The Content Reader

The months go fast that is for sure. Already time for another wrap-up. October seemed a little bit slow. I felt I read a lot, but never really seemed to finish any books.  Let's see how my challenges were doing this month. I did not follow my plan from end of September, that is for sure.  View over Öresund where I take my walks  Books read in October (8 books) Violeta by Isabel Allende The Last Thing He Told Me by Laura Dave The Devil and the Dark Water by Stuart Turston Sarek (The Couple's Trip) by Ulf Kvensler Death Comes to the Archbishop by Willa Cather Livläkarens besök (The Visit of the Royal Physician) by Per-Olov Enquist Fifty Plants that Changed the Course of History by Bill Laws Norrhem, Svante - Christina och Carl Piper, en biografi (NF) My own challenge a nonfiction from my TBR -  Fifty Plants that Changed the Course of History by Bill Laws a fiction from my TBR - Livläkarens besök (The Visit of the Royal Physician) by Per-Olov Enquist a translated novel outside o

Just a short post to put a few books on my list for November. I don't really know why I am doing it, because most of the time I never follow the lists. Well, there is always a first for everything. At least I am trying to limit the books into covering more than one challenges. I am not able to follow all. My main aim is Nonfiction. Nonfiction November Hosted by five bloggers (see link) for my post Nonfiction November . Always a great and interesting event. I usually go for history books, but wanted to diversify myself this year. I have chosen three book, and one extra if I have time:  Empire of Pain, the Secret History of the Sackler Dynasty by Patrick Raden Keefe - heard so much about it from fellow bloggers. One of the richest families in the world, a great patron of art and sciences. But, the source of their wealth was vague. In recent years it has emerged that they were responsible for the making and marketing of OxyContin a painkiller that started the opioid crises.  The Lodge

I would highly recommend this book to anyone loving a thriller. It is mysterious, exciting and written from a different perspective.  "Before Owen Michaels disappears, he manages to smuggle a note to his beloved wife of one year: Protect her. Despite her confusion and fear, Hannah Hall knows exactly to whom the note refers: Owen’s sixteen-year-old daughter, Bailey. Bailey, who lost her mother tragically as a child. Bailey, who wants absolutely nothing to do with her new stepmother. As Hannah’s increasingly desperate calls to Owen go unanswered; as the FBI arrests Owen’s boss; as a US Marshal and FBI agents arrive at her Sausalito home unannounced, Hannah quickly realises her husband isn’t who he said he was. And that Bailey just may hold the key to figuring out Owen’s true identity—and why he really disappeared. Hannah and Bailey set out to discover the truth, together. But as they start putting together the pieces of Owen’s past, they soon realise they are also building a new fut

  Coming up shortly is Novellas in November  hosted by Cathy of 746 Books and Rebecca of Bookish Beck . Cathy and Rebecca have set a category for each week – there are no rules as such (although they suggest that 150–200 pages is the upper limit for a novella, and post-1980 as a definition of ‘contemporary’).  This year they will be hosting a buddy read throughout the month. The book chosen is Foster  by Claire Keegan. If you want to join in, you can read Foster online and review it at any point throughout the month. There is also an Irish language film version of Foster – An Cailín Ciúin – which was released this year to rave reviews and is widely tipped for an Oscar nomination. Go to their websites for more detailed info.  1 – 7 November: Short Classics (Rebecca) 8 – 14November: Novellas in Translation (Cathy) 15 – 21 November: Short Non-Fiction (Rebecca) 22 – 28 November: Contemporary Novellas (Cathy) 29/30 November: My Month in Novellas/ New to my TBR I can not promise to join al

This novel came highly recommended by many of you, so when I found it at the library I grabbed it at once. I was slightly uneasy about the story line, but must admit I was totally drawn into Evelyn Hugo's story. It is told through a young, unknown journalist, Monique Grant, who is chosen by Evelyn herself to write the drama of her life. Monique visits Evelyn in her luxury apartment and wonders why she was chosen. A young journalist without reputation. And why does Evelyn, who is known to be a reclusive person, all of a sudden wants to tell it all? Evelyn reveals all the nitty, gritty details of Hollywood life. It could have become a rather banal story, but Jenkins Reid keeps it well within grip. As we follow Evelyn from her poor and abusive childhood, through her first contract in Hollywood and on to her first husband, we are with her all the way. We suffer with her, we are happy with her and wants all to be well. For each husband new details are surfacing and by the time we have r

I can't believe it is this time of the year again. It hit me as I read Rennie's latest post @ What's Nonfiction. It is time for one of my favourite challenges, or memes, of the year, Nonfiction November. Exciting as ever and Rennie has teamed up with Katie, Christopher, Rebekah and Jamie to make this a wonderful month, guiding us with different themes each week. Head over to their blogs for full information.  Nonfiction November themes Week 1: (Oct 31-Nov 4) – Your Year in Nonfiction: Take a look back at your year of nonfiction and reflect on the following questions – What was your favourite nonfiction read of the year? Do you have a particular topic you’ve been attracted to more this year? What nonfiction book have you recommended the most? What are you hoping to get out of participating in Nonfiction November? (Katie @ Doing Dewey ) Week 2: (November 7-11) – Book Pairing: This week, pair up a nonfiction book with a fiction title (or another nonfiction!). It can be a “If

I can't believe that we have already entered the month of October. Autumn is here in Sweden and the trees start to change colour into wonderful yellow/orange/red. Still the green is trying to keep its grip. The other day we were visiting the 'House of Tomatoes' (image below). For more on this you can go to my newsletter, The Content Reader Newsletter . You can subscribe for free and unsubscribe at any time.  I only read six books this months. They were all very slow, although not bad. Sometimes the finishing of a book goes very fast, and other times I struggle with finishing a book. Here are the books I read. Beckford, William - Vathek Sansom, C.J. - Dissolution Harrison Lindbergh, Katarina - Nordiska Gudasagor (Nordic Norse Tales (my transl) Wung-Sung, Jesper - Kvinna sedd bakifrån (Woman Seen From Behind (my transl) Jenkins Reid, Taylor - The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo Larm, Victoria - Den nionde kretsen  My own challenge a nonfiction from my TBR - The Norse Tales by K

In his book, Kvinna sedd bakifrån (Woman Seen From the Back) Jesper Wung-Sung has written a historical fiction about Ida Ilsted, wife of Danish painter Wilhelm Hammershøi. Wung-Sung’s writing is like Hammershøi’s painting; simplistic and stripped down to the basic minimalistic surrounding, which fits very well into the life of Ida. Ida meets Wilhelm through her artist brother Peter. They become good friends and Ida is quite surprised when Wilhelm proposes to her. Ida’s life at home is troublesome with a mentally unstable mother who has not much love for her daughter, and cannot imagine why anybody would like to marry her. Wilhelm comes from an upper class home and is worshipped by his mother, who thinks nobody good enough for her son. It does not seem like a good start for their marriage. Wilhelm is a very secluded person, only happy when he is painting. Ida is also a secluded person although a bit more social than her husband. She is very supportive of his art although not knowing an