Kerry (avatiakh) reads through another year

The Little Prince - the book cafe's courtyard in Tel Aviv

Welcome to my thread, I'm Kerry from Auckland, New Zealand. I have had a thread here since 2009 and I love to talk books. I read widely and have a huge collection of children's literature that I need to read and disperse.

I was lucky to visit The Little Prince when in Tel Aviv a few years ago, sadly most books are in Hebrew so can't really browse or pluck lucky finds off the shelf...still the reading vibe is there and a great place to meet for a coffee.

Currently Reading -

King Hereafter by Dorothy Dunnett - audio, almost done but not by end of 2021
Homesick by Eshkol Nevo
The Twelve and the Genii by Pauline Clarke - children's

...and my stalled reads that I need to get back to -
The Children's Book by A.S. Byatt
The Once and Future King by T.H. White - audio - (book 1 complete)
Clarice Lispector: The Complete Stories - 13 stories done
The Goblin Emperor by Katherine Addison

_

My 2022 category challenge.

I liked my 2021 theme of translated books to films so this year I'm tying each category to a New Zealand film.
1) The Locals (2003) - reads from New Zealand and Australia.
2) In My Father's Den (2004) - General fiction
3) Sleeping Dogs (1977) - Books I shamefully own but have never read even though everyone else has - they've been sleeping on my book shelves.
4) Predicament (2010) - Completing an ouevre - reading all the fiction works of Amos Oz
5) Footrot Flats (1986) - Cats in Fiction
6) The Fall Guys (2011) - crime, mystery, thrillers
7) Goodbye Pork Pie (1980) - road trip novels
8) The Changeover (2017) - YA
9) Boy (2010) - Children
10) Kombi Nation (2003) - Translated fiction
11) Black Sheep (2007) - Scifi
12) What we do in the shadows (2014) - fantasy
13) Hunt for the Wilderpeople (2016) - Wolves, boars and other beasts in title
14) My Wedding and other secrets (2011) - Asian fiction
15) The Dark Horse (2014) - Non fiction
16) Vigil (1984) - Films

Goals for 2022 -

___

A year long read of Journey to the West. I read Romance of the Three Kingdoms in 2021, so hope to try again with this other epic.

Dr Faustus: The Life of the German Composer Adrian Leverkuhn As Told by a Friend by Thomas Mann - a twitter conversation with a NZ musician convinced me to give this a try

Paul's Asian Reading Challenge - I'm keen to have a go most months, my lockdown addiction to K-dramas has me interested in Korean culture and i already seek out books from most of these countries. Let's hope that my reading coincides with the months.

Carnegie Medal UK -
Decided in 2021 to try and read as many winners of this Children's Book Award as possible. I've read many but still a way to go especially with the older ones..

More Goals for 2022
_____

Holocaust Literature - so many worthy ones I've still not read -
This Way for the Gas, Ladies and Gentlemen by Borowski
Lovely Green Eyes and others by Lustig
Brodeck's Report by Philippe Claudel
Memory by Philippe Grimbert
The Last of the Just by Andre Schwarz-Bart
If not now, when? by Primo Levi

_______
Reading all of Amos Oz's Fiction -
I've read many but still some to go, if I complete early I'll move on to finishing up David Grossman's fiction.
Touch the water, touch the wind / Fima / To know a woman / The Hill of Evil Counsel / Unto Death / Where the jackals howl / Soumchi / Judas

David Grossman
A Horse Walks into a Bar / More Than I Love My Life / Be my knife (1988) / Her body knows / The Smile of the Lamb (1983) / Duel

Some of the series and trilogies that I'm concentrating on -
Crime -
Rebus by Ian Rankin - 23/23
Inspector Montalbano by Andrea Camilleri - 27/28
Pepe Carvalho by Manuel Vázquez Montalbán - 3/23 - reading what I can find
Kramer and Zondi by James McClure - 1/8
Rivers of London by Ben Aaronovitch 6/9 - need to get back to this one

Scifi
The Crystal Singer by Anne McCaffrey - 1/3
Skyward by Brandon Sanderson - 2/3
Arkship trilogy by Peter F. Hamilton - 1/3
Murderbot by Martha Wells 6/6

Fantasy
Rivers of London by Ben Aaronovitch 6/9 - need to get back to this one
Scholomance by Naomi Novik - 2/3
Thraxas by Martin Scott (Millar) - 5/11 - need to get back to this one too

January Reading Plans -

Make a start on my year long reads - Journey to the West & Dr Faustus

King Hereafter by Dorothy Dunnett - audio
Jacob's Rescue by Malka Druka & Michael Halperin - childrens
Homesick: my own story by Jean Fritz - childrens
The Island of Missing Trees by Elif Shafak - Asian Book Challenge
The Exeter Blitz (1978) by David Rees - Carnegie Medal - childrens
The Twelve and the Genii (1962) by Pauline Clarke - Carnegie Medal - childrens
To fight in silence by Eva-Lis Wuorio - childrens
Love Stories by Trent Dalton
The Passenger by Ulrich Alexander Boschwitz
Pavel and I by Dan Vyleta - reading
To know a woman by Amos Oz - reading
Murder in the Central Committee by Manual Vazquez Montalban
Homesick by Eshkol Nevo

Graphic Novels:
The Cross-Eyed Mutt by Étienne Davodeau
Cruising through the Louvre by David Prudhomme
Cats of the Louvre by Taiyō Matsumoto
It was the war of the trenches by Jacques Tardi
Goddamn this war! by Jacques Tardi

Welcome back for another reading year, Kerry!

Hi, Kerry! I read Journey to the West a few years ago and was surprised at how much I loved it - I hope you do, too!

Dropping a star so that I will come to visit your thread once again. Wishing you and your family a safe, healthy, and happy 2022.

Hi Kerry! I've got a mission this year. Trying to stay au fait with the people I've owed so much to over the years reading-wise.

>7 drneutron: Hi Jim, thanks for that
>8 scaifea: Amber, I'm looking forward to it. I watched 'Korean Odyssey' which was a modern retake of the story and loved the characters.
>9 SqueakyChu: Hi Madeline, thanks for the greetings.

>10 richardderus: Hi Richard. I'm flattered. I'll try to keep up with your thread this year. These past two years have taken a toll on my time management.

Hi Kerry! You remind me I haven't gotten to David Grossman yet, and only read Amos Oz's very first. The rest of your list isn't bad either!

This group always helps me to read; welcome back, Kerry.

>4 avatiakh: If not Now, When? is always on my lists of favourite books.
My Asia Book Challenge will feature The Holy land in February but can be counted the year long. I want to read some David Grossman in particular.

happy new year and happy reading in 2022!

Happy New Year!

Happy reading in 2022, Kerry!

>13 ffortsa: Judy David Grossman can be very rewarding, just choose your read carefully as some require stamina. I have a lot of old Amos Oz paperbacks and would like to take them all off my shelves.
I had collected a lot of Israeli fiction, but now I just want to read and dispose of as many books as possible. I do want to focus on Aharon Appelfeld's work, he's not as well known as the other two but I think overall I've appreciated his style of writing more.

>14 PaulCranswick: Thanks for the tips! I got my copy of If not Now, When? after you had mentioned it a couple of years ago. I've read a few of Levi's works but had missed that one. @Labs39 (Lisa) mentioned some of her recommended Holocaust reading and I was stunned that I hadn't read most of the ones she mentioned even though most are on my shelves waiting to be read. This is the annoying part of belonging to a good library, as you read library books instead of the books on your shelves.

>15 banjo123: >16 SandDune: >17 FAMeulstee: Waves to Rhonda, Rhian & Anita. I promise to do better this year at keeping up with your threads and joining in the discussion from time to time. These past two years have not been stellar years for me on LT.

>18 avatiakh: >13 ffortsa: Ooooh! I might just have to share reading some of those books by Israeli authors, you two! :D

>19 SqueakyChu: Hi Madeline, you're welcome to join in. I did poorly this past year with Israeli fiction. I read 3 crime novels and The Memory Monster, so I'm challenging myself to read more and move the tbr pile a little.

Enjoy your 2022 reads!

My top reads in 2021 -
I didn't have a brilliant lot of reads this time round but sorted through -
Fiction
1) Romance of the Three Kingdoms 4vols by Luo Guanzhong
2) The Snow Song by Sally Gardner
3) The story of the last thought by Edgar Hilsenrath
4) Darkness at Noon by Arthur Koestler
5) The red notebook by Antoine Laurain - this just hit all the right notes for a light, enjoyable read
Runner up:
The Last Cavalier: Being the Adventures of Count Sainte-Hermine in the Age of Napoleon by Alexandre Dumas

Crime:
Free Falling, As If in a Dream: The Story of a Crime by Leif G.W. Persson - in depth investigation into the 1986 unsolved murder of Swedish Prime Minister Olof Palme just as the statute of limitations sets in.

Nonfiction:
Isabella: The Warrior Queen by Kirstin Downey - audio

Childrens & YA:
The Blackbird Girls by Anne Blankman
The Moon in the Cloud by Rosemary Harris
The Wool Pack by Cynthia Hartnett
Cue for Treason by Geoffrey Trease

>4 avatiakh: Thanks for posting the list of Holocaust books, Kerry. The only one that I have read is This Way to the Gas, Ladies and Gentlemen. I will have to look for the others as well as I continue to read through Holocaust and Jewish Experience literature.

Happy New Year!

>24 alcottacre: There are just so many valuable books, both memoir and fiction. There was a discussion on Lisa's Club Read thread about some of the current popular fiction books, some based on true stories but still could even be considered exploitive. The discussion was very good and started because of the book The Librarian of Auschwitz.

I read a few chapters of This Way to the Gas, Ladies and Gentlemen, put it down and then never picked it up again.

>23 avatiakh: Some delightful reads. Well, engaging...I don't think Darkness at Noon could delight someone not deeply disturbed...but it kept me riveted.

Isabella: The Warrior Queen intrigues me, but our county only bought one! Maybe by August.

>20 avatiakh: Interesting, Dianeham recommended The Memory Monster to me yesterday, and now I see you read (and liked?) it as well. Likewise The Story of the Last Thought was recommended by RidgewayGirl and is on my wish list.

>25 avatiakh: I wonder if there would be enough interest that it would be worth creating an ongoing thread of Holocaust literature with reviews. There was a group called Holocaust Experiences and another called Holocaust and Gulag Literature, but neither picked up momentum and went dormant over a decade ago.

>25 avatiakh: I read a few chapters of This Way to the Gas, Ladies and Gentlemen, put it down and then never picked it up again.

I read the introduction and decided the stories were too gruesome to read. I no longer have that book.

Happy new year, Kerry!

>26 richardderus: Hi Richard, I listened to the audio of Darkness at Noon and yes, very chilling, but a great performance by the narrator and an important book. The publication / translation history was an interesting read as well.
https://www.neh.gov/article/revisiting-arthur-koestlers-darkness-noon-0

The Isabella book was excellent. I believe it was another one I covered by audio. I've been to Spain several times so know the geography fairly well and had a rough idea of the history, this filled in so many gaps. I had no idea till I read this what a rotter old Ferdinand was and also the treatment of her poor daughter, Juana, by the Flanders Court. This also covered the Reconquista and expulsion of Jews. Fascinating stuff.

>27 labfs39: Hi Lisa, I had The Memory Monster out from the library a few times before I got to it. An interesting take on Holocaust education, on the Auschwitz school tours. A dilemma as students remain unengaged, so is it a new generation of students or a lack of ability of the tour leader to make them understand. I think you'll find it a worthwhile read.

Likewise with The Story of the Last Thought, it also made several trips home from the library. It's a magnificent read that manages to convey what was lost rather than dwell on the technicalities of genocide.
I have Hilsenrath's The Nazi and the Barber on my shelves - 'The history of the Shoah as a dark comedy of mistaken identities told by a mass murderer. After 60 rejections, and only after success in the US, Hilsenrath's controversial novel was finally published in Germany in 1977.'

...and that quote comes from DW's list of interesting German-language novels and stories published since 1900 that have been translated into English. So I found another worthwhile list to wallow in.
https://www.dw.com/en/100-german-must-reads-the-story-behind-the-project/a-45456...

I like the idea of an ongoing thread for Holocaust literature. Do you want to set one up in Club Read or should we bring one of those groups back to life with a thread there.

>28 SqueakyChu: Hi Madeline - I think I felt similar sentiments and have the book stashed behind a pile of others. I'll look for it and have another try. I made it through And the rat laughed which had difficult passages.

>29 curioussquared: Hi Natalie. Thanks for visiting my thread.

I've started the New Year off with two new reads and continuing my audio King Hereafter.
Murder in the Central Committee by Manuel Vasquez Montalban - there are 22 Pepe Carvelho books but most are hard to find in English. Andrea Camilleri named his detective Montalbano after writer Montalban as he loved this series about a gourmet PD. I'm about to read the last ever Montalbano book so thought I'd read one of these first.
To fight in silence is a children's book about Danish life under Nazi rule and the plan to save the country's Jews from deportation. There's a library hold on this book so I want to get it back as soon as.

>31 avatiakh: I do love lists. Sadly I have read only a few books on their list of German books translated into English:

The Hunger Angel
Austerlitz
A Woman in Berlin
Alone in Berlin
All Quiet on the Western Front

Several more are on my shelves

The Reader
Memoirs of an Anti-Semite
The Wall
Job
Storm of Steel

I like the idea of an ongoing thread for Holocaust literature. Do you want to set one up in Club Read or should we bring one of those groups back to life with a thread there.

It depends what we would like to do with it. Options:

1. Create a group (the two that I found were dormant for a decade of more so we would have issues with getting admin access etc. One only had two posts.) If we create a group, people could create their own threads to track their reading, plus we could have discussion threads. Question: would we get enough members to make it worthwhile? Maybe. I don't know.

2. Create a Club Read thread. We could have people post reviews of their recommended books, discuss, etc. all in one place, but could get long and clunky.

3. Use the LT list feature to create a simple list. Would not include recommendations, but could add note as to who recommended it.

I'm game for any of these. I wonder if there is a way to put out feelers to gauge interest?

>30 avatiakh: I've always thought Ferdy was seriously worried about measuring up to Isabella. She outclassed him in every way, and Castile was bigger than Aragón.

Juana "the Mad" was one of history's most dreadful victims!

Happy Sunday.

>33 labfs39: My problem with the list feature is that you end up having no control over what others add which can dilute the value of the list. I have made lists that are closed and only I can add to, but then that can feel unfriendly.

I agree that a dedicated thread would become clunky whereas a Holocaust Literature group can allow for threads for interesting articles, individual reading, juvenile literature, graphic novels/memoirs etc. We can try, at worst it becomes another dormant group. Put it on the various message boards of the groups and talk about it on our threads.
Personally I would welcome this, a dedicated place to note what I've already read & want to read.

100 German Must-Reads
I've read 8 and have several others on my shelves or marked to read.
All Quiet on the Western Front - due a reread
Alone in Berlin
The Tin Drum - so long ago I can't recall any of it
Perfume — The Story of a Murderer
The Mussel Feast
The Reader
Inkheart
Visitation
How the Soldier Repairs the Gramophone

On my radar and/or own
Why We Took the Car - for my roadtrip challenge
Babylon Berlin
Night Train to Lisbon
Austerlitz
Memoirs of an Anti-Semite
The Nazi and the Barber
The Lost Honour of Katharina Blum
Jakob the Liar
Beware of Pity
Mephisto - saw the film and have always wanted to read the book
Auto-da-Fé
Berlin Alexanderplatz
Storm of Steel

...and as an aside I loved the Kemal Kayankaya crime series set in Frankfurt by Jakob Arjani.

I would be interested in a Holocaust Literature group although I have no idea how much time I would actually get to spend in it. I am trying to read at least 12 books this year on Holocaust & Jewish experiences. First up for me this month is Sala's Gift by Ann Kirschner.

>23 avatiakh: & >26 richardderus: I must be as disturbed as you two then because Darkness at Noon is one of my favourite books.

>35 avatiakh: I have only read 7 of the 100 German books but have a further 25 on the shelves. I have read:

1. Demian; 2. All Quiet on the Western Front; 3. The Trial; 4. The Lost Honour of Katharina Blum; 5. The Piano Teacher; 6. The Reader; 7. All Russians Love Birch Trees.

I would definitely be up for more holocaust reading. Vitally important that it is still read and remembered.

>31 avatiakh: Thanks for sharing the list of 100 German Must-Reads, Kerry.

I have read 16 of them:
Buddenbrooks - Thomas Mann
Storm of Steel - Ernst Jünger
Berlin Alexanderplatz - Alfred Döblin
All Quiet on the Western Front - Erich Maria Remarque
Alone in Berlin - Hans Fallada
Death in Rome - Wolfgang Koeppen
The Tin Drum - Günter Grass
The Wall - Marlene Haushofer
Anniversaries - Uwe Johnson
Perfume - Patrick Süskind
The Reader - Bernhard Schlink
Inkheart - Cornelia Funke
Measuring the World - Daniel Kehlmann
Visitation - Jenny Erpenbeck
A Whole Life - Robert Seethaler
This House is Mine - Dörte Hansen

And these 13 are on my library list / on the shelves
The Confusion of Young Master Törless - Robert Musil
The Notebooks of Malte Laurids Brigge - Rainer Maria Rilke
The Loyal Subject - Heinrich Mann
The Trial - Franz Kafka
Blood Brothers - Ernst Haffner
Auto-da-Fé - Elias Canetti
Mephisto - Klaus Mann
Homo Faber - Max Frisch
Jacob the Liar - Jurek Becker
The Piano Teacher - Elfriede Jelinek
Woodcutters - Thomas Bernard
Austerlitz - W.G. Sebald
The Hunger Angel - Herta Müller

I might explore the list further to see if I want to add some more to mount TBR.

>36 alcottacre: I think it would be worthwhile to set up a group for this. I'm also not great with other groups here in LT but I do read and would like to keep track of my reading around this subject.

>37 PaulCranswick: Welcome to the Darkness at Noon Club!

Yes, I agree that it's important to keep reading about the Holocaust. I'm also interested in books written for younger readers. Many child survivors wrote novels for children rather than for adults.

I believe I've also read Demian, I read a lot of Herman Hesse when I was 18 or 19 due to having a boyfriend who had a collection of Hesse books and nothing else.
Like me, you've got good intentions to read more German lit.
I'm attempting Dr Faustus by Thomas Mann this year and also want to read Why We Took the Car.

>38 FAMeulstee: Hi Anita. Like Paul, I love a few lists. It's an interesting cross-section of German books. I probably watch more German film than I read German books. You've read a lot more than the rest of us.

I've just been going through the White Ravens and IBBY Honour Books for the past few years, something I do from time to time. It often turns up overlooked gems. Others that look great but no English translation.

1) To fight in silence by Eva-Lis Wuorio (1973)
children's
I found this book on a list somewhere and it sounded interesting. It's about an extended family, some live in Norway while the main part of the family is in Denmark. The story is about their activities in both the Danish and Norwegian resistance and culminates with the 1943 evacuation of the Jewish population to Sweden.
It was an interesting read, the two countries were taken over by the Nazis in different ways.

Eva-Lis Wuorio is an interesting writer / journalist. She was born in Finland, though grew up in Canada and then lived on islands such as Ibiza, the Channel islands etc before retiring to Finland. To fight in silence was based on the interviews she did with hundreds of Norwegians who escaped to Canada during WW2 and trained to fight in the war, many became pilots. She also interviewed many Danish officials who wanted to explain their country's position. I'd never come across her works before, she mainly wrote children's books, and will now look out for Code: Polonaise and The Land of Right Up and Down which is set in Andorra. Several of her books were illustrated by Edward Ardizzone .
http://desturmobed.blogspot.com/2012/11/eva-lis-wuorio.html

>39 avatiakh: I read more of them because reading in translation is more common here. Dutch is only a small language. My goal this year is reading less English translated, and more translated from German/French/Spanish etc So I hope to read some of this list.

Hi Kerry, I sent you a message about the Holocaust group.

>42 labfs39: Thanks Lisa, I finally read your message.

>41 FAMeulstee: Yes, can understand that. I'll look forward to your comments on the books.

I'd be interested in the Holocaust group as well. I read these books off and on, but I feel compelled to do so in memory of my maternal grandparents who perished in Auschwitz.

>40 avatiakh: Hi Kerry, as always a trenchant choice for your first read. I'm reasonably sure this is a bit of WWII history I knew zero about.

As always, I leave more informed than I arrived!

>36 alcottacre: >37 PaulCranswick: >45 SqueakyChu: Lisa and I are now in the process of setting up the group. We'll let it go live and let you all know about it once the initial threads and info is there.

>46 richardderus: Hi Richard. It was a library book with a hold on it so I was compelled to give it priority. I don't think I've read much on this subject at all. In the book lots of Norwegian young men who remained loyal to the King rather than the Quisling government escaped on fishing boats, the crews being familiar with the North Sea, ending up in the Shetlands & Orkneys and then onward to Canada. They were mostly situated at Camp Norway, a Norwegian military training facility in Lunenburg, Nova Scotia.
'In 1940 Norway, with a population of some 3,000,000, had the third largest ocean going merchant fleet in the world, about 1100 ships. When Nazi Germany invaded the country without warning on the 9th of April that year, 1024 of those ships were at sea. The King and government immediately ordered them all to proceed to allied ports. Not one refused, despite messages from the Quisling government ordering them to return'
home.https://www.norway.no/en/canada/norway-canada/historical-ties/

About 4 years ago I read The Human Flies by Hans Olav Lahlum which is a crime novel set in 1968 Oslo. I remember now that Lahlum wrote an afterward about his great aunt, Dagmar Lahlum who was in the Norwegian Resistance and then worked for MI5. She was Agent Zigzag's fiancée.

edit: great aunt not grandmother

>40 avatiakh: Adding that one to the BlackHole. Thanks for the recommendation, Kerry!

>47 avatiakh: Sounds good. Thanks to you and Lisa for setting it up.

I thought I’d already stopped by to say Happy New Year, Kerry. I don’t see it though. I must’ve screwed up - Happy New Year!

>46 richardderus: If you are interested in the topic, Richard, I read an amazing nonfiction book about the Norwegian resistance that I would recommend. It's called We Die Alone. You can read my review here.

2) Murder in the Central Committee by Manuel Vázquez Montalbán (1981 Spanish) (1984 English)
crime
Pepe Carvalho #5. I only have two more in this series, they are hard to find in English. I think the best known one is Buenos Aires Quintet. So now I've read 4 out of the 23 in the series.
PD Carvalho, an ex-Communist, is asked to look into the murder of the General Secretary of Spain's Communist Party who has been murdered when the lights go out during a meeting. It's a parallel investigation alongside a police one, as the party prefers to trust an ex-insider.
Not my favourite outing, there is a lot of politics regarding the legacy of the communists during and after Franco. I had enough of all that after reading The Battle for Spain.

>49 alcottacre: Another BB for you!

>50 jnwelch: Hi Joe, Thanks for coming by.

>51 labfs39: Thanks Lisa. I've had that one on my to read list since 2014.

I didn't get much done today. It was my birthday, so I didn't even cook dinner, we had Indian takeout. It's been really hot and one needs to adjust to the sudden heat after weeks of rain and overcast skies.

I did treat myself to some book purchasing, nothing that special as I went to our equivalent of a Target and got some markdowns plus a full price children's book that was covered by a voucher.
City of Spies by Mara Timon - debut WW2 espionage set in Lisbon
The Accomplice by Joseph Kanon
Everything Changes by Stephanie Johnson - NZ writer
Rules of the Road by Ciara Geraghty - road trip novel
The Lady in the Lake & The High Window by Raymond Chandler - lovely Penguin paperbacks
The Uprising: The Mapmakers in Cruxcia by Eirlys Hunter - loved the first Mapmakers book

Now focusing on - The Island of Missing Trees & The Exeter Blitz.

Happy Birthday, Kerry!

>51 labfs39: Thank you, Lisa! That review makes it sound very interesting indeed.

Happy birthday, Kerry! I'm sorry I missed the actual day.

Happy Birthday, Kerry!

>55 labfs39: >56 richardderus: >57 kidzdoc: Thank you for the greetings.

I've started my Turkish novel for Paul's Asia Reading Challenge and do feel slightly cheated so far. Elif Shafak's The Island of Missing Trees appears to be a book about Cyprus rather than Turkey. The book starts in London with an English speaking girl who has a Greek Cypriot father and and her late mother was Turkish Cypriot. Not sure yet where it's going.

>58 avatiakh: That's unhappy news, Kerry, but there's still time for it to turn around.

I just finished Dare to Disappoint: Growing Up in Turkey and loved it! Thanks for the recommendation.

>59 richardderus: Yeah, I'll still read it, her books are easy to get into. My next choice by a Turkish writer is also set outside Turkey, Women Who Blow on Knots by Ece Temelkuran - it does fit my roadtrip category so all is not lost.
I have one by Orhan Pamuk, will just need to rummage around for it.

>60 labfs39: Happy that you enjoyed this one too. I loved the illustrations and the start when she sneaks into school and sits with her sister - so cute.

3) Jacob's Rescue: a Holocaust Story by Malka Drucker and Michael Halperin (1993)
children's fiction.
This is based on a true story. Drucker co-wrote Rescuers: Portraits in Moral Courage in the Holocaust and this simplified story for children is about the Roslans, a couple featured in the book. The Roslans hide Jacob in their home when life in the Warsaw Ghetto is becoming too dangerous. Alex Roslan had earlier arranged for Jacob's two younger brothers (3yrs & 5yrs) to hide with families in the countryside.
The story is poignant because after the war when the two surviving brothers were reunited in Israel with their father, he hid correspondence from the Roslans and never mailed the boys' letters to them. So it was many years later that they met and Alex and Mela Roslan received their Righteous Among Nations Medal. The story ends with Jacob's young daughter reading the wording on the medal, 'Whoever saves a single life is one who has saved the entire world.'

Hi, Kerry! Finally got to your thread to drop off a star and to wish you a happy new year!

Karen O

>63 klobrien2: Hi Karen, thanks for visiting.

I finished another Carnegie Medal (UK) book so I should post my on going project of reading as many of them as possible. I'm not in a rush to get this done.
'The CILIP Carnegie and Kate Greenaway Medals are the UK’s oldest and best-loved children’s book awards.
The CILIP Carnegie Medal is awarded by children’s librarians for an outstanding book written in English for children and young people.'
I like that this is awarded by librarians. The Kate Greenaway Medal is for illustration, so mainly picturebooks win.

Carnegie Medal (UK) Winners update-

2021 Jason Reynolds Look Both Ways
2020, Anthony McGowan, Lark - Read 2020
2019 Elizabeth Acevedo, The Poet X - Read
2018 Geraldine McCaughrean, Where the World Ends
2017 Ruta Sepetys, Salt to the Sea - own
2016 Sarah Crossan, One - Read
2015 Tanya Landman, Buffalo Soldier - Read
2014 Kevin Brooks, The Bunker Diary - Read
2013 Sally Gardner, Maggot Moon - Read
2012 Patrick Ness, A Monster Calls - Read
2011 Patrick Ness, Monsters of Men - Read
2010 Neil Gaiman, The Graveyard Book - Read
2009 Siobhan Dowd, Bog Child - Read
2008 Philip Reeve, Here Lies Arthur - Read
2007 Meg Rosoff, Just in Case - Read
2005 Mal Peet, Tamar - Read
2004 Frank Cottrell Boyce, Millions
2003 Jennifer Donnelly, A Gathering Light - Read
2002 Sharon Creech, Ruby Holler - Read
2001 Terry Pratchett, The Amazing Maurice and his Educated Rodents - own
2000 Beverley Naidoo, The Other Side of Truth - own
1999 Aidan Chambers, Postcards from No Man’s Land - Read
1998 David Almond, Skellig - Read
1997 Tim Bowler, River Boy - own
1996 Melvin Burgess, Junk - Read
1995 Philip Pullman, His Dark Materials - Read
1994 Theresa Breslin, Whispers in the Graveyard
1993 Robert Swindells, Stone Cold
1992 Anne Fine, Flour Babies - Read
1991 Berlie Doherty, Dear Nobody
1990 Gillian Cross, Wolf - Read 2021
1989 Anne Fine, Goggle-eyes - Read
1988 Geraldine McCaughrean, A Pack of Lies - Read
1987 Susan Price, The Ghost Drum
1986 Berlie Doherty, Granny was a Buffer Girl
1985 Kevin Crossley-Holland, Storm
1984 Margaret Mahy, The Changeover - Read
1983 Jan Mark, Handles
1982 Margaret Mahy, The Haunting - Read
1981 Robert Westall, The Scarecrows
1980 Peter Dickinson, City of Gold and Other Stories from the Old Testament
1979 Peter Dickinson, Tulku - own
1978 David Rees, The Exeter Blitz - Read 2022
1977 Gene Kemp, The Turbulent Term of Tyke Tiler - Read
1976 Jan Mark, Thunder and Lightnings
1975 Robert Westall, The Machine Gunners - Read
1974 Mollie Hunter, The Stronghold - Read
1973 Penelope Lively, The Ghost of Thomas Kempe - Read
1972 Richard Adams, Watership Down - Read
1971 Ivan Southall, Josh - Read
1970 Leon Garfield & Edward Blishen, The God Beneath the Sea
1969 Kathleen Peyton, The Edge of the Cloud
1968 Rosemary Harris, The Moon in the Cloud - Read 2021
1967 Alan Garner, The Owl Service - Read
1965 Philip Turner, The Grange at High Force
1964 Sheena Porter, Nordy Bank
1963 Hester Burton, Time of Trial
1962 Pauline Clarke, The Twelve and the Genii - Read 2021
1961 Lucy M Boston, A Stranger at Green Knowe
1960 Dr IW Cornwall, The Making of Man
1959 Rosemary Sutcliff, The Lantern Bearers - own
1958 Philippa Pearce, Tom’s Midnight Garden - Read
1957 William Mayne, A Grass Rope - own
1956 C S Lewis, The Last Battle - Read
1955 Eleanor Farjeon, The Little Bookroom - own
1954 Ronald Welch (aka Ronald Oliver Felton), Knight Crusader - own
1953 Edward Osmond, A Valley Grows Up
1952 Mary Norton, The Borrowers - own
1951 Cynthia Harnett, The Wool pack - Read 2021
1950 Elfrida Vipont Foulds, The Lark on the Wing - Read 2021
1949 Agnes Allen, The Story of Your Home
1948 Richard Armstrong, Sea Change
1947 Walter De La Mare, Collected Stories for Children
1946 Elizabeth Goudge, The Little White Horse - Read
1944 Eric Linklater, The Wind on the Moon - Read 2021
1942 ‘BB’ (D J Watkins-Pitchford), The Little Grey Men - own
1941 Mary Treadgold, We Couldn’t Leave Dinah - Read 2021
1940 Kitty Barne, Visitors from London
1939 Eleanor Doorly, Radium Woman
1938 Noel Streatfeild, The Circus is Coming - own
1937 Eve Garnett, The Family from One End Street - own
1936 Arthur Ransome, Pigeon Post - own

>62 avatiakh: The father's actions seem so arbitrary and cruel to me, but given what the family endured I can think of many (mostly bad) reasons he would do such a thing.

There are no unmixed emotions, are there.

>61 avatiakh: Women Who Blow on Knots is such an excellent title! I hope it's as good a read.

>62 avatiakh: Another BB for me. Into the BlackHole it goes!

>65 richardderus: He confessed that he thought the boys would abandon him as soon as they could and go back to their 'Polish parents'.

Yes, I'm quite taken with this title.

>66 alcottacre: It's very much targeted for children but knowing it is a true story and reading how much the Roslan's did for these Jewish children is quite affecting.

Lisa (labfs39) and I have created a new group dedicated to Holocaust Literature. We have created threads for discussing articles, exposing the fakes, graphic novels, juvenile literature, films & documentaries, the Righteous Among Nations, and more. If this topic interests you please stop by and join the discussions and/or create a thread to track your Holocaust-related reading.

I've also committed myself to reading 5 books this year for the HOPE TO READ SOON: a tribute to Rebeccanyc over on ClubRead.
The End of Everything by David Bergelson
Love and longing in Bombay : stories by Vikram Chandra
The Seamstress and the Wind by César Aira
The Abyssinian by Jean-Christophe Rufin
The Siege of Isfahan by Jean-Christophe Rufin

My first task will be locating the books I own from around the house.

>69 avatiakh: I have The Abyssinian as well. I may join you in reading it, if the timing works, if not, I'll look forward to your review.

>70 labfs39: The good news is I have my copy at hand not lost in piles of books. It looks like a substantial read so not for this month as I have a fair few on the go already.

I'm 50 pages in on The Island of Missing Trees and trying to get used to having a fig tree as one of the characters.

>69 avatiakh: I'm surprised that my copy of The Abyssinian has survived...wow! Hardcover and everything.

Must be fate. Poor us, losing Rebecca so early.

So many things going on here, Kerry and so much to comment!

>40 avatiakh: That one will be looked for! Excellent starting read by the look of it.

>55 labfs39: Happy (very belated) birthday! I can only excuse myself for being stuck in too many books and laid low by my booster jab.

>64 avatiakh: Only read a paltry 5 of the winners so far!

>68 avatiakh: On my way there next.

>71 avatiakh: It is my most beautiful cover of last year's buys so I hope I can digest it, fig trees and all!

>72 richardderus: So Richard - have you read it?

>73 PaulCranswick: Hi Paul - that To fight in silence might be a bi junior for you.
I picked up another Danish Resistance novel from the library today, I think it might be YA, it's a big one though, Bright Candles by Nathaniel Benchley.

I think I decided to buy The Island of Missing Trees because of the cover, it's very nice. I'm about a third of the way through, it's ticking along, won't be a 5 star read at this stage.

4) The Exeter Blitz by David Rees (1978)
YA
Carnegie Medal (UK) 1978. Colin and his family are dispersed in different parts of Exeter, when the Germans begin their heavy bombing raid, it's 1942 and the city is being bombed due to a new strategy of targeting cities for their cultural and historical value. the "Baedeker raids".
The story follows the family fortunes during the raid and its aftermath. This was well done, Colin has to grow up fast and take the initiative. An enjoyable read that sat on my shelves for a number of years.

5) The Bicycle Spy by Yona Zeldis McDonough (2016)
children
I picked this up at random, it's a junior fiction about a boy, Marcel, whose parents are in the French Resistance. They live in a small town in the south of France. The boy is obsessed with the Tour de France and even though the race is now on hold for the duration of the war, he's still inspired by past winners.
He cycles to nearby villages to deliver messages hidden in loaves of bread and eventually saves the fortunes of a Jewish family who are about to be exposed.
An enjoyable read, the Jewish girl in the story is quite a strong character, she is also a Tour de France fan, beats Marcel and his friend in a bike race and shows him how to adapt his bike for better speeds.

Wombat by Philip Bunting (2020)
picturebook
I found this on the IBBY (International Board on Books for Young People) Honour List 2022, it also won a couple of other honours.
A delightful picturebook for the young, Bunting plays with as many variations of '....bat' as you could think of, 'Wombat, Twobats, Threebats, Morebats'. The illustration style is vintage, orange and browns. The end papers are a beautiful floral pattern.

6) The Passenger by Ulrich Alexander Boschwitz (2021)
fiction
Set in the days after Kristalnacht, a Jewish businessman's life falls apart in a series of incidents that turn into a nightmare that he can no longer cope with. He bides his time by crisscrossing Germany by train, interacting with strangers, looking for a solution to his homeless dilemma. A wonderful, noirish, tense read.

The author was a German refugee aged only 23 in Paris when he wrote this, in the weeks following Kristalnacht. He ended up in England but was considered an enemy alien and sent out to Australia on the Dunera in 1940 for internment there. When his refugee status was established he was allowed back to England in 1942 but the ship he was travelling on was torpedoed with loss of everyone on board. He was 27.
The book had been first published in unedited form in 1939 as The man who took trains in the UK, then in 1940 as The Fugitive in the US. Both editions failed to find an audience.
It was never published in German till recently. Peter Graf was asked by Boschwitz's niece to look into the manuscript and was immediately convinced to get it republished.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ulrich_Alexander_Boschwitz
The controversial voyage of the Dunera is another story in itself -
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMT_Dunera

>76 avatiakh: That BB hit me right between the eyes!

>79 PaulCranswick: Yeah, I thought of you, but it is targeted to 9-12yr olds I'd say in all fairness.

Another interesting book list I came across when doing some research on wikipedia.
Le Monde's 100 Books of the Century
I've read 21 out of the 100 and several others are on my shelves.

>81 avatiakh: I have read one more from that list, Kerry, and some are on the shelves.

You can find the list also on LT: Le Monde's 100 Books of the Century
And the German list mentioned >31 avatiakh: on LT: 100 German must-reads by Deutsche Welle

>77 avatiakh: That is so adorable! No wonder it's an IBBY Honoree.

>74 avatiakh: No, I haven't read it yet but now I can and have a reason to!

Happy Monday & good reading week ahead.

>78 avatiakh: What a tragic story about the author and the HMT Dunera in general. Another chapter of the Holocaust with which I was unfamiliar.

>81 avatiakh: I've read 24. I love lists like this. Always interesting to see what is chosen by whom.

ETA: but only 3 of the Carnegie Medal winners.

>81 avatiakh: I have managed 30 of them, I'm pleased to say!

>83 richardderus: Oh good. We can compare notes. I've enjoyed his The Red Collar.

>84 labfs39: Yes, the Dunera was an unfortunate story, there is a miniseries The Dunera Boys 1985 starring Bob Hoskins that I'd like to watch.
Between Sky & Sea by Herz Bergner was an Australian Yiddish novel (there weren't many of them!) about a refugee ship travelling to Australia. It was translated to English in 1946 and won Book of the Year in 1948. It's one of the Text Classic series and was republished in 2016.

>85 labfs39: I'm now keen to find some Spanish & Italian lists! Some interesting books that I wouldn't have thought would have found much readership.

>86 PaulCranswick: 30 is a goodly number.

7) Homesick: my own story by Jean Fritz (1982)
children
Newbery Honor Book. I picked this up a couple of weeks ago at a used bookshop. I started reading it because I'm currently making my way through Eshkol Nevo's Homesick and I liked the idea of reading two books with the same title at the same time.
This is a record of Fritz's last year in China when she was about 10 in 1927. She has called this fiction as she relies on her memories many decades later to write the book, I think she's done an autobiography as well. She was born in China, had never been to the US, her home country, until they returned in 1927. Her father ran the YMCA in what is now Wuhan, trying to remain neutral and look after those who needed help.
China began to go into turmoil with the Nationalists rising against foreign control and the rise of the Communist movement. All this is seen from a child's perspective but still is interesting.

Still a way to go on the Nevo novel.

>75 avatiakh: Adding that one to the BlackHole.

>76 avatiakh: That one too.

>78 avatiakh: And that one.

*sigh* I should know better than to visit your thread, Kerry :)

Have a wonderful week!

>88 avatiakh: I remember reading Jean Fritz's books on US history when I was a kid. I didn't realize she was born in China. I'll look for this one.

>88 avatiakh: For obvious reasons, I am looking forward to your comments on Homesick by Eshkol Nevo and I do hope you like it.

Have a splendid weekend, Kerry.

Hi Kerry, I very much like your organization and the way you plan what books you will read! I wish I could stick to a list, but I choose books at random.

Quiet over here, Kerry. Hope you are lost in a book or several. x

Oh gosh, I haven't posted here for a long time. I have been reading so will catch up now.

>89 alcottacre: Hi Stasia - so many BBs for you.
>90 labfs39: Hi Lisa - I think she wanted to be a writer even back then when in China
>91 PaulCranswick: Hi Paul - I'm heading to the halfway point in Homesick - it jumps between narrators without telling you who they are, I'm reading it but slowly.
>92 Whisper1: Hi Linda - this is how i plan out my year but I don't always keep to any plan. My main wish each year is to read at least one classic.
>93 PaulCranswick: Paul again - yes, I was busy in other pursuits and didn't get back here for some days.

Currently reading and hoping to finish by the end of the month -
Love Stories by Trent Dalton
Homesick by Eshkol Nevo
The Twelve and the Genii by Pauline Clark
King Hereafter by Dorothy Dunnett - audio
and two GNs by Jacques Tardi

8) The Land of Right Up and Down by Eva-Lis Wuorio (1964)
childrens

Illustrated by Edward Ardizzone and set in Andorra, this is a charming little story. Maribelle is sad, their horse has died and so the family can't attend an upcoming festival in a nearby valley. The story is set in early 19C when cars arriving to the village are a rare event and life is based on the traditions of old. This is a delightful glimpse into the past. I decided to read all the books by Wuorio in the library, so only one more to read.


9) The Island of Missing Trees by Elif Sharak (2021)
fiction

Read for Paul's January Asian Challenge of reading a book by a Turkish writer.
This was a book about modern Cyprus, the narrative jumps between the years, but mostly it tells a modern day story of Ada and her widower father , a Greek Cypriot, living in London. Then back to 1974 when he falls in love with a beautiful Turkish Cypriot girl & the 2000s when they are reunited. One of the main characters in the story is the fig tree and it tells it's own tale of Cyprus.
I wasn't that taken at the start but the story grew on me as I accustomed myself to the pace, the jumps in time and having a fig tree informing me of the history of Cyprus.

10) The Cross Eyed Mutt by Étienne Davodeau (2013 French) (2017 English)
graphic novel

Part of the Louvre Series. This was quite a fun read and ends with an explanation on how the Louvre acquires new artworks, which is definitely NOT how it went in the story. Fabian is a security guard at the Louvre who ends up involved with his girlfriend's brothers in trying to bring an old family painting to the attention of the Louvre. Is it a masterpiece or a terrible painting?
I enjoy reading this series, the quality of story does vary, but overall it covers interesting aspects of the Museum.


11) Cruising the Louvre by David Prudhomme (2012 French) (2016 English)
graphic novel

Part of the Louvre Series. In the process of creating a graphic novel Prudhomme meanders through the museum observing the visitors rather than the works of art. This one is almost wordless and interesting look at people and their interaction with art.

12) The Book Tour by Andi Watson (2019)
graphic novel
A fun read. A less known writer embarks on a book tour, anything that could go wrong goes wrong, his life slowly turning into a nightmare. Watson is a cartoonist and the artwork here is quite interesting, simple pen & ink drawings.

13) The Lincoln Highway by Amor Towles (2021)
fiction
I read this for my Roadtrip category challenge. Overall I enjoyed my read though I felt that events and people were mostly too good to be true. It's set in the 1950s USA, two orphaned brothers are heading off to start a new life in California, however nothing goes according to plan, including the direction they travel in.

14) Silver Surfer vol.1 New Dawn by Dan Slott (2014)
comic
This was mentioned over in Club Read on the graphic novel thread. I'm happy to have read it as I enjoyed both characters, Dawn Greenwood and Norrin Radd aka the Silver Surfer.

>94 avatiakh: Group member (previously but still with LT) Paul Harris strongly recommended that one but I haven't got round to it yet and thought that it would be just the thing to send you.

>95 avatiakh: I'm still hoping to finish that one before the end of the month, Kerry.

>97 avatiakh: Love that cover!

Hi Paul - I've read Nevo's World Cup Wishes and loved it. This one is a little harder to read but I think should turn out rewarding me for my effort.
Yeah, the cover art of Sharak's book is delightful. I did end up liking this one a lot.
The Book Tour was a fun read, I love the cover too.

>98 avatiakh: I'm just so not a fan of Towles...long ago discovered we do not "fit" somehow...so I have no direct experience of this one but I completely get what you mean about the too-good-ness. I'm not interested in trying his stuff again.

>102 richardderus:. I'll try his Moscow book at some stage and hope it has a bit more grit to it.

15) The Twelve and the Genii by Pauline Clarke (1962)
children
Award winner - Lewis Carroll Shelf Award (1963), Deutscher Jugendliteraturpreis for Kinderbuch (1968), Carnegie Medal (UK, 1962).
This was an interesting read. Max's family have moved to a rural farmhouse which is only a couple of miles from where the Brontes had lived. In the attic he finds 12 old toy soldiers who come alive and move about the attic reenacting old expeditions. Max becomes their Genii or mentor and soon he becomes convinced that these are the toy soldiers that the Brontes played with and wrote about as children.
Each soldier has his own history and personality and they're fiercely independent so move around on their own rather than being carried safely by Max.

_
16) Duel by David Grossman (1998)
children
This was a great little read, one for all ages. I was really delighted reading this, the pacing and plot were both excellent. The story is set in 1960s Jerusalem and concerns events during the British Mandate. David must use all his wits to stop a duel between two old men.
I pulled my two copies off the shelves this afternoon when looking for some other books. First I have to say that I've put off reading this as I didn't think much of the cover art. I got one copy through betterworldbooks and the other more recently through a local library booksale.

New arrivals in the mail chez moi -
Autobibliography by Rob Doyle
Jewels and Ashes by Arnold Zable
Ridley Road by Jo Bloom
DVD Vincent wants to sea (2010) - great little German film, wanted to see it again as it's a roadtrip film to go along with my roadtrip reading. I believe there is a 2014 US version of the film, The Road Within.

earlier in the week -
The Ashes of Smyrna: a novel of the Greco-Turkish War 1919-22 by Richard Reinhardt - I read this in my late teens and have decided to do a reread due to our Turkish month in the Asian reading challenge. Not many copies around anymore.
Cover blurb by Mary Renault - 'Presents with a Goya-like ruthlessness, humanity and precision the disasters of war.'

my daughter sent me at my request from the UK -
The Sandman, The Devil's Elixirs & The King's Bride by E.T.A. Hoffman - I've read The Sandman and I thought my youngest daughter would enjoy it, and the others must be good too. I like the covers of these Alma Classics.

____
__

Ooohhh, the Hoffmanns covers are really handsome, Kerry. "Alma Classics" is an imprint I haven't heard of. Off to investigate!

>106 avatiakh: >107 avatiakh: Looks like a great haul Kerry. I love the title of the Doyle.

I have Homesick queued up to read for February's reading from Israel. I've had it on the shelf for ages.
Hope you are well. I often think fondly of our trip to Australia and New Zealand 10 years ago now. I would love to go back.
Not sure if I mentioned it, but my middle son is married to an Israeli woman. They live in NYC but get over to Israel fairly regularly, though covid currently makes that difficult. Their son is registered under 3 nationalities: US, Israeli, and French (her mother is French so she has dual citizenship).

>108 richardderus: Sinister but compelling covers
>109 charl08: Yes, I also like that title. I think I came across his book through reading the Irish Times book pages.
>110 arubabookwoman: I finished Homesick just now and also read Paul Harris' review over on goodreads, he used to have a thread on ClubRead I think. It's Nevo's debut novel and very good, though I took my time over it.
@PaulCranswick sent me a copy last year which was very good of him.
I have a lot of Israeli literature on my shelves, but main focus at present is to read the remaining unread Amos Oz books.
Time does fly, it's almost 10 years since I was last in the US, 4 years since I last visited Australia and a year since I travelled to other parts of New Zealand. Our PM has made it virtually impossible to reenter New Zealand once you leave and Auckland was in isolation for several months from the rest of the country until recently.
Oh that's a good set of nationalities to have under your belt. I have Irish and NZ citizenship and had permanent resident status for Israel & the UK, though those passports are in the distant past.
My daughter who lives in London was travelling 1 or 2 times each year to Israel with her partner. Sadly curtailed for now.

Ok, my adjusted plans for Auckland Anniversary Weekend (28-31 Jan) -
Finish -
King Hereafter by Dorothy Dunnett - audio, 10/35 hours left and it's all downhill for Thorfinn / Macbeth.
Love Stories by Trent Dalton - enjoyable true stories of love told to Dalton by passers-by as he sits at a Brisbane street corner with rickety chairs, table and old typewriter.
Hana's Suitcase by Karen Levine - saw multiple readers on TIOLI so decided to join them
Goddamn this war by Jacques Tardi - GN, finished his It was the war of the trenches last night.

also reading e-books:
Riccardino by Andrea Camilleri - about 10% done - last Montalbano novel ever, very sad to be here
Death by Publication by J.J. Fletcher - 23% done

17) It was the War of the Trenches by Jacques Tardi (1993 French) (2010 English)
graphic novel
Vignettes of the war experiences of French soldiers during WWI, most ending in death. Some executed after being found to have abandoned their posts or as an example to the others.
The illustrations are very much showing the horror of life in the trenches. I have vol. 2 Goddamn this war here to read as well.
_

18) Homesick by Eshkol Nevo (2004 Hebrew) (2008 Eng)
fiction
First, thanks to Paul for sending me the book. This is Nevo's debut novel and it's a delight to read. I enjoyed his World Cup Wishes too. A young couple, both students, decide to move in together. They find a small apartment on the outskirts of Jerusalem. Their relationship undergoes changes as they both grapple with difficulties in their studies, with each other and their neighbours.
The community where they choose to live is mostly Kurdish and I've been looking up Kurdish kubeh recipes as they sound delicious.

>114 avatiakh: My pleasure, Kerry. I may get round to reading it too next month but I do have rather a lot of books screaming for attention.

A day spent in Hamilton and a visit to one of my favourite used bookshops, Browsers. There used to be several great used bookshops there but now sadly only one the others are online only.
My haul:
Red Cavalry by Isaac Babel
The News from Paraguay by Lily Tuck
Summer in Baden-Baden by Leonid Tsypkin
Under Fire by Henri Barbusse - 1916 Prix Goncourt winner
2x 1920s Everyman Library editions by Dumas - for my daughter's collection
The Black Tulip & Marguerite de Valois
and from a charity shop
Sparrow: The Story of Joan of Arc by Michael Morpurgo - children's
The Picador Book of Contemporary Irish Fiction ed. Dermot Bolger
and also a visit to the children's bookshop -
Heroes of the Secret Underground by Susanne Gervay

We did the Riverwalk and also browsed in Mark One Comics and a games shop. Overall it was a lovely summer's day.

>116 avatiakh: That does sound like a lovely day. We are holed up here for a nor'easter. I have Summer in Baden-Baden on my shelves somewhere and Under Fire has been on my wish list forever.

>117 labfs39: Hi Lisa - I used to live in Hamilton, my parents sold their farm due to my father's terminal cancer when I was about 18 and we moved to a suburban house, with a bus stop and shops on our doorstop.
Here the lack of rain was notable during the drive with all the paddocks looking quite brown, not the usual green pasture.
Browsers is the shop where I picked up 6 or 7 old Bernice Rubens paperbacks some years back and that started me reading all of her works.
I'm intending to read as many Prix Goncourt winners as I can find in translation, an 'over the years' type project not a specific focus. So finding Under Fire was quite a feat.
I have Dostoyevsky's Winter Notes on Summer Impressions out from the library and Summer in Baden-Baden seems to be about the same trip.

19) Hana's Suitcase by Karen Levine (2002)
children's non fiction

Using very simple language, Levine tells the story of Hana Brady, a young Czech girl sent to Auschwitz. At random her battered suitcase is sent from the Auschwitz Museum to Fumiko Ishioka at the Tokyo Holocaust Resource Centre in 2000. It is hoped that Fumiko can use it as a prop in her work as an educator to young children.
Immediately Fumiko and the children are curious to know more about the Hana behind the suitcase and Fumiko writes numerous letters and even visits Theresienstadt where Hana spent two years. Her efforts pay off as she slowly unearths the fact that Hana's older brother George survived the war.
The book covers both Hana's life and Fumiko's search and includes family photographs, documentation and several examples of Hana's artwork from her time in Theresienstadt.
An interesting read for all ages.

>119 avatiakh: A very interesting read, indeed.

>116 avatiakh: A perfect day out! I watched a TV show about the Waikato, so naturally about Hamilton in part, featuring someone called Chris Potton. Beautiful place!

February Reading Plans -
Ongoing reading of:
Dr Faustus by Thomas Mann
Journey to the West by Wu Cheng'un
I'm behind on both of these reads.

I've added so many books to the TIOLI challenge that I better put them here, some will be 'Leave' for sure.
Challenge 1: Read a book in which both the title and the author's name have a qualified set of double letters
Inheriting Anne Frank - Jacqueline van Maarsen
To the Land of the Cattails - Aharon Appelfeld - Israeli writer

Challenge 3: Rolling Challenge : Read a book by an author whose surname first letter goes towards the spelling of "ISRAEL"
The Mysterious Flame of Queen Loana - Umberto Eco
The Long Voyage - Jorge Semprun

Challenge 4: Read a book with an uneven number of words in the title
The Cigarette Sellers of Three Crosses Square - Seph Ziemian
An Earthly Knight - Janet McNaughton
Uncle Misha's Partisans - Yuri Suhl

Challenge 8: Read a book first published or set in the 1980s
The Pig Plantagenet (1980) - Allen Andrews
To know a woman (1989) - Amos Oz - Israeli writer

Challenge 13: Read a book that is at least the 4th book you have read by that author
Offside (5th) - Manuel Vazquez Montalban
Riccardino (28th) - Andrea Camilleri - final one

other Library books -
Winter Notes on Summer Impressions by Fyodor Dostoevsky
Stories for South Asian SuperGirls by Raj Kaur Khaira
The Waterbearer by Dianne Hofmeyr
Code: Polonaise by Eva-Lis Wuorio
Foxspell by Gillian Rubenstein
Masters of Silence & Under the Iron Bridge by Kathy Kacer
Night of the Perigee Moon by Juliet Jacka

shared read -
The Memory of Love by Aminatta Forna

finishing off 2021 reads:
The Goblin Emperor by Katherine Addison

20) Love Stories by Trent Dalton (2021)
nonfiction
When Australian writer and journalist, Trent Dalton, inherited a rather battered Olivetti portable typewriter from an old friend he decided to use it for an unusual project which he felt appropriate for our pandemic times. He spent two months sitting on a street corner in central Brisbane asking passersby to tell him their stories about love.
The result is an amazing cross-section of tales about love and life's struggles.
I loved his Boy Swallows Universe and this one is just a lovely read. Dalton is a great wordsmith, just a joy to read his work.

>122 avatiakh: That sounds really fascinating!

Hi Richard. Dalton has a big heart and that shines through in this project. His journalist skills are great for talking to people from all walks of life and then his descriptive writing takes it all to another level. His Boy Swallows Universe is semi-autobiographical and I loved every bit of it.

21) Atua: Māori Gods and Heroes by Gavin Bishop (2021)
folktales
Bishop's talents are on full show here. His last couple of books have been minor works of art and this one is a stunner as well. He retells Maori creation myths and uses the large size book format to include lots of side information alongside the main text and wonderful art. Te Reo is sprinkled through the text, though these words are generally explained on the side and there is a vocabulary of the Maori language words at the back. He also notes the several books he used for reference.
There is a magnificent double page spread that folds open to a four page spread on the birth of the gods from their parents - Ranganui, sky father and Papatūānuku, earth mother.


This image above depicts part of the war of the Gods - Tāwhirimātea, god of weather is upset that his brothers separated their parents and whips up a storm on the seas of Tangaroa, god of the sea, lakes, rivers, and creatures that live within them.

>124 avatiakh: If Boy Swallows Universe is semi-autobiographical, Trent Dalton had quite the childhood. Onto the list it goes.

>125 avatiakh: Atua looks beautiful.

>125 avatiakh: That looks amazing. Thanks for bringing it to my attention. Although my library has some Gavin Bishop books, it doesn't have this and I can't find it on Amazon.

>124 avatiakh: Wishlisted!

This is a really dangerous place to visit, Kerry, with so much new-to-me splendid looking reading.

And now, I'll away to see how many Prix Goncourt winners I own and/or have read.

ETA I own 15 of them and have read a mere 3.

>126 labfs39: I hope you get to it soon.

>127 quondame: It's a fairly recent publication and New Zealand-centric so maybe won't be available in the US.

>128 richardderus: I hope you get to read it.

>129 PaulCranswick: I don't think I've read too many. Counted and only 3 read and some winners I've read other books by the author. I have about 14 others that I either own or have added to my tbr list.

I started reading Crooked Little Vein by Warren Ellis last night. I think it was a LT BB from long ago. Anyway it has a most disgusting first sentence, I'd forgotten that I discarded it last year because of the first paragraph but now it fits Madeline's TIOLI challenge and I'm a couple of pages in and hoping that all the disgust remains on the first page.

>131 avatiakh: It won't. My long-ago friend Stephen called Mike a "sickfuckopath" and I am here to tell you the label fits snugly.

>130 avatiakh: A Brisbaner I know on Goodreads saw it on my recent additions and messaged me to say he was strongly in its court, too. Y'all're makin' me itch to get it and get started!

>132 richardderus: Oh, that makes me want to throw it then. Maybe the rubbish bin rather than a donation.

Boy swallows Universe just felt really special. I still haven't read his follow up novel because I didn't want to be disappointed. The Love Stories book is a lovely pink clothed hardback with lots of use of typewriter font. I bought mine early on from amazon.au and ended up with a signed copy.

>133 avatiakh: Oh, and it would have been doubly perfect! I see what you meant about the first line. I've read worse, but that's up there. Or down.

>134 quondame: Yeah, the first couple of paragraphs focus on the rodent...I was willing to give it a try because of the double doubles on the TIOLI but Richard's comments sealed the toss it decision.

I'm enjoying To know a woman by Amos Oz. I forgot how well he writes.

22) Stories for South Asian SuperGirls by Raj Kaur Khaira (2019)
YA non fiction
50 South Asian women and how their lives make or made a difference to others. These short bios each accompanied by a colourful portrait are inspiring. I was mostly taken with the bios of historical figures, women warriors such as Jhansi Ki Rani (Lakshmi Bai, Queen of Rani 1829-1858), Razia Sultan (1205-1240), Noor Inayat Khan (1914-1944), Noor Jahan (1577-1645). Many of the featured women weren't born in South Asia but to immigrant families in the USA, UK, Canada, Africa and Europe.
Raj Kaur Khaira founded the pinkladoo project in 2015 and works towards eradicating gender-biased customs and traditions in South Asian communities. 'The Pink Ladoo Project was established to change one tradition in particular: the custom of families only celebrating the birth of a baby by distributing “ladoo” (traditional Indian sweets) within the community if that child is a boy. '

Because of this book I have a biography of artist Amrita Sher-Gil (1913-1941) from the library and hope to read it in the next couple of weeks.

I wanted to come by and thank you for your recommendation of Lenny's Book of Everything by Karen Foxlee. I enjoyed it very much!

>138 alcottacre: Oh good. It was a great little read.

>139 avatiakh: I agree!

23) Uncle Misha's Partisans by Yuri Suhl (1973)
childrens/YA
National Jewish Book Award for Children's Literature (1974), Sydney Taylor Book Award (1973). This book gives younger readers a good look at what life was like for the partisan fighters during WW2. Young Mitak/Motele returns from his violin lesson in a nearby town to find that Nazis have slaughtered his family and other Jewish families in a nearby village. He wanders the countryside earning his keep by playing the violin and eventually ends up with a band of Jewish partisans. His musical skills and ability to speak pure Ukrainian without a Yiddish or city accent make him a valued member of the group despite being only 12 yrs old.
This is a well written exciting story.

24) To know a Woman by Amos Oz (1989 Hebrew) (1991 English)
fiction
Read for the February Asian Reading Challenge and also for my own challenge to complete my reading of Oz's fiction this year.
This was a fairly tedious read plot-wise though the book contains beautiful descriptions of the natural world and quiet moments of everyday life. An Israeli secret agent has taken early retirement due to his wife's sudden death. He moves to a suburb of Tel Aviv with his daughter and his mother and mother-in-law. He spends all his waking hours in the pursuit of domestic tasks as he clinically thinks through his relationships with his late wife, tries to understand his daughter and considers a few red flags from his last mission.
These is one jarring note and that is the neighbours, American brother & sister who befriend him, the interactions between the three of them are a bit weird and not sure why they needed to be in the novel at all.
For me the beauty of this novel is in the writing rather than an enjoyment of the characters or plot.

>142 avatiakh: Well, the tedious-plot warning got it off even the idea of my TBR.

Hoping you're having a lovely weekend.

>143 richardderus: Yeah, I'm only reading these lesser Oz books to clear my shelves. From Kirkus Reviews - '...a treasure for readers who think contemporary novels carry too much plot.'

>144 avatiakh: Ah, from the good old days when Kirkus was Kirkus not a book marketing company.

>142 avatiakh: I think that I have that one on the shelves. I don't think that I'll get to Amos Oz this month but I want to read something by him this year.

>146 PaulCranswick: He writes very well though this one was a bit too introspective.


25) The Waterbearer by Dianne Hofmeyr (2003)
YA
This was a great little read. Set in 14th century Africa. Maji, the son of a sea trader is shipwrecked on the southern coast of East Africa. He's captured and taken on a treacherous journey inland to the drought stricken Kingdom of Gold.

>137 avatiakh: Nice to see your mention of Amrita Sher-Gil - I just read about her in a book on women's self-portraits. I will be very interested to hear what you think of the biography, as I'd like to read more about her (and most of the artists mentioned in the book!).

>148 charl08: The book turned out to be a series of essays on her and her work so I've looked for another and now have Amrita Sher-Gil: Rebel with a Paintbrush, a YA biography on my kindle app, so I'll start there. It has lovely colourful illustrations.

26) Riccardino by Andrea Camilleri (2021)
crime
Montalbano #28. The final Montalbano, the one that Camilleri wrote several years ago and left with his publisher so that it could be the last book in the series. So I read it knowing that this was how Camilleri wanted to end the series. I'll leave it there as better to discover the book without much info.
Sad to know that I've finished this series and my visits to Vigata, Sicily.

Mr Benjamin's Suitcase of Secrets by Pei-Yu Chang (2017)
picturebook
I have to agree with some reviews that this is a strange subject for a children's picturebook. It's about Walter Benjamin's attempt to escape the Nazi's and his failed border crossing to Spain in 1940. Chang has focused on Benjamin's suitcase and its mysterious contents using this to show how the Nazis hunted 'people with extraordinary ideas'. Both the suitcase and Benjamin disappear, leaving many to wonder what was in his suitcase.
The art work is a little different. I can't say I love the style of illustration but I did like the use of font and layout of text. Chang interprets Benjamin's sad story into a universal one.

Not covered in the book is that Benjamin committed suicide that night in the border town, thinking he would be sent back to the Nazis.
The book includes notes on Lisa Fittko who led the group and many others over the border.
Fittko's autobiography Escape through the Pyrenees has been noted for future reading.

>116 avatiakh: I read and reviewed Under Fire several years ago (since I've been on LT at any rate). An influential anti-war novel, and I couldn't help but wonder whether it was an influence on Tim O'Brien's The Things that They Carried.
So much interesting and varied reading going on here!
ETA I just had a look at the list of Prix Goncourt winners and there are some very interesting-looking books to be explored. I've read several, including the most recent winner The Anomaly which I read (accidentally, not as a planned read) in January. I liked it-it's kind of science-fiction-but my review commented that I wasn't sure it was worthy of the Prix Goncourt.

>141 avatiakh: I will look out for that one! Thanks for the recommendation, Kerry.

>147 avatiakh: Adding that one to the BlackHole too.

Thanks for the list of books you left on my thread. However, my local library did not have a single one of them. I have ordered the 2019 edition of The Israeli Palestine Reader that you recommended and a book that Edward Said spoke of in his book, History of the Arabs from the Earliest Times to the Present by Philip K. Hitti. Not much, but they are a start!

>152 arubabookwoman: I'm always enjoy the French novels I read, maybe they have to be good to be translated so we end up with the cream of the crop. I'm looking forward to reading Under Fire though as i'm slowly making my way through Jacques Tardis's second graphic novel, and graphic it is on WWI, I do need a break.

>153 alcottacre: I hope you enjoy those ones as much as I did.
My son had a textbook on the politics of the Middle East or just Israel/Palestine and looking for that title I came across The Israeli Palestine Reader and I'm not sure if that is the book he had. All I remember is that the first item in his textbook was Obama's 2009 Cairo speech to the Arab world.

I read a few of Michael Oren's books, they are about earlier times but offer great insight as he interviewed people and went to primary source material rather than just referencing other historians' work.
I also recommend The Prime Ministers by Yehuda Avner - he was the speechwriter for 4 Israeli PMs and an ambassador, so witnessed many historic meetings.

>150 avatiakh: It's still sad to me that there can never be another one, but (as with Curtain and in contrast to Sue Grafton) I'm grateful there's a punto.

Have a lovely week-ahead's reads.

Wishing you a lovely book-filled Sunday, Kerry.

I attended a webinar this morning - Masterclass: the art of reviewing books. It was really interesting, was for people wanting to review professionally, but covered ground that will hopefully enrich my own meagre comments on here.
After covering all the important parts of a review, the two presenters (Paula Morris & Tom Moody) went over several of their own published reviews of varying word counts and commented on them, fascinating stuff.
Finally they recommended reading George Orwell's Confessions of a Book Reviewer and an essay, Bleeding on the Page by Tina Makareti

>155 richardderus: Hi Richard - yes, sad indeed though I wasn't that taken with the last two Montalbano outings.

>156 PaulCranswick: Hi Paul - we're in the middle of a cyclone wind bashing - all last night and will last a few more hours. I'll be picking up a book now that my reviewing webinar is finished.

>157 avatiakh: Just a little love offering of my favorite essay *on* Orwell, including a "harmless drudge"-y definition of himself: https://www.newstatesman.com/uncategorized/2009/05/orwell-essays-64257-spain

>159 richardderus: Taken note of that one and will read it later.


27) Resistance Book 1 by Carla Jablonski (2010)
children's graphic novel
Illustration by Leland Purvis. This is about young siblings living in a rural town wanting to do their part for the French Resistance. On their own they have hidden their Jewish friend just hours after the Nazis take over his parents' hotel. The story is fairly exciting and the characters of the children are all different.
There's two more books, my library only has the last one. I don't think I want to continue.

28) The cat who walked a thousand miles by Kij Johnson (2009)
novella / short story

The cover art is stunning and drew me to this e-book. I didn't realise how short it was till I started reading it, only about 50 pages. Small Cat lives in a cat colony in Kyoto until an earthquake then fire disrupts their lives. All alone and suffering a burnt paw, Small Cat decides to take the road to the North, following the fudoki story of The Cat from the North and starts out on her perilous journey.
The story is quite delightful and takes the reader past Mt Fuji along the Tōkaidō Road into the north at a time when cats were not that well known in Japan.

>161 avatiakh: Oh, I'll have to borrow the iPad Pro to read that one!

>161 avatiakh: I’m having trouble finding “the cat” novella. I’ll keep looking, because it sounds great.

Have a good week!

Karen O

Update: It’s on tor.com! For free!

>162 quondame: I hope you like it
>163 klobrien2: Oh good. I didn't know who Kij Johnson was till I came across this.

>157 avatiakh: The masterclass sounds interesting. I am just starting to take advantage of webinars, and have watched a few interesting ones in the last couple of weeks. I have bookmarked the essay and the the cat novella (thanks >163 klobrien2:!)

Hi Lisa - it was interesting, I paid a small amount to attend and that money goes to pay for more book reviews at the Academy of New Zealand Literature, so a win win.
One of the book reviews they went over was Catherine Chidgey's Remote Sympathy which I must bump up my tbr pile. I read her The Wish Child a couple of years ago which also is set in Germany during WW2.
https://landfallreview.com/no-light-in-the-woods/

In post #122 I reviewed Love Stories by Trent Dalton. Well, he received lots of love from readers and so he's written a love letter to readers just in time for Valentines Day -
https://www.harpercollins.com.au/blog/2022/02/14/trent-dalton-love-letter-to-rea...

A few real books arrived in the mail today -
____

A concert in the sand by Tami Shem-Tov - picturebook set in 1936 Tel Aviv
Only a Monster by Vanessa Len - YA
The Genius under the Table: Growing Up Behind the Iron Curtain by Eugene Yelchin - for children and full of his great illustrations
The Fairy Tellers: A Journey into the Secret History of Fairy Tales by Nicholas Jubber - heard about this somewhere and it looks good.
Med: a cookbook by Claudia Roden - I had her Penguin paperback of A Book of Middle Eastern Food as my intro to MiddleEastern cuisine and never looked back. I buy all her cookbooks.

Kerry, knowing of your abiding interest in Matters Jewish, I think you ought to know about Pollak's Arm, a fact-based récit about one of History's obscure and fascinating characters, Ludwig Pollak.

It covers the last day of his freedom in 1943 Rome. It was simply excellent. My review's in my thread, and on my blog, and on the book page, but it's one of those that just demands the attention of a sophisticated reader.

>169 richardderus: Thanks Richard - noted the book and will pop over to read your review. I've been trying to catch up on threads again, hard work and lots of BBs.

>168 avatiakh: That's a lovely collection of covers. Hope they are as much fun to read.

>161 avatiakh: That one sounds wonderful. The way you describe it, it kind of reminds me of a board game that I enjoy, Tokaido. I still need to read Johnson's The Fox Woman that I have owned for several years.

>168 avatiakh: Nice haul!

>171 charl08: They're a bit colour coordinated now that I have a good look. I've read the picturebook, I had to buy it as my library didn't have it.
Only a monster is a debut YA fantasy and I'm enjoying discovering these young Australasian Asian writers - Vanessa Len is an Australian author of Chinese-Malaysian and Maltese heritage.
Eugene Yelchin has a great body of work both as writer and illustrator.
I think the Jubber book was discovered from a Kate Forsyth tweet.

>172 alcottacre: Hi Stasia - The Tokaido Road has a wikipedia page which I looked at, quite interesting. I have a novel, The Tokaido Road: A Novel of Feudal Japan, which I keep meaning to read.
I'm adding The Fox Woman to my list. Good to have some lighter reading to break up the heavy stuff.

>166 avatiakh: I added the Chidgey books to my wish list.

>167 avatiakh: Aw. How lovely.

>168 avatiakh: I love book hauls, even vicarious ones.

The Children We Remember by Chana Byers Abells (1983)
photograph / picturebook
This picturebook uses photographs from the Archives of Yad Vashem, The Holocaust Martyrs' and Heroes' Remembrance Authority, Jerusalem, Israel to tell a very simple narrative of the children of the Holocaust. It's very effective, the photographs can't be denied. They show life before the war and then with the growing restrictions on the rise of the Nazis, the wearing of the yellow star, children helping the weak and old, children begging for food, some photos of the children who didn't survive and the children who did.

In the past I've looked at many before and after photography collections - Roman Vishniac documented Jewish life in East Europe between the Wars and his work shows us the world that was lost. David 'Chim' Seymour a co-founder of Magnum Photos worked with UNCEF postWW2 to document the children of war, his work is especially illuminating and worth seeking out. There were several Jewish photographers documenting life in the various ghettoes.
There's a Yad Vashem article Who Took the Pictures? about the Lodz Ghetto photographs that also looks worth reading.

The Book Rescuer: How a Mensch from Massachusetts Saved Yiddish Literature for Generations to Come by Sue Macy (2019)
picturebook
This is an inspiring story for children about Aaron Lansky and his role in the rescue of many thousands of Yiddish books and the role of his Yiddish Book Centre in the revival of the Yiddish language & culture. I love the illustrations by Stacy Innerst.
Mention is made of Lansky's memoir Outwitting History.


The Rooster Prince of Breslov by Ann Redisch Stampler (2010)
picturebook
I'm on a little Eugene Yelchin binge and he is the illustrator here. This is a retelling of a popular Jewish folktale. The lesson according to the notes is that for a teacher to teach a student to the highest spiritual level then first the teacher must start at the level of the student no matter how low that is. Here the young prince is pretending to be a rooster, so the rabbi must become a rooster too, and slowly together they work back to normality and the young prince is all the better for it.


A Concert in the Sand by Tami Shem-Tov & Rachella Sandbank (2017)
picturebook
This is the story of the first performance of what became the Israeli Philharmonic. Quite delightful as the grandmother takes her grandson for a long walk through 1936 Tel Aviv and meeting various people carrying weirdly shaped cases. Avi Ofer's illustrations give us a lot of Tel Aviv to discover along the way. There's some historical notes and photographs at the end of the book.
Bronislaw Huberman was a Polish Jew, a musical prodigy who played violin. He saw the threat of the Nazis and travelled across Europe conducting auditions, choosing 70 musicians to travel to Israel with him in 1936.

>176 avatiakh: You got me with a couple of book bullets! Thanks!

Karen O

>175 avatiakh: I was familiar with Roman Vishniac, but not the others. I look forward to checking them out.

>176 avatiakh: Did you read Outwitting History? I did years ago, and although my memory of it is foggy, and unfortunately I didn't review it, I did give it four stars.

>177 klobrien2: Good one, at least they're quick reads. I was going through the Sydney Taylor Book Awards list to see if I'd missed anything good.

>178 labfs39: When I was focusing on the Spanish Civil War I looked at the careers of war photographers Robert Capa and Gerda Tardo. David Chim was right up there with them but not as well known.

I haven't read Outwitting History as yet. I have so many great books I should be reading.

I haven't been reading much of late, I'm finding it hard to settle in to a book. I think it's because I'm reading a couple of books on my phone and I'm not that in love with this type of reading.

The Wren and the Sparrow by J. Patrick Lewis
picturebook
I forgot about this one. It's a fable about the Holocaust by US Young People's Poet Laureate 2011-2012 Lewis. Quite effective story the music teacher is disappeared, the student rescues his instrument from the rubbish and hides it with a note for the future finder.
I liked both the story and the illustrations by Yevgenia Nayberg. I read on my phone so didn't get to enjoy the illustrations to the full extent.

My book completion rate has dried up, Kerry. I am reading far too many books at the same time and gotten myself stalled somehow.

I am going to take today to reset and then start tackling them one at a time.

>181 PaulCranswick: Good idea. I'm spending too much time on social media at present.
I have two reading projects for the year that I'm still needing to get going on. Have multiple books started too.

I keep finishing them and having nothing interesting to say about them. One Pearl-Ruled for just being ghastly, then two more finished, but disappointing in different ways. I don't think they were *bad* just not as good as they started out by the time I'd got to the end.

So now what do I say? Always hard for me.

29) Night of the Perigee Moon by Juliet Jacka (2014)
childrens

This is an enjoyable magical story about a young girl learning what her talent is as she turns thirteen, the special changeover party and one relative with a nefarious plan.
This won the 2013 Tom Fitzgibbon Award for best manuscript of an unpublished children's writer. I'm slowly getting to the unread books for this award. The prize is a Scholastic NZ publishing deal for the manuscript. I've read 14 and have eight more to read. Bullseye Bella is next, not read a book about playing darts before.

30) Death goes on skis by Nancy Spain (1949)
crime
I read the Virago Modern Classic edition (2020). A murder mystery on a ski holiday in a fictitious Central European country, Schizo-Frenia. I didn't like any of the characters and none of them cared at all for the two dead women or liked much about each other. I don't think I'm one for these types of reads. Onwards to more enjoyable reading I hope.

>185 avatiakh: Doesn't sound my cuppa either.

>185 avatiakh: I bought one of her books recently too, Kerry and that review has just dampened my enthusiasm a good bit.

>186 labfs39: >187 PaulCranswick: Nancy Spain herself is a really interesting person and Paul, it was the discussion between you and Lucy that made me decide to read it.
Almost every character in the book was selfish and unlikeable, even the two children who were unloved did not garner a reader's sympathy due to their actions.
Oh well, I've probably read worse crime novels in my time.

Very much enjoying The Cigarette Sellers of Three Crosses Square and trying to find time for my e-book To the Land of Cattails.

>188 avatiakh: Yes and I think that the assumption was made that the interesting life story and character would result in readable fiction. Perhaps not as reliable a guide as we might have assumed.

>189 PaulCranswick: I had a second book of hers out from the library but returned it unread. Possibly was a good read but time is short when you own masses of unread books.


31) The Cigarette Sellers of Three Crosses Square by Seth Ziemian (1970)
nonfiction

This was one I came across in an essay about reading children's books on the Holocaust. It's not a children's book but is about how Jewish children who escaped the Warsaw Ghetto during the transportations managed to survive in the Aryan part of Warsaw. Ziemian who worked for the Jewish Resistance came across a number of Jewish urchins selling cigarettes to German soldiers amongst a group of Polish children. He observed for some days while trying to work out how best to help them survive the war. His committee decided to assist by supplying them with fake IDs. The children's biggest difficulty was finding somewhere to sleep during the curfew hours, their regular haunts sometimes became unsafe.
Ziemian asked them to document their stories and the book is a narrative of these amazing experiences, right up to their involvement in the Uprising. Most survived though had lost all their family. There are some photos taken in 1960s Israel/Canada to complement the 1940s photos of them as Warsaw street urchins. There was a street photographer in the square and he often took photos of the children while waiting for customers.

It's worthwhile to read a nonfiction account of these years to counter the fiction books that are constantly being published. I especially liked the comradery between the children and their care for each other. A recommended read.

Will be reading a number of graphic novels next - all due back at the library.

>168 avatiakh: I also need Med: A Cookbook I think, as I’m a lover of Claudia Roden’s Mediterranean Cookery. I also have her The Book of Jewish Food which I haven’t yet used. It was a present from Mr SandDune but it’s made me realise how much I rely on pictures to choose a recipe. Especially with something like Jewish food (with which I am not very familiar), not having pictures to help me choose the recipes is a little daunting. Is that a book that you use? Can you recommend any particular recipes?

>190 avatiakh: What a fascinating story! Much better than fiction because it really happened.

>190 avatiakh: I will keep an eye out for that one, Kerry. Looks just my thing.

>193 richardderus: >194 PaulCranswick: Yes and might be hard to find.

We got burgled yesterday morning, lowlifes broke into my oldest son's room through the french doors and took some guitars, laptop and other gear. Amazingly they took the inferior guitars that were on a rack and left his valuable ones which were on the wall. Portable amp taken but not his bigger ones, or the expensive Helix effects box that he has only had for a month or so. Lucky only his room was entered, family was home but upstairs and son and I were both out so no cars in driveway.
Police came this morning and did forensic check. We talked about security measures we can take as they might come back.

Not feeling like reading much - yesterday I listened to a couple of hours of King Hereafter so only 4 and a bit hours left. Macbeth is recovering from wounds and loss of most of his kingdom. I've neglected audiobooks so each one is a slow process. I listen to music instead.

Attended a zoom presentation this morning on DNA genealogy of 2nd & 3rd cousins. Was a bit too technical for me especially as my headphones wouldn't work.

Was in the CBD yesterday and used some of my credit at Jason Books -
The French Art of War by Alexis Jenni
The Beginning and the End by Naguib Mahfouz
Once upon the River Love by Andrei Makine

>195 avatiakh: Oh no, Kerry! How awful. How is your son coping? Will insurance cover replacement? Our home was burgled once. We had gone to Mexico and came home to find our front door askew. It was a very unsettling. Since your thief stole very specific music-related things, do you think s/he knew your son?

So sorry for the break in! I hope things get resolved soon.

>196 labfs39: I think it was an opportunist theft, anyone he knows would have gone for the more expensive stuff. He's a guitar teacher and we don't think any of his students would have done it as they don't know where he lives and most are just school age.

We lament the sentimental stuff - his first electric guitar that we got him when he was about 13 or 14. Then he loved his bright yellow Ibanez RG, an anniversary model so impossible to replace, this was his workhorse guitar, he played it every day and usually took it to work. Saturday he was running late so didn't take it. The bass guitar was an old second hand one, basically worthless. They were all sitting on a rack, so we feel it was a quick grab and go job. They left his good acoustic guitars which were worth more and also sitting on the rack.
He uploaded most files into the cloud as he uses an iPad at work and the stolen laptop at home for zoom lessons. Not taken was the computer that he uses for composing & gaming. They left his big amps and expensive Helix effects pedal which was only recently acquired. He'd done some serious shopping for guitars and gear through the holidays so damage could have been much more.
Mostly it's the thought that they might come back for another go that frightens us. So I have to get the french doors checked for tighter security, better curtains to hide his gear from view, security cameras & lights. Some warning stickers on the windows - alarms, CCTV in use. Maybe leave a radio on near the front door. Consider getting a fence and gate put in on side of house. And locking the doors more, we've been very lax and have 6 sets of french doors out to our garden and keep them unlocked as someone is almost always home.
>197 drneutron: Today he'll do the insurance claim. Hopefully it will work out.

I finished two graphic novels - Huck: All American which was fun and White Bird: a wonder story by R. J. Palacio which I have some issues with.
I have two more to finish before I do any comments.

>195 avatiakh: That is horrible. I'm so sorry that this awful thing happened to your family. It's horrible to feel violated in this way.

>200 richardderus: Yes. On another site a woman commented about the aftermath of being burgled. Every time she leaves the house now she double checks all her locks on windows and doors, turns on alarm, checks that security cameras are working etc etc. She felt so violated and that is how you feel. All yesterday & this morning I'm continually going down to his room to check that the other guitars are still on the wall.

>195 avatiakh: That is awful, Kerry. Having being burgled four times in the UK I know it is less (to some extent) about the things taken but the feeling of violation that someone has forced themselves into your "safe" private space.

(((((HUGS)))))

>192 SandDune: Sorry Rhian - I was going to answer your post and got distracted some days ago. I don't cook kosher with the exception of Pesach. Then I'll plan a few typical dishes but mostly grab the recipes from online blogs that I've come to trust.
I used to make heavy use of cookbooks but now I end up using online sources and Pinterest to save the interesting ones. I occasionally make challah and matzo ball soup. I'm more inclined to Israeli cuisine than Jewish kosher. Anyway I'll look through the book and see what I do make.

>198 avatiakh: Like most people I know the nastiness of being burgled. It is always upsetting and the disturbance can be long lasting. The loss of security is one of the greatest thefts. But it is better when no material item of large value or current necessity has been made off with, though the comfort of having well loved items is now replaced by bad feelings of numerous sorts now that they aren't going to be around.

>204 quondame: Agree. It's the easy intrusion and loss of sentimental items.
Now not sure if insurance will cover much as they'll probably claim wear and tear rather than replacement value. His laptop was top of line but bought as reconditioned ex-office lease model at the start of Covid in 2020, super expensive to replace now. Anyway the process has been started.

I didn't read as many books as I intended this past month, so March reading intentions will be fairly similar to February.


32) Huck, vol 1: All-American by Mark Millar (2016)
graphic novel
This was an entertaining comic. A backwater gas pump attendant with a heart of gold though limited intelligence turns out to have super abilities - he's super strong and has a homing ability to find missing persons / animals. Knowledge of his powers are a secret in the small town, but a newcomer alerts the media.
The story is good and the illustrations are well done. Not sure where I came across this one.

33) White Bird: a Wonder story by R. J. Palacio (2019)
graphic novel
This one I had some issues with though I liked the actual story of young Sara Blum. First I liked Palacio's book Wonder, I didn't read the followup, Auggie & Me: Three Wonder Stories, as I felt it was sort of cashing in on her first book. This one tells the story of Julian (the bully)'s Jewish grandmother.
After I read it and went to goodreads to flick through some reviews I noticed that several Jewish readers really disliked the last few pages of the book as did I and also mentioned that it was a Holocaust story marketed as a Wonder story. They were mostly dissed by comments. Most published reviews were very positive about the book without mention of any concerns.

Anyway the story is framed at beginning and the end by Julian. At the start he facetimes his grandmother to do a homework assignment and she promises to tell him a complete story of her experiences during World War Two in the French Free Zone. My first thought was how can a teenager during the war come to have a young teenage grandson in 2019, surely the years don't allow it. Well it's possible though uncommon, she should have been his great grandmother. That thought sort of grated on me throughout the book.

His Grand-mère, Sara, is hidden by a French family. Their son, Julian, uses crutches due to polio and has sat beside Sara in class for three years but she has never spoken to him or known his real name, just his nickname, Tourteau or crab. He becomes a good friend while she lives in the loft of an abandoned barn etc etc...and after the war when she eventually marries she names her son Julian in his memory.
The last few pages are set in the present 2019 and tied in to politicking about Trump's illegal immigration policy on the Mexican border and about family separation. Julian on the last page is shown marching in a demonstration with a sign, 'Never Again' #we remember. This was a really unnecessary intrusion of current social activism into a Holocaust story. I have to admit that many contemporary Holocaust stories for children do use this framing of a young person discovering what happened during the war.
In the author's note Palacio discusses the right of a non-Jewish writer writing a Holocaust story. Her husband is Jewish and the book is dedicated to his mother.
There's an afterword by Ruth Franklin and a glossary, suggested reading list and Bibliography. The artwork is all by the author and beautifully done.
I'm not so keen on the 'Wonder' badge on the cover, this story did not need to be tied back to Wonder, it feels tacky and part of a product line.

Goddamn this war! by Jacques Tardi (2008 French)
graphic novel
DNF. This is a companion book to Tardi's It was the war of the trenches which I read in January. I tried hard to finish this but it felt like more of the same - gruesome images of trench warfare, hopelessness of the average soldier etc etc. So last night had the bright idea of giving up and I immediately felt good about doing just that.


34) Catherine's War by Julia Billet (2020)
graphic novel
This is an adaption of Billet's novel based on the experiences of her Jewish mother in France during WW2. Her mother was a young child during the war and moved from place to place as it became unsafe.
Her parents leave Rachel at Sevres Children's Home, a progressive modern school, where she discovers a love for photography. As the occupation becomes more intense the Jewish children are given new identities, separated and sent across France to different homes. Catherine/Rachel is allowed to take the school's precious rolleiflex camera with her to record her experiences. A cute detail is that all the teachers have animal nicknames, Yvonne Hagnauer, the principal is Seagull.
A good read, the focus on photography is interesting and one of the teachers at Sevres was Marcel Marceau.

From wiki -'After France's invasion by Nazi Germany, Marcel, 17, fled with his family to Limoges. His cousin Georges Loinger, one of the members of the French Jewish Resistance in France (Organisation Juive de Combat-OJC, aka Armée Juive), urged him to join the French Jewish Resistance in France in the rescue of Jews during the Holocaust. The OJC, which was composed of nine clandestine Jewish networks, rescued thousands of children and adults during the Holocaust in France.
He was schooled in the Paris suburbs at the home of Yvonne Hagnauer, while pretending to be a worker at the school she directed; Hagnauer would later receive the honor of Righteous Among the Nations from Yad Vashem.'