Nathalie's (Deern's) books in 2011

It's still a bit early for that, but:

"Happy New Reading Year" to everyone!

Okay, let's see if I can finish 75 books once again. Might be hard this year as I am plannig to read some real 'chunksters':
War and Peace, A Dream of Red Mansions: New Approaches to Learning Chinese which is a 1001 book consisting of 4 books of some 600 pages each and then several Dickens (Dickenses? what's the correct plural here?)

And I would like to read some more Shakespeare plays in 2011. I stopped somwhere in the middle of the second Henriad by the end of 2009 and now I might have to start it all over again.

2010 was also a year where I shamefully neglected poetry and I promise this will get better in 2011. Poetry books, especially all those 'complete works of ...' have a tendency of being forever stuck in a 'currently reading' status and a book should be finished to count for the challenge.

Last not least I signed up for the ER and hope for some interesting new reads here (and I hope that other months will have more than 3 books available for my country...).

Edit:
I started a thread in the '11 in 11' group
here

Glad to see you back again with us, Nathalie!

Looking forward to following your 2011 reading, and getting through W&P with you!

Oh dear, Nathalie! Are you extremely unhappy about something? Do you feel life is simply not worth living anymore? If you DON'T think those things, why are you reading *shudder* DICKENS? *shudder* Well, I hope you recover your emotional equilibrium in 2011.

Welcome back!

#4: Hmmm... no I usually don't, but maybe it works the other way round and reading Dickens makes me depressed? There must be a reason for all those tears I shed over A Christmas Carol every year. Interesting theory.... :)

Maybe I was just lucky that I never had to read any Dickens at school. I start shuddering when it comes to Goethe's prose or Brecht's plays and I haven't fully recovered yet from my experiences reading Max Frisch. Still grateful that my English teacher despised Shakespeare and refused teaching his works.

Found and starred - and I love Dickens, so will be keeping an eye.

Vaguelly considering the W&P challenge for 2011... but I figure it may take me the whole year...

Still grateful that my English teacher despised Shakespeare and refused teaching his works.
*vibrates with envy at Nathalie's luck*

I **detest** reading plays!!! I will admit that I loved Shakespeare's sonnets, and I still read them with pleasure. The plays, you can have 'em. Oh, and Brecht? Yecht!

I admit to a secret, shameful fondness for The Sufferings of Young Werther....

#8: I downloaded The Sufferings of Young Werther to my Nook earlier this year. I will have to give it a go in the new year.

*waves* at Nathalie

*waves* back at stasia :)

I have Werther on my to-be-reread list since I bought a nice old edition some years ago at a second-hand bookseller's, but so far I couldn't bring myself to picking it up again.

Richard: I love the sonnets and plan to read them again in 2011. I must have at least five book editions + 2 audio CDs (one of the latter having 'My mistress' eyes' spoken by Alan Rickman, that alone was worth the investment).

Hi Nathalie, I'll try to keep up better with your thread this year. Promises, promises. I may be delving into Shakespeare for the first time. The sonnets may be a good starting place. He was sadly overlooked in my 18 years of formal education!

#11: Hi Donna, I guess sometimes it's good if an author was overlooked in the literature classes. Depends on the teacher, in my case I am sure he would have ruined Shekespeare for me for the rest of my life.

And I promise to try and post more often on your thread this year instead of just reading it.

Hi Donna! I'm demonstrably *not* a fan of Werther (read it a couple of years ago and gave it a big fat Meh), but I'm a huge Shakespeare enthusiast - plays and sonnets both.

Looking forward to following your thread again in 2011, Nathalie! I'm planning on reading Shakespeare's "King" plays this coming year for my 11 in 11 challenge but now that you mention the sonnets I'll try to sqeeze those in as well.

#14: Hi Lynda, I am thinking about taking the 11 in 11 challenge as well and making Shakespeare's plays one of the challenges. I quite liked the first Henriad and then I got stuck early in the second. Yesterday I started re-reading the sonnets to get into the language again (poetry would be another challenge for my 11 in 11).

Happy St. Stephen's Day! Or Boxing Day! Whichever you prefer, Nathalie, may it be a happy, happy occasion.

Happy New Year right back at you my dear! Hope you had a good one.

A VERY HAPPY NEW YEAR to everyone!

I am sorry I wasn't able to post my New Year's wishes on all your individual threads. I'm having my parents here, who are actually sitting next to me on the couch and are happily watching the BBC version of 'Pride and Prejudice' which gives me the time for this posting.

I finished my first 2011 book today, The Taming of the Shrew by William Shakespeare. I watched the play with subtitles (the unabridged BBC version) and read the book along to it, which was a quicker way to get through it than usual. It's not my favorite play, you don't need to be a feminist to have a problem with the ending.

Now back to P&P, my parents need some help with the characters... :-)

Hi Nathalie!

Happy new year to you, too!

I also want to master some of the "chunksters" (War and Peace!) this year, so we can motivate each other. :) ...and because your library seems to be quite interesting: Thread is starred.

Hi, Nathalie! I want to pick up *W&P* again too, but now I've picked up A Glastonbury Romance and I don't think I can do two cornerstones at once. I'll check back though to see when you start and how you progress. You make me want to go back to Shakespeare and the Jacobeans. AND I will read some Dickens cover to cover rather than just pick out favorite parts as I've done for several years. And, Richard, how can somebody as funny as Dickens make you sad? (I do recall that O.Wilde said something to the effect that anybody who can read the death of Little Nell without laughing has a heart of stone.) (That isn't the brand of funny that I meant.)

#18: Now back to P&P, my parents need some help with the characters... :-)

I am glad you are having a good time with your parents, Nathalie!

#19: That's a good idea - I could do with some motivation. When are you planning to start on W&P?

#20: I wanted to restart W&P first thing in January. Instead I started reading David Copperfield, signed up for the Beowulf and Sense and Sensibility group reads and for "Freedom" for the TIOLI.
Donna used the expression "overbooked" - that's what it feels like.

I will pick up W&P as soon as any of the others is finished and I am planning to read it over 2 or 3 months (unless the book 'decides' it wants to be read faster, as was the case with other big books in the past).

#21: My parents left this morning. We really had a wonderful time and the P&P DVD was a great success!

The new year is already 6 days old and all I managed so far is one little Shakespeare play, half a Dickens and a bit of "Beowulf". I am hoping for a rainy weekend, so I can stay in and get some reading done.

Glad you had a "wonderful time" with your parents, Nathalie. I hope you get your rainy weekend!

I'd be happy to join in with War and Peace, especially if you wait until February. What about an "official" group read?

#22: I am hoping for a rainy weekend, so I can stay in and get some reading done.

I hope you get your wish!

1. The Taming of the Shrew
One of my new year’s resolutions has been to read more plays and poetry in 2011. So what better way to start the new year than with a Shakespeare play. They are all quite short and each of them counts as a book! And what’s more, this one is also a shared TIOLI read!

In 2009 I had used part of my Christmas money to buy the complete edition of the BBC Shakespeare series, because where I live(d) I’d never have a chance to see any of the plays in the original language (and you can’t imagine how much freedom the German theater directors are taking with Shakespeare texts…).

I found the best way for me to enjoy the plays is this: first I read all about the play in The Rough Guide to Shakespeare. Then I settle on the couch with my book, watch (or better listen to) the DVD and read the play along with it. If some text is missing I stop the DVD and read the missed text. In this case the text on the DVD was almost complete – only the induction was missing and maybe 2 or 3 paragraphs of the main play.

Now I don’t feel capable of actually reviewing Shakespeare, so please don’t expect any comments on the style. I can however say that this one will not end up as my favorite play. I liked the idea of the induction but would have preferred it if there had been an actual ending for that ‘frame’. The main play within the play consisted of 2 plots – one of them not of much interest, the other one so openly misogynistic, that it is hard even for me to excuse it with ‘but those were the times…’. ‘Taming’ a woman by denying her sleep and food until she is ready to admit that the moon is the sun and vice versa (depending on what her husband declares it is) is not my idea of fun. I’ve read a good deal of the comedies in the past and liked them all better than this one.

2. The Complete Sonnets by William Shakespeare

The Sonnets were my late introduction into Shakespeare’s work 3 years ago, at the ripe age of 37. I had then downloaded the CD “When Love Speaks” for my ipod: many famous RSC actors are reading 50 or so of the best-known sonnets. I don’t know if that CD still exists, but I can really recommend it. I then learned most of those sonnets by heart and am still able to recite almost all of them. I fell in love with the beauty of the language and that love will certainly hold for the rest of my life.

I had however never read all 154 sonnets, often started, but usually got stuck somewhere around #100 and then only read and reread the ones I already knew. This time I really finished them all and made it a duty to read each one at least twice. The edition I used had both the English text and the German translation.

What can I say? Maybe some of them are a little less great or are mere repetitions of others. Some seem to be style exercises, but for each one I didn’t like too much there were 10 others worth 10 stars, so this book will always be a 5star favorite for me.

#24: I don't feel capable to organize and moderate one myself, especially not for such a long book (depending on my work it is always possible that I'm suddenly off for several days). But if someone feels like setting up a group read for February I'd gladly join.

#28 - I can understand your reluctance. I feel the same. Maybe someone else will step up to the challenge? Otherwise, if you let me know when you and the others are starting, I will try to read at the same time so at least we can offer mutual support if we get bogged down!

I just read War and Peace two years ago, ladies, or I would join in again, but at this point, I already have multiple group reads on my plate.

I am joining today's read-a-thon:
link

Should I finish anything, the review will be posted here as usual.

> 22, 24, 30 (War & Peace)
Hi, excuse me for my delayed response! I like the idea of a group read! But I won't start W&P before March or April... If you decide to read it that time around or later, I'd love to join you!

It was really nice to have your participation in the read-a-thon Nathalie. I quite enjoyed it and it was fun that so many people joined in while it was going too! In fact, I liked the experience so much that I'm taking part in the one Ellie is hosting this Mon-Tues. Haven't gone back to her thread to check updates yet, but will you be joining us again too?

#33: Hi Ilana, I am sorry I can't join this one as I am working again full-time and it looks I might have a busy week after all those holidays. I really enjoyed the other one and found it's a great opportunity to make a dent into all those "currently-reading" books.

#32: W&P has something wintery for me, that's why in December I suddenly felt like reading it. I fear if I further delay my reading to spring, I might in the end not start it before the next winter. (I have a clear tendency towards the classics in winter and towards contemporary fiction when the temperatures go up). So I definitely want to start it in January, but slowly.

So yes, I joined my first ever read-a-thon on LT on Friday/ Saturday last week, hosted by Ilana/ Smiler69. It was a great experience and I ended up reading ca. 600 pages ("ca." because I used the Kindle for some books and had to recalculate the lines into pages). 600 pages sounds more impressive than it actually was, because one of the books I read, Beowulf, seems to have only a couple of lines per page. I especially enjoyed reading during the night hours, as this was quite a new experience for me - usually I need my 8 hours of sleep.

I finished David Copperfield (116 pages left), Beowulf (ca. 108 pages left) and Love in a Cold Climate (256 pages) and filled the rest of the time reading "Freedom". Reviews will follow shortly.

#35: Looks like you got some great reading done during the Readathon, Nathalie! I am glad you enjoyed the experience.

Some short reviews today - I don't feel so well. I hope I didn't catch that flu thing... Last week my employee was ill for some days, so he might have passed it on when he came back.

3. David Copperfield
I guess I am the last person here on LT who has read it, so I don't have to retell the plot. I was glad I had read The Man who invented Christmas in December, so I was able to identify some of the autobiographic bits, especially David's thoughts while he was forced to work at the wine company at the age of 10 and all the bits about the Micawbers debt situation.
As usual with Dickens there was a horde of characters - many great ones (above all aunt Betsy Trotwood), some nice but boring ones (David himself and Agnes) and some really annoying ones (Dora Spenlow! I thought I must abandon the book when I read the household chapter). This is a good book, but in my opinion not Dickens' greatest. I preferred Bleak House and above all Great Expectations.
Rating: 4 stars

Sounds like you read heaps in the Readathon - hope you don't get the bug.

I'd quite like to start W&P soonish too, and go slowly. I'm finishing Freedom, then have to read Henrietta Lacks by next Thurs (but should be quick), but then I'll be free to get into it.

I'm up to p 175 on Freedom. (For anyone reading, no spoilers in case you're reading... I know Nathalie is further through than I am). I can't read it at night, it just makes me feel like I need to take a shower. I'm still in Patty's diary and I really don't need to know this much about her life. So I suppose that means I think it's well written - it really feels like I am seeing the world through her eyes, and it's a pretty icky world full of self-loathing. I like to like my characters at least a bit.

4. Beowulf - Seamus Heaney translation

Beowulf is not part of the canon in Germany - we have the Nibelungenlied, but that's later middle high German and comparatively easy to understand. As all my English teachers avoided the classics like hell, the first time I heard of Beowulf was here on LT. I signed up for the group read, but decided that I needed a quick "read-through" to understand what it is all about before getting into deeper discussions (honestly - I didn't think anything when the work started with the word 'So' - I just read on). So I read it during the read-a-thon and found the translation quite easy to understand and fluent. It doesn't make any sense for me to look at the original and I can't judge the quality of the translation.
I read somewhere that Beowulf is a very 'male' epos - this is certainly true. There are men, there are fights, there's gold and weapons and there's blood and gore. No deep analysis of anything, no love stories. Women are there to hand out wine or to mourn.
I enjoyed it, but compared to The Aeneid or even the German Nibelungenlied I enjoyed it less.
Rating: 4 stars

#38: That's exactly it. All family members in The Corrections were quite disturbed, but I was able to feel with them, I even liked them. It was clear to me how they had manoeuvred themselves into their more or less hopeless situations and I wished I could help them out.
With "Freedom" however I just want Franzen to finally close the door on that family again - I feel like I'm in their head and can't get out. I guess he wanted us to feel uncomfortable and he really succeeded in it.

5. Love in a Cold Climate

For the read-a-thon this was a great book - quite easy to read, required no deep thinking. I read it during the last 5 hours when I couldn't cope with anything difficult anymore.

But apart from the read-a-thon it wasn't so great. It was like reading old-fashioned chick-lit. Well-written, often witty, but completely devoid of content. I don't really understand why this is a 1001 book, I could certainly have done without it. Or they should include Bridget Jones's Diary as the prototype for modern chick-lit into the next edition of the 1001 list, in case they think they have to represent the zeitgeist of a certain era.

After reading the first half I was expecting some really interesting plot development. And then... nothing. I mean - really nothing. An absolutely pointless ending. And Nancy Mitford could write. I just wish she had written something else.

Rating: 3 stars

Sorry you are not feeling well, Nathalie. I hope you feel better soon!

Hi Nathalie, I'm currently reading Shakespeare's Sonnets very slowly and appreciate his beautiful way with words. When I work my way up to the plays, I will keep your idea in mind of reading along with the DVD adaptation. That sounds like fun and a good way to get better understanding of his works.

>40 Deern:: I'm in agreement with you and Cushla on the ickiness of the family in Freedom, although by the ending I think even Franzen realized he had to lighten up a bit. I don't want to give anything away here, but I'm very interesting in your reaction after you've finished the book.

OK Donna, that's good. I've been wondering if it's 300 more pages of ick. I am reading 5 books at once to dilute Freedom!

#44: I am now on page 290 and finished the Joey part which is icky as well in a different way. But he is the only character so far for whom I feel some sympathy. The next chapter seems to be Walter-centered and he is my least favorite Berglund family member.

I am now a proud member of the Merano library. I no longer have an excuse for spending too much money on German and Italian books. I haven't had the time yet to check their books out but I hope they'll at least have the standard classics on offer.

My buying of e-books will also be significantly reduced, but for another reason - one of my accounts has been robbed! Somebody hacked my credit card data and very much money is gone. And as the service woman told me, there will be even more bookings for the current month. As the account was a 'dead' account without any transactions which I wanted to close anyway early this year I noticed it quite late. So from now on I'll reduce those one-click buys and the general use of credit cards on the internet to an absolute minumum, and I hope I'll at least get part of the money refunded.

#46 Oooo, bad news, Nathalie. Hope all gets cleared up and you're reimbursed for any losses.

That is really awful news - did you find out when you got the bill? I hope you can get some of it back, but I don't know how that works.

And great that you have joined the library. Even if the collection is small, it'll hopefully have some books you haven't read (and go you for reading in Italian!) Is it half and half German and Italian, or mostly Italian?

#46: I went through that last year, Nathalie, so I understand. I do hope the problem can be resolved quickly!

Poor you - that's so horrid! Fingers crossed that they get it all sorted out and you get some (hopefully all) of the money back.

Thank you all! I just talked to the bank and they are positive that I might get at least the main part back. There is some difficulty because I didn't get the statements (and if you have no transactions you don't expect statements) due to my address change. I found out when I had a look at my balance on the bank's website - I had planned to send them my notice of withdrawal and to have the money transferred to my new account - and instead of a credit amount I found an overdraft.

There are like a hundred steps to follow now, and adding the time it takes to send a document from Germany to Italy or vice versa, it's going to be a very long and annoying process. Most fun will be my visit at the Italian carabinieri (police) to file a criminal complaint for credit card fraud.

Anyway - it's 'only' money (though shockingly much of it, at least for me) and I will hopefully learn to check my accounts more carefully, even if they are inactive.

That is a scary story, Nathalie. I am pretty cautious with online purchases because of the presence of these reprehensible people who sit in the comfort of their homes and steal from others' accounts. We're all so vulnerable. I'm glad you're able to get restitution, although I don't envy you going through those hundred steps.

I'm sorry to hear about your troubles. Not fun at all, to say the least. I hope it all gets cleared up for you as quickly as possible.

On a lighter note, I'm glad you enjoyed the read-a-thon and got so much reading done! It was nice having you there.

I'm sorry too. I do hope that you can jump through all the hoops without too much trouble and get most of your money back. GRRRRRR. My credit card that I use online has a limit, but losing even that would hurt.

Oh no! I hope those hundreds of long and annoying steps are ultimately productive, and you do manage to get most of your money back.

Hi Nathalie,

So have you borrowed half the Merano library yet, or are you buried in work?

Just popping in to say I'm still reading Freedom. I'm onto Joey's bit now, and although I like him (so far...) more than the rest of them, he is still pretty gross. I will never look at university library toilets the same way again! Ugh!! I just do not need to know all this, but I think Franzen is a great writer to make me feel like that and have to keep going. But I won't be grabbing The Corrections any time soon.

#56: Hi Cushla, neither library nor work - just a bad cold. I had to stay at home on Thursday and Friday which is really unusual for me. I haven't even started catching up on the other threads yet, maybe I'll find some time tomorrow.

I finished "Freedom" and have to warn you that it's going to get much much worse toilet-wise. Feel free to skip that paragraph when you get there (you'll know it) - you won't miss anything, the metaphorical meaning gets clear without the disgusting details.

I am quite disappointed by the book, especially by the ending. It took me three days to get through the last 60 pages. But I feel like rereading and maybe upgrading The Corrections, I'd say they get even better in comparison.

Right now I am not yet able to form coherent thoughts about the book and to write my review. I might just link it to Donna's review and add some personal impressions. Maybe the book doesn't work for me because I am too European? I fear I don't understand the characters the way Franzen intended. I can't bring myself to liking Walter or to sympathize with him on the whole Patty/Richard thing. I also have problems with Walter's humorless self-righteousness. And I despise Lalitha (I guess you already met her?).
Oh - and I have a problem understanding all that political/corporate background. I really tried, but it made the pain in my head much worse, so at some point I just gave up and read on.

I am fully back to work today after another two half-days off, wearing a cap in the office to keep my head warm and still unable to speak a sentence without coughing. Whatever bug that was, it was quite persistent and unfortunately it kept me from reading as much as I had planned. Watching reality TV shows (the highlight being the new series of "I am a Celebrity...", German version) was less straining for my head. To compensate for it and to regain some brain cells I watched "Sense and Sensibility" with Emma Thompson last night.

I finished Freedom by Jonathan Franzen, which became more and more disappointing towards the ending, and also a small book of essays by Anne Fadiman, At Large and At Small, which I quite enjoyed. I put Ex Libris on my wishlist which is said to be the better collection of essays. My head is still unable to think about reviews, so those will have to wait a few more days.

No news yet from the bank, but the first step is taken. All I can do now is wait for the next bundle of documents to arrive here.

I know the feeling - I've been signed off for a week now and yet still haven't managed to get much reading done. Re-watching the 4400 series while collapsed on the sofa has pretty much been it. Really fed up with this virus now! Hope you feel better soon.

Glad to see you're up an back into the business world. Take it easy, though, and perhaps a little tea close by will help.

To bad you wasted so much time reading Freedom.

#60: yes, I have been drinking vast amounts of herbal tea with lemon.

Re "Freedom": I don't actually think it is a terrible book, but after all that praise (even in the German media) I had set my expectations too high. Franzen is a great writer and as depressing as the major part of the book was, it was exceptionally well observed and written. But towards the ending he did something, I don't know why, maybe to make it less depressing, and that didn't work for me at all. I rated it with 3,5 stars - 5 stars for the writing, 2 stars for my enjoyment with the plot.
Hey - that's half a review already! :-)

#59: I hope you'll feel better soon, Bekka. I guess you're not allowed to take any meds?
During the last days I got acquainted with some daytime comedy shows I had never seen before (Big Bang Theory, How I Met Your Mother, etc.). Now I am kind of hooked and suffering from withdrawal.

Hi Nathalie,

Let me know when you want to make an attempt on the summit of War & Peace (or at least the foothills...). I know you'll go faster than me, but it'll still keep me going! Am still going on Freedom but small doses is all I feel like.

Funny about the daytime TV. I have kept it turned off here for a year now (LT is bad enough!)

#62: Funny coincidence - I just posted on your thread re W&P :-)

Nathalie, we had similar feelings about Freedom. It should and could have been a better book imo.

Sorry that you've been sick. I know when I am that low, I too succumb to the TV monster. I love 'The Big Bang Theory' although the laugh track is totally unnecessary and somewhat grating.

I hope you get to feeling much better and read something enjoyable.

Edited to redirect touchstone.

#61 How I met your Mother is great - I heartily approve the new addiction :) Hubby and I are massively addicted to Bones at the moment, but are nearly completely up to date so will run out any day soon :(

Ta for the well wishes - no, no meds for me. Think I'm on the up now though (touch wood), hope you are too.

Hi hope you are feeling better today.

If this is the place where we fess up to our tv show addiction, count me in for the episodes of House and CSI.

I don't watch much tv (I say defensively).

I spent a fortune years ago on Friends, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Sex and the City and Southpark. Strange mixture, I know... The German versions are often awful and not funny at all (especially in the case of Friends and Buffy which for this reason never were that successful in Germany, all the fun was lost in translation), so I imported the originals from the UK, first as videotapes, later I bought many of them as DVDs as well.

And then I promised never to get that addicted again to a TV show. I was quite good and only bought series 1-4 of Scrubs, the UK Office and all of Gilmore Girls since then. I am now avoiding the popular shows like House or Lost. They are good, but I know I'd want to buy the DVDs. So instead I keep rewatching the ones I already own.

I've only purchased DVD's of my favorite old show, Northern Exposure and was gifted each season of LOST except years 5 & 6, which I anticipate receiving for my birthday from my son who knows how nuts I was about the series. Now, nothing on tv has built up enough enthusiasum in me to anticipate it every week.

#68: I avoided LOST after my disappointment with the last seasons of Buffy (I was quite Buffy obsessed during seasons 2 and 3 and then I watched on and on, always in vain hoping for a return of the good times). I watched the first season of LOSTand half of the second, but when I realized I started developing theories once again I gave it up, as often the finale can't live up to the high expectations (what with switching chief writers and sometimes networks during the runtime of a show might be normal). I loved the concept of the show and it was a hard withdrawal.

I finally wrote some reviews which I am going to post now.

6. Freedom by Jonathan Franzen

Donna (Donna828) wrote a great review for this book and I’d add a link if I knew how to do that…

I had not heard of Franzen before Freedom was published and all the hype started. Not just in the US and the UK, no, the book was praised and praised even in Germany where the translation was published only a week after the original. I read The Corrections first and it became one of my favorite books in 2010, so I was really looking forward to finally read Freedom.

My very personal impressions are:
It seems more accessible than TC at first, but then it gets harder chapter by chapter and the last 60 pages took me 3 full days to finish. With TC it had been exactly the other way – a slow beginning, but from a certain point I was hooked and couldn’t stop reading. The characters in TC are so well written that I ended up liking them all despite their many flaws. Here I found that I cared less about all the characters with each new chapter. There was a point when I didn’t want to go back once again into yet another family tree, just to understand someone’s motives better. I missed the humor of TC. And I hated Walter – the supposedly ‘good and tragic’ guy, whom I couldn’t help seeing as self-righteous and humorless and nothing else. Why everyone in this story is always concerned about Walter’s wellbeing really escapes me.

I can see his point – if you take a serious look at ‘it all’ and you’re not into some religion which gives you the consolation of man being the crown of creation, you can either despair completely or try to blend out the worst bits and live your life as good as possible, whatever your definition of ‘good’ may be. I sure didn’t like Walter’s definition. I know I couldn’t spend a single hour in his company. Or Lalitha’s. Not that I liked Patty, Richard or Joey much better. I have never felt as conservative as during my reading of this book. I felt like buying a dozen songbird-killing cats and adding my share to overpopulation and global warming by having 5 children and driving them around in a SUV all day. Stupid reaction, I know, and not at all in accordance with my own political views, but I couldn’t help it. And don’t get me started on that ridiculous adultery storyline. Seriously - am I too European for this book?

Up to a certain point the story was depressing, but at least it was consistent. Then for whatever reason Franzen gave it a twist, and that’s the point where he really lost me. I don’t want to spoil the plot, but for me that ending was not believable.

Still Franzen IS an amazing writer and I hope I will like his next books better. 5 stars for the writing and 2 stars for my enjoyment with the story.

Rating: 3,5 stars

7. At Large and At Small by Anne Fadiman

I never read Ex Libris, this book here was a typical impulse purchase back in 2009 in the large English section of my Frankfurt bookshop. I love the recommendations I am getting here on LT and I love loading books on my Kindle, but I miss the opportunity of just browsing the shelves of a well-assorted bookshop.

In this case it was the cover that appealed to me and I liked the idea that Fadiman had not only written, but 'lived' her essays (eaten large amounts of ice cream when writing the "ice cream piece", written the "sleepless piece" at night, etc). Most are very personal accounts of episodes from her life, spiced up with literature references.

Now I am not so much into short stories and even less into essays, but I quite enjoyed this selection and even put Ex Libris on my wishlist which I heard is even better.

My own rating is 3,5 stars, but for fans of intelligent essays this might easily be a 4 or 4,5 star read.

8. Sense and Sensibility - Reread

This was the third time I read the book. No change to my rating (4 stars), it remains my 2nd favorite Austen novel after P&P.

Be warned - the following paragraphs contain many spoilers.

I can't believe how much of the plot I had forgotten in the meantime. Maybe it's the fault of the Ang Lee movie version, but I couldn't remember the return of Willoughby during Marianne's illness and alltogether I had never realized how much was changed in the movie for dramatic effect (Marianne's illness being caused by her walk to Willoughby's place and Colonel Brandon carrying her back being just one example).

My perception of Brandon has been different now each time I read the book. The first time when I was completely unspoiled plotwise (and myself still very young) I was hoping for a happy ending with Willoughby and was quite disappointed when Marianne married Brandon. The second time (having watched the movie in the meantime and being a fan of Alan Rickman) I was all for Brandon and read over the Willoughy chapters as quickly as I could.
Now this third time I didn't like either of them. Willoughby doesn't need much further discussion, but Brandon this time reminded me a bit of a spider, weaving his net (becoming friends with everyone, being ever present, even kind of securing her mother's consent during Marianne's illness) and waiting patiently his turn. I know that's not how Austen intended him to be seen, but I couldn't help it. He IS a good man, but he is not as harmless as I always thought. I was quite angry with myself for this reaction and I guess "life must have done that to me". It's interesting how your own experiences can change your perception of a book over the years.

Another thing I never noticed before was with how much spite some of the chapters are written, chapter 34 for example. It's funny, yes, but you can also feel a good deal of bitterness and in those moments I guess Elinor IS Austen.

Alltogether a very enjoyable read and I will make sure to read it again in a few years, hopefully then feeling milder again.

9. A Sentimental Journey through France and Italy by Laurence Sterne

I admit I quite hated Tristram Shandy, despite its undoubted literary value. As this book here is only 160 pages short (I later learned it is simply unfinished) I decided to read it and be done with the Laurence Sterne books on the 1001 list. After reading the first few sentences and realizing it was written in Tristram Shandy style I reverted to the German version on Gutenberg. I am able to read English fairly quickly if the book is interesting for me, but in a case like this I prefer to speed-read the German translation.

Not very surprisingly I didn’t like it, though I liked it a little better than TS. I don’t know if that was caused by the book’s shortness, by its extremely short chapters or by its more coherent plot. Yet I was really bored and found the erotic hints not really amusing. Obviously there is a discussion about the missing last word… I won’t explain here, you can check it on wiki.

I can’t recommend it, but if you liked TS you might also enjoy this one.

Rating: 2,5 stars

#73 Oh shoot. I was hoping this one would be better :( Maybe a Sterne embargo for this year for me!

Back to reading! I am "currently reading" so many books now, I fear I am losing track.

I restarted War and Peace where I am reading 10 pages per day. I am now on page 101 and though the names and titles still keep confusing me I am enjoying every minute.

Parallely for whatever reason I started A Dream of Red Mansions: New Approaches to Learning Chinese, Volume I. According to the 1001 list it is THE Chinese Novel, consisting of 4 volumes of some 600 pages each. This is really hard going, I haven't got used to the writing yet and there are even more strange names than in W&P.

I am trying to finish Untrodden Peaks and Unfrequented Valleys before the TIOLI deadline, an account of a trip into the Dolomite region in the late 1800s, interesting for me because it's part of the provincia where I am living now.

And then I broke my book buying ban on Saturday and as a punishment I now have to read the new books immediately: "Germania: In Wayward Pursuit of Germans Ancient and Modern by Simon Winder (Germany explained in Bill Bryson style, Sunday Times bestseller) and La pancia degli italiani: Berlusconi spiegato ai posteri - an Italian journalist tries to explain the phenomenon Berlusconi. My excuses: the one had been on my wishlist anyway and the other one is veeeery important for my life here in Italy.

I gave up on The Sound of Poetry / the Poetry of Sound for the TIOLI which is a very informative book but needs more time.

#74: well at least it's short ... But give it a try, you might enjoy it more than I did.

Thanks for the no spoiler review of Freedom - I am having a pretty similar reaction, but with me I still have 300 pages to go and I just can't pick it up. I will though, but... no time is the right time, and War and Peace is so satisfying compared to the grossness of the Berglund family and their hangers on.

Still haven't read anything by Anne Fadiman, but she is on my radar. And I haven't read S&S either!! No idea why not, because I loved Pride & Prejudice.

Am on a slow but steady p 65 in War and Peace - it's such lush, detailed writing. I'm noticing a few more things on the second read, like how he always describes the characters' mouths and lips. I'm trying to read it every night while I sit outside my daughter's bedroom waiting for her to go to sleep.

#77: I am quite in love with W&P so far and it's hard putting the book away after my daily dose of 10 pages. But Proust taught me that this is the best approach, this way I am looking forward to it every night when I return home and I won't 'over-read'.
(I am trying to do the same with the Chinese book but find that after just one day I don't remember who was Jai Zhen and who was Jai Zheng, etc. )

I only noticed the mouth/lips mentioning in connection with the 'little princess' (who doesn't sound that attractive with her moustache and small upper lip not covering the teeth). I'll pay more attention to it now.

For me, Pierre looks like a fat Walter, and I fear he is going to be very important. I hope "Freedom" has not spoiled me forever...

He reminds me of a friend, so it's not too bad.

The blurb on my copy of Freedom (from Joshua Ferris) said that it was 'told in the expansive tradition of Dickens and Tolstoy'. Well I suppose it's expansive, but so far I know who I prefer!

You're absolutely right. :-)

There are references to W&P in Freedom and I hated that the first Patty chapter contained that fat plot spoiler. Maybe Franzen just assumed that all his readers are so well-read anyway that it wouldn't be news for them.

Two things, Nathalie. I had decided to take *W&P* off my "currently reading" list because that hasn't been true since October. But if you and Cushla are reading at the rate of 10 pages a day, I can do that, and I'd like to. I don't think I'll start over because I have an idea, likely wrong, that I remember most of what I read so far. I'm also plodding through the Dolomites with Amelia Edwards. I'm not as enchanted with her writing as I have been with some of the other books in the Virago/Beacon Traveler series, but I'm happy to keep reading. She doesn't interact with the "natives" enough for my taste, and she does keep her 19th century, British superiority front and center. I need to go back to GoogleEarth and look around again.

#81: Hi Peggy, I am not yet through the Dolomites book, but I already started my review, and it's exactly in line with your posting. Not enough interaction with the people, too much in-detail description of paintings and mountain formations and the British superiority issue is certainly true. It's still an 'okay' book but I wouldn't read it if I didn't live here.

And welcome to W&P! :-) At what point will you be joining us?

Peggy that's great! I'm repeating because I got up to about p 200 in 2009 and can't remember exactly who did what.

Nice review of Freedom- I think I agree with you - none of the characters are particularly sympathetic, which makes it hard to enjoy reading the book, although it is well written. It's a depressing take on modern, conflicted America - the idea that to save the wildlife we allow destructive mining, and convince ourselves this is a good outcome, is just such a metaphor for pretty much everything going on in the US now, it seems to me as a semi-outsider,

Anyway, W&P - I'd like to join in, too, if you're going as slowly as that! Where are you up to now? (can you tell me the chapter, not the page, because I have an older translation and am not buying a new one.

Gah! I'm starting to get tempted by W&P...no no must resist. Am already trying to plug away at Midnight's Children by forcing it into the 10 page increment category (though this time round it is growing on me...). But out of curiosity, I second Janet's query... how far in exactly are you?

I stopped at chapter 15 of book 2, but I see that I might have to go back and review a little. Anyway, Rostov has just been wounded.
And that was a fine review of Freedom which hasn't attracted me at all since I have The Corrections yet to read. (And Bekka, I adored Midnight's Children. It's still my favorite Rushdie. I"m not sure what that says about me.......)

I'm on Part One, XVII, Janet, but Nathalie is probably further in.

Go on Bekka! You've got such a quiet few months ahead ;)

Hi all, I finished chapter 23 today. Prince Andrei (Andreevitch and whatever else can be made of this name) visits his father before going to the war and leaves him in charge of his pregnant wife ("the little princess" or Elizaveta, Liza, Lizaveta, Lise - the pretty woman with the moustache). The next chapter has exactly 10 pages and after that starts part 2. I am slowly getting used to the names, but still have problems when "the count" or "the prince" is talking during a salon scene.

Bekka, I also liked Midnight's Children but I remember it being one of my harder reads in 2010. I didn't dare trying any of the other Rushdies yet.

Edited because I once more confused the names of two princes...

I think I may be slightly too far behind on W&P! Though as Cushla says - such quiet contemplative months ahead... NOT!

I think my issue with Midnight's Children the first time around was that I was trying to read it for a uni course and trying to ram it into a short period of time with loads of other stuff to study. I'm hoping that just relaxing with it will make me enjoy it more - def is so far.

Well, I'll start W&P and see how I go. Are you discussing it anywhere? I saw this wiki link, but it confused me. If someone explains how it works, maybe we can jump onto their bandwagon?
http://warandpeacereadalong.wikispaces.com/

Their approach seems a bit too slow for my liking - starting in February and not finishing before December. But they have separate threads for each section, so maybe it's possible to start posting before their official reading dates?

Alternatively we could open a new thread like the Sense&Sensibility spoiler thread which is not moderated, so everyone can just post their impressions.

Using one of our 75threads might get too confusing when reviews of other books are posted and discussed.

I like the idea of a separate thread here, as other group reads have. But I also like the idea of either a timetable or a separate thread for each book, section, whatever, given that people will certainly not be reading at the same pace. But I can't volunteer to help manage it in any way, I'm afraid, so I will have to go along with whatever you feel you can do.

I started reading it and read 13 pages - so far so good!

>70 Deern:: Thank you for that compliment, Nathalie. I do so agree that Franzen is a good writer. I just hope his next book has more appeal for this reader.

>78 Deern:: Only ten pages of W&P at night? You are a way more patient reader than I am. I gobbled that book up, although it took awhile.

I liked what you said in regards to S&S:

It's interesting how your own experiences can change your perception of a book over the years.

I know this to be true and I often wonder with certain books how I would have received them at a different time of my life. I know for a fact that there are books I enjoy reading now that at other times I would not have enjoyed at all and this is probably true the other way around as well.

Nathalie and Peggy and Janet, I can start a W&P thread and maybe we do one for each Part and aim for one Part per week? That works out at about 100 pages per week. (I have a feeling you said this was your rough aim over on my thread, but I don't have it open...) And if we end up going at different paces, it won't matter too much if we have plenty of threads.

I like the idea of a thread where we can go and know there'll be spoilers in there, so that you don't go into that Part's thread till you've read the pages if you're worried about spoilers. I don't mind setting the threads up and putting a blurb at the top, but I am not much good at discussing what I'm reading and my comments will be "ooh I really like it" or "that Pierre needs to get some social skills doesn't he?"

Janet I liked that Wikispace for W&P and think when we all get a bit further in it might have some good links. But a year is so slow I would forget what had happened!

If you guys think that sounds ok I'll try to do the first thread tomorrow. I've just finished Part I, Ch 21 (p87 in the P&V translation).

#95: very okay for me, thank you, Cushla! I wasn't sure if those threads have to be added to the groupread page (and how this is done) and if we set up one thread for each part it would be quite a long list.
So we have one start thread with links to all the other ones?

Re. discussion: I am similar - either I simply don't have those deep thoughts, especially when reading such an enjoyable plot-driven novel like W&P, or I have too many of them and I don't know how to express them in English without writing a novel of my own. (I just prepared my review for "Germania" which I might finish today and it's already 1,5 pages long - so many feelings...)

I read the first two chapters of part II and haven't got over the change in atmosphere yet. So far I preferred the salons. And new names again.

I love your long reviews!!

I remember really liking Part II once I got the hang of who was who and where they were. I know nothing much about the Napoleonic Wars though,so might be wikipedia'ing.

I think I'll do an introduction thread, say that it is meant to be a laid-back group read, and put some general links in and a guide to the timetable, then start a thread for Part One and link to it. And then figure out how to add it to the wiki etc.

I am trying to finish part I now, but I need to cook dinner and i don't want to get duck fat on the book!

Thank you so much! My long texts have been a constant source for bantering in my old job. When I left, my boss said in her speech: "If you told Nathalie to write a short wrap-up of her project status till tomorrow she'd turn up two hours later with a novella" (writing in German is so much easier and quicker).
I always envy people who are able to get to the point in a few short sentences. You can imagine what my powerpoints look(ed) like.

You are so well organized! Thank you for doing the threads!

And duck sounds good :-)

Cushla, you are a star! That's exactly what we need! I can do 100 pages a week no problem.
thanks.

Done!! That was fun. I even stuck some pics in, and it's in the wiki.

Right, Janet, now you need to go over to the first thread and write some incisive commentary for us!

I've only read 38 pages so far! When I get to 100 I will go write something, although can't guarantee incisiveness!

Natalie

Hello There.

I'm sorry that I missed sending a message to you on your birthday. Unfortunately, I was in the hospital that day. I hope January 4th was a great day for you.

I'm compiling the birthday excel spreadsheet and your name is duly noted.

Just checking in on you, Nathalie :)

#102: Thank you!! I put my name down too late anyway, you couldn't have known :-)
I'm following your thread and I'm so glad you are better again!

Yes, thanks to my friends and my parents who had come to Italy for the occasion I got through the day quite well (it was the 40th, so not an "easy" one).

#103: Hi stasia *waving*

#105: *waving* right back :)

I have to apologize before posting this - this is already the 'short' version:

10. Germania: A Personal History of Germans Ancient and Modern by Simon Winder

An Englishman claims to be in love with Germany – this really warmed my little German heart. For whatever reason the English/ British are a people we like and admire immensely, but we are not liked back, although I’d say from my experience of working with colleagues from the UK that we are not so very different.

When I started reading however I seriously doubted the honesty of the author's affection. Simon Winder has travelled Germany countless times and read whatever there is to read, the book basically gives a wrap up of German history pre-1933 on 441 pages, interspersed with little travel anecdotes. He starts with the end of the Roman empire and the Middle Ages fill the first few chapters. Obviously this is not his favorite period, but he suspects us to be secretly longing for a return of those times and (to my embarrassment) proves his theory with listing countless ugly pseudo-MA-buildings. At this point I thought he hated us, which would have explained the success of the book in the UK. I had expected a good deal of mockery, but that was almost too much for me.

But once the Middle Ages are done with, he really opens his heart. His style is this seemingly sloppy writing (similar to Bill Bryson) which hides an immense treasure of real information, you never have the feeling that you’re reading ‘serious literature’. But how much research must he have done!

It is obvious what makes Germany special compared to many other European countries. For centuries it basically consisted of countless small kingdoms and dukedoms, all ruled by an emperor who was far away most of the time, often in Italy. While other countries have more or less clearly defined natural borders, the mass of small regions that formed ‘Germany’ has always been surrounded by so many neighbors and parts of it invaded or marched over so many times that it has forever been a trouble spot. On the other hand the kings or dukes of these many little countries within the empire often tried to secure themselves a place in history by sponsoring artists or scientists (like Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach did with both Goethe and Schiller), which makes the cultural part of our history so rich.

Now what’s interesting for the English reader: Winder always looks closely at Germany’s neighbors and very critically analyzes them. It’s not so much that he defends Germany, he only shows that it usually needs more than one country to start an international crisis. As much as he is pro-German he seems to be anti-French. And he shows which impact a small incident might have years/ centuries later. Versus the end, when he writes about Prussia, the Napoleonic wars, the changing alliances, the events leading towards WWI, the book becomes so densely packed with information that it really requires concentrated and slow reading. The closer we get to 1914 the more he questions the way history is usually taught nowadays. England’s role in the conflict is analyzed and he shows how it happened that Germany – which had always been more like an ally or at least a neutral friend and had served England with a continuous line of eligible royals for marriage – suddenly became an enemy. So for example the fabulous German white wines (and I am a real snob here) which had for a long time been a must on English tables, were suddenly declared undrinkable and their reputation has never been regained (I admit that stuff like ‘Blue Nun’ – completely unknown in Germany – didn’t help here).

I know this review is already much too long, but one more thing: German history school books have never left a doubt on Germany’s responsibility for both wars. We are very much aware of that. Only in the last few years there have been discussions about the time after WWI – what was the role of the allies, how could Hitler and WWII have been prevented? This book goes a step farther into the past by also looking at the time before WWI and it clearly shows how fragile peace can be, what little spark is needed to start a fire that has the power to burn down the world as we know it.

Winder ends his book with the takeover by Hitler and the Nazi party in 1933, because it is too painful for him, and as he isn't German he is allowed to blend it out. The book closes with a recent anecdote from Hofbraeuhaus in Munich (the big beer hall which has been very popular with the Nazis before and during the Third Reich) which shows how much has changed since 1945 and how hard the country has been working in order to become a better place.

I recommend this book to everyone who is interested in Central European history but doesn’t expect lengthy serious analyses. This book is both informative and entertaining and I am glad I read it.

Rating: 4 stars

11. Untrodden Peaks and Unfrequented Valleys by Amelia B. Edwards

Again someone from England travelling my country. This time the writer is a woman, it is my ‘new’ country she visited, and she did it long ago, back in 1872. The Dolomites, this group of mountains that has been declared Natural Heritage by the UNESCO in 2009, are certainly worth a closer look and I am sure her book has been very informative for the adventurous traveler in the late 1800s.

For my personal liking and my more modern taste however it was much too long and the content too impersonal most of the time. Above all I was quite unhappy with her dealings with the local people whom she treats like and compares to savages several times (how can she expect that everyone in a small mountain village knows about England?).

Technically Amelia B. Edwards is a good writer and knows how to draw (the book contains many drawings of the mountains and villages she describes though not a single one of the people she meets), but I was terribly bored throughout the book and skipped many paragraphs, and I imagine it must be much worse for people who have no special interest in the region.

Rating: 3 stars, not recommended

12. Candide by Voltaire

This is as funny as a classic can get. In my experience tragedy in books often remains fresh after centuries while humor goes with the fashions and wears out quickly. I never found access to authors like Laurence Sterne and I fear the humor of books like Tom Jones or Don Quixote will be wasted on me as well. But in case of Candide the fun has survived, maybe because the main theme of the book is so modern. Who of us hasn’t been through her/his share of those self-help ‘Just be an Optimist and the World will Smile at You’ books?

Candide, our young hero, grows up with the belief that God made sure we are living in the best of all possible worlds. So if anything bad happens to him he is convinced it is still his best option. And he tries to stick to that belief through all his terrible adventures. He is almost beaten to death, survives a terrible tempest and then the big earthquake at Portugal, is again almost killed by Inquisition, travels to South America where he is in danger to be eaten, returns to Europe where he is robbed off his fortune, etc. Throughout his adventures he meets many people and loses most of them to some terrible fate (but many of them are unkillable and return again and again). He falls in love with the beautiful Kunigunde and also loses her. And the book has one of the strangest happy endings I ever read. The best and longest chapter is #25 where he meets Lord Pococurante, a rich nobleman who despite his money is completely unable to enjoy his life.

Candide is a very short book with app. 140 pages and easily readable with its many short chapters. And it’s a 1001. Recommended.

Rating: 4 stars

Natalie

What a great review of the Simon Winder book. I'm going to find a copy for my partner. He lived in Germany and loved it...He regrets returning to the US.

I look forward to reading Candide. It's on my huge TBR. I'll try to get around to is sooner than later.

I agree with Linda - great review of the Winder book, Nathalie! I am off to see if my local library has a copy. . .

I love Bill Bryson so I will certainly give Simon Winder a try.

Thank you all! :-)

I finished the Berlusconi book, La Pancia Degli Italiani, which I can really recommend once the English translation is out. As far as I know they are already working on it. I found (and lost) a link today with an English summary which I will post here should I find it again.
And I finished A Town Like Alice which I enjoyed a lot at first and then not so much in retrospective. I have started but not yet finished the reviews for these two, and I can't promise I'll find the time in the next days.

I've been to the library where I got the only interesting book from the English shelf, Wolf Hall, but I am making very slow progress with it. And I got If this is a Man, Primo Levi's book about Auschwitz. This one is in Italian and I hope I'll get through it before I have to return it.
And I am still reading my 10 daily pages of War and Peace, which is something like the highlight of my day.

I'd like to apologize that I haven't been posting much lately, but real life has caught up on me. Last week I finally got copies of my credit card statements and have been to the carabinieri (Italian police) twice on Saturday and again today because the documents have to be done in German or English. So now I am hoping to get some of my money back, at least the overdraft part of it. Quite unexpectedly the carabinieri were really nice and very patient with me.

My infection or flu or whatever it was has finally been cured with antibiotics after 5 weeks and now I have to concentrate fully on my business which doesn't look too great right now. Looks like the next 4-6 weeks will decide about my future here. And there are also some not so nice family matters... So I'll spend less time on LT for a while and I am taking a TIOLI break in February, but I'll try and post as much as possible (or at least read your threads), and I will continue with the W&P group read.

Nathalie, I hope everything gets sorted out. It's nice that War and Peace is providing a little respite from the rest of your day.

I agree and also add my wishes that everything you're dealing with will resolve itself in a way that is good for you. I will try to finish Bk.2 of *W&P* tonight so that I can join in the discussion.

I am glad that your flu is finally gone!

I hope that you get the real life stuff settled soon.

I'm sorry to hear that, too. I wish you all the best and much strength!

I've been meaning to say how much I enjoyed your review of Germania, and I will probably buy it for my husband (and me!) . I saw it in Bider and Tanner while you were reading and had a look - looks interesting.

Glad War and Peace is giving you a break from real life, but hope things improve soon.

*Waves to Nathalie* I read Candide so long ago, I don't remember a thing about it........perhaps a reread is in order.

Hiya - hope everything takes an upturn. Life really gets in the way sometimes doesn't it? :/

Thank you all for your support and your good wishes!!

This week brought some more bad news businesswise but there also some new developments which might(!) give reason for hope. But hope is such a dangerous thing...

I finished two short books:
Michael Kohlhaas, a German classic and 1001 book of only 100 pages which I guess I found funny for the wrong reasons - the weirdness of the plot and the writing style. It's a perfect example of why Mark Twain hated the German language so much: endless sentences, numerous parantheses, and the main verb usually hidden in the last line.

The second book was a 5star read: If This is a Man/ Se Questo è un Uomo, Primo Levi's book about Auschwitz (150pages). As could be expected an extremely hard read, but - if you can say this about a Holocaust book - stylistically exceptional, almost poetic (in the original Italian, but I am sure this book has been very well translated). Highly recommended.

13. La Pancia Degli Italiani by Beppe Severgnini

Usually I don’t recommend Italian books which haven't been published elsewhere, but I hope this one might be translated into English and German soon. The author, Beppe Severgnini, is a journalist who has spent much time in the UK and the US. His humor is almost British, not at all typical for an Italian, maybe that’s why so many of his books have been translated into other languages.

In this book he takes on the seemingly impossible task of explaining the phenomenon ‘Berlusconi’ to non-Italians and to 'posterity'. He called his book ‘the stomach of the Italians’ because Berlusconi (or “B.” as he calls him) can’t be explained with logic.

He lists 10 factors, and I was thinking about giving you a short overview here, but then I found this useful link:
http://www.beppesevergnini.com/video/panciaitaliani/Being_B_intro.pdf

Recommended if you are wondering why 'B.' keeps being re-elected.

Rating: 4 stars

#122: New developments sound like a reason to hope! Good!

This one was a difficult review for me. I wrote it a while ago and didn't post it because I needed to finish the one for the Berlusconi book first.

Now I decided to post this review in two parts, and both contain spoilers. One is the actual review, the other part is the rant about the things I hated. If you wonder why I still rated the book with 4 stars: because I really enjoyed it while I read it and it's so obvious that the author loves Australia, his new home. But about a day after finishing it I suddenly felt like my brain had been coated with candy and now the candy was melting away and I started seeing the flaws. And the more I thought about it the angrier I got. I suspect some heavy editing was done to the finished story, maybe initiated by the publishing house, and not for the better.

So - here's the main review:

14. A Town Like Alice - review contains many spoilers

A Town like Alice is said to be THE Australian novel and it has an average LT rating of 4,06.

It's the story of the young English woman Jean Paget who becomes a prisoner of war in Malaya in 1942 and is forced on a death walk through the country, along with 31 other British women and children, many of whom die of exhaustion, starvation and tropical illnesses. She meets the Australian Joe Harman, another prisoner, who steals some food for the women, is caught and sentenced to death, the women being forced to witness his execution. Jean tells this story to her attorney in London, Noel Strachan, who is the main narrator of the story. She inherits a small fortune and decides to travel back to Malaya. There she learns that Joe is still alive (and I couldn’t help thinking of “Candide” and finding this really funny). She decides to go and look for him in Australia, from where she sends weekly letters to Noel (so he can keep telling us her story). Joe’s farm is located in a place which is terribly unattractive for young women – it’s indecent for them to enter bars, there are no beauty parlors, no swimming pools and no cinemas. So to be able to stay with Joe, Jean decides to change the town into ‘A Town Like Alice’, Alice Springs, the only outback town that holds attractions for young women and families.

For about two thirds this is a wonderful plot driven novel, steering towards a romantic happy ending. But once Jean and Joe finally meet again, the story becomes strangely flat and loses most of its drive. There are some more miraculous coincidences which I can easily forgive, because I guess they were highly appreciated by post-war readers. So sweet so good, but once I had finished the book, something kept nagging me and I am sorry I have to spoil some more to tell you what it was (next posting).

So while this book almost felt like a candidate for 4,5 or 5 stars while reading (certainly much influenced by my affection for the country and especially the outback regions) I had to downgrade it to 4 stars and I have to add the warning that some readers might like it considerably less than I did.

Rating: 4 stars

#125: I really like A Town Like Alice too, Nathalie, although my favorite of Shute's books remains On the Beach.

A Town Like Alice - continued rant - full of detailed spoilers

The book was published in 1950. I am aware that there have been many changes for the better concerning racial discrimination or sexual liberty since. And usually I am able to read books in the context of their time. But here it feels like the author had originally written his story differently and was then asked by an editor to add some “tiny” changes.

The expressions Joe uses for the aboriginal people are certainly seen as racist today, but they were used at that time and sound authentic. But when Jean wants to open an ice cream parlor and the question comes up of ‘how to deal with the abos’ I got the suspicion that there was a letter from the publishing house: ‘Dear author, you mentioned there are aboriginals living in that fictional town of yours. Please make sure there will be a separate room and black staff for them at Jean's ice cream parlor, so the whites are not forced to mix with them’. I don’t understand why it was mentioned at all, it is completely irrelevant for the story and I can only explain it this way.

Or there’s a white farmer who is officially married(!) to an aboriginal girl who ‘naturally’ can’t read or write, but what else can a man do in a place where there are no white women ‘on offer’ for marriage – men do have their needs (this is NOT my opinion, this is how it is explained to Jean in the book).

Writing about men’s needs - now we come to the sex issue: obviously good young British women do not enjoy sex, they only reluctantly agree to participate in it if ‘the man really needs to do it but has married them first’. So Jean and Joe spend a weekend on a beautiful tropical island (in separate huts – or what did you think?) where they finally kiss for the first time and Jean convinces Joe to wait with the sex until they are married (but hey – should he reallyreallyreally ‘need’ to do it soon she is willing to get married tomorrow). Then there comes a paragraph I had to reread several times because I just couldn’t believe it and I still hope it’s a misunderstanding on my side: the next morning she looks at the bruises she got from kissing(!) and is grateful “she escaped a fate which would have been worse than death”. Losing her virginity before being married to the man she is intending to marry anyway? At the age of 27? In 1948? After spending 3 years in Malaya as a prisoner of war, with women and children dying around her? Not to forget that HE has been crucified and almost beaten to death for her sake!? I mean - she has seen death, much of it. And if still sex is worse then maybe she shouldn't get married at all?

But our fair-haired Joe is a good guy and a real gentleman, and they decide to get married many months later. Till then she is not allowed to spend the night at his farm, which makes sense, but she stays there for whole days all alone with him which is obviously not an issue at all. Maybe that’s because sex is only done at night, in the dark, in the bedroom under the blankets, so if she is at his place during the day no-one will suspect anything?

Oh – and do I need to add that all the chemistry and tension that had previously existed between those two completely vanished as soon as they had finally kissed?

And again – why has this been made an issue at all? There was no need to send them to that island and get them into that situation. Again I can hear the editor “but make sure nothing indecent happens before they are married, think of our lady readers”.

And then there’s the scene where Jean is sitting on the stairs of the hotel, drinking a lemonade, while all the men are inside the bar having beer, discussing HER suggestions for town improvement. Yes, it would have been terribly bad joining them, but the bar owner and the service are female, so she wouldn’t have been the only woman in the bar, she could have made an exception for that special occasion.

In sarcastic 2011 retrospective the whole last part sounds like a fairy tale for delusional women (once all those wonderful changes are done to that ugly town, your guy will stop drinking beer at the bar with the blokes and instead you will walk into town hand in hand every night and have an ice cream soda together and you will live happily ever after….). Personally I quite liked that town the way it was, but I am not living in the late 40s and maybe that makes all the difference.

*sigh* Maybe I should read some more chick lit again and watch more romantic movies, I have become a terrible person.

Stasia, I like it as well and something must be wrong with my brain, because I reacted so extremely to it.
It's sweet, and maybe I just can't handle sweet right now. :-(

15. Michael Kohlhaas by Heinrich von Kleist

Talk about overreaction… The horse dealer Michael Kohlhaas is treated very unjustly by his local Junker (kind of German gentry authorized to demand tolls) and because it is all about innocent horses being mauled, I was really on Michael’s side for the first few pages. But starting a small civil war, murdering innocent people and burning their houses down in order to get some revenge seems a bit over the top, what do you think?

The second half of the book is all about bureaucracy and in the end there is a magical ‘coincidence’ with a mysterious gypsy woman and a secret message which reminded me of gothic novels and which I found quite funny.

I read an article about the author Heinrich von Kleist some days ago which praised his use of the German language and from that aspect I can recommend this novella. I don’t know what the translation is like, but if it’s done 1:1 it must be a nightmare for English speaking people. For me it was a paradise of intelligent parentheses (or as Mark Twain might have said ‘endless search for the main verb in a very long, comma separated sentence’). Most sentences are at least half a page long with countless commas. If you are following the 1001 list or can read it in the German original, go and get it, because it’s also quite short. Otherwise maybe better not.

Rating: 3,5 stars

Maybe you would like The Broken Jug by Kleist better? It's a play, so the sentences might be shorter.

There's one quote by Twain which deals with the same problem you mentioned above. Whenever the literary German dives into a sentence, that is the last you are going to see of him till he emerges on the other side of his Atlantic with his verb in his mouth. I love that one.

#130: I enjoyed those sentences/ the writing, I didn't like the story that much.

I remember that we had some of those parantheses specialists in my German literature class at school and our teacher used to read out the funniest examples before returning our essays.

One of the first things we learned in our English class was: keep your sentences short. Mine are still too long, but nothing compared to my German.

And I fear I read Der Zerbrochene Krug at school and don't remember it. So I guess it's time for a reread...

#128: It's sweet, and maybe I just can't handle sweet right now. :-(

I know that I am a moody reader, Nathalie, so I understand where you are coming from!

Sorry things are tough for you now, Nathalie. Hope to see you back in the TIOLI challenges before too long - assuming all else straightens out. I miss seeing your name on our "froggy meter". :)

I'll echo what Madeline said. I hope the winter doldrums and the nastiness that life is throwing at you are behind you soon.

I'm concerned that you think hope is "dangerous." Sometimes hope is all we can...well, hope for. Others have said it better than me:

"Learn from yesterday, live for today, hope for tomorrow." ~ Albert Einstein

...and some words from your beloved Shakespeare...

The miserable have no other medicine
But only hope.

Hang in there, Nathalie!

#133: I hope I'll be back in March or latest in April. I'm missing the pressure. :-)

Do you want us to pressure you here on this thread? :P

#134: Thank you so much, Donna!
Well, there are those sayings 'It can't get worse' or 'From now it can only get better' - and then usually it gets worse/ not better, so I am avoiding both right now.

Some years ago when my life was also very stressful (but for different reasons) I started listing '5 good things that happened to me today' and that helped a lot and still does, though it can really demanding sometimes to find those 5 things without being repetitive. So if times are hard I am trying to stay optimistic - and in the end at least I will have gained more experience.

#136: thanks a lot :-)
when I look at my currently reading list (and my 11 in 11 challenge) I don't think I need more pressure...

For whatever reason - maybe because I don't want Wolf Hall to end too soon - I started reading Goethe's Wilhelm Meister's Apprenticeship in an online version. I have no idea how many pages it has, but it's definitely long. I wonder if this makes me a masochist?

To get some stress relief and because the weather was bad I played 'Super Mario Galaxy' on the wii yesterday. And you know what? I am officially old!
I don't have the nerves for those games anymore. One of the very early levels almost gave me a heart attack, I had to stop and wait for my heart rate to go down again. So I returned to Wilhelm Meister and his endless sufferings over lost love.

Today I went on a shopping spree on amazon.de. Some friends had sent me a gift voucher for my birthday, so I didn't need to use my credit card. Unfortunately they don't offer e-books on the German site, so instead I ordered a small collection of movies and TV series about Elizabeth I/ Henry VIII/ Anne Boleyn, clearly influenced by my reading of Wolf Hall. And I took the occasion and added All Passion Spent by Vita Sackville-West and Ex Libris by Anne Fadiman to the order. Now I have something to look forward to all week! :-)

> 138

One of the very early levels almost gave me a heart attack

Perhaps you should go back to the original Mario Brothers game? Less stress on your heart. :)

#139: I haven't got the original, but following your advice I tried Super Mario 3. At first I was happy to be back in the good old 2D world, but I had completely forgotten about those evil autoscroll jumper levels!
To make it short: I am now playing Picross on the DS which is all logic, a bit like Sudoku, and no-one dies.

The first part of my amazon order arrived on Friday and I watched the 'Elizabeth I' TV miniseries starring Helen Mirren as Elizabeth this weekend. The DVD was highly recommended on amazon, but I am a bit disappointed. Great actors without any doubt, but I don't want to see Elizabeth as this hormon-driven basket case who can't take a single decision without Sir Robert Dudley. And as much as I hate to see blood on the screen (and in real life) - the execution of Mary Stuart was the funniest scene on the DVD and I rewatched it several times. I don't know if that was intended.

Okay, if wiki is right then the execution scene was authentical. But maybe less authentical would have been better in this case and less ridiculous. They spared us the the three axe strokes necessary for Robert Devereux' beheading as well (and he deserved them!). And apart from rolling heads I could have done without the disembowelling scene.

A quick update on my reading: Finished Wolf Hall and I can't believe Hilary Mantel was able to stop at this point of the story! I need a sequel and soon!

As I am in the mood to read more about English kings and noblemen I started reading-watching Shakespeare's Henry VI Part 1, today I'll get to act IV.
And I am almost half through Wilhelm Meister's Apprenticeship. It can't have been easy being Goethe. Imagine walking around, your head full of the most wonderful laguage, your heart permanently filled with the most enthusiastic feelings (no space left for humor), feeling impelled to put it all to paper. I wish I could like his plots a little more. This one is outdated and often ridiculous and bores me to death, only the beauty of the language makes me read on.

I started Wolf Hall last year and had to stop when I wasn't able to figure out what was going on. But I DO want to get back to it this year (perhaps after gaining a better understanding of the events in that period). What did you think of her writing style?

#142: I had some difficulties with the style and also with the sheer mass of characters. Then I got some great advice on Cushla's /cmt's thread: 'he' is almost always Thomas Cromwell. So if there's a scene with TC and for example Thomas More: when she writes 'Thomas' she means TM, when she writes 'he' it concerns TC. Still confusing, but it helped.
There was a great example towards the ending (I already returned the book, so I can't quote it 1:1). A paragraph - which is like a new chapter - starts with something like 'The day before person X's death, he visited person 'Y'.' The 'he' in this sentence is not X, it's again Thomas Cromwell.

It was a slow read, but one that I enjoyed more and more once I got over the first chapters and had got used to most of the characters. And I had to read up on that period on wikipedia a lot, but that added to the enjoyment.

Reading update:
February 2011 was probably my worst reading month since joining LT. I finished 3 books so far, and should I make it through act V of Henry VI Part I today, the total sum will be 4, 3 of them short ones.
At least two of the books got 4 1/2 or 5 stars, so February was not a total loss.

I started several more books but didn't really find anything I liked. Mustn't Grumble is slowly getting better (the first half was boring and depressing, something you don't expect from a 'humorous' travel account) and Wilhelm Meister's Apprenticeship now causes me physical pain. Virginia Woolf's literary essays in The Common Reader are certainly great, but do not exactly fit my mood.

Last week I was ill again with a stomach bug and a fever, so I feel somewhat exhausted now and spent most of the weekend sleeping. I am longing for some uplifting easy-to-read literature that is not trash. Any suggestions?

Sorry you've been sick, and I hope you're coming out of it now.

Just had a look in your To Read collection... hmmm, not much light-but-not-trash in there. I have 2 right here that might work but they're here... Major Pettigrew's Last Stand or The Postmistress. You need a bookshop trip!

Before I can take a real bookshop trip I need a refund of those credit card bookings... But maybe one little book would be okay? Just this once?
I am still looking for the one you recommended last year (something like "Der Ministerpraesident"?), but haven't seen it yet in any of the local bookshops.

When I moved here I left all my 'easy' books in storage. I've got my Agatha Christies here, but it's only a year or so since I reread many of them and even I am still able to remember the killers after such a short period.

#143 Thanks for the info Nathalie, that 'he' bit had me absolutely bewildered last time around, even when I thought I had figured it out. And yes, Wikipedia will certainly be my friend when I approach Wolf Hall again.

Sorry to hear you haven't been well. I'm currently reading the 2nd book in the Regeneration trilogy by Pat Barker. It's set during WWI and tells of English officers suffering of shell shock. Not exactly a light topic, I agree, but you say 'easy' and because of Barker's flowing style, it's surprisingly easy reading and has quite a lot of humour in it. But yes, otherwise there's Dame Agatha Christie as you already know, or Alexander McCall Smith is another good "light reading" author.

I'm sorry you've been ill again too, Nathalie. Eventually, that gets to be depressing. Do you have easy access to a library so you don't have to buy books? I was just recommending funny stuff to somebody else - Ferrol Sams's trilogy that begins with Run with the Horsemen is hysterically funny to me. The first book is rather mannered in that he refers to our hero as "the Boy," but his adventures growing up in rural Georgia, USA, in the Depression are awfully funny. I used to read part of his description of his first prom to my depleted classes on their prom day. Any kid who says to his date, "Gosh, Gladys, you look just like the Campbell Soup Kid in a ball of cotton candy," has to be O.K. And since I'm reading an ER E.F. Benson, I have to recommend the *Lucia* books. They are also hysterically funny in a different way. Or Wodehouse. Or Saki. I think I need to stop this and get back to Mrs. Ames! Feel 100% soon!

Thank you for all your suggestions, now I have something to chose from. :-)

I went to the bookshop on Monday during lunch break and found it really difficult to chose something that doesn't fall into the categories 'high literature', chick lit trash, vampire trash, history fiction tomes of 700+ pages or crime fiction containing graphic violence. I ended up buying Rebecca which is again a classic and I guess not an uplifting one, so I haven't started it yet.

I finished one more book in February, King Henry IV Part I and yesterday I read for business reasons a book about Facebook fan pages, which also counts as a book I guess.

It's March already, so I should start reviewing my February reads. Here's the first one, sorry for the length once again.

16. Se questo è un uomo/ If this is a man by Primo Levi

As could be expected from a book about life in Auschwitz this book really depressed me. It followed me into my dreams and I couldn’t stop thinking about it during the day. As you can see from the rating I recommend it highly, but be aware that you are in for a very hard read.

I read it in the original Italian and there were some sections I didn’t fully understand, mostly dealing with technical details about the work Levi had to do. The language is factual yet haunting, and I’d say his use of the Italian language is exceptional.

I have read several books written by Holocaust survivors and this one must have been the 4th or 5th Auschwitz book. The author, Primo Levi, an Italian Jew, was ‘lucky’ not to be sent to the main camps Auschwitz or Birkenau, but to be selected for the third Lager, Bruna Monowitz, where people worked along with the slightly privileged prisoners of war (mainly from Holland and the UK) in the factories and there was the small chance to organize better food through those contacts. Levi describes in detail the dehumanizing techniques implemented in the camp. There aren’t many Germans mentioned in this book, simply because those techniques were so successfully applied that they were followed by the prisoners. There were higher and lower ranks of prisoners and survival was only possible by gaining privileges for yourself, usually on the cost of increasing the sufferance of others. You had the choice to stay a human being and die or to follow the guidelines and hope to survive a few days longer.

There is an exceptionally painful-to-read chapter which describes one of the selections that ended with a certain percentage of the prisoners being sent to Birkenau to the gas chambers. The selected ones had to wait 2-3 days before they were transported to Birkenau and with a few exceptions didn’t even try to commit suicide or to run away or to form some kind of resistance. Instead they insisted on their claim of a double portion of soup, following some unwritten camp rule.

The language plays a major role in this book. The Nazis had made sure that the nationalities got all mixed up in the commandos and barracks, so real conversations between prisoners were not possible. When describing dialogue, Levi often uses German, French or Polish words he learned in the camp.

In the end it needed a whole chain of coincidences (or miracles) for Levi to survive. He fell ill ‘at the right time’ in January 1944 and so was spared the death marches which killed many of his co-prisoners when the camp was evacuated. He shared a hospital room with the right people who were able to maintain the necessary sanitary standards and even organized an oven after the SS had left the camp, having switched off water and electricity and destroyed most of the remaining food. The majority of the remaining camp population died before the Russian army arrived or during the first days after liberation due to the lack of medicals and the indescribable sanitary conditions. In the end of the 550 Italian Jews who had been transported to Auschwitz with Levi in winter 1943 only 5 survived the Holocaust.

This book has a direct sequel which I am reading right now, La Tregua/ "The Truce". It deals with the first days after liberation and then describes Levi’s long odyssey through a Europe in ruins before he finally returns to Torino/Italy.

Rating: 5 stars

I may leave that one for when I need something difficult - probably more than my poor brain can handle right now!

I hope you're feeling better Nathalie - your reading total is as impressive as usual though :) I am officially so far behind for this year.

#151: You have the most wonderful excuse for falling behind, Bekka! :-)

So far I haven't read anything but W&P in March, I am now on page 636.

I checked all the suggestions and got samples for the ones available on Kindle, but haven't found the time to read all of those samples yet. I bought Dissolution, a book Cushla had recommended on her thread, because I am still in Tudor mood.

I just spent a weekend in Bavaria with my parents for my dad's birthday. He is having his court hearing next Tuesday and I really hope that this whole story which has now been going on for 8 months will finally be resolved. His retirement starts in April, so a return to his old company is no longer an option. This situation has been terrible for my parents, especially as his former employer for no reason spread some bad (and untrue!) rumors which made life in their small village really hard for them.
Regarding my own business, right now good and bad news are alternating. At least there have been some good news recently, but not enough yet to make me safe. I hope spring will come soon and make everything better! :-)

17. Wolf Hall

I am really sorry, but the task of writing a review for this one is too demanding for me right now. I might add something later, but for now I can just say that I loved this book, although reading it felt like hard work at times. Especially in the first quarter before I got used to the style and to the many characters, half of them having the first name Thomas.
I used wikipedia a lot to get some more information on the characters and I even enjoyed that (usually I avoid it and only get the most important information, but in this case I read much more than what is covered by this novel). I am hoping for a sequel!

Rating: 4,5 stars

18. King Henry VI Part I by William Shakespeare

I had read the first 3 acts already two years ago, but then I suddenly lost the patience for those history plays (having already read the first Henryad).

Now I am starting the second Henryad once again, and this time I quite enjoyed the play, although it is said that Shakespeare was not the original author and might only have written some of the scenes, among them the famous Lancaster-York rose-plucking scene. I watched the BBC DVD with subtitles parallely and I quite liked that version which I guess comes close to the original (all scenes acted on a real stage, simple costumes, many sword fights). And I found it has many funny bits. I am almost(!) looking forward to the next two parts.

Rating: 3,5 stars

19. Facebook Fan Pages: Facebook Seiten für Unternehmen einrichten, gestalten, betreiben / Das Einsteigerbuch für Ihre Präsenz auf Facebook

How to start a fan page on FB. I read this because I am planning to start one for my business. Work related and German, so no review, but it counts as a book! Quite helpful, so it gets 3,5 stars.

Rating: 3,5 stars

20. Flawed Dogs: The Novel: The Shocking Raid on Westminster by Berkeley Breathed

The first book I finished in March! Okay, it has only 208 pages/ 1862 Kindle lines, but it's better than nothing. It was recommended on a different thread and I read it because I love dachshunds.

Sam is a noble dachshund from the very best Austrian breeding. He becomes friends with 14year Heidy, but the intrigue of an evil showdog poodle separates them and leaves Sam stranded in an asylum with only three legs left. He spends 3 years in a lab, survives and is saved by a poor, but well-meaning guy who unfortunately loses all his money by betting on dog fights and in the end (which is the beginning of the book) even has to send Sam into a fight against a pitbull. This doesn't sound funny, but it's meant as a humorous book, and the clash between story and writing made it difficult for me to really enjoy it. But then I quite liked the last third and the (happy) ending almost made me cry.

It is YA and an easy read. The humor wasn't really mine and the cruelties poor dachshund Sam had to suffer were almost too much for me, but throughout the book I knew it would all end well and it did. Many cute pictures, even in the Kindle version!

Rating: 3,5 stars

21. Wilhelm Meister's Apprenticeship by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

I have now done my "duty" and read all 3 Goethe books from the 1001 list (Elective Affinities, Werther and this one) and I am so glad there aren't more.

Goethe is said to be our greatest writer and I can't contradict this opinion although I prefer Thomas Mann's novels. I have read and enjoyed many of Goethe's poems and two of his plays (Faust I and Faust II) but I'll probably never find access to his prose.

Now I don't have a problem with the 3 novels being on the 1001 list - Goethe should not be excluded and each of them is in its own way a milestone in the development of the novel and expressed the zeitgeist of the late 1700s/ early 1800s. But for a modern reader they are quite hard to digest. Werther and Elective Affinities at least have the benefit of being quite short, but Wilhelm Meister has something between 600 and 700 pages and the reading caused a constant pain in my nerves.

This book has many modern ideas, it is clearly the prototype of the Bildungsroman and as the language is beautiful and poetic, sometimes I was even able to concentrate on the language only and to forget the plot for 2-3 pages. It also contains some of the most famous poems, usually presented as songs like "Kennst Du das Land wo die Zitronen blüh'n".

But the setting is terribly outdated... and then there's the story that drags on and on... and the 'hero'(again one of those effeminate anti-heroes)... and the actors... and the story again... I suffered from the first to the last chapter. When Wilhelm spends the first (of 8) book telling his lover Mariane about his first experiences with the theater and doesn't even notice she has long fallen asleep (no doubt bored to death) I was already sick of him. Towards the end there were more miraculous coincidences than in The Castle of Otranto - everyone is related, everything is predetermined. There are also some then modern religious/ spiritual theories which are now outdated as well.

Enough ranting. Read this book if you have read and enjoyed the other shorter ones. Otherwise better not. The rating is explained by 5 stars for the language and 1,5 stars for the story.

Rating: 3 stars

Hi Nathalie, doing much needed catching up and I see you really enjoyed Wolf Hall. I thought alot of it too and am so looking forward to a sequel.

Hope things are looking up for you, health wise and business wise. Isn't reading a wonderful distraction during tough times?

22. Mustn't Grumble: In Search of England and the English by Joe Bennett

I like to read humorous travel books and I like them more if they inspire me to travel to that country. The best one I read so far was Bill Bryson's In a Sunburned Country - Australia had never interested me before (too far away, too hot), but after reading this book I just had to take a trip there and visit the sights he described.

This is now the third book I've read about England (just England in this case, not the UK). I have only ever been to London, Brighton and Wells (on a day trip with my then host family), and one day I'd like to spend a long holiday there and see as many places as possible. Now did this book give me an additional push?

For the first 2/3s I wondered if Joe Bennett's goal might be to keep me as far away from England as possible. He is touring the country on the traces of some 1920s travel writer called Morton, and this Morton must have been a really boring guy. Just as boring are the first many chapters.

Also, Bennett tries to take the trip hitch-hiking and is never picked up which makes him grumpy. Would you pick up a 45year old bald guy in hiking clothes, standing at some motorway entry close to London? Wouldn't you think this grown-up man should better get a train ticket, that he couldn't be trusted? I certainly wouldn't stop either.

He gives up on the hitch-hiking quickly and gets a car and after a while his trip gets more interesting, the more so when he also gives up on that Morton guy. The last third of the book was really quite enjoyable and he visits some sights I never heard of and would be interested to see. And then he leaves some out for no good reason (Lake District is not described because there are too many tourists anyway, York is avoided because he can't park his car there). So alltogether I can't give a better rating than 3 stars.

Oh - and when I read a travel book which is neither a biography nor a novel, I don't want to know about the author's one-night stands, some things can stay private.

Rating: 3 stars

# 158: Health wise it looks much better now, business wise it might. At least there's hope. :-)

You're right, reading is a great distraction, but right now I am not able to read as much as I would like to. I was able to catch up a bit on my reading this weekend and finally got those two books off my list. I started Major Pettigrew now and it's very promising.

I always find your reviews so informative and interesting. You certainly don't shy away from 'difficult' or 'weighty' books, that's for sure! Sometimes I read things more because I feel like I need to have them in my repertory so that I can then understand and appreciate the references made to them in other novels (whether directly or not). I'm often misunderstood by certain people for persevering with books that don't necessarily agree with me (or vice versa), but I think it's all just part of the experience of reading... a living! That being said, there are plenty of classics that I wouldn't have the head-space for, but it's still nice to read good reviews about them.

I've started listening to audiobooks with a passion a couple of months ago when I realized that I could 'read' so much more often, and especially during times when sitting down with a book is just not possible. I don't have a car, but I listen when I'm walking the dog, or cooking, or tidying up, basically doing things that don't require thinking. There's such a great selection available out there too. Not trying to sell you on anything, but thought I'd mention it since I know you can't devote all that much time to reading like some people can.

Ooops, I posted my last entry two weeks ago? And March is already over and I finished... how many - 5 books (3 of which I had started in January or February)! And April doesn't look too promising either, so I might not get to read 75 books in 2011....

I stopped reading Pride and Prejudice, because my last reread was only about 2 years ago. And I stopped "La Tregua"/"The Truce" by Primo Levi, the sequel to If this is a man and returned it unfinished to the library. The book is great and I will certainly pick it up again, but I couldn't deal with it right now.

On the plus side: I read one TIOLI book in March, this is one more than in February (Major Pettigrew's Last Stand, no time for the review yet) and I am 2/3 through War and Peace.

I've caught cold number 3 or 4, but I decided to just ignore it this time. This time it's no virus and no bronchitis, just a simple cold. I can't believe none of my neighbours has complained yet about the constant sneezing and coughing noises from my flat this winter.

On the business side there is reason for hope now. The next few months will show if it works, but at least now there is a little chance. New clients - yay!

And spring has fully arrived here at Merano. There are flowers everywhere, the meadows are all freshly green, but there is still snow left on the mountain tops. I am thinking about taking a beginners climbing class this year. Those mountains are too good to just be looked at.

Sorry to hear about the cold - these continuous winter bugs are debilitating aren't they!

Wouldn't worry on the numbers - you are already on 22, so I think you'll be fine. I'm only on 10 - and def getting a little concerned I won't make it.

Enjoy the beautiful spring. We had some simply stunning days - even got to take my daughter on the beach. Unfortuately we're now back to grey and drizzle, but this year has proved it can do it if it tries.

#161: thank you for your feedback. I like the challenge in those 'difficult' or very long books. Yet usually I need something less demanding on the side, and I am not happy with my current reading situation which doesn't allow me to read as many books as I would like to.

I experimented with audiobooks, but somehow they don't work for me yet. Listening in the car is not an option here (the roads are too busy and traffic is too fast), but I tried it during housework, especially cooking. The main problem is that I read most of my books in English, and listening to spoken English texts requires more concentration than real reading. I do watch English DVDs and understand most of the texts, but then I sit down and listen closely and I see the actors lips move. It's difficult doing something different while listening and still getting the story.
German audiobooks on the other hand are often too slow for me. But there I only tried classical books so far, maybe I should get something modern. My library offers audiobooks, so I will definitely keep on trying.

Hurray for new clients! How fortunate that you can experience the beautiful Merano mountains first hand. Mtn. climbing sounds nice, I'll live vicariously through you, Nathalie, because I'm afraid of heights. :

*sigh* I know I'm bad... still no review for Major Pettigrew.
Last weekend I was looking for some easy-to-read Italian childrens book (remembering that the Adrian Mole's Diaries helped me a lot many years ago with the English everyday vocabulary like household items and similar stuff) and I found a set of 4 Roald Dahl books.

So it's just a translation instead of something orginally Italian, but I had those on my to-be-read-one-day-list anyway. So over the weekend I read Matilda (which is "Matilde" in Italian) and La fabbrica di cioccolato. Nice ones, especially Matilda, the illustrations are so cute! The moral in "Charlie" is a bit too old-fashioned for me, this is one of the rare cases where I prefer the movie version. But I learned many new words and they both count for the TIOLI!

Now I'm following Peggy's suggestion, trying Wodehouse for an uplifting read. I got Thank You Jeeves for my Kindle. It's also on the 1001 list which I have been neglecting lately. How I wish the separate volumes of War and Peace would each count as a book on that list.

Oh my, Nathalie, I hope you find Wodehouse funny. You'll know in a paragraph or two! And I certainly agree that the separate volumes of *W&P* should each count as a book. What were they thinking?
(I remember picking up French with Emil et les Detectives.)

I read the Kindle test chapter twice. The first time I didn't get into the writing, but on the second try I had more time and found it quite funny, I guess that's a good sign. :-)

You remind me I shoud start rereading the Kaestner books! My favorite was Das doppelte Lottchen - LT says in English it's "Lisa and Lottie".

I have a funny-ish story about Emil and the Detectives. When I was in high school, I must have been helping a teacher clear a cupboard (yes, I was that much of a teacher's pet), or maybe just saw the open cupboard, I can't remember now. Anyway, there was a dusty stack of small size hardbacks of Emil, in German, in the beautiful old Gothic script. I'm not sure if the school had replaced them with a modern version, or if it wasn't even offering German any more. I didn't know a word of German, and never expected to, but it just looked so cool, so I asked for a copy. When I went to college, I did beginners' German, and found I could read it, although the script was a challenge. I always wondered if the beautiful old book subconsciously influenced me to start German! Sadly, it seems to have disappeared somewhere along the line, as indeed has most of my German. I'm a bit tempted to pick it back up, to read some Stefan Zweig in the original, but that's a project for some other time.

I am not going to try and catch up, Nathalie, but I will try and keep current from here on out :)

I have the first two Wodehouse books patiently waiting for me to get to them (the first one as an audio). I was going to start the audio of The Inimitable Jeeves yesterday, but went with Vile Bodies instead. I'm almost finished with that now, since I spent a good part of the day doing housework—audiobooks make me want to do those boring chores now!—so guess what's next in line? :-)

#169: Gothic script is really hard to read, even in one's own language. How sad that that the book has disappeared.
I don't remember much of the plot of Emil and the Detectives. I should really reread it. Kaestner also wrote books for grown-ups of which I only read Drei Maenner im Schnee (3 Men in the Snow), one of my all-time favorites for sentimental reasons.

#170: Hi Stasia, thank you for visiting my thread! :-)

#171: I can imagine the Jeeves books are great as audios. I found Thank You, Jeeves quite easy and entertaining, but I don't think I will read the whole series. I admire Jeeves, I wouldn't have the patience for Bertie.

Just stopping by to say Hi. Hope you had a nice weekend :)

#173: Yes, thank you. I went hiking yesterday for 6 hours - up almost 1000 metres and then down again. Down was worse, as usual. We are having summer temperatures (almost 30°C in the valley) and the apple trees are in full bloom. It will not last though. The forecast says we will get lots of rain now and cooler temperatures. Rain in the valley means more snow in the mountains, so it will be awhile before I can start my climbing adventure.

I took some pictures with my blackberry, but they are not as good as I hoped, they all look a bit greyish.

Just saying hi - I haven't been here for 30 messages!! The hiking sounds great. We've had summer weather over here too, and it's been lovely - a few colder days coming up but nothing too bad. I've been off LT most days and doing tons of German homework! (And reading the Shardlake books, and neglecting W&P.)

Good job on the Italian reading. I loved Charlie and the CF, but I was the right age when I read it.

Janet, that is a nice story about Emil and the Detectives. My husband read it to our 6 y o a few months ago (in English) and they both enjoyed it. I must buy the other ones.

Right, I am going back to leo.org and my grammar...

#175: I made some progress on W&P, finished volume 3/3 and volume 4/1 over the weekend. I am enjoying it, but there are so many other interesting books waiting, so I'd like to finish it soon. And the weather is getting too hot now for a Russian novel.

Are you also getting nice reading assignments for your German classes or is it mostly grammar/ vocabulary?

Drei Maenner im Schnee might be something for you. The language is quite easy I'd say and it has the charm of the 1950s, if you like that. A millionair starts a competition with one of his companies and enters it himself, using a false identity and pretending to be a very poor man. He wins the 2nd price, a week in a grand hotel in the Alps and travels there to test how someone poor will be treated in such a place. His daughter tries to warn the hotel management in advance and much confusion ensues.

Too bad about the pictures, Nathalie! I would have loved to see some of them.

#177: I'll load them on my notebook and if any of them are usable I will upload them. Maybe they look better on the big screen.

Time for reviews. The books are all widely known, so I won't write much about the plots.

23. Major Pettigrew's Last Stand by Helen Simonson

First of all: I really liked this book. It was just the uplifting read I needed and when it ended it left me with a warm and positive feeling towards life. Isn’t it great what books can do?

But (yes, there is a but) it is one of those books which feel flawless during the reading, but after some days and some more reflection they lose a bit of their appeal, in this case only a tiny bit. So this is for me a very good book, but not a "great" book (compared to To Kill a Mockingbird or The Remains of the Day which got a 5star rating). There is still (little) room for improvement and I am looking forward to reading more books by Helen Simonson.

Again this a book where it is obvious in which scenes the author felt ‘at home’. I found most of the characters believable and I loved most of the social scenes (the funeral in the beginning and everything about the golf club). For my personal liking there was a bit too much drama towards the ending and compared to all the wonderful ‘normal’ chapters it felt like the author had to leave the safe ground to write this. I like it when quiet books remain quiet without losing their strength.

Nonetheless this is a wonderful book, instantly gripping, enjoyable to read and I can recommend it.

Rating: 4 stars

24. Matilda /Matilde by Roald Dahl

Matilda (who is called Matilde in Italian) was the first book I read from a collection of Roald Dahl childrens books translated into Italian.

Matilda is a wonderful character. A genius, but still just a sweet and normal child. I liked that she was not excluded by the other children at school, just accepted the way she was. Even the parents and the evil headmistress were funny and made me laugh. My edition also contained those cute illustrations which reminded me of the Le Petit Nicolas books by Sempé and Goscinny.
Now one of my favorite books for children!

Rating: 4 stars

#178: Thanks!

#179: I really enjoyed Major Pettigrew. I am glad to see you liked it too, Nathalie.

25. Charlie and the Chocolate Factory / La fabbrica di cioccolato by Roald Dahl

Now this is a different story. The book was written in the 60s and it shows. I have seen the movie with Johnny Depp several times (whenever it aired on TV) and this is one of the cases where I clearly prefer the movie. They added some twists which made Willy Wonka seem less weird and the other 4 children less shallow, at least it was obvious that they were all just the results of their parents education. But my main problem with both book and movie is that I don’t really like Charlie. He is just a little too good and too poor to be believable. And I couldn't help it - the 4 grandparents in one bed were something... I don't know. I always had to imagine the smell in that room.

The best bits were the descriptions of the chocolate varieties. I am not so much a chocolate person, but I ate two chocolate bars in the two days I needed to finish this book.

Rating: 3 stars

One more, then I'm done for now:

26. Thank You, Jeeves by P.G. Wodehouse

This was an easy and fun read. I had some problems with the first chapter, because I hadn’t expected the whole thing to be a narrative by Bertie Wooster and in the beginning his 'young man of the upper-class' language was a bit strange for me, but I got used to it quickly.

Apart from the language the reading experience was a bit of an up and down. At times I loved it and wanted to buy the next book in the series at once, at times I was quite annoyed, because Bertie didn’t leave out a single fauxpas and most of them were predictable. Poor Jeeves constantly had to come to his rescue. And I kept wondering why the people in this story didn’t just talk to each other. But then there wouldn’t have been much plot left.

So it was fun, it wasn’t deep (which was more than fine for me) and I might read more of the series, though probably not all of them.

Rating: 3,5 stars

Sounds like you had a great hike! I was part of a hiking club a few years ago and just loved my Saturday hikes here around Québec and in the Adirondacks (N.E. USA). I guess I should join them again as I miss getting my fill of fresh mountain air.

I just started listening to The Inimitable Jeeves yesterday. I think it actually helps that I listened to Vile Bodies first, because it uses very similar kind of expressions which is understandable since they both take place in English upper-class circles between the wars. So far I find it amusing, but I agree with your assessment; nice light reading, but I doubt I'll be reading the whole series either.

I enjoyed the headmistress in Matilda too. She was so ridiculously mean and abusive that it was funny. And you're right, it had struck me as a nice touch that Matilda wasn't ostracized by the other kids because of her braininess. Dahl was clearly making the point that most kids were better people than adults (other than Miss Honey of course, though she'd also suffered at the hand of an adult, so she was one of the kids, I guess.)

I look forward to Charlie and the Chocolate Factory too. I've gotten then Roald Dahl audio collection narrated by himself a few days ago, which should be fun. Only thing is the stories are abridged, something which I scrupulously avoid usually, but I made an exception just this once. I remember reading that story when I was maybe 9 years old and absolutely loving the descriptions of the chocolates too. Somehow, the movie didn't quite live up to my own memories of the story, so we'll see how I feel about it when I hear it again.

Finally (whew, so much to say!), I got the audio* of Major Pettigrew on sale a few weeks ago, so look forward to that too. I'm expecting a feel-good story, which is rarely a life-altering experience for me, but pleasant nonetheless when in the mood for that.

* I really went gung-ho with the audiobooks with all the enthusiasm of a newbie lately. Looking at my reading lists so far, I see that about 1 in 3 books I read are audios (sometimes it's 1 for 1). In other words, since I've started audios, I've increased my reading capacity by 30-50%, now that's something to get excited about! :-)

27. Tender is the Night by F.Scott Fitzgerald

I read The Great Gatsby last year and though I liked the style, the book seemed almost too short for me. I would have loved to see some more of the glamour before Gatsby’s downfall.
I got that here in Tender is the Night. It is divided into three books and the first part is really enchanting. It is set in the middle of the 1920s at the French Riviera. Rosemary, a young American actress, spends a couple of days in a hotel with her mother. At the beach she meets the couple Dick and Nicole Diver. She falls in love with Dick and she follows the couple to Paris, where it slowly becomes clear that there is a secret hidden behind the façade of their seemingly perfect marriage. The second part of the novel takes us back into Dicks youth where he travels to Europe and meets Nicole. The third part takes up after the events of part 1.

The 1001 book had already hinted at an autobiographical background and that’s why I didn’t read up on the Fitzgeralds and the novel before I had finished the book. My impression that the book is in reality two books was confirmed. The first part is an extract of a novel Fitzgerald was planning to write but never finished. He changed the main character from a young male technician into a young female actress, but kept many of the side characters and the overall style and atmosphere. It reminded me a bit of Virginia Woolf’s writing, atmospherically dense, but without much action. The second and the third book which deal exclusively with the Divers are the more autobiographical parts. You can feel it’s based on real-life experience, the emotional pain shines through on every page. Altogether it is an interesting composition, not perfectly balanced, and this imbalance well reflects the psychology of the Divers’ relationship. A book I enjoyed very much.

Rating: 4,5 stars

28. Dissolution by C.J. Sansom

I finally got around to finishing this first book of the Shardlake series.
The plot sounded very promising: a crime novel set in England during the reign of Henry VIII. One of Thomas Cromwell's commissioners is brutally killed in a monastery he was ordered to bring to "surrender" (close down). Cromwell sends lawyer Matthew Shardlake and his assistant Mark to finish the business and to investigate the murder. As expected they are confronted with deep mistrust from the monks and it takes some digging (and some more blood) to resolve all the many mysteries the monks have been hiding for years.

I found this novel quite gripping, but I fear my reaction on most of the characters was the opposite of what the author had intended. I had no friendly feelings towards the protagonist which is never a good thing. He seemed over-sensitive and naive to a point where I wondered how he could ever have become a successful lawyer favored by Cromwell. And I found his morals not compatible with the period. It was like he was taken from the 21st century and put into the 1500s.

On the other hand I felt sympathy for Cromwell who is portrayed much less favourably than in Wolf Hall. To me he seemed at least honest and I could relate to the impatience he showed towards Shardlake at some point in the novel.

As for the killings - I guessed the killer at an early point in the novel, but was disappointed by the ending. I liked my own theory better. :-)

On the plus side: the religious discussions and the descriptions of life in a monastery.

I am sorry that I didn't like the book as much as everyone else. But I will read on - I just got the second part from the library, this time in Italian, and I will see if I like it better. I will certainly also read #3 which is said to be the best in the series.

Rating: 3,5 stars

#184: I also joined a hiking club, but usually I prefer hinking on my own. I can walk at my own pace and it's just so relaxing, almost meditative. I draw a line for lonely regions or difficult climbing tracks - both would be too dangerous without company.

The Inimitable Jeeves will go to the watchlist as next Jeeves book.

So I am now 33 pages into the 2nd Shardlake book Dark Fire/ "La Scomparsa del Fuoco Greco" and it looks like Matthew has arrived in reality - maybe due to the events in book 1. At least now he admits that forced confession exists. Maybe I'll like him better this time around.

I have a question for those who have already read it - but it might be a spoiler, so please don't read on if you haven't read it yet.

Possible spoiler:
I am reading the book in Italian and I feel that Ralph's question in the 1st chapter if Elizabeth liked her steak 'al sangue' might be important. I would like to know if this is just 'rare' in the originial or if Sansom also originally used an expression with the word 'blood' in it (bleeding, bloody...) ?

The Shardlake books keep popping up all over the threads. I hope to read them soon.

I'm very carefully not reading your question since I'm not quite half through the 1st Shardlake. I like it....I don't think it's perfect, but it's awfully good for a second book, which I think it is.
I'm not sure that anybody can read Wodehouse after Wodehouse although somebody may correct me. I pick up one and enjoy it and then don't read him again for several months. Bertie and all the other young asses about town amuse me completely.
Love Janet's story about Emil in German ~ I wish that had been me. And, I didn't like Major Pettigrew as much as everybody else did. I liked it, but was not in love. I doubt I'll read another Simonson.
And I envy you your hiking. I guess I could do it around here, but I'd have to drive somewhere, and there's really nowhere to hike that's not on a paved road unless I'd choose to tromp through somebody's soybean or tobacco or cotton field, and walking straight rows doesn't do it for me. --- and I'm respectful of your progress with *W&P*, Nathalie. I need to get back to it.

Interesting reading your reaction to Shardlake - I fell for it all hook line and sinker! When I read the first Ariana Franklin mystery I felt like Adelia had 21st century values, but I didn't notice here.

I have lent my copy of Dark Fire to a friend (actually to friend #3 - I feel like a drug pusher!) but hopefully someone else can tell you. I have a feeling it didn't say rare because I'd have wondered if they used that word in the 1500s.

I'm glad you liked Major Pettigrew, Nathalie. I've succumbed to the hype and bought the book thinking if it's half as good as people are saying then it's one I should own. I'll be reading it the next time I need an uplifting book.

I'm going to get the Shardlake books from the library. I look forward to starting the series soon.

I did lots of hiking when we lived in Colorado. I blame those downhill trips for my bad knees. I thought I'd have to call for a stretcher when we took the ski lift up Crested Butte and walked down. I spent the next two days in the hot tub where we were staying!

>191 cushlareads: I had the feeling that Adelia was ahead of her time myself. I have the first Shardlake close to the top of my list of TBR books.

One thing I really liked about this particular hiking club is they always have a range of paths to choose from ranging from "leisurely stroll" to "advanced hiker". I would usually start off with any one group and then just go at whatever pace I chose, but I like knowing that there are people nearby in case anything happens along the way.

Weekly update: a very busy week for me and not much time for reading. My parents arrived for the Easter holidays and next week I am going to Germany for some business meetings. And after that some friends from Frankfurt will come and visit me here. So I won't be able to read much till the middle of May. Or do much hiking... :-(

I took a short break on W&P, but there are only 200 pages left, so I hope to finish it in May. I am spending all my reading time with the Italian edition of Dark Fire by C.J. Sansom, which so far I like much better than Dissolution. I just wish I could read it a little faster. The story is really gripping and I can't wait to see what happens next or if my suspicions are correct.

Shardlake seems to have lost some of his illusions and has finally arrived in the realities of the 1500s. But sometimes I still feel the urge to shake him and tell him to stop those sentimentalities. Or to start thinking and see the connections.

And I don't trust the translation. I found a really grave error (May was translated into the Italian word for March - and this makes a difference!). If such things are not noticed, the people involved can't have much knowledge about the historical background, so I fear I am losing information.

I'd also be mistrustful of the translation with a slip like that!

Hope you've had a Happy Easter and enjoy all the visitors Nathalie!

29. Dark Fire/ La scomparsa del fuoco greco by C.J. Sansom

I am really sorry and I hope you won't be angry with me, but Matthew Shardlake and I will probably never be friends. I just don't have the necessary patience for him.Compared to Dissolution, I liked the setting and the plot much better here, but in the second half of the book Matthew annoyed me so much that I was close to abandoning the book.

The story however was really original and I liked most of the other characters, especially Barak and another one (who is a survivor of Dissolution, so I won't write his name). So I read on and just hoped that "the sharpest mind of London"/ "the man with the best memory in England" might at some point in the story just open his eyes and see the obvious truth.

This time Shardlake has to work parallely on two major cases: the defense of a supposed child murderess and the investigation of some miraculous weapon, the latter case on special order by Thomas Cromwell. A time line of 12 days is set for the resolution of both cases which adds a nice structure to the story, but also an element of haste and urgency.

Sure I had the benefit of being able to read up on English history on wikipedia, but being a famous lawyer in London should have given Shardlake more insight than he shows here. I prefer crime novels that surprise me, I don't want to be ahead of the 'hero' most of the time, waiting for him to finally catch up. Usually I am not good at guessing the culprit and my suspects often end up being the next victim, maybe the many Poirot books I read in the past were a good training for Sansom.

I will still read #3, but then I might take a Shardlake break.

Rating: 3,5 stars

Better luck next time with a book you enjoy.

I agree, Nathalie. I also thank you for a good review that isn't spoiling *Fire* for me. I can't wait for it to get here, and I hope that I like it better than you do. Right now I believe that I'll be able to cut Matthew a little slack.

I giggled about you not liking Dark Fire - so funny how different people react differently to books. If I like a character enough I guess I just don't notice the problems with the plot!! (I did find myself suspending disbelief at a couple of near misses in both books though. But hey, it's a thriller.)

Hope you're having fun with your parents there. I have 500 pages to catch up on you in W&P now!!

I had a lovely Easter weekend with my parents. On Sunday we went to Ultental, an almost unbearably picturesque Alpine valley. I took some pictures, but as usual they are alla bit blurred and greyish, I should really buy a proper camera.

Trying to insert picture:


Yesterday was a holiday here and we went to see the traditional Haflinger parade. Haflingers are a special local breed of small and robust blonde horses. The parade looks more "touristy" than it really is. It's an important day for the farmers from the small mountain villages who have the opportunity to present their horses to the public. I'll post some pictures on my profile page.

Bee-you-tee-ful!

Absolutely gorgeous! I don't know that I could bear it any sharper! And I'm off to look at the Haflingers - sounds Tolkienish.

That is a really gorgeous view.

Stunning! Reminding me again why I really want to go to Switzerland/Austria... screw it, the whole region... sigh.

Edited to add that I just realised I got your location mixed up with Cushla's... both stunning though. Sorry!

#202-205: Thank you! I spent several holidays there with my parents/ later with boyfriends in the 80s and 90s and it was a dream coming true when in 2009 the opportunity came up to live and work there. Sometimes I still can't believe it. :-)
I hope my business will prosper and I can stay a little longer.

#205: the region is squeezed in between Austria and Switzerland, so it's really similar. But we have more sun (southern side of the Alps).

I am in Germany now, staying with my parents, and it's raining. We had a very long drive yesterday, much traffic and some heavy rainfalls. No work today, much time for reading, I might actually finish W&P today.

an almost unbearably picturesque Alpine valley

I definitely see what you mean. It reminds me a lot of the area around Bad Hofgastein, in the Tyrol mountains where I went as a child.

So, did you finish W&P finally? I want to read that book sometime, but it definitely sounds like a major undertaking!

>201 Deern:: Oh, Nathalie, that looks like a fairy tale setting. Thank you for sharing it with us. It sounds like busy (or I should say busier) times are in store for you. I guess the books will have to be patient and wait until you have more time for them. Have fun in Germany and with your friends when they visit you.

#207: 'My' region is part of Tyrol (just the Italian bit), so I am sure it must be very similar to Bad Hofgastein.

Yes - finished W&P! And I know I'll have to read it again, because I feel I couldn't appreciate parts of it as much as they deserved. Only now that it is finished I understand the whole construction and the next time I read it I will certainly see and understand many events and characters quite differently.

#208: actually I was surprised how much time I had for reading those past few days. I finished 2 more 1001 books: Effi Briest by Theodor Fontane and then Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier. I read that last one in one go. I couldn't put it down until it was finished, which was at 2am this morning.

How fortunate you are to experience this lovely part of the world and how fortunate for us that you are able to share with us something that many will never see otherwise. Hiking is a great way to enjoy and see the landscape from a different perspective.

Congrats on finishing W & P. Do you have your next chunkster lined up?

I added my review for book #27/ Tender is the Night in posting #185. I am so many reviews short now...

#210: Thanks, Lynda! Actually I'd like to restart A Dream of Red Mansions: New Approaches of Learning Chinese, it's 4 parts of > 600 pages each, but it counts as just one book. It's on the 1001 list and it's said to be THE Chinese novel. But I guess that one will take a whole year and I am a little scared of it.

30. War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy

I’ll keep this review free of plot spoilers because the book is being discussed at length on the numerous threads of our group read. For those who are interested, here’s the intro thread:
http://www.librarything.com/topic/108451

The last few months have probably not been the best time in my life to read this huge book. There are parts which should better be read in big chunks, especially all of volume 3, where my 10-15 pages approach was counter-productive. While I enjoyed the more conventional novel parts with the various characters in the first 2 volumes, I was not able to fully appreciate the long chapters where Tolstoy concentrates on the historic events, and I regret that. I am planning to read this whole thing again once my real life is taking a slower and less stressful pace again.

I used the P&V edition and especially in those long historical/ philosophical parts in volume 3 and 4 I got an idea where the translators made their difference. Tolstoy is repetitive, not only with his thoughts but also with the choice of words/ expressions which he might re-use even within the same sentence. And those sentences tend to be very long and complicated. P&V made a point of following him as closely as possible, so we get ‘real’ (and repetitive/ complicated) Tolstoy. I liked that, but again it was not easy.

At times I was wondering if I was still reading a novel. What starts a bit like a Russian Gone with the Wind suddenly becomes a history book or a deep philosophical analysis about the nature of war. It’s a bit like some kind of old-fashioned theater – a narrator gives all the background the public needs and then the characters are allowed to return to the stage and show how those big events influence the people. While the novel progresses, I felt that some of the characters had a double role: they acted ‘their novel part’, whatever it was, but they also served an educational function in the book, something abstract which I can’t put into words. I felt a bit reminded of Brecht plays.

Much has been written about the two epilogues. In my opinion the book had a perfect ending with the last chapter of volume 4. The first epilogue however was ‘okay’, as it shows the life of the main characters 7 years later. The second epilogue was too much for me. I wanted to read it in German at Gutenberg, but that version ends with epilogue 1, so I was forced to use the English version and I don’t think I remember a single thought from it.

I wouldn’t say this is a perfect book. Often it’s great and then again there are ‘strange’ bits (more about those in the group read threads). As a novel, I enjoyed Anna Karenina more. But W&P still makes me think and I feel I have to read it again to pick up the numerous bits I missed during my first reading. I’d say this is a book that grows on you and gains value with every new reading. It gets 4,5 stars now, because I know I’ll like it even better next time and then I’ll want to upgrade it.

Rating: 4,5 stars

31. Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier

Another book which was simply amazing while I was reading it, but which later gave me some doubts. I was not familiar with the story, I had never even seen the movie. I just knew what I had once read in my TV magazine: it’s about a young woman, an older husband, a dubious housekeeper and a house full of memories of the first wife Rebecca. So I was really surprised by the plot twist and found the story extremely gripping.

I accidentally bought the German version because I thought the author was French, but even in the translation the first sentences got me and I became immersed in the addictive atmosphere of Manderley. The writing is absolutely beautiful.

Now to my only “little” problem:

Spoiler:
I know the times are changing, but I was surprised that the nameless (Daphne?) protagonist didn’t have a single doubt about Maxim’s character. Shouldn’t she at least be slightly worried about this readiness for violence (shown twice in the novel and both times without hesitation)? Let’s hope she’ll never do anything that goes against his ‘honor’! Even in the beginning of the story, when they just had met each other I couldn’t stop thinking “what a deeply disturbed man, he’ll never leave her room for her own happiness”. She should have run as fast and as far as she could after the first meeting
End of spoiler

But: great book, deserved classic. One of the best page turners so far on the 1001 list. And now I want to see the Hitchcock movie!

Rating: 4 stars

32. Der Duft des Kaffees by Gerhard J. Rekel

Bad, bad German novel. Can’t really say how bad it was. I don’t want to write anything about the story which is full of factual inaccuracies and simply ridiculous. And above all it is badly written. One of those books that make you wonder why you don’t try your luck as an author yourself. I am not inventive or patient enough when it comes to developping a plot. But I know my (German) writing would be better.

Just one thing about the story: dear Italians, I am sorry to inform you that you don’t know anything about espresso coffee. There’s just one expert and that’s the author. I’d say he read one or two books and visited some tasting seminar, probably hosted by the one company whose products he advertises quite openly in the book (and whose coffees I avoid where I can, but that's probably just because the coffee mafia has successfully spoiled my taste).

Rating: 1 star

33. Effi Briest by Therodor Fontane – review contains spoilers

A German classic, a 1001 book and it was free on Gutenberg. Surprisingly enjoyable, this is the German take at the 'unfaithful woman story' that is also the basis for Anna Karenina and Madame Bovary. Sure it can’t reach AK, but I liked it much more than MB.

Effi is a young girl of 17 when she is married to a much older man with whom she has to move to a lonely place close by the sea. Her husband is nice but not affectionate, she feels neglected and is scared by her new environment. She starts a short and meaningless affair with a man she doesn’t love and the whole thing is found out many years later, with sad consequences.

The first third of the book has some lengths but those make the boredom and dullness in Effi’s lonely life only more palpable. There is much talk about honor and from today’s view you can only shake your head about some of the later actions. The ending is less dramatic than I feared and I loved the emphasis on the deep unconditional love between parents and their child.

I am looking forward to reading more books by Fontane.

Rating: 4 stars

#212 - Great summing up of War and Peace! I am not TOO far behind now, only around 350 pages to go, so might finish this week. You have really captured the gist of it in a really short summary. Congratulations.

Oops, fell a bit behind here. I've got a few reviews of my own to knock out, but will definitely be back to see what you have to say about W&P!

I just had to come to say how thrilled I am that you enjoyed The Seas too! You are going to get me back into *W&P* yet!

#216: I still can't stop thinking about the book and the enormous construction it is. I am considering buying the Russian movie adaptation (the 7hr version) which is said to have captured the spirit of the 'war' parts almost perfectly while most other versions concentrate on peace and romance.
And I really need to reread at least volumes 3 and 4 soon. I haven't decided yet if I should read the same edition, another English one or maybe a German translation. I'll check in my library if I can find a German version that includes epilogue II.

#185: I am way behind on threads again, Nathalie, but I must comment on this post. I hated The Great Gatsby, but am wondering if Tender is the Night would be a better read for me. Thanks for your comments on the book. I will see if I can get hold of a copy - I do not think I own that one.

34. Angela's Ashes by Frank McCourt (German version: Die Asche meiner Mutter)

Last week while I was visiting my parents, my Dad gave me three books 'to read', no doubt a little revenge for my attempts to convert my parents into readers. He had obviously received them as birthday gifts (the price tags were hidden under stickers), so I forgave him for Der Duft des Kaffees (posting #214) and the second one, a German crime novel, which I abandoned after the first page (a girl was eaten by wild dogs). Angela's Ashes however was a full success and I finished it in 2 days.

I guess everyone else will have read it anyway, so I don't have to write much about the plot. I have been avoiding best-sellers for the past few years and so I had missed it until last week.

This isn't a literary milestone, but it's an incredibly powerful account of a childhood and youth in absolute poverty in Ireland. Although Frank McCourt has written it many years later he was able to transfer the feelings and reactions of young Frankie into the book, a child who has never seen better times and who does his best to cope with the situation and never gives up hope for a better future.

Has anyone read the sequel? Is it worth getting it?

Rating: 4 stars

I did not read the sequel to Angela's Ashes since it depressed me so much. Sorry I cannot be of help there, Nathalie.

Nathalie, I am nearly finished with War and Peace - today if I am very lucky, maybe. I am wondering if we need one more thread - a sort of "wrap up" where we can discuss, for example, what we finally think of Pierre, or any other general issues that don't fit in one part. It just feels wrong to walk away without something like that. What do you think?

35. The Seas: A Novel by Samantha Hunt

A great recommendation from Peggy!

Some books, like W&P, are mainly read 'with the head'. You get plot, sometimes historic information, literary style/ special words/ constructions and you are actively thinking most of the time while reading.

Books like this one here are read with something else. I would compare it to reading some of Murakami's later books, for example Kafka on the Shore. The process of reading is more of an absorption, the book becomes part of me and the normal 'read-and-think-mode' is switched off.
(There is still another reading level for me and that's Woolf's writing which makes me feel like floating lazily on her words, like reading poetry).

Such books are not likely to work for everyone: the plot is confusing, the ending doesn't explain much and the language is 'special'. I loved it, but I'd only recommend it to people who don't need a straightforward plot.

The "story": the main character, a 19 year old girl, lives by the sea with her mother and grandparents. Her father walked into the sea when she was 8 years old, after having told her she was a mermaid. Aged 13 she sees a man rising from the sea one day and falls in love with him, not caring that he is 14 years older. Jude goes to Iraq as a soldier and on his return when she is 19 he still refuses her love. She fears she will have to kill him in the end (a mermaid's fate when refused by a human). Words are playing a major role in this book - the grandfather used to be a typesetter and is now working on some strange dictionary. In one scene she falls down a stair and lands on (typesetting) letters, in another scene she picks words from the sea.

You see, the plot can't really be explained. It's all rather poetic and very sad, and the writing is just beautiful. The book is very short (less than 2000 Kindle lines, whatever that is in pages) and I read it in one night.

Rating: I'll give it 4,5 stars for now.

#220: Hi stasia! You might give it a try. I didn't hate The Great Gatsby, I just felt it started in the middle and I had been missing the doubtlessly 'glittering and beautiful' beginning, so I just got all the ugly bits of the story. In Tender is the Night we get both. But it's not a happy book.

#223: You are right, I'll start one right now. I was also thinking about writing some wrap-up today and post it in the epilogue II thread, but your idea makes more sense.

#224: I know I already have that book in the BlackHole. I will have to bump it up some!

#225: I will give it a go and see if I like it better than Gatsby. Thanks for the input, Nathalie.

I am going straight over to amazon to buy The Seas after yet another great review of it.

And thanks about the W&P thread - I'll be there.

36. Dinge, die verschwinden by Jenny Erpenbeck

Janet recommended this German author on her thread. So far I haven't been able to get hold of the books Janet read ("The book of words"/"Wörterbuch" or "Visitation"/"Heimsuchung") and this one here has not yet been translated into English. An English version might be called "Things that disappear".

Erpenbeck looks back and remembers 'things' that disappeared from her life. Things are 'life in the country' (without hot water and electricity), 'visiting graveyards' (because more and more people now decide to be buried anonymously), 'Splitterbrötchen' (a special type of bread roll), 'Miezi' (an old neighbour who is suffering from Alzheimer), etc..
She dedicates 1-2 pages to her thoughts and memories of each 'thing'. Those thoughts are often sad, always melancholy.

The writing is her strong point. I am not used to modern German authors using language in such a beautiful, almost poetic way.

My little problem with the book is that some of those pieces are too trivial. Many are heartfelt and believable and would deserve 4-5 stars, but others sound like she has written them to get this (very short) book filled. If I write about things I am missing I should really miss them and not just imagine what it might feel like to miss them. A good example for those is the piece about 'Tropfenfänger' (leo calls them drip-catchers, the things you put around the nozzle of an old-fashioned coffee pot, so drips don't fall on the tablecloth). I remember them well and I am missing them too. But when she complains about people now travelling to Italy and bringing back espresso pots (which they did in the 80s and maybe 90s btw.), she sounds like she has a whole collection of espresso pots on her shelves. And why has she to mention the German wehrmacht and the nazis in that piece? It makes no sense. Sometimes I wonder if serious German authors have to fulfill some nazi/WWII quota - at least one mention every 50 pages. But those are exceptions, the majority of the pieces is much better.

But even if the rating doesn't sound too great, I will try and get the books Janet recommended. The writing really is exceptional.

Rating: 3,5 stars

Wow, you read it straight away! It does sound like maybe not as good as the others, but I agree, it's her language that makes her stuff so great to read. I can't wait to see what she writes in the future.

#229: I put the two books you read on the list for the next amazon order.

I've often complained in the past about modern German authors and their use of the language. You either get the sloppy style of the countless interchangeable chick-lit/crime novels or the sterile and detached language of the serious writers. It's like the latter are intentionally avoiding words that would sound nice when read aloud, as if those could distract the reader from the important and usually grave contents of their novels. I had to read Thomas Mann and Goethe and Boell to see what is possible.

Erpenbeck is not scared of using what the German language has to offer. She experiments with words and the results are beautiful.

37. Murder Must Advertise by Dorothy L. Sayers

This was my first Lord Peter Wimsey book, but certainly not the last. I found it on the 1001 list when I was looking for an easy read.

What a delightful experience! I was transported into good old England of the early 1930s and placed without warning into the middle of a busy advertising agency. The first chapter is set in the typists office where the copy writers are assembling at tea time, talking and gossiping. A new copy writer is introduced and we learn that his predecessor, Mr Dean, fell down an office stair and broke his neck. The new copy guy, Mr Bredon, moves into his office and immediately starts investigations. Is he just curious or is he after something?

During the first chapters I was a bit overwhelmed by the number of employees in that office and also by the language (I'd say there are many old-public-school expressions which sound funny now). And there is a long chapter about a cricket match of which I skipped the major part.

With about 400 pages the book is quite long for a classic detective novel, but it never became boring (except from the cricket details). There's much to be found out and Sayers doesn't lay any traps for the reader. I liked that it wasn't a typical whodunnit where the readers are left alone with their big theories until the last chapter. Instead I could follow the investigation process and my suspicions were quickly confirmed or discarded until at the very end everything was clear.

A nice, enjoyable, nostalgic read (and I am glad the understanding of 'honor' has undergone some modifications).

Rating: 4 stars

I enjoy the Lord Peter Wimsey series, Nathalie. I am glad you gave the book a try. I started on a re-read of the entire series, but have neglected it of late. I really need to get back to it!

#232: my "to be re-read" list is also growing... I need more reading time!

The Wimsey books might be the perfect palate clearers between difficult reads. I am looking forward to the next one. Do you have any favourites?

Any of the books with Harriet Vane, beginning with Gaudy Night. I like The Nine Tailors too but I do not think it is one of the Vane books. It has been such a long time since I read it that I am not sure!

#234: thank you Stasia. I ordered the Kindle samples for both (Kindle samples are my new form of wish list).

I do the same thing with my Nook, so I understand. I hope you enjoy the samples!

Hi Nathalie! I did, I did (with hand raised). I read 'Tis, A Memoir the follow up to Angela's Ashes and I can tell you that although I enjoyed it I truthfully do not remember much of it. Angela's Ashes, on the other hand, left a much larger impression on me whereby I can remember scenes from that book very vividly. In other words, if you happen to stumble across 'Tis I think it's worthy of a read but Ashes is much more powerful.

The Seas: a novel sounds like an interesting read and I'll be on the lookout for it.

I love Sayers! Much as I hesitate to contradict Stasia, of all people, there are two other Harriet Vane books before Gaudy Night - Have His Carcase is the first, and I can't remember the second. At least, I'm pretty sure I'm right. If so, you should read them in order.

#237: thanks for the information, so I guess I won't buy it. I might read it if I find it in my library.

#238: Have his Carcase was also suggested to me on my 1001 thread. I'll wishlist it as well. Or maybe I should just start with the very first one and then read the whole series?

A miracle has happened - I found out yesterday that (thanks to my learning Italian?) I can read French books again. Well, at least some. I haven't spoken or read any French for the past 20 years, but when reading W&P I realized I didn't need the translations for the French sections, and after reading Ilana's review for Le Ventre de Paris/ The Belly of Paris by Emile Zola I decided to just give it a try and I was able to read (and understand most of) the long first chapter. The languages sound different, but in written form they are so related that it works and I can now read it even better than 20 years ago. As long as I don't have to read it aloud or to have a conversation...

Hooray for being able to read French again! I'm sure the Italian must have helped.

Pre-weekend update:

For the TIOLI I am still reading The Path to the Spiders' Nests (which is also a 1001) by Italo Calvino, a short book, but it's hard-going. Also TIOLI: Whose Body? by Dorothy L. Sayers, the first book of the Lord Peter Wimsey series. Clearly not as good as "Murder must Advertise", but nevertheless entertaining. I'll read the series in order now, so I'll get to all of your recommendations eventually.

Then 2 French books: Le Ventre de Paris by Emile Zola and Bel Ami by Guy de Maupassant, the latter is a 1001 book. Both are just great, one dramatic, one quite amusing.

I am off to Garda lake today to spend the weekend there with some friends, but as the forecast is promising rain and even snow in the mountains, I probably won't see much of the lake and instead have much time to read.

Have a fantastic weekend - do you feel liberated but also sad about being finished W&P?

Great news about the French too! When I learnt Italian back in 2002, it was so similar to French that I could sometimes get away with guessing the grammar. It took me weeks to find any big differences. Are you going to read all the Zola cycle? (Is this one of them?)

#238: Feel free to contradict Stasia, Janet - especially when she is so obviously wrong :)

#241: I will be interested in seeing what you think of Bel Ami, which I have had in the BlackHole for a while now. Congrats on regaining the French!

#242: Honestly I feel I have missed out on volumes 3 and 4, and I wish I had the time to start a reread immediately (sans epilogues, just the novel).

I didn't know you are speaking Italian as well. So except for the Rätoromanisch you are able to get along in all regions of Switzerland, that's amazing!

#243: So far I love it, it is amusing in an almost satirical sort of way. The first time I tried to read it many years ago I didn't get past the first chapter. I can't believe how easy it is now.

#244: Good news for me on Bel Ami then. Thanks for the input, Nathalie. I look forward to your review when you are completely done with the book.

#243 :)

#244 Nathalie, I *used* to speak Italian! It has gone!! When I went back there a few weeks ago (well, to Lugano), I was reduced to smiling a lot and Buon giorno, Grazie, pizza, ciao si and talking German. It started coming back on day 3 though...

I haven't read any of the W&P threads beyond Vol 3 part 1 yet but hopefully soon. I am sure someone is about to die - the Battle of Borodino had just started when I had to run to school, and now I have to get back to it!

And contradicting Stasia and Janet is really dangerous, but I am a long-long-long-time Sayers devotee, and the order of the Harriet Vane books is here: Strong Poison, Have His Carcase, Gaudy Night (my favorite! set in Oxford!), and Busman's Honeymoon. She also wrote a short story "Talboys" set after *B'sH*. You do have to read these in order, and in fact, Murder Must Advertise comes somewhere between *SP* and *GN*. Lord Peter alludes in passing to his annual marriage proposal. I see that I'm going to go back through the whole series this summer. YAY!

Hi, Nathalie, just stopping by to say I JUST FINISHED WAR AND PEACE! I am just about to post about the epilogues, and will leave the wrap up thread until tomorrow I think. Thank you so much for setting the lead and keeping me motivated!

#248 - Oops, Peggy, you are right of course (about the order, not the danger!). Gaudy Night is my fave, too, so romantic, although also stupidly soppy. I remember very well where I was when I read it - sleeping on a sofa in my brother's room at college the night before his graduation, which sadly was also the day Margaret Thatcher won the 1987 General Election (hmm as I write this I question it, my brain is so mushy at the moment, but I think that's true), so it was a comfort read.

Dear mother of...

I am SO behind here, and SO love reading your reviews but SO tired right now... at least want to say hi and I'll be back fresh and mentally alert so I can take it all in.

#247: I once read that the brain never really forgets, it just archives, and then the recall might take a while. Seems to be true. Isn't that amazing?

#248: Now I am really looking forward to reading them all! I am half through Whose Body, which is quite good, but beween this 1st one and Murder Must Advertise Sayers' writing has much improved. How could I have missed that series so far?!

#249: Congratulations, Janet!!! I haven't read the W&P threads yet, I'll do that right now.

#250: Hi Ilana, thanks for the visit. I'll try and get to yours later today.

I'm just back from lake Garda and as I hoped it is raining today so I might be able to catch up on all your threads. Luckily the sun came out yesterday after a rainy morning, so we could take the boat to Malcesine and visit the castle.

I finished two books, Bel Ami and The Path to the Spiders' Nests. And today I picked up a book I had on my tbr for ages, recommended by Stasia: Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close. I am just one chapter in and already incredibly close to tears.

And it looks I'll have to set up a new thread later today.

I hope you like Extremely Loud, Nathalie! I loved that one.

#252: I am sure I will, Stasia! It's terribly moving so far (I'm on page 79 now).

New thread: http://www.librarything.com/topic/116275

Hi Nathalie, I have just found (and now starred) your wonderful thread. Thank you for the fabulous reviews! I love your comments on War and Peace and on Angela's Ashes; the latter is one I wanted to enjoy far more than I did. Like many LTers, War and Peace was an accomplishment - one I'd like to revisit at another time.