books and hay fever

We have a beautiful, huge, hazelnut tree in our garden that is in full bloom. and guess what?

soooooooo

allergic

Hazelnut.

My nose is completely blocked, and I have asthma… so yesterday I was up at 0300-0400 in the morning with sand paper dry mouth concentrating on breathing… it all sounds a lot more dramatic than it is. But -

it is the reason why I am postponing to share my meditation for yet another week in the hope that it starts snowing here in Switzerland, and my hay fever evaporates.

At the moment I sound like Fran Drescher, and, although I love her voice, it is probably not what you want to listen to while meditating.

So to stick to my weekly posts: I wanted to share the books that I have read so far in 2026, with extremely short recommendations. If you would like a synopsis of the book, ask google 🙂

LOST LAMBS by Madeline Cash

I just started reading this, and I have the feeling that I am going to love it.

HAMNET by Maggie O Farrell

So well written. This book tore me apart. This book is about William Shakespeares life, and the loss of a child. I would recommend the book over the movie since the theme of the book is so heavy, that it really helps to be able to dive into the emotions and thoughts of all of the characters.

WUTHERING HEIGHTS by Emily Brontë

This book is about destructive love, and revenge. Reminds me a bit of Rosalia’s song Berghain. It transported me back to High school, since I read it for the first time there. I would only recommend this book because it is a classic.

MARTYR by Kaveh Akbar

I loved this book. It is about a queer Iranian-American writer that is fighting addiction, and is fascinated about making death mean something. I love how Kaveh Akbar writes. I want to reread the book just to be able to dive into the story again. Here a snippet of the book:

“It feels so american to discount dreams because they’re not built of objects, of things you can hold and catalogue and then put in a safe. Dreams give us voices, visions, ideas, mortal terrors, and departed beloveds. Nothing counts more to an individual, or less to an empire.”

THE NICKEL BOYS by Colton Whitehead

This is such a good book about being black in a segregated reform school in the 60’s. I love how Colson Whitehead is giving these men a voice. But it was a bit heavy for me. When so much is happening in the world, I usually like to use books as an escape.

WITCH LIGHT by Susan Fletcher

This one is about a woman in prison that is waiting for her death (by burning) for being persecuted for being a witch. Because the cover and the name of this book is not usually what I would go for, it took me a long time to start reading the book. I think I had it for a year before I opened it and started reading it. But wow. This must be one of the most beautiful, hopeful books I have read in a long time.

Thank you all and much love

Susan