Blogging Anniversary - 10 years

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A while ago I checked when I did my first blog post, in order to celebrate with an anniversary post. Well, that day came and went without any reaction from me. Better late than never, so here a reminder of my very first blog post from 24 October 2012.  The book was New Finnish Grammar  by Diego Marani. Marani is an Italian novelist, translator and newspaper columnist. While working as a translator for the European Union he invented a language ‘Europanto’ which is a mixture of languages and based on the common practice of word-borrowing usage of many EU languages. It was a suitable book to start with, being a book about letters, languages and memories. With a beautiful prose, the novel went directly to my heart.  "One night at Trieste in September 1943 a seriously wounded soldier is found on the quay. The doctor, of a newly arrived German hospital ship, Pietri Friari gives the unconscious soldier medical assistance. His new patient has no documents or anything that can ide...
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Nonfiction November - week 2

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The second week of nonfiction reading is hosted by Sarah's Book Shelves. This is a week of pairing nonfiction books with fiction. From Sarah: "It can be a "If you loved this book, read this!" or just two titles that you think would go well together. Maybe it's a historical novel and you'd like to get the real history by reading a nonfiction version of the story."

 Pairing nonfiction and fiction - theme Russia

 I am still reading the very big and thick book about Stalin: Stalin, The Court of the Red Tsar by Simon Sebag Montefiore. Excellent, scary and terrifying reading of the situation behind the scenes. Still 150 pages to go.

While visiting the library the other day, I saw the book Stalin's Children. Three Generations of Love and War by Owen Matthews. Matthews tries to find out what happened to his family. His mother is Russian. Her father was picked up one day in 1937, never to be seen again. Her mother was sent to one of Stalin's camps, and miraculously survived. Decades later Owen Matthews lives in Moscow as a reporter, and starts investigating the story of his family.


I recently finished the excellent novel A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles (review will follow). This is a fictional story which takes place from 1922 until present time, and thus touching the same era as Stalin's reign.

These are the paring I have done as regards my main book about Stalin. I am a fan of historical fiction and often, when I have read about a specific person or event, I am eager to read a nonfiction book about what really took place.

Combine reading

 Under my label, Connected Reading, (which I think I will rename 'Pairing') I try to connect one finished book with a new one (have to updated!) It is interesting to connect your reading, in whatever way you can.

I always tend to read more than one book at the time. Therefore, I am reading another nonfiction book for this November challenge; The Ascent of Money by Niall Fergusson. Very interesting account on how economic thinking, money, banks, inflation, and all the other things connected to economy, started.


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