Uncharted territory - Henrik's quest to the Heart of TBR

My library contains books I have actually read, not every book I own. Otherwise it would be considerably larger than the 921 books listed now - which is of course the reason, I joined this group in the first place.

To be considered a "Root" a book has to be acquired before the 24th of december 2012 - that is: Last years christmas presents do not count. Re-reads don't count either - my goal is to reduce the number of unread books.

I mostly read fiction these days, but non-fiction will be counted as well if it fits the criteria.

I review most of the books I read. The reviews are posted at librarything and at my blog www.beldenak.wordpress.com However, they are written in Danish so it might not be very accessible to most members of the group. I will try to write a few sentences in English when I update the ticker and post in the thread.

1. Friedrich Dönhoff: Savoy Blues
2. Alfred Döblin: Berlin Alexanderplatz
3. Maria Giacobbe: Øen
4. Suzanne Collins: Dødsspillet
5. D.H. Lawrence: Sons and Lovers
6. Ida Jessen: De uskyldige
7. Sofi Oksanen: Stalins køer
8. Mary McCarthy: The Group
9. John Fowles: Den franske løjtnants kvinde
10. Martin Booth: The Industry of Souls
11. Charles Dickes: Great Expectations
12. James Boswell: Dr. Johnson
13. Charlotte Brontë: Jane Eyre
14. Martin A. Hansen: Høstgildet
15. Suzanne Collins: Catching Fire
16. Ian McEwan: Black Dogs
17. James Lee Burke: Dixie
18. Christa Wolf: Sommerstykke
19. Alexander McCall Smith: Damernes Detektivbureau Nr. 1
20. Suzanne Collins: Oprør
21. Doris Lessing: The Story of a Non-Marrying Man and other stories
22. Theodor Fontane: Frau Jenny Treibel
23. Patricia D. Cornwell: Hvepsereden
24. Marina Cecilie Roné: N.I.M.B.Y.
25. Inger Christensen: Alfabet
26. Hans Lyngby Jepsen: Din omgang
27. Jan de Hartog: Trommerne
28. Nevil Shute: De startede ved daggry
29. Graham Greene: Taberen vinder
30. Arthur Conan Doyle: The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes

Just as a favor to me, could you copy your ticker to the ticker thread, please?

Here's the link so you won't have to go hunting for it.
http://www.librarything.com/topic/148710

> 2 Sure - I just didn't get it done before dinner.

Hey, here is your thread, Henrik! I starred you so I can follow you.

So, Roots read before joining the group:

1. Friedrich Dönhoff: Savoy Blues

How did it get here?
A couple of years ago we spent a week in Trier. It is a wonderful town with some great book stores. (In one of them the shelves were littered with small, personal recommandations by the employees - brilliant.)

Two-and-half stars

What’s next for it?
Staying for now – maybe the kids will take a look sometime?

2. Alfred Döblin: Berlin Alexanderplatz

How did it get here?
In 2000 I studied in Berlin for half a year. It was a great time, and I spent a lot of time checking out booksellers outside the universities, looking for the next Buch-fix. There were a lot of good offers, and I bought sooo much more than I had time to read.

Four stars

What’s next for it?
Staying – it really should be part of any good library.

3. Maria Giacobbe: Øen

How did it get here?
My wife's parents live near the town of Viborg in Jutland. It has a book store / used book shop that is way better than what could be expected for a town of that size. Obiviously it is one of my favourite places when we visit them, and i picked this one up last year when I was supposed to look for some french litterature for our vacation in France.

Four-and-a-half stars

What’s next for it?
Moved to the favourites section – I can’t wait to re-read it!

4. Suzanne Collins: The Hunger Games

How did it get here?
Well, this isn't really my fault. My daughter ordered it through a book-club last year. Then again, I paid for it and always intended to read it anyway, so it counts.

Three-and-half stars

What’s next for it?
Staying for now – maybe the other kid will take a look sometime? (And besides: It's not my call anyway)

5. D.H. Lawrence: Sons and Lovers

How did it get here?
This has been waiting patiently for my attention for about fifteen years, and I have dutifully packed it and unpacked it every time I moved. I believe I found it in a used book shop in Odense, where I went to highschool and studied, but I can't quite remember.

Four stars

What’s next for it?
Staying – it really should be part of any good library

That's it - I thought I had done six ROOTs already, but I was wrong. Ticker update on the way!

What does Øen mean?

The Island - It's about family, honor and revenge (=blood feud) in an unnamed Island in the Mediterranean which could very well be Sardinia.

Maria Giacobbe published in Italian before she married Danish author Uffe Harder and moved to Denmark. She continued writing in Italian but most of her work was simultaneously translated and published in Danish by her husband or sons.

Thanks, that is nice to know. I'm always interested in languages, so please keep translating the titles of the book you read into english.

Thanks for the ticker update and interesting that you actually hink about your book's next home.

> 9 I'm saying thankyou - it's great that you handle the overall statistics and it should be as easy for you as possible.

Frankly, I made up the categories for this thread but it is in ernest. I really do need to make room for new books.

Glad to have you here. Dec 24th huh? That's different. JUst hoping I don't take too many book bullets from your reading.

>11 dudes22:

In Denmark gifts are usually exchanged on christmas eve, and I wanted to challenge myself to read some books which have REALLY waited their turn on the shelf. BTW I get the fear of bullets. Lots of inspiration for the next trip to the book shop in this group.

Anyway, today has been a baaaad ROOT-day. I picked up three books at the library and immediately ordered two more and was seriously tempted by a lot more! Aaaargh!! I can think of a few stop-smoking projects that got off to a worse start, but this is still pretty bad.

Luckily I also finished a book to even things out a bit. More on that later.

6. Ida Jessen: De uskyldige (The innocent)

How did it get here?
Once or twice a year my local library sells used books for cheap. Most of them are in pretty good condition and have just fallen out of favor with the lenders. What is not sold, will be shredded and recycled. This is horrible for me! I immediately want to save all of these poor books from their impending, terrible fate and give them a new and loving home! I try to restrain myself, of course. (Last time I only bought three books - unfortunately one of them was Writings by Ivan Turgenjev.) Anyway, that's how De uskyldige entered my house last autumn.

2½ stars
Ida Jessen is one of my favourite contemporary Danish authors, and I did enjoy the fine psychological portraits of a few of the women in this short story collection, where everyone seems to be missing out on the life they are living, because they long so much for the past and what is remembered as its more authentic relationships. De uskyldige is her second book and it shows. It's not bad, but she has not yet developed her firm grip on the fears of everyday life.

What’s next for it?
Staying for now – the kids will probably never read it, but for this author I'll let the collector mentality rule.

Next up
Sofi Oksanen: Stalins køer (Stalins cows)

De uskyldige is translated into Dutch: De onschuldige

That looks very much the same.

Don't worry about those books that you saved and brought home - it is a worthy endeavor. :-)

>14 connie53:
Not much difference there. Sometimes I get a feeling that I should be able to read Dutch because there are so many similarities to German, English and Scandinavian languages, but it's probably not THAT easy.

>15 cyderry:
Sure is 8-)

7. Sofi Oksanen: Stalins køer (Stalin’s Cows)

How did it get here?
Well, two years ago I got two copies of another book for my birthday and had to exchange one of them for something else. I had already read the troubling and brilliant Purge by Oksanen, so her next book in Danish seemed an obvious choice. Why I didn’t actually read it until now, I have no idea.

Four-and-a-half stars
Stalins køer is a great book! Anna is twenty-something and she has two major problems in her life. First, she’s an anorectic and a bulimic and most of her existence is controlled by this demanding Master. Secondly, she is half-Estonian and growing up in Finland I the 1980s. Her mother desperately wants to conceal this fact and forces Anna to never, ever mention her origins. The oppression of the body is rooted in her mother’s repression of her past – and that repression is rooted in the very real soviet oppression of any Estonian resistance after 1945. Oksanen effortlessly brings these two very different subjects together.

What’s next for it?
Staying – it really should be part of any good library. Actually I’m thinking more about collecting all the four planned novels in the series than about getting rid of this one.

Next up: Mary McCarthy: The Group

8. Mary McCarthy: The Group

How did it get here?
Well, it was a long time ago. I got my hands on it much like Sons and Lovers: Both books wore picked up second-hand back in the 90s in Odense, when I was constantly tempted by cheap paperbacks of classic literature on my TBR-list. Actually, I might have bought the two books at the same time!

Three-and-a-half stars
I enjoyed the book and the portraits of eight different women wrestling with life in the 1930s. Most of the themes are universal: Love, relationships, combining career and family life and so on. If you are interested in women's liberation, gender roles or the 1960s, you will probably not be disappointed. However, I did find reading a bit hard occasionally, and the book didn’t have the freshness and overall appeal of the somewhat comparable The Golden Notebook, which I read last year.

What’s next for it?
Staying for now – maybe my daughter or my wife will want to read it sometime?

9. John Fowles: Den franske løjnants kvinde ( The French Lieutenant’s Woman – very precise translation)

How did it get here?
This one entered the house through marriage. My wife acquired it before we got to know each other. We have been together for more than 13 years – and this novel was on my TBR-list even earlier, so it was about time!

Four stars
Interesting characters and a very interesting portrait of the Victorian Age. Charles’ engagement with Ernestina is threatened once he meets the fascinating but socially despised Sarah Woodruff. It is also a literary experiment. Fowles occasionally distances himself from the story by analysing the period or explicitly commenting on the novel itself. I wasn’t too thrilled about that.

What’s next for it?
Staying – it should be part of any good library and it’s the kind of book I want to keep for later reference. Whether I will actually get it done – well, we’ll have to see about that.

10. Martin Booth: The Industry of Souls

How did it get here?
This is another book my wife brought into the house. She was a member of an English Bookclub in the late 90s and received a number of paperbacks – including this one – before giving it up again. (Probably a good idea. It’s not like we’re lacking books!)

Three stars
On the surface the story is very dramatic: Alexander Bayliss is sent to the Gulag in the 1950s and spend twenty years there. Once freed, he decides to stay in Russia instead of returning to England, and he settles in the small town of Myshkino and becomes a respected citizen. Paradoxically, this dramatic story is told with too little conflict and drama to really engage the reader. At least this reader.

What’s next for it?
Staying for now – but I have no problem letting it go, if my wife agrees.

11. Charles Dickens: Great Expectations

How did it get here?
I bought a number of cheap paperbacks of English classics late in high school and in my first years at university. This is one of them – and so was Hard Times which I read shortly after buying it. Some were not read, however, and Great Expectations is one of those books that have been sitting on my shelves for years waiting patiently for my attention. This summer it finally got it, as reading Dickens seemed perfect for a vacation in London.

Four-and-a-half stars
Great Expectations is the story of Pip, a young orphan from the Kentish marsh who is surprisingly approached by an anonymous benefactor willing to pay for him becoming a gentleman. Pip immediately gives up his family and his apprenticeship as a blacksmith to move to London. Still, putting your faith in an unknown benefactor is dangerous and having great expectations implies the risk of great letdowns. Dickens creates characters like few others – especially annoying and irritating persons that are both original and recognizable – and there are a number of memorable moments in this novel.

What’s next for it?
Moved to the favourites section – I feel confident that I will reread this novel at some point. Of course, I also felt confident I wouldn’t wait almost twenty years to read in the first place!

It sounds like it deserves a reread sometime, Henrik!

#22 It definitely does deserve a reread, Connie

12. James Boswell: Dr. Johnson ( Life of Johnson )

How did it get here?
When I worked on my master thesis, I used a lot 18th century dictionaries. One of the earliest was written by Samuel Johnson, which was obviously an interesting character. So I bought this contemporary biography when I stumbled into it in the used book store in Odense. Still, it was not a book I HAD to read, so it has rested peacefully on my shelves for 12-13 years.
Interestingly, it was translated and published in Denmark in 1942 during German occupation as “the most distinctly English book in existence.”

Three-and-a-half stars
Boswell wants to write a different kind of biography and focuses on his own conversations with Johnson instead of just listing his public achievements. It is interesting to get a glimpse of English intellectual life in the second half of the 18th century, but it is unsatisfactory that Boswell more or less neglects Johnson’s academic production.

What’s next for it?
Staying – it’s a classic, so it really should be part of any good library – not to mention it is a book with a story that means something to me personally.

13. Charlotte Brontë: Jane Eyre

How did it get here?
This is another one of those English paperbacks I bought back in the 1990s.

Four-and-a-half starts
I really enjoyed this book. Reading took time and some effort, because the language is not as accessible as Jane Austen. Still, the story of Jane’s hardships is both compelling and complex. Brontë creates a world where beauty and dark secrets exist side-by-side.

What’s next for it?
Moved to the favourites section – I won’t be re-reading in the near future, but I feel pretty certain, that I will get back to it. Besides, it’s the kind of book you want to have in your library.

Keep it up, Henrik.

14. Martin A. Hansen: Høstgildet og andre fortællinger (The Harvest Feast and other stories)

How did it get here?
In the town where I live a small store sells all kinds of antiquities – and old books! I seldom go past its windows without glancing at the books, and of course I’m not always able to resist. I bought this book four years ago along with a second copy of The Trial by Kafka. (Not because I craved an extra copy. I just forgot that I already had an unread copy at home. Which, I’m sad to say, I still do.)

Three stars
Martin A. Hansen is a modern classic in Danish literature. His novel Løgneren (The Liar) is commonly regarded as a masterpiece, and it is also one of my favourite books ever. This collection of short stories is not as good, but the themes are very recognizable for readers familiar with his other works: Faith and doubt, emotional portraits of nature, some stories set in medieval times and a general fascination with the old Danish farm land as it was before modernization really kicked in. The stories were written in the 1940s and 1950s, so it was very much a portrait of a world already disappearing.

What’s next for it?
Staying for now – maybe I can convince my wife to read it?

15. Suzanne Collins: Løbeild (Catching Fire)
The translation is pretty accurate; it's just a phrase that's difficult to translate litterally.

How did it get here?
The same way, Dødsspillet got here: My daughter got it through a bookclub, and she enjoyed it very much when she read it last year.

Four stars
I didn’t really expect much, since I considered it a rip-off on the original success, but as it turned out, I enjoyed this dystopian fantasy quite a lot. Panem is more convincing and frightening than in the first book, and I got a feeling it won’t be long before I pick up the last book in the trilogy.

What’s next for it?
Moved back to my daughter’s shelves – she can’t wait to reread it!

Those are really very good books, Henrik. I enjoyed them very much. So go read number 3!

I agree - great suspense and entertainment.

16. Ian McEwan: Sorte hunde (Black dogs - a very precise translation)

How did it get here?
I have no recollection what so ever about how I came to possess this book. However, it must have been bought in a second-hand bookstore, because someone has written his name in it and marked some lines that I didn’t consider all that central. And I have marked it myself, so I have definitely bought it before I moved in with my girlfriend (now wife) in 2000.

Four-and-half stars
I usually enjoy McEwan’s books, and this was no exception. Actually, it might be the best I have read so far. The novel is a relatively straightforward story of a couple married in 1946 and slowly drifting apart until her death in 1987 and the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989, which is at the same time the story of the collapse of their youthful ideals. But it is also a complex novel toying with the perspective and storytelling – why is the story told by their orphaned son-in-law and what does it mean? Lots of things left for the reader to ponder.

What’s next for it?
Moved to the favourites section – I don’t feel done with this book at all!

Oh, my favourite McEwan as well!

Yes, it's great, and I can still look forward to Atonement and Saturday. That's nice!

18. James Lee Burke: Dixie (The original title is Dixie City Jam, so it’s just shortened in Danish)

How did it get here?
Well, I bought it a couple of years ago at the local library. They were cleaning out the shelves, and I thought that was a great chance to get acquainted with Burke's crime stories.

Four stars
It’s a very good mystery. Robicheaux finds an old nazi submarine off the Louisiana coast, and soon he’s in all sorts of trouble. Lots of excitement, some southern flavour, and a lot of colourful characters. The main villain might be a bit too much, but it’s a very good story.

What’s next for it?
Staying for now – I don’t really re-read mysteries but my wife wants to give it a go as well. That probably means it will be another couple of years before it leaves the house.

18. Christa Wolf: Sommerstykke (Summerpiece – a 1:1 translation of the German original Sommerstück)

How did it get here?
I believe I bought my copy in one of the book sales, which were an annual ritual before the Danish book market was liberalized. I don’t remember the specifics but it’s a book I have owned for a very long time before reading it. I probably bought in the early 1990s to learn more about the GDR that had just collapsed.

Two-and-half stars
I liked the theme of the book very much. A group of East German intellectuals are fed up with the realities of communism and flee into the countryside, where they buy and restore old farm houses, talk and drink wine. It is a cover, however, to mask their political and personal disappointments. Unfortunately the story and the characters never really engaged me.

What’s next for it?
Give away pile – been there, read that. I might give Christa Wolf another chance, but I don’t think it will be this novel.

19. Alexander McCall Smith: Damernes Detektivbureau Nr. 1 (A literal translation of the English title)

How did it get here?
A few times a year all shops in town are open for a late-night sale. We usually go there to pick up a good offer or simply to hear a little music or take part in some of the other activities. I try to avoid buying books with varying degrees of success. I couldn’t resist this one, obviously. I have read lots of positive reviews of the series and the price of this cute little hardback had been reduced so many times (10 kr = 1.50$) that I just HAD to give it a new home.

Four stars
Mma Ramotswe is a young widow in Gaborone, the capital of Botswana. She is determined to become a detective, so she sells the herd which she has inherited from her father and sets up shop. Soon all kinds of costumers seek her help, and she usually solves her cases with cunning and by seeing right through people’s web of lies. There are no masterminded serial killers in this book, but I rather enjoyed that. All characters are very human and there is a good deal of humour in the book.

What’s next for it?
Staying for now – I probably won’t read it again, but I feel confident my wife will enjoy it.

20. Suzanne Collins: Oprør ('Oprør' means 'rebellion' in English. Not at bad title, just not a very loyal translation)

How did it get here?
The book belongs to my daughter. We got the two first volumes from a book-club, but I had to buy this one in a book shop because there was no way she could wait that long to read the ending!

Four stars
I enjoyed the book a lot. Lots of action, lots of suspense, lots of intrigue. In short, it’s a page turner. The characters might be a bit stereotypical – President Snow definitely crossed the line to all-knowing super villain in this volume – and the intrigues were a bit too much, but I was still fascinated with Panem. Many new aspects of its complicated society were revealed.

What’s next for it?
Staying on my daughter’s shelves. She already said, she wants to re-read the whole series!

21. Doris Lessing: The Story of a Non-Marrying Man and other stories

How did it get here?
In high school we read The Fifth Child, and my English teacher was very enthusiastic about Lessing, so I picked up a couple of cheap paperbacks when I was actually out looking for Stephen King novels. Unfortunately it took quite some years before I got around to reading the books.

Four stars
This collection of short stories is very much a microcosm of Lessing’s writing. I could recognize many themes, and I enjoyed most of the stories a lot. I particularly liked the ‘Report on the Threatened City’ where an alien mission to Earth unsuccessfully try to persuade people to behave rationally and save themselves from imminent danger. Most stories have recognizable and interesting characters, and overall I enjoyed reading it a lot. I’m looking forward to reading more of her novels.

What’s next for it?
Staying – I will keep it around for future reference, since I definitely want to read more Lessing.

22. Theodor Fontane: Frau Jenny Treibel

How did it get here?
When I studied in Berlin, I bought a lot of books and some of them were books which one way or the other was connected to Brandenburg and the city. Fontane was one of the more prominent writers in the empire at the end of the 19th century, living in and writing about Berlin. I bought a couple of his books and only found time to read Effie Briest during my stay there. Time for the follow-up!

Three stars
This is a very 19th century novel – lots of dinner parties full of learned conversations, some intrigue and families exercising benevolent repression. Frau Jenny is bourgeois and even though she is cherishing the idea of romantic love, she is vehemently against the engagement between her son Leopold and the lively but not so rich Corinna. This could spell tragedy, but the young lovers are actually not that much in love, so it’s more of a romantic comedy with everything falling into place in the end. It’s not a great book, but I enjoyed it, and it was good reading German again.

Staying – it has sentimental value, even though I don’t foresee a re-read.

Nice to see Fontane in someone else's reading! Ever tried Der Stechlin? Nothing really happens, just conversations and reflections about life. But he has such a nice, gentle way of poking fun at Prussia and Prussian attitudes. His favourite object is the Domina, old Stechlins sister Adelheid. Which reminds me, I really need to read this again...

Never read Der Stechlin, but it sounds interesting. I really think you nailed it with your charachterization of Fontane as a "nice, gentle way of poking fun".

When I was younger I craved more radical criticism - and once in a while it IS inspiring to read true pessimism - but I'm starting to appreciate more subtle ways of saying things.

We had to read Effi Briest at school and I just didn't get him at the time. I can appreciate him so much better now...

Fontane remembers me a my highschool time. Our German teacher was a great fan of Fontane and let us read a lot of books and essays. :-D

#43 Did it scare you away from him? That happens sometimes. My German teachers seemed to be more into Heinrich Böll and Bertolt Brecht. I have read some Böll-novels after highschool, but I'm only slowly opening up to Brecht.

23. Patricia D. Cornwell: Hvepsereden (Hornet’s Nest – literal translation)

How did it get here?
Ten years ago, I was a passionate reader of Cornwell’s Scarpetta-series, so I bought everything Cornwell I could get my hands on. I also bought this book on a sale and only later realized that it wasn’t a Scarpetta novel at all. Ever since, it’s been standing on the shelves, awaiting its chance to get its due.

Three-and-a-half stars
Hornet’s Nest is the first novel in a series taking place in Charlotte, North Carolina. The young journalist Andy Brazil has been allowed to report on police work from the inside and explores the streets with leading police official Virginia West. She is strong-minded, independent and obviously annoyed, since her time would be better spend chasing a serial killer on the loose. However, her boss, Judy Hammer, is convinced that building a better relationship with the press and the public is essential. The middle was a bit slow, but overall I enjoyed the book. Cornwell seemed to be running out ideas late in the Scarpetta series, and it’s great to see, what she can do with a new set of characters.

What’s next for it?
Staying for now – at least if my wife wants to give it a go.

Do you have the other two Andy Brazil books too, Henrik?

No, Connie, and I think I will just go to the library for them. Are thye worth a read?

You can't go terrible wrong if you get them from the library. No money lost, I've read them and I thought they were not the best books by Cornwell, but a nice fast read of you are in need for that kind of reading.

24. Marina Cecilie Roné: N.I.M.B.Y.

How did it get here?
I bought this one in a book sale last year. I read another book by the author twenty years ago and remember absolutely nothing about it. This little novel, however, got very good reviews when it was published in 2007.

Four stars
It’s not a pleasant story. In a typical family – parents in their 40s, three children – tragedy strikes, when the father is diagnosed with cancer and dies. We follow the family as it tries to cope with the loss, but the book is not as bleak a read, as you might expect. The novel is very much a celebration of life, and Roné very gently and precisely describes situations that I could see myself in.

What’s next for it?
Staying – I think I will get back to this book at some point.

25. Inger Christensen: Alfabet

How did it get here?
Inger Christensen died in early 2009 and she was universally hailed as the greatest Danish poet of her generation. Now, I don’t read much poetry and I had frankly never read any of her works at the time, but such praise spurned curiosity, so I bought her collected poems. I’m slowly working my way through the book.

Four stars
Alfabet is partly constructed on the basis of mathematical formulas, but this tight framework has clearly not prevented Christensen from writing beautiful and moving poetry. She calls things into existence – the concept reminded me a bit of Aslan who sings Narnia into existence – and masterfully blends images of her personal life with images of the world, both good and bad. In the end, the beauty of the apricot trees is no more real than the destructiveness of the atomic bombs – and vice versa.

What’s next for it?
Staying – Inger Christensen’s writing really should be part of any good Danish library

26. Hans Lyngby Jepsen: Din omgang (Your Round)

How did it get here?
When I was still in school, my Danish teacher was a big fan of Hans Lyngby Jepsen and he made us read a couple of his short stories. I guess that’s why a chose to buy two of his books in a library sale a looong time ago. Probably in the middle of the 1990s so it was about time.

Three stars
The unnamed narrator learns that his old buddy Lade has died. This makes him look back at their time together twenty years earlier, when a summer of partying turned into a life of permanent drunkenness. The narrator was able to pull himself together, but Lade just continued his downward spiral. It is a pretty interesting novel that in no way romanticizes drinking but it’s not a great book and I kind of felt its age. It seemed a bit dated.

Give away pile – been there, read that.

27. Jan de Hartog: Trommerne

How did it get here?
Honestly, I don’t know. I have clearly bought it at a book-sale somewhere more than ten years ago, but that’s pretty much all I know. I have moved it a number of times and probably bought it, because it seemed exotic.

Three stars
The book is part two of the trilogy Gods geuzen. I haven’t read the others, but I did enjoy this. The young doctor Anton Zordrager is stationed in Indonesia during Dutch rule, and he is heavily changed by what he experiences. He can no longer connect with his young wife Els, and he flees to the jungle where he now feels more at home. This, however, is an illusion and he is soon consumed by a battle of minds with a local witch doctor.

Staying for now – I want to read the other rarts before I pass it along.

28. Nevil Shute: De startede ved daggry (They started at Dawn – a not at all literal translation of Landfall)

How did it get here?
This is another book that’s been in my library forever, and I don’t remember exactly how I got it. I know I bought it second-hand in the early 90s, probably after reading Shute’s On the Beach

Three stars
Jerry is a young pilot patrolling the Channel in the first months of WWII. When he attacks a submarine which may or may not be English, he is caught up in a conflict between navy and air force. Published in 1940 the novel is obviously patriotic and written to support the war effort, but I enjoyed the lively dialogue between Jerry and his beloved barmaid Mona.

What’s next for it?
Give away pile – been there, read that. De startede ved daggry is a nice, quick read but I don’t really see any reason to get back to it.

29. Graham Greene: Taberen vinder (The looser wins – pretty close to the original title Looser takes all)

How did it get here?
I was always fascinated with the film The Third Man. In the early 1990s I found the book in a second hand bookstore and bought it. The volume also included Looser takes all, which I have never found time to read – until now.

Three stars
Taberen vinder is a very short novel. The main characters are Bernard and Cary, who get married in Monte Carlo. They are supposed to be picked up by his boss mr. Dreuther, but he has apparently forgotten all about them. Short on cash Bernard starts betting in the casino and surprisingly gets rich. Unfortunately Cary doesn’t like him any longer. The story is simple and told with much humour. I enjoyed reading this concentrated warning against living to earn money.

What’s next for it?
Staying – it’s not like it should be part of any good library, but I want to keep the other half of the volume!

You can do it, Henrik.

Thanks. Getting to 33 is probably out of my reach but I will be back next year!

30. Arthur Conan Doyle: The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes

How did it get here?
In the early 90s you could by some very cheap omnibus hardbacks of British authors in Denmark. I bought volumes by Doyle, Oscar Wilde and George Orwell but never finished any of them, so it’s about time I did something about it. This collection of short stories is the second one I have finally read. Three more to go!

Three and a half stars stars
Basically I still think the stories are worth reading. Some are very good – like The Yellow Face, The Final Problem and The Naval Treaty – others are of less interest. This is only to be expected in a collection of individually published stories, and the portrait of Holmes is a bit more intimate than in the earliest stories. Here are both brother Mycroft and archenemy Moriarty introduced.

What’s next for it?
Staying – it really should be part of any good library and besides – how can I get rid of an omnibus that’s only two-fifths done?

So that's it. I planned on 33 ROOTs and managed 30, and I'm very happy with that result.

I have read more of my own books than I have for years, and I made a solid dent in the really old ones. There is still much to be done - I'll be back next year! - but that's not really the point. The true joy of the ROOT-challenge is getting to know and love my private library again. It's been fun just looking at the shelves, trying to determine which ROOT to deal with next and wondering why I haven't read those wonderful books years ago.

That's a wonderful testament to ROOT, Henrik. That's how I feel too after completing my first year in the group.

Thanks Maggie. It kind of surprised me that I felt this way. I thought it would just be a about cleaning up.