Genderang Perang dari Wamena (1972) by Djokolelono: An Indonesian Children Fantasy #NovNov25

🥁 I have unexpectedly found this treasure while idly browsing through Google Playbook titles. It's a children fantasy novella by an Indonesian writer: Djokolelono. It has never been translated, so if you don't understand Indonesian, I can give you only my loose translation of the title. Genderang means drum; perang is war, and Wamena is a district in Papua. The story is told from point of view of two eleven-year-old boys: Adi and Yun (short of Yunanto). It's not clear where they live, but it is set in the 1970s. My guess is that they live in a small town. Adi has been living in the Netherlands; his father worked in a Dutch museum, and the family have only recently moved permanently to Indonesia. 

🥁 Yun is playing at his new friend Adi's, and it is a gloomy rainy day. They can't play outside, so Adi suggests they rummage at the backyard shed. One might find interesting stuffs in the shed - don't we know it! And they do! Opening a box in which Adi's father kept stuffs from the museum, they found a little drum. It's a traditional music instrument from Papua which is usually called tifa. Playfully one of them starts to beat it, and a strange thing happens. The player can't stop beating the drum, his hand goes faster and faster, while the other can't stop dancing on the tune. Then a white mist fills the shed, and the shed suddenly turns into a jungle. The boys are time-travelling to the jungle of Wamena in Papua, in the 18th century, following a Dutch expedition consisting of four white men and some locals.  

🥁 One of the Dutch men who was called Tristan van Allen, had stolen a drum, or tifa, a precious thing belonging to the chief of the tribe. The expedition leader told him to return it, as it would put the whole expedition in danger, but Tristan was adamant. Adi found from his father that the tifa came to his possession after being found years later by another group visiting Wamena, while the faith of the expedition itself was never revealed; they had just vanished. And now Adi and Yun are about to solve the mystery, as the tifa slowly reveals its history whenever the boys playing it. But it's not just a mystery, there's something menacing inside the tifa....

🥁 It was an exciting adventure to read! I kept forgetting that Adi and Yun are just elementary school students, they somehow sound more mature to me - like 17 or 18 years old boy, perhaps? Anyway, I was more interested in their one quarrel (the tifa foreshadows what's about to come; on the day the expedition members quarreled for instance, Adi and Yun quarrel too). The topic is about Dutch colonialism over Indonesia. Yun is expressing his hatred to the greedy Dutch, but Adi, who had been brought up in Netherlands, is saying that not all Dutch people are greedy, and that colonialism happens only when the locals aren't smart enough to detect their false politeness. This infuriates Yun, as his friend's implying that Indonesian are dumb. Well, I couldn't but pondering a lot about it afterwards, because it makes sense. And why the writer put it as the cause of quarrel? It might be a boyish quarrel (they are friends again the day after), but that was too serious a topic for a children read, don't you think? Anyway, this has been a fun read for me, and I can't wait to read more of the series. This novella is the sixth book from Weird and Wicked series, by the way.

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

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Novellas in November 2025

hosted by Cathy and Rebecca

Agatha Christie Short Stories 2025: November Reviews #AgathaChristieSS25

I had a mixed feeling for my November reads for #AgathaChristieSS25. The Poirot one was dull, while the Tommy-Tuppence was as exciting as I would want to be in writing short stories.

The Kidnapped Prime Minister

It was during First World War, and when Poirot and Hastings were discussing about the assassination attempt towards the British Prime Minister, two government officials arrive. They ask him to locate the Prime Minister, who has been kidnapped during his journey to Versailles for a secret conference. His failure to attend the conference would be of immense consequence for the country, and might be, the world peace. The problem is, Poirot only has twenty four hours to do that. 

Once Poirot, Hastings, and two detectives arrive in France, instead of taking immediate actions, Poirot brings them to a hotel, where he sits down for four hours exercising his little grey cells. There are only two main suspects in this case, and after returning to London (what the purpose was of going to France in the first place, eluded me), Poirot makes inquiries to several cottage-hospitals, before locating the Prime Minister! As I said, it was a boring story. I wish Christie would elaborate it a little, sprinkling it with some actions or red herring. I begin to realize that Poirot's strong point is always his understanding of psychology, that his way of investigation isn't quite fit for short stories. 

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐

Blindman's Buff

Tommy and Tuppence, on the other hand, are in on an exciting adventure! Business is slacking at Blunt's Detective Agency, and they have just received warning from the Chief that their disguise has been apprehended by the enemies. Tommy, then, proposed to exercising their detecting skills. So, combined with his passion of using methods of fictional detectives, he put on a pair of black eyeshades, and testing his awareness of the surroundings only by the other senses - in short, he's practicing to be a blind man - while Tuppence's acting as his guide. In that manner, Tommy and Tuppence dine out at a restaurant, where two men (a Duke and his servant) approach them. The Duke hires 'Mr. Blunt' to rescue his kidnapped daughter, and insists on bringing both of them separately by car to his house.

The Duke appears to be merely a disguise, and the kidnap is a trap. He's the enemy, and he knows about the Beresfords' disguises. The question is, how would Tommy extricate himself from the enemy's pointed gun and the electrified metal floor which would be exploded as soon as one step onto? In the end, it's a wonderfully fun story to read, although, of course, I already knew the "solution" long before. It's quite childish, even, but still, it has action and suspense, and I always love the witty banters between Tommy and Tuppence. Tommy shines this time, with Tuppence a little on the background.

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐1/2

In the Mountains (1920) by Elizabeth von Arnim #NovNov25

🗻 In the Mountains is an epistolary novella by Elizabeth von Arnim, which is structured as diary. The author, thus the narrator, is an English woman, who seeks refuge at her chalet on the Swiss Alps. It's post Second World War, and for some mysterious and dark reason, our narrator is depressed and longed for peace and solitude of the Swiss Alps to be cured. However, just when she feels quite refreshed after spending hours in languid nature while admiring the beautiful views and cold crisp air, our narrator becomes restless and lonesome. It's her birthday, and as she wants to be busy herself to avert her mind from "the thing", she gives the servants holiday. And it is when she's alone, two women clothed in black, arrive on the scene.

🗻 Mrs. Barnes and Mrs. Jewks are widows in their forties, who've been staying at a cheap pension on the valley. They are lost while searching for a better place, and what with the narrator's loneliness and the widows' apparent poverty, our narrator took them in, and they soon become friends, if not intimate acquaintances. The two women are opposite of  each other in personality. Mrs. Kitty Barnes is an upright honorable woman, while Dolly, her younger sister, is a charming, sweet creature who can't help marrying husbands-to-be, even when they were Germans. Her two failed marriages brought a scandal among friends and family, and that's where Kitty, unselfishly cut out her honorable life, and brought Dolly to a more neutral country: Swiss.

🗻 At first the three ladies spent, if not very amiable, a tolerable existence. But after few weeks, our narrator begins to feel the strain of being hostess. What with Mrs. Barness 's profuse gratitude for the hostess' generosity, but on the other hand tyrannically forced her will in the household cost-savings; not mentioning Dolly's meek smiles and agreement to all her sister's decision. In short, the narrator longs for a friendship instead of hostess-lodgers relationship, and the sense of sacrifice one must always endure. Meanwhile, secrets begin to unfold as the story's progressing - the guests' secrets at least; the cause of the narrator's grief and anxiety were never disclosed. 

 🗻 The Swiss chalet here served as the Italian castle in The Enchanted April, that is as a cure to whoever is staying in. One comes with a heavy heart, and after staying several months, one leaves it refreshed and, as in In the Mountains, with new and hopeful prospect for brighter future. And although this novella couldn't be compared with The Enchanted April - it's a bit dull, I must say - but I enjoyed the charm of the Swiss Alps, especially when the narrator's enjoying a peaceful, solitude, charming times alone there. The ending is perhaps a little bit forced, but it brings a sprinkle of sweet charms to the rather gloomy atmosphere - despite of the Swiss Alps - otherwise.

Relatable Quotes:

"It's true that the worst pain is the remembering one's happiness when one is no longer happy."

"Oh, I do so want to be wholesome inside again! Nicely aired, sunshiny; instead of all dark, and stuffed up with black memories."

"A man does seem to have more to say that one wants to hear than a woman. I do want to hear what a woman has to say too, but not for so long a time, and not so often. [...] A woman when she talks seems usually to have forgotten the salt. Also she is apt to go on talking; sometimes for quite a little while after you have begun to wish she would leave off."

"I don't know anything more happy than to be where it is beautiful with some one who sees and loves it as much as you do yourself."

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐1/2

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Novellas in November 2025

hosted by Cathy and Rebecca

Book Pairings #NonficNov25 Week 3

The prompt for the third week of Nonfiction November 2025 is Book Pairings, hosted by Liz. My choice is my second book for this event:

Seven Years in Tibet is a memoir of Heinrich Harrer, a mountaineer and Tibetologist. It tells his experience of his escape from war-camp prison in British-India during Second World War and his subsequent stay in Tibet for seven years, including his friendship to the Dalai Lama.

As I have mentioned in my review, I've always been fascinated by Tibet. It started, I believe, after reading Tintin in Tibet, a graphic novel by Hergé, in my childhood. And accordingly, that's the first book I'm pairing with Seven Years in Tibet. 

Tintin In Tibet is about the triumphant salvation of a Chinese boy by the strong friendship and loyalty of his European friend. Chang, Tintin's friend, was the only survival of a plane crash on the Himalayas. While everyone was skeptical, Tintin was sure he's alive. From Tintin in Tibet, I learned about the rough lives of Tibetans amidst the cold weather and high altitude. About their staple food of Tsampa (Tintin and Captain Haddock were served this dish on their first night on Himalaya). Also about putting out one's tongue as a way of formal greeting (Captain Haddock took it as insult, which, as usual, triggered him to anger and comical result 😁). And, it was from Tintin, that I heard about Sherpa; Tibetan mountaineers with superior climbing skills and extreme endurance for high altitudes, whom foreigners hire as guides. And yet another thing that I remembered as I uploaded the book cover here - the Yeti. Had I not been reading Tintin in Tibet, I wouldn't have had any idea what the 'ugly beast' that Heinrich Harrer had mentioned referred to, would I? I think Tintin had taught me more about the outside world more than any geography I've ever studied in school!

The second book in this pairing is my second read of Tibet during my college days: The Third Eye by T. Lobsang Rampa.

It's a story about a boy who was trained from childhood to be an Oracle (it's NOT an autobiography, as was mentioned in the cover). A "third eye" was operated on his forehead, which enabled him of clairvoyance, aura deciphering, astral projection, and the like. It is from The Third Eye that I first learned about butter tea, a staple warming brew of Tibet; and of their butter making. If I remember correctly, it is made of yak's milk, put into a bag made from yak's skin turned inside out. A combination of hard shaking and low temperature, changes it into curdles, which would form the butter. At least that's what I remember, I might forget any little details, but that's the gist of it. And of course, the book opened my views about living in a monastery, of dedicating one's whole life to religion in a clustered place.

However, its most interesting connection with Seven Years in Tibet is the fact that there had been doubts whether it was truly written by a Tibetan Lama. Heinrich Harrer had in fact made enquiries on the case, and found out that the real author was actually an Englishman called Cyril Henry Hoskin, who claimed that his body hosted the spirit of a Tibetan Lama called T. (T for Tuesday) Lobsang Rampa, and who had probably never even been to Tibet. Nevertheless, his book has helped me understand more about Tibet, its culture, and its simple people. No doubt too, that this book helps many people to acknowledge Tibetan's cause for freedom. And the Dalai Lama himself had previously admitted that 'although the books were fictitious, they had created good publicity for Tibet.' [source: Wikipedia]

An honorable mention should be granted to The Dalai Lama's Cat by David Michie, which I have read for #ReadingtheMeow2025. Here's my review. When Heinrich Harrer mentioned, in Seven Years in Tibet, about some Regents who were called Rimpoche (meaning 'precious'), I was instantly reminded to the cat who was adopted by Dalai Lama in this book. He was also called Rimpoche by a cafe owner in Lhasa.


And that is my book pairings, it's amazing how one's reading of nonfiction is enriched by so many fictions, is it? How about you, have you read fiction books related to nonfiction? Have you read any of my books?

Seven Years in Tibet (1953) by Heinrich Harrer #NonficNov25

🗻 If you've been following my blog long enough, you might probably know that, besides France, Tibet is a country which I've always been fascinated. And so, for my second read for #NonficNov25, I picked Seven Years in Tibet, which I've been excited to read after three times watching the movie adaptation, starring Brad Pitt. If I have loved the movie, I loved even more the book from which it's been adapted. The book is a far cry from the romanticized version of the movie. Only bits of real facts that actually penetrated into the movie; the rest is Hollywood's doing. Believe me, if you want to know about Tibet and the early life of the Dalai Lama (yes, the current one), just start by reading this book!

🗻 The book expands from Heinrich Harrer's escape from the British war-prison in India, at the outbreak of Second Word War. Then he was an Austrian Nazi SS sergeant and a world renowned mountaineer, who always loved mountains and freedom. After several failed attempts of escape, with several different companions, he at last succeeded to flee towards Tibet. Harrer had read many books about Tibet before, and was fascinated by this mysterious country. But succeeding to flee did not bring automatic safety for these men (he was with several friends when starting the journey). One by one the member collapsed, either from physical or mental weaknesses. In the end, it was only Harrer and Peter Aufschnaiter, an Austrian mountaineer, agricultural scientist, and geographer, who made it across Tibet after grueling hikes in the roughness of Himalayan cold weather and high altitude. But the simplicity and generosity of the people they've got to know along the way, compelled them to take whatever way to reach the Forbidden City of Lhasa.

🗻 Following Harrer and Aufschnaiter's journey for the first half of the book, I was fascinated by the Tibetans' kindness and generosity. They received these two strangers clothed in rags and must looked like tramps, with warmth and sincere. True, there were some who're malice, but mostly they were pure-hearted, merry people, almost childish at heart. Their devotion to their religion was a striking feature of these people. And they smile and laugh a lot; they could even laugh at themselves, and were rarely offended by other's mimicry, for instance.

🗻 Tibetan's respect for all religions is also an admirable feature. The biggest monastery in Tibet is The Tsug Lag Khang, and while inspecting it, Harrer found a bell hanging from the roof with inscription "Te Deum Laudamus". The building had been a Catholic chapel many centuries ago, and only due to their  respect of other religion, that it was preserved. Christianity and Buddhisn have much in common, anyway - this is from Harrer's view. "They are both founded on the belief of happiness in another world and both preach humility in this life".

🗻 One of the most attractive features in Tibetan life is a habit of going to meet, and seeing one's friends. "When anyone goes away, his friends often put up a tent on his road several miles out of the town and wait for him there with a meal to speed him on his way. The departing friend is not allowed to go till he has been loaded with white scarves and good wishes. When he comes back the same ceremony is observed. It sometimes happens that he is welcomed at several places on his way home. In the morning, maybe, he first catches sight of the Potala; but on his way into the town he is held up at tent after tent by his welcoming friends, and it is evening before he arrives in Lhasa, his modest caravan swollen to stately proportions by his friends and their servants. He comes home with the happy feeling that he has not been forgotten."

🗻 The second half and the most interesting part of the book is of course, when Heinrich Harrer has finally got to meet the Dalai Lama, then a fourteen-year-old boy. Here we could see the Dalai Lama not as a God-King, but a mere boy. An exceptional and very intelligent boy, as Harrer shared his observation when the Dalai Lama asked him to build a home theater: "I observed then, for the first time, that he liked to get to the bottom of things instead of taking them for granted." Though the 14th Dalai Lama used to be boyishly excited about new stuffs, his passions are not of the usual things that fascinate boys; but always ones for the improvement of his people. From this we learn from the very beginning that he IS the perfect choice for Dalai Lama. His "appointment" was of another amazing story that Harrer had got to learn. Strange as it was for us, the boy proved to be the perfect Dalai Lama. And how wonderful it is that the 14-year-old boy that we read in this book IS the Dalai Lama we currently see on news or television.

🗻 I have found a 1992 YouTube video of an interview between the Dalai Lama and Heinrich Harrer, many years after their first meeting at Potala. They kept their friendship, and Harrer kept being a Tibet enthusiast until he died in 2006, aged 93. Here's the link to the video.

🗻 Needless to say, this book is going to be my all time favorite nonfiction book. Not only that it is about Tibet, but also due to the profound depiction of the serene and peaceful way of Tibetan by Heinrich Harrer, combined with his concise but beautiful writing style. It is a wholesome book; realistic, but with a magical sense.

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Read for:

Nonfiction in November 2025

hosted by Heather, Frances, Liz, Rebekah, and Deb

Walk Two Moons (1994) by Sharon Creech

🔴 Walk Two Moons is narrated by Salamanca Tree Hiddle (or Sal), a thirteen year old Native-American girl, on a mission to bring her mother back home. After giving birth to a still-born baby, Sal's mother had gone to depression. One day she just went away from home, and her last postcard to Salamanca was sent from Idaho. Hitherto Sal has been tormenting by guilt (was her fall from the tree the cause of her mother's miscarriage?), and by loneliness (does my mother not love me enough to leave me?) Then Sal's grandparents take her on a cross-country road trip, tracing Sal's mother's steps to Idaho, from where Sal hopes of bringing her home.

🔴 During the road trip, Sal entertains her grandparents with stories about her school friend Phoebe Winterbottom, whose mother has also disappeared from home; about her annoyance about Mrs. Cadaver, to whom her father seems to be attached lately; about Ben Finney, a boy with whom Salamanca begins to be attracted. The farther they leave Euclid, Ohio (Sal's current home), the more her story unfolds. We get to learn about her happy life with her father and mother back in Bybank, with the animals and the trees she's grown to love. And of course, the mystery of anonymous messages Phoebe's family has been receiving; and the best part of the mystery, which is about the "lunatic". A young man had been coming to Winterbottom's house and looked for Mrs. Winterbottom. Phoebe concludes that it was him who has sent those letters, and that he is a lunatic. Moreover, after her mother's disappearance, Phoebe's convinced that the lunatic has kidnapped her. At some point, Phoebe (and Sal) even believe that Mrs. Cadaver might have done something bad to Mrs. Winterbottom. 

🔴 At first, Salamanca feels that Phoebe's story is related to her own story; their mother were both disappeared. But the more she tells Phoebe's story, the more she realizes that it's not so. Gram and Gramps (Sal's grandparents) try hard to cheer Salamanca up during the trip by visiting some landmarks. But when Gram is having a stroke when they're near their destination, Sal must drive the car by herself ever so slowly to Lewiston, Idaho, for four hours. What will she find at the destination? Will her mother come home? 

🔴 As is indicated by the title, Walk Two Moons is a novel about passing judgement to others. 'Walk two moons' is derived from an aphorism that Sharon Creech found in a fortune cookies, 'Don't judge a man until you've walked two moons in his moccasins.' It reminded me instantly to Atticus Finch's advice to his children in To Kill a Mockingbird. But beyond that, this novel's also dealing with coping with one's loss, building new relationships, and accepting and being proud of one's identity. All in all, it's a touching story with a twist in the end.

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐1/2

Notes from an Island (1996) by Tove Jansson & Tuulikki Pietilä #NonficNov25 #NovNov25

🐚 For thirty years Tove Jansson, the Finland author who's famous for the Moomin series and The Summer Book, spent her live together with her partner on an island. This 96 pages book is a memoir of that phase of her life, illustrated by her beloved partner Tuulikki Pietilä, or Tooti, a graphic artist.

🐚 Tove and Tooti, who longed to have a simple and peaceful live, decided to move onto an island. The first island they chose, Bredskär, was a perfect one, 'leafy and welcoming'. The way Tove described it, you'd think they have lived in paradise; 'with a little forest with a woodland path, a little beach with a safe place for the boat, even a little marsh with some tufts of cotton grass'. But unfortunately, they boasted about it to friends and relatives, and soon enough, people were coming to their island on holidays, and their live began crowded once more. The only solution is to find another inhabited island which would give them the solitude they had been craving. They found it in Klovharun, a skerry in the Gulf of Finland, that's 'shaped like an atoll', complete with a lagoon in the middle. For me, it is less inviting than Bredskär, and I wonder whether Tove and Tooti had not regretted that they didn't keep secret about it in the first place - I would! Anyway, to make Klovharun habitable, they need to build a cabin. Problem aroused, they need permission from the Government to build, so they erected a tent meanwhile - it could be long to come, or didn't come anyway.

🐚 Then enter Brunström, who would help them building the cabin, and proved to be their true friend for thirty years. Brunström told them not to wait for permission, but start building anyway, which they did. The book consists of logs by Brunström and Tove, telling us how the cabin progressed. Midway building, the permission finally arrived, which they celebrated together. Later on Tove brought her eighty-year-old grandmother Ham to live with them on the island. I was afraid at first, it's hard for an elderly to live a rugged living on the island. But Ham is a bad-ass grandmother. I chuckled reading how, when the tent where she lived was flooded, she just laughed while wading ashore. 🐚 My favorite part is when Tove and Tooti took a helicopter to another part of the island to experience the breaking-up of the ice - 'Unbelievable tabernacles floated by, driven by a mild south-west breeze, statuesque, glittering [...] And they changed colour whenever they felt like it - ice blue, green, and in the evening, orange. Early in the morning they could be pink'. It must have been a once-in-a-life-time experience, and it felt serene and magical. Pity they didn't witnessed the moment when the ice did crack. But maybe it would have been too much for them. They lived on the island until their seventies, when Tove realized that she was becoming afraid of the ocean and its power. It's time to say goodbye! Though living on that island doesn't seem attractive for me - too demanding - this little book is realistic and unique, written and illustrated wonderfully.

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐1/2

Read for:

Nonfiction November 2025

hosted by Heather, Frances, Liz, Rebekah, and Deb

Novellas in November 2025

hosted by Cathy and Rebecca

Agatha Christie Short Stories 2025: NOVEMBER #AgathaChristieSS25

 

THE KIDNAPPED PRIME MINISTER

(a Hercule Poirot story)

In this story, a national scandal of a kidnapped Prime Minister lands Poirot and Hastings in a spot of international espionage. When the British Prime Minister and his secretary are kidnapped in France, Hercule Poirot is summoned. However, with only a day and a half to find them, even Poirot is tested to his limits. 

The story was first published as a book in the collection Poirot Investigates, 1924, by Bodley Head. It was adapted for the TV series Agatha Christie’s Poirot in 1990, starring David Suchet. Interestingly, it was also adapted for the Japanese anime series Agatha Christie's Great Detectives in 2004, as a two part episode, which featured Poirot teaming up with Miss Marple's great niece.

BLINDMAN'S BUFF

(a Tommy & Tuppence story)

While lunching in the chic Gold Room, Tommy masquerades as a blind detective. The Beresfords are approached by the elegant Duke of Blairgowrie for help in locating his missing daughter. Before going off to aid the duke, the “blind” Tommy dictates a vital menu to Tuppence. Tommy is imitating Thornley Colton, “the blind problemist,” the sightless detective created by Clinton Holland Stagg (1890-1916). Colton depended on what he heard, felt, and smelt to solve his mysteries; Colton’s “eyes” are his secretary, here played by Tuppence. It was not all, Tommy and Tuppence receive a warning; who is after them? We are on the last stage this year's challenge. I think it's time for me to curate another compilation of stories for next year. Which detective(s) would you like to read next? Or from which collection(s)? Let me know in the comment, and I would give it a consideration. Meanwhile, happy reading!

Six Degrees of Separation, from a Classic Horror to a Children Adventure

Six Degrees of Separation is a monthly meme, now hosted by Kate @ books are my favorite and best.

On the first Saturday of every month, a book is chosen as a starting point and linked to six other books to form a chain. Readers and bloggers are invited to join in by creating their own ‘chain’ leading from the selected book.

This month we start from yet another book I haven't read:


0. We Have Always Lived in the Castle by Shirley Jackson

Summary: Living in the Blackwood family home with only her sister Constance and her Uncle Julian for company, Merricat just wants to preserve their delicate way of life. But ever since Constance was acquitted of murdering the rest of the family, the world isn't leaving the Blackwoods alone. And when Cousin Charles arrives, armed with overtures of friendship and a desperate need to get into the safe, Merricat must do everything in her power to protect the remaining family.
I had almost read this one for last year's #RIP, but decided against at the last moment, as I feared it would distress me. Sorry Mrs. Jackson, maybe another time. But meanwhile, it makes a good start for this month's #SixDegrees, as I have read several books set in a castle. Better still, I picked one, also with "castle" in the title:

1. Howl's Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones

Howl's castle might not be a castle you might expect, but hey... you can call your home whatever you want, right? :) Here's my review.

Fantasy genre isn't my cup of tea, but from time to time I'd read one or two from it. This year, though, my reading has been quite eclectic, that I have read, not one, not two, but three! So, for my second degree, I'd picked another fantasy novella that I quite liked:

2. The Upside Down River by Jean-Claude Mourlevat

It's a fantasy-adventure, where a boy and a girl were in quest of a river with reversed flow, from the sea to a mountain top. I have read this for #ParisInJuly2025, and loved it! You can read my review here. My third degree, thus, is a novel where the river set an important role on its characters.

3. Offshore by Penelope Fitzgerald

Offshore is about the lives of houseboat dwellers community who lived precariously on the bank of River Thames, at Battersea reach, London. Some of them works on the land, but chose an abode on the houseboat. This novel won the Booker Prize in 1979, and for a change, I loved it (I usually don't like prized-winning books). Here's my review.

4. Thursday's Child by Noel Streatfeild

The same houseboat dwellers, but on different circumstances, were mentioned in this Noel Streatfeild's charming novel, about an orphaned girl called Margaret Thursday. During her runaway, she lived on a canal boat, which was drawn by a horse, who walked on the canal bank. It was a mode of transporting cargo in England from mid 29th century to mid 1960s. Horse did have interesting career in those days, didn't they? Read my review here. The fifth book on this chain has also horses with interesting career.

5. Airs Above the Ground by Mary Stewart

Lippizaner stallions seem to be horses with the most interesting career in the world. They are horses who were trained to do traditional dance moves - one of which is called the levade, or 'airs above the ground', where the horse rears up and holds his pose. You might see these moves on a circus, which was one of the main set of this book. Here's my review, if you are interested. And talking about circus, in the last book of the chain, circus was also involved as part of the mystery.

6. Five Go Off in a Caravan by Enid Blyton

When the famous five were going caravan-ing during summer holiday, they met a circus caravan. They even befriended a circus boy and his chimpanzee. But when they were told by the circus owner to move their caravan without apparent reason, they knew something was amiss. No need to tell you, I think, how much I enjoyed this book (or any other by Enid Blyton), as you can read by yourself in this review.


And so, from a horror novel, my six degrees of separation brought me to a children adventure.

Have you read those books? If you did #sixdegree, how it worked out for you this time?

Chasing Vermeer (2004) by Blue Baillett

 

👨🏻‍🎨 First of all, I was quite surprised by the mixed reviews this book gets on Goodreads. There are many two stars, but also four stars. I always liked books where people either love or hate. This book has average stars of 3.72, not that bad. So, why not? Thought I. In the end, I'm glad I have decided to read it. It was an entertaining story about art theft (Vermeer's A Lady Writing painting) and coincidences, full of puzzles and codes, and some suspenseful actions; not mentioning the history of art (particularly Vermeer), that this story induces to middle grader. What not to enjoy?

A Lady Writing by Johannes Vermeer

👨🏻‍🎨 Calder and Petra, who live in London, are ordinary high school students, but with intelligent and extraordinary passions. Calder is obsessed with pentominoes that he always keeps in his pockets. Pentomino is a polygon in the plane made of 5 equal-sized squares connected edge to edge [wikipedia]. Whenever he is unsure about something, he would pull one block from his pocket, and the letter it represents would be his "guidance" to what he should do next. He and his friend Tommy even created a code using all letters from pentominoes. Petra, on the other hand, is an imaginative girl, who, at present, is obsessed with a book titled Lo, written by Charles Fort, who believes that life is not a series of coincidences but is an interconnecting web of patterns.

The Pentominoes

👨🏻‍🎨 Their class assignment required Calder and Petra to write their interpretation of art - what-makes-an-object-art kind of thing. Calder found out that the painting on the curio box he owns, was none other than Johannes Vermeer's The Geographer. He found that out when delivering books order of to a Mrs. Sharpe's house, and saw the painting. Curiously, Mrs. Sharpe is the previous owner of the book Lo, which Petra has taken from a giveaway box outside a bookstore. Stranger still, an unknown woman in lemon yellow jacket with ribbons on her hair, has appeared in her dream, asked to be rescued. Who is she?

The Geographer by Johannes Vermeer

👨🏻‍🎨 Meanwhile, more strange things are happening. Three persons in London have received a mysterious anonymous letters asking for their helps to solve an art mystery. On the other hand, a valuable painting of Vermeer, A Lady Writing, has been stolen when in transit between the National Gallery of Art in Washington DC, and The Art Institute of Chicago, where it would be exhibited. An equally strange advertisement has been published in newspapers, apparently from the thieve, claiming that he/she had stolen it for a good cause: to raise awareness that someone else painted some of what we believe are Vermeer's works. From so many coincidences - or are they 'interconnecting patterns' in Charles Fort's theory? - Calder and Petra believe it is they who must solve the mystery, and find the stolen painting. Can they do that, while FBI has failed?

👨🏻‍🎨 Needless to say, this was an exciting read for me. I always love books with art theme, especially paintings. And Vermeer is one of painters I always admire (Girl with A Pearl Earring is my favorite by Vermeer). Apart from the far-fetched dream of Petra (the Lady asked for help and guided Petra to her location), this is an educational and entertaining read for middle grader. Just as common people who don't have interest in art before, become art connoisseur, thanks to the thief's challenge, so do middle graders who read this would have been interested more in Vermeer and his works. Such a good idea from the writer! I also love the coincidence, or strange phenomenon topic in Charles Fort's book Lo, which does really exist. Is coincident real? I believe so, co-incident means more than one incidents that occur at the same time, concerning one particular object, right? So, if two people with some interest gather forces in one project, they would be focusing in the same field, and so, there's bound to be many such co-incidents happening all around them. Charles Fort's Lo also taught us to be more open minded to strange occurrences - that we cannot fathom what's happening, doesn't mean that it doesn't exist.

What an entertaining, educational, and inspirational this book proved to be!

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

My Year in Nonfiction #NonficNov25 Week 1

The yearly Nonfiction November is one of annual bookish events I'm looking forward to this year. It's currently hosted (or co-hosted) by these five wonderful women: Heather, Frances, Liz, Rebekah, and Deb. They would alternately host each week from 27 October to 30 November 2025.

To kick Nonfiction November 2025 off, here's the first week prompt (hosted by Heather):

My Year in Nonfiction

I'm not an avid nonfiction reader; fiction always has more appeal to me, as it enables me to be immersed into another universe. So for me, #NonficNov25 is a good opportunity to explore more of non fiction.

What books have you read?

I haven't read many nonfiction this year, because I keep most of it for #NonficNov25 😁. The two books I have managed to read were all for #ParisInJuly2025:

A Year in Provence

by Peter Mayle

Peter Mayle is perhaps the pioneer of the sub genre of foreigner-falls-in-love-and-moves-to France. There are so many similar kind of memoirs out there nowadays. A Year in Provence is the first of a series. It's quite entertaining; I rather liked Mayle's dry humor. But one thing's for sure, I won't read any of this genre again for the time being; one or two is enough, they are all almost the same in gist.

Garlic, Mint, and Sweet Basil

by Jean-Claude Izzo

It's an essay on Jean-Claude Izzo's (a native Marseilles poet and noir novel writer) love for Marseilles: its sea, its cuisine, its people and culture; and the subject that made him famous: Mediterranean Noir. It's probably the most charming nonfiction I've read lately.

What was your favorite?

I must say Garlic, Mint, and Sweet Basil. Izzo wrote it so passionately, that it's impossible not to fall in love a little with Marseilles!

Have you had a favorite topic?

Isn't it obvious that everything about France, I would devour with gusto? 😃

Is there a topic you want to read about more?

Birds and Nature are two subjects which I am interested right now, besides traveling. But the latter is probably limited to countries or regions that I really want to explore.

What are you hoping to get out of participating in Nonfiction November?

To induce myself to the love of nonfiction, of course. Also to find more interesting nonfiction from other participants, to wider my choices.

@@@@@

Would you participate in #NonFicNov25 too?

Up the Down Staircase (1965) by Bel Kaufman

👩🏼‍🏫 Sylvia Barrett is an English teacher with idealistic hope of inducing her pupils to the love of writing, and of Chaucer. However, teaching at a minority high school like Calvin Coolidge High, opens her eyes that nurturing and shaping young minds is not a simple task. This book is a parody of American public school system, particularly in the 1960s when this book was published (I have no idea how relevant it is today). 👩🏼‍🏫 The book is structured as a compilation of memos and circulars from the office or the authority, inter-classrooms notes between teachers, fragment of discarded notes dropped in the trashcan, essays to be graded, Sylvia's letters to her best friend out of school, and one of my favorites: notes from the students dropped in the class suggestion box. Through all the entangled communication, readers would catch the frustrating degree of bureaucracy which involved in a teacher's daily task (when the teachers complained, the answer will be: "Let it be a challenge"). I was wondering how Sylvia could manage to divide her time between reading all those instructions and whatnots, actually teaching a subject, and reading and writing notes to her best pal teacher Bea Schachter (how they exchange notes during school hours, I wonder? Do they use students for courier? This was 1965, before internet era, anyway). 

👩🏼‍🏫 And the students. I have left talking about them for last, because they are the best part of this book. I believe that one can value a teacher from his/her students. That is, a good teacher would reflect his/her influence on the student's improvement. And by reading all those notes from the suggestion box, I could surmise that Sylvia is a dedicated and affectionate teacher. The suggestion box is a brilliant idea from Sylvia (the school ought to adapt that to their system). Basically, it's a box where any student could drop notes, whether signed or anonymous, usually on a particular subject. But sometimes, even students from other classroom dropped notes to say something to Sylvia. This is a good idea, because the students could express their honest views on things without being afraid of punishment or judgement. From that notes, Sylvia could gather how the students gained from her teaching, and what were their problems.

👩🏼‍🏫 There are students who signed their names - usually those who approved of her, or loved her teaching. But the anonymous letters are the most interesting; these were from students who, at first, hated her, or disapproved of her teaching. There's one who signed as "The Hawk", complete with a doodle, who always end his notes with 'this is the last time I'm writing to you' or something like that. However, The Hawk would always write again everytime Sylvia asked their opinion or suggestion, and always with the same ending, haha! I think Sylvia's success with her pupils is, first of all, because she listens to them. These students, who come from low social background with all the problematic nature, often need to be listened, understood, and appreciated.

👩🏼‍🏫 Amidst these chaotic life Sylvia must endure everyday, she received an offer from a private school who'd give her position of English teacher with comparatively free reign; less students, focusing on the teaching, free subjects and less clerical duties, and she could even have a seminar on Chaucer - the topic she loves. Moreover, the building offers comfort, not like the public school's with its broken doors or windows, and lacking of... well... almost everything needed to teach, as Sylvia put it in one of her letters to her friend:

We have keys but no locks (except in lavatories), blackboards but no chalk, students but no seats, teachers but no time to teach.

The question is, will Sylvia accept the offer and have her own ideal of teaching? Or will she remain at Calvin Coolidge and face the same chaos and frustration everyday?

👩🏼‍🏫 This was not a very comfortable read for me. I skipped almost all the official memos - I didn't understand half of it anyway - and only read the more interesting communications of human beings (internal memos to other teachers, or the students'). Nevertheless, this is a touching story of dedicated teachers who fought alongside their pupils against poverty and hierarchy, to obtain a better life for future generations.

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐1/2

Crocodile on the Sand Bank (1975) by Elizabeth Peters

🌵 First of all, there are no crocodile involved in this light mystery, set in Victorian era. 'Crocodile on the sand bank' was a jargon used by Egyptian locals to indicate that a problem is underfoot. When thirty something spinster of Amelia Peabody - an unorthodox English woman, intelligent, and independent - decided to have a long journey to Cairo, she's never expected that any 'crocodile' would be on her sand bank. It all began when she rescued a typical Victorian girl - beautiful, soft, feminine, who blushes and fainted a lot, you know the type - in Rome, named Evelyn. Evelyn is a granddaughter of a wealthy old man, who disinherited her after her elopement with a scoundrel called Alberto, whom, then abandoned her altogether. Now alone and poor, Evelyn was 'recruited' then and there as Amelia Peabody's companion. And so, the two ladies departed together to Cairo.

🌵 Then entered Radcliffe and Walter Emerson - the archeologist brothers - whom Amelia and Evelyn met at a museum in Cairo. Emerson (means Radcliffe, the old brother) is of Amelia's age, coarse, cynical, and swears a lot, but he's a good archeologist. While Walter, is more soft spoken, and is an expert in hieroglyphics. He's fallen in love with Evelyn at once, and she also reciprocated his feeling, though her ruin complicated things (on the girl's side). The four unexpected acquaintances parted ways, only to meet again at an archeological site in Armana, where the Emersons were excavating a newly found royal tomb. Amelia is interested in archeology, so she's having a good time, amidst Emerson's rudeness and bickering. Then, the mummy they had just found was missing from the tomb. Moreover, the mummy had been seen walking around the site at night! The superstitious local crew thought it was a curse, but the Europeans knew better that it's a disguise of someone with bad intention. What was the aim, though? To get them out of the site? Or to harm Evelyn, as it has seemed to be? And whodunnit?

🌵 Overall, I think this book is intended partly to be a parody of Victorian era's stereotypes. The wandering mummy was hilarious, rather than eerie in Gothic way. And the way Amelia entangled in her own skirt everytime she needed to run away fast in critical moments, was a comical way to criticize how women were barred from many active involvement. The infamous smelling salt made its appearance too, but its apply beyond waking the fainting damsel-in-distress, made me choking in laughter. Other than that, the archeological theme is interesting and educational, it made me think how Agatha Christie would approve of this book. Finally, it's an entertaining read, even if the mystery felt rather dull. Perhaps the most satisfying aspect of this read is that I've listened to the audiobook, narrated by the inimitable Barbara Rosenblat, who also narrated Mrs. Pollifax series. She's just become my new favorite narrator!

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

The House Without a Key (1925) by Earl Derr Biggers #1925Club

🏄🏻‍♂️ The 1925 Club is here! Thanks to Simon and Karen for hosting these events for a decade now. Unfortunately, this book would be my only contribution for #1925Club. Since the last club in April, I've been looking for amusing books published in 1925, preferably from authors I have not read before. I gathered half a dozen, but only this one is available at this moment, and I was excited to read it. This is the first book of Charlie Chan series. He's probably the most exotic detective you'd ever read about; a Honolulu police detective, who is a Chinese-Hawaiian. Charlie Chan is portrayed as intelligent and honorable. His eagerness to learn English through poems shaped his way of talking, always polite and with admirable choices of words. It's one of the amusements this book provides, besides, of course, the mystery.

🏄🏻‍♂️ John Quincy Winterslip, a twenty nine Bostonian stock trader, was sent by his family to sail to Hawaii and 'retrieve' his aunt, Minerva Winterslip, from the 'semi-barbaric' Pacific Islands. The aunt had been staying for holiday too long in Hawaii, but she can't help it. Winterslips are known for their gypsy-streak, and maybe this is the problem. But not young John Quincy, he's on the puritan side of the Winterslips. It's evidently true, considering how miserable he was during his first days on board the ship. But an encounter with a pretty Hawaiian girl who's coming home to her dear father, would change everything.

🏄🏻‍♂️ It was at Dan Winterslip's house that 'the boy' - as the writer always calls him - would stay. But just before his arrival, Dan Winterslip was murdered. But that's not all. While on transit in San Francisco, staying at his other uncle, he was instructed by Dan via telegram, to retrieve an old box from his cottage, and to throw overboard from the ship. But he was attacked while doing so, and the box was stolen. What was in the box? He learned later on from his aunt Minerva, that Dan was a notorious man with a dark past. And now that past is catching up with him, and eventually, he'd have to pay a just retribution.

🏄🏻‍♂️ John Quincy, as representative of the family, was involved in the investigation - reluctantly at first (his inclination was to go home to his fiancé asap) - but, whether it's the Hawaiian air, or his hitherto hidden gypsy-streak, John Quincy's slowly enjoying his role as a sleuth. Along with Charlie Chan, whom became his best friend, John Quincy was nearer to the truth everyday. He loved actions, and welcomed, even, dangerous adventures. But I think what he loved most is the presence of two pretty girls: Barbara Winterslip (his distant cousin), and Carlota Egan (the girl he met on the ship, whose father was entangled into the case, and one of police's prime suspects). Boston and his fiancé became farther and farther away in John Quincy's heart. Would John Quincy be able to catch the murderer? And equally important is which girl he would marry, and where would he spend his future? Boston, San Francisco, Honolulu?

🏄🏻‍♂️ All in all, it was a charming and exciting mystery. It has the right composition between the investigation, the action, and love interests. Charlie Chan's character brings a refreshing change to the mystery; his oriental background and European culture made him a unique detective - a far cry from any others we used to read. The era which the story is set (1925), and the Hawaiian background (history, culture, landscape) add a unique charm to it. Both the denouement and the love-story ending are perfectly satisfying: sophisticated but light, sweet and exhilarating.

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐1/2

Read for:

The 1925 Club

hosted by Simon and Karen

The Ruby in the Smoke (1985) by Philip Pullman

♦️ This story set in the 19th century of London. Mr. Lockhart, the co-owner of Lockhart & Selby, a shipping firm, was drowned with the ship he was on board. He left an only child, a girl of sixteen, Sally Lockhart. She received a mysterious letter, the content and source of which, she had no idea. It warned her of "the Seven Blessings" - what on earth was that? And for her to contact a Mr. Marchbanks. Puzzled, Sally visited Mr. Selby at Lockhart & Selby office to inquire around his father's death. But when she mentioned "The Seven Blessings", Sally, unknowingly, had started a chain of events. 

♦️ And that's how the story started, and after that, it unfolded in a very fast pace, that I soon forgot who's who. This is the kind of book that's best to be read in one sitting. Anyway, Sally was soon chased by a Mrs. Holland, a powerful villain who owned a lodging house in the London slump around the wharf, and was feared throughout the slump community. Luckily, Sally met two young men who would be her main allies and friends; they're a photographer called Frederick Garland, and Jim, an office boy at Lockhart & Selby. Between the three - and a handful of secondary characters - they swirled around the hunt of ruby from a maharajah from Agrapur, India, opium smuggling, Chinese secret society, along with puzzles over the cause of Mr. Lockhart's death.

♦️ Comments on Goodreads told me that this isn't Pullman's best, and I quite agree. The opening is quite promising: “Her name was Sally Lockhart, and within fifteen minutes, she was going to kill a man.” That sounds like a good mystery, and Sally is a perfect character for it, a highly intelligent girl, who had been taught of independence by her father, and has aptitude in business. A villain was provided, as well as two prospects of allies (and perhaps a love interest). Fine! But then, the opium factor came in - the "smoke" in the title, and the story suddenly switched into a strange one. Apparently Sally had been exposed to opium, unknowingly, before, and now she has this recurrent nightmares about her father. She was told that opium could restore one's memory, and so she tried a dose to reveal the mystery surround her father's death. And... tada... she suddenly knows everything, or most of the mystery at least, after "waking up" from the dream, . Well, that's not how you do a mystery, Mr. Pullman! I was disappointed at this point. ♦️ I felt that, as a heroine, Sally did not do much in this case, neither solving the mystery (it's Jim who solved the puzzle around the ruby's hiding place), nor showing courage to save a friend from the enemy (Jim and Fred took the brunt of Mrs. Holland's thug). No, she's safe at home, taking opium. Yes, she later on confronted Mrs. Holland, and even the guy of the Seven Blessings (who was supposed to be the most dangerous man at that time), yet it felt underwhelming. Like I said, it's definitely not Pullman's best work, despite of the promising opening.

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐1/2

Airs Above the Ground (1965) by Mary Stewart

🐎 My second read of Mary Stewart brought me to Austria, to the circus and dancing Lippizaner stallions. The heroine is Vanessa March, a young wife, whose salesman husband is supposed to be on business trip to Stockholm, but she saw his glimpse on a newsreel, during a big fire in a circus in Austria! And moreover, with a young blonde on his side. So, when a friend asked her to chaperone a seventeen year boy who will be on a flight to his estranged father in Austria, well... how can Vanessa resist the trip? After some awkward moments, the young wife and the teenage boy open up to each other about their real intentions. Vanessa isn't coming to join her husband on holiday, and Timothy, the teenage boy, isn't to see his father. Tim is obsessed with horses, and intends to seek a job in the Spanish Riding School.

🐎 After the confessions, so to speak, they immediately become close friends and partner-in-crime. They soon found two things. That the blonde from the newsreel is Annalisa Wagner, the daughter of the circus owner, who performs with the dancing horses; and that Lee Elliot, who'd been helping in the circus, is none other than Lewis March, Vanessa's husband, and whose real job is not salesman, but a secret service agent! He is meeting his colleague, who was found dead during the circus fire, together with Annalisa's Uncle Franzl. Naturally, Timothy and Vanessa - who would have been a veterinarian had she not married - are delighted that Lewis asked them to loiter and look around for anything suspicious. What they find in the circus stable is Old Piebald - Franzl's old horse with a swollen leg (hematoma) during the fire. Vanessa operated the leg, and thus, bind a relationship with the old white horse.

🐎 The circus was a lovely addition to this book's charm. That, and the dancing horses. 'Airs above the ground' are the beautiful, traditional dance moves that the trained Lippizaner stallions do, including the levade, where the horse rears up and holds his pose.

The best part of the book is when Vanessa brought Old Piebald to graze on a patch of grass outside the circus tents, one evening. His leg was still a bit lame. It was during the show; Tim was watching, and Vanessa and Old Piebald were alone. Then suddenly, tuning in with the music, the horse slowly danced along. The rest is one magical moment that would carved itself into my memory deeper than the story itself.

In the distance the music changed: the Lipizzaner down in the ring would be rising into the levade, the first of the airs above the ground'. And in the high Alpine meadow, with only me for audience, old Piebald settled his hind hooves, arched his crest and tail, and, lame forefoot clear of the ground, lifted into and held the same royal and beautiful levade.

The moonlight flooded the meadow, blanching all colours to its own ghostly silver. The pines were very black. As the stallion rose in the last magnificent rear of the levade, the moonlight poured over him bleaching his hide so that for perhaps five or six seconds he reared against the black background, a white horse dappled with shadows, no longer an old broken-down gypsy's piebald, but a haute école stallion, of the oldest line in Europe.

🐎 All in all, this is a suspense novel with idyllic Austrian landscape as a background, and dancing Lipizzaners as a center point; spiced with some car chases and few actions. The heroine is a married woman, so you would find no romance here, as is usual with Mary Stewart's. But I think, I prefer it like this. Timothy stole my heart from the beginning, when he comforted Vanessa during the flight, as she dreaded the forthcoming landing, he said something like, I can hold your hand during the landing if you like... or something like that. And that's a gentleman on the making, Timothy Lacy! Then later on, when Lewis March appeared on the scene - and the show begins, because the suspense started with him - it is clear that Timothy adored Vanessa's husband. The villain (someone from the circus) had hit Vanessa earlier, so that she met Lewis with bruises on her face. When Lewis confronted the villain, he 'punished' him for ever laying hand onto his wife. And here, Timothy showed his admiration, which also showed his views of men hurting women. Bravo, Tim! 

* Originally I would have rated this one four stars, but the 'airs above the ground' scene of Old Piebald - his real name is Neapolitano Petra, by the way - and the ending, definitely deserved another star!

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐