2023

Aiming for tentative 35 upwards? Let's see.

Taking over two I started by the end of 2022:
1. Vaesen by Johan Egerkrans
2. Geistergeschichten aus aller Welt (Ghost stories from all over the world) edited by Erich Ackermann

Both Vaesen and Geistergeschichten aus aller Welt were finished today in the early morning hours.

Just started my latest LTER eARC win:
3. The book of monsters from A to Z by Kate Buss
and planning on starting another eARC
4. The Merry Dredgers by Jeremy C. Shipp later today.

3. The book of monsters from A to Z is tiny, finished it already.

4. The Merry Dredgers was started as planned.

Started
5. National Geographic Guide to the World's Supernatural Places: More Than 250 Spine-Chilling Destinations Around the Globe by Sarah Bartlett yesterday night also.

Finished 4. The Merry Dredgers and started 6. The Tenant by Katrine Engberg yesterday evening.

7. Grusel- und Schauergeschichten (Creepy and Gothic Stories) by Edgar Allan Poe was started yesterday.
5. and 6. are ongoing reads.

Just started another one while 5, 6 & 7 are ongoing...

8. Waves by PJ Thomas, a LTER win of January. Looks promising!

Finished 7. Grusel- und Schauergeschichten yesterday night.

5. National Geographic Guide to the World's Supernatural Places: More Than 250 Spine-Chilling Destinations Around the Globe
6. The Tenant and
8. Waves are ongoing.

Started 9. Villain by Shuichi Yoshida yesterday.

8. Waves is finished. 5., 6. and 9. are ongoing.

Started a quick one, 10. Lost in trainstation yesterday night.
A fun little book about all the anglicisms & pseudo-anglicisms in Germany and the mistranslations they entail.

Oh, and 6. The Tenant was finished on Saturday. 5. and 9. are ongoing reads.

Started another one, 11. Monstrous Tales illustrated by Sija Hong the day before yesterday.

10. Lost in trainstation was finished today. Turned out not much fun at all but very patronizing. Bah.
5., 9. and 11. are ongoing reads.

Started another - what I hope it to be (this time for real) - quick & fun read on Friday night (St. Patrick's Day, 17 March)
12. Sorry, Ihr Hotel ist abgebrannt, a collection of absurd travel/holiday anecdotes.
As I work in tourism, I hope I can relate to some of the tales... :D

9. Villain was finished today. After a slow start, the second half hit a lot harder than I thought possible...

5. National Geographic Guide to the World's Supernatural Places and
11. Monstrous Tales are ongoing - I found I can only enjoy them in small doses.
But I'm making progress... :)

5. and 12. are ongoing reads;
11. Monstrous Tales was just finished
and one of my LTER e-ARCs,
13. Wolvercraft Manor by Cas E Crowe started subsequently.

Finally finished 5. National Geographic Guide to the World's Supernatural Places 🥳

Finished 12. Sorry, Ihr Hotel ist abgebrannt (=Sorry, your hotel has burned down; a collection of curious and sometimes absurd holiday/travel anecdotes, hotel reviews etc.) yesterday. An enjoyable read. 😎

Now I've caught up with my reading - the only ongoing one is
13. Wolvercraft Manor 🥳

Making some progress during my leave from work.

Finished 13. and started
14. Ripples in the water by Lake Kawaguchi by Jakob Halskov
and
15. Seasons Unceasing both recent LTER copies) today.

Finished 14. today
and started
16. A Hint of Hitchcock, edited by Cameron Trost subsequently.
Another anthology, another LTER eARC. :) Gotta make some progress with my reviewing duties... :)

Finished 16. yesterday.
15. Seasons Unceasing is ongoing.

Just started
17. Gods behaving badly by Marie Phillips. Finally a 'real' physical book again... :)

Just finished 15. Seasons Unceasing.

Finished 17. Gods behaving badly today. Don't know what took me so long to finish it, as it was a hilarious, fun and utterly enjoyable read.

18. Cursed bunny by Bora Chung
and
19. The Interview by C. M. Ewan are next.

18. Cursed Bunny is ongoing,
19. The Interview just finished.

Finished 18. Cursed Bunny yesterday night. No ongoing reads.

20. Give my regards to nowhere by Richard Engling and
21. Greek Mythology: The Gods, Goddesses, and Heroes Handbook: From Aphrodite to Zeus, a Profile of Who's Who in Greek Mythology by Liv Albert
were started yesterday (Saturday, June 10).

Just started 22. Bestiarium Greenlandica, while 20. and 21. are still ongoing reads.

Just finished 21. Greek Mythology: The Gods, Goddesses, and Heroes Handbook: From Aphrodite to Zeus, a Profile of Who's Who in Greek Mythology.

20. und 22. are ongoing;
additionally started 23. Pretty Baby by Mary Kubica today.

Finished 20. Give my regards to nowhere today.

Finished 22. Bestiarium Greenlandica yesterday night.
23. Pretty Baby is ongoing.

Started 24. Titus Andronicus by William Shakespeare today,
100% because of just having read Give my regards to nowhere by Richard Engling.

Finished 23. Pretty Baby today in the early morning hours.

Finished 24. Titus Andronicus and subsequently started
25. I think I'm falling apart by Chris Dietzel, the last of my LTER eARCs due for reading & reviewing.

25. I think I'm falling apart was just finished.

Started
26. Of ghosts and goblins by Lafcadio Hearn and the Behemoth classic
27. 20000 leagues under the sea by Jules Verne subsequently on July 20.

Started 28. Ghosts and other lovers by Lisa Tuttle today, July 22., in the early morning hours.

Finished 26 Of Ghosts and Goblins yesterday night;
27 and 28 are ongoing.

Just finished 28. Ghosts and other lovers by Lisa Tuttle. Soo good!

27. is, of course, still ongoing...

Started 29. Izzy Hofman is not a witch by Alyssa Alessi, a LTER eARC, today.

Finished 29. today. So fun!

Started 30. The mess you leave behind by Carlos Montero yesterday night subsequently after finishing 29. Izzy Hofman is not a witch.

27. is ongoing.

Finished 30. The mess you leave behind and continuing with 27. 20000 leagues under the seas.

For the last few days I just tried to make a dent into 27. and all its annotations (I'm reading the Extended Illustrated and Annotated Version). The read is still ongoing.

Today I started an additional (and hopefully quicker) read, 31. A stranger in the house by Shari Lapena.

Finished 31. It was quicker than the slow way I still make through 27. ...

Started another quick one - a reread of Hamlet (32.)

Finished 32. Hamlet by William Shakespeare already.

I made it!!! Finished 27. 20000 leagues under the seas some moments ago. After nearly eight weeks & a major struggle and effort to push though it. Phew!

... Subsequently started 33. Sundial by Catriona Ward yesterday night.

Just finished Sundial (33.) What a book!!!

Started
34. She kills me by Jennifer Wright,
35. If cats disappeared from the world by Genki Kawamura and
36. Lost Places in der Region Stuttgart by Benjamin Seyfang
today.

Finished 35. If cats disappeared from the world today.
34. and 36. (both non-fiction) are ongoing reads. Still trying to decide what my next fiction read will be.

Turns out my next fiction read happens to be
37. a reread of Hitomi Kanehara's Snakes and Earrings.
Read this one once ages ago, I suppose it must have been 2012 or something like that.

Finished 37. Snakes and Earrings. My second impression of this one is better than the first one, if I remember correctly. Just what I needed atm.
34. and 36. are ongoing, as my mind can only process them in tiny portions currently.

My next fiction read will most likely be
38. The Changeling by Victor LaValle & started later today.

36. Lost Places in der Region Stuttgart = Lost Places in the region of Stuttgart by Benjamin Seyfang was finished today. Once I realized that after the introduction, which put me off the book initially, it was mainly comprised of photographs, this was a pretty quick deal to finish.

Now 34. She kills me (Non-fiction about murderous females throughout history) and
38. The Changeling are ongoing reads.

That means I've now officially reached and surpassed my initial tentative goal of finishing 35 books this year which makes me happy. ...

34. She kills me was just finished.

So The Changeling is my only ongoing read atm., though I'm likely to start another book (either short stories or non-fiction, I suppose) later tonight.

Indeed started 39. The Bleeding Horse yesterday night.

38. The Changeling by Victor LaValle is finished. So good!

39. is ongoing. Going to start two new ones:
40. Goddess of filth by V. Castro and
41. We used to be different, my LTER ebook copy of September, later today.

39. The Bleeding Horse and 40. Goddess of Filth were both finished last night.

41. is ongoing.

42. Nothing but Blackened Teeth by Cassandra Khaw was started yesterday night.

Just finished 42. Nothing by blackened teeth. 41. is ongoing.

Just started 43. Spirits abroad by Zen Cho and am likely to start another one later tonight.

Additionally started 44. Haunted Hotels by Tom Ogden today.

41. We used to be different, 43. Spirits abroad and 44. Haunted hotels are ongoing reads.

Also started 45. Jamaica Inn by Daphne du Maurier today, because I really need a gripping longer narrative atm. The other three are all vignettes, short stories and articles and I'm so in the mood for a 'real', longer tale additionally.

Finished 41. We used to be different today.
43 - 45 are ongoing reads.

Finished 45. today.
43. Spirits abroad and 44. Haunted hotels are ongoing reads.

Finished 43. Spirits abroad yesterday night. This was such a good one!

44. is ongoing. Am likely to start a new one today but haven't decided which one yet.

Started 45. Lottery of secrets, by Nadija Mujagic, an LTER ebook copy on Wednesday, November 8.

Am travelling, therefore forgot to update for a bit.

On Saturday, November 11, I finished
45. Lottery of secrets and
started
46. Memories of the body by Lisa Tuttle.

Today I started
47. Hotel Africa (fittingly while staying in a hotel in Cape Town, South Africa).

(Taking a break on 44. Haunted hotels; left it at home. Will pick it up again once I'm back).

Finished 46 Memories of the body yesterday night.
44 and 47 are ongoing reads.

Just finished 44. Haunted hotels.
47. Hotel Africa is ongoing. (Yep, I'm on a hotel kick).
Deliberating on what full novel to start next.

Started 48. Fuchsmädchen by Maria Grund.

Finished 48. Fuchsmädchen (= Fox Girl; Swedish thriller, not translated into English yet) this morning.
47 is ongoing.

In addition to the (very good) short story collection 47. Hotel Africa, I started two others today, to complete some prompts for the #gottacatchemall reading challenge on Litsy.

Two short ones:
49. The Lost Spells by Robert MacFarlane with stunning, absolutely beautiful illustrations by Jackie Morris. Very enchanting so far.
and
50. The devil she drew, a horror novella by Nate Ferreira.
- Edited for typos. -

Finished 49. The Lost Spells already.
47. and 50. are ongoing.

Additionally started 51. I remember you by Yrsa Sigurdardottir today.

Just finished 50, only wanted to get it off my desk.

I'll surely relish the remaining short stories of 47.;
51. also very started promising.

Just now started another one, a richly illustrated book about dragons, eponymously titled.
52. Drachen (= dragons) by Johan Egerkrans. That's the third book by him I'll read, I really enjoy his work.

I'm pausing 47. Hotel Africa for now, as I want to prioritise my reads for the #Gottacatchemall reading challenge on Litsy.
I want to catch as many Pokémon as possible, and Hotel Africa doesn't qualify for any prompts. ;)

Started another one, 53. Hörnchen& Bär, by Andreas H. Schmachtl.

Just finished both 51. I remember you as well as 52. Drachen. Both were really really good.

47. is still paused, 53. (a childrens' book in episodes) ongoing. I'm likely to start another adult novel later, as today seems to be a good day for reading.

Finished a quick reference book,
54. Irish superstitions and lore yesterday night/this morning.

Started 55. The Christmas Guest by Peter Swanson subsequently.

Just finished the novella The Christmas Guest by Peter Swanson that I started yesterday. Flew through it, Peter Swanson never disappoints.
Subsequently also flew through the childrens' book
56. Findus at Christmas by Sven Nordqvist.

Now with my longer reads
47. Hotel Africa still paused, as not very wintery;
and 53. ongoing (but another childrens'); I am likely to start another longer adult read later today.
I am on sick leave, so what better thing is there to do but read?

Fitted in a quick reread of
57. Mary's little donkey by Gunhild Sehlin to complete a prompt for #Gottacatchemall on Litsy on December 12 - 13. I read it often in my childhood, but it didn't work for me anymore.

Started two other reads yesterday night:
58. Moominsummer madness by Tove Jansson - Another reread of another classic of my childhood, which seems to still live up to the fond memories; &
59. The travelling cat chronicles by Hiro Arikawa.

Just finished 53. Hörnchen & Bär. Sooo cute! :) 47., 58. and 59 are ongoing reads.

58. Moominsummer Madness - just finished. This one really lives up to the magical fond memories from my childhood! Soo sweet and magic! :)
47. Hotel Africa is still paused, 59. ongoing.

So, additional to 59. The travelling cat chronicles I started
60. Drive your plow over the bones of the dead by Olga Tocarczuk yesterday.

59. The travelling cat chronicles was finished yesterday, December 20.

The day before yesterday (December 19) I started
61. Morgen, Findus, wird's was geben by Sven Nordqvist, a very sweet and magical Christmas tale, which I just finished.

47. still paused, 60. ongoing.

47. still paused, 60. ongoing.

Read 62. Beastars Vol.1 and started 63. Nordic Tales by Ulla Thynell yesterday.

60. Drive your plow over the bones of the dead was finished yesterday, December 28.

63. Nordic Tales I just finished.
Now only 47. Hotel Africa is an ongoing read, though paused.

I'm likely to start a short read later today.

Started two short ones
64. A Series of Unfortunate Events - The Bad Beginning by Lemony Snicket and
65. Honigkuchen, a short illustrated story by Haruki Murakami.

Read a quick one today, a reread of another childhood classic of mine:
66. Findus and the fox by Sven Nordqvist.
(47. paused; 64.+ 65. ongoing).

Read another quick one yesterday, 67. Beastars Vol. 2 by Paru Itagaki.
Finished 65. Honigkuchen today in the early morning hours.

47. and 64. are ongoing reads.

Just finished 64. The Bad Beginning. Here, it is still the 31st December. The last 90 mins of 2023...

Now 47. is my only ongoing read, wich was paused for most of December, but which I will resume tomorrow. It wasn't wintery enough for me to read in December and didn't fit any of the prompts of the reading challenge I was participating in on Litsy, but now...
It has been very very mild for the last two weeks anyways, so it's ok Hotel Africa doesn't have those winter vibes.

That means I read 66 books in 2023, a number I would never have thought possible. :)
Will start the 2024 thread tomorrow.

Finished book 47. Hotel Africa, a very strong anthology, today, Jan. 4 of 2024.
The read was started on November 15, 2023 (while in South Africa), I paused the book between December 6 and 31.
It's stories about/set in hotels all over Africa, by African writers.
I'm so glad I came across this book - I thoroughly enjoyed nearly all the stories and learned a shit ton from it. It shows how little we know (at least I did) about life in Africa.
The last story even features Donald Trump - in a very true and unfavourable way. (I'm talking 'Sh**hole countries') Found a few new promising writers I'm definitely going to keep an eye on.
What a fascinating, diverse continent, what a great book!