Tag: Coffee

Kim’s KaffeeKlatsch | Scandinavian Mindhunter #amreading

Coffee, Kaffeeklatsch, Kim Koning, Reading

As Old Mr. Frost sets in and unpacks for a chilly winter I am still making my way through the Scandinavian crime series. I have a few on my bedside table at the moment and Mind’s Eye is the latest I have finished.

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Mind’s Eye (Hakan Nesser)

This is an intriguing story premise. A woman is drowned in a bath, her husband with no memory of the previous night, finds her in the early hours of the morning. He calls the police. After questioning, the police arrest him as the prime suspect. The problem is that he is not even sure that he didn’t do it. He has no memory of the night.
The first half of the book is fast-flowing as the trial begins. The husband is found guilty and is committed to an insane asylum. But within weeks he is found murdered.
Now the police have to reinvestigate the original murder as all their suspicions are turned on their end.

The strongest part of this book for me was the characterisation of the characters. The part that let me down was that there was not a strong sense of place or setting. I loved the premise of the story and the puzzle at the heart of these murders. The author kept me in the dark right up until the end. This kept me turning the pages. I wanted this mystery solved and the real killer caught.

However I did feel that that author held back more than he should. His main character Inspector Van Veeteren leads the investigation with all the cards held to his chest not even letting in his own investigating team in on his suspicions. This gives the reader the feeling of a “smirking” arrogant main character who leaves little about him left to like.

The mystery at the heart of this story kept me turning the pages. I had to keep reading to find out who the killer was. However, although this is the first in a series I am not sure I would read book 2 because I don’t like the series protagonist.

So for the well-thought out mystery element of who the killer is and the strong characterisation this book gets 3 stars and 3 Irish coffees from me.

Recommended coffee

Irish Coffee

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“I can envision a small cottage somewhere, with a lot of writing paper, and a dog, and a fireplace and maybe enough money to give myself some Irish coffee now and then and entertain my two friends.”
– Lt Richard Van de Geer

Tell me what are you reading this week?
What coffee are you indulging in?

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You can follow me on Goodreads

Kim’s Kaffeeklatsch | it was a dark and stormy winter… #amreading

Coffee, Kaffeeklatsch, Kim Koning, Reading

A wintry welcome to the first post on Kim’s Kaffeeklatsch. Hope you have your books and your libation of choice. Mine is coffee and lots of it. Coffee is so important that I rate the books I read by the amount of coffee consumed in one sitting. Which is what those coffee mugs under each book on this post means. The higher the number of coffee mugs, the more riveting the read.
So pull up a chair and let’s talk books and what we are reading this week…

Coffee Recipes

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My coffee brand of choice this month is: Hummingbird Crave Fresh Beans

Winter has arrived with force in my corner at the bottom of the Southern Hemisphere, New Zealand. I read in all seasons and all moods but when it comes to winter reading, I tend to match my books to the weather outside my window. This winter I decided to make my imaginary way to the stories of suspense, crime and horror in the Scandinavian winters.

As I write up this blog post, the wind is howling outside and the trees are swaying like some crazed person desperately waving for rescue. With North-Easterly winds gusting up to 170km/hr, the night is dark and menacing. In other words, stories with a tinge of horror, suspense and fear set in the deep dark Northern winters of the Scandinavian countries are the perfect match this Winter.

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This week I have been reading The Hypnotist ( Lars Kepler) and tonight I just finished The Darkest Room (Johan Theorin).

The Hypnotist (Lars Kepler)
Goodreads & Amazon

Synopsis

Prepare for The Hypnotist to cast its spell

In the frigid clime of Tumba, Sweden, a gruesome triple homicide attracts the interest of Detective Inspector Joona Linna, who demands to investigate the murders. The killer is still at large, and there’s only one surviving witness—the boy whose family was killed before his eyes. Whoever committed the crimes wanted this boy to die: he’s suffered more than one hundred knife wounds and lapsed into a state of shock. Desperate for information, Linna sees only one option: hypnotism. He enlists Dr. Erik Maria Bark to mesmerize the boy, hoping to discover the killer through his eyes.

It’s the sort of work that Bark has sworn he would never do again—ethically dubious and psychically scarring. When he breaks his promise and hypnotizes the victim, a long and terrifying chain of events begins to unfurl.

An international sensation, The Hypnotist is set to appear in thirty-seven countries, and it has landed at the top of bestseller lists wherever it’s been published—in France, Holland, Germany, Spain, Italy, Denmark. Now it’s America’s turn. Combining the addictive power of the Stieg Larsson trilogy with the storytelling drive of The Silence of the Lambs, this adrenaline-drenched thriller is spellbinding from its very first page.

I am a sucker for an arresting cover and The Hypnotist wows me as possibly the creepiest cover I have seen.

Does the book live up to its cover? Yes.

The story is dark, twisted and disturbing. Throughout the story there is a sinister menace that lurks between the lines. The characters are deep and conflicted. Each of the main characters has a secret and it is these secrets that threaten to undo them and those around them.

This book is book 1 in the series and I cannot wait what Lars Kepler has done in book 2. I finished this story in one sitting, reading right through the night into the early hours of the morning.

This book is not for the faint of heart. It is gruesome and confronting but the story is solid and has more than one twist in the tale. The characters are compelling and finding out their hidden secrets makes this a page-turner.

Recommended Coffee

Espresso

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The Darkest Room (Johan Theorin)
Goodreads & Amazon

Synopsis

‘The dead are our neighbours everywhere on the island, and you have to get used to it.’

It is bitter mid-winter on the Swedish island of Oland, and Katrine and Joakim Westin have moved with their children to the boarded-up manor house at Eel Point. But their remote idyll is soon shattered when Katrine is found drowned off the rocks nearby. As Joakim struggles to keep his sanity in the wake of the tragedy, the old house begins to exert a strange hold over him.

Joakim has never been in the least superstitious, but from where are those whispering noises coming? To whom does his daughter call out in the night? And why is the barn door for ever ajar?

As the end of the year approaches, and the infamous winter storm moves in across Oland, Joakim begins to fear that the most spine-chilling story he’s heard about Eel Point might indeed be true: that every Christmas the dead return…

There is nothing that I love more than a good ghost story. I could easily have finished this story in one sitting but I really enjoyed the atmosphere and mood of this book so much that I read it in mouthfuls, savouring each delicious spooky mouthful.

The main characters in this story are an island and an old lighthouse-keepers house. The people in this story play out their parts but both in the past and the present, the island of Oland and the house direct and influence their paths.

I love stories that build in twists from the past and this story is really many stories within one binding. As you follow one family through this story, your heart is pulled with their joys and their tragedies in equal measure.

I was truly mesmerised by this story and know that it will remain in my memory for years to come. This is the second in a quartet of stories all set on the remote Swedish Island of Oland. I cannot wait to return to the literary landscape of this bleak and fascinating island.

Recommended Coffee

Espresso Con Panna / Vienna Coffee

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On my Kindle this week

The Man Who Left (Theresa Weir)
79 Park Avenue (Harold Robbins)
Strange True Stories of Louisiana (George Washington Cable)
World’s Worst Serial Killers / Sexual Psychopaths:British Serial Killers
(David Elio Malocco)

These are the books in my Scandinavian themed winter pile for this month. I cannot wait to tuck into them. Nor can I wait to tuck into the mugs of coffee as I indulge in these wintry tales.

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All of these Scandinavian stories I have picked are part of a series. I love reading series especially when the characters and/or the settings are so compelling. If you want to indulge in some wintry tales from up north, then click on the link below for all the skinny on delicious Scandinavian crime fiction.

Recommended links

The Skinny on all Scandinavian Crime Fiction

Now it’s your turn to klatsch…
Tell me what books are you reading this week/month?
Tell me what coffee are you drinking? If not coffee (clearly there is something missing from your life if you are not drinking coffee 😉 ) then what are you drinking while reading?
How do you prefer your coffee – instant/percolated/beans/ground?

“What on earth could be more luxurious than a sofa, a book, and a cup of coffee?…Was ever anything so civil?”
― Anthony Trollope

You can follow me on Goodreads

Kim’s Kaffeeklatsch | Books & Caffeine #amreading

Coffee, Kaffeeklatsch, Kim Koning, Reading

I have 2 addictions which I have to indulge in daily:
1. Caffeine
2. Books

I start my morning with caffeine and end my night with books. I drink a lot of coffee. I drink so much that I invested in a top of the range Delonghi Magnifica Automatic Cappucino/Espresso Coffee Machine (Amazon) which has a permanent residence in my writing cave.

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I read a lot of books, of every genre and every persuasion. I have a well-used library card, piles of books next to my bed (because my 6 bedside drawers are already full of books), two full book shelves and a bursting digital bookshelf on my kindle.

I also read exceptionally fast, the advantages of having a photographic memory, but sometimes I read too fast: you know those times when a story is so delicious that you want to indulge every eyeful of words like eating a delicious chocolate cake with slow mouthfuls. So I read 4-6 books at the same time. This way I can jump in and out of stories, lengthen out each delicious story morsel but still fill that gnawing craving for story. It also means I always have a story on the go at any time of day or night.

So I have decided to start a new Wednesday feature (I might miss a week here and there depending on how busy my own story-writing mode is going) on the blog called: Kim’s Kaffeeklatsch.

kaf·fee·klatsch (kf-klch, -kläch, kôf-)
n.
Variant of coffee klatch.

kaf•fee•klatsch or kaf•fee klatsch (ˈkɑ fiˌklɑtʃ, -ˌklætʃ, ˈkɔ-) also coffee klatsch
n.
a social gathering for informal conversation at which coffee is served.
[1885–90; < German; see coffee, klatsch]

Don't you just love that word: kaffeeklatsch ?
Good conversation, books and coffee…this is a good afternoon.
I also chose this word in a nod to my maternal side. You might not know it, but I am half German (yes I am fluent in German) and really there is no better description for this new fortnightly feature.
You see…this feature is not just about me: what books are in my reading pile or what coffee flavour I am drinking but also about You, my reader, my follower and my friend.
Every 2nd Wednesday I am going to share with you what I am reading and what I am drinking, but I want to indulge in the "klatsch" of this feature: I want you to tell me what you are reading and what you are drinking each week.

So join me tomorrow for the debut of Kim’s Kaffeeklatsch to find out what I am reading and drinking this week…don’t forget to pour yourself some coffee and bring your books…let’s klatsch books and caffeine.

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Call me Writer 007 ~ I take my Coffee Shaken or Stirred with Words on the side

Coffee, Featured, Ink Slaying, Inspiration, Kim Koning, Notes on Wrestling The Muse, Writing

An image came up on my Facebook feed this week and sparked the idea for this blog post…

Image courtesy of: http://www.panyl.com/blogs/news/6369590-time-for-a-refill-study-shows-ambient-noise-other-people-working-leads-to-higher-individual-productivity
Image courtesy of: http://www.panyl.com/blogs/news/6369590-time-for-a-refill-study-shows-ambient-noise-other-people-working-leads-to-higher-individual-productivity

Coffee and Writers go together like Petroleum and Grand Prix.

Coffee and I began our love affair lustful addiction in a town on the southern coast of Greece, 50kms from Athens. I was 21 and on my first overseas trip to visit my BFF in Greece. I left South Africa innocent of the vice that was soon to have me addicted, enthralled and enticed. In Greece my two drink options were Coffee or Ouzo. With that first sip of dark viscous liquid (I am speaking about the small cups of Greek coffee not Ouzo. 😉 Ouzo is a post for another day. ) that looked like a cross between mud and volcanic ooze I was hypnotized and Coffee became my favourite vice. From there it was a short fall to sipping the sweet, strong, rich goodness of a Greek Frappé. (I am not talking about the Westernised Frappucino that tastes more like a milkshake than any cousin of the original Frappé.) The lustful addiction had entrapped me and I was lost to the rich, decadent embrace of caffeine.

Writers drink coffee. Writers love coffee-shops or cafes. There is an ambience to writing in a coffee shop that is akin to a GP racing car driver at a race track. Just like the aromas of petroleum and exhaust fuel excite a professional GP driver so do the aromas of caffeine and the inexhaustible supply of dialogue inspiration and quirky characters at a coffee shop excite the writer. This is especially true for the writer who writes full time. Writing is a lonely job at the best of times but when you are tucked away in your writing cave – just you and the voices of your characters – it can be very lonely. This is when a visit to the coffee shop offers fresh inspiration. You order your favourite order of coffee, tuck yourself in at a corner table, open up the laptop/macbook/pen&paper and start writing. I like to choose a corner table with a view of the baristas & coffee machines and a view of the comings and goings of the coffee shop patrons. At this spot, I can keep an eye on what is happening around me but also make sure that nobody sneaks up behind me: very important since my pages/screen tend to be filled with ghostly hauntings, chilling killers stalking my main characters and dark places.

Luckily great coffee is never difficult for me to find since I live on the northern coast of Auckland-New Zealand, rated by Conde Nast traveller as one of the 9 BEST places in the WORLD to have a Coffee.

Every time I drink a cup of coffee I am transported to the places I have enjoyed great coffee…from the coast of Greece to the souks of Dubai to the alleys of Melbourne to the many cafes of Auckland…coffee is a passport not only to creativity but to the memory of the places I have been.

There are still a few places I want to travel to enjoy coffee in…Rome, Vienna, Barcelona, New York but the top of this list would have to be…

My Coffee-Passport Bucket List

Paris, France

I would love to walk in the footsteps of Ernest Hemingway, Simone de Beauvoir and Jean Paul Sartre in Paris, another of the 9 best coffee places in the world. Every writer should travel to Paris and soak up the literary ambience. I shall save that for the Bucket List.

In the meantime, excuse me while I brew myself an Espresso Macchiato and open up the next page in my WIP. Mmm I can smell the rich smell of that decadent nectar now and it is sparking some fresh words in the WIP.

Do you have a love affair with coffee? What are your favourite coffee orders?

Do you write in coffee shops? 

Where in the world is your favourite place to enjoy coffee? What place is on your coffee-passport bucket list?

Below are some of my favourite coffee-writer quotes and some of my favourite coffee orders.

Oropos, Greece – where Coffee & I first met

Image credits: Apostolos J. Doulias @ http://www.panoramio.com/photo/49551457
Image credits: Apostolos J. Doulias @ http://www.panoramio.com/photo/49551457

“Coffee. Creative lighter fluid.”
–Floyd Maxwell

My favourite ways to drink the decadent dark nectar

Greek Frappé in Santorini, Greece

Image courtesy of: http://www.melbournecoffeereview.com/2008/07/a-greek-island-frappe.html
Image courtesy of: http://www.melbournecoffeereview.com/2008/07/a-greek-island-frappe.html

Make your own Greek Frappé

This recipe makes enough for one serving.

  • 1 1/2 tsp instant coffee (Nescafe Original red label is the most popular brand) 
  • (Greek Nescafe is super strong so for all other Nescafe use 3-4 tsp coffee)
  • 1 1/2 cups cold water
  • Sugar
  • Milk
  • Ice cubes

In a shaker or blender mix together 5 Tbs water, coffee and sugar to taste.

Shake contents for about 30 seconds or blend for about 10 seconds. The result should be simply foam.

Pour into tall glass and add the ice cubes. Add remaining water and milk to taste. Put in a straw. Milk and sugar are according to taste. It is not obligatory to add them.

 – Recipe courtesy of http://www.ineedcoffee.com –

Espresso Macchiato

1 shot of espresso top with foamed milk

Image courtesy of: http://bananaleafespresso.wordpress.com/
Image courtesy of: http://bananaleafespresso.wordpress.com/

“Coffee falls into the stomach … ideas begin to move, things remembered arrive at full gallop … the shafts of wit start up like sharp-shooters, similies arise, the paper is covered with ink …” -Honoré de Balzac

Espresso Con Panna

A double shot of espresso top with whipped cream 

Image courtesy of: http://www.steamykitchen.com/79-espresso-con-panna.html
Image courtesy of: http://www.steamykitchen.com/79-espresso-con-panna.html

 “The morning cup of coffee has an exhilaration about it which the cheering influence of the afternoon or evening cup of tea cannot be expected to reproduce” – Oliver Wendell Holmes Sr. 

Cappuccino

A double shot espresso + 2.5oz frothed milk + 2.5oz steamed milk 

Image courtesy of: http://www.gourmetcoffeecorner.com/tag/make-cappuccino/
Image courtesy of: http://www.gourmetcoffeecorner.com/tag/make-cappuccino/

“I have measured out my life with coffee spoons” –T. S. Elliot

Image courtesy of: http://www.pbs.org/wnet/americannovel/timeline/lostgeneration.html
Image courtesy of: http://www.pbs.org/wnet/americannovel/timeline/lostgeneration.html
Ernest Hemingway wrote, “It was a pleasant cafe, warm and clean and friendly, and I hung up my old water-proof on the coat rack to dry and put my worn and weathered felt hat on the rack above the bench and ordered a cafe au lait. The waiter brought it and I took out a notebook from the pocket of the coat and a pencil and started to write.”
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