Connie's ROOTs in 2015 part 2

My Second thread for ROOT 2015

My goal is 24 Books of the shelves. That will leave room for new books (just bought) or books that have not been on my shelves long enough.

ROOTs that will count are books that have been on my shelves for more then 12 months. To make the challenge more of a challenge I will read an ABC by last name of the author.




ROOTs read in 2015:

01-A. Kelley Armstrong - Gebeten -
02-B. Luc Besson - Arthur en de Wraak van Malthazard -
03-C. Justin Cronin - De zomergast -
04-D. Lieneke Dijkzeul - Wat overblijft -
05-E. Moeder Everma - Vogeltje -
06-F. Lynn Flewelling - Koninklijk Orakel -
07-G. Nicci Gerrard - In het maanlicht -
08-H. Elizabeth Haynes - Waarheen je ook vlucht -
09-I. Ian Irvine - De schaduw op het glas -
10-J. Robert Jordan - Het pad der dolken -
11-K. Stephen King - De wind door het sleutelgat -
12-L. Benny Lindelauf - Negen open armen -
13-M. George R.R. Martin - Een feestmaal voor kraaien -
14-N. Patrick Ness - Het mes dat niet wijkt -
15-O. Mirjam Oldenhave - Mees Kees, een pittig klasje -
16-P. James Patterson - Ooggetuige -
17-Q. Anna Quindlen - Bont en blauw -
18-R. Michèle van Rees - Nr. 19 -
19-S. Karin Slaughter - Veroordeeld -
20-T. Charles den Tex - Stegger -
21-U. Lisa Unger - Mooie leugens -
22-V. Simone van der Vlugt - Aan niemand vertellen -
23-W. Margaret Weis - Drakenvrouwe -
24-Z. Carlos Ruiz Zafón - Het middernachtspaleis -

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Extra ROOT's read in 2015

25. Patrick Ness - Het donkere paradijs -
26. Patrick Ness - Lawaai dat nooit stopt -
27. Nicci Gerrard - Het voorbijgaan -
28. Benny Lindelauf - De hemel van Heivisj -
29. Carlos Ruiz Zafón - Septemberlichten -
30. Erin Kelly - De verdorde roos -
31. Julie Kibler - Kom naar huis -
32. G.R.R. Martin - Een dans met draken deel 1: oude vetes, nieuwe strijd - 673p. -
33. G.R.R. Martin - Een dans met draken deel 2: Zwaarden tegen draken - 664p. -
34. Joanne Harris - Chocolat - 352p. -
35. Joanne Harris - Rode schoenen - 461p. -
36. Joanne Harris - De zoetheid van perziken - 411p. -
37. Ian Irvine - De toren bij de kloof - 638p. -
38. Ian Irvine - Duister is de maan - 651p. -
39. Ian Irvine - De weg tussen de werelden - 626p. -
40. Jodi Picoult - De tiende cirkel - 379p. -
41. Janet Evanovich - Tien met stip - 287p. -
42. Brandon Sanderson - De held van weleer - 703p. -
43. Martijn Lindeboom - Het gebroken zwaard - 169p. -
44. Mirjam Oldenhave - Mees Kees, Bloedjelink - 84p. -

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Total ROOTS in 2105 (the 24 for the ABC and some extra ones)

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Other books read in 2015:

01. Diana Gabaldon - Met het bloed van mijn hart (Deel 1) - 549p. -
02. Peter James - Doodsklok - 379p. -
03. Harlan Coben - Gevonden - 327p. -
04. Elizabeth George - Schaduwkant - 328p. -
05. Connie Willis - Experiment - 239p. -
06. Tess Gerritsen - Sterf twee keer -318p. -
07. Linwood Barclay - Geen veilige plek - 382p. -
08. Nicci Gerrard - Huis van herinneringen - 320p. -
09. Jessie Burton - Het huis aan de Gouden Bocht - 374p. -
10. Nicci French - Denken aan vrijdag - 334p. -
11. Diana Gabaldon - Met het bloed van mijn hart deel 2 - 626p. -
12. Graeme Simsion - Het Rosie project - 330p. -
13. Graeme Simsion - Het Rosie effect - 424p. -
14. Camilla Läckberg - Leeuwentemmer - 369p. -
15. SJ Watson - Tweede leven - 398p. -
16. Kate Mosse - De nacht van de vogels - 347p. -
17. Harlan Coben - De vreemde - 347p. -
18. Paula Hawkins - Het meisje in de trein - 357p. -
19. Deborah Harkness - Het boek des levens - 606p. -
20. Marco Kunst - Kroonsz - 337p. -
21. Claire North - De eerste vijftien levens van Harry August - 382p. -
22. S. K. Tremayne - IJstweeling - 318p. -
23. Samuel Bjørk - Ik reis alleen - 398p. -
24. Tess Gerritsen - Meisje vermist - 254p.
25. Karin Slaughter - Mooie meisjes - 476p. -
26. Elizabeth Haynes - Alles wat overblijft - 443p. -
27. Kate Atkinson - Leven na leven - 525p. -
28. Michel Faber - Het boek van wonderlijke nieuwe dingen - 637p. -
29. Elizabeth Haynes - In de schaduw van de maan - 434p. -
30. Kate Atkinson - Gevallen god - 468p. -
31. Alexander Münninghoff - De stamhouder - 330p. -
32. David Mitchell - Doorgang - 206p. -
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Ebooks read in 2015:
01. Rachel Joyce - De onwaarschijnlijke reis van Harold Fry - 268p. -
02. Elizabeth Haynes - Bij het vallen van de nacht - 303p. -

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Total number of books read in 2015




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Books into the house in 2015:
01. James Dashner - De schroeiproeven
02. David Hair - Water & Vuur
03. Charlaine Harris - Date met de dood
04. Michel Faber - Het boek van wonderlijke nieuwe dingen
05. Graeme Simsion - Het Rosie Project
06. Daniel O'Malley - De Dame
07. Peter James - Doodsklok
08. Jessie Burton - Het huis aan de Gouden Bocht
09. Harlan Coben - Gevonden
10. Elizabeth George - Schaduwkant
11. David Hair - Staal & Stormweer
12. John Boyne - De jongen die zijn vader zocht
13. Patrick Rothfuss - De muziek van de stilte
14. Camilla Läckberg - Leeuwentemmer
15. Dimitri Verhulst - De zomer hou je ook niet tegen
16. Nicci Gerrard - Huis van herinneringen
17. Linwood Barclay - Geen veilige plek
18. George R. R. Martin - De verborgen geschiedenis van Westeros
19. Nicci French - Denken aan vrijdag
20. Graeme Simsion - Het Rosie effect
21. SJ Watson - Tweede leven
22. Asa Larsson - Zonnestorm
23. Ida Jessen - Leugenaars
24. Kate Mosse - De nacht van de vogels
25. Harlan Coben - De vreemde
26. Cathy Kelly - Wat wil je nou?
27. Cathy Kelly - Wat ze wil!
28. Susan Oudot - Hartsvriendinnen voor altijd
29. Paula Hawkins - Het meisje in de trein
30. Elizabeth Haynes - In de schaduw van de maan
31. Elizabeth Haynes - Alles wat overblijft
32. David Hair - De scharlaken vloed
33. Andy Weir - Mars
34. James Dashner - De doodskuur
35. Marion Pauw -Grijs gebied
36. Tess Gerritsen - Meisje vermist
37. S. K. Tremayne - IJstweeling
38. Karin Slaughter - Mooie meisjes
39. Anne Bishop - Rode letters
40. Garth Nix - Clariël
41. Kate Atkinson - Gevallen god
42. Kate Atkinson - Achter de schermen
43. Anthony Doerr - Als je het licht niet kunt zien
44. Patricia Briggs - Onder de maan
45. Patricia Briggs - In het bloed
46. Anne Bishop - Zwarte veren
47. Christina Baker Kline - De kindertrein
48. David Lagercrantz - Wat ons niet zal doden
49. Nina George - De boekenapotheek aan de Seine
50. David Mitchell - Doorgang
51. David Mitchell - De niet verhoorde gebeden van Jacob de Zoet
52. David Mitchell - Tijdmeters
53. Ann Leckie - Het recht van de Radch
54. David Hair - Maanvloed
55. Kate Morton - Aan de rand van het meer
56. Peter James - Als de dood
57. David Mitchell - De geestverwantschap
58. David Mitchell - Dertien

means: Read

Welcome to all visitors!

And I started another ROOT a few minutes ago. This one fits in the ABC-list and has been on my shelves since November 2011.
I read this book for my book-club challenge for August being "Read a book of which the title starts with a letter used in the word "komkomer".

Komkomer is the Dutch word for cucumber and August, being a holiday month, is called "komkomertijd" = Cucumber time, because of the lack of big news in this month.
Newspapers and TV do not have much real news to give, so you get al kinds of unimportant stories.

I read one book in this challenge and this is my second one.

James Patterson - Ooggetuige



This is the blurb NOT my review

New York's Lombardo's Steak House is famous for three reasons, the menu, the clientele, and now, the gruesome murder of an infamous mob lawyer. Effortlessly, the assassin slips through the police's fingers, and his absence sparks a blaze of accusations about who ordered the hit. The bad: Seated at a nearby table, reporter Nick Daniels is conducting a once-in-a-lifetime interview with a legendary baseball bad boy. In the chaos, he accidentally captures a key piece of evidence that lands him in the middle of an all-out war between Italian and Russian mafia forces. NYPD captains, district attorneys, mayoral candidates, media kingpins, and one shockingly beautiful magazine editor are all pushing their own agendas on both sides of the law. And the dead: Back off or die is the clear message Nick receives as he investigates for a story of his own. Heedless, and perhaps in love with his beautiful editor, Nick endures humiliation, threats, violence, and worse in a thriller that overturns every expectation and finishes with the kind of flourish only James Patterson knows.

LT has a surprising number of works with 'cucumber' in the title.

>3 Robertgreaves: Really? Going to check that out. ;-)

And I finished the book by Patterson!

Yeah!

Happy new thread! Interesting to hear about the nickname for August. :)

Happy New Thread!
& Congrats on all your reading!

Also, responding here to comment from your 1st thread..
Ah, yes, that makes sense .. taking advantage of a hot day by doing the best activity, reading, might make a heat wave more bearable! ;)
Nice that you were able to tear through the GRR Martin books!

>2 connie53: and >5 connie53: I've never read any adult James Patterson.. but one of these days I will :) Have you read others? Any you recommend the most?

Happy new thread, Connie!

Happy new thread!

Thanks, ladies.

I finished ROOT #25 today

G.R.R. Martin - Een dans met draken deel 2: Zwaarden tegen draken

And started ROOT #26.

Joanne Harris - Chocolat



This is the blurb NOT my review

Vianne Rocher and her 6-year-old daughter, Anouk, arrive in the small village of Lansquenet-sous-Tannes--"a blip on the fast road between Toulouse and Bourdeaux"--in February, during the carnival. Three days later, Vianne opens a luxuriant chocolate shop crammed with the most tempting of confections and offering a mouth-watering variety of hot chocolate drinks. It's Lent, the shop is opposite the church and open on Sundays, and Francis Reynaud, the austere parish priest, is livid.

One by one the locals succumb to Vianne's concoctions. Joanne Harris weaves their secrets and troubles, their loves and desires, into her third novel, with the lightest touch. There's sad, polite Guillame and his dying dog; thieving, beaten-up Joséphine Muscat; schoolchildren who declare it "hypercool" when Vianne says they can help eat the window display--a gingerbread house complete with witch. And there's Armande, still vigorous in her 80s, who can see Anouk's "imaginary" rabbit, Pantoufle, and recognizes Vianne for who she really is. However, certain villagers--including Armande's snobby daughter and Joséphine's violent husband--side with Reynaud. So when Vianne announces a Grand Festival of Chocolate commencing Easter Sunday, it's all-out war: war between church and chocolate, between good and evil, between love and dogma.

Connie, I loved Chocolate. I hope you like it too.

I hope so too, Barb!

>12 connie53: I've read the book and watched the movie with one of my fav actresses, Juliette Binochet and a before-he-was famous Johnny Depp!

>12 connie53: congrats on ROOT 25!
Have you seen the movie Chocolat? If so, I'll definitely be eager to hear how they compare :) (if not, perhaps I'll just have to read the book myself ;))

>15 Tess_W: Tess? I assume the book is, as always, better... but having seen the movie first, is it worth reading the book now?

>16 avanders: I think the movie follows the book rather correctly. When I read the first few chapters of the book it was just like the movie. Then I read the synopsis of the movie and found that some of the characters have a different profession. Like Reynaud, who is the priest in the book, but the mayor in the movie. I think that if you want to read all three books in the series, you best start with the first one. I think it is worth the time.

And said that, I can tell you all that I've started in the second book Rode schoenen.



Since she was a little girl, the wind has dictated every move Vianne Rocher has made, buffeting her from place to place, from the small French village of Lansquenet-sous-Tannes to the crowded streets of Paris. Cloaked in a new identity, that of widow Yanne Charbonneau, she opens a chocolaterie on a small Montmartre street, determined to still the wind at last and keep her daughters, Anouk and the baby, Rosette, safe." "Her new home above the chocolate shop offers calm and quiet: no red sachets hang by the door; no sparks of magic fill the air; no Indian skirts with bells hang in her closet. Conformity brings with it anonymity - and peace. There is even Thierry, the stolid businessman who wants to take care of Yanne and the children. On the cusp of adolescence, an increasingly rebellious and restless Anouk does not understand. But soon the weathervane turns ... and into their lives blows the charming and enigmatic Zozie de l'Alba. And everything begins to change.""Zozie offers the brightness Yanne's life needs. Anouk, too, is dazzled by this vivacious woman with the lollipop-red shoes who seems to understand her better than anyone - especially her mother. Yet this friendship is not what it seems. Ruthless, devious, and seductive, Zozie has plans that will shake their world to pieces. And with everything she loves at stake, Yanne must face a difficult choice: Run, as she has done so many times before, or stand and confront this most dangerous enemy.

I gave Chocolat . I loved the book.

>17 connie53: Hmmmmm interesting! I find all those differences between books & movies & the decisions that go into such differences very interesting.. I understand some, but some are just baffling to me! (An obvious example, I thought that, as great as the movie was, Harry Potter & the Prisoner of Azkaban lacked a bit from not explaining better who Wormtail, Moony, Padfoot, and Prongs were.. people who hadn't read the book were very confused!)

Is the first book in the series Chocolat?
Will have to add it to the list!

Oh, I didn't realise Chocolat was part of a series.

>19 Robertgreaves: Didn't know Chocolat was part of a series! Dangerous BB's around here!

Indeed!

>18 avanders: Now I'm confused! Who are Wormtail and the rest. Are they in Chocolat? Or are you talking about a different movie?

>19 Robertgreaves: >20 Tess_W: Part two is called Rode schoenen, part three De zoetheid van perziken

>22 connie53: lol I had all kinds of brain lapses on the posts recently! Wormtail et al. are from Harry Potter & the Prisoner of Azkaban... I meant to say that in the post ;) That was just an example of where I felt that the movie actually needed the extra information that it dropped from the book ;)

>23 avanders: I did think they were from the Potter books. But of course I read them in Dutch and names were changed into Dutch names.

>24 connie53: oh! Yes, that makes sense :)

Hi Connie!

Hi Tess! ;-))

Finished Rode schoenen by Joanne Harris Very nice, lovely read. And I decided to just read on in part 3 De zoetheid van perziken because I just a into the story right now.



This is the blurb NOT my review

When Vianne Rocher receives a letter from beyond the grave, she has no choice but to follow the wind that blows her back to Lansquenet, the beautiful French village in which eight years ago she opened a chocolate shop and first learned the meaning of home.

But returning to one’s past can be a dangerous pursuit. Vianne, with her daughters, Anouk and Rosette, finds Lansquenet changed in unexpected ways: women veiled in black, the scent of spices and peppermint tea—and there, on the bank of the river Tannes, facing the church, a minaret. Most surprising of all, her old nemesis, Father Francis Reynaud, desperately needs her help.

Can Vianne work her magic once again?

Yeah congrats! And thanks for the spoiler protection;)

>29 avanders: LOL. I hate spoilers so I will protect everybody else from them.

Yesterday I finished De zoetheid van perziken and I'm glad I read the whole trilogy in one week. This last book takes us back to Lansquenet and all the people we read about in book 1. I loved the whole series and this book gets too. The one thing that bothered me a little is all the repeats I found. Certain sentences were used too much like 'In Lansquenet you don't have to lock your doors, there is no crime" or "the place on his shoulder were my head fits in just right".

>31 connie53: yeah it's annoying to me too, when authors repeat too much. Even when it's supposed to be funny or tongue-in-cheek or to make a point... It still just gets kind of old ;p. But glad you enjoyed the trilogy so much!

Hi Connie! Just saying hello, and I, too, never realized Chocolat was a series. I enjoyed Five Quarters of the Orange so I'll definitely be wish-listing the trilogy!

>33 Shutzie27: Good plan, Christina.

I finished Leven na leven by Kate Atkinson and I need to get the sequel as soon as possible. for me and perhaps a bit more.

The writing style is very light with lots of tiny little remarks that made me smile. The story is extremely well put together.

We had a quiet and lovely weekend, John.

I'm now reading Het boek van wonderlijke nieuwe dingen van Michel Faber. Very good till now.



This is the blurb NOT my review

It begins with Peter, a devoted man of faith, as he is called to the mission of a lifetime, one that takes him galaxies away from his wife, Bea. Peter becomes immersed in the mysteries of an astonishing new environment, overseen by an enigmatic corporation known only as USIC. His work introduces him to a seemingly friendly native population struggling with a dangerous illness and hungry for Peter’s teachings—his Bible is their “book of strange new things.”

But Peter is rattled when Bea’s letters from home become increasingly desperate: typhoons and earthquakes are devastating whole countries, and governments are crumbling. Bea’s faith, once the guiding light of their lives, begins to falter.

Suddenly, a separation measured by an otherworldly distance, and defined both by one newly discovered world and another in a state of collapse, is threatened by an ever-widening gulf that is much less quantifiable. While Peter is reconciling the needs of his congregation with the desires of his strange employer, Bea is struggling for survival. Their trials lay bare a profound meditation on faith, love tested beyond endurance, and our responsibility to those closest to us.

>34 connie53: wow! I need to GET on that book... Glad you enjoyed it so much!

>35 connie53: can't wait to hear what you think! This was a book I stumbled across before I heard anything about it... Must get to it one of these days...

> Please do! I think it's going to be a four star book! About half way now and loving it. There is a lot of God in the book. Peter is a missionary on the planet Oasis (that's the Dutch translation) so he has to talk about God with the 'people' that inhabite the planet. It just belongs in the story and is not irritating at all.

>37 connie53: sounds very intriguing! Glad you are enjoying it so far!

I've heard a lot of good things about The Book of Strange New Things but when I saw it in the bookshop it was very expensive so I'm waiting for the price to come down a bit.

>39 Robertgreaves: It's rather a big book with 637 pages in the Dutch version.

I did finish it yesterday and it's worth

I finished Het boek van wonderlijke nieuwe dingen and I loved it.

Although there is much talk about God and the bible (The Book of Strange New Things) I think it's more about the relationship between Peter (on another planet) and Bea (on earth). It is an example of how difficult it is to communicate with mails only. I would have liked the ending to be less open.

I'm now reading In de schaduw van de maan by Elizabeth Haynes



This is the Blurb and NOT my review.
In the crisp, early hours of an autumn morning, the police are called to investigate two deaths. The first is a suspected murder at a farm on the outskirts of a small village. A beautiful young woman has been found dead, her cottage drenched with blood. The second is a reported suicide at a nearby quarry. A car with a woman's body inside was found at the bottom of the pit. As DI Louisa Smith and her team gather evidence, they discover a shocking link between the two cases and the two deaths--a bond that sealed their terrible fates one cold night, under a silent moon.

Another new book in to the house.

Gevallen god by Kate Atkinson



Part two in the Todd family series, or rather a companion book to Leven na leven

From Amazon!

Kate Atkinson's dazzling Life After Life explored the possibility of infinite chances, following Ursula Todd as she lived through the turbulent events of the last century again and again. Her new novel tells the story of Ursula Todd's beloved younger brother Teddy--would-be poet, RAF bomber pilot, husband, and father--as he navigates the perils and progress of the 20th century. For all Teddy endures in battle, his greatest challenge is facing the difficulties of living in a future he never expected to have. The stunning companion to Life After Life, A God in Ruins explores the loss of innocence, the fraught transition from the war to peace time, and the pain of being misunderstood, especially as we age. Proving once again that Kate Atkinson is "one of the finest writers working today" (The Chicago Tribune), A God in Ruins is the triumphant return of a modern master

I started my (# 29) ROOT-abc book today. For the letter Q and it's a re-read since it's the only book I have by an author whose name starts with Q.

Bont en blauw by Anna Quindlen



From Amazon

For eighteen years, Fran Benedetto kept her secret. And hid her bruises. And stayed with Bobby because she wanted her son to have a father. And because, in spite of everything, she loved him. Then one night, when she saw the look on her ten-year-old son's face, Fran finally made a choice--and ran for both their lives.--

Now she is starting over in a city far from home, far from Bobby. And in this place she uses a name that isn't hers, and cradles her son in her arms, and tries to forget. For the woman who now calls herself Beth, every day is a chance to heal, to put together the pieces of her shattered self. And every day she waits for Bobby to catch up to her. Because Bobby always said he would never let her go. And despite the flawlessness of her escape, Fran Benedetto is certain of one thing: It is only a matter of time.--

I finished this book and give it just like I did in 2005 when I read it for the first time. Very impressive story about a women who is badly abused by her husband on a regular basis.

I'm now going to read another ROOT De schaduw op het glas by Ian Irvine for my abc



From Amazone

ONCE THERE WERE THREE WORLDS, each with their own human species. Then, fleeing out of the void came a fourth species, the Charon. Desperate, on the edge of extinction, they changed the balance between the worlds forever. Karan, a sensitive with a troubled heritage, is forced to steal an ancient relic in repayment of a debt. It turns out to be the Mirror of Aachan, a twisted, deceitful thing that remembers everything it has ever seen. At the same time, Llian, a brilliant chronicler, is expelled from his college for uncovering a perilous mystery. Thrown together by fate, Karan and Llian are hunted across a world at war, for the Mirror contains a secret that offers each species survival, or extinction!

Today I brought home another book.

Achter de schermen by Kate Atkinson



From Amazone:

Ruby Lennox was conceived grudgingly by Bunty and born while her father, George, was in the Dog and Hare in Doncaster telling a woman in an emerald dress and a D-cup that he wasn't married. Bunty had never wanted to marry George, but here she was, stuck in a flat above the pet shop in an ancient street beneath York Minster, with sensible and sardonic Patrica aged five, greedy cross-patch Gillian who refused to be ignored, and Ruby...Ruby tells the story of The Family, from the day at the end of the nineteenth century when a travelling French photographer catches frail beautiful Alice and her children, like flowers in amber, to the startling, witty, and memorable events of Ruby's own life.

>45 connie53: I love that book! I read it years ago and it's definitely one I'd love to get round to re-reading (once I make more of a dent in the TBRs!). I remember laughing out loud at it a few times.

>46 Jackie_K: It's high on my TBR, Jackie! And moving up because of what you said.

>45 connie53: I read that book when it first came out and have absolutely no memory of it. I didn't even recognise it from the blurb you quoted.

>48 Robertgreaves: That happens to me too, Robert. Even with books I gave 4 or more stars. I think it's a memory thing with me or maybe I read to many books in my live. There is simply no room enough to remember them all.

I think I've encountered a problem with my ABC's! I don't have paperbooks for the X and the Y.
I have some e-books but I never considered those real ROOT's. Now I'm thinking about what to do. What do you all think about that.

I consider ebooks that I've had for more than 6 months as roots!

I treat ebooks and physical books the same for ROOTing purposes.

>50 Tess_W: and >51 Robertgreaves: Okay, thanks guys! I will do that too.

>40 connie53: and >41 connie53: yay! Glad you enjoyed it so much :)

and the rest wow it looks like you've read and brought into the house many good books in the past ~week! Fun! :)

and >50 Tess_W: >51 Robertgreaves: >52 connie53: ditto :) a virtual shelf still seems a shelf to me.... ;)

Thanks Ava. But I decided I really want to only count the real books. So I've eliminated the Y and the X from the ABC. I could not find any book written by an X...... so I could just as well get rid of the Y too. I had to cheat a bit anyway.

And I brought another book into the house

Als je het licht niet kunt zien by Anthony Doerr



From Amazone:

Marie-Laure has been blind since the age of six. Her father builds a perfect miniature of their Paris neighbourhood so she can memorize it by touch and navigate her way home. But when the Nazis invade, father and daughter flee with a dangerous secret. Werner is a German orphan, destined to labour in the same mine that claimed his father's life, until he discovers a knack for engineering. His talent wins him a place at a brutal military academy, but his way out of obscurity is built on suffering. At the same time, far away in a walled city by the sea, an old man discovers new worlds without ever setting foot outside his home. But all around him, impending danger closes in.

>54 connie53: sounds like a fair compromise :)
Also, that's another book on my shelves! must... find... more reading time! ;)

I count ebooks as ROOTs too.

I think the bit of the blurb that reminded me of Behind the Scenes at the Museum was when it mentioned Ruby, for some reason I remembered the name, so I put the Dutch title into Google Translate just to check. I remember very little of the story, just that I do remember enjoying it very much.

>56 Jackie_K: I get the Dutch title of a book in English whenever I click on the link in the post! Is it better for you all to put the English title in my posts?

>55 avanders: I would give you time if I could!

>57 connie53: Ah OK, I don't click on the links as I always assumed they go to the Dutch version!

I don't think you should necessarily change what you do - it's your thread, do what works for you! We can just accidentally find things out (like just then) and enjoy the surprise! :)

If I click on your Dutch titles the English title comes up if there is one. I like to see the Dutch title and see if I can work out what the English is.

>59 Robertgreaves: I thought there would be someone who does that, Robert! Hahaha

>58 Jackie_K: I think I will continue using the Dutch titles, Jackie, just because of >59 Robertgreaves:

I finished De schaduw op het glas today and I really liked it. It's old-fashioned fantasy and I'm really loving that kind of fantasy. I gave it

And I started on part two right away.



Ian Irvine - De toren bij de kloof

From Amazon and in spoiler font!

Tensor of the Aachim blames the other three human species for the woes suffered by his people actually caused by his leadership. His desire is pandemic destruction at a level never seen in known history. His scheme gels when Yggur the Sorcerer destroys Thurkad, forcing the Great Conclave attendees to flee for their safety. Tensor abducts Lilan the Chronicler and steals the magical Mirror of Aachan that a millennium ago belonged to his race and reflects all it has seen. Through the Twisted Mirror, Tensor plans to eradicate all he loathes.
Karan borders on lunacy without Lilan to anchor her, but only she can find Tensor, Lilan, and the mirror, that is if her mind remains sane long enough to hold a rationale thought. She and the likes of Yggor and Shand the hermit magician will meet in a desperate gathering of the magic at a bastion long lost to time in the midst of the Dry Sea Desert with the fate of Santhenar and probably the other two orbs at stake.

>60 connie53: No problem Connie, now I know I can click on the link that's no bother at all! And I was ridiculously pleased with myself when I put the Dutch into Google Translate and realised I had guessed the right book. So it's worth sticking with what you're already doing! :)

>61 Jackie_K: You are all picking up some Dutch on the way! LOL

I think it's going to be a lazy Sunday for me. The weather started a bit greyish this morning, but now you can feel the sun is trying to break through. Maybe I can read outside in the afternoon. Peet is cleaning his room/office upstairs. He has retired from his job and lots of stuff can be discarded. I hope he does some vacuuming and dusting too, but I doubt that he will.
I've been trying to catch up with LT-threads for a hour and a half now. So it's time to do some other things, like read!

Love those type of days, nothing planned, nothing pressing, and the hubby working!

>64 Tess_W: Yes, Tess, It was almost perfect. But no vacuuming or dusting!

>63 connie53: sounds like a lovely Sunday! lazy, time to read, catching up w/ LT-threads... ;)

and >60 connie53: sound like a great couple of reads! I love finding the book that just matches my mood!

I finished De toren bij de kloof today and gave it a 7.

Now I'm reading a original Dutch book De stamhouder by Alexander Münninghoff.



There is no English blurb available because it is not (yet) translated.

It's about a family describing the lives of three generations starting before WWII and of course the family drama's.

Connie, I saw you post in Ava's thread about your knee(s). I, too, am having great pain/trouble when walking. I've been to a ortho man and had the injections in the knee as well as the "scope" surgery. Sadly,for me, neither one worked so I guess I need to get new knees. My first one will be in June when school is out. I will see how well I recover and if splendidly will have the other one a month later. Getting old is not for sissies!

>68 Tess_W: It seems we have the same problem, Tess. It's just one knee in my case but I've had the injections and the scope too. And I will go for the surgery whenever there is a place in the schedule.

I'm with you on the sissie part!

I finished De stamhouder this afternoon and gave it . Very well written true story by Alexander Münninghoff. He is the heir or maybe I should say the Lineage holder. He tells about his grandfather (a very rich Dutchman who gets very rich before and during WWII) and his father (who is kind of a loser) and about himself (known Dutch journalist). I googled a lot while reading and everything checked out. It was very informative and I liked the way he writes. Never emotional, always keeping a distance, but not cold.

Now I'm starting another ROOT

Duister is de maan by Ian Irvine



Rulke the Great Betrayer is free at last, to use the deadly construct he has spent a thousand years perfecting. To succeed he needs just one thing - Karan's sensitive talent. Karan and her lover Llian are lost in the Nightland, in an alien palace that is collapsing around them. Only Rulke can open the gate and send them home to Santhenar, but Karan is terrified that he will corrupt Llian first. Yggur and Mendark, sworn enemies, struggle to tame the power of the rift. They must seal the gate before Rulke brings forth his construct. If they fail he will ravage the world. And if they succeed, Karan and Llian will be trapped in the Nightland for eternity.

>68 Tess_W: and >69 connie53: on the one had, I'm sorry about the pain & trouble! But on the other hand... new knees sounds pretty great! ;)

Man you sure are reading a lot of books! Glad you're enjoying them :)

>71 avanders: I've to get to 75 for the 75-er group this year, Ava. So I'm doing my very best to get there.

>72 connie53: ah yes, there are other groups here in LT aren't there.... ;)
Good luck w/ the 75-er group! Only 11 more to go!

Thanks, Ava!

I finished ROOT # 33 and started ROOT # 34

Duister is de maan by Ian Irvine was a nice read. Not very spectacular but nice! And because that was part 3 in the series I'm now reading part 4 De weg tussen de werelden. After this book the series is finished.



From LT:

There is a dark full moon on mid-winter's day. The foretelling has come to pass. As the dark moon rises, Rulke begins to open the way between the worlds. If he succeeds, the world will be overwhelmed by the dread armies of the world.

>75 connie53: almost done w/ a series - a good feeling! :)

Hi, Connie, hope things are going well for you!

Connie, how do you do the whiteout for spoilers?

Yes, I saw it, thanks

>78 Robertgreaves: I see Ava has answered your question, Robert.

>79 avanders: Thanks, Ava!

You're still making inspiringly good progress, Connie!

Thanks Jackie!

>81 connie53: you bet! ;)
>82 Jackie_K: I agree w/ Jackie!

I've started another ROOT because of the challenge for October. My book-club is challenged to read a total of 15 (since it is 2015) books. The book has to have something to do with 'Tien" (Ten). It could be a part 10 in a series of with 'ten' in the title.

The book I chose is De tiende cirkel by Jodi Picoult



This book has been on my shelves for ages. I added it to LT in 2010

This is the blurb, Not my review

Trixie Stone is an imaginative, perceptive 14 year old whose life begins to unravel when Jason Underhill, Bethel High's star hockey player, breaks up with her, leaving a void that can only be filled by the blood spilled during shameful self-mutilations in the girls' bathroom. While Trixie's dad Daniel notices his daughter's recent change in demeanor, he turns a blind eye, just as he does to the obvious affair his wife Laura, a college professor, is barely trying to conceal. When Trixie gets raped at a friend's party, Daniel and Laura are forced to deal not only with the consequences of their daughter's physical and emotional trauma, but with their own transgressions as well. For Daniel, that means reflecting on a childhood spent as the only white kid in a native Alaskan village, where isolation and loneliness turned him into a recluse, only to be born again after falling in love with his wife. Laura, who blames her family's unraveling on her selfish affair, must decide how to reconcile her personal desires with her loved ones' needs.

>85 connie53: I've heard really good things about that book... Looking forward to your thoughts!
And cute idea for a challenge.. read 15 books in 2015 :)

>86 avanders: And that is per month. Next year it will be 16 books in a month. We are just a small book-club. 272 members but just 25 or so active ones. We meet regularly in RL, maybe 5 times a year.

We do a kind of ROOT too!

>87 connie53: whoa!! I didn't realize that.... I couldn't do it! :-o (well, maybe if I had a different life, job, etc. ;))
Cool about meeting in RL too :) 25 is relatively small in LT-terms, perhaps, but very big for RL book groups! fun to meet w/ that many like-minded people!

Every May we meet at my place and this is a picture of the last one. There are always people who just post, but never come to a meet up.



I'm somewhere in the back on the left of the guy in the red t-shirt.

>89 connie53: fun! love the pic - thanks for sharing! :)
is the group comprised of people who all live in your country already? Or are there some international visitors?

>89 connie53: Looks like you're having fun! How long have you been together?

>90 avanders: >91 MissWatson: This is the tenth time we meet at my place. So at least 10 years. But I know the boy in red t-shirt when he was just 16 or so. We are Dutch speaking, so there are some Belgium people too. Those who speak Dutch that is. We had some Dutch speaking people living in England for a while.

>92 connie53: so fun! :)

Very nice! I'm in one R-L bookclub, but we are very small, just 5 of us. We only meet twice per year. We want to meet more often when we retire!

Wow. So many readers in one place. My RL bookclub is small -- we purposely have a maximum of 12 members and at the moment it's about 8 or 9 members. We meet about 10 times a year, in theory once a month, but December is usually too difficult to schedule and if the book chosen is a long one we give ourselves two months to read it.

I was in a small book group when I lived in Glasgow; now I've moved to Stirling I can't go to meetings any more but we created a facebook group so each month I know what book they're reading and if it's one that I'm tempted by then I join in virtually. We used to meet in a local cafe after work and have tea/coffee and cake, it was lovely!

This is what we do in our bookclub.

We choose a Dutch or translated in to Dutch book every two months (we call it an Opperboek = OB) but you can join in the reading whenever you want to. Sometimes somebody reads a book that was an OB years ago. And we are fond of what we call necro-posting (bringing a old thread back to live).
In the months without an OB we choose a book in a foreign language, usually in English. I don't participate in that challenge because I don't want to read in a foreign language.

We have a monthly challenge with a theme >87 connie53:.
For example: the theme for October is 10/ten
We have to read a total of 15 books that have something to do with 10/ten.
Each member can add up to 3 books to the challenge per month. So I could read three books this month with the word ten in the title or part 10 in a series or a book published in 2010 or ......
By the end of the month the list must be complete with 15 books read.

and now we wanted to try a kind of ROOT challenge to see if that works for us too. So we are doing that for the last months of this year.

Oh man, I would need a roadmap for all that! In my very small book club we go alphabetically with each person choosing that book of the month. My turn is coming up in January and I'm not sure what to choose.

In our book group we had a Jar of Fate kind of system. We could all add suggestions (I tended to add books I owned but hadn't read, ROOTing years before I knew of the concept! Another member tended to add books she'd read and enjoyed and thought we would too) and then after each meeting we'd bring out the box and pull out a title. It worked well - I got a few ROOTs read, and was introduced to lots of books I'd probably never have thought of reading otherwise.

>98 Tess_W: and >99 Jackie_K: Maybe next year I can make all kind of tickers and lists so you can follow my challenges for De Leesclub! (The readclub).

I try to choose books that will fit in more then (okay I've a then/than problem) one challenge.

I'm thinking about the LT groups I want to join next year. I think I just keep to ROOTing and leaving the 75-ers. It's just to much of a job to keep up with all threads and somehow I feel the ROOT group is important to me. And not only for the ROOting but also for the people!

I'm with you, Connie. I tried the 75ers, and it was nice enough, but I couldn't keep up with all the posts and never really got to know anybody...so I'll just stick here because I don't think I will ever really be done rooting!

>101 Tess_W: Good to hear I'm not alone, Tess!

Besides we need time to read too, don't we!

>100 connie53: I am in awe of anyone who can keep up with the 75ers! It sometimes seems like a full-time job in itself :)

>103 rabbitprincess: I can't anymore so I will not join next year, RP.

We just take it in turns to pick a book, but we try to make it a book nobody, not even the picker, has read before. I, of course, generally choose a ROOT and hopefully one that will fit another challenge as well.

>97 connie53: wow! Sounds like a very involved group - nice! :)
My RL book group is ... very simple ;) We read 1 book every month or every other month (but we meet every month - sometimes we just talk about book-in-general.. what we like, what we're reading, what we want to read, etc.) and we pick it either by group vote or sometimes we go through a period of each person picking a book for the group (like in Tess's >98 Tess_W:)... relatively simple ;)

>99 Jackie_K: that's an interesting idea.... hmmm. Maybe I'll suggest that for ours!

>100 connie53: "than" :) That's a hard one! (esp. for non-native speakers!)
"Then" is for eventualities or potentialities -- i.e., first/then or if/then
And "than" is for comparisons: "greater than" "more than"

Also, I agree... I am sticking to ROOTs and only ROOTs ;)

>106 avanders: Thanks for the explanation. And I know that when you tell me. And 5 minutes later I forget. So now I wrote it down on a piece of paper I keep next to my laptop. It would help a lot when they had a different sound, but to me the sound the same.

>100 connie53: I tried the 75 group a few years and didn't post much last year. This year I have only lurked. Honestly, it's so big you could spend your life following along. I have been much more satisfied this year just participating in Random CAT and Bingo Dog along with ROOT. I don't feel a lot of pressure to join in each month with Random CAT, but most months I do.

I have an unusual RL book club in that we are part of a national (the founder would want me to say international and I'm sure there are some international locations but I don't know where they are) club. She sends out a list of reading choices for the next six months 2X a year. I'm not supposed to tell this....BUT most months about half of our 10 members read the chosen book because it doesn't appeal to everyone, and the choices are sometimes similar from month to month. Our leader always reads the chosen book and I used to, but was spending too much time on books I didn't care for although, in fairness I have to say that there is also a backlist book that can be chosen and they are often classics. This year I have not read 4 and will not read November. It's the new Paula McLain book based on Beryl Markham and I've read a lot of nonfiction about her. My favorite last year was The Promise by Ann Weisgarber, a 4 star read for me, and one that I probably would not have known about otherwise.

After our club discusses that month's book we go around the table and each person tells what they have read for the month that they particularly liked, and I take notes and send them out to everyone with the title, author and a little about the book. This is our 7th year. This month we're reading The Little Paris Bookshop.

>107 connie53: lol that is completely fair! no one will care whichever one you use anyway... we all know what you mean!
(and they both sound the same to me too... I can over-exaggerate the "e" versus "a" .. but generally we don't and they DO sound the same!!)

>108 clue: interesting - do you meet in person? How often? I've heard the Little Paris Bookshop is great! :)

>108 clue: I think I feel the same way. Between work and home and LT we need some time to read!

>109 avanders: sigh!!! So I can use them however I feel! Very good!

I went and bought me some books!

Here they are:

Patricia Briggs - Onder de maan



From dust jacket:

Mercy Thompson's next-door neighbor is a werewolf. She's fixing a VW bus for a vampire. But then, Mercy Thompson isn't exactly normal herself. Mercy is a shapeshifter, and though she was raised by werewolves, she can never be one of them, especially after the pack ran her off for having a forbidden love affair. So she's turned her talent for fixing cars into a business and now runs a one-woman mechanic shop in the Tri-Cities area of Washington State. But Mercy's two worlds are colliding

Patricia Briggs - In het bloed



Mechanic Mercy Thompson has friends in low places-and in dark ones. And now she owes one of them a favor. Since she can shapeshift at will, she agrees to act as some extra muscle when her vampire friend Stefan goes to deliver a message to another of his kind. But this new vampire is hardly ordinary-and neither is the demon inside of him."--Publisher's description.

Anne Bishop - Zwarte veren



After winning the trust of the Others residing in the Lakeside Courtyard, Meg Corbyn has had trouble figuring out what it means to live among them. As a human, Meg should be barely tolerated prey, but her abilities as a cassandra sangue make her something more. The appearance of two addictive drugs has sparked violence between the humans and the Others, resulting in the murders of both species in nearby cities. So when Meg has a dream about blood and black feathers in the snow, Simon Wolfgard--Lakeside's shape-shifting leader--wonders whether their blood prophet dreamed of a past attack or of a future threat. As the urge to speak prophecies strikes Meg more frequently, trouble finds its way inside the Courtyard. Now the Others and the handful of humans residing there must work together to stop the man bent on reclaiming their blood prophet--and stop the danger that threatens to destroy them all.

Christina Baker Kline - De kindertrein



Penobscot Indian Molly Ayer is close to 'aging out' out of the foster care system. A community service position helping an elderly woman clean out her home is the only thing keeping Molly out of juvie and worse.... As she helps Vivian sort through her possessions and memories, Molly learns that she and Vivian aren't as different as they seem to be. A young Irish immigrant orphaned in New York City, Vivian was put on a train to the Midwest with hundreds of other children whose destinies would be determined by luck and chance. Molly discovers that she has the power to help Vivian find answers to mysteries that have haunted her for her entire life--answers that will ultimately free them both. Rich in detail and epic in scope, Orphan Train by Christina Baker Kline is a powerful novel of upheaval and resilience, of unexpected friendship, and of the secrets we carry that keep us from finding out who we are.

New books - yay! I see you have one by Anne Bishop - the first in that series was highly recommended to me by a bookseller .... On the shelves! :)

>111 avanders: Part one is on my shelves too, Ava!

Another one for ROOT and the month challenge of my bookclub: read something connected with ten!

Janet Evanovich - Tien met stip



Stephanie Plum, girl bounty hunter, the terror of Trenton, the bane of her boyfriend Joe Morelli's existence, and the delight of her crazy grandma's heart, is in the wrong place at the wrong time--as usual. Just happening to be indulging her nachos jones at a local deli when it's robbed by the notorious Red Devils, Plum is the eye witness who could put the gang leader, known as the Junkman, behind bars... if he just lets her live long enough. Looking for a place to hide out from the killer until the cops catch up with him, Stephanie sneaks into her fellow bounty hunter Ranger's apartment without telling Morelli, who's not overly fond of him. All the usual suspects in this long-running series are along for a wilder than ever ride, including Lula the gun-toting ex-hooker, Grandma Mazur, Stephanie's pregnant sister Valerie and her fiancé, as well as a host of minor characters who bring Trenton's seedier environs to life.

>113 connie53: MM I really do want to get back to those Plum books :)
Aaaaah so many books to read!! ;)

My sympathies to everyone's book club sufferings, one of which sounds practically tyrannical. The last thing any reading enthusiast would want to do is have someone tell them to read books they don't like, or books that don't differ.

Let me incite a revolution -- go independent and choose your own book titles in round robin fashion. Shoot me now.

>115 Limelite: But it's so much fun! Just waiting for the month to begin and then go and find a book that fits and that book is a ROOT and a LOT (kind of ROOT for my Dutch bookclub)

Today I went to the hospital for a bone-scan. (back, hips, upper-legs, knees). I had to check in at 12.45 and they gave me an injection with a radioactive fluid, then I had to wait for 3 hours (reading time!!) for the scan itself. A bit claustrophobic at times. I have an appointment next Tuesday to hear the results and to discuss what can be done about the knee and hip thing.

Keep your fingers crossed for me.

>116 connie53: I agree, it can be fun.. I REALLLLLLY enjoy finding out what the next month's selection is going to be....
But I also agree (>115 Limelite:) that that format wouldn't work for everyone... if you always want to read what you want to read, e.g. ;)

>117 connie53: Oh good luck & fingers crossed! At least you had some reading time! :)

>117 connie53: ooh, keeping everything crossed here for you!

>117 connie53:

Best of luck with your medical adventure. If it's joint replacement in your future, you'll be joining the ranks of the Bionic People. That means you'll set off every body scanner at every airport in the world. Hoot!

Hope all goes well for you.

Thanks, Ava, Jackie and LimeLite!

I keep my fingets crossed that the results will be good ones.

Glad you got some reading time.

I leave on Sunday for anther Black Forest wellness trip with a suitcase full of books. :-)

>122 Ameise1: Sound great, Barb! Have lots of fun and enjoy the pampering!

Good luck with the medical issues!

>117 connie53: Fingers are crossed for you, Connie. I hope that there is something effective and minimally invasive can be done for your hip and knee.

Thanks Birgit and Meg!

I'm about to leave for a weekend with my best friend Vera. She is celebrating her 60th birthday this evening. Peet and I were supposed to go together by car, but Peet doesn't feel too good. A bit of the flue I think. So I'm going by train (I can't drive) and I will be spending the night at her place.

Have a good time.

Oh Connie, I hope you have a good weekend and that a final solution is found for the knee and hip pain.

Oh dear, I hope Peet feels better, soon. I hope you had great time.

>127 connie53: I hope the birthday party was fun!

>127 connie53: A girl's night--fun!

>127 connie53: sounds wonderful! Even the train part ... I love taking the train :) Hope you had a blast!

It was a very fun weekend. The party was really good with about 20 people and after everyone left (around 1.30 a.m.) the three of us (Vera (my friend) and Elke (her daughter) and I) tidied up a bit and when Elke was of to bed Vera and I did chat for a long time (5.00 a.m.). That was Saturday evening. On Sunday morning we were up at 10 (so 5 hours sleep) and Elke en I decorated the living room with 'Happy birthday' garlands (?? right word) because Vera's birthday was on Sunday. We had a cosy breakfast and late in the afternoon I took the train back home. A very fun weekend.

Today Peet and I are married 36 years, so another good thing to celebrate. Eveline and her boyfriend took us out for a surprise dinner. That was fun too.

Ohh, and I finished Tien met stip by Janet Evanovich ROOT 34 for the year!

>134 connie53: Glad to hear the party went well, and a very happy anniversary to you and Peet! :)

Happy anniversary. Hugs xx

>134 connie53: Glad you had such a great weekend - sounds lovely!

Also, Happy Anniversary!

Congratulations on your anniversay. 36 years together is an achievement to be proud of.

Yay, happy anniversary!

Thanks! What a sweet surprise. In fact we are together for 46 years. We dated for almost 10 years ;-))

Today I went to the hospital for the results of the tests. And the doctor and I decided we are going for a new knee! There will be more tests (for measurement what size of knee I need), then the knee is made by some department of the University of Leuven (Belgium) and somewhere in January or February I will have the surgery. In one way I'm looking forward to it. It will be a heavy revalidation afterwards. But I think it will be worth it. And I don't have to stay overnight!

Congratulations on your anniversary!

>141 connie53:

Best of luck in getting a "make-over" on your knee. I have two friends in US who have had one or both knees "replaced" and both recovered quickly and enjoy being partially bionic.

We're both long married. Think it's 47 years for me. When people ask me how long has it been and I don't want to do the math, I answer, "Since god wore diapers." (It's a "South-renism.")

>141 connie53: I know several persons who got new knees. They are all happy with them. So fingers crossed that your new one will fit perfectly and when everything is healed you're able to jump around again.

>141 connie53: Good luck with the new knee, Connie. I need two, and will get the first one in June as soon as school is out. My husband has had both replaced and he is glad he did!

>141 connie53: 46 years - wow! You're just 4 away from a half a century! Congrats on that too!

Sounds like a great plan re your knee! Good luck!

Good luck with your knee!

You are al so very kind! Thank you for all the good wishes. And the congratulations for my anniversary. It's good to hear some of you know people with new knees! And can tell me they are all happy they did do so.

>142 Jackie_K: Thanks Jackie!

>143 Limelite: partial bionic! I like that! And "since god wore diapers" sounds about right for me too.

>144 Ameise1: Jumping around sounds good! But I would be very happy if only I could walk for a while or run a bit. But I hear good things.

>145 Tess_W: Do you choose to wait, Tess? I am in that much pain even when I sit or lay down. So for me it's no choice. If my name turns up on the surgical schedule I'm going to do it!

>146 avanders: Half a century sounds awfully long, Ava!

>147 MissWatson: Thanks, Birgit

>148 connie53: I have a contract with the school, and if I miss more than 10 days I break the contract, no sick pay, etc.....so, yes, I'm in excruciating pain, but I will somehow manage until June 1!

I can add my name to the chorus of those that know of knee replacement successes. My sister had one done in 2014 and it has been a huge improvement for her. She has degenerative bones and has broken one hip twice so she's had one surgery every year since 2013 (the second hip fracture was this year). Even so, she's in pain with the other knee and because of the great results she's had with the first replacement plans to schedule the second knee sometime early next year.

Oh Tess, that sounds awful. I hope you get through it OK.

>149 Tess_W: June seems an awfully long time away, so all the best wishes that you can stay the course without serious damage to yourself.

>149 Tess_W: Tess, that is truly awful! I'm so glad we have other contracts over here. I can call in sick whenever I feel sick. I had an achilles tendon rupture a few years back and I was out for 3 months with full pay. The last 6 weeks was summer break, so I told my supervisor I was feeling better and would be working again if it were normal school-weeks. But he told me to go and have my holiday while on sick-leave. It felt a bit like cheating, but hey: He told me so!

But I feel for you! I know how painful it can be! I will be thinking of you!

>150 clue: Thanks, Luanne! Good to hear and all things good for your sister.

>152 MissWatson: I could not agree more, Birgit! I hope there will be no damage done.

Both of my knees need replaced...no torn anything, just arthritis damage, bone on bone. The doctor said it may hurt, but I'm not damaging anything by postponing the surgery. In fact, he told me that in his experience, people go EIGHT years with pain before they finally succumb to surgery!

>154 Tess_W: EIGHT years! I thought my three years wait is long. And with me it's bone on bone too.

I just made a little pile of the books I picked to read for my ABC-ROOTs.

There are a few letters still missing.

This is what I picked:

For O: Harten Sara by Thomas Olde Heuvelt - Dutch writer
For S: Veroordeeld by Karin Slaughter
For T: Stegger by Charles den Tex - Dutch writer
For V: Aan niemand vertellen by Simone van der Vlugt - Dutch writer
For W: De Koningsvrede by Jo Walton

Still reading:
For J: Het pad der dolken - Robert Jordan

Today I cleaned the whole house and tomorrow (Sunday) we are expecting a couple of friends for the night. They will be arriving around 11.00 am. We are going to visit our son Jeroen and his girlfriend. Our friends have not seen their new house and on Monday we are going to daughter Eveline and her boyfriend. But no fear, we have autumn break and the weather is going to be great for that week! 19 C in the afternoon. So I will be out in the garden with my book.

>157 connie53: Sounds like a truly Golden October afternoon!

I hope it will come true, Birgit

>156 connie53: you found the hard-letter books! Are you excited for those options?

>157 connie53: wow! Sounds like a busy weekend! But, as Miss Watson says, "a truly Golden October afternoon"... hope it was lovely!

>160 avanders: Sunday was a great day and yesterday was too

Here is what we did yesterday:

Herman and Marjolein are our friends since we met in Austria when we went cross country skiing for the first time. That was in 1980 round Christmas and new years. So our kids grew up with Herman and Marjolein always in the background.

We went to Maastricht with them to visit Cyrille and Eveline.
We had coffee and 'kruimelvlaai' (A kind of cobbler famous in Limburg)



After that we went to the building where Cyrille has started his Recycling business Weelec.



Cyrille took us on a guided tour through the premises and told Herman all about Safe and Permanent Recycling of Electronic waste. It's amazing to see a washer fall into this 40 meters long, 6 meters high machine and get shredded into little pieces of iron, plastic, copper and such



You can see the small yellow screw in the middle and understand how small those pieces are. The machine selects all kinds of things. You just have to program the machine to this or that element.

Then we went for lunch to the "onze lieve vrouweplein' or 'Square of our beloved lady" (Maria, mother of Jezus)



It was really very nice weather so we had a table in the sun, eat some lovely sandwiches and chatted away. Then we went back to our town again and had to say goodbye to Herman and Marjolein. They had to drive for almost two hours before they were home.

Sunday was a good day too. Then we went to visit Jeroen and Rianne. And had coffee and drinks at their place.

>161 connie53: Gorgeous photos, Connie! I see people could sit outside in the sun, it's lovely when that is possible in October. Recycling electronic waste must be a business with high growth potential, nowadays when almost eveything has chips inside.

This was a picture from the internet made in the summer. But we did sit outside in the sun and it was just a busy yesterday as on the picture. It was hard to find two empty tables we could push together to sit there. And today is just as gorgeous.

Delightful posts! I'm a little green with envy. Our nice week in Oct. has come and gone. Past two days rainy, chilly, windy.

In a word, "Icky!"

If they're filming any more "Walking Dead" scenes in the neighborhood, they'll be really scary!

>164 Limelite: LOL!

I finished another ROOT today, that's # 35 De weg tussen de werelden by Ian Irvine.
And with that I finished another series too. I thought this 4th part was to much. It was a lot of repetition, a lot of running away through desolate country side, a lot of everything that was already said in part 1, 2 and 3. But I needed to know how it ended so I just read on and now I'm glad it's finished. It's not a bad story but it's tooooooo long.

Started another ROOT

Veroordeeld by Karin Slaughter



The Blurb not my review!

Atlanta, 1974. It's Kate Murphy's first day on the job, and the Atlanta Police Department is seething after the murder of an officer. Before the day has barely begun, she already suspects she's not cut out to be a cop. Her male uniform is too big, she can't handle a gun, and she's rapidly learning that the APD is hardly a place that welcomes women. Worse still, in the ensuing manhunt, she'll be partnered with Maggie Lawson, a cop with her own ax to grind (and a brother and uncle already on the force)--a strategy meant to isolate Kate and Maggie from the action. But the move will backfire, putting them right at the heart of it.

It's really nice to read a Slaughter again and due to the very nice weather I'm half way through this book all ready.

>161 connie53: wow! Sounds and looks like a wonderful couple of days!
& love how the pics you chose brought your adventure to life! :)

>165 connie53: and congrats on finishing another ROOT!

Thanks, Ava!

>165 connie53: That Karin Slaughter book sounds interesting. I should read more thrillers.

And belated congratulations on your anniversary :). That is very impressive and inspiring!

Thanks, Elizabeth! Thrillers are my second love, book wise. Fantasy is my first!
But I've read all the books by Karin Slaughter translated into Dutch so far and they are all very good.

>169 connie53: Good to know! I might add a couple of her titles to my wishlist. Pretty Girls, maybe. I really like thriller *movies* but for some reason haven't read that many thriller novels. Maybe 2016 will be the year :).

>170 readingtangent: You can make an extra Challenge of reading a number of ROOT-Thrillers!
Mooie meisjes is a very good book and a stand-alone one.

(BTW: your touchstone brings me to the wrong book)

I finished another ROOT, probably the last one for October. # 4 for October, # 36 for the year.

I liked the book Veroordeeld by Karin Slaughter a lot. It's fast going, the story is very well put together and the ending is a surprise. That might be the only thing that bothered me about it. I would have liked some clues about who did it and make my own deduction about the killer.

I'm now reading another ROOT Aan niemand vertellen by Simone van der Vlugt.



This is a book by a Dutch writer.
Translation of the title: Tell no one

This is the translation of the back cover
Lois is a detective in the murder squad. When the maimed body of a young man is found there is no clue at all. But when a second murder takes place everything fits.

>171 connie53: Woops! Thanks, fixed it :).

>173 readingtangent: You are welcome!

>161 connie53: Cool pictures, Maastricht is somewhere I'd like to visit. I've heard it is very picturesque.

>172 connie53: Hi Connie, my library has got several books of van der Vlugt. Have you read other books written by her?

>175 Jackie_K: It is, Jackie. If you get the change to visit, do so!

>176 Ameise1: I've read several, Barb. 11 in total. She writes a lot of books. They are nice, not very, very good. Eveline and I helped her with one book she wrote Op klaarlichte dag. That book is placed in our town and she asked us for some information about where teenage girls went on an evening out and about some neighbourhoods where her main character could live. It was a surprise to see our names in that book.

Yesterday was the meet up with my FF-leesclub friends in Utrecht. And since it was Halloween we all wore something to fit in the theme.

Here is our group for the official picture.



I bought some books:



And a bag:

>177 connie53: Ah, wonderful. My library has got a copy of it. Will take it the next time I'm there.

These are the books I bought

Wat ons niet zal doden by David Lagercrantz This is the fourth part in the Millennium series that was started by Stieg Larsson



She is the girl with the dragon tattoo. Lisbeth Salander. An uncompromising misfit whose burning sense of injustice and talent for investigation will never respect boundaries of state or status. He is a campaigning journalist. Mikael Blomkvist. A lone wolf whose integrity and championing of the truth bring him time and again to the brink of unemployment - and prosecution. The call comes in late at night: a superhacker has gained access to critical, top secret U.S. intelligence. Blomkvist knows only one person who could crack the best security systems in the world. This case has all the hallmarks of Salander. She is accused of acting without reason, taking risks just because she can, but though they have lost touch, Blomkvist knows Lisbeth better than that. There must be something deeper at the heart of this - maybe even the scoop that Millennium magazine so desperately needs for its survival. A tangled web of truth that someone is prepared to kill to protect...

De boekenapotheek aan de Seine by Nina George



On a beautifully restored barge on the Seine, Jean Perdu runs a bookshop; or rather a 'literary apothecary', for this bookseller possesses a rare gift for sensing which books will soothe the troubled souls of his customers.

The only person he is unable to cure, it seems, is himself. He has nursed a broken heart ever since the night, twenty-one years ago, when the love of his life fled Paris, leaving behind a handwritten letter that he has never dared read. His memories and his love have been gathering dust - until now. The arrival of an enigmatic new neighbour in his eccentric apartment building on Rue Montagnard inspires Jean to unlock his heart, unmoor the floating bookshop and set off for Provence, in search of the past and his beloved.

>178 connie53: Wonderful photos, Connie.

Thanks, Barb.

You can's really see what I was wearing but this was it

> 182 Oh, I love this, clever idea. I've read The Little Paris Bookshop, I hope you enjoy it.

This months challenge for my ff-leesclub is read a book connected to "Mist".

So I chose De held van weleer by Brandon Sanderson
Part three in the Mistborn series and a ROOT



From the back cover:

To end the Final Empire and restore freedom, Vin killed the Lord Ruler. But as a result - the lethal form of the ubiquitous mists - is back, along with increasingly heavy ashfalls and ever more powerful earthquakes. Humanity appears to be doomed." "Having escaped death at the climax of The Well of Ascension only by becoming a Mistborn himself, Emperor Elend Venture hopes to find clues left behind by the Lord Ruler that will allow him to save the world. Vin is consumed with guilt at having been tricked into releasing the mystic force known as Ruin from the Well. Ruin wants to end the world, and its near omniscience and ability to warp reality make stopping it seem impossible. Vin can't even discuss it with Elend lest Ruin learn their plans. The conclusion of the Mistborn trilogy fulfills all the promise of the first two books. Revelations abound, connections rooted in early chapters of the series click into place, and surprises, as satisfying as they are stunning, blossom like fireworks to dazzle and delight.

>178 connie53: Love the pics! Thanks for sharing :) And of course you bought books ;) They look like nice shiny new ones!! :D And Love the bag too :)

>182 connie53: CUTE headband!

>184 connie53: ooh interesting challenge... Looks like you made a good selection!

Thanks Ava! I really like the books by Brandon Sanderson, and this was one I had on the soon TBR pile so it fitted perfectly. But it is a big book (703 pages).

>186 connie53: Nice when it works out like that ;) But that *is* a big book - good luck! :)

I've started another ROOT yesterday. My Kobo was acting up and the Brandon Sanderson book is to heavy to take with me on the train to my brother. So I started a very thin/small book that is a ROOT too.

Stegger by Charles den Tex



In Dutch
Een dubieuze overzeese brievenbus-bv blijkt het obstakel te zijn voor de overname van Switchtronics door HECI.
Jan Stegger, commercieel directeur van HECI reist zelf af naar Curaçao om de problemen op te lossen.

In English:

A dubious overseas mailbox-private company appears to be an obstacle to the acquisition of Switchtronics by HECI.
Jan Stegger, commercial director of HECI travels off to Curacao to solve the problems.

Charles den Tex is a Dutch award winning writer but he was born in Australia and returned to the Netherlands with his parents when he was 5 years old

>188 connie53: sounds interesting... and like the perfect thing for a train ride! :)

>189 avanders: It's just that I'm not really into business deals and terms. So I'm a bit struggling with it. But I know Charles can write an interesting thriller so I hope I'll reach that part real soon.
Tomorrow I take the train again for a stay over with my friend so this book will be in my handbag. And of course I have to travel back on Sunday.

>190 connie53: ah yes... it does sound like the base is very business-heavy! Hope your train ride is the perfect ambiance to get you through to that thriller part quickly! :)

>191 avanders: Okay I did some reading on the train in Stegger. It was very nice to be with Vera for the weekend. We did some shopping and we had to go to a kind of bookstore. She wanted to buy a card to send to her daughter to congratulate her on getting a certificate for haptonomics and I wandered of to the book section because I heard a book calling softly to me. I went through the titles to find out which book it was and found it!

Doorgang by David Mitchell
This is the translation of Slade House



Turn down Slade Alley - narrow, dank and easy to miss, even when you're looking for it. Find the small black iron door set into the right-hand wall. No handle, no keyhole, but at your touch it swings open. Enter the sunlit garden of an old house that doesn't quite make sense; too grand for the shabby neighbourhood, too large for the space it occupies.

A stranger greets you by name and invites you inside. At first, you won't want to leave. Later, you'll find that you can't.

This unnerving, taut and intricately woven tale by one of our most original and bewitching writers begins in 1979 and reaches its turbulent conclusion around Halloween, 2015. Because every nine years, on the last Saturday of October, a 'guest' is summoned to Slade House. But why has that person been chosen, by whom and for what purpose? The answers lie waiting in the long attic, at the top of the stairs...

I started in this book this morning while waiting for Vera to wake up. (I'm a terrible sleeper, so I wake early) and continued on the train back home. So far I love this book so much. I had my wish-list grow with several titles by David Mitchell.

We went out for dinner, watched Dr. Zjivago, chatted a lot. A very cosy nice weekend.

>192 connie53: What a lovely weekend. I've never heard of David Mitchell, but the synopsis you posted has definitely piqued my interest.

And Dr. Zjivago is on the movie equivalent to my TBR (so I guess a TBW ?) list.

Have you read The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet, Connie? It's a historical novel by David Mitchell set in the Dutch trading post in Nagasaki in the early 1800s before Japan opened up to the West.

>192 connie53: Dr. Zhivago the book and the movie are vastly different to me. The book focuses on the Communist Revolution and the movie is more focused on the love lives of Yuri. The book is somewhat semi-autobiographical.

>194 Robertgreaves: The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet is on my wish list!

>194 Robertgreaves: I ordered that book today, Robert. And Tijdmeters too.
Doorgang is such a fine book. A bit fantasy (which I love) and written with a lot of humour (which I love). I liked Wolkenatlas too. I read that book in 2007 and gave it ***1/2 star but my memories of that book are still very vivid, so I think I better give it ****.

Doorgang is a prequel of Tijdmeters apparently.

This is what I found on the internet :
Born out of the short story David Mitchell published on Twitter in 2014 and inhabiting the same universe as his latest bestselling novel The Bone Clocks , this is the perfect book to curl up with on a dark and stormy night.

They call Doorgang a Grand Dessert for those who know Tijdmeters and an appetizer for those who don't

I realized it's my thingaversary today! 6 years on LT!

I think I buy my thingaversary books in November and not just today. If I do it right I would have to buy 6+1 book today, but I have to pay for what I buy and that would be rather expensive.

So far I've bought:
1. Doorgang by David Mitchell

And ordered 3 more that should arrive tomorrow.

Only 3 more to go!

>192 connie53: Sounds like a wonderful weekend! A book calling softly -- a great image :) AND Slade House is on its way to my house as we speak! (it was an early reviewer that I won from LT this round :)) So glad to hear how good it is so far!

>196 connie53: It's so true! Cloud Atlas TOTally sticks with you! Even though it was involved and a slower read than some, it definitely stays.. That's how I felt about Winter's Tale and Secret History as well... both I keep thinking about now that it's colder again :D

>197 connie53: Happy Thingaversary! "Have" to buy 6+1 books? Sounds like a great "requirement" ;)

Happy Thingaversary! Enjoy your book shopping.

I saw the film of Cloud Atlas before I read the book and had no idea what was going on. I'm so pleased I took the vicar's advice and read the book, which made a lot more sense. I've got Ghostwritten sitting on my virtual TBR shelf.

Happy thingaversary, Connie! Enjoy your shiny new books!

Thanks guys!

I brought 3 more books for my Thingaversary into the house. Here they are!

Tijdmeters by David Mitchell



From BOL.com the description of this book:

One drowsy summer's day in 1984, teenage runaway Holly Sykes encounters a strange woman who offers a small kindness in exchange for 'asylum'. Decades will pass before Holly understands exactly what sort of asylum the woman was seeking . . .

The Bone Clocks follows the twists and turns of Holly's life from a scarred adolescence in Gravesend to old age on Ireland's Atlantic coast as Europe's oil supply dries up - a life not so far out of the ordinary, yet punctuated by flashes of precognition, visits from people who emerge from thin air and brief lapses in the laws of reality. For Holly Sykes - daughter, sister, mother, guardian - is also an unwitting player in a murderous feud played out in the shadows and margins of our world, and may prove to be its decisive weapon.

De niet verhoorde gebeden van Jacob de Zoet by David Mitchell



From LT the description of this book:

1799, Dejima in Nagasaki Harbor. Jacob de Zoet, a devout and resourceful young clerk, has a chance encounter with Orito Aibagawa, the disfigured daughter of a samurai doctor and midwife to the city's powerful magistrate. The borders between propriety, profit, and pleasure blur until Jacob finds his vision clouded, one rash promise made and then fatefully broken--the consequences of which will extend beyond Jacob's worst imaginings.

Het Recht van de Radch by Ann Leckie



From Amazone

On a remote, icy planet, the soldier known as Breq is drawing closer to completing her quest.

Breq is both more than she seems and less than she was. Years ago, she was the Justice of Toren--a colossal starship with an artificial intelligence linking thousands of corpse soldiers in the service of the Radch, the empire that conquered the galaxy.

An act of treachery has ripped it all away, leaving her with only one fragile human body. And only one purpose--to revenge herself on Anaander Mianaai, many-bodied, near-immortal Lord of the Radch..

That looks like a great haul. Enjoy reading them!

>202 connie53: excellent! All 3 of those are on my TBR short-list too!! :)

>204 avanders: We must be related in some way, Ava!

>205 connie53: lol you never know.... I believe my dad's distant relatives are from Norway; maybe there was some crossing over at some point along the way there ;)

Congratulations on your Thingaversary! I didn't know that was a thing, but have just looked it up. I realised I had no idea when I joined LT, but I see it was Aug 11th 2012, so next year if I remember then I will be able to justify 4 of my acquisitions :) I'm a bit confused about the +1 but no doubt I will acquire plenty more than 4 at some point next year!

>207 Jackie_K: The +1 is "one to grow on".

Congrats on your Thingaversary!

>208 rabbitprincess: I was confused about that too, so that's good! For me, next June will be my 9th Thingaversary, so 9+1 books? well... if you insist...... ;D

See... all those buys can be justified!

>206 avanders: LOL

>211 connie53: toooootally justified ;)

>197 connie53: This was my eighth year and I understand what you're saying about paying for that many books at one time. The last 2 years I've made a game out of it, trying to get books I want at the lowest possible cost. A friend and I get together, take my wish list, and go to the used bookstores and also scope out the sale table at BAM and Hastings. This year my average cost was under $5 per book (I was able to get 2 books at a reduced price and the 3rd free at Hastings). I don 't think I can beat that next year but we'll see. Of course, if you figure lunch in that drives the cost of the day up, but I had to eat lunch anyway, right?

>208 rabbitprincess: yeah, that's the bit I don't understand! (sorry I'm being a bit dense!). What do they mean by "one to grow on"?

>214 Jackie_K: Possibly to represent you continuing to use LT in the future? I'm just making this up ;)

>214 Jackie_K: I assume it's like having the bumps on your birthday as a kid, plus one "for luck" as we always used to say.

>216 Robertgreaves: Thank you Robert! The perfect analogy! (I wonder how universal the bumps are, does everyone know what we're talking about?)

>217 Jackie_K: No! I don't!

You are all talking in a strange language to me!

And in my own thread!

But I still love you all!

Thanks, Mark and Charlotte.

I just finished Doorgang and gave it ****1/2. I really loved it! Although it's a mix of fantasy and horror it stays light. That's what is the strength in the writing of David Mitchell.
Today I did order all other books translated by him to complete my Thingaversary 2015.
I have to wait for them to arrive because they are re-printed. But I'm patient. And I have my ROOT-ABC to finish.

>218 connie53: lol
it's funny... I've heard both phrases and I think Robert is right... one "for luck" = one "to grow on"
Rabbitprincess essentially had it right in >215 rabbitprincess: "to represent you continuing to use LT in the future" ... i.e., "for luck" in a general sense.

Connie, am I just confusing this more? ;P

>219 connie53: Oooh fun ordering the rest of Mitchell's books for your Thingaversary!
And I really can't wait to get Slade House now!

>218 connie53: No, you are not confusing it more, Ava! I just want to know what it means: The bumps! What are they?

>221 connie53: ooooh... Robert, I assume "the bumps" was like... where I grew up, you got "spanked" (lightly, for fun) on your birthday the number of years you were, plus 1 for luck/good measure/to grow on... But good question! We'll see Robert or Jackie to confirm! :)

>221 connie53: >222 avanders: I guess the bumps are a British school thing then, and didn't cross either the Atlantic or the Channel/North Sea! Basically Ava has sort of the right idea with the number of years plus 1 for luck, but it's not spanking. On your birthday you would have to lie down on your back, and four (or more) people would take your arms and legs (1 each), and then (without letting go) throw you up in the air for the number of years your birthday was, plus one for luck. I found a youtube video (Caveat: sound doesn't work on my laptop, so I have no idea if they say anything rude or not!!): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XbLYDKU_fcg

>223 Jackie_K: In my school days (in Canada) it was "birthday beats" -- you'd get punched (gently) in the arm instead, one punch per year, with an extra punch for luck.

>223 Jackie_K: I love that video! And I know what you mean now. We do that too. But I think with us it is not related to ones birthday. We have a name for it, but I don't remember it. I feel it's somewhere lurking in the back of my mind.

Number 5 for my Thingaversary came into the house today

Maanvloed by David Hair



The Moontide has come, and a scarlet tide of Rondian legions is flooding into the East, slaughtering and pillaging in the name of Emperor Constant. But the Scytale of Corineus, the source of ultimate magical power, has slipped through the emperor's fingers. His ruthless Inquisitors are desperately seeking the artefact, before it falls into the hands of those who would bring down the Empire. But there are some who have pledged to end the cycle of war and restore peace to Urte. They are the unlikeliest of heroes: a failed mage, a gypsy and a lowly market-girl. As East and West clash more violently than ever before, Urte will discover that love, loyalty and truth can be forged into weapons as deadly as swords and magic.

>223 Jackie_K: The bumps didn't cross the Atlantic, Jackie - you are just thinking of our neighbours to the south who don't know what the bumps are.

Hi Connie, you started something with your one to grow on! Hope you are enjoying your protracted buying spree for your Thingaversary.

>227 Familyhistorian: I know, Meg. But I love the idea of buying books (duh) because it's the rule!

I'm enjoying my book buying spree immensely

>225 connie53: All of a sudden I remembered the word!!! Jonassen (verb)

The word just popped up!

>223 Jackie_K: aah interesting :)
wow! That's an interesting tradition -- much more fun than spanking ;)

>224 rabbitprincess: yeah, punched sounds more like it ;P

>226 connie53: another fun book in! Yay! :)

I got two more books (and they not for my thingaversary. I just needed to have them to make my collection complete)

Als de dood by Peter James

#10 in the series about Roy Grace



This is the blurb NOT my review

When Red Westwood meets handsome, charming and rich Bryce Laurent through an online dating agency, there is an instant attraction. But as their love blossoms, the truth about his past, and his dark side, begins to emerge. Everything he has told Red about himself turns out to be a tissue of lies, and her infatuation with him gradually turns to terror.

Within a year, and under police protection, she evicts him from her flat and her life. But Red's nightmare is only just beginning. For Bryce is obsessed with her, and he intends to destroy everything and everyone she has ever known and loved - and then her too . . .

Aan de rand van het meer by Kate Morton



This is the blurb NOT my review

A missing child...June 1933, and the Edevane family's country house, Loeanneth, is polished and gleaming, ready for the much-anticipated Midsummer Eve party. Alice Edevane, sixteen years old and a budding writer, is especially excited. Not only has she worked out the perfect twist for her novel, she's also fallen helplessly in love with someone she shouldn't. But by the time midnight strikes and fireworks light up the night skies, the Edevane family will have suffered a loss so great that they leave Loeanneth forever. An abandoned house...Seventy years later, after a particularly troubling case, Sadie Sparrow is sent on an enforced break from her job with the Metropolitan Police. She retreats to her beloved grandfather's cottage in Cornwall but soon finds herself at a loose end. Until one day, Sadie stumbles upon an abandoned house surrounded by overgrown gardens and dense woods, and learns the story of a baby boy who disappeared without a trace. An unsolved mystery...Meanwhile, in the attic writing room of her elegant Hampstead home, the formidable Alice Edevane, now an old lady, leads a life as neatly plotted as the bestselling detective novels she writes. Until a young police detective starts asking questions about her family's past, seeking to resurrect the complex tangle of secrets Alice has spent her life trying to escape...

>231 connie53: ooh fun! And Morton's newest to boot! I'll look forward to your thoughts on that one! :)

>231 connie53: Oh boy, I want to read the one by Kate Morton! BB!

I finally finished De held van weleer by Brandon Sanderson. Such a joy to read books by this writer. This was the third book in the Mistborn series.

I'm going to update all tickers now.

Oops, forgot to tell something. My son and I did some work on his stuff that what still stashed away in a room in our house. There were some boxes with books that I wanted to bring to the second hand store. So I spend some time this morning checking my lists on LT and removing those books from all lists.
There were a few unread books too. So my TBR is down to 560! Yeah!!

>235 connie53: Yeah!

>235 connie53: Wow, great work! :)

>235 connie53: Wooo hooo Congratulations on that!!

Also, though I know you have 4 ABC ROOTs to go, you've totally passed your main ROOT goal, so I want to give you some Congratulations re that too!!

That's so sweet, Ava.

I started another ROOT today for the December challenge of my book club.

The theme is Together. So it has to be a book written by two or more writers.
I choose a collection of short stories by 10 writers and illustrators.



Het gebroken zwaard by Martijn Lindeboom

It is part fiction and part non-fiction.
The stories are build around Archaeological subjects that were found in the northern part of the Netherlands. Each subject, like Roman coins or parts of pottery and such, are used in the story. So far I've read about flint arrowheads and dolmens. I like it a lot and I learn a lot.

Now for some great news! I'm going to be a grandmum! Eveline and Cyrille are expecting their first child in June! I'm so happy! I could burst with pride!

>241 connie53: Hooray! You have a whole new world of children's books to discover! :D

>241 connie53: Congratulations :)!

>241 connie53: Congratulations!! You'd better stock up on some children's ROOTS! ;)

Congratulations, Connie. I'm sure you'll make a wonderful grannie, helping introduce the child to the pleasures of reading.

>240 connie53: interesting challenge and good pick!

>241 connie53: congratulations!! How exciting!!

>241 connie53: Felicitations! I'm sure you'll be a wonderful grannie. I was going to ask: Are there any classic children's tales left on your shelves? And then I wondered what are the favourite fairy tales in the Netherlands?

>247 MissWatson: I have a lot of my own childhood books in boxes, but they are not really for baby's.
So I will have to buy some baby books.

As far as fairy tales go: We have 'Hans and Grietje/Gretel', Cinderella, The sleeping beauty and more of the world famous fairy tales. I don't think there is any specific Dutch tale.
But we have Annie M.G. Schmidt. She wrote lots of little stories about Jip and Janneke. There are even some English versions.



I bought one little book a few days ago for baby's from 0-6 months



Just pictures of clouds, sheep and the moon and stars in bright colours.

But I'm sure I will get more.

>248 connie53: I looked her up and it seems she was widely published in Germany in the late sixties and early seventies. Minoes is still available and I seem to remember that it was made into a movie. Have fun choosing baby books!

Yes, Minoes is made into a movie!

>241 connie53: What a great time in your life Connie, a first grandchild! You have years and years of reading to a child in your future, nothing could be better.

>248 connie53: so cute :) Both of those books look great!

>241 connie53: Hoorey! Congrats, Connie, such wonderful news.

Thanks, girls! I'm feeling more proud and happy every day.

Congrats, grandma!

And I finished the first ROOT for December Het gebroken zwaard

Yay congrats! :) hoping I get lots of surprise reading time this month ;)

Another one bites the dust!

Het pad der dolken by Robert Jordan

>258 connie53: Way to go!

Hi Connie. I noticed that your ticker shows you've finished 21 ROOTS with 3 to go....but you've read many more than that. Just thinking something might be wrong with the ticker.

>260 clue: Hi Luanne. I've got two tickers going concerning ROOT's. One is my ABC and one is other ROOTs read. For example. I've read the trilogy by Patrick Ness. One is a ROOT for the N in my ABC ticker and the other two are extra ROOTs, because the N is taken care of, in the other ticker.

There is a list with books for each ticker so you can see what I mean. And there is a third ticker with the total number of ROOTs read: 40 for this year!

>259 MissWatson: Thanks, Birgit! I'm now trying to fit 3 more ABC-ROOT's in before 2016.

Now reading Drakenvrouwe by Margaret Weis ROOT # 40 for the year and counting for the ABC-challenge.



This is the blurb NOT my review

Mistress of Dragons is the first volume in an epic fantasy trilogy entitled The Dragonvarld. Here is a world where men and dragons coexist amid political intrigue and dark magic, where the uneasy balance of power between the two is on the verge of coming undone, threatening to unleash waves of destruction that will pit humans against humans as well as dragons against men for the domination of the world. Humanity's very survival is at risk.

And I bought two new ones!
Dertien by David Mitchell



This is the blurb NOT my review

Black Swan Green tracks a single year in what is, for thirteen-year-old Jason Taylor, the sleepiest village in muddiest Worcestershire in a dying Cold War England, 1982. But the thirteen chapters, each a short story in its own right, create an exquisitely observed world that is anything but sleepy. A world of Kissingeresque realpolitik enacted in boys’ games on a frozen lake; of “nightcreeping” through the summer backyards of strangers; of the tabloid-fueled thrills of the Falklands War and its human toll; of the cruel, luscious Dawn Madden and her power-hungry boyfriend, Ross Wilcox; of a certain Madame Eva van Outryve de Crommelynck, an elderly bohemian emigré who is both more and less than she appears; of Jason’s search to replace his dead grandfather’s irreplaceable smashed watch before the crime is discovered; of first cigarettes, first kisses, first Duran Duran LPs, and first deaths; of Margaret Thatcher’s recession; of Gypsies camping in the woods and the hysteria they inspire; and, even closer to home, of a slow-motion divorce in four seasons.

De geestverwantschap by David Mitchell



This is the blurb NOT my review

A gallery atendant at the Hermitage. A young jazz buff in Tokyo. A crooked British lawyer in Hong Kong. A disc jockey in Manhattan. A physicist in Ireland. An elderly woman running atendant at the Hermitage. A young jazz buff in Tokyo. A crooked British lawyer in H tea shack in rural China. A cult-controlled terrorist in Okinawa. A musician in London. A transmigrating spirit in Mongolia. What is the common thread of coincidence or destiny that connects the lives of these nine souls in nine far-flung countries, stretching across the globe from east to west? What pattern do their linked fates form through time and space?"

"Many forces bind these lives, but at root all involve the same universal longing for connection and transcendence, an axis of commonality that leads in two directions - to creation and to destruction. In the end, as lives converge with a fearful symmetry, Ghostwritten comes full circle, to a point at which a familiar idea - that whether the planet is vast or small is merely a matter of perspective - strikes home with the force of a new revelation. It marks the debut of a writer of astonishing gifts.

You bought more Mitchell! I believe I have Ghostwritten on the shelves somewhere... but I don't think I've ever even heard of Black Swan Green... another to keep an eye out for ;)

>261 connie53: Oh, I just didn't scroll down, I see now. You've had a great ROOTS year!

>264 clue: Thanks, Luanne! I certainly did.

>263 avanders: I think I have all the translated Mitchells by now, Ava.

I finished another one for ROOT today. Drakenvrouwe by Margaret Weis ***1/2
I really like books with dragons in it and this was a fast and pleasant read.

Now I'm doing some cheating to complete my ABC-Challenge. I found a children's book on my shelves that has been there since the summer of 2014 and written by a Dutch writer, Mirjam Oldenhave: Mees Kees, een pittig klasje



This is about a class full of 12 year old children and their new teacher, Kees.

Mees is short for Meester and Meester is the Dutch word for teacher.

Only 84 pages so it will be a day or two to read it.

And the book mentioned above is finished! It was a fun read. I could tell why kids around 10 years old would like it.

I am just catching up with your thread now, Connie. Congratulations on expecting your first grandchild!

>267 Familyhistorian: Thanks Meg! We are very happy with becoming grandparents. It's an adventure!

Today I will start in a book I have been looking forward to for a long time. It has waited patiently for me to finish my ROOT books and now it's time.

De geheimen van de nar by Robin Hobb



In spoiler font because of uhhh.....spoilers.

Long ago, Fitz and the Fool changed the world, bringing back the magic of dragons and securing both the Farseer succession and the stability of the kingdom. Or so they thought. But now the Fool is near death, maimed by mysterious pale-skinned figures whose plans for world domination hinge upon the powers the Fool may share with Fitz’s own daughter.

Distracted by the Fool’s perilous health, and swept up against his will in the intrigues of the royal court, Fitz lets down his guard . . . and in a horrible instant, his world is undone and his beloved daughter stolen away by those who would use her as they had once sought to use the Fool—as a weapon.

But FitzChivalry Farseer is not without weapons of his own. An ancient magic still lives in his veins. And though he may have let his skills as royal assassin diminish over the years, such things, once learned, are not so easily forgotten.

Now enemies and friends alike are about to learn that nothing is more dangerous than a man who has nothing left to lose.

I see from your ticker you met your goal---not sure if just now or earlier. If it was earlier, I missed it. In either case:

>269 Tess_W: Thanks, Tess.

Yes I did meet my ABC-goal yesterday but the number of ROOTs I wanted to read was reached much earlier.

Next year I will come up with another plan for ROOTs.

I'm impressed that you've been able to meet all your goals *and* comment so faithfully on so many of our threads!

>271 Jackie_K: Well, I love this group, Jackie! It gives me a good feeling to read with so many lovely people and get encouragement and give it back to my fellow ROOTers!

I list my books on goodreads as well and they have a nice thing about your year in books.

Here is mine; https://www.goodreads.com/user/year_in_books/2015

Yeah! Congrats on meeting your ABC goal!


>271 Jackie_K: I know, right?! Way to go! :)

>273 connie53: oh yes, love the goodreads year in books :) Such a nice visual display!

There won't be any more ROOTs for me this year.
I'm now reading De geheimen van de nar by Robin Hobb and that is a very big book. It will take me a few weeks to read it, so I will take it into the new year. And since it's not even my own book, but my brothers it is certainly is no ROOT for 2016.

See you all next year!

>275 connie53: looks like a very interesting book.. Looking forward to your thoughts on it!

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! See you in 2016!

>276 avanders: It's really very good. You can't go wrong with a Hobb. This is number 10 or so in the series and it's a big one, over 700 pages.

Finished another children's book Mees Kees, bloedjelink by Mirjam Oldenhave, a little book with only 84 pages or so. But every ROOT counts.

>178 connie53: yes it does! woo hoo! We might make our group goal this year!