The Content Reader

January has come to an end. Reading was a little bit stressful this month. Apart from my own challenges, I was reading a few books for the interesting Nordic FINDS challenge by AnnaBookBel . On top of that some library books, and several books for two book clubs. The very thick book by Anthony Doerr, Cloud Cuckoo Land, took some time to read as well. Here a summary of what I read this month (my reviews under the links).  Theme this month Nordic writers (inspired by AnnaBookBel' s challenge FINDS  January 3-9 – DENMARK – The Last Good Man by A.J. Kazinski - I read this exciting Danish, international thriller.   January 10-16 – NORWAY – Blå (The End of the Ocean) by Maja Lunde - I read the first instalment of Maja Lunde's Climate Quartet, The History of Bees, and continued with the second one; The End of the Ocean . Fantastic stories about climate change and what might happen.  January 17-23 – SWEDEN – Kapet av Skåne, Stormaktssveriges viktigaste triumf by ...

During the second week of AnnaBookBel's Nordic FINDS challenge I have read two book by the Norwegian author Maja Lunde. These are part 1 and 2 of her Climate Quartet series, with Przewalskis Horse as part 3 (not yet read, but a must read). I think part 4 is still to be published. They can be read individually as well.  The History of Bees This is the most wonderful cover, don't you think? "In the spirit of Station Eleven and Never Let Me Go, this dazzling and ambitious literary debut follows three generations of beekeepers from the past, present, and future, weaving a spellbinding story of their relationship to the bees, to their children, and to one another against the backdrop of an urgent, global crisis. England, 1852. William is a biologist and seed merchant who sets out to build a new type of beehive, one that will give both him and his children honor and fame. United States, 2007. George is a beekeeper fighting an uphill battle against modern farming, but he hopes ...

Having read Colm Tóibín's The Master, a historical fiction on the life of Henry James, I was eagerly anticipating his piece on Thomas Mann. In general, Tóibín always delivers, so this time as well. In 2020 I read Tilmann Lahme's biography Die Manns   (my review under link) about this fascinating family. I don't know whether it is good or not to have read a biography before a historical fiction. For me, when I read a historical fiction on any subject, I like to read a nonfiction about it, so for me it was good. I don't think it is necessary in general. However, it did confirm to me that Tóbín, as expected, knows what he is writing about.  When you read about the Mann family a famous quote by Leo Tolstoj comes to mind; "Happy families are all alike; every unhappy family is unhappy in its own way." The Manns are certainly an unhappy family, and probably unhappy in its own way. Affected by the dominance of Thomas Mann, the great writer. He is not dominant in any v...

Thank you to Emma @ Word and Peace for a copy of this interesting novella. Head over to her blog to read her interesting review (link above).  Adolfo Bioy Casares (1914-1999) was an Argentinian fiction writer, and this is his most well-known work. It is a fantastic story, and wonderfully written. It was published in 1940, but its story seem to belong to a more modern world.  We don't know very much about the narrator. Only that he is a fugitive and needs to hide somewhere. "An Italian rug seller in Calcutta told me about this place. He said (in his own language): "There is only one possible place for a fugitive like you - it is an uninhabited island, but a human being cannot live there. Around 1924 a group of white men built a museum, a chapel, and a swimming pool on the island. The work was completed, and then abandoned." Our narrator manages to get to the island, in spite of the rug seller's description of the diseases pestering it and all the horrors that are...

Ever since I read  Ostend by Volker Weidemann I wanted to read something by Joseph Roth. Ostend is about a gathering of authors, journalists and creative people in Ostende in 1936. Many of them Jews who felt the tightening grip of the situation in Europe. Mostly it is about Stefan Zweig and Joseph Roth. It is a gripping, but also a sad account of the times and the prospects for the future. I was happy to find his  The Radetzky March at my local library.  "The Radetzky March charts the history of the Trotta family through three generations spanning the rise and fall of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Through the Battle of Solferino, to the entombment of the last Hapsburg emperor, Roth's intelligent compassionate narrative illuminates the crumbling of a way of life."  A family saga over three generations of the Trotta family. It starts with Joseph in the Battle of Solferino in 1859.  Joseph, the grandfather, happens to save the life of emperor Franz Joseph during ...

Time to take a look at the challenges I followed last year. I did not fulfil all of them, but a few at least. My Top TBR for 2021 Read: 10/10  • My Grandmother Asked Me To Tell You She's Sorry by Fredrik Backman  • Evolutionen och jag ('Evolution and I') by Johan Frostegård  • The Past by Tessa Hadley  • In Our Time by Ernest Hemingway  • The Habsburgs by Anthony Wheatcroft  • Eleanor Marx by Rachel Holmes  • Jag vill sätta världen i rörelse by Anna-Karin Palm  • Through Belgian Eyes, Charlotte Brontë's Troubled Brussels Legacy by Helen MacEwan  • The Edge of the World, How the North Sea Made Us Who We Are by Michael Pye • Prisoners of Geography by Tim Marshall  ******** Monthly Reading Challenge Read: 9/12 January - A book with high expectations - In Our Time By Ernest Hemingway - February - A book you got for free - Mordet på kommendören (Killing Commendatore) by Haruki Murakami  Marc...

I read this book for Nordic FINDS hosted by AnnaBookBel . Kazinski is a pseudonym of Anders Rønnow Klarlund and Jacob Weinreich, two Danish authors. It is the first in a series involving detective Niels Bentzon.  I have read  Sömnen och döden (The Sleep and the Death (my translation), I don't think it has been translated to English), which is the second one in the series. Both books are excellent, and something above the ordinary detective/thriller novel.  "In Jewish scripture, there is a legend: There are thirty-six righteous people on earth. The thirty-six protect us. Without them, humanity would perish. But the thirty-six do not know they are the chosen ones. In Beijing, a monk collapses in his chamber, dead. A fiery mark—a tattoo? a burn?—spreads across his back and down his spine. In Mumbai, a beloved economist, a man who served the poor, dies suddenly. His corpse reveals the same symbol. Similar deaths are reported around the world—the victims all humanitarians, all...

This year I will not participate in too many challenges. I have a few I always follow, and will continue to do so. Although, there are so many interesting challenges out there, I have decided to go for a challenge of my own. Meaning concentrating on reading from my TBR shelves, more themed reading, and also reading from my wish list. Here is a summary of Challenges 2022 , more detailed info under link.  First of all my own challenge which will follow these general guidelines.  • a nonfiction from my TBR shelves chosen by a random generator • a fiction from my TBR shelves chosen by a random generator • a translated novel outside of the English and Swedish speaking countries • a classic tale • a book from my Wish list Each month will have a themed reading, which hopefully can be connected to my various lists.  January - Nordic writers (inspired by AnnaBookBel 's challenge FINDS February - Antiquity (Greek gods and other tales) March - Women (anything ...

I finished off 87 books in 2021. I aimed for 100 but somehow the spring/summer left me reading very few books. I am quite happy with all the books I read. If you have read my post for best books for 2021, you know which are my favourites. Since I don't finish books I don't like, most of the books I finish, I find good in one way or the other. Here are my statistics for the different genres I read. This year I divided them into fiction, nonfiction, classics, and crime/thriller/mystery. I read unusually many books of the latter genre. Maybe because the year demanded a little bit of easy, exciting reading. I leave the statistics here as well, since it does not come out too clear in this video.  Fiction  - 52 Nonfiction - 15 Classics - 6 Crime/Thriller/Mystery - 14 Total - 87 book I am currently reading two books (at least more seriously) and that is Enchanted April by Elizabeth von Arnim (such an enchanting book so far) and The Radetzky March by Joseph Roth (totally suitable sin...