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Athena's Reading List 2014


Athena

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You definitely deserve a reward for that! More books, perhaps? :D

Haha, thanks :)! Though I don't know what my wallet will think..

 

There is a book fair coming up in a few weeks and there are a couple of books I really want to order as well.. I'm going to try to not spend so much but we'll wait and see how it goes :unsure:.

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WOWEE!!! Amazing, Gaia, congratulations! :D

 

Thanks Kate :D!!

 

Congrats Gaia!

 

Attachments sounds really interesting - a different way of narrating the story. One for the wishlist - again!

Thanks Alexi :)! I hope you enjoy Attachments if / when you read it :).

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Wow, congrats on all your reading ! Fantastic achievement.  :D

 

Sounds like you`ve been reading some nice/useful books lately.  :smile:

Thanks Sarah :D. I read in your thread, you're doing pretty well too :).

 

Amazing Gaia! 50.000 pages! I wish I could read just 5,000 a year. :giggle2:

Thanks Devi :). Awww :hug:.

 

I will be posting a review now of The Shining by Stephen King.

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Stephen King - The Shining 1: The Shining

 

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Genre: Horror

Age-range: Adult

Format: Paperback

Pages: 497

Synopsis (GoodReads):Jack Torrance's new job at the Overlook Hotel is the perfect chance for a fresh start. As the off-season caretaker at the atmospheric old hotel, he'll have plenty of time to spend reconnecting with his family and working on his writing. But as the harsh winter weather sets in, the idyllic location feels ever more remote . . . and more sinister. And the only one to notice the strange and terrible forces gathering around the Overlook is Danny Torrance, a uniquely gifted five-year-old.

 

My thoughts: I've been meaning to read The Shining for quite some time now. I've seen the film many years ago but didn't remember much of it. I really liked IT and Carrie (two books I read in October last year and in this last July). I felt a bit of pressure to read it as I kind of wanted to have it read in this October, with it being October and all (horror month and such). Several times I thought about picking it up but felt more like reading something else.

 

This book was pretty scary. That's good for a horror book, I think. Though after this I have to conclude that straight up terror isn't my thing completely. What I enjoyed most about the book was reading about the different characters and getting to know them and their struggles. I also liked learning the history of the hotel.

 

I thought the characters in this book were really interesting and well written. I liked the writing style though sometimes things were mentioned that didn't have meaning to me (I suppose they might've been popular things during the US in the 1970's). Sometimes thoughts were described, IT had this too, which was nice but I found them sometimes a bit chaotic and sometimes they didn't "end". I think that's what the author was going for though.

 

I enjoyed the first half of the book more than the second half. The last part of the book was very horror-ish, at that point I kind of just wanted it to end already :blush2:. I really liked the first half learning about the characters and the hotel and their lives. Some of the horror scenes were really good and not "too much" for me. Some of the ones in the second half of the book though were very scary and I admit I skipped little bits because I just wanted the book to get to the point and have the scene over with.

 

Overall then I enjoyed reading this book but not as much as I enjoyed (re-)reading IT and reading Carrie. It's a great horror book if you like scary horror, I just have to conclude I really like the way the characters are portrayed and everything but the horror elements in this book weren't quite my thing.

 

Rating: **** (8/10)

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Sophie Kinsella - I've Got Your Number

 

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Genre: Chick-lit

Age-range: Adult

Format: Paperback

Pages: 459

Synopsis (GoodReads):I've lost it. :( The only thing in the world I wasn't supposed to lose. My engagement ring. It's been in Magnus's family for three generations. And now, the very same day his parents are coming, I've lost it. The very same day. Do not hyperventilate, Poppy. Stay positive!! :)

 

A couple of glasses of bubbly with the girls at a charity do and Poppy's life has gone into meltdown. Not only has she lost her engagement ring, but in the panic that followed, she's lost her phone too. As she paces shakily round the hotel foyer she spots an abandoned phone in a bin. Finders keepers! Now she can leave a number with the hotel staff. It was meant to be!

 

Except the phone's owner, businessman Sam Roxton, doesn't agree. He wants his phone back, and doesn't appreciate Poppy reading all his messages and wading into his personal life. As Poppy juggles wedding preparations, phone messages and hiding her left hand from Magnus and his parents, can things get any more tangled?

 

My thoughts: After reading The Shining by Stephen King I felt like reading something a bit more uplifting, and something a bit easier to read and process. Sophie Kinsella is one of my favourite authors and I hadn't read this one yet (I was reading them sort of in publication order, minus the ones she wrote under her own name, Madeleine Wickham, I haven't read those yet).

 

This book pulled me in straight away. I really liked the writing style and I flew through the book. I finished it in one day (and I didn't start reading until noon-ish.) I really enjoyed reading this book. There were quite a few funny moments. I really liked the characters, particularly Poppy and Sam. I thought Marcus' family was pretty interesting too, some of the things they say were just..! I thought the book was really well written. It was also nice to read a book that involved technology nowadays (the book was written in 2012).

 

Overall then I really liked this book. It wasn't my favourite Sophie Kinsella book, that'd be the Shopaholic series and Twenties Girl but I liked it a lot! I wanted to keep on reading to find out what would happen, and finished it in a couple of hours.

 

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

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R. J. Palacio - Wonder 1: Wonder

 

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Genre: Contemporary Fiction

Age-range: Young-Adult

Format: Paperback

Pages: 315

Synopsis (back of the book):My name is August. I won't describe what I look like. Whatever you're thinking, it's probably worse.

 

My thoughts: After reading The Shining by Stephen King I was torn between reading I've Got Your Number by Sophie Kinsella and this book. I chose the former, and then decided to read this one next.

 

This was a really interesting book. It's split up into several parts, written from the perspective of several different people. August's perspective is present the most, he gets several parts in the book. It was really interesting to read the different viewpoints. I really liked the characters in this book. August is such a great character. The other characters were great too.

 

The book begins when August has to go to school for the first time. He's ten-years-old and homeschooled up to that point. He has a genetic birth defect that makes his face look very weird and this scares a lot of people when they see him the first time.

 

I thought the book was really well written. There are quite a few emotional moments, where I really felt for August (or on one occasion for one of the other characters).

 

The book really makes you think on how people treat people who are different in some way. It's a bit of a thought provoking book in that sense.

 

Overall I really enjoyed reading this book. It's really well written and the characters are very interesting.

 

Rating: ***** (9/10)

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I've bought and downloaded R. J. Palacio - Wonder 1.5: The Julian Chapter, which is the story written from Julian's point of view. I plan to read it later today.

I'm sure you're done by now :P  :readingtwo: How was it?  Be interested to see how it compares to Four (although, it is only one chapter, just the overall concept.

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I'm sure you're done by now :P  :readingtwo: How was it?  Be interested to see how it compares to Four (although, it is only one chapter, just the overall concept.

I was just going to post my review :D, I've just finished it :).

 

Review below..

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R. J. Palacio - Wonder 1.5 - The Julian Chapter

 

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Genre: Contemporary Fiction

Age-range: Young-Adult

Format: Kindle

Pages: 89?

Synopsis (me):The story of Wonder from Julian's point of view.

 

My thoughts: After reading Wonder I remembered the author had written a short story, so I bought it and read it.

 

This short story is the story of Wonder told from Julian's point of view (and a bit beyond it). I thought it was very interesting and well written (just like Wonder). Obviously you don't want to read this if you haven't read Wonder, the story won't make much sense to you if you haven't read Wonder. But it's a nice companion to it, and it's great to find out more about one of the characters from Wonder.

 

Overall I really enjoyed reading this short story, and learning more about Julian. I didn't really like him in Wonder and this story changed that, it really tells of his thoughts and motivations and what his life is like.

 

Rating: ***** (9/10)

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Just to add, while overall I like the Divergent series and the Four stories more than Wonder and The Julian Chapter (10 / 10 vs. 9 / 10), I did think The Julian Chapter was a very worthy addition and I would hearthily recommend it for people who liked Wonder :).

 

195 books read :exc:, it should be 200+ by the end of the next read-a-thon..

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Thanks, all of you :exc:!

 

I've got some nice books (most of which I picked myself) and a bookish T-shirt (as well as other presents :) ). I've been really spoiled this year :). I had a lot of fun. Usually there aren't this many people (10) and certainly not on the same day (though not everyone was there at the same time). For example, my aunt and uncle don't always come to my birthday (they try though). The cakes were really nice as was the food for lunch and dinner (I prepared a lot of it on Friday). On Sunday I had my birthday dinner, gourmet, which was really nice too. Now I'm quite tired from it all so since yesterday I've mainly been resting.

 

Here's a list of my new books:

 

Stephanie Perkins - Anna and the French Kiss 3: Isla and the Happily Ever After

Diane Chamberlain - Reflection

Diane Chamberlain - Secret Lives

Catherine Ryan Hyde - Walk Me Home

Catherine Ryan Hyde - Where We Belong

Kristin Hannah - Firefly Lane 2: Fly Away

John Green and David Leviathan - Will Grayson, Will Grayson

Morgan Matson - Since You've Been Gone

Melissa Hill - A Gift to Remember

Sarah J. Maas - Throne of Glass 3: Heir of Fire

Alexander McCall Smith - The No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency 2: Tears Of The Giraffe

Alexander McCall Smith - The No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency 3: Morality For Beautiful Girls

Alexander McCall Smith - The No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency 7: Blue Shoes And Happiness

Alexander McCall Smith - The No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency 12: The Saturday Big Tent Wedding Party

Alexander McCall Smith - The No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency 14: The Limpopo Academy Of Private Detection

Alexander McCall Smith - The No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency 15: The Minor Adjustment Beauty Salon

Scott Meyer - Magic 2.0 1: Off To Be The Wizard

Scott Meyer - Magic 2.0 2: Spell Or High Water

 

These last two my boyfriend bought for me, I hadn't heard of them but they sound really good! I'm really excited about all my new books :exc:. I'm expecting a few more books in the post from two people of BCF :).

 

Here's a photo:

 

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And here's a photo of my new T-shirt!:

 

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I will be posting a review shortly for the short story I read on Saturday morning.

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Jennifer Weiner - Disconnected

 

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Genre: Chick-lit, Thriller

Age-range: Adult

Format: Kindle

Pages: 48

Synopsis (GoodReads):Shannon Will is nearing thirty and has already made six trips to rehab (not that anyone's counting). But this time, she swears, will be different. She'll clean up her act, go to meetings, find a sponsor, and make a clean break with her past—starting with a new phone number.

 

But old ties aren't so easy to sever. When Shannon's new phone starts getting messages she was never meant to see, Shannon has to decide whether to risk getting involved, or stay safely disconnected.

 

Gripping, suspenseful and smart, Disconnected is a riveting tale of addiction and obligation, secrets and redemption.

 

My thoughts: I thought I'd read a short story on my Kindle, because I want to read certain books that I'd be getting for my birthday, so I didn't want to start anything long (since it was almost that time).

 

This was a well written story. I've read one book by this author and have several others on my TBR. I really liked the writing style. The story was interesting and suspenseful. I wanted to keep on reading to find out what would happen. It's intertwined with flashbacks from the past (of the main character). I thought the main character was interesting, I particularly liked that she had studied literature & arts (or something like it) and wanted to write stories and such. What really gave the story a better score, was the great twist at the end. I wasn't expecting it and I really liked it (of course now that you know that, you know there'll be a twist etc..).

 

Rating: ***** (9/10)

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