EllaTim reading in 2021. Winter

Hi everyone. My name is Ella, living in Amsterdam, with my hubby Marc. We have a small apartment in town, but we also have an allotment on the outskirts of town, where we spend a lot of time. Digging, planting, pruning. Watching birds. I'm the reader, he's the movie lover. We both like being in nature, going to a museum, and to the movies. When it is all possible again.

I had my first thread in this group in 2016.
Before LT I didn't know what to read, picking the same books from the library, over and over. That has changed;-) I now have a mount TBR, thanks to the great conversations here. But still choosing can be difficult sometimes. This year I managed to read 80 books, very happy about that.

My first choice in reading is fantasy and SF. Fairy tales. But I love lots of other options. Also older stuff. I do keep my distance from really scary thrillers.

My picture for this thread is from a museum I would love to visit when everything is open again: the museum Meermanno in The Hague. Dedicated to really old books, hand drawn books, art books.

Welcome everybody to my thread!

Reading in 2021

January
Started:
- 1493 ebook
- Martin Chuzzlewit ebook
- Foon library
- Mary Poppins audio
- The Hobbit audio 23-01-20
- Stuff Matters by Mark Miodownik (12-01-20)

Finished
1. The Hundred and One Dalmatians by Dodie Smith (UK) ***1/2
2. The Forgotten Garden by Kate Marton (Australia) ***
3. Kikkermuziek (=Frog Music) by Emma Donoghue (Irish/Canadian) ****
4. Tea with the Black Dragon by R. A. MacAvoy (USA) ***1/2
5. The Book of Three by Lloyd Alexander (USA) ****1/2
6. A Finer End by Deborah Crombie (USA) ***
7. And Justice There is None by Deborah Crombie (USA) ***1/2
8. Now May You Weep by Deborah Crombie (USA) ***1/2
9. To Hold the Crown by Jean Plaidy (UK) ***
10. The Black Cauldron by Lloyd Alexander (USA)
****
11. Nevermoor: The Trials of Morrigan Crow (Australia) ****
12. Wundersmith: The Calling of Morrigan Crow by Jessica Townsend (Australia) ****
13. Hollowpox: The Hunt for Morrigan Crow by Jessica Townsend (Australia) ***1/2
14. The Pull of the Stars by Emma Donoghue (Can/Ireland) ****
15. The Wolves of Willoughby Chase by Joan Aiken (UK, 1962) ****
16. The Castle of Llyr by Lloyd Alexander (USA) ***1/2

My reading for 2020:

Best Five:
1. Vesper Flights by Helen Macdonald *****
Because I loved, loved, loved it
2. De meeste mensen deugen by Rutger Bregman *****
Because it made me think, and still does
3. De gloed van Sint-Petersburg by Jan Brokken (non-fiction, dutch, 2016) ****1/2
Because there was so much in it, and I liked the mix of history and culture
4. Met bonzend hart by Willem Nijholt (Dutch) ****1/2
Unexpectedly interesting and well-written personal history of a well-known actor
5. The Goblin Emperor by Katherine Addison (USA, fantasy) ****1/2
Fun and uplifting, much needed in this year.

unfinished books and plans from 2020

Reading and not finished yet.

Sometimes I start a book and it takes me forever to finish it. Or I lose track. So here the books, that I have started will go.

Still reading: The Greeks
The Iliad by Homer
The Silence of the Girls by Pat Barker, put aside because I wanted to read The Iliad first:-)
And now I also want to read A Thousand Ships by Natalie Haynes.
She also does a podcast for the BBC, that's very worth while.

History
In Europa by Geert Mak
TV is airing a third series. Interesting again. I found the old series can still be seen. So I would like to see the old TV series, while listening to the book. I think the visuals will be worth it. But it's a project and will take time.

Seen:
Part 1, turn of the century, general introduction, death of queen Victoria, new technology.
Part 2: 1906, Germany, Berlin, Kaiser Wilhelm II, Austria

Defying Hitler by Sebastian Haffner

Darwin
Dirk Draulans' Beagle dagboek - p332
I think Darwin's actual Beagle Diary will be a better read, but this one gives a contemporary perspective, and is easier.
Darwin's Beagle Diary is a project for this year.

Gardening and nature
De Onderwereld van de Tuin by Romke van de Kaa

Fiction
The ten thousand Doors of January
Oryx and Crake

Reading plans for 2021

I like taking part in group reads or challenges.

BAC:
General Thread: https://www.librarything.com/topic/327699
January: Children's Classics: https://www.librarything.com/topic/327759
Nice theme, but what to choose???
February: LGBT+ History Month
March: Eleanor Hibbert & Vaseem Khan
April: Love is in the air
May: Na'ima B. Robert & V. S. Naipaul
June: The Victorian Era (1837-1901)
July: Don't judge a book by its movie
August: Helen Oyeyemi & Bernard Cornwell
September: She blinded me with science
October: Narrative poetry
November: Elizabeth Taylor & Tade Thompson
December: Awards & honors
Wildcard: Books off your shelves: https://www.librarything.com/topic/327998

Nonfiction Reading Challenge

JANUARY PRIZEWINNERS & NOMINEES
- Stuff Matters
FEBRUARY: MINORITY LIVES MATTER
MARCH: COMFORT READING
APRIL: THE ANCIENT WORLD
MAY: ANIMAL, VEGETABLE, MINERAL
JUNE: DISCOVERIES
1493
JULY: CITIES
AUGUST: TRANSPORTATION
SEPTEMBER: CREATIVITY
OCTOBER: HEROES & VILLAINS
NOVEMBER: BUSINESS, THE ECONOMY AND BIG POLICY QUESTIONS
1493
DECEMBER: GO ANYWHERE!

From the list of 1001 Books:
I have read a number of those, but have just begun tracking them.
1 Martin Chuzzlewit by Charles Dickens

Countries visited.

I have a map that I will post here soon.

In Reading Globally they are doing quarterly themes.
The first one is books from small countries.
https://www.librarything.com/topic/327232

Lots of choices, but maybe one by Jamaica Kincaid?

Welcome back!

Happy reading in 2021, Ella!

>6 EllaTim: >7 drneutron: Hi Jim, hi Anita! Thanks for the welcome. Lets hope for a better year, and lots of good reading.

The bookmarks are lovely! Hope they mark the place in some great books this year!

>10 thornton37814: Hi Lori! They are lovely aren't they? Happy new year to you too.

And keep up with my friends here, Ella. Have a great 2021.

I did the meme that's been going round, fun!

Describe yourself: Op je kop in de Prullenbak (On your head in the garbage bin)

Describe how you feel: Met bonzend hart (With pounding heart)

Describe where you currently live: De Zevensprong (The Crossroads. This is actually not a good translation, een zevensprong is a crossroad that has seven roads coming together)

If you could go anywhere, where would you go: Very Far Away from Anywhere Else

Your favorite form of transportation is: Vesper Flights

Your favorite food is: Five Quarters of the Orange

Your favorite time of day is: De Nachtstemmer (The Night Tuner)

Your best friend is: The Goblin Emperor

You and your friends are: Les Victorieuses

What’s the weather like: The Left Hand of Darkness

You fear: Kissed a sad Goodbye

What is the best advice you have to give: De meeste mensen deugen (Most people are Okay)

Thought for the day: Alles gaat voorbij. Zelfs Donald Trump (Everything passes, even Donald Trump)

What is life for you: Wuthering Heights

How you would like to die: In the Coils of the Snake

Your soul’s present condition: De Stille Kracht (The Silent Force)

What was 2020 like for you? The Loneliness of the Long-Distance Time Traveller

What do you want from 2021? How to train your dragon

Love your meme answers. We have the same one: Your favorite form of transportation is: Vesper Flights!

Hi Kim! Wouldn't they be lovely. Happy New Year to you too.

Happy New Year, Ella!

Happy new year and new thread, Ella. That museum you describe in your topper sounds wonderful! I could see losing myself in a place like that very easily!

I wish you a Happy New Year. May it be better than the old one.

Best wishes for a better 2021!

Dropping off my and wishing you the best of new years in 2021!

Happy New Year Ella!

>16 figsfromthistle: >17 jessibud2: >18 Ameise1: >19 DianaNL: >20 ronincats: >21 norabelle414: Hi Anita, Shelley, Barbara, Diana, Roni, and Nora! Thanks for the happy new year wishes, and best wishes to you too.

Hi Ella my dear, i have dropped my star off here and will be a regular visitor dear friend.

Happy New Year, Ella! Dropping a star so that I can follow you this year.

Hi Ella, and Happy New Year!

Those are gorgeous bookmarks. I do hope that you'll get the chance to go to that museum this year. I'd love to see it, too, some year.

Hope 2021 is kind to you!

>23 johnsimpson: >24 Crazymamie: >25 karenmarie: >26 ChelleBearss: Hi John, Mamie, Karen and Chelle. Nice t see you hear, and thanks. I hope 2021 will be good to all of us.

Yesterday we visited my sister. She lives some miles from Amsterdam. Had a nice trip through the countryside, with sun and dark clouds. Saw egrets, and storks, swans, and geese, black sheep. Did some walking with her, she is very careful and afraid of staying indoors for too long. All well. But then we had to go home, and there was a heavy fog! Our way home is a narrow road on top of a dike. So steep slopes left and right of the road. For a large part no lights, no road markings. So we had to drive slowly and carefully and we're very glad to get home safely.

No reading after that, but we saw a very good movie on TV: Elizabeth is missing. Touchstone for the book, the movie was made after.
With Glenda Jackson, playing a woman who has Alzheimer's. Director Aisling Walsh, someone to watch for, in future, I think.

>27 EllaTim: Elizabeth Is Missing is airing in the US tonight! I'm glad to hear it is good.

I hate to be the odd one out but I truly did not enjoy the novel of Elizabeth is Missing when I read it last year (or was it the year before, can't remember). To me it had such potential and I just kept waiting for something to happen, for something to be resolved and in the end, I felt very unsatisfied. But, for what it's worth, I often have such feelings about books others really love so I do hope it lands better for everyone else.

>27 EllaTim: I've read the book in 2015. It was a five stars for me.

>28 norabelle414: >29 jessibud2: >30 Ameise1: Hey! That's unexpected, three people who have read the book or will be seeing the movie.

>28 norabelle414: I hope you'll like the movie as much as I did Nora, I think I liked it as much as I did, in part because of the acting of Glenda Jackson. She was very good.

>29 jessibud2: >30 Ameise1: I saw the movie, but didn't read the book. Movies tend to be more compressed than books, so that might make a difference. I now am tempted to try and find the book, so I can compare. Glad you liked it Barbara.

Hi Ella! Wishing you and your family a Happy New Year and best wishes for 2021!

>13 EllaTim: - I love your meme answers, especially the one "Describe Yourself"! I would totally read that book if it was translated into English (I must look into that)!

Dropping my star here. Happy new year and best wishes.

Happy New Year!

I've only read Annie John by Jamaica Kincaid, but I enjoyed it.

I look forward to following your reading and adventures again this year. But >27 EllaTim: sounds like a bit too much of an adventure. I'm glad you got home safely!

>32 lkernagh: Hi Lori. Thanks for the new year wishes.
I liked doing the meme, and I smiled at my choice for Describe Yourself. But I liked the title of the book more than the story itself. It hasn't been translated.

>33 sirfurboy: Hi Stephen. Thanks for the best wishes! I'll be following you as well.

>34 streamsong: Hi Janet. Thanks! I think that's the book most people talk about, so should be a safe choice.
That was about as adventurous as I get.

I spent a couple of hours sorting and clearing magazines. Threw a couple of bags out, but now I'm thinking I should try and read them as they come in.
But it takes time, and there are always so many other things.

1. The Hundred and One Dalmatians by Dodie Smith (UK) ***1/2



The well-known story of how awful Cruella de Vil tries to steal Dalmatian puppies in order to make fur coats out of them. Their parents travel across country, helped by other dogs, to get them back, and find a lot more as a consequence.

It's a nice story, a mix of cosy and scary, just right for young children I think. I can see parents reading this to their kids.
I liked the spaniel best, for reasons unclear to me.

Hi Ella. I've got The goblin emperor on my reading radar for this year. I loved The Assassination of Brangwain Spurge so would like to delve into goblin/elf territory again.

>38 avatiakh: Hi Kerry. I looked it up, and your book sure sounds like fun. Hope you enjoy The Goblin Emperor as well.

Reading 1493. I think it's fascinating, because the book is trying to really give an overview of global scale. My history lessons were limited. The Netherlands, Europe, who succeeded who, but never the importance of large quantities of Spanish silver all over the world.

>40 EllaTim: We did learned al little about the Spanish silver in Dutch context, Ella, when Piet Hein conquered the Spanish at sea. We all know the song about Piet Hein en de zilvervloot!

>41 FAMeulstee: Oh, sure, but there again it's our local story. Looking with a wider view shows up all kind of things we missed. How Spain got all the money it took to finance their constant warfare. And managed to go broke five times anyway. How this silver also destabilised China. No there's more than Piet Hein, even though I can sing the song as well;-)

Hi Ella, found your thread too. Good to see another Dutch reader. I'm going to follow you since we seem to love the same sort of books.

>43 connie53: Hi Connie! I've starred your thread as well, it's nice to be able to share!

>44 EllaTim: Yes I know! I always love to find a person that loves to read fantasy.

>45 connie53: Yes! I share my love of reading with my mother, and my sister, but they aren't interested in fantasy. My mother likes human interest, my sister is into mystery and detective stories. And when I visit Dutch language sites people seem to prefer mystery and thrillers. But I've always loved Narnia and Tolkien. And LT has lots of like-minded people.

>46 EllaTim: There is a Dutch Fantasy Forum where I'm a member off. So if you are interested?

https://www.ff-leesclub.nl/forum/index.php

You have to know there is a part of that forum you can only see when you are a member. The more personal things are protected for random visitors.

Happy Saturday, Ella. Happy New Thread. Sorry, for the delay, I somehow missed this. Looking forward to a brighter and healthier 2021 and sharing more books and birds with my pals.

Wishing you a wonderful weekend, Ella.

>47 connie53: Hi Connie. I'll certainly have a look, though I think that really participating in two forums might be a bit much for me. But thanks for the tip anyway!

>48 msf59: Hi Mark! Thanks. Busy time in the group, eh?

>49 Ameise1: Hi Barbara. Thank you. And the same to you.

Trust that you have had a lovely weekend, Ella.

>51 PaulCranswick: Hi Paul! Yes, we had. Thanks. Sunny saturday, and a walk in our favourite park. It's mostly dark and somber weather, so we're grateful for a day of sun and light!

My e-reader is having trouble again. I started an audiobook from the library. "Amerika" by Maarten van Rossem. I would like some background.

Friend of mine won a prize for two photos of hers. The challenge was about photos of cloudscapes. Set by Teylers Museum, nearby, because they had an exhibition of paintings by Constable. Unfortunately the museum is closed, and nobody can visit. They have prolonged, but I'm afraid our lockdown will be prolonged as well. I would have loved to visit it.

https://www.teylersmuseum.nl/en/visiting-the-museum/what-is-there-to-see-and-do/...

>53 EllaTim: I’m sorry about your e-reader – hope the problem is simple to solve.

I just watched the video of the Constable Exhibition – fantastic. So informative, and I now want to learn more about Constable’s life. I particularly appreciated the drawings and closeups of some of the works. I was absolutely taken with his use of white.

>54 karenmarie: Hi Karen! Found the problem with the e-reader. How nice that you loved the video of the exhibition. I haven't watched it yet, but I will now. Added later: that was worth while! I see what you mean with he use of white. Dark and light. I loved his cloudscapes in this exhibition.

2. The Forgotten Garden by Kate Morton *** (Fiction, Australia, 560pp)



Cassandra is lost, alone and grieving. Her much loved grandmother, Nell, has just died and Cassandra, her life already shaken by a tragic accident ten years ago, feels like she has lost everything dear to her. But an unexpected and mysterious bequest from Nell turns Cassandra's life upside down and ends up challenging everything she thought she knew about herself and her family. Inheriting a book of dark and intriguing fairytales written by Eliza Makepeace - the Victorian authoress who disappeared mysteriously in the early twentieth century - Cassandra takes her courage in both hands to follow in the footsteps of Nell on a quest to find out the truth about their history, their family and their past; little knowing that in the process, she will also discover a new life for herself.

This book caught my attention in the beginning, but it started to feel long-winded halfway through, and near the end I found myself rushing through it. So a bit disappointing. An escapist read, a bit of cozy, a bit of mystery, but for me it fell flat in the end.

Started on Kikkermuziek by Emma Donoghue. It's good, but it isn't as light as I thought it would be. In part there's child abuse involved and that's heartbreaking to read about.
I really need a light read on the side!

I was editing our renters newsletter today. It has snowed, a bit, but rather late, I wasn't tempted to go outside.

>53 EllaTim: My mum always had Constable prints in the house - The Haywain in particular I remember occupying a spot above the fireplace.

Have a great weekend, Ella.

>57 EllaTim: That was the first Donoghue novel that I read. At the time, although it was well written but I was unsure if I would enjoy her writing style. It is not a light hearted read. I am glad that I continued on with her novels as they are all quite different.

Enjoy the rest of your weekend.

>56 EllaTim: At first I thought this was something I wanted to read, but after reading more and seeing your review, I think I will save it for later.

Hope you and Marc are doing well!

>56 EllaTim: I've read all the books of Kate Morton that are translated into Dutch. 6 so far and rated them between 3,5 and 5 stars De vergeten tuin got 4,5 stars.

And now I have to go and find Kikkermuziek to complete my Emma Donoghue collection

>58 PaulCranswick: Hi Paul! I loved his paintings too, a bit nostalgic for those landscapes.

>59 figsfromthistle: Hi Anita. They are all different, but I do think she's good. I just finished the book and read the afterword, to find out that she has done a lot of research for it, as it was based on a true event.

>60 ronincats: Hi Roni. It isn't a light read, certainly not. Difficult times, though interesting to read about.

>61 connie53: Hi Connie. Glad you enjoyed Kate Morton's book. And success looking for Kikkermuziek

Have a nice Sunday!

3. Kikkermuziek by Emma Donoghue (Irish/Canadian, 2014, 345 pp) ****




Emma Donoghue's explosive new novel, based on an unsolved murder in 1876 San Francisco. Summer of 1876: San Francisco is in the fierce grip of a record-breaking heatwave and a smallpox epidemic. Through the window of a railroad saloon, a young woman called Jenny Bonnet is shot dead. The survivor, her friend Blanche Beunon, is a French burlesque dancer. Over the next three days, she will risk everything to bring Jenny's murderer to justice--if he doesn't track her down first. The story Blanche struggles to piece together is one of free-love bohemians, desperate paupers and arrogant millionaires; of jealous men, icy women and damaged children. It's the secret life of Jenny herself, a notorious character who breaks the law every morning by getting dressed: a charmer as slippery as the frogs she hunts. In thrilling, cinematic style, FROG MUSIC digs up a long-forgotten, never-solved crime. Full of songs that migrated across the world, Emma Donoghue's lyrical tale of love and bloodshed among lowlifes captures the pulse of a boomtown like no other"--

This is a good story, interesting for starters, as it portrays San Francisco in a tumultuous period.
It really grabbed me from the moment it turns out that Blanche's small son P'tit has been farmed out and Blanche goes out to retrieve him. Of course the story is a detective story, who has done it, who has shot Jenny? But there is a story in it about the relationship of Blanche to her little son, and about Blanche herself that I found really captivating. I couldn't help but root for the both of them.

A good historical novel, that reminded me, strangely enough, a bit of Brecht's Dreigroschenoper. It's a coincidence that both have a whore called Jenny in them of course, as this book was based on real events.

Happy Sunday, Ella. Good review of Frog Music. I am a fan of Donoghue and I have wanted to read that one for a long time. Her latest, Pull of the Stars also sounds really good.

>64 msf59: Happy Sunday to you too, Marc. Yes, I think you will like it. And thanks for the reminder of Pull of the Stars! It does sound good.

A bit of a lousy Sunday. Helicopters above my neighbourhood all afternoon. Thanks to a illegal demonstration of anti-vaxers in the nearby city square. I've been watching TV, as I wanted to know what was going on. Don't like it.

>66 EllaTim: - Stuff like that makes me nervous, too. And did I hear right, on our news yesterday, that your government is in a bit of chaos, at the moment? We here in North America, tend to be inundated with United States politics, but to hear about the Dutch government resigning, well, wow! Calm vibes out your way, my friend!

>67 jessibud2: Hi Shelley! I am surprised that you have heard about it. Holland is such a small country. Nothing to do with corona, but a scandal with discrimination by government officials. People had their legal rights taken away without good cause. So our government has stepped down. But of course in two months there will be elections and they will all be reelected.

>68 EllaTim: - Yes, it was on our news yesterday, and I read about it online today. I guess politics and politicians everywhere share some of them same bad habits and *morals*, don't they. A bit depressing, but not exactly surprising, sadly.

>69 jessibud2: Oh it is a scandal at the moment, really. And rightly so, when you say that everyone is innocent until proven guilty, but certain people (based on last names, or double citizenship) can be called guilty and no proof needed, that is a scandal in my opinion.

Watched Heel Holland bakt (The Great Dutch Bake-off) with Marc. Very cozy show. Made me feel relaxed again. Tiramisu cakes, hmm.

I don't usually do this, but this Twitter thread is a must when you want a good laugh. Animals interrupting wildlife fotography:

https://twitter.com/joaquimcampa/status/1350843546471952387?s=21

>72 EllaTim: Aw, how sweet! I follow multiple “adorable and funny animals”-accounts on Twitter, because it helps to break the doomsday feeling of world news and other more “important” things.

>73 PawsforThought: That's what I do too, Paws. On YouTube mostly. Takes my mind off nasty things.

>71 EllaTim: "Heel Holland Bakt" seems like it only covers two provinces. Do they not make cakes in Limburg? :)

>75 sirfurboy: Hi Stephen! Sure they make cakes in Limburg, their specialty is Limburgse vlaai, very tasty. But of course the nicely alliterative title has won the day:-)



Gooseberry-merigue pie

Happy New Year, Ella.

I liked The Forgotten Garden, but it was a little long-winded and flat at the end, as you say.

>77 jnwelch: Hi Joe! Nice to see you here.

>76 EllaTim: Mmm, Limburgse vlaai seems reason enough to visit Limburg. :)

>79 sirfurboy: I can recommend a visit! Maastricht is a nice town, and has a lot to offer.

>79 sirfurboy: I live in Limburg, though not in Maastricht. My daughter does and we visited the town often before Covid. The inner city is very beautiful and old. And there is a bookstore in a church!

>81 connie53: That looks like a beautiful bookshop!

Hi Ella!

>68 EllaTim: I read about the government resigning, too, and was rather shocked, frankly. You really think they will all be re-elected?

>76 EllaTim: Yum. I like the small amount of meringue, nicely browned.

>80 EllaTim:, >81 connie53:, >82 sirfurboy: I would also recommend a trip to Maastricht, and to the Boekhandel Dominicanen (which may have a different name now). I spent a lovely afternoon in the city with two LTers, Mel and Frans, and the bookshop was one of our first stops:

  

Happy New Year, Ella! I hope to see you again later this year.

>81 connie53: Hi Connie! Maastricht is a lovely city, and how nice that you can visit often. One of the pleasures that Covid has interrupted, visiting bookstores, and trips to different cities. I've never been to the Dominicanen bookshop, but now I want to!

>82 sirfurboy: Exactly! And staying in Maastricht you can speak four languages within a short distance. German, Dutch, French, and Limburg dialect.

>83 karenmarie: Hi Karen! Yes, well their resigning was not shocking, but the way people were treated was. I think they all will be re-elected as the people who always vote for this party don't really care, not really where it counts. One minister has really resigned, and the party leader of the social democrat party has stepped down, who also was responsible. He will be blamed by his voters.

>84 kidzdoc: Hi Darryl! Nice pictures there. I sure hope you will be able to travel again, I hope we will beat this thing and that travel will be safe again for everybody.

>84 kidzdoc: And I was supposed to be there too! But my eldest granddaughter decided to be born on that day. It's still called Dominicanen.

>86 connie53: A very good reason for you not to be there!

>83 karenmarie: I just listened to a podcast where it was explained that American politics doesn't have this procedure. In Dutch politics our parliament can send the government, or a particular minister home. It is a major thing of course but it happens regularly so it isn't as shocking as an impeachment as in America.

Hi Ella my dear, i hope that you and Marc are both well and having a good start to the weekend. The vaccinations are going well with over five million having had their first dose and yesterday nearly five hundred thousand got a vaccination. We think that we will get a first dose sometime towards the end of February.

Sending love and hugs to both of you from both of us dear friend.

Hi John! We are both okay, thanks for asking. Adjusting to the first curfew of our lives, well, it isn't that bad, from 9 pm to 4.30 am. It's just the idea that you are not allowed out of the house... My mum has turned 95 today! But we haven't visited, we hope that she'll be vaccinated in February and decided to wait till then.

Love and hugs back at you, John.

>76 EllaTim: Is that gooseberries, Ella?

>89 EllaTim: Boo sucks to curfew and happy birthday to mum.

>86 connie53: That's right! I had forgotten about that happy day, for the three of us, and, separately, for you, your daughter, and her new baby.

I look forward to more meetups in the Netherlands, hopefully in 2021 but definitely in 2022.

>76 EllaTim: Hi Paul! Yes, it is. One of the best ingredients for vlaai, I think.

Thanks for the best wishes. The curfew sucks but Marieke Lucas Rijneveld wrote a wonderful poem about it.

"Avondklok

Niet meer de straat op mogen, niet meer de ziel leeglopen en het
hart voller, het plantsoen liefkozen, niet meer een bezoek aan een
nachtvriend en samen besluiten dat het beter wordt, het wordt beter.
niet meer naar de winkel voor iets wat je bent vergeten, voor het praatje

bij de kassa over hoe het halfdonker zo machtigprachtig. Niet het stampen
door de modder als de dag je weinig goeds gebracht heeft..."

There is a lot more, but I don't know if I am allowed to cite more. I loved it, and I wasn't the only one, lots of people saying how they felt comforted by it.

"Curfew
No more allowed on the street, no more walking one's soul out and the
heart fuller, cherishing the park, no more visit to a
nightfriend and deciding together it will be better, it will be better.
No more to the shop for something you forgot, for the small talk

at the cashier on how beautiful the half dark. Not the stamping
through the mud when the day has brought little good..."

A very crude translation, just for an impression. I am going to read more of hers, I think.

>91 kidzdoc: Lets hope so Darryl, but at the moment I feel this pandemic is behaving like a true dystopian tale, it gets worse and we're not there yet. Sorry if I am pessimistic.

Happy Sunday, Ella. I have not seen a Snowy Owl yet this year, but I am trying to track one down. I would probably never get a photo like this one, but that is okay.

Good luck with the curfew.

>93 msf59: Hi Marc! Happy Sunday to you too. Good luck spotting a Snowy Owl. A real beauty it is.

4. Tea with the Black Dragon by R. A. MacAvoy (USA) ***1/2



Martha travels to San Francisco because of a call of her daughter. Once there she does stay in the expensive hotel her daughter booked for her, but her daughter has gone. She is very worried, but doesn't know what to do. Then she meets this curious man, who talks about the Boddhisatva like he met him. What is mr Mayland Long? But he offers to help Martha and she can use all help.

This was a nice combination of adventure, a bit of philosophy, romance? It hard to characterise the book, but it was a nice read, feeling very satisfying when I had finished it.

We took a walk in a new place, between pastures. There's been just a bit of frost, so there was a tin layer of ice on the ditches. Saw geese, and herons. Ducks. And a small group of red wings. And as a spectacular extra, a kingfisher. Flying over a small ditch that hadn't closed up with the frost. Tomorrow it will be raining again, no need to worry about this bird.

Hi Ella!

I'm sorry about the curfew, hope you and Marc are staying safe. Congrats on seeing a kingfisher.

>97 karenmarie: Hi Karen! We're okay, very quiet neighbourhood tonight. It is kind of special, silence... My street where we live, has two big cafes/restaurants, busy. Closing around 2am. So usually there's a lot more noise, people talking loudly, cars starting up, and now, blissful silence. I could become a fan of curfews.

>95 EllaTim: A favorite comfort read of mine!

>92 EllaTim: Thank you so much for that, Ella.

I have reading of the anti-lockdown riots in the Netherlands and it is clear that people are simply at the end of their respective tethers. Governments throughout the world have failed to grasp the nettle and address this crisis properly from the very start. There seems to be so much misinformation and scare mongering and disregard for each other and it saddens me so.

Take good care of yourselves. xx

>99 ronincats: Hi Roni, it was a comfort read, I felt better for reading it.

>100 PaulCranswick: Hi Paul. I so loved her poem, glad you appreciated it.

How to explain those riots? I think there's more behind it than just the being tired of lockowns and all that. A lot of the riots took place in towns where many people are not well off. And I think you are right that the crisis hasn't been handled right, from the beginning. Misinformation, scare mongering or the opposite, taking things too lightly. It' making me feel tired right now.

You take care of yourselves too, Roni and Paul!

5. The Book of Three by Lloyd Alexander (USA, 1964, 142pp) ****1/2



"Taran, Assistant Pig-Keeper to a famous oracular sow, sets out on a hazardous mission to save Prydain from the forces of evil."

I started it before but couldn't get into it than, but reading now it suddenly grabbed me and I really enjoyed it. I do wish I had a paper version, and I would have loved some illustrations with it. Sigh.

It's not so much the story but the characters that I loved. Hen Wen the oracular pig, Eilonwy the chattering but audacious princess; Also the writing. It's a short book but the author manages to pack a lot in a few sentences.

The beginning of the first chapter:
"Taran wanted to make a sword; but Coll, charged with the practical side of his education, decided on horseshoes. And so it had been horseshoes all morning long. Taran's arms ached, soot blackened his face. At last he dropped the hammer and turned to Coll, who was watching him critically. "

It's a series, and I plan on reading them all.

>102 EllaTim: That book was one of the first discoveries, when I joined this group.

I have the series on my shelves in the lovely Dutch Piramide edition, with rounded corners.


They are available at boekwinkeltjes.nl, seller Boekweg has the whole series for a reasonable price

>103 FAMeulstee: Nice Anita! Lovely cover! And is this an illustrated version?

>104 EllaTim: No illustrations, just a lovely cover and the pig from the cover returns at the start of each chapter.

>105 FAMeulstee: Thanks Anita!

>102 EllaTim: Oh yes, those are very enjoyable books. Written by an American who was stationed in Wales, he makes good use of material from the Mabinogion to construct an interesting tale.

>102 EllaTim: Chiming in to say that this series just gets better and better as it goes along. I hope you love it!

>107 sirfurboy: Hi Steven. I had the author noted down as UK, but i have to change that? Have you ever read the Mabinogion? I have read a fair lot of myths, Greek and Norse, but never even heard of the Mabinogion! I did notice some similarity to the story of The Lord of the Rings, like in the black lake at the mountains edge. But what happens there is new and unexpected.

>108 scaifea: Hi Amber! I hope so too, but going on your and other's opinions I'd say Yes.

>109 EllaTim: Yep, I am afraid that Lloyd Alexander is indeed American.

Yes, I have read the Mabinogion in English and Welsh. It is definitely worth checking out if you like myths and legends - although it will seem quite odd from a modern perspective! But then, that is true of Norse and Greek myths and legends too.

>110 sirfurboy: Oh Yes, of course it will be odd, but that's the fun of it. I read those other myths when I was a teenager in high school, so they seem very familiar. I assume for instance the cauldron-born warriors in The Book of Three came from the Mabinogion. They seemed really strange and scary.

>111 EllaTim: Yes, the cauldron of rebirth is in the story of Branwen ferch (daughter of) Llŷr. Interestingly Garth Nix used the story too in a book I just read, The Left-Handed Booksellers of London.

>112 sirfurboy: Ah, good stories get around! I saw your review of Garth Nix's book, and it seemed like fun.

>102 EllaTim: I loved these books as well. Eilonwy is delightful.
>112 sirfurboy: I read the Nix book last year and looks like I should read the Mabinogion.

Chiming in, again, to say that the Mabinogion is fantastic and I highly recommend it!

It seems like this is the thread that's hitting me with book bullets. So many I've been meaning to read or heard good things about.

>114 avatiakh: Hi Kerry! We agree on Eilonwy. I'll be trying to find both the Nix and the Mabinogion.

>115 scaifea: Oke, I get it;-)

>116 PawsforThought: Hi Paws. Have we been adding to your mount TBR?

Today we spent a day at the allotment. Coppicing a willow tree.
First flowers as well. The snowdrops are just starting, but the winter aconite has the first flowers. And I have a winter flowering honeysuckle.
Also named kiss-me-at-the-gate according to Wikipedia.
It was a sunny day, and the first birds were singing as well. But it isn't spring yet, there's still real winter weather coming.

We usually stay until it's dark, and leaving we can hear the geese fly over, calling to each other. Love that.

>118 EllaTim: You reminded me to look in my own garden, Ella, as I can't see the snowdrops from inside. And indeed they are nearly flowering.
Is the winter flowering honeysuckle a Lonicera fragrantissima?

It looks like we are getting some real winter for a week. Time to dig out the snow shovel ;-)

>119 FAMeulstee: The crocusses in my balcony flower pot have started as well.

Yes, lonicera fragrantissima, and they are very fragrant, smell so good. It flowers all winter into spring.

Yes, a layer of snow expected. Glad I can go everywhere on foot, and don't need to ride a bike. I don't have a snow shovel. But maybe I can borrow one from one of the shopkeepers. Do your shopping on time Anita!

>120 EllaTim: Frank did the shopping yesterday morning, and picked up my reserved books at the library. It was crowded at the shops, like before Christmas. So he took only what was needed immediately.
He works Sunday night, then he can do the next shoppings on his way home.

>121 FAMeulstee: It was busy in the shops here as well. Does Frank have a long distance to his job?
I have it easy, shops nearby.
Now feeding the birds at the allotment. Poor guys, we probably won't be able to visit for the next days.

>122 EllaTim: His work isn't far away, about 5,5 km. The supermarket is on the way home.
There used to be a supermarket near, but it was closed a few years back, now the nearest one is at 3 km.

>124 FAMeulstee: Not a great distance, good for him. Still be careful.
My nearest shop is at a 100 m, in the street. A greengrocer and a bio-supermarket. I won't have to go far.

We fed the birds twice at the allotment. There were more people there, preparing house and garden for the cold. I wrapper my artichokes in bubbel wrap. Put a rosemary and a small laurel plant in a place where they are protected from the East wind. And then I had to renew the rabbit protection around our new apple and pear trees, as the rabbits had managed to get at the bark. Picked a bunch of Lonicera boughs for the kitchen table, and then we were ready to go home.

Tomorrow a stay-at-home day.

Take care Ella and hopefully all this unrest and curfews will soon be over and done with and we can all start living our lives normally again.

Have a lovely Sunday.

>126 PaulCranswick: Hi Paul! Yes, let's hope so. My Sunday will be quiet, it's icy cold outside, with strong wind from the northeast. Snowing. No one outside, everybody is staying in, even the children.

I'm reading The Tin Drum a couple of pages at a time, it's demanding. And just finished something a lot lighter Clean Sweep by Ilona Andrews. Chose it for the SFF challenge over in the category group.

>127 EllaTim: My dark mood isn't suited to The Tin Drum just at the moment, Ella. I hope to return to it later in the month.

>128 PaulCranswick: Understood Paul. Not the easiest of times at the moment, for you. I'm so slow with it, you'll catch up soon enough.

Home from a small walk outside, I didn't want to stay cooped up inside all day. So I packed myself in a wool sweater, a fleece vest with hoodie. Put a Peru style cap on my head, hoodie over that, suede coat on, scarf and mittens. I could have posed for a Bernie pic. But it was worth it, in spite of the wind, there were more people out walking around a bit. I took some pictures and enjoyed myself. All quiet, cars driving slooooowly, and all noise muffled.
Coming home the radio was playing Schubert's Winterreise. Fitting, but bleaker than my mood was now.

And after all the riots in Amsterdam here's a fun video:
https://mobile.twitter.com/schlijper/status/1358269229628350464
Police having a snowball fight with youngsters on the Dam.

Hi Ella!

>118 EllaTim: Now I’ve learned about coppicing. Your day sounds lovely, especially leaving when you can hear the geese fly over. Plus spring flowers starting is always joyful.

>130 EllaTim: Your walk sounds enjoyable, if cold. Lots of nice layers.

>131 karenmarie: Hi Karen! I love those Geese. They used to be rare, lots of geese only in winter, but then we started protecting them. Now there are lots of them everywhere. As a child I read Nils Holgersson where Nils travels with the geese through Sweden. Akka, the old female goose, lures the fox away from her group by pretending she is hurt. Loved that story.

I am reading I dream a World by Brian Lanker. The book has interviews and photos of black women who influenced America in some way. It's an older book but those portraits are interesting, people who have a story.

Here's Beah Richards, an actress, poet and playwright, according to the book.
She says:" If you go inside where all people are and where the essence of their being is, you are not going to find anything to hang your prejudices on."

Hi Ella, I thought to return the visit right away. :)

I am glad that the riots have calmed down - I read about them in other threads as well and followed them on social media. On the one hand I understand that people are frustrated, on the other hand there is no reason to live that frustration out on other people who cannot do anything about it. So far, there are only protests here in Austria, but you feel there is a violent potential on the rise.

It is snowing right now and maybe I can go for a nice winter walk today.
As a kid I have watched "Nils Holgersson" and I have always wanted to read the book. I need to see if I can get my hands on a lovely edition.

I dream a world sounds very interesting - I will put that one on my wishlist.

Have a lovely day!

hi Ella, I hope you are still keeping warm and cuddled up inside with some nice books.

>133 PersephonesLibrary: Hi Käthe. It's nice to see you here!

We're very glad the unrest seems to have died down for now. Snow and ice are helping to change peoples moods, maybe. Everybody is excited, will there be long-distance ice-skating, could there be an Elfstedentocht. Major event here in the Netherlands.

I Dream a World is a wonderful book, but I think it might be hard to find, I inherited this book from my mother-in-law, and it's rare.

But Nils Holgersson should be easier to find, I hope you'll like it!

>134 connie53: Hi Connie. Yes, i've been doing just that today, very nice;-)

Glad to hear you've had some lovely wintery days, Ella. People have been ice skating more than usual here, too.

I know the story of Nils Holgersson (by osmosis if nothing else) and it's possible my parents read it to me when I was little, but I have no memory of that, and I've never read it on my own. I probably should, but I was scared off Selma Lagerlöf when we were forced to read some of her other works in school, and I was not a fan.

I am reading I dream a world one portrait at a time.

Here's Carrie Saxon Perry, elected mayor of Hartford, Connecticut, in 1987

She says: "My definition of integration is that it broadens choice. It doesn't mean that you just jump over the fence and try to do everything with other folks."

And this:"I had very strong women role models in my mother, my grandmother, and my aunt. They used to say:"When you fall down, get up. If you fall down again, get up. And don't be ashamed of falling down."

I like putting in those quotes, but I am a bit worried if I am allowed to. It's an old book 1988, and out of print I guess. What do you think?

>136 PawsforThought: Hi Paws! Yes, ice and the possibility of ice skating and sledging is a favourite here. Very entertaining. I confess to laughing about the authorities this time, who have proclaimed that snowball fights are only allowed with one person from outside your own household;-)

What books by Selma Lagerlöf frightened you off so much? That's really too bad. I can't guarantee that you'll like Nils of course, it is different when you read a book as a child. I liked to dream about that trip on the back of a goose, what a sense of freedom!

>138 EllaTim: Jerusalem and The Emperor of Portugallia. I'm sure they're good books, and I might like them if I read them as an adult, but they're not the sort of thing you should be forcing 17-year-olds to read.

>139 PawsforThought: Ah! No, I think you should give a17year old a choice of what to read. We had to read a number of books, it was supposed to be Dutch literature, but there was a bit of room for one's own preferences. I did read some books that I disliked intensely though. So I understand not wanting to read any more of those.

>140 EllaTim: We were usually allowed to choose between a small number of books. Any of Shakespeare's plays, for example. But Lagerlöf was a must. As was Tristan and Isolde, for some reason (another chore) and Candide - which I loved.

>135 EllaTim: I just looked up "Elfstedentocht" - is this only for professionals or is it like a marathon where everyone can partake. Because I would. :) It sounds so cool! Have a lovely weekend, Ella!

>142 PersephonesLibrary: Hi Käthe. It's both. First the professionals, for the real match. After they have left amateurs can take part, and lots of them do. Their number is limited though. Everyone can take part, but you have to be a good skater, it is 200km! So the start takes place in the dark, and the finish for the last participant also. But there is cheering everywhere along the route. It is a real event. Not this year, though, temperatures are rising after the weekend, that's too soon. I wouldn't dream of even trying, I'm just not good enough. I have skated in amateur skating tours, and they are a lot of fun and a lot shorter. Are you a good skater?

We went to the allotment to feed the birds. Then we took a walk through the pastures and wood nearby. Everything looked beautiful. We saw a couple of herons looking for open water to fish in, poor birds. A great egret, whiter than the snow, a cormorant. Those birds are having a hard time, but fortunately there still are some places free of ice.
Lots of fun, sunny and clear. And all those animal trails, small birds, foxes? Lots to see.

>143 EllaTim: In that case I guess I will need a Tweestedentocht... because I am not a particularly good skater - I just like it a lot but go not often enough.

>144 EllaTim: Lovely nature description - sounds like a wonderful place.

>145 PersephonesLibrary: When was the last time the elfstedentocht actually happened? I lived in NL for 7 years and it never happened while we were there. Tweestedentocht might work though lol

>146 RebaRelishesReading: Hi Reba. It has been a long time, 1997, and before that 1986. It takes a long period of frost for the ice to be strong enough over the whole of the route
Tweestedentocht sounds ideal and very doable.
We did a walk again today, but we could have skated. Lots of skaters, but still places where you could go through the ice. I'm a scaredy cat.

>147 EllaTim: I don't skate at all. When I was 10 years old (57 years ago) we moved from The Hague to Roermond because my father was transferred to a new division for his work. And when I was in secondary school we went skating for gym class and I was shocked I had to learn how to. It was embarrassing!!

But I love to watch speedskating on tv. And I would have loved to see De Elfstedentocht again.

>148 connie53: Hi Connie. That's a pity, but you have to have the opportunity to learn of course. I like to skate, but I have never been a good skater. But I grew up in an area with lots of water, making it easier to at least learn the basics.

Elfstedentocht is not on, a pity, I would have loved to watch as well.

Never skiied by I have skated and used to love skating on the ice as a kid - shuddering now when I think it was actually pretty dangerous.

>150 PaulCranswick: Hi Paul. I have never skied either, and wouldn't want to try learning now. Yes, ice skating can be really dangerous, you have to be careful.

Marc and I have done a bit of skating yesterday. We went to lake Naarden, a nature reserve that has very limited access usually. And oh, how stiff we felt, and how wobbly at the same time. And there were rents in the ice that one could trip over. Still, it was nice to have tried at least once.

Happy Sunday, Ella. Glad you got out to try ice-skating. I have never done it. I have skied but that has been 30-35 years ago. I liked it a lot though.

>152 msf59: Hi Mark! Skiing seems like fun to me, but I think something to learn when you are young. Nice to try again, but we felt very, very rusty. And we need to work at getting a better condition.

>151 EllaTim: That is brave, Ella, to go skating!
We just watched others skating, and had no urge to go on the ice at all.

>154 FAMeulstee: Watching is fun as well. We took a walk on Saturday, it's so beautiful outside at the moment. But then Marc wanted to walk on the ice for a bit. Very slippery, and frightening, but then I thought better to really go skating at a safe place. So now we have satisfied the urge, no skating today;-)

Hi Ella!

>132 EllaTim: I love that quote by Beah Richards.

All the ice skating talk is fun. I tried it once, in an indoor rink, and never knew how strong your ankles had to be in order to just stay upright! The rails were my friend.

I skated some as a child (indoor rink) and then not as an adult until a group of women friends decided it would be good exercise when I was in my 40's. We went once and I could barely stand-up on the ice or move for a day or two afterwards. Skating is a great feeling though, as I remember from long long ago.

I took figure skating lessons as a child (age 10, 11, thereabouts). I loved it and though I knew in my head what I was supposed to and expected to do, it never translated to my feet. I gave it up after the second year. When I was still teaching, we would take our students skating at an arena once a year. After I retired, I sold my skates since I knew I wasn't going to pursue it on my own. Too hard on my legs. But I still adore watching the competitions on tv.

As for skiing, I took a year of lessons, too, when I was in high school. The speed was not for me. On the other hand, cross-country skiing is a great workout, on mostly flat land, great exercise and fun. None of my friends liked it though and it was too much effort to continue on my own.

>156 karenmarie: Oh yes, you need strong ankles, but also the right balance. And it helps to have good skates. As a child I had Friese doorlopers.



Wooden skates that you tie under your shoes. You stand closer to the ice, but they tend to slip. So ice skates with shoes will help you stand straighter.

>157 RebaRelishesReading: Hi Reba. It takes time to learn. You can get lessons. And yes, when all goes well it's a great feeling.

>158 jessibud2: Hi Shelley. "It never translated to my feet". Lol. That happens to me as well. I love watching the figure skating, speed skating a bit less.

Cross-country skiing seems like a great workout, too bad none of your friend's like do it. And of course continuing on your own isn't nearly as much fun.

We just try and walk more at the moment. Easiest to keep up.

Oh, ice skating, how fun! It's been years since I last skated, which I have to justification for as I live near several skate-friendly places (two rinks, two lakes and a river).I should probably go and buy myself a new pair of skates because I think the ones I have are too small. And maybe a big pillow to tie to my hips since I hurt my tailbone last time I skated...
We learned both skating and cross-contry skiing in school - it was one of those things you had to learn to pass P.E. (like swimming). It makes sense that we learn considering the climate here. I hated skiing at school and haven't really done it since but this winter has made me think about picking it up again. It's not difficult to learn, really, and like you mentioned it's a tremendously good workout for the whole body.

>160 PawsforThought: Hi Paws! Two lakes and a river, sounds good. Yes, a pillow, good idea. We felt so stiff that we thought we should have taken a chair, to lean on.

Both skating and skiing, lots of PÉ! We only had swimming, very useful. Why did you hate skiing? I disliked swimming because I felt afraid. A bit of fear of the water.

Happy Wednesday, Ella. I love skiing but was never a great ice skater.

>56 EllaTim: I liked that one very much. I've also read some more books of her. They are all good.

>161 EllaTim: A chair isn't a bad idea - plenty of people here use a "spark" (like a chair with skids - like a sled has skids) when they first learn to skate.

Yeah, I think we had about 3 weeks of each (2 lessons a week) throughout school, and swimming was "until you'd learnt" in primary school and then a couple a weeks per year for the rest of school.
I wasn't a fan of PE in general (not athletic as a child) and skiing was just another thing I wasn't good at. And school kids being school kids, everything was a competition and I was always last. As an adult, I can understand why people enjoy it, though. I have a fear of water too, and can't do any swimming that requires putting my head underwater. Dancing and gymnastics were always more my forte. And as an adult, yoga.

>163 PawsforThought: Hi Barbara! Skiing seems great, and more so when I see your pictures of Davos, and all the snow, and beautiful landscape.

>164 EllaTim: Hi Paws! I wasn't a fan of PE either, not athletic either. It's the competition that I am no good at. As a kid we lived right opposite the village school with it's playground. After school we played all kinds of games that didn't involve so much competition, and I did like those. We played table tennis with our dad, and that is a sport I still like. And yoga is nice too. For dancing and gymnastics you have to be kind of athletic as well!

My back is acting up, very awkward, sitting at the computer or laptop for long stretches is not a good idea at the moment.

>164 EllaTim: Yeah, the competition was a major part of it. We often played brännboll, which is a baseball/softball relative and I hated it at school, but when we played at home I liked it (and was not half-bad at it).
Table tennis is fun! I played some badminton with my dad - he played every week throughout my childhood.
Dancing and gymnastics require a lot of strength and agility, which I have. I'm not good at cardio, however (and definitely not good at having balls kicked or thrown at me, which is why I hated football, volleyball and similar sports).

I hope your back gets better.

>165 PawsforThought: Ha! Getting balls kicked or thrown at you, no not for me either. And it was all we seemed to do for a lot of the time at school. The only thing I was good at was climbing rope. We had an old house with a high attic where you could see the beams and my dad had hung ropes between them so we could play there.
Badminton is fun, and table tennis too, because there is an element of trying to surprise your opponent. Strength and agility seem like good things to me!

Thanks, Paws. I'm taking it easy today.

6. A Finer End by Deborah Crombie (USA) ***



Jack Montfort grew up in the shadow of Glastonbury Tor in a town revered as the mythical burial place of King Arthur, and, according to New Age followers, a source of strong druid power. Montfort has little more than a passing interest in the history of the area - until he comes across an extraordinary chronicle almost a thousand years old . . . When a member of Jack's circle is attacked and left for dead, he appeals to his cousin, Superintendent Duncan Kincaid, for help. For something terrible and bloody shattered Glastonbury Abbey's peace long ago - and now it is about to spark a violence that will reach forward into the present . . .

I have been reading the series of detectives featuring Duncan Kincaid and Gemma James. This is number 7 in the series. I didn't want to skip it, as the relationship between the two protagonists keeps unfolding. But I felt this book wasn't very strong. I didn't like the mixture of fantasy, new age, druids, and detective. It felt like two disparate parts that don't really mix well. Some of the imagery in the book was well done, but still, the story didn't get convincing.

Anyway, I hope the next one is better again.

Started the next in the series by Deborah Crombie. Definitely a lot better.
And Justice There is None



I'm glad I didn't give up on it.

Tomorrow a busy day at the allotment, a bit of a problem as my back is still giving me grief. Well, I'll try and take it easy.

Have a wonderful reading weekend, Ella. I hope the back pains go away after a nice long Epsom salt bath!

I hope your back pain will not hinder you while working at the allotment, Ella. Back pain is such a nasty thing.

Feel better quickly, Ella! Hopefully, you'll get rid of it soon - and can enjoy the weekend.
...and I know now that I really want to do more iceskating and want to try the Friese doorlopers next winter!

Take things steady with your back Ella. Often hot baths, rest and a warm compress can help unless it is something more serious.

>170 figsfromthistle: Hi Anita! I'll certainly be reading this weekend. Not now, the weather here is marvelous. Sitting out in the sun, looking at the birdfeeder. No bath for me, i've only got a makeshift tub, too small for long and luxurious bathing.

>171 connie53: Hi Connie. It is nasty, but i could do some work. Taking it easy in the sun right now. Hope your weekend is nice as well.

>172 PersephonesLibrary: Hi Käthe. Everyone here has enjoyed the skating, so go for it next year. Friese Doorlopers are still to be found, but they are sort of antique.

>173 PaulCranswick: Hi Paul. Rest and activity in the right balance. But now I'm taking it easy.

Everybody have a nice weekend.

Exactle 9898 steps today. Very content! And tired of course.

Hi Ella!

>159 EllaTim: Wow. I’m impressed. I can see how they’d slip. I had roller skates that tied across your ankles and clipped onto the fronts of your shoes and they slipped, too. I remember how excited I was to get my first pair of shoe skates for roller skating.

>164 EllaTim: I’m sorry your back’s acting up.

>175 EllaTim: Impressive.

Hi Karen!

Oh, yes, I remember that kind of roller skates. Had a pair of them as well. They also had these awkward small wheels that made you trip over things. Skates with shoes were a coveted thing!

I'm paying for yesterday now, but it was a very nice day. We had a group of volunteers working to prune our willows, and I am part of the organising group. Means running around to see everything goes well, people have all they need, etc. The weather was lovely, and everybody could keep their social distance but we could still have tea together safely in the outdoors.

Feel better soon, Ella. Happy Sunday!

>178 Ameise1: Thanks, Barbara. We're taking it easy today.

7. And Justice There is None by Deborah Crombie (USA) ***1/2



Gemma James is adjusting to professional and personal changes that include her eagerly sought promotion to the rank of inspector--and a future now intricately entwined with Duncan Kincaid. But her new responsibilities are put to the test when she is placed in charge of a particularly brutal homicide: The lovely young wife of a wealthy antiques dealer has been found murdered on fashionable Notting Hill.

I liked this one. A good story, in a calm pace. The background story of Gemma and Duncan's life is interesting, and keeps those books together.
There are more books in this series, but I am looking for something different now.

Reading now: Shuggie Bain

Back pain not over yet, I should maybe visit a physical therapist, but I am hesitant to do that right now.

My reading is suffering because I am spending too much time on Twitter. It is interesting and informative. I started reading there because there is much more information on the Covid pandemic to be found there, and from different points of view. But I'm finding it interesting for other information as well. And depressing. And annoying. But yesterday I found a good source for funny tweets.

Are you feeling better, Ella? Physical therapy is for sure a good idea. But I understand your hesitation.

Oh, be careful about Twitter. Sometimes there can be too much information. 😊 And I agree, it can consume a lot of time.

>182 PersephonesLibrary: Hi Käthe. Still having back problems. Unfortunately. Thanks for asking.

Some of Twitter is awful. Some is fun. And it is too addictive for me. Should start limiting my time spent there.

Here's one fun thing I saw there today: the world' smallest, miniature reptile found on Madagascar:



Hope the picture shows up for you. Talk about cute, even a reptile can be cute, but it's a chameleon, they are sort of cute.

(See:https://www.sciencenews.org/article/new-tiny-chameleon-species-may-be-world-smallest-reptile/amp?__twitter_impression=true)

We spent a day at the allotment again. Nice weather. Pruning willows again, we have a lot of those. Had to stop in time as my back started protesting. Best thing to do then is take a break lying on my back. So I saw a green woodpecker flying to the poplars. Beautiful bird.

You might like the Strange Animals account on Twitter (they later made a book which is interesting to read!): @StrangeAnimaIs .

Walks and breaks might be the best you can do. Take care!

>185 PersephonesLibrary: Hi Käthe. I will have a look at that account, Thanks!

>186 EllaTim: Enjoy and have a lovely weekend, Ella!

Marc's off to the hospital visiting a friend of his. Only one visitor a day allowed, so I couldn't come along. He, the friend, called from hospital to tell us that he has lost a foot, due to diabetes. I can't image what that must be like, but it seems frightening. He is a optimist, and a very balanced personality but it must be tough.

>189 connie53: Ohh, that's really awful, Ella.

>189 connie53: It is, Connie. Marc visited him yesterday, and he was very optimistic, and positive. The wound was healing well. But he has had five operations in total. And a lot of pain. Now all infection is gone, and the pain much less. It was a relief I guess, after all that misery.

>188 EllaTim: That must be horrible. I am sorry to hear about this, Ella! It's good that he's optimistic because there might be some rehab ahead of him, I guess, and he will need his strength. Best wishes!

>191 PersephonesLibrary: Hi Käthe. Yes, he is going into rehab. We will be able to visit him there. He is one of the most positive people i know, so i trust he will do well there.

Not much reading done this weekend. Too busy at home. Yesterday at the allotment. Watching an election debate on TV, and reading comments on Twitter. Phonecalls, emails. I had wanted to pick a book to read for the BAC, it has to be one by Jean Plaidy, but it seems she has written some 200 books. That is a lot, so which one?

I was never any good at skating. When I saw a podriatist a few years ago, I found out why. He told me I had the most "flexible" ankles he'd ever seen.

Love the Lloyd Alexander books, and glad you are continuing!

Hope your back is improving.

>188 EllaTim: I'm so sorry to hear about that.

>188 EllaTim: So sorry for Marcs friend, Ella. That happens sometimes with diabetes.
Frank visited the diabetes nurse last week for his yearly check up, and she always inspects his feet.

>194 ronincats: Hi Roni! Flexible ankles. No, that doesn't help when you are skating. Were they the reason for visiting a podiatrist?

My back is slowly improving, slowly.

>195 figsfromthistle: Hi Anita.

>196 FAMeulstee: Hi Anita, oh that's a coincidence, You two so in a row. Yes, it's his diabetes, but he has diabetes 1. He needed heart surgery two years ago. It's a nasty disease. Glad Frank has been able to get it under control.

>197 EllaTim: No, plantar fasciitis. Glad to hear about the back.

>132 EllaTim: And I meant to comment earlier. My little midwestern Kansas library had The Wonderful Adventures of Nils when I was a child and I LOVED that book. I read it numerous times and always cried when Nils can't communicate with the geese any more!

>198 ronincats: Hi Roni! Oh, I had forgotten that part of the book. How strange. Of course that is sad, I get it. Wouldn't it be nice if we could still talk to animals and understand them? Did you ever read Doctor Dolittle?

>194 ronincats: Flexible ankles and skating... an interesting image! :)

>200 sirfurboy: Hi Stephen! How are you doing?

I finished the next in the series I was reading:
8. Now May You Weep by Deborah Crombie (USA) ***1/2

Newly appointed Detective Inspector Gemma James has never thought to question her friend Hazel Cavendish about her past. So it is quite a shock when Gemma learns that their holiday retreat to a hotel in the Scottish Highlands is, in fact, Hazel's homecoming -- and that fellow guest Donald Brodie was once Hazel's lover, despite a vicious, long-standing feud between their rival, fine whiskey distilling families.

A fast and entertaining read. I didn't think the plot very strong. There were a number of points that felt off, but the book was a fun and light read, and i needed that. The relationship between Gemma and Duncan and their children is well written, and keeps the story going for me.

Reading now: For the BAC I started a book by Jean Plaidy. (=Eleanor Hibbert) The first in the Tudor Saga: To Hold the Crown the story of King Henry VII and Elizabeth of York.

She seems to have written some 200 books, either under this pen name, or some others, like Victoria Holt. I knew of her, off course. I think my mother read her books, and I used to see them in the library. They were quite populair. Looking in WorldCat I see translations of her books into 23 languages at least. My own library had only one book of hers left, but they can be requested from other libraries.

I'm still in the first pages, a lot of information to be taken in, about what happened before, the complex family situation, inheritance, bastars, wars. I knew it was a lot, but it will take me some effort to get through this part I think.

And I am still working on Shuggie Bain I can see that Douglas Stuart is good, and the book is interesting and well written, but it is a depressing and tough read. So I have to put it aside from time to time.

Turned to watching TV, there's a series on Dutch TV, where a Belgian team travel around the North Sea. From Shetland to Norway this time. And then along the Sognefjord. So beautiful, I want to go there sometime. Sigh.

>201 EllaTim: ans >202 EllaTim: Hi Ella, I am doing good thanks. I am also struggling a little with Shuggie Bain. I agree its well written. A lot of the descriptions are amusing, but like so many "brainy books", it seems to lack actual readability.

Hi Ella!

>184 EllaTim: I just looked at images of the Green Woodpecker. What a beautiful bird!

>188 EllaTim: How terrible for Marc’s friend. Diabetes is a cruel taskmaster.

>193 EllaTim: I was in Greece in 1979 and spent a small fortune on Murder Most Royal in Athens. I carted it to what was then West Germany, then home to Connecticut, and finally its home here in central NC. I hope the book you pick is a good one.

>203 sirfurboy: Hi Stephen. My problem is that I am not finding it very amusing, but more depressing. Only the parts where young Shuggie is the main protagonist feel different to me. Less flat, livelier. I am not very motivated to read on.
Is this a general thing with Booker prizes?

>204 karenmarie: Hi Karen! Carting a book all through Europe and across America! And was it worth it? I have to get past the start in the one I am reading now, I guess.

Hi, Ella.

Skating on the lake sounds like a dream. I saw a video of some guys skating on a canal, I think in or near Amsterdam - so beautiful. The camera was behind three of them as they whizzed along. It got cold enough where I grew up in Michigan for us to skate on outdoor skating rinks, but not on the river going through town - it never froze over enough.

I loved the Dr. Doolittle books as a kid, but when I much later looked the first couple over for reading with our kids, the casual, thoughtless racism surprised me and put a stopper on that idea. Too bad.

>202 EllaTim: I currently in travel mood as well. It's a good time to start planning now for when the whole covid situation is over. :)

>206 jnwelch: Hi Joe. When we were skating on a lake there was a small group who were using a drone, really beautiful images are possible with that. For a river to really freeze you need a lot of frost!

I read the Doctor Dolittle books when I was a kid. I don't remember racism, but I wouldn't have noticed it, I think. It is disappointing isn't it. Thoughtless indeed.

>207 PersephonesLibrary: Hi Käthe! It's so nice to dream a bit. When this whole thing is finally over, but I am not counting on anything yet.

>208 EllaTim: but I am not counting on anything yet
Neither am I, Ella. With the Covid infection numbers going up again, and more than half of the people thinking terraces and restaurants should be opening... :-(
I am a bit worried what the election results will be on March 17th.

>205 EllaTim: "Is this a general thing with Booker prizes?"

In my opinion, yes! I tend to treat the Booker Prize as a warning.

I am reading this because other readers I know are enjoying it, but I agree about the struggle. What I did find amusing was the descriptive quips.

>203 sirfurboy: & >205 EllaTim: I did like Shuggie Bain but I do get what you mean exactly. It was a book that I found not easily digestible and I read it over two and a half months which is unusual for me. Even though I rated it highly as a work of fiction I couldn't give it my book of the month for January as The Nickel Boys was so much more readable.

>210 sirfurboy: Hahaha partially true Sir F, but there have been some jolly good winners too. Of the ones I read I really liked:
Wolf Hall and Bring Up the Bodies
Saville
Midnight's Children
Last Orders
The Siege of Krishnapur
Troubles
Sacred Hunger
Staying On

>209 FAMeulstee: Hi Anita. I am worried with schools open, children getting infected, and people wanting an end to measures. The restaurant owner in my street is having his terrace adapted to accommodate even bigger crowds than last year. The area where my mother lives is near Code Black and she hasn't even received her first injection yet.

I don't get people. I know what I will be voting, not our government or any of the parties involved with it.

>210 sirfurboy: Hi Stephen. I thought as much. Dutch literature has a number of those relentlessly negative books as well. I don't want to be a PollyAnna, and of course life can be tough, but I do want to like a book!

>211 PaulCranswick: Hi Paul! I put the book aside for the moment, but I will read on. Will take time, just like it did for you.
Of your list I have only read Wolf Hall and Bring up the Bodies and loved both.
I was looking up the Dutch prize winners of the Libris Literatuur Prijs.
Now reading last year's winner Uit het Leven van een Hond, not bad. One just has to try and judge for oneself. But at the moment I'd love a book that makes me laugh, or smile. 😀 I am feeling crabby, see what I wrote to Anita.

>212 EllaTim: Yes, absolutely

>210 sirfurboy: Yes, there are also some Booker shortlisted books I have liked in the past. But I definitely would not read a book just because it had won that prize.

>213 sirfurboy: You are right, Sir F, that a Booker win is not guarantee of a good read - for example I hated The Gathering by Anne Enright, although I have liked other books by her.

>212 EllaTim: I will go and look up the Libris Literatuur Prijs and see if I have read any of them.

Politics and society are in crisis in so many places right now. Keep your chin up, xx

Happy Friday, Ella! Just checking in. I hope you have a nice weekend and enjoy those books.

I had a look Ella and there were a couple or three writers that were familiar of course but I hadn't read any of the books yet.

>215 PaulCranswick: Ha! You must really love a list to do that👍

Crisis and discord, crazy times.

>216 msf59: Hi Mark, Thanks. Maybe I'll get to reading a book later. It's the Twitter that's doing my head in I guess, attention span of 200 signs.

>217 PaulCranswick: Knowing three writers is pretty good Paul. But when you have read none of them there might still be room for some good BB's. But I think Anita will know better than I do, as I have read only a few. But I recognise a number from her threads.

Libris 2020:
Five nominees and one prize winner.
Nominaties
Nachtouders - Saskia De Coster
De hoogstapelaar - Wessel te Gussinklo
Zwarte schuur - Oek de Jong
Uit het leven van een hond - Sander Kollaard
Liefde, als dat het is - Marijke Schermer
Vallen is als vliegen - Manon Uphoff
Winnaar
Uit het leven van een hond - Sander Kollaard x reading now

I know none of the other books.

Libris 2019:
Nominaties
De Ommegang, Jan van Aken
Het vloekhout, Johan de Boose
De goede zoon, Rob van Essen
De trooster, Esther Gerritsen
Drift, Bregje Hofstede
Grand Hotel Europa, Ilja Leonard Pfeijffer
Winnaar
De goede zoon - Rob van Essen

I think Anita read and liked Grand Hotel Europa.

2018
De pelikaan, Martin Michael Driessen
En we noemen hem, Marjolijn van Heemstra
Wees onzichtbaar, Murat Isik
Peachez, een romance, Ilja Leonard Pfeijffer
Aantekeningen ove het verplaatsen van obelisken, Arjen van Veelen
De heilige Rita, Tommy Wieringa
Winnaar
Wees onzichtbaar - Murat Isik

I have read most praise for Tommy Wieringa.

2017
Nominaties
Schuld - Walter van den Berg
De tolk van Java - Alfred Birney
Moedervlekken - Arnon Grunberg
Wil - Jeroen Olyslaegers
Zachte riten - Marja Pruis
Het smelt - Lize Spit
Winnaar
De tolk van Java - Alfred Birney.

The whole list here of course https://www.librarything.com/bookaward/Libris+Literatuur+Prijs+Shortlist

I do have Will by Olyslagers on the shelves and something by Tommy Wieringa - The Death of Murat Idrissi. I don't think I have seen any of the others in the stores here in translation.

The bigger list has Harry Mulisch, Cees Nooteboom, Stefan Hermanns and Jan Van Mersbergen all of whom I have unread books on the shelves and Gerbrand Bakker whose novels I have read.

>219 EllaTim: I have read all these winners, and am I working backward to read them all.
I have read one of this years nominations (Wij zijn licht, I hope it doesn't win) and plan to read a next one (Confrontaties) this month.

Hi Ella!

>205 EllaTim: I’ve only read it the one time, but every time I look at it I remember being 26, and in Athens, and being on an adventure. In addition to its having been a good read, it’s a sentimental journey.

>218 EllaTim: Crisis and discord, crazy times. Sad, but true.

>220 PaulCranswick: A lot of people like Tommy Wieringa's books, and he got to interview Obama on his book recently. So did Obama read his books, one wonders?

Some books have been translated, but for a shop to pick books to have in stock, I think those might be too unfamiliar. There are so many options out there. And some have been translated, and others probably not. Like Voskuil hasn't. He has a lot of fans here, but his books are.. too long? Too Dutch?

From your list of the writers you have I liked War and Turpentine by Stefan Hertmans.

>221 FAMeulstee: Hi Anita. I thought I recognised some from your threads. That's a good project to do, reading them all. I'm looking at the list, to see if I could read more of those, but I think I want to pick one from each year's shortlist.

>222 karenmarie: Hi Karen. Good memories, eh? Worth it.

Crazy times, but this afternoon was a good one. I went to a protest meeting at the Museum Square. No riots this time, but a friendly atmosphere, everything safe, everyone wearing masks. Having a chat with people you have never met, a coffee afterwards, all cafe's closed but outdoors stands still allowed. Nice.

>219 EllaTim: Thanks for the list! Have a great weekend.

9. To Hold the Crown by Jean Plaidy (UK) ***



In the aftermath of the bloody Wars of the Roses, Henry Tudor has seized the English crown, finally uniting the warring Houses of York and Lancaster through his marriage to Elizabeth of York. But whilst Henry VII rules wisely and justly, he is haunted by Elizabeth's missing brothers: the infamous two Princes, their fate in the tower forever a shrouded secret.

Read for the BAC. Of course I knew of Jean Plaidy, I saw her books in the library, and my mother liked to read them. This is the first of her Tudor saga. Ten books. And as I knew at least some of that story I decided to read the first. It's the story of King Henry VII, and his sons Arthur and Henry, who will become Henry VIII, and Katherine of Aragon, who will become Henry's first bride.
Henry VII is an anxious ruler. During his reign there are two so-called pretenders. Boys who pretended to be one of the missing Princes. Their stories strangely similar, and weird for us. Henry VII finds at last a way to deal with this. It's Jean Plaidy's own interpretation of events, as what happened to them is still a mystery.

This was a straightforward story. It gives a good view of what happened, but there is a lot of repetition in it, so it felt a bit boring here and there. When you ask whose story comes off the clearest, it's the viewpoint of Katherine. The two Henry's didn't really come to life for me. I do understand what happened better, as a clarification of history this book works.

Good news, my mother received her first vaccination on Saturday. Finally. I am glad, this means we might soon be able to visit her again.

That's really good news, Ella.

>226 EllaTim: Oh, that's great news about your mum! I just learnt that my aunt (who is elderly *and* immunocompromised has received both her shots, and we're waiting for dad to get the call. It's supposed to be this week, but there are so many in his vaccination group so I wouldn't be surprised if it's delayed.

10. The Black Cauldron by Lloyd Alexander (USA) ****



Taran, Assistant Pig-Keeper of Prydain, faces even more dangers as he seeks the magical Black Cauldron, the chief implement of the evil powers of Arawn, lord of the Land of Death.

Chronicles of Prydain 2

This second book in the series was a lot of fun again. We follow Taran on new adventures, where he has to prove his worth, especially to himself. Lots of interesting side figures, and a competitor in the person of a haughty Prince, who is also obessed with being the best.
There is a lot of humor in the book, but some of the mythological figures are also quite scary. The three witches for example, a reminder of the three in Macbeth, but much more ambivalent than these, very interesting.

I'll certainly be reading the next book.

Hi, Ella.

Oh, I loved The Chronicles of Prydain when I read them. I'm glad you're having a good time with Taran.

Great news about your mother getting the vaccine. I think families all over the place are starting to feel that they'll be able to get together in person again.

>229 EllaTim: Oooh, I've been meaning to read the Prydain books ever since I saw the Disney adaption of The Black Cauldron a few years ago. I really liked the film, though it didn't do well financially. I think it was before its time.

>230 jnwelch: Hi Joe! Glad you liked him too. Yes, I think many people are looking forward to finally being able to meet each other safely again.

>231 PawsforThought: Hi Paws! There was a Disney adaptation? I never heard of it. By all means, read the book, it will be different but I thought it was good.

>229 EllaTim: I do love those books too, yes.

There was indeed a Disney cartoon version: "The Black Cauldron", but the books are better.

>233 sirfurboy: I guessed so. There's so much in those books.

Reading now:
Nevermoor: The Trials of Morrigan Crow

>235 EllaTim: Enjoy! I've really loved the books in that series!

Dreaming about travel? I've been reading here: http://metdetreinnaarhetbuitenland.nl/de-top-10-nachttreinen-in-2021/
The top ten of European night trains. Lots of new options, as the EU is working on new and better train connections.
Options like Amsterdam-Vienna. Or the Caledonian Sleeper, from London to Oban. Even the Oriënt Express! (A bit too expensive for me). First choice for me: nighttrain to Lisbon.
Not yet, lots of countries closed for tourist travel, but it's nice to dream a bit.

>237 EllaTim: Ooh...I love long trips on European trains, and I agree with you, the Sud Express from Hendaye to Lisbon is the most appealing, especially since it stops in Donostia-San Sebastián station, close to Hendaye on the French-Spanish border. I took a day train from that station to Madrid Chamartín station in 2017, presumably on the same tracks that the Sud Express uses, and found it to be a very scenic journey, as the train slowly wound through mountains for the first half of the trip. The Sud Express terminates at the historic Santa Apolónia station in Lisbon, and from there the Lisbon Metro will take you into the central portion of the city in about 15 minutes, IIRC. San Sebastián and Lisbon are two of my favorite gastronomic destinations in Europe, so you could have great meals before and after your journey, and apparently on the train as well.

Sadly, Renfe, the national railway company of Spain, has suspended the Sud Express service, but hopefully not for good.

More information about the Sud Express, with plenty of photos: Hendaye & San Sebastián to Lisbon by Sud Express

>236 ChelleBearss: Hi Chelle, it's really fun, just what I wanted.

>238 kidzdoc: Hi Darryl. I had a hard time choosing. But Portugal is very appealing, and Marc has a friend in Lisbon.
Of course I knew that you'd visited Portugal, but how nice that you've done this train journey!
There was a picture of a meal on the train with the article, you are right about the food. Not being able to see the landscape seems the one disadvantage of night trains.

Oh, I haven't been reading to the end of the story. It seems you are right, and this option is cancelled! By Spain, grrr. What morons.

You can sign a petition to bring it back here: https://www.change.org/p/portuguese-government-link-the-iberian-peninsula-and-ce...

>239 EllaTim: Hi, Ella! I haven't taken the Sud Express, but I did take a Renfe Alvia train from Donostia-San Sebastián station to Madrid Charmartín station in 2017, on the same route as the nighttrain travels, a journey of roughly 5,5 hours. I visited Lisbon and Porto the following year, and took a train from Lisbon Santa Apolónia station to Porto Campanhã station after I spent two weeks in the Portuguese capital. So, I've traveled on trains for a good portion of the route that the Sud Express takes, Donostia-San Sebastián to Madrid, and Coimbra to Lisbon.

I looked at the travel times, and, depending on the time of year, you would see the most scenic portions of the trip in daylight, from Hendaye and San Sebastián to Valladolid in northern Spain, and from Coimbra to Lisbon in Portugal.

Spaniards in general, along with the Spanish government, seem to historically view the Portuguese as unwashed heathen, and although Renfe, the national railway operator of Spain, is expanding its high speed rail network throughout the country, it is seemingly indifferent in providing rail service to major Portuguese cities, as if it is saying, "Why would anyone want to go there?!" Both Renfe and Comboios de Portugal (CP), the national railway company of Portugal, use Iberian gauge for their high speed and long distance trains, unlike the French and other European trains, so there is no logistical reason why train service couldn't ultimately be expanded from Spain into Portugal, if the governments of these countries chose to make it a priority. My biggest fear is that Renfe is using the pandemic as an excuse to cancel the Sud Express service permanently, so I'll definitely sign that petition to keep it in operation.

I'll be off from work again for the entire month of June, and I'll probably spend 4-5 weeks in Portugal, as one of my oldest LT friends and her husband are looking to purchase retirement property south of Lisbon with friends — including me — this year. I hope that the country will have opened up enough for me to make that trip then, or at least later in the year, so that I can decide whether to join in with them or look for property elsewhere in Portugal. I also plan to take an intensive course in Portuguese at one of the schools in Lisbon, but that also depends on whether in person courses will be available this year, versus online courses which wouldn't be as useful. Fortunately I'm nearly fluent in Spanish, so learning Portuguese shouldn't be too difficult.

>237 EllaTim: Oh, I love travelling by train - also and especially by day. I went to the South of France and to Hamburg for example! It is so lovely to see the landscape changing in front of your window! I'd like to make a tour on the Transsib one day!

>240 kidzdoc: Hi Darryl, it all sounds great. Nice plans for the summer. You are full vaccinated now, of course, so you will probably be welcome. They need the tourists for the economy.

A friend of mine used to go walking through Portugal. On her own, with her little dog. She was a very adventurous person, who could make do in nearly all circumstances. She told us that there were lots of empty vacated houses one could buy, for very small prices. But this was years ago! I hope you will be able to find some nice place.

>241 PersephonesLibrary: Hi Käthe! One of the big attractions, watching the landscape change, while sitting comfortably. The transsib is a real adventure, but should be worth it! One of the night trains described was Amsterdam to Vienna, I would love to do that one as well. I've spent a total of one hour in Austria on the way to Hungary, but would love to see more.

Finished:
11. Nevermoor: The Trials of Morrigan Crow (Australia) ****



"A cursed child destined to die on her eleventh birthday is rescued and whisked away to a secret realm called Nevermoor and given the chance to compete for a place in a prestigious organization called the Wundrous Society"--

A good story, fun and interesting, and with a satisfying ending. Meaning I will be looking for the second book in this series of three. Some points of criticism too, where I was comparing it to the Harry Potter books, and it could have been a bit shorter for me, but overall a good read.

Reading:
Foon by Marente de Moor



At p122 of 243

12. Wundersmith: The Calling of Morrigan Crow by Jessica Townsend (Australia) ****



Morrigan Crow is now a proud scholar in the elite Wundrous Society, but must prove that she belongs in the Society, while battling a new evil"--

More fun reading.

First to the hospital again, this morning. Marc had another scan, all stable, no change. That's good, so we were relieved.
And after that voting to do. We got to keep the red pencil. Covid measures.

Now I'm dead tired.

>246 EllaTim: Happy to read Marc's scan was stable, Ella!
Yes, we could also keep our tiny (8 cm) red pencil, the outside was creamish with in red letters "Tweede Kamerverkiezingen 2021". Frank had a bit trouble using it.

>247 FAMeulstee: Ah, you had a nice memento then, ours was just plain red. But it was longer than yours, Frank would have done better with ours.
I've turned off the TV, I don't feel like watching election results any more.

Great news about Marc, Ella! And I am happy that your mother has been vaccinated I think I read that up there somewhere, didn't I? I have a lot of catching up to do! When do you and Marc get yours? Or have you, already?

>249 jessibud2: Hi Shelley! Thanks, I am so relieved. Next scan in 12 weeks, so that gives us a break.

Yes, my mother had her first shot. But we have to wait. I was scheduled to get mine before Marc. The Astra Zeneca. I am the right age for it, but Marc is considered too old and has to wait for the Pfizer. Unfortunately the Netherlands has for the moment stopped vaccinating with AZ, because of reports of thrombosis. The EU is now doing research on those reports. Takes time of course. And then there is the problem of the production of the vaccine being low, and the company unable to meet their promises. Waiting, waiting...

Visit to the allotment. Started the day sunny, all birds singing. Robin, great tits. And a FOY, a goldcrest. One of my favourite birds, the smallest bird you can see here, and super cute.

>251 EllaTim: - What a pretty little thing, Ella! It was spring here, too!

>252 jessibud2: Isn't it nice, Shelley, those first days of spring?

13. Hollowpox: The Hunt for Morrigan Crow by Jessica Townsend (Australia) ***1/2



There seems to be a contagious disease going around in Nevermoor, that only the sentient animals can get. It turns them into aggressive monsters, until they fall into a coma. No one seems to be able to do something about it, and matters get ever worse, until Morrigan gets called...

Nice and entertaining. Part three in the series. I also felt it was a bit weaker. This is clearly going to be a series of more parts. But this was the last one for now.

>251 EllaTim: I have never seen a goldcrest before, as far as I know. It's a lovely bird, it looks very huggable.

>255 connie53: Hi Connie, It's fast and small, and hard to spot, up in the trees usually. but this one was in the tree behind my allotment, just flitting around. Hug it carefully, it's so small!

Started reading: Anekdotes uit een zijstraat by J. Bernlef



Short stories, I guess autobiographical.
I have read one book of his Hersenschimmen translated as Out of Mind. Liked that.

And: The Novel Cure Books as a remedy to what ails, or bothers you. It is actually a lot of fun to read, and the reviews of books make me want to read them.

>251 EllaTim: Hooray for your FOY, Goldcrest. What a nice looking little guy. This bird reminds me of our Golden-Crowned Kinglet, which will be arriving in the next few weeks:

>258 msf59: Hi Marc. That's a very cute bird as well. Hard to spot the differences. Have fun finding it.

Started: The Wolves of Willoughby Chase by Joan Aiken



Another book started! Yes, I'm having trouble finishing books. But I picked this one because I noticed I really need to read something easy and light at bedtime. I had a busy day yesterday, involving lots of computer time, so I felt really tired. And this is a good one. Wolves, ice and cold, a good start. It has a lot of covers on LT, I liked this one.

14. The Pull of the Stars by Emma Donoghue (Can/Ireland) ****



Story set in Ireland, in 1918. Nurse Julia Powell is working in the Maternity/Fever ward, with pregnant patients who have caught the Spanish flu. More and more of the other nurses and doctors get ill,and one day she is on her own. Luckily she gets help in the person of untrained but lovable Bridey Sweeney.

This story pulled me in fast, an absorbing read. The characters of Julia and Bridey are interesting, but the women in the ward, the new female doctor, and the minor characters as well.

>261 EllaTim: - Ella, did you read this book in English or in Dutch? I am curious if the issues that bothered me (no quotation marks, very long chapters with no paragraph breaks) appeared in the Dutch version or only in the English one.

>262 jessibud2: Hi Shelley. I read it in English. And those issues didn't appear at all. Did you read it as an eBook? Because I am thinking that it must have been a problem with your own copy of the book, it's like it has missing formatting or something like that.

15. The Wolves of Willoughby Chase by Joan Aiken (UK, 1962) ****



A good story. Young Sylvia Green is going to live with her cousin Bonnie at Willoughby Chase. It's in the middle of the winter, her trip is made by train, and there are wolves around.

It's a spooky and memorable beginning to a charming story. A touch of Dickens as well, as it's very much a nineteenth century tale. But that beginning is bound to stay with you. I enjoyed this one a lot. Oh yes, and there's a goose boy in it, who's very resourceful.

Added: I looked the book and Joan Aiken up, as I was wondering how nineteenth century this is, well it's described as alternate history. Which explains the Wolves. Gothic, yes. And she was born in 1924.

>263 EllaTim: - Nope, it was a hard copy, borrowed from the library. How odd. Did your copy actually have quotation marks for dialogue and paragraph breaks, or did you just not notice? You just must be better at ignoring the stuff that obviously bugs me.

No, that's really strange, Shelley! I watched out for it, of course, after reading your comments. But it was just an ordinary book. Chapters, paragraphs, everything. I don't like having to wrestle through the kind of book you described either. And mine was an eBook! You can look it up on Amazon, use the "look inside" feature, and you can see what it is supposed to look like.

>266 EllaTim: - I will go have a look as you suggested, as I am curious. I decided to check out the reviews on LT and only a few mentioned the lack of quotation marks so I am clearly just being anal about it; here they are:

- My biggest complaints are that there were no quotations marks in the digital version of the book.

- A small grumble – I find the lack of speech marks jarring.

- While the writing in The Pull of the Stars is always clear and well-crafted, I struggled a lot at first with the lack of quotation marks. Their absence adds to the immediacy of the novel's action, but it took me about half the book to adjust to the technique and, in the meantime, I was often taken out of the action by my inability to identify whether a sentence was speech (and, if so, who was saying it).

At least I am not totally alone in this complaint, lol!

>267 jessibud2: I checked for speech marks in my copy, and you are right, they weren't there. I guess it didn't bother me so much as there isn't a whole lot of dialogue. But the book has paragraph marks, and chapters and everything.
But I don't think it's you being anal. Those things are there to improve readability, and I don't see any good reason for leaving them out.

>261 EllaTim: I have had that one on my buy list for a while. Really need to get it since everyone seems to love it. Can't wait to get it :)

Enjoy the rest of the week.

>269 figsfromthistle: I hope you like it Anita! Have a nice weekend.

Busy busy busy, fighting windmills here.

A nice birdy diversion needed:
https://twitter.com/ludwighup/status/1375465799490662403?s=21

>270 EllaTim: - Wow, that was fun! I can't imagine birds flying that low to people. What fun

>271 jessibud2: I've never seen this, looks like great fun. But when I was a kid my dad had a boat, and we had to cross a small lake where one lonely bachelor swan was living. He used to come at us, angrily, flying parallel with our boat. Quite scary, such a big bird. And the noise they make when they are flying.

Hi Ella!

>226 EllaTim: I’m glad your mother’s started the vaccine regime.

>237 EllaTim: I was staying in what was then West Germany with a friend in 1979 and we took a 2-week holiday to the Algarve. It was beautiful, the food was inexpensive and marvelous, and we caught the last week or so of decent beach weather. We took trains from Munich, through Paris, through Lisbon. As I recall there were big delays at the French/Spanish border as we had to switch trains and there were threats of Basque separatists blowing up tracks. Exciting times.

>250 EllaTim: Too old for the AZ vaccine? I hadn’t heard anything about that all. I’m sorry for the delays.

>251 EllaTim: What a sweet little bird.

>251 EllaTim: Goldcrests are lovely little birds, Ella, glad you saw it. I saw a pair in my garden in January last year, they made me happy.

I enjoyed catching up with your thread!

I'm so glad Marc's scan was unchanged. What good news!

Hoooray for vaccinations! May all your family (and friends) receive theirs soon - and stay safe in the mean time.

>251 EllaTim: I love your goldcrest! You're right, super cute!

I enjoyed The Pull of the Stars, too. The only other of her books that I've read was Room. Have you read any of her other works?

Hi Ella. Hope you're well despite everything and that you get your shot soon.

Great news about Marc's scans.
Sounds very strange to me that Marc would be too old for the AZ vaccine - it's younger people who've had (rare) side effects from it. They paused the vaccines here when the side effects started being talked about but they're starting them again on Monday - for people 65 and up (waiting for more info for the younger people).
My dad will hopefully get his shot a week from now, when his age bracket is up, and mum two weeks later. It's been delayed for over a months because of vaccine shortages (and then the pause). I sincerely hope I'll be able to get my shot before July, but I'm beginning to doubt it. The downside of being young and healthy.

I'm not a big fan of swans. They're very pretty, but I prefer to admire from far away. We have swans in our summer house - always have had them. The current ones are fairly calm, but also seem unable to have any cygnets. It's been years and never a single one, except last year but it disappeared quickly. I suspect either a fox, mink or pike. The ones we had before were really horrid. They'd start hissing at you if you even got into their line of sight - not anywhere close to them. And if you stepped closer they'd get up and start walking towards you. I know people who've been chased up to the house from the beach by those swans!

Your goldcrest is so lovely! We get them up here too (they're called "King birds" in Swedish), but I can't recall seeing one. But I'm not an avid bird-watcher so mostly see birds when we feed them in the winter, and the goldcrest isn't a staying bird.

>273 karenmarie: Hi Karen!

Sounds like a great trip! Exciting times, but I am glad they seem to be over.

As far as the AZ-vaccine goes, it hadn't been tested on older people. At least that was the idea then, at the moment it has been approved I think, but I can't follow the whole shebang at the moment, too much changes and all those promises mean little. Too many delays indeed.

>274 FAMeulstee: Hi Anita. so cute aren't they. A pair in your garden is nice.

>275 streamsong: Hi Janet. Thanks for the stay safe wishes. Cases are going up again, so it's keeping fingers crossed.

Yes, I have read those and another one Frog Music. I liked that one a lot. Good story, interesting place and time, and good writing.

>276 PawsforThought: Hi Paws.

Strange, those different interpretations. There was a pause in the AZ use here as well. But now they have restarted. We're not due anyway. Good that your parents are going to get their shot! We are waiting....

Oh yes, swans will do that. They can get used to people a bit though. Maybe the aggression is needed and your non-aggressive pair aren't defending their nest properly? There is a pair somewhere near our allotment each year. One year they had made a habit of crossing through my garden to get from one ditch to the next. I had to chase them off with a broom. A bit scary but they left us alone after. So I am an even bigger bully;-)

16. The Castle of Llyr by Lloyd Alexander (USA) ***1/2



When Princess Eilonwy is sent to the Isle of Mona for training, she is bewitched by the evil enchantress Achren, so Taran and other friends must try to rescue her.

Another adventure in this series. A good one again. Eilonwy is very absent in the book, but she makes a nice come-back in the end. Good fantasy figures, the Giant cat that loves harp music one of them. I'm still enjoying this series!

And I'm so busy and tired that I don't have much energy for large and heavy reading. Looking for light, small and airy reading. Tips, anybody?

Maybe, finally, i'll get my first vaccine shot the 19th. And after that maybe visit my mom. Better weather meaning we can sit in the garden, it'll be safe enough.

I'm sorry people, I'm just too tired to visit threads.

>278 EllaTim: Glad you are enjoying the Prydain books, Ella.

When I have less energy I usually turn to youth favorites, like Tonke Dragt and Thea Beckman.
And of course there are a few more Prydian books :-)

Yay for getting your vaccination soon!

>280 FAMeulstee: Hi Anita. Good idea, i did a Tonke Dragt reread not too long ago. But rereading Kruistocht in spijkerbroek is appealing.

I'm at the allotment at the moment, so no TV or radio, but i have heard that the vaccinations with Astra Zeneca have been stopped again. So annoying!

As i can only read on mobile phone i downloaded Howard's End in Serial Reader. Liking it, but also finding it difficult now and then. A review said you have to be British to be able to understand the book! Now, if that isn't a challenge. But a groupread would have been helpful. Can't find any.

Hi Ella, just popping in to see what you are up to.

Hi Connie! Thanks for the nice Easter wishes. We're having a nice sunday, listening to some music. Wishing you a good Easter as well.

Happy Easter, Ella. I hope you are having a nice holiday weekend. Thanks for the reminder on The Pull of the Stars. I have been meaning to read that one.

>260 EllaTim: Oh, I looooved the movie as a kid! Later I also read the book which was a little bit different, but nice nontheless!

>261 EllaTim: I had a similar experience - you just dive into the novel!

I think the whole vacc communication is a bit difficult: First, they say no AZ for people older than 65, than only those people get the shots... My dad will get his first shot on Thursday and I hope everthing will be fine.

>284 msf59: Hi Marc, Thanks! We're having the strangest weather, especially today. There's been hail, and snow, and near storm, and big black clouds, and blue skies and sun. My mother calls it fancy-fair in hell, this kind of weather. Yesterday we went out, and watched birds at a small water reserve. We saw a lot of different kinds of ducks. And some ruffs:



Aren't they beautiful? And pretty rare. FOY.

>285 PersephonesLibrary: Hi Paws! I missed the movie. But I can imagine that it could be good.

For us it's only the age group between 60 and 65 for the moment. Over 70's will get either Pfizer or Moderna. In between is going to be forgotten apparently.
Glad your dad is going to get vaccinated!

>287 EllaTim: And I'm in between so I wait patiently for my invitation to arrive.

>288 connie53: Hi Connie! Oh, That's too bad. I hope the waiting isn't too hard for you.

>287 EllaTim: That is strange that they would make a group 60-65 and then jump straight to over 70s. Maybe they have identified one group in society they think that they could do without?!!

Have a great weekend anyway, Ella.

>290 PaulCranswick: Oh, what a negative thought Paul! It sometimes feels like that. But, good news, policy has changed, again, and I managed to book a vaccination appointment for Marc next Wednesday! Such a relief.

Thanks Paul, very busy at the moment.

>291 EllaTim: Great to hear you got Marc an appointment for the vaccine.
Did you have an appointment for yourself or is that still on hold?

Hi Paws! Yes, I am so glad. My brother in law called us to point it out, as you had to wait for a letter from the government before, but they changed the rules. And yes, if all goes well, (knock on wood) my GP will do a vaccination day the 19th. Happy dance.

How are you doing?

So glad you got appointments for both of you, Ella!
Keeping my fingers crossed.

>294 FAMeulstee: I'm so excited for you getting your shot. Reading about people getting their shots is so exciting - never thought vaccinations would make me this giddy (though I've always been very pro vaccines of all kinds).

I'm doing fairly well. Both my parents have had their first shots now (mum got the AZ one so we're double checking for any possible side effects bu all's well so far). No clue when I'll get mine.
Spring time is doing wonder for my psyche, even if we did have quite a bit of snow today.

My husband has an appointment for 7 May, so it's going in the right way for him. My age-group is still uncertain but we were promised the first shot before mid June.

>286 EllaTim: Happy Saturday, Ella. I like the Ruff up there. Interesting looking bird. A cross between a duck and a shorebird. Glad you are getting your vaccination soon.

>294 FAMeulstee: Hi Anita! Marc's got his first shot wednesday, i've got an appointment monday morning. Yippee. I am hoping you and Frank will be getting yours soon!
>295 PawsforThought: Glad spring time feels good to you. We've had snow and hail as well, but it just makes for interesting weather. It's definitely spring.
>296 connie53: Hi Connie. I hope things go right, all these delays are so frustrating.
>297 msf59: Hi Marc. Ruffs are officially shorebirds, but they breed in the meadows. Very interesting birds, the one above is a male, those colourful feathers are for display. The males fight each other in groups, while displaying their beauty, females looking on.

Everyone have a nice week. I am so very busy at the moment, I don't have a lot of time to visit. Sorry!

>298 EllaTim: Happy to read Marc had his first vaccination, Ella, and that you will get yours soon.
I hope you are busy with nice things, and you and Marc are well.

Missing you around the threads this week, Ella.

Hope you and Marc are fine and enjoying your weekend.

Hi Paul! Nice to see you.
I have been way too busy. Fighting windmills, it's ridiculous.



But these are the kind of windmills the Council of Amsterdam wants to place all around the City. And they'll be very noisy, as well. Will tourists like them?

Have been reading, a bit, but hardly time for visiting.

Hi Ella!

So glad Marc's gotten his first vaccine dose and that you're scheduled for yours.

>286 EllaTim: What an amazing looking bird.

>301 EllaTim: I am fond of the windmills we have in England and I know you have in the Netherlands. The new ones are wind farms and whilst their function is important their form is disfiguring the landscape.

Good news on my vaccination! I'm getting my first shot next Thursday. My son will drive me to Weert where I found the first opportunity to get it. I'm scheduled for Pfizer and in Roermond, where I live, Pfizer was no longer available. I had to wait for July or call in frequently to see if they had had a new delivery of vaccines. I'm not going to wait that long, so I booked an appointment online.

>301 EllaTim: So I was going to be pedantic and say there is only one windmill in that picture, and the other 4 are turbines... and then I got to wondering!

In English, a windmill is specifically a mill (that is, a gristmill) that is powered by the wind. My Dutch courses have called those things that look like a British windmill "windmolen". But then, aren't most of those actually operating pumps and not mills at all? Is my Dutch course wrong? Or does windmolen cover a turbine too in Dutch?

And fighting windmills... never seems to work out. :)

Glad to hear Marc has had his vaccine.

>302 karenmarie: Hi Karen! I've had my first shot in the meantime. Very glad of it. But I will have to wait till the end of June for the second shot. Patience...

>303 PaulCranswick: That's what I'm thinking too Paul. I love our old smaller windmills, the new ones are just too big, they don't fit, and they are very noisy.

>304 connie53: Hi Connie. Oh good for you. Pfizer is worth it, and good choice to take the first occasion even if you have to drive a distance to get it! And July is just too far away!

>305 sirfurboy: Hi Stephen. A windmill can be translated as a windmolen, that's right. So that's a mill that uses the wind to power it. A watermolen is turned by running water, so again water is used as the power. A windmolen can then be used for doing lots of things, pumping up water, or grinding grain, or sawing wood. It's a world in itself with lots of terms for the different kinds of mills. The one in my picture is a windmill that's pumping water into the small river het Gein, south of Amsterdam.

You are right the rest are turbines. And fighting windmills is tiring.

>301 EllaTim: Aaaah! The old age debate about windmills/turbines. I find them to be nice. Especially when driving and seeing them from a distance. I don't know however, how it would be if you live near one.

>305 sirfurboy: I think in English a mill refers the machinery that does the work.
In Dutch "molen" in windmolen refers to the part that catches the wind and goes round. In watermolen it refers to the part that catches the water.

>306 EllaTim: Hooray for having had your first vaccination, Ella!

>307 figsfromthistle: Hi Anita! Is it? I think it's a matter of do they fit into the landscape? In a large scale landscape they can look alright. But those three big towers looming behind the small old Mill, No. But most important is the damage they will do to people's health when you are forced to live too near a big turbine, and the damage to nature, birds that are killed, and just peace and quiet getting lost.

>308 FAMeulstee: Yes, I think that's right Anita.

I am happy. And my GP had done her best to make it a nice occasion, in the church around the corner, and with two cellists playing to give some atmosphere.

>209 FAMeulstee: - Congrats on getting the shot. And wow, it sounds like a lovely atmosphere!

>308 FAMeulstee: Thanks Anita, that is interesting and makes sense.

Hi Ella my dear, glad to hear that both you and Marc have had your first vaccine shots and not long before you have the second one. We had our first one at the end of March and we get our second shot on the 8th of June.

I hope all is well with both of you, i am a little behind on posts but catching up slowly, we are still waiting for Amy to give birth, her due date was yesterday but no sign yet, it will come when it is good and ready, lol.

We both wish you and Marc a lovely weekend and send love and hugs to both of you from both of us, dear friend.

>310 jessibud2: Hi Shelley. Yes, so thoughtful of my GP!

>312 johnsimpson: Hi John! Oh, how exciting. I hope Amy, and you both, don't have to wait too long. Sending love and hugs back, and best of wishes for the waiting.

I listened to a podcast about books: Boeken FM. Three friends/colleagues discussing books. Three real intellectuals of the kind that I have always found rather intimidating, and what book did they discuss? Mrs. Dalloway by Virginia Woolf. Who turns out to have been part of a circle of exactly that same kind of snobistic intellectual friends.
So I found them annoying, and they still managed to motivate me to try the book. Well done! The discussion about it was really helpful as it gave me a bit of background, and I know a bit more on what to expect from the book.
You don't read it in one go, they warned. And that's true for me as well.

I have been reading a whole series of books by Seanan McGuire. I really needed some fun reading, and she provided. The October Daye books. I've read what I could find and now started her other series, InCryptid.

How are you and Marc doing, Ella?
Still busy fighting the plans for the giant windmills?

>314 EllaTim: I can't listen to podcasts, just like with audiobooks, spoken word can't keep me interested.
I do like Marja Pruis' reviews in "De Groene". And of course I did read Mrs. Dalloway in one go ;-)

Hi Ella - Seanen McGuire series sound fun. I haven't read anything by her. I currently have sooooo many series going, that I'll pass for a bit, but I've made a note on my 'remember these' list.

I understand the need to read some light stuff. I've been doing that, too.

I'm interested in your windmill fight, too. I can understand how they would look so amiss in a city.

Windmills in a city is really strange! Keep up the good fight, Ella.

>315 FAMeulstee: Hi Anita. We're both okay. Had an outing at the beach today. Very nice in spite of a cold north wind.
Yes, still busy. Trying to get people interested. It is working but slowly, and in the meantime the Amsterdam city council is keeping the ranks closed.

If her reviews are as good as the podcast was, I think I'd like them as well. Pity you can't listen to podcasts or audiobooks, but you are reading so easily.
I haven't finished the book yet, but I am liking it.

>316 streamsong: Yeah, there are lots of series to enjoy. I will have a look at your thread what you are reading!
It's a matter of scale. In some places wind turbines can be beautiful. But the main problem here will be that there isn't enough space around Amsterdam to place them so people won't suffer from noise pollution.

>317 connie53: Hi Connie. Well, most will be placed just outside of the city. But what's 350 m distance when a turbine is 150 m high or higher.
We're still at it, but it's tiring...

Hi Ella!

Best wishes for your windmill battle and I'm glad you had a nice outing at the beach.

>320 EllaTim:
Hi Karen. Thanks! I have a picture of the beach, but I think I need to start a new thread first.

Still not too much reading getting done. I did a reread of Network Effect by Martha Wells, because I liked it a lot when I read it last year.

Apart from that doing a lot of Twitter browsing. Easy on the attention span, but sometimes you see things that are really worth it, like this one:
https://twitter.com/buitengebieden_/status/1395766899611471876?s=21

Managed to avoid having to buy a new ereader. My old one gets stuck opening a book file sometimes, but I managed to get it going again, and it has charging issues, but Marc bought a small power bank in the supermarket of all places. Only cost 3 euros and comes with all kinds of possible connectors. And of course I found the right cable for it after that.
A new reader would be nice, but I want a sturdy one, and the Kobo was reported having connection issues, and the alternative a PowerBook, was described as 'fragile', I don't want an ereader that's fragile, come on! So I'm making the old Sony last a bit longer.