Please note: I first published this book review on the “Goodreads”-platform on August 25, 2016. I’ve now decided to publish some of my reviews on my website.

My Rating: 5 (of 5) “stars”

I bought a paperback copy, published in 2010 by F + W Media, Inc.

I first read this book in 2011, when I found it in a bookstore in New York City. I had already decided to write a book (a vegan restaurant guide about Vienna), but hadn’t made up my mind yet, if I wanted to self-publish the book once it was finished or look for a publishing house. I knew it was important to make that decision before I actually started writing the book. After reading “The Indie Author Guide. Self-publishing Strategies Anyone Can Use,” I never looked back. I love the whole self-publishing process, and April L. Hamilton’s book was by far the most valuable resource I have come across. I just re-read the book, and am grateful for the many useful tips she provided about organizing files, creating an author brand, publishing options, formatting, editing and revising, cover design, POD publishing, promotion, and other issues related to the self-publishing process.

Please note: I first published this book review on the “Goodreads”-platform on August 17, 2016. I’ve now decided to publish some of my reviews on my website.

Meine Bewertung: 3 (of 5) “stars”

Ich bekam die Hardcover-Edition, die im Jahr 2015 vom Kiepenheuer & Witsch veröffentlicht wurde, als Weihnachtsgeschenk.

Vea Kaiser erzählt über fünf Generationen hinweg die Schicksale einer griechischen Familie. Die Autorin versucht die Erfahrungen dieser Familienmitglieder mit Geschichten aus der griechischen Mythologie zu verbinden, was ihr meiner Meinung nach nicht gut gelingt. Die mythologischen Passagen haben mich am meisten gelangweilt.

Die Figuren der Familie sind sympathisch, aber ich habe keine echte Beziehung zu ihnen aufgebaut, weil sich das Buch einfach mit zu vielen Generationen und zu vielen Menschen beschäftigt. Die zentralen Figuren Lefti und Eleni, die vom Anfang bis zum Ende der Geschichte mit dabei sind, kommen über lange Strecken hinweg gar nicht vor.

Makarionissi ist eine Insel, die erst nach rund 260 Seiten zum ersten Mal erwähnt wird. Eine etwas seltsame Wahl für den Titel des Buches.

Am meisten hat mich aber gestört, dass es in dem Buch eine Figur mit dem Namen Militiades Anastasiadis gibt, und dieser Name amerikanisiert wurde auf Aniston. Da war bei mir einfach sofort die Assoziation zu der weltberühmten Schauspielerin Jennifer Aniston da, deren Familie aus Griechenland stammt und die ihren griechischen Namen in Aniston abgeändert hat. Ihr griechischer Name wurde sogar in einer Episode der TV-Serie “Friends” einmal als Gag verwendet, die Namensänderung ihrer Familie ist also weithin bekannt. Jedesmal wenn eine der Figuren mit dem Namen Aniston in dem Buch ab dieser Stelle vorkam, habe ich – ungewollt, aber automatisch – sofort an die Schauspielerin gedacht. Damit hat es mich jedes Mal aus der Geschichte gerissen. Ich war geistig dann nicht mehr in Griechenland, sondern plötzlich jedes Mal aufs Neue wieder in Hollywood. Das war eine ganz schlechte Entscheidung von Vea Kaiser, das hätte ihr eigentlich klar sein müssen, dass die Wahl dieses Namens problematisch ist. Das hat für mich die ganze Stimmung und somit das ganze Buch ruiniert.

Please note: I first published this book review on the “Goodreads”-platform on June 7, 2022. I’ve now decided to publish some of my reviews on my website.

My rating: 5 (of 5) “stars”

I bought a paperback copy of this book, published in 2012 by Penguin Random House.

Originally published in 1908, the book’s story takes place in the early 1900s — “contemporary literature” at the time of its publication.

E. M. Forster tells the story of a young woman, Lucy Honeychurch, who falls in love with the “wrong” man. “Wrong,” as he belongs to a lower social class than she.

This is basically the story of a young woman who, in the end, breaks free from society’s expectations of how women should lead their lives.

Feminist literature, brilliantly written by a man. This story is as relevant today, as it was over a century ago.

Please note: I first published this book review on the “Goodreads”-platform on April 2, 2022. I’ve now decided to publish some of my reviews on my website.

My rating: 2 (of 5) “stars”

I borrowed a hardcover edition, published in 1969 by Oxford University Press from a library.

Sarah Fielding, sister of the novelist Henry Fielding, published this book in 1744 with a follow-up book, “Volume The Last” (also contained in this edition), published in 1753. She excels at describing human emotions – jealousy, greed, etc.

Unfortunately, she is not a great storyteller. Not much happens in this novel – the main character, David Simple, meets one person after another who tells him their story. That’s about it. David searches for and finds friends, and there’s a happy end.

“Volume The Last” is very melodramatic, and this follow-up book wasn’t as successful as the original novel.

This book is an important work in the field of comparative literature, and rightfully so, as two editions of this novel were published in 1744, and the second edition was heavily edited by Henry Fielding.

I so wanted to like this book, but it doesn’t hold up well. If you’re not interested in comparative literature, and are just looking for a good novel to read…choose another book.

Please note: I first published this book review on the “Goodreads”-platform on August 5, 2022. I’ve now decided to publish some of my reviews on my website.

My rating: 5 (of 5) “stars”

I borrowed a hardcover edition published by DuMont Buchverlag from a library. You can buy used copies of this book online.

Ein exzellentes Buch. Es ist eine Einführung in das Verlagswesen und in die Herstellung von Büchern. Man erfährt, wie viel Aufwand notwendig ist, um ein Buch “ordentlich” zu gestalten und zu produzieren. Groothuis fördert die Wertschätzung für das Produkt Buch.
Während des Lesens habe ich immer wieder Bücher aus meinen Regalen gezogen und mir zum ersten Mal ganz bewusst angeschaut, wie diese Bücher gestaltet sind.
Ich kann dieses Buch wirklich sehr empfehlen.

Please note: I first published this book review on the “Goodreads”-platform on September 2, 2022. I’ve now decided to publish some of my reviews on my website.

My rating: 1 (of 5) “stars”

I bought a paperback copy of this book, published in 2018 by HarperCollins Childrens Books

This book is a total mess. It’s really bad.

The publishers promote this book for readers who are 11 years old (or older), which means it falls in the age range that’s generally considered middle grade (8-12 years); they’re clearly aiming for “young adult”-readers, but don’t want to miss out on the opportunity to market this book to younger readers as well.

The book’s heroine, Agatha Oddlow, is a super-smart 13 year old girl who lives in London and who tells her story in the 1st person present tense. For the most time, Agatha thinks and speaks like an adult, forming grammatically correct, fairly complex sentences. At other times, she thinks and speaks like a pre-schooler, unable to distinguish between “me” and “I” (me and Dad, same as me, etc.). Her cultural references would make sense, if she were a woman in her 50s, but not if she’s a 13-year old girl. The character’s obession with the fictional character Hercule Poirot is also totally lame – for a 13-year old girl; And even if a 13-year old girl were super-smart, she would still only be 13 years old – which impacts emotional development, for example. 13-year old girls are not adults, but this character thinks, speaks, and draws conclusions like an adult. It’s ludicrous.

But she behaves like a child, and her actions consist mostly of sneaking in and out of buildings and other structures. I think the writer was angling for a movie deal, but doesn’t seem to understand that “motion” and “action” aren’t the same thing. Agatha moves around a lot – above and below ground -, but her cat solves the actual crime (don’t ask, it’s ludicrous). There’s very little real action.

There’s a subplot about some secret society, which takes up many pages, and goes nowhere. Again, I think the writer was angling for a movie deal (with sequels…). But the secret society is not actually involved in solving the crime that’s described in this book. If you cut out all the pages, which deal with the secret society, you’d lose half the book – and it wouldn’t matter in regard to the crime-story at the heart of this book.

The adults in this book consistently behave in an illogical manner – they behave like idiots, really – which would be acceptable if this story took place in a cartoon universe. The “Riddler” or the “Penguin” in the “Batman”-movies, for example, are crazy villains, and in a cartoon universe such villains make sense and are accepted by readers or the movie-going public. But this story does not take place in a cartoon universe, so the characters’ actions should resemble the actions of real people. And they don’t. If the adults in this book would behave reasonably, there would be no story, and therefore no book. (The crime depicted in this book is huge, and leads to a national crisis – but the authorities don’t seem to act at all. It’s completely unrealistic.)

The book was written by “Lena Jones,” which is a pen name for someone named “Tibor Jones” (he is the copyright owner), who I think also doesn’t exist. The book series was developed by HarperCollins and the Tibor Jones Agency. It seems they came up with this character and hired a ghostwiter to write this book. Strange.

Please note: I first published this book review on the “Goodreads”-platform on September 28, 2022. I’ve now decided to publish some of my reviews on my website.

My rating: 3 (of 5) “stars”

I bought a paperback copy published by Orion Children’s Books. Here’s a link to the author’s personal website.

I love Lindsey Davis’s Roman mystery novels, so I thought I’d like this Roman mystery for middle grade readers (ages 8-12), too. The publisher advertises it to readers of 11+ years of age.

Caroline Lawrence is a good writer, and I love the crime at the heart of this story – unexpected, and unusual. That’s a big plus.

I didn’t like the plot development. The writer uses coincidence to move the story forward. One character, who happens to be at the right place at the right time, overhears an important piece of information. I hate it when coincidence is used as a plot device. Coincidence at the beginning of a story is fine, but not at a later point in the story. That’s just lazy storytelling.

Also, the main character explains to the other characters at the end how and when she identified the criminal, and how she figured out what it’s all about. But the readers don’t have a chance to figure this crime out along with her, as the writer witholds vital information while she tells her story. I hate that in a mystery novel. In my opinion, readers should always have a chance to solve the crime along with the main character, but not all mystery novels are structured that way.

There’s something else that I think parents (or aunts and uncles, grandparents, etc.) should know who might think about buying this book for their child as a gift (spoiler alert):

I don’t consider many of the story elements suitable for 11-year old children (or older children for that matter): the heads of three dogs are cut off, and another dog is killed in a brutal manner; a very young slave-girl (shackled and naked) is rescued; she tells of another slave-girl who was murdered by being pushed into the sea with her hands tied, who drowned. One of the characters in this book is a young boy whose tongue was cut out, and who’s now mute. There are other, very violent story elements, and I don’t think they are suitable for young children.

Some children have a very vivid imagination. I remember reading Edgar Allan Poe’s “The Black Cat” as a 15-year old. 40 years later, I am still traumatized. Do not underestimate your child’s powers of imagination! I really don’t think that 11-year olds (or 15-year olds, for that matter) should be confronted with such violent story elements.

But that’s a very personal opinion from someone who has an extremly vivid imagination. Your child might be emotionally more resilient than I was. If you consider this book as a possible gift for a child, I recommend you read it first, and decide after you finish reading it, if it’s a suitable present for a child.

Please note: I first published this book review on the “Goodreads”-platform on October 10, 2022. I’ve now decided to publish some of my reviews on my website.

My rating: 4 (of 5) “stars”

I bought a paperback copy which was published in 2012 by Orion Children’s Books. Here’s a link to the author’s personal website.
ISBN: 978 1 4440 0325 3

P. K. (“Pinky”) Pinkerton is a wonderful, complex, and very sympathetic character. He’s 12 years old, the story is told in the first person, through his eyes.

Caroline Lawrence does a great job telling the story with a 12-year old’s voice: it’s totally believable, and at times, funny and cute. When Pinky writes about a “Sweet of Rooms,” I laughed out loud. And when he describes his “thorn,” that’s exactly the way a 12-year old would talk.

Also, the story’s plot is inventive, unusual, and I wasn’t bored at all, even though this is a book for young adults, and I am 55 years old. All in all, I really liked this book!

The writer frequently uses ampersands (“&”) instead of writing the word “and,” which I find a bit weird, but I got used to it.

But I don’t think that this book, which is marketed to children and teenagers, is suitable for young readers, due to graphic descriptions of violence (I couldn’t find out the exact age group, for which this book was written).

Spoiler alert:
Pinky’s foster parents are murdered in a gruesome manner, a man’s finger is cut off in front of Pinky, and there’s a pony whose existence can only be described by using the words “animal cruelty” — I would recommend this book to teenagers who are 15+ years old, but not to younger children. It’s perfect for older teenagers, but not for younger readers.

At the back of the book, there’s a glossary where Caroline Lawrence explains a few words, including “celestials” – a “slang” for Chinese people; I think the word “slang” doesn’t convey properly that this word was used as a derogatory ethnic slur; and the words Indians, Injuns, and negro are also used throughout the book. These words were all used in the 1860s, but I think today’s young readers need additional information/context, when such words are used for dialogue in historical fiction books. Or maybe the use of these words could’ve (should’ve) been avoided at all?

I think that issue could’ve been handled better, or at least more information could’ve been included in the glossary about the fact that these are all derogatory words from the past, and should not be used in this day and age when talking to or about other people.

The writer uses the terms “soiled doves” and “hurdy girls” as synonyms for prostitutes, and in the glossary only explains that these terms describe women who worked in saloons or brothels (without explaining what a brothel is). I do think it’s very funny that she’s coy about prostitution, but depicts acts of extreme violence in detail. I think that the issue of prostitution was handled age-appropriately, and that’s how I wish she would’ve described acts of violence: a little more vaguely.

One more thing: Do not enter the URL listed at the back cover of this edition of the book, which is a URL dedicated to the book series. The publishing house let the rights to this URL go, and it’s now used by a p**n site. If you buy this book as a gift to a child, use a black marker to make it invisible, or just tear the part of the back cover off, which lists the URL.

Please note: I first published this book review on the “Goodreads”-platform on September 2, 2023. I’ve now decided to publish some of my reviews on my website.

Mein Rating: 4 von 5 “Sternen”

Ich habe die 2017 veröffentlichte Paperback-Edition des Verlags C. H. Beck.

Please note: I first published this book review on the “Goodreads”-platform on May 1, 2021. I’ve now decided to publish some of my reviews on my website.

My rating: 2 (of 5) “stars”

My German-language paperback copy of this book was published in 2018 by Droemer Knaur.

“Lavendel Tod” ist leider kein besonders spannender Krimi, ich war beim Lesen der emittelnden Undercover-Polizistin immer ein paar Schritte voraus. Man errät sehr schnell den Täter, erkennt die Zusammenhänge, und auch die Hintergründe des Falls sind schnell klar. Die Autorin schickt ihre Polizistin auf eine Schnitzeljagd, um den Fall aufzuklären, und in dem Buch befinden sich mehrere gezeichnete Karten/Hinweise für diese Schnitzeljagd. Auf der letzten Seite des Buches, bei der Danksagung, ist dann alles klar: die Figuren und die Handlung wurden als Rätselserie für Geocoaching entworfen. Das erklärt die Schnitzeljag. Als “echter” Krimi für Menschen, die gerne Bücher lesen, funktioniert die Geschichte aufgrund der einfachen Handlung nicht so gut.