The Content Reader

It was a while since I posted on new bookmarks. We have been travelling, so I have collected a few bookmarks on the way.  Croatia We visited Sokol Grad an old fortress. Situated on a 25m high crag outside of Dubrovnik, it is a magic place. The name means 'Falcon Town'. It was built to guard the historic routes leading through the mountains to Hercegovina. As many of the places in Croatia it has been occupied from prehistoric times by the Romans, the Byzantines and other medieval states before Drubovnik took control. The fortress is restored and partly reconstructed and now houses a museum. Beautiful views as you can see from the photo.    Tirena Comedia, Marin Drzic (1508-1567) was a writer from the republic of Ragusa, Dubrovnik. He is considered as one of the finest Renaissance writer or plays and prose in Croatian literature. It was a must to visit his house in Dubrovnik. He lived a vagabond life and even tried to over through the government. He wrote in many genres: l...

As I have much less space for books than I used to have, I had to come up with a system to choose which book would stay and which would go. I think I have mentioned earlier that I usually save nonfiction books, but only save fiction books that I really love. In this case I know that the books standing on my shelves are my absolute favourites. I don't throw away the other books but give them away to friends or second hand shops so other people can enjoy them. The other reason why I choose this way of preserving some books is that I rarely re-read a book. There are exceptions of course, but rare. I wanted to share with you my favourite books that I keep on my shelves. This series will be a list of nonfiction and fiction, starting authors on letter A.  Adkins, Lesley and Boy - The Key of Egypt, The Race to Read the Hieroglyphs Armstrong, Karen - A Short History of Islam Ashdown-Hill, John -  Eleanor, The Secret Queen - The Woman who put Richard III on the Throne   Alighieri,...

Have not had much time to review, so I thought I will make a few short reviews of some of the books I have read for April, May and June. Here we go. A Swim in a Pond in the Rain by George Saunders "For the last twenty years, George Saunders has been teaching a class on the Russian short story to his MFA students at Syracuse University. In A Swim in a Pond in the Rain, he shares a version of that class with us, offering some of what he and his students have discovered together over the years. Paired with iconic short stories by Chekhov, Turgenev, Tolstoy, and Gogol, the seven essays in this book are intended for anyone interested in how fiction works and why it's more relevant than ever in these turbulent times." Interesting insight into analysing the Russian masters. You read the short story and Saunders provide an analyses. Interesting and I think you can always learn something. I found some of the stories rather boring, while others were very interesting. The analyses f...

Recently, I took a couple of books from a book case in my parents apartment block. I grabbed the book Fallet Collini ( Der Fall Collini, The Collini Case ) by Ferdinand von Schirach. I had never heard about the author, or the book, but the back cover text intrigued me. And what a book. It is seldom that you find a book by chance that turns out to be one of your favourite books, or one of the best you have read.  "Fabrizio Collini is recently retired. He’s a quiet, unassuming man with no indications that he’s capable of hurting anyone. And yet he brutally murders a prominent industrialist in one of Berlin’s most exclusive hotels. Collini ends up in the charge of Caspar Leinen, a rookie defense lawyer eager to launch his career with a not-guilty verdict. Complications soon arise when Collini admits to the murder but refuses to give his motive, much less speak to anyone. As Leinen searches for clues he discovers a personal connection to the victim and unearths a terrible truth at the...

Paris in July is back. Readerbuzz and Thyme-for-tea are co-hosting this year's event. It comes with three wonderful images from which we can choose. For this introduction I choose the Bigger Sunset. If you are not familiar with the concept, please visit their websites, here is a summary. "The aim of the month is to celebrate our French experiences through reading, watching, listening, observing, cooking and eating all things French! There will be no rules or targets in terms of how much you need to do or complete in order to be a part of this experience – just blog about anything French and you can join in! Some ideas might include; reading a French themed book – fiction or non-fiction, watching a French movie, listening to French music, cooking French food, experiencing French, art, architecture and travel tasting French wine, or testing French cocktails celebrating le quatorze juillet or Bastille Day Whatever it is that you love about France share it with us all!"  I h...

Time for a May wrap-up. I am travelling in Norway for the time being so I am a little bit behind with everything blogging. Nevertheless, here is a summary of my May reading and forward look on what can be expected in June. I read 9 books of which 7 came from my own shelves or e-books. Reading with a view My own challenges  (as far as possible from my own shelves). A  nonfiction from my TBR shelves  -  Marie Antoinette  by Stefan Zweig was on the schedule, but I have just started it. Did not read another nonfiction from my shelves.  A  fiction from my TBR shelves  -  Life Short, Rytkönen Long  by Arto Paasilinna. Another Paasilinna, not as good as the other two I have recently read, but still good enough. A  translated novel outside of the English- and Swedish languages  -  Hedda Gabler by Henrik Ibsen (Norwegian), Life Short, Rytkönen Long by Arti Paasilinna (Finnish), The Collini Case by Ferinand von Schirach (German)....