drachenbraut23 (Bianca) reading and crafting nook 2016 (1)

First of all - A very belated happy New Year everyone.

My name is Bianca and this is my 4th/5th on/off year in this group. Due to complex health issues and because I commute between 2 countries I tend to drop off social media on a regular basis. On top of that I have a wonderful 16 year old son who I absolutely adore and who tends to keep me busy as well.



My reading tends to vary quite a lot depending on how I feel. Also, since 2013 I find myself more listening to books rather than reading them.

Well, I do hope that this year will be a good one without me dropping out again.

My reading interests are quite eclectic with a strong interest in Fantasy and Science Fiction. However, I will try anything which sounds engaging in any way.

Last year I tried to participate in quite a few challenges, this year I will pop in and out, whenever something fetches my interest.

I tend to read off the 1001 book list and this has encouraged me to read authors which I otherwise never would have tried.

Aside from reading/listening I love to knit, crochet, craft, on/off watching all kind of series on netflix, walking, cycling, traveling, art, history and.........................whatever fetches my interest.

Key to symbols

♬ audiobook always unabridged unless otherwise stated
✔ off the shelf
@ e-book
✨ shared TIOLI
✿ TIOLI
GN graphic novel
# library

January

001. ♬ Wind/Pinball: Two novels - Haruki Murakami - 7h49/234p (Kirby Heyborne) -
002. PB Under the Tripoli Sky - Kamal Ben Hameda - 128p -
003. ♬ Armada - Ernest Cline - 11h50/368p (Wil Wheaton) -
004. ♬ Iron Age 01 - Age of Iron - Angus Watson - 15h15/560p (Sean Barrett) -
005. ♬ Vampire Empire 02 - The Rift Walker - Clay Griffith - 13h35/398p (James Masters) -
006. ♬ Throne of Glass 01 - Throne of Glass - Sarah J.Maas - 12h47/404p (Elizabeth Evans -
007. PB Chasing the King of Hearts - Hanna Krall - 176p -
008. ♬ PB The Ruby in her Navel - Barry Unsworth - 12h22/336p (Andrew Sachs)
009. PB Darm mit Charme: Alles über ein untergeschätztes Organ - Giulia Enders - 288p -
010. ♬ The Book of Phoenix - Nnedi Okorafor - 08h50/232p (Robin Miles) -
011. ♬ Throne of Glass 02 - Crown of Midnight - Sarah J. Maas - 12h01/418p (Elizabeth Evans) -

February

Currently reading

American Author Challenge



January- Anne Tyler - pass
February- Richard Russo - pass
March- Jane Smiley
April- Poetry Month
May- Ivan Doig
June- Annie Proulx
July- John Steinbeck
August-Joyce Carol Oates
September- John Irving
October- Michael Chabon
November- Annie Dillard
December- Don DeLillo

British Author Challenge



January - Susan Hill - pass
January - Barry Unsworth - The Ruby in her Navel
February - Agatha Christie
February - William Dalrymple
March - Ali Smith
March - Thomas Hardy
April - George Eliot
April - Hanif Kureishi
May - Jane Gardam
May - Robert Goddard
June - Lady Antonia Fraser
June - Joseph Conrad
July - Bernice Rubens
July - H.G.Wells
August - Diana Wynne-Jones
August - Ian McEwan
September - Doris Lessing
September - Laurie Lee
October - Kate Atkinson
October - William Golding
November - Rebecca West
November - Len Deighton
December - West Yorkshire writers
Wildcard - Rumer Godden and George Orwell

1001 Books

Hi, Bianca!

Hello Amber :)

Hani will be so pleased when I tell her who popped by on LT! Welcome back dear Bianca. xx

Thank you Paul :),
I got fed up just lurking *grin*. Definitely trying to stay on the ball this year.

Hello, hello! Popping in to drop off a star. :)

Hello back to you as well Faith :), dropped a star with you as well. :)

Well! It's about time you got here, missy. Do you know how late you are? Everyone came here weeks ago. I assume that you have an excuse from your mother, hmm?

Welcome back, Bianca!

I owe you a reply. Coming shortly...

>8 drachenbraut23: Don't forget the occasional visit to my place Bianca - Hani hogs your attention enough on FB.

Welcome back!

Great to see you Bianca. What a lovely photo of you and your son.

Hi Bianca!

>11 kidzdoc: Thank youuuuuu Darryl, of course I have an excuse from my mother. She is preparing a lengthy letter to you already (with the help of google translate) with lots of unimaginable words :).

>12 PaulCranswick: Of course, I will come and visit your thread regular. Also I tend to lurk a lot.

>13 drneutron: Thank you Jim :)

>14 Ameise1: Thank you Barbara. Yes, I love showing off pictures of my son.

>15 norabelle414: Hi nora, thank you for visiting me. I starred your thread already and I am curious about your tv discussions this year.

Bianca! So good to see you here. Welcome back.

#007 - Chasing the King of Hearts - Hanna Krall - 176p

The story is set in the last few years of WWII and starts in Warsaw, Poland just before the Uprising. The story is about Izolda a Jewish woman and the love to her husband Shayek.

“She buys shoelaces for a pair of men’s shoes – such a trivial purchase.”

From this first sentence I was taken over by the story, which is written in short chapters jumping backward and forwards in time, memories and into the future of the old Izolda reflecting in brief moments about her survival.
This style reminded me a little of Herta Müller, but less prosaic and more pragmatic.
This story is powerful in its raw simplicity and deeply affected me. Chasing the King of Hearts sounds really, really tacky, but believe me this is not the case.
Chasing the King of Hearts portrays the Horrors of the Holocaust through the eyes of Izolda whose daily struggles to survive - by chance encounters she survives the Warsaw Ghetto, several imprisonments and Auschwitz - is not driven by politics or cause but because of her deep love to the husband she tries to save.

“Evidently god had decided she was meant to survive the war.
Or not. He had decided that she was meant to die and she opposed His verdict with all her strength. That's the only reason she survived. And no God can claim credit. It was her doing and hers alone.”

“Because you haven't seen death,.........The doctor is old, he spent both wars in military hospitals, but she feels more mature.Perhaps because she has seen different types of death. The death he knows is fast, from the front lines. In the ghetto and in Ausschwitz it was a slow expiring. It's dying, not death, that makes you mature.....”

>17 humouress: Thank you Nina :)

Hi Bianca, lovely to see you setting up a thread for the new year. I added Chasing King of Hearts to my tbr pile just yesterday.

How wonderful that you are feeling well enough to join us with a thread this year!

Yay, you're back, so happy to see you!! :D
I looked for your thread one day too early after I'd seen you posting on Darryl's thread and then thought "okay she was just visiting" - but no, she finally really moved here!
Hoping you're in for a happy and healthy reading year with us.

Nice review of Chasing the King of Hearts, Bianca. From the look of its cover I assume that it was published by Peirene Press.

>2 drachenbraut23: I was disappointed in Armada after Ready Player One. Maybe Wil Wheaton narrating improves the experience.

Happy 2016!

Welcome back Bianca! :-)

>18 drachenbraut23: Excellent review of Chasing the King of Hearts - that's another one added to my Peirene list!

Bianca! So happy to see you are back with a thread this year. You have been missed!

Welcome back .....

>20 avatiakh: Hi Kerry, I am sure Chasing the King of Hearts will be a book of your liking. Aside from being very well written, I got so absorbed because I knew quite a few of the places she described. When you know the places in a book it always adds another twist.

>21 ronincats: Roni, thank you. I do hope that for a change I will be able to complete a full year, instead of dropping out again. I have been lurking on your thread regular to admire your crafts and I am looking forward following you again this year.

>22 Deern: Yes, I am back and try to stay back and hopefully will find the energy to post regular as well.

>23 kidzdoc: Heya Darryl, yes you are right that's another book from the Peirene Press. I managed to obtain almost all their published books by now and will work my way slowly through them. I also subscribed to them and received my first book for this year just before Christmas. As you know they publish 3 books a year under a theme. This years theme is "Fairy Tale" and the first book for this year is The Man I became - Peter Verheist, apparently a story narrated by a gorilla.

>24 qebo: Hi Katherine, yes the narration by Wil Wheaton was excellent and I agree with you Armada was definitely not in the same league as Ready Player One but I still felt that it was an action packed fun read.

>25 souloftherose: Hi Heather, great that I could get you with another Peirene book. However, because of the thematic I wasn't sure whether you would enjoy this book.

>26 lkernagh: Thank you Lori, and I ALWAYS miss this group here, I think that's why I always come back and give it another go. There are just so many nice people here that this group almost could be labelled to be an addiction.

>27 roundballnz: Thanks Alex!

#008 PB ♬ The Ruby in her Navel - Barry Unsworth - 12h22/336p (Andrew Sachs)

The story is set in the 12th century Sicily and is narrated by Thurstan a young man of Norman origins who works in the Divan of Control under Roger II.

It's a time of change in the world as the the Crusaders loose their battles in Jerusalem an important turning point in European history. Decades of cultural exchange are now terminated by fear, suspicion and growing intolerance from sides of the church. All this intrigues and changes we follow through the eyes of Thurstan. A compelling read and definitely a good introduction to Barry Unsworth. Also Thurstan is not the most likeable of characters, he just kept annoying me, but in the end he managed to redeem himself in my eyes.



#009 PB Darm mit Charme: Alles über ein untergeschätztes Organ - Giulia Enders - 288p -

This was a fun read. My sister lend me the book a few weeks back and told me that this is "THE" book at present. Yes, I can see why, also the topic doesn't necessary appeal to everyone, I have to say this was a fantastic read
Non-fiction about the gut - yes GUT - Interesting, informative, easy read. Yep, you are right gut = also equals toilet habits, so you will find a little toilet bible, how your stools should/shouldn't look like, the ideal position on the loo, just to mention some of the topics you will find *grin*. Anyone having gastric problems, allergies or other odd things which might can't be explained will find this book to be a helpful guide. The illustrations in the book are done by Giulia Enders sister and they are just hilarious. Definitely a book I can recommend to anyone.

#010 ♬ The Book of Phoenix - Nnedi Okorafor - 08h50/232p (Robin Miles) -

This is a prequel to Who fears Death and is set just before and during the technical appocalypse. Phoenix is a genetical accelerated woman who has the appearance of a 40 year old woman, but in reality is only 2 years old at the beginning of the story. She lives in one of the 7 towers performing illegal research and experiments on human beings. She is happy and content until something terrible happens and she starts to query the motifs of her makers and when she realizes that she actually lives in a prison. I loved her story and how her character developed throughout the book. Definitely a good edition to Who fears Death.

“I love books . I adore everything about them. I love the feel of the pages on my fingertips. They are light enough to carry, yet so heavy with worlds and ideas . I love the sound of the pages flicking against my fingers. Print against fingerprints. Books make people quiet, yet they are so loud”




#011 ♬ Throne of Glass 02 - Crown of Midnight - Sarah J. Maas - 12h01/418p (Elizabeth Evans) -

Just love this YA series. I got completed hooked on the story line and just started the third book in the series. Celaena is 18 years old, bold, daring and beautiful and the greatest and youngest assassin her world has ever known. She survived the slavery in the salt mines, won a contest to become the King's champion in order to earn her freedom. Bound to her greatest enemy, a king who is so dark, cruel and evil that it is almost impossible to defy him.
Celaena is clever and resourceful and manages to fight for what her heart tells her, but by doing so she not just puts herself at risk, but her few friends a well.
She is a great character and brilliant heroine, and I can't wait how her story will unfold.

-------------------------------------------------------

I also started to read The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller which accumulated already too much dust on my TBR. I am not in that far yet, but so far just great.

I was quite busy all week sorting out school stuff and workplacement issues with Alex, but I also been busy knitting. Photos to follow soon. I am a seasoned knitter and usually tend to knit jumpers, scarfes etc. However, I started to venture back into toy knitting, which I haven't done since I was a teenager. I got a couple of books, just to get some ideas on how to start. I just have so many small amounts of wool left. My first one - my mom named it "Kurt" looks like a giant odd sock. My second one looks already better and the third one is in progress. Well, my mom and I think my attempts at cuddle toys are hilarious. So, please watch the space for my odd toys to come. :)

Nice reviews, Bianca. I bought Gut in London last year and I liked what I read of it (and learned a lot). I'll probably resume reading it in the spring.

>30 drachenbraut23: I'm reading Throne of Glass right now, and I'm surprised by how much I like it! Glad to hear that the sequel is good too.

>29 drachenbraut23: There's an ideal position to sit on the loo? Gosh, I've never had to think about that before. We have a book in our children's reference section that could be a companion to it. I think it's called Poo my mistake Poop.

>30 drachenbraut23: >32 Cait86: I'm glad you both liked it. I'm afraid I read the first book, but Celaena just irritated me, so I didn't continue with the series.

Oooh, a whole bunch of folks in the group read The Song of Achilles a few years back...it was marvelous, one of those surprise book gems.

Loved The Song of Achilles when i read it - think a few of us got caught up with Rdear's (Richard) gushing ..... if I am not mistaken

I, too, loved The Song of Achilles. And I can't wait to see your toy knitting!

Bianca, so glad to see you back! Great picture of you and your son ! One of my son's got married last summer. Twas lovely and planned well in advance, but it does give one pause for thought as your " child" of nearly 26 gets married! :)

I'm the odd one who didn't like it. Read The Iliad paralelly and compared which was a huge mistake. But that's me - you know HF is NOT my genre. So enjoy! :)
Aaaw - toy knitting! Pics please!

Happy weekend, Bianca.

Hi Bianca! I just saw you around on the threads and thought I'd pop by yours to put a star on it. Welcome back! I tend to drop in and out of social media / blogging a lot because of my mental illness, so I know what it feels like to disappear and then wonder if there's much point it starting up again...but, there's always a point in starting up again because friends don't just stop being friends just because you're too busy or sick to be on social media. I love these guys and gals here! :)

Yes, yes! Always come back!

>38 Deern: Just curious but what is HF ?

>42 roundballnz: Historical fiction, Alex.

I liked Miller's take on it but wasn't blown away by at it as much as many were - I certainly wouldn't have given it any awards.

Have a lovely weekend Bianca.

>43 PaulCranswick: Agreed. The song of Achilles wasn't a 5 star read for me.

Happy Valentine's Day!

Bianca dear; wishing you a very HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

Happy Birthday!

Hi Bianca,

I see you are potentially in hibernation at present.
Happy belated Birthday anyway, and I hope you sleep off all that....cake :0

Hope we see you in these parts soon, Bianca.

Have a lovely weekend.

Happy weekend, Bianca.

One of your leaves of absence Bianca?

Come back and see us all soon if you will my dear as we miss you around here.

I wish you a happy easter, Bianca.

Have a wonderful Easter.

Bianca, I wish you a fabulous weekend.

Stopping by to wish you a Happy Easter Bianca!

*waving*

HELLO, BIANCA!

Hi Bianca!

Since you'll soon be driving across Spain with our favourite Doctor, please borrow his laptop while he is taking his turn of driving and post something to your acolytes here. Miss you.

Hi Bianca! I see over on Paul's thread that you've been spotted in London. Come back here to us soon.