Anita (FAMeulstee) is able to read again; second thread of 2016

Painting "Judith I" by Gustav Klimt, 1901

Normally you can see this painting in Vienna, but now it is exposed for 2 months in the Gemeentemuseum in The Hague. More about this exposition on the website of the Gemeentemuseum Klimt and Schiele
We will certainly go to see it :-)

Currently reading: Het verhaal van Genji

Books read
book 1: Mama Tandoori by Ernest van der Kwast, 207 pages, 4 stars
book 2: Kukel by Joke van Leeuwen, 152 pages, 3 1/2 stars
book 3: De graaf van Monte-Cristo by Alexandre Dumas, 937 pages, 5 stars
book 4: Slecht by Jan Simoen, 94 pages, 3 stars
book 5: De winterroos (The Winter Rose) by Jennifer Donnelly, 719 pages, 4 stars
book 6: Vlam van Zeven Wateren by Juliet Marillier, 448 pages, 4 stars
book 7: De wilde roos (The Wild Rose) by Jennifer Donnelly, 736 pages, 4 stars
book 8: Dochter van het woud by Juliet Marillier, 576 pages, 4 1/2stars
book 9: En ook weemoedigheid by J.J. Voskuil, 927 pages, 4 1/2 stars
book 10: Afgang by J.J. Voskuil, 700 pages, 4 1/2 stars
book 11: De dood van Maarten Koning, 226 pages, 4 1/2 stars
book 12: Zoon van de schaduwen by Juliet Marillier, 576 pages, 4 stars
book 13: Kind van de profetie by Juliet Marillier, 573 pages, 3 1/2 stars
book 14: Winterdance: The Fine Madness of Running the Iditarod by Gary Paulsen , 254 pages, 4 1/2 stars
book 15: Hasse Simonsdochter by Thea Beckman, 260 pages, 4 stars
book 16: Negen levens by William Dalrymple, 320 pages, 4 1/2 stars
book 17: Ywein, de ridder met de leeuw by Chrétien de Troyes, 170 pages, 4 stars
book 18: De jongen die met piranha's zwom by David Almond, 192 pages, 4 1/2 stars
book 19: Koekoeksjong by Robert Galbraith, 519 pages, 4 stars
book 20: De stem van Tamar by David Grossman, 414 pages, 4 stars
book 21: De brand van Istanbul by Jason Goodwin, 392 pages, 3 1/2 stars
book 22: De meester en Margarita by M.A. Boelgakov, 448 pages, 2 1/2 stars
book 23: Het ware verhaal van het monster Billy Dean by David Almond, 287 pages, 3 1/2 stars
book 24: Erfgenaam van Zeven Wateren by Juliet Marillier, 414 pages, 4 stars
book 25: Een strop voor Bobby by A.C. Baantjer, 137 pages, 3 1/2 stars
book 26: Het laatste rijk (Mistborn book 1) by Brandon Sanderson, 639 pages, 5 stars
book 27: Ziener van Zeven Wateren by Juliet Marillier, 431 pages, 4 stars
book 28: De bron der verheffing (Mistborn book 2) by Brandon Sanderson, 751 pages, 5 stars
book 29: De held van weleer (Mistborn book 3) by Brandon Sanderson, 718 pages, 5 stars
book 30: Terug in Amerika by Bill Bryson, 301 pages, 4 stars
book 31: De Cock en de wurger op zondag by A.C. Baantjer, 95 pages, 3 1/2 stars
book 32: De vegetariër by Han Kang, 222 pages, 3 1/2 stars
book 33: De Cock en het lijk in de kerstnacht by A.C. Baantjer, 107 pages, 3 1/2 stars
book 34: De verloren verhalen by John Flanagan, 455 pages, 4 stars
book 35: De Cock en de moord op Anna Bentveld by A.C. Baantjer, 170 pages, 3 1/2 stars
book 36: De slangensteen by Jason Goodwin, 352 pages, 3 1/2 stars
book 37: De Cock en het sombere naakt by A.C. Baantjer, 141 pages, 3 1/2 stars
book 38: De Cock en de dode harlekijn by A.C. Baantjer, 142 pages, 3 1/2 stars
book 39: De Cock en de treurende kater by A.C. Baantjer, 150 pages, 3 1/2 stars
book 40: De rode halsband by Jean-Christophe Rufin, 222 pages, 4 1/2 stars
book 41: De Cock en de ontgoochelde dode by A.C. Baantjer, 141 pages, 3 1/2 stars
book 42: De Cock en de zorgvuldige moordenaar by A.C. Baantjer, 151 pages, 3 1/2 stars
book 43: De Cock en de romance in moord by A.C. Baantjer, 143 pages, 3 1/2 stars
book 44: De Cock en de stervende wandelaar by A.C. Baantjer, 158 pages, 3 1/2 stars
book 45: De Cock en het lijk aan de kerkmuur by A.C. Baantjer, 151 pages, 3 1/2 stars
book 46: De Cock en de naakte juffer by A.C. Baantjer, 122 pages, 3 1/2 stars
book 47: De Cock en de broeders van de zachte dood by A.C. Baantjer, 135 pages, 3 1/2 stars
book 48: De Cock en de dansende dood by A.C. Baantjer, 156 pages, 3 1/2 stars
book 49: De Cock en het dodelijk akkoord by A.C. Baantjer, 134 pages, 3 1/2 stars
book 50: De reiziger by Diana Gabaldon, 788 pages, 4 stars
book 51: De Cock en de moord in seance by A.C. Baantjer, 136 pages, 3 1/2 stars
book 52: Zijderups by Robert Galbraith, 544 pages, 4 1/2 stars
book 53: De Cock en de moord in extase by A.C. Baantjer, 136 pages, 3 1/2 stars
book 54: De Cock en de smekende dood by A.C. Baantjer, 138 pages, 3 1/2 stars

total: 18.507 pages

Books aquired in 2016

6 jan De graaf van Monte-Cristo (2nd hand)
12 jan Slecht (e-book)
2 feb Idyllen: nieuwe poëzie
4 feb Koude berg : onthechting als weg
6 feb Winterdance
16 feb Dochter van het woud, Zoon van de schaduwen & Kind van de profetie (2nd hand)
22 feb Het verhaal van Genji (e-book)
15 mar Dokter Zjivago by Boris Pasternak & Broer by Esther Gerritsen
14 apr Hieronymus Bosch: Visioenen van een genie by Matthys Ilsink
21 apr De Chow Chow in Nederland ; Ter gelegenheid van het 75-jarig bestaan van de NCCC by Janneke Leunissen-Rooseboom and A Chinaman in Sussex : Sly reflections of worldly Peke by Andrew Soutar
18 mei 3 poetry books Aangod en de afmens by Huub Beurskens, Hoe je geliefde te herkennen by Tomas Lieske and Het leven van by Nachoem M. Wijnberg
19 mei 2 poetry books De zon en de wereld gedichten voor twee stemmen by Arjen Duinker and De encyclopedie van de grote woorden by Mark Boog
21 mei 5 poetry books Psalmen en andere gedichten by Leo Vroman, Hier is de tijd by Esther Jansma, Mythologieën gedichten by Kees Ouwens, Bres by Leonard Nolens and Celinspecties by Ester Naomi Perquin
24 mei the last poetry book Verschiet by Anneke Brassinga, Verhalen by Isaac Babel and the 3 Mistborn books as e-books Het laatste rijk, De bron der verheffing and De held van weleer by Brandon Sanderson
20 juni De reiziger by Diana Gabaldon (e-book)

total 30 books

Happy New Thread, Anita! Glad your new laptop is working well. And what a gorgous painting atop your thread.

Happy new thread!

Another fan of your thread artwork. I saw a Klimt exhibition in Liverpool a couple of years ago. Beautiful artwork. I loved the recent film with Helen Mirren about the return of a Klimt to the original family too.

Happy New Thread, Anita, and Happ Friday and Happy Weekend! :)
And did I already wish Happy Spring which I hope has now also made ist way up North?

It has been too hot here, and now it's going to be cold again for two days and then we'll get the first "African heatwave" as they call it here, so it's a typical April.

Happy new thread, Anita!

>4 ronincats: Thank you Roni, I have always loved this painting from Klimt :-)

>5 charl08: Thanks Charlotte, Klimt has something that appeals to me. This painting is my favorite and I am looking forward to see it for real :-)

>6 Deern: All these happy's back to you Nathalie :-D
It is slowly getting a bit warmer, tulips are growing in the garden, I think next week my garden will be all colorfull again. In December we had unusual high temperatures, now it takes a long time before Spring finally arrives... like the start of seasons is moving a month further.

>7 scaifea: Thank you Amber!

Congrats on the new thread, Anita!

That's a strong Klimt up top, isn't it.

I remember you liked A Cuckoo Calling, right? The next two are well done, too, and the third has me gnashing teeth, waiting for the next one to come out.

Hi Anita! I'm listening to The Silkworm again - the second Cormoran Strike - and loving it just as much as the first time. And just like jnwelch, I am gnashing my teeth waiting for the next one.

Happy New Thread and happy weekend, Anita. I love Klimt.

Happy new thread! Love the Klimt.

Happy new thread, Anita!

>9 jnwelch: >10 karenmarie: Thanks Joe & Karen!
I am not sure yet what I will do... of course I will read the next two Cormoran Strike books for sure.
Shall I wait a while before reading Zijderups or take it home at my next visit to the library (when it is available). Best is probably to stretch it as long as I can, so the waiting for book 4 is reduced ;-)

>11 Ameise1: Happy weekend to you too, Barbara.
Thanks for the beautiful tulips, in my garden the very early tulips are gone and the first large ones are opening up :-)

>12 banjo123: Thank you Rhonda!
It is nice to see so many lovers of Klimt around here.

>13 harrygbutler: Thanks Harry!

Happy New Thread, Anita!

Happy New Thread , Anita! Intriguing art by Klimt. Enjoy yourself seeing the exhibit.

Great thread topper! Another Klimt fan here!

Happy New Thread, Anita! And Happy Sunday! Hope you are enjoying the weekend.

Happy New Thread, Anita.

Missing my boss and helpmate at the moment and it will be several days before I am back in Kuala Lumpur. Have a lovely Sunday.

I read A Yellow Wind by Grossman many years ago at a time I read a lot about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. I loved it. Your reading of Grossman just reminded me of going back and read another one by him.

>16 kidzdoc: Thanks Darryl, if you would like to see the Klimt in real, the exhibition lasts until half June...

>17 vancouverdeb: Thank you Deborah, I will enjoy, but first next Thursday the Bosch exhibit!

>18 michigantrumpet: Thanks Marianne, nice to see so many Klimt fans here :-)

>19 msf59: Happy Sunday to you too, Mark, the weekend is nice and quiet here.

>20 PaulCranswick: Thank you Paul, hope all goes well for you in Sao Tome.

>21 ctpress: Thanks Carsten, I had not heard about that one, there is a Dutch translation, so I might ty it when I feel up to it.

book 21: De brand van Istanbul by Jason Goodwin
from the library, translated, English, historical fiction, murder mystery, 19th century Istanbul, English title The Janissary Tree, found on Linda's (Laytonwoman) thread

Promising first book of a series.
Set in Istanbul, 1830s, Yashim is called to the Sultans palace to solve some murder cases and a theft. We walk with Yashim through 19th century Istanbul, while he tries to find out what happend.
There are more books in this series, I will probably read them too :-)

3 1/2 stars

>23 FAMeulstee: They just get better and better I think Anita - and the food described always makes me feel hungry!

>24 charl08: Thanks Charlotte, I loved the descriptions of 19th century Istanbul, have been there before in some Karl May books. I did notice the food parts, but that is not my thing.
When I am alone I even tend to forget that I have to eat...
Luckely Frank feeds me twice a day and the dogs make me eat my breakfast, because they get their food after that ;-)

Yesterday we visited the Jheronimus Bosch exhibition, it was fantastic to see so many of his works together. It was very crowded, was to be expected as all tickets were sold out last month. To have so many people around me is a big challange to me, but I survived and managed to see all paintings ;-)
Stll a bit exhausted, so tomorrow I'll tell some more about it...

>25 FAMeulstee: Glad to hear your dogs and your other half are making sure you keep refuelling.

Look forward to hearing more about the exhibition - how exciting to be able to go to such a popular exhibit (although I am not a fan of busy ones either).

Hi Anita, I finally found your thread.

Did you really have tickets for the Jeroen Bosch exhibition? We couldn't get any of them anymore, so I'd appreciate your story about your visit. ;-)

Happy Saturday, Anita! I'm looking forward to your description of the Bosch exhibition, and to seeing you and Frank again in June.

the Bosch exhibition

First some numbers, 101 works exhibioned (103 in the catalogue, but two were withdrawn (35)Cutting the Stone and (88)The Temptation of St Anthony, when the latest Bosch researchers decided these works were not by Bosch, but a follower of him).

Of those paintings by Jheronimus Bosch:
(Clicking on an image brings you to the Wikipedia page of that work)

Ship of Fools, The Wayfarer,
Death and the Miser, The Haywain Triptych,
St. John the Evangelist on Patmos, St. John the Baptist in the Wilderness,
Christ Carrying the Cross - Christ Child with a Walking Frame,
Adoration of the Magi, Ecce Homo

The Temptation of St Anthony (fragment), The Crucifixion of St Julia Triptych,
Saint Christopher Carrying the Christ Child, St. Jerome at Prayer,
The Hermit Saints Triptich, The Last Judgment Triptych,
Visions of the Hereafter: Terrestrial Paradise, Visions of the Hereafter: Ascent of the Blessed,
Visions of the Hereafter: Fall of the Damned into Hell, Visions of the Hereafter: River into Hell

Now is thought all his works were triptychs, even the ones that seem to be a single work. The single works probably were a part of a tryptich.

There were never so many works of Bosch together and it was very special to see them.

>27 charl08: >28 DianaNL: & >29 kidzdoc: Hi Charlotte, Diana and Darryl

The paintings by Bosch were great. They were painted with so much detail, background and foreground alike.
All exhibition rooms were darkened, light can damage, especially the drawings. Everything was behind glass, so you could see everything real close, without the danger of touching it.
So many people... with each painting it took a while before we were close enough to see the whole painting.

Thanks for posting those fabulous paintings, Anita! I'll look at them in closer detail later today.

Where is this exhibition taking place?

Thanks so much for posting Bosch's painting. I love them. I saw some of them and was very impressed.

Happy Sunday, Anita.

>33 kidzdoc: You are welcome Darryl, there is some more to come :-)
The exposition is in 's Hertogenbosch (or Den Bosch) and ends May 8th.

>34 Ameise1: Thank you Barbara, working on some more about the Bosch exposition.

At the Bosch exposition we bought a triptych card, Triptych of the Temptation of St. Anthony, that can be folded like a real triptych, closed it looks like this:


and open like this:


Sadly for the manufacturer of the card this triptych was withdrawn from the exposition because it is questioned if it is a real Bosch... but we liked it anyhow ;-)

Found and starred your thread, Anita.

>37 connie53: hi Connie, nice to see you over here :-)

The Giraffe from The Garden of Earthly Delights
 
and some other Bosch creatures were made into sculptures.
 
They stood along the way from the parking place to the museum.

Wow - those sculptures are fun! Love the giraffe.

Wonderful sculptures! Good morning, Anita. Wishing you a great week.

Ohhh - gorgeous pictures from the Bosch Exhibition. Love the triptych card, even if it's origin is uncertain.

OMG - thank you so much for all the pics! It's always such a wonderful experience to see something in real you only knew from books and internet.
I imagine it must have been difficult to spend some time at a painting you really liked to see all the details with so many people around.
I'm very happy you "made it" through the exhibition and saw everything! :)))

Thanks for the photos of those sculptures, Anita!

Hi Anita! Fantastic pictures and photos, thank you for sharing them.

>40 charl08: Thanks Charlotte, yes I like it too and even more because he never saw a real giraffe in his lifetime!

>41 Ameise1: Thank you Barbara, wishing you the same.

>42 vancouverdeb: Thanks Deborah, I thought it did not matter at all, it is in the style of Bosch.

>43 Deern: Yes that is special, Nathalie, it wasn't easy with the crowds but I am happy I did it :-)
When we were finally in front of a painting, we took the time we needed.

>44 kidzdoc: Thank you Darryl, it is a joy to share them here.

>45 karenmarie: Thanks Karen, it was even more beautiful than I expected.

I forgot to mention we bought the catalogue Hieronymus Bosch: Visioenen van een genie by Matthys Ilsink.
And today the new Dutch book about the Chow Chow arrived: De Chow Chow in Nederland ; Ter gelegenheid van het 75-jarig bestaan van de NCCC by Janneke Leunissen-Rooseboom and Janneke was so nice to send this Pekingese book with it A Chinaman in Sussex : Sly reflections of worldly Peke by Andrew Soutar.

That makes a total of 14 books added to our library this year.

Great as always to catch up here, Anita.

Have a lovely weekend.

>48 PaulCranswick: Thanks Paul, the same to you!

Happy Weekend, Anita!

>50 scaifea: Thank you Amber, happy weekend to you & yours!

I am still reading De meester en Margarita.
It took a long time to get into the story, mainly trouble with the long Russian names.
Yesterday I finished part 1, that is about half way.

book 22: De meester en Margarita by M.A. Boelgakov
own, translated, Russian, historical fiction, group read

It was a struggle to read this book, did not like it and I am glad it is finished. The second part reads a bit easier than the first part.
I am well aware of the hidden meanings, the book was written between 1928 and 1940, a difficult time in Russia to be a writer.
Not my cup of tea

2 1/2 stars

Oh and I completely forgot to tell:
Went with Ari to the vet last week, his eye is cured!!!
There is still a very small blue-greyish dot left, this might disappear or stay as a scar.
Anyhow, I don't have to put drops four times a day in his eye anymore, yay!
Ari is very happy about it too ;-)

I visited my physician, and there had to be drawn blood a few days before. It all went terrible, as my anxiety levels are way too high. Besides that I am slow, low energy...
I only realised a few days after that this all comes from my Thyroid levels being to low.

In January those levels were already too low, but my thyroid pills (lowest dosage) are temporarely not available. The manufacturer decided to move the production from the Netherlands and closed the factory in December 2015 and the new factory won't start before July 2016!
So it made no sense to up my dosage, as it might not be able to be continued, I did not think thing would go THIS bad.
So now I will try to up my dosage a little bit with the available larger dosaged pills... hope this works out as it is terrible to be back living in anxiety and KNOWING this could be avoided if the right dosaged pills were available.....

Ah, Anita! I'm sorry for your thyroid problems and it's a shame that the drug company is causing the problem. I wish you quick success with manipulating the dosage a bit with the larger dosage pills.

So sorry to hear about the medication issues, Anita. That is awful, that the medicine people need might not even be available.

Your dog books sound lovely. I'll be they are full of gorgeous pictures. Are you sharing them with Ari and Chimay?

>55 karenmarie: Thanks Karen, our parliament has ordered an investigation as many patients are affected.
I hope so too! It is going to be a hassle, but I hope only for a few months...

>56 ronincats: Thank you Roni, I could switch to an other brand, have tried one before and that did not go well. So I am relucktant to try again...
Yes, the Chow Chow book is full with pictures, some of relatives of Chimay, and yes of course I told her!
Haven't gone through the Pekingese book with Ari yet ;-)

Hi, Anita! Sorry to hear The Master and Margarita didn't ring your bells. I am hoping to read it, sometime next month.

Chimay also happens to be one of my favorite Belgium brews. Swoons...

Hm... in Master and Margarita there were bits I absolutely loved and bits that left me untouched and even bored me. I didn't "get" it the way others do.

Very happy that Ari is cured! :)

And I'm very sorry about your thyroid issues. Years ago a new doctor suspected I might have slightly too low levels because I had gained weight without eating more, was depressed and listless for weeks (he didn't send me to a specialist though) and he prescribed a very low-dosed pill. I threw it away after 3 days of extreme agitation and sweating and never went to that doctor again. Whatever had caused my problems, it clearly wasn't the thyroid. Since then I have much respect for the impact of thyroid hormones and have also an idea what it might mean to up the dosage just a bit. Maybe if you take the higher dose only every other day?

I'm sorry to hear about the problem with the dose of your thyroid medication, Anita. It seems as though there should be a way to get you on the proper amount before July, though.

>58 msf59: I really hope you like The Master and Margarita better than I did, Mark!
Yes I know, Chimay was named after the brew, as my husband likes it too :-)

>59 Deern: Glad I am not alone in not getting The Master and Margarita, Nathalie.

We are all happy now Ari's eye is cured ;-)

At least your doctor knew about thyroid issues, and all these things you listed can be a result of slightly low thyroid levels...
Sadly a higher dose every other day would not work, the difference a day I can handle is 1/2 of the smallest dose, yes, I have tried.

>60 kidzdoc: Thank you Darryl, I hope to be a bit more stable before you arrive here :-)

book 23: Het ware verhaal van het monster Billy Dean by David Almond
from the library, fiction, translated, English, original title The True Tale of the Monster Billy Dean

The first book David Almond wrote for adults.

Billy Dean is born on the day terrorists destroy Blinkbonny. He is kept away from the destroyed world in a small room. His mother takes well care of him and he sees his father once in a while.
Besides his parents there is one other person who knows of his existance, mrs. Malone, who helped his mother when she gave birth to him.
At 13 Billies father disappears and his mom and mrs. Malone think it is time to let Billy go into the world.

The story is written by Billy Dean, but because he grew up like he did, he never learned to write, so he writes phonetic (must have been very difficult for the translator!).

Not David Almonds best book, I liked it, not loved it like some other books by him.
Recommended for David Almond fans

3 1/2 stars

While reading this book I passed the 10.000 pages mark :-)

"Chimay was named after the brew, as my husband likes it too."

Awww...a man after my own heart.

Thanks for posting all the wonderful Bosch paintings! I've been a fan since I was a teenager. It must have been a great exhibit and how lucky you were able to go see it.

>63 msf59: Yes he is, Mark ;-)

>64 mstrust: It was great to see all these paintings together, Jennifer!
We were indeed lucky to get tickets for the exhibition, so many did not get that opportunity as it was already sold out somewhere in March...

book 24: Erfgenaam van Zeven Wateren by Juliet Marillier
from the library, fanatsy, original title Heir to Sevenwaters, 4th book from 6 Sevenwaters

The story of Clodagh, third daughter of Sean and Aisling.
Late in life Aisling gets pregnant again and after 6 daughters finally a son is born at Sevenwaters. Baby Finbar is only a few days old when he disappears and a doll made of twigs is left in his place. Clodagh seems to be the only one who can see that it is not a doll, but a living baby who cries from hunger. She thinks the Fair Folk want an exchange. So she leaves with the twig baby to the otherworld to find her brother...

After the slightly disappointing 3rd book (Child of the Prophecy), Juliet Marillier is right back on track with this book. An enjoyable read!

4 stars

Hi, Anita. I have to give those books (>66 FAMeulstee:) a try.

>66 FAMeulstee: I haven't read anything by Juliet Marillier, Anita, but am of a mind with Roni in looking the series up. A bit Poldarkish?

Have a lovely weekend.

>67 ronincats: I hope you like them too, Roni :-)

>68 PaulCranswick: I am not sure what you mean with Poldarkish, Paul, it is fantasy, with a bit of romance, in Ireland at the time christianity is taking over. The family lives at Seven Waters, the last resort of the Fair Folk. If you like the first book Daughter of the Forest you'll probably like the others too :-)

book 25: Een strop voor Bobby by A.C. Baantjer
from the library, e-book, police mystery, first book of 70 De Cock

I was browsing through the e-book catalogue of the library and found all 70 books about detective De Cock are available as e-book. I have never read any of them, but seen some of the TV-adaptions. Nice short books for an afternoon or evening between other books.
So I lend the first two and finished the first tonight.

De Cock is present in this story, but he is not the main character, he will be in the next books. Albert Versteeg and his younger colleague Geert Dijke work at police station Warmoesstraat, near de Wallen. The are sent to a hotel where a young prostitue might have committed suïcide...

3 1/2 stars

>53 FAMeulstee: I'm sorry that Master and Margerita didn't work for you, Anita.

>54 FAMeulstee: Hooray for Ari's eye. Oh dear, what a mess with your meds. I hope it won't get worse.

Wishing you a lovely week ahead.

Love the Bosch paintings and sculpture - thanks for sharing! And I'm so glad to hear that Ari's eye is cured. Wow - drops four times a day! That took dedicated nursing.

Oh dear on the thyroid meds. Instead of cutting them, can you crush them entirely and divide up the dosage that way? One of the med issues Mom is dealing with is increasing her thyroid meds, so I'm getting a bit familiar with unusual doses (for US meds, anyway).

I didn't get to The Master and Margarita last month. I'll probably skip it for now.

>71 Ameise1: Well at least I can say I have read Master and Margerita, Barbara, won't do it again ;-)
Thank you, on Ari's behalf!
And the meds... yes it is a mess and changing the dose is always a challange, now even more...

We have a good week ahead, tomorrow sunny and 18 Celsius, two lesser days and from Thursday on finally steady higher temperatures :-)

>72 streamsong: Happy you love the Bosch too, Janet, caring for Ari's eye for 3 months was a challenge at times, but we made it!
That might be a good idea crushing them, thank you!
Be careful with your mom, as changing the dose (both ways) can have some nasty side effects, anxiety, feeling out of balance etc. always go up and down with tiny steps. The side effects go away when the right dose is taken for some time. Sadly the right dose is not the same for everyone. My last free T4 count falls right in the middle of what is considered "normal", but is too low for me, I have to be in the high range of it to feel good.

Passing and waving, Anita!

>74 connie53: Hi Connie!
*waving back*

book 26: Het laatste rijk (Mistborn book 1) by Brandon Sanderson
from the library, fantasy, original title The Final Empire, 1st book from 4 Mistborn

WOW, great fantasy!
A believable world, a completely other kind of magic, believable characters, an engaging story of repression and revolt, I loved reading this book!
I am still too much overwhelmed by the story to write a decent review, on the book page are better reviews.

Thank you foggidawn for mentioning this series (on Joe's thread if I remember correctly).

And the best part 3 more books to go! :-D
I took the next two books with me from the library yesterday.

5 stars

Hi Anita. Glad to read further up that the Ari's eye has healed. The Bosch exhibition sounds wonderful, I love those sculptures.

I'll be reading my first Juliet Marillier for the May/Jun ANZAC challenge, she's one of the featured writers. I've got Daughter of the Forest lined up.

....and yes, The Master and the Margarita is a difficult read. I thought it was great overall, though I had to push myself through some parts of the book.

So ridiculous that your thyroid medication is not in the correct dosage for you, Anita! I've heard of these world wide shortages of essential medication and I know it has affected Canada too. It should not happen. I hope you are feeling better soon - glad to hear that Ari is doing better.

I used to be on thyroid medication - long story short, apparently due to some auto -immune issue I have with a thyroid auto immune protein thing ( don't ask me, I finally saw a endocrinologist ) I was given a full thyroid medication for 3 years. I started getting heart palpitations and saw my doctor and he sent me off to the endocrinologist and it was determined that I should not have been on thyroid medication at all. Life sometimes.

It has cooled off nicely, but I think summer is here!

>76 FAMeulstee: it's a really good series - I hope you get a chance to finish it!

Quick hello, Anita. I'd forgotten that your thread topper was a Bosch exhibition, so when I "jumped to first unread" and saw Bosch, I immediately thought of the series by Michael Connelly.

>77 avatiakh: Thank you Kerry.
I hope you like Daughter of the Forest, it made me read the rest of the series.

The problem I had with The Master and Magarita could be because my thyroid levels were not right, or the translation, the translator was very proud this translation was as close to the original as possible, that might have influenced the readability...

>78 vancouverdeb: Yes Deb it is ridiculous, later this year the other dosages will become scarse for a few months too :-(
It will take some time before I feel better. Changing the dosage makes me extra unstable and unsure and gives heart palpations in the morning for some weeks. Hope this change is enough, else I have to go through it again until we are at the right dosage again. This shortage of Thyrax makes it not easier...
Oh, I am sorry you have been on thyroid medication too, good it was found out you did not need it! Life is probably easier without it. Did they think you had Hashimoto? That is what I have.

A warm week ahead now, but then we will probably have some nice spring weather, just below 20 C :-)

>79 drneutron: Hi Jim, how nice to see you here!
Yes I will read the others, I took the next two from the library two days ago. I might like them so much that I want to own my own copies...

>80 karenmarie: Hi Karen, the topper is Gustav Klimt, I hope to see that one this or next month.
Have never read Michael Connelly, some of his works are translated... what kind of books does he write?

>76 FAMeulstee: I'm enjoying a reread of the Mistborn series at the moment - after the original trilogy there's a further (I think 4 book series) that starts with The Alloy of Law set in the same world but a later period.

I read the first three Mistborn books, and liked them. I've been wondering about whether the successors measure up.

Oh, they're definitely worth it. I liked The Alloy of Law better than the first trilogy.

>85 drneutron: Good to hear. Thanks, Jim.

>82 FAMeulstee: Michael Connelly writes police procedurals. The Harry Bosch series now numbers 18 books, and a few more where Harry interacts with a lawyer named Mickey Haller, in his own series. I love these books, partly because they are just so good, and partly because they take place in Los Angeles, which is where I grew up (suburbs of LA, actually). If I had it to do over again, I'd read them in order, starting with The Black Echo.

>87 karenmarie: There are also a few books with another character, a retired FBI agent that intersects with the Harry Bosch series - the first, Blood Work, was made into a pretty good movie with Clint Eastwood.

Happy weekend, Anita.

>83 souloftherose: Thank you Heather, the library has the first book, but I think the others are not translated yet, so I think I wait until they are all available.
I loved the three Mistborn books!

>84 jnwelch: I don't know yet Joe, but I see Jim has aready answered you ;-)

>85 drneutron: Almost impossible to be better, Jim ;-)
The Mistborn trilogy was a straight 5 star read for me!

>87 karenmarie: Thanks for the tip Karen, some are translated, so I'll keep that series in mind.

>89 Ameise1: Thank you Barbara, the weekend started good, we had a heatwave last week and now it is over, back to nice cool weather :-D

We had a very early heatwave last week.
Although our new airco did make it more bearable (inside the temp did not raise above 20.5 C), I am still not at my best when temperatures outside rise above 25 C...

But I did read a lot, three books :-)


book 27: Ziener van Zeven Wateren by Juliet Marillier
from the library, fanatsy, original title Seer of Sevenwaters, 5th book from 6 Sevenwaters

Sibeal, fifth daughter daughter of Sean and Aisling, is visiting her sisters, Muirrin and Clodagh, on the northern island of Inis Eala, prior to making her final pledge as a druid. When she arrives on the island a Viking ship goes down a man and a woman are saved and later Sibeal finds an other survivor, who has lost his memory.

Again an enjoyable read :-)

4 stars

book 28: Het bron der verheffing (Mistborn book 2) by Brandon Sanderson
from the library, fantasy, original title The Well of Ascension, 2nd book from 3 Mistborn

The book starts one year after Vin defeated the Lord Ruler, things should be better, but they are not. Elend is King of Luthadel and tries to implant democracy. But all around tyrants proclaim their own kingdoms and some are coming to Luthadel with their armies...

Oh, I am sooo happy I found these books, a fabulous read!

5 stars

book 29: De held van weleer (Mistborn book 3) by Brandon Sanderson
from the library, fantasy, original title The Hero of Ages, 3rd book from 3 Mistborn

WOW, so many twist and turns I did not expect!
A great conclusion of the series, where everything comes together, but not too neat and certainly not as I thought it would end :-)

5 stars

Crumbs, you're really powering through your latest series. Wishing you a lovely weekend.

>88 drneutron: I've read the three in that series too and loved them.

Hi Anita! Sounds like you're in a good reading groove right now. Happy rest of the weekend!

>94 charl08: >95 karenmarie: Thank you Charlotte and Karen, we had way too warm weather for more than a week, reading was (almost) all what I could do, so I did ;-)

book 30: Terug in Amerika by Bill Bryson
from the library, non-fiction, hiking, humor, original title A Walk in the Woods

A light, but also informative read, Bill Bryson is back in the USA and thinks he wants to walk the Appalachian Trail. A friend is found to accompany him and he tells hilarious about his adventures in the woods. In between he shares a lot of facts about the Appalachian Trail.

4 stars

Frank was on an internet shopping spree yesterday.
He has a small collection of Dutch awarded poetry (VSB Poëzieprijs). He has been searching for a few years and suddenly found all missing titles online.

So the next days there will arrive some packages containing 12 poetry books :-)

Aangod en de afmens by Huub Beurskens
Psalmen en andere gedichten by Leo Vroman
Hier is de tijd by Esther Jansma
Waterstudies by K. Michel
Mythologieën by Kees Ouwens
Verschiet by Anneke Brassinga
De zon en de wereld by Mark Boog
De encyclopedie van de grote woorden by Mark Boog
Hoe je geliefde te herkennen by Tomas Lieske
Bres by Leonard Nolens
Het leven van by Nachoem M. Wijnberg
Celinspecties by Ester Naomi Perquin

>97 FAMeulstee: I adore A Walk in the Woods and have read it twice. I do love Bill Bryson's books but have learned the hard way to not read them back to back or even within several months of one another as the format for his travel books is the same. My husband walked about 500 miles of the AT when he was in high school and I even walked about half a mile (!) when daughter was little and we were on a trip. I am definitely not a walker.

>98 FAMeulstee: It is always such a good feeling when you find books you're looking for. Congratulations to Frank.

>98 FAMeulstee: 12 poetry books? Oh what a lovely parcel to receive. I'd love that.

Wow, what a windfall for Frank! And you have moved the Mistborn series up my tbr pile.

>90 FAMeulstee: I think the other two Mistborn books (Shadows of Self and Bands of Mourning) were only recently released so hopefully they are working on that Dutch translation!

>91 FAMeulstee: I need to try Juliet Marrilier. For some reason the library has book #6 in the Sevenwaters series but none of the earlier books. Grrr.

>92 FAMeulstee: & >93 FAMeulstee: Really glad you enjoyed those :-)

>99 karenmarie: Walking isn't for everyone, Karen, if you are no walker half a mile can be more than enough ;-)
Good to know about Bill Bryson, so far I have read 3 of his books, beside this one. The other two The Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid and A Short History of Nearly Everything were no travel books.
This one riminded my a little bit of Redmond O'Hanlons travel books, same kind of dry humor about their own troubles ;-)

Frank thanks you, first three arrived today.

>100 charl08: Yes Charlotte it is, he was so happy when the first 3 books arrived today!

>101 ronincats: Thanks Roni.
I hope you like them too, there is of course some violence, hope it isn't too bad for your taste....

>102 souloftherose: Probably they are working on it, Heather, as Sanderson is populair enough around here. I will probably wait until all of them are translated.
My library had the last 3 titles of Seven Waters, luckely I found the first 3 second hand.
The sixth book can be read alone, but is better and easier to understand if you have read the previous books.

Wow! Well done, Frank.

>104 kidzdoc: Thank you, Darryl, on Franks behalf :-)

book 31: De Cock en de wurger op zondag by A.C. Baantjer
from the library, e-book, police mystery, 2nd book of 70 De Cock

I was browsing through the e-book catalogue of the library and found all 70 books about detective De Cock are available as e-book. I have never read any of them, but seen some of the TV-adaptions. Nice short books for an afternoon or evening between other books.

The second book of the series and the first story with De Cock as the main character.
The Cock is called back from his vacation. A prostitute has been murdered, but after nearly a week no one at the police station has a clue. So now De Cock must solve the case together with a young collegue, named Vledder. A few days later a second murder occurs...

3 1/2 stars

>106 FAMeulstee: Hi, Anita! I think this is the book I'll have to start with if I want to try reading the series in English. Would you say it works as a good introduction to the character?

Congratulations to Frank, too, on his poetry haul.

>30 FAMeulstee: Thanks for posting such lovely images. I would love to see this exhibit.

I send all good wishes to you.

I'm much like you, Anita. I really do not care for the higher temperatures. 20 C is what I call about perfect! Congratulations to Frank on his big book find!

>107 harrygbutler: Hi Harry, yes it is the fist book :-)
The character De Cock (or maybe DeKok in translation?) is an older detective, keep in mind this was written in the 1960s/1970s. He just starts doing what he is expected to do, and takes his younger collegue with him.
I liked him a lot!

>108 Whisper1: Hi Linda, how nice to see a message from you!
Yes it was great we were able to get tickets for the Bosch exhibition, it was truly wonderful.
Love and hugs to you.

>109 vancouverdeb: Yes Deborah, I wish we could find a place somewhere where temps are almost always between 15 and 20 C, would be the perfect place for us (and I think the dogs would like it too!).

And Frank thanks you all.

Good morning, Anita! Seventy in the series?!? Wow. It's good to have something to fall back on that you know is good.

>110 FAMeulstee: Thanks, Anita! I'll see about getting that one to give it a try. Most of the detective series I read these days started in the 1920s or '30s, even if they kept going into the '70s, so it might make a nice contrast. (And I think the translations do call him DeKok.)

I'm stopping by to tell you what a wonderful person you are! I so enjoy your communications. Hugs!

Things are hopping over here, Anita!

>111 karenmarie: Yes Karen, seventy in the series :-)
And they are e-books, so easy to take anywhere with me.

>112 harrygbutler: I hope you like them Harry.

>113 Whisper1: So are you, my dear Linda!

>114 ronincats: Indeed they are, Roni :-)

book 32: De vegetariër by Han Kang
from the library, Korean, fiction

I saw this book on so many threads (Nathalie, Darryl, Mark) that I got curious and took it when I saw it at the library.

Set in Korea, as far as I understand from the book, in a a rather formal and male dominated culture, the story of Yeong-hye is told in 3 parts from 3 perspectives: her husband, her brother in law and her sisiter.

One day Yeong-hye stops eating meat, after she had some very disturbing dreams. Her husband is disturbed by this and has no clue why his wife is changing so much. He doesn't want to understand, in his eyes she was always a adequate wife and now she is not anymore.
Her brother in law wants to turn Yeong-hye into one of his art projects, but gets stuck in sexual fantasies about her. In a way he helps her, but never understands.
Her sister visits Yeong-hye in the psychiatric hospital...

A disturbing book where everybody is stuck in their own mind, thoughts & life, not able to understand the emotions and disturbances in de mind of others, only projecting their own thoughts on others.

4 stars

>116 FAMeulstee: Good review of The Vegetarian, Anita. It looks a strange little tome, I must say.

Have a lovely weekend. xx

What Paul said, Anita. I think I'm going to have to give The Vegetarian a try - I'm often drawn to strange little tomes.

Have a good weekend.

>117 PaulCranswick: In some ways it is a very strange book, Paul, yet it makes you think and that is always a good thing.

>118 jnwelch: Then I will see how you like it, Joe, once in a while I like something completely different :-)

Taking a little bit more Thyrax helps, anxiety is getting less, but now I have some trouble write in English.
I can read the threads (I think), but when try to leave a repry it makes no sense when I read the preview, so I delete :-(
Hope this is just a fase that will pass, so sorry hope it over soon.

>97 FAMeulstee: Glad you liked the Bryson, Anita. We hiked a tiny slice of the AT, while visiting New England. I wish we had more time to explore it.

Happy Sunday! We are enjoying a beautiful weekend in the Midwest. Hope all is well with you.

>120 FAMeulstee: You could give google translate a try. I use it when I need it at school for parents whom are speak7ng and reading inlanguages I don't know.

Glad your anxiety levels are improving.

I am intrigued by The Vegetarian - your review makes me want to get to it more quickly.

Anita, I am also sometimes troubled with anxiety and I sometimes find that reading certain books will provoke bad dreams for me. I try to switch from darker books to lighter books, so that helps quite a bit. Glad you are feeling better- I will wait on The Vegetarian. That might provoke a bit of anxiety for me - so I'll wait a bit. I hope you are feeling better.

Nice review of The Vegetarian, Anita. I'll write a review of it this week.

I'm glad that your anxiety is improving, and hope that your excellent English improves soon.

>120 FAMeulstee: I'm glad your anxiety is improving too, Anita. I hope the problems with English will go away soon for you.

Thanks Mark, Barbara, Charlotte, Deborah, Darryl and Karen for visiting.
Will reply individually later, when writing is easier.

You may have a point Deb!

Finished next book of De Cock series
book 33: De Cock en het lijk in de kerstnacht by A.C. Baantjer
review asap

3 1/2 stars

Good news about the anxiety levels being lower! :)
Brains are interesting... Even without any medics I sometimes (like today) experience phases when my language centre is somewhat "disturbed" and forming a coherent sentence takes longer than on normal days (even in German).

Glad you liked The Vegetarian. A very strange little book that left a lasting impression, I had not expected that.

>121 msf59: Wow, so you hiked a bit on the AT, Mark, I will never come that far, but I certainly enjoyed reading about it :-)
We had a cold and very wet weekend, but it was good anyhow.

>122 Ameise1: Had not thought of that, Barbara, might try it that way when it happens again. Although my Dutch was a bit messed up too...

>123 charl08: Thanks Charlotte, I look forward to your thoughts about it sometime soonish ;-)

>124 vancouverdeb: Could very well be that I was a bit off by that book, Deborah. Yes I feel better and the words come a lot more easy :-)

>125 kidzdoc: Thanks Darryl, yes I am bouncing back, writing goes smoothly now :-)

>126 karenmarie: Thank you Karen, as you can see it is much better now.

>128 Deern: Good to read I am not the only one, Nathalie, indeed my Dutch wasn't much either. Reading went slower than usual, but writing was very messsed up. Never had it this bad before... brains can play nasty tricks :-(
Indeed a strange book with lasting impression.

book 33: De Cock en het lijk in de kerstnacht by A.C. Baantjer
from the library, e-book, police mystery, 3rd book of 70 De Cock

The third book of the series with De Cock.
After many years working on Chrismas Day, De Cock is not on duty this Chrismas. Then the body of a young woman is found in the water and De Cock is called to help out.

3 1/2 stars

At the library I saw two new books in the Ranger's Apprentice series. I read the first 10 books between 2010 and 2012.


book 34: De verloren verhalen by John Flanagan
from the library, YA, fantasy, translation of The lost stories

Some shorter stories, some of the written by Flanagan because of questions by readers.
It was nice to read about Halt, Will, Horace, Alyss and many others again :-)

4 stars

The last poetry books for Frank arrived yesterday and Verhalen (The Collected Stories) by Isaak Babel.
And I bought the 3 Mistborn books as e-book :-)

So now we have aquired 29 books in 2016.

book 35: De Cock en de moord op Anna Bentveld by A.C. Baantjer
from the library, e-book, police mystery, 4th book of 70 De Cock

Again De Cock is present in this story, but he is not the main character. The story is told by his collegue Peeters, who investigates the murder of a young woman. And there is 25.000 Dutch florin missing....

3 1/2 stars

You are doing very well in the reading department! And only acquiring 29 books so far this year. I'm not sure how many books I have aquired - especially books from the second - hand store, but I am trying hard to borrow from the library and purchase second hand, though of course I dod give in to new purchases. At least I am improving, if slowly with my book purchases. :)

>135 vancouverdeb: I still feel I have to catch up my reading, Deborah, after the nearly four years I wasn't able to read.
I try to use the library too, but that backfires sometimes, like with the 3 Mistborn books, I liked them so much that I wanted my own copy! Luckely they were available as e-book, so they don't take extra space at the shelves :-)

>120 FAMeulstee: Glad to hear your anxiety is improving but sorry to hear the meds are making it more difficult for you to write in English. I am still very impressed with your ability to be understood in more than one language.

>137 souloftherose: Thank you Heather, I am still not very talkative, but at least the writing goes better now :-)

Finished 3 books:


book 36: De slangensteen by Jason Goodwin
from the library, translated, English, historical fiction, murder mystery, 19th century Istanbul, English title: The snake stone, 2th book of Inspector Yashim Togalu

Set in Istanbul, 1830s, Yashim tries to solve some murder cases. We walk with Yashim through 19th century Istanbul, while he tries to find out what happend.
Enjoyable read :-)

3 1/2 stars
--


book 37: De Cock en het sombere naakt by A.C. Baantjer
from the library, e-book, police mystery, 5th book of 70 De Cock

A woman tells her sister is missing, she is afraid something happend to her. De Cock and his collegue Vledder try to find out what happend.

3 1/2 stars
--


book 38: De Cock en de dode harlekijn by A.C. Baantjer
from the library, e-book, police mystery, 6th book of 70 De Cock

A man is found dead in a hotel room, he was a notorious burglar. At the time of his death De Cock and Vledder have a strange visitor at the police station. So this visitor can't be the killer, but he does know more about this murder....
3 1/2 stars

again finished 3 books:


book 39: De Cock en de treurende kater by A.C. Baantjer
from the library, e-book, police mystery, 7th book of 70 De Cock

A young man is found dead in the dunes, De Cock is assigned to an other murder, but he finds out these murders are connected.
(note to self: I should write sooner after reading, if I wait too long I barely remember the plot!)

3 1/2 stars
--


book 40: De rode halsband by Jean-Christophe Rufin
from the library, translated, World War I, dog, found on Kerry's thread (avatiakh)

A dog is howling for days just outside a prison. In the prison is Morlac, a decorated World War hero. Judge Lantier is assigned to the case and goes every day to Morlac to find out what has happend and what sentence Morlac deserves.

This book is a little gem, dealing with loyalty, the gruesome truth of war and the difficulties someone finds when he returns to civilian life after the war.

4 1/2 stars
--


book 41: De Cock en de ontgoochelde dode by A.C. Baantjer
from the library, e-book, police mystery, 8th book of 70 De Cock

An unknown man is found dead in a canal. The next day a young woman comes to the police station and tells she knew the victim. But she doesn't know his real name. De Cock and Vledder try to find out who he was and what happend.

3 1/2 stars

book 42: De Cock en de zorgvuldige moordenaar by A.C. Baantjer
from the library, e-book, police mystery, 9th book of 70 De Cock

In a dark alley the body of a young woman is found. She wears a chinchilla coat and her purse is carefully wiped clean. De Cock and his assistant Vledder will find out who did this...

3 1/2 stars

Hi Anita! So glad you're getting lots of good reading in.

Lovely to see you are enjoying the Yashim series. One day I am going to get cooking some of the dishes he makes in the books!

Wow, you are really mowing down the DeKok series, my library has about 5 of them in English and a few more in Dutch.

So pleased you enjoyed The red collar, gem of a book is indeed accurate.

Frank and I went to Rotterdam to meet Claire, Karen and Darryl.
We had a wonderful time together :-)


from left to right: Karen, Ari, me, Frank, Claire and Darryl.

>142 karenmarie: Yes reading goes very well Karen, writing about reading a bit less, finished a few more the last days.

>143 charl08: They are nice books, Charlotte, we had dinner yesterday in a restaurant where they served some Turkish dishes, I recognised some names from the Yashim books!

> 144 The DeKok books are very easy and enjoyable reads, Kerry. I only read mysteries the last few years, so I am no expert, but I really like how he unraffels the mysteries.

>145 FAMeulstee: Oh, lovely! Meet-ups are most definitely The Best!

>146 FAMeulstee: Great photo! Hooray for a Meet-Up! Darryl has become quite the international ambassador!!

Were books mentioned at all?

>147 scaifea: Yes Amber, it was great to see Darryl again and to meet Claire and Karen for the first time.

>148 msf59: Thank you Mark, photo was taken by the owner of the place with Darryls phone.
Books?? Talking books?? Yes, I guess LOL!
We (frank and I) told a lot about Rotterdam and we talked about so many things, including of course, books and LibraryThing :-D

So tickled that Ari got to attend the meet-up!

>150 ronincats: We know Rotterdam well enough, Rhonda, so we know dogs are allowed in most places.
We could leave Chimay with her son Endo at our friends place. But he had an appointment in the afternoon and Ari doesn't well without human company. So we decided to take Ari with us :-)

>145 FAMeulstee: Love the photo! Thanks for posting it, Anita.

Had you met up with them before? I haven't met Claire's sister Karen, but Claire and Darryl are aces.

>152 jnwelch: Thank you Joe!
Last year Frank and I met Darryl for the first time, together with Tad and his family. So we were looking forward to meet him again.

>145 FAMeulstee: Hi Anita! Claire, Karen & I were still talking yesterday about what a great time we had in Rotterdam on Monday, and we are all very appreciative to you and Frank for being such wonderful tour guides.

>148 msf59: I don't remember talking about books! We mainly talked about the city, its historical importance as one of the great shipping centers of the world, its redesign after the city center was destroyed by German bombs during World War II, and the unique buildings and thoughtful city planning that make it so spectacular. It was one of the most visually stunning cities I've seen, along with Barcelona and Girona in Catalunya. With such visual treats who could think about books?

That's one of the great things about LT meet ups. Even though we are all linked by a love of reading we are far more than a bunch of nerds who can only talk about books!

>154 kidzdoc: Thank you Darryl *blush*

Yes we did some book talk over dinner ;-)

Finished 3 more DeKok mysteries :-)


book 43: De Cock en de romance in moord by A.C. Baantjer
from the library, e-book, police mystery, 10th book of 70 De Cock


book 44: De Cock en de stervende wandelaar by A.C. Baantjer
from the library, e-book, police mystery, 11th book of 70 De Cock


book 45: De Cock en het lijk aan de kerkmuur by A.C. Baantjer
from the library, e-book, police mystery, 12th book of 70 De Cock

all 3 1/2 stars, statisfying reads :-)

Now I need somthing else to read as I have to wait two days before I can lend the next books in the series....

Hi Anita! It's always nice seeing LT meet-up photos, thanks for posting it.

>157 karenmarie: Thank you Karen :-)

Tonight Darryl and us went to the Dutch National Opera, they played Pique dame from Tchaikovsky.
It was a most wonderful evening, great music, wonderfull singers and orchestra.

Before the three of us had dinner in a nice restaurant in Amsterdam.

Sorry, no other pictures, took these from the website of the Dutch National Opera, I never picked up my camera ;-)

>159 FAMeulstee: Sounds like a wonderful time was had by all. Thanks for sharing.

>159 FAMeulstee: Oh, lovely! Gosh, but I'm jealous...

>145 FAMeulstee: Great photo Anita and a rare Frank sighting! I wish I had half of Darryl's schedule (the one with the time for holidays not the oppressive grind of his long stints at the hospital) so I could enjoy those times with you all.

Have a wonderful weekend.

>145 FAMeulstee: Love the picture, Anita! And glad you had a wonderful meet up.

Sorry for my late response, the last ten days I have been doing so much outside the comfort of my own house... more than I usually do in some months!
So yes, I am doing very well, but I was a bit exhausted ;-)

>160 charl08: & >161 scaifea: Thank you Charlotte and Amber, it was just great!
>162 PaulCranswick: Thanks Paul, Frank sightings aren't that rare, at my website he can be seen with weekly growing pups on his lap (we had litters in 1998, 2003, 2004, 2007 and 2009)...
If you ever make it to the Netherlands we will gladly meet you too!
>163 connie53: Thank you Connie.

After the meet-up in Rotterdam and the opera with Darryl, the next Sunday I went to Rotterdam to pick up Frank & have diner there. But we both forgot that the place we wanted to go was closed on Sunday, so we ended with Sushi on the couch at home.
Yesterday we finally went to the Klimt/Schiele exposition in the Gemeentemuseum in The Hague, after a short visit to my parents who live there and had diner in Rotterdam. Picture of the paintings will follow.

Tomorrow I will do my rounds on your threads :-)

And still reading DeKok mysteries, finished two more.
Sadly book 13 is temporary not available as e-book, so I went on with book 14 and 15


book 46: De Cock en de naakte juffer by A.C. Baantjer
from the library, e-book, police mystery, 14th book of 70 De Cock


book 47: De Cock en de broeders van de zachte dood by A.C. Baantjer
from the library, e-book, police mystery, 15th book of 70 De Cock

all 3 1/2 stars, statisfying reads :-)

 
Left "Edith" by Egon Schiele (1915), right "Judith 1" by Gustav Klimt (1901)

Especially the Klimt painting was breathtaking, so beautiful!!

After seeing these two paintings we walked around some more and I like to show you some more paintings:
 
Left Fuga by Gustave van de Woestyne (1919), right Man in the water, woman in boat by Co Westerik (1924)


Life is just a bowl of cherries by Paul Thek (1971)

Wonderful photos of the LT meet- ups, Anita! I love the paintings too - the Man in the Water , Woman in Boat is especially interesting. I hope you get some rest.

Thanks for the pictures. I have a Klimt poster print somewhere you are reminding me I want to dig out and frame.

Hope you have some time ahead to sit and relax.

>167 vancouverdeb: Thank you Deborah, Frank loves the Co Westrik painting (Man in the Water, Woman in Boat) too.
I feel somewhat less tired today, in a few days I'll be as good as new ;-)

>168 charl08: A poster of wich Klimt, Charlottte?
Yes, no plans for the next weeks, so plenty of relaxing and reading time!

Hi Anita! Interesting pictures. I hope you have a chance to get "unexhausted" soon!

Happy weekend, Anita. I'm interested in Rufin's book. My library has got some of him.

>170 karenmarie: Thank you Karen, I did some work in the garden today, that is a good sign ;-)

>171 Ameise1: Hope you get to The red collar, Barbara, I hope to find more books by him but our library has only this one.

A quick zap by to wish you a lovely Sunday. xx

>173 PaulCranswick: Wishing you a good start this week, Paul, as I presume it is Monday now in your part of the world ;-)

So today is the first day of summer, its raining all day ;-)

It is a special first day of summer, with a full moon, this only happens once every fifty years or so.
Last time was 1967... the summer of love... I am afraid we are now on the other side of the spectrum :-(

>169 FAMeulstee: It's been so long since I had it up, I'm not entirely sure! Will have to get on and find it.

Hi, Anita! Hope you had a nice weekend and a good week ahead. Hope those books are treating you well.

Oh, sorry for the rain. We have nice summer day here today. But only a few days ago I was caught in dreadful downpour while out walking Poppy. I'd almost forgotten about the downpours we can get.

>175 FAMeulstee: Hi Anita! Ah, the strawberry moon. I had read about it yesterday and husband, who is very interested in astronomy, had never heard of it. Ha, so one up on him for me!

We do seem to be in a dark period compared to 1967. Even though there was so much upset and conflict among the generations (at least here in the US), it was a joyous and expansive time. Now, here, there is much polarization politically and religiously. I hope the world can get through this recent set of crises successfully.

>176 charl08: Most likely "The Kiss", Charlotte, that is his most famous work.

>177 msf59: Hi Mark, we had good last weekend of Franks 2 weeks off, last night he went back to work.
Meanwhile I am reading a lot: re-reading The final empire, I liked the Mistborn books so much that I felt I needed to read them again right away. Some things are different now I know how it will end. Finished one DeKok and started with Outlander.

>178 vancouverdeb: Yesterday we had a nice day, Deborah so I got some gardening done. Today (& the next 2 days) we are back to too warm. The airco is doing its wonderfull work, keeping our house cool enough to survive:-D

>179 DianaNL: Thank you Diana, the same to you!

>180 karenmarie: I think there was more hope for the future back then, Karen, we see the same here: polarization in all parts of society...

Still reading DeKok mysteries, yesterday I finally could lend book 13 and finished it before I went to bed :-)

I had requested Outlander from the library, but got an offer I could not refuse only 6 euro as e-book, so I purchased it (makes a total of 30 books purchased this year). I am almost half way and I like it very much :-)

Re-reading The final empire


book 48: De Cock en de dansende dood by A.C. Baantjer
from the library, e-book, police mystery, 13th book of 70 De Cock

3 1/2 stars

Lovely pics, especially the one of the meet-up! I wish I could have made it there.
Summer started here exactly on the 21st, as if it had been waiting for that date. The heat is here and it seems it won't leave anytime soon. Before that we had at least one big rain shower every single day for weeks.

>183 Deern: Hi Nathalie, nice to see you here!
Does it mean you have internet, or just that you have a little spare time at work ;-)

It was very nice to meat Darryl again and Claire & Karen for the first time. One day we will make it to Merano :-)

Last night there was a lot of thunder and rain, but it didn't cool of afterward... Today it is hot and humid but in a few days we will go back to cooler weather.

book 49: De Cock en het dodelijk akkoord by A.C. Baantjer
from the library, e-book, police mystery, 16th book of 70 De Cock

3 1/2 stars

Hi Anita! Happy Friday to you. You are really zooming through the De Cock series!

>186 karenmarie: The same to you Karen.
Yes I am, I will probably read them all this year. It even would go faster if the e-library did not have a limit of 10 books in 3 weeks :-)

Happy weekend, Anita.

Thank you Barbara, it looks good, nice cool weather :-D

book 50: De reiziger by Diana Gabaldon
own, e-book, translated, English, historical fiction/romance, original title Outlander

Short after the end of WW II, a woman on her second honeymoon in Scotland walks through a magic stone and ends up 200 years earlier. Very nicely done historic romance :-)

4 stars

book 51: De Cock en de moord in seance by A.C. Baantjer
from the library, e-book, police mystery, 17th book of 70 De Cock

3 1/2 stars

Stopping in to say hi and hope you've had a good weekend!

Thanks Anita, for your advice and encouragement. Today I am letting my shoulder rest. I hope you have had a lovely weekend.

Hi Anita - good to see you enjoyed Outlander. I really liked that one but couldn't get through book #2.

>192 mstrust: Yes Mark, but the last two days were even better, two days with Cormoran Strike that I totally enjoyed :-)

>193 vancouverdeb: You are welcome Deborah, I have had my share of shoulder injuries after cleaning too many bookcases in a short time ;-)

>194 avatiakh: Thanks for the warning Kerry, will lend that one from the library instead of buying it....

book 52: Zijderups by Robert Galbraith
from the library, detective, translated, English, original title The Silkworm

I really liked The Cuckoo's Calling but this second book was even better!
I found myself reading almost all the time for two days and now it is finished, the second Cormoran Strike mystery.

4 1/2 stars

>190 FAMeulstee: Hi Anita! I loved Outlander and had read the first 4 books before stopping. Now, with the Starz TV series out, I decided to re-read and finish the entire series! I'm almost halfway through the 8th and final book and, although it is a huge undertaking, am glad I did. I hope you like the second one too.

>196 FAMeulstee: All three books are fantastic. I've read all three, and am finishing up the audiobook series. I'm halfway through Career of Evil and just renewed it from the library!

>197 karenmarie: Thank you Karen, we will see, I have reserved the 2nd Outlander book at the library. I am 5th, so it will take a while before I get to it.
Yes, Rowling is an incredible writer, doesn't matter under what name she publishes :-)
I am not in a hurry to read Career of Evil, whenever I see it at the library I will take it home.

I finished two more De Cock mysteries :-)


book 53: De Cock en de moord in extase by A.C. Baantjer
from the library, e-book, police mystery, 18th book of 70 De Cock


book 54: De Cock en de smekende dood by A.C. Baantjer
from the library, e-book, police mystery, 19th book of 70 De Cock

both 3 1/2 stars

Wrap up 2nd 3 months:

34 books read (20 in the first 3 months)
19 books aquired (11 in the first 3 months)

Best read the 3 Misborn books : The Final Empire, The Well of Ascension & The Hero of Ages by Brandon Sanderson, 5 stars