Thanks for the book tips! I am a serious reader when I am feeling a bit better than I have been the last two days. I love owls, too. Right now, I am reading a translation of a Swedish mystery - "Snow Drift" by Helene Tursten. It's part of a series. I gave up long on reading entire mystery series. There are too many great authors out there. I read mostly novels - total escapism.
Thanks so much for sharing your thoughts! I absolutely understand about escapism. There are times when it just feels necessary and comforting or just relaxing, and what’s better than to lose onseself in wonderful stories! I enjoy that as well. In recent years I’ve leaned a bit more into non-fiction, partly because my fields of interests have changed and partly because I couldn’t find novels that excited me anymore. Let’s see what comes next. :)
Reading entire mystery series can come with both an advantage and a disadvantage, I think. I enjoy them very much when I got fond of the main characters and want to know what happens next and/or when I like the writing style and the themes. (Donna Leon and her mystery novels set in Venice come to mind.) But it can be disappointing when the books get a bit weaker. Then it feels worse than when a standalone novel doesn't live up to my expectations because I've invested so much time in the series and the characters.
I agree with your comments about mystery series. I adored Donna Leon! I read two or three of those and then got distracted by other books. I loved the first novel about the Opera House. Fits in with my love of classical music. I can always go back to anotherDonna Leon later, but I am not wedded to reading the others in order.
I just looked at your books on Goodreads.com. It looks like they are non-fiction. The analysis of Jean-Paul Sartre caught my eye. Have you written any fiction? Were you a university professor?
Thank you for taken in interest! I didn’t even know my books were on goodreads.com. 😄
So far, it has mainly been my non-fiction work that has been published - four local history books and several books on literary studies you saw on goodreads. Also, several of my short stories have been published in literature magazines and anthologies.
Currently, I’m leaning more towards writing fiction, but that could change again any time. There’s so much I want to write and topics I want to write about! 😊
What a great mix of books this month! My husband once mentioned they’re called a 'parliament,' and I love that mental image. I also wondered what they were talking about! I hope the owl-watching tour in May is as magical as it sounds—there’s something special about seeing animals in the wild, especially at dusk when everything feels a little more alive 🌲🦉✨
Oh wow, I have been so busy the last few days that I almost missed your book reviews - terrible!
Sounds like a great collection again... I don't usually read crime novels, but I'm curious about the first one now! "High" also sounds fantastic. How do you actually choose your books?
Great that you will go and look for owls! I hear them quite often but have also only very rarely seen them. And when I did see them they were never debating!
Glad you found something intesting again in my latest reads!
How do I choose my books? Excellent question. 😄 I'm often fascinated by a particular topic and then I look at what's available in the libraries as a starting point and go from there. Sometimes I find something by chance in the new acquisitions lists of the libraries or the eLibrary (that's how I found Death on Ice). Sometimes I look through my collected book recommendations and choose something I'd love to read. Sooo many good books out there ... 📚🤩
OK you have a good system worked out, ha ha I am not surprised! I am really enjoying themed reading now as well. Yes that's the great thing about the library - there is no cost to picking up those chance finds!
Thanks for the book tips! I am a serious reader when I am feeling a bit better than I have been the last two days. I love owls, too. Right now, I am reading a translation of a Swedish mystery - "Snow Drift" by Helene Tursten. It's part of a series. I gave up long on reading entire mystery series. There are too many great authors out there. I read mostly novels - total escapism.
Thanks so much for sharing your thoughts! I absolutely understand about escapism. There are times when it just feels necessary and comforting or just relaxing, and what’s better than to lose onseself in wonderful stories! I enjoy that as well. In recent years I’ve leaned a bit more into non-fiction, partly because my fields of interests have changed and partly because I couldn’t find novels that excited me anymore. Let’s see what comes next. :)
Reading entire mystery series can come with both an advantage and a disadvantage, I think. I enjoy them very much when I got fond of the main characters and want to know what happens next and/or when I like the writing style and the themes. (Donna Leon and her mystery novels set in Venice come to mind.) But it can be disappointing when the books get a bit weaker. Then it feels worse than when a standalone novel doesn't live up to my expectations because I've invested so much time in the series and the characters.
Perhaps your approach is more clever. :)
Hope you feel better soon!
I agree with your comments about mystery series. I adored Donna Leon! I read two or three of those and then got distracted by other books. I loved the first novel about the Opera House. Fits in with my love of classical music. I can always go back to anotherDonna Leon later, but I am not wedded to reading the others in order.
High sounds amazing! I will add it to my list.
Glad you found some inspiration! 😊📚
I just looked at your books on Goodreads.com. It looks like they are non-fiction. The analysis of Jean-Paul Sartre caught my eye. Have you written any fiction? Were you a university professor?
Thank you for taken in interest! I didn’t even know my books were on goodreads.com. 😄
So far, it has mainly been my non-fiction work that has been published - four local history books and several books on literary studies you saw on goodreads. Also, several of my short stories have been published in literature magazines and anthologies.
Currently, I’m leaning more towards writing fiction, but that could change again any time. There’s so much I want to write and topics I want to write about! 😊
If you are interested about reading a bit more about my writing and my professional life around books, I’ve published a post about it recently: https://claudiakollschen.substack.com/p/ive-always-been-a-book-person
Thanks for the additional info. When I see "Author," I am always interested. 🙂 Enjoy your Sunday.
You are welcome. Thanks! 🙂
Hmmm, those mystery books look good. I'll have to check them out next. Cheers, Claudia!
Enjoy! :)
I got "Death on Ice"! It looks fun. Thanks again.
What a great mix of books this month! My husband once mentioned they’re called a 'parliament,' and I love that mental image. I also wondered what they were talking about! I hope the owl-watching tour in May is as magical as it sounds—there’s something special about seeing animals in the wild, especially at dusk when everything feels a little more alive 🌲🦉✨
Thank you, Dana! 😊 I'll keep you all posted on how it went. 🌲🦉✨
Sounds like a great month of books!
Oh wow, I have been so busy the last few days that I almost missed your book reviews - terrible!
Sounds like a great collection again... I don't usually read crime novels, but I'm curious about the first one now! "High" also sounds fantastic. How do you actually choose your books?
Great that you will go and look for owls! I hear them quite often but have also only very rarely seen them. And when I did see them they were never debating!
Glad you found something intesting again in my latest reads!
How do I choose my books? Excellent question. 😄 I'm often fascinated by a particular topic and then I look at what's available in the libraries as a starting point and go from there. Sometimes I find something by chance in the new acquisitions lists of the libraries or the eLibrary (that's how I found Death on Ice). Sometimes I look through my collected book recommendations and choose something I'd love to read. Sooo many good books out there ... 📚🤩
OK you have a good system worked out, ha ha I am not surprised! I am really enjoying themed reading now as well. Yes that's the great thing about the library - there is no cost to picking up those chance finds!
Too many good books...
High sounds wonderful and right up my street, thanks for sharing.
And the tour sounds amazing!
I’m glad you found something interesting! It really was a great book! ☺️