My Month in Books | December 2024
A cursed saxophone, solving murders, friendship & community by the sea - and being fascinated by Greenland
I love to read a lot (you may have noticed) - and quite varied. It’s one of my greatest pleasures to find new and interesting topics that I want to know more about and to read a large number of very different books about them. This past month I was very fascinated by Greenland (and not for the first time).
I also enjoyed some fiction books, among them the long awaited new novella of my favourite urban fantasy series, the first book of Richard Osman’s new series, and a surprisingly good women’s fiction book about female friendship, community and starting a new chapter in life.
I'm usually rather sceptical about women's fiction. These novels are often far too superficial for my taste, and I've only found a few so far that strike a good balance between being warm, uplifting and humourous (without being silly), but are also profound and honour the complexity of life. Well, maybe I’m just asking for too much … But I'm always very happy when I find a book that fits the bill.
Fiction books
The Whitstable High Tide Swimming Club, Katie May
Only the truly devoted manage to swim every day at Whitstable, because the sea's only deep enough at high tide (and of course this changes over time). So Deb and Maisie, two women in their fifties who recently left their homes and marriages for very different reasons, keep meeting on the beach, swimming early in the morning and late at night, through sea-fogs, rain and sunny days.
They are very different characters - Deb is a local, talkative, prone to acting on impulse and in a tight financial situation, while Maisie is quiet, reserved, well-off and from London. Both are starting a new chapter in their lives, trying to make changes and distance themselves from people in their past. They strike up an unlikely friendship.
The two women are joined by other high tide swimmers, each with a crisis of their own. Ann is caring for her elderly mother at home (although that’s not her actual problem), Julie has three small children, and Chloe, a bright, restless fifteen-year-old, comes to find calmness in the water. Quiet, anxious Bill is also welcomed.
When the swimmers discover plans for their beach to be paved over for a leisure complex, they find a higher purpose that bonds them together.
It’s a lovely and powerful novel about female friendship and community by the sea which I enjoyed very much. (A bonus point for featuring two strong female protagonists over fifty.)
The book is promoted as a feel-good novel, but at times I found it a bit tough, especially when the book touches on domestic abuse, however lightly.
There are funny moments and very moving ones, and the book never loses sight of the complicated truths behind the lives of the women who - from the outside - seem to have everything under control. Uplifting and encouraging, a good book that stayed with me after reading it.
The Masquerades of Spring, Ben Aaronovitch
The Masquerades of Spring is the newest Rivers of London novella, my favourite urban fantasy series, and follows Thomas Nightingale and an old acquaintance of his in 1920s New York, tracking down the history of a cursed saxophone.
I was totally excited about the idea of a Thomas Nightingale story, to be there for once to get a glimpse on what he has already experienced in his long service way before Rivers of London start. I was also very taken by the story’s background - set in the 1920s, New York, the jazz scene -, an irresistible combination for me.
The initial setback was that it wasn't told from his perspective, but once again only about him. I would have loved to experience his language and perspective. But this way he remains mysterious and elusive and maybe that's a good thing.
Once I got used to the Oscar Wilde-like narrator, Augustus Berrycloth-Young, I found the style quite enjoyable and I felt well entertained.
The story is ultimately a scavenger hunt, which was quite amusing, but also a bit thin. Also, the magic fell by the wayside a little too much for me.
The characters made up for quite a lot though and I enjoyed the small novella with all its jazz, gangsters, a peek into the queer scene, and English men in New York.
We Solve Murders, Richard Osman
I’ve enjoyed Richard Osman’s The Thursday Murder Club series a lot and I’m very much looking forward to the movie adaptation of the first book with a remarkable cast (not sure about Pierce Brosnan as the casting choice for Ron though, but we’ll see) and Chris Columbus as director.
Osman’s new series feature some very different new detectives: Amy Wheeler loves the adrenaline rushes. She works as a bodyguard, currently on a remote island in the US to keep world-famous author Rosie D’Antonio alive, which was meant to be an easy job. Amy’s father-in-law Steve Wheeler is a retired policeman. He lives in a quiet village in England, mourns for his wife and sticks to his familiar routines: the pub quiz, his favourite bench, his cat waiting for him when he comes home. His days of adventure are over. Then several dead bodies, bags of money, and a killer with their sights on Amy change everything …
Osman’s books are just great fun! In true James Bond style, this one travels halfway around the world, from the USA to the Caribbean, Ireland, England and Dubai. The plot is fast-paced, with lots of twists and turns. I liked the multiple perspectives from which the story is told, which makes it extra interesting, and the humorous references to ChatGPT and influencers.
It took me a while to warm to Amy and Rosie, but I loved Steve at first sight, a wonderful character! His pub acquaintances and others are also a great addition.
The book is funny and suspenseful, a breakneck race around the world and a marvellous feel-good page-turner. In the end, I’ve grown very fond of all the main characters (and some of the others) and I’m very much looking forward to a new adventure.
Non-fiction books: Greenland
I actually don’t know where my fascination for this land comes from. I’ve never been to Greenland, not even close. However, it’s one of the places that fascinate me endlessly, about which I have seen several documentaries and read many books during my hibernation and just recently. What fascinates me about it?
It’s not just one aspect.
It’s the land itself, its location, its harsh conditions - and its beauty.
It’s the people, their history and culture, their former, traditional way of living.
It’s the wilderness, the solitude, the stillness, being thrown back to the essentials and living very close to nature and depend on it.
It’s also geology (to my surprise).
I read quite a pile of books about Greenland this month, but the following three stood out:
A Wilder Time: Notes from a Geologist at the Edge of the Greenland Ice, William E. Glassley
The American geologist tells of his five expeditions to a little-explored area that has not even been precisely mapped at the time: a150 kilometre-wide stretch of rock and tundra landscapes west of the Greenland ice sheet. Together with two Danish colleagues, he is looking for evidence to support the theory that Greenland was formed in prehistoric times by the collision of two continents that displaced an ocean between them. The team spends several weeks during the Greenland summers in isolation, in an unspoilt landscape that conveys the feeling of a primeval world. They take samples, photograph and measure rocks, in which almost the entire history of the earth is preserved.
The book shares experiences, reflections, insights, and of course, their scientific discoveries.
I know nothing about geology, but this book talks about it in such an interesting, understandable and even exciting way!
What I liked most, however, was the beautiful, poetic language in which the author describes the overwhelming beauty of extreme wilderness, one of the last untouched landscapes. His book is full of poignant observations of the wilderness, and how the old, wild, silent landscape has affected and influenced him. Beautiful!
Heute gehen wir Wale fangen: wie mich die Grönländer mit in ihre alte Welt nahmen, Birgit Lutz
Note: It’s a German title that roughly translates as: Today we will catch whales: how the Greenlanders took me with them to their old world. (Booktrailer with English subtitles)
When Birgit Lutz crossed Greenland’s inland ice and reached the East Coast for the first time, she was immediately fascinated by the Ammassalik region. Only about 2,500 people who speak their own language live along the 2,500 kilometres of coastline. And it was not until 1884 that the first Europeans had arrived there.
The author visits East Greenland three times for one month each in order to understand the people who live here, hear their stories and tell them.
She talks to a wide variety of locals and residents. She meets people who grew up in earth houses and know the old way of life, young people who had lost their identity in the rapid transition from the old life to modern times, Europeans, who had come here hoping for a slower life, and people living between worlds.
She visits abandoned settlements, goes seal hunting, fishing and whaling, tries local food, travels by dog sledge and boat, and learns a lot about the culture. She is constantly tested to question her views and convictions.
What I really loved about the book is that you get very close to the people and their individual fates that nevertheless stand for something bigger and are transferable. It’s a very moving and sensitive portrait of East Greenland and a very compelling read that keeps you thinking about the complex and difficult situation the people find themselves in.
I also liked the structure of the book a lot. Birgit Lutz talks about her journey, her observations, her thoughts, but the text is also enriched by infoboxes with further information, lots of beautiful and interesting photos and texts where East Greenlanders have their say and tell their respective views on things.
A remarkable read!
Kälte, Wind und Freiheit: Wie die Inuit mich den Sinn des Lebens lehrten, Robert Peroni
Note: Originally, it’s an Italian title (Dove il vento grida più forte). The German title roughly translates as: Cold, wind and freedom: How the Inuit taught me the meaning of life.
In his early forties, professional mountaineer and adventurer Robert Peroni sets off on an expedition through Greenland that gives his life a completely different direction. The inhospitable yet beautiful landscape attracts him as much as the world of the Inuit does. The Italian decides to move to Greenland, to Tasiilaq, a village of 2,000 people on the stormy south-east coast, which is cut off from the rest of the world for most of the year.
Peroni immerses himself in the life of the Inuit, telling us about their way of life, their values, their spirituality, what is important to them, and how their society works. It’s a captivating report on the indigenous people of Greenland and a passionate plea for their traditional way of life which he aims to preserve.
His book is full of respect, love and care. Peroni gets very emotional at times and is also very critical of the way modern western world entered the traditional way of life in Greenland.
It’s an autobiographical book, too, in which Peroni talks about his life before moving to Greenland and what made him change his life and as a person.
It’s a very passionate report and I liked it on both aspects.
I’m looking forward to 2025 and new reading adventures!
Interested in my previous reading months?
September 2024 - Special Edition: Rural Life
October 2024 - Special Edition: Outdoor Life
What was your favourite book this year? Do you have any recommendations?
Oooo. I'm always pleased to meet another Richard Osman fan. I've read all of the Thursday Murder books and, like you, I enjoyed We Solve Murders. Now, I'm off to check out the link you attached to check out the movie adaptation cast!
Currently I’m rereading Wintering by Katherine May and I love it again 😊. And maybe you like Weathering from Ruth Allen (a lot of geology in there) or Sorry I’m late, I didn’t want to come: An Introvert’s Year of living Dangerously by Jessica Pan.