While I read quite a few books this summer, three of them (those by Homer, Atwood and Boochani) were mandatory reading for uni. Although they were still interesting, having to read books for uni during the summer break really slowed down my reading and made me very unmotivated to pick up something to read for fun on the side. Here’s what I read in July-September of 2023: Mona Chollet – Wir müssen die Liebe neu erfinden. Wie das Patriarchat heterosexuelle Beziehungen sabotiert (Reinventing Love. How the Patriarchy Sabotages Heterosexual Relationships, not pictured – Click here for an in-depth r ..read more

My reading slowed down significantly in the second quarter of the year with the beginning of the summer term, my inevitable return to commuting and my first attempt at working a 20-hour-week while studying (I consider it a failed experiment). This spring also brought the realization that while review copies (= free books!) are a fun, they also slow down my reading because no matter how much I like a book writing reviews is something I don’t enjoy. A bit ironic for someone who originally started posting on the internet with the intentions of sharing book content three years ago. Here’s what I r ..read more

I have finally found the time to create a post about the wonderful books I read in the first quarter of this year! Let’s just pretend it’s still April when I took this photo and we have not already progressed well into the third quarter of this year Something that made me very proud in January and February was that I finished my first book (which was not a children’s book) in Portuguese! Reading in another language than German and English still is very difficult for me but I’m incredibly proud that I did it. It’s a huge achievement for me to learn sufficient Portuguese to read not just one bu ..read more

I will review Mona Chollet’s “Wir müssen die Liebe neu erfinden. Wie das Patriarchat heterosexuelle Beziehungen sabotiert” (We have to reinvent love. How the patriarchy sabotages heterosexual relationships) in German because a publisher kindly provided me with a German review copy of the book. However, you can find an English book review on the second page of this post. Eins meiner liebsten Bücher im letzten Jahr war “Radikale Zärtlichkeit. Warum Liebe politisch ist” von Şeyda Kurt, indem Kurt mit einem intersektional-feministischen Blick dem Thema Liebe auf den Grund gegangen ist. Als ic ..read more

I will review Franka Frei’s “Überfällig. Warum Verhütung auch Männersache ist” (Overdue. Why contraception is also men’s business) in German because a publisher kindly provided me with a German review copy of the book. However, you can find an English book review on the second page of this post. Für mich als Person, die aktuell nicht schwanger werden möchte, spielt das Thema Empfängnisverhütung in meinem Alltag natürlich eine wichtige Rolle. Aber auch in medialen und feministischen Diskursen waren das Thema „Pillenmüdigkeit“ und die Kritik an der Pille in den letzten Jahren immer präsenter. De ..read more

The past year brought some good, some bad and some fantastic books into my life. And I thought it would be a shame not to introduce you my favourite books of 2022 (even though we’re already well into 2023). At the end of this post, I’ll also share some honourable mentions of other great books that I read last year. In 2022, almost all of my favourite reads have been nonfiction books. So it’s fair to say that we see a trend there. Nonfiction (especially about body, gender + race topics) is one of my favourite genres after all. But there have also been some wonderful novels, short story collecti ..read more

I will review Virginie Despente’ “Liebes Arschloch” (Original Title: Cher connard) in German because a publisher kindly provided me with a German review copy of the book. However, you can find an English book review on the second page of this post. Fast drei Jahre ist es her, dass ich das erste Mal ein Buch von Virginie Despentes gelesen habe. An ihrem Essay „King Kong Theorie“ hat mich vor allem die wütende und polemische Schreibweise begeistert. Ihr neuer Roman „Liebes Arschloch“ schlägt – obwohl der Titel anderes verheißen mag – sanftere Töne an. Er erzählt die Geschichte einer widerwillige ..read more

I will review Margaret Atwood’s “Penelope und die zwölf Mägde” (Original Title: The Penelopiad) in German because a publisher kindly provided me with a German review copy of the book. However, you can find an English book review on the second page of this post. Wenn man meiner sehr subjektiven Instagram-Filterblase trauen kann, dann haben sich die Neuerzählungen griechischer Mythen in den letzten Jahren einer großen Beliebtheit in der Online-Buchcommunity erfreut. Insofern ist es vielleicht kein Zufall, dass „Penelope und die zwölf Mägde“ von Margaret Atwood in diesem Jahr in einer deutschen N ..read more

I will review Cho Nam-Joo’s “Miss Kim weiß Bescheid” in German because a publisher kindly provided me with a German review copy of the book. However, you can find an English book review on the second page of this post. Zwei Jahre ist es her, dass ich Cho Nam-Joos fantastischen Roman „Kim Jiyoung, geboren 1982“ gelesen und in mein Herz geschlossen habe. Für mich war der Roman eins der besten Bücher des Jahres und Cho Nam-Joo eine literarische Entdeckung. Deshalb konnte ich es gar nicht erwarten, diesen Herbst ihre Kurzgeschichtensammlung „Miss Kim weiß Bescheid“ zu verschlingen. Selten war ich ..read more

I will review María Hesse’s “Lust. Eine Erkundung der weiblichen Sexualität” (El Placer/O Prazer/Le Plaisir) in German because a publisher kindly provided me with a German review copy of the book. However, you can find an English book review on the second page of this post. “Lust. Eine Erkundung der weiblichen Sexualität” (El Placer) von María Hesse ist eines dieser Bücher, die schon ewig auf meiner Leseliste standen. Zum ersten Mal gehört habe ich von “Lust” bereits vor knapp zwei Jahren, als meine Lieblingsbuchbloggerin die portugiesische Ausgabe des Graphic Novels rezensiert hat. Ein wunder ..read more