The 1961 Club

This book challenge takes place twice a year and concentrates on one year and one year only. I call it "Read the Year Club". This time, 1961 was picked. For more information, see Simon @ Stuck in a Book and Kaggsy @ Kaggsy's Bookish Ramblings (here is Karen's invite and here is Simon's). If you are looking for inspiration, there are a few books from that year that I read already:

Bruckner, Karl "The Day of the Bomb" (GE: Sadako will leben) - 1961

Buck, Pearl S. "A Bridge for Passing" - 1961

Grass, Günter "Cat and Mouse" (GE: Katz und Maus. Danziger Trilogie 2) - 1961

Griffin, John Howard "Black like me" - 1961

Heller, Joseph "Catch-22" - 1961

Juster, Norton "The Phantom Tollbooth" - 1961

Lem, Stanisław "Solaris" (PL: Solaris (powieść)) - 1961

Lewis, Oscar "The Children of Sanchez" - 1961 

Naipaul, V.S. "A House for Mr. Biswas" - 1961

Scott, Mary "Tea and Biscuits" - 1961

Stone, Irving "The Agony and the Ecstasy" - 1961

Tanpınar, Ahmet Hamdi "The Time Regulation Institute" (TR: Saatleri Ayarlama Enstitüsü) - 1961

Versuche, meine neue deutsche Heimat zu verstehen) - 2020
Tau, Max "The Country I Had to Leave" (GE: Das Land, das ich verlassen mußte) - 1961

Yates, Richard "Revolutionary Road" - 1961

Another book that is also on my list:

Rawls, Wilson "Where the Red Fern Grows" - 1961 (Goodreads)

This challenge takes place from 13 to 19 April 2026.

I have picked a story by a fascinating author of whom I always wanted to read more:

Steinbeck, John "Travels with Charley" (Goodreads)

Godfrey, Jennie "The List of Suspicious Things"

Godfrey, Jennie "The List of Suspicious Things" - 2024

This book was chosen unanimously by our local German book club for our discussion in March 2026. An interesting story about two girls who want to find a killer. A serial killer. What they mainly do is "investigating" the people around them, i.e. nosing around. Of course, as we can imagine, they cause more evil than good with that.

I might never have picked up this book in the book shop, it looked more like chick lit than anything else. And it being a Sunday Times bestseller doesn't really recommend it to me, either. But, the member who suggested it, had read it and said it was good. And I know she has a great taste.

Besides the story of the "Yorkshire Ripper", there are many different subjects in this book, growing up, first love, mental illness, racism, almost any topic that can come up.

While I quite liked the book overall, I was not too keen on the ending. Maybe the author wanted to get away from something too cozy but it could have been different. It should have been different.

We had a wonderful conversation about this book. So many fates were touched upon.

We also found out that "the cover features a raven to symbolize the themes of curiosity, intelligence, and the menacing atmosphere and the milk bottle represents British school life from the time. The bird is the dark, dangerous intrusion of the outside world, reflecting the fear felt in Yorkshire during the time of the murders." (AI)

From the Back cover:

"Maggie Thatcher is prime minister, drainpipe jeans are in, and Miv is convinced that her dad wants to move their family Down South.

Because of the murders.

Leaving Yorkshire and her best friend Sharon simply isn’t an option. So, Miv and Sharon decide to make a list: a list of all the suspicious people and things down their street. People they know. People they don’t.

But their search for the truth reveals more secrets in their neighbourhood, within their families - and between each other - than they ever thought possible.

What if the real mystery Miv needs to solve is the one that lies much closer to home?"

Top Ten Tuesday ~ Places on My Bucket List

"Top Ten Tuesday" is an original feature/weekly meme created on the blog "The Broke and the Bookish". It was created because they are particularly fond of lists. It is now hosted by Jana from That Artsy Reader Girl.

Since I am just as fond of them as they are, I jump at the chance to share my lists with them! Have a look at their page, there are lots of other bloggers who share their lists here.

This week's topic is Books About/Set In Places on My Bucket List. 

I have been to many places in Europe but there always some countries and/or towns that I'd really like to see. If you are missing a certain country where you think I certainly would love to go, it's probably because I've been there before, often several times.

Australia 

Bryson, Bill "Down Under/In a Sunburned Country" - 2002

Austria/Vienna
Hamann, Brigitte "The Reluctant Empress" (GE: Elisabeth, Kaiserin wider Willen) - 1981

Canada 
Lawson, Mary "Crow Lake" - 2002 

Cyprus 

Şafak, Elif "The Island of Missing Trees" - 2021

Italy/Rome/Milan/Florence 

Goethe, Johann Wolfgang von (Goethe German) "Italian Journey" (aka Letters from Italy) (GE: Italienische Reise) - 1817

Japan 

Takahashi, Yuta "The Chibineko Kitchen" (J: ちびねこ亭の思い出ごはん 黒猫と初恋サンドイッチ/Chibinekoteino omoidegohan kuronekoto hatsukoisandoitchi) - 2020

New Zealand 

Scott, Mary "Breakfast at Six" - 1953

Norway 
Bjørnstad, Ketil "Villa Europa" (NO: Villa Europa) - 1992

Russia/St. Petersburg 

Rutherfurd, Edward "Russka. The Novel of Russia" - 1991

Spain/Catalonia/Barcelona 

Ruiz Zafón, Carlos "The Shadow of the Wind" (E: La sombra del viento - El cementerio de los libros olvidados #1) - 2001 

📚Happy Reading 📚

Six Degrees of Separation ~ The Correspondent

 Virginia Evans
"The Correspondent" - 2025

#6Degrees of Separation:
from The Correspondent (Goodreads) to Letters Back to Ancient China

#6Degrees is a monthly link-up hosted by Kate at Books Are My Favourite and Best. I love the idea. Thank you, Kate. See more about this challenge, its history, further books and how I found this here. 

This book is on my wishlist but it's not out in paperback, yet, so I won't get to it until later.

Description:

"Filled with knowledge that only comes from a life fully lived, The Correspondent is a gem of a novel about the power of finding solace in literature and connection with people we might never meet in person. It is about the hubris of youth and the wisdom of old age, and the mistakes and acts of kindness that occur during a lifetime.

Sybil Van Antwerp has throughout her life used letters to make sense of the world and her place in it. Most mornings, around half past ten, Sybil sits down to write letters—to her brother, to her best friend, to the president of the university who will not allow her to audit a class she desperately wants to take, to Joan Didion and Larry McMurtry to tell them what she thinks of their latest books, and to one person to whom she writes often yet never sends the letter.

Sybil expects her world to go on as it always has—a mother, grandmother, wife, divorcee, distinguished lawyer, she has lived a very full life. But when letters from someone in her past force her to examine one of the most painful periods of her life, she realizes that the letter she has been writing over the years needs to be read and that she cannot move forward until she finds it in her heart to offer forgiveness.

Sybil Van Antwerp’s life of letters might be 'a very small thing,' but she also might be one of the most memorable characters you will ever read."

Brooks, Geraldine "Foreign Correspondence: A Pen Pal's Journey from Down Under to All Over" - 1997

Hanff, Helene "84 Charing Cross Road" - 1970

Hesse, Karen "Letters From Rifka" - 1992

Austen, Jane "Selected Letters. 1796-1817" - 1796-1817

Ivey, Eowyn "To The Bright Edge of the World" - 2016

Rosendorfer, Herbert "Letters Back to Ancient China" (GE: Briefe in die chinesische Vergangenheit) - 1983

This month, my books are all about letters and correspondence, one of my favourite subjects since I have always been an avid letter writer.

📚📚📚

Spell the Month in Books ~ April 2026

 
Reviews from the Stacks

I found this on one of the blogs I follow, Books are the New Black who found it at One Book More. It was originally created by Reviews from the Stacks, and the idea is to spell the month using the first letter of book titles.

April: Easter OR Pastel Covers

Hmmm, I don't have any books about Easter, I'm not the biggest fan of books with pastel covers, they are often too "light" for me. But I have a few, of course.

APRIL

A

Ruiz Zafón, Carlos "The Angel's Game" (E: El juego del ángel) - 2008
P

Mahfouz, Naguib "Palace Walk" (arab: بين القصرين/Bayn al-qasrayn) - 1956
R
Shakespeare, William "Romeo and Juliet" - 1597
I

Hislop, Victoria "The Island" - 2005

L
Oates, Joyce Carol "Little Bird of Heaven" - 2009

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Happy Reading!

📚 📚 📚

#ThrowbackThursday. April 2016

 

Here are my #ThrowbackThursday reviews from April 2016.

Interestingly enough, war was on my reading programme a lot ten years ago. Why doesn't that ever change???

Abulhawa, Susan "Mornings in Jenin" (aka The Scar of David) - 2010
Everyone who is only slightly interested in world peace should read this and see how much heartache there can be, how much trouble things can cause if not thought through well enough.

Filipović, Zlata "Zlata's Diary: A Child's Life in Wartime Sarajevo" (BOS: Zlatin dnevnik: otroštvo v obleganem Sarajevu) - 1993

This is a brilliant account about a war. A fantastic way of showing the world that war destroys everything and punishes especially those that are innocent, most often women and children. 

Kulin, Ayşe "Rose of Sarajevo" (TR: Sevdalinka) - 1999

Yugoslavia had seemed a peaceful country with peaceful people, the Yugoslavians I met were always very happy people. Then, all of a sudden, war breaks loose. We can learn a lot from this book. Hopefully stand up the next time such an atrocity happens. Ha!

Marini, Lorenzo "The Man of the Tulips" (IT: L'uomo dei tulipani) - 2002
An interesting story about a flower painter in Amsterdam in the 17th century. The story itself is a love story but it also tells us a lot about life in the Netherlands at the time, the love and craziness for tulips.

Mistry, Rohinton "Family Matters" - 2002
Another brilliant book about life in modern India but the problems that arise might occur in any country, family members get older and the rest of the family has to cope with their feebleness, their deterioration.

Stevenson, Robert Louis "Treasure Island" - 1881/82 
A lot of drama and action in the story. So, if you don't want too much love in your classics, maybe this is one for you. A true classic.

Swarup, Vikas "Q & A" - 2005

This book proves it again. Never judge a book by its cover. Or its movie. Or the description of the movie. 

This was not at all what I expected. We learn about the life of many people living in India, especially the poor ones. A book well worth reading.

Trollope, Anthony "The Way We Live Now" - 1875

Classics belong to my favourite reads. The novel centres around a rich man of whom nobody knows where his money comes from. He has a daughter he wants to marry off to someone of high status but she loves someone else who in turn is just after her money. 

A wonderful book, I cannot recommend this story too much.

Happy April!

   Happy April to all my Friends and Readers

New Calendar picture with this
beautiful watercolour painting by Hanka Koebsch
"Fliegen"
"Flying"

Hanka and Frank say to this picture:

"Anfang April sind die Ostermärkte die ersten Volksfeste, die in den Innenstädten die Saison eröffnen. Hanka hat in dem Aquarell "Fliegen" eine Szene mit einem Kind auf einem Kettenkarussell vom Ostermarkt eingefangen"

"At the beginning of April, the Easter markets are the first public festivals to open the season in city centers. In her watercolour "Flying," Hanka captured a scene of a child on a swing carousel at one of these Easter markets." 

Read more on their website here. *

Another great reminder of my childhood, like last month. I used to go on any kind of amusement rides. We used to have a huge fair in our district town (well, it still takes place once a year). It's one of the oldest and has about 500 stalls (maybe some fewer when I was little) and it has everything from a simple old fashioned carousel for children to a large roller coaster. I visited them all, of course.

* * *

Let's talk about a well known German word this month:
Weltschmerz 
It's a mental depression or apathy caused by the comparision of the actual state of the world with an ideal world.

I think it is a very apt word for the state of this world.

* * *

My favourite books last month:
Swindells, Robert "Abomination" - 1998
and
Oates, Joyce Carol "Daddy Love" - 2013

Both are definitely not easy, light reads but I don't think I could have read something like that at the moment. 

* * *

A highlight for us this month was the visit to both our boys. We often take the chance of being in a larger city to go have breakfast somewhere nice. The choice for me here is rather small, so I am happy when I find places elsewhere that offer lactose-free or vegan choices as I cannot have anything with dairy. So, this was one of my breakfasts. Loved it.

* * *

* You can also have a look under my labels Artist: Frank Koebsch and Artist: Hanka Koebsch where you can find all my posts about the two artists. 

🍓 I wish you all a very Happy April! 🍓