Kathy climbs Mount Tsundoku in 2025

My name is Kathy! I am 38 years old and live in Austria.

Until 2024 I have been working as a bookseller but after 13 years I needed a change of air. In January 2025, I will start a more structured work which will hopefully leave me more time and energy to read books I want to read. Of course, there is a little bit of sadness about leaving bookselling. But when I have got a certain kind of routine in my new job, I am thinking about volunteering for a library.

I like all different kind of genres but my goal for 2025 is to finally read more female writers.

My favourite reads of 2024 are:
* Michael McDowell: Blackwater
* Paul Takashi Nagai: Die Glocken von Nagasaki
* Hayo Miyazaki: Shunas Reise
* Sei Shonagon: Das Kopfkissenbuch der Dame Sei Shonagon
* Sempé / Patrick Modiano: Catherine Certitude
* Kerry Greenwood: Miss Phryne Fisher Investigates

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READING PROGRESS

READING LIST JANUARY-JUNE


READ IN JANUARY
1. Une librairie pour Noël by Stéphanie Pélerin **1/2 (03/01/25)
2. Die Entstehung der Geschlechterhierarchie by Helke Sander **** (07/01/25)
3. Howl's Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones (12/01/25) ****1/2
4. Japan für die Hosentasche by Françoise Hauser (19/01/25) *****
5. 27780655::Hexe by Jenni Fagan (20/01/25) *1/2
6.

KATHY'S FABULOUS 2025 READING BINGO

For this year I created a #25in25 book bingo card. Just because I like to check things on lists. As I have also put "to read more women" and "to read more internationally" on my list of goals this might help me with that.



1 Poetry
2 Prize 2025
3 Selfpublisher on Bluesky (female)
4 Published pre 1901
5 Black History
6 Biography
7 Book over 500 pages
8 Autochthonus / native writer
9 Comic / graphic novel
10 Written in foreign language
11 Fantasy: Howl's Moving Castle by Dianna Wynne Jones ****1/2 (12/01/25)
12 Queer
13 Selfpublisher on Bluesky (male)
14 Nature
15 Feminism: Die Entstehung der Geschlechterhierarchie by Helke Sander **** (07/01/25)
16 Austrian female writer
17 European female writer
18 North American female writer
19 South American female writer
20 African female writer
21 Asian female writer
22 Australian female writer
23 Society / social issues / politics
24 Series
25 Something I usually wouldn't touch: Une librairie pour Noël by Stéphanie Pélerin **1/2 (03/01/25)

Lovely to see you back and posting Kathy.

>6 PaulCranswick: Thank you, Paul! I really hope it will be more than a New Year's resolution.

>7 PersephonesLibrary: Well I certainly missed you for most of 2024. x

Happy reading in 2025! I hope you enjoy your new work.

>8 PaulCranswick: Likewise. It was a weird year.

>9 mstrust: Thank you, Jennifer! I am looking forward to it. The team seems to be very nice.

Welcome back, Kathy! Unfortunately, LT’s wiki system is down, but I’ve got you on my list to add to the Threadbook once it’s back up.

>11 drneutron: Thank you, Jim! Another year, another try. :-)

I hope everybody had a lovely Christmas. On the 27th my books from SantaThing arrived and I am very happy with the choices my Secret Santa made:

Everything Sad is Untrue by Daniel Nayeri
We will not be saved by Nemonte Nenquimo

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Currently, I am still reading a Christmas novel, because I am slow reader when it comes to books in French. Une librarie pour Noël by Stéphanie Pélerin is a classical Christmas love story - like a Hallmark movie.




The next few days I will stay with friends and I probably won't have time to come to LibraryThing.
I wish you a fun and happy New Year's Eve! Stay safe and celebrate. We will see us in 2025!

Happy new reading year, Kathy.

(And I am wondering, what is Mount Tsundoku?)

>14 EllaTim: And to you, Ella! Oh, it's a fancy way of saying "pile of shame" or "books to be read". Tsundoku is a japanese word for buying books you don't immediately read but pile up. I really need to read the books I already own. :)

>15 PersephonesLibrary: Hi Kathy
I found your thread this morning and
oh my gosh, that’s me a tsundokuian!

Happy 2025, Kathy

Good to see you, Kathy! Happy 2025!

>16 Carmenere: Hi Lynda, lovely to see you here! Aren't we all somehow... :)

>17 PaulCranswick: Thank you, Paul!

>18 curioussquared: Hello Natalie, right back at you!

I spent a lovely few days with Michaela, my oldest friend since high school, and her husband in Switzerland. We did a lot of stuff together so I didn't manage any reading except for the train ride there and back again. I plan to finish the Christmas book this week.

On the 31st we went to Bern for a little daytrip. I hadn't been there before, but it's a very charming little town.

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Yesterday, we went to Gruyères which is not only famous for its cheese and its castle, but also for the Giger Museum. Giger is the artist who designed the "Alien" movies with Sigourney Weaver. Of course, we got a drink at the Giger-style café nearby.

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Afterwards we had dinner at a restaurant with a lovely view during sunset. Of course, I had to try the local cheese fondue and it was delicious!

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It's so nice to see your new thread! I hope to see you more around in 2025.

>20 PersephonesLibrary: Looks like a wonderful trip. Anything with cheese is right up my alley.

Happy reading in 2025

>20 PersephonesLibrary: What lovely photos! Some of my ancestors were from the Bern area. I'd love to visit there sometime.

Happy New Year and Happy New Thread, Kathy, I look forward to many good books with you.
And thank you for the wonderful pictures.

>21 figsfromthistle: Thanks, Anita! Me, too. I am quite optimistic as I have made a few changes in my life. So, I should have the energy and motivation to read and be here more. It was indeed a lovely trip.

>22 thornton37814: That's intriguing, Lori! If you ever come to Europe, let me know. I can show you around a little bit. :) And e.g. the Bern area is an amazing starting point to actually visit the whole of Switzerland. You are quickly in Zurich, Basel or Geneva. And I live very close to the Swiss border in Austria.

>23 SirThomas: Great to be back, Thomas! I have got a good feeling, that I will be a more loyal LibraryThinger this year. I am happy you like the pictures!

1. Une librairie pour Noël by Stéphanie Pélerin **1/2

I got this book as a present for Christmas season. I am not a fan of romcoms so please take this into account when it comes to my rating.

In a little village in the South of France, Justin, a handsome single dad and bookseller, has got financial problems because the bookshop isn't very succesful. Somewhere else in France, Romy and her mother watch a TV helpline show where Justin talks about his situation. Romy's mother suddendly is reminded of Romy's dad - who grew up in the exact same little village. When they were young they had a fling which resulted in her being pregnant with Romy. BUT she only learned about her pregnancy after she had left the village. Romy's dad has never even learned about Romy's existence.

Now, Romy takes a chance and pretends she wants to buy the bookshop while she actually is looking for her biological dad. And you will never guess, what's going to happen... :)

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The predictability is one reason why I am not an avid reader of cosy romcoms. For me it was mainly a nice way of practising my French. But to be fair, it was a nice story with bookseller elements which mostly are quite realistic. It's a written Hallmark movie and nice to read during Christmas season.

>20 PersephonesLibrary: Wonderful pics! It sounds like a good trip, and how unexpected to find Giger's creations in such a lovely town. It would be fun to have a drink in that bar.

>26 mstrust: Indeed, Jennifer! It's funny because it's in the medieval kind of little town on the hill. We had an amazing "Giger coffee" (though it's actually a general specialty for the area): They serve meringue with crème double with your coffee. I think that's the heaviest, richest but most delicious treat I have eaten so far. I recommend it.

Good morning,

my Sunday will basically consist of reading, going for a walk with Timmy, destroying the last Christmas cookies (supported by Timmy) and planning the next week.

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- the second picture was taken seconds after I ate the first cookie ;-)



I have started reading Howl's Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones. In December they celebrated 20th anniversary of the movie by Studio Ghibli and I watched it on the big screen in cinema. Now, I finally want to read the books as well.


I will also start another book: Die Entstehung der Geschlechterhierarchie = "The creation/development of gender hierarchy" by Helke Sander. There was an incident with a sexist and misogynist journalist here which made me so angry I got active as well. Promoting a petition, collecting signatures, recruiting 80 bookshops to speak out against him...

Yesterday, after two weeks of condescending downplay and/or silence, it was finally announced he wouldn't get the prestigious job as the presenter of one of the most (if not the most) important TV shows about culture/society/art. Time to celebrate! And time to refreshen my feminist spirit and knowledge. Because I think we all noticed what's going on all around the world considering women's rights.

(No, worries. I will focus on books, but I just had to share this little moment of success. I prefer to keep politics out of here.)

YAY for the success!
I have also heard about this issue and am happy about this decision.
Have a wonderful sunday without slips due to ice.

>28 PersephonesLibrary: Those cookies look a real treat! And I hope you like the book as much as I did.

Good for you, taking action, just necessary. And great that it was a success!

>29 SirThomas: Hi Thomas, thanks! Yes, I am, too. Though it is really funny to see, how the ARD and Mischke's buddies want to frame the activism and criticism as "hysterical feminists" despite also many men criticising the decision.
The whole power structure is showing, and that's kind of good to know.

>30 EllaTim: To be honest, they are made by a friend. She loves to bake and bakes around 60 kg of cookies every year and sells them. And they are delicious. :) I am sure I will love "Howl" a lot.
Yes, I am happy they decided to change the decision despite framing it as a witch hunt on the journalist now.

2. Die Entstehung der Geschlechterhierarchie by Helke Sander ****

Very interesting essay about how the hierarchy of genders developed and changed - starting in ancient history when our earliest relatives still had fur. I enjoyed the whole history part a lot because I had several aha moments and not only considering gender roles. Sander's is also not judging but simply tries to explain the development from a female point of view which makes a lot of sense and which was ignored by the mostly male researchers.

There are a few mistakes and inaccuracies but they don't affect the insight you get from her main ideas. I only had a problem with the racism that appears in the very last chapter about the present situation. She focuses a lot on the immigrants with Islam backgrounds and ignores the reality of misogynistic attitudes of conservatives, incels and other (more white/more european/more Christian)men (and women).

Despite having a loooot of unread books at home, I went to the bookstore yesterday and found a nice pile of books I have already had on my wishlist or which sounded interesting. To be fair, I wanted to go to the stationary shop but it's closed for the whole week - so I had to find an alternative. :)

For today, I hope to make some progress with Howl's Moving Castle and maybe get another book done at the weekend.

One of my New Year's resolutions is also to "go out" at least once a week... I still have to figure out what I could do. Maybe theatre... or a museum?

Have a lovely weekend!

Buying more books while we have piles of unread books is definitely a syndrome among us!
Have a great weekend yourself!

>34 mstrust: Jennifer, we need some stock in case of emergency. :)

3. Howl's Moving Castle by Dianna Wynne Jones ****1/2

Sophie Hatter, the eldest of three daughters of a hat maker, is cursed by a witch. Being left unrecognizable she leaves her home and finds a place in the moving castle of notorious wizard Howl who's under a spell himself...

I love the movie by Studio Ghibli a lot! And even when you know the movie the book is another experience. It's not only a hommage to many known fairy tales but also a lovely fairy tale on its own. A literal "coming of age" story with curses, spells, monsters and unexpected friends.

Happy weekend! On Monday, I started my new job and it's really amazing. People are nice, work is calm and structured, I have time to learn... It's such a change to my old bookseller job. I even have the energy to do something after work or at the weekend (which starts in the early afternoon on Friday). I have never had this experience to work somewhere and not being completely exhausted after work.

This week, I read during commuting with the train and maybe I will manage about a book per week.
Currently, I am reading Japan für die Hosentasche by Françoise Hauser and hope to finish it today.

4. Japan für die Hosentasche by Françoise Hauser *****

Nice, compact cultural guide about every-day life, history, society, language and other aspects. Interesting before and after your trip to Japan. Or if you just want to learn a little bit about the country and its people.

Nice to hear you like your new job!

>38 PersephonesLibrary: We have just booked a trip to Japan later in the year. I've been before, but only for a week, with work.

>36 PersephonesLibrary: One of my favorites since I was a kid!

So glad you are loving the new job!!

I'm glad you like your new job.
All the best for the rest of the week!

>39 mstrust: and >42 SirThomas: Thank you, it is really a great change.

>40 SandDune: Oh, enjoy! Where do you plan to go? I am thinking about going back next year.

>41 curioussquared: I enjoyed it, too. I got a box with all three volumes and I plan to read the other two this year as well.

I have got a good excuse for the long break, I swear. Unfortunately, I caught a flu-ish bug last week and was ill from around Wednesday to Monday. I had very high fevers and I didn't manage any reading.
I am almost back at 100%, so I can finally start with Unmöglicher Abschied by Han Kang. We have got a book club on Bluesky and read this one together.

Have a lovely weekend!

5. Hexe by Jenni Fagan *1/2

The idea (sending a modern-day woman 500 years back to another woman accused of being a witch) sounded great, but the book was a huge disappointment.
* The esoteric, pseudo-poetic language about "stars, being, nothing and a connection" was annoying.
* The author throws her messages in your face. No chance of reading between the lines. It almost feels like she first put down her opinions and then forcefully tried to write a novel around it.
* It's also simply stupid: The whole point about witch hunts was that those were WOMAN, not witches. But in this novel they have all got some magical powers - ironically justifiying the evil judges and tormentors.

Sorry you were sick! Hope it's all in the past now.

I hope you are well again, Kathy.
Have a wonderful weekend!

>46 curioussquared: & >47 SirThomas: Thanks! It really took a while to get back on track. Even past week I didn't feel quite like myself in the evenings. Hopefully, this will improve soon. Thanks for stopping by.

February is almost over and I haven't managed any reading at all. I am still very exhausted in the evening - I guess it wasn't just a flu-ish bug but some kind of Covid. I hope to be at 100% soon.

The job is still fun, the coworkers nice, the customers sometimes challenging but usually thankful. If I now get some energy back, everything's pretty perfect.

To get back into reading I went to a bookstore past week and got the following books: (It only took 51 to break my New Year's Reading Resolution to not buy and books written by men this year, but... well. Stuart Turton helped me out of my reading crisis the last time.)

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And I got a book nook DIY kit and I am looking forward to building it.



So, let's hope for a more book-intense March.

>45 PersephonesLibrary: Wowzer, I will avoid that one! Thanks for the warning, Kathe.

>49 PersephonesLibrary: Cool, I'm in the process of putting together a bookstore, it's great fun.
Have a wonderful start into the week!

I hope you are doing well, Kathy!

I wish you a peaceful Christmas season with your family and friends and a good start to 2026 with lots of good books.