The Content Reader

This is a very dangerous word for me. It means that I really cannot restrain from buying a few books. In Sweden we have a big book sale in the end of February every year. Luckily, or unluckily, I happened to be in Sweden when it opened this year. I ventured out in the cold, sunny morning, took the bus to the shopping center and went a little bit crazy. I bought 17 books! I know, it was crazy, and I was just hoping I would not find anything interesting. Alas! It was a little bit heavy to carry them all back, that is for sure. I started looking at the fictional books, but only bought two. Mostly because I prefer to read the books in English. However, none of them are book written in English, so Swedish is fine. Most other books were thrillers. I found a book by one of my favourite writers, the Icelandic, Arnaldur Indidrason and his book Den som glömmer ( Kamp Knox)  ( Oblivion and in the US Into Oblivion ). He usually have a very tragic and touching story as background to his crim...

Better late than never! Here is my contribution for last Friday! Rose City Reader , is hosting  Book beginnings on Friday . She says: Please join me every Friday to share the first sentence (or so) of the book you are reading, along with your initial thoughts about the sentence, impressions of the book, or anything else the opener inspires. Please remember to include the title of the book and the author’s name. Freda’s voice  is hosting  Friday 56  and the rules are: *Grab a book, any book. *Turn to page 56 or 56% in your eReader (If you have to improvise, that's ok.)  *Find any sentence, (or few, just don't spoil it) *Post it. *Add your (url) post below in Linky. Add the post url, not your blog url. *It's that simple. My book this week is: I had never heard of this gruesome couple from the 19th century Paraguay. She is Eliza Lynch of Irish origin and he is Francisco Solano López, Paraguayan. Together they managed to kill almost a whole...

Rose City Reader , is hosting Book beginnings on Friday. She says: Please join me every Friday to share the first sentence (or so) of the book you are reading, along with your initial thoughts about the sentence, impressions of the book, or anything else the opener inspires. Please remember to include the title of the book and the author’s name. Just bought today Norse Mythology  by Neil Gaiman. I wanted to read something by him for a long time. You all write so well about him. So here I am, and here is the first paragraph of the Introduction. "It's as hard to have a favourite sequence of myths as it is to have a favourite style of cooking (some nights you might want Thai food, some nights sushi, other nights you crave the plain home cooking you grew up on). But if I had to declare a favorite, it would probably be for the Norse myths" Freda’s voice is hosting Friday 56 and the rules are: *Grab a book, any book. Turn to page 56 or 56% in your eReader (...

New month and time for another chain of books. This month, host Books Are My Favourite And Best starts with Fates and Furies by Laureen Groff. I must admit I have never heard of it, although I see that it was one of the most popular books in 2015. Just shows how stuck I am with my TBR shelves! Never to late to change. Seems like a fascinating book. Reading the synopsis on Wikipedia, my attention was drawn to the line "is essentially about how the different people in a relationship can have disparate views on the relationship ". That is certainly true, and it immediately made me think of The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins, where Rachel has a totally different view on the relationship with her ex-husband, and we could say people she sees from her train window. From there my connecting word would be train and I am thinking of a book I have had on my shelves for many years; Riding the Iron Rooster by Paul Theroux. It is a travel book about his travels thro...

In the beginning of January we drove back from Sweden to Belgium. Most of the way we drive through Germany. Everything is super organised along the roads with petrol stations and places where you can grab a bite to eat. Of course, you also find these small shops where they have everything they think you need along the way. In one of them I found this bestseller list by the book shelves. It is always interesting to see what is popular in other countries. Here is the list, where I have mentioned the nationality of the authors and the title in English (if it exists). S.L. Grey - Under ground (Pseudonym for Sarah Lotz and Louise Greenberg, South Africa). Marc Elsberg - Zero (Pseudonym for Marcus Rafelsberger, Austria.) Can't find an English title, maybe not translated. Samuel Björk - Federgrab (Norway. English title: I'm Travelling Alone - A case for detective Munch) Tess Gerritsen - Der Schneeleopard (US. Original title: Die Again - A Rizzoli&Isles case). Jo...

Around two years ago I happened to see a youtube video on the making of "Desperate Romantics" about the Pre-Raphaelites. Looked like something I would like, so I ordered the book  Desperate Romantics: The Private Lives of the Pre-Raphaelites by Franny Moyle and the DVD and fell in love with the works of the pre-Raphaelites. Not only are their works a marvel, I managed to view some of them at the Tate Gallery in London on a visit. I find the group and the people around them fascinating. At the wonderful museum shop I found several interesting books, which I have now finally read. The first one was   Lizzie Siddal - The Tragedy of a Pre-Raphaelite Supermodel by Lucinda Hawksley, the second one Effie by Suzanne Fagence Cooper and last but not least, A Circle of Sisters by Judith Flanders, review will follow. Effie's story is extraordinary for a woman in the Victorian times. She is another one of those remarkable Victorian women who managed to make a life of her own, in...

I am joining Guiltless Reading for a Bookmark Monday meme. I love her bookmarks and don't know where she finds the variety. Well, I was visiting a museum in Antwerp the other day, and found these three bookmarks in the shop. Of course, I cannot help buying bookmarks, I just love them. The first is on a view over Antwerp depicted on a cabinet in the excellent Plantin-Moretus museum. The other one comes with a painting by Willem Van Haecht, ' The art room of Cornelis van der Geest " from the house of Rubens. The third one is a poster for the Red Star Line. Lovely aren't they? Are you also obsessed with bookmarks?

Back to the classics are hosted by Karen @ Books and Chocolate . I participated with six books in 2016 and almost made it. For 2017 I will be bold and go for 12 classics. Most of them already on my shelves since long, and they are also included in other challenges. The challenge is the same as last year, 12 classic books, but with slightly different categories. You do not have to read all 12 books to participate in this challenge! Complete six categories, and you get one entry in the drawing Complete nine categories, and you get two entries in the drawing Complete all twelve categories, and you get three entries in the drawing Here are the books I will read for each category. 1. A 19th century classic - any book published between 1800 and 1899 - George Elliot - The Mill on the Floss (published 1860) 2.   A 20th century classic - any book published between 1900 and 1967. Just like last year, all books MUST have been published at least 50 years ago to qualify. The onl...

My book this week is All Roads Lead to Austen by Amy Elizabeth Smith Rose City Reader , is hosting Book beginnings on Fridays . Please join me every Friday to share the first sentence (or so) of the book you are reading, along with your initial thoughts about the sentence, impressions of the book, or anything else the opener inspires. Please remember to include the title of the book and the author’s name. Beginning " Jane Austen just won't stay on the page ."  Freda’s voice is hosting Friday 56 and the rules are: *Grab a book. Turn to page 56 or 56% in your eReader (If you have to improvise, that's ok.) Find any sentence, (or few, just don't spoil it) Post it. Add your (url) post below in Linky. Add the post url, not your blog url. Page 56 "Guatemala was not my first venture into Latin America. More than a year before my Antigua Austen group, I flew to Puerto Vallarta for an end-of-semester beach break. That's when I met Diego,...

Being an Austen lover I could not resist this title. This is about the author Amy Elizabeth Smith's quest to see what people think about Austen outside the English speaking world. She decided to take a year off her tutoring literature at a university in the US, to travel to six countries in South America in order to discuss Jane Austen's books. To do this she had to start by learning Spanish. If you love Austen it is a great read. Even if you don't love Austen you can enjoy it. She gathered book loving people from Guatemala, Mexico, Ecuador, Chile, Paraguay and Argentina, had them read a book by Austen and meet up to discuss it. Amy Smith was surprised to see how much Austen's writing was valid also in a total different society from which she wrote. Almost all of the participants found something in her book which they could adapt to present life. This is probably the charm with Austen, and why she is still so popular 200 years after her death. There is something t...