book

Rated Sex at Dawn: The Prehistoric Origins of Modern Sexuality 6/10

Rated De vergeten namen 8/10

A book that tells the story about many different people who were involved in the deportations in Lyon in WWII.
I liked that it tells the story about many different people instead of just a handful. Sure all dialogs, thoughs and feelings are made up by the author, but they never felt unauthethic.

Rated At the Existentialist Café 10/10

Rated Het eiland van Anna 10/10

It is about an island that had to be evacuated in the 1800s, because of flooding, which then in the 1900s became part of reclaimed land. It is about the people that lived there, their descendants and how origin and origin story impacts people’s lives (even several generations later).
It also highlights how immigrants find their way faster if they get equal opportunity to education and employment. Something that many present day societies should take note of instead of the xenophobia we see too much of.

Rated Leonardo: The Artist and the Man 8/10

Rated La Chamade 8/10

Quite enjoyable, even if I found the characters tiresome at times.

I like this from a review: “Françoise Sagan is perhaps not the greatest French writer but she does justice to the tradition of beautiful, clear, poignant love stories into which she was born.”

Rated Katabasis 6/10

Like any R.F. Kuang book, it is well written. I just only got into it in short bursts. Particularly the theoretical stuff was not my cup of tea. The exploration of hell was cool though.

Rated Een vriendschap 8/10

I thought it be a cheesy love story, but it was nothing like that. Very much enjoyed this story about friendship, family, toxic authority and therapy in the first 2/3 of the 20th century.

Rated De bessenplukkers 10/10

I didn’t know what to expect when I picked this up, but what a great novel to debut with. Very moving story and a very easy to follow writing style.

Although the story is very emotional, the writing never feels too emotional.

Rated De Vaticaanse Moorden 6/10

Rated Schutterszilver 6/10

I usually enjoy Van Mastricht’s books more than I did this one. The story seemed a bit wavy and some of the sections a bit redundant, especially the ones from the Spanish perspective.

Rated Secretum 8/10

Rated Shantaram 10/10

Rated Menewood 10/10

What a fantastic read. After the first part - Hild - (and also Spear), my expectations were very high. And that is probably also why I was hesitant to start reading (I waited a while after it had been released). Ironically, in the last 70 pages I was hesitant to keep on reading, because I did not want to be expelled from the world Nicola Griffith has created in both these novels.

It is far from an easy read, but the effort one has to put into reading this is also one of the reasons the reader gets dragged into the story, the main character, the other characters, the society and the world in general. I read this on my ereader and after finishing I saw how many hours it had taken me to finish this book, and the number was a lot higher than it normally would've been for a book of this size. I just spend so much time, going back to the maps, family tree and - very extensive - list of characters, and it never took me out of the story, if anything it pulled me in deeper. And besides that I also spend heaps of time on wikipedia to get more background info on certain aspects of things that are mentioned in the book.

When I finished reading Hild in 2016 I mentioned to a friend that I had a book hangover, and throughout reading Menewood I knew I had another one coming. There is a distinct difference however, now I know that the next part is going to be great. And to add to that I just saw an interview with the author in which she shared that she wants to release more work around the world and characters of Spear. I can't wait.

Rated The Geography of Thought: How Asians and Westerners Think Differently... and Why 8/10

Rated Zondagskracht 6/10

It was hard to enjoy reading this book. It is very negative. Throughout the story I just caught myself waiting for the next thing that the protagonist would experience as negative. I can appreciate that this is the way life is for the protagonist being autistic, it was just hard to enjoy reading. Perhaps the goal of the book is not to be enjoyable, but rather be informative - in nove format - about autism.

It is however, very well written, very informative and has a high pace. That probably helped me keep on reading (besides - to a small degree - wanting to get it over with).

Rated Pellegrina: Een italiaanse wielerbedevaart 10/10

Rated Moeder, antimoeder 8/10

An interesting read on a very much not famous person who still had a very interesting life, with great impact on others. And all of that is despite being on a trajectory of choice that did not make things easier (being a communist post WWII).

Rated Moederland 8/10

I am Dutch, but I have no - and never had - people from Curaçao (or with that heritage) in my social circle. So I started reading with a pretty blank slate on a personal level. The author has a really raw style, but I quite liked it and it was easy to follow along. Some passages are very poetic and I really enjoyed those.

Very impressive story and personal history of both the author and her mother.

Rated Stormkind 8/10

I was doubting between 4 and 5 stars. I enjoyed this quite a bit. A really well written thriller and the characters have a nice amount of depth, which I often find lacking in thrillers.

Will check out the other books in this series as well.

Rated Miracle Workers 10/10

I’d never heard of the tv series until after I finished reading this.

Very funny book.

Rated The Lost City of Z: A Tale of Deadly Obsession in the Amazon 10/10

I learned so many things about the Amazon and its tribes that I never even knew I wanted to learn. Incredible book with one central story that had influenced more lives than one would expect.

Rated The Summer Tree 8/10

It took me a bit to get into it, but once I did it was a very enjoyable read. Quite impressive that this is the author's first novel. Despite the upsetting ending, looking forward to the next parts of this trilogy.

Rated Zoete zoete wraak BV 8/10

Everything in the story in this book is ridiculous, but also somehow believable. Very funny.

Rated Black Soul 10/10