MissBrangwen reads by starlight

Boierul Ilie, Cisnădioara

Hi, my name is Mirjam and this is my fifth year in the Category Challenge. 2024 was my best reading year since the early 2010s, and I hope that this will continue in 2025!

I live in the north of Germany close to the North Sea with my husband. We are both college teachers and besides reading, we love traveling. I also sing in a choir.

This year my thread looks a little different compared to the previous years and I have many more categories. I don't have a specific numerical goal for each of them, but simply wish to track what I read. I also hope that these categories will make me read what I really want.
Regarding the CATs and KITs, I plan to complete AlphaKIT and most of SFFKIT and MysteryKIT, but I will only drop in and out of the others. My hope is that this will allow for more spontaneous reading. I will also do BingoDOG because it is one of my favourite things about LT!

The Category Challenge is my favourite LT group because I love the kind atmosphere, the comfort it brings, the community spirit and of course all the books it makes me add to my shelves and wish list!

Last year my thread title had a loose connection to Narnia, so this time I was looking for a Middle-earth allusion and while we were watching "The Desolution of Smaug" today, the idea of this title came to my mind. It also fits because I am using multiple pictures from Boierul Ilie in Romania in this thread. We visited this place in October and it was fantastic - probably the closest you can get to Hobbiton outside of New Zealand, and it is even more inspiring because it has all been built on private land over many years by a small team who wish to provide a relaxing and natural space to others. It is not finished yet, so one day it will be even better.

~~~

Again, I don't have a dedicated theme, but use pictures from my travels from 2024 that have a connection to books.

~~~

My reading year runs from Dec 24 to Dec 23!

(Boierul Ilie, Cisnădioara)

J.R.R. Tolkien
All books connected to J.R.R. Tolkien in any way.

(Boekhandel Riemer, Groningen)

Australia
All books written by Australian authors or set in Australia.

(Boierul Ilie, Cisnădioara)

Rereading Fiction
This category is reserved for fiction. Non-fiction rereads are not included.

(Shakespeare Coffee & Poetry, a book café in Brașov)

Doorstoppers
All books that have more than 600 pages, or more than 500 if the print is tiny.

(Bookstall at Chatuchak Market, Bangkok)

Diversity
Books by BIPOC and LGBTQIA+ authors as well as any other authors outside of what I have usually read so far.

(Shakespeare's First Folio at the British Library, London)

Literary Classics
Books written before 1975 that are somewhat literary - I make this distinction to make sure that I won't simply fill this category with mysteries ;-)

(Cărturești Carusel, Bucharest)

Literary and general fiction
All novels that are not genre fiction and not classics.

(The Lindisfarne Gospels at the British Library, London)

Historical Fiction
All novels written at least sixty years after the time they are set in.

(South Kensington Books, London)

Romance

Contemporary Romance

Historical Romance
Once Upon A Christmas by Diane Farr

(Casa Vlad Dracul, Sighișoara, the alleged house of Dracula's namesake)

Mysteries
Mysteries and crime novels of all kind.

Golden & Silver Age Mysteries
An English Murder by Cyril Hare

Cosy Crime

Historical Mysteries

Police Procedurals

Psychological Thrillers

(Free library in Sibiu)

Fantasy
All non-Tolkien fantasy books.

(William Shakespeare and others in the Poet's Corner, Westminster Abbey, London)

Poetry

(Boekhandel Riemer, Groningen)

Nonfiction

Autobiography | Memoir | Letters | Biography

History

Politics | Sociology | Critical Theory

Religion

Travel

Others



Great Courses

(A wall painting at the Erasmus Büchercafé, a book café in Sibiu)

Graphic Novels

(Cărturești Carusel, Bucharest)

Series

"Nobody Series" by Diane Farr: Once Upon A Christmas (2/2) - series completed

(Cărturești Carusel, Bucharest)

Catch all
For all books that do not fit in any of the categories.

(Bookstall at Chatuchak Market, Bangkok)

Short Reads
Single short stories and articles (when I do not read the whole collection) read for leisure - texts read for work are not included.

Short stories and other prose

Articles and essays

1. A place you've never been:
2. Either "Library" or "Thing" in title:
3. Writing about writers:
4. Oldest book on your TBR:
5. A holiday in title: Once Upon A Christmas by Diane Farr
6. A long title (5+ words):
7. Features adoption/foster care/nontraditional family:
8. Medical topic:
9. The sun on cover/in title:
10. Child as a main character:
11. Newly in public domain:
12. Author has your or relative’s 1st or last name:
13. Read a CAT:
14. Totally random:
15. Features a birth:
16. Nonhuman narrator:
17. Features winged creature(s):
18. A profession in title:
19. Travel:
20. Recommended by a friend or LT member:
21. Set in your favorite season:
22. Originally published in a language not your own:
23. Hollywood!:
24. A piece of furniture on the cover:
25. Features fire:

(Bran Castle, known as Dracula's castle, although there really is no resemblance to the one in the novel)

AlphaKIT
This year I am going to choose a paper book from my shelves for each letter, ideally one that I have been meaning to read for a long time.

January: O-S
Once Upon A Christmas by Diane Farr

MysteryKIT

January: Winter Mysteries
An English Murder by Cyril Hare

SFFKIT

(Bran Castle)

Other CATs & KITs

(William Wordsworth in the Poet's Corner, Westminster Abbey, London)

Other LT Challenges

Reading Through Time - Monthly challenges & quarterly eras.

The Global Challenge - Tracking my global reading over the years.

Hosting Commitments

February SFFKIT: The Art of SFF
September MysteryKIT: Silver Age Mysteries
September RTT: Highlands & Islands
Yearlong CultureCAT: Bonus CAT 1 - South East Asia/Pacific Islander

Extra

Extra

Boierul Ilie, Cisnădioara

My December has been a bit stressful, so I created this thread rather late, but now it is finally up! My new reading year has started yesterday because my husband and I traditionally start reading a fresh book on Christmas Eve after our Christmas dinner and giving each other our presents, and I have begun reading An English Murder by Cyril Hare.

Merry Christmas to all who celebrate, and welcome to my first thread of 2025!

What great cats & pics! Good luck with your 2025 reading. I also start my reading year on December 25 and have for years, to start reading any new books that I get for Christmas!

Wishing you a great year of reading! So happy you did so well last year. Hope that continues!

What wonderful pictures! I really want to go to Carturesti in Bucuresti.

Your pictures are really nice. Good reading in 2025.

What wonderful pictures! I’d love to visit Boierul Ilie someday!

Looking forward to following your reading this year.

Love the pictures you have chosen this year. I look forward to following you again. My thread will be up by January 1st (fingers crossed)

You've chosen lovely pictures for your thread. I look forward to following your reading again in 2025.

Isn't it fortunate that you have lovely photos from your travels to decorate your thread? Glad to see you are ready for 2025.

I'd like to know what happens if a customer wants a book from the bottom of a pile in the Bangkok bookstore. Looks very tricky!

My husband and I have spent a very quite Christmas. He is still on crutches because of his broken foot, so we have mostly been reading and we also watched the Hobbit trilogy and plan to continue with The Lord of the Rings. Usually our Christmas is much busier with lots of driving and visiting relatives, and I must say that I enjoyed this quiet holiday for a change, although I am looking forward to visiting my mom when he is better.

>28 Tess_W: Thank you! I think it is so nice to be able to spend the Christmas days starting fresh.

>29 majkia: Thank you! I really hope so, too, it has done wonders for me.

>30 Jackie_K: When I stumbled upon pictures of it online I knew we had to go there! We also spent some time in the café upstairs which was really nice.

>31 mnleona: Thank you, I am glad you like them!

>32 Charon07: It really is worth a visit and it will be even better when the interior is finished. Right now you can enter it, but it is mostly empty.

>33 dudes22: Thank you! I am looking forward to following along with you, too.

>34 beebeereads: Thank you, I will look for your thread!

>35 RidgewayGirl: Thank you, I'll follow your thread, too! You always hit me with BBs!

>36 VivienneR: Ha, when I uploaded the Bangkok pictures I thought about exactly the same thing!

The first book of my new reading year was An English Murder by Cyril Hare, which had been lingering on my shelf for quite some time. It was the perfect book to curl up with at Christmas!



Book No 1

"An English Murder" by Cyril Hare
First published in 1951
Faber & Faber
Paperback, 202pp.
Rating: 4 stars - ****

CATs & KITs: January MysteryKIT - Winter Mysteries
My own categories: Mysteries - Golden & Silver Age Mysteries

This golden age mystery has all the ingredients of a good Christmas mystery: An old country house, guests snowed in, interesting characters and a baffling murder. It really delivers and I enjoyed reading it immensely. It was a radio play before it became a novel and I think it shows because there is a lot of dialogue, so sometimes I would have wished for a little more description, but it makes for an intense reading experience.
Published in 1951, you can also see the changes in society after the war, which makes the case even more interesting.

I will be keeping a close eye on your Australian books, mysteries and non-fiction categories. I hope you have a great reading year.

>39 Zozette: Thank you! The Australian books are a completely new category, so I am excited about it!

My second book was a BB from Christina, Once Upon A Christmas by Diane Farr. I read the first book of the series in May and was happy to get to the second book at Christmas time.



Book No 2

"Once Upon A Christmas" by Diane Farr
Series: Nobody Series (2/2)
First published in 2000
Signet
ebook, 208pp.
Rating: 4 stars - ****

CATs & KITs: January AlphaKIT - O-S
BingoDOG: A Holiday in Title
My own categories: Romance - Historical Romance, Series

Celia Delacourt is in mourning for her family and has nowhere to go, when she is invited by her rich aunt, a duchess, to spend Christmas on her estate. Celia cannot decline, although she is wary and expects that the duchess has her own reasons for inviting her poor relation. When Jack, the heir, arrives, he is completely different from what Celia expected.

This is a great holiday story and I totally enjoyed it. Usually I don't really like humorous books, but this one had me chuckling and laughing out loud many times. The characters are wonderful - both the good and the bad ones - and it is simply a fun and escapist read with the right amount of swoon-worthiness and romance.
I am looking forward to reading more books by Diane Farr!

>37 MissBrangwen: I am sorry to hear about the broken foot. I had a broken ankle years ago and the best advise I got was after the cast was removed to use the foot. It really, really hurt but necessary.

Wishinyou a successful and happy reading year in 202. I am looking forward to folloswing along. 😄