MissBrangwen steps into the pub

Hi dear Green Dragon customers!

I have been a member of this group for a long time (apparently I left it a while ago, but that was an accident), but I have never posted or had a thread here and only occasionally lurked for a bit.

The reason I want to become more involved is that I used to read a lot of fantasy, but this has declined over the years. I mostly read crime novels for many years, or simply nothing, depending on my level of stress. However, I really wish to read more fantasy again, and I have countless fantasy novels waiting on my shelves, so I just need to get to them!

J.R.R. Tolkien is my favourite author of all time and I am currently on a mission to reread his major works and then to spread out from there. Next up is The Silmarillion. I also have many unread works of secondary literature about him and his books that are patiently waiting. Apart from that I have finished my first read of Harry Potter, since I saw Harry Potter and the Cursed Child with family members in February - we had bought the tickets back in 2019! Other fantasy authors and books I have enjoyed in the past are the Chronicles of Narnia (I just started a reread), German author Bernhard Hennen, Cornelia Funke, Tad Williams and a few others.

Apart from fantasy, I would also like to read more classics and more works of historical fiction.
My main thread is in the Category Challenge, but I thought that having a dedicated place where to focus on fantasy might be an incentive to really follow through with my plans.

And just a bit of info about myself: I live in the north of Germany where I teach German and English at college on various levels, I am in my thirties and am married. Apart from reading my biggest interest is traveling.

I am looking forward to meeting you all and to lots of bookish chats! :-)

Chronological List - First Quarter of 2023

1. A Fatal Grace by Louise Penny
2. Into The Water by Paula Hawkins
3. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince by J.K. Rowling
4. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by J.K. Rowling
5. Die kleine Seenadel - "Jeder ist wichtig" by Nicole Bernard
6. Where The Sky Begins by Rhys Bowen
7. In Distant Fields by Charlotte Bingham
8. Nachts ist es leise in Teheran by Shida Bazyar
9. Bunburry - Murder at the Mousetrap by Helena Marchmont
10. The Killings at Badger's Drift by Caroline Graham
11. Dunkel by Ragnar Jónasson
12. Between Shades Of Gray by Ruta Sepetys
13. Der eiserne Wolf im barocken Labyrinth - Erwachendes Vilnius by Cornelius Hell
14. Letters of Note - Music ed. by Shaun Usher
15. Murder at the Dolphin Hotel by Helena Dixon
16. Harry Potter and the Cursed Child by J.K. Rowling, John Tiffany and Jack Thorne
17. A Collection of First World War Poetry ed. by Janet Borsbey and Ruth Swan
18. The Figure in the Carpet by Henry James
19. The Moving Finger by Agatha Christie
20. Rivers of London by Ben Aaronovitch
21. In The Shadow Of Wolves by Alvydas Šlepikas
22. The High House by Jessie Greengrass
23. Spare by Prince Harry
24. Bunburry - A Murderous Ride by Helena Marchmont
25. Gedichte - Eine Auswahl by Johannes Bobrowski
26. The Golden Compass by Philip Pullman
27. Die Schattenfrau by Åke Edwardson

Chronological List - Continued

28. The Draycott Murder Mystery by Molly Thynne
29. Books Can Be Deceiving by Jenn McKinlay
30. How To Plan Your Trip To Off The Beaten Track Countries by Joan Torres
31. Destination Unknown by Agatha Christie
32. The Autumn Bride by Anne Gracie
33. Tofylis, or The Marriage of Zosė by Žemaitė
34. The Illustrated Poets: Robert Burns ed. by Daniel Burnstone
35. Zurück zur ersten Liebe by Teresa Zukic
36. Powder and Patch by Georgette Heyer
37. Der letzte Wunsch by Andrzej Sapkowski
38. Ostende: 1936, Sommer der Freundschaft by Volker Weidermann
39. The Sisters by Dervla McTiernan
40. Die Straßen von Wilna by Czesław Miłosz
41. Krokodilwächter by Katrine Engberg
42. Sleepless Over You by Sydney Smyth

Short Reads
Single short stories and articles (when I do not read the whole collection)

Short stories and other prose
1. Georgette Heyer: The Transformation of Philip Jettan, Chapter Twenty - Mademoiselle de Chaucheron Rings Down the Curtain

Articles and essays
1. Ted Nasmith: Introduction to the Tolkien Calendar 2023

Because the year has already started, I will just post a few comments about the fantasy books that I have read this year so far.

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince by J.K. Rowling
This was not my favourite of the Harry Potter novels. I had expected much more action. Some aspects that I was not that interested in were dealt with in detail, while other aspects seemed to be neglected. I did enjoy it, but still had a feeling that it could have been better. But then, the last quarter of the novel was something different of course.

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by J.K. Rowling
Although I did not like some aspects, I loved this book as a whole and thought that it was a worthy finale. The first half was very slow, but there were so many things I loved in the second half. I must admit that I was also relieved when it was finally over and that I had made it in time for the play!

Harry Potter and the Cursed Child by J.K. Rowling
I read the play two days after I had watched it in Hamburg, and this was perfect. I knew that many people were disappointed by this book, but the show was excellent and while reading it I saw it all again in my mind. I think that some points of the plot are badly done, but all in all I do like the story. I do understand though that reading it without having seen it first might be much more disappointing because it might be hard to envision and the production relies heavily on movements and effects.

Rivers of London by Ben Aaronovitch
This was my first foray into urban fantasy, recommended by my husband, who loves fantasy as well and reads quite a lot of it. Unfortunately this was not really a book for me. I loved the beginning, but then labored through it. It is only down to my own tastes, though, and I think it still is a great work.

The Golden Compass by Philip Pullman
I read this for the first time and absolutely loved it. I thought it was perfect! The characters, the world building and the story - it was such a great reading experience.

>1 MissBrangwen: Welcome! I also am a mystery fan first and foremost (I tend to read a lot of the Golden Age mysteries), then fantasy. I didn't read much fantasy at all until I joined this group, they are inspiring. There are several of us here in the pub dabbling in the classics, as well.

Welcome! I am mostly a fantasy and sci-fi reader, with some classics, history and non-fiction, my mystery reading days were many years ago. You may want to check out our group thread on the Silmarillion: https://www.librarything.com/topic/329810 from 2 years ago.

Welcome also. I love the Rivers of London novels and always feel a little disappointed when someone doesn't share that feeling. Stick with the series and I'm sure they will grow on you. However, it'll be a dull world if we all agreed.

>1 MissBrangwen:
Welcome back to the group. I too had an accidental departure and subsequent return.

I think you will find this group matches your needs very well. If you have been lurking you will know that while The Lord of the Rings is a key element in The Green Dragon, and Fantasy is discussed and enjoyed, the threads here cover many genres with many people, including myself, enjoying murder mysteries and the classics.

I hope you enjoy your time in the pub and I look forward to talking books with you over a convivial pint of your chosen beverage. Speaking of which, can I get you a welcome drink at the bar? Many people here favour a Pan Galactic Gargle Blaster (PGGB) as featured in The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy.

Hi and welcome. Glad to have you back. Hope you settle in and make this your local!

What they all said. And don’t forget the cheese.

>1 MissBrangwen: Welcome back!

As several other people have mentioned our tastes are very eclectic. So please feel free to discuss everything you're reading.

Welcome and I've added your thread to the wiki of personal reading journals which is linked in the Group description.

Welcome to the Pub. I'm a sci fi, fantasy and mystery reader. Hope you feel right at home here. Take a seat at the bar and have a cold one!

Thank you all so much for your friendly welcome!

>6 MrsLee: I love golden age mysteries as well.

>7 Karlstar: Oh, thanks for that! I'll certainly have a look.

>8 UncleMort: I can tell you that my husband absolutely loves the Rivers of London series! And yes, I might give the second one a try.

>9 pgmcc: Thank you, I'll try a PGGB for sure! Yes, I must somehow hit the wrong button, I don't know how it happened.

>10 Bookmarque: >11 haydninvienna: Thank you!

>12 clamairy: That's great! I always had the impression that most people either enjoyed crime novels or fantasy novels, but since I have become a more active member in the LT groups I realized that there are many more people who, like myself, enjoy both genres (and many others)!

>13 AHS-Wolfy: Thank you for adding my thread!

>14 majkia: I already feel at home after receiving such a great welcome!

Welcome back to the pub! I'm more of a fantasy and SF reader than a mystery reader but I'm always open to recommendations in that genre. I love Fred Vargas' books, the classic Mrs Bradley books by Gladys Mitchell, and Louise Penny's Inspector Gamache series.

>16 Sakerfalcon:
Thank you for reminding me I have a Vargas book on my Kindle.

>16 Sakerfalcon: I started the Gamache series last year and so far have read the first two books. I loved them!

>16 Sakerfalcon: >17 pgmcc: Vargas is on my wish list, too.

Happy weekend everyone! I did not read much last week because I was suffering from migraines, but I at least started the first book in The Witcher series (The Last Wish), and I'm enjoying it very much so far.

>18 MissBrangwen: I read that one a year ago two ago. I enjoyed it. It didn't hurt that I'd watched a couple of episodes of the series on Netflix and had a lovely picture in my mind of Geralt.

>19 clamairy: I watched the first season of the series three years ago and I cannot really remember the stories, but yes, Geralt definitely has stayed with me! I have wanted to read the books since then.

The Autumn Bride, or rather the series Chance Sisters by Anne Gracie, was a BB from christina_reads over in the Category Challenge. I was looking for a new historical romance to listen to on audiobook and this was perfect for that purpose. Never mind the utterly pointless, inappropriate cover that does not befit the novel at all!!!

I only listen to audiobooks while doing household chores, getting ready to go out etc., so most of the time I do not listen to stories that need a lot of concentration, but rather to those that are fun and easily transport me to another world. A year ago I discovered that historical romances, a genre that was new to me until then, work perfectly for that.



Book No 32

"The Autumn Bride" by Anne Gracie
Series: Chance Sisters (1)
First published in 2013
Tantor Audio
Digital audiobook, 10h 54min
Rating: 3 1/2 stars - ***°

The Chance sisters are four young women - not all of them biological sisters - who find themselves in dire circumstances until they are taken under the wing of an aristocratic elderly lady who passes them off as her nieces. All is well until her nephew, Lord Davenham, comes home from Asia - of course he knows that the girls are not who they claim to be. He is set on finding out the truth about them, but then he develops feelings for the eldest sister.
Although it is foreseeable in most parts and the plot is improbable, I really enjoyed this novel. The story is well written and I rooted for the characters because I liked them a lot. The audiobook is narrated by Alison Larkin who does a splendid job.
I am looking forward to listening to the next one!

In the end of March my husband and I traveled to Vilnius, Lithuania, for a week. I bought Tofylis, or The Marriage of Zosė by Žemaitė in a bookshop there because it caught my eye and looked like something I would like. I read it in one sitting this morning.
Žemaitė was the pen name of Julija Beniuševičiūtė-Žymantienė, a Lithuanian writer born in 1845. This story was first published in 1897, and not in Lithuania, but in the US. Lithuanian books had to be smuggled into Lithuania because it was a part of the Tsar's empire at the time and works written in Lithuanian were forbidden.
This edition was published by Paper and Ink, the text was translated by Violeta Kelertas.



Book No 33

"Tofylis, or The Marriage of Zosė" by Žemaitė
Original Title: Topylis
First published in 1897
Paper and Ink
Paperback, 76pp.
Rating: 4 stars - ****

I cannot really say that I enjoyed this story, the reason being that it is very gloomy and depressing. Nevertheless, it is interesting and worth reading. It is a short tale about a young peasant woman called Zosė, who works as a maid on an estate. She is caught up in a web of miseries. At first she is deeply in love with Tofylis, the dazzling huntsman, but when he finally marries her, the marriage is a deeply unhappy one. In addition, Zosė is pursued by her employer and her mother blames her instead of supporting her.
The story is mainly told in inner monologues and dialogues, which makes it a bit constructed at times and hems the reading flow a bit. On the other hand, like this Zosė's pain and loss of hope is presented in a direct, unembellished style. She is caught within the constraints of her class and her gender, and the author makes this clear in an unmediated way.

>22 MissBrangwen: Lithuania! I'd love to go there sometime. Sorry about the book though.

A very belated Welcome to the Pub!

>23 Karlstar: Oh, please go if you have the chance! We loved our trip. Vilnius is a beautiful city with such a fascinating (although often terrible) history.

>24 Narilka: Thank you!

I bought this small book titled The Illustrated Poets: Robert Burns, which was edited by Daniel Burnstone, on my first trip to Scotland eleven years ago. I have never really looked at it, though, until I decided to read it a couple of weeks ago.



Book No 34

"The Illustrated Poets: Robert Burns" ed. by Daniel Burnstone
Series: The Illustrated Poets
This edition first published in 1994, poems originally published between 1784 and 1794
Lomond Books
Hardcover, 72pp.
Rating: 3 1/2 stars - ***

This is a small souvenir type book, so if you are looking for a comprehensive collection of the poems written by Scotland's national poet, this is not the one. However, it served my purpose of getting to know his works a little just to get an impression.

The collection includes twenty-four poems, originally published between 1784 and 1794. They are divided into six categories: Drink, death, love, friendship, marriage and animals. The section on animals only contains one poem, though!
I liked the love poems best, they are simple, but touching and moving because Burns expresses so much in such modest lines. The poems on marriage, in contrast, are quite misogynistic. The poems on drink were the hardest to understand because of the vocabulary and because they told stories that were hard to follow.
All in all, I got used to the Scots writing fairly quickly (it helped to read them aloud in my mind), and I am happy to have read these, but will not seek out more as this was quite enough.

The books includes several pictures as well, and I enjoyed these (they show Scottish scenes from the writer's lifetime), but I would have liked a bit more info. Only a couple of the pictures show the painters name, and there isn't any other information apart from a list of art galleries in the beginning of the book (it does not even say which picture is presented in which gallery). In addition, the book misses a list of the poems and their publication date, so I had to make my own while I read. A short biography of Robert Burns would also have been nice. I think that even in such a small book, these things should be included.

>26 MissBrangwen: Darn, that sounded interesting but without the biographical information, not so much, for me.

>27 Karlstar: Yes, the missing info downgraded the book for me, too!

Vilnius looks beautiful and charming. I'm glad you had a lovely time.

>29 libraryperilous: It definitely was, even more so because it is one of those places where you have not seen a thousand pictures before you go, so you are surprised at every turn!

I did not read much in the last couple of weeks - work is quite busy at the moment, and we had a bank holiday weekend that we spent visiting relatives, so all in all, not much time to read. But I miss it and hope to get back to The Last Wish today.

>26 MissBrangwen: I agree that if a publishing house or editor puts together a collection of poetry from a single poet then including something like a biography or an introduction for context would be an important addition. From your description, it sounds as if the publisher was working within a very specific set of requirements within a very tight budget. They didn't have a lot of support for organizing the content beyond those broad categories you named. They didn't want to incur the cost of someone checking the dates and any extra information about the art.

It does sound like something put together as a souvenir gift book, but one put together by one of those quick book jobber organization who does so under contract and within very tight production deadlines.

>31 jillmwo: Thank you for your thoughts on this!

>18 MissBrangwen: I think if you stick with Louise's series, you'll find that the books get better than the first couple. Have you read any of the Jungle Red writers? Julia Spencer-Fleming's and Deborah Crombie's series are among my favorites.

I've been reading lots of mysteries over the last few years and am working my way back into F&SF. The folks here have given me many more ideas than I can even think about trying ;-) Welcome back!

>33 Jim53: I haven't read the writers you mentioned - I will check them out! It looks like our reading journeys are a bit similar then :-)

I can't believe that it has been almost a month since I have finished reading a book! I haven't had any free weekend during that time, work has been a quite overwhelming, and I was busy with other things as well, such as family visits. I also served as a poll worker for our state elections last weekend.

But this weekend is a bank holiday weekend (Ascension) and I have finally started reading again! Oh, how I have missed it.
These are my current reads:

Ostende: 1936, Sommer der Freundschaft by Volker Weidermann - biographical novel
Der letzte Wunsch by Andrzej Sapkowski - fantasy short stories
Questions for Ada by Ijeoma Umebinyuo - poetry
Powder and Patch by Georgette Heyer - audiobook
Die Straßen von Wilna by Czesław Miłosz - nonfiction

Last year I started a new bookish project: Listening to all the Georgette Heyer romances in publishing order. I began with The Black Moth. The second one is The Great Roxhythe on most lists, but that one will only be available on audible from the end of May, so I listened to Powder and Patch first.



Book No 36

"Powder and Patch" by Georgette Heyer
Original Title: The Transformation of Philip Jettan
First published in 1923
Penguin
Digital audiobook, 6h 37min
Rating: 2 stars - **

This romance mainly takes place in Georgian England. Philip Jettan falls in love with beautiful Cleone, but he is not sophisticated enough for her tastes, so she rejects him. Philip leaves for France and when he returns months later, he is totally transformed: He speaks French, wears the latest Parisian fashion, duels and writes poetry, and is hardly recognizable. Now that all the ladies wish to catch this fashionable man, Cleone realizes that the down to earth Philip of the old days was not so bad after all. Of course, misunderstandings, intrigues and woes of the heart ensue.

Listening to this was laborious because the story frankly was stupid to me, especially Cleone's behavior. I just wanted to shake her. The portrayal of Paris was interesting, but nearly everything in this novel felt over the top. Still, I wished to know how things developed and I enjoyed some of the dialogues, although others included a lot of harmful stereotypes about women, which was annoying.

The original title of this was The Transformation of Philip Jettan, it was republished as Powder and Patch in 1930, minus the last chapter. I was curious and read it on Project Gutenberg, but was rather disappointed because Philip and Cleone travel to Paris and Philip is portrayed as truly transformed and digging his new self. To me it would have felt more authentic if he had thrown away his wig and the couple had continued to live a quiet life in the country. I really don't get the message of this, if there is any.

My husband has loved the Witcher series, written by Andrzej Sapkowski, for a long time and in 2020, during the first lockdown, we watched the first season of the Netflix series together. I had wished to read the books since then and now I finally started, reading the first one, Der letzte Wunsch (The Last Wish).
The series was originally published in Polish and I read the German edition (translated by Erik Simon) owned by my husband. It was a bit awkward because some of the names are slightly different in English (or at least in the Netflix series), but apart from that it didn't matter, and it felt homely to sit down with a chunky German fantasy paperback.



Book No 37

"Der letzte Wunsch" by Andrzej Sapkowski
Series: The Witcher (1)
Original Title: Ostatnie życzenie
First published in 1993
dtv
Paperback, 380pp.
Rating: 4 1/2 stars - ****°

It took me some time to get used to Sapkowski's style, but when I finally did, I did not want to put this book down. This is not a first book in the traditional sense (as in most other fantasy series), but it introduces the reader to its world through a series of stories. These stories are connected through a continuing frame story: Geralt of Rivia, a Witcher, stays in a temple to rest and reflect on his life. His memories and flashbacks make up the short stories. In this world, Witchers are mutants who are paid to fight monsters, but it becomes clear that sometimes the horrid creatures are not the only monsters.
Sapkowski draws heavily from Slavic mythology, but also from Grimm's fairytales and other stories. He creates a fascinating and turbulent world that is as funny as it is dark, as sexy as it is dangerous. But still, there is an underlying sentiment that goes deeper. Geralt knows that he will always be different and more often than not, those who seek his help fear and hate him at the same time.
I did not want this to end and now I cannot wait to read the next book!

>37 MissBrangwen: I bought the series as a boxset last year but have yet to crack it open as I want to catch up/finish a few of the ongoing ones I do have at the moment before starting on anything new. Always good to see a positive review for upcoming reads though si I'm glad you enjoyed it.

>38 AHS-Wolfy: I hope you'll like it when you get to it and I'll be interested in your thoughts!

I bought Ostende: 1936, Sommer der Freundschaft in my local bookshop in 2016 because I had seen the author, Volker Weidermann, on TV and liked him. He presented the new version of Das literarische Quartett, which had been the most famous German TV show dealing with books for many years. Weidermann stopped working for the show in 2019 because he wanted to concentrate on writing. I dare say it was a good decision because I loved this book and definitely want to read more of his works in the future.
This book was published in English as Summer Before The Dark.



Book No 38

"Ostende: 1936, Sommer der Freundschaft" by Volker Weidermann
First published in 2014
btb
Paperback, 157pp.
Rating: 5 stars - *****

CATs & KITs: April AlphaKIT - D-W

The title of this biographical novel already tells us the scene: It is 1936, and the main characters meet in O(o)stend(e) to spend one last glorious summer there, one summer to pretend that everything is good, that the darkness will not come, that they are happy.
In the centre of the story there are Stefan Zweig and Joseph Roth, connected by a strong friendship, but there are also Irmgard Keun, Ernst Toller, Egon Erwin Kisch and a handful of other writers, as well as their wives and associates: All of them exiled, trying to find a way in this new world, needing to come to terms with the hatred of their home countries of Germany and Austria, but some of them also still hoping against reason that everything will be alright.

The story does not have a real plot, but it does not matter. I could not stop reading because the author puts scene after scene together like a mosaic, painting a vivid and emotional picture of this unique place and time, where a circle of friends come together once more before everything falls apart, and they drift from each other through further exile, sickness, suicide.
It is a short work, but I savored every sentence, every word.

I read The Ruin by Dervla McTiernan last year and loved it. It is the first book in the Cormac Reilly series, a police procedural taking place in Dublin. The Sisters is one of two prequels to the series that sadly, as far as I know, are Audible exclusives at the moment.



Book No 39

"The Sisters" by Dervla McTiernan
Series: Cormac Reilly (Prequel 1)
First published in 2019
Audible
Digital audiobook, 3h 08min
Rating: 4 stars - ****

This short novel is set in 2004. The main characters are a young police woman, Carrie, who ten years later also appears in "The Ruin", and her sister Aifric, who has just started her career as a barrister. The two sisters have very different personalities, but they also have one similarity: They are both trying to start a successful career and to break into the boys' club.
Aifric is assigned a difficult case: A young man is being accused of murdering his girlfriend after a night out, and he doesn't have an alibi. But Aifric has a gut feeling that something is not right, and Carrie is drawn into the case when she reads the file.

Of course this story is short and thus, the characters are not as developed as in a longer novel and the ending comes a bit sudden. But still, I loved the author's style, I was pulled into the story at once, and could hardly stop listening. The people seemed real to me and the obstacles that the two young sisters encounter are all too credible. The narrator, Aoife McMahon, does an excellent job.
I plan to listen to the second prequel, "The Roommate", very soon.

>40 MissBrangwen: This sounds like a book both elegiac and kind.

>42 libraryperilous: It is. I guess that is what made me so emotional about it.

When I was looking for books about Vilnius before our trip in April, I came across this beautiful one published by Hanser Verlag: Die Straßen von Wilna by Czesław Miłosz. The curious thing is that I wasn't able to find any other information about the book and its contents. It is not included in the bibliographies of Czesław Miłosz that I found, and I don't know if it is a work standing on its own (it looks like it from the publishing information included in the book) or a collection composed by Hanser (which somehow seems more likely to me). Moreover, there is an English version shown on LT (Beginning with my streets), but upon a closer look, this is an entirely different book containing different texts, at least in part.
Well, I read this one and I liked it very much.



Book No 40

"Die Straßen von Wilna" by Czesław Miłosz
Original Title: Miasto młodości / Vilnius - Wilno - Vilnia / Dykcyonarz wilénskich ulic / Platońskie dialogi / Dialog o Wilnie
First published in 1997 (this edition/German translation at least)
Hanser
Hardcover, 175pp.
Rating: 4 1/2 stars - ****°

This book consists of three parts that are interspersed by a couple of poems. In the first part, the author gives an overview of the history of the city, and like that, of Lithuanian history. This might sound a bit dry, but it is not, because Miłosz is a masterful storyteller and thus, this slice of history is immensely readable and highly fascinating. To be honest, I think most historical facts that I remembered during our trip came from this chapter and not from the travel guide we also had with us.
The second part is a description of some of the streets of Vilnius. Miłosz, who spent parts of his childhood and later also studied there, connects the streets with his personal memories, and thus, he paints a somewhat nostalgic picture of Vilnius before World War Two. He writes about the activities he took part in as a child, the people he met, the buildings and atmosphere of the streets.
The third part includes a letter Miłosz wrote to the writer Tomas Venclova, and Venclova's reply. Venclova is an ethnic Lithuanian, unlike Miłosz, who was of Polish descent and wrote in Polish (and is considered a Polish author). These two letters cover a lot of ground and deal with Lithuanian history, with many other writers the two have known, and especially with the ciity's position between Polish and Lithuanian culture, its unique status of being a provincial town, but also a capital, its changing hands for so many times. There are many interesting - and still relevant! - thoughts in these letters, especially when the writers reflected on possibilities of the future. The letters were written in the late 1970s, and they hoped for a democratic Lithuania with Vilnius as its capital, but also feared that nationalism would remain a danger to Europe. It was almost eerie to read their predictions now, 45 years later.

I am still not reading that much because I am grading so many papers and exams, so I just don't feel like more reading when I have some time off. I have also finally started to sort my travel photos, which is a big project that desperately needs to be done. It is fun, but it also cuts into my reading time. However, we spent a long weekend in Denmark over the Whitsunday weekend and there I managed to read Krokodilwächter by Katrine Engberg (Danish original: Krokodillevogteren, English edition: The Tenant). There was a lot of publicity for it when it was first published in Germany, and I rather tend to first avoid hyped up books, but I am happy that I finally got to it because I liked it very much.



Book No 41

"Krokodilwächter" by Katrine Engberg
Series: Kørner & Werner (1)
Original Title: Krokodillevogteren
First published in 2019
Suhrkamp
ebook, 506pp.
Rating: 4 1/2 stars - ****°

This novel is set in Copenhagen and starts with a brutal murder: A young student is killed in the flat she shared with another girl. The murder seems to be connected to the elderly woman who owns the house and lives upstairs, or rather to something she wrote. Jeppe Kørner and Anette Werner, two very different characters, are assigned to the case, but there is no trace of the killer and they are at a loss.
Although the murder is a bit too brutal for my reading tastes, I loved everything else about this novel: The characters, the style, the composition. I could not stop reading and it simply never got boring, but not in a cheap, page-turner type of excitement. I really cared about the story. The only thing I criticize is that in the end, things became a bit too far-fetched in my opinion, and I would have wished for a simpler solution.
The Copenhagen setting is well done, too, I loved the descriptions of the city and the mentioning of streets and places, but it did not overshadow the plot or feel artificial.
I highly recommend this novel and will definitely continue with this series.

I did not have The Tenant or subsequent novels by Katrine Engberg on my radar before you mentioned her. However, the setting of Copenhagen is appealing so I've added the series to my TBR list.

>46 jillmwo: Excellent! I did not see this author anywhere on LT so far, so I am happy to spread the word!

Hi all,

I'm here for another update! I did not read a lot during the two months past, first because of work and then because we spent four weeks traveling in Vietnam. It was a fantastic trip but most of the time I was processing everything that I saw and experienced and was too overwhelmed by all of it to read anything and have even more things to process. But I am getting back to LT now and look forward to it! I hope you are all well!

One of the things that I did finish since I last posted here was Sleepless Over You by Sydney Smyth. I listened to When Harry Met Harry by the same author last year and liked it a lot, so I wished to listen to more and chose this one. Unfortunately I did not like it very much!



Book No 42

"Sleepless Over You" by Sydney Smyth
First published in 2021
Audible Originals
Digital audiobook, 5h 35min
Rating: 2 1/2 stars - **°

Matt Mazola is an influencer who shares content about his dog on instagram. When he listens to the story of Hugo on a podcast, he becomes obsessed with the idea that Hugo is the man of his dreams, although he tries to fight these feelings. Hugo is a widower who is certain that he will not find love again after loosing the love of his life, although his daughter tries everything to persuade him to meet new men, which is why she decides to speak on the podcast.
As you can probably see, the premise is somewhat far-fetched. I could live with that, but I found the execution just boring and very, very slow. For long parts the story deals more with several problems within Matt's family instead of the love story, as well as with how unfulfilled he feels because of his influencer life. I couldn't stand the whining, and I just wanted the plot to go on.
The reason I still give it 2 1/2 stars is that I really liked Hugo's character, and also Matt's (apart from the influencer aspects). The story is narrated very well, too.

I must admit that I have never watched "Sleepless in Seattle", so I don't know how similar the stories are.

This novel is not available in print or as an ebook, it is an audible original that was only published as an audible audiobook so far. I was not able to find out anything more about Sydney Smyth, other than that they have published two more of such audible originals, both also contemporary romances featuring gay characters.

>48 MissBrangwen:
A trip to Vietnam sounds fascinating. My wife's sister and her husband are heading there in a few weeks.

We would love to hear any stories you want to share from your trip.

>49 MissBrangwen: You know, that's kind of a curious decision as to format -- going solely with the audiobook output. I wonder if they did it that way to echo the role of the podcast in the book's events. Any theories?

>49 MissBrangwen:
I enjoyed the films, When Harry Met Sally and Sleepless in Seattle. I do not think I would be interested in reading or listening to the stories.

>48 MissBrangwen: Oh, a whole month in Vietnam sounds amazing! I have the country very high on my travel wishlist.

I hope your next book is better than the Smyth.

>48 MissBrangwen: Sounds fascinating, I hope you had a great trip!

>52 pgmcc: I agree, after seeing the movies a few times, I wouldn't want to read the book.

I'm having trouble getting past the fact that Krokodilwächter / Krokodillevogteren was titled The Tenant in the English translation.

>55 MrAndrew: Yes, boring (although probably accurate). Given my minimal knowledge of German (and none of Danish), I had to look up "Krokodilwächter". "The Crocodile Bird" would have been a much more interesting English title!

>55 MrAndrew: >56 haydninvienna: The only reason I can think of for them changing the English title is that Ruth Rendell has a novel called The crocodile bird and they may have wanted to avoid confusion. But I may be being too generous to the publisher!

>57 Sakerfalcon: Um, how many novels are called The Tenant or variations thereof? Quite a few. I doubt if avoiding confusion was the reason.

Ugh. Yet another novel called The Crocodile Bird. How 1990s.

>58 haydninvienna: Good point!

>50 pgmcc: It was a wonderful trip indeed and I was particularly fascinated because it was so diverse! And it is one of the most beautiful countries I have seen, just picture-perfect, and everything so lush and green. I hope your relatives will love it as much as we did!

>51 jillmwo: I don't think that is the case, because the other two books written by this author are also audible only. I have encountered this a few times now and I have no idea! I think it just has something to do with amazon.

>52 pgmcc: >54 Karlstar: I don't recommend these audiobooks particularly either - you don't really miss anything :-)

>53 libraryperilous: Oh, you really should go if you have the chance! We are already thinking about going back in a few years because we liked it so much.

I was quite astonished by the English title of Krokodilwächter, too, especially because the original title is tied to the novel (you only understand it at the end of the story). The Tenant sounds much more random.

I am off to Amsterdam tomorrow for a field trip of one week, but I really hope to spend more time on LT after that!

>61 MissBrangwen: Have a good trip!