I reviewed this book back in 2018. Since I have just attended a Beethoven festival last weekend, I came to think of this book. I decided to take it up again, as I have just been attended a Beethoven festival. I write about the festival and Beethoven and his influence on people today in my newsletter this week. The book has an interesting topic, of which I had never heard before. Since I love a real life mystery, it was a must read for me. It seems that when Beethoven died in March 1827, the fifteen-year-old musical protégé Ferdinand Hiller was in Vienna, visiting the composer together with his instructor Johann Nepomuk Hummel. Hiller later wrote: "He lay, weak and miserable, sighing deeply at intervals. Not a word fell from his lips; sweat stood out on his forehead. His handkerchief not being conveniently at hand, Hummel's wife took her fine cambric handkerchief and dried his face again and again. Never shall I forget the grateful glance with which his broken eyes looked upon her." Three days later Beethoven died and a day later they went back to pay their respect. "The two did not remain for long beside the coffin, but before they left, young Hiller asked his teacher if he could cut a lock of the master composer's hair. …Hummel quietly whispered yes to his student, and the two of them were moved by the deep sadness of the moment. Ferdinand Hiller took the scissors he had brought with him, lifted a small lock of Beethoven's long half-gray hair, pulled it away from his head, and cut it free." This is the story of how the hair travelled through the Hiller family in Germany, through the Second World War and Denmark and ended up in the United States with two Beethoven enthusiasts, Dr Alfredo "Che" Guevara and Ira Brilliant. Circumstances made them find a note in Sotheby's catalogue about the sale of a lock of Beethoven's hair. They used part of it to make forensic tests to find out what ailed Beethoven. Now starts an investigation into, not only finding out what medical problems Beethoven had, but also to verify where the hair came from. It is truly a fantastic story of dedication and love for something that belonged to one of our greatest composers. The pair tracked down the hair from Hiller to his children and grandchildren, it travelled to Denmark during the second world war and ended up with a local doctor in the small town of Gilleleje in Denmark, and through his daughter to an auction in London. It is more exciting than any made-up story. (Warning - spoilers) The outcome of the examination of the hair was surprising. Most of the samples contained the normal elements found in hair, but his hair also contained "an average of forty-two times more lead than the control samples did". Walsh, one of the scientist, believed that Beethoven had been "massively poisoned by lead at the time of his death and may have been for decades before". This could also explain his health problems. Of course, in those days, nobody knew how dangerous lead was. A well-written, pedagogical, not too long book about a real life mystery. The authors mix the mystery with facts about Beethoven's life and deeds. It is exciting and when you are in the middle of the search for the Hiller family, it is difficult to put the book down.

Time for another Classic Club Spin, and this month the wheel ended up on # 18. For me that is The Brothers Karamazov by Fyodor Dostoyevsky. I can only say that I will not be able to read it until the dead-line. I bought the physical book recently at the book sales, and, as you know, it is thick. I want to read the great books of Dostoyevsky, but am not ready to do it now. Furthermore, I am travelling and the book is back in Sweden. It just have to sit and rest for a while. In the meantime I am reading another classic author, Stefan Zweig. I visited Salzburg during the weekend and bought two of his books. He lived there for some years. More about him, his life and books later. The visit to his house is a story in itself.

We have been visiting Salzburg for a weekend. A wonderful city, full of culture, music and history. It was also the home of Stefan Zweig for a few years. We did a lot of sightseeing but I had saved the best to the last day, that is, a visit to the house once owned by Stefan Zweig (1881 -1942). He was an Austrian author, and at the height of his career, one of the most popular writers in the world. He was a journalist and excelled not only in fiction but also as a biographer and playwright. He grew up in Vienna, and studied philosophy at the university there. Between 1919 and 1934 Zweig lived in Salzburg, He bought a mansion known as the Paschinger Castle on Kapuzinerberg. The building dates back to the 17th century. Here he wrote several of his most successful works. He travelled extensively in Europe at the time, being involved in many cultural projects. In 1934, due to the Nazi Party’s rise in Germany, Zweig emigrated to England. He moved on to New York and then Brazil in 1940. At the time he was much disillusioned about the future of Europe. He wrote his last book and memoirs Die Welt von Gestern (The World of Yesterday ) in 1942, shortly before he and his second wife Lotte committed suicide. The book looks at the declining years of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, and has been called “the most famous book on the Habsburg Empire.” (Wikipedia and Giorgio Manacorda (2010) Nota bibliografica in Joseph Roth, La Marcia di Radetzky, Newton Classici quotation: "Stefan Zweig, l'autore del più famoso libro sull'Impero asburgico, Die Welt von Gestern.) The house has been in private hands for some time and not accessible to the public. However, in 2020, a member of the Porsche family bought it, and in co-operation with the Zweig center, opened some of the rooms as a museum. A must visit for me, in other words. I had seen a picture of the house, a stately, pink house on the hill, and had located it by vision from the other side of the river. The start of the climb to Kapuzinerberg #5, the address of Zweig's house. Not so steep, yet, but there was more to come. We started the serpentine road up the hill. I would not say the road was vertical, but at least 80% was. It was really hard to try to walk up the road. Finally, up ther, no signs to guide you to the house. I had to gather my breath before trying to find out where the house was. We were standing at a view-point over the city and surroundings. To the left were stairs leading down the hill to the city. A little bit further down, just below the monastery was a big, pink house, that looked liked the one I had seen. We started down the stairs, and I was thinking, that if we would have to go up again, I would not make it. Finally, down by the pink house, but it was not anything like a museum. A private name at the door. Asking people passing by did not help. Nobody knew where the house was. What don’t I do for literature? I did venture up the stairs again. Martin had already gone up, but I needed to stop every 10th step. IT WAS STEEP. And, it must have been far more than hundred steps. It felt as I could have ended up at the hospital with a heart condition. Once up on the hill again, having caught my breath, I saw Martin speaking to someone from the monastery museum. It turned out that the house was situated just opposite the monastery. I had already taken a photo of that building (on top here) which you could see over the garden area. But, the house was yellow?! And … it was closed for renovations. I was somewhat mad, since it said on line that the museum was open. The pink house I had seen on-line was the Zweig center which is situated on the other side of the river. No time for a visit there, but one has to leave something for the next time. I do hope the house is open as well. We slowly took the stairs down again, and made it to our hotel to pick up the luggage. No more sightseeing that day ... or the next. To be prepared I was not sure they would have any books for sale at the museum, so I had visited a bookshop downtown, and purchased the two books by Zweig they had in English; Messages From a Lost World, Europe on the Brink and, The World of Yesterday. Lucky I did. I am reading the first one now. If you are interested in what we did in Salzburg, and other places, you can subscribe to my The Content Reader Newsletter .

It is quite embarrassing that I have not written any real reviews since the beginning of February. I have been reading a lot, but did not have the urge to write reviews. Maybe, because I have read rather easygoing literature, and although interesting, not necessarily anything to ponder on in a review. Just an excuse for being lazy. I try to remedy the lack of longer reviews with a few shorter ones. Books read in February Red Queen (Reina Roja) by Juan Gómez-Jurado First book in a series of international thrillers with gruesome murders. A special squad is gathered to solve the crimes. A though woman at the front, and an anti-hero police man as the protagonists. The story kept up until the end with some really exciting parts. Agatha Christie reading I have decided to read AC books from the beginning. So far I have read Five Little Pigs, The Mystery of the Blue Train (Hercule P), The Secret Adversary (T&T), The Murder of the Links (HP) and The Man in the Brown Suit. I mostly liked the HP books. Hercule is often enjoying to read about. Five Little Pigs took a different angle on murder and I enjoyed that. The others were more so, so ... Book Lovers by Emily Henry This book got raving reviews from blogs/vlogs I follow. I was not overwhelmed and thought it dragged out a little bit too much. Maybe for a younger audience than me. Det omaka paret, Tjeckernas och slovakernas historia by Ingmar Karlsson A nonfiction from a former colleague of mine. Ingmar Karlsson has been ambassador to Czechoslovakia and written a short history of the two countries of today, Czechia and Slovakia. Very interesting how two areas were, artificially (?), made into one country and why it did not work. Seven Kinds of People You Find In a Bookshop by Shaun Bythell Loved Bythell's first book and I want to read the second. This one is fine, but I enjoyed the first one more. Aldrig mer trött by Pia Norup Never again tired, sounded like a good title for someone who is tired all the time. It is an interesting book, written by a doctor, who is also en expert on, should I call it, welfare problems. Lots of good advice, and a two week menu that really made all the difference. The Idiot by Fyodor Dostoyevsky Dostoyevsky is a favourite author, but I must admit, I did not understand too much of this story. I found the characters rather irritating in all their undecidedness and flimsiness. Kallocain by Karin Boye I am not much for SF, but did like this take on a scary future. It seems so up to date in today's world, although it was written in 1940. It gives you a clear idea of what it is to live in a totalitarian world, where everything is decided for you. Thank you to Marianne at Let's Read for the gift.

Since we recently visited Venice, I wanted to read books that takes place there. I came to think of the popular books by Donna Leon, and downloaded the first one in the series of Commissario Brunetti Death at la Fenice. The author Donna Leon is an American author who lived over 30 years in Venice. She was working as a lecturer in English literature, and also taught English at an American military base in Italy. She drafted her first story and then left it in a drawer, until a friend persuaded her to submit it for a writing competition. She won it. Up until now, the last came in 2023, she has written 32 novels about Commissario Brunetti. The first one was published in 1992. They have been translated in numerous languages, but not in Italian, on Leon's request. German TV has made a number of the books into a very popular TV-series which, of course, is filmed in Venice. It is a pleasure to see them, since they give you the opportunity to enjoy the beautiful scenery of this fantastic city on water. After less than a month, I am on my 9th novel. This is an indication that the books are an easy read, and that you get totally hooked, almost addicted. You can read them in any order, but to read them in order give you a sense of the development of the characters. Reoccurring characters are: The characters Commissario Brunetti Paola Brunetti, his wife Raffaele and Chiara his teenage children Vice-Questore Patta, his boss Signorina Elettra, Patta's secretary who assists Brunetti and is a master of research. She saves the day in every novel Inspector Vianello, his colleague and a few other characters The stories In each novel Brunetti faces a different crime. Leon uses these crimes to highlight the darker side of society, as well as the corruption in Italy. If you are expecting a typical murder/crime story where the culprits are brought to justice in the end, you will be disappointed. Most of the time Brunetti find him, or her, but they are not always put to trial. In Italy, it seems, it is a matter of the people you know, and the influence they can provide that decide the outcome. Trends The first book was written already in 1992. Leon takes up various crimes and many of them seem relevant also today. That makes you wonder wether nothing has happened. Typical crimes could be; sex tourism, migration frauds, black market work, money laundering, murder, corruption, financial crime, and many more. All of them still on the menu today. Brunetti is a very likeable character, not like many depressed, middle aged, over worked detective inspectors we read about today. Leon describes Brunetti in her first novel Death at la Fenice as " a surprisingly neat man, tie carefully knotted, hair shorter than was the fashion; even his ears lay close to his head, as if reluctant to call attention to themselves. His clothing marked him as Italian. The cadence of his speech announced he was Venetian. His eyes were all policeman".He is portrayed as honest, intelligent and diligent in his work. He is happily married to Paola, a university lecturer, and has two children, Raffaele (16) and Chiara (13). He is well-educated (with the title dottore) having read classics at university, and speaks English well, from working in the USA for a period. He is by turns philosophical, intelligent and compassionate, but also pragmatic, with "native skills of subterfuge, trickery and deceit ". A very likeable character in other words. He keeps a low key, one can even compare him to Hercule Poirot. Some thoughts about him and his family. Although Brunetti is happy that his wife is working, and she is highly educated, she still takes care of everything at home. The understanding wife, always making lunch for the family and seem to do other chores at home as well. Although, in one of the books, it seems he goes around the house with the vacuum cleaner. They do discuss his work and she does give him a good discussion. Still seem to be a little bit of inequality in their relationship, since he expects the service at home. Maybe because we don't get to know very much of her work. She is a lover of Henry James, so some, if not all, is forgiven. A rather unusual, and sympathetic character is the secretary Elettra of which Brunetti is both fond and admire. She has skills in computer handling of which he has no idea. Almost every day, Brunetti remarks about her fashionable clothes, and how stunning she is. This is maybe more the Italian style, even today, I don't know, but seems a little bit condescending between the sexes today. However, he acknowledges her extraordinary skills in many areas of her work. I do like her character very much, because she is her own person, and does not care what other people think. To start a new book is to see old friends again. That is probably why I start a new book, almost immediately after having finished one. Leon gives a vivid picture of Venice with all it peculiarities, being a city on water. After having lived there for so many years, she knows it all. You can use the books to find restaurants, bars and tourist places. Almost like a guide book how to go from one place to the next in Venice. Having just been there, this brings extra excitement to the reading, since you know, more or less, where the people are. Have you read any of her books? If not, and you are interested in detective stories with a touch of reality, you should try them out.

In November 2022, I reviewed The Bridge of Little Jeremy by Indrajit Garai. I have received a copy of another of his books, The Man Without Shelter for a fair and impartial review. "Lucy, a young lawyer, is on fast track to partnership in her firm. Arnault, a convicted felon, leaves prison after two decades through a piece of evidence in his favour. The two of them come together during a rescue operation at the centre of Paris, and then they go on with their separate lives. Months later, their paths cross again at a camp for migrants on the edge of Paris." We meet Arnault has he is suddenly, in the middle of the night, released after 23 years in prison. He does not get any information why, and is recommended to contact his lawyer. As he wanders out in the Paris night, it is a total different world he meets. He walks around his old quarters but does not feel he wants to go back there. The little money he has earned in prison he has to be careful with. As he wanders around he sees the world of the homeless, and decides this is the way to live for the time being. He buys a tent and a few utensils, looks up a deserted spot by the Seine where he settles down, guarded by a couple of swans. He cannot do anything without renewing his ID-card and walks around Paris trying to find work. As he does so, he gets to know people from a migrant camp which he tries to help. He notices gangs of crooks trying to use the migrants and threaten the people he loves. These worlds are very well described and you are there with Arnault as he tries to come back to a normal life. Lucy is a lawyer working for a fancy firm, making a lot of money. One day the police invades the offices. It seems the management has, in their fight for more money, stretched the laws and done illegal business. Lucy happens to come into contact with Arnauld who she meets when he rescues a small boy from falling from a building. Hearing about his case, she starts working for the voluntary lawyers who helps people who cannot afford paying for one. Arnault is like Little Jeremy, a good soul that happens to be used by lesser people. From page one you love this character, his sens of honesty, his acceptance of how the world is, and by wanting to help where he can. Once again this is a lovely story of real people. Garai has a talent for describing the life of ordinary people, the poor and the exposed in society. Highlighting what is wrong in our society and how honest people have to fight for their rights. As the story continues Arnault's and Lucy's paths are crossing more than once, when Lucy is trying to get Arnault acquitted from the crime he was accused of. It is a short book, only 122 pages, but filled with wonderful, and not so wonderful, characters making up this story that takes place during a few months. There were some chapters in the middle of the book where the story turned somewhat unclear, and I could not really grasp what was happening. But that was soon over and as you near the end of the book, the thrill of the story is rising, and it is difficult to put down.

Original title: Liebe in Zeiten des Hasses. Chronik eines Gefühls 1929-39 I have just recently heard of Florian Illies, a German writer and art historian. Marianne at Let's read recently reviewed his 1913: The Year Before the Storm which have got very good reviews. When I saw his latest book in the book shop, read the back cover, I knew I had to have it. " 1930s Europe - as the Roaring Twenties wind down and the world rumbles towards war, the great minds of the time have other concerns. Jean-Paul Sartre waits anxiously in a Parisian café for his first date with no-show Simone de Beauvoir. Marlene Dietrich slips from her loveless marriage into the dive bars of Berlin. Father and son Thomas and Klaus Mann clash over each other's homosexuality. And Vladimir Nabokov lovingly places a fresh-caught butterfly at the end of Verá's bed. Little do they all know, the book burning will soon begin. Love in a Time of Hate skilfully interweaves some of the greatest love stories of the 1930s with the darkening backdrop of fascism in Europe, in an irresistible journey into the past that brings history and its actors to vivid life ." With this book Florian Illies takes a look at European history from 1929-1939. He does it in an unusual way, through the love life of the intelligentsia and artist in Europe. The book is divided into three parts: Before, 1933 and After. It is fascinating reading to say the least. It is a brilliant and thrilling story of artists who tried to survive as dark clouds lingered over Europe. The love stories are told in short paragraphs, going from one couple to another in parallell lines, which makes for a fast pace. It is told in the present and follow the development of each person, as regards their love stories and creative work. It is a genius way of telling political history at the back drop of love stories. Makes for more understanding of the times in which they were living. Illies must have made a huge amount of research, considering that a lot of the information are rather private. His knowledge is very impressive. He makes the people come alive and showing how the political development very much affected also artists. Most of them, but not all, go into exile in other countries in Europe, and/or continue to the United States. Even if we are quite free these days when it comes to love, sex and relationships, the twenties and thirties in Europe seemed to have been a time of free love. At least among the artist communities. The marriages and relationships we read about, were littered with bi- hetero- and homosexualities, unfaithfulness, by the husband and/or the wife and people seemed to sleep with one another left and right. Maybe it will be true to say that when times are bad, love tends to flow freely, also as a desperate measure in desperate times. I really enjoyed the book and can only recommend it to anyone interested in Europe of the 1930s. Illies has found another way of seeing, and connecting, to history. One of the best books I have read. Furthermore, what an excellent title, and I love the cover.

February is a short month, but it was a good reading month for me. I managed to read 13 books, of which five were from my TBR shelves (in italic below). There were nine Fiction and four Nonfiction. Four of them were Audio (I am getting there!), and two were E-books. Horowitz, Anthony - Magpie Murders (audio) Bivald, Katarina - The Readers of Broken Wheel Recommend (e-book) Frykman, Jonas & Löfgren, Orvar - Kärlek och kärnfamilj i folkhemmet (NF) Gómez-Jurado, Juan - Röd drottning (Reina Roja/Red Queen) Christie, Agatha - Five Little Pigs (audio) Henry, Emily - Book Lovers Karlsson, Ingmar - Det omaka paret, Tjeckernas och slovakernas historia (NF) Christie, Agatha - The Mystery of the Blue Train (audio) Bythell, Shaun - Seven Kinds of People You Find In a Bookshop (e-book) (NF) Norup, Pia - Aldrig mer trött (Never again tired, my transl.) (NF) Christie, Agatha - The Secret Adversary (audio) Dostoyevsky, Fyodor - The Idiot Boye, Karin - Kallocain My challenge I did change back my TBRs to be only paper versions. After all, they are the ones taking up space. I must admit I did not follow too much the reading prospects from January. a nonfiction from my TBR shelves - Aldrig mera trött (Never again tired) by Danish doctor and life style pedagog Pia Norup. It was a new purchase trying to find a cure for my continuous tiredness. It is a very good book, with practical advice and a four week menu to help you recover. The food is very healthy and I do feel must better and not so tired as before. Excellent choice of book in other words. a fiction from my TBR shelves - Kallocain by Karin Boye. Her famous dystopian/SF take on a dark future. Thank you Marianne @ Let's Read for the gift. a translated novel outside English- and Swedish speaking countries - Röd drottning (Reina Roja/Red Queen ) by Juan Gómez-Jurado. A new to me Spanish author of thrillers. First in a series about the Red Queen, a lady with extra ordinary skills. I liked it. a classic tale - The Idiot by Fyodor Dostoyevsky. A real classic. I loved his Crime and Punishement , but this was something totally different. I will try to review it later on. a book from my Wish list - Magpie Murders by Anthony Horowitz. Excellent who dunnit story. Rather pleased with my February reading, considering it contains quite a variety of genres. Plans for March I will be travelling in March and will not be able to bring too many paper books with me. I will probably stick to audio and e-books. But, why not make a list nevertheless. I am reading two other books as well which should be finished before I go; The Cat Who Saved Books by Sosuke Natsukawa and Grand Final i skojarbranchen by Kerstin Ekman. a nonfiction from my TBR shelves - Odödliga ord och deras historia by Stig Wallerman (Immortal words and their history my transl.) a fiction from my TBR shelves - Fingersmith by Waters, Sarah a translated novel outside English- and Swedish speaking countries - Paul Verlaine by Stefan Zweig (e-book) a classic tale - Vera by Elizabeth von Arnheim (e-book) a book from my Wish list - Daisy Jones & The Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid (audio) Reading an author's work I want to read all, or almost all, of certain author's work. I have started with Agatha Christie. Easy in a way, since the books are rather short and easy to read and listen to. With her, I am able to listen to audio books, they work very well. I have read three so far (although I have read some earlier). Five Little Pigs (HP) The Mystery of the Blue Train (HP) The Secret Adversary (TT) Further on my list of authors are Daphne du Maurier and Haruki Murakami. Lots to look forward to. I hope you also had a good reading month. I am looking forward to see what you have been up to.

March has gone and we have now entered what should be the spring month here in Europe. Hopefully, we will go towards warmer weather and lots of colours when grass and spring flowers start to grow. I had a notion I had only read one book in March, except the three I read the last three days. However, when I looked at my reading list I had managed to read nine books. Short memory in other words. Four of them are nonfiction about shares, history and memoirs from Casanova. Lauritzson, Ola - Aktier, 3 steg till ekonomiskt oberoende Harrison, Dick - Tusen år i Uppåkra Christensen, Inga - Vikingarna i det frankiska riket Delon, Michel & Sajous D'Oria, Michèle - Casanova in Venice Two of them fiction: about a cat and about two writers of which one is writing and one uses her name for the publishing. Kerstin Ekman in full swing. Natsukawa, Sosuke - Katten som räddade böcker (The Cat Who Saved Books) Ekman, Kerstin - Grand final i skojarbranchen Three of them thrillers/mystery: two Agatha Christie and one Donna Leon. Christie, Agatha - The Murder on the Links (audio) Leon, Donna - Death at la Fenice (e-book) Christie, Agatha - The Man in the Brown Suit (audio) None of them really fits into the program I had envisaged for March. Since I am now travelling I have decided to reading books related to the places I have been visiting. Aims for April Salzburg and Zweig I have already started with the travelling reading. To this purpose I bought two books by Stefan Zweig. Messages From a Lost World, Europe on the Brink (Essays, speeches and articles) The World of Yesterday, Memoirs of a European More about the author and his books once I have read the books. Venice and its famous visitors and authors I have started a book about the history of this wonderful and magic city. Venice and its Story by Thomas Okey Many famous authors have been visiting and writing about Venice (Henry James, Lord Byron, Shelley, Hemingway and others, more about them later). I started by reading Donna Leon's thrillers set in Venice with chief inspector Brunetti. I hope to read all of them at some point. So far: Death at La Fenice (read) Death in a Strange Country (reading) One of the most famous characters from Venice is Casanova. I found a small book in a museum: Casanova in Venice by Delon, Michel & Sajous D'Oria, Michèle (a short extract from his memories, based on drawings made for various publications). Hope you all had a good, and interesting reading month.

Somehow April seemed to be a long month. Maybe because I did quite a lot of things during the month. I think I also read more books in a month than every before. I read 17 books. Since I was travelling, I read mostly from my e-books. My aim for the month was to read books about Venice, or books that takes place there. All because we visited this wonderful city for four days. For those interested I have written a few accounts on my newsletter, The Content Reader . All books, except one, are fiction. The nonfiction is Messages From a Lost World, Europe on the Brink by Stefan Zweig. I also wrote about him after visiting Salzburg, Austria, where he lived for a while. You can find articles on my newsletter, or my post In Search of Stefan Zweig I will come back to Stefan Zweig in later posts. Read in April Theme: Venice My Venice theme took me to a non-fiction about Venice: Venice and its Story by Thomas Okey, which I am still reading. Apart from that one I did read Casanova in Venice by Michel Delon & Michèle Sajous D'Oria, in March. It is an extract from his memoirs that fits into drawings made from his writing. I think most people think of Donna Leon when you mention Venice, and especially detective stories. Her series of 32 books about Commissario Brunetti are well known. You can read more on my post Donna Leon and Commissario Brunetti . I read read her first book in March; Death at La Fenice and another eight books in April. Death in a Strange Country, The Anonymous Venetian, A Ventian Reckoning, Acqua Alta, The Death of Faith, A Noble Radiance, Fatal Remedies and Friends in High Places. They are slightly addicted as you might imagine. My aim is to read all of them. Daphne du Maurier Another aim is to read books by DDM. Don't Look Now takes places in Venice and that is why I entered into this challenge already now. I continued with The Apple Tree, The Birds, Not After Midnight and The Blue Lenses . She is a master of suspense, spookiness, and, like Debbie Nance at Readersbuzz commented, they are gothic in their build up of the story. Agatha Christie Another aim is to read all the books, or most, by AC. I have already started and managed to squeeze in two more this month; Crooked House and The Secret of Chimneys. I listened to both of them, and prefer the latter one. Crooked House was somewhat irrational, I found. Other reading The other books I read was Master of Petersburg by J.M. Coetzee which I did not really like. I am wondering whether there is a special meaning with it, so have to do some research. I found his writing close to Dostoyevsky's which just shows that Coetzee is a fantastic writer. Reading As usual I am reading several books at the time. I am reading a biography by Göran Hägg on August Strindberg, which is very interesting. Talk about mad geniuses. Love in a Time of Hate by Florian Illies. A sort of biography over the love life of famous people in the shadow of the time between the first and second world war. Quite a fascinating read. I am reading 10 lessons in Swedish History by Ola Larsmo, where he tries to meet the fake news that some parties use to verify their own politics. Since people in general know much less of our own history these days, people believe what they hear and see. Even when it is not true. Fascinating aspects of social media today. I also read The Afghans by Åse Seierstad. Another fascinating and interesting account of the sad history of Afghanistan. I have also started Leïla Slimani's In the Country of Others , which will be interesting to read. The Fall of Carthage, The Punic Wars 265-146 B.C. by Adrian Goldsworthy is also started. May reading So what is awaiting me for the month of May? I will do two trips during May. One to Stralsund for four days, and one to Amsterdam for about 7-10 days. I am so excited by both trips, but especially by the Amsterdam trip where I will visit the exhibition of Vermeer paintings. Meaning, in other words, that I will continue to read from my e-books. I might bring a few physical books as well. However, I am flying to Amsterdam, with hand luggage only, so not much space. Donna Leon, Agatha Christie and Daphne du Maurier will be on the menu, as well as the books I have already started.

May has come to an end and it is time to take a look at what happened on my blog and with my reading. Let's start with the blog. I posted five posts this month, of which three belong to the DDM Reading Week. I was excited to join heavenali for an intensive read of du Maurier's books. I choose three which were already on my shelves, read many, many moons ago. I will continue to read her books during the year, and hope to join for next year's reading week. I enjoyed reading your reviews on her novels and short stories. The King's General The Parasites The Glass Blowers The two other posts were: April Wrap-up Visiting a second hand shop and coming back with 17 books (these things happen, but rarely) Reading I read ten books in May. Larsmo, Ola - Tio lektioner i svensk historia (NF) Illies, Florian - Kärlek i hatets tid (Liebe in Zeiten des Hasses/Love in a Time of Hate) (NF) Hägg, Göran - Sanningen är alltid oförskämd, Biography of August Strindberg (NF) Christie, Agatha - The Seven Dials Mystery du Maurier, Daphne - The King's General du Maurier, Daphne - The Parasites du Maurier, Daphne - The Glass Blowers Murphy, Bernadette - Van Gogh's Ear (NF) Aktander Navab, Jenny - Den svenske legionären Attainder Navab, Jenny - Riket, makten och härligheten Most of the books this month were very good. Four of them nonfiction, four classics (DDM and AC) and two international thrillers from a new Swedish author. Ola Larsmo 's book about ten lessons in Swedish history is an eye opener. How social media today, with a few posts, can twist a story in a false way, and it becomes 'facts'. Unfortunately, the history knowledge in Sweden is on an appalling level, evan among people you expect to know history. Ola Larsmo puts us right in this clever book. Florian Illies ' Love in the Time of Hate is one of my best reads ever. Through love stories of the intelligentsia, authors and artists in Europe at the beginning of the 20th century, he paints a dire picture of the dark times and how it affected people. A must read for anyone interesting in the times. Separate review will come. Göran Hägg , a Swedish literary critic and author takes on one of our great authors ever, August Strindberg. It is a great book, showing the author through his works and life decisions. There was a lot here I did not know about AS and how much he actually put into the books about himself. Van Gogh's Ear by Bernadette Murphy is an amazing book about Van Gogh's life. She, living in the south of France, became interested in the question how much of his ear Van Gogh actually cut off. Her research led her into the story of his life, the sad circumstances, and an amazing revelation of the facts, of which many is mere myths. She highlights her new findings and we find another man behind the facade. His life is a sad story, and Murphy treats it with respect. Every other chapter is on her research and every other chapter about his life. An excellent book and a must read for anyone interesting in the artist and his time. Not so much to say about AS and DDM. Another mystery by AS from the pile of books I bought at the second hand shop. I saw a news reel on the second book in a trilogy by Jenny Aktander Navab that just came out. I got interested and started with her first book. The books are international thrillers with three protagonists. Caroline Svedin Gyllensvärd, a Swedish Interpol agent, Daniel Granat, former legionnaire turned wine farmer in Italy, and Massimo Latanza, former legionnaire and Italian deputy Justice minister. The trio are caught up in international crime schemes. Aktander Navab has cleverly incorporated real world events into her thrillers and it makes for exciting reading. I had difficulties putting the books down. Now I am waiting for the third one, but it will probably take at least another year. What's up for June That is a good questions. For once I don't really have a real plan for June, so it seems to be a good idea to go back to my own challenge. Time to take out the random generator for: a nonfiction from my TBR shelves chosen by a random generator - Englund, Peter - Ofredsår a fiction from my TBR shelves chosen by a random generator - Signatures in Stone by Linda Lappin a translated novel outside English- and Swedish speaking countries - The Hunchback of Notre-Dame/Notre-Dame du Paris by Victor Hugo a classic tale - The Man of Property by John Galsworthy a book from my Wish list - The Blacksmith's Daughter by Selim Özdogan Two historical books, two classics and one new to me author. Sounds like an interesting reading month.

June has gone and we are already going into July. I have been away on a trip for 12 days, but did manage to read four books. June was another good reading month with ten books finished, making the number of books read so far this year to 67. Not much there of what I anticipated in last month's wrap-up, but I am still pleased. Read in June I managed to read six Agatha Christie, so pleased with going on with the challenge of reading all her books. They were: The Listerdale Mystery Appointment With Death N or M? Destination Unknown The Clocks At Bertram's Hotel of which my favourites were Destination Unknown and Appointment With Death . They are easily read, and I like them. There are books with Tuppence and Tommy, Hercule Poirot, Miss Marple, and some other heroines and heros. Garai, Indrajit - The Man Without Shelter - a story by the author of The Bridge of Little Jeremy. Another Paris story with fascinating characters. Burlin, Tua - Konungens ultimatum - a historical novel set in Sweden in the 16th century. Voltaire, Anna - Mordet i Marseillan - a debut and different detective story set in France, with a big dose of humour. Hugo, Victor - The Hunchback of Notre-Dame (Notre-Dame de Paris) - a classic tale. I have never seen the Phantom of the Opera, but it was interesting to read the original story. This was the only book I read that I anticipated for June. What's up for July? Paris in July is here. Emma @ Words and peace will host this year. You can read about her and my plans under the link. Most of my reading will be concentrated to this challenge, and I found nine books on my shelves connected with Paris and France. The Pursuit of Glory - The Five Revolutions That Made Modern Europe 1648-1815 by Tim Banning Axel von Fersen and Queen Marie-Antoinette by Margareta Beckman Notre-Dame de Paris/The Hunchback of Notre Dame by Victor Hugo Hemingway, The Paris Years by Michael Reynolds The Red and the Black by Stendahl Marie Antoinette by Stefan Zweig Arsène Lupin, Gentleman Burglar by Maurice Leblanc Michael Strogoff: The Courier of the Czar by Jules Verne The Scarlet Pimpernel by Baroness Orczy I will not be able to read them all, but let's see where I am at the end of the month.