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...
5 comments

Book Beginnings on Fridays and The Friday 56

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The Content Reader

This week's book is one that I have had for quite some time on my shelves, The Book of Secrets by Tom Harper. The back cover summary tells a story that is exactly my cup of tea.


"In a snowbound village in the German mountains, a young woman discovers an extraordinary secret. Before she can reveal it, she disappears. All that survives is a picture of a mysterious medieval playing card that has perplexed scholars for centuries. 
Nick Ash does research for the FBI in New York. Six months ago his girlfriend Gilliam walked out and broke his heart. Now he's the only person who can save her - if it's not too late. Within hours of getting her message Nick finds himself on the run, delving deep into the past before it catches up with him. 
Hunted across Europe, Nick follows Gillian's trail into the heart of a 500-year-old mystery. But across the centuries, powerful forces are closing around him. There are men who have devoted their lives to keeping the secret, and they will stop at nothing to protect it." 

Book Beginnings on Fridays hosted by Rose City Reader


"Oberwinter, GermanyThick snow covered the village that morning.  cold silence gripped the streets. The cars parked opposite the hotel were shrouded with frost - except one, where a gloved hand had scraped a rough circle clear on the driver's window. Behind the black glass, the red eye of a cigarette blinked and glowed."



The Friday 56 hosted by Freda's Voice
"'There is your design. A penny to whoever produces the more perfect copy.' 
The penny did not interest me: I knew I would win it. Something about what Konrad did had chimed false, though I did not know what it was. I pondered it while I worked on the ring. First, I took a flimsy piece of parchment that had been soaked to become translucent and traced the image on the paper with a leaded stylus. I washed a thin layer of wax over the face of the ring, and rubbed the back of my parchment with the lead. Then I put the ring in a vice, overlaid the parchment and retraced the image, bearing down hard with the stylus. When I took the parchment away, a light grey stag had appeared on the wax-coated ring."

Comments

  1. Laurel-Rain Snow1 May 2020 at 15:26

    Fascinating snippets! Now I definitely want to know more. Thanks for sharing...and for visiting my blog.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Lisbeth 5 May 2020 at 19:09

      Fascinating story, more historical than one thinks from the beginning. Here is my review of the book: https://thecontentreader.blogspot.com/2020/05/the-book-of-secrets-by-tom-harper.html

      Delete
  2. Bea1 May 2020 at 18:03

    Oh, that blurb is full of catnip! I hope the book lives up to it.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Lisbeth 5 May 2020 at 19:10

      It does. It is a book difficult to put down. Here is my review: https://thecontentreader.blogspot.com/2020/05/the-book-of-secrets-by-tom-harper.html

      Delete
  3. Anne@HeadFullofBooks1 May 2020 at 19:29

    Wow. This book sounds like it is gripping. Enjoy. My Friday quotes

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Lisbeth 5 May 2020 at 19:10

      It is gripping, difficult to put down. Here is my reveiw: https://thecontentreader.blogspot.com/2020/05/the-book-of-secrets-by-tom-harper.html

      Delete
  4. fredamans1 May 2020 at 19:39

    Sounds ike beautiful writing! Happy weekend, stay safe!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Lisbeth 5 May 2020 at 19:11

      Yes, quite different from books in this genre. Here is my review: https://thecontentreader.blogspot.com/2020/05/the-book-of-secrets-by-tom-harper.html

      Delete
  5. Jeanie2 May 2020 at 16:59

    That does sound good -- wonderful writing and it sounds like my kind of book too.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Lisbeth 5 May 2020 at 19:11

      Well worth a read, difficult to put down. Here is my review: https://thecontentreader.blogspot.com/2020/05/the-book-of-secrets-by-tom-harper.html

      Delete
  6. Konna2 May 2020 at 17:41

    It definitely caught my attention! Need to know more :)
    Konna @ The Reading Armchair

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Lisbeth 5 May 2020 at 19:12

      It is a well and beautifully written book. Quite different from other books in the genre. Here is my review: https://thecontentreader.blogspot.com/2020/05/the-book-of-secrets-by-tom-harper.html

      Delete

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