Not too shabby a stack for 6 weeks reading, is it? Well 8 weeks actually – I started a little early.
17 books from 16 different Indie publishers, 15 of which I reviewed. I hit most of the specific reading prompts I set for myself. They also included an unplanned theme read – 5 books mostly set in Berlin. Let’s take a closer look at those reading prompts and how they influenced my choices.
• #NordicFINDs Iceland (1)
• Thomas Bernard Week (2)
• From new-to-me publishers (3) Clochoderick Press (Observance), Handheld Press (Adrift In The Middle Kingdom **), Renard Press (The Female Soldier)
• From publishers I didn’t feature last year (10) Blue Moose Books (Panenka), Canongate (The Discovery of Slowness), Comma Press (The Book of Reykjavik), Eye and Lightning (Sour Grapes), Fitzcarraldo Editions (The Undercurrents*), Oneworld (The Grey Men *), Polygon (Hex), Salt (Death and The Seaside), Seagull Books (Goethe Dies and Viktor Halfwit) World Editions (Summer Brother **)
• From my Q1 2022 Great Anticipations (2)
• From the Vondel Prize shortlist (3)
• Set in a country that didn’t feature in my last year’s reading. (0) (1 if you count the fantasy land of Lampie. 😏)
• Finally, anything that takes my fancy! (4) From publishers featuring for a second time on Lizzy’s ReadIndies: Daunt Books (The Architects*), Faber and Faber (The Stasi Poetry Circle *), Peirene Press (Marzahn, Mon Amour *), Pushkin Press (Lampie **)
• From my Q1 2022 Great Anticipations (2)
Key: Books marked * The spontaneous Berlin City read / Books marked ** From The Vondel Prize Shortlist
Book of the Event: That is a tough call. The non-fiction book that read like fiction (The Stasi Poetry Circle), the one that made me laugh out loud (Sour Grapes), the children’s fantasy I literally couldn’t put down (Lampie), or the heart-warming one that I originally had no intentions of reading (Marzahn, Mon Amour)? Eenie,meenie miney mo …
So that was my contribution. What did over 30 of you, including my co-host Karen, get up to? You were busy … The official event index is now available here. (Do let me know if I’ve missed anything.)
Before you head over there though, take a bow and listen to that well-earned applause. 👏👏👏👏👏 You’ve earned it. I’m sure all 80+ Indie Publishers featured this year appreciate your efforts.
Lizzy's Literary Life (Volume One) 
That’s an impressive stack. Lizzy, and you’ve read a brilliant amount of indies! My spreadsheet tells me I read 16 books for ReadIndies and I would struggle to pick favourites – both Fitzcarraldos were brilliant, though, as was Brainspotting from Notting Hill Editions. Well done everyone who took part!
Truly one of two unmissable reading events for me during the year, thank you for all the ‘behind the curtain’ work you put into it. I especially appreciate that you straightened out my problems with Mr Linky. I have a fraught relationship with him.
And have two other links, one for Deep Vellum: Mrs. Murakami’s Garden by Mario Bellatin, and for New Directions: Chasing Homer by Låszló Krasznahorkai. (Details in my summary post.)
Wow, well done! I did fewer than I’d hoped for but did at least contribute. I gave up trying to get the Linky right but I did manage to tag them on social media. Thank you for co-running this!
Mr Linky is a tempestuous beast, but at least he helps others know where (some) of the posts are. Thank goodness for tags! Thank you for all your support – I hope I collected all your posts in the index.