Anita (FAMeulstee) still goes where the books take her in 2022 (7)

Welcome to my seventh thread in 2022!

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

The roses (and the last peony) in our garden were in full bloom last month.


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

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

total books read in 2022: 197
41 own / 156 library

total pages read in 2022: 60.702

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

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books read in July 2022 (25 books, 9.331 pages, 7 own / 18 library)
book 173: De vlamberken (The Sixteen Trees of the Somme) by Lars Mytting, 428 pages, TIOLI #17 (msg 61)
book 174: Quo vadis? (Quo Vadis) by Henryk Sienkiewicz, 499 pages, TIOLI #5 (msg 62)
book 175: Waterjager by Chris Polanen, 285 pages, TIOLI #2 (msg 63)
book 176: De vlucht uit Falaise (Escape from Falaise; Rangers Apprentice 16) by John Flanagan, 254 pages, TIOLI #16 (msg 64)
book 177: Gerechtigheid (The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest; Millennium 3) by Stieg Larsson, 651 pages, TIOLI #7 (msg 95)
book 178: La Superba (La Superba) by Ilja Leonard Pfeijffer, 348 pages, TIOLI #7 (msg 96)
book 179: De politiemoordenaar (Cop Killer; Martin Beck 9) by Maj Sjöwall & Per Wahlöö, 287 pages, TIOLI #4 (msg 98)
book 180: Congo (Congo) by David Van Reybrouck, 680 pages, TIOLI #3 (msg 100)
book 181: De rimpels van Esther Ornstein (Anton Wachter 7) by Simon Vestdijk, 260 pages, TIOLI #13 (msg 123)
book 182: Rupsje Nooitgenoeg (The Very Hungry Caterpillar) by Eric Carle, 28 pages, TIOLI #18 (msg 124)
book 183: De goddelijke komedie (The Divine Comedy) by Dante Alighieri, 599 pages, TIOLI #5 (msg 125)
book 184: Anna, Hanna en Johanna (Hanna's Daughters) by Marianne Fredriksson, 351 pages, TIOLI #16 (msg 126)
book 185: Vertrouwelijke zaken (Blood from a Stone; Brunetti 14) by Donna Leon, 224 pages, TIOLI #4 (msg 165)
book 186: De kunst van het oorlogvoeren (The Art of War) by Sun Tzu, 288 pages, TIOLI #15 (msg 166)
book 187: Vlucht (Migrations) by Charlotte McConaghy, 351 pages, TIOLI #5 (msg 167)
book 188: Leven en wandel van Zorbás de Griek (Zorba the Greek) by Nikos Kazantzakis, 366 pages, TIOLI #16 (msg 168)
book 189: Het ijzig hart (The Frozen Heart) by Almudena Grandes, 854 pages, TIOLI #17 (msg 169)
book 190: De tuinen van Dorr (The Gardens of Dorr) by Paul Biegel, 184 pages, TIOLI #16 (msg 189)
book 191: De harde kern 3 by Frida Vogels, 335 pages, TIOLI #17 (msg 190)
book 192: De vrouw met de moedervlek (Woman with Birthmark; Van Veeteren 4) by Håkan Nesser, 314 pages, TIOLI #17 (msg 191)
book 193: De tunnel by Anna Woltz, 231 pages, TIOLI #17 (msg 193)
book 194: Bijzondere opdrachten (Special Assignments; Erast Fandorin 5) by Boris Akoenin, 318 pages, TIOLI #17 (msg 194)
book 195: Ogen van de Rigel (Eyes of the Rigel) by Roy Jacobsen, 231 pages, TIOLI #17 (msg 209)
book 196: De reparatie van de wereld by Slobodan Šnajder, 479 pages, TIOLI #17 (msg 210)
book 197: Requiem voor een vriend by J.J. Voskuil, 486 pages, TIOLI #17 (msg 211)

July 2022 reading plans
still reading De vertellingen van duizend-en-één-nacht 3 translated by Richard van Leeuwen

TIOLI July 2022
#1: Read a biography or autobiography about a person in the medical field
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#2 Read a book you purchased OR borrowed in June, 2022 which includes the letter "J" in the title or author's first name
- Waterjager - Chris Polanen, 285 pages (e-library)
#3: Read a book with a one-word title that indicates a place. Subtitles to do not matter for this challenge, but articles do
- Congo (Congo) - David Van Reybrouck, 680 pages
#4: Read a book which is the 7th book in a series or later
- De politiemoordenaar (Cop Killer; Martin Beck 9) - Maj Sjöwall & Per Wahlöö, 287 pages (library)
- Vertrouwelijke zaken (Blood from a Stone; Brunetti 14) - Donna Leon, 224 pages (e-library)
#5: Read a book you intended to read earlier this year
- De goddelijke komedie (The Divine Comedy) - Dante Alighieri, 599 pages
- Quo vadis? (Quo Vadis) - Henryk Sienkiewicz, 499 pages (library)
- Vlucht (Migrations) - Charlotte McConaghy, 351 pages (library)
#6: Read a book that is set in winter and/or the cold, snow or stormy weather plays a part in the plot
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#7: Read a book first published this century or where the lead character does adulting
- Gerechtigheid (The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest; Millennium 3) - Stieg Larsson, 651 pages (e-library)
- La Superba (La Superba) - Ilja Leonard Pfeijffer, 348 pages
#8: Read a book about abortion or contraception
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#9: X marks the spot! Read a book with the letter X in the title or author's name
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#10: Read a book where the title on the cover is written on at least 3 lines or more
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#11: Read a book about the history or politics of Canada, the United States, or France
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#12: read a book about language or languages, language learning or translation
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#13: Read a book with something that can be annoying in the title
- De rimpels van Esther Ornstein (Anton Wachter 7) - Simon Vestdijk, 260 pages
#14: Read a book with a first or second person pronoun (singular or plural) in the title
-
#15: Read a book written by a Chinese born author
- De kunst van het oorlogvoeren (The Art of War) - Sun Tzu, 288 pages
#16: Read a book with a name in the title
- Anna, Hanna en Johanna (Hanna's Daughters) - Marianne Fredriksson, 351 pages
- Leven en wandel van Zorbás de Griek (Zorba the Greek) - Nikos Kazantzakis, 366 pages (e-library)
- De tuinen van Dorr (The Gardens of Dorr) - Paul Biegel, 184 pages (e-library)
- De vlucht uit Falaise (Escape from Falaise; Rangers Apprentice 16) - John Flanagan, 254 pages (library)
#17: Read a book that fewer than 2022 members have in their catalog
- Bijzondere opdrachten (Special Assignments; Erast Fandorin 5) - Boris Akoenin, 318 pages (library)
- De harde kern 3 - Frida Vogels, 335 pages (e-library)
- Het ijzig hart (The Frozen Heart) - Almudena Grandes, 854 pages (library)
- Ogen van de Rigel (Eyes of the Rigel) - Roy Jacobsen, 231 pages (library)
- De reparatie van de wereld - Slobodan Šnajder, 479 pages
- Requiem voor een vriend - J.J. Voskuil, 486 pages (e-library)
- De tunnel - Anna Woltz, 231 pages (e-library)
- De vlamberken (The Sixteen Trees of the Somme) - Lars Mytting, 428 pages (e-library)
- De vrouw met de moedervlek (Woman with Birthmark; Van Veeteren 4) - Håkan Nesser, 314 pages (e-library)
#18: Read a book someone read earlier this year in a TIOLI challenge
- Rupsje Nooitgenoeg (The Very Hungry Caterpillar) - Eric Carle, 28 pages (library)

TIOLI August 2022
#1: Read a book with an uneven number in the title
- 365 dagen Nederlander - Naeeda Aurangzeb, 365 pages (e-library 14/8)
- 1795 - Niklas Natt och Dag, 413 pages (library 6/9)
- De zevende functie van taal (The Seventh Function of Language) - Laurent Binet, 439 pages (library 6/9)
#2: Read a book where the first name of the author has more characters than the last name
- Gloed (Embers) - Sándor Márai, 156 pages (library 7/9)
- De god van kleine dingen (The God of Small Things) - Arundhati Roy, 337 pages
- Kruisende lijnen (Quicksand) - Junichirô Tanizaki, 189 pages
- De vijand van mijn vader - Almudena Grandes, 351 pages (e-library 13/8)
- De witte tijger (The White Tiger) - Aravind Adiga, 270 pages (library)
#3: Read a book where you have heard the author talk about their work
- Na de Amazone - Redmond O'Hanlon, 94 pages (library 7/9)
#4: Read a book that has the last three letters of your city’s name in the title
- De kathedraal van de zee (Cathedral of the Sea) - Ildefonso Falcones, 686 pages (e-library 13/8)
#5: Read a book published by an author who died before April 1972
- De goddelijke komedie (The Divine Comedy) - Dante Alighieri, 992 pages (e-library 8/8)
- De laatste kans (Anton Wachtercyclus 8) - Simon Vestdijk, 255 pages
- Het purperen land (So Big) - Edna Ferber, 319 pages (library 6/9)
#6: Read a book from the LT list of "favorite animal fiction"
- Flush (Flush) - Virginia Woolf, 155 pages (library 7/9)
#7: Read a book in your favorite genre by an author new to you
- De Kapellekensbaan (Chapel Road) - Louis Paul Boon, 404 pages (e-library 8/8)
#8: Read a book that has a real non-European city name in the title or subtitle
- De krokodillen van Yamoussoukro (The Crocodiles of Yamoussoukro) - V.S. Naipaul, 116 pages
#9: Read a book with a job title in the title
- Staatsraad (The State Counsellor) - Boris Akoenin, 348 pages (library 7/9)
#10: Read a book with WHO, WHAT, WHERE, WHEN, WHY and then HOW in the title (rolling challenge)
- Waar ik nu ben (Whereabouts) - Jhumpa Lahiri, 160 pages (e-library 18/8)
#11: Read a book with an invertebrate in the title or author's name
- Het vertrek van de mier - Toon Tellegen, 195 pages (e-library 20/8)
#12: Read a book set during the Great Depression
? De sterrengever (The Giver of Stars) - Jojo Moyes, 414 pages (e-library)
#13: Read a book you share with a Legacy Library
- De weg naar Oxiana (The Road to Oxiana; Evelyn Waugh) - Robert Byron, 320 pages (library 6/9)
#14: Read a "summer book"
- Het licht van weleer (A Memory of Light) - Robert Jordan, 1007 pages (library)
#15: Read a book by a Booker Prize Longlisted Author but not a book that was Longlisted
? Een geschiedenis van de wereld in 10½ hoofdstuk (A History of the World in 10½ Chapters) - Julian Barnes, 312 pages
#16: Read a book by an author one of whose names is an English noun
- De plantenjager uit Leningrad - Louise O. Fresco, 317 pages (library)

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

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

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

books read in April 2022
book 88: Het einde van Mantlemass (The keys of Mantlemass; Mantlemass 8) by Barbara Willard
book 89: Luitenant-kolonel de Maumort (Lieutenant-Colonel de Maumort) by Roger Martin du Gard
book 90: De gesloten kamer (The Locked Room; Martin Beck 8) by May Sjöwall & Per Walöö
book 91: Tot ziens daarboven (The Great Swindle) by Pierre Lemaitre
book 92: Zeldzame aarden by Sandro Veronesi
book 93: De kleuren van de brand (All human wisdom) by Pierre Lemaitre
book 94: Out of Africa (Out of Africa) by Karen Blixen
book 95: De honderd dagen (One hundred days) by Joseph Roth
book 96: Achter de deur (Behind the door; Ferrara 4) by Giorgio Bassani
book 97: De spiegel van ons verdriet (Mirror of our sorrows) by Pierre Lemaitre
book 98: Vrouw of vos (Lady into Fox) by David Garnett
book 99: Weigering (Refusal) by Felix Francis
book 100: De woestijn van de Tartaren (The Tartar Steppe) by Dino Buzzati
book 101: Het geluk van de wolf by Paolo Cognetti
book 102: De hemel is altijd paars by Sholeh Rezazadeh
book 103: Herinneringen van een engelbewaarder (A Guardian Angel Recalls) by W.F. Hermans
book 104: Soms zou ik de wind willen zijn by Franco Faggiani
book 105: Dit soort kleinigheden (Small Things Like These) by Claire Keegan
book 106: Het lied van de Orbus (Castle of Wizardry; Belgariad 4) by David Eddings
book 107: De grutto by Albert Beintema
book 108: Witte zee (White Shadow) by Roy Jacobsen
book 109: Het evangelie van O. Dapper Dapper by W.F. Hermans
book 110: De slag om Europa by Thomas Piketty
book 111: Uitnodiging voor een onthoofding (Invitation to a Beheading) by Vladimir Nabokov
book 112: De man die twee keer dood ging (The man who died twice) by Richard Osman
book 113: IJzerkop (Ironhead) by Jean-Claude Van Rijckeghem
book 114: Voetsporen in de sneeuw (A Murder Of Quality; George Smiley 2) by John le Carré
book 115: Op de planken by Gerrit Komrij
book 116: De ombrenger by Marten Toonder
book 117: Buitenpost (Outpost) by Dan Richards
book 118: De God Denkbaar, Denkbaar de God by W.F. Hermans
book 119: De vader van Artenio by Frida Vogels
book 120: Huis voor de dag, huis voor de nacht (House of Day, House of Night) by Olga Tokarczuk
book 121: Terug tot Ina Damman by Simon Vestdijk

books read in May 2022
book 122: De vrolijke verrader: Een KGB-spion uit Rotterdam (Spies, Lies, and Exile) by Simon Kuper
book 123: De wilde stilte (The Wild Silence) by Raynor Winn
book 124: De kauw by Achilles Cools
book 125: Kleine helden by Almudena Grandes
book 126: De torens van middernacht (Towers of Midnight; Wheel of Time 13) by Robert Jordan & Brandon Sanderson
book 127: De Titanic by Martin van Neck
book 128: De tweeling (The Twins) by Tessa de Loo
book 129: Liraël (Lirael; Old Kingdom 2) by Garth Nix
book 130: Abhorsen (Abhorsen; Old Kingdom 3) by Garth Nix
book 131: Sapiens (Sapiens) by Yuval Noah Harari
book 132: Eindspel (Enchanters' End Game; Belgariad 5) by David Eddings
book 133: Fado Alexandrino (Fado Alexandrino) by António Lobo Antunes
book 134: Voor het verdwijnt en daarna by Rutger Kopland
book 135: De reiger (The Heron; Ferrara 5) by Giorgio Bassani
book 136: Twee vrouwen (Two women) by Harry Mulisch
book 137: Limonov (Limonov) by Emmanuel Carrere
book 138: Koningin Eenoog by W.F. Hermans
book 139: Middernachtbibliotheek (The Midnight Library) by Matt Haig
book 140: De andere school (Anton Wachter 4) by Simon Vestdijk
book 141: De beker van de min (Anton Wachter 5) by Simon Vestdijk
book 142: De vliegeraar (The Kite Runner) by Khaled Hosseini
book 143: De geur van hooi (The Smell of Hay; Ferrara 6) by Giorgio Bassani
book 144: Inktzwart (Blackout; Dark Iceland 2) by Ragnar Jónasson
book 145: De wateraap by Mariken Heitman
book 146: Wormmaan by Mariken Heitman
book 147: Voor al uw geschenken by Jean Rouaud
book 148: Vos & ik (Fox & I) by Catherine Raven
book 149: Spijt! by Carry Slee
book 150: Het eiland van het tweede gezicht (The Island of Second Sight) by Albert Vigoleis Thelen

books read in June 2022
book 151: Mannen die vrouwen haten (The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo; Millennium 1) by Stieg Larsson
book 152: Anomalie (The Anomaly) by Hervé Le Tellier
book 153: De engel van Venetië (The Garden of Angels) by David Hewson
book 154: Dubbele Lotje (Lisa and Lottie) by Erich Kästner
book 155: Onder de korenmaat by Maarten 't Hart
book 156: Zomerhuis (Will and Testament) by Vigdis Hjorth
book 157: Zalm by Lars Kvamme
book 158: Centaur by Chris Polanen
book 159: De laatste zomer in de stad (Last Summer in the City) by Gianfranco Calligarich
book 160: Spoedgeval (Dr Dark and Far-Too Delicious and Secrets of a Career Girl) by Carol Marinelli
book 161: Baron by Theun de Vries
book 162: Briefjes voor Pelle by Marlies Segers
book 163: Scheepsberichten (The Shipping News) by E. Annie Proulx
book 164: De vrije vogel en zijn kooien (Anton Wachter 6) by Simon Vestdijk
book 165: De vrouw die met vuur speelde (The Girl Who Played with Fire; Millennium 2) by Stieg Larsson
book 166: Het Opritsjnik-orkest (The Set-Up) by Vladimir Volkoff
book 167: Duister water (Trace Elements; Brunetti 29) by Donna Leon
book 168: Het landgoed Ulloa (The House of Ulloa) by Emilia Pardo Bazán
book 169: Outlaws (Outlaws) by Javier Cercas
book 170: Bittere tijden (Harsh Times) by Mario Vargas Llosa
book 171: Jaguarman by Raoul de Jong
book 172: Het woeden der gehele wereld (The raging of the whole world) by Maarten 't Hart

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

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

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

--
Some other books I want to read in 2022:
✔ De goddelijke komedie (The Divine Comedy) - Dante Alighieri, 599 pages
✔ Binnen de muren (Within the Walls) - Giorgio Bassani, 207 pages
✔ Petersburg (Petersburg) - Andrei Bely, 429 pages
Anatomie van een moment (The Anatomy of a Moment) - Javier Cercas, 539 pages
Jean-Paul Sartre : zijn biografie (Sartre: A Life) - Annie Cohen-Solal, 610 pages
✔ Het ijzig hart (The Frozen Heart) - Almudena Grandes, 854 pages
✔ Sapiens : Een kleine geschiedenis van de mensheid (Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind) - Yuval Noah Harari, 461 pages
Duitse les (The German Lesson) - Siegfried Lenz, 511 pages
Een beloofd land (A promised land) - Barack Obama, 896 pages
✔ Het eiland van het tweede gezicht (The Island of Second Sight) - Albert Vigoleis Thelen, 994 pages
Aarde der mensen (This Earth of Mankind) - Pramoedya Ananta Toer, 457 pages
✔ De wilde stilte (The wild silence) - Raynor Winn, 318 pages

Tickers

2022 totals





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Totals since 2008:

Monthly statistics
January: 33 books / 9.366 pages
February: 23 books / 7.869 pages
March: 31 books / 7.429 pages
April: 34 books / 9.531 pages
May: 29 books / 9.276 pages
June: 22 books / 7.901 pages

--
Previous threads in 2021
book 1 - 28: thread 1
book 29 - 56: thread 2
book 57 - 87 : thread 3
book 88 - 121 : thread 4
book 122 - 150 : thread 5
book 151 - 172 : thread 6

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


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

Lists on my WikiThing

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

--
My favorite books from the last 5 years:

2022: Het eiland van het tweede gezicht (The Island of Second Sight) by Albert Vigoleis Thelen
2021: Een jaar uit het leven van Gesine Cresspahl (Anniversaries: From a Year in the Life of Gesine Cresspahl) by Uwe Johnson
2020: Tot in de hemel (The Overstory) by Richard Powers
2019: De Thibaults (The Thibaults) by Roger Martin du Gard
2018: Verhaal van een leven 1 (Story of a life 1: Childhood and schooldays and Story of a life 2: Slow approach of thunder) by Konstantin Paustovski

Series I read, a list to keep track

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

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

Ari Thór Arason (Dark Iceland) by Ragnar Jónasson 2/4
1 Sneeuwblind; 2 Inktzwart; 3 Poolnacht; 4 Ademloos

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

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

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

De Cock by A.C. Baantjer 58/71

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

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

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

Guido Brunetti by Donna Leon 29/30
1 Dood van een maestro; 2 Dood in den vreemde; 3 De dood draagt rode schoenen; 4 Salto mortale; 5 Acqua alta; 6 Een stille dood; 7 Nobiltà; 8 Fatalità; 9 Vriendendienst; 10 Onrustig tij; 11 Bedrieglijke zaken; 12 De stille elite; 13 Verborgen bewijs; 14 Vertrouwelijke zaken; 15 Duister glas; 16 Kinderspel; 17 Droommeisje; 18 Gezichtsverlies; 19 Een kwestie van vertrouwen; 20 Dodelijke conclusies; 21 Beestachtige zaken; 22 Het onbekende kind; 23 Tussen de regels; 24 Ik aanbid je; 25 Eeuwige jeugd; 26 Wat niet verdwijnt; 27 Vergiffenis; 28 De troonopvolger; 29 Duister water; 30 Vluchtig verlangen

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

Konráð by Arnaldur Indridason 3/3
1 Smeltend ijs; 2 Boven water; 3 Smeulend vuur; 4 Vallende stenen (Þagnarmúr)

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

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

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

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

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

Books acquired in 2022: 22

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

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

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

June
Zuid-zuid-west - Albert Helman
Doctor Vlimmen - A. Roothaert
Vlimmen contra Vlimmen - A. Roothaert
Vlimmens tweede jeugd - A. Roothaert
Het eiland van het tweede gezicht - Albert Vigoleis Thelen
Mefisto - Klaus Mann
Hebben en zijn - Dimitri Verhulst
Onder de Drachenwand - Arno Geiger
Zonnegloren - Matthijs van Nieuwkerk

July
Jaguarman - Raoul de Jong

Welcome!

Happy new thread!

New-thread orisons, Anita!

>16 drneutron: Thank you, Jim!

>17 richardderus: Thank you, Richard dear!

Happy new thread!

Hi, Anita! Happy new thread!

>19 quondame: Thank you, Susan!

>20 Storeetllr: Thank you, Mary!

Hi Anita my dear, Happy New Thread and what lovely thread topper photos, your Roses look lovely as does your Peony, my Peony has just finished flowering and needs dead heading as it all looks a bit forlorn now.

I hope that you and Frank have had a good week my dear and we both send love and hugs to both of you dear friend.

>22 johnsimpson: Thank you, John. All are scented roses, and so is this peony. I love to walk through the garden and enjoy them with eyes and nose :-)
The flowers of the large orange/yellow rose at the top left are gone now. The others keep blooming the whole summer.

Returning the love and hugs from both of us to you and Karen.

Happy new thread, Anita. Your garden looks great! My clematis didn't flower this year as much as it had in the last few years, not sure why. I have never had luck with roses but my next door neighbour LOVES them and has many varieties.

Happy new thread, Anita.
I, of course, love all the stats and lists and facts and figures.

Happy new thread, Anita! Love the photos of your flowers.

>24 jessibud2: Thank you, Shelley. As you can see I also love my roses.
I have two clematis left, of the four I planted. Not many flowers either this year, not sure why.

>25 PaulCranswick: Thank you, Paul.
I know we have this love in common :-D

>26 curioussquared: Thank you, Nathalie. This time of year the garden is full of color.

Wow, after days in a row needing way to many guesses, this is my lucky Wordle/Woordle/Worldle day!

Wordle 377 3/6
🟩⬜🟨🟨⬜
🟩🟨🟩⬜⬜
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩
peony, ponds, pinto

Woordle 377 2/6
🟩⬜⬜⬜⬜
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩
adieu, apart

#Worldle #161 2/6 (100%)
🟩🟩🟩🟩⬜↘️
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩🎉

Happy new thread Anita!

Sweet Thursday, Anita. Happy New Thread!

HAppy new thread!

Happy New Thread Anita!

Happy new thread Anita!

I see you've grown some beautiful flowers since I was last here. And you read more books in January than I've read all year. In case I missed it, congratulations on your second 75.

>29 swynn: Thank you, Steve!

>30 msf59: Thank you, Mark, happy Friday!

>31 figsfromthistle: Thank you, Anita!

>32 ArlieS: Thank you, Arlie!

>33 humouress: Thank you, Nina!
June is the month of the roses, bright colors all over in the garden.
And thank you, that milestone was reached at the end of May.

Happy new thread, Anita! Beautiful flowers in your topper. Thanks for sharing.

From your last thread, impressive statistics, as always.

>36 karenmarie: Thank you, Karen, the garden is a joy in this time of year.
Thanks, I just keep on reading, and write down the numbers ;-)

Happy new one, Anita -- love your flowers -- constantly in awe of your reading!

Happy new thread, Anita! I hope you have a wonderful weekend!

>38 RebaRelishesReading: Thank you, Reba. Roses are my favorite flowers, I planted as many as I could.

>39 alcottacre: Thank you, Stasia, enjoy your time wiith your mother.

Hello Anita. Your flowers in >1 FAMeulstee: look stunning! And wow on reading 172 books so far this year. Amazing! I have lots of roses too. The white ones are in full bloom at the moment.

>41 mdoris: Thank you, Mary. Most roses are finished now, making new buds for the next round of flowers. My white roses are both "Rosa Iceberg".
I leave the large orange/yellow rose at the top left ("Westerland") as it is. I can force a second bloom by cutting it back, but I prefer the rosehips that stay on it through winter.

Happy new thread Anita

Hello Anita, what lovely flowers you have posted up top! Reminds me, though, that I need to deadhead my peonies as they are done. I think they might have been spectacular this year except that we had a very late freeze with more than a foot of snow and the middle third of them were crushed just as they were budding.

Happy summer reading!

>43 WhiteRaven.17: Thank you, Kro.

>44 AMQS: Thank you, Anne.
Sorry your peonies suffered from the late freeze. Well, I always tell myself there is always a next season in the garden, when one of my plants hasn't done as expected/hoped for. So lets hope there is no late freeze at your place next year.

Happy new one Anita. Your garden looks beautifully colourful.

>46 charl08: Thank you, Charlotte. Colorful was the plan for the garden, when we moved here over 16 years ago :-)

Read, not yet reviewed:
#173: De vlamberken (The Sixteen Trees of the Somme) by Lars Mytting
#174: Quo vadis? (Quo Vadis) by Henryk Sienkiewicz

Reading now:
De vlucht uit Falaise (Escape from Falaise; Rangers Apprentice 16) by John Flanagan
Waterjager by Chris Polanen

HI Anita, I am just about to start the Mytting book # 173. I have liked his other books so I'm sure I will like this one too. I look forward to reading your review.

Thanks for posting the images of your garden. In particular, I like the peach colored rose bush.

Beautiful garden Anita!

>49 mdoris: Lars Myttings is a good writer, Mary, I have read two book by him now.
I liked The Bell in the Lake slightly better than The Sixteen Trees of the Somme. Next one will be The Reindeer Hunters the sequel to The Bell in the Lake.

>50 Whisper1: Thank you, Linda. The roses are my favorites, glad you like mt pictures of them.

>51 The_Hibernator: Thank you, Rachel, so nice to see a message from you!

Happy new thread Anita! What glorious flowers you have in your garden!

>53 Sakerfalcon: Thank you, Claire.
Lots of flowers in the garden, attracting bees, bumblebees and butterflies :-)

Hi Anita. Saw that Remco Campert died...I read his novel, No Holds Barred, long long ago. I confess I hadn't realized he was still alive!

Have a lovely week ahead.

>55 richardderus: It was all over the news here yesterday, Richard dear.
I have some of his books on the shelves, but have to admit I haven't read any of them. I did meet him once, he signed a book that was a present for Frank.

*smooch*

Read, not yet reviewed:
#173: De vlamberken (The Sixteen Trees of the Somme) by Lars Mytting
#174: Quo vadis? (Quo Vadis) by Henryk Sienkiewicz
#175: Waterjager by Chris Polanen
#176: De vlucht uit Falaise (Escape from Falaise; Rangers Apprentice 16) by John Flanagan

Reading now:
Gerechtigheid (The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest; Millennium 3) by Stieg Larsson
Congo (Congo) by David van Reybrouck

Back from Longview, Anita, and dropping by to check on you. I hope you have a terrific Tuesday!

Happy New Thread!!! Love your pictures!!

>58 alcottacre: Thank you, Stasia.
Happy Wednesday!

>59 hredwards: Thank you, Harold~
Always nice to share my pictures here :-)

book 173: De vlamberken by Lars Mytting
library, e-book, translated from Norwegian, English translation The Sixteen Trees of the Somme, 428 pages
TIOLI Challenge #17: Read a book that fewer than 2022 members have in their catalog

Edvard grew up with his grandfather, on the farm in Norway. His parents died in France when he was three. When his grandfather dies, Edvard finally wants to know what happened, as they never talked about it. His search leads him at first to the Shetland islands, where his grandfathers brother spend his last years. Then he goes to France, where sixteen very valuable trees disappeared.

A bit much is packed in this novel. An unsolved mystery, Edvard growing up and searching for identity, a family saga, and all larded with woodwork and special kinds of wood.

Dutch title translated: The flamebirches

book 174: Quo vadis? by Henryk Sienkiewicz
1001 books, library, translated from Polish, Nobelprize, English translation Quo Vadis, 499 pages
TIOLI Challenge #5: Read a book you intended to read earlier this year

Historical fiction, set in Rome under Nero's reign.
Petronius, one of Nero's close advisors, has a nephew called Vinicius. Vinicius falls in love with Lygia, who is a christian. Vinicius is converted to christianity. Nero's reign gets more and more brutal, and Petronius has to walk a fine line to stay in place. When Rome has burned, Nero blames the christians, and they are prosecuted. They die in horrible ways. Vincius and Lydia hide succesfully.

I liked the way early christians were described, preaching non violence, awaiting their kingdom after death. The story is well told, as are the horrible ways people are put to death. Sienkiewisz clearly did his research well. He received the Nobelprize a few years later.

English and Dutch title are the same

book 175: Waterjager by Chris Polanen
library, e-book, Dutch, no translations, 285 pages
TIOLI Challenge #2 Read a book you purchased OR borrowed in June, 2022 which includes the letter "J" in the title or author's first name

Somewehere in the future Paramaribo is flooded. Joshua grew up there, but left with his mother to the Netherlands. His brother JC and his father stayed. Joshua studied medicine, and works as GP. When he hears his father has died, he goes back, and finds a lawless society in the flooded streets of what once was a city. His brother rules the place unscrupulous. While Joshua is searching for his roots and identity, JC has problems with upcoming gangsters, who want to take over his rule.

Title translated: Waterhunter

book 176: De vlucht uit Falaise by John Flanagan
library, YA, translated, original title Escape from Falaise, 254 pages
TIOLI Challenge #16: Read a book with a name in the title

Rangers Apprentice book 16
The previous book ended with a cliffhanger again, so here the adventures of Will and Maddie in Gallica continue. They need help from Halt and Horace, to escape.

I didn't enjoy this as much as the earlier books. Glad to know how the story ends, but this might have been the last Ranger Apprentice book I have read. Of course I can change my mind when a next one is published ;-)

Dutch title translated: The escape from Falaise

>62 FAMeulstee: Glad you liked that one. Liz & I read it several years ago for the "US Bestseller" project, and I found I liked it more than I expected.

>63 FAMeulstee: Too bad about no translation for that one. It sounds interesting.

>64 FAMeulstee: Sigh about series that fizzle out.

>57 FAMeulstee: "Quo vadis?" is on my "to be read" list, even though it looks daunting.

>65 swynn: I was glad it was available, Steve. Until 2015 the only available Dutch edition was an abridged translation from 1898! Sadly the publisher, who mainly published old classics (that were free of copyright), stopped publishing.

Maybe some publisher gets interested in translating Waterjager after our converstaion here ;-)

Yes, it happens, it is difficult for writers to quit in time.

>66 ocgreg34: It is a very readable, faily good story, Greg.
I thought you already tackled Henryk Sienkiewicz, looking at your Nobel winners list.

>28 FAMeulstee: wow! I have hardly ever got it in two tries.
Wordle never gets old for me :)

>67 FAMeulstee: I read a collection of short stories from Sienkiewicz called "Life and Death: and Other Legends and Stories" and enjoyed it.

Happy new thread, Anita!

>1 FAMeulstee: Your flowers are lovely!

>11 FAMeulstee: I just noticed the charts yesterday and didn’t know if they were something new or just something I missed. They’re pretty cool.

>62 FAMeulstee: I read Quo Vadis when I was a kid (seriously) (I was a total geek) and remember loving it. I also enjoyed the film adaptation. When I tried to reread it last year, I just could not get into it, but it might have been my mood at the time. I'm glad you enjoyed it.

>68 LovingLit: Worlde is fun every day, Megan.
I once managed the Dutch Woordle in one! I don't expect that to happen ever again.

>69 ocgreg34: Except "Quo vadis?", not much else by Sienkiewicz is available in Dutch translation.

>70 Copperskye: Thank you, Natalie, I love my colorful garden.
The charts were introduced nearly a year ago, the whole site is slowly redesigned. You can find all about it in the "New features" group.

>71 Storeetllr: You are not the only one reading way beyond your age as a kid, Mary. I did some heavy reading as well at that age. The only thing is that there are some gruwesome details in "Quo vadis" that I would not have coped with as a kid.
Memories of books can be odd, some rereads of favorite books still hold, while others fall flat.

Oh my, your flowers are beautiful, Anita. Do you have tulips in the spring? We were in The Netherlands in June of 1968 and missed the tulips, but enjoyed visiting your beautiful country.

I share your love for The Overstory. I've read a few more books by Powers and find him to be quite an intellectual author. I always feel good about myself when I finish one of his books. Haha.

*smooch*

>73 FAMeulstee: Memories of books can be odd, some rereads of favorite books still hold, while others fall flat.

So true, and not only books read as a kid. Some books I read and loved in my 20s, 30s and 40s just don't speak to me the same way now (in my 70s).

I vaguely recall Quo Vadis being gruesome-ish, but I may have blanked on most of the worst of it. Also, having been raised a Catholic and gone to Catholic elementary school, I heard about the early martyrs - eaten by lions, broken on wheels, ripped apart by horses, heads cut off, breasts - well, never mind. You get the picture. So gruesome was part of my education, sort of.

>74 Donna828: Thank you, Donna. I do have some tulips in spring, in red, yellow, purple, pink and white. They are good for some color in spring. June is the best time, then the roses start to bloom.
I haven't read anything else by Powers yet, The Time of Our Singing and Bewilderment are on mount TBR.

>75 richardderus: Thank you, Richard dear.
*smooch*

>76 Storeetllr: Some books are probably more age depending than other, I guess.
I never kept records of my reading, until I found LT and realised I could read again, after a nearly twenty year hiatus. Sometimes when a book fall flat, I doubt if my memory of a book is right.

I wasn't raised with martyrs, that probably still shows when I read books like Quo vadis ;-)

Read, not yet reviewed:
#177: Gerechtigheid (The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest; Millennium 3) by Stieg Larsson

Reading now:
Congo (Congo) by David van Reybrouck
La Superba by Ilja Leonard Pfeijffer

Hi Anita! Glad you liked Quo Vadis. I have a memory of reading and liking it, in an old edition. So this was an abridged version you say? I don’t remember a lot of gruesomeness in it, so maybe that was edited out.
I liked the movie adaptation as well, one of the older romantic style movies. Always fun.

Happy new-ish thread, Anita! Your roses and peony look fabulous.

>79 EllaTim: Looking at the records of the Koninklijke Bibliotheek, I would say all editions of Quo vadis before 1987 came from the abridged translation by H. Pyttersen (translated, not from the original, but from the American edition). Almost all cruelty like Mary described about early martyrs in >76 Storeetllr:, and people packed in wood, and then put on fire. Nero and his friends were very creative in ways to kill people.

>80 bell7: Thank you, Mary, the roses and peonies make me happy when I see or smell them :-)

A belated happy new thread, Anita and thank you for the beautiful rose pictures.
I wish you a wonderful weekend.

>82 SirThomas: Thank you, Thomas, I love my roses!
Happy weekend to you!

Read, not yet reviewed:
#177: Gerechtigheid (The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest; Millennium 3) by Stieg Larsson
#178: La Superba (La Superba) by Ilja Leonard Pfeijffer

Reading now:
Congo (Congo) by David van Reybrouck
De goddelijke komedie (The Divine Comedy) by Dante Alighieri
De politiemoordenaar (Cop Killer; Martin Beck 9) by Maj Sjöwall & Per Wahlöö

Hi Anita, and happy Monday to you.

I'm glad you've continued with the Millenium series. Do you plan on reading the authorized sequels by Lagercrantz?

>85 karenmarie: Thank you, Karen, happy Monday!

I am finished with Millennium, the last one was read only because I am a completist and incurable curious about the end of a story ;-)
I do understand how they appeal to most readers. There were some good parts, but not enough to go on. I prefer the Martin Beck books by Sjöwall & Wahlöö (sadly only one to go), and Henning Mankells Kurt Wallander series.

For Beck and Wallander, you have to strain your head a little more, but Millenium is a good change of pace.
Every few years I come back to Martin Beck, you don't notice his age at all....

Monday *smooch*

>87 SirThomas: And I like that, Thomas, both in Beck and Wallander.
I am glad to have read Millenium, now I can talk about it, but it is not on my reread list.
Some of Beck is a little aged, but so are we ;-)

>88 richardderus: Happy Monday, Richard dear.
*smooch*

You are right,
but we stay young, only our surrounding becomes younger and younger...

>90 SirThomas: Changing the perspective gives an other view ;-)
I don't feel young anymore like you...

Read, not yet reviewed:
#177: Gerechtigheid (The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest; Millennium 3) by Stieg Larsson
#178: La Superba (La Superba) by Ilja Leonard Pfeijffer
#179: De politiemoordenaar (Cop Killer; Martin Beck 9) by Maj Sjöwall & Per Wahlöö
#180: Congo (Congo) by David Van Reybrouck

Reading now:
De goddelijke komedie (The Divine Comedy) by Dante Alighieri
De rimpels van Esther Ornstein (Anton Wachter 7) by Simon Vestdijk

>91 FAMeulstee: I am 25 - with 35 years of experience at this age 😉.
I try to keep this attitude, but I don't always succeed, especially when I look in the mirror or think about my ailments...

>93 SirThomas: You can't stop aging, Thomas ;-)
I never feel like I want to go back to my much younger self, life is way better now.

book 177: Gerechtigheid by Stieg Larsson
library, e-book, translated from Swedish, English translation The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest, 651 pages
TIOLI Challenge #7: Read a book first published this century or where the lead character does adulting

Millennium book 3
The previous book ended with a cliffhanger, so I went on to read about the further dangerous investigations by Blomkvist & Salander, fighting the upcoming trial against Lisbeth Salander.

I am glad it is done, as Lisbeths experiences in early life resembles my worst fears from the times I was struggling with psychiatric issues.

Dutch title translated: Justice

book 178: La Superba by Ilja Leonard Pfeijffer
own, Dutch, Libris Literatuurprijs 2014, English translation La Superba, 348 pages
TIOLI Challenge #7: Read a book first published this century or where the lead character does adulting

Pfeijffer went to live in Genoa, the city called La Superba, five years before. In letters to an unnamed friend he tells about the city, and its history and inhabitants. Stories of daily life are larded with over the top fantastic adventures, from love and sex to bureaucratic insanities, alternated with the tragic stories of (illegal) immigrants from Africa. Pfeijffer realises very well he is a privileged immigrant, escaping his life as a well known writer in the Netherlands, he is still well to do in Genoa.

It is all told in rich language, with self-irony, wit, and humor. Not as good as Grand Hotel Europa, where some of the themes are further explored.

English and Dutch title are the same

I'm not sure I want to go back either, I'm trying to enjoy the here and now - and I think I'm doing pretty well.
But I'm still surprised again and again that I'm already 60...

book 179: De politiemoordenaar by Maj Sjöwall & Per Wahlöö
library, translated from Swedih, English translation Cop Killer, 287 pages
TIOLI Challenge #4: Read a book which is the 7th book in a series or later

Martin Beck book 9
In a small comunity in the south of Sweden a woman is missing. She might be killed, so Martin Beck is send to investigate. When the press finds out where Martin went, jounalists are all over the place, all pointing to a (in this case innocent) murderer from the first Martin Beck book, who went to live there after doing his time in prison.
Then elsewhere in Sweden, two young thieves are stopped by the police, not related to their crime. One of them suddenly starts to shoot, wounding two cops, and is killed by the cops. The other one escapes. Then a large policeforce goes on a hunt after him.
Eventually the two stories come together at the end.

Again a good book in the Martin Beck series. Besides the police activities, there is a lot of critism on Swedish society at the time, and the overreaction of those in charge of the police. Violent police actions result in more violence...

Dutch title translated: The cop killer

>97 SirThomas: I can relate to that feeling, Thomas, although I am a mere 59 ;-)

book 180: Congo: een geschiedenis by David Van Reybrouck
own, Dutch, non-fiction, AKO Literatuurprijs 2010 and Libris Geschiedenisprijs 2010, English translation Congo, 680 pages
TIOLI Challenge #3: Read a book with a one-word title that indicates a place. Subtitles to do not matter for this challenge, but articles do

In 2010, when this book was first published, it was fifty years ago that Congo got independency. This colony of Belgium, started as private project of king Leopold II in 1885, who exploited the country ruthlessly, killing and mutulating millions. In 1908 it became a colony of the Belgium state. It became a little better, but still the white people saw themself as godsend rulers, who had to teach (and preach to) the poor black people of Congo.
In 1960 Congo got independence, way earlier than anticipated. Sadly this ended in the dictatorship of Mobuto for over thirty years, and in civil war with again millions killed. Steps towards democracy have failed ever since, as there has never been a path preparing the county to democratic ways. Those in power gather as much as they can, sharing their wealth with their supporters. The conflict between Tutsi's and Hutu's in Rwanda has moved to the east of Congo, and is still going on.

Van Reybrouck interviewed many old people in Congo, some so old they remembered the days of king Leopold's rule. He found some unknown stories of men from Congo who served in WWII, marching from Congo through Sudan towards the African front. A medical team that ended up in Birma.

Dutch title translated: Congo: a history

>62 FAMeulstee: Adding that one to the BlackHole. I have never read it.

>96 FAMeulstee: That one looks good too!

>100 FAMeulstee: And that one!

Have a great day, Anita!

>101 alcottacre: Glad to be able to add to the BlackHole, Stasia, I hope you will get to them someday.
Happy Thursday!

Sweet Thursday, Anita. I hope you are having a good week. I remember enjoying a few of the Martin Beck books but it has been decades. I am a fan of the Wallander series too but it has been a long time since I read the last one. The Congo book sounds really interesting too.

>103 msf59: Not reading for many years left me with a lot to catch up, Mark.
Like Martin Beck (one more to go) and Kurt Wallander (read between 2016 and 2019).
The Congo book is well worth reading.

>100 FAMeulstee: Got me with that one.

>100 FAMeulstee: what >105 swynn: said

I really appreciated The Looting Machine so I think this will march well with that.

>105 swynn: It was a good read, Steve, and won an important literary prize in 2010, and the main history book prize that year.

>106 richardderus: What I said to Steve above :-)
The Looting Machine by Tom Burgis sounds good, Richard dear, and is a little more recent (five years) than Congo. Sadly no Dutch translation. But my search did find Kleptopia by the same writer, might be an interesting read...

Hopelessly behind here, but wanted to pop in and say Hi. And about the whole aging thing, next year I'll be plenty-nine! Again! LOL

>104 FAMeulstee: I never had to deal with a reading slump of the sort where I couldn't read, but from the late 80's into 2001 I was so overwhelmed with work, pregnancy, and child that I stayed with a few authors, O'Brian, Bujold, Cherryh, Brust, Francis, Lackey, Hillerman, that I knew I'd enjoy and just bought or checked out as they became available.
Here and on FB F&SF groups I've found that I got way behind on my favored genre, but I see that as having had large reservoirs to sample and or drain in the last decade. I like lots of urban fantasy, and mostly dislik grimdark fantasy, both of which I didn't distinguish two decades ago.

>108 Berly: You are always welcome here, Kim.
Age itself is just a number, you might feel younger or older, or just plenty-nine ;-)

>109 quondame: I am glad you never experienced such a bad reading slump, Susan. Although being occcupied by work and motherhood might come close.

My first reading slump came in 1982 after high school. Being forced to read "literature" in a way that didn't suit me, I refused to read any "literature" at all. I started to read a zillion Harlequin romances, only interupted by some favorite re-reads like Lord of the Rings every few years. Meanwhile I had met Frank, who used to be an avid reader too. We started to collect books, he bought mainly (translated) literature, as he loved the books he had to read in high school. And I started to collect awarded children's & YA books. We stimulated eachother in buying books, so our collection grew fast. Then in 1994 Frank got ill with CFS, and I ended up in deep depression and various phobia's. Frank could not read anymore because of the fatigue, and my reading ability went away as a side effect of the antidepressant I had to take. We did go on collecting books, a bit less than before, because we lost a major part of our income.
In 2007 I changed to an other antidepressant, and found out at the start of 2008 I could read again. Shortly after I found LT.
Well the rest is history, it can be found on my threads of previous years.

Read, not yet reviewed:
#181: De rimpels van Esther Ornstein (Anton Wachter 7) by Simon Vestdijk
#182: Rupsje Nooitgenoeg (The Very Hungry Caterpillar) by Eric Carle
#183: De goddelijke komedie (The Divine Comedy) by Dante Alighieri

Reading now:
Anna, Hanna en Johanna (Hanna's Daughters) by Marianne Fredriksson
De kunst van het oorlogvoeren (The Art of War) by Sun Tzu

>110 FAMeulstee: That’s some reading history, Anita! I’m glad you are able to read again, but I’m sorry for Frank’s CFS.

>109 quondame: I’m still busy and tired, so reading Donna Leon right now. Just one author, nice and familiar, and not too taxing. Reading can be relaxing, and fun, but it also does take energy.

>110 FAMeulstee: I'm so happy that you managed to find your way out of that slump - during the worst of my depressions I could always find some comfort in books though I did way too much Food Network and other TV during the early 2000s. I don't think I could survive without being able to hide (from myself and the world) between book covers.
I was emerging from my depression about the same time 2007-2008, but had already started reading more widely, drawing on local libraries, somewhat before that. I only know because I started recording books I read in 2007 and I was already on a couple of Dorothy Dunnett chat group in 2004.

>112 EllaTim: It does take some energy, though for me it's always (well, since I was 12-13) been a battery charger and stress avoidance mechanism. It takes a really bad headache for me to stop reading.

>112 EllaTim: Thank you, Ella, I am overly happy to read again.
Thanks on Franks behave. It has become a little bit better since we moved here. At the beginning of it all we could not imagine he would be able to work two nights a week, like he does now.

>113 quondame: So am I, Susan, books make very, very happy again.
Although I found other things to do in those years. My house was cleaner, my garden better kept etc.
I was the same like you, hiding in my books, from the time I could read until my late teens. I could nearly read as much as I do now.
More widely reading came after finding LT in 2008, then I also started to record my readings.
I had read a few mysteries in my teens, but I only fully discovered the genre when my reading came back full speed 2016. And I slowly rediscovered literature, some of the detested books were rather good on second read.

>114 FAMeulstee: I pretty much started with a combination of F&SF, mysteries and classics since that's what my parents read - though I didn't read French classics in French like my mother and didn't go deep into 12 volume Golden Bough like my dad.

>115 quondame: My mother was a primary school teacher before she married, so we had many childrens books. She also had an interest in nature, religion, and alternative medicine. My father didn't read many books, he did read at least two papers every day, as he still does.
When I was seven I got a library card, and started to read the whole local library.

ETA: I had to look up Golden Bough, never heard of it before.

Read, not yet reviewed:
#181: De rimpels van Esther Ornstein (Anton Wachter 7) by Simon Vestdijk
#182: Rupsje Nooitgenoeg (The Very Hungry Caterpillar) by Eric Carle
#183: De goddelijke komedie (The Divine Comedy) by Dante Alighieri
#184: Anna, Hanna en Johanna (Hanna's Daughters) by Marianne Fredriksson
#185: Vertrouwelijke zaken (Blood from a Stone; Brunetti 14) by Donna Leon

Reading now:
De kunst van het oorlogvoeren (The Art of War) by Sun Tzu
Leven en wandel van Zorbás de Griek (Zorba the Greek) by Nikos Kazantzakis

>116 FAMeulstee: I wish I could date my first library card, but it was probably much later than 7. The military base library was in a perpendicular wing of the (not very) complex with the commissary and PX, so we'd often visit it after shopping.

>118 quondame: You were at the same militairy base for a long time? I always thought military personel had to move a lot.

Between age 7 and 15 we lived in a small village, so I went to the library on my own by bike. At first once or twice a week, later nearly every day they were open. A library card was (and still is) free for everyone up to 18 years.

Read, not yet reviewed:
#181: De rimpels van Esther Ornstein (Anton Wachter 7) by Simon Vestdijk
#182: Rupsje Nooitgenoeg (The Very Hungry Caterpillar) by Eric Carle
#183: De goddelijke komedie (The Divine Comedy) by Dante Alighieri
#184: Anna, Hanna en Johanna (Hanna's Daughters) by Marianne Fredriksson
#185: Vertrouwelijke zaken (Blood from a Stone; Brunetti 14) by Donna Leon
#186: De kunst van het oorlogvoeren (The Art of War) by Sun Tzu

Reading now:
Leven en wandel van Zorbás de Griek (Zorba the Greek) by Nikos Kazantzakis
Vlucht (Migrations) by Charlotte McConaghy

--
Two or three hot days to come: way over 30°C, Tuesday it might get to 39°C!
Maybe staying cool inside will help to get to my reviews.

>119 FAMeulstee: My dad was a civilian scientist (a rocket scientist!) at what was originally called the Navel Ordnance Test Station, and lived on base almost 30 years. I was there for 19. We had 4 different houses over those years as he moved up the CC scale.

We could easily walk to the library, and I did sometimes trying, with some success, to sneak home new books before my dad noticed them.

>121 quondame: 4 houses for me as well in my first 19 years, Susan. My father worked for city governement, and worked himself up from smaller to larger cities through his life.

book 181: De rimpels van Esther Ornstein by Simon Vestdijk
own, Dutch, no translations, 260 pages
TIOLI Challenge #13: Read a book with something that can be annoying in the title

Anton Wachtercyclus book 7
Anton continues his study medicine in Amsterdam. He meets Esther Ornstein again, she is now engaged and works at the library. Despite the engagement Anton and Esther start to date.

Dutch title translated: The wrinkles of Esther Ornstein

book 182: Rupsje Nooitgenoeg by Eric Carle
library, picture book, translated, original title The Very Hungry Caterpillar, 28 pages
TIOLI Challenge #18: Read a book someone read earlier this year in a TIOLI challenge

The well known classic picture book about a caterpillar, changing into a butterfly at the end.

Dutch title translated: Little caterpillar neverenough

book 183: De goddelijke komedie by Dante Alighieri
own, translated from Italian, English translation The Divine Comedy, 599 pages
TIOLI Challenge #5: Read a book you intended to read earlier this year

This book is so often mentioned in other books, that I finally had to read it.
Dante's journey through Hell, Purgatory, and Paradise, with Virgil, Beatrice, and Saint Bernard.
I mostly enjoyed Hell and Purgatory. Paradise went a bit too much in Roman Catholic beliefs to be enjoyed by me.

I am glad I have read it now.
This copy was the prose translatation by Frans van Dooren, I might get to the poetic translation by Peter Verstegen someday.

English and Dutch title are the same.

book 184: Anna, Hanna en Johanna by Marianne Fredriksson
1001 books, own, translated from Swedish, English translation Hanna's Daughters, 351 pages
TIOLI Challenge #16: Read a book with a name in the title

Anna visits her mother, Johanna, in a nursing home. Her mother suffers from dementia. Back home Anna finds a photo of her grandmother, Hanna, she never knew well. Next we read about Hanna's life, and later about Johanna, with Anna's present in between, showing how much has changed during their lives in Sweden.

I might have liked this book better, when I had read it some years ago. Now I have read often enough about the changes in the 20th century, so it was just one of many.
This book is in the Swedish 1001 books list 1001 böcker du måste läsa innan du dör

Dutch title translated: Anna, Hanna and Johanna

It's supposed to be hot here too, that's not my weather.
Black tea with fresh mint, lukewarm, helps me right now...
>124 FAMeulstee: - this was one of my wife's favorite books when she was a kid.

I was appalled to learn it got to 40C in Europe recently! That Saharan jet-stream wobble is scary.

I'm used to 40C weather, as I grew up in the US Sunbelt. I hate it. Moving to New York gave me a respite for a couple decades but now it's creeping in here, too. Ick! At least I have air conditioning.

*smooch*

>116 FAMeulstee: We had an abridged version of the Golden Bough in the house when I was growing up. Among many other books.

We also visited libraries religiously. (Far more often than we visited churches.)

>128 richardderus: I've been wondering if there's anywhere I could move to get away from the need for air conditioning to be comfortable or even functional for part of the year, particularly now that I'm on meds that make me less able to handle heat. Unfortunately I doubt it.

>130 ArlieS: Farther north, say into Oregon, like Ashland. Should be tolerable as long as we're likely to last.

>127 SirThomas: Survived today, only two more days to go ;-)
I like ginger/lemon or fresh mint 'tea' through the day, and still have a pot of green tea after first coffee and breakfast.
Then your wife is probably a bit younger, I only found it later, as it was first published here in 1971, when I was 8.

>128 richardderus: It is very scary, the south of Europe could end up as dry and empty desert this way.
I dislike these temperatures as much as you do, I am very glad we have air conditioning upstairs, so at least I can sleep at night.
*smooch*

>129 ArlieS: At our place were also many books, Arlie.
My parents and siblings went to church almost every Sunday, although my siblings stopped around the time they were 18 years old. I probably visited the library way more often.

>130 ArlieS: >131 richardderus: No places in the Netherlands would be cool enough for me without air conditioning. Sadly I am not heat resistant at all.

>132 FAMeulstee: It was hot today, but doable. Hot and clammy. We did go to the allotment today, but tomorrow we’ll be staying inside. I’m opening all windows late in the evening, as soon as it’s cooler outside. No AC, but it’s just one hot day and wednesday there’s rain predicted.

I must say, I am finding the news and the images of fire pretty scary. Drought predicted is even worse than heat, as heat can be managed easier. I wish we would do more about this climate change.

>134 EllaTim: We do the same downstairs, open the windows as soon as it is cooler outside, and keep them open at night.
Upstairs it gets over 30°C very fast, with a flat roof and a wall at the south without shade (our house it at the corner), it warms up very fast when the sun shines. In the evening the temperature keeps going up, as the bricks in the wall get very hot during the day.
Over 21°C I get trouble sleeping, above 25°C can not sleep at all. Before we had AC I slept a few hours downstairs, or in our small garden house. But lack of sleep wears me out, and makes me very crancky.

>125 FAMeulstee: I remember enjoying John Ciardi's translation of Inferno but forgot Purgatory and never tried Paradisio.

>136 quondame: You didn't miss much with Paradisio, Susan.
I just found a recent poetic translation at the e-library, so I will try to read Dante again next month.

>133 FAMeulstee: I am not heat resistant at all either, Anita, and tend to pass out if I get overheated, which is why all my daily walking is done indoors. It is already 89 degrees F here and it is not even 5am yet. It is supposed to get to 110 degrees here today. Thank goodness for air conditioning!

>117 FAMeulstee: I hope you are enjoying Migrations. It was a good read for me this year as well.

Happy Tuesday!

>132 FAMeulstee: I feel the same way, today will be bad, tomorrow below 35°C, Wednesday Thursday below 30° C and maybe some of the longed for rain.
Ginger and lemon is also very tasty and helpful.
My wife was 9 years old in 1969, but she had a little sister ;-)

Edit - it is to hot to remember the right day!

>138 alcottacre: On days like these I put the alarm a bit early, Stasia, and go biking right after my first cup of coffee. At half past seven it is doable. Frank can't wake up so early, so he goes in the evening.
110°F is very hot, today it is just under 100°F here, and I already feel exhaused after going outside to put the sunscreen down.

>139 figsfromthistle: Not as good as I hoped, Anita, maybe my expectations were to high.

>140 SirThomas: Yes, today is bad, Thomas, and Thursday some rain is expected. Then I hope we can cool down a bit.
I am the little sister, so I hadn't thought of that ;-)
ETA: so hot that I only keep the laptop on for little amounts of time, when it is running it gets warm, and my lap does not need that now.

>131 richardderus: Hate too break this to you, Richard dear, but it was 116 a couple of days last summer even further north in WA! So far this year, however, we've stayed in the 65-80 range (which is perfect in my book).

Read, not yet reviewed:
#185: Vertrouwelijke zaken (Blood from a Stone; Brunetti 14) by Donna Leon
#186: De kunst van het oorlogvoeren (The Art of War) by Sun Tzu
#187: Vlucht (Migrations) by Charlotte McConaghy
#188: Leven en wandel van Zorbás de Griek (Zorba the Greek) by Nikos Kazantzakis

Reading now:
Het ijzig hart (The Frozen Heart) by Almudena Grandes
De tuinen van Dorr (The Gardens of Dorr) by Paul Biegel

Happy (belated) new thread!

Working on going back to everything that is going on here. You have lovely roses... My family doesn't have much space for big plants (not to mention that me and my mum can't really take care of plants), although we'll be moving out of the city soon, so maybe mum will decide to plant something more substantial (how we miss grandma in such moments!). On the topic of plants, my Alocasia (Giant Taro) has finally blown the first leave of this year! I was getting worried there... Back to reading, your roses have just reminded me of a very nice YA fiction series; one of the books was kind of centered around roses and flowers.

Your statistics are impressive as always---I'm trying not to get jealous here ;)

>62 FAMeulstee: ha, Sienkiewicz! (And is it Jacek Malczewski's painting on the cover?... kind of looks like)
Out of all historical fiction that he wrote, I didn't like it as much as other, but then I're read it at school, quite a bit of time ago, and I was (and am) simply amazed by his other works. So back then I ranked it as "not really capturing, but okay". Makes me wonder what I'd think of it today.

As I am almost a resident expert here, allow me to write a few facts about Sienkiewicz :) In short, he lived in the 19th century, in the part of Poland that was taken by Imperial Russia. He was a journalist and novel-writer; in fact, many of his novels were published in the press first: every week he would write one chapter and send it to the editor (that's why, my father says, all his chapters are similar in terms of length, and each has its own micro-ending). He travelled a lot (his or his wife's health, I believe), so he would send the letters from all over the Europe. His literary works I'd divide into three groups:
1. short stories, of various topics: from "Sachem" (the last American Indian), to "Latarnik" (A Lighthouse Man---about a Polish man in the America, missing his country) to "Za chlebem" (For the bread---about Polish emmigrants, believing in a better life in the U.S.)---not every one of them evolves around America, although for some reason I've remembered those.
2. historical novels: mostly about Polish history, to "rise the hearts", to remind the reader that Poland was, once upon a time, a great country, and what's important---a country that persevered and was able to overcome difficulties (please remember that Sienkiewicz didn't live to see independent Poland; all of his life, he was a citizen of Imperial Russia); here are novels such as "Krzyżacy" (The Teutonic Order---1399-1410, apart from the romantic plot there's a lot about how the Teutonic Order was unfairly exploiting their own land and fighting with Poles and Lithuanians, especially Lithuanians, under the guise of "bringing to them the light of faith" (spoiler alert: there are better methods than doing that with a sword); in 1410, Polish and Lithuanian forces were able to win over Teutonic Order at Grunwald/Tannenberg). Next is The Trylogy ("Ogniem i mieczem"---"With Fire And Sword", "Potop"---"The Deluge", "Pan Wołodyjowski"---"Fire In The Steppe"/"Colonel WOłodyjowski"/"Pan Michael"), which is, well, a trylogy about 17th century Poland---a century unfortunately full of wars; we have heroes, we have heroines, we have noblemen---some of them are more concerned with their own wealth and wellbeing than the state of their country, unfortunately---there are also lots of battles and people speaking Latin. I'd say it's good to have at least a basic knowledge of 17th century Poland before reading the books, but I know people from all over the world who read and enjoyed at least the first one, so I guess it's up to the reader. (Also, me and my friends had real cringey-fun wathing the 1962 adaptation of "With Fire And Sword", you can skip that one entirely). The last (?) one of historical novels is, of course, "Quo Vadis", set in Ancient Rome, in the times of Neron, again heavy-layered with Latin, and generally talking about the persecution of Christians.
3. contemporary novels: "W pustyni i w puszczy" (In Desert And Wilderness---that one was written for the young readers, follows two children as they get kidnapped in Sudan and try to get free, in the meantime getting lost in Africa by going south and south; please keep in mind that it was written over a hundred years ago and the depiction of Africa, Islam and such has since been contested); novels of manners: a psychological "Bez dogmatu" (Without Dogma---a diary of a young, wealthy man, trying to woo a young lady for the fun of it---at least that's what I gathered from the first few pages before I put the book back on the shelf, so that description may be biased) and it's kind-of follow-up "Rodzina Połanieckich" (The Połaniecki Family; this one looks interesting, describing how a businessman turns to be more a traditional, land-and-family oriented man?).
In 1905, he received a Nobel Prize for all his literary works. Many believe it was for "Quo Vadis", since that is the most well-known novel of his outside Poland---and, to be fair, the rest is simply very ingrained into Poland's situation (both geopolitical and sociological) in the late 19th century. So, all in all, I'd recommend "Quo Vadis" or short stories to start.

(how to pronounce: the first audio is good; H.S. on Project Gutenberg)

Oooops... I think I got lost here for a while. I can, of course, delete all this above.

>67 FAMeulstee: I, too, find the description of "Waterjager" interesting (even if I'm not really into postapocalypse theme)

>69 ocgreg34: I'm glad to hear you liked the short stories' collection; I've looked into it and must say that I wasn't familiar with it; maybe it's time to take the whole Sienkiewicz collection from the shelf.

>72 FAMeulstee: I found that at least a part of Sienkiewicz' works are available in English (see Project Gutenberg above). Not sure about the translation, since the names are funny, and I remember reading a heavy dispute about Curtis vs Kuniczak translation (basically: Curtis translated very literally, but apparently he was working with Sienkiewicz on it?). As for the other languages---I have no idea.

>73 FAMeulstee: I firmly stand by opinion that Sienkiewicz' Trylogy shaped me in at least some way when I was required to read one (1!) chapter from "With Fire And Sword" and ended up reading the whole Trylogy at the age of twelve, maybe.

>77 FAMeulstee: Some books are probably more age depending than other, I guess.
Exactly! There are at least two books that I was required to read at school that I had trouble finishing (and back then I read more than today, and generally read everything that fell into my hands). I'm wondering what I would think of them now.

>81 FAMeulstee: I've read somewhere that Curtis' translation was probably made from Russian (at least that was *possibly* the case of "With Fire And Sword"), so that would make a "nice" chain: Polish -> Russian -> English -> Dutch...

>96 FAMeulstee: "La Superba" sound interesting (like anything related to Italy... nevermind me), is it a sequel of another novel or is it standalone?

>98 FAMeulstee: I haven't read a good detective novel in some time. "Cop Killer" looks like it may go to my wishlist. (I hope it isn't necessary to read all the previous in the series?)

>100 FAMeulstee: The book about history of Kongo reminded me of Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness...
(book #180! Wow! Congratulations!)

>110 FAMeulstee: I've never had problems reading required literature... Up until I started Literature at the university. I think, looking mostly past (as I've got only one lit course left), that it was mostly because I didn't have time to do it. I would gladly read the first attempts to create a novel genre, or all those epis poems (please don't tell my professors I haven't read the whole "Illiad" yet)---but with all the courses, and my music school, I didn't have time to read a book a day, for that was the amount you needed to read if you wanted to stay on top of everything. (Not to mention that thanks to the Bologna system and having the degree split into BA and MA I had two independent literature courses running at any given moment for all the three years of my BA.) So I started accumulating books on my "will read after BA/MA" stack, and that's how they stay till this day.
I'm glad your slump has receded and you can once again take comfort and joy in reading. (Did I say that I'm impressed by the amount of books you read every week?)

>125 FAMeulstee: a prose translation! I've never heard of it!
Dante is on my TBR list (so far I've only read excerpts); I sometimes feel lke it wasn't the best idea, but my year in Italy starts with two months of classes on Dante & dante-ish literature... So I'll be reading "The Divine Comedy" in original. Wish me luck...
Paradise went a bit too much in Roman Catholic beliefs to be enjoyed by me.
Well, Dante was Catholic. I personally find it really ironic-and-funny that he decided to incorporate lots of people of his time into his journey: bishops, dukes, governors, etc.---there's nothing like a subtle dig of putting your adversary in Hell...

>126 FAMeulstee: looking at the History through the eyes of specific people and their history is always fascinating. But you're right, sometimes it can be a bit too much.

>133 FAMeulstee: I dislike air conditioning, especially in cars. It makes me worried I'll get sick instantly. Unfortunately, next week I'm supposed to go to the uni library to finish a late-exam project, and I'm dreading it either way: either they'll have repaired the A/C by now, which means I'll have to bring a sweater, or they won't, which means after a few hours I'll be positively exhausted (even more due to the fact that my lovely old laptop likes to radiate lots of energy after a couple hours).

Oooof, I've done it... sorry for this too-long post. WIll say on top from now on. Have a good day!

(It's around 30 degrees here, prognosis for the week are slightly over 30 with possible storm on Friday)

>144 zuzaer: Glad to see you back, Zuzaer.

Roses are my favorites in the garden. I love my garden, but sometimes, when there is a lot of work to do, I long for going back to an appartment, with only a few roses in pots on the balcony.

Thanks for sharing this all about Sienkiewicz, I must admit I knew not much about him. I did look him up at Wikipedia, when I started Quo vadis.
Many 19th century writers published their works in magazines and/or papers first (like Dickens, Karl May, and in Dutch Couperus), so all chapters had the about same length, and a tiny cliffhanger at the end, to keep the readers reading.

Polish -> Russian -> English -> Dutch Translations of translations were more common in the past, and often also abridged. The copy I read was based on the first translation, and then restored back to the whole story, with help of a translator of Polish.

La Superba is no part of a series.

Cop Killer can be read without reading the previous books, although there is a connection to the frst book Roseanna. Pesonally I try to read series in order, with an exception now and then.

The translator of Dante said in his afterword that he did choose for a prose translation to be able to cover the whole content/meaning of the book, realising he would miss out on rhyme and rhytm.
I now got the poetic translation from the e-library, to read next month, when the first is still fresh on my mind.
Wishing you luck with reading Dante in Italian!

When I read for the first time about a country/place in a certain time, it impresses more than the tenth time you read about it. That tenth book can be impressive in other ways, outstanding use of language, very ingenious plot etc. Hanna's Daughters was good and well written, but not special or outstanding to me.

Sorry to read you have trouble with air conditioning, I would melt with so many days with temperatures around 30°C!
Our summers used to be cool, with one or two heat waves (above 30°C) every few years.

Happy Wednesday, Anita. I hope the week is going well. I am currently enjoying Unseen City. You might like this one.

>145 FAMeulstee: There are always pros and cons to having a full garden, I guess. I think I understand the feeling of just wanting to not have all the responsibilities that come with it.

I guess 19th century really was a newspaper era, then! (Knowing all that I know of the beginning of mass-print and how it all started with press, I find I'm not really shocked by it.)

It's good to see that the editor of you "Quo Vadis" wanted to somehow "improve" the abridged version, although it does make me wonder about the copyrights and the author as a co-author and so on... Definitely (in theory) creates an interesting mix of things. The similar problem of translating from translation comes in the first Polish edition of Anne of Green Gables. I'm a bit touchy on this subject, but the fact remains that it's possible (or certain?) that R. Bernsteinowa translated from Swedish.

Cop Killer and La Superba are going to my wishlist.

A prosaic translation is always easier. I was fortunate enough to attend a course on editing translated texts this semester---in reality we mostly translated excerpts by ourselves ;) Translating is a hard work in itself, when you couple that with the confines of a metric and rhythmic verse... Ouch! Big respect for poetry translators.

I don't mind the heat, but it does make me sleepy in the afternoon and actually makes me consider my daily & sleep schedule to accomodate to that. But this year my summer is busy and I don't spend more than a week and a half in one place, so it'd be useless to try and change a whole living schedule. That said, my room, which is on the second floot, is absolutely not good place to be in unless one happens to have an electric fan, which I currently have not. So I'm resolving to do some work there in the evening, and in the meantime enjoy a slightly cooler temperature in the living room two floors below.

Hi Anita! *smooch*

>142 RebaRelishesReading: Ah, but *where* in Washington? Eastern/desert part, or Seattle? I think Seattleites would *swoon* in 116° heat!

I completely concur about 65° being perfect. 80° is tolerable.

>149 richardderus: SW Washington -- west of the Cascades, on the Columbia River -- pretty much the same weather as Seattle

>148 zuzaer: The first Dutch Quo vadis translation was published in 1898, so I don't think there were copyrights involved for the original translator.
Tranlations from translations are better than no translation at all ;-)

I think it takes a very special translator to translate poetry. I like it when they put the original next to the translation, even if I don't know anything of the original language.

Now we have three cooler days to enjoy :-)

>149 richardderus: Agreed on 65°F (18°C) being perfect, Richard dear.
*smooch*

>150 RebaRelishesReading: It is getting warmer everywhere :-(

I agree with everything re translations :) All the translators in the world are doing so much for us... My utmost respect.

I'm going to disagree on the perfect temperature ;) but then I've always liked when it's rather warmer than not, and I really dislike being cold. (The only accepted cold is in winter, but coupled with snow. If there's no snow, why try and be cold all day?)

>152 zuzaer: Then we should agree to disagree on teperature. Differences are good :-)

In winter the thermostat in our livingroom is at 18°C during the day, and upstairs we only put the radiators on when it is so cold the water pipes could freeze. With cold I can put on extra clothes, with heat there is an end to taking off clothes ;-)

I'm not sure if the event is transnational or not, but August is Women In Translation Month here. I've got a bunch of DRCs written and translated by women to post that month. Permaybehaps other languages than American English do this too...?

>153 FAMeulstee: I'm being touristic in as much cover up as possible, the sun is not kind to my skin. There is definitely a limit to removing clothes!

I saw a poster for a theatre show based on Winnetou this week, and thought of you. I had not heard of this story until LT.

>154 richardderus: I checked (albeit only in Google) and haven't found anything---but the idea is interesting.

>154 richardderus: I can't find anything here, Richard dear.
Translated books are way more normal here, more than half of the shelves in bookstores are filled with translated books. Books in Dutch are in more need of promotion.

>155 charl08: Sounds like Austrian temperatures are not kind to you, Charlotte. Well, it wasn't much better this week at home, I think.
How nice you thought of me seeing the name of Winnetou. Back then I was very surprised he wasn't known in the English speaking world.

>156 zuzaer: Neither did I. Like here, I think, books in Polish need more promotion then translations. In smaller languages are more translations available.

>157 FAMeulstee:, >156 zuzaer: I think the idea, which includes translators here, is focused on getting people to read more books in translation by women—surely that part could use some pepping up in both Poland and the Netherlands. Making sure translators get credit for their work is a big piece of Women in Translation Month!

Rachel Cordasco's Twitter account for the concept is here if y'all get curious: https://twitter.com/Read_WIT

>110 FAMeulstee: I'm glad you got your reading zing back Anita. I've only lost mine for the odd month or two here or there. For some reason often in October. Not for a while though.

>157 FAMeulstee: I haven't been to a bookstore in ages but I'd guess it's about 50/50, depending on the genre of the book; and yes, books in vernacular can always use a bit more promoting.

>158 richardderus: I only managed a few tweets as I don't have an account, but the idea sounds wonderful. If we're going to start talking examples, right now I'm reading Irene Vallejo and her essay on books in Ancient world (fascinating!). Maybe my next focus will be chosen purposefully, written (harder) or translated (easier---at least in novel genre) by women.

>100 FAMeulstee: I am ashamed to say that I don't know as much about the Congo as I should! This one sounds like a good start to remedy that....but I would have to ask myself if I could handle all the trauma that the country seems to have been subject to at the hands of its colonists.

>158 richardderus: That part can always use some extra promotion, Richard dear.
Translators do get some more recognition, sometimes even named on the cover. I think that is good.
Avoiding the Twitter vortex, if I go there it ends up in doom-scrolling.

>159 Caroline_McElwee: Thank you, Caroline, I hope I will never go back to that state. But if Depression ever returns, I will have no choice. I feel very lucky to be able to read so much for so long now :-)
I hope your reading will keep on flowing, even on October.

>160 zuzaer: I was in a large bookstore last month, and estimate it is more like 40/60 Dutch vs translated.
I see more and more that books are translated by two translators working together.

>161 LovingLit: There are so many parts of the world I could say the same about, Megan.
I do recommend this book if you are up to read about Congo.

Read, not yet reviewed:
#185: Vertrouwelijke zaken (Blood from a Stone; Brunetti 14) by Donna Leon
#186: De kunst van het oorlogvoeren (The Art of War) by Sun Tzu
#187: Vlucht (Migrations) by Charlotte McConaghy
#188: Leven en wandel van Zorbás de Griek (Zorba the Greek) by Nikos Kazantzakis
#189: Het ijzig hart (The Frozen Heart) by Almudena Grandes

Reading now:
De harde kern 3 by Frida Vogels
De tuinen van Dorr (The Gardens of Dorr) by Paul Biegel
De reparatie van de wereld by Slobodan Šnajder

book 185: Vertrouwelijke zaken by Donna Leon
library, e-book, translated, original title Blood from a Stone, 224 pages
TIOLI Challenge #4: Read a book which is the 7th book in a series or later

Commissario Brunetti book 14
An African street seller is shot to death. When Brunetti investigates the case, he soon is taken from the case, without much explanation. Brunetti keeps on digging in the world of illegal African immigrants, trying to keep his investigations from his chief.

Attentive readers of my thread may notice I read this one completely out of order. My library had a copy, that was missing when I requested it early 2020. So I decided to skip this one. Last month I noticed it was available at the e-library, so I could finally read it.

Dutch title translated: Confidential affairs

book 186: De kunst van het oorlogvoeren by Sun Tzu
own, translated from Chinese, English translation The Art of War, 288 pages
TIOLI Challenge #15: Read a Book written by a Chinese born author

A Chinese classic written around 500 BC. A mix of philosophy, politics, strategy and practical advice on war. A different way of thinking, compared to ancient Greek and Roman. No gods who interfere/rule the life of humans.

My edition from the 1990s was translated from the English translation, so there is probably some essence lost. Recent (at the time, in the 1970s) found additions were included. Some additional information about the site, and graves, where these new findings were found.

Dutch title translated: The art of making war

book 187: Vlucht by Charlotte McConaghy
library, translated, original title Migrations, 351 pages
TIOLI Challenge #5: Read a book you intended to read earlier this year

Somewhere in the future, when climate change rapidly changed earth and its inhabitants, Franny has put bands on three of the last surviving arctic terns, so they can be followed on their way from Greenland to Antarctica. Now she has to find a ship that goes there, so she can actually follow them.
She talks herself into a place on one of the last fishing boats. Slowly we find out more about Franny and her troubled past.

I had hoped for a little more birds, and a bit less human troubles, trauma, and interactions.
Not sure if it might be a wrong translation, but crows are NOT migrating birds.

Dutch title translated: Flight

book 188: Leven en wandel van Zorbás de Griek by Nikos Kazantzakis
1001 books, library, e-book, translated from Greek, English translation Zorba the Greek, 366 pages
TIOLI Challenge #16: Read a book with a name in the title

An unnamed narrator meets Zorba, while on a ship to Crete. The narrator is an intelectual, fascinated by (an odd intrepretation of) Buddhism. Zorba lives in the moment, where there is no yesterday or tomorrow. The narrator wants to explore a lignite mine on Crete, and takes Zorba as his foreman. They live in relative peace with the villagers, and Zorba gets involved with Hortense, a former mistress of four admirals. When the villagers go after a woman, Zorba stands up and tries to prvent the honor killing. Eventually the paths of the narrator and Zorba take different ways.

So far so good, but then the way women are portrayed is terrible, even for the time this was written. It might have been this bad in Greece at the time, but still it was hard work to finish the book. Glad it is done. I am generous with giving it three stars.

Dutch title translated: Life and walk of Zorbás the Greek

book 189: Het ijzig hart by Almudena Grandes
library, translated from Spanish, English translation The Frozen Heart, 854 pages
TIOLI Challenge #17: Read a book that fewer than 2022 members have in their catalog

Epic Spanish family saga, the faith of two related families going from the time of the Spanish Civil War until the early 21st century. One part of the family ends up in exile in France, only returning after Franco died, The other part of family returns to Spain after WWII, stealing the fortune of the first family, going along with the regime, living a wealthy life. With fear as major influence on both sides.
Combined with a love story, started with lies and deception, in trying to make things right.

I immensly enjoyed this book. Still after reading many books about Spain in the 20th century, it is incomprehensible to me that fascists could stay in power so long in Spain after WWII.

Dutch title translated: The icy heart

>162 FAMeulstee: Delurking 'Hello!!'

If I'm in the mood for research and admin when I'm cataloguing my books or writing a review I'll update my entries on LibraryThing with translators, cover artists etc. That way, at least they're in the records somewhere.

>170 humouress: Naming translators in your book records is good, Nina.
At first I also added cover artists, cover designers etc. Now I only put the translator(s), and authors of introductions, forewords, and afterwords in my records, when I add a book.

Read, not yet reviewed:
#190: De tuinen van Dorr (The Gardens of Dorr) by Paul Biegel
#191: De harde kern 3 by Frida Vogels

Reading now:
De reparatie van de wereld by Slobodan Šnajder
Requiem voor een vriend by J.J. Voskuil
De vrouw met de moedervlek (Woman with Birthmark; Van Veeteren 4) by Håkan Nesser

>163 FAMeulstee: Two translators working together! Now that is a peculiar idea. I wonder how do they work in such way.

>165 FAMeulstee: Venice! Is the whole series based in lovely Venice, Italy?

>169 FAMeulstee: One does wonder how did we end up with the 20th century mess throughout Europe...

>173 zuzaer: I think it fist started with more experienced translators helping starting translators. And then some found out working together gave better results.

Yes, all 31 Commissario Brunetti books are set in Venice.

And not only in Europe....

I also like adding the translator - also checking the original language is correct. I think having two translators makes a lot of sense. From listening to the translated fiction bookgroup events, I've got the impression that some translators are working as part of a group process, sometimes with the original author, other times with editors or publishers.

>175 charl08: I check all those when I start reading a book from my own library. Books from the public library are entered when I reserve them, or when I know I probably get to it soon.
Yes, working in a group can give a better translation, and so does feedback from the author or others. Although I do understand some prefer to work alone.

>175 charl08: from what I gathered (and I'm studying things connected with publishing, with a class on editing the translation this past semester), you always work with an editor. Well, unless you're self publishing, but otherwise the publisher won't let you publish anything not checked by an editor. Sometimes it's just language and facts, sometimes there's another editor who checks the translation against original work. As for working with the original author, well, that generally depends on whether the author is alive ;) and probably on the author in question (i.e., I can't imagine big names like Nicholas Sparks working with all the translators from all the languages). Group translating would be something very different than those quite natural processes.

Hello Anita, Marina tells me she is in a bit of a book funk now and I am pretty sure it is university-related. It happened to me: so much reading and studying required that I think we temporarily forget how to read for pleasure, or our brains are not set up to do so. After my brother got his PhD it took him a few years to be able to read again. I'm glad you are reading:).

And comfortable in air conditioning. We have never had it, and since we've been our house - 20 years now - there have historically been only a handful of days that have been really miserable. Alas, those days are more and more, but it is hard to find an air conditioning solution we like. We've had a couple of weeks of temperatures in the mid 90s (35 ish degrees) but today it has been mercifully cool and wet. We've all had trouble sleeping. And going back to the last time I posted here, I was talking about a very late and heavy snow!

>158 richardderus: I’d see it as reading books in other languages than English. Books originally in English get so much more promotion, that all other languages suffer from it. So writers from other languages need promotion.

We do get more translations from other languages in our bookshops, but I still think it’s a good idea.

I’ve never read De tuinen van Dorr but I found it as an audio book in the online library! Nice.

>169 FAMeulstee: Thanks for that review, Anita. Added it to the TBR. Hope I can get to it anytime:-)

>165 FAMeulstee: I really need to get back to that series at some point!

>167 FAMeulstee: I own that one and need to get it read.

>169 FAMeulstee: Adding that one to the BlackHole. Thanks for the recommendation, Anita!

Have a marvelous Monday!

Hi Anita! Steamy warm here, hoping for a thunderstorm to break the temperatures a bit. I've just been reading Zweig talking about the perfect summer of 1914. I don't know how he manages to make this interesting when I've read this kind of comment so many times before, but he does.

>177 zuzaer: How lucky you are to be studying publishing, that sounds fascinating. The bookgroup I've mentioned might be of interest then. It's held online, open to all. It's led by the small publisher of translated fiction (into English) Peirene, and highlights a different book and publisher each meeting, usually with the translator and publisher discussing their work for about 40 minutes, sometimes also with the author. It's fascinating hearing about how the process works in practice for these small presses. One described how they recently were founded, beginning with just one employee (the publisher himself) translating work. Others exclusively focus on one language (e.g. FdE). Yet another has a radical, political approach to their work (Comma Press).

>181 charl08: Thank you. I actually study a mix of Language and Literature with a handful of computer programmes useful in graphic design and DTP, as well as more traditional things like language editing with a side on "how to publish a 16th to 20th century manuscript/hand-pressed book". (It is fascinating; I feel so lucky I've found this field of study in my city!) I've had one or two courses on the publishing world itself, otherwise it's lots of hand-on and workshop approach to various elements of a publication.

This bookgroup sounds fascinating! Would you care to provide a link to the website? It sounds like something I might want to engage in if the meetings' time will be doable.

>168 FAMeulstee: I started Zorba once in my twenties, didn't get far, and have not yet felt the impulse to try again. Sounds like a good choice so far. The Brunetti series, though .... someday ...

>178 AMQS: Thank you, Anne, I am also glad I am able to read :-)
Sorry about Marina, reading for study is something else, that can get in the way of reading for pleasure. I hope she finds her way back.

We had a very warm first summer after we moved here. I tried various other solutions before giving in and get air conditioning upstairs. At that time we got rid of our extra freezer (that we used for meat for the dogs, we only had one small dog left, instead of 3 large dogs as we had before), so our electricity bill stayed the same.
Is it easy to cool down your house after such a long strech of warm weather?

>179 EllaTim: I thought the same, Ella. We are so much more used to read books in translation.
I hope you will enjoy De tuinen van Dorr (although I prefer Het sleutelkruid), and The Frozen Heart. I discovered Almudena Grandes only recently, and have again a book by her to read next month: De vijand van mijn vader.

>180 alcottacre: Hi Stasia, happy Monday!
I am sure Brunetti wil get himself into your reading again someday.
Always glad to add to the BlackHole and/or remind you of owned unread books :-)

>181 charl08: I hope it cools down a bit, Charlotte. We have some wind, but the wind is warm, so not much help yet. Last night was also warm, barely under 20°C, so the house didn't cool down. Tonight should be better, and two more cool days they say, yay!
Zweig was a great writer, my favorite Zweig is The World of Yesterday.

>183 swynn: Indeed good choice, Steve. I almost never manage to quit a book I started, so doomed to read it all. Zorba is on the 1001 books list, so at least I could mark it as read there.
Brunetti is alsway enjoyable company.

Read, not yet reviewed:
#190: De tuinen van Dorr (The Gardens of Dorr) by Paul Biegel
#191: De harde kern 3 by Frida Vogels
#192: De vrouw met de moedervlek (Woman with Birthmark; Van Veeteren 4) by Håkan Nesser
#193: De tunnel by Anna Woltz

Reading now:
De reparatie van de wereld by Slobodan Šnajder
Requiem voor een vriend by J.J. Voskuil
Bijzondere opdrachten (Special Assignments; Erast Fandorin 5) - Boris Akoenin

>178 AMQS: Hi Anne! I did very little reading for pleasure during college and work years -- there was so much study/work related reading to be done I felt guilty if I just read for pleasure. All of which has made retirement all the more pleasurable because I can read what I want all of the time :)

>187 RebaRelishesReading: It's almost comforting to see I'm not the only one with those exact problems. Although in my case it's too many things to read to even think about reading for pleasure during the semester...

book 190: De tuinen van Dorr by Paul Biegel
library, e-book, childrens, Dutch,, English translation The Gardens of Dorr, 184 pages
TIOLI Challenge #16: Read a book with a name in the title

Fairytale.
A city under a spell, a king, a witch, a young gardener, a princess, and a quest to break a spell.

Enjoyable play with language and names in this fairytale. Not Biegel's best, I prefer some others he wrote.

English and Dutch title are the same

book 191: De harde kern 3 by Frida Vogels
library, e-book, poetry, Dutch, no translations, 335 pages
TIOLI Challenge #17: Read a book that fewer than 2022 members have in their catalog

De harde kern book 3
After two autobiographic books, the third contains her poetry.
Most are more like random thoughts, a few are well worth reading.

Dutch title translated: The hard core 3

book 192: De vrouw met de moedervlek by Håkan Nesser
library, e-book, translated from Swedish, English translation Woman with Birthmark, 314 pages
TIOLI Challenge #17: Read a book that fewer than 2022 members have in their catalog

Inspector Van Veeteren book 4
After her mother is burried, a woman starts to kill off some man, shooting them in the chest and groin. Van Veeteren has a hard time to connect the murders.

Dutch title translated: The woman with the birthmark

Looks like you need some better reads, Anita! I hope your next ones are better than 3 star ones for you!

book 193: De tunnel by Anna Woltz
library, e-book, YA, Dutch, no translations, 231 pages
TIOLI Challenge #17: Read a book that fewer than 2022 members have in their catalog

London during the Blitz, every night the city is bombed. Many people hide underground at the subway stations. Fourteen year old Ella and her little brother Robbie slepp there every night with their parents. They meet Jay, who tries to earn money in every way, and Quinn, who run away from her noble home in the country, and wants to be a nurse.

Title translated: The tunnel

book 194: Bijzondere opdrachten by Boris Akoenin
library, translated from Russian, English translation Special Assignments, 318 pages
TIOLI Challenge #17: Read a book that fewer than 2022 members have in their catalog

Erast Fandorin book 5
Two stories, in the first (Jack of Spades) Fandorin goes after a con man. At first is thought it is a whole gang. The con man, and his female assistant are very good in disguising themself, playing various roles in their con play.
In the second story (The Decorator) a serial killer is brutally murdering prostitutes. It looks like 'Jack the Ripper' has moved to Moscow.

Enjoyable read, I have the next one ready to read next month

English and Dutch title are the same

>192 alcottacre: Yes they were, Stasia, next ones are a 3½ star and a 4 star read :-)
In my book it is a good reading month with two 4½ star reads.

Up to date with my reviews.

Reading now:
De reparatie van de wereld by Slobodan Šnajder
Requiem voor een vriend by J.J. Voskuil
Ogen van de Rigel (Eyes of the Rigel) by Roy Jacobsen

...and only a few days until August, so new thread time!

*smooch*

>197 richardderus: First I want to finsh my last two books, Richard dear.
I did finish #195 Eyes of the Rigel today.
Tomorrow I won't have time to read, as we will celebrate my fathers 92nd birthday two days early.

Yesterday we saw a little fawn hiding in the bushes next to the biking path, so cute!

>184 FAMeulstee: I think Marina will get there. She is trying to break the funk by reading old favorites, but as many of us have discovered, sometimes childhood favorites can sometimes disappoint. She decided to revisit the Narnia series, but gave up partway through The Voyage of the Dawn Treader. She has an audio going, and she's such a reader I know it will come back.

>187 RebaRelishesReading:, >188 zuzaer: I definitely read a lot more on school breaks, but that includes a lot of newer middle grade titles which I do read for work. My husband and I took a long weekend and went to Taos, New Mexico, and I joked that it was a double vacation for me, since I am on summer break. But I have been strongly hinting how much we would enjoy retirement. Not quite ready financially, but mentally I'm there!

>199 AMQS: Some old favorites are always good to get me back into reading, Anne. The ones that disappoint at their last read, won't be read again. I only discovered the Narnia books here on LT, they are not on my list to read again, although I did once to finish a TIOLI sweep ;-)
I am sure Marina will get back into reading a again. University demands a lot of other reading, that does take a lot of time, so recreational reading suffers from it.

>194 FAMeulstee: That is a series that I need to return to at some point. I think I own all of the books in it.

>195 FAMeulstee: Great!

Have a fantastic Friday and a wonderful weekend, Anita!

>201 alcottacre: Sadly the Dutch translations ended after book 7, Stasia, so I have only two more Erast Fandorin books left.

Happy weekend!

I had an odd Wordle result today, not a single letter in my first two guesses:

Wordle 406 4/6

⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜
⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜
🟩🟩⬜⬜⬜
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 peony, mirth, black, bluff

And I was lucky with the Dutch Woordle:

Woordle 406 2/6

⬜⬜🟨🟨⬜
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 adieu, plein

Happy Saturday, Anita. Have a great weekend. Sorry to hear that Migrations didn't win you over. I loved that debut and her follow-up is a gem too.

>204 msf59: Happy Saturday, Mark.
I wasn't completely convinced by Migrations, it was a good enough read. I still have her next, Once There Were Wolves, on my list.

>203 FAMeulstee: I had the same weirdness on my Wordle today, and it was a very strange sensation. It was full of useful information, though, ten letters out of twenty-six that I can't use.

>206 richardderus: And we didn't use the same first word. Indeed letters that are not used are also good information to go on. I was happy with four :-)

Read, not yet reviewed:
#195: Ogen van de Rigel (Eyes of the Rigel) by Roy Jacobsen
#196: De reparatie van de wereld by Slobodan Šnajder

Reading now:
Requiem voor een vriend by J.J. Voskuil

book 195: Ogen van de Rigel by Roy Jacobsen
library, translated from Norwegian, English translation Eyes of the Rigel, 231 pages
TIOLI Challenge #17: Read a book that fewer than 2022 members have in their catalog

Ingrid Barroy book 3
Ingrid Barrøy leaves the island with her baby daughter Kaja, to find Alexander, the Russian father of Kaja. The war is just over, and not everyone wants to tell her what they know about Alexander. The sacars of the war can be seen everywhere, both in people and in the landscape.

English and Dutch title are the same

book 196: De reparatie van de wereld by Slobodan Šnajder
own, translated from Croatian, no English translation, 479 pages
TIOLI Challenge #17: Read a book that fewer than 2022 members have in their catalog

Georg (callname Ɖuka) Kempf is born in Croatia. His forefathers came from Germany in the 18th century. When the Germans take over he is supposed to be a "Volksdeutscher", a German in Hitlers ideas. In 1943 he is forced to join an SS-division that fights in Poland. With help of a woman, who is part of the Polish resistance, he manages to escape. After wandering a long time trough Poland, he manages to join the Red Army, and gets a permit to return to Croatia. Back home many of his friends have died in the war. He marries a communist partizan, and gets a son, who writes this book after his fathers death.

An impressive story, and a great read.

Dutch title translated: The reparation of the world

book 197: Requiem voor een vriend by J.J. Voskuil
library, ebook, Dutch, no translations, 486 pages
TIOLI Challenge #17: Read a book that fewer than 2022 members have in their catalog

Han Voskuil was friends with Jan Breugelman since primary school. When Jan died, Han reconstructed their friendship by the letters, cards and notes Jan sended him during his life. Close friends until university, discussing literature, politics and more. When Jan gets maried, their friendship fades a bit. Jan moves more to the political right, while Voskuil stays more left wing (he wife even further to the left). Late in life Jan is diagnosed bipolar, and they get closer again towards the tragic end.

Title translated: Requiem for a friend

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

25 books read, 9.331 pages, 301,0 pages a day
  (197 books read, 60.702 pages, 286,3 pages a day)

--
books:

own books: 7 (41)
from the library: 18 (156)

male author: 19 (138)
female author: 6 (59)

originally written in Dutch: 8 (60)
translated into Dutch: 17 (137)
- original language:
  Chinese: 1 (2)
  Croatian: 1 (1)
  Danish: 0 (1)
  English: 4 (62)
  French: 0 (15)
  German: 0 (7)
  Greek: 1 (1)
  Hebrew: 0 (1)
  Icelandic: 0 (1)
  Italian: 1 (12)
  Norwegian: 2 (7)
  Polish: 1 (3)
  Portuguese: 0 (1)
  Russian: 1 (4)
  Spanish: 1 (5)
  Swedish: 4 (13)
  Turkish: 0 (1)

fiction: 23 (164)
non-fiction: 2 (33)

paper books: 15 (120)
e-books: 10 (77)

mystery/police procedural: 5 (24)
childrens/YA: 4 (31)
1001 books: 3 (11)
  Total 1001 books since 2008: 238
Dutch Canon: 0 (4)
  Total Dutch Canon since 2008: 39 of 125

--
pages:

0 - 100 pages: 1 (19)
101 - 200 pages: 1 (38)
201 - 300 pages: 8 (52)
301 - 400 pages: 7 (48)
401 - 500 pages: 4 (18)
501 - 999 pages: 4 (20)
1000+ pages: 0 (2)

longest book 854 pages (1077 pages)
shortest book 28 pages (28 pages)
average book 373 pages (308 pages)

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own books read are on the shelf since:

before 2008: 3 (30)
2010: 1 (2)
2016: 1 (1)
2017: 0 (1)
2020: 0 (3)
2021: 2 (2)
2022: 0 (2)

--
date first published:

5th century BC: 1 (1)
14th century: 1 (1)
19th century: 1 (2)

20th century
1910s: 0 (1)
1920s: 0 (2)
1930s: 0 (5)
1940s: 1 (9)
1950s: 1 (7)
1960s: 2 (6)
1970s: 1 (18)
1980s: 0 (21)
1990s: 4 (18)

21st century
2000s: 4 (17)
2010s: 6 (56)
2020s: 3 (33)

--
ratings:

0 (4)
3 (16)
9 (74)
8 (64)
5 (37)
0 (2)

--
Best books in July


Congo (Congo) by David Van Reybrouck
Het ijzig hart (The Frozen Heart) by Almudena Grandes
De reparatie van de wereld by Slobodan Šnajder

===

walking in July: walked 18 days, 77,3 km; average 4,29 km/day
  (166 days, 896,0 km; average 5,40 km/day)

e-biking in July: biked 13 days, 234,7 km; average 18,05 km/day
  (46 days, 905,0 km; 19,67 km/day)

>211 FAMeulstee: This sounds like a very dear and full of emotions book. I wonder how it would compare to Amica geniale by Elena Ferrante, although I know almost nothing about that one too.

>212 FAMeulstee: As always, impressive numbers! Are you happy with this month's reads?

>213 zuzaer: Only part of the time frame is comparable.
White males in the Netherlands have a very different life compared to females from Naples.
I would recommend Amica geniale. Read it in translation if in Italian isn't doable yet.

Yes, very happy, three 4½* reads, and nothing below 3* :-)

>214 FAMeulstee: I started reading it some time ago, but I kept wondering what is going on and where the story is leading. Maybe I'll give it another try sometime.