What a dream-like book about the importance of dreams and a good night's sleep! Very moving once it comes to the dreamers' real life stories. The one about pet dreams might have been my favourite. Heart-warming, original and featuring an excited but adorably clueless MC who matches the reader's speed and wonder. And there's a second one coming!🤩

Also pictured: Kimchi fried rice with cheese topping 🍜

#foodandlit
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I already emersed myself into Korean literature last year and then some more, so this is my non-feasible reading stack for #foodandlit South Korea😅🇰🇷

My summary for #foodandlit New Zealand 🇳🇿 - interesting and sometimes surprising insights into a country on the other side of the world. I liked having an American and a German perspective, they made for a good mix commenting on remarkable, funny and sad aspects of the country's culture , history and customs.

As I did not attempt to actually make a pavlova, so I had some extra kiwis this month.🥝🥝🥝

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Munching on some Ghanaian chocolate I finished part two of this month's #foodandlit adventure🇬🇭🍫

I enjoyed the drama, the elaborate description of food and culture and some realistic problems with achieving a healthy work-life-balance.

Faye, the MC, has grown a lot in a way that felt natural and not too far fetched.
Some descriptions may be a bit too detailed but this style gives it a very close-to-life vibe

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I feel like I actually went on a trip to Ghana! 🇬🇭
The story follows Faye, who was brought up in England and has little connection to her native Ghana. When she finally travels there, the book depicts all the adventures she finds there, no event is just skipped or mentioned in passing. You are there and I did enjoy that a lot. Also very refreshing, down-to-earth romance without any artificial drama.⬇️
#foodandlit
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And a lovely cinnamon roll to enjoy #foodandlit Sweden🇸🇪 😍
Some Nordic fairy tales complete the experience☺️

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That was a fun ride through South Africa, Sweden and some places in between😂 I think the king might have been my favourite character.
Lots of laugh-out-loud moments and wise comments on life, culture and international cooperation.
And with this, 12/12 I proudly finished the #foodandlit challenge for 2023 with Sweden 🇸🇪 🥳
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Part 2 of my shelf project🤩

I work from home and this is directly next to my desk and sparks a lot of joy during long meetings🥰

Behold, my all new Japanese literature shelf😍🌸🇯🇵
I assembled the booknook all by myself (my first one!)
Sparking so much joy😍
I have two more booknooks and more Japanese books, so there is a vision for the whole shelf (3 levels)🤭

This short novel made me think about so many different things: living with nature vs. controlling it, how even the kindest people can be irrational due to cultural rules and customs, how reading can offer an escape in the most unlikely places, how to make the best of the hand you were dealt...

Will spend some more time contemplating 🤔

#foodandlit
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I absolutely loved this one! I was looking for something light and romantic and got far more than I expected!
Beautiful story about found family and how the world can always change, even if it is little by little.

I did not see the major plot twist coming😄
🧙‍♀️ 🪄 🧹 ❤️

A perfect chaos with magic, aliens and a lots of creatures from the sea ?
It's a different setting and spin on the first contact story, focusing less on the aliens but more on the variety of people's reactions.
Kudos for actually using the "take me to your leader" phrase without being ridiculous.

#foodandlit
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I ended up liking this romcom/culture clash story. The Nigerian-Canadian MC is conflicted about her cultural identity in the way that comes with immigration, the inevitable generational conflict with her mother and a life that does not go according to plan.
I like the way she grows in this story and the happy end makes you feel all warm and cozy.
Also good introduction to some Nigerian food and traditions.
#foodandlit
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The story did not capture me too much, this is not due to the horrible incidents described and the tough topic. I feel that the topic got the prize nomination (a sit is so often the case) and not necessarily the quality of presentation.
Long-winded descriptions that are hard to follow in a stream of consciousness narration didn't work for me. Some events/parts seemed to only exist to make the story even bleaker, they felt unnecessary and random.

This story captured me from the very beginning, moved me to tears several times and left me with lots to think about. The characters are vivid and following them through their whole life spans was quite the experience.

There were rumours it might be nominated for the Booker, which it wasn't. I read 2 of the actual nominations and none of them come close 🤔

Highly recommended, 4,5 🌟

This was certainly strange, weird and terrifying, as one gets the extremely uncomfortable realisation that the world in the book is not at all far off from our own.

The repetition of certain scenarios and key phrases worked surprisingly well for me, I had to put the book down several times to think about the conclusion of each chapter.

A bit late but originally a pick for #foodandlit China 🇨🇳 😅😂

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SOOO MUCH FUN!
An epic quest for an illusive cure to save the children of Ku-fu which inlcudes ghosts, magic, trickery, romance, fantastic beasts and quite a bit of wine ?

My cheeky second pick for #foodandlit China, as this book is a "Novel of an ancient China that never was"
It's of course based on Chinese mythology, but there is no need to know any of it to enjoy the story (you'll feel clever if you do though ;))

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I know it's a classic, but I found it hard to follow and remember who is who and which husband it was again.
BUT it captures some of the universal truths about mothers and daughters in the context of immigration. The relationship is different due to language, cultural influences and overall setting.
For that, it's a pick!
#foodandlit
@Catsandbooks @Texreader

Haunting and the story pulls you in.. I finished it in 2 or 3 days. I get that the author wanted to show all sorts of motherly sacrifices but it felt a bit much to me, the mother being almost a saint and everyone else being selfish to the extent of gross negligence.

I am currently travelling through Korea, the pic shows the Starlight Library in Seoul.
(The bookshops here look just as great, almost tragic that I can't read anything)😄

Another "book-matching-outfit-incident"?

Interesting story in an unfamiliar setting with a deep exploration of marriage and society. It's hard to review without spoilering, but I enjoyed particularly that all characters were nuanced, flawed and quite realistic.
Not sure about the Booker nomination, it's a decent read, but not outstanding or something I feel the need to recommend to people.

#booker13

Costa Rican Gallo Pinto for #foodandlit!
I got the Salsa Lizano at the South American shop and it worked well for a first try😊
Yummy!

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This is a highly recommended collection of Costa Rican folklore, beautifully written with a humorous tone and obvious love for the country and its culture.

There is sure a lot of throwing things and people into volcanoes going on here🌋😅
I especially liked the story about the Tapir goddess ⛰️

#foodandlit
@Catsandbooks @Texreader

I feel like I need an "ending explained" video. So many things were left unresolved. There is some beautiful writing, but the overall story is a bit of a mess.
It reads like a draft with half of the story still to write.

What I liked though, was the detailed portrait of a scientist striving for the frontiers of science and our planet. It requires a special mindset and determination that comes with a price to pay.

#booker23

Everything I love in Japanese literature is in this book!
It's going to be a favourite on the shelf, the stories are inspirational, but not unrealistic, people of all ages and in different situations struggle with life's challenges and find answers through a very wise librarian. The stories are loosely linked in a way that makes sense and has its own meaning. The book includes lovely illustrations and I'm happy to have bought my own copy🥰🌸

Oh, that was fun, those were some nasty dinosaurs 🦖 I see how this is a classic, I really liked the mathematician and his predictions, his criticism of modern society, ethics and also how he makes everyone consider the responsibility for their actions, even the palaeontologists.
Absorbing, couldn't stop listening!
(I never watched the movies, but will watch at least the first one now😃)

#foodandlit Costa Rica 🇨🇷
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"Journey by Moonlight": ?????
The protagonist is lost because the common expectations for an adult don't work for him and it's questioned whether they actually work for anyone. Many options of escape are shown, all have their downsides, but somehow everyone has to deal with life (and death) as good as they can.

Got some yummy pastries from the Hungarian bakery, note the paprika on the napkin.?

#foodandlit
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There were so many feelings in this one. And because of that, some logic and common sense got a bit lost. I agree with most of it, but not as absolute as depicted by the author.
It's s a mostly justified rant on how German school reading is chosen from a very questionable pool of outdated literature (I always felt the modern choices my teachers made were even worse, tbh😅) and needs a new canon. I was hoping for more than the school context here.

Just a blurb about how much I love the #foodandlit challenge. Every month my horizon expands to more of the world's literature, history, culture and of course various delicacies🥰

This book is another example, I don't think I would have found it otherwise. It feels very modern for a product of the 30s.
It's also quite refreshing to read from and less about this decade, without any artificial foreshadowing of the war.
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Major book trauma😭
I binged the Reckless audiobooks and I sort of thought it's 4 books and a complete series. Book 4 ends on a massive cliffhanger and there is no estimated release date for book 5 or even a confirmation that it will exist🙈 ok, it probably will, it's all set up for a wrap up book.
I will never learn to check more thoroughly before starting a series😅

Unrelated picture of a nice rainbow I saw yesterday😄

Potato-veggie-gulash on a very rainy Sunday for #foodandlit #Hungary

Haven't made that in a while, should do it more often🥘👩🏼‍🍳

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Very funny culture-clash story about life and work in Budapest. The author uses a very colloquial style to describe her adventures during her time in Hungary. Her East-German background makes her observations especially entertaining, insightful and -in many cases- hilarious.
After reading this I want to go to Budapest asap, sit in coffee houses and eat some of the fabulous cakes she mentioned.

#foodandlit
🇭🇺
@Catsandbooks @Texreader

Aaaand I binged part two of this series as well😅
Cornelia Funke did not disappoint in the sequel, might have even liked it better than part one.
There are two more to go which messes completely with my current reading schedule😂

I sort of binged it, the reading is brilliant, well arranged with some music. Cool dark twist on familiar German fairy tales. I liked how technological advancement trickled from our world into the magic world behind the mirror, making it fantastically mismatched and creating a rather unusual connection between the two. I haven't seen it done like that before!
💎👑🧚🏼‍♀️🥀🦊

I am a little late (who's counting? 😋), but I finally made Australian Anzac cookies for #foodandlit Australia🇦🇺

Very happy with the results, they're delicious! Now I can switch to all things Hungarian while munching on these😃

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Very cool collection of short stories, loosely built on myths and legends from around the world, making the women into modern heroines in the best possible way. I enjoyed a story every now and then since January and will certainly come back to them at a later time.

A classic Japanese story, calm, emotional and lovely 🌸
One wants to move to the described neighbourhood immediately.

So, I made it through this. Barely. How is this about sisterhood when the women are terrible to each other most of the time? Full of stereotypes, bad writing and generalisations.
Nuance and subtlety never stood a chance here 😅

Unpopular opinion: I am hating it so far.🙈
The characters are all behaving like immature teenagers and I am getting really fed up with stories that seem to feel the need to make all men monsters. I realise this is an attempt at dark humour, but it's not working and the laissez-faire attitude to murder is getting out of hand in this one.
Also there is addressing social issues and there is making a culture all about them.
And there is 7h to go...🙄

Not my favourite in the series, there were too many side stories. Still a solid whodunit for #foodandlit Australia, with some background on the Chinese Australian community.
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The shelf clean up is moving forward...with another French book:
Cute, absurd and hopeful this is a story about found family in difficult circumstances. I liked the clear message that whatever life throws at you, it always goes on and most likely, you'll be happy again someday - with a little help from your friends and pets. 🐱🐶🐣

As part of my shelf clean up project I decided to systematically go through books that are obvious one-off reads.

In stage 1 I focus on the German ones, as the reading speed tends to be significantly higher🤓

The tagged book has been binged in a day and was quite cute, awesome material for a romcom movie, probably starring Amy Adams and Jude Law😂
I am surprised that it doesn't exist yet!

Phryne Fisher never disappoints, I liked that this one gives room to her shortcomings and weaknesses as well as her trademark skills.

Most of the plot is set in a travelling circus, so there was little on Australian culture, for the next adventure she's back in Melbourne. The two mysteries are my picks for #foodandlit

(The best part being, that they were already on my shelf ;)

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Very well-written and I couldn't stop listening.
More balanced than Babel, but still misses a major point: Cultures mix all the time, they exist together and in contrast to each other and most importantly enrich each other. There is only focus on taking away, but never about sharing or giving.
As the plot revolves about a 'lost story', I couldn't help feeling that it might be more important it is told at all (obviously without plagiarism ;))

So I fished this one out for #foodandlit Australia and this little treasure fell out of the book🤩

I sort of liked it and it addresses several social issues well...it's just...I am a bit bored by books that portray all men as villains. It makes me feel sad for the authors who see the necessity to present things that way.
Other than that, the book is well researched and offers haunting details about how women's lives can be impacted by impossible standards and expectations.
The audiobook is a bit hard to follow, so probably better in print.

Interesting historical setting with a murder mystery on the side, though I somehow didn't warm to any of the characters. I learned about Paraguay 's history, so I won't complain😅

#foodandlit
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My fiction pick for #foodandlit 🇹🇭 this month...there is a common parent-child relationship theme in all of them. They offer a sad look at some of Thailand's most prominent social issues, well-written and touching.
I would have preferred a more balanced view, it's important not to gloss over things, but I'm sure there are happy stories worth telling, too.

⭐️⭐️⭐️

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Such a disappointing read...I wanted to learn about the country and its people...but there is literally nothing on early history or nation building or actually anything much on culture (history starts 1930🙄). Everything is portrayed with a negative view (Buddhist Monasteries -> corruption and discrimination, national holiday --> public disturbance and excess drinking, etc.).
That's a big fail on #foodandlit this month
@Texreader @Catsandbooks

My easy take on Thai Green Curry when there's not much left in the house but there is green paste and some veggies. Turned out alright!

The book has a very specific take on telling Thailand's history. Halfway through I am still stuck with more recent history that of course makes limited sense to me as the author chose to start with that without any general introduction to the country...

#foodandlit 🇹🇭
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