10 Year Challenge Book Tag 2021

I was not tagged but saw this challenge on Deanna's page A Novel Glimpse through Bea @ Confessions of a Pinay Bookaholic. It was created by Rincey Reads. It’s a fun tag that takes a look back at my reading 10 years ago versus today. Please check out Deanna's, Bea’s and Rincey's posts.

What was your favourite book in 2011?
Pamuk, Orhan "Istanbul - Memories of a City" (Turkish: İstanbul - Hatıralar ve Şehir) - 2003
Orhan Pamuk is one of my favourite authors and Istanbul is a wonderful city. He grew up and lived there all his life, so what better than a book about his city by this fantastic writer.

What is your favourite book of 2021 (so far)?
Harris, Kamala "The Truths We Hold. An American Journey" - 2019
I love reading about strong women and I admire Kamala Harris a lot, especially after reading her book.

What was your least favourite book in 2011?
I try to read a book by the latest Nobel Prize winner every year (and some from the previous ones). This was one that really disappointed me.
Jelinek, Elfriede "The Piano Teacher" (German: Die Klavierspielerin) - 1988

What is a book published in 2011 that you still want to read?
Lodge, David "A Man of Parts" - 2011
A story about H.G. Wells. I have read "The Time Machine" and several book by Felix J. Palma that are based on his stories (The Map of Time, The Map of the Sky, The Map of Chaos) that mention him and his life, so I really want to read this one soon.

What is the book published (to be published) in 2021 you want to get before 2022?
Lawson, Mary "A Town Called Solace"
I loved her other books so far (Crow Lake, The Other Side of the Bridge and Road Ends), so I've been waiting for another one by her since 2013.

What is a genre you used to read a lot of that you don’t read as much of anymore?
Forest, Jim "Praying with Icons" - 1997/2008
Spiritual Books. I used to be in a church group and we read a lot of books together. Now that I try to reduce my TBR pile, I don't read as many anymore. I still want to read more by Jim Forest who I was lucky to meet during one of our get-togethers.

What is a new genre you’ve discovered since 2011?
Stroyar, J.N. "The Children’s War" - 2001
This is a tough one. I've been reading for so long and I've always been reading almost anything at least once. And those genres that I didn't tend to didn't increase after 2011. What I probably started reading more since 2010 are dystopian novels, starting with my favourite book ever, The Children's War.

What is a reading or book habit you are hoping to leave behind in this decade?
Buying too many books. Though, who am I kidding …?

What is a new reading goal or habit you want to create in the upcoming decade?
I started to add only books from my TBR pile to any challenges I wanted to do this year and have been following that diligently so far. I'd like to keep that up.

I'm not tagging anyone but invite you all to do this, if you like to participate. If you decide to do this, leave a link in the comments so I can check out your post. Thanks!

Eleven Years of Blogging

11^th "Blogiversary"

It's a special day today. At least for me. Eleven years ago, I started this blog.

Eleven is a prime number. Its twin is the next prime number, 13. It has a lot of meanings.
Armistice on WWI was declared on "the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month" 1918. This is still the time and date it is commemorated today.

Apollo 11 was the first rocket to land on the moon. There are eleven players on a football field. In chemistry, it's the atomic number for sodium.
Apparently, according to the know-it-all WWW, the number eleven is a master number in numerology. It is a double digit of the number one which stands for beginnings and purity and the meaning of the prime number doubles its strength. The number eleven also stands for balance and represents male and female, sun and moon. That is interesting because my star sign is the libra which also balances everything. So - perfect. Not that I really believe in this but it's always interesting to read what people have been coming up with.

My very first entry was about Jane Austen. "Which Austen Heroine are You?" (apparently, I'm Elinor Dashwood), followed by a list of my Favourite Books Ever. I carried on with a list about our Book Club History, right after that a post about the Nobel Prize for Literature winner of 2010 (Maria Vargas Llosa), which was then followed by a post about my favourite book ever, "The Children's War". I have, of course, updated all those lists over the time.

I think this shows how I play with my blog. I love Classics (329 posts so far), Nobel Prize Winners (121), Lists (149), I have been a member of a Book Club for decades (198), Book Quotes, Top Ten Tuesday (193) challenges, the Classics Club (39) and the Classics Challenge 2021, Spell the Month in Books, Six Degrees of Separation etc. And I Travel the World Through Books. This is only a smidgen of the topics I blog about but I hope I have given a quick overview.

I have found many other enthusiastic readers here whose blogs I love to read and who come to my blog and comment on our issues. I found many, many interesting books that way, and had lots of fascinating conversations.

So, thank you all for your support. I look forward to the next couple of years of living in the blogging world.

Top Ten Tuesday ~ Bookish Pet Peeves

     

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

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

This week's topic is Bookish Pet Peeves

May I introduce my favourite bag saying "favourite book" in German. I have had this for years (as you can see from the copyright, even then it was a couple of years old) and take it everywhere. My handbags have to be big enough for it to fit in there because only then can I take a book with me wherever I go.

When I first saw this topic, I thought, I know I've done this before. And yes, it's been eight years ago. The challenge was Top Ten Book Turn-Offs and mine were:

10. Books with movie covers.
9. No description of the book on the cover.
8. Spoilers in the introduction.
7. Description of clothes.
6. Mentioning shoes.
5. Bad translation.
4. Contradictions within the story or even compared to real life.
3. Wrong dates.
2. Wrong grammar, wrong spelling.
1. Bad language.
None of that has changed, I still loathe all of those facts. But, of course, there are other events that can make me mad.

One would be: Sequels coming out a different size to first book. I like my series to match. But that isn't the worst one.

And since we're on the topic already, cover redesigns after they have been turned into a movie! I think they do it because they hope to sell the books with the new cover to those who liked the movie. But they don't make them attractive to those of us who hate movies made after our books (see here).

I also hate that paperbacks are published later than hard covers. Now it's bad enough with English books but in Germany it might take years until they publish it in paperback. With the result that I hardly ever read any new German books and by the time they appear in paperback, I have forgotten that I liked the description when I first heard about it.

Then there is something I love when it's there, but it doesn't happen very often. I love to have maps about the area, so I know what the author is talking about. Also, when there is a historical notion, a timeline of what happened in real life is very helpful. I know I can get all that information on the internet nowadays but it's nicer to have it right then and there while reading.

Another thing we book lovers hate is when a book we ordered online is damaged. I don't like ordering online much but my local bookshop often has problems getting a foreign edition for me, so I have no choice but to use one of the online bookshops. It's really annoying when they arrive damaged.

And the last biggest problem is:
How will I ever get through my TBR pile before I die?

I hope Jorge Louis Borges is correct and paradise is like a library. Sigh!

Wodehouse, P.G. "The World of Jeeves"

Wodehouse, P.G. "The World of Jeeves" (Jeeves #2-4: The Inimitable Jeeves #2, Carry On, Jeeves #3, Very Good, Jeeves! #4) - 1923/1925/1930 

Wodehouse, P.G. "The Inimitable Jeeves" (Jeeves #2) - 1923
Wodehouse, P.G. "Carry On, Jeeves" (Jeeves #3) - 1925
Wodehouse, P.G. "Very Good, Jeeves!" (Jeeves #4) - 1930 

After reading "Right Ho, Jeeves", "Ring for Jeeves" and "The Code of the Woosters" last year, it was time for another book by P.G. Wodehouse about Bertram (Bertie) Wooster  and his trustful gentleman's gentleman Jeeves. I found an omnibus of three of the Jeeves books and I had a lot of fun reading it over several months, the two helped me through some awful Corona months.

There isn't much more to say about these books other than how wonderful they are. I mentioned before that they aren't just funny but that the language is superb. My final sentence to the first book I came across was:
"A truly delightful book. Whenever you feel gloomy, read a bit of Jeeves and Wooster!"
That's still true today.

I found it incredible, how much some of the covers have changed, so I made a little collage with the different books.

Here is a list of all the stories I found in this collection.

1.    Jeeves Takes Charge (COJ)
2.    Jeeves in the Springtime (VGJ)
3.    Scoring Off Jeeves (VGJ)
4.    Sir Roderick Comes to Lunch (VGJ)
5.    Aunt Agatha Takes the Count (VGJ)
6.    The Artistic Career of Corky (COJ)
7.    Jeeves and Chump Cyril (VGJ)
8.    Jeeves and the Unbidden Guest (COJ)
9.    Jeeves and the Hard-Boiled Egg (COJ)
10.  The Aunt and the Sluggard (COJ)
11.  Comrade Bingo (VGJ)
12.  The Great Sermon Handicap (VGJ)
13.  The Purity of the Turf (VGJ)
14.  The Metropolitan Touch (VGJ)
15.  The Delayed Exit of Claude and Eustace (VGJ)
16.  Bingo and the Little Woman (VGJ)
17.  The Rummy Affair of Old Biffy (COJ)
18.  Without the Option (COJ)
19.  Fixing it for Freddie (COJ)
20.  Clustering Round Young Bingo (COJ)
21.  Jeeves and the Impending Doom (VGJ)
22.  The Inferiority Complex of Old Sippy (VGJ)
23.  Jeeves and the Yule-Tide Spirit (VGJ)
24.  Jeeves and the Song of Songs (VGJ)
25.  Episode of the Dog Mcintosh (VGJ)
26.  The Spot of Art (VGJ)
27.  Jeeves and the Kid Clementina (VGJ)
28.  The Love That Purifies (VGJ)
29.  Jeeves and the Old School Chum (VGJ)
30.  Indian Summer of an Uncle (VGJ)
31.  The Ordeal of Young Tuppy (VGJ)
32.  Bertie Changes His Mind (COJ)
33.  Jeeves Makes an Omelette
34.  Jeeves and the Greasy Bird

IJ = The Inimitable Jeeves
COJ = Carry On, Jeeves
VGJ = Very Good, Jeeves!

From the back cover:

"A Jeeves and Wooster Omnibus

'Jeeves knows his place, and it is between the covers of a book.'

This is an omnibus of wonderful Jeeves and Wooster stories, specially selected and introduced by Wodehouse himself, who was struck by the size of his selection and described it as almost the ideal paperweight. As he wrote:

'I find it curious, now that I have written so much about him, to recall how softly and undramatically Jeeves first entered my little world. Characteristically, he did not thrust himself forward. On that occasion, he spoke just two lines.
The first was:
"Mrs Gregson to see you, sir."
The second:
"Very good, sir, which suit will you wear?"
It was only some time later that the man's qualities dawned upon me. I still blush to think of the off-hand way I treated him at our first encounter...'.

This omnibus contains Carry On, Jeeves, The Inimitable Jeeves, Very Good, Jeeves and the short stories 'Jeeves Makes an Omelette' and 'Jeeves and the Greasy Bird'.

A glorious collection of all the short stories featuring Jeeves, the perfect manservant, and Bertie Wooster, a 1920s bachelor on the run."

I was told the "Psmith" books are even better. Will have to check that.

Six Degrees of Separation ~ The Lottery

 The Lottery
Jackson, Shirley "The Lottery" - 1948

#6Degrees of Separation:
from The Lottery to The Wave 

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

 
This month's prompt starts with The Lottery by Shirley Jackson.

Kate mentioned that there was no excuse for not reading the starting book since this is the first time we’ve started with a short story. Weeeeeelll, I don’t really like short stories. The longer a book, the better. However, since I could read the story online and it really was only 30 pages, I did it anyway as you can see in my link here.

The story about a small American town who holds a lottery to find a scapegoat reminded me very much of a newer successful book that selects members from their community for a gruesome task.

Collins, Suzanne "The Hunger Games" - 2008

That title led me to a book with a completely other kind of game, more in a magic realism world than a dystopian one but still quite surreal.

Ruiz Zafón, Carlos "The Angel's Game" - 2008

In this story, one of my favourite authors talks about a library of forgotten books. Another novel in a similar setting is a children's or youth book where people from the book come to life.

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

And then there is the book where nobody comes out of the book but somebody goes in:

Ende, Michael "The Neverending Story" (German: Die unendliche Geschichte) - 1979

Here we read about disappearing people because everyone has stopped reading fairy tales. So, another fairy tale should be the next link, right? Maybe in a different setting. Fractured fairy tales.

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

Talking about true stories in the title, here is a real one. When his students couldn't believe how people could follow the nazis and not do anything against them, their teacher started an experiment.

Rhue, Morton "The Wave" - 1981

You might think there isn't a huge connection between the first and the last book. Or is there? If you've read both of them (and none of them is very long), you will understand.

Look for further monthly separation posts here.

Spell the Month in Books ~ October

 

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

O
Homer "Odyssey" (Ancient Greek: Ομήρου Οδύσσεια, Odýsseia) - 800-600 BC
This is an epic story. I am not much into poetry but you can read this almost like a novel. This story is over 2,000 years old and it still captures us today.

C
Cabré, Jaume "Confessions" (Catalan: Jo Confesso) - 2011
This book always plays on different levels, different times and stories run alongise each other. The life of a Nazi henchman is interwoven with that of a Spanish inquisitor from the Middle Ages.

T
Liao, Yiwu "Testimonials or: For a Song and a Hundred Songs: A Poet's Journey Through a Chinese Prison" (Chinese: 證詞/Zheng-Ci) - 2000
The book "describes the horrific treatment of Liao Yiwu and other political prisoners in a Chongqing prison who were arrested after the June 4, 1989 crackdown".

O
Gabaldon, Diana "Outlander" (UK: Cross Stich) - 1991
This is not my kind of read but many of my friends have told me I should read this.

B
Morrison, Toni "Beloved" - 1987
This is one of my favourite books ever. The author uses a lot of symbolism unknown to us, yet, explains the world of the slaves so lively, you can really feel their pains.

E
Jessop, Carolyn "Escape" - 2007
Even though this is a book about one terrible thing after another, it is also a book of hope, that there is something you can do in a hopeless situation, where everyone tells you it's impossible to get away from but it shows there is hope.

R
Byatt, A.S. "Ragnarok. The End of the Gods" - 2011
A retelling of the Norse mythology. I really enjoyed the author's "Thoughts on Myth" at the end of the stories where she explains where certain words come from and why she was re-writing something that has been written already a hundred times before.

Happy October!

Happy October to all my friends and readers

New Calendar picture with this
beautiful watercolour painting by Hanka Koebsch

"Herbst-Anemonen"
"Autumn Anemones"


Flowers are always pretty and the Koebsch couple can paint them very well. Don't you agree?

* * *

The Low German name for October is "Wienmaond", the English translation is "Wine Moon" as this is the month of the wine grape harvesting (Vintage).

* * *

In Germany, we start the month with "German Unity Day" on the 3^rd. It's a public holiday in commemoration of the German reunification in 1990. 

In the West, we used to celebrate this day on the 17^th of June (as "Day of the German Unity") until 1990 as a reminder of the East German uprising in 1953. In the East, "Founding Day" (1949) was celebrated on the 7^th of October as "Day of the Republic".

But we don't celebrate it as much as we probably should, it is not to be compared with "Quatorze Juillet" in France or "Independence Day" in the States.
Our president (Frank-Walter Steinmeier) usually holds a speech, other politicians, as well. But that is about it.

Of course, there are also harvest festivals but we mostly celebrate them in church
as I have explained earlier (here).
My Canadian friends celebrate Thanksgiving on the 11^th this month.
I wish them all a Happy Thanksgiving.

A lot of towns and villages have their autumn festivals/funfairs.

And at the end of the month, some of our states (those where the majority is Protestant) celebrate Reformation Day. The Catholic states celebrate a day later, 1^st of November, "All Saints Day."

* * *

And last month, we had elections. In some states (including ours, Lower Saxony) we even had two. At the beginning of the month there were local elections.

And then the federal elections on the last weekend. We still don't know who is going to be our next chancellor or what our government will look like as coalition discussions are still ongoing, but there are going to be changes, that's for sure. The CDU (Christian Democratic Union) has lost a lot of votes and the SPD (Social Democratic Party of Germany) won the elections.
But, same as before, they will not be able to govern by themselves as they won't have a majority, so they need the help of smaller parties. We give every party a colour and the coalitions all have names, as well.

At the moment, it looks like the Traffic Light Coalition could be the winner (Red-Green-Yellow, i.e. SPD, Green Party and Liberals) with Olaf Scholz as our new chancellor. We'll see.

Weather lore (or farmers' rule) for October:

Viel Oktober-Regen ist für die Felder ein Segen.
A lot of October rain is a blessing for the fields.
I'm sure there is a lot of truth in this. Our fields do need rain in order to give us their fruit.

Mit Crispin sind alle Fliegen hin.
With (until) Crispin all flies are gone. (= 25^th of October)
I'm looking forward to that. I hate insects.

* * *

We had a few things to celebrate last month. My brother turned sixty and I had the family around for my birthday, as well. And we could have some outings which was fantastic.

But the best part of last month was seeing our sons. Our younger one was moving within Brussels into his first own apartment and his older brother came over to lend him a hand. So, we had some nice days together when the boys sorted out and relieved us of most of their stuff.

* * *

I want to say goodbye today with a quote by L.M. Montgomery in "Anne of Green Gables:
"I’m so glad I live in a world where there are Octobers."
I totally agree.

* * *

Have a happy October with this beautiful watercolour painting by Hanka Koebsch.


You can find many more wonderful pictures on their website here.

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