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Showing posts from August, 2022

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...

August wrap-up

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August has come to an end, and in principal, end of summer in Sweden. We have been heading south for about two weeks, travelling with our camper van through Denmark, Germany to the Netherlands. Our son graduated from his second Masters in Delft, which must be one of the most beautiful cities in the world. We enjoyed his company for some days, and had the opportunity to be part of the graduation party. Now in Innsbruck we are staying a few days, and will then continue south to Greece for September-October. I give you a couple of photos from Delft. Due to travelling, I had to abandon part of my challenges. Instead I grabbed quite a few books from my TBR shelves to take with me. Some of them will come with me home, but most of them I will give away along the road.  I read 12 books in August and five of them were excellent reads. Lunde, Maja - Przewalski's Horse Ivesköld, Monica - Redigera framgångsRIKT Auster, Paul - The Brooklyn Follies Hawkins, Paula - Into the Water Preston, John -...

The Witch Elm by Tana French

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Tana French is a favourite of mine, ever since I read her first book, In the Woods.  It was a detective story, but rather spooky. I have also read Broken Harbour  and, recently,  The Secret Place.    The Witch Elm  is an intricate story, full of psychological turns.  "Toby is a happy-go-lucky charmer who's dodged a scrape at work and is celebrating with friends when the night takes a turn that will change his life: he surprises two burglars who beat him and leave him for dead. Struggling to recover from his injuries, beginning to understand that he might never be the same man again, he takes refuge at his family's ancestral home to care for his dying uncle Hugo. Then a skull is found in the trunk of an elm tree in the garden - and as detectives close in, Toby is forced to face the possibility that his past may not be what he has always believed. The Witch Elm asks what we become, and what we're capable of, when we no longer know who we are." French var...

The Classics Club celebrating 10 years

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The Classics Club is celebrating 10 years, head over there for more information.  The running of the club was taken over some time ago by Brona, Deb, Kay and Margaret. They have been enthusiastic and put down a lot of efforts to keep up and renew the blog. I find the posts very interesting and am enjoying the spin and other events. I have not been very good at reading my spin book, but there is always time for improvements.  Books are a good way to bring us through hard times. During the difficult pandemic years it was a treat to disappear into another world in the books. Hopefully, more people found the pleasure in reading during the isolation periods. To celebrate the 10 years, the board has sent us 10 questions to answer, and I will do my best.  The Questions When did you join the Classics Club? I am not really sure. The only trace I could find was from 2017, so maybe it was the year that I joined.  What is the best classic book you've read for the club so far? W...