October 15, 2019, by Maartje

Barts Book Club: 'me time' is on

October 15, 2019, by Maartje

Barts Book Club: 'me time' is on

Of course you visit Bart's Booklet for the tips - duh. We do that ourselves too. But thanks to the well-known social media, many people know the people behind this website better and better (or at least you think so, we only show that part of our lives that we want to share). Anyway, for that reason I sometimes think... Shouldn't I (I = Maartje, founder of Barts Boekje) share something personal every now and then? Or at least let us in on the ups and downs every now and then? Because it's not just traveling and eating out that counts. Are you crazy! It also means hours behind the laptop (yes, also/especially when traveling, the things you don't see on insta), we do a lot of lobbying during all kinds of events and we also have to keep the home front up and running. No complaints here, but it is busy.

Are you reading along?

For exactly that reason we threw Bart's Book Club into the air: reading, whether listening or ebooks is, for me personally, really the only way to avoid the continuous flow of thoughts (Have I already arranged such and such? Shit, that still has to be done online! Have those tickets been printed now? Who will pick up Vito from school? What are we having for dinner tonight...?) to stop for a moment, just a moment. Not right now. me time. Nope, no Netflix or TV for the undersigned. I've never even seen an episode of Wie is de Mol, let alone La Casa de Papel. Not me, just a story. Nothing as relaxing as a good thriller, my ultimate 'guilty' (not so guilty) pleasure. If you want tips for this, I can help you!

Then of course you must like my genre... Thrillers! The Swedish version such as Jo Nesbro, the American one (a nice Karin Slaughtertje always does well) but the best thing is, when there is finally time for a story, to immediately read through my KOBO eReader to be able to scroll (ideally: the entire bookstore – and more – on your lap) in search of a new suspense gem. You can read our current favorites below.

Lost Woman - Charles den Tex

Wonderful this new page turner by three-time Golden Strop winner Charles den Tex, a Dutch writer born in Australia. The story: Young Djenna is found injured on the street in the middle of the night by swindler Luc. She suffers from memory loss and there do not seem to be any clues to discover her past. When she goes looking for it herself, it turns out that she is wanted. Who is she? Is she someone she would rather not be? Djenna changes from weak-willed prey into a ruthless hunter, assisted by Luc. She doesn't know who she is, he has to keep his true identity a secret. She is ultra-modern, he is old-fashioned. She is part of an advanced system, he keeps himself completely offline. Together they must find and defeat her client so that she can become herself again. It turns out again and again: there are no more good guys, only bad guys. And Djenna…
Extremely topical, full of action and unparalleledly exciting: Lost Woman is Charles den Tex at his best... Not out yet, I'll keep you informed!

Stillhouse Lake – Rachel Caine

I read this before and I enjoyed it. Somewhere halfway through the story it gets a bit long-winded at times, but hang in there! You are promised at the end.

The Story: Gina is an introverted housewife with a happy marriage and two lovely children. But then a car accident reveals her husband's secret life as a serial killer. Gina starts over, adopts a different name – Gwen Proctor – and turns out to be a mother who will go through fire for her children. Just as she begins to feel comfortable with her new identity, a body is found in Stillhouse Lake and she receives threatening letters. Gwen must avoid being discovered – or watch as her children fall victim to a killer bent on tormenting her.

E-book: € 9,99

Beautiful Murders (four-part series) – Tica Morgan

Like Netflix, Kobo also has its own publications. Let's talk about Kobo for a moment: it really is the best e-reader! And I should know because I use it a lot (and have already worn out a few. Read: I lost them; left them on the train or plane. Oops). This time I chose the nicest so far and the lightest e-reader ever: the Kobo Clara HD e-reader is almost the same size as my phone but much lighter. And yes, I always used to think... But why don't you just read on your phone? Well, because the light of an e-reader is adapted for your eyes. Everything is wonderfully 'matte', almost real paper). Back to Kobo's own edition: for our upcoming trip I have already downloaded the first 2 parts of the brand new Kobo Originals series: Beautiful Murders (wonderful! 4 parts! I always HATE it when I'm enjoying a story and it's over). The story in short: Zoë Janssen is a detective and lives with her two sons on the boring South Holland island of Goeree-Overflakkee. Then a bizarre murder takes place. Someone seems to want to hold the people on the island accountable.

E-book: €9,99 per part

bol.com x kobo

In short: I make time for myself while reading. Digital because I simply don't have time to go to the bookstore. Or actually: when there is finally a stolen moment, I want to be able to start reading straight away. So it was great fun when I saw the collaboration between bol.com and Kobo discovered that you can take out a joint subscription to read unlimited e-books: Kobo Plus. You can choose from a range of more than 405.600 Dutch and international titles (e-books and audio books). So, hoppa. On your lap. So now I have it and it really works like crazy.

So if you want to create some time for yourself this (autumn) holiday, I can only recommend this! Gogogo.

Barts Book Club: 'me time' is on