Paul Switzerland in 2023

okay, let's try again to read 75 books - last year I only read 45 books (well, including the Bible, which is a collection of 66 books :) )

So, I live in Switzerland, near Basel, I am retired, do read (and collect) books, go into cemeteries and make pictures of gravestones (for genealogist and such people), hike sometimes, and do some 'work' in local Evangelical church in Riehen.

0 - I have 0 wives (I am widowed)
1 - I believe in 1 God
2 - I have 2 grand children
3 - I have 3 children
3 - I have 3 in-laws who all served in the armies of 3 different nations
4 - I did 4 years of teacher's training
5 - I owned 5 different cars in my life (Mini, Ford, 2x Volvo, Hyundai)
6 - I was born on the 6th of the 6th
7 - I was on a 7-day-hike in Israel
8 - so far I had to have taken out 8 teeth
9 - nice number
10 - I went 10 years to (public) school
11 - I was the main librarian at the Pilgermission St. Chrischona for 11 years
12 - another nice number
13 - we moved house 13 times as a couple/family
17 - I worked 17 years in the library of the Economic Department of the University of Basel
18 - I spent at least two nights in 18 different countries
19 - I was driving a car in 19 different countries
23 - a 23-hour-flight was my first trip to Seoul (direct)
24 - German scrabble value of my name Paul Stalder-Kim
25 - my sister Ursi committed suicide on her 25th birthday
26 - I visited 26 different countries
39 - we were married for 39 years
46 - my shoe size
315 - I served 315 days in the Swiss army
2'390 CHF is my AHV (old age pension)
16'297 books and bookmarks in my Librarything library
71'741 memorials on findagrave

Welcome back, Paul! Happy new year!

>2 drneutron: thanks, Tim

1) Aufzeichnungen eines Serienmörders : Roman by Young-Ha Kim. Byongsu is a retired mass murder and now loses his memory, so he starts to write everything into his diary in order to keep track of the present. He also writes about his killings, ages ago. But then there is the rumour that a killer is in the neighbourhood and he is afraid, that this killer might kill his daughter, and he prepares himself for his last kill ... interesting theme and story line (and a very good translation into German)

That's a very revealing list, Paul. Some of it sounds great, other items must have been very painful.

I hope this is a happy New Year for you even though the number 23 is taken!

>4 paulstalder: This sounds right up my alley, as we say in English. I'll reserve it at the library as soon as their system comes back up and knows who I am.

Happy new year, Paul.

>1 paulstalder: I am a numbers person too and your first entry was a touching one.
You didn't mention 75 of course but welcome back to the 75ers for another year!

I will keep up with you, my friend as always.

Happy reading in 2023, Paul!

Welcome back, Paul!

Nice to see you back!

You are getting off to a slow start in '23, Paul. Hope all is well, my dear chap.

>5 ffortsa: >6 PaulCranswick: I started that kind of list some years ago but never used it till at the last day of work at work.
I also made such lists with the alphabet. Sometimes when asked to introduce myself I tell people to give me three letters - and these give the framework for my story telling.

>7 FAMeulstee: >8 thornton37814: >9 figsfromthistle: thank you all for the welcome. At the moment I am more committed to grave stones and genealogy than to reading, that's why I am missing out here.

>10 PaulCranswick: yeah, it's all pretty slow here but fine. My daughter called me last weekend to come over to help with the kids: her husbands was sick in bed, the three-and-a-half-month-old baby was sickli, too, and the three-and-a-half-year old boy was very lifely ... so, I 'ran' over to her place and took care of the boy - well, I guess, he took care of me :)

And, together with other neighbours, we are installing a photovoltaic system on our roofs, so to be independent concerning our electricity. This week they will finish the 'hard ware' then the electrician has to come for acceptance testing )is that the correct word?).

2) Judges : an introduction and commentary / by Arthur E. Cundall. Ruth : an introduction and commentary / by Leon Morris. A section-by-section commentary on these Biblical books. I only consulted the commentary on Ruth (but I did read both commentaries during my studies).



I did some reading in the old people's home again: This time I read the Book of Ruth to them. It's a great story to tell, about Naomi and Ruth and Boaz - the Moabite woman Ruth being inserted into the lineage of King David; a story of love and loyalty, of faithfulness. Goethe was so fond of it and others, too.

3) Das ungekannte Meisterwerk : Erzählung by Honoré de Balzac. A young painter, Nicolas Poussin, wants to bribe an older painter into showing him the masterpiece the older has painted but never shown to anybody ... what is art? a kind of magic? a philosophical-social study of painting



This is the other story I was reading to the elderly in the home. Was a bit too much for them, not all could follow Balzac's thought.

4) Das Vermächtnis des Shalom Shepher : Roman by Tamar Yellin. Shulamit Shepher, a Bible expert, visits her relatives in Israel for the first time since ages. She learns about her ancestors one of whom travelled East, Ukraine, Palestine, Syria, beyond the Sambatyon River, and he apparently brought back an ancient manuscript ... a complex story, a bit overloaden and slow moving

5) Die Marx-Schwestern : ein Beziehungs-Krimi by B. S. Maitland. There are strange things happening in Jerusalem Street in London. A dubious consortium is buying all the old buildings in order to build a totally new town. Then an elderly lady is found dead, apparently smothered with a plastic bag. Then rumours appear saying that the lady and her two sisters do own old manuscripts written by Karl Marx ... a bit a complex mystery story

6) Die lateinischen Grabinschriften in den Basler Kirchen: Münster und Martinskirche by Andreas Pronay. Contains all the Latin epitaphs and grave inscription within the Basler Münster and St Martin's of Basel. A picture, the Latin text, a translation, and biographical and historical background to each person mentioned.



I used that book for adding all these epitaphs in findagrave.

>11 paulstalder: Heja Paul, great news about your photovoltaic project. Fingers crossed that the producing is a success.

>17 Ameise1: hej Barbara, it's a great project, this PVA, but it's taking longer than promised. The panels are all installed on the roof and they work, but the electrician who should link the PVA with the electricity board of my house didn't come as promised - he will come beginning of March ... so the panels on all five roofs are working well but of no use for us

>18 paulstalder: 🙈 oh dear.

>18 paulstalder: I was so impressed to read re your collaboration for new energy. How disappointing about the electrician's delay. Hope that the system works well after inspection so that the slow start is soon forgotten.

Now it took me until almost the end of february to find your thread, Paul.
All the best for you and your project!

our PVA on the roof


>19 Ameise1: >20 charl08: taking its time, but there are quite many similar projects around, so we are glad that all the components did not come too late. The electrician must be licensed by the local energy provider - which is a lot of bureaucrazy :)
the Swiss government refunded me already a third of my investments (some environmental fund)

>21 SirThomas: yeah, I know, my thread is smaller than February :) thanks for coming by, Thomas

scaffolding our house in the evening

7) Der Garten über dem Meer : Roman by Mercè Rodoreda. The gardener of an old mansion near Barcelona was taken over by the new owner. During the next six years he is taking care of the garden and gets to know the whole family and friends, nice, but in the end sad years ... a bit a slow moving, but otherwise well moving novel

>24 paulstalder: I'll give thst one a try as an audiobook.
Glad to see your construction improvement.

8) Das seltsame Wort : Erzählung by A. R. Ferrarin. Two 14-year-boys are spending their holidays in an old castle in the Italian alps. But there are rumours about a trasure hidden somewhere in the old house and gangsters are trying to try to drive the residents out - felling a tree, killing the dog, clog the water pipe ... an easy adventure read, first published during world war II

9) Der Stein : Erzählungen by Franz Hohler. A collection of short stories.
Der Präsident: The Swiss president walks to work through the city of Bern, he is followed by a kitten. He tries to drive it off, but no use, so he lets the kitten sit on his desk or his lap when discussing the health system with his administrators or receiving a phone call from a foreign dictator to ask for ransom money. His day is much easier and more fruitful when ever. On the way home he carries the kitten and its metal food bowl, and then he gets shot - but the bullet gets diverted by the bowl and kills the kitten ...
Die Grenze: A Swiss officier stationed at the Korean-Korean border tries to spot a tiger within the demarcation zone. But he is spotted by a North Korean guard who points his machinegun at him, but then the tiger shows up and drives the North Korean away...
Hohler is well known for such stories which begin easy and everyday-like but end quite unexpected.



I did read three of these stories in the old people's home

>22 paulstalder: a short thread, but good books, Paul.
And a wonderful project, I hope it works out soon.

>27 paulstalder: That was almost a BB, Paul, I realised just in time that it's already on my shelf. It's included in Der Geisterfahrer and I enjoyed it very much.

Have a wonderful weekend.

>25 Ameise1: take your time with it, Barbara

>28 SirThomas: hej, Thomas, yeah, I know, Hohler (or his publisher, I guess) often publish a new collection of stories, containing some which already appeared somewhere else

our photovoltaic project is making headway: they installed all the necessary electric 'things'. the DC and AC wires should not cross and stuff like that I learned.

And I am in bed again, this is the 4th time I caught a crown since last Easter...

10) Der Sündenfall - ein Glücksfall? : alte Geschichten aus der Bibel neu erzählt by Meir Shalev. 23 essays about a variety of subjects based on Biblical texts and compares them with the present age. He deals with war: there are laws in Deuteronomy for men who just got married or bought a vineyard and therefore shouldn't go to war, interesting: Deuteronomy 20,8: let all those who are afraid and have a weak heart, stay home ... Government, administration: King Salomo had eleven minsters in his cabinett - no vize-people ... Funding: there were no paid people collecting money for a good cause, the fundraiser were part of the working team ... Creation: Shalev takes the Genesis accounts as two different creations of mankind - so there were two Adams and two Eves - one couple was created to have fun and multiply, the other was put in a ghetto and then cursed for misbehavior - a weird interpretation: half of mankind needs blood for salvation, the other half not? only half of the women have pains when giving birth?

Well, it is worth reading it, but his views do not justice to the texts he quotes.
He also wrote about Ruth's Boas and Rahel's Jacob: Jacob was able to wait years till he could sleep with Rahel, but Boas was not able to stay one night without sex. Okay, Jacob, the heel-grasper, is a patriarch and is therefore able to resist temptations, Boas, in him is strength, was only a farmer who was not so well behaved.

>29 paulstalder: What a mess, I wish you a speedy recovery, Paul!

I hope you are well, Paul - >4 paulstalder: and thank you for another BB.
It was a pleasure to read.

>31 SirThomas: >32 SirThomas: Thanks, Thomas, for visiting. I am still recovering from sinusitis.

I do take part in the children's week here in town after Easter and do play in the theater again. This year we play the story of Josef in Egypt. I play the pharao having these dreams about the cows and the ears of grain predicting the 7 fat and 7 hungry years.

11) Tod in Sils Maria : 17 üble Geschichten by Ulrich Knellwolf. 17 bad/evil mystery stories, all taking place in Sils Maria in the Swiss Alps.
Februarende: An elderly Author comes to Sils Maria for his holidays every year in February. He is writing a new novel. But then he spots his worst Critic, making holidays here, even staying in the same hotel. He is so distracted that he can't write anymore and so decides to get rid of the Critic. He plans a trip through a snowy area where he would set off an avanlanche. On that day his Publisher shows up and watches through his binoculars how the Critic shoots the Writer setting off the avalanche which takes the Critic down the steep slope, and commenting to his companion: 'The critic is bigheaded jackass. ... The Author became a burden, no ideas anymore.' 'So you planned this kind of disposal?' 'What did I tell you?' They both did do what I thought they would do when I planned they being on holidays in the same place....

All stories are weird and have these turns which one doesn't suspect in the beginning.



I did read three of these stories to the elderly people in our old people's home. They were intrigued

12) Live! : ein Fall für Kostas Charitos ; Roman by Petros Markarēs. A well-known contractor commits suicide during a life interview on tv. A few days later a flattering biography was published by an unknown author. Then another well-known public figure commits suicide on the same tv channel ... Commissar Kostas has to investigate privately because suicides are not investigated by the homicide squad ... an interesting story, twisted, a bit lengthy because the author uses a large number of words describing the traffic situation and which road should be taken ...

Nice to see you posting dear Paul.

Have a lovely weekend.

>34 paulstalder: I was intrigued, too!
Thank you for the BB, Paul.

Oh, I hope you are well again by now.
Have a nice weekend.

>36 PaulCranswick: Thanks, Paul, for coming by. I am busy doing other things.

>37 SirThomas: enjoy it, Thomas

>38 Ameise1: I am fine, Barbara. It took me some time to recover. I am 6G now (2x geimpft = vaccinated, 4x genesen = recovered).

I did some gravestone photographing and made a picture of the grave of Rafael Sabatini in Adelboden. There was also a marker for his wife. Somebody asked me to correct her birth year (when marrying the first time she apparently made herself younger :), I was sent her birth certificate). Then I also found out that she died in London and was not buried in Adelboden (according to the cemetery authorities).

I did play in the children's week after Easter here in Riehen. The whole week was a great success, over 150 children took part, watching the play, learning about the life of Joseph (and forgiveness and God's faithfulness), joining in different work groups (baking, dancing, graffiti, fire department, canoeing ..)

13) Femme fatale : der fünfte Fall für Bruno, Chef de police by Martin Walker. Bruno is listening to the church choir when he is told that a naked body in a boat is floating down the river towards Saint-Denis. It seems, that the corpse shows signs of a satanic ritual. What is the connection with the rumour of a blak mass in one of the local caves? and what are these business people doing here, planning a huge touristic site? ... cool and laid-back Bruno solves all the mysteries ...

14) Flüchtiges Geld : Kriminalroman by Roger Strub. Private eye Lena Bellmann is asked to investigate the disappearance of a banker. His wife is not convinced about the suicide approach of the police - they never found the body. Lena learns that Stocker has apparently sold a disk about secret bank accounts of German citizens to the German tax authorities ... okay, the characters could be a bit more alive

15) Auf Messers Schneide : Roman by William Somerset Maugham. The author, as the narrator, tells us a story of society in the 1920s. Americans come to Paris but live in different social groups. Larry, a young man, is one of them who came to Paris to find life/himself/something worth doing. ... Maugham is a keen observer and tells us a lot about the beliefs and sensitivities of the protagonists

Glad to hear that you feel better.
>41 paulstalder: That one I've read six years ago and I liked it.
>42 paulstalder: My library has got other books by Strub but not that one. Is he an author whom you would recommend?

>44 Ameise1: thanks, Barbara, I liked Bruno, too.
Strub: he has an easy writing style, a good main character (Lena, the private eye), but there I learned a bit too much about her sexual longings. I would read another one if I am given one, but I wouldn't go looking for one.

Happy Birthday, dear Paul!
I hope you are well and have a wonderful day.

Adding to the birthday wishes!

>4 paulstalder: I'm late to your thread, but this sounds like an interesting book. I need to check if my library has a copy...

>46 SirThomas: >47 figsfromthistle: thanks very much for all the good wishes

>48 ocgreg34: thanks for coming by. Jope you found a copy in your library

16) Vegetarier der Liebe by Pitigrilli. A collection of short stories.
- Die Drahtseilbahn zur Glückseligkeit: A group of 14 people want to start the ideal community and travel up a mountain with the funiculaire. But the longer they stay together, the more differences appear, till only two people are left.
- Der grüne Mann: A young man wanted to become a musician but his parents forced him to study medecin, so he became a doctor - but every patient he treats somehow dies earlier than expercted. So he changes into pathology - but when he issued the firsts death certificate, this man alive again at the funeral ...

17) Judas : Roman by Amos Oz. 1959 in Jerusalem: Shmuel Ash is aimlesds looking for something new after his girlfriend left him and his parents stopped supporting him financially. He takes on the job of being a companion to an elderly, handicapped man. They discuss many things, often they talk about the state of Israel: the settlement of the land, the independence, the war, and, Ash's the subject of Ash's doctroral thesis he stopped writing when leaving the universitry: Jesus Christ from a Jewish perspective. There Ash mainly focused on the role of judas in the rise of Jesus' belief to be the Messiah ...
An interesting read, on the one hand the development of the state of Israel and dealing with 'traitors' among there own ranks, and dealing with Judas a the traitor of the Messiah (or of Judaism?).

18) Das Lachen der jungen Frau Rothe : Erzählungen by Gisela K. Wolf. A collection of 16 short stories by this German-Swiss author.
- Das Zauberwort: Dr. Gallina is psychiatrist in a mental institution, and not to happy to be here, he wants to make a career in a well-known institution, but nor here. One day a patient starts to be laugh and tells the other patients about a magical word which ends their mental disorders. But he forgets this word again and tells the doctor only the magic word which started his illness ...
- Das unerwartete Geschenk: A 16-year-old girl sits almost every afternoon in the restaurant, drinking a cola and reading a journal. One day an elderly woman comes in, new in this aera and sits to the girl, then telling her whole life ...



The author is a neighbour of mine. I did read the two stories above to the people in the retirement home. Some knew the author from her paintings she exhibited in this retirement home, and they enjoyed these stories.

19) Feuerwerk by Dorothy Sayers. A collection of 12 short stories, mainly involving detectives, by this British author.
- Feuerwerk: A dentist is found dead in his burnt car. Apparently suicide. But when Peter Wimsey inspects his teeth with another dentist, the teeth show significant differences from the documented treatments of the former dentist. Who was the dead man and where is the dentist?
- Pfeil überm Haus: Humphrey Podd wants his new novel published by Milton Ramp. But he doesn't just want to send in his manuscript, he sends cryptic messages to the publisher about a future severe happening ... the publisher gets nervous.

I'm really behind on threads. Fortunately you haven't made as many posts as some so I've been able to see a bit more as I skim here! Hoping to do a better job keeping up.

>54 thornton37814: thanks, Lori, for visiting my thread. As you see, there is not much activity over here. I am still more involved in fotogrfing and documenting grave stones.

Last week I have been to Ameno (Novara, Italy), taking part in course working with soap stone. Francesca Gagliardi was among us for a few days. We had very interesting discussions about her work. Ameno is a very nice place to be. We stayed in an old villa, there was an open sky painted on the ceiling in my room - so, I always had nice weather, blue sky, flying swallows above my head ...

We also started our project on the cemetery (Together on the Hörnli) again. We offer free coffee or water to the visitors of the biggest cemetery in Switzerland. Three days per week we are there, waiting on people and have an open ear for them.

20) Die Nacht, in der Mr Singh verschwand by Sabine Ludwig. The 11- and 12-year-old children Joe, Miranda and Cymbeline spend their summer holidays on a old castle with many other kids. Clowns are always taking care of the kids and a Mr Singh is telling fairytales as bedtime stories. But when there came rainy days they had to make kitsch souvenirs with their hands, which have to look all very much the same, and somehow disappear over night. And then the horses are brought away, Mr Singh disappears, the playgrounds were demolioshed during one night ... the three kids want to lift the mystery.
A readable mystery story for teenagers

21) Eifel-Müll : Kriminalroman by Jacques Berndorf. A young woman was found murdered in an inactive waste disposal site, together with some furniture and some barrels with hazardous waste. Then another dead person: a young man crashes into a bridge pier, her boyfriend - are the two deaths related? Did Sven kill Natalie and then himself? How much are the waste the managers from the trade with hazardous waste involved? They met always at Natalie's mother house and were well served with everything they wanted ... the journalist Siggi Baumeister is intrigued and starts to ask questions...

22) Das Dorf der Vergessenen : Erlebnisse in Korea by Yo-Suk Kim. Kim is teaching theology at an university in Seoul, Korea., but he has no personal experience of God. An old pastor recommends him to leave Seoul and his easy life and go and pastor a small church which has never had a pastor before. Kim takes on the challenge and only realizes after the first service he held in the village that he landed in a village of healed lepers. There he experiences God who is not always fulfilling all prayers for healing but gives peace and joy in the midst of suffering ... a true and moving story about a man who knows all the theories about God but has no personal relationship with him.



It's a re-read. I met pastor Kim here in Switzerland in the 1990s. Now I read most of the books to my audience in the old people's home

my soap stone:


raw, weighing around 30 kg

---
front --- side


back --- made totally smooth with sandpaper

23) Schönes Sechseläuten : Kriminalroman by Ulrich Knellwolf. Sechseläuten (bell ringing at six) is one of the oldest events in Zürich. They ride around a burning straw puppet until the head explodes. If it explodes quickly it will brinmg us a nice, long, warm summer ... okay, on that day the pastor of the Predigerkirche is shot during the parade through the city. But did the bullet hit the right person? ... the journalist Frühauf wants to find out the true story ... a mystery about intrigues among the guilds ... a fun read with a local flavour

my room in the Villa Pastori in Ameno NO

24) Der Grenzgänger : Kriminalroman by Matti Rönkä. Viktor is a Russian living in Helsinki and having a small office there, accepting all kinds of assignments/services, no questions asked. One day a man shows up, commissioning him to look for his wife. Sirje, the wife immigrated from Estonia and is now gone missing. ... a somehow complicated plot involving Finnish police, Estonian smugglers, and Russian KGB ... okay

25) Schattwand : ein Bergdrama by Urs Augstburger. Severin Somm inherits an old house in a tiny village in the Wallis, close to the Italian border. But half of the house is occupied by Lucrezia, and she and rthe rest of the village don't like his coming up here. Then he finds a room under the roof, totally walled in, containinge children's toys and woman's clothing and old sketch books with apparently historical drawings of the history of the village, the people and the drama which happened a generation ago ... a novel about strangers coming into a close village community and bringing technical progress, and the reaction of the villagers who want to protect the old way of life, even when having to kill the intruders.

26) Für immer Dein Paul by Marlo Schalesky. Maddie lies in the hospital in a coma. There was a car accident and her husband Paul is waiting for her. The romance began dramatically when Maddie found out that she was going blind, and Paul tried to help. But she struggled with pride, unable to accept help and a faith in God which should/could give her trust and strength in Jesus ... a very interesting topic but the working out could be better

27) Das Wenkenross : 12 Geschichten durchs Riehener Jahr by Hermann Schneider. 12 stories all locally happening in Riehen.
The Treehut: 2 boys were building a tree hut in the forest. One morning during summer holidays they find their chest broken up and some food is missing, they also discover interesting new 'fruits' hanging in the trees: bags containing silver cutlery, a watch, jewelry. ...



a reread, I was reading three stories in the senior home

28) Ein neuer Job für den Rabbi by Harry Kemelman. Rabbi Small thinks about quitting the job as a rabbi. Then a college teacher drives his car into a tree. Suicide? Accident? Murder? ... interesting mystery, but what I found more interesting was the discussion about college politics

>66 paulstalder: I really enjoyed this series, thank you for reminding me that I haven't read this book yet.
Have a wonderful weekend, Paul!

>67 SirThomas: Thanks Thomas. There is another Kemelman waiting to be read ...

29) Poirot rechnet ab by Agatha Christie. A collection of 11 mysteries, all featuring Poirot's skills of his gray cells and his arrogance. Easy read

30) Harmonie : fernöstliche Weisheiten compiled by Inga Hagemann. A collection of far eastern sayings, quotes, like: 'Reading a book for the first time, lets you get to know a new friend. Reading a book the second, you meet an old friend.'
(Liest du ein Buch zum ersten Mal, lernst du einen Freund kennen.
Liest du es ein zweites Mal, begegnet dir ein alter.)

Nice to see you posting, Paul.

Hope all is well, my friend.

>71 PaulCranswick: thanks, Paul. I still do read ... otherwise being busy with the cemetery project here or the grave photographing hobby.

31) Das Geheimnis der Konkubine : Sano Ichirôs vierter Fall by Laura Joh Rowland. Samurai detective Sano Ichiro just is marrying Reiko but during the ceremony news come that a concubine of the Shogun just died and Sano is called upon to investigate ... political intrigues, sex, investigation work ... but the characters didn't grow, I didn't get warm with the characters.

32) Kommt Schnee : Basel Krimi by Roger Aeschbacher. A man is killed with a samurasi sword and the killer takes coffee house worker as hostage and then another coffee house guest shoots the killer with 5 exact shots. This guy is then celebrated the hero of Basel but inspector Andi Baumer has his dounbts and investigates against the order of his superiors ... fine mystery with a local touch

33) Jabez : der Roman by Thom Lemmons. The people of Israel were suppressed by the Moabites. The Israelites fight them and kill Eglon, the king of the Moabites. An Israelites called Jabez ('pain') prays to God for a blessing and is part of the victory ... Jabez is once mentioned in the Bible, also the fight against Moab under Ehud is a Biblical story - but it is the author's idea to link the two. ... a good tale but with some bumps in the story

34) Das Hohelied (Song of Songs). Biblical love story of the Shulamith woman with Salomon ... great literature

I did read this to the elderly people in the senior's home here in Riehen. All eleven persons present did know about that little book but only one woman had actually read it ... the verse about love being stronger than death was known to all of them but the context was new to them.

All the best wishes for you on this day.
Thinking of you, Paul.

Hi Paul, I just finished a book by Julia Blackburn, a memoir The three of us: a family story. There was a Paul Stalder from Switzerland, staying in the UK somewhere in the early 1960s. Of course that made me think of you. Any chance he is related to you?

>77 SirThomas: thanks for coming by and the good wishes

>78 FAMeulstee: hej Anita, no, I don't know of any other Paul in my Stalder-branch: I was living in Northwood and Pinner in the 1980s

35) The Borrowers by Mary Norton.14-year-old Arrietty is living with her parents in a human house behind the walls. They are the last tiny people living in the house. The 'borrow' everything from the humans. Then one day Arrietty was discovered ...

36) Die Leinwand : Roman ; Jan Wechsler ; Amnon Zichroni by Benjamin Stein. One book, two stories, one story starts in the front the other from the back. Both main characters, Jan and Amnon, are living with different memories which seem to be not there own.
Jan one day gets a suitcase sent from the lost-baggage-office which has name on it and book written by him, lost on a flight from Israel - he has no memory of having been there recently, nor having written a book. But when calling the publishers of that book he was treated as the real author of that book...
Amnon, as an adult, starts talking about memories he being a child in a concentration camp. He publishes his memories but then official papers show up which prove that he was a Swiss citizen and never has been in a concentration camp ....
Interesting stories with a lot of Jewish background about prayer, ritual baths (mikwe) and others. Both men are living a life which is not consistent with the 'truth' - how true are my memories?

37) Die Verschwörung by Suresh Guptara. In the world Calaspia, the people of the Barue are raided by some long forgotten monsters. But the government of Calaspia does not believe these stories and does nothing against the rise of the old evil forces ... volume one of this 3-volume-fantasy adventure

38) Als der Rabbi die Stadt verließ by Harry Kemelman. Rabbi Small is now retired and starts teaching at a college. But then a dead man is found near the new Rabbi's home and Small is called upon to investigate ... a good read

39) Der König von Narnia : der Fantasy-Bestseller von C. S. Lewis ; mit spektakulären Fotos by Clive S. Lewis. 4 children walk through a wardrobe door and find themselves in another world, a wintry world, where it never will be Christmas. ... Great story



I did read this book for four Mondays to the old people in the senior home. Of the 12 listeners, only one person knew the story (a little bit). But they were fascinated by it.

40) Geschichten zur Weihnachtszeit by Selma Lagerlöf. 11 Christmas stories. Lagerlöf was collecting legends about Christ in the Holy Land (published in the Christuslegenden) and wrote/collected a few stories herself from Sweden. Good read



I did read these stories to the elderly in the senior's home here in Riehen.

41) Hilfe, es wird Weihnachten : Anregungen zur Gestaltung - Geschichten und Gedichte by Kathi Kaldewey and Raphael Müller. Raphael is a handicapped teenager who is unable to speak, his people considered him retarded till he was given a computer and they realised that he was able to read and write ... so here are a few stories about Christmas he wrote during the age of 12 and 16. ... interesting, uplifting reading



I did read these stories to the elderly in the senior's home here in Riehen.

42) Die Nacht des Zorns : Roman by Fred Vargas. Adamsberg gets a visit from a Normandy village: the woman asks him for help, since hert daughter has some legendary ghost riders who identified some wicked people who now surely have to die. But are these ghost riders ghosts or people who use this legend for killing others? and how can Adamsberg prevent the killings? At the same time a wealthy industrialist was killed in Paris when his car was set on fire ... an interesting read, I like Adamsberg

43) Gräber und Geschichten : Basel und seine Toten by Matthias Buschle. A collection of the people who died in Basel, their biography, deeds in Basel, their burial, and the places they were buried.



I used this book for creating some memorials in findagrave.

44) Hüglin von Schönegg : ein Basler Reiterführer des 14. Jahrhunderts in Italien, ein Beitrag zur damaligen Bewaffnung by Eduard A. Gessler. Hüglin was a Swiss knight who grew up in Basel but originally came from Italy. He became the Marshal of the duchy of Spoleto. He bought some relics of the saint Theobald and gave them to the Church of St. Leonhard in Basel. They dedicated a chapel to this saint, and in this chapel Hüglin had a grave built for himself. He died after 1377 probably in Italy. He was not buried in his tomb. He was a rich knight in the service of the pope, equipped with weapons and an armor which were quite modern at the time.



I used this article to improve the memorial on Hüglin.

45) https://www.librarything.de/work/24660147 Paul : Roman by Juliane Baldy. Paul is a teenager in Berlin who seems to be invisible to his schoolmates and adults. He is happy to be on his own, not being disturbed by mother. His father isn't know to him. Just before the holidays he mets a girl from his school who makes him promise to chat online with her during the summer holidays. He also got into an argument about his unexisting father - Paul starts to text with Ida and his mother tells him name and address of his father ... Paul starts a new life.
All written in present day youth slang of Berlin. A tale of coming of age in modern times. I read it because it had my name as title, but the story didn't draw me in.

Thinking about you during the festive season, Paul

All the best wishes and a peaceful time to you, Paul!

>91 PaulCranswick: thanks, Paul, for coming by ... season's readings sound good. I did such readings to elderly people during this time.

>92 SirThomas: I wish you a peaceful time, too, Thomas

46) Lilly die Tigerin : Melodram by Alona Kimhi. Lilly, a heavy dental hygienist in Tel Aviv, sits in the bath tub and masturbates and thinks about her life. She is hungra for food an for men, both in excess. She shares her flat with two other women. One day she gets a tiger baby as a gift from one of her lovers. The women learn about tigers and raise him up in the flat, and everything starts changing ... a bit too much sex for me, a complicated, weird story I didn't warm up to the story

I sincerely wish you health, happiness, contentment and many exciting books.

>95 Ameise1: Thanks, Barbar, same for you

I read 46 books (without the children's books I told my grandchildren) and added 68 books to my collections in 2023

😃

forgot
47) Die täglichen Losungen und Lehrtexte der Brüdergemeine für das Jahr 2023 - a daily word from the Old an the New Testament