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Athena's Reading List 2016


Athena

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I was at the charity shop this past weekend and saw some nice children's books! They were having a deal on them, 2 for €0,40 or 1 for €0,25. I found a lot of nice ones. Some I got for nostalgia's sake and some because they seemed nice. My boyfriend bought two DVDs, which are almost always €1 each. The lady said the total was €5 even though it should've been higher. She gave me a discount because I got so many books, I think (it should've been €3,60 for the books). They are so friendly there, they do that sometimes :). So I got each of these books for about €0,17.

 

Carry Slee - Radeloos 2: Het Geheim van Floor

J. R. Black - Griezels 4: Een Monster Onder Mijn Bed! (Shadow Zone 9: Alien Under My Bed)

Marion van de Coolwijk - De 4 Speurneuzen 1: De Geheimzinnige Bewaker

Marjo Roeven - Hotel Rozebottel 6: Een Mysterieuze Gast

Catherine Fisher - De Watergodin (The Candleman)

Cindy Seinen - Toverteam 1: Toverteam

Caroline Plaisted - De Glitterclub 4: We Gaan Dansen! (Glitter Girls 4: Ballet Babes)

Caroline Plaisted - De Glitterclub 11: Supersterren! (Glitter Girls 11: Magazine Mania)

Greet Beukenkamp - Anne & Anne

Cathy Hopkins - Zodiac Girls 2: Een Moeilijke Mix (Zodiac Girls 2: Recipe for Rebellion)

Niki Smit - 100% 6: 100% Fee

Niki Smit - 100% 7: 100% Mila

Hans Kuyper - Taptoe Spannende Kinderboeken 1: Het Geheim Van Het 100e Doelpunt

Ruben Prins - Taptoe Spannende Kinderboeken 2: Het Geheim Van De Dieventekens

Frank van Pamelen - Taptoe Spannende Kinderboeken 3: Het Geheim Van De Verdwenen Kinderen

Gerard van Gemert - Taptoe Spannende Kinderboeken 4: Het Geheim Van De Gouden Hockeystick

Gerard van Gemert - Taptoe Spannende Kinderboeken 5: Het Geheim Van De Voetbalgame

Paul van Loon - Taptoe Spannende Kinderboeken 8: Nooit De Buren Bijten 2: Altijd De Buren Bijten

 

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I can see how not everyone would like WoT, I'm sorry you didn't like the later books. Brandon Sanderson is one of my favourite authors (as well as Robert Jordan), I discovered him through reading the WoT books, but I can see his writing is not for everyone. We all like different things, so :).

 

I think with both Jordan and Sandersen I'm in the awkward position of liking their ideas better than their executions. Jordan was a fantastic world builder who suffered a bit in the self-control department. I often felt that he enjoyed the world creation more than he really liked to craft stories, while Sandersen has some very clever ideas and does seem to enjoy completing plots, but lacks a certain finesse in the novel medium.

 

Actually, I attended a lecture he lead this past year at the Emirates book festival in Dubai, and found him to be an excellent speaker who really knows how to sell his ideas. I decided to read his original books after that, but found myself curiously less satisfied than I was just listening to him talking about them. Stylistically I think that he functions better as a performative teller of tales than as a novelist, but that is where the path to success is now, so...*shrugs*

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I don't recognize any of those this time :D. But I hope you enjoy all your new books!

 

Well most are by Dutch authors so :). Thanks, Anna :D!

 

Great book haul ! And how lovely of the people running the shop to give a discount ! :D

 

Thanks, Sarah :D!

 

I think with both Jordan and Sandersen I'm in the awkward position of liking their ideas better than their executions. Jordan was a fantastic world builder who suffered a bit in the self-control department. I often felt that he enjoyed the world creation more than he really liked to craft stories, while Sandersen has some very clever ideas and does seem to enjoy completing plots, but lacks a certain finesse in the novel medium.

 

Actually, I attended a lecture he lead this past year at the Emirates book festival in Dubai, and found him to be an excellent speaker who really knows how to sell his ideas. I decided to read his original books after that, but found myself curiously less satisfied than I was just listening to him talking about them. Stylistically I think that he functions better as a performative teller of tales than as a novelist, but that is where the path to success is now, so...*shrugs*

How nice you attended a lecture by him :). Shame his books weren't really for you.

 

I read A. S. King - Reality Boy. I enjoyed reading this book. It wasn't my favourite A. S. King, but it was still really good. I felt sorry for the main character and what he has to go through. I liked the characters and the writing style. I enjoy reading this author's books. I've read 5 of them now, and I'm getting 2 more for my birthday.

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Hey Muggle Not! Good to see you!

 

Hmm, well I've read a lot of great books this year (and a few not so great), but to pick only 3.. that's a struggle! I have trouble picking 3 in my monthly summaries :lol:.

 

I guess I'm narrowing it down to:

 

New Books:

Stephen King - The Stand

Geronimo Stilton - Fantasia IX: De Fenomenale Reis (Grande Ritorno nel Regno della Fantasia)

Trudi Canavan - The Age of the Five trilogy (I read book 1 in 2015)

 

Two more new books (because I can't help myself):

Brandon Sanderson - Warbreaker

Jodi Picoult - Nineteen Minutes

 

Re-reads:

Diane Chamberlain - The Midwife's Confession

Robert Jordan - The Wheel of Time 1: The Eye of the World

 

Is that an acceptable amount?

 

What are some of your best books of the year so far?

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I read Jenny Han - The Summer I Turned Pretty omnibus, containing:

 

Jenny Han - The Summer I Turned Pretty 1: The Summer I Turned Pretty

Jenny Han - The Summer I Turned Pretty 2: We'll Always Have Summer

Jenny Han - The Summer I Turned Pretty 3: It's Not Summer Without You

 

I liked these books, but I didn't love them. I liked that they were nice easy reads. I liked most of the characters, but there was one character I didn't like for the first 2 books (the main character's best friend). I liked her better in the last book though. The books were deeper than I thought, they did have one serious issue being discussed (aside from the lovey parts that is, I see those as more 'fluffy'). For the most part though the books were more of a fluffy, easy read, but I knew that going into them. I liked the 3rd book less than the first 2. The story took a bit more of a ridiculous turn and I couldn't quite identify with the main character and didn't understand some of the decisions she was making. It's a bit of a shame the trilogy had to end like that. I still enjoyed reading the 3rd book but I just didn't like it as much as the first 2, and looking back on it I'm liking it less than just after I finished it. I don't regret reading this trilogy though, they were nice reads and I enjoyed most aspects of them.

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Because it's October and Halloween season, I re-read R. L. Stine - Kippenvel: Het Horrorhuis (Goosebumps: The Headless Ghost). The story took a bit of time to get going, for me, but the end was scary and very good. I read this book when I was a child, and I didn't really remember a lot of it. I enjoyed reading it though :). I just looked on the Goosebumps Wiki (warning: if you look up a book there will be spoilers for the story) and it seems the Dutch translation took away the stuff about the characters liking to dress up for Halloween and liking to scare people. In the 1990's, Halloween wasn't that well known here, I only saw it in the TV show Goosebumps and other American TV shows and movies. So I guess maybe that's why they took it out. It makes me wonder how much is missing though.

 

I read a lot of R. L. Stine books when I was a child and teenager, I plan to read some more later in October maybe, but we'll have to see how it goes. I can't read too much of one genre or author, in one go. I just borrowed lots of books from the library so I need to read those first. I'll be posting about those I think tomorrow. I also bought some books at the charity shop. I plan on cataloguing all the books later today.

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Ooh, enjoy your new books ! :)

 

Thanks, Sarah :)!

 

Can't wait to see the list :)

Here it comes :).

 

I bought some books at the charity shop (Terre des Hommes):

 

Chris Vegter - De Vamsters

Michael Bond - Beertje Paddington: De Avonturen van Beertje Paddington 2 (Paddington Heeft Pech; Een Verrassing Voor Paddington) (Paddington Bear 5-6: Paddington At Large; Paddington Marches On)

Suzanne Vermeer - De Bestemming

Suzanne Vermeer - Zwarte Piste

Suzanne Vermeer - De Vlucht

Suzanne Vermeer - De Suite

Suzanne Vermeer - Après-Ski

Suzanne Vermeer - Noorderlicht

Suzanne Vermeer - Winterberg

Suzanne Vermeer - Cruise

Suzanne Vermeer - Route du Soleil

 

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I went to the library and loaned lots of books. Most are read-a-thon reads (for the upcoming read-a-thon next weekend). I found some English picture books as well, so that should be nice I hope (for the read-a-thon).

 

Geronimo Stilton - Het Boekje over Vrede (Il Picollo Libro della Pace)

Geronimo Stilton - Geronimo Stilton 40: De Roof can de Gi-Ga-Diamant (Il Furto del Diamante Gigante)

Geronimo Stilton - Geronimo Stilton 71: De Roof van het Gouden Boek (Caccia al Libro d'Oro)

Geronimo Stilton - Oerknagers 2: Help, Het Regent Stenen! (Attenti Alla Coda, Meteoriti in Arrivo)

Geronimo Stilton - Noormuizen: Het Gevecht Tegen De Monsterdraken (Il Segreto del Drago Blu)

Thea Stilton and Geronimo Stilton - De 13 Zwaarden 2: Het Kwade Verbond (Il Segreto della Fenice)

Liz Pichon - Tom Gates 9: Top of the Class (Nearly)

Stephan Pastis - Flip Fiasco 3: Nóg Een Keer (Timmy Failure 3: We Meet Again)

Gill Lewis (ill. Sarah Horne) - Puppy Academy 1: Scout and the Sausage Thief

Eoin Colfer (ill. Matt Robertson) - Anna Liza and the Happy Practice

Philip Reeve and Sarah McIntyre - Pugs of the Frozen North

Chris Riddell - Louize 2: Louzie en het Schoolspook (Ottoline 2: Ottoline Goes To School)

Steve Cole (ill. Donough O'Malley) - Secret Agent Mummy 1: Secret Agent Mummy

Steve Cole (ill. Donough O'Malley) - Secret Agent Mummy 2: The Cleopatra Case

Kate Pankhurst - Mariella Mystery 6: Mariella Mystery Investigates A Kitty Calamity

Charles Ogden - Edgar & Ellen 3: De Schaduwstad (Under Town)

Dirk Bracke - Buitenbeen

Marieke Nijkamp - 54 Minuten (This Is Where It Ends)

Claudia Gray - Firebird 1: Duizend Stukjes van Jou (A Thousand Pieces of You)

Julie Buxbaum - Vertel Me Drie Dingen (Tell Me Three Things)

Tony Ross - Little Princess: I Didn't Do It!

Tony Ross - Rita's Rhino

David Walliams (ill. Tony Ross) - The First Hippo on the Moon

Jane Chapman - No More Cuddles!

Oliver Jeffers - Once Upon an Alphabet: Short Stories for all the Letters

 

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I like the Suzanne Vermeer covers. :)

Thanks, me too :)! I have to admit that was one of the reasons why I bought them :P.

 

I read Marieke Nijkamp - 54 Minuten (This Is Where It Ends). I'd heard from one friend that he really disliked this book. So I thought, I won't read it. Then I heard from other people I know, that they did like it. So when I saw my library had it, I decided to give it a go after all. Let me say first, that this book isn't nearly as good as Jodi Picoult's Nineteen Minutes, which is also about a school shooting. Jodi Picoult's book though was about the shooting and the aftermath (in court), whereas 54 Minuten (This Is Where It Ends) takes place in 54 minutes. It's really just the shooting that's described, with characters' thoughts and memories in between. The book is written from the points of view of 4 characters. Each chapter has a designated time code, for example chapter 1 is 10.01 - 10.02 (so just after 10 in the morning), chapter 2 between 10.02 - 10.04.

 

The book reads relatively quickly and is suspenseful. I wanted to keep on reading to find out what would happen with the characters. In the beginning I had a bit of trouble remembering who's who, but that could be due to my tiredness. I liked that the book had diverse characters, but sometimes it seemed they were put in for the sake of being diverse. I found it a shame we didn't learn more about the shooter and his motivations and thoughts (his character is underdeveloped). He's kind of just painted as 'the bad guy', whereas I'd love to have learned his motivation for doing what he did. Jodi Picoult's book did that really well. I did like the four main characters for the most part. A few of the things some of the characters said or did seemed a bit ridiculous to me. I didn't understand a couple of the decisions the characters made. But maybe that's just me.

 

I did feel for all the characters in the book and the school shooting that happened to them, it was tragic. I'm so happy those kinds of things hardly happen here in the Netherlands. I think I'd be traumatised for the rest of my life.

 

I did enjoy reading this book for the most part, but it was mostly afterwards I realised a lot of its problems. While I was reading it, it was suspenseful and I wanted to find out what would happen. I will say I don't regret reading it, even if I didn't like it as much as a lot of other books I read (that said, Nineteen Minutes is one of my favourite books by one of my favourite authors, so that was always going to be a hard one to top). Now I know what those people I know, were talking about, and I have an opinion of my own about the book.

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Hmmm... complicated view on 54 Minutes! It's interesting to read your compare and contrast with Nineteen Minutes. It sounds like two completely different books.

 

Do you have a Paddington Bear collection?

 

And yeah! for the Stilton's, I know you love them so.

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They are different books yes :).

 

No, I don't. But there was a deal of 2 books for €0.40 or 1 for €0.25 on the children's books, so once I picked up Vamsters I thought I'd see if anything else interested me. I did see the movie Paddington which I liked and as a child I've seen (I think even owned) merchandise (ie. a cup with Paddington on it or socks with him on it). I've never actually read anything from the books.

 

Thanks! I wasn't expecting to find that many Stiltons I hadn't read yet.

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I read Dirk Bracke - Buitenbeen. This is a story about a 15-year-old girl who's in a wheelchair and who wants to be an actress. It was a nice story. I enjoyed reading it and I felt for the main character and how hard things can be for here, movements and things that are easy for most people. I liked the main character and I also liked Robin (another character). I really disliked one particular character (but if you've read the (whole) book you'll understand why, you're not meant to like him). I guessed one twist and I wouldn't call this book anything exceptional but I enjoyed reading it.

 

I read ~45% in Julie Buxbaum - Vertel Me Drie Dingen (Tell Me Three Things). I kept hoping for it to get better and more interesting, but it didn't so in the end I decided to stop reading it. I'd heard nice things about this book from Dutch bloggers, but I just didn't quite connect with the story. There were a lot of stereotypes in there and I didn't like the judgementalness of the main character. I was curious about the mystery of IN (IemandNiemand) or SN in the original English (SomebodyNobody), but not curious enough to read the rest of the story (don't spoil it for me though without asking me first). I love the sound of IemandNiemand, that just sounds so nice. I also liked the cover of this book, but unfortunately the story was a let-down.

 

I didn't quite feel in the mood to start Claudia Gray - Firebird 1: Duizend Stukjes van Jou (A Thousand Pieces of You) yesterday, so instead I think I'll read Thea Stilton and Geronimo Stilton - De 13 Zwaarden 2: Het Kwade Verbond (Il Segreto della Fenice) today and then start read-a-thon-ing on Thursday (to Sunday). I don't know if I'll go back to Duizend Stukjes van Jou, it'll depend on what I feel in the mood for to be honest. I might return it to the library unread, if I don't feel in the mood by the time the books are due.

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Hey Muggle Not! Good to see you!

 

Hmm, well I've read a lot of great books this year (and a few not so great), but to pick only 3.. that's a struggle! I have trouble picking 3 in my monthly summaries :lol:.

 

I guess I'm narrowing it down to:

 

New Books:

Stephen King - The Stand

Geronimo Stilton - Fantasia IX: De Fenomenale Reis (Grande Ritorno nel Regno della Fantasia)

Trudi Canavan - The Age of the Five trilogy (I read book 1 in 2015)

 

Two more new books (because I can't help myself):

Brandon Sanderson - Warbreaker

Jodi Picoult - Nineteen Minutes

 

Re-reads:

Diane Chamberlain - The Midwife's Confession

Robert Jordan - The Wheel of Time 1: The Eye of the World

 

Is that an acceptable amount?

 

What are some of your best books of the year so far?

Maybe I should check out Brandon Sanderson. I liked the writing he did on The Wheel of Time but that is all I have read by him. I am not sure I would like Jodi Picoult but have not read anything by her. Is she mainly a "for women" writer?

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Maybe I should check out Brandon Sanderson. I liked the writing he did on The Wheel of Time but that is all I have read by him. I am not sure I would like Jodi Picoult but have not read anything by her. Is she mainly a "for women" writer?

Brandon Sanderson writes mostly fantasy books. If you liked his writing for The Wheel of Time books, you might like some of his other fantasy books too. I haven't read anything of The Stormlight Archives yet (heard good things, but it's unfinished yet so I'm leaving it for later), but I quite liked the first three Mistborn books (called The Final Empire, The Well of Ascension and The Hero of Ages). I also read and liked Elantris, his debut novel. Warbreaker is another good one. If you don't mind a three part series I would recommend the Mistborn trilogy, because I liked them more than Elantris and Warbreaker (which were still good though). I haven't read any of the newer Mistborn books, which take place in the same world but many years later (because that series isn't finished yet as far as I know, at least in paperback). I also really liked the Alcatraz books (1 - 4, haven't read 5, waiting for paperback release), but they are middle grade so they might not be your thing (they're humourous though), they're different from any of his other works. Sanderson has also written some novellas but I prefer his full length novels (though The Emperor's Soul was really good). I haven't read his YA books yet (the Reckoners series and The Rithmatist). What kind of things do you like in fantasy books? Sanderson's magic systems are always well explained and logical. Some people like that, some people prefer to have magic systems where not much is explained about them (I like both).

 

Jodi Picoult writes from both male and female perspectives usually, though I think more female than male perspectives. Each book has a few perspectives that you see the story from, and she's good at showing multiple angles of an issue or dilemma. I think her target audience probably contains more women than men. You might enjoy her books though, I wouldn't say they're for women only. They're certainly not easy romance reads or anything like that. Most of them are about ethical dilemmas.

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