Grann, David "The Wager: A Tale of Shipwreck, Mutiny and Murder" - 2023

Grann, David "The Wager: A Tale of Shipwreck, Mutiny and Murder" - 2023

What an interesting story. Not just because of what happened with this ship in particular but about life on a ship at the time. I have read a few books about voyages on a boat (e.g. Master and Commander) and they are always interesting. This one is about life during a war on a ship, a shipwreck, a mutiny. This is the background to many novels we read from that time where there are sailors, I think especially about stories by Jane Austen whose brothers were sailors and who included seafaring men as well as the clergy (which represented her father and a brother) in most of her books. This book adds to those stories.

So, if you want to know more about the life on those vessels, this is the book for you.

Oh, did I mention that this is based on a true story?

Book Description:

"A page-turning story of shipwreck, survival, and savagery, culminating in a court martial that reveals a shocking truth. The powerful narrative reveals the deeper meaning of the events on the Wager, showing that it was not only the captain and crew who ended up on trial, but the very idea of empire.

On January 28, 1742, a ramshackle vessel of patched-together wood and cloth washed up on the coast of Brazil. Inside were thirty emaciated men, barely alive, and they had an extraordinary tale to tell. They were survivors of His Majesty's Ship the Wager, a British vessel that had left England in 1740 on a secret mission during an imperial war with Spain. While the Wager had been chasing a Spanish treasure-filled galleon known as 'the prize of all the oceans,' it had wrecked on a desolate island off the coast of Patagonia. The men, after being marooned for months and facing starvation, built the flimsy craft and sailed for more than a hundred days, traversing nearly 3,000 miles of storm-wracked seas. They were greeted as heroes.

But then . . . six months later, another, even more decrepit craft landed on the coast of Chile. This boat contained just three castaways, and they told a very different story. The thirty sailors who landed in Brazil were not heroes - they were mutineers. The first group responded with countercharges of their own, of a tyrannical and murderous senior officer and his henchmen. It became clear that while stranded on the island the crew had fallen into anarchy, with warring factions fighting for dominion over the barren wilderness. As accusations of treachery and murder flew, the Admiralty convened a court martial to determine who was telling the truth. The stakes were life-and-death--for whomever the court found guilty could hang.

The Wager is a grand tale of human behavior at the extremes told by one of our greatest nonfiction writers. Grann's recreation of the hidden world on a British warship rivals the work of Patrick O'Brian, his portrayal of the castaways' desperate straits stands up to the classics of survival writing such as The Endurance, and his account of the court martial has the savvy of a Scott Turow thriller. As always with Grann's work, the incredible twists of the narrative hold the reader spellbound."

Kingsolver, Barbara "Animal, Vegetable, Miracle"

Kingsolver, Barbara, Steven L. Hopp, Camille Kingsolver "Animal, Vegetable, Miracle: A Year of Food Life" - 1990

Live the year with Barbara Kingsolver and her family on their farm.

I grew up like this. My parents didn't own a farm but they rented a house with a large garden, quite normal at the time in the countryside. We would grow everything, really everything the family need during the year. Except for the potatoes, the garden was not large enough, especially since we hardly ever had rice or pasta. But my uncle was a farmer and he would come by once a year and fill half of our little cellar room with potatoes. The other half would be harvested in a nearby apple orchard. We also had chickens, rabbits (which I still refuse to eat to this day) and even a pig from time to time. Fresh milk would be fetched from the next farmer, the one who also owned our house.

So, I read this book with a laughing and a crying eye. Too many memories of a hard childhood. But also so much that sounded familiar. Not just the planting and harvesting of the veggies, the washing of the preserving jars and then the processing and the cooking. A lot of work. In the end, I was happy I don't have to do that anymore.

What I liked about the book was the togetherness of the family, the will to stick together and live off the land for a whole year. Of course, not everyone would be able to do that. We all have to go out and earn a living, there is not that much time left to grow everything we want to eat. Also, most people don't have the money to have land so large that they can live from the proceeds any longer.

Mind you, a lot of her findings about food you can buy and probably shouldn't, are about the US American market but we all have to find what is good food and what isn't

So, I understand people who didn't like the book because of that. But we can all learn from the author and buy more local food, buy more stuff that is in season and didn't have to be shipped all over the world until we get it.

I also loved her remark to lactose intolerance. I belong to the (large) group of people inflicted with it and often have to hear snide remarks. I should take an excerpt from her book along with me in future:

"This is not an allergy or even, technically, a disorder. Physical anthropologists tell us that age four, when lactose intolerance typically starts, is about when nature intended for our kind to be wholly weaned onto solid food; in other words, a gradual cessation of milk digestions is norma. In all other mammals, the milk-digesting enzyme shuts down soon after weaning. So, when people refer to this as an illness, I'm inclined to point out we L.I's can very well digest the sugar in grown-up human foods like fruits and vegetables, thank, we just can't nurse. From a cow. Okay?"

As a big fan of gatherings by family and friends, I also loved her accounts of those. She obviously has more space than we do but even in our smaller apartments, we often had several dozens of visitors to our parties.

There are also contributions by her husband and her daughter Camille who includes a lot of recipes that you can download here: AnimalVegetableMiracle.

Does Barbara Kingsolver still belong to my favourite authors? But, of course. All her books are great!

Book Description:

"Author Barbara Kingsolver and her family abandoned the industrial-food pipeline to live a rural life—vowing that, for one year, they'd only buy food raised in their own neighbourhood, grow it themselves, or learn to live without it. Part memoir, part journalistic investigation, Animal, Vegetable, Miracle is an enthralling narrative that will open your eyes in a hundred new ways to an old truth: You are what you eat."

Ephron, Nora "Scribble Scribble"

Ephron, Nora "Scribble Scribble. Notes on the Media" - 1978 

I love Nora Ephron and must have read every novel she ever wrote. And some of her non-fiction publications. A while ago, I read "Crazy salad. Some things about women" which was written in the Seventies, at a time where we had no internet and not as much information about what was going on across the pond as it is now.

Same as in that book, we find articles she wrote for a magazine, this time Esquire. I have never seen that publication and I didn't know many of the celebrities or newspapers or events she writes about. But she has such a lovely way of writing, you want to dig into all those stories and find out what the background was, though she does give quite some information about that already.

So, if you like Nora Ephron, you might want to pick up this book. If you haven't read anything by her, I suggest you start with one of her wonderful novels (see here).

There would be a lot of quotes I could put here, but I just leave it with three:

About "People" magazine:
"A celebrity is anyone People writes about; I know the magazine is filling some nameless, bottomless pit of need for gossip and names but I haven't got room in my life for so many lights."
Nothing seems to have changed here.

About two of my least favourite authors (Capote and Kerouac)
"Russell Baker: Capote's famous comment on Kerouac - that's not writing, it's typing."
I could say that for both of them but I will remember this quote the next time I come across a book like this.

About "Gourmet" magazine:
"I don't actually read it. I sort of look at it in a fairly ritualistc manner." 
I love cook books and cooking and baking magazines. And I think it's that same for me, I just love looking at the recipes and imagine I would make them all. Mind you, I usually try a few of the recipes

Book Description:

"Twenty-five tussles with the American media and its various faults and glories reveal an incisive journalist's dislike of such episodes as Haldeman on CBS and the New York Magazine takeover and her passion for such gifts as Upstairs, Downstairs and the Double-Crostic.

This volume is a collection of the columns the author wrote for Esquire magazine from 1975 to 1977. Her subject was the media, especially print journalism."

Steinbeck, John "Travels with Charley"

Steinbeck, John "Travels with Charley. In Search of America" - 1962

I have always loved the books by John Steinbeck. Until I read "Cannery Row". But that didn't keep me from reading more books by him and when our 1961 Club came up and I found there was one book by him, I chose that immediately. Unfortunately, I had just finished it when I found out that this book was published in 1962 (although it was probably written in 1961). Well, I couldn't finish another one in a day or two, so this will have to do with my contribution to this challenge (but I will read another one later and put a link here).

But I am more than happy that I read this book because it brought back John Steinbeck to me and the way I have always loved his literature.

While I am not a big fan of campervans or camping as such, I enjoyed following the author and his dog Charley through the United States. I doubt I will ever get there but in a way, I have the feeling I have now. He says himself towards the end that "… I have not intended to present, nor think I have presented, any kind of cross-section so that a reader can say, 'He thinks he has presented a true picture …' I  don't. I've only told what a few people said to me and what I saw. I don't know whether they were typical or whether any conclusion can be drawn." I think that is the best anyone can try to do and I am glad we could accompany him on this trip.

He also mentions "I like weather rather than climate." That is one great quote and I couldn't agree more.

I thoroughly enjoyed this.

And if you think there are better books about travels through the USA, please, let me know.

Book Description:

"To hear the speech of the real America, to smell the grass and the trees, to see the colors and the light—these were John Steinbeck's goals as he set out, at the age of fifty-eight, to rediscover the country he had been writing about for so many years.

With Charley, his French poodle, Steinbeck drives the interstates and the country roads, dines with truckers, encounters bears at Yellowstone and old friends in San Francisco. Along the way he reflects on the American character, racial hostility, the particular form of American loneliness he finds almost everywhere, and the unexpected kindness of strangers."

John Steinbeck received the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1962 "for his realistic and imaginative writings, combining as they do sympathetic humour and keen social perception".

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

Lanschot, Reinier van "We are Europe"

Lanschot, Reinier van "We are Europe" (Dutch: Wij zijn Europa: een nieuw Europees verhaal) - 2024

A Christmas present from one of my sons. One of his bosses had written a book about Europe. History. Present. Problems. Future.

I grew up in the middle of Europe with the European Economic Community. We had the same age. I saw a lot of controversy. Many people who were against it. Especially the farmers in our area though a lot of them benefitted from the butter mountain and other agricultural grants. I also lived in England while they were members of the EU and heard a lot of negativity there, they take away our measurements etc. The same moaning in both countries, we pay more into the community than we get out.

But do we really? I never believed that story because I know how much our market grew, I could see how we all participated in the prosperity.

Reinier van Lanschot observes this very well. He is the next generation and he gives us hope. As long as there are people like him who work toward a better future, who understand the problems and try to find solutions, so long we can have hope. The right wingers shout louder but I grew up with the conviction "He who shouts the loudest is in the wrong". And that's always right.

The EU is our biggest hope against nationalism, racism and all the other -isms who think they are better than others because … usually no reason at all, they just made one up.

There are a lot of facts in this book that tell us what has led to some events like Brexit but many stories that have to convince us that Europe is the only hope for the future.

I can only recommend this book to anyone who has the slightest interest in Europe and needs good points to convince others.

P.S. In his acknowledgements, the author also mentions Geert Mak, one of my favourite Dutch authors who has written a lot of great non-fiction books about our century, his country and Europe. And quite a few of his books have been translated into English. Try them, he is great.

Some quotes:

"When death and decline are all around and there appears to be no light left, this is frequently when the most brilliant plans emerge. And it is also when the strength to carry them out becomes possible." Mathieu Segers
The author says: "This was exactly the context in which European cooperation was born. After the devastation of the Second World War, Europe found itself in a precarious position."

On the Peace of Augsburg in 1555:
"This treaty introduced the principle of cuius regio, euius religion ('whose realm, his religion') granting rulters the authority to determine the official faith of their territories."

In German, we have a saying "Wes Brot ich ess, des Lied ich sing". (He whose bread I eat, his song I sing.) The Dutch say the same "Wiens brood men eet, diens woord men spreekt". That's about the same as "He who pays the piper calls the tune."

To explore how the EU affects your daily life, region, or interests, it is well worth visiting the webiste called What Europe Does For Me.
This is a good site that especially anyone who is against the EU should read.

From the back cover:

"We are living in a time of profound change. In Brussels, decisions are made every day that affect the lives of 450 million Europeans and shape the wider world. European cooperation is unique, far-reaching, and remarkably successful. Yet that story is rarely told in our national media or in everyday conversations.

In 'We Are Europe', Reinier van Lanschot takes readerson a journey across the continent. With historical perspective and vivid anecdotes, he reveals the real story behind European cooperation, its bold achievements and its serious shortcomings.

Van Lanschot does not shy away from Europe’s flaws. By examining today’s greatest challenges, he exposes the weaknesses of the current system and argues for the fundamental changes needed to safeguard our future. What emerges is a clear and hopeful vision for a renewed European project.

This book is both a wake-up call and an invitation: to recognise that Europe is not something distant, but something we all shape. Because the truth is simple – we are Europe."

Austen, Jane "The History of England"

Austen, Jane "The History of England: By a Partial, Prejudiced and Ignorant Historian" - 1791

This was the last of my Jane Austen reads in 2025, the #Reading Austen project.

The booklet has 55 pages, very small ones. Yet, only 18 of them are about the History of English, the rest of the book is taken up by the correspondence between (mainly) two girls at the beginning of the 19th century, a short story called Lesley Castle.

I really enjoyed the first part. It was interesting to read how the kings and queens of England were seen by a partial and prejudiced person. Jane like the York and hated the Lancastrians, so anything they did were seen through her rose- or black-tinted glasses. Hilarious, though, and not necessarily to be taken seriously. 

Also the second part has its hilarious moments. Like when women are judged by their height and being tall is supposed to be a fault. Just read it, it doesn't take long.

Book Description:

"'The History of England', written when Jane Austen was in her late teens, is a lively and somewhat disrespectful overview of the history of England's monarchy. She sees nothing reprehensible in Richard III, yet burns with contempt for Elizabeth I, and documents several reigns with breezy nonchalance.

This volume also contains 'Lesley Castle', a delightful and often hilarious correspondence detailing the mishaps and misapprehensions that befall five young ladies."

Brandreth, Gyles "Have You Eaten Grandma?"

Brandreth, Gyles "Have You Eaten Grandma?" - 2017

I know Gyles Brandreth from TV, mainly from panel shows. And he is always really, really funny. When I saw the title of this book, I just had to get it. I already enjoyed writings like "Eats, Shoots and Leaves" by Lynne Truss (not to be confused with the "minor royal" or "local dignity" Liz Truss) and this one was just as great.

Just as in his shows, the author is simply hilarious. He can teach us about the English language and make a great joke at the same time. 

As a non-native speaker, I am always surprised at mistakes like mixing up their, there and they're. What's the problem? Are people really so dumb or do the just not care. I suppose the latter because 90% of internet users cannot be dyslexic.

If only everyone would read this book, we could pass on a great legacy to our descendants.

And if you ever have someone correct your English, don't call them Grammar Nazis. They want to improve your English, not kill you. Call us nerds, if you like.

From the back cover:

"Don't know if it's, like, okay to say 'like'?
Are your apostrophe's in the wrong place?
Should it be 'past' or 'passed'?
Want to make fewer not less grammatical mistakes?

Then do not despair, Gyles Brandreth's Have You Eaten Grandma? is the definitive (and hilarious) guide to punctuation, spelling, and good English for the twenty-first century.

Sunday Times best-selling author and grammar guru, Gyles pokes fun at the linguistic foibles of our time, tells us where we've been going wrong (and how to put it right), and reveals his tips and tricks to make every one of us better, more confident users (not abusers) of the English language."

Nonfiction November 2025

November is almost over and so are the Nonfiction November challenges. As last year, I have not had the time and energy to participate every week but I want to do a little overview over my nonfiction year.

This is the schedule and the hosts for 2025:

Week 1 (10/27-11/2) Your Year in Nonfiction: Celebrate your year of nonfiction. What books have you read? What were your favorites? Have you had a favorite topic? Is there a topic you want to read about more?  What are you hoping to get out of participating in Nonfiction November?
Heather @ Based on a True Story 

Week 2 (11/3-11/10) Choosing Nonfiction: What are you looking for when you pick up a nonfiction book? Do you have a particular topic you’re attracted to? Do you have a particular writing style that works best? When you look at a nonfiction book, does the title or cover influence you? If so, share a title or cover which you find striking.
Frances @ Volatile Rune 

Week 3 (11/11-11/18) Book Pairings: This week, pair up a nonfiction book with a fiction title. Maybe it’s a historical novel and the real history in a nonfiction version, or a memoir and a novel, or a fiction book you’ve read and you would like recommendations for background reading. You can be as creative as you like!
Liz – Adventures in Reading, Running and Working from Home 

Week 4 (11/18-11/25) Worldview Shapers: One of the greatest things about reading nonfiction is learning all kinds of things about our world which you never would have known without it. There’s the intriguing, the beautiful, the appalling, and the profound. What nonfiction book or books have impacted the way you see the world in a powerful way? Is there one book that made you rethink everything? Do you think there is a book that should be required reading for everyone? (Rebekah)

Rebekah – She Seeks Nonfiction 

Week 5 (11/26-12/2) New To My TBR: It’s been a month full of amazing nonfiction books! Which ones have made it onto your TBR? Be sure to link back to the original blogger who posted about that book! 
Deb – Readerbuzz 

I like reading novels but I also read a lot of non-fiction, mainly biographies and history. And I'd like to draw the attention to the books I read this year, so therefore, here is my list.

Adkins, Roy & Lesley "Eavesdropping on Jane Austen's England: How our ancestors lived two centuries ago" (aka "Jane Austen's England) - 2013

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

Clarke, Stephen "Talk to the Snail. Ten Commandments for Understanding the French" - 2006
Deresiewicz, William "A Jane Austen Education: How Six Novels Taught Me About Love, Friendship, and the Things That Really Matter" - 2011

Durgun, Tahsim "Mum, please learn German" (GE: Mama, bitte lern Deutsch: Unser Eingliederungsversuch in eine geschlossene Gesellschaft) - 2025

Ephron, Nora "Crazy Salad: Some Things About Women" - 1975

Hammond, Richard "As You Do: Adventures With Evil, Oliver And The Vice President Of Botswana" - 2008
Hartlieb, Petra "Christmas in the Wonderful Bookshop" (GE: Weihnachten in der wundervollen Buchhandlung) - 2018

Hyun, Martin; Kaminer, Wladimir "Instructions for neighbours" - (GE: Gebrauchsanweisung für Nachbarn) - 2024  
Kaminer, Wladimir "Little Red Riding Hood smokes on the balcony … and other family stories" (GE: Rotkäppchen raucht auf dem Balkon … und andere Familiengeschichten) - 2020

Kishon, Ephraim (english) "So sorry we won" (GE: Pardon, wir haben gewonnen. Vom Sechstagekrieg bis zur Siegesparade ein Jahr danach) - 1967

Lovenberg, Felicitas von "Praise for the Good Bookshop" (GE: Lob der guten Buchhandlung) - 2020

Mak, Geert "The Dream of Europe. Travels in a Troubled Continent" (NL: Grote verwachtingen. In Europa 1999-2019) - 2019
Michell, Tom "The Penguin Lesson: What I Learned from a Remarkable Bird" - 2015

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

Rushdie, Salman "Knife. Meditations after an attempted murder" - 2024
Schnoy, Sebastian "Learn from Napoleon how to avoid doing the dishes" (GE: Von Napoleon lernen, wie man sich vorm Abwasch drückt) - 2013
Schöfer, Maike "Nope: An incitement to say no" (GE: Nö: Eine Anstiftung zum Neinsagen) - 2025
Sonneborn, Martin "Mr. Sonneborn goes to Brussels" (GE: Herr Sonneborn geht nach Brüssel) - 2019

Stelter, Bernd "As you get older, you need to enjoy life" (GE: Wer älter wird, braucht Spaß am Leben) - 2022

Sullivan, Margaret C. "The Jane Austen Handbook. A Sensible Yet Elegant Guide to Her World" - 2007
Thoreau, Henry David "Walden; or, Life in the Woods" - 1854
Weidermann, Volker "Man from the Sea. Thomas Mann and the Love of His Life" (GE: Mann vom Meer. Thomas Mann und die Liebe seines Lebens) - 2023

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

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

Worsley, Lucy "Jane Austen at Home" - 2017

And here are my posts from the previous years:
2020-2021 

2022  

2023 

2024 

Harris, Kamala "107 Days"

Harris, Kamala "107 Days" - 2025

This is one of the great women of our time, the great people of our time. If she were a man, she would have won, I am sure of that.

Whenever I see an article of Kamala Harris or see her on TV or on the internet, she always has something important to say. She is so smart and caring.

What a shame she came against such an ignoramus, someone who isn't just uneducated and, well, everything but smart. He said it himself, he loves the uneducated. And he does everything so that the rest of the nation stays like that so they will carry on voting for him.

Obviously, you can get really mad when you learn about the tactics with which he convinced uninformed people.

Well, enough about that guy. Let's get on to the subject of this book, Kamala Harris.

I just imagine what this world would have looked like if they had real elections in the States and nothing of this gerrymandering and "popular" votes etc. If she had won fair and square.

One thing is sure: this world would be such a better place if there were more Kamalas and fewer Donalds. I hope many young women will read this and find encouragement and inspiration in her doings.

Book Description:

"For the first time, and with surprising and revealing insights, Kamala Harris tells the story of one of the wildest and most consequential presidential campaigns in American history.

Your Secret Service code name is Pioneer.

You are the first woman in history to be elected vice president of the United States.

On July 21, 2024, your running mate, Joe Biden, announces that he will not be seeking reelection.

The presidential election will occur on November 5, 2024.

You have 107 days.

Written with candor, a unique perspective, and the pace of a page-turning novel, 107 Days takes you inside the race for the presidency as no one has ever done before."

This was a present from my son who knows how much I love her.

Deresiewicz, William "A Jane Austen Education"

Deresiewicz, William "A Jane Austen Education: How Six Novels Taught Me About Love, Friendship, and the Things That Really Matter" - 2011

I have read quite a few books about Jane Austen as part of the #Reading Austen project this year. And this one will be quite on top of my favourites of the year and of the books I read for the project - besides all of Jane Austen's books, of course.

What I really liked was the author linking his life to all of Jane Austen's books. It starts when he is 26 and reads his first one: Emma and ends with Sense & Sensibility when he finally meets his wife, after having told himself all the time that he would never marry.

He also didn't want to read Jane Austen, thought it would just be something like a chick lit with no content whatsoever. But he had to read the first one for a class and then found that Jane Austen has a lot to tell and to teach us.

How he develops from a conceited, big-headed young student into a decent human being, that is the background to this book. Something we can all learn from.

From the back cover:

"Before Jane Austen, William Deresiewicz was a very different young man. A sullen and arrogant graduate student, he never thought Austen would have anything to offer him. Then he read Emma — and everything changed.

In this unique and lyrical book, Deresiewicz weaves the misadventures of Austen’s characters with his own youthful follies, demonstrating the power of the great novelist’s teachings — and how, for Austen, growing up and making mistakes are one and the same. Honest, erudite, and deeply moving, A Jane Austen Education is the story of one man’s discovery of the world outside himself."

Adkins, Roy & Lesley "Eavesdropping on Jane Austen's England"

Adkins, Roy & Lesley "Eavesdropping on Jane Austen's England: How our ancestors lived two centuries ago" (aka "Jane Austen's England) - 2013

Part of my #Reading Austen project is to read a book by the author in the uneven months and a book about the author and/or her books in the even ones. This is my October read.

And it was a very interesting and detailed book. We get several maps right at the beginning where we cannot just see where Jane Austen lived during her lifetime but also some other contemporary characters with a similar background. Something that always adds to the explanations in any book, fiction or non-fiction.

But it's not only that. They explain how the pounds, shillings and pennies were divided, how the weights and measurements were calculated, all those nitty-gritty bits that are in the books of that time but not explained because the readers would have known what it was. The same as what it meant when someone had £10,000 pounds a year. 

They tell us everything about weddings at the time, about the aristocracy and who was who, education was as much talked about as what was going on in home and kitchen. The fashion of the time (of which we read a lot in Jane's books) is described, the religion, work and hobbies, crimes, illnesses, just everything that was important to the people of the 19th century.

So, if you want to know more about Jane's life, this is the book for you.

From the back cover:

"Jane Austen, arguably the greatest novelist of the English language, lived from 1775 to 1817. Her fiction focuses on the gentry and aristocracy, and her heroines are young women looking for love. Yet the comfortable, tranquil country that she brilliantly devised is a complete contrast to the England in which she actually lived. For twenty-nine of Jane Austen's forty-one years, the country was embroiled in war.

Eavesdropping on Jane Austen's England explores the real England of that time. Roy and Lesley Adkins vividly portray fascinating aspects of the daily lives of ordinary people, from forced marriages and the sale of wives in marketplaces to boys and girls working down mines or as chimney sweeps, this book eavesdrops on the daily chore of fetching water, the horror of ghosts and witches, Saint Monday, bull baiting, sedan chairs, highwaymen, the stench of corpses swinging on roadside gibbets and the horrors of surgery without anaesthetics.

Giving a voice to these forgotten people and revealing how they worked, played and struggled to survive, Eavesdropping on Jane Austen's England is an authoritative and gripping account that is sometimes humorous, often shocking, but always entertaining."

Hammond, Richard "As You Do"

Hammond, Richard "As You Do: Adventures With Evil, Oliver And The Vice President Of Botswana" - 2008

I have always loved Top Gear and especially Richard Hammond, "The Hamster" (see his book On the Edge). The adventures the guys had in their show, they were always hilarious albeit very scary.

Here, Richard Hammond has written about his race to the North Pole with a dog-driven sled against his friends in a car - with a lot of preparation beforehand (Polar Special, also known as the Polar Challenge). And about his trip through Africa in a car that he bought right there and kept later on because he had named it (Ollie) and you cannot sell a car with a name. LOL.

And there are other stories in the book, how he rescued some friends who were stuck in their house in the flood in Gloucestershire. And how he met Eviel Knievel, a guy I never was interested in and am even less after reading about him, even though he was one of the author's heroes.

In any case, this was a very interesting book with lots of funny scenes, almost like watching Top Gear. And it was an easy yet still worthy book to read.

From the back cover:

"The wry, honest and often hilarious chronicles of a very brave and clever TV presenter, Arctic Explorer and general drawer of the Short Straw. 

As one third of the BBC's Top Gear team, Richard Hammond's year since his near-fatal accident has been full of stunts and drama. From a race to the North Pole (with skis and dog-sled) to a journey through Botswana in a car named Oliver, and a seventeen-mile run through floods to his Gloucestershire home, in order to get to his daughter's birthday party, the year has been eventful, to say the least . . .

With his boundless optimism in the face of certain failure, Richard Hammond has become one of our funniest writers about a life (and a job) which constantly present a challenge."

Eccleshare, Julia "1001 Children's Books You Must Read Before You Grow Up"

Eccleshare, Julia "1001 Children's Books You Must Read Before You Grow Up" - 2009

While reviewing a children's book, I found this list on Wikipedia: 1001 Children's Books You Must Read Before You Grow Up. And discovered, that there is a book with all the descriptions.

I wish this would have existed when my kids were little but I think we still did quite well. I have listed all the books I can remember reading with my boys thoug I have not reviewe all of them. I also sorted them in chronological order rather than by age as on the list. This means, if you are looking for a book for a certain age-group, you better consult the original list. Some of those books are not for 3-year-olds. Or - even better, get the book.

Defoe, Daniel "Robinson Crusoe" - 1719

Defoe, Daniel "Gulliver's Travels" - 1726

Bürger, Gottfried August "The Adventures of Baron Münchhausen" (GE: Wunderbare Reisen zu Wasser und zu Lande – Feldzüge und lustige Abenteuer des Freiherrn von Münchhausen) - 1786

Lamb, Charles and Mary "Tales from Shakespeare" - 1807

Grimm, Jacob und Wilhelm "Grimm's Fairy Tales" - 1812
(Jorinda and Joringel. Eight Fairy Tales/GE: Jorinde und Joringel. Acht Märchen der Brüder Grimm) - 1812

Hawthorne, Nathaniel "The Scarlet Letter" - 1815

Moore, Clement Clarke "A Visit from St. Nicholas" ('Twas the Night Before Christmas) - 1822

Andersen, Hans Christian "Fairy Tales" - 1837

Dickens, Charles "A Christmas Carol" - 1843 

Dumas, Alexandre "The Three Musketeers" (F: Les Trois Mousquetaires) - 1844

Hoffmann, Heinrich "Struwwelpeter" (GE: Der Struwwelpeter) - 1845

Busch, Wilhelm "Max and Moritz" (GE: Max und Moritz) - 1865

Carroll, Lewis "Alice's Adventures in Wonderland" - 1865

Alcott, Louisa May "Little Women Series" - 1868-86

Twain, Mark "The Adventures of Tom Sawyer" - 1876

Spyri, Johanna "Heidi" (GE: Heidis Lehr- und Wanderjahre + Heidi kann brauchen, was es gelernt hat) - 1880/81

Stevenson, Robert Louis "Treasure Island" - 1881/82  

Twain, Mark "The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn" - 1884

Burnett, Frances Hodgson "Little Lord Fauntleroy" - 1886

Baum, L. Frank "The Wizard of Oz" - 1900 

Potter, Beatrix "The Tale of Peter Rabbit" - 1902

Molnár, Ferenc "The Paul Street Boys" (H: A Pál-utcai Fiúk) - 1907

Montgomery, L. M. "Anne of Green Gables" - 1908

Burnett, Frances Hodgson "The Secret Garden" - 1911

Milne, AA "Winnie the Pooh" - 1926

Hergé "Tintin" (F: Tintin) - 1929

Kästner, Erich "Emil and the Detectives" (GE: Emil und die Detektive) - 1929

Ingalls Wilder, Laura "Little House Books" - 1932-71

de Brunhoff, Jean "The Story of Babar" (F: Histoire de Babar le petit éléphant) - 1934

Leaf, Munro "The Story of Ferdinand" - 1936

Streatfeild, Noel "Ballet Shoes" - 1936

Tolkien, J.R.R. "The Hobbit" - 1937

Bemelmans, Ludwig "Madeline" - 1939

Rey, H.A. "Curious George" - 1941-1966 

Blyton, Edit "Five on a Treasure Island" - 1942

Forbes, Ester "Johnny Tremain" - 1943

Estes, Eleanor "The Hundred Dresses" - 1944

White, E.B. "Stuart Little" - 1945

Smith, Dodie "I Capture the Castle" - 1948

Lewis, C.S. "The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe" - 1950

Schulz, Charles M. "Peanuts" - 1950
(Advent with the Peanuts"/Advent mit den Peanuts) - 1979/80

Salinger, J.D. "Catcher in the Rye" - 1951

White, E.B. "Charlotte's Web" - 1952

Bradbury, Ray "Fahrenheit 451" - 1953

Saint-Exupéry, Antoine "The Little Prince" (F: Le Petit Prince) - 1953

Golding, William "Lord of the Flies" - 1954

Jansson, Tove "Moominsummer Madness" (FIN: Vaarallinen juhannus/Farlig midsommar) - 1954 

Zion, Gene "Harry, the Dirty Dog" - 1956

Awdry, Rev. Wilbert "Thomas the Tank Engine" - 1956-2011

LeSieg, Theo (=Dr. Seuss) "The Cat in the Hat" - 1957

Ryan, John "Captain Pugwash" - 1957

Bond, Michael "A Bear Called Paddington" - 1958

Goscinny, René "Little Nicholas" (F: Le Petit Nicolas) - 1959

Goscinny, René; Uderzo, Albert "Asterix the Gaul" (F: Astérix le Gaulois) - 1959

Eastman, P.D. "Go, Dog, Go!" - 1960

Lee, Harper "To Kill a Mockingbird" - 1960 

LeSieg, Theo (=Dr. Seuss) "Green Eggs and Ham" - 1960

Dahl, Roald "James and the Giant Peach" - 1961

Juster, Norton "The Phantom Tollbooth" - 1961

Rawls, Wilson "Where the Red Fern Grows" - 1961

Berenstain, Stan and Jan "The Berenstain Bears" - 1962ff.

L’Engle, Madeleine "A Wrinkle in Time" - 1962

Preußler, Otfried "The Robber Hotzenplotz" (GE: Der Räuber Hotzenplotz) - 1962

Bridwell, Norman "Clifford" - 1963-2015

Bruna, Dick "Miffy" (NL: Nijntje) - 1963

Peyo "The Black Smurfs" (F: Les Schtroumpfs Noir) - 1963

Sendak, Maurice "Where The Wild Things Are" - 1963

Brown, Jeff "Flat Stanley" - 1964

Dahl, Roald "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" - 1964

Silverstein, Shel "The Giving Tree" - 1964

Biro, Val "Gumdrop" - 1966

Lionni, Leo "Frederick" - 1967

Freeman, Don "Corduroy" - 1968

Kerr, Judith "The Tiger Who Came to Tea" - 1968

Scarry, Richard "What Do People Do All Day" - 1968 et al.

Carle, Eric "The Very Hungry Caterpillar" - 1969

O'Dell, Scott "Island of the Blue Dolphins" - 1969

Tison, Annette; Taylor, Talus "Barbapapa" - 1970

Hargreaves, Roger "Mr. Men" - 1971ff.

Adams, Richard "Watership Down" - 1972

Briggs, Raymond "Father Christmas" - 1973

Silverstein, Shel "Where the Sidewalk Ends - 1974

dePaola, Tomie "Strega Nona" - 1975

Smucker, Barbara "Underground to Canada" - 1977

Ahlberg, Janet & Allen "Each Peach Pear Plum" - 1978

Barrett, Judi "Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs" - 1978

Briggs, Raymond "The Snowman" - 1978

Ende, Michael "The Never Ending Story" (GE: Die unendliche Geschichte) - 1979

Hill, Eric "Where's Spot?" - 1980

Cunliffe, John Arthur "Postman Pat" - 1981

Browne, Anthony "Gorilla" - 1983

Dodd, Lynley "Hairy Maclairy from Donaldsons's Dairy" - 1983

Holabird, Catherine/Craig, Helen "Angelina Ballerina" - 1983

Pausewang, Gudrun "The Cloud" (GE: Die Wolke) - 1987
- "The Last Children" (GE: Die letzten Kinder von Schewenborn oder … sieht so unsere Zukunft aus?) - 1983

Numeroff, Laura "If You Give a Mouse a Cookie" - 1985

Ahlberg, Janet & Allan "The Jolly Postman or Other People's Letters" - 1986

Jacques, Brian "Redwall" - 1986

MacLachlan, Patricia - Sarah, Plain & Tall Series - 1986-2004

Munsch, Robert "Love You Forever" - 1986

Murphy, Jill "Peace at Last" (Five Minutes Peace) - 1986

Paulsen, Gary "Hatchet" - 1986

Ihimaera, Witi "The Whale Rider" - 1987

King-Smith, Dick "The Hodgeheg" - 1987

Waddell, Martin "Can't You Sleep, Little Bear" - 1988

McKee, David "Elmer" - 1989

Rosen, Michael "We're Going on a Bear Hunt" - 1989

Scieszka, Jon; Smith, Lane "The True Story of the Three Little Pigs" - 1989

LeSieg, Theo (=Dr. Seuss) "Oh, the Places You'll Go" - 1990

Inkpen, Mick "Kipper" - 1991

Scieszka, Jon; Smith, Lane "The Stinky Cheeseman" - 1992

Buchholz, Quint "Sleep Well, Little Bear" (GE: Schlaf gut, kleiner Bär) - 1993

Cannon, Janell "Stellaluna" - 1993

McBratney, Sam "Guess How Much I Love You" - 1994 

Pullman, Philip "Northern Lights" - 1995

Hesse, Karen "Out of the Dust" - 1997

Rowling, J.K. "Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone" - 1997 

Sachar, Louis "Holes" - 1998

Curtis, Christopher Paul "Bud, Not Buddy" - 1999

Donaldson, Julia "The Gruffalo" - 1999

Colver, Eoin "Artemis Fowl" - 2001

Allende, Isabel "City of the Beasts" (E: La ciudad de las bestias) - 2002

Hartnett, Sonya "Thursday’s Child" - 2002

Zusak, Markus "The Messenger" - 2002

Funke, Cornelia "Inkheart" (GE: Tintenherz) - 2003 

Haddon, Mark "The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time" - 2003

Cottrell Boyce, Frank "Millions" - 2004

Boyne, John "The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas" - 2006

From the back cover:

"This is the best and most authoritative guide to classic and contemporary children’s literature today. It is the latest in the best-selling 1001 series, and its informative reviews are the key to differentiating the "must-read" books from all the rest in the realm of children’s books. Whether you are a parent seeking to instill a love of reading in your child, an educator or counselor looking for inspiration, or a young reader with a voracious appetite, this guide to the best writing for children and young adults covers the spectrum of children’s literature. It is organized by age group—from board books to YA novels and all the gradiations in between. Each entry features evaluations by a team of international critics complete with beautifully reproduced artwork from the featured title. The beloved classics are here, but the guide also takes a global perspective and includes the increasingly diverse contributions from African American and Latino authors and illustrators—not to mention important books from around the world."

Ephron, Nora "Crazy Salad"

Ephron, Nora "Crazy Salad: Some Things About Women" - 1975

I absolutely love Nora Ephron. Shes was a fantastic author as well as a fantastic human being. Everything she says is close to my heart and I felt nodding along, no matter what I was reading about. If you ever felt like the odd one out, as if nothing you did would be acknowledged by others and they would always find a new excuse why, this is the book for you.

Of course, this book was written in the Seventies, at a time where we had no internet and not as much information about what was going on across the pond as it is now. I remember a game I played with some American friends  about thirty years ago where we had to guess celebrities and I had never heard of Ruth Bader Ginsberg. She just wasn't in our news until then. Neither were many of the women in Nora Ephron's book, some of them I read about in the meantime (Gloria Steinem, for example) but others I had never heard about. So, I had a lot of extra reading to do but that was alright because it gave me a larger insight into the US of A of the time.

So, whether you are American or not, if you are a fan of "When Harry Met Sally", you would want to read this.

Book Description:

"The classic Crazy Salad by screenwriting legend and novelist Nora Ephron, is an extremely funny, deceptively light look at a generation of women (and men) who helped shape the way we live now. In this distinctive, engaging, and simply hilarious view of a period of great upheaval in America, Ephron turns her keen eye and wonderful sense of humor to the media, politics, beauty products, and women's bodies. In the famous A Few Words About Breasts, for example, she tells us: 'If I had had them, I would have been a completely different person. I honestly believe that.' Ephron brings her sharp pen to bear on the notable women of the time, and to a series of events ranging from Watergate to the Pillsbury Bake-Off. When it first appeared in 1975, Crazy Salad helped to illuminate a new American era - and helped us to laugh at our times and ourselves. This new edition will delight a fresh generation of readers."

Rushdie, Salman "Knife: Meditations After an Attempted Murder"

Rushdie, Salman "Knife: Meditations After an Attempted Murder" - 2024

This was my third book by Salman Rushdie. I have enjoyed them all but this one was probably the most personal and therefore very special and highly impressive.

He doesn't just tell us about the attack and its consequences, both physically and mentally, he also recounts the problems he had during and with the fatwa. How can people go and attack someone who has a different opinion? We don't go and attack those that attack him. If their God was the most important one of all the Gods, he would probably not tell them to kill everyone who is against him.

The whole book is quotable, therefore you should absolutely read it. But here are some very quotable thoughts:

"Chance determines our fates at least as profoundly as choice, or those nonexistent notions karma, qismat, 'destiny'".

"… we would not think in the long term. We would be grateful for each day … and live it as fully as we could."

"I understand that for many people religion provides a moral anchor and seems essential. And in my view, the private faith of anyone is nobody's business except that of the individual concerned. I have no issue with religion when it occupies this private space and doesn't seek to impose its values on others. But when religion becomes politicized, even weaponized, then it's everybody's business, because of its capacity for harm."

"When the faithful believe that what they believe must be forced upon others who do not believe it, or when they believe that nonbelievers should be prevented from the robust or humorous expression of their nonbelief, then there's a problem."

I think if this story teaches us anything, it's that you cannot kill people's opinions. There will always be supporters who will continue; now more than ever. Therefore, whoever supports terrorists, know that you might kill people but will never be able to kill an idea.

As an old German song says: Thoughts are free!

From the back cover:

"From internationally renowned writer and Booker Prize winner Salman Rushdie, a searing, deeply personal account of enduring—and surviving—an attempt on his life thirty years after the fatwa that was ordered against him

On the morning of August 12, 2022, Salman Rushdie was standing onstage at the Chautauqua Institution, preparing to give a lecture on the importance of keeping writers safe from harm, when a man in black—black clothes, black mask—rushed down the aisle toward him, wielding a knife. His first thought: So it’s you. Here you are.

What followed was a horrific act of violence that shook the literary world and beyond. Now, for the first time, and in unforgettable detail, Rushdie relives the traumatic events of that day and its aftermath, as well as his journey toward physical recovery and the healing that was made possible by the love and support of his wife, Eliza, his family, his army of doctors and physical therapists, and his community of readers worldwide.

Knife is Rushdie at the peak of his powers, writing with urgency, with gravity, with unflinching honesty. It is also a deeply moving reminder of literature’s capacity to make sense of the unthinkable, an intimate and life-affirming meditation on life, loss, love, art—and finding the strength to stand up again."

Salman Rushdie received the Peace Prize of the German Book Trade (Friedenspreis) in 2023.

Sullivan, Margaret C. "The Jane Austen Handbook"

Sullivan, Margaret C. "The Jane Austen Handbook. A Sensible Yet Elegant Guide to Her World" - 2007

Part of my #Reading Austen project is to read a book by the author in the uneven months and a book about the author and/or her books in the even ones. This month, it was a book about her time with a lot of background information to why some characters acted the way they did. There were a lot of lovely illustrations and even more funny allusions to the novels.

I can heartily recommend this little book to any Jane Austen fan. Whether you have read her books or watched them on TV or in the cinemas (hopefully both), you will be delighted by this. And if time travelling was a thing, you could even learn how to behave in Regency times without anyone noticing you're from the future.

From the back cover:

"Jane Austen published her first novel in 1811, but today she's more popular than ever. Film adaptations of her books are nominated for Academy Awards. Chick lit bestsellers are based on her plots. And a new biopic of Austen herself Becoming Jane arrives in theaters this spring.

For all those readers who dream about living in Regency England, The Jane Austen Handbook offers step-by-step instructions for proper comportment in the early nineteenth century. You'll discover:

How to Become an Accomplished Lady
How to Run a Great House
How to Indicate Interest in a Gentleman Without Seeming Forward
How to Throw a Dinner Party
How to Choose and Buy Clothing

Full of practical directions for navigating the travails of Regency life, this charming illustrated book also serves as a companion for present-day readers, explaining the English class system, currency, dress, and the nuances of graceful living."

Pierce, Patricia "Jurassic Mary"

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

Ever since I read "Remarkable Creatures" by Tracy Chevalier, I've been interested in the life of Mary Anning who lived from 1799 to 1847 and was the first person who discovered dinosaur bones.

And this was on my wishlist, so my son bought it for me. It was just as nice as I had hoped.

A thorough account of the life of a young girl who would become one of the most important figure in discovering dinosaurs. But, because she was only a woman, she didn't have a lot to say. Even though there were some men who acknowledged her, most of them only used her findings for their won. She didn't really get any recognition. What else is new?

From the back cover:

"Spinster Mary Anning, uneducated and poor, was of the wrong sex, wrong class and wrong religion, but fate decreed that she was exactly the right person in the right place and time to pioneer the emerging science of palaeontology, the study of fossils. Born in Lyme Regis in 1799, Mary learned to collect fossils with her cabinet-maker father. The unstable cliffs and stealthy sea made the task dangerous but after her father died the sale of fossils sustained her family. Mary’s fame started as an infant when she survived a lightning strike that killed the three adults around her. Then, aged twelve, she caught the public’s attention when she unearthed the skeleton of a ‘fish lizard’ or Ichthyosaurus. She later found the first Plesiosaurus giganteus, with its extraordinary long neck associated with the Loch Ness monster, and, dramatically, she unearthed the first, still rare, Dimorphodon macronyx, a frightening ‘flying dragon’ with hand claws and teeth.Yet her many discoveries were announced to the world by male geologists like the irrepressible William Buckland and Sir Henry De La Beche and they often received the credit. In Jurassic Mary Patricia Pierce redresses this imbalance, bringing to life the extraordinary, little-known story of this determined and pioneering woman."