My Nook of Books

What is a nook of books with just books? It also needs a good reading chair, a case to hold books, sometimes some good music, but most of all: a lovely cup of tea in a bookish mug. 1. Roald Dahl's Matilda I'm wondering what to read next This one is stored in my cupboard and used a lot :)   2. Jane Austen's books 3. My book smells better than your tablet So true! 4. Go away! I'm reading This mug is available in all variations of rudeness, from 'kindly go away' to 'fuck off' 5. Just one more chapter Who hasn't been here? Unfortunately, when reading in bed, my boyfriend puts out the light at a certain point...

Already two weeks ago I finished this book on holiday in Austria. I found it in the bookcase of our apartment, and since the two books I brought myself weren't going to be enough reading material for the week, I threw myself onto this thriller by Arnaldur Indridason, an Icelandic author. Why is it that all these Scandinavian authors write thrillers or detectives? Is it the landscape of these countries that inspire them to write about awful deaths? Title : Jar City Author : Arnaldur Indridason First published : Mýrin, 2000 My edition : Noorderveen, 2016 by Q (in Dutch) Cover : Not bad for a Dutch cover, great image of the Icelandic scenery. The blurb on the back was awful though. It said that the book was about a murder which could not have been solved without the modern DNA-technology. Well, that really distinguishes this book from others... Innerwork : Can't really remember, so must have been fine, otherwise I would have remembered ;) Compatibility with reading on the

You might have thought: why does a Dutch girl write a blog in English about English books? It's really simple: I just majorly favour English books for a ton of reasons. They look better, there are more of them, Dutch literature is always a bit weird.. et cetera. When I look at my bookcases, I always get a warmer feeling from the left one - the English one - than from the right one - the Dutch one. It looks more colourful, but also calmer, because all the books are the same size. The sizes of Dutch books go everywhere, and the spines are most of the time in one colour, with a very formal font for the title. Boring! So let's gush about some covers... One of the covers I love most is the one from The Book of Lost Things , by John Connolly: This book just looks so attractive! However, it has not been translated to Dutch, so we have nothing to compare it with. Let's move on to a book I just finished: Don't you think that the purple colour of the Dutch version

Waiting for the new rug that we ordered for our living room might be one of the best times to write a blog post (if you're wondering: it is red, very bold, so I am super excited and can't wait till it's here!) On holiday in Austria I finished The Only Story by Julian Barnes. I received this book with my Christmas presents from work and had quite high expectations, as a friend of mine is a fan of the author. Therefore it came as a surprise that I actually found this book boring! It don't say this often about books, but I really didn't enjoy it. I did finish it, because I expected a change in the story, as Julian Barnes is supposed to be this very gifted writer. Unfortunately, when I reached the last page of the book, it was still boring. I do however, still think that Julian Barnes is very gifted. Read on if you want to know why! Title: The Only Story Author: Julian Barnes First published: 2018, Jonathan Cape   My edition: 2018, Jonathan Cape Notice the aw

Dear readers, Two days ago I re-emerged from a holiday in Austria with my boyfriend and his parents. With some 50-80 cm of snow, a frozen lake and some beautiful mountains and woods around us, it was bound to be a success. We had a lot of fun walking, sledding, cross-country skiing and ice-skating (we actually completed a half marathon and earned a medal!) Of course I read a lot in the evenings, snugged up on the couch with a cup of tea. Luckily, the apartment included a small book case, because the two books I brought myself wouldn't have been enough for the whole week (and the only disadvantages of the village we were staying was that it didn't include a bookshop and that the few books at the supermarket were in German ...)   Most of the books at the apartment were in German too, including some old children's books, the less interesting old romantic-ish omnibuses, but also some Kafka. Coincidentally, it also held the book I was reading in this village las

Title : Manhattan Beach Author : Jennifer Egan First published : 2017 My edition : Corsair, 2018, paperback Cover : The colours are great, and the picture gives a view of New York around the time the story takes place. I just don't like all these quotes on the front. Covers should be pretty, and quotes are not pretty ;) Innerwork : Pleasant font, quite large, but not too large. Compatibility with reading on the train : Not too great. Although it is a paperback, the book is quite stiff and heavy, which makes it difficult to hold it open with just one hand. Synopsis : The book tells the story of Anna Kerrigan, who accompanies her father on business meetings at the age of twelve, and who is a diver at the Naval Yard during the Second World War when she is around twenty. During her teenage years, her father goes missing. Anna doesn't give it too much thought, until she is older and meets Dexter Styles. She remembers visiting him with her father years ago and starts i