Anita (FAMeulstee) tries to read some ROOTs

Hi everyone

Some of you may know me, for others I'll introduce myself:
I am Anita Meulstee from Lelystad, the Netherlands, married with Frank and sharing our life with two dogs: Chimay, a smooth Chow Chow and Ari, a Pekingese.

I used to be an avid reader, but an antidepressant influenced my reading ability. For years I could not read much, until I changed to an other antidepressant in 2007. I could read again!
Sadly earlier this year I changed back to the other antidepressant while the other did not work properly anymore, so now I am back to reading 10 pages a day instead of 100 or more...

I have abandoned the public library, too many nice books there I would like to read, but can not read now! So all books I read are from my own shelves...

I have set my goal on one book a month: 12 ROOTs for 2013.

Hi Anita, Welcome back.

A hearty welcome to this challenge. May you enjoy the time over here, we'll be rooting for you :-)

Welcome back, Anita! :)

Hiya, Anita. Found you. :) Best of luck with your reading!

Great to "see" you again, Anita! Hope you have a wonderful 2013, and hope you get some of your reading mojo back!

thanks Connie, Tallulah_Rose, rabbitprincess, Sara and Terri!

I am currently reading De zoon van de woordbouwer, a Dutch awarded childrens/YA book. A childhood favorite that is sadly not translated...

And I wish that everyone will have a fabulous reading year in 2031!!

Welcome, Anita to a bright, shiny new year.

Thank you Velma!

Have your new thread starred for the new year! Good luck with your reading goal. So glad you have not abandoned LT.

thanks Regina
I think it will be a bit easier to keep up with this group ;-)

love the ticker!

thanks Chèli,
I wanted someting else, so I photoshopped one, with a picture of our own shelves ;-)

Happy 2013, Anita my dear friend, and I'm happy you have a thread for me to visit. I hope your reading picks up during the year as a wonderful surprise.

Congratulations on making it to 50 books last year, and much happy reading this year!

dear Richard, happy 2013 to you too!
I am glad you have found me here :-)

I have you starred, Anita, and look forward to keeping up with you and Frank and the dogs this year.

I'm glad I can follow you for another year. I love your holiday card!

Wow--love your ticker. But I can't quite read the titles...

I'm glad that you are back. May your new year be merry and bright!

Anita - Will miss you over in the 75ers this year and I hope you will pay us an occasional visit if you don't feel up to the hurly burly of a thread. Take very good care of yourself and have a wonderful year. btw RD tipped me off where to find you.

Hi Anita. Didn't know that you weren't in your usual spot (and no wonder for it's just totally awash with new threads and everybody frantically posting like crazy!). Anyway, good luck reading books you already own. I probably should be here instead of there for I pretty much just read stuff I already have, but somehow I do not make a lot of headway, which is to be expected as I can't seem to stop buying. Maybe I need a 12 step group. Will be back to check on you now and again. Hope you have a good and healthy year in 2013.

Hi Anita! I wish you many happy hours of reading this year!!!

> 18: thanks Janet, the same to you!
I can read a few titles, but I will try to make the next ticker more readable ;-)

> 19: I won't miss much of you Paul, as I do lurk on your thread(s) once in a while...
Ah Richard dear, he is so nice!

> 20: how nice that you found me Charlotte, my reading ability has vanished, so the books I read for this challenge will probably be all the books I read this year :-(
So I diced to join a less talkative group, as reading threads has become harder too.
A 12 step group, well maybe that would do the trick for you ;-)
Wish you the same for 2013!

> 21: thank you Laura!

Ah, ha, found you. Thinking of you and sending light and love!

thanks Linda, glad to be found!

Hi Anita. Those antidepressants can be terrible, can't they? I was on one that fried my brain for a while, too, so can relate. Good luck with your goal!

I'm with Ivy. So sorry you've got this side effect. Hope the rest of it is good. Got off one of my meds which was causing vertigo, but seem to be adjusting okay :)

I'll be reading mostly books already on my shelves this year as well. It's a worthy goal! :)

BLess you and thanks for the link! oxox

Hi Anita, I'm so glad to see you here. Good luck with your challenge and I'll be dropping by to cheer you on.

You've inspired me to read more of my "forgotten" books (they just get covered up by other books, I think). Best to you.

> 25: Yes Ivy, but they DO work well against depression and that is even worse as not be able to read much.

> 26: hi Susan!
I do feel better, in November my Thyrax was upped again and now it seems that I am finally at the right dose. Even my anxiety gets less! So I am wondering if a part, or even a lot of my mental problems actually come from thyroid problems....

> 27: thanks Judy, I need all the cheers I can get ;-)

> 28: thanks Ren
Since I read less, I buy less books, but at this rate I'll need at least another 50 years to wade through my TBR pile... But I hope someday I'll be able to read at "normal" speed again, then I would need less than 10 years ;-)

Thyroid's are tricky things! So glad you're doing better. And, Ilove that positive note concluding the previous post!! Way to go :)

Glad the meds are helping and at the right level, Anita. Give Frank and Ari and Chimay hugs for me, please!

Hi Anita! Glad to hear that you are doing a little better. *crosses fingers* Hopefully you will be back at full reading speed before many months go by.

Have a good weekend.

> 30: thanks Susan,
it is so strange, I have lived with anxiety and panick attacks for so many years and now it seems to be gone! I feel a little like the Sleeping Beauty, waking after many years...

> 31: hi Roni
hugs given, thanks!
Chimay and Ari are happy, yesterday it snowed and it looks like the snow will stay for a while, they both love cold, dry weather and get so happy when there is snow :-)

> 32: hi Charlotte!!
How nice that you found me here!
I jus finished a book, no speed reading yet, but at least my reading capability has not completely vanished.
I had a good weekend, how are you doing?

book 1: De zoon van de Woordbouwer by Frank Herzen

own, YA, adventure, fantasy, awarded best Youthbook 1970, as far as I know it is not translated.
finished 15 January 2013, 192 pages

Little Word lives with his father, the Wordbuilder, in Concrete City.
One day his father gives him a small box with silver letters and sends him away to discover the world. During his travels the letters reveal their meaning and in the end he finds out that all letters together have a meaning too.

4 1/2 stars

Yay! You finished a book.

So glad to hear you are feeling better.

As for myself - my life is about work and reading. And catering to Willie - my cat and master. His thing for the last 10 months or so has been waking me up at the freaking crack of dawn - 5 AM - which is 4 hours before I have to be at work. He's a trial. Sweet, but quite bossy. Or as his doctor called him - the cat who 'is too mean to die'.

Bet dogs are much, much more considerate.

Hi there, am dropping in to say "may it be permanent" to the thyroid/lessened anxiety connection, and yay for finishing a book, and a general all-around hug for you and your beloveds.

Oh, from one thyroid sufferer to another, I hope that you get to feeling better as quickly as possible! (Though I know it can take AGES to get to that point.) Lovely review!

> 35: hi Charlotte
Ahh, that is very early to wake!
No dogs are not much more considerate, at least Ari is not ;-)

Some days he wakes me, usually around 8, some days he does not. The Chows never did, Chimay is sleeping when I wake, she sometimes even skips the first walk, especially when it is rainy, she hates wet feet!
Ari never misses a walk, you might find some human attention on the way!

> 36: Richard, hug right back at you and one for Stella, love the picture of you two on your thread :-)

> 37: thanks Laura
Two years ago my thyroid problem was discovered, then my TSH was immeasurable (more than 100, should be less than 4...) so it has taken some time. Sometimes I would feel a few months a bit better and then again very tired. But I do hope I am on the right dose now, as upping the dose gives each time some weeks of trouble with terrible mood swings :-(

Just dropping by to say hi and congrats on getting a book finished. I do hope you are definitely on the right dosage now!

Rats! Sorry to hear dogs are not more considerate. Guess i can't use that to shame Willie into better behavior. (Yeah, like that would work!)

>33 FAMeulstee: that's wonderful. Happy for you.

So glad to see you're ahead of your goal for the year! Congrats! xox

De zoon van de Woordbouwer sounds like a good one. I guess I'll have to learn to read Dutch....

#42: Then you can teach us all as well. ;) Anita reads some good YA books that haven't been translated yet.

Anita, I'm glad you're starting to feel better! :) Let's hope it lasts a long while.

And, no, dogs aren't very considerate about letting their human pets sleep. I have one dog who likes to dig on my head to get my attention.

Well, if we, the Dutch, can learn English..... ;-)

Oh, I know. I took German for 3 years in high school, but there really isn't much use for being bilingual in the U.S., so I've never stuck with it. I'll just wait til the translated versions of Anita's reads are released. :)

You can do that, if you have patience in abundance ;-)

I know. It'll be easy to pick up again, except there's nowhere to speak it here in the U.S. Maybe around the Amish, but, well, let's just say I'm not Amish. ;)

#45 If you started to learn German then you are more than half way there - Dutch being roughly half way between English and German linguistically!

I've noticed that. I've seen a few Dutch movies, and they do sound familiar.

> 39: thanks Roni
Still it feels a bit akward, I have to get used to *me* again!

> 40: shaming doesn't work Charlotte, most cats and dogs think shame is a strange human emotion ;-)

> 41: thank you Susan, reading has slowed down a bit, but I am still optimistic I will reach my goal this year.

> 42: I am afraid so Terri... I never understand why some (bad) books are translated and others not.

> 43: hi Sara
At least let's hope it will last long enough that I can get used to me ;-)

> 44: not completely the same Connie, we hear English everywhere and Dutch isn't THAT prevalent in the world ;-)

> 45: that is what I usually do Sara, with English books I want to read.

> 46: patience, that I learned the past 20 years Connie!

> 47: no, I can't picture you in the Amish world Sara, I would defintly not be here :-)

> 48: hi Genny!
Yes, Dutch is, but of course I would argue it is a lot simpeler without the cases (sp?).

> 49: just curious Sara: what Dutch movies???

Hahaha, Anita. You are so right off course. We hear English every day on tv, radio and several other places.

I just don't think that there are many dutch writers that have their books translated, so waiting for the translation of books may take a while.

#50: The Vanishing (though that was many, many years ago; I also saw the American version as well), The Memory of a Killer, Miss Minoes, Everybody's Famous... those are just a few off the top of my head. I'm sure I've seen more on TV and elsewhere, and some that weren't primarily in Dutch.

#50 - Agree with you 100% about shame and cats and dogs. Dogs, however, at least have an expression that looks as if they are terribly, terribly sorry for what they have done. Cats only have a "Yeah? So what." expression for anything they might be guilty of.

Ha! I totally agree with you there. :D

#53-Amen to that!

Saw today a beautiful old library at the Karl May Museum in Radebeul:

That is really lovely, Anita!

Now that is a library!

I wish I could find some of Karl May's books in English. I'm afraid my two semesters of college German wouldn't be of much use to me should I try to read what's available.

Hope you had a good time at the museum, Anita..

Oooh! Lovely :D

Beautiful!

thanks Connie, Charlotte, rabitprincess and Genny
Charlotte I think Stasia found the first three Winnetou-books on... hmmm... what is the name of that site where you can download the tekst of old books that have no copyright anymore, Project Gütenberg??

It was so great to finally visit the Karl May museum!

Years ago, when I was 12 years I think, we went on vacation in (then) West-Germany. At that time there were two Karl May museums, one in East Germany (Radebeul, the one I visited now) and one in West-Germany (Bamberg). We went to Bamberg, but somehow the museum there was closed when we came there and the rest of the vacation there was no time to go there again... It was a BIG disappointemt for me :-(

So now, I finally got the chance to visit Radebeul and the Karl May museum, as a present for my 50th birthday from my dear Frank :-)

I even kept my entrance card:


Nowadays I know a lot more about Karl May, that he never visited the Orient nor Amerca when he wrote his books. Later, when he got rich of his writings, he did some traveling. But that does not matter, he was one of the hero's of my childhood and I still like to read his books!

I will write later about the rest of our vacation, the two times we tried to visit/meet Nathalie (LTmember Deern) that both failed... And the 8 days in the Black Forrest that were great!

But first, today I finished book 2 of my ROOT challenge, a Karl May book:



book 2: De schrik van het Ertsgebergte by Karl May

own, YA, adventure, translated from German original title Das Buschgespenst.
finished 13 February 2013, 256 pages

Hohenthal a little village in Saksen 19th century
Poor weavers and coalminers live in Hohenthal, their wages are very small and most people barely survive.
The village is ruled by the owner of the mine and the owner of the weave factory. But there are other ways of earning money... smuggling can be very profitable! But that part is ruled by the "Wooddevil" and he earns most of the benefits.
One day Ernst Hauser looses his job and the "Wooddevil" tries to make a smuggler of him too, but Ernst refuses and now he is accused to be the head of the smuglers!
But of course help is on the way, Karl May never lets the villans win and they all live happely after ;-)

In all his books Karl May is a moralist, a pacifist, a christian, good and bad are always easy to recognise, and he stands up for the poor and miserable. Not everyone will like the romantic 19th century writer, but I have always appriciated his books.
As this book takes place in Saksen, near Dresden, I took it with me on vacation to read.

4 1/2 stars

Anita, what a wonderful gift from Frank. I'm so happy for you that you finally got to see the museum that you have waited so long to see. Karl May sounds like an author that I would enjoy.

> 63: thank you Regina, it was really great!
Karl May wrote a lot, the 50 books translated into Dutch are only a part of his works, in German there are 86 books! There are a few, as far as I know, translated in English, I hope you find some!

And I have updated my ticker, this time with readable Karl May titles ;-)

Thanks for the info, Anita. I must check that out.

Very nice review, Anita!

Sound like a great trip, Anita! And a nice review as well.

Lovely ticker, Anita!

> 65: I hope you will find some titles Charlotte, and enjoy them!

> 66: thank you Richard dear, I just started my next Karl May: De weg naar Waterloo, German title Der Weg nach Waterloo

> 67: Yes it was a great trip Roni, I am still busy sorting out the photos for my weblog, I will let you know when it is online.

>68 connie53:: Thanks Connie, readable titles on request ;-)

I'll be looking forward to the pictures, then, Anita.

Here it is Roni (and all others who are interested):

weblog Dresden: http://xinfengchowchows.blogspot.nl/2013/01/vacation-2013-part-1-dreden.html

Photos Dresden & Karl May museum

Beautiful pictures! I would be perhaps a little alarmed being received in the reception room--that painting really makes a statement, doesn't it? And I loved the owl.

Lovely to see photos of Dresden. And Karl May is not someone I've come across before. Was he a native of Dresden? I presume that's why they have a museum about him there...

> 72: thanks Roni, May struggled his whole life with good and bad, God and Devil.
The owl was one of my favorites too, together with the other black and white pottery of the Zuni indians.

> 73: hi Genny, the you must have visited Dresden shortly after the fall of the iron curtain. When we were in Kassel at the Documenta IX in 1992, we visited the former East-Germany too, and the differences were huge.
Dresden was much more just "German" now.

Karl May, not heard of Karl May?
Does Winnetou ring a bell?

He was a German writer, born in Ernstthal, Saxen. The Karl May museum (in Radebeul, next to Dresden) is the house he lived in when he got rich and famous.

link to wikipedia artile about Karl May:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karl_May

an article written for the 100th anniversary of Karl Mays death (March 2012)
http://www.spiegel.de/international/germany/marking-the-100th-anniversary-of-ger...

Thanks for those links.

It may be just my personal ignorance, but I suspect that Karl May is not so well known in the English-speaking world. Winnetou does not ring any bells with me, I'm afraid.

I shall go and have a little read up about him. ...

*comes back a bit later...

Well, according to Wikepedia at least, it is not just me:

Outside the German-speaking area he is most popular in the Czech language area, Hungary and the Netherlands. In France, Great Britain and the USA he is nearly unknown.

What an interesting life he led, especially those early years, semi-criminal but not very successful!

Well, 'Winnetou and Old Shatterhand' are well known to the Dutch, who have reached a certain age ;-)
Movies were broadcasted around christmas and we watched endless re-runs!

Just waving hi!

> 75: hi Genny

I know now, Karl May is not WORLDwide known ;-)
But in his books he travels all over the world, that gives a strange perspective for a young fan, as I was when I first read his books...

Well at least now you know a little about my childhood hero!

> 76: yes Connie,
I am a little younger, and it took a long timebefore we had our own TV, but as an avid reader I read the pockets that belonged to my older brother.

> 77: hi Ren!
Good to see you came bye :-)

weblog second part of our vacation:
http://xinfengchowchows.blogspot.nl/2013/02/vacation-2013-part-2-change-of-plans...

At the last day of February I finished my third ROOT:



book 3: De weg naar Waterloo by Karl May

own, YA, adventure, translated from German original title Der Weg nach Waterloo.
finished 28 February 2013, 284 pages

Paris, France, april 1814, Napoleon is send to Elba and German troops are in Paris.
The young German soldier Hugo von Greifenklau saves a beautiful young lady from Russian soldiers and falls in love. Margot Richemont falls in love with him and that ould be the end, but no, Margot has an evil stephbrother who has other plans with his beautiful sister.

The German Field Marshall Blücher and even Napoleon Bonaparte himself become part of the story that is full of adventure and romance...

The book ends in Berlin where Hugo and Margot get married.

Three more books in this series to go :-)

4 stars

That sounds like a fun book, Anita! And what a pity about missing the Italian leg of your vacation. However, I'm glad Ari is better.

I can't find any Karl May in English. The museum in Sante Fe has a big Karl May exhibit, but all the books at UNM are in German. :(

Sorry to have been absent for a while, I catched a nasty cold and am still couching and sniffing, I hope I've had the worst now....

> 82: thanks Roni, yes these are fun Karl May books, I finished the second and reading now the third of this series.

> 83: I am sorry Ren, there should be some translated into English...

I couldn't agree more about the Karl May books - they have been on my wishlist for years and I want to read at least one of them, but will not be able to until somebody does a translation for this ignorant American.

Sorry you've been sick Anita - hope you are completely well very soon, especially that Spring is seriously here. Nothing worse than a Spring cold, unless it is a Summer cold.

book 4: De kluizenaar in de Sahara by Karl May

own, YA, adventure, translated from German original title Das Geheimnis des Marabut.
finished March 11th, 2013, 316 pages

Paris, France, 1848, Gebhard von Greifenklau, the son of Hugo and Margot follows in his fathers footsteps when he falls in love with a French woman.

He is in Paris taking preparations for a journey to Timbuktu, hoping to discover this legendary place. He wil go with his friend Kunz von Eschenrode.

Gebhard marries Ida and his friend Kunz marries her sister Hedwige. Shortly after these marrages they leave for Africa. In the desert they experience many adventures, shoot some lions and a panther, travel on and are hindered, again, by Albin Richemonte, de evil stephbrother from the previous book.

Two more books in this series to go :-)

4 stars

> 85: thanks Charlotte

Spring is still hesitating here... for two weeks (or three now?) we have a nasty ice cold east wind blowing the cold air from Siberia to our place. At night it is still freezing. It was the coldest March since 1964!

For those looking for translated Karl May books:

At project Gutenberg I found Travel Tales in the Promised Land
Nemsi Books Publishing has a lot of translated Karl May books at http://www.nemsi-books.com/PubCompany/

Just what I was looking for, Anita - thank you!

Anita, I'm so sorry you caught a bad cold, and yes, the sneezing and coughing are the worst! I hope you are feeling better now and that Frank and Ari and Chimay are taking good care of you.

It's freezing cold here too... Sorry you've not been well, Anita; I hope you are much better now. Let's hope we get some proper spring sunshine soon.

> 89: you are welcome Charlotte :-)

> 90: thanks Roni, everyone takes good care of me, sadly Frank caught the same bad cold, so he suffers too...
I am finally recovering, still not in good shape, but at least feeling a bit better!

> 91: hi Genny
I hope the good weather started at your place too!
Today we finally had a nice spring day and tomorrow will even be better.

I have read one more Karl May: De spion van Ortry.
And a not ROOT book De Bom a graphic novel from Keiji Nakazawa about Hiroshima... shivering good, uncomprehensable what happend there in 1945. Hope to find the second book in the series soon at the library

I'm glad you are at least starting to recover, Anita.

I really like your picture at the top, Anita! Colorful and giving me a happy feeling.

> 93: thank you Roni,
I am still not back in full shape, but at least no more sniffing and coughing LOL
It is a mean flu this year, takes ages to recover from it.

> 94: thanks Connie, it was fun to make it!

book 5: De spion van Ortry by Karl May
own, YA, adventure, translated from German
finished April 5th, 317 pages, 4 stars



book 6: Titanen vechten het uit by Karl May
own, YA, adventure, translated from German
finished April 14th, 282 pages, 4 1/2 stars

The adventures of the family von Greifenklau go on.
In these two books Richard von Greifenklau, the grandson of Hugo, is the main character. Of course he falls in love with a French girl too ;-)

Napoleon III is preparing to go to war and Richard is send to Ortry to find out what is going on in France.

Meanwhile lost male twins have grown up separate, without knowing their ancestory, they find their parents back. They fall in love with female orphaned twins, but their father is found too.

At the end Hugo von Greifenklau and his old enemy Albin Richemonte fight their final fight.

I haven't been reading much this month...

BUT I managed to post the last parts of our vacation adventures in the Black Forrest on my weblog, in order of time:
1 - http://xinfengchowchows.blogspot.nl/2013/02/vacation-2013-part-31-gutach-in-blac...
2 - http://xinfengchowchows.blogspot.nl/2013/02/vacation-2013-part-32-triberg.html
3 - http://xinfengchowchows.blogspot.nl/2013/02/vacation-2013-part-33-rottweil.html
4 - http://xinfengchowchows.blogspot.nl/2013/02/vacation-2013-part-34-to-austria.htm...
5 - http://xinfengchowchows.blogspot.nl/2013/02/vacation-2013-part-35-walk-in-gutach...
6 - http://xinfengchowchows.blogspot.nl/2013/02/vacation-2013-part-36-titisee-and.ht...

Just in time before our next trip to Germany (May 13th to 17th), so I am busy with that now ;-)

Meanwhile the weather here feels more like March as May, still way to cold, to much rain and not much sunshine.

I love your photos, Anita! :) Thanks for sharing (though that crocodile statue in the water in #6 may give me nightmares).

thanks you Sara for visiting my weblog :-)
Crocodiles are not native here, only chance to see one is in the zoo, so the statue isn't that scary to us ;-)

How are you doing?

Anita

Being from the American South, the crocodile picture made me think of an alligator, and caused no little anxiety! Happy vacation photos are always nice to see.

(I want the golden bear sign-topper.)

Cheers, dear!

#99: Crocodiles aren't native here either, but I've seen one too many scary movies (*ahem* Lake Placid). ;)

Things are kind of blah, but such is life, right? Hope things are going great for you guys! :)

Dear Anita,
I was amazed to see so many books by Karl May on your ticker. I never knew that he had been translated into Dutch so widely, I always thought that he was only known in Germany. I borrowed his books from the public library as a youngster, but mostly those that take place in the American West and the Kara Ben Nemsi novels. My best friend adored the Greifenklau series and highly recommends them. Which ones do you prefer?

Birgit

> 100: hi Richard dear!!
How nice you left a messsage on my thread, yes I think the golden bear sign was lovely too :-)
First photos of our short trip in May are on the weblog, now my phobias are gone we are enjoying more time traveling abroad then ever before.

love & hugs to yu and a little pet under the chin for Stella

> 101: yes Sara sometime life is blah... But we can mak it more exciting by watching scary movies :-)
Here all is right, except for reading, but we can't have them all, can we?

> 102: Hi Birgit, welcome at my thread!
50 Karl May books were translated in Dutch in the 50s and 60s, my oldest brother had most of the first 25 books (Winnetou & Old Shatterhand adventures in the Wild West, Kara Ben Nemsi & Hadji Halef Omar adventures in the East and two books in South America) and I collected the rest of them. In my youth I was a big fan!

The four Greifenklau books above belong together as it is one story (serie Die Liebe des Ulanen, I think Gebhard von Greifenklau appears in some other books, but not sure which ones. If this Karl May reading keeps going on I will find out ;-)

Good to meet an other Karl May lover here!

Anita

Yes, I checked out immediately if the Die Liebe des Ulanen is still available in print. No luck so far, my library doesn't stock it either, and I'm not willing to spend antique bookstore prices. But I'm looking forward to my holiday where there is always a Lions Club book sale with amazing treasures to be found.

> 104: Birgit, you should be able to get this book 2nd hand for not too much, there must have been sold thousends of them!
Good luck with your search :-)

An other month has flown away without significant reading :-(
Well, I am still on track for my goal this year, I hope to report better reading news next month!

Yes, I'm hoping for a secondhand buy, but somehow people seem unwilling to part with their copies or else they are in tatters from too much re-reading...
Good luck for your challenge!

Sorry to have not popped in sooner--poor LibraryThing has been paying the price for my busy summer and start of school.
But I'm glad to see that your reading has picked up for you! Congratulations!

Just stopping by to say hi and wish you and Frank and Chimay and Ari well!

thanks Birgit, Terri and Roni for leaving a note on my thread.
Except the trouble with reading all is well here.

Chimay is getting a bit older, she will be 9 in October, and it starts to show... Ari is as always a delight to have around.

And I just finished my next Karl May book: De admiraal van de sultan, translated from German, original title Zepter und Hammer. My review will follow soonish.

Oh, I'm looking forward to your review, I am eyeballing that book as a possible ROOT myself.

book 7: De admiraal van de sultan by Karl May
own, YA, adventure, translated from German, original title Zepter und Hammer
finished July 16th, 379 pages, 4 stars

Most Karl May books take place in real countries, but in this one and the next the European adventures take place in Norland and Süderland, two fictional German states.

The story starts in Norland, where the Boïnjaren (gypsies) have their camp on the property of Count von Hohenegg, who has an eye on Lilga, the beautiful daughter of the leader. Lilga is promised to Katombo, who was found as a baby and lived his whole life with the Boïnjaren.
The Count takes Katombo down and puts him on a ship, he manages to free himself in Egypt where he starts a carrier as sailor. Katombo climbs to the rank of Noerwan Pasja, in sevice for Turkey.
But Noerwan Pasja is betrayed and falls deep, his family killed and he saves himself and his daughter by becoming a pirate. As pirate he attackes the ships of Count von Hohenegg, his archenemy...

Meanwhile in Norland a lot goes wrong, the Duke is mislead by the Count of Hohenegg, who tries to take over the country.

But there is a very happy ending :-)

4 stars



book 8: De schat van de maharadja by Karl May
own, YA, adventure, translated from German, original title Die Juweleninsel
finished July 23th, 286 pages, 4 stars

In Norland and Süderland all is well, except that the son of Count von Hohenegg, called the "mad count" is trying to exceed his fathers deeds.
Meanwhile Arthur von Falkenau, who we met in the previous book, is sailing in the Indian ocean and picks up two sailors. One of them is the evil Natter who has the journal of Hugo von Gollwitz.
Hugo went to India, befriended the Marahadja of Audh, and went down with him when the English conquered Audh. Hugo fled with Rabbadah, the sister of the Marahadja and a big treasure. They ended on a small island and lived there for years. After Rabbadahs death Hugo tries to escape from the island, but dies on sea. The journal reveals the location of the island and the treasure.

Both Natter and Fred von Gollwitz go after the treasure and again we have a happy ending.

4 stars

Anita, those two stories sound like quite the adventures! Glad to see that you are getting to read.

> 112: hi Regina
Yes they were nice reads. I started the first one in MAY, took ages to read it although the story was good, I had a very hard time reading. But the second one went better, I finished it in a week.

I'm glad that it got easier for you to read as time went on. Hope you get some more good reading in this summer.

Those two books sound like a lot of fun, but my library only has 4 Karl May books and those aren't them, Anita.

Give the dogs and Frank a hug for me, and then have Frank give you one back, also for me!

> 114: I hope so too Regina ;-)

> 115: And what titles does you library have, Roni?

Hugs given and gotten, here a picture of Chimay & Ari sleeping:

Great picture!

Winnetou, The Secret Brotherhood, The Black Persian, and The Evil Saint in English. What would you recommend?

They have Ich: Karl Mays Leben und Werk and Das abenteuerliche Karl Mays and Vom Wunsch, Indianer zu werden: wie Franz Kafka Karl May traf und trotzdem nich in Amerika landete, all about the author, but I don't think my German is up to it.

Great picture of your beautiful dogs!

thanks Roni and Regina, it is a great pleasure to share my life with these two :-)

Roni: Winnetou is the most known figure of Karl May, the noble Apache chief, bloodbrother of Old Statterhand (the German in the Wild West = Karl May). This is probably (a part of) the first book where Winnetou and Old Shatterhand first meet.
recommended

The Secret Brotherhood, The Evil Saint and The Black Persian are adventures of Kara Ben Nemsi (the German in the Orient = Karl May) and his loyal friend Hadji Halef Omar. These books are about their adventures in the Balkan.
I read The Evil Saint and The Black Persian in 2010, my thoughts about these books
recommended

And Ich: Karl Mays Leben und Werk, well I speak and read a little German, but although very interesting and tempting, I am not able enough to read through that one ;-)

#116: :D Love the pic!

> 120: thank you Sara, how are you doing?

You're welcome. :) Things are ok. Life's always blah, but other than that, not too bad. Could be better if I won the Lotto. ;) How's it going for you?

> 122: LOL!
I could say the same, including that winning the Lottery would be nice :-)

book 9: De kinderen van het Achtste Woud by Els Pelgrom
own, YA, Awarded (Golden Pencil), WW II, 1944/1945, Arnhem (the Netherlands), translated in English & German, English title The Winter When Time was Frozen
finished August 4th, 204 pages, 5 stars

September 1944, after the Battle of Arnhem Noortje and her father hve to leave their home in Anhem as the Germans evacuate all citizens from the city in case the Allied Forses will strike again.
They wander through the woods of the Veluwe and end up at farm, where besides the farmer and hiswife, some others have found refugee.

The book tells the story of Noortje and the happeings around the farm until the liberation of the Netherlands.

As the story is told from a girls point of view, she can't comprehend all horrors of the war, besides, she stays in a fairly safe area for this time of the war.
Beautiful written & excellent illustrations by Peter van Straten.

I will update my ticker tomorrow ;-)

I'm going to have to look for that one. Sounds good!

> 125: Ihope you find it Regina!

Updated my ticker & the group tickers.

book 10: Glijvlucht by Anne-Gine Goemans
own, YA, Awarded (Dioraphte Jongerenliteratuur Prijs), Haarlemmermeer (the Netherlands), Schiphol, geese, aircrashes
finished September 4th, 409 pages, 4 1/2 stars

Gieles lives next to Schiphol, the main airport. Most neighbors are gone, bought out by the airport, but a few refuse to leave althoug the noise pollution is nearly unbearable.
His father works at the airport, his job is to chase away birds, as birds and airplanes don't go together. His mother is in Somalia to help refugees. Gieles misses his mom very much, so he has a plan with his geese: when his mom returns he will let them fly near the plane and call them back, he will be a hero and his mom will stay home forever....

Of course everything goes not as planned and meanwhile we meet some other neighbors and learn about the time the Haarlemmermeer was impoldered (19th century).

Clever written.
The book is filled lifelike people and I got some history lessons :-)
No full 5 star rating because of some disturbing, violent scenes in Somalia, they fit well in the book, but I had a hard time digesting.

Not translated yet, but the rights have been sold to some countries.

4 1/2 stars

Good to see you are getting through some books, Anita. Is it hot there, or is fall starting?

> 128: thanks Roni,
it ain't easy but at least I keep reading little bits ;-)

Fall should start, but today it was hot, tomorrow again :-(
But the forcast is cooling down in a few days.

I'm not a big fan of hot weather either. I'll try and send some our rainy weather your way. :)

>130 saraslibrary: Well, the rain arrived in the Netherlands, thank you Sara!

You are doing great, Anita

LOL! Anytime. ;)

> 130: Yes Sara, you did it!!
Thank you, also on behalf of my garden ;-)

> 131: thank you Connie, I am glad I get some reading done.

> 132: Next time I know where to ask :-D

Yes, I'm officially the rain dealer. ;) I'm glad you guys got your rain. Unfortunately, we're getting hit with some hot weather in return (80-90 ºF = 26-32 ºC). Oh well, such is Mother Nature. :)

book 11: De Roos en het Zwijn by Anne Provoost
own, YA, Awarded (Gouden Zoen), Atwerp, Middle ages, retelling of The Beauty and the Beast
finished November 5th, 111 pages, 3 stars

Retelling of The Beauty and the Beast in fairytale language.
I am not sure if I did not like the book much, or that my reading ability realy is lost at the moment. I may give it an other chance whenever I can REALY read again...

dear LT friends

At the moment I can't read at all, I won't make it to the 12th book, the last for the ROOT challenge... sorry.

As long as this reading dip continues, I won't be at LibrayThing much. I can be found at FaceBook (Anita Meulstee) where I mostly play games like FarmVille 2 and CandyCrush ;-)

Love you all, and see you again someday....

Anita

How sad, Anita. Hope you will return someday.

Gelukkig Kerstfeest en een goed 2014!

thank you Connie

Whenever these psych meds stop working I will go back on the one that allows me to read ;-) I don't know when that will be. The last time it was nearly seven years...

Fijne feestdagen ook voor jou !

Sorry to hear that, Anita. Merry Christmas to you and Frank and the dogs!

Thanks Roni

On the other hand I am doing very well at the moment, slowly exploring my newly found freedom, as my phobias are really gone :-)
And at least now I know there will be a time I will be able to read again. First time I thought I would NEVER read again...

We had a nice Christmas together with Guido, a dear friend and his smooth Chow Chow Endo (a son of Chimay).

Whish you all the best for 2014!!
I won't be around much here, but can always be reached through my profile.

Meanwhile I waiste my time at Facebook instead of LibraryThing, playing silly games.

Anita

I'm glad to hear you have your good days, Anita! :) And I'm glad Christmas and everything went well. Too bad we won't see you much on LT, but I wish you the best. :)

Thanks Sara

For 2014 I rejoined the 75 group, my thread is here