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:

The Wonderful Adventures of Nils by Selma Lagerlöf

Blurb from Goodreads

Winner of the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1909 — the first woman to be so honored — Swedish novelist Selma Lagerlöf (1858–1940) was a gifted storyteller whose writings were often tinged with the supernatural and rooted in the sagas and legends of her homeland.

She secured her reputation as a children’s-book author with The Wonderful Adventures of Nils, long considered a masterpiece of children’s literature. Written at the request of Swedish school authorities and first published in 1906, it is the enchanting and remarkably original tale of Nils Holgersson, a mischievous boy of 14 who is changed by an elf into a tiny being able to understand the speech of birds and animals.

Brilliantly weaving fact and fiction into a breathtaking and beautiful fable, the story recounts Nils’s adventures as he is transported over the countryside on the back of a goose. From this vantage point, Nils witnesses a host of events that provide young readers with an abundance of information about nature, geography, folklore, animal life, and more.

Why I Want To Read It

Happy Monday everyone! That is if you are one of the rare breed of individuals who look forward to Mondays. Yeah. Monday is generally one of the most disliked days of the week; I am part of this percentage of the population. Nevertheless, I hope that the weekend has provided everyone with the time to rest and relax. For me, I attended my friend’s wedding – I was one of his two best men – and also played badminton. Not bad for a weekend procrastinator like me. Still, I feel sluggish. It has been my fervent wish for weekends to be extended. Nevertheless, I hope everyone started the work week on a high note. Here’s to a great work week ahead; may it be filled with good tidings and positive energy. Here in the Philippines, just when we were hoping for the temperature to go down, the oppressive heat is back; it seems that it will linger for a couple more weeks.

Oh. Today is the first Monday of the sixth month of the year. I hope that the first five months of the year have been great for everyone. I hope that the rest of the year will shower us with good news and positive energy. More importantly, I hope everyone is doing well, in body, mind, and spirit. To kick off another blogging week, I am featuring a fresh Goodreads Monday update. June will be an extension of my May reading month as it will be a European literature-filled month. While I focused on the works of Nobel Laureates in Literature last month, this month I will be focusing on books on my active reading challenges. I have plenty of works of European literature in these lists. To align with the main reading theme, I will be featuring works of European literature I am looking forward to.

With this, I am featuring a work by a writer whose oeuvre I have yet to explore. Selma Ottilia Lovisa Lagerlöf is a Swedish writer and the first female writer to be awarded the prestigious Nobel Prize in Literature; she was the recipient of the 1909 award. However, I have rarely encountered any of her works. I guess this is because of the passage of time. I am, nevertheless, looking forward to exploring them. Among her renowned works is The Wonderful Adventures of Nils. Actually, this book is a children’s book. I am not, however, letting this preclude me from reading the book. It is also the first of two books featuring Nils Holgerssons. It was originally published as Nils Holgerssons underbara resa genom Sverige in two volumes in 1906 and 1907.

For now, I can only hope to obtain a copy of the book, or any of Lagerlöf’s works for that matter. I wouldn’t be surprised if it will take time for me to obtain any of her works. It is also a realistic expectation that I might not be able to obtain any of her works in this lifetime. Still, I am optimistic about my chances. 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!