NancyElin.blog

#Christmas 2023

1. Yes, fellow book lovers, it is official the Christmas kitchen is open!
2. I swore after I kept to my very strict diet August-November this year
3. …that I would just ENJOY the Christmas cooking season.
4. Today was the kickoff!
5. Where are my Xmas tablecloths and those littel votive candles?
6. Table is draped with the Xmas spirit and now is the battle to keep
7. ….the cats away from the candles.

Tonight was the pre-pre-pre show for Christmas dinner:

Hasselback Tomatoes…anybody can make these.

1. Tomato filling is a keeper!
   I can use it on anything.
2. These measurements are enough for 6 toms
   …I used just 3 tomatoes.

1. Handful flat parsley chopped
2. 3 TB oil
3. 2 clove garlic
4. 1/2 cup grated cheese
5. 1/4 c panko bread crumbs
6. …added 1 TB pesto for a bit more flavor
7. whizz in a kitchen machine (used the one for my
8. staff mixer from SMEG

1. Cut the tomatoes accordian style
2. Fill with mixure…sprinkle grated cheese on top
3. Set in pre heated grill ( 6 in from grill) for 5 minutes
4. Open that lovely Pinot Grigio that is chilling in the fridge
5. …and enjoy!
6. Color wise…this dish can’t get anymore Xmas-y!

#French Marc Bloch WW II historian

by Marc Bloch

Finish: 21.12.2023
Title: L’étrange défaite –  published 1946
Genre: Non-fiction (180 pg)
Language: French
Rating: A

Bad news: Everytime I turn on the TV these days all I see is war.
I don’t think I can stand a book about a l’étrange défaite
even though it is on the top of my French TBR. I hope it is worth reading to expose “…les rouages d’une défaite” (the inner working, gearwheels, cogs) of a “catastrophe incroyable” as it happens.

Good news: Even though the reading is going very slowly, I’m learning so much about the Battle of France 12 May – 25 June 1940. M. Bloch (1886 -1944) is not holding back..the French were defeated (..or let themselves be defeated) b/c of the incapibility of command (pg 55) resulting in being attacked in places and at times completely unexpected (pg 78). Where was the intelligence?

Good news: What was the burning question Marc Bloch felt so strongly about?  Why was the French militiary command in 1940 (Battle of France) incapable of the same success as one of the greatest WW I French General Henri Gourard? His strenght was his ability to change to meet the needs of modern war. He is famous for “elastic defense” (see Google). To be fair “time” was on his side. WW I lasted 4 years and Gourard had the opportunity to learn from mistakes. On the other hand WW II Battle of France lasted only six weeks. You make a mistake? …then you are “French” toast. Excusez the pun.

Sad ending: M. Bloch was arrested in Lyon on 8 March 1944, and handed over to Klaus Barbie of the Lyon Gestapo.  Marc Bloch was imprisoned, tortured and executed on 16 June 1944.

Personal: This book is available in English…. only 180 pages…and I would reccommend it to anyone who wants to learn (in a nutshell) why France “collapsed like a cold soufflé” during a 6 week attack (12 May – 25 June 1940) by Hitler’s war machine. The last part of the book is supplementary information (M. Bloch’s letters) about the war for anyone interested. I was not.

#French Winner Prix Goncourt 2023

by Jean-Baptiste Andrea (no photo)


Finish: 17.12.2023
Title: Veiller Sur Elle
Genre: novel (580 pg)
Language: French
Rating: A++++++++++
Winner Prix Goncourt 2023

Good news: Anyone who enjoys a great story, a plot with many twists and turns
will love this book. I’m so fortunate to be able to read it in French…but put this one
on your “books in translation” reading lists for 2024.
It is breathtaking!

Good news:

1. One of the best “hook” chapters I’ve ever read!
2. Narrator: Michelangelo Vitaliani born 1904
3. …is now  dead and is going to reveal
4. …why he never took his vows but
5. …remained in the abbey for  four decades.
6. Who can resist a story like this?
7. Masterfully done…by Jean-Baptise Andrea!

Quick scan: An old man, Mimo, dies in an abbey and to understand
the object of his last request, (Veiller Sur Elle = watch over her, protect her)
he lets us listen to his story before his last breath.

Personal: A marriage engagement, para-gliding crash,
a stone-cutter’s workshop and Circus Bizzaro
…all elements that have caputred my attention.
This is an unforgetable love story between Viola and Mimo.
The Prix Goncourt 2023 is a well-deserved prize for Jean-Baptiste Andrea.
In years past the committee “Goncourt” disappointed me
…but this year they choose a book worth reading!
Honestly, I feel sad that the book has ended…I was so enthralled by
the writing. It will be difficult to start an new book
…b/c I will be comparing it to Veiller Sur Elle.

Abbey on Sacra di San Michele, a tenth-century monastery perched atop a little rocky mountain in Piedmont. The film version of “The Name of the Rose” brought it to world attention. In the basilica, you’re alone with the echo of your footsteps. It is also used as the “abbey” in this book!

#History Revolutionary Spring 1848-1849

• Christopher Clark, (Sydney Australia, 1960) 
• is  Regius Professor of History at the University of Cambridge.
• He was knighted in 2015. 
• Australia should be so proud of this brilliant scholar! 
• #AusReadingMonth23
• Listed as one of the BEST books of 2023 by The Economist

Finish: 12.12.2023
Title: Revolutionary Spring  1848-1849
Genre: non-fiction (882 pg)
Rating: A+++++

Good news:  I won’t lie to you…this book was a real challenge to finish. My mind was spinning with all the details of names and places. Never give up when you are reading a book by a Cambridge University professor of history. It felt like a privilege to be sitting in one of his  many lectures about a tipping point in modern history.

Bad news: I’m exhausted. I knew I needed help reading this book and combined the audio version while reading it on Kindle.  There were times when I “missed” some sections b/c I fell asleep. I just had to re-read and get back on my horse and …immediately confront a failure and try again.

Good news: I never realized there was so much political unrest is so many European cities…at the same time! Revolutions spontaneously broke out all over Europe in 1848.  People’s grievances went in all directions, from poverty and political impotence to curbing freedom of the press.

Good news: I wondered why was there  was NO revolution in The Netherlands? I seems the Dutch are very pragmatic. They successfully absorbed and translated the crisis. Thanks to our politian, Johan Thorbecke (…you probably never heard of him) the Dutch constitution (grondwet) was adjusted to embrace a parlimentary from of government that we still have today.  As a Dutch envoy in Brussels wisely remarked: “…it is better to pre-empt that be pre-empted.” (pg 334)

Last thoughts: This book is a #MustRead for all the history buffs!  882 pages is a lot to digest and you have to be committed to finishing this book…even if it takes you weeks or months to read. I’m adding some of my notes I made on Goodreads…just to give you an idea what I was going through!

NOTES:

#Art History Paul Guillaume

by Sylphide de Daranyi (no photo)

Finish: 07.12.2023
Title: Paul Guillaume
Genre: non-fiction (285 pg)
Language: French
Rating: F+

Good news: I learned so much about several painters (1880s-1920s) and the art movements they were associated with: fauve, cubisme, “les Nabis”, intimism, rayonism etc.

Bad news: I did not learn it from this book! I think it would have been easier to make a list of painters
and just read Wikipedia. Extra: on Wiki you have some beautiful images of the paintings.

Personal: After a few pages about P. Guillaume and his rise as one of the most important art dealers on Paris in late 19th C and early 20th C…the book was full on pages about art showings, galleries, who is selling what. The book collapsed like a cold soufflé after page 100.

I kept up my interest thanks to Wikipedia. But the most irriatating part was Ms. Daranyi’s insistance on mentioning the prices paid for paintings by Gauillume’s clients.
Who cares?

In the conclusion we discover the diabolical machinations of Mrs. Juliette Guillaume. She was a ruthless social climber, wrapped poor Paul around her little finger leaving 2 dead bodies in her wake! Now that is the making of a great book.

Last thought:  This book was shortlisted for the André Malraux Prize 2023…but  IMO had no chance of  winning. The research is a mile wide and an inch deep…loaded with (at times) superfluous information that makes it weary reading.

#Art History Picasso/Cocteau

• Author: Claude Arnaud
  
• Title: Picasso tout contre Cocteau  (240 pg)  2023
• Genre: non-fiction
  
• Language: French
• Rating: D-

by Claude Arnaud (no photo)

Bad news: Although it’s extremely well-researched,
I find reading about some of the minutiae of the sulphurous friendship between Picasso and Cocteau a grind after 100 pages.
It’s a pity.

Good news: I did learn more about the many of the prominent French literature/artistic heavyweights: Blaise Cendrars, Max Jacob, Marcel Duchamp, Apollinaire, Eric Satie, Radiguet via Wikipedia and…unfortunately not much in this book. Arnaud writes in snippets of original thought and fills the rest of the pages with citations by Cocteau.

Personal: Reading this book was like eating bran flakes:
You know it’s good for you, and to some degree you enjoy the wholesomeness of it,
but it’s not always particularly exciting.

Did this book deserve the #Prix André Malraux 2023?

I don’t think so.
Je m’ennuie vite (…bored tears)
Je termine le livre mollement. ( half-heartedly)
But a French book is never a waste of reading time
…it always increases my vocabulary.

#Snow, books and morning coffee!

1. Winter started early here in The Netherlands!!
2. Snow, ice and of our national pasttime, ice skating!
3. No morning bike rides b/c I don’t want to hit an icy patch
4. …and break something!
5. Winter wonderland morning here…blanketed by
6. a early cover of snow…and it didn’t melt away.
7. With global warming the neighborhood kids should feel lucky
8. they could build a snowman last evening!

I coudn’t wait until Xmas!!

Last but not least….book pile!

#French Reading Challenge Humus

by Gaspard Kœnig (no photo)

Finish: 30.11.2023
Title: Humus
Genre: novel (380 pg)
Language: French
Rating: B+
Review:

Winner Prix Interallié and Prix Jean Giono 2023
Finalist Prix Goncourt and Prix Renaudot 2023

Quick scan: Two young agronomy students, Kevin and Arthur, are deeply concerned by the ecological crisis.
Kevin, from a family of farm workers, founded a start-up specializing in vermicomposting, skilfully navigating the world of green capitalism.
Arthur, born into a bourgeois family, tries to revitalize the family field, devastated by the intensive use of pesticides, but encounters unexpected difficulties in rural life.

Personal: I wanted to read a new book…that I ‘ve seen on many literary prize lists.
It took me 10 days to finish it. (380 pg) I was confronted with a completely new vocabulary about farms, worms, ecology, waste, manure, farming tools, compost, trees, animals etc. After 50% of the book my reading speed increased. That said…I still needed a good dosis of disciplined slow reading to start and finsh the book. BTW…I was surprised by the ending!

Last thoughts: I can see why Humus did not win the Goncourt Prize, France’s most prestigious literary award.
The book deals with a very “trendy” topic (ecology, ecocide)…but lacked the gravitas of great piece of literature. The French like their…gravitas.

#NonFicNov week 5 Non-fiction TBR

Meet your hosts! – Thank you all for hosting!

1. Liz – Adventures in reading, running and working from home
2. Frances – Volatile Rune
3. Heather –  Based on a True Story
4. Rebekah –  She Seeks Nonfiction
5. Lisa – Hopewell’s Public Library of Life

Week 5 (11/27-12/1) New To My TBR:  Which books  have made it onto your TBR? Be sure to link back to the original blogger who posted about that book! (Lisa – Hopewell’s Public Library of Life)

New to Non-ficton TBR

1. I’ve found so many new non-ficton books this year…. 23!!
2. Winner 2023:
3. BEST NON FICTION 2023    The Drowned and the Saved – Primo Levi – REVIEW

1. Plan December:  Make lists for my reading plans (challenges) 2024.
2. Thanks to all the bloggers who participated in #NonFicNov 2023

1. The Intrepid Angeleno
2. Letters To Monica – P. Larkin
3. A Life Long Passion – S. Mironenko
4. Based on a True Story
5. How Not To Die – M. Greger
6. ReaderBuzz
7. Down and Out in Paris and London – G. Orwell
8. Born a Crime – Trevor Noah
9. Volatile Rune
10. The Story of Art – K. Hessel
11. All the Beauty in the World – P. Bringley – READING
12. Typings
13. The Iliad – Emily Wilson
14. Homer and His Iliad – Robin Lane Fox
15. Schoenberg: Why He Matters – Harvey Sachs – 2023 (272 pg)
16. This Reading Life
17. Wifedom: Mrs. Orwell’s Invisible Life – A. Fnder
18. Anz LitLovers Blog
19. Aprodite’s Breath – S. Johnson
20. I Had a Fater om Karratha – A. Trevitt
21. BooksPlease
22. Ultra-Processed People –  Chris van Tulleken
23. Maphead’s Books Blog
24. The Good Assassin – W. Talth
25. Goodbye Easern Europe – J. Mikanowski
26. In Other Words – J. Lahiri
27. Savage Continent – Keith Lowe
28. Bibliographic  Manifestations
29. Cuba: An American History – Ana Ferrer
30. Market Garder Reader
31. Three Funerals For My Father – Jolie Phuong Hoang
32. Wicked Witch’s Blog 
33. Spring Cannot Be Cancelled – D. Hockney
34. The Border – Erika Fatland
35. Making It So: A Memoir – Patrick Stewart
    

#NonFicNov Bill Gammage

• Author: Bill Gammage
  
• Title: The Biggest Estate On Earth  (323 pg)  2011
• Genre: Non-fiction

Introduction:

1. Broadly speaking, “the bush” refers to all rural areas 
2. …and encompasses the arid “outback” at the continent’s heart.
3. This book is considered one of the TOP TEN  best books
4. …that  best summon the spirit of the bush
5. …and the mindset of those who live there.

Conclusion:

1. Not until the 1960s did researchers begin
   
2. …to sense system and purpose in Aboriginal burning.
3. Aboriginals may have, quite literally,
4. ….made the country what it is today by their use of fire.
5. Unfortunately  now with climate change…fire is destroying Australia.
6. No chance of  Nature..no careless hand…no random fire
7. …could make so rich a paradise as was Australia in 1788.
8. The clever Aboriginals were using  fire as a TOOL …as a scalpel.
9. It was planned, precise and predicted.
10. I was so impressed with the explanation of “cool-fires”.
11. It  sounds like a paradox!
12. Fuel rationing (dried grass and undergrowth)  and timing kept most fires cool.
13. Cool fires could burn one sepcies without much harming another,
14. …speed regrowth and stop random fires.

Last thoughts:

1. This was a fascinating book.
2. I must warn readers some chapters need “skimming’.
3. Ch 4 – Dreamlines and totems….I had to skim this section.
4. Ch 5: Less interesting.  Summation: Country was heart, mind and soul….not property.
5. Ch 7: Just descriptions of the landscape in 19th C…learned nothing.
6. Ch 9: Series of land surveyor reports for possible locations for major cities.
7. It is easy to cherry-pick the information you are most interested in.
8. I was left with a feeling of heartbreak when I finished the book.
9. The Aboriginals had done EVERYTHING  right to make the land sustainable
10. …through precision fire and habitat mosaic templates.
11. Now…the Aborignals have been dispossessed
12. ….lost the land they created!
13. Shameful.

Arthur Streeton – Australian Impressionism, Golden Summer, Eagleton