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Athena's Reading List 2016


Athena

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I read Harriet Evans - A Winterfold Christmas. I was quite disappointed by this short story. I find it a bit hard to say why though. It does have nice ingredients for a good story, I just didn't enjoy reading the story. I didn't like the characters and I felt some things got resolved too quickly. Maybe I just wasn't in the mood for it somehow, I don't know. I just didn't like it much and was tempted to stop reading, but because it was only a short story I decided to finish reading it. Maybe someone else would like it, it just wasn't for me. I'm not a huge fan of short stories generally, I much prefer novels.

 

I read Holly Smale - Geek Girl 1.5: All Wrapped Up (+ Team Geek). This was a nice novella (+ short story) but it wasn't perfect. The thing that annoyed me about the novella were the dating rules, such as that a girl has to wait four days for the boy to call her. I'm not a believer of such rules, I think they're rubbish - and also why can the girl not call? And why not sooner? (Of course, in this particular case.. SPOILERS, but still.). I did like the rest of the story and I liked the facts interspersed in the story. I kind of wish there were more of them. The story was cute and romanc-y and I particularly enjoyed one of the scenes near the end. Team Geek was a short story that was allright. I didn't like it as much as the novella. It seemed kind of obvious what the 'twist' was going to be. Still, it was an extra in the book and I am glad I was able to read it as an extra (as opposed to the book just being the novella). The book also contained some other extras, such as a Q&A with the author and some extras to do with the characters in the book (such as Harriet's dad's jokes). It was nice to have these extras, I liked some more than others.

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I think I looked at that one in Waterstones bookshop the other day...glad you are enjoying it.

I did enjoy it :). Abby Clements - Meet Me Under The Mistletoe was a nice book. It's not a new favourite, there were a couple of things I was a bit disappointed with, how they were wrapped up in the end. But overall I enjoyed reading the book.

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I read A. S. King - I Crawl Through It. I've read most of this author's books and I really liked those I've read. Her books always have an element of magical realism or surrealism, but none as much as this book (I can't speak for the books I haven't read yet). This book is a work of surrealist fiction and it was.. very weird. I really liked the writing style and it kept me enthralled, I wanted to keep reading it. But now that I've finished it, I'm not sure what it is I actually read about. I feel like some of these surreal elements are metaphors and layers for other things, but unfortunately I'm bad at metaphors and reading between the lines, so I feel like I missed part of the book's intention. Even though I didn't understand all of the layers of the book, I still enjoyed reading it. I read books for my enjoyment, not to analyse them. I don't like analysing books for hidden layers and metaphors, I did that in high school. So, since I read the book for my enjoyment, and I enjoyed it even if I didn't understand everything, I'd say the picture is still positive. I don't like this book as much as some of the author's other books, but it was a fun ride.

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I read A. S. King - I Crawl Through It. I've read most of this author's books and I really liked those I've read. Her books always have an element of magical realism or surrealism, but none as much as this book (I can't speak for the books I haven't read yet). This book is a work of surrealist fiction and it was.. very weird. I really liked the writing style and it kept me enthralled, I wanted to keep reading it. But now that I've finished it, I'm not sure what it is I actually read about. I feel like some of these surreal elements are metaphors and layers for other things, but unfortunately I'm bad at metaphors and reading between the lines, so I feel like I missed part of the book's intention. Even though I didn't understand all of the layers of the book, I still enjoyed reading it. I read books for my enjoyment, not to analyse them. I don't like analysing books for hidden layers and metaphors, I did that in high school. So, since I read the book for my enjoyment, and I enjoyed it even if I didn't understand everything, I'd say the picture is still positive. I don't like this book as much as some of the author's other books, but it was a fun ride.

 

I haven`t heard of that author before. I just had a look on Goodreads, and Please Ignore Vera Dietz looks good. Have you read it ? :)

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I haven`t heard of that author before. I just had a look on Goodreads, and Please Ignore Vera Dietz looks good. Have you read it ? :)

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I have!

x

Here's what I posted about it at the time:

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It took me couple of days to read A. S. King - Please Ignore Vera Dietz. I don't know, I was feeling tired and doing other stuff. Anyway, I enjoyed this book. It wasn't entirely what the synopsis told me, I mean, it was about that but it was also about other things, but I enjoyed the book. It's told in the 'now' and in flashback chapters. The chapters are short and I liked that. We mainly see things from Vera's point of view - a girl whose ex-best friend has died - but we also see a couple of other perspectives throughout the book (with the pagoda being the most original point of view). I enjoyed reading this book, it wasn't my favourite read by A. S. King though, but it was enjoyable.

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Link to post (scroll down a bit).

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I'd have to say looking back on it now, I quite liked the book but it's not my favourite A. S. King. The book is about more than the grief that is mentioned on the back (at least, on the back of the paperback copy I have; ISBN 9780375865640), that played a smaller theme than I was expecting. This was the synopsis on my book:

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Is it okay to hate a dead kid?

Even if I loved him once?

Even if he was my best friend?

Is it okay to hate him for being dead?

 

Vera’s spent her whole life secretly in love with her best friend, Charlie Kahn. And over the years she’s kept a lot of his secrets. Even after he betrayed her. Even after he ruined everything.

 

So when Charlie dies in dark circumstances, Vera knows a lot more than anyone—the kids at school, his family, even the police. But will she emerge to clear his name? Does she even want to?

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I have to say the book wasn't as memorable for me as some of A. S. King's other works, but I did enjoy it and it's probably because I was very tired when I read it, that I can't remember the exact details of the book. But I did enjoy reading it so if it sounds good and you can find it for a nice price, you could certainly give it a go :).

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My dad met this Dutch author again, Esther Verhoef, that I talked about a little while ago, and he got two of my books signed :D. They've got my name in them as well. Totally awesome :D. I've never had a personalised signed book. I only own a couple of signed books. Anyway, I'm going to treasure these two books and always keep them.

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x

I have!

x

Here's what I posted about it at the time:

x

x

Link to post (scroll down a bit).

x

I'd have to say looking back on it now, I quite liked the book but it's not my favourite A. S. King. The book is about more than the grief that is mentioned on the back (at least, on the back of the paperback copy I have; ISBN 9780375865640), that played a smaller theme than I was expecting. This was the synopsis on my book:

x

x

I have to say the book wasn't as memorable for me as some of A. S. King's other works, but I did enjoy it and it's probably because I was very tired when I read it, that I can't remember the exact details of the book. But I did enjoy reading it so if it sounds good and you can find it for a nice price, you could certainly give it a go :).

 

Thanks so much Gaia.  :D  I`ve put the book in my ` buy at some point` pile. :)

 

Wow, that`s so nice about getting your books signed ! You`ve got a great Dad.  :smile:

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My dad met this Dutch author again, Esther Verhoef, that I talked about a little while ago, and he got two of my books signed :D. They've got my name in them as well. Totally awesome :D. I've never had a personalised signed book. I only own a couple of signed books. Anyway, I'm going to treasure these two books and always keep them.

 

How wonderful!!  :flowers2:

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Thanks so much Gaia.  :D  I`ve put the book in my ` buy at some point` pile. :)

 

Wow, that`s so nice about getting your books signed ! You`ve got a great Dad.  :smile:

I hope you enjoy it if / when you read it :D.

 

I agree, thanks :)

 

How wonderful!!  :flowers2:

Thanks :)!!

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I read Catherine Ryan Hyde - When You Were Older. I quite liked this book. It was definitely a nice CRH book. Not my overall favourite - that one would still be Don't Let Me Go, probably also because it's the first one I read (and because it's a great book). I liked When You Were Older better than Chasing Windmills or any of the YA reads by CRH that I've read. When You Were Older told an interesting story and I wanted to keep on reading. I really liked the shorter chapters and the way the book was divided into parts. It seemed to make sense. The title had me puzzled for a while - until I figured it out (or at least, I think I did). This book is about a man who, on September 11th, 2001, is about to leave for his office in the World Trade Center in a rush when the phone rings. He decides to take the phone call and it saves his life. Aside from the tragedy that happened, he has just lost his mother so his mentally disabled brother now has no one to care for him (him, the brother, not him the main character). Anyway, I quite enjoyed reading this book.

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My dad met this Dutch author again, Esther Verhoef, that I talked about a little while ago, and he got two of my books signed :D. They've got my name in them as well. Totally awesome :D. I've never had a personalised signed book. I only own a couple of signed books. Anyway, I'm going to treasure these two books and always keep them.

 

Wow, that's really great!! :smile2: Lucky you! :smile2: 

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Okay, I admit it. I was at #422 books read this year and I didn't like that number for some reason (I don't know why, there's nothing wrong with it). So, I put down my current read, Blake Charlton - Spellwright 1: Spellwright to read a few short books, to up my number of total books read this year. Because Spellwright (the first book) is part of a trilogy, I don't want to finish it until in the New Year (I don't like for the trilogy to get split up in years). So I read a couple of short books instead.

 

Simone van der Vlugt - De Ooggetuige

This was a tense literary thriller. It's a novella written for the 'maand van het spannende boek', or month of the suspenseful book / thrillers and mysteries and such. I guessed a couple of plot twists (I felt the synopsis in the beginning of the book, not the one at the back of the book, gave too much away), but I quite enjoyed reading this book. I wanted to keep on reading it once I had read the first page. I really liked the way the main character's visual impairment was described. I felt the author really did her research. I liked the writing style of the story. The story was suspenseful and I liked it.

 

Tracey West - Pokémon Chapter Books 7: Splashdown in Cerulean City

Jennifer Johnson - Pokémon Chapter Books 20: Battle for the Zephyr Badge

I bought these two books in the charity shop earlier this year. Since I had bought them, I thought they'd be good to read now that I wanted a couple of short books to read (current total after these 3 books: 425). I liked reading these books but since I have seen the TV show of when these books take place, and the novels follow the TV show closely, as far as I could tell, there weren't any huge surprises for me. Anyway, it was an enjoyable enough read, it was nostalgic. I'm not sure I'll be buying any more Pokémon books though. I found these two in the Terre des Hommes (charity shop), they were in English so pretty rare, I'd never seen anything like it here. I thought I'd give them a go. I don't regret reading them, but it's not something I intend to read lots more of.

 

Now I have to try to not read too much or I'll finish Spellwright (1) before the end of the year :P.

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I thought I'd make a few end-of-year summary posts. Below follows a list of some of my favourite books I read this past year and the worst ones (note: book titles and authors not in bold font). Below that will be a statistics post, and below that a conclusive summary.

 

Favourite fantasy books this year:

Trudi Canavan - The Age of the Five trilogy (I read books 2 and 3 in 2016)

Brandon Sanderson - Warbreaker

Robert Jordan - The Wheel of Time 1: The Eye of the World (re-read)

Robert Jordan - The Wheel of Time 0: New Spring

Brandon Sanderson - Legion (1) and The Emperor's Soul (genre Legion (1): unsure)

Brandon Sanderson - Legion 2: Legion: Skin Deep (genre: unsure)

Walter Moers - Zamonië 1: De 13 ½ Levens van Kap’tein Blauwbeer (Zamonien 1: Die 13½ Leben des Käpt'n Blaubär)

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

Thea Stilton - De Zeven Rozen 1: Het Betoverde Meer (Il Segreto delle Fate del Lago)

Thea Stilton - Heksen Van Fantasia 7: De Heks Van Al Het Kwaad (Strega Delle Streghe)

Lauren Oliver - Liesl & Po (Liesl & Po)

John Flanagan - Ranger's Apprentice: The Early Years 1: The Tournament at Gorlan

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

Philippe Lechermeier and Rébecca Dautremer - Het Geheime Dagboek van Klein Duimpje (Journal Secret du Petit Poucet)

Cressida Cowell - Hoe Tem Je Een Draak 4: Hoe Bezweer Je Een Draak (How To Train Your Dragon 4: How To Cheat A Dragon's Curse)

 

Favourite science-fiction books this year:

Peter F. Hamilton - Fallen Dragon

Becky Chambers - The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet 1: The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet

Scott Meyer - Master of Formalities

Beth Revis - Across the Universe series

Michael Grant - Gone series

Lois Lowry - The Giver 1: The Giver: Bewaker van Herinneringen (The Giver 1: The Giver)

Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff - The Illuminae Files 1: Illuminae

Peter F. Hamilton - Great North Road

 

Favourite contemporary fiction books this year:

Jodi Picoult - Nineteen Minutes

Diane Chamberlain - The Lies We Told

Diane Chamberlain - The Midwife's Confession (re-read)

Catherine Ryan Hyde - When I Found You

Catherine Ryan Hyde - When You Were Older

Dorothy Koomson - That Girl From Nowhere 1: That Girl From Nowhere

Jodi Picoult - Handle With Care

Jojo Moyes - Me Before You 1: Me Before You

Audrey Niffenegger - The Time Traveler's Wife (re-read)

Shawn Inmon - The Unusual Second Life of Thomas Weaver 4: Episode 4

Shawn Inmon - The Unusual Second Life of Thomas Weaver 6: Episode 6

Becky Albertalli - Simon vs the Homo Sapiens Agenda

Peter Monn - The Before Now And After Then

Ann M. Martin - How To Look For A Lost Dog

Francine Oomen - Rosa & Co 1: Hoe Overleeft Rosa In New York?

Nicola Yoon - Everything, Everything

E. Lockhart - We Were Liars

A. S. King - Everybody Sees The Ants

A. S. King - Please Ignore Vera Dietz

Alex Gino - George

nDurlie, Nic Balthazar - Ben X

Jeff Kinney - Diary of a Wimpy Kid 6: Cabin Fever

Jeff Kinney - Diary of a Wimpy Kid 10: Old School

Rachel Renée Russell - Dork Diaries 8: Tales from a Not-So-Happily Ever After

Rachel Renée Russell - Dork Diaries 9: Tales From a Not-So-Dorky Drama Queen

Lincoln Peirce - Niek de Groot 4: Niek de Groot Kladt Erop Los (Big Nate Goes For Broke)

Lincoln Peirce - Niek de Groot 2: Niek de Groot Flikt Het 'M Weer (Big Nate 2: Big Nate Strikes Again)

Mac Bernett and Jory John (ill. Kevin Cornell) - De Vreselijke Twee 2: De Vreselijke Twee Nog Vreselijker (The Terrible Two 2: The Terrible Two Get Worse)

Jory John and Mac Barnett (ill. Kevin Cornell) - De Vreselijke Twee 1: De Vreselijke Twee (The Terrible Two 1: The Terrible Two)

James Patterson and Chris Tebbetts (ill. Laura Park) - Rotschool 1: De Ergste Jaren Van Mijn Leven (Middle School 1: The Worst Years Of My Life)

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

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

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

Geoff Rodkey - The Tapper Twins 1: The Tapper Wins Go To War (With Each Other)

Geoff Rodkey - The Tapper Twins 2: The Tapper Twins Tear Up New York

Tommy Greenwald and J. P. Coovert - Otto-Jan 1: Otto-Jan Zegt Nee Tegen Lezen (Charlie Joe Jackson 1: Charlie Joe Jackson's Guide to Not Reading)

Tommy Greenwald and J. P. Coovert - Otto-Jan 2: Otto-Jan zegt JA tegen Slijmen (Charlie Joe Jackson 2: Charlie Joe Jackson's Guide to Extra Credit)

Tommy Greenwald and J. P. Coovert - Otto-Jan 3: Otto-Jan YOLO Tegen Vakantie (Charlie Joe Jackson 3: Charlie Joe Jackson's Guide to Summer Vacation)

Simone Arts and Tante Beun - Fashion Academy 1: Flamenco Meets Flowerpower

Simone Arts and Tante Beun - Fashion Academy 2: Sport Meets Safari

 

Children's / Misc (only if not included in other categories):

Geronimo Stilton - De Grote Invasie van Rokford (La Grande Invasione di Topazia)

Geronimo Stilton - Reis door de Tijd 5 (Viaggio nel Tempo 5)

Geronimo Stilton - Reis door de Tijd 6 (Viaggio nel Tempo 6)

Geronimo Stilton - Groene Reeks 1: Het Kasteel van de 100 Verhalen (Il Castello Delle 100 Storie)

Geronimo Stilton - Superhelden 5: Het Gevaarlijke Snotmonster (Allarme, Puzzoni in Azione!)

Geronimo Stilton - Duizend Monsters, Wat Een Feest! (Il Tenebroso Libro dei Mostrilli)

Thea Stilton - De Zeven Rozen 1: Het Betoverde Meer (Il Segreto delle Fate del Lago)

Thea Stilton - Thea Stilton 19: De Jacht Op De Zwarte Tulp (Sulle Tracce Del Tulipano Nero)

Thea Stilton - Thea Stilton 10: Diefstal op de Oriënt Express (Mistero sull'Orient Express)

Georgie Pritchett (ill. Jamie Littler) - Wilf The Mighty Worrier series

Andy Griffiths (ill. Terry Denton) - The 13-Story Treehouse 1: The 13-Story Treehouse

Andy Griffiths and Terry Denton - Treehouse 3: The 39-Story Treehouse

Andy Griffiths and Terry Denton - De Waanzinnige Boomhut 4: De Waanzinnige Boomhut van 52 Verdiepingen (Treehouse 4: The 52-Storey Treehouse)

Oliver Jeffers - Once Upon an Alphabet

Nicola O'Byrne - The Last Book Before Bedtime

David Walliams (ill. Tony Ross) - The World's Worst Children

David Walliams - Grandpa's Great Escape

David Walliams (ill. Quentin Blake) - Mr Stink (Mr Stink)

Kid Kat (ill. Eric Bouwens) - Kid Kat 1: Kid Kat en het Geheim van de Ratrace

Kid Kat (ill. Eric Bouwens) - Kid Kat 4: Gejank van de Bovenste Plank

Luc Embrechts and Eric Bouwens - Uitvinderszootje 2: Aquasfeer X56A

Bavo Dhooge, Nico De Braeckeleer, Samuel Dhooge, Steven Dhondt - Don Kameleon 1: Don Kameleon en de Toverdrank van Professor Croque

Bavo Dhooge, Nico De Braeckeleer, Samuel Dhooge, Steven Dhondt - Don Kameleon 5: Don Kameleon en de Tijdspoort

Julian Clary (ill. David Roberts) - Familie Bold 1: De Beestachtige Familie Bold (The Bolds 1: The Bolds)

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

Philip Reeve and Sarah McIntyre - Pugs of the Frozen North

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

James Patterson and Chris Grabenstein - Mijn Broer de Robot 1: Mijn Broer de Robot (House of Robots 1: House of Robots)

David Solomons - My Brother is a Superhero 1: My Brother is a Superhero

 

Favourite rom-com books:

Lucy Diamond - The Beach Café (series)

Chrissie Manby - Seashells and Other Stories

Sophie Kinsella - Shopaholic 8: Shopaholic to the Rescue

Chrissie Manby - A Fairy Tale for Christmas

Abby Clements - Meet Me Under The Mistletoe

Morgan Matson - Second Chance Summer

 

Favourite biographies / memoires:

Josh Sundquist - We Should Hang Out Sometime

George Mahood - Every Day is a Holiday 1: Every Day is a Holiday

George Mahood - Every Day is a Holiday 2: Life's a Beach

Laura Ingalls Wilder - Het Kleine Huis 6: De Lange Winter (Little House 6: The Long Winter)

 

Favourite information books:

Barry W. Fitzgerald - Secrets of Superhero Science

Berthold Gunster - Ja-maar©... Huh?!

Terry Deary (ill. Martin Brown) - Waanzinnig om te Weten: Die Gave Grieken (The Groovy Greeks)

Terry Deary (ill. Martin Brown) - Waanzinnig om te Weten: Die Rare Romeinen (Horrible Histories: Rotten Romans)

Terry Deary (ill. Martin Brown) - Horrible Histories: The Gorgeous Georgians

Terry Deary (ill. Martin Brown) - Horrible Histories: The Vile Victorians

Anita Ganeri (ill. Mike Phillips) - Waanzinnig om te Weten: Woeste Woestijnen (Horrible Georgraphy: Desperate Deserts)

 

Favourite historical fiction books:

Gary Northfield - Julius Zebra 1: Rumble with the Romans!

Gary Northfield - Julius Zebra 2: Bundle with the Britons!

Tim Collins (ill. Andrew Pinder) - Nurdius Maximus 4: Het Dagboek van Nurdius Maximus in de Lage Landen

 

Favourite horror books:

Stephen King - The Stand

Anthony Horowitz - De Kracht van Vijf 1: Raven's Gate (The Power of Five 1: Raven's Gate)

Anthony Horowitz - De Kracht van Vijf 2: Evil Star (The Power of Five 1: Evil Star)

Anthony Horowitz - De Kracht van Vijf 3: Nightrise (The Power of Five 3: Nightrise)

Paul van Loon (ill. Hugo van Look) - Dolfje Weerwolfje 1: Dolfje Weerwolfje

Paul van Loon (ill. Hugo van Look) - Dolfje Weerwolfje 2: Volle Maan

Paul van Loon (ill. Hugo van Look) - Dolfje Weerwolfje 3: Zilvertand

Paul van Loon (ill. Hugo van Look) - Dolfje Weerwolfje 4: Weerwolvenbos

Paul van Loon (ill. Hugo van Look) - Dolfje Weerwolfje 5: Boze Drieling

Paul van Loon (ill. Hugo van Look) - Dolfje Weerwolfje 10: Weerwolfbende

Paul van Loon (ill. Hugo van Look) - Dolfje Weerwolfje 13: Weerwolfhooikoorts

Paul van Loon (ill. Hugo van Look) - Dolfje Weerwolfje 15: MeerMonster

Paul van Loon (ill. Hugo van Look) - Dolfje Weerwolfje 16: Weerwolvensoep

Luc Embrechts and Gilliom - Vampierzootje 1: Het Vampierelixer

Angie Sage - Araminta Spookie 3: Ge-kik-napt (Frognapped)

Angie Sage - Araminta Spookie 4: De Kliervampier (Vampire Brat)

 

Favourite thriller books:

Tess Gerritsen - Incendio (Incendio)

Sophie Hannah - Pictures or It Didn't Happen

Simone van der Vlugt - De Ooggetuige

 

Favourite detective books:

Robert Thorogood - Death in Paradise 2: The Killing of Polly Carter

A. C. Baantjer - Baantjer 22: De Cock en de Dood van een Clown

A. C. Baantjer - Baantjer 24: De Cock en de Moord op Termijn

A. C. Baantjer - Baantjer 30: De Cock en een Dodelijke Dreiging

A. C. Baantjer - Baantjer 44: De Cock en het Roodzijden Nachthemd

A. C. Baantjer - Baantjer 47: De Cock en een Dodelijk Rendez-vous

Peter F. Hamilton - Great North Road

Stuart Gibbs - Maanbasis Alfa 1 : De Maan-Zaak (Moon Base Alpha 1: Space Case)

Stuart Gibbs - Maanbasis Alfa 2: Het Maan-mysterie (Moon Base Alpha 2: Spaced Out)

 

Favourite literature Stilton retellings:

Geronimo Stilton - De Avonturen van Odysseus (Le Avventure di Ulisse)

Geronimo Stilton - Gullivers Reizen (I Viaggi di Gulliver)

Geronimo Stilton - Scrooge: Een Kerstverhaal (Canto Di Natale)

 

Favourite paranormal books:

Jael McHenry - The Kitchen Daughter

 

Favourite graphic novel books?

Ann M. Martin and Raina Telgemeier - The Baby-Sitters Club Graphic Novels 1: Kristy's Geweldige Idee (Kristy's Great Idea) (re-read)

nDurlie, Nic Balthazar - Ben X

Stephen King, Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa, Mike Perkins, Laura Martin - The Stand Graphic Novels 2: American Nightmares

 

Favourite Disney books?

Disney - Donald Duck Pocket 207 1/2: Paniek Om Een Ei

Disney - Donald Duck Pocket 214: De Bende Van El Gato

 

Books that took me the longest to read:

Terry Brooks - Original Shannara Trilogy 1: The Sword of Shannara (431 pages, 16 days; read together with other books)

Peter F. Hamilton - Great North Road (1087 pages, 14 days; read together with other books)

Stephen King - The Stand (1327 pages, 10 days; read alone)

Peter F. Hamilton - Fallen Dragon (808 pages, 8 days; read alone)

 

Worst books / disappointments:

Roddy Doyle - Dead Man Talking

Susan Hatler - Treasured Dreams 5: An Unexpected Wedding

Harriet Evans - A Winterfold Christmas

Katie Davies (ill. Hannah Shaw) - Animal Antics 1: The Great Hamster Massacre

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Statistics of January - December 2016 (for more details see post #16 of this thread)

 

Days: 366 (01-01 <-> 31-12)

Total books read this year: 425

Amount of pages read (averaged): 95007

Average amount of pages per book: 224

Days per book: 0.86 days/book

Book(s) per day: 1.2 book(s)/day

Pages per day: 260

Average amount of days it actually took to read a book (so, the minimum is 1, and it's 2 days if I start a book on Monday afternoon and finish it Tuesday morning, and so on): 2

 

Reads TBR / R (new books vs. re-reads): (379) (~89.2%) vs. (45) (~10.6%), with (1) (~<1%) a combination

Male / Female authors: (149) (~35.1%) vs. (159) (~37.4%), and (116) (~27.3%) both genders because of multiple authors, with other (1) (~<1%))

Nationalities (from most to least): US (149) (~35.6%), Italy (105) (~24.7%), UK (94) (~22.1%), Netherlands (38) (~8.9%), Belgium (16) (~3.8%), Australia (9) (~2.1%), Germany (7) (~1.7%), Ireland (2) (~<1%), France (2) (~<1%), Canada (1) (~<1%), Unknown or Combination (2) (~<1%)

Books from new authors vs. familiar authors: (76) (~17.9%) new vs. (344) (~80.9%), with (5) (~1.1%) a combination

Most read author: Geronimo Stilton (87) (~20.5%)

Standalones vs. series books: (116) (~27.3%) vs. (308) (~72.5%), combination (1) (~<1%)

Genres (most to least) (note: some books have multiple genres): Contemporary Fiction (142) (~31.4%), Fantasy (70) (~15.4%), Rom-com (46) (~10.2%), Detective (46) (~10.2%), Science-fiction (33) (~7.3%), Horror (32) (70.7%), Information (21) (~4.6%), Historical Fiction (19) (~4.2%), Biography (13) (~2.9%), Literature (12) (~2.7%), Thriller (8) (~1.8%), Paranormal (5) (~1.1%), 'Disney' (5) (~1.1%).

Type: Textbooks (including books with a few small illustrations, ie. at chapter headings) (200) (~47.1%), Illustrated (216)(~50.8%), Graphic Novels (3)(<1%), Comics (6)(~1.4%), Manga (0)(~0%)

Format: Paperback (136) (~32%), Hardback (no flappy bits) (266) (~62.6%), Hardcover (1) (<1%), Kindle (20) (~4.7%), Website (2) (~<1%), Computer (0) (~0%)

Ageranges: Children's (289) (~68%), Young-Adult (60) (~14.1%), Adult (76) (~17.9%)

Fiction vs. Nonfiction: Fiction (395) (~92.9%) vs. Non-fiction (30) (~7.1%), Combination (0) (~0%)

Languages: English (161) (~37.9%), Dutch (263) (~61.9%), Combination (1) (~<1%)

Original language vs. translated book: Original (212) (~49.9%) vs. Translated (212) (~49.9%), Combination (1) (~<1%)

Publication Years: 1950-1959 (1) (~<1%), 1960-1969 (1) (~<1%), 1970-1979 (1) (~<1%), 1980-1989 (8) (~1.9%), 1990-1999 (39) (~9.2%), 2000-2009 (67) (~15.8%), 2010-2016 (308) (~72.4%), Unknown (0) (~0%)

Original publication years: Pre-1930 (3) (~<1%), 1930-1939 (5) (~1.2%), 1940-1949 (3) (~<1%), 1950-1959 (0) (0%), 1960-1969 (2) (~<1%), 1970-1979 (6) (~1.4%), 1980-1989 (9) (~2.1%), 1990-1999 (47) (~11%), 2000-2009 (106) (~24.9%), 2010-2016 (243) (~57.2%), Unknown (1) (~<1%)

Male protagonist(s) vs. female protagonist(s): Male (204) (~48%), Female (126) (~29.6%), Both (82) (~19.3%), Other (1) (~<1%), N/A (no main characters) (12) (~2.8%)

Cover Colour: White (40) (~9.4%), Black (25) (~5.8%), Red (42) (~9.9%), Orange (13) (~3.1%), Yellow (37) (~8.7%), Green (40) (~9.4%), Blue (109) (~25.6%), Purple (28) (~6.6%), Pink (11) (~2.6%), Brown (40) (~9.4%), Grey (21) (~4.9%), Multi (17) (~4%), N/A (2) (~<1%).

Spine Colour: White (31) (~7.3%), Black (39) (~9.2%), Red (58) (~13.6%), Orange (12) (~2.8%), Yellow (32) (~7.5%), Green (46) (~10.8%), Blue (92) (~21.6%), Purple (21) (~4.94%), Pink (23) (~5.4%), Brown (23) (~5.4%), Grey (14) (~3.3%), Multi (13) (~3.1%), N/A (21) (~4.9%).

Perspective: 1rst Person (200) (~47.1%), 3rd Person (164) (~38.6%), Combination (60) (~14.1%)

Tense: Past Tense (308) (72.5~%), Present Tense (45) (~10.6%), Combination (72) (~16.9%)

Types of books: Novels (348) (~81.9%), Short Story / Short Story Collections (18) (~4.2%), Omnibusses (7) (~1.6%), Novellas (15) (~3.5%), Information (18) (~4.2%), Biographies (13) (~3.1%).

Debut vs. Non-Debut: (35) (~8.2%) vs. (390) (~91.2%)

Themed books (some books have multiple seasons described in them): Spring (4) (~<1%), Summer (19) (~4.4%), Autumn (33) (~77.6%), Winter (30) (~6.9%), None (349) (~80.2%).

Page numbers x per book: x < 250 pages (288) (~67.8%), 250 < x 500 pages (117) (~27.5%), x > 500 pages (20) (~4.7%)

Page numbers x per book: x < 100 pages (53) (~12.5%), 100 < x 199 (174) (~40.9%), 200 < x 299 pages (100) (~23.5%), 300 < x 399 pages (56) (~13.2%), 400 < x 499 pages (22) (~5.2%), 500 < x 599 pages (10) (~2.4%), 600 < x 699 pages (5) (~1.2%), 700 < x 799 pages (1) (~<1%), 800 < x 899 pages (2) (~<1%), 900 < x 999 pages (0) (~0%), x > 1000 pages (2) (~<1%)

 

Shortest Book: Hugh Howey - The Walk Up Nameless Ridge (18 pages) / Dorothy Koomson - That Girl From Nowhere 0: From There To Here (18 pages), Tony Ross - Little Princess: I Didn't Do It! (20 pages), Tony Ross - Rita's Rhino (22 pages), Jane Chapman - No More Cuddles! (24 pages), Liz Pichon - Fluffy and Scruffy: A Tale of Two Kittens (27 pages), David Walliams (ill. Tony Ross) - The First Hippo on the Moon (28 pages), David Walliams (ill. Tony Ross) - The Slightly Annoying Elephant (28 pages), David Walliams (ill. Tony Ross) - The Bear Who Went Boo! (29 pages)

 

Longest Book: Stephen King - The Stand (1327 pages), Peter F. Hamilton - Great North Road (1087 pages), Peter F. Hamilton - Fallen Dragon (808 pages), Robert Jordan - The Wheel of Time 1: The Eye of the World (800 pages) (re-read)

 

Books read per month: January (31) (~7.3%), February (27) (~6.4%), March (40) (~9.4%), April (36) (~8.5%), May (40) (~9.4%), June (38) (~8.9%), July (47) (~11.1%), August (31) (~7.3%), September (35) (~8.2%), October (41) (~9.6%), November (30) (~7.1%), December (29) (~6.8%)

 

Pages read per month: January (8416) (~8.9%), February (7719) (~8.1%), March (9740) (~10.3%), April (7058) (~7.4%), May (10539) (~11.1%), June (8895) (~9.4%), July (9763) (~10.3%), August (6888) (~7.2%), September (7584) (~7.9%), October (7395) (~7.8%), November (5773) (~6.1%), December (5237) (~5.5%)

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Summary 2016 Conclusive Thoughts

 

2016 is over! I read 425 books the past year. That's not as many as in 2015 (when I read 502 books), but it's more than in any of the other years I've been tracking (2014: 254, 2013: 143, Jun - Dec 2012 ~43). Pageswise I also read less than last year, but more than the years before (since I've been keeping track). I read 95,007 pages this year. It's a shame I didn't get to 100,000 (like I did last year), but 95,007 is a great number too. I'm happy to be able to conclude the year with 425 books read and 95,007 pages. I didn't think I was going to get to 425 (and I admit, the last 3 books I read in 2016, I read because I wanted to get to 425. Though I also have to admit I didn't read more in December because I wanted to finish my current read in the New Year as to not split up the trilogy I'm reading :P).

 

I read a variety of genres, though more of my favourites than of other genres. I read a lot of children's books in 2016, and in 2017 I want to go to the library less and read some more books for adults and young-adults (while also still reading some children's books, but not as many in comparison as in 2016). For 2017 I want to read what I feel like reading, and I want to read more of my own books.

 

Later in the year (2016) I felt more pressure from the read-a-thons and my library loans. I think I read less fantastic books later in the year than earlier in the year, at least I felt like I wasn't enjoying my reading as much anymore. I think it was in September that I started to feel less like reading and on occasion forced myself to read even though I didn't feel like it, because of read-a-thons and / or library loans needing to be read. I also wanted to do some other things in the last few months of the year, I've been busy cataloguing and on occasion I do some colouring.

 

I discovered some nice new authors this year, though most of my reads were by familiar-to-me authors. It's not a surprise to be that some of my favourite books this year were written by some of my favourite authors.

 

Book buying wise.. I acquired (bought, was gifted, free) a lot of books. I think that doesn't surprise anyone who knows me well. That said, I do intend to do better in 2017. We'll see.

 

I also did some cataloguing in 2016 (see my reading goals in the beginning of this thread). I still have more cataloguing to do.

 

2016 was a good year for me in terms of reading. I'm happy with it. I hope 2017 will be a good reading year also, in which I return to reading with hopefully less pressure and maybe go for quality more than quantity (though I do enjoy the children's books to be honest). We'll see how things go and how my reading develops.

 

Thank you for following me in my thread in 2016 :). Hope to see you again in 2017!

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