I removed the Mods folder from the documents, cleared the cache, "fixed the game" in Steam, removed the localthumbcache, and started a new game to check if the game would still crash all over again the moment the sim reads a book while I possibly speed up the time.
After the above precautions, the game didn't seem to crash anymore, so it does indeed look like a faulty mod was causing the problem in my beloved saved game position. Okay then, I checked one mod at a time, updated, disabled, etc. I gradually put them back into the Mods folder, nicely in groups, so I could more easily find the culprit. But the upshot is that all the mods I've put into the game and checked this way, one by one, appear to be fine. The new game with the test sim didn't crash once while I was reading the book, though maybe that only happens at a certain skill level? Or maybe when she has items from other mods in her home, when she has downloaded books in her inventory? In that case, I'd have to start checking all over again and it would be really infuriating
At the very end of my testing I had only one mod left, Pregnancy Books by Kiara. I was hoping that the very last one would be the wrong one. After all, they are books, which could be related to the game crashing when reading books. BUT, when I put this mod into the game, the game didn't crash while reading. However, these pregnancy books didn't appear in my game at all, even though the mod was definitely in my folder and was even enabled in the game settings where it showed up. But the books were not available for purchase at all.
So now? I'm totally confused. When I took all my mods again, including the pregnancy books, and put them in the game, the game didn't crash. In that new saved position. However, I'm worried that if I remove the new test save position and want to go back to my favorite save game with all my families, items and houses, the problem will reappear. And I'm still no closer to figuring out what is causing the crashing when reading. Now I just don't know what to do anymore.
