Top 5 Tuesday ~ Top 5 books of 2025… so far!!

Top Five Tuesday was originally created by Shanah @ Bionic Book Worm, but is now hosted by Meeghan @ Meeghan Reads. To participate, link your post back to Meeghan’s blog or leave a comment on her weekly post. I found this on Davida's Page @ The Chocolate Lady.

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This week’s topic is a Top 5 anticipated reads for Q3 2025. Meeghan says, "Uhh, I’m trying not to do this every week (or every month in my TBR), but can I just say WOW. We’re halfway through 2025 friends. And honestly, I really thought I was going to get here under my redaing goal for…"

I have given up on these and would have skipped this week if Meghan hadn't done another topic for her freebie last week: Top 5 books of 2025… so far!! 

I have done two lists on that: and Mid Year Book Freakout and Six in Six. However, choosing my five favourites is not really among them.

Brooks, Geraldine "Year of Wonders" - 2001
A story about a village that struggled during the plague, that hat the idea to shut themselves off from the rest of the world in order not to bring this horrible disease to others. The village existed, the people in the book were based on real people.

Hansen, Dörte "Zur See" [At Sea] - 2022
We meet the family of a captain, who live on an unknown island in the North Sea. Many of the residents make their living from tourism, since fishing is no longer profitable. You'll see the world through the eyes of the landlords and the islanders, who have to endure all the tourists in the summer. (Unfortunately not translated into English but one of her others has, so maybe one day ...)

Hislop, Victoria "The Figurine" - 2023

The heroine of the book has a Scottish father and a Greek mother. And her family does the best thing one can do to a bi-cultural child, they send her to her grandparents for the holidays so that she becomes a fully bilingual child.

The story is so exciting, not just from the language or the Greek point of view, there is so much going on and we can follow Greek history recent and ancient in this one novel.

Tartt, Donna "The Secret History" - 1992
A very impressive story.  A group of students does something really bad and can only get out of it by doing something even worse.

Worsley, Lucy "Jane Austen at Home" - 2017
A fabulous biography. Lucy Worsley really "visited" Jane Austen at home and accompanied her on all her visits to friends and family. 

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🗓 Happy Reading! 🗓

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Top Ten Tuesday ~ ThrowBack Freebie Eiffel Tower ~ Paris in July

"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 a Freebie

There are so many different topics that I missed but sometimes I can't decide which one to take next. This one was easy because it's July and we have "Paris in July" again.

I doubt I will read many books about Paris this month, so I thought I show you a few books with the Eiffel Tower on the cover. Some of them are originally written in another language but I will give you the English link if it is available.

Broerken, Hella "Paris Walks" (GE: Paris-Spaziergänge) - 2013

Clarke, Stephen "A Year in the Merde" - 2004
- "Merde actually" (aka In the Merde for Love) - 2005

Dorling Kindersley "Eyewitness Guide Paris" - 2020

Lundberg, Sofia "The Red Address Book" (SW: Den röda adressboken) - 2015

MacLeod, Janice "Paris Letters": A Travel Memoir about Art, Writing, and Finding Love in Paris" - 2014 (on my TBR pile, Goodreads)

Orwell, George "Animal Farm" "Down and Out in Paris and London" - 1933

Rutherfurd, Edward "Paris" - 2013

Stein, Gertrude "Paris France" - 1940

Wickert, Ulrich "Everything About Paris" (GE: Alles über Paris) - 2004

Find more information about Paris in July here on Emma's page: Words & Peace.

📚 Happy Reading! 📚 

Happy July!

Happy July to all my Friends and Readers

New Calendar picture with this
beautiful watercolour painting by Hanka Koebsch
"Sommerwiese"
"Summer Meadow"
Hanka and Frank say to this picture:

"In this watercolor, Hanka played with the colorful blossoms and flowers in summer colors on a meadow."
"Hanka hat in diesem Aquarell mit den bunten Blüten und Blumen in Farben des Sommers auf einer Wiese gespielt."

I love these wild flowers. They remind me of my childhood.

Read more on their website here. *

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No big outings this month, though some visitors and lots of meetings with friends.

The temperature changes are really bothering me. We're constantly changing: hot, then thunderstorms, then cold, then hot again, and just when we've gotten used to it, it gets cold again, only to climb again immediately afterward, and so on. This is really bad for me. I feel constantly nauseous and dizzy.

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My German saying this month goes with the picture above:

"Etwas durch die Blume sagen".

It means "Saying something through/with a flower" or "Saying something in a roundabout way". With this you hint at or allude to something, you make a hidden criticism. You express something indirectly, rather than directly and openly. You circumscribe it, or phrase it in a veiled way, often to convey criticism or an unpleasant message without hurting the other person.

I am sure other languages have similar sayings. If you know more in your languages, please, let me know.

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As I mentioned several times, it's Jane Austen year (see #Reading Austen project), and I am re-reading a book by her every other month. In the other months, I read another book about her. This month, it was "Miss Austen" by Gill Hornby. I don't really like people writing a sequel to a book where the original author died. I never did and I doubt I ever will. So, I guess my next book about Jane Austen (in August) will be a non-fiction again.

I've been reading a few less challenging books lately, partly through my book club, partly because friends lent me books I absolutely "had to read". I need to do something about that.

But, I had another successful attempt at bringing this fabulous author into my life. Lego issued another set about Jane Austen. It was a gift if you ordered something with them and since hubby always has some wishes, he had no problem getting it for me. Here is the finished set:

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* 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. 

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🌸🌼🌺 I wish you all a very Happy July! 🌺🌼🌸

Groff, Lauren "Matrix"

Groff, Lauren "Matrix" - 2021

A member of our book club tried to convince us that this would be the best novel for our next book choice. But some members were not really convinced that they wanted to read it. So I "took pity" (LOL) and volunteered to be a guinea pig.

I love reading historical novels, especially about women and their fights against the prejudices of their times. So, I expected something really interesting. Many girls were sent to nunneries against their wishes and a few were quite successful in that world.

I tried to read more about the protagonist and found that the book is not really based on anything known from reality. It is what it says: pure fiction.

I thought I could learn more about the history of a person that was important in her lifetime. Unfortunately, I didn't. If you are looking for a novel without being interested in the background or whether that person existed, you might like this better. I was disappointed.

Overall, the novel was too superficial for me.

There are no footnotes or links to research pages that might support at least some of the stories.

From the back cover:

"Seventeen-year-old Marie, too wild for courtly life, is thrown to the dogs one winter morning, expelled from the royal court to become the prioress of an abbey. Marie is strange - tall, a giantess, her elbows and knees stick out, ungainly.

At first taken aback by life at the abbey, Marie finds purpose and passion among her mercurial sisters. Yet she deeply misses her secret lover Cecily and queen Eleanor.

Born last in a long line of women warriors and crusaders, women who flew across the countryside with their sword fighting and dagger work, Marie decides to chart a bold new course for the women she now leads and protects. She will bring herself, and her sisters, out of the darkness, into riches and power.

MATRIX is a bold vision of female love, devotion and desire from one of the most adventurous writers at work today."

Six in Six 2025

 
From The Book Jotter

I found this through one of my blogger friends, Emma @ Words and Peace who was made aware of it though Jo @ The Book Jotter. Jo started this in 2012, so congratulations on doing it that long and providing us with a great way to reminisce about our books of the year so far. Unfortunately, she has stopped blogging in the meantime.
She has given us 52 categories from which we can choose six and mention six books that belong into those categories. (But one book can be in several lists, see her ruleshere).

I have tried to stick to books that I liked but didn't succeed in every category.

Six new authors to me

Bergmann, Michel "Mr. Klee and Mr. Feld" (GE:Herr Klee und Herr Feld) - 2013
Campbell, Jen "Weird Things Customers say in Bookshops" - 2012 
Capote, Truman "Breakfast at Tiffany's" - 1958
Durgun, Tahsim "Mum, please learn German" (GE: Mama, bitte lern Deutsch: Unser Eingliederungsversuch in eine geschlossene Gesellschaft) - 2025
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
Worsley, Lucy "Jane Austen at Home" - 2017

Six authors I am looking forward to reading more of

Brooks, Geraldine "Year of Wonders" - 2001

Hansen, Dörte "At Sea" (GE: Zur See) - 2022

Hislop, Victoria "The Figurine" - 2023

Schami, Rafik "The first ride through the eye of the needle" (GE: Der erste Ritt durchs Nadelöhr) - 1988

Stelter, Bernd "Fashion, murder, and the sound of the sea. Camping crime thriller" (GE: Mode, Mord und Meeresrauschen. Camping-Krimi) - 2024

Wilde, Oscar "Only Dull People Are Brilliant at Breakfast" - 1946

Six books that took me by the hand and led me into the past

Austen, Jane "Pride & Prejudice" - 1813 (The Motherhood and Jane Austen) 

- "Sense & Sensibility" - 1811 (The Motherhood and Jane Austen) 

Cornwell, Bernard "The Last Kingdom" (The Saxon Stories #1) - 2004

Gappah, Petina "Out of Darkness, Shining Light" - 2019

Pierce, Patricia "Jurassic Mary: Mary Anning and the primeval monsters" - 2006

Weir, Alison "Six Tudor Queens. Katharine Parr. The Sixth Wife" - 2021

Six From the Non-Fiction Shelf

Campbell, Jen "Weird Things Customers say in Bookshops" - 2012 

Kaminer, Wladimir; Hyun, Martin "Instructions for neighbours" - (GE: Gebrauchsanweisung für Nachbarn) - 2024  

Mak, Geert "The Dream of Europe. Travels in a Troubled Continent" (NL: Grote verwachtingen. In Europa 1999-2019) - 2019

Pierce, Patricia "Jurassic Mary: Mary Anning and the primeval monsters" - 2006
Schnoy, Sebastian "A Little Peace: A Cheerful History of Europe in Three Revolutions and a Flash of Inspiration" (GE: Das bisschen Frieden: Eine heitere Geschichte Europas in drei Revolutionen und einem Geistesblitz) - 2019

Sonneborn, Martin "Mr. Sonneborn goes to Brussels" (GE: Herr Sonneborn geht nach Brüssel) - 2019

Six classics I have read

Austen, Jane "Mansfield Park" - 1814 (The Motherhood and Jane Austen)

Christie, Agatha "The Mousetrap" - 1952

Flaubert, Gustave "Madame Bovary" (FR: Madame Bovary) - 1857

Sartre, Jean-Paul "Nausea" (F: La nausée) - 1938

Thoreau, Henry David "Walden; or, Life in the Woods" - 1854

Wilde, Oscar "Only Dull People Are Brilliant at Breakfast" - 1946

Six pretty book covers

Brooks, Geraldine "Year of Wonders" - 2001

Christie, Agatha "The Mousetrap" - 1952
Hislop, Victoria "The Figurine" - 2023
Nguyễn, Phan Quế Mai "Dust Child" - 2023
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

Worsley, Lucy "Jane Austen at Home" - 2017

If you like the idea as much as I do, go ahead, choose your own "Six in Six" and let Jo know.

Six in Six 2022.
Six in Six 2023.
Six in Six 2024.

Mid Year Book Freakout Tag 2025

I found this meme on Read with Stefani's page. What a great idea. Here is the original tag. This is my fifth year of participating.

Looking back at the first half of a year shows me, how many bad books I read this year, partly book club books, partly other challenges, but also partly because I chose them and thought they would be great. Well, hopefully the second half of 2025 will be better.

1. Best book you’ve read so far in 2025

Hislop, Victoria "The Figurine" - 2023
One of my favourite authors published a new book and I just loved it. And because I mention it three times in this list, I have used it as the cover picture.

2. Best sequel you’ve read so far in 2025

I haven't read any sequels this year.

3. New release you haven't read yet but want to

Brooks, Geraldine "Memorial Days: A Memoir" - 2025 (Goodreads)
Another favourite author whose next book has just been published.

4. Most anticipated release for the second half of the year

Obama, Michelle "The Look" (Goodreads)
When one of the Obamas publishes something, it is definitely worth a read.

5. Biggest disappointment

Thoreau, Henry David "Walden; or, Life in the Woods" - 1854
A book club book that was just boring.

6. Biggest surprise

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
A nice find, if you want to have one last conversation with a deceased loved one, visit the Chibineko Kitchen. 

7. Favourite new author. (Debut or new to you)

Actually, there were no new authors that I really liked and would like to read more from.

8. Newest fictional crush

I don't get crushes, I don't read the kind of books that give you crushes.

9. Newest favourite character

Helena McCloud from
Hislop, Victoria "The Figurine" - 2023

10. Book that made you cry

I grew up with three younger brothers which is probably the reason I don't cry easily but I think people would probably cry over
Hansen, Dörte "At Sea" (GE: Zur See) - 2022

However, I did read a few books that could make be cry because they were so badly written.

11. Book that made you happy

I don't read "happy" books but this is a funny one by a German journalist I really love.
Heidenreich, Elke "Dr. Moormann & I" (GE: Frau Dr. Moormann & ich) - 2023

12. Favourite Book To Movie Adaptation You Saw This Year?

I haven't watched even one new movie this year, and I haven't heard of movie adaptations of my books. 

13. Favourite Review You’ve Written This Year?

That would be the same as my favourite book so far.
Hislop, Victoria "The Figurine" - 2023

14. Most beautiful book you’ve bought so far this year (or received)

MacLeod, Janice "Paris Letters": A Travel Memoir about Art, Writing, and Finding Love in Paris" - 2014 (Goodreads)
Such a beautiful cover from one of my favourite cities.

15. What books do you need to read by the end of the year?

I don't have to read any books. However, I am in two book clubs and the next ones we are going to discuss are:

Ihimaera, Witi "The Whale Rider" - 1987 (Goodreads)

Kivi, Aleksis "Seven Brothers" (Seitsemän veljestä) - 1870 (Goodreads)
Schreiber, Jasmin "Marianengraben" [Mariana Trench] - 2020 (Goodreads)

16. Favourite Book Community Member

I need to mention it every year. It is just as impossible as to say which is your favourite child or which is your all-time favourite author or book. There are so many wonderful people in the blogging community.

Books read so far: 46 (last year it was 40)

Mid Year Book Freakout Tag 2024
Mid Year Book Freakout Tag 2023
Mid Year Book Freakout Tag 2022
Mid Year Book Freakout Tag 2021

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I'm not going to tag anyone but I'm sure a few of you will want to do this. So, feel free to follow that idea but, please, let me know. And Stefani, I'm sure she'll like to know how many are picking up that idea.

#ThrowbackThursday. December 2013

I've been doing ThrowbackThursdays for a while but I noticed that I wrote a lot of reviews in a short time when I first started. So, I post more than one Throwback every week. These are my reviews from December 2013.

Anderson, Leith "Jesus. An Intimate Portrait of the Man, His Land, and His People" - 2006

This is an interesting read both for Christians and those who know almost nothing about the New Testament.

Bourgeois, Paulette "Big Sarah's Little Boots" - 1988

A favourite book of both my boys even though the main character was a girl. It's all about growing up and how it can be both a painful and a joyous occasion.

Garfield, Simon "On the Map. Why the World Looks the Way it Does" (aka On the Map: A Mind-Expanding Exploration of the Way the World Looks) - 2012

I have always loved maps. They are beautiful, they tell tales of far away countries, exotic worlds, people I will never meet, life at different times. How can anybody not like maps. They teach us so much, yet they are also an art form to admire and enjoy.

Simon Garfield has put together a collection of stories about maps through the ages.

Pool, Daniel "What Jane Austen Ate and Charles Dickens Knew" - 1993

Even though this book is a non-fiction one, the first part reads like a novel. If, like me, you love your English classics, this is the book for you. It's not just about food but, as the second part of the title already suggests, about every important or not so important fact about life in the 19th century in England. 

Roth, Philip "The Ghost Writer" - 1979

Why I have not read any books by this extraordinary writer is a big mystery to me. I wondered whether this book was partly autobiographical, it certainly had tendencies that sounded like it. I liked the alternate history part, a genre I cherish a lot.

A young writer meets an older writer, his writing hero. And there he meets an interesting young girl who seems to have a fascinating past. That is the basic story. However, it's the way Philip Roth tells the story that makes it interesting, makes you want to know all about Nathan Zuckerman, the young author, and his life, makes you want to read the whole series.