Anita (FAMeulstee) still goes where the books take her in 2022 (4)

Welcome to my fourth thread in 2022!

I am Anita Meulstee (59), married with Frank (60) since 1984. We live in Lelystad, the Netherlands. We both love modern art, books and walking.

 

I have been hanging around in this group a few months after finding LibraryThing in March 2008. I skipped one year (2013), when my reading dropped to almost nothing. This was a side effect of taking Paxil. In 2015 I was able to wean off Paxil, and a year later my reading skyrocketed. The last two years it is slowing down, my initial "reading hunger" has waned a bit.

I read (almost) everything, from childrens and YA books to more serious literature, mysteries, historical fiction, fantasy and I try not to forget to throw some non-fiction into the mix.

total books read in 2022: 121
25 own / 96 library

total pages read in 2022: 34.194

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currently reading:
De vertellingen van duizend-en-één-nacht 3 translated by Richard van Leeuwen

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books read in April 2022 (34 books, 9.531 pages, 6 own / 28 library)
book 88: Het einde van Mantlemass (The keys of Mantlemass; Mantlemass 8) by Barbara Willard, 56 pages, TIOLI #10 (msg 65)
book 89: Luitenant-kolonel de Maumort (Lieutenant-Colonel de Maumort) by Roger Martin du Gard, 1077 pages, TIOLI #6 (msg 66)
book 90: De gesloten kamer (The Locked Room; Martin Beck 8) by May Sjöwall & Per Walöö, 296 pages, TIOLI #11 (msg 67)
book 91: Tot ziens daarboven (The Great Swindle) by Pierre Lemaitre, 479 pages, TIOLI #14 (msg 78)
book 92: Zeldzame aarden by Sandro Veronesi, 367 pages, TIOLI #10 (msg 79)
book 93: De kleuren van de brand (All human wisdom) by Pierre Lemaitre, 448 pages, TIOLI #17 (msg 81)
book 94: Out of Africa (Out of Africa) by Karen Blixen, 364 pages, TIOLI #1 (msg 83)
book 95: De honderd dagen (One hundred days) by Joseph Roth, 238 pages, TIOLI #14 (msg 99)
book 96: Achter de deur (Behind the door; Ferrara 4) by Giorgio Bassani, 125 pages, TIOLI #14 (msg 100)
book 97: De spiegel van ons verdriet (Mirror of our sorrows) by Pierre Lemaitre, 446 pages, TIOLI #17 (msg 101)
book 98: Vrouw of vos (Lady into Fox) by David Garnett, 143 pages, TIOLI #12 (msg 102)
book 99: Weigering (Refusal) by Felix Francis, 310 pages, TIOLI #17 (msg 123)
book 100: De woestijn van de Tartaren (The Tartar Steppe) by Dino Buzzati, 224 pages, TIOLI #1 (msg 124)
book 101: Het geluk van de wolf by Paolo Cognetti, 205 pages, TIOLI #10 (msg 130)
book 102: De hemel is altijd paars by Sholeh Rezazadeh, 180 pages, TIOLI #10 (msg 131)
book 103: Herinneringen van een engelbewaarder (A Guardian Angel Recalls) by W.F. Hermans, 443 pages, TIOLI #11 (msg 132)
book 104: Soms zou ik de wind willen zijn by Franco Faggiani, 238 pages, TIOLI #10 (msg 133)
book 105: Dit soort kleinigheden (Small Things Like These) by Claire Keegan, 111 pages, TIOLI #7 (msg 147)
book 106: Het lied van de Orbus (Castle of Wizardry; Belgariad 4) by David Eddings, 350 pages, TIOLI #17 (msg 148)
book 107: De grutto by Albert Beintema, 278 pages, TIOLI #14 (msg 149)
book 108: Witte zee (White Shadow) by Roy Jacobsen, 240 pages, TIOLI #14 (msg 150)
book 109: Het evangelie van O. Dapper Dapper by W.F. Hermans, 226 pages, TIOLI #8 (msg 151)
book 110: De slag om Europa by Thomas Piketty, 199 pages, TIOLI #10 (msg 202)
book 111: Uitnodiging voor een onthoofding (Invitation to a Beheading) by Vladimir Nabokov, 223 pages, TIOLI #3 (msg 203)
book 112: De man die twee keer dood ging (The man who died twice) by Richard Osman, 430 pages, TIOLI #7 (msg 204)
book 113: IJzerkop (Ironhead) by Jean-Claude Van Rijckeghem, 367 pages, TIOLI #14 (msg 205)
book 114: Voetsporen in de sneeuw (A Murder Of Quality; George Smiley 2) by John le Carré, 198 pages, TIOLI #5 (msg 206)
book 115: Op de planken by Gerrit Komrij, 39 pages, TIOLI #1 (msg 207)
book 116: De ombrenger by Marten Toonder, 82 pages, TIOLI #1 (msg 208)
book 117: Buitenpost (Outpost) by Dan Richards, 336 pages, TIOLI #1 (msg 215)
book 118: De God Denkbaar, Denkbaar de God by W.F. Hermans, 172 pages, TIOLI #8 (msg 216)
book 119: De vader van Artenio by Frida Vogels, 100 pages, TIOLI #1 (msg 217)
book 120: Huis voor de dag, huis voor de nacht (House of Day, House of Night) by Olga Tokarczuk, 347 pages, TIOLI #8 (msg 218)
book 121: Terug tot Ina Damman by Simon Vestdijk, 196 pages, TIOLI #1 (msg 219)

April 2022 reading plans

TIOLI April 2022
#1: Read a book with a title in which the middle letter is also a letter in the word APRIL
- Buitenpost (Outpost) - Dan Richards, 336 pages (e-library)
- De ombrenger - Marten Toonder, 80 pages
- Op de planken - Gerrit Komrij, 39 pages
- Out of Africa (Out of Africa) - Karen Blixen, 364 pages (e-libray)
- Terug tot Ina Damman - Simon Vestdijk, 196 pages
- De vader van Artenio - Frida Vogels, 100 pages (e-library)
- De woestijn van de Tartaren (The Tartar Steppe) - Dino Buzzati, 224 pages (e-library)
#2: Read a book that has a tie to a book you read in the first quarter
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#3: Read a book whose title includes a closed compound noun
- Uitnodiging voor een onthoofding (Invitation to a Beheading) - Vladimir Nabokov, 223 pages
#4: The "One in a Million" Challenge: Read a book that has a number that is a million or greater in the title or subtitle
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#5: Read a book whose title or author's name includes Abraham, Martin, or John
- Voetsporen in de sneeuw (A Murder Of Quality; George Smiley 2) - John le Carré, 198 pages
- Luitenant-kolonel de Maumort (Lieutenant-Colonel de Maumort) - Roger Martin du Gard, 1077 pages (library)
#6: Read a book recommended on Facebook or another public forum, name the forum
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#7: Read a book whose title includes at least three one-syllable words
- Dit soort kleinigheden (Small Things Like These) - Claire Keegan, 111 pages (library)
- De man die twee keer dood ging (The man who died twice) - Richard Osman, 430 pages (library)
#8: Read a book with a repeated title word
- Het evangelie van O. Dapper Dapper - W.F. Hermans, 226 pages (library)
- De God Denkbaar, Denkbaar de God - W.F. Hermans, 172 pages (e-library)
- Huis voor de dag, huis voor de nacht (House of Day, House of Night) - Olga Tokarczuk, 347 pages (library)
#9 : Read a book Longlisted for the Women's Prize this decade
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#10 : Read a book with fewer than 100 members listed on LT
- Het einde van Mantlemass (The keys of Mantlemass) - Barbara Willard, 56 pages
- Het geluk van de wolf - Paolo Cognetti, 205 pages (library)
- De hemel is altijd paars - Sholeh Rezazadeh, 180 pages (e-library)
- De slag om Europa - Thomas Piketty, 199 pages (e-library)
- Soms zou ik de wind willen zijn - Franco Faggiani, 238 pages (library)
- Witte zee (White Shadow) - Roy Jacobsen, 240 pages (library)
- Zeldzame aarden - Sandro Veronesi, 367 pages (library)
#11 Read a book published in the 1970s OR aimed at the under 8s
- De gesloten kamer (The Locked Room; Martin Beck 8) - May Sjöwall & Per Walöö, 296 pages (library)
- Herinneringen van een engelbewaarder (A Guardian Angel Recalls) - W.F. Hermans, 443 pages (library)
#12: Read a book that is set in a country that is a member of the British Commonwealth
- Vrouw of vos (Lady into Fox) - David Garnett, 143 pages (library)
#13: Read a book with a maritime setting
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#14: Read a book where the numbers in the number of pages are in sequence
- Achter de deur (Behind the Door; Ferrara 4) - Giorgio Bassani, 124 pages (library)
- De grutto - Albert Beintema, 278 pages (e-library)
- Tot ziens daarboven (The Great Swindle) - Pierre Lemaitre, 479 pages (e-library)
- De honderd dagen (One hundred days) - Joseph Roth, 238 pages (e-library)
- IJzerkop (Ironhead) - Jean-Claude Van Rijckeghem, 367 pages (e-library)
#15: Read a book with a link to Star Trek
-
#16: Read a book with a birthstone in the title (add the month)
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#17: Read a book for the Twenty Questions Rolling Challenge (add the answer)
- Weigering (Refusal) - Felix Francis, 310 pages (e-library)
- Het lied van de Orbus (Castle of Wizardry; Belgariad 4) - David Eddings, 350 pages (library)
- De kleuren van de brand (All human wisdom) - Pierre Lemaitre, 448 pages (e-library)
- De spiegel van ons verdriet (Mirror of our sorrows) - Pierre Lemaitre, 446 pages (library)
#18: Read a book where a title or subtitle or a series name includes the word “chronicles”
-

books read in January 2022
book 1: Pippi Langkous gaat aan boord (Pippi Goes on Board) by Astrid Lindgren
book 2: De onderstroom (The Offing) by Benjamin Myers
book 3: Pippi Langkous in Taka-Tukaland (Pippi in the South Seas) by Astrid Lindgren
book 4: Het vierde offer (Borkmann's Point; Van Veeteren 2) by Håkan Nesser
book 5: De terugkeer (The Return; Van Veeteren 3) by Håkan Nesser
book 6: Drie sterke vrouwen (Three Strong Women) by Marie NDiaye
book 7: De grote angst in de bergen (Terror on the Mountain) by Charles-Ferdinand Ramuz
book 8: 10 minuten 38 seconden in deze vreemde wereld (10 Minutes 38 Seconds in This Strange World) by Elif Shafak
book 9: Sjakie en de grote glazen lift (Charlie and the Great Glass Elevator) by Roald Dahl
book 10: De lijst van dingen die niet zullen veranderen (The List of Things That Will Not Change) by Rebecca Stead
book 11: Dochters van een nieuwe tijd by Carmen Korn
book 12: Tijd om opnieuw te beginnen by Carmen Korn
book 13: De tijden veranderen by Carmen Korn
book 14: De lange weg naar huis (The Book of Eels) by Patrick Svensson
book 15: Dankzij de dingen by Rutger Kopland
book 16: De Godden broers (The great Godden) by Meg Rosoff
book 17: Hotel New Hampshire (The Hotel New Hampshire) by John Irving
book 18: Laurier en leeuwerik (The Lark and the Laurel; Mantlemass 1) by Barbara Willard
book 19: De Cock en de dood van de Helende Meesters (De Cock 58) by A.C. Baantjer
book 20: De loot van de brem (The Sprig of Broom; Mantlemass 2) by Barbara Willard
book 21: De witte vesting (The White Castle) by Orhan Pamuk
book 22: De moeder van Nicolien by J.J. Voskuil
book 23: Avontuur Amerika by Cees Nooteboom
book 24: Teleurstellen vergt lef (Dare to Disappoint) by Özge Samanci
book 25: De overlevenden (The Survivors) by Alex Schulman
book 26: Witte onschuld (White Innocence) by Gloria Wekker
book 27: Viersprong van de schemer (Crossroads of twilight; Wheel of Time 10) by Robert Jordan
book 28: De onzichtbaren (The Unseen) by Roy Jacobsen
book 29: Petersburg (Petersburg) by Andrej Bely
book 30: De voorspelling (Pawn of Prophecy; Belgariad 1) by David Eddings
book 31: Benedenwereld (Underland: A Deep Time Journey) by Robert Macfarlane
book 32: Een koude wind (A Cold Wind Blowing; Mantlemass 3) by Barbara Willard
book 33: De oudste zoon (The Eldest Son; Mantlemass 4) by Barbara Willard

books read in February 2022
book 34: Ilyas by Ernest van der Kwast
book 35: Inham (Cove) by Cynan Jones
book 36: De rode prins (The Red Prince) by Timothy Snyder
book 37: Gekraakt (Come to Grief) by Dick Francis
book 38: De harde kern boek 1 by Frida Vogels
book 39: Mes van dromen (Knife of Dreams; Wheel of Time 11) by Robert Jordan
book 40: Over het doppen van bonen (A Treatise on Shelling Beans) by Wiesław Myśliwski
book 41: De Sparsholt-affaire (The Sparsholt Affair) by Alan Hollinghurst
book 42: De rode anjer (The Red Carnation) by Elio Vittorini
book 43: De laatste eer (The Confession of Brother Haluin; Cadfael 15) by Ellis Peters
book 44: Het rode korenveld (Red Sorghum) by Mo Yan
book 45: De jongen, de mol, de vos en het paard (The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse) by Charlie Mackesy
book 46: Als Beale Street kon praten (If Beale Street Could Talk) by James Baldwin
book 47: Hoe ik nu leef (How I live now) by Meg Rosoff
book 48: Selma by Carolijn Visser
book 49: De magische koningin (Queen of Sorcery; Belgariad 2) by David Eddings
book 50: Binnen de muren (Within the Walls) by Giorgio Bassani
book 51: Het woud der verwachting (In a Dark Wood Wandering) by Hella Haasse
book 52: Langs de IJssel by Kester Freriks
book 53: Maangloed (Moonglow) by Michael Chabon
book 54: De preek over de val van Rome (The Sermon on the Fall of Rome) by Jérôme Ferrari
book 55: Hersenschimmen (Out of Mind) by J. Bernlef

books read in March 2022
book 57: De gouden bril (The Gold-Rimmed Spectacles; Ferrara 2) by Giorgio Bassani
book 58: Opgewekt naar de eindstreep by Hendrik Groen
book 59: De harde kern boek 2 by Frida Vogels
book 60: De troonopvolger (Unto Us a Son Is Given; Brunetti 28) by Donna Leon
book 61: Vijftien namen by Levie de Lange
book 62: Het uur u by Martinus Nijhoff
book 63: De naderende storm (The Gathering Storm; Wheel of Time 12) by Robert Jordan & Brandon Sanderson
book 64: Van steen en been by Bérengère Cournut
book 65: Verduistering (Don't turn out the lights; Martin Servaz 3) by Bernard Minier
book 66: De groef by Maartje Wortel
book 67: Tovenaarsgambiet (Magician's Gambit; Belgariad 3) by David Eddings
book 68: De grootsheid van het al by Raoul de Jong
book 69: Pieterpad deel II: Vorden-Maastricht by Toos Goorhuis-Tjalsma & Bertje Jens
book 70: Wat er werkelijk is by Nelleke Noordervliet
book 71: De dood van Achilles (The Death of Achilles; Fandorin 4) by Boris Akoenin
book 72: De Bommellegende by Marten Toonder
book 73: Generaal zonder leger by Özcan Akyol
book 74: De vergelder by Marten Toonder
book 75: De laatste rituelen (Burial Rites) by Hannah Kent
book 76: Een verhaal met een angel (A sting in the tale) by Dave Goulson
book 77: Herfst (Autumn) by Karl Ove Knausgård
book 78: Misverstand in Moskou by Simone de Beauvoir
book 79: Een vlucht zwanen (A Flight of Swans; Mantlemass 6) by Barbara Willard
book 80: Gods wegen by Marijke Schermer, 63 pages, TIOLI #10 (msg 190)
book 81: Dodelijk web (Under Orders) by Dick Francis
book 82: Surrogaten voor Murk Tuinstra by Simon Vestdijk
book 83: De om by Willem Jan Otten
book 84: Wedervaring by Bodo Kirchhoff
book 85: Lezen als geschenk (The Gifts of Reading) by Robert Macfarlane
book 86: De droogte (The Dry) by Jane Harper
book 87: Zaaien en oogsten (Harrow and Harvest; Mantlemass 7) by Barbara Willard

Reading plans in 2022
Reading books from the 1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die list
Read some big tomes (1000+ pages)
Read books by Nobel Prize for Literature winners

I join the TIOLI (Take It Or Leave It) challenges each month.

--
Some big tomes I might read in 2022:
Ideeën (1-7) by Multatuli, 3846 pages
De droom van de rode kamer (Dream of the Red Chamber) by Cao Xueqin, 2160 pages
Man zonder eigenschappen (The man without qualities) by Robert Musil, 1785 pages
De razende Roeland (Orlando furioso) by Ludovico Ariosto, 1783 pages
De kracht van Atlantis (Atlas shrugged) by Ayn Rand, 1373 pages
✔ Luitenant-kolonel de Maumort (Lieutenant-Colonel de Maumort) by Roger Martin du Gard, 1077 pages
De vertellingen van duizend-en-één-nacht deel 3 translated by Richard van Leeuwen, 1047 pages
Baron by Theun de Vries, 1016 pages

--
Some other books I want to read in 2022:
De goddelijke komedie (The Divine Comedy) - Dante Alighieri, 599 pages
✔ Binnen de muren (Within the Walls) - Giorgio Bassani, 207 pages
✔ Petersburg (Petersburg) - Andrei Bely, 429 pages
Anatomie van een moment (The Anatomy of a Moment) - Javier Cercas, 539 pages
Jean-Paul Sartre : zijn biografie (Sartre: A Life) - Annie Cohen-Solal, 610 pages
Het ijzig hart (The Frozen Heart) - Almudena Grandes, 854 pages
Sapiens : Een kleine geschiedenis van de mensheid (Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind) - Yuval Noah Harari, 461 pages
Duitse les (The German Lesson) - Siegfried Lenz, 511 pages
Een beloofd land (A promised land) - Barack Obama, 896 pages
Het eiland van het tweede gezicht (The Island of Second Sight) - Albert Vigoleis Thelen, 960 pages
Aarde der mensen (This Earth of Mankind) - Pramoedya Ananta Toer, 457 pages
De wilde stilte (The wild silence) - Raynor Winn, 318 pages

Tickers

2022 totals





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Totals since 2008:

Monthly statistics
January: 33 books / 9.366 pages
February: 23 books / 7.869 pages
March: 31 books / 7.429 pages

--
Previous threads in 2021
book 1 - 28: thread 1
book 29 - 56: thread 2
book 57 - 87 : thread 3

The new "Charts and Graphs" is fun to use, my readings since 2008:


My reading in previous years in text
2008: 130 books -   35.152 pages   (96,0 ppd)
2009:   78 books -   21.470 pages   (58,8 ppd)
2010: 121 books -   38.209 pages (104,7 ppd)
2011:   84 books -   30.256 pages   (82,9 ppd)
2012:   53 books -   18.779 pages   (51,3 ppd)
2013:   13 books -     3.692 pages   (10,1 ppd)
2014:   17 books -     3.700 pages   (10,1 ppd)
2015:   29 books -   10.080 pages   (27,6 ppd)
2016: 253 books -   72.391 pages (197,8 ppd)
2017: 453 books - 110.222 pages (302,0 ppd)
2018: 534 books - 111.906 pages (306,6 ppd)
2019: 413 books - 110.873 pages (303,8 ppd)
2020: 226 books -   79.216 pages (216,4 ppd)
2021: 288 books -   94.339 pages (258,5 ppd)

Lists on my WikiThing

The best books I have read, by year first published
My Five star reads
The best 50 books I have read (fiction)
The books by Nobel prize winners I have read
The Booker prize winners I have read
The Pulitzer prize winners (fiction) I have read
The winners of some Dutch literary prizes

Series I read, a list to keep track

Alan Banks by Peter Robinson (re-read 4/20)
1 Stille blik; 2 Nachtlicht; 3 Tegenstroom; 4 Zondeval; 5 Schijnbeeld; 6 Woensdagkind; 7 Zwanenzang; 8 Innocent Graves (not translated); 9 Dead Right (not translated); 10 Verdronken verleden; 11 Kil als het graf; 12 Nasleep; 13 Onvoltooide zomer; 14 Vuurspel; 15 Drijfzand; 16 Hartzeer; 17 Duivelsgebroed; 18 Overmacht; 19 Uitschot; 20 Dwaalspoor; 21 Dankbare dood; 22 Slachthuisblues

Anton Wachtercyclus by Simon Vestdijk 3/8
1 Sint Sebastiaan; 2 Surrogaten voor Murk Tuinstra; 3 Terug tot Ina Damman; 4 De andere school; 5 De beker van de min; 6 De vrije vogel en zijn kooien; 7 De rimpels van Esther Ornstein; 8 De laatste kans

Ari Thór Arason by Ragnar Jónasson 1/3
1 Sneeuwblind; 2 Inktzwart; 3 Poolnacht

The Belgariad by David Eddings 4/5
1 De voorspelling; 2 De magische koningin; 3 Tovenaarsgambiet; 4 Het lied van de Orbus; 5 Eindspel

Bernie Gunther by Philip Kerr 7/12
1 Een Berlijnse kwestie; 2 Het handwerk van de beul; 3 Een Duits requiem; 4 De een van de ander; 5 Een stille vlam; 6 Als de doden niet herrijzen; 7 Grijs verleden; 8 Praag fataal; 9 De man zonder adem; 10 De vrouw van Zagreb; 11 De schaduw van de stilte; 12 Pruisisch blauw; 13 Vergeven en vergeten; 14 Metropolis

Broeder Cadfael by Ellis Peters 16/20
1 Het heilige vuur; 2 Het laatste lijk; 3 Het gemene gewas; 4 De kwade knecht; 5 De eenzame bruid; 6 De kille maagd; 7 Het vege lijf; 8 De duivelse droom; 9 De gouden speld; 10 Een wisse dood; 11 Een hard gelag; 12 De ware aard; 13 Een witte roos; 14 Het stille woud; 15 De laatste eer; 16 Het rechte pad; 17 Een zijden haar; 18 Een lieve lust; 19 De heilige dief; 20 De verloren zoon

De Cock by A.C. Baantjer 58/71

Erast Fandorin by Boris Akoenin 4/7
1 Fandorin; 2 Turks gambiet; 3 Leviathan; 4 De dood van Achilles; 5 Bijzondere opdrachten; 6 Staatsraad; 7 De kroning

Ferrara by Giorgio Bassani 4/6
1 Binnen de muren; 2 De gouden bril; 3 De tuin van de Finzi-Contini's; 4 Achter de deur; 5 De reiger; 6 De geur van hooi

George Smiley by John Le Carré 5/9
1 Telefoon voor de dode; 2 Voetsporen in de sneeuw; 3 Spion aan de muur; 4 Spion verspeeld; 5 Edelman, bedelman, schutter, spion; 6 Spion van nobel bloed; 7 Smiley's prooi; 8 De laatste spion; 9 Een erfenis van spionnen

Guido Brunetti by Donna Leon 27/29
1 Dood van een maestro; 2 Dood in den vreemde; 3 De dood draagt rode schoenen; 4 Salto mortale; 5 Acqua alta; 6 Een stille dood; 7 Nobiltà; 8 Fatalità; 9 Vriendendienst; 10 Onrustig tij; 11 Bedrieglijke zaken; 12 De stille elite; 13 Verborgen bewijs; 14 Vertrouwelijke zaken; 15 Duister glas; 16 Kinderspel; 17 Droommeisje; 18 Gezichtsverlies; 19 Een kwestie van vertrouwen; 20 Dodelijke conclusies; 21 Beestachtige zaken; 22 Het onbekende kind; 23 Tussen de regels; 24 Ik aanbid je; 25 Eeuwige jeugd; 26 Wat niet verdwijnt; 27 Vergiffenis; 28 De troonopvolger; 29 Duister water

John Rebus by Ian Rankin 3/18
1 Kat & muis; 2 Blindeman; 3 Hand & Tand; 4 Ontmaskering; 5 Zwartboek; 6 Vuurwerk; 7 Laat maar bloeden; 8 Gerechtigheid; 9 Door het lint; 10 Dode zielen; 11 In het duister; 12 Valstrik; 13 Lazarus; 14 Een kwestie van bloed; 15 De rechtelozen; 16 Gedenk de doden; 17 Laatste ronde; 18 Cold case;

Konráð by Arnaldur Indridason 3/3
1 Smeltend ijs; 2 Boven water; 3 Smeulend vuur; 4 Þagnarmúr (not yet translated)

Konrad Sejer by Karin Fossum 5/14
1 Eva's oog; 2 Kijk niet achterom; 3 Wie de wolf vreest; 4 De duivel draagt het licht; 5 De Indiase bruid; 6 Zwarte seconden; 7 De moord op Harriet Krohn; 8 Een andere voorkeur; 9 Kwade wil; 10 De waarschuwer; 11 Veenbrand; 12 De fluisteraar; 13 De verduistering; 14 Zwanenzang

Martin Beck by Maj Sjöwall & Per Wahlöö 8/10
1 De vrouw in het Götakanaal; 2 De man die in rook opging; 3 De man op het balkon; 4 De lachende politieman; 5 De brandweerauto die verdween; 6 De man die even wilde afrekenen; 7 De verschrikkelijke man uit Säffle; 8 De gesloten kamer; 9 De politiemoordenaar; 10 De terroristen

Martin Servaz by Bernard Minier 3/5
1 Een kille rilling; 2 Huivering; 3 Verduistering; 4 Schemering; 5 Weerzin; 6 Afdaling; 7 Afrekening

Het rad des tijds (Wheel of Time) by Robert Jordan (and Brandon Sanderson) 13/15
0 Een nieuw begin; 1 Het oog van de wereld; 2 De grote jacht; 3 De herrezen draak; 4 De komst van de schaduw; 5 Vuur uit de hemel; 6 Heer van chaos; 7 Een kroon van zwaarden; 8 Het pad der dolken; 9 Hart van de Winter; 10 Viersprong van de schemer; 11 Mes van Dromen; 12 De naderende storm; 13 De torens van middernacht; 14 Het licht van weleer

Van Veeteren by Håkan Nesser 3/11
1 Het grofmazige net; 2 Het vierde offer; 3 De terugkeer; 4 De vrouw met de moedervlek; 5 De commissaris en het zwijgen; 6 De zaak van Münster; 7 Carambole; 8 De dode op het strand; 9 De zwaluw, de kat, de roos en de dood; 10 Van Veeteren en de zaak-G; 11 De vereniging van linkshandigen

Books acquired in 2022: 13

January
Verdriet is het ding met veren - Max Porter
Morgen - Walter Kappacher
De droom van de rode kamer - Cao Xueqin (e-book)
Lezen als geschenk - Robert Macfarlane (e-book)

February
De wand - Marlen Haushofer
Terug naar Reims - Didier Eribon
De Sparsholt-affaire - Alan Hollinghurst
Kind van een vreemde - Alan Hollinghurst

April
Voetsporen in de sneeuw - John Le Carré
Edelman, bedelman, schutter, spion - John Le Carré
De laatste spion - John Le Carré
Monterosso mon amour - Ilja Leonard Pfeijffer
Veranderen: methode - Édouard Louis

Welcome!

April is here, and the last day of March brought us the first snow of the season. There is still a bit of white outside.

Happy new thread!

New thread fever is going around! I've just been gathering up stuff for mine, too.

>15 drneutron: Thank you, Jim!

>16 richardderus: First of the month is always new thread time for many of us, Richard dear.
I will see yours in the morning, it is neary time to go to sleep.

Happy New Thread, Anita! "We both love modern art, books and walking." Me too!!

Happy new thread Anita.

No white here, unfortunately.

From your last thread I loved the title of De Om. Is that a real word? I just know Het ommetje. Anyway, I am curious, the Sloterplas is familiar territory, but there’s always lots of new things to learn.

Great stats here as always, Anita.

Happy new thread and happy new quarter my friend. x

Happy new thread!

>18 msf59: Thank you, Mark, we agree about the good things in life :-)

>19 EllaTim: Thank you, Ella. A few hours ago there was a bit more snow. Most is already gone. We will see how it is in the morning, there might fall some more.
It is a word like in "Ik ga even om", not sure about it as a noun. Although when it exists as a "verkleinword", it should exist on it's own. I think this one was one of the better entries in the Terloops-series.

>20 PaulCranswick: Thank you, Paul. Let's hope for great readings in the second quarter of 2022!

>21 quondame: Thank you, Susan!

Happy new thread, Anita. I am looking forward to some art or photos... (just saying...) You always post such good ones.

Happy new thread :)

Happy new one Anita!

>24 jessibud2: Thank you, Shelley. I just took some photo's, because of the snow so late in season.

>25 figsfromthistle: Thank you, Anita.

>26 charl08: Thank you, Charlotte!

Yesterday it started to snow, our first snow of the season. It went on last night, and this it how the garden looked this morning:


The last blossom of the Prunus subhirtella 'Autumnalis Rosea' had a cap of snow:


The snow is vanishing fast now, as the sun is shining, and the temp goes up fast. It is unusual to have snow in this time of year.

>28 FAMeulstee: A little snow looks magical Anita. Glad it is melting now though.

>28 FAMeulstee: Chilly here too, but just frost not snow so far. I'm hoping it warms up soon, I bought some new plants and I really don't want to have to wait much longer for the ground to unfreeze.

>29 Caroline_McElwee: Yes, snow is always a lovely sight, Caroline. Less magical when you have to walk or travel ;-)
All snow is gone now.

>30 charl08: Very chilly, Charlotte, nearly 15°C less than a week ago. We were very lucky while on vacation, it would have been no fun walking in this weather!
The ground is not frozen here, the snow never held on the pavement, as the soil is still a bit warm from the weeks before.

Happy new thread, Anita. The snow is lovely but a little late!! First snow of the year falling in spring ?!

Happy new thread Anita!

>33 RebaRelishesReading: Thank you, Reba. Very late for first snow, snow in April itself isn't unheard of. The saying Aprilletje zoet, heeft soms een witte hoed (Sweet April sometimes has a white hat) refers to occasional snow in April.
I could have done without ;-)

>34 swynn: Thank you, Steve!

>28 FAMeulstee: It looks so pretty, especially the Prunus subhirtella with her snow-hat on; but snow now? Not great!

Ah me, the world's getting weirder as we get older.

>36 richardderus: It looked very pretty, Richard dear, but I am glad it is gone. No more snow expected, temperatures will stay low for a while, combined with a lot of rain. We need the rain, as March was very dry.
The last flowers of the Prunus looked lovely with the snow on them. This tree has been flowering since December. One of the best additions I planted in my garden. I love to see some flowers in winter.

We just think we have seen it all, as we get older ;-)

Happy New Thread Anita my dear.

>38 johnsimpson: Thank you, John.

Read, not yet reviewed:
#88: Het einde van Mantlemass (The keys of Mantlemass; Mantlemass 8) by Barbara Willard

Reading now:
Luitenant-kolonel de Maumort (Lieutenant-Colonel de Maumort) by Roger Martin du Gard
Tot ziens daarboven (The Great Swindle) by Pierre Lemaitre

>35 FAMeulstee: Love the snow hat expression Anita.
I am enjoying the daffodils and reddish hellebores here, but looking forward to more plants (and hopefully milder weather!)

>41 charl08: Thanks, Charlotte. I had to think of that saying, when I made the picture.
The white daffodils were all laying flat after the snow, today all but one are right up again :-)
The weather forcast still predicts rather cold and rainy for the next week.

Happy new thread, Anita! I love your snowy photos!

>35 FAMeulstee: Never heard that one -- but then never experienced snow in April when I was living there so probably no occasion for anyone to say it around me.

>43 scaifea: Thank you, Amber. The snow was gone within a day, glad I took pictures in time.

>44 RebaRelishesReading: There are so many sayings about weather in Dutch, Reba, no way to know them all.
Others that were frequently heard in weather forecasts about this unusual weather: 'Maart roert zijn staart' (March stirs his tail), the end of March can turn to bad weather, and 'April doet wat hij wil' (April does what he wants), the weather in April can vary a lot: from cold and rainy, to dry and rather warm, and everything in between.

Three secondhand books I ordered came into the house yesterday:
Voetsporen in de sneeuw (A Murder of Quality) - John le Carré
Edelman, bedelman, schutter, spion (Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy) - John le Carré
De laatste spion (The Secret Pilgrim) - John le Carré

--
Yesterday we went to my brother and sister-in-law, as they were in their second home for the weekend, and that is near us. My nephew, his wife and two children were there too. We went out for diner in Harderwijk, to celebrate my brothers 66th birthday.

Read, not yet reviewed:
#88: Het einde van Mantlemass (The keys of Mantlemass; Mantlemass 8) by Barbara Willard
#89: Luitenant-kolonel de Maumort (Lieutenant-Colonel de Maumort) by Roger Martin du Gard

Reading now:
Tot ziens daarboven (The Great Swindle) by Pierre Lemaitre
De gesloten kamer (The Locked Room; Martin Beck 8) by May Sjöwall & Per Walöö

Have a great Sunday, Anita. xxx

A couple days late, but Happy New Thread, Anita! Have a wonderful day!

Sunday orisons, Anita! *smooch*

Happy Sunday, Anita. It's white here too.

>45 FAMeulstee: I definitely remember "april doet wat hij wil" but not the other too.

The last time we went to the Netherlands at Easter the weather was so cold. It would have been 2008 I think. I remember we set off on a day trip to Delft and it was snowing so hard that I thought we’d have to turn around. Luckily it didn’t last too long.

Happy new thread! The snow in >28 FAMeulstee: is so pretty. It is lovely, but I do not love driving in it. After not having snow until really late in the year (breaking historical records, etc), we've had more than our share so now I'm ready for spring but we typically get a LOT of snow in spring!

>48 PaulCranswick: Thank you, Paul. Too late for a Sunday wish to you, so have a good start of the week.

>49 alcottacre: Thank you, Stasia, late doesn't matter, glad to see your message.

>50 richardderus: Thank you, Richard, *smooch*

>51 Ameise1: Good to see you around, Barbara!
I guess you got more snow in Zürich, here all was gone within a day.

>52 RebaRelishesReading: One of three isn't bad, Reba. Some are more regional, even I sometimes see sayings I didn't know existed.

>53 SandDune: The weather can change fast here in this time of year, Rhian.
The last two weeks in March were complete opposites. Last days of our vacation we had sunny and dry weather, around 18°C, a week later it was 15 degrees colder at the day, snowing, and freezing at night.

>54 AMQS: Thank you, Anne! Usually the streets in the cities and the main roads are salted (can't find the proper English word for it) late in the evening before snow (and/or frost) is expected, so driving isn't hard at all. Over here some records were also broken in the last days. I hope spring arrives soon at your place, with decent temperatures.

--
Franks vacation has ended, he is back to work. For the first time in three weeks I have the house all to myself :-)

Happy new thread, Anita! Nice pictures.

>57 banjo123: Thank you, Rhonda, glad you liked my pictures.

>28 FAMeulstee: Isn't it nice to have those spring snows where it all melts away in a day? We had a snowfall much like yours a few days ago here in the heartland of the U.S. (Missouri). Today was sunny and not so cold. A good day to be outside.

Anita, I think your idea to list your 5-star books is a great one. I took a peek on the link you provided and see some of my favorites there. I only looked at the last couple of years because I want to get to bed soon, but I'll check it out further when I have time.
Thanks for saying hello on my thread.

>59 Donna828: Tank you, Donna, it was the only significant snow this season. We had a rather warm winter. Now we are back to the usual wet and stormy weather. I would rather be at your place.

And thanks for looking at my list. Through the years the number 5-star reads is went down. I was more generous in the first years.

Hello Anita, and happy new thread.

From your last thread, impressive March statistics. You read one book more last month than I have read the entire year. Brava.

>1 FAMeulstee: I like the pics of you and Frank. I have mentioned it before, but Frank’s beard is impressive.

>9 FAMeulstee: Since I don’t keep books that I don’t own on my shelves, my karenmarie statistics are worthless. I have, however, made a new account which I’ve started adding to with books read since I joined LT. It will be a while, since I’m busy with getting healthier and Friends of the Library, but I’m looking forward to seeing my stats. I'll post them in my thread.

>28 FAMeulstee: How lovely. Just enough to be pretty, not enough to be dangerous.

>66 FAMeulstee: I’m glad to hear that you had a visit with your brother and family.

>56 FAMeulstee: They salt our roads here, but it isn’t salt, it’s salt brine. Yay for having the house to yourself again. *smile*

>61 karenmarie: Thank you, Karen.
With Stasia back with us, my reading numbers are not as stellar as they were before ;-)
Ah, you made the new account. Entering all data is a lot of work, so it will take a while. I look forward to the results.
Frank's beard keeps growing. With the vacations I do take pictures twice a year, so we can see how fast it grows.
With their second home near, it is way easier to visit my brother. His kids come there regular too.
I had to look up brine, yes, that is what they use here. But we say salt.
It was good to have some time alone. Only it wasn't as quiet as I like it. The house next door is just sold, and the new owners are replacing the kitchen. The walls between are thin, so there is a lot of noise during the day now.

Happy new thread, Anita.
We had snow too, but now it's gone and it's raining - good for the plants.
Best wishes for you and Frank!

>63 SirThomas: I am as pleased about the rain, Thomas, March was a very dry month. I have some new plants in the front garden, don't have to water them now.

book 88: Het einde van Mantlemass by Barbara Willard
own, YA, translated, original title The keys of Mantlemass, 56 pages
TIOLI Challenge #10 : Read a book with fewer than 100 members listed on LT

Mantlemass booklet 8
Last story, Cecilia and James have left Mantlemass. One day they return an Cecilia gives James the last remaining heritage, the ring, as all else is gone now.

Dutch title translated: The end of Mantlemass

book 89: Luitenant-kolonel de Maumort by Roger Martin du Gard
library, translated from French, Nobel prize winner, English translation Lieutenant-Colonel de Maumort, 1077 pages
TIOLI Challenge #5: Read a book whose title or author's name includes Abraham, Martin, or John

Unfinished last work by Martin du Gard, the fictional autobiography of Bertrand de Maumort.
Born in 1870, he starts writing his memoires in 1940, when the Germans have confiscated his castle. The first 3/4th is about his early years, up to his first years at university. The last 1/4th are ideas, and short notes, about other parts of his life, which were never worked out.

As it goes with unfinished works, I wanted more. The finished part does have some inconsistencies, but nothing that bothered much. Roger Martin du Gard was a great writer. I loved The Thibaults, and the largest part of this book is as good.

English and Dutch title are the same

book 90: De gesloten kamer by May Sjöwall & Per Walöö
library, translated from Swedish, English translation The Locked Room, 296 pages
TIOLI Challenge #11 Read a book published in the 1970s OR aimed at the under 8s

Martin Beck book 8
Martin Beck returns to work, after being shot.
He investigates a case that seems to be suicide, a man found shot dead in a complely locked room. An other case gets much publicity, a bank robbery by a woman, and she killed a man at the scene.
A special squad is investigating the bank robbery, convinced this is linked to two bank robbers who recently escaped from prison.

Again a very good read, with lots of critisism on Swedish society in the 1970s. Sadly a lot is still relevant today.

Dutch title translated: The closed room

Read, not yet reviewed:
#91: Tot ziens daarboven (The Great Swindle) by Pierre Lemaitre
#92: Zeldzame aarden by Sandro Veronesi
#93: De kleuren van de brand (All human wisdom) by Pierre Lemaitre

Reading now:
Achter de deur (Behind the door; Ferrara 4) by Giorgio Bassani
De honderd dagen (One hundred days) by Joseph Roth
De spiegel van ons verdriet (Mirror of our sorrows) by Pierre Lemaitre
Out of Africa (Out of Africa) by Karen Blixen

>66 FAMeulstee: I definitely need to read something by du Gard soon, Anita.

>69 PaulCranswick: I think you would like The Thibaults. Part 2, Paul. Of course best read after the previous Thibaults book, but I think you might like it on its own. I see you own Jean Barois, sadly that one isn't available in Dutch translation.

Happy Friday, Anita. I always meant to ask you this- How do you pick your next read? Is there a specific order, a system, or do you just grab a book off the shelf?

>71 msf59: Happy Friday, Mark.

I plan my reads near the end of a month for the next month, using the TIOLI Challenges as a lead. I try to find fitting reads, using my library wish list, the 1001 books lists, unread books in my own library, my list of books I might read one day, etc. If I see a chance to read a book for all TIOLI challenges, I search the library for fitting books. That way I sometimes read very odd, even awful, books, but also found some gems.

I try to plan about 80% of my reads, based on the average number of pages I have read in the previous months, leaving some room for unplanned reads. This month the extra space is already used, as I started a book that turned out to be the first in a trilogy. I need to read the other two, and found them at the library :-)

Then I start with the most time-sensitive books, the ones that should be returned to the library in time. So my own books are often read near the end of the month. I try to move books I didn't get to, to the TIOLI challenges of the next month.

>68 FAMeulstee: Out of Africa and The Grass is Singing were my go-to Africa books when someone wanted to read about the place. I haven't read anything by Dinesen in many years, so I'm extra-eager to hear how it strikes you in the 20s.

Happy weekend, my dear Anita. *smooch*

>72 FAMeulstee: Crumbs, you do sound organised, Anita! I'm such a mood reader in comparison.

>73 richardderus: I just finished Out of Africa, Richard dear. I remember the movie, an other time, an other place... The Doris Lessing is on my TBR.
Happy weekend *smooches*

>74 charl08: For me it is the way, Charlotte, I live with lists and planning ahead. My mood may lead within these boundaries. Once in a while my mood does take over, and I start a book not on the list. Though that doesn't happen frequently ;-)

>75 FAMeulstee: But working with the TIOLI challenge you do get an element of surprise in your planning. A good combination. I’m a real mood reader, but on my own I tend not to read a lot of new things, for that LT has been very helpful.

Nice pictures of the snow in your garden, Anita!

>76 EllaTim: Indeed, Ella, TIOLI keeps me away from going on too long in one genre. I started with the TIOLI challenges when my reading went up significantly in 2016, as a better way to expand my reading.

I was rather proud I didn't forget to take pictures of the snow. Usually I think a day after "It would have been nice to take a picture of it" ;-)

book 91: Tot ziens daarboven by Pierre Lemaitre
library, e-book, translated from French, English translation The Great Swindle, 479 pages
TIOLI Challenge #14: Read a book where the numbers in the number of pages are in sequence

Near the end of WWI Albert Maillard and Édouard Péricourt fight in a last battle. Édouard gets serverely wounded when he rescues Albert, part of his face is gone. Not able/willing to go back to their old life, they set up a great scam to get rich. Meanwhile their former commander tries to get rich by marrying Édouards sister, and swindling with government funds.

Partly based on real events after WWI, this was an interesting story. I wanted to like it more, but the characters never came to life completely. I expect a bit more from a Goncourt winner...
Then I found out it is the first book of a trilogy, so I got the next two from the library.

Dutch title translated: See you up there

book 92: Zeldzame aarden by Sandro Veronesi
library, translated from Italian, Europese literatuurprijs 2016, no English translation, 367 pages
TIOLI Challenge #10 : Read a book with fewer than 100 members listed on LT

Pietro Balladini's world collapses, when he finds out his business partner was fraudulent. Meanwhile his only daughter has run away. At first he tries to hide from the authoroties. When he finds out only his partner is sought, he goes on to reconcile with his daughter.

The book starts as a rollercoaster, so much is happening with and around Pietro, it feels a bit over the top. But when we get to his daughter, and the complicated family relations, the book gets depth.
Like always a winner of the Dutch "Europese Literatuurprijs" (=European Literature Prize; a prize for books translated to Dutch, by an European author) is a very good read.

Dutch title translated: Rare earthenware

>74 charl08: & >75 FAMeulstee: I am sort of between the two styles believe it or not - on the one hand I love lists and planning but on the other I am constantly revising and amending and finishing up reading what I feel like anyway.

book 93: De kleuren van de brand by Pierre Lemaitre
library, e-book, translated from French, English translation All human wisdom, 448 pages
TIOLI Challenge #17: Read a book for the Twenty Questions Rolling Challenge (add the answer)

Sequel to The Great Swindle.
Madeleine, sister of Édouard Péricourt from the previous book, struggles through life after her father has died. She was very wealthy, but has been betrayed and exploited, loosing almost all of her fortune. Her son, Paul, is serious handicapped. She plots a plan for revenge.

Again the idea of the story isn't bad. Lemaitre can write in a way you need to know how it all will end. But the characters stay a bit shallow. Yet I want to read the last book too...

Dutch title translated: The colors of the fire

>80 PaulCranswick: It is easier for me to plan exactly ahead, Paul, as my reading is more constant (in average number of pages a day). Your depths and hights in reading are further apart, so you need to revise your plans more.

book 94: Out of Africa by Karen Blixen
1001 books, library, e-book, translated from Danish, English translation Out of Africa, 364 pages
TIOLI Challenge #1: Read a book with a title in which the middle letter is also a letter in the word APRIL

Karen Blixen had a coffee farm in Brittish East Africa, the part that is now Kenya. She describes the land beautifuly. She tells about the native tribes in a way that would not be acceptable now, but was rather advanced in her days. The colonists around her, struggling to keep their farms going.

I liked most of it, but it is always difficult to read about whites in colonial times.
I do remember the movie (with Meryl Streep, Robert Redford, and Klaus Maria Brandauer), it was very different from this book.

The latest Dutch title is the English title, before it was published as 'Een lied van Afrika' (A song of Africa)

Read, not yet reviewed:
#95: De honderd dagen (One hundred days) by Joseph Roth
#96: Achter de deur (Behind the door; Ferrara 4) by Giorgio Bassani
#97: De spiegel van ons verdriet (Mirror of our sorrows) by Pierre Lemaitre

Reading now:
Weigering (Refusal) by Felix Francis
Soms zou ik de wind willen zijn by Franco Faggiani
Vrouw of vos (Lady into Fox) by David Garnett

Hi Anita, when do you think you'll read Herinneringen van een engelbewaarder? You read considerably faster than I do, so I was thinking of starting it ahead of you so that I could finish at roughly the same time as you. I could start reading it today, or wait until later this month. No rush!

>85 kidzdoc: I was just about to go to your thread to say I would start it next week, Darryl.
If you start today, I wil follow next week, and hope to finish on Thursday or Friday.

>86 FAMeulstee: That sounds good. I'm not sure how much reading I'll get done the next two weeks, so I'll plan to start it today or tomorrow.

Happy week-ahead's reads, Anita! *smooch*

>87 kidzdoc: I will check on your thread before I start, Darryl. Looking forward to read A Guardian Angel Recalls with you.

>88 richardderus: Thank you, Richard dear, may the books treat you well this week.
*smooch*

Way behind here, but love the toppers and wishing you a wonderful week ahead!!

>91 Berly: Glad to see you here, Kim!
Thanks for topper love, and wishing you the same.

>83 FAMeulstee: I love both book and film Anita, but I agree about the colonial era being difficult. I tend to find that of that era I am most interested in the whites who went rogue and joined the majority culture in some way. Of course they still benefitted from aspects of privilege, but we often learned so much about other cultures through them.

>93 Caroline_McElwee: Agreed about those who helped to learn from other cultures, Caroline. Sadly most were there to earn as much as possible.

Yesterday two books entered our house, as it is Boekenweek (Bookweek)! Buying a book in this week means you get the free Boekenweekgeschenk (Bookweekgift), this year it was written by Ilja Leonard Pfeijffer.

Veranderen: methode - Édouard Louis
Monterosso mon amour - Ilja Leonard Pfeijffer

>95 FAMeulstee: I love that tradition. I wish that we had something similar in the United States.

>95 FAMeulstee: Now that is something I would always participate in!

>96 kidzdoc: It is a lovely tradition, Darryl. And many buy books in this week, just because of the free book.
I wonder why other countries don't do the same.

>97 figsfromthistle: Of course you would, Anita, like everyone else in this group :-)

book 95: De honderd dagen by Joseph Roth
library, e-book, translated from German, English translation One hundred days, 238 pages
TIOLI Challenge #14: Read a book where the numbers in the number of pages are in sequence

Napoleon returns to France from Elba. Angelina Pietri works at the palace, doing the laundry. She loves Napoleon, and is glad about his return. But like always the poor carry the burden, their sons die at the battlefield, and their life is shattered when those in power fall.

English and Dutch title are the same

book 96: Achter de deur by Giorgio Bassani
library, translated from Italian, English translation Behind the door, 238 pages
TIOLI Challenge #14: Read a book where the numbers in the number of pages are in sequence

Fourth (of six) book with stories about Ferrara, a city in Italy, in the first half of the 20th century. Best known is the third book "The Garden of the Finzi-Continis", that I read last year.

Schooldays, when the friend of the writer moves away, he tries to find other friends. He also goes to the next school (secondary school was in two parts in Italy at that time, first gymnasium, then lyceum), where the former two classes are merged into one. But as a jew he doesn't belong with the others. So all tries are in vein.

English and Dutch title are the same

book 97: De spiegel van ons verdriet by Pierre Lemaitre
library, translated from French, English translation Mirror of our sorrows, 446 pages
TIOLI Challenge #17: Read a book for the Twenty Questions Rolling Challenge (add the answer)

The last book after The Great Swindle and All human wisdom, where Lemaitre uses real French scandals of the interbellum woven into a fictional story.

May 1940 in France, just before Germany attacks. Gabriel is a soldier near the border, together with Raoul he runs away, when the Germans come. Louise (we know her from The Great Swindle), gets in trouble in Paris. And Fernand wants his wife Alice to get in safety, when the Germans come near Paris.
All stories come together at the end.

I liked what I learned in this book, but the story was a bit forced to get everything together at the end. The characters stay a bit flat, the same as with the previous book.

English and Dutch title are the same

book 98: Vrouw of vos by David Garnett
library, translated, original title Lady into Fox, 143 pages
TIOLI Challenge #12: Read a book that is set in a country that is a member of the British Commonwealth

Richard Tebrick is married to Sylvia and they love eachother dearly. One day, when they walk together, Sylvia turns into a fox. Richard still can see his wife in the fox, and his love stays the same. But he has to protect her, as others wouldn't see her like he does. So he hides her from the world. But as a fox, Sylvia needs her freedom.

Somewhat like a fairytale, this lovely and sad lovestory.

Dutch title translated: Woman or fox

Read, not yet reviewed:
#99: Weigering (Refusal) by Felix Francis
#100: De woestijn van de Tartaren (The Tartar Steppe) by Dino Buzzati

Reading now:
Soms zou ik de wind willen zijn by Franco Faggiani
Herinneringen van een engelbewaarder (A Guardian Angel Recalls) by W.F. Hermans

>102 FAMeulstee: This book sounds interesting.

You are reading a lot of interesting books right now, Anita! The Faggiani series.

Bookweek! I really, really should visit a bookshop. But I’m quarantining right now. Maybe Bol has the book gift as well? It’s not what I’d really like to do. Did you visit a real shop?

>104 EllaTim: Yes, Vrouw of vos was a nice read, Ella, I think you would like it.
The Ferrara books are all good, found through the 1001 books list.

No, we didn't go to a bookshop, as there are only two bookshops in town, and neither has a good collection. So we ordered at Bol, and got the ordered book and the boekenweekgeschenk. Completely forgot I could also order at Donner... Bookshops in Amsterdam might have an online ordering service as well.

>105 FAMeulstee: That’s a pity Anita. Just wandering around a good shop is so much fun to do. Bol does have the biggest collection of course. And you are right, one forgets the option to buy online from a real shop. Good thought! I’ll spend some time browsing today…

>102 FAMeulstee: I've not heard of this one, but sounds a bit like a short story by Sarah Hall (except the fox version of the wife doesn't stay around for long). I wonder why it is the fox rather than another animal.

Every boekenweekgeschenk I want to move to the Netherlands.

>72 FAMeulstee: Thanks. That is a very detailed explanation and looks to be an effective system, especially for getting books read off shelf. Glad it works so well for you.

Happy Wednesday, Anita!

>106 EllaTim: One of the lesser points of living in Lelystad, Ella. A few times a year, when we are in Rotterdam, we go to Donner for wandering in a bookshop. I hope you find a bookshop that delivers at home.

>107 charl08: The woman can't be any other creature but a fox, Charlotte. Read the book, and you will understand.
You would have to learn Dutch for full enjoyment of the bookweek. And if you learn Dutch, I am sure you can order a book from where you are, to get the bookweekgift. So no need to move ;-)

>108 msf59: You are welcome, Mark. Planning ahead is also important to get the library books I want to read in time.
Happy Wednesday!

>67 FAMeulstee: I really am going to have to get to the Martin Beck series at some point!

>79 FAMeulstee: Too bad there is no English translation of that one. It sounds good.

>83 FAMeulstee: I am dodging that BB as I have already read it.

There are multiple books I am adding to the BlackHole. Thank you for all the recommendations, Anita.

Happy Wednesday!

>110 alcottacre: I hope you get to Martin Beck some day, Stasia :-)
Sandro Veronesi's previous book with the same main character is translated: Quiet Chaos, it is on my list to read some day.

Always glad to add to the BlackHole!

>102 FAMeulstee: Lady Into Fox sounds so interesting and mysterious. I’m adding it to my TBR for sure!

Karen O

Update: I wasn’t too confident I’d find it locally, but my nearby “big city” (Minneapolis) library system has a copy! Yay! for libraries!

>112 klobrien2: Thank you, Karen, it was a good and quick read. Glad you could locate a copy. Looking forward to your thoughts about it.

Read, not yet reviewed:
#99: Weigering (Refusal) by Felix Francis
#100: De woestijn van de Tartaren (The Tartar Steppe) by Dino Buzzati
#101: Het geluk van de wolf by Paolo Cognetti
#102: De hemel is altijd paars by Sholeh Rezazadeh

Reading now:
De grutto by Albert Beintema
Soms zou ik de wind willen zijn by Franco Faggiani
Herinneringen van een engelbewaarder (A Guardian Angel Recalls) by W.F. Hermans
Het lied van de Orbus (Castle of Wizardry; Belgariad 4) by David Eddings

Hi Anita! Just a quick pass through. I loved your description of how you plan your reading month. It is impressive and yields very good results.

Happy weekend to you and Frank.

>115 karenmarie: Thank you, Karen, happy weekend to you and Bill.

I liked that Mark asked me how I planned my reading, so I thought it over and wrote it all down. It works for me :-)

>114 FAMeulstee: "Soms zou ik de wind willen zijn " -- what an attractive title!! Hope the book is as good.

>117 RebaRelishesReading: The start of Soms zou ik de wind willen zijn is promising, Reba.

>118 FAMeulstee:, >117 RebaRelishesReading: "Sometimes I Want to be the Wind" is lovely indeed!

>119 richardderus: It was the title that made me want to read this one.
I have a few others by Franco Faggiani on mount TBR. This one wanted to be my first by this writer, it called out loud to me at the library ;-)

Hello Anita! I just wanted to stop by since you were so kind to swing by my posts. You've got a lot of interesting reads and I've ear-marked a few just scrolling through.

>121 WhiteRaven.17: Thank you, Kro, and welcome at my thread.
I try to read far and wide. It would be nice if you found some future reads here :-)

book 99: Weigering by Felix Francis
library, e-book, translated, original title Refusal, 310 pages
TIOLI Challenge #17: Read a book for the Twenty Questions Rolling Challenge (add the answer)

Sid Halley book 5
Sid Halley quitted his dangerous private detective work, after he married and became a father.
Now he is forced to go back, as his daughter has been abducted, and his loved ones are threatened. All because of irregularities with betting, races are fixed before they are even run.

Not as good as previous books in the series. The bad guy is identified fairly early on, and it was obvious to me who his helper at the racetracks was.
Felix Francis did write some fairly good books in his fathers footsteps, but this one was disappointing. Sid Halley doesn't feel like the same person he used to be, not only because he is older now.

English and Dutch title are the same

book 100: De woestijn van de Tartaren by Dino Buzzati
1001 books, library, e-book, translated from Italian, English translation The Tartar Steppe, 224 pages
TIOLI Challenge #1: Read a book with a title in which the middle letter is also a letter in the word APRIL

Young officer Giovanni Drogo is send to the remote fortress Bastiani at the border. They guard the endless Tartar desert, where never ever happens anything. So the smallest changes are turned into huge threats in gossip of the soldiers and officers, as they break the monotonous militairy routine. Meanwhile time goes by, and young Drogo gets older without ever going to battle. His hopes and dreams of career and glory remain, not realising he is getting older and the time to get a career has gone.

A lovely tale, how time passes while looking forward, finding out decades later you are stuck, as the next generation is taking your place. Makes me think about how many reading years are left for me... what dreams may still come true.

Dutch title translated: The desert of the Tartars.

Hi Anita!

>123 FAMeulstee: I got this one at the Thrift Shop almost exactly one year ago and have now moved it to the ‘read soon’ shelf. It is disappointing that you found it lacking, but I’ll read it anyway. I also have 3 written by father and son and 4 written by just Felix.

>124 FAMeulstee: It's a darn good and depressing story, isn't it. I remember feeling like shouting at Drogo to "do something, anything" to break stasis.

But...well...sometimes there's nothing to do.

>125 karenmarie: Others by Felix Francis were better, Karen, almost as good as his fathers books. I just keep on reading them. Left to read from the e-library 7 books by Dick Francis, 3 books by Dick & Felix Francis, and 1 by Felix Francis.

>126 richardderus: Sometimes life is what it is, Richard dear, can't turn back time. I didn't feel like shouting to Drogo, but can imagine you felt like it. The end was sad.

I finished reading A Guardian Angel Recalls this morning, and, like you, I gave it 4 stars. Thanks for encouraging me to get to it!

>128 kidzdoc: The encouragement went both ways, Darryl, so thank you too!

book 101: Het geluk van de wolf by Paolo Cognetti
library, translated from Italian, no English translation, 205 pages
TIOLI Challenge #10 : Read a book with fewer than 100 members listed on LT

Fausto went back to the Italian Alps. He lived in the city, but wasn't happy. Now he works as a cook in a small mountain village, and slowly gets to know the inhabitants. He meets Silvia, an artist. Together they live throug winter. Then Fausto has to return to the city. He isn't happy there, and returns when he can. Meanwhile the first wolf has returned to the region.

Again a tribute to the mountains, and the more quiet life there, regulated by the seasons. Not as good as The Eight Mountains, still an enjoyable read.

Title translated: The luck of the wolf

book 102: De hemel is altijd paars by Sholeh Rezazadeh
library, e-book, Dutch, no translations, 180 pages
TIOLI Challenge #10 : Read a book with fewer than 100 members listed on LT

Arghavan lives in Amsterdam, where she runs a second hand shop. She came from Iran a few years back, and has a hard time to get used to her new country. She tries to make friends, and often thinks back to the years in Iran.

Admirable a debut in Dutch, as the writer only came to the Netherlands five years before.

Title translated: The sky is always purple

book 103: Herinneringen van een engelbewaarder by W.F. Hermans
library, Dutch, English translation A Guardian Angel Recalls, 443 pages
TIOLI Challenge #11 Read a book published in the 1970s OR aimed at the under 8s

Public prosecuter Bert Alberegt drives his jewish girlfriend Sysy to the harbour of Hoek van Holland. She is leaving the country. On his way back he accidently kills a little girl with his car. In panick he hides the body, and drives on to the courtroom where he has to prosecute a writer who insulted Hitler in his book. The next day World War II reaches the Netherlands, when Germany attacks. On the fifth day of fighting the Germans bomb Rotterdam, and the Netherlands surrender.
During these days of total disorder Alberegt wrestles with feelings of guilt, loss, and fear.

I learned a few new facts about the start of WW II in our country. I never knew 10 May 1940 was the Friday before Pentecost.
The tale is told by Alberegts guardian angel, with some interuptions by the devil, which gives an unusual perspective.

Hermans himself thought this was one of his best books, not all critics agreed.

Title translated: Memories of an guardian angel

book 104: Soms zou ik de wind willen zijn by Franco Faggiani
library, translated from Italian, no English translation, 238 pages
TIOLI Challenge #10 : Read a book with fewer than 100 members listed on LT

Francesca Capodiferro, a geologist, works for a fire department. She is leader of a team, all men, and some dispute her leadership. She also has two rescue dogs, one especially trained to find dead people.
She has an geological assignment in the mountains, when an earthquake ruins the town of Amatrice nearby. She arrives there as one of the first, and organises help as good as she can, while waiting for her team members. When she is ordered to go back to Rome a few days later, she refuses, as there are small villages in the mountains, where people still might need help. Her commander understands, but can't make it an official assignment. So officially she takes a holiday, and she goes back with her dogs. Camping in this beautiful region helps her to process the horrors of the first hours after the quake in Armatrice. She is also able to help a few people in small vilages.

A nice read with an overly sweet ending.

Title translated: Sometimes I would like to be the wind

>131 FAMeulstee: This sounds really good, and is also one that would fit Paul's Asian challenge, doing Iran this month.
And agreed: impressive to be writing in a new language.

>132 FAMeulstee: Intriguing review of A Guardian Angel Recalls (and discussion with Darryl on his thread). I'll look for it, along with The Darkroom of Damocles. I have only read An Untouched House by Hermans, but enjoyed it.

>133 FAMeulstee: It does sound like a decent read...but you don't seem to have fallen in love with the book. So I'm not breaking out my Italian skills.

>132 FAMeulstee: Hermans! Yes indeed.

>131 FAMeulstee: She wrote it in Dutch after living there only five years?! I am amazed and impressed.

>130 FAMeulstee: I'm glad you enjoyed...this kind of story isn't on my own favorites list. People who restlessly trip back and forth, never quite satisfied, make me feel very impatient.

Happy week-ahead's reads!

>134 charl08: Yes, I ment to read it for the Asia challenge, Charlotte.
Very impressive to be this fluent in a new language in such a short time. Sadly the story itself was less impressive.

>135 labfs39: Thank you, Lisa. I would appriciate if you would let me know when you get to one of those.

>136 richardderus: Soms zou ik de wind willen zijn started well, but the writer tried to put too much in one book, making it less towards the end. There was also a side story that wasn't believable, and a very saccharine ending.
Have you read any books by W.F. Hermans?
Like I said to Charlotte^, very impressive to learn Dutch so well in such a short time.
No, he wanted to be in the mountains, but work was easier to find in the city. You can't always be where you want to be. But I liked Cognetti's first book more, better start there if you ever feel the need to read him.

Happy start of the week, Richard dear!

>132 FAMeulstee: Sounds interesting. My first impression of Hermans was made in high school, unfavorable. I’m still prejudiced, but this one moves to mount TBR.

I hope you are enjoying your Easter weekend Anita!

>138 EllaTim: For me that is all books that I had to read in highschool, Ella. But rereading them in the last years has changed my view on many of them.

Nothing special this weekend. Like always Frank has to work, and I read a lot :-)

Read, not yet reviewed:
#105: Dit soort kleinigheden (Small Things Like These) by Claire Keegan
#106: Het lied van de Orbus (Castle of Wizardry; Belgariad 4) by David Eddings
#107: De grutto by Albert Beintema

Reading now:
De slag om Europa by Thomas Piketty
Witte zee (White Shadow) by Roy Jacobsen

Hi Anita my dear, congratulations on reaching 100 books read for the year so far. I hope that you both had a good Easter weekend and we send love and hugs to both of you dear friend.

>141 johnsimpson: Thank you, John.
All is well, sending love and hugs back to you and Karen.

Hello Anita. Congratulations on reading 107 books this far. I am always in awe of your ability to read so many books, and the varied genres you find to read. I hope you and Frank had a nice Easter weekend. I had a lovely celebrating on Good Friday. I met my son in laws mother and aunt. They are delightful, easy to get along with people. I am continually blessed by granddaughter Kayla who has lived with me since mid December.

She did all the grocery shopping. I came home from a doctor appointment to find all groceries placed away, and the dishes used for Friday placed in a a neat pile on the kitchen table along with the bowls needed for the items we ate. My daughter, Breanna, Kayla's mom, is married to a marvelous man! Kayla and I baked a ham and a large chicken. He cut all the meat without our request. Everyone brought a dish to share as well as a lovely cherry pie. It was a very laid back time.

Since Will's passing three years ago, I keep a journal of daily blessings. There were so many items to write about. The way in which everyone got along, the sharing and easy conversation. and mainly the lack of stress. Daughter Breanna coordinated everything and knew my energy was very compromised. Everything was planned so well.
A stress free holiday was quite a blessing!

Book #103 on your list of those read sounds fascinating. I'll look for this one. Thanks for your excellent review.

Thinking of you and sending all good wishes.

>143 Whisper1: Thank you, Linda.
Glad to read your family provided you a lovely stress free family gathering.
I love your journal of daily blessings, so important to remember all the good, even when times are bad.

Love and hugs to you, and your wonderful granddaughter.

>144 FAMeulstee: Anita. I enjoy the images of you and Frank at the beginning of your thread. Your long-term relationship of smiles, brings such joy!

>145 Whisper1: Thank you, Linda!

book 105: Dit soort kleinigheden by Claire Keegan
library, translated, original title Small Things Like These, 111 pages
TIOLI Challenge #7: Read a book whose title includes at least three one-syllable words

Bill Furlong is a coal merchant. He lives in Ireland, is married, and has five daughters. Before Christmas 1985 he delivers coal to the convent, and finds a girl in the coal storage. He brings her back in, but she stays in his mind. He himself was a child of a single mother, but was lucky, as her employer cared fr them. While taking care of the Chritmas preparations with his family, he dicides he has to help the girl.

I know next to nothing about Magdalen Laundries, appalled to find out how long this went on.
This story shows that kindness is the only answer.

Dutch title translated: This kind of small things

book 106: Het lied van de Orbus by David Eddings
library, translated, original title Castle of Wizardry, 350 pages
TIOLI Challenge #17: Read a book for the Twenty Questions Rolling Challenge (add the answer)

Belgariad book 4
The Orbus is found, yet the adventures of Garion, his aunt Polgara and grandfather Belgarath are not over, the last battle comes in sight. On to the last book.

Dutch title translated: The song of the Orbus

book 107: De grutto by Albert Beintema
library, e-book, non-fiction, Dutch, Jan Wolkersprijs 2016, no translations, 278 pages
TIOLI Challenge #14: Read a book where the numbers in the number of pages are in sequence

The black-tailed godwit is a migrating bird, the main part of the world population hatches their eggs in our county. The population is in decline, and extensively studied, here, on their way to their winter quarters (Portugal, Tunisia, Italy), and at their winter quarters in Mali and Senegal.

Winner of the Jan Wolkers Prize 2016 (Dutch prize for books about nature).
Sadly this book was more about research, and the persons doing it, than the bird itself.

Title translated: The black-tailed godwit

book 108: Witte zee by Roy Jacobsen
library, translated from Norwegian, English translation White Shadow, 240 pages
TIOLI Challenge #10 : Read a book with fewer than 100 members listed on LT

Sequel to The Unseen
Ingrid is now alone at the Barrøy island during WWII. When bodies wash up on the shores of the island, she manages to save one life. Alexander is a Russian prisoner of war, and Ingrid falls in love with him. Most other bodies were German. She goes to the mainland to get rid of the bodies. The local Nazi commandant and a local collaborator come to get them, and return later. Then the story goes on later, when Ingrid is in hospital, to heal from servere beating, and loss of memory.
The war is coming to an end, and many dislocated people from the north of Norway (where the allied forces are coming) need shelter. Ingrid returns to the island with some of them. After the war some of her family return, and island life goes on.

Dutch title translated: White sea

book 109: Het evangelie van O. Dapper Dapper by W.F. Hermans
library, Dutch, no translations, 226 pages
TIOLI Challenge #8: Read a book with a repeated title word

Fun read. Kind of sequel to De god Denkbaar, Denkbaar de god (might be one of my next reads).
Satire on religion, and the Dutch academic world at the time (the book was published in 1973). Using a lot of wordplay, typograpic fun, some very good, some not.
The adventures of O. Dapper Dapper in Amsterdam, while trying to spread the faith of Denkbaar. Crippled by a way too large thumb, eventually a very large typewriter is build. Due to participation of way too many the typewriter becomes a huge building. A lot else to mention, I laughed out loud a few times, but as this book is only available in Dutch, I will keep it at this

Dutch title translated: The gospel of O. Brave Brave

>151 FAMeulstee: I think my sense of humor shrunk into invisibility somewhere in the last few years. Satire makes me itch now!

>149 FAMeulstee: Untranslated, of course, but its being about the researchers and their research actually makes the read sound *more* appealing to me. I'm very curious about bird DNA, and about their biology; much less so about their behavior.

>147 FAMeulstee: An almost desperately sad subject to read about but one that's very, very important.

Have a lovely remains-of-Wednesday.

Hi Anita! I hope your week is going well.

>132 FAMeulstee: And on to the wish list it goes. I like the title translated better than the official English title.

>147 FAMeulstee: Philomena is a good film which tells the story of one woman's experience Anita, based on Martin Sixsmith's The Lost Child of Philomena Lee, I've only seen the film.

>152 richardderus: No need to read satire, Richard dear, if you don't like it anymore. I had fun with O.Dapper Dapper, because I also read a lot of other books.
I was a bit disappointed, most research was watching and counting birds at different locations.
I did read some about the stolen children under Franco in Spain. Not completely the same, but the Roman-Catholic church played a part there too.

>153 karenmarie: Thank you, Karen.
The weather is nice and dry, I have good books to read, what more could I wish for?
I hope you like A Guardian Angel Recalls, if you ever get to it. I read it together with Darryl, as it was recently published in translation by Archipelago Books.

>154 Caroline_McElwee: Thank you, Caroline.
So much pain and sorrow over loss of newborn, all over the world. As I said to Richard, I have read two books about the stolen children in Spain, where was lied to republican women that their child had died right after birth, and then the baby was adopted out to followers of Franco...

>111 FAMeulstee: I already have Quiet Chaos in the BlackHole or I would have added it again.

>124 FAMeulstee: Adding that one to the BlackHole. It sounds terrific!

>132 FAMeulstee: That one too.

>147 FAMeulstee: I loved that one!

>150 FAMeulstee: The first book is still in the BlackHole. I need to read it first, but I will remember to add the sequel too.

Your thread is a dangerous place for me, Anita!

Went to the libray today, brought home 6 books:

Eindspel (Enchanters' End Game; Belgariad 5) - David Eddings
Limonov - Emmanuel Carrere
Sapiens (Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind) - Yuval Noah Harari
De torens van middernacht (Towers of Midnight; Wheel of Time 13) - Robert Jordan & Brandon Sanderson
De vrolijke verrader (The Happy Traitor) - Simon Kuper
De wilde stilte (The Wild Silence) - Raynor Winn

>156 alcottacre: Always happy to add to the BlackHole, Stasia. It would be a sad day, when you have nothing left to read ;-)

There will be two more books after The Unseen and White Shadow.

So extited, today we will go to the Floriade 2022 in Almere for the first time. The Floriade is a World Horticultural Expo held once every 10 years in the Netherlands. It opened a week ago, and will close early October. As the event is nearby this time, we hope to go ther often.

Some of you may remember my two visits to the Floriade in Venlo in September 2012 (see msg 65 and further on my thread 3 of 2012, the links still work). That year was anounced the next Floriade would be in our province, I was already looking forward to it. For a while it was feared that COVID-restrictions might stand in the way, but as all restrictions are gone now, we can go and enjoy :-)

https://floriade.com/en/

You have more books in your thread than other posts!
>148 FAMeulstee: I'm also on this series right now, but I'm pausing at the moment and am on other books - but I'll be back.
I wish you and Frank a wonderful time at the Floriade, Anita.

>160 SirThomas: Thank you, Thomas, reading a lot means a lot of book posts ;-)
Yesterday I got the last Belgariad book from the library. It is planned for May, but I am not sure I can wait so long.

Thank you, I will try not to forget my camera, so I can share some pictures later.

>159 FAMeulstee: That sounds wonderful, I hope you have a lovely time!

Hi, Anita!

Oh, the expo sounds wonderful - I bet you'll have a wonderful time!

>162 Sakerfalcon: >163 scaifea: It was wonderful!
We were a little later than planned, and only did a small part of the Floriade.
First the tulips in abundance, and visited the large greenhouse where we saw many orchids. Also vegetables growing on water.
We will certainly go many times more!

Lovely pictures Anita!

>168 charl08: Thank you, Charlotte, we had a good time at the Floriade.

I love such expos, Anita. Your photos are great and I look forward to more. We have an annual exhibit like this called Canada Blooms. It's every year but only for one week.

>170 jessibud2: Thank you, Shelley. The flowers are the most striking part, but there is also a lot of innovation on greener life. The motto this time is "Growing Greener Cities", so I expect to discover more innnovations in that field.
In >165 FAMeulstee: top left you see a brand new school, with solar pannels on the whole left side, and plants covering the wall in front.

>171 FAMeulstee: - I know. I love that it's not just about the beautiful flowers. Ours, too. Lots of home related and innovating ideas, too. I haven't been in years (even before covid, it had been awhile). I don't know if it's back this year. I will have to check. You have inspired me now!

...the orchids...!! They're lovely photos, Anita, all of them, but the orchids...!!

You are on quite the reading roll this month, Anita. Well done for whizzing past 100 books.
Have a lovely weekend.

Anita, Many thanks for taking the time to post all the incredible images of flowers. I cannot choose a favorite -- they are all breathtaking. Flowers are the souls reminder that life is beautiful in all the many colors, sizes and forms!

I am glad you made the time to attend this exquisite exhibit.

Nice Floriade pictures Anita! So you will be going again?
A visit is definitely on our list as well.

Oh, your pictures are wonderful! What a cool event!

>173 richardderus: Thank you, Richard dear. For you two more orchids, the one on the left won a prize in a competition.

 

>174 PaulCranswick: Thank you, Paul, reading goes steady :-)
Happy weekend!

>175 Whisper1: Thank you, Linda, I was very much looking forward to this event.
Nature is beautiful in all it's manifestations.

>176 EllaTim: Thank you, Ella.
Yes, we will be going again, as we bought a ticket that gives entrance for the whole duration of the Floriade.
Have you been to previous Floriades?

>177 scaifea: Thank you, Amber, glad to share picture here.

>172 jessibud2: Sorry, Shelley, almost forgot you.
I hope Canada Blooms will be held this year, and that you are able to visit.

Hi Anita!

>157 FAMeulstee: I read Sapiens in June of 2017 and rated it 4.5 stars. You’re in for a great reading experience, I think.

>165 FAMeulstee: and etc. Beautiful photos, and what a wonderful thing that you got to go!

>181 karenmarie: Thank you, Karen.
I heard a lot of praise for Sapiens, and it was on my list for years. The copy at the library was finally available at the time I was there.
Very glad we went to the Floriade, looking forward to next visits.

>180 FAMeulstee: - I just checked online and it seems Canada Blooms will return in 2023. Probably just as well. It's always indoors (at the convention centre) and I am not ready to do indoor activities with large crowds.

>178 FAMeulstee: They're both stunningly perfect, thank you...though I confess that I love purple anything a lot more than plain white anything...still, the *form* of the white ones! Just extraordinary.

>157 FAMeulstee: I have had Sapiens on my shelf for ages. I shall keep an eye out for your review.

>167 FAMeulstee: What wonderful photos! What a big head of lettuce! Enjoy the expo.

>165 FAMeulstee: >166 FAMeulstee: >167 FAMeulstee: >178 FAMeulstee: Stunning flowers Anita. So joyful to get to see such beauty. We have Kew Gardens which do amazing Orchid displays every year, though a while since I last went.

>180 FAMeulstee: Thanks for explaining Anita. I’ll have a look at the ticket options.
No, I’ve never been. Though I do know the old Floriade terrain, the Amstel Park now, very well. I usually like quiet places better, but I am still eager to get to see one Floriade for a change. And I liked what you wrote about it.

>183 jessibud2: I understand you are not ready for large crowds indoors, Shelley. I am not ready for large crowds at all.

>184 richardderus: You are welcome, Richard dear. I also prefer color in flowers, mostly bright colors.
The white one was incredible large, had perfect flowers with a touch of yellow in the heart.

>185 figsfromthistle: Thank you, Anita. Most readers seem to like Sapiens, including some whose opinion I value.
It is amazing how vegetables can be grown these days. We could taste some, and they were very tasty.

>186 Caroline_McElwee: Thank you, Caroline, looking at all the flowers made me happy.
Orchids have something special that seems universal, I don't know why.

>187 EllaTim: You are welcome, Ella. The Floriade was in Amsterdam twice, in 1972 and 1982. The first was in Rotterdam in 1960, in the Park next to the Euromast. I also visited the one in Zoetermeer in 1992.
I expect that the Floriade will be less crowded on weekdays. It might get a bit crowded at the indoor parts, but there is lots to see outside. I am looking forward to next month, when the roses start to bloom.

Thank you for the beautiful pictures, Anita.
We had the "Landesgartenschau" in 2016 with us in the city. We had a season ticket and were there almost every day.
And thanks for another BB - I've bookmarked Sapiens at the public library, it should be available in May.

>151 FAMeulstee: O. Dapper Dapper sounds appealing, and religious satire does appeal to me, but alas -- no Dutch.

Yay for Floriade pics!

>189 SirThomas: Thank you, Thomas.
We also took a season ticket, and expect to visit once a month. It is in the next city, about 30 km, so we can't go every day. We would if we lived closer. Must be great to have such an exhibit so close to home!
I hope we both will like Sapiens.

>190 swynn: Thank you, Steve, sadly not even a German translation. The same for my next Hermans read De God denkbaar, Denkbaar de God, which is similair satire.
I hope to post some more Floriade pictures next month :-)

Read, not yet reviewed:
#110: De slag om Europa by Thomas Piketty
#111: Uitnodiging voor een onthoofding (Invitation to a Beheading) by Vladimir Nabokov
#112: De man die twee keer dood ging (The man who died twice) by Richard Osman
#113: IJzerkop (Ironhead) by Jean-Claude Van Rijckeghem

Reading now:
Voetsporen in de sneeuw (A Murder Of Quality; George Smiley 2) by John le Carré
Huis voor de dag, huis voor de nacht (House of Day, House of Night) by Olga Tokarczuk
Buitenpost (Outpost) by Dan Richards

>191 FAMeulstee: That sounds like you have some lovely floral days to look forward to.

In what I consider in some ways the last of the good old days, the Los Angeles Art museum was not only open during the evenings several days a week but didn't charge for exhibits if you were a member and had Tues-Wed night movies by subscription. I'd visit a favorite exhibit, take in a movie - Groucho Marx appeared for the opening of a re-premier of a previously unavailable film. That all ended when the tax base was pulled out from under public institutions. Of course there were plenty of things still wrong in the seventies, but I was pretty much absorbed in my own issues.

>193 quondame: Indeed, Susan, and looking forward to those days :-)

I am a little younger, so for me those good old days were in the eighties. Going to exhibits, theatre, movies, concerts, all for reasonable prices. Then we got similair changes here, only over a decade later.

>191 FAMeulstee: It was great, we were just a year in the new apartment and could walk there.
We also went to the volunteers and checked tickets at the entrances and met a lot of nice people.
I always like to think back to that time.
The city park was remodeled and still looks very good today. There were cultural events that have become a tradition, every year in July there is a summer festival with open air concerts. A great mix of more famous artists, local bands and the music school, for a month always from Thursday to Sunday - and the season ticket costs 35,-- €.

>165 FAMeulstee:, >166 FAMeulstee:, >167 FAMeulstee: What wonderful photos! It's so good to see the bright colours after the grey of winter. And I find the potential for developing greener buildings and cities very exciting.

>195 SirThomas: Sounds like you moved to the right place, Thomas.
Nice that it was turned into a city park. That was also done with the previous places where the Floriade was held. In Almere it will be turned into a new district, a combination of green houses/buildings in a green environment.

>196 Sakerfalcon: Thank you, Claire. Yes the bright colors announce spring, starting with the earlier bulbs. We hope to see more of the ideas for a green city at our next visit.

That's how they did it near us in Heilbronn at the Federal Garden Show 2019.
The difference before / after is fantastic, I could also like to live there - in the city at the river in the greenery...

>198 SirThomas: That sounds good, Thomas.
It is always nice to have water near, a river, a lake, the sea.

>158 FAMeulstee: Happily, I do not foresee a day in which I have nothing to read :)

>165 FAMeulstee: >166 FAMeulstee: >167 FAMeulstee: What beautiful flowers!

Happy Tuesday, Anita!

>200 alcottacre: Neither do I, Stasia, it would be a nightmare if it ever happened.
Thank you, happy Tuesday!

book 110: De slag om Europa by Thomas Piketty
library, e-book, translated from French, no English translation, 199 pages
TIOLI Challenge #10 : Read a book with fewer than 100 members listed on LT

Colums about the European Union, written for Liberation between 2008-2015. A plea for a more social Europe, close to the thoughts of Yanis Varoufakis.

Dutch title translated: The battle for Europe

book 111: Uitnodiging voor een onthoofding by Vladimir Nabokov
own, translated from English after the original Russian, English translation Invitation to a Beheading, 223 pages
TIOLI Challenge #3: Read a book whose title includes a closed compound noun

A man is convicted to death, for being different than other people. While waiting in prison the people around (guard, director, a little girl) behave in absurd ways. He imagines how life is outside his cell, and desperately wants to know when his execution is sceduled.

Beautiful written, despite the absurd aspects I was drawn into the story.
Recently a direct Dutch translation of the Russian original was published, I now want to read that too.

English and Dutch title are the same

book 112: De man die twee keer dood ging by Richard Osman
library, translated from English, original title The man who died twice, 430 pages
TIOLI Challenge #7: Read a book whose title includes at least three one-syllable words

The friends of the Thursday Murder Club get into a murder case again. Joyce, Elizabeth, Ibrahim and Ron try to find out what happened to Elizabeths ex-husband Douglas. And to the diamonds he stole.

A fun read.

English and Dutch title are the same

book 113: IJzerkop by Jean-Claude Van Rijckeghem
library, e-book, YA, Dutch, English translation Ironhead, 367 pages
TIOLI Challenge #14: Read a book where the numbers in the number of pages are in sequence

When her family has financial trouble, Stans (Constance) is married off to a rich merchant. She runs away and joins Napoleons army, pretending she is a boy. Her brother is send to find her.

Nice historical YA, it took some time to get into the story.

English and Dutch title are the same

book 114: Voetsporen in de sneeuw by John le Carré
own, translated, original title A Murder Of Quality, 198 pages
TIOLI Challenge #5: Read a book whose title or author's name includes Abraham, Martin, or John

Second book with George Smiley as main character. No spies, it is a murder mystery.
Smiley is contacted by Ailsa Brimley, a former collegue from his WWII years. She got an alarming letter from Stella Rode, claiming her husband wants to kill her. Stella's husband works at a private school, and Smiley goes there to find out more. Meanwhile Stella is murdered.

Enjoyable read.

Dutch title translated: Footsteps in the snow

book 115: Op de planken by Gerrit Komrij
own, Dutch, no translations, 39 pages
TIOLI Challenge #1: Read a book with a title in which the middle letter is also a letter in the word APRIL

Poetry, a short story in poems.
An old actress and an actor find eachother on stage. Some clever wordplay.

Title translated: On the stage

book 116: De ombrenger by Marten Toonder
own, Dutch, no translations, 80 pages
TIOLI Challenge #1: Read a book with a title in which the middle letter is also a letter in the word APRIL

Marten Toonders Bommel strips are well known in the Netherlands. They were published as daily strip in a paper, three or two drawings with a lot of text. Later they were published as books. Toonder invented words that are still used in Dutch.

Professor Sickbock invented a cheap way to get energy out of the air. Oliver B. Bommel invests in his project. But when more and more energy is drawn from the air, people get sick. Tom Poes is needed to end the trouble.
As always the adventure ends with diner at the Bommel castle.

Title translated: The killer (wordplay: om-brenger, bringer of om, the energy from the air is called om)

Read, not yet reviewed:
#117: Buitenpost (Outpost) by Dan Richards
#118: De God Denkbaar, Denkbaar de God by W.F. Hermans

Reading now:
Huis voor de dag, huis voor de nacht (House of Day, House of Night) by Olga Tokarczuk
De vader van Artenio by Frida Vogels

Hi Anita!

>203 FAMeulstee: I’m not drawn to Nabokov at all, alas.

>204 FAMeulstee: Osman, on the other hand, is, as you say, is fun to read. The third in the series is being published here in the US on September 20th. I’ve already pre-ordered it.

>210 karenmarie: Thanks, Karen, Nabokov certainly isn't for everyone.
Looking forward to the third Osman as well, it will be here a little later as it has to be translated. And then wait until it is available at the library. Probably next year for me.

>210 karenmarie: >211 FAMeulstee: I still have to try Nabokov. Anita’s review has made me feel interested.

>208 FAMeulstee: Always fun to read!

>203 FAMeulstee: I, OTOH, revere Nabokov. I love Invitation to a Beheading because it's so close to the experience of being gay for the young...convicted of some terrible crime, but what...and why?

It's also mordantly funny.

De ombrenger *chuckle*

>212 EllaTim: Thank you, Ella.
When I was young, the Marten Toonder comic was the first I looked up every day in the paper.

>213 richardderus: Thank you, Richard dear, indeed I forgot to mention the book is also funny.
I can understand you felt that way about it. I think it is this way for any outcast.

book 117: Buitenpost by Dan Richards
library, e-book, non-fiction, translated, original title Outpost, 336 pages
TIOLI Challenge #1: Read a book with a title in which the middle letter is also a letter in the word APRIL

Dan Richards travels to remote places, to find solitude. Not many of these kind are left. At Iceland many tourists are looking for the same, out of season solitude still can be found. He goes on to the USA after Jack Kerouc, but has to settle for not the exact same place, on to Utah, Japan, Scotland, a remote lighthouse in France, and finally to Svalbart. The last one was his inspiration, as his father went on an expedition there.
He notices that nature suffers from all people looking for the same, and realises he himself is doing the same. So it is better to enjoy these travels from your armchair...

English and Dutch title are the same

book 118: De God Denkbaar, Denkbaar de God by W.F. Hermans
library, e-book, Dutch, no translations, 172 pages
TIOLI Challenge #8: Read a book with a repeated title word

The God Denkbaar has a mission, he thinks, so he exists. Absurd adventures where many of the characters of Het evangelie van O. Dapper Dapper appear.

Fun read, although I liked O.Dapper Dapper a bit better. Many references to philosophers and religion, and again wordplay. I imagine Hermans had fun while writing this book.

Dutch title translated: The God Thinkable, Thinkable the God

book 119: De vader van Artenio by Frida Vogels
library, e-book, Dutch, no translations, 100 pages
TIOLI Challenge #1: Read a book with a title in which the middle letter is also a letter in the word APRIL

Lovely portrait of the writers father in law. Born at the end of the 19th century in Italy. Because his father died young, he became responsible for his family. Instead of finishing school, he worked in the family vineyard. He tried to educate himself, even became alderman for the socialists, but his carreer ended when the fascists came in power. He married a better to do wife, and her family always looked down on him.

Dutch title translated: The father of Artenio

book 120: Huis voor de dag, huis voor de nacht by Olga Tokarczuk
library, translated from Polish, Nobelprize, English translation House of Day, House of Night, 347 pages
TIOLI Challenge #8: Read a book with a repeated title word

The narrator moved with her partner R. to Nowa Ruda, in a part of Poland that was German, and became Polish after WWII. She finds stories on everone and everything, her neighbors, the villages, the soil, mushrooms and vegetables, the saint Wilgefortis. The stories are scattered through the book, a bit like in Flights.

English and Dutch title are the same

book 121: Terug tot Ina Damman by Simon Vestdijk
own, Dutch, Dutch Canon, no translations, 196 pages
TIOLI Challenge #1: Read a book with a title in which the middle letter is also a letter in the word APRIL

Anton-Wachtercyclus book 3
Anton Wachter goes to secondary school and is bullied. He first tries to copy his teacher Greve, who copes with stoical patience all disorder in class. Later Anton falls in love with Ina Damman, and starts walking her to the station every schoolday. Eventually Ina gets enough of Anton's blind adoration.

Title translated: Back to Ina Damman

April 2022 in numbers
  (Totals for the year between brackets)

34 books read, 9.531 pages, 317,7 pages a day
  (121 books read, 34.194 pages, 284,9 pages a day)

--
books:

own books: 6 (25)
from the library: 28 (96)

male author: 27 (81)
female author: 7 (40)

originally written in Dutch: 10 (34)
translated into Dutch: 24 (87)
- original language:
  Chinese 0 (1)
  Danish 1 (1)
  English: 8 (45)
  French: 5 (11)
  German: 1 (5)
  Italian 5 (8)
  Norwegian: 1 (3)
  Polish 1 (2)
  Russian: 1 (3)
  Swedish: 1 (7)
  Turkish: 0 (1)

fiction: 31 (99)
non-fiction: 3 (22)

paper books: 21 (74)
e-books: 13 (47)

mystery/police procedural: 4 (14)
childrens/YA: 3 (21)
1001 books: 2 (4)
  Total 1001 books since 2008: 229
Dutch Canon: 1 (3)
  Total Dutch Canon since 2008: 38 of 125

--
pages:

0 - 100 pages: 5 (17)
101 - 200 pages: 7 (27)
201 - 300 pages: 10 (32)
301 - 400 pages: 6 (23)
401 - 500 pages: 5 (10)
501 - 999 pages: 0 (11)
1000+ pages: 1 (1)

longest book 1077 pages (1077 pages)
shortest book 39 pages (30 pages)
average book 280 pages (283 pages)

--
own books read are on the shelf since:

before 2008: 4 (18)
2010: 1 (1)
2017: 0 (1)
2020: 0 (3)
2022: 1 (2)

--
date first published:

20th century
1910s: 0 (1)
1920s: 1 (2)
1930s: 4 (5)
1940s: 1 (6)
1950s: 1 (3)
1960s: 2 (4)
1970s: 5 (13)
1980s: 3 (15)
1990s: 1 (8)

21st century
2000s: 0 (8)
2010s: 7 (37)
2020s: 9 (19)

--
ratings:

0 (1)
2 (9)
14 (46)
10 (44)
8 (20)
0 (1)

--
Best books in April


De woestijn van de Tartaren (The Tartar Steppe) by Dino Buzzati
Uitnodiging voor een onthoofding (Invitation to a Beheading) by Vladimir Nabokov

===

walking in April: walked 25 days, 137,3 km; average 5,49 km/day
  (111 days, 642,5 km; average 5,79 km/day)

e-biking in April: biked 5 days, 123,3 km; average 24,66 km/a day
  (9 days, 215,7 km; 23,97 km/day)

>215 FAMeulstee: It's probably better for the environment if we all stay home, but it seems really sad to me that this is his conclusion. I like to think there is a possibility of learning in leaving home.

>218 FAMeulstee: I hadn't heard of this one, but as I still have her others on the shelf unread I should probably get to them first!

I'm noting your Nabakov comment too. I still haven't read anything by him.
Beautiful day here. Our neighbour is being very energetic in his garden doing good (noisy) work. I was hoping to listen to the birdsong and read my book.

>220 FAMeulstee: He also said humans need to explore, Charlotte. So he is not completely against it. He mostly directs it at vunerable parts of the world, where tourists have a large impact, like Svalbart.

I loved Drive Your Plow Over the Bones of the Dead, and will now read anything by Tocarczuk I can find.
This was my second Nabokov, I have read and loved Lolita before this one.

Over here is is clouded and chilly, and again (like in March) very dry. We had some rain at the start of the month, now the garden needs to be watered, at least the new plants. Lots of birds, and it looks like the new neighbors won't work on the house today, or maybe they are just late.
I hope you can enjoy the birdsong later today, when your neighbor is done.

April readings are done, I won't finish my current reads today. On to the thread for May.

>222 FAMeulstee: The problem is that all tourists congregate at the same places, and by doing so spoil them. Amsterdam is dealing with this problem, like Venice, and in a place like Svalbart I think the impact can be worse. When you visit a less touristy place, it might be less picturesque or what not, but the general experience is often better.

>224 EllaTim: They all travel after the same bucket lists, the most northern place etc. Mass travel itself isn't good for earth. When I see the masses on Schiphol last week, it feels like so few care about climate change etc.

>225 FAMeulstee: I quite agree. I would love to travel more than I do now, but in a way that does no damage. When I was younger we went on biking holidays, but that isn’t an option anymore, unfortunately.

>226 EllaTim: We don't go far away, the furthest I have ever been was the north of Italy.