Bookish pet peeves #2

"I don't need any special preparation, because I'm not nervous, I don't have what the Germans call lumpenfever, which is stage fright."
That's from a biography about Peter Ustinov and it was the last straw.
Let's talk a bit about foreign words in books.
You can imagine that I notice the wrong spelling or grammar for German words or phrases in English books more quickly, but this is by no means a problem of the German language only.
I've seen Germans do "interesting" things with the English language, English or German speaking people with the French language and so on, and those are just the languages I know something about.

This isn't going to become one of those "your/you're" discussions (although some things like those can drive me crazy silently, no matter who does it or in which language).
It's not about blogs or social media posts, either. Although I often look up words I'm not sure of at the moment, I make my share of mistakes and typos, no doubt (and correct even really old posts if I come across them again).
I'm talking about books by big publishing houses.

Do you know what lumpenfever means? Nothing. A German "Lump" is a "rascal" and "fever" is not German, it's, surprise, English. The word they meant is "Lampenfieber", literally "lamp fever".

Among the languages Ustinov spoke was German, and although it was not always perfect, which absolutely added to the charm, I wouldn't be surprised if his biographer simply got confused by the German "Lampe" being pronounced like the English "lump" and of course "Fieber" and "fever" sounding very similar.
What I don't understand - and that may be an idea from a mad librarian's brain - is why that kind of information isn't checked before printing.
I think Ustinov's biography pushed me over the edge because it wasn't the only German mistake in it, it was just the most interesting looking one.

Of course it's not only books, but articles, TV shows, movies, news.
I will never not cringe (petty, I know) hearing Geoffrey pronounced with an o for the eo as in George instead of Jeffrey in German dubbings, but that's just the first one that comes to mind because I heard it again in a movie not long ago.
Having non-German actors play Germans can be just as terrible to listen to as can be UK actors playing Americans etc. and the other way round or Germans mangling a regional dialect that isn't their own (which I'm sure also happens in other languages).
I also think it's a matter of respect to learn especially how to pronounce names that are foreign to us and of people doing that professionally I'd expect it even more.

Do you have a pet peeve like that?

Weekend Traffic Jam - Week 160

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.

This is a picture friends sent me from their vacation at a camping site in The Netherlands.
What is it about chickens that makes me smile? I don't know, but I wanted to share that smile with you.

Are you ready for the weekend?

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 Handmade by Amalia.

Amalia from Handmade by Amalia says: "Welcome to my blog! This is the place where I write about my crafts, mostly crochet, needlework and recycled paper, and a little bit about my life as it touches it - family, work, travel … I wish to live my life with creativity and kindness and my blog challenges me to do that. I'm glad you stopped by!"

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.

Paula shares with us how to make blackberry passionfruit iced tea.

Linda shows us pictures of the wrens that live (w)rentfree in her garden.

Amy is talking about her Friday Favorites.

Sally has combined black and brights for the latest Style Imitating Art challenge.

Lisa is sharing a bookish link up - A Good Book & a Cup of Tea.


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 - Huckleberry Finn

In 1884, the novel "Adventures of Huckleberry Finn", sequel to "The Adventures of Tom Sawyer" by Mark Twain was published in the UK and shortly after in the USA.
Since then, there were numerous adaptations. The one that impressed me most, simply because it was the first one I ever saw, was one of the famous "Christmas four-parters" here in Germany, a German-French-Romanian coproduction from 1968 which I saw as a rerun (I had more a crush on the Huck actor than on the story, though).
We also had both books which are in my personal library now.

Today, however, I have the earliest adaptation for you, "Huckleberry Finn" from 1920.

I doubt I'll have to worry about spoilers much this time.
Here's the plot.

Tom Sawyer and his friend Huckleberry have found a treasure and received some money from it.
The Widow Douglas and her sister Miss Watson take Huck in as his guardians. Huck isn't happy about having to behave, but stays to be able to be part of Tom's gang.

"Pap", his father, is after the money and abducts Huck to a remote cabin. After Pap tries to kill him in delirium tremens, Huck fakes his murder and escapes.
Seeing the townspeople putting bread with quicksilver in it in the river tells him that they think he's dead and he makes Jackson's Island his "kingdom".
One morning, he finds the sleeping Jim there, one of Miss Watson's slaves. Jim has run away because Miss Watson intended to sell him to a bad man. He can hardly believe Huck is alive and asks him if he can stay with him.

Huck goes into town for news disguised as a girl and learns that the townspeople suspects Jim of having murdered him before running away and that they want to go look for him on Jackson's Island.

So they take the raft that Jim built and go down the river where they meet two thieves running from some townsfolk.
One of them claims to be a born Duke and an actor (the other calls himself the King in the book), and in the next town they scam the audience with overpriced tickets for a stage performance.

Further down the river they meet a man asking the two thieves if they are the brothers of a Mr. Wilks who has died. When they hear that he left some property, they see their chance to cheat Mr. Wilks's three daughters out of everything.
Huck, however, falls for one of the daughters, Mary-Jane, and after a while he reveals to her that the "brothers" are crooks.

Then two men turn up and can prove that they are the real brothers by knowing about the tattoo on the dead man's chest.
Huck and Jim don't manage to take off without the two crooks, and when they reach the next town, one of them sells Jim to a man named Phelps. Huck decides to save Jim. When he arrives at the plantation, he's greeted by Mrs. Phelps who happens to be Tom Sawyer's aunt and thinks he's Tom.
On the way to Pikesville to fetch "his" trunk Huck meets Tom.

He tells him about his adventures and Jim and of course Tom immediately comes up with a plan. He'll pretend to be his brother Sid and they will help Jim to escape (which involves dressing him in a woman's frock).
When they sneak Jim out and head to the raft, the townspeople are after them and Tom gets shot in the leg (that footage is missing from the video). Although Tom wants to go through with the escape, Jim insists on Huck getting a doctor who has Tom carried back to the Phelps's house.

The next day Tom's Aunt Polly turns up and tells them that Miss Watson has died a month ago and has given Jim his freedom as Tom knows. When asked why he wanted to free a free man, Tom replies that it was for the adventure and that he wants to go on another one with Huck.
Huck, however, wishes Aunt Sally would adopt him, so he can become an educated young man and return to Mary-Jane.

And that's also what he tells Mark Twain at the end - that there's nothing more to write about him but maybe a love story some day ...

I'm not going to go into the controversy about the book itself. The movie had a few racist moments, but that has more to do with the source itself. The n-word is used just once by Jim himself. I don't know if that was on purpose.

William Desmond Taylor (more known today for his unsolvedn murder in 1922 and the following scandal) made three movies from the Twain books, "Tom Sawyer" in 1917, "Huck and Tom" in 1918, and "Huckleberry Finn" in 1920.

The movie had been considered to be lost until a print was found in a Danish archive in the 60s and restored in 2006. As mentioned above, there is footage missing which is explained in intertitles.
E. W. Kemble, the illustrator of the original edition, said that Taylor took his illustrations and brought them to life.

Indeed, the movie is also rather faithful to the book although things have been left out, for example how Jim finds Pap's body or the deadly family feud that Huck gets to witness.
Leaving those out makes it rather a gentle adaptation although the part in which Huck is held prisoner and threatened by Pap is quite violent.
I think it would have been interesting to see more of how the narrative around Jim has been handled which is unfortunately missing, for example the escape (shame on Tom for hatching a complicated plan just for the adventure instead of letting Jim know he's a free man). I would have preferred that to the story of the Duke and the King which was very slow.
Also the relationship between Huck and Jim wasn't explored much except for Huck's decision to save Jim after he had been sold.

Lewis Sargent made a convincing Huck, and it's notable that in a time where blackface was prevalent in movies, the part of Jim was not played by a white man, but by George Reed.

All in all, the film will not make it into my list of favorites for rewatching because I struggle with the story itself.


Sources:

1. David Kiehn: Huckleberry Finn. On: San Francisco Silent Film Festival. Essay. 2011
2. Lorraine Lo: Huckleberry Finn (1920). On: TCM. Articles. October 10, 2011

Tell Us About ... Sunshine

I have been asked if I'd like to participate in 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? The prompt for July will be "Dance".

This month's prompt is "Sunshine". Ouch.
I'd like to start by describing a cartoon by one of my favorite cartoonists, Graham Annable aka Grickle. My favorite are his vampire cartoons.
I don't share artists' work without permission, but you can find the cartoon here.

You see a vampire sitting on his couch holding a portable game console. Behind him there's a strange looking armor, his wolf is sleeping on the rug, a side table holds a skull lamp. Everything is grey, the only colors are those of the console and of the warm light shining from it - and the caption reads "The only reason he played Animal Crossing was to walk through the sunshine again."

Awww 😍
But, uhm, yeah, I'm not that vampire. I'm the kind of vampire who doesn't flee the sunshine by necessity, but out of conviction.
I was the "shadow child" under the tree at the local pool while my friend impersonated a sausage on the grill because she loves the sun.
I'm the one who lets the shades down when others pull them up.
Drag me into the sun and I might be hissing at you - or possibly dissolving in a cloud of dust like Hammer's Dracula.
If you have been around for a while, you already know that I'm very much drawn to the moon instead of the sun even if I won't find me flying in front of a full moon.

What you may not know, however, is that I don't have anything against the sun as such, not that I had ever given that a real thought before.
There's no question about our needing the sun. Our planet needs the sun for light, warmth, gravitation, vitamin D - in short, for life, and a lot of different cultures already knew that a long time ago, only they credited solar deities and built solar cults around their beliefs.

Goddess Sunna at the V&A,
public domain via Wikipedia

We all know the stories about ancient people panicking during a solar eclipse. I experienced one full solar eclipse myself, and although it was raining and we didn't get to see anything, the darkness and the silence gave me an idea of how much scarier that must have felt to people who didn't understand what was happening there, not knowing if the sunlight would return.

Trundholm Sun Chariot
Picture by Nationalmuseet, CC BY-SA 3.0

When I was a kid, my yellow pencil was always the shortest. I absolutely loved drawing a big sun into the corner of every classic "landscape with house" picture. Not a full sun, just one like this here - yes, this is practically a copy of the picture I remember drawing at my friend's house once at the tender age of 8 or 9.
Okay, not really, I only had felt-tips available, but no light blue for the sky and no brown for a tree, and filling out the grass wouldn't have worked for the flowers, so I had to make some small changes. Can't say my drawing abilities have much improved since then as I'm usually not a fan of tiny houses. Maybe it's a fairy house. You get the idea, that's what counts.
As you can see my suns always had a wide smile and the alternating short and long rays.

Suns (and sunflowers which don't have their name for nothing) didn't just turn up in my drawings, though, they also made their way into my jewelry creations.

Center picture via pxhere

So I guess you could say I appreciate the sun as a life giver and inspiration and love the concept of sunshine as long as I don't have to be in it directly myself (and for that I even have my medication as a valid excuse).
I think that's a pretty good compromise 🌞

Now let's see what the others have to tell us (Debbie is still travelling).

Suzy writes about her changing relationship with sunshine and why she appreciates it far more now than she ever did before.

Sally shares sunshine-inspired outfits and handmade jewelry.

Leslie packed a little El Paso sunshine in her pocket for their trip to the UK.

Even though her students begged her not to sing, Marsha loves music.  This time around, she’s writing about songs she loves that mention sunshine!

Amy writes about her first year of freedom to chase the sunshine in all four seasons.


And now you. Tell us about "Sunshine" and link up with us!

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter

10 on the 10th, uhm, 9th - Things we love about the coming season

Sorry, one day early as tomorrow is already full with another post which should have been posted on Thursday which is already full with a silent movie post, though. How can blogging be so complicated?
Anyhow, with no further ado ...

Uhm ... you may think this should be very easy, but for me it isn't.
Let's see how far I can get.

My birthday.

Now that was easy, wasn't it? Not that my birthday is such a special day for me. I have never celebrated it the way many others do (except once, but that's a long story), there's no party, small or big. I may have one or two visitors which I enjoy and I'm not averse to one or two gifts, especially small surprises, but I'm just as happy to spend the day all by myself (why do I have the urge to add a smiley to make clear that I really mean that?).

That's what I call a sustainable
birthday card, I loved the idea!

That doesn't mean I'm one of those people who have a problem with their birthday as in seeing the numbers go up, by the way. I'm just past the childhood excitement, I guess?
Fun fact - I have always taken the day off from work, no matter if I had something planned or not, so it was always "my" day.

Ice cream coffee.

"Excuse me, what?" I hear you ask.
The German word "Eis" can mean both "ice" and "ice cream". "Eiskaffee" is not the iced coffee that Americans know.
During my friend Jenn's second visit in Germany we went to a café and asked her if she wanted to try it. She vehemently declined because she thought we meant iced coffee and she was very surprised to see what we got. After trying it she immediately had to have her own and it became one of her favorites.
I rarely ever drink coffee, for years - iced coffee wasn't a thing in Germany then - this was the only way I had it at all.

A classic "Eiskaffee" is easily done. Put some vanilla ice cream in a tall glass, pour chilled coffee over it and crown it with some whipped cream and a wafer or a "cigarette russe".
It's usually served with a long spoon for the ice cream and a straw to sip the coffee.
You don't like coffee? Try an "ice chocolate" instead.

Summer memories.

Actually, summer memories have been a 10 on the 10th topic before. I have some good memories, but reading the post didn't help me for this one because those were things that won't be happening again, one reason being my reduced mobility - no summer fleamarkets, no travelling, no long walks in the woods, etc.
I still have the memories, though, some fun ones and some funny ones!

Summer rains.

After a scary hailstorm some years ago, I'm not as relaxed about thunderstorms anymore, but a nice long rain after a hot spell is absolutely the best.
When others rush inside, I'm going out there to cool down.

I love this old picture and I can hear, smell, and feel it.

Trees, lakes, and ponds.

In my opinion, they are the best spots in the summer heat, hands down. Some would probably pick beaches, but I'm not that much of a beach fan which is convenient as there are none in the area.

Public domain via pxhere

I don't know how good my chances are to get anywhere, but at least I made it to one of my favorite spots this month. Extra points for no people being there so early in the morning, except a biker who took a picture and left again.

The Lautertopf, the spring of the small Lauter river.

Whining.

As you can see, I'm seriously grasping for straws here now!
I love to whine in summer. Well, I don't love having to whine, so in this case I guess "love" means I can't help doing it. Sometimes it may be more of a pathetic moan. Very annoying.

My fan.

I'm my fan's biggest fan and I don't care if people tell me that a fan is doing nothing. It does for me. If that's just in my head, that's fine by me as long as it works.


That's it from a grumpy summer hater.
Sorry, but I just couldn't come up with more than those quite weak seven because summer is my least favorite season.
(If you wonder why I didn't mention flowers, well, they are not summer-specific, are they?)
After a very hot week I told several people that I'm very much looking forward to September and my favorite season.
I even asked family to help me get to ten, but all we realized was that we are very different in some regards! 😂 

The magical number?

In January, I wrote a post about how I like to read my books. By that I don't mean where I read or if I like background noise (maybe that will be another post at some time), but the medium I prefer.
At the end of the post I said that I usually read three books at a time these days, a print book, an ebook and a book that I read out loud - mostly digital ones now because it's hard to read to a cat who's lying on your chest and also holding a book with one hand as the other one is obviously needed to pet said cat.

Then I heard a British writer and presenter saying that she reads about seven to eight books at a time. To each their own, but it made me wonder if I would be able to do that - or rather if I would even want that.

Let's first get out of the way that I'm talking about reading for relaxation.
If you study something or research for something, it's not unusual to work with several books at a time, but that kind of reading can mean jumping between chapters, skipping chapters, re-reading parts, etc. I mean reading or listening to a book from the first word to the last (including the prologue or epilogue 😉).

I'm not the first person to write or talk about that, there are a lot of posts and articles on the topic - which is also the reason why I didn't talk about benefits or drawbacks - but I'm sure you will want to know my personal take on it.
Nah, I'm kidding, it was just a topic that came to mind last weekend when I had finished a book and thought about what I should be reading next.
Then I mentioned the three books at once to a friend and she sounded very surprised. I didn't think to ask if she thought that's too few or too many or if she was surprised how stubborn I undoubtedly sounded about the number of three (I asked now, it was the last one).

Yes, I have a folder called "NOW" and no, there are never
more than two books in there.

That's not a number I actively chose, by the way. It just kind of happened because I noticed getting distracted if I tried to read more than three at once (again, not counting something I might use for research). Also they really have to be from different genres. Two vintage crime books, two children's books, two movie-related books ... absolutely a no go for me.
It used to be different when I still commuted because one book would be for the commute, another one for home, and they could be the same genre.

I'm glad that I have found the right routine for myself which doesn't leave me overwhelmed or confused, and I think everyone has to do what works for them.
I'm not a fan of "why you should read two books at once".
If people prefer reading one book after the other, for example because they think they owe the writer their undivided attention, let them do that.
If people need eight books for their happiness, fine by me.
If people like to read a fiction and a non-fiction book on the same topic or set in the same time period to have them bounce off each other, good for them (I rather start with a fiction book and then read a non-fiction if I want to know more). If people thrive on book piles around the house (I don't anymore), great!
If you like to choose between books depending on your mood (very much something I do), enjoy being able to do that.
It was interesting to read that some people felt they had to apologize for reading just one book and others for reading more than one at once. Why is that?

Public domain via pxhere

One benefit mentioned in several articles or posts was that you get through your TBR list more quickly.
I admit that I didn't understand that one completely. Granted, taking a break from one book you are struggling with and reading something easier may give you fresh energy for the first one.
All in all, I need a certain time for a book, though, and how is jumping between books going to change that? Just theoretically speaking, if one books takes me a day and another takes me a day, how do I get through my list more quickly if I alternate between them? Are there people who magically need just one and a half days for both then?
Serious question, maybe you can explain it to me.

I'd love to hear about your own routines and why you chose to read just one book at a time or several at once.

Weekend Traffic Jam - Week 159

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.

The other day my remote control wouldn't turn my TV on anymore. Of course, my first thought were batteries, but I was out of the right size. When I got some, it was so disappointing that it still didn't work. Would you believe that my TV set doesn't have a manual power button ... unless it's invisible? Pulling the plug out didn't do the trick, either.
So I ordered a new remote, they are not expensive, and spent several days - thanks to a public holiday - waiting for it. It arrived on the same day as my new TV stick which came with a remote control of its own.
Guess what! Not only could I use that remote to turn the TV on, but all the other buttons on the old remote worked just fine. The next day the power button went back to working as well. After four days. Figures.
I was so excited to watch my new DVDs ... but found the remote of the player didn't work after it had worked just fine the day before. This time, however, it was the battery. What are the chances?
Do you think that's a secret remote control plot to drive me crazy? Next they will probably try to control me!

Public domain via pxhere

Are you ready for the weekend?

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 Crafty Gardener.

Linda from Crafty Gardener says: "Welcome, I'm glad you stopped by for a visit. Like life, this site, is a collection of many things.
I love crafting and I love gardening … hence my name was created … Crafty Gardener, who in real life is Linda.  Now I’m retired I have more time to do all the things I love to do, and I often wonder how I had time to go to work.  I’ve been sharing my love of gardening and crafting since my site was established in 2004 with my own domain as a gift from my family.
Gardening is just one important part of my life. Family is the most important part.  We have been married 50+ years, have 3 beautiful daughters and handsome son-in-laws and four wonderful and energetic grandchildren that keep us smiling and young!
...
There is also crafting, reading, sewing, genealogy, and all the other little things that make our life interesting and important. You can follow the drop down menus at the top of the page to see lots of my ideas, patterns, recipes, books and more."

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.

I wish I could have seen that exhibition, looks like Gail had a lot of fun.

Nicole is enjoying her morning room.

Amalia introduces us to Dawn and Dusk, so cute.

Jeanne made such a beautiful flowering tree mosaic.

Mie found a lovely place to visit - with goats!


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 - In Night and Ice

I don't think that I need to tell you much about the RMS Titanic. In the early hours of April 15, 1912 the ocean liner hit an iceberg on her maiden voyage and sank within a few hours.

Now move over, James Cameron! 
The film I present to you today is the second film about the disaster (the first one didn't survive). It was released in 1912 only four months after the sinking of the Titanic and is called "In Nacht und Eis" = "In Night and Ice".

The movie is starting like a newsreel for the cinema.
First, we get shown how the passengers board the ship (and even at that point the intertitles give us examples for who survived and who drowned!).

Next we see how what the passengers do on board - games, walks on the deck and meeting in the "posh 'Café Parisien'".
I'm especially intrigued by the second game where the two men try to, uhm, push one another out of the circle just using their feet?

We also see the crew at work, the Captain, the First Officer on the bridge, a sailor in the crow's nest, the stokers in the boiler room, the wireless operators, while the passengers (the wealthy ones, the others get just a short mention) get ready for a nice evening.
Then the First Officer gets the iceberg warning and from there it gets a little less documentary.

I'm torn about that. On one hand the shock of the people in the café or in the cabins when the ship starts to move got to me more than I expected. I'm usually not one to watch disaster films or documentaries for exactly that reason.
On the other hand we've got this ...

The First Officer and the Captain proved to be real pros (the characters and the actors). A fine piece of overacting. I went from genuinely feeling sorry for the passengers to giggling hysterically in less than two seconds.
You would probably have to watch it yourself to understand why.
They kept running away, together or individually, coming back, looking through the binoculars, grabbing their heads, stretching out their arms, repeat. It was simply too much - well, for me anyhow.

We also get to see the collision of the ship with the iceberg.
This is supposed to have been an 8 meter model. Is it just me who doesn't believe that?

Although people panic and run back and forth a lot, none of the scenes are sensationalist in any way. We don't see people jumping off the ship or drowning. The film doesn't concentrate so much on the horror itself as on bravery and heroism which is very nicely illustrated by the captain calling out to the passengers on the deck: "Be British!" (oh the stereotype) while the band is playing "Nearer, My God, to Thee".

One of the brave crew members is the first wireless operator.
There's a long scene of the wire operators sending out distress messages in Morse, getting up, sitting down, and move levers a lot (no idea if that's how it's done in the way they did, it didn't look very organized and, shame on me, I giggled again).

You see a lot of people running back and forth by this window.

The ship keeps sinking.
 

There's a very touching scene when the Captain releases the first wireless operator from his duty (the second one is about to leave the ship), but we're told they are both ready to go down with the ship and only think of the rescue of the passengers.

In the end, we are informed that the Captain gets pushed overboard by a wave (ignore that there are no such waves in the movie), helps a drowning passenger to a lifeboat, but refuses to get on it himself.
It takes away a little from the effect, though, that he seems to walk in the water instead of swim ...

This is one of the earliest disaster movies and it featured special effects that hadn't been seen like that in German movies before.
The director was 24 year old Romanian Mime Misu who had a rather short film career despite the success of this movie.
"In Nacht und Eis" was filmed in different towns, on a German ocean liner, on moving sets, and on a lake.

It's also interesting that for decades the movie was believed to be lost. During the hype around Cameron's "Titanic" it was mentioned in a newspaper article and several people reacted to that saying that they in fact had copies. I will never cease to be amazed by old treasure turning up like that.
If you are interested in more information on the film, check out the site Titanic's Officers which has info on the officers, but also a lot of articles, one of them about this film. Also, the website owner collaborated with several people to provide a version of the remastered film with English intertitles.

Now you want to know how I liked the movie because you are a bit confused by my conflicting statements?
Well, I actually quite liked it (giggles or not), and although it's 40 minutes long and some of the scenes weren't super exciting - like the ladies getting dressed for the café - I wasn't bored.
Okay, so there was some unintended comic relief, but I felt a bit guilty for giving in to my childish giggling fit. You know how I'm always the one to emphasize that we have to take the age and history of a film into account.
I can't deny having been taken by surprise by the jump from the newsreel vibe to highly dramatic acting, though.

You also have to remember that this was just a few months after the disaster which must have added to the emotions of the audience which wasn't suffering from oversaturation yet as we do today.
There are still people arguing about what exactly happened and why today, and you can imagine how much more different information and opinions there must have been around at the time of filming.
So the film may not be completely accurate, but still a good watch.


Sources and further reading:

1. "In Night and Ice" (with English intertitles) on the YouTube channel "Titanic's Officers"
2. Dan Parkes: "In Nacht und Eis" - "In Night and Ice" - 1912 German Titanic Film. On: "Titanic's Officers" website

A Good Book & a Cup of Tea - June 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.

As this is my first time as a co-host and it was short notice, I didn't choose any features from the May link party, but I promise to be better prepared next time.


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 May 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.


"Die Jungens von Burg Schreckenstein" by Oliver Hassencamp, first published in 1959

What a surprise for the pupils of an overcrowded boy school when they are told that they are going to move to a boarding school - in a castle!
After having explored "Burg Schreckenstein" (translated in the book as Horror Rock Castle (as a name for their jazz band)), the boys start calling themselves Knights and decide to follow a knightly code.

When I was a child, we - my guess is my brothers - had the first three volumes of this series which Hassencamp wrote between 1959 and 1988 (when he died in a car accident). The series has 27 volumes and has still been popular in Germany in the 2000s, possibly still now. The other day I noticed I had only inherited volume 2 and 3, therefore I bought volume 1 now and re-read it.

"The Gift of Not Belonging: How Outsiders Thrive in a World of Joiners" by Rami Kaminski, first published in 2025

In this book, psychiatrist Dr. Kaminski introduces a new personality type, no introvert, no extrovert, but the otrovert - "one who faces a different direction" according to his definition.

If my copy weren't missing the jacket, you could see a group of green chameleons on a branch and above them a blue one - the otrovert who can mingle with a group better than an introvert, but still stands outside of it as a kind of observer.
My problem with the book is that while some passages seem to describe me, I found others extremely generalizing, sometimes repetitive, sometimes contradictive in the description of what defines "the" otrovert - which I totally am according to the test in the book which I can believe or not just like a personality test in a magazine in a doctor's waiting room as we get no clue what exactly it's based on.
There are anecdotes about patients, but nothing concrete, studies or references, that would make me feel as if this could be more than someone telling me about having a kind of superpower by being different from people who live a more community-based life which the author (who is of course an otrovert) seems to frown upon. This is only one example: "Tuned in to their rich, multilayered inner worlds, they gain access to a fantastically complex universe of thought, memory, and imagination that the communal person cannot access." Come on now, seriously?
So yeah, to me this seemed just like a new drawer to store people in (tempting superpower included), but I don't believe in such drawers. I got the book used and wonder if the previous owner felt the same about it as I did.

"The Silent Bullet" by Arthur B. Reeve, first published in 1910
(Craig Kennedy, Scientific Detective 1)

Craig Kennedy is a professor at Columbia University and he's convinced there should be a professorship in criminal science.
With the help of his journalist friend Walter James - yes, they are flatmates -, he uses his scientific expertise to help out the police and private clients.

I have the "leaping fish" to thank for discovering the "American Sherlock Holmes" (there wasn't much in German, it seems) as someone commented on the video that Coke Ennyday may be a Sherlock Holmes spoof, but that the name is definitely inspired by Professor Kennedy.
Initially the stories were published in "The Cosmopolitan".
This book has 12 stories in which Kennedy uses hidden microphones, lie detectors, a defibrillator, magnets, and more ("Murdoch Mysteries" anyone?).
I still prefer Sherlock Holmes, but it was a fun read, and as Reeve wrote loads more my vintage crime folder has grown again.

"Last Ditch" by Ngaio Marsh, first published in 1977
(Roderick Alleyn 29)

Alleyn's son Ricky is on one of the Channel Islands in order to write a book.
The peace is disturbed, however, when a young woman is found dead after a riding accident. Or wasn't it an accident?

This is still part of my vintage crime project for which I keep getting books by Marsh and Allingham.

"The Life Cycle of the Common Octopus" by Emma Knight, first published in 2025

A coming-of-age book about two friends, Pen and Alice from Canada who study in Edinburgh.

The book was mentioned on a blog and I have to admit that the words octopus (spoiler, it's a metaphor) and Edinburgh made me read it. It was okay, but not substantial enough to be sticking with me for long.

"Photo Finish" by Ngaio Marsh, first published in 1980
(Roderick Alleyn 31)

When his wife Troy is invited to a millionaire's luxury residence on an island in a New Zealand lake to paint the portrait of famous opera singer Isabella Sommita, Alleyn is invited along to look into the affair of a paparazzo following her.
After the performance of an opera written by Sommita's lover, part of the group is stuck on the island due to a heavy storm. Then the singer is found in her room ... murdered ...

This is still part of my vintage crime project and I have now read all 33 Roderick Alleyn books.

"An American Comedy" by Harold Lloyd (in collaboration with Wesley W. Stout), first published in 1928 (this edition was reproduced with minor corrections plus an interview from 1966)

This is the autobiography of Harold Lloyd at the height of his career. Kind of. I found it to be a mix of some life stories without getting too much in details unless they were light enough and stories of how his film career developed and how he developed films. That was actually quite interesting (if a bit dated which is no surprise), but I know there have been things left out (in regards to his accident with a bomb, for example), so I will read a "real" biography when possible.
What I liked was that someone really worked with this copy. There are loads of asterisks, marked paragraphs, and a few marginal notes. To me, it looks like someone tried to research how to do comedy.

I'm having fun with making my way through film-related biographies.

"The Ex Hex" by Erin Sterling, first published in 2021
(Graves Glen 1)

After breaking up with Rhys, the witch Vivienne puts a curse on him. It's not supposed to be serious, but when Rhys comes back to Vivienne's hometown after nine years to charge the town's ley lines, the magic goes crazy because of the curse and both the town and Rhys are in danger.

I found the book on OverDrive by accident and liked the idea of magic going crazy. Unfortunately it was mostly about the love story, but not in a way that captured me. I won't be reading the other books in the series.

"Bury Your Secrets" by Kerry Watts, first published in 2024
(DI Fraser Brodie 1)

A man well liked in the community is murdered in a gruesome way. The next day another body is found. A third man disappears.
DI Brodie and the isle of Lewis in the Outer Hebrides have to deal with a serial killer - again. Brodie is reminded of the murders his own twin brother has committed decades ago.

The book was recommended on a blog and sounded like one of the police thrillers I like to watch on TV sometimes.
It was a quick read, but "the secret" was mentioned so often that it got boring, and honestly, after not even half of the book I was quite sure I knew who the killer was (I was right). I would probably give the second book in the series a try to see if that improves, but my library doesn't have it, anyway.

"Celia's House" by D. E. Stevenson, first published in 1943 😸

The book spans about 40 years of Dunnian House, a Scottish country estate. There have always lived Dunnes in the house, and the book starts with the unmarried Celia in 1905 and then tells the story of her nephew and his family who move in after Celia's death.

I hadn't known DES before I came across a review of a different book of hers on Liz's blog "Adventures in reading, running, and working from home". I think I marked both books to remind myself that DES wrote a lot, but randomly chose this one first. 
It was gentle, charming, and just what I needed at the moment. Afterwards I found that Liz has a short review of it on her blog, too. It will definitely not be the last book by this author for me.

"A Handful of Time" by Helen Foley, first published in 1961

Frances is asked by the police to travel to Cornwall to identify the body of her friend Fanny who has drowned in a sailing accident.
On the way, she remembers the story of her friendship after meeting as undergraduates in Cambridge in the 30s, of living together and making it through the war - Fanny is Austrian, but has been living in England since she went to school -, of friends and lovers.

I found this book mentioned on "The Neglected Books Page" and thought it sounded interesting - which it was, but eventually it started dragging.

"The Mysterious Mr. Badman : A Yorkshire Bibliomystery" by William Fryer Harvey, first published in 1934

When blanket manufacturer Athelstan Digby offers to mind the bookshop of his hosts while they are out of the house, he doesn't expect three men to ask for the same ominous book within a few hours.
Little does he know about the secret connected with this book, but after a body is found, there's no stopping him from investigating.

This is one of my random finds, a vintage crime with quite a bit of fun mixed in.

"The Cat Who Came in From the Cold" by Deric Longden, first published in 1991 😸

A tiny kitten on a bucket in the neighbor's garden during the rain ... writers Deric and Aileen can't help falling in love.
This is the story of Thermal and his adventures in a Huddersfield neighborhood.

I had an urgent need for a familiar feel good book and this one which started my cat book collection decades ago is always a good choice!

"Robert My Father" by Sheridan Morley, first published in 1993

The biography of British actor Robert Morley written by his eldest son who was a drama and film critic and a writer.

I knew Morley from old movies of course, but I hadn't known about his long career in theater both as actor and playwright. As someone who knows next to nothing about theater, it was sometimes hard for me to wade through lists of unfamiliar names, but the stories made up for it.

"Pandora's Jar: Women in the Greek Myths" by Natalie Haynes, first published in 2022

In ten chapters, Haynes features women from classical literature and mythology, for example Pandora, Medea, Medusa, and tells the stories shining a light on them instead on the male point of view.

I had a look at the non-fiction books on OverDrive and picked this one because it sounded interesting. Good choice, I really enjoyed it!


DNF:

"The Frozen River" by Ariel Lawhon, first published in 2025

Midwife Martha Ballard is called to examine the body of a man found in the ice of the frozen river. He's one of two men having been accused of rape and Martha finds he was hanged before he got thrown into the river. Not everyone wants this murder to be solved, but Martha is determined.

I gave up at about a third. I wanted to like Martha for being strong and fighting for justice, but I didn't and even worse, the book started dragging for me.
It's inspired by real life events and the real Martha sounds very fascinating. I'd rather read the biography about her instead of this book.