Anita (FAMeulstee) reads on in October 2017 (11)

More landscape art from Flevoland: Observatorium (Observatory, 1977) by Robert Morris

Linked with places like Stonehenge, the Observatory has 3 markings where you can see the sunrise at the solstices and equinoxes. In 1971 it was part of a temporary exhibition, later a permanent spot was found in Flevoland. Each year there are festivities celebrating the summer and winter solstice.

left: the Observatory at Google Earth; right: entrance to the Observatory
 

left: the stones mark sunrise at the summer solstice, behind is the iron marking of the equinox; right: the middle of the Observatory
 

left: Frank; right: me
 

We went there on the 24th of September.

total books read in 2017: 372
own 204 / 140 library / 28 BolKobo+

total pages read in 2017: 91.557
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DNF
Een beknopte geschiedenis van zeven moorden (A Brief History of Seven Killings) by Marlon James, 719 pages, (msg 217)
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abandoned
Dutch "translation" of The song of the lark by Willa Cather, , (msg 105)
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Books read in October 2017 (35 books, 8.626 pages)
book 372: Duvelstoejager op een slavenschip (The slave dancer) by Paula Fox, 144 pages, , (msg 230)
book 371: Liefdewerk oud papier by Karel Eykman, 167 pages, , (msg 229)
book 370: Frankenstein by Mary Shelley, 252 pages, TIOLI #1, , (msg 228)
book 369: Oma heeft me gestuurd om te zeggen dat het haar spijt (My grandmother asked me to tell you she's sorry) by Fredrik Backman, 420 pages, TIOLI #12, , (msg 223)
book 368: Het fort van Sjako by Karel Eykman, 168 pages, , (msg 209)
book 367: Liefdesverdriet by Karel Eykman, 89 pages, , (msg 208)
book 366: Schildpadden tot in het oneindige (Turtles All the Way Down) by John Green, 320 pages, , (msg 195)
book 365: Het joodse koninkrijk van Himyar en de christelijke martelaars van Nadjrân by Pieter W. van der Horst, 117 pages, , (msg 193)
book 364: Kleine Sofie en Lange Wapper by Els Pelgrom, 87 pages, TIOLI #8, , (msg 183)
book 363: Alles voor het moederland by Michel Krielaars, 343 pages, TIOLI #14, , (msg 182)
book 362: Saluut aan Catalonië (Hommage to Catalonia) by George Orwell, 286 pages, TIOLI #13, , (msg 173)
book 361: Het gouden suikerriet (Village of outcasts) by Siny van Itterson, 197 pages, TIOLI #9, , (msg 171)
book 360: Hartzeer (Piece of My Heart, DCI Banks 16) by Peter Robinson, 365 pages, TIOLI #10, , (msg 167)
book 359: De hele Bibelebontse berg by Harry Bekkering et al., 710 pages, TIOLI #2, , (msg 155)
book 358: Het eiland in de Vogelstraat (The Island on Bird Street) by Uri Orlev, 139 pages, TIOLI #6, , (msg 154)
book 357: Sint-Petersburg by Theun de Vries, 475 pages, TIOLI #7, , (msg 151)
book 356: Het ijshuis (Ice House) by Minette Walters, 288 pages, TIOLI #4, , (msg 140)
book 355: Honderd uur nacht (A hundred hours of night) by Anna Woltz, 193 pages, TIOLI #6, , (msg 139)
book 354: Wij waren er ook bij by Gertie Evenhuis, 192 pages, TIOLI #10, , (msg 138)
book 353: Drijfzand (Strange affair, DCI Banks 15) by Peter Robinson, 368 pages, TIOLI #10, , (msg 137)
book 352: Het rode paviljoen (The Red Pavilion, Judge Dee 9) by Robert van Gulik, 169 pages, , (msg 108)
book 351: Willem van Oranje by Jaap ter Haar, 176 pages, TIOLI #11, , (msg 107)
book 350: Bij uil thuis (Owl at home) by Arnold Lobel, 64 pages, TIOLI #9, , (msg 106)
book 349: Jan, mijn vriend (Johnny, my friend) by Peter Pohl, 229 pages, TIOLI #12, , (msg 88)
book 348: In Patagonië (In Patagonia) by Bruce Chatwin, 239 pages, TIOLI #14, ,( msg 79)
book 347: Veren by Veronica Hazelhoff, 73 pages, TIOLI #9, , (msg 66)
book 346: Schuilen onder je schooltas by Peter van Gestel, 132 pages, TIOLI #13, , (msg 63)
book 345: Stefan en Stefan by Gertie Evenhuis, 203 pages, TIOLI #10, , (msg 58)
book 344: Een vreemde vogel in het tuinhuis (The Summer House Loon) by Anne Fine, 104 pages, TIOLI #7, , (msg 57)
book 343: Jenny en de rode storm by Stig Ericson, 190 pages, TIOLI #1, , (msg 47)
book 342: Naar de overkant van de nacht by Jan van Mersbergen, 175 pages, TIOLI #5, , (msg 46)
book 341: De zaak Styles (The Mysterious Affair at Styles) by Agatha Christie, 199 pages, TIOLI #4, , (msg 45)
book 340: Vrouw (My Struggle: Book Six) by Karl Ove Knausgård, 1081 pages, TIOLI #3, , (msg 42)
book 339: Oosterschelde windkracht 10 by Jan Terlouw, 187 pages, TIOLI #8, , (msg 33)
book 338: Kikker en Pad zijn altijd samen (Frog and Toad together) by Arnold Lobel, 64 pages, TIOLI #6, , (msg 11)

Reading plans in October 2017:

TIOLI October 2017, all challenges done, a sweep :-)
28 books read in 14 challenges.

Reading plans in 2017

I have a large collection of mostly awarded childrens & YA books. At the moment I am reading the books I haven't read since joining LT, mostly alphabeticly, to decide wich to keep. The ones not to keep are donated to a library in Rotterdam (where we lived until 2005).
I started in 2016 with 803 books, now down to 718 books (on 30 September: 87 culled, 2 added).

I will try to read more of my own books, of the 244 books I have read in 2016 83 were own and 161 from the library.

I join the TIOLI (Take It Or Leave It) challenges each month.

And I try to read a Russian classic each month mostly from our Russian Library editions.

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My readings in previous years

252 books (72.452 pages) read in 2016/1, 2016/2, 2016/3, 2016/4, 2016/5, 2016/6
  28 books (9.407 pages) read in 2015
  17 books (3.700 pages) read in 2014
  12 books (3.320 pages) read in ROOT 2013
  50 books (18.779 pages) read in 2012/1, 2012/2, 2012/3
  81 books (29.021 pages) read in 2011/1, 2011/2
120 books (37.668 pages) read in 2010/1, 2010/2, 2010/3, 2010/4
  78 books (22.698 pages) read in 2009/1, 2009/2
130 books (39.901 pages) read in 2008

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Other lists

My best of lists on the WikiThing

Series I read, mostly mysteries, a list to keep track

Armand Gamache by Louise Penny 4/4 (others not translated)

Bernie Gunther by Philip Kerr 4/11
1 Een Berlijnse kwestie; 2 Het handwerk van de beul; 3 Een Duits requiem; 4 De een van de ander; 5 Een stille vlam; 6 Als de doden niet herrijzen; 7 Grijs verleden; 8 Praag fataal; 9 De man zonder adem; 10 De vrouw van Zagreb; 11 De schaduw van de stilte

Broeder Cadfael by Ellis Peters 6/20
1 Het heilige vuur; 2 Het laatste lijk; 3 Het gemene gewas; 4 De kwade knecht; 5 De eenzame bruid; 6 De kille maagd; 7 Het vege lijf; 8 De duivelse droom; 9 De gouden speld; 10 Een wisse dood; 11 Een hard gelag; 12 De ware aard; 13 Een witte roos; 14 Het stille woud; 15 De laatste eer; 16 Het rechte pad; 17 Een zijden haar; 18 Een lieve lust; 19 De heilige dief; 20 De verloren zoon

De Cock by A.C. Baantjer 41/70

Cormoran Strike by Robert Galbraith 3/3

DCI Banks by Peter Robinson 13/20
1 Stille blik; 2 Nachtlicht; 3 Tegenstroom; 4 Zondeval; 5 Schijnbeeld; 6 Woensdagkind; 7 Zwanenzang; (8 Innocent Graves and 9 Dead Right not translated); 10 Verdronken verleden; 11 Kil als het graf; 12 Nasleep; 13 Onvoltooide zomer; 14 Vuurspel; 15 Drijfzand; 16 Hartzeer; 17 Duivelsgebroed; 18 Overmacht; 18.5 Vermoorde onschuld (short stories) 19 Uitschot; 20 Dwaalspoor; 21 Dankbare dood; 22 Slachthuisblues

Erlendur Sveinsson by Arnaldur Indriðason 14/14

Fiona Griffiths by Harry Bingham 2/2

Flavia de Luce by Alan Bradley 2/5
1 De smaak van venijn; 2 Het stroeve touw; 3 De kunst van het liegen; 4 De show van je leven; 5 Slotakkoord voor een moord

Floris V by Renée Vink 2/3
1 Floris V en de Schotse troon; 2 De laatste dagen van Floris V; 3 De wreker van Floris V

John Rebus by Ian Rankin 2/18
1 Kat & muis; 2 Blindeman; 3 Hand & Tand; 4 Ontmaskering; 5 Zwartboek; 6 Vuurwerk; 7 Laat maar bloeden; 8 Gerechtigheid; 9 Door het lint; 10 Dode zielen; 11 In het duister; 12 Valstrik; 13 Lazarus; 14 Een kwestie van bloed; 15 De rechtelozen; 16 Gedenk de doden; 17 Laatste ronde; 18 Cold case;


Konrad Sejer by Karin Fossum 3/12
1 Eva's oog; 2 Kijk niet achterom; 3 Wie de wolf vreest; 4 De duivel draagt het licht; 5 De Indiase bruid; 6 Zwarte seconden; 7 De moord op Harriet Krohn; 8 Een andere voorkeur; 9 Kwade wil; 10 De waarschuwer; 11 Carmen Zita og døden (not translated); 12 Veenbrand

Kurt Wallander by Henning Mankell 7/12
prequel De jonge Wallander; 1 Moordenaar zonder gezicht; 2 Honden van Riga; 3 De witte leeuwin; 4 De man die glimlachte; 5 Dwaalsporen; 6 De vijfde vrouw; 7 Midzomermoord; 8 De blinde muur; 9 Voor de vorst; 10 De gekwelde man; 11 Wallanders wereld

Mijn strijd (My Struggle) by Karl Ove Knausgård 6/6

Nic Costa by David Hewson 10/10

Rechter Tie by Robert van Gulik 9/19
0 De vergiftigde bruid; 1 Fantoom in Foe-Lai; 2 Het Chinese lakscherm; 3 Meer van Mien-yuan; 4 Het spookklooster; 5 Klokken van Kao-yang; 6 Halssnoer en kalebas; De parel van de keizer; 8 Het rode paviljoen; 9 Moord op het maanfeest; 10 Labyrint in Lan-fang; 11 Het spook in de tempel; 12 Oudejaarsavond in Lan-Fang; 13 Nagels in Ning-tsjo; 14 De nacht van de tijger; 15 Het wilgenpatroon; 16 Moord in Canton; short story collections: Zes zaken voor rechter Tie; Vijf gelukbrengende wolken

Reders & Reders by Jan & Sanne Terlouw 6/6

Sir Balwin by Michael Jecks 4/8
1 De laatste tempelridder; 2 De heks van Wefford; 3 De gehangene van Dartmoor; 4 Het mooie lijk; 5 Het lijk zonder hoofd; 6 Het zevende gebod; 7 De dood van de erfgenaam; 8 Moord in het klooster

Yashim Togalu by Jason Goodwin 4/4

Books read in September 2017 (35 books, 9.498 pages)
book 337: Het meisje met het rode haar by Theun de Vries,
book 336: Mannen leggen me altijd alles uit (Men explain things to me) by Rebecca Solnit,
book 335: Graaf in Moskou (A gentleman in Moscow) by Amor Towles,
book 334: Paulus de hulpsinterklaas by Jean Dulieu,
book 333: Vuurspel (Playing with Fire, DCI Banks 14) by Peter Robinson,
book 332: De tolk van Java by Alfred Birney,
book 331: De parel van de keizer (The Emperor's Pearl, Judge Dee 8) by Robert van Gulik,
book 330: Poppenhuis (The House of Dolls) by David Hewson,
book 329: De Cock en 't wassend kwaad (De Cock 43) by A.C. Baantjer,
book 328: Mee met Aeneas by Imme Dros,
book 327: Reizen met Charley (Travels with Charley) by John Steinbeck,
book 326: En een tijd van vrede by Imme Dros,
book 325: Het oneindige verhaal (The Neverending Story) by Michael Ende,
book 324: De vier geschriften van de Gele Keizer (The Yellow Emperor's four canons) by the Yellow Emperor,
book 323: Termietenheuvels in de savanne (Anthills of the Savanna) by Chinua Achebe,
book 322: Religie voor athei¨sten (Religion for Atheists) by Alain de Botton,
book 321: Ik heet Karmozijn (My name is Red) by Orhan Pamuk,
book 320: De huiveringwekkende mythe van Perseus by Imme Dros,
book 319: Woeste hoogten (Wuthering Heights) by Emily Brontë,
book 318: De Oostakkerse gedichten by Hugo Claus,
book 317: De laatste dagen van Floris V by Renée Vink,
book 316: Hee meneer Eland by Eva Gerlach,
book 315: Een koning voor de Dalriaden (The Mark of the Horse Lord) by Rosemary Sutcliff,
book 314: Aardzee (The Earthsea Trilogy) by Ursula LeGuin,
book 313: Het koningsboek (Codex Regius) by Arnaldur Indriðason,
book 312: Warenar by P.C. Hooft, , msg 78
book 311: Montalbano en het verdwenen kind by Andrea Camileri,
book 310: Onvoltooide zomer (The summer that never was, DCI Banks 13) by Peter Robinson,
book 309: Agnes Grey by Anne Brontë,
book 308: Het dovemansorendieet by Maarten 't Hart,
book 307: Decamerone by Giovanni Boccaccio,
book 306: Hamlet by William Shakespeare,
book 305: Jesse 'ballewal-tsjí' by Harm de Jonge,
book 304: De eerste zaak van Montalbano (Montalbano's First Case) by Andrea Camileri,
book 303: De reizen van de slimme man by Imme Dros,

Books read in August 2017 (56 books, 11.871 pages)
book 302: Water is gevaarlijk by Tonke Dragt,
book 301: Een halve gele zon (Half of a Yellow Sun) by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie,
book 300: De moeder (Mother) by Maxim Gorky,
book 299: Dood van een maestro (Death in La Fenice) by Donna Leon,
book 298: Tilt by Michiel Stroink,
book 297: Morgen ga ik naar China by Imme Dros,
book 296: Dit is het huis bij de kromme boom by Imme Dros,
book 295: Roosje kreeg een ballon by Imme Dros,
book 294: De o van opa by Imme Dros,
book 293: Wat niemand weet by Tonke Dragt,
book 292: Annetje Lie in het holst van de nacht (Annelie in the depths of the night) by Imme Dros,
book 291: Het gevaarlijke venster, twee verhalen uit het rijk van Unauwen by Tonke Dragt,
book 290: De kleine Brief voor de koning by Tonke Dragt,
book 289: Nasleep (Aftermath, DCI Banks 12) by Peter Robinson,
book 288: De aankomst (The Arrival) by Shaun Tan,
book 287: Het verborgen leven van bomen (The Hidden Life of Trees) by Peter Wohlleben,
book 286: De Cock en de sluimerende dood (De Cock 42) by A.C. Baantjer,
book 285: Regels van de zomer (Rules of Summer) by Shaun Tan, (1000 unique books read since 2008)
book 284: Terug (Return) by Aaron Becker,
book 283: Zoektocht (Quest) by Aaron Becker,
book 282: Aan de andere kant van de deur by Tonke Dragt,
book 281: Het geheim van de klokkenmaker by Tonke Dragt,
book 280: De ijsmakers (The Ice-Cream Makers) by Ernest van der Kwast,
book 279: Dolfijn en zeemeermin by Robert Lowell,
book 278: Trash by Andy Mulligan,
book 277: Halssnoer en kalebas (Necklace and Calabash, Judge Dee 7) by Robert van Gulik,
book 276: Verhalen van de tweelingbroers by Tonke Dragt,
book 275: De geheime tuin (The Secret Garden) by Frances Hodgson Burnett,
book 274: Het transgalactisch liftershandboek (The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy) by Douglas Adams,
book 273: Het vuur van de zon (To Spoil the Sun) by Joyce Rockwood,
book 272: Oblomow by I.A. Gontsjarow,
book 271: De bergreis by Theun de Vries,
book 270: Het gemene gewas (Monk's Hood, Cadfael 3) by Ellis Peters,
book 269: De rechter en zijn beul (The Judge and His Hangman) by Friedrich Dürrenmatt,
book 268: De diddakoi (The Diddakoi) by Rumer Godden,
book 267: Judas by Amos Oz,
book 266: Kil als het graf (Cold is the Grave, DCI Banks 11) by Peter Robinson,
book 265: Blauw licht (Blue Lightning, Sheltand 4) by Ann Cleeves,
book 264: De Cock en de dode meesters (De Cock 41) by A.C. Baantjer,
book 263: De vrolijke revolutie by Fons Strijbosch,
book 262: De adelaar van het negende (The Eagle of the Ninth) by Rosemary Sutcliff,
book 261: Op reis (Journey) by Aaron Becker,
book 260: De smalle weg naar het verre noorden (The Narrow Road to the Deep North) by Matsuo Basho,
book 259: De smalle weg naar het verre noorden (The Narrow Road to the Deep North) by Richard Flanagan,
book 258: De wraak van Flame, de hengst van Azul (The Island Stallion's Fury) by Walter Farley,
book 257: De Soul Brothers en Sister Lou (The Soul Brothers and Sister Lou) by Kristin Hunter,
book 256: De vuurbewoners (The fire-dwellers) by Margaret Laurence,
book 255: James Brown : op zoek naar de Godfather of Soul (Kill 'Em and Leave) by James McBride,
book 254: De gelukkige krijgers (The Happy Warriors) by Halldór Laxness,
book 253: De blauwe maansteen by Tonke Dragt,
book 252: Verdronken verleden (In a Dry Season, DCI Banks 10) by Peter Robinson,
book 251: Haat die kat (Hate that cat) by Sharon Creech,
book 250: Waar het licht is (All the Bright Places) by Jennifer Niven,
book 249: Blindeman (Hide & Seek, John Rebus 2) by Ian Rankin,
book 248: Kat & muis (Knots and Crosses, John Rebus 1) by Ian Rankin,
book 247: Wij houden van Tsjernobyl (Voices from Chernobyl) by Svetlana Alexievich,

Books read in July 2017 (46 books, 11.485 pages)
book 246: Verdriet is het ding met veren (Grief is the Thing with Feathers) by Max Porter,
book 245: De Finklerkwestie (The Finkler Question) by Howard Jacobson,
book 244: Hou van die hond (Love that dog) by Sharon Creech,
book 243: Meer van Mien-yuan (The Chinese Lake Murders, Judge Dee 3) by Robert van Gulik,
book 242: Tijgereiland by Daan Remmerts de Vries,
book 241: Het complete Rekelboek by Koos van Zomeren,
book 240: Lange maanden by Imme Dros,
book 239: De zonderlinge geschiedenis van Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde (The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde) by R.L. Stevenson,
book 238: Het Chinese lakscherm (The Lacquer Screen, Judge Dee 3) by Robert van Gulik,
book 237: Zwanenzang (Dry Bones that Dream, DCI Banks 7) by Peter Robinson,
book 236: Het mes dat niet wijkt (The Knife of Never Letting Go) by Patrick Ness,
book 235: Grootvaders reisdoel (When grandfather journeys into winter) by Craig Strete,
book 234: Engelse rozen (David Austin's English Roses) by David Austin,
book 233: Max Havelaar by Multatuli, (1000 books read since 2008, including re-reads)
book 232: Het herdersleven (The Shepherd's Life) by James Rebanks,
book 231: De een van de ander (The One from the Other, Bernie Gunther 4) by Philip Kerr,
book 230: De Aran-eilanden (Stones of Aran: Pilgrimage) by Tim Robinson,
book 229: Kind van sneeuw (The Snow Child) by Eowyn Ivey,
book 228: De Cock en kogels voor een bruid (De Cock 40) by A.C. Baantjer,
book 227: Tot de honden komen (Dog Boy) by Eva Hornung,
book 226: Uitgestoten (Outcast) by Rosemary Sutcliff,
book 225: Lengtegraad (Longitude) by Dava Sobel,
book 224: De 100-jarige man die uit het raam klom en verdween (The Hundred-Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out of the Window and Disappeared) by Jonas Jonasson,
book 223: Kleurenblind (Born a Crime) by Trevor Noah,
book 222: Woensdagkind by (Wednesday's child, DCI Banks 6) Peter Robinson,
book 221: De heksen (The witches) by Roald Dahl,
book 220: 1984 by George Orwell,
book 219: Witte nachten (White Nights, Shetland 2) by Ann Cleeves,
book 218: De jonge prinsen by Guus Kuijer,
book 217: Rashomon en andere verhalen (Rashomon and Other Stories) by Ryûnosoke Akutagwa,
book 216: Schijnbeeld (Past reason hated, DCI Banks 5) by Peter Robinson,
book 215: Moenli en de moeder van de wolven by Klaus Kordon,
book 214: Jeugdherinneringen by J.J. Voskuil,
book 213: De derde man (The Third Man) by Graham Greene,
book 212: Geen bloemen by Lévi Weemoedt,
book 211: De honden (The Dogs) by Allan Stratton,
book 210: De vijfde vrouw (The Fifth Woman, Wallander 6) by Henning Mankell,
book 209: Soldaat Peaceful (Private Peaceful) by Michael Morpurgo,
book 208: Hij heette Jan (A Night in Distant Motion) by Irina Korschunow,
book 207: Bonfire, zoon van de Zwarte Hengst (The Black Stallion's blood bay colt, The Black Stallion 6) by Walter Farley,
book 206: Zout van de zee (Salt to the Sea) by Ruta Sepetys,
book 205: Reis met een ezel door de Cevennen (Travels with a Donkey in the Cévennes) by Robert Louis Stevenson,
book 204: Het wonderlijke verhaal van Hendrik Meier (The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar) by Roald Dahl,
book 203: Haringen in sneeuw by Remco Ekkers,
book 202: Waar is onze moeder (Please Look After Mom) by Kyung-Sook Shin,
book 201: Anna Karenina by L.N. Tolstoj,

Books read in June 2017 (26 books, 6.592 pages)
book 200: Zondeval (The Hanging Valley, DCI Banks 4) by Peter Robinson,
book 199: De rommelkist van grootvader by Elfie Donnelly,
book 198: Wiele wiele stap by Miep Diekmann,
book 197: De griezels (The Twits) by Roald Dahl,
book 196: De GVR (The BFG) by Roald Dahl,
book 195: Schrijver (Some Rain Must Fall, My Struggle 5) by Karl Ove Knausgård,
book 194: Spoo Pee Doo by Dimitri Verhulst,
book 193: Mijn naam is Bud (Bud not Buddy) by Christopher Paul Curtis,
book 192: De brug van San Luis Rey (The bridge of San Luis Rey) by Thornton Wilder,
book 191: In plaats van een vader by Kerstin Thorvall,
book 190: De blikken trommel (The Tin Drum) by Günter Grass,
book 189: Het mooie lijk (The Crediton Killings, Sir Baldwin 4) by Michael Jecks,
book 188: Kroniek van een aangekondigde dood (Chronicle of a death foretold) by Gabriel Garcia Marquez,
book 187: Arenden vliegen alleen by Tonny Vos-Dahmen von Buchholz,
book 186: Aan de verkeerde kant van de aarde (Homesick : my own story) by Jean Fritz,
book 185: Candy, kom terug (Hurry home, Candy) by Meindert DeJong,
book 184: Het grauwe huis (Bleak house) by Charles Dickens,
book 183: De verloren brief aan Thomas Mann (Inside the head of Bruno Schulz) by Maxim Biller,
book 182: Hellehonden by Jan & Sanne Terlouw,
book 181: Steeds verder weg : de verzamelaar op reis by Boudewijn Büch,
book 180: Ravenzwart (Raven Black) by Ann Cleeves,
book 179: En Appels aan de overkant by Henri van Daele,
book 178: De verschrikkelijke man uit Säffle (The Abominable Man) by Maj Sjöwall & Per Wahlöö,
book 177: De Wilg aan het Begin van de wereld by Alet Schouten,
book 176: De langschepen (The Long Ships) by Frans Gunnar Bengtsson,
book 175: Blauwzuur by Arnaldur Indriðason,

Books read in May 2017 (38 books, 10.225 pages)
book 174: Problemski Hotel by Dimitri Verhulst,
book 173: Frank, of hoe je vrienden vindt by Klaus Kordon,
book 172: En de zwakken ondergaan wat ze moeten ondergaan? (And the Weak Suffer What They Must?) by Yanis Varoufakis,
book 171: The Chessmen by Peter May,
book 170: Nacht (Dancing in the Dark, My struggle 4) by Karl Ove Knausgård,
book 169: Kaas (Cheese) by Willem Elsschot,
book 168: Alles op één kaart (Seventeen Against the Dealer) by Cynthia Voigt,
book 167: De verloren vader (Sons from Afar) by Cynthia Voigt,
book 166: Flame, de hengst van het eiland Azul (The Island Stallion) by Walter Farley,
book 165: Wilhemina Smits (Come a stranger) by Cynthia Voigt,
book 164: The Lewis Man by Peter May,
book 163: De hardloper (The Runner) by Cynthia Voigt,
book 162: Het verhaal van Dicey (Dicey's Song) by Cynthia Voigt,
book 161: Samen onder dak (2nd part of Homecoming) by Cynthia Voigt,
book 160: Onder de blote hemel (1st part of Homecoming) by Cynthia Voigt,
book 159: Niemand anders dan ik (A Solitary Blue) by Cynthia Voigt,
book 158: Het Midden Oosten (The Middle East) by Bernard Lewis,
book 157: De Rode Pimpernel (The Scarlet Pimpernel) by Barones Emma Orczy,
book 156: Toen de wereld nog jong was Jürg Schubiger,
book 155: Cybele's geheim (Cybele's Secret) by Juliet Marillier,
book 154: Bijna jarig by Imme Dros,
book 153: Dwaalsporen (Sidetracked, Wallander 5) by Henning Mankell,
book 152: De jongen met de gele ogen (The Haunting) by Margaret Mahy,
book 151: De trimbaan by Imme Dros,
book 150: Overvloed en onbehagen (The Embarrassment of Riches) by Simon Schama,
book 149: Het laatste bevel by Peter Aspe,
book 148: Na het baden bij Baxter en de ontluizing bij Miss Grace by J.M.H. Berckmans,
book 147: Die stad komt nooit af by J.A. Deelder,
book 146: De vertrapte pioenroos by Bertus Aafjes,
book 145: Oorlog op Kreta '41-'44 (The Ariadne Objective) by Wes Davis,
book 144: De tolbrug (The Toll Bridge) by Aidan Chambers,
book 143: Orkaan en Mayra by Sonia Garmers,
book 142: Het jaar dat de zigeuners kwamen (The Year the Gypsies Came) by Linzi Glass,
book 141: two editions of De Blauwe Boekanier by Tonke Dragt,
book 140: Djingo Django (Jingo Django) by Sid Fleischman,
book 139: Een huis met een poort en een park by Henri van Daele,
book 138: De ontdekking van de hemel (The Discovery of Heaven) by Harry Mulisch,
book 137: De vuurtoren by Jan & Sanne Terlouw,

Books read in April 2017 (37 books, 7.825 pages)
book 136: Koude berg : onthechting als weg by Han Shan,
book 135: De stad van goud (The city of gold) by Peter Dickinson,
book 134: Een stinkdier is een prachtig beest by Daniil Charms,
book 133: Wildewoud (Wildwood Dancing) by Juliet Marillier,
book 132: ... en de zon werd koud by Jean Coué,
book 131: Just kids by Patti Smith,
book 130: Tirannen (The present takers) by Aidan Chambers,
book 129: Het geheim van de grot (Seal secret) by Aidan Chambers,
book 128: Leven en lot (Life and Fate) by Vasily Grossman,
book 127: De rode kous (Offbeat Friends) by Elfie Donnelly,
book 126: Fantoom in Foe-lai (The Chinese Gold Murders, Judge Dee 1) by Robert van Gulik,
book 125: Aurelio en de wilde hengst (Stallion of the sands) by Helen Griffiths,
book 124: Dichtbij ver van hier by Tonke Dragt,
book 123: De plaats van de ster (La Place de l'Étoile) by Patrick Modiano,
book 122: Je moet dansen op mijn graf (Dance on my grave) by Aidan Chambers,
book 121: Tot aan het bittere eind by Werner J. Egli,
book 120: M-train by Patti Smith,
book 119: De weg naar Little Dribbling (The Road to Little Dribbling) by Bill Bryson,
book 118: Begin een torentje van niks by Ted van Lieshout,
book 117: Dan ben je nergens meer by Miep Diekman,
book 116: Tobbe by Mikael Engström,
book 115: De robot van de rommelmarkt ; Route Z by Tonke Dragt,
book 114: Federico by Helen Griffiths,
book 113: Jij zegt het by Connie Palmen,
book 112: Het einde van de rode mens (Secondhand Time: The Last of the Soviets) by Svetlana Alexijevitsj,
book 111: Het spookklooster (The haunted monastery, Judge Dee 5) by Robert van Gulik,
book 110: Matilda by Roald Dahl,
book 109: Abels eiland (Abel's island) by William Steig,
book 108: Een grapje van God (A jest of God) by Margaret Laurence,
book 107: Lieveling, boterbloem by Margriet Heymans,
book 106: Een heel lief konijn by Imme Dros,
book 105: De poorten van Anubis (The Anubis Gates) by Tim Powers,
book 104: Boris (The ice road) by Jaap ter Haar,
book 103: De levende doden (Barefoot Gen, Vol. 2: The Day After) by Keiji Nakazawa,
book 102: De boten van Brakkeput (The haunted island) by Miep Diekmann,
book 101: Oorlog en terpentijn (War and turpentine) by Stefan Hertmans,
book 100: De Cock en de dood van een profeet (De Cock 39) by A.C. Baantjer,

Books read in March 2017 (32 books, 7.901 pages)
book 99: De Penderwicks (The Penderwicks) by Jeanne Birdsall,
book 98: De laatste wildernis (The Wild Places) by Robert Macfarlane,
book 97: Klokken van Kao-yang (The chinese bell murders, Judge Dee 3) by Robert van Gulik,
book 96: Het zwaard van de Islam (Children of the book) by Peter Carter,
book 95: De stenen engel (The Stone Angel) by Margaret Laurence,
book 94: De weglopers (The runaways) by Victor Canning,
book 93: De dag van de geitenman (After the goat man) by Betsy Byars,
book 92: De gebroeders Karamazow (The brothers Karamazov) by F.M. Dostojewski,
book 91: Stilte (Silence) by Shusaku Endo,
book 90: De blauwe tweeling (Reders & Reders 4) by Jan & Sanne Terlouw,
book 89: Tegenstroom (A necessary end, DCI Banks 3) by Peter Robinson,
book 88: De gehangene van Dartmoor (A Moorland Hanging, Sir Baldwin 3) by Michael Jecks,
book 87: Hoe schilder hoe wilder : Haarlem by Miep Diekmann,
book 86: Hoe schilder hoe wilder : Leiden by Miep Diekmann,
book 85: Het laatste lijk (One corpse too many, Cadfael 2) by Ellis Peters,
book 84: Blote handen (Bare hands) by Bart Moeyaert,
book 83: De geest op de rotswand (Spirit on the Wall) by Ann O'Neil Garcia,
book 82: De Boeddha in de wereld (An End to Suffering: The Buddha in the World) by Pankaj Mishra,
book 81: Winterdieren by Bibi Dumon Tak,
book 80: Zoon (Boyhood Island, My Struggle 3) by Karl Ove Knausgård,
book 79: Chocolade oorlog (The chocolate war) by Robert Cormier,
book 78: Boris Beer by Dick Bruna,
book 77: Lieve oma Pluis (Goodbye Grandma) by Dick Bruna,
book 76: Het dansende licht by Tonke Dragt,
book 75: Tegenvoeters (In a sunburned country) Bill Bryson,
book 74: Aan de rivier (By the river) by Steven Herrick,
book 73: Balthasar by Henri van Daele,
book 72: De man in het bruine pak (The man in the brown suit) by Agatha Christie,
book 71: Rokus en het Tiende Leven by Alet Schouten,
book 70: Heraios en de beker by Sacha Burger,
book 69: De zwerfkatten (The pinballs) by Betsy Byars,
book 68: Celia Garth by Gwen Bristow,

Books read in February 2017 (34 books, 7.778 pages)
book 67: Kinderverhalen by Mies Bouhuys,
book 66: De Cock en het duel in de nacht (De Cock 38) by A.C. Baantjer,
book 65: Het bittere kruid (Bitter herbs) by Marga Minco,
book 64: De vloek van Woestewolf (The curse of the werewolf) by Paul Biegel,
book 63: Lang zul je leven : bakerrijmpjes by Ienne Biemans,
book 62: De kleine kapiteinThe (Little Captain) by Paul Biegel,
book 61: Nachtlicht (A dedicated man, DCI Banks 2) by Peter Robinson,
book 60: Bij nader inzien by J.J. Voskuil,
book 59: The Poet's Dog by Patricia MacLachlan,
book 58: Kwaad bloed by Marita de Sterck,
book 57: Laatste verhalen van de eeuw by Paul Biegel,
book 56: Heerlijke nieuwe wereld (Brave new world) by Aldous Huxley,
book 55: Dief van de duivel by Mikael Engström,
book 54: Wie is Julia (Finding Grace) by Alyssa Brugman,
book 53: Brooklyn by Colm Tóibín,
book 52: Ver heen by P.C. Kuiper,
book 51: Misdaad en straf (Crime and punishment) by F.M. Dostojewski,
book 50: Van den vos Reynaerde (Of Reynaert the Fox) by Willem, transl H. Adema,
book 49: Lasse Länta by Cor Bruijn,
book 48: Man zonder land (A man without a country) by Kurt Vonnegut,
book 47: Dromen van mijn vader (Dreams from my father) by Barack Obama,
book 46: Lawines razen (Avalanche!) by An Rutgers van der Loeff,
book 45: Walden ; Burgerlijke ongehoorzaamheid (Walden & On the duty of Civil Disobedience) by Henry David Thoreau,
book 44: De rode prinses by Paul Biegel,
book 43: De verjaardag van de eekhoorn (The Squirrel's Birthday and Other Parties) by Toon Tellegen,
book 42: De verjaardag van alle anderen by Toon Tellegen,
book 41: Bajaar by Martha Heesen,
book 40: De eeuwigheid verzameld : Helene Kröller-Müller (1869-1939) by Eva Rovers,
book 39: Overal en nergens (Neither Here nor There: Travels in Europe) by Bill Bryson,
book 38: De Cock en de ontluisterende dood (De Cock 37) by A.C. Baantjer,
book 37: Zand erover by Laura Broekhuysen,
book 36: Sjanetje by Thea Dubelaar,
book 35: Krik by Miep Diekman,
book 34: De twaalf rovers (The twelve robbers) by Paul Biegel,

Books read in January 2017 (33 books, 9.756 pages)
book 33: In de ban van de ring (The Lord of the Rings) by J.R.R. Tolkien,
book 32: Fiona : In koelen bloede (Love story, with murders) by Harry Bingham,
book 31: Fiona (Talking to the dead) by Harry Bingham,
book 30: Het olifantenfeest (The elephant party) by Paul Biegel,
book 29: Stille blik (Gallows view, DCI Banks 1) by Peter Robinson,
book 28: Het eiland daarginds by Paul Biegel,
book 27: De mens is een grote fazant (The passport) by Herta Müller,
book 26: Swing by Paul Biegel,
book 25: Haas by Paul Biegel,
book 24: Liefde (A man in love, My struggle 2) by Karl Ove Knausgård,
book 23: Anderland by Paul Biegel,
book 22: Het gen: een intieme geschiedenis (The Gene: an intimate history) by Siddharta Mukerjee,
book 21: Tussen de wereld en mij (Between the world and me) by Ta-Nehisi Coates,
book 20: 7 jaren van een wielrenner by Herbert Friedrich,
book 19: De inspirerende wijsheid van de Dalai Lama by Dalai Lama,
book 18: Zout op mijn huid (Salt on our skin) by Benoîte Groult,
book 17: Padden verhuizen niet graag by Gerard Brands,
book 16: Francesco by Jean Dulieu,
book 15: Het knoopjeskabinet (The Hare with Amber Eyes) by Edmund de Waal,
book 14: De aanslag (The assault) by Harry Mulisch,
book 13: We moeten allemaal feminist zijn (We should all be feminists) by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie,
book 12: Dokter Zjivago (Doctor Zhivago) by Boris Pasternak,
book 11: Kikker in de kou (Frog in Winter) by Max Velthuijs,
book 10: Ik maak nooit iets mee by Guus Middag,
book 9: Een goudvis van tweeduizend pond (The two-thousand-pound goldfish) by Betsy Byars,
book 8: Hidden Doe : Wij zijn Mesquakie, wij zijn één (We are Mesquakie, we are one) by Hadley Irwin,
book 7: De donkere kamer van Damocles (The Darkroom of Damocles) by Willem Frederik Hermans,
book 6: Het veterdiploma by Wiel Kusters,
book 5: Onvoltooide geschiedenis ((The German Mujahid in US, An Unfinished Business in UK) by Boualem Sansal,
book 4: De wervelstorm (Hills End) by Ivan Southall,
book 3: Nachtverhaal by Paul Biegel,
book 2: Oorlog en vrede 2/2 (War and Peace 2/2) by Leo Tolstoj,
book 1: Oorlog en vrede 1/2 (War and Peace 1/2) by Leo Tolstoj,

Books aquired in 2017: 29

October 2017
De tolk van Java by Alfred Birney (Libris Literatuur prijs 2017)
Saluut aan Catalonië by George Orwell
Leven en lot by Vasily Grossman

August 2017
Wolfijzers en schietgeweren by Richard Minne (Nederlandse canon)
De Oostakkerse gedichten by Hugo Claus (Nederlandse canon)
Een muur van schilden by Rosemary Sutcliff
Vincent in Den Haag by Theun de Vries
De geschikte jongen by Vikram Seth

July 2017
De Indische reis van H. P. Berlage editor Joris Molenaar
The sketchbook of Jan van Goyen from the Bredius-Kronig collection by Edwin Buijsen

May 2017
Ravenzwart, Shetland book 1 by Ann Cleeves (e-book)
Witte nachten, Shetland book 2 by Ann Cleeves (e-book)
Blauw licht, Shetland book 4 by Ann Cleeves (e-book)
Mijn naam is Bud by Christopher Paul Curtis

April 2017:
Verontwaardiging by Philip Roth
De boerderij der dieren by George Orwell

March 2017:
Verzamelde werken 2 : Gedichten by Boris Pasternak
Het nieuwe vogels kijken by Kester Freriks
Makkelijk leven by Herman Koch (Boekenweekgeschenk)
De moeder van Nicolien by J.J. Voskuil
De klokkenluider van de Notre-Dame by Victor Hugo

February 2017:
Bajaar by Martha Heesen (e-book, Gouden Lijst 2012)
Kwaad gesternte by Hannah van Binsbergen (VSB Poëzieprijs 2017)
Tussen de wereld en mij by Ta-Nehisi Coates
Walden ; Burgerlijke ongehoorzaamheid by Henry David Thoreau
Tegen verkiezingen by David van Reybrouck
The Poet's Dog by Patricia MacLachlan
Binnen de huid by J.J. Voskuil
Terloops : Voettochten 1957-1973 by J.J. Voskuil

Books culled in 2017: 50

Ready, next one is yours.

book 338: Kikker en Pad zijn altijd samen by Arnold Lobel
own, translated, childrens, awarded, Vlag en Wimpel 1982, original title Frog and Toad together, 64 pages
TIOLI #6: Read a book where the authors first name starts with a vowel

Frog and Toad are best friends and spend the days together. They work in the garden, try to be brave and try not to eat all the cookies. Nice book for young readers, with lovely illustrations by the author.

Wonderful photos again Anita. My favourite stone circle is Avebury, in Wiltshire.

>12 Caroline_McElwee: Thanks Caroline, it is great to have all this Lanscape Art nearby.
One day I want to visit some of the stone circles in England :-)

Nice pictures Anita.

I'd love to visit one of the stone circles in England as well. I imagine one can feel the age of the place. But for Holland, and Flevoland, it's fitting that the main element of the land art is a dike, and that it's so new.

Happy New Thread, Anita. Love the Flevoland toppers. Hope you are enjoying the weekend and getting plenty of reading in.

Happy new thread, Anita. Another episode in what has become a stellar year here. xx

Have a lovely Sunday.

Happy new thread Anita my dear, you have posted some great photos again and your reading this year has been phenomenal, I can only dream of reading in excess of 80,000 pages with still a quarter of the year to go. Hope you are having a really lovely weekend dear friend.

>14 EllaTim: Thanks, Ella.
Since I live here in Flevoland, I can feel the difference when I leave the province. Old land does feel different from new land.

>15 msf59: Thanks, Mark.
My reading speed has dropped a little bit, since I had trouble with my bouncing heart a few weeks ago. But I hope to be back at "normal" rate soon. Today not much reading, as we will go out to visit a friend.

>16 PaulCranswick: Thanks Paul.
Yes, it is a stellar reading year for me, and because of that it is also a stellar year in threads.

>17 johnsimpson: Thanks, John.
For many years I couldn't imagine to read this much, it is a nice turn to be able to read so many books.
Hope your weekend is good as well, love and hugs to you and Karen.

Happy New Thread, Anita.

Cool toppers. So much good reading! Congratulations.

Hi, Anita, and happy new thread!

Absolute stunning stats. You're amazing.

I love your thread toppers - thanks for the pics of you and Frank, too.

Exactly what Karen said!! ^^

Happy new thread!

Happy new thread! Hope you had a good weekend!

Happy new thread!

>19 jnwelch: Thanks, Joe.
I know, reading goes very well, and thanks to the recommendations by everyone here, most are very good readings :-)

>20 karenmarie: Thanks, Karen.
I don't feel amazing, I know my reading speed at the moment is amazing ;-)
The pictures turned out well last week, even the one Frank made of me.

>21 Berly: Thanks, Kim.
^ what I said to Karen!

>22 ChelleBearss: Thanks, Chelle.
I had a good weekend, visited a friend, started a new thread, not much time for reading!

>23 drneutron: Thanks, Jim!
I am keeping you busy with more new threads this year.

A bit late but happy new thread, Anita. Love the pictures, especially of you two

Happy New Thread, Anita. Hmm, I don't know of any such natural observatories in North America as there and in England. Do any exist?

ETA according to Google, there is the Chaco Canyon kiva in New Mexico.

Happy new thread! I loved seeing your recent photos of the land art on facebook.

Happy new thread! I like the landscape art.

Happy new thread, Anita. I love the topper. Beautiful.

Happy New Thread, Anita! Beautiful pics! I miss that landscape, it has been years since I've been up North. Mountains are picturesque and all, but sometimes I miss the flat lands and the views and the special colors of the sky.

>25 jessibud2: Thanks Shelley, never late, as I am always happy to "see" you here :-)

>26 ronincats: Thanks Roni, I didn't know. So thanks for looking that one up. Any chance you ever go there?

>27 Sakerfalcon: Thanks Claire, it is nice to share those pictures with people interested in land art. Only two left in our province that we haven't visited.

>28 foggidawn: Thanks foggi, so do we ;-)

>29 Ameise1: Thanks Barbara, it is a beautiful place to visit.

>30 Deern: Thanks Nathalie, I know the feeling, it has been a while since we were near mountains. I wouldn't want to live anywhere else, but I would like to spend a vacation near the mountains next year.

Happy new thread, Anita! Wow, interesting pics in your topper!

book 339: Oosterschelde windkracht 10 by Jan Terlouw
own, Dutch, YA,, no translations, 187 pages
TIOLI #8: Read a book whose first letter of the title begins with HOCKEY

The book is split in two parts. The first part starts in the summer of 1952, Anne lives with her parents and two siblings on a farm on the island Flakkee. She is going to marry Henk, who studies in Delft to be an engeneer. She gets pregnant so they have to marry earlier as planned. As Henk is stil busy with his study, it is decided Anne stays with her parents, after the marriage. January 31st, Henk comes from Delft to spend the weekend. That night a heavy storm comes up and the dikes break. Anne's brother is one of the 1835 people who drowned in the "Watersnoodramp" of 1953.

In the second part it is twenty years later, most of the islands are safe behind dams, the "Delta works" are nearly completed. The arms of the sea are closed, but more and more people realise that keeping the sea out has consequenses for the envionment. Three are still open, the access to the harbors in Antwerp and Rotterdam will stay open. The third, the Oosterschelde will be closed soon. Enviromentalists and fishermen join together protesting. After a long public debate, where Anne, Henk and their sons each take sides, middle ground is found: an open dam, that can be closed when there is danger.

>32 Carmenere: Thanks Lynda, this is one of 7 places with land art in our province. We try to visit them all this year.

>33 FAMeulstee: I've been looking for something about to read about the watersnoodramp. With all the natural disasters this year it seemed appropriate.

I'd like a vacation in the mountains as well! Spectacular, and what I most loved to see, was all the running water, waterfalls.

>35 EllaTim: Well the first half of the book is about the watersnoodramp.
Looking up tags waternoodramp gives 24 books.

Water is always calming, sea, river, lake and waterfalls are the best.

>36 FAMeulstee: Thanks, Anita, that tag gave me a good option,
De ramp : een reconstructie van de watersnood van 1953 by Kees Slager, And it's even available in my OWN library branch:-)

Hi Anita, it's good to see that you are actively reading a lot. Although I can't make a judgement on many of the books since I don't read Dutch.

>37 EllaTim: You are welcome, Ella. LT has so many nice features to find a fitting book :-)

>38 xieouyang: Hi Manuel, so nice to see a message from you!
How are you doing? Do you have a thread somewhere?
With reading from my own shelves, I read a lot of Dutch books. This year is turning into my best reading year since I joined this group.

Hey Anita, greetings from sunny Cape Town. Love the landscape art. I have just picked up Testosterone Rex which is debunking lots of theories about biological reasons men and women are why they are, so your comments on Rebecca Solnit struck home with me (on your previous thread). Your reading stats are amazing - I hope to bump mine up over the next few weeks.

>40 charl08: Hi Charlotte, greetings from windy Lelystad. I hope you are having a splended time in Cape Town!
I saw Testosterone Rex on your thread, sounds good! I wasn't sure what to expect of Rebecca Solnit, but she turned out to be a good writer. Even I am amazed when I see my reading statistics ;-)

book 340: Vrouw by Karl Ove Knausgård
from the library, e-book, translated, autobiography, English translation My Struggle: Book Six, 1081 pages
TIOLI #3: Read a last book in a series

The last book of "My struggle" starts when the first book is about to be published. The manuscript has been send out to people who appear in the first book, and he gets some nice reactions. But his uncle gets very nasty and wants to go to court to prevent publication. According to his uncle everything Karl Ove wrote about his father and his fathers family is a lie. Karl Ove decides to remove his uncle and grandparents name from the first book, as their name isn't Knausgård, Karl Ove's father changed his name.

Then the middle of the book Karl Ove thinks about the importance of names, Paul Celan, evil in humans and Hitler. In a long essay, named "The Name and the Number" he first analyses a poem by Paul Celan, surviver of the Holocaust and then "Mein Kampf" the book Hitler wrote. How the names of six million people are erased, but the names of the Nazi's are still known.

Then we return to Karl Ove's present life with his wife and three children, where thre stress of the publication of the first two books, both the contents as the problems with the uncle, become too much a burden to his wife. She suffers from bipoliar disorder and gets depressed followed by a very manic time. After her recovery Karl Ove is glad he has finished his books and his writings.

#181 last thread....re: the list of books for every year of your life...and was I going to do a list...here is the one I did last year (so there is no 2017 book on it)

>43 LovingLit: Sadly I can't read all the titles, Megan, do you have the list somewhere else in tekst? Oh never mind, I found the collection in your library :-)
I have read The Vegetarian, A Monster Calls, Marcello in the Real World and The Bookshop.

book 341: De zaak Styles by Agatha Christie
BolKobo+, e-book, translated, original title The Mysterious Affair at Styles, 199 pages
TIOLI #4: Read a book that is one click away from the book preceeding in in the wiki list

The first Hercule Poirot book, taking place at the English countryside, during WW I.
Hastings is staying with friends, someone is murdered and Poirot happens to be near.

Not bad for a first book, but not completely convincing murder mystery.

book 342: Naar de overkant van de nacht by Jan van Mersbergen
BolKobo+, e-book, Dutch, no translations, 175 pages
TIOLI #5: Read a book in which someone wears a costume, disguise or mask

Ralf hasn't had a day off in the past five years, when his uncle takes him to the carnival in Venlo. He spends the day and a large part of the night, consuming a lot of beer and other more alcoholic drinks, with others who all enjoy the time away from normal life. In his costume he is a ferryman. In between the scenes we get to know Ralf, he thinks back to his youth, he misses the children he left behind for a day.
Sometimes the language is beautiful, associating words and thoughts leads to the next word and memory.

book 343: Jenny en de rode storm by Stig Ericson
own, YA, translated from Swedish, awarded, Zilveren Griffel 1987, no English translation, 190 pages
TIOLI #1: Read a book with an animal named or embedded in the third word on any page

1890, Jenny lives with her parents and siblings in Nebraska. They are settlers, living a hard life. The sumer of 1890 is very dry, the harvest fails and many settlers go bankrupt. There seems to be unrest in the indian reservations nearby. Acoording to Jenny's father there is nothing much going on, but the papers are full of sensational stories. People become scared of the indians, and the army is called in. On December 29th, 1890 the Wounded Knee Massacre takes place.

Good descriptions of daily life of the settlers. How rumours, driven by sensation searching journalists escalate the situation. The swedish writer did extensive research before writing the book. A very good read.

I am late to your newest thread, Anita, but I will still wish you happy. Love your toppers!

Never too late, Mamie! Happy new thread, Anita! I also love your toppers, especially the image of the entrance to the Observatory.

>47 FAMeulstee: Reminds me just the tiniest bit of My Antonia, which is about the same subject except not YA (and is excellently wonderful, if you haven't read it yet). I had the thought that it was kind of funny that a book about America hasn't been translated into English. Not sure why that struck me, because books by English authors about other countries aren't always translated into that country's language. Haven't finished my morning coffee yet, so my brain isn't fully engaged.

>48 Crazymamie: Thanks, Mamie! On my thread you are never late, as you are welcome any time :-)

>49 Storeetllr: Thanks, Mary, the entrance is nice, as you can see the marking of sunrise at the exinoxes at the end.
I can't find a Dutch translation of My Antonia. I did find a translation of book 2 of The Prairie Trilogy: The song of the Lark, would you recommend reading it without knowing the previous book?

I completely forgot to mention earlier this week that my GP called that she had the results back from the weekend long heart monitoring in September. Nothing wrong with my heart *sigh of relief*

Meanwhile I figured out myself what a part of the problem was, last December I had to change thyroid medication, because the one I had was no longer available. I googled the name of the new medication and got pages full with people with the same problems: heart bouncing, not able to sleep, tired, muscle pain. It turns out this medication is either better absorbed or the dose is a bit higher. There is a 10% marge, so if the first medication was 90% and the new one 110% it is a huge difference for a medication that needs to be dosed in exact amounts.

So my dosage is drasticly lowered, I was already lowering it slowly as the last bloodwork showed I was a bit over the high end. Lowering the dose slow gives no problems, but lowering it 25% as the GP and I decided to do, makes me very unstable for some weeks, both physical as emotional, but the heart bouncing and insomnia are worse...

In November bloodwork again, after 6 weeks on the new dosage. Hoping it won't get too low, as that would bring my phobia's back.

Glad there's nothing wrong with your heart! I can empathize with your thyroid med saga, as I also must take synthetic thyroid and have had some of the problems you mention over the years when things went out of sync. Hope they get your dosage straightened out soon!

I enjoyed Song of the Lark, though it's not as amazing as My Antonia. You do not have to have read one to enjoy the other, so go for it!

Oh that's wonderful news! :) The thyroid influences so much, and too often doctors take a while to follow up that path when someone has heart issues or anxiety. Hoping the new dosage will work out for you!

>52 Storeetllr: Thanks, Mary, it was a big relieve!
Did it take long before you got on the right dosage?
It took nearly 2 years before the connnection with my phobias and low thyroid was found. This was the first time I had troubles with to much thyroid.
I have added The Song of Lark to mount TBR.

>53 Deern: Thanks, Nathalie, I had not experienced troubles with to much thyroid before, and the change to the new meds was in December. So it wasn't obvious that it could be the problem. I am a bit unstable now, but at least I know it is only temporary.

Happy Saturday, Anita! Hooray for the good medical news! Yah!

I am also a fan of Cather and The Song of the Lark is on my To-Read list.

>55 msf59: Thanks Mark, we are all happy about the good news :-)
I haven't read anything by Willa Cather, as only a few of her books are available in Dutch translation. Maybe we can do a shared read?

book 344: Een vreemde vogel in het tuinhuis by Anne Fine
own, YA, translated, awarded, Vlag en Wimpel 1980, original title The Summer House Loon, 104 pages
TIOLI #7: Read a Book that you list by Author's Birth Month in a Rolling Challenge

Ione, teenage daughter of the blind professor Muffet, spends most summerdays in the summerhouse in their garden. One day one of her fathers students turns up in the garden and the next 24 hours Ione is busy solving the problems of the student, the girl he wants to marry and her father.

Funny book, in 1981 it was made into a Dutch radio play.

book 345: Stefan en Stefan by Gertie Evenhuis
own, YA, Dutch, awarded, Zilveren Griffel 1974, no translations, 203 pages
TIOLI #10: Read a book where the author's name contains a common noun

1970s, Stefan Ionescu lives in Amsterdam with his mother and sister. His father was Romanian, who desterted his ship to marry his mother, but he died in a car accident. Stefan has only met his Romanian family once, when he was 5 years old. Now they will spend the summer vacation in Romania. When his mother can't go, because of some problems at work, Stefan and his sister Rita fly together to Romania.
Stefan had been looking forward to meet his grandfather, but his grandfather isn't at the airport to pick them up. They find their way to their family, and finally do meet their grandfather. But life in the Romanian village is much different from their life back home.

Morning Anita! Glad to hear that your heart is in good health!
Sorry to see your dosage issues. I also have low thyroid issues and I think it's currently affecting my nursing supply for wee Elissa. Thyroid can be such a bugger!

Have a lovely weekend, Anita. xx

Hiya, Anita.

Willa Cather is a favorite author of mine, and my top two are My Antonia and O! Pioneers. Another great one that I don't think has been mentioned yet is Death Comes for the Archbishop.

>59 ChelleBearss: Thanks, Chelle, I am glad I don't have to worry about tht anymore :-)
The thyroid hormones have so much impact on the body. I had probably low thyroid for over 15 years before the problem was found (mainly because I tend to avoid doctors). Before it was diagnosed I had no idea so many people have similair problems.

>60 PaulCranswick: Thanks Paul, the same to you!

>61 jnwelch: Thanks Joe, I have seen her recommended often in our group. Sadly all three you name are not available in Dutch translation. The copy I have of The Song of the Lark is from a new publisher, mainly publishing e-books. The book description was full of faults, so I am not sure about the quality of the translation. Well, I will find out when I start to read.

book 346: Schuilen onder je schooltas by Peter van Gestel
own, YA, Dutch, awarded, Vlag en Wimpel 1980, no translations, 132 pages
TIOLI #13: Read a book with three O's in the title or the author's name

Tom is nine years old and lives in Amsterdam. His parents are divorced, and he is the only child, living with his mother. He is a bit of a lonely kid, interactions with others just happen to him, even when it is his dad. Just walking in the street he nearly bumps into an old lady and he ends up carrying her bag with groceries to the third floor.

Peter van Gestel can write down ordinary events in life in a humorous way, but I prefer his later books. The illustrations by Peter van Straten (well known Dutch cartoonist) match perfectly.

>62 FAMeulstee: Hopefully someone will see the need and supply the Dutch translations before too much time passes, Anita. I thoroughly enjoyed The Song of the Lark, too. I hope it's a good quality translation.

>64 jnwelch: I think this publisher waited for the copy-rights to expire, Joe.

book 347: Veren by Veronica Hazelhoff
own, YA, Dutch, awarded, Nienke van Hichtumprijs & Zilveren Griffel 1995, no translations, 73 pages
TIOLI #9: Read a book that has some tie to birds in the title, author name or cover art

Nini and Maja are twins, they are with their parents on a ferry on their way to their vacation destination. Nini doesn't like the house where they stay, it is gray and not welcoming them. Nini is the one who always talk, Maja is quiet, lives more in her own world. During the vacation they grow apart, but finally they find eachother back.

>54 FAMeulstee: I get my thyroid checked at least once a year, sometimes twice. I often have to fiddle with the dosage. Last time around, I was getting a bit too much so now I take only a half pill on Sundays and Wednesdays because I didn't want to change my Rx since I had JUST gotten it refilled when my doctor told me it needed to be reduced.

I second Joe's recommendation of Death Comes for the Archbishop. I haven't read O Pioneers! yet. Not sure how I managed to miss that one, as I believe it is her most famous, or most acclaimed. I hope they start translating all her books soon so you can read them.

Hello Anita--I'm glad to see that your heart issues are resolved, and hopefully the change in your thyroid medicine will bring everything back to normal.

Back to your last thread (sorry to be so behind here):

When I get around to making my list of books for years since I was born, Life and Fate, A Prayer for Owen Meany, The Discovery of Heaven, and My Struggle would all be contenders.

Your reaction to A Gentleman in Moscow was extremely similar to mine. I noticed in the discussion that you and I think Ella also had similar criticisms of The Nightingale and All the Light We Cannot. I never made that connection, but I can see that I also disliked for the same reasons I didn't care for Gentleman.

My Struggle Book VI hasn't been published in English yet, so I am waiting anxiously for it. For some reason they are publishing his new series based on the seasons, Autumn and Winter first.

Have you ever read Dutch author Louis Couperus--I have several of his books on my Kindle, but have yet to read him.

Hi Anita, good to hear about the thyroid versus the heart. At least thyroid is treatable fairly easily. My own thyroids meds have fluctuated in dosages up and down over the last several months, after being quite stable for years. I don't know why that happens, but I am now having blood checks every 3 months instead of every 6 months until they stabilize again. And yes, thyroid can really throw so much of our body functioning out of whack!

I have seen you mention many times that certain books aren't in Dutch translation but I wonder, have you not tried in English? That sort of surprises me as your English seems to be so excellent, so fluent, when you post here. I know that is not always the same thing, for a non-native language speaker but you seem someone who I would not think would have a problem with that. Just curious.

Hi Anita, good to hear that your heart is Oke.
I hope you get your thyroid levels stable again. As it has so much impact!
And have a nice Sunday.

>67 Storeetllr: The last 3 years I was back to checking thyroid once every 6 months, Mary, next time is 6 weeks after changing the dose and then every 3 months I hope.
With the previous thyroid meds I was on 0,150 mg (one pill of 0,100 and two of 0,025) and now I am back to 0,112 mg (0,100 and half a small one). On the same dosage my thyroid (T4) was always a bit higher in summer and a bit lower in winter, if I took a quarter of a small pill less in summer and more in winter I had no problems.

>68 arubabookwoman: Thanks, Deborah, it was a big relief.
I am looking forward to see your list since you were born, I think I will have read more of those.
Yes, Ella added The Nightingale, I have read All the Light We Cannot See, somehow these stories don't feel authentic, just like A Gentleman in Moscow.
The last My Struggle book was the hardest read of them all. I might read his new series someday, when I have digested the last book. And that might take a while, some parts still pop up in my head.

We used to own Louis Couperus complete works, but we culled them due to lack of space. In my youth I have read and liked Psyche and Fidessa. Last year I have read his Footsteps of fate, but wasn't impressed. There are some of his books I want to read someday: Eline Vere, The Hidden Force and Old People and the Things that Pass.

>69 jessibud2: Thanks, Shelley. Yes, thyroid is fairly easily treatable, and differences between manifacturers and/or brands can be overcome. When the thyroid meds have no stable dosage it gets complicated for some of us. The troubles here started when the factory that made Thyrax was dismanteled before the new factory started to produce. So everyone had to go over to an other brand, and needed extra blood tests. I wish it was possible to make the manifacturer pay for all these extra health costs...

The trouble is that if I read a book in English it takes 3 to 4 times more time. I have read a few books in English this year, because I REALLY wanted to read them, but it is always a bit of a struggle. Posting here isn't the same, athough writing a message can be time consuming sometimes, I have always an on-line dictionary opened for searching some words.
ETA: it took me nearly 20 minutes to compose this post ;-)

>70 EllaTim: Thanks, Ella, it will take some time to get the thyroid levels right again, but I will get there.
Happy Sunday to you, I hope you get everything done today.

I'm impressed at your patience posting Anita. Thank you for taking the time! (Dank je - if I've got that right!?)

I've not read Willa Cather at all, so intrigued by the fandom. Wonder if she's a US author that hasn't travelled to the UK, or just my ignorance (quite possible!)

>71 FAMeulstee: From Couperus I have read Old people and the things that pass and liked it. A story of a family of several generations and the influence a big secret in the family has on them. You've got to like his writing style, that is very much his own, but for me, I can usually tell pretty fast if that will be the case or not.

>72 FAMeulstee: It takes a lot of reading to get so familiar with a language that it feels easy and fluent, and still one's own mother tongue is the closest and most natural.

No, Anita, I'm doing a volunteer job at the allotment, planning the work for our general grounds, and garden. Busiest time of the year at the moment.

Ha, slowing down so that your reading takes 3 or 4 times longer would make you read at the same pace as most of the rest of us, Anita. Love the toppers, happy newish thread. I hope they get your thyroid medication straightened out so you can get back to your normal self soon.

Hi Anita! Came by to catch up. Quite a lot going on! Sending you my warmest *hugs*

Glad your heart is ok and that you are getting your thyroid medications sorted out. Not fun at all.

Love your land art photos at the top!

>73 charl08: Dank je, Chalotte, you have got it right :-)
I think Willa Cather is mainly read in the US, she lived from 1873-1947. I think there was less exchange in books back then.

>74 EllaTim: I have liked and disliked books by Couperus, Ella, so it could go either way.
Four of his books are in the Dutch canon, the three I mentioned in >71 FAMeulstee: and The Book of the Small Souls.
Yes, that is true, the mothertongue feels natural, both in words and grammar.

>75 Familyhistorian: Thanks, Meg, I might try to read more in English someday. But first I want to finish reading my own childrens/YA books, at my present reading speed that should be done in 2019 :-)

>76 richardderus: Thanks, Richard, I am so happy you are back with us!
Yes, lots is going on, mostly books read as my reading ability exploded halfway last year :-)

>77 sibylline: Thanks, Lucy, getting back to good thyroid levels is no fun indeed.
But we have nice land art near by to enjoy ;-)

book 348: In Patagonië by Bruce Chatwin
from the library, translated, travel, original title In Patagonia, 239 pages
TIOLI #14: Read a book of non-fiction that could be classified in three ways

Bruce Chatwin traveled through Patagonia in the 1970s. This book isn't a travelogue, but more a collection of stories about some people who lived in Patagonia. Most of them are British 19th century expats, Welsh, Scots and English, who try keep their declining homeland culture alive. Larded with book quotes and some historic figures, like Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, who lived some years in Patagonia.

Reminded me a bit of the books by our Dutch writer and traveler Boudewijn Büch.

I’m a big fan of Bruce Chatwin Anita. You might like his novel On the Black Hill, I also love The Songlines and his volumes of essays. He was also a photographer. As a self-mythologiser, he is a bit like marmite, you love him, or not on the whole. No middle ground.

>80 Caroline_McElwee: Ditto, Caroline. I also liked his In Patagonia. The Songlines is my favorite.

>80 Caroline_McElwee: Thanks Caroline, I did add The songlines to mount TBR after I finished In Patagonia. I might look for his other books after that one.

>81 jnwelch: I hope am going to like The Songlines as much as you do, Joe :-)

I want to read In Patagonia, having enjoyed Songlines. Also interested in his biography, although (bit unsure of this) think that the review wasn't so great. So from the library!

I liked the biography Charlotte, I think by Nicholas Shakespeare? I have his letters in mount tbr, but a reread of the essays are in the winter reading pile.

Hi Anita, I have been re-miss in not visiting your thread much recently my dear. Glad to read that your heart is ok and that your thyroid issues are being resolved, changing meds or doses can always be a problem, Karen has found this. Hopefully after your November bloodwork everything will be fine.

As always I am impressed with your reading dear friend and can see you getting close to 450 books for the year, sending love and hugs.

>83 charl08: So we each want to read the book the other has read, Charlotte ;-)

>84 Caroline_McElwee: Thanks, Caroline, there is indeed a biograpy of Bruce Chatwin by Nicholas Shakespeare (is that his real name?)

>85 johnsimpson: Thanks, John, I do hope thyroid numbers will be good in November.
You have been busy at home with Karen, so you had less time to visit the threads.

I will prabably get to 450 this year, unless my reading drops dramaticly.

>86 FAMeulstee: Yes, real name. As he was a friend of Chatwin, I tended to assume some bias. It is quite a rounded picture though.

Predictions of 450 books read this year. I’m staggered Anita, ***clapping*** I think the most I’ve read is 110 one year. Even on my year off I didn’t manage 100.

>88 Caroline_McElwee: Yes, I know, Caroline, it is only since last year I can read this much.
The years before were between 129 books (in 2008) and 12 books (in 2013), so it was a surprise to me when the numbers went up last year.

book 349: Jan, mijn vriend by Peter Pohl
own, YA, translated from Swedish, English translation Johnny, my friend, 229 pages
TIOLI #12 : Read a book set in Scandinavia

Stockholm, 1955, 12 year old Krille is questioned by the police, about his friend Jan, who has been hanging around of an on with Krille and his friends in the past year. While answering the questions, Krille thinks about what happened in this year, how he and his friends met Jan, how Jan could do tricks with his bike and always took a dare.
There were sometimes clues that there were things in Jans life very wrong, but Krille was to young and naive to understand. Krille comes from a rather well to do family, and has no idea of dark and awful things that happen in the world. Through his friendship with Jan he gets a glimps of the dark side, but never understands fully before it is to late.

Peter Pohls debut novel is a beautiful but heartwrenching story.

Hi Anita and happy Thursday to you!

Too long away from your thread, glad to hear that your heart is fine, sorry about the ups and downs of thyroid medication levels.

I appreciate your postings, especially not in your native language! Thank you for taking the time.

>91 karenmarie: Thanks, Karen, happy (what is left of your) Thursday ;-)
The thyroid medication is now messing a bit with my reading, I hope this phase is going to end soon.
Aw, thanks, I am happy to participate here, even if it takes a bit more effort sometimes.

>51 FAMeulstee: well that is a relief, and a bit of an annoyance, that your doc didn't advise you of the potential side effects!

Also, A Gentleman in Moscow is seriously calling me now. It (if I find a copy) will have to be 5th on the list of must reads, but it will get there eventually :)

>92 FAMeulstee: I hope you get it sorted out soon, Anita. And manage to get rid of side-effects!

Hope you feel better soon Anita.

oh, not good. Can you switch to audio during the transition? get better soon!

>93 LovingLit: Thanks, Meg, a big relieve.
Can't blame my doc much, as she was burning out already. She started in January 2016, her first job as GP, and due to other docs leaving the practice, she was soon the one working there the longest. She got too much on her shoulders, being the "oldest" partner, and now she is taking a sabatical... So next month I will meet my 4th new doc since January 2014 :-(

I hope you like A gentleman in Moscow better than I did, I was among the few who weren't impressed.

>94 EllaTim: Thanks, Ella, looking back at the last months it could very well be that my reading peak was because of the very high thyroid hormones. That not only my heart was beating too fast, but my brain was also working faster. In that case I will have to get used to reading a bit less.

>95 Caroline_McElwee: Thanks, Caroline, I hope so too.

>96 Deern: Thanks, Nathalie, I have tried audio before, but that didn't work for me.

Compared to others I still read a lot. In the last 6 days my average pages read a day dropped to 175 pages a day. Coming from a peak of over 380 pages a day in August (and 316 in September), it is a large set back.

>88 Caroline_McElwee: Chatwin as marmite - I like that Caroline.

Three hundred and fifty two books already, Anita. If I was wearing a hat I would doff it to you!

Sorry about the GP, Anita. Hope you are back to your usual reading pace soon.

>97 FAMeulstee: It would make sense, everything working faster, and your brain as well. Isn't it a strange thing, so much influence one little hormone can have?

I hope you find a good balance with these pills soon.

>98 PaulCranswick: Thanks, Paul, my number of pages read are dropping fast. The numbers of books read will stay about the same for a while, as I have many short books at the top of my TBR pile ;-)

>99 charl08: Thanks, Charlotte, I feel a bit sorry for myself, but even more sorry for my leaving GP.
The question is now "what is my usual reading pace"? This will become clear when my thyroid meds are back in balance.

>100 EllaTim: Thanks, Ella, it will take a few months to get back at a good and stable dosis. It takes 6 weeks to mesure the changed dose in the blood. The thyroid hormones influence a lot, a bit like the accelerator pedal in the car, no thyroid hormones and everything is stopping, too much and everything goes too fast.

Have a nice weekend, Anita, I managed to add another book thanks to your instructions on my thread, and now must be off for the weekend.

Today the first two books (of three ordered) arrived:
Saluut aan Catalonië (Homage to Catalonia) by George Orwell
Leven en lot (Life and fate) by Vasily Grossman

The third it the hardback edition of De tolk van Java that should be released next week.

>102 EllaTim: Thanks, Ella, glad I could help.
Are you going to work at the allotment again this weekend? The weather wil be better than last weekend.

>52 Storeetllr: >55 msf59: >61 jnwelch: & >62 FAMeulstee:


not book 350: Lied van de Leeuwerik by Willa Cather

Way up in my thread we were talking about The song of the lark by Willa Cather and that I had foud a Dutch translation. That became the first book I abandoned this year, as it is no translation, the English words are one on one transferred to (often wrong in the context) Dutch words. I tried a few pages, but it was unreadable :-(

Luckely I didn't pay for it, but got it through my Kobo+ subscription.

book 350: Bij uil thuis by Arnold Lobel
own, childrens, translated, awarded, Zilveren Griffel and Vlag & Wimpel 1981, original title Owl at home, 64 pages
TIOLI #9: Read a book that has some tie to birds in the title, author name or cover art

Short stories about Owl, who lives on his own in a tree. With nice, matching illustrations.

book 351: Willem van Oranje by Jaap ter Haar
from the library, history Dutch, no translations, 176 pages
TIOLI #11: Read a book about a Founding Father or Mother of the US or any other country, someone who was important to the beginning of the country

Willem van Oranje (1533-1584) was the founding father of the Netherlands.
I remember the writer, Jaap ter Haar, as a good writer. In my youth I enjoyed his 4 books about our nations history Geschiedenis van de Lage Landen. This book was based on his writings about Willem van Oranje in the previous mentioned book, but revised to make it suitable for adults and... well that didn't work well.
I will go back to Geschiedenis van de Lage Landen : deel 2 and see if that one holds better after all this time.

book 352: Het rode paviljoen by Robert van Gulik
BolKobo+, e-book, translated (by the writer), mystery, Rechter Tie (= Judge Dee), original title The Red Pavilion, 169 pages

Robert van Gulik translated the original Chinese first Judge Dee book from Chinese into English, and wrote the next books himself.

Returning home, Judge Dee makes a stop on Paradise Island, a place of pleasure where you can gamble, eat excuise food and find many prostitutes. The judge of Paradise Island is called away, so he asks Judge Dee to finalise the papers of a suicide. Judge Dee starts his own investigation, an other murder occurs, and he finds some clues leading back to a murder 3 years ago.

Like all Judge Dee books: a statisfactory mystery, well plotted and set in historical Chinese times.

>105 FAMeulstee: What a shame, Anita.

No Willa Cather in your language almost rises to the level of scandal.

>109 jnwelch: Yes, it is a shame, Joe.
In the 1950s some of her books were translated, but those are hard to find.
One other book was recently (2011) published, a real paper book by a known publisher, so I think a real translation: Een verloren vrouw (A lost lady). Would you recommend it?

>110 FAMeulstee: I read A Lost Lady in college -- though I don't remember details, my general impression of it is positive.

>111 foggidawn: Thanks Foggi, I will put it on my library wishlist.

Hi Anita! I hope you're doing well today and having a wonderful Sunday.

>113 karenmarie: Thanks, Karen, today is not my best day. I am still a bit off because of the thyroid med change.
But I did read a fair bit, so that is good :-)

A Lost Lady by Willa Cather: how did that get translated instead of the others, I wonder? I haven't read it, but I see positive reactions to it. It seems to be a shorty, too - 100 pages?

You intrigued me, and it was only 99 cents here on Kindle, so I picked it up. If I read it before you, I'll let you know what I think of it.

>105 FAMeulstee:, >109 jnwelch: Ugh, so sorry it didn't work out. I hope somebody translates one or more of Cather's best novels someday. It's kind of a crime and hard to believe that at least one of her more well-known novels - My Antonia, O Pioneers, Death Comes for the Archbishop - haven't already been translated.

>105 FAMeulstee: Oh, migh, I can imagine what that must have been like, it's almost funny. I'm glad you didn't pay for the book.

>107 FAMeulstee: That's too bad, Anita. I liked Ter Haar as well, as a child, I remember retellings of medieval romances. You couldn't find a better biography of Willem van Oranje? I remember a TV series but that was several years ago.

>104 FAMeulstee: The weather has been wonderful, so yes, all weekend and Monday at the allotment. Hope you had a nice weekend as well.

>105 FAMeulstee: What a shame, Anita. I would have to support the comments from Joe and Mary in that, for me, Willa Cather is one of my absolute favourite American authors. Her rich language deserves good translation.

Your woes with a translation of Willa Cather set me thinking about which authors are the most translated.

I found this on the top ten most translated authors and Agatha Christie beat Jules Verne and William Shakespeare to the top spot.

Interesting that 4 of the top 6 are ladies and that Lenin somehow got himself in at number 7.

http://translationexcellence.com/worlds-ten-most-translated-authors/

>119 PaulCranswick: Interesting list. Especially the kind of genres the authors primarily wrote in - which tend to be seen as "lesser" than the literary writers that get accolades and awards and such. Shakespeare and Lenin not included, they're all "genre writers" (crime, romance, kids/YA, horror).

>120 PawsforThought: Danielle Steel and Barbara Cartland in particular surprised me, Paws. Not that I have read any of their books, I hasten to add!

>121 PaulCranswick: I'm actually not terribly surprised about those. They are (or at least used to be) incredibly popular and since they've written tons of books there's more to translate. It seems they used "most translations" rather than "translated to the most amount of langauges", which is a big difference.

>122 PawsforThought: Yes, you are probably right. Quantity over quality. And longevity probably explains why we don't yet see JK Rowling on the list.

Hi, Anita! How disappointing about the Willa Cather. Maybe, someday? Hope your week is off to a good start.

I have been reading 2 very good NYC historical novels, Manhattan Beach & Rules of Civility.

When I compare the most translated to their popularity on LT (books most catalogued) I find that 3 of the top ten make that list also:

Stephen King 2nd (behind Rowling
Wiliam Shakespeare 7th
Agatha Christie 9th

Of the others

144th Jules Verne
163rd Danielle Steel
176th End Blyton
436th Jakob Grimm
493rd Hans Christian Andersen
2,219th Barbara Cartland; and
2,664th VI Lenin

>123 PaulCranswick: I wouldn't say that. More like quantity of translations over number of langauges.

>126 PawsforThought: "Book" translated into most languages according to the link below is the Bible with 554 languages.

Non religious book would be Pinocchio by Collodi with 260 languages
Hans Christian Andersen's fairy tales have 153 languages
and Agatha Christie has been apparently translated into 103 languages.

http://www.k-international.com/blog/translation-hall-of-fame/

>127 PaulCranswick: I figured it'd be the bible. More surprised about Pinocchio, though - I don't think I know anyone who's read the original book.

>128 PawsforThought: I have read it, Paws, in English of course, and actually quite enjoyed it.

>128 PawsforThought: Glad to hear it! I suspect i'll get around to it some day.

>115 jnwelch: That one was recently translated, Joe. Her more known novels were translated in the 1950s, but it is hard to find a copy.

>116 Storeetllr: These three were translated over 60 years ago, Mary, but no recent editions and none at the library. Maybe I can find a secondhand copy, if I try hard enough ;-)

>117 EllaTim: Indeed, almost funny, Ella. I think someone tries to earn a quick buck. Bol hasn't published my review :-(
I just reserved this book from the library, for a TIOLI challenge and thought Jaap ter Haar, that will be good... but sadly it was not. I saw the TV-series with Jeroen Krabbé as Willem van Oranje.
Today was finally cool enough for me to do some work in the garden.

>118 PaulCranswick: Okay, Paul, if almost everyone likes her books I go for it. First the one that is available at the library, and if I like it I am going to search for the others.

>119 PaulCranswick: >120 PawsforThought: >121 PaulCranswick: >122 PawsforThought: & 123

At first I thought it might be an old list, but it is not.

the complete top 50:
1 (7236) Agatha Christie
2 (4751) Jules Verne
3 (4294) William Shakespeare
4 (3924) Enid Blyton
5 (3648) Barbara Cartland
6 (3628) Danielle Steel
7 (3593) Vladimir Il'ič Lenin
8 (3520) Hans Christian Andersen
9 (3354) Stephen King
10 (2977) Jacob Grimm
11 (2951) Wilhelm Grimm
12 (2597) Nora Roberts
13 (2540) Alexandre Dumas
14 (2496) Arthur Conan Doyle
15 (2430) Mark Twain
16 (2342) Fedor Mihajlovič Dostoevskij
17 (2315) Georges Simenon
18 (2271) Astrid Lindgren
19 (2258) Joannes Paulus II
20 (2234) René Goscinny
21 (2222) Robert L. Stine
22 (2182) Jack London
23 (2178) Lev Nikolaevič Tolstoj
24 (2158) Isaac Asimov
25 (2112) Charles Dickens
26 (2040) Robert Louis Stevenson
27 (1869) Rudolf Steiner
28 (1787) Oscar Wilde
29 (1733) Sidney Sheldon
30 (1660) Victoria Holt
31 (1645) Karl Marx
32 (1590) Honoré de Balzac
33 (1569) Ernest Hemingway
34 (1530) Robert Ludlum
35 (1522) Hermann Hesse
36 (1494) Franz Kafka
37 (1491) Dean R. Koontz
38 (1491) Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche
39 (1491) Rajanīśa
40 (1485) Mary Higgins Clark
41 (1481) Platon
42 (1477) Anton Pavlovič Čehov
43 (1459) John Ronald Reuel Tolkien
44 (1437) Edgar Allan Poe
45 (1424) Rudyard Kipling
46 (1401) Perrault Charles
47 (1399) Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
48 (1398) Roald Dahl
49 (1396) García Márquez Gabriel
50 (1387) et al.   LOL!!!!!

>124 msf59: Hi Mark, I am going to try A lost lady by Willa Cather from the libary.
The garden was shouting out to me, so I did some garden work today.

Frank worked Monday night and had a meeting this afternoon, and now he has vacation for two weeks. Thursday he will leave for a short trip to Scotland and the Orkneys together with his friend Wilco.

>128 PawsforThought: & >129 PaulCranswick: I have read Pinocchio too, in Dutch translation, long time ago.

Hi, Anita.

>119 PaulCranswick:, >132 FAMeulstee: I love that Dame Agatha and Jules Verne beat out Shakespeare - they both constituted a large portion of my reading growing up. Agatha doesn't really surprise me, but Jules Verne that high up does.

The list seems full of odd ones. Lenin at no. 7 - really? King Stephen at no. 9? I'm going to have to go look him up. Or did they mean Stephen King? They must have. I should've realized that.

I'm not surprised to see "et al" down there at 50. :-)

>135 jnwelch: It is Stephen King, Joe, my fault in editing the list. I corrected it.
Lenin was promoted in all Eastern European countries & every place that might turn communist one day, so that didn't surprise me much. Here on LT there are already over 900 books by him.

"et al" at 50 made me laugh out loud :-)

book 353: Drijfzand by Peter Robinson
BolKobo+, e-book, translated, mystery, DCI Banks 15, original title Strange affair, 368 pages
TIOLI challenge #10: Read a book where the author's name contains a common noun

DCI Alan Banks gets a call from his estranged brother Roy. It sounds very serious, but when Alan tries to get back to his brother all his calls stay unanswered. He decides to go to London to find out what is going on.

Again a very good story, I love the DCI Banks books!
(now only 8 books remain to read in Dutch translation, a few more when the latest two are translated)

book 354: Wij waren er ook bij by Gertie Evenhuis
own, Dutch, YA, awarded, Nienke van Hichtumprijs 1964, no translations, 192 pages
TIOLI challenge #10: Read a book where the author's name contains a common noun

A group of high school kids grow up in the Netherlands during WWII. They were at the end of the 1st grade when the war started. Some get involved with the resistance.

book 355: Honderd uur nacht by Anna Woltz
BolKobo+, e-book, Dutch, YA, awarded, Nienke van Hichtumprijs 2015, English translation A hundred hours of night, 193 pages
TIOLI challenge #6: Read a book where the authors first name starts with a vowel

When Emilia's father is all over Facebook and Twitter, getting nasty comments as he is accused of having a relationship with one of his students, Emilia decides to run away. She gets a plane ticket to New York, but when she gets there the appartment she rented (with her fathers credit card) doesn't exist... Luckely she finds a place to stay, as hurricane Sandy is on its way.



Fun fact, this book was the latest winner of the Nienke van Hichtum-prize that is awarded every two years. The book I read before this one was the very first winner of the Nienke van Hichtum-prize. I only realised it when I was making the reviews.

book 356: Het ijshuis by Minette Walters
from the library, translated, mystery, original title Ice House, 288 pages
TIOLI challenge #4: Read a book that is one click away from the book preceeding in in the wiki list

Some time ago a RL friend recommended Minette Walters books to me. When I saw this book listed in one of the TIOLI challenges I decided to give her a try.

A dead man is found in an ice-house, on the estate where three female friends live, who are ignored and gossiped about by the inhabitants of the nearby village. Is the dead man the husband of one of the women who disappeared years ago? The villagers and the policeman who leads the investigation have already decided it must be the missing husband.

Very good murder mystery, I will look for more books by this author.

Hi Anita!

>140 FAMeulstee: I have read a couple by Minette Waters and liked them.

I've enjoyed the discussion about translations and most-translated authors.

Interesting list! When I was a kid we all knew Pinocchio and many read the original book (not the Disneyfied one), maybe we read parts in primary school, not sure. And Astrid Lindgren and Enid Blyton of course, there were lots of translated works on the market for childrens books. Our own authors were less popular. Agatha Christie and Stephen King was what we devoured as young teens, much book swapping was done.

>140 FAMeulstee: Oh, I read this one as well and liked it a lot.

>142 Deern: Here another Pinocchio reader. He is famous. And Astrid Lindgren and Enid Blyton, of course. I did read Karl May, in primary school.

Who decides what gets translated? I guess it's a matter of what publishers think will sell.

>141 karenmarie: Will have to try one of her books, one of these days.

>141 karenmarie: Thanks, Karen, it is always nice to see how discussions pop up in the threads. Over 2/3 of my readings are translated books.
I wil certainly look for more books by Minette Walters.

>142 Deern: The same here, Nathalie, I have fond memories of Astrid Lindgren, Enid Blyton, Otfried Preussler and Karl May :-)
I wasn't into Agatha Christie (read my first two this year) or Stephen King (wondering if I ever get to him...), I did read Tolkien and Richard Adams.

>143 EllaTim: I was a big Karl May fan, I have all 50 of them in Dutch translation.
Mostly it is hat will sell that gets translated, but we have had some publishers who published translations of what they thought we ought to read, like Athenaeum-Polak & Van Gennep and G.A. van Oorschot.

I was up very early this morning, the alarm went off at 5:00, as I had to take Frank to the train before 6:00.
Frank is off to Scotland and the Orkneys with his friend Wilco for 6 days.

I finished Sint-Petersburg by Theun de Vries, an epic tale about the Russian Decembrist revolt in 1825. Review will follow soon.

My non-fiction read De hele Bibelebontse berg is finally getting easier to read, the first half of the book (over 300 pages) was most based on dry dissertations about children, (childrens-)books and education in the Netherlands and Flanders from the middle ages to the 19th century. The second half is about the 20th century, the writing is less dry and I know most books that are mentioned.

>144 FAMeulstee: You were even a bigger fan than I was. All 50! I've tried rereading, but I let it go. But as a child I loved the tales of Indians, and the wild far out places.

Maybe there should be some publicity, like an award for best translation, it is a pity that worthwhile books are just not available anymore.

>145 FAMeulstee: Oh the Orkneys, that's a nice trip. By plane, I suppose?

We visited Scotland a couple of years ago, did a coast to coast trip, Aberdeen to Durness, to Oban, we loved it. I would still love to see the Orkneys.

>146 EllaTim: Karl May made me a book collector. All 50 books were reprinted at least once, except for book 45 De valse derwisj. My brother had 15 Karl May books, that he left when he moved out, and I started to buy the rest. Then I searched for some years for book 45 and found it when I was 16 years old. A nice 2nd hand book shop, where I had bought some others, kept it for me. That is how the bookcollector in me was born ;-)
The Karl May books were culled in the great cull of 2005, when I thought I wouldn't read much ever again. When I got my reading ability back, in 2008, I bought the 50 books again.

Yes, there is an award for translators, the Martinus Nijhoffprijs. Max Schuchart got it in 1959 for his translations from English, especially for his translation of The Lord of the Rings. Latest winner was Karol Lesman for his translations from Polish.

>147 EllaTim: Yes, they go by plane, they go on trips together now and then, always to the UK. It started in 2012 when they went to Islay, in 2014 they went to Stornoway and last year to Leeds. They rent a car, and Wilco drives Frank around ;-)
Today they fly to Iverness, will stay a night somewhere between Iverness and the Orkneys, two nights at the Orkneys and then back through the highlands to Iverness, flying back home on Tuesday.

>145 FAMeulstee: so you have a bit of ‘me time’ all to yourself Anita, that’s lovely. And then you’ll get tales of their travels when Frank gets home.

>149 Caroline_McElwee: Now I agree that it is lovely, Caroline, some time for myself.

I used to be unable to be alone at all. By the time I could handle a little alone time, the agoraphobia came and made me unable to leave the house on my own. Thanks to the dogs I kept a bit of freedom, they took me everywhere. Now I have slowly found pleasure in being on my own sometimes. Never completely alone, as I have Ari around.
In the past days Frank has filled the fridge and got plenty of all needed supply, so I don't have to go shopping.

book 357: Sint-Petersburg by Theun de Vries
BolKobo+, e-book, Dutch, no translations, 475 pages
TIOLI challenge #7: Read a book that you list by Author's Birth Month in a Rolling Challenge

Starting in the early 19th century, we follow Sergej Danilin, who lives in Saint Petersburg. Like his father he joins the army and fights against Napoleon. When he returns to Russia, he is changed by his impressions in Western Europe. Together with some like minded officers in a secret political society (Union of Salvation), he dreams about change in Russia: a constition, abolishing serfdom and ending the absolute power of the Tsars by introducing a constitutional monarchy. When Pavel Pestel joins them, they become more revolutionary hoping to turn Russia into a republic. At the end of 1825, when Tsar Alexander I suddenly dies, their Decembrist revolt fails. Most men of the group are banned to Siberia and five members are hanged.
Then we are taken 15 years ahead, when Sergejs family get the first sign of life from Siberia. In a long letter to his sister Sergej tells what has happened to him.

There is a sequel to this book Terug uit Irkoetsk, an even bigger tome (740 pages) that I want to read soon.

>151 FAMeulstee: That's one I would like to read as well. History is fascinating when it's told well, isn't it. Though the 475 pages are a bit daunting.

Have you heard from Frank yet? I watched the weather news, and it's all depression and rain. Here as well as there.

I have to go to the allotment tomorrow, rainy and wet day, but there will be soup for everyone.

>152 EllaTim: He is a great writer and imho well worth the effort, Ella. I think the paper book has 50 pages less ;-)

Yes, I have heard from Frank and Wilco. They were lucky yesterday, when they came from the ferry , it rained a bit but it cleared within an hour. The visited the Stones of Stennes yesterday and will spend today the main island of Orkney as well.

It stopped raining here after 10, I hope your day at the allotment is a bit dry.

book 358: Het eiland in de Vogelstraat by Uri Orlev
own, YA, translated from Hebrew, awarded, Zilveren Griffel 1986, English title The Island on Bird Street, 139 pages
TIOLI challenge #6: Read a book where the authors first name starts with a vowel

Alex, an eleven year old jewish boy, is left alone in a Polish ghetto. He mother disappeared some time ago, and now his father is taken by the Germans. His fathers friend, who helped Alex to escape from the Germans, tells him to wait for his father, a day, three days, a month or even a year, but his father will come back for him.
And so Alex time alone starts, he lives a bit like Robinson Crusoe, alone on an island, amidst people he can't trust. His only company is his tame white mouse. He finds clever solutions when his hiding place isn't safe anymore. During his ongoing quest for food he does meet some other people, many are not nice, but a few do try to help Alex.

book 359: De hele Bibelebontse berg by Harry Bekkering et al.
own, non-fiction, Dutch, no translations, 710 pages
TIOLI challenge #2: Read a work of social history involving books

I had high hopes when this book was published in 1999: an overview of childrens books in the Dutch language from the Middle Ages to present times. As a lover and collector of childrens books I had to buy it.

In the Middle Ages most books were in Latin and written by hand. Only young monks and some noblemans children were allowed to learn how to read. They didn't have own copies of books, only the teachers had. When printing was invented, more books became available, but they were still very expensive, kids might have read them at home, but only with an supervising adult around. By the time schools became more common, there came school books. For pleasure there were pamphlets: 3 or 4 rows with pictures, with a short sentence. Books written for children came up in the 18th century, dull books about perfect behaving children, as they should be an example to the young readers. This changes slowly towards the end of the 19th century. The change to an easier printing process in the early 20th century and the laws making every child go to school, boosts the numbers of available childrens and school books. Some manufacturers use (childrens-)books as advertising, with buying their products you can get the books and sometimes collect the pictures in the book.
After WWII the tone of books changes a lot, writers try to write from childrens viewpoint. And comics start to rise. In the 1970s and 1980s many socially relevant books are published, children are no longer held back from the problems around them.
The last two chapters are about how writing and printing fonts evolved and about the main publishers of childrens books.

The book is most based on dry dissertations about the subjects. Only a few of the many writers have a smooth writing style.

Happy Saturday, Anita. Glad to see you blazing through the books. Have a good weekend.

Happy weekend to you, Mark.

Not exactly blazing through some books, that last one was a struggle. Numbers of books read are bit down compared to July and August, but still it is great to be able to read this much!

Hi Anita!

I hope you and Ari are doing well on your own. You have done amazing things to get over or work around things that would prevent you from going out or reading again, and I admire you for them.

Thank you, Karen, that is very sweet of you to say!
Ari and me do very well, although preparing meals, doing the dishes and all other things Frank always does, are time consuming ;-)

>153 FAMeulstee: Thanks for the link, the Stones of Stennes look wonderful.

The rain stopped exactly at 9.30, and after midday we even got some sun. Lots of little birdies, even some Robins singing, a nice day.

>155 FAMeulstee: That doesn't sound attractive at all, a pity.

>160 EllaTim: Glad the wheater was nice, Ella, that makes working outside a lot easier!

Indeed, De hele Bibelebontse berg was a bit of a disappointment. I would have abandoned it, if it hadn't been the last book to finish all TIOLI challanges this month and I had no other book ready for that challenge.

>161 FAMeulstee: The working was in the morning, after that it was just a bit of exhausted hanging around, and for that a bit of sun is very welcome.

Ah, and it's neat to be able to say you finished them all of course!

There is a 1001 book about books for children, have you ever looked at that?

>162 EllaTim: Even more than that, Ella, I have now finished all TIOLI challenges every month this year and hope to do the same in the next two months.

Thanks, I do know the 1001 Children's Books You Must Read Before You Grow Up, I have read 116 of them. And have some on the shelves waiting to be read. But with childrens/YA books I stick with the ones that have won Dutch awards, as I have been collecting those in the past 30 years..

>163 FAMeulstee: Oh good for you, Anita! That's ten TIOLI's in a row, that does sound good!

I was just wondering if it has a more attractive presentation? And you have read 116 of them, that is a lot, I think.

>2 FAMeulstee: Wow, I thought I read a few books in the year but you are truly impressive. I like the idea of adding up how many pages read in one year, that is a very good measure.

>164 EllaTim: Here is the link to the complete list of 1001 Childrens books (actually 997 books). It is sorted with the books for young children first.

>165 brewbooks: Thanks John, after some years when reading was very slow (only 12 books in 2013 and 17 books in 2014) I am very happy reading goes easy now. I added the pages count last year, when I saw it on some other threads in the group.

book 360: Hartzeer by Peter Robinson
BolKobo+, e-book, translated, mystery, DCI Banks 16, original title Piece of My Heart, 365 pages
TIOLI challenge #10: Read a book where the author's name contains a common noun

Two stories woven together, one story takes place in 1969 and the other in 2005.
After an outdoor rockconcert in 1969 a young woman is found murdered. The officer in charge of the investigation, Chadwick, suspects a link with a local band from Leeds: the Mad Hatters, who played that evening. After an incident that involves his daughter, his investigation turns an other way.
In 2005 Inspector Alan Banks investigates the murder on a journalist, who is researching the Mad Hatters for an article. It looks like he has found something in the bands past but Banks has no clue what that might be.

I love how Peter Robinson mixes music into his books, naming what Alan Banks is listening and in this book a lot of music from the late 1960s. When a place is searched books are mentioned too, I love that.

This was the best DCI Banks book I have read!

>166 FAMeulstee: Thanks for the link to the list. It's interesting to browse the through. A lot of books I don't even recognise.
Most books I do know are for older children. But I think I have read and loved a lot of books that are not in this list.

Hi Anita, hope you have had a good weekend my dear and hope that Frank and his friend Wilco have had a good time in Orkney. I hope the weather has been good for them up there as we have had wind and rain for most of the weekend. It sounds like you have had some reasonable weather my dear compared to us but I think what we have had is heading your way. Sending love and hugs dear friend.

>168 EllaTim: I used to own some of the books for age 3 and up, as they got a Zilveren Griffel or Vlag en Wimpel. But I culled all picture books, except the ones that won the major awards: Gouden Griffel, Nienke van Hichtum prijs, Woutertje Pieterse prijs.
There are evergreens listed like Pippi Langkous, De gebroeders Leeuwenhart, Alleen op de wereld and De kleine prins, and some Dutch classics De brief voor de koning, Kruistocht in spijkerbroek, Het sleutelkruid, Oorlogswinter, Pluk van de Petteflet and Jip en Janneke, but the focus is very much on English / American books.
Like with all lists, it is never complete. Our own memories are better ;-)

>169 johnsimpson: Thanks, John, today we had a bit more rain. But I managed to walk with Ari in between the showers.
Frank and Wilco are now in a place called Tongue in the north of Scotland. Tomorrow they go back to Inverness, and fly from there on Tuesday back home.

book 361: Het gouden suikerriet by Siny van Iterson
own, YA, Dutch, awarded, Zilveren Griffel 1971, English translation Village of outcasts, 197 pages
TIOLI challenge #9: Read a book that has some tie to birds in the title, author name or cover art

Chosen by his family to accompany his ailing father to a leper colony, a Colombian teenage boy finds refuge from oppressive surroundings and friendship at the hacienda of a landowner outside the leper village. When a murder occurs he has to choose between keeping his friend at the hacienda unaware of things from her past, or try to get the murderer to justice.

>170 FAMeulstee: I have read most books from the ones for older children, those for really young kids I recognised the fewest titles.

No it can't be complete. I'm a bit sad that I have to rely on memory so much, I can understand why books for children always do so well in second-hand stores.

Just finished a book by Kader Abdolah and was reminded of a childhood favourite that also took place in some unknown oriental country. De Wonderlamp
I loved it when I was in elementary school, but have never seen it since.

book 362: Saluut aan Catalonië by George Orwell
own, non-fiction, translated English, oroginal title Hommage to Catalonia, 286 pages
TIOLI challenge #13: Read a book with three O's in the title or the author's name

Because of the present situation in Catalonia, I wanted to know a bit more about the history that is part of the roots of this conflict.

In 1936 many volunteers went to Spain to fight with the Republicans against Franco in the Spanish Civil War. George Orwell was one of them. Arriving in Barcelona he is impessed with the equality between everyone. Factories are nationalised, no one stands above an other man. He ends up with the troups of POUM, the anarchist faction and goes to the front for three months. The war is mainly boredom, lack of weapons, coldness and hunger, with a few fights in between.
When he returns to Barcelona after three months, the city is changed, people show their riches again and the equality is gone. There is tension in the air, as the Stalinist powers are slowly trying to kill other left wing factions. There are fights in the streeets and Orwell stands with his anarchist friends from the front. He is called back to the war, but this time he is shot in his neck by the enemy. The bullet just missed his artery, but does hit his vocal cord, making him incapable of speaking. Back in Barcelona the POUM is declared illegal and many friends end up in prison. Together with his wife Orwell escapes Spain, with lots of regrets he isn't able to fight for the Republic anymore.

Orwell was and stayed a socialist. After his experiences in Spain he became an anti-communist, as he was target of the Stalinist persecution and brutality. The fight for freedom and independence today is not new, since Catalonia was brought into Spain after the War of the Spanish Succession (early 18th century), there have been numerous tries to gain independance/more independency.

>172 EllaTim: Luckely I don't have to rely on my memory that much. During the years space wasn't an issue I bought in 2nd had book shops many books I remembered from my youth. As I did keep record of my books, most of them are in my LT catalogue.

I looked up De wonderlamp, but it didn't ring a bell. Kader Abdollah's Spijkerschrift is patiently waiting at the shelve to be read one day.

If you are searching a book at www.boekwinkeltjes.nl you can find many books :-)

>173 FAMeulstee: Good review, and nice to see you give it 5 stars!

>175 EllaTim: Crossposting again ;-)
I was genuinely impressed by Hommage to Catalonia.

>174 FAMeulstee: I'm going to look at your catalogue! See if it brings up some more memories of golden oldies.

Yes, Spijkerschrift is one I'd like to read as well. As far as De Wonderlamp is concerned, it's an old book, i guess I'm a bit of a sucker for romantic, orientalist, fairy tales.

>177 EllaTim: If you look in my complete library (alle verzamelingen) the tag "jeugdboek" you find all childrens and YA books that are/were in my library.)
Searching at boekwinkeltjes I found 3 copies of De wonderlamp (searched title De wonderlamp and author Voegeli, Max), nothing wrong with being a romantic fairytale lover!

>178 FAMeulstee: Yes, I tried and found it as well. Thanks for suggesting it. Going to make a bit of space in the bookcases, somehow;)

>173 FAMeulstee: wow! That sounds pretty interesting, as well as topical! I will WL it immediately :)

>180 LovingLit: Thanks, Megan, it was both. I hope you are going to like it too.

book 363: Alles voor het moederland by Michel Krielaars
from the library, non-fiction, Dutch, no translations, 343 pages
TIOLI challenge #14: Read a book of non-fiction that could be classified in three ways

History of the USSR under Stalin, through following the life and careers of Isaak Babel and Vasili Grossman. The writer followed the footsteps of both writers in Russia.
Both were famous Jewish Sovjet writers in the early days of the USSR. Many jews supported the USSR, as they had few rights in tsarist Russia. Babel fell from grace in 1939 and was executed early 1940. After the death of Stalin he was rehabilitated. Grossman stayed in Stalins favor, but got his magnus opus Life and Fate confiscated in 1961, when he tought it could be published because of the less tight rules after Stalins death.

Somehow it is very difficult for the writer to understand that information wasn't widely distributed in those days. He keeps wondering why Babel and Grossman didn't question stalinism earlier. But of course there was no criticism in the state papers, and how could they know what rumours were true.

book 364: Kleine Sofie en Lange Wapper by Els Pelgrom
own, YA, Dutch, awarded, Gouden Griffel and Gouden Penseel 1985, no English translation, 87 pages
TIOLI challenge #8: Read a book whose first letter of the title begins with HOCKEY

Sofie is very ill and has to stay in bed all day. She wants to know everything about the world outside, but the adults around her don't give the answers she needs. One night she wakes up in the middle of the night and finds all her dolls and stuffed animals alive, looking at a stage. The planned performance isn't liked by the crowd, so Terror the cat asks 3 volunteers on the stage. With the cat, the soft doll Lange Wapper and teddybear Beertje Sofie goes on stage and finds her in the midst of lifelike adventures. At the end of the journey Sofie has died, but she has learned how life can be.

Did your man arrive back safely Anita?

>184 Caroline_McElwee: Oh, yes he is, Caroline.
I completely forgot to mention that I picked up Frank from the train yesterday afternoon, so he is safely back home :-)
Now I have to figure out how I can transfer the pictures he took with his new fancy phone to the computer.

Yesterday Ari started limping badly, it hasn't improved this morning, so we go to the vet later this afternoon.

I got The House of Government: a saga of the Russian Revolution by Yuri Slezkine out from the library for my son to read. Have you come across it?

I'm definitely in the marmite faction re Bruce Chatwin. His book of photographs is very very rich.

Instant translation is NOT up to translating any literature yet! How disappointing for you to have so little Cather translated!

I'm glad Frank is home safe and sound, and hope that Ari just has a sore spot, nothing bad.

Hi Anita! I'm glad to hear that Frank made it back safe and sound, sorry to hear that Ari is limping. I hope the vet visit shows something minor.

>186 avatiakh: Thank you, Kerry, I hadn't seen that book before. Sounds right up in my alley, it was just published in Dutch translation. I will wait until my library gets a copy.

>187 sibylline: Thanks Lucy, I want to read Bruce Chatwin's book about Australia next.
There were some Cather books translated in the 1950s, but they are hard to find.
It looks like it is nothing bad with Ari, see below.

>188 karenmarie: Thanks, Karen, we are all happy Frank is back home.
It looks like Ari sprained or strained his shoulder muscle. The vet adviced to keep him on the leash for some days and gave painkillers for a week.

>189 FAMeulstee: So glad Ari isn't ill. That wouldn't make for happy, readerly Anita! Or happy Frank for that matter.

>185 FAMeulstee: Nice to have Frank back again!

I would love to see some of the pictures he took. Good luck in figuring out his new phone.

Ah, poor Ari, does he mind being on the leash?

>190 richardderus: Thanks Richard, you are right. All of us being well supports the well being of us all :-)

>191 EllaTim: Yesterday we tried to get the pictures from his phone, but didn't come far. We will try again today.
No Ari doesn't mind at all, I think he even prefers it when his human is safely attached to him and can't walk away ;-)

book 365: Het joodse koninkrijk van Himyar en de christelijke martelaars van Nadjrân by Pieter W. van der Horst
BolKobo+, e-book, non-fiction, Dutch, no translations, 117 pages

Translation of 6th century text about the murdering of christians in the Jewish Kingdom of Himyar (located roughly in todays Yemen).
I never heard of the Himyarite Kingdom, or of any Jewish Kingdom, beside the ones in the bible. This tekst tells what happened in 523, written down by a christian a few decades later. At that time Byzantium and Ethiopia were christian states, in Persia zoroastrism was the main religion, so a country that lived mainly from trade didn't want to take sides.

The translated text itself was not great to read, but I found the history around rather interesting, a century before Mohammed would change that part of the world with islam.

Sweet Thursday, Anita. I hope you are having a good week. I want to read Hommage to Catalonia. Orwell was mentioned in Spain in Our Hearts, which I read and loved last year.

book 366: Schildpadden tot in het oneindige by John Green
BolKobo+, e-book, YA, original title Turtles All the Way Down, 320 pages

A few days ago I saw the first reviews of Turtles All the Way Down at the treads of foggidawn and lauralkeet. And to my surprise the Dutch translation was already published. My library had it on order, but then I found I could get it with my Kobo+ subscription :-)

Like all the books by John Green, this was again a great read.
Aza Holmes suffers from anxiety and obsessions, her thoughts regular spiral out of control, keeping her mind hostage with thoughts about bacteria and other micro-organism that live inside her. She can't explain these feelings to her friends or to her mother. They only see a glimpse of it.
When a big reward is set on the whereabouts of a very rich man, Aza's friend Daisy points out she knows Davis, the son of this man, some years ago they were in summer camp together. Daisy thinks they might find a clue and earn the reward.

It was a very emotional read, as it is incredible how John Green describes how thoughts can go out of control. I have experienced this myself, but have never read before a description that came so close.

>194 msf59: Thanks Mark, yes I remember you have read Spain in Our Hearts, sadly there is no translation of that one. My next read about the Spanish Civil War will be Hemingway's For whom the bell tolls.

>195 FAMeulstee: Glad you liked it! Yes, I feel like Green got very close to home with his descriptions of mental illness in this book.

>197 foggidawn: I have liked every book John Green wrote. I have not ever read something so close to how I have felt in the past.

Thanks, Anita. I plan to get Turtles All the Way Down.

>200 EllaTim: Have heard John Green praised before. Turtles all the way down sounds good as well.

>196 FAMeulstee: I'll be looking out for your review!

>199 jnwelch: I wholeheartedly recommend it, Joe.

>200 EllaTim: All books by John Green I have read were very good. I think Turtles all the way down was his best.
I have reserved a copy from the library, I hope to get it next week.

Still no luck retrieving the pictures from Franks smart-phone (Motorola), suggestions anyone??

>201 FAMeulstee: I don't own a smartphone, but I'm using an older iPad now. The official way to retrieve stuff there is to synchronise using iTunes, but I ran into trouble there, and found alternatives, like mailing files to your own email account or uploading them to a cloud service like Dropbox. Would this be an option?

>195 FAMeulstee: Hooray for Turtles All the Way Down! This is the second 5 star rating, from my LT pals. I hope to get to it, next month.

Anita, I am able to text messages to my email address and attach a picture or two to each text--that's how I do it but I don't know if it will work for you.

Delurking...Hi!!!

Hi Anita!

I'm so glad to hear that it's only a strain or sprain!

>202 EllaTim: Thanks Ella, Frank managed to send the pictures to his own and my e-mail account. I hope to put some of them on my thread tomorrow.

>203 msf59: It was a great read, Mark, I hope you enjoy it too, when you get to it :-)

>204 ronincats: Thanks Roni, Frank found out how to use the e-mail on his smartphone & how to send the pictures. I hope to show the results soon.

>205 Berly: Hi Kim!

>206 karenmarie: So are we, Karen, even with the painkiller Ari is stil limping a bit. I think it will take a while to completely heal again.

book 367: Liefdesverdriet by Karel Eykman
own, YA, Dutch, awarded, Gouden Griffel 1984, no translations, 89 pages

Monika is sad, as Peter ended their relation. He was her first love. She can't concentrate in class, only asking herself why? She cleans up her room, throws away everything that reminds her of Peter. Slowly life gets back to usual, rehersals for the Garcia Lorca play at school, shopping with her friend Marjan.

Sweet and funny book about the ending of a first love.

book 368: Het fort van Sjako by Karel Eykman
own, YA, Dutch, awarded, Vlag en Wimpel 1986, no translations, 168 pages

Jacob Frederik Muller (Sjako) was the leader of a gang of thieves, who lived in the early 18th century in Amsterdam.
Peter Struys, son of a nobleman and Hilletje accidentely end up with Sjako's gang. Peter had enough of his father, who was never satisfied about him. They have a good time with Sjako and the others, but when Sjako ends up in jail and Peters father has died, Peter goes back home, with Hilletje, his future wife.

Sjako was a legendary person, he was long time seen as a kind of Robin Hood, stealing from the rich, giving to the poor. When he was convicted he appealed, got convicted again and appealed at the highest court. Finally convicted again he was put to death. Because of this case the law was changed, limiting appeal for convicted criminals.

Happy weekend reading, Anita, and a wonderful streak continues.

>209 FAMeulstee: Het Fort van Sjakoo is also a bookshop in Amsterdam,

Specialized in libertarian and radical ideas from the first to the fifth world and beyond...

>210 richardderus: Thanks Richard, happy weeekend to you dear!

>211 EllaTim: Thanks for sharing that link, Ella, that bookshop has quiet a history!

First few pictures of Franks trip to Scotland and Orkney:

Orkney beer; the Scapa distillery; tasting at the Scapa distillery
  
Sadly the Highland Park distillery wasn't open for visitors

The Standing Stones of Stenness
 

The Ring of Brodgar; St Magnus in Kirkwall
 

Wee house in Loch Shin; Loch Ness; Inverness Cathedral
  

DNF: Een beknopte geschiedenis van zeven moorden by Marlon James
BolKobo+, e-book, Bookerprize 2015, original title A Brief History of Seven Killings, only 50 pages read of 719 pages

I tried to read this book in the past ten days, but there is too much brutal violence in it for me. So I decided to quit trying.

>213 FAMeulstee: >214 FAMeulstee: >215 FAMeulstee: >216 FAMeulstee: Wonderful pictures, Anita.

Those stone circles, one wonders what life was like at the time they were made. The wee house in Loch Shin, now how wee was that, no way to tell from the photo.

And those skies! I'm glad to see that there's at least one photo with a bit of blue sky, but Frank and his friend must have been quite rainproof.

Thanks for sharing.

>218 EllaTim: Stone circles are indeed fascinating, Ella, at Orkney you are still allowed to come near them.
The wee house was very small. Legend tells it is nearly 200 years old, but in truth it came there 20 years ago and was rebuild twice. It became famous as tourist attraction: True story of the "Wee house".
Frank and Wilco spend a lot of time in the car, their walks were mostly rainfree.

>219 FAMeulstee: That's a good story, having a laugh at the tourists, there in Scotland.

Good for them, a bit of rain during a walk is not such a problem, but a dry car is a good thing.

>219 FAMeulstee: Haha, love the story of The Wee House! Also love the images you've posted. Makes me want to visit Scotland and see it all in person.

>220 EllaTim: And the village needs the tourists, Ella, it is an attractive story :-)

>221 Storeetllr: Thanks, Mary, makes me want that too. I have never visited Scotland and my husband was there for the third time.

book 369: Oma heeft me gestuurd om te zeggen dat het haar spijt by Fredrik Backman
from the library, e-book, translated from Swedish, English title My grandmother asked me to tell you she's sorry, 420 pages
TIOLI challenge #12 : Read a book set in Scandinavia

Seven year old Elsa loves her grandmother, she is her best friend. Grandmother rescues her if needed, tells her fairy tales and does crazy things (in the eyes of others). When her grandmother dies, Elsa has the important task to deliver her grandmothers last letters, in wich she apologises. Then Elsa realises there is much of the real world woven into her grandmothers fairy tales.

A lovely book, with so much in it: family, friendship, being bullied at school, grief, fear, being different, Harry Potter and Spider-Man.

>222 FAMeulstee: Scotland is definitely worth a visit!

>223 FAMeulstee: Good review, sounds interesting. Have you read his other book A man called Ove?

>224 EllaTim: Yes, I read A man called Ove last year, and even got my own copy after reading :-)

Hi Anita!

I hope Ari's improving and that you're doing well on this Monday.

>226 karenmarie: Thanks Karen, Ari is slowly improving, so that makes us happy.
I am a bit nervous for tomorrow, we have an appointment with our present GP and the new GP. I hope we can work with the new one.

book 370: Frankenstein by Mary Shelley
BolKobo+, e-book, 1001 books, translated, original title Frankenstein, 252 pages
TIOLI challenge #1: Read a book with an animal named or embedded in the third word on any page

This books "horror" label kept me from reading it. Then I saw Madeline's (SqueakyChu) review and decided it was worth a try.
I can understand it was a very scary book two centuries ago. I think most roughly know the story of the monster created by Frankenstein. It is a well written adventurous book about creating life, regret and loneliness.

book 371: Liefdewerk oud papier by Karel Eykman
own, YA, Dutch, awarded, Vlag en Wimpel 1982, no translations, 167 pages

Chris wrote something for the school paper. Before he knows it he is the new chief editor, as the present one is in his last year and lacks time. After a chat with the seemingly helpful principal, Chris puts together the first issue, with help from Marja and Hans. But when it is published, some of their words are changed. They are mad about that and Hans wants to quit. Chris and Marja have a better idea.

A good and funny read, with excellent illustrations by Peter van Straaten.

book 372: Duvelstoejager op een slavenschip by Paula Fox
own, YA, translated, awarded, Newbery Medal 1974, Zilveren Griffel 1976, original title The slave dancer, 144 pages

1840: thirteen oyear old Jessie lives in New Orleans, he sometimes earns some money by playing his flute. One day he is kinapped and ends up on a slaveship, heading for Africa. The reason he was taken is that they need his music when they sail back. The slaves must dance a few times a week, to keep them healthy. Jessie feels sorry for the slaves, the other sailors treat them like beasts.

A heavy subject to write about, Paula Fox wrote a good story about a very sad time in history.

>227 FAMeulstee: Hi Anita, I hope your apppointment will go well, and your new GP turns out alright.

>229 FAMeulstee: Illustrations by Peter van Straten, would like to see them, he's so good.

>231 EllaTim: Shall I send Liefdewerk oud papier to you, Ella, if only to see the illustrations? I am going to cull it anyway.
Peter van Straaten was great, I loved his Vader & zoon comics :-)

>232 FAMeulstee: That'd be nice of you, Anita!

I loved Vader & zoon as well, it's a long time since I read them, but his illustrations are usually very good, and really add something to a story.

>233 EllaTim: Okay, I will send it later this week, I will let you know.

And he wrote Agnes, that I used to read every week in Vrij Nederland.

Good luck with the new GP Anita. I’ve just met mine funnily enough. She seems OK.

Frank's photos are great, thanks for sharing them here and on facebook. I've spent a lot of time in Scotland but never been to Orkney or Shetland. I love islands so I want to visit them one day.

>235 Caroline_McElwee: Thanks, Caroline, she didn't seem very happy to take me, but I think it will be workable...

>236 Sakerfalcon: Thanks, Claire, I hope to go there one day too. Islands have something special :-)

October 2017 stats

35 books read (8.626 pages, 278.2 pages/day)

19/6/10 own/library/Kobo+
16/19 Dutch/translated
29/6 fiction/non-fiction

1 1001 books
19 childrens/YA
12 e-books
28 TIOLI books

best books in October
Saluut aan Catalonië (Hommage to Catalonia) by George Orwell
Jan mijn vriend (Johnny, my friend) by Peter Pohl
Schildpadden tot het oneindige (Turtles All the Way Down) by John Green

--

2017 totals until October:

total books read in 2017: 372 (91.557 pages, 301.1 pages/day)

204/140/28 own/library/Kobo+
128/241/3 Dutch/translated/English
326/46 fiction/non-fiction

25 1001 books (total 48)
176 childrens&YA
90 e-books
261 TIOLI books

total ratings
  21 x
  77 x
141 x
  84 x
  41 x
    6 x
    2 x

Well, aren't you on the ball?! Already posting your October stats. ; ) I can't believe you are at 372 books for this year! That is insane!

>239 Berly: Thanks, Kim, so many books, it is insane, but feels so good :-)