The year is coming to an end, and looking back at the past two months, it has been surprisingly quiet on this blog. This was mainly due to several waves of illness in our family, which consumed both time and energy. Nevertheless, I did keep reading, of course, but I lacked the calm and focus to write about it. I\u2019d like to make up for that a little now and also give a small preview of my planned reading year 2023.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
In addition to the lack of time, there wasn\u2019t really a book in the past two months that felt worth mentioning. In such cases, it\u2019s often better not to write anything at all\u2014simply because there\u2019s nothing to say. I was particularly disappointed by Brothers of the Wind<\/em> by Tad Williams. Since the next and probably final volume of The Last King of Osten Ard<\/em> has been delayed, he published this novella, and I expected something similar in format to The Burning Man<\/em>. That\u2019s also a thin little book, but one filled with the magic and mystery of the Sithi\u2014the enigmatic, elf-like beings of Osten Ard. Brothers of the Wind<\/em>, however, completely lacked that; the characters were flat and stereotypical, the landscapes barely described, and toward the end it turned into a rushed ride through all the familiar places of Osten Ard\u2014but so loveless and devoid of atmosphere that it left me completely untouched. Still, it\u2019s a book I forgive Tad Williams for, because the first volumes of his new series The Last King of Osten Ard<\/em> had the familiar high quality, and it\u2019s commendable that he wanted to offer his fans something to bridge the delay. And after all, he has to pay his bills too.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n Beyond that, I also read a book by Jane Austen, but that too was rather dull. Austen\u2019s works have always been a safe choice for me\u2014the stories are simply charming, her language pleasantly refined\u2014but the plots do start to feel the same, and I fear I\u2019ve drunk too deeply from that cup. With both of these books, I can tell it\u2019s time to explore entirely new paths again.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n But 2023 also promises interesting and worthwhile literature along my familiar paths. Gentlemen Overboard<\/em> by Herbert Clyde Lewis will be added to the Mare Classics series in March. It already sounds wonderful from the blurb and will surely be another great book\u2014Mare has never missed the mark with its classics. At the same time, and also from Mare, Little Atlas of Lighthouses at the End of the World<\/em> will be published. Since reading the Atlas of Maritime Stories and Legends<\/a>, I\u2019ve been eager again for books of this kind. And \u201clighthouses at the end of the world\u201d\u2014that can only be good; the title alone invites you to dream. I\u2019m also still hoping for the above-mentioned continuation of Tad Williams\u2019 The Last King of Osten Ard<\/em>, though I suspect that will be more of a 2024 thing. Who knows. Besides that, there are already-published books that I\u2019m consciously holding off on buying, as I want to make good use of my stack of unread books first. Love Stories<\/em> by Selma Lagerl\u00f6f was published in October of this year by Nikol Verlag, inexpensive but beautifully bound in linen. And An Unsung Hero: Tom Crean \u2013 Antarctic Survivor<\/em> by Michael Smith has been on my wish list for quite some time. But I\u2019m staying strong and won\u2019t order anything until I\u2019ve finished the books I already have here.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n In the coming year, I also hope for a new translation of Gaito Gazdanov\u2019s work. I believe that J\u00fcrgen Barck, a talented translator who is independently translating Gazdanov\u2019s as-yet-untranslated books and stories, is being very productive and diligent. That would certainly be another great pleasure.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n But I also did something else that I can recommend to every reader of this blog. Over the years, quite a few books have accumulated in my collection\u2014often second choices, books I picked up from book exchange shelves, ones that somehow found their way to me, or ones I bought eagerly but never actually read. Until now, I\u2019ve always had two piles of unread books: one in the shelf with books I definitely want to read, and another on top of the bookshelf\u2014books I might someday, somehow, feel like reading. Neither pile is particularly large; I\u2019m sure other avid readers operate on a completely different scale. While the first pile steadily shrinks, the second has gathered dust on top of the shelf. So I\u2019ve now done a ruthless cleanup and packed all those long-standing books into a box. It\u2019s now in the basement (my first and only book box down there), and the books have a one-year grace period\u2014after that, I\u2019ll get rid of them. What are the chances that I\u2019ll ever feel like reading a book I\u2019ve ignored for years?<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n I also keep reading nonfiction books on specific topics that won\u2019t let me go\u2014on the big questions, but also on things I find myself reflecting on again and again. These books form the foundation of a lifelong search that began in my childhood and runs like a red thread through my life. Only in recent months have I truly realized that it\u2019s a deep curiosity within me that drives me to read all these books\u2014the urge to discover new perspectives. It\u2019s the same curiosity that makes me, and countless others, gaze at the stars at night or listen attentively to a new record. And that\u2019s my outlook for the coming year: I\u2019ll continue to follow this curiosity, feeding it with books that I\u2019m almost certain to enjoy while also exploring new, uncharted literary territory. As always, I\u2019ll report here on any books that prove to be worth reading and noteworthy.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n How about you? How\u2019s your stack of unread books looking? Which books have thrilled you this year? Which ones are you looking forward to next year?<\/strong><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n With that, I wish you a peaceful season and a wonderful new year 2023 filled with many good and worthwhile books\u2014and many wonderful hours of reading.<\/p>\r\n\r\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The year is coming to an end, and looking back at the past two months, it has been surprisingly quiet on this blog. This was mainly due to several waves of illness in our family, which consumed both time and energy. Nevertheless, I did keep reading, of course, but I lacked the calm and focus … <\/p>\n