Spell the Month in Books ~ November 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.

November:  Africa 

Since we choose our own topics at the moment, it is always a little harder. 

I tried to find some books written by Africans or about Africa - some are only loosely connected. I am sorry.

November

N

Dangarembga, Tsitisi "Nervous Conditions" - 1988 - Zimbabwe

This story gives us a glimpse into the life of 13-year-old Tambudzei, a girl from Zimbabwe in the 1960s. One rarely reads books by African women. A fantastic book that describes the situation of women in almost every society. 

O

Unigwe, Chika "On Black Sisters' Street" (Dutch: Fata Morgana) - 2007

4 African girls live in Antwerp, Belgium. A beautiful city. But the life of the girls is not that beautiful, they were brought to Europe to work as prostitutes, their Antwerp is the red light district.

V

Bennett, Brit "The Vanishing Half" - 2020

Not one of my favourite books but it fits the topic. Too many stereotypes. But the story keeps growing until, in the end, we get a pretty decent book about the life or women, the problems with racism, bringing up children, etc.

E

Waltari, Mika "The Egyptian" (SF: Sinuhe Egyptiläinen) - 1945

The Finnish author studied ancient cultures and theology and the facts in this book are accurate. He couldn’t print war books at the time, so instead he wrote this one. 

The book covers not only Egyptian history but also everything about the human nature, its goodness and its cruelty. 

M

Mahfouz, Naguib "Midaq Alley" (Arabic: زقاق المدق/Zuqaq El Midaq) - 1947

You get to know the people living in Midaq Alley as if you've lived among them for most of your life.

A war rages in Europe and makes its waves into Egypt, as well, though not the way we might think.

B

Gordimer, Nadine "Burger's Daughter" - 1979

A prolific author from South Africa, she writes about politics, she's a woman and she received the Nobel Prize for Literature.The story is loosely based on the life of Bram Fischer and his family, especially his daughter.  He was a South African lawyer, known for his anti-apartheid activism, became most popular as Nelson Mandela's defence lawyer.

The book teaches us about South Africa, their history, the apartheid system and that there have been people fighting against it, even if there could have been more.

E

Ondaatje, Michael "The English Patient" - 1992

One of the books that is not necessarily about Africa. Who is the author talking about? At what time is he talking? Before the war? During the war? After the war? Are they in Italy or in Egypt, in Canada or India? 
But I found no other "book that fits in Africa".

R

Andrew, Sally "Recipes for Love & Murder. A Tannie Maria Mystery" - 2015

Tannie Maria is a very active woman who can stand up for herself. And she has to prove that as her town is chased by an evil killer. Together with her two (female) colleagues, she hunts the hunter. Not just a crime story but also a recipe book.

* * *

Happy Reading!

📚 📚 📚

#ThrowbackThursday. November 2016

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 November 2016.

If you are looking for more bloggers who participate here, there is always a post on The Chocolate Lady's website where you can also add yours.
I recommend almost all the books I read that month. I only left out one that is part of the series I recommended several times before.

Angelou, Maya "Mom & Me & Mom" - 2013

Maya Angelou's writing is gripping. She writes in a way as if you sit there listening to her telling a story. A really good story. Her mother must have been a remarkable woman, as she was remarkable herself.
I learnt a lot about Maya Angelou and her family but I also learnt a lot about myself and my relationship to my late mother.

Arnold, Catharine "Globe: Life in Shakespeare's London" - 2014
A great non-fiction book about The Globe, how it first was built in Shakespeare's time and what it meant for the world of acting back then and how it influenced our world of the theatre today.

Atkinson, Kate "Behind the Scenes at the Museum" - 1995

Ruby tells her story, her mother's story, her grandmother's story and the story of all the women in her family. 

Grass, Günter "Peeling the Onion" (German: Beim Häuten der Zwiebel) - 2006
A biography by one of Germany's greatest authors, not just one but three books where he talks about his life, growing up in between the two wars etc.

Štimec, Spomenka "Croatian War Nocturnal" (Esperanto: Kroata Milita Noktlibro) - 1993
This is not just the diary of a girl who speaks Esperanto about her life during the Balkan wars, her life and that of her family and friends, and often about their deaths, as well. It is a view into life during wartime. Snippets of several lives that are affected that build a big picture together.

Oates, Joyce Carol "The Accursed"

Oates, Joyce Carol "The Accursed" - 2013

As already announced in my Hello September post and my Buddy Read post, Lisa @Capitvated Reader and myself were hosting a buddy read in October 2026. 

I have written a post every week - with spoilers, see here:

Buddy Read Part 1 
Buddy Read Part 2 
Buddy Read Part 3 
Buddy Read Part 4 

Lisa's posts:
Part 1
Part 2
Part 3 
Part 4  

Here is a short summary for those readers who have not read this book and don't want to read the spoilers before reading it themselves.

I am not a big fan of fantasy or fantastic, mythical figures. I probably wouldn't have even looked at the book were it not by one of my favourite authors and for a dear blogger friend who invited me to join her buddy read.

This is definitely a combination of a vampire story, social commentary, satire, fictional history, gothic tale. I tried to concentrate on the social commentary and satire as that is what I love most, and not just in JCO. But it certainly has all those elements in it. Definitely also some horror, I can see Tim Burton making a movie out of this.

All in all, I am really glad I read this book. And I am really glad I read this with my buddy Lisa. If you plan to read this in future, follow our reading plan and join in the discussion once you have finished a part, no matter how quick you are.

This is definitely a challenging and highly interesting read! 

Book Description:

"This eerie tale of psychological horror sees the real inhabitants of turn-of-the-century Princeton fall under the influence of a supernatural power. New Jersey, 1905: soon-to-be commander-in-chief Woodrow Wilson is president of Princeton University. On a nearby farm, Socialist author Upton Sinclair, enjoying the success of his novel 'The Jungle', has taken up residence with his family. This is a quiet, bookish community - elite, intellectual and indisputably privileged. But when a savage lynching in a nearby town is hushed up, a horrifying chain of events is initiated - until it becomes apparent that the families of Princeton have been beset by a powerful curse. The Devil has come to this little town and not a soul will be spared. 'The Accursed' marks new territory for the masterful Joyce Carol Oates - narrated with her unmistakable psychological insight, it combines beautifully transporting historical detail with chilling fantastical elements to stunning effect."

Happy November!

 Happy November to all my Friends and Readers
New Calendar picture with this
beautiful watercolour painting by Frank Koebsch
"Rundflug"
"Scenic Flight"

Hanka and Frank say to this picture:
"Hanka hat in ihrem Bild einen Uhu eingefangen."
"Hanka has captured an eagle-owl in her picture." 

Owls always look so majestic, especially the larger species.

Read more on their website here. *

* * *

Our month was as usual. The theatre season started again and we saw a play (Much Ado About Nothing) and two choir concerts, one from our local choirs. All performances were great!

As most of you know, I love elephants. You find them everywhere in the house. Here is one of my little knick-knacks.

* * *

I can recommend a book to all Jane Austen fans. You can read here about all the authors she often mentions in her novels and 
Romney, Rebecca "Jane Austen's Bookshelf. The Women Writers Who Shaped a Legend" - 2025

* * * 

The German word of the month is:

Vorfreude

In August 2024, I explained the word Schadenfreude. You see, the end of the word is the same: Freude. Which means "Joy". Whereas the former word means pleasure that comes from learning of the troubles of others (longer explanation in my post), this month's word means anticipation, looking forward to a certain event.

* * *

* 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 November! 🎃

Oates, Joyce Carol "The Accursed" Buddy Read Part 4 - 2013

Oates, Joyce Carol "The Accursed" - 2013

As already announced in my Hello September post, and my Buddy Read post, Lisa @Capitvated Reader and myself are hosting a buddy read this month. And here is Lisa's post. Have a look at her review, there is a lot more to this part than what I have said.

Spoiler alert:

A buddy read like this cannot be as vague as many of my other reviews. On the other hand, I can't hide everything, so I will have to talk about this book as if I were in a book club and we all read the book.

Therefore, I will be quite open in the next couple of weeks but will, at the end, write a description of the whole book in the way you are all used to. So, if you haven't read the book but still would like to, be patient, I'll get there.

I am not a big fan of fantasy or fantastic, mythical figures. I probably wouldn't have even looked at the book were it not by one of my favourite authors and for a dear blogger friend who invited me to join her buddy read.

Week 4 (Oct 25–Oct 31)

• Climax, resolution, and unpacking the narrator’s reliability

• Part Four: The Curse Exorcised: Moves toward the chaotic unraveling and attempts to lift the dark legacy affecting Princeton.

What an end to a challenging and highly interesting read! I don't even know where to begin and what to reveal. As I said before, this contains spoilers.

I will go through some of the LitLovers questions again because they now cover everything.

How would I define the book? Is it a vampire story, social commentary, satire, fictional history, gothic tale? In a way it is everything. I tried to concentrate on the social commentary and satire as that is what I love most, and not just in JCO. But it certainly has all those elements in it. Definitely also some horror, I can see Tim Burton making a movie out of this.

Let's talk about Winslow Slade. Is he the evil one in the story? Is he the one who is responsible for all this? Maybe, especially if we look at his final sermon or "confession". I would have preferred this to NOT be written in capitals only. It's hard to concentrate on the wordings that way.

We are also supposed to discuss the era's attitudes toward—and treatment of—women, African Americans, Jews, workers, and immigrants. I think I mentioned it but only briefly. I often read historical novels and therefore was not surprised but it is still shocking. As I said, my view of Woodrow Wilson has changed, though I should probably try to see what his individual contemporaries were thinking, I might change my mind of a few of those people.

Socialism, yes, as they mention, much "accursed" in American history, even in this day. I can never understand how people can be against it. After all, the meaning behind it is totally good. We should all think about our neighbours—even the bible is socialist, yes, it is. If you listen to what Jesus said and if you claim to be a Christian, you shouldn't be so much against it.

I can't really find a real hero in the story. Maybe Joshua and Todd???

The women had a hard stand. As all women in the past—and still today.

Here is a fitting quote: "Imagine a female senator! A female President! The United States would be the laughing stock of the world." Woodrow Wilson
In the meantime, the USA is a laughing stock of the world just because they do not want a female President!

If there are other questions in the LitLovers list and you would like to know what I think about them, please, let me know.

And then to the last, the discussion question: Do life's mysteries have logical solutions—does Joyce Carol Oates believe they do? What does her novel suggest? What do you think? Is all of life open to reason and logic? Or are there life events too mysterious to be explained by human understanding? 

I don't believe in mysteries, fantasy, whatever you might want to call it. For me, there is always a logical solution. And as to anything you might call fate or karma or whatever you want to call it, it is often the action you take that comes back to you and not some supernatural being.

And one last quote for all us avid readers. 

"He (WW) must give up his habit of reading books: for a man of Dr. Wilson's temperament can't read another man's line without wishing to combat it, which inevitably leas to 'vocalizing' his thoughts, and thereby to speechifying. He is plagues by ceaseless thinking like wheels churning in mud. This has caused his high blood pressure, and a strain to all the nerves and vital organs." Dr. de Sweinitz to Mrs. Wilson

Aren't we glad medicine has advanced? I think I would not be here anymore if it wasn't for all the wonderful books that could distract me from the bad parts of my life.

All in all, I am really glad I read this book. And I am really glad I read this with my buddy Lisa. If you plan to read this in future, follow our reading plan and join in the discussion once you have finished a part, no matter how quick you are.

Book Description:

"This eerie tale of psychological horror sees the real inhabitants of turn-of-the-century Princeton fall under the influence of a supernatural power. New Jersey, 1905: soon-to-be commander-in-chief Woodrow Wilson is president of Princeton University. On a nearby farm, Socialist author Upton Sinclair, enjoying the success of his novel 'The Jungle', has taken up residence with his family. This is a quiet, bookish community - elite, intellectual and indisputably privileged. But when a savage lynching in a nearby town is hushed up, a horrifying chain of events is initiated - until it becomes apparent that the families of Princeton have been beset by a powerful curse. The Devil has come to this little town and not a soul will be spared. 'The Accursed' marks new territory for the masterful Joyce Carol Oates - narrated with her unmistakable psychological insight, it combines beautifully transporting historical detail with chilling fantastical elements to stunning effect."

Book Quotes

  

"A reader has it good: he can choose his own writers." Kurt Tucholsky 

Aren't we the lucky ones?

"Reading nurtures the soul, and an enlightened friend brings it solace." Voltaire 

Every time. Where would we be without our books?

"Of all the words of mice and men, the saddest are, It might have been". Kurt Vonnegut in Cat's Cradle 

One of the truest sentences there are. 

Find more book quotes here. 

Solzhenitsyn, Alexander "In the First Circle"

Solzhenitsyn, Alexandr "In the First Circle" (RUS: В круге первом/V krugue pervom) - 1955

The book description states that this is an extensive and substantive work—and that is absolutely correct. Spanning nearly 800 pages, it explores life in the Soviet Union shortly after the Second World War. It is not, however, a book about everybody; it chronicles the lives of political prisoners and their families.

Once someone ended up in a so-called "sharashka"—a labor camp for scientists and engineers—or in the Lubyanka, the notorious Moscow prison for political prisoners, they could effectively consider their life over; most never regained their freedom. Although these prisoners may have enjoyed a few minor concessions compared to others, they remained captives, forced to work for the very regime they loathed.

The narrative details the lives of various inmates, both before and after their imprisonment. It also covers the women and families, who were effectively punished alongside them.

For everyone involved, this marked the end of life as they had known it—or, as the final chapter puts it, "the first circle of hell."

Along with Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn, the poet Osip Mandelstam is another figure who wrote about his "life" under this regime. It is fortunate that such individuals existed—and continue to exist—to shed light on these conditions.

A deeply compelling book; alongside "One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich", it is surely one of the best works written about this subject.

And last but least a quote that should be of particular interest to all bookworms:

"There were so many immeasurably valuable, indispensable, first-rate books in the world, and the desire to read them all prevented Rubin from ever writing a book of his own. Now, he had prepared himself to read well past midnight, with no thought for the workday ahead. But in the evening, his mind—and his penchant for debate—would always awaken, and his wit would become especially sharp; it took very little, then, to draw him into entertaining the company at large. ..."

Book Description:

"In the First Circle depicts the lives of the occupants of a sharashka (a research and development bureau made of GULAG inmates) located in the Moscow suburbs. This novel is highly autobiographical. Many of the prisoners (zeks) are technicians or academics who have been arrested under Article 58 of the RSFSR Penal Code in Joseph Stalin's purges following the Second World War. 

Unlike inhabitants of other gulag labor camps, the sharashka zeks were adequately fed and enjoyed good working conditions; however, if they found disfavor with the authorities, they could be instantly shipped to Siberia. The title is an allusion to Dante's first circle, or limbo of Hell in The Divine Comedy, wherein the philosophers of Greece, and other virtuous pagans, live in a walled green garden. They are unable to enter Heaven, as they were born before Christ, but enjoy a small space of relative freedom in the heart of Hell."

Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn received the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1970 "for the ethical force with which he has pursued the indispensable traditions of Russian literature".

I contribute to this page: Read the Nobels and you can find all my blogs about Nobel Prize winning authors and their books here.

Oates, Joyce Carol "The Accursed" Buddy Read Part 3 - 2013

Oates, Joyce Carol "The Accursed" - 2013

As already announced in my Hello September post, and my Buddy Read post, Lisa @Capitvated Reader and myself are hosting a buddy read this month. And here is Lisa's post. Have a look at her review, there is a lot more to this part than what I have said.

Spoiler alert:

A buddy read like this cannot be as vague as many of my other reviews. On the other hand, I can't hide everything, so I will have to talk about this book as if I were in a book club and we all read the book.

Therefore, I will be quite open in the next couple of weeks but will, at the end, write a description of the whole book in the way you are all used to. So, if you haven't read the book but still would like to, be patient, I'll get there.

I am not a big fan of fantasy or fantastic, mythical figures. I probably wouldn't have even looked at the book were it not by one of my favourite authors and for a dear blogger friend who invited me to join her buddy read.

Week 3 (Oct 17–Oct 24)

• Hysteria spreads; moral decay of the Princeton elite

• Part Three: "The Brain, Within Its Groove . . .": Dives deeper into psychological torment, visions, and the bizarre intervention of historical figures like Woodrow Wilson and Upton Sinclair.

The title of this part is taken from a poem by Emily Dickinson:

The brain within its groove

Runs evenly and true;

But let a splinter swerve,

'T were easier for you

To put the water back

When floods have slit the hills,

And scooped a turnpike for themselves,

And blotted out the mills!

Good introduction.

The hysteria in Princeton gets worse and worse. Everybody thinks they are cursed and that something bad is going to happen to them. People get "visions" of deceased visiting them. And they fantasize about everything, e.g. their spouses being unfaithful. This leads to madness and murder.

And it gets more Gothic, as well. More and more historical figures appear, even fictional ones: Sherlock Holmes, for example.

My conclusion is there is no demon, just everyone's idea of their own guilt.

And my assumption, that Woodrow Wilson was a man of his time, a conservative man of his time, is manifested here:

Dr. Wilson concluded with an appeal for sympathy, understanding and patience: "For Woman, whom Nature has burdened with a load far heavier than Man - that is, propagation - must be judged with tolerance and forbearance in areas where, with no regard for intention, she has seriously lagged behind man."

I cannot see where women lag behind men, only where they are not given the same opportunities.

The question also comes up at LitLovers whether M.W. van Dyck is a reliable narrator. Well, usually we get notes and a bibliography and can check what is right and what isn't. However, since this is a fictional tale, it is tough to rely on something like that. I suppose we will just have to believe that he (or she) is a decent writer and the stories are true.

Book Description:

"This eerie tale of psychological horror sees the real inhabitants of turn-of-the-century Princeton fall under the influence of a supernatural power. New Jersey, 1905: soon-to-be commander-in-chief Woodrow Wilson is president of Princeton University. On a nearby farm, Socialist author Upton Sinclair, enjoying the success of his novel 'The Jungle', has taken up residence with his family. This is a quiet, bookish community - elite, intellectual and indisputably privileged. But when a savage lynching in a nearby town is hushed up, a horrifying chain of events is initiated - until it becomes apparent that the families of Princeton have been beset by a powerful curse. The Devil has come to this little town and not a soul will be spared. 'The Accursed' marks new territory for the masterful Joyce Carol Oates - narrated with her unmistakable psychological insight, it combines beautifully transporting historical detail with chilling fantastical elements to stunning effect."

Mahfouz, Naguib " The Beginning and the End"

Mahfouz, Naguib "The Beginning and the End" (Arabic: داية ونهاية/Bidaya wa Nihaya) - 1949

I have read several books by this great author. And when the Read the Year Challenge came up for 1949, I saw that he had published a novel in that year. So, the decision was easy.

We meet a family in Cairo. The story takes place in the late 1930s. They have four children, an adult son, an adult daughter and two school-age boys. The father suddenly dies and leaves the family in abject poverty. The eldest son was never destined to become a successful supporter of the family, so the second one steps in. However, everyone in the family faces issues with their sudden situation and nobody really manages to get out of it, except for the second one who seems to be on the best way. The others, however, face a lot of problems. There is no happy end for them.

This book is still a masterpiece.

Book Description:

"Set in Cairo during World War II, this novel is a masterpiece of human compassion reflecting with sympathy and well-balanced pathos the material, moral, and spiritual problems of an Egyptian family.

Suddenly confronted with poverty when the father, its sole support, dies unexpectedly, the family's middle-class respectability and conformity can only be supported on the backs of a brother and a sister who sacrifice their own reputations by immersing themselves in the seamy underworld of Cairo.

This is a powerful portrayal of a middle-class Egyptian family confronted by material, moral, and spiritual problems during World War II."

Naguib Mahfouz "who, through works rich in nuance - now clear-sightedly realistic, now evocatively ambiguous - has formed an Arabian narrative art that applies to all mankind" received the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1988.

I contribute to this page: Read the Nobels and you can find all my blogs about Nobel Prize winning authors and their books here.

Oates, Joyce Carol "The Accursed" Buddy Read Part 2 - 2013

Oates, Joyce Carol "The Accursed" - 2013

As already announced in my Hello September post, and my Buddy Read post, Lisa @Capitvated Reader and myself are hosting a buddy read this month. And here is Lisa's post. Have a look at her review, there is a lot more to this part than what I have said.

Spoiler alert:

A buddy read like this cannot be as vague as many of my other reviews. On the other hand, I can't hide everything, so I will have to talk about this book as if I were in a book club and we all read the book.

Therefore, I will be quite open in the next couple of weeks but will, at the end, write a description of the whole book in the way you are all used to. So, if you haven't read the book but still would like to, be patient, I'll get there.

I am not a big fan of fantasy or fantastic, mythical figures. I probably wouldn't have even looked at the book were it not by one of my favourite authors and for a dear blogger friend who invited me to join her buddy read.

Week 2 (Oct 9–Oct 16)

• Historical cameos; the eerie Bog Kingdom; social satire

• Part Two: The Curse Incarnate: Explores the spreading supernatural afflictions and social paranoia across elite families and historical figures.

So, we find out what and who Axton Mayte really is. Annabel is not his first victim, as she finds out when he brings her to his hidden "castle". The Bog Kingdom is where he can live out his real character, abuse the women he abducted, reduce them to the lowest status possible. And create more demons like himself.

I still don't see this as a vampire story. Or a ghost story. I think we are warned that the more we believe in something like "the curse", the more we will end up in a bad situation. Like if you think Friday the 13th is unlucky, something will happen that proves you right. You are over-careful and start tripping, for example.

Another question by LitLovers:

Are we to suppose that they "happen" to the fictional characters in the course of the story? Or are we to gather they are the result of the characters' subconscious? Are they dreams? In other words, is this realistic fiction...or fantasy?

I think I mentioned it before. I am a very rational person and don't believe in fantasy. So, I am pretty sure this is the latter. People work each other up, or - as we say in German - they bump each other up while swinging. One person mentions a curse, the next one thinks it is the truth and looks for something that will prove it.

I still think it is highly interesting to see what people wish to believe.

For me, Josiah is the real hero, at least of this chapter. He tries to help with logic, tries to understand what really happened. Though, even he is not sure what to believe. Which shows how much hysteria is contagious.

We also meet up with some more historic figures. I had read about Woodrow Wilson in other books before and had a positive opinion of him. That has, unfortunately, changed with his vie to slaves and black people. Yes, it might have been the time he lived in and also the area he grew up in but that doesn't mean he should have had that opinion. After all, there were people in the South and in that timeframe that helped slaves escape.

After reading a few books about Mark Twain, where he travels Europe, I had not a good opinion about him and that has not changed at all. He is portrayed as the conceited snob I have read about before.

Okay, I think that is it for today. There is so much in this book, I doubt I can give it perfect credit.

Book Description:

"This eerie tale of psychological horror sees the real inhabitants of turn-of-the-century Princeton fall under the influence of a supernatural power. New Jersey, 1905: soon-to-be commander-in-chief Woodrow Wilson is president of Princeton University. On a nearby farm, Socialist author Upton Sinclair, enjoying the success of his novel 'The Jungle', has taken up residence with his family. This is a quiet, bookish community - elite, intellectual and indisputably privileged. But when a savage lynching in a nearby town is hushed up, a horrifying chain of events is initiated - until it becomes apparent that the families of Princeton have been beset by a powerful curse. The Devil has come to this little town and not a soul will be spared. 'The Accursed' marks new territory for the masterful Joyce Carol Oates - narrated with her unmistakable psychological insight, it combines beautifully transporting historical detail with chilling fantastical elements to stunning effect."

Romney, Rebecca "Jane Austen's Bookshelf"

Romney, Rebecca "Jane Austen's Bookshelf. The Women Writers Who Shaped a Legend" - 2025

A Christmas present from my son. What a gift!

The subtitle says it all: The Women Writers Who Shaped a Legend. The Legend being Jane Austen.

Rebecca Romney is a rare book dealer and talks to us about her hunt for rare editions. And of the lives of the other female authors from two centuries ago.

Yes, we always read about Jane Austen and what kind of books she is reading. But do we give those authors a second thought? I know I didn't before reading this book.

There are so many different authors from that time. And more women than we might think.

After beginning with Jane Austen, the author takes us to the other ladies who wrote at a time where no women were supposed to write: Frances Burney, Ann Radcliffe, Charlotte Lennox, Hannah More, Charlotte Smith, Elizabeth Inchbald, Hester Lynch Thrale Piozzi, Maria Edgeworth.

While we might not have heard all their names, a lot of the titles they wrote are known to us:

And since I love lists and know that many of you do, as well. Here is a list of the authors and some of their books:

Jane Austen (1775-1817, 41 years)

Frances Burney (1752-1840, 87 years)
Cecilia, 1782
Evelina, 1794
Camilla, 1796

Ann Radcliffe (1764-1823, 58 years)
Fountainville Forest, 1794
The Mysteries of Udolpho, 1794

Charlotte Lennox (c. 1829-1804, 74-75 years)
The Female Quixote, 1852
Shakespear Illustrated, 1854

Hannah More (1745-1833, 88 years)
Sir Eldred of the Bower, 1776
Percy, 1778
Coelebs in Search of a Wife, 1808
The Shepherd of Salisbury Plain, 1810

Charlotte Smith (1749-1806, 57 years)
Emmeline, 1788
Desmond, 1792
The Old Manor House, 1793

Elizabeth Inchbald (1753-1821, 67 years)
Appearance is Against them, 1785
Mrs. Inchbald, 1786

Hester Lynch Thrale Piozzi (1741-1821, 80 years)
Letters to and  from the late Samuel Johnson, 1788

Maria Edgeworth (1768-1849, 81 years)
Tales of Fashionable Live, 1809/1812
Patronage, 1814
Harrington, and Ormond, 1814
Helen, 1834

As you see, most of them got a lot older than our Jane. Oh, would she have lived eighty years, the novels we could have had!!!

I doubt that I willl ever be able to read all those novels but I hope to catch a few.

So, do I recommend this book? If you are a Jane Austen fan and want to know about the women who influenced her, definitely. If you love classics and would like to find some more authors that you haven't read, yet, for sure. If you like to read about books in general, go ahead. What do you think, would you like to read this?

It is definitely a pleasure to accompany the author on her quest to find out more about Jane Austen and her literature.

There are some quotes I just have to mention:

"On the one hand, we come back to certain books because we want to experience, again, the feelings they first sparked. But books inevitable change with us. We notice new aspects of old favourites because our lives are different. Books are not static things. …"

Very true. We think of a book that containes letters and words in a certain order that won't change. But we change. And with it the content of the book. Re-reading does not mean we have forgotten the book and try to remember it, it means we remember the book and want to experience it in a different lifetime.

And this one on not DNF a book:

"But I'm stubborn. I'm one of those readers who struggles to stop reading abook even when I dislike it. Logically, I know this is absurd. But emotionally, it makes me feel like a quitter. This comminemtn to follow through is how I finished James Joyce'S Ulysses, even thouhg I think I understood only about 35 percent of what I was reading. Joyce hadn't defeated me."

I had to smile. I never give JJ a thought when it comes to finishing a tough book. Because a tough book it is. But I was so happy when I finished it. Sometimes that's also great.

She also quotes Italo Calvino from his book "Why Read the Classics?" (IT: Perché leggere i classici?) which I have read and mentioned before. "A classic is a book that has never finished saying what it has to say." Totally.

Book Description:

"Who were the women that inspired Jane Austen?

Why have they all but disappeared from our shelves?

When Rebecca Romney discovered a clothbound edition of Evelina by Frances Burney she was delighted to find a novel cherished by Jane Austen. Inspired by the connection between the two writers, she revisited Austen’s books with a new lens, picking out clues sprinkled throughout her works that pointed to the writers she had admired.

Romney noticed that while male writers like Shakespeare and Milton still dominate our shelves, the works of Austen’s favourite authors such as Frances Burney and Ann Radcliffe have all but vanished. This ignited a new mission for Romney, she needed to collect Jane Austen’s bookshelf.

Delve into the lives and works of these female writers, and explore their disappearance from history in this page-turning literary adventure."

Oates, Joyce Carol "The Accursed" Buddy Read Part 1

Oates, Joyce Carol "The Accursed" - 2013

As already announced in my Hello September post, and my Buddy Read post, Lisa @Capitvated Reader and myself are hosting a buddy read this month. And here is Lisa's post. Have a look at her review, there is a lot more to this part than what I have said.

Spoiler alert:

A buddy read like this cannot be as vague as many of my other reviews. On the other hand, I can't hide everything, so I will have to talk about this book as if I were in a book club and we all read the book.

Therefore, I will be quite open in the next couple of weeks but will, at the end, write a description of the whole book in the way you are all used to. So, if you haven't read the book but still would like to, be patient, I'll get there.

I am not a big fan of fantasy or fantastic, mythical figures. I probably wouldn't have even looked at the book were it not by one of my favourite authors and for a dear blogger friend who invited me to join her buddy read.

Week 1 (Oct 1–Oct 8)

• Author's Note & Prologue: Sets up the faux-historical framing in Princeton, New Jersey, during 1905–1906.

• Part One: Demon Bridegroom: Focuses on the bizarre seduction and abduction of a young bride at her wedding.

The beginning of the novel is quite interesting. There are well-known historical figures but what about the others? Do they exist? E.g. the Slade family?

I don't believe in ghosts, so this doesn't frighten me in any way. So, I can't really believe in a "curse". I do hope this leads people who believe in it to change their habits. Why do they think there is a curse on the town. They must be convinced that they did something wrong.

To dig deeper into the story, I used some discussion questions from LitLovers.

I believe, JCO uses a lot of her fantastic psychology to describe this and the conflict members of the town encounter.

The fictional narrator, M.W. van Dyck, always has his own opinions that he likes to add, even though he calls himself a historian and should therefore be more neutral. However, he also guides us to many questions of this "history". And we might learn from them, if we don't agree with him already.

A great quote from this part of the book:

"But we don't suffer nearly as much as most people", Meta said, hesitantly, "like Negroes, and the poorest immigrants. And We can read ... there is always the prospect of escape."

"Books are not a means of 'escape', Meta. Books are a means of knowledge, and of learning how to cope with the future."

This is a discussion between Upton Sinclair and his wife Meta. Do we agree with Upton or with Meta? I totally like the way of learning how to cope with the future. However, I also like books as a way of escape. Sometimes, this world is too hard on us and we need some distractions. Of course, we can get both from a lot of books. 

In the prologue, the questions gets asked whether the curse really exists or whether the narrator is inadvertently describing an outbreak of collective hysteria and moral decay. I believe in the latter.

One more question from the LitLovers list:

The Accursed asks us to ponder the nature of evil? What is "evil" in the scope of the novel?

That is an important question. And one that we should consider very heavily. Some people consider socialism an "evil", others the opposite of it. What is really evil, in my eyes, is selfishness, not caring about your neighbour (as the bible teaches us and those who claim they are "good Christians" like to preach but not live by).

Lisa said, it feels quite different than other books we've read by JCO.

I must agree but she is such a great author that I am sure we get the most of it.

There are plenty of real life people /and their relatives) in this book:
presidents: Woodrow Wilson, Grover Cleveland, Teddy Roosevelt
authors: Upton Sinclair, Jack London, Mark Twain
others: Andrew Fleming West

Book Description:

"This eerie tale of psychological horror sees the real inhabitants of turn-of-the-century Princeton fall under the influence of a supernatural power. New Jersey, 1905: soon-to-be commander-in-chief Woodrow Wilson is president of Princeton University. On a nearby farm, Socialist author Upton Sinclair, enjoying the success of his novel 'The Jungle', has taken up residence with his family. This is a quiet, bookish community - elite, intellectual and indisputably privileged. But when a savage lynching in a nearby town is hushed up, a horrifying chain of events is initiated - until it becomes apparent that the families of Princeton have been beset by a powerful curse. The Devil has come to this little town and not a soul will be spared. 'The Accursed' marks new territory for the masterful Joyce Carol Oates - narrated with her unmistakable psychological insight, it combines beautifully transporting historical detail with chilling fantastical elements to stunning effect."

#ThrowbackThursday. October 2016

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 October 2016.

If you are looking for more bloggers who participate here, there is always a post on The Chocolate Lady's website where you can also add yours.

Maalouf, Amin "Samarkand" (French: Samarcande) - 1988

This novel takes us from the life of poet, mathematician and astronomer Omar Khayyám and his poetry collection Rubaiyat in Samarkand of the 11th century to the voyage of the fictional character Benjamin O. Lesage on the Titanic in 1912. I was happy to learn not just about his poetry but especially about his life and that of his contemporaries in an area that is as unknown to me and most people in Europe in that time as it is today.

Obama, Barack "The Audacity of Hope: Thoughts on Reclaiming the American Dream" - 2006
The author gives an account of his first steps as a politician. I found it very interesting to look behind the scenes with someone who has been a Senator, who knows all the ins and outs and the pros and cons of politics. Very interesting.

Pye, Michael "The Edge of the World: How the North Sea Made Us Who We Are" - 2014

An exciting book. A look at how we became what we are. What has the North Sea done, how has it contributed to our history?

It looks like it has done a lot, it sent out fishermen and pirates, businessmen and adventurers. We didn't just find the American Continent by those first people who wanted to find new waterways, a lot of our system and how we live today started there. Our way of living, doing business, organizing, politics, law, science, insurance, money, art, everything comes from those explorations and how people first started to settle and find their way in this world. 

16 years of blogging

16^th Blogiversary

On Tuesday, Tuesday, 5 October 2010, I started this blog.

In the meantime, I have had 6572575 views, 87 followers, 3089 posts and 16400 comments.

My very first post was about my favourite author, Jane Austen, of course: Which Austen Heroine are You? At the time, I thought I might be Anne Elliot but it turned out I was Elinor Dashwood which I am convinced now is the more correct choice.

My lastest post from Saturday, Six Degrees of Separation ~ Life of M, has had 38 views so far.

And because not all of my reader friends speak English, I started a second blog on 30 October 2012: Mariannes Bücherecke/Der Bücherwurm (Marianne's Book Corner/The Book Worm). And though I didn't start all blogging all my books there immediately, I have had 1473 posts in the meantime and 353865 views.

I have always enjoyed sharing the books I read with fellow readers and I hope to do so for a long, long time.

Thank you to everyone who shares this passion with me and who contributes to my blog.

You can find more information under Statistics.

Six Degrees of Separation ~ Life of M

Rachel Cusk
"Life of M" - 2026

#6Degrees of Separation:
from Life of M (Goodreads) to One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovitch 

#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. 

The starter book this month is "Life of M" by Rachel Cusk. As so often, I haven't read the starter book. But I recently read a book with an actress and I rather read books about normal people, about the girl or the guy next door.

This is the description of the novel:

"From the critically-acclaimed author of the Outline trilogy, an irresistible novel of fame, power, beauty and truth -- and a blazing renovation of the form

A little while ago, I told the actor M that I was thinking of writing her autobiography. She liked the idea. She's a good sport. Would you just make it up? she said.

M is a film star, and one of the most recognisable faces of our time.

With such fame, her life has the appearance of freedom: people are instantly obliging, spaces are altered to accommodate her, time can be rearranged. For her, it seems, the rules of reality have melted away.

Now M has agreed to let a stranger write her biography. Their project will sprawl and expand: to the olive groves and holiday beaches where M spends her days; across hotel rooms, bourgeois facades, film sets; through endless modern cities. It is hard not to feel ugly next to M, hard not to feel insignificant. But what truths - about the very experience of living - might this proximity allow the writer to briefly capture? And what in the end will M make of their work?

In Life of M, Rachel Cusk has again fashioned a new kind of literature. A novel stripped of artifice, it takes our emptiness and fills it with grace."

The last three months I found there was a word in the title which is repeated in quite a few books. I had Year, Land and Island. This was another title that I could use in this way, so we will go with Life this time.

Brecht, Bertolt "Life of Galileo" (German: Das Leben des Galilei) - 1938

An epic play about the life of Galileo Galilei, his discoveries, his conflicts with the Catholic Church, his conflicts with himself and the rest of the world. 

Bryson, Bill "The Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid" - 2006

I don't know what I love most about Bill Bryson, his humour certainly is a big contender for number one. But it's not just that, he is a brilliant writer, I think even if he would write a cook book or a technical instruction, it would sound great.

Anyway, in this book we go back to his roots, meet his family, meet little William - or Billy - Bryson, his friends, his foes, his adventures as a young boy, his adventures as an older boy.

Clarke, Marcus "For the Term of His Natural Life" - 1870-72

This novel was recommended to me by one of my Australian friends, it describes the life of a convict from when he first gets condemned through the voyage to the new continent and the rest of his life. The story is very gripping and the author has a great way of describing the life of these poor creatures.

I am still looking for a book I read ages ago about someone who belonged to the first convicts who were released and settled on the land while the aborigines were not in the area and then had to face them when they returned. If anyone has a suggestion as to the title of that one, I’d be very grateful.

Naipaul, V.S. "Half A Life" - 2001

This novel takes place in a lot of different parts of this world, India, Africa, Europe.

A privileged son leaves his home and goes abroad to live a poor life. An interesting take on life in different settings. 

Pamuk, Orhan "The New Life" (Turkish: Yeni Hyat) - 1994

In this novel, the protagonist reads a book. Sounds familiar?

Now, even reading a brilliant book doesn't mean it will change your entire life. But in this case, it does. Osman is a student in Istanbul. He gives up his studies, leaves his family and friend behind and goes on a long journey through Turkey with no destiny or motive.

Solschenizyn, Alexander "One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich" (Russian: Оди́н день Ива́на Дени́совича Odin den' Ivana Denisovicha) - 1962

We always hear about the Gulag, the prisoners who sent to Siberia and have to work there etc. But we never really know what is going on there, what the work is like, how the prisoners are kept.

Unless we read about the one day in the life of Ivan Denisovich Shukhov, starting the instant he opens his eyes in the morning until he closes them again in the evening.

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So, what's the connection between the starter book and the last one except for the word "life" in the title? In both cases the life is very different from ours (and from each other), like in all the others. No life is the same.

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Spell the Month in Books ~ October 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.

October: First Names – First Names of Authors

Since we choose our own topics at the moment, it is always a little harder. I did get this inspiration from some other bloggers last month. I believe we all copy from each other.

I am happy to have found quite a few foreign authors and hope I can inspire some of my blog friends to read them.

OCTOBER

O

Pamuk, Orhan "The Red-Haired Woman" (Turkish: Kırmızı Saçlı Kadın) - 2016

This author always finds a new way to portray his country, the people who live there, the uniqueness of a place between East and West.

But he also combines history and present. He explains what is going on in present day Turkey in his own way. And he uses a lot of symbolism that is easy to understand. Just brilliant.

And then there is always a way where he brings us closer to Eastern culture.

C

Ruiz Zafón, Carlos "The Labyrinth of the Spirits" (Spanish: El laberinto de los espíritus) - 2016

The fourth book in the series of the Cemetery of Forgotten books. It was just as exciting as the first three that had originally been called a trilogy but - luckily - the author decided to turn it into a tetralogy. 
We have learned a lot about the family Sempere and the authors they read, their friends and their lives, esp. the lives of the people in Catalonia during the Franco regime.

T

Mann, Thomas "The Magic Mountain" (German: Der Zauberberg) - 1924

This author is a very famous German Nobel Laureate and he has written a lot of books worth reading. Even the title of this one sounds enchanting. Who wouldn't want to step into it, even if it means you have to go through 1,100 pages to get to the end? I think this book deserves five stars just for the brilliant title which is as magical in the original as well as the translated title.

A very philosophical novel. 

O

Grjasnowa, Olga "All Russians Love Birch Trees" (German: Der Russe ist einer, der Birken liebt) - 2012 

The protagonist is a young woman not unlike the author. She grew up in Azerbaijan and speaks several languages. So does Masha, our main character. She lives in Frankfurt with her boyfriend. After a tragedy, she goes to Israel where she tries to settle. Her home could be everywhere, yet, she finds it is nowhere.

B

Bryson, Bill "A Walk in the Woods: Rediscovering America on the Appalachian Trail" - 1998

Same as in all his other travel books, the author writes one of the funniest accounts of a mega-hike. The story itself is hilarious, Bill Bryson manages to describe everything in such a funny way that you cannot avoid laughing.

E

Forster, E. M. (Edward Morgan) "A Passage to India" - 1924

This novel takes us both to a different time and a different area, India in die 1920s. Of course, the protagonists are British who live in the time of the Indian independence movement but the main character is a young Indian who gets into trouble just through the carelessness of the English. The book talks about friendship, colonialism, the wish of all human beings to be independent.

R

Schami, Rafik "The Dark Side of Love" (German: Die dunkle Seite der Liebe) - 2004

The author once said you cannot understand the history and present of the Arabs without the prohibition of love. And with this book he has shown us a great example and hopefully helps us to understand each other better.

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Happy Reading!

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Happy October!

Happy October to all my Friends and Readers

New Calendar picture with this
beautiful watercolour painting by Frank Koebsch
"Bryggen in Bergen im Herbst"
"Bryggen in Bergen im Herbst"

Frank says to this picture:

"Zum Herbst gehören auch Regentage und so haben wir für den Oktober ein Aquarell aus der regenreichsten Stadt Europas Bergen ausgesucht. "

"Rainy days also belong to autumn, so for October we have chosen a watercolour of Europe's rainiest city Bergen." 

Absolutely beautiful. and so Scandinavian. I have never been to Norway but we have been to Sweden several times. So I thought, I share another picture of a beautiful Swedish city: Göteborg.

Read more on their website here. *

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September was calmer than the months before with more friendly events like birthday parties, concerts, and a theatre play.

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My favourite book last month was "All Our Wordly Goods" (Les Biens de ce monde) by Irène Némirovsky, written in 1942.

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German proverb this month:
Den Teufel an die Wand malen

Literal translation: to paint the devil onto the wall.

Meaning: pessimistic. Fearing the worst, portraying a situation in an overly pessimistic light, or conjuring up a disaster through negative thoughts.

We often say: Mal den Teufel nicht an die Wand! Don't paint the devil onto the wall! if we want to tell people not to see things too negatively. Don't predict anything bad, it might happen.

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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. 

🍁 I wish you all a very Happy October! 🍁