Tell Us About ... Birthdays

Time again for the Global Writing Challenge on the second Thursday of the month.
My posts will go live a little early (to avoid collision with the silent films), so if the posts of the others are not live yet, please check back later.
The current membership consists of Deb’s World, Suzy Turner, Within a World of My Own, Once Upon a Time Happily Ever After, Marsha in the Middle, Coffee and Cocktails at the Casa, and me. It's fun to learn how differently everyone interprets a topic.

You can play along and link up with us!
If that's too short notice for you, maybe next time? Here are the prompts for the coming months:
November - Superstition
December - Why do you blog?

The prompt for today was "Birthdays", chosen by Amy.
It sounds like an easy one, doesn't it?
Not so easy for me, though. You see, birthdays just aren't a big thing for me personally and haven't been for many years.

Oh, I would lie if I said I didn't like surprises and presents or a call from family or a good friend, but I also like those all year round, and as a matter of fact, it's really nice if you haven't expected it, isn't it?

I'm also not the kind of person who makes a fuss about "round birthdays" as we call them in Germany (30th, 40th, etc.) or freaks out about them. For example, one of my friends used to say - I don't know if that was a quote or not - that the best ten years in the life of a woman are those between 29 and 30. I'm not like that.

I think the only birthday I was slightly excited about was the 18th, but even that I only "celebrated" by going to the pub where I met some friends (it really was just another evening at the pub).
I don't give parties and I haven't been to a big birthday (or other) party in decades because I don't deal well with groups larger than, say, six people. If I went, I would be the person in the corner with the cat 😉 
I always took off work on my birthday, by the way, even if there wasn't anything planned. Something the ex and I did was just drive around a bit, take in what our region's got to offer and maybe stop somewhere spontaneously for a bite to eat.

Blautopf

Next I thought about telling you some facts around birthdays. Who invented the party with cake, who thought of putting candles on the cake, things like that, but the pages I looked at didn't necessarily agree, so that was out, too.
I'm afraid the best I can offer you are random birthday memories.

When I was a child, birthdays and other special occasions usually meant buttercream cake, a rich and heavy cake and the highlight was always the number for the birthday being piped on the cake, at least for me.
German buttercream is different from American buttercream, by the way. A piece of such a cake could go a long way.
I can't even say for sure when the last time was that I had a buttercream cake like the birthday cakes, but I seem to remember I ate some "Frankfurter Kranz" (Frankfurt Crown Cake) a few years ago.

The mother of a school friend of mine
always made buttercream filled
"Frankfurter Kranz" for her birthdays.
This one is missing the glacé cherry
decoration on top symbolizing the
rubies on the "crown".
(Public domain picture via Wikipedia)

I was lucky to have birthday in summer, so we could just play outside. Once I invited a boy from school, but while we others ran around - dressing up in old lace curtains inspired by old movies - and had fun, he stayed inside reading "Bessy" comics which I thought was terribly boring of him. Maybe he didn't have comics at home.
If you wonder, "Bessy" was a long-running Belgian Wild West comic series about young Andy Cayoon and his female collie Bessy. You can imagine which TV show inspired it.

Fast forward to my only big party. I had just started dialysis five days before and the ex thought it would cheer me up to celebrate potluck style at our local zoo (where we had already volunteered for a few years). It was a nice idea from someone who has never been a fan of large groups, either, and of course it was nice to have friends there, but because I didn't feel very well, it was also rather exhausting. The food was good, though 😉

Another birthday I remember was the time when a friend invited me to go to Baden-Baden, a famous spa resort, with her for the day.
We strolled around, admired the beautiful old buildings, had something to eat, and imagined how it was in the 19th century (my first thought were Regency dresses of course), a heyday of the resort.

Trinkhalle Baden-Baden (pumphouse and main building of the spa complex).
picture by Gerd Eichmann, CC BY-SA 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons

It was incredibly hot for a June day, though, and in order to take a break from the heat, my friend suggested to visit the casino which is part of the Kurhaus, not to gamble, but to have a look around (and enjoy the A/C!).

1. The "Kurhaus", the casino is in the wing on the right.
Picture by Bäderstadt, CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons
2. Salon Pompadour
Picture by A.Savin, CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons

When we went to pay the entrance fee and showed our IDs, the receptionist suddenly burst out "Happy Birthday" which led to strange people in the queue chiming in. Just the kind of attention I love! Not.
Luckily, it was still very early and the queue wasn't too long (there wasn't much gambling going on yet either which meant we could look around without disturbing people).
Anyhow, I got in for free and also got a voucher for a glass of prosecco which we enjoyed at the long bar (obviously my friend had to pay for hers, but she said it was worth it to see my allergic reaction to mine - red head!).

Not my birthday cake full of candles, but a great view from below
at one of the chandeliers in the Kurhaus (Weinbrenner-Saal)
Picture by 3268zauber, CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons

This was just a glimpse at a few of my birthday memories.
I could have told you that birthdays give me an occasion for self-reflection and whatnot, but it would simply not be true because mostly my birthdays are just - well, days.
I'm sure the others will have more to tell.

Let's see what it will be.

Amy loves celebrating birthdays of family and friends and wants to design her own perfect day! 

Suzy writes about the joys and challenges of having a Boxing Day birthday.

Debbie seems to be attending a lot of birthday parties lately!

Sally considers birthdays and unbirthdays from the perspective of a December girl.

As Marsha contemplates a milestone birthday, she writes about memorable past birthdays as well as her plans for the next year.

Leslie is sharing the birth-days of the 2 babies that made her mommy.

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter

Double, double, toil and trouble ...

... Fire, burn; and cauldron, bubble."

It's time for some Halloween jewelry, don't you think? And who better to channel than Shakespeare's witches? Or rather one of them. After I had to ditch the plan with the spiders, that is, because some enamel popped off one of them from hardly touching it (which made me sad, but I have something else in mind for those now).

It started with some matte orange beads I found in my drawer and black is of course a staple color.
I'm still trying out different 3D shapes and the long oval seemed to be the best choice in combination with the black spiders whose legs stick out on both sides. When they were out of the picture, though, I had to look for something else. I had hoped to find some of Nitta's (from Corvus Ceramics) pumpkins like the one I had used for one of my wire crochet baskets here.
I'm so sure I still have some, but they are probably in a safe place ...

Actually, I think a little witch hid them from my sight.
The witch had been in my stash since ... can you believe it ... January 2012. That's quite embarrassing and it's no wonder she wanted out of that drawer badly. I heard her curse at me from the drawer more than once and it has something unsettling to hear that, especially in the dark of night.
How much more perfect could she have been for this project?

I love her blue hair, the cheeks,
her nose and chin, even the wart!
I'm convinced she's not as mean as
she's trying to make you believe.

Sometimes things come to those who can wait and there we are now with a pair of mismatched earrings. You wouldn't separate a witch from her bubbling cauldron, would you?

These whimsical lampwork beads were made by my friend Laney from Izzybeads who unfortunately had to give up playing with glass, so this is an extra special pair for me.

Weekend Traffic Jam - Week 176

Welcome to the Weekend Traffic Jam Reboot!
My posts for the link up will go live on Thursdays at 9:30 p.m. EDT or, if you live in the future like I do, on Fridays at 3:30 a.m. CE(S)T.

Welcome also to the Cat's Wire Photo Studio where we - of course Gundel is my supervisor which she likes better than getting a camera shoved in her own face all the time - take pictures of whatever you can think of, family photos included!
This time we had Sonny and her grandfather as guests. Being around 100 years old, he had a lot of stories for us (like the great Moth Attack that he luckily survived)!

***

And now my contribution to Anne's and Olivia's "Friday Book Snippets" where you share a quote - a sentence or short paragraph - from the beginning of a book you read at the moment and one from page 56 (or another).

Today, mine are from the 1933 book "Four Days' Wonder" by A. A. Milne.

Beginning: "When, on a fine morning not so long ago, Jenny Windell let herself in with her latch-key at Auburn Lodge, and, humming dreamily to herself, drifted upstairs to the drawing-room, she was surprised to see the body of her Aunt Jane lying on a rug by the open door. It had been known for years, of course, that Aunt Jane would come to a bad end. Not only was her black hair cropped short like a boy's, but she smoked cigarettes out of a long red holder, and knew the Sitwells. Moreover, she acted on Sundays in plays which either meant nothing at all, which was silly, or meant what you thought they did, which was hardly possible. And it was said that she - but of course that wasn't true. After all, her father had served his King in India and the Windells had always been gentlefolk."

Page 56: "At 1.15 Miss Fairbrother joined the family for luncheon, thus enabling Mr. Fenton to pay her slightly less, and Miss Fairbrother to get an insight into the duties of a nursery governess, should she ever wish to become one." (She's Mr. Fenton's secretary.)

Orphaned Jenny spends her life daydreaming. That's how she inadvertently walks into her old home, now let to a respectable couple, where she finds the body of her Aunt Jane whom she hadn't seen for eight years.

***

Back to the Weekend Traffic Jam.
As part of the reboot, we will be featuring a different blog every week.
How about stopping by and saying hello? Let them know we sent you.

This week our spotlight is on The Marmelade Gypsy.

Jeanie from The Marmelade Gypsy says: "Welcome to The Marmelade Gypsy, where I live my online life, sharing about all things creative, travel, art, books, food, wine, and the people, places, and animals I love.
This blog was named for the original Marmelade Gypsy, my big orange boy, Gypsy Rose. ...
Should you ask me about my passions, I'll tell you friends and family are first, followed by times at the lake, good books, cooking, genealogy, writing, reading (especially mysteries and memoirs), film and theatre and making art! And, near the top of the list would be travel, with favorite spots that include Paris, England, France, Holland, Canada and New England.
I live with the guiding principles of joy, compassion, fun, friendship, family, love, creativity and happiness. I love sharing my art, my family history, my world and equally enjoy hearing about yours." 

Marsha from Marsha in the Middle started blogging in 2021 as an exercise in increasing her neuroplasticity. Oh, who are we kidding? Marsha started blogging because she loves clothes, and she loves to talk or, in this case, write!

Melynda from Scratch Made Food! & DIY Homemade Household - The name says it all, we homestead in East Texas, with three generations sharing this land. I cook and bake from scratch, between gardening and running after the chickens, and knitting!

Lisa from Boondock Ramblings shares about the fiction she writes and reads, her faith, homeschooling, photography and more.

Cat from Cat's Wire has what she calls a jumping spider brain. She has many interests and will blog about whatever catches her attention - crafts, books, old movies, collectibles or random things.

Rena from Fine Whatever Blog writes about style, midlife, and the "fine whatever" moments that make life both meaningful and fun. Since 2015, she's been celebrating creativity, confidence, and finding joy in the everyday.


Here are some of my picks from last week's link up (in English and Dutch).

Deb is talking about pausing social media and embracing silliness.

Mie visited an exhibition that made her think of a crafts market in her childhood.

I could sure eat some of these sugar syrup doughnuts shared by Esme (prepared, tried, and tested by Nazley).

Angie shares pictures of the beautiful Monarch butterflies in her garden.

Nancy has created a great fall outfit.


Let's link up!

Guidelines:
This link party is for blog posts only. All other links will be deleted.
Please link only blog posts you created yourself. Please link directly to the URL of your blog post and not the main address of your blog.
Please do not link to videos, sales ads, or social media links such as YouTube videos/shorts, Instagram or Facebook reels, TikTok videos, or any other social media based content.
Please do visit other blogs and give the gift of a comment. 

Notice:
By linking with Weekend Traffic Jam Reboot, you assert that the content is your own property and give us permission to share said content if your post or blog is showcased.
We welcome unlimited, family friendly content. This can include opinion pieces, recipes, travel recaps, fashion ideas, crafts, thrifting, lifestyle, book reviews or discussions, photography, art, and so much more!
Thank you for linking up with us!

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter

Silent movies - Legend of a Ghost

Heading towards Halloween, it seemed the right moment to start with some horror/fantasy movies.
Today I have a very early short for you. It's "Legend of a Ghost" from 1908.

Here's the plot (spoilers?).

A young lady sits at her spinning wheel when she hears something from the cemetery outside. Through the window she sees something flying and hears a curse.
Next we see her going outside to look for something in the cemetery.

Suddenly a group of skeletons surrounds her and a ghost emerges from a grave and sends her on a quest to "go and find the Devil, to challenge and vanquish him, so he'll give her the inextinguishable flame that she will take to the bottom of the sea to search for the black pearl and bring it back".

Don't be surprised, part of the movie has been
colorized, in amazingly vivid colors.

The skeletons and the lady turn into warriors.
They board a vehicle that takes them to the "lower regions".

Satan is warned, however, assembles his army and rides into battle in his own vehicle (while his army is, uhm, prancing and dancing and jumping a lot) ...

... before they finally stop the lady's vehicle and pull her into the Satanmobile (someone called it that in a comment and that's working for me).

Pick your vehicle! Both of them are quite cool,
modern cars are boring compared to them.

Then they have a fête together in the lower regions. Just bear with me, people, I don't understand what's going on, either.
There's more dancing before some demons jump into a lake. The cave wall is opening to admit the Satanmobile. They get out and Satan gives the lady the flame of life. Why? I have absolutely no clue, he doesn't look very "vanquished" to me. It might be a trap, though.

A frog is taking the lady to the bottom of the sea. Their travel is shown through different painted scenes opening up one after another, vertically or horizontally, a very neat effect.

They arrive and the Queen of the Sea (or whatever) makes a huge shell with a mermaid (or whatever) in it materialize, hands our lady the black pearl and takes her back up in her barge that is drawn by a horse (not a seahorse).

Unfortunately, Satan is out for revenge (probably because he noticed he wasn't vanquished after all?) and throws fire at them. The vehicle is gone, all the warriors are dead - except our heroine - and blue. And the inextinguishable flame has gone out (is there a money back guarantee?)!

Any excuse to show another picture of the vehicle ...

She returns to the cemetery, hands the ghost the black pearl, he drinks from it (weird, I mean it's not a coconut) - and turns into some kind of a prince!

Maybe she could/should just have kissed the frog?

Our lady, however, dies (exhaustion, the aftermath of Satan's attack or shock over this unexpected outcome, who knows) ... and we are in heaven and they have two children (again, don't ask me what's happening here)!

The End.
No, seriously, that's it.

I'm not the only who was confused, but you know something - it was still a fun watch! A very, very weird one and I might have thought I had a drink too much when I really had nothing but water with a bit of cordial, but a fun one.
Maybe a drink would have made it even funnier.

Segundo de Chomón is a new name to me, but it seems it's one to remember.
According to Wikipedia (as a first source), he was "a pioneering Spanish-French film director, cinematographer and screenwriter" and "regarded as the most significant Spanish silent film director in an international context". Like Méliès, he was known for his camera tricks and optical illusions and we have quite a few of these in this film which are very cool to watch.
As with Méliès (based on the very few films I know at this point, mind you), I had the feeling that the narrative wasn't the most important thing, but to try out what could be done with elaborate and beautiful sets and opulent costumes and of course cool vehicles, and some film magic.
Somehow it always makes me wonder how it was on set. "We need more people! Where are the lizard and fish people? We need dancers! We need more of everything! Splashing water, sparks, and the girls have to wave something! We need more, more, more of everything!"

"And we need an extra scene for the frog."
Absolutely. I'm a fan of the very jumpy frog (and was glad to see him star in another short).

A wild ride once more, my friends, but also very interesting 15 minutes.
Isn't that how we like our fairy tales?
More of everything!

A Good Book & a Cup of Tea - October 2026 link party

Welcome to the A Good Book & A Cup of Tea (A Monthly Bookish Link Party)!
This link up is for book and reading posts or anything related to books and reading (even movies based on books!).

Each link party will be open for a month.
My co-hosts for this event are Lisa from Boondock Ramblings and Erin from Still Life, With Cracker Crumbs.

You can link up with any of us.

Here are my favorite posts from the September party.

Vero has created a timeline of her life in book form - one book for every year in her life (I honestly don't think I could do that, but it's such a fun idea)!

Lisa is telling us about a bookshop visit (who doesn't like to hear that?).

Lydia shared her August reading with us (and I loved that "Three Men in a Boat" was in there).

Olivia has started to co-host the Friday Book Snippets (quotes from a book's beginning and another page). Maybe you want to play along as well?


These are the guidelines:
1. For bloggers, you can link unlimited posts related to books and reading. They can be older posts or newer posts. These can be posts about what you’re reading, book reviews, books you’ve added to your shelf, reading habits, what you’ve been reading, about trips to the bookstore, etc. You get the drift.
2. Link to a specific blog post (URL of a specific post, not just your website). Feel free to link up any older posts that may need some love and attention, too.
3. Please visit at least two other bloggers on this list and comment on their posts. Have fun! Interact! Get some book recommendations.
4. Readers can click the blue button below to visit blog posts.
5. If you add a link you are giving me permission to share and link back to your post(s).

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter

My September books

This is an overview of the books I have finished in a month (not necessarily started in the same month) and those I have read to Gundel (marked with 😸).
I will be adding a short explanation why I chose a book or how I found it and possibly if it's a re-read candidate, but I'm usually not going to add real reviews or ratings (Gundel also refuses to give ratings). Should you want a little more information on a book you're interested in, though, just let me know.

"The Palm House" by Gwendoline Riley, first published in 2026 

The story of the friendship between Laura and Putnam. And some other people.

A new entry on OverDrive.
Maybe it would have helped if I had been interested in any of the characters or even liked them. Or could it have been the style? "Blabla," he said. "Blubb," he said. "Yes," I said. "Blah," he said. "No," I said. My English teacher would have thrown the blackboard eraser at me if I had written like that. I just didn't DNF because I didn't want to start my month like that.

"Gaudy Night" by Dorothy L. Sayers, first published in 1935 

Harriet Vane returns to her alma mater, the all-female Shrewsbury College in Oxford, for the Gaudy, a reunion fest for alumnae.
When poison pen letters and ugly graffiti appear in the college and there are acts of vandalism, the dons ask Harriet for help because they want to avoid a scandal. She can't solve the puzzle by herself and asks Lord Peter Wimsey for assistance.

I can't tell you how often I have read this book. It's an unusual mystery for sure and thanks to the many classic quotes and the length it's probably not for everyone, but I love it and it's a real comfort read for me.

"Effi Briest" by Theodor Fontane, first published in 1895 (the spelling "Effie" on the cover is a typo!) 

As a young man, Baron Geert von Innstetten courted Luise Briest, but couldn't marry her because of his status at the time.
Now he comes to ask for the hand of Effi, Luise's daughter (if you wonder, she's 17, he's 38), encouraged by Luise.
Effi is attracted by his improved social status, but with the difference in age and disposition the marriage is not what both of them have hoped for, especially when Effi meets the charming Major Crampas.

This is part of my personal challenge to read at least one German classic a month.
I really enjoyed this novel which is an example of literary realism.

"The Fairy Ring or Elsie and Frances Fool the World" by Mary Losure, first published in 2012 

1917. Cousins Elsie and Frances can see fairies and goblins and to stop their family making fun of them, they take photographs with paper dolls drawn and cut out by Elsie. They hadn't expected to catch the attention of fairy believers such as Arthur Conan Doyle.

The story of the Cottingley Fairies told for children was a very quick read. It never ceases to amaze me how readily some people accepted this to be true. However, Frances claimed until her death that the photos may have been a hoax, but that she had indeed seen fairies.

"Deadly Nightshade" by Elizabeth Daly, first published in 1940
(Henry Gamadge 2)

Detective Mitchell asks Henry Gamadge - consultant for old books, letters, etc. - to help him with a case of nightshade poisoning. One child dies, one is missing. Was it an accident or is something more sinister behind it?

This was a recommendation on The Internet Archive. I have to admit that I'm still a little confused, but still interested to try more Gamadge books.

"Under Water with Ogden Nash" by Ogden Nash, first published in 1997

A collection of Ogden Nash's poems about animals in and around the water.

I searched for something else and the cover drew me in. The poems are mostly very short, so it just took minutes, but I really enjoyed both them and the beautiful illustrations.

"After Tea and Other Stories" by Dorothy Whipple, first published in 1941 😸

The short stories delves into human relationships - between parents and children, friends, couples, siblings, neighbors - and how they can change in certain situations.

I had really enjoyed Whipple's "High Wages" and the same goes for these stories.
I also learned that Gundel doesn't have much patience being read to when it's too hot (the summer made us both quite crabby), so this one took us longer than usual, but now that temps went down a little, we got back on track 😄

"A Tiger's Wedding: My Childhood in Exile" by Isla Blair, first published in 2011

Actress Isla Blair's parents were part of the British Raj in India, her father managed a tea plantation. As usual in those times, children were eventually sent "home" to Britain to go to school there.
Blair talks about her childhood experiences, years without parents except for rare visits and how she and her sister had to build up the relationship again after her parents finally returned home when plantations were taken over by local managers.

This was a random find on The Internet Archive.
It's hard to imagine how it must be to be that far away from your parents as a small child, and the school memories were quite sad. The parts about India seemed a little clichéd, but I can't say if it was due to the content or the way those memories were described.
The last part about how Blair started her career and then had her own family felt kind of tacked on to me because it was rather short. 

"I See You've Called In Dead" by John Kenney, first published in 2025 

Divorced and middle-aged obituary writer Bud Stanley makes a big mistake. After a failed blind date he gets drunk and publishes his own obituary.
Suspended from his job, he happens to meet a woman going to the wakes and funerals of strangers encouraging him to do the same to learn about life.

A new entry on OverDrive.
At first I wasn't even sure if I wanted to read it because I didn't know what to expect - turns out it was laughter and tears. I read the book in one day because I couldn't stop.

"An Island Rooing" by Joan Grigsby, first published in 1933 

The book tells of an expedition to Shetland the author went on in 1931. It's divided in four parts - The Isle, The Croft, The Fishing, Landfall.

Liz from "Adventures in reading, running and working from home" reviewed the book on her blog (you can find the post here) and I was looking for something out of my comfort zone aka usual genres, so I read it. I won't claim understanding everything (I know nothing about shipping), but what I enjoyed most were the parts about the knitting and the baskets used for the herrings.
The copy I read online also had a little something for my librarian's heart.

I'll suggest the wet weather part to my own department 😉

"The Three Investigators in The Mystery of the Nervous Lion" by Nick West (the books were published attributed to Alfred Hitchcock), first published in 1971 😸
(The Three Investigators 16)

The Three Investigators are called to Jungle Land, a wild-animal farm. George, the tame lion, is supposed to appear in a movie, but he has been very nervous lately. Will the boys find out why?

Not a favorite in the series. Firstly, we don't like the idea of farms like this one and secondly, a black panther (!) was shot. We also didn't approve of the cover illustration.
I read this series a long time ago and am going through it again bit by bit after writing a blog post about it.

"The Match Between the Winds" by Shirley Climo, first published in 1991 

The book retells a folktale from Borneo. The West Wind and the East Wind who are cousins have a contest. Who will be able to blow Kodok, the tree frog, from his leaf?

Another minute read. I'm a huge fan of the cartoonist, animator, children's book author, and illustrator Liz Climo. I hadn't known that her mother is a children's book author before Liz mentioned it on her Instagram. I looked her up and the illustration by Roni Shepherd drew me in.

"The Astral Library" by Kate Quinn, first published in 2026 

Alix is at a low point in her life when she gets invited to become a patron of the Astral Library and choose a book to live in.

A new entry on OverDrive. I loved the idea of living in a book. What the book turned into was a comment on the purpose of libraries and their future in a money-oriented world.
While I agree on many of the issues mentioned - I'm a librarian of the old-fashioned sort -, the combination of them with fantasy just didn't work for me and I struggled to make it through. I also found the book to be quite repetitive and too wordy for this plot (if I run away from someone, I don't indulge in descriptions of fashion, etc.). Too much different things crammed into one book.

"Miss Elizas englische Küche" = "Miss Elizas English Kitchen" by Annabel Abbs, first published in 2021 

Eliza Acton is known for being the author of one of Britain's first cookery books (published in 1845).
The book tells the story of how and why she got started and of her assistant Ann.

This was a random find at my library. Although I hardly ever cook myself, I like hearing and reading about it. I would have liked to read more about food than about poetry, but it was a quick read.

"The Two Mrs. Abbotts" by D. E. Stevenson, first published in 1943

We are in 1942 and things have changed. Barbara and Arthur Abbott have two children now, Jerry Abbott's husband and Arthur's nephew Sam has gone off to war.
We meet people who are new to the Wandlebury circle.

I found this book which is the last one in the "Miss Buncle" trilogy even calmer than the second one. I enjoyed it and it was really just right for the day I read it.
Nevertheless, it felt more like single stories that were connected in some way and not so much like a flowing narrative if that makes sense - and of course I would have liked a lot more Barbara and Arthur than we got!

"Cotillion" by Georgette Heyer, first published in 1952

Matthew Penicuik has brought up the orphaned Kitty, a school friend's daughter, in his home. Now he wants to make his will and tells his great-nephews that the one among who will marry Kitty will get his money. He has been counting on Kitty and Jack marrying, but Jack has refused to be put on the spot like this.
So Kitty persuades Freddy to fake a betrothal and take her to London in order to make Jack jealous.
Things don't go as they both have expected it, though.

I love a Georgette Heyer re-read and "Cotillion" is one of my top favorites of hers.

"The Snark Was a Boojum" by Gerald Verner and Chris Verner, first published in 2015 (Gerald Verner wrote the book in 1957, his son Chris finished it in 2015)

Someone is committing murders based on Lewis Carroll's nonsense poem "The Hunting of the Snark".
Amateur detective Simon Gale investigates with the help of solicitor Jeff Trueman.

I think this was a recommendation on The Internet Archive and the title drew me in as I have read "The Hunting of the Snark".
Interestingly, I found that - although I enjoyed this whodunit - I really prefer detectives who are more on the quiet, elegant side, maybe with a touch of humor. Simon Gale didn't speak, he cried, boomed, growled, roared, he was impatient, furious, banged his fist on the table, and was altogether a bit too much for me.

"Die Abenteuer des starken Wanja" = "The Adventures of Strong Vanya" by Otfried Preußler, first published in 1968

Farmer's son Vanya is told that he's destined to become Tsar, so he sets out for adventure.

This was a re-read for a blog post, therefore the very short description.

"Someone Saw a Spider: Spider Facts and Folktales" by Shirley Climo, first published in 1985 😸

The book is a collection of interesting facts about spiders and of folk tales from Africa, Japan, Portugal, Scotland, and other countries.

Liz Climo (see above) mentioned this book her mother wrote on Instagram the other day.
I think spiders are absolutely fascinating.

"Die Erscheinung" by Anselma Heine, first published in 1912

On a ship back to Germany after spending time on the island of Nauru, Dr. Arnold Riedhammer meets the Dutch lady Johne Stevens. They are so attracted to one another that they want to stay together once Johne is free from her unhappy marriage, but one day Johne is suddenly gone.

I read this novella because an episode in a silent movie I watched was based on it.

"Mrs. Palfrey at the Claremont" by Elizabeth Taylor, first published in 1971

The widowed Laura Palfrey moves into the Claremont Hotel in London as one of several elderly residents. The only family she has in town is her grandson who never visits her.
Then she meets young Ludovic, an aspiring writer, when she falls in front of his building. They start talking and eventually she asks him to pretend to be her grandson to stop the other residents wondering about her family.

Deb from Readerbuzz shared a book by Elizabeth Taylor (not the actress) the other day. It sounded interesting and I randomly picked this one to read by its title.
It was undoubtedly a good read and I will definitely look for more of Taylor's books, but I also found the book utterly depressing, maybe because the humor was too gentle and I imagined myself in that situation, being old and lonely like that.
Before reading it, I didn't know about the 2005 movie, by the way.


If you write book reviews or blog posts about other book-related matters - even movies based on books - please check out "A Good Book and a Cup of Tea", a monthly bookish blog link party that I co-host with  Lisa from Boondock Ramblings and Erin from Still Life, With Cracker Crumbs. You can find out more about it here or directly click through to the current party via the image in the right hand column.