Connie ROOTs again in 2019 part 1

I'm known to most of you, but here is a small introduction.
I'm Connie (66) and I live in the Netherlands (which might explain my English being a bit off sometimes). I work at a school for girls and boys between 12 and 19. I do not teach, but are an administrative assistant.

I've been reading ROOTs when they were called BOMBs in 2012 so this is my eight year. And I'm loving all the people I got to know here.

Since I can't rehome books (I just can't part with them) they just move to another room in the house. My favorite genres are Fantasy and Thrillers, but I like novels too. Especially in summer when it warm and sultry.

I'm married to Peet (68) and we have one son Jeroen (35) and one daughter Eveline (33)
Jeroen lives with his girlfriend Rianne (31) near by and they have a daughter Lonne (8 months old)
Eveline lives with her boyfriend Cyrille (35) in another town, Maastricht, half an hour from us by car.
They have a little girl, Fiene who turns 3 in June.
One day a week we take care of her and I love that very much. She is a smart little girl and funny too. And she loves books!

And some great news to share with you. Eveline and Cyrille are expecting their second child in august. YEAH!! And it's a third granddaughter for me and Peet.

Fiene on the backseat of Eveline's bike



Lonne under the Christmas-tree



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Copied from 2018 Thread

Stats for 2018

Total books/ebooks read: 108
Tree Books: 80
Ebooks: 28
Roots: 47/36
For FF-challenges: 25
Bought or gifts: 53

This is where I will keep a list of the ROOTs I read in 2019.
My rules are simple: A book counts as a ROOT when it had been on my shelves for more than 6 months.

My To-read list is now (2018/12/27) 474 books long. But that lists includes ebooks too. And I don't count ebooks as ROOT, because they are not taking shelve space. Got to find out a way to split that list.




01. De bekering - Jodi Picoult - book -
02. Regen en sterren - Maeve Binchy - book -
03. Een fractie van het geheel - Steve Toltz - book -
04. De vrouw in het raam - A.J. Finn -
05. De acht bergen - Paolo Cognetti -
06. IJsval - Kitty Sewell -
07. Leugenaars - Ida Jessen -
08. Een wankel evenwicht - Rohinton Mistry -
09. Verbonden door het lot - Nora Roberts -
10. Op zoek naar de bron - Nora Roberts -
11. De kracht van het hart - Nora Roberts -
12. Als je het licht niet kunt zien - Anthony Doerr -
13. De bazin - Petra Hammesfahr -
14. Jacoba, dochter van Holland - Simone van der Vlugt -
15. Het legioen van vlammen - Anthony Ryan -

** Currently reading.

This is where I will keep track of all books read in 2019: ROOTs, new and shiny treebooks, ebooks.

This first post is for January, February and March.

001. Vlak voordat ik stierf - S.K. Tremayne - FF-challenge 2019 January - book -
002. De bekering - Jodi Picoult - FF-challenge 2019 January- ROOT # 1 - book -
003. Regen en sterren - Maeve Binchy - FF-challenge 2019 January - ROOT # 2 - book -
004. Het meisje in de toren - Katherine Arden - book -
005. Een fractie van het geheel - Steve Toltz - ROOT # 3 - book -
006. The Masked City - Genevieve Cogman - FF-challenge 2019 February - ebook -
007. De vrouw in het raam - A. J. Finn - ROOT # 4 - book -
008. Schaakmat - Joanne Harris - FF-challenge 2019 February - ebook -
009. De acht bergen - Paolo Cognetti - ROOT # 5 - book -
010. IJsval - Kitty Sewell - ROOT # 6 - book -
011. Leugenaars - Ida Jessen - ROOT # 7 - book -
012. Maan - Lucinda Riley - book -
013. Een wankel evenwicht - Rohinton Mistry - FF-challenge 2019 March - ROOT # 8 - book -
014. Witte dood - Robert Galbraith - book -
015. Het evenwicht - Martin Bril - FF-challenge 2019 March - ebook -
016. Verbonden door het lot - Nora Roberts - FF-challenge 2019 March - ROOT # 9 - book -
017. Op zoek naar de bron - Nora Roberts - ROOT # 10 - book -
018. De kracht van het hart - Nora Roberts - ROOT # 11 - book -
019. De ontdekking - Harlan Coben - book -
020. Totaal door het dolle heen - Karen Joy Fowler - book -

To be continued in post >4 connie53:

This is where I will keep track of all books read in 2019: ROOTs, new and shiny treebooks, ebooks.

This is for April, May and June

021. Transcriptie - Kate Atkinson - book -
022. Als je het licht niet kunt zien - Anthony Doerr - ROOT # 12 - book -
023. De bazin - Petra Hammesfahr - ROOT # 13 - book -
024. De kinderen - Ida Jessen - ebook -
025. Jacoba, dochter van Holland - Simone van der Vlugt - book -
026. De olijfboom - Lucinda Riley - book -
027. Het legioen van vlammen - Anthony Ryan - book -
028. De dochter van de klokkenmaker - Kate Morton - book -
029. Het keizerrijk van as - Anthony Ryan - book -

This is for July, August and September.

This is where I will keep track of Chunksters, books with more than 500 pages




February:

01. Een fractie van het geheel - Steve Toltz - 640 pages
02. Maan - Lucinda Riley - 603 pages

March:

03. Een wankel evenwicht - Rohinton Mistry - 582 pages
04. Witte dood - Robert Galbraith - 732 pages

April:

05. Als je het licht niet kunt zien - Anthony Doerr -542 pages
06. Het legioen van vlammen - Anthony Ryan - 680 pages
07. De dochter van de klokkenmaker - Kate Morton - 539 pages
08. Het keizerrijk van as - Anthony Ryan - 645 pages

This is where I will keep track of all my bought books in 2019




January

01. Het huis in Bellevue Gardens - Rachel Hore
02. De moordopdracht - James Dashner
03. De viruscode - James Dashner
04. De labyrintrenner-files - James Dashner
05. Maan - Lucinda Riley

Februari

06. Bloed op het zand - Bradley P. Beaulieu
07. Totaal door het dolle heen - Karen Joy Fowler
08. Kruistocht in spijkerbroek - Thea Beckman
09. Witte dood - Robert Galbraith
10. De weg naar voorgoed - Harrie Geelen

March

11. Voorgoed weg - Harrie Geelen
12. De ontdekking - Harlan Coben
13. De dochter van de klokkenmaker - Kate Morton
14. De bruggenbouwer - Markus Zusak
15. Transcriptie - Kate Atkinson

April

16. Station Elf - Emily St. John Mandel
17. De wereld vergaat niet - Kate Atkinson
18. De olijfboom - Lucinda Riley
19. Kom je spelen - M.J. Arlidge
20. De Obeliskpoort - N.K. Jemisin
21. Het keizerrijk van as - Anthony Ryan

Boekenweekgeschenk 2019 Jas van belofte - Jan Siebelink

Cursief = gelezen

Welcome to everyone! This will be a work in progress. So be patient please.

I'm really glad to join you all again.

Good to see you back again!

Just so you know, I noticed that the tickers in posts >3 connie53:, >7 connie53: and >8 connie53: are the same.

Hi Connie, great to see you here again and I hope you enjoy everything you read this year!

Thanks, Jackie and Luanne!

I was planning lots of other things for this evening. But now I'm so excited about this new group that I started an excel sheet to keep track of members and goals and more of that stuff. And of course reading all threads.

Those kids are so darn cute!

>13 majkia: Aren't they just? And getting so grown up!

Welcome back, Connie! Love the picture of Lonne! She's getting so big!

>12 connie53: Sounds like you are backing me up! Thanks. Your grandchildren are adorable!

Your granddaughters are so cute, Connie. Thanks for sharing their pictures.

Happy reading 2019, Connie. I'm glad to see you back here.

Hi Connie. I can't do without this group either. You are going to be very busy tracking your books in 2019. Gorgeous grandchildren. Good luck with your new goal.

Hi Connie, and welcome back. Love the grandkids' pictures. Good luck with your reading and advanced tracking.

Welcome back, Connie! Love the new photos and happy to hear of another grandchild coming your way!

>21 detailmuse: Thank you, MJ.

Happy rooting in 2019, Connie!

Thanks, Anita, you too!

Good to see you still ROOTing along in 2019, Connie!

I just love that picture of Fiene. She looks like she's going for the most exciting bike ride ever. :)

Thanks, Brag. She likes riding bike with mum or dad. So she might have been thinking that.

Happy 2019, everybody!!

Happy new year, Connie. And what wonderful news about the new grandbaby, that will be really something to look forward to!

Yes it will, Jackie. We are very happy with the new addition to the family. And we are also very curious what it will be, a boy or a girl. A boy would be nice for keeping the family line of Cyrille going on. He is the only one of his generation with the surname Depondt. So having a son would be great for them. It's a thing with men, I think, not so much for women.

Starting my first book for the year and it is not a ROOT.

Vlak voordat ik stierf by S.K. Tremayne
This is the translation of Just Before I Died
This book fits the Forumchallenge on www.ff-leesclub.nl for January: Change



From LT. Not my review.

Kath lives with her husband Adam and daughter Lyla in a desolate stone longhouse deep in Dartmoor National Park. She likes her life - the moors are beautiful, if bleak - and she counts herself as happy, even if they struggle with money, and work, and her daughter's shyness. But one day Kath wakes up from a coma, with a vague memory of a near-fatal car accident. She hugs her daughter close, likewise her husband Adam. But there's something wrong. Adam seems furious with her and Lyla is acting evermore strangely. They should be delighted to see her alive, snatched from certain death. But they won't meet her gaze.

I wish you from my heart a healthy 2019 filled with happiness, satisfaction, laughter and lots of good books.

Thanks Barb! The same to you and your family, especially lots of good books and happiness. ;-))

Happy new year Connie. Good to see you are off to a good start to the reading year!

Hi Connie, wishing you a happy new year and happy ROOTing in 2019! The little ones are growing fast, lovely pictures!

Happy New Year Connie! Dropping my star so I can keep up with you and your adorable grand babies!

Hi MP. Thank you. One more adorable grandbaby on the way, due in August.

Started my second book for the year yesterday and it is a ROOT.
ROOT # 1

De bekering by Jodi Picoult
This is the translation of Change of Hart
This book fits the Forumchallenge on www.ff-leesclub.nl for January: Change
On the shelves since 2011-07-03



From LT, not my review

One moment June Nealon was happily looking forward to years full of laughter and adventure with her family, and the next, she was staring into a future that was as empty as her heart. Now her life is a waiting game. Waiting for time to heal her wounds, waiting for justice. In short, waiting for a miracle to happen. For Shay Bourne, life holds no more surprises. The world has given him nothing, and he has nothing to offer the world. In a heartbeat, though, something happens that changes everything for him. Now, he has one last chance for salvation, and it lies with June's eleven-year-old daughter, Claire. But between Shay and Claire stretches an ocean of bitter regrets, past crimes, and the rage of a mother who has lost her child.

Hi Connie!

I’m slowly finding threads in both groups – the 75ers and the ROOTs group.

I love the pictures of Fiene and Lonne and am very happy to hear about grandbaby number 3 in August.

>12 connie53: I love spreadsheets, too.

Good luck with all your reading, and especially your ROOTs.

Your grandkids are adorable. Congratulations on #3 and good luck with this year's ROOTs! :)

Thanks, Karen and Shauna.

And I finished my first Non-ROOT book for the year. Vlak voordat ik stierf by S.K. Tremayne

Hello Connie, so much has happened on your thread already, and the New Year just three days old. Such wonderful news, too, with a third grandchild on the way. Thanks for sharing the pictures!

>42 MissWatson: Thanks Birgit.

Bought my first book of the year, Sigh!!

Het huis in Bellevue Gardens by Rachel Hore
This is the translation of The House on Bellevue Gardens



Rosa has arrived in London from Poland to look for her younger brother Mikhail. He is supposed to be staying with their English father, but when she visits the house she finds it's locked up and there's no sign of either of them. She urgently needs work and somewhere to live while she continues her search, but what can she do and where can she go? Stef is running away from her boyfriend Oliver and the claustrophobic life she's been living in his opulent flat. Frightened, friendless and far from her family, she needs somewhere to hide. Rick is living in a limbo, a shy young man hiding from the world to write and draw and dream. How will he find fulfilment? All three find refuge at 11 Bellevue Gardens, the shabbiest house of a smart white-painted Georgian terrace in North London. Here, its owner Leonie herself once found sanctuary following a short career as a model in the sixties and a destructive marriage. Now, out of gratitude, she opens her house to others in need. However, as she helps Stef and Rosa and Rick to find their way, Leonie finds that once again the very foundations of her own life and happiness are under threat.

>43 connie53: Well, at least its only one book, Connie. I already bought four.

>44 Familyhistorian: I know, but I ordered 3 more. And this book was really a bargain. Only € 3,00. Usually books cost around € 19,90. So I could not let it pass. And I like Rachel Hore for some light summer reading. So this book is a ROOT when summer comes.

>45 connie53: Nobody could resist a bargain like that!

I found a way to split my tree books from my ebooks.
For 2018 I've read a total of 108 books. 80 were tree books, 28 were ebooks.

Hmm, 4 new books entered the house. Not a good sign at all.

The first 2 books have no accurate touchstones on LT. They somehow managed to mix all common knowledge between the two prequels of the Maze Runner series.

But I bougth:

De moordopdracht by James Dashner
This is the translation of The Kill Order



From GR, not my review

Before WICKED was formed, before the Glade was built, before Thomas entered the Maze, sun flares hit the earth and mankind fell to disease.

Mark and Trina were there when it happened, and they survived. But surviving the sun flares was easy compared to what came next. Now a disease of rage and lunacy races across the eastern United States, and there’s something suspicious about its origin. Worse yet, it’s mutating, and all evidence suggests that it will bring humanity to its knees.
Mark and Trina are convinced there’s a way to save those left living from descending into madness. And they’re determined to find it—if they can stay alive. Because in this new, devastated world, every life has a price. And to some, you’re worth more dead than alive.

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De viruscode by the same author.
This is the translation of The Fever Code



From GR, not my review

Once there was a world’s end.

The forests burned, the lakes and rivers dried up, and the oceans swelled.
Then came a plague, and fever spread across the globe. Families died, violence reigned, and man killed man.
Next came WICKED, who were looking for an answer. And then they found the perfect boy.
The boy’s name was Thomas, and Thomas built a maze.

Now there are secrets.
There are lies.
And there are loyalties history could never have foreseen.
This is the story of that boy, Thomas, and how he built a maze that only he could tear down.
All will be revealed.

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De labyrintrenner-files by James Dashner
This is the translation of The Maze Runner Files



From GR, not my review

The Maze Runner Files is a 50+ page collection of classified records and concealed information from the world of the New York Times bestselling Maze Runner series. Lost emails between WICKED employees, memos meant to be destroyed after reading, and a selection of the Gladers suppressed memories make up this e-original short. These documents offer a unique glimpse of the world of The Maze Runner and are a must for any fan of The Maze Runner.

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Maan by Lucinda Riley (Touchstone not available)
This is the translation of The Moon Sister



From GR, not my review

Tiggy D’Aplièse spends her days experiencing the raw beauty of the Scottish Highlands doing a job she loves at a deer sanctuary. But when the sanctuary is forced to close, she is offered a job as a wildlife consultant on the vast and isolated estate of the elusive and troubled laird, Charlie Kinnaird. She has no idea that the move will not only irrevocably alter her future, but also bring her face-to-face with her past.

At the estate, she meets Chilly, a gypsy who fled from Spain seventy years before. He tells her that not only does she possess a sixth sense passed down from her ancestors, but it was foretold long ago that he would be the one to send her back home…

In 1912, in the poor gypsy community outside the city walls of Granada, Lucía Amaya-Albaycin is born. Destined to be the greatest flamenco dancer of her generation—and named La Candela, due to the inner flame that burns through her when she dances— Lucía is whisked away by her ambitious and talented guitarist father at the tender age of ten to dance in the flamenco bars of Barcelona. Her mother is devastated by the loss of her daughter and as civil war threatens in Spain, tragedy strikes the rest of her family. Now in Madrid, Lucía and her troupe of dancers are forced to flee for their lives, their journey taking them far across the water to South America and eventually, to North America and New York—Lucía’s long-held dream. But to pursue it, she must choose between her passion for her career and the man she adores. The Moon Sister follows these two women on their journey to discover their true futures—but at the risk of potentially losing the men they had hoped to build futures with.

>48 connie53: Future ROOTs have to come from somewhere, Connie. At least that's what I always tell myself.

Yes, that's true. I specifically bought them with Autumn ROOT reading in mind. ;-))

>49 Familyhistorian: I like how you think!

Finished my first ROOT for the year and for January.

De bekering by Jodi Picoult

In the beginning I had trouble with the way I thought the book took. I thought that! But while reading I got very interested in the story of Shay, a convicted murderer waiting for his dead-sentence. And of Maggie, the lawyer on a mission to help realize Shay's wish to give his heart up for donation after his dead. Michael, the priest who acts as spiritual counselor to Shay. And Lucius, the gay man, who's cell is next to Shay's. Lucius is the observer in this story. The story ended good in my opinion anyway.

ROOT # 2

Regen en Sterren by Maeve Binchy
This is the translation of Nights of Rain and Stars
This book fits the Forumchallenge on www.ff-leesclub.nl for January: Change
Entered to my LT catalogue on 2010-09-01, but probably longer on my shelves.



From LT, not my review

Four strangers, with nothing in common but a need to escape, meet in a Greek taverna high above the small village of Aghia Anna. From Ireland, America, Germany and England, they have each left their homes and old lives, when a shocking tragedy throws them unexpectedly together. Fiona is a young nurse, trying to make her family understand her need to follow her own path. Thomas desperately misses his young son and fears that his ex-wife will come between them. Elsa abruptly left her career as a television presenter, but someone from her past refuses to let her go. And shy, quiet David is determined to make a stand against his overbearing father. With these four is Andreas, the taverna owner, who badly misses the son who left home nine years ago and has never returned." Nights of Rain and Stars is the story of one summer and four people, each with a life in turmoil. With the help of Vonni, a middle-aged Irish woman who lives in the village and is now a near-native, they find solutions - though not necessarily the ones they anticipated.

Hi Connie!

>47 connie53: tree books vs ebooks - I like that.

Congrats on 2 ROOTs so far.

>49 Familyhistorian: Future ROOTs have to come from somewhere... I like that, too, Meg!

Congrats on having another grandchild on the way, Connie.

Thanks, Robert.

Finished my ROOT # 2 for the year and # 3 in total for 2019.

Regen en sterren - Maeve Binchy

Nice and cosy book with an end that can be predicted because the books of Maeve Binchy always end with everybody happy and lucky.

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Continuing in a book that I started in 2018 and that's no ROOT but a new and shiny one bought 2018/11/08

Het meisje in de toren by Katherine Arden
This is the translation of The Girl in the Tower



This is not my review, but the blurb from LT

Vasilisa has grown up at the edge of a Russian wilderness, where snowdrifts reach the eaves of her family's wooden house and there is truth in the fairy tales told around the fire. Vasilisa's gift for seeing what others do not won her the attention of Morozko Frost, the winter demon from the stories, and together they saved her people from destruction. But Frost's aid comes at a cost, and her people have condemned her as a witch. Now Vasilisa faces an impossible choice. Driven from her home by frightened villagers, the only options left for her are marriage or the convent. She cannot bring herself to accept either fate and instead chooses adventure, dressing herself as a boy and setting off astride her magnificent stallion Solovey. But after Vasilisa prevails in a skirmish with bandits, everything changes. The Grand Prince of Moscow anoints her a hero for her exploits, and she is reunited with her beloved sister and brother, who are now part of the Grand Prince's inner circle. She dares not reveal to the court that she is a girl, for if her deception were discovered it would have terrible consequences for herself and her family. Before she can untangle herself from Moscow's intrigues, and as Frost provides counsel that may or may not be trustworthy, she will also confront an even graver threat lying in wait for all of Moscow itself.

>56 connie53:.

Het meisje in de toren by Katherine Arden was not the best book I've ever read. It was easy to put away and read something else or play Candy Crush. I gave it

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Now starting a ROOT and a BFB at 640 pages

Een fractie van het geheel by Steve Toltz
This is the translation of A Fraction of the Whole



This is not my review, but the blurb from LT

Most of his life, Jasper Dean couldn’t decide whether to pity, hate, love, or murder his certifiably paranoid father, Martin, a man who overanalyzed anything and everything and imparted his self-garnered wisdom to his only son. But now that Martin is dead, Jasper can fully reflect on the crackpot who raised him in intellectual captivity, and what he realizes is that, for all its lunacy, theirs was a grand adventure.
As he recollects the events that led to his father’s demise, Jasper recounts a boyhood of outrageous schemes and shocking discoveries—about his infamous outlaw uncle Terry, his mysteriously absent European mother, and Martin’s constant losing battle to make a lasting mark on the world he so disdains. It’s a story that takes them from the Australian bush to the cafes of bohemian Paris, from the Thai jungle to strip clubs, asylums, labyrinths, and criminal lairs, and from the highs of first love to the lows of failed ambition. The result is a rollicking rollercoaster ride from obscurity to infamy, and the moving, memorable story of a father and son whose spiritual symmetry transcends all their many shortcomings.

Hi Connie!

I hope you're doing well.

>57 connie53: I've added this to my wish list - it sounds fascinating and fun.

>58 karenmarie: It is Fun, with capitals. I want to read on and that is something I did not feel with the book by Katherine Arden. And it's breathtaking quick to read.

ROOTing is a bit slow. Een fractie van het geheel is a very good book, but RL is interfering with my reading. Fiene spend a night here and reading is not an option when she is around. But I gladly give it up for time spend with her.

>60 connie53: That is an excellent reason for your ROOTing to slow down, Connie. Enjoy your time with Fiene.

Finished Een fractie van het geheel by Steve Toltz which started out very, very good but had some weak parts too. But it made me think sometimes and laugh sometime.

I finally found your thread! Love the pictures of your grandchildren -- they are adorable!

Welcome to my Thread, Natalie!

I bought two more books.

One is a BB from curioussquared/Natalie's thread. https://www.librarything.com/topic/301720#6728401
When I posted om my RL bookclub that I did buy this book friends suggested that I could nominate this book to be the next book of the month so I did!

Totaal door het dolle heen by Karen Joy Fowler
This is the translation of We are all completely beside ourselves



From LT, Not my review

Rosemary's young, just at college, and she's decided not to tell anyone a thing about her family. So we're not going to tell you too much either: you'll have to find out for yourselves, round about page 77, what it is that makes her unhappy family unlike any other. Rosemary is now an only child, but she used to have a sister the same age as her, and an older brother. Both are now gone - vanished from her life. There's something unique about Rosemary's sister, Fern. And it was this decision, made by her parents, to give Rosemary a sister like no other, that began all of Rosemary's trouble. So now she's telling her story: full of hilarious asides and brilliantly spiky lines, it's a looping narrative that begins towards the end, and then goes back to the beginning. Twice. It's funny, clever, intimate, honest, analytical and swirling with ideas that will come back to bite you. We hope you enjoy it, and if, when you're telling a friend about it, you do decide to spill the beans about Fern - it's pretty hard to resist - don't worry. One of the few studies Rosemary doesn't quote says that spoilers actually enhance reading.

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Bloed op het zand by Bradley P. Beaulieu
This is the translation of With Blood Upon the Sand part 2 in The the Song of Shattered Sands trilogy



From LT, not my review

Çeda, now a Blade Maiden in service to the kings of Sharakhai, trains as one of their elite warriors, gleaning secrets even as they send her on covert missions to further their rule. She knows the dark history of the asirim--that hundreds of years ago they were enslaved to the kings against their will--but when she bonds with them as a Maiden, chaining them to her, she feels their pain as if her own. They hunger for release, they demand it, but with the power of the gods compelling them, they find their chains unbreakable. Çeda could become the champion they've been waiting for, but the need to tread carefully has never been greater. After their recent defeat at the hands of the rebel Moonless Host, the kings are hungry for blood, scouring the city in their ruthless quest for revenge. Çeda's friend Emre and his new allies in the Moonless Host hope to take advantage of the unrest in Sharakhai, despite the danger of opposing the kings and their god-given powers, and the Maidens and their deadly ebon blades. When Çeda and Emre are drawn into a plot of the blood mage Hamzakiir, they learn a devastating secret that may very well shatter the power of the hated kings. But it may all be undone if Çeda cannot learn to navigate the shifting tides of power in Sharakhai and control the growing anger of the asirim that threatens to overwhelm her?

Have a nice weekend, Connie! I hope you and your bookclub enjoy the reading.

Hi Connie, I read the Karen Joy Fowler last year. I will be interested to read your thoughts on it when you read it.

I finished my sixth book for the year. Not a ROOT though. The Masked City by Genevieve Cogman part 2 in The invisible Library series
I really like this books and perhaps will read the next installments too. But not now. I have to read ROOTs and somehow that is not happening now.

The Masked City is a Fantasy book and contains a lot of magic, Fea and dragon things.

Hi Connie! We Are All Completely Beside Ourselves sounds intriguing - I've added it to my wish list.

I hope you have a wonderful weekend.

>68 connie53: I have the first in that series, which I hope to get too soonish. Dragons … OOooooo.

Thanks, Karen. The same for you! I hope you like it.

Hi, Jean, I love dragons!

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And...tadada, I started a ROOT. Just posting here made me go to my TBR-list and I just chose a book that had been on my shelves for more than 6 months and seemed to be a book I would like to read now.

De vrouw in het raam by A. J. Finn
This is the translation of The Woman in the Window
On the shelves since 2018/03/12



From LT, Not my review!

Anna Fox lives alone -- a recluse in her New York City home, drinking too much wine, watching old movies ... and spying on her neighbors. Then the Russells move next door: a father, a mother, their teenaged son. The perfect family. But when Anna sees something she shouldn't, her world begins to crumble -- and its shocking secrets are laid bare. What is real? What is imagined? Who is in danger? Who is in control? In this gripping Hitchcockian thriller, no one and nothing are what they seem.

And I finished it! >71 connie53:. De vrouw in het raam by A. J. Finn. Very good thriller which kept me on the edge of my seat.

Anne suffers from agoraphobia and she is drinking A LOT and taking lots of pills. So nobody believes her when she calls the police to report a crime she thinks is committed. It does not help that she is found by the police,unconscious and drunk, in the little park near her house. From that point on the book is fast and you have to change your mind continuously about what has happened and who did what.

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Now continuing in my book for the February Challenge on my book-club. "Read a book where someone is in disguise or pretending to be someone he/she is not. Preferably with wigs and masks. "

Schaakmat by Joanne Harris
This is the translation of Gentlemen & players
This is not a ROOT but an ebook.



Gentlemen AND Players
Audere, agere, auferre.
To dare, to strive, to conquer.

For generations, privileged young men have attended St. Oswald's Grammar School for Boys, groomed for success by the likes of Roy Straitley, the eccentric Classics teacher who has been a fixture there for more than thirty years. But this year the wind of unwelcome change is blowing, and Straitley is finally contemplating retirement. He is joined this term by five new faculty members, including one who holds intimate and dangerous knowledge of St. Oswald's ways and secrets. Harboring dark ties to the school's past, this young teacher has arrived with one terrible goal: to destroy St. Oswald's.

As the new term gets under way, a number of incidents befall students and faculty alike. Beginning as small annoyances, they are initially overlooked. But as the incidents escalate, it soon becomes apparent that a darker undercurrent is stirring within the school. With St. Oswald's unraveling, only Straitley stands in the way of its ruin. The veteran teacher faces a formidable opponent, however -- a master player with a bitter grudge and a strategy that has been meticulously planned to the final move, a secret game with very real, very deadly consequences.

A harrowing tale of cat and mouse, this riveting, hypnotically atmospheric novel showcases New York Times bestselling author Joanne Harris's astonishing storytelling talent as never before.

And because I like to read a tree-book too I took another ROOT from the shelves.

De acht bergen by Paolo Cognetti
This is the translation of an original Italian book Le otto montagne (The Eight Mountains)
On the shelves since 2017/11/27
ROOT



Blurb from LT, NOT my review!!

For fans of Elena Ferrante, Fredrik Backman, and Paulo Coelho comes the international sensation about the friendship between two young Italian boys from different backgrounds and how their incredibly strong connection evolves, changes, and challenges them throughout their lives. Pietro is a lonely boy living in Milan. With his parents becoming more distant each day, the only thing the family shares is their love for the Dolomites, the mountains that hug the northeastern border of Italy. While on vacation at the foot of the mountains, Pietro meets Bruno, an adventurous, spirited local boy. Together they spend many summers exploring the mountain's meadows and peaks and discover the similarities and differences in their lives, their backgrounds, and their futures. The two boys come to find the true meaning of friendship and camaraderie, even as their divergent paths in life-- Bruno's in the mountains, Pietro's in cosmopolitan cities across the world--test the strength and meaning of their connection. A modern Italian masterpiece, The Eight Mountains is a lyrical coming-of-age story about the power of male friendships and the enduring bond between fathers and sons. "There are no more universal themes than those of the landscape, friendship, and becoming adults, and Cognetti's writing becomes classical (and elegant) to best tell this story

I finished Schaakmat by Joanne Harris and gave it

My review

I love the books by Joanne Harris, but this book had to grow on me. The main characters are Roy Straitley, an elderly teacher in the classical languages at the very posh school of St. Oswald's Grammar school for boys, and a I-person. The story takes us from the past to the now and back. Every chapter is told from the perspective of one of them and we only know that the I-person is out for revenge for something that happened to him/her. He/she is slowly undermining the reputation the school and especially of Roy.

I finished De acht bergen by Paolo Cognetti and gave it

This is my review

Beautiful book about two men, friends from childhood en the paths they take in live. Pietro and his parent spend their holiday in a very small hamlet and he meets Bruno. Pietro is the one with the urge to travel, see new mountains, and Bruno is happy in his mountains where he grew up and herded the cows of his family. They share the love for mountains since the father of Pietro took them on trips to the top of some of the mountains of the Italian Alps. They share lots of summers and then live takes them apart and brings them together again on several occasions. Very good writing, you can taste the love for the Alps.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Now Reading: IJsval by Kitty Sewell
This is the translation of Ice Trap on the shelves since 2010/11/13
And a ROOT



At the height of his career, a British surgeon has found success in both the hospital and at home. He and his wife have everything they want out of life, except the child she longs for, the child Dr. Woodruff secretly believes he may never be ready to parent. Suddenly, the delicate equilibrium of their relationship is blown apart by the arrival of shocking news. Deep in the desolate sub-Arctic wilderness of Canada where Woodruff lived and worked years before, a woman claims he is the father of her thirteen-year-old twins. To make sense of the impossible, he must return to that frozen wilderness, where no rules and few laws apply. Leaving his shattered relationship behind, he finds that his well-guarded secrets have even deeper and more sinister layers.

I can't believe you finished A Fraction of the Whole so quickly! That one took me 6 months to read last year. I had to keep putting it down and reading other things in between -- I just could not stand being in the author's head for that much time. Any 200 pages of that book was brilliant but the whole thing was too much for me. Still, when it was good, it was very, very good.

>76 Nickelini: I have about the same thoughts about that book, Joyce. Certainly about the parts being very very good. But I am a bit of a pit bull with Big Fat Books, never give up!

Thanks to Henrik for pointing me at Ida Jessen. He was so enthusiastic about her and I happened to own one of her books in a digital version. So I started De kinderen on Sunday.

De kinderen by Ida Jessen
This is the translation of the Danish book Børnene
No ROOT



From BOL.com, NOT my review

Drie vrouwen op het Deense platteland hebben grote moeite om zich staande te houden in hun relaties. Solvej heeft haar man en kind verlaten voor een vluchtige liefde. Ragna voelt zich opgesloten in haar passieloze huwelijk, en de jonge Manne krijgt een verhouding met een getrouwde man. Met groot psychologisch inzicht beschrijft Ida Jessen hun weg door het leven in een dorp dat niet zo klein is dat iedereen elkaar kent, maar waar de mensen wel vaak meer van elkaar weten dan ze lief is.

And while browsing my LT library I found another tree-book by her I have owned since 2015.

I finished IJsval by Kitty Sewell and gave it

This is my Review

This book has been in my bookcase for so long, but all of a sudden I am really into reading older books. The story takes place in Canada and in Cardiff, Wales. Although the latter is hardly important. But Canada does play a big role. Cold, snow and ice, remote villages, indigenous people, traditions and a little belief in supernatural matters.
Dafydd receives a letter from Moose Creek in which a young girl says that he is her father and also of her twin brother. Dafydd was indeed in Moose Creek as a replacement surgeon at the right time. But he and the mother, Sheila Hailey, really could not stand each other. He can not remember anything that is similar to an intimate relationship with Sheila. But the daughter, Miranda, continues to write and Sheila starts talking about alimony. The wife of Dafydd, Isabel, wants a DNA test and if that turns out positive, Dafydd travels to Moose Creek and to the the past.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

As I like to have a tree-book on the go too. So I started Leugenaars by Ida Jessen



NOT my Review!

Against the will of his wife, Christian Gim takes over half of a small GP practice in the Danish countryside. One day he discovers that a number of files of female patients are incomplete.

Christian finds indications that his predecessor has sexually abused women. His attempts to discuss that discovery with others are not taken seriously by anyone. Moreover, he gets his hands full with his own life. The people in the village, who all carry lies and secrets with themselves, turn away from Christian.

I finished Leugenaars by Ida Jessen today.

My Review

So this book was not at all as I expected and not what the blurb says. Christian Gim takes over a small GP practice in the Danish countryside. His wife is actually very opposed to this and she increasingly gets away from the small village for her work (organist). Meanwhile Christian seems to have found his way and especially the female population is very fond of him. Carmen the practice assistant, whose son Christian stays with him for a while when Carmen ends up in the hospital, Ragna, a woman who has a mink farm. Manne (Marianne), a young girl he gave a lift. Nina decides to leave him and then everything seems to get heavier, darker.
Somewhere, his unnamed sister has suddenly become the narrator. Christian has strange dreams and thoughts, people enter his home, anonymous mail and phone calls disturb his live on a daily basis and People start to ignore him. And Christian has to cope with all that and find a way out.

Yesterday I started the 5th installment in Zeven Zussen series by Lucinda Riley - Maan



From BOL.com, Not my review.

After the death of her father – Pa Salt, an elusive billionaire who adopted his six daughters from around the globe – Tiggy D'Aplièse , trusting her instincts, moves to the remote wilds of Scotland. There she takes a job doing what she loves; caring for animals on the vast and isolated Kinnaird estate, employed by the enigmatic and troubled Laird, Charlie Kinnaird.
Her decision alters her future irrevocably when Chilly, an ancient gipsy who has lived for years on the estate, tells her that not only does she possess a sixth sense, passed down from her ancestors, but it was foretold long ago that he would be the one to send her back home to Granada in Spain . . .
In the shadow of the magnificent Alhambra, Tiggy discovers her connection to the fabled gypsy community of Sacromonte, who were forced to flee their homes during the civil war, and to "La Candela' the greatest flamenco dancer of her generation.
From the Scottish Highlands and Spain, to South America and New York, Tiggy follows the trail back to her own exotic but complex past. And under the watchful eye of a gifted gypsy bruja she begins to embrace her own talent for healing.
But when fate takes a hand, Tiggy must decide whether to stay with her new-found family or return to Kinnaird, and Charlie . . .

Hi Connie! I hope you're doing well.

>75 connie53: I've added Ice Trap by Kitty Sewell to my wish list.

>81 connie53: That sounds like a wide ranging story. I hope you are doing well, Connie.

>82 karenmarie: Thanks, Karen. I hope you won't be disappointed!

>83 Familyhistorian: Thanks, Meg. All the books in this series are about finding your roots in unexpected places.

>81 connie53: And I finished this book this afternoon. Reading in the garden in the sun helps a lot

I gave it

I always love the books by Lucinda Riley. They have that certain something that triggers things in my mind and takes me away into my own space. Tiggy is the fifth sister that has to find her roots. She works at a Lodge in Scotland as a nature-presever. Her search takes her to Spain, to Granada, where she finds people that can tell here much more about her ancestors. Gypsies, that lived in the caves of Sacromonte. I learned a lot about the way they lived and suffered under the regime of Franco and WO II

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Now reading a ROOT and a BFB

Het legioen van vlammen by Anthony Ryan



From LT, NOT my review

The Legion of Flame is the action-packed second novel in the Draconis Memoria series - an enthralling epic fantasy of magic, adventure and the furious battle to forge an empire. Claydon Torcreek has survived drake-infested jungles, hostile tribes and the cold touch of betrayal - yet his troubles have only just begun. The legendary white drake - believed to be nothing more than a myth - has awoken from its long slumber, with a thirst to reduce the world of men to ashes. One city has already fallen to the drake's formidable legions. More will follow, unless Clay can uncover an ancient secret that lies buried beneath the southern ice. Once again Clay must face unthinkable danger, and this time he carries not just the hopes of his own nation, but the fate of the entire world.

Confession time!

Bought two new books.

This one I started immediately since I bought it on the train station while waiting for my train to Fiene and a day of babysitting.

Witte dood by Robert Galbraith
This is the translation of Lethal White 732 pages



I seen a kid killed . . . He strangled it, up by the horse.'

When Billy, a troubled young man, comes to private eye Cormoran Strike's office to ask for his help investigating a crime he thinks he witnessed as a child, Strike is left deeply unsettled. While Billy is obviously mentally distressed, and cannot remember many concrete details, there is something sincere about him and his story. But before Strike can question him further, Billy bolts from his office in a panic.

Trying to get to the bottom of Billy's story, Strike and Robin Ellacott - once his assistant, now a partner in the agency - set off on a twisting trail that leads them through the backstreets of London, into a secretive inner sanctum within Parliament, and to a beautiful but sinister manor house deep in the countryside.

And during this labyrinthine investigation, Strike's own life is far from straightforward: his newfound fame as a private eye means he can no longer operate behind the scenes as he once did. Plus, his relationship with his former assistant is more fraught than it ever has been - Robin is now invaluable to Strike in the business, but their personal relationship is much, much more tricky than that . . .

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Second book bought today

De weg naar Voorgoed by Harrie Geelen

Original Dutch book. The title meaning: The Road to Forever. 580 pages



This is the first part in the never-ending story "Can you tell me the way to Hamelen, sir?"
In this trilogy everything happens that Harrie Geelen could not use for the TV series. In this book he can ignore boring things like gravity, time, money and space. In 'The Road to Forever', the first part of the trilogy, the Hamelens come into a world where people do not exist at all. There are dwarfs, scallywags, gnomes and civil servants; further giants in every size, biting chickens and sensitive rugs. There is also a monster with a sweater of infinite wool, an invisible lady-in-waiting of Tasty smells and a sworn piece of Soap that works at State secutity. "Can you tell me the way to Hamelen, sir?" is about nothing; at most by mistake about everything.

I read everybody's report on monthly reading and I like to do that too. I'm not sure if I'm any good at it though.
Here we go!!

Total books read in February: 8
ROOTs: 5
New and shiny: 1
Ebooks: 2

Tree-books bought in February: 5

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Total books read in 2019: 12

Total tree-books read in 2019: 10
consisting of:
Non-ROOTs read in 2019: 3
ROOTS read in 2019: 7

Total e-books read in 2019: 2

Hi Connie, best wishes for a lovely weekend and some good reading! I really need to pick up Lethal White soon.

>87 connie53: Great recap of your month! :)

>89 rabbitprincess: Thanks RP. ;-)

>88 MissWatson: Thank you, Birgit. We have a week off because Carnival is starting today and that will last until Tuesday evening. So School closed for the whole week. Now I just hope the weather will be better than it was today, but they predict lots of rain for the first few days. We will see.

Because March started today a new challenge was posted for my bookclub.
Read a book about balance. Think about:
1. light versus dark,
2. good versus bad,
3. a battle for equal rights.
4. People who need to get their live in some kind of balance.

So I decided to add another book to the books I'm already reading.

Een wankel evenwicht by Rohinton Mistry
This is the translation of A Fine Balance 582 pages.



From LT, NOT my review

In the India of the mid-1970s, Indira Gandhi's government has just come to power. It institutionalizes corruption and arbitrary force, most oppressive to the poorest and weakest people under its sway. Against this backdrop, in an unnamed city by the sea, four people struggle to survive. Dina, Maneck, and two tailors, the Untouchables Om and Ishvar, who are sewing in Dina's service, undergo a series of reversals, punctuated only by small mocking advances, that start them on a trajectory towards unhappiness and despair. Yet, in choosing what they will do, they exhibit a basic dignity and humanity that belies their mistreatment as part of the underclass. By merely surviving until their load becomes unbearable.

>86 connie53: Bought two new books. This one I started immediately since I bought it on the train station while waiting for my train to Fiene and a day of babysitting.
Wow, I love everything about this!!

Great stats and great progress. Enjoy your week off!

>86 connie53: I hope you enjoy Lethal White! I love Robin and Cormoran and recently watched the BBC TV series once it made its way to the USA. Has it aired in the Netherlands? I didn't enjoy it as much of the books, of course, but it was a fun watch.

Connie, I loved A Fine Balance and gave it 10/10. I hope you enjoy it too.

>93 curioussquared: No I did not even know it was made into a TV series. I'll ask my brother to find it for me. Thanks for the tip.

>92 detailmuse: Thanks, MJ.

>94 HelenBaker: That's encouraging, Helen. I think I will like it too. I love the way it started on the first few pages.

Schools are closed for Carnival? Wow. Here in Germany, only the Rhineland gets three days off. I hope it gives you time for reading.

>96 MissWatson: That's only for the southern provinces of the Netherlands were Carnival is a big thing.

Hi Connie!

Yay for Lethal White. I hope you like it as much as I did.

>91 connie53: I love your book club's challenge! I have A Fine Balance on my shelves and already have it tagged as a 2020 read. I'm reading A Suitable Boy for a year-long challenge so figure next year will be better for me.

Hi Connie, just dropping in to wish you a nice weekend. I hope you don't get blown away by the storms!

>98 karenmarie: Thanks, Karen. I'm almost finished with Een wankel evenwicht. 100 something pages to go.

>99 MissWatson: Hi Birgit. It was terrible stormy yesterday. But today the weather settled down and even got a bit sunny.

If anyone knows of another book about balance or any of the things mentioned in >91 connie53: Let me know!

Hi All,

I had a nice weekend with my friend Vera. Got on the train on Saturday and we spend the afternoon with lots of talking and a nice walk through the fields (she lives near the town-border) and fighting the storm. In the early evening we walked down town to have dinner in a very nice Italian restaurant. And walked back home. We walked so she could drink wine with the food. And then we talked some more until 04.00 am. Bedtime! After a short nigh and a nice breakfast and coffee I took the train back home.
The weather was awful. Very fierce winds and rain. The trains started to get cancelled due to trees on the tracks, objects (branches and other things) that were blown into the overhead lines from the train. Normally it takes a hour to get home, but this time it took almost 4 hours. I had to take detours and so did lots of other people, so it was very chaotic on the train stations. And very cold, with crying babies and distraught elderly people who did not have mobile phones to check or to phone home. But I got home in the end.

Hi Connie,
that sounds like a bad end to a lovely day, but at least you got home safely. We're having one storm after another, too, and we've even had some snow. It's a good thing it all melts immediately. Happy reading!

Wow, that sounds like pretty trying weather! I hope it settles down soon! And I'm glad you had a lovely weekend with your friend.

Today was relatively quiet. The storm is still here, but less forceful than yesterday.

I finished Een wankel evenwicht by Rohinton Mistry this afternoon. That's quite a book. I gave it .

My review

It's the story of Dina, a young widow who is forced by poverty to rent out a room in her tiny apartment. Maneck, a student in need for a room to stay in. And Ishvar and his nephew Om(prakash) who leave their village for the city by the sea (unnamed) to try an find jobs to send money home. They all come together in the apartment of Dina. It's India in 1975. Lots of things are happening. People are killed and maimed. Police and politicians are corrupt. You have to bribe your way through live. But the four don't have money to spare. Ishvar and Om start to work for Dina as tailors and they have to get along. They find a kind of balance and feel relatively safe and happy. But the government of India declare a state of emergency. And people are pushed in trucks and taken away to work-camps. Ishvar and Om are frequently picked up and taken away for weeks. The story is cruel, Medieval, breathtaking, frightening and beautifully written.

That sounds quite an adventure Connie. The only thing missing is books. Glad you made it home safe.

>105 HelenBaker: No books there. You could not get a book out because it would be blown away. But I did read while sitting in the trains!

Connie, the weather on your trip sounds harrowing but how wonderful is time with a good friend!

>107 detailmuse: I did enjoy every minute of it

Bought two new books
Original Dutch book, 889 pages

Voorgoed weg by Harrie Geelen this are part 2 and 3 and the sequels to De weg naar voorgoed >86 connie53:.



The blurb from the back cover, NOT my review

This is the first part in the never-ending story "Can you tell me the way to Hamelen, sir?"
In this trilogy everything happens that Harrie Geelen could not use for the TV series. In this book he can ignore boring things like gravity, time, money and space. In 'The Road to Forever', the first part of the trilogy, the Hamelens come into a world where people do not exist at all. There are dwarfs, scallywags, gnomes and civil servants; further giants in every size, biting chickens and sensitive rugs. There is also a monster with a sweater of infinite wool, an invisible lady-in-waiting of Tasty smells and a sworn piece of Soap that works at State secutity. "Can you tell me the way to Hamelen, sir?" is about nothing; at most by mistake about everything.

And

De ontdekking by Harlan Coben
This is the translation of Run Away 414 pages



From LT, NOT my review

You've lost your daughter.

She's addicted to drugs and to an abusive boyfriend. And she's made it clear that she doesn't want to be found.
Then, quite by chance, you see her busking in New York's Central Park.
But she's not the girl you remember. This woman is wasted, frightened and clearly in trouble.
You don't stop to think. You approach her, beg her to come home.

She runs.
And you follow her into a dark and dangerous world you never knew existed. Where criminal gangs rule, where drugs are the main currency, and murder is commonplace.
Now it's your life on the line. And nowhere and no one is safe.

I finished another book for the March challeng of my bookclub. Theme: balance

Het evenwicht by Martin Bril

This is an original Dutch book. Martin is a Dutch writer. He wrote several books, columns in newspapers, but this is an autobiographical book about the last year of his live and his fight against cancer.



I thought this was a pretty impressive book. He stays positive during the whole book. And he writes with humor. This book contains lots of his columns, mails to friends and medical specialists.

Now I will start in a nice book with a bit of magic.

Verbonden door het lot by Nora Roberts
This is the translation of Blood Brothers 349 pages.



From LT, not my review

Every seven years, on the seventh day of the seventh month, strange things happen. It began when three young boys - Caleb, Fox, and Gage - went on a camping trip to the Pagan Stone. And twenty-one years later, it will end in a showdown between evil and the boys who have become men - and the women who love them… This modern-day legend draws reporter and author Quinn Black to Hawkins Hollow with the hope of making the eerie happening the subject of her new book. It is only February, but Caleb Hawkins, descendent of the town founders, has already seen and felt the stirrings of evil. Though he can never forget the beginning of the terror in the woods twenty-one years ago, the signs have never been this strong before. Cal will need the help of his best friends, Fox and Gage, but surprisingly he must rely on Quinn as well. She, too, can see the evil that the locals cannot, somehow connecting her to the town – and to Cal. As winter turns to spring, Cal and Quinn will shed their inhibitions, surrendering to a growing desire. They will form the cornerstone of a group of men and women bound by fate, passion, and the fight against what is to come from out of the darkness…

Connie, just had a thought -- if you're still interested in balance, search for it as a tag (plus, some specific kinds of balance show up with the results).

>111 detailmuse: Thanks, I did what you suggested, MJ. But there is no other book on my shelves with balance in it. And I want it to be a ROOT. I contributed 2 books to the challenge. I think the other 13 books (challenge is 15 books) should/have to come from other members. But I appreciate your input. Love this about LT and the ROOTers!

>110 connie53: And to my surprise Verbonden door het lot by Nora Robert fits the RL-challenge too. It's a fight between good and evil (a demon and a good man).

I finished it this afternoon and gave it

My review

With Nora Roberts you are sure you have a book that is very nice and readable. She has this pattern that she holds on to in almost every book. 3 boys/men, 3 girls/women and 3 books. You know up front that in every book one boy and one girl are a couple in the end. But that takes nothing away from the pleasure you get from reading it. Just not to many books in a row. And this book is no exception. And this books has a fight between good and evil. Love it

Continuing in book 2 Op zoek naar de bron by Nora Roberts
This is the translation of The Hollow, 352 pages



From LT, NOT my review.

For Fox, Caleb, Gage and the other residents of Hawkins Hollow, the number seven portends doom—ever since, as boys, they freed a demon trapped for centuries when their blood spilled upon The Pagan Stone...
Their innocent bonding ritual led to seven days of madness, every seven years. And now, as the dreaded seventh month looms before them, the men can feel the storm brewing. Already they are plagued by visions of death and destruction. But this year, they are better prepared, joined in their battle by three women who have come to The Hollow. Layla, Quinn, and Cybil are somehow connected to the demon, just as the men are connected to the force that trapped it.
Since that day at The Pagan Stone, town lawyer Fox has been able to see into others’ minds, a talent he shares with Layla. He must earn her trust, because their link will help fight the darkness that threatens to engulf the town. But Layla is having trouble coming to terms with her newfound ability—and this intimate connection to Fox. She knows that once she opens her mind, she’ll have no defenses against the desire that threatens to consume them both..

Good timing on the storm that it didn't show up until your great day with your friend, Connie.

Good news. My third grandchild is a girl too.

>115 connie53: I bet Fiene will be so excited to have a sister! Our family is the same - lots of girls, fewer boys.

>116 Jackie_K: Fiene was totally convinced it would be a girl. She would not hear of having a little brother.

>80 connie53: I see you found an Ida Jessen novel in Dutch - I hope you liked it. Den der lyver (The one that lies) was also the first one of her books I read many years ago, and the first of the "Hvium" novels. Both Ragna and Manne are major characters in some of the later books.

>115 connie53: Congratulations on your new granddaugter, Connie!

>119 MissWatson: Thanks, Birgit

Finished Op zoek naar de bron by Nora Roberts and I gave it

My Review

Part 2 in the Teken van zeven trilogy. This time Fox and Layla are the main characters. At the end they are more close to victory and defeating the demon that has their village Hawkins Hollow in it's power

Continuing in part 3

De kracht van het hart by Nora Roberts
This is the translation of The Pagan Stone 384 pages.



The Blurb, Not my review

Years ago, after their blood ritual, Gage, Fox, and Caleb emerged from the woods, each with a piece of bloodstone. Now, it will become their weapon in the final fight against the demon they awakened. Shared nightmares, visions of blood and fire, and random violence begin to plague the longtime friends and Quinn, Layla, and Cybil, the women bound to them by fate. The demon has grown stronger--feeding off the terror it creates. A gambling man like Gage has no trouble betting on his crew to find a way. It could mean the difference between absolute destruction or an end to the nightmare for Hawkins Hollow.

Hi Connie!

Congrats on a third granddaughter.

Lovely news Connie. Glad your granddaughter has arrived safely. My daughter has 10 weeks to go until the arrival of her second son.

>122 HelenBaker: She isn't born yet, Helen! My daughter has 20 weeks to go! But it's confirmed it's a girl!

I hope the pregnancy is progressing well, then.

Yes, Eveline feels great and the baby is doing well too!

Finished another ROOT, # 11 for the year. De kracht van het hart by Nora Roberts

Excellent and very readable end to the Teken van Zeven trilogy. Nor spectacular but really engaging.

Spring is here and it was really nice out in the garden. So I did some cleaning this morning and from 12 till 17 I was in the garden and read this book and started in a NON-ROOT.

De ontdekking by Harlan Coben
This is the translation of Run Away 414 pages



This is the blurb, NOT my review.

You've lost your daughter.

She's addicted to drugs and to an abusive boyfriend. And she's made it clear that she doesn't want to be found.

Then, by chance, you see her playing guitar in Central Park. But she's not the girl you remember. This woman is living on the edge, frightened, and clearly in trouble.

You don't stop to think. You approach her, beg her to come home.
She runs.

And you do the only thing a parent can do: you follow her into a dark and dangerous world you never knew existed. Before you know it, both your family and your life are on the line. And in order to protect your daughter from the evils of that world, you must face them head on.

I'm glad that it's nice enough for you to read outside! Sounds like the perfect way to treat yourself after doing some cleaning :)

Still too cold here to sit outside, but someday that will change...

I enjoy those days too, Connie. A bit of work and then time to read. We are looking forward to some cooler weather after a very hot record breaking summer. Autumn is my favourite season, although I will miss the summer evenings sitting on the deck reading. Nights are closing in earlier now.

I started a few days ago in Totaal door het dolle heen by Karen Joy Fowler
This is the translation of We Are All Completely beside Ourselves 317 pages.

I know that one of the ROOTers talked about it and I decided to buy the book in the Dutch translation.



This is the blurb, NOT my review

Rosemary's young, just at college, and she's decided not to tell anyone a thing about her family. So we're not going to tell you too much either: you'll have to find out for yourselves what it is that makes her unhappy family unlike any other. Rosemary is now an only child, but she used to have a sister the same age as her, and an older brother. Both are now gone - vanished from her life... There's something unique about Rosemary's sister, Fern. So now she's telling her story; a looping narrative that begins towards the end, and then goes back to the beginning. Twice... It's funny, clever, intimate, honest, analytical and swirling with ideas that will come back to bite you. We hope you enjoy it, and if, when you're telling a friend about it, you do decide to spill the beans about Fern, don't feel bad. It's pretty hard to resist.

>129 connie53: I have that on my shelf, but haven't read it yet. It will hopefully get pulled out of the Jar of Fate eventually :)

>129 connie53: I think that was me -- I hope you enjoy it! And let me just say, the Dutch blurb is WAY better than the blurb on the American version, which was full of spoilers.

>131 curioussquared: I did search on LT for a non spoiler blurb. And this one was also funny.

Hi Connie!

I've been busy for over a week with Friends of the Library stuff - I'm Treasurer - and wouldn't you know it, the last few days were mild enough that I would have been able to be in the hammock on the front porch but starting today it's going to be cold again for a while.

I finished Totaal door het dolle heen by Karen Joy Fowler this afternoon. And I gave it

My Review

I think the title is excellently chosen. This book is really chaotic. It starts in the middle and then jumps back and forth in all directions of the live of Rosemary. She lives with her parents, brother and sister but when she is about five years old something happens and live is never the same after that day. Her sister and brother have disappeared, her mother sinks into a deep depression. And nobody talks about Fern or Lowell anymore. I liked the psychology in the book. Somethings to really think about. But I got a bit exhausted by the chaotic writing

I have started in a new book I recently bought. Transcriptie by Kate Atkinson. I love Kate Atkinson as a writer and when I found that there was one translated book by her that I did not own I had too complete my collection.
This is the translation of Transcription 337 pages



This is the blurb, NOT my review

In 1940, eighteen-year old Juliet Armstrong is reluctantly recruited into the world of espionage. Sent to an obscure department of MI5 tasked with monitoring the comings and goings of British Fascist sympathizers, she discovers the work to be by turns both tedious and terrifying. But after the war has ended, she presumes the events of those years have been relegated to the past for ever.
Ten years later, now a producer at the BBC, Juliet is unexpectedly confronted by figures from her past. A different war is being fought now, on a different battleground, but Juliet finds herself once more under threat. A bill of reckoning is due, and she finally begins to realize that there is no action without consequence.

>134 connie53:.Connie I also rated it 7/10 mainly because I failed to feel any connection with the protagonist.

I finished Transcriptie by Kate Atkinson and gave it

My Review

A good story about a young woman who is recruited by the counterespionage service of the UK. She has to transcribe the recordings of meetings of British Fascist sympathizers. Things go wrong on several occasions, but she struggles through. After the war she gets a job with the BBC producing for school-radio programs. And then she starts receiving little notes with threats and she feels like she is followed by invisible people. All the people she has known during the war reappear and nobody is really who she thinks they are.
I was expecting a little bit more, but this book is certainly worth 4 stars

And a new monthly challenge: April: read a book that has a link with one of the following countries: Netherlands, India, Russia, Germany, UK and US.

Marion, who is the one that chose the April challenge, came up with this idea because of the international meetings she has with colleagues. This month the meeting is in The Netherlands. All the other countries are countries were the company she works for has branches.

So I chose Als je het licht niet kunt zien by Anthony Doerr
This is the translation of All the Light We Cannot See, 542 pages.



This is the blurb, NOT my review.

A blind French girl and a German boy whose paths collide in occupied France as both try to survive the devastation of World War II. Marie Laure lives with her father in Paris within walking distance of the Museum of Natural History where he works as the master of the locks (there are thousands of locks in the museum). When she is six, she goes blind, and her father builds her a model of their neighborhood, every house, every manhole, so she can memorize it with her fingers and navigate the real streets with her feet and cane. When the Germans occupy Paris, father and daughter flee to Saint-Malo on the Brittany coast, where Marie-Laure's agoraphobic great uncle lives in a tall, narrow house by the sea wall. In another world in Germany, an orphan boy, Werner, grows up with his younger sister, Jutta, both enchanted by a crude radio Werner finds. He becomes a master at building and fixing radios, a talent that wins him a place at an elite and brutal military academy and, ultimately, makes him a highly specialized tracker of the Resistance. Werner travels through the heart of Hitler Youth to the far-flung outskirts of Russia, and finally into Saint-Malo, where his path converges with Marie-Laure

Bought 3 more books this week. Bad, bad me.

De wereld vergaat niet by Kate Atkinson (I found another book by her I did not own so...)



From LT, NOT my review

What is the real world? Does it exist, or is it merely a means of keeping another reality at bay? NOT THE END OF THE WORLD is Kate Atkinson's first collection of short stories, Playful and profound, they explore the world we think we know whilst offering a vision of another world which lurks just beneath the surface of our consciousness, a world where the myths we have banished from our lives are startlingly present and where imagination has the power to transform reality. From Charlene and Trudi, obsessively making lists while bombs explode softly in the streets outside, to gormiess Eddie, maniacal cataloguer of fish, and Meredith Zane who may just have discovered the secret to eternal life, each of these stories posits a skewed reality glimpsed out of the corner of an eye. When the worlds of material existence and imagination collide, anything is possible... Vibrantly contemporary, plausibly implausible, refreshingly original, NOT THE END OF THE WORLD is a timely meditation on mythology and transformation, and demonstrates Kate Atkinson to be one of the most inventive and entertaining of modern writers.

Station Elf by Emily St. John Mandel



From LT, NOT my review

What was lost in the collapse: almost everything, almost everyone, but there is still such beauty. One snowy night in Toronto famous actor Arthur Leander dies on stage whilst performing the role of a lifetime. That same evening a deadly virus touches down in North America. The world will never be the same again. Twenty years later Kirsten, an actress in the Traveling Symphony, performs Shakespeare in the settlements that have grown up since the collapse. But then her newly hopeful world is threatened. If civilization was lost, what would you preserve? And how far would you go to protect.

De olijfboom by Lucinda Riley



From LT, NOT my review

It is said that anyone who comes to stay at 'Pandora' for the first time will fall in love ...It has been twenty-four years since a young Helena spent a magical holiday in Cyprus, where she fell in love for the first time. When the now crumbling house, 'Pandora', is left to her by her godfather, she returns to spend the summer there with her family. Yet, as soon as Helena arrives at Pandora, she knows that its idyllic beauty masks a web of secrets that she has kept from William, her husband, and Alex, her son. At the difficult age of thirteen, Alex is torn between protecting his beloved mother, and growing up. And equally, desperate to learn the truth about his real father...When, by chance, Helena meets her childhood sweetheart, a chain of events is set in motion that threatens to make her past and present collide. Both Helena and Alex know that life will never be the same, once Pandora's secrets have been revealed...

Sometimes those books just have to be bought, eh? ;)

Yes, they have! They are just screaming at me.

>139 connie53: It's happening to me too! I've been pretty good at trying to acquire less this year, but they're still calling...

>137 connie53: yay for you! What a pleasure it is to browse books, and buy books, and have books around, and read them!

>140 Jackie_K:, >141 detailmuse: I know. And sometimes I can't resist. But I really like my house with all the books surrounding me.

I finished another ROOT today and started a new one.

Finished Als je het licht niet kunt zien by Anthony Doerr

And that is really, really a very great and good book!

My review;

This book is very, very much a 5 star book. I think it's a very nice story. The young German Werner and the young French blind Marie-Laure. Both grow up in the years before WWII, Werner with his sister Jutta in a small orphanage in a mining town. Marie-Laure under the care of her father who is a curator at the Natural History Museum of Paris. Her father makes scale models of the area in which they live so that she can find her way on her own. Then it starts to rumble in Germany and Werner has to join the Hitler Youth and then is sent to the front in Russia. Werner has a special talent that he discovered and developed at an early age. He can put together a primitive radio with very little material. That talent brings him to a special group with which he traverses the German occupied territories in search of members of the resistance who use illegal radios. That eventually brings him to Saint Malo in France. Where Marie-Laure has also arrived with her father. Marie-Laure lives with her father with her strange great-uncle Etienne who suffers from extreme street fear. When her father disappears she is on her own, but slowly she gets a bond with Etienne and together with some villagers they start a resistance group in which the illegal radio of Etienne and his brother, the grandfather of Marie-Laure, plays a major role.

Now reading for the April challenge on my RL book-club

De bazin by Petra Hammesfahr
This is the translation of an original German book: Die Chefin 318 pages



The ambitious Betty Theissen is the manager of her father-in-law's company. She is so ambitious that if the company is endangered by the reckless behavior of her husband, she decides that he must leave the field. And definitely.

She plans the perfect murder. She did not take one thing into account: during the police investigation, Commissioner Georg Wassenberg falls in love with her. How long will it be before he finds out the cruel secret of his beloved?

Not the best book I've read so far, but it is a small book, so I will finish it soon.

>137 connie53:

Love the cover of the Kate Atkinson book!

Finished ROOT # 13 De bazin by Petra Hammesfahr

My Review

Not the best book. Potentially a good story but very badly written.

Started another ROOT also for the April Challenge for my RL bookclub

Jacoba, dochter van Holland by Simone van der Vlugt
Originally Dutch, 318 pages



This is the Blurb, NOT my review.

In this historical novel, Simone van der Vlugt tells the story of Jacoba van Beieren (1401-1436) in a convincing way. Jacoba was far ahead of her time, did not hide her feminist ideas and did not always choose the easiest way in love.

The fate was bad for Jacoba. She became a widow at the age of fifteen, and soon after her father, William VI, Duke of Bavaria, died. She became countess of Holland, Zeeland and Hainaut. We get to know a woman who has to endure a lot, but who does not accept it and because of the injustice that is done to her is made more militant.

In Jacoba, Daughter of Holland we see not only a duchess who goes to war to defend her regions, but also Jacoba's personal side: the development of a vulnerable, docile girl into a mature, strong woman. Her relationship with her mother is one that will be recognizable to many women.1>

I really need to get back to Kate Atkinson.

>144 connie53: This sounds very interesting!

>146 MissWatson: I really don't know if it's translated, Birgit.

Finished another book (ebook) De kinderen by Ida Jessen

My Review

This book is probably did not do it for me because I read it in little pieces. Every time I had to remind myself how things were with the people, what role they played and who they had been with. On the other hand, I also think, if it had been more fascinating, I would have picked it up much quicker. So I give it the benefit of the doubt.

>147 connie53: I looked it up at the National Library, and although many of her books have been translated, this one is not among them, sadly.

Ahhh, that's a pity. She has written a few of historical novels. Nachtblauw en Rode sneeuw in december. All the others ones I've read are thrillers and contemporary novels.

Eveline and I even helped her with a book that is situated in Roermond, where we live. Simone has a cottage near here and she wanted to know a bit more about the town. She knew me through a website like LT and asked me to send here newspaper clippings and such. And did I know someone of about 17 to tell her where the kids went on dates and stuff. And where you did not go late at night. So Eveline and I collected loads of articles and send them to her. And now we are mentioned in a 'thanks to.....' in the front and in the back of her book.

The book is called Op klaarlichte dag

>149 connie53: That's so cool that you and Eveline were mentioned in the acknowledgements of a book! :D

>149 connie53: That is a great story, Connie. And good to know that the author takes such care to get things right.

>149 connie53: That is so cool, Connie! And it's one that has been translated (most of her thrillers ara available here). Will look out for it, just to see the dedication!

>149 connie53: Wonderful and exciting.

I hope you're doing well, Connie.

>153 karenmarie: I'm doing fine, Karen. Spring is finally here and the Eastern weekend promises to be gorgeous. And we have a two week spring break. So I will be enjoying the sun and books.

>152 MissWatson: I thought this was one of her lesser books. Maybe I read it with more attention because it was 'my' book. I gave it 3,5 stars. I like her historical novels better.

I finished Jacoba, dochter van Holland by Simone van der Vlugt yesterday.

My Review (ever so small)

I like to read a book with some history in it. And this book describes a very entertaining and interesting part of Dutch history.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Yesterday I started De olijfboom by Lucinda Riley and today I finished it, thanks to that gorgeous weather >154 connie53:




This is the translation of The Olive tree, 427 pages

This is my review

If I could write like Lucinda Riley, I would know what to do. The plot is always very complicated, layer upon layer. And the way she knows how to piece together all the story-lines is amazing.
You do have to go a lot up and down between 2006, 2016 and somewhere in 1990 in this book. What I really liked about this book is the lead role of Alex (13) in 2006. A very special boy.

Hi Connie, I'm just catching up with some threads now and I see you have your usual reading list of chunksters, thrillers and fantasy, and also some unusual books - I've taken a couple of BBs and am sorry to hear the Jacoba book is not translated as it sounds very interesting. I love books about strong women!

Enjoy your spring break!

>156 floremolla: Thanks, Donna!

>149 connie53: How interesting to be involved in that research! Happy Easter and break!

>158 detailmuse: Thanks, MJ, the same to you.



Finished Het legioen van vlammen by Anthony Ryan yesterday.
This is the translation of The legion of Flame 680 pages

This is a ROOT and a BigFatBook and one I have been reading for a long time. I started it on February 24 of this year and put it aside to read other books. But now I decided I needed to finish it. It was a little bit confusing because of all the groups traveling in different parts of this fantasy world. But now I am on spring break and the weather is so nice I could read for longer stretches and I finally got it. Great story and I gave it . I noticed I did not own part 3 so I bought that one too and started it yesterday.



Het keizerrijk van as by Anthony Ryan
This is the translation of The Empire of Ashes/ 642 pages

From BOL.com NOT my review

Now The White Drake's army has cut a bloody swathe across the world, leaving nothing but ash in its wake. Thousands of innocents have died beneath its blades and countless more will surely follow. Only small-time criminal Claydon Torcreek and master spy Lizanne Lethridge - along with their ragtag band of allies - stand between the white drake's fury and the world's end. To save the future, they must delve into the past - and unravel a timeless mystery that might just turn the tide once and for all. Armies will clash and ancient secrets will be revealed in The Empire of Ashes, the thrilling conclusion to Anthony Ryan's Draconis Memoria series.



Also started in De dochter van de klokkenmaker by Kate Morton
This is the translation of The Clockmaker's Daughter, 539 pages

This is the blurb from GR, NOT my review

My real name, no one remembers. The truth about that summer, no one else knows.

In the summer of 1862, a group of young artists led by the passionate and talented Edward Radcliffe descends upon Birchwood Manor on the banks of the Upper Thames. Their plan: to spend a secluded summer month in a haze of inspiration and creativity. But by the time their stay is over, one woman has been shot dead while another has disappeared; a priceless heirloom is missing; and Edward Radcliffe’s life is in ruins.

Over one hundred and fifty years later, Elodie Winslow, a young archivist in London, uncovers a leather satchel containing two seemingly unrelated items: a sepia photograph of an arresting-looking woman in Victorian clothing, and an artist’s sketchbook containing the drawing of a twin-gabled house on the bend of a river.

Why does Birchwood Manor feel so familiar to Elodie? And who is the beautiful woman in the photograph? Will she ever give up her secrets?

Happy Easter weekend, Connie.

Follow my ROOT reading in part 2!