Athena Posted November 18, 2015 Author Share Posted November 18, 2015 (edited) Ah, a Shopaholic book. I think I stopped reading them after the fifth novel. Not that they weren't good, but like you, it's always basically the same thing with Becky in each novel. You'd think she'd finally learn something Maybe the book series has just run its course for some of us I agree ! That could be. I plan to read reviews for the next Shopaholic book before I buy it (there will be reviews before the paperback is out anyway), but if they are generally good then I will probably buy and read the book. But if they're negative then I'm not sure if I want to read it or not. Perfect sense! And I agree about the magic and all, but maybe. I'll do the sample like you suggest. Cassandra Clare seems more fantasy than YA... I guess she is YA fantasy Yes, I think she is . I re-read Paul van Loon - De Griezelbus 2 (*****) (10/10). I really enjoyed re-reading this book, it was childhood nostalgia. It's just the kind of horror I like. I'd say Paul van Loon (and perhaps the other members of the GG) is the Dutch "R. L. Stine", kind of. I really enjoyed re-reading this book. I'm currently reading book 3 in the series and am enjoying that too. I plan to read the whole series. I own books 0-4 and 7, and I've borrowed books 5 and 6 from the library. I finished reading Paul van Loon - De Griezelbus 3 (*****) (10/10). It was a nostalgic and suspenseful read. Edited November 18, 2015 by Athena Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
frankie Posted November 18, 2015 Share Posted November 18, 2015 I agree ! That could be. I plan to read reviews for the next Shopaholic book before I buy it (there will be reviews before the paperback is out anyway), but if they are generally good then I will probably buy and read the book. But if they're negative then I'm not sure if I want to read it or not. I think that's a good plan Or you could even borrow them from library for your first read and see how you like them. One not-so-great Shopaholic book doesn't mean that the rest will be bad, too, though! I really disliked Shopaholic & Sister and thought that I wouldn't read any new ones after that, but I did: I read Shopaholic & Baby and that one I really liked (I thought there'd be like 10 books in the series already, but when I googled to see where the series is at, there are only 7 ) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Athena Posted November 19, 2015 Author Share Posted November 19, 2015 I think that's a good plan Or you could even borrow them from library for your first read and see how you like them. One not-so-great Shopaholic book doesn't mean that the rest will be bad, too, though! I really disliked Shopaholic & Sister and thought that I wouldn't read any new ones after that, but I did: I read Shopaholic & Baby and that one I really liked (I thought there'd be like 10 books in the series already, but when I googled to see where the series is at, there are only 7 ) Very true! They are popular books here so I have no doubt it will get translated in Dutch and then appear in the library. That's comforting to know, that the series got better for you after a disappointment . I re-read De Griezelbus 4 (*****) (10/10) this morning. It was nostalgic and suspenseful, just like the previous books. It was scary too (but not too scary). Next up will be De Griezelbus 0 which was written after book 4 so I thought I'd read it after that. Then, the library loans of books 5 and 6, and then my own book 7 (which I recently bought at the book fair). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Athena Posted November 20, 2015 Author Share Posted November 20, 2015 I re-read De Griezelbus 0 (*****) (10/10) and I read De Griezelbus 5 (*****) (10/10). It's such a great series. The books were quite suspenseful. Book 0 is a bit different than the other books in the sense that it doesn't have seperate short stories within the story but rather flashbacks of the main character's past (that he tells as stories). I'm eager to continue on with it (though I totally suspect I'll be in the mood for something completely different once I finish the series). There is a movie made of the 6th book, which I bought at the library sale in Eindhoven some time ago, and I plan to maybe watch it after I finish the 6th book. I've now read 425 books . And 102039 pages. I don't know if I'll get to 450.. would be nice if I did though. 500 is out of the question unless I start to read really short books on purpose. Which is kind of cheating, so I'm just going to read what I feel like in the moment (like I do now), and we'll see what the total this year will be. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anna Begins Posted November 20, 2015 Share Posted November 20, 2015 I'm sure 450 will be no problem- in fact, maybe after the read a thon Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hayley Posted November 20, 2015 Share Posted November 20, 2015 Congratulations on reaching 425 books! That's quite an achievement! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Athena Posted November 21, 2015 Author Share Posted November 21, 2015 I'm sure 450 will be no problem- in fact, maybe after the read a thon Haha, that could be true . Though I don't have any Stiltons so progress won't be quite as quick . But yes, I should have 450 by the end of December at least, maybe soon after the read-a-thon. Congratulations on reaching 425 books! That's quite an achievement! Thank you ! I read De Griezelbus 6 (****) (8/10) yesterday, which was different than what I was expecting. Initially I had a few problems with the story because it wasn't what I was expecting based on the previous five books. That said, it's certainly an enjoyable story and I would have enjoyed it more had I known that it would be different. I also watched the film the book is based on, called De Griezelbus (I think the film was there first). It was nice to see the film, though I prefer the book (isn't that usually the case ). There were a few things though that I thought were better in the film. I also read De Griezelbus 7 (*****) (9/10). This book follows after book 6. This time I knew better what to expect and I therefore enjoyed it more. The story also seemed a bit more suspenseful to me. This book marks the end of the series, at least up to date. I really enjoyed reading this series, re-reading the books I had read before and reading the new ones. It remains one of the best Dutch children's horror series and I really enjoyed reading it. I'm still thinking about it now that I've finished it, so it made an impression. I also bought and received: Rainbow Rowell - Carry On Brandon Sanderson - Reckoners 2: Firefight I just received Carl Sagan - Contact, which was meant to be a birthday present for me. I'm happy I have it now at least though . Now only Catherine Ryan Hyde - The Day I Killed James is left. Okay, and Holly Black & Cassandra Clare - Magisterium 1: The Iron Trial, which I bought after I loved the library loan and saw this paperback on sale . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Athena Posted November 22, 2015 Author Share Posted November 22, 2015 I read Arthur C. Clarke, David Maule - Space Odyssey 1: 2001: A Space Odyssey (abridged children's version). I own the full book in Dutch and I read a couple of chapters alongside one another. The reason I borrowed the English one from the library is that Michael wanted to read it. I noticed the Dutch version, which is twice as long as the abridged easier version, contains a lot more detail and more violence. I decided to read the English version while I am allowed to borrow it, and then I'll read the Dutch version in a little while. I own two Dutch omnibusses, containing in total the 4 books that are in the Space Odyssey series. I plan to read the four books in December. I had seen the movie ages ago but I don't remember enough of it to make a good comparision. That will change though once I watch the movie again. I gave the abridged retold version of the book a (****) (8/10) but I think I will enjoy the full version (although it is translated) more and will therefore rate it higher. I also read Anthony Horowitz - De Kracht van Vijf 4: Necropolis (The Power of Five 4: Necropolis). I was a bit wary at first as I wasn't sure I'd be able to follow it since it's book 4. I have book 5 borrowed from the library as well, that will be my next read. I was able to follow most of the book pretty well. The story was quite suspenseful and I enjoyed reading it. There are a few things I'm unclear on (as well as a few events of the previous books) but overall I quite liked reading it. There were a few translation errors. I gave it (*****) (9/10). I will most likely see if I can find books 1, 2 and 3 in the series at the library some time and read them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Athena Posted November 22, 2015 Author Share Posted November 22, 2015 I moved a few shelves around, below are some blurry pictures of the shelves. See the first page of this thread for pictures taken of all my shelves earlier in the year. I basically switched the shelves of detectives and some literary thillers with the shelves of the paranormal books, and I moved the English literature shelves down to make space for some Dutch literature. In the new year, in my new reading log, I will take some new, higher quality photos with my camera (instead of my phone), of all my shelves. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Little Pixie Posted November 22, 2015 Share Posted November 22, 2015 I like your kitty bookend in the first pic. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Athena Posted November 23, 2015 Author Share Posted November 23, 2015 I like your kitty bookend in the first pic. Thanks ! I love it (there are two, btw. The other one is behind the one you can clearly see). I've had them for many years now, it was a present I was given when I was a child. I think it was from my parents . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Athena Posted November 24, 2015 Author Share Posted November 24, 2015 I just finished Anthony Horowitz - De Kracht van Vijf 5: Oblivion (The Power of Five 5: Oblivion) (*****) (9/10). It was pretty epic, especially towards the end. The book had a few translation errors (like the previous one), or at least moments where I thought they've translated the English too literally. The story was quite suspenseful and I liked the characters. The story takes place in multiple countries and I enjoyed reading about these countries. The writer did his research. I liked the ending, though I would've liked to know more. Overall I'm glad I read the book and I'll see if the library has book 1, 2 and 3 some time. I've now finished my library loans and am free to read a book of my own. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Athena Posted November 25, 2015 Author Share Posted November 25, 2015 Catherine Ryan Hyde - Always Chloe and Other Stories Genre: Contemporary Fiction Age-range: Young-Adult (novella), Adult (the four stories) Format: Kindle Pages: ~280 Date read: 24-11-2015 <-> 25-11-2015 ISBN: N/A Synopsis (Amazon.com): By the bestselling author of Don't Let Me Go and Pay It Forward, this captivating short story collection features ALWAYS CHLOE, the long-awaited novella sequel to Becoming Chloe, Hyde's award-winning novel. Jordy and Chloe are living above a restaurant in Morro Bay, the first place they landed after their trip down the Big Sur Coast. But Jordy has a boyfriend now, an old flame who's come back into his life in a big way. Chloe stretches herself as far as she can go to give them her blessing, but her issues about living--or even sleeping--alone turn this happy reunion into a potential disaster. Chloe stops eating, stops sleeping, stops paddling her beloved and battered blue kayak in the bay. No one knows how to help her. When her friend Old Ben, the man who runs the fuel dock nearby, gives her some advice, his words could either save the day or send her out to sea forever, depending on her unique mind's understanding of them. A heart-wrenching stand-alone novella, and an answer to the many readers who asked for a sequel to Becoming Chloe, ALWAYS CHLOE is ultimately about the struggle to balance others' needs with our own--and exactly how expansive and forgiving the human heart can be. This collection also includes four previously published short stories, including Breakage, which won honors in the Tobias Wolff award, and The Lion Lottery, which was cited in Best American Short Stories. My thoughts: I read Becoming Chloe in December last year. This short story collection features the story Always Chloe, starring the same characters from Becoming Chloe. This book was a birthday gfit from Anna (Begins). Thank you so much! I'm going to give a mini-review of each of the stories. Always Chloe is a novella and takes up more than half of the book, the other 4 stories are short stories. One thing I'll say beforehand, is that unfortunately, the images used at the top of a new chapter or new story (new chapters in the novella, new stories for the stories) overlap most of the time with the first line of text. I could usually only read the text by selecting the image (so the text goes white) and then concentrating hard holding it in good light. That is a bit unfortunate about this Kindle edition. As a note, the novella I would consider suited for young-adults (considering Becoming Chloe is YA), but one of the short stories has some adult topics in it. Always Chloe This story starts off a bit confusing but after a little while things start to make sense. I wanted to keep on reading this story, it was quite good. It was great to read more about these characters and what happens with them after the ending of Becoming Chloe. I don't know if you should read the story if you haven't read Becoming Chloe, I think it would be a bit confusing then. If you loved Becoming Chloe though I think you will like this novella too. I really liked this novella. Rating: (*****) (9/10) The Lion Lottery The story is about a woman, two guys and a ranch. It was quite confusing to me. It contains a lot of American slang that unfortunately even my Kindle dictionary couldn't always tell me what it meant. The story was okay, but I found it confusing to be honest. Apparently it was liked by other people, seeing as, according to the synopsis above, it was cited in Best American Short Stories, but it was just too confusing for me. I feel as if I missed the message of the story. Things could have been explained more. Rating: (***) (6/10) Pet Care, Tarot Readings, Maid Service This story is about a man going on a business trip. He hires a dog sitter. The story was nice but I would've liked to know more beyond the ending. It seemed to end too soon, and I'm not sure I fully understood the story's message. It was nice to read though. The story contained two references that meant nothing to me, but it wasn't vital to get them to understand the story. Rating: (****) (7/10) Breakage This story is about a woman, who dogsits and housesits for Her Employer (in the book it is capitalised also). She is struggling with an issue, but for fear of spoilers I won't say more. I loved the three dogs in this story, and their names are so cool. Anyway, the story is really good. I wasn't keen on the ending, but I really liked the rest of it. I liked the writing style and the story made me feel emotions. Rating: (*****) (9/10) Fortunate This story is about a woman who has lost her son. I liked the story, it was quite emotional. I wasn't too keen on the ending, but otherwise I quite enjoyed reading this story. Rating: (*****) (9/10) It was definitely nice to read something different after reading two fantasy thrillers (they were quite suspenseful). Overall I really liked three out of five stories, the other two I liked less. The Lion Lottery used too much American slang and confused me. Always Chloe has to be the highlight for me, if I had to pick. Overall Rating: (****) (8/10) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anna Begins Posted November 25, 2015 Share Posted November 25, 2015 I've been to Morro Bay! It's gorgeous! I always forget that CRH lives in Cambria, which is south of here and on the coast, just simply a beautiful coastal place, in the woods, basically... but with an ocean. In Walk Me Home (another great CRH novel), she writes of Trinidad, one of my favorite places on earth. I love my state I'm glad you liked some of the stories at least! Hopefully Earthquake Weather will be better. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Athena Posted November 26, 2015 Author Share Posted November 26, 2015 I've been to Morro Bay! It's gorgeous! I always forget that CRH lives in Cambria, which is south of here and on the coast, just simply a beautiful coastal place, in the woods, basically... but with an ocean. In Walk Me Home (another great CRH novel), she writes of Trinidad, one of my favorite places on earth. I love my state I'm glad you liked some of the stories at least! Hopefully Earthquake Weather will be better. Wow, how amazing you've been there! One of the stories in Earthquake Weather and Other Stories also takes place in Morro Bay. It sounds so beautiful. I didn't know CRH lived in Cambria. I haven't yet read Walk Me Home but I own it so I expect I will be reading it some time . So far the stories in Earthquake Weather and Other Stories vary between really good and being just okay. I do feel she is more talented at writing full length novels, but maybe that's just me (as I generally tend to prefer full length novels). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Athena Posted November 27, 2015 Author Share Posted November 27, 2015 Catherine Ryan Hyde - Earthquake Weather and Other Stories Genre: Contemporary Fiction Age-range: Adult Format: Kindle Pages: ~229 Date read: 25-11-2015 <-> 26-11-2015 ISBN: N/A Synopsis (Amazon.com): By the bestselling author of DON'T LET ME GO and PAY IT FORWARD: Long before Hyde was a bestselling author, she wrote and published short stories on the road to the publication of her first novel, FUNERALS FOR HORSES. First released as a collection in 1998, the short stories compiled in EARTHQUAKE WEATHER have been published in literary magazines, nominated for Best American Short Stories, the O'Henry Award and the Pushcart Prize. In "Dante," a woman inherits a dangerous dog from her late, married lover. The dog isn't dangerous to her, but he threatens anyone who tries to get near her. Now she's left wondering if that's exactly what her lover intended. In "Mrs. Mulvaney, the Grasshopper God," an older woman has a spiritual experience and swears off mowing her lawn, driving her neighbor--who found her lawn unkempt to begin with--right over the edge. In "Red Texas Sky," a young boy, plagued by nightmares since witnessing the death of his father, gets help from his mother's new boyfriend, an alcoholic Vietnam vet, who takes him on a mission to face his fears and leave his nightmares behind. "Of the eighteen stories collected here... all are worth reading. Empathy is everywhere in this book.... And perhaps that's what's so striking about this collection: in your heart, you can see yourself in most every character. Sometimes that's frightening, and sometimes it's kind of nice. Either way it's a good read." --San Luis Obispo Telegram-Tribune My thoughts: This was the other book Anna (Begins) gifted me. I decided to read it after I finished Always Chloe and Other Stories. I'm going to give a mini-review of each of the stories. Dante This story is about a woman who inherits a dog after the guy she loved, dies. But the dog doesn't want any man close to Ellen (the woman). The perspective in this story switches between third and first person, there are parts written in first person and parts written in third person. I liked the story, particularly the parts about the dog. Rating: (****) (8/10) The Snake Handler This story is about a woman who lives with her husband and his son. She doesn't like the son. I enjoyed reading this story. I liked the writing style. I felt for the main character. Rating: (*****) (9/10) Shoot for the Apex and Lean I didn't quite get this story. I'm not sure I can totally explain why (other than the use of US slang and racing terms), but somehow I just didn't connect with it. Rating: (***) (6/10) Love is Always Running Away This story was a bit weird. It was nice to read but I found it a bit difficult to connect with the characters. The story is about two man, a woman and a baby. Rating: (***) (6/10) Red Texas Sky This was a great and sweet story. It's about a boy who has nightmares. I really liked this story, it's one of my favourites of this collection. Rating: (*****) (10/10) Sam Will Remind Me This story takes place in the same area as Always Chloe, in Morro Bay. It was a nice story but I wasn't keen on the ending. The story is about two women and a guy named Sam. Rating: (****) (7/10) Blessing This story is about a man who visits the police and claims he's committed a crime. I liked the story but I'm not sure I totally got the ending. Rating: (****) (8/10) Torch This story features a girl and a boy. It had kind of an open ending. I wasn't that keen on this story. Rating: (***) (6/10) Paper Boy This story was nice, though also confusing at first. I enjoyed reading this story. It's about a woman and a boy who lives across from her. Rating: (****) (8/10) Mrs. Mulvaney, the Grasshopper God I loved this story. It was excellent. I thought it had a powerful and interesting message, and I really liked it. The story involves a woman and her lawn (the story is better than that sounds). This is one of my favourite stories in this collection. Rating: (*****) (10/10) Learning to Talk This was a nice story about a woman whose car breaks down. I enjoyed reading it. Rating: (****) (8/10) Alice Needs This This story was a little bit strange. It was nice to read, but I was a bit creeped out by it. The story is about a girl named Alice and an older man. Rating: (****) (7/10) Wednesday Man I didn't totally get this story. The story is about a woman who's having an affair. It was just okay, I found it a bit difficult to connect to the characters. Rating: (***) (6/10) Diogenes Jones This story is about a woman who's been dumped. It was nice but not that great. Rating: (****) (7/10) The Keeper This story is about a boy and his brother who's in a vegetative state. It was a bit weird to be honest. Rating: (***) (6/10) Nicky Be Thy Name This story is about a family. It was okay, interesting but not brilliant. Rating: (****) (7/10) Lost Causes This story is about a teenage daughter and her mother. It was a bit weird to be honest. Rating: (***) (6/10) Earthquake Weather This story is about a woman who has just moved to a different place. Her husband cheated on her. The story was nice but I wish it had gone on beyond the ending. I also kind of wanted a different ending. Rating: (****) (8/10) I liked how dogs were present in a few of the stories. Some of the stories were a bit weird. I had trouble with identifying with the characters. In general, I think my issue with most of the stort stories is, aside from the US slang that confuses me and that even the dictionary on my Kindle doesn't always know what it means, that things aren't clear at the beginning of the story and take a while to get revealed, ie. the main character's name and what their situation is. By the time I get it, the story is over and I have trouble understanding what it was I just read. For a novel (by the author) I read the back of the book, and there's much more time for the situation to be revealed (and it is usually revealed at the beginning of the novel anyway), I'm talking about the author's full length novels here, not novels in general. There were a couple of really good stories in this collection, my favourites being Mrs. Mulvaney, The Grasshopper God and Red Texas Sky. But unfortunately there were also a lot of stories I didn't find that great. It's a shame these short stories were for the most part, nowhere near as good as the full length novels I've read by the author. The stories were written earlier in the author's writing career, so maybe that makes a difference too. Or maybe I just feel she's better at writing full length novels. Overall Rating: (****) (7/10) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anna Begins Posted November 28, 2015 Share Posted November 28, 2015 Wow, how amazing you've been there! One of the stories in Earthquake Weather and Other Stories also takes place in Morro Bay. It sounds so beautiful. I didn't know CRH lived in Cambria. I haven't yet read Walk Me Home but I own it so I expect I will be reading it some time . So far the stories in Earthquake Weather and Other Stories vary between really good and being just okay. I do feel she is more talented at writing full length novels, but maybe that's just me (as I generally tend to prefer full length novels). I think you will like Walk Me Home more than the shorter stories. Catherine Ryan Hyde - Earthquake Weather and Other Stories There were a couple of really good stories in this collection, my favourites being Mrs. Mulvaney, The Grasshopper God and Red Texas Sky. But unfortunately there were also a lot of stories I didn't find that great. It's a shame these short stories were for the most part, nowhere near as good as the full length novels I've read by the author. The stories were written earlier in the author's writing career, so maybe that makes a difference too. Or maybe I just feel she's better at writing full length novels. Overall Rating: (****) (7/10) Maybe short stories aren't your thing after all Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pontalba Posted November 28, 2015 Share Posted November 28, 2015 Great reviews, Gaia! You're just steaming along!! Congratulations! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Athena Posted November 30, 2015 Author Share Posted November 30, 2015 I think you will like Walk Me Home more than the shorter stories. Maybe short stories aren't your thing after all I think so too . Could be. There were some good ones, and I've read some good ones by other authors, but overall I definitely prefer full length novels. Great reviews, Gaia! You're just steaming along!! Congratulations! Thanks, Kate ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Athena Posted November 30, 2015 Author Share Posted November 30, 2015 Andy Weir - The Martian Genre: Science-fiction Age-range: Adult Format: Paperback Pages: 369 Date read: 26-11-2015 <-> 28-11-2015 ISBN: 9780091956141 Synopsis (back of the book): I'm stranded on Mars. I have no way to communicate with Earth. If the Oxygenator breaks down, I'll suffocate. If the Water Reclaimer breaks down, I'll die of thirst. If the Habitat breaches, I'll just kind of explode. If none of those things happen, I'll eventually run out of food and starve to death. I'm screwed. My thoughts: When I was in the UK on holidays, Michael and I went to see the film of this book, he really wanted to see it. We both really liked the film, so I asked for the book as a birthday present. I'm reading it together with my friend Anna (Begins). I really enjoyed reading this book. It's a new favourite. The book is fairly technical. This might mean it takes a little bit longer to read, to let the science sink in, but I quite liked reading about all the science. There are some differences between the film and the book, but the film portrayed most of the book pretty good I thought. The story was very suspenseful and even though I had seen the movie and therefore knew certain plot points, I wanted to keep on reading the book, it was so interesting and suspenseful. I would've liked for the book to have gone on beyond the ending. Overall I can say I loved reading this book. It was suspenseful, sciency and just a very impressive story. It also makes me think about these comforts that we're so used to, it made me think about how great it is we have nice air to breathe and water (at least, here where I live). It made me appreciate life / being alive / living. Rating: (*****) (10/10) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Athena Posted November 30, 2015 Author Share Posted November 30, 2015 Cunera Joosten - Veel Geluk!: Inspirerende Inzichten Genre: Information Age-range: Adult Format: Paperback Pages: 255 Date read: 28-11-2015 <-> 29-11-2015 ISBN: 9789044342956 Synopsis (me): The book contains some nice insights into happiness, based on research (done by other people). The book has illustrations and also contains a lot of quotes from famous people. My thoughts: I bought this book at the book fair in September (so a few months ago, it's almost the end of November now). I've been meaning to read it ever since, but first read library loans and some other books I really wanted to read. The nice design of the book, with its pretty colours, made me pick it up at the book fair. The book contains quotes in languages other than Dutch. The quotes in English are not translated, the occasional ones in French and Italian (I think there are one or two instances of them, two French and one Italian one possibly) are translated (so the original is in there as well as the Dutch translation). So in order to get the most out of the book, a basic understanding of English would be good (as well as of course an understanding of Dutch). The book is relatively short, there isn't a lot of text on some of the pages. It contains some nice insights, thoughts and quotes. Some things are obvious or I had heard of before reading this book. I really liked the design and layout of the book, and the illustrations were quite nice. On occasion the book was funny. It is a nice book to read if you like this sort of thing, I enjoyed reading it. Its target market seems to be women (but that doesn't mean you couldn't enjoy it as a man, just that the examples refer on occasion to 'she' instead of the usually used default 'he'). The book contains some good thoughts. Unfortunately it is much easier for me to read such things than to adhere to it. I just don't know how to. Too much abstractness is hard for me. Overall though I enjoyed reading this book. Rating: (*****) (9/10) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Athena Posted December 1, 2015 Author Share Posted December 1, 2015 Rainbow Rowell - Carry On Genre: Fantasy Age-range: Young-Adult Format: Paperback Pages: 522 Date read: 28-11-2015 <-> 01-12-2015 ISBN: 9781447299318 Synopsis (back of the book): Simon Snow is the worst chosen one who's ever been chosen That's what his roommate, Baz, says. And Baz might be evil and a vampire and a complete git, but he's probably right. Half the time Simon can't even make his wand work, and the other half, he sets something on fire. His mentor's avoiding him, his girlfriend broke up wtih him, and there's a magic-eating monster running around wearing Simon's face. Baz would be having a field day with all this, if he were here - it's their last year at the Watford School of Magicks, and Simon's infuriating nemesis didn't even bother to show up. Carry On: The Rise and Fall of Simon Snow is a ghost story, a love story, and a mystery. It has just as much kissing and talking as you'd expect from a Rainbow Rowell story - but far, far more monsters. My thoughts: I loved Fangirl by the same author (and I liked Attachments). In Fangirl there's a fictional book series about Simon Snow, and the main character in Fangirl, Cath, writes fanfiction about Simon Snow. This book is Rainbow Rowell's take on the Simon Snow world. The book shares some similarities with the Harry Potter series and other series that involve a magical school, but it's different enough in my opinion. In this book, Simon is in his eight year. It is not at all necessary to have read Fangirl to enjoy this book. This book was recently published, and I was overjoyed when I found out there was also a medium paperback size available. So I couldn't resist and bought it. After reading a science-fiction book (The Martian by Andy Weir - brilliant book), I thought I'd read a fantasy book. The book has received great reviews from some people I follow on YouTube and via blogs. The book consists of four parts and an epilogue (with the parts named 'book one', 'book two', etc.). Each chapter is written in first person, from a character's point of view. There are multiple points of view in the book, so aside from Simon you also see the story through other characters' eyes. Near the end of the book the viewpoint switches during a chapter (it is always clearly denoted), but in the beginning it's one viewpoint per chapter. The book has short chapters, this is quite nice. The book has fantasy elements, but it's also, like the back of the book says, a love story, a ghost story and a mystery. The beginning of the book was a bit slow, but then it really picked up and I had trouble putting the book down. I really liked the characters and the world. A few of the plot twists I guessed but most were pretty unexpected. I was a bit less keen on the last part of the book for some reason, I think maybe I was just less in the mood to read when I finished off the book. I don't quite understand it and I can't think of anything I'd change about the last part, really. Overall I quite enjoyed reading this book. It wasn't perfect, but it was quite an enjoyable read. Rating: (*****) (9/10) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nollaig Posted December 1, 2015 Share Posted December 1, 2015 Hmm. I've only read Attachments by Rainbow Rowell, and I did enjoy it, but I also thought it was quite silly and a bit fluffy. I haven't read fangirl, but a friend of mine (who also writes fanfiction) loved it, so maybe I'll give that a go, and then this. I do like the sound of this one being a bit more fantasy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anna Begins Posted December 1, 2015 Share Posted December 1, 2015 Hmm. I've only read Attachments by Rainbow Rowell, and I did enjoy it, but I also thought it was quite silly and a bit fluffy. That's why I couldn't finish it. But this sounds like sort of a departure for Rowell? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nollaig Posted December 1, 2015 Share Posted December 1, 2015 That's why I couldn't finish it. But this sounds like sort of a departure for Rowell? It does, and I'm intrigued! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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