The Content Reader

Week 1 in Nonfiction November 2019, runs from Oct 28 - Nov 1 First week is hosted by Julz of Julz Reads . We have a few questions guiding us on what we have read so far this year. What was your favourite nonfiction read of the year?  Do you have a particular topic you’ve been attracted to more this year?  What nonfiction book have you recommended the most?  What are you hoping to get out of participating in Nonfiction November? List of nonfiction books read this year (by category) History: Linnés skånska resa (Carl von Linné's Scania Travel) by Ove Torgny  Wedlock: How Georgian Britain's Worst Husband Met His Match by Wendy Moore (audio) Skånes slott och borgar by C Karlsson, P Karlsson, M Christensen Med Örnen mot polen by Svenska Sällskapet för Antropologi och Geografi (Scientific account of the Andrée expedition 1897) Politik och passion  - Svenska kungliga äktenskap under 600 år (Politics and Passion - Swedish Royal Marriages duri...

I love the cover Eight o'clock on Saturday, May 13, 1939, steamer St Louis , sailing with the Amerika Linie (HAPAG), set sail from Hamburg with destination Cuba. On board were 900 people, mostly German-Jewish refugees leaving a more and more troublesome Germany for freedom at the other side of the world. The passengers had entry visas for Cuba. Nearing the island, the Cuban president Federico Laredo Brú, cancelled those visas, signed by one of his own general director. Only those visas, signed by a specific ministry, were valid. The result was that most of the 900 passengers had to stay on board and, in the end, return to Europe. Since all of them had entry visas for the US, the ship sailed on to the States and Canada, but they both refused to admit the people. They had to return to Europe. A couple of days before touching European soil, a committee had agreed with Great Britain, France, Belgium and Holland to receive the remaining refugees. In principal, only the people who ...

This week's book beginnings and page 56 text is another library book,  Shadowplay by Joseph O'Connor. It is a little bit out of my usual style, but it features Bram Stoker, so could not resist it. I have not yet read it, but review will follow. Love the cover! "1878: The Lyceum Theatre, London. Three extraordinary people begin their life together, a life that will be full of drama, transformation and passionate devotion to art and one another. The Chief ... HENRY IRVING volcanic leading man and impresario The Leading Lady ... ELLEN TERRY most lauded actress of her generation The Theatre Manager ... BRAM STOKER following along behind them in the shadows Fresh from life in Dublin as a clerk, Bram may seem the least colourful of the trio but he is wrestling with dark demons in a new city, in a new marriage, and with his own literary aspirations. As he walks the London streets at night, streets haunted by the Ripper and the gossip which swirls around his friend Oscar...

This is a book outside my comfort zone. I don't read a lot of scary book, and this is said to be a classical, scary Victorian style, ghost story. What made me take it? A reference at the back to indicate that this book has been compared to Henry James' The Turn of the Screw . That is really all I need. Arthur Kipps, is a young lawyer who travels to a village in the middle of nowhere, to take care of the estate of recently deceased Alice Drablow. Her house is situated outside the village, on an island which is only accessible via a small bridge, or road, during low tide. It is a monstrous house, with a life of its own. Already during the funeral, he sees a peculiarly dressed woman in black. Everyone seem reluctant to even talk about the lady, and he gets no answers to his question on who she is. While staying in the old house, he is haunted by sounds, locked doors, wind, fog and rain. He hears things which sounds real, but are they? This is a traditional ghost story wit...

Nonfiction November is coming up, hosted by Readerbuzz and co-hosts. I think one third of all my books are nonfiction, so I am ready to go. Co-hosting with Deb Nance are: Katie at Doing Dewey , Julz of Julz Reads , Rennie of What’s Nonfiction , Sarah of Sarah’s Book Shelves , and Leann of Shelf Aware . The event will run from Oct 28 – Nov 30  November is dedicated to our favourite nonfiction. There will be talks, discussions, exchange of views, recommendations and lots more. On top of this I expect to find new blogging friends who, like me, love nonfiction. Head over to Readerbuzz for more practical details on posting, links etc. Below is the schedule of events and the host for each week. Schedule of Events Week 1 (Oct. 28 to Nov. 1) Your Year in Nonfiction So Far (Hosted by Julie at Julz Reads) Take a look back at your year of nonfiction and reflect on the following questions – What was your favourite nonfiction read of the year? Do you have a particular topic yo...

I used this novel for last week's  Book Beginnings on Fridays and The Friday 56. David Sedaris is a new, to me, author. I knew nothing about him, but found this book at the library's new books' shelf. The back cover text sounded good, it is a large print edition, which is always helpful, so I grabbed it. It is a great read. "With Calypso, Sedaris sets his formidable powers of observation toward middle age and mortality. Make no mistake: these stories can make you laugh till you snort. Sedaris's wirting has never been sharper, and his ability to shock readers into laughter is unparalleled. But much of the comedy here is born out of that vertiginous moment when you own body betrays you and you realize that the story of your life is made up of more past than future." (From back cover) He takes you on a hilarious ride of satire and humour, spelling out a lot of the things we usually just think to ourselves, but not always dare to speak out loud. When his ...

Friday once again, and time for Book Beginnings on Fridays and The Friday 56.  This week I go for a library book that I borrowed a couple of days ago. Calypso by David Sedaris.  Here an extract from the back cover: "When David Sedaris buys a beach house on the Carolina coast, he envisions long, relaxing vacations spent playing board games and lunging in the sun with those he loves most. And life at the Sea Section, as he names the vacation home, is as idyllic as he imagined, except for one vexing realization: it's impossible to take a vacation from yourself. " Book Beginnings on Fridays hosted by Rose City Reader "Though there's an industry built on telling you otherwise, there are few real joys to middle age. The only perk I can see is that, with luck, you'll acquire a guest room. Some people get one by default when their kids leave home, and others, like me, eventually trade up and land a bigger house."  The Friday 56 hosted by Fred...

Without any exact planning, I have gone down the mystery path lately. I have read several books that have a mystery and/or murder in it. What I like about them is that they are more like average fiction, rather than a detective story. Only one of them belong to the traditional genre. The other positive thing is that the murders are not that bloody or cruel. Many of the traditional detective/crime stories these days, have these gruesome, cruel and violent murders, which is not so nice to read about. The books I have read lately tend to lean on good, traditional mystery solving à la Agatha Christie. Ordinary Thunderstorms by William Boyd Adam Kindred is a scientist, working with climate relating research. He has a meeting with a fellow researcher at his home. When he arrives to the flat, he finds his friend dead, murdered. He is wrongly accused for the murder and has to go underground. In a split second he lost everything; his home and job and his whole life. He can't use his ...

The local library had an open invitation for a Nobel reception, to await the announcement of the new Laureates of the Academy. A lot of expert guesses before the announcement. Several important writers from all over the world was suggested. Once Mats Malm took the floor, it was announced that two European writers, one woman and one man has been awarded the prize. Polish Olga Tokarczuk won the prize for 2018, and Austrian author Peter Handke for 2019. I am not familiar with any of the two authors, but am looking forward to read something by both of them. The 2018 prize is awarded to Polish author  Olga Tokarczuk, “for a narrative imagination that with encyclopedic passion represents the crossing of boundaries as a form of life.” I am looking forward reading something by her, and it seems that her 2014 novel  The Books of Jacob  is well worth to start with. She also won the Man Booker International Prize 2018,  for  Flights.  The 2019 prize is a...

Malin Persson Giolito has written five books, of which I have read four. Have not yet read her last book. Of the four, there is only one I did not really like (her first one), the others are excellent and thrilling. Probably, mostly known for Quicksand , about a school shooting, made into a TV series by Netflix. Her heroine, Sophia Weber, is a lawyer. Stig Ahlin was sentenced to lifetime, thirteen years earlier, for having killed a fifteen year old girl. He has always insisted he was innocently sentenced, and is now trying for a re-examination of his case. Sophia's mentor is asking her to take the case. She is not so eager to jump into this case, which seems doomed beforehand. She promises her mentor to have a look at it. She discovers that the police investigation was very badly done at the time. That is a reason, good enough, for her to take on the case. The book changes between Sophia's work and Katrin, the murdered girl, and her actions leading up to the murder. I...