Goodreads Monday is a weekly meme started by @Lauren’s Page Turners but is currently 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 explain why you want to read it. It is that simple.

This week’s book:

Indian Summer by Adalbert Stifter

Blurb from Goodreads

This is one of Stifter’s great epic works, a most sensitive account of the formative years in the life of Heinrich, a student of natural sciences, born into a bourgeois environment, but influenced and gently guided by a nobleman, the old Baron von Risach. It is in fact the baron’s own reminiscences which give the book its title. Comparable in some ways to Gottfried Keller’s Der grüne Heinrich this novel, nevertheless, reflects Stifter’s own moral values, his ethical thinking and his deep reverence for nature.

Why I Want To Read It

Happy Monday, everyone! Just like that, we are already on the second Monday of the fifth month of the year. How time flies! As always, time takes its natural course, ever flowing forward, sans regard for any of us. It does not wait for anyone. As such, I hope the year is going—and will continue to go—well for everyone. I hope the year will be kind to you all. Things are still erratic, whether at work or geopolitics. I sure hope the tension in the Middle East will start to de-escalate. I hope that peace will gradually be restored. Meanwhile, here in the Philippines, the stifling summer heat is making its presence felt. The dry spell has been quite alarming, and there seems to be no end in sight. It is even getting more heated and intense. Anyway, I hope everyone has had a good start to the workweek. I hope everyone is in a place of comfort. The new week beckons with hope and fresh starts. I hope it flows in everyone’s favor. Wishing you continued success and happiness.

I know—not many people get excited about Mondays (though I’m sure a few are out there). I, too, am not exactly a fan. I hope that as the week moves forward, you slowly gain a semblance of momentum. I hope that everyone’s workweek will go smoothly. More importantly, I hope everyone is doing well—mentally, emotionally, and physically. After spending the first two months of the year reading works of Latin American and Caribbean writers, I commenced a journey across the European continent in March. It took me some time to decide where to land next, but in the end, I chose to read European writers, since most of the books on my 2026 reading challenge list are by European authors. I have extended this journey to April because I still have several European literary works on my reading challenges. Extending this journey to May is also a foregone conclusion.

For this week’s Goodreads Monday update, I am featuring a book written by a European writer whom I have not encountered before. It was about a decade ago when I first came across must-read lists. They have introduced me to writers whom I would not have encountered otherwise. Among these lists is the 1,001 Books You Must Read Before You Die. It introduced me to both writers and books I have not heard of before. Even now, I keep discovering new names. This is the case for Bohemian-Austrian writer Adalbert Stifter. There are just so many books and writers in the list that I keep discovering a new one whenever I peruse the list. He grew up in the countryside, surrounded by peasant craftsmen; he was born to a linen weaver and flax merchant. These would influence his writing, with the countryside providing a vivid backdrop for his stories and novels.

Among his works, Indian Summer is often considered his magnum opus. Originally published in 1857 as Der Nachsommer, it was one of two books Friedrich Nietzsche called the two great German novels of the 19th century. The book charts the fortunes of an idealistic, sheltered young man, Heinrich, from childhood to maturity. Yes, it is a work of Bildungsroman, which is right up my alley. On top of this, the book was listed as one of the 1,001 Books You Must Read Before You Die, Stifter’s only work to make the list. There are many reasons to look forward to the book. For now, I hope I get to secure a copy of the book. How about you, fellow readers? How was your Monday? What books have you recently added to your reading list? Drop your thoughts in the comments. For now—happy Monday, and as always, happy reading!