EllaTim Reading and more in 2026

Hi everybody! I’m Ella, living in Amsterdam with hubby Marc. I enjoy this group a lot, and always pick up lots of good ideas. Thanks to Jim for setting us up again this year.

We have an allotment garden on the outskirts of town, keeping us nicely occupied with gardening and volunteer jobs. We love nature, and art. Picture above from artist Jo Koster.

Aside from that I do volunteer work in my neighborhood, in my renter’s association, organizing the coffee circle and listening to what’s going on.

I read for fun, for comfort, for entertainment, and my go-to has always been fantasy. But I’m also broadening horizons, with history, general fiction, and non-fiction, often nature-related of course.

Last year I found myself tired a lot, so often I can’t keep up with this group, but I did manage to get to 75 books read. This year I like to manage again, but I also promised myself no pressure, reading is supposed to be fun.

Wishing everyone a good New Year!

Reading now, and list of books read in 2026

Reading now:
Bird School by Adam Nicolson
Your Inner Fish by Neil Shubin

January
1. Moominland Midwinter by Tove Jansson (Fin) ****1/2
2. How to train your Dragon by Cressida Cowell ****
(audio, read by David Tennant)
3. Jonkvrouw by Jean-Claude van Rijckeghem & Pat van Beirs (audio) dutch ****
4. Paula by Isabel Allende (Chile) ****1/2
5. Het Onmisbare by Anna van Gogh-Kaulbach (dutch, 1926) ***1/2

Plans for the year, challenges.

PAUL: THE AMERICA’S OFF THE BEATEN TRACK
JANUARY - CHILEAN AUTHORS - Isabel Allende
FEBRUARY - ANGLO CARIBBEAN AUTHORS
MARCH - MEXICAN AUTHORS
APRIL - HISPANIC NORTH AMERICANS
MAY - BRAZILIAN AUTHORS
JUNE - NON-FICTION ABOUT THE AMERICAS
JULY - CUBAN AUTHORS
AUGUST - FRANCO CARIBBEAN
SEPTEMBER - COLOMBIAN AUTHORS
OCTOBER - FIRST NATION NORTH AMERICANS
NOVEMBER - ARGENTINIAN AUTHORS
DECEMBER - OTHER PARTS OF THE CONTINENT: author from Surinam

BRITISH AUTHOR CHALLENGE
January: Cressida Cowell and Richard Adams
February: Elizabeth Chadwick and Nevil Shute
March: Obscure Works
April: Kit de Waal and Stephen Fry
May: MM Kaye and Iain M. Banks
June: The Stuarts and Interregnum (1603-1714)
July: Natalie Haynes and Mohsin Hamid
August: Ruth Prawer Jhabvala & Melvyn Bragg
September: Xinran and George MacDonald Fraser
October: Monty Python
November: Natasha Pulley and Siegfried Sassoon
December: Jodi Taylor and JRR Tolkien
Wildcard: To Be Read List
Thanks to Amanda for setting this up.

And my own challenge for the year: read more from my moerstaal, especially books for children, and read from my own shelves. Fiction, or non-fiction.

Further plans:
In our next-door group, the Category challenge, I found some nice challenges as well. I plan to follow those loosely.
The Non-fiction Cat:
https://wiki.librarything.com/index.php/2026_NonfictionCAT
Has started off nicely with science in January.

Decades Cat: https://wiki.librarything.com/index.php/2026_DecadesCAT
January is the fifties, and you can choose to read from the 1750’s, the 1850’s, or the 1950’s.

And of course SFF
https://wiki.librarything.com/index.php/2026_SFFKit

Then there’s a shared read with Marc sometime in the future: Lonesome Dove

Paws has a plan to read more short stuff, poetry, short stories and essays. Good idea. Maybe I’ll try a bit of that as well, as a counter to chunksters.

And best of last year!

Reading overview of 2025, and best of the year.

Five star reads:
- De Graaf van Monte-Cristo by Alexandre Dumas and Auguste Maquet (France) ****1/2
Dutch translation and afterword by Jan H. Mysjkin
- Stone Yard Devotional by Charlotte Wood (Aus) *****
- The Summer Book by Tove Jansson (Fin) *****
- De Wand by Marlen Haushofer (Austria) *****
- Raising Hare: A Memoir by Chloe Dalton (UK) *****

Four and a half stars:
- They would not hurt a fly War Criminals on Trial in The Hague by Slavenka Drakulic (former Yugoslavia) ****1/2
- De Nacht der Girondijnen by Jacob Presser (dutch) ****1/2
- De naam van de Roos by Umberto Eco (Ita) ****1/2
- Wat nu, kleine man by Hans Fallada (Germany) ****1/2
- Orbital by Samantha Harvey (UK) ****1/2
- Op een andere Planeet kunnen ze me redden by Lieke Marsman (NL) ****1/2
- De Wereld en de Aarde by David van Reybrouck (Belgium) ****1/2
- De Ellendigen by Victor Hugo (France, 1862) ****1/2
(Les Misérables)
- Ines en de vreugde by Almudena Grandes (Spain) ****1/2
(Inés y la alegría)
- Aan het einde van de oorlog by Bert Natter (dutch, audio) ****1/2
- In Europa by Geert Mak (dutch) ****1/2

My setup is finished, and thread is open. Welcome all visitors.

Hi Ella! Nice to see your thread up and running! I hope you get the best possible reading year in 2026!

>6 PawsforThought: Thanks Paws! Already too many plans, and I know I like to improvise. We’ll see how that goes.

Happy new thread, Ella! Here's to a good year ahead!

>8 jessibud2: Thanks, Shelley. And to you too of course.

Lovely to see you back for another year, Ella.

>10 PaulCranswick: Thanks, Paul. Nice to follow your threads and reading as always!

Welcome back, Ella!

Happy new thread, Ella!! I am trying to keep my reading plans very low key this year so I can avoid feeling pressured and enjoy myself. I would like to clear a few off my TBR shelves, but this group keeps sidetracking me with great new reads I have to get!! LOL.

Happy reading in 2026, Ella!

No pressure is the way to go. It's been a while since I made it to 75 but I'm still here. :)

>12 drneutron: >13 Berly: >14 figsfromthistle: >15 ursula: Hi Jim, Kim, Anita and Ursula, thanks!

>13 Berly: >15 ursula: No pressure, indeed. Best way to go.

Happy New Year, Ella. I love the art at the top. Good luck with your 2026 plans.

New Year greetings from Kuala Lumpur. My project is at least physically completed and an addition to the city scape.

Look forward to keeping up with you in 2026, Ella

Happy Reading in 2026, Ella!

Happy New Year and happy reading, Ella - true, no pressure - reading is supposed to be FUN - I still think of a book with good tips on that I read a few years ago: The Pleasures of Reading in an Age of Distraction by Alan Jacobs.

Happy new year, Ella. Just dropping my star.

Happy New Year, Ella. I love the painting in your opening!

>17 BLBera: Hi Beth, thanks!
>18 PaulCranswick: Hi Paul! Your project is an eyecatcher. You must be proud.
>19 vancouverdeb: Thanks, Deborah.
>20 ctpress: Hi Carsten, thanks, and thanks for the tip.
>21 sirfurboy: Thanks, Diana. It’s lovely isn’t it. Totally unknown painter, she was.

Wishing everybody the best for the new year!

I was absent from LT today, doomscrolling on X. A church burned down here in Amsterdam, thanks to the fireworks junkies here. At first it was just people, other Amsterdammers, sharing how they regretted that this happened, and then more and more conspiracy idiots joining in, trying to blame moslims, "youth gangs", etc. Scary to see this in action.

Happy New Year, Ella. Wishing you a healthy, book-filled 2026.

>24 Berly: Hi Kim! Oh, I can’t see your picture!

>25 msf59: Hi Marc, thanks!

>24 Berly: It's just a simple Happy New Year post. : )

I wish you a healthy and happy New Year filled with many exciting books. May all your wishes come true.

Happy new Year, Ella - may your year be full of happines health and joy - and of course - books.

>27 Berly: Of course! Thanks, Kim.

Hello Ella, and happy new year to you!

>1 EllaTim: I’m sorry you’re dealing with fatigue. Congrats on reading 75 last year, though. I agree 100% - reading is supposed to be fun.

>31 karenmarie: Hi Karen, thanks!

Gelukkig nieuw jaar, Ella!

>33 RebaRelishesReading: Dank je Reba! Leuk je hier te zien.

>33 RebaRelishesReading: Dank je Reba! Leuk je hier te zien.

>1 EllaTim: Last year I found myself tired a lot, so often I can’t keep up with this group Nobody can! Not any more, lol.

>3 EllaTim: >4 EllaTim: Those look like some great plans! Best of luck with them.

>5 EllaTim: I love seeing everyone's 'best' list. Thanks for sharing yours!

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year, Ella!

>36 alcottacre: Thanks Stasia, >Thanks Susan!

Finished my first read of the year:

1. Moominland Midwinter by Tove Jansson (Fin)****1/2



The Moomin family always sleeps through the winter, cozy and warm in their house, but this winter Moomintroll wakes up and can’t sleep anymore. He’s feeling lonely, the snow and cold are strange and scary, but he finds friends outside, Too-ticky, and little My, and others later. Lots of things happen, funny and scary both. I loved Janssons descriptions of the winter landscape, and the cold. And she is a genius for writing all of those endearing and also scary characters.

Marc repaired the Little Free Library bookcase in our street. The back had come off, and the bookcase was completely skewed. Now it’s standing firm again. There’s always a group of schoolboys hanging out there (literally) so the bookcase has to withstand a lot of pressure. I tried to upload a picture but something goes wrong.

2. How to train your Dragon by Cressida Cowell ****
(audio, read by David Tennant)



Chronicles the adventures and misadventures of Hiccup Horrendous Haddock the Third as he tries to pass the important initiation test of his Viking clan, the Tribe of the Hairy Hooligans, by catching and training a dragon.

This was a lot of fun, not in the least because David Tennant is such a good reader. There are more books in this series, and I’m looking forward to reading the next one.

Happy New Year, Ella!

Wishing you a happy new year, Ella! I have yet to make it to 75 books read in one year, but I'm still hanging around this group. I definitely agree, reading is supposed to be fun! Lovely painting in your topper.

>40 norabelle414: Thanks Nora!
>41 atozgrl: Reading is supposed to be fun! I’m trying to shake that tendency to be goal-oriented, some books need to be read slowly, to enjoy them more. Have fun reading, Irene!

I have put aside Het Huis met de Geesten for the moment as I was not getting along with it. Picked up a later book by Isabel Allende Paula.

My nephew who has been working and living in Amsterdam is now a permanent resident of the Netherlands, Ella. I guess he will be staying on permanently or at least a long while. He likes his work and has a girlfriend as well.

>44 vancouverdeb: That’s great, Deborah. Canada and Holland are well connected by all kinds of ties, so Canadian’s are always welcome here. I hope your nephew keeps doing well.

I’m doing a lot better with Paula by Isabel Allende. Difference in style, it’s more personal, and easier accessible.

Hi Ella my dear, i have starred you again and hope that this year i will a regular visitor to your thread. I hope that you and Marc are well and had a good Christmas and New Year, dear friend.

>46 johnsimpson: Hi John! It’s always nice to see you , so welcome.

It’s been snowing here, driving a car is difficult, driving a bike a sport for younger people. The trains around Amsterdam have problems. Today a snowy day, tomorrow I’m hoping for a rainy day with higher temperatures, I want to visit my brother and need to be able to take a train.

>46 johnsimpson: Hi John! Always nice to see you, so welcome. We had a quiet Christmas, as I had a bit of a flue. And the New Year here has started with a lot of snow.

Here some pictures of Amsterdam in the snow:
https://www.instagram.com/p/DTIYcYbjQmX/

Tomorrow one slightly warmer day, I hope the trains and buses will ride, as I need to get to my brother’s place, outside of Amsterdam. Wish me luck.

>48 EllaTim: Lovely photos, Ella. I especially liked the row of canal side houses and the photo of the windmill.

>46 johnsimpson: What lovely pictures, Ella! My nephew lives in one of the canal houses, in a studio flat, though he is not right on a canal. He would prefer a more modern building now, as he says the the walls are paper thin and of course, it is a walk up. I think he likes the anonymity of a bigger apartment . But they look so stunning. I hope you got to your brother's today. Vancouver comes to quite a standstill when it snows, in parts because we only get snow once a year, if that, and we have a lot of steep hills, and people tend to not have snow tires. And then even the buses can't make it up the hills, and our " sky train" a partly elevated subway gets ice on the tracks.

>49 PaulCranswick: Hi Paul. Snow makes everything look nice!

>50 vancouverdeb: Your nephew probably is quite right. Noise is a big problem in older housing.
Yes, thanks, yesterday it was raining instead of snowing, and the train went without problems.
Amsterdam and Vancouver seem to have things in common! Snow is a problem here as well, as we aren’t used to it. We don’t have hills, but lots of bridges where cars can get stuck. Marc went to the allotment today, he could park no problem, but leaving the parking lot was a problem, he had to ask some friends to help him push.

3. Jonkvrouw by Jean-Claude van Rijckeghem & Pat van Beirs (audio) dutch ****



A historical novel, the story of Margarita van Male, the daughter of the Count of Flanders, growing up. It’s loosely based on her real life. Set in Flanders fourteenth century. Flanders was a rich country then, and this was an eventful century, wars, knights, but also the pest.
The count doesn’t have a son, Margarita is only a daughter, and an unruly one at that. She’s a bit like a tomboy, going around with boys her age, getting into scrapes. But her father wants her to marry, to English prince Edmund.
This story made me smile, and feel sorry for this spunky girl as well. Well written, and the reader added to the pleasure, excellent with a light flemish accent. And how realistic it was? How much freedom did women really have? Probably less, but I enjoyed the story anyway.

Found this through Kerry’s recommendation last year, who found it from Anita.

I have been feeling tired again, and finding the news scary. Reading Paula by Isabel Allende, slowly. It’s not a light book, and I often feel I want to read something light and fluffy.

>53 EllaTim: I know the feeling, Ella - covering the news this week was crazy - from a Danish perspective there were of course the whole thing with Trump and Greenland, but also Iran, Venezuela, Ukraine. It's very much to cope with - I find myself leaning towards cozier stories at the moment - and fantasy (Narnia and Laura Ingalls Wilder is on the menu at the moment). Hope you can find some light story next. Have a nice weekend.

>54 ctpress: Thanks Carsten! Yes, I can imagine what the news and the papers must have looked like for you. It’s a lot, isn’t it. For a journalist it must be like a madhouse.
I finished Paula see next post. Looking for my next one, not lighter maybe, but somehow Dickens always manages to pull me in his world.
Have a good week.

4. Paula by Isabel Allende (Chile) ****1/2



When Isabel Allende's daughter, Paula, became gravely ill and fell into a coma, the author began to write the story of her family for her unconscious child. In the telling, bizarre ancestors appear before our eyes; we hear both delightful and bitter childhood memories, amazing anecdotes of youthful years, and the most intimate secrets passed along in whispers. With Paula, Allende has written a powerful autobiography whose straightforward acceptance of the magical and spiritual worlds will remind readers of her first book, The House of the Spirits.

I first started reading House of the Spirits, but I felt like I didn’t get along with the book. I picked up this one instead, it’s less distant, more personal, and easier for me, to connect with. The story of Paula’s coma is difficult, but it’s surrounded, embedded, in Allende’s memories of her own life. Some very interesting, Pinochet, what happened in Chile, how Isabel Allende had to flee, to Venezuela, of all places. There’s a lot to think about. Personal, honest, interesting, emotional. It wasn’t an easy read, but worth it.

>52 EllaTim: That is an intimidating cover, Ellen

>56 EllaTim: I really must read more by Allende.

>57 PaulCranswick: I see what you mean, Paul. I think she was a formidable woman. The historical Margaretha.

Some reading today, I’m still caught up in the news (X-twitter). I see that it can be addictive, all that excitement. Putting it aside in time is really a necessity. Found a nice antidote, I’m just discovering playlists in YouTube, so starting with Yo-Yo Ma playing the cello, I’ve found a whole list of nice mostly quiet music.

Started Our Mutual Friend by Charles Dickens. This is a tough one for me, but I like his books.
Added: now I’ve started, I’m finding the reading takes more concentration and effort, but that’s relaxing in a way as well.

This morning I heard a blackbird singing in my back garden! Softly, not the full spring song. It’s like the bird was rehearsing what it’s song was going to be. And this afternoon we saw the first snowdrops, on a walk in the woods.

5. Het Onmisbare by Anna van Gogh-Kaulbach (dutch, 1926)***1/2

Two friends are getting married, but there is a problem: He is very much in love with her, she really only wants a child.

Well told novel, the importance of love, and how one has to live from the inside out, not following a formula of how things should be.

This writer is not really read anymore. She has written a number of books. For more info: https://socialhistory.org/bwsa/biografie/kaulbach

Reading her life story it’s worth a book in itself, she was the only surviving child of seven children! Her mother went blind and Anna had to take care of her.

6. Waar ik me voor schaam by Sheila Sitalsing (dutch, audio) ****



When the mother of the author dies she finds notes she has made right before her death: the story of the family. Her mother has kept the story a secret for everybody. It turns out she was the daughter of a NSB-family. The NSB was the dutch sister party of the German NSDAP. That meant her father and mother were collaborators during the war. ‘Wrong’.
Sitalsing writes about their lives, what the effect is of this shocking discovery, all the questions that arise (Why did her mother keep it a secret all this time, why didn’t she talk about it?). From her personal story she moves on to the general story of the children of NSB families. The awful reactions just after the war, the shame and humiliation.
This was quite interesting, and well told. Near the end of the book I did feel she went on too long about the issue of the publication of the files. The fact that she writes from her own experience makes the book more interesting and stronger.

>62 EllaTim: Sounds interesting. I may try to find an audio version.

I've not yet read Our Mutual Friend, Ella. I hope you enjoy it! It's a big book. Let's hope spring is not it's way. It was mild here, but we did have a sort of a drizzly rain all day.

>63 RebaRelishesReading: Hi Reba. I hope you manage to find it. The audio was read by Sheila Sitalsing herself. I borrowed it from my dutch online library. I bet bol.com will have it as well.

>64 vancouverdeb: Hi Deborah. I’m enjoying the book, reading slowly. It is worth it, funny, interesting. But I can’t read it fast, as it’s not easy. I can really feel here that English is not my native language, Dickens is giving me a hard time!

>65 EllaTim: I've never used bol.com but will check it out.

>66 RebaRelishesReading: I hope it works out for you!

The Northern provinces of the Netherlands have been dealing with cold weather, today that meant lots of sleet. The south is a lot warmer. And we are in between. I heard lots and lots of geese flying over today. To better pastures? Yesterday at the allotment a blue tit singing. And some flowers, snowdrops.

7. A Town like Alice by Nevil Shute (UK, 1950) ****



Jean Paget, a young Englishwoman living in Malaya, is captured by the invading Japanese and forced on a brutal seven-month death march with dozens of other women and children. A few years after the war, Jean is back in England, the nightmare behind her. However, an unexpected inheritance inspires her to return to Malaya to give something back to the villagers who saved her life. But it turns out that they have a gift for her as well: the news that the young Australian soldier, Joe Harmon, who had risked his life to help the women, had miraculously survived. Jean's search for Joe leads her to a desolate Australian outpost called Willstown, where she finds a challenge that will draw on all the resourcefulness and spirit that carried her through her war-time ordeals

I liked this calmly told adventure story. The old solicitor who tells it, and gets really involved with his client is a sympathetic character. It’s really an optimistic tale. Fitting to the times? There were bad things but we don’t talk about them anymore, now we are looking ahead.

What about the racism in the book? Yes, it is there, especially in the Australian part. And it did bother me. I think it was an unconsidered and taken for granted part of society then. And that’s how Shute writes about it. It isn’t a big part of the story though.

Just finished De loods, thank you again for recommending the series to me, Ella.

>69 SirThomas: You’re now ahead of me, Thomas! I haven’t read this one yet, but I will!
Another good one, have you read the book by Erskine Childers? The Riddle of the Sands? Same place, and similar vibe, I thought.

Found a must-read on Shelley’s thread, Remember by Lisa Genova. My memory is really not as good as it used to be.

Watched part of the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games today. Nice. I will be watching, but not too much, always love the figure skating.

Started on A House for Mr Biswas. Naipaul can write, but the book is filled with misery.

You have two big books on the go, Ella, A House for Mr Biswas and Our Mutual Friend . That is very ambitious.

>72 vancouverdeb: Hi Deborah. Yes, maybe a bit too ambitious, but I have a lighter book on the side. And today I have been watching the Olympics.

A friend came by, we’re decluttering some archives. Paper archives of a club we were both part of. I promised to have a look at the digital archive, more recent of course. But now it turns out that the computer that had these archives crashed years ago, and I didn’t make a back-up. Sigh. I feel so foolish. Hoping I can get the old harddisk working, keeping my fingers crossed.

Our Mutual Friend is really proving a struggle. It’s Dickens language that is difficult, and a long list of characters to remember! I found a recent dutch translation, see how I do reading that.

🤞 I'm keeping my fingers crossed for you, Ella.

>75 SirThomas: Hi Thomas! Thanks. Working up the courage to try.

I’ve decided to put the Dickens aside for the moment, and concentrate on Mr. Biswas.

>78 EllaTim: Probably a good idea, Ella . Personally I can only read one book at a time.

>77 vancouverdeb: Hi Deborah. Yes, some destressing was needed! I can read more books at one time, but two difficult books was too much.
I’ve picked up a book I started and loved Bird School by Adam Nicolson. But this is non-fiction. Another book not to read in one go, as there’s so much information in there to be absorbed. But I love the book, and his writing is wonderful.

Watched some of the Olympics tonight. The curling first. GB versus China. And then the finals of the icedancing. Really nice to watch.

Not much reading done.

>79 EllaTim: I watched some speed skating yesterday afternoon (and one of the Dutch competitors being really mad at the Chinese one who clipped his skate - the German commentators thought it might come to a fight), and all but the last group of ice dancers. They were on past my bedtime! I'll have to watch their programs today.

>80 ursula: Oh yes, I know what you mean. He was basically obstructed by the Chinese skater, who didn’t keep to the rules. And then he was allowed to skate again, but only within a half hour. Absurd. People have trained for the occasion for years, I get how disappointed he must have felt.
I watched the figure skating for men, friday the thirteenth. It was awful, as so many skaters fell, one after the other.
Tomorrow the pair’s figure skating.

>81 EllaTim: I watched the final group of male skaters the next day, and as the first of the group fell, Morgan told me he was spoiled on something and I said, "Does Ilia fall?!" so at least I was expecting that.

I still have some of the pairs short programs to watch today before the long programs tonight.

Happy Monday, Ella. I am slowly making the rounds after my Florida trip. Hooray for Bird School. I also had a good time with that one. How are you doing with Our Mutual Friend?

>82 ursula: I have watched the long program now. Some really wonderful, but some again difficult to watch as skaters kept falling!

>83 msf59: Hi Marc! I have put it aside temporarily. It’s the language difficulty that bothered me. I used to just skip when I didn’t quite get a sentence, but now I felt it was too much. I did find a dutch translation, so I’ll be trying that. I did like the book!

Marc went to the allotment today. Feeding birds, also cleaning bird houses for the coming spring. One bird house was very heavy when he took it down. Turns out it had been completely filled with acorns! Must have been a Gay. But the silly bird is too big to fit through the hole, so it wouldn’t have been able to get at it’s collection!

I’m really struggling to finish A House for Mr Biswas. It’s one bad ending after another, and it also feels like either the writer is depressed, or the people he’s writing about. Anyway, I am at 65%, and want to finish the book.

>85 EllaTim: Good luck with finishing A House For Mr Biswas, Ella.

>86 vancouverdeb: Thanks Deborah!

8. A House for Mr Biswas by V. S. Naipaul (Trinidad) ****



In his forty-six short years, Mr. Mohun Biswas has been fighting against destiny to achieve some semblance of independence, only to face a lifetime of calamity. Shuttled from one residence to another after the drowning death of his father, for which he is inadvertently responsible, Mr. Biswas yearns for a place he can call home. But when he marries into the domineering Tulsi family on whom he indignantly becomes dependent, Mr. Biswas embarks on an arduous--and endless--struggle to weaken their hold over him and purchase a house of his own. A heartrending, dark comedy of manners, A House for Mr. Biswas masterfully evokes a man's quest for autonomy against an emblematic post-colonial canvas.

I had to struggle to finish this book. The problem is it’s so painful to read! Everything goes wrong in Biswas’ life. And not only wrong, but miserable, awful, annoying, small time, as in unnecessary quarrels, jealousy, anger. This isn’t all of course. I felt the book was made up of three parts. The first half, recollections from his youth, that feel written from a distance. Then suddenly a very sharp and clear part where Biswas has to deal with mental illness, anxiety and fear. And after that episode a third part that was definitely more lively. Here you get a better feel for Biswas as a person. His children.

Reviewers say the book gives a good impression of the colonial experience. I really can’t say anything about that. For me this is a book about personal psychology. Growing up without real love and support. And in the family of his wife Biswas is still an outsider. Looking for a real home.
I didn’t love this book, but it did make an impression, and I will definitely remember it.

The Little Free Library in my street is a big success. It’s overflowing with books. I took one home today: Heren van de thee by Hella Haasse. I’ve already got more lined up for reading.

Tiring day today, a funeral to attend. Weather is improving a lot, so that’s nice. Tomorrow 16°C outside!
I’m reading The Wild Hunt by Elizabeth Chadwick. For BAC February. It’s a real knight’s story, romance and adventure.

16C! Wow, that is wonderful. We are still mostly in the minus numbers and more snow expected tonight. March can't arrive soon enough for me!

>88 EllaTim: I am glad you finished A House for Mr Biswas, Ella. I will have to read it eventually. I like your review. Our weather was lovely today, 10 C and sunny but wow, 16 C ! That is very nice.

Hi Shelley, o wow, snow! Hi Deborah!

A real spring day yesterday. If you have X you can enjoy spring in Amsterdam here:

https://x.com/marjoleintjevp/status/2027014962850238838?s=20

The world’s a scary place at the moment. I feel the need to follow and understand, doomscrolling.
Some balance through music, likt this one Lavinia Meyer playing Philip Glass:

https://youtu.be/TLMw7NAnmh4?si=JeseERUL9Eu7HRmn

9. The Wild Hunt by Elizabeth Chadwick (UK) ***

Historical romance set in medieval Britain.

“ In the wild, windswept Welsh marches a noble young lord rides homewards, embittered, angry and in danger. He is Guyon, lord of Ledworth, heir to threatened lands, husband-to-be of Judith of Ravenstow. Their union will save his lands - but they have yet to meet. For this is Wales at the turn of the twelfth century.”

I felt rather disappointed by this book. There is a bit too much romance and wishful thinking, I think. It’s an interesting period to read about, but the people in the book seemed transplanted from our time, with our views and attitudes.

10. Het Graf by Henning Mankell (Sweden) ****

A colleague of Wallander gives him the key of a house he might like to buy. But unfortunately the inspector manages to find part of a skeleton, a hand. Instead of buying a house he now has a mystery to solve.

A good solid police novel. Interesting and with a human touch.

Next week is Book Week. I should buy something, it’s a good cause, supporting writers and publishers. Need to think about it.

11. Like Water for Chocolate by Laura Esquivel (Mexico) ***

“ This classic love story takes place on the De la Garza ranch, as the tyrannical owner, Mama Elena, chops onions at the kitchen table in her final days of pregnancy. While still in her mother's womb, her daughter to be weeps so violently she causes an early labor, and little Tita slips out amid the spices and fixings for noodle soup. This early encounter with food soon becomes a way of life, and Tita grows up to be a master chef, using cooking to express herself and sharing recipes with readers along the way”

I wanted to like this book, but I just didn’t enjoy it much. It took some effort to read it, I had to remind myself to read it like a fable or a fairytale, but I just couldn’t get really into it. What I found hard to take for example was the very bad relationship between mother and daughter. Mama Elena treats her daughter really badly, claiming her like a possession. This is her right, she says, tradition. Tita falls in love but is forbidden to marry, as youngest daughter she is supposed to stay and care for her mother all her life.
The book feels a bit like reading a painting, like a Magritte, strange, and one has to get used to it. Magical realism, I suppose.
Again, it has elements I will remember.

I saw that movie many years ago and remember not understanding it -- looks like I should have read the book...at least I would have known what was happening. OR, better yet I could have read your comments, understood, and then skipped the movie :)

>99 RebaRelishesReading: Hi Reba! I didn’t see the movie then, but it did get good reviews. I did wonder, reading the book, how they could make a movie out of it? But I’m not going to look for it, your reaction here says enough.

I always thought I was open-minded for new things, but it’s almost like it’s harder with books. I love Mexican painter Frida Kahlo. I like Mexican food.

Spring is definitely in the air. In my neighbors garden his Camellia bushes are in full flower, just peeping over the fence.

Don’t look now, today, and especially don’t read X, or the news.
Going to the allotment to get some fresh air.
I started Wild, dark shore. It’s really good. Looking for something light to read next to it.

Happy Sunday, Ella. Just checking in. Have a good time with Wild Dark Shore. I really liked it, along with her last 2 books.

>103 msf59: Hi Marc! Thanks. It’s my first book of hers, but I really like her style.

>104 EllaTim: I will start it this weekend too, Ella. Looking forward to it.

>102 EllaTim: I'll be interested in what you think of Wild Dark Shore. I gave it 4 stars, but I didn't actually enjoy it. I think climate fiction is not my thing.

>105 PaulCranswick: Hi Paul. Enjoy! You’re much faster than me, so you might finish the book first.

>106 vancouverdeb: Hi Deborah. Four stars is a good rating. It’s funny, maybe we should do a double rating system, stars for how good we think the book is, and stars for how much we enjoyed it. Those do not always overlap, do they?

This is turning out to be a sleepless night. Busy day. I got quite angry at some actually small stuff: neighborhood kids vandalizing our Little Free Bookcase. They’re from a school around the corner for ‘difficult children’, you know, those with difficult well-todo parents. Went and complained at the school with another neigbor, but of course they don’t take you seriously at all. Yuck.
Anyway, I shouldn’t let it get to me. I’m surprised at myself.

What a shame you're having your Little Free Bookcase damaged. Actually the school should take that seriously -- it doesn't bode well for them being good citizens as adults if that sort of thing goes uncorrected.

>106 vancouverdeb: So true, Ella, How much we enjoy a book vs how good we think a book does not always overlap. Sorry to read that your Little Free Bookcase was vandalized.

>109 RebaRelishesReading: Hi Reba! No, I’m afraid the school feels as powerless to do something about it as we do. I agree it’s not good for children. My neighbor said they should learn to make something, like a bookcase, themselves. Or a book maybe?

>110 vancouverdeb: Hi Deborah. Maybe I’ll try and keep a double scoring system for a while!

Thanks for reacting, I’ve been reading a bit, and feel like trying sleep again.

>108 EllaTim: Any way to set up a small camera to cover The Little Library?

Once something (my neighbor's rural mailbox) becomes an easy target, there can be return visits.

>112 m.belljackson: Hi! Yes, this was already a return visit. They threw a jigsaw puzzle around earlier. Someone saw them tearing pages from books. This time it was some kind of bluegreen goo. First I thought it was a milkshake but it turned out to be cleaning soap. Pff. Got it all off, no damage to books.
No, using a camera in the public road is not allowed here. The bookcase is in a dry spot, under a gateway. No neighbors who can easily see what they are doing, and the nearest neighbors are both over 80. So not a good idea to ask them to get involved.
I’ll just have to see what happens. Thanks for the idea though.

Reading now, from the free bookcase:
Stad in de Storm by Thea Beckman. One of Anita’s favorites, historical novel for youth.

And found this:
- Easy Wins by Anna Jones. A cookbook. In English, so that can be difficult, (what do terms mean, can ingredients be found here?) but it looks very attractive. Vegetarian recipes, but I love vegetables, so that’s OK.

And my e-book: Dopamine nation by Anna Lembke.

12. Dopamine Nation by Anna Lembke (USA) ****

This was an interesting and fast read. The author writes about our overindulgent, overconsuming society. Dopamine is the neurotransmitter that is involved in wanting, craving, pleasure and pain. I think there is probably some simplification here, for readability. Still, I could relate to what she was talking about. It’s easy for all of us to become addicted, and good to know more about it. Also as a part of our society. She cites the example of how rats that are addicted to heroin don’t try to help a rat that has become caught in a trap. Ordinary rats do care, addicted rats don’t. Isn’t that interesting? And don’t we see that in more places?

13. Stad in de Storm by Thea Beckman (dutch) ****1/2

The story of printer’s son Hans Ortelius. Set in the year 1672, in the city of Utrecht. It was the so-called disaster year, where Holland had to deal with a war, and attacks from several other countries: England, France.
Utrecht is occupied by French troops, while the prince of Holland retreats behind the water.
Hans has to deal with all the consequences. And two refugees from Germany he has helped, staying in his home. Mother and daughter, that Hans falls in love with.

This is a good story. It gives an account of what happened in a memorable year. We all learn about this in school, but this kind of story, of what this was like for ordinary people, is so much more interesting, than the dull facts.

All the Best to you, Ella, have a wonderful weekend without any hassle!

>116 EllaTim: I studied in Utrecht and my son was born there so I probably should know more about the history of the city..but this one sounds pretty difficult...although it certainly sounds interesting.

>117 SirThomas: Thanks, Thomas! Tomorrow we’re taking a day off. Weather is wonderful, but maybe we’ll still be visiting a museum.

>118 RebaRelishesReading: Hi Reba! You studied there, and your son was born there. When was this? I worked in Utrecht, just a year. I think you know it better than I do. Yes, it was interesting. She gives a good impression of what it’s like to have to deal with an occupation by hostile forces. For us, dutch, there’s the added thing of finally understanding things you sort of heard of in school, but didn’t really get.

>108 EllaTim: aww sorry to hear that. Perhaps next time call the police and perhaps they will be able to teach them right from wrong and make them clean up and repair it. Frustrating that there is no accountability 😐

>119 EllaTim: I studied there but I lived in a village on the Linge just west of Leerdam so I don't know Utrecht as well as I would have if I had been living there...and it was probably before you were born. Degree granted in 1983.

>120 figsfromthistle: Hi Anita. We complained at the school, it was obvious they couldn’t care less. And for the police this is just too small stuff. They won’t come for this.
>121 RebaRelishesReading: Hi Reba. I’m younger than you, but not that much younger. I was still studying in 1983. Nice place to live.

14. The Murmur of Bees by Sofia Segovia (Mexico) ****

From the day that old Nana Reja found a baby abandoned under a bridge, the life of a small Mexican town forever changed. Disfigured and covered in a blanket of bees, little Simonopio is for some locals the stuff of superstition, a child kissed by the devil. But he is welcomed by landowners Francisco and Beatriz Morales, who adopt him and care for him as if he were their own.

The story of Simonopio and his adopted brother Francisco. The background of the story is the Mexican land reform, where big owners had to let go of some of their lands for their peons. Unfortunately I know nothing of this background, and I felt it would have helped in reading to know a bit more.
I liked this story, especially the theme of the boy and his bees. Nature, the tie between the boys, well written. But I also felt that the book could have been less ‘wordy’. I sometimes felt the words hindered the story, and came between the story and the reader. I also disliked the part where the older Francisco is obviously trying to hold on to as much of his land as he can, but it is his peon who is at fault, a dangerous and bitter man. In that light the sense of nostalgia I got from the novel feels weird. Still worth reading.
I read several reviews, and wondered about the difference in how people received the book, but I felt this too.

Fun news. Archaeologists might have found the skeleton of d’Artagnan, the fourth musketeer, under the floor of a village near to dutch city Maastricht. He died during the siege of that town in 1673. So that’s during the war the book I just read in >116 EllaTim: was about.

See: https://www.resetera.com/threads/skeleton-of-fourth-musketeer-dartagnan-possibly...

I never knew the book by Dumas was based on a real person, isn’t that interesting.

Started The Heaven Tree by Edith Pargeter. Very nice read. I like the Cadfael series. This has the same feel to it, do I did miss Cadfael at the start. Found it through a booktuber, comfort reads for winter.

A sleepless night. I’m sitting up in bed, with a cup of coffee. Last remedy when I know sleep is not going to happen, just kick yourself awake.

I listened to the most melancholy reader, Simon Carmiggelt, reading one of his mini-stories. YouTube. He used to be on TV when I was young. Last item before the evening closed. His voice sending us to bed. But it didn’t do the trick tonight, though the story did make me smile.

Here’s one: https://youtu.be/4v0tfXZa1Pk?si=1nnFj8aBcfDS0WDQ

Hi Ella! You’ve been reading some interesting books. I’ve not heard the acronym NSB before so I learned something new today.

Sorry to hear about the kids vandalising your little free library. It’s frustrating when stuff like that happens.

And sleeplessness is shit. I get bouts of it too and sometimes you do just have to give up and stay awake instead. I learnt recently that when you wake up suddenly around 2-3 in the morning - which often happens to me - it can be a cortisol spike and eating something with protein and fat instead of carbs before bed can help so I’ve started doing that. And then I have a pile of “fairly boring podcast episodes” to play if I have trouble falling asleep.

>127 PawsforThought: Hi Paws! Not strange that you haven’t heard of the NSB. Infamous here in Holland. Small country.

Cortisol spike eh? I’ll remember that. This waking up after some hours is more Marc’s problem, I’ll tell him your remedy. For me it was the combination of too much coffee, and something bothering me, I think. So annoying, good for you to have found something that helps.
I found the idea of ‘sleep stories’ on YouTube. But fairly boring podcasts is a new one. You need something with a quiet voice, I think.

15. The Heaven Tree by Edith Pargeter (UK) ****1/2



England in the reign of King John - a time of beauty and squalor, of swift treachery and unswerving loyalty. Against this violent, exciting background the story of Harry Talvace, master mason, unfolds. Harry and his foster-brother Adam tasted injustice young and together fled to Paris, where Harry's genius for carving drew him into friendship with the enigmatic Ralf Isambard, Lord of Parfois, and the incomparably beautiful Madonna Benedetta, a Venetian courtesan. In their company he returned to his native Shropshire to build a church for Isambard beside Parfois castle

This story drew me in, and I finished it in short time. For me it has a clear message of the importance of mercy and human empathy against violence and cruelty. There’s a love story, and human drama. Edith Pargeter at her best, and I love how she can draw characters that are lovable and unforgettable. My favorite is Gilleis as a little girl. Bold, smart and vulnerable at once.

I’ve started book two in this trilogy.

>129 EllaTim: I'm glad you had such an enjoyable read, Ella. We all wish for that. It sounds lovely.

>130 vancouverdeb: Hi Deborah! Yes, and glad for it. We do need a really good book to stay motivated. My next one turned out great! And I see it’s one you have already read and reviewed, now doing the rounds in this group.

16. The Correspondent by Virginia Evans (USA) *****



Sybil is seventy-three years old, in the winter of her life. Sybil has always made sense of the world through writing letters and through this epistolary novel we see how she comes to terms with her past and present and learns forgiveness.

Wonderful. Several people here have already read and praised this book. Can only add to that. Well written, kept me reading. But brought tears to my eyes at several points. There’s a good balance though, there are lots of interesting characters, and stories, to not make the book too heavy. I loved how Sybil wrote to writers, and often ended her letters mentioning what she was reading at the time. Recommended!

So good to hear you enjoyed that book, Ella. Another I think you will like is Theo of Golden.

You're welcome 😊

>133 jessibud2: Ditto that!!

>133 jessibud2: >134 RebaRelishesReading: Hi Shelley, Hi Reba. Thanks for the suggestion. To mount TBR it goes.

I’m reading another one lots of people loved here: When the Cranes fly South, and really enjoying it.
And for Paul’s Latin America challenge a YA book Aristotle and Dante.
My April month has started well.

I'm glad you enjoyed The Correspondent like so many of us here on Lt and now When the Cranes Fly South, Ella.

>132 EllaTim: I also end my letters with what I'm reading, watching and listening to. :)

>136 vancouverdeb: Hi Deborah, it’s nice to share what we like!

>137 ursula: Hi Ursula. Are you as fond of writing letters as the woman in the book? Nice to share what we are reading, and watching as well. People here sometimes share pictures they like. Very nice, I think.

>137 ursula: I haven't read it, but probably! I have been steadily (or sometimes not so steadily, like this last year) writing letters to quite a large group of penpals for almost 10 years now.

>139 ursula: Good for you. And for them, I think. A real letter is really nice to get.

17. Aristotle and Dante discover the secrets of the Universe by Benjamin Alire Sáenz (USA) ***1/2

Fifteen-year-old Ari Mendoza is an angry loner with a brother in prison, but when he meets Dante and they become friends, Ari starts to ask questions about himself, his parents, and his family that he has never asked before.

Read for Paul’s Latin America challenge.
This really was a good book, but it just didn’t hit the right buttons for me I guess. Hard to say why. Ari, the main protagonist feels lonely, he doesn’t connect with a lot of people, among them his father. But his mother seemed really nice. Then there is a brother in jail, that noone wants to talk about. Mystery. I don’t know, it just didn’t feel real to me.

I’ve started a reread of the Vorkozigan novels of Lois McMaster Bujold. I just wanted something fun to read. What with all the bad news these days.

Shards of Honor
The Warrior’s Apprentice
Barrayar
Ethan of Athos
Falling Free

Those were a lot of fun again. No review needed, I think.

>142 EllaTim: That seems like the right choice for me, too. Thanks so much for the hint, Ella.
Have a wonderful Sunday

>143 SirThomas: Hi Thomas! A lot of fun, all her books are entertaining. I’m glad I started this reread, and nice that I inspired you as well.

18. When the Cranes fly South by Lisa Ridzén (Sweden) ****1/2

Story following the life of an elderly man, Bosse, receiving home care. His wife is in a care home, dementia. His relationship with his son is strained, and more so when the son wants to take away his beloved dog.

Well told. Emotionally touching story. I confess it made me cry. The son taking away his father’s dog made me feel really angry and upset. The dog was this man’s main comfort.

>145 EllaTim: 5 Stars each for Bo and Sixten,; barely 2 for Hans for his wrong-caring.

>145 EllaTim: Not an author I'm familiar with but sounds like a lovely book -- but emotionally challenging. I'm putting it on my "to read" list but will have to pick the right time for it I think.

>146 m.belljackson: Yes, that was my feeling as well. Hard to forgive that. Even in a book!

>147 RebaRelishesReading: Hi Reba. I’d never heard of him. Yes, the right time. Shelley said on her thread that books with animals in them are often uplifting or quite sad. This was some of both, I think.

19. Plooi u in tweeën (dutch, audio) by Joke van Leeuwen ****

In 1963, when she was thirteen, Joke van Leeuwen’s parents moved to Brussels, from the Netherlands, with the whole family. It’s just a couple of hundred kilometers, but it was a real culture shock for the whole family. She writes about this, her experiences, in this memoir. Also about growing up feeling like an outsider, about the things that happened in these interesting times (like the feminist revolution).
It was quite interesting to read. Making me understand a bit more of the significant differences between Holland and Belgium in history and culture. At the same time an interesting history of the times. And the story of her own development as a person, and a writer and artist.

Marc had his now yearly scan today. Results come in next week.
And I planted some plants in my home backyard garden. A Skimmia, nice red berries, a Japanese Anemone. Hyacinths are in flower now. And I bet there’s a Blackbird nest somewhere nearby, I see them hunting for worms all the time.

Still too early to plant in the ground here, Ella. Today we only reached a high of around 7C. But the warmup starts again tomorrow and maybe this time it will last. We are usually safe to plant in the ground around the middle to end of May. Some of my early perennials are coming up though: daffodils, some hellebores, and the greens of some plants I forget and won't remember until I see the flowers! ;-)

>151 jessibud2: Hi Shelley! You definitely have to be more patient for spring to arrive than we. But isn’t this time of year nice? I love Hellebores.

Happy Tuesday, Ella. I hope you and the family are doing well. Hooray for When the Cranes fly South. That one sure has been a big hit on LT and deserves every bit of the accolades.

>145 EllaTim: Soon for sure this one, Ella. Your review convinced me!

Have a great weekend.

>145 EllaTim: Such a lovely book, When the Cranes Fly South, Ella, but as you say , very sad at times.

Hi everybody. I have been AWOL. Started a reread of Loys McMaster Bujold’s Barrayar books. I could hardly stop reading.

Started listening to this one: Verklein je Pijn by Eugenie de Ruiter.
All about chronic pain, and the three systems involved, pain system, stress system, immune system. Very interesting. I’ve been dealing with chronic back pain, for something like thirty years now. This is the first book that talks about those connections. Stress, but also the immune system. Explains a lot to me. Eye opening in fact.

>156 EllaTim: I adore Bujold!

It sounds like the pain book might be enlightening.

>157 quondame: Hi Susan. I obviously love her as well.

I’m still reading, but it’s really helpful. A feeling like being able to connect those small jigsaw pieces, that I’ve been dealing with.

Nice to see you EllaTim. Verklein je Pijn sounds interesting but chronic back pain for 30 years sound horrible. I hope the book gives you some ways to lessen it.

>156 EllaTim: - Hi Ella. I know that feeling of suddenly finding answers to questions you hadn't realized you had. I felt that way with my migraines. Every year, I join the Migraine World Summit, a free online symposium of experts from around the world, offering the latest info on every aspect of migraine headaches. I also learned the connections between areas and systems of the body that I would never have imagined were connected. It really feels like such a relief to suddenly understand the *whys* of what hurts and to learn that maybe there are things we ourselves can do to help ourselves. I'm glad you found this book.

>159 RebaRelishesReading: Hi Reba. Thanks. Most annoying are the things I can’t do, have stopped doing because of pain.

>160 jessibud2: Hi Shelley. Good for you! A free online symposium sounds like a great idea. And it’s good to be able to understand what’s happening.

Reading: The Far Pavillions by M.M. Kaye
For the BAC of this month.
It’s a big book, 1200 pages, but not difficult, so I’m flying through it.
It was published in 1978, it definitely feels like an older book, why is that, I wonder?

>162 EllaTim:- what a coincidence. I have that book on my shelf, given to me by my aunt many decades ago. I haven't read it yet but just this afternoon I picked it up. It's in pretty rough shape, pages falling out but nothing missing. Not sure when I'll get to it as I have a few on the go right now, but so funny that I looked at it today and you just mentioned it.

Double post. Not sure how that happens.

>163 jessibud2: Hi Shelley. LT has the hickups?
Oh, on the shelf, but never read? Your aunt loved it? At the number of pages it has it’s quite the commitment.

>165 EllaTim: - My aunt had very similar taste in reading to mine, Ella and often gave me or recommended books. I have a few really old ones from her from when I was a teen. I do want to get to it eventually.

>165 EllaTim: I find LT is having hiccups too, Ella. Often I try to come to the site and I am unable to do so briefly.

I've been having trouble with LT lately too. Fairly often I try to post and it just sits there looking at me and doing nothing. Then finally it will post and then I hear that multiple copies of the same thing have posted. Really annoying!

>166 jessibud2: A very nice aunt to have! I didn't have aunts to share books with, but I did have an aunt who gave me my favorite book. Andersen's fairytales. We were visiting, and she saw me completely into the book, she gave it to me at the spur of the moment. So happy.

>167 vancouverdeb: Hi Deborah. That's weird!

>168 RebaRelishesReading: Hi Reba. That's happened to me as well, very annoying, indeed. Well LT is still working in spite of new systems, and everybody on different ones, and getting updates etc. So minor hiccups will sometimes happen, I guess.

I’m having a bit of trouble finishing my big book, I started a new one, from the Little Free Library in my street. Oh, update, the neighbour who started it has made a new bookcase, much sturdier. Applause.
I picked an older book, very short stories, or essays, or columns? De fazant op de Klokketoren. Literary travel stories.

We went to the beach yesterday. IJmuiden. Too cold for (sun)bathing, windy, but we like this beach, lots of kiters, bird lovers, people walking their dogs. Lively. We made a small walk through some adjacent new dunes, and saw lots of interesting plants, and some birds as well. And then a nice meal in one of the beach restaurants.

Walking, sun, and yummy food is a great combination.
Have a wonderful sunday, Ella!

Thanks Thomas, no more sun today, just a lot of rain. Good conditions for reading, I’m still working on The Far Pavillions. It’s divided into six books, and I’m on book five. The Punjab, Afghanistan, and a war going on.

Went to the Hortus today, with a friend. Always nice, good coffee, space to chat and relax. The tulips were gone, but now the roses have started flowering.
On the way back I passed a long row of people, obviously waiting for something important? I asked the last one what was going on. The stroopwafels she said. O my, people, stroopwafels are not an Amsterdam thing at all, they are way overpriced too. Do something better with your time. Tiktok row.

>174 EllaTim: I agree. Stroopwafels are OK but there are many, many better food treats.

Hi, Ella. We are back and getting back into our usual routine. After flying out of Chicago, we had a layover in Amsterdam. It was certainly not a smooth layover- the lines at security/customs were ridiculous. They finally gave us precedence and moved us ahead so we could catch our flight to Lisbon in time. Whew!

Hope those books are treating you fine.

>175 RebaRelishesReading: Hi Reba! Like minds, eh. The stroopwafel craze is just silly. The Albert Cuijpmarket spoiled by way too many stroopwafel sellers.

>176 msf59: Hi Marc! The lines are now so long that they are making the news. But you were held up as well, sorry for that. Glad they helped you get to your plane in time! It seems they hired a new firm to handle security etc. 13% cheaper. Didn’t work, I guess.

I’ve liked the stroopwafel style cookies I’ve had and the idea of fresh ones is very appealing. While I’m past the waiting in line for dessert treats stage of my life, I don’t see any reason why hale bodied persons shouldn’t do so. I’d vastly prefer stroopwafel to frozen yogurt.

>178 quondame: Of course everyone should do as they want, but...I walked past the line. I guess there were some 100 people waiting. To buy a very overpriced treat. It seems people come there because some influencer on tiktok has been raving about it. People go there to get their picture taken for having been there, it seems. It seems rather silly, there is a lot to be seen in Amsterdam, why waist your time waiting in line for hours?

20. The Far Pavillions by M.M. Kaye (UK) ****



An epic adventure. Starting with young boy Ashton born and orphaned while his British parents are travelling around India. His ayah, Sita, takes on his care. They end up at an Indian court. Ashton is presumed to be Indian, and he doesn’t even know he’s British, until both of them have to flee. His ayah manages to bring him to a British friend of his father. The boy then travels to England. And returns to join the army as an adult. From there we follow him in his army adventures, falling in love with an Indian princess while she is getting married. And later into Afghanistan.

It’s an impressive story, telling a lot about what India was like, the British army, colonialism.
Still I had a mixed experience with the book, it felt like it was divided in three rather different parts. First Ashton’s youth, interesting and easy reading. The second part where as an adult he falls in love with an Indian girl on her way to be wed, and later tries to rescue her after the death of her husband. Here I thought the story just so melodramatic and improbable. For a romance the figure of the Indian girl feels too flat, I thought.
Then in the third part, they travel to Afghanistan, with the British mission. that in the end gets slaughtered by angry Afghans,

This third part has a big battle scene. I’m not a fan, I usually skip them, so it took me some effort to get through. Romance again, but I don’t think fighting and death are romantic at all. This part is almost prophetic, taking place in 1870, but one wishes it’s lesson had been taken to heart by modern parties.

I read up on the writer. She was born in India, daughter of a British army family. It shows in thebook. Her landscape descriptions are wonderful. The army scenes feel very real, her characters there as well. The book was published when she was already an older woman. It seems she used notes by her father as well.

In all well worth the time and effort, but it did take some effort in places. The book was made into a TV-series, and I can understand why.

It’s suddenly a lot warmer here than the last weeks.
Yesterday we had a funeral to attend. We didn’t know what to expect but it turns out the deceased had a big family and lots of friends. Nice and cozy, a good experience.

And I finished a Poirot novel:

21. The Mysterious Affair at Styles by Agatha Christie (UK, 1920) ***
First Poirot. It’s a bit more like reading a collection of clues, than a real story. But I know later ones are better.

We went to the movies today. First time this year. I was so glad that the theatre had good ventilation, now we can go more often. And the movie was wonderful:
“Whispers in the Woods”

https://youtu.be/2W9KOuEOwBs?si=3gSHtKIHwo9dFGNQ

Set in the Vosges forest. Quite beautiful.

Reading Gabriela, cloves and cinnamon by Jorge Amado. It’s taking time, I can’t read it fast. It’s divided into small chapters, I’m taking it one at a time.

Reading Poirot.

Dutch writer Lieke Marsman died. She was the dutch national poet, for two years. Suffered from incurable cancer, that she wrote about. She was only 35!

Dutch national poet dying at only 35! How sad.

Most of Agatha Christie books are fun reads, Ella. Enjoy.

>184 RebaRelishesReading: Hi Reba. Yes, very sad. I read one of her books recently, very good. She wrote about her illness and coming death, but she wanted to inspire people to make the most of life.

>185 vancouverdeb: Hi Deborah. Just finished a good one, The mystery of the blue train. She obviously liked trains.

We watched one of a series of documentaries by Frans Bromet, shot in several libraries. He interviews people on reading, follows activities that are organised, and generally talks with library visitors. He has a gift for talking with people and drawing them out. Very nice.