I recently went to return some library books which of course also means check out some books right? You know sometimes I know I won’t get to these books before they are due (even after I renew them a couple of times) but I like checking them out a bit more at home and often they’ll end up on my TBR list. So here’s a quick look at what I got:

The Devil’s Sanctuary by Marie Hermanson. A Swedish thriller about twin brothers who trade places only one ends up trapped in a psychiatric facility. Definitely no sanctuary this place!

Small Hand and Dolly by Susan Hill. Two haunting stories featuring old Edwardian mansions and a beautiful doll. Susan Hill wrote one of my favorite ghost stories, The Woman in Black, so I can’t wait to read this book.

The Silence of the Wave by Gianrico Carofiglio. Another novel about psychiatrists but this one is about a former undercover agent coming to terms with memories of his father and his work.

Have you read any of these? What did you think?

Count me in guys – I couldn’t resist participating in the German Literature reading month hosted by Caroline and Lizzy. I really shouldn’t as this time of the year is going to be super hectic at work and perhaps a craft show but I just couldn’t say no. When I told my husband he said of course I should join.

I think most of you know my husband is German so of course he would think reading a lot of German literature is a good thing. So the structure of the challenge is this:

Week 1:  1-7.11 Ladies Week
Week 2:  8-14.11 Gents Week
Week 3: 15-21.11 Ladies Week
Week 4: 22-28.11 Gents Week
Weekend 29-30.11 Read as you please

A quick scan through my bookshelves and here are the books I found:

I can pretty much tell you I won’t be finishing the Grimm’s Fairy Tales – that book is massive but I wouldn’t mind reading a couple of the tales. Here Comes Mrs. Kugelman by Minka Pradleski is a book I got this summer and I believe it’s one that was well received in blogland. The Passport by Herta Müller I’ve wanted to read as she received the Nobel Prize for Literature in 09. Siddhartha by Hermann Hesse is of course a classic. The Blind Side of the Heart by Julia Franck sounded like a good novel. Günter Grass and Christa Wolf are writers I’ve been a bit intimidated by so their books have been languishing on my shelves.

I am pretty sure I have a few other German novels on my shelves but these are the ones I could quickly find. This is exciting for me. I know when we go to Germany we always visit bookshops and while I am happy to check out the English sections I am always bummed out that I can’t browse (well other than to see the different book covers) the novels and Krimi sections.

Anyway, I am not sure which book to start with first but I better get started. If you’ve read any of these let me know what you think.