We always love reading your survey comments. Ironically, the following two came in within minutes of one another:
All but one are available in my public library. 😊
Only one at my library, so it narrowed my choices somewhat.
We’re glad that at least some of these books are at your libraries. This is why we insist that both ebook & paperback versions are available for all suggestions sent in—it helps ensure that the books are more readily available in general.
We’re also pleased you enjoy the poetry translation comparison. It’s fun to geek out with others who are as interested in global reading & translation as we are. Speaking of translation, we found an amazing new fusion cookbook—the first Indonesian-Dutch Heritage Cookbook translated into English! It’s marvelous & focuses on a unique culinary heritage which began in the former Dutch East Indies more than 350 years ago. The author also includes a treasure trove of his own family’s recipes.
This beautiful cookbook contains 100 recipes adapted to also include ingredients that are easier to find. The rich history, photographs, & background stories are wonderful as well.
I was astonished to find that a few dishes I’m familiar with from Indonesian cooking are actually Indo-Dutch recipes like the fabulous klappertaart (a coconut cake tart), spekkoek (a cake made of many thin layers which was developed during colonial times in the Dutch East Indies), & kroket (fried bundles of joy more often known as croquettes).
Who doesn’t adore a great croquette? But you know what goes great with Indo Dutch food? A great Dutch work of fiction so…
WHAT BOOK ARE WE READING?
“What makes this series so engaging is that the policemen are as quirky and complicated as the criminals.” - The Washington Post
“A superb storyteller.” - Chicago Tribune
”A superlative mystery writer.” - Time
”On a quiet street in downtown Amsterdam, a man is found hanging from the ceiling beam of his bedroom, upstairs from the new religious society he founded: a group that calls itself ‘Hindist’ and supposedly mixes elements of various Eastern traditions. Detective-Adjutant Gripstra and Sergeant de Gier of the Amsterdam police are sent to investigate what looks like a simple suicide, but they are immediately suspicious of the circumstances.
This now-classic novel introduces Janwillem van de Wetering’s lovable Amsterdam cop duo of portly, wise Gripstra and handsome, contemplative de Gier. With its unvarnished depiction of the legacy of Dutch colonialism and the darker facets of Amsterdam’s free drug culture, this excellent procedural asks the question of whether a murder may ever be justly committed.”
”[Van de Wetering] is doing what Simenon might have done if Albert Camus had sublet his skull.” - John Leonard
(Group read suggestion from Beth McCrea, book club co-founder.)
Happy reading!