Six years with Wellington's legendary sharpshooters by Mark Urban
48. Might cause someone to say "You Read What!!":
49. Book with an ensemble cast: Von alten Menschen, den Dingen, die vorübergehen by Louis Couperus
50. Published in 2021: Sommer in Wien by Petra Hartlieb
51. Refers to a character without giving their name: Der Astronom und die Hexe by Ulinka Rublack
52. Related to "The End": Skandinavische Märchen

And here it is, the classics challenge discovered on Leslie's thread.

1. A 19th century classic - any book published between 1800 and 1899. Unterm Birnbaum by Theodor Fontane
2. A 20th century classic - any book published between 1900 and 1971. Drei Kameraden by Erich Maria Remarque
3. A classic by a woman author. The return of the soldier by Rebecca West
4. A classic in translation. Von alten Menschen, den Dingen, die vorübergehen by Louis Couperus
5. A children's classic. Alice's adventures in wonderland by Lewis Carroll
6. A classic crime story, fiction or non-fiction. Orley Farm by Anthony Trollope
7. A classic travel or journey narrative, fiction or non-fiction. Kim by Rudyard Kipling
8. A classic with a single-word title. Summer by Edith Wharton
9. A classic with a color in the title. The black dwarf by Walter Scott
10. A classic by an author that's new to you: Der Flachsacker by Stijn Streuvels
11. A classic that scares you. Bunte Steine by Adalbert Stifter
12. Re-read a favorite classic. Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen

And because I am utterly insane, here is also the #WomenReading21 Challenge (enabled by ELiz_M):
1) A Book Longlisted for the JCB Prize
2) An Author from Eastern Europe:
3) A Book About Incarceration La traversée de la nuit by Geneviève de Gaulle Anthonioz
4) A Cookbook by a Woman of Color: Madhur Jaffrey's Ultimate Curry Bible
5) A Book with a Protagonist Older than 50: Tod an der Wien by Beate Maly
6) A Book by a South American Author in Translation: Die vielen Talente der Schwestern Gusmão by Martha Batalha
7) Reread a Favorite Book The reluctant widow by Georgette Heyer
8) A Memoir by an Indigenous, First Nations, Native, or Aboriginal Woman:
9) A Book by a Neurodivergent Author
10) A Crime Novel or Thriller in Translation: Der norwegische Gast by Anne Holt
11) A Book About the Natural World
12) A Young Adult Novel by a Latinx Author
13) A Poetry Collection by a Black Woman
14) A Book with a Biracial Protagonist:
15) A Muslim Middle Grade Novel
16) A Book Featuring a Queer Love Story
17) About a Woman in Politics Les deux régentes by Simone Bertière
18) A Book with a Rural Setting: Summer by Edith Wharton
19) A Book with a Cover Designed by a Woman To be taught if fortunate by Becky Chambers
20) A Book by an Arab Author in Translation
21) A Book by a Trans Author
22) A Fantasy Novel by an Asian Author
23) A Nonfiction Book Focused on Social Justice
24) A Short Story Collection by a Caribbean Author
BONUS
25) A Book by Alexis Wright
26) A Book by Tsitsi Dangarembga
27) A Book by Leila Aboulela
28) A Book by Yoko Ogawa

Welcome!

We're on the home stretch and I hope to fill in the last slots before planning for 2022 starts in earnest. It's been a good year reading-wise, so far. The Women Reading Challenge is proving difficult, however, there's not much on my own shelves that fits...

Happy new last thread and good luck with the women authors challenge!

>17 Tess_W: Thanks, Tess! I'm a bit bored by my current history book and looking for something fun for this nice, sunny sunday...

Hurray, a new thread! Enjoy your sunny Sunday. I hope you find a fun book on the shelves.

Happy new thread! I am so impressed with the sheer numbers of books you've managed to read this year!

Happy new thread! You've done a great job filling in all your challenges!

Happy new thread, Brigit! I thought I loved challenges - you have me beat! Good luck with your reading and your challenges. :)

>19 rabbitprincess: Yes, setting up a new thread is a nice way to start Sunday. And then I went to the autumn market of our local open air museum which is always fun.
>20 Jackie_K: Hi Jackie! I have surprised myself, but there were so many months when no other activities were possible.
>Hello Ninie! Thanks, I can now tweak the last prompts to fit my shelves.
>22 DeltaQueen50: Hi Judy. I can never resist those lists!

Happy new thread, Birgit! I enjoyed rereading your Latin mottos.

>24 christina_reads: Thanks for dropping in!

XXVIII / RandomCAT / MysteryKIT

Murder in Grub Street has a gruesome killing at the beginning, but since this is the 18th century there's little in the way of forensics, hence no need for dwelling on the details. The plot advances leisurely, the culprit is obvious pretty soon and it's more a question of how to bring him to justice. The judge in charge, Sir John Fiuelding of Bow Street Court, is blind and also unusually humane and enlightened for the period. Having a suspect with a dissociative identity disorder provides an unusual touch for the time.

Well, well. My boring history book, Der Preis des Ruhms, has just been selected for translation into English, to be funded by the Booktrade Association, the Thyssen Foundation and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Someone has a difficult job ahead, as the author's writing style is very ugly, in my humble opinion. But I intend to plough on.

Also, a very enthusiastic review for Pflaumenregen which means I should get to Der Gott der Barbaren soon. That one could definitely qualify for "most ugly cover".

XIX / GenreCAT

I'm not much into horror or the supernatural, but I do have a collection of ghost stories by Mary Elizabeth Braddon on my shelves: The face in the glass. Alas, they were neither scary nor suspenseful, but far too predictable. Not a keeper.

HistoryCAT

There was a TV documentary about the last days of Marie Antoinette which prompted me to take Louis XVII : la vérité from the shelf. This is about the DNA test of the heart conserved nowadays in Saint-Denis, taken from the boy who died in the Temple prison in 1795 by the doctor who performed the autopsy.

For almost two centuries people tried to prove that he was not the son of Marie Antoinette and Louis XVI but a substitute smuggled in by fervent royalists. On the occasion of the bicentenary, and after some first testing of the remains of one of the impostors, the author suggested that a DNA test of the heart would settle this question once and for all. The technique was there, all he had to do was prove the provenance of the relic. His efforts to do just that take up most of the pages in this slim volume. There are 99 pages about the odyssey of the preserved heart, and almost twice that number for additional lengthy citations from the documents. Most of this is highly repetitive, but a fascinating glimpse into the times. And yes, two laboratories, one Dutch, one German, have confirmed that the boy descended from the Habsburgs.

>29 MissWatson: Just the type of thing I love to read about. There was a journal article out, maybe 10-15 years ago, 3-4 pages, that I made my college students read when we studied the French Revolution--same topic, same conclusions.

>30 Tess_W: It's a bit of a slog because of the endless repetitions, but fascinating nevertheless.

Managed to miss you had a new thread. Popping in to follow along.
>29 MissWatson: that does sound interesting.

>32 Helenliz: Nice to see you! Yes, it was interesting, and rather horrifying to read the details of the boy's incarceration.

>29 MissWatson: Fascinating bit of history!

I am absolutely convinced that I read a children's book about this incident, in which the real prince was smuggled out and there was a girl confused as to the name "Dauphin". But what was the book? I couldn't say. The best I can come up with is Twain's The Prince and the Pauper -- which it surely isn't, at least; I believe the one I'm remembering as more of a romp than a social commentary.

Anyway, from those weak remembrances, if someone had asked me, I'd have said they probably did replace the king's son with someone else's son, so it's interesting to learn some truth in what was clearly a fictionalized story.

>29 MissWatson: Sounds like a murky business, and an account that needs a patient reader!

>34 pammab: Interesting, but the children's book strikes no chord with me. Considering how abysmally the Royalists mishandled their escape attempts (both when the whole family ended up in Varennes and the Queen's abortive flight from the Temple) I think it highly unlikely that they could have organised such a swap. And I think Louis' brothers were not very keen on saving them, either.

>35 charl08: Yes, patience and a willingness to deal with people's egoism. Louis' brothers come across as very unsympathetic characters, and look what awful kings they turned out to be.

XX / Bingo: title describes you / Popsugar: oxymoron

Große, kleine Schwester by Peter Härtling caught my eye in the remainders' bin a few weeks ago and I thought immediately that it would be a perfect fit for one of the more difficult prompts in the Bingo. It translates as "Big, little sister" and I happen to the eldest of three sisters and at the same time the shortest.

It is a tale of two sisters who grow up in Habsburg Brünn and experience the tumultuous times of the 20th century from the end of WWII until some time in 1980s. The chapters alternate between the past and the present, the first have titles, the others are numbered, so you could read them easily in different sequence. They have spent almost all their time together, apart from the few years of the younger sister Lea's marriage. Her Czech husband dies shortly after the communists take over and she follows her mother and sister to Germany.
They are held together by a love-hate relationship, as they were born close together they started school together and have seldom been seen as individuals by their family, until work and a marriage move them apart for a brief time. They are pretty much on their own in Germany, no relatives or friends left, and that feels a little bleak.

Saturday notes

So, Paul Ingendaay reviewed a newly translated Antonio Lobo Antunes, mostly wondering why he goes back to an author who writes such bleak stories, which makes me rather hesitant to pick up Der Judaskuss. Dark autumn days are not a good time to read bleak books. Colm Tóibín writes about the various houses Thomas Mann lived in, he seems to have visited them all before he wrote about him. And Stephan Malinowski is a name to keep in mind for history books...

Just dropping by to say Happy New Thread! I love revisiting the lists of books read.

>39 VivienneR: Nice to see you!

XXI / SFF KIT / Bingo: suggested by another generation

A natural history of dragons was an amusing read, but not overwhelming. The world bears too much resemblance to Victorian England, especially the attitudes to other countries and peoples.

XVIII / GenreCAT: supernatural / Bingo: dark word in title / Popsugar: published anonymously / Classics: colour in title

Browsing my classics collection I found only a few titles which have a colour in the title, most of them read already, so I picked The black dwarf, the first in the Tales of my Landlord and published anonymously at first. The time is 1707, and superstition is rife among the inhabitants of this particular nook of Scotland and immediately finds all kinds of bad things to say about a newcomer who is indeed of short stature. At the time they were thought to be in league with the devil or to be warlocks.
This was comparatively short and not very exciting, as regards plot and characters. Apparently Scott also thought he had written himself into a corner and brought it to a premature end.

Saturday notes

A nice article about the difficult relationship Flaubert had with his hometown, Rouen, and vice-versa. They're sprucing up some of the sites for his bicentenary in December. I never knew his father was the city surgeon and he grew up playing in the anatomy theatre. Bearing this in mind, and some titbits about scenes in Madame Bovary that are real places in Rouen, I think a re-read is in order before we go to Normandy again. Next year, if things go well?

>43 MissWatson: Rouen, one of my favorite French cities. I was only able to spend 2 days there--so I'm sure I missed much. We were focused on Monet and Joan of Arc, but I'm sure there is so much more!

>44 Tess_W: It's gorgeous, isn't it? Last time we stayed in a hotel just opposite to the Archbishop's palace, in an old house.

So, October reading has not exactly been stellar. I can't make up my mind when I stand before the shelves which is not helping...

XX

Goodbye to Berlin features on quite a few "must read" lists, but left me rather cold, as the narrator is so very uninvolved in what's going on around him.

>47 MissWatson: I have that on my shelf tbr. It is also on the 1001 Books list. I have to say that I have read only 2/242 on that list that was any good (to me!).

>48 Tess_W: They tweaked the list repeatedly to be more inclusive, and of course it is aimed at readers whose native tongue is English, but I still think that some authors are over-represented. Ballard, Beckett, Bellow, to name just a few. And Goodbye to Berlin is not an invitation to read his other Berlin book. A single man would have been a better choice, I suppose.

XX / GenreCAT / SFF KIT

I was busy around the house for a few days so I didn't finish Seven Gothic tales in time for the October GenreCAT, but never mind. This was Dinesen/Blixen's first published book, and I didn't find them particularly Gothic, to be honest. There's in almost all the "story within a story" technique, and they draw much on Danish history, but they lack a certain threatening atmosphere. There's much allusion to German romantic literature, especially in the last story "The poet", and also frequent use of the names of well-known families, such as the Schimmelmanns or the Nat-og-Dag, which has a certain disorienting effect, as you check if they were real people. No, she just borrowed the names.

XIX / GenreCAT / Bingo: classical element

Voyage au centre de la terre is an early Jules Verne novel. It has only three important characters, namely the Professor, the narrator, and the Icelandic guide who accompanies them and does all the heavy lifting. The long passages as they travel underground are very claustrophobic, and I have to confess that all the geological discussions were a bit boring. There's also the Professor's temper and plain pigheadedness which is irritating. I was also very much surprised to find that the story starts in Hamburg with a brief change of transport in Kiel for the journey to Iceland.

>51 MissWatson: This book sparked my love of Iceland! But I did read an abridged translation, so I think I avoided all the boring geological discussions ;)

>53 MissWatson: Hm, the book was not very long (314 pages in large font plus many illustrations), so I wonder what they left out? Probably that very long episode where they walked into a dead end (and almost died of thirst, the professor having been over-optimistic about subterranean sources).

>53 MissWatson: Oops! Just checked my books again, and I was thinking of 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea. *That* one was specially abridged in my Puffin Classics edition.

I guess I either find the geology interesting or forget about those bits when I think of the book ;)

>51 MissWatson:

I don't remember reading that Verne book but I must have because I read everyone of his books that I could find when in my teens. I do remember the movie from that period however.

>51 MissWatson: I should read this, I'm sure I only have ever read shortened versions aimed at children!

>54 rabbitprincess: I'm going to revisit than one soon, as I have only read an abridged German version in my younger days.
>55 hailelib: There's not much plot, so it's easy to forget, and they padded it out a lot for the movie(s).
>56 charl08: Be advised to have a dictionary for the scientific terms at hand, and the internet on tap. Axel's beloved is described repeatedly as a "Virlandaise" and none of my dictionaries knew that. I found it's a region and group of people in what is now Estonia. These books are very educational.

>51 MissWatson: I read that last year-- and I'm in agreement about the long geographical sections.

>58 Tess_W: Hi Tess. I just learned that the Captain Hatteras book is about Arctic exploration and real explorers apparently said that most of it was factual, so there's that. But he is long-winded about it. Then again, his readers had neither the means to go for themselves or the kind of luscious colour photographs we can enjoy, so they needed detailed descriptions.
On a more humorous note, during this book I was constantly reminded of a young reader's complaint (while reading Karl May) that these people never have to go to the bathroom. Same here, they spend weeks underground and nary a mention of washing your face (well, there was no water for long stretches) or other bodily needs.

HistoryCAT

Revolution und Revolutionsforschung is a slim volume containing ten short pieces about the November Revolution of 1918 in Kiel. It was published in 2011 and reflects the lack of modern research into this. There was some more media attention for the subject in the centenary year, but not that much. I think I need to move Döblin a bit hiugher up the TBR...

ETC

HistoryCAT

The first half of Joseph Fouché's career falls into the French Revolution, the second into Napoleon's Empire, and an amazing career it was. I had a vague notion that he was a crafty minister of police, but there is so much more to it. Zweig certainly knows his stuff, but he writes his biographies for a general public, so he doesn't name his sources which I found utterly frustrating in this case. The Russian Revolution looms large in his interpretation of the French one, and I don't think some of his opinions still hold today. This was written nearly one hundred years ago, and it shows in his attitude towards "men of genius" such as Bonaparte. If Bonaparte changes his politics to run with the tide, it's strategic. If Fouché does it, it's opportunism or worse. I wonder if there are more modern books about him...
There are also a few remarks about enforced exile bringing out real character and greatness in great men that are painful to read, knowing he was to endure exile himself a few years later. He probably would not have written them then.

>61 MissWatson: I love that author! I have two of his books on Mount TBR. Adding this one to my WL!

>62 Tess_W: I'm certainly going to go and look for more books about Fouché.

XX / Popsugar: a book everyone seems to have read but you

Apparently more than 19,000 people on LT own or have read The wind in the willows and I am glad I have finally done so myself. I don't think I would have enjoyed this as a kid, as I wasn't much into animals, and it feels so very, very English. I could appreciate it much more now, and I was struck by the similarities between this English countryside and Tolkien's shire. This was lovely.

>64 MissWatson: I have started this book a couple of times and fizzled out before finishing. Perhaps I need to finally give it another try and finish it!

>64 MissWatson: I think this was the first thing I saw in the theatre (adapted, of course). All I remember is how high up the stage was, and the interval ice cream!

>65 Tess_W: I was in the right mood for it, I guess. At other times the patience Badger, Mole and Rat show for Toad's antics would have made me lose mine.
>66 charl08: I wonder how that would have worked...

>64 MissWatson: Love this one. Especially when read by Alan Bennett.
>66 charl08: I have a feeling I've seen an adaptation of this as well. I remember ducks in yellow wellies, but little else.

>68 Helenliz: Yes, I imagine it would work very well as an audiobook.

XIX / MysteryKIT

Les proies de l'officier dragged. A lot. Mostly because the author cannot make up his mind whether he wants to write a mystery or a study of men in war. Quentin Margont is a captain in the French infantry on his way to Moscow with the Grande Armée when Eugène de Beauharnais tasks him with finding the murderer of a woman, because there is fear of political fallout if it remains unsolved. The very premise of this investigation was unconvincing, and there's practically no sleuthing being done. His sergeant finds out most of the information about the suspects, but we never see this happening, he just tells it. And the ending! The murderer is identified, yes, but a few pages later the remnants of the army cross the Berezina and there it ends. Just like that.

HistoryCAT

I have finished my lunch-break book The Merchant Republics, which looks at the commercial worlds of Amsterdam, Antwerp and Hamburg. I found it a bit repetitive, but not boring enough to DNF it. The thing that turned me off most was her overuse of similes, as in "...individuals were not mere chaff blown about by the scirocco winds of change." There's too much boats floating, tides rising and so on. Since it doesn't really fit for this month's theme, it goes into the March list.

XXI / RandomCAT / WomenReading: crime in translation

I bought Der norwegische Gast at a friends of the library sale recently, not knowing that it is a very late entry in a series. And I am not quite sure what that strange title is supposed to mean (the Norwegian guest), unless it is meant to indicate that Hanne Wilhelmsen observes her fellow guests rather critically. I thought this was competently done, but I won't rush out to read the first volumes.

XX / GenreCAT

I have come to realise that Reclam's Red Series are perfect for reading on the bus in these days when you have to wear masks on public transport: small enough to fit in a coat pocket, the font is large enough to read without glasses, so no fogged lenses, and the footnotes mean I don't need a dictionary. Which is how I finished Sin noticias de Gurb a lot quicker than I expected.
There's not much of SF in it, to be honest, just an alien who has landed near Barcelona and sent off his teammate on reconnaissance. But he hasn't returned, and so the unnamed narrator ventures forth himself and keeps a log of his experiences. It's 1990 and Barcelone is being turned upside down in preparation for the Olympics...Quite entertaining.

Saturday notes

A very positive review of The boundless sea and because it was offered with a discount during Black week I went and bought it. Oh dear.
And there's been the literary supplement for the Christmas shopping. Catherine Gore's The money lender has been published in German, finally. Translated by Theodor Fontane, no less, and rejected at the time. Do I read this or the original? She seems an interesting author by herself. There's also Richard Russo's Straight Man to be considered, or Rühmkorf's Auf Wiedersehen in Kenilworth...
It's going to be a long wishlist.

So, the countdown to Christmas has started, and the number of new infections rises daily. A scary outlook, and I have returned to working from home. It's not ideal, but preferable to crowded buses. Especially in this weather: raind and strong winds.
The November reading has been average, and I hope for better things in December.

>75 MissWatson: Glad you have that option. Here's hoping for a great December.

>75 MissWatson: It sounds scary in Germany at the moment - my sister and her family are working from home as much as they can. My niece recently passed her driving test and is able to drive to school rather than go on the train, but now they're worrying about her driving in the snow.

From here (Southeast US), the news from Europe doesn't look good. Locally our number of cases seem to have plateaued but I still stay home most of the time and wear a mask. You are lucky to be able to work from home.

>75 MissWatson: Sorry to hear that the outlook in Germany is looking so bleak. We can only hope that this latest variant proves to be less lethal.

>76 Tess_W: >77 Jackie_K: >78 hailelib: >79 pamelad: Thank you all. I am very lucky that I work at a library with good technical equipment that enables us to do our work from home so effortlessly. Ten years ago that would have been far less easy, I think.

In better news: we have a sprinkling of snow this morning which looks lovely. Winter is coming!

XIX / GenreCAT / MysteryKIT / Bingo: character you'd be friends with / Popsugar: your best friend would like

It took me a little longer than planned to finish Grimms Morde, so it counts for November MysteryKIT and December GenreCAT.
We are in Kassel in 1821, one of the recently deceased Elector's mistresses is found dead, killed in a very gruesome manner lifted from one of the fairy tales of the Brothers Grimm, and naturally Jacob is the main suspect. The story was contributed by Annette von Droste-Hülshoff and their sister, so they also travel to Kassel to help solve the murder. It's only six years since the French occupation, and there's lots of resentment against those who worked for and with the French when Bonaparte's brother played at being king in Kassel. But also disappointment that the return of the old ruling family has brought back censorship, aristocratic privilege and everything that was bad about the Ancien Régime.
This was truly enjoyable, the author writes well and does her research, and she gives a great sense of the times. And of course there's additional interest in it for me because we often visit Castle Wilhelmshöhe in Kassel. The book is also a great companion read to Fräulein Nettes kurzer Sommer, as it covers the same ground: Annette von Droste's short courtship, her family's intervention, and her sister's doomed love for Wilhelm Grimm. Both sisters come across as people whom I would like to have as friends in real life.

XX / RandomCAT / Bingo: contains magic

Nothing could be more heart-warming, charming and magical than these letters that Tolkien wrote to his children. There are elves and gnomes and goblins at the North Pole, and the illustrations are delightful.

ETA: I am talking about Letters from Father Christmas, of course. Silly me.

HistoryCAT / GR: Race or Race relations

Kolumbus und der Tag von Guanahani gives a brief overview of what Columbus' arrival in the Caribbean meant for the indigenous peoples, but also for the world at large. It's well written and generously illustrated, and it has proper footnotes, so lots of ideas for further reading.

XX / Bingo: senior citizen protagonist

Monsieur René is billed as a mystery, but frankly, it doesn't feel like it. On the other hand, I can't say what it is, there are so many themes picked up and then abandoned again.
Monsieur René has had a successful career as a hotel concierge, but now that he has reached the "biblical" age of three score years and ten, he reflects on his life and feels he has wasted it on the wrong kind of people, always catering to and covering up for the misdeeds of the rich and unscrupulous. He decides to team up with a few colleagues to spy on the politicoes meeting in Geneva and to expose their shenanigans. The whole scheme comes to nothing, instead Monsieur René meets and falls in love with a woman who confesses to three murders committed decades ago. And then Monsieur René sells his memoirs and receives loads of cash.
This left me confused rather than entertained, the whole timing of events feels wrong and at times the protagonist's musing on the state of the world in general feels as if the author was trying to work off a feeling of dispair at mankind's inhumanity. Just weird, and not in a good way.

ETA: This completes my second Bingo card, so that's one good thing about it!

Congratulations on completing two Bingo cards!

>85 DeltaQueen50: Thanks, Judy! They are always such fun to find books for.

XIX / RandomCAT / Popsugar: gem or mineral in the title / Classics: scares you

Bunte Steine is a collection of six novellas or stories which all have the name of a mineral or stone as title: Granite, Limestone, Tourmaline, Rock Crystal, Cat's Silver and Rock Milk. Stifter has a fearsome reputation for being boring, and I can imagine that in a novel his endless nature watching and description can drag. In this shorter pieces it often adds a lyrical quality to the tale being told.
However, these are not easy to read today, and I wish there had been notes to explain the frequent Austrian words which cannot all be guessed from context. The grammar is old-fashioned, and his habit of always using diminutives when talking about children (they have Füßlein, Ärmlein, Äuglein instead of Füße, Arme and Augen) set my teeth on edge. I would also like to know how the title relates to the story, especially in the case of tourmaline this baffles me.
ETA: And because Rock Crystal has a snowfall on Christmas Eve, it counts for the RandomCAT.

Congratulations on the Bingo card.

>88 hailelib: Thanks!

>84 MissWatson: Congratulations on finishing the second Bingo!

>90 pamelad: Thank you!

XIX / Popsugar: favourite previous prompt / GR: NATO alphabet

I am interpreting the prompt rather generously by using Rachel Ray to stand for X-Ray, so what. The Popsugar promot is "published before you were born".
A lovely read, just the thing for dark winter nights. A gentle romance, a look at life in a small Devon town, and of course he manages to squeeze in his obsession with parliamentary elections.

Before 1600 / GenreCAT / MysteryKIT

Somewhere in Three hands in the fountain I came across an underlined sentence which tells me I must have read this before, but I had absolutely no memory of this. So I assume that I lost interest in the series at this point. There's too much of Falco's family life, and the actual mystery drags and meanders. I got bored with all the lowlife descriptions which could just as well have been about hooligans after a soccer match. Well, that may have been her intent, but it still jarred.

So, I have read at least one book for the CATs, the Bingo card is filled and I have no ambition to finish any of the other challenges à tout prix. If I find another book for them, nice, but with the holidays coming up I'll read just for pleasure. Or to satisfy my curiosity about something...

>94 MissWatson: I love that moment when my challenges are complete and I can read whatever I want! Hope you enjoy your holiday reading!

>94 MissWatson:

A good time for old favorites or that shiny new book that looks really interesting.

>95 christina_reads: Thanks! I am looking forward to check the new children's books in my sister's library after Christmas!

>96 hailelib: The most tempting book right now is the one on my sister's wishlist which I bought. But I want to hand it over in pristine condition, so I must be patient...

Hi Birgit, I haven't been here for quite a while and can see that you read a lot! Congrats on finishing two Bingo cards! :) I've been listening to The Wind in the Willows and hope to finish it soon. (I'm just not good at listening to audiobooks, but it is a good one!) And I noted a BB for Letters from Father Christmas, sounds lovely!

>98 Chrischi_HH: Hi, nice to see you drop in. They're both perfect reads for this time of year, just snuggle into a blanket and let yourself be carried away.

HistoryCAT / GeoKIT

Die Portugiesen in Asien gives an overview of Portuguese trade in Asia from the time they arrived until they were more or less superseded by the Dutch and the English. This is a scholarly book with loads of endnotes and he also points out the differing viewpoints taken by various scholars. The focus is on India and Indonesia, China and Japan fall a bit by the wayside. The writing is solid but stolid, and the best thing about it is the long literature list. I noticed that my library has quite a few of the books mentioned.

Today is the last day at work, tomorrow I'm off to my sister's for the holidays and I will be offline for the next two weeks.

I won't be finishing any more books for the challenge, but overall I'm happy with my reading in 2021.

Happy Holidays to all my fellow LTers! See you again next year!

Happy Holidays, Birgit! I hope you have a good time at your sister's!

I hope your holidays are blessed, Birgit!

Enjoy your holidays, Birgit! "See" you next year...

Have a good visit!

>102 MissBrangwen: >103 Tess_W: >104 kac522: >105 hailelib: Thank you ladies, and all my best wishes for a Merry Christmas to you! I hope to "see" you all again neyxt year!

Enjoy your time with your sister and see you in 2022!