YOUR IDEAL BOOKSHELF

Do you know this website? 

If you had to choose just 12 or fewer books that mean the most to you, the ones you'd have on your "ideal bookshelf" – what would they be, and why?

What would I include in mine?

The Bible
Pippi Longstockings (Astrid Lindgren)
A big visual book (either Magritte, photography (Chema Madoz), impressionist painting)
El Cuento Infinito (Poldy Bird)
A compilation of American short stories
A compilation of poems 
My compilation of recipes (it's a book after all)
A Henning Mankell that I haven't read yet
A Niccoló Ammaniti
Whatever book we're reading in our book club, of course

That's what I can think of off the top of my head. YOUR TURN!

EUROPEAN DETECTIVE FICTION

Crime fiction is a magnifying glass that reveals the fingerprints of history. From Holmes and Poirot to Montalbano and the rise of Scandi-noir, Mark Lawson investigates the long tradition of European super-sleuths and their role in turbulent times.

An extremely interesting article. Read it here.

I didn't know this word: "scandi-noir", did you? Also, how do you like crime fiction? I started liking it when I was about 9 years old and my parents bought Agatha Christie's Miss Marple's collection for me. After that, Conan Doyle followed, Edgar Allan Poe, Raymond Chandler, and J.C. Oates. 

Four years ago or so I rekindled that passion for crime fiction with Stieg Larsson and when I discovered Henning Mankell, well, it was pure enjoyment (still is!).

And you, do you enjoy crime fiction? What's your favourite book/author?

WHAT DID YOU READ OVER THE CHRISTMAS BREAK?

Let's get intimate and share our December reads and a short opinion. Come on! It will take no more than 5 minutes. Here goes my list:

In English (first, as usual):

- Smut - two short stories by A. Bennett, who we'll be reading shortly. These stories are rather different from The Uncommon Reader, but they preserve his wittiness and irony while exploring the topic of sexuality, hidden character, and deceptiveness. VERY EASY TO READ and it's in our library in Ribeira.

- Bits and pieces of other T.Williams's plays like Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, The Glass Menagerie and Suddenly Last Summer, because reading A Streetcar again made me want to re-read the parts I had underlined about 9 years ago.

- Jane Austen Made Me Do It - short stories as well (see older post).

In Galician:

- Cincuenta asasinatos breves e un prólogo. I strongly recommend it! It's really easy and quick to read (short stories) and some of them really ironic and with that Galician realism that is a part of our everyday lives. "Os visitantes" and "Domingo de parricidio" are especially good. They reminded me of Roald Dahl's Tales of the Unexpected.

- Amor en feminino. Antoloxía das poetas galegas. There had to be some poetry, you know that!

In Spanish:

- La mano de Fátima. I had read La catedral del mar previously so I've been wanting to read this for a long time. I enjoyed it but I'm also a little tired of the way Falcones really "tortures" his characters. Have you read it? Do you agree? What do you think?

- Asesinos sin rostro, by Henning Mankell. It's the third book I read by him and I didn't particularly enjoy it, especially the way he hurriedly solves the mystery at the end.