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Athena's Reading List 2014


Athena

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Ooh, I'm glad you liked this one, Athena, as I have a book from this series, but I've yet to read it. It's not the first in the series, so I was a bit unsure if I'd be able to catch up, but I think I'll give it a try!

 

Great review, as always!

Thanks :)! Which book is it? The one I'm reading at the moment, The Traitor Spy Trilogy 2: The Rogue explains the past events pretty well and concisely.

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I bought some new used books at the charity shop today. They were very friendly, gave me a deal where it didn't say so in the shop, so I wasn't expecting one! I got a lot of books for little money :).

 

Maj Sjöwall and Per Wahlöö - Sjöwall & Wahlöö 2: De Man Die In Rook Opging - (Mannen Som Gick Upp I Rök)

Stephen King - Achtbaan (Riding the Bullet)

René Appel - Handicap

Jackie Collins - Lucky Santangelo 7: Poor Little Bitch Girl

Agatha Christie - Hercule Poirot 30: Agatha Christie 21: Moord in het Studentenhuis (Hickory, Dickory, Dock)

Agatha Christie - Agatha Christie 46: Doem der Verdenking (Ordeal by Innocence)

Agatha Christie - Zevende Vijfling: De Gesluierde Dame, Brief van een Dode, De Minister Die Niet van de Bonbons Af Kon Blijven, Lord Edgware Sterft, Het Geheim van de Dode Chinees (The Veiled Lady, Dumb Witness, The Chocolate Box, Lord Edgware Dies, The Lost Mine)

Agatha Christie - Negende Vijfling: Jane Zoekt een Baan, De Pop in de Schoorsteen, De Plymouth Express, Moord in het Vliegtuig, Poirot Komt Te Laat (Jane in Search of a Job, By The Pricking of my Thumbs, The Plymouth Express, Death in the Clouds, The Cornish Mystery)

Agatha Christie - Zeventiende Vijfling: Een Exotische Remedie, Drama in Drie Bedrijven, In Naam Der Liefde, De Wraakgodin, Het Regatta-Mysterie - (Problem at Pollensa Bay, Three-act Tragedy, The Love Detectives, Nemesis, The Regatta Mystery)

Annie Oosterbroek-Dutschun - Voor Vrijheid En Liefde 1-2: Omnibus: Alleen uit Liefde, Een Dag van je Leven

L. N. Tolstoi - Oorlog en Vrede (I already had War and Peace the English version but it isn't that readable, I've been eyeing this beautiful Dutch edition in the shop for a few weeks now, and today I flicked through it in the shop and it seems more readable. It's so old though it doesn't even have an ISBN or a publishing date)

 

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I bought some new used books at the charity shop today.

L. N. Tolstoi - Oorlog en Vrede (I already had War and Peace the English version but it isn't that readable, I've been eyeing this beautiful Dutch edition in the shop for a few weeks now, and today I flicked through it in the shop and it seems more readable. It's so old though it doesn't even have an ISBN or a publishing date)

Beautiful!  I loved War and Peace, it doesn't deserve the reputation it gets, as so long and difficult.

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Beautiful!  I loved War and Peace, it doesn't deserve the reputation it gets, as so long and difficult.

Thanks :). I've been meaning to read it for quite a few years now, but I found my English translation a bit confusing, at least the first few pages that I read, so I put it down again. I'm hoping this Dutch edition might be more readable. I'd love to know when it was published but Google reveals nothing.

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Before some years, they didn't put published dates.  Maybe you have something rare :smile: I hope it is more understandable in Dutch, I had to pick my translation carefully as well.  Some English ones are better than others, especially of Russian novels.

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Before some years, they didn't put published dates.  Maybe you have something rare :smile: I hope it is more understandable in Dutch, I had to pick my translation carefully as well.  Some English ones are better than others, especially of Russian novels.

It could be :)! I agree, I never considered that when I first bought it, that there would be differences. I was used to translations of modern novels into Dutch, usually there is only one translation available so there are no choices.

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Thanks :)! Which book is it? The one I'm reading at the moment, The Traitor Spy Trilogy 2: The Rogue explains the past events pretty well and concisely.

That's funny, turns out it's the same one you're reading, and I hadn't realised! I'm looking forward to reading it!

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That's funny, turns out it's the same one you're reading, and I hadn't realised! I'm looking forward to reading it!

Well, in that case, I think you can definitely give it a go as things are explained :). If you get confused though when you read it, feel free to ask me any questions you might have. I hope you enjoy the book, when you read it :)!

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I've made some plans to visit the library in my town soon. In order to help me buy less books in 2015, and for me to be out and do something I enjoy (and a few other reasons), my boyfriend came up with the idea of me visiting the library in our city more often. We'll be going to take a look soon and if I like what I see I will get a library card. I'm quite excited by it. I know most of the books will be Dutch but hopefully they will have some nice and interesting books (and I hope to see their English section too). I hope by seeing the library's books now and then, it will help me buy less and want less new stuff, since I can go to the library and check out a few books.

 

I don't know yet how often I'll go there or how it'll go but I feel it's an idea worth exploring :). I really need to get a handle on my buying, because my finances won't allow it (I am going to the book fair though.. but next year!). I don't know if the idea will work out, but we will see. My occasional buys at the charity shop won't be a problem since it's always cheap there, but my ordering lots of books (and sometimes other things) online, is. So I hope going to the library will help me :).

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At the beginning of the year I resolved to use my library more - to keep it open as much as anything.  However I've only really used it for a few audio books - 4, maybe 5, so I haven't done as well as I hoped.  I shall try again in 2015.  I do hope the library works out for you. :)

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At the beginning of the year I resolved to use my library more - to keep it open as much as anything.  However I've only really used it for a few audio books - 4, maybe 5, so I haven't done as well as I hoped.  I shall try again in 2015.  I do hope the library works out for you. :)

Thanks Janet, I hope you find some nice books at your library too next year :).

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I've made some plans to visit the library in my town soon. In order to help me buy less books in 2015, and for me to be out and do something I enjoy (and a few other reasons), my boyfriend came up with the idea of me visiting the library in our city more often. We'll be going to take a look soon and if I like what I see I will get a library card. I'm quite excited by it.

I'm excited for you!  As I said, I think it is a great idea! :exc:

 

At the beginning of the year I resolved to use my library more - to keep it open as much as anything.  However I've only really used it for a few audio books - 4, maybe 5, so I haven't done as well as I hoped.  I shall try again in 2015.  I do hope the library works out for you. :)

Do you have a Kindle and get them that way?  Or how does it work?

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I have a Kindle, but sadly in the UK library files aren't compatible with it.  

 

I have a Nook too, which I can download library books on to (and have - I forgot about those!).  The ones I've had as audiobooks I've listened to on my iPod.  :)

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That sounds like a really great idea, Gaia. I look forward to hearing what your library is like. :)

 

 

I have a Kindle, but sadly in the UK library files aren't compatible with it.  

 

That's so strange! You'd think their files would be compatible with the device that is most widely used for reading ebooks!

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That's so strange! You'd think their files would be compatible with the device that is most widely used for reading ebooks!

Unfortunately, it's not the files that are incompatible, but the software that allows them to control the borrowing of the ebooks, and removing them off your device after your loan period is up. :( I don't want to buy another device just to use the library, so I haven't been able to make use of the service at all, which is a real shame.

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I'm excited for you!  As I said, I think it is a great idea! :exc:

Thanks Anna :)

 

I have a Kindle, but sadly in the UK library files aren't compatible with it.  

 

I have a Nook too, which I can download library books on to (and have - I forgot about those!).  The ones I've had as audiobooks I've listened to on my iPod.  :)

The library here does ebooks too but they aren't compatible with my Kindle either. There are very few people in the Netherlands who have a Kindle, I'm quite surprised your library doesn't support it! The ebook files are epubs. The library seems to have an app that allows you to read them, which might work on my tablet or my phone. I do plan on looking into it when I'm there, but I much prefer my Kindle (e-ink device) to read books on vs. my old tablet or phone. I prefer paperbooks anyway, but I do want to look into the possibilities as you never know I might find a nice read that way :). I've no idea how big their catalogue of ebooks is, it seems a more recent thing that they've been doing.

 

That sounds like a really great idea, Gaia. I look forward to hearing what your library is like. :)

Thanks Kylie, I'll definitely post about it when I've been, and tell you about my experience of it :)

 

Unfortunately, it's not the files that are incompatible, but the software that allows them to control the borrowing of the ebooks, and removing them off your device after your loan period is up. :( I don't want to buy another device just to use the library, so I haven't been able to make use of the service at all, which is a real shame.

That makes sense, it's a shame though :(.

 

About e-readers, in the Netherlands Kobo nowadays is gaining market I believe. They didn't exist here in a few years ago, back then Sony e-readers were really good compared with most other options, but Sony has stopped making them. I think nowadays Kobos might be more popular. Amazon.nl has just been launched so maybe we'll see more Kindles here in a while. It would be good, for customers, to have several competitors in the ereader market as opposed to just one that's much better than the rest.

 

I'm going to post a review now and a list of my latest preorders that arrived.

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Trudi Canavan - The Traitor Spy Trilogy 2: The Rogue

 

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Genre: Fantasy

Age-range: Adult

Format: Paperback

Pages: 485

Date Read: 21-11-2014 <-> 24-11-2014

Synopsis: (no synopsis because it's book two of a trilogy)

 

My thoughts: After finishing the first book in this trilogy, I immediately wanted to read the second one. I wanted to find out what would happen next.

 

This book was just as good as the first one in this trilogy. There are several storylines going on, all of which I found interesting (they are connected in ways, it's not like there's seperate stories going on). I really liked reading about these characters again, and I also quite enjoyed the new characters.

 

There's a particular subject that's woven into this story (it was also a part of the previous book but less so, and it was a part of The Black Magician trilogy but mainly in book three). I don't want to write down what it is though, because it would spoil things. But I can say that I think the author writes about this very well.

 

I really liked the writing style and there were lots of unexpected plot twists. A few plot twists I guessed were going to happen, though sometimes I didn't know when they would. I enjoyed learning more about the world, the history and the magic.

 

In short, if you liked book one in this trilogy I'd definitely recommend book two. As I said in other places, this book does explain some of the events that happened in book one and in The Black Magician Trilogy. As such it could be read as a standalone. The story does have somewhat of an ending, but there are still plenty of plot elements that aren't yet solved (the epilogue is a little bit of a cliffhanger, for one). Of course, I think the most enjoyable way to enjoy the books, is to read The Black Magician Trilogy first, possibly read the prequel, The Magician's Apprentice and then read this trilogy. That'd be the reading order I'd recommend if someone wanted to read them all (I think it's also the publication order).

 

Overall then I really enjoyed reading this book. I really wanted to keep on reading to find out what would happen. It was suspenseful throughout. I look forward to read the third and final book in the trilogy.

 

P.S. I also read on the author's website, that she might write more books in this world, in the future. It's very much a might though, just an idea she had (along with several other ideas). I don't know if it will happen, but I can say I'd definitely want to read those books, if she does write them (as well as any other books she will write).

 

Rating: ***** (10/10)

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I downloaded some free Kindle books:

 

Richard Glenn - 19 High-Impact Study Hacks: Learn the Techniques Top Students Use To Get Amazing Grades & Cut Study Time in Half (mainly because it was just free for a day and this blog I follow recommended it, I don't if it'll be useful really since I've graduated and all that)

Anne McCarthy Strauss - A Medical Affair (this was free and sounded like it could be a good thriller)

 

But here's the more exciting stuff:

 

I pre-ordered some BSC books a while ago, and they're out now:

 

Ann M. Martin - The Baby-Sitters Club 79: Mary Anne Breaks the Rules

Ann M. Martin - The Baby-Sitters Club 80: Mallory Pike, #1 Fan

Ann M. Martin - The Baby-Sitters Club 81: Kristy and Mr. Mom

Ann M. Martin - The Baby-Sitters Club 82: Jessi and the Troublemaker

 

I'm also waiting for two books to arrive in the post, being:

 

Chrissie Manby - A Proper Family Christmas (I really like some other books by this author so I didn't want to pass up this Christmas themed one once I found out about it)

Adrian Tchaikovsky - Shadows of the Apt 10: Seal of the Worm (pre-ordered)

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