You Had Me At Hello by Mhairi McFarlane: This had been on my wish list since forever and then I saw it on the shelf at my friend’s place. Unread, imagine that! And she was nice enough to let me read it first. So here goes another one for the POPSUGAR reading challenge, a book from my TBR list. The book now is amazing and I even started reading paperbacks in bed again because I couldn’t get enough it. I had switched to an e-reader a long time ago because there is no trouble when you fall asleep over it. What a glorious chick lit! I think I am in love with the author. She had me at hello as well!
The Passage by Justin Cronin: My first audio book and also part of the Popsugar reading challenge. Conveniently I like listening now to books while at the gym. Makes my workout pass in a flash. But then I noticed that I started listening to it at all times. Like at home while making dinner or just walking five minutes from the metro to my office. Basically every second that was not filled with other things. As long as I could concentrate enough, I used it to listen to The Passage. An expedition goes wrong and brings with it a virus which then destroys the world. But as usual there are survivors and suddenly there is hope too. So all of a sudden I was part of the story and just wanted to get on with it. Can’t wait to start with book 2 because, you guessed it, it’s a trilogy.
Sweet by Tammara Webber: Why do covers have to look absolutely off-putting sometime? So glad I was reading this on my e-reader I would never have left the house with such a book. In the end it says quite a lot though about the book. This was one shameless read and it can be put in the same drawer as my Skam obsession. Young love, a couple of steamy scenes and I ripped through the book in two days. There is a bit of unexpected drama to the book. Not really needed in my opinion. But I am not the writer after all, just the reader. The happy end was cheesy and over the top, still it was worth my time. YA literature always makes me happy.
Die Jüdin von Toledo by Lion Feuchtwanger: In preparation of an upcoming trip to Madrid with a detour to Toledo I figured I needed to catch up on my history. The story of Rahel or “La Fermosa” of Toledo is actually quite well-known. The king Alfonso VIII falls in love with her, keeps her as his mistress for years until he leaves to fight against the “Infidels” in the Spanish reconquista. The moment the king leaves his palace, the queen starts to act. And that means the end for her opponent. I am really not spoiling anything here since this is history chivalry (read up on it if you don’t know anything about it!).
What Feuchtwanger does really well here is painting a picture of a time where chivalry meant everything and had the highest value. But besides these fools who cried for war constantly there are also a handful of wise man who know that a gram of peace means more than a ton of war (liberally translated from Feuchtwangers words). The book feels very up-to-date come to think of it.
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