The Content Reader

  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 ca...

Six Degrees of Separation is hosted by Kate at Books Are My Favourite and Best . This month it starts with the classic Christmas story by Charles Dickens A Christmas Carol. I have not read very many books by Dickens (and I have given up to be honest), but I have read A Christmas Carol  and I liked it very much. It is a perfect story for the season. Mr Scrooge is evil and that leads me to Heathcliff in  Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë. Here Emily created a character who is the embodiment of evil and eternal love. Just finished a Swedish thriller called Solitairen (the Solitaire) by Anna Lihammer & Ted Hesselbom, which also features a very evil man, who controls all the people around him. Evil lingers on the American plains in Alma Katsu's The Hunger . Stephen King says: "Deeply, deeply disturbing, hard to put down, not recommended reading after dark."  He is right, there is something disturbing out there in the wilderness. The novel tells the story of the...

Six Degrees of Separation is hosted by Kate at Books Are My Favourite and Best . This month it starts with a classic teen novel, The Outsiders  by S.E. Hinton. I have not read the book, or for that matter, heard about it. When checking the net, I find it is about troubled teenagers. Reading the summary, I immediately thought about East of Eden  by John Steinbeck. I have not read it, but seen the movie. So much connected to James Dean, I think you sometimes forget that it was written by one of the great American writers. That leads me to another James Dean movie and American writer with Giant , written by Edna Ferber. From Study.com I find the following introduction to the book. " Edna Ferber is the author of Giant, the book that caused one of the greatest scandals in Texan history. You may be familiar with the book's movie adaptation because it was James Dean's last role. Regardless of the narrative's presentation, the content inside of Ferber's novel crea...

Kate at Books Are My Favourite and Best , is hosting this interesting meme. This month we start with Ian MacEwan's  Atonement.   I am probably one of the few who have neither read the book nor watched the movie. It is a chronicle over a crime and its consequences over six decades. That leads me to my first chain which is Kate Morton's The Secret Keeper. As in Atonement  it is about a crime and how it effects the family. It is only fifty years later that everything is revealed. Another family saga and hidden secrets I found in Habitaciones cerradas by Care Santos. Violeta Lax is the grand daughter of the famous, Spanish artist Amadeo Lax. When he died he left his house and art to the Catalonian state. Violeta comes back to have a look at the house a last time before the house will be turned into a museum. Once the renovations starts a hidden room is found. The novel takes place in Barcelona and that takes me to one of my favourite author; Carlos Ruiz Zafon...

Kate at  Books Are My Favourite and Best , hosting this interesting meme. This month we start with Barbara Kingsolver's  The Poisonwood Bible.  I read it many years ago and really loved it. A man's passion to work as a missionary in Africa and how it effects his family and the people around him. A marvellous story. The story takes place in Congo and that takes me to Joseph Conrad's  Heart of Darkness.  A dark tale on the exploration of Africa. A short book, but a gruesome story of how the colonialists treated the local people. Staying on with explorers, I come to think about Tim Jeal's biography of  Stanley - The Impossible Life of Africa's Greatest Explorer.  A totally intriguing biography of a very famous person, of whom we think we know a lot. That is not the case, at least not for me. His somewhat bad reputation is just a tiny part of what this man achieved in this lifetime. Not to talk about all the hardship he went through on his ex...

Six Degrees of Separation , is a monthly link-up hosted by Kate at Books Are My Favourite and Best . Each month a book is chosen as a starting point and linked to six other books to form a chain. A book doesn’t need to be connected to all the other books on the list, only to the one next to it in the chain. This month start with  Lincoln in the Bardo by George Saunders. It won the Man Booker Prize in 2017. I have not read it. It is about Abraham Lincoln's son William who died at a young age, and deals with loss. "Bardo" seems to mean an intermediate space between life and rebirth. That thought leads me to One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez. It has a magical realism, and it seems to take place in a, not entirely, human world. It follows a family through a hundred years, a family with a supernatural aura around it. It is a real world, but still not. I imagine that Lincoln in the Bardo, could be something similar. Staying on in a world...

This, the fifth day of December it is time to visit another favourite meme. Books Are My Favourite And Best  is hosting 6 Degrees of Separation and starts December with Stephen King's It . I have not read it. Actually, the only book I read by Stephen King is Christine , so this is my first link. I am not fond of horror stories, seldom read them, but I really liked this book. I read it many years ago when I was young, so can't say what I will think today. But memories are good. That takes me to another book called Christine by Helle Stangerup. It is about the Danish princess, daughter to King Christian II of Denmark and Norway and Isabella of Austria. She lived 1521-1590. She became duchess-consort of Milan and Lorraine, and served as a regent 1545-52 during her son's minority. After a long and adventurous life she became the sovereign Lady of Tortona in 1578-84. A strong, female character who managed to survive in a man's world. Definitely, because she refused t...

I don't know where the time goes. Reading your blog posts I realise it is time again for a 6 Degrees of Separation, hosted by Books Are My Favourite And Best . This month starts with the book Like Water for Chocolate  by Laura Esquivel. I have not heard about the book and thus, not read it. "Earthy, magical, and utterly charming, this tale of family life in turn-of-the-century Mexico blends poignant romance and bittersweet wit. " Sounds like an interesting read, just what I like. It will be added to my to read list. Being about cooking, my first thought goes to The Dinner  by Herman Koch.  It is about a family drama where two brothers with their wives meet up for dinner to discuss what their sons have been up to. A drama slowly evolves and it keeps you in suspense to the very end, what the sons have really done. Thinking of family dramas I opt for The Go-Between   by L.P. Harley and one of my favourite books. Leo is invited to his best friend Marcus' ma...

Another month and another chain. I am joining Books Are My Favourite And Best for another six degrees. This month the chain starts with Wild Swans by Jung Chang. I read it many years ago, and loved it. It is a family saga that spans three female generations in China. I love family sagas so I go from here to The Empress of South America by Nigel Cawthorne. It is the story of a middle class Irish girl who went to Paris and ended up the wife of the emperor of Paraguay. It is a true story of how two, evil people made a whole country their private family business. Quite intriguing and chocking. From royalty to royalty I go to Mrs Jordan's Profession , by Claire Tomalin. It is a biography about the Anglo-Irish actress, courtesan and mistress of the future King William IV of UK. They had ten illegitimate children together. Fascinating story about a fascinating woman far ahead of her time.

To celebrate the bicentenary of Jane Austen's death, host to 6 Degrees of Separation, Books are My Favourite and Best starts this month with one of her most popular books; Pride and Prejudice . It also happens to be my favourite book by Austen. My chain starts with my second favourite book of hers which is Northanger Abbey . It has a Gothic theme, which reminded me of The Mysteries of Udolpho by Ann Radcliffe, who was, more or less, contemporary with Jane Austen. This is a Gothic tale in all its glory. I somehow liked it, although it is rather long and could have been shortened.

May is here and neither spring or summer seem to be with us. Still chilly and unstable weather. What better than to join Books Are My Favourite And Best and another 6 Degrees of Separation . This month starts with The Slap by Christos Tsiolkas. I have never heard about either the book or the author, but reading up on Wikipedia gives me a hint. Seems like an interesting book and excellent book for a discussion, either in a book club or at a dinner. The people in the book gather at a barbecue and brings my mind to The Dinner by Dutch author Herman Koch. Two brothers and their wives gather for dinner to discuss something that their sons have done. It is only in the end we get to know what they have really done. The deed lies underneath the thoughts and dinner conversation of the party.  A novel with many layers.

April and we are to consider another book chain in the meme 6 Degrees of Separation , hosted   Books Are My Favourite And Best . This month we start with the book Room  by Emma Donoghue. I have not read the book, but heard about it, or at least the movie, which I have not seen either. I make it easy for myself and start with Emma , which leads me into the book Emma by Jane Austen. A book I tried to read for ages and just could not get into it. Finally, I decided "just to read it" and, although it is not my favourite Austen read by far, (I just can't stand Emma) it does improve after about half the book. The latter part is a relatively pleasant read. From Austen I go to Austen ! Or almost at least. Recently I read All Roads Lead to Austen by Amy Elizabeth Smith, about her trip to six South American countries in a quest to find out how Austen is interpreted by modern South Americans. A pleasant read.

March is upon us and there is another book chain to consider.  Host, Books Are My Favourite And Best , starts with Fever Pitch by Nick Hornby. I am not familiar with the book, but it is about football in general and the author's relationship with Arsenal Football Club in particular. It is Hornby's first book, published in 1992, and is said to be an autobiographical essay. 
 The first word coming into mind is of course 'sport'. I don't really like reading about sports, and don't know about any books about sports either. However, I did read I am Zlatan by David Lagercrantz, which is a biography about one of our greatest football players ever, Zlatan Ibrahimovic. 
 That takes me to 'David Lagercrantz' who wrote the sequel to the Millenium book by Stieg Larsson. It is called The Girl in the Spider's Web . I have not read it, and am not sure I will, although I read the first three ones. 
 The word girl, or girls, takes me to Lee Smith...

New month and time for another chain of books. This month, host Books Are My Favourite And Best starts with Fates and Furies by Laureen Groff. I must admit I have never heard of it, although I see that it was one of the most popular books in 2015. Just shows how stuck I am with my TBR shelves! Never to late to change. Seems like a fascinating book. Reading the synopsis on Wikipedia, my attention was drawn to the line "is essentially about how the different people in a relationship can have disparate views on the relationship ". That is certainly true, and it immediately made me think of The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins, where Rachel has a totally different view on the relationship with her ex-husband, and we could say people she sees from her train window. From there my connecting word would be train and I am thinking of a book I have had on my shelves for many years; Riding the Iron Rooster by Paul Theroux. It is a travel book about his travels thro...

Beginning of the month, so time for 6 Degrees of Separation hosted by Books Are My Favourite And Best . This month's chain begins with Stieg Larsson's thriller The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo . I have this book on my shelves and read it several years ago. I really like it and the following two books. I have not read the new one, which is a sequel written by David Lagercrantz'. I have read another book by Lagercrantz though. That is I am Zlatan Ibrahimovic , which is a biography of our great football player Zlatan. I really enjoyed the book and got a totally different opinion about Zlatan as well. Towards the positive side, and I am now a big fan of his (almost all the time!). Talking about biographies, a genre I love, I continue with a book I just finished (review will come). That is Cliff Goodwin's To Be a Lady: Story of Catherine Cookson . Fascinating biography of a fascinating author that has spellbound us for so many years. An amazing storyteller she is. ...

6 Degrees of Separation is a monthly meme hosted by Kate @Books Are My Favourite and Best . This is my first entry with 6 Degrees of Separation . I find it interesting to follow a thread in what I read. One book leading to another, be it the same author, the same genre, the same theme or the same anything. A link is a way to discover new books, places and people. The 3 December book is Revolutionary Road by Richard Yates. I have not read this book, neither seen the movie. But I always intended to, but the future will tell. From there I would use Road as the connecting word and go on to a new purchase; All Roads Lead to Austen - A yearlong Journey with Jane by Amy Elizabeth Smith. Austen is always interesting and this seems to be a new way to approach her. Naturally the connection is Austen so I choose Northanger Abbey which I recently read and just loved. It comes out as my second favourite Austen (after Pride and Prejudice of course). The thread here is Abbey which ma...