Books Corner | Spoilt for choice in spring

Spring is here, and with the London Book Fair just around the corner, publishers are hopping on and off planes tempting us with suitcases full of new titles. And all the while, we try to strike that fine balance between reordering the tried and true and throwing ourselves at the new and exciting. Here are just a few of the new titles you might consider inviting along on your spring break in a few weeks time.

The 30-year-old marriage of a couple living in midwestern United States is torn apart by a woman’s size − and her obsession with food. In the wake of the split, their adult children try to come to turns with the reasons why and what they can or should do to help their mother. The Middlesteins by Jami Attenberg is a story of marriage, love, family and our time’s strange preoccupation with food.

We tend to get so caught up in all the greatness of modern life and technology that we forget to think about our past, and particularly what we have learned and continue to learn from it. In his new book, The World Until Yesterday, Jared Diamond, the author of Guns, Germs and Steel and Collapse, takes an in-depth look at traditional societies, drawing from decades of field work as well as evidence from Inuits, Amazonian Indians and others to find that many of their practices and traditions have a lot to teach us about child rearing, elder care, dispute resolution and much more.    

For fans of Mma Ramotswe and the #1 Ladies Detective Agency, the wait is over. The 13th book in the series, The Limpopo Academy of Private Detection, will be out in March when author Alexander McCall Smith introduces his very large and very loyal group of readers to Clovis Andersen, the author of Mma Ramotswe’s trusted guide The Principles of Private Detection.

For those of us who read and thoroughly enjoyed Mohsin Hamid’s The Reluctant Fundamentalist, this is a long awaited new title. In How to Get Filthy Rich in Rising Asia, Hamid tells the story of a young man’s successful journey from poor rural life to a wealthy city one. The story itself described the dreams and desires of so many in South East Asia, but just as interesting is the structure of the book as a self-help book, in which every chapter begins with a rule. Once again, Hamid succeeds in telling a good story on so many different levels.

In Far from the tree, a fascinating and inspiring work of non-fiction based on 40,000 pages of interview transcripts with more than 300 families, author Andrew Solomon explores the universal themes of generosity, acceptance and tolerance, seen through the lives of parents who face extreme challenges with their children: challenges ranging from deafness, dwarfism, Down syndrome, autism, schizophrenia, multiple severe disabilities, to children who are prodigies and more. While all these challenges are different and isolating, what these families have in common is that they are proof that love can transcend every prejudice.

Isabella Mousavizadeh Smith is the owner of Books & Company, an English language book shop in Hellerup that prides itself on providing an interesting and diverse range of books, an excellent cup of coffee, and a warm and welcoming atmosphere. For more about Books & Company, please visit www.booksandcompany.dkfacebook.com/booksandcompany or the shop at Sofievej 1. 




  • Danish universities increase security checks on researchers from China, Russia, and Iran, reports DR

    Danish universities increase security checks on researchers from China, Russia, and Iran, reports DR

    Danish universities, especially Aarhus University, now rigorously screen researchers from China, Russia, and Iran to prevent espionage, following recommendations and increasing concerns about security, reports DR

  • Danish Originals S7E5: Camilla Stærk

    Danish Originals S7E5: Camilla Stærk

    This week, Bonderup-born, London-trained, New York-based Danish designer Camilla Stærk talks about her work, anchored against a strong foundation of her Danish heritage combined with her fascination with Old Hollywood and film noir, and expressed in what she describes as the whole universe: of fashion, furniture, lighting, rugs, accessories

  • Young Copenhageners supply study grants by selling cocaine

    Young Copenhageners supply study grants by selling cocaine

    In recent years, the spread of cocaine has accelerated. The drug is easily accessible and not only reserved for wealthy party heads. Copenhagen Police have just arrested ten young people and charged them with reselling cocaine

  • 5 Mistakes I Made When I Moved to Denmark

    5 Mistakes I Made When I Moved to Denmark

    Here are five mistakes I made that helped me understand that belonging isn’t a strategy—it’s a practice. This isn’t a story of struggle—it’s a reflection on growth, told through the lens of emotional intelligence.

  • Analysis shows that many students from Bangladesh are enrolled in Danish universities

    Analysis shows that many students from Bangladesh are enrolled in Danish universities

    Earlier this year, the Danish government changed the law on access for people from third world countries to the Danish labor market. Yet, there may still be a shortcut that goes through universities

  • Danish Flower company accused of labor abuse in Türkiye

    Danish Flower company accused of labor abuse in Türkiye

    Queen Company, a Denmark-origin flower producer with pristine sustainability credentials, is under fire for alleged labor rights violations at its Turkish operation, located in Dikili, İzmir. Workers in the large greenhouse facility have been calling decent work conditions for weeks. The Copenhagen Post gathered testimonies from the workers to better understand the situation

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  • “It’s possible to lead even though you don’t fit the traditional leadership mold”

    “It’s possible to lead even though you don’t fit the traditional leadership mold”

    Describing herself as a “DEI poster child,” being queer, neurodivergent and an international in Denmark didn’t stop Laurence Paquette from climbing the infamous corporate ladder to become Marketing Vice President (VP) at Vestas. Arrived in 2006 from Quebec, Laurence Paquette unpacks the implications of exposing your true self at work, in a country that lets little leeway for individuality

  • Deal reached to bring more foreign workers to Denmark

    Deal reached to bring more foreign workers to Denmark

    Agreement between unions and employers allows more foreign workers in Denmark under lower salary requirements, with new ID card rules and oversight to prevent social dumping and ensure fair conditions.

  • New association helps international nurses and doctors Denmark

    New association helps international nurses and doctors Denmark

    Kadre Darman was founded this year to support foreign-trained healthcare professionals facing challenges with difficult authorisation processes, visa procedures, and language barriers, aiming to help them find jobs and contribute to Denmark’s healthcare system