The Labyrinth of the Spirits (The Cemetery of Forgotten Books, #4) | 
I fell off on these about halfway through. Where does the time go? Here's a recap of the second half of 2024.
July - Burial Rites was quiet, based on a true story, and had a great sense of place.
August - The Labyrinth of the Spirits was my favorite of the year & my only 5-Star book in 2024. (I'm very stingy with those). Being the fourth in a series of interconnected books, I was leery of following a new character, but it ended splendidly. ⬇️
pickI loved this. This book brings together all the different threads from the other books in the Cemetery of Forgotten Books quartet & introduces a few new faces. It took me months to read it, a little at a time, but it also allowed me to savor it. I highlighted so many more of Fermin's words of wisdom & wacky comments on life. My only regret is that I can't read the series for the first time again. If I ever get with amnesia, show me this! 😉
Well, July was a summer crazy month at work thanks to all of the obstacles that come with a new system. I feel like I've hardly been reading, but to my surprise, I read a little bit each day of the tagged book. I don't even know if I've ever scored myself a perfect week, let alone 4 plus change to make for a perfect month. I'm still not done with this chunkster, but it's CRZ, so I'm happy to slowly go along with the story and take it all in.
I'm ready for book four of The Cemetery of Forgotten Books, but I'm also not ready to read Carlos Ruiz Zafon's final novel. After this, all I'll have left to explore for the first time is a collection of short stories set in this world and one more unrelated YA book.
Traveling solo to San Antonio, TX for work while nursing the tail end of a cold is a great time to make some headway.
#foodandlit #spain
#CarlosRuizZafon #WeRemember @Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks
This amazing human has been gone for 2 years…at the age of 55 from colorectal cancer. I enjoyed reading his books last year-magical.
pickThis book is a masterpiece. The entire series has been an amazing adventure of Barcelona through such fascinating characters. I‘m in awe of Carlos‘ unbelievable talent to weave together so many characters over so many books and create this final installment that comes together beautifully. I am grief stricken that it‘s over. RIP, Carols. I‘m grateful you shared your literary talents with the world. #MountTBR
pickI wasn't sure what I'd think of this one after reading The Angel's Game and The Prisoner of Heaven, both of which I didn't love as much as The Shadow of the Wind. But I'm so glad I finished the series by reading this book! It was just as good as The Shadow of the Wind. All of the storylines from the entire series were brought back together and everything was explained. I love the way Zafon weaves a story!
#AuthorAMonth @Soubhiville
#coffeeandabook to start day #9 of the #NovelNovember Readathon! @Andrew65
Starting the next in the series...
#AuthorAMonth
#NovelNovember Readathon
When reading a book about spirits it‘s good to have a black cat around. It helps with the ambiance. 😀 🐈⬛🐈⬛
#catsoflitsy
#authoramonth
Starting this one for November‘s #AuthorAMonth —it‘s a chunkster at 800 pages!
A head start on #ChunksterChallenge2022, @CoverToCoverGirl @GinaKButler @Kelly326 ? 😀
On sale for $1.99 again today. November‘s #authoramonth @Soubhiville
Need book 4 in a series for November's #authoramonth Carlos Ruiz Zafon? In the US it's on sale for Kindle today.
Tagging you just in case @Soubhiville #aamcrz
pickIt was an honour to finish this book. I‘m not sure if it‘s the best of the series (I loved them all) but it doesn‘t matter because it‘s a work of art. It is over 800 pages of entertainment. Which left me in a pool of tears by the end. I was crying because I loved all the characters. I was crying because Carlos Zafon had died too young. I was crying because that‘s how powerful books make you feel.
The memories we bury under mountains of silence are the ones that never stop haunting us.
so-soThis is the finale in a 4 book series which I can only describe as floppy. I prefer a series to be tight and so this didn't really work for me.
The majority of this book (up too 74%) is a whole new cast and id describe the plot as a political thriller. Then it ties itself up to the previous 3 books which I was fine with and the ending at 85% was just perfect.
3 stars for both this book and the overall series.
I‘m not sure how long this has been on my bookcase. I‘m finally starting to read it today, has anyone else read it?
pickZafón wraps up his Cemetery of Forgotten Books quartet with this massive tome which reintroduces us to the Semperes and Fermín as well as introducing new characters, most notably feisty glamourpuss Alicia, intent on discovering the truth behind the disappearance of Culture Minister Valls, whom we last met overseeing the grim Montjuic prison. Great stuff.
so-soSlow to start, I‘m hoping this one will improve as I go! The cover is beautiful.
I‘m so sad at the passing of master storyteller Carlos Ruiz Zafon. He died today from colon cancer. I just finished the final installment of his Cemetery of Lost Books quartet earlier this month which I loved. He was taken way too young and will be missed. 😢😢😢💔💔💔
Carlos Ruiz Zafón passed away today. I am shocked and saddened that I'll never get another incredible work from him.
Now more than ever I feel compelled to track down all his books and read them.
"Stories have no beginning and no end, only doors which one may enter them."
#magicalrealism #author #barcelona #cemetaryofforgottenbooks
The morning couldn‘t be more beautiful. I have loved The Cemetery of Forgotten Books series. I‘m sad that this is the last one. 😩
pickThe atmosphere, the characters, and the writing are enough to make you sigh in appreciation of the complex beauty of it all. The pieces about the journalist, the diary, and the last book are enough to make you scream in frustration. A somewhat over embellished ending to the story but the only other part of the story that is remotely comparable to the Shadow of the wind.
My set is complete!
pickThis book offered a wonderful ending to an incredible tetralogy. The characters are flawed and colourful, the plot thickens constantly, there are a lot of cliffhangers and stunnning moments. But it is also a haunting rendering of the ruin and life-altering terror of the Franco regime, a raw and unflinching depiction of human-made horrors while the uplifting moments of kidness and loyalty offer some relief in between.
Finally starting on this behemoth. 👀 It‘s been a while since I got lost within the Cemetery of Forgotten Books so I look forward to this. Though I think this tome would have benefited from being split into two volumes - it‘s a bit difficult trying to find a comfortable reading position; but I won‘t complain if it gives me a respite from all the worrying and the anxiety of these past few weeks.
Got this tree from my brother for Christmas. Thought my fellow littens would appreciate it. It has that wonderful old book smell.
SantaThing books have started to come! After so much ordering for other people it‘s nice when my own presents come in :) thanks @emz711 !
Beautiful day to hang out in the backyard with my dogs and a book 📚🐶☀️
Opened my box this morning! Loved everything in it! Thank you so much @bookish_wookish I can‘t wait to start the 4th book of my all time favorite series (Cemetery of Forgotten Books). This was my first swap...so fun! @MaleficentBookDragon
#allhallowsreadswap
pickAll I can say is, WOW Zafón did it again! That guy is a literary master, in my mind. It was well worth the late hours and headache/eye strain I'll have from devouring the last 300 pages in a matter of hours, tomorrow. I already can't wait to re-read this entire series 💞
500 pages into this behemoth of a book! So many twists and turns, wonderful characters 💞
I should be finished by the end of the weekend, sadly. I love the series so much, and don't want it to end! Zafón is an absolute master!
Starting the last in the series! It's a big book, and I'm hoping to read it slowly, as I don't want to series to end 💖
Book mail! I'm so excited to finally have the Cemetery of Forgotten Books series. I loved Shadow of the Wind so much, I hope the rest are as great as it was.
#7days7covers
Thanks for the tag, @TheEllieMo !
Tagging @Owlizabeth !
#7days7covers #covercrush
I don't know what this new trend of decorative shiny designs are on book covers but they really catch my eye
Thanks @squirrelbrain
Tagging @Liatrek
Ready to start The cemetery of forgotten books #4 🤗 This is my new favourite series of books 📚😍
1. Tagged- last book in the series, soooooo good!
2. Co
3. Stuffed mushrooms, wings, mussels...
4. Barbecue with friends, pack, unpack and repack too much stuff for a conference, laundry.
5. Just 2
#friyayi to @howjessreads
1. Just finished this one on Sunday, loved it!!
2. I like both but usually puffy a little more.
3. Sunset
4. A new bedroom set
5. 5th grade
#friyayintro @howjessreads
Look what's on sale!!
#kindledeals #kindledeal #ebooksale
pickFabulous! I've seen some poor reviews of this book, but for me, it closed everything nicely. AND Denver was mentioned!!
Yesterday I culled my book collection. 11 boxes of books later!
I am donating them and I feel good that someone else will get to enjoy them.
I still probably have a a couple hundred books, that's the next project ÷ logging what's left.
Has anyone else done a massive cull? We're you relieved? Did you have regrets?
Happy Sunday!
An obvious choice for today‘s #LetsTravelJuly prompt - the #Cemetery of Forgotten Books series. This, the fourth, is in my TBR pile. Anyone read it yet?
@Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks @OriginalCyn620
I found out today I'm going to a conference in Memphis this August. If anyone knows of a good bookstore close to downtown will you please recommend it to me?
Plan for today: Hang out with these goofballs and make a dent in this time! Have a great Saturday!
October - The Flight Portfolio gave me a glimpse at those helping notable, artistic Jews to escape WWII Europe. It was a bit slow, and I really didn't need party of the storyline, but I thought it was overall enlightening and a different take on what was happening ⬇️ 2d
November - Alex Grecian's novels have become auto-buys for me, and I'm glad to have picked this one up. Probably in my top 3 of the year, this was a genre-blending folk-horror epic, supernatural-western story that I thoroughly enjoyed. His writing is easy, but he does well to set the scene.
December - I had to squeeze something holiday-ish into the month, and this YA novel set in December was a joy. ⬇️ 2d
#12Booksof2024 @Andrew65 2d
Thanks for playing along, it‘s been great seeing everyone‘s books. Hope to see you on the First day of Christmas later this year for #12Booksof2025. 👏👏👏😊🎉🥳 1d