#ToB26

Such a bleak and depressing read. But a good one. Alice becomes mentally ill during her first year at college and it changes her and her life forever: the meds, the frustration, the shame, the friends who can‘t stay, the shattered dreams. I didn‘t always like DeBoer‘s lack of emotion in his writing but it might be the best and most respectful way to share Alice‘s story.

#Top25Of25 Part 3 of 4

These last days of the year I am@sharing my 25 favorite books of the year.

Today I share the 4 books I rated with 4.75 ⭐️

Yesterday and the day before I showed my 4.5⭐️ and 4.25⭐️ rated books.
Tomorrow I‘ll share the four 5⭐️ books I read in 2025.

I heard about this book in Dua Lipa‘s bookclub. If you don‘t know it, check it out. Her talks with authors are very refreshing and excellent.

So I thought I should read her December choice, a dark Norwegian Christmas read. Two young sisters are selling Christmas trees to gain the money their father spends on booze. Life is hard but many people are kind and caring and offer them some hope. I loved the narrator, the youngest sister. Recommended!

#WeeklyForecast 52/25

To end the year in style I have started Brightly Shining. Next will be another #ToB26 read (the tagged book) and I want to read our #EuropaCollective January book (in Dutch though, couldn‘t find an English copy where I live).

#Top25Of25 Part 2 of 4

These last days of the year I‘ll be sharing my 25 favorite books of the year, arranged by the stars I gave them.

Today I share the 7 books I rated with 4.5 ⭐️

Yesterday I showed my 4.25⭐️ rated books.
Tomorrow i‘ll share four 4.75⭐️ books followed by four 5⭐️ reads.

#ToB26 #25

A son has been living in Tokyo for twelve years when his mother suddenly comes visiting him from the US, after they‘ve been estranged for all those years. Their relationship is a complicated one, their conversations always cut short. Their past is filled with unsolved business, their current lives a search for meaning I think. The Tokyo setting is what I loved most about the book. A light pick.

📸 Chatel, France

#WeeklyFavorites

I‘ve read some good books this week but The Garden stood out. A quite surprising story, recommended!

#Top25Of25 Part 1 of 4

For the next four days I‘ll be sharing my 25 favorite books of the year, arranged by the stars I gave them.

These 10 are the books I rated with 4.25⭐️
Tomorrow I‘ll share my seven 4.5⭐️ books, followed by four 4.75⭐️ books and four 5⭐️ reads.

The #ISpy bingo cards for September, October, November and December. Filled with lots of unread books but many ✅ too!

Looking forward to #ISpy26! Thanks @TheAromaofBooks

Comfort reading at the ski piste on Christmas morning. Each installment in this series is good but this time I have been a bit annoyed by how much time DCI Matilda Darke spends on looking away from the case at hand. This was a gruesome one and like you Trish I guessed the killer early on as well!

📸 Chatel, France

Finishing #ReadTheWorld2025 with 6 more countries: #Spain, #India, #Brazil, #Armenia, #Nigeria and #Lebanon. I managed to read from/about 37 countries and will definitely continue reading from around the world. Thanks for hosting Myra!

#ToB26 #24

Vera‘s grandparents left Armenia after the massacre and started anew in Lebanon. Years later Vera and her parents leave for the US when the situation in Lebanon becomes too dangerous.
9/11 brings back memories of a family leaving so much behind, not just danger and war, but also family, friends and happy memories. A thought provoking book.

#ReadTheWorld2025 #Lebanon

📸 Chatel, France

#ToB26 #23

This is a very atmospheric and disturbing dystopian book about two sisters, living an isolated life in what mostly is a walled garden and what used to be the kitchen of the mansion they lived in before. A mansion that has been shut down for years because their mother wanted that. I was never quite sure of what happened, what was true and what not. The ending is vague too yet it was a very satisfying read for me.

📸 Chatel, France

The Sitter unfolds in a Paris hotel during lockdown, where a writer tries to shape Hortens Cezanne‘s story as the wife and muse of painter Paul Cezanne.

Instead, Hortense seizes the narrative, watching, questioning, and turning the gaze back on the author. Their entwined lives, losses, and parallels emerge in layered fragments. A beautiful written novel. Thanks so much Carolyn, for sending me this book!

📸 Chatel, France

#WeeklyForecast 51/25

I will hopefully read these three books during the holidays. Still a lot of #ToB26 to be read but also another installment in the Matilda Darke series, which I have been enjoying a lot.

#ToB26 #22

Yes it‘s a book about a ten year affair but it‘s also not. And it is certainly not as predictable as you might suspect. To me it is much more a book about growing up and becoming a mother and leave the city where you were young and all seemed possible. I really liked it.

📸 Lausanne, Switzerland

#ToB26 #21

Of course Adichie is a wonderful writer, especially of characters. In this book there are four women, whose lives we follow during the pandemic and who are spread across the world. I liked the characters and the strength of these women but the story felt a bit loose although the author‘s afterword explained a lot. Not as good as Americanah, a light pick. And the audiobook was good.

📸 Koblenz, Germany

#WintercampLitsy tent 🏕️

We have our winners: The Correspondent, Cursed Daughters and So Far Gone!

Hopefully we‘re in time for you to add them to your X-mas wishlist!

We‘ll read them in the above order, with the 1sr#t discussion on Jan 17. More details about the discussion of each book will follow separately.

For now we hope you‘re happy with the outcome. Helen, Holly and I are looking forward to our first wintercamp with you all! 🤍❄️

#ToB26 #20

Mari is a young woman whose death has a profound impact on her family: her parents but also her uncle, aunt and their kids. It‘s a hot long summer in Michigan, in which each family member deals with their loss in their own way but at the bottom is always their shared ancestry in Armenia. A light pick, a bit less interesting than I expected.

#ReadTheWorld2025 #35 #Armenia

#WeeklyForecast 50/25

#ToB26 fever! I am reading and enjoying the longlisted Waterline. Lined up are The Sitter (a gift by @CarolynM ), that looks so appealing, and the tagged book, that is shortlisted for the Tournament.

#tob26 #19

A writer/teacher lives with her lover and his daughter in Kentucky. All of her family suddenly moves there too and lives within a mile of each other. Then there‘s her ex-husband, also a writer and writing about her, a cat, a student, an Irishman and a best friend.

It‘s a very witty and comic kind of autofiction about her dealing with all these people and situations. Dialogues are fabulous, spot-on and funny.

Recommended!

#ToB26 Shortlist is here!
I am moderately happy with it. I have read 3, am in the middle of one, and have another 6 on my shelves. About the others I am not sure yet. Bunny again? Don‘t think so. Also I have never heard of some! Anyhow, excited for the #ToB and for #WintercampLitsy, where we will read three not-nominated books!

#Tob26 #18

Underspin traces the life of table-tennis prodigy Ryan Lo, whose early death is pieced together through the voices of those who knew him. The shifting perspectives reveal the pressure, isolation, and mystery surrounding his talent. A sharp, haunting novel that lingers precisely because it refuses easy answers. That‘s probably what makes the book good but I longed for some answers.

Now the waiting for the shortlist starts!

#ToB26 #17

Adam and Teddy embark on a roadtrip, a bit impulsive, but never mind. They‘re boys, almost men, they are friends and they are fed up with school and family.

The trip soon spins out of control: testosterone, indifference, too much confidence and some darker motives take over. In a dense story the book shows the darker side of male friendship.

#WeeklyForecast 49/25

It‘s going to be a #TOB26 week. I want to tread as many longlisted books as possible before the shortlist will be announced. So. I am reading The Passenger Seat, a tense read. Next will be the tagged and if time allows, I‘ll also make a start with If You Love It, Let It Kill You.

It‘s the 1950s in Italy, a country recovering from WWII. Valeria is 43, her children are grown up and she works and takes care of the family. Then she buys a notebook and from the moment she starts writing in it, she starts questioning everything in her life. Her marriage, motherhood, the expectations she had of her life. Is this all? The unrest grows along with her entries in her forbidden notebook.

#ToB26 #16

Two men have become friends at college. Turning 50, they still are. And so are their wives and daughters. During a weekend that the two families spend together something happens that changes everything. All of them have to decide what‘s true and what isn‘t and how to go on from here.

An interesting premise but the author needs way too many words to tell the story. That makes it
an okayish read but not a ToB-worthy one.

#NovemberStats

4.75⭐️
Sad tiger
Heart the lover
4.5⭐️
The river is waiting
Fault lines
4⭐️
How to sleep at night
A guardian and a thief
3.75⭐️
Immaculate conception
After Annie
Lion
3.5⭐️
Ms Ice Sandwich
The rest of our lives
Whistle in the dark
Sleep
On earth as it is beneath
3.25⭐️
Sympathy tower Tokyo
3⭐️
Strange houses
A necessary end
Killing Stella
Swallows
2.75⭐️
The invisible guardian

DNF
The emperor of Gladness

#ToB26 #15

I hadn‘t expect to bail on this one since I enjoyed Vuongs debut novel, but there‘s that. This one too is well written but to me it was rather boring. Drugs and poverty are often a recipe for a repetitive story and unfortunately this story is no exception. I didn‘t care enough to finish it. I have to admit audio didn‘t help either, my mind kept drifting off.

#ToB26 #14

This book is a monument to the father who the author kept hanging on to no matter what. He was a man at loss, being with her and leaving her, loving her and neglecting her.
In this book she comes to terms with who he was and who she has become, being his daughter. A very generous and wise woman.

#WeeklyForecast 48/25

A #ToB26 week! I am reading and enjoying Lion and listening to Emperor of Gladness, which I am not enjoying at all. Next will be the tagged book, that everyone seems to hate but I already bought it and am curious to see what I‘ll think.
Forbidden Notebook (in Dutch) is my choice for #FoodAndLit (Italy).

#ToB26 #13

This short, brutal novel hit me harder than I expected. Set in Brazil, in a remote penal colony where prisoners are released only to be hunted, it‘s stark and unsentimental, yet gripping. Maia writes violence without glorifying it. The bleakness is heavy, but the sharp writing kept me fully absorbed. So I am with you, Helen and Sarah!

#ReadTheWorld2025 #34 #Brazil

#WeeklyFavorites

With Sleep as my final addition to November‘s weekly favorites, I am having one of my best reading months.

#ToB26 #12

This book is completely different from Out, that I loved. I was a bit disappointed by the story about a surrogate mother and all persons involved in the pregnancy and the circumstances surrounding it.
It‘s a story about women‘s choices in how to live their life, I can imagine it being a big theme in today‘s Japan. But to me it felt like a story I‘ve read before.

In the first part of the book Margaret grows up in a dysfunctional family. In the second part she‘s a mother herself, navigating between her kids, her ex, her new lover and, still, her family. Her dominant and depressed mother is always there, in the back of her mind or in real life.

I liked it but I just read a few books that were so much better that it‘s just a light pick for me.

📸 Tokyo, Japan

I had no real expectations of this book, which had been sitting on my shelves for years.
After being missed for 4 days a 15 yr old girl returns to her despairing parents. She claims to remember nothing about what happened. The pov is that of the mother, who tries to find out what happens. I really enjoyed the dynamics of the family and the witty dialogues. The plot didn‘t matter that much to be honest. A light pick.

📸 Ryokan in Matsumoto, Japan

After moving his daughter to college, instead of returning to the now empty nest of him and his wife Amy, Tom continues driving. All across the US, visiting friends and relatives and thinking a lot. He‘s your typical white 50+ male and that makes the book a bit predictable, yet I enjoyed spending time with Tom and his akward relationships.

Thanks for sharing this book with me Helen!

📸 Magome, Japan

Another winner. I had no idea what this book would be about but it grabbed me from the first page and I couldn‘t let go until I finished it with a deep, deep sigh. Lily King is such a master in writing about love and friendship. Wow.

📸 Nagoya Castle, Japan

How cool is this bookstore in Nagoya 🤩?
Unfortunately they sold only Japanese books, mostly manga 🤷🏻‍♀️

#ToB26

One of my most anticipated moments each year: the #ToB longlist. I‘ve been deep diving almost all day and I have read 11, I own 12 to be read on my shelves and am about to buy another load… please help me prevent this and tell me what book or books I should absolutely get and what books I can skip 😀

This quote defines Tokyo in one sentence. Love it!

This book is a tribute to modern Tokyo and I adored it.

Mizuko is a stay-at-home mother who keeps thinking of how different her life could have been had she made other choices. Yet she loves her children more than anything so she guesses it‘s fine. Until she meets Kyoshi and shows him her Tokyo.

I loved it all, especially while reading it in Japan.

📸 Shimanami Kaido, Japan

#10BeforeTheEnd #7

This is so relatable to me 🤷🏻‍♀️

A boy has an innocent crush on a grocery clerk. He buys sandwiches daily just to see her, until classmates call her a “freak,” mentioning botched facial surgery. Shaken, he stops visiting, though he keeps drawing her. Lonely and unsure, he‘s nudged by his friend Tutti to face his feelings and seek the quiet connection he misses. A cute novella.

📸 Onomichi, Japan

This is an autobiographical story about rape. From a very young age the French author was raped by her stepfather. It took her years to speak up and she still is so scarred. Neige Sinno makes perfectly clear why such an experience will always stick with you. She uses many literary works to emphasize her feelings.
It is very hard to read but I couldn‘t look away. Highly recommended with a huge trigger warning.

📸 Korakuen, Okayama, Japan

This book is wild. An architect has won a competition for designing a tower in Tokyo for prisoners, for whom we need to feel sympathy, cause aren‘t we all human beings? She feels conflicted about this, consults AI and a younger boyfriend and it‘s all pretty meta but so Japanese and I devoured it!

Thank you Helen, for sending me this one!

📸Teshima Art Island, Japan

A very bleak story about a woman taking care of her friend‘s daughter. Although taking care of is an exaggeration: she mostly just tolerates Stella‘s presence and drives her straight into the arms of evil. We don‘t get to know Stella but all other characters I kind of hated.

📸 Kobe, Japan

In times of famine everyone with a family becomes a guardian and a thief. That‘s what this book shows the reader by setting a story in a near future India, where Ma is trying to get her father and daughter on a plane to the US while Boomba is trying to take care of his family. It‘s a sad and harsh read and it feels awfully plausible.

#ReadTheWorld2025 #33 #India

📸 Awaji Island, Japan

Gabe and Ethan are happily married until Ethan decides to run for Congress as a Republican. In the mean time his sister Kate, a politics journalist, reconnects with Nicole, who she dated in her twenties but who is married with kids now. Their lives collide and unravel. A good read!

Annie dies and leaves four kids, a husband and a best friend devastated. The book follows them in the first year after she dies, each dealing with their own complicated feelings of grief.
Based on this blurb and coming from Anna Quindlen the book could have been great. It was just good.