Stadi
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Posts posted by Stadi
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do yo have to pay for you library card?
Yep, I think the cheapest card is like
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You should be able to now that you have 10 posts
Found it, had to relog to see the new button. Thanks.
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I finished both The Novice and Frankenstein yesterday.
Since I already wrote a short piece on Frankenstein in the Classics challenge I'll just copy that here;
Frankenstein (2/5)
Mary Shelley
352 pages
It was an okay book, but it wasn't nearly as scary as I was led to believe ;b. In fact, for me this wasn't horror at all.
To begin with I didn't really know much about the storyline so I'm glad I read it if only to know what it is exactly that's written in the book. As I understand it many of the movies get it quite wrong.
I was also quite surprised to find myself liking the monster a lot more than his creator, and I'm not sure that was intended.
Let's just say I really liked the idea of the book, but I was fairly disappointed at the way it was executed. The language is flowery; the characters weren't very believable; the women were weak, flat characters, the 'hero' was chauvinistic, annoying and stupid, and I actually wanted to slap some sense into him at the end.
The Novice (3/5)
Trudi Canavan
592 pages
It was a lot better than the first book, but it was so very very predictable at times... No make that every time ;b
It was still a fun read, and a real pageturner for me, read it in a day. I can't say I was surprised at any of the twists and turns the story took though. If you would've asked me what I thought was about to happen when I had finished book 1 I could've just told you the plot for book 2. However there was something strangely satisfying in actually seeing everything unfold as you're reading.
This will be just another average fantasy trilogy it seems. Let's see if the third book can change my mind about that.
btw, is it possible to edit my first post? I can't seem to find it anywhere ;b
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After deciding I should read more I got myself a library pass a few months ago. Not for the library in my village because they have an awful selection, they probably have like 10 english books xd.
So now I have to travel 2 hours every few weeks to get the books I like, and being as impatient as I am I just got a pass without checking their selection first.
Which as it turned out was a pretty stupid thing to do because they don't have a very good selection, either that or I just read the not so popular books
The first week I decided to request a few books from another branch, but that turned out to be quite expensive. So now I'll just have to stop being so picky about the books I want to read or get them from Amazon.
I haven't decided yet whether I should renew the pass next year.
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It completely depends on the book.
I don't dogear pages or write in library books of course, and even with most of my own books I prefer to use bookmarks.
I should have stacks of them but I always seem to lose them, which also brings me to my next problem.
When I'm (re-)reading one of my own paperbacks (I do bend the spine, just because that makes it easier to read xd) and I have to put the book away I try to find a bookmark, otherwise I just turn the page or even worse flip it over and lay it down like that.
With my hardcovers I always use bookmarks though, they're too expensive to replace hrhr.
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I just finished reading Frankenstein (by Mary Shelley) **
It was an okay book, but it wasn't nearly as scary as I was led to believe ;b. In fact, for me this wasn't horror at all.
To begin with I didn't really know much about the storyline so I'm glad I read it if only to know what it is exactly that's written in the book. As I understand it many of the movies get it quite wrong.
I was also quite surprised to find myself liking the monster a lot more than his creator, and I'm not sure that was intended.
Let's just say I really liked the idea of the book, but I was fairly disappointed at the way it was executed. The language is flowery; the characters weren't very believable; the women were weak, flat characters, the 'hero' was chauvinistic, annoying and stupid, and I actually wanted to slap some sense into him at the end.
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April - I see I've been rather lucky with my choices this year, still haven't come across a book I absolutely hate xd
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (4/5)
J.K. Rowling (Audiobook - Stephen Fry) (re-read)
(368 pages)
Eventhough of all the books in the series I find this the weakest, it's still great fun and gets a lot better towards the end.
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (4/5)
J.K. Rowling (Audiobook - Stephen Fry) (re-read)
(468 pages)
Sirius was never my favourite character but it's still a great book, and Stephen Fry is an absolute genius.
Pyramids(4/5)
Terry Pratchett
384 pages
After hearing a lot about the discworld books I thought I'd just give it a try. And I'm glad I did, I'll be reading some more when I can actually get my hands on them. They only have a few books at my library and they're always taken, damn you people! ;b
The Velocity of Honey(3/5)
Jay Ingram
224 pages
Another non-fiction book about science. What I really liked about this book is all the different cases from a lot of different sciences. But it's very specific, perhaps a bit too specific. I don't think I'll read it again and I don't think I'll buy my own copy.
The Magicians' Guild(3/5)
Trudi Canavan
480 pages
Hm.. I'm not sure what to think of this, it started out rather boring. Well maybe boring isn't the right word.
I thought it was fantasy but it might aswell have been YA fantasy, I'm still not quite sure about that. It can't escape some of the genres clich
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Ill try to remember to update this list regularly because else I'll only forget what I've read anyway.
My memory is very poor, I could actually re-read crime/mystery books and be surprised at the outcome (again!). But I reckon that's only with books that didn't impress me much to begin with, so nothing lost there.
Okay now to the books!
Reading atm:
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire - J.K. Rowling (Audiobook by Stephen Fry)
Richard Dawkins - The God Delusion
2007
January - Got off to a slow start and as you can see, but not to worry!
A Walk in the Woods: rediscovering America on the Appalachian Trail (4/5)
Bill Bryson
350 pages
First book I read of Bill Bryson, I thought it was a fun read with some facts thrown in. I like books that can teach me something without actually being written like a dull textbook.
A Short History of Nearly Everything (Special Illustrated Edition) (5/5)
Bill Bryson
624 pages
My favourite book of his so far, I find both history and science very interesting and that's the main reason for enjoying this book so much. I really enjoyed the funny anecdotes and I find his writing style very accessible. Definitely worth a re-read.
February - Finally got a library pass and it shows
Lamb: The Gospel according to Biff, christ's childhood pal (4/5)
Christopher Moore
416 pages
I had heard quite a lot of praise for this book, and that's what made me pick it up in the first place. Though I'm sure I would've enjoyed it a whole lot more if I had known more about the bible and religion to begin with, it was a fun read nevertheless .
The Lost Continent: travels in small-town America (2/5)
Bill Bryson
352 pages
Hmm, I found this so-so. To be honest I don't remember much of it, and I don't think America is that interesting to begin with.
Neither here nor there: Travels in Europe (5/5)
Bill Bryson
304 pages
I like travelogues, I love European culture, I love this book
A brief history of Time (4/5)
Stephen Hawking
224 pages
Very interesting, but perhaps it would've been better if I had read this in stages and not in one long haul. I'm seriously considering getting my own copy.
Notes from a Big Country (4/5)
Bill Bryson
320 pages
I believe this was a collection of columns he wrote for some newspaper or something. Since it made fun of American society I'll give it 4/5, I think it might've worked better as seperate columns though.
March - Yep.. quite a good month, I might even get an average of one book a week if I continue like this
Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (4/5)J.K. Rowling (re-read)
336 pages
As great as ever, how can I not reread all the books when I know the last one will be released this year!
Carrie(3/5)
Stephen King
256 pages
My very first King book. It wasn't what I had expected but that only means that next time I'll just have to be careful with what I pick.
Geisha(4/5)
Liza Dalby
384 pages
I didn't know anything about geisha when I started this book and I'm very glad I picked this up. It's very enlightening, not only did it form a great picture of what life as a geisha must be like it also helps you understand some aspects of the Japanese culture a lot better.
Art and illusion; a study in the psychology of pictorial representation(3/5)
E.H. Gombrich
412 pages
It's a bit dry but if you're interested in art it's a good read. The only thing that bothered me was that most pictures were in black and white, which I think is a big no no in artbooks.
Death on the Nile (4/5)
Agatha Christie
288 pages
My first Christie Myst'ry... ...right. It was quite a fun read and kept me guessing till the end. I'll be sure to try some of her other books.
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Now Reading: Sir Arthur Conan Doyle - A Study in Scarlet (If I can find it)
Read:
***** Bram Stoker - Dracula
**** Jane Austen - Pride and Prejudice
*** Jules Verne - Around the World in Eighty Days
*** H. G. Wells - The Time Machine
*** H. G. Wells - The Invisible Man
** Oscar Wilde - The Picture of Dorian Gray
** Mary Shelley - Frankenstein
TBR Pile: (Books I already own but still haven't read - shame on me)
Alexandre Dumas - The Count of Monte Cristo
Emily Bronte - Wuthering Heights
Charlotte Bronte - Jane Eyre
Geoffrey Chaucer - The Canterbury Tales
George Orwell - 1984 (Yes I'm smuggling this one in here since it's the only modern classic I own)
Wishlist: (Books I might want to buy or borrow from the library)
The Epic of Gilgamesh
Robert Louis Stevenson - The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde
Wilkie Collins - Moonstone
Miguel de Cervantes - Don Quixote
Sir Arthur Conan Doyle - A Study in Scarlet
Robert W. Chambers - The King in Yellow
Joseph Bédier - Tristan and Iseult
Suetonius - The Twelve Caesars
Wilkie Collins - The Woman in White
Virgil - The Aeneid
Mark Twain - The Innocents Abroad
Anthony Trollope - The Way We Live Now
Leo Tolstoy - Anna Karenina
Homer - The Odyssey
Homer - Iliad
Thomas Malory - Le Morte d'Arthur
Thomas More - Utopia
John Milton - Paradise Lost
Alexandre Dumas - The Black Tulip
St. Augustine - Confessions
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Birthday: 7th of June
Age: 21
Starsign: Gemini
Single/Married/Other? Single
Children? None
Where do you live? Noord-Brabant (That's in the Netherlands ;
Do you work? Nope, I'm a full-time student. Studying ICT & Media Design.
Favourite author? Pff..
I can't name one, but so far I liked all books by Bill Bryson, Douglas Adams, Terry Pratchett and Tolkien. Favourite book? I don't think I can name just one, I'm a sucker for the Harry Potter books though, can't wait for the last one to be released. And I've got a huge wishlist, so I'm sure I'll find some new gems eventually.
How did you get here? I can't remember exactly, but I think I read about it somewhere on the LibraryThing Talk.
Stadi's Reading List
in Past Book Logs
Posted
May
The High Lord (4/5)
Trudi Canavan
656 pages
I've only just finished it a few minutes ago and I must say it was well worth the read. This book just made the series improve lots and I'd say now that it's a series worth reading for a fantasy fan. At least as long as you don't mind that it's rather 'light reading' compared to some of the more popular series.
It started out great but I feel that the most interesting part of the book is somewhere around page 200 or so. Not to say that the rest wasn't good, it was, but the ending was a tad bitter.
Though I can't claim it was unexpected..
SPOILER; no really, if you want to read this book don't read the spoiler or it's going to ruin all the fun.
I would've given it 5/5 if the most interesting character wasn't killed off in the end. I saw it coming but that doesn't mean I wasn't disappointed.