I'M BACK!!

Life update & chat & reading highlights.
#amreading #bookreviews #booktube
Books Mentioned
Mona Awad, All’s Well (2021): / all-s-well
#unhinged
Emilia Pardo Bazán, The House of Ulloa, transl. from the Spanish by Paul O’Prey & Lucia Graves (original published in 1886): / the-house-of-ulloa
#1001Women #translated
Monique Roffey, The Mermaid of Black Conch (2020): / the-mermaid-of-black-c...
#1001Women #caribbean #Booknaturalists
Gillian Rose, Love’s Work (1995): / love-s-work
#1001Women #nonfiction #SandysBookclub
Alexis Wright, Praiseworthy (2023): / praiseworthy
#1001Women #indigenous #AussieLit #Stellaprize #buddyreads
People & channels mentioned:
Heidi ‪@myreadinglife8816‬
Doris ‪@alldbooks9165‬
Sandy ‪@MsReadsAlot‬
Adam @MementoMori (on Instagram): www.instagram....
Read along with me!
1. Three classics I want to read in the second half of 2024
July / August: Emilia Pardo Bazán, The House of Ulloa, transl. from the Spanish by Paul O’Prey (1886): / the-house-of-ulloa
September / October: George Sand, Indiana, transl. from the French by Sylvia Raphael (2001 / 1832): / 104260.indiana
November / December: Mitchitsuna no Haha, The Gossamer Years, transl. from the Japanese by Edward Seidensticker (1989 / 974): / 186608.the_gossamer_years
2. Sandy’s 1001 Books Bookclub
January - No book
February - The Princess of Cleves by Madame Lafayette (192 pages)
March - The Well Of Loneliness by Radclyffe Hall (448 pages)
April - Hideous Kinky by Esther Freud (192 pages)
May - The Waves by Virginia Woolf (304 pages)
June - Love’s Work by Gillian Rose (170 pages)
July - The Flamethrowers by Rachel Kushner (383 pages)
September - The Last September by Elizabeth Bowen (320 pages)
October - The Real Charlotte by Edith Somerville and Martin Ross (415 pages)
November - Anagrams by Lorrie Moore (240 Pages)
December - Life and Death of Harriett Frean by May Sinclair (86 pages)
Name of my KZbin channel:
I stole name ‘The Second Shelf’ from the title of Meg Wolitzer’s article in the New York Times: www.nytimes.com...
Find me elsewhere:
website: www.brittaboehler.com (hasn’t been updated in a while, sorry…)
goodreads: / 5497508.britta_b_hler
Instagram: / brittaboehler
X, formerly twitter: / britta_boehler
I also wrote some books:
Fiction:
- De juiste houding (2021): www.uitgeverij...
available in Dutch
- The Decision (2015): hauspublishing....
or in the German original: Der Brief des Zauberers (2014): www.aufbau-verl...
also available in Dutch, French, Italian, Greek, Danish, Hebrew and Turkish
Non-fiction (available only in Dutch):
- De goede advocaat (2017): www.uitgeverijc...
- Crisis in de rechtstaat (2004): www.singeluitg...
- De zwerftocht van een leider (2000): www.singeluitg...
Crime novels under the pen name Britta Bolt (together with writer Rodney Bolt)
The Posthumus Mysteries:
- Lonely Graves (2014)
- Lives Lost (2015)
- Deadly Secrets (June 2016)
www.hodder.co....
and for German readers:
- Das Büro der einsamen Toten (2015)
- Das Haus der verlorenen Seelen (2016)
- Der Tote im fremden Mantel (February 2017)
www.hoffmann-un...

[@heyitslori]

Yay Britta! I am SO excited to see you!! You were very much missed! I am so happy to hear your mom is doing well and I hope that your back pain continues to improve. Thank you for coming back to KZbin. Your videos are always a real treat. ❤

Hi Lori, thank you so much ❤️, I'm so happy to be back!

[@BookChatWithPat8668]

Oh Britta! It's so wonderful to see you! I've missed you. So glad to hear that your dear mom is doing so much better. So sorry to hear that you have been in such pain. I hope you will continue to heal and feel better too. Please continue to take good care. Welcome back, my friend!

Hi Pat, thank you so very much for your lovely message!

[@annakatharinagamzearnold5158]

Liebe Britta, ich freue mich wirklich sehr, dass du wieder hierher zurückgekehrt bist und dass es deiner Mutter, altersentsprechend, jetzt gut geht, sie wieder alleine zuhause sein kann. Keine Selbstverständlichkeit. Auch dir weiterhin alles, alles Gute auf dem Weg zur vollständigen Genesung. ( Zwei Bücher vom heutigen Video habe ich mir schon für die Wunschliste notiert.) Herzliche Grüße Anna Katharina

Vielen lieben Dank!! ❤️

[@mireillelambre2006]

Very happy to see again and pleased to hear that your mother has recovered from her injury.

Thank you very much, Mireille! ❤️

[@chancecarer5234]

Hello! Britta so glad you're back. I'm happy to hear that your mother is well. I hope you will feel better. I suffer from chronic back pain to due to old injuries and from being a caregiver to my parents. Take good care of yourself first. The book community will always be here.

Thank you so very much fro your lovely comment!❤️And very to hear you suffer from chronic back pain.

[@MsReadsAlot]

Yay! So happy you are back! Aww. You are great! No issues at all with the Book Club! I am glad you took the time you and your mom needed.

Thank you so much for understanding! ❤️

[@Dreamingofthedesert17]

So glad I can look forward to your Sunday videos again!

Aww, thank you so much! ❤️

[@emmavd]

Thank you, Britta!🌷It’s so good to see you back!!! 🥰I’m happy to hear that your mother is doing well and wish you a full recovery from your back pain.

Hi Emma, glad to be back and thank you so much for your lovely comment! ❤️

[@recentlyseenreading]

I clicked on this so quickly that I broke a land speed record. It’s wonderful to hear that your mum’s doing well and that pain meds help (a bit) with your back pain.

Thank you very much for breaking the speed record! 😁 ❤️

[@GinaStanyerBooks]

I missed you! Sounds like a difficult time. I’m glad to hear your mom is well and your health is improving. ❤

Aww, thank you very much, Gina, I really appreciate it!

[@Notizhefte]

Hello Britta, it is so good to see you again and to hear what happened. All the best for you and your mother! Take the time for recovering and be relaxed with numbers. Best wishes, Norman

Hi Norman, thank you very much, I really appreciate it! ❤️

[@barbaraboethling596]

Happy dance, happy dance (insert joyous sigh of relief here!!). I'm thrilled you're back. I missed you so much. My sympathy to you for your back pain issues. I've lived with a fractious back for forty years now. At its worst, I wouldn't wish that pain on my worst enemy. I figured you had had problems with your mom, so I'm happy things turned out so well.! Take things easy. You must not hurry a back issue.💕💕

Aww, thank you so much, Barbara!! ❤️ (And yes, back pains sucks. Big time.)

[@greensnowfall7476]

How wonderful to see you back, Britta! Glad your mom is doing well and hopefully you will also recovery fully. You were missed. May the most gentle of healing winds keep blowing your way. 💖

Thank you so very much!! And I can feel the gentle winds coming my way. ❤️

[@lindseyreads5450]

So glad to see you back on Booktube!

Thank you very much, Lindsey! ❤️

[@josmith5992]

Hurrah! Great to see you Britta and hear there is some progress on the back healing 👍 I think Alexis Wright has always intimidated me as an author but I’m so tempted by her books I might have to dive in!

Aww, thank you Jo! Alexis Wright is wroth a try!

[@MIDDLEoftheBookMARCH]

YAY!!! SHE’S BACK!!!!!!!’ ❤🎉❤🎉❤

❤️❤️❤️

[@BookishTexan]

Hurray!!

❤️

[@RaynorReadsStuff]

So glad to see you back Britta. Best wishes to your mum and I wish you a very speedy recovery. You have been missed 😌

Aww, thank you so much, Raynor! ❤️

[@penelopegough6050]

So pleased to see you are back with your reading updates. Happy to hear the news of your mother’s recovery and do hope your health continues to improve. In reading the comments you can see how much you were missed. I am so relieved and happy to see you again. 💕🤗

Hi Penelope! Thank you so much for your heartwarming welcome! ❤️

[@sarah-wl1py]

Welcome back! What a wonderful surprise! I have thought of you often, hoping you would come back. Hope your healing speeds up!

Thank you so much, Sarah, I really I appreciate it! ❤️

[@bookwalk1]

Glad both you and your mom are improving! My husband deals with a lot of back issues, so I understand what you have been going through! So good to see you back! Here’s wishing you steady improvement! We could never forget your wonderful style!

Aww, thank you so much for your lovely comment and the warm welcome, Kristin! ❤️

[@michellemorrill888]

So happy to see your face back on BT! And even happier that things are better for you and your dear mother! We missed you! Welcome back! 🤗🤗🤗

Thank you so very much, Michelle!! ❤️

[@chris-wolak]

So happy you're back! It's great to hear your mom is doing well and I hope you continue to find pain relief and healing. Looking forward to hearing more about your book as it develops.

Hi Chris, thank you so much! I'm really happy to be back and to reconnect! ❤️

[@shelleycharles3077]

Hello Britta! Glad to see you're back and on the mend.

Thank you very much!

[@martalupaiola]

Wonderful to see you again, Britta! Welcome back and good to know your mother is better and that you're recovering. Looking forward to your new videos!

Thank you so much!! ❤️

[@marianryan2991]

So delighted to see you again! I'm happy to hear good news about your mom, and glad to hear you're headed in the right direction painwise too. Take it easy!

Thank you so much! ❤️

[@LouiseReader]

Welcome back Britta! Of course you were missed, of course you're remembered. What a few months you've had, please no guilt about taking the time you needed. I'm so glad that your mother has recovered enough to be back to her own home (far from a guarantee as you know). I'm impressed that you've read Praiseworthy, I'm too intimidated to even start it.

Aww, thank you so much for your lovely comment, Louise! ❤️. I think it helped me a lot to have a buddyreader with Praisworthy.I don't know whether I could have managed on my own...

[@deegrows7589]

Welcome back!! You look lovely as always. ✨You were greatly missed but so glad to hear you are on the mend and that your mother is recovered. I just finished reading The Mermaid of Black Conch and absolutely loved it! So glad you did as well. 🙂. We’re always here for you whenever you can post a video!

Aww, thank you very much for the warm welcome and the lovely compliment! ❤️ And very happy to hear you also love Mermaid of Black Conch.

[@blueblack9067]

Yay you're back! I'm glad you are well and i wish you speedy recovery from that damned back pain.

Thank you so much!!

[@pjreads]

So glad you're back! Hope you feel better soon.

Thank you very much!!

[@saintdonoghue]

Britta is back!

Yep! No way you can get rid of me! 😁

[@ariannefowler455]

It's wonderful to see you! Welcome back!

Thank you! 😊

[@rosarodriguezugalde1416]

Welcome back! It’s lovely to see you again.

Thank you, that's so nice to hear!

[@cuppa.books.]

So nice to see you back - I'm glad your Mum has recovered 💜

Thank you very much!

[@heatherfoley4945]

I am glad your back. =) I'm going to get The Mermaid of Black Conch, your review tempted me.

Thank you very much! And I hope you will enjoy the mermaid-book!

[@majelthesurreal5723]

So nice to see your post pop up today! More interesting book titles as usual. Nice to hear that your mother is doing well and sorry about your back pain. I've suffered with that as well and it's not fun.

Thank you so much, I really appreciate it! ❤️ (And yes, back pain sucks...)

[@myreadinglife8816]

Yay! Britta’s back! 😊❤

❤️❤️❤️

[@helenj8471]

Oh, it's lovely to see you back. I'm so glad you and your mum are on the mend (albeit slowly). My 83 year old mum is about to have a big operation next week so you have my sympathy. I don't want it to come but at the same time want it to be over. Take it carefully with your back.

Thank you so very much, Helen! ❤️ I will be thinking of you and your Mum this week, I hope the surgery goes well!!

[@sandrahollins3520]

I am so glad you are feeling fit enough to return, it's so nice to see a video from you. I am glad your mum is doing well too. I hope you continue to improve!

Thank you very much, Sandra!! ❤️

[@sarahhepworth]

Yay!!!!!! 🎉 So happy you are back. I have missed you. Wishing you and your Mum all the best as you recover. I read Mermaid of Black Conch for Caribathon a few years ago and it was one of my favourite books of that year. Glad you enjoyed it too.

Thank you very much for the warm welcome, Sarah! ❤️ And Mermaid was fabulous!

[@LaurieInTexas]

It's so good to see you back. I was concerned your mother wasn't doing well since you were out so long, so I am glad to hear she is. I'm so sorry you are in pain and I hope it gets better quickly. You were missed and I look forward to whatever videos you feel like making.

Thank you so very much, Laurie! ❤️

[@angelaluz405]

I am so glad that you are on the mend and so is your mom! It's good to have you back!

Thank you so much! ❤️

[@melaniereed3494]

Britta - so nice to see your back, although your absence is completely understandable. No matter how hard we all try, life has it's ways of intervening. So happy to hear that your Mother has mended and still independent. I've been wanting to concentrate a bit more on classics and just taking a look at 'The House of Ulloa' (the Amazon sample) and the author was born in the same town as my grandfather - that makes me feel very interested.

Thank you very much, Melanie, I really appreciate it! ❤️And such a good reason to read Ulloa!

[@1book1review]

And there I was just thinking the other day "I haven't seen you in my inbox in a while, did YouTbe unsub me?" Glad to hear your mom and you are better again.

Aww, thank you Wiebke! ❤️

[@rebecca.reader]

It is so lovely to see you back!! I'm glad your mum is doing well and you are continuing to feel better. Sending healing thoughts for a swift recovery. I really need to read The Mermaid of Black Conch. I have it on my bookshelf and it just sounds wonderful. Happy reading for the summer !!

Thank you so very much, Rebecca! ❤️ I hope you will enjoy the Mermaid!

[@louisep1962]

Britta! What a lovely surprise for Sunday morning. Welcome back! I've missed you. I'm sorry so much shit has happened to you; however, I'm so glad to hear your mother is doing well. One Britta a week is much better than zero Britta a week. Take it easy and take care. Best wishes for your back recovery.

Thank you very much for your lovely comment, Louise!! It warmed my heart ❤️

[@Nina_DP]

Britta!! I was so very glad to see you pop up in my feed. You were missed. Happy to hear that your mom is doing well, and hope you are feeling better yourself very soon. Look on the bright side: you have a snappy new motto to relaunch your channel with - Crappiest of Crappy Co-Hosts! 😂 Welcome back!!

Thank you very much, Nina, I'm very happy to be back! Your Crappiest of Crappy Co-hosts 😂

[@margarethaines9310]

Glad to see your video! I look forward to reading The Gossamer Years at the end of the year. Take care and rest well 🌻

Thank you, Margaret! ❤️ And lovely that you will join me for The Gossamer Years!

[@kamicastillo1451]

Hello Britta 😊 so nice to see you again! Glad your mom is better and that your backpain is better.

Thank you so much! ❤️

[@melissahouse1296]

Just *so* good to see you Britta 🤗Glad you're taking the pressure off quite frankly any video any time is more than good enough 🙏hopefully filming can be therapeutic for you (i totally get it re pain illness blah blah). 👍💐💐💞😊

Thank you very much for your warm welcome, Melissa! ❤️

[@klefk9235]

So glad to see you. Keep caring for your recovery- we’ll be here !!

Thank you so much! ❤️

[@audreyh7892]

Welcome, back! Back pain is the pits. Hope you are on the mend.

Thank you so very much! ❤️

[@Shellyish]

Britta! I’m so glad you’re back!

Aww, thank you so much, Shelly! ❤️ (PS: Love your Bridgerton inspired video!

[@hartereads]

So happy to see you back, Britta! I missed you!

Thank you so much, Sherri, I missed you, too! ❤️

[@user-cb6rz2ke5u]

Yay!!! Happy to see you back. Glad your mom is doing well.

Thank you very much!!

[@jacquelineturner7206]

Welcome back!

Thank you!

[@tiffanylishan570]

Welcome back Britta!! Pleased to have you back!

Aww, thank you so much, Tiffany! ❤️

[@katherinestephens6537]

Welcome back! Glad mom is better. Hope you get relief soon with your back pain.

Thank you so very much, Katherine! ❤️

[@anneworks]

Hoera! There you are! Very sorry to hear about all the pain but happy about your mother and no opioids. I maybe shouldn't count as well this year. Balancing balance and having goals, I think I need to go back to why I read. I'm happy with once a week because I'm cutting back on screens and KZbin. Interesting book selection for this week, looking forward to the freshening up of your format 🙋‍♀️

Aww, thank you so very much, Anne! Such a warm welcome! ❤️

[@jessicatvordi]

Welcome back! Always happy to see you face and get some new book recommendations!

Thank you, Jess! ❤️

[@danicaholly1554]

Welcome back, Britta, my husband and I really missed you. After your health report we really feel for you. Get back to your normal soon.

Aww, thank you so very much!! ❤️

[@davidnovakreadspoetry]

Welcome back! Glad your mom is recovered, and you are improving. Back troubles suck.

Thank you very much, David! And yes, I agree... 😁

[@enjay5087]

Welcome back. I'm glad to hear things are improving for you and your mother.

Thank you so much! ❤️

[@janethansen9612]

Welcome back Britta! Don’t put any pressure on yourself though. Wishing you healing and rest.

Thank you very much, Jane! ❤️

[@100onBooks]

Welcome back and lovely to see you! All the best to you and your Mum ❤

Thank you so much! ❤️

[@user-kf7gl8mv8n]

Welcome back - I’ve missed seeing you

Thank you very much!

[@marytumulty4257]

Good to see a Britta video pop up. Glad to hear your Mom has fully recovered and I hope you will soon be as well.

Thank you very much!! ❤️

[@scherbenkind4154]

I'm so glad you're back... with your back. Take care and best wishes.

Thank you so much! ❤️

[@josephlastname]

yay!

❤️

[@ravenhill_theAnglo-celt-1968]

lovely to have you back Britta.

Thank you!! ❤️

[@tripurasundari7749]

warm welcome back !

Aww, thank you!

[@giselaperez6746]

I’m so happy that you are back❤But Heath and family come first. I’m glad that your mother is better and that you are in the process of recovery, feeling better. Sometimes these experiences just teach us to slow down a bit. I have so many plan but life sometimes change them 😁 Step by step. You were missed. Take your time, slow down and we will still be here, following you. Your reviews and comments are well appreciated, always waiting for them. A big hug from the distance, it will be a warm hug since I’m in the Caribbean 🥵😂😂😂Welcome back🥰❤❤❤

Thank you so very much for your lovely comment, Gisela, and the warm welcome! ❤️ I'm happy to be back and to reconnect!

[@lindaschwab8873]

So glad to see you back. I hope your mother continues to do well and you are able to recover soon.

Thank you very much, Linda!

[@janicemacdougall1844]

Praising God your Mother is better and is able to be in her home! ❤. Sorry about your back, Britta. Please take care of yourself! ❤️. And I feel all your viewers would agree with me in that you shouldn’t feel bad about not as many videos or books read as you were very busy and now you need to work on healing your back! 🙏❤

Thank you very much for the warm welcome, Janice! ❤️

[@ReadingwithPugs]

Good to see you Britta! Listen pain is no joke. I live with it daily and no one here will look down on you for talking about it. It affects your whole life. Best wishes to your continued recovery!

Hi Jen, thank you so much for your lovely message. I saw that you're back also, making videos again, at least now and again. Very happy about that! ❤️

[@Alfred_51]

Lovely to see back. Love your taste in book. Look after your health Britta

Thank you very much, Alfred! ❤️

[@erinh7450]

So good to see you back! Glad your mom is well and you're feeling better. I have a copy here of Los Pazos de Ulloa, which I'm pretty sure I read sometime last century in a course I took on Spanish naturalism. I remember nothing, so it would be good to reread; will have to figure out how to fit it in!

Thank you so much Erin! ❤️ And it would be fabulous if you could join me for Ulloa!

[@julieg_quebec-julesselivre8641]

Welcome back Britta! You’ve been missed! 🙂 Glad to hear your mom is dong better.

Thank you so much, Julie! Glad to be back and to reconnect! ❤️

[@alicevn7020]

Oh it is nice to see you are back! I thought about you and your videos yesterday and hoped everything was well. Hope you will feel better soon :)

Thank you very much, Alice! ❤️

[@SelinaAllinson]

Woohoo! Missed you Britta. Happy to hear things are well for you and your family ❤

Thank you very much, Selina!! ❤️

[@readandre-read]

I'm glad you're back and good news about your mom. Back pain is no fun either; hope it improves.

Thank yo so much!! ❤️

[@user-tl7cf6hg3r]

Wonderful to see you again! Welcome back!

Thank you very much!! ❤️

[@LouiseKellett]

Welcome Back. I’ve missed you.

Thank you so much, Louise! ❤️

[@user-qo6tz1oe1v]

Welcome back

Thank you!

[@Eldertalk]

I'm so glad you are back and sorry you've been having difficult times. ❤

Thank you very much, I really appreciate it! ❤️

[@didierolvera2349]

Welcome back!!!

Thank you!!

[@StephaniePatterson-jb5it]

Yippee!! That’s English for Yippee!!

😂

[@jorgem71962]

I am so glad to see you back!

Aww, thank you so much! ❤️

[@MsTerriB]

Welcome back!!!! You were missed very much. 😊

Thank you!! 😊

[@catsandbats77]

It's do wonderful to see you back!

Thank you!

[@suemoro]

Welcome back!! Sorry to hear about you and your mom’s health issues. Glad to hear you are both on the mend now. 😊

Thank you very much, Sue! I'm happy to be back & to reconnect! ❤️

[@heathereads]

So pleased to see you back

Thank you so much!

[@laracroft1829]

I’m so excited to see you back 🎉 I have been checking your channel from time to time to make sure I wasn’t missing your videos. I hope you continue recovering. Really glad to hear your mom is better. Many people recommend Emilia Pardo Bazan. I’ve never read her but I’m curious to hear what you think. Welcome back 😊

Thank you so much!! ❤️ And very happy that you might join with the House of Ulloa!

[@robin-tainebrownell1491]

Welcome back!!

Thank you!

[@Robert.Sheard]

It's good to see you, Britta. I haven't made a video for two months, so does this mean I get another month off? Glad to hear about you mom's recovery!

Haha, another month off? No!! You're not in this for fun, Robert! 😂

[@Microplastics2]

glad to have you back britta!

Thank you very much, Harriet!❤️

[@gf-kh4bz]

So good to have you back, I've missed your videos and I'm happy to know things are getting better. On the theme of unhinged women, I loved the book Frankenstein's Mother, by the Spanish Almudena Grandes, I don't know if you've heard of it, I thought it was amazing.

Aww, thank you so much!! ❤️ And also for the tip, the book went straight on my list 'Unhinged'. 🙏 (I don't read Spannish, but fortunately, there is a Dutch translation, lucky me!)

[@Shelf_Improvement]

3 months is nothing, I just came back after 2 years😂. Glad to see you again, glad you're mom is doing ok ❤

Haha, shot another man in Reno, did you? 😂 Welcome back, too!

[@RovingReader]

Welcome back!!! OMG I never thought of the mermaid spreading legs thing...

Thank you!! And: LoL, once you thought about it you can't 'un-think it', right?

[@LaughingStockfarm1]

Yaaaay!!! Great to see you again. 😁

Thank you!!