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ON THE BOOKSHELF with Stefan Bogdanski

  Join me as we take a look through the bookshelves of our favourite writers, readers and book lovers - today we're talking all things books with Stefan Bogdanski, book reviewer and tour host with my wonderful partners at Love Books Tours.




Let's Meet Stefan ... 

"I'm a father of two with way too little time to get all the reading done I'm craving. One peek at my tbr list tells me I need to hope for some wax too extend my lifespan, but I'm also afraid it would be useless (that pile grows fast!). Also, I'm hopelessly addicted to a growing host of book series. And space operas."




What are you reading now?


I'm always in the process of reading multiple books, like my long-term project, the complete Chronicles of Conan (and as soon as I'll finish that, the collected works if Lovecraft will take it's place). Current short-term is THROUGH STRANGER EYES by Chris Sarantopoulos, a Cyberpunk Mystery Thriller, and THE CITY STAINED RED by Sam Sykes, a Dark Fantasy epic (first book of the second trilogy).


The last I read, as of writing, was the fantastic sci-fi time travel novella ONE DAY ALL THIS WILL BE YOURS by Adrian Tchaikovsky, a masterpiece of the genre, and also a quick read due to its short length and the fantastic pace.


What are you reading next?


I'll be trying to finish the already mentioned CITY STAINED RED, and I'll eagerly await Murderbot's next installment. But there are plenty books on my Kindle I could dive into, and sometimes I pick my next read based on an impulse.


What’s the first book you remember reading?


Oh dear. If we forget about childrens books and concentrate on novels for young adults and adults, then it will probably be over of the young adult novels by Wolfgang (and Heike) Hohlbein.


Azrael was not the first (that must have been Anders), but the first title that came to my mind when reading that question, so maybe that counts. I also remember reading LORD OF THE RINGS for the first time at age 14.


What book made you love reading?


My parents used to tuck me in reading me short bed time stories, so in first grade i decided I wanted to read it myself. I was a somewhat fluent reader after only a few months, and since the teacher wouldn't believe me (she suspected I had the devil stuff memorized), she had me read out loud the headlines in her newspaper. The look on her face when I managed to do that was priceless! And the first time I read a (small) book on my own (although I don't remember the title anymore) felt like a mayor achievement. I've never stopped reading after that.


What book can you always re-read?


The obvious answer is GOOD OMENS by Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman. I've read it many times, and sometimes, when I'm feeling really low, I'm taking it up again. It never falls to lift my spirits!


What book do you think is under-rated?


ORBURY by Nora Wall. The fact that you're probably thinking right now "What by whom, now?" is just proving my point. 😉


It's a largely unknown dystopia with cyberpunk elements that can be seen as critique on social media, as well. And it used two protagonists to tell the story in alternating chapters, with one of them doing the memento thing, going backwards in the story chapter by chapter. It's a blast to read, and it will tickle your brain!


What book makes you cry?


I usually refrain from books that make me cry, but there are some scenes in LORD OF THE RINGS that can hit hard on my feelings.



What book makes you laugh?


Terry Pratchett is always a good idea, and besides the already mentioned GOOD OMENS, there's my all time Discworld favourite, REAPER MAN.


And the HITCHHIKER'S GUIDE, of course. That's also where I borrowed my social media moniker from: zweiundvierzich is the (slightly and purposefully mispronounced) German version of "fortytwo".


What book do you think everybody should read?


Might be a little classic, but FAHRENHEIT 451 by Ray Bradbury and 1984 by George Orwell contain such strong themes that are timeless and worth thinking about, especially in our times. If you read them, finish with FAHRENHEIT, it gives you some hope at the end. 1984 surely doesn't.



What got you into book blogging?


It's not simply a matter of what, but also of who. When I started cataloguing my read books on Goodreads, I soon stumbled upon a reviewer named ".carol". Her reviews are so wonderful that I decided: I want to do this, too!


I'm proud of doing honest reviews, trying to tell the readers what they should (or shouldn't) expect from a book, and offering helpful critique to help authors grow. I'm always on the lookout for books that are not known to a large audience, and I'm always happy if I can help a new and aspiring author! Every bit counts, right?


You can find more from Stefan here:

http://crossingthepond.reviews

@zweiundvierzich (Twitter)

@zweiundvierzich@booktoot.club (Fediverse)



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