MissBrangwen's reading delights in 2024

(Armchair Bookshop in Edinburgh, one of my favourite bookshops.)

Hi, I am Mirjam and this is my fourth year in the Category Challenge. In the first three years I encountered a huge reading/online slump each summer, and in 2024 I am determined to avoid that and stay focused on my books!
I live in the north of Germany close to the North Sea, together with my husband. We are both college teachers and besides reading, we love traveling. In 2023 I also joined a choir for the first time in more than fifteen years, and I am happy about the fact that music is back in my life.

I love this group so much because the challenges bring books to my attention that have often lingered on my shelves for many years without really being noticed. I also enjoy the atmosphere, it is such a comforting place with wonderful conversations, inspiration and kindness, and of course lots of BBs!

In 2023 I read about 2/3 books from my shelves and 1/2 new books - I was quite content with that although I aspire to read even more from my shelves. I plan to participate in several CATs and KITs, but not in all of them. If I don't have a book that fits a prompt, I will not participate in that month. Books are eligible to count for multiple challenges. I am also keeping my categories from last year.

~~~

Like last year, I don't have a dedicated theme, but decided to use pictures from my travels from 2023 that have a connection to books.

~~~

My reading year runs from Dec 24 to Dec 23!

Currently Reading

Chronological List

1. Assassin's Apprentice by Robin Hobb
2. The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis
3. Dragonfly in Amber by Diana Gabaldon
4. Das Geheimnis der Weihnacht by Tomáš Halík
5. My Dear I Wanted To Tell You by Louisa Young
6. Crimespotting - An Edinburgh Crime Collection by Lin Anderson et al.
7. Der Klang meines Lebens by Patricia Kelly
8. The Secret History of the Pink Carnation by Lauren Willig
9. Murder on the Enriqueta by Molly Thynne
10. Little Deaths by Emma Flint
11. Slightly Wicked by Mary Balogh
12. Der tote Rittmeister by Elsa Dix
13. Maeshowe and the Heart of Neolithic Orkney by Sally Foster
14. Letters of Note - Love ed. by Shaun Usher
15. Summer in February by Jonathan Smith
16. The Horse and His Boy by C.S. Lewis
17. The Hanging Garden by Ian Rankin
18. Die Nesträuber by Brigitte Blobel
19. The Spoilt Kill by Mary Kelly
20. The Crow Folk by Mark Stay
21. Homecomings by Isabella Hargreaves
22. All Quiet On The Western Plains by Isabella Hargreaves
23. Journey's End On The Western Plains by Isabella Hargreaves
24. Red, White & Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston
25. Poet's Corner - Westminster Abbey by James Wilkinson
26. The Cuckoo's Calling by Robert Galbraith
27. Goblin Market and Other Poems by Christina Rossetti
28. Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas
29. Skara Brae by David Clarke
30. The Hill We Climb by Amanda Gorman
31. Death Is Not The End by Ian Rankin

(Armchair Books, Edinburgh)

Rereading Fiction
This category is reserved for fiction. Non-fiction rereads are not included.

1. The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis
2. Dragonfly in Amber by Diana Gabaldon
3. The Horse and His Boy by C.S. Lewis

(Armchair Books, Edinburgh)

Doorstoppers
All books that have more than 600 pages, or more than 500 if the print is tiny.

1. Dragonfly in Amber by Diana Gabaldon (950pp.)

(Literatų gatvė is a street in Vilnius that celebrates many different authors with unique commemorative plaques.)

J.R.R. Tolkien
All books connected to J.R.R. Tolkien in any way.

(The street in Berlin where Gotthold Ephraim Lessing lived. His house was the smallest white one.)

Classics
All books written before 1974.

1. The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis
2. Murder on the Enriqueta by Molly Thynne
3. The Horse and His Boy by C.S. Lewis
4. The Spoilt Kill by Mary Kelly
5. Goblin Market and Other Poems by Christina Rossetti

(These statues in Kaunas commemorate the smugglers who brought Lithuanian books into Lithuania when the country was part of the empire of the Tsar and books in that language were forbidden, as well as the mothers who secretly taught Lithuanian to their children while instructing them in household skills.)

Nonfiction

Autobiography | Memoir | Letters | Biography
Der Klang meines Lebens by Patricia Kelly
Letters of Note - Love ed. by Shaun Usher

Health

History
Maeshowe and the Heart of Neolithic Orkney by Sally Foster
Skara Brae by David Clarke

Politics | Sociology | Critical Theory

Religion
Das Geheimnis der Weihnacht by Tomáš Halík

Travel

Others
Poet's Corner - Westminster Abbey by James Wilkinson



Great Courses

(Mint Vinetu, a bookshop in Vilnius)

Poetry

1. Goblin Market and Other Poems by Christina Rossetti
2. The Hill We Climb by Amanda Gorman

(Mint Vinetu, a bookshop in Vilnius)

Short Reads
Single short stories and articles (when I do not read the whole collection) read for leisure - texts read for work are not included.

Short stories and other prose

Articles and essays

(The Book Nook, a bookshop café in Stirling, Scotland)

Series

Ongoing Series

Bedwyn Series by Mary Balogh (reading in order)
- Slightly Wicked (2/6)

Neues vom Süderhof by Brigitte Blobel (not reading in order)
- Die Nesträuber (10/23)

Seebad-Krimi by Elsa Dix (reading in order)
- Der tote Rittmeister (2/4)

Outlander by Diana Gabaldon (reading in order - reread)
- Dragonfly in Amber (2/9)

Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis (reading in order - reread)
- The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (2/7)
- The Horse and His Boy (3/7)

Inspector Rebus by Ian Rankin (reading in order)
- The Hanging Garden (9/24)
- Death Is Not The End (9.5/24)

New series

The Farseer Trilogy by Robin Hobb (reading in order)
- Assassin's Apprentice (1/3)

Realm of the Elderlings by Robin Hobb (reading in order)
- Assassin's Apprentice (1/16)

Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas (reading in recommended order)
- Throne of Glass (1/8)

The Witches of Woodville by Mark Stay (reading in order)
- The Crow Folk (1/4)

Riley Purefoy by Louisa Young (reading in order)
- My Dear I Wanted To Tell You (1/3)

Finished and up to date series

Homecomings by Isabella Hargreaves (read in order)
- Homecomings (1/3)
- All Quiet On The Western Plains (2/3)
- Journey's End On The Western Plains (3/3)

Hedley Nicholson by Mary Kelly (not read in order)
- The Spoilt Kill (1/2)

(Rheinsberg Castle, which is the location of the Kurt Tucholsky Museum. Both Tucholsky and Theodor Fontane visited this castle.)

Historical Fiction Challenge

1. Set in the country you're from
2. Set in a different country
3. Set in your favourite historical period
4. Set in period you're less familiar with
5. Historical fiction with a speculative element
6. About a real historical figure or a specific event
7. A work of historical fiction of over 500 pages
8./Bonus: A classic work of historical fiction

Novels read for this challenge:
Dragonfly in Amber by Diana Gabaldon - 2, 5, 6, 7
My Dear I Wanted To Tell You by Louisa Young - 2, 6
The Secret History of the Pink Carnation by Lauren Willig - 2
Der tote Rittmeister by Elsa Dix - 1
Summer in February by Jonathan Smith - 2, 6
The Crow Folk by Mark Stay - 2, 5
All Quiet On The Western Plains by Isabella Hargreaves - 2


Historical romances that I read but did not count for this challenge:
Slightly Wicked by Mary Balogh
Homecomings by Isabella Hargreaves
Journey's End On The Western Plains by Isabella Hargreaves

Reading Through Time - Monthly Topics

January: Janus
The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis
Dragonfly in Amber by Diana Gabaldon

February: Aquarius and Amethyst
Der tote Rittmeister by Elsa Dix

March: Medicine, Epidemics, and Plagues
All Quiet On The Western Plains by Isabella Hargreaves

Reading Through Time - Quarterly Topics

January - March: Prehistory
Maeshowe and the Heart of Neolithic Orkney by Sally Foster
Skara Brae by David Clarke

1. Something themed around food or cooking:
2. A book with an ugly cover: Murder on the Enriqueta by Molly Thynne
3. A book with nothing on the cover but the title and author:
4. A book featuring twins: The Horse and His Boy by C.S. Lewis
5. A book about a topic about which you have specific knowledge or expertise:
6. First published in a year ending in 24:
7. Epistolary or diary format: Letters of Note - Love ed. by Shaun Usher
8. The words "Big" or "Little" in the title: Little Deaths by Emma Flint
9. A book from one of the libraries listed under the "Similar libraries" featured on your LT profile page: Assassin's Apprentice by Robin Hobb
10. A book about Friendship: Summer in February by Jonathan Smith
11. A three-word title: The Spoilt Kill by Mary Kelly
12. Features a paper based item in the plot: My Dear I Wanted To Tell You by Louisa Young
13. Read a CAT: The Secret History of the Pink Carnation by Lauren Willig
14. A short story collection / Anthology: Crimespotting - An Edinburgh Crime Collection by Lin Anderson et al.
15. Title contains a person's name:
16. Set in the city: The Hanging Garden by Ian Rankin
17. A book with fewer than 100 copies on LT: Der Klang meines Lebens by Patricia Kelly
18. Something written by a person of colour: The Hill We Climb by Amanda Gorman
19. Written by an author 65 or older: Das Geheimnis der Weihnacht by Tomáš Halík
20. A book featuring water: Der tote Rittmeister by Elsa Dix
21. Involves warriors or mercenaries: Dragonfly in Amber by Diana Gabaldon
22. Reread a favorite book: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis
23. A book written in another cultural tradition:
24. Something that takes place in multiple countries: Homecomings by Isabella Hargreaves
25. Read a current/recent bestseller: Red, White & Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston

(A collection of books at the Reaching Out Teahouse in Hoi An, which only employs deaf persons.)

CalendarCAT

January
The Secret History of the Pink Carnation by Lauren Willig

February
Slightly Wicked by Mary Balogh
Letters of Note - Love ed. by Shaun Usher
Summer in February by Jonathan Smith

March
Die Nesträuber by Brigitte Blobel
The Crow Folk by Mark Stay

HistoryCAT

February: Georgian/Regency/Victorian Britain
Slightly Wicked by Mary Balogh

March: Science and Medicine
All Quiet On The Western Plains by Isabella Hargreaves

(A book café in Hanoi.)

MysteryKIT

January: Short Stories
Crimespotting - An Edinburgh Crime Collection by Lin Anderson et al.

February: True Unsolved Mysteries
Little Deaths by Emma Flint

SFFKIT

January: Epic Fantasy
Assassin's Apprentice by Robin Hobb
The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis

February: Critters and Creatures
The Horse and His Boy by C.S. Lewis

AlphaKIT

January: A-Y
Assassin's Apprentice by Robin Hobb
Dragonfly in Amber by Diana Gabaldon
My Dear I Wanted To Tell You by Louisa Young

February: E-F
Little Deaths by Emma Flint
Murder on the Enriqueta by Molly Thynne
Der tote Rittmeister by Elsa Dix
Maeshowe and the Heart of Neolithic Orkney by Sally Foster
Summer in February by Jonathan Smith

March: H-R
The Hanging Garden by Ian Rankin
Homecomings by Isabella Hargreaves
All Quiet On The Western Plains by Isabella Hargreaves
Journey's End On The Western Plains by Isabella Hargreaves
The Hill We Climb by Amanda Gorman
Red, White & Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston
The Cuckoo's Calling by Robert Galbraith
Goblin Market and Other Poems by Christina Rossetti
Death Is Not The End by Ian Rankin

RandomKIT

January: Early Birds
Assassin's Apprentice by Robin Hobb

February: Escape or Rescue
Slightly Wicked by Mary Balogh
The Horse and His Boy by C.S. Lewis

March: World Wildlife Day
Die Nesträuber by Brigitte Blobel
The Crow Folk by Mark Stay

Hosting Commitments:

MysteryKIT: September - Upstairs/Downstairs
SFFKIT: December - Bookish Fantasies
HistoryCAT: December - Religions and religious festivals

Book Street Hanoi, a street lined with bookshops and publishers.

Welcome to my first thread of the year 2024! I'm looking forward to sharing my reading delights with you, and of course also the books that are not as delightful, but I hope those will not be many ;-)

I've placed my star here and I look forward to seeing where your reading year takes you.

>11 MissBrangwen: You were in Stirling! The Book Nook (which opened in 2020) has been such a brilliant addition to our cultural and arts scene. I've been to a few author events there. They do good cake too! :D

Interested to see where your reading and travelling take you in 2024!

Some really interesting book-related places on your thread, Mirjam. Happy reading in 2024. I'm glad you decided to stay!

What wonderful pictures! Thank you for sharing your travels. I hope 2024 brings you lots of happy reading - without summer slumps.

Interesting places you have been; thanks for saying where they are. Happy reading in 2024.

Love the bookstore pics. Good luck with your reading in 2024.

Thanks for all the lovely bookplace pictures! Happy reading in 2024.

I especially love the bookshops :) Happy reading and travels in 2024!

Some great pics here! Looking forward to following your reading this year.

Happy reading in 2024. I'm jealous if you have been to all those unique bookstores!

I too love your pictures. The bookstore in >5 MissBrangwen: makes me feel right at home. I've gone to one that looks just like that for 50, yes, 50 years!

>26 DeltaQueen50: Thank you, Judy!

>27 Jackie_K: Yes, we spent a late afternoon there after visiting Midhope Castle, Blackness Castle and the Wallace Monument. It was a very nice day trip from Edinburgh! But I have been before, in 2012, and saw the castle and more of the old town. I weren't aware that you live in Stirling! The Book Nook was one of my favourite places of the trip, it was lovely! We did not try the cakes, but we had the bagels! :-)

>28 pamelad: Thank you for your kind words! I'm really happy, too.

>29 VivienneR: I do hope so, too! I'm determined to avoid the slumps this time!

>30 sallylou61: I'm glad you like them!

>31 lowelibrary: Thank you, April!

>32 MissWatson: You're welcome and thank you, Karin!

>33 NinieB: Oh, I love those, too!

>34 dudes22: Thank you, I'm glad you enjoy them!

>35 Tess_W: Visiting bookshops is one of my favourite activities, and fortunately my husband obliges ;-)

>36 clue: Yes, there is something so cosy and homely about such a shop, isn't there? Unfortunately I don't have one like that close to where I live, but I seek them when traveling.

So many beautiful pics! Happy reading in 2024, and good luck with your goals!

Oh wow! It is lovely to see all the gorgeous bookshops you have visited. So lucky to have an obliging husband!
Armchair Books looks like a real treasure trove.
Happy reading in 2024 as you settle into a new way of life. :)

>38 mstrust: Thank you, glad you like the pictures!

>39 JayneCM: Yes, Armchair Books is such a wonderful place for every bookworm who visits! Thank you!

Hello Mirjam! Your categories look really good, and I love the bookshop pictures too. I'm looking forward to following your reading.

>41 susanj67: Thank you for visiting!

Great pictures. I can look at bookshops any time.

Have a good time with your challenges.

>43 hailelib: Thanks for the good wishes and for stopping by!

My new reading year always starts on Christmas Eve because it is my favourite day of the year! My husband and I traditionally both start reading a new book that evening, so today I begin to read Assassin's Apprentice by Robin Hobb, and from now on I will post in this thread.

Merry Christmas to all who celebrate!

Carry overs from 2023

Goblin Market and Other Poems by Christina Rossetti - still!
My Dear I Wanted To Tell You by Louisa Young
Das Geheimnis der Weihnacht by Tomáš Halík
A History of Western Music by J. Peter Burkholder, Donald Jay Grout and Claude V. Palisca

Goodness, A History of Western Music brings back memories! I did a music degree when I first left school (way back in the late 1980s), and whichever edition was current then was our main text book! I've not looked at it in many many years, but do still have it somewhere!

>47 Jackie_K: That's amazing! What kind of degree was that if I may ask?
I never did a degree, but my father was a classical musician and music was a large part of my life when I grew up. I joined a choir again this year and decided that I wanted to reacquaint myself with some musical knowledge, so I bought this book. But I have just started and I will see how it goes!

>46 MissBrangwen:, >47 Jackie_K: Brings back memories for me, too! My degree was in music history, but I think "The Grout" (as it was always called!) was for those history survey courses that were required for the degree. I still have my 1973 copy, too.
>48 MissBrangwen: I've been in choirs almost my entire life until Covid hit, when the choir I was in went virtual, which just was too weird. I'm thinking about joining again in January with a local group for seniors. I really miss it, especially this time of year when you hear so much Christmas choral music. We'll see if I take the plunge.

>45 MissBrangwen: My new reading year always begins on December 25, in the evening, after everybody has gone. I usually have a new book or three!

>46 MissBrangwen:
>48 MissBrangwen:
>49 kac522:
>47 Jackie_K:

What a small world! Music was my minor in college. I also was in a choir until about 10 years ago when I began to hear ringing in my ears which interfered with me hearing myself. I can hear others, but can't hear myself well enough to sing on pitch! I especially loved singing in the Messiah at Christmas. Since I can't sing, I now belong to a community band where I play tenor sax. We practice once a week but only perform about 2-3 times a year for civic events. My mother was a piano teacher so I was brought up with a love of and exposure to music and I'm so glad! My 90+ year old mother still plays the organ and sings in the choir at her church.

>49 kac522: I missed it for such a long time but thought I couldn't manage because of work commitments etc. But I finally thought that I should just give it a try and I'm so happy I did. It has made such a difference to my daily life and my wellbeing.
I hope you will make the decision that is right for you!

>50 Tess_W: Wow, singing the Messiah must be such a special experience! I am sorry you couldn't continue, but how great that you found an alternative activity. I'm always astonished when you tell us about your mother and what she does!

I also wanted to show you the books I received for Christmas from my husband:

This book about wild bears in Europe:



And this beautiful boxset of Agatha Christie seasonal short story collections:



I am thrilled and could stare at them all day, so I wanted to share them here!

>48 MissBrangwen: It was a general classical music degree - it incorporated history, some performance (I am a clarinettist, although incredibly rusty these days as I've not actually played for years), and other topics depending on interest (eg I took a module on film music, music and poetry, and I wrote my dissertation on the influence of jazz on concert music). I must admit, having loved playing and learning music throughout school, once I got to uni my interest waned somewhat, so I have never actually used the degree. I retrained as a nurse a few years later, and still seem to be doing that, so I guess that was a good choice! I'd love to play again though, but being a clarinet player, I'm stuck in the bind that an orchestra only needs 2, and yet it feels like the world and his wife all play clarinet, so there are never any openings!

>49 kac522: I'm impressed with the additional "the", it was just "Grout" for us! :D

>51 Tess_W: I'm so sorry you can't continue to sing. Tinnitus is a horrible thing. I'm glad you've found an outlet for your musicality though! And what a blessing to have a musical parent. My dad is musical, but self-taught rather than classical, he loves traditional English folk music and even played in a local folk band in the 1960s. He still practises his guitar (he's 81 now and I'm sure it's helping keeping his mind (and fingers) active!).

>51 Tess_W:
My husband played the piano for many years until his hands became too crippled to keep on trying and a couple of years ago we gave the piano to our son so that his children could eventually have lessons. Playing was the way he relaxed after work and he really misses it. The musical talent runs in our family but missed me so I just listen but don't hear the subtitles.

It's good that you found an alternative. There seems to be a lot of musical talent among the Challenge participants.

Hello, hello! Dropping off a star for this new thread. Happy New Year!

>56 LadyoftheLodge: Thank you and Happy New Year to you, too, Cheryl!

Yesterday my husband and I spent a quiet New Year's Eve at home and I finished Assassin's Apprentice by Robin Hobb. It was a beautiful way to finish 2023 and to start my reading year of 2024 because I absolutely loved this book! I have had a lot of mediocre reads towards the end of last year, so it is wonderful to start the new year with a five star one!



Book No 1

"Assassin's Apprentice" by Robin Hobb
Series: The Farseer Trilogy (1/3), Realm of the Elderlings (1/16)
First published in 1995
HarperCollins
ebook, 472pp.
Rating: 5 stars - *****

CATs & KITs: January SFFKIT - Epic Fantasy, January AlphaKIT - A-Y, January RandomKIT - Early Birds
BingoDOG: A book from one of the libraries listed under the "Similar libraries" featured on your LT profile page
My own categories: Series - New Series

I had wanted to read "Assassin's Apprentice" for ages, even more so since my husband highly recommended it, and I am so happy that I finally got round to it.
This novel is about Fitz, a bastard son of the heir to the throne of the Six Duchies, who grows up in the keep and has to find his own way. Initially mocked and shunned, he tries to carve out a path for himself and finds some friends, but also powerful enemies. And while he is talented in the Skill, a kind of telepathic magical system, he also possesses another aptitude that he must disclose because it is not approved of by society.

I don't exaggerate when I say that this was the best book I have read in ages, for several years at least. I loved it so, so much!
The world-building, the characters, the narration, the pace. And the dogs!
In the end I could not stop sobbing. My emotions about this story just overwhelmed me because I felt so connected to Fitz.
I cannot wait to read the second book in the series, but then I don't want to because I am afraid that it won't live up to my expectations. This is a difficult place. I will see!

Hi Mirjam, love your travel photos. The Vilnius tribute wall looks fascinating, I had never heard of it. What a lovely idea.
I'll be following along in 2024. Glad that you had such a great first read, a brilliant start to the year.

>59 charl08: Thank you, Charlotte! That wall in Vilnius has so much variety and soul in it.

>58 MissBrangwen: One of these days I will pick up a copy of the trilogy so that I can get started!

>61 rabbitprincess: Oh yes, please do!

>58 MissBrangwen: Glad you were able to begin 2024 on a high note!

I loved "The Chronicles of Narnia" as a child and read most of those books many times. They were my introduction to fantasy and my very favourite books before I discovered Tolkien and somewhat grew out of the Narnia stories. I think that I last read them when I was about 12 years old and I wanted to reread them for many years, finally starting a reread in 2022. I started with the first book in chronological order, The Magician's Nephew. As reading projects go sometimes, I did not continue - not for any particular reason, but other books pushed the project aside. Today I read the second book, The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. I knew that because of its winter and Christmas atmosphere I had to get to it now or it would remain waiting on my shelf for another year.
I still have all my old German Narnia books in a box, but I bought a beautiful complete collection in English five years ago and now I read that one.



Book No 2

"The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe" by C.S. Lewis
Series: The Chronicles of Narnia (2/7)
First published in 1950
HarperCollins
Hardcover, 62pp. (Complete collection: 524pp.)
Rating: 5 stars - *****

CATs & KITs: January SFFKIT - Epic Fantasy
BingoDOG: Reread a favourite book
Other LT challenges: RTT Monthly January - Janus
My own categories: Rereading Fiction, Classics, Series - Ongoing Series

This complete collection is a beautiful, big hardcover book, but it is a bit hard to read. It is very heavy and there is a lot of text on each page. However, it includes the wonderful illustrations by Pauline Baynes, which I haven't seen before because they were not included in the German Narnia books of my childhood. Knowing that Pauline Baynes was J.R.R. Tolkien's favourite illustrator of his own books made them even more interesting to me.

While the first book, "The Magician's Nephew", is a bit too silly for my liking and on the other hand contains the somewhat heavy creation of Narnia, in "The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe" the magic really starts. And when I read it now, twenty-five years later, it enchanted me just at it did all those years ago.
I still knew the story well because I read it so many times as a child. So reading it truly felt like coming home. I rate it five stars because I still felt that wonder, that amazement, the love for Aslan, the bittersweetness of it all. Would I have rated it five stars if I had read it the first time now? Probably not because there are some aspects that I do see a little more critical nowadays. But I cannot bring myself to judge it harshly because it still feels like home. I cannot wait to continue with the series and read the other books that I do not remember as well as the first one.

>63 Tess_W: Yes, I am so happy about that because my December reads were mostly a bit disappointing!

Hi Mirjam. I love your thread topper pic! Armchair Books looks like my kind of bookstore... all of the book places you have shared here look amazing. Wishing you a wonderful year of reading in 2024.

Mirjam, I love the pictures from your travels! Here's to a great reading year -- you're off to a good start!

>66 lkernagh: Thank you for your kind words!

>67 RidgewayGirl: Thank you, Kay! Yes, I'm so pleased with how my reading year started!

>64 MissBrangwen: I suspect my reaction to the Narnia books would be different too if I'd not read them when I was younger. But I've got a soft spot for them too.

Happy new year, Mirjam.
I love your travel pictures, a lot of interesting places to go.

>64 MissBrangwen: I know what you mean about the re-read. There's a mixture of nostalgia and critical reading going on when you re-read a loved children's book. I read the Wombles last year, and while it still was enchanting, I found some elements jarred that I doubt I'd have noticed as a child.

Happy new year! You are off to a great start with great reads so far this year. May the trend continue! And I hope the choir adds much joy to your life. Music has been a big part of my life, and I love participating in choirs even though it's been years since I've been a part of one.

>58 MissBrangwen: I am finally diving into Hobb in January - glad to see you loved it.

I am also rereading Narnia, for about the millionth time. I am up to The Horse and His Boy.

>71 cbl_tn: Thank you for visiting! I haven't been to choir practice for several weeks because of Christmas break and a severe cold I had before that, and I am looking forward to next week so much when I can finally go again.
It is amazing to see how many LT members also love music!

>72 JayneCM: I am looking forward to your comments on Hobb! And I hope to read The Horse and His Boy in the upcoming months - I don't remember that much about it, so I am curious about how I will like it.

I just finished my reread of Dragonfly in Amber by Diana Gabaldon, the second book in the Outlander series. I started this reread last autumn and read the first half (until the couple's return to Scotland), and read the second half within three days now. Although I have the paperbacks on my shelves, I read the Kindle edition because it is much easier.



Book No 3

"Dragonfly in Amber" by Diana Gabaldon
Series: Outlander (2/9)
First published in 1992
Delacorte Press
ebook, 950pp.
Rating: 4 1/2 stars - ****°

CATs & KITs: January AlphaKIT - A-Y
BingoDOG: Involves warriors or mercenaries
Other LT challenges: Historical Fiction Challenge, RTT
My own categories: Rereading Fiction, Doorstoppers, Series - Ongoing Series

I read this first more than twenty years ago, but still remembered quite a bit of the plot. It was interesting that I had the same reaction to the first half of the novel - I was not a fan of the action in France and couldn't wait for Jamie and Claire to return to Scotland. Once there, I enjoyed it immensely, although there were some lengthy parts as well, which is why all in all I amended my rating from five to four and a half stars. Some of the twists and turns seem a bit exaggerated to me (such as Claire's forced trip to the Duke of Sandringham, Hugh Monroe's death and Jamie killing Dougal - I had not remembered any of that and was just shaking my head, waiting for Claire's departure before the battle of Culloden.).
But still - there are hardly any literary characters who seem so real to me and whom I hold so dearly as Jamie and Claire. Their separation in the end just broke my heart once again, and all the chapters after that gave me goosebumps. I think I read the last few pages hardly daring to take a breath!
I just love this story with all my heart and feel like diving straight into book 3, which I will not do because somehow I have to return to the real world, and because I cannot face a novel of 1000+ pages right now! But still, I hope to get to it soon, and I am excited because I do not remember much about the story from now on and am so happy to explore it once again.

Looks like you are off to a great start on your 2024 reading!

>75 thornton37814: Thanks for stopping by! It looks like I am, yay! - I hope you have a good start to your reading year, too!

I bought Das Geheimnis der Weihnacht by Tomáš Halík last autumn when I saw it in a catalogue I receive. The topic spoke to me and I also wished to do some intentional advent reading for the first time and thought that it would be perfect for that.



Book No 4

"Das Geheimnis der Weihnacht" by Tomáš Halík
Original Title: Procitají andělé
First published in 2023
Herder
Hardcover, 123pp.
Rating: 4 1/2 stars - ****°

BingoDOG: Written by an author 65 or older
My own categories: Nonfiction - religion

Tomáš Halík, who was born in 1948, is a Catholic priest as well as a philosopher and a professor of sociology at the Charles University in Prague. He served secretly as a priest during the communist regime and has rather progressive views when it comes to topics such as LGBT+ and women's rights.
This book is a collection of twelve sermons held in 2022 between the First Sunday of Advent and the Sunday after Epiphany, but while I read each sermon on the designated day, I read the last two sermons today to finish the book.
While, as always with collections, some of the sermons spoke more to me than others, all of them were interesting to me. Halík touches a lot of topics and moves easily from the personal to the theological to the political and the social, without ever being confusing. It is evident that he is a great thinker and I found every text to hold meaning, some thoughts almost seem prophetic when we look upon how 2023 developed.
While I do not agree with him in all aspects (yes, I would even like him to be more progressive), I think that this is a very interesting and worthwhile book and will certainly read more of his work.

>77 MissBrangwen: I like the sound of this (an undercover priest also sounds like a great premise for a mystery story!). I wonder if he's been translated into English? (edited: just checked, a few of his books are in English, but not this one yet by the looks of it)

Mirjam, your reading is off to a great start! I'm so pleased you loved Assassin's Apprentice. I'd forgotten a lot of the story so I'm really glad I reread it. And I'm planning a big reread of the Outlander series once the final book is published. I think I reread the first four when book 5 came out, but that was ages ago!

>74 MissBrangwen: I so want to re-read all the Outlander books. I was sort of waiting for the last one.........then begin a re-read. May 2025?

>53 MissBrangwen: I hope you have a wonderful year of reading, without any dreaded reading slumps. The Agatha Christie set is gorgeous. Enjoy!

>78 Jackie_K: I wasn't sure if there was an English edition, which is why I didn't say anything about it in my comments. I hope that it will be translated because it is a rewarding read.

>79 susanj67: >80 Tess_W: Rereading the series when book 10 comes out is such a good idea! I have only read up to book 6 so far, so 7, 8 and 9 will be new to me as well. So exciting!

>81 Ann_R: Thank you! It has a place on the shelf now and I love the look of it.

Happy reading in 2024!

>53 MissBrangwen: The Agatha Christie set looks beautiful

>58 MissBrangwen: taking a bullet for this :)

>83 bookworm3091: Thank you! And I'm happy to spread some love about Assassin's Apprentice!

After listening to a number of Christmas stories in December, I finally felt like something more substantial and looking at my Audible list, the January AlphaKIT led me to My Dear I Wanted To Tell You by Louisa Young.



Book No 5

"My Dear I Wanted To Tell You" by Louisa Young
Series: Riley Purefoy (1/3)
First published in 2011
HarperAudio
Digital audiobook, 10h 47min
Rating: 5 stars - *****

CATs & KITs: January AlphaKIT - A-Y
BingoDOG: Features a paper based item in the plot
Other LT challenges: Historical Fiction Challenge
My own categories: Series - New Series

I mostly listen to audiobooks while doing household chores or getting ready, so usually I rather choose light and entertaining or uplifting novels and nothing I have to concentrate on too much. I gathered that "My Dear I Wanted To Tell You" would be different, but still wished to try it because the audiobook, read by Dan Stevens, has such raving reviews. Oh my, I didn't know what I was in for!
This novel gripped me from beginning to end and Dan Stevens does such an excellent job! I was amazed by his performance, even more considering that it is a demanding text. I sometimes had to pause what I was doing just to be able to listen properly because this audiobook was worth it.

The main character is Riley Purefoy, a boy with a working class background, who falls in love with Nadine, his childhood friend, who comes from a wealthy family. The story follows these two through their teenage years and into World War One, which is the main part of the novel. One of Riley's superiors, his wife and his sister also play important roles and the reader learns about their experiences and woes.
The war irrevocably changes these characters' lives, how they see themselves, each other and the world, and it is hard to describe how heartbreaking it is to see them as they try to grasp their new realities. The futility of war and the effect it has on those who are surrendered to its power are at the centre of this novel, but also the strong ties between the characters and the different forms of love and caring that people are still able to give.

I believe that this novel is not for everyone - there is explicit sexual content, swearing and the descriptions include some gruesome details. The style is also peculiar, with passages written in stream of consciousness and expressive thoughts. To me, though, it was the best audiobook I have listened to so far, and the character of Riley touched my heart as if I knew him personally. I know that this is one of those stories that will stay with me for a long time.

You are reading a nice variety of books and it sounds like you are enjoying them so far.

>86 hailelib: Thanks for stopping by, I have definitely been lucky with my first reads of the year!

>69 Jackie_K: >70 Helenliz: Somehow I missed your comments above, sorry!
It is good to see that other LT members have similar experiences when it comes to rereading childhood books. I am hesitant about rereading sometimes for these reasons, but I decided to take the plunge with the Narnia books. I do think, though, that there are some books I won't reread to keep them in my memory as they were.

I did not finish any book this week so far. And I DNFed an audiobook, "After the Fairytale" by Terence Gray, Erin Day and Ian Thake (no touchstones for the work and the third author).

After the intense experience of listening to My Dear I Wanted To Tell You I needed something completely different and very light as a palate cleanser, but I did not want to spend any credit, so I searched for something that I was able to listen to for free. This audible original was included in my subscription and I thought it would fit the bill, but it was terrible.
It is about a contestant of a dating show (it's called The Bridegroom but it's clearly modeled on The Bachelor) who wins the show and returns to her hometown to hide there until the last episode of the show is aired and the couple are allowed to appear in public. Of course, back home she meets her former crush (or even ex boyfriend? I can't remember!) and things become complicated.
I liked this premise, but I could not bear listening to this. I understood that it was performed by a full cast, but there wasn't any narration, so dialogues just started and you had to guess where the characters were and also who they were if you didn't recognize their voices. There was also too much background noise, especially jingles and mobile phone noises, which created a hectic atmosphere and irritated me so much. I am mostly looking to relax when I listen to an audiobook, and I cannot do that with these noises. Moreover, the characters just sounded inauthentic and over the top.
Maybe people who are looking for something different in their audiobooks and who are not as sensitive to noises might enjoy this, but it was not for me.

I sometimes pause reads, but I seldom absolutely DNF one - I had to with this one, though.

>89 MissBrangwen: Sounds awful--no wonder it was free!

>90 kac522: I am glad I didn't pay anything for it!

This month's MysteryKIT finally made me pick up one of those many books that I have always been meaning to read but never did: Crimespotting - An Edinburgh Crime Collection. I bought this in a secondhand shop in 2017.



Book No 6

"Crimespotting - An Edinburgh Crime Collection"
First published in 2009
Birlinn
Paperback, 223pp.
Rating: 3 1/2 stars - ***°

CATs & KITs: January MysteryKIT - Short Stories
BingoDOG: Short Story Collection / Anthology

This book was published in support of Edinburgh's OneCity Trust, a charity fighting inequality and exclusion. It includes ten short stories that were specifically written for it by the authors Lin Anderson, Kate Atkinson, Margaret Atwood, Christopher Brookmyre, John Burnside, Isla Dewar, A.L. Kennedy, Denise Mina, Ian Rankin and James Robertson.
All of the stories are set in Edinburgh and deal with crime, but they vary a lot - from the humorous to the gory, from murder to corporate crime. There are even a ghost story and a historical one.
As with most short story collections, I liked these to various degrees. Some appeared too silly to me, but some were excellent.

The best story, in my opinion, is Chris Takes The Bus by Denise Mena, which is about a boy leaving Edinburgh (I cannot say more because that would be a spoiler - this story is the shortest in the collection).
I also really liked Carlo Blue by John Burnside, a story about a man who is stood up by a date. Something unexpected happens afterwards.
The historical story, Recompense by James Robertson, has an atmosphere of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde about it. It is told from the point of view of a doctor. One of his colleagues is found dead on the street and the circumstances are strange.

The book also features an introduction by Irvine Welsh.

I'm with you about audiobooks. I won't listen to anything with background noises-they are too disruptive and the noises bang together in my head

>92 MissBrangwen: I like the sound of this - will add it to the wishlist. I enjoy reading (fictional!) crime set in places I recognise.

>93 Tess_W: It's good to know I'm not the only one to hate this.

>94 charl08: Almost every story has a real sense of place because districts, streets and distinctive buildings are mentioned. It was nice to be able to really imagine where the characters were and what it looked like!

Hello! Love all of your bookish photos. Great way to start off the year with Assassin's Apprentice. I'm hoping to finish off the Realm of the Elderlings this year. I've got two more to go in The Rain Wilds Chronicles and then the final trilogy.

>96 staci426: Thanks for visiting! Wow, that's a great reading goal for this year!

I haven't read for two weeks because of work and migraines, and some political events in Germany that caused me to watch the news/scroll online much more than usually. But I am better now and will definitely get back to my books this weekend and catch up here! I just have to decide what to read now - I was reading Vivid by Beverly Jenkins when the (short) slump hit and it didn't really catch me, so picking it up again after two weeks is hard. I'm probably going to pause it and start something different for now.

Looking for another free and rather short audiobook after abandoning my previous one, I found Der Klang meines Lebens by singer Patricia Kelly. The author was a member of The Kelly Family, an Irish-American band that was immensely successful in Germany and other European countries in the 1990s. I was a huge fan during that time as well and still have a soft spot for the family members, so I decided to listen to this book.



Book No 7

"Der Klang meines Lebens" by Patricia Kelly
First published in 2016
adeo
Digital audiobook, 5h 2min
Rating: 4 stars - ****

BingoDOG: fewer than 100 copies on LT
My own categories: Nonfiction - memoir

"Der Klang meines Lebens" is a memoir in which Patricia Kelly tells the story of her life. Every chapter deals with a specific moment or memory, starting with her earliest memories of learning to play the guitar. Through these snapshots the reader learns many things about the band The Kelly Family, but even more about the author as a person. It is not a book about scandals or dirty secrets, but about the author finding her own way amidst tremendous success and a unique career, but also through many difficult health problems and a way of growing up that was unusual and not easy.
While I knew about many of these aspects because I have followed the family's career and lives for thirty years, it was something totally different to hear about the events from a personal perspective. This really is Patricia's memoir, not a book about the family, and while naturally they are intertwined, I felt like I got to know her as a person.

The book was originally written in English by her, then translated and published in German. She reads the audiobook herself and I had to get used to her reading style, but it made the experience even more personal and she has a very pleasant and soothing voice.

>85 MissBrangwen: I'm taking a BB for that one! Although it's too bad that I can't get the audio version. Dan Stevens is a fabulous narrator.

>98 MissBrangwen: I sympathize with your migraines. I used to suffer too but since I retired and moved away from the coast I've been migraine-free! I don't know if it was the job or the location to blame.

>89 MissBrangwen: I rarely DNF a book, but I am more likely yo do so for an audio that's not working. And that sounds like it wouldn't work. Full cast readings only work if there are few enough voices that they are all quite distinct, or when there is a narrator doing the "Gerald said" bits.

Hope that the head and life allow you to get back to reading. I also used (touches wood) to have migraines. they're not fun.

>100 VivienneR: That's interesting because I also think my migraines have been worse since I moved to the coast. I am glad you don't have them anymore!

>101 Helenliz: This is the first time I have tried a full cast reading and I agree with you, it doesn't work if one cannot distinguish the characters.

I had several books to choose from for the January CalendarCAT and eventually I opted for The Secret History of the Pink Carnation by Lauren Willig because in the end of the month I was looking for something light and entertaining. The carnation is the birth flower of January.



Book No 8

"The Secret History of the Pink Carnation" by Lauren Willig
Series: Pink Carnation (1/12)
First published in 2005
New American Library
ebook, 444pp.
Rating: 3 stars - ***

CATs & KITs: January CalendarCAT
BingoDOG: Read a CAT
Other LT challenges: Historical Fiction Challenge

This novel is indeed light and entertaining. It has a dual timeline, but I liked both of the stories equally - the one set in 1803, when young Amy wishes to be a spy to avenge her father who was killed by the French, and the one set in modern London, where Eloise writes her dissertation about spies in Napoleonic France and tries to find out who the famous Pink Carnation was. Both stories are interesting and fast-paced, but also a bit foreseeable. Unfortunately, Amy got on my nerves after some time because of her thoughtlessness and naivety, and the twist and turns concerning her love interest were frustrating. The behavior and language felt altogether too modern. Because of that it is not really my cup of tea, but it is a fun novel and I do not regret reading it.

Hi LT friends!

I haven't posted for a week again, the reason being that we spent a few days in Groningen in the Netherlands. It is only a little more than two hours by car from where we live, but we went there for the first time. We had a small apartment overlooking a nature reserve (a meadow wetland) and it was so wonderful that we didn't even venture into the city that much, but mostly sat there watching the birds, reading and just relaxing. It was so peaceful!

I am currently reading The Murder on the Enriqueta by Molly Thynne and hope to finish today, and plan to catch up with everybody's threads during the week ahead.

I hope you all have a lovely Sunday!

>104 MissBrangwen: That sounds like a lovely break!

>105 Jackie_K: It really was!

Last year I read The Draycott Murder Mystery by Molly Thynne and enjoyed it very much, so I did not hesitate to buy The Murder on the Enriqueta by the same author when I saw it available for kindle for a small price. I read it now because a golden age mystery was just what I needed during our cosy stay in Groningen.

Oh, and I chose this one for the "Ugly cover" BingoDOG square. There must be worse ones, but I do think that it is ugly. The font is not very pretty, the picture of the ship was taken from an unfortunate angle and there is not enough contrast between the picture and the writing. To me, it's not an appealing cover at all! Moreover, the ship looks far too modern for 1929!



Book No 9

"The Murder on the Enriqueta" by Molly Thynne
First published in 1929
Merlin Classic Crime
ebook, 282pp.
Rating: 3 1/2 stars - ***°

CATs & KITs: February AlphaKIT - E-F
BingoDOG: A book with an ugly cover
My own categories: Classics

Chief Inspector Shand travels on the Enriqueta from Argentina to England when a man is strangled on board and there is no trace of the murderer. Back in London, the reader follows Lady Dalberry, a widow who also was a passenger on the ship and who travels to England to meet the family of her deceased husband for the first time - especially the young, new Lord Dalberry and his friend Carol, an heiress who is about to come of age. But Lady Dalberry also has connections to an Argentinian man who seems more than shady, and soon a whirlwind of criminal activities, deceptions and ploys is about to start.

I must admit that I was disappointed when I realized that only the beginning of the novel is set on the ship. The real story starts in London and has nothing to do with the Enriqueta, and the murder that happens on board is only a minor part of the plot. The story revolving around the Argentinian criminal in London did not interest me that much and seemed to drag on. Still, I liked the characters a lot - especially Carol and Lord Dalberry - and the story is well written. I enjoy Molly Thynne's style that is quite literary at times, and how she portrays life in the 1920s. The novel is more fast-paced towards the end which made up for some lengthy chapters in the middle.

Although I did not enjoy this one as much as The Draycott Murder Mystery I hope to read Molly Thynne's other novels in the future.

Hello MissBrangwen and thank you for your new posts in this new year! I salute you for reading both The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe and Dragonfly in Amber all in the month of January. Like you, I find "Lion . . ." a bit troubling to read as an adult, but I spent many, many years reading and re-reading it as a child. I always loved the character of Aslan.

And your pictures of bookshops that line the street and shelves of bookshops - just wonderful and they make me swoon. What a great choice for your thread!

I hope your 2024 reading goes well and that you are able to avoid your summer slump. And look forward to stopping by and seeing your reading adventures this year.

>108 threadnsong: Hi thread, thanks for visiting and for your kind words!
It looks like several of us feel that way about the Narnia books or even other books they read in childhood.

Molly Thynne might be worth investigating since I’ve been reading a lot of Golden Age mysteries.

>110 hailelib: Yes, I do recommend The Draycott Murder Mystery! Her novels really depict life in her times, especially among the aristocracy, and don‘t focus solely on the cases, but I enjoy that.

>104 MissBrangwen: Your mini vacation sounds lovely.

>107 MissBrangwen: I just added The Draycott Murder to my wishlist. Thank you for that one.

Sounds like a lovely getaway!

>112 VivienneR: >113 Tess_W: It really was!

>112 VivienneR: I hope you like it when you get to it!

Little Deaths by Emma Flint was a BB from Judy in 2022 and I am so glad that I finally read it! I have had it on my kindle since I saw it on her thread, and chose to read it now because of this month's MysteryKIT.



Book No 10

"Little Deaths" by Emma Flint
First published in 2017
Picador
ebook, 311pp.
Rating: 4 1/2 stars - ****°

CATs & KITs: February MysteryKIT - True Unsolved Mysteries, February AlphaKIT - E-F
BingoDOG: The words "Big" or "Little" in the title

I went into this novel thinking that it was a thriller, but it is much more than that. Rather than focussing on the crime or the whodunnit, it concentrates on Ruth Malone, the main suspect.
Ruth's young children are killed during a hot summer night in 1965, and the police quickly believe her to be the killer. The main reason is that she does not behave like a grieving mother should according to public opinion - or like a woman should at all. She drinks, visits bars, has lovers. She is strikingly beautiful and cares for her appearance, turning heads wherever she goes.
Pete Wonicke, a reporter working on his breakthrough, covers the case and soon becomes entangled in the story.

To me, the core of this novel is Ruth's femininity and how men see her. The male gaze, the judgement of the public and her own belief system of how she has to behave, created by her mother when she raised her, weave a net that Ruth can hardly escape and that makes it impossible for her to truly be or even feel herself. When she tries to break free, she uses unhealthy mechanisms that lead to disaster. On the other hand, all the men try to do is to control her power, to break her because they cannot stand her innert strength and her lure.
Like this, the novel paints a picture of society in 1965 that feels like a punch in the gut. Yet, I could not stop reading and would probably have read the book in one sitting if I had had the time. The story and the characters totally engrossed me and I am sure that they will haunt me for some time to come.

The novel was based on a true murder case. Alice Crimmons was convicted for the murder of her children, but the (re)convictions were overturned several times. She was paroled twelve years after the murder and to this day it is not certain what really happened.

>115 MissBrangwen: I am glad that Little Deaths resonated with you. :)

>116 DeltaQueen50: It really did! Thanks again for the recommendation!

One of my reading goals this year is to pursue my series more purposefully, so my next audiobook was Slightly Wicked, the second book in the Bedwyn Series by Mary Balogh.



Book No 11

"Slightly Wicked" by Mary Balogh
Series: Bedwyn Series (2/6)
First published in 2003
Tantor Audio
Digital audiobook, 11h 28min
Rating: 3 1/2 stars - ***°

CATs & KITs: February CalendarCAT, February HistoryCAT - Georgian/Regency/Victorian Britain, February RandomKIT - Escape or Rescue
My own categories: Series - Ongoing Series

My reaction to this book was very similar to how I felt about the first one in the series: There are aspects I did not like and it did have some lengthy stretches, but despite that I enjoyed it tremendously and was just happy each time I opened the audible app and started my book. One reason is that Rosalyn Landor is a superb narrator and, so far, my favourite narrator of historical romances. Her interpretation of the stories and the characters is just perfect.

The premise of this novel seems rather improbable: Judith Law, the daughter of an impoverished clergyman, is sent to a wealthy part of her extended family to be a companion to her grandmother, or rather, an unpaid servant. During her trip to their mansion, there is a coach accident and she meets Rannulf Bedwyn, who takes her to the nearest village. They are attracted to each other and, believing her chance at happiness to be over soon, Judith spends a couple of nights with him in order to at least have one adventure in her life before no man will ever look at her again. But of course, they meet again after a few days when Rannulf arrives at the mansion to court Judith's beautiful and affluent cousin.

Although the plot is foreseeable in the long run, there were a few twists and turns that I did not see coming. I liked Judith and Rannulf and they are believable as a couple, although Judith's actions were not always comprehensible to me and I wanted to shake her a few times.

The underlying theme of the objectification of women that is apparent in all relations that Judith has to men goes a step further from the topic of money and social standing, and it added depth and stronger characterizations to the story.

I'm looking forward to continuing with this series soon!

>118 MissBrangwen: I'm glad you're enjoying the Bedwyns! I liked the whole series, though I think my favorite is still a couple books ahead of you -- Slightly Tempted.

>119 christina_reads: Oh, that's great to hear! I am looking forward to all the following books because I think that all the remaining siblings are intriguing, although I am especially curious about the last one.

I read the first book in the Seebad-Krimi (Seaside Resort Mystery) series by Elsa Dix in 2021 and now I finally got around to the second one, Der tote Rittmeister (The Dead Cavalry Captain). It was one of those books I always meant to read and always slipped away somehow.



Book No 12

"Der tote Rittmeister" by Elsa Dix
Series: Seebad-Krimi (2/4)
First published in 2021
Goldmann
Paperback, 396pp.
Rating: 4 stars - ****

CATs & KITs: February AlphaKIT - E-F
BingoDOG: A book featuring water
Other LT challenges: Historical Fiction Challenge, RTT Monthly February - Aquarius and Amethyst
My own categories: Series - Ongoing Series

Review includes spoilers for book 1!

The protagonists and amateur sleuths of these novels are Viktoria Berg, the daughter of a wealthy family who, despite her father's wishes, works as a teacher, and Christian Hinrichs, a journalist. The novel is set in 1913 and the two meet again on the island of Norderney where they spend the summer season - as they did last year, when they fell in love but had to separate because as a teacher, Viktoria is not allowed to marry. She did not want to give up her occupation and broke up with Christian who was not sympathetic to her wish for independence. Of course, now that they inevitably run into each other on the small island, the flames are rekindled, and once again, they find themselves trying to solve a case together.

A cavalry captain is found dead in the dunes during a horse race. In addition, a child goes missing from the seaside hospital where Viktoria visits one of her pupils. It seems that the two incidents are linked, and because all the real policemen are needed elsewhere to guard the celebrations of Emperor Wilhelm II's Silver Jubilee, Christian is promoted to being a supporting policeman.

I enjoyed this novel much more than the first one because the case was so exciting. The atmosphere of the jubilee celebrations on Norderney as well as the holiday season on the island are described so well and this made me escape this grey and dreary February weather. The love story is shallow and especially Viktoria's actions made me shake my head from time to time, but all the other characters seemed very real to me and the story kept me on the edge of my seat until the end.

I bought Maeshowe and the Heart of Neolithic Orkney, a publication by Historic Scotland, on a trip to Orkney in 2016 (and yes, how can that be eight years ago???). I always meant to read it thoroughly, and now this quarter's Reading Through Time prompt - Prehistory - gave me the right incentive.



Book No 13

"Maeshowe and the Heart of Neolithic Orkney" by Sally Foster
First published in 2006 (My edition: 2015)
Historic Scotland
Paperback, 65pp.
Rating: 4 stars - ****

CATs & KITs: February AlphaKIT - E-F
Other LT challenges: RTT Quarterly - Prehistory
My own categories: Nonfiction - History

This is only a slim volume, but it is packed with information.
It can be divided into thirds. The first part deals with Maeshowe, a neolithic building that can be visited on guided tours. Apart from the neolithic characteristics, it features Norse runes (graffiti) - it is supposed that Viking groups sought shelter here on numerous occasions.
The second part provides an overview and details about other Neolithic structures, such as the Stones of Stenness, the Ring of Brodgar and Skara Brae.
The third part includes information on the Neolithic age in general, how the Orcadians might have lived during that time, the various excavations and today's research, and Orkney's Neolithic connections to other places on the British Isles, most of all the Boyne Valley in Ireland.
The book also features a lot of fascinating pictures, timelines, maps etc.
Of course, as it is such a short book, most topics can only be touched upon, but it is really good for what it is.

Reading this work, I was able to refreshen my memory of some aspects I knew and learnt a lot of new things as well. Orkney is such a wonderful place and I hope to travel there again together with my husband. But there are also some Neolithic sites in the area where I live and while I have seen some, this book motivates me to visit more of them, as they are truly fascinating, even if ours are not as grand as those in Scotland.

One year ago, I listened to one of the Letters of Note collections for the first time. These are collections of letters, the first ones compiled online and then published as books and audiobooks that became so popular that there are live events that fill places like the Royal Albert Hall. The editor is Shaun Usher.
The one I listened to last year was Letters of Note - Music and I just absolutely adored it, so it was high time I listened to another one.



Book No 14

"Letters of Note - Love" ed. by Shaun Usher
Series: Letters of Note
Collection first published in 2020
Canongate Books
Digital audiobook, 1h 57min
Rating: 4 stars - ****

CATs & KITs: February CalendarCAT
BingoDOG: Epistolary or diary format
My own categories: Nonfiction - Letters

The letters in this collection span more than 200 years and were written by people from many walks of life. There are famous writers such as Nelson Mandela, Napoleon, Frida Kahlo and Ludwig van Beethoven, but also people who are not that well known.
The letters were brought to life by stellar readers such as Juliet Stevenson, Mark Strong, Clarke Peters and Toby Jones.

Because I loved the previous one I listened to so much, I went into this with high expectations, and they were mostly met, although this time the topic made for a different experience: Listening to love letters means to learn about some people's most private thoughts, often vulnerable and fragile, and sometimes it was a bit hard to understand the letters without knowing the writers and their particular situation. I would also have wished for a more varied selection, as it seems to be on the heavy side, featuring a lot of sad and desperate letters - there must be more joyful love letters out there?
But despite this criticism, it was a stellar experience to listen to this audiobook and I will definitely continue listening to this series. There are so many topics to choose from!

Reading the letters as a book, including, as I understand, facsimiles and pictures, must be wonderful as well, but I just love listening to them, especially because of the fantastic performance of the readers.

The audiobook includes some audio-exclusive material from live events: Three letters read by Tom Hiddleston, Benedict Cumberbatch and Louise Brealey and the song "Love Letter" performed by Nick Cave.

>120 MissBrangwen: The last book in the Bedwyn series was one of my favourites, along with the first two. I had no time for Freyja in Slightly Scandalous but enjoyed the book anyway. Mary Balogh's books would benefit by being shorter, I think. There's a lot of repetition.

>123 MissBrangwen: - Unfortunately, the only one my library system has is about dogs.

>124 pamelad: I agree. In Slightly Wicked, Judith's thoughts about her appearance are repeated a lot, as are some of the situations with the Effingham family.

>125 dudes22: Although that is one I wish to listen to as well, it would not be my first choice either!

After I had listened to My Dear I Wanted To Tell You by Louisa Young, which was fabulously narrated by Dan Stevens, I looked up some of the actor's other work and thus came across Summer in February. This novel was written by Jonathan Smith, one of Stevens's teachers, and adapted as a film starring Stevens as well as Dominic Cooper and Emily Browning. I knew immediately that I wished to see that film, but also to read the novel, because it sounded wonderful and on top of that, it is set in Cornwall.
I decided to read the novel first, of course!



Book No 15

"Summer in February" by Jonathan Smith
First published in 1995
Abacus
Paperback, 358pp.
Rating: 5 stars - *****

CATs & KITs: February CalendarCAT, February AlphaKIT E-F
BingoDOG: A book about friendship
Other LT challenges: Historical Fiction Challenge

This novel tells the story of real life events: The time that painters Alfred Munnings, Laura Knight and Harold Knight, and Florence Carter-Wood as well as Captain Gilbert Evans spent in Cornwall in the years before World War One. It starts in 1949 with Munnings's scandalous valedictory speech at the Royal Academy and then goes back in time to his arrival at Lamorna Cove where he meets Gilbert and the others. They spend a couple of years at this beautiful place, years that are as glorious as they are difficult, years full of art, poetry and celebrations, but also insecurity and loss.

The author conjures up a picture of these golden times before the war and he conveys a real sense of place that lets the reader breathe the salty air and smell the paint. I only have the most basic knowledge of these painters, but now I feel like I have been there with them. Of course it is a novel, but Jonathan Smith was supported by David Evans, the grandson of Gilbert Evans, and had access to the latter's diaries.

I don't think that this novel is for everyone, and it features dark topics like suicide and illness, but I just loved the characters and the atmosphere and every word struck a chord with me. As always when I truly love a book, my words feel inadequate when I try to write a review and describe just what I love about it - so I'll leave it at that and just say that this story touched my soul.

>127 MissBrangwen: I tried this earlier this month but couldn't get into it. I've been that way the last few weeks though, nothing really suited me, so I'll try it again in the future.

>127 MissBrangwen: Thanks for this review! I recently came across the movie and thought, "I'd like to watch that sometime." Didn't realize it was a book also!

>127 MissBrangwen: I like Laura Knight's painting - I went to an exhibit of her work a couple of years ago. I've added this to the wishlist.

I agree, extra hard to write a review when you want to highlight how much it meant to you.

>128 clue: I think you need to be in the right mood to read a book like this. I hope you can get your reading mojo back soon!

>129 christina_reads: The movie looks so good, doesn't it? I hope to watch it soonish.

>130 charl08: I do like Laura Knight's paintings, too. How wonderful that you have seen some of them in an exhibition! This novel has absolutely sparked my interest in the painters who worked in Cornwall during that time.

I started 2024 with a reread of The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis, resuming the long-envisioned project of a Narnia reread. The Narnia books were my favourite books as a preteen, before I became a Tolkienist. I read most of them many times, but only remembered The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe quite well, so I was especially looking forward to the next in the series, The Horse and His Boy.



Book No 16

"The Horse and His Boy" by C.S. Lewis
Series: The Chronicles of Narnia (3/7)
First published in 1954
HarperCollins
Hardcover, 76pp. (Complete collection: 524pp.)
Rating: 3 stars - ***

CATs & KITs: February SFFKIT - Creatures and Critters, February RandomKIT - Escape or Rescue
BingoDOG: A book featuring twins
My own categories: Rereading Fiction, Classics, Series - Ongoing Series

The complete collection I am reading from is big hardcover book. It is very pretty, but a bit hard to read as it is very heavy and there is a lot of text on each page. However, it includes the illustrations done by Pauline Baynes, which I have never seen before because they were not featured in the German Narnia books I used to read as a child.

This novel is not set in Narnia for the most part, but in Calormen, a country south of Narnia. The protagonist is the boy Shasta, who lives with a fisherman who treats him hardly better than a slave. One evening Shasta eavesdrops on the fisherman and a rich guest and learns that the fisherman plans to sell him. Shasta goes to the stables and seeks solace with the horses, when the guest's horse starts talking to him - Bree is a Talking Horse from Narnia and plans his escape. He takes Shasta with him and together they live through many adventures on their way north.

I loved this story as a child - although I did not remember details before my reread, I knew that I loved the adventure, the talking horse and the sense of freedom running through the story. I still enjoyed these aspects of the novel now: The companionship between Bree and Shasta, the descriptions of the landscapes, the rough life they led on the way. However, the depiction of Calormen and its inhabitants is rather problematic: It is clearly inspired by Arabic countries and it is full of stereotypes and ridiculousness. The Calormenes are depicted as stupid, foolish and weak, in contrast to the free and noble Narnians and Archenlanders who of course are real men and look much better, too. I felt really uncomfortable reading all that. It is a pity because apart from that, it is a really good story.

>123 MissBrangwen: I love to read letters. I was unaware of these books. Off to look for one!

>133 Tess_W: I hope you manage to find one!

Yesterday I had oral surgery, so this weekend I'm resting on the couch with my laptop and books. I was so hoping that I would be well enough to do that instead of being all drowsy and in too much pain, and only able to watch TV. But while I cannot eat properly, the pain is manageable and don't feel too knocked out.
The last few weeks I had so much work to do that in the evenings I was often too tired to read, so I hope to catch up a little now.

Wishing you a speedy recovery!

>135 MissBrangwen: Get well soon!

>135 MissBrangwen: Mirjam, I hope your day of books on the couch is going well. Also that you can have foods like ice-cream after your surgery, because that makes everything better :-) You've been reading some really good things!

>136 MissWatson: >137 Jackie_K: >138 susanj67: Thank you!

>138 susanj67: I'm close to finishing The Hanging Garden, so it's going very well! And I'm planning to have ice-cream tomorrow :-)

>135 MissBrangwen: Sorry to hear about the surgery. I hope you are on your way to feeling better.

Fun to revisit the Narnia books. I think my favourite is The Silver Chair because of Puddleglum. We had the original versions from my mum and the illustrations were so charming.

>135 MissBrangwen: Hope you recover quickly and are able to get some quiet reading time--therapy!

>140 charl08: Thank you, Charlotte! The Silver Chair is the book I remember the least about, so I'm especially looking forward to it!

>141 Tess_W: Thank you, Tess! The reading is going very well.

It was high time I read another one of Ian Rankin's Inspector Rebus series. The next book up for me was The Hanging Garden, so when this month's AlphaKIT fit perfectly, I did not hesitate.



Book No 17

"The Hanging Garden" by Ian Rankin
Series: Inspector Rebus (9/24)
First published in 1998
Orion
Paperback, 411pp.
Rating: 4 1/2 stars - ****°

CATs & KITs: March AlphaKIT - H-R
BingoDOG: A book set in a city
My own categories: Series - Ongoing Series

John Rebus is investigating a crime from World War Two: A war criminal, responsible for the deaths of hundreds of French people, is supposed to have hid in Edinburgh since the end of the war. But Rebus is also drawn into a battle of different gangs in the city, and everything becomes personal when his daughter has an accident that might be connected to it.

I must say that to me this was the best Rebus book so far. All the strands of the story were equally gripping, and I enjoyed the style and atmosphere so much. Usually I am not a fan of the plots involving the Scottish gangsters and too many police persons from the different stations, but while it was still a bit hard to not loose track of who was who, it was easier than in the previous novels and did not distract from the plot. What a superb crime novel! I hope to continue with the series soon!

Neues vom Süderhof by Brigitte Blobel was another of my favourite series as a child - I read these books countless times when I was in primary school and dreamed of living on a farm like the children in the novels, riding horses and experiencing adventures. It is a long series and I did not have all the books, so a few years ago I started buying the missing ones and reading them. It is a bit of a hunt to find the original editions from the early 1990s, but so far I have succeeded!
I do not feel the need to reread the other books because I read them so many times that I still know exactly what happens.
For March's CalendarCAT and RandomKIT, I read Die Nesträuber (the touchstone doesn't work probably because the title is saved in the database without the article) - The Nest Robbers.



Book No 18

"Die Nesträuber" by Brigitte Blobel
Series: Neues vom Süderhof (10/23)
First published in 1990
Pelikan
Hardcover, 142pp.
Rating: 3 stars - ***

CATs & KITs: March CalendarCAT, March RandomKIT - World Wildlife Day
My own categories: Series - Ongoing Series

The Süderhof novels are set on a farm close to the North Sea. Two sisters live there with their parents, their three cousins and lots of animals. In this story, sea eagles are reintroduced to a conservation area close to the farm, but one night, three eggs are stolen by poachers. Of course the children start helping the biologists and try to catch the poachers.

This novel has all the the ingredients I loved about these books: Horse riding, domestic and wild animals, a good cause and lots of adventures. However, this one was a bit too unrealistic for my taste, and the bickering and harsh atmosphere between the children and also the parents disturbed me. I did love the descriptions of the eagles and the conservation area, though.

>135 MissBrangwen: hope you feel better soon!

>122 MissBrangwen: Orkney is on my must visit list. Must do something about it.

>123 MissBrangwen: I've listened to a couple in this series, they are excellent in that format.

>135 MissBrangwen: hope the tooth settles very soon. Tooth pain is one of those things that it's almost impossible to ignore or escape.

>145 bookworm3091: Thank you!

>146 Helenliz: Thank you! I hope you get to visit Orkney - it is such an interesting and inspirational place.

One of my goals this year is to finish a few series (or at least advance with them), and now I finished the first one - even if it was only a duology!
I read Due to a Death by Mary Kelly in 2021 and only then realized that it was the second novel featuring private investigator Hedley Nicholson. It didn't matter, though, because the novels are only loosely connected and differ considerably. Now I finally read the first book, The Spoilt Kill.



Book No 19

"The Spoilt Kill" by Mary Kelly
Series: Hedley Nicholson (1/2)
First published in 1961
British Library Crime Classics
Paperback, 235pp.
Rating: 3 1/2 stars - ***°

BingoDOG: A three word title
My own categories: Classics, Series - Finished series

The subtitle of this novel is A Staffordshire Mystery and Staffordshire's pottery industry is a big part of the story. It is set at Shentall's, a long-established pottery that has become the victim of espionage: Someone has been leaking the designs for some time, so that rival firms can produce similar but cheaper products in a quicker way.
Hedley Nicholson, a private investigator, tries to find the person responsible, when a murder happens: A body is found in one of the vaults where the clay is stored.

I must say that initially, it was a bit hard to concentrate on this novel. All the descriptions and technical terms of the pottery were a bit much for me, and I had trouble to distinguish the different members of the staff. The story grew on me though, and became more and more gripping. It is definitely not your average, cosy crime story - Mary Kelly neither spares her characters, nor her readers.

Sounds like you're healing nicely from the surgery, so hooray! Being able to eat ice cream is important.

You’ve read some good books since I was here last. The one on the Neolithic sites sounded good but not available to me . I’ll keep an eye out for it.

>149 mstrust: Yes, I'm almost back to normal and the stitches will be out tomorrow, yay!

>150 hailelib: A member in Reading Through Time also reported that the book was unavailable to her - I wonder if the reason is that it was published by Historic Scotland and might only be sold by them.

I have lots of great books lined up that I really want to get to, but alas, I am once again buried in work and grading piles and piles of exam papers, so no reading time for me right now.
But Easter break is close and things will be better then!

Glad your tooth pain is finally almost over, and best of luck with all those exams. Every teacher I've ever known has always referred to exams and exam time as the least-enjoyed part of the job.

>132 MissBrangwen: I've re-read The Chronicles of Narnia as an adult, and you really explained well the difficulties with this one particular book. The sneering at an Arabic-based culture were just cringeworthy.

>153 threadnsong: I definitely agree with the teachers you know!

The Crow Folk by Mark Stay was a BB from Jackie. I listened to it on audio and I am so glad I decided to do that because I am sure that the narration enhanced the experience.



Book No 20

"The Crow Folk" by Mark Stay
Series: The Witches of Woodville (1/4)
First published in 2021
Simon & Schuster Audio
Digital audiobook, 7h 51min
Rating: 5 stars - *****

CATs & KITs: March CalendarCAT, March RandomKIT - World Wildlife Day
Other LT challenges: Historical Fiction Challenge
My own categories: Series - New Series

Faye is a young girl living in Woodville, a village in Kent during the Battle of Britain. Her father owns the local pub and her mother died when Faye was little.
One day, strange things start to happen in Woodville, and they seem to have to do with the old book of her mother that Faye has found. The eerie Crow Folk are threatening the village and Faye feels like she might be the only one who realizes what is happening, and maybe even the one responsible for it.

I loved everything about this story: The characters, the setting, the magical elements. It is not overly creepy, more cosy with eerie elements, and the blending of fantasy and history are well done. There are elements of the British home front and the Battle of Britain, and the magic is there all the time, but Faye's situation, her feelings and the people around her are just as important.

Candida Gubbins is a wonderful narrator and I absolutely forgot that this was one person speaking - she is just so good and her narration is lively, yet authentic.

"The Crow Folk" just felt like a warm blanket sprinkled with a few goosebumps and a bit of excitement. It is not my usual type of story, which is why I am so happy that I found it through LT and this group. I will certainly continue with this series.

Oh I'm so pleased you liked it! I'll have to listen to this one, I didn't start the audiobooks till the next one, and you're right, Candida Gubbins is quite brilliant.

>154 MissBrangwen: I completely agree with the teacher remarks. I have a week and a half to go with the geology class I am teaching and I am buried in grading papers, discussions, and labs. The grading never seems to end.

Hope the marking is nearly over and you can have some more time to read soon!

>156 Jackie_K: Oh yes, I think it is worth it for how she interprets Sookie (did I spell that correctly?) alone! Having said that, I might seek out the print version one day just to see how the effect is when reading it, and to catch anything that I might have missed by listening to it.

>157 LadyoftheLodge: Best wishes for making it through this time, Cheryl!

>158 charl08: It is over for now, I have two weeks off until Tuesday after Easter and then it starts again in full force until June (that is the most stressful quarter of the year for me) - but I will make the very best of these two weeks of Easter break! :-)

I am abandoning Inselruhe by Rieke Husmann, a crime novel set on the island of Spiekeroog. I was interested in the setting and the case sounded interesting: Human bones found in the dunes that turn out to belong to someone who wasn't popular on the small island.
However, I profoundly dislike the main character, Inspector Hella Brandt, and the dialogues are written so badly, they feel like a bad German TV show. Maybe I am just not the target audience, but I don't want to spend anymore time with this book - 16% (48 pages) is enough.

>160 MissBrangwen: Yikes!

>161 thornton37814: Yikes indeed! I'm sure it was a good decision to abandon that book.

Hi LT friends!

I'm back to LT after more than a week - I am on Easter break and we spent some time in London, also doing a couple of day trips. It was wonderful to be there again after such a long time (it was the first time since covid) and I feel grateful and glad. As always when I travel I visited LT a few times, but didn't post anything because I don't like posting from my iPhone. But I did read a lot and am looking forward to sharing what I read and also to catch up with all of your threads!

I read Snowed in for Christmas by Isabella Hargreaves, a short regency romance, last December. I only gave it two stars, but when I came across her short story collection Homecomings it seemed like exactly what I wanted to read and was capable of at the time, so I downloaded it and dived right in. Homecomings is the first one of a series and because each of the works is extremely short, I then decided to read the whole series straight through.



Book No 21

"Homecomings" by Isabella Hargreaves
Series: Homecomings (1/3)
First published in 2023
self-published
ebook, 50pp.
Rating: 2 1/2 stars - **°

CATs & KITs: March AlphaKIT - H-R
BingoDOG: Something that takes place in multiple countries
My own categories: Series - New Series

The first book in the series was published eight years after the other ones, but it starts with a prologue tying them all together. In late November 1918 six men are discharged from a military hospital in England - five Australians and one New Zealander who are shortly introduced to the reader.

The following four short stories each are about one of the men. I liked the first one best: In The Jade Keepsake, a teacher waits for her lover in a beach town in New Zealand. She visits the beach every day because they were happiest there, but time goes by and she almost gives up hope because she has not heard anything from or about him.
I also quite enjoyed the third story, Lemon Cupcake Homecoming, in which young Cate prepares lemon cupcakes since they were Jim's favourite. Jim danced with her the evening before he left for the war and she fell in love with him, so she has high hopes for his welcome party. However, when he comes back, it looks as if things are different to what she expected.



Book No 22

"All Quiet On The Western Plains" by Isabella Hargreaves
Series: Homecomings (2/3)
First published in 2014, revised in 2015
self-published
ebook, 90pp.
Rating: 3 1/2 stars - ***°

CATs & KITs: March HistoryCAT - Science and Medicine, March AlphaKIT - H-R
Other LT challenges: Historical Fiction Challenge, RTT Monthly - Medicine, Epidemics, and Plagues
My own categories: Series - Ongoing Series

The second book of the series, All Quiet On The Western Plains, is a novella about another of the men from the prologue. Jack has bought a cattle station in Queensland after the war because he is a changed man and suffers from terrible nightmares and PTSD. He thinks that he is a danger to others and therefore leads an isolated life.
Fleur is a British nurse who served directly behind the front line during the Battle of the Somme and lost all of her family in the war. She takes up a post at a rural hospital in Australia because she wants to start a new life and not be reminded of the war anymore. When she meets Jack she is intrigued, without knowing his secret, and he feels drawn to her but tries to keep his distance, although that is hard because there is no other hospital anywhere in the region.

Although the story is rather foreseeable, I quite liked it. Fleur and Jack are enjoyable characters and the story seemed plausible to me. The descriptions of life in the outback in the 1920s were interesting and seemed rather authentic to me.



Book No 23

"All Quiet On The Western Plains" by Isabella Hargreaves
Series: Homecomings (3/3)
First published in 2015
self-published
ebook, 57pp.
Rating: 3 stars - ***

CATs & KITs: March AlphaKIT - H-R
My own categories: Series - Finished Series

The last book, Journey's End On The Western Plains, ties in directly with the previous one because it is set in the same place. The female protagonist is Marion, a widow and the matron of the hospital. Jack is visited by Bill, a good friend (and of course the sixth man from the prologue of book 1). Bill declares that he finally wants to settle down and is looking for a wife - when he meets Marion he is head over heels, but she is determined not to fall in love since her late husband was such a scoundrel.
I liked the fact that Bill and Marion are a bit more mature and I rooted for them, but I found Marion's character to be inconsistent. The ending disappointed me a bit because I think that the couple could have found a better solution to their particular situation.

London has its own interesting places but is also a good starting point for short day trips. I enjoyed the couple of times I've been there.

>165 hailelib: It is, and train travel is so easy to do there!

Red, White & Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston had been on my wish list for a long time and eventually I bought it as kindle deal last year. Now I finally read it and I'm so happy I did!
(Yes, my edition has the film tie-in, but I must add that I love the original cover and wish it was that one!)



Book No 24

"Red, White & Royal Blue" by Casey McQuiston
First published in 2019
Macmillan
ebook, 423pp.
Rating: 5 stars - *****

CATs & KITs: March AlphaKIT - H-R
BingoDOG: Read a current/recent bestseller

As said above, I am so glad I finally read this novel because I loved, loved, loved it - and I did not really expect it to be like that because I have never been a fan of contemporary romance (that might change now, though!)

The premise is quite simple, although the situation of the characters is not: Alex, son of the US president, and Henry, grandson of the Queen, have had a feud for years. After they clash openly at a Royal Wedding, their respective teams decide that this situation cannot continue and they have to stage a friendship for the benefit of the press - which means that they have to see each other much more often and slowly discover that they really might be friends and so much more. However, this is not easy, given their positions and status in the world, the traditions in Henry's family and the upcoming US election in which Alex has a crucial role as the First Son, aiming to become a politician himself.

I adored all of the characters in this story, from the protagonists to their sidekicks, families and friends. Although their worlds are apart from mine, the descriptions felt authentic and the story and the emotions just seemed real to me. I rooted for these two so much and just couldn't stop reading.
There are many steamy scenes and sometimes they were a bit much, but I decided not to lower my rating because in the end this is a minor quibble as there are so many other aspects I enjoyed.

On our trip to London we visited Westminster Abbey. I had been once before, but my husband had never been inside. We were both impressed by everything we saw, but Poet's Corner was a special highlight with all its memorials, graves, busts and statues. When we visited the shop afterwards and I saw a slim book about it, I just had to buy it.

ETA: The touchstone does not go to the correct book and I cannot make it go to the right one - I will fix it when it works. It is this book.



Book No 25

"Poet's Corner - Westminster Abbey" by James Wilkinson
First published in 2007
Tudsbury Press
Paperback, 57pp.
Rating: 3 1/2 stars - ***°

My own categories: Nonfiction - Other

This book is quite slim, but there is a lot of tiny print on each page, as well as many photographs, some small, but also some bigger ones. The first chapter explains the origins of Poet's Corner with the burial of Geoffrey Chaucer and, almost 200 years later, that of Edmund Spenser, which started a tradition. It also informs the reader about the decision making process: The Dean decides who will be buried or memorialized in Poet's Corner, although these days literary experts will be consulted before a decision is made.
After this introduction, the chapters chronologically follow the most important literary epochs until today and list which writers are included in the corner. There is a short paragraph on each person with biographical notes and their most important works, and it is explained when they were memorialized and in what way.
I read about one or two chapters a day because otherwise the concise information would have been too much. It was enjoyable to learn about many of these writers - some that I know well, others that I only know by name, and others that I have never heard of. Unfortunately, the biographical notes concentrate a lot on where the writers were educated, while I would have wished for more information about their works and why these were (or still are) relevant.
While there are more than a hundred graves or memorials to writers in Poet's Corner, there are only eight female writers commemorated in all of Westminster Abbey (and only six in Poet's Corner) - so while you might expect these to take place of pride in the book, most of them, with the exception of Jane Austen, only get a short paragraph. Elizabeth Gaskell only receives two short sentences, and Elizabeth Barrett Browning is only mentioned as a writer and wife to her husband, but her works are not referred to at all. I must say that this way of dealing with the female writers really annoyed me, although apart from that it was an interesting read.

Looking for a crime novel set in London I decided to try The Cuckoo's Calling by Robert Galbraith, which had sat on my shelf (and then, to save some space, on my kindle) for a long time.



Book No 26

"The Cuckoo's Calling" by Robert Galbraith
Series: Cormoran Strike (1/7)
First published in 2013
Sphere
ebook, 549pp.
Rating: 3 stars - ***

CATs & KITs: March AlphaKIT - H-R

This is the first book about private detective Cormoran Strike, an ex-soldier who is in a difficult private situation. His secretary/assistant Robin starts working for him and they solve their first case together.
A supermodel falls from her balcony in an apparent suicide, but a few months later her brother approaches Strike because he is convinced that his sister was murdered.

I must say that the action moved far too slow for me and I never really warmed to Strike and Robin. I enjoyed the case and the London setting, and towards the end, when the plot finally picked up, I was excited, but all in all I found it a bit boring. To me, it is an odd crossover between cosy crime and a city setting with grim aspects, and the narrative perspective is not what I like in a crime novel - it is too detached, which creates an imbalance between the plot and contents and the style.
I know that many people love this series, but it is not for me and I will not continue, as there are so many other crime novels out there that I want to read!

I have been reading Goblin Market and Other Poems by Christina Rossetti for ages, dipping in and out of it, but now I have finally finished!



Book No 27

"Goblin Market and Other Poems" by Christina Rossetti
Most poems first published in the 1860s, this edition not known
ebook
Rating: 3 1/2 stars - ***°

CATs & KITs: March AlphaKIT - H-R
My own categories: Classics, Poetry

I started reading this collection one and a half years ago and it took me a long time to finish - not because the poems are bad, but because many of them are so dark and I was often too stressed to read poetry, and dark and depressing poetry at that.
There are many books and editions named Goblin Market and Other Poems, and they are all mixed up on the LT work page, so I want to clarifiy what I read.
My edition is a bit peculiar: It is a kindle edition that I could not find a publisher for and it does not have page numbers. Well, it was one of the first kindle books I ever bought, or I would have looked out for these details. It consists of three parts. The first one seems to be the original Goblin Market and Other Poems as published in 1862. The second part is The Prince's Progress and Other Poems, originally published in 1866. Then there is a third part called Miscellaneous Poems which includes poems that have originally been published in magazines such as the Macmillan Magazine or Lyra Eucharistica. All of these were first published in the 1860s with the exception of the first three poems, two of which are from 1848 and one from 1850.

As said above, many of the poems are utterly dark, they refer to death and even suggest a death wish, they speak of decay, the voidness and emptiness of the world. There are poems from the perspectives of dead persons, longing to be with the living or predicting their unavoidable fate. But there are also love poems, although many of them are marked by disappointment, longing and separation as well. Despite all of this sorrow, there is also wit, though, and sometimes the lyrical I shows a surprising confidence and strength of character.
Many poems include Christian themes as well, often alluding to the Bible, to the love of Jesus and the hope for Paradise.

The title poem, Goblin Market, reads like a fantasy tale: Two girls are lured by some dubious goblins who sell fruit. The sisters react to them differently and danger abounds. I read it several times because I found it so interesting. Its themes of sexual desire are hard to overlook, but there are also many other layers and symbols to unravel.

I do not have a lot of reading experience with Victorian poetry, but although it took me so long to read this collection I am glad that I did so. It was fascinating and rewarding, even if a bit repetitive.

I've only been to London once. Even though I spent 10 days, not nearly enough to see what I wanted. It was in 2006 and it was the Queen's 60th birthday and she opened Buckingham Palace for 10 days. We were lucky enough to get tickets. Also used it as our base to take day trips to places such as Avon Upon the Lake, Salisbury, Oxford and the Cotswolds. In the Cotswolds I have my first "real" shepherd's pie made with lamb.

>171 Tess_W: Wow, that's so cool that you were able to get tickets! I have never been to the Cotswolds but it is definitely a place I would like to see. The pictures always look so beautiful.

I never really wanted to read Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas because the cover did not appeal to me and my impression was that it was overhyped. But then my husband read it last year and liked it, and he suggested that I should give it a try. As I was looking for an easy page turner to read during the last days in London and on the journey home, I thought that it was the right time for this book.



Book No 28

"Throne of Glass" by Sarah J. Maas
Series: Throne of Glass (1/8 in recommended order)
First published in 2012
Bloomsbury
ebook, 406pp.
Rating: 4 stars - ****

My own categories: Series - New Series

Young and beautiful Celaena has been slaving away as a captive in a salt mine when she is suddenly visited by the Captain of the Royal Guard. She is offered one chance to escape the mine and thus survive: If she wins a tournament held in the capital city that will determine who will be the next Royal Assassin.

This is a typical YA fantasy story that has all the ingredients: Beautiful protagonists, a tournament, love interests, a heroine with great abilities, evil villains and heartbreaking moments. But it really is a page turner and I just could not stop reading. While I rolled my eyes more than once, especially during some of the romantic moments, it was also great fun. I grew fond of the characters and was totally sucked into the story. I cannot wait to see how everything unfolds!

Today I finished another publication by Historic Scotland that I decided to read for Reading Through Time's quarterly prompt, prehistory. I bought Skara Brae when I visited the site in 2016.



Book No 29

"Skara Brae" by David Clarke
First published in 2012 (My edition: 2016)
Historic Scotland
Paperback, 57pp.
Rating: 4 stars - ****

Other LT challenges: RTT Quarterly - Prehistory
My own categories: Nonfiction - History

Skara Brae is a neolithic village on the Orkney Islands that was buried under sand until a storm partly uncovered it in 1850. The interiors of the houses were excavated so that today visitors can walk around and look down into them. I was immensely fascinated when I visited, and even touched by the humanity of it all. It is so special not only because of the village's age - it is about 4500 years old - but because there is furniture made of stone. You can see hearths, beds, storage areas and dressers (or altars), and it looks all just so human, even cosy, that it just made me feel how similar humans were to us even such a long time ago. Our basic needs have not changed, and I think that is amazing.

This slim book contains a lot of information about the site of Skara Brae, but it is also easily readable and I learned many things while finally reading this (and probably a lot that I had simply forgotten).
It is divided into three parts.
The first part is like a guided tour of Skara Brae and it explains the layout of the village and the different houses. There are seven houses and one building that may have been a workshop, although the village was probably larger and a part of it was swallowed by the sea at one point.
The second part tells the reader about life at Skara Brae: Food, work, clothing, beliefs etc. The author, who was one of the leaders of the last excavation that took place there (in the 1970s), always takes care to clarify if something is only speculation or if it is supported by evidence, and what kind of evidence.
The last part of the book gives an overview of the different excavations, of Skara Brae's relationship to other neolithic places on the Orkney Islands and Britain, and even to places further away.
Throughout the book, the text is supported by photographs and illustrations that make it easier to understand everything.

Of course, in such a short book most topics can only be touched upon, but it is really good for what it is, providing a summary of the most important information about the fascinating site of Skara Brae.

So from reading a large collection of poetry over one and a half years, I proceeded to reading a book that contains only one poem, but it is a book nonetheless! I watched and then read The Hill We Climb by Amanda Gorman.



Book No 30

"The Hill We Climb" by Amanda Gorman
First published in 2021
Viking Books
Hardcover, 30pp.
Rating: 5 stars - *****

CATs & KITs: March AlphaKIT - H-R
BingoDOG: Something written by a person of color
My own categories: Poetry

I distinctly remember being blown away by the author's recital during the inauguration, and I watched it on YouTube today before reading the poem slowly to appreciate it in a different way. Even if the world on the whole seems to have changed for the worse and not for the better since then, to me the poem is still perfect, both in its form and language and in its message. Reading it slowly in a book made me appreciate the rhythm, the alliterations and the word play even more.

As for the message, I want to quote the ending of the poem:

For there is always light,
If only we are brave enough to see it,
If only we are brave enough to be it.

This resonates with me even more today than three years ago.

Hurrah for an excellent trip, with lots of good reading.
Glad you enjoyed it and are safe back home.

>176 Helenliz: Thanks for stopping by here!

>163 MissBrangwen: It's great to be able to pop across to London for a short holiday. Glad you had a good time.

Another short read before I'm off to longer ones for April! Death Is Not The End by Ian Rankin, a novella that has its chronological place between books 9 and 10 of the Rebus series.



Book No 31

"Death Is Not The End" by Ian Rankin
Series: Inspector Rebus (9.5/24)
First published in 1998
St Martin's Minotaur
Hardcover, 74pp.
Rating: 4 stars - ****

CATs & KITs: March AlphaKIT - H-R
My own categories: Series - Ongoing Series

In this novella, John Rebus is asked by a friend from his school days to look for the friend's missing son. So in the evenings after work, Rebus travels to his hometown in Fife to find out what happened to the young man. During the day he is tasked with finding out about what goes on behind the scenes of a shady casino.
This book has only a little more than 70 pages, but it totally gripped me just like a longer Rebus novel. The solution comes a bit out of the blue, and of course the plot cannot be developed as elaborately in such a format, but the style and characterization are very well done and I enjoyed reading it immensely.

Apparently this novella is included in some collections of Ian Rankin's shorter works, but I bought this edition some time ago for a cheap price in a secondhand shop. I still want to get to the collections one day because I like Rankin's writing so much.

>178 pamelad: Yes, it is unbelievably close, only a little more than an hour on the plane to Stansted from Bremen (and an hour to Bremen Airport by train or car from where we live).
When I lived close to Cologne, I could even go to London by train easily (via Brussels). Europe is so packed and small compared to other continents!

>174 MissBrangwen: Believe it or not, I recognized "Skara Brae" from reading other books. It sounds interesting.

>181 thornton37814: I do believe you, and it is an interesting place indeed! Thanks for stopping by!

>169 MissBrangwen: I'm so sorry The Cuckoo's Calling was not to your liking. I was fortunate to get the audio version read by Robert Glenister, who was almost totally responsible for my love of the series. The only downside for me is that the books are so long.

Glad you enjoyed your trip to London. I wish I could drop by London now and then but it seems overseas journeys are only memories now.

>169 MissBrangwen: I rather liked The Cuckoo's Calling but I would agree that it's not for everyone.

>183 VivienneR: >184 hailelib: Yes, I know that the series is a favourite of many members of this group, so it might be a bit sad that I didn't like it that much, but then, we can't all like the exact same things :-)

>183 VivienneR: I agree that sometimes the audio/narrator can make a huge difference! And I must admit that knowing that the following books will be longer and longer did not really give me anymore motivation...

I started a new thread for spring, so please follow me over there if you like :-)