Athena's Reading List 2016

[Athena]

I received some of my new books (I mentioned them earlier in this thread):

 

 

 

 

I read Lois Lowry - The Giver 1: The Giver: Bewaker van Herinneringen (The Giver 1: The Giver). I wasn't sure if this book would be good or not, since I'd heard mixed things, but I actually quite liked it. I wasn't sure exactly what it would be about but I enjoyed reading the book. You can see certain ideas that have also been present in other books, but mostly those other books were published after this one was originally published, so you can't really fault this book.

 

I'm not sure if I want to read the rest of the series straight away. The library doesn't have them, I don't think they've been translated (yet), seeing as this translation was only published last year. I could buy them, but I feel I've bought a lot of books lately, so I think I should slow down with my book buying for a little while.

 

I really did enjoy this book though, and I might buy the box set at a later time.

[Anna Begins]

I'm glad you liked The Giver, despite mixed reviews

 

I sort of feel like I want to read Armada. You'll have to tell me if I'd like it or not!

[Little Pixie]

Some lovely book covers there.

 

I`ve seen those Sarah J Maas books on Amazon ; I`ll be interested to know how you like them.

[Athena]

I'm glad you liked The Giver, despite mixed reviews

 

I sort of feel like I want to read Armada. You'll have to tell me if I'd like it or not!

Thanks .

 

Well, it is science-fiction with lots of SF references (movies, TV, computer games). I think you might like it, but I'm not 100% sure. Have you read the sample?

 

Some lovely book covers there.

 

I`ve seen those Sarah J Maas books on Amazon ; I`ll be interested to know how you like them.

Thanks . I'll let you know when I read them .

[Athena]

I received the last of my new books! There are still 2 pre-orders to come, but they haven't been released yet.

 

Here are some photos of my new books:

 

 

 

I thought this was so cool:

 

 

 

For a list, see an earlier post in this thread.

[frankie]

Nice haul! I've seen Gretchen Rubin's books at the library and they intrigue me, but I don't know if I would like them if I read them... So, very much looking forward to your thoughts!  

[Athena]

Thanks! I'll be sure to let you know .

[Little Pixie]

Your ` miserable` book looks amusing.

 

Are you going to read your Gretchen Rubin book in one go or month by month ? Or both ? I`m starting my monthly re-read next month of Happier at Home.

[Athena]

Your ` miserable` book looks amusing.

I agree, it does .

 

Are you going to read your Gretchen Rubin book in one go or month by month ? Or both ? I`m starting my monthly re-read next month of Happier at Home.

I haven't decided yet. The Happiness Project starts in January. I think it will depend in what month I'll feel like reading it. If I decide to start reading it in September, then I'm not sure I want to wait until January, but if it's December or January I might try to make it a monthly thing. It sounds like a nice idea. But then, I usually don't read multiple books at once, so I'm not sure if I could bear to stop it and wait another month before I can read the next chapter . So I'm going to see when I feel in the mood to start the book . I hope you enjoy your re-read!

[Little Pixie]

I agree, it does .

 

 

I haven't decided yet. The Happiness Project starts in January. I think it will depend in what month I'll feel like reading it. If I decide to start reading it in September, then I'm not sure I want to wait until January, but if it's December or January I might try to make it a monthly thing. It sounds like a nice idea. But then, I usually don't read multiple books at once, so I'm not sure if I could bear to stop it and wait another month before I can read the next chapter . So I'm going to see when I feel in the mood to start the book . I hope you enjoy your re-read!

 

Thanks ! Enjoy your first read !

[Athena]

Thanks ! Enjoy your first read !

Thanks !

 

EDIT: Here's what I read for the August read-a-thon, and some thoughts:

 

Veronica Henry, Fanny Blake, Elizabeth Buchan, Rowan Coleman, Jenny Colgan, Philippa Gregory, Matt Haig, Andy McNab, Richard Madeley, John O'Farrell and The Hairy Bikers - The Anniversary

Some of these stories were really nice, some not so much. My favourite is Rowan Coleman's story. The ones I didn't like so much, I don't really remember much of, a few days later (I read this on Thursday). So, as usual with short story collections, I liked some stories and didn't like others. Short stories aren't my favourite thing, so someone who likes them more, might get more out of it. I'm happy I read some nice ones, and it's a shame about the ones I enjoyed less. The whole book is 111 pages, so the stories are relatively short.

 

Ann M. Martin - De Babysittersclub 49: Joke en het Wonderkind (The Babysitters Club 49: Claudia and the Genius of Elm Street) (re-read)

Ann M. Martin - De Babysittersclub Mystery 2: Betty en de Onzichtbare Vijand (The Babysitters Club Mystery 2: Beware, Dawn!) (re-read)

Ann M. Martin - The Babysitters Club Super Special 7: Snowbound

Ann M. Martin - De Babysittersclub 50: Een Spannende Afspraak voor Betty (The Babysitters Club 50: Dawn's Big Date (re-read)

This was the first time, since a long time, that I read 4 BSC books during the read-a-thon. I always read 2 "normal" ones (ie. from the normal series), but the Mystery one and the Super Special happened to fall between these two normal ones, so I read those too. I believe in November I have 4 scheduled again, most of the time it's 2 or 3.

 

A. C. Baantjer - Baantjer 34: De Cock en de Moord in Beeld

This was nice, as usual with Baantjer's books. My favourite lines in the book involve where one of the characters comments on police movies on TV and how he finds it nonsense, upon which the other character remarks that 'then you should forbid Baantjer to write about us' . I'm going to write down here that it was page 51, for future reference.

 

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

I quite liked this one! I actually prefer this one over the ones about the Tudors and the one about the Stuarts. This one discussed more subjects I was interested in.

 

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

It was great to read another Donald Duck Pocket again, after not doing so for 5 months. This one was new to me.

 

Geronimo Stilton - Geronimo Stilton 72: Geef Gas, Geronimo! (Ingrana La Marcia, Stilton!)

It was nice to read this one. It also contained some information about traffic signs, which was of course changed into the Dutch signs instead of the Italian ones.

Geronimo Stilton - Groene Reeks 3: Pukkelpaniek! (Lo Strano Caso dei Brufoli Blu)

This was a nice read.

Geronimo Stilton - Rode Reeks 1: De Grote Voetbalfinale (Finale di Supercoppa... a Topazia!)

This was nice.

Geronimo Stilton - Gullivers Reizen (I Viaggi di Gulliver)

I haven't read the original book, but I liked this story.

 

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

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

I've previously read Septimus Heap 1: Magyk by Angie Sage (and I plan on reading the rest of the series some time, though I don't own them yet. My sister owns most of them and the library has them too). I didn't know she had written a series for children until I saw these at the library. I quite liked them, they were nice. I also think the Dutch titles are actually better than the English originals.

 

Georgie Pritchett (ill. Jamie Littler) - Wilf The Mighty Worrier 1: Wilf The Mighty Worrier Saves The World

This book was funny, and I enjoyed reading it. I've got book 2 in the series also loaned from the library, I plan to read that one next.

 

EDIT2:

 

Today I read Georgie Pritchett (ill. Jamie Littler) - Wilf The Mighty Worrier 2: Wilf The Mighty Worrier Battles A Pirate. This one, just like the first one, was very funny. I love all the fourth wall breaking stuff. I really enjoyed reading this book.

Edited August 8, 2016 by Athena

[Little Pixie]

Thanks !

 

A. C. Baantjer - Baantjer 34: De Cock en de Moord in Beeld

This was nice, as usual with Baantjer's books. My favourite lines in the book involve where one of the characters comments on police movies on TV and how he finds it nonsense, upon which the other character remarks that 'then you should forbid Baantjer to write about us' . I'm going to write down here that it was page 51, for future reference.

 

 

[Athena]

I read Julian Clary (ill. David Roberts) - Familie Bold 1: De Beestachtige Familie Bold (The Bolds 1: The Bolds). This was an enjoyable read, about a family of hyenas who're pretending to be humans, living among them in town. They have to be careful it's not discovered they're hyenas. I liked this story, it was told in an interesting way, and it was humourous (hyenas laugh a lot!). I liked the illustrations too.

 

Apparently Julian Clary is a British comedian. I had never heard of him. Either way, I liked the book.

[Athena]

I read:

 

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

This was quite funny. The illustrations were nice too.

 

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

This book was specifically written for the Dutch (and presumably Belgian) market (hence the lack of original English title). I quite enjoyed reading this book, is funny.

 

Sabine Zett (ill. Ute Krause) - Hugo 5: Hugo Chillt (Hugo Chillt)

This was an enjoyable read. It was funny. I did guess one plot twist, but the book was an enjoyable read anyway.

[Athena]

I read Do van Ranst (ill. Maarten Albrechts) - Samuel 1: Voluit Samuel. This was a nice read. I read another book series by this author. I liked that in this new series, the main character from the old series made an appearance, she is a minor character in the new series (at least.. I strongly suspect it's the same person, but a bit older). I thought that was quite nice. The book (Voluit Samuel) ended with a bit of a cliffhanger though, which I liked less (if you know me, you know that I don't do well with cliffhangers ). But otherwise it was an enjoyable story.

[Anna Begins]

I'm glad you're enjoying your library books

[Athena]

I'm glad you're enjoying your library books

Thanks, me too .

 

You already know, but for other people: I did decide to not read Ulysses Moore - Ulysses Moore 4: Het Eiland van de Maskers (L'Isola delle Maschere) (because it was part of a series, too confusing since I haven't read the rest), Will Davis - My Side Of The Story (because I didn't like the way the dialogue was handled) and Jenny Downham - You Against Me (because I didn't feel in the mood).

 

But other than those I've been enjoying my loans .

[Athena]

For the OhMyBookAThon, which is a Dutch read-a-thon happening from the 11th to the 16th of August (Thu-Tue), the challenge of today was to make a picture of books to do with travel or holidays. I thought I'd share it here. With this picture I've excluded books solely to do with time travel, books to do with Christmas holidays, most books that involve space travel and fantasy books that involve characters going on an adventure / a quest. I attempted to make a pyramid / tent shape but that didn't totally work out. It's an allright photo though so I wanted to share it with you all.

 

[Anna Begins]

. That's a lot of books! I wish you good fun with this latest challenge.

[Athena]

. That's a lot of books! I wish you good fun with this latest challenge.

Thanks , it was a lot of fun to compile the books. There will be a new (photo?) challenge each day. You can read whichever books you want by the way, the challenges are not reading challenges. The challenge is a giveaway each day, and they pick the nicest photo(s) and then that person or those people win a book. I don't know if I'll do any of the other challenges, it will depend on what they are. I don't normally do photo challenges much. But I felt in the mood yesterday to get all these books together and take a picture.

[Kolinahr]

Hi, Athena. Hope you don't mind a newbie posting on your list, but I was just reading your list of book titles in Dutch and noticed that a number of the characters' names had been changed. Quite a few years ago, I used to live in Nederland, so I know this happens frequently in Dutch translations, but thinking of it now reminded me of the funniest encounter I had with this.

 

Though my mother tongue is English, my first reading of Harry Potter was in Dutch. I read at least Harry Potter en de steen der wijzen and maybe geheime kamer before reading the originals (or having any idea how popular they were). The funny thing is that I started talking about the books with people who had read them in English (and not in Dutch) before I did, and we were both very confused because most of the names were different. In particular, I recall people having trouble with who Perkamentus might be, and to be honest it was years before Dumbledore sounded like his real name! Maybe one of the reasons why he's always seemed like such a fraud to me (though there are other reasons...). Anyway, I'm sure you've encountered this issue fairly frequently!

[Athena]

Hi, Athena. Hope you don't mind a newbie posting on your list, but I was just reading your list of book titles in Dutch and noticed that a number of the characters' names had been changed. Quite a few years ago, I used to live in Nederland, so I know this happens frequently in Dutch translations, but thinking of it now reminded me of the funniest encounter I had with this.

 

Though my mother tongue is English, my first reading of Harry Potter was in Dutch. I read at least Harry Potter en de steen der wijzen and maybe geheime kamer before reading the originals (or having any idea how popular they were). The funny thing is that I started talking about the books with people who had read them in English (and not in Dutch) before I did, and we were both very confused because most of the names were different. In particular, I recall people having trouble with who Perkamentus might be, and to be honest it was years before Dumbledore sounded like his real name! Maybe one of the reasons why he's always seemed like such a fraud to me (though there are other reasons...). Anyway, I'm sure you've encountered this issue fairly frequently!

I don't mind at all . How nice you used to live in the Netherlands. Thanks for your post .

 

That's very true, about character names. I read the first Harry Potter book in English for my English class, but I read books 2 - 5 in Dutch. I read all of them a couple of years ago in English, and it can be confusing sometimes. I feel Perkamentus doesn't at all sound the same as Dumbledore. I'm used to the English names by now, because I've seen the movies a couple of times. I feel in translations of books for adults, the names usually stay the same, but in books for children and sometimes for young-adults, the translator changes the names. I sometimes wish they wouldn't do that, it makes it harder to talk with others about the book who've read the English version. That said, I do quite like some of the Dutch names in books I've read, moreso than English ones (though, I'm probably biased since I'm just used to the characters in that way).

[pontalba]

Great picture, Gaia!  It's so comforting to see lovely piles of books! 

 

Interesting posts above re name changes.  I wonder why they change them??  That's something I have never considered!

[Athena]

Great picture, Gaia!  It's so comforting to see lovely piles of books! 

 

Interesting posts above re name changes.  I wonder why they change them??  That's something I have never considered!

Thanks .

 

I always thought it was because for Dutch and Belgian children, very English-sounding names might be hard to pronounce so they change the name into something more 'Dutch'. I could be wrong though.

 

I read E. Lockhart - We Were Liars. I quite enjoyed reading this book. I didn't guess the twists. I liked the short chapters and I liked the way the book was written. I also liked the characters, though in the beginning I had a bit of trouble remembering who was who since there are a lot of characters (though of course some are more important than others).

[pontalba]

Thanks .I always thought it was because for Dutch and Belgian children, very English-sounding names might be hard to pronounce so they change the name into something more 'Dutch'. I could be wrong though.I read E. Lockhart - We Were Liars. I quite enjoyed reading this book. I didn't guess the twists. I liked the short chapters and I liked the way the book was written. I also liked the characters, though in the beginning I had a bit of trouble remembering who was who since there are a lot of characters (though of course some are more important than others).

Of course! I didn't consider that. Makes perfect sense.