Goodreads Monday is a weekly meme that was started by @Lauren’s Page Turners but is now currently being hosted by Emily @ Budget Tales Book Blog. This meme is quite easy to follow – just randomly pick a book from your to-be-read list and give the reasons why you want to read it. It is that simple.

This week’s book:

Time Shelter by Georgi Gospodinov

Blurb from Goodreads

Award-winning Bulgarian author Georgi Gospodinov has enthralled readers around the world with his labyrinth-like, Kafkaesque tales of contemporary Europe.

In Time Shelter, an enigmatic flâneur named Gaustine opens a “clinic for the past” that offers a promising treatment for Alzheimer’s sufferers: each floor reproduces a decade in minute detail, transporting patients back in time. As Gaustine’s assistant, the unnamed narrator is tasked with collecting the flotsam and jetsam of the past, from 1960s furniture and 1940s shirt buttons to scents and even afternoon light. But as the rooms become more convincing, an increasing number of healthy people seek out the clinic as a “time shelter”—a development that results in an unexpected conundrum when the past begins to invade the present. Intricately crafted, and eloquently translated by Angela Rodel, Time Shelter announces Gospodinov to American readers as an essential voice in international literature.

Why I Want To Read It

Happy Monday everyone! I hope everyone is starting the week on a high note, or at least, with some verve. Yes, I am cognizant that Monday is the least favorite day of the week by most of us, including me. But hey, it doesn’t always have to be that bad. The first day of the work week can mean new doors and opportunities. It provides us a chance to start over again. So, I hope that everyone will have a productive and great week ahead. On another note, we are really approaching the final stretch of the year. I hope that the remaining days of 2023 will be filled with nothing but good news and blessings. I hope you will be repaid for the hard work you poured in this year.

Reading-wise, this year has been another hallmark year as I have already read over 100 books, the second consecutive year I have done so. The year is far from over but I have already surpassed my personal record I set last year. Apart from this, I have read my 1,000th and my 1,100th novels this year. Still, I have quite a lot of goals I want to achieve. I am, unfortunately, lagging quite behind, especially on my reading challenges. Nevertheless, it is my goal to complete these reading challenges; this is my goal for the remaining two months of the year.

One of the books that are part of my reading challenges is Georgi Gospodinov’s Time Shelter which I am featuring in this week’s Goodreads Monday update, a weekly book blogging tradition that kickstarts another blogging week. Lest I forget, with my focus on my ongoing reading challenges, November is going to be another hybrid month, to be divided between works of European literature and American literature. I am currently in the midst of completing all books written by European writers that are part of my ongoing reading challenges. I must say I am making quite the progress.

Time Shelter, however, is not a part of any of these reading challenges. However, I still have decided to include the book in my 2023 reading journey. One of the reasons for this is that I have never read any of the Bulgarian writer’s works. To be honest, prior to this year, I have never heard of Gospodinov. I have learned that he is quite a figure in his native Bulgaria but his works have also been made available in other languages, including English. For his works, he has received several accolades from different parts of the world. Speaking of accolades, another main reason why I wanted to read Time Shelter is because it won the 2023 International Booker Prize. It was actually through the International Booker Prize that I heard of Gospodinov; this is true for several writers as well. The book, Gospodinov’s third novel to be translated into English, also won other literary awards in different parts of the world.

I currently have a copy of the book and it will most definitely going to be a part of my foray into European Literature. I just realized that I have not read any work of a Bulgarian writer which makes me more excited about the book. How about you fellow reader? How was your Monday? What books have you added to your reading list? Do drop it in the comment box. For now, happy Monday and, as always, happy reading!