Alexander the Great

I'm an Epica fanboy, as you've probably realised by now. The band's on tour in the US right now and they did a live chat recently. I'd gathered it before that, but during the live chat someone asked about the last book they'd read and Coen said he'd read It and then Simone said they were going to see the movie in theatre while in the US. So in a way, it is indeed because of the movie! I'm kind of sad that my copy came with a bit of a cracked cover But not sad enough to spend time and money sending it back, then getting a new one with probably a different kind of damage. Sadly this is what you get buying online. This is what I mean: I'm now re-reading Matilda by Roald Dahl, my first time in English. Still love it.

I wanted to read It by Stephen King, but no library nearby has it, so I ordered it online. I also ordered two other novels by him, because from 20 euros onwards there are no shipping costs. Looking forward to receiving It, The Shining and Salem's Lot! So far I've only read Under The Dome by him. I also own 11/22/63.

This week, the bundle with The Ultimate Principle (which holds The Holographic Principe and The Solace System), two shirts and a zipped hoodie arrived. They're so awesome - I can't wait to wear the glow-in-the-dark shirt to the concert. For his birthday, my dad got a coupon to have a sports item personalised at the sports store. I'd said for a while I'd like a shirt with my name on it, so my parents gave it to me. I got this done on two running shirts: I also got this Epica keychain in this week: Simone, the singer, also liked a tweet I posted about The Solace System that had an Epica pun in it Joe Speedboot review This novel came out over ten years ago and I remember a lot of fuss being made about it. It was an instant classic. For some reason, I hadn't got around to reading it, however. A few weeks back, when a newer colleague noticed how much I love reading, she mentioned how she had read this book as a teenager and hadn't liked it at all, then a year later had to read it for school and then she liked it much better. So I picked it up. I was very pleasantly surprised. The last book I read was a disappointment, the one before that wasn't satisfactory either, the one before that was good but punched me in the gut. This novel really sparked my love for reading again. It wasn't particularly special, there is no grand plot with big adventures. But I like how the author mainly focuses on two or three characters, with some others thrown in there because characters do need family and friends, without it becoming too complicated. I felt it was quite toned down, and I liked that. It's very, very Dutch, though. Some words I didn't understand and culturally, it's also very Dutch. But the author writes fluently. He clearly cares about the characters, yet still manages to keep his distance. Everything is written from the main character's perspective, and still Wieringa finds clever ways to tell us more about the lives of other characters without them just telling the main character. I liked the flow of the story as well. The pacing is excellent, the time jumps are not too abrupt and usually described by the changes in nature. I don't usually like reading about nature, but it worked really well here. The ending also came naturally. It involved one choice made by the author I felt was unnecessary and at first, I felt it kind of brought down the novel. But he ended up making it work. It was not too short, not too long - just right. And that describes this entire novel to me: "Just right." Moving on to a next book, I've ordered three Stephen King novels today, but those will only arrive tomorrow. So I picked up Matilda by Roald Dahl. After Joe Speedboot, I don't feel like I could really read another Dutch novel now without comparing. I need something else entirely.

The EP is wonderful ❤️ I'm trying to avoid reading reviews, though. I always have a hard time reading anything negative about something so dear to me. I couldn't avoid this one review, which was not very positive but not completely negative either. But it bothered me so much that the writer said Simone's lyrics are "wonky as always", then he gave an example of lyrics that were written by Mark. Like, dude, do your research, you know? Somewhere else I read a review for THP and that author justly pointed out that Simone's a much better lyricist than Mark is. She writes more poetically and is much better at building up the story. Mark's lyrics are usually much more clear-cut, straight-forward and out there. I still like most of his lyrics, don't get me wrong, but when I hear a phrase that makes me go "what now?" it's usually something he wrote. I just get so annoyed that this author slammed Simone for something she didn't even write. Dude. I'm now also super excited to see them live again. I mean, I always am, but they did say they'd be playing one or two songs off their EP the coming live shows. And I have a new favourite Epica track that comes from the EP, Architect of Light. But then Decoded Poetry has a beautiful choir right in the middle. These are the songs that didn't make the album but they are SO good. Fans are now discussing which songs definitely should have made the album but didn't, and which made the album but shouldn't have. I agree that songs like Tear Down Your Walls and The Cosmic Algorithm are good songs, but not as good as some of the stuff on the EP. But I also feel like it's pointless discussing this - and in a way, isn't it great that this stuff is better than some of the album? The band did explain they had to keep some things back to make the album not too overwhelming. It makes a lot of sense. And I prefer this happening - getting these really, really good songs on an EP in between albums, rather than all the best songs having made the album and then getting an EP, which you eagerly wait for, and having to conclude you kinda get why these songs didn't make the cut. My preorder didn't arrive yet, but I'd also preordered the EP on iTunes and while the official release was on Friday, around 11.30 pm on Thursday I got a notification it was available and I listened right away. I'm now anxious for the bundle to arrive, to really take in the excellent artwork and try on my new shirts and hoodie. One of the shirts is a glow-in-the-dark: I like how it says 2017 because this year has been very much an Epica-year for me. Apologies for the rant - I get carried away when it comes to Epica. About reading. I didn't read on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday or Friday. Five entire days. This has never happened to me before - I'm the guy who reads the breakfast items. I read every second I can. Ever since I know how to read, I've not gone a single day without reading. But I was mentally blocked this week, it's been a very tough week, I could hardly breathe at times. I'll be glad to see my therapist on Monday. I also got a chance to hang out with my goddaughter on Friday - I went home for lunch and got to hold her, and then after work (I left on time, I usually work overtime on Fridays) and I got to cuddle with her and then sleep with her next to me, my hand on her, and she was sleeping with her fist against my nose. Before that, when we were cuddling, I was talking to her and she is so incredibly responsive. Babbling, making faces, it's adorable. I love her so much. The Fourth Hand review I gave this book one star. It barely feels like an Irving novel at all - and it pains me to not have enjoyed it, because he's my favourite male author. This was a lot shorter than his other novels and it didn't have the trademark themes and characters. Irving does seem to have a thing with sex-related quirkiness, but it was just too much in this novel. There was no story, no arch, no drama. The characters felt very flat, not at all like real people. There was nobody I could connect to. They were all just so weird in a pointless way. At times, I wondered if maybe Irving was taking the wee at himself. It almost felt like someone was trying to write a parody, and failing. All in all, a very forgettable novel. I'm moving on to Tommy Wieringa's Joe Speedboot.

Sounds like everything's working very well for you, despite the previous tenant's unfortunate habits! Delivery on Tuesday? That's so fast! I know here in Belgium it can take weeks before they deliver furniture. I have the bookcases without backboards myself - the square ones you can kind of play around with. I prefer the open back, because you can put them in the middle of a room and have books on both sides.

@Athena I usually don't even bother with short stories to be honest, but I'd already committed to reading this book by the time I realised. I mistyped, by the way - it's "op kot gaan" and not "op kat gaan". It was also very glaring because this didn't occur at all in her debut novel. It was very obvious the publisher forced this to sell more in The Netherlands. I love the country, I really do, and I love Dutch fiction. But I dislike when the language gets into Flemish fiction. The Fourth Hand isn't bad so far, but it doesn't feel like the usual Irving. It might be me, though. I haven't read a page in my book in three days now. This has never happened, not once before in my life. Stuff going on I guess. Jeanne's doing great, but my sister isn't mentally and I worry. I'm not doing great mentally either. I do have some exciting things. Epica's new EP is being released on Friday and my order got shipped on Monday so I should have it soon. I also bought sunglasses from Simone Simons, the Epica singer. I always get really cheap ones and I've been wanting a decent pair for ages. She has many and was selling a few. I contacted her and she was very nice. I'd mentioned my goddaughter and she congratulated me. I mailed her last Wednesday, paid right away, and the sunglasses arrived today. It's so awesome to have these cool sunglasses - and to know she's used and approved of them. I mailed her to thank her for the congratulations and to let her know the package arrived. I ended up writing that in a silly short poem - classic AA BB rhyme. Then I went ahead and thanked her for everything Epica's meant to me the past twelve tears and told her how much the music has helped and inspired me. I got a bit carried away and the mail turned out to be quite long, but they just left to tour the US so if she sees that e-mail now, I guess she has time to read it sometime during travels! I don't expect a response, but it was nice getting to share that with her.

Is this fiction or a memoir? And did you find it in the library, or do you own it?

That sounds like an interesting novel - I'm going to see if they have it in our library! Sorry to hear about the ongoing reading slump Seven months is a long time! I don't know how I'd deal not seeing my sister for seven months. I don't see her every day, not even every week (although I do see her more since Jeanne was born, at least once a week), but seven months, wow. I hope you pick up that book that takes you away

@Athena I hope your reading slump is over, those are the worst When I'm in a reading slump and I don't want to go running and don't want to watch anything, it feels so paralysing, because I usually take comfort in those things. And then the less I do, the more crippling and suffocating everything becomes. Luckily, my therapist is back. This week's session was very rough, but I'm so glad she's back. I'm not feeling loads better, but I can breathe again. Vele hemels boven de zevende review As I mentioned earlier, this novel really punched me in the gut. I've been putting off writing a review, and I still don't feel like I can really do it justice. This novel is written from the point of view of seven characters whose stories all meet at some point. Most of them are from the same family and you only learn how they're related and what happened in this family as you read along. I like when authors do this - drop you in the story and let you figure it out, rather than cleanly explain everything. The characters are very different and while it was easier to relate to some than it was to others, as a reader I could really crawl into the skin of each character. The novel doesn't rely on plot. There is no grand story - just a glimpse of a few months, maybe a year in the lives of these people. At first, this reminded me of the Saskia De Coster novel I read earlier this year, but Griet Op de Beeck has her very own voice. Op de Beeck is a Flemish author and I could really sense that. I usually read in English, but it feels so good to return to my roots occasionally. This is part of my identity, this language is my language. The key event profoundly affected me. I hadn't cried over a book this much in a long time. The kind of crying where you're choking up, can't see through the years, yet you still have to keep reading, even though it seems to tear you apart. A very strong debut that I would recommend to anyone wanting to try out a Flemish author. I don't know if it's been translated, though, and it is the kind of novel where so much would get lost in translation. Gij nu review This novel was also written by Griet Op de Beeck. This features fifteen short stories that aren't related to each other character-wise and plot-wise. I was less impressed with this work. I feel like fifteen stories was overly ambitious. In many of the stories, the characters didn't come to life. Too many of the stories were weak as well, which became painfully clear when contrasted with much stronger stories. There were some gems in here which felt very unfinished and other stories felt so redundant. Short stories are an art Op de Beeck has yet to master - not a single one felt both completed and satisfying. Toward the end, I also felt the themes were a bit repetitive. Grief, loss, loneliness - if used too often, the effect of it wears off. Some time jumps within the stories were also jarring. The intent was good, the potential is there, but the execution is lacking. It also feels like some changes were made to sell more in The Netherlands as well - some very typical expressions for The Netherlands that are never ever used here, like "hij zit op kamers" when we'd say "hij zit op kat", and "ze is gaan stappen" when we'd say "ze gaat uit" - I had to read the last one a couple of times to even get it. No offence to any Dutch people - I love Dutch people, my favourite band is Dutch, and I love Dutch authors. But boy, do I hate it when Flemish novels are changed to include Dutch expressions we never use. It almost feels like abandoning your roots, selling out. Like going back in time to when we were an unimportant province to use as coin in exchange for better things. These were two novels a fellow runner from my club gave me, after I'd been saying during the run that I was nervous having almost finished my book and not having a new one lined up. I usually don't read two similar novels one after the other, to avoid comparison. I usually need a rebound, or a very different genre. I had to make an exception here, and I remember why I usually apply this rule. Maybe I'd have enjoyed "Gij nu" more if I hadn't read it right after "Vele hemels boven de zevende". Op de Beeck has another novel, which that fellow runner also owns and has recently finished, but I really need something else now. Beautifully written novels, but I'm not in the right state of mind to handle more of it. I think an English novel next will be best, as well as a return to a familiar favourite author. Next up is John Irving's "The Fourth Hand".

A moment of nostalgia. Used to have such a crush on the actress in this video as well!

What is a BuJo?

I'm glad you have coping strategies, @Athena I can't talk to my parents, they don't know anything's going on with me. I've never really opened up to my sister about the things that make me see my therapist - she does know some things, but very very concisely. I also don't want to bother her with it, she should focus on her baby right now. I don't have a girlfriend. My best friend, who I could always talk to about everything, left me. I have some other friends, but I don't want to really bother them and one of them is acting weird anyway. I have one friend I can talk to, but I kind of don't want to pour it all on her. And it's different from my best friend. I miss him. The book made me feel bad it's kind of lingering. It was so triggering. I can't seem to read at all today. I just want to curl up and cry. I feel nauseous and like I'm choking up, like my mind is imploding. I went to the supermarket yesterday and I just had to get out. There were too many people and the store felt so big even though it's just a little one and I felt like I had to think about every step and movement.

Look at it this way - you can now organise in your head in so much detail that the work itself will be done in the blink of an eye!

How are you dealing with their absence? She's doing much better, thanks for asking She's having a lot of cramps which makes it hard for her to sleep, but it's normal at her age. I will post a proper review later, but I just finished my book. It's 1:50 am and I'm crying my eyes out. I'd spoil a very important part of the story, but it just punched me in the gut. Hit too close to home, was too unexpected. I can't remember last time a book made me cry like this - tears streaming down my face, choking up, trying not to wake anyone up, physically unable to keep reading but also having the need to continue for my own sanity. I even mailed my therapist in the middle of the night. This is too gut-wrenching. I wasn't ready. I wasn't even going to finish my book. It accidentally happened.

It's great to see you're so excited about the move! I can imagine it must give many sleepless nights, never being entirely sure how much longer you can stay in your apartment. It's going to be awesome organising everything exactly the way you want it!

Some books just punch you in the face when you're not feeling great already. I've had it too - books that just got under my skin in a way that was entirely terrifying. When I feel mentally tired, a shower or bath don't really help me. But what does help is putting on my pj's, crawling into bed and putting on music I know and love. I know exactly what you mean about reading books in multiple languages. Usually, I prefer to read in English. The past nine books I've read were in English and now I'm reading a book in Dutch. It was written by a Flemish author and I always feel that I need that from time to time. I can feel it in my bones, almost, that this is a part of me, this is part of my identity. The life I know. The next two books I have lined up are one by the same author and then one by a Dutch author. After that, it's very possible I will long for an English book again. I hope you feel better soon!

I saw my therapist this week, it had been about a month. I'm really glad she's back! The Sherlockian review The Sherlockian is part historical fiction, part detective/mystery and part historical detective/mystery. Two stories are being told simultaneously, the end of the story in the 19th/20th century eventually blending with the start of the story in the 21st century. These alternating chapters worked out well for both stories. I think if both had been told linearly and one behind the other, it wouldn't be as gripping. I like the meta in the novel - Harold White mulling over the mechanics of a good detective/mystery, while being in that kind of story himself. The characters weren't badly written, but didn't feel very real to me. They seemed a bit flat, hard to imagine as actual people. They weren't horribly written or boring, they're just quite forgettable and bland. It's really the plot that keeps one reading. It also does have one hell of a twist near the end - the kind that makes you want to start reading again with this new knowledge. I would recommend this as a holiday read. The author has a nice writing style, which a clear diversity in the way he writes the 19th/20th century chapters and then the way he writes the 21st century chapters. I don't regret reading this or owning this, I might even re-read in a few years, but it's not mind-blowing or life-altering.

I own a car - this is my second one. I'd use an alternative if there was one that provided as much freedom and other advantages, like taking you straight from point A to point B. The system you're describing sounds a lot like just taking a taxi, or am I understanding it wrong?

What can I say - I'm addicted to Simone Simons.

Two months ago, I took up spinning classes. I wasn't convinced but I grew to love it and now I'm addicted!

Awesome that you got back to running, @frankie!

Thanks to the support here and some mails from my therapist, I have been getting back into my reading and finished my book! Also nice was Simone Simons (singer of Epica) liking some of my tweets again. Always makes me so damn happy. Those of you who know me a bit will know I'm a huge Epica/Simone Simons fan Also, my goddaughter is one month old today so we went over and I got to hold her and changed her diaper for the first time. Little girl stole my heart. A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms This is a collection of stories about Dunk, a hedge knight and his squire, Egg, set Westeros about 100 years before the events in the A Song of Ice and Fire novels. Westeros is still under Targaryen rule. I liked these stories as an expansion of the world we knows from the A Song of Ice and Fire series. Whereas that series is mainly focused on lords and ladies from the important Houses and their children, and on political intrigue, these stories show us what life is like in this verse for "smallfolk". I've seen people say the characters are a bit flat, but I do think Dunk is very interesting and shows some growth. The stories aren't overly complicated, but we do get a bit of history. What I also liked about these stories is the nuance they show, that grey zone between right and wrong. This is an enjoyable read for any Game of Thrones fan and an excellent way to dive deeper into Westeros and its history. If more stories are published, I hope to be able to read them! My only criticism is the repetition of certain phrases, over and over again, which were driving me crazy by the end, namely: - "a clout in the ear" - "oak and iron, guard me well, or else I'm dead, and doomed to hell" - "Dunk the lunk, thick as a castle wall" - "Tanselle Too-Tall she was called, but not too tall for me" I did notice this in the later novels in A Song of Ice and Fire as well - constant repetition of certain phrases or words. But that really is my only criticism. A nice read to take your mind off things, to lose yourself in.

July's proving to be my best reading month of the year - just finished my fifth book of the month. I work about 44 hours a week and go running or spinning after work several days a week, so my reading number had been much lower than it used to be.

Thanks for your support, guys. It genuinely means a lot to me, especially during times like these. Keeps me going a bit